Issuu

xCongratulations Class o f

2015!

The Blue and Gold maldenblueandgold.com Malden High School Volume 100 Edition 7 /8

77 salem street June 2015

Boys track article on page 45.

1. Eugine Szeto W

Senior Internship article on page 33.

hile few people know Eugine Szeto on a personal level, almost everyone knows his name. His fame arises from a sophisticated work ethic and a jarring devotion to his own learning. Having a one-way ticket to New Haven, Connecticut, where he will be attending Yale University, only reinforces his reputation as Malden High’s academic superhero. But Szeto’s dedication to learning is actually far more passionate than it is robotic, despite his collaboration at the Botball Tournament in April. “[I like classes that have] questions beyond the scope of the material,” he says, “ we become something more than animals or robots.”

More of the Top 10

Continued on page 8.

2. Olivia Verdone P

lanning on attending Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the fall, Olivia Verdone describes her high school experience as a challenge. Like many students, the transition from a K-8 school to Malden High School was “extremely difficult for me...it was a whole new world from middle school, transitioning from fifteen minutes of homework a night to seven classes with an hour and a half of homework, going from being a top student to having a bunch of top students.” Verdone tends to experience anxiety over changes in her life, and she went through a period of time at the beginning of her freshman year where she “went home and cried every night” because she was so stressed. In addition, she also had some of the hardest freshman teachers in the high school, which was also “extremely challenging.” Continued on page 8.

Helen Chin ranked number three. Page 9

Mei Tong Huang ranked number four. Page 9 maldenblueandgold.com

Band Concert Article on page 31.

Just a Bunch of Stuff Article on page 26.

Malden High School Volume 100 Edition 7 / 8 Graduation 2015

Editorial

77 Salem St. Malden, MA 02148

Established in 1915

Celebrating 100 Years of School Reporting Staff Editors-in-Chief Amanda De Moraes ‘15 Casey Lyons ‘15 James Mazarakis ‘15 Sumya Mohiuddin ‘15 Managing Editors Jessica Lynn DePaula ‘15 Julie Lam ‘15 Heads of Op-Eds & World Nicholas Bramante ‘16 Andrew Cogliano ‘16 Heads of Local News Emma Ceplinskas ‘16 Manale Zouhir ‘16 Heads of Entertainment Chaimae El Adlouni ‘16 Ashley Leung ‘16 Heads of Sports Lucia Quesada Nylen ‘16 Cassandra Reyes ‘16 Lead Sports Writer P.J. Montezuma ‘15 Lead Photographers Piero Pocobene ‘15 Meagan Sullivan ‘15

Reporters Jasper Haag ‘16 Tatyanna Cabral ‘17 Maria Da Silva ‘17 Candela Diaz ‘17 Tenzin Dorjee ‘17 Felicia Fallano ‘17 Karina Matos ‘17 Julia Parker ‘17 Ana Kerr ‘18 Megan Downer ‘18 Leila Greige ‘18 Samuel Martinez ‘18 Anna Powers ‘18 Meghan Yip ‘18 Contributing Senior Reporters Julio Da Silva ‘15 Roberto De Oliveira ‘15 Jonathan DeCicco ‘15 Katie Mai ‘15 Amanda Nguyen ‘15 Advisor Ryan Gallagher

A Word

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Malden High School

The Blue and Gold

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

from the Editors of the Newspaper

s we leave Malden High School, we seniors look back on our years at The Blue & Gold with nostalgia and pride. Since the beginning of freshman year (and sophomore year for some) we have been covering Malden Reads events, mapping the trending success of our high school soccer team, attacking media reactions to national protests, explaining the impact of new technology, researching diversity in our student body and staff, designing collages for Junior Varieties each year, applying cheesy but cute symphonic audio files to our sports videos, creating a safe space for discussion about sexual and gender identities, and evaluating the justice of school attendance policies -- and every time, we did it with passion and for a purpose. Highlighting the “big picture” and connecting it with the lives of high school students has been our honorable job at Malden High School. It is an enormous power to manage the school’s only student-run newspaper, and we hope our use of it has represented the greater interests of Malden High School and all of its constituents. With every editorial and tough decision we faced, our staff always put how it would affect Malden students first. The ongoing success of the newspaper would not be possible without the support of MHS staff and students, and the community at large, who read our content monthly; a notable asset to our newspaper is our principal Dana Brown. Because of his commitment to the school and students, Principal Brown’s role in our newspaper cannot be underestimated. The Blue & Gold has endless opportunities to provide thoughtful opinions and stories without the fear of being censored, but with the power to learn from mistakes and build up in our experiences. When we are unsure of a decision or handling something controversial, an advisor is important as well. It wouldn’t be a complete thank you without acknowledging Mr. Ryan Gallagher, an advisor, friend, and his success in making the newspaper better. His advice and encouragement throughout our years on the paper has been a crucial reason as to why we aim to outdo ourselves every month. We thank you for believing in us and making teaching a viable potential career for each of us! Preceding generations of The Blue & Gold staff have had more influence on our choices than they might recall. We could not have made our stylistic and role choices without being exposed to years of compe-

Editorial Policy

The Blue and Gold is an open forum for student expression. It is produced by students for the school and the community. The views presented in this paper are not necessarily those of the advisor or the school administration. The views presented in the editorials are those of the editors-in-chief or guests. The goal of The Blue and Gold is to inform and entertain students as well as the community regarding issues that we feel are important. We strongly encourage readers to respond to material printed in the form of signed letters to the editors. No libelous, malicious, defamatory, obscene, or unsigned material will be printed. The Blue and Gold reserves the right to edit the letters. Names may be withheld upon request. Not all letters will be printed. Although The Blue and Gold appreciates the support of advertisers, we may refuse any advertisement that violates the above policy or that promotes products questionable to student use. Any correspondence concerning this publication should be directed to Mr. Ryan Gallagher’s room in J387 or to his mailbox in the main office.

The Blue and Gold c/o Malden High School 77 Salem Street Malden, MA 02148

tent, creative individuals that educated and guided us. Their wisdom is still remembered and cherished as we begin to part ways. The same holds true for succeeding generations. Each year we are impressed and inspired by fresh minds with a variety of talents, and we have the pleasure of watching them grow as reporters, designers, and artists. This goes out especially to the Class of 2016, who we are now seeing take ownership over the whole paper. We are so proud of the work you have done, and every day we see you becoming better workers and better people. We believe in your futures with our newspaper (rather, our child) and beyond. We hope that we have served you as a positive inspiration for the future. As we leave, the seniors have no doubt that the value of student-run journalism will remain a constant in the community. Our parting words are these: keep an open mind. Even though journalism is structured and requires a certain order to work, creativity can go a long way, from fonts to text shapes to using $80 clip art collections. Make it more than a newspaper -- The Blue & Gold is art. Treat it like a statement on the modern high school society, a relic that can be found hundreds of years in the future and give generations a true sense of your ethnic, political, and imaginatory diversity. Make the newspaper yours -- and the school’s -- with the mutual interest of keeping the memory of your high school experience alive. Thank you to all of those who read our newspaper, and we hope you continue to support our next edition.

Amanda De Moraes Casey Lyons

James Mazarakis

Sumya Mohiuddin Top Ten Profiles begin on page 8!

5. Timur Berilo 6. Roberto De Oliviera 7. Jonathan Ye

8. Tristar To 9. Ya Ting Lu 10. Ya Jing Lu

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

Editorial

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Top left, clockwise: Editors-in-Chief Casey Lyons, Sumya Mohiuddin, James Mazarakis and Amanda De Moraes at the Malden Cultural Council exhibition; Mazarakis, Lyons, De Moraes, Managing Editor Jessica DePaula and Mohiuddin at Suffolk University holding their awards; Managing Editor Julie Lam, senior Madina Khudaynazar and Mohiuddin at the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony; junior Blue and Gold member Nick Bramante, DePaula and Mazarakis at prom; Mazarakis, Mohiuddin, and senior Emily Mo at prom; DePaula and Mazarakis at prom.

Why I Wore a Sari to Prom

Sumya Mohiuddin Editor-in-Chief

here was always a cultural barrier between my parents and I. Their Bengali upbringing always clashed with my American one. Although they never taught me American values, I assimilated quickly because my environment forced me to. “Why do you have to buy that?” “Why do you have to wear that?” “Why do you have to do the same thing that everyone else does?” It soon became a constant battle between listening to my parents and sticking to the status quo. If I could avoid it, and I tried my very best to, I did not want to stand out. Fitting in is not some plot that movies use to create a story; they use it to make the story relatable to kids who crave the feeling of fitting in. My parents did not understand my dilemma they would only become more strict and opposing to me reaching out

and building a web of friends who did not share the same customs, in hopes that I will not be pressured by the values around me. I soon stopped caring about nurturing my Bengali culture and taking it with me as I grew older. Slowly, I let go of certain aspects that set me apart from my friends. One time I did so was around the fourth grade when I stopped wearing traditional clothes to school. There was not a moment’s hesitation the morning I decided to only wear American clothes from then on. Whether it was shame or experimentation, I can not remember, but I still continue to wear American clothes to school on a day-to-day basis. Despite my transition to an all-American identity at school, my Bengali culture was prevalent at home. I still ate with my hands and put oil in my hair, two things I would never let my friends see because I would be seen as abnormal for the rest of my life, if not in their eyes, then mine. Maybe it was shame after all.

I did not know my need to assimilate was a cause for the disconnect between my parents and I, as well as my culture and I. Eight was not the age to notice these things, but rather wonder why my parents could not see that I was more than a Bengali child, but also an American one. However, I was not always avoiding the main thing that connected me to my overly traditional parents. The friends I made throughout my childhood, other Bengalis who were also the first generation to grow up in America, reminded me why culture was important to instead celebrate instead of hide. It was those occasional parties that allowed me to partake in birthdays and weddings that had a cultural spin to it. It was always fun to spend time with friends who were in the same situation as me, with parents and identity crises. It was not a problem wearing traditional clothing and jewelry to match. The food was always cooked by hand, de-

tailed to perfection. There was no language barrier and everyone was connected, even if their company was only a fraction of everyone in attendance. It almost felt like I was hiding my American culture on these occasions. But this was not a reality I could indulge myself in for too long. My desires to branch out and acquire skills that may not be in my parents’ realm of “traditional” always came second, which did nothing to bridge the barrier that was created from my need to assimilate. I was left with no choice: why would I choose to be different and risk being ridiculed when I can choose to alter my appearance and look “normal”? But who chooses what normal looks like? I have always respected my culture, but it took me a long time to appreciate it. Sharing my culture was always Continued on page 4.

Opinion

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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G The Blue & Gold Crossword Puzzle H Continued from page 3. something I was skeptical of doing. It meant I was exposing myself to kids my age who may not understand that there is a whole world beyond the boundaries of Malden. Wearing traditional clothes to school events and bringing food always went well, and it made me feel proud, even it was just for a night. After years of questioning my parents and their desires to keep a culture that seemed to have no value in America, I have finally understood that that is exactly the reason culture should be protected: spreading diversity and sharing culture is not a burden, but a gift from every part of the world. Simple. Right? Culture is meant to be shared by the people who lived in it, with the beauty and the burdens, not picked at until someone finds something worth showcasing. The purest example of people picking and choosing from cultures that are not their own are the ones that attended Coachella, the annual music festival that many celebrities attend, (and appropriate cultures). Celebrities such as Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, and the Jenner sisters are not new when it comes to the festival … or wearing bindis. In past years, bindis have become a “fashion trend”. An aspect of my culture, my pride, became a fashion statement because some girls wore it for a weekend. Bindis account for so much more than simple fashion accessories. They tell stories worth more than centuries of history, and they will always remain important to my culture. If the same people who wore bindis to the festival cannot handle a constant disconnect between their parents, shame from their background, feeling as if they were always the child that needed to change in order to fit in instead of already feeling welcomed, then those people do not deserve to be apart of my culture. They cannot only appreciate a part of me. That being said, I am a senior in high school that has been dealing with these kinds of problems since I first entered school, but I have finally found courage to share my culture at prom, which is why I wore a sari. It took me too long to realize that I will always feel more comfortable in a traditional setting than I ever will in my secondary culture.

This

Moment

Will Just Be Another Story

Someday

Jessica Lynn DePaula Managing Editor

y sophomore year was supposed to be perfect: I was going to raise my 2.65 GPA with AP U.S. History and all of the honors classes I was taking, and I was going to join a bunch more clubs, and I was going to take on bigger projects with Blue and Gold, and that.... Didn’t work out. Was it the result of a chemical imbalance someplace in my brain? Probably, but who knows. Was it the pressure the modern school system puts on students? Probably not, but who knows. All that I know is that I missed, on average, one day of school every week that year because of crippling anxiety -- and yes, it is crippling -- but after first quarter I tried to reverse the beginning of the year, even though I was still missing more than the three days allowed per quarter. But you can’t micromanage mental illness: saying, “Okay, but now it will just magically cease to

be a concern because I said so!” is not an effective method of reducing anxiety. I gave up after realizing that, and it took me a long time to regain all of the progress I’d made and to feel fully comfortable in the school again. Specifically, not much can be done for students in my situation, in any school in any state in the country. There’s a national shortage of school adjustment counselors, many states choose not to include certain mental health treatments under the Affordable Care Act, and I’ve heard horror stories of kids receiving treatment for mental illness experiencing inexcusable discrimination at school due to their disabilities. Malden High has the pathways program, which is great, but not a good fit for every student in my situation, of which there are millions nationwide. I complain a lot -- and I mean a lot, like I have a reputation based primarily on My Chemical Romance and denouncing the bureaucracyabout Malden High School, about the attendance policy, about the

negative aspects of the push towards online learning, about about the need for way more than four adjustment counselors-and I think that it’s justified and it’s fair. We’re the students: it’s our responsibility to make sure our needs are heard, when it comes down to it. I see the freshmen talking about next year the same way that I did with the same hope that I had, and I see my sophomore friends who are having The Worst Year Imaginable (it happens to everyone in tenth grade, we can’t figure it out), and I see the kids who are in my cousin’s first grade autism spectrum class, and I want better for all of them. But I also know that things would have turned out very differently for me without the people that I’ve met here (you know who you are, Namless Inspirational People), and I most definitely would not be graduating today without every one of them. When I get angry at societal errors that bleed into our school system, it’s because I know how special this school and the people that make

up its community are, and I see real potential for all of the things I went through to never happen to another Malden High School student again. This is such a unique school, the best high school in the best state for education, and I think it could be the one that leads us out of the dark ages and into a new era of equality for those who are struggling. You’re probably wondering why am I ranting about this now, at a time when I should be out celebrating my successes. I want to make sure that every student who might be like me, who’s not graduating today, to understand that your life is not dependant on being the perfect, beautiful, healthy student. You are the friends that you make, the music you love, the dreams that you have; not the terrible grades, terrible GPA, terrible attendance record you accumulate in just a small fraction of your life. I am more than my attendance record, and you are more than whatever obstacles are blocking your path to that graduation stage.

Opinion

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

maldenblueandgold.com

Dear Editors.. W

By Emily Mo, Senior

hen I was a freshman, I was directionless, whiny, and inflexible. Even after I realized this a few months too late, I spent nearly three years pacing around trying to get to where I am now as a senior. So, where am I now? You could argue that I haven’t gotten anywhere at all, or that I’ve even gone backwards -- after all, I stopped going to one of the two clubs I was involved in, and I just gained my first leadership position a few months ago. As of yet, I have absolutely no proof that I have ambition or the ability to take initiative, and plenty of proof that I’m useless. Others may see this as an issue -- but I refuse to. What I’ve told you are my external (lack of) credentials. Yet in reality, the time I spent staring at a wall and thinking have brought me to the insanely satisfying last six months in which I’ve become more understanding of myself

hank you, Emily, for this letter; because of my telling experience in high school I am able to elaborate on this problem. According to the definition of “smart” that is established by the school, okay, I am “smart” -- that is, I get excited talking about the perplexity of how { 0! = 1 } and I can write a monologue with the same efficiency as I can draw a breath; my natural GPA approaches 4.0 and I’m somewhere in the top twenty of my class. Through all my achievements, all the clubs I’ve joined or led, all the analytical essays and all articles I have written, I must still concede the truth: I am an awful, awful college candidate. Why? I can blame it on my surface flaws, like my struggle with deadlines or my tendency to give myself too many breaks after the most minor of hardships. It also didn’t help that this year marked an incredible rise of competent applicants and a rise in standards by admissions offices, making it nearly impossible for mid-range intellectual students like myself to get into the “upper-league” schools, or that the one school I was accepted to and interested in attending would have cost my family and I upwards of $200,000 in debt, or that I didn’t know what I wanted to study as my major -- these were only my objective obstacles, ones that limited my choices and caused me nights of ceaseless indecision. My real problem lay in the “irreparable flaw” that Mo proposed in her articulate letter. By the time I had short of a week to admit to a university, I was changing my mind every other day: On Sunday it was sure I would attend Emerson College; on

This is for anyone preparing to apply to college or doubting their lack of so-called “credentials” before or after the college application process...

and what I want to do with my life than ever before. The only problem is that this epiphany hasn’t externally manifested itself just yet, and it completely missed my college application deadlines. Had this moment happened a few years earlier instead of now, almost everything on my applications would have been strikingly better, but what about me would have actually changed? Nothing. Had I interrupted my self-assured period of idiocy to embellish my application, what progress would I have made in getting to this moment? None. One major yet probably irreparable flaw of college applications is that they only provide a blurry snapshot of people who are animated and constantly changing. It’s an unfair game of timing: some people’s ambitions are going to ripen before the Common App comes out while others’ are not, and there are colleges that will turn down people that they suspect fall into the latter category. Don’t bother letting this intimidate or

guilt-trip you off a path that you have a good gut feeling about. The college application process constitutes a window of time set at a definite point in your life, whereas the discovery of your niche could happen at any moment and may not necessarily coincide with that window. Simply put, college applications were not designed to suit nature. If you hurry to create a marketable yet ingenuine identity for yourself when you know you need more time to realize your true identity, or if you scrap the better idea for the speedier one, you may be shutting yourself out from your own potential. Though you may have to make a few sacrifices when it comes to any competitive application, the risk from not getting into a “reach” school is probably less than the risk from turning too far away from your destination, even if that destination is unspecified as of now. So, to future applicants, aim for matches that are likely to accept you

for what you’ve done so far. This way, you’ll secure a foundation to start with. Additionally, the more choices you make in favor of personal development rather than in favor of simply looking impressive, the more you’ll be able to attribute any rejections to the admission process’ inability to fully understand where you’re headed, and the less of a reason you’ll have to feel guilty about the rejections. (After all, there’s nothing better than being blameless!) Regardless of how you will approach (or how you already approached) the whole ordeal, though, there’s no better way to proceed into the future than to start actively being the boss of your future now. This means letting your aspirational prime happen whenever it’s ready to happen, but also taking whatever actions you deem necessary to maximize the satisfaction you receive once it does happen. So go as slowly and surely as you want.

Dear Readers.. Tuesday it was decided I would take a gap year; on Thursday I was leaning towards UMass Amherst -- I was feverishly flip-flopping between my options in the days before my decision. And it wasn’t for a lack of planning -- I had spent months touring colleges, talking with my councilor, parents, and sister about my choices, and doing hours of research. I was, in the literal sense, a pendulum swinging between several options, fated to drop on some arbitrary choice by the time May 1st struck. That was what made me realize the truth: I was not ready for college. I was ready for the challenge, perhaps, and the academics would have come to me one way or another. But after four years of arduous, intensive work, I still couldn’t say who I was, what I wanted to do, where I should begin. And worse, every year I might have spent wondering where I was going from here on out was going to cost me upwards of ten to forty grand. The problem lay in the fact that, by May 1, I was a different person than the one that applied to eight different schools. During junior year I was more interested in starting a new academic life outside of the state, challenging myself and investing in a career that would support my dreams of being a writer. I suppose I’ve softened up since then: now I’m more interested in staying local and in touch with those close to me, taking some time traveling the world, and working on my own curriculum to prepare myself for the more academically-focused life I used to glorify. The colleges to which I applied and was accepted at were, to varying degrees, great choices for someone else. My worldview has changed

so much in the last four months alone that my junior-year self would have been aghast and maybe even disappointed. For that I am aware that this gap year plan is a lifestyle I cannot keep up for long, which is why I am deferring an application to UMass Amherst to fall of 2016, forcing myself to return to school after sixteen months of motivating myself to learn outside of an academic curriculum. Taking a gap year is something I want students to consider, but unfortunately it is a difficult choice to commit to. I am privileged in that, for one, I have the financial resources to spend some of my gap year traveling, which I understand is not available to all people; and I am not in a family or situation that requires me to make a college decision with the most immediate results. The latter is something many of my friends have gone through, and I wholeheartedly understand this struggle: Some do not have the option to delay, or they feel a duty to act quickly. With that in mind, though, I do think the pressure to go to college straight after high school is on the brink of unfair. Eighteen is a very young age to make such a huge decision about one’s path in life, and even though I feel I am a mature, accomplished individual, I still do not feel shame in feeling unprepared for what is to come. Even when it comes to scheduling, the highest-level college is romanticized as our destined future. While there are many great activities at Malden High School, I have always seen the most valuable and culturally significant programs and classes fall in the wayside for higherlevel academic classes and exams, both through budgeting and sched-

James Mazarakis Editor-in-Chief

uling pressure. I cannot tell you how many upcoming sophomores and juniors I have seen pressured to drop this journalism course, band, and art with the thought that they “must” take Advanced Placement courses, which is almost never true. This automatically sets the precedent that getting to college is more important than finding out what to do at college. We live in a dangerous time for education. Prospective university students need to be careful and tactful to achieve their goals, and mistakes can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. My idealized advice for students is to spend high school not just trying to make yourself a better college candidate but focus on finding out who you are, what you want to do, and how you want to do it. Problem is, because we’re all students between the ages of thirteen and eighteen and will go through unbelievable changes, neither of these goals are always possible to achieve. Simply put, playing the system is not always going to be fulfilling. Complete your requirements, yes; do your best in the classes you struggle with, but also try to find the talents, hobbies, and classes that you love enough to make a career out of. I didn’t fully realize this, and now I’m spending a year of my life doing what no one told me I should have been doing my entire high school career: learning about myself. Don’t romanticize your college acceptance or decision; you might be disappointed. Romanticize your future. No matter which college or major you choose, you will have choices and many, many opportunities to learn. Don’t take this freedom for granted.

