November 2021

The Blue and Gold maldenblueandgold.com

Malden High School

Volume 107 Edition 2

77 Salem Street

November 2021

Play Production Presents Zachary Nedell Lead Reporter

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Pep Rally Returns to MHS for 2021-2022 School Year

Julie Huynh Editor-in-Chief Lauren Mallett Editor-in-Chief

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fter taking last year off, the annual tradition of Pep Rally is back at Malden High!

As always, the National Honors Society (NHS) organized this year’s Spirit Week and Pep Rally, the latter of which took place on Wednesday, November 24th.

Students began filing into the gym Wednesday morning. Apprehensive freshmen and sophomores

searched for familiar faces in the crowd while juniors and seniors quickly found their friends among the chaos. Usually, before the festivities start, people would stop by the cafeteria to get their faces painted or airbrushed by members of the Art Department, but due to safety concerns with COVID, they opted out this year.

The first event was the preliminary volleyball game, which began around 8:15. The requirement was that there had to be eight players on a team, with four girls and four boys.

For this first round, the freshmen

went against the seniors. After that, the juniors against the sophomores.

After the consolation rounds and finals, the seniors came out on top for volleyball, with juniors, freshmen and sophomores following in that order.

After volleyball came tug-ofwar, played in the same way with seniors versus freshmen and juniors versus sophomores in the preliminary round. The seniors won against the freshmen, and the juniors managed to beat the sophomores in a Continued on pages 8-9.

Malden Hosts City Ward Elections

he production of the play Gypsy was a long process; the crew assembled a blockbuster that they presented on the 19th and 20th of November. The students in Play Production spent hours memorizing lines, blocking and cues. The students bonded with each other, which came in handy for the production.

First and foremost, the very foundation of the show had to be decided. Music director Todd Cole proposed Gypsy and Play Pro advisor Leanna DeRosa signed off on the idea. While some of the group had seen the play before and others heard songs, many of the students did not know of the play. After some explaining and a workshop from Cole, the students were ready to audition. DeRosa remarked that auditioning is “really nerve-wracking for most kids, but they are super successful with it.” For the audition, the students have to sing a song and read from a script in front of their peers.

To make sure that everyone will have an important role in the production, DeRosa was sure to cast a tech crew, such as props managers and a stage director. ”We go through Continued on pages 10-11.

Gabriel Fesehaie Lead Reporter

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lections in the City of Malden were held on the 2nd of November, 2021. The elections concerned councillors-at-large for the entire city, councillors for each individual ward, and school council members for each individual ward. Out of a body of over 35,800 registered voters, 7,187 voted in the election, leading to a voter turnout of 20%.

In the citywide elections for councillor-at-large, the foremost candidate was Craig Spadafora with 3,380 votes. Pulling up the rear were Karen Colon Hayes, with 3,085 votes, and Brian J. Continued on page 5. A map of the City of Malden Wards. Photo via City of Malden.

Yusra Tafraoui as Rose. Photo by Carlos Aragon.

Staff

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Bike to the Sea Extends Bike Path Gabriel Fesehaie Lead Reporter

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he Northern Strand Community Trail (NSCT), otherwise known as the Bike Path, has been a staple of recreation in the City of Malden for almost ten years. The plan of the project has been to reuse old abandoned sections of land, road, and railway to create a trail that is open to both bikers and pedestrians, stretching from the Mystic River to Lynn. The final parts of this project are being worked on, with trail use beginning from the Mystic River in Everett up to Lynn.

The organization behind the bike trail, Bike to the Sea, has been advocating for this trail for over 20 years, and the fruits of their labor appear to be coming in. Construction is nearing completion at the extremities of the trail, with a fall ride occurring at the Mystic River and paving rapidly progressing towards the center of Lynn and the Nahant Spit.

The NSCT originates at the Mystic River. From this point, it continues north to the alignment of the Saugus Branch Railroad, an old railway line through Everett, Malden Center and Saugus. The last passenger trains along this route were in 1953, and the last freight service was in 1993. The path snakes its way north on the east side of the Malden River, crossing Medford Street and approaching the center of Malden.

Continuing along through Malden, the trail fits snugly into the area between Salem Street and Eastern Avenue, running behind the Malden High School, Salemwood School, Maplewood Square and crossing Broadway, all while maintaining the same position between Salem Street and Eastern Avenue. It heads behind the Linden STEAM Academy, crossing Beach and Lynn Streets in rapid succession, before leaving Malden and entering Saugus.

In Saugus, the trail continues north behind the Belmonte Upper Elementary School, before curving east and crossing the Beaver Brook.

At this point, the path becomes the Community Path of Lynn and is associated with the Northern Strand Community Trail. The path continues into the West of Lynn, curving south near a Market Basket, and proceeding down to Bennett Street, where it terminates. There are potential biking routes beyond this, but those all share the road with cars or the sidewalk with pedestrians.

A potential route of the trail beyond this would see the trail continue east from the aforementioned

The Blue and Gold November 2021

maldenblueandgold.com

MEET THE

BLUE AND AND GOLD GOLD BLUE Editor-in-Chief: Julie Huynh ‘22

Editor-in-Chief: Lauren Mallett ‘22

Editor-in-Chief of Print and Design: Carlos Aragon ‘22

Editor-in-Chief of Web and Mobile: Lulu Harding ‘22

Managing Editor: Sandra Li ‘22

Managing Editor: Karen Rivera ‘22

Managing Editor of Art and Photography: Brandon Wong ‘22

Class Advisor: Ryan Gallagher

Head of Sports: Juliana Luong ‘23

Head of Sports: Kaoutar Wakaf ‘23

Head Copy Editor: Chaimaa Assli ‘23

Head of Local: Head of Local: Kayley Glavin ‘23 Krishany Marius ‘23

Reporters

Lead Reporter: Nathan Dean ‘24 Lead Reporter: Gabriel Fesehaie ‘23 Lead Reporter: Courtney Fitzgerald ‘22 Lead Reporter: Zachary Nedell ‘24 Lead Reporter: Desiree Nong ‘23 Lead Reporter: Daniel O’Toole ‘24 Lead Photographer: Liam O’Toole ‘22 Lead Reporter: Hadjar Yousfi ‘24 Market Basket to the true center of Lynn, where it would then head southeast along Market Street to the Lynnway, at which point it would continue to the Nahant Spit, where it would head due south along the spit towards the city of Nahant.

Bike to the Sea has understandably been working hard, having a contract worth over $13 million to prosecute completion of the trail to its finish. As of October 2021, the projected completion date of the trail is in June 2022. In terms of continued construction, the organization is pouring concrete, extending the trail, fixing, creating, and upgrading intersections, and servicing recreational areas. It is a foregone conclusion that the organization is quite proud of their work.

With the bike path approaching the end of construction, the benefit to the communities along its route is very profound. The bike path provides a corridor of green space through urbanized suburbs, allowing residents to step back and smell the roses, even though surrounded by cars, houses and noise.

It is evident that the bike path will become a fixture of the scene in our community for a very long time.

Ashton Calixte ‘25 Dani Licona-Cruz ‘25 Fatima Dahbani ‘25 Joy Lugo Morales ‘25 Nora Hounain ‘25 Dorothy Michel ‘25 Gabi Ilebode ‘22 Lily Nguyen ‘25 Mack Keating ‘25 Vanessa Ramos ‘24 Gianna Lally ‘25 Ruka Truong ‘25 Sophie LeBlanc ‘25 Samara Valencia ‘25 Jessica Li ‘25 Divina Wembi ‘23

The middle of the bike path, in Malden across the street from the High School.

Photo by Hadjar Yousfi.

The bike path passing by the Rumney Natural Reservation and under a small bridge. Photo by Hadjar Yousfi.

The Blue and Gold November 2021

An Update on GenderNeutral Bathrooms at MHS

Interactive

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maldenblueandgold.com

November Nedlam Search Can you find the hidden Nedlam in this image?

Carlos Aragon Editor-in-Chief of Print Karen Rivera Managing Editor A previous article on this story has been published on student voices regarding the implementation of the gender-neutral bathrooms.

This article focuses more on the administrator’s planning and future plans.

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t the start of the year, Principal Chris Mastrangelo announced that gender-neutral bathrooms had been added to Malden High School, prompting a whirlwind of emotions and confusion from the student body.

Mastrangelo had been trying to get these bathrooms in for “a few years,” stating that one of his biggest goals and passions is to “make sure that everybody feels safe and welcomed” at Malden High School, which was one of the biggest reasons behind the urgency in opening them.

The gender-neutral bathrooms were intended to give students a “safe-space” as the administration recognizes that some students identify as nonbinary or genderfluid.

Mastrangelo said that the school does not wish to “contribute to dysphoria” and wanted to create a “safe space with the gender-neutral bathrooms for students that identify as such” to feel comfortable enough to use the restrooms throughout the school, without having to choose between one of the gender-specific bathrooms.

Despite the intentions behind the creation of the bathrooms, the students’ voices were clear that change needed to be made. Mastrangelo recognized that the school’s intent to create a “safe space” for non-binary and gender fluid students went “exactly opposite” to what they planned.

Senior Matthew Scott expressed that they felt as though the bathrooms were “a safe space on paper, but in reality it was just not, because literally anyone could walk in.”

Scott thought that it would make more sense for the bathrooms to be labeled as “gender nonconforming” rather than “genderneutral” as there is a key distinction between the two. Scott explained that by having the “gender-neutral” title it implies that “a man can walk into a bathroom and a woman can walk into a bathroom and be in the bathroom at the same time.”

With gender nonconforming it is more like a “nonbinary student can walk in or a trans-masc can walk in but they don’t have to be there at the same time.”

Photos from The Blue and Gold archives. Collage by Lauren Mallett.

Though the purpose of the gender-neutral bathrooms was to provide students who do not identify as either male or female to feel comfortable enough to use the restrooms throughout the school, this quickly did not become the case. Boyle House Principal Stephanie Sibley stated that the intent of the bathrooms was “not for them to become co-ed bathrooms,” which is what administration saw happening and ultimately it “defeated the purpose of creating a safe space.” Sibley had to “kick out” many students who were misusing the restrooms and expressed that it “really bothered” her that they were not “respecting the intent behind designating the bathroom.”

Scott expressed the same sentiments, stating that they think the school “didn’t make a distinction” with the gender-neutral bathrooms, as they recalled a time they had a couple friends that were both male and female that walked into the bathrooms and it was completely fine that a woman or a man walked in. Scott expressed that this is “unsafe, especially . . . with high schoolers.”

Sibley recognized that “it’s a small number of students that were not respecting the intent” but “sometimes that’s all it takes to mess something up.”

Some students have different opinions and view the problems with the bathrooms as something that had more of a positive impact at Malden High School.

Junior Lyra Gold stated that they felt as though the bathrooms

were a “step in the right direction” and were not being misused “any more than the binary bathrooms were,” although it is worth noting that they felt as though it did not make it “any less frustrating.”

Gold believes that administrators should “do what they can to keep the bathrooms open,” and feels like it is a “loss that they’re really not being maintained the way they were supposed to be.”

With all of the students’ voices in mind, Mastrangelo and the rest of the Malden High School administration have come together to form an alternative to the current genderneutral bathroom situation in order to restore the initial intent for the restrooms.

Mastrangelo has confirmed that they will be converting two of the faculty bathrooms located on the second and third floors of Jenkins to act as Malden High School’s new gender-neutral bathrooms.

Mastrangelo stated that the difference between the bathrooms that they are currently using, which “can fit 30 people, hence the issues,” and the faculty bathrooms is that the faculty bathrooms can only fit one or two people at a time. They are going to remove the lock that goes into the actual bathroom because they “can’t have kids locking themselves in” and they are “putting stalls around the existing toilet.”

Mastrangelo stressed that “everything is all in order” and they are waiting for the partitions to come in.

He is “hoping that it is done soon” as he did tell the company to “put a rush on it.”

Jenkins House Principal Jayson Payeur pointed out that Mastrangelo has been “working really, really hard to get this piece in, and he’s been doing everything he can on his end to get it in.” He added that that they are still waiting for the word but are in “dire need to get those in to support our students that identify as nonbinary or genderfluid.”

Payeur stated that he looks forward to when Malden High actually has the “appropriate gender-neutral bathrooms in place for those students,” expressing that it is “super important” and he “really cares about them.” Payeur really wants to make sure that the school is “also meeting their needs’’ and he feels like right now “things could be better for them.”

