November Edition 2017

The Blue and Gold maldenblueandgold.com Malden High School Volume 103 Edition 2

77 salem street November 2017

Check Out Newly Elected Malden Bike Councillors-at-Large! sharing Projects: Pages 12-16 DancingWithTheTeachers Page 10

Zombie Tag Page 6

Ofo and LimeBike

Page 7

maldenblueandgold.com Malden High School Volume 103 Edition 2 November 2017

2

Staff maldenblueandgold.com

The Blue and Gold November 2017

The Blue and Gold November 2017

Interactive

3

maldenblueandgold.com

Down: 1. What song did Rebecca Corcoran and her “Dancing with the Teach5. The black culture club will have ers” group perform to? a monthly representative for post2. Who said this quote? “win a ers and an example of this would match since [he had not gotten be having a _______ month. the chance] to play a lot of match7. What does NEC stand for? es last year”.

11. Why did Stacy Holder, who runs 3. Who was the panelist from the the movie nights at the Malden pubBlue and Gold at the Councilor at lic library choose the movie “Get Large forum?

Out?” 4. Which city did the Girls Volley12. What school is Dr.Vatalaro reball team compete against last in tiring from? their season?

13. Senior captain of the varsity 6. What is Giannis Antetokounmpo volleyball team Allia Julien says known as?

“Yes, for [the team] it feels like eve 8. What culture of food does the crying Thaiger in Malden serve?

9. Cross Country team member Omar Asousy is a ____.

10 What did Henry Pauly develop a passion for?

Across:

4

The Blue and Gold November 2017

Editorial maldenblueandgold.com

Comedy is The Cure E

verybody loves to share a good laugh—laughing is like a human reset button. It allows a person to escape into a brief moment of lightheartedness and levity before snapping back into the stoicism that is deeply embedded within our society. As I grow older and as life becomes more demanding with grades, college applications, and work shifts in tow, I am finding it increasingly difficult to find comedy in my surroundings. Thus, I turn to media such podcasts and TV shows and even seek out live comedy to supplement this wide chasm of stress within my life; in truth, I don’t think I’m the only one who is constantly seeking to find this happy medium.

There is a reason why some of the most popular shows on streaming sites and television are comedies. Shows like The Office and Parks and Recreation are entertaining because they depict seemingly normal people in the most outlandish of contexts. The writers on these shows create

caricatures of ordinary people allowing their viewers to find humor in the status quo. Saturday Night Live, a household name for comedy, takes a satirical approach to often polarizing affairs in news, politics, and popular culture, making it more palatable for audiences. A program like SNL raises the notion that maybe comedy can be found in most contexts if we really look for them.

Major cities such as Boston often have their own local comedy scenes that might only be privy to a niche group of people.

Theaters such as ImprovBoston and Improv Asylum offer weekly live improv shows from prices as low as $8 and $15. The summer of my sophomore year, I attended a weeklong comedy camp at ImprovBoston upon being inspired

by Whose Line Is It Anyway? An improvisational comedy show in which famous comedians partake in a series of improv games in front of a live audience. This was hands down the most refreshing and emotionally rewarding week of my life. I had pure unadulterated fun for five hours every

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

day for a week and I was simply given the freedom and space to play, free from any inhibitions or judgement.

I wish that more people would pursue improv as a hobby, especially high school students.

It teaches people how to build entire narratives out of a seed of an idea and elicits a unique sense of adrenaline with every character that is crafted and every scene that is built. Audiences likewise find a thrill in seeing ordinary people create comedy solely through communication, interaction, the appreciation of the spontaneity of life.

In a similar vein of Improv Comedy, stand-up comedy has also grown in popularity. Standup comics such as Aziz Ansari, Cameron Esposito, and Ali Wong have garnered critical acclaim on platforms such as Netflix and Buzzfeed and continue to reach wide audiences today. I support these comics in particular because of their ability to make comedy intersectional as it is a field that is typically dominated by a single paradigm. Comedy is effective because how true it rings to au-

diences. Comedy is all the more effective if it reaches a wider span of audiences, and is indicative of the diversity of society today.

When I look at the world around me, I don’t see happy people. Everyone has become addicted to the normalities of their daily lives. We go to school, we go to work, we take care of our families. But it never really seems as if anyone is truly happy with themselves or the trajectory of their lives. Routine can be beneficial, but it becomes a problem when people fail to see outside of the parameters of their daily lives. It is human nature to build routine, but the second we fall out of them we panic and our entire day falls awry. I urge more people to take more time out of their day to engage in activities that will alleviate their stress, whether it be by watching reruns of their favorite comedy, attending their first improv show with friends, or listening to a comedybased radio show on their drive to work. Who knows, sooner or later one may find themselves introducing more laughter into their life, little by little.

Tobi Pitan

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

The Blue and Gold November 2017

5

Obituaries maldenblueandgold.com

Miles Lerman

M

iles Lerman grew up in a vibrant Jewish community in Poland. His dreams of moving to Palestine were shattered by

Sara Fortis

S

ara Fortis was only raised by her mother, as her father passed away when she was only two months. She was born in Chalkis, which is a small town near Athens, Greece. Even though they identified as 100% Greek, they also celebrated being Jewish by lighting candles every Friday and attending temple on holidays.

Because she heard about Jews in other small Greek towns being deported, she knew that it was no longer safe to stay where she was. When the Germans arrived in 1941, she was told to go.

Local villagers hid her mother.

Sara became a resistance fighter and moved from village to village to look for and recruit oth-

Obituaries Submitted by Leila Greige and Taylor Winters. the German invasion of Poland in 1939. Miles and his family fled to Lubov (modern day Ukraine).

The Jewish and Ukrainian population became segregated due to the growing Jewish population.

In 1942 Miles joined a Jewish partisan unit after killing the guards and fleeing into the forest. Together they raided German outposts, destroying food and munitions supplies and continuing to build their arsenal. In 1944 the Soviet Army liberated Miles’ brigade. Back in Lublin Miles met Christina, an Auschwitz survivor.

12 years ago Miles and Christina celebrated their 60th anniversary together. Miles passed away in 2008.

er females who wanted to fight.

She wanted to play a significant role in the group.

Due to Sara’s work, she ended up forming a female military that became absolutely necessary to the male fighters.

Their first mission was to throw Molotov cocktails to distract the enemy and allow the partisans to attack. The male partisans invited the females to join in many missions because they were impressed with their skills. They burned down houses and executed Nazi collaborators.

Although the women completed many of the missions, the male andartes were still given credit for them.

In the andartes movement, Sara became a prominent and well-respected figure in Greece.

By the time she was 18, she was known as ‘Kapetenissa (Captain) Sarika’. “The Nazis sent an informer to try to capture her, but mistakenly arrested—then brutally raped and murdered—her cousin, Medi. Vowing revenge, she tracked down and executed the informer.”

When the war was over, the andartes fell out of favor with the new Greek government. Sara was arrested, but she was released shortly after because of her reputation. After she was released, she emigrated to Israel, where she met her husband and settled.

Submitted by Leila Greige and Taylor Winters.

Leon Idas

Submitted by Leila Greige and Taylor Winters.

L

eon was born in 1925 in Athens, Greece and grew up with his mother, father, four brothers and one sister. While Leon was only 16 he joined a group of partisans fighting for the liberation of Greece under a socialist banner. For two years Leon served as communications specialist for the partisans for two years.

Through his position in communications he learned how to set up wires through the trees in villages to make communication through villages possible. Aided by nearby villages, the partisans organized a resistance against the German army. The british helped the partisans resistance by airdropping supplies. Throughout serving for the Partisans Leon suffered hunger, lack of adequate clothing, and only heard from one of his family members once while serving. In 1945, once the war was over Leon returned to his living family members in Athens. Once he went home he learned that his parents and brother Gabriel died in Auschwitz. After finding out that his family had passed away he decided to go to the United States with 50 cents in his pocket. Leon decided to settle in Baltimore, MD where he raised a family with his wife. Leon passed away fairly recently in April of 2013.

Eta Wrobel

Submitted by Leila Greige and Taylor Winters.

E

ta Wrobel was the only child in her family out of ten who was lucky enough to survive the Holocaust. She was born on December 28, 1918, in Lokov, Poland. Her father was a member of the Polish underground.

Through her years of growing up, he taught her the how important it was to help people, regardless of the circumstance.

Eta got a job as a clerk in an employment agency in 1940.

She began creating false identity papers for Jews before they were forced into concentration camps in 1942.

Soon she began her resistance by creating false identity papers for Jews. In October 1942, the Eta’s ghetto was liquidated and the Jews were forced into concentration camps. Eta and her father escaped to the woods.

During the time they spent in the woods, life was extremely dangerous. Eta worked to organize a partisan unit of close to eighty people. The people that made up the unit stole most of the supplies they needed, they slept in cramped quarters, and they had no access to medical attention. An incident occurred where Eta was shot in the leg and had to dig the bullet out with a knife. Many of the women in the unit were accustomed to cooking and cleaning but Eta refused. She participated on missions with men and was an attribute to making significant military decisions.

In 1944, Eta came out of hiding and was asked to be mayor of her town. Eta died on May 26, 2008, in her home in upstate New York.

6

The Blue and Gold November 2017

Local News maldenblueandgold.com

Malden Against Cancer

Gay Straight Alliance Club Antonio Tarantino Lead Reporter

T

he Gay Straight Alliance has been a part of Malden High School for about 30 years. It was started by a woman named Marguerite Gonsalves who was a former English teacher as well as the former head of the teachers union. Christine Grillon is the advisor of the club as well as co advisors Brian Morrison and Anika Krause. Officers of the club include co-presidents Sophomore Walter Cruz and Junior Kat Jabbarin.

The Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) is popular in many schools across the nation. It was started in Malden High School in the 1970s to provide a safe space for

LGBTQ members at the time.

Through the years, GSA became a popular club to join, especially for a lot of incoming freshman and for the LGBTQ community all over Malden High School.

The club has also received a lot of attention from the staff of MHS. Many members of the staff have done and continue to do things to help out GSA as well as the LGBTQ community in Malden as a whole. Some key staff members include Dana Marie Brown, Julie Fox, Christopher Mastrangelo, Edward Lombardi, Mary Liberge, and Barbara Scibelli. However, credit can be given to the whole staff as it was given much support by them throughout the years.

The club has had many events to support it and continue to create new events to hold such as Bake Sales, Meet and greets,

and even Poetry slams at the Malden Teen Enrichment Center.

They have shown their support for Malden’s LGBTQ community creating a whole section for books relating to LGBTQ in the Malden High School Library, an idea credited to Ms. Liberge. Also, GSA is trying to get permission to have the LGBTQ flag flown on the flagpole outside Malden High School. The GSA is also planning to rebrand themselves in the near future. They are hoping to partner with the Fine Arts Club to help create a new logo for them as well.

It still stands today that the mission of the GSA is to provide a safe space for members and non members of the LGBTQ community. They want students at Malden High School to feel welcomed, celebrated and accepted.

Zombie Zombie Tag Tag Carolina Cuevas Reporter

Z

ombie Tag is a live action role-playing game where students can come together and attempt to survive a simulation of the Zombie Apocalypse. The game was sponsored by the Fine Arts Club in October, in preparation for Halloween. This year’s game was on Friday, October 27, 2017 from 2:45 - 5:00 pm. The participants were required to meet in Cafeteria B to discuss the rules of the game, acquire their bandanas and socks, and “run for their lives”.

Participants can only play on the second and third floors of the Boyle, Holland and Jenkins Houses. No one should be on the first or fourth floors. If hit by socks as a zombie, one must stay frozen for ten seconds before rejoining the game. If a human, one’s bandana must be worn on their arm. If a zombie, the bandana must be worn on their neck or head. Humans are turned into

zombies from physical contact with a zombie, but a zombie can not be reverted into a human until the next round. No camping, in other words, no staying in one spot for a long period of time. No hiding in the classrooms, lockers, bathrooms, staircases or the library. The hallways are the only permitted zones. Zombies are forbidden from obtaining socks, for they are for human survival.

Once done reviewing the rules, the students were then sent away to search for a hiding spot.

An announcement over the loudspeaker then announced the start of the game: “Attention all students. The zombies have broken out, prepare to be eaten”.

Students began to run in nearly every direction as they tried to escape the zombies, forming groups as they tried to use strategic thinking to escape from them.

The members of the Fine Arts Club monitored the game from the main office through the surveillance cameras to make sure people were following the

rules. There were also members walking the halls with cameras as they took pictures of the game.

As the rounds went on, the players began to last longer as they had a better grasp on how to survive. The members of the club did not make it easy either.

If there was a group of humans in one spot for a certain period of time, the members would announce their location over the loudspeaker.

The game consisted of four rounds, with each one lasting half an hour. The round would end once either the time ran out or there were no more humans left.

At the end of each round, everyone would come back to the cafeteria for a short announcement and break before starting the next round. Once the game was over, the students would bring back the bandanas and socks to the members and go head home to their normal, non zombie infested lives. Everyone who participated in the game really enjoyed Zombie Tag and plans to go again next year.

David Lombardi Reporter

E

ight years ago, Ms. Ceppetelli started Malden High School’s first breast cancer awareness club, a club which evolved over the years transforming into the popular Malden Against Cancer club (MAC). The club remained under the guidance of Ms. Ceppetelli until the club was taken over by Mr. Berryman before finding their current advisor, Ms. Kirby.

Kirby has been advisor for about 5 years now and has played an essential role in coordinating many of the club’s events.

She’s most proud of Karinaval, “the fact that [they] were able to raise 6 or 7 thousand dollars” and were able to “donate it all to the Chic by Karina foundation”. Senior member Bia Kerr explains that Karinaval is always her favorite event to be a part of because Karina was “one of [her] closest friends growing up, so seeing that MAC puts so much hard work and dedication every year to this event really makes [her] so happy”.

Kerr praised Kirby’ sense of humor, friendliness, and caring nature saying that “Kirby is one of the greatest advisors and teachers out there”.

Senior President Tiffany Tortora said they have many goals for this year but their main goal is “ to raise as much money as possible so they can give as much to cancer research as possible.”

Tortora went on to explain they run their fundraisers by selling mustaches to raise funds and awareness for Prostate cancer by sponsoring pink out games to raise funds for Breast Cancer. She also hopes to run a bubble soccer tournament again. Junior Vice President Agatha Silva expressed “[Their] goals this year are to raise as much money to donate and to bring awareness to the many forms of cancer.”

Malden Against Cancer’s main goal as a club is to raise as much awareness and money to donate to cancer research. The club meets sporadically in Ms. Kirby’s room, B431

The Blue and Gold November 2017

7

Local News

Malden Bike sharing Projects: Ofo and LimeBike maldenblueandgold.com

David Cartledge Reporter

H

ave you recently seen the green and yellow bikes around Malden? If so, that may be because Malden has welcomed two new bike sharing programs for the public to use.

One of the companies, Ofo have been around since 2014, and are based in Beijing. They successfully operate in 180 cities, and have recently come to Malden.

Ofo bikes are the yellow bikes that have a self locking mechanism, so when your riding time is up, it can lock itself without having to be at a bike rack. The bikes can be found around Malden and only cost $1 for an hour of riding. After that hour is up, you can leave the bike anywhere and it will lock itself up. In order to pay for the bike, you need to hook up a credit or debit card to the app and scan the code on the bike. After you scan the code, it will unlock the bike and you can ride for an hour.

Limebike is very similar to the Ofo bikes. They came around in January of 2017 and are based in San Mateo, California. They have a GPS tracker on the bikes, so you can go into the app and find the closest bike to you. After you find the bike, you just scan the code on the app and it also only costs $1 per hour. It has the same mechanism that Ofo has, so you can leave the bike anywhere you want and it will lock itself without having to leave it at a bike rack.

These bikes are an incredibly efficient way to make it around the city fast and cheap. When your time runs out on the bike, it will continue to charge you $1 for every hour you are on it, so if you’re only planning on using it for an hour, make sure that you

A line of Ofo Bikes in Malden. Photo by Tobi Pitan. are off of it and you are sure it will no longer charge you.

Both of the apps are relatively straight forward. After opening the app, it asks for a quick verification and you need to enable some things like GPS and your camera, but after that you’re done. Now all you need to do is take a photo of the code on the back and it will unlock the bike for you. The only way to get the bike to unlock is by having a credit or debit card and it will charge you $1 for every hour you are on it. If you go over your hour, it will automatically charge

you more.

Mayor Gary Christenson said that he decided to make Malden the pilot for LimeBike because “[he] wanted to work with companies that could offer seamless transportation to other cities and since both LimeBike and Ofo were getting started in the area, [he] piloted with them.

Kevin Duffy, the Business Development Officer along with City Councillors Ryan O’Malley and Debbie DeMaria worked with the companies so that the city could try the program for the remainder of 2017 at no cost to the City.”

LimeBikes placed all over Malden. Photo by Tobi Pitan.

Online Shopping: A Blessing and a Curse Christina Appignani Managing Editor of Web

O

nline shopping is a great way for one to purchase the latest fashions and styles from the comfort of their own home, from the busy office at work or during a study period in school. Instead of making the effort and time to actually go shopping at stores, online shopping allows us to shop by merely tapping on our phones or clicking on our computers.

However, this easier option can have consequences to procrastinating teenagers like me.

Now that I have a job and my own money, I feel more freedom to shop as I please.

But this freedom isn’t necessarily as liberating as I once thought. I find myself buying clothes online not because I need them, but because they are on sale or are on clearance.

When I get these clothes in the mail, I realize that they were not as good as I had hoped, despite them being offered at such a low price. In the corner of my room, there is a laundry basket filled with clothes I’ve ordered online that I have yet to try on as well as clothes that I’ve purchased but either don’t fit or aren’t that comfortable.

Not only that, but I also find minutes to hours of my time being spent scrolling through sites such as JCPenney and Old Navy. The majority of the time, I don’t even end up buying anything. At the end of the night, I end up getting stressed about everything I didn’t accomplish because what was supposed to be 20 minutes of scrolling ended up turning into an hour of pointless scrolling.

While it’s totally okay to spoil yourself once in a while to a new outfit, I think it’s important that we limit the amount of spoiling we allow ourselves to do. Especially as a high school student, it’s important for me to save some of my money for college application fees, a prom dress, college supplies and tuition.

8

Local News

The Blue and Gold November 2017

maldenblueandgold.com

Black Culture Club Carolina Cuevas Reporter

M

alden High School is introducing a brand new club, the Black Culture Club. The club was created to help educate students about past and present black heritage. Since the school does not have any events that acknowledge black heritage, the club members also hope to plan to have a show expressing its history and knowledge to the entire school during Black History month.

The idea of the club started

Students meeting for Black Culture Club. Photo by Carolina Cuevas. about four weeks ago after the idea for the show. Senior Christina Charles, the Vice-President of the club, used to have an event like this at their previous school to celebrate the great things those in our black history have done, which is what sparked her idea for having the club now.

The club consists of three advisers and two officers. The advisers are three teachers, Kayla Scheitlin, Michelle Filer, and Damian Aufiero. And the officers are Senior Gerdley Cadet (President) and Charles (Vice-President).

Since the club has only just begun, not all the roles for the of-

ficers have been filled yet.

Activities include a monthly representative for posters that will be hung up around the school. These posters will share information about whom the month is dedicated to and what they have done to be recognized.

An example of this would be having a “Martin Luther King Jr. Month” where his picture would be shown on the posters along with a description and facts on what his impact was.

The club will also talk about what they would do to help inform the students of Malden High about their purpose and American black history. They will also talk about black heritage outside of the United States.

Meetings for the club will be held on Thursdays at 2:15pm after school in B334, Ms. Scheitlin’s classroom.

Crying Thaiger Thaiger

Julie Yu Reporter

A

s of last week, Malden’s first Thai restaurant was open for business. Crying Thaiger is located on 114 Ferry Street. We can expect a lot more hectic hours, due to the location on a main road in Malden. Many people pass by Ferry Street on a daily basis, whether they are going to school or they’re walking their dog. Ferry Street runs along the city starting from the center going out of Malden borders into Everett.

Crying Thaiger has a large variety of Thai cuisine, from Thai style grilled chicken, to glass noodles and shrimp. On the grand opening day, they offered free thai tea, thai coffee, or jasmine tea which is originally priced at $3.25. The coffee had a overpow-

ering hazelnut taste with the right amount of sweetness. The tea had a rich taste, it was sweet but not too overbearing. Both drinks were very satisfying to mix.

Their fresh food had a very strong scent, with great taste. I ordered the Crying Chicken, priced at $12.95. The meal included 4 pieces of grilled chicken with vegetables on the side. The dish came on a sizzling hot plate, that continued to cook the food minutes after I received it. The grilled chicken was moist and flavorful.

A friend of mine ordered the Glass Noodles with Shrimp.

Noodles were priced at $16.95. It came in a large bowl, more than enough to satisfy one person. I thought the portion size was going to be much smaller.

The noodles had a very strong taste.

The restaurant featured many modern designs, with rustic and country themed furniture.

In the front was a faux moss wall with the name of the restaurant

in the middle. Their tables were arranged in a pattern, some tables were yellow and some tables were a medium tone wood. Against the wall was a bar, where they would make and serve tea, coffee, and more. A metal textured sheet against the wall of the counter added to the country theme. A combination of the furniture and designs gave off a calming and welcoming vibe.

For a restaurant that’s been opened for a few days, they seemed to be very on top of things, workers were professional and polite, making sure the customer was satisfied. Workspace was clean and tidy, workers made sure tables and counters were clean.

Service was sustainable,

The Crying Chicken meal at Crying Thaiger. Photo by Julie Yu. food came within a 20 minute waiting period. Drinks took a little longer than expected, but it was understandable.

By the time I finished eating, they were very busy and it took a little longer than expected to get our change back.

Overall, I would go back again, especially for the drinks.

The Blue and Gold November 2017

9

Local News maldenblueandgold.com

Malden Public Library Movie Night Sandra Rivadeneira Reporter

T

he Malden Public Library hosts a movie night for the city’s young adults every month, usually located in the Maccario Room. The staff sets up a screen to play the movies on and usually supply snacks such as popcorn, soda and cookies for everybody who comes to watch.

Young Adult Movie Nights are open to anyone between the 6th and 12th grade which differs to the regular Movie Nights the

library has that are open to the whole public.

The Movie Night this month occurred on Thursday, September 28th. The library chose to play the Marvel movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Two directed by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and Karen Gillan.

The movie is a sequel to the original Guardians of the Galaxy and follows the story of Peter Quill, also known as Star Lord.

After doing a job for an alien race called the Sovereign, he and his companions end up having to run away to avoid vengeance from them because Rocket stole the items they were sent to protect. On their way to escape,

they discover Peter’s heritage.

The adventure movie contains interesting musical choices in the soundtrack and very humorous scenes and lines that would be pretty odd in other action movies, but somehow fit in Guardians of the Galaxy.

The movie was pretty successful, reeling in an impressive amount at the box office with 863.4 million U.S dollars. IMDb gave the movie a rating of 7.9/10.

Since this film is the sequel to a movie based on a Marvel Comics series, it already has a wide fan base.

Even with the popularity of the film, the event only attracts a more intimate crowd, despite the announcement of the event

on flyers by the library doors and on the Malden Public Library’s website.

Events held by the library for the youth are tremendous opportunities to meet new people and to interact with others in a safe environment.

It is also a fun way to spend evenings with friends without having to really worry. It is strongly encouraged that everyone should go and take advantage of great events like this one.

The next movie night will be will be around the end of October, which will be showing another popular movie, SpiderMan: Homecoming.

Malden Public Library Screens

“Get Out”

Jett-le Tran Le Reporter

A

s part of their monthly movie nights, the Malden Public Library screened the movie “Get Out” on October 25th. Stacy Holder, who runs the movie nights, chose the movie because Halloween is coming up and this movie is good satire on society.

Five years ago, Holder began holding movie screenings at the library for community youth and adults alike. Each event is an attempt to show different kind of movies like action, horror, comedy, and romance for Malden community members and their friends to come and relax.

The director of the Malden

Public Library show movies wanted to start that appeal to a monthly a wide variety movie night of preferences. with drinks and Last month, the snacks like poplibrary screened corn, cookies, “ W o n d e r and candy. The Woman”, and events are free fifty two people so people don’t attended the have to spend a event. Holder lot of money on said that “Wonmovie tickets der Woman was and just go for a a really great good time with movie that friends and people enjoyed have snacks as watching”. they enjoy the Holder movie. sometimes Holder plans the event says that she “Get Out” movie poster. Photo around a theme from WikiMedia. really enjoys which dictates movie night the snacks, the and seeing people from the com- movie, and the decorations. munity go an participate. Since Other than the monthly a variety of people of different movie nights held by Holder, the age groups and demographics library also holds movie screenattend each event, she tries to ings for teens, an event planned

by Patrick Brendan. The teen movie screenings take place at a different more convenient time for students and the movies shown appeal more to their demographic.

The Friends of the Malden Public Library helps fund the movie nights, as well many other events the library holds, like the recent Book Sale. The Friends are people who are community members who help donate and fund events while also raising money for the Malden Public Library itself. They also help to fundraise for the library by providing community members with discounts on museum passes, langue resources, supplies for children programs, books and graphic novels for young adults, CDs, DvDs, large-print books, and many other things.

Anyone can become a Friend by filling out an official form at the Malden Public Library at 36 Salem St, Malden.

10

Local News

The Blue and Gold November 2017

maldenblueandgold.com

DancingWithTheTeachers Carolina Cuevas Reporter Cameron Ryan Reporter

D

ancing With the Teachers is an event held the Class of 2018, advised by Chemistry teacher Kate Haskell. The event was brought in by Haskell when she became a class advisor back in 2015. This year will mark it as the third annual performance.

Groups of students choreograph dances and perform with teachers as the audience watches from their seats.

The idea was inspired by Haskell’s time as a teacher at Chelsea High School. During that time, the school had their own Dancing With the Teachers, which encouraged Haskell to bring the event here at MHS. Since then, teachers and students would come together and perform on stage to compete for the title of best performance.

Dancing with the Teachers was an hour long event that lasted from 7pm to 8pm, which consisted of two acts and five dances in each, hosted by seniors Manny Quesada Nylen, the president of the Class of 2018, and Patrick Pereira, the secretary for the Class of 2018. Prior to the event, Pereira said that “[He thought] [it would] [go] really well. The music chosen and dances are going pretty well and [it is] something the teachers and students like and enjoy so [he thought] [it would] be a fun event.”

The first act kicked off with History teacher and Class of 2019 advisor Rebecca Corcoran with a group of juniors consisting of Libby Taylor, Sebastian Romani, Shataeya Smith, Helen Eshetu, Bryan Burgess, Jennifer Crespo, Mattheus Farias, Santiago Portillo, and Salma Bezzat. They danced to the song “Mi Gente”

by J. Balvin, Willy Williams and Beyonce. Next up came Math teacher Chris Giordano with sophomores Matthew Mijares, Jason Chan and Gabriella Celona dancing to the songs “Got Shapes” by Blau and “ABC (glee cover)” by Jackson Five, starting

off with a hip hop dance solo by Mijares. Followed by each dancer in the group coming on stage to dance as a team and Celona performing gymnastics during the dance.

Then was Special Education teacher Jennifer Brody and students from the PACE Program, Jonathan Angaspilco, Izabelly

land”, a musical the class will be performing in later this season.

The first performance of the second act was Jessica Sullivan and Kayla Scheitlin with seniors , Alicia Tan, Jeannie Basile and Blue and Gold Editor-in-Chief Megan Downer to a “Disney Medley”.

The act up next was Physics teacher Julie Fox with students

Ms. Mazza starting her flute solo at the beginning of her dance. Photo by Falyn Kelley.

Barros, Nykenge Blue, Alexis Brown, Sean Castrucci, Jennifer Crespo, Danielle De Moura, Edwin Flores, Cassie Gammon, Alexander Gentile, Gabrielle Gonzalez, Isabelle Maraschi, Taijay Nazaire, Jennifer Rosario, Aparajitha Seethamraju, TIffany Tortora, Kyle Wong and Alexander Colon with the song Crank That by Soulja Boy. As the curtains opened, the students were lined up side by side around the stage dancing in sync. During their dance, three separate students from the program took turns doing their own solos at the front of the stage.

Proceeding them was History teacher Michelle Filer performing “Work”, a Rihanna and Fifth Harmony mashup, with seniors Gerdley Cadet, Alexis Wright, and sophomore Christina Charles. Within their act, Filer and her group performed many of the dance fads from the past year, including dances such as the “whip” and “nae nae”.

And finishing the first act, the last dance was performed

by Play Production teacher, Miranda Libkin and her students of multiple grades from the Malden Play Production Class, or “Play Pro” to a remix of “Mama Will Provide” from “Once on this Is-

Mirabelle Jean-Louis and Menna Beshah with the song “Trap Queen” by Fetty Wap. Chemistry teacher Gregory Simone danced to “Heathens” by Twenty One Pilots and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” a Lorde cover of a Tears for Fears song along with juniors Jenna Vanella, Libby Taylor, Jessica Ong and Gabby Carli.

It was then Kate Haskell’s turn with her group consisting of the students Chon Hyuhn, Vincent Truong, Erica Mei, Vivian Dang, Jenny Nguyen, Sammy Lee and Astha Llama to the song “Ko Ko Bop” by EXO. A korean pop song made by a popular korean boy band.

The final act of the night was performed by first time dancer, the MHS Band teacher, Erin O’Brien-Mazza with seniors Barbara Castro, Allia Julien, Bryana Bichotte, Gaelle Musasa and Isabelle Maraschi performing to the songs “Mask Off” by Future, “Cash Me Outside” by Remix God, “Passinho Do Volante” by Os Lelekys, “Look Like You” by Dee Jay, “So Mi Like It” by Spice I K.O. and “Crazy in Love” by Beyonce. Their performance began with Ms. Mazza sitting on the floor with a flute in her hands as the girls surrounded her from behind. Mazza then began to

play “Mask Off” as the student dancers stomped their feet to the music. Once done, Mazza put her flute down and began to dance with the girls to the rest of the songs. The last song, “Crazy in Love”, had acoustic music played by some of the students from Mazza’s Band class as they walked out from the audience and continued to perform in front of the stage. The players also wore pink bandits to promote awareness for breast cancer and to match Ms. Mazza and her dancers.

Once their performance was over, all of the contestants came together on stage. The voting then began by students going on a link or on twitter to vote for who they thought had the best performance. Within minutes, the winner of this years Dancing with the Teachers was announced to be Mazza and her group.

Putting in three hours of work almost everyday after school for two months, Mazza’s win was well-deserved. Mazza had said to her dancers “If [they were] doing this, [they were] doing it to win”. Mazza exclaimed that “[She was] so grateful [she got] to work with teachers that [wanted] to stay after school with students and share in their lives.

[She was] also grateful that [they] [had] such amazing students that the teachers want to be around after school! [She was] truly blessed to work with so many amazing students!”.

Haskell said “Everyone who is doing it is really brave” and “everyone who is participating has been wonderful.” Junior Chon Hyun, who danced in Haskell’s group, mentioned how fun and hard working it was but enjoyed it. He explained that “[it is] like that feeling after you work out. And then you feel free after.”

Since Ms. Haskell’s Class of 2018 will be graduating this year, there will be no one holding the event again next year.

But that would only happen if the students at the school decide to make that happen. Maybe the school will have another Dancing with the Teachers next year. “It would really depend on the students that are here whether they want to keep it going or not” said Ms. Haskell.

The Blue and Gold November 2017

11

Local News maldenblueandgold.com

Dr. Vatalaro Retires Julie Yu Reporter

D

r. Susan Vatalaro has been part of the Beebe School faculty for as long as anybody can remember. After a long era of being such an essential part of the community, Vatalaro has decided to take a well-earned retirement.

Vatalaro has grown up in our own city of Malden, attending Beebe Junior High School and Malden High School as a child. Because of her Malden background, she lived very similar lives to many of her students, which gave her a better understandingg about the students and their families. Vatalaro has always been close to all her students; if there was a conflict, she was always willing to listen and help as best as possible.

The departing of Vatalaro will not only affect Beebe itself, but it will definitely impact the students and its staff. Transitions into such a significant role in a school isn’t simple for the predecessor, as it will leave a big hole to fill.

“It was not an easy decision, [she] knew that there was never going to be a right time to retire” Vatalaro said. Since the beginning, she knew she never wanted to end her teaching career, but what contributed to her decision was the fact that she wanted to look for something else in the field of education. Vatalaro “only [wants] the love of education to expand, and overall make school fun for students”. She stated that she “wants [students] to be able to make memories, and share them with their own children”.

Vatalaro had left a huge effect on the staff at Beebe school.

Colleen Clifford, Beebe’s sixth grade English teacher shares how, “putting her students first is [Dr. Vatalaro’s] highest quality.

[She] looks outside the box, and [is not] only about academics”.

Sixth grade Social Studies teacher Michelle Corbett, says that

Dr. Vatalaro in her office. Photo by Sandra Rivadeneira. “[Vatalaro] has kept the school kid-centric and always made sure [her] students were [her] first priority”.

Sean Weldon is a seventh grade Math teacher, who joined the Beebe faculty in 2013. Weldon stated that Vatalaro has a true love for education and how “[Vatalaro’s] dedication to education influenced [her] success in being a good principal]”. He explained how Vatalaro is a role model for him and how her hard work not only sets an example for teachers like Weldon but for many students as well. In addition, the seventh grade Science teacher, Leslie Morrison, has been able to build up a strong relationship with Vatalaro. Morrison stresses that “because [Vatalaro has] been in Beebe for years, [she] has many connections with [her] students and their families”. “[Vatalaro is] a wonderful principal because [she] honestly cares about the students and has been here for so many generations.” shared Bill Enwright, an eigth grade Social Studies teacher at Beebe. Enwright describes Vatalaro as a very caring person who’s attentive to all the events occurring. Having Vatalaro at the school really “brings to the school and old-school Malden quality” that is hard to come by.

It’s devastating to have to say goodbye to such an important figure to the Beebe School.

The 8th grade class of 2018 will be the last class to graduate with Vatalaro. Eighth grade Beebe student Jordyn Morrissey stated that “Dr. Vatalaro [is] a [great] principal because she was doing many

[tasks] that people [wouldn’t normally] think about”. Vatalaro has many objectives on a daily basis, plus she has to worry about managing the whole school and her students.

Kyle O’Brien, a junior at Malden High, had a pretty close connection with Vatalaro, due to the fact that his mother worked volunteer hours at the Beebe library. O’Brien explained how in the nine years of attending Beebe, he really got to know Vatalaro.

“The fact that [Vatalaro] was caring and listened to your side of a story and was always on time and on top of things made [her] a great principal”. He also explained how he will miss having a principal that he could alway talk to even years after he graduated.

As Vatalaro departs, she leaves her mark on the history of Beebe. She has watched the generations of classes grow and develop to becoming great students. Finding a new principal will be a difficult task, as finding a new important head figure always is. We wish Beebe’s future principal the bestest of luck and we hope that Vatalaro enjoys her well earned retirement.

28 Pleasant St, Malden, MA 02148

12

The Blue and Gold November 2017

Local News maldenblueandgold.com

Malden Political Forum: Councillor at Large

O

n October 26th at the Malden Senior Center. Malden Access Television hosted a public political forum for the the Councillor at Large election. There were four candidates running for one of the three Councillor at Large positions. The three running for re-election were David D’Arcangelo, Debbie DeMaria, and Craig Spadafora. Their challenger was Steve Winslow. At the forum, there were three panelists: Sidney Rodriguez from The Blue and Gold, Andrew Cardinale from the Malden Observer, and Bob Hale from The Massachusetts Senior Action Council. They asked the candidates questions on issues happening in Malden and their positions on some major topics.

Debbie DeMaria

Electe d 3,753 with votes

DeMaria was elected as the Councillor at Large.

“Thank you Mayor Lisa, Malden Access Tv, all the panelists; Andrew, Sidney, and Bob for being here tonight. Thanks to our viewers, and to all who are watching. To me time spent is the best gift so, spending time with me tonight is very valuable. It’s been a long campaign season. But every constituent call, and every email I have received, reminds me how important public services is to me. I am married to my husband, Al for almost 39 years, a mother of three, a grandmother of three, and a proud resident of Malden. One of my recent successes was shepherding the community’s Preservation Act from its beginning as a voter service referendum to the formation of the actual committee. This will allow our residents to make the improvements and decisions about our historical sites, our affordable housing and our beauti-

ful parks. As chair of the citizen engagement committee, I had the pleasure of working with our arts community on projects such as our switch boxes. Aren’t they beautiful. Also the ordnance committee, along with many other initiatives. We have been able to weigh in on possible marijuana dispensaries and their potential tax benefits. On of our long term challenges with be address our roads and our lead pipes. But with our efforts to rebuild and modernize the city, like Malden’s police station. Nothing is impossible. While I recognize the contribution of our long-term residents and veterans. I also recognize the new members of our community. I imagine resentments that hail from around the world that speak. 70 plus languages live in save, respectful, and in harmony that’s what I imagine tonight.”

“Thank you Lisa and thank you to MATV, Malden’s Media Center for putting this together, the panelist, my fellow councillors, and my challenger Steve. It’s David D’Arcangelo. I am currently one of three city council members at Large here in Malden I am asking for your vote to return another two years. Malden is on the move. Our housing values are up.

Public safety is up and we are in a save community. We are one of the most diverse cities in the nation. This is all great things for the city of Malden. And we want to keep that going. The city council dynamic now is a good one, filled with plenty rigorous debate. We certainly don’t always agree, but for you at home it’s a good thing, you want us debating vigorously and that’s what we have been doing. The city of Malden is a big organization 100 million dollars with a couple thousand employees. We got some great schools and we got a great school

dynamic with a great K-8 system, with paraocial school, and the charter school that we have, even the extended education that we have; beauty schools, and driving schools, and other things going on in the city. Malden is an education powerhouse as i’m concerned, and I want to keep it that way. My number one priority is public safety. Consistently funded public safety. We have a new police station out on Eastern Ave. I am very pleased that I have taken an active leadership role with bringing to bear. Then there are other great things going on downtown, like the development, and other things around the city. I think Malden is doing a great job right now. I am asking to get back there for another two years. If you have any questions, you can check out the information on my website, DavidforMalden.com.

Or please call me any time on my cell phone, my personal number is 781-789-4580”

David D’Arcangelo

Councillors at Large debating. Photo submitted by Sidney Rodriguez.

Steve Winslow “Thank you, Mayor Wong. I enjoyed working with you with the programs I’ve worked on in Mass in Motion. I really want to thank the moderator, the panels, and the audience here and at home for giving me this opportunity for why voting Steve Winslow for Councillor at large will make a difference for Malden and will move Malden forward.

You will learn tonight about how voting for Steve Winslow will

ensure the public’s voice is heard before the city council. You will hear about how a vote for Steve Winslow will ensure that Malden has a plan for safe streets and stop traffic congestion. You will hear about how Malden will work to ensure we have affordable housing for all Maldonians.

I appreciate this opportunity and I look forward to the rest of the time tonight. Thank you.”

Craig Spadafora “Thank you Malden Access TV, distinguish panel… My name is Craig Spadafora I’ve been a councillor at large now for five terms, and I am looking to go for a sixth term. It has been a great experience for me. I am humbled every time I get to come up to this podium and speak.

Like councillor D’Arcangelo said, Malden is on the move but more importantly, I have been up here several times before and been negative and cynical on where the community is going.

I can honestly say now that the wind is behind us and Malden was on the move but more importantly we are on the map. Our diversity, our infrastructure, our new buildings, our absolutely making a difference for us. More importantly the people is doing it in the process. I want to continue that process in making

Electe d 2,923 with votes

Electe d 3,106 with votes

sure we have the ability to grow.

We are centrally located not that far from Boston, and everything that we have been doing for the past ten years whether it be the council or the school committee, the mayor’s office, has finally got us to this point. There is a little bit of luck in there but it is also a lot of work. I am proud to of been around some of that work. We have changed the ordinates to protect the neighborhood. New building is happening. Sometimes enough of one thing is not good. But I was proud to support the moratorium. In the same token we’ve been talking about redistricting the waterfront, increasing our schools, increasing our green space, and making Mladen a great place to live. And I want to continue that mission.

So, I want your support on November 7th.”

The Blue and Gold November 2017

13

Local News maldenblueandgold.com

Malden Political Forum: Ward 3 Elections Sidney Rodriguez Lead Reporter

John Matheson Matheson was elected as the Ward 3 City Councillor.

The following candidates ran unopposed Ward 1 - Peg Crowe Ward 2 - Paul A. Condon Ward 4 - Ryan J. O’Malley Ward 5 - Barbara M. Murphy

“W afford e should ad a to th ble hou d si e to no new grow ng t run th, th failin g 40b e risk of .”

- Mat heson

“There needs to be a higher perc entage of afforda ble housing units w ithin those dwellings.”

- Julyan

Opening Statement “Thank you Guillermo, thank you MATV for hosting this event. Thank you to the panelists and thank you to all the spectators that are here and all of you at home for tuning in. I too believe that this is a great institution and having these roundtable discussions really brings campaigns back to the issues and I think that’s what really matters. I’ll say a few things about myself in case you don’t know me. I am the Ward 3 councillor here in Malden. I am a Malden boy, born in raised in Ward 3, educated in our public schools. I was the first in my family to go to college and I went on to law school after graduating with honors and becoming an attorney. I came back here to Malden and started up my practice. Went on to get a masters degree in business.

And I ran for council because my neighbors were talking to me about the poor conditions of their street and sidewalk. It

was as simple as the issues you see as you open your door...and funny enough even today we’re still dealing with the perennial issue of streets and sidewalks. We did 7 million dollars of new road work this year. I see Malden as a place of great opportunity. I love Malden.

It is my hometown. I love our diversity. And my experience in the council has been a real honor and a privilege to serve, to serve the very community I grew up in. To help host the Fourth of July event that I got to participate in as a kid. And to serve in all the many committees, I had the honor of serving at large, I had honor of serving as councillor president, and more recently, serving on the police station committee that delivered 20 million dollar project on time and below budget. So, anyway it’s great to be here and thank you so much for hosting it.”

Affordable Housing “I do think the administration could have made some way to make 10% affordable housing. That seems to be the benchmark under 40b that we are all looking for.

Malden actually does better than most communities by offering a housing stock that is affordable. We are at 10.2% when the next decade comes and we perform the census. I believe we are falling below 10%, which means we lose some of its zoning control. We don’t want to see that happen.

The citizens should be able to

control their own destiny and their own city. There is another way to satisfy the 40 affordable housing component.

That is by dedicating 1.5% of your total land area to affordable housing. Malden actually does that. On the council, we are asking the MRA to conduct a study. We offer a lot of senior housing. But clearly this should be a component of new growth...We should add affordable housing to the new growth, to not run the risk of failing 40b.”

Candace Julyan Opening Statement “Thank you. I just want to thank all of the panelists and MATV for holding this. This is a very important and significant community service that I appreciate. As many of you know I am a first time candidate. I am not a politician. I decided to run because I want to see change. I feel that we need a different kind of government here in Malden.

I think it is a government that needs to be more transparent, needs to be more engaged with citizens and it needs to be more community-focused. And that’s why I am running because I feel that those are things that I can actually deliver. My husband and I have lived here in Malden for over 30 years. I have come to cherish

both the diversity and the amazing residents that I have come to know–my neighbors–and as I’ve become more involved in a number of community groups beyond my neighbors. What I really adore about Malden is both the longtime residents and the new residents. I feel that what’s important is for all of us to be together as a community. And that is something I feel like I can help have happen in city council.

I bring some unique skills to city council. They’re not the normal.

I have done a lot of community organizing and conflict resolution. And those are skills that I feel could bring civil discourse to the city council and that’s why I’m running.”

Affordable Housing “I do feel that affordable housing is extremely important.

One of the things that I have realized while door knocking is that people have talked about, particularly older people, their concerns on continuing to live in Malden. One of the things that I have seen and been disappointed with is in terms of what city council has done so far with some of these new developments. I think it needs to be some real requirements for these new developments. There needs to be a higher percentage of affordable housing units within those dwellings. That would be one way to

certainly address the affordable housing. I heard someone talk about how to think of what is affordable. There are ways particularly with seniors to address how to make some housing affordable. By looking at water bills and a way to bring some of the cost down for seniors in particular so that they can remain in Malden and stay in Malden. I feel that this is a significant issue and one that i would like to put quite a bit of energy into. Particularity the new developments that are coming into Malden and making sure they have space available for the units.”

14

The Blue and Gold November 2017

Local News maldenblueandgold.com

Malden Political Forum: Ward 6 Elections Sidney Rodriguez Lead Reporter

David Camell Camell was elected as the Ward 6 City Councillor.

Opening Statement “I will like to thank Malden MATV and the panel for what you are doing. It is important to set political discourse in our city.

Malden is facing some crucial choices right now. I believe we should have a strategic approach in addressing these choices.

I believe we need to address challenges together as a community. We are not served well when elected offices try to tackle these complex issues by themselves without community help. As an engineer, I have worked on a lot complex projects with stakeholders that often don’t agree, and with a lot of constraints and a lot of trade offs that had to be done.

We always find a way to collaborate together. What’s important in the toughest times is not try-

ing to be the smartest guy in the room. Instead, work as a team to try to get the best answer. I believe I can do that on the council and for the community of Ward 6. I believe hard in making an effective choice is believing in the community. That’s why I want to be the voice in Ward 6, because we don’t know where the next great idea is going to come from.

So part of that is I want to have and open and transparent government. I want to always be accessible by phone. Always return a phone call. I will have monthly office hours and annual town hall meetings. That I will answer questions and be accountable by the Ward 6 residents. Thank you.”

Public Commentary “I was at that city council meeting. It was a strange circumstance. It got brought forward. So the city council has not had it. The proposal was to have it towards the end of the year for a trial period. It looked like things would be passed but there were some circumstances and people had to leave and whatever. I absolutely and 100 percent was upset when that didn’t go through. To me, that is the core of what I believe in, and the things I want to bring in the public discourse. Like Jerry

mentioned on the school committee; nothing bad has happened having it on the school committee. It’s pretty absurd. I would of absolutely fought and voted for it and if I’m elected I would fight to bring this back. We can bring it in front of eleven councillors to get the right answer. We know what people want. We need to get this as part of our policy. Even for a trial period but this should be a permitt part of the city council.

Alright, Thank you.”

Education “I am a huge supporter and product of public schooling. I do not think right now the funding for the schools are adequate I think we need to find ways to increase that without cutting into other important city services.

One of things I want to do when I come to the city council is not just look at the expense side of the

budget, but also the revenue side of the budget. We should be finding opportunities for more revenue to come in. We need to look at business investments. Filling up empty businesses. Getting commercial revenue there. Looking at possible landlords who do live in the city pay more of a tax rate.

Take that off the homeowners

who live here. We don’t what to take away from things, like lead pipes and city streets. In terms of the school policy itself, we would defer to the school committee on that one. I believe the city council

has a responsibility to get them the resources to put all the options on the table. I would want to raise that funding.”

Jerry Leone Opening Statement “For the people who don’t know me I have served on the school committee for the past two terms and safety is my top priority, being a policeman in the United States reserve. So, being on the school committee has taught me a lot about government and serving on various

committees, such as the budget.

So, coming in the city council I will have that experience. And I’m also the chairman for the safety sub-committee as well as the co-chair of policy. I know everybody on the city council, so it will be a smooth transition if I’m elected.” (10/1917)

Education “I am also a product of Malden Public Schools. I am a graduate of Malden High class of 1998. The funding is obviously not there. I sit on the budget in the school committee. We fight all the time. I mean unfortunately we have the situation where a year ago we had to cut 400 from the budget. The year before that, we had to cut two million and we didn’t touch a classroom. Also if it was up to me, in a perfect world we would have another school in Malden. If I’m on the city council I would fight for that.

I mean we urge parents and other

people to come to the meetings but we try to tell the constituents to talk to your lawmakers on the hill, your senators, and representatives. I haven’t seen them do anything for us personally. That’s not a shot at either of them. We write letters and they don’t do anything. Funding should come from the state to help us out. Malden has great teachers and a great system but we face overcrowded classrooms and that’s sad. And we are doing a dishonest justice to the teachers and everyone involved. The funding is not there.”

Public Affordable Commentary Housing “Currently on the school committee we have a public forum where people come. But I agree with the first part of your question we should have public forums. I know in the city council you have to be sponsored. But I think these are the voters and they pay taxes. They are electing us.

So, to say they can’t speak is silly.

So, if on the council I would vote that and support that and vote for that. Thank you.” (10/19/17)

“I think it depends on the circumstances of the family. I think with affordable housing it should be if there is a unit come in then it should be 25% of the units should be for affordable housing.

And people living in affordable housing it should be a stepping stone to better themselves.”

The Blue and Gold November 2017

15

Local News maldenblueandgold.com

Malden Political Forum: Ward 7 Elections Neil Anderson

Sidney Rodriguez Lead Reporter

Anderson was elected as the Ward 7 City Councillor.

Scott Ciccone Opening Statement “I am a lifelong ward 7 resident. Been up and down the streets of ward 7, every single one, Newland street, Harvard Street, Holyoke Street; which I have lived on my entire life. I am running for the same reasons why people want race in ward 7.

We have hit over 2000 doors, and going to door to door we kept hearing from people their want their roads and sidewalks to be a priority in ward 7. They want a councillor who is accountable to them. That’s going to listen to them. That’s going to be for things, like for public comment, and things like public forum. The other reason why I am running is because there is no one on the council that has a public safety background. What I currently do for work is I am a program coordinator for The Firearms Record

Bureau at the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services in Chelsea. Something that I am very honored to be apart of.

Very happy to work there. What we do there is I have a large part in running people’s background, and make sure people who should not have firearms are not getting fire arms. I am a point of contact for all federal, state, and local agencies when it comes to that position. It’s a great honor. i have been an athlete in Malden.

So, that is something I would like to have a part in. Pushing kids to get interested back in sports.

I also, referee football. I’ve seen while reefing Malden High that there has been a drop in number of kids participating and that is something I think I can push. Get kids interested. Those are things why I am running. Thank You.”

School Funding As far as funding, no you don’t have enough funding.

It’s not enough funding to go around. I wish it was more. I wish we could print money. A lot of people will point at the school budget and say “it goes up every year, what are they doing with it?”. As far the percentage of the budget, it has stayed the same.

Inflations has gone up, the budget has gone up but it doesn’t mean anything. What we should do is as far as the city council we don’t have a control over it, that comes from the school committee. We can’t add to it we can only subtract, as a city councilor I don’t think I would ever subtract from it. I don’t think we have enough of it, like I said.

We could push the state to have revisions to the chapter 70, how they fund the school system. Especially, we will get more funds

based on the greater number of students coming in but it is still not going to be enough. What I will like to do if elected city councilor is set up quarterly meetings with the school commit. Not to usurp their power, but to hear what their issues are, and how can we help them. If it would help if we reach out to our state representative, our governor, whoever can help. Does that that little help from the city council help the school committee, can we get more of the budget? Also, focusing on things I mentioned before that is not directly related to school budget, issuing we are developing apartment complexes we are developing commercial businesses. That can bring in tax revenue and automatically bring in more school budge because we have more money to spend.

Opening Statement “Let me tell you how pleased I am to be here and take part in this very worthwhile and very important political forum...I was first elected in the city council back in 1984. Since, that I have served 11 terms in the Malden City Council. I have been the Malden City Council president for three years. I was two years in a row Malden city president.

I made history when I was the first city council to be elected two years in a row. Which has never happen in Malden’s history. It is an honor to have my colleagues

let me come back two years in a row. I have been the chairperson, even a member of everyone of the sub-committees. the important subcommittee of the malden city council. The hallmark of my candidacy is as a city councillor is has been working collaboratively with the residents of Malden with building coalition with the neighborhood government, and making sure good things happen as a result of that collaboration.

Years ago I was involved in helping with the continuation of the lincoln school. Thank You.”

School Funding “That is a softball question...

There is no question we need more money for our schools. We need as much money to put into our schools. Mr. Ciccone has mention that he partially right, that the city council can’t add to the budget but we can only cut from the budget, but the budget comes from the mayor which comes down to the school committee.

We look at the totality of the budget. Our job as city councillors is to see how we can find the most money for each of the services we provide for the city of Malden,

not just the school, the police, the fire, the D.P.W, all of that. We got to balance, we have to balance the amount of money we have coming in to the various sources to divide it up in a way that provide the services at the right level. Do we need more money from the schools? Yes we do. You know the education of our children is the most important, you all are our future, we want to see you become the future of our city and community. So, we need to do all that we can to get money in our schools. Thank you”

Affordable Housing We can’t overlook the 40b issue of any new construction going on and that we’re implementing restrictions that are enforcing development to have set a sides, that’s we used to call it back in the day, set asides for at least 10 percent of affordable housing. We are going to be slowing down, clearly. i think we are all in agreement that we are going to be slowing downing the new construction that’s going on.

There are other places where affordable housing needs to kick in.

We need to consider how we treat the regular residential houses in our city. We got large single family and two-family houses that are owner occupied and people

are living at, that could well be resulted and people for people who need small space. Not someone who may need a whole house.

Where rooms will be rented out, and they will be part of a family.

By doing that, it will help not only the owner of the property but also the person who need affordable, real affordable housing.

Thats an idea out of the box that is very important. We need to make sure that we keep our affordable housing inventory above the 10 percent. So, we need to be looking at requiring more affordable housing, and looking at more out of the box ways to be looking at individual homes.

16

Local News

The Blue and Gold November 2017

maldenblueandgold.com

Malden Political Forum: Ward 8 Elections

Sidney Rodriguez Lead Reporter

Jadeane Sica Sica was elected as the Ward 8 City Councillor.

Opening Statement “Thank you for having me.

On the council, I might be quiet which is not my personality every day. I can ensure you that I am a great listener and a quick learner. I believe I work well with all member of the council and getting things done and lobbying for the residents of Ward 8.

I feel I work well with everyone on the council because it's not about who you like or dislike.

It’s about what is best for the city, and what is best for the city is what is best in the end. This view helps create collaboration and even though I may disagree with a fellow councilor on the next issue, I could be working with the same on. On the past four years in office, I am proud of many accomplishments. Some include, supporting the redevelopment of the former city hall site and the construction of the new police station on Eastern ave. Work for improvements along the bike

path in Linden Square to make it as safe with access points including: crosswalks, signalization and landscaping. I have assisted with the beatification program by including banners and planters in Linden Square, maintenance and upkeep of the bike path, and deltas throughout the Ward 8. I funded the insulation of the bench in honor of our very own Ann Madigan and refurbished the [Hockridge delta]. I have collaborated with the Department of Public Works to organize street clean ups in Ward 8. I have served as a member in the search committee for superintendent of Malden Public Schools. And have sat on the search committee for the CFO and treasurer I host various events to promote a strong sense of communities to the families of Ward 8 and all of Malden, such as an annual easter egg hunt, July 4th independence, family movie nights and Halloween parties.”

Lack of Diversity in Teaching Staff in Malden “The teachers absolutely do not represent our diverse community. There is a lack of diversity in our teaching staff in our city.

We need to figure out ways to get more diversity in our teaching staff here in the Malden Public Schools so children of diverse cultures can look up to teachers of their own cultures. I’m not quite sure why we don’t have a diverse teaching staff, having a city so di-

verse. I’m shocked that we don’t.

Maybe we need to increase teaching salaries, like starting teacher salaries. I’m not quite sure but it definitely something that needs to be addressed because the teacher student population on diversity, it’s no diversity in the Malden Public School’s teacher administrator or staff. It lacks it.”

“I was unavailable to come when that meeting took place. I had a short stay in the hospital that particular week. I do think I would’ve voted in favor of a trial run of the public comment. However, I feel strong about having it during our committee meetings instead of the committee of the

whole. Listening to my constituents on the issues and topics at hand would be best utilized if we hear from them during the committee meetings before I take the vote and report it out to the whole city council. But I would have supported a trial and error period for the end of the year.

Public Commentary

Affordable Housing “As a city councillor I have supported the creation of a housing plan that is already in process which positions Malden to be proactive in addressing affordable housing. Malden is doing its part in a significant way. We are one of the top ten in affordable housing already . We need to plan carefully for some more senior housing. I think we are lack-

ing senior housing. I have small senior housing in Ward 8 that is not as big and complex as some of the surrounding wards. I think we are lacking senior housing, and we should help the housing authority. I have spoken to them and figure out some way we can increase senior housing. We don’t have enough of it.”

Richard Correale Sr. Opening Statement I had the privilege of serving on the Malden City Council for 8 years, from the year 2000 to 2008.

I was also a councilor president in 2005. Some of my very special accomplishments is having the east fire station put at the quarry site. I was involved very heavily in the quarry site [and there were a lot of people on different streets up there that I was to get them funded. So many because damage was done when they were doing a blasphemy (58.19) on the sidewalks], gas lines all got a good sum of money. Also, there were people below that area that got a good sum of money.

The first thing I did when I was in city council was there was a problem with the flood gates, and most of you know Malden is in a flood zone and over by the Revere-Linden area. There were some floodgates that weren’t working for years and they were

some people in the terrace who yards were being flooded all the time. And the salt water would run in their backyards. So, I got together with the city and the state officials and we were able to put some flood gates in there.

And ever since those flood gates were put in, I went to one house on Delta Terrace and now he has to use a law mower to cut his grass because everything worked out well for him. I put those monuments across the the Linden School Delta Terrace. There is, I think 44 names on there from gentlemen that served in World War II in Vietnam and Korea, and everyone of them lived in the thousand yards of Ward 8.

So, there is a memorial there for them. I feel as though it is time to go back and do some unfinished business. I hope I can get elected.

Thank you.

Lack of Diversity Among the Teaching Staff in Malden I think the teachers are very important to every student. I know they do a very good job in helping the students and guiding the students, and hopefully they keep on doing that. I’ve never heard of any teacher having a problem with too many students not following directions the

teachers are there for them and I think they do a great job helping the students. I think some go above and beyond, credit to them. Some don’t, you know what, the ones that do thank you very much and keep on that great work. I teachers are very important in everyone of their lives.”

The Blue and Gold November 2017

17

Sports maldenblueandgold.com

The Greek Freak Has Arrived Abhishek Rana Head of Sports

T

hirty-five points, 10.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists with 2 steals and a block, while shooting 63.1% from the field. No those are not video game numbers on the easiest difficulty, those are what Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging in the first six games of the 2017-18 NBA season.

Listed as a forward for the Milwaukee Bucks, Antetokounmpo (or “the Greek Freak” as he is known as to those that struggle with the pronunciation of his name) has emerged as an early favorite for the the regular season MVP award after a historic start to the season. After a 32 point outing against the Charlotte Hornets last Monday, Antetokounmpo broke the franchise record of points scored in a four game stretch with a 147 points, breaking the record previously set in 1969 by the NBA’s all time leader in career points scored, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The craziest part is that “the Greek Freak” is only turning 23 this December.

Last season, Antetokounmpo emerged as an all-star for the first time in his career, winning the Most Improved Player award while averaging 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists with 1.6 steals and 1.9 blocks.

Those ridiculously well rounded stats made him the first player

in NBA history to finish the year among the top twenty in all major statistics. This season, he seems to have taken his game to another level. In fact, currently his Player Efficiency Rating (PER) ranks at a never before seen 36.5. To put that into perspective, a c -

cording to Basketball Reference, Wilt Chamberlain had the season with the single highest recorded PER of 31.81, in the 1962-63 NBA season.

As his nickname suggests, what makes Antetokounmpo the player he is his freakish size and athleticism. Standing at 6-11, and weighing in at 220 pounds,

Antetokounmpo has the size and finishing ability of a big man combined with the speed and ball handling of a guard. He utilizes his size and length to bully defenders inside the paint. However, where Antetokounmpo is most lethal is in the fast break where he is virtually unguardable and can go the length of the floor is just about two dribbles. His skill set combined with his height and speed allows him to see over the defense and either set up wide open t e a m mates or get to the r i m a t

will during a fast break.

As mentioned, Antetokounmpo is listed as a forward yet he can practically play and defend against all five positions on the court. He is a “do everything” player for the Bucks, as he is their primary ball handler, post-up player, as well

as their best defender. In fact, Antetokounmpo is so well rounded as a player that after the 2016 All Star Break, the Bucks decided to play him at point guard for the rest of the season due to injuries at that position.

Despite his historic start to the season, there is little chance that Antetokounmpo keeps up this pace for the rest of the season.

Regardless, he has come a long way since being the raw prospect who was drafted 15th overall in the 2013 draft and averaged only 6.8 points per game his rookie season.

The most remarkable aspect of him developing into a top five player in the NBA is that he has done so without even developing a consistent jump shot. In an era that has been defined by the three point shot, Antetokounmpo is the only elite wing player in the NBA with a below average three pointer as well as a below average mid range game. In fact, his career three point shooting percentage is a very underwhelming 28%.

Although an inconsistent jump shot is the one glaring weakness in Antetokounmpo’s game, the level of success he has had without a jump shot speaks volumes about how great of a player he is already, as well as how limitless his potential is as a basketball player. Simply put, if Giannis Antetokounmpo even develops into an average NBA shooter, he will become the single most unguardable player in basketball. What is ironic is that he may already be that.

18

Sports

The Blue and Gold November 2017

maldenblueandgold.com

Volleyball Michelle Yin Lead Reporter Ronald Batista Reporter

C

oming to an end of the season, the MHS Girl’s volleyball team played their last game against Salem, with many wins throughout the season as well.

Although the team did not make it to states, they strived through the season with their best efforts, with the goal in mind to win.

The team has grown to be like a family, through the long daily practices and the many games they had.

Senior Allia Julien, one of the players on the volleyball team stated that the season was overall special, with the growth of every player individually and the team. She says that “For [her] own opinion it went really good.

Because comparing [the team] to last years team [they] were much better. Because [they] accomplished a lot physically and mentally. And [they] enjoyed playing with each other.”.

Another Senior and team member Isadora De Alpino describes her opinion about this season, saying that “[she thinks] [it is] fair to say that [the team] as a whole [did not] meet the expectation [they]had, but [they] definitely did work hard for [their] record to be what it is, because it definitely improved from last year.” De Alpino indicates that although the season could have been better, the team put in their best efforts.

The team as a whole has improved from the beginning of the season to the end. Junien also expresses that “Yes, for [the team] it feels like every game [they] have improved and [they] learned a lot every time.” besides that they think that there are areas in which the team can improve.

With this year being Julien’s last year, she mentions that she enjoyed every moment of the season the team and suggests that next year, the team could improve their plays during games.

She says that “[she feels] like if [they] play as one in the court [they] would accomplish more things [It is] good to see that [the team] can see where [their] flaws

Malden High School volleyball team doing a cheer before the game begins.

Photo by Ronald Batista.

Malden High School Girls preparing to defend the ball from Methuen.

Photo by Ronald Batista

Malden High School blocking a spike from Methuen. Photo by Ronald Batista.

are so [they] can fix them”.

Junior and Captain Mirabella Jean Louis explains the team chemistry between the team members as excellent, adding that “[They] all got along great, and [they] were all close friends both in and outside of the gym., explaining the team as being almost like a family not only supports one another on the court but off the court as well.

Louis for next year as senior hopes the team will improve in more communication but also their emotions before and after a game. She expresses that “[The team wanted] to make states this year. As a junior, [she] only has one year left. So [they are] hoping to communicate with each other on the court, and finish off [their] sets… that’s what we struggled with when it comes to the last 5 point of winning and [they are] ahead. [They] tend to get a nervous and anxious and that causes [them] to lose focus But hopefully, next year [they will] close off every set and every game with a win”.

Louis states one of their best games was against Methuen. She recalls that “ it was amazing to play and [she] heard that it was definitely great to watch, the energy, the communication, it was amazing.”. Throughout the many games that the team played, there were definitely some that stood out more than others. Julien says that she thinks the last game was the best, “because [they] leave everything out there, [they did not] look back, [they] played the volleyball that [they] know how to play.”

Julien also adds that “[she] wanted [them] to win more games but overall it went awesome [she] actually had some great teammates.

For students or incoming students that wish to be a part of the Girl’s Volleyball team,, Louis suggests that “If you want to play just come with a great attitude, and a passion to learn”. Julien comments that “if you know you’re good and you interesting on playing volleyball go for it because when you actually playing the game everything felt different in a good way. And every time you improving on something different.”

The Blue and Gold November 2017

Sports

19

maldenblueandgold.com

Dont’a Dont’a Hightower Hightower Injury Injury Abhishek Rana Head of Sports

D

ont’a Hightower, #54 and linebacker for the five time Super Bowl winning team, the New England Patriots, is reportedly out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia are both struck by the news and so is the rest of the team. However the Patriots, like the championship team that they are, hope to soon get back on track just in time to make it to the AFC Championship, even if it means getting there without Hightower.

Although Belichick is disappointed in losing his best linebacker and his defensive captain, the Patriots have still done well without him by defeating the San Diego Chargers, by a one touchdown lead (21-13) on Sunday

October 29, the Pats win 2017. Belichagainst the ick and Chargers.

Patricia are The Pacurrently extriots playperimenting ing without with backHightower ups such as isn’t an unKyle Van usual thing Noy, and Daas he has vid Harris to missed some see who can games in fill the role of both the 2014 Hightower. and 2016 seaBut Belichick son but still is seriously managed leaning toto rack up wards Harris a total of 65 as a replacetackles and ment. Harris Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower.

2.5 sacks in stated on an Photo from WikiMedia.

2016 and 105 interview tackles and with ESPN, “ That’s terrible news 6.0 sacks in the 2014 season. Pats for a guy like Hightower to go fans are hoping that the Patriots down with that injury and to be end the season with a 14-2 record, out for the year.”.Three of five without losing any more games. linebackers really were the main People’s hopes that the players used to replace Hightow- Patriots will make it to the Suer on Sunday’s game. Kyle Van per Bowl are slowly fading but Noy, Elandon Roberts, and David true fans always stick with their Harris were important in helping team no matter what, just like

what happened in Super Bowl 51 where the Pats came back with an outstanding win from being down 28-3 in the third quarter.

Fans everywhere though that Atlanta was going to walk away with a huge win but the Patriots got their act together, and both the offense, led by five-time super bowl champion quarterback, Tom Brady, and the defense, led

by Dont’a Hightower worked to stop the Falcons from scoring and bounced back by putting 31 points on the scoreboard and ultimately making history as the greatest comeback in all of sports.

Although Hightower was a key defensive player during that game, David Harris could also output the same performance that Hightower did, in any game.

There are mixed feelings about the Hightower Injury but Pats safety Devin McCourty states, “[The Patriots] have been out there a couple games without him, so [they] know what that is like.” The rest of Harris’ teammates hope that he will play as good as Hightower or even better.

