SPOTLIGHT South Hadley High School’s student-run newspaper since 1919
Fall 2017
SPOTLIGHT
Spotlight, currently in its 98th year, is South Hadley High School’s studentrun, open forum publication. Students create all content and make all editorial decisions.
Inside this issue
3 Halloween
4/5 NewsTigers’ Den/Recycling
Spotlight Editors Kyle Pease Erin Marx Michael Senecal Maddie Mathers Evan Levrault
Staff reporters for this issue
6/7 Jungle Blog Sports
8 Humans of South Hadley
Michael Senecal Maddie Mathers Evan Leverault Abby Broyles Lily Liebowitz
Advisor Mr. B-G
Front cover photos
This cover of Spotlight features photos taken by staff member, Michael Senceal, during the 2017 Senior Dress Up Day.
Contact us Facebook: @spotlight153 Twitter: @spotlight153 Sports: @Jungleblogsh Instagram: @spotlight153 Email: spotlight153@gmail.com Web: spotlight153.com Phone: (413) 538-5063 Ext. 3512 Address: Spotlight Newspaper South Hadley High School 153 Newton Street South Hadley, MA 01075 2 ABOUT | Spotlight | Fall 2017
10 ReviewsSeniors on books
11 Shine OnGun Control
A note from the staff We are pleased to bring you the first edition of Spotlight during the 20172018 school year. As always, you can get regular updates from the Spotlight social media, listed on the left. Our Snapchat account, @Spotlight1919, is our newest social media offering, and is regularly updated with pictures from school events and sports games. Spotlight would love to publish your work, so if you’re interested in writing
stories, please let any Spotlight staff member know. We also welcome reader feedback and letters to the editors, which may be sent to spotlight153@ gmail.com. A special thanks goes out to our advertisers and Easthampton Savings Bank for their ongoing support.
IT’S Time To...
GET SPOOKY
HALLOWEEN 2017
Hall Of Fame
Cornmaze from Randall’s Farm Facebook page
Randall’s Farm Cornmaze
Senior Dress Up Day
If scary activities aren’t your cup of pumpkin spice latte, there’s still other fall festivities to consider. Randall’s Farm & Greenhouse is a local family owned business located in Ludlow, MA. They’re currently celebrating 20 years of their seasonal corn maze.
2010
Oompa Loompas make it hard to tell the difference between the hallways of South Hadley High and Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.
2009
These party kids show off their best ideas for new school uniforms.
Get festive with McCray’s farm! South Hadley’s local creamery has been home to the popular Monster Mash Hayride for over 20 years.
2008
Opinion
All Students Should Be Allowed to Dress Up For Halloween
This costume sure is Dynamite, hopefully tater tots are included!
File photos by Spotlight staff
Creamery from McRay’s Farm Facebook page
McCray’s Annual Haunted Hayride
By Lily Liebowitz
It’s October, and the Halloween spirit is in the air. Last month, South Hadley High School seniors showed off creative costumes for “Senior Dress-Up Day,” the fun-filled event where seniors can display their fashion skills in a parade through the hallways. This brings one problem: 3/4 of South Hadley high schoolers are not allowed to participate. Halloween is a
time when everyone should be having fun and celebrating. However, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will all be stuck on the sidelines, watching the seniors show their haunted spirit. Most students have participated in Halloween celebrations every year in elementary and middle school, only being excluded in high school. This makes “Senior Dress-Up Day” not particularly special.
