Graduation 2018 edition

The Blue and Gold maldenblueandgold.com Malden High School Volume 103 Edition 7/8

77 salem street June 2018

CONGRATULATIONS Class of

2018

Mastrangelo to Serve as Malden High School Principal Sydney Stumpf Head Copy Editor

O Matthew Chin Class Valedictorian Page 14

Hong-Li Zheng Class Salutatorian Page 15

Cindy Siu Class Orator Page 16

Manny Quesada Nylen Class President Page 17

Malden High Remembers Dave Holland Page 30

Tornado Travelers Club Visits Italy. Page 13

n May 11, after a search for a new principal for Malden High School, first-year superintendent John Oteri chose Chris Mastrangelo to become the next principal. Mastrangelo had been serving as interim principal of Malden High School since the resignation of Ted Lombardi earlier this year.

Mastrangelo had been the Boyle House Principal for several years and becoming interim principal, had taken on almost four times as many students as he had as a house principal. Three candidates were chosen from by Oteri, including Mastrangelo, Purnima Vadhera, and Timothy McCarron.

In a statement given in the Nedlam News, Mastrangelo thanks staff and students for their support already, and their support to come. The full statement is on page 28.

Continued on page 28.

maldenblueandgold.com

From Left to right: Shawn Nice, Annie Bahn, Robert Berlus, Sebastian Laguerre, Sebastiano Paret.

Malden High School Volume 103 Edition 7 June 2018

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Staff maldenblueandgold.com

The Blue and Gold June 2018

The Blue and Gold June 2018

Interactive maldenblueandgold.com

Crossword Clues Across: 2.What club hosted the Hometown Heroes contest?

5.Chris Mastrangelo officially got the job as the new _____ at Malden High School.

6.Walter ____ won Mr.MHS. 7.What program is where girls are involved in technology?

8.Posse holds ____ different interviews on deciding if someone should be a candidate for their scholarship.

11.Concert Band Seniors played “_______” by Maurice Ravel.

12.Aaliyah _____ worked on a project about child abuse for Generation Citizen.

13.Tobi Pitan was the College ___ winner.

Down: 1.Joanne ______ was the founder of the Malden High Alumni association and the initiator of the Hall of Fame program.

2.“Malden High Remembers Dave ____” 3.Junior Agatha ______ has volunteered at Special Olympics for three years.

4.Malden has been a partner with special olympics for __ years.

9.Malden Reads holds a conversation on __ 10.Matt ___ is the new president for the class of 2019.

14.Senior Cindy ___ focused on “Teen Perceptions of the Masculinity of Male Vegetarians” for her AP research project.

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The Blue and Gold June 2018

Editorial maldenblueandgold.com

the Blue Blue and and Gold Gold through through the the the eyes of of the the Editors Editors eyes

An editorial note about the profiles this year

For this year’s graduation edition of The Blue and Gold newspaper, as an editorial staff, we wanted to reevaluate the way in which we traditionally have profiled the Top Ten students in the senior class based on their GPA. This year, we would like to set a new precedent: profiling the the students who earned the three highest grade point averages: Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and Orator but also seeking out those seniors who may be underrepresented (but have accomplished equally impressive things or represent the core values of Malden High) and reporting on them as well.

So, we reached out to the Principals and Guidance counselors, as well as the class advisor, Ms. Haskell, for some students that stood out, and based on their suggestions, we selected five students. We also decided to highlight the class officers on a separate page for their leadership and service to the class.

A

s a newspaper staff, we are well aware that we play a crucial role in documenting the history of Malden High School.

These stories, sometimes forgotten in the messy nature of busy news, are what we consider to be journalism that ultimately has a civic impact on our personal lives.

This year, in particular, major news stories impacted the city of Malden, but most importantly, it affected Malden High School students. In stories that speak the truth, students are shaped by the deep and engaging issues and events that surround Malden High. Our breaking news coverage, such as the unexpected departure of our former principal, shines light on our roles as journalists: investigating, collecting, and presenting the information that we should all know.

In the past, our newspapers have been made up of stories throughout local and sports that cover major things that happen in our city. This year, we fulfilled that same mission as years past, but we also have added a new component to the way in which we organize our paper.

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

Starting in the month of December, the leadership staff decided to start to frame themes for each edition.

The December edition focused on the Haitian culture of Malden High School. We formulated this from many different objectives. We heavily relied on the work produced by our very own Malden High Play production class when they presented their first musical play of the year: Once On This Island. Both Play Production and the Haitian Culture Club worked diligently together to make sure that the show was as authentic as it could be.

In the March edition, we made recommendations for what we would like to see in a new principal and focused on the school’s response to safety due to rising gun violence across our nation.

This time consuming, politically driven, and attention grabbing process was one that inspired us greatly. In the April/May edition, we tackled the funding in Malden Public Schools. This controversial topic covered the inner workings of the Malden school funding understand where the money is

going within the budget that is given by the city.

By establishing these varying themes throughout the paper, we felt that it would leave readers with the idea that the students of Malden High School are all voiced and represented through the Blue and Gold. We substantially wanted our newspaper to be more than just news: we wanted something that students could rally behind, as we essentially were putting what they are thinking into words.

This year as a staff, we were tested on our capability to produce informative and immediate coverage for all of the major events that happened this year.

As Editors-in-Chief of Print, we are proud to be apart of the leadership staff in the 2017-2018 Blue and Gold class and representing Malden High as being more than just a newspaper.

Anna Powers Leila Greige

The History and Social Studies faculty at Malden High School is honored to support the Stolpersteine Project. We hope that this page will endure for years to show a lasting commitment to honor victims of genocide.

The Blue and Gold is dedicating this ad space to support this project.

Damian Aufiero Dana Marie Brown Jon Copithorne Rebecca Corcoran Ellsworth Fersch Michelle Filer Pat Finnegan Marsha Healy Paul Doucette

Greg Hurley Michael Lightbody Ann Pember Kurtis Scheer Rick Tivnan Kerry Veritas Kelly Gibson, Tufts Intern Chris Cameron, Tufts Intern Mark Capansky, Tufts Intern

Follow us on Instagram @theblueandgold

The Blue and Gold June 2018

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Obituaries maldenblueandgold.com

Obituaries

Bernard Musmand

Submitted by Leila Greige and Taylor Winters

Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation

French Jewish partisan Bernard Musmand with Simone, a member of the French resistance. Photograph taken in Montpellier, France, during the war. — Courtesy of Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation

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n 1930, Bernard Musmand was born in Metz, France. When the Nazis took over in the year 1940, they forced his family to move to the south of France which was outside of German control. Bernard was then sent to a boarding school where he had to pose as a Catholic. “There he became a courier for the Sixième, a resistance group, and transported falsified papers for those escaping Nazi persecution.”

Bernard would even sometimes have encounters with the Germans or French sympathizers but he knew how to be confident so he would not give away his real identity. Sometimes, he would even ask for the time or a match in perfect German so it would ease any suspicions others may have about him.

“When the Gestapo came to the boarding school looking for Bernard, the dean arranged his escape before the Germans could capture him. Bernard went to Millaut and again joined the Sixième, all of whom joined the Maquis armed resistance. Aged fourteen and very afraid, Bernard went into an ambush against Nazi troops, gaining bravery

once in battle.”

“When the French Army reformed he was made Second Lieutenant, but given a desk job.

Refused permission to fight on the German front, he revealed in exasperation his age and Jewish identity. Within two weeks he was relieved of duty and sent back to his family and his schoolmates.”

“It was an exciting time, in certain ways,” Bernard remembers. “I wish and hope it will never come back, but everything counted and you felt life was precious.” As a young man he swore, though, never to speak German again. “I knew it was hateful; I know what the Germans did for Israel—but I can’t forget.” Bernard has not since uttered a word of the invader’s language.”

Bernard passed away in January 2010.

invaded the Soviet Union in June of 1941, Tuvia and his younger brother Zus told themselves that they would never be caught by the Germans.

“In early 1942, Tuvia began hearing rumors about partisans, and decided that if he and his fellow Jews were to survive, he must acquire arms and organize all-Jewish resistance groups.

Along with two of his brothers, Zus and Asael, Tuvia began organizing Jews. By May of 1942, Tuvia was in command of a small group, which by the end of the war had grown to 1,200 people, and was known as the Bielski otriad (otriadis the Russian word for a partisan detachment). Tuvia had focused on saving as many Jews as possible, and would accept any Jew into his group.

Many came through the family of Konstantin Kozlovski, a non-Jew, who provided shelter for Jews escaping from the Novogrudok ghetto and worked with the partisans to free hundreds of Jews from the ghetto.”

The Bielski otriad carried out food raids, killed German collaborators, and sometimes joined with a Russian partisan group in anti-Nazi missions, such as burning the ripe wheat crop so the

German soldiers couldn’t collect and eat the wheat. Additionally, the Bielski otriad would seek out Jews in the ghetto willing to risk escape to the forest, and send in guides to help them.

By the summer of 1943, Tuvia was the leader of 700 people.

In the Naliboki forest, Tuvia set up a functioning community, with everyone working to support the community in a variety of ways.

There was a hospital, classrooms for the children, a soap factory, a Turkish bath, tailors, butchers, and even a group of musicians who played at festivals. Beyond meeting the needs of its own members, the Bielski otriad was able to provide services to other partisan groups in exchange for food and arms.

By the summer of 1944, the group had grown to 1,200. The group consisted mainly of the elderly, women, and children.

Tuvia’s group was the largest of the Jewish partisan groups.

A high percentage of those he led survived, due to Tuvia’s strong and effective leadership, and his determination to save as many Jews as possible.

After the war, Tuvia moved first to Israel and later to the United States, where he died at age 81.

The amazing story of the Bielski partisans was turned into the motion picture Defiance in 2009.

Tuvia Bielski

T

uvia Bielski was born in Stankiewicze, in western Belorussia, in 1906. When Germany

Tuvia Bielski. — Courtesy of Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation

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Opinion

The Blue and Gold June 2018

maldenblueandgold.com

MY MALDEN EXPERIENCE Megan Downer Editor-in Chief

F

or the last four years I have been attending Malden High School with two of my best friends. We were all nervous as freshmen, we were leaving the place we were most comfortable in and going to a new school.

One of our best friends had gone to a different school to pursue her own ambitions. It all felt so—for lack of a better term—weird. For quite a while people were supplying us with various prejudices about MHS. No one ever prepared us for how much of an impact it would have on our lives.

As a freshman I was bubbly but also a bit introverted, and when with my best friends I was quite outgoing. However, I learned you could strive best at MHS by simply being who you are. This community is welcoming beyond comprehension and it is easy for anyone to come here and call it their home. My freshman year I was not involved in much at the school, I was terrified of going out of my comfort zone and I kept making excuses as to why I should not get involved. Once I did become more involved, I realized the world of opportunities right in front of me just because I was a MHS student.

My sophomore year I joined the field hockey team with some of my best friends. I never thought I would love the sport as much as I started to. I was definitely not the best player and I knew absolutely nothing about the sport except for how the stick looked due to Spencer Hastings from Pretty Little Liars having played the sport. Once I started playing, though, it was impossible for me to stop. My team was my family, and at the end of the day being able to relax and have fun on the field is what helped me most.

Outside of field hockey, I also partook in some clubs but the only one I really stuck to was Literary Society, which I did with my best friend Alicia Tan. Even though this is a small group, it taught me that no matter what ,there will always be someone else with the same interests as

From left to right, math teacher Kayla Scheitlin, seniors Alicia Tan, Jeannie Basile, Megan Downer, and science teacher Jessica Sullivan. you willing to pursue them with you.

High school has been an experience that made me grow a lot as an individual and MHS has shown me that there is always a way to get through anything.

I have found an endless support system that will last a lifetime because of MHS. Some of my favorite memories will be from my experiences at MHS, such as laughing and smiling with friends at the wonderful plays here or our unique JVs show, and staying after school with my homeroom teacher, Kayla Scheitlin and also

science teacher, Jessica Sullivan.

We created our own family here and I am forever grateful for the after school laughs and pick-meups from everyone in that little family.

MHS held so many events for students to really immerse themselves in and one I was involved in each year since it originated was the Dancing With The Teachers show.

My two best friends Jeannie Basile and Alicia Tan, and myself joined together with both Ms. Scheitlin and Ms. Sullivan to create crazy dances to throwback

songs and kids movies songs.

This experience was something so unique and I thank MHS for providing such events for everyone to be able to just have fun with the rest of the community.

I was so nervous to come in to high school but after being here for four years I can proudly say that MHS and Malden are my home. The experiences and opportunities I was provided with here were outstanding and I will always hold them dearly.

To the staff members here at MHS who I became close with, thank you for your endless support over the years. This school has an abundance of amazing staff members always willing to help any student and it never ceases to amaze me how involved and supportive the staff here at MHS is.

To my best friends, thank you for always being there for me. I can not wait to experience this next adventure in our lives with you guys.

After four years on the newspaper staff as well, I am proud to say I will be attending Curry College in the fall to study communications. I am excited to begin this journey and I am grateful to the Malden community for shaping me into who I am today and helping me discover who I want to be.

The Blue and Gold June 2018

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Opinion maldenblueandgold.com

College Essay Winner: Tobi Pitan “Oluwatobiloba” M

y full name is Elisabeth Oluwatobiloba Pitan and it’s a bit of a mouthful.

Originally, Oluwatobiloba, (pronounced Oh-Loo-Wah-TohBee-Luh-Bah), was my first name on my birth certificate but parents changed it to Elisabeth to make school easier for me. They gave me the nickname Tobi and from then on. Elisabeth was strictly my school name and Tobi was my family name.

The switch from “Oluwatobiloba” to “Elisabeth” may have shielded me from taunts from my peers and blatant mispronunciations, but the latter name—despite its more feminine, elegant, and American sound—has now become more of a burden to me.

In retrospect, I admire my parents for wanting to name me Oluwatobiloba. It is a name that denotes no intrinsic gender and has no masculine or feminine qualities. The name is strictly spiritual and the only connotation it carries is its definition. The fact that it’s in Yoruba—a Nigerian dialect—further exemplifies my parents’ love of their country of origin. “Oluwatobiloba” is a vessel for storytelling that I wish my parents would have boldly held onto.

Shedding the name Elisabeth and embracing the name Tobi sparked the beginning of my social transition as Agender, a gender identity that I personally associate with liberation and an indifference toward the gender binary. The name Elisabeth is easily associated with femininity while the name Tobi remains ambiguous. I wanted to embrace the ambiguity of my gender expression through this name that would reflect it completely. I first took this leap at my drama class at Malden High School.

I transferred to Malden High during my sophomore year leaving behind a predominantly white, Republican, upper class, private school in suburban

Massachusetts. At my previous school, I suppressed my queer identity but at Malden High my identity only blossomed.

On my first day of this class I decided to begin going by the name Tobi in school. One of my drama teachers was eagerly taking attendance, drawing closer to my last name. “Elisabeth Pitan!” she shouted, with the unabashed cadence of a lifelong performer. “I

ible. There was only a brief moment of confusion but the teacher crossed out my name and wrote Tobi instead. This vulnerability was the first step at embracing my newfound individuality.

Now, most of my peers and teachers know me strictly as Tobi though there are many situations in which I am forced to use my legal name. “Elisabeth” is what I still hear at my checkups and

with the initial utterance of that name, then soon relax into the normalcy of it free of any hostility toward them. Ultimately, my longstanding security of my gender makes me impervious to any potential affront to it, including the usage of my legal first name.

I know that I am who I am regardless of my name, but the reason why I still insist on enforcing the name Tobi in interpersonal contexts is because I yearn to uphold the visibility that it gives me. It keeps me true to myself and elicits an unprecedented euphoria and pride in my Nigerian culture and queer identity.

In the future I hope to legally reclaim the name Oluwatobiloba as an homage to my ancestry and an act of self-love. When people read it, I want it to make them pay attention—not gloss over it as if it’s nothing. I want it to tell my story. I want to make a statement that says I exist.

“Tobi Pitan is an incredible human being. I have had the pleasure of knowing Tobi as Theater Technician extraordinaire, a gifted writer, a frequenter of the Writers’ Den, and awesome stand-up comic. Tobi can do it all and throws their self into their work with great affability, insight, humor, and drive. I’m excited for the world beyond Malden to meet Tobi Pitan.”

Sean Walsh Play Production Teacher

“Tobi is both an exceptional student and person. They’re someone that I would be honored to be friends with in the future. Tobi is smart, creative, prefer Tobi.” I responded noncha- dental appointments, at the DMV, hard-working, and generous lantly followed by a forced smile. and job interviews. To the people This facade was an attempt to I encounter in these situations, with both their time and intelerase the sting of a name I wished I’m just another name in the sys- ligence.” to forget. Heat rushed to my face and despite every pair of eyes on me, I still managed to feel invis-

tem—our relationship is purely bureaucratic. These people have no idea that I shrink internally

Miranda Libkin Play Production Teacher

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Opinion

The Blue and Gold June 2018

maldenblueandgold.com

High School, Personal Activism, and Looking Ahead Tobi Pitan Editor-in-Chief of Web

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he school year has been a whirlwind for me in terms of the year in politics, academics, applying to college, maintaining a part-time job, participating in extracurricular activities and continuing to navigate who I am as a person in relation to the rest of the world.

As my time at Malden High School draws to a close, I have begun to assess my overall experience as a student here and how my education here has enhanced the last three years of my life in ways I could have never imagined as a freshman in high school.

When thinking about my experience at this school, I often view it through the wider scope of my experience as a Malden citizen. I grew up in Malden for a vast majority of my life. After living in Lynn for about five years, my entire family moved into a quiet, run-of-the-mill neighborhood on the outskirts of east Malden. I began kindergarten at a Malden Public School and stayed all the way up until fifth grade.

That was a period in my life in which I essentially spent the most time in Malden. Despite the fact that I was living in Malden, I still spent a lot of time outside of the city whether it be to attend dance class in a neighboring city or to go on field trips with my after school program. I also attended church multiple times a week outside of Malden. Throw additional traveling into the mix, and overall, a large percentage of my early adolescent life was spent outside of Malden, even though I lived there.

A massive shift in the trajectory of my life occurred during the beginning of my sixth grade year and lasted up until my freshman year. Over the course of those four extremely formative years of my life, I attended a private school about a half an hour away from where I lived. I carpooled almost everyday, over an hour round trip to attend a

school in a universe entirely different from my own, yet over the course of these for years the town in which this school was located began to feel more familiar than my own neighborhood did. Once again I found myself spending most of my time situated in a town that I didn’t even live in, and was forced to build my entire perception of the world based on the ideas and beliefs of people who I barely knew.

Although I had lived in and attended school in Malden for about five years, I still felt like an outsider in my own city. I had never truly known what Malden had to offer and how to enhance my quality of life while as a member of the Malden community.

Looking back, the general mindset and belief system of the town I went to private school in was drastically different from my own political, social, and economic worldview. Had I not transferred back into a Malden school system, I would have been surrounded by people who genuinely thought that my existence as a black, queer, trans person was an affront to their rights and beliefs.

It took me three years before I began to realize that Malden could make more space for me than the private school I was currently attending could. Although I had an academic experience I will never take for granted, I transferred back into the Malden Public School system after four years of trying out a different kind of schooling.

When I first re-joined the Malden Community as a sophomore, I tried to immerse myself in as many clubs and schoolwide activities that piqued my interest.