Celtics Start the Season 12-2 Abhishek Rana Head of Sports

T

he Boston Celtics have had quite the start to the 2017-18 NBA season. After two straight loses to start the season, Boston has racked up a twelve game winning streak, the longest winning streak for the team since the 2008-09 season. Even more so, they have done so without their all star small forward, Gordon Hayward, who they lost for the rest of of the season to a gruesome ankle injury in game one.

Even without Hayward, Boston seems to have assembled the perfect core of players in their roster. A combination of veterans with playoff experience like Al Horford, Kyrie Irving, and

Marcus Morris, combined with exciting young talent like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have put the rest of NBA on notice.

Even after an eastern conference finals appearance last season, Boston completely revamped their roster in the offseason. In fact, the Celtics only have three returning players this season: Brown, Horford, and Marcus Smart. In the offseason, Boston made multiple splash moves, including acquiring all stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, and selecting Jayson Tatum with the third overall pick in the NBA draft.

Despite a complete overhaul to their roster, the Celtics have clicked immediately this season.

Unlike what many predicted, they have taken little time to build up their chemistry, starting the season 12-2, the best record in the NBA. The amazing start

to the season begs the question: how far can the Boston Celtics go this year without the services Hayward?

Heading into the season, Boston’s main competition in the Eastern Conference was the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, 13 games into the season Cleveland has looked awful, and a shell of the team that has represented the East in the last three NBA Finals.

In fact with a record of only 6-7, the Cavs are currently ninth in the East and posses the word defense in league, giving up a league-high 112 points per game.

Does this mean the Boston can beat Cleveland and make it to the NBA Finals? Probably not.

Despite all the problems Cleveland has had to start the season, they still posses LeBron James; the best player in the world and someone who has made seven straight NBA finals. In addition

to that, they also have all star point guard, Isaiah Thomas who has yet to get healrhy.

Other than that, the Playoffs are a whole different ball game compared to the regular season and in it experience usually beats youth. This is where Cleveland has the upperhand on Boston as they have the deepest and most experience core in the entire NBA. And even if somehow Boston is able to beat LeBron James and company in a seven game series, they would still have Golden State to look forward to, a team that looks head and shoulders above the rest of the NBA. However, even if realistically it does not seem possible that Boston will progress further than the Eastern Conference Finals, their future looks immensely bright, and an 18th banner at TD Garden seems to be an inevitability in the near future.

20

Sports

The Blue and Gold November 2017

maldenblueandgold.com

Boys Cross Country DeVin LeMay Reporter

season progressed.” D’Entremont feels that this race is important because “[it is] a chance to show the other teams that [the team is] a force to be reckoned with, especially the teams that we have lost to in the past. It gives [the team] a chance to recover from past losses, and to reform losses into victories.”

Sophomore Omar Asousy has been a returning member on the Boys Cross Country team for the past two years. He feels that “as the season has progressed, workouts have been progressively been getting faster and [their] jogs have gotten longer in order for [them] to get to NEC closing and states.” Asousy also feels that he has tremendously improved since the start of this season, and that he is confident he will have a great performance in NEC closing. Asousy’s goal for this season is to break 18 minutes in the 5K. He stated that his biggest worry is injuries “as [he has] sprained [his] ankle multiple times during the season and injuries usually

come at random. At any moment, [his] season could end because of it so therefore [he tries] to do anything [he] can to avoid them such as stretching properly.”

Asousy stated that at this time in the season it is about consistency and how well the team can keep up good habits. He hopes for a strong performance from himself and the team, Asousy feels that this meet is “important to the team as [they would] like to end the season on a high note and make a statement since this is [their] first cross country season in this new league.”

Junior Kyle O’Brien, another member of the Boys Cross Country team, feels “like [he is] at [his] strongest point in the season.”

O’Brien trains for the NEC meet by “doing some speed workouts along with some endurance based workouts along with critical jogs and long runs”. He feels like [he is] at [his] strongest point in the season.” His goal for the meet is to get a time better than 18:30, to place well in the meet and for the

team “to do well individually as well as place high in the meet, hopefully with a top 3 finish”.

Coach Courtney Invernizzi feels that, “[The​ ​team​] ​right​ ​now​ ​ is​ ​preparing​ ​for​ ​the​ ​league​ ​meet​ ​ by​ ​making​ ​sure [they​ ​are]​ ​staying​ ​focused​ ​on​ ​the​ ​task​ ​at​ ​hand.​ ​ [They​ ​are]​ ​making​ ​sure​ that [​they​ ​ are]​ ​coming​ ​to​ ​every practice​ ​focusing​ ​on​ ​the​ ​smaller​ ​skills​ ​such​ ​ as​ ​running​ ​form​ ​in​ ​their​ ​dynamic​ ​ warm-ups,​ ​to​ ​more of​ ​the​ ​bigger​ ​ skills​ ​such​ ​as​ ​the​ ​running​ ​workouts.​ ​[They​ ​are]​ ​very​ ​disciplined​ ​ in making​ ​sure​ ​[they are]​ ​not​ ​ over​ ​training​ ​at​ ​practice,​ ​but​ ​are​ ​ putting​ ​in​ ​hard​ ​work​ ​and​ ​effort​​ as​ ​the​ ​season​ ​is​ ​coming closer​ ​ to​ ​the​ ​big​ ​races.​” Invernizzi believes that the athletes are going to perform very well in the NEC League meet. Invernizzi feels that they work “really​ ​well​ ​together to​ ​ help​ ​push​ ​one​ ​another​ ​and​ ​motivate​ ​one​ ​another​ ​so​ ​if​ ​[they​] ​keep​ ​ up​ ​the​ ​hard​ ​work​ ​anything​ ​is possible.” As a coach, Invernizzi plans to prepare them for the NEC meet by keeping, “​​​a​ ​positive demeanor​ ​and​ ​[making] ​sure​ ​[she is]​ ​always​ ​helping​ ​them​ ​improve​ ​ through​ ​specific​ ​training,​ ​but​ ​ most importantly​ ​[explaining]​ ​to​ ​ the​ ​athletes​ ​why​ [​they​ ​are]​ ​doing​ ​ specific​ ​workouts​ ​so​ ​that​ ​[they]​​ can​ ​learn and​ ​be​ ​able​ ​to​ ​use​ ​what​ ​ [they​ ​have​] ​learned​ ​in​ ​their​ ​competitions.“ Invernizzi also said that, “this is the first Cross Country season in the NEC league, so this allows for Malden to show how talented and hardworking its athletic program is.”

improved their performance a lot as they have won more matches this season compared to last season. Sophomore Sean Lightbody’s goal this season was to “win a match since [he had not gotten the chance] to play a lot of matches last year”. He was able to meet his goal this season by winning multiple games.

Lightbody mentioned that a major factor for their improvement this season was having more returning members with experience because “[most players] needed to practice a lot since [they] were new and did not have a lot of experience.” Overall, the team believes that they have done a better job in performance this season compared to their previous season. “The start of the

season was great” stated Senior Captain Tylor West, as they had already won a few matches at the start of this season. The team believes that they have tried their best and had done a pretty good job this season.

Last year, their main obstacle was finding more players to make a team as most of their players graduated the year before.

However, Lightbody believes that “there was nothing that bad” as they did not have a problem with recruiting new members this year. The team believes that they had a pretty smooth season this year compared to the past few years.

The golf team has made many achievements this season.

One major achievement the team

had made this season was that a player eagled the goal, which is a very difficult move to do.

Although the team has made many improvements this season, some players believe that they can still make more improvements.

Lightbody’s goal for next season is to “do better on putting in general” as he believes that he can improve more on the skill.

The golf team will be departing from this season’s captains Tylor West and Michael Giordano as they will be graduating at the end of this school year.

The MHS golf team is looking forward to attending the Northeast Conference (NEC), which will mark the ending of their season

T

he Boys Cross Country team has been working harder and harder every day in preparation for the Northeastern Conference League match. The team has been training very rigorously, working toward their peak performance with every workout. The NEC event is essentially a closing meet where every team in the league competes in a single race, to see which team has progressed the most out of the league.

Junior Christopher D’Entremont, a member of the Boys Cross Country team, feels that “[he and the team] are just about ready to go into the meet, with a few more workouts to go.”

He worries that he could get injured and it would critically affect his season on the team. He also cares about the team in general and making sure they don’t get injured and can stay in the best shape possible. D’Entremont also feels that with the season ending in a few weeks “[it is] very easy to get the mentality that you [do not] need to try, since there is only a couple races left.” However, he has ambition and hopes that the team will push through and keep a positive mentality 100% of the time. D’Entremont and the team are striving to “place pretty high during the race, seeing as [they] have definitely improved as the

Ajithaan Sathiyendra Reporter

A

s the golf season is coming towards an end, the MHS golf team is getting ready to participate in the Northeast Conference (NEC), which they have been preparing for throughout this season. The MHS golf team this season was lead by Seniors Tylor West, Michael Giordano and Junior Reid Kankel and coached by Richard Malatesta.

The main goal for the golf team this season was to win as many matches as possible and to attend the NEC. They have

MHS starts a race against Revere High. Photo by DeVin LeMay.

Golf

The Blue and Gold November 2017

21

Sports maldenblueandgold.com

Field Field Hockey Hockey Sara Zakaria Lead Reporter Angelina Prum Reporter

M

alden High School’s Field Hockey season has come to an end. They were determined to maintain a positive outlook for the season. Unfortunately, the Varsity team did not pull in a victory this year. However, the scores were extremely close, which is a significant improvement from last year.

One of this year’s captains, Junior Queenie Dang states that “even though the varsity team did not win any games this season, [she is] still really proud of how hard this teamed worked every practice and game”.

This season, Senior and

captain Jenny T h e Huynh says team feels that the team like they have improved a lot to work immensely on though. on their com“[She thinks munication she needs] skills, and to work on developing challenging a connection [herself] on on and off the field and the field, saymaking sure ing that “as a [she] can pass team, [they] with more are so close accuracy”, and they are Huynh says. [her] second The team family”. Dang also wants agrees, addto focus on ing that the developing team “has Senior Jenny Do looking to get the ball field hockey really learned passed to her. Photo by Jesaias Benitez. skills in midto talk to one dle schoolers, another on and off the field”, so when they arrive to Malden and that the best moments for High, they already have the bathe team is when “[they] just sics learned. Other than coaching get to hang out with each other the team, coach Kimberly Barber and bond; like when [they] have works on field hockey programs [their] pasta parties”. Other great in Malden’s middle schools to moments during the season, ac- “increase [their] talent in the high cording to Huynh, was “ when school.” Barber adds that “[it is] JV had a wonderful game against hard for the freshman to come in Peabody on [her] birthday and and pick up the stick for the first won that game.” time and play these tough teams.

[The JV team] really worked hard this year and had a good season working together and had a win or two. [They] have had the middle school program going and it shows through the JV team this year; with the wins.”

The captains of the team have accomplished many goals this year. Coach Barber states the captains did a great job this year.

Captain Huynh’s strength this year was her ability to encourage her team and be a leader. Huynh believes that the greatest strength of the team this season was their communication. Captain Dang is very proud of the close bond the team had this season. Dang believes that the team has “become almost like family to one another”.

The overall season has been a blast for all teammates. They all enjoyed it with the pasta parties the captains hosted and their various bonding activities.

They grew and improved in the sport but also as a family.

The team strives to communicate better, and they hope to help train younger players so they can play with more ease against tougher teams.