Despite the introduction of the gender-neutral bathrooms starting off on a negative note, Mastrangelo and the rest of the Malden High School administration stated that they are working towards improving the atmosphere for the students and making everyone feel comfortable and safe within the high school.

Mastrangelo recognized that administration may not be perfect but their “intent was pure” even if the “impact was not.” He continued, saying that “as the building leader I need to do better.” Mastrangelo also noted that Malden High School is trying “really hard so that everybody has an equitable opportunity to be successful.”

Further developments will be reported on at maldenblueandgold.com.

Editorial

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The Blue and Gold November 2021

maldenblueandgold.com

This Cannot Be Real The Denial of Senior Year

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his is it, senior year. The time that I, and many of my friends, have been waiting for since we first stepped foot into the Jenkins Auditorium as freshmen. Three years later, and what feels like 20 years older, we are unbelievably changed. Despite everything, we made it; and it is absolutely nothing like I thought it would be.

Going through a pandemic for a large portion of your high school career makes it really hard to feel normal. One minute we were sophomores, staying in Mr. Gallagher’s classroom until 6:30 at night working on the upcoming print edition, and the next we’re seniors, finally able to be back in the school. We spent the end of our sophomore year stuck at home, and for many, the entirety of junior year the same way.

I was fortunate enough to spend the last few months of last year in person with my peers, but not everyone shared that opportunity. Now we’re all back, the halls flooded between classes just as they used to be, the stands filled at football games, pep rally just before Thanksgiving and the auditorium packed at the Friday night premiere of the school musical. And as much as everything has returned to normal, there’s one thing that still doesn’t feel right: we’re seniors.

I guess you could say I’m in denial. I wasn’t given the full chance at growing as a sopho-

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more or junior, and suddenly I’m pushed into a handful of leadership roles, at the top of the school, supposedly a role model for those younger than me.

Believe it or not, I am fully aware of my age and the position I am in coming into this newfound sense of responsibility, but that means absolutely nothing when it comes to how it feels. Just because I know I’m 17 doesn’t mean I feel that way, and just because I know I’ll be graduating from Malden High School in just six short months doesn’t change the fact that there are days I wake up and still feel like a sophomore.

When you lose so much time, your inner clock doesn’t adapt. At least that’s my experience. I spent so long in a state of solitude that I think something inside of my mind forgot to feel my growth. It’s almost as if I didn’t process it. But how is it possible that I let nearly two whole years go by without realizing it?

That can’t be real, right?

Somehow it is. We recently had our annual pep rally, a tradition that was halted last year during remote learning, and the whole thing felt very strange. I remember our freshman year pep rally vividly. I know where I sat, who I sat with, the way that I left the gym and the fact that I didn’t take a single photo with anyone and proceeded to go straight home to make casserole for Thanksgiving for the next day. But more than anything, I remember the looks on the faces of the seniors. The Class of 2019, celebrating their victories

in the different events, revelling in the defeat of underclassmen, dripping in blue and gold. I remember thinking to myself, “that’ll be us one day.” Now that time has passed, it is us. We are those seniors, the Class of 2022, screaming at the tops of our lungs for every free throw made and every gain in tug-of-war, but I feel a disconnect. I don’t feel like a senior.

There must be at least one time every week that I look up at one of my friends and say something along the lines of, “we’re seniors, this is our last time doing this” or “we’re graduating in a few months.” And every time, it’s like I’m just making that realization for the very first time. Our class has been seniors for three whole months now, but I still refuse the notion. “We’re not seniors, how could we be, we were literally just sophomores.”

It’s all moving so fast. We sit down in AP Lang and discuss college essay advice, then we meet with our guidance counselors to go over Common App and everything we need to know before we apply for the path that builds the rest of our lives. I go home and narrow down my list of schools, sorting through the endless piles of mail sent from universities I’ve never even heard of before. I take all the steps, I do all the work, I follow the plans and I carve the path, but I can’t take the first step. I can’t admit that I am going to be a college student soon, that I’ll be an adult. I can’t convince myself that my time here is almost up, because I’m terrified of this changing.

I love The Blue and Gold. It’s

become my comfort over the last four years. I pour my blood, sweat and tears into every single print edition and every project I produce. I want to leave my legacy with this paper and make sure that everyone that comes after loves and appreciates it even a fraction as much as I do.

I want to make my mark, but it’s really hard to do that when part of you doesn’t want to move on.

I’m grateful for so much that has happened for me in the last two years. Throughout all the pain and wrong, I have been able to find a light, a reason to grow and allow myself to become this person I am, whether it be a senior in high school, the Editor-in-Chief of the paper, or simply Lauren. Now I just need to chase it, following it out of the dark to wherever it may take me.

I’m teaching myself to embrace the changes, to be okay with it.

Six months. That’s all we have left. To make a difference, to do all the high school things we want to do, to take it all in.

So yeah, I can’t comprehend that now, but check in with me in June and maybe then I’ll finally feel like a senior.

Lauren Mallett Editor-in-Chief

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

The Blue and Gold November 2021

Local News

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maldenblueandgold.com Continued from Page 1.

DeLacey, with 1,483 votes. All three of these candidates will be seated in the 2022-2024 city council.

In Ward One, Councillor Peg Crowe defended her seat against challenger Nadege Phillipe, winning her seat with a tally of 449 votes to 153. In school committee elections for this ward, Michael E. Drummy ran uncontested, and secured 466 votes, with 153 ballots marked blank.

In Ward Two, sitting Councillor Paul A. Condon ran uncontested, winning his seat with 521 votes. In the school committee elections, sitting member Robert S. Mc.Carthy ran unopposed, securing 510 votes.

In Ward Three, Councillor Amanda Linehan retained her seat against contender Glen Curtis, with

a total of 827 votes to 453 votes. In terms of the school committee elections, the current member for Ward Three, Jennifer Spadafora, ran unopposed and secured the seat, with a final tally of 948 votes.

In Ward Four, Ryan O’ Malley defended his seat against contender Jeffery A. Donahue, with a final tally of 459 votes to 206. In the school committee elections, Leonard Iovino, the current councillor, did not run, and Dawn M. Macklin ran unopposed, securing that seat with 466 votes.

In Ward Five, Barbara Murphy retained her seat against Ari Taylor, with a final vote tally of 668 to 538 votes. In the school committee elections, sitting member Adam Weldai ran unopposed, receiving 946 votes.

In Ward Six, sitting councillor David Cammel declined to run, and in the councillor elections, Jerry

Leone lost to Stephen P. Winslow, with a tally of 338 votes for Leone and 564 votes for Winslow. In the school committee elections, Joseph Gray retained his seat by running unopposed, securing 678 votes.

In Ward Seven, the sitting councillor and the city council president Neal Anderson did not run, leading to Chris Simonelli winning the seat against school committee member Michelle Luong, with a tally of 509 votes to 386, respectively.

In the school committee election, Keith Bernard triumphed over Nichole Mossalam, with a vote count of 483 for Bernard, and 302 for Mossalam.

In Ward Eight, the sitting councillor, Jadeane Sica, defended her seat against Nate

Kupel, with a vote tally of 465 to 385. In the school committee elections for this ward, sitting member John Froio did not run, leading to a race between Bruce Friedman and Sharyn Rose-Zeiberg, won handily by the latter, with a vote tally of 163 to 614.

All these new members and returning members will sit at their new councils for their two-year terms, at which time they will be subject to election once more.

Malden Youth Hosts Political Forum in Preparation for Municipal Elections political forums.” She felt extremely proud of the youth organizers who had worked so hard together. Onuid you know that most of oha feels that “youth are very much Malden’s population is under capable” of doing anything they set the age of 30? Shouldn’t that mean their minds to but are often shut that youth are taken more seriously down because of ageism. when it comes to the government Zeng had felt it was incredand its choices? That is the goal ibly important for a forum like this behind the Malden Youth Political to happen because youth are often Forum. overlooked in Malden. Zeng wanted Hosted on October 21st, 2021, to make sure that the candidates this was the first ever youth-run were aware of the fact that “we exist Malden Political Forum. With the and we are going to be listened to.”

Ryan Li, one of the youth orhelp of Billy Zeng and Alexandria Onuoha, a group of Malden youth ganizers, also felt it was important worked together to host this event to get more “youth to be aware of with the same goal: How could politics” because in the end these they inspire other youth to use their candidates affect the youth more voices when it came to local gov- than anything. Even if they were too ernment? Because, in the end, local young to vote they should be aware government matters just as much as of what the adults around them the federal government does. were deciding.

For the students who worked In the end, the best way they hard to prepare the event, it was a felt they could be heard was to host great experience. Throughout the their own forum. This was what Ketlong preparation process the teens shaly Philome, one of the youth orworked together beginning in Au- ganizers, felt would “create a space gust. They finally managed to host for other youth to get involved.” So the event after having it moved from all together, a handful of youth aged their initially scheduled time in Sep- 14-19 started meeting roughly once tember. a week in constant contact as they Throughout the long organi- worked out their plans. The process zational process, Zeng and Onuoha was in three big parts: the initial conhad been “taking a back seat, and versations, the rough sketch as well just making sure all the logistics as the rehearsals and final details. flow together,” as Zeng had menBut of course like any other tioned. After the whole thing came event, Leslie Rodriguez, another together Onuoha felt that it “was youth organizer, felt that there probably one of the most organized “were definitely a few hiccups here and there,” which had to be expected as no event would have been perfect.

Though they all definitely felt it went extremely well, aside from the fact that some candidates had said they would A screenshot of some of the student organizers, alongside a come but never few candidates who also attended. ended up showHadjar Yousfi Lead Reporter

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ing.

As the date started to near for the Malden Political Youth Forum, the students started promoting the event, even though there was only a week left. They didn’t mind if a lot of people joined as they planned to record the event. Either way, even if only one person had heard them as Onuoha had said, their “message is going to spread,” Rodriguez added that “young people still have a voice in our city.”

Before the event some of the youth organizers had some mild worries. Li said people “nowadays more or less lash out at each other,” over their political views. But thankfully all candidates were respectful and listened to the youth when told their time was up, as they were given limited time every time they spoke.

The Malden Youth Political Forum ran smoothly, as many viewers would agree. Malden High School teacher Katherine Haskell, who despite not living in Malden, wanted “to understand what the candidates stand for,” in the city she works in.

Haskel also found it nice to attend events where she gets to see her “students do exciting things outside the classroom.”

Jessica Webber, another teacher at Malden High School, is an active Malden voter. She really enjoyed “seeing how well organized it was,” and was extremely impressed by how professional and well put together it was for a youth run forum.

Webber found it extremely exciting “seeing some of the youth engaged in what we need,” as a city.

The candidates themselves also had great things to say about the event, like Ward 5 Council Candidate Ariane Taylor, who found it amazing to see “young people involved ... when they are excited or interested in government.” Taylor felt that overall this was an important forum that she had to attend as a candidate because she knows that they are going to affect “the next generation” with their decisions.

From a candidate’s perspective Taylor felt the questions were “tough” and that “they were well thought out.” Onuoha believes this is important because youth are great at asking challenging and complex questions that are truly relevant, which is needed. Taylor feels as though youth forums in general should be normalized in Malden and that more youth at the Malden political table is what the city needs; it would greatly improve the quality of decisions and discussions, because the perspective of youth is quite different than the ones currently at the table.

The forum itself lasted around an hour and forty minutes, starting around 6pm. Towards the beginning the youth organizers introduced themselves before allowing the candidates 45 seconds to introduce themselves. Following that they began to play videos from candidates who could not make it because they felt they wanted to give every candidate the chance for their voice to be heard.

After that they transitioned into the questions session. With three questions in total, they gave each candidate two minutes to respond. The youth made sure to remind everyone to make sure they were muted and did not speak over one another. Once they finished the questions they moved on to closing statements where each candidate was given 45 seconds. Following that the meeting came to a great end. Throughout the entire forum it was clear just how much time and effort was put into it.

In the future the youth hope that others reach out. As Rodriguez said “the door is always open for us to reach out,” to our local politicians to make a difference. So “reach out to local community organizations, reach out to local city councils, city council officials,” as Zeng encourages others to do. Because in the end youth voices are some of the most important voices in Malden.

Local News

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Starbucks Opens New Location in Malden

maldenblueandgold.com

Crumbl Cookies Opens New Locations Restaurant Review

Gabi Ilebode Reporter

Mack Keating Reporter

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he anticipation for the new Starbucks in Malden has been brewing for months. Since the announcement over the summer was made by Mayor Gary Christenson, it seems it is all people have been talking about.