In my first year at MHS, I was able to build community with people via our shared interests, even for a short amount of time.

My junior year also marked another significant shift in my life. This was the year in which I began navigating my gender, which I had no choice to do, but in a social setting. Considering my exploration began right at

the beginning of the school year, I had only personally known of one other trans person in Malden High School prior to my junior year, and I knew there were going to be challenges to coming out as trans-nonbinary in such a binary gendered setting such as school.

I was confronted with coming out to teachers, which at first was daunting, but I realized that this information only ever fell into the hands of the right people, who made the effort to make room for my identity in their classrooms.

I also realized that if there were any situations in which I didn’t feel like I needed to come out, then I didn’t have to, and I could simply exist as a student attending MHS. This is the point in which I began to explore the idea of silent activism and navigate its importance in my life. For many people in the LGBTQ community, simply existing is a form of activism in a world where your human rights are constantly debated and you are viewed as “other” simply due to gender expression or sexual orientation. As someone with a gender expression that often manifests itself in unorthodox ways, I often feel like simply walking down the hallway is a form of personal activism. My outfits, hairstyle, or accessories may get me lingering glances, but there is more power in the sense that I have the space to express myself how I want to without being met with adversity.

Over the course of the past year in particular, I have come to realize the reason why I appreciate MHS so much. I value MHS in a subtle sense that not very many people around me may also: it gives its students room to exist.

The very end of my junior year was when the reality of attending college occurred to me.

For a long time, I was infatuated with attending college outside of the state. I was entirely opposed to having to attend college in Massachusetts and I wanted a drastic change in environment.

For that reason, 80% percent of the schools I had applied to were

outside of the state. I could in envision myself studying at a liberal arts school in Philadelphia or Chicago or New York City, the latter location being the most desirable to me, especially as an aspiring film major.

A large part of the reason why I wanted to go to school in New York was because of its cultural embrace of nonconformity and its strong tie to LGBTQ history. I knew college would be a highly formative period in my life and I wanted to surround myself with like-minded individuals throughout it. I feared that by attending school in state, I would be met with the same types of students that I encountered at the private school I attended four years prior.

It wasn’t until I visited the schools that I had gotten accepted to in New York that I realized that maybe Massachusetts was the better option for me all along.

When I think ahead to the fact that I will beginning my college career in less than five months, I naturally have a fear of not being accepted and a general fear of the unknown. Regardless, I know that I will find the community that I look for in a college setting.

I take pride, in every sense of the word, in the fact that I am going in The Arts despite knowing very few people around me who are doing the same. I believe that it is encompasses areas of study where values and belief system of the student comes first, and that can be shared with other in a powerful way.

Although the school I will be attending in the fall is a small research university only about an hour away from me, and not an arts school in New York City, I still am hopeful for the experiences I will gain and I am eager to meet a wide variety of people.

I am ready to have a legitimate platform to generate artwork and spend the next four years with other creative individuals who value artistry and individuality as much as I do.

The Blue and Gold June 2018

9

Opinion maldenblueandgold.com

What I Learned From High School Christina Appignani Managing Editor of Web

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he past four years have molded me into a completely different person than the girl who first walked up the auditorium steps back in August, 2014.

I have grown up right in front of my own eyes without even noticing, and while high school has definitely had its ups and downs, the lessons I learned from it will remain undoubtedly valuable to the rest of my life.

In middle school, I was a shy, awkward girl who preferred the fictional characters from books over my peers. When I got to high school, I was determined to erase this reputation; I would become an average high school girl who had friends, went to parties, etc.

Halfway into my freshmen year, I realized that this life wasn’t for me, and that I should embrace who I am rather than running away from it.

But what I didn’t realize at the time was that who I was wouldn’t be who I would be for the rest of high school, let alone the rest of my life. I have changed in ways I would have never expected, and I have watched my peers change around me as well. I realize now that my changes came about because of my stepping out of my comfort zone and embracing who I am. I’ve made friends, lost friends, experienced great achievements and heartbreaking failures, but it’s only gotten me closer to understanding who I am

and who I want to be.

There have been many people in my life who have encouraged me to be true to myself and have made me the happiest I could ever be. I have been friends with my best friend from kindergarten for 13 years now and she has endlessly supported my endeavors. We’ve watched each other grow up and have had each other to lean on during the process. She has always been there to remind me about the countless opportunities that I still have to grow and prosper to who I want to be. I could have never left my comfort zone without her encouragement and support.

I’ve had the blessing of encountering a few MHS teachers who have changed my outlook on life and continue to inspire me every day. As a reporter, Managing Editor and AP Literature student, Mr. Gallagher has given me his unwavering support in everything I do. His room became more of a second home for me at MHS, as I would find myself in there during study periods and schoolto-career. His way of teaching AP Literature has only increased my love for English, which is what I will be majoring in at Lesley University, and has shown me such creative, unique ways to read and analyze literature that I will carry with me through college.

I could never forget about the teacher who consistently motivated me to try my hardest and was always there to remind me of my potential. I had Ms. Scheitlin for Algebra 1 my fresh-

From left to right, Seniors Hong-Li Zheng, Naomi Brill, Amy Angaspilco, Christina Appignani, Vanessa Vu and Sydney Addorisio. Photo taken by Naomi Brill.

Seniors Christina Appignani and Jenna Kelley in 2014. Photo submitted by Christina Appignani

Christina Appignani at age 3.

Photo submitted by Christina Appignani man year, and even when I didn’t have her as my academic teacher, she has always been my favorite staff member at MHS. Whether it was during homeroom, after school, during the Math Enrichment summer program or during school-to-career, some of my

favorite memories from Malden High have taken place in her room. After four years, I’m going to miss spending at least one class period a day in her room, making her copies and sharing events from my life with her on a common basis.

Moral of the story: while high school is a time for academic achievements, extracurriculars and getting involved in your community, it is also a chance to grow. Your “now” in high school will not be your forever, but it only brings you closer. Don’t take things in high school too seriously, because you still have your whole life ahead of you to achieve your goals and live your best life.

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Opinion

The Blue and Gold June 2018

maldenblueandgold.com

Why I choose to write about Louise Stokes Fraser Sidney Rodriguez Lead Reporter

F

raser’s inspirational story should be told throughout Malden.

I was introduced to Louise Stokes Fraser by my American Law teacher, Mark Capansky, who showed us a google slide about a woman who faced great odds to pursue her passion as a runner. Then, he told my class that we have to go to the courtyard. At first, we complained about the coldness. Many of us stood in front of the statue questioning why he would bring us outside to see a statue that we have seen plenty of times before.

However, he told us to read the engraving. As a class, we were in

shock that someone with such an inspirational story went to our high school and that we did not know her.

So, I decided to learn more about Louise Stokes Fraser. I found the documentary Olympic Pride, and American Prejudice. I read countless articles to find out more information about her life and track records at Malden High School. My newspaper advisor, Ryan Gallagher, and I looked at archives from the late 1920’s to the early 1930’s to see if she was featured in any articles from The Blue and Gold newspaper back then.

I’ve lived in Malden all 18 years of my life, and had older siblings that went to Malden High School, and I never knew until now the story of Louise Stokes Fraser. Her persistence and stride

throughout her years as a runner during a time period that was deemed an obstacle within itself is truly remarkable.

When I first came to Malden High School in the fall of 2014, I attended my first play in the Jenkins auditorium. I was with my mother when I noticed one of the display cases outside the auditorium. There were old yearbooks of the play production shows from decades ago. There were pictures of people getting ready for shows, in particular, minstrel shows. I felt embarrassed. I did not want my mom to see the past realities of my high school that I had so much pride in.

It was not until my junior year, when I expressed this story to my English teacher, Margaret Giberson, that I understood how it impacted me. She is someone

who has always displayed extraordinary care for her students and their well being inside and outside of the school. I trusted her to tell her how I felt. As soon as I talked to her about it, she immediately made sure it came down and thanked me for making her aware.

I have realized my passion for learning more about black history. We should realize the importance of celebrating Black History in Malden but also acknowledge our problematic past. I think, as a community, we do a disservice to the younger generations growing up in Malden when past and current issues are not addressed.

If the sole focus of the high school is only celebrating our diversity, then we will fail to fix other some important issues in equality and fairness.

The Blue and Gold June 2018

Profiles

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maldenblueandgold.com

Louise Stokes Fraser

Sidney Rodriguez Lead Reporter

A

fter the abolishment of slavery, America failed to find ways to integrate a population of people who weren’t given the basic acknowledgement of being humans. The neglect continued even more throughout the 1930’s in the midst of The Great Depression.

During this time, in a city about six miles out of Boston, a runner by the name of Louise Stokes attended Malden High School. Of course, because of her circumstances, being a person of color, a female, and dealing with the racial tribulation of being a black person in America, Fraser faced many obstacles as a runner.

Stokes’ agility was undeniably good. While attending the Beebe Junior High School, Fraser played basketball. While on the basketball team, people around her suggested that she should try running for the track and field team.

Once Stokes attended Malden High School, she was heavily involved in basketball and track and field. She graduated in the Class of 1931.

When I was researching this for my article, I searched through the Malden High yearbooks. I learned that there were two separate yearbooks for this graduating class. Louise Stokes was not in the yearbook that is in the ar-

chives, and I could not locate the other yearbook.

In the documentary Olympic Pride, and American Prejudice, Fraser’s son, Wilfred Fraser Jr., reminisced about old stories that he was told as a child, about his mother competing with boys her age in races on the old train

Painting of Louise Stokes Fraser by T. A. Charron.

Malden High School track star, Lousie Stokes Fraser featured in the Blue and Gold from 1931. tracks. Fraser’s competitiveness pushed her to practice at the railroad tracks every morning. Soon, Fraser Jr. explained, “she became quite good at it, and after a while she started beating the boys”.

A statue of Louise Stokes Fraser highlighted in the Malden High School courtyard. Photo taken by Jesaias Benitez.

Louise Stokes is honored at Bridgewater State, and the following is on their website: “In September 1931, while a junior at Malden High School, she was awarded the James Michael Curley Cup for outstanding women’s track performance of the year. At the Mayor’s Day Races, Louise set a New England record of 12.6 in the 100-meter race, second place in the 50-yard dash, and third in the broad jump. Four months later, in December, at a YMCA meet held in Roxbury, MA, she tied the world record for women in the standing broad jump at 8′ 5 3/4″. Louise won the National Junior 40-yard dash championship and defended her broad jump record in Princeton, New Jersey in early 1932, and went on to win the New England Championship in the high jump and finish second in the 100-yard dash in June at a Boston Parks Department meet.”

In 1932, the Olympic trials were held at Northeastern University for the upcoming Olympics in Los Angeles. Being one of the only two African American females to place a spot on the American team, Stokes placed third in the 100 meter trials. She was ready to be on the 400 meter Olympic team. However, before the Olympics, she was replaced by a white runner. The only other African American female runner, Tidye Pickett, was replaced as well, by a white women.

Stil, Stokes tried out for the upcoming Olympics in Berlin in 1936. At the Olympic trials in Brown University she managed to place 5th, which landed her a spot on the 400 meter relay team.

Sadly, much like 1932 Olympics, Louise Stokes Fraser was replaced again. During this time, back in the United States, blacks were still segregated from whites. Also, in Berlin, Germany, Adolf Hitler was still in regime. Hitler used the Olympics to display his German team so the rest of the world could see their athleticism. Hitler was not prepared for African American, non blonde-haired, blue eyed, Jesse Owens to win multiple gold medals.

As for Stokes, her tribulations did not prevent her from being heavily involved in sports. Later, Stokes became a professional bowler, even starting her own Colored Women’s Bowling league.

During this time, in 1944, she married Wilfred Fraser, who was also an athlete. Wilfred Fraser played cricket. Together, they had a son, Wilfred Jr. Fraser. Sadly, on March 25, 1978 Louise Stokes Fraser died.

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Local News maldenblueandgold.com

Farewell Class of Blue and Gold Seniors!

The Blue and Gold June 2018

The Blue and Gold June 2018

Travel

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maldenblueandgold.com

mhs Alumni Tornado Travelers LunchEON Go to Italy T Sara Zakaria Lead Reporter

Jemisha Syliant Lead Reporter

O

n May 4th, the Malden High Alumni Association hosted their 4th Annual Hall of Fame luncheon and banquet. The luncheon took place in the Malden High gallery at 10:45, where the inductees and the officers of the Alumni Association had an informal lunch. They proceeded to take a tour of Malden High, and then went to the auditorium.

The official banquet was held later at 6:00 p.m. at Anthony’s, where seven inductees were given a formal ceremony.

The purpose of the Hall of Fame ceremony, according to the Alumni Association website, is to recognize MHS alumni for “exceptional achievement in their chosen careers” and for their “outstanding contributions to the Malden community and beyond.”

David Haskell, one of the original founders of the Alumni Association, was in charge of publicizing this year’s Hall of Fame through “newspapers and Facebook.” Haskell decided to become involved with the association because it was “one way to give back” to the community, to “advance the cause of education”, and to honor graduates who did “outstanding things in their careers.”

According to board member David Haskell, the seven inductees were chosen by nomination. The inductees had to be nominated by “a friend, colleague or family member”, which would lead to their “selection by a special committee”, which is “independent of the board of directors.” The inductees are also chosen by their contribution to several categories: government, arts, business, media, science, community service and education.

The inductees are Edmund Trabucco, Ann Carol Grossman, Diana Cataldo, Nicholas Robinson, and Noreen Grice. The last two inductees were posthumous: Continued on page 37

his past April vacation, 38 students and 6 teachers ventured off on a 10 day guided tour of Italy. Italian teacher and trip leader Adrienne D’Agostino began organizing the trip in November of 2015 all because when she was in high school, there was a trip organized by her English teacher to London and Paris.

She wanted to give Malden High students the same opportunity to travel.

In just 10 days, the group was able to visit Milan, Venice, Florence, Assisi, Pompeii, San Gimignano, Sorrento, and Rome.

Junior Melody Wong said that ”every day, [they] would visit the biggest monument there and have plenty of free time to look

David Lombardi Reporter

The members of the Italy trip with their teacher chaperones. Photo submitted by Max Weng.

From left to right: seniors Alex Leon, Dylan Ha, Max Weng, Matthew Chin in Italy. Photo submitted by Max Weng. around and explore. On most and chaperone Mitch Abbatessa days, [they] would get a tour of said that a few of the senior boys the city and learn about the his- including Max Weng spontanetory of the area and then [they] ously jumped in the Mediterragot to go wherever [they wanted] nean Sea with whatever clothes with [their] friends.” they had on.

When the group was in After that. they ventured Verona, they saw the graves of off to Rome for their final days Romeo and Juliet and Juliet’s in Italy. For the first part of their balcony as explained by History stay in Rome they took a trip to Teacher and Chaperone Marsha the Vatican city to see the Vatican Healy. In Venice, they were able and see the Sistine Chapel. After to ride gondolas and visit Doge’s their visit to the Vatican, they palace. The group was able to went and saw the major sites such see the Duomo Santa Maria del as Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Fiore in Florence. After Florence, Pantheon, and the Trevi fountain. the group took a little excursion Healy also explained they visto San Gimignano which is a hill ited the Jewish Quarter of Rome town just outside Florence. which was very moving to her to While exploring Assisi realize that in 1943 many of the the group was able to visit the Jewish population were rounded Basilica of St. Francis. From As- up there and taken during World sisi, they traveled to the ruins of War II. Pompeii where they were able to Including D’Agostino, there see the still standing aftermath were six chaperones that acof Mount Vesuvius’ eruption companied the students on the nearly 3,800 years ago. Then, they trip. Healy was asked to go by ventured to Sorrento where they D’Agostino and wanted to return saw the beautiful views of the because she went 20 years ago Amalfi Coast and where to spend and threw a coin in the Trevi, time looking around. Teacher which means that she would re-

turn to Italy and she wanted that to be true. Abbatessa who was also asked, had never been before, so he wanted to experience it. English teacher Yahaira Marquez also went and will be leading the London and Paris trip in the spring of 2020. Band teacher Erin O’Brien-Mazza chaperoned the trip as well.

Spanish teacher Caroline Lorenz who was also a chaperone, recalls that “when [she] was in college, [she] visited a friend who was studying in Rome.

[She] had a very different experience there on [her] own and [did not] like the city very much. She found it chaotic compared to cities in Spain. This trip was much better, so [she is] glad [she] got a chance to return and do it right!”

She also went on to talk about how she is leading the Spain trip next year and wanted to get some practice in, but also because the group that was going looked fun.

Senior Max Weng explained that the food was very different. The breakfast was usually something sweet or contained ham and cheese. At lunch, they were usually served some type of sandwich, which Abbatessa said was usually done on your own whereas dinner was always at the hotel. Weng stated “Dinner was always a three course meal.

It often involved salad, pasta, some type of meat whether it was beef, pork or chicken, pizza, and gelato.”

Junior Meghan Fitzpatrick also made it clear that “The food was very different from the Italian food [in America].” D’agostino even said “the rest stop food was good.”

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Profiles

The Blue and Gold June 2018

maldenblueandgold.com

Sydney Stumpf Head Copy Editor

M

Valedictorian Matthew Chin

alden High Class of 2018 Valedictorian, Matthew Chin, is heading off to Yale. Chin reflected on his high school experience, really “[opening] up and [becoming] a more outgoing person” in his career as a high school student. Participating in cross country and track, sports allowed Chin to become more outgoing and open up, as he “interacted with a variety of people from different social cliques and made lifelong friends.” Academically, throughout middle school, Chin had never been really challenged in his classes, until he took his first AP class.

“High school,” said Matt Chin, “enabled [him] to tap into [his] curiosity of learning about this world.”

Math teacher Cara Joyce and English teacher Yahaira Marquez have been the most influential teachers to Chin. Joyce “singlehandedly influenced [Chin] to investigate Statistics in post-secondary education.” Joyce noted how Chin “immediately gravitated toward [Statistics].” Joyce found it interesting that Chin had chosen her to be one of his most influential teachers because she also finds him inspiring. She finds him inspiring because he is “a really good person” and “fundamentally, [she thinks] he wants to come back and teach.”

In his AP Language and Composition class, Marquez “was a savior in terms of helping [Chin] improve in English.”

Although this class was challenging, he “learned the most in [Marquez’s] class than any other class in [his] high school career.”

Marquez remembered when Chin “self-admittedly stated that he was more of a math and science person” but chose to take the course anyways. Marquez described that “[Chin is] very smart and he applies himself academically, but beyond that, there is this other level where he just truly cares about people and what is going on in the world.”

She also noted how he did not just care about his grades but other people and situations: “He’s very mindful,” said Marquez.

As for influential peers Chin has had, he credits Brian Tran and

Richard Du. Tran was “always there to motivate [Chin] to train harder and run stronger” on the track team. Tran’s “perseverance as a runner was unparalleled and was contagious throughout the whole team,” notes Chin. Du was alongside Chin throughout the “hardships of high school.” Du, said Chin, has “inspired [him] to reach for those unconquerable goals that are not as far as they seem.”

With these significant peers and teachers, it is no wonder why when asked what he is going to miss most about MHS, Chin simply stated “the people.” The environment and atmosphere of MHS “encouraged friendly competition” and “lifelong friendships.” As a student at MHS, his experience at such a diverse school allowed him to “experience not only tolerance for difference, but acceptance of our quirks and unique backgrounds.” In his next four years at Yale University, Chin hopes that he is about “to meet people who are similar to people who [he has] spent [his] four years with at MHS.” Chin has always told underclassmen and his peers that he chose his classes based off of interests and not recognition.