Girls Cross Country Quyen Le Reporter

T

hroughout the season The Malden Girls Cross Country Team has been working hard and persevering day by day. Unfortunately, after all their continuous hard work, this season is ending in just a few weeks. “The season is definitely going to be missed” Coach Courtney Invernizzi stated. She expressed how it has been a wonderful first time coaching the team alone. There has been many accomplishments, including one achievement being the team making it to states. When asked, everyone expressed how they are very thrilled to be running at states.

This year, there has been many challenges, many ups, and downs. Even though they have lost four times, they have also won four times. It is especially

difficult this year because the team is in a different and harder league. Coach Invernizzi is exceptionally proud of the team. She expressed that the varsity players have been “great leaders and a lot of [her] newbies(newcomers/ first timers) are very intrigue to listen and learn from the varsity kids”.

On Saturday, October 29th, the team competed in a very stimulating meet. It is the North Eastern Conference, also known as the NEC. The NEC is a meet where the Malden Girls Cross Country Team go against the 8 teams they’ve already competed against, plus 8 other teams that is also in the league. According to Coach Invernizzi, the team has been presenting significant teamwork by pushing each other to their greatest potential. She later on explains how “[she] thinks if [the team works] together, and are confident in themselves, they could, and should place very high”. Keri Gilligan is a Sophomore in highschool, and is running in her second year of cross

country. The day before the NEC, Gilligan expressed that they are going to do very well at the NEC because “[the team] has a lot of strong runners, and [they] have all been putting very hard work into all of [their] training”. Sophomore Emane Boufaida stated that “if [the team] work hard and use all the skills [they] learned at practice, they will be able to do great”. Boufaida is also determined to achieve her goal, that is to get a personal record, by telling “[herself] this is one of [her] last, and most important races of the season, [she and the team] have worked hard for it and [she] can do it”. Senior Amanda Santorelli feels that “tomorrow is going to be a very great and successful meet because [the team] has been working hard and preparing for it for the whole season”.

Confidently, Senior Kylie DiMaro stated “[they] plan to win, [they] are prepared to win, and [they] expect to win, when [they] wake up tomorrow morning, [they] know [they] have to go out there, do [their] job, and put in 110% ef-

fort”.

This season has boosted the team’s strengths as runners. For Senior Jasmine Gray “[her] goal at the beginning of the season was to win as much as possible, now [she] has been running personal records”, also known as PRs. For Sophomore Keri Gilligan she has “improved on getting [her] times down, and her mental state while running, [meaning being mentally prepared]”. Sophomore Emane Boufaida have improved her endurance, speed and her form.

Even though the season is ending, the team do not have to say goodbye yet. Coach Invernizzi is the assistant coach for track. She is looking forward and “[she] enjoys learning from Coach Londino”.

When asked, everyone on the team expressed how they were sad that the cross country season is ending, but they are very much looking forward for track. Thus the team, including Coach Invernizzi will reunite in the winter.

22

Sports

The Blue and Gold November 2017

maldenblueandgold.com

GIRLS GIRLS SOCCER SOCCER Jemisha Syliant Lead Reporter

T

his season, the MHS girls soccer eam were able to qualify for the state tournament with a record of 12-5-3, making this only the second time they have done so since 2008.

Junior Genevieve Murphy explains that this season has been one of the best seasons and is hoping to make it as far as she can for states. “[She feels] like if [the team plays their] best game then [they] have a decent chance.”

Murphy also includes that last season, they did not win as many games, and that their improvement as a team is “definitely something that [they are] really proud of.” Murphy also explains that working on passing and not holding the ball for too long is something that “[they] struggle with.”

Junior Angela Tejada-Soliz says that playing to the best of their abilities and being able to be a competitor for them is one

of their main goals to accomplish in states. Although she explains that their opponent may be a challenge, she states, “[she] definitely [thinks] [it is] something [the team] can handle and [they] have essentially been waiting all season for. [She is] excited to see how [they] play against them.”

Tejada-Soliz explains that the aspect her team needs improvement on is communicating more. ”Sometimes [they] have the intent to go out and play a great game but sometimes there is a lack of communication which throws off [their] game.”

Tejada-Soliz also explains that this year has been the best season out of her three years on varsity. She states,”every single year [the team’s] goal is to make it just to states and [they have not] been able to do that. So this year, [it is] amazing that [they have] been able to get this far. [She thinks] that this year [they have] a lot of young talent and [they have] definitely reached a lot of their abilities by this point of the season and [they have] been able to work really well together. So, [she thinks] that [they] can carry that into states and have a good couple games”.

Junior Angelina Tejada-Soliz controlling the ball. Photo by Jesaias Benitez.

T

he Malden High Girls soccer team competed in a well fought game against Andover on Friday, November 3rd. Although the MHS girls lost 1-0, they maintained strong defense throughout.

Junior Angela Tejada-Soliz explains that their experience at states was nothing short of what they had expected. She continues to describe that they all played their best game and “definitely gave them some competition.”

Sophomore Nour Chouiki running after the ball. Photo by Jesaias Benitez.

Tejada-Soliz also mentions that practices have changed since making it to states. She explains that the team is preparing by practicing certain drills which will help them play as a unit and as a team overall. She continues to describe that the key to beating their opponent in states is to not be “intimidated by the teams [they are] going up against and just play [their] game.”

Murphy explains that she along with the seniors have worked very hard for this accomplishment and they have

had good seasons in the past as well. She explains how “knowing that [they have] finally made it to [their] first goal” they had set at the beginning of the season and they “could reach other goals [which] is really exciting.”

Murphy discloses that practicing on more passing and being quicker with the drills is what the team is improving on.

She says, “now that [the team is] into states, [they are] not going to able to mess around as much, [it is] going to have to be really focused.”

Junior Genevieve Murphy stated, “[she thinks] that [they] played very well and it was a tough team but [they] held [their] own against them.” She is very happy with the game and would not have done anything differently.

Junior Salma Bezzat admits the team could have done better.

She stated, “[they] were in the game the entire 90 minutes and there’s most certainly some good things that [they] did, but also some other things [they’ll] need to work on for next year.”

Bezzat explains that Andover played well and scored a “good goal.” Although MHS girls were not able to advance to the next round, Bezzat explains that made girls soccer history, given that “this is only the second time that MHS girls soccer has made it to states.

Bezzat also mentions that the team went home with their heads held high and continued to support the boys soccer team in their states game. She stated, “[they] didn’t let this loss get to [them], it’s the past now and [their] heads are now on for the next season.”

Bezzat hopes to improve her confidence because fear affected the team’s performance. She stated, “as soon as we touched the ball at the start of the whistle, and the opposing team started pushing [her], [she] wasn’t scared anymore.” She also explains that having more communication is something her team can always work on.

Despite the loss in the first round of states, MHS took a great leap forward compared to last season.

The Blue and Gold November 2017

Sports

23

maldenblueandgold.com

BOYS BOYS SOCCER SOCCER Jennica Ruan Reporter

F

all sports are slowly coming to an end as the MHS Boys Soccer team is going to states for the Division 1 Northeast Title.

This year the team ended with an outstanding record of 14-13 with Seniors Patrick Pereira, Manuel Quesada-Nylen, and Joseph Costa as captains. Head coach Jeremiah Smith has been the coach for 14 seasons now and hopes for many more.

Compared to last season,

this year was better in terms of the chemistry and bond of the team, making it easier to work together. Pereira is happy his last season ended on a good note and says that going to states is a great opportunity.

The team made states 11 games into the season whereas last year, every game had to be a win and they were not successful in achieving that goal of making it to states. Making it so early in the season was very good for the team this year.

Junior Salim Tiken believes that the chemistry of the team

Senior Alex Silverio dribbling the ball. Photo by Leila Greige.

Abhishek Rana Head of Sports

T

he MHS Boys Soccer team lost 2-0 to Framingham in the first round of the state tournament on Friday, November 3rd. The intensely close game marked an unfortunate end to what has been an historic season for the team.

The team began the game immediately in the back foot, conceding an unfortunate deflected goal within the opening five minutes of the game. This meant that the boys had to play with a one goal deficit for much of the game and go on the offensive throughout the remaining 85 minutes of the game.

After the game, when asked about the impact conceding an early goal had on the team, Junior midfielder Waldir Yacsavilca mentioned that “there was a lot more pressure on [them]” at that point, because they “had to

score two goals to advance into the next round.” He continued to say that despite this, the team “was still confident and stuck to the gameplan” as they knew that “Framingham didn’t really break [their defence] down” and “just got lucky with a deflection.”

After conceding the goal early on, the boys struggled to answer on the offensive end for the rest of the first half. While the MHS defence tightened up and disallowed Farmingham attackers to have any space, the Tornadoes also struggled to create any clear cut chances of their own. In addition, Framingham also controlled much of the possession in the opening forty-five minutes, as Malden was unable to keep a hold of the ball for long periods and penetrate the opposition’s penalty box.

The second half however, was much more of an exciting and open ended affair as both

is better this year and “helping the flow of [their] game, leading [them] to win more games and compete in the state tournament.”

Tiken and the rest of the team have enjoyed playing against tougher teams as it challenges them more. Pereira and Tiken both felt that even though they all did great, it could have been better if the team was more focused or if they could have improved on scoring more goals.

Next year will also be a tough challenge for the team because most of the varsity soccer boys are graduating seniors.

Tiken is looking forward to seeing how the new members will play and hopefully go to the state tournament again next year.

All the hard work from the summer, bonding as a team, has paid off for everyone. The chemistry they all share is due to all the hard work leading them to the state tournament. Ending a season is always sad because the seniors will be missed. Everyone hopes for the best and the main goal will be to win an elite title and end the whole season on a high note.

Junior Douglas Oliveira looking to pass the ball. Photo by Leila Greige. teams played offensive mindedly and created multiple shots at goal. In search of an equalizer, MHS piled the pressure on Framingham and was close to tying up the game multiple times. Due to more and more players for Malden piling forward, Framingham was able to hit the Tornadoes on the counter attack multiple times in the second half.

Senior captain and goalkeeper, Manuel Quesada Nylen was a major asset to the team, coming away with some clutch saves in order to keep his team in the game and maintain the one goal deficit. One save early in the second half was a highlight, as Quesada Nylen was able to heroically palm away a Framingham shot from point blank range.

Despite the numerous chances the Tornadoes created in the second half, the team was unable to convert any of them into goals and tie up the game. With

a few minutes left in the game, MHS had to commit almost all players forward in search for a goal, which left their defence wide open for a counter. This is something that Framingham took advantage of, scoring a late goal which essentially iced the game.

Despite the disappointing result of the the playoff game, Junior goalkeeper Salim Tiken reflected on the game as well as the season with pride. When asked about the team’s performance he mentioned that the team “played a great game” and did a “good job not giving up and continuing to put pressure on [Framingham] till the last whistle.” He also explained that although the team “had hoped to progress further into the tournament,” they are still “happy with [their] performance this season,” as they had a “successful season, finishing first place in the NEC (Northeastern Conference).”

24

Sports

The Blue and Gold November 2017

MHS Fall Fall MHS SPorts 2017 2017 SPorts maldenblueandgold.com

Download the MHS Sports App!

Page 17: Op Ed Page 18: Volleyball Page 19: Op Ed Page 20: Boys XC & Golf Page 21: Girls XC & Field Hockey Page 22: Girls Soccer Page 23: Boys Soccer maldenblueandgold.com Malden High School Volume 103 Edition 2 November 2017