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top ten profiles

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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1. Eugine Szeto James Mazarakis Editor-in-Chief It is his pursuit of knowledge that is most obvious to his peers; even in subjects that he does not see himself continuing beyond high school, he develops a deep insight into every class he takes. “[Szeto] is the type of student who is driven,” friend and fellow Top 10 student Jonathan Ye insists. “He examines how people work, find reasons for everything, and applies it to the world. He is the closest I’ve found to an intellectual.” His learning began abroad. With an early background in Hong Kong, Szeto moved to America and quickly grasped the English language. He shifted back and forth between K-8 schools Beebe and Ferryway, though he remarks that “high school is better,” with more opportunities and communities with which to associate himself to. It was here that he began to build his sprawling resume. To the college resume, Szeto stated that “what you do may or may not be recorded on a piece of paper but self-satisfaction instead.” He emphasized the importance of being “passionate about what [students] do” and working in a way

that “will improve the community” and each student’s self. For Szeto, it was a deliberate choice to pursue many AP classes and push the academic envelope with each waking year. “I put myself on the intellectual track because that was what I wanted,” he reflects, calling his path finding a “comfortable spot.” Being challenged academically was what drove him to excel in varieties of courses, from highlytheoretical AP Calculus BC in his junior year to philosophical topics in Literature during his senior year. “What you learn [cannot] be taken away from you,” Szeto says, “my parents imparted this wisdom, and I think [that is] what I live by.” Despite his academic integrity, Szeto is not foreign to TV culture. When he “sometimes [doesn’t want to] do homework” he succumbs only the best of television: Game of Thrones, House of Cards, and other complex, dynamic series that provoke thought and political insight. “There’s not much left for high school for me,” he resolved; while he liked the “stability” and “clear expectations” that school has granted him, he has little left to “absorb.”

2. Olivia Verdone Jessica Lynn DePaula Managing Editor Verdone became very involved in the high school, however. Since she had been involved in AllStar cheer leading, she joined the school’s team through senior year. She became captain as a senior, but suffered an injury which limited her ability to compete. As a sophomore, Verdone enrolled in AP U.S. History, her first time taking an AP class. “I wanted to drop it after the first day,” she explains: “I was very apprehensive to take the class in the first place, especially after getting the syllabus of assignments from the beginning of the year until the AP exam.” She made the decision to drop the course after that, and went straight to Mr. Brown. “I’ll never forget the conversation I had with Mr. Brown” the first week of school. “He said I needed to stay in the class first quarter and we would see how it went after that…” “I ended the year with a 93 average…” APUSH is “one of the hardest courses offered [at MHS], workload-wise, and I learned truly invaluable skills from [it].” “I also learned that I could overcome adversity through academics,” particularly when those new environments are very stressful. “I did drop down to honors history junior year though, as I started to transition into more math

and science classes.” She was very nervous about joining National Honor Society at first, especially hearing about the stringent rules at the first meeting, but over time realized that she was “exposed to the greatest, most kindhearted people through that club.” Her project was based on raising awareness of the Starr Center of Malden with another club she is a part of, the Teen Health Advisory. Verdone says that she has been fortunate enough to find herself “very empathetic towards mental health and other issues” that kids might be afraid to ask for help with, and wanted students to know that “there is help out there” in the form of the Starr Center, available to students free of charge. She was very proud of her project, but found herself “astounded” by the amount of time and effort some of the other groups were able to put into their own projects, reinforcing her view of the Malden High School community’s compassion and dedication towards helping others. “Helping others when you don’t have a lot to give...giving time and anything else as irreplaceable to others” is a much more impressive feat than doing well in school and not giving anything back. Expressing this interest in other aspects of her life, Verdone also volunteers at the Museum of Science in a lab, conducting experiments and explaining them to guests. This

Now, going to a university 142 miles away is a plan filled with uncertainty, but he sees it as a place to “expand [his] horizons.” Though he has “no idea” about how he will make this transition, Szeto admires the small student body from which he has “so much to learn from.” Yale is a place where he can meet people who “have a passion for what they are doing,” and he can “take on leadership roles” with ease. “The students at Yale are very rare in quality; everyone is passionate, and [going there] allows me as a student to tap into people and their talents.” Szeto’s smooth admission to Yale was made possible by the Questbridge scholarship, which he saw as a way for “students like [him] who qualify for a college but need financial assistance to attend.” The school, which he says has a lot of “financial and human capital,” will make his experience worth the commute. “It was never about just Eugine,” says physics teacher and Robotics team coach Brian Morrison, “he was motivated and gifted and made sure everyone got their projects done on task... but he also went out of his way to help other people, even if it [was not] his class.”

Yet Szeto warns incoming students not to take him as a strict role model or take his accomplishments at face value. In a recent letter-to-the-editor, he advised students to take AP classes not for merit but for passion. While he confesses to taking many high-level classes, he says that “not all classes are learning-oriented but test-oriented... it takes away from what learning means.” “Stop taking AP classes because it looks good on your transcript,” he wrote. “Let those motivators only be a small factor in why you have chosen to pursue something. Find joy in what you do, not recognition.”

summer, Verdone has the opportunity to intern at the museum, which she is “really excited” about. Her other volunteer credits include taking part in Captain’s Council, where student athletes help out at events like the Special Olympics; she worked as a camp counselor for the Boston Symphony Orchestra; and, she is a chemical ambassador for the American Chemical Society. Verdone stresses that her experiences volunteering have “opened [her] up to a lot of people,” something which she is very grateful for. Verdone wants her peers to know that high school isn’t like a teen movie; the people in the top ten aren’t stereotypical ‘smart’ kids. “We don’t go home and do math problems for fun after being in school for seven hours, I promise!” “I am not, by any means, a ‘smart’ person” in the sense that school naturally comes easily to her, but “I’m hardworking. I’ll go home after school and go through problems until I understand them.” But, she adds, “if a friend asks me if I want to go to a movie and I understand what’s going on in class, I’ll go.” There have been “a series of teachers at Malden High School” that have been a huge help and support system to her, and that every single one of those teachers would be impossible to list here. Most importantly, she emphasizes that “high school shouldn’t be

one-sided; having a social life is just as important as your grades.” What next year’s incoming freshmen, the school’s current underclassmen, and even those about to become seniors should keep in mind is that “it’s important to push yourself, but not to the point that you’re making yourself sick. Don’t let yourself become engulfed in schoolwork, and if you’re a freshman and you studied really hard for that U.S. I exam and got a 70 on it, be proud of yourself because that’s still a great grade.” Also, despite high school being a huge responsibility and the intense amount of pressure students are under, especially if you are taking higher-level classes,” don’t forget that you’re still a kid and you need to have normal teenage experiences outside of school.”

Photo by James Mazarakis.

Photo submitted by Verdone.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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3. Helen Chin Chaimae El Adlouni Head of Entertainment

track star, academically exceptional, friendly and an anime lover can all describe senior Helen Chin. Number three in her class, Chin has strived in every aspect be academics or athletics. Coach David Londino is able to describe her as someone who “leads by example”. With her leadership skills, she has earned her way into Northeastern University. The co-op program has caught Chin’s eye and she finds it amazing to work and study at the same time. A co-op program is combining school with real life experience in the work field while providing academic credit for the work. Chin describes herself in the first two years of high school as “quiet” and “introverted” however as junior and senior year came she became more “adventurous” and “daring” allowing herself to experience new things and to simply enjoy high school. Chin has been accepted into Northeastern with hopes to major in pharmacy and minor in business. With both parents in pharmacy there is no

wonder Chin hopes to major in that specific field. Beyond college Chin has not yet decided however she wants to “travel and broaden her horizons”. Chin’s track coach David Londino believes that Chin will do great in college and “welcome the academic challenges” as she did in Malden High. High school has been filled with ups and downs. Cross country and track have been where Chin has spent a majority of her time as well as at Anime Boston with her friends. Looking back on the journey that has led her to graduation Chin looks brightly on her biggest accomplishments of blossoming into an extroverted person when she realized “no one really cares what you do”. Cross country and track are referred to as a “Cult” as Chin has stated but to her they are more, they are a family. Not only has her experience on the team given her so many opportunities, it has allowed her to meet her best friend Mei Huang that motivates her to “become a better student” and pushes her to the limit. Since freshman year, Chin has participated in the sport and gained

4. Mei Huang Sumya Mohiuddin Editor-in-Chief

diverse intellectual with a sense of humor, Meitong (Mei) Huang, a graduating senior, left teachers and classmates assured that she is off to Boston College to do great things. Huang’s academic accomplishments not only attests to her strict work ethic, but also how much she values taking advantage of the education that Malden High School has to offer. Born in China, Huang, a singlechild, moved to America with her parents at the young age of five. The move was “exciting” because of the new surroundings, and her life was not “rooted in China”. English teacher Robin Doherty, former teacher of Huang, believes Mei’s background makes her a great advocate for her family, as well as herself. The “leadership skills transferred into academic setting”, Doherty commented. Although Huang always knew she was among the top ten of the senior class, her motivation to stay within it developed indirectly meaning Huang is a self-motivator: she did not want to feel upset for getting a bad grade. However, “someone very similar to [Mei] motivated [her] as well,” her friend Helen Chin. Chin motivated Mei because of the “quality of work that she puts

in and out of the classroom”. Throughout her four years, she felt there was “never a huge pressure to stay [in the top ten]”. Huang, with her “drive for knowledge” for not just school but for the world in general, as Doherty describes it, is what sets her apart from many other students, and makes her conspicuous to teachers. Doherty is not the only teacher that speaks highly of Huang. Advanced Placement chemistry teacher Martin Berryman also has kind words to say about the young individual. Huang has the ability to “quickly process and master challenging content,” which allows her to absorb and understand all the information, but also to help others who need it. Doherty can agree with this, stating that Huang is always “willing to help people”. Huang’s success in the classroom is also due to her “openmind”. Berryman “[worked Huang] very hard”. He was “very conscious that kids want good grades”, so he would find a way to give students those desired grades. Doherty, on the other hand, not only appreciates Huang’s direct attitude, but encourages her. It is one of many characteristics that define Huang’s personality. Getting exceptional grades was not the only thing Mei focused on during high school. Up until the winter of her junior year, Huang ran

Photo by Sumya Mohiuddin. not only great skills, but friendships that are forever lasting. College track may not be an option for Chin but she will always be a runner at heart. She hopes to join “intramural or club running” that will allow her to keep her progress from high school and grow as a runner. Chin looks back at the numerous ups that include the laughs she shared with Londino in “Pun-offs”. Chin and Londino have shared their handfuls of interest including “naruto” and “anime” that has been greatly contributed by Chin, senior Victoria Hannafin, and Junior Kaitlyn Gibson. Cross country has shaped her whole high school and earned her the famous “sculpted calves”.

As the years passed it became easier and easier to let herself opening up among her peers especially her teachers “which made school easier”. College is around the corner for Chin, along with excitement there is a sense of “nostalgia” that will follow her with thoughts of her “teachers even though some are retiring” and her team. Motivation is hard to find but Chin has found it in the best possible place, her best friend Mei Huang, Chin describes they have “similar abilities” and therefore seeing her work hard pushes Chin. Chin wants upcoming students and seniors to know that “mistakes don’t matter as much as you think, it will work out in the end”.

three seasons of cross country and two seasons of track. Although track meets were not her favorite part about the sport, she learned “discipline”. It was definitely a challenging time in her life, but she ended up becoming close with many people from her experience. Since her sophomore year, Huang joined the Choral Arts because she is passionate about singing. She is “going to miss being able to sing everyday with a group”. Huang took her courage from rehearsal to the front of the auditorium, where she performed during Junior Varieties twice, during her junior and senior year. Last summer, Huang embarked on a trip to Browning, Montana, courtesy of Summer Search, a program that allows students to go on

out-of-state trips for community service hours. From a previous article, living in another state, whether it is five years or five weeks, takes a lot of mental preparation, but Huang was “ready for a new beginning.” Along with her group, she stayed on a ranch, and although the area was unfamiliar, she felt “welcome” and comfortable. The small community consisted of about 5,000 people, so weekly gatherings were a recurring tradition that the group was able to participate in. She learned that taking risks, ones that do not pertain to academics, can be beneficial, and important to help her widen her already large world view. Her teachers advise her to keep her attitude and stay connected with the teachers at MHS.

Photo by Sumya Mohiuddin.

top ten profiles

5. Tristar To

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Lucia Quesada Nylen Head of Sports

Photo by Lucia Quesada Nylen.

enior Tristar To has been attending Malden High School for four years and as he is preparing to graduate, he has reminisced about his career. To attended the Beebe School in Malden for his middle school years and then moved up to the high school. As he described his years at MHS, To explained how he couldn’t pick just one moment as his favorite. As he grew as a person and as a student he was able to gain knowledge and skills that were able to help form him into the successful person

that he is today. When asked to describe one favorite moment at MHS, To explained “[how he] couldn’t distinguish just one, but [he] wouldn’t mind reliving his high school years [in total]”. The diversity of MHS is To’s favorite aspect of MHS. The different personalities and ethnicities create a better environment to study, and just be in. In addition to the best times, there are worst times in every situation. To explained that his worst moment was in the middle of his senior year when his laptop broke. With

6. Timur Berilo Ashley Leung Head of Entertainment

Photo by Ashley Leung.

raduating Malden High School sixth of his class, Timur Berilo spent his last four years enjoying everything the school has to offer. Looking back at his experience at MHS, Berilo is able to recall fond memories he has made with the students and teachers he met that helped make his time in high school unforgettable. Born in Bosnia in 1996, Berilo came to the U.S a year after, moving

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

to Revere, Massachusetts, and then to Indiana before finally to Malden in 2005. While moving around constantly may make some feel rather stressed, Berilo was still able to become a great student, claiming that “as cliche it sounds, hard work, never giving up, and staying positive are [his] keys to success.” Since his entrance to MHS, some of the best moments of Berilo’s high school career involved running.

modern education relying so heavily on technology, this was a huge problem for To who in addition to the basic uses of a computer for research or to just simply type a paper, was taking online classes for his Advanced Placement Economics class which is only offered online as a Virtual High School class. However, To explained that throughout this situation “[he] learned how to have fun with this adversity and it definitely helped [him] build a stronger work ethic.” To “wrote [his] papers, including a research paper, completed assignments for [his AP class] and other projects on [his] slow phone or the relatively slow computers at school.” To admitted staying at the high school past 8:30 P.M. on weekdays and including many Fridays “[which he] was forced to give up” in order to finish his schoolwork. Although he will miss MHS and its family, To is prepared to start the next chapter of his life as he goes off to school. This upcoming fall, To will be attending Boston College on a scholarship that is “pretty much a full ride”. His focus will primarily be in the business field in the Carroll School of Management. To will take summer classes at BC starting June 21st, however “[he] hopes to have some opportunities to travel [during the summer]”. As he leaves MHS, To is leaving quite a bit of activities in Malden. To has been very involved in various volunteering clubs. Some are within

the schools like Captains Council, and others are out of school. To’s favorite is his YMCA Leaders Club. Through being involved in this club, To “[has] been fortunate enough to meet some of [his] closest friends and mentors and also lead some of the most incredible individuals”. As well as his clubs, To has been very involved in athletics at MHS. A two sport varsity captain is a success for To, as he plays golf in the fall and swims in the winter. He has been golf captain since his sophomore year and was named swim captain his senior year. To admits to “[have] learned as many life lessons and have built a stronger mentality on the golf course and pool than [he] did in the classroom. [He] did have the most fun and made the greatest friendships with teammates and coaches through the sports at Malden High”. While To departs MHS and prepares for college, he doesn’t forget the people that have always pushed him- his family. To explained how “[his] parents [have] always stressed the importance of education and [he is] lucky enough to be in the position where [he] will be the first in [his] family to graduate from high school and attend college” To explains that “higher education will open doors and give [him] the opportunities that [he] wants in a career” he added that “[he] enjoys learning and is excited to see what the future has to offer.”

Berilo was a member of the cross country team, Indoor Track team, and Outdoor Track team during almost all four years of high school. His best moment of high school was when he ran at a Cross Country invitational meet for the first time during his junior year. Related, a moment Berilo regrets was deciding to not do Indoor Track during his sophomore year, as he missed his teammates during that one off-season. Out of these three sports, Berilo’s favorite, by far, was Cross Country, due to the close bonds he was able to make with his teammates. He describes the Cross Country team as a “close-knit family of sorts,” where the bonds he made with fellow athletes were the strongest ones he made in the past four years. Berilo believes that he will miss the running teams the most when he graduates, due to the “feeling of camaraderie” that he felt when running with his teammates. Besides sports, Berilo had also challenged himself academically, taking all sorts of classes. Some of his favorites were Advanced Placement Chemistry with Martin Berryman, AP U.S History with now House Principal Kevin Kilbride, and the Studio Art I - IV classes, which he took with all of the current art teachers. Many of these teachers helped to support Berilo throughout his time at MHS, notably Kilbride, who was his teacher in U.S History I Honors during his freshman year, then APUSH in his sophomore year, and in his last year of high school,

house principal for his building. To Berilo, Kilbride was a supportive person with a lovable personality, and had helped show him that he had the skills to master any subject. Throughout high school, while Berilo did not have any particular mentors, he did receive encouragement from his running coach David Londino and throwing coach Chris Kaulbflirsch. This encouragement allowed Berilo to improve himself as an athlete. However, his main motivation throughout his four years was “improving himself as a learner,” which had helped to prepare him for college and a career in the future. Looking back, Berilo describes his experience at MHS as “really enjoyable and rewarding,” as he was able to have fun with his friends, teammates, and classmates while also taking classes that would help to prepare for college and life beyond schooling. After attending MHS for four years, his favorite thing about the school are the teachers, who he says are, “without question, some of the most sincere and nicest people” he has met. Moving onwards after high school, Berilo will be attending Northeastern University, going into the College of Engineering for Chemical and Biomedical Engineering. Berilo had always enjoyed learning about biology and chemistry, along with “understanding how living things work,” prompting him to pursue the engineering paths for his future.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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7. Roberto De Oliviera

Manale Zouhir Head of Local

s Malden High School bids its senior class farewell once again, a senior that is sure to be missed by students and staff is Roberto De Oliveira. As he begins a new journey in his life, he knows that he will be sure never to forget where he came from. From his elementary and middle school career at Cheverus to his unforgettable years at MHS, De Oliveira has faced numerous difficulties in his life, but has constantly found ways to overcome these. De Oliveira is constantly noted to have a positive aura, and describes himself as “personable, easygoing, and upbeat”. Close friend Devon Laudadio adds that he is “dedicated and highly motivated” but simultaneously “remains the reliable and goofy friend that every person needs to brighten their day”. He also jokes that “you’ll always catch him running through the hallways with his shoelaces untied”. Born and raised in his current residence of Massachusetts, De Oliveira will continue to live in the area. While he had previously decided to attend University of Chicago, miles away from home, it has been demonstrated how quickly things can change for future plans. In fact, De Oliveira will be staying

close to home while he attends Harvard University in the autumn. When De Oliveira found out he had gotten off the wait list for Harvard University, he describes the moment as “exciting and shocking”. When his admissions counselor called and delivered the news, he asked for a moment “to collect [himself] and absorb what happened while she was talking”. He adds that he “literally could not believe it,” and even “skipped around for like ten minutes in the back of the library.” Although De Oliveira states that “nothing is for certain” for his future, he hopes to major in the realm of mathematics, specifically statistics and economics. De Oliveira’s high school experience would not have been the same without all of the activities he participated in. Among these are the MHS crew team, English as a Second Language math peer, Blue and Gold as a contributing senior reporter, president of Interact Club, a Bunker Hill Community College lab assistant, a Student Advisory Council delegate, vice president of chemistry club, English mentor treasurer, and more. While this is a cause for a busy schedule, he still enjoys the experiences he has at MHS. De Oliveira adds that “when you go to other schools...you don’t get to see people who are used to

8. Jonathan Ye Jasper Haag Reporter

ith senior year coming to a close and his place at the University of Chicago waiting for him, Jonathan Ye is leaving Malden High School as a success story, but for Ye, his experience goes beyond the pure academics that he was able to take advantage of during his time here. For all students who achieve one of the top 10 spots in the class academics are a given, and for Ye this is no different. A veteran of the Advanced Placement program, with 11 classes under his belt, Ye has taken full advantage of the academic opportunities afforded to him, and in every way he has flourished. The strength of Ye’s academic background has allowed him to explore classes beyond the core of Malden High School’s graduation requirements and take things such as AP Economics, AP Physics C, and AP Computer Science, all of which have provided Ye with great mental stimulation and which led him to feel “truly interested” in what he was doing. Two of these classes, Economics and Computer Science, have also served as the basis for Ye’s studies at the University of Chicago where “[he plans] to double major in Economics and Computer Science.”

While it is true that Ye has enjoyed academic success at Malden High School, academic engagement has not always been a given. “Junior year [he] worked the most and it was worth it” as he was truly immersed in what he was learning, but by the time senior year rolled around “[he] lost sight of that and focused on the [grade]” rather than the information. While “[he wishes he] was more interested in what [he] learned this year,” Ye realizes that for him, the friends who he has made and the extracurriculars he participates in have been just as important in defining who he has become and in paving the way for his academic endeavors as the papers he has written and the problems he has solved. After having participated in 4 years of Indoor and Outdoor track as well as Cross Country, track has proved to be one of the most influential extracurriculars for Ye. He noted that things such as track “show a version of who you can be” and have forced him to build “determination and planning skills,” both of which he has turned around and applied to his schoolwork. Ye felt a similar effect from his participation in the Robotics team over the past 2 years in terms of the dedication and planning required to successfully complete the robots and prepare them for competition. Activities such as these “have allowed [Ye] to find a network of friends who

Photo by Manale Zouhir. being around all these different perspectives of life.” Because of the diversity factor at MHS, he is glad that students and staff “get to see an experience and different cultures all the time without even realizing it.” De Oliveira has witnessed a plethora of memorable moments in his years at MHS. He reminisces on a time during his National Honors Society Induction when he wore a pair of sneakers, and “[didn’t] get why people rashed on [him]”, he adds with a laugh. “They didn’t really blend with the rest of the outfit, I guess.” Something that De Oliveira will miss about MHS is the school lunches, which he does not feel deserve the scrutiny that many students attach to them. “I love them,” he stated. “Especially the turkey dinner from the past few years, it’s literally

like my favorite meal...The first time I had stuffing was at MHS’s turkey dinner, and I fell in love.” On a more serious note, De Oliveira notes that he will miss his “teachers and friends.” He adds that “the teachers here are the best out there. They’re all amazing people, and [he will] miss them so much.” He will also miss “seeing them every day after everyone goes their different paths”, as “it can be difficult staying as close, and that’s gonna be saddening in the future.” However, although De Oliveira is a bit “saddened” by the end of these four years, he notes that “it’s time” and that “change is good. MHS has been great, but [he is] ready to go.” MHS wishes De Oliveira luck in his future endeavors as he embarks on a new chapter in his life next fall.

support [him] and push [him] to succeed in all of his undertakings,” but they have also connected Ye with many teachers who have proved to be invaluable resources during his high school career, namely Brian Morrison, his physics teacher and one of the advisors the robotics team. The availability of this sort of camaraderie in Malden is one of the key features that Ye feels helped him to truly develop into the person that he is today. Even though Ye is leaving this behind, he feels that he is moving on to a place that will not only be able to provide the sort of structure that he enjoys in Malden High School but also the flexibility that he desires and that will allow him to further

explore his interests. Ye believes that the calibre of the University of Chicago will provide him with an environment that will “build back [his] academic excitement,” especially because of the variety of fields to be explored there. Even though Ye has his mind set on what he wants to study in college and what he wants to get out of the experience, he could not emphasize enough the mantra by which he has come to live; “be open, be flexible, be willing to change.” As he is realizing now, there is no path that life sets out for you, you must “pave your own path”, and in order to be successful, but more importantly happy, you must pursue your own interests and dreams.

Photo by Lucia Quesada Nylen.

top ten profiles

9. Ya Ting Lu

Sumya Mohiuddin Head of Local

ating and Yajing (Sukey) Lu, identical twins, both ranked number 9 and number 10, consecutively; their story begins when they immigrated from Shenzhen, a vibrant city in China, to Malden, Massachusetts. They have come a long way since after they arrived to the U.S. in November of 2007-- they no longer feel “disconnected” or “isolated”, according to Sukey, because of language barriers. However, because Malden High School was a very diverse school, they “gradually overcame [their] isolation”, as Sukey described, and integrated well into the school system, socially and academically. Yating believed Malden was “boring” compared to the liveliness of Shenzhen; however, she soon situated herself against Malden’s slow pace and started to enjoy it. Throughout their four years of high school, the twins remained on the top ten, but not for reasons people may think. They did not learn about their ranking until the end of junior year. Because they did not “overburden [themselves] with ranking... but [they tried their] best”, Yating advises new students to do the same. Both agree that known rank is important, but it does not define one. “What you do in high school [is not] a number. In reality, what you remember is the experience, the friendships you [made]”, Sukey advises. With that in mind, both girls spent time doing something they both loved: dancing. They are not foreign to the annual Junior Varieties, where they danced together on stage for three consecutive years. For their senior year, to change it up, they wanted to be apart of the audience and experience the show in a different way, but JV’s will always be an important part of their high school life. Sukey and Yating “have other skills that other people [might not] know of.” Both have also hosted the an-

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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nual Lunar New Year show, a celebration held at MHS to welcome the new year and celebrate Chinese culture. Yating loved how the show “[integrated] part of [her] culture in [her] community and spread awareness about how awesome Chinese culture is.” With their passion to interact with the community and help surrounding areas, the twins made it their mission to help the people of Chinatown. A lot of their time was dedicated to the Chinese Youth Initiative, a group that guided the twins into educating Asian Americans about their voting rights and political power. The people that live in Chinatown, including the students, “need equal opportunity to have access to public facilities and education”, according to Yating. Sukey explained how they talked to the president of the Boston Public Library and the mayor about funding for a library. They went around to ask people if they wanted a library in Chinatown, and they got more than 400 cards signed with approval. So for their National Honor Society project, they established a temporary reading room in Chinatown. With their success in and out of school, both made a splitting decision about their future, one that will help them grow. A trip to the campus helped Yating Lu choose between Bentley University and Babson University, as well as her desire for a change. “I have been with Sukey for eighteen years of my life,” she said, “it was time for a new transition.” Yating decided to attend Babson College in fall for its small, “united” student body. “[At Babson] you are a student, not a number,” Yating stated. The small campus will allow her to explore her career options with help from the teachers and students around her. While she’s there, she wishes to study abroad, especially at the Linden School of Economics in London. She wishes to “maintain a GPA of at least 3.8 to get to honors program”, but also have fun by

10. Ya Jing Lu

trying out for a Babson dance group. Although she is “not sure if [she will] make it”, she wants to try out just so she does not have any regrets later about not doing so. Because her culture is a huge aspect of her identity, she wants to reach out to Chinese students groups, and cherish her culture even in college. One of her biggest inspirations throughout high school was English teacher Robin Doherty. Yating thought English was difficult to “master”, and did not want to take Advanced Placement Language and Composition her junior year. However, Doherty “took [the] extra step to push her”, and Yating took the class with confidence she did not have before. Doherty always checked up on her progress and built a relationship with Yating that will always motivate her in everyday life. While Sukey Lu does pursue a future in accounting, and her college decision teetered between the same two universities, she elected a path

separate from her sister. In the fall, Sukey Lu will be attending Bentley University because of its large campus and “vibrant student life”. Once she is there, she wishes to study abroad as well because it is “always good to see different things.” Although academic success is important, she wishes to also “place more value in student life.” With her desire to interact and mingle with students all over campus, she wishes to join a lot of organizations, but she also wants to establish a photography club. Sukey is focusing on sharing her experiences with others, as well as learning from others, and building relationships that she will take with her beyond college. A major influence in her decision to attend Bentley and her interest in accounting is business teacher Charles Bowers. He made the class more real by talking about his own business experiences, which “sounded interesting even when you had no interest in accounting”. He gave a lot of advice during Sukey’s college application process, which was thoughtful and considerate. His open attitude and ability to make one feel special is something Sukey will remember and take with her throughout college.

Above: Yating (above) and Sukey (bottom) Luu posing. Top: The sisters in a humorous position. All photos by James Mazarakis.

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

Opinion

maldenblueandgold.com

When Peaceful Protest Nick Bramante Head of Opinions

n April 14th, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray Jr. was arrested by Baltimore City Police, to then later die in police custody. Since then protests and riots alike have sparked not only in Baltimore but across the United States as well, creating a social outcry rivaling that of the Ferguson events in August of 2014, and fueling a flame that has burned since long before the 1960’s. Debates rage across the United States as politicians, citizens, police, and countless others spit fire at one another, furiously debating the who, what, where, and how of the events that have unfolded since then. Letting the experts focus on that, many have neglected to come and talk about the why of the riots in Baltimore. Leaving the specifics of what exactly happened on April 14th, I ask why were there riots, and were they justified? To say that the social unrest regarding race in the United States began in the 1960s is really an understatement. Since the U.S. was founded in 1776 there has been

racial inequality for all, with racial tensions and injustices following close behind. With the Civil War and eventually the Civil Rights Movement, one would like to think that conditions today are better for non-white races in the U.S than in 1776. This is, of course, true by a long shot, but the question is are the conditions good enough? Over 200 years later racism is still very much an important if not dire situation in the U.S.. Granted, racism is a human-wide problem, not just an American one, but white privilege (whether people realize it or not) is still too prevalent today to ignore. So the question remains, were the riots in Baltimore justified? Now to be clear I don’t condone using violence to push any kind of social or political agenda by any means. If anything can be seen repeating through history it is that violence leads to more violence, which I condemn. However, people do not just up and riot for no reason. Whether you agree with the reasons for riot-

Just Isn’t Enough

ing or not, it is foolish to think that people enjoy rioting just to riot. Those caught on the media now, looting stores and burning down buildings, do not stand for anything the protestors at Baltimore do; they are opportunists at best, using Freddie Gray as an excuse to carry out their own wrongful agendas. But if the riots were purely spawned from the protests that occurred, can we really blame the people of Baltimore? Before jumping to any conclusions (just as those in the media have) it is imperative to understand that unless you are part of a racial demographic that is discriminated against in the U.S, you have no idea what life is like for said people. That isn’t necessarily because of ignorance; white people have no idea simply because it’s impossible to do so. They cannot understand the pains and struggles of another race simply because they aren’t of that race. How could they understand? This is not an excuse to be ignorant

of racial dilemmas in the U.S however, as many people unfortunately still are. Putting this in perspective, is anyone in the media justified in any accusations thrown forwards at Baltimore? It all boils down to this: riots do not just happen. People do not just claim to have suffered hundreds of years of grief at the hands of racism and have proof to back it up. It’s real, it’s true, and unfortunately it’s ugly. Peaceful protest is of course the preferred and hopefully used form of social change, but how long can we as a society expect a group to hold out if no real changes are coming through? Progress is measured in actions, not words. All the politicians in the world can pledge to making equality in the U.S. real, but unless it happens, and I mean REALLY happens, riots such as the ones in Baltimore are not completely unjustified. The riots in Baltimore are not the route anyone would want to have to take, but sadly, maybe it’s the route that needed to be taken.

The Trouble With Social Activism

Jasper Haag Reporter

ver the past few years, a common thread has emerged on social media and in the news regarding the police and ‘the man’, one which attempts to shine a light onto the perceived injustice that many feel is bearing down on them and leading to the unnecessary deaths that have been making headlines. Freddie Gray is the most recent case of this phenomenon, but the problems underlying the protesting and activism that come about as a result of his death have been around for as long as protesting has. Even though many, oftentimes the majority, want to bring justice to those who have been wrongfully killed such as Freddie Gray, it only takes one bad apple to ruin the whole bunch. And the supply of bad apples isn’t running out. The first major case of this in recent years started in Ferguson, Missouri with the death of Michael Brown. The town was up in arms and people across the country were banding together to protest the unnecessary death of a young and innocent man at the hands of the police. But these protests soon devolved into violence as members of the community as well as, more importantly, people from outside the community clashed with police. This led to a downward spiral of the protests which soon became

more of a riot than a protest. While the protests eventually recovered and order was restored, the image of those involved, culpable for the damage done in the rioting or not, was shattered. This reduced the overall effectiveness of the protests and drew attention away from the real issue at hand, the action taken against Martin and what was being to address his death. Now with the death of Freddie Gray, protests have once again emerged and once again devolved into mindless violence. With people razing buildings and establishments, and those from outside of the community coming in to take advantage of an opportunity for anarchy, the only thing that is happening, the only thing that these protests are bringing about, is the tarnishing of the Gray’s name, the protesters cause, and the people of Baltimore who are involved in any way with what has broken out. This strategy of fighting injustice with protests is a good one, but only if peace is preserved, for once the first brick is thrown, shot is fired, car is flipped, building is burned, the integrity of the protest is compromised fully and the cause of the protesters, however noble and just, is ruined, often beyond repair. But with social media, the chances for a completely peaceful protest are becoming slimmer and slimmer. A single comment or post spreading misinformation or inciting violent behavior can easily lead

A protester rides his bike in front of a police line at North and Pennsylvania Avenues on Monday, April 27, 2015, in Baltimore. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun/ TNS) to the eruption of the crowds or the attraction of external people who’s sole purpose is to riot. By protesting an action that already fills people with rage and indignation, the likelihood of this happening only increases. Because of this, many of the recent protests that have emerged have lost their initial purpose and have thus failed to facilitate any change, and in fact have worked to the detriment of the causes that they originally supported. There is no longer talk in the news about the greater underlying social problems that lead to Freddie Gray’s death, rather, everyone is focused on the crimes that are being

committed and the property that is being destroyed in Baltimore. People need to realize that protesting over a single event will go nowhere, and in fact it may eliminate any possibility of actual change since each subsequent failed protest (a protest that devolves into violence and anarchy) reduces the likelihood that people will listen to what the protesters want to say. Instead, people should be focusing on the underlying issues which they recognize in society, because these issues have historically provided the best fuel for change. And until they can realize this, the protests will continue to lead to destruction rather than reform.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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MHS Annual Senior Awards Night Cassandra Reyes Head of Sports Manale Zouhir Head of Local

n June 2, 2015, Malden High School continued its annual tradition of Senior Awards Night. This event takes place in the Jenkins Auditorium, where numerous MHS seniors are given awards and scholarships based on class performance, leadership qualities, and overall showcase of effort. Students that stand out to staff are recognized for their hard work and dedication. This year, the event was coordinated by Jim Valente, media teacher and yearbook advisor. Among the academic awards given during the night were in relation to core classes. English awards were given in many categories from different senior classes ranging from Through the Looking Glass, Monsters, Mystery, and Advanced Placement English Literature. Lead English teacher Sean Walsh states that he is “always inspired by the accomplishments of our students here at Malden.” He also adds that “this group of seniors have excelled in the classroom and in their community”. Senior Ellie Cordero received a scholarship from the Malden Education Association (MEA) and another award recognizing her hard work as stage manager in Play Production. Cordero stated that “upon receiving [these awards], [she] was morally gratified and beyond proud of [her] classmates for all that they have

achieved.” Jasnely Bautista received the Paul Famiglietti Memorial Scholarship, which honors the life of “Mr. Fam,” a very influential MHS faculty member who passed away on Apr. 14, 2012 due to a motorcycle accident. Bautista says, “[she] can’t thank [the Famiglietti] family enough for all that they’ve done for [her].” Bautista will begin college in the fall at Framingham State University, where she will take with her the memories and lessons she learned from her time with Mr. Famiglietti, who “[she holds] so dear to [her] heart.” After the whole MHS community grieved the loss of Julia Vanella, who passed away due to a car accident on Jan. 11, 2014, her family decided to create a scholarship as a way to honor her. The scholarship was given to some of Julia’s closest friends. Gabrielle Silva, Devon Laudadio and Nicholas Hames received $2,000 each, Meghan Doherty received $9,600, and Aryzona MacDonald was given a MacBook from the scholarship. Hames, who will continue his education at the University of New Hampshire, expresses that “it meant the word to [him] that her family chose [him] to be one of the people to receive the scholarship.” Julio Salazar was awarded $1,000 towards his college tuition

From top to bottom, left to right: Senior Alyssa Figueiredo receiving an award from MHS principal Dana Brown. Senior Blue and Gold members Sumya Mohiuddin, Casey Lyons, James Mazarakis, and Amanda De Moraes receiving awards for their excellence in Advanced Placement Literature and Blue and Gold. MHS art teacher Joseph Luongo presenting an award. MHS Foreign Language teacher Paul Degenkolb presenting an award. Lead English Teacher Sean Walsh presenting English awards. MHS media teacher Jim Valente hosting the event. All photos by Samuel Martinez.

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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Malden High School recognizes many of its seniors for their persistence and dedication throughout their high school career with a variety of awards and scholarships. from the Live Like Becca scholarship, a scholarship that honors a 2005 MHS graduate, Rebecca Knight, who passed away on June 4, 2014 while white water rafting. Because of Knight’s thrilling and courageous lifestyle, a scholarship was created in honor of her for students who live life to the fullest, just as Knight had, with a love and appreciation for the countless opportunities life has to offer. Salazar expresses receiving the scholarship was an accomplishment because “[he] never thought [he] would get a scholarship or even get into a university.” Next fall, Salazar will continue his education at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Laura Gomez received both a $300 scholarship from PepsiCo foundation and the Mahoney Scholarship for outstanding achievement in Spanish by MHS Spanish teacher Mar Marjomaa. Gomez states that receiving the Mahoney scholarship gave her “a great feeling knowing that [her] hard work in Spanish class, one of [her] favorites, paid off.” She adds that “being handed it by Ms. Marjomaa made it feel more real and happy, because she was [her] teacher all four years.” While Gomez continues her studies next year at Boston University, she is glad that MHS has provided her with these opportunities and recognition. Alyssa Figueiredo states that

she was “honored and blessed” to receive numerous scholarships on behalf of Malden Chamber of Commerce, MHS Alumni Association, Jean E. Dickie Memorial, Brunelli Family, Muriel Swimm First Baptist Church, Forestdale School Scholarship, and MHS Business Technology Department Achievement Award. Figueiredo expressed that “as the night was going on, hearing [her] name being called more than once was such a relief,” as her “hard work is finally paying off.” Figueiredo plans on continuing her education in the fall at Framingham State University, where she will be pursuing a double major in Elementary Education and Psychology. Overall, there were 240 awards to over 100 seniors given throughout the night. Senior Tristar To states that he was “extremely happy” to receive his awards, and he speaks for many of the seniors when he expresses this. Being days away from walking the graduation stage, this award night allowed the seniors to bid their farewells to high school on a positive note, recognizing the tremendous amount of effort needed to succeed these past four years. The event ignited feelings of accomplishment and overwhelming pride as the seniors realized the end of their high school career is fast approaching.

From top to bottom, left to right: MHS Jenkins House Principal Kevin Kilbride introducing the presenter of awards. Senior Mark Ortiz giving the Au Revoir speech to close off the night. Joe and Lisa Vanella, parents of Julia Vanella presenting the scholarships in her name. Thomas Mahoney, former Brunelli house principal presenting an award. MHS Boyle house principal Christopher Mastrangelo accepting the Maldonian award with his daughter. MHS seniors Nahom Ghile, Blue and Gold Sumya Mohiuddin, Jasmine Nguyen, Aryzona MacDonald, Blue and Gold member Julie Lam, Madina Khudaynazar, Nicolas Quesada Nylen, and Kaitlyn Weng being recognized for their Posse and Colby- Sawyer scholarships. . All photos by Samuel Martinez.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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“Lesson of a Lifetime” by Devon Laudadio I

A contest run by the Malden High School English department awarded the student with the best college essay. Below is the winning essay, which was written by senior Devon Laudadio. Laudadio’s essay focused on his relationship with English teacher Robin Doherty as he overcame the loss of his best friend, Julia Vanella, who passed from a car accident on January 11th, 2014.

met her on the first day of English class freshman year. Julia was sitting in the back row of desks by herself on her phone--that was one thing that never changed over the years, her obsession with her phone. I sat down next to her and she started laughing because she said I looked scared of her. I think that was the moment we really clicked. How could I be scared of someone with such beautiful blue eyes and dimples more prominent than I’ve ever seen before? I smirked and said back to her “Don’t flatter yourself” followed by a pathetic attempt at a wink. We sat next to each other all year and we laughed at the stupidest things; we sprayed her perfume into our Odyssey books because they smelled like feet, and I think that’s when Mr. Evans had his breaking point--he told us that we couldn’t sit next to each other and asked me to move to a seat on the opposite side of the room. Julia told him that we were a package deal and that you couldn’t move one without the other, but I moved to that seat on the opposite side of the room-- it was only for the remainder of that class period; I was back in my original seat the next day. It was about a week, maybe two or so after Julia had passed away. (I remember hearing about the car accident, the falling snow...) Ms. Doherty and I had formed a good relationship since the end of sophomore year and I visited her at least once a day. After having Julia in class along with myself, I felt like Ms. Doherty would be able to understand what I was feeling. I went into

Above: Robin Doherty and Devon Laudadio. Photo submitted by Laudadio her room one morning and unexpectedly broke down in front of her. I’ve never been one to cry, especially in front of people, and I felt like I was making her feel uncomfortable. A few deep breaths later, I was back to carrying on one of our lighthearted conversations that we so frequently had. She looked at me and told me that I was so strong. She probably doesn’t remember saying this but it’s stuck with me ever since. Hearing from a mentor that I impressed her in some way or another was a moment that I’ll never forget. Now, whenever I’m having a bad day, I think back to that moment, take a deep breath, and carry on. It amazes me now to think that I actually disliked Ms. Doherty’s class at the beginning of sophomore year because Julia was the one friend I had in that class and Ms. Doherty caught on to that real quick. I think it was just a few weeks into classes when she had already moved my seat away from her. But again, Julia

somehow managed to find a seat next to me before we finished the remainder of the year. With each class we had together, Julia and I grew closer and closer. Her laugh became the sound track of the years to come that we were fortunate enough to share together. Our friendship continued to grow and develop into something that no four walls of any classroom could contain. Julia has taught me that knowing the ending of things can prevent you from experiencing wonderful things. I’ve learned to go at life head on, taking the good with the bad, and most certainly not trying to anticipate the ending of things. It took months of anger, frustration, and hurt before I remembered what Julia taught me. Had I known our ending, I wouldn’t have been fortunate enough to have shared all of the beautiful, and sometimes frightful, experiences that we withstood together.

Julia’s father, mother, and younger sister have set up a scholarship fund in memory of her.

Above: A photo taken at the memorial held at Malden High School in honor of Julia Vanella. Photo by James Mazarakis.

From top to bottom: A photo submitted by Laudidao of himself and Vanella. Vanella’s dance shoes on display during the memorial. Photos of Vanella submitted by her friends for her memorial page in January 2014.

"Although Julia isn't here with us physically anymore her soul will forever live within all of us. Her goal was to keep everyone happy and that's exactly what everyone who was blessed enough to have her in their life should strive for, not only for ourselves but for Julia. Julia would be devastated knowing that everyone is hurting the way we are. Our memories with her will live with us until it's our time, and so will her beautiful smile and huge dimples that brightened up the darkest days. DSP and the three amigos will strive forever -Gabriella, Devon, Roberto, Gui, Huy, Casey, & Charlee

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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Retirees of MHS Matthew Evans

High was to his own high school. “My first impression [of Malden High] was kind of centered around cafeteria smells and I was astonished when I was in homeroom and the announcements came on and we all stood for the Pledge of Allegiance because in the real world, that kind

of thing doesn’t really happen.” “I’ll miss my students most of all,” Evans said. “Although I had many collegial and very friendly relationships with other teachers, I’ll miss my students. [Working at Malden High] has had a very positive effect because in the time that I’ve been here, the school has improved steadily and the morale of the staff and students have improved as well, and it’s a very good thing to be a part of something like that.” Fellow English teacher David Londino comments, “Ever since I met [Matt Evans], he’s always come across as a really nice guy. He’ll answer any questions you have. He’s just a great guy to work with. His best qualities are his patience, his understanding, his willingness to help others. He’s always just really level-headed and really cool.” Not only has Evans made an impact on his colleagues and older students, but on his first-year students as well.“Mr. Evans is currently and probably always will be one of my favorite teachers,” Freshman Rachel Eaglin remarks. “His dedication [sets him apart from other teachers]. . .Some teachers don’t take as much initiative into making sure the class

understands everything but I think [Mr. Evans] does.” Evans has been shown to push students to their full potential, as shown by Eaglin’s initial reaction to her recommendation for AP Language and Composition. “I didn’t want to do [the class] at first because I was afraid of the workload and how difficult it would be. But, he asked me to come after a few days after school and persuaded me. I’m thankful for him to do that for me.” “[Mr. Evans] is a genuine person at heart and really wants the best for everyone,” Freshman Cindy Siu added. “When we’re in a class discussion or talking about a lesson, he always refers to his past experiences and it’s just interesting to see his perspective. I think I’m going to miss going to the class. The class itself is pretty relaxing and I can always look forward to it because of Mr. Evans and his teaching style.” “[After I retire], I plan on reading. A lot.” Evans said with a laugh. “I have a very long reading list. I like The Odyssey and I like Great Expectations,and I like Macbeth, but it will be nice to read some other things after all these years reading these texts over and over again.”

Photo by Meghan Yip. ple at MHS, she believes the last few years of her time at MHS with her daughter teaching and helping students grow near her have been the most special to her. She has always been very caring to her daughter’s students and they enjoy visiting her in their free time. Even though she sees her daughter outside of school often, she will miss being able to speak to her daughter on a professional level and to have her be one of her colleagues in the building. Pam Brody will miss the students that she has worked with most when she retires, especially “working with them, seeing their

progress, what they need, watching them grow from freshman until they graduate, and the growth they have made, socially and academically.” During her time here, she has made many friends, such as her colleagues in the SPED department and all of the teachers in MHS. She considers every single staff member to be very caring. Out of all the schools she’s taught in, she considers Malden to have the most caring and supportive staff. She hasn’t gone far as to planning out what she will do when she retires from Malden High but she considers tutoring and most of

all, spending time on herself, welldeserved after helping all of her students get an education and positively affecting their futures. Pam Brody considers teaching as a big part of her life that she will miss when she retires. “It’s heartwarming when I see the students come back and so many come back to see me. I find it very touching and heartwarming that they still remember me,” she stated. However, she will find consolation in the fact that Malden High will be left with at least one Brody teaching and aiding the growth and development of adolescents.

Meghan Yip Reporter

Photo by Meghan Yip

fter fifteen years of being at Malden High, the time has come for English teacher Matthew Evans to part ways with teaching. “I graduated [high school] in 196,” Evans observed. Upon arriving at MHS in 2000, Evans was surprised to see how similar Malden

Pam Brody

Samuel Martinez Reporter

am Brody has been teaching since 1973 and has been teaching in the Special Education (SPED) Department at Malden High School for 12 years. At the end of the 2014-15 school year, she will be retiring and ending her long teaching career. Despite her leaving MHS, she will not be forgetting the many relationships she has made, teachers and students alike. For her last few years of her career at Malden High, she’s been working in the same building as her daughter, Jen Brody. Jen Brody has started teaching in the SPED Department of MHS and the Pace program in 2012 and for those three years, her mother has been there to help get her into the swing of things and find her way around the school. She describes her mother as “one of the most giving people that [she] knows.” Pam Brody supported and encouraged her daughter when she chose teaching as something she knew she wanted to do for a living. Pam Brody has been teaching for as long as Jen Brody has been alive so when she sees her mother teaching, it’s a normal thing for her. Although Pam Brody and her daughter work with different peo-

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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SPECIAL OLYMPICS: ONE SCHOOL, ONE TEAM

From top to bottom, left to right: Special Olympics participants race on the MacDonald Stadium track. A student receives a medal after competing in an event. Student Ronan Clancy from the Dolbear school in Wakefield, MA attended the event to cheer on his friends even though he was not elegible to participate because he wasn’t old enough. MHS student volunteers line up and cheer on the participants as they arrive at the event. A teacher pushing Special Olympics participant around the field in his wheelchair. Three participants receive medals after competing in their events. All photos taken by Lucia Quesada Nylen.

“‘Champions aren’t made in the gym. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them. A desire, a dream, a vision. That’s what all of you have, that’s what makes you all champions.” ~ State Senator Jason Lewis

Cassandra Reyes Head of Sports Lucia Quesada Nylen Head of Sports

long with its wide variety of cultures, the unity at Malden High School is unique in another sense. The school has a program known as PACE, which is for students with special needs and mental disabilities, hindering them from being able to attend regular classes. From the outside in, many people may think that there would be a very clear division between the “regular” high school students from the PACE students, but in fact, there is no division. MHS students are always eating lunch with the PACE kids, spending their free periods with them, and participating in Unified Sports, a gym class for the special needs kids where volunteers from the high school help run the class. Administrative assistant Barbara Scibelli has been working towards forming a natural integration between the two groups of MHS, and she has been successful.

Along with running Unified Sports on a daily basis, Scibelli coordinates Special Olympics every year. This is a day-long outdoor event dedicated to students with disabilities from all of the Malden Public Schools and many other schools around the Malden area such as Melrose, Wakefield and others. At Special Olympics, the participants are buddied with a group of MHS volunteers and they get to spend the day with one another, while the special needs students have the opportunity to either get their face painted, run the 200 meter dash and more. Senior Kaitlyn Weng expressed that her “favorite part about [Special Olympics] is being able to see all the kids smile and laugh and have fun.” Many of the volunteers participate in the Unified Sports program at the school. Senior Monique Knight Bailey mentioned that her experi-

ence in Unified Sports inspired her to participate in the event, and explained that “even though [this year as an MHS student] was [her] last, [she] hopes and plans to come back to help with Special Olympics in the next years.” Junior Jacqueline Smith explained that “seeing the kids laugh and finding a friend in [the volunteers] makes them feel supported.” A day prior to the event, Scibelli rounded up her team of MHS students that volunteered the next morning to set up MacDonald Stadium with banners and flags in order to give the participants vibes that they are there to have fun and win medals, leaving with a sense of accomplishment and honor. The volunteers arrived at the stadium around 7 am the next morning to set up the tents and the activities while awaiting the kids to arrive around 9 am.

Special Olympics is an event that many people in the Malden community look forward to, such as Principal Dana Brown who stated that “Special Olympics is [his] favorite day of the year”. Throughout the day long event that includes activities like running races, long jump, tennis ball and baseball throw, and others like face painting, Brown enjoys the “level of respect that everyone has for one another.” He explained that the diverse atmosphere did not make a difference in the event, “[that] even though there [were] able bodied students and disabled students” it did not matter during the day. Brown exclaimed that the event is one that enables people to see everyone as “one school, [and] one team.” Special Olympics brings the Malden community together year after year for a day of fun, sports, and camaraderie.

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Malden High School On Apr. 29, 2015, seven MHS senior boys gathered for the annual Mr. MHS event in the Jenkins auditorium, where they competed in several rounds,

Cassandra Reyes Head of Sports

“I learned that you can get along and make a friendship with people you never thought you’d talk to when you decide to get involved in your class.” -Senior Nicolas Quesada Nylen

“Ever since I saw the class of 2013’s Mr. MHS, I’ve always wanted to be that guy on stage.” -Senior & second runner up Mark Ortiz.

Manale Zouhir Head of Local

illed with a plethora of events geared towards Malden High School’s seniors, the spring calendar is an exciting time for students who only have a few weeks left of school. One of the farewell events for the seniors is Mr. MHS, which is put together by English teacher and Maldonian advisor Jim Valente with the help of members of the senior class. On Apr. 29, 2015, the Mr. MHS show was held in Jenkins Auditorium. Seniors Joshua Cronin, Fabian Price-Hernandez, Dominic Pappagallo, Nicolas Quesada Nylen, Tristar To, Nick Hames, Mark Ortiz and Jodens Didie entertained a large crowd with their various talents,

including hilarious teach impersonation, all full of laughter and embarrassment. Each of the guys were escorted by a senior girl who walked them onto stage at the beginning of each portion. At the end of the night, Cronin was crowned Mr. MHS, with Pappagallo as first runner up and Ortiz as second runner up. Alex Gentile, a member of the school’s PACE program, was the first gentleman crowned of the night. Gentile, a very popular MHS student who can light up a room solely through his presence, was crowned as Honorary Mr. MHS 2015. Ortiz admits that his favorite part of the night was “the time before the show when [they] were all relaxing and getting ready.” Through his

Top to bottom: Senior Joshua Cronin, who was later crowned Mr. MHS, doing his teacher impersonation of math teacher Katy Kwong. Senior Fabian PriceHernandez stands on stage with English teacher and Mr. MHS event coordinator Jim Valente. Senior Tristar To during the talent portion of the night. Member of the school’s PACE program Alex Gentile, who was crowned Honorary Mr. MHS. Cronin and his escort, senior Jillian Powers, enter the stage during the casual wear.

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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Presents: Mr. MHS including Swimsuit Competition, Casual and Formal Wear, Teacher Impersonations, and the Talent Portion.

experiences with Mr. MHS, Ortiz has learned that “you can get along with a wide variety of people if you get involved and try.” To adds that Mr. MHS “was a fun night,” expressing that he “definitely went out of [his] comfort zone” and “never imagined that [he] would be up on stage half naked, making a fool out of [himself] like that, so it was a great experience overall.” Some big crowd pleasing moments of the overall memorable night were Cronin’s impersonation of MHS math teacher Katy Kwong, Pappagallo’s talent performance of “Stacy’s Mom” by Fountains of Wayne, Hames displaying both his singing ability and impersonation talents as he performed as Ed Sheeran performing the song “Thinking

Out Loud” with a red curly-haired wig on, and To getting slapped on stage by senior Laura Gomez as he told pick up lines during the talent competition. Hames expresses that his teacher impersonation of math teacher Bradley Gelling was his favorite part of the night and with Pappagallo on stage with him, “[they] just couldn’t stop laughing.” A passion for performing on stage and the great talk around the school about the event is what pushed Hames to join the Mr. MHS competition. Overall, it was a night that many will remember for years to come, not just for the funny bits, but for the bond that was formed between the MHS seniors, which will last years after they exit the doors of Malden High School.

From left to right, top to bottom: Senior Mark Ortiz, second runner up, Cronin, and first runner up, Dominic Pappagallo pose for a picture at the end of the night. Senior Nicolas Quesada Nylen struts the stage in his casual wear. Pappagallo performs “Stacy’s Mom” by Fountains of Wayne for his talent. Senior Nick Hames wears his baseball uniform for the casual wear. Senior Jodens Didie shows off his muscles during the swimsuit competition. Photos by Amanda De Moraes.

“Mr. MHS 2015 was a great success. We had a lot of good talent and a lot of fun. I think everybody enjoyed the time, not only the audience, but even the kids that were on stage as well as their escorts.” - Jim Valente

“It was fun seeing everyone come out of their shells. It was one of the more memorable nights of my high school experience.” -Senior and first runner up Dominic Pappagallo

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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Notable MHS Alumni Maria DaSilva Reporter

eorge Holland, a graduate of Malden High’s class of 1955, cherishes the school and community of Malden immensely and continues to be an active participant. Holland believes that schools, especially here in Malden, give great opportunities to students to try a variety of different things, not only in the classroom, but also with extracurricular activities. He states that “you’re lucky if you find something [you love],” and for him personally, it was science and math. Holland expresses that some of his most fondest memories here at the high school were in the extracurricular articles offered. He took part in many different things, such as sports, theatre, and The Blue and Gold newspaper as a sports editor. Holland believes that through his experiences at MHS, he has grown and the school has helped shape him into the person he is today. He explains that there are “things that even though no one says you’re learning it, you do learn it. If you pay attention it helps you down the road.” All of the different aspects of the school, he says, “helps kids reach their full potential.” Following his high school career, Holland went on to study at Boston College, being the first one Maria DaSilva Reporter

evin McGlinchy, a Malden High School graduate, is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1999-2000 with the Atlanta Braves. He described his experience as a MHS student to be “fun, adventurous, with a serious all business approach.” The teachers and classmates of his class created an enjoyable atmosphere for him. Directly after high school, McGlinchy moved to Ocala, Florida, to play baseball for Central Florida Community College. He attended for one year, “to experience the college life.” Shortly after playing for CFCC, McGlinchy signed a contract for the Atlanta Braves. Growing up here in Malden, baseball had always occupied a big part in McGlinchy’s life. His journey began when he was a kid playing stick ball down the school yard. He states, “it was all about having fun until the street lights came on, which meant it was time for dinner.” When playing at Devir park, McGlinchy describes to have been trying to mimic one of his favorite Red Sox players, Dwight Evans, when standing up at bat. As a big fan of the Boston’s Red Sox team,

George Holland in his family to attend college. Majoring in physics and minoring in math, he attained his masters degree and taught chemistry for a couple years at Malden High. After some time, he went to graduate school at Yale, achieving a PhD in physics. After graduating, he worked at Yale for teaching and research for some years, before returning back

to Malden. First, he became head of the math department for two years, then assistant superintendent, onto superintendent. Holland explains that he enjoys these fields because it “suited [his] personality to be in the educational system. [Although], financially, it maybe was not the best choice, but [he] felt fulfilled with young people.”

Above: a photo of George Holland, the president of the Alumni Association, during the Homecoming Luncheon in 2014. Photo by Sumya Mohiuddin.

As an active participant in the alumni association, Holland has watched the school grow both from the inside and outside. He believes that, ever since he went to school until now, the purpose has not changed, that “the fundamentals never changed, the goals remains the same.” Holland describes physical changes to be the most significant changes the school has gone through. Most importantly, the diversity has developed. “Just incoming populations, now it’s Chinese, Brazilians, new nationalities, the school tries to provide a pathway for students to go onto a successful career.” Holland greatly expresses his pride in the school and how it has grown. He encourages students to be grateful that they are living in a wealthy community, and have the chance to do great things. “They are given several opportunities, and whether they grasp it or not it’s up to them, but it’s in their reach.” Holland believes that the school is successful only through the students. One of the things the Alumni Association does every year is recognize the alumni who have succeeded, to show the students that “there are people who made it through Malden High School, and these people continue to be successful.”

Kevin McGlinchy McGlinchy’s father took him to baseball games regularly, especially when Roger Clemens pitches. He explains that his father would always emphasize on Clemens’ form and mechanics, and reminded him to pay close attention. His father taught him that “[he] would be capable of doing what [Clemens] does on the mound, if [he puts] in the work and dedication.” Once McGlinchy reached age twelve, he began to get recognized, with his name in the paper often. He states the he “did notice, [he] seemed a lot taller than [his] fellow teammates, and could throw the ball fast.” He worked with his father consistently on his pitching mechanics. McGlinchy explains that his father showed him all there is to know, when it came to ball control, the ability to throw strikes, and, especially, his father taught him “how to be a fierce competitor.” It reached a point where his pitches grew too fast for even his father to catch anymore. McGlinchy became dominant and continued to throughout high school. Around his junior year at MHS, his coach, Coach Freck, would take

him to various workout camps, where many college and professional scouts were present. By his senior year, he was throwing the ball at 90 mph. Before he knew it, there were a dozen scouts at Pine Banks, clocking his velocity with radar guns. McGlinchy “was getting more and more recognition, but even still did not know how good [he] really was. [He] just acted like any other kid on the team. McGlinchy’s experiences as an athlete and a student have led him to who he is today. There are many ups and downs to being athletic, from feeling pressure, to being overwhelmed, the ability to fulfill status, and dealing with injuries. He explains that “overnight success led [him] to the MLB, which was very exciting, but at the same time [he] felt like a small person in a huge world.” Looking back, McGlinchy describes that he often thinks about how things would be if he did anything differently, but he “cannot live [his] life with regret.” He believes he has accomplished great things in his life. He learned and experienced that with his talent, it was easy to get to where he was, but it was hard to

maintain that level. McGlinchy was thrown in based on his natural skill, however he “[was not] experienced or mature enough to handle all that was thrown [his] way.” McGlinchy now lives life aware of what he attained and feels proud. He tries to pass on his knowledge and experiences to other student athletes, hoping to help fulfill their dreams. He believes education is a priority. He encourages these athletes to never give up, to be well rounded, and to make good choices, surrounding themselves with people who really want the best for them and will lift them up. McGlinchy’s motto is, “only you can determine your destiny.”

QR Code leading to a video highlighting some of the 2015 alumni inductees.