Chin thinks that “people who come into contact with [him] can see that motivation comes from genuine passion and not thirst for acclamation.” On the track team, Chin acknowledges how he leads by example, influencing the team as a whole.

With prospective studies in Statistics and Data Science, Chin doesn’t know where he will be in five years. “Based on the availability of internships and how much I enjoy my prospective major, [he hopes] to be aiming for a graduate degree” after his undergraduate studies at Yale.

“Of course,” noted Chin, “this is completely fluid.”

To his freshman self, Chin said to “experiment with different social groups and attend meetings for different clubs, but ultimately partake in activities that you enjoy.” About clubs and activities, Chin said that “It isn’t about what looks good; it is about the effort that you put into activities that you genuinely take pleasure from.”

(Above) Valedictorian Matthew Chin. Photo submitted

by Chin.

(Right) Valedictorian Matthew Chin and Brian Tran (Class of 2017). Photo submitted by Chin.

From left to right: Arthur Kossoski, Ivan Zheng, Matthew Chin, and Rolph Museau. Photo submitted by Chin.

The Blue and Gold June 2018

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Profiles maldenblueandgold.com

Sydney Stumpf Head Copy Editor

T

Salutatorian Hong-Li Zheng

he Class of 2018 Salutatorian is Hong-Li Zheng. Zheng is attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the fall as part of the Class of 2022. As of right now, Zheng will be majoring in molecular biology and biochemistry.

As a student, Zheng believes she has grown to “put a lot of effort into exercising more self-discipline.” Zheng has learned to “make the effort to put aside everything else and just focus on what is in front of [her]”, helping her with concentration and learning the material given, efficiently. Knowing how important academics are, Zheng has put “more worth” onto her studies.

As a person, in general, outside of school, Zheng feels as though she has “slightly improved yet regressed to some degree.” Although she has become “more social and reliable to those around [her]”, Zheng believes her years of high school have “[hardened her resolve] to be even better than the person [she] was yesterday.” Despite the changes made during her high school career, she hopes that her future experiences will shape her even further into the person she truly wants to be.

The most influential teacher Zheng had in her four years at Malden High School was her freshman Biology teacher, Jessica Sullivan. Throughout the last few years, Sullivan “has always been there to support and encourage [Zheng] to pursue what [she] wanted to pursue, which is science.” Believing she had potential and determination, Sullivan recommended Zheng for AP Biology her sophomore year, which directed Zheng on a path to furthering a science career.

Outside the realm of academics, Zheng knows that she can go to Sullivan for advice and even now, a few years after having Sullivan as a teacher, Zheng still believes that Sullivan “continues to look for [her], and that is more than [she could] ever ask for.”

Among her peers, Zheng noted Sydney Addorisio as the more influential peer she has had. Meeting in their sophomore

year of high school, on their first day of AP Biology, Zheng saw Addorisio as “a great source of inspiration and motivation.” After meeting in AP Biology, Zheng and Addorisio have been friends since. Addorisio’s dedication to “her work both academically and theatrically has inspired [Zheng] to work even harder.” Because of Addorisio, Zheng began to perfect her time management skills and study even harder because she found Addorisio’s hard work inspiring. “[Zheng] felt like [she] was able to push [herself] to work harder because [Addorisio] was there alongside [her] all these years.” Beyond academically motivating one another, Zheng and Addorisio “go shopping and watch movies together and everything in between,” said Zheng.

Although Zheng had not been close with many people in her class, she did become close to a few of them, and she believes that these friendships will continue in the future. Mainly, Zheng will miss the MHS teachers who were helpful and supportive of Zheng’s endeavors as a student and person. Zheng will also miss the youthfulness of high school: without adult life burdens and the idea of stepping right into adulthood. Zheng believes that one day, she will “look back on [her] days at MHS and think that [she] should’ve cherished [her] peaceful and innocent times” more.

Outside of school, Zheng is

Hong-Li Zheng and Sydney Addorisio. Photo submitted by Zheng. a “very family oriented person.”

The truest love, according to Zheng, is not romantic love, but familial love. In the future, Zheng hopes, as her parents’ only child, to “buy them a nice house where [they] can live all together and... travel around the world.”

In the more near future, within the next five years, Zheng hopes to be in medical school or graduate school, because she plans on “pursuing greater knowledge and higher skilled work.” Zheng wants to be living in her own apartment, hanging out with friends during her free time.

In her free time, Zheng likes to catch up on her sleep. Zheng participates in many creative outlets, including painting, origami, reading, cooking, and DIYs including slim, and decorating (Left) Salutatorian Hong-Li Zheng.

(Bottom) Graduating Senior Naomi Brill and Salutatorian Hong-Li Zheng. (Right) Graduating Senior Sydney Addorisio and Salutatorian Hong-Li Zheng. All photos submitted by Zheng.

anything she can find. She also likes to read fan fiction and hang out with her friends. Interested in different cultures and languages, Zheng wants to learn at least three more languages in addition to her Chinese and English. Despite being a realist, Zheng enjoys crime shows and anything relating to fantasy or the supernatural.

To her freshman self, one piece of advice she would give is to stop “thinking [she has] all the time in the world, because [she] doesn’t.” She would tell her freshman self to go out and make more friends, and have a calmer persona. Zheng would also tell her freshman self to do as much work as she could to be able to step back and enjoy life and youth.

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Profiles

The Blue and Gold June 2018

maldenblueandgold.com

Orator Cindy Siu

not true,” said Haskell. “She did so much.” Different qualities Siu possesses, according to Haskell, include being smart, being good at school, being talented, being artistic, and being able to do graphic design, which was reflected in Siu’s completion of the JVs program. “It’s unbelievable how much that girl can do,” said Haskell. “Everyone loves her; she gets along with everybody,” Said Haskell on Siu’s position as a class officer.

Siu will miss the diversity and “people’s acceptance of each other” at Malden High School.

Although she is “proud to be a part of one of the most diverse schools in the state...it is unfor-

tunate to think that this might be the last place to feel it in.”

Siu is sure she will experience a level of diversity in college, but she will miss “Malden’s diversity between different ethnicities, genders, political views, and more, that make the people more accepting of each other.”

In five years, if Siu were to continue her computer science degree, she hopes “to be working or interning at a local start-up company in Boston.” Despite her many years in school, Siu wants to attend graduate school to learn more about cyber security and computational biology, although she is not sure what will happen in the future.

Cindy Siu at prom. Photo submitted by Siu. Sydney Stumpf Head Copy Editor

C

lass Orator Cindy Siu is off to Tufts University. Siu hopes to major in Computer Science and possibly minor in Studio Art. In her career at Malden High School, Siu had enrolled in progressively challenging classes and “learned to forgive [herself] during times when [she] didn’t do so well.” Siu tried to not be hard on herself, try her best, and be happy with herself—things many high school students struggle with. Growing as a person in her four years at MHS, Siu became “more self-aware and reflective” of her actions and what she needed. Siu took into account “what was important to [her] whether it was letting go of individual clubs or taking mental health days.”

Reflecting on her impact on the Malden community, Siu noted how she helped students by walking them through math problems or editing their papers.

Siu’s previous projects may influence incoming students. Overall, notes Siu, her “leadership skills [helped] out the teachers, and in return, [they developed] close relationships.”

Despite the several clubs and activities Siu participated in, Siu added that Summer Search was “one of the organizations that challenged and shaped the person [she is] today.” Summer Search contributed to her learning to reflect on her actions and interests, more than before, allowing her to grow as a person. During

this program, Siu was “pushed out of [her] comfort zone,” and spent “weeks with strangers from all over the country.” During the program, Siu had not only learned about herself as a person, but about the world around her, in a way that she wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.

The most influential peer Siu had during her four years at MHS was Michelle Chung. Chung was not there with Siu during the last half of high school, but “she had a significant impact on [her] life.”

Chung was one of the first people Siu knew as she entered high school, and Siu “looked up to her in everything she did.” Seeing her leadership in Key Club, Band, and Youth in Government, Siu knew she wanted to “emulate her character.” Even when she was 300 miles away, “a text, a phone call, made it seem like [Chung] was right next to [her].”

As for the most influential teacher Siu has had, she said that Class of 2018 Advisor and Chemistry teacher Kate Haskell was the most influential. Although chemistry is not something Siu wants to pursue, “Haskell taught [her] more than just Bohr models and chemical reactions.” She taught her “more about self-love and the passions [she] should strive for.”

Haskell, Siu said, was always there for her. She “provided an open space for [Siu] whenever [she] needed.” As Social Media Coordinator for the class, Haskell noted how much she did for the class. From her title, it may have sounded like all Siu did was update social media, but “that’s

(Above) Cindy Siu and friends on Spirit Day. From left to right: Richard Du, Cindy Siu, and Matthew Chin.

(Above) Cindy Siu and Class of 2018 Advisor Kate Haskell. Photo submitted

by Siu.

(Right) Cindy Siu on a Tornado Travelers trip to Italy.

Photo submitted by Siu.

The Blue and Gold June 2018

Profiles

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maldenblueandgold.com

Class President: MANNY Quesada Nylen

Class of 2018 President Manny Quesada Nylen. Photo submitted by Leila Greige.

Ailin Toro Head of Local

M

anny Quesada Nylen served as president for the class of 2018 throughout his entire high school career.

Quesada recognizes his growth throughout high school saying that he “grew more adept at balancing academics”

and his]happiness. He says that he worked hard to do “well in [his] classes but didn’t let [his] academics define how [he] was spending [his] time.”

He also mentions that as a person he has “developed a stronger sense of self through these past four years.” He “understand[s] where [he] stand[s] in a room full of people

Vice President: Anna Powers Sydney Stumpf Head Copy Editor

A

nna Powers is not only The Blue and Gold Newspaper’s Co-Editor in Chief of the Print Edition, but also Vice President of the graduating class of 2018, and has been for all four years of her high school career. Throughout these four years, Powers has challenged herself, by taking difficult classes that have “benefitted [her] work ethic and drive.” Powers has also come out of her “shell” and did “things that [she] never would have imagined doing years before.”

The most influential person at Malden High School for Powers, is Class of 2018 Advisor Kate

Haskell. Haskell, said Powers, “is hands down the best person that [she] knows.” Haskell had managed to make school something Powers looked forward to. Powers described Haskell’s selfless nature in that she was always there for Powers and went “out of her way to make sure everyone around her is taken care of without even thinking of herself.”

Haskell made Powers want to become a better person.

Haskell is thankful for Powers, saying that she is “someone you can always count on to do anything.” She says she has enjoyed watching Powers become more confident, explaining that “[Powers] has always been great but now she knows it.”

and [he’s] developed the courage to move around that room and adapt to different environments.”

When asked about influential figures in his life, Quesada immediately mentions his class advisor, Kate Haskell. He says she taught him to be “truly selfless.” He continues on to say that “she carries herself with sincerity and honesty”, and “[he] learned from her that [he] should never pretend to know another person’s situation...and that [he] can still help even though [he] didn’t share in their experience.”

Haskell is also very thankful for her relationship with Manny.

She explains that since he is “very calm”, and he helped her “calm down” when things were stressful.

As for students, Quesada accredits Carlos Parada as being his most influential peer. He says Parada has been “a great friend to [him] but an even bigger role model.”

Parada describes Quesada

as a “natural-born leader” and says that “he is meant for greater things than high school.” He adds that “Manny is a genuine person, [and] he’s honest with himself and the people around him.”

Haskell says that throughout the time she knew Manny “he became more independent” and was “always responsible”.”

She says that she “would ask him to do things and they would already be done which made things easier on her.”

Quesada will not be attending college next year, and is instead taking a Global Citizen Year.

He is going to spend nine months in Senegal learning French, taking up an apprenticeship, and living with a host family.

Quesada makes sure to say thanks to everyone in his grade, explaining that “one way or another [they] were a part of [his] high school experience and without [them he] might not be the person [he is] today.”

(Above) Class of 2018 officers from left to right: Senior Patrick Pereira, Senior Nada Tuffaha, Senior Meghan Yip, Senior Anna Powers, Class Advisor Kate Haskell, Senior Thays Almeida, Senior Cindy Siu, Senior Clavin Cai, and Senior Manuel Quesada Nylen.

Class of 2018 Vice President Anna Powers. Photo submitted by Powers.

The unique student-teacher relationships are what Powers is going to miss most about Malden High School. “MHS teachers are so invested in the lives of students, and they don’t have to be.” Being invested in the lives of their students is not in their job descriptions, noted Powers, but they “just genuinely care about all of their students. That bond is

something very special that you can’t find anywhere else.”

Attending Syracuse University in the Fall, Powers will be a part of the Maxwell School of CItizenship and Public Affairs, majoring in Citizenship and Civic Engagement. Powers wanted to thank Ms. Haskell and her fellow officers for “being so supportive and there for [her] always.”

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The Blue and Gold June 2018

top tens Naomi Brill

maldenblueandgold.com

4

Sydney Addorisio

Naomi Brill is graduating Malden High with many achievements and a bright future ahead. She has been a part of the MHS band for the past four years, playing the flute and participating in the jazz band, the MHS Chamber Ensemble and the percussion ensemble. She has performed and various school concerts, parades and Junior Varieties as part of the band and the Chamber Ensemble. Brill will be attending Smith College in the fall with her major still undecided. Over the four years at MHS, one way she grew was “[realizing] that you [cannot] make everyone like you, but you should be kind to everyone.” Brill says that upon leaving MHS, she will miss “[her] friends and being in the band and other musical groups.” On what advice she would give underclassmen, Brill says “Focus on what you love, but work hard in all of your classes and extracurricular activities, even if you don’t like them that much.”

Tsz Hin Cheung (Martin)

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Graduating MHS as one of the top 10 in his class, Tsz Hin Cheung will leave MHS with achieving a successful academic career geared towards Computer Science. Throughout high school, Cheung has taken Computer Science classes taught by Paul Marques and joined the Robotics team his senior year. Cheung explains how “[Computer Science was] very different from any class that [he] took in high school, because [Marques] teaches students how to think and prepares students for the real world.” His academic success has been inspired by his sister, as Cheung says “Ever since [he and his family] arrived [in the U.S. from Hong Kong in 2007, his sister] has helped [him] with all of [his] college forms and school work. Outside of Computer Science, Cheung enjoys performing magic tricks, illusions, cardistries and puzzles to put a smile on people’s faces. He will be attending Wentworth Institute of Technology in the fall, majoring in Computer Science in the Artificial Intelligence field. Cheung believes his senior year to be the highlight of his high school career, as “this year defines what [his] hard work is.” As high school is the last form of free education, Cheung advises underclassmen who find an interest in a career to “buy resources and teach yourself [now] and be ahead of your competition.”

Jun Jie Kuang

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MHS student Jun Jie Kuang “will miss [his] friends the most” as he graduates and moves on to attend Boston University in the fall. His favorite class he took here is AP Calculus BC and his favorite teacher he had is Mr. Morrison. Kuang participated in extracurricular activities such as Concert Band, MHS Chamber Ensemble, and Jazz Band while at MHS. His favorite hobbies include “[playing] video games, reading, writing, [and] eating.”

One of the highlights of his high school career was being an “AP Scholar with distinctions” said Kuang. Kuang also said that over the course of the last four years, “[he] became a bit louder and a bit bolder and bit nicer and called his friends ‘the Giving Tree in [his] life from which [he] [makes] his compass and ship.’”

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Sydney Addorisio, another top 10 student, will “miss acting in Play Production shows, playing field hockey with the high school, and sitting in Walsh’s room for a majority of the day and talking with him” as she graduates and goes on to attend Salem State University in the fall. She plans on majoring in Biology with a Pre-Medical track and a minor in English. Some highlights of Addorisio’s high school career have been completing AP Research and being a part of the AP Capstone program. She also a member of the field hockey team, lacrosse team, Play Production, National Honor Society, and Malden Z Club, and is an AP Scholar with Honor. Her favorite teacher she’s had at MHS has been Mr. Walsh and her favorite class here has been AP Biology. Addorisio believes that after her four years in high school, she is much more open to accept challenging tasks now, especially after having completed AP Research this year.” She added that “Rather than just working hard in the things [she] felt [she] had to do, [she] voluntarily challenged [herself ] and, in doing so, [she] became a more confident person.

Her advice for the underclassmen is to “Get involved” and “Don’t be afraid to try new things because those things just may become your new favorite things.”

Jimmy Tran

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Senior Jimmy Tran is looking forward to studying abroad in London, England this summer after he graduates MHS. He stated that he will miss “friends from Malden High who will be moving out of state.” When asked how he has grown over the course of his high school career, Tran said “[He] [has] stepped out of my comfort zone and explored new interests.” While at MHS, Tran participated in Crew, Cross Country, YMCA Leaders, Key Club, and was a member of the National Honor Society. His favorite teacher is Mr. Bowers and his favorite class was AP Language and Composition. Outside of school, his favorite hobbies include reading and travelling. The highlight of his high school career was “Getting a high school diploma along with an associate’s degree from Bunker Hill Community College” said Tran. His advice for underclassmen is to “Know what you’re getting into, and make new friends while you’re at it.” He plans on attending Boston University in the fall and majoring in Biology.

9 Vanessa Vu

Vanessa Vu is leaving Malden High School to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the fall for Biomedical Engineering. Vu has been passionate about science throughout high school, with her favorite class being Biology and participating in the Technovation club.

In addition, she has also been a part of the Leadership and Mentoring Club, Key Club and Multicultural Club. Outside of MHS, Vu enjoys hanging out with friends and watching movies. During high school, Vu explains that “[she] has become more outgoing and more aware of [her] surroundings and the world.” She advises underclassmen to “work hard, but [do not] overwork yourself.” Vu is looking forward to her future and appreciates how MHS has helped her along the way.

Eric Toh

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After four successful years at MHS, Eric Toh has become a very accomplished athlete and student. At MHS, Toh has played soccer for all four years of high school, becoming a Varsity starter for his junior and senior year, and has also participated in Indoor Track since his freshman year. He has been a member of National Honor Society and Maldonian since his junior year. He claims that the highlight of his high school career was when he “[came in second] in the 600 meter at the NEC meet [for Indoor Track] and qualifying individually for states [his] senior year.” What has helped Toh grow at MHS was “[striving] for improvement in all aspects of life,” as this helped him “develop academically and socially.”

In the fall, Toh will be attending Tufts University with his major undecided. He mentions that when he leaves MHS, he will miss “the teachers and [his] fellow classmates.” His advice to underclassmen is “Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself, and make the most of your time, but still try to enjoy high school.”

The Blue and Gold June 2018

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Profiles

Posse Scholars maldenblueandgold.com

Audrey Goon

Rachel Eaglin

Ajithaan Sathiyendra Reporter

Ailin Toro Head of local

M

alden High School student Audrey Goon was one of the three seniors chosen to be a Posse scholar this year.

Posse holds three different interviews to decide whether someone is chosen to be a candidate, but not everyone is guaranteed to pass through all three rounds.

Goon says that while “the interviews did not become increasingly harder, the pressure to excel and strive continued to push [her] to try [her] best in each round”.

Goon says that when she found out she was chosen, “[her] heart was racing and [she] was completely speechless.”

She says that in that moment she “was extremely proud of what [she] had accomplished and grateful for [her] family, friends, and past scholars who had helped [her] throughout the interview process.”

Goon was nominated by MHS alum Michelle Chung. Goon is appreciative of Chung, and says that she “owe[s] a big part of [her] success to Chung, who ensured [her] that everything would be fine no matter the outcome of the process.”

Goon will be attending Union College, a small liberal arts school located in New York. Union College was also Goon’s first choice. She explains why by saying that after looking at all the schools offered

by Posse, she “connected most to Union”.

Goon participated in many clubs throughout her time at the high school, including Key Club, YMCA Leaders, Science National Honors Society, Chemistry Club, Relay for Life Club, and Badminton Club.

Goon was on the field hockey team for three years, starting her sophomore year.

Outside of school, she tutors, and does volunteer work. She also enjoys spending time with family and friends.

When asked what she will miss about high school Goon says “our amazing diverse community” is one of the top things.

She also mentions that “there are also many incredible teachers at Malden High School who have helped [her] through the years that [she] will be forever thankful for”.

Goon plans on majoring in biomedical engineering when she joins Union’s class of 2022 in the fall.

S

enior Rachel Eaglin is one of a few seniors to receive the Posse scholarship this year.

Eaglin had found out about this scholarship at “a meeting at the end of [her] junior year that [her] guidance counselor” recommended everyone to go to learn about it even if they were not sure if they wanted to go for it.

After learning more about the scholarship, Eaglin decided to “try it, even though [she] doubted that was going to get the scholarship to see how far [she] can go.”

The night after the final interview for the scholarship, one of the Posse admissions officers had called and welcomed her to the Class of 2022, which she couldn’t believe and “was overwhelmed with happiness and relief.”

Eaglin mentioned that the Posse foundation decides the college that you go to based on “how you rank the five Posse schools in order” by preference during the second interview for the scholarship, in which Bryn Mawr College was her top choice.

Eaglin mentioned how since she is in a STEM Posse with nine other girls, she will be going into a STEM major. She “personally likes math, engineering, and is really interested in planes, so [she] might go into aerospace engineering or avionics.”

Eaglin believes that she will miss the community after high school because she has gotten used to the “welcoming, diverse, and interesting community after four years,” and “since [she] will be going to not only a different school, but also a different state,” she has to get used to the new community.

Eaglin will heading to Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania as a part of the Class of 2022 in the fall.

Ailin Toro Head of local

Qian Ren M

a l d e n H i g h School’s Qian Ren was one of the three seniors to be selected as a Posse winner this year. The Posse scholarship covers a student’s full tuition at a four year college.

Qian was part of many clubs throughout her time at MHS. This includes Key Club, Badminton Club, and Asian Culture Club. She also founded the Culture Connection Club her junior year, along with some of my friends. She mentions that her “involvement in these clubs have allowed [her] to make new friends, grow as a person, leader, and student.” Outside of school Qian likes to “spend time with [her] friends, watch movies, and go on jogs.”

Ren speaks about when she found out that she was chosen, saying that she “felt extremely blessed, relieved, and excited at the same time.” She adds that she will “forever be grateful for all the help and support [she] received from scholars and high school alums,” especially Boyle house counselor, Erin Craven, and MHS alum Jonathan Dong, as they were the one who nominated her for Posse.

Ren is going to her first choice school, Hamilton College. When asked why Hamilton was her first choice Ren says that “Hamilton is best known for its biology and economics major, which are the two majors [she is] interested in” and cannot decide between. She says that “with Hamilton’s open curriculum [she is] sure [she] will eventually find a way to study both.” Another reason Ren was interested in this college is because “Hamilton also encourages their students to study abroad which is something [she is] looking forward to.”

To close off Ren says she is “excited to see the posse-bilities the future holds.”

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Profiles

The Blue and Gold June 2018

maldenblueandgold.com

Lissy Reyes Rivas:

L

issy Reyes Rivas has exemplified what Jenkins House Counselor Ann O’Connor says she “hopes to see in all students”: determination, focus, and a “motivation to be successful and work hard.” In spite of the language barrier posed by recent immigration to the United States, Rivas has excelled academically and left a lasting impression on counselors, administrators, teachers,

Tiffany yu:

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runelli House counselor, Susan Lessard said Tiffany Yu represents “the type of student who demonstrated consistent effort every day, and she’s done that since grade nine, not only academically, but also in the things she’s done for our school and community.”

Lessard speaks of Yu’s growth throughout high school, calling it “impressive.” Lessard also says Yu is “genuine, intelligent, and compassionate.”

Throughout high school Tiffa-

and her fellow peers and graduates.

Jenkins House Principal Shereen Escovitz calls the period of withdrawal that Rivas and many other ELL students go through upon arriving at a new school, especially in a new country, “the silent phase.” When Lissy was in Escovitz’s math class, she would “barely raise her hand.” Suddenly, Rivas became more assertive and confident, Escovitz comments, saying that she “rose so quickly, it was really impressive.”

O’Connor reflects on Rivas’s adjustment commenting that she had always been “quiet and reserved” but that a particular humorous moment and their subsequent interactions revealed a vocal, “kind, and sweet, and funny” person. Rivas sought out guidance during the college application process, and O’Connor says she’s glad she was able to provide her “a place where she knew it was okay to advocate for herself”.

Escovitz is convinced of Rivas’s “quiet tenacity to do well”

and states that, while quiet and often overlooked, Rivas is driven, but subtle, “head down and studious.” O’Connor corroborates the conclusion that Rivas’s personality, her dedication balanced with her lightheartedness have made it “really great getting to know her.”

But Rivas’ determination is more astounding against the backdrop of her immigration from the Dominican Republic.

Rivas enrolled at Malden High School in March of her sophomore year, merely one month after her arrival in the US, where she left all that was familiar to her, including her language and her friends.

Rivas says that, initially, she was “scared and crying” frequently because she “couldn’t understand most of [her school work].” When she was placed into regular English, she says she was “so surprised” and extremely grateful to teachers, like history teacher Michelle Filer, who allowed her to use dictionaries and supported her language learning.

The solidarity she experienced from the staff at MHS is one of the aspects of high school she will miss the most, along with the friendships she acquired.

Although she left her childhood friends in her home country, she “thank[s] God that [she has] really good friends” at MHS. She credits her new friends and proximity to supportive teachers as pillars of her academic success saying that she is “thankful that [she] met them because they helped [her] a lot; they are such great people.”

When Rivas immigrated with her mother and brother, they all longed for a future “that most people dream to have, and [she dreams] to have too,” a future that now seems bright. Her brother will even be attending her graduation, after which she will be going to Suffolk University to study accounting, pursuing her passion for math.

ny took four years of Spanish, making her skilled in a third language, as she is also fluent in Cantonese. She was also in Key Club, part of the tennis team, and won the coaches award for academic leadership. She also won the Northeast Conference all-star award and she was also tennis captain this year.

Yu dedicates a lot of time to her family by playing a big role in the caretaking of siblings. Lessard recognizes the effort she puts into her family, saying that “she has the heart and soul of a caregiver.”

Yu talks about how she is “honored to be chosen as a featured student.” She says that she was “surprised [to be chosen] due to the fact that [she feels she is] normally hidden in the shadows of [her] classmates but given this recognition shows [to her] that quiet people don’t go unrecognized.”

Yu has a very close relationship with her grandma, even saying that her grandma is “one of the most important people in [her] life.” When her grandma got sick as the college process began, it resulted in a

very hard time for Yu. Not only did she have that to think about, but she also had the pressures of school and captain’s practice for tennis on her mind.

Instead of becoming overwhelmed with all that she had to do, Yu “created a planner that said where and when everything was going to happen.” She made both her school work and her grandma a priority, making sure that she “finish[ed] all [her] schoolwork in school and work[ed] with [her] teachers and counselors to make sure everything was done on time.” Whatever wasn’t done, she would be up doing it until it was finished. She would also “spend some time and take care of [her] grandma after school to make sure she was doing okay.”

Looking back now, Yu recognizes that “everything seem[ed] so hectic but in the end, everything worked out.” She sees her hard work as worth it now that she “got into college, [her] grandma got better, and tennis season is going great.”

Yu is already reminiscent of Malden High School. She is especially going to “miss the diversity, how welcomed [she has] felt with

the students and teachers, and the amount of resources there were to help us succeed.” She adds that “teachers and counselors always helped guide [her] in the right direction towards [her] future.”

Yu says that “being chosen as a featured student and encountering difficulties helped shape [her] as a person through perseverance and dedication.”

She mentions that even though “senior year was when [she] really hit rock bottom, thanks to [her] family, friends, teachers, and counselors”, she was able to push through it all.

Yu says even though it would have been easier to give up when faced with so much stress, “that’s when you’re suppose to work even harder for what you want.”

In the end Yu is thankful for this experience because “this experience helped [her] realize how much [she] can handle and that at the end, everything is going to workout and if it doesn’t, it’s not the end yet.”

Tiffany Yu will be attending UMass Boston this fall to pursue a career in nursing.

The Blue and Gold June 2018

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Profiles maldenblueandgold.com

Erica Perez:

E

rica Perez was a student that left an important impact on Malden High School.

Perez overcame obstacles that “shaped [her] into becoming an understanding person, and very open minded.” She also believes that “if many of the struggles [she] had faced didn’t happen in [her] life, [she] wouldn’t be the way [she is] now.”

Perez is thankful for the MHS staff which helped her throughout her high school career. She says that “all faculty members supported [her] through all four years of high school.” She adds that “whether it was to miss a class to focus on [herself], or stay in [a teacher’s] room to do work, [she] always knew [she] was able to count on them.”

Chemistry teacher Kate Haskell has a strong relationship with Perez. She says that Perez “amazes her everyday” because “she has difficulties in her life she has to overcome, but you would never know it by looking at her.”

Even as a student, Perez was outstanding. Haskell says “she was

Nick Sargent:

really smart, always volunteered, and even helped other people” who were struggling in class.

Haskell adds that Perez is “never in a bad mood” and is “so positive that it is impressive.”

Haskell is incredibly proud of all the work that Perez has accomplished while at the high school. She says she has “worked so hard over the past four years.”

To sum up Perez, Haskell says “she is an incredible person” that can “always put a smile on [her] face.”

She recognizes how well liked Perez is saying that “she is easy to talk to, friendly, funny, and [that] people love her.”

Perez appreciates her relationship with Haskell as well.

She says that “instead of shaping [her] opinion on [Haskell] by others, [Perez] got to know her [herself].”

Perez says that she “enjoyed taking the time to get to know her”, and they ended up creating an “amazing teacher-student bond.” Perez credits her as “the first faculty member [she] had opened up to about [her] difficulties.” Haskell “is someone [Perez] will be able to count on for a lifetime.”

When asked what she will miss most about MHS, Perez answers being part of Crew. She goes on to say that she “enjoy[s] the uniqueness it brought to the school, and that “it was an amazing experience to work with a team full of 80 kids.” She adds that “it taught [her[ to complete an extreme training routine, swim faster, row, and learn how to fundraise.”

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Barbara Castro:

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arbara Castro is an outstanding student from the Boyle House.

Castro says when she found out she was chosen, she was “shocked” because she does not consider herself “special.” She says she just went through high school doing “the best [she] can do without thinking about anything else.”

Castro says her experience in high school “taught [her] how to keep moving forward and always work harder in life.” She also adds that it taught her “life lessons like focusing on the positive.”

When asked what she will miss about Malden High School, Castro says the main thing is band teacher, Erin Mazza.

Castro credits Mazza as “the go to person who [she] could talk to.” She adds that “now that [she] will be attending a college two hours away it will be a lot harder because [she will not] have that one person to go to.”

Mazza has known Castro since freshman year, and has had

ick Sargent, a player on the Malden High School baseball team and soon to be graduate, was an immediate choice, Holland House principal, Marilyn Slattery, says. She describes him as somebody who encapsulates the determination to “be the best you can be, not just as a student, but as a person.”

Upon hearing of his nomination, Sargent was “honored and surprised”, but Slattery comments that she and Holland House guidance counselor Caitlyn Quinn “came up with his name right away” agreeing that he deserves to be recognized for “personifying what we believe in.” Slattery has witnessed Sargent “grow with confidence,” blossoming from a “quiet kid as a freshman” to a friendly and involved senior with a presence on the baseball field, a “capable and quality man.”

Slattery admires his humility, calling Sargent’s ability to recognize when he’s confused and “ask questions in class when he [doesn’t] understand something” a “real skill.” She also compliments his authenticity and genuinity, saying he’s always “just been Nick.”

her in her classroom every year since then. Whether it was in a small ensembles class, or with Castro as her school to career, Mazza says Castro “liked to be involved in everything [they] did.”

Mazza says that through the time she has known Castro, she has seen her “become very confident in who she is as a person.”

When asked what she will miss most about her, Mazza responds with “[Castro’s] laugh” and her ability to always “brighten [her] day.”

Apart from Mazza, Castro credits her mom as a big influence in her life. She speaks about her fondly saying that “she is [her] rock, and [her] day one.”

Leaving high school, Castro looks forward to “what the future holds next for [her].” She wants to “find out who [she is] independently and [is] excited for what [her] major has in store for [her].”

She is excited to be closer to what she “want[s] to do in life which [for her] is Biology.”

From the outside, as Slattery notes, Sargent has become very self-assured throughout high school, but he attributes his academic and athletic successes to his support system comprised of teammates, teachers, coaches, and his mother, who “always [stood] by [him] and [supported him] through some pretty tough times.” He thanks each one of them for their role in making MHS the familiar and supportive environment he will miss most.

He mentions that “with each hurdle [he] faced, every triumph [he] accomplished,” his teachers and peers were dependable and motivating. Their support ensured his success by providing the “guidance, advice, or encouragement [he] would need to make things right.”

When confronted with “demanding and difficult experiences,” Sargent recalls finding comfort in his class, which has “so many positive role models,” saying he’s a “proud to be a member of Malden’s Class of 2018.”

Slattery comments that Sargent is a “good student and is going to be a successful adult.”

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Local News

The Blue and Gold June 2018

Play production Presents: maldenblueandgold.com

The Blue and Gold June 2018

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Local News maldenblueandgold.com

The Trojan Women Sabrina Monteiro Reporter Julie Yu Reporter

M

alden High School’s Play Production performed their third and final play of the school year, Trojan Women, on May 24th and 25th.

The play, The Trojan Women, is a Greek tragedy taking place immediately after the Greeks defeated the Trojans in the Trojan War. All the women left behind are to be used as slaves for the Greeks.

Hecuba, the Queen of Troy, is left with her people to try and protect them and hold onto their last bits of hope. There is also Helen, whom many say is at fault for the Trojan War happening in the first place.

The play focuses on the destruction and suffering of women and children who watch their city fall apart. The women in the end are then unfortunately met with facing slavery after being carried off into ships.

Director, Miranda Libkin, said they decided on this play because “it is a Greek tragedy, which is a style [they] hadn’t done in recent years and so [they] thought it’d be a really fun challenge.” She says it also has “a lot of really big, fun, women’s roles and [they have] a lot of talented girls [they] wanted to give opportunities to.” Libkin also says that they were “lucky enough to have gotten to the State Finals” after everything being so quick.

Libkin says the strengths of everyone has been “working

really really hard and pushing [themselves] because these characters are going through life and death and [their] cast has not been in that situation before, so it was difficult for [them] to live realistically in that world.”

They also had three students completely design the sound for the production, including “some original music” so everyone worked extremely hard in such little time.

Junior, Paige Pimental played Helen of Troy. She explains that her role is basically “a very long monologue and throughout [her] history of Play Pro [she has] become no stranger to monologues.”

Pimental described the process as being “a little difficult” and it is not only because of their lack of experience in working with Greek tragedies, but also the timing with “seniors leaving and exams, and field trips.” Despite the inconveniences, she stated that her favorite part of working on this play is “getting to take such a classic piece of art and put [their] own spin on it with music, sets, and costumes.”

Junior, Jenna Vanella, played Cassandra, Hecuba’s daughter.

Vanella said her favorite part of the play was “the Chorus Girls because [they did] a phenomenal job. Each of [them had] different reactions to certain things, so it’s really special to see how [they] develop throughout the play.”

She also says that “one of [her] weaknesses was not having the ability to really break out of [her] shell. It took [her] awhile to allow [herself] to play somebody who was out of their mind because [she] was afraid how everyone would react. After hearing positive responses, it got easier. It

was also really helpful to have directors like Walsh and Libkin because [they] had total faith in [her], and really pushed [her] to play the part of Cassandra.” She also adds that she is “excited to see how next year will change” when she becomes a senior.

Junior, Michelle Chan as the role of Hecuba, the Queen of Troy, described to be a “motherlike figure.” She said that this was her first time as a lead. She never had to memorize more than a few lines for a show so memorization was “extremely difficult” for her. “[Her] strength individually was being able to easily put [herself] in a state of grieving similar to Hecuba and the strength of the cast was all the women in the play who so close and loving towards each other so that it could be seen through [their] performance.”

Chan also said that acting as Hecuba was “tiring.” After just the first 10 minutes, she was “already sweating buckets.” It was a “physically and emotionally demanding show.” It is also “nerve wracking” to be the lead as many of the other actors rely on you. It is a difficult role but “[she] loved the challenge.” “When [she gets] into character, [she truly feels] what Hecuba felt and a lot of the stress goes away.”

Junior, Leticia Sidney was one of two stage managers, who managed over tech and helped the directors with whatever they needed. She explained that “[she] thinks [she] was assigned to this job because [she] had a large role in [their] last production and needed to focus on school.”

Sidney said that she felt that “the process had been a bit chaotic and rushed, especially after [their] last play went on longer than usual because of finals.

[They] had only several weeks to build a set, find costumes, memorize lines, find the right music and props, block the show, and much more”.

As a senior next year, Sidney will be expected to be “more of a leader” and “to make all new members of Play Pro feel welcome and a part of [their] family.”

She stated that one of her major weaknesses were “often getting distracted from all the fun and the laughs that [they] have had together.”

Senior, Nathalia Sousa as one of the Chorus Leaders and says her favorite part of the play was “the little boy Collin Morano who played as Astyanax.” “It was so much fun working with [him]. [He] was so adorable and extremely cooperative.” She also loved the end because it’s all very intense; Chan’s character, as Hecuba, decided that if the women were to be taken away, “[they] go out with a bang, with dignity.”

Sousa says that “[she] doesn’t think it’s hit [her] yet that this is [her] last show.” She has gotten emotional about it because she is just really satisfied with her three years in Play Production and four years at Malden High and she is okay with the fact that it’s coming to an end. It has been “bittersweet” because she knows this is the last time she will be performing on this stage, but Sousa is overall so grateful to this class for introducing her to something that she really loves, which is performing.

Overall, Play Pro has had a very successful year, and despite that the seniors are leaving, their memories together will be kept and the Play Production crew are looking forward to next year.

Go check out the Youtube videos on Play Production.

Scan the QR Code!

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Local News

The Blue and Gold June 2018

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Malden High School

The Blue and Gold June 2018

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maldenblueandgold.com

Class of 2018 Prom

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Local News maldenblueandgold.com

Class of 2018 Jett-le Tran-Le Reporter

T

he Maldonian Yearbook held a fundraiser event called Mr. MHS, where seven Malden High school male seniors competed to win the title of Mr. MHS. The event was held in the Jenkins Auditorium at 7:00 p.m. on April 25th.

Maldonian advisor James Valente was the host for the fundraiser and the one who originally brought back the idea of this fundraising event. Valente said that “the fundraiser of Mr. MHS has been going on for about 40 years but there has been some breaks in between.” The fundraiser was not continuous for 40 years. He said that “the fundraiser had originally started back in the 1970’s until the 1980’s then it stopped happening and started back again in the early 2000’s.”

Valente said that the point of the fundraiser is to “raise money to print the yearbooks since the school does not provide a budget for the yearbook and starts at a zero balance every year.” The Mr. MHS event helps the Maldonian class make the prices of the books stay at the same price.

Valente said that “it costs

close to $30,000 to produce the yearbook which means [they] need to find a way to raise [the money].” He mentions that “[some of the money] comes from sales of the yearbooks but not all of it. About half of the money comes from sales so all of the remaining money needs to come from somewhere else.” The rest of the money that needs to be brought in needs to be fundraised.

Valente said that ”right now [the Maldonian has] the cheapest price for their yearbook at $85 and [they] have the most content in the yearbook.” He adds that the yearbook is “fully colored” They are able to keep it at that price by raising the level of fundraising they have to do.

Valente said that “[he] could easily sell the yearbook for $100 and [they] would not need to do fundraising, [but] that is not the idea. [They] want to make sure that the yearbook is affordable so [they] take extra effort with fundraising.”

The Mr. MHS event is a schoolwide event and anyone in the senior class who is male can ask to participate in it. Then, their names will be drawn out of the hat and the top seven names will be chosen to compete in the competition.

Clockwise from left to right: Seniors Walter Analetto, Philip Pereira, Fern Berard, Michael Moscote, Patrick Pereira, Michael Giordano, and Pete Jinapin. All photos by Leila Greige.

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maldenblueandgold.com

Mr. MHS The reason why there are only seven people who are drawn to be in the competition is because of the time consumption.

If you break down the show, it has main major sections that are involved with it. There is a beach wear section, casual wear section that has talents tied with it, an impression section where the students can impersonate a teacher, staff member, or coach, and there is also a formal wear section.

Valente explains that “a competitor can win based on how well they are scored by the judges.” He said that “this year the judges were Mayor Christenson, Joe Levine, Kathy Mulligan, Allen Phelps, Jeanne Marquardo, and Joshua London.”

An audience member can also become a guest judge by getting their number pulled out of a hat. The number is on the white ticket they get during the beginning of the show. This drawing was during intermission before the second half of the show.

Valente said that “the guest judge can help [raise] up the score of a contestant [and] that is how [someone] might win.” He also said that “the audience can help if they can help identify who the contestant is impersonating during that round.” He said that “if a

judge hears the audience yell the person they are trying to impersonate he knows the contestant is going a good job and will give him a higher score.”

Phillip Pereira was one of the contestants in the show.

He joined the show because he “wanted to help Mr. Valente out in some way.” Even though he didn’t win he was “happy to be a candidate and to participate [in the event].”

Pereira said that “the event means a lot since there is only [about] three weeks left of senior year.” He said “even though [he] didn’t win [he] was able to be apart of something [cool] during his Senior year.”

When a contestant is crowned Mr. MHS he can get two free prom tickets, second place gets $50 off his tux rental, and third place gets $25 off his tux rental. This year the winner for Mr. MHS was Walter Analetto.

The reason why someone would want to go to the next Mr. MHS event is because it is unscripted. Valente said that “[he] has some idea of what might happen and they have to have a talent and [he] is told they have a talent.” Pereira also said “it will be fun and it will also help the class fundraise as well.”

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The Blue and Gold June 2018

maldenblueandgold.com

Principal Search Forum Ronald Batista Reporter

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n Tuesday, May 8th there was a forum at the Malden High School library intended to help with the search for the new principal.

Community members got to meet each one of the finalists for the position of principal for Malden High School and each candidate got to speak directly to students, parents, teachers, and other community members in attendance.

Each candidate for the position got a little less than one hour to speak, spending five minutes introducing themselves and using the rest of the time answering questions from the public.

Superintendent John Oteri, whose decision it is to appoint the principal, was provided with input on what some of the residents in Malden thought about each of the finalists. To gather all of the information on each of the finalists, a small, green slip of paper was distributed to everyone in attendance. On this paper, the people in attendance could answer several questions such as what they believed the strengths of each of the finalists were, what they would you like to know more about each finalist, and what concerns they had about

each finalist. Everyone had time to write feedback after each of the finalists were done speaking.

Christopher Mastrangelo The first finalist to speak was Christopher Mastrangelo, who is currently Malden High School’s interim principal. Some of the big topics he spoke of were his connection with the students in the school and his experience working within the school with administrators. He stated that “[he] likes to get to know the students.” He also took some time to talk about restorative circles.

He notes that, during his time leading Malden High School, incorporating this restorative practice has led to a decrease in suspensions. Mastrangelo plans to continue working with the idea of having restorative circles and chats because, so far, the outcomes have been positive. In the near future he hopes to have pre-restorative chats so students can talk before having altercations that would lead them to administrative discipline. Another plan he hopes to accomplish is to have a police presence in the schools so that the students are more comfortable with the police from an earlier age and the police seem more approachable, not an authority that the students should fear. He wants the police to be seen from a different point of view. He wants the students to think of them as someone who is

there to help.

Purnima Vadhera The second finalist to speak to the audience was Purnima Vadhera, a Harvard graduate and teacher for 12 years. She was also assistant principal for three years at Newton South High School.

She spoke about an exchange program she initiated in which she brought Newton students to India so they would be able to experience Indian culture and brought students from India to Newton.

During her tenure in Newton, she also wrote a grant and the music and physics teachers got together to teach in one class so that the students could connect physics, which they thought was boring, with something interesting to them, like music. When describing herself she stated that she is “a very creative and crazy person who likes to take risks.” She also spoke briefly about unity saying “food and music are languages everyone speaks,” even in communities as diverse as Malden.

Vadhera also supports the idea of bringing in diverse teachers and she wants teachers that understand English Language Learners (ELL). When asked about STEM, she said that “[she] would like to extend STEM to STEAM,” saying that art is a quintessential element of student life and that the arts are very important to her. When asked why she chose Malden she said “[she] doesn’t

feel the diversity [elsewhere]” and that she wanted to come to Malden to experience some of the diversity that we have.

Timothy McCarron Timothy McCarron was the third and final finalist of the evening. He is currently principal at Medway Public Schools and explained that his experiences as principal have helped him learn that the job is a “twenty four seven job and it’s the toughest job you’ll ever love.” He says he knows the hard work and dedication, and commitment needed and he is willing to put in the hard work. One of the lines that he emphasized the most throughout his speech was the quote “You’re on the precipice of something great here.” He explained that this meant that Malden has “very good numbers, excellent kids, and tremendous diversity.”

He described a Saturday school for struggling students so they can have more time with teachers, an example of his “drive and desire” to create change. McCarron also stated that he “Wants to build on the positives and there are a heck of a lot of positive here in Malden.” He shares that “[his] biggest strength is that he cares and [he] has passion.” He also shares that he is open to the idea of having more diverse staff to match the diverse population in the school.

Mastrangelo to Serve as Malden High School Principal Continued from Page 1

Scan the QR code to watch a video of principal Christopher Mastrangelo at work in 2014.

“To All Malden High School Staff, Students, and Administrators: Hello everyone, Today, as they say, is the first day of the rest of our lives. Personally, it is another “first”...my first day as Principal. On Friday, I was informed by Superintendent Oteri that I have been selected as the next Malden High School Principal. I could not be more

humbled, honored and at the same time, excited and energized by this appointment. Further, I am amazed and impressed by all the planning, many hours of hard work and diligence by each and every administrator, teacher and non-instructional staff member, student and members of the public who participated in the lengthy and detailed principal search process. Particularly I would like to commend Malden Public Schools STEM Director Dr. Dias for his professional and highly efficient supervision of the process as chair of the MHS Principal Search Committee. To coin another well-used phrase, ‘the future begins now,’ and indeed it does. In the short time I have served as Interim Principal, we have already made some important, definitive strides. We have many more to make and there is so much more work we must still do together. Words cannot ex-

New principal Christopher Mastrangelo. Photo by Jesaias Benitez. press the gratitude I have for all of your support so far and the anticipated support I ask and hope for moving forward. This is truly

a special place, with amazing students and staff. Let us continue the journey together.”

Mr. Mastrangelo - Principal

The Blue and Gold June 2018

Local News

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Malden Reads: A Conversation on Race Sabrina Monteiro Lead Reporter Ajithaan Sathiyendra Reporter

M

alden Reads, as a part of Malden Access Television (MATV) week, hosted ‘A Conversation on Race’ with guest moderator Kelli Greenidge and panelists Keith Knight, a rapper, cartoonist, educator and social activist; Brendan Kiely, a coauthor of All American Boys, one of this year’s Malden Reads companion books, which is similar to The Hate You Give in that it deals with police brutality. Alongside Neil Swidey, a staff writer for the Boston Globe Magazine and award winning author of seven books,Jodie Zalk, from Malden Reads, and Anne D’Urso-Rose from MATV facilitated the talk.

Superintendent of Malden Public Schools, John Oteri, opened up the discussion by saying that “this is something that [the community] sees Nationwide, as well as Globally, and [he thinks] in order to address some of these issues, [the community] needs to have confident conversations, and honest conversations to open up that dialogue.”

The audience consisted of elected officials, teachers and administrators from Malden or other school systems, students, Malden Reads Steering Committee, and the Malden High School interact club who helped out with the event.

During the first half of the discussion, questions were brought up and moderated by Kelli Greenidge. One of the questions Greendige asked was “what was everyone’s reaction after reading The Hate U Give and All American Boys?”

Brendan Kiely felt that both books are “speaking to young folks in particular because [the characters in the books] are speaking in a language that older people are not accustomed to hearing” and added that “the dialogue the young folks had in The Hate U Give and the race consciousness the characters had in the book” stood out to him while reading the book. Neil Swidey

felt as if The Hate U Give “dealt with very heavy issues that were emerging in a very authentic way throughout the book, which is very difficult to do in a writing standpoint.”

“Why is it so hard for people to grasp something if it is a his-

a century ago do not make up for centuries of racism because “it takes a lot longer to fix something than to break something.”

For the second half of the discussion, the audience had the chance to share their opinions and questions to the panelists.

Malden Reads hosts a conversation on race discussing The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Photo Ajithaan Sathiyendra.

The panel for “A Conversation on Race” in the Linden STEAM Academy Auditorium. Photo by Ajithaan Sathiyeandra. torical fact?” asked Greenidge, such as the discrimination African Americans still faced through FHA loans.

Keith Knight believes that “it is not hard for people to grasp, it is just that it is not taught to many people.” He added that efforts to end racism that started less than

Kiely kindly talked about how the audience shouldn’t feel shy about critiquing the book or saying they didn’t like the book because everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

In order to clear any confusion of the discussion, Kiely stated that “[he thinks] it’s important

for those of [them] who are white like [him], when there are conversations about, (for the sake of this context, this book), to first figure out who’s saying it and see what [they] can listen to and then recognize that there may be criticism on great works of art and that’s part of the process and that’s okay because this book has affected so many people’s lives.

[He can’t tell you] the number of young folks [he’s] been in contact with who are in tears clutching this book because [they] feel like it’s a book that finally spoke to [them].”

An audience member then joined in and stated her opinion that she thinks even for her “to hear the diversity in the opinions, it’s so often that [they] read a book written by an African American writer, that [they] think that represents everybody in the community.”

Kelli Greenidge said “whenever a conversation starts talking about race or any equality or injustice, it becomes ‘that makes [them] feel that [they are] being discluded from the conversation’ when that’s a historical argument that has nothing to do with the problem. One of the problems with the country is that [they] tend to think that it’s all about feelings when structurally that’s not what or where history is.”

Jodie Zalk, the co-facilitator of the event, felt that ‘having an expert panel really helped to give [the audience] some facts in a real basis for conversation, especially with the historical context that the moderator, Kelli Greenidge, was able to give because she is a history professor.” Zalk mentioned that a challenge that was faced while organizing this event “was the change in venue” from Beebe to Linden because there was another event going on at the time.

Malden Reads is starting to wind down programming for this community as they recently had their last community dinner. They host a few more events which includes ‘Bubbles & Books’ and ‘Summer Storytimes for School Success’. If you are interested in discussing about these topics, visit the Malden Reads discussion page and share any opinions or thoughts.

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The Blue and Gold June 2018

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Malden High Remembers Dave Holland Ailin Toro Head of Local News Tobi Pitan Editor-in-Chief Web

really sweet guy” who had “deep and profound and lifelong love of education and learning.” She “[hopes] that translates and goes through all of the students.”

Next, Paraprofessional staff member Cedric Francis also spoke a few words about Hol-

he never talked down to his students and always engaged them as equals.”

Additionally, Shawn Nice read a tribute written by former MHS teacher Jamie Green, who Holland co-taught with. The tribute described the experiences

D

ave Holland was a teacher at Malden High school for about 15 years who passed away in July 2016. On Monday, May 14th Malden High School held a memorial service for him to remember the light he had brought to the school.

The idea to have a memorial service for Holland came from “a group of students and staff [that] [came] together to remember a staff member [who] clearly made a difference in a lot of lives” said MHS principal Chris Mastrangelo. These students were Sebastiano Paret, Shawn Nice, Sebastian Laguerre, Robert Berlus, Shane Bedard, Annie Bahn, Erika Santana, and Brianna Bethea. They came up with the idea of painting the rocks utilized in the service while students, under the supervision of Automotive teacher Chris Bazzinotti, designed a plaque in which Holland was honored.

MHS teacher Mitchell Abbatessa was the Master of Ceremonies for the memorial service.

He spoke about the history of Holland as a science, math, and history teacher at MHS. Abbatessa described him as a “human encyclopedia that had a mastery up to many volumes” and “a great man who loved his family.”

Abbatessa summarized Holland as “indescribable” and added that “he would do anything to help anybody” and “always had an optimistic [outlook].” When asked about how Holland enhanced the Malden community, Abbatessa responded by saying that “he made you think.” Holland “wasn’t just a guy [he] knew that worked at the high school, he was more of a friend.”

Michelle Holland, David Holland’s wife, gave a brief speech about her husband and thanked everyone for their attendance. She stated that he “was a

Malden High School students and faculty gather to remember Dave Holland by planting a tree in his memory. Photo by Ana Pirosca.

Memorial commemorating Dave Holland including a plaque, painted rocks done by students, and tree. Photo by Ana Pirosca. land. Francis described Holland as a “man with a big heart” who “was honest in his convictions in regards to his faith, [and] his love to his family and his students.”

He noted how “one of his fondest memories of [Holland] was that

of these two teachers as they worked alongside one another “serving kids who needed extra love.” Nice read about how “Mr. Holland made Mr. Green laugh everyday they worked together and was there to support him

through some tough times.”

Another student, senior Sebastiano Paret, read an excerpt from The Merchant, a book that Holland had written himself.

Subsequently, a video of Holland’s performance in the teacher round of the Poetry Out Loud finals in 2015 was shown and sophomore Brianna Bethea presented the plaque that was made in honor of Holland. Bethea said that this service in particular was significant because it was done “out of the goodness of the [students’] [hearts].” Ms. Cassidy and Ms. Smith approached her to participate in the service and she became interested in volunteering and giving back to the Malden community.

Another student, senior Sebastian Laguerre, who had Holland as a history teacher, spoke about how he and some fellow students, including Paret, wanted to hold some type of memorial for Holland upon hearing news of his passing and wanted “to do something to remember him.” Laguerre added how Holland “liked cracking jokes” and “taught [them] like [they] were equals...they were not just his students, but they were like friends or family” to him.

Laguerre noted how Holland was “kind to everyone around him and if you [were] sad he would put a smile on your face” and “made sure you [got] to class early, and wouldn’t skip.”

To Laguerre, “he was the best history teacher in the school.”

Sherley Maximin, a senior who attended the ceremony, said that even though she did not know Holland personally, “the fact that all of these people gathered for him [was] a testimony to how good of a person he was.”

She enforced the importance of this event saying,”these type of activities make us value life more by teaching us to honor what makes us great.”

The service concluded with the Tree Planting portion of the ceremony in which painted rocks were placed around a tree that was planted in the MHS courtyard as a memorial to Holland.

The planting of the tree symbolized the outstanding legacy that Holland will have on MHS in the years to come.

The Blue and Gold June 2018

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Local News maldenblueandgold.com

Malden High Attends Technovation Showcase Jett-le Tran Le Reporter

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echnovation is a program for girls in technology here at MHS run by advisor Paul Marques. In this program, the girls can work alone or form groups to make an app that can help solve an issue in their community. The five girls in this years Technovation are juniors Yuliya Smilyanova, Biruki Tsige, Helen Eshetu, Nicole Chen, and senior Samrawit Eshetu.

Smilyanova, a member of the Technovation team, shared that “for [their] app [they] wanted to help and bring the Malden community together and [that] is why [they] created a community bulletin board, or CBD for short.”

She went on to say that “during brainstorming [they] saw that a lot of Malden kids [who wanted] to have job opportunities. But “there is a lot of information around like the elections that not a lot of people know about and through the app [they] can see what is going on with the community.”

The entire Technovation team in Paul Marques’ room. Photo submitted by Paul Marques.

Smilyanova continued by stating that “[when using the app] people can post things that are happening [in the community] for other people to see.” She also said that “people can also post a job openings with information about it, so that people are able to see what is happening around their community.”

The app, as Smilyanova shared, is also designed with “different categories [that people can view] like ‘News’, ‘School’, ‘Jobs’, ‘Internships’, ‘Entertainment’, and ‘Explore Your City’.” Member Birukti Tsgie programmed Malden Square into the app and places around Malden like New York Pizza which gives its users information about that specific place.

The team used App Inventor to create their app and “wanted it to be a feed like how Instagram and Facebook are, but App Inventor had its limitations.” She emphasized how “[they] were able to create most of it like the login page, the different categories, and the ‘Explore Your City’ feature”, but the feature to post isn’t quite available yet.

In the “Explore Your City” feature of the app the user is able to click on a business or city landmark and they are able to see pictures. There is also a button that tells the user a description that can be read out loud describing the place and location.

Smilyanova said that “[they] want to continue working on the app for next year and [they]

From left to right: Paul Marques, Samrawit Eshetu, Birukti Tsige, Helen Eshetu, Nicole Chen, and Yuliya Smilyanova. Photo submitted by Yuliya Smilyanova.

want to use a different program to create the app like Android Studios.” With a different program, like Android Studios, they feel like they “can improve it and actually get it to work like what [they] want it to do.”

During the Technovation Showcase there were four teams, including their Technovation team, and several judges that walked around and asked teams what their apps were about. The Technovation Showcase was located Wentworth Institute of Technology.

Smilyanova said that “Mr. Marques and students from [his] computer science [class] had also helped [them] with making the app.” She said that “they had helped [them] with feedback and what [they] should include.”

Leading up to the summer, the team is looking forward to “[playing] around with Android Studios and look up tutorials” in order to improve their app for users. “When the school year comes back around again [they] want to start creating the app” and look forward to having a fully functional app.