With all this anticipation, they had a lot of pressure on them to open and have a successful opening.

With the delay with the construction of the store, the opening date kept being pushed back. It was supposed to open on October 2nd, but didn’t open until mid-October.

Barista Tivian Nguyen said “when it finally opened it was surely unexpected.” For the staff as the weeks went by it has gotten busier.

Even with the odds that seemed against them, they were ready to open; setting up nights before, stocking the store with all their products.

They had an eventful opening day.

The day of the opening they were only open for about five hours, but within that short span of time it was a hit, considering how much they were able to sell.

The shift manager Laura Odom said they had “completely sold out of pumpkin spice, and some of their food items.” The baristas thought it was “an exciting time,” but didn’t realize how popular it really was going to be. With the new holiday launch, it was even busier than before, “the seasonal items on the shelves were gone.” Most of their orders were holiday drinks.

Since the opening, there has been steady business. The opening of this Starbucks really brought in a new chapter for Malden and Malden Center. Being across from the train station and close enough to the high school, they are hoping it will bring in enough business for years to come.

Starbucks front entrance. Photo by Dani Licona-Cruz.

The Blue and Gold November 2021

rumbl Cookies is a national cookie shop and it just opened two new locations in Massachusetts.

Previously, the closest shop was in Methuen, but now the travel distance will be even closer. Woburn opened a location at 300 Mishawum Road, which is in the Woburn Village shopping center, on November eleventh. The week following, Saugus opened a location in the shopping center at 358 Broadway Suite.

While at first glance this shop may seem like any other cookie store, it does have some specialties. For one, the individual cookies are huge, about twice the size of an average cookie. The more important distinction, though, is the menu. Crumbl Cookies switches out their menu every Sunday. I tried the cookies from the week of Woburn’s opening, so the choices have changed since then.

The first cookie, and possibly the most basic, was a sugar cookie with almond frosting. This cookie, as well as the chocolate chip cookie, is always on the menu. The cookie was warm and sweet, practically melting in my mouth. It might have been a little too sweet, especially for my standards, but other people I know tried it and disagreed. For this, I will rate the cookie 7/10.

The next cookie was the chocolate chip. When I first tried this, I didn’t taste anything special. Where the sugar cookie was soft with a hint of almond, all this cookie gave me was mediocre baking that I could have gotten cheaper somewhere else. The chocolate chips were barely melted and were hard to bite into, and all around was the worst cookie in the box. I will give it some credit for being a cookie that is supposed to be basic, but it almost felt too basic. Because of this, it gets a 3/10.

Crumbl Cookies front entrance. Photo

by Mack Keating.

The Reese’s Pieces cookie, on the contrary, was everything the chocolate chip wasn’t. The cookie itself was way softer, the flavor was immaculate, and while that flavor is fairly common, this specific cookie has to be my favorite. The cookie itself was a plain cookie with a hint of peanut butter, and the generous amount of chips embedded in the cookie added a burst of flavor. This cookie easily scores a 9/10.

Up next was the chocolate cookie with crumbled Oreos scattered throughout the cookie. Upon my first bite of the cookie, I immediately thought, “this cookie is way too sweet.” The chocolate was rich but that combined with the Oreos was way too much sugar for me, and made me crave a glass of milk to go with it. The cookie itself was phenomenal, but a tone-down on the sugar would have been appreciated. For this, the cookie gets a 6/10.

I personally love dulce de leche anything, so I was over the moon when I found out that was one of their cookies, and Crumbl did not disappoint. The cookie itself was a soft yet crumbly base, with a generous layer of caramel on top, finished off with a dollop of cream. The caramel was sweet but not over the top, and the cream added a nice balance. I could not find a single thing I would change about this cookie and it was by far my favorite. An easy 10/10.

The final cookie was possibly the most unique flavor on the menu: pecan pie. The cookie crust was a buttery and crumbly cookie with an indent in the middle - akin to a pie crust - to hold the filling. The actual filling was a thick and almost creamy paste and plenty of pecans.

From the first bite, the cookie was already falling apart in my hands but the filling stayed mostly intact. The cookie tasted staggeringly good, but it left a mess of crumbs behind. Due to this, it gets a 6/10.

The shop was pretty crowded and busy, but even then no one stood in line for more than a few minutes. It was an open concept and guests could watch the process of the cookies being made while waiting.

There were two self-serve checkouts for people with credit cards but the location was right in the middle of the line, which made waiting more uncomfortable and everyone was more squished together. While the cookies were amazing, the price was also a negative factor, as each cookie costs $4. In all, my experience in person was an 8/10, and my overall experience was a 7/10.

With this being my first experience at Crumbl, I would definitely recommend this store to try at least once. While their prices may be high, their cookies are above average and definitely worth it.

Crumbl Cookies logo.

Some of the flavors available at Crumbl Cookies. Photo by Mack Keating.

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Teeming with Vibrance 2021 Fall Family Extravaganza

Mack Keating Reporter Jessica Li Reporter

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he 2021 Fall Family Extravaganza proved, as Mayor Gary Christenson put it, “a fun-filled event” for many—the great turnout, a “testament to the liaisons...working for [Malden]”.

Bruna Oliveira and several other organizers planned a districtwide event that went into effect on November 10th. With the aim to offer space for participants to “learn about city-wide resources and meet [their] schools’ family liaison,” the occasion was packed not only with activities, but guests. Over 400 attendees showed up to the Salemwood School on 529 Salem St., with the crowd engaging themselves in Connect 4, arts and crafts, face painting, the outdoor corn maze, enjoying cotton candy, hot chocolate and other sweets.

Many Malden High School students volunteered to help run the event, and all appeared to have only positive opinions. Freshman Ollie Dodge, who ran the Arts &

All photos by Jessica Li.

Crafts station, commented that the volunteers were “having so much fun with the kids” and that it was a “10 out of 10” and that they would “do this again.” Fellow Freshman, Justin Yip, seemed to have the same mentality as he continued Dodge’s remark and praised that the event seemed especially “fun for little kids” and that he “felt so good helping people.”

Down at the cotton candy machine, Freshmen volunteers Huong Ly and Melena Duong agreed that the event was going great. Ly mentioned that her favorite part was getting to “interact with everyone” in a COVID-safe way… “It makes me happy to see [the kids] smile.” Duong followed, saying that the event was “going really good” and she “would definitely volunteer again.”

Throughout the event, the lines seemed to crowd at the face painting station, where volunteers Natalie Keating, Sarah Pham, Jeslyn San, Samara Valencia Perez and Lovely Gerochi were kept busy all night.

Keating, who has “face painted at events before”, noted that this event “was one of the most packed” events

she had attended. She voiced her respect for the hosts, declaring she was “proud of how the family liaisons pulled it all together.” Co-worker San added to this, expressing that the event was “very meaningful” to her and she enjoyed “meeting new people.”

Numerous groups and organizations had set up booths and tables around the event. The Linden S.T.E.A.M. Academy Parent Teacher Organization (P.T.O.) was among them, and member Waldina Del Rio reflected that it is always great to “get involved and meet people.”

She further commented that it is important to “get word out to parents... for events going on and what’s happening—like fundraisers—and [she encourages] others to do the same.”

At a neighboring table, the Director of Development at the Bread of Life and Malden High graduate, Patty Kelly, elaborated on Del Rio’s comments and claimed that this was a good “opportunity to get out in the community.”

Mayor Gary Christenson also seemed to share this thought. He claimed that this event was impor-

tant “to bring the schools together to have fun, because everything is so quick and fast and stressful right now.” He also seemed to agree with Keating, mentioning that he was “impressed with this turnout, which is a testament to the liaisons” the city has working for them.

Overall, despite being held for merely two hours, the event was regarded as an immense success, both for those who organized the event and those who attended it. That evening, the Salemwood School accommodated hundreds of lively Maldonians. Goals to inform and promote their work to the participants had been exceeded, as the various family liaisons found the event a great opportunity to get out in the community so people know they are available. In the eyes of guest Lanyu Liang, the execution of such an objective proved “very fun for people of all ages.”

Agreeing to Liang’s remark, the event organizers concluded the event at 7 P.M., full of gratitude for all who showed up and with their energy, brought further color to the school’s gym and lawn.

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maldenblueandgold.com Continued from page 1. close game.

At this time, the stands began filling up relatively fast as the rest of the school entered the gym. For some students, this was their first time attending a large school event, let alone Pep Rally, but luckily there were NHS members present to show students in the right direction.

At approximately 9:30, Principal Chris Mastrangelo came on the microphone to welcome everyone to Pep Rally and introduced the MHS Chorus for the singing of the national anthem. Next, the entire school observed a moment of silence, followed by a performance from the band.

Their performance consisted of a crowd-pleasing drum solo and renditions of “Get Ready For This”, the Fox Sports theme song, “Yeah!”, “Trumpets”, “Jaws”, “Cheerleader”, “Eye of the Tiger, “Seven Nation Army”, “Mission Impossible” and “Mexican Hat Dance” all throughout the rest of the day. Band President Mica Avellan expressed that her leadership position this year made her “last pep rally much more memorable.” To be able to see “the band work many long hours and finally be able to perform in front of the school,” sounding as good as they did, brought her “so much joy.”

Then came the iconic Step Team, sporting matching maroon velvet tracksuits and white sneakers.

The crowd roared during their performance, showing just how popular the team is at school events. Step Team Captain and Senior Micaela Henry said that she “was happy to perform again” after being separated as a team last year. Reflecting on their performance, it was “very rewarding to build a great team of girls that worked hard” to do their best. The performance ended with a routine accompanied by the band playing Lil Nas X’s “Industry Baby”.

After the Step Team finished, the MHS Cheerleading Team set up their mats to perform a routine of their own, accompanied by the Golden Tornados Football Team.

The two teams joined together for a lighthearted and exciting show, started by a fake game of football.

Then they did some signature cheer lifts, with some of the football players acting as flyers, getting lifted high into the air. They were set down gently and each member

All photos by Brandon Wong and Jessica Li.

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maldenblueandgold.com of the groups did a variety of flips, from cartwheels to back tucks. Students roared with laughter as they watched the players perform.

The cheerleaders then formed two lines, creating a path for the football team to run through, as Math Teacher Evan Mauser introduced the players by grade. They huddled into a group and chanted one of their pre-game rituals in preparation for the next day’s annual Thanksgiving game against Medford. Afterwards, the team stepped aside to allow the cheerleaders to perform a dance routine to “Woman” by Doja Cat, which was met by a large show of support.

Just after the cheerleaders and football team wrapped up, Senior Ethan Heon, surrounded by his teammates, promposed to Karen Rivera, Managing Editor of The Blue and Gold. She said yes and the whole room shook with excitement, friends and students from all grades cheering and applauding.

Once the room settled, the spirit teams got back into the competition, continuing with the basketball free throw challenge. Each of the grades had to shoot as many free throws as they could into their respective baskets. Each team gave their best and soon the game was over, ending with a three way tie between the seniors, juniors and sophomores.

Coming off the disappointing tie, they moved onto the push-up competition. Typically this event is a pull-up competition, but due to unforeseen circumstances, everyone quickly shifted gears and prepared the competitors to do push ups. Still, the teams pushed on. In the end, seniors won this event, with Senior Sam Ortega doing 68 push-ups and Linda Le beating the record of 20.

After the push-ups came the longest awaited event: the human pyramid. Once again, the seniors walked away with a victory. Then came the under-over event, which was won by the freshmen class, then the seniors, sophomores, and juniors in last.

At the end of the day, the total points were tallied up between the event competitions and participation in Spirit Week challenges. The final scores were as follows; Seniors in first place with 47 points, juniors in second with 33.5 points, sophomores in third with 26.5 points and freshmen in last place with 24 points.

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Continued from page 1. marketing and we have a prop person so there are always things that people can do.” Once the main characters, Mama Rose, Louise June and others fell into place, the supporting roles came and the entire crew had a task.

The next step for Gypsy was blocking and preparation. Most of the time DeRosa read through the script and came up with ideas for how the play would move along, even though the plan “might change a million times as [they went] on in the rehearsal process.”

A huge step for the students was becoming their character on stage. In order to prepare, the crew came up with backstories for the characters that may have not been expanded on as much as the main characters in the play. Some students practiced accents while others tried to get in a specific mindset.

Sophomore Brian Vences, who played Pop, mentioned that his role required him to have an angry outburst in a scene. Vences explained

he would “try to think of things that make [him] angry.” Vences continued that once he had that “explosion” mindset he would “try to get the most genuine performance.”

