Fiscal Cliff- Government worked to avoid tax increases and budget cuts, unwelcomed by most Americans.
Post-season awards for Summit football starsLeaders of the Boys’ Varsity Football team receive prestigious awards.
Toys for Tots- Students volunteer time to participate in the annual Toys for Tots service trip.
January 2013 Summit High School 125 Kent Place Blvd, Summit, NJ Volume 13 Issue 4
Swimming breaks streak at historic grudge match
Juniors must avert scheduling fiscal cliff
By ELLIE SCHAFFER
By ALEX ARIAS
Dive In! Summit’s Girls’ Swim team begins one of the many events of the day against rival Scotch Plains.
Student council auctions Christmas trees
By TOMMY DISIBIO
Before holiday break, the student council trialed a miniature Christmas tree fundraiser. The process started with the student council selling trees to clubs, sports teams, and students who were really into the holiday spirit. Groups decorated trees, which were auctioned off in the concourse during Winter Festival. Half the proceeds went to help the victims at the Jersey shore to help Hurricane Sandy victims, and the other half was split among those who helped decorate the trees. Some notable trees came from the Key Club, Breast Cancer Awareness Club, Union Hispana, French Club, and the tree from Mr. Akey, Ms. Grimaldi, and Mr. Sears that was covered in fan-folded two dollar bills as well as a gift card to Starbucks. Student Council President Abby Beier said, “It can be difficult to predict how something will go for the first time, but I am glad that we added this
event, because it was a great way to get a diverse group of students involved in the same activity.” This clever idea helped the school come together to donate for Sandy relief, and also have a good time decorating holiday trees. Student Council Secretary Josh Golding said, “I was pleasantly surprised how many people placed bids. All the trees were sold and interest in the trees was pretty evenly distributed. The clubs received some very good publicity and hopefully the auction will benefit everyone in the long run.” At the end of the auction it turned out every tree was bid on and that even some trees reached a value of over $20! This event worked out well, and many students believe going forward the tree auction should become an annual tradition the day of the Winter Fest. Hopefully the auction will be even more successful next year.
by Junior Alex Riba. Seniors Grace Newcomb and Emily Rowe came in 3rd and 4th in the 100 yard freestyle, letting Scotch Plains know that they were in it to win it. “There have been a lot of hard practices leading up to this meet,” explains girls Coach John Ross, “the girls have pumped each other up all day and the seniors have made it clear how important this meet is.” Toward the middle of the meet, it became clear that the boys were in the lead, and the girls were in a close second place. “It’s a really close meet for the Continued on page 7
Dr. John Schnedeker, Director of the SHS Guidance department, warns juniors and underclassmen of a looming, unsecured senior obligation. “I’m scared for the juniors right now,” says Schnedeker. Why, you ask? Many students, especially those in the class of 2014, have yet to meet a graduation requirement by taking a state-mandated financial literacy class. There are three ways to meet this obligation. Commencing with the 2014 graduates and going forward, students can take Financial Literacy and Economics, or the new Financial Literacy and Personal Finance class (a math elective offered beginning in the fall), or a ten-hour online course . NJ requires this course as a hedge against future insolvency: the trend has been that citizens are going into debt without the financial wherewithal to get out of it. With this course, students learn how to manage their money, bank accounts, and plan for their financial futures. The guidance department is voicing concern over how some students are lacking motive in getting the coursework completed. Schnedeker continues, “a big percent of students haven’t completed the course, and if they don’t complete it by March, it will affect their senior schedule.” “The new elective called Financial Literacy and Personal Finance,” continues Dr. Schnedeker. “will go deeper into the concept [of money management] than the online course did,” he says. Juniors should contact their guidance counselors without delay if they would like to register for the online course and complete the requirement independently before the March cycle of course selections begins.
Summit wins football State Championship
Photo provided by Peter Gangi
their long time rival. “We have done something today that no one from Summit has ever seen before. We are making history today,” said an ecstatic boys captain Will Beckett. Gliding through the water in their stylish Summit swim caps and maroon one-pieces, the girls dominated in the 100-yard butterfly stroke. Sophomore Maddie Simko placed 1st, and was closely followed
Photo by Ellie Schