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The Blue and Gold maldenblueandgold.com Malden High School Volume 102 Edition 8

77 Salem Street Graduation 2017

Valedictorian Cleverina Cong

More of the Top 10

eady for a fresh start in her life, senior Cleverina Cong will be graduating as the top ranked student for the class of 2017. Cong will be starting this new chapter in her life at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, her “dream school.” She will be majoring in computer science and minoring in management. Computer science has always been her favorite subject in high school, she “[finds] the aspects of logic and problemsolving fun — writing a program is essentially like solving a puzzle, where you have to figure out what pieces go where and what pieces connect to each other.” Continued on page 7.

Salutatorian Don Nguyen S

enior Don Nguyen leaves Malden High School after a successful academic career geared towards robotics and computer science. Nguyen is excited to continue his journey in these fields in college. Nguyen is graduating with the class of 2017 as the second ranked member of his class. Outside of computer sciences, Nguyen was also involved with the Malden YMCA and the Leaders Core. Nguyen stated that at first he only involved himself in the events and activities as a member but eventually began to help the officers create spreadsheets and work on the management aspect of the club. Continued on page 7.

Felicia Lombardi, Class Orator Page 8

maldenblueandgold.com Malden High School Volume 102 Edition 8 June 2017

Editorial

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Malden High School

The Blue and Gold 77 Salem St. Malden, MA 02148

THE STAFF: Editor-in-Chief Tenzin Dorjee ‘17 Web & Mobile Apps Editorin-Chief Tatyanna Cabral ‘17 Print Editor-in-Chief Felicia Fallano ‘17 Managing Editor Megan Downer ‘18 Head of Local News Anna Powers ‘18 Head of Sports News Leila Greige ‘18 Head of Photography Ryan Hames ‘18 Art & Design Editor Tate Skiffington ‘17 Nedlam’s Corner Karina Matos ‘17 Head Copy Editor Gabriella Onessimo ‘17 Lead Reporters Alysha McDevitt ‘18: Local Politics, City Council, & School Committee Christina Appignani ‘18: Local News Ailin Toro ‘19: Local News Neden Bernadin ‘19: Local News Sydney Stumpf ‘19: Local News Abhishek Rana ‘19: Sports News Jesaias Benitez ‘19: Sports News Lead Videographers Nicolle Batista ‘17 Leah Tramondozzi ‘17 Nia Vital ‘17 Lead Photogrpaher Nick Powers ‘18 Manager of Web & Mobile Apps Don Nguyen ‘17 Reporters Subin Bastola ‘17 Rebecca Oliveira ‘17 Toby Pitan ‘18 Kayla Dos Reis Sousa ‘19 Makesha Mercedat ‘19 Rebeca Pereira ‘19 Emraude Bonnet ‘20 Stefany Foley ‘20 Josandy Jeune ‘20 Falyn Kelley ‘20 Sabrina Monteiro ‘20 Man Nguyen ‘20 Ana Pirosca ‘20 Jemisha Syliant ‘20 Michelle Yin ‘20 Sara Zakaria ‘20 ADVISOR RYAN GALLAGHER

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

4 Years, 1 Last Edition

raduation is finally upon us. We have spent the last four years as not only students of Malden High School, but as reporters, then heads of sections, and finally as Editors-in-Chief of the MHS newspaper, The Blue and Gold. We have more to be thankful and grateful for than this editorial space allotted to us can ever fit. The three of us at first, were three kids from three different middle schools that did not know each other at all, yet found comfort in each other because the rest of the staff of the newspaper were mostly upperclassmen. After four years, three strangers transformed into three friends. This school and The Blue and Gold have given us so much more than we had ever thought we would ever get out of this high school and journalistic experience. As different people, we each got something a little different out of all this, but in the end, it can be unanimously said that we have loved our time here and we will miss so many of the people we have met and classes we have taken here and will cherish the memories formed here.

* * * * *

iddle school and high school were very different. I went from a smaller school where there were about around 100 kids in my grade to over 400 kids in the MHS Class of 2017. High school has taught me that people really do come and go. Coming into high school, I had a close circle of friends. Before any of us really realized it, we drifted. We were all changing, meeting new people and becoming a part of different circles of friends. Now while to me, they are still my friends, it just is not the same anymore. Though, while I may not be as close friends with the people I came in with originally, the people I have met along the way, I appreciate for being there. From going to the movies, to shopping, to group study sessions, high school has given me friends that I hope to keep for a lifetime. For me, high school was an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone time and time again. Prior to high school, I had never done a sport in my life, nor did I have any interest in any. Freshman year, I took a chance, and did football. I was able to gain an appreciation and love for sports and create new friends that I otherwise may not have made. Not only have I made friends with my classmates and teammates, I’ve become close with my teachers as well. After four years, as much as I would like to say after I graduate, there’s no point in coming back, and that it is time to move on, I really can’t. Not only have I learned a lot from my teachers, more than just mentors, I’ve come to have a bond deeper than

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

that with some. I’ve spent more time in Mr. Gallagher’s room than I could ever begin to count, starting from being a reporter for The Blue and Gold to having him three periods in a row for school-tocareer, The Blue and Gold, and also AP Literature and Composition. On top of all that, I could be often found spending my study periods and after school in his room either just hanging around, and more often than not, working on the paper. Being a part of The Blue and Gold and being his student really did shape who I have become and I’ll miss coming to his room and chatting about life and the paper with him every day. I also can’t forget about the teacher who constantly told me that I had so much more potential than the grades I got in his AP Economics class showed. He never forgot to remind me of how I was in 8th grade and pushed me to do better. He always made jokes at my expense, but he always made sure to remind me that while he joked, he really did see something in me, and that he only made them in jest. I’ve known Mr. Bowers for five years, and I’ll honestly miss all of his jokes and the countless number of hilarious stories of his past that he told between teaching me about debits and credits or about the Nash Equilibrium. Both were very different types of teachers, but I am glad to have been able to meet such people. I can’t imagine what my high school career would have turned out like without them.

Tenzin Dorjee Editor-in-Chief

* * * * *

Corrections April Print Corrections

*In the Crew article, the term that was used canoe is actually called a boat. Jacob Bissett Herre was previously presented as Jacob Bissett Taylor.

Editorial

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

maldenblueandgold.com

remember my freshman year, I told myself to try and stay friends with the people from my middle school, because making new friends was too scary. Although I am still very close friends with the people from my middle school, I have also made many more friends that I’ll never forget. With those great friends, comes great memories, some more embarrassing than others, but they’re still funny to think about. I have at least one memory that stuck out to me each year and I will never forget them. Now I’d like to take a trip down memory lane. My freshman year, I had my first real day of gym class on the same day as picture day and I came a little late to class. My teacher said it was ok, but now I had to go into the locker room all by myself. I got changed pretty quickly, since I was already late, but when I was done, I couldn’t figure out how to get back upstairs to the gym. I felt like I was going in circles and I almost started crying. I did end up finding my way upstairs and reminded myself to never be late to gym again. This is still something that I think about every year and I still laugh at it every time. For Junior Varieties my junior year, I made the video that played before the second act. It was a video honoring Mr. Brown and it included pictures of him along with some sappy music. It was the first time I put my work out there for the world to see (besides writing for the newspaper) and the response that the video got sent chills down my body. I know the response that the video got was more for Mr. Brown, not so much on my part and what I did behind the scenes. I think it was just the fact that because I usually don’t put my work on display like that it felt like a stepping stone for me and breaking out of my shell, I started crying. It was a good cry and one of my good friends was there to hug me and make the moment even more special. I know that this will be a day I remember for the rest of my life. Another funny, yet sentimental memory from this year was when I sent in my first col-

lege application. The whole college process was an emotional rollercoaster on its own and it absolutely drove me crazy. I started looking at schools my sophomore year, when I had no idea what I was doing or what I was looking for in a school. In the process of submitting my application, I kept having flashbacks of college tours or times when I got so frustrated and I thought, wow this is all over now. It was pretty overwhelming and I think all my frustrations and other emotions that I felt all came out at once and I just started crying. My mom started laughing at me and I immediately took a picture of my tear stained face and posted it on Snapchat. I still feel like that was yesterday, but now here I am writing this with 11 days of school left and it feels surreal. I’m excited for this chapter in my life to end and I’m happy that it made me the person I am today.

Tatyanna Cabral Online Editor-in-Chief

* * * * *

alking into freshman orientation the first day four years ago was the most overwhelmed I’ve ever been. My middle school has around 200-300 kids in total, and I had known the same peers since I was five years old. Even though I walked into a packed auditorium on the first day of school, and cried a few times in the halls while getting lost while trying to get to my classes for the first two weeks, I’m going to miss the familiarity and diversity this school has to offer. One of the key moments of my high school career happened when making my schedule for sophomore year, my favorite year academically. When making my schedule, I made the decision to not take art classes, something I literally thought I was going to make a career out of and would major in in college for the majority of

my childhood. The classes I took here at MHS taught me more than just what was whatever the teacher’s lesson plan happened to be I learned that I thought I had everything figured out when I really didn’t. Sophomore year I took chemistry just like everyone else and found that I actually really enjoyed science and I became interested in chemistry and the environment. If it weren’t for the teachers who made classes enjoyable and interesting, I would not have found what I want to do with my future. My favorite memory, a recent one, is when I got my first college acceptance letter. I spent time working on my college essay in my AP Literature class, and even with having my peers and teacher revise and read it, I still was worried that it was the worst essay ever and no one was honest enough to tell me. I thought that admissions would take one look at my application and laugh out loud.When I got into my first school I read the letter, went to my room, and cried. Every early morning struggling to get to school by 7:45 and every late night doing homework until 1 in the morning was suddenly worth it to me. When most people talk about the diversity of MHS it is usually a reference to how there are so many cultures, races, and languages spoken at this school. What they don’t mention is how MHS, even with its flaws that every school has, is a safe and accepting place that feels like home no matter where you come from and what your interests are. Heading to college and starting a new journey in a new place after spending the last four years here at MHS is going to be an obstacle. Even though I wouldn’t say that high school was my “peak,” I did make memories with people I will never forget and I found who I truly am.

Farewell, Seniors!

Editor-In-Chief Tenzin Dorjee and Print Editor-In-Chief Felicia Fallano.

Ka Wing Cheung Page 8

Rachel Tran Page 9

Felicia Fallano Print Editor-in-Chief

* * * * *

Editor-In-Chief Tenzin Dorjee and Web Editor-In-Chief Tatyanna Cabral.

Edward Huang Page 10

Karen Luo Page 10

Yan Zheng Page 11

Opinion

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

maldenblueandgold.com

What is Love? Rebecca Oliveira Reporter

hat is love? Love is one of the strangest and most powerful forces of nature in the universe, and it is timeless. It takes on many forms, surrounding us with its presence and we long for it in its absence. For some people it’s just an intense feeling of emotion, euphoria, and hormones. Others attribute it with feeling a strong emotion towards a person, an object, an animal, or an idea. Relegating love to a strong emotion is only scratching the surface of what it really is, and people don’t realize that there’s so much more to it. Love has a multitude of dimensions to it just like a diamond has so many facets, and it radiates from God, the source of love. Even though scientists have studied love for decades, they don’t have a lot of information about it. They’ve conducted tests on both people and animals alike to see how the brain reacts when it comes to the subject of love. Scientists have found that when a person is shown a picture of their significant other, two areas of the brain light up with activity: the caudate nucleus and the ventral tegmental area. The caudate nucleus is in charge of reward detection and expectation, and integral sensory experiences that have to do with social behavior. The ventral tegmental area refers to pleasure, focused attention, and one’s motivation to work towards and obtain rewards, located at the base of a person’s brain. This area of the brain is stimulated by high levels of dopamine, which is the reason why you feel really happy and love sick around your significant other. In other words, you’re basically high off that special someone in your life. You know how when you see your crush, your hands get really sweaty, your heart races, and your cheeks start to flush? It’s not because you’re just an awkward and hopeless romantic! In that first stage of infatuation, your body releases more stress hormones of cortisol, lowering the serotonin levels causing that person to be constantly on your mind as your body tries to figure out what to do about your feelings. Ever heard of the phrase: “love is blind”? Well, in addition to having

a chemical and physical reaction on your body, love also shuts down the neurological nerves that’s in charge of negative emotions: fear and social judgement. As a result, when you’re in love it’s very difficult to make critical assessments and judgements about your crush. Now that we know the science of love, we can get down to business of what love really isn’t. Let’s start with the obvious: love isn’t lust. Being attracted to someone based on their physical appearance isn’t love. Love is not abusive! Wanting to control the actions of your significant other and manipulating them into doing what you want is considered abusive. “Love is patient, love is kind. I t

does n o t envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” As stated in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. The Bible revolves around the idea of love, starting with how God created the world for humanity to be with and love Him as He has loved them from the beginning of time. This kind of love is between the Creator and His creation, where the skies, the birds, the land, the animal, the vegetation, and the air we breathe are for His greatest creation--the human race--to live and thrive on. His devotion to the world has so many dimensions to it like a diamond’s surface, and the Bible compares it to a father’s love for his children, to a bridegroom’s love for his bride, to the love best friends, to a mother and her child, and to an artist’s love for his masterpiece. Another significant instance

of love in the Bible is when Jesus Christ surrendered Himself to die on the cross, so that we would have access to eternal life with God. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” As written in John 3:16. I believe He paid the Ultimate price for us, because His love is so unconditionally out of bounds, so pure, unquestionable and unexplainable that He would choose love to me of all people as if I was Jesus. I believe that in God’s love, we realize our true identities and we learn to love ourselves as He does, and that’s how we love the people around us. O n e of the first forms o f

love t h a t all living creatures, both humans and animals, experience is the love of a family unit. When we first come into the world, we come out crying for the love of our parents. Few things in the world can ever compare with a mother’s tender and nourishing love, and a father’s protective and gentle love. It’s with our families we learn what it means to be loved, and it’s with that love we learn how to love others in our lives. The way you treat your family will reflect the kind of love you will show to your friends and significant others. Friendship is a platonic love, without the sensual and sexual attraction that people normally find in romantic love. It’s based on the camaraderie built upon the foundation of trust and loyalty between friends, who know they can depend on one another. Being a shoulder to cry on, goofing off together, ranting about the problems of being a teenager, binge watching your favorite movies and shows, talking late into the night, and pigging out on junk

food--or healthy food--whatever it is you love to do with your best friend, brings joy to your life. Knowing I can trust her with my hopes and dreams, my fears and failures makes this life more bearable. It takes 27 hours by car to get to the college she’s going to in Texas, 43 hours by bus, 587 hours on foot, 166 hours by bike, and about 14 hours by plane give or take. I know that no matter how much time passes and distance gets in between me and my best friend, it’ll be as if no time has passed and I have faith that the same will be the case, while she’s in Texas. The way you treat your best friend will shine through in your relationship, because the same foundations in friendship--trust, respect and loyalty--will make themselves known in the relationship. Now for the moment you’ve probably been waiting for since you saw the title of this article: romance. It can be messy, beautiful, and painful. I’ve heard people say that falling in love is like floating on clouds, or jumping off a cliff. It can also suck. I don’t think there’s a single human being on this planet that doesn’t want to be loved by someone else, the longing is literally built into our DNA. We want someone to think we’re beautiful despite our faults and failures, because in order to really love someone that person has to be able to accept their significant other for the human being that they are. I’ve seen a lot of romantic relationships go sour because someone expected too much from the other person, which brings up my next point: communication. If you want a relationship with anyone, you need to communicate with each other. Developing a relationship requires trust, respect, and loyalty, where the couple is able to share their burdens with their boyfriend or girlfriend and knowing that they won’t broadcast it to the whole world, and not be so disrespectful as to whisper and gossip about their significant other behind their back. It’s similar to how friendships are founded on trust, respect, and loyalty, and some even say that a romantic relationship is like friendships on fire. Love is like a flower, with the proper care it can blossom into a beautiful rose; and, on the flip side, if it’s not tended to properly love can wither and die no matter what kind of love it is.

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

Opinion

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Erase The Waste Felicia Fallano Print Editor-in-Chief

very year at the end of the summer the Office Depot and Staples commercials seem endless while millions of children of all different age groups embark on a new year of school. Parents and kids are convinced every year to buy the newest and trendiest school supplies resulting in parents spending an average of 100 dollars on each child. Many times, parents buy more than their kids need, or buy materials they already have for the purpose of having something ‘new.’ We often think of how much money is wasted in these situations, but what about the amount of materials wasted? What is the impact that wasteful and careless spending on school supplies has on our planet? The two materials that most school supplies contain are plastic and paper. Here at Malden High School, typically students will buy a notebook or binder full of loose leaf paper for each class. According to Ecology.com, each person in America uses roughly 700 pounds of paper each year. Let’s face it: most of us buy way more paper than we need. When you are standing there in the office supplies store in front of towering stacks of college ruled paper and spiral notebooks, your first thought may be to buy as much paper as you can so that you don’t have to worry about it later, but later you’ll have more paper than you need. Many people throw this away or forget about it, and buy more paper next year in the fall. On the other hand, if you use a lot of paper and find yourself running out quickly, then maybe it’s time to start using the back of the paper or to take your work to your Google Docs (if possible). As reported by Ecology.com, nearly 4 billion trees are cut down every year just for making paper, but we could decrease this number by recycling and buying recycled paper and notebooks. What a lot of people don’t real-

i z e is that cutting down trees and not recycling paper isn’t the only threat paper has on the environment. According to the Worldwatch Institute, pollutants like toluene, methanol, chlorine dioxide, and hydrochloric acid are emitted into the air and water from papermaking plants. Many of these chemicals take an effect on the organisms and ecosystems nearby, and can be harmful to humans. Like paper, plastic has also become a material students are dependent on whether they are aware of it or not. If you walk around MHS, like any other high school, you will see multiple students carrying around a plastic Nalgene or Camelback waterbottle. Despite common belief, plastic reusable water bottles aren’t as environmentally sustainable as we think they are. Many people end up having to throw their water bottles away and buy a new one as the school year goes on if it breaks or if bacteria and dirt get trapped in the mouth pieces of the bottle. Buying a stainless steel bottle will prevent you from buying extra plastic. If we all showed water bottle companies that we want less plastic produced and more steel and glass, we could make a difference and reduce the amount of plastic produced and thrown away.

I f o u take lunch to school, chances are you most likely have some variation of tupperware, aluminum paper, and plastic wrap/sandwich bags. On top of that, you most likely buy at least one pack of pens, possibly one or a few spiral notebooks with a plastic cover, and many more supplies that contain/are made of plastic. It all adds up and we don’t even realize it. By reusing materials like lunch bags, pens, pencil cases, binders, notebooks, etc. you could reduce your yearly consumption of plastic products tremendously. The less plastic school related items you buy the less plastic gets made, processed in factories, transported, and thrown away. Driving to and from school may seem like a harmless task, but carbon dioxide emissions from your car is increasing your carbon footprint, the amount of carbon dioxide and carbon compounds that are emitted into the atmosphere due to your consumption of fossil fuels. Most kids in middle school and high school are able to walk home and/ or to school. If you are a student you can ask permission from your parents to walk or bike to school, or you could take public transportation. If you are not able to walk to school or don’t have a bike, taking the MBTA y

bus to school reduces the amount of individuals driving/ being driven to school everyday. As a last resort depending on if you’re willing, buying a portion or all of your clothes from thrift shops makes a huge difference on your carbon imprint. A lot of clothing materials like polyester, nylon, acrylic, cottons finished with formaldehyde, etc. are all made from petroleum oil. By decreasing the amount of new clothes you buy and by donating your old clothes to thrift shops, you will reduce the amount of petroleum used to make these products, the electricity and oil that is used to run clothing factories, the transporting of clothes from factories to stores, etc. A common thought that most people have is that they will not be able to help the environment or make a difference by reducing their use of consumable products because they are just one individual out of 7 billion. What people don’t realize is that cutting back or reusing one thing in their life is just a start, and that if they have perseverance through the journey of living a more sustainable lifestyle, they will eventually reduce the use of more and more products that are harmful for the environment. Your actions could influence your friends and family to take similar actions as long as you are vocal about environmental justice, and you can show the people around you how much they consume and produce waste. Many people think that living more sustainably will cost them more, but buying the amount of things we actually need and not buying extra products that we don’t really need. Reducing the amount of school supplies you buy every year may be hard, but it will make you more aware of how much you waste and how much money you could save by reusing. School is expensive for everyone at any age, so reducing the cost even by a little bit is always a good thing to do and will make you feel better. Remember that there are only positive consequences for reusing, reducing, and recycling.

Opinion

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

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2017 College Essay Winner: Sherley Muscade Hindsight is a fascinating phenomenon. Humans possess the unique ability to reflect on past events through older eyes, assess how unaware they were, and imagine if only they’d had any clue how a particular day would unfold. I habitually think back to the day my parents were deported. How my sister, mom, dad, and I awoke, brushed our teeth, got dressed, and left the house to embark on our day - implicitly assuming it’d be as normal as the rest. If I relived that day, would I realize the universe had sent me subliminal signs: A bad feeling in my stomach dismissed as hunger? A literary sense of foreboding? Did I linger while kissing my mom goodbye, internally cognizant that it would be the last time I saw her for months? This calls into ponderance the infinite dimensionalities of life. While you are living yours, spinning on your axis and making your personal revolution around the sun, billions of others are doing the same. While I read Roald Dahl in my 3rd grade class, elsewhere in the world ICE - Immigration Customs Enforcement - lived up to its acronym as officers coldly cornered my parents at our home, interrupted the life they had built for a decade, handcuffed them, and took them away. It didn’t matter that my sister and I were in school, that we were children whose parents had unknowingly been taken from us, for ICE saw them only as illegal aliens, extraterrestrial beings who’d broken the law, therefore deserved to suffer, regardless of the collateral damage. My parents knew the risks, occasionally warning us this could happen, but we never believed them. They forfeited feelings of ease and security on a daily basis, to ensure we’d have an optimal chance to attain success in the land of opportunity. I’m the only U.S. citizen in my immediate family - a privilege I do not take lightly. While my sister experienced anxiety over whether she would be deported next, or what kind of benefits she’d be excluded from reaping as a non-permanent resident, I could relax. It wasn’t fair, but that’s the way it was, thus instilling within me a perpetual drive to make the most out of life, so my family’s suffering would not be in vain. Countless children have been plucked from the lives they’ve come to know, filled with friendships and favorite places to eat, and thrust into foster care due to sporadic mass deportations that left them sans family and no system in place to fulfill these needs. My sister and I were of the lucky ones, with family friends who took us in, then an aunt who assumed custody of me a few years later. I am lucky to say I’ve always felt loved. I have always had what I needed, not in abundance, but always enough. Since my parents’ deportation 9 years ago, I have lived in 5 different cities, been in beautiful libraries from Western Massachusetts to the Eastern coast, experienced gorgeous sunrises while walking around hill-laden Worcester, witnessed South Boston’s beautiful waterfront from the 3rd floor of my high school, fell in love with Boston’s rich history and breathtaking skyscrapers during a summer internship, not to mention getting to meet some of the kindest, most supportive, and hilarious human beings. I mourn missed shared experiences, like graduations, softball games, and award ceremonies, but I know my life unfolded this way for a reason transcending my comprehension. I yearn for a world where families are kept intact, paths to citizenship are paved for those who work hard and live honestly, and people don’t live in fear of being shackled and shipped back to their native countries like cattle. I desire understanding of the current immigration system, and aspire to attend law school with a concentration in that field, and exit with a degree that allows me to take part in cultivating that kind of world.

Sherley Muscade, who will be attending Georgetown University. Photo by Ryan Hames. “This year, as in year’s past, members of the Malden community read a selection of college essays from our graduating seniors and choose an outstanding essay. As an English department, we find it an honor to share the incredible stories of our young people. Sherley’s essay is one that is truly moving and timely, and the panel of community members were delighted to recognize her voice, her narrative sophistication, and her story.” - Mr. Walsh “As an English teacher, I was amazed by Sherley’s writing.

Her essay is

beautiful. As an American, this essay brought tears to my eyes. It captures in perfect detail the heartrending experiences of so many immigrant

“[She is] beyond her years… passionate… [I have] never seen someone so seemlessly transfer [into the school]. [She is] friendly, outgoing, and hardworking” - Mr. Tivnan, Muscade’s teacher for AP Government and Mock Trial

Photos submitted by Sherley Muscade.

families.

Yet, at the same

time, Sherley’s essay gives me hope for the future.

believe that Sherley and all of the other thoughtful, caring, compassionate students of the MHS Class of 2017 will create a better world, the world that Sherley describes at the end of her essay.” - Ms. Day

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

top ten profiles

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Valedictorian Cleverina Cong Tatyanna Cabral Editor-In-Chief of Web Continued from page 1

long with a heavy schedule, Cong was also involved in many clubs and sports. She has been a part of the soccer team, swim team and outdoor track team and she does plan on trying out for the MIT soccer team. Clubs that Cong has taken part in are National Honors Society and the Robotics team. Cong also has a passion for music and can play the piano and flute. “[She has] also been trying to teach [herself] how to [play] the guitar and ukulele.” Throughout high school, she often struggled with maintaining a healthy sleep schedule, “balancing multiple AP classes, high school sports, club sports, and trying to maintain a social life was pretty difficult, especially because [she’s] both a perfectionist and a serious procrastinator.” Reflecting on freshman year, Cong has seen that she has changed throughout the years. Her freshman year she “was super shy, socially awkward, and emotionally inarticulate.” “ [She has] learned to be more open and less wary of judg-

ment. [She has] not only grown a lot more comfortable with others, but also with [herself]. [She’s] not afraid to stand up and speak in front of a room full of people anymore.” The highlight of Cong’s high school career was winning the Botball New England Regional Tournament. She stated that, “it felt amazing to come in as underdogs, and come out on top, undefeated. What made this even more special was that [she] was able to experience this alongside [her] best friends.” One thing that Cong will miss about MHS is the atmosphere. “The student body is super diverse and accepting,” and “[she] can literally walk down the hall dabbing without being questioned.” She will also miss computer science teacher Paul Marques and physics teacher Brian Morrison. She explained that their, “unconventional, yet effective approaches to teaching made learning something to look forward to, rather than dreading, because they kept [her] interested with their energetic personalities and entertaining stories.” Morrison will miss “her ability to work hard, her commitment and her personality,” and he hopes that she “will make every moment count.”

Coming to the end of her high school career, Cong “[knows] that transitioning from high school to an academically rigorous college like MIT won’t be easy, but there’s an aspect of excitement to challenges.” She has gotten a “taste of the life and

Senior Cleverina Cong. Photo submitted by Cleverina Cong.

Salutorian Don Nguyen

Senior Don Nguyen. Photo submitted by Don Ngyuyen. Megan Downer Managing Editor Continued from page 1

guyen had also participated in track for a bit and stated he thinks fondly of making memories with the new friends he had made from that team.

Nguyen is thankful to computer science teacher Paul Marques for “providing [them] with a bunch of opportunities [in their field].” Marques praised Nguyen for “[his] commitment, devotion to the subject matter, and [his] personality overall.”’ Additionally, Marques expressed his admiration for “Nguyen’s uncanny ability to figure out the nitty-gritty.” Marques also stated he

culture there,” and is ready to start and make her mark. She advises underclassmen to “take calculated risks that make sense” and to not “be afraid to stand out, and don’t let fear of failure hold you back.”

believes that Nguyen will do “excellent” in his future endeavors. Nguyen’s background in computer science drew him to the Robotics Club, which he has been a part of for his junior and senior years. Reflecting on their past tournaments Nguyen commented that last year’s competition did not go as well as they had hoped, however this year they “got first place, which

was nice.” Robotics is one of the hobbies that Nguyen hopes to explore even further in college. Nguyen also stated he looks forward to “look[ing] around to see what is available” in the college community. As many seniors approach the end of high school, they experience feelings of anxiety for the future. Nguyen is not immune to these worries but he prefers to ponder over how his college transition will work out. He anticipates his newfound sense of responsibility as he will have to find his own balance in life during his freshman year. Nguyen will miss having “relatively less responsibility since we are just kids.” Nguyen plans on attending Northeastern University in the fall, majoring in Computer Science and is considering adding a minor as well. He is uncertain of what he would minor in. Nguyen enjoys computer science because “it is procedural and basically just solving puzzles.” Nguyen will be dorming at Northeastern come this Fall, as the university requires all of the incoming freshmen to dorm with the school. While undergoing the transition to college, Nguyen stated that he is going to miss the teachers he had for many years including Julie Snyder, who he had for three years, and Marques, who he has had all four years. Nguyen will also miss his friends from high school and all other teachers and staff members influential to him throughout his time here at Malden High.

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Felicia Lombardi

Senior Felicia Lombardi. Photo submitted by Felicia Lombardi.

Leila Greige Head of Sports

fter a successful four years at Malden High, Felicia Lombardi has become a very accomplished athlete and student. Lombardi, who is third in her class, will be leaving Malden High with great experiences and memories as a four year athlete in both soccer and swim, member of the National Honors Society, Chemistry and History Club, as well as a captain’s council member. This fall, after she attends boot camp, Lombardi will be attending the United States Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut and is extremely excited to receive a higher educational experience that emphasizes leadership, physical fitness and professional

development. Lombardi stated that the Academy is not a traditional college in the sense that there are military obligations and members who attend the guard school emphasize “everyone being one team and one family” which is a “huge aspect” of the school. Lombardi’s sister Alexandra who currently attends USCGA will be there to “show her the ropes,” which Lombardi finds very “comical”. Although recalling a specific favorite memory from high school is tough, due to the fact that she has experienced so much during her four years, Lombardi said “[she] would say [her] best memories at Malden High were getting involved with the sports teams that [she] was a part of, competing for the school, and joining clubs.” As Lombardi is a Greater Bos-

ton League (GBL) all-star for both soccer and swim, as well as having participated in both sports long before, her love for athletics qualified enough to get recruited to play soccer and swim at USCGA. Lombardi stated that “[she] will be continuing both [sports] which may be a lot but they are big parts of who [she is] and [she has] been doing them since [she] was three years old.” Lombardi mentioned that these sports have taught her a lot about who she is and she is most definitely looking forward to continuing them in the future. In addition, becoming involved in both soccer and swim have brought forth strong friendships along with inspiration from her coaches which has been very “impactful” because she has learned a lot from them. She stated that “each [coach] has kind of seen something different in [her] at a different point in [her] life.” Outside of school, athletics takes up a lot of her time despite doing a two sport season for the high school and clubs for both year round, but also enjoys spending a lot of time with her family. “We have a really close bond… I really enjoy their company,” she states. In spite of Lombardi’s belief that there are multiple things to miss about Malden High, one thing she will miss the most is the Malden High community itself. “There are so many different people with different interests that come together and that’s really showed [her] a lot and opened [her] mind up to a lot of things that [she] never thought [she’d] be interested in” said Lombardi. This includes the Fine Arts Department and media coverage. “This is stuff that interests [her] and [she] was never part of it [herself],” mentions Lombardi. Meeting and talking to people that are apart of such things can expand your mind to many different things. One teacher that Lombardi believes has been impactful throughout her four years is one of Malden High’s English teachers, Yahaira Marquez. Up until Lombardi took

AP Language her sophomore year, she admitted that “school came easy for [her].” Her academic level advanced as she was getting really good grades and did all her work. “She’s the first teacher that really forced me to work and really pushed me. I love the challenge that she brought forth to me and I think it translated to everything else.” Lombardi has a love for all the history and english classes that she has taken in high school as well as humanities based classes. “I love the discussion involved,” she stated. Lombardi also appreciates the engagement from all of the teachers that are a part of the history department. From her freshman year, Lombardi has come to understand that “[her] values have stayed the same throughout [her] entire high school career, but [she’s] grown in the sense that [she] now understands a lot more about enjoying the simple things.” Going through high school, Lombardi admits that her mindset was very straightforward. “I had my goals and I was going to do everything I could to achieve them,” says Lombardi. This involves making specific decisions as far as her studies as well as athletics. Because of this, she has acknowledged that she tended to deprive herself through high school and that’s something she now understands. “You can plan your life all you want, but it doesn’t have any meaning if you’re not enjoying it,” she says. Although attending any high school can be stressful at some point, Lombardi reminds younger students that you come across a lot of great memories. “It’s a time in your life where you have a lot of freedom, but no freedom at the same time. You don’t have all the responsibility of adulthood, yet you don’t have all the restraints of being a kid.” Malden High admires Lombardi for what she has brought forth with her athletic abilities, honorable work, and commitment to helping the Malden community.

Ka Wing Cheung Felicia Fallano Editor-in-Chief of Print

fter spending four years here at MHS and about nine years in America, Ka Wing Cheung is graduating from Malden High School in the top ten of the class of 2017. Cheung is leaving MHS behind and is heading to University of Massachusetts Amherst in the fall. Cheung, originally from Hong Kong, expressed that she was very surprised by her ability to adapt to her surroundings in America because she didn’t expect it to be “similar to Hong Kong.” She explained that in Hong Kong, she “was used to seeing people of different races

and colors,” and that it was always comfortable interacting with people different from her.” She lived in Washington when she first came here, and moved to Massachusetts shortly after that. Overall, “coming to America it wasn’t hard for [her],” and seeing a lot of diversity was normal for her. Many students who come to America feel anxious about the language barrier, but Cheung explains that this wasn’t as much of a problem for her because, “[she learned] a lot of English in the Hong Kong, so learning English here was far from different for her. During her time at MHS, Cheung became gradually more and more involved within the school. One of the key parts of her high

Senior Ka Wing Cheung. Photo submitted by Ka Wing Cheung.

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maldenblueandgold.com school career was her time spent being a part of the Asian Culture Club, which is a club she joined freshman year. During her freshmen year when she did not know a lot of people and was transitioning from middle school to high school, the club was able to, “[give her] a sense of belonging.” Although the club only has a few events per year, Cheung expressed that, “it does still get the community to come together” and it is “nice to see people learn about [Asian] cultures.” She explained that although her volunteer time and clubs she joined were very significant, she wishes that “[she] would have gotten involved sooner,” in more areas of the school during her freshman year. She also became involved in her community through volunteering at the Malden Public Library. During her first years being in America, Cheung felt that the library was always there to help her and

“make [her] feel safe”. It was “[relaxed] compared to the busy nature of school work,” so she decided to go back and help the library. While volunteering, she carried out tasks such as organizing books. One of the interests that Cheung had discovered she wanted to become more serious about during high school was art. Before she moved to America, she expressed that paint was very expensive in China, and the first time she ever painted was when she started taking classes here at MHS. When she started painting, “[she was] so surprised that [she] could actually paint well and that people actually enjoyed [her] work.” She explained that a moment that made her confident in her artwork was when her friend told her that a woman at the Blue and Gold Art Gallery expressed how she “liked [Cheung’s painting]” and that it was significant to her because, “it wasn’t just a teacher or [her peers] saying something nice

about her for a change.” Mary Ann Seager, an art teacher here at MHS, has worked closely with Cheung for the last four years and had her as a student in her Studio 4 class this year, and describes her as “very hardworking and creative.” Seager also explained that Cheung, “always wants to help. She helps other students while still being able to work on her own projects.” Seager also expressed that she, “wishes for [her] to choose the right people to be around” and that she is going to, “make a good path for her future.” She also explained that she feels that, “[Cheung] will be happy with whatever she finally decides she wants to do” as a career. Brad Gelling, a math teacher at MHS who has Cheung as a student for AP Calculus, describes Cheung as, “intelligent, kind, patient, and well spoken.” He explained that he got to know her when she was a, “peer tutor in the summer enrich-

ment program,” at MHS. Gelling expressed that he is not sure what he sees as a career for Cheung, but he, “[wishes] for her to best she is a very talented math student to pursue what she loves.” When she heads to school this fall, Cheung will be majoring in math for her first year at UMass Amherst. She explained that the major is, “just a test because [she is] not sure yet, but [she does] want to minor in history.” Cheung feels that history is something that is “the world shares the same history, even if individual history is different,” and that she likes how, “nothing is new and we can learn from history because it often repeats itself.” She explains that math always came easier to her because, “English is [her] second language, and math is the only thing [she] had in China that [she has] here.” Math is also what she describes as, “universal and is the same for everyone around the world.”

Rachel Tran Christina Appignani Lead Reporter

raduating Malden High School as one of the top ten students in her class, Rachel Tran is ready to face her future with the skills that Malden High has given to her. In the fall, Tran plans on attending UMass Amherst and will be majoring in Biology. She explained that “[she] has always had this interest in the sciences and taking AP Biology this year really directed [her] towards the major.” She is not sure of what she will be minoring in yet, but she is interested in minoring in Chinese because it is her native language and recalls that “when [she] was younger, [she] took Chinese classes but stopped taking them due to her busy schedule”. Tran will also be participating in the Commonwealth Honors College, which is a diverse community of academically talented students that are provided with extensive opportunities for analysis, research, leadership development and international experience through smaller classes. During her freshmen year, Tran participated in Crew while participating in indoor and outdoor CrossCountry during her sophomore year. She stopped playing sports after her sophomore year because “[she] wasn’t the most athletic person.”. However, she reflected that it was a great experience since she met most of her friends that she still has today through Crew and Cross-Country. Although Tran didn’t commit a full four years to a particular sport, she believes that trying out for a sport during the beginning of your high school experience will “definitely help you along the way”. Since it is usually difficult to meet and hang

out with friends during class, Tran said that “doing a sport is a great way to meet friends and to have a positive experience”. From freshman year to now, Tran has experienced a lot of change as a person. When she was a freshman, she was still finding her way around the school and figuring out who her friends were and should be. She has discovered that “friends are the people who help you discover yourself at a younger age. As a freshman, you are really still transitioning from middle school to high school, and the people who help you through that transition are usually the ones that will stick with you”. Tran’s mindset has also changed during her high school years. She described that “different things have become more important to [her] now than what was important to [her] then. When [she] was a freshman, academics were definitely important to [her] but [she] wasn’t sure why it was important to [her].” Throughout the years, Tran has learned that “Although every subject is [her] favorite, every class [she] took in high school really impacted my mindset towards life.” History, in particular, greatly impacted Tran because “we learn history in a different way than we learn science and math, since science and math is fact-based, but in history we learn about the past and current events that have occurred in their world.” Taking U.S History and Modern World History has helped Tran “wrap [her] head around what the world is and understand what [she] may be going into in the future.” High school comes with its challenges, and Tran has had to overcome some of them. One of the challenges she had to face early on in high school was making new

Senior Rachel Tran. Photo sumbitted by Rachel Tran. friends and losing old ones. She thinks that “as a whole, this helped [her] evolve as a person. [She] had drifted away from some of [her] middle school friends during her freshmen and sophomore year , and this was a challenge because they were so close to [her].” Academically, one of Tran’s biggest challenges was staying focused and reminding herself of why she should be working her hard. Her parents and her friends helped her overcome this challenge since “[she] saw them continuously working hard and that was a motivator for me. Although the people around [her] were stressed out, they still worked hard, and that was influential to [her].” On the end of her high school career, Tran is very excited to embrace her future. She says that “[she] feels very good about high school

ending, although it is bittersweet, because [she] has definitely grew as a person during high school and [she thinks] that [she] is ready to move onto a new experience that is bigger than what MHS has to offer. [She] is also excited to offer something to the world.” The advice that Tran would give to underclassmen is to “stay as focused as possible because school is so important. When it comes to your junior or senior year, and you start to look at colleges, you’ll release that your freshmen and sophomore year will definitely impact you more than you think it will. She also suggests underclassmen to “participate in clubs, sports and to stay involved”. Above all else, Tran believes that it is important to “not forget about yourself and to get enough sleep, all while challenging yourself, both academically and athletically.”

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Edward Huang

Senior Edward Huang. Photo submitted by Edward Huang. Tenzin Dorjee Editor In Chief

fter 18 years in Malden, senior Edward Huang leaves behind his city and Malden High School, in

pursuit of a higher education at Babson College in Wellesley, MA, where he will study finance. His hard work during the past four years has earned him a seat among the Top Ten of the class of 2017.

Over the course of four years, Huang has built up his resume, participating in a plethora of extracurriculars that helped mold and shape him into the person he is today. Through these, Huang was able to forge closer bonds to classmates and teammates. Huang was a member of the MHS crew team for three years, saying how, although he did not participate this year, it will still be “one of the most memorable parts of high school [for him], because it helped [him] and his friends grow closer [and he] learned the true definition of teamwork” thanks to it. Huang was not just an athlete, but also enjoyed volunteering as a member of both the Red Cross Club, and the YMCA Leadership Club, of which he has been a four-year member of both. Huang said that being in those was really fun because of how he was able to “[feel] great [by] helping those in need [and by] giving back to the community.” Business is second nature to Huang, to which MHS business teacher Charles Bowers can attest to. Under Bowers’ tutelage, Huang has been able to learn accounting and about economics. Through these classes, Bowers has had the opportunity to learn who Huang was as a student, and as through Huang’s School-to-Career with Bowers, he has been able to see who Huang was as person. To Bowers, Huang was a “selfmotivated student, who was thirsty to learn about as much about business as he could.” Huang, according to Bowers, has a “high integrity” that really set him a part from his

other students, especially since in every class Bowers has had with him, Huang “established himself as a leader,” who was “always on the top of his game.” Huang has been interested in the subject of business and finance for a long time. He cited the source of his interest to “[growing] up seeing the green and red graphs of a volatile stock market. These drew [his] attention and pulled [him] into a subject far more complex than just numbers and lines.” After Babson, Huang “[looks] forward to trading stocks as an investment banker and maybe one day make it to Wall Street.” Huang will not only miss the extracurriculars he has participated in and the people he met through them, but also just being able to “[go] to class everyday with friends that I grew up with and teachers that I have bonded with over the years at MHS.” For Huang. The four years truly flew by, as he still remembers how during freshman year, he felt at first it “was difficult because of the adjustments [he] had to make from middle school.” As a word of advice to underclassmen, Huang suggested to “start building [their] resume early [and] to make the most of [their] time here at MHS. Find a teacher [one] can bond with because they can give guidance and advice from their own experiences.” Although there will many things Huang will miss about Malden and MHS, he is excited “to meet new people and open a new chapter.

years that form the person you will grow to be, so showing your true colors and remaining focused is vital. While at the moment it seems very stressful, it pays off in time. One example of hard work and dedication is Malden High senior Karen Luo who has been ranked in the top ten of her graduating class. Not only did she manage to excel academically, but she also was involved in extracurriculars such as lacrosse and volunteering events. When asked, Luo claimed that high school was the first time she had gotten involved in any kind of extracurriculars to which “[she] kept [her]self on track and learned to balance school and extracurricular activities.” Luo played lacrosse all four years of high school, and became one of the three captains this past season. She stated that she had been concerned that she could not balance leading the team as well as managing the workload of her more rigorous classes, AP Calculus, French, and Physics. While “in the beginning it was all very overwhelming, [she] took a breath and found ways to manage [her] time, putting [her] studies to use and getting as much work done [as possible] before it was time to get on the field.” Mal-

den High chemistry teacher, Martin Berryman, had only good things to say about Luo, claiming that “[she] is one of the most honest and responsible students [he has] known. She has a tremendous work ethic and generous heart.” Luo said that since freshman year she has been looking forward to graduating and “remember[s] telling [her] friends that [she] can not wait until these next four years come to an end” however, “after every year, it seemed as if the days flew by faster and faster.” Luo will be attending Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) to study pharmacology and toxicology, claiming that “[she has] always been intrigued by the way medicine works within our bodies and [has always been] fascinated by medical research.” Now that she is graduating, she “wish[es] that [she] spent more time enjoying the time before taking a step into being an adult. There have been many ups and down throughout these four years, but each has been a learning experience.” The hard work and dedication she has displayed in the past four years is evident, and she will achieve all the great things she may set her mind to.

Karen Luo

Senior Karen Luo. Photo subimmited by Karen Luo. Alysha McDevitt Lead Reporter

but of an era. For the seniors, high school is over, and they are rapidly he year is coming to an end, and approaching the unknown world for many Malden High students, of adulthood. Many people say that this is not just the end of a year, the four years of high school are the

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

Yan Zheng

maldenblueandgold.com “Wishing all the best to an amazing group of students, the Class of 2017! It’ s hard to believe your day has fin ally come! Best of luck in all that you do!” - Ms. Northrop Class Adviser

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Senior Yan Zheng. Photo submitted by Yan Zheng. Tobi Pitan Reporter

enior Yan Zheng is leaving Malden High School to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the fall. While this Top Ten student is still undecided in her major, she immersed herself in many extracurriculars during her time at MHS that she’s still passionate about like running, art, and being a member of the Asian Culture Club. Zheng is a former professional dancer who began traditional dancing in China from where she moved to the United States, first residing in Philadelphia and Alabama before moving to Massachusetts. Dance, which she currently pursues recreationally, has allowed her to gain many friends throughout the years. Zheng said that “she learned that “there are certain things that [she] loves and wants to pursue, and there are certain things that she wants to keep as a hobby”. Zheng believes that college experience can give a person a new “outlook on life”and is a “unique experience” that not everyone is exposed to. She chose to attend UMASS Amherst because of the large range of majors for her to select from and the financial package she received from the school. She is mostly looking forward to meeting new people at college because “high school is so much smaller”. To Zheng, there will have to be a “transition period from [a] teen-

ager to adulthood” as she describes that she was mostly sheltered by her parents. Despite being sheltered, she finds that she didn’t receive copious amounts of academic pressure from her family and that she mostly pressures and motivates herself. Zheng feels that “[she] needs to make [her parents] proud” because of the sacrifices they made to leave China and come to America. Starting in the fall, she will use college as the vehicle to not only further her education, but take advantage of the opportunities that were not available to her parents but are now available to her. Zheng explained that she will miss the staff, especially guidance counselor Erin Craven whom she is a Student-to-Career for. She received a lot of help with the college application process from Ms. Craven and that those going through the process should not worry too much due to the resources available here at MHS. She also credits Craven’s help in allowing he to become “more comfortable with speaking in front of the class and sharing [her] own opinion”. She adds that in the past she become nervous during class presentations but now she has “a better understanding of what [she] is capable of”. The advice she would give to underclassmen is to not be too worried about grades and not take too many AP classes. Zheng believes that it is more important for students to “choose the right classes for [them]” so they can be “able to balance [them] out” as well as take classes with topics that they are interested in.

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pleasure have you to as my fir st gradua ting class at M al den High! You have show n such gr eat spirit an d leadership and your presence will be fe lt in our hallways for years to come. All the be st in your next step s!” - Princip al Mr. Lom bard

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Ana Pirosca Reporter

alling all ladies and gentlemen! Feast your eyes on the pure perfection as we search for this year’s Mr. MHS! They’ll show off their talent! Their muscles! Their personality! Here are all the contestants: Pedro Lugo, Joshua Simon, Nathaniel Ilebode, Andy Tham, Samuel Pettigrew, Nicholas Ansaldi, Jeremiah Quessa, and James Mac. Though first things first, here’s what you should know: Mr. MHS was brought back by the Maldonian Year Book in 2005 after going on hiatus. Ever since, the yearly performance took off. James Valente, the yearly MC, called it his “baby”, though he could not stress how much he owes to the crew, and contestants for allowing it happen. Malden Mayor Gary Christenson and a few other faculty members from MHS served as the judges. If you have the Mayor on Snapchat you would have been able to see his view of the show, and his shaking hands with the winner. Many of the contestants’ debut on stage was during the beachwear competition. Wacky bathing shorts (and in Mac’s case, a bikini top), sent the crowd laughing and ready for the rest of the show. The boys showcased their muscles and abs, drawn on, or real. Ansaldi and many of the boys enjoyed this competition most of all. Ansaldi described it as being his favorite part because he got to “go on stage and flex.” Accompanied by a girl to compliment the eye catcher of this competition, people such as Simon displayed “what [they’re] working with” by showing people his muscles, a crowd pleaser, as he is known for doing many sports. But it’s all abs when it comes to James, as he went down the road of drawing them on, and wearing a nice bra to compliment his picture perfect physique.

Valente decided the boys would have to dance off to be able to select the best of the best. Two boys were selected from the line and had to dance to a song by Rihanna.

Senior James Mac crowned Mr. MHS 2017. Photo by Leah Tramondozzi. One other thing about this show, most--besides the major competitions--is unscripted. Senior Nic Acuna knew this, as he was one of the hosts for that evening and said, “there were two rehearsals,” and it was mostly just for the contestants and the hosts to try to get used to the stage. Acuna specifically remembered that he needed to practice some dancing for the beachwear competition. In the talent competition, the crowd was able to see some musical performances, the contestants getting roasted, and the hosts of the night, Jesse Bouley, and Acuna learn a thing or two. And this being a silly part of Mr. MHS, the contestants showed their worth.

The talent competition began with some hard core motivational training from Ansaldi, where the very happy hosts went from weak to strong in a matter of seconds. Bouley couldn’t even pick up a 15 pound weight, but after some jumping jacks, a protein shake, and very affective motivation from Ansaldi, he was doing reps like it was no problem. Talent is lip-synching to Fresh Prince of Bel Air, accompanied by a fitting t-shirt with the writing “Fresh Prince”, and some amazing rapping, according to Ilebode. Lugo went along the same lines only this time, with some Lil’ Wayne. While Mac decided that, to spice things up, he would come out on a tricycle while singing a song by The Weeknd. Mac also stated that the tricycle was a last minute decision, as recently MHS has been collecting people’s junk in order to raise money. He says “it was all kind of on the spot” with the convenience of a tricycle being near the auditorium at the time and his thoughts went to “‘oh, [he] should come out on a [tri]cycle!’” As if Acuna and Bouley haven’t learned enough, it was time for Bouley to learn about how to talk in a British accent thanks to Pettigrew. He was given words such as “aluminium” and “schedule” to pronounce the correct way. Sam lived in England for two years at when he was younger, and is considered a total master in the teaching of the British accent. A memorable topic that took the senior class by storm from the talent competition was Quessa’s “original rap,” which took a playful jab at each of his fellow contestants. Much of the audience noted that it was an original idea, and many people liked Quessa’s use of personal information, and using it in a light hearted rap. Simon decided to recite a poem by Kanye West while Tham sang “Earned It” by The Weeknd. After a brief intermission, the audience was lured in by the next section of Mr. MHS: impersonations. This is when each

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other contestants pretend to be a teacher, a coach, or any member of the faculty at MHS. They take on that person’s mannerisms, well-known qualities, and voices to try to become the best impersonator. First up, was an impersonation of Timothy Lane, who teaches business and math. Ansaldi starts with giving his “class” a worksheet, and tries to answer some of the class’ questions. Next, Valente introduces himself… but Nate Ilebode walks on stage. He holds on to his book and looks for his keys, as he talks to Jesse Bouley. Before he leaves, Nate shows the real Mr. Valente a picture on his phone… something many students of his class have seen happen. Lugo takes on his best Charles Bowers persona, equipped with a tucked in shirt, a box of snacks and some stifled giggles. He at one point throws his snacks at a student and tries to answer a question leading to more laughter. Mac comes in as Kin Chan, a math teacher who is known for wearing a white puffy vest jacket. Besides the puffy white vest jacket, Mac is also wearing a small purse as he begins class. Then he starts explaining the properties of a quadrilateral on a whiteboard, in her accent, and nods enthusiastically as someone tells him about their homework problems. After that he dramatically rips up a student’s paper, and send the audience laughing. Pettigrew decided that Jason Payeur, a gym and health teacher, as well as Sam’s track coach, was a good person to impersonate. He starts off with reading people’s names while taking attendance, and does a lot of the hand gestures Payeur does. Next his students do some running drills with Payeur yelling his encouragements at the kids. We all know her, if not, you definitely do not go to MHS, next was Paula Valente, impersonated by Quessa. This impersonation was so spot on, the entire audience was laughing. Some people remarked that the only thing Jeremiah needed was her

signature whistle. With Jeremiah visibly annoyed by people on their phones, and asking everyone to sit down, Jeremiah showed the audience exactly how funny he can be. Simon impersonated athletic director Charlie Conefrey. He began by lifting weights and greeting his pupil awkwardly. On to the lesson, where he gets to have a very Conefrey-ian conversation, only disturbed by his need to answer something on his phone. Thereafter, more intense weight lifting. Then Simon peers in to take a picture with his student quickly, making the audience laugh. When another student comes in to talk, Simon talks about the new Malden Sports App then leaves while talking on the phone. Last, but not least, Tham decided to become Brian Morrison, who teaches physics. Strolling in very calmly, he began class by writing on the board in scribbles. As he’s working with students, Tham eventually ends up laying all over his students’ desks whilst talking to another student. Nic Acuna was a little phased by this, and awkwardly waited for it to end. We learn that Jesse knows nothing about physics, but Tham does, and can explain it using momentous body and hand gestures. That concluded impersonations. Then, the formal wear competition, though not as funny as the impersonations, still commendable. All the competitors walk onto stage wearing their nicest (and possibly from older proms) suites. In all seriousness, Mr. MHS has been around for a really long time, and has been a major event in the past. Though this year, people such as Valente believed that this year’s competitors were all of interesting backgrounds and culture, creating a well rounded show. He mentioned that in past years, since the competitors are picked by raffle, the types of kids from different cultures that were randomly selected, were not exactly the most reflective of MHS’s diversity. This year though, things were spot on.

Valente stated that he does not hope only one contestant will win, but all of them are worthy of winning, “if you have the courage, the self pride, and self worth to come forward and say ‘I think I can represent my school’ ...[he] thinks you are Mr. MHS”. Coming from someone who has seen Mr. MHSs come and go, Valente does often say that the best part of Mr. MHS is how there was no obvious winner from the beginning of the show. Any of the contestants this year could be a winner. After formal wear, all of the contestants were asked why they want to be Mr. MHS, along with other questions. Many boys began with a statement about how they had a lot of fun on the show, and how much helping their school means to them. So many of the boys weren’t there to compete, in fact, Mr. Valente, states that backstage, the first people to help another contestant, were all the other contestants. They were all supportive, and glad to just be there. The boys would begin their “I think I should be Mr. MHS…” statements with “because the song I performed earlier was pretty fun” (Mac) or “ because it was a new experience for me” (Pettigrew). But, there has to be one winner. When results were tallied, it turned out the winner had just been publicly thanking Valente on stage. Mac won for his hilarity, fashionable choices, and of course, sporadic taste in tricycles. The first and second runner ups were Pettigrew and Simon. Even though Mac was “really nervous” before the show, he later believed that he had “no regrets.” He stated that he loved not knowing what was going to happen during the show, and he had a great time on stage and with the other contestants. To all the competitors, this was a job well done, and congratulations to Pettigrew, Simon, and Mac for their achievements.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

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Tie-Dye Program

NHS Project: Pie Throwing for Cambodia Man Nguyen Reporter

community project offers a wide range of benefits to those that it targets. For instance, the pie throwing event, a community project led and managed by juniors Alicia Tan and Hong Li Zheng, helped improve the lives of Cambodian kids while also giving those who participate a great time. Zheng explained the project saying that “the money will go to the Cambodian Children Organization to provide the kids a better life with more food and more clean water.” Tan stated that “it is a fundraising event for the Cambodian Children’s Fund, which is an amazing foundation made by a hollywood director Scott Neeson, who saw the families and children picking through and living in the Steung Meanchey gar-

the world [to them]”. This was not the only time the event had been put together. Tan explained how Paul Marques told her about a group who did it awhile back, which is where she got the idea to do it. In order for the event to come to life, much effort from different people was put in. Marques, and other volunteers were also involved in the preparation for the occasion. The project team “[had] trouble getting the whipped cream” because, according to Zheng, not many stores sold the amount of whipped cream that they needed. However, the group was clearly able to overcome these problems and made the event the best it could be. Tan commented that “if [she] could do anything differently it would probably be on how rushed everything was”, telling how she would want to work on her group’s time management. The students were not the only ones who were involved. Teachers

Science teacher Jessica Sullivan. Photo by Megan Downer. bage dump and wanted to give the children access to support, education, and community development programs”. Through this project, Tan wishes to convey the message “that no matter where you are in the world all people need basic necessities such as food, shelter and water and there are people who have been deprived of those things and so if you have the ability to help no matter how small it may seem, it can mean

from different departments like English, Biology, Mathematics and more came to support the cause and helped to raise money. For Jessica Sullivan, a biology teacher, her reason for participating was because “[her] students [convinced] her to”. She mentions that “Hong Li and Alicia Tan asked [her] to do it and they are really good students so [she] agreed to it”. Brian Wong, a teacher from the English department, had also

participated, stating that “[he] sincerely wanted to raise the money for the organization”. Similarly, math teacher, Elizabeth Gibbons participated in the event for “a great cause and great students.” As the event took place and the teachers came up one by one, there was a common reaction among both the audience and the teachers. History teacher, Michelle Filer “was really surprised because [she] did not expect [that] many people to be [there].” Sullivan also added that she “expected [the event] to be a lot of fun” because of “all the eager faces”. Gibbons mentions that she was “a little nervous and terrified” because she did not expect that many people to come. She commented that the event “look[ed] like it will be messy”, so she brought goggles with her to be prepared. The students, on the other hand, were surprised for another reason. Freshman Rocio Mejia “thought it was gonna be boring at first but it was more interesting than [she] had expected it to be”. Freshman Matt Mijares, says that he was excited to “see people getting pied in the face.” Senior Danny Mai, on the other hand, was present at the occasion because he “wanted revenge on the teachers.” Others like Mejia and junior Milton Lemus also had positive reaction toward the event. Lem explained that the only thing that could have made the event even better was to “include the principal in it.” For the students like freshman Ali Hounain and Mejia, seeing the teachers getting pied in the face was an exciting thing to watch. “It is not an everyday thing” explained Hounain, adding that “[she felt] very entertained.” The pie throwing contest ended up being very successful and entertaining for anyone who participated or even just attended. Zheng commented on that saying that she “liked how a lot of people came and seemed to have a lot of fun”. Tan’s reaction was one of pure excitement, she said that she “ was so happy that [she] shed a tear because everything worked out in the end”. She mentioned that she had been “ terrified that no one was going to come, and was worried that [she’d] be all alone in cafe with $70 worth of whipped cream and ponchos, but [adds that] thankfully a bunch a people came to support a great cause and have a fun time”.

Students and teachers tie-dying tshirts. Photo by Christina Appignani. Christina Appignani Lead Reporter

n Thursday April 13, members of Malden High School’s National Honor Society hosted a community Tie Dye event. Attendees could make their own tie-dye shirt with a provided white shirt for $7 or they could have brought in their own shirts to tie-dye for $5. The event took place in Cafe A and all of the proceeds went towards the PACE Program, which is a multi year program for students with cognitive and/or physical abilities. The program provides these students with academic, functional and vocational skills so that they may transition successfully to adult life. These students may also receive ancillary services including speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, assistive technology and augmentative communication. For NHS, each group or individual has to create a service project. This event was led by MHS juniors and NHS members Cindy Siu, Rachel Eaglin and Anna Powers, the latter of whom is a member of the Blue and Gold. Siu explains that the idea of the Tie-Dye event was passed on by previous NHS projects. Previously, seniors Stephen Deng and Phuong Nguyen led the event, Siu also explains that “there was originally a helping hands club that collaborated with PACE, but now [NHS] is just raising funds for PACE in a fun and creative way”. Siu says that the planning process included ordering materials, collaborating with PACE teachers and getting advice from other NHS members about how to make the event run smoothly. She also mentions that originally, “[NHS] wanted to host the event the week before sports started, but since our group was heavily involved with organizing JV’s, they decided to have it the week before vacation”. Siu believes that any money earned from the event will be helpful towards the PACE program. Siu says that “Since [NHS] has been raising funds for PACE for a while now, the see the donations as giving back not only to NHS but to the students in this school.”

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Ping Pong Club Hosts Tournament

The Optimist Neden Bernadin Lead Reporter

alden High School’s National History Club is currently in the process of creating volume two of the academic journal titled The Optimist, which will consist of different genres of writings from students such as poetry, art, essays even research papers and lab reports from science. Overall, it´s an opportunity for them to showcase what they felt was their best work from this year. Club advisor Damian Aufiero describes it as a space for students “to showcase a more creative side” of themselves with their best educational writing. For last year´s publication, he along with other students reviewed about 10 to 12 submissions and only about 6 made the publication. The inspiration behind the journal came from the Blue and Gold on an article about the history of The Oracle, which happened to be another journal that was competing with the other literary society in the school about a hundred years ago. Back then, many conflicts arose since these societies had different beliefs and there was a rumor of some discrimination against certain groups of people. So, over a course of a semester both the Optimist and Oracle decided to band as one. A publication date will be set around May or on Civics day. Along with the holiday, an exhibition that will showcase of student’s work from the Malden Public School districts. This year they are hoping more students will submit their work and for more readers to engaged so the journal can expand more attention.

Students practicing before the ping pong tournament. Photo by Man Nguyen. Rebecca Oliveira Reporter

n April 27th, the Ping Pong Club had an intergenerational tournament in the Malden High School cafeteria from 6pm to 8pm, sponsered by the combined efforts of the Malden Reads and Chinese Culture Connection. It was part of the Community N Unity Celebration at Malden High School. People of all ages, young and old, came to participate in the tournament. Zi Yu won first place, Zhengyang Xu won second place, and the international sophomore student from the Pope John High School, Deric Yeung won third. Mei Hung, one of the organizers of this event is from the Chinese

Culture Connection program, collaborated alongside many people from both the local high school community and with the Yong Yong restaurant. Her hope was to get both the younger and the older generations to interact with each other and learn from one another, and she believes that, “playing ping pong is a healthy lifestyle,” since it’s an “exercise and a fun game.” She said that, “[they] do not do this to benefit [them], but to help the public. To unite, to bring people together is [their] ultimate goal.” The audience truly enjoyed the ping pong tournament. Tom Ip, one of the spectators of the event, enjoyed the event, especially when the elders, “who [knew how to play] play [came] down to teach [them] the techniques every Wednesday

nights.” The contestants who participated in the tournament came from all over Malden and from different schools in the Greater Boston Area. Many of the contestants like Zhengyang Xu entered the competition due to seeing a flyer, and she went to represent Northeastern University. She was very confident in her abilities, despite not having played ping pong for a very long time. Both Leo Gao and Deric Yeung, international sophomore students from Pope John High School, joined the tournament to reconnect with themselves. Without the support and permission of the Malden High School Principal Edward Lombardi, who is “a fantastic supporter,” they wouldn’t have been able to hold the tournament. Despite having initial troubles with organizing people in order to help set up due to busy schedules, Hung was able to find a lot of students throughout the school to assist for the event. Officers and members from the Ping Pong club were all, “very helpful” in offering their services to assist in organizing the tournament as well, along with other senior non-members of club who helped set up and referee for the game. The Yong Yong restaurant provided the delicious food for everyone to eat during the tournament. Hung commented that “when people are happy, [their] effort is worthwhile.” The annual Chinese connection Thanksgiving Ping Pong tournament is coming out on November 11th so watch out for that! For more information please contact Chinese Connection at info@chineseconnection.org.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

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Multicultural Celebration at MHS Appreciating the diverse cuisines of Malden

From Left to Right: Amanda Santorelli, Samrawit Eshetu, Tatiana Artedondo and Vanessa Vu serving food. Photo submitted by Yahaira Marquez.

Nidale Zouhir representing the American Association for Arab Women. Photo submitted by Yahaira Marquez.

Kayla Sousa Reporter

n May 19, 2017, the Multicultural Club hosted the Multicultural Celebration in which many students and faculty came to enjoy foods from other countries as well as traditional dances, henna and music for seven dollars in advance or 10 dollars at the door. Overall the event was a huge success in which many attended. Yahaira Marquez, advisor of the Multicultural Club for six years, stated that a group of eight students came up to her six years ago knowing about Marquez’s passion for the diversity in the school stating that they wanted to do something about it and came up with the idea together. She stated that the event was “essentially a way of bringing everybody together to learn about and teach others about their cultures”. She overall highlighted the importance of “recogniz[ing] the differences in one another and celebrat[ing] those differences”. Senior Bethlehem Sisay, Multicultural Club member since last year, stated that based on past experience this year would be even bigger and better as they had donations from many sponsors including restaurants and had many performances. Overall she stated the atmosphere was very positive and diverse and well as welcoming and was overall a very “eye opening experience”. Sisay stated that it is truly a great opportunity to “get a feel of different cultures” and have an event that embraces all different cultures”. Sisay stated that all the efforts put in were worth it as they had some problems with finding performers, donations, people to bring food and

continued on page 21...

From Left to Right: Christian Turcios, Isabelle Maraschi, Cedrina Missamou and Thao-Mi Nguyen. Photo submitted by Yahaira Marquez.

Ren applying Henna art. Submitted by Brian Tran.

Jimmy Em applying Henna art. Submitted by Brian Tran Le.

Santorelli and Maraschi posing with Henna art. Photo submitted by Yahaira Marquez.

Keep reading to find out who the winners are!

From Left to Right: Quen Ren, Winnie Li, Malisha Zhao, Kamila Deandrade, Cece Chevry, Brian Tran Le, and Julie Synder. Photo submitted by Brian Tran Le.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

POSSE Scholars maldenblueandgold.com

Victoria Moore

POSSE Scholar Victoria Moore. Photo by Ailin Toro. Ailin Toro Lead Reporter enior Victoria Moore is one of the handful of people that have been awarded the POSSE scholarship here at Malden High School. The POSSE scholarship is given out to students who excel in leadership positions and are academically talented. Those who receive it are rewarded with four-year, full tuition scholarships. The process to be given the POSSE Scholarship consists of three interviews, where after each one, you have to be approved to move on. The first one was one that 100 people are invited to that mainly consists of group activities like building legos, which is a way to see how well the students can work with other people. The second interview was just 15 minutes, and it was an individual interview. Then, in the final one, they go to a group interview with the other finalists from one of the partner colleges for POSSE that they have officially chosen to attend. Moore describes being nervous for the first interview because she “wasn’t sure how [she] would stick out among all of the other students.” There were similar feelings for the second interview, with her explaining that she was worried that she “didn’t get enough information into the interview.” However, by the third interview, Moore describes herself as being “more comfortable.” When Moore got the news that she received the POSSE scholarship she says that she was “really excited, and also really happy.” She had not been sure that she would get it so knowing that she was getting the opportunity to was a great moment for her. Throughout all of high school Moore played lacrosse, and during sophomore and junior year, she played soccer. Moore also mentioned that one of her hobbies is playing lacrosse, showing how she has a passion for it, even outside of school. Moore is majoring in Environmental Science, but she also added that she “would be interested in do-

ing something that involves law in the future.” When asked what she will miss about Malden High, Moore said that she “will miss the diversity that there is at Malden High School” because she knows that most other schools do not have the same amount of diversity that there is here. When asked if there was a teacher who she felt has influenced her, Moore mentions history teacher, Greg Hurley explaining that the way that he teaches motivates her to want to make a difference, and then also talks about how encouraging he is. Moore will be heading to Centre College in Kentucky this fall.

Stephen Deng

POSSE Scholar Stephen Deng. Photo by Sydney Stumpf. Sydney Stumpf Lead Reporter

alden High School’s own Stephen Deng was one of three seniors to have received the Posse scholarship. Posse, Deng stated, is “an organization that believes in the potential of diversity [and] leadership.” The organization selects students from their partner schools, giving them full-tuition scholarship. The process was “strenuous, exciting, and scary at the same time,” said Deng. However, Deng had an incredible amount of support, so he had “no excuse not to give it [his] all.” “Finding out that [he] was selected as a Posse scholar was so surreal.” Deng was “surprised, relieved, honored, and thankful at the same time.” Deng “acknowledge[s] that receiving the Posse Scholarship is a testament to the late nights [he has] stayed up in the past four years,” but he wouldn’t have received this “privilege” without the “support of incredible people.” Deng is going to be attending Centre College in the fall. Centre College is located in Danville, Kentucky, and Deng will be majoring in economics and finance with a minor in film studies. Deng cited Centre College as one of the “best colleges in the South,” holding a reputation “for having the nation’s happiest graduates and a high return on in-

vestment after graduating.” After college, Deng would love to “hit the ground running,” by start his own digital marketing firm and “launch [his] own clothing line.” His goal is to “escape the 9 to 5 work day.” He hopes to “give back to the community by organically growing small businesses through social media.” What Deng will miss most about Malden High School is how it’s “a melting pot of vibrant diversity” and hearing the “inspiring and funny life stories of teachers.” Compared to high school, Deng believes that college will be more “demanding and eye-opening.” Around Danville, there isn’t much to do, but that, Deng said, will “help [him] stay grounded on [his] academics and business ventures for the future.” Deng aspires to graduate from Centre College as Valedictorian, and get a full-tuition scholarship to a Posse partner graduate school, like Harvard or Northeastern for his MBA. After college, Deng is “looking forwards towards opportunities to get hands-on work in [his] field of interest.” Deng noted that there are several “great digital marketing firms in Boston” and how he would “love to get experience by working with them through internships.” In his four years at Malden High School, Deng has had positive influence from some of his teachers, like English teacher Yahaira Marquez and business teacher Charles Bowers. Both of whom have taught Deng “the value of hard-work, responsibility, and to always put 100% into whatever is at hand.” As Deng moves into his next chapter in life, the influential teachers, and many memories, will carry with him.

Jonathan Dong

POSSE Scholar Jonathan Dong. Photo by Neden Bernadin. Neden Bernadin Lead Reporter

he Posse Foundation Inc. recognizes students who have potential in doing leadership roles, and covering their tuition fees while attending top local art schools. Many of the Posse chapters are located in major cities such as Boston, Miami,

New York. Among the hopefuls at MHS was Senior Jonathan Dong, who first discovered the program from a former MHS alumni who participated in it and later nominated by Boyle Guidance Counselor Ms.Craven. Recalling earlier in his incoming senior year, Dong felt that in an individual perspective, [he] was lost on where he wanted to go to for college and came to a decision that the program “would [bring him] to a right path” even if he didn’t receive a scholarship or figure out where else he wanted to go. In the end, he received a scholarship to Hamilton College, which happened to be his top choice. Upon receiving the phone call of his acceptance, he recalled being “overwhelmed with joy” along with relief because during that moment, he “couldn’t think of any other future besides the one with Hamilton, and [he] was afraid that [he needed] to find a different path.” He added that the phone call of his acceptance “will be a memory kept for years to come.” At first, the application process was found to be overwhelming for Dong because of the countless interviews he overcame during a short period of time. Hamilton College is a private, four-year liberal arts institution located in Clinton, New York. What caught Dong´s attention to select attending this college was the ratio between students to faculty (9:1) and the rural-like setting of the campus. While attending Hamilton, Dong is most looking forward to the change in environment because as a leader, he finds it important to have growth in different environments in order to see other perspectives throughout his life. He finds himself quite nervous around the work, but believes it will become easier down the road combating and developing work skills with maturity. One thing is for sure, he´s prepared for the huge culture change from MHS to Hamilton with different groups. At the moment, he is planning on majoring in environmental studies, biology and maybe a minor in public works. His interest in environmental science stems from his family background in which his parents grew up on a farm back in China and he had some experiences working on one as well. A few lessons that struck out to him during high school was the importance of teamwork and perseverance from doing extracellular activities such as crew team and being president of the Leadership Mentoring Club, along with new leadership skills. Dong would like to give thanks to his family, friends, Ms. Craven, and his cousins who “pushed [him] and inspired [him] to work hard and fight for the Posse Scholarship.”

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

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Fundraiser Kayla Sousa Reporter n Thursday April 28, the class of 2019 hosted a fundraiser at Fuddruckers on Route One from 5-8 in which 20% of an order went to the class of 2019 if the flyer was shown to the cashier. Fuddruckers is a restaurant chain with a great atmosphere that specializes in burgers of any kind. The restaurant is much like a dinner that has a 90’s vibe to it and is famous for their great burgers and extensive menu. The restaurant is also very family friendly with many games in their arcade including air hockey, basketball and many other games. Pamela Coelho, a sophomore that attended the event, claims that it was a fun time and they “played arcade games after [they] ate, hung out as a class and some stayed at the door greeting the customers”. Overall, she states it was a success and that the fundraiser will definitely help the class with certain expenses. Class Historian of the class

of 2019, Bryan Burgess, states that although the event went well, it was more importantly “ just a great time for bonding with all the class officers” and a great opportunity “to meet some people [they] didn't know before”. Ultimately, the event was a great get together where students had delicious food for a great cause. Sophomores Sebastian Romani, Christina Montezuma, and Joanne Ho eating at a booth.

Sophomores Erika San Miguel Campos , Salma Bezzat, and Jennifer Campo at the Fudruckers arcade. Bezzat and Coehlo enjoying a meal.

Top: Sophomores Crespo, Pamela Coehlo, (Bottom) San Miguel Campos, and Bezzat.

Class of 2019 Officer: Shataeya Smith

Howard Park

Man Nguyen Reporter

ight next to Malden Catholic High School is the Howard Park which was named after Malden’s former mayor Richard C. Howard. Initially, the park was called South Broadway Park but after the renovation, its name became Howard park. According to Wicked Local Malden news, the park and the Rotindi Field “received a $7.6 million facelift over three years before a ribbon-cutting ceremony in October 2015”. Recently, there had been an issue arising as the park’s gate “was locked during the winter ”said Bob Rotindi whom the baseball field was named after”. According to the Boston Globe, residents were “dismayed about locked gates at Malden’s newly renovated Howard Park”. Similar to the residents, Rotindi commented that “[the park] should be available to the people that use it” because “it is a public park”. Additionally, “the park belongs to the people who pay the taxes” so, “when they want to use [the park], it should be open” said Rontindi.

Though he advocated for the park to be more open to the residents, Rotindi also believed the fact that the park being locked had an explanation for it. “During the winter, nobody uses it”. He went on to explain that the councilman Neil Kinnon, who is in charge of taking care of the park, “locked the gate because he did not want any vendor or graffiti within the park”. In Rotindi’s opinion, councilman Kinnon did a great job at tending the park properly. “The only issues caused by this problem were that people could not use [the park] when [the weather] warmed up a little back in February when there were a few warm days” said Rotindi. He mentioned how some could have taken advantage during the warm weather. Rotindi said that the park should not be closed by the month as there might be some warm days during those months, that the residents could have used to park.

Kayla Sousa Reporter

s 2019 class officer elections are over for the year, many have been appointed into class officer positions. Shataeya Smith is a sophomore at Malden High School and Smith was appointed into the position of Junior Varieties coordinator along with her partner Jennifer Crespo. Smith decided she wanted to be JV coordinator when she found out there was a way to contribute to the show itself. When furthering her knowledge about the position and the amount of work it required, she felt eager to contribute to the show in the greatest way possible. She states that the position “met up with [her] standards of participation.” She believes that her “strong leadership skills and willingness to listen to others and be optimistic and supportive” allows her to be a great JV coordinator.

Smith has taken many leadership classes as well as having prior hosting and planning big event experiences and takes those situations and uses them for the classes benefit. Outside of school, Smith participates in indoor track and field in the winter and outdoor track and field in the spring for Malden High. She is a discus thrower and shot putter and has been on the team for 4 seasons since freshmen year. Her favorite subjects in school consist of science, spanish and math. Smith enjoys reading, writing, drawing as well as volunteering at her church and at any event she can. She also loves to donate and advocate for amazing causes. Smith praises the class of 2019 for their talent and creativity which will positively impact the making of the class of 2019 Junior Varieties coming next year.

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

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MHS BAND TAKES 1 PLACE st

Tobi Pitan Reporter Man Nguyen Reporter

his spring, the students of the MHS Concert Band participated in MICCA, or The Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association which is held annually. The band was awarded with the title of Superior and placed the highest in their division out of all the schools they participated including schools all across New England. This was a positive experience for band members and teachers alike due to the learning experiences it provided them with. Band director Erin O’BrienMazza described how their experience in the competition was great because their preparation that had begun from as early as January had culminated in a successful performance. O’Brien-Mazza was glad that after two years of pushing the band hard, they were able to reap the rewards of having a huge win for their team and school. She voiced that the win came as a bit of a shock despite the confidence that the students all had in themselves as the band did run into some issues prior to the competition. O’Brien-Mazza explained how she had to rewrite the sheet music for some instruments that were not covered. Still, the band’s key focus was bringing themselves together and to be able to successfully work alongside each other. Ultimately, she added that her students definitely deserved to win due to the practice they had put in outside of school and their commitment to their individual work. She also contributes a large part of the band’s success to their section leaders. The band is divided based on what instrument one plays. Section leaders are basically captains for each group of instruments. These section leaders carry out a lot of the work and individual practice within their group and ensure that their fellow group members are working well. They were a very integral part of the competition and the band as a whole. O’Brien-Mazza also said that she learned a lot about this particular experience. She also mentioned that teaching band here was a transition as she has been teaching here for only three years. Many band members voiced their experiences at the competition and reflected upon their experiences

MHS band posing with the first place trophy. Photo submitted by Sebastian Romani. as participants in the competition. Freshman Kevin Fuentes explained that “[they] knew what [they] were doing” and that they had been practicing for weeks so they felt calm entering the competition. Fuentes added that he was elated that the band was able to achieve that

and surprised” at their win due to the fact that they were competing against “heavily funded” schools. Their win was “truly a moment of joy”. He added that determination and perseverance were key parts to their placement in the competition. There were a few minor hitches such

MHS students posing at Six Flags. Photo submitted by Sebastian Romani. level of success considering how few members they have. He also explained how their band director played a significant role in nurturing the band program to be where it is today and thus they were able to overcome the disadvantage in number. Fuentes also felt “shocked

as organizing their sound to make it more balanced, and rewriting sheet music but they were able to handle these issues well. Lastly he adds that “the work...the dedication [and]... faith” that O’Brien-Mazza puts into the band is as the reason why they are “so motivated to work hard and

do what [they] do.” Junior Naomi Brill, who has been participating in band since she was in the fourth grade added that “it felt pretty good bringing home the trophy”. She explains how in the past they placed second, or received a bronze medal in third, so “going in and getting first place was... exciting”. She also added that the win gave the band a boost of confidence and credits the president of band senior Megan Melanson and O’Brien-Mazza as crucial parts to their success. A final band member, sophomore Sebastian Romani explained that “the whole trip was amazing” and that he “loved being with the band every second of it”. He added that this year the band was able to accomplish a lot. He thought this year would be “very rigorous” but instead found his experience to be “pretty lenient”. He felt that the band was able to win due to their “new and complete sound” and that they “definitely deserved this win”. He added that they had new freshman and upperclassmen so they were able to work on rebuilding themselves starting with this win. From being a band member he learned personally that “you can’t do everything yourself” and that each part comes together to “make one beautiful sound”. Overall, many band members as well as the director felt that this was a very encouraging experience for the band. The band has grown greatly in the past few years and this victory at Music at The Park was a huge indicator of it.

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Community N’ Unity at MHS

....And the winners are ...Multicultural Night continued from page 17

Falyn Kelley Reporter

eople flooded the courtyard at Malden High last week for the celebration of a year of discussions and meetings on the issues between race and culture within Malden. This event was made to help bring the citizens of Malden together. With multiple different foods of different cultures, the event really highlighted the diversity of the city. The event was more popular than expected, with about 100 people attending including the mayor, Gary Christenson, and Malden High’s principal, Edward Lombardi. The event was approximately two hours long, with many tables being present and serving all different types of foods from all different types of cultures that are present within Malden. In the small area of the Malden High courtyard, Malden’s diversity was proven in this short celebration and was considered “an enormous success,” from Lombardi. The event is seen as a “wrap-up” by Lombardi of all the discussions and community meetings over the summer and past year that had inspired Community N’ Unity to happen. The overall goal of the event was to create a very direct way to get people of all backgrounds and cultures together to share a part of their life with other people in the community. The event seemed to bring people together in the community, to bond through food and light conversation, with music and food and around a 100 people coming in and out, the event seemed to be a success. Being the brainchild of four seniors from Malden High, it was the project of a National Honors Society group to celebrate our diversity as a community while both congratulating and making improvements to the city and the interactions between the people within it. “At the very least it’s a very direct way to get people of all backgrounds together to share stories and food and music,” stated Lombardi proudly. The project was seen as something that was important to not only the school, but the community of Malden as a whole, which did nothing but motivate Lombardi to make it happen. All profits went towards a charity called Central African Republic, a non-profit organization that’s goal is to bring clean and safe drinking water to people within developing countries. Community N’ Unity helped to raise $700 dollars that night to help the organization.

The first place winner for the best dish was Weds Jean Louis for his Haitian dish of macaroni gratine and poule and second place winner Audrey Goon for her Chinese sticky rice dish. Photo submitted by Yahaira Marquez. buy tickets but overall the event came together. Junior Arsema Paulos, Multicultural Club member, stated that she decided to join the event as she thought it was a great opportunity to represent her Ethiopian culture as well as believing it was a “great opportunity to step up and be a leader”. Junior Samrawit Eshetu, another Multicultural Club member, stated that it was a great event “that [was] [open] to cultural acceptance” and that cast light on the “importance to respect other people and learn about their cultures”. She also said that it was great to see people enjoying food and experience culture that friends have been exposed to their whole lives with an event with such a welcoming atmosphere. Eshetu believed that what made this event different from all others was the fact

that this event was “very reliant on Malden High and whether they decide to show their culture to others” but overall was just a great opportunity to “immerse yourself in other cultures and learn about each other in greater depth than before”. Junior Coralie Deus, Multicultural Club member, is in accord with Eshetu. Deus stated that it was one of the few events that “celebrated different cultures and embrace them”. Deus added on stating that she has learned how important it is to be inclusive to different cultures around the world and within our school”. She believed that the primary message of the club is to be aware of other traditions that are present in the community and acknowledge the diversity. Overall members are extremely proud of themselves for the events success and the spectacular dishes that were brought in by attendees.

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Small Ensembles Hosts Spring Recital

From Left to Right: Wesley Pierre, Hector Hernandez, Alfonse Mutebi, Giovana Vidal, and Luke Delany perform “Airplanes” by B.o.B. (feat, Hayley Williams).

From Left to Right: Santiago Portillo, Philip Faria, Vinicius Lana, and Moez Bensalem perform “Redbone” by Childish Gambino. Photos by Tobi Pitan.

Tobi Pitan Reporter

that it was “something everybody can listen to.” He also added that it takes a while for band members to find a song to learn and they they “always argue until they find the right song,” but that they chose that piece because it stood of from other pop songs today. Portillo said that he really liked this class how “gets involved with the school a lot” and that it is a class where “people can just play what they want to play with people that they want to play with.” He adds that in that in this class they can pick their own music and curriculum while in other classes there is a set curriculum to be followed. In small ensembles, students “guide themselves and the teacher is just there for a little help.” Finally, he said that the part of the class that it teaches leadership as well as presentation skills. It has deadlines to be followed and you have to lead yourself and your own group. Another instrumentalist, freshman Moez Bensalem, who was on percussion, explained how he first got involved with music in the 8th grade when he began to learn guitar.

or the first time since December, Malden High School small ensembles were back, this time with new pieces to ring in the spring with fresh, popular, and contemporary music. On Thursday night, May 4th at 7:00 pm, students, family members, and music lovers met in the Jenkins Auditorium to watch instrumentalists from various grades and skill levels to showcase the pieces they had practicing throughout the second half of the school year. In introducing the concert, Erin O’Brian Mazza, the small ensembles teacher, explained how it was “neat to see different creativity levels... and have everyone come together to make music.” This concert was also bittersweet for Mazza as she had to say goodbye to many seniors who would be graduating and leaving the class. It was particularly difficult for her to say goodbye, mainly because she had only been teaching

this many of these students for one year. At the end of the concert, to bid her seniors farewell, she gave each of them a gift and recounted personal stories about them or told how much she cared them. After, a particular group of students whom had been particularly close with Mazza presented her with flowers to thank her for all the work she had put into bring them were they are today. What is interesting about the small ensembles class is that their music taste is current and fresh and changes with the season. In December, the class had performed some mellower pieces ranging from classical to old rock. For this concert they had prepared music from a plethora of genres, artists, and decades. Sophomore and guitarist Santiago Portillo explained that one of the songs he performed with his ensemble, “Redbone” by Childish Gambino “was a really popular sound, but it [didn’t] have that pop sound to it.” He explained how he thought that the audience may have found this song more relatable than a pop song for example and

From Left to Right: (top) Stella Aratoma, Trecy Jean, Tamerlie Roc, Jacob Greybeal, Brian Tranle, Santiago Portillo, Philip Faria, Moez Bensalem, (bottom), Jenny Do, Guetchina Letang. Photo by Tobi Pitan.

He joined the class playing initially playing the guitar before switching to the piano because it was easier. He said that the class is enjoyable, “until they need to pick the songs,” due to the different genres that each of the people in his group likes. But when they finally reach a decision on what song to play, the music is “beautiful.” His favorite part of the class was the performances but that the hardest part of the class was picking out the music as mentioned before. He explained how this class would appeal to anyone who likes playing music because it’s “basically a study with music”. His hope for his future in the class was to make smaller groups so that he could potentially have the opportunity to sing but that said it is “a pretty fun class” if anyone wants to join. Many seniors will be leaving the class, and some will even pursue music as careers, so it seems as if the class will benefit from newer members. Still, current members welcome potential ones and have only had positive things to say about their experience in the class.

Freshman Jacob Greybeal performs “How to Save a Life” by The Fray. Photo by Tobi Pitan.

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Mock Trial: Commonwealth v. Sazer Larsen Rebeca Pereira Reporter

n July 4th, 2016, Sazer Larsen, a war veteran, attended a fireworks display where she shot and killed Jamie Frosh, a high school acquaintance and her long time nemesis. Larsen was tackled by her friend Alex Cofman who had accompanied her to the display, in order to keep her from endangering others or herself and was arrested by officers on site. She was brought into custody, paperwork filed, crime scene examined, and once the evidence had been gathered and the case prepared, her trial ensued on May 2, 2017, beginning at 6pm in the Jenkins Auditorium. The details of the criminal case, Commonwealth v. Sazer Larsen, have been critically examined by Mock Trial students since November of the beginning of this school year and were presented in a formal trial format. The defense and prosecution were both allowed opening statements, three witnesses or experts, and were expected use judicial jargon throughout. The trial would assess whether or not post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD could have influenced the happenings of that night. If Larsen’s PTSD was found to be factor, she would not have to answer to and serve time for First Degree Murder, which warrants premeditated intent to kill. With the ‘Honorable Judge’ (and MHS history teacher) Richard Tivnan presiding, the trial began. The prosecution, trying to prove Larsen guilty of the crime, brought up to the bench Detective Daveigh F. Wallace, the investigator on the case, first. Wallace testified that at 9pm on July 4th, she received a call from officers responding to the scene. Once Larsen was brought in, Wallace was the first one to examine her belongings which included the 9 millimeter semiautomatic pistol that Larsen had used that night, a weapon Wallace found to have been cleaned and oiled a few days prior to the crime. Shortly after, the prosecution introduced Gill Graham, who was the victim’s best friend and had witnessed not only the murder at the fireworks display, but testified that there had always been tensions between the two during high school, beginning with the victim bullying Larsen, and escalated with Larsen’s threats towards the victim. Lastly, the prosecution called to the stand Doctor Dana Piltch who

Asma Soltani presents the prosecution’s opening statements. Photo by Rebeca Pereira. had first met the defendant in January of 2016 when she administered screenings before discharging the defendant seeing no signs of PTSD. After cross examinations of the prosecution’s witnesses, the defense team called to the stand their first testimonial, that of Larsen’s friend Cofman, who had been with her on the 4th of July and had tackled her after she’d fired her gun. He testified that Larsen loved America but returned from war differently, withdrawn and aloof. In his retelling of the events, he revealed that Larsen had been jumpy and as soon as the fireworks went off, she turned

mares, panic attacks, and PTSD to. She talked about her insomnia and how simply carrying her “favorite firearm” makes her feel safe. Doctor Carla Li was the last to be called up to the stand, as she was the psychiatric doctor whose diagnosis of Larsen concluded she indeed was experiencing late onset PTSD. She affirmed that “to a reasonable degree of medical certainty,” Larsen’s PTSD was the cause for the crime and even leveled allegations against Doctor Piltch, stating that the method that she had developed and used to misdiagnose Larsen is not a method recognized

Sherley Muscade presents the defendant’s testimony. Photo by Rebeca Pereira. around screaming “They’re gonna get us!” Next the defendants brought up Sazer Larsen herself whose retelling of the events was emotional and arguably the most insightful. She talked about the date of the Taliban attack she attributed her night-

by the American Psychological Association. The prosecution’s argument relied heavily on the notion that the murder had been premeditated providing for a rebuttal from the defendant to be mainly based on discrediting the possibility of the killing

being pre-planned. The prosecution cited the pistol having been cleaned recently, the sound of the fireworks being sufficient to muffle the sound of the gunshots, and the precision of the shots — two to the head and two to the chest — as evidence that the crime had been premeditated. The defendant cited the fact that all of Larsen’s weapons in her extensive collection had been cleaned and not just the weapon she may have intended to use as evidence that the killing was not premeditated. They also brought up that the sound of the fireworks themselves were quite possibly what triggered Larsen’s PTSD as the sound is reminiscent of the Taliban attack Larsen had survived through during her tour in Afghanistan. It is important to acknowledge not only the arguments of both sides and questions posed by direct examiners and cross examiners, but also the performances given by the witnesses and experts, which were also played by Mock Trial members. Senior Sanaa Bezzat, who played Gill Graham, received a positive response from the audience which seemed to partake in her character’s frustration at the repetitive nature of the questions being asked. Bezzat is thankful that she was able to play this role because it helped her “remember there are different areas of law someone can work in.” With the trial coming to a close, each side was given a chance to deliver their closing statements. Senior Victoria Macdonald, a co-captain of the Mock Trial team, delivered the statements on behalf of the prosecution affirming “Sazer Larsen neglected herself.” Sophomore Birukti Tsige also delivered an assertive closing statement saying “the prosecution failed to prove [Larsen’s guilt],” and pleading with the jury to sympathize with the defendant and understand that there were “two victims.” With this, the audience, acting as the jury, was asked to text in their vote: (A) for guilty and (B) for not guilty. The poll and its results were powered by polleverywhere. com and delivered directly to Judge Tivnan who read the verdict: NOT GUILTY. If you didn’t get a chance to file your vote, take every detail into consideration and decide for yourself: Is Sazer Larsen guilty of first degree murder? And if the jury doesn’t feel like the side of this case you would’ve preferred to be on, Tsige offers another option saying “if you want to experience scenes that are only available to most people on courtroom dramas, this class is awesome for you.”

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Photos by Ryan Hames.

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Photos by Ryan Hames.

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Malden High School Teachers Visit Haiti Visit leads to fundraising drive that supports school

Students of Matènwa Community Learning Center. Photos submitted by Paul Degenkolb. Sydney Stump Lead Reporter

alden High School has been collecting donations for the Matènwa Community Learning Center in Haiti, for some time now, hosting different donation drives for different items needed by the school, and the surrounding communities. This year, Malden High School’s Haitian Club has collected first aid supplies, school supplies, and basic toiletries after Hurricane Matthew in October. These donations have had a “big positive effect”, says Haitian Club advisor, Paul Degenkolb. The school supplies collected earlier this year have been distributed to twenty-five different schools, and the nurses office at the Lekòl Kominote Matènwa (LKM), or Matenwa Community Learning Center, is fully stocked. The children in attendance of “highest economic need” were given toiletry kits, as well. This year’s final donation drive is for books for a resource library in Grann Sous, a larger, neighboring village to Matènwa. The library, however, will serve several different villages in the area. Haitian Club is looking for books in good condition, in either English or Spanish. Children’s books, novels, as well as

ESL books that are “geared toward self-guided language learning” are all good donations. As of May 25, five individuals have donated 40% of the initial goal. Degenkolb and the Haitian Club hope to ship the books to Grann Sous by May 31.

Top three photos: Students of Matènwa Community Learning Center with their new school supplies. Above Board Members and teachers holding shipping barrels. Photos submitted by Paul Degenkolb.

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Ask The Principal Night Tobi Pitan Reporter

espite the small turnout, Principal Ted Lombardi offered an abundance of information to parents of Malden High School students and of other schools in Malden on ‘Ask the Principal Night’ held on May 9th at the Jenkins Auditorium. The main focus points for this discussion were the newly proposed bell schedule and the change in the structure of the math curriculum. Some tertiary topics included an overview of the Tornado Travelers Club, details about current STEM classes in MHS, the future of the Parent Information Center, advancements in the Chromebook initiative, as well as inconsistencies in X2 and iBoss. Principal Lombardi had prepared a presentation for those in attendance and proceeded to elaborate on all of the information he had provided to the parents that were present. In one portion of the presentation, he went into great detail about the block scheduling recently proposed by a group of teachers. He spoke about the results of the student survey that was emailed to MHS students regarding whether or not they would be open to transitioning into the new schedule or keeping the current one. Out of the 1119 students that were surveyed, 512 were in favor of the new schedule while 507 were in favor of the current one. Lombardi voiced that personally, he “liked longer blocks” because “they’re functional for kids.” After Lombardi finished his presentation, he opened up the floor for parents to bring up questions but before that, Shauna Campbell, science teacher and advisor of the Tornado Traveler’s Club, gave a quick run down of the what the club offered and discussed how incoming 9th graders could sign up for trips. Campbell also explained that there would fundraising events for the all upcoming travel opportunities in order to makes these trips as accessible to as many students as possible. When the floor was opened up for questions to Lombardi, one mother of an incoming MHS student and a graduating senior wondered if there were plans to redo the student survey as incoming ninth graders could not participate in it and the graduating seniors “may or may not [have] [cared]” about the impact they had on the results. Lombardi responded by saying that he “wanted to get a broad sense of where everyone was at” and that

this survey was conducted mostly for the purpose of seeing how polarized students felt in regards to either option. Considering the students felt quite evenly split between the two standing options, Lombardi is “curious to hear more parent input” regarding the changing of the school day. He will be meeting with a student committee to further discuss the implications of transitioning to a

as “opportunity [for] [teachers] to make real connections to kids”. It could potentially include a weekly student newscast that poses as an opportunity to see highlights from sports games and performances; it would essentially be an elongated version of the current student announcements that happen during homeroom each morning. One parent next brought up the question of whether or not study

Principal Ted Lombardi answering questions asked by the audience. Photo by Rebeca Pereira. new schedule or keeping the current one. Also, he added that eighth graders may not be not be informed about high school schedules, justifying why only MHS students in grades 9-12 were surveyed. One potential benefit of the new schedule may be that students would have less homework. This is because they would be able to focus on their four theoretical classes as opposed to the current six. Lombardi explained that there would also be guidelines regarding when assignments could be due and when grades would be put into X2. He believes that this schedule will pose as a benefit to students who are involved with multiple extracurricular activities and experience a “rinse and repeat cycle that [makes] [it] difficult for them” to perform well in school without being physically drained and fatigued. A major issue with the current schedule is homeroom because it renders the government mandated school time for students arbitrary. With the new schedule, advisory, “a formal way to personalize education for students” would replace homeroom. During it, an advisor would keep tabs of a student, their grades, and their performance throughout high school. Lombardi viewed it

halls would pose as a detriment to students if the new schedule was instituted. Lombardi responded by saying that study halls were “certainly a drawback” but that “the idea is that [they] don’t want to have teachers out”. Ultimately, Lombardi believed that “there is no perfect schedule” but that he and various teachers throughout MHS are approaching this situation by pinpointing the concepts they “like enough to fix the problems” within the current schedule. Aside from the new schedule, changes to the STEM department within the school were discussed as well. Some parents were concerned over how the new 9th grade math curriculum, which would begin with Math 1 and be followed by Math 2 and Math 3, would affect eighth graders in their current math classes. Parents also inquired on what role the current Summer Math Enrichment Program would have on the classes their students would be in. STEM teachers including Kathryn Bizier, Cara Joyce, and Shereen Escovitz are currently meeting in teams to ensure that the math summer “enrichment [will] match the curriculum in the school.” Joyce also

added that this new model “aligns with the real world” and will also enable math teachers to place students from other countries more accurately in math classes as well. Parents also asked about how the current engineering classes would change as the current engineer teacher is retiring and why a honors engineering class was not being offered. Escovitz explained how the reason why there was no distinction between the course was due to the boxed curriculum called Amatrol curriculum which is currently being utilized by the school. Lombardi also spoke about the Parent Information Center with various parent attendees. He explained how Malden is a difficult district to run a Parent Information Center in due to “the amount of languages that come through the door”. He added that finding staff for the Center was the main issue but parents did pose the option of whether or not volunteers would be accepted. Further developments are yet to be made with Center. Next, developments and current issues with technology in the school were discussed as well. One parent brought up the issue of the iBoss application in Chromebooks, explaining how the app only received a one and a half star rating and costs $30,000 — an “absurd amount of money to pay for something that doesn’t work”. This parent inquired where the funding for iBoss was coming from and Lombardi responded by saying that the information technology from city to city in has merged over the past year; “it [didn’t] matter who [was] in control of it if it [didn’t] work”. There is a current update on the funding status of chromebooks and a “clear commitment to continuing the one-to-one endeavor” said Lombardi. He added that there are plans to outfit the incoming ninth graders with a new device; “something different. . . studier than the current Chromebook”. The funding for this would come out of “the local budget and or potentially grant funding”. Lastly, parents asked if there would be a Back to School night for parents and ninth graders next year as well as the opportunity to start college planning earlier than junior and senior year. Lombardi said that he was speaking to guidance counselors about including a sophomore college planning session for next year and that he hopes for their to be opportunities to provide parents more resources regarding the school such as giving parents the training to be able to navigate X2.

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New Science and Math Curriculum Ana Pirosca Reporter

change is being made to next year’s school curriculum surrounding math and science. The proposed idea is going to change the prospect of having separate categories of math, and instead, having integrated diverse math classes, divided up by Math 1, Math 2, and Math 3. Science classes will also push biology up to an only 9th grade honors class and a requirement by sophomore year. The new math classes aren’t an entirely new concept, as other cities have been integrating math classes this way since 2014. Places such as Lexington and Newton have had it since, and have seen an increase in Math MCAS scores. It is reported by the Journal for Research in Mathematics that students who learned a blend of math, often outperformed those who learned the topics individually. This is due to the brain’s ability to foster connections, and being able to revisit topics instead of using-thenlosing it. The brain that is associated with memory often forgets concepts that are not continuously used, which is a reason many parents want their children to receive extra learning during the summer, so as to not forget. With the new curriculum, students will be learning a little bit of Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 every year, therefore, they would not be able to forget. Principal Edward Lombardi hopes to see an increase in test scores adding that it is a “more sensible way to go through the curriculum.” He has seen such results in his time at Lawrence as well. The biology changes would only affect CP classes. Instead of attending a biology CP class, many freshmen might be referred to an environmental science class so as to be “caught up” with the prerequisites for biology. Lombardi said that there is a “huge maturity leap from ninth to tenth grade” and an environmental class would be beneficial to those who need it. With this, the Biology MCAS will be pushed back for sophomores. Many other schools in Massachusetts have been doing this as well. Carlisle has been using this system for a while, and as students enter high school to this new curriculum, there has been definite increases in MCAS scores. Continuing on, Lombardi may promote a more productive system to teach students at MHS, tailored to fit the incoming students. The future of MHS’s education may more resemble schools such as Lexington, and Newton, and other well populated areas known for their quality of education.

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Technovation Challenge 2017 Malden High School’s Technovation Team Competes with Their App “Treedom”

Juniors, Samrawit Eshetu, Stephanie Chu, Carla Rosales-McFarlane, Joanna Tang, Vanessa Vu, and Senior Bingyi Chen. Photo by Paul Marques. Ailin Toro Lead Reporter

n Saturday, May 13th, Malden High School’s Technovation Team went to the Wentworth Institute for a worldwide competition between girls in technology called the Technovation Challenge. The girls have been developing their app, “Treedom”, for months. At the competition, the Technovation Club entered with Treedom. Junior, and member of the club, Vanessa Vu spoke about the app and explained that “Treedom targets a middle school audience, and encourages them to develop ecofriendly habits with games, recipes, and crafts”. The decided to do this app because for this year’s Technovation Challenge every group from each different school was required to create an app that helps the world in some way. They decided that the way that they would choose to help the world was to start by targeting the environment. Paul Marques is the advisor for MHS’s Technovation Team, and Vu mentioned that he worked well with them. She explained that “he gave [them] advice throughout the process and made sure that [they] were always on track”. The idea for the Treedom app was actually the first idea that was brought up by one of the group members. All of the group agreed that it was a good idea, and they all decided to roll with it, showing that it was not difficult for the group to start up their project. Vu mentioned that the main challenge that came across while creating the app was the time

commitment. She said that “there [was] a lot of time and effort that [needed] to go into the process and it was difficult to manage, especially with all of [her] other priorities”. When asked how she thought how the group worked with each other she said that she thought that she and her “group mates all worked well together and made [their] contributions in some way, whether it was a contribution in coding or in working on the business plan”. The Technovation members divided up their responsibilities by splitting their team up into two different subgroups. Vu explained that “there were some who focused on coding the app itself and others, including [herself], who worked on the business plan of the app”. When asked how Vu thought how the app turned out she said that she “was satisfied with the completed app considering [their] limited time”, but she did add that she felt like there was still some room for improvement on it. Vu spoke about the competition saying that it was a “great learning experience”. She said that “[their] group pitched [their] app to many people and got great feedback”. Vu added that she also learned a lot at the competition explaining that it “taught [her] what work is really like in the real world, and it also taught [her] how to write a business plan”. Although the club didn’t win the competition, it is clear that a lot of hard work was put into the app, and that the competition was a positive experience for them.

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Malden Participates in Generation Citizen Ailin Toro Lead Reporter

ecently, the United States History 1 classes have been taking on Generation Citizen. One group, coming from Michelle Filer’s period 5 class wanted to spread awareness of their project by including it in the school newspaper. The class debated between many different topics, before finally choosing the Fair Share Amendment to be the focus of their project. Their other ideas included immigration issues, drug use, and the school schedule. Freshman Debora De Souza, explains the Fair Share Amendment that if it was passed it “would raise taxes on those who make over [millions of dollars] and put that money into important funds”. Freshman Tenzin Shakya, adds that “the money from it would go towards funds for education and transportation”. De Souza says that they decided to focus on this amendment

because it is “something that concerns all students”, explaining that “everyone has the option to go to college, and whether someone wants to go or not everyone thinks about it because it’s so deeply rooted into all high schoolers”. When asked why they wanted to have this be a part of the newspaper, Shakya says that they “want[ed] to raise awareness [among] the upperclassmen, so that they will vote for it when they have the chance”. Their group has been working on many strategies to get their goal accomplished. Their main strategy is to contact people in higher positions of power and have them as supporters. They have also tried to get into contact with the Malden Observer to try and spread awareness

through them as well. They already have gained support for the amendment to pass from Senator Jason Lewis. He has been a supporter for a while, and voted in a past election for it to be passed. Mayor Gary Christenson has also gotten behind the act, and told De Souza and Shakya that he will support them by posting things on social media, and that he would like to get involved to help contribute to the cause. De Souza talks about how they recognize that there could be drawbacks if the amendment isn’t passed, but she feels “that people should be willing to take the risk”. Some of the drawbacks that were mentioned could come with the Fair

Share Amendment are that it could lead the wealthy to move out of Massachusetts, and that since there is not a lot of trust in the government, people don’t believe that that the money will go directly where it’s intended to go. Despite that De Souza explains that “the outcome would be worth it because [it] has more positives than it does negatives, and it will help a lot because everyone should have the opportunity to go to college, and it would help those who do not have a lot of money”. De Souza also says that while this might just seem like part of a class, they “will do as much as [they] can while [they] are so focused on it, since it will be reality later on”. Shakya adds that while they might have to lose some focus on it when they finish Generation Citizen in class, they “can look back on it, and keep working on gaining support for it throughout high school”. Finally, De Souza urges everyone “to stay informed and educated, and to not think that it doesn’t affect you”. Shakya also says that “everyone should stay focused on this because it will be important”.

Michelle Filer’s period 5 class presented thier Generation Citizen project with Mayor Christenson. Photo submitted by Tenzin Shakya.

Malden Writer’s Collaborative Visits Writers’ Den Christina Appignani Lead Reporter

he Malden Writer’s Collaborative paid a visit to the Writers’ Den at MHS on April 28, Representatives from the group ran a workshop with a group of high school students on how to workshop pieces of writing critically and in depth. The event was held from 2:30-3:30 and was organized by Tufts student Larry Evans, who has been overseeing the Writer’s Den since its establishment. The Malden Writer’s Collaborative is a local writing group founded by Evangeline Vickery. Vickery grew up in the town of Manlius, New York. She was involved in the arts from an early age participating in private violin and art lessons, dance classes, and various vocal ensembles. After graduating from high school, Evangeline pursued her education at Gordon College, a private Christian liberal arts school in Wenham, Massachusetts. She fast-tracked her schooling and achieved her Bachelors of Arts degree in Communications Arts. Upon graduation, Evangeline relocated to Tiverton, Rhode Island where she worked in public relations and marketing for Living In Fulfilling Environments (L.I.F.E.), Inc., a not-forprofit organization specializing in the care of people with disabilities. She moved to Charlotte, North Carolina for a short time where she worked as a freelance web content editor before finally settling back into the Boston area where she currently resides. In January of 2013 she earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Non-Fiction Writing from Lesley University. Evangeline’s current writing is focused around family memoirs, food and travel writing, personal profiles, and 10-minute plays. Through the Malden Writer’s Collaborative, she acts as a facilitator, fostering a writing community that consists of aspiring writers. The aspect of the group is to provide supportive, open-minded and thoughtful opinions to fellow writers on their work. On Vickery’s website, she claims that “By being part of a writing group, we choose to share an intimate part of ourselves with others. It takes courage and strength to share your writing knowing people will have diverse opinions about it”. She explains that the group’s desire is to “help each other grow, not tear each other down”. The Malden Writer’s Collaborative meets the first and third thursday of every month from 7:00pm-8:00pm at the Malden Public Library. They will be accepting new members for the 2017-2018 season very soon. For more information, contact Evangeline Vickery at tmwc@evangelinevickery.com.

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Senior Interships Every year some of Malden High School’s seniors leave to go on internships that focus on their fields of interest. Internships offer work in business, hospitality/tourism, accounting, medical field, medical secretary, social work, marketing/management, athletic training/physical therapy, automotive technology, environmental science, computer science, real estate, and outward bound/outdoor education. Seniors that are interested in applying for internship must propose their idea to the Internship Committee. Before discussing their idea with the committee, students should already have gone to the location where they seek an internship and ask permission to work there.

Gianna Giuliano and Bianca Cortese were interns at the Forestdale School’s Special Education Departnent. Photo by Anna Powers.

Senior Tatiana Arredondo. Photo by Anna Powers.

“Since last year (my junior year) I’ve wanted to major in special education because of difficulties in my past that I’ve encountered, and because I feel that more help is needed to help these kids grow successfully. I want to help them realize that if “they can dream it, they can do it”. To get a taste of what I was going in for I thought the internship program could help me decide whether or not this would be a good fit for me. These 5 weeks helped me realize that this is a good fit and that this is what I want to major in in college, and it gave me a taste of the real world (being a special education teacher).” Alyssa Moschella

“I loved how the experience taught me a lot of patience that most people don’t have. I love the way the students learn differently, visually, and that makes the classroom fun. We also made glitter jars to end the internship that created a connection between us.” Gianna Giuliano

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Senior Interships

Top: Senior Bryanna Soriano. Bottom: Senior Tatum Skiffington. Photos by Anna Powers.

Top: Senior Erin Johnson. Bottom: Seniors presenting hospitality at Logan Airport. Photos by Anna Powers.

Senior Alicia Devereaux representing Ferryway Music. Photo by Anna Powers.

Mayor Gary Christenson interacts with Senior Manoucheka Damas project. Photo by Anna Powers.

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Man Nguyen Reporter

Special

lympics

n May 4, 2017, the annual Special Olympics took place at the MacDonald Stadium. Thanks to countless volunteers and organisers, the event was filled with activities for all to enjoy. Mayor Gary Christenson commented that for him, the event “always instills a sense of pride.” He went on to explain the reason why he was so proud during the occasion was “because of the incredible performances of the athletes” and “also because of the commitment and hard work of the many volunteers.” A single story can have countless perspectives and messages depend on how one looks at it. For Christenson, the lesson that he learned through this event was that “one of hope, overcoming challenges and also the importance of helping others.” Additionally, he wanted to tell the future participants of the event that “their courage and willingness to take part in the games is inspiring.” For others, like Scibelli, the message is all about being thoughtful and caring for each other. “If everyone was kind to one another like they were on that day, the world would be a different place,” Scibelli commented. She believes that everyone, by being a part of the event, would realize the importance of being kind to one another. Similarly, to sophomore Dijana Masic who was one of the many volunteers during the event, the point of Special Olympics has something to do with being loving toward one another as well. For her, it’s very important to become selfless on that day and just focus on making those around her happy for just being there. “To future participants and volunteers, I just want to tell them to be 100% positive and to not make this day about themselves but instead put their full attention on the kids, because the smiles on their faces will be priceless” Masic explained. From sophomore Salma Bezzat’s point of view, after volunteering at the event, the event was a memorable one and it taught her something as well. “I want to say, you don’t need a reason to help someone. By that I mean to put a smile on their face, or make them laugh, or maybe help them up when they’re down” Said Bezzat. The Special Olympics benefits all of those who were involved. For Masic, she enjoyed the experience and the atmosphere during

Junior volunteer and former Blue and Gold member Ana Kerr with Speical Olympics participants. Photo submitted by Kerr. the event. “I was so excited and so happy to be around all of these wonderful kids” Masic commented “It was such a positive and fun experience to help all of the kids have a fun time”. Similarly, sophomore Salma Bezzat, one of the Captains Council members who were asked to help out, had a great time helping people out during the Special Olympics. He described it as “one of the best days I’ve ever had” and that “[he will] most certainly participating again next year”. He went on to say that he would never forget that day and that he encourages people to get involved with the event in the future. One might have expected the event to take a toll on the volunteers who had to move around the stadium for almost half a day. On the contrary, according to Masic, she didn’t feel the strain at all and she was super happy the whole time. “My motivation was the kids, just seeing them being so happy and being cheered on made me feel like I wasn’t even working” Said Masic. The same applied for Bezzat who commented how all the Council Captains always had a smile on their face the whole day. “This is not only my first year doing Special Olympics, but also apart of Captains Council” said Bezzat. She went on and commented that “ [I felt] like [the captains’] energy toward any project or event is over the top and they’re just happy to help”. A public event like this can have a variety of positive impact on

the community itself. To volunteers he expected it to be “as it is every like Masic and Bezzat, the event year” and that “[his] expectations gave them an opportunity that they are high.” He quickly commented missed before due to their busy that “every time, [his expectations] schedule. They had both wanted to were met and then some.” she exget involved with Unified Sport but pected that “everyone has a great couldn’t find the time to do so. “I de- day” throughout the whole event. cided to take part in Special OlymMuch thanks went to those pics because I’ve been wanting to do who were involved and ChristenUnified Sports for a long time but I son’s was not an exception. “I want have never had enough space in to thank the organizers and volunmy schedule,” Masic explained “so teers for working to provide this when I heard about this event I was opportunity,” Christenson said. so excited to be able to take part in it because I just wanted to make this day super fun and special to all of the kids.” Additionally, the event also provided a fun time for people as well. “I tell you not, this day made me feel so happy, they were all so excited to participate in the events” Said Bezzat. For Barbara Scibelli, one of the secretaries of the Malden High School, she believes that the event benefits the student athletes because she believed that they can all learn one thing or two about perseverance and pushing yourself while helping out other athletes that were there. Everyone, regardless of background and past, can have a fun time as well as acknowledging the importance of kindness toward one another. As the people passed through the gates of the stadium, they came to the event, each with Sophomores Salma Bezzat and Olivia their own expectations for the Forestier. Photo submitted by Bezzat. occasion. In Christenson’s mind,

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Choral Arts Concert Neden Bernadin Lead Reporter

alden High School’s Choral Art Society held their annual Spring Choral Concert on May 12th in the Jenkins Auditorium. The show ran under the direction of Todd Cole and Cindy Horsman Mckeen, who played the piano throughout the program. The show consisted of performances by the Mixed Chorus, Concert Choir and the Madrigal Singers. Mr. Cole started off with the show by giving recognition to Principal Lombardi as well as recognizing the students for their efforts. The Mixed Chorus group kicked off the show on a high note with an opera styled song title “How Can I

Stop Singing My Song?”, written by Cynthia Gray. Followed after was a piece arranged by Mark Hayes, which combined the songs “Lean on Me” with “We Shall Overcome”. Proceeding after was an American Folk song by the name of “Cross The Wide Missouri” this piece featured a well done flute performance by concert band President, Naomi Brill. To end off the act, the group sang the 1980´s Michael Jackson classic “Man in the Mirror”, and ended with a song from the Broadway musical Rent, “Seasons of Love.” Solo performances were made by Dimitri Borrero, Birukti Tsige, Rocio Mejia, and Isabella Calderon Ordonez. Mr. Cole introduced the Concert Choir next, they started with a touching ballad titled “He’s Gone Away” arranged by Ron Nelson. Proceeding after, was a difficult classical/vocal titled “Agnus Dei”

Choral Arts Society performing. Photo by Neden Bernadin.

arranged by Gabriel Faure. The last two twists consist of “Cups” from the movie Pitch Perfect, and 80s medley of songs from female artists during that era. Lastly the Madrigal singers took the stage which consisted of solo performances from Caitlyn Leonard, Nicolas Acuna, and Aundraya Martin. The group performed a variety of different songs such as “He ain´t Heavy, He´s my Brother” arranged by Jay Althouse. Then a French classical piece, “ll Est Bel Et Bon ( I Know A Young Maiden)” composed by Pierre Passereau. The Percussion Ensemble featured Salma Bezzat, Thomas D´Onofrio and Kevin Ochoa. Both Mixed Chorus and the Concert Choir give off impressive performances in foreign languages such as piece that the choir performed was called “Turot Eszik a

cigany”. In English, it translate to “See the Gypsies Munching Cheese” which was written and composed by Zoltán Kodály. Mr. Cole wants to thank the students for accepting ownership as their responsibility ahead of the event, and cooperating as a team. He added that ¨ not only did they execute the musical pieces just as [they] prepared on them, but they worked together to pull off all of the logistics of the evening.¨ With planning this annual event, Mr.Cole realizes that anything can go wrong so he creates ¨a meticulous plan¨ in which he can receive feedback from the student leaders before dress rehearsals. With any luck, last minute changes are often necessary, and it is important be passed around among the participants.`

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NHS Induction Rebeca Pereira Reporter

ational Honors Society, an organization created to “recognize outstanding high school students” inducted new members into it’s John W. Hutchins chapter on Wednesday, May 10th in the Jenkins Auditorium with its 90th annual induction ceremony. The induction ceremony began at seven o’clock and featured a walk through of all members, candle lighting service, ceremonial transfer of club officers, senior tributes, and mentor and teacher of the year honorees. The night concluded with a showcase of senior service projects in the cafeteria. NHS encourages its students to further their understanding and active participation in the Four Pillars of Society: scholarship, service, leadership, and character. Each year, students who either apply or are recommended by a NHS Faculty Board Member receives an application to be filled out in which they personally detail their in and out of school commitments which include but are not limited to clubs, sports, community service, and volunteering. This process assesses the students’ qualities of service and leadership. Scholarship is reflected in the requirement of an 88 (B+) average and character is reflected in a clean disciplinary record. The acceptance process is thorough and the requirements are rigid to ensure that National Honor Society members reflect the best each school and chapter have to offer. Senior Lizlye Bertolini, a newly inducted member, recalls that MHS’s chapter advisor, computer science teacher Paul Marques, often describes his members as “conduits of society” for they not only should exemplify and live up to the Four Pillars of Society but, through these pillars, should contribute to the betterment of their communities. Bertolini, who will be attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, recognizes that not only is NHS allowing students to help their communities but is also helping students present themselves to the world. She says that “ [she has] always wanted to be a doctor, so [she] could help others and make a difference” and that she believes “being a part of NHS has opened so many doors for [her] and [she’s] sure it had a lot of weight in my ad-

mission into the amazing pre-med program at UMass Amherst.” Bertolini, as a senior, was given the chance to tribute one important person in her life. She chose her

tance of the induction ceremony because, not only does it formally introduce new members, but it passes on a tradition that, in acknowledging the hard work of all the upperclass-

Mayor Gary Christenson giving his opening remarks. Photo by Rebeca Pereira. mom to honor and concluded with a well known quote she believes embodies her relationship with her mother “Here’s to strong women everywhere. May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.” The senior tributes took up much of the latter half of the night but the first half was comprised of many smaller speeches, pledges,

men, introduces the underclassmen to the idea that “the more [she sees] them take action the more [she’ll] follow in their footsteps”. The opening of the ceremony was led by Paul Marques and Stephen Deng, the now former president of NHS, with greetings from the School Department and the City of Malden with Mayor Gary

New National Honor Society members reading the pledge. Photo by Rebeca Pereira. and acknowledgements. Despite being a new member and one of the only five sophomores to be accepted, Salma Bezzat describes her favorite part of NHS as being “surrounded by some of the brightest and most inspiring students at MHS.” Bezzat believes in the impor-

Christenson sharing a few words directly with the NHS members and inductees. His parting message was of Malden pride and a call to action saying “now to whom much is given, much will be required.” The induction of new members followed, composed of three main parts, the first being a candle light-

ing service. Senior students who exemplified through their merits one of the Four Pillars of Society were chosen to speak of their experience with that pillar and light a candle symbolizing that pillar. Felicia Lombardi lit the candle of leadership, Cleverina Cong lit the candle of scholarship, Grace Melo lit the candle of service, and Maria Ramos lit the candle of character. After the candle lighting ceremony, all new members stood up and took the National Honor Society Pledge which reads as follows: “I pledge myself to uphold the high purpose of the National Honor Society to which I have been selected, striving in every way, by word and deed, to make its ideals the ideals of my life. I pledge to maintain my high scholastic standing, to endeavor intelligently and courageously, to be a leader, to give myself freely in service to others, and to hold as fundamental and worthy an untarnished character. In doing so, I shall prove myself worthy of a place in the National Honor Society.” To end the induction portion of the ceremony, new members were presented with their certificates, cards, books, and pins by MHS Principal Edward Lombardi and Marques. The induction portion was followed by the installation of new officers which include a transfer from senior President Deng to junior President Isabelle Maraschi, senior Vice President Phuong Nguyen to sophomore Vice President Birkuti Tsige, junior Secretary Manny Quesada Nylen maintaining his post, and from senior Treasurer Gabe Oliveira to junior Treasurer Patrick Pereira. The presentation of plaques, books, and sashes to senior members and their tributes were followed by the “Teacher of the year” and “Mentor of the year” awards which were awarded to English teacher Yahaira Marquez and Barbara Scibelli respectively. The event came to a close after the awards were handed out with Principal Lombardi and Marques delivering closing comments and a final farewell from former president Deng. With those final words, the ceremony ended and members and spectators alike were invited to the cafeteria to enjoy snacks and refreshments as they observed the senior service projects.

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Ten Things to do Over the Summer 1. 4. 6. 8. 9. 2. 7. 5. 10. 3.

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Tan yourself near a beach or pool Yes, I know, it’s hot. But Revere Beach isn’t that bad. Coming back from summer, you can credit your sun kissed glow to a couple days in the sun. You’re welcome. Just make sure that you wear sunscreen, you don’t want a sunburn.

Pick some delicious food from a farm Farm food might be expensive, but seeing the actual

process of growing food before it’s processed it quite interesting. If it’s a good farm, it’ll have animals that you can see and smell and maybe even pet. Learn how your food is made! Start your own garden See my article on how to start your indoor garden if you don’t have a

People love vacation… for the first month or so. After that people get bored and exhausted of doing nothing all day. Instead of doing nothing, here are a couple cheap things you can do: Stroll around the Boston Commons and play Pokemon GO! Fun fact: the Boston Children’s Museum hosts “Messy Mondays” right outside. It’s also FREE! If you want to do something with your family it might be a fun thing to stop by and do. Its for all ages so don’t be shy. Plus, everyone needs to get at least 3 Eevees by the end of the summer. Go to the free art shows in Boston’s North End on the first Thursday of every month Yes, this is a thing. The art galleries are open on most days during the day, but a huge art show at night supplied with food and cheese and wine and crazy people wearing weird things and ah!

Test your abilities in the culinary arts... or just make some popsicles

It’s gonna be hot. Just eat some ice. Or have a cookout if you really want food. But let’s face it, popsicles are easier... Volunteer at a food drive, senior center, or animal shelter Anyone who isn’t in the Key Club or Interact Club or just wants to help out… volunteering can’t go wrong. Think of the puppies. Volunteer hours also look really good on a resume.

Read a book, you probably have to do some summer reading anyways. Any APUSH or AP Seminar kids will probably die from the amount of reading and work they have to do, but hey, reading is relaxing, when it’s for you! Find a book you enjoy and relax. Exercise? Bike? Run??!!! Stay fit please. It’s healthy, take care of your body. Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean you should abandon healthy habits. Find a nice backyard and have an insane water fight with water balloons and hoses, bucket of water, and water guns Here’s your alternative to pool parties, but way better.

for t h is R e a d s t a e r G r e m o Tw suM

backyard. People in the Malden area can also stop by the community garden and plant some things.

Christina Appignani Lead Reporter

uring the summer, teenagers are still hard at work. Whether it’s having a summer job, going to driving school, or struggling to get through summer homework, our time off becomes very limited. However, a lot of us don’t get the time to read during the school year because our everyday busy schedules that revolve around academics and extracurricular activities. In the summer, contemporary novels are one of the best types of novels to read because they are often short and easy to fly through. Whether it’s a novel of realism, cute romance, psychological thrillers or an advocate of social issues are breezy reads that you can fly through. whether it’s at the beach or in your air-conditioned living room.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

his story follows 18 year old Madeline Whittier, whose immune system cannot tolerate the outdoors, confining her indoors for

Geekerella by Ashley Poston the majority of her life. The only two people she has ever known in her life is her mother and her nurse, Carla. That is, until Olly, a boy who wears all black and practices parkour, moves next door. After instant messaging, writing each other messages on their windows and secret visits, the two begin to fall in love. Maddy decides to risk everything, including but not limited to her life, in order to truly be with Olly and the rest of the world. Soon to be a major motion picture, “Everything Everything” is an adorable story that will make you laugh and cry, all while emphasizing that love doesn’t kill you; it’s the fear of it that does.

his novel is a Cinderella retelling, but with a nerdy twist and is told from a dual pr. Seventeen year old Elle Wittimer is enamored

by the tv show Starfield, a Star-Trek type of show. The show itself along with its fandom is her only escape from her horrific stepmother and stepsisters. Hollywood is making a movie reboot of Starfield, and the male lead who is playing Federation Prince Carmindor is actor Darien Freeman, our other narrator. While Darien struggles with doing justice to the Starfield fans who consider him just another heartthrob, Elle is trying to get tickets to a con where she can enter a cosplay contest and win not only a cash prize, but an invitation to the Cosplay Ball and the chance to meet Freeman. An adorable romance story, Geekerella is a love letter to anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

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Ailin Toro Lead Reporter Man Nguyen Reporter

alden High School’s Play Production held their last production of the year, this one title 8x10. It was titled this because instead of a full length play, the production was 8 different, 10 minute shorts. There were four opportunities to attend the play, starting with an open dress rehearsal on Thursday, April 27th, and then three more runs including one Friday, April 28th, and two on Saturday April 29th. Tickets were $5, with each show having limited seating of about 8085 people since the audience seating was on the stage for this show. The idea of doing various short plays, instead of one long one, isn’t new for playpro. Sean Walsh, the codirector of the plays, with the other being Miranda Libkin, said that they have taken this on a couple of times in the past. He says that they decided to do it again this spring because it would be more educational for the students, and that it “was more about the opportunity to give students the ability to take ownership of the process and for the audience to see the actors up close”. There were two acts, each one consisting of four different plays. The first play was titled League of the Semi Superheroes, which followed the stories of humans with special skills including scuba diving. Throughout the play, the semi superheroes struggled with thoughts of them not being useful, and no one needing them for anything, but in the end they persevered through it. The second play, Hold for Three, follows the story of two girls trying to get their friend to hold their breath for three minutes by coming up with scenarios to encourage him to hold his breath, including him drowning. The next play was called Lives of Great Waitresses. It follows the story of four women, three who are experienced waitresses, and one who has just gotten their first job as a waitress where they work. The experienced waitresses judge the new one for seeming like she wants to be

Photos by Leah Tramondozzi.

liked too much. In the end, we find out the backstories for all of them and get a sense of how they came to be what they are. Senior Aigula Fitzgerald, who played Melissa, the new waitress, talks about the message for this play being that “if you don’t know how to do something, it doesn’t mean that you’re stupid, and that you can always learn”. She speaks nicely of her co-stars, saying that “they were strong actresses, and all of the character roles fit each actress well”. For the fourth play, Two Socks Discuss Loss, it follows the story of two socks who were separated from their original pair, and are now stuck with a different sock. While, the idea for this particular play might seem kind of strange, it was actually a story of the socks learning how to be comfortable and happy with each other, and turned out to be sweet. The start of Act 2 begins with the Duet for Dog and Bear. This story follows a dog that chases a bear up a tree, which scare’s the dog’s owner, and they begin to argue about the appropriate place for bears in the world while they wait for animal control. Then, The Double Life of Clem Midnight, is about a cat who went back and forth between two families, making each one think that they were its owners. One of the families eventually had to give the cat up, and the family that did tried to replace that void by having a baby. However, it didn’t work, and the already troubled marriage became unsalvageable. Jenna Vanella, who played the wife of the family who gave up the cat, says that part of the point of the play was to have the cat represent a marriage, because it shows how “two women fight over a man, and how if something as bad as cheating happens a marriage can be ruined”. Then, in Andre’s Mother, it has a more serious tone behind it. It’s set at a funeral for Andre, and at the funeral Andre’s boyfriend is present. Karina Matos, who plays the mother, talks about how as the play goes on it is “more about the boyfriend, Cal, wanting the mother to acknowledge his existence” instead of her completely ignoring him. Matos also mentions that the mother’s reasons for not speaking to him could be interpreted in different

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ways including “disapproval of the fact that he was gay, or that her son died from AIDS, or that she didn’t know about their relationship”. She sees the message behind the play as being “that parents should try to be involved in their kids lives”, and that “kids should be more open with their parents”. When speaking of her group, Matos says that she felt that they “all had a good dynamic” and adds that “the fact that [they] were able to get the emotion of the play across to some people so that it struck them enough to cry really made [her] feel good about the performance and the performance of [her] fellow actors”. The final play, Rosie in the Shadow of Melrose also dealt with themes of sexuality. It follows the story of Rosie, who meets a boy at a train stop and strikes up a conversation with him. She is clearly interested in him, but then it is found out that he had just left home because his mom didn’t accept him for being gay. Rosie, while disappointed, still decides to befriend him. Nicolas Acuna, who plays the boy in the story, talks about how the message behind the play is to “convey how wrong it is for parents to kick their children out for being gay since parents should always love their kids”. He then goes on to talk about how he felt that it was important to include this play because “there were a lot of silly plays in the show overall, and it’s important to cover some serious issues”. Ariana Teixeira, who played Rosie, talks about how the message she wanted to get across throughout the play was that “everybody is different, and that people need to respect others for their decisions regardless of what they choose to do”. Overall, the plays ranged from light to emotional, but all of them worked together to make a great show. When asked about the challenges that they were faced with in this production, Walsh said that the main thing was the short amount of time they had to plan everything, since the entire production was put together in three weeks, from script to performance. Regarding why they decided to do these specific plays, Libkin talked about how “once [Walsh and her] knew everyone who wanted

Photos by Leah Tramondozzi.

to perform [they] decided to pick some plays that suited the actors”. A couple of the plays were successful ones that had been done in past productions, and some were just ones they had an interest in doing. When asked how this year has gone with the new members, Libkin says that she feels that they have had “an incredibly successful year”. She says that “there’s a lot to be proud of in the productions that [they] have done this year”, and that they were “able to create work that was really interesting and really moving”. Walsh adds that he feels that the actors have had “incredible amount of improvement throughout this year”. says that the whole play was done with “a lot of student independence, and them having the ability to put it together without a lot of teacher help shows how much they have grown”. With many seniors having to move on to go to college, there were many sad feeling surrounding this being their last play. Fitzgerald described it as being “bittersweet”. Acuna talks about how having to leave is “really sad for [him]”, talking about how “[he] remember[s] everything from [his] first play, until up to this moment, but now it’s all over”. Matos adds that “it’s hard for [her] to picture what next year will be like without [playpro]”, but that “no matter what happens, nothing will separate [her] from the memories [she has] of this experience and the lasting impact it has had on [her] life”. While losing students having to move on, there are still many things to look forward to in Play Pro. For example, Libkin talks about how she is excited for next year because they “have many returning students who are really talented and ready for new challenges”. She adds that she is also “excited to grow [herself], because this will be [her] second year co-teaching the class, so [she] will have a better sense of how the class runs, and be a better teacher for it.” Overall, Walsh said that he feels that Play Production “did a pretty remarkable job” on their last play of the year. He is very “proud of how quickly [they] were able to put everything together, as much as [he is] about the work as a whole”.

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Psychology Club Ana Pirosca Reporter

very Tuesday in room BR486 Psychology Club meets after school to talk about habits of the mind, and how psychology is used every day. Psychology Club was brought back this year by Freshman Dahlia Sharleon, and Senior Marisa Vasquez who both love psychology but noticed that the club never met or had any active leaders. This was because the previous team leaders were all seniors so when they graduated, the club had basically just disappeared. Around December time, Sharleon inquired MHS’s AP Psychology teacher, Anne Pember, to ask her where the club was held. Pember replied that it hadn’t met for a few years and offered to reach out to a few of her psychology students to

see if they would want to take on a leadership role in the club. Then, Sharleon and Vasquez met and decided to host Psychology club’s first post-hiatus meeting before December vacation. Sharleon actually took on one of the leadership positions of the club. She spoke about how she didn’t think she’d become a leader within it, and explained that she wanted to “be a part of psychology club because [she] believed that it was interesting”. Though she was glad to have brought it back, it wasn’t easy for the club to stay afloat. Recently, due to Vasquez’s absence to go do senior internship, and her graduation, the club has been looking for someone else to fill her spot, and offer guidance for future meetings. Vasques wasn’t the only person absent. Pember also went on maternity leave soon after their first meetings. However, Rachel Shapiro

took over, as she was Pember’s substitutes in March. At the club, students find themselves learning about psychology, in a fun, engaging way. As many of the club members are AP Psychology students, there is a lot of material that the club covers that the class doesn’t. Many of the students who attend are interested in how psychology works and want to learn more than what the college board demands, or are people who had been interested in the class but never got the chance to take it. The first time Shapiro was introduced to the club, they talked about sleep, and created a presentation on how it affects students. Shapiro spoke about it and said that she believes that “it was very relevant to high school students” which is also what helped to make the club so interesting. “That’s been a major goal of the club,” Shapiro stated, “to do things that connected to psychology but also connected to the students”.

The club also hosted a smaller event where they invited students to make stress balls right before midterms.This produced one of the larger crowds that they had seen attend the club and made them plan to host more events like that in the future. One of the issues Sharleon expressed was that the meetings haven’t been consistent because of snow days, vacations, or lack of staff to ensure that a meeting would be held. Sharleon hopes that “in the future the club will be more consistent”, and that they will eventually have a bigger turnout. Before the seniors leave once and for all, Sharleon hopes to have one more stress ball or play dough activity to unite the leaving seniors and the rest of the club members who have been together from the start. Hopefully this will bring more people into the club, and help relax students who have yet to take finals!

The MHS Music Festival Rebecca Oliveira Reporter

n June 10th of this year, the Malden High School band is hosting a Malden Music Festival for the first time. It will be hosted at the Salemwood middle school field from 1pm until 9pm. Tickets will be on sale for $5 all throughout lunch block, and if you have some free time during the day you can buy a ticket at the band room in H216. The tickets will be $7 at the door. All proceeds from the festival will be dedicated for the music departments in Malden. There will be plenty of music from the thirteen different people performing instrumental pieces, including performances from the Malden High School Jazz band, the Malden Ukulele group, and senior Megan Melanson on the saxophone. In addition to the instrumental groups that will perform at Coachella, there will also be several

sensational vocal performances by Christopher Giordano’s Acapella group (the Fermata Town), by our very own former MHS graduate Sarah Viera, Jerry Under Fed, Don Dzy, Dj Nicc, Soul Pilgrims, the Woo Factor, the MHS Choir, and many more performances from around the district of Malden! MHS band teacher and festival Coordinator, Erin O’Brien Mazza, is so excited that, “[the festival] keeps [her] up at night [because] [she keeps] thinking about it,” and she has very high expectations for the music festival, this is for “everyone to have fun, and for everyone’s eyes just to be opened to how important music and art is in the school. [Because] [she thinks] a lot of times they’re taken for granted. A lot of times people actually don’t think we need them. So, [she’s] really excited and [she’s] expecting that after [they] have the festival that people will realize how vitally important they are to our community and to the schools.” In this way, she also hopes to unite the community with the power of music.

Many of the performers are just as enthusiastic about the event as Mazza is. Jerry Under Fed is “very excited” about the music festival, and he believes that it’ll be “a great experience,” especially since, “[this is] the first time something like [this] is happening in Malden, so [he] really can’t wait to perform.” He plans on playing a lot of the things that are on his SoundCloud, so his fans should definitely show up to support him especially if they want to hear some new material Jerry Under Fed has been working on. He expects to see, “all types of people there, all ages, all backgrounds [to] just come together and have a fun time.” He gives a “shout out to Ms. Mazza for putting [the event] together,” and he urges people to “make sure [they] get [their] tickets.” MHS senior band member, Megan Melanson, is performing in the jazz band is “really excited,” and she believes “[the event is] gonna be a lot of fun, and [she] feel[s] like it’s gonna be really beneficial to the music and arts departments,” since it’ll raise awareness and encourage

students to join the different areas in the music department. She explains that the Jazz Band will be performing, “a couple songs, one is Chameleon, another one is Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, [they’re] also doing Shut Up & Dance and a couple other ones.” Even though it will be a music festival, there will be plenty of other activities going on at the Salemwood field, such as yard games, flower crowns, face paintings and flash tattoos done by the skilled hands of members from the MHS art program. Mazza explains that the yard games will include, “can-jam and spike ball, [they] have jump ropes and hula hoops for the little kids,” which will definitely keep children on their toes and occupied throughout the event. Let’s not forget that this will be an all-day event, so there will be plenty of food provided by 4 different food trucks and an ice cream, and a lot of dj-ing. So buy your tickets as soon as possible and come support the MHS band members who will be performing.

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

Local News

MHS Memorial Day Hosts Latin Assembly Awards maldenblueandgold.com

Tobi Pitan Reporter

everence, time, and remembrance were the main themes of the Memorial Day assembly which commemorated the “men and women who have fought for our freedom and sacrificed their lives in service to our great country”. The assembly which took place on Friday afternoon at 1:30 pm, was led by Senior Nic Acuna and included choral performances from MHS Choral Arts Society, a trumpet solo by Alicia Devereaux, a poetry recitation by Junior Ariana Teixeira, speeches from dignitaries, Kevin Jarvis and Sergeant Major Paul Ronan, as well as addresses given by Mayor Gary Christenson and Principal Ted Lombardi. Acuna led various readings, one of which was The Gettysburg Address written by Abraham Lincoln. This particular text was described as one of two “important literary works that [reflected] the significance of Memorial Day”. The second work was In Flanders Field written by John McCrae, performed by Teixeira. Christensen’s opening remarks reminded audience members of the significance of Memorial Day. He began with a quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt which stated: “those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time [those] [who] have died to win them”. Christenson stated the significance of the community that was built in commemorating the veterans who fought in defense of our country. He concluded by saying that “it [was] important to not only recognize their service but to also honor their devotion to duty and make certain that the purpose for which they fought [would] not be forgotten”. Next, the Choral Arts Society performed two verse of the Star Spangled Banner written by Francis Scott Key and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited to punctuate the commencement of the assembly. Following this, Jarvis, Director of Veteran Services for the City of Malden gave a brief speech about his experience in the Marine Corps and his current profession in Veteran Services and recounted this history of the United States Military and World War I, the “war to end all wars”. The message in Jarvis’ prose was to encourage the audience to “remember the tremendous lost [soldiers] providing freedom... for us today”. He mentioned the

names of veterans of Malden who have passed away to show the local impact that combat still has in the city of Malden. Another speaker was given by Sergeant Major Paul Ronan who

Following the ringing of the bells was the laying of the wreath. This showed a “similar and simple gesture” as the commemoration performed at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia performed

Sydney Stumpf Lead Reporter

Mayor Christenson applauding with Marine Veterans. Photo by Sabrina Monteiro. was described as having an “unwavering commitment to continuing the legacy of those who have served before” by Lombardi whom he formerly worked alongside by at Lawrence High School. The crux of Ronan’s speech was to shed light on the invaluableness of time, “the most valuable commodity...throughout

every half hour at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This ceremony was led by Captain Mark Capansky of the United States Marine Corps joined by representatives of the JROTC program of Lawrence High School. The ceremony culminated with a moment of silence, an act taken to

JROTC representives from Lawrence High School. Photo by Sabrina Monteiro. [one’s] life. He urged those in attendance to utilize their time to reflect on the importance of the Memorial Day holiday at the apex of the following week. Subsequently, there was a ringing of bells which was symbolic of the midnight watch and represented “the soul awakening and the start of a glorious day”. The bell was rung by Acuna four times in two rhythmic beats creating “a sense of hope for a better tomorrow” and “reminding listeners of the importance of the call to peace”.

revere the lives lost in the field during war and honor those veterans who walk amongst us today in our free nation. Although this assembly could only be attended by a fraction of the school, and occurred during a point in the day in which students had the potential to be distracted by the upcoming long weekend, the speakers succeed in gaining students’ attention for the duration of the gathering and effectively venerated the holiday which represents a crucial aspect of American history.

inning the Cum Laude award was sophomore Noahn Salume, sophomore Robel Sermere, and freshman We Zheng. Juniors Ruiming Zeng and Winnie Ly, sophomore Annie You, and Freshmen Jinpeng Chen, Taylor Lee, and Mengting Chen all won the Magna Cum Laude award. As for the Silver Maxima Cum Laude, senior Cleverina Cong, juniors Cindy Siu and Junjie Kuang, Sophomores Kathryn Kilbride, Michelle Nie, Brenden Vo, Felix Li, Kevin Sathapornchaisit, and Brianna Acker, and freshmen Liam Schwab, Lana Giha, and Blue and Gold member Ana Pirosca all won the award. Finally, sophomores Joanne Ho and Sean Tran won the Gold Summa Cum Laude award. The National Latin Exam is taken each year by the United States and several other countries. The exam allows for students to “win awards and scholarships” and “get recognized for something that does not get recognized a lot”, says MHS Latin Teacher Julie Snyder. The awards given to the students are based off of the national average score of the exam. This year, at MHS, 24 students received awards for their exam scores. The award ceremony is held yearly because “a lot of the time languages are...kind of put aside”, says Snyder. “[Latin is] always put under english, history, and science.” The students in Latin “work really hard throughout the year and they need to be recognized for that”. The Latin exam is usually very difficult, and the students, says Snyder, “deserve to be recognized for their work”. Sophomore Kathryn Kilbride won the Maxima Cum Laude award, or the silver award, for her Latin 2 Exam score. Kilbride took Latin because of her interest in how many English words are derived from Latin ones. Taking the exam last year, Kilbride was nervous, but this year, she was excited. Kilbride notes how there is not a real sense of competitiveness to the exam, and the awards ceremony was “fun” and “low-key”.

Sports

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

maldenblueandgold.com

Softball8

Jemisha Syliant Reporter

This season brought some he Malden High softball team had a very challenging year but challenges for the team but overall, have still managed to push through Normil thought that it was a great it and make it a very successful sea- learning experience for herself personally. Although she wished son for their team. Freshman Olivia Simmons-Normil who plays shortstop, centerfield, and pitcher, has been playing softball for two years. She was influenced by her mother who also grew up playing softball as a young child. Normil explained how the beginning of the season started off with a great start and was going really well. Although the season started off really great for their team, Normil stated that, they “started having difficulty making plays and winning as the season went on.” Normil explained the challenges that she, personally and as a team, came across. She explained that winning games was a challenge for Senior Haylie Scaparotti preparing to swing. Photo her team. Her personal by Jemisha Syliant. challenge was that she was in a “hitting slump” and could not get any hits that the team could have won more down. She stated that, “[she] just games this season, she stated, “It struck out repeatedly, until [she] was still a good growing season for finally got [her] swing back and a lot of [them].” Normil stated personally that started hitting again.” This was a she could “have made some diving challenge that Normil has overcome catches in the outfield”, and could this season. have gotten hits.” She also explained

Ashlyn Fitzpatrick8 Jemisha Syliant Reporter

unior Ashlyn Fitzpatrick, who has been a part of the Malden softball team for three years, has been playing softball since she was only five years old. She plays the outfield. Fitzpatrick grew interested in softball ever since she was a young girl because of her father who got her interested in the sport. She states that her father put her in softball and she

has loved the sport ever since. Fitzpatrick states that her personal goal for the season is to win more games throughout the season with her teammates. Her team goal is to “get to the state tournaments.” Fitzpatrick also mentions that the season is off to a great start. She says, “as the season goes on [they’re] learning to come together as a team more.” Fitzpatrick also mentions that her coach has influenced her to become a better softball player. Fitzpatrick explains how her coach stays positive no matter what which helps her and the team get through the games and “not get down on [themselves].” Overall, she explains how her coach has impacted her in a

how she would like to improve on hitting and diving in the outfield more. She also gave advice which is for younger girls who want to play softball to just go for it.

was also influenced by her sister who also has an experience of playing softball She explained that her sister had played for four years in her highschool years, on varsity. Furlong also explained that throughout the season, all the girls stayed motivated. She stated that softball has helped her to “create many new friendships and relationships with others”. She also included that overtime throughout the season, “[she has] been able to build a very strong bond with other teammates.” Throughout the season, Furlong also mentioned that this season, her coach has helped her and her team to Freshman Madison Figueiredo pitching. Photo by do better and to Jemisha Syliant. push through their abilities. Furlong Junior Mackenzie Furlong, explained that the team needs to who is one of the two captains for improve on making every play this season, plays shortstop and has throughout the games. She also statbeen playing softball since she was ed that “keeping [their] heads in the the age of six. She was influenced games” also needs to be improved by her father who was a baseball upon throughout their games, espeplayer and also has an experience cially for their games that they will with playing men’s softball. Furlong have in the future. Senior Caitlyn Leonard, who is also captain of the softball team, has had experience with softball since she was young. She plays third base positive way. She also mentions how and began playing softball because her softball teammates have helped she has always enjoyed playing her build relationships with others. the sport. Leonard explained how Fitzpatrick says that “[they] support there is a lot about Softball that can each other throughout the games.” always change in a very instant, and Fitzpatrick also included that that “you never know what is going her father has motivated her to to happen.” become a better softball player. She Leonard also mentioned that explains that her father has been the beginning of the season started coaching her for a very long time off really well. She also stated that, and that he supports her throughout “all the girls are motivated to do the games. well.” She continued to explain how According to Fitzpatrick, this this season, her teammates had the season is different from last season skills and the mentality to win the because the team has new coaches games that they were close to winand the style of coaching has been ning before. Leonard shared that as changed. Overall, Fitzpatrick is very long as everyone was proud of what excited for the rest of the season and they did this season, and tried their looking forward to winning more very best, she could consider this games with her teammates. season to be a successful one.

Sports

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

maldenblueandgold.com

Baseball9

Malden vs. Gloucester

Sabrina Monteiro Reporter

n Monday, May 9th, the Malden Varsity Baseball Team had a game against Gloucester at Pine Banks Park. The score was 5-0, Gloucester. The Malden Baseball Team has won four games and lost nine, out of thirteen games total. So far, they’ve beaten Revere, Medford, Everett and Somerville. The team hopes to make more improvements before the baseball season ends and is encouraged to make a few more wins in order to make it to the State Tournament. This is the team’s top priority and are continuously working their hardest to make it happen. The new coaching staff of Coach Freker told his team that their “catches are strong” and motivated the players in every way to keep going through half of the game when the Malden team were still at zero runs. At this point, the team began to lose some confidence but with the help from the coach, they made more effort to keep their head in the game and try their best. Senior James Calo said “the only thing [they] could’ve done [was] just hit the ball. Gilligan pitched really well and [they] played well defensively, [they] just didn’t hit the ball. Credit to the opposing pitcher but we can’t let that happen.” Sophomore Reid Kankel said “[their] infield was a real lockdown, James (Jimmy) Pandolfo hit a double.” Pandolfo made it to second base with ease “and was excellent with the glove. Jared Martino was remarkable behind the dish, [mound].” The outfield was hungry, they didn’t allow a ball to touch the outfield grass.” Though the game wasn’t as successful as the team might’ve hoped for, the team tried their hardest and to the best of their ability. Not only individually,but as a whole team. The team’s strongest weakness would be trying to get back up after a team loss. This is one of the most important things that a sports team must learn because without it, people begin to lose confidence and start thinking every game they have will always be a loss. The team is still working on their consistency but with this, when the baseball team accomplishes this goal, it will be a great advantage for them to beat the opponents.

Sabrina Monteiro Reporter

he spring sports season has come to an end, and although the baseball team did not manage to qualify for the state tournament this year, they remain very motivated and continue to build towards success. The team managed to win only

develop into a more balanced team. This year, the team consisted of a new coaching staff, including assistant coaches Anthony Serino and Mike Dicato, as well as head coach Steve Freker. Ferker stated the team worked hard this year and that [he] was happy to be here with the baseball team. Freker believes the team has a lot of potential and says [they] work much more fluently as a team

Junior Devin Ciampi taking a lead in hopes to steal thrid base. Photo submitted by Devin Ciampi. six games this year. They had hoped to have a more successful year results wise, but the teams’ struggle in batting prevented their generally great pitching and fielding from translating into wins. Overall, however, the team hopes to continue to work on improving their batting so they can

than as individuals. When asked about his takeaway from the season, senior James Calo mentioned that the season “started off well but [they] didn’t keep that going.” Calo also stated that the biggest challenge the team faced was “moving to the NEC (Northeastern

Junior Anthony Alterio about to make contact with the ball. Photo submitted by Anthony Alterio.

Conference)” He continued to say that “[they] really weren’t used to seeing this level of competition at such a consistent level” in the Greater Boston League. When asked about the most vivid memory from this season, Calo replied by saying that “beating Everett 10-2 as well as junior pitcher Jared Martino’s no hitter against Medford” was his fondest memory.” In addition, Senior James Pandolfo also states the proudest moment was Martino’s no hitter. He continued that “[they] played a complete game in all aspects and beat Medford.” The most important goal this year for the team was to make the State Tournament. Unfortunately, the team did not meet this goal. However, they ended up defeating every former GBL team that was also moved into the NEC this year. This included wins over Medford, Everett and Somerville. Pandolfo stated that personally he had a “pretty solid season, especially in the field at second base.” According to him however, the team’s overall challenge has been “playing a complete game from pitching, to fielding, and hitting”. He continued to say that “[they] practice every day to try and work on this and play a complete team game.” Senior Nasiah Turner feels that the team had all the weapons on and off the bench. In Turner’s opinion, the team “defensively played well, but all the games came down to hitting offensively” which was something the team wasn’t expecting so much of. Due to this, they had a bigger focus on defensively playing and little concern to offensively playing. He continued this saying that “the team came prepared every game, and every practice and [he is] able to say that everyone made adjustments to [their] style of playing to enter and compete into the next game.” Personally for Turner, Coach Freker and his new staff “taught [him] a lot about the game and character, so that [he] can carry it over to college and the real world.” Though the team’s overall goal of making it in the State Tournament was not achieved, Turner stated that “[he] has strong confidence that next year with still a young team, [they] will do [their] thing.”

Sports

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

Girls Lacrosse maldenblueandgold.com

Michelle Yin Reporter

s the school year comes to an end, so does this year’s spring season for the Malden High Girls Lacrosse team. The team this year continued to persevere through the last stretch of their season with constant determination throughout every practice and game. The girls have gained many experiences and created a bond that has been stronger than past years. The team made prominent improvements from their first game to the last game. The varsity coach, Jessica Leggett, said that “[they] were much more competitive this season than last, and [the] program continues to grow as the sport is growing in Malden. Many freshmen don’t know what lacrosse is, or state that it’s not “their sport” since they don’t have the exposure and experience.” Leggett also mentions that this year, the team got new freshmen and sophomore players that were able to work hard and move up to fill critical roles on the varsity team. “[Our] JV team had some wins that showed some promise for [their] future! [She] hopes that growing the game through the middle and elementary schools continue to help [the] program grow and thrive so that [their] record reflects [their] progress.” The team has said to have amazing communications and connections with one another, and each day it has improved drastically. This season has been very productive, according to senior captain René Spadafora. “The

team is so funny, everyday is something new and we’re always laughing and having fun,” she states. Along with the communication, the lacrosse team had other several qualities that not every team encounters. Leggett proudly expressed that the team has improved on many of their skills.“Some standout players this season were senior Gianna Giuliano who came to us as a Junior and is now our leading goal scorer, seniors René Spadafora and

Lacrosse is sticking to it’s reputation for dedicated players, both on and off the field. They had some strong competition this year, with close games against Winthrop and Saugus as well as making a huge improvement when they faced Gloucester. With the seniors leaving from the team, Leggett stated that “each one of them has unique talents that [they] will miss.” She expresses that this group of seniors has helped to

Sophomore Jill Tramondozzi defending the ball from Winthrop player. Photo by Leah Tramondozzi. Athena Goon who led our team on defense, and freshman Angie Nguyen and sophomore Jill Tramondozzi who both started playing lacrosse this year and worked their way up to being strong forces on varsity in the midfield for us.”

mold the program to be stronger and more competitive. “It’s always bittersweet to lose girls that you’ve grown close to and that you count on everyday, but you know they’re going onto big things!” She even mentions that a couple of them are

René Spadafora Michelle Yin Reporter

ené Spadafora, a girls’ lacrosse captain, is ending her senior year by returning to her fourth season of the sport. She has always thought that lacrosse was the perfect sport for her because she is really active and athletic, enjoying a wide array of exercises saying that she’s “always running around and doing something”. Her athletic beginnings as a freshman were inspired by the performance and motivation of upperclassmen. Spadafora says “[her] favorite thing about being a part of the team is the contribution everyone gives. Everyone is so helpful and [they] all make sure [they] are on track with everything which is a big part of the sport itself. The team is so funny, everyday is something new and [they’re] always laughing and having fun.” Being a part of the

lacrosse team is something Spadafora is proud of and she enjoys the practices and games they all have together. Spadafora also includes that there is always something that she and her team can improve on. Her goals for the season are to “have fun and try [their] best to win.”Although the girls’ lacrosse team hasn’t won yet, Spadafora is more than certain that with this year’s team, they will succeed in no time. Spadafora does her job well as a captain as she also is very motivating for her team and shows her responsibility as a captain, her teammate, Desiree Delgado thinks that “[Spadafora] is a great captain. She’s always upbeat and smiling. She keeps the good vibes going with her attitude. She’s also willing to help anyone that needs help even before she was captain which [she] thought was amazing and what a captain should hold them self accountable for.” As for what the team does

continuing their lacrosse careers in college. Though the spring season is over, it didn’t affect the morale of the team. They were truly dedicated, and continued to put forth all the effort possible. With a team who has a universal mindset like this, they proudly finished the year off strong. “Each player had individual goals that they’ve worked to meet and re-set, and [our] team has accomplished many goals like running a new offense and plays, and learning and implementing new and more complex lacrosse strategies,” states Leggett.

Senior Athena Goon cradling the ball. Photo by Leah Tramondozzi.

Malden vs. Winthrop Michelle Yin Reporter

Senior captain René Spadafora. Photo by Leah Tramondozzi. regularly, “[they] start with dynamics, [they] go over drills, [they] are [there] for support.” Although Spadafora is one of three captains on the team, she believes that captains are only “extensions” of the coach and they are quite similar in roles, but captains are more approachable. Having played lacrosse for her whole high school career, Spadafora has decided that she would continue this sport after high school and into college. She hopes to also motivate younger children who may have interest in playing the sport.

n May 03, 2017 the Malden Girl’s lacrosse team went against Winthrop the second time this season. They went in with full spirits in hopes that they would win, with their first game against Winthrop coming to close a win, although they did not win the second game either but they ended it with the score of 4-1, with Winthrop having the score of four and Malden having the score of one. In the first few minutes of the game, Winthrop scored their first point and shortly after Malden scored a point as well. One of the Captains, Karen explains how Winthrop’s game had increased the confidence and determination of the team to focus on ending the season with a strong statement for the following years and for the seniors that are leaving. Even though they have lost this game the captains have all agreed that despise losing, the teams continues to push and have fun.

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

Sports

BOYS LAcrosse maldenblueandgold.com

Sara Zakaria Reporter

he season has ended with Malden High’s Boys Lacrosse team accomplishing an incredible achievement. The team finished the year with an overall record of 7-10, the highest win total in team history. The team was lead by longtime coach Brenden Maney, who states that the team has played many good games and played some bad ones this year. Maney states that one of their best games was actually their loss against Winthrop. The team played with “tremendous discipline” and nearly won against Winthrop’s Boys LAX team, a team that had beaten them by 12 earlier in the season. He continued to say that he is “sure that the team would like a second chance to play some of the games this year, however that is one of the many lessons that is provided through sports. You are asked to put forth the effort needed on a daily basis and when you don’t it is hard to hide.” To Andy Tham, senior captain captain of the team their best game this year was “between either their second game versing Winthrop, or their match against Revere”. He believes that the boys lacrosse team never had a worst game, “because [they] always play [their] hearts out on the field”. He continued to say that “the score does not dictate [their] hearts.” The members on the team who shined the most this year, according to Maney, are juniors Hasnat Moughal and Joey Costa, as well as

Sara Zakaria Reporter

seniors Steven Sexton, Andy Tham, and sophomore Zachary Rufo. There have been many surprises this year. Maney explained that Moughal “stepped into play goalie this year after never having played before and has done an amazing job.” He continued to say that Sexton and Tham “have been leaders as captains all year” and “they never missed a chance to work harder and make their teammates better”. Maney then praised Joey Costa and Zachary Rufo who according to him, have also been “leaders as well this year.” When asked what they could have improved on, Maney stated that there has never been a perfect player, and that although this year presented the team many great problems, the team would “put themselves in new positions that would require [him] to help them overcome a new obstacle.” Tham answered that “there’s always something to improve upon, not in a bad way, because we’re student athletes.” However, the team did improve tremendously this year, and they were able to do things that were not accomplished years past. He explained that “[They] play much more as a 10 man unit than as individuals, and work together toward a common goal.” Tham also pointed to the team’s record now compared to season’s before, which according to him “speaks for itself” and shows the team’s progression. When asked how this season could shape the seasons to come,

Maney mentioned that the team will graduate with a very successful and accomplished senior class. He continued that “they have scored more points than any other team, and the underclassman are well positioned to step into the void that will be created.” He further explained that “the seniors leadership will last well into next year and has pushed the program further than it has ever been”, stating that they “have set the bar higher than it was.” For Tham, this season was also “bittersweet”, because it’s his last year playing lacrosse for Malden High. He stated that being a captain did have it’s challenges, but that it was ultimately rewarding. He explained that “everyone knew the vision and they put [him] in the position to lead them to where [they] are now”. Tham continued to say that he “[appreciates his] teammates for all the corporation and the fun memories [they] have made as a team on and off the field.”

Malden vs. Winthrop Sara Zakaria Reporter

n April 18th, 2017, Malden High’s boys lacrosse team played against Winthrop’s boys la-

Zachary Rufo

achary Rufo is a sophomore at Malden High, and is one of the members of our Boys Lacrosse team. Rufo started playing lacrosse with the high school’s team last year as a part of the JV team, however, he moved up to varsity this year, and is definitely one of the star players. He only started playing lacrosse as a sport three years ago, as a eighth grader. The reason why he started playing lacrosse is because “[his] brother played lacrosse, and [he] decided to give it a try.” On his relationship with his teammates, he states that his relationship with them is close, and that “[he loves] [his] teammates like family, and [he] would do anything for them.”With his coaches, he says that they taught him a lot in the last two years, and “[he is] extremely thankful to have three of them as

coaches, because [he] would not be the lacrosse player [he is] without them.” When it comes to his lacrosse skills, Rufo feels that his speed and handling is “advantageous”, however, “[he needs to] work on [his] shots, and also improve on shooting with [his] left hand, even though [he thinks] [he has] come far with [his] left hand.” Senior Andy Tham says that Rufo is one of the most memorable players on the team. “Although he isn’t a captain, he does help lead the team” He also added that he “puts in the work and he never loses sight of the vision.” Rufo feels like the team’s best performance was “definitely against Winthrop because [they] showed skill and heart and that’s what [their] coach wants.” For the future, he hopes to play lacrosse all throughout high school, and maybe even in college.

Sophomore Zachary Rufo looking to pass the ball. Photo by Abhishek Rana.

crosse team, at Macdonald Stadium. Although the boys played to the best of their ability, Winthrop won with a score of 13-4. Senior captain Andy Tham scored the most points during the game. Their next game was May 4th, against Salem, at Salem. When it came to the advantages and disadvantages of the game, captain Tham felt like “there were more disadvantages than advantages.” He states “for one [they] didn’t have a full team. A lot of the team members went on vacation and that left us short handed.” Senior captain Joshua Andrews also said that “[they] got beat on ground balls and need to connect more passes.” To senior captain Steven Sexton, another disadvantage was that Winthrop played a tight zone defense, and “that was hard to get through.” Even though Malden did have a few disadvantages, they did have a few advantages as well, like having a home field advantage and that they never gave up throughout the game. On what each individual could have done to improve, Tham said he could have been a “little smarter with [his] passes and shots.” He says, “that’s something [they’re] always working on during practice and [he] just [needs] to practice a little bit more.” For Andrews, he says “[he] could’ve improved [his] performance that game by fighting harder on ground balls and 50/50 opportunities.” Sexton says he “could’ve gotten more ground balls to help the team get more positions on offense.” On a positive note, Andrews says he improved from the previous game by being able to move off ball to open up shooting opportunities, and for Sexton, he improved on setting up plays more efficiently. For how the team as a whole could improve their performance for a future meet, Tham says that “the team could really improve their performance by focusing on the basics.” “Passing, catching, communication, and moving around on the field. Again that’s something [they] focus on during practice,” he adds. Andrews said a similar opinion, as he said “the team could improve by knowing [they’re] each are on the field and by keeping their eyes up to look for open chances and by fighting for ground balls.” For Sexton, he says “[them], as a team, need to settle the ball on offense and possess the ball longer to give our defense a break.” However, on this game, Sexton says they improved from the game before by “not forcing bad passes and running our plays efficiently.”

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The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

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BOYS VOLLEYBALL Abhishek Rana Lead Reporter

he 2017 spring season was a season of progress as well as change for the Malden High’s boys volleyball team. The third year of the program’s inception also marked the volleyball team’s along with the rest of Malden High’s sports team’s first season in the Northeastern Conference. The conference change as well as other challenges made for an increasingly testing season, and one in which the boys had to overcome tremendous adversity. This year’s team was captained by seniors Germano Fidelis and Anthony Woo, both of whom were founding members of the team their sophomore year. Also returning for his second year as head coach, was Dan Jurkowski who looked to continue growing the team. Before the season began, the team had hoped to make the postseason for the first time in its short history. However, despite falling short of their playoff aspirations, the team showed enormous progress from last season as well as throughout this one.

With only six returning members on the team, newcomers had to contribute right away in order for the team to be successful. Despite this season being the first time most of them ever played organized volleyball, the newcomers were able to quickly adapt and flourish on the team. Infact, two newcomers, freshmen Tenzin Shakya and Zenhong Deng both were able to work their way into the starting lineup by the end of the year. One of the many new faces on the team this year was sophomore Ryoma Yonetani, who was also able to provide some important production in just his first year playing volleyball. Yonetani praised the seniors and other returning members on the team for “being great leaders and helping [him] out and the other newcomers.” He continued by saying that he “is a much better player now than [he] was at the start,” pointing to his serve as the most improved aspect of his personal play. When asked about his takeaway from the season, one of the returning players, junior Brandon

Nguyen described the season as “exhilarating,” stating that the team “improved a lot quicker” compared to last season and that “[he] could notice the difference between the way [they] played at the start of the season to the way [they] played at the end.” Nguyen credited this improvement to the team’s commitment in practice where “everyone showed up and worked on improving their game.” Nguyen continued to say that an example of their improvement throughout the season came in an away match against Pope John XXIII on May 8th. Although MHS was not able to come out victorious, they “were able to put up the best fight [they] have ever put up” as they took a great playoff team to five sets, nearly pulling off the upset. Although the team only had four victories in the year, along with the away match against Pope John XXIII, there were numerous other matches in which the team lost in five sets. Along with these five set losses, there were also multiple occasions

in which the team got out to an early comfortable lead but allowed their opponents to come back and force five sets. An example of such came on May 2nd, when the team comfortably won the first two sets at home against Randolph High, but then proceeded to lose the next two sets forcing a tiebreaker fifth set which MHS won but was entirely avoidable. When asked about this, both Yonetani and Nguyen described it as mental lapses that they need “to continue working on next season.” Nguyen explained that he thinks “when [they] lose a set, [they] lose some confidence and not play to [their] full potential.” Yonetani mentioned that the team needs to “keep their composure” in order to “win close games and not allow opponents to get back into matches.” Next season the team hopes to translate their ever growing chemistry into results and continue to learn and improve with experience. Their ambition next year remains to make the state tournament for the first time in team history.

Malden vs. Somerville Abhishek Rana Lead Reporter

n Wednesday, May 2nd, Malden High School’s boys volleyball team scored a major win against the Somerville Highlanders at the MHS Finn Gym. The day before, MHS had come up short in a tightly contested 26-24 first set against the Winchester High Sachems, which ended with MHS losing the next two sets by considerably large margins. The boys hoped to have a “bounce-back” performance against the Highlanders on Wednesday to get their season back on track after having started it with only three wins out of twelve games. When asked about the team’s morale heading into the game, sophomore Ryoma Yonetani mentioned that the team was “confident going into the game” and that “[they knew] if [they] play[ed] to [their] potential, [they could] beat Somerville.” The Tornadoes started the first set in dominant fashion, taking control of the set and obtaining a 13-8 lead early on. However, just when it seemed as though MHS would cruise their way to a victory in the

first set, the Highlanders went on a run of their own making the score 20-19. From there, both teams traded points and eventually landed at a stalemate with the score tied at 25. Nevertheless, despite coming close on several occasions, the Tornadoes never let Somerville lead and closed out the set by winning two points, with a score of 27-25. The second set began similarly, with MHS leading. With aid from some great serves as well as returns, the Tornadoes took control of the set with an early score of 11-5. Trailing 15-10, Somerville called a timeout hoping to turn the set and the game as a whole around in their favor. However, unlike the first set, MHS never let the score get competitive in the second set. After the timeout, Malden scored 10 straight points and cruised to win the second set with a score of 25-15. As the third set began, Malden had all the momentum and it seemed likely that they would sweep Somerville in three sets. Despite being down 2-0 in the match, Somerville continued to compete relentlessly in the third set. The set began in a very tight manner, with the Highlanders possessing only a 14-12 lead midway through the set. However, after this point, MHS never got close to the Somerville

lead. Staging an impressive run, the Highlanders eventually led 23-15 and closed out the third set with a final score of 25-19. With a 2-1 lead, the Tornadoes hoped to close out the match and avoid a “sudden-death” fifth set. Early on, it certainly seemed that the boys would finish the match in four sets. Through some tremendous serves as well as acrobatic saves and returns, MHS took control of the set and lead 10-4. In hopes to recover in the fourth set and force a fifth one, the Highlanders once again called a timeout. However, unlike previous timeouts by Somerville, this one seemed effective as the Highlanders completely turned the set around and looked reenergized. After tying the set at 20, both teams traded points back and forth, but it was Somerville who came away the victors, winning the set 25-23 and forcing a sudden death fifth set, played to 15 points. The fifth and final set of the match served as a crucial one for both team’s seasons. Somerville looked to complete an improbable comeback and win the match, giving them a boost in confidence for the rest of their season. Contrastingly, MHS desperately wanted to avoid squandering a two set lead, an occurrence which would definitely be

a big blow to the team’s confidence. Ultimately, it was Malden who won the deciding fifth set with a comfortable 15-10 scoreline. The nerve wrecking 3-2 victory gave the Tornadoes only their fourth win of what has been a challenging first season in the Northeastern Conference. However, the team remains hopeful of turning their season around and the victory against Somerville was certainly a step on the right direction. After the game, Yonetani expressed his relief in his team winning the match. Yonetani stated the the victory was “crucial” as it “keeps [their] hopes alive of making the state tournament” and that “[they] now need seven more wins” to do so. He cited the victory in the first set as “very important because of how close it was” and that it was that set which gave the team “a boost for the next sets.” Yonetani also mentioned the team giving up their two set lead in the third and fourth set. He stated that “[the team] thought [they] were in a comfortable lead” and did not “play to [their] full potential” in those two sets. Yonetani then concluded by saying that they need to do a “better job finishing” and not make “matches go longer than they need to.”

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

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Crew Jesaias Benitez Lead Reporter

s school is coming to an end, spring sports have begun to conclude. This season, the crew team has been working endlessly in order to improve on their times whether it is at practice or regattas. On May 21st, the team held their annual event called “Malden On The Moose”. Whether they were at school having two sessions a day or on water when they are competing with others, they still putting in their best effort. Throughout the season, they faced several obstacles like the weather not permitting them to practice outside. The members of the team like senior Jacob Herre feel that crew is a really fascinating sport because not many people know what it is about

MHS boys varsity 8 boat. Photo by Abhishek Rana. and throughout the season it really pushes their limit and makes them a better person and teammate. The team has achieved several accomplishments like sophomore Salma Bezzat, who managed to sur-

pass a state record. Crew has also held their annual Mayor’s Cup where they competed against cities from the Boston Area and also their Moose on the Malden. This years seventh Moose was

held on May 21st Every single year, the event consists of local businesses and volunteers serving food, jamming to music, and selling merchandise to fundraise for the team. This year the teams the Malden crew team 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. During the Moose, the girls novice first boat made it all the way to states where they attended the Massachusetts Public School Rowing Association [MPSRA] State Championship in Lowell. Since they were able to score great times, many of the boats were awarded gold and silver medals during the Moose.

Outdoor Track Josandy Jeune Reporter

s the track season comes to a close the boys and girls outdoor team leave an impressing mark in the new league with a 6-1 record for the boys and 4-3 record for the girls. From the beginning to the end of the season they were able to improve on their abilities to be competitive and find levels of competitiveness within themselves. Malden High english teacher and track coach David Londino believes that the outdoor team had an impressive season. Londino states that “[they] came into the new league not really knowing what to expect but were able to prove that [they] are able to be competitive and win against much stronger teams.” One thing Londino believes the team took away from this season was being able to give good competition even against stronger teams and make a name for themselves amongst the new league. Londino really thinks the boys and girls have both taken away “the ability to prove that [they] are a good team no matter what stage [they] are on.” Londino believes that a lot of the goals that they had at the beginning of the season were met, which includes to hold a strong record and become more competitive and work

as a unit. As a team they accomplished that the girls holding a record of 4-3 and the boys with a 6-1 record. Londino also states that individual goals like personal records and being able to make it to the NEC meet and or States have been reached by a number of athletes on the team. The coach is very proud of the amount of leadership displayed between the returnees and the amount of young talent that were able to perform this year. He admits that “[they] have lots of talented freshman girls as well as freshmen boys who have been able to make an impact on the varsity team. Londino is also proud of the amount of effort everyone has put into this season. He believes that this season will be able to shape next year’s season in allowing new runners to be more confident like next year’s returners since they were able to come into a new league not knowing what to expect but be able to dominate the league. Athletes on the team include seniors Brian Tran, Rachel Loreus, Adela Dzaferagic, and junior Eric Toh. Like Londino they were all happy on how they ended the season and are are also proud on how they performed individually and as a unit.

Toh believes that the team was able to “make a name for themselves in the new league, and show that [they] can bring competition to meets and dominate meets as well”. In addition, Toh adds that as their first year in a new league a major key that they took away from this season is to work harder than before in order to be successful. Even though they were able to dominate the GBL more easily, they had to work much harder in this new league because they would be facing stronger teams. Loreus believes that something the team was able to take away this year is the ability to work together and work better and get great scores as a team. She also thinks the team did really good in the new league, stating that she is “really proud of their record”. Loreus admitted that “she didn’t think [they] were going to get that far but going into a new league and getting a record like that is very impressive” Tran mentioned that one of his proudest moments on the team is how everyone was able to contribute something good to the team. Tran is also proud of when they win four by four relays because of the amount of joy it brings to the team. What Toh was proud of was his “ability to be able to contribute to

the team and win”. Toh also has had many individual accomplishments achieved which include beating his personal record by a few seconds. For both Tan and Toh agreed that their meet against Revere was one of their best simply because how the four by four relays went down and their performance. Both Tran and Toh think this season will shape next year’s upcoming season in a positive way. Returning runners will be able to instill good habits in the newcomers such as good work ethic and competitiveness. Next years returnees will have the job of setting a good example for the new runners and influencing the future of the program in positive ways. Dzaferagic proudest moments on the team as a senior would being able to see the underclassmen on the team show great levels of competitiveness and grow which to her is “a really nice thing to see.” She’s very proud of how competitive the team is no matter how good the other is. All in all the outdoor track team has had a very successful spring season, growing from start to finish. They were able to figure out what part each member played individually and found their place on the team allowing all the other pieces to fall into place.

Sports

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

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GIRLS TENNIS Emraude Bonnet Reporter

espite all of the ups and downs, Malden High School’s Girls Tennis team had an overall, formidable season this year. New head coach, Cheryl Camassa, led the girls to an impressive first season in the Northeastern Conference (NEC). For the past few years, all sports teams at Malden High have been playing in the Greater Boston League (GBL), which included Medford, Everett, Somerville as well as Malden High. This season was the team’s first season in a new conference, the NEC. Even though the girls ended the 2017 spring season with only four wins, this change in conference raised the bar of competition to a higher level for the team. However, by the end of the season, they got accustomed to the new competition and continued to work on certain things to make sure that

they are prepared for next season. According to the team, this season was really fun. Nikita Puri, a sophomore on the varsity team, says that she felt like the season was great and felt really welcomed on the team. Even though the team didn’t produce as many wins as they would have liked, the season was still phenomenal because “it went better than [Puri’s] expectations.” The girls feel like they grew significantly as tennis players this season. Puri stated that “some of the girls are really good and getting to practice with them made [her] a better player”. She continued to say that she’s “always been a competition driven person, and [was] really set on wanting to do better everyday not just for [herself] but also for the team.” The season might’ve contained losses, but the girls were looking on improving their game and skills, not just winning every single match. The losses have taught the girls that “you can’t always have the victory right under the belt, you have to

work extra hard for it which [they] did.” They don’t feel bad about losing a few games, because they know that they’ve given it their all and put all their effort into it. They have earned the mindset that if you win, you win; if you lose, you lose. She talks about how “the games have been a lesson and an experience that have made [her] a better player physically and morally, because [they have taught her that she has] to be a competitive player”. She says that “you have to have the clear mindset in which you know your goal and you fight for it until the end. She “truly believe[s] that towards the end of the season, [she] was able to become that, which is an indication of how much [she’s] grown through the season.” Personal goals for this season included becoming a more strategic player, and noticing what the players have accomplished, and what they have to improve on. For example, Puri has become “smarter about where to hit the ball and how to make [her] opponent run more to get it.” She’s also learned how to

was three, with her dad as a coach. In high school, she played soccer in the fall, and volleyball in the spring. Overall, she played a great amount of sports. Soccer, basketball, volleyball, and softball, were all on her athletic resume. When forced to choose between softball and volleyball during the high school sport season, she picked volleyball because she wasn’t a fan of batting. “[She loves] coaching, it’s in [her] blood,” said Camassa when asked why she wanted to coach a tennis team. Growing up, her father was a t-ball, baseball, and soccer coach, even though he didn’t know how to play soccer. Despite his inability to play the actual sport, he became the head soccer organizer, which led her to want to be a referee at the age of 16. She’s been in leadership positions of sports since she was just a teenager. Besides coaching, Camassa is a Behavior Analyst at Malden Public Schools, primarily working at Linden S.T.E.A.M Academy. She started working at an organization on Long Island for adults with disabilities when she was home from college in the summer. She had made such a connection with those adults and felt that she was making a difference in their lives. During every break during college and in the summer, she came back to work with them. Graduating with a psychology degree from Binghamton Univer-

sity, Camassa landed her first full time job at this organization as an applied behavior specialist. She knew it was her calling and wanted to get her Masters degree in Applied Behavior Analysis. When she applied, she got accepted to the Northeastern program for ABA. Since then, she has worked five years at a residential program, four years in a collaborative program, and this is her fourth year in Malden Public Schools. When asked what she loves about that job, she said: “every day is a new day. You never know what the day will bring. [She loves] what [she does], and hopefully [she impacts her] students positively.” Camassa believes, “any time [she] can impact a young person’s life positively, [she feels] that is a victory. Obviously [they] want to achieve wins on the court, but [she would] rather they have a cooperative experience as a part of a team. [She has] learned how to lose. By nature [she is] extremely competitive, and now [she knows] that you can’t win every match. [She] didn’t gain this from coaching, but [She] confirmed the benefits of being a member of a team. Coaching is awesome! It gives kids an avenue after school and hopefully stay out of trouble. [She] wouldn’t give up my job as a behavior analyst, though. My students might not know it now, but [she] will impact their lives just as they have impacted [hers].”

Coach Camassa

Girls tennis coach Cheryl Camassa. Photo by Emraude Bonnet. Emraude Bonnet Reporter

ast season, the girls tennis team was led to success by coach Julie Fox and now, new coach Cheryl Camassa has high hopes to bring the girls to States for another season. For the last two seasons, Coach Camassa coached girls volleyball, but is very excited to be coaching the girls tennis team. As a kid, Camassa played tennis a bit here and there at camp, but never did it as an organized sport. However, Camassa played volleyball in middle school and high school. Considering she grew up in Longhorn, New York, “soccer was the number one sport” to play as a kid. She started playing when she

hit the ball more powerfully. Puri noticed that her serve isn’t the best, and that is something she can improve on. The team’s overall goal this season was to win as many games as possible. Although they didn’t win a lot, they believe that each and every single one of them got their personal goals met. Therefore, there is a growth for each player, which is a growth for the whole team. They’ve all mostly achieved their wins mostly by getting to know one another and getting to play with one another. Puri talks about how “in the end, it’s always been about having fun on the court.” Most of the games the team has played this season were very close ones. To win a whole game, the team has to win at least three out of five matches. Even in the matches they lost, it was as close as 2-3. The one difference cost the team a whole game. Although it can be bitter to lose, they all realize that it is a learning experience and they can only get better from it. This season, the whole team was really good at helping and supporting one another. They are all very good at motivating each other, which is something that can make or break a team. Next season, Puri believes that they should all have more rigorous practices. She says that they are “all going to be better players only if [they’re] pushed to [their] limits. [They] should work harder and train harder because achieving goals doesn’t come easily. Each team member needs to learn how to absolutely push themselves and work very hard.” The girls tennis team had a good season, despite the amount of ups and downs, and will hopefully continue that with even more wins next season.

Junior Hong-Li Zheng in practice. Photo by Emraude Bonnet.

Sports

The Blue and Gold Graduation 2017

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Luis Gilbert

BOYS TENNIS Subin Bastola Reporter

season full of obstacles and challenges has come to an end for Malden High’s boys tennis team as they finish the year with an over-

even though they unfortunately failed to qualify for the postseason. Teague was “scared” after last year thinking that MHS was “not going to have tennis season this year since a majority of players graduated last year.” However,“[he] was very happy that they were able to have a neat season. Coach Gagnon

Sophomore Luis Gilbert. Photo by Subin Bastola. Subin Bastola Reporter

ophomore Luis Gilbert is one of the few returning players on this year’s Malden High boys tennis team. Having played tennis for a prior three-years, Gilbert is enjoying his second year on the varsity team. Gilbert got his interest in tennis by “watching the professionals” and “learning the culture of tennis.” He explained his favorite professional tennis player is Roger Federer who he is fascinated by “because of his tennis techniques and fitness.” When asked about what aspect of his game he wants to improve this year, he mentioned that “[he] is continuously working on improving his consistency” and “getting off better shots.” With a current record of 3 wins and 5 losses, Gilbert stated that “the team is still comprehending the loss of all the seniors from last year” and hopping to “build more onto this season.” The season was also affected by the weather which resulted in the team being forced to reschedule their game against Medford and Everett High School. Gilbert concluded that otherwise “it’s been a great season so far.” One of the most exciting games for the Gilbert was the victory against Triton High. He stated that “it was a very fun game and one of the longest game [the team has] ever played. Gilbert had an intense game as he had won another game the day before. He mentioned that he was “nervous as well as excited to get another win.” He continued, the win against Triton Hawks was the “most rewarding win as the team has been working hard.” He elaborated, “he is very proud of himself and his fellow teammates.” Gilbert explained that he considers the tennis team as “a family”. He added that, “unlike most other sports, travelling in the bus the game as well as outside the court and during the game [the team has] a lot of the time for bonding.” Outside of the tennis, Gilbert enjoys swimming and playing soccer. Gilbert is looking forward to having a great tennis season ahead.

Junior captain Victor Teauge’s followthrough after hitting a forehand. Photo by Subin Bastola. all record of 2-15. Last Season, the team finished with an overall record of 7-8, falling just short of making the playoffs. This season, the team was coached by Malden High gym teacher Mark Gagnon and captained by Junior Victor Teague. Despite losing a majority of key players from last year to graduation, the team had a successful season given the circumstances,

thought “[it was] going to be challenging to have a lot of new players” but most of the player were able to compete as per his expectation. The Tornadoes started their season playing against the Lynn Bulldogs at Lynn English High School on April 10th. Despite the boy’s conscientious work, unfortunately, the team lost their first few games in heartbreakingly close manners.

The Tornadoes were also challenged by some stormy weather which resulted in the team being forced to reschedule their game against the Medford Mustangs and the Everett Crimson Tide. Looking to redeem themselves after a tough losing streak, the boys played the Triton Hawks on Thursday, May 4th. The team’s hard work got them on the right direction this time as the boys were able to celebrate their first win of the season. One of only the three returning players to the team this year, sophomore Luis Gilbert mentioned that the victory against triton hawks was the “most exciting game” in the season. He continued to say, the win against the Hawks was the “most rewarding win as the team has been working really hard.” He elaborated that he was “very proud of himself and his fellow teammates.” After challenging losses against Gloucester, Winthrop, Beverly, and Danvers, once again the Tornadoes were able to defeat the visiting Triton Hawks on Tuesday, May 15 at Amerige Park. The team had a competitive face off against Hawks as they won two of their three scheduled singles. Despite losing most of their close games in the season, players were able to identify their weakness as well as recognize their strengths and pride themselves in it. Captain Teague explained that his first serve is now “excellent”, and is a strength of his game that he had improved this season. Overall, with mostly a young core of players, the team hopes to continue to improve along with experience and hopes that this season was stepping stone in the right direction for seasons to come.

Sophomore Thomas Tran preparing to return the opponent’s serve. Photo by Subin Bastola.

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40: Softball 41: Baseball 42: Girls LAcrosse 43: Boys Lacrosse 44: Boys Volleyball 45: Crew & Outdoor Track 46: Girls Tennis 47: Boys Tennis