I do not believe seniors get any sort of satisfaction from seeing their classmates wearing drab clothing while they flounce around in their holiday garb. If they do, I doubt that it is good-intentioned. Why does the school have a rule that encourages this behavior? The privilege of “Senior Dress-Up Day” excludes the underclassmen, causing them to feel excluded on a day that is supposed to be fun for everybody. Spotlight | Fall 2017 | HALLOWEEN 3
Tigers’ Den Cooking onto Year Two
CULINARY COOKS: Ezra Bleau has worked hard to give students the skills required to become successful cooks. In the first picture you can see Brennan Lucia using a cutting tool called a mandoline to make potato chips. By Maddie Mathers The high school’s culinary arts program, run by Chef Ezra Bleau, has shown major growth in just one year. What began as a small program inside a cramped classroom has blossomed into a real in-school-restaurant that the culinary students named The Tigers’ Den. The Den is located to the right of the high school library, inside what used to be a high school history classroom. The culinary program has 21 students enrolled this year, one of whom is junior Brennan Lucia. “Mr. Bleau is a great teacher,” Lucia said. “He’s really helped me the past two years.” Each student has a uniform and 4 NEWS | Spotlight | Fall 2017
is being exposed to new techniques everyday. Just recently they have open the bistro to teachers as well as the football team. In early September the culinary students cooked their first lunch for teachers, which consisted of bacon cheeseburgers with house smoked bacon, and fries. Breaded chicken tenders were an additional item on the menu. There was only positive comments about the cooking. At a later date they made filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. Latin teacher Phil Langevin partook in the three-course offering. “Overall, all the meals are delectable and quite delicious,” he said. “The filet mignon was my favorite. The way the
kitchen is run is very professional.” In addition to cooking for teachers, Bleau and his students have prepared spaghetti dinners for the football team. Looking into the future, Bleau plans on opening the bistro to all high school students sometime after Thanksgiving, which will allow them to explore new cuisines and styles of cooking. In terms of operating the Tigers’ Den, Bleau’s philosophy is that students should not be afraid to try new things, as long as they’re willing to give their best effort. “Don’t wait for the perfect moment,” Bleau said. “Take the moment, and make it perfect.”
Recycling Efforts Flourish
RECYCLING: Recycling efforts are becoming prominent throughout the school with help from students, culinary, and the department of public works.
By Michael Senecal This year, the school has made an effort to raise awareness about the benefits of recycling, and has tried to help students be more mindful about how their actions affect the environment. One step the school took to bring this topic to the forefront was to show the documentory “Before The Flood,” which highlighted the effects of global warming on our planet. Spotlight sat down with Principal Diana Bonneville to find out what changes are to come to the school to help reduce our carbon footprint. She informed us that the school and the Department of Public Works plan to put two recycling bins in each class; one for plastic and one for glass. She also said that the school administration is working hard to get more recycling bins around the school, especially outside the cafeterias. The addition of bins to the lunch rooms will help decrease the number of
glass and plastic bottles that are thrown away. Bonneville also said that recycling is not only dependent on the students. This means that teachers and parents will need to help encourage recycling habits, and that the students themselves will need to be active participants in order for these changes to work. One of the most wasteful industries is food production. Fortunately the new culinary department at our school is aware of this issue. Chef Ezra Bleau has made a strong emphasis on not being wasteful. For example, he already has his own compost for all the food that would normally be thrown away. This happens when a student makes a mistake and they must throw the food out, although that doesn’t happen often. Bleau said that they never really have leftovers either because him and his students incorporate everything into the
meals they make. Bleau also said he makes a strong effort to reuse all of the dishes and materials he receives food in. He cleans out the metal cans and uses them for storage. So, despite the fact that food production can be one of the most wasteful industries, Bleau is setting a strong example for the high school community by working to keep our environment clean by recycling and minimizing waste.
Fall 2017 | Spotlight | NEWS 5
By Michael Senecal and Evan Levrault
Follow us on twitter @Jungleblogsh Boys Soccer
Staff photo by Evan Leverault
Improves After Two Sad Seasons
Field Hockey
Cruises to Playoffs
Photo contributed by David Hampson
South Hockey field hockey is led by captains Julia Miele, Jill Ayers, and Brittany Cote along with coach Cole. High moral and a strong team chemistry is what helps this team succeed. Captain Julia Miele loves how close the girls are as a team and the positive outlook they have maintained and how they all finish every drill together as a team.
6 JUNGLE BLOG | Spotlight | Fall 2017
Staff photo by Evan Leverault
South Hadley’s boys soccer coming off two sad seasons finally looking to regain glory. They dropped down a division and have been a lot more successful. The boys are lead by senior captains Collin Mitchell and Nick Lajoie. Mitchell is very pleased with the young team they have. He has high hopes for their team as he hopes to finally make it to playoffs, and he’s even ambitious enough to have hopes of a league championship. We hope to see Collin’s ambition become reality this season. Make sure to check out the schedule on jungleblogsh.com for upcoming games.