Senior Yusra Tafraoui’s strategy for playing Mama Rose was to “just try not to be negative.” She said that her “character does not like being vulnerable” and Tafraoui felt “stressed out,” especially with a big production. So, she “focused on what can go right and continued to remember how to be confident.”

Junior Penelope Buckingham, however, thought it was “easy to get into character when you have the costume and the set when you are on stage” The tech crew was also working behind the scenes to make sure the props and lighting worked properly. Prop Manager Sophomore Kaitlyn Pham remarked that “we pretty much went through the entire script and we picked out pieces necessary for props and … made this big list and then our manager gave us a little diagram to section things out between scenes”

All photos by Carlos Aragon and Jessica Li.

Long-time friend of DeRosa, Technical Director Kayla Morello was mainly in charge of the homemade props, like a free-standing door, a light-up sign displaying “Rose” and a 2-dimensional car.

They were also in charge of lighting, reflecting on how it was “a little crazy at one point. There were a couple of sequences where some very specifically timed cues had to be timed with the actors on the stage and the curtain at the same time.” They have a spot operator “who has to work a spot at the right time and it has to be on an actor at the right time and go off at the right time, that Rose sign has to come down and light up at the right moment.”

After a few months of practice, the team came to its penultimate challenge: tech week. Tech week is notorious for putting actors through long periods of work. The crew practiced Monday through Thursday from four o’clock to nine o’clock.

While this time can be stressful and quite taxing, it is a necessary evil that, when done right, can lead to a spectacle of a show. Furthermore,

the crew’s hard work paid off and the bond held true. “Everyone in this class is so nice. And I just love coming to class every day,” Sophomore Emma Spignese-Smolinsky remarked.

Morello added, “I love the kids.

There’s always something one of the students will say to me that . . . is why I want to do this,” and “makes it worth it.” Morello continued that “I love seeing them excited when I bring set pieces or lights together and they see their stuff for the first time and they just feel so excited.

They’re like ‘yeah, so cool!’ That makes me feel really really good.”

DeRosa commented that “they worked so, so, so hard.” Senior Yasmine (Mena) Alayan wanted to stress that she’s “very thankful to Ms. DeRosa, Mr. Cole and everyone who’s helped put this production together.” She was really happy that they decided to put her in the play and that they “are amazing people.”

Vences recommends to people thinking of joining Play Production to “go for it.” Tafraoui simply said, “I’ll see you on Broadway!”

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Ewald Charles Comes to MHS as Brunelli House Principal

Carlos Aragon Editor-in-Chief of Print

A

fter Heather Northrop’s departure to Burlington High, Malden High had an open position that needed to be filled. Jean Ewald Charles stepped up, and MHS welcomed him as the new Brunelli House Principal.

Charles grew up in Haiti, but came to the US at the age of 18. From there, he attended High School in Brooklyn and attended Alfred University. He then transferred into Columbia University, and from there he went to medical school, although he “decided to leave that to go into teaching” and received his masters from Framingham State University.

He ended up teaching physics and biology at a high school in Churchpoint, Louisiana.

Charles was not always planning on being a teacher. However, during his college years, one of his teachers got him into teaching biology, working in Brooklyn with “inner city kids, whom people often marginalize and don’t think are successful.” He taught one girl named

Amanda who he is “never going to forget”; she passed the High School Regent Exam (the New York equivalent of the MCAS) at the age of 10 with an 86. Being able to work with her made him feel as though he could “do something in education and work with kids.”

During the hiring process, Boyle House Principal Stephanie Sibley stated that they actually reached out to him; she’s known Charles for a long time; they “worked in Boston Public Schools years ago” and she’s “always had the utmost respect and admiration for him.”

The hiring pool was small, around five people, and Sibley stated that they wanted a more “diverse applicant pool” so they reached out to him. Charles was the “standout candidate” due to the fact that he brought a “science lens” and a lens for “working with English-language learners” to the administrative team. Sibley added that “because he worked at Salemwood for the last couple of years, it was a win having someone who already knew a lot of the kids.”

Principal Christopher Mas-

trangelo stated that when Jason Payeur was hired as Jenkins House Principal, “Charles actually came in and interviewed for that position.”

Even so, he ended up working at the Salemwood School until now.

Mastrangelo feels as though being an immigrant who moved here makes Charles “relatable to a lot of our students, not just from Haiti but from any country.” Above all else, Mastrangelo said that he is “so calm and kind in his approach to students” and his interactions are outstanding “because he cares.”

Mastrangelo added that Charles is “brilliant” as he speaks four languages and was on track to becoming a doctor.

Charles stated that so far, he is loving Malden High. “There’s a great population of students here, and the diversity is amazing”; he said that it’s almost as if there’s “something I’m looking for up in the sky, and I’ve found that here.”

Charles also said that he loves the structure of the school, and the accessibility to high learning. He believes that it is important that kids have “access to AP classes, honors

Ewald Charles in his office. Photo by Carlos Aragon. classes” and that all of the students get the same opportunities. “There are some classes that you walk in, and you see that the discussions that are taking place are getting students ready for college,” stated Charles.

During his first few weeks, he stated that a student would routinely check in on him to see how he was doing. Charles expressed that“it brought tears to my eyes a little bit, because she cared so much.” Charles observes that the student body is “so nice, genuinely nice and respectful,” making MHS a great place to work.

Joshua Sellers Joins Math Department Lulu Harding Editor-in-Chief of Web and Mobile Apps

J

oshua Sellers, a recent graduate from Northeastern University’s class of 2020, now makes part of Malden High School’s math department. Sellers originally grew up in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago.

He explained that during his senior year of high school, his AP Psychology teacher inspired him to become a teacher himself. “One day she was talking about why she became a teacher and how important she thinks that education is,” adding that “A lot of what she was saying just really resonated with me.”

He also mentioned that he “wanted a career that had some very obvious societal purpose,” and he thinks that teaching “is one of those careers that it is really easy to see the impact of your work.” Teaching also seemed to suit Sellers’ overall personality, and he felt that this

Photo by Karen Rivera.

would be a really fitting career for him altogether.

Sellers moved to the Greater Boston area five years ago to attend Northeastern University. He greatly enjoyed his time in college, mentioning that he is “nostalgic already.”

While there, something that Sellers took advantage of was Northeastern University’s famously known co-op program. Co-op programs allow students in college to alternate their studies with being a full-time employee which allows them to gain “real-world” experience, especially in their field of study. In his sophomore year of college, Sellers took part in a co-op working in the Boston Public Schools district office, being an intern for their math department team. Although it was “a small team” with only three other coworkers, he explained that “all three of them were really, really experienced former math teachers.” They did things like “plan the teacher trainings for all of Boston Public Schools and help to make the curriculum and lessons.”

Sellers is grateful for his experience working there because it was at a time he “was coming right out of high school”, and he “had no idea what happened at the district office of a public school district.” It was just this “mysterious place,” and being only 19 at the time, seeing what happened at the district level was “really interesting, especially since teachers normally don’t get to do that unless they have something like 10 years of experience.”

When teaching students, Sellers has always taught math. He previously taught in an eighth grade

classroom in Chelsea, and this past summer worked in Somerville Public Schools. He was a part of Somerville’s summer enrichment program called “The Calculus Project,” which aims to “prepare middle school students to eventually take calculus their senior year of high school.”

Sellers decided to come to Malden High School because since moving to Boston, he knew that he definitely wanted to stay somewhere in the Greater Boston area. “When I was applying for teaching jobs in the area, I specifically remember lots of my professors in college... specifically three of them all used to work in Malden Public Schools somewhere,” he explained. “They all said amazing things about the school district...So when I saw [a job posting] from Malden High School, I was like oh, apply there for sure.”

During the interview process with principal Chris Mastrangelo and the math department for the teaching position, Sellers especially liked how collaborative everybody seemed and how much they emphasized teamwork. Even after getting the job, he saw that they all followed through with this collaborative mindset, and he enjoys being in this type of environment.

Head of the math department as well as fellow math teacher Kayla Scheitlin was on the hiring committee for Seller’s position. When considering him for this position, she said that “Sellers was really passionate about working at our school, and had very thoughtful answers to our interview questions that placed student learning and wellbeing at the center of his practice.” Being a

“highly qualified applicant, his passion for teaching and learning was clear in his interview,” Scheitlin explained. “We thought he would make a great addition to our department and help a lot of students learn math.”

This year, Sellers is teaching Math 2 CP and Math 2 Honors. He enjoys teaching at Malden High School because he likes it being “fast-paced—the days really go by fast and the kids are great.” Additionally, his favorite part of the day is when they’re “doing math together” during class, such as “when we’re doing a problem together... figuring stuff out. That is definitely my favorite part.”

Freshman Preston Shearer describes that Sellers is “super chill and does a good job teaching new lessons,” and sophomore Zeke Noelsaint similarly expresses that “He is a great teacher and teaches math thoroughly.” Additionally, Scheitlin adds how he has “a good sense of humor and good attitude.”

Outside of school, Sellers enjoys playing video games and watching Netflix, and is a big Chicago sports fan. Recently, he joined an adult volleyball league, and describes it as being “a learning experience for sure.” Despite never having played before, he has really enjoyed being a part of this team since he grew up playing all types of sports, specifically tennis and soccer.

Overall, compared to his two internships at Northeastern University and various other summer jobs, Sellers said that teaching is “definitely the most fun job I’ve ever had.”

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Fredy Rodriguez-Diaz: New Italian Teacher Hadjar Yousfi Lead Reporter

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mong the new staff this year at Malden High School, Professor Fredy Rodriguez-Diaz, is a new addition. A trilingual and passionate person, Rodriguez-Diaz is eager to share their passion with the Malden High community. They have always felt a strong connection towards helping others.

Rodriguez-Diaz in their classroom.

Photo by Hadjar Yousfi.

Professor Rodriguez-Diaz was born in Guatemala where they spent half their childhood with their grandparents before moving to the United States as a teenager with their family. They believe that having grown up in a different country was a privilege that shaped the way they see the world today.

Rodriguez-Diaz has a Bachelor’s Degree in both Psychology and Italian Language from Salem State University. They also completed their Master’s degree from Middlebury College in Vermont while

studying in Italy. Currently Professor Rodriguez-Diaz is working on their PhD in Italian Literature.

As apparent as it is, RodriguezDiaz is quite passionate about learning Italy’s history and culture. Sharon Kalagher, a Spanish Teacher at Malden High School, and the head of the World Language Department, felt that they “will bring that same enthusiasm to the students.”

She also said that when someone is “really interested in something it shows ... so the enthusiasm kind of passes on.”

Originally Professor Rodriguez-Diaz was meant to be hired for a position as a Spanish teacher, and then an Italian language teaching position opened up. According to Marta Cabral, the Holland House Principal, “that was something [they] were more interested in pursuing so [they] hired them for the Italian position.”

Cabral, alongside Elena Mayer, another World Language teacher, had been chairing the hiring process for all the new World Language teachers this year. Cabral said that they “both made the decision that Rodriguez-Diaz would be a great fit for Malden High School.”

Having taught in both Italy and the United States, RodriguezDiaz has a lot of experience in teaching. They have always felt extremely passionate about the three languages they speak, English, Spanish and Italian. They feel that “[their] mission in life is to spread the knowledge of Spanish and Italian.”

In Rodriguez-Diaz’s opinion, learning a language is not just about “the technical parts, but the people and the culture.” When students are exposed to different languages, they

feel that they “learn about different populations, different people, and different experiences.” RodriguezDiaz especially feels that students should be aware of not just the academic parts of a language but the in-depth and historical parts, which helps to capture all the beauty of the country itself.

Many of their students feel that they are passionate during their classes with Professor RodriguezDiaz. Junior student Giovanna Bernard, who has enjoyed learning

anything. They are always willing to help and enjoy talking to the students for whatever reason it may be.

Overall they feel that they are quite a friendly, and calm person. “[They] like to give to everyone,” without ever expecting anything in return. Rodriguez-Diaz also enjoys writing poetry, watching movies, cooking and being in nature.

Rodriguez-Diaz has been an educator for around six years and chose Malden High School as their next location, mainly because of the

Fredy Rodriguez-Diaz at their desk. Photo by Hadjar Yousfi.

Italian for years, said, “they make us feel like [the students] can be themselves.” She feels that while also teaching them, they are also willing to get to know the students better and to check up on them. Sophomore Sandra Tang said that she feels “they are very nice and gives help when needed.”

Professor Rodriguez-Diaz has also said that they want to ensure that students come to them when they need or want some help with

famed diversity, which has brought so many others here. “There’s many students from diverse backgrounds, and [they] really appreciate that.”

They have been transitioning quite well to the new and fast moving environment that we all know as Malden High School, from decorating their room, to getting used to the different aspects of the building.

Overall they have liked their experiences so far, and are excited to get to know more students in the future.

Jean Jones Joins Malden High Math Department Gianna Lally Reporter Samara Valencia Reporter

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alden High School has yet again welcomed another new addition to the Boyle House.

Jean Jones has joined the Math and Special Education departments. She currently teaches in a team of four different Math 1 teachers.

Jones grew up in Fort-Smith, Arkansas. She attended the University of Arkansas for five years, majoring in English Language Arts.

She later decided when becoming a teacher that she enjoyed math more than she thought. Working as a teacher is Jones’ first full-time job. Before coming to Malden High School, she only ever worked at a library as a part-time job to earn money in college. Jones has wanted to be a teacher since she was young.

Jones said, “I used to always play school when I was little, and I would be the teacher just because I had always wanted to be one.”

Jones also mentioned, “I had strong

teachers that connected to me and influenced me to do the same.”

Stephanie Sibley, Principal of Boyle House, was more than happy to hire Jones. Sibley said that “increasing the number of teachers of color has been a huge goal for [Malden High School] and especially Principal Mastrangelo.” Sibley talked about how Jones attended the Juneteenth flag-raising ceremony last year “before she even started working here.”

Sibley adds how Jones showed knowledge about Special Education during her interview. Jones “really seemed to know how to support the students and their learning, which [MHS] really needed for a new teacher.” Sibley believes that Jones showed a “qualified experience” to students and came across as being “very sensitive to the students’ needs academically and otherwise.”

She believed that Jones was the perfect match for Malden High School and the specific department she joined.

Elizabeth Tirrell, another teacher on the Math 1 team men-

tioned that Jones was “very patient” watching movies and tv shows.” and “super kind” to the people she Jones also adds that she “loves worked with. “She really connects music and going to concerts,” but with the [students], which is a huge COVID-19 made that “difficult” for element in teaching math.” her to do.

Jones went into detail about Jones is “glad to be at [MHS]” how “figuring out how to make and hopes to build that “teaching things fun for kids” is the most diffi- element” that she has learned from cult part for her at the Malden High teachers before her. Jones notices School. “Most kids don’t find math that “students can have a hard time fun or engaging” so Jones tries to in school” so she is open to talkmotivate them to make the students ing to anyone about anything. She “feel successful” even if they do not makes it clear that her “listening like it. Jones “hated math grow- skills and giving others advice” are ing up” but understood a lot better huge strengths as being a teacher. during adulthood.

Considering this, she understands why the children find it hard to learn.

Other than English and Math, Jones enjoys a variety of activities and hobbies. She goes to the gym, does weight training, spin classes, yoga, kickboxing and more physical activi- Jones guiding one of her students through their workties. She “really likes sheet. Photo by Jessica Li.

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Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Jennifer Hedrington Hosts Ted Talk Sandra Li Managing Editor

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n October 2020, Jennifer Hedrington was awarded Teacher of the Year 2021 in Massachusetts while teaching at the Salemwood School in Malden. With this award, it has opened many doors of opportunity for Hedrington, including being one of the keynote speakers for TEDxBoston.

Hedrington explained that the story behind her being selected as a speaker goes back to Black History Month in February, where the Department of Education had asked her to be a speaker for their Black History Month Program. She went on to say that “[she] wrote something up” and “did not think anything of it.”

The event was virtual and Hedrington noticed how in the chat, one of the participants mentioned that her speech should be a TEDTalk. At the moment, Hedrington did not think much of it; however, she later found out that one of the audience members is affiliated with TEDTalk. Even despite them reaching out to Hedrington to present her speech, she continued to believe that “this [was] a joke,” and later “realized that they [were] serious.”

Hedrington described that she is “not a public speaker type of person” and felt extremely nervous when presented with the opportunity. It was not until five days before the actual event that Hedrington made the final decision to be a speaker. One of the main reasons she felt worried about the event was due to how she would need to memorize

all of her lines, which in total would be 12 minutes long. Hedrington believes that the whole situation was “just truly by accident.”

She noted that what pushed her to overcome her uneasiness was knowing that in the end, “I was not doing this for myself” because “this is not about you.” Rather, “you represent the kids who brought you here,” said Hedrington. Adding on, she told herself that “if you are always telling your kids to go out and do this... how dare you not?” and so– “it is your turn to shine bright for them.”

On the day of the talk, Hedrington recounted the moment when she walked into the building where a woman looked at her and asked if she was a helper. She explained to the woman that she was a presenter and told her that the speech was about color. Hedrington wore a black dress and the woman commented how black is the absence of color– ultimately touching upon what Hedrington’s talk would be about. She emphasized how for the woman to say that, it reveals the underlying problem– that “society has such a negative connotation of black,” said Hedrington.

Part of Hedrington’s talk was to engage with the audience, which she did by asking them riddles and having the audience members connect the word. During this part, it focused on how society interprets it and uses the word black. Some included “I am the result of a fist colliding with your eye,” and “I am where you go to buy illegal or off market items.” From this, Hedrington explained that it is all

“I have been taught to hate myself, and see little or no value in all that is black... all that is me. You see, I had to correct myself.

Because I CHOOSE what I want to learn, in this particular situation, I was not given a choice, rather I have been indoctrinated to see myself with all that is detestable.“

Photo submitted by Hedrington. psychological where “all the words in the English language” are “negative with the word black,” and then “you tell I am black.” And so “you are telling me subconsciously, that I am all these negative things… [and] the absence of color,” she said.

In the second half of Hedrington’s speech, B.L.A.C.K, she flipped it and gave her own interpretation of the word black and what black means to her. For instance, she stated “you could not appreciate the stars if it was not against a black night sky.” And in society, the only way to “make a color shine bright,” is when you have to “put it against a black background.” In turn, Hedrington said “I am the reason why society pops.”

In her speech, Hedrington described how when she presented it, it sounded like a poem because when she says it, “it comes out like a spoken word.” In addition, she chose to speak in the third person since to “give speeches that talk about myself,” Hedrington finds it difficult. “I speak as if I am another person, which made it easier to speak about myself,” Hedrington explained, “I became another person so that... mentally, it became a little easier.”

From Hedrington’s redefinition of the word black, she hoped that the audience would recognize the “power of words,” and how “we have been injected to think negatively of different groups.”

“It is ON my back and it WAS my sweat that built the infrastructure that is now America. I have the power to cover up your mistakes and imperfections. I can black THINGS out so no one can see your flaws. I am the INK used to transcribe your history books. I am the deliverer of your knowledge.“ Photo via TEDx Talk.

The Blue and Gold November 2021

Local News

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maldenblueandgold.com

MHS Christelle Jean Joins School Committee As New Introduces the C.A.B.B. Student Representative Lauren Mallett Editor-in-Chief

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very fiscal year, the Malden School Committee looks for a new member to fill a role open only to Malden High School Students: the Student Representative. The student who fills this position is typically a member of the junior or senior class, though this year MHS Principal Chris Mastrangelo opened the application to students of all grades. The student representative is given insight into policy and procedure, but has no vote, and serves to provide a student’s perspective on many of the topics discussed by the committee. From the 25 students who applied, Mastrangelo knew who the best choice for the position was; Christelle Jean was selected and is now officially the Student Representative on the Malden School Committee.

Mastrangelo emphasized the importance of this position, speaking on past student representatives.

He stated that when determining who to select for the position, Jean stood out due to her “confidence and advocacy,” as well as her track record of “rich activism, standing up” for her beliefs and uplifting “student voice.”

When deciding on whether or not to apply for the position, Jean felt her “past experiences interacting with the school committee” led to her believing they are the “people you come to when you had a problem in the community that needed fixing,” and she wanted “to be on the inside of that.” In the past, Jean has spoken to the school committee about a variety of issues within the Malden Public Schools, most notably the personal experiences she and her peers had with racial inequality.

She noted that “I didn’t see anyone else doing it in the ways I thought we needed so I just did it myself.”

Stepping into this position is a big responsibility, but it is one that Jean is fully prepared to handle.

She commented on the “many commitments the committee have made to the community” and how she intends on “being there to see they are met in its fullest capacity.”

One of Jean’s biggest goals over the next year is to “address the disconnect between the people in schools who don’t have power in decision making and those who do.” She added that “it seems like everyone feels like they’re in the dark when it comes to the other side,” which is something she would like to help change. She hopes to “have certain discussions and see certain changes be facilitated.”

Mayor Gary Christenson has been very supportive of Jean as she steps into this position. He emphasized how she has been “in-

timately involved with what hap- den community. He felt that due pens throughout the Malden Public to these actions and other times of Schools and … the Malden commu- past involvement, “when she took nity … over the past several years,” her seat at our last school commitso it “only makes sense from where tee meeting it had been like she had she started to where she is now to already been there for several meetjoin the school committee in her se- ings to begin with.” nior year.”

He thinks “what [Jean] has He went on to explain that she been able to do is move us from behas “been the impetus for a lot of yond talking about how diverse we the progress that we have made” in are to knowing what to do with that regards to racial equity, including diversity.” He concluded by adding the forming of a Diversity, Equity that “her advocacy has made sure… and Inclusion Coordinator posi- that this most important issue tion in Malden and the recognition doesn’t get lost… and has remained of “Juneteenth as a city holiday at the forefront of what we’re doing before the state later came in and here at Malden City Hall.“ declared it a state holiday.” He recAt the end of the day, Jean’s ognizes her “willingness to help us biggest hope is to do as much as she and support us in becoming a bet- can “to make Malden a consciously ter community,” and how she has open-minded community, where we worked to “educate us and bring can all be aware of our differences to light some of the things that the and have it be a unifying quality.”

City of Malden could do to be better than it already is when it comes to having such a diverse community like we do.”

Christenson cited her involvement in organizing the Malden March for Black Lives Matter after the tragic death of George Floyd and the Students for Racial Equity group as just some of the major From left to right: Superintendent Noriega-Murphy, ways she has been an Christelle Jean and Mayor Gary Christenson. Photo via influence on the Mal- Mayor Gary Christenson’s Snapchat story.

Photo submitted by Jean.

Club

Sophie LeBlanc Reporter

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here are many clubs at Malden High School, all of which are very unique. However, they all share a certain component: they all have a target audience. Whether it be an artsy student for the arts and crafts club, or a student that enjoys video games for the Super Smash Bros club, every student has qualities that would make a certain after-school activity more fitting. Wouldn’t it be nice, however, to have a club with no target audience at all?

Introducing the C.A.B.B club, which stands for Connecting Awareness and Breaking Barriers, founded

by Class of ‘23 student Kiley Fray.

She makes clear that “The idea of C.A.B.B is that anyone is fit for [the] club. If you are unique, have a passion, or just simply being yourself, everyone has an opinion.” The club will be held on Tuesday afternoons in Ms. Nims’ room, which is located at BR478.

Nierika Nims is an English teacher for grades 10-12 and is thrilled to have the opportunity to advise the new extracurricular.

Although the club “really belongs to the students,” her role is to “really just empower them and provide any logistical support they require.”

Fray asked Nims specifically because “[she centers] the importance of meaningful discussions.”

In her own words, Fray describes the club as “a way for students of different identities to come together and talk about things they are passionate about, whether it be parts of their identity or just certain topics that they find interesting.”

Nims touched on how the club’s aspiration is “for these discussions to take place among peers with a diversity of perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds.”

The club originated in a Jewish high school called Gann Academy, located in Waltham, Massachusetts.

“It originally started in light of all the police brutality that [people of color] are facing right now,” explained Fray. She added, “[The students] wanted a place where they could talk about [issues that people of color have to face] and spread ideas on things that don’t affect them directly because [their] school is mainly white.” She decided to bring the club to MHS because “there are students with such different identities [that] face adversities.”

The club will start meeting soon, once a substantial number of students commit. Until then, the club will be offered as a joy block, available to everyone. Overall, both Fray and Nims are anticipating for the club to start rolling and would love to hear what you have to say.

Sports

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The Blue and Gold November 2021

maldenblueandgold.com

Boys Soccer Team Ends Season Proud Desiree Nong Lead Reporter

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ith their final game taking place this month in early November, the Malden High Boys Varsity Soccer team ended their season off with a record of 8-6-4.

After many ups and downs that happened throughout their soccer period, the varsity players pushed through and accomplished their goal of making it to the state tournament. Head Coach Jeremiah Smith was not surprised at all with this outcome. Smith was positive that the boys would make it to States. He even added that the Varsity Soccer Team should be more than capable of “qualifying for States every year” and that Smith never doubted their abilities to get where they are.

In terms of preparations for the states tournament, the soccer team took a different approach for how they trained compared to them

just practicing for a regular season game.

Typically for a state tournament, the team focuses on having a more defensive mindset that gets distributed through every player.

For one, the soccer team worked on breaking down tight defenses.

Smith points out that the boys must prepare for possible penalty shots.

He said that in the past “we’ve gone to PK a couple of times” if the game were to remain tied by the end.

Junior Kyle Lee added that the team absolutely “trained very hard” almost every day during practices.

He notes that some of the teammates and himself even practiced together outside of school hours as well to “see what we needed to improve on” and “judge from there.”

Lee says the team did their best to “maintain a proper eating schedule and diet” as well. The team was determined to be in their best physical shape in order to succeed.

The Varsity Boys Soccer team had their last game on Thursday, November 4th. The awaited match was an away game, and it took over two hours to get there. The opponents were the Franklin Panthers from Franklin High School. The final score was an unfortunate 0-5, a loss taken from Malden.

Although the loss was a disappointment for the boys, Coach Jeremiah Smith remarked that this loss gave him the opportunity to reflect on his expectations within himself and the team. He pointed out that the boys needed to “act and behave in an appropriate fashion” no matter the result of the score.

Smith said “I am going to continue to conduct myself in a professional manner at all times” and that he is going to “maintain all of my emotions throughout the game.”

Smith emphasized that he tries to pass these expectations onto the players as well. An example is from

Boys Soccer Varsity Team. Photo submitted by Jeremiah Smith.

Junior Bradley Touissant. Touissant said that regardless of the loss, he has “ high hopes” that the team and himself will win more games and have a longer season next year.

Despite not winning, the final score does not always reflect how good of a player you can be. Smith mentioned a specific player, goalie Josh Angulo Gonzalez. Smith said that Gonzalez was “amazing” and was easily the highlight of the game.

Both the officials and opposing coach told Smith after the game that they thought Gonzalez was “the player of the game,” especially in a losing effort. “To say that the losing goalie was the best player on the field that game was very impressive. He made ten saves in the first twenty minutes of the game,” Smith remarked.

There were all kinds of mishaps that happened along the way during the long season. Smith said that he “definitely learned” that this group of kids were resilient when it came to facing setbacks. “Those setbacks never lasted,” Smith continued. “We were able to put it behind us, and move onto the next game.” Coach Smith concluded that he is very proud of Malden High’s Boys Varsity Soccer team. “Their resiliency especially,” he pointed out.

He said that it is something that will last them a lifetime beyond just high school sports.

Like every year, there are going to be some good moments and some bad ones. In the end, the boys were proud of all their accomplishments they made throughout the season and kept a bright outlook. Getting to the state tournament is not an easy goal. They worked hard all year to get there.

What matters most is that the Boys Varsity Soccer team pursues making their commitment to the team stronger than ever next year for the future season.

Disappointing Loss for Varsity Boys Soccer

Sophie LeBlanc Reporter

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he Boys Varsity soccer team suffered a tough loss towards the end of the regular season, losing 5-1 against the Revere Patriots. Their record now rests at 6-6-4, in comparison to Revere’s 8-5-4. This year’s Malden team had not played Revere before, and they gave them a taste of what they are capable of.

The game started with both teams fired up and ready to roll.

Although Malden was giving it their all, they seemed to struggle a bit when it came to communicating, and it only took a couple of minutes before Revere was already taking the upper hand. With Revere com-

municating and passing effortlessly, they were able to secure 2 goals on Malden.

After a quick huddle-up, Malden appeared to be significantly more in control and their communication had a notable upgrade. After a long game of back and forth up and down the pitch, a Malden Midfield player, Ezekiel Deterring, was able to squeeze in a goal past Revere’s goalie. Malden was extremely motivated at this point of the game, as they felt a chance at victory was in their grasp. If they simply kept Revere at bay and continued to communicate well, the triumph was theirs. However, Revere was up for the challenge.

After multiple scoring at-

tempts, Revere eventually got the upper hand, making the score 3-1.

Malden’s momentum began to slip, as they suffered many unsuccessful scoring attempts, and even a 9thgrade defender, Waseem Lahili, suffered an injury, requiring him to sit out. Right when it seemed that the Patriots might gain even more on the Tornados, it was halftime.

Malden just needed to keep the ball on Revere’s side of the pitch, and they would most certainly take home the win, or at least have a chance at victory. After some words from the coach, the team seemed pumped up.

Although they played aggressively, Revere’s defense put a quick halt to Malden’s fiesty scoring at-

tempts. Revere started to take initiative once more, which Malden had trouble stopping. The ball appeared to linger prominently on Revere’s toes, which led to two more goals.

As the end neared, Malden began to lose the momentum they had gained previously.

At the end of the game, Coach Jeremiah Smith stated that the boys would need to “improve their goal scoring and finishing skills” to have a shot at victory against Revere next time. It was a difficult loss to swallow for the Tornadoes, but they are determined to fire back at the next game and show the soccer teams across Massachusetts what they can bring to the table.

The Blue and Gold November 2021

Sports

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maldenblueandgold.com

Girls Soccer Season Comes to a Bittersweet End for Seniors Julie Huynh Editor-in-Chief

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alden High School’s Girls Soccer team ended their season with a record of 5-13. For the seniors and captains graduating this year, the season came to a bittersweet end after suffering a loss in their senior night game against Gloucester with a final score of 5-2. Despite this, Coach Enrique (Rick) Caceda described the girls’ performance this season as being “no quit, all fight.”

What they lacked in wins, they made up for in “hard work, effort and commitment.”

This year’s captains were Seniors Sara Dzaferagic, Molly Sewell and Olivia Donahue. Dzaferagic has been playing soccer for ten years, and her favorite memory during her high school career was “representing the blue and gold… with the same girls [she grew] up playing with.” Even though she is sad knowing that she has played her final games for Malden High, she is still grateful to have been able to play with “some of [her] “best friends for the last time.”

Even though the team has had better seasons in the past, Caceda stated that “this team played just as hard as any team” he has coached for. While the wins they had were nice, the highlight of the season for him was their senior night because of the enthusiastic crowd and presence of family members. The first half of the game “was some of their best” performances of the season.

During that game, Freshmen Makenzie Jenkins and Addison McWayne scored the two goals. Even though they did not come out with a win, Dzaferagic was still “proud” of their performance against “a very good team.” Donahue, who played goalie, thought that it was a “rough game,” but she played her position to the best of her ability.

Donahue also stated that since there are different groups of girls each year, as well as new players joining, the team dynamic varies from year to year. This season they “had a great team” that “worked very well,” and they became a “pretty closely knit group.” As one of the captains, Donahue really focused on trying to bring the team together. Sewell added that even though there were a lot of new players on the team, they “made a lot of improvement from the beginning to

the end of the season.”

In comparison to the past, Dzaferagic noted that this was their “most challenging season” out of her four years. As captain of the team, she had to do her “best to motivate the team even in the tough moments.” For Donahue, being captain changed the way she viewed herself as a player, becoming more “confident” and taking o n more “responsibilities as a team leader,” as well as spending more time focusing on “being a good role model” for the younger players.

Sewell agreed that being captain made the season different for her, but also the fact that during last year’s “Fall 2” season, their soccer season was cut short due to the pandemic and restrictions.

This year, there were ten seniors on the team, only three o f w h i c h w e r e starters. The rest of the starting lineup was made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores, “so there is plenty of growth and development to look forward to” in the future, expressed Caceda.

Dzaferagic does plan on continuing soccer in college. She “will for sure find a way to continue to play the sport” she loves. Also, Donahue mentioned that her decision to play soccer after high school depends on where she ends up going to college. If she is “given the right opportunity at the right school,” she will “most definitely continue playing.”

When first starting out her freshman year, Dzaferagic felt as if the team was being led by a group of experienced seniors, but now the team dynamic has shifted to be a “mixed group of talent found throughout all four grades.” This being said, Donahue thought it was “sad to think that four years flew by so fast,” but she is “excited to leave the team in the hands of others.”

“I love them! They were tremendous. I wish them nothing but the best and expect all of them to do big things in life. It was my honor to watch them grow up right before my very eyes. I will miss them all.”

- Coach Enrique (Rick) Caceda

From top to bottom: Captains Olivia Donahue, Molly Sewell, and Sarah Dzaferagic. Photos submitted by Coach Caceda.

Junior Nicole Zeng chasing the ball. Photo by Brandon Wong.

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Sports

The Blue and Gold November 2021

maldenblueandgold.com

2021 Season FinisheD With a Strong Performance

Krishany Marius Head of Local

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s we bump, set, hit into winter, the Girls Volleyball season has come to an end. The girls varsity team reflected on their improvement and how well they did this season.

The team made sure to bring their determination and energy when performing on the court. They did really well this season that it even feels bittersweet for them considering that it is their last year playing high school volleyball.

Dan Jurkowski, Girls Varsity Volleyball Coach, feels a little sad that the girls volleyball season has ended and does not want it to be over yet. Jurkowski said “they’re a really fun group to be around.” He makes sure to push the girls to play and be better. He tries to get them to “reach their full potential” and tries to have them be more consistent, saying how it is all about energy and focus; it is something that the team focused on in every game.

Jurkowski would scale the girls a 7 out of 10 on how well they did this season, “we had a very good season but it could’ve been better.”

There are certain games where the team can have a hard time on the court, “sometimes we play down to the competition,” which he believes creates bad habits and when you play against good teams it comes out.

Senior Melissa Calixte said that “when the team is all in the right headspace and willing to push for the win, it is possible that the team can beat anybody.”

Though one of the biggest challenges the team had this season was communication and trying to talk to one another, it was important to “just learn to trust the other person,”

All photos by Brandon Wong and Jessica Li.

Senior Stephanie Larrieu said. Larrieu went on to explain that it can sometimes be their downfall when working with one another.

When on the court the girls learned that they should work with one another rather than cause conflict with one another and to not try to 1 on 6 by themselves. Kelly Le, a junior who plays back row, feels “talking to each other” and not letting “any arguments outside of volleyball affect you playing” is key.

Malden girls volleyball has not been to States since 2015. Senior Captain Lissette Curran said ”the fact that we qualified for States shows how much we’ve improved.”

She went on to say how the team has been great and had their rocky ups and downs, however they pulled through.

The girls came together and created not just a team but a family, “being a part of a team where the girls are super supportive and have the same love as you feel at home,” Calixte said. She explained how volleyball makes her feel like she belongs in a way somehow and will miss it once she has graduated.

The team has made the best out of their season. They put in such great energy and effort and it shows through their skills and hard work when they play on the court.

Though it is some of their last years, Calixte said “there’s nothing like playing high school volleyball,” and even feels that you can play it anywhere because of the high school vibes, “it’s just unmatched.”

The best advice that Jurkowski would give to the freshman team is, “when the season ends don’t stop playing, just keep playing as much as you can, though it may get tough because it gets dark outside but never stop playing.”

The Blue and Gold November 2021

Sports maldenblueandgold.com

Malden brings 11-9 Record To states Match against needham Jessica Li Reporter

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ue to the forfeiting of Bridgewater-Raynham, the Malden Golden Tornadoes were up against what would be their final opponent of the Girls Volleyball season - the Needham Rockets. Despite the town’s notable number of victories, the team dove into the match with substantial resolution; it was the first time in five years that the girls team made states. According to Senior Linda Le, the team was collectively excited about qualifying for state championships with their record of 11-9.

After an hour-long warmup consisting of serving, partner-passing and 6-on-6s, it was decided that Malden would start the game with its serve. Immediately following the sharp sounding of the referee’s whistle, the two teams scrambled to get the ball and gain points. Owing to Junior Kelly Le’s successful serves, the score became three for Malden and one for Needham. It seemed initially that Malden had the upper hand, but at this point in their season, Needham had won nearly every one of their matches.

As Senior Co-Captain Riley Strano stated, “it’s a very competitive team,” making Malden’s two-point lead expectedly short-lived.

Upon getting the ball, the Rockets performed a series of serves and aces which Malden unsuccessfully attempted to hinder, bringing the score to 10 for Needham and five for Malden. Finding it difficult to embrace the ideal bump-set-hit pattern, Malden primarily earned points by serving, pushing and freeing the ball while Needham landed spikes that plummeted to the floor.

A lack of communication left the

players unsure of who was to dive for the descending ball — something elaborated on by Jurkowski. “We always need to talk more, especially our backrow for serve-receiving.”

After some time, though, the team members grew to better deny the opponent’s powerful hits; much to the delight of the girls, Senior Marla Candido actively blocked Needham’s spikes, and all players made attempts to dig the ball, with several saves proving effective.

Even so, Needham maintained its tight grip, gradually extending their lead from 15-10 to 19-10, and later, to 21-10. Malden determinedly kept a steady fight, being focused on continuing their trend of increase from 11 to 13. The Rockets, however, showed quicker in gaining points; within a few seconds, the scoreboard’s red lights displayed “2413,” and the first set was eventually wrapped with the score 25-13.

This time, Needham began the set by serving, quickly bringing them a 3-point lead despite the Tornado’s numerous successful passes from back and front row. When Malden was up to serve, it was clear the girls’ energy levels had been restored, as the score increased with improved quantity and quality of receives and sets: the score became 7 for Needham and 3 for Malden.

Players, particularly Seniors Linda Le and Lissette Curran, stepped up to spike more frequently. In spite of the tower formed by Needham’s tall players, some efforts were successful, causing the score to jump from 10-3 to 16-4, 17-5 and 18-8. The outcome of the prior set persisted, though, and as the crowd roared, the second set closed off at 25-10.

To read the rest of this story, visit us at maldenblueandgold.com.

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Sports

The Blue and Gold November 2021

maldenblueandgold.com

Malden High Cross Country Crosses the Finish Line Kayley Glavin Head of Local Juliana Luong Head of Sports

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s the cross country season comes to an end the players and coaches reflect on their season as the players had different goals for themselves.

Sophomore Emma SpigneseSmolinsky described her goals to “better [herself] as a runner and cut down on [her] race time.” She explained that these goals were overall met this season. Nicholas Wong, a senior and one of five team captains, expressed that he was able to retrain his body after a loss of time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sophomore, Brian Vences, began the season with no initial goal but as the season progressed “[his] teammates and [himself]” pushed each other to create goals. Vences further explains “one of [their] best runners Nick Wong set a goal for him” to renew his record in their game against Chelsea.”.

The captains of the team are Cindy Nguyen, Crystal Wang, Massi Lam, Marcos Ruiz and Nicholas Wong.

Many of the team members prepare for meets in similar ways.

Both Vences and Wong make sure to eat “plenty” of carbs, such as pasta, before a meet or the day before. Wong further explains that he tries his best to “avoid” unhealthy foods, such as junk food and candy.

Not only do they prepare with eating habits, but they also jog and do multiple types of workouts and stretches to prepare their bodies.

Spignese-Smolinsky describes what their day before a meet looks like, a 20-30 minute run or jog. She comments that they incorporate leg and core workouts, but also do workouts geared towards endurance and speed, which Senior Captain Katrina Chang listed as the team’s “main” priority for this season.

Wong adds that their training also includes training on inclined turfs and sprints. Spignese-Smolinksy says that the training has “definitely” changed from the beginning of the year, regarding how well the team reacts to new training and how well they are doing as a team overall. Chang explains their warm-up run is usually a mile or a half-mile. Team member, Samantha Huang, expressed that the practices were the “right amount of time” to acquire their daily needs of exercise.

The runners have their own way of improving their past training, each setting goals. Wong’s focus was to get faster. During endurance training, he would occasionally run an extra hour and slowly increase his time.

Wong did this in order to feel less tired when it came to a

meet. After some time, he was able to put more of that energy into his speed.

In addition to increasing his time, he started to attend the gym regularly to “boost his strength” and help him become stronger physically for the hard training he would endure with the team.

Vences also expressed his focus on attempting to become faster. He goes into detail about his first meet against Everett, where he ran 29:12 for a 2.8-mile track. Following the meet, he became very “angry” with himself because he knew he could have surpassed that time.

The following week, he “angrily ran” and did not let himself stop. Overall, he works to “never be slower than [he] was before.” As of right now, his record is 26:07 and he plans to beat that in the next meet.

As for Chang, she has been training consistently, but “not at her best.”

The dynamic stretches are run by the captains, which Chang describes to be highly “prioritized “ even with the conversations that casually “break out” in-between.

Coach Sean Weldon also includes that “[the team] has made it a point to do lots of work running hills to help prepare for [their] home meets” at Pine Banks.

Pine Banks is a frequent practice course for the cross country team.

Weldon further explains, “[The team] has a new course mapped out at Pine Banks this season. The course consists of many hills and long inclined runs. [The team] has been working hard at improving [their] fitness on the hills, and have now become masters at running [their] course.” It is especially important for the team to know their home course well, Chang expressed.

Adjusting to the new course was made possible through practice, she added.

The wellmotivated practices and earned accomplishments are no surprise with this supportive t e a m .

Chang feels a s

though she has “gotten back into running” and has begun to like it the same way she did two years ago. Aside from that, she made it a point to focus on “mentality rather than physique” this season. One of her target goals was to overcome her fear of the hill, as well as the thought of a runner behind her catching up, or even potentially passing her. Chang gives credit to the boy captains for helping “keep her motivated “ when she doesn’t want to run because they are extremely “passionate” about running and prioritize pacing together.

However, she does not “forget” about her girl captains, who are super important to her and are just as successful in motivating her. She loves that running with the girls is “less tense.” When Wong doesn’t feel motivated, he thinks about how much the team means to each other. Grasping the “importance” of joining the practice and running instead of wasting time, “boosts” his motivation. He takes great pride in making use of the time that is given to him and his team. “ The team is ultimately his real motivation and the reason he enjoys showing up to practice and meets.

Overall, Wong enjoys being able to see the “improvements’’ he and his team have made through their dedication and continuous “hard work.” When Vences lacks motivation, his teammates help him gain it back. Vences describes his teammates to be “phenomenal.”

Specifically Ruiz and Wong, they give him that “lift” of spirit, because of how “enthusiastic” they are.

One of Chang’s favorite parts of cross country is how much the team “ influences” one another.

T h i s makes her want to c o n tinue because she knows the team has her back and she can run at the pace she is able to run at.

I n cross country, runners s c o r e points individually (1st, 2nd, 3rd), b u t

All photos by Carlos Aragon.

Chang communicates that you can still pace with your teammates and race each other once you reach the end. Chang believes that once a runner gets over their fears, whether it be the “terrain” (a stretch of land), the number of miles they must run, or their teammates, their legs are “lighter” leading to them being faster and at “their best.” That weight being “lifted” can only help the entire team in the long run.

“The more you practice, the less you bleed in battle.” - Coach Danae O’ Bryan Coach Sean Weldon is very happy with how the season has gone. The Cross Country team ended with a record of 3-3. He is specifically proud of Ruiz and Wong for placing first and second place a number of times. Ruiz, Wong, and Lam are the three seniors who he would consider to be “amazing leaders” for [their] team. Personally, he could not have requested a “better” group of seniors to lead the team. He has confidence that their great leadership has set valuable expectations for the underclassmen.

Weldon is aware of the “huge shoes” that will need to be filled once the six seniors on the team graduate. He does, however, recognize the hardworking group of underclassmen they have.

Chang depicts how ”awesome“ her coaches really are, from Weldon to O’Bryan. The coaches became a part of the team, Not only are they exceptional coaches, but they also know how to have fun with [the team]. O’Bryan was the one who primarily “pushed [her]” to run in the first place. Even now, she continues to push her to run better. Chang is very grateful to have been given such great coaches, who truly care about the team.

Chang believes the season has overall been a successful one. She conveys how “sad” she is that the season is coming to an end once again. Chang “loves “ her team, especially her seniors. She was content with how many great runners they had this season, who had continued to make new records for themselves.

She has much appreciation for the “perseverance” her teammates have continued to build and pass on to one another. As a whole, she is exceedingly pleased and proud of her team.

As for next year, the coaches continue to think ahead of how big the shoes are to fill from the seniors now. Weldon continues to explain “Marcos Ruiz and Nicholas Wong have placed first and second, multiple times in [the team] meets this season. Alongside Massi Lam, these three seniors have been amazing leaders for our team.

[He] could not ask for a better group of seniors to set the expectations for underclassmen and lead by example.”

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Field Hockey Ends Season on a High Note Hadjar Yousfi Lead Reporter

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s the Field Hockey season came to an end, the students worked harder towards their goal of winning the remaining games. Eventually, the time came for them to have their final game with senior captain Lydia Li. The game was hosted at Pine Banks and it was against Revere High School.

Due to the loss of many seniors from last year, they were not sure how they would cope.

Li considered this year to be their “recovery year.” They had to teach many students how to play Field Hockey from the very basics, and relearn all the fundamentals of working together as a team. Coach Samantha Souza felt that teaching field hockey from scratch had been “one of the biggest challenges” they had to face this season.

Both Souza and Coach Tiffany Cane are thankful to the returning players. Cane noticed that “many of the new players learned from the returning players,” and thankfully were quick to pick up the sport and work together. Junior Trinity ValenciaGarzon, who is a first time player, felt that they “were all able to help each other out and improve in different aspects.” Captain Henry Zhao, who is a junior, noted that the team was able to “develop well” as a whole since they learned how to communicate better and rebuild those important skills needed during practices and games.

Having been new to the sport a lot of the new players felt a huge improvement in themselves. Likewise sophomore Yara Alves Escobar felt that during the first week she could not do anything, but is now “playing a lot, and getting assists.” Pampam San, another Sophomore who is new to the team, sensed the season had started off “bumpy,”

All photos by Hadjar Yousfi.

but over time they all improved as a whole. In general, San feels that she is getting better at “being a defender.”

The final game was a tough one for Malden High’s field hockey team and it was tense towards the beginning. Malden was always very close to scoring on their opponent Revere, but had difficulty finally scoring.

But around halfway through the game they managed to turn things around much to the coach’s excitement. Eventually they won 2-1 and qualified for the state tournament, ending their last game of the season on a very good note.

The team also celebrated senior night where the players honored Li and also recognized seniors from the Revere team as well. Li mentioned how being on the team for the past three years, she has recognized how everyday at practice and at games it is “always exciting” due to the “friendly atmosphere” that the entire team exhibits. Li further added that the team is more “like a family” to her as she emphasized that “they are all amazing individuals” who she plans on keeping in touch with after high school.

Li explained that with being one of the captains, it was a great experience to work with the other captains in order to help the team because “each one of [them] have different qualities,” which contributed towards the dynamic that brought all of them together. Looking back on the past few years, Li is going to miss the “adrenaline rush” that field hockey offered and the rides back from each game which were memorable moments for her.

For both current and future field hockey players, Li offered a piece of advice where she relayed the message of encouraging players to have a “strong and good mindset,” even if it forces you to “clear your mind” because once you are on the field, it is going to be “reflected in your game.”

Malden High’s field hockey team concluded their season on a high note as they continued to maintain a positive outlook, and hopes to carry on with improving in the sport and creating more fond memories in the next season.

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MHS Cheerleaders Reflect on Season Krishany Marius Head of Local

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s the poms-poms shake high in the sky, the fall cheerleading season finished off strong. The team’s energetic spirit and putting effort into their routines. Though they had some challenges, especially COVID hitting them, they have not been cheering since pre-covid.

Due to that delay there were a lot of changes and adjustments there, and wearing masks also practiced social distancing.

Though the team had obstacles this season, it has been hard considering how nervous coming back and playing contact sports was for people. Senior Mackenzie Smith, one of the captains of the team, stated that “getting together is a new thing for everyone.”

Everyone was really excited about the new season. Senior Caroline Oliveira believes that the team learned new cheers and was “a team again, after two years.” The team had to learn 75 game cheers, chants and some pom dances.

Their game performances were great and they were good at getting the crowd involved. Melanie Philbrook, the coach, says that they “worked hard” this season. The crowd can be unenthusiastic when it comes to the girls cheering.

The team interacted with the crowd in the games and got them more amped up. The team gave the loudest fan a candy bag to encourage the crowd to be more interested in the game and support the team.

Sophomore Isabella Oliveira said that, “getting the crowd more engaged can definitely be a challenge, but we’ll figure it out.”

The team did a lot to bring the spirit back to Malden High this year, after two years of online school, Philbrook stated “a year and a half, couldn’t do anything at all.”

She tried to make the girls have fun when they’re cheering, trying to get them back into a happy place.

One of the things Philbrook tried to do is hold the girls accountable for their actions. She wanted them to be responsible, so they could take care of themselves, physically and emotionally. Philbrook also wanted the girls to keep up with “ their schoolwork, maintaining a certain grade point average, and going to school.”

Moreover, Philbrook wanted the cheerleaders to get more involved in the community, which they started with fundraising. Philbrook especially wanted them to “promote school spirit” which she has made clear was their “next task at hand,” and getting everybody including the school involved in the upcoming football game was her goal.

Oliveira believes that you have to be aware of when and where you cannot work “but your best friend is time management.” Time management can be a big factor when

pursuing high school sports.

The team has made a lot of progress from where they were at tryouts and where they ended the season. Erikah Marcharia, a sophomore, thinks cheerleading “has a lot of positivity because that’s the main goal of a cheerleader.” The team described how they have different personalities, as well as how they

cooperated with one another.

Yes, they are all different from one another, though the cheerleaders’ individual differences and bonds formed is what makes the team strong. Audrey Keating, a senior on the team, believed “while we all are different, we all mesh together pretty well and we all have different pieces to the puzzle that

makes us such a great team.”

The team has strong personalities that come together as a whole.

They will continue to do better in the near future and are always looking for people who truly want to join. They hold their practices in the gymnastics room for anyone who would like to join.

SENIORS AUDREY KEATING, MACKENZIE SMITH AND CAROLINE OLIVEIRA

The Cheerleading Team cheering at the Malden v. Wittier football game. Photo by Brandon Wong.

Nedlam wants to know, have you ordered your yearbook yet? jostens.com

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Traditional Powderpuff Game Returns to MHS Lulu Harding Editor-in-Chief of Web and Mobile Apps Karen Rivera Managing Editor

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his year, following the annual Pep Rally, Malden High School brought back the girls Powderpuff flag football game. The Powderpuff Game used to be held every year at Malden High School to give young women a chance to come together and have fun.

The last time the game was held was back in 2017, and the girls expressed how thrilled they were for the tradition to be back. Senior Abby Tang explained that she was “so excited” because “[her] sister used to do it,” leading to her interest in participating.

The girls who also took part in the game agreed, and Senior Molly Sewell stated that she wished Malden High would have “done it sooner” because the game was “super fun.” Sewell expressed that it was “super nice” to have the football team in attendance, as they cheered them on and helped to coach from the sidelines.

Senior Varsity Football captain Gavin West assisted in coaching the blue team on the field and thought it was “cool” that Malden High School decided to hold the powderpuff game. West was “glad” they had the

girls “out here getting the opportunity to play,” and he also expressed that it was “fun to coach as well.”

Gym Teacher and Class of 2022 advisor Dan Jurkowski was also coaching on the field, leading the white team every step of the way.

Jurkowski stated that he thinks that “it’s awesome” that Malden High was holding a powderpuff game as the girls seemed to be “having a great time out here.”

At halftime, the white team led

by Jurkowski was in the lead 14-0.

“The game is going exactly how we planned,” Jurkowski stated. “We’re executing to perfection, we got two touchdown passes until the set, and the defense is on lockdown, so we’re doing well.”

Senior Leslie Rodriguez also expressed her feelings during halftime. Despite her team losing at the time, she voiced that “it’s awesome that girls are getting the opportunity to play football and especially to do something on their own,” as well as having “the support of Malden High behind us.”

Class of 2022 activities coordinator, Senior Tivian Nguyen stated that the game “gives girls a chance to actually play a sport that is considered a masculine sport,” and it shows that “a woman can do anything as much as a man can.”

Sophomore Victoria Gammon similarly expressed that she thinks it’s

“good that females have a chance to play football and do other stuff that boys are doing because it shows girl power.”

Senior Sara Dzaferagic stated that “every girl that was out here had a great time, … it was just a fun way to get involved.” Dzaferagic thinks that Malden High should “continue to hold the Powderpuff Game every year” because “it’s just a good chance to have some fun.”

She states that the crowd “enjoyed it, the football boys were helping us out and it just created a little community and something fun in high school, especially after COVID not being able to do events like this.”

Concluding with a score of 28-

14, the white team came out on top.

The girls really enjoyed participating in the game overall, and all had positive takeaways whether they won or lost. Senior Jessica Gavin said that “it went really well,” and she thinks it was “a good way to bring everyone together, and everyone got along really well.”

Senior Alyson Kwong agreed that although her team lost, “it was pretty fun... it was such a good experience” and she’s “glad they brought Powderpuff back.”

All in all, the girls really enjoyed themselves, and are excited for this tradition to be continued for years to come.

Sabrina Gutierrez, a senior, gets her flag snatched by a player on the white team.

Photo by Kaoutar Wakaf.

A player from the blue team blocks the ball from reaching a player from the white team. Photo by Kaoutar Wakaf.

Senior Sara Dzaferagic running with the football in her hands. Photo by Kaoutar Wakaf.

Players on the white team after scoring a touchdown. Photo by Kaoutar Wakaf.

Junior Peyton Lightbody about to throw the football. Photo by Kaoutar Wakaf.

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A Rivalry Renewed, Malden hosts Medford in 134th meeting on Thanksgiving

Daniel O’Toole Lead Reporter

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hat are some of the things someone thinks of when they hear Thanksgiving? The big four Fs come to mind when asked this question: family, friends, food and football.

Dating back to 1883, Malden High School and Medford High Schoolhave one of the longest running football rivalries in the country.

Last year the two teams were not able to play each other on Thanksgiving due to COVID-19, but there was still a contest in the spring that Medford ended up winning.

It was a bright and crisp Thanksgiving morning. Fans of both teams filled the stadium with a mix of current students and alumni.

There was excitement in the air as the national anthem was played by the school band.

Malden won the coin toss and decided to receive the ball to start the game. The game kicked off in fashion that would make NFL great Devin Hester proud. Sophomore Davian McGuffy would take the kick to the house and score a touchdown with only 13 seconds coming off the clock. Senior Ronald Juarez would make the extra point to make the score 7-0 Malden.

After such a great start to the game, the defense would have to match this energy displayed by the special teams. On second down of Medford’s possession, Malden’s defensive line would wrap up the Medford running back for a loss and then on third down, freshman Earl Fevrier would get the drive-ending sack to force a punt.

This lucky streak would unfortunately run dry for the Golden Tornados as the Mustangs forced a fumble on their 30 yard line with the very next play being a scramble of 10 yards by the quarterback. Later that drive, Senior linebacker Omar Ayouch got a tackle for a loss which would eventually force a 4th down, but that was converted using a QB sneak.

Towards the end of the first quarter, Medford was knocking on the door of Malden’s endzone after power runs established by the offensive lineman. Malden’s defense was able to provide a goal-line stand to end Medford’s drive. With the ball and their backs close to the endzone, Malden decided to run to the ball but was forced to pass on third down with freshman Aidan Brett. This was one of the rare times in this historic rivalry that a freshman would be the starting quarterback for either side. Brett was able to draw a roughing the passer call on the Medford defense to end the first quarter with Malden leading by a score of 7-0.

Shortly after to start the second quarter, Malden punted the ball away deep to Medford with the ball around the 50 yard line. Senior JJ Irizarry was able to read the eyes

of the quarterback and intercept the ball at the 32 yard line to get the ball back for Malden. The Golden Tornados would get a little sloppy with penalties and get the ball back close to their endzone again. However this time Medford was able to get pressure on Brett and make him throw a pass that ended up being called intentional grounding which resulted in a safety for Medford with the score now being 7-2 Malden.

The crowd would help the Golden Tornados make the next drive by getting a Medford offensive lineman to move early and receive a false start penalty. On third down, Davain McGuffy would be the star player again by deflecting a key pass to get Medford to punt after having great field position.

The rest of the game would be seen quarterbacked by the usual starter, senior Jordan Rodriguez.

The Mustangs knew they had to put in more effort if they wanted to stay close in this football game and that is exactly what they were able to do. After getting Malden to punt by sacking Rodriguez, Medford completed a 20 yard pass near the sidelines to stop the clock. With 11 seconds left on the clock, the Mustangs quarterback ran into the endzone and got the two point conversion to end the second quarter with a score of 10-7 Medford.

During halftime the Medford marching band and cheer team put on a performance at midfield to the tune of Star Wars music. Malden had their own talent with drummers putting on a show similar to that of what they did at the pep rally.

Letting up 10 unanswered points going into the second half of the game really seemed to get Malden crafty on their kickoff. In a very unique formation, all of the Golden Tornados huddled together to try an onside kick and they were successful in doing so to get the ball.

This got Malden going as they followed their special teams trickery with a gashing 20 yard run by junior Makhial Coulanges-Blaise. A field goal later that drive by Juarez would tie the score at 10-10.

Medford muffed the kick return and started their drive on their own 3 yard line. Karma would soon meet the Mustangs as their center misaimed the snap and got their quarterback sacked in the endzone by cornerback Lyden Lewis to get Malden a safety of their own. The score was now 12-10 Malden.

Disaster could be the only words used to describe what happened to Medford in a matter of 14 seconds. These mishaps would continue by the Mustangs throwing another interception to then end the third quarter 12-10 Malden.

Malden wouldn’t make much use of this interception to start the fourth quarter and punted the ball away. Malden’s defense would continue to show it’s second half resilience by getting yet another sack and

forcing an incompletion on third down to get the ball punted back to them. The next drives by Malden and Medford continued their mini punting contest with neither offense mustering enough to get past the defense.

Medford seemed like they were about to punt the ball deep again, but the attempt was blocked and set up Malden with great field position. Another huge run was made by Coulanges-Blaise with this one going for 34 yards and the game was nearing its end. On a second down play with 1:30 remaining, Jordan Rodriguez would run his way around the defense and reach his way over the first down marker to end the game in a thrilling ending.

Malden would win 12-10 and finish with a record of 2-9.

Coach Exilhomme was given the traditional water cooler bath after a big game by the players and was very emotional to fulfill his promise to Mayor Christenson back in July.

Exilhomme had to say this about the game. “It’s special, it’s very special and there is a lot of emotion in this. Second win as a head coach against a longtime rival.

We’re looking as a coaching staff to start on a bright path after a difficult season.” Continuing to talk about the offseason, Exilhomme said “This is a big offseason coming up for our staff and the players who were out there, but we’re taking this energy into the offseason and the first game of next season.” He later mentioned, “This is the perfect way to end the season, especially how we started.

We have a lot to be excited for and it’s a bright future. We had a great JV team that finished 7-3 which a lot of those guys were playing here today so we have a lot to build on going forward” Being able to now be a coach and player in the Malden versus Medford rivalry, Exilhomme said “I feel great. You can’t write this any better. This is the stuff you see in movies. I’m fortunate and blessed to be in such a position. I’m greatful me and our guys were able to step up and make this city proud.”

One of the questions after the game was the starting of freshmen Brett. Exilhomme said “The decision on that was to give him a taste of what he has to look forward to as a freshman. He’s our only returning quarterback so we wanted him to get some game experience that way it can motivate him in the offseason and motivate him to see what he can do if he puts the work in.”

Coach Exilhomme had some words for quarterback Jordan Rodriguez’s final high school football game. “Jordan was our last quarterback and I was happy to see how he finished the season. It was a tough year for everyone including him since he transferred from Malden Catholic and had to learn a new offense and he did very good for us.”

Former player and current assistant coach James Brito-White talked about what the team executed on to win the game. “The kids were good at listening to coaching this week. They followed adjustments at halftime and were able to win the game. This whole season we were taking coaching the best, but they came out this week and were listening to everything.” One of the noticeable parts about the game was the turnout of fans which easily increased from a normal game since Thanksgiving is the biggest game for both sides. Brito-White talked about the power of community and the energy brought by the fans. “This is why we come together on Thanksgiving. Everyone who has played the game in years past comes here and brings great energy.

I love the fans and the community and they help bring energy to the sidelines and the playing field so the guys can go out and win.”

One of the star players during the game was Davian McGuffy with his kickoff return touchdown and play at cornerback. Speaking of his touchdown, McGuffy said “It gave us the momentum we needed and I was able to see the hole, ran through it, and the rest is history.” One of the keys to winning was “putting a lot of effort into the game and we won.” This offseason is big for younger guys such as Davian who have high potential and after this he “feels good going into the offseason, I think we all take this win so we can start off early with this young team and do it again next year.”

Scan this QR Code to read about the history of the Malden vs Medford Thanksgiving game.

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