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2015 Alumni Hall of Fame

Maria Dasilva Reporter

n Friday, May 1, 2015 Malden High School’s Alumni Association held its second annual Hall of Fame to celebrate exceptional accomplishments of alumni and contributions by alumni and others. Alumni became eligible for nomination ten years after graduation in categories such as arts, business, community service, education, government, media, military service and the sciences. The day started off with a Luncheon to commemorate the Inductees and socializing between the Alumni classes along with the current student officers and continued into the auditorium for a grand question and answer presentation for the senior class of the inductees. Each individual shared their own journeys and hurdles they overcame to reach the positions they are in now. Inducted in 2014, the first of the MHSAA Hall of Fame were Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen (1977), international war crimes judge Phillip Weiner (1972), television news anchor Heather Kahn Braver (1985), linguist James Matisoff (1954), rock singer and songwriter Gary Cherone (1979), cartoonist Keith Knight Jr. (1984), and pioneer women’s rights advocate Judge Emma Fall Schofield (1902). This year, eight new members have been inducted into the MHSAA Hall of Fame in ceremonies

honoring their outstanding career achievements, regardless of the adversity and challenges they faced along the way. The inductees include a plumber, a high tech facilitator, a wealthy visionary, a survivor who battled an incurable disease, a doctor who advanced the science of anesthesiology, an educator’s educator, a woman who triumphed over racial and gender discrimination, and an Army Air Corps pilot killed in WWII. Barbara Durgin accepted the Hall of Fame award for her father, Hollis Durgin (1940), a plumbing and heating businessman honored for his community service. Dr. George Holland (1955) is a former school superintendent for the city of Malden. Holland accepted his award in the field of education. He owes his success to the people who supported him and helped him through his challenges, and he believes success comes from working in a team, not alone. Dr. Stanton Shernan (1977), despite not being able to attend, was honored in the field of medicine for advancing the science of cardiac anesthesiology. Shernan is recognized worldwide as an expert on the use

of three-dimensional ultrasound technology in heart surgery. Marie Colantuoni Coyle (1949) was honored in the field of sciences. Coyle faced her own adversity when diagnosed when she was twelve years old with scleroderma, “the disease that turns you to stone” that was once untreatable and a life-threatening disease. At the age of 12, Coyle was told by her doctors that she only had five years to live, and later at the age of 18, she went onto create a foundation for the burden that fell onto her. Through her scleroderma foundation, she raised millions of dollars to research and treat the autoimmune disease. Paula Sneed (1965) was inducted in the field of business based on her success overcoming numerous obstacles as a black woman, including racism and gender discrimination. Sneed rose through the “glass ceilings” to top positions in the corporate world. She uses her experience to inspire others to “follow [their passions],” regardless of the adversity that falls upon them. Robert “Bobby” Sager (1972) is a philanthropist and photographer, who attained a fortune in the business world and then after retiring,

proceeded to traveling with his wife, son and daughter, through his foundation Sager Family Traveling Foundation and Roadshow, to troubled places in the world where he uses his money and personality to help others, taking photos along the way and writing books about those he sees in need. Instead of just paying a visit and doing community service, he and his family live in these places, which has caused them to learn how to be “a thankful human being,” and “seeing the humanity through [others’] eyes.” “It does not matter how much money you made,” Sager stated. Rather, “it is how much you give away.” Kevin Jarvis (1974) is the director of veterans services in the city of Malden. Jarvis accepted the award for Lt. Richard Vaughn Dargie (1939). Dargie was killed when shot down over France in World War II. Jarvis stated that Dargie was selected to represent all those MHS students who went off to serve their country in the military during the war. He told the audience that awarding the Hall of Fame honor to Dargie was meant to represent all who served, and over two hundred men who died during the conflict.

Top: 2015 MHS alumni inductees answeriing questions in the auditorium. Left to right: Paula Sneed, Bobby Sager, Marie Colantuoni Coyle. Photos from video by Maria DaSilva.

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Prom 2015

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JUST A BUNCH OF STUFF

Felicia Fallano Reporter

alden High School’s Play Production team not only performed their last show of the year, but the seniors also performed their last show of their high school year, saying goodbye to the friends that they have made memories with, and the auditorium where they have grown as actors and actresses over the years. Their most recent production, Just A Bunch Of Stuff, consisted of five shows created by the students themselves, “The Red Coat” by Jonathan Patrick Shanley, and The Dinosaurs have a Request by Walt McGough. The process of putting the shows together began in early April and the cast performed Just A Bunch Of Stuff for the Malden Community at MHS on both May 16th and May 19th. At the end of his ninth year as the director of Play Production, Sean Walsh, also the English Language Arts Teacher Leader here at MHS, explained that, “Play writing is tricky”. The five student-written pieces were workshopped with the cast and with the directors.” Walsh also explained that this is not the first time that MHS Play Production has performed student written plays, and that they have a “rich

history of producing student work.” Walsh says that he was mostly hands off while the students put their shows together, and the “students did most of the work themselves— particularly on the technical side.” Since the students have been working on many shows and have been constantly learning from the experience, Walsh feels that by the end of the year the “students should be running everything,” while he still made sure “the elements were

in place.” Junior Joylyn Norris feels that the experience of creating the five student written shows “highlights [their] strengths, and weaknesses are improved as [they] help each other grow in all aspects of theatre.” Sophomore Aigula Fitzgerald felt that this process of creating a show “was tough at times since it’s easy to get distracted, but [she and her partner] worked really well together.” The shows written by the stu-

dents provided a variety of genres, and also included a piece performed and written in Spanish. This portion of Just A Bunch Of Stuff was called “Este Adiós No Es Para Siempre” and was performed and written by Kamila Regalado, Brayan Angulo and Richard Melgar. Junior Brian Angulo explained that the experience of writing and performing this show with his classmates was, “a great experience because every individual is creative and has their own

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MHS Play Production showcased student-written and student-directed shows to finish off the year. The students not only wrote and directed the shows, but many of them designed costumes and blocked their own shows. The plays had a variation comedy, romance, and drama.

unique ideas.” When asked about the play being in another language, Angulo expressed that performing as this specific character was, “not out of [his] comfort zone because [he takes] a Spanish class and [they have] done a lot of presentations in that class so [he] was used to it.” Senior Dominic Pappagallo stated that “It didn’t really hit [him] or anyone else really until [their] ‘final bow’ at curtain call. It was an indescribable feeling.” Pappagallo took on the role of Shrek in Shrek

The Musical earlier this year. Senior Michelle Foley also said her farewell at the last show, and expressed that “[she] felt more honored than sad that [she is] leaving. [She thinks] it was an honor to be in a class with so many amazing actors and actresses, and to have [her] final show be with them is the biggest honor.” Foley co-wrote the show with Senior Kasya Jensen, and both of them performed it along with Alana Burdine. Foley and Burdine played two best friends, Rachel

and Vicky, who conflicted over Vicky joining the Marines. Jensen, who played both Foley’s younger sister and Burdine’s older cousin, explained that, “It was easier to understand both of [her] characters motives, but the challenge was playing a child. The show was also Jensen’s last show, and she stated that “[she will] miss everyone in the class they really made [her] high school years complete.” MHS Play Production may be saying goodbye to their Senior

actors and actresses, but Walsh believes that “they have brought lots of energy to the program and to the productions,” and he wishes them “nothing but the best in their future endeavors.” Angulo, who will be in the same place as the Seniors next year, says that he wants to “make them proud when they come back to watch [their] shows.” Just A Bunch Of Stuff ended the year for Play Production at MHS, and the up and coming sophomores, juniors and seniors will continue the legacy that this year’s seniors have passed on to them. Top left to right: Daniela Herrera and Bailey Reed performing a fight scene during “Freefall”; Kasya Jensen and Michelle Foley a senior show; Angelica Carberry performing a monologue. Bottom left to right: Maggie O’Callaghan and Sarah Viera having a conversation during “Family Portrait”; Kevin Irungu proposing to Joylyn Norris during “Dramatically Correct”; Dominic Pappagallo and Sebastian Patino performing a senior show; Sajeanah Cadet and Marino Dipietrantonio performing “8 ways of looking at a Hot Dog”. Photos by Felicia Fallano.

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MHS Choral Society’s Spring Concert 2015

Karina Matos Reporter

Karina Matos, reporter for The Blue and Gold, gives a first person account of what it was like to perform in the spring concert.

he Malden High School spring concert this year began like any other, that is to say, with tons and tons of rehearsing and hard work. As fun as it is to sing such beautiful pieces, the choral director, Todd Cole, strives to make sure each one is spectacular which means a lot of practicing, a lot of tweaking, and a lot of effort. However, standing on that stage with bated breath before an audience, it all feels worth it. All of our hard work feels justified with each song, and my pride builds through every rise and fall throughout the pieces. The concert itself began with a performance by the mixed chorus, and the rest of the choir members, including myself, looked on from the audience. The mixed chorus contains students of all ages and grade levels in MHS, with the majority of them newcomers to the choral arts program. It’s heartwarming to see how far they have come in one short year. Remembering back from their performance at the winter concert, they have improved so much, and it reminds me of my own experience in the class. I was also pleasantly surprised to see a few soloists and a duo sing parts in the songs, which gives the new choral singers a chance to showcase their abilities as soloists and help reveal more depth

to the ensemble. Following the mixed chorus were the madrigals, a smaller group of singers made up of people from concert choir. They did a beautiful job as always, making sure to highlight different languages, and different styles, with some more classical, and others a little more current. My favorite of the pieces was, “Beautiful,” originally by Christina Aguilera. It was absolutely breathtaking, and soloist Sarah Viera did a marvelous job with strong powerful phrases backed with strong emotion. Finally it was my turn, the concert choir ensemble sang many different pieces such as, “Twa Tanbou,” a fast paced Haitian folk song, “Chose Something Like A Star,” a song with lyrics by Robert Frost, and a special performance of, “Sky Full of Stars,” initially performed by Coldplay. It was such fun to sing, especially since some of the teachers came up to sing with us for pieces like, “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and did a great job considering they only learned it in a few days! But I’d have to say that “Sky Full of Stars” was probably my favorite to perform because during the dance breaks the light technician, would turn the lights down and shine one solely on the disco ball that spun

above our heads as the whole choir danced along to the track. Mr. Cole also took a moment to say goodbye to the seniors, making sure to point out senior Nick Hames carrying on the tradition of wearing a baseball uniform to the concert, which happened last year with two other seniors. I looked on sadly as I watched our choir slowly dwindle away while senior after senior left the risers to stand in a line facing the audience holding a single rose. I already missed them as they stood in front of me, even the ones I never spoke to I would miss, the familiar face in choir or around school. They went on to honor Mr. Cole and Ms. McKean, our piano player for all of their hard work and dedication to the Choral Arts Society. The performance over, the year coming to a close, I just want the seniors, and the rest of the Choral Arts Society as well to remember all of the things we did this year and all of the faces we would see every day. The class may only last a year, for some people four years, but the experiences, the people, and the memories are things that I will always have with me. It’s the same for all of the others who have had the privilege to be part of such a wonderful ensemble.

From top to bottom: The entire concert choir sings. Juniro Sarah Viera sings during a madrigal performance and performs an excerpt from the song ‘Beautiful’ by Christina Aguilera. Choir director Todd Cole announces the next song. The entire mixed chorus performs. All photos by Piero Pocobene.

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Strutting Their Way Out of MHS Felicia Fallano Reporter Karina Matos Reporter

On Apr. 16, 2015, the class of 2015 participated in the annual senior fashion show, showcasing different outfits, cultures, and stylistic choices.

Senior Nick Hames, another participant, stated that he loves “being a part of things that [his] class does.” He feels this way since his class is “dedicated and hard working,” and he wants, “to be a part of it as much as [he] can.” Hames also expressed that the show was mostly improvisation, so they “did whatever [they] wanted when [they] were on stage, and that was the fun part. It was hilarious.” This year was not the first time a senior class held a fashion show for a fund raiser. Aryzona MacDonald, the class of 2015’s publicist, explains that “[they] wanted to continue he Malden High School Senior the fashion show Fashion show is not only an because [they] exciting fund raising event for the felt it was a tradisenior class, but an entertaining tion important to night where the seniors get to show keep alive. Also, off their favorite casual, formal and [they] wanted prom wear. This year’s fashion show one last big fund was filled with gorgeous gowns, raiser to bring the sleek tuxedos and tons of hilarious class together.” poses and selfies. Senior host Elijah The seniors Jean-Baptiste, and disc jockey senior who participated Chris Voltaire, kept the show upbeat in the show and ebullient throughout the night. modeled casual Senior Joshua Bessey, who wear, a formal participated in the fashion show, outfit, and then feels that the show is not just an prom attire. The exciting fund raiser, but it is, “also many students something fun,” for seniors to do. who participated He explained that participating in walked with conthe show instead of just watching fidence and had it was the best part about being in- fun with their friends in the process volved with the show because of the of fund raising for their class. opportunity to be with, “all of [his] Paula Valente, one of the 2015 friends,” while being, “dressed up.” class advisors along with Bernice

Diaz, expressed that “[their class has] raised the most money” out of all the other classes in the past 10 years. Valente also explained that the class’s goal was to raise 20,000 dollars. The fashion show was their last major fund raiser of the year. Expanding on the concept of class funding, Valente explained that the fund raising the class does, “helps lower the cost of prom tickets, caps and gowns.” The senior class usually pays twenty dollars per student for their graduation cap and gown, but the substantial amount of fund raising that the senior class did was enough to lower the cost of the caps and gowns down to ten dollars. The senior class also gave $2,500 to the Maldonian this year. B e cause prom was approaching MHS soon, Valente felt that the seniors modeling prom attire was a great way to “introduce prom wear for this season.” The prom attire was borrowed from David’s Bridal in Danvers, MA and Men’s Ware-

house in Medford, MA, whom they thanked in the program. Both Bessey and MacDonald agreed that the fashion show was a great fund raiser, and MacDonald’s advice for future seniors planning a fashion show is to, “really plan it out and rehearse.” She said that this years seniors, “did not get a chance to rehearse until the day of, so it became a bit of an improv show which was fun, but maybe would’ve been better if it was all planned out.” Bessey also recommended that future seniors should definitely participate or help out with the fashion show because it is, “a lot more fun than you would expect.” Overall, the students who participated and put on the 2015 senior fashion show are all filled with pride , as it was deemed a successful night for those in it.

From top to bottom, left to right: Class of 2015 advisors, Paula Valente and Berenice Diaz. Elijah Jean-Baptiste hosts the show. Jacqueline Munroe and Joshua Cronin walk on stage together. MHS graduates Cristina Valente and Elyse Valente walk with PACE member Alex Gentile. Nick Hames carries Olivia Verdone on his shoulders during casual wear. Julio Salazar walks Madina Khudaynazar in her cultural wear. All photos by Karina Matos and Felicia Fallano.

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Cultural Fusion Within MHS First place winner was sophomore Melinessa Douze with her Haitian chicken dish and second place was sophomore Grace Melo that won with her Passion fruit and chocolate dish.

Ana Kerr Reporter

rom foods across the world to traditional dances, the multicultural celebration was a huge success. On May 22, 2015, the Multicultural Club held an event in the cafeteria that consisted of diverse foods and performances from across the globe. Members brought homemade dishes that left guests hungry for more. Guests chose from a selection of appetizers, entrees, and desserts, including, brigadeiro, mousse de maracujá, lasagna, fried rice, pão de queijo, beef with vegetables, torta, and so much more. Turning left or right, there was always something new to taste. This is the fourth year that the multicultural event has been held by teacher Yahaira Marquez. The idea was first formed when former students and Marquez were talking about Malden’s diversity and the large size of the ELL program. They felt that the ELL program should be connected to the school and how Malden should be recognized for these positive qualities. It was originally called multicultural week, and every day of the week there would be something different. One day it would be food, then the next performances, and other activities. The main goal of the organizers was “to makes the students [feel] comfortable and accepted in our community by showing their cultures.” Multicultural events at

Top, from left to right: a tradtional Brazilian food, torta, beef with vegetables, salad, hummus, and falafel. Above Junior Sabrina Barreto, Freshman Isadora Alphino, Freshman Isabelle Maraschi, teacher Yahaira Marquez, and Senior Kamila Machado having a great time celebrating Malden’s diversity. Bottom, from left to right: Chinese fortune cookies and duck sause, Kamila Machado serving up a dish of Brazilian Lasanga, two dishes of Lo Mein. schools should be a more common thing to do because it is a great way to benefit from different cultures. Marquez says that “it gives [her] a super exciting feeling” as every year more and more people in the community get involved in the event, as it is now no longer an event that happens during school hours but rather after school, allowing more families and students to enjoy all these different cultures. As individuals, everybody takes pride in their culture, and the mul-

ticultural event allows people to show off their culture. This event is also a great way for people in the school to accept one another and their heritage. The fusion of culture within one room was an amazing sight, with students and adults sharing meals with of all different countries or watching a native dance. The multicultural event brings people together in a way that language is not always able to do. Diversity is a big deal not

only at Malden High but in the city of Malden. Junior Merjem Rizvancevic says, “Malden High School is the second most diverse school in the state of Massachusetts, and as a high school community I think it is very important that we value each others’ heritages and backgrounds.” Rizvancevic believes that as a school, “We have to embrace and celebrate what... has shaped each of us into the young adults that we are.” She expressed that this event allows MHS students to better understand and appreciate one another, which attributes to the general acceptance of how different every student is. Junior Sabrina Harrath says, “Multicultural is important to MHS because not every student is the same and MHS being the 2nd most diverse school in MA is wonderful.” As the crowd grew larger, the portions of food started getting smaller. A variety of foods from Brazil all the way to China were presented. Harrath personally enjoyed the passion fruit pudding with the brigadeiro that Sophomore Grace Melo made, as she claimed she “had 3 cups of it!” People were amazed by all the different varieties and portions of food being presented. While chowing down on delicious food from all over the world and watching amazing performances from talented students, the people of Malden were able to get a real sense of the diversity at MHS.

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Music Managed!

Meghan Yip Reporter

ed by new teacher Erin O’BrienMazza, the concert band showcased their talents in the annual spring concert on May 20th in the Malden High Auditorium. The concert included a special performance by a new MHS Chamber Orchestra. The Chamber Orchestra, which opened the show, is an experimental group formed by several MHS students with a passion for classical music infused with a modern twist. The group consists of freshmen and founder Ramon Aguinaldo on viola, Antonetta “Netta” Remedi-Brown on violin, Naomi Brill and Jun-Jie Kuang on flute, sophomore Alicia Devereaux on trumpet, and Brendon Ky on keyboard. They performed a classical piece called “Avignon” by Ingo Horicht and current pop hit “Dangerous” by David Guetta, arranged by Kim Arazia. Afterwards, the concert band took the stage. They kicked off the show with the triumphant and energetic “The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa. Next was “Variations On A Bach Chorale IV. Fugue” by J.S. Bach, arranged by Jack Stamp, and “Esprit De Corps (Spirit of the Body)” by Robert Jager. O’Brien-Mazza then took a small

intermission to honor the Seniors graduating this year. The seniors were presented with a mock diploma and a rose, along with short commentary by O’Brien-Mazza. These students included Carol Lam, Carmen Chen, and Michaela D’Onofrio on flute, Erica Tran on clarinet, Zibo Chen on piano, James Mazarakis on the euphonium horn, and Laura Gomez on saxophone. The seniors then brought with them a fellow band member of their choice to perform a poignant piece by Brian Balmages

Left to right: Sophomore Leah Tramondozzi and senior Austin Morrow; conductor Erin O’BrienMazza leading the band; The Chamber Orchestra performing. All photos by Meghan Yip.

entitled “Among The Clouds”. The band later performed a mellow jazz piece called “Oye Como Va” by Tito Puente and arranged by Victor Lopez. To close the show, a mashup of numbers from the wildly popular musical Wicked, by Stephen Schwartz and arranged by Michael Brown was performed,

which O’Brien-Mazza noted as one of their favorite pieces to play. The audience was then encouraged to migrate to the MHS gymnasium to watch the Color Guard group perform their arrangement of “Brave” by Sara Bareilles, vibrant flags and prop rifles included.

Color Guard Glory Julia Parker Reporter

n Mar. 29, 2015 and Apr. 4, 2015, Malden High School’s winter colorguard team won consecutive competitions and brought back the gold for the school. The winter guard team pushed their way through many competitions, making their way to the finals. Color guard is defined as a uniformed group who parade “with the spinning of a flag, rifle, or sabre associated with marching bands and drum corps.” However, this school’s team has made it so much more. The team has practiced day after day for hours in order to achieve the wins that they have scored recently. Although the work has been tiring, the teammates still state that they do not want the season to end. Even though the practices are tough and the effort is maddening, the team still expressed they will especially “miss practicing, hanging out and just being with [each other],” as stated by

senior captain Jasmine Kelly. Kelly experienced her last meet at the finals on Apr. 4, 2015. While the event was sad and something no one wanted to let go of, Kelly stated that she “really just thought about having fun and enjoying the time on the floor spinning with the girls that [she has] been with for a long time.” Kelly described the team as her “second family”, and the “sweetest Above: colorguard girls doing flag routine. Bottom left to right colorguard girls people [she] could have ever met.” Altogether, the team aimed to looking above during routine. Senior Jasmine Kelly waving at audience during make a mark upon the audience. performance. All photos by Julia Parker. They achieved that goal by winning The Winter guard had trouble The team did not let the issue first place. “[Kelly] thinks ... most at the beginning of the season with set them back, and they fought to [about] making sure that the audihaving only six returning performget back to where they would be if ence is having fun.” She focuses “on ers, a tough case to form a show they started on time. In finality, the bringing life to the show in a way around. However, as the team team went above and beyond what that the audience can interpret and enjoy.” The MHS Winter guard has worked to get some instructors and was expected of them, despite expedefinitely made an impact on their new members for the team, they riencing their biggest challenge of audiences this season, drawing solved the oncoming issue, though the entire season from the start. cheers from the crowd after every it had been a very late start to the season. competition.