Smilyanova said that “[she] feels like there are no enough girls that know what Technovation is and wants to get more girls aware about it.” She said that “these girls can work together in this project in trying to solve a problem.”

Technovation is something that allows girls to work on technology that can help solve problems in the world or in their community. Any girl from any grade can join the Technovation Team and help solve problems with apps and help people in their community.

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Band & Choral Arts Concert

Julie Yu Reporter

E

very year, the Malden High School Band performs two concerts. One concert in the fall and one concert in the spring. The 2018 Spring Band Concert was held at the Jenkins Auditorium on May 11th 2018 at 7:00 PM. The song selection this year included a wide variety of different genres and styles. Some performances were a lot more upbeat and fun and some gave off a more serious and sophisticated vibe.

The night started off with two performances by the Small Ensemble. Mazza stated that in her small ensembles class she has a group of about 30 students; she then separates the students “into mini groups within the class [to] work all year and learn four new songs each quarter.” The group that performed included senior Jenny Do, senior Ronald Kigongo, senior Kaitlyn Kwong, senior Andrea Martinez Merino, and junior Nghi Nguyen. Together they played an original piece and “Never Be the Same” by Camila Cabello.

Next was Percussion Ensemble. Mazza explained that percussion ensemble is a newer, developing group but she hopes that they will eventually ease into the program. The group performed three pieces, “Triple Threat” composed and performed by Loud Division, “Katie’s Bossa” by Chris Crockarell, and “Bayport Sketch” by Jared Spears. Percussion Ensemble included senior Naomi Brill, freshman Carolina Cuevas, senior Thomas D’Onofrio, sophomore James Plowman, sophomore Ajithaan Sathiyendra, freshman Alissa Schopp, and freshman Jimmy Ton. Afterwards, Chamber Ensemble performed two medleys, which were both arranged by members of the chamber ensemble. The first one was a pop medley combining “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran and “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur, and the second one being a Disney Medley combining a handful of songs from older movies like “The Little Mermaid”, or newer movies like Moana. The Chamber Ensemble included senior Naomi Brill, junior Renet Chan, senior JunJie

Kuang, senior Yuying Li, sophomore Kessya Novais, sophomore Pryanna Alper, freshman Wilson Chau, senior Brendon Ky, senior Thomas D’Onofrio, sophomore James Plowman, and special guest Beebe School 7th grader Alyssa Littlejohn.

The last group of the first act was Jazz Band. They performed “Pink Panther” by Henry Mancini arranged by Paul Murtha, and “Watermelon Man” by Herbie Hancock arranged by Mike Kamuf.

Jazz Band includes senior Naomi Brill, senior JunJie Kuang, junior Sebastian Romani, senior Rachel Eaglin, junior Jesaias Benitez, freshman Wilson Chau, junior Leticia Sidney, freshman

for the Day at the High School Performance. Together they performed two pieces, “Soundtrack Highlights from Guardians of the Galaxy” arranged by Michael Brown, and “Novena” by James Swearingen. Concert Band Seniors played two songs “Pavane”

by Maurice Ravel arranged by Robert W. Smith, and “Salsa Nights” by Pete McGuiness.

President of band, senior, Naomi Brill stated that she plays the “flute, piccolo, bongos, marimba, calves, and xylophone.”

She first began playing percussion instruments last year, piccolo for four years, and flute for nine years. Brill mentioned that “[she] was pretty happy with [the song selection]. There was a large

MHS Band performing. Photo by Julie Yu. Sandra Rivadeniera, junior Dijana Masic, junior Salma Bezzat, freshman Jacob Pettigrew, and senior Thomas D’Onofrio.

The concert was separated into two acts, and in between each act there was an intermission. During the intermission, music festival tickets and candy were sold in the lobby. Mazza mentioned that they decided to add in the break to give everyone time to prepare and set up the stage for the concert band performances.

The first performance after the intermission was by Concert Band. The large group of students in Concert Band performed a total of four songs, “Army of the Nile” by Kenneth J. Alford, edited by Frederick Fennell, “Cheap Thrills” by Sia Furler arranged

by Michael Brown, and “An American Notebook” arranged

by Philip Gordon. Many students from the middle school bands joined the concert band on stage

variety, as percussion ensemble music sounds different from any other type, and [they] also had some fun, recognizable music from the orchestra with [the] Disney and pop medleys.”

Secretary of band, junior, Salma Bezzat said that she played the baritone saxophone in both the Jazz band and concert band performances. She mentioned how she “played saxophone since fourth grade, but started [playing] baritone sophomore year.” Bezzat “enjoyed all [the songs], but mostly Salsa Nights”, she continued by saying “every year [Mazza] tries to choose a piece that challenges [them].”

Treasurer of band, junior Renet Chan said that she plays the “flute, clarinet, and oboe.”

She continued by saying that she has been playing the flute since fourth grade, the clarinet since sophomore year, and just began playing the oboe this year.

Despite the limitations of instru-

ments, Chan stated that “[they] were able to select many songs that [showcased] the band’s talent. From Army [of the Nile] to Novena, [they] were able to show [the] audience that [they] can play a fast pace march to a slow climax song”.

Freshman Flutist, Alissa Schopp stated that she plays the flute but also a part of percussion ensemble where she plays the marimba and bells. Schopp mentioned how for the concert they played all the songs they performed at MICCA with some additions. She thinks that “[the band] has made a lot of progress”, especially in maintaining the lack of certain instruments and learning how to control how they sound with the resources they were given. Schopp goes further to explain how they have and still do come across the issue of having “too many people playing flutes, and not enough people playing bass.”

Freshman Percussionist, Jimmy Ton, said that he plays many percussion instruments such as drums, bongos, calves and more. He mentioned how he has been playing drums for seven years, and has been part of the Malden High Band since 8th grade. Ton stated that “this year’s song selection is very fun to play with the rest of the band, with songs that either feel sophisticated and some songs feeling more adventurous.”

Music Teacher, Erin O’BrienMazza stated that she likes to base her selection off of the what she wants her students to learn from the piece, by having them practice these song it will hopefully expand their musical ability.

Mazza mentioned that the band has been practicing these songs since January 2018. For the most part, all practices and rehearsals are during the school day, excluding Jazz Band, Orchestra, and Percussion Ensemble.

Mazza stated that she is “expecting people to be able to recognize and enjoy the fun music [they] have chosen”.

She adds that it will be a sentimental concert as she is in her fourth year of teaching, and has to say goodbye to the seniors that she has known since her first year. She sees the concert as a good time for not only the audience but also the band.

The Blue and Gold June 2018

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A Look Into This Year’s Generation Citizen Projects Ronald Batista Reporter

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n Thursday, May 10th, Malden High School, along with other schools from neighboring cities, gathered at the Massachusetts State House for Generation Citizen on Civics Day. This event is held annually and students that are willing to create change are able to present their ideas to people who are able to make change.

All of the freshmen history teachers work with each of their classes to come up with a topic or something that they would like to change in the community.

The teachers then take time out of the school year to dedicate on working on the Generation Citizen projects. In class, the students come up with their root cause, goal, target(s), and action plan(s), which are some requirements from Generation Citizen. After this process is over, the students then create a poster that will be brought to Generation Citizen as a way to present the ideas of the students. Each class will get to decide who would be representing each class at Generation Citizen. Each class sends around three people to represent their class.

On Civics Day, all the students had to meet in the cafeteria so they would be able to take the bus to the Massachusetts State House. Once the students arrived, they walked through the metal detectors to ensure the safety of all in the building. The students from all of the schools in attendance then gather in a room where several awards were handed out and the President of the Massachusetts Senate got to be honored and give a speech. After the awards the students were instructed to leave and from here they would begin to prepare for when the judges came around.

There were four rounds that each lasted around ten minutes each. The students were able to present all their ideas to the judges for around seven minutes, after that the bell would ring and the judges were able to ask any questions they wanted for the remainder of the time. Out of the four rounds, one of the rounds was a free round where there were no judges.

After the four rounds, all

were gathered and the award ceremony began. Awards included the Grassroots Change Award and Action Award among several others. These awards were won by two classes from Malden High

program where victims of child abuse feel safe to get help.” Their action plan consisted of many different things such as “setting up a meeting with school adjustment counselors to find out more

Malden High School students won an award for one of the best Generation Citizen Projects. Photo by Ronald Batista.

Freshmen Miranda Cheng, Gabe Matnog, and Julliete Pierre received an award at Generation Citizen on Civics Day. Photo by Ronald Batista.

School.

One of the students, Aaliyah Smith, worked on a project about child abuse. Students in the city did not know whom to reach out to in the school and in the community to get help. Their goal was to “spread awareness about child abuse and help the victims by working with the school adjustment counselors to create a

about how Malden High handles child abuse, create a program assembly, 24/7 hotline, and survey students and staff to get input on what the program should look like; they set up meetings with the principal, superintendent, and Mayor to pitch [their] program, create a presentation with poster and slides to promote [their] ideas, reaching out to

child abuse programs in the area to get more information and possibly have them help [them] with [their] program.”

Another student in attendance at the event was Ana Dorner. Her class project was about gun violence. Their root cause was decided after they discovered that many mentally unstable people owned guns and when they found out through research that 13% of the causes of death in youth in 2015 was by guns. They chose their topic for the project after they put it to a vote and a selection of the top five issues in their community that they felt were considered “extremely important.”

Dorner says “[they] worked on the project for about a month.” “During this time [they] researched and reached out to people like Representative Ultrino, Chief of Police Kevin Molis, Senator Lewis, organizations like Moms Demand Action and much more,” she says. She also adds saying “I can tell you one thing and that is that it was an amazing experience and it really made me get more interested in civics, taking action and it taught me that I have a voice just like every other student in this country.” Dorner concludes saying “she wants to be able to show our generation that we have a voice and that we CAN choose our future, if we get involved and develop interest on what is happening around us.”

There were also staff members that were at the event, one of them being Mr. Sheer. He states that the “first benefits for students that attend Civics Day is that they have a location where they are able to show off all the work that they have been doing for the last several weeks in front of people that can create real change, that can be representatives, state representatives, state senators, the mayor, leaders of organizations that can create change, the benefits of going is being able to get an intimate setting where you can project, share and show what type of changes you believe are important in our community but also what young people think are important as well.”

Continued on page 34

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The Blue and Gold June 2018

maldenblueandgold.com ...continued from page 33 His class went on three weeks to about a month of just Generation Citizen related activities and topics and contacts. Once they got to a certain point where they had done enough research, done a lot of contact and they touched a lot of bases, they paused three or four weeks into their project to wait for responses back from the policy makers, elected officials, or any other people the students reached out to. If they had a guest speaker come in, they would do a few days of preparation before that and they would switch back between the curriculum and Generation Citizen.

Mr. Aufiero, another teacher from the social studies department, was unfortunately not able to attend this years Civics Day at the State House. He says that for students “[he] would say that going is a way to showcase all the hard work you have done, getting decision-makers to understand that there is an issue you care about, that you have been willing to learn about and understand, and for which you have been trying to find a solution.”

To conclude the day at the State House the students were offered lunch from Subway and the students from Malden High School were asked to be guests and watch a full senate vote and deliberation and debate regarding an education bill after Civics Day was completed. Half of the students went back on the bus and 20 or so students stayed with Mr. Sheer and Ms. Gibson and they sat in the gallery while State Senator Jason Lewis spoke about restructuring the way schools are funded.

He talked about how the way schools have been funded has not changed since 1993, so they are really behind on the way they finance and how they actually determine funding for the schools. As part of being guests and sitting and watching Senator Jason Lewis speak. The students got to stand up and the entire senate applauded and acknowledged them for being there and being real change makers and showing a real vested interest in wanting to create change and caring about how schools are funded right now. The students not only got to see their projects in action, but they got to participate in real civics that day too.

AP Research Presentations Ajithaan Sathiyendra Reporter

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he AP Research presentations are year-long projects that students work on throughout the entirety of the course. Ten MHS students presented their projects in front of a panel of community members and administration on April 26, 2018.

The Malden High AP Research class presented their projects about topics that interested them. The students have been working hard on finding research and cultivating it into their project. The AP Research class has been working on these projects since October.

Senior Cindy Siu’s topic for her project was “Teen Perceptions of the Masculinity of Male Vegetarians”. What struck her attention about the topic was that she noticed there was not many male vegetarians in society.

Siu wanted to bring attention to the topic that there were still gendered stereotypes in society about vegetarians. Sui wanted to “focus on male vegetarians, especially teen perceptions because of the lack of studies focusing on the topic”. Sui did studies and analyzed if people know a female or male vegetarian, and asked their perception of their masculinity.

Siu created her presentation in sections over the course of the year. She prioritized practicing and completing her slides, and created a script to memorized it for her presentation. Siu was confident on how she presented her method and her data.

Senior Alicia Tan’s topic for her project is “Totally Feminists: Third-Wave Feminism and The Depiction of Female Characters in TV Cartoons”. Tan chose this topic because she grew up watching cartoons she sees the shows as “empowering as they seem.”

Tan choose this topic because it is a “bright and fun topic while still addressing a very real issue in today’s society.” This topic is important because it addressed the boom of representation in female leads in movies. Tan states that from 2007 to 2015 out of the 800 films produced in major motion picture companies 30.3% had female characters with speaking roles. However, the percentage is rising. Tan examined if children’s shows accurately represented “modern day feminism.”

Senior Junjie Kuang’s topic for his project is “The Influence of an Acculturated Chinese-American News Media on Chinese Immigrants’ Political Perception of the Tibet Question: A Correlation Study.” Kuang chose this topic because he is a Chinese-American. Kuang is passionate about his topic, as he noticed there has been a decline in the Free Tibet Movement. It was challenging for Kuang because the Free Tibet Movement is a very politically sensitive topic. Kuang had to find different people to survey because of the complications he went through. Kuang believed his presentation was decent and that he hit the core information.

The AP Research presentation was a long project that each student had to dedicate much time to. Students felt that their work was good, given the data they collected and their analyses.

AP Research Titles

Sydney Addorisio: “ Attitudes Toward People with Epilepsy and Seizures As Stemmed From Television Shows: A Comparative Study” Jun Jie Kuang: “The Influence of an Acculturated Chinese-American News Media on Chinese Immigrants’ Political Perception of the Tibet Question: A Correlation Study” Alicia Tan: “Totally Feminists: Third-Wave Feminism and the depiction of female characters in TV Cartoons” Novia Li: “Correlation study of self-regulated learning using Khan Academy for SAT math in correlation to test anxiety in students” Cindy Siu: “Teen Perceptions of the Masculinity of Male Vegetarians” Jasmine Gray: “The Relationship Between The Use of Uber Rides and Risk Behavior Among Malden High School Seniors” Naomi Brill: “The Bible and Gay Conversion Therapy” Hong Li Zheng: “Computer Based Testing vs Paper Based Testing in High School Science Courses: An Experimental Comparative Study “ Brianna Swanson: “The effect of repetitive music on mathematical ability.”

Grace Dong “A Study of the Correlation Between Narcissism and Voice”

Eight out of the ten AP Research students. From left to right, top to bottom: junior Brianna Swanson, senior Jasmine Gray, junior Novia Li, senior Naomi Brill, senior Alicia Tan, senior Hong Li Zheng, junior Grace Dong, and senior Sydney Addorisio.

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MHS Students Place First in

Hometown H e r o e s Contest

Jett-le Tran Le reporter

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wo of Malden High’s National History Club members, Juniors Felix Li and Birkukti Tsige, won first place in the National History Club’s Lessons of Leadership: Hometown Heroes contest. They won with a documentary on Elisha Slade Converse, the first mayor of Malden.

The prize for winning first place in the competition is $2,000.

Tsige said that when she heard the news that her and Li won first place, she was “really excited and called [Li] at the same time [he] called her. She stated that they were able to find out that they had won first place by email. She recalls how “[History teacher Damian Aufiero] told [them] about it near November of 2017 and [they] worked [on the documentary] for a good five to six months before [they had] submitted it.”

Li states that “[they] submitted [the documentary video] near the beginning of April and [they] did researching and reporting before [completing it].” He explains how “[they] decided on [Elisha Slade Converse] because it was [Tsige’s] idea first because the whole idea of the documentary was to choose a hometown hero and [they] thought that the first person to choose was the first mayor of Malden. [They] wanted to choose someone that was really important and someone that not a lot of people know about in the first place.”

Tsige believes that “[it is] interesting because a lot of people know that the Converse company started out in Malden and

To watch their award winning documentary, follow the QR code to the right!

it is like the pride of Malden.”

While doing research, she “found out that the [person related to the founder] was the mayor of Malden, so [they thought] why not do it on him?”

This was the first time in five years that a documentary won first place. Li believes that “[doing a documentary] was the thing that set [them] out from the rest of the applicants.” Tsgie explains that in the process of filming the documentary, “[they] went all around Malden [like] the police station, Waitts Mountain, and the Fellsmere Pond.” By doing this, Tsige says that “[they] think that [they] were able to encompass everything that our town was into the documentary.”

Some people who had helped Tsige and Li with their project are Aufiero and the librarians at the Malden Public Library, who gave them a variety of resources, such as archives detailing the history of Malden. They had also helped with finding places in Malden to film and Malden hospital site. Tsige explains that “most of [their] sources was from the 1800s or 1900s so [they] had to go back into the archives.”

On searching through archives, Li mentions that “[he] was able to learn how to find sources from the past and digging through our local history.

Today, it is easy for students to find information about things happening now and in the past but is it harder to find specific things happening in your local town history.”

Li and Tsige had learned a lot from their experience in making the documentary and entering it into the Lessons of Leadership. If they get a chance to enter it again next year they would and encourage people to join in to make their own film and submit it.

Juniors Felix Li and Birkukti Tsige take first place at the National History Club’s Lessons of Leadership. Photo from Blue and Gold Archives.

28 Pleasant St, Malden, MA 02148

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2018 Special Olympics David Lombardi Reporter

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pics we all gather and have different events for each student that they will be able to run their hardest or throw their farthest to show their talents in different sports.”

Senior Bia Kerr has been a volunteer for her third year and described “The Olympics [as] a day for them to have fun and make connections with the other athletes around them and to just enjoy themselves and be kids.”

Junior Agatha Silva has volunteered at the Special Olympics all three years she has been at the high school and when asked why she decided to volunteer in the first place she simply said “[she] decided to do Special Olympics because [her] main goal is to have everyone feel equal, especially those that may not always be treated like such and . . . [she wants] to ensure that they do feel ‘normal’, whatever that really is.”

Junior Matt Farias who has volunteered the past two years decided to because

ixteen years ago Malden started to partner with Special Olympics through the use of sports help people with physical and mental disabilities find joy and confidence.

Former Principal Dana Brown helped bring this event to Malden. Mrs. Barbara Scibelli has taken over by running this program for about 13 years and when initially asked to be interviewed replied by saying “[she loves] Special Olympics...the day is special on so many levels.”

The day is set up like a carnival for the kids. There is areas for kids to race, long jump, throw tennis balls, and an awards area. If the kids are hot, hungry An athlete getting his face painted by Junior Melody or just want to do something else there Wong. Photo by David Lombardi. is a tent set up for them to go and cool off, eat or even get their faces painted. event is to “Show respect and care for Most kids end up in Dance Town though the kids. While also trying to get them to which is an area where the kids are able have a great time.” to dance as much as they want and just Mrs. Scibelli states that the imenjoy themselves. portance of the event is “Community When asked what happens at the involvement, awareness of all of our Special Olympics Scibelli simply dedifferent abilities and not only accepting scribed it as “Magic.” Senior and Class of this but also living it.” She also believes it 2018’s President, Manny Quesada Nylen, helps give them a safe space to compete who has participated at the Special where they are supported, and treated Olympics for three years stated “When with dignity and respect. the kids show up, the high school volGilligan believes it “is so huge [he] unteers line up on either side of the field can’t list them all. Seeing the smiles on entrance so that the kids can run through these kids faces is something and not and high five everyone like they’re promany have experienced before. It also fessional sports players.” He went on to brings out a new persona that many say that as all the student athletes gather may not know that they had. Seeing kids into their schools they walk the track as that you don’t think would act a certain An athlete doing a handstand during the danceing everyone cheers some more. way with these kids. It also brings you First year volunteer, Freshman Dan- event.Photo by David Lombardi. closer and any differences with someone iel Gilligan, explained “ At Special Olym“of Mrs. Scibelli and her commitment to or someone you don’t talk to, this event Captains Council. Since [his] Freshman brings you closer and you can make a year, [he] couldn’t help but admire and new friend in someone you may have not praise the amount of work she puts into you thought would connect with.” the school to give kids equal opportuniFarias also said “It is crucial to show ties. [He wanted] to do the same and give that as a community we are together. back to her, and the best way to do that is We make the kids feel like they have to go to the events she organizes and be a the spotlight with everyone applaudpart of a greater cause to make the city [he ing their efforts, creating an atmosphere lives] in a better place.” that should be reciprocated to everyone First year volunteer Freshman Max in our city.” He went on to explain that Forestier decided to volunteer because this event is influential to these kids with “[He heard] how much fun it was and how special needs because now they can grow big of an opportunity it was to improve knowing that their community has their [himself] as a person and [he] also wanted back. to because [he] helps out in Unified Sports Silva also concluded that “Malden and has formed bonds with many of the is a very diverse town, so we celebrate kids so [he] wanted to support them on different cultures all the time, but [she] their big day.” think this event is important to our comSecond year volunteer junior Nour munity because we should celebrate the Tafroui believes the importance of this differences in abilities as well!

Athletes and volunteers participate in a Special Olympics activity. Photo by David Lombardi.

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mhs Alumni LunchEon Luncheon Continued from page 13

John Haynes Holmes and Joanne Iovino.

Edmund Trabucco, class of 1934, was a Malden Police chief for over five decades.

Ann Carol Grossman, class of 1965, is a documentary filmmaker best known for her film The Powder and the Glory, and is also the creator of Umbrella Films, a video production service.

Diana Cataldo, class of 1958, is the co-founder and treasurer of Cataldo Ambulance.

Nicholas Robinson, class of 1955, is known for being a “broadcasting legend”, who also opened the Connecticut School of Broadcasting.

Noreen Grice, class of 1981, is a educator of astronomy and a planetarium manager, who also published five astronomy books and is the founder of You Can Do Astronomy LLC, an accessibility design and consulting company.

John Haynes Holmes, class of 1898, was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and a Unitarian minister. He was also the recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award.

Joanne Iovino, class of 1964, was the founder of the Malden High Alumni Association and the initiator of the Hall of Fame program. She was also an English teacher from 1968 to 2005.

Noreen Grice first heard that she was chosen to be an inductee on Facebook, which surprised her. She remembers “trying to post something for [her] job” and “everybody kept sending [her] messages”, which led her to see the posted announcement.

Grice’s interest in astronomy began when she attended Lincoln Elementary School, which is now Lincoln Park. She remembers the science fiction shows on television, particularly Star Trek, which made her “really interested in space.” By the time she came to MHS, she was “already interested in science.” Grice took an extra course of meteorology because she “thought that would be helpful.”

When Grice attended Malden High, she recalled that “everything was blue and gold.”

Comparing Malden to now, she said that Malden Square has “really, really changed”. There were “never apartments in Malden Square”, and that was “just

make the film, you want it to be on the screen”, Grossman said.

Grossman’s favorite aspect of filmmaking is that she always learns something “[she] did not know anything about” in each film she creates. Whenever she works on a documentary, she said that it is important to “know what you’re talking about”, so there has to be an extensive period of research, where one has to “really learn about that subject”, interview those involved, and “do a lot of reading about that subject.” The result of the research is that “there’s all kinds of stuff that [she] know about now” that she would have “never known about.” She adds that she worked on “environmental issues” for a long time, which expanded her knowledge.

The film that Grossman is most proud of is her documentary about the rivalry between cosmetic legends Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, titled The Powder and the Glory.

Arden and Rubinstein “basically founded the cosmetic industry”, and were rivals for fifty years.

The rivalry only “made the business better”, since “if one of them thought the other one was going to do something better, than she was going to up her game to compete.” She reveals that she “sort of accidentally fell into doing this film”. The documentary premiered on PBS in 2009, and is shown on the channel every year ever since, particularly during Women’s History Month.

The film also served as inspiration for the Broadway musical War Paint, which was nominated for several Tony Awards. Grossman said that the inspiration was “dizzying great”, since it rarely happens to filmmakers.

Malden High School Alum Noreen Grice (right) with another MHS alumn during the Alumni Luncheon. Photo by Sara Zakaria. where the stores were” and one “just went shopping there”, but lot easier for girls to do a sport now.” She remembers that there now, “it looks really different.”

Grice is an astronomer and was “a field hockey team”, but educator, and has also worked sports was not “a thing girls were in planetariums since 1984. Her encouraged to do.” Malden High books are written for “people who “didn’t even have a pool”, so stuare blind or visually impaired.” dents had to swim at the YMCA. Grossman recalls a time in The books feature pictures one can touch, so if “you can’t see the college where her interest in docpicture of Saturn or Jupiter”, one umentaries began to grow. She could instead “touch the rings of originally was a sociology major, Saturn or the clouds of Jupiter”, where she admits that she chose which makes astronomy “acces- it “not because [she] was particusible to everybody.” “Everybody larly interested in sociology”, but could look at the colored picture “mostly everyone was a socioland if you can’t see the colors, ogy major in [her] class.” The you could feel it”, she further professor then showed Night and explains. Grice has been living in Fog, a film made by Allen Renais, Connecticut since 1988, but usu- which is about the aftermath of the concentration camps. Grossally visits frequently.

Ann Carol Grossman recalls man said that was “really the being ecstatic when she found moment” that she chose that she out she was one of the inductees. was interested in documentary Grossman said that she “love[s] filmmaking. She adds that filmMalden”, due to growing up here. making in general is “not an easy She has still has “a ton of friends” career”, especially when it comes that she attended Malden High to documentary filmmaking. “If with, whom she “get[s] together you’re able to raise the money to every year” and emails. Grossman said that her family goes “way back” to when her grandfather attended Malden High, and remarks that it is “nice that a lot of things have continued.”

Looking back at Malden High back then and comparing it to now, she said the school is “much more diverse” than when she was here. When Grossman was in high school, she said that Malden High was mostly into music, since “people were in the band, the orchestra, and choral arts.” She adds that the basketball dondadybrasil@hotmail.com team did “really well” when she 781-420-6874 was in high school. She remarks that a change that is positive for students now is that it is “a

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Baseball8 Sandra Rivadeneria Reporter

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his season for the Baseball team has been successful as it pertains to their important as individuals and as a team overall. Although they worked very hard during this season, they did not make it to the state tournament as they had hoped.

The seniors this year have stepped up to meet expectations and performed strongly.

Coach Freker says, “[They] had many chances to win.” Frecker continues to state that, “many of [their] star players have not let [the team] down. [They have] been playing a good game and hitting a good couple of scores.”

Kevin Gilligan, who was MVP last year, had another great season. Gillian has been leading the batting and has also been their most consistent pitcher. He’s really having a great season, especially as a senior Senior Nicholas Sargent, who started his first year in varsity, worked exceptionally and really “proved to deserve his spot on the team.”

The team has been able to accomplish so much from one of its initial goals of the season, which was to improve no matter what. Senior Devin Ciampi is proud over the fact that they were able to “show the talent that [they] have.” Ciampi also believes that that the team “should be proud of [their] effort and attitude throughout the year.”

Junior Justin Mini mentions how “the season started off a little rough but [they] stuck together and definitely improved overall as a team.”

Juniors have really been upping their game to be sure to fill the senior’s shoes, who mostly dominate the team, once they graduate. “A lot of unexpected things [happened] and [they] were able to work through them” says Senior Harrison Zeiberg.

Most of the members of the team have been playing since little league, therefore they have known one another since elementary school. “[He has] been with everyone on the team since [he] was six,” explains Ciampi, “and to be able to finally all be on one team with everyone who was friends was amazing, more like family than a team.” The members of the team also made sure to always help each other and get the best from one another.

Finishing up the season, the team has won four out of their last five games. One of their winning games, which was against Salem High School, was on their Senior Night.

“It’s bittersweet for it to be the senior’s last season. It’s sad knowing that [they’ll] never play another baseball game at Malden High School” says Zeiberg.

Ciampi hopes that the Malden High Baseball team always puts all their effort on the field. “That’s what this team in 2018 believed in; as long as you hold yourself and your teammates accountable and try your hardest everything will fall into place.”

Above Malden player getting ready to hit. Photo by Jesaias Benitez.

Above pitcher, junior Billy Stickney pitching against Danvers. Photo

by Jesaias Benitez.

Stickney finishing a pitch against Danvers. Photo by Jesaias Benitez.

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Softball8 Quyen Le Reporter

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he softball season is coming to an end, after what was an up-and-down season.

This season started off with many new players on the team. Individually, each member of the team gradually improved. Despite the team having a challenging season, there have also been many improvements. One significant challenge was the many new faces to the team.

As told by Physics teacher and softball coach, Julie Fox, there were only six returning members to the team.

Through the team’s tenacious journey and hard work, the team has come together to build a bond, similar to one of a family, as described by Junior Alexis Brown.

Brown explained that “the team’s greatest achievement was building relationships with the team and making the best of the time [they] were given together.”

Senior Mackenzie Furlong mentioned that the season has been very enjoyable since the team has really come together. She describes her greatest achievement this season was “looking out for [her] teammates more than [herself]”.

As of May 2nd, the MHS softball team record was 2 wins and 6 losses. As of May 23rd, the record was 4 wins and 11 losses, but “[they are] a better team than [their] record shows,” Fox stated.

When asked, Senior Jennifer Rosario explained that Coach Fox always motivates the team to do their best. She says, “[Coach Fox] always motivates [the team] to keep [their] heads up and [Coach Fox] always keeps [the team] positive.”

The last game will be on June 4th at Callahan Park. For Brown, she will perform at her best as she always has. “[She] wishes the season would not have come to an end but [she is] looking forward to working hard during offseason and coming back even better” she stated.

As for Furlong, since it is her last game playing for the MHS, she says “[she] just want[s] to have fun and leave everything on the field.”

The MHS softball hopes to continue to build upon the season in hopes to further improve.

From top to bottom, Malden High School’s softball team discussing game plan; to the left, Ashlyn Fitzpatrick pitching. Photos by Jesaias Benitez.

Three Malden players all up to bat. Photos by Jesaias Benitez.

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Girls Lacrosse Michelle Yin Lead Reporter

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ith the Girls Lacrosse season ending, the players on the team reflect on their season and the different games they experienced. Overall, the team ended the season five wins.

The Girls Lacrosse team was proud of their performance this season as sophomore defensive player, Amy Ngu, mentions that the season was great and the team had a strong chemistry which impacted the team member’s performances this season.

Sophomore Jazaiah Morse Brooks additionally states that overall the season was “very impressive the team has improved drastically from the beginning to now.”

Although the team has improved much from the beginning of the season, many of them included what they believe they needed to improve on next season.

Ngu comments that she needs to improve on staying determined throughout the game and “keeping myself composed because it’s hard to keep it together when you’re playing a game and the score is really close to each other.” While Brooks adds that she personally wants to improve on the sport from all different points.

According to junior Kristina Vo, the team improved as a whole, but the team still has to improve on together is “staying to our position because most of the time there was always someone open, we don’t want anyone open because it’s easier for them to pass to another person or to score.”

Some people that stood out during the season would be freshman Kaitlyn Mini. Ngu observed that throughout the season that it was Mini’s “first year picking up a stick”, however, she managed to “wow everyone.”

Throughout the season, the bonding of the team has grew.

Although since the beginning of the season the team was already pretty close, Brooks states that “as a returning player, [she] would say that [they] were very welcoming for the new players [they] love getting new girls to join [their] program and they came with open arms and ready to play.” The team “played and

Top to bottom, junior Jill Tramondozzi looking to steal the ball from a Revere player; Tramondozzi approaching midfield; junior Ana Oliveira surveying the field; Francesca Reyes standing in goal; Nina Reyes outrunning defender. Photos by Jesaias Benitez. practiced as a team with a strong bond” and continues to describe that as the season moved along the bond was even deeper.

For future seasons, the girls mention that they hope to keep the same drills and possibly add in even better ones.

One of the significant games that the girls had was Senior Night, as well as the win against Saugus with a final score of 10-9.

Vo says that the game was “different, because [they] went into overtime and that made [their] team push harder than we have before especially since it was [their] senior night game.”

By the end of the game, some of the people that the team believed to have stood out were two play-

ers, senior captain Leila Greige and freshman Kaitlyn Mini. Vo explains that “[Greige] played her heart out and it was her senior game. [Mini] scored the winning goal and she always pushes herself to get better.”

Freshman Brianna Preston was also in the game, but due to her injuries she was not able to play, but she adds onto the statement made by Vo, explaining that one of the players that stood out was Greige.

With only one senior on the team this year, the girls quote what they wanted to say about Greige.

Preston says that they are “going to really miss her next season”, with Greige being a

“huge inspiration to the team” and “[she] would like to play up to her level in the future.”

Ngu says that Greige has been “a great captain and a friend and that she would be the one to motivate you to push yourself a little bit more.” From her experience, Ngu had some tough times during practice but “[she] could always count on [Greige] to be beside [her] to help [her] push through.”

Brooks states that “[Greige] was an amazing captain and an amazing backbone for the team.

She always made sure everyone had what they needed and she always made sure [they] were playing [their] hardest. [They] will always be thankful for her.”

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Boys Lacrosse Malden Player looks back at his teammates; Senior Luis Santospirito circles the goal awaiting a pass; Malden Player about to throw a pass.

Check out the website for updates on how the team does at States.

Christopher Correa Reporter

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he MHS Boys Lacrosse season is almost over with one more game left of the season as of May 25th. This season has been a challenging one but as a whole, the team has accomplished a goal never achieved ever from a MHS Boys Lacrosse team, as they have qualified for the State tournament. They achieved this through their 7-5 win on May 10th against Salem, and overall with their impressive record of 9 wins and 8 losses with 1 more game left of the season.

This season has been led by a team of dedicated Senior Captains, Joey Costa, Zach Rufo and Hasnat Moughal. They all have had a part to play for their successful season, each serving a different, but important role for the team.

Rufo has led the offense with his goals and his leadership on and off the field. Costa has led the team through his amazing performance in both defense and offense, helping both the defensemen and offense with their roles.

Moughal has had a difficult season playing as a goalie, however with a rotating line of defense, he has keep them in shape and due to his tremendous reflexes, he has proven himself the best goalie in the conference.

The team lost both of their first games. Despite this season starting off slowly, the team showed their resilience in afterwords going on a four-game win

streak, changing their record to 4 wins and 2 losses.

Coach’s Copithorne and Smith both are impressed by the resilience and determination that these players as a whole have shown throughout the season.

Coach Copithorne said “this year, we have shown resilience by recovering from our deficits. Our team does not give up, and that has allowed us to compete, and sometimes even defeat, some very good teams.”

This season there have been results that have defined how the team has played, including the 7-6 victory against Revere and the 8-5 win against Everett.

Mr. Copithorne described the Revere game as “particularly satisfying because [they] started out slow, and had a fairly significant deficit at halftime, but [they] were able to claw [their] way back to eventually come out on top.”

The Everett win was also important for the season because Everett has always been a rivalry team against Malden and the win was important for the team’s confidence and performance.

Mr. Copithorne’s opinion on the game was that “Everett was coming off of a major victory and

had much improved since our last meeting. [They] knew that [they] needed to win the game, and Everett was in no mood to give [them] the game. Luckily [their] team was fortunate to come out on top in a well-earned 8-5 victory.”

Another reason why this season’s Lacrosse team is special is because they are also implementing a lot more youth than they have in the past. This is good for all the players because the newer players will learn from the more experienced players and thus they are building for the future so they will hopefully have much more successful seasons in the next few years.

One issue that this team will

have to overcome is the pressure that comes with playing at a State tournament. The experience at playing at the tournament will be good for the new players in the team and it helps the team for the future, however it will be tough for the coaches and players since they do not have the experience that most likely other teams will have in the tournament.

This season has been a rollercoaster for the Boys Lacrosse team. They had to deal with a rotating roster, injuries, and tough opponents, but they have overcome all those challenges which is a quality that makes them a record breaking team.

They have the persistence and determination that enabled them to make states, and with a young and talented squad, they are a team to lookout for and support in the state tournament.

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Boys Tennis David Cartledge Reporter

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he tennis season has come to an end, with a record of six wins and ten losses. This season was a difficult season for the team, because they had to deal with numerous challenges that they had to overcome. One of the issues was Senior Viktor Teague breaking his ankle. Viktor was one of the stronger players on the team, and losing him meant that they had to step up and replace him.

Another of those players was Junior Daniel Augustin.

When asked about what it was like moving from JV to varsity, Augustin stated that “there was a big difference for [him] because in JV the people were very low level” and “playing them was not of any benefit to [him] because [their] levels were different from [his] opponents.”

Coach Gagnon also mentioned that for their first time on varsity, they did very well despite this season was very challenging for the team. When asked about how the team has done this season, Coach Gagnon replied saying “for the past few games [they have] played very well against Marblehead, who was the top team in the league. The score of that game was four to one.[They] weren’t very lucky when it came to injuries though, with Viktor getting injured.”

Augustin added to this by stating that “[He] personally feel[s] like this season could have gone better, but things didn’t go as planned. There were a lot of things [they] could have done better such as [their] line ups for certain games.”

Through all of the challenges that the team had to overcome, they also had things that they did well on this season. Coach Gagnon said that “there was a good vibe about the team. Everyone gets along and supports each other. To [him], the relationship on the team is just as important as winning.”

Another aspect the team performed really well in this season was their confidence. Augustin described that “because [they] had Naveen, every time [they] went into a game [they]

From left to right and top to bottom: Junior Thomas Tran with an overhead shot to his opponent; Junior Luis Gilbert waiting for his opponent to serve; Tran after an overhead shot to his opponent. All photos by Jesaias Benitez.

knew that Naveen would win his matches, so they only had to win two others to win.”

With the end of a season, the team had some goals that they reached in the end and also have goals that they wanted to set for next season.

Coach Gagnon said that “Goals going in were not reached with wins and losses because of Viktor’s injury,” but because of that, “[he] wants to build the team with more depth.”

Augustin, who said he would like to continue playing next year, said that “[His] goal was to play third singles before the end of the season,” but he

won most of his games there, so because of that “[he] never got to play third singles, but would like to try next season.”