Girls Soccer
Scores a Playoff Spot South Hadley’s girls soccer is lead by senior captains Mikhaila Edge and Sarah Fudger and junior twins Olivia and Alexa Blaney. Mikhaila being the leader of fairly young defensive group, while Sarah is huge team player on offence with 4 career assist all coming from last season. Sarah is optimistic about this season saying “This season is looking very promising.” She is pleased with the coaching this year as well, as head coach Rich Marjanski heads into his first season.
Golf
Staff photo by Michael Senecal
Improves After Last Years Fifth Place Finish After last year’s 5th place finish in Western Mass, the boys are back and better than ever. They only lost 2 seniors and also moved down a division, so their chances of a higher finish this year have risen substantially. The #1 on the team is Senior Zach Kotfila, who is followed by Billy Scott, Jake Allard, Jake Remillard, Jared and Logan Waite, Will Ortyl, and Matt Brandts. They have a fairly easy schedule this fall, and look to ride that into a top finishing spot at the Western Mass finals again this year.
Volleyball
Staff photo by Erin Marx
Sets up a Playoff Opportunity
Contributed photo by Matt Obrien
After last years heartbreaking loss in the first round of the playoffs, this year’s team is hungry for redemption. Senior captains Natalie Patruno, Kiana Turner, and Kaylyn Labrecque look to lead the young team to a championship. Coach Corey Koske will look to incorporate some of his younger players into the varsity lineup to create that championship caliber team.
Girls Cross Country Runs Past Opponents
South Hadley Girls Cross Country, led by junior captains Emily Grochowalski and Jocelyn Rondeau, looks to build on the success they had last year with yet another league championship. Rondeau is pleased with their team that contains eight underclassmen. She loves the effort she sees out of this young team, but is concerned with the amount of injuries on this small 10 girl team. The girls were lucky enough to have Jocelyn Rondeau, Emily Grochowalski, and Cora Graves return. All three girls earned Masslive’s All-League Selections.
Contributed photo by Matt Obrien
Boys Cross Country Old but Still Rollin’
Led by captains Joe Werenski and Casey Lacombe, the Boys Cross Country Team has high hopes for this team. A strong junior and senior class has head coach Nick Davis very excited to see what these boys can do. He believes that, pending any injuries, they can finish at least top 5 in Western Mass this year, and hopefully have some guys qualify for the state meet. They will run a tough schedule this year, with meets against Holyoke, Amherst, and West Side, all of which are expected to be top finishers at Western Mass. The boys should have a solid season regardless.
Staff photo by Evan Leverault
Football
Blocks Out Haters, Hunts for Playoff Spot Coming off of a first round playoff loss to Palmer last year, and after graduating almost a whole starting lineup of seniors, the young team looks to have a successful season. Led by Captains Matthew Loughrey, Marcus Larrier, Liam Dawson, and Michael Pratt, the team has high hopes for the season. They have confidence in their group of offensive backs which includes of Liam Dawson, Hunter Borowski, Hunter Carey, and Ben Watkins. One challenge that the boys face is their small group of linemen. There are only about 6 varsity linemen to play the entire game on both sides of the ball. Despite their undersized line, they should have an exciting season as they chase yet another trip to the playoffs. Fall 2017 | Spotlight | JUNGLE BLOG 7
Humans Of South Hadley
Photo by Maddie Mathers
An insight into the lives of some members of the high school community, Inspired by the web series “Humans Of New York.”
-What is an interesting fact not everyone knows about you? “I’m a trained combat medic and EMT, I work full time as a teacher and part time as a medic.” -Charlotte Crane, Teacher and EMT, 27 years old
Photo by Maddie Mathers
-What’s some advice you would give to students? “The learning process can’t always be perfect the first time, you should follow your passions and work hard for what you want!” -Laura Luetjen, Teacher, 36 years old
Photo by Kyle Pease
-A piece of advice you would like to give to your past self: “Dump the clutch.” -Kennylee Poison Aponte, Student, 15 years old
“Yes, because they make school less boring, some of them are cool like me, and they talk to me and worship me like Mr. Potato Head” -Jacob Porier, Student, 16 years old 8 HUMANS| Spotlight | Fall 2017
Photo by Abby Broyles
-Are friends important to you? Why or why not?
“Best wishes to the Spotlight team and the entire South Hadley High School family for a great school year!� -George Beauregard Class of 1942 and Doris Robitaille Beauregard Class of 1943
Spotlight | Fall 2017 | ADS 9
Read All About It!
Great reads reviewed by South Hadley High seniors. Josh Rideout We Gotta Get Out of This Place is an amazing story that gives first hand accounts of how music got U.S. soldiers through the hardships of the Vietnam War. As stated in the book, the average age of a U.S. soldier in Vietnam was only 19. These brave and fearless teenagers used Rock and Roll and drugs to cope with the horrific images they were exposed to during the war. The writers of the story are Doug Bradley, a Vietnam veteran and Craig Werner, a professor of Afro-American studies. Doug uses his personal experiences to connect with other veterans who he interviews in the story. The book focuses a lot on faith and hope. The soldiers put faith into the music they heard playing on the radio. It reminded them of home and comforted them even though they were halfway around the world, in a jungle, surrounded by enemy soldiers. The music was their escape and it was what kept them holding onto reality in the hardest of situations. I recommend this book to anyone because it will take you through the feelings of war to the closest degree without actually being there.
Book cover by Random House
The Wartime Story For Everybody
I give this book 5 paws-Devour It. You most certainly should indulge!
A Book For Those Who Prefer Video Games
Book cover by Random House
Jerid Deprey Ready Player One is set in the year 2044 where the world is plagued by an energy decline. The main character, Wade Watts, is a teenager who lives with his aunt in a district stuck in penury called the stacks. The stacks consists of trailer homes that are piled up on each other. Wade spends all of his free time being a gunter on a device called the OASIS. A gunter is an egg hunter and in this specific case people are hunting for an easter egg that the creator of the OASIS left before he died. An expansive amount of themes are found throughout such as friendship, competition, and determination. Ready Player One shows friendship by having the main character cooperate with others, identity due to the main character being a teenager and he is finding his place in his complicated world, competition because of the easter egg hunt, and perseverance. In order to find the carefully implemented easter egg one needs patience and motivation. Some people may not like the book because of its indulgence of classic video games. I give Ready Player One 4 Paws - Pounce On It
New Lessons Found In Crossing The Wire Surviving in the World can affect a person in great measures. It creates an adventure towards one not just mentally but also physically. In Crossing the Wire, the events take place in the bordering cities along Mexico and the United States. The protagonist, Victor Flores is a young fifteen year old boy who ventures to the states and develops into a mature, daring, young man. Throughout his journey, Victor goes through many conflicts involving jumping from trains, running from border patrol, and gradually continuing the journey through harsh conditions and weather. The main theme in Crossing the Wire is to stand up for what you believe in and to never give up. Victor proves this theme when he begins his journey North. On his way, he runs into many obstacles that made him reconsider if this journey was worth risking his life. However, each time this thought came into his mind, he would brush it away, hope for the best, think about his family at home (motivation), and continue forward. I recommend to read this book, as it is teaches us about culture and the hardships in other countries and what actions people take to support their families. It opens eyes to what others face in countries in poverty and makes us remember to be grateful for the little things we have. I give crossing the Wire 5 paws - Devour It 10 REVIEWS| Spotlight | Fall 2017
Book cover by HarperCollins
Jonathan Samlall
The Hot Button Issue of Gun Control Gun Violence Statistics Gunviolencearchive.org is a website dedicated to tracking gun related deaths and incidents as soon as they happen. As of October 18, 2017, there have been a total of 49,180 gun related incidents since the start of 2017. Of those shootings, 12,287 have resulted in death and 25,062 have resulted in serious injuries.
The Second Amendment The Second Amendment states thats Americans have the right to “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
This graph compares the homicide rates between America, Canada, Australia, and the U.K. with gun related deaths.
Spotlight’s View
While looking at how poorly America deals with gun violence and incidents, it is incredibly easy to be critical of our Second Amendment. This especially comes into play when comparing America to other countries. However, Spotlight still supports the second amendment. It is important to note that we do see the importance in bringing these numbers down. With a steady rise in gun related incidents, we should be asking more questions on why and how this is happening rather than blaming the weapon used. Spotlight, overall, supports the Second Amendment while encouraging the idea of a stricter pre-screening process before owning a firearm. Fall 2017 | Spotlight |SHINES ON 11
October 2017 Pep Rally