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The City of Malden Unites Art and Poetry Megan Downer Reporter

Top left to bottom right: “Glory of War” painted by Yana Lapaix inspired by the poem “Glory of War” written by Carl Wood; “Angel” painted by Maria Tiro inspired by the poem “Angel” written by Robert Hayes; “Cockroaches at Home” artwork by Cambia Davis inspired by the poem “Cockroaches are Precocious” by Christopher Paul Hickey. QR Code leads to video of interviews with some of the artists and poets. All photos by Megan Downer.

he artist and poet reception allowed for anyone and everyone to come to the gallery and interact with the featured artists and poets. At the beginning of the night, the artists and poets that collaborated stood by their work and discussed the meanings and beauty of the displayed work with passers by and admirers. Later throughout the night, the artists and poets walked around the gallery, greeting and chatting with those who were in attendance to support the arts. A popular part of the event was the poets’ reading of their poems. Tucked away in a large room, the poets graced the stage with great inflection and effortlessly recited their poems. The poets received praise from the enthused crowd who attended their performances. The creators of the art and poems made the work come to life through their stories and background information on the work and themselves. The featured artists and poets all had fascinating stories to tell, making the night even more enjoy-

able. Every corner turned, there were new pairs of artists and poets that had collaborated and had connected stories based on their work but also their lives. Some of the pairs had only met each other the night of the event, as an attempt to not let the views of the poets interfere with the artists’ interpretations. The artists and poets tended to have quite similar views of the meaning and their interpretations of the poems

presented. Poet Christopher Hickey expressed the purpose of the event to be a time “to celebrate how art can form other art.” It amazed Hickey “to see how you take something from your mind and put it on a piece of paper and see how someone else interprets that with their art.” The event was enjoyable and if there is another event similar to this in the future it is recommended

to attend it. It is also recommended to visit the Lines Connecting Lines gallery at MATV before it is taken down. A visit to view art and poetry will not be a waste of time and to truly find meaning in the work will be a blessing to individuals’ lives.

Coming Soon From Sweden to Malden: Boda Borg Felicia Fallano Reporter

new addition is coming to Malden, and will hopefully attract the attention of a variety of age groups. Boda Borg is an indoor questing simulation, originally from Sweden, where participants take on mental and physical challenges. Boda Borg’s-themed quests take place in a variety of places such as an aircraft, a house, outer space, etc. The Boda Borg experience can be described as being like a real life video game. Chad Ellis, the CEO of Boda Borg Boston, believes that Malden was the perfect location because of its, “diverse community with families and young professionals.” Malden and many other cities in the Greater Boston area have seen a lot of growth from new businesses to new restaurants in the past few years. Ellis explains that the new Boda Borg in Malden will be, “in the middle of a renaissance that will see continued growth over the next decade.” The construction of Boda Borg started in the fall of 2014, and is a complex project that needs time, so there is not set date for the opening quite yet. Boda Borg itself has been running for 20 years, and Ellis explains that, “[they are] getting their best Quests from all the other loca-

A picture of a team trying to get a spaceship working. Photo submitted by CEO of Boda Borg Boston, Chad Ellis. QR code leads to official video of Boda Borg sneakpeak from North America Boda Borg website.

Boda Borg is an indoor questing simulation that was founded in Sweden, and is currently in the process of expanding into the United States. The quests are open to all ages, and will be in environments such as space ships, a house, an airplane, etc.

tions.” When asked about the convenient location of Boda Borg Boston, Ellis expressed, “obviously a lot of fun for teenagers and kids but schools in Sweden travel from hours away because it’s also a place to develop important life skills like teamwork, creative problem-solving and persistence.” Not only will Boda Borg attract the attention of kids and teenagers that live here in Malden, but it will also bring in people from older age groups and from other cities around Malden. Ellis explained that most of Boda Borg’s guests in Sweden are adults. As a parent himself, Ellis says that he enjoys the fact that Boda Borg, “is one of the only activities [he knows] of where kids and adults can do it together as a team without anyone being left out or having to hold back. Kids are at an advantage in some challenges and adults in others, so family teams are often really effective.” Once Boda Borg Boston opens, they do plan on creating new quests. Ellis says that, “[they] expect to change five or six Quests every year.” Not only are new Quests being made, but they are also looking to improve the existing ones.

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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Seniors Project Their Experiences “I had a lot of fun on internship. It was really fun to get out of the school and learn about something I loved. I’m glad my internship was something that I enjoyed and might build of off in college or just as a hobby. I also met a lot of cool people at the mayor’s office.” -Senior Ashley Yung

From top left to right: Senior Ashley Yung presenting her internship project at Mayor’s office as part of the media group; senior Tracy Jane presenting her internship project at Salemwood school; senior Christine Chu presenting her internship project at Mayor’s office in The Malden Chamber of Commerce; seniors Angelica Carberry and Nick Hames presenting their internship project as music interns; senior Monique Bailey presenting her internship project at the Beebe school. All photos by Julia Parker.

Julia Parker Reporter

Felicia Fallano Reporter

n the morning of May 27, 2015 seniors who had departed the school for internship returned to teach others the value of the programs that they had been interning for. With more than 100 students who partook in internships, there was a variety of internships for underclassmen to consider. The seniors displayed pictures and explanations of their experience and talked with staff and students about their fond memories and encounters with their possible future careers. From working in schools with children, to working in nursing homes with seniors and elderly, the seniors immersed themselves in the community and broadened their

education. Senior Samantha French, who helped out with recruiting youth to join the US Marine Corps after completing high school, expressed that her favorite part of her internship was being at the schools. French explained that she answered questions the children had and was happy that she managed to interest a couple students to consider joining the Marine Corps. Senior Christine Fang worked in Mayor Gary Christenson’s office for her internship. She explained that she learned about the job responsibilities and necessities for handling, patience being an important quality. Fang expressed that she wants to pursue a career in market-

ing and her internship helped her learn better communication skills that will help her later on. From working in salons to working with music, there was also a variety of students who pursued interests within entertainment. There are not many opportunities where students can be an intern related to music or styling outside of college. With this program, these seniors have managed to experience this work before finally deciding that this path is the career they want to take. What makes the senior internship program such a success is the variety that the students have available to them. The underclassmen see this variety when they look at the

final projects, and it can show not only the interns, but also other students what a career can be like, and introduces the jobs that many do not pursue. All internships that seniors take on is an incredible learning experience as they leave the milestone of Malden High School. The seniors have said goodbye to their high school years, and will be starting a new chapter in their lives. The senior internship program is a way to help these students make a huge decision at this pivotal point of their lives. Many students at the exhibition were happy and confident that their internship experience helped them realize that they are on the right path, and that success is in their future.

entertainment

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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BLUE AND GOLD

Maria DaSilva Reporter

Watch The Blue and Gold’s documentaries on Malden High School’s Studio Art classes, as well as the Ceramics course.

n Apr. 9, 2015, Malden High School’s fine arts department held its annual Blue and Gold art gallery opening reception. Many students, families, and Malden residents attended the event to admire the art and hear the speeches made. It was held at 350 Main St, Malden, MA. The Tuesday prior to the opening reception, student volunteers took a day off of school to help set up for the show. Assembling all of the pieces in an appealing order took up two days. It was a long and tiring process, for both the students and the art teachers that did everything in their power to make it possible. However, after all the artwork was hung up, “it all paid off. Everything [looked] beautiful,” stated sophomore Dorabela Sousa, a Studio I art student that volunteered to help set up for the event. The gallery will remain open for a month, holding a variety of unique pieces of different styles. Admirable self portraits are hung up high and catch anyone’s attention the moment they walk through the doors. Unparalleled pottery pieces are also displayed by the entrance of the building, all of them different and creative with their own individual styles. The artwork varies from digital art, caricatures, black and white sketches, calligraphy, landscapes, paintings, and more. At MHS, art has long been a vital aspect of the school. In his speech, Mayor Gary Christenson admires the high school students for their hard work and great success. Christenson described that when prospective businesses and companies are recruited to his office, they do not marvel about the mayor or the city, they “just can’t say enough about this artwork.” He jokes that he holds the students accountable not only for the beautiful art, but also for “economic development for the city of Malden.”

Above, from top to bottom: Sketch done by Studio II student KaWing Cheung. Self portrait by Studio II student Jimmy Em. Joseph Luongo, an art teacher at MHS, explains his views on the importance of the art department in schools. Luongo believes that art helps students grow and prepares them for life after high school. He states that he “is not sure that graduating a generation of professional test takers prepares one for the real world.” Luongo also describes the several challenges the students were able to overcome in the art classes. When planning and finalizing artwork for the gallery, there were obstacles such as snow days,

that minimized the amount of time they had to accomplish everything. He says that it is “a testament of the hard work of the students, many of whom stayed after school to work on projects.” Principal Dana Brown made a very inspiring speech that expressed his awe in MHS art students. Brown explained his views on how art is not recognized and cherished enough. When he spoke, he mentioned that when students receive high grades on tests, they are considered intelligent; however,

when a student paints a beautiful picture, it is just considered “a good drawing.” Brown insisted that “it is intelligence. [It is] just a different kind of intelligence.” Through his speech, he made it clear that he believes people need to start capturing art, and measuring it, and that, in his perspective, that kind of talent is just as important as getting a great mark on a test. The art teachers in MHS and the art teachers in the K-8 programs were recognized several times in the speeches made. The teachers in all of the schools in Malden play an important role in helping young artists grow within the field they love. Not only are the Malden art departments in Malden adored by the students, but it is also adored by the teachers that take part in it. MHS art teacher Julie Mullame, when thanking the parents, stated that “[they] love having [the] children come to [their] classrooms.” Mullane said that the classes are always lively, and the students are constantly keeping the teachers laughing and on their toes. She states that “[it is] evident how hard [the students] work with all the artwork” displayed in the gallery. A great amount of the community of Malden attended the Blue and Gold Art Gallery opening reception, and many plan to return throughout the following month to admire the students’ pieces. The art department at MHS continues to be successful and produce wonderful artwork that leaves the city in awe. The students cherish this aspect of the school, as many of them consider art as “a comfort zone.”

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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ART GALLERY

Left to right: Caricature by Studio II student, Taynara Glagau Da Silva. Artwork by Studio II student, Jimmy Em. Digital portrait made by digital art student Trisha Truong.

Pottery made by ceramics student Amy Trinh. Self portrait by Studio IV student, Timur Berilo.

Top to bottom: Artwork by Studio II Amy Trinh. Self portrait by Studio II student, Jimmy Em. Painting by Studio III student Tiffany Ngyuen.

Display of potttery made by ceramics students.

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The Marine Biology Class Visits Boston Harbor

The Boston Harbor at the docks. Photo by Meagan Sullivan. Meagan Sullivan Lead Photographer

n May 13, 2015 the marine biology class took a field trip to the Boston Harbor to study marine life aboard the “Tiago” boat. The students started out by taking a train to Faneuil Hall to get lunch, then made their way to the New England Aquarium’s student learning center where they were informed about the history about the Boston Harbor

Meagan Sullivan reported, filmed, and photographed this story and was also a student in the marine biology class. and equipment used on the research boat. After hearing the rules, the students made their way over to the research boat, the “Tiago.” They met the deck hand, first mate, captain, and marine biologist who were on board the vessel. The boat went roughly three miles out to sea which took about twenty minutes, and the first thing they did was drop a camera attached to a rope into the water. This allowed the students to see on

a monitor what was at the bottom of the water as they sailed around. After they looked at the monitor, they went back above deck where they then pulled the camera up and dropped a net in to catch animals such as crabs and starfish from the bottom. Students examined these marine animals and then observed them using a microscope which was also hooked up to the monitor. A plankton net was later placed

in the water to catch jellyfish and smaller animals in their plankton stages. Finally, students tested and predicted the salt content and temperature of the water at different depths and then made their way back to the dock. The opportunity to see marine biologists at work greatly enhanced the class experience in a real world setting. It added a dimension to the material learned that would not have occurred simply from reading and doing class work.

A marine animal held by marine biology teacher Shauna Campbell. Ocean life caught by the crew on the boat. Senior Isadora Coelho on the boat. A marine animal caught by the crew on the boat. All photos by Meagan Sullivan.

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Dear Nedlam, I’ve been having a lot of trouble working hard in school this quarter since summer is almost here and I literally couldn’t care less about school anymore. What can I do to stay focused/motivated and keep my grades up? - Distracted Dear Distracted, It’s easy to understand why you’ve been so distracted lately, what with the warm weather, it being the fourth quarter, and the fact that summer is only about a month and a half away. However, as you already know, just because it’s closer to summer doesn’t mean that the last quarter isn’t as important as the other three and it deserves just as much effort as the others. I know it’s tempting to slack, to think less, to not care as much and relax more, but the time to relax is in the summer, and you’ll feel a whole lot better next year knowing that you did all you could to help future you. As for strategies to keep yourself on task? I’ve found that getting my homework done right when I get home is really helpful. Getting it done first gets it out of the way so that afterwards you don’t have to worry about getting all of it done later. I also recommend putting all of your electronics far away from you (tv, cell phone, computer, etc.) because no matter how many times I tell myself I can do work with music or a tv show on, I always end up getting really distracted and don’t finish my work till late at night (or early in the morning which I DO NOT recommend). Another thing you can try is to get regular sleep, since it’s much easier to be distracted or not want to put in as much effort if you don’t have the energy to try. As for getting work done in school or focusing in school, I think it’s important to realize your priorities. While it may be totally fun sitting and talking to your friends, can’t you do that later? I know it sounds like I’m nagging, but I just mean if a lesson seems like it’s really important, or a worksheet absolutely HAS to get done, then maybe it would be a good idea to move away from others who could distract you. But then again, for some people, having others who understand the material assist them in understanding can be really beneficial. It all depends on your personality, but if you are assisted by a fellow student, make sure you are just learning from them not gleaning the answers since you’ll probably need to know how to do whatever it is you are doing for a test or quiz at some point (and plagiarism is illegal too). Sometimes it’s also helpful to take notes on whatever the teacher is explaining even if the teacher doesn’t tell you too, that way you have to listen to them in order to take the notes, and not only do you have a copy of what went on in class in case you need to reference back but you also partially memorized it by writing it down. Going after school for extra help is also great if you are falling behind or don’t understand a certain concept. I know it probably feels like the last thing you want to do is be in school more than required, but sometimes pushing yourself to put in that extra effort to understand will help you in the long run. What I have also found, is that while doing all of these things can help, sometimes the hardest part is to mentally be able to focus, and try harder. In order to help make myself be able to do what I need to in order to succeed sometimes I think about how I’ll feel in the future if I don’t get all of my work done. I also try and do either the hardest bit of homework so that way I’ll feel like I’ve gotten it out of the way, or the easiest, so that way I’ll sort of dip my toe into the workload and then take the plunge. Sometimes I’ll convince myself that I can’t move from my chair until I finish everything (this is partially why I recommend getting regular sleep so you don’t end up napping). The phrase, “Mind over matter,” is a true one, sometimes all it takes is finding ways to push your mind over your instincts and doing what you have to get done. Hope this helps! Good Luck!

Dear Nedlam, I know the end of the year is basically only a month away but my grades are not doing so good. I really need to pass my classes this quarter, any advice on how to give my grades a much needed boost before the year is up? - School is a struggle Dear School is a Struggle, Even though the school year is almost up it’s not too late to help bring up your grades. Especially with finals coming up, it’s the perfect opportunity to help give your G.P.A. a little boost. For starters, break out your calendar and organize that agenda. I know it might seem like just a glorified bathroom pass, but it serves a greater purpose. However, even if you lost your agenda, you can still buy a planner from any office supplies store or drugstore. While I do recommend having a physical calendar or planner on hand so you can check off everything, you can also use a calendar on your phone or a schedule app. Now write down every homework assignment, test date (especially finals) and project date that you know of. Personally, I like to color code my classes to keep things neat and organized, but do whatever you need to to make your planner interesting and easy to use. Check your planner everyday and make a note to study for exams at least a few days or even a week or so ahead. That way you’ll be prepared enough to ace those tests! Continuing on with studying, make sure to take care when studying for finals. Those are the last giant boosts for your grade, and can help bring your low grade way up…. or they can push your grade farther down if you don’t study. If you are really serious about wanting to get your grades up then study a lot for your finals!!! Make flashcards (even the process of making them helps you memorize), have a friend quiz you, re-write and color code notes, make up a study game, do whatever you can think of that will help you. And remember to do it ahead of time, cramming the day before an exam is never a good idea and just puts more stress on you, however, taking time a few weeks to slowly go over everything you learned throughout the year, taking extra time for the stuff you have trouble with, can really be helpful. I know this one sucks to do sometimes but, go after school! If you don’t understand what’s going on in the lesson, or you had difficulty with something awhile back and need a refresher, go after school sometime and ask for help! Most teachers stay after to help students anyways, and will gladly help you. Even if it seems like a lot of effort, try to make it easier, bring a friend, a snack, whatever will make the situation more comfortable for you. Also if your teacher allows you to make up tests or quizzes after school do it, but be sure to study for them, you don’t want to make up the test/quiz and get a bad grade again. Also remember to ask your teacher first before you come after, just to be sure that they will be there and you don’t end up waiting for someone who isn’t coming. Check your work! The best way to get good grades, is to make sure you have less mistakes. Sometimes when I finish writing a paper or taking a test I just want to be done with it and don’t give it a second glance. But that’s usually what ends up costing me the good grade, a spelling mistake, or a forgotten integer. It’s also helpful to have a parent or guardian or anyone who is good at whatever subject you are doing to check over any homework or at home projects, just to be extra careful. I really hope this helps you bring up your grade before the end of the year! Good Luck!

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Sports

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Setting High Goals

christian peters

While Malden High School prides itself in many ongoing traditions, dating back decades, there is always room for creating new traditions. A great example of this is MHS’s first ever boys volleyball team. Started for the first year this spring, with many years to come, their season is off to a great start.

Ana Kerr Reporter

s the school year comes close to finish, so did volleyball season. Throughout the season the boys gained the act of perseverance and they never gave up. Sophomore Felipe Cypriano and senior Joshua Giang were the first ever captains to be selected for the MHS boys varsity volleyball team. Giang and Cypriano will go down in school history as being named the first ever boys volleyball captains. Matthew Sadowski, MHS guidance counselor and girls volleyball coach, has taken the responsibility of coaching the school’s newest team. History teacher and former girls volleyball coach, Dana Marie Brown, has assisted Sadowski in coaching the boys. With it being the boys volleyball team’s first season, they have had four wins and ten losses, a total of fourteen games. Most of the players on the team all agreed that their goal, since they are the first male volleyball team, was to try their hardest in practices so when it came to the games they could win and help make MHS history and begin a positive reputation for MHS. Some may say that volleyball is a difficult sport to learn, but sophomore Germano Fidelis said that although it is a, “hard sport in general,” it is only because of, “the different techniques you need to know and the knowledge of where to go when playing.” Senior Christian Smith Additionally says that, “[volleyball] is a tough sport, especially if it is your first year playing like

[him]. You have to be prepared. You never know when you are going to be sub’d I or sub’d out.” Junior Bruno Da Silva also comments that, “of course no one likes losing and when the team does, [he] usually don’t talk to anyone.” But he is, “really competitive so when

[they] win, [he get’s] really happy with the team because that shows [they] are doing [their] jobs well.” Hard work and dedication allowed the team to pull themselves throughout the season. Sadowki stated , “[that] of course [he enjoys] it, [he] didn’t know what to expect or who would come to try out. But [he finds] it weird to coach people who have never played before and

[he is] glad they tried out and they learned quickly and become great athletes throughout the season.” The team of twenty members constantly practiced both after school and on the weekends, trying to get every move, bump, set, and hit perfect in order to win the first title for MHS. As the season came to an end, the boys continued to learn, improve, and prosper. Cypriano said, “being captain was interesting because [he led] the team that has older kids than [himself].” In mutual agreement with the whole team volleyball wasn’t really an option at the beginning of the season but all members have fallen in love with volleyball and desire to continue it either in their next year’s of high school or in college. Being the only freshman on the team, Manuel Quesada Nylen believes that”it is a little bit overwhelming [being the youngest] because the team is made up of mainly juniors and seniors.” Da Silva also added that “[His] favorite thing about playing volleyball is having a chance to get together with [his] friends and have fun while playing.” Throughout the whole season the boys gave their all and tried 100 percent whether it was in their game or practices. Although the newcomers did not make it to the state tournament, they are more than determined to continue to train and prepare for nexts season.

Ana Kerr Reporter What was your inspiration or what motivated you to play volleyball? Nothing really inspired me, but word of mouth definitely. My friend Omar told me about tryouts and I was like why not, so I tried out. What is your favorite part about volleyball? I like practice because I think I perform better. Also, during practice everyone gets time, and in games not everyone is guaranteed playing time. In practice, there isn’t really pressure like there is in games. I am not a huge fan of warm ups but I can get by it, I mean it’s fun but it’s not as fun as practice. If there was an opportunity for you to play volleyball in your previous high school years, would you? Yes. I definitely would’ve played if volleyball was offered in previous years at school. Starting out of course you aren’t going to be the greatest but in years to come you’re going to be much better at the sport. What is tough about volleyball? I don’t think it is a hard sport but more of a demanding one. When I was in middle school, I used to play beach volleyball for fun and I never thought it was hard, but after when I got on the team it proved to be more difficult. You have to do a lot of back and forth and work well as a team which is not always easy for everyone. Do you plan on continuing with volleyball after high school?

From top to bottom: Junior Gutemberg Peixoto Dos Santos serves the ball. Senior Bruno Da Silva blocks the ball as the rest of the team stays on their toes for the next play. All photos taken by Ana Kerr.

I am not quite sure yet. Most likely not because I don’t really see myself playing volleyball just because it’s not something I would continue on but it is rather something that was offered and it was a great opportunity. I don’t really see myself pursuing it college-wise, more for fun than divisionally. It would be a lot of work added on to what I am already going to do like pay for my college tuition, juggling all of my classes, there is going to be a lot of work in school and also out of school.

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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row, row, row your boat

Meghan Yip Reporter

group constructed from coopAn important factor of the crew them, were named State Champieration and endurance, the Mal- team was the togetherness that con- ons last year for their Girls Novice den High School crew team started stantly surrounds them. Nguyen Four boat. Gustowski, who initially off this season with a headstrong added that he “strongly believe[d] planned to do outdoor track for attitude and the determination to that the crew team shows the most the Spring season at MHS, wanted get them far. The varsity team is led teamwork among any other sport to “try something out of [comfort by coaches science teacher Shauna team at Malden High.” Being a zone]” and eventually became inCampbell and math teacher Sarah member since his freshman year, terested in crew through mutual Jones, along with junior captains he expressed that “[they] have to friends and upperclassmen. She was Samantha Forestier and Stephen match each other’s movements as especially interested in the team LaFauci, and senior captains Blue closely as possible in the boat. This aspect of crew, as track was a more and Gold member Julie Lam, Devon requires the entire boat to share a “independent sport”. Many people agree with this Laudadio, Isadora Coleho and Long single mindset since all eight have Nguyen. This year’s varsity coxswains are junior Austin Giang, sophomore James Mac, as well as Lam. With the bitter New England spring weather, the team had sometimes found themselves practicing indoors more often than outdoors. This set the team back, but every member always managed to make time for the sport. A typical practice for the crew team was about three hours long every single day, consisting of different drills and techniques, with a consistent amount of feedback from the coaches following them along on the water. Above: Boys varsity eight boat rowing at the Moose on the Malden Regatta on Nguyen stated that “the most challenging thing about crew May 17, 2015. Photo taken by PJ Montezuma. [was] the hectic schedule that goes to work together in unison.” notion, as does freshman Jimmy on during the season.” He also exSophomore Ariel Gutowski Tran. He adds that “it honestly plained that “after April break, crew also stated that “the crew team is doesn’t matter if someone is sigtakes place seven days a week, with like a family. Our butts and legs nificantly stronger or significantly practice on weekdays and back to and arms may hurt, but we get weaker” because “when [they are] back races on weekends. It’s easy to through it. It’s a miracle we’re still on the boat, [they] have to synchroburn out knowing that your week- in one piece.” Gustowski, along nize every single stroke because it ends are spent from 9 AM to 6 PM in with senior Ayutha Basuseto, ju- moves the boat faster, so if teamwork races, leaving no time for anything nior Gabrielle Casaletto sophomore and cooperation isn’t incorporated, other than crew.” Vivian Nguyen, and Giang leading there really is no point in trying.”

Devon Laudadio

Meghan Yip Reporter What sets crew apart from every other team at MHS? Crew is very independent. We aren’t the football team nor the basketball or baseball team so when it comes to support, we don’t get much of it from the athletics department. However, if you look into the crew team, you’ll notice that we have some of the highest GPA’s in the school on our team. We also have had boats placing in states for the

past three years that I’ve been a part of the team. All of our regattas, especially our biggest one called The Moose on the Malden, are able to happen due to our amazing coaches and the amazing parents that volunteer. So while we may not have a lot of help from the school itself, our events and our team still strive in everything we set our minds to which is something that a lot of our other schools teams cannot say. What made you join crew? I wanted to join crew my sophomore year. After playing baseball for the high school my freshman year, I realized that I was looking for more of a team sport where the athletes genuinely cared for the well being of one another. Everyone suggested crew since it’s obvious how close-knit the team is, and so I joined. If I had any regrets from high school, it would be not joining the team sooner. What is the most challenging thing about crew? The most challenging thing about crew would be erging. When you’re sitting on a machine imitating row-

ing, it’s hard to get motivated. But once you get on the water, all the erging that you did prior to that becomes so worth it. What is your favorite thing about crew? My favorite thing about crew would probably be the people. We spend so much time together between after school practices and weekend regattas that we become a family. As a captain, what are your goals for the team? What are your personal goals? As a captain, I hope to see our team do really well in all of our regattas, especially the States regatta. Knowing that our boats place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the entire state is really noteworthy. It’s such a great feeling when people are talking about Malden and how we’re the team to beat. My personal goal for crew is to be able to keep it prospering. It started out as a very small team with people having little to no knowledge of it. However as the years have progressed, the team has become significantly larger and more successful. I hope it continues to grow and flourish as the years go by.

He also expresses that “[The crew team] is probably the most team-based sport at Malden High. All of the older members are extremely helpful and they work to improve the newer members a lot.” “If I had to describe the coaches in one word, it would be strict” Tran said. “But they’re only strict because they want [the team] to strive for greatness. They really push us to be the best we can be.” The fifth annual Moose On The Malden Regatta was held on May 17th at the boathouse on Commercial Street. Local vendors and volunteers served food and sold merchandise. The teams that competed were Cambridge Rindge and Latin, Holyoke, MacDuffie, Malden, Medford, Megunticook Rowing, Milton, Mystic Valley, Nauset Tech, Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club, Row Boston, Somerville/Everett, Springfield, Waynflete, and Yarmouth. Top performances included the boys novice 8 boat that placed. Those in the boat include junior and Blue and Gold member Andrew Cogliano, sophomores James Mac, Brandon Li, Jesse Bouley, and freshmen Henry Nguyen, Paul Ariaza, Waymond Szeto, Max Weng, and Dylan Ha. The varsity girls were co GBL champions with both Somerville and Everett. With yet another successful crew season, the team is proud of themselves individually and as their overall performance.

Do you have any motivations or inspirations? My motivations for crew started after I quit baseball. I had played all my life and my dad was both my biggest fan and critic, so after I quit, he wasn’t too happy. I set out to show him how amazing crew was and how I would succeed in that sport as well. I think he really started getting into it after my first States race when my boat came in 2nd. Ever since then, he got really into it. He’s been at every regatta cooking burgers for the team and cheering all our boats on. What advice can you give to newer crew members or newer athletes in general? To newer crew members I would say to not give up. It’s going to be hard and challenging at first, and it’s most certainly time consuming, but what you get out of crew is significantly greater than anything you put into it. That goes to all new athletes too. Join crew, everyone! It’ll be the best decision you make in your whole high school career!

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what’s all that Racket? Samuel Martinez Reporter

alden High School’s girls tennis team has had great years, but this past season has been exceptional. Lead by senior captains, Tammy Nguyen and Mandy Cheng; and, instead of Coach Diaz coaching alone, Patrice Duggan has joined the team to help coach. This year, Duggan started off her first year at MHS as a substitute for English teacher, Jennifer Clapp, and her first year coaching girls tennis with a team that she believed “works cohesively together” and had a strong competitive attitude. She decided on tennis because she enjoys the sport and she plays it competitively herself. Duggan claimed that throughout the entire season the team had continued to work as a team, improved their game both as a whole and individually. The aforementioned win against Medford was one of Duggan’s favorite moments in the season because it was their first match and the girls played their best and won with a score of 5-0. With the new season, new players joined the team. She wants each of the newer players to “keep playing, keep that competitive spirit and enjoy the game.” Her team supports one another and they work together while at the same time, rooting for one another. Nguyen strives to set a good example and become a role model for her teammates, which inspires her

Michelle Ospina

to continue on improving her game. She hopes to create a tighter bond with each player and “for everyone to be able to rely on each other and talk to each other.” Nguyen wants each player to receive the attention they deserve to ensure each of them succeed in tennis and to make sure that they enjoy the sport. Even though they try their

Above left to right senior Mandy Cheng practicing her serve. Senior Michelle Ospina practicing her hitting during practice. Photos taken by Samuel Martinez. hardest on besting all of their com- eryone] can enjoy,” not something petitors, they also try their hardest very competitive. to gain high academic achievements. Nguyen also declares tennis a “[The players] not only worry about sport that is filled with “adrenaline tennis but on their education. I see and excitement whenever [she] how dedicated that the tennis girls plays.” As a captain should, she enare when it comes to education” joys watching her fellow teammates stated Nguyen. enjoying each others company and Unlike last year’s season, com- feeling confident about themselves munication off of the court is not an when they serve and hit.

was more fit and I could definitely serve and hit balls back. I think the hardest part was growing that new skill but also growing that new skill while having three coaches within the past four years so it was kind of inconsistent but it was helpful with the captains that were assigned each year, they definitely showed some leadership and were able to continue some kind of balance. What made you decide to play tennis? I don’t like running and when I grew up, I did play a little bit of tennis so it’s a sport I don’t dislike so I had to try it and I definitely enjoyed it.

Samuel Martinez Reporter How was playing tennis at MHS? In the course of my four years, it was pretty interesting and definitely fun and rewarding just because I started off not having any experience playing tennis and by the end of my four years I definitely

issue. Nguyen wants the younger players on the team to never give up because each and every one of them possess a specific talent which will become stronger as time progresses. States are important to every sports team, in order to advance in the game, especially girls tennis, but Nguyen believes that “ tennis is also supposed to be a fun sport that [ev-

What was your favorite thing about being on the girls tennis team? We have some sort of relationship with ourselves because of how the small the team is, there’s not many of us, there is always less than twenty members per year, so I think just the fact that we actually get to know one another in the team.

Cheng believed that the new and old players were able to communicate with each other well and have been able to adapt to the changes that came with coach Duggan. Cheng explains that with the loss of five varsity players, the team suffered. However, they managed to come back with recently added players in their roster and a renewed love for the game. Cheng had hopes that she would improve as an indivdual throughout the entire season. She also recognizes that each player shows determination when keeping their athletics and their education balanced out, despite all the homework and practices they usually have. At the end of the season, the team had come to a record of nine wins to six losses. Their wins include two 4-1 wins against Medford, two 3-2 wins against Lawrence, a 3-2 and a 4-1 win against Everett, a 4-1 and a 5-0 win against Somerville, and a 5-0 win against Revere The last game of the season was on May 22 against Lawrence, with a 3-2 win by Malden. The Girls Tennis team remains undefeated in the Greater Boston League. With the seniors graduating, the team hopes that next year they’ll remain undefeated with their new captains and that they’ll perform just as good, or even better, than this season.

What do you plan on doing after high school?

Who has had the biggest impact on your life at MHS?

I am going to Emerson college and I will be studying in the Visual Media Arts Department. There’s a tennis court in front of the dorms

Lisa DeLacey, she was one of the previous tennis captains because even though I met her through tennis I also met her through Interact Club, that was one of the volunteer club that we had. She was generally a good leader both in sports and academic wise and she just treated people really kindly so it was kind of like a really good example of both on the courts and off the courts.

Any advice for underclassmen about tennis and school? You should definitely before joining a sport have yourself organized with general school because that is definitely the most important part because even if you’re not sure where you are going in the future at least having a good background to go off of it’s definitely going to help you in the future when you are trying to apply for things. As for tennis, part of that is that you’re not going to be at the courts at the same time every day so that’s why you need to be organized first and tennis is definitely harder than people take it to be, especially during tennis tryouts, so to not take it lightly but if it’s something you like to do, you should definitely try it.

What do you think you will miss most about MHS? Probably all the people I have made relationships with, both teachers and students, since through clubs and sports and general classes at Malden High I have definitely been able to meet people who aren’t just in my grade and how they have different things to offer and different perspectives because a lot of them are from different parts of the world so I think to have that diversity and knowing that that’s not always the case everywhere I go, I’m definitely going to miss that.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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kerry ngan

Leila Greige Reporter What is it like playing tennis at MHS? Tennis at MHS is exciting. There are many skilled players at our school, all of which are fun people, and I look forward to playing with them everyday. How long have you played tennis? And what made you want to play? I have been playing tennis for 4 years now. When I play tennis I really enjoy the challenge of playing against stronger opponents. What is your favorite thing about playing on the team? My favorite thing about being on the team was playing alongside my teammates game after game and progressively witnessing how they grew and performed better. What are your plans for after high school? For my plan after high school, I am going to Umass Amherst, I would definitely try to continue playing tennis if I find the time for it in college

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

Leila Greige Reporter

ith a final record of 12-5, Malden High School’s boys tennis team brought great pride to the school. All members on the team worked their hardest during every practice and match to extend their abilities past their talents. The team is coached by MHS physical education teacher Julie Briggs. On and off the court, the team will be losing some very influential seniors as they graduate. Among them are captain Eugine Szeto, Blue and Gold member Piero Pocobene, and Kerry Ngan. Szeto expresses that “Ms. Briggs is a great coach because she knows a lot about the game and she is always on the sidelines guiding [the boys] for the match during practice.” Briggs worked to keep a small team to maximize the court space that they had so that everyone can get the appropriate attention and practice time. Szeto adds that his coach “always has a game plan for what [the boys] should work on.” Junior Allen Liang identifies his team as “[his] motivation because seeing all them working hard motivates [him] to get better.”

As advice to any tennis players or anyone interested in beginning the sport, Liang says “forget about the score and play normally because you’ll get too nervous. It’s better to play aggressively and lose than to play safe.” “No matter what the lineup is, we all go out there fighting in hopes to get a win” says junior William Yang. “My biggest competition is myself, and I’m sure my teammates would say the same thing about themselves because in most of our opponents, we lose to ourselves because of the inconsistency and silly errors we make.” Playing a new position is like “a fresh new start” so the players are encouraged to not give up when they are put in a position they are not used to. “Learning to have the determination and grit to stay in the game and fight for every point has taught me to not give up on myself and my teammates because we all depend on each other to get the win in the end” says Yang. The boys were an improving team that worked very hard this season, and they wanted to see it pay off by getting more wins and

going deeper into the state tournament than they did last year. Briggs, according junior William Yang, is “demanding, [which he enjoys].” She makes them work hard for their position and makes them put in 100 percent in every practice and game. “The best moment of this season so far was definitely a thrilling win in nearly 3 hours of play when the entire team rushed onto the courts to congratulate our Second Doubles team for earning us the win” says Szeto. This season, the boys biggest win was probably over North Reading when they beat them at the beginning of the season and then beat them at the end of the season. Last season, the boys tennis team made it to the state tournament and even though they lost in the first round, they lost by a “respectable score of 2-3.” They made it there after a difficult season before so they are proud of themselves as a team. The boys concentrated on every hit, earning them the GBL championship. Szeto added that students should “move on” and “work harder” in order to “figure out what you did wrong”. He also emphasizes to members that they must “keep working harder and try again when we play them the next time. If you lose again, accept that you can’t win all your matches, but you can certainly improve.” The team also had a strong win against Everett with a score of 5-0. It can confidently be said that the boys tennis team is one of the school’s most improved teams, considering they are always giving it their all and constructing themselves past their limits. Szeto stated that there is a strong “mental component” to tennis. He expressed that “in order to win, you have to keep playing your best, even if something in your body is telling you to stop.”

What’s your advice to the underclassmen on the team, or new freshman to MHS next year that plan on going the tennis team? My advice on the underclassmen on the team would be to play their best and don’t let mistakes bring down their game. Who’s helped you the most when you’ve had personal doubts about a game or position? I would say the person that has helped me the most in becoming a better player would be my friend, Eugine Szeto, who is also on the tennis team.

From top to bottom, left to right: Senior Blue and Gold member Piero Pocobene and junior Rory Milan playing alongside in a match. Senior Eugine Szeto serves the ball. Milan hits the ball and watches it go across the court. All photos taken by Leila Greige.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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lax to the max

brianna duffy

Anna Powers Reporter

How long have you been playing lacrosse? I started playing before high school for the youth league, and really started taking it seriously once I got into high school. What made you want to play lacrosse? The sport seemed so new and different to me so I thought it would be something cool to try out. What is your favorite thing about being on the MHS lacrosse team? Anna Powers Reporter From top to bottom, left to right: Malden vs. Melrose game at Pine Banks. Malden player sprints towards the net as Melrose players trail behind. Malden player reaches her stick up high to fight the ball away from Melrose opponent. Photos taken by Anna Powers.

he girls varsity lacrosse team started off their season with determination and hard work, maintaining these skills to last the whole season. Throughout the season, the team managed to keep their heads up after facing a loss and focus on future games. Coach Jessica Prickett says that “this year was tough in the wins column but the spirit that the girls have shown and the commitment that the girls have shown are the same.” Returning players welcomed new ones with open arms, and looked forward to what they can offer to the team. Freshman Lynn Nguyen said, “when I first started going to captain’s practice returning members were all so nice, and didn’t get frustrated when we were learning the game”. A huge amount of effort is put into getting along and being able to work together on the field, but also a tremendous amount of effort is put into getting along off the field. Se-

nior captain Gabrielle Silva helped new players by “teaching them the way [her] captains taught [her] when [she] was new to lacrosse [her] freshman year.” Varsity players made sure to make all of the junior varsity players as comfortable as possible by staying for their games and making sure there’s no judging, just helping. Captains Silva, Brianna Duffy, and Ellie Cordero always reminded players to “not give up, everything is hard when you’re first starting”. At the beginning of the season, the team does an activity called “Bigs and Littles,” which is when returning players get paired up with new players, allowing the two to learn about one another and allowing the returning players to teach the new players what lacrosse is all about. This partnership lasts throughout the whole season. At the end of the season the pairs make encouraging posters for each other. This exercise is a fun way that helps players create a strong connection with each other.

Before games, the players do everything that will get their energy pumping. Then after the games all players join together while Coach Jessica Prickett and Co-coach Barbara talk about the good and bad things that went on during the game. The coaches also give the hustle crown to the player that they felt worked the hardest during that game. Players get to put anything they want on the crown, whether it be their name, or a picture of themselves. Also players talk with the Bigs and Littles partners about how they did that game and give them advice on future games. Girls lacrosse is only saying goodbye to four seniors, Charlee Ruddock, Silva, Duffy, and Cordero. Coach Prickett expresses that “their leadership was outstanding and they are a big part of our growth as a program.” Though all seniors will be missed, next years varsity team will pick up where this season left off.

The team. A lot of my best friends I met and became close with through playing lacrosse and in general the team just gets along really well together. There’s hardly ever any drama and we all just get along really well. Any advice for underclassmen on the team? To keep working hard. For our team to get better and get to the next level, everyone just has to give it their best effort and not give up. Do you plan to continue playing lacrosse in the future? Unfortunately the college I’m going to doesn’t have a team but I hope to maybe join a club team just to play for fun. Coach Prickett, what do you have to say about Brianna Duffy? Brianna is the epitome of what coaches love about athletes. She works hard, uses the coaching that she receives to get better, and helps to spread a good work ethic to her teammates. Brianna has been a leader on this team before she was a captain. She is someone I and her teammates can count on without a doubt.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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joshua munoz

boys lacrosse sticks it out The MHS boys lacrosse team had a triumphant season by overcoming various accounts of adversity and finishing the season on a strong note.

Julio DaSilva Contributing Senior Reporter

How long have you played this sport? I started to play lacrosse since my sophomore year. I was very interested in playing a sport and many friends convinced me to play. I also wanted to expand my horizon to be involved in high school. What position do you play? I play defense. What will you miss most about the team/the season? I will miss all the fun we had together as a team and the bond we all shared. What are your plans for after high school? I will be attending Umass Boston and hopefully play lacrosse there. I plan on majoring in Finance. What advice would you give to the underclassmen? To always remain focused and to always give 100 percent effort.

Tenzin Dorjee Reporter

s the school year comes to an end, Malden High School’s boys lacrosse said farewell to their pasrt season. Under Brenden Maney’s coaching, Malden High School’s varsity boys lacrosse team has prospered more this year in comparison to years past. The team was led by senior captains Isaac Bethea and Sam Wong. Having spent three years on the lacrosse team, Bethea explained that “it [was] a great honor” to be captain in his final year of high school. He felt that this recognition “[showed] that the coach [trusted him and Wong] and [their] teammates [trusted them]” to guide the team. As captain, Bethea described that his role is to “lead [the team] on and challenge them to work harder and focus.” The captains wished for their team to be able to make the playoffs, claiming that this goal was more achievable this year because the lacrosse team was “better than it has ever been in recent years.” The underclassmen were also a vital part of the team. Sophomores Andy Tham and Steven Sexton were new to the varsity team this season, and integrated themselves into the close-knit team well. As the season progressed, Tham commented how he was able to “[bond] with [the captains] so well [that] it really [felt] like [he had] been playing with

them for years.” Sexton explained how “the captains this season were unbelievable [as] they helped [the] team get to where [they] are.” Coach Maney set his goal on a more individualistic way as he wished to improve the players’ skills “as much as [they] can from when [the season began] to where [the coaching staff] wants them to be [at the end of the season].” Assistant coach and MHS history teacher Jonathan Copithorne confidently expressed his desire “to win every game [possible].” Nevertheless, Copithorne enjoys “seeing improvement” in the players and hopes for the players to “try hard and get better everyday.” The biggest joy of lacrosse to Maney is teaching because “it is an opportunity to give back,” since lacrosse has “given [Maney] so much in [his] life.” Copithorne professed that lacrosse is a sport he feels “everyone should play,” as “it is the most exciting game out there” in his opinion. Bethea explained that he “feels free when [he is] playing.” Bethea enjoys “the physical aspect of [lacrosse],” as it allows him more freedom for the plays that he can make on the field. Regarding this year’s team, coach Maney loved how his players “always come ready to play.” He mentioned that “new [members]

pitch in and help out” and that the team was “an easy group of guys to like.” While only having had one season on varsity, Sexton expressed that the team has “so much chemistry between the players [since they] work really well together and try [their] hardest to be the best [they] can be.” Tham explained how he loved the passion his teammates have for the game and how great it was when they were “always pushing for competition [amongst themselves] in practice and in games” in order to better themselves individually for the betterment of the team as whole. A sense of true unity is sensed by Sexton because the team always “helps each other” to improve. As the season ended, the team was able to make history in a way as they end off the 2015 season with a 5-11 record. The team worked hard and was able to leave last year’s record of 1-15 in the dust with wins over the joint Lynn-Classical High School & Lynn English High School team (twice), Everett High School’s team (twice), and Revere High School’s team. With the season over, the seniors bid farewell to their team while the underclassmen wait anxiously for the next season. While the future is unknown, Maney feels that there are definitely “some more wins out there” as he has high hopes for next season.

Left to right, top to bottom: Malden player does the faceoff with Everett player. Malden players chase Everett player down the field. MHS lacrosse boys aggressively play defense. Malden and Everett fight for the ball. The Malden team huddles before the game for a motivational pep talk before they face off against city rival. All photos taken by Tenzin Dorjee.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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chasing the championship The girls track team clung onto the Greater Boston League Championship titles for both indoor and outdoor track for the 2014-2015 athletic year. Tenzin Dorjee Reporter

nlike many sports, where they end with the change of season, track continues, come snow or shine. With the end of the indoor track season, the girls exit the gymnasium tracks and run outside once more, signalling the beginning of the outdoor track season. The team has no official captain, but often times the seniors, being the eldest members of the team, are looked up to in order to conduct the massive group of athletes on the girls track team. Senior Chrislande Joseph believed the season to be extremely successful and recognizes how “everyone did their part and [how] it [all] came together perfectly in every meet” to be the source of the triumphant season. Senior Victoria Hannafin exclaimed how this year they “had a lot of underclassmen step up to help score in [their] meets.” Hannafin, a member since the beginning of her high school journey, expressed how “the team is always great [because they] all get along really well, which helps [them] to function as close to seamlessly as [they] can.” Malden High School English teacher David Londino is the head coach of the team, while being sup-

ported by MHS physical education and health teacher Jayson Payeur, and shot put pundit Christopher Kaulbfleisch. Hannafin confessed how “although [Londino] is really annoying, [she] knows [that she] can go to him for anything,” as track has helped her create a relationship beyond mere student-athlete and teacher/coach, to something more akin to a friendship. Joseph continued the Londino praise, saying how he “is honestly the hardest working coach [she has] ever had the pleasure of working with,” because “[one] can just tell he genuinely cares about the sport.” The girls made MHS history with the 2015 outdoor track season, as they became the first ever girls outdoor track team to win the Greater Boston League and become the GBL champions. The team conquered and crushed the competition, beating out GBL rivals Medford High School, Everett High School, and Somerville High School to obtain the flawless 3-0 record and become the GBL champs. Londino admitted becoming

champions in outdoor track “was exciting” and was very proud of his girls outdoor track team. He explained that the team had very “strong leadership from the seniors,” as they “helped the younger athletes by teaching them how things work.” The Somerville meet was their last GBL meet and at first, the girls were losing, and the title of champions almost ran away, but the girls did not give up and chased after it relentlessly and was able to “score the remaining points,” which were necessary and undoubtedly, Hannafin proudly adds, “lead to [their] victory.” Somerville was the girls’ toughest meet, as the Highlanders are often the ones that stand in the way of MHS being GBL champs. As the season winds down, the seniors must say their farewells and the underclassmen will prepare for the seasons to come. Hannafin enjoins the team to “keep pushing,” saying that although “sometimes [track is] tough, it’s worth it in the end”. MHS wishes the girls outdoor track team continued success in all their meets to come in future seasons and years.

Left to right: Junior Deborah Kibazo and senior Victoria Hannafin running the 800 meter race. Junior Marly Loreus running the 400 meter race. Senior Amalika Lucien and junior Carine Exume running in the 100 meter dash. All photos taken by Piero Pocobene.

Amalika Lucien

Tenzin Dorjee Reporter What do you love about track? I love the fact that when attending practice or attending a track meet I can always challenge my capabilities every time I run, I set different goals for myself and run ten times harder than my previous track meet or my previous track practice. Track has become beyond a sport to me, more of a habit! What made you join? In 8th grade during field day we had a relay race and I ran the fastest I could, ever since then I was inspired to do a sport involving speed. So when I joined track and realized how fast I was, I began to just love it and realized that I can be an amazing runner and make it into the Olympics one day. How’s it feel to be in your final year of track and high school in general? To be in my final year in track honestly is very despairing especially because of the amazing coaches that only help me improve and become greater at what I do. Being in my final year in high school has taught me a lot about myself and my surroundings. It feels great to have made it this far, just to know that I’m moving on to reach my goals. What will you miss about MHS? As tedious as I find homework to be, I will always miss the little push from teachers to do my homework and how it will get me to be far in life. What will be memorable track and MHS memories? My best memories of track is being able to make it to states all 4 years of my high school life. Best memories of high school is just when thinking everything could go wrong finding different ways of bringing yourself back up & ten times stronger. Any advice for underclassmen who do track or want to do track? Give it a chance, a majority of people quit track because of the intensity. But without intensity, how do you plan on becoming superior? Hell yeah you’ll die, but you’ll have the best rebirth. What are your plans or goals for after you graduate MHS? After high school, I plan on continuing to run track. Also, to be in the Olympics is a goal. I’m not sure 100% what I want to major in yet.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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jackie wang

Piero Pocobene Lead Photographer What has it been like to be a member of the Malden High track team? It’s been fun. I liked being a part of the team - I met a lot of friends and they became very close friends. They were people that I could laugh with and joke around with. When did you start running? What has inspired you to run throughout high school? I started running the fall of freshman year on the cross country team. I never really expected to join the team, I was asked by a friend, but I really enjoyed being a part of the team. It’s been very fun over the years, and I’m very glad that I joined. What has been your favorite thing about being a member of the track team? Going on jogs with my friends has been very relaxing. It was a great team-bonding time, and I really enjoyed it. What do you plan to do after high school? I’m going to UMASS Amherst next year. I plan to go into computer programming, and unfortunately I don’t think that I will run on the team next year. As a senior member of the team, do you have any advice for the younger members of the track team? Most of all, stick with it! Listen to the coach, and make sure to make close friends so that you have incentive to stay on the team. Has anybody at Malden High had a very significant impact on your life? Ms. Marquez, Mr. Marques and, of course, Mr. Londino. I feel like I learned the most in Ms. Marquez’s class, and that I am now a much better writer. Mr. Marques introduced me to the computer programming field, and it’s something that I plan on making a career, so he will have a lasting impact. Mr. Londino has been my coach for four years now, and I learned a lot of discipline, dedication, and respect from him. Everyone on the team respects him a lot, and he’s been a great coach to all of us.

speeding their way through the competition Tenzin Dorjee Reporter

he Malden High School boys track team continued right where it left off in the winter with the arrival of the outdoor track season. While without a clear-cut captain, the team is spearheaded by its seniors. In comparison to past years, the team is much smaller and younger, but amongst the underclassmen, Senior Timur Berilo noted that there are “a lot of very good new and accomplished returning runners and throwers.” With such a young team, the season was one of “growth and learning,” expressed Senior Jonathan Ye. Ye explained how there “is still room to grow both from a physical and mental standpoint” for the team. The team is led by MHS English teacher David Londino along with assistant coaches MHS physical education and health teacher Jayson Payeur, and shot put specialist Christopher Kaulbfleisch. Ye explained how the “coaches [always] knew what they were doing [and] did a great job planning and evaluating [players] when it came to tal-

ent and strategy.” Berilo, who, as a thrower, complimented assistant coach Kalbfleisch, saying how “he would always push [them] to [their] limits, allowing [them] to [be able to] throw farther and farther each day.” He also adds that he “is really dedicated and knows how to motivate the throwers.” The boys ended the regular season with a record of 2-1, having beaten both Medford High School and Everett High School, but having had to face an unfortunate loss against a Greater Boston League rival, the Somerville Highlanders. While the team aimed to go 3-0 this season, the Golden Tornadoes are still proud of its record and are happy to be able to have the experience and be able to improve because of it. Coach Londino is very proud of his boys saying how although it’s unfortunate that they will “lose a couple of seniors, a lot of the varsity points [during meets] came from athletes who are junior, sophomores and freshmen.” While it will be sad to see the seniors go, Londino states that the team will not falter and “will

[still] be a strong team next year.” Ye, going into the season, much like many other runners on the team, wished to be able “to appreciate running more, both as a member of the team, and just running in general.” As a thrower, Berilo, similar to his fellow shot putters, wanted “to place in the GBL Championship meet,” and he was able to meet his goal, achieving 5th place. Appreciation for the sport and placing high is a goal any and every athlete can relate to. As Berilo says farewell to his team, he advises all those who are in track or wish to be in track, “to keep training and to never give up,” adding that “as long as everyone keeps striving to improve themselves, the team will be successful”. Fellow senior and graduating class member Ye agrees, saying how the team must “stay motivated [and] have faith in the training,” saying how they should not “get greedy and expect to get good overnight.” With the season coming to a close, MHS wishes the best for its exceptional boys outdoor track team.

From top to bottom, left to right: Junior Stephane Mathurin leaps over the hurdles. Senior Rakeem Langston lands after performing a high jump. Sophomore Lijohn Hieng running in the mile. Freshman Matthew Chin competing in the mile. Senior Kingdolph Julien running the 400 meter race. All photos taken by Piero Pocobene.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

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jillian powers

swinging into states

Tatyanna Cabral Reporter What was it like playing softball at MHS? Playing softball was the best experience at MHS. My love for the sport grew and I had the time of my life. What is your favorite thing about the softball?

Tatyanna Cabral Reporter

his spring Malden High School’s girls varsity softball team is ready to start the season with a bang. With new coach Rachel Timmons who has “such a love for the game [who] likes to be a positive impact for the girls,” and she wants the girls to be prepared to play on the field and give it their all. With a new start to the season, the girls are striving to make this season better than the last. The team is made up of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors who are have a close knit bond as expressed by freshman Mackenzie Furlong. Senior Jasmine Kelly explained that, “the majority of [them] have played on the youth teams and grew up playing softball together.” They watch each other grow and improve as players and as a team. Senior Jillian Powers believes that “what sets [them] apart from other teams is [their] relationship on and off the field.” They have a strong bond with each other and will continue to make it stronger. The team had their first home game on Friday Apr. 17, 2015 against Beverly. The game started

with a ribbon cutting of the newly renovated Callahan Park. The girls played their absolute best, making the students of MHS and the residents of Malden proud. Senior Robyn Santo mentioned that when she is on the field she is, “focused and determined and [she gets] to forget about everything else going on and just play the game that [she] loves.” The team beat Beverly with a final score of 5-4. During practice and in a game, Timmons wants the girls to remember that, “when [they] are in a game, every play matters,and to notice the little things and know that when something goes wrong, [they] have to move on,” and learn from what they did. One thing that Furlong would like the team to work on is “always staying up and positive,” and always keeping their heads up when they have done something wrong. Timmons wants to push the girls to be the best they can be as well as to develop a strong with each other. Kelly explained that “you have to be aware of what play you individually have to make before anything happens but you also have to be aware of what your teammates are going to do,” softball is a very intense sport, making the girls

do this and being cautious of what their teammates are doing. The girls are there to back each other up when they make mistakes and in that way they can help each other get better. The girls have played against, Everett, Saugus, Lowell, North Reading, as well as other cities. They had won their game on Tuesday May 18, 2015 against Somerville with a score of 12-0. Also, on Wednesday May 20, 2015 the girls won their game against Everett with a score of 2-1. They won their last game on Wednesday May 27, 2015 against Lawrence. The game was at Callahan Park, and they ended the season with a bang just as they started it, with a score of 13-7. The team has made it to states and the girls are up on their toes and ready for anything. Kelly “truly [believes] that this season like all the previous years, will be amazing,” and that they are all trying to achieve the same goal, which they did and made it to states. Furlong is also, “very excited for the next season.” The underclassmen are preparing to fill in the shoes of the seniors, to work even harder, take charge and make next season as great as this season was. The team will strive to continue to make MHS proud.

My favorite thing about the sport is the friendships that are made. I think we will be really good this season, we work really well together. What are your plans after high school? I am going to Framingham State University and I am majoring in early childhood education. What advice would you give the underclassmen on the team? Advice I would give the underclassmen is to do what you love and have fun doing it, no matter what that sport is. What will you miss about MHS? I will miss the friendships I’ve made at MHS as well as the teachers. (Teammate Jasmine Kelly) How do you view Powers as a player? I think she is a really talented as well as a good team player. I can always count on her to feel welcome and help me with anything I need help on and off the field (Coach Timmons): What advice would you give Powers for the future?

Top to bottom, left to right: Junior Alexis Brown pitching the ball to a Beverly player up at bat. Mayor of Malden, Gary Christenson, gives a speech before the game against Beverly. Brown pitches again. Photos taken by Tatyanna Cabral.

I would tell her to follow her dreams and focus on her studies! To cherish every moment because the four years fly by very fast and to not take any moment for granted! Tell her to give her 110% effort into whatever she does! To continue to be a caring and trusting friend as well as a teammate if she chooses to continue to play softball at Framingham State University!

Sports

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

maldenblueandgold.com

Michael Morris

batting with mhs pride

Photo submitted by Michael Morris. Photo taken by Jim Valente. What is your favorite thing about baseball? The thing that keeps me coming back game after game practice after practice is that fact that when I step on that field nothing else in the world matters but baseball; I can take my mind off of whatever’s going on and just focus on baseball. What is your favorite thing about MHS? My favorite thing about MHS would be the atmosphere caused from all the diversity I think it’s built in to work that way which worked out great for me because all the friends I made here truly have an impact on my experience as well as the teachers. They’ve been more than helpful throughout my 4 year stay here and I couldn’t be more grateful, but to shout them all out here I wouldn’t be able to fit them all. What are your plans for after high school? I’m attending Fisher college in the fall and I’ll be continuing my baseball career there and my major is going to be sports management or media studies. I’m not sure which field I want to go in but I know it will revolve around sports. Who at MHS has had a big impact on your life? The single person to impact my life at MHS would be my friend/ teacher/coach & mentor Mr.Valente. I can say for a fact that without him I wouldn’t be the person I am today and I would have found it harder to get through school without him being there teaching me things I’d never thought possible whether it’d be questions I need an answer too or homework I’m having trouble on, or even problems going on outside of school. He was always willing to sit down and listen and give much needed advice on how to handle a situation. On a teaching standpoint, no teacher I met can match his energy towards teaching. I would look forward to coming to his class everyday simply because he knew how to teach to his students. He understands us sort of like a friend does, which is why I feel so many of us connect to him. And for my summer league baseball team he was the coach of it and did a phenomenal job. We won the Middlesex Championship my first year on the team and made it back to the championship game the following year. I can’t really see MHS being the same after he leaves and that’s a statement you don’t normally make about teachers, but he’s that impactful towards the school that his presence will be missed dearly when he’s gone.

From left to right: Junior Nick Andreucci up at bat. Senior Michael Morris running to first base. Photos by Leila Griege. PJ Montezuma Lead Sports Writer

fter the never ending winter, the Malden High School varsity baseball team was more than ready to bring out their baseball gloves and dust off their cleats. Head coach Kevin Carpenito took a new approach having no captains this season. The young team with a bunch of returning players wanted to make their season the best that they could. New faces to the varsity team consist of freshman Jared Martino, whose older brother was on the 2013 varsity team that made it to the second round of states, and sophomore James Pandolfo who is a Malden Catholic transfer student. Both boys are the middle infielders, playing shortstop and second base bringing a new young talent to the team along with returning sophomore Joshua Simon and first time varsity player sophomore Matt Geer. There are only six seniors, Joshua Bessey, Mark Leonard, Zack Sousa, Kyle Gillis, Michael Morris, and Nick Hames, making MHS a young team this season. Carpenito, who is returning for his 16th year as varsity coach, sees potential in the chemistry the team has. Carpenito stated that “the underclassmen are our strength, [and] the junior class is full of potential.” The juniors on the team consist of Ronald Luke, Liam Elliot, Brian Batting, Robert Collins, Thomas Hannafin and Nicholas Andreucci. The team opened their 2015 season with games against Melrose at Pine Banks, in what is called the Mayor’s Cup, on Apr. 11 at home, and lost 10-6. Luke took the mound with Elliot behind the plate, Luke finished with five strikeouts. Gillis came up strong for the Golden Tornadoes at the plate hitting a home run over the left field fence during his first at bat of the season. After a well fought game the boys ended up losing. Lukes’ goals for the season consist of “to just play hard and have a winning record when [he] pitch[es] and help [his] team out as much as [he] can on the field, on the mound, and at the plate.” Malden faced off against O’Bryant on Apr. 13 at Pine Banks. After a well played game on a beautiful day, the team fell short losing 6-4. MHS starting pitcher was Bat-

ting. Coming in as a relief pitcher in the second inning was Martino who took the mound for the first time in his high school career finishing the game with five strikeouts. To finish the game was Geer who threw two strikeouts in his first varsity appearance as well. Martino and Gillis helped the team out at the plate both knocking in one run each alongside Luke who batted in two runs. The team moved on to their next game Wed. Apr. 15 against Medford High School which was their first Greater Boston League game of the season. Malden included four different pitchers that game including Luke, Batting, Geer, and Hannafin who took the mound for the first time as a varsity pitcher. Luke made one of the two hits that the team had during the game, knocking in junior Robert Collins who got walked and became the only run scored for Malden. MHS fell short 1-9, losing their first GBL game to Medford but anxious for their next game. MHS played Triton Regional High School on Fri. Apr. 17 at Pine Banks, MHS’ third home game in a row. Geer was the starting pitcher and although the team lost 0-2, they put up a tough fight. The boys kept their heads up after starting off the season 0-4 as they squared off with East Boston on Apr. 20, which was two of MHS’ five wins last season. Martino stepped up that game on the mound and at the plate, bringing MHS their first win of the season, hitting two balls out of the park that day and knocking in three runs as well as throwing six strikeouts. Coming in to close the game off was Gillis. Martino stated that “seeing the team and Coach ‘Carp’ pumped felt really great” after being their first winning pitcher. Two days later MHS lost to Lawrence 17-2, their toughest game of the season. Going through three pitchers starting with Luke then Batting and Hannafin. Making the team hungry to redeem themselves and play their next game. MHS won their second game of the season against O’Bryant with the final score of 6-3. Geer took the mound and put on a display striking out 13 batters that game, the most thrown by a MHS pitcher this season. The team went 2-2 during April

break. With plenty of baseball left to be played, the team was standing in a record of 2-5, needing eight more wins to qualify for the state tournament. To end of the month of April the team played back-to-back games. On Apr. 29 the boys played Somerville High School, which is only their second GBL game of the season so far, both teams standing in at 0-1 in their league. Geer took the mound with Elliot behind the plate, winning his second game and the team’s third game. MHS won 10-2, making them now 1-1 in the GBL. The next day on Apr. 30 the team traveled to Triton to face off for the second time this season. After losing to Triton the first time just 2-0, they seemed to have redeemed themselves when leading 2-0 but as the game unraveled MHS ended up losing 6-2. Bringing their season record to this point, 3-6 needing seven more wins to qualify for the state tournament. MHS faced off against GBL rival Everett on Tue. May 5 that was a heated battle to the finish in which Everett came out victorious. The Crimson Tide had started off scoring one run in the bottom of the first. Taming the Golden Tornadoes up until the top of the sixth inning in which Martino knocked in the tying run. However, in the bottom of the sixth and Everett player hit an inside the park home run giving them the lead and the win a half inning later. On Thur. May 7, MHS played against Lynn Classical which was one of their hardest games they have played so far. Their starting pitcher was Luke who went four rough innings due to the lack of plays being made in the field, MHS lost 19-2. However Luke helped himself out on offense knocking in one of their two runs that game and Martino knocked in the other. The boys closed the season with their heads held high, knowing that they brought pride to their school. Despite the loss of the very influential seniors, the underclassmen will assuredly be prepared to continue making baseball a very popular MHS sport.

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2015

48 maldenblueandgold.com

CONGRATS CLASS OF 2015!