The team had a new player to join the team this year. Seshasai Nemalapuri, or Naveen as he likes to be called. Naveen is a seventh grader at the Linden Steam Academy, and is playing on the varsity team, as well as being one of the strongest players on the team.

When asked about the addition of Naveen, Augustin said that “It was good, because [they] knew that [they] had a secured win most of their games.” Coach Gagnon added to this by saying

that “Naveen is a very supportive player even though he is winning.” He continues to explain that throughout the season, “Naveen was constantly helping his teammates.”

This season was a very challenging season, but the team managed to overcome those challenges and still produce on the court. Even though the loss of Viktor Teague left a huge impact on the team, they still managed to come back and make it challenging for their opposing teams, or as Coach Gagnon said, “[They] may not have dominated [their] opponents, but they “went down swinging.”

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Girls Tennis Jenny Nguyen

Jennica Ruan Reporter

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s the school year comes to an end so does the tennis season for the MHS girl’s team.

The last match was played against Salem which was also senior night for Senior Captains Tiffany Yu and Hong Li Zheng, along with Susan Wong, and Jacqueline Law. Head Coach Cheryl Camassa has now led the team through another season during her second year as coach. Camassa says that “[She] was able to know what to expect from each team in the league. [She] knew who [the team] lost close to last year and was able to give [her] players a little confidence boost when competing against them again.”

Although the season was off to a rough start, the team was able to pull through and gather a few wins. The team was able to win one more match than last year.

Unfortunately, the girl’s tennis team does not have a state championship, but is looking forward to making that a goal for the future in later seasons. Players can individually compete at states based on coach recommendation. The team can qualify for the tournament based on their record and typically need at least 10 wins which is the general rule to qualify for states.

This year was much better than last season because of how close the team is. Sophomore Jenny Nguyen states “[she] believes it’s best for a team to be there for one another not just for the sport, but also personally and outside the sport at the same time”, adding to the fact that the team “seemed more diverse and more bonded compared to last year’s”.

As the school year ends it also means it is time for the seniors to leave. Nguyen states that “Although [their] good players will be leaving the team this year, [she] believes that [their] team will do good next year, possibly even better than this year’s season with the help from Coach and rigorous practices.”

New players will replace the seniors but never the memories and bond that they have built.

New players will be welcomed and begin practices once they are announced.

Nguyen’s personal favorite

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Junior Nikita Puri awaiting her opponent’s shot. Photo by Jesaias Benitez.

Freshman Melissa Tan preparing to serve. Photo by Jesaias Benitez. team to go against this season was North Reading because her opponent was a challenge for her. She noticed that “since [she] was playing with someone who played the same style as [her], [she] realized that [she was] able to make certain shots, but [could not] react to those exact ones fast and accurate enough.”

The highlight of the season, although it was hard to choose for Nguyen, would have to be “the home game against Danvers, where all the seniors played varsity. [The] JV players were proud to see how far they’ve gotten and how much they improved from the beginning to the end of the season.”

The end of a season also reveals how players have done as far as skills. For Nguyen, “One thing that [she] wished [she] could have improved on throughout the season would be [her] agility, being able to keep up with [her] opponent and their difficult shots.”

Looking onto a new school year, Nguyen looks forward to more people joining and getting to know the sport as well as being able to help guide the newcomers throughout the upcoming season, and of course, continuing to play together with the returning players.

ophomore Jenny Nguyen is playing on the varsity girls tennis team for her second year playing tennis. Junior Nikita Puri is one of Nguyen’s closest friends on the team. They both say “[They] have gotten along since [they] first met.” Puri says that she is “a really good friend and an awesome teammate and on top of that, she’s very supportive.

Whenever [Puri] ask[s] her, she’s down to play and [Puri] love[s] that about her.” Nguyen is also close friends with Sophomore Astha Lama who tried out for tennis together during freshman year.

Nguyen started her tennis career at the beginning of high school, which she regrets. Even when she was a kid, she had always loved tennis but never got the chance to play until high school. She regrets not exposing herself at an earlier age to gain more experience.

Junior Queenie Dang and others on the team says Nguyen “gets along with the team really well” and “she’s always friendly and willing to talk to anyone. She is also very positive and tries to keep everyone’s heads up. She’s also a good players and always tries her hardest on the court.”

Nguyen states that everyone is super supportive and “as a team [they are] there for each other and [are able to] grow as a family, therefore [the team] get closer to one another and get to know each other.”

As a tennis player she looks up to professionals like Serena Williams and Roger Federer. Tennis is her stress reliever from her busy life ever since she started playing. After high school, Nguyen hopes to continue playing and continue to improve and hopefully have a deeper connection to the sport and make new friends.

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Outdoor Track maldenblueandgold.com

Top to bottom: Sophomore Christopher D’Entremont in the midst of his lap; Senior Oussama Ourich leading his lap; Freshman Justin Zou at the start of his lap; Junior Reginald Charles concluding his lap. Photos by David Cartledge.

Gabriel Matnog Reporter

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he MHS Track and Field team has experienced an excellent season with many accomplishments and even records set by some of the athletes, along with

amazing memories that the team has made.

Coach David Londino stated at the beginning of the season that, “[He] expect[ed] everybody to put forth their best effort and always put team achievement ahead of individual achieve-

ment.” It is for sure that the team has exceeded Londino’s expectations.

One of the first track meets that the team had was against Marblehead. That meet had many great performances with many of the Boys Varsity athletes sweep-

ing the podium and even making some interesting runs.

Senior Robert Russo, one of the boys varsity athletes amazingly defeated a Marblehead runner in the two mile race. Another great moment was when seniors Ameen Anwar and senior Ous-

2018 Pistol National Junior Olympics Gabriel Matnog Reporter

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Matnog in the 10m Air Pistol event. Photo submitted by Gabriel Matnog.

ver spring break, I was able to travel out to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado for the 2018 Pistol National Junior Olympics. It was definitely one of my most memorable experiences so far; just the opportunity to compete on a national level and meet other athletes from across the U.S made it even greater.

I competed in two events, Men’s 10m Air Pistol and Men’s 25m Sport Pistol. Placing second in the state for State Junior Olympic qualifiers was able to earn me an invitation for both events. For my first Junior Olympics, I came in 50th for Air Pistol and 4th for

Sport Pistol. I had set a new personal record for a national match.

Performance wise, I did the best I could at the very moment and I was able to stick to what I know and perform.

The actual intensity and seriousness of my matches didn’t really hit until halfway through my trip. Before every match, I would say to myself that it would be just like another training session back home, and that really helped me perform as well as I did. One of the biggest downsides of my trip was the competitors next to me. I had to go through one of my matches while listening to another shooter sing. Another downside was the altitude. Colorado Springs is over a mile above sea level compared to Boston where it’s only a couple

of feet so it got hard to breathe at some points.

I did not feel nervous at all, it was my 6th time competing there so I guess I got used to the environment. I was less worried about competing at a national level and more worried about doing the best I could. Based on my results I think I did pretty good.

I had a few mechanical errors here and there but nothing too major where it would completely change the course of my match.

Overall, my first Junior Olympic competition was an exciting and interesting experience for me, with lots of memories and fun times, and now, I’m preparing to fly out to Fort Benning, Georgia for nationals, from June 10-17.

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maldenblueandgold.com

Nike Hijabs Are Coming to Malden High

Varsity soccer and track players Nour and Batoul Chouiki. Photo by Jemisha Syliant Jemisha Syliant Lead Reporter

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Top to bottom: Senior Ivan Zhang preparing to start his lap; Senior Temesgen Tsige running. Photos by David Carttedge.

sama Ourich along with sophomore Omar Asousy completely swept the podium in the 800 meter race.

Senior Rolph Museau explained that at the beginning of the season he wanted to give his absolute best during the season because “once [his] coaches believe in [him] and [he] believes in [himself], [he] can achieve many goals and even be successful in the process.” It is without a doubt that not only Museau but the whole team gave it their very best in each and every event regardless of their opponents.

With around 25 state-qualified athletes, Londino states that “the performances [they’re] seeing are quite strong heading into the championship phase of the season.” Looking back, there were many highlights in the season, where the athlete’s dedication and hard work sure paid off as they have set new personal bests and set school records.

Senior Rachel Eaglin is one of the state-bound athletes and also one who set a new school record in the 100m hurdle race at the NEC Championship. Eaglin had defeated a higher seeded athlete and won by .08 seconds to be named NEC Champion and receiving the title of NEC All-Star.

Eaglin had a winning time of 15.57 seconds.

As the rest of the team transitions into the off-season, in Londino’s eyes, it is vital for those athletes to stay fit and healthy and come back ready to compete next season.

He states, “with the returners [they] have, as long as they practice and compete the way they did this year, [they] will have another successful season.”

Londino continues to say that “there are a number of great personalities leaving the team and they’re taking their talent with them.” As graduation approaches the seniors who are leaving will be creating holes that next year’s upperclassmen need to fill. Although it is sad to see them go, Londino hopes to see the graduating athletes compete at the next level and even continue breaking and setting new records.

alden High has ordered hijabs for student athletes in which Charlie Conefrey explains how he is looking forward for them. Conefrey makes it clear that the idea of getting hijabs for students athletes was centered around sophomores Batoul and Nour Chouiki who have participated in Soccer and both Indoor and Outdoor Track.

Having done some research, Conefrey explains that from what he had found from his research, it appeared that Nike had the athletic versions of the hijabs, although he wanted to see if there were other companies who have had the hijabs as well.

Conefrey believes that this athletic hijab will be “an added benefit” to the uniform for the students who currently wear hijabs and play sports.

Conefrey also expands on the fact that now it is an MIAA rule that any color could be worn.

The rule came out last year that any color hijab could be worn without any penalty. He also hopes that for students thinking about playing sports, this may entice them to feel a little bit more “comfortable.”

Being the most diverse school in Massachusetts, Conefrey makes it clear that it is their number one priority to make sure that as an athletic department and administration, that it is at the “forefront of their thought process” and everything that they do from scheduling games to scheduling certain events making sure that everyone feels welcome.

Conefrey wants everyone to feel that they belong and wants to be all inclusive as possible so that everyone has the same opportunity, male or female.

The idea of having these hijabs available came from Principal Chris Mastrangelo as he suggested it to Conefrey.

Although Conefrey cannot say for sure whether Principal Mastrangelo came up with this idea himself, he still believes that it centers around Batoul and Nour Chouiki.

Nour Chouiki believes this is really “cool” and feels honored due to how the school thinks so highly about them. She states, “it’s such a unique idea and just makes [her] feel special.” Batoul Chouiki says she feels “honored and grateful” that the school is empowering their faith and religion.

Both Batoul and Nour Chouiki believe that the hijabs will not interfere with their athletic performances as they both believe “an athlete is not made by how good the product is, it is made by the athletes talents and passion.” Batoul Chouiki adds that they will make them feel more confident and will have to worry less about it “slipping off.”

Batoul Chouiki explains that being able to attend such a diverse school that takes many different religions into account.

She feels “comfortable” and likes how she is able to receive a different culture experience.

Nour Chouiki mentions how she feels “happy and grateful” along with feeling comfortable.

She states, “[She does not] feel as shy and [she] feels that [she is] respected by everyone around [her].” She continues to elaborate on the fact that people don’t view her as different in which she says “because everyone is different.”

Overall, both Batoul Chouiki and Nour Chouiki are looking forward to receiving the athletic hijabs.

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maldenblueandgold.com

Crew

Jemisha Syliant Lead Reporter

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his year’s season for the Malden High’s Crew team comes to an end and all members of the team have done their best.

Senior Matt Distefano explains how last season was an exceptional one, since he has improved as an individual. Similarly, junior Sebastian Romani recaps how last season, the team consisted of many experienced rowers, who have since graduated and explains how it was up to the remaining few who were on the team to step up and “make the season [successful].”

Sophomore Julia Argueta describes how the season has been nothing but “wonderful,” especially when the team operates in suitable weather. As previously mentioned, she explains how the team is constantly being supportive of one another and cheering each other on in hopes of winning races. Argueta continues to mention how many of the races went very “smooth” from many different people.

Argueta explains how she believes she has mostly improved with having a better form within the boat in which she says, “whether it’s either punching my arms out faster or getting better

Kevin Luo Jemisha Syliant Lead Reporter

Senior Kevin Luo. Photo by Jemisha Syliant.

Girls varsity eight boat preparing for their start.

Photo by Ana Piroshka at following the person in front of me.”

Although the season has come to an end Nunes describes that working on coordination is something she still hopes to make improvements on. Despite having to make some improvements individually, Nunes mentions that the coaches help them a lot

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enior Kevin Luo has been a part of the Crew team for three years since his sophomore year.

Luo was born in China and later came to America fours ago just before attending Malden High School. Prior to attending MHS, he went to Salemwood School. Luo describes how he decided to join the crew team because his two friends wanted him to join in which he then states, “I just went with them and did it.”

Luo hopes to have successful wins this season as well as improving among their own team because he describes how schools row all year and MHS only rows during the spring season. He says that because of this, “they beat us most of the time but we will try to improve ourselves and hopefully get some wins and hopefully

when they are confused on how to do something.

She describes that the whole team loves to race and enjoys one another’s company. She also explains how the members on the team had different personal goals they wanted to achieve such as keeping a constant pressure or adjusting their rating on the erg.

make it to states.”

This season, Luo set a goal for himself which is to break seven minutes on erg. He hopes to achieve these goals by giving his best efforts during practices and working out on his own time as well as having a healthy diet.

Despite having goals set for himself, Luo mentions how his weakness would be balancing the boat because he rushes sometimes during the races. As for his strength, he believes it is his power to weight ratio.

Luo hopes to improve his set on the boat which is the main goal he wants to improve on, but still has a goal of also breaking his erg time as well.

When first joining the Crew team, Luo had not been comfortable with speaking English. He states “I have like mostly friends

Nunes also believes that all the performances went well and everyone gave their best efforts throughout the season. She also makes note of all the “great” performances along with their efforts. As a result, Nunes explains how the season went very well as everyone tried their best and gave it their all.

Sophomore Brenda Dias recalls how this season for the Spring Triathlon, she believes that she did pretty well considering the fact that she had gotten “a better erg time than usual” and had a lot of motivation which caused her to finish her race as quickly as possible.

In agreement with most of the members on the team, she explains how the season has been going well. She states, “[she thinks she] had a lot of motivation to finish the triathlon as quickly as [she] could.”

As the season ends, the members on the team have had a great season filled with many accomplishments.

who have all come from China but since I have joined crew, I have met a lot of new people and it’s something that has changed.”

He continues to explain that at first, he was “shy” and was kind of doing his own thing with his own group. Now, he is open to everyone on the team.

Aside from Crew and after his homework is completed, Luo enjoys working out, playing video games, and watching Netflix.

He also adds that music is a big part of him too.

Overall, Luo states that Crew has been “life changing” for himself as an individual and hopes to have a great season. His advice to others would be to “embrace the Crew culture.”

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Boys Volletball

Sara Zakaria Lead Reproter

Boys Volleyball Team Qualifies for STate Tournament

Senior captain Arthur Kossoski jumpserving. Photo by David Cartledge.

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his Boys Volleyball team has concluded the regular season a record of 14-6, winning their league and qualifying for the State tournament, while securing the best season in team history.

So far, the team has succeeded in three of their goals, with their chance of winning States coming soon. Coach Daniel Jurkowski feels “extremely proud of the work” the volleyball team has put in to “get to this point”, especially “the seniors.”

Qualifying for States is not just a big deal because they play against several other talented teams, but because it was also their very first year qualifying, which is “the most memorable” moment of the season, according to sophomore Jason Chan. Winning the league was definitely a positive, however States is “worth so much more than being league champs.” In regards to preparing for States, junior Gabriel Madeira says that the team is preparing by “motivating each other” and “by helping each other better work together.” The team “trained hard” and “put in the work to play well as a team” when it came to each game.

Senior Kamal Moussa says that the team is also practicing with specific drills that target their “weak spots.” He says that the team has “accomplished a lot of firsts” and that the team grows “more hungry” by the day to win States. He adds that they “could not be happier with [their] accomplishments as a team.” Junior Ryoma Yonetani says that feels

Sophomore Zhenhong Deng setting up his teamate. Photo by David Cartledge.

Senior captain Arthur Kossoski preparing to serve. Photo by David Cartledge.

“glad and satisfied” for winning the league, since it is a “big achievement for the program.”

In order to achieve their goals, the team acknowledged that they had to improve on many aspects to succeed. According to Madeira, the team improved immensely on “communication and working together”, which gave them a chance to “better with [their] serves.” The team also focused on improving their individual skills. Madeira says that he has improved on his serves and passes, a contrast from the beginning of the season when he “barely knew how to play.” He says that by the end of the season, he “learned to play better” and “learned to serve the ball more efficiently.”

According to Moussa, the team is “constantly improving [their] individual and team skill” so they can “take on any challenge that comes our way.” One example is passing and positioning, in which he says that he has “improved greatly” on, along with overall volleyball knowledge. Moussa says that the one aspect that still needs work on is “overcoming of mental barriers”, since negative energies “gets to [them] too much”, admitting that the team tends to “mentally crumble before the game is done” sometimes. Yonetani says that his passes for the hitters are “getting better and consistent”, due to his position as a setter. He feels that he is “more aware” of what he “provide[s] as setter”, in which “affects the performance of the

Despite the obstacles, the team also had their high point, aside from qualifying for States.

Madeira says that he feels that the best moment of the season was their game against Somerville, where the match ended up to five sets. The team managed to “pull it together in the end” and won “a tough match.” Yonetani sides with home game against Essex Tech as the best moment.

Getting better is not exclusive to the players on the court.

Coach Jurkowski aspires to ”improve every day” as a coach. He feels that him and the teammates :learn from each other and give positive feedback” and also possess “the same goals.” He says that the further the team gets into the season, the more he gets to know each member of the team, which helps him coach them because “not every kid responds to the same method of teaching.”

He feels that he has “great relationship with the boys”, and is excited to see “how far [they] can go this season.”

A member of the team that Coach Jurkowski feels had not just a spectacular season, but a wonderful three years with Malden High’s Boys Volleyball team is senior captain Arthur Kossoski.

He says that after experiencing “back to back losing seasons”, Jurkowski “could not be happier” for Kossoski to be with his teammates for States in his final season.

hitters.”

Chan believes that it is critical to improve on “everything” for States or “[they] will see an early exit to our first tournament.” Chan considers himself an “inexperienced player” since he joined the team in the middle of the season. He was compelled to switch from Crew to Boys Volleyball after he watched a home game, in which the team won.

He recalls how one of the players saw him on the court after the game blocking and immediately went to Coach Jurkowski, telling him that Chan was interested to play volleyball. “A few days later [he] was attending practice with the team without any knowledge of the sport,” Chan remembers.

Although he had “minimal play time” since he was still new to the game, he began to learn more with “the help of the team and the captains”, helping him to improve “slowly but surely.”

Although the team trained to minimize challenges in each game, there were two games that proved to be much difficult than anticipated, which was the match again Greater Lowell and Randolph. Moussa says that Greater Lowell “[brought] a lot of skill to the table”, which made the game challenging. Chan says that the volleyball team in Randolph were “in sync” and made little to no errors in the game. The members of the team “[knew] what was going on” and the difficulties led Malden High to lose the match in the both times they played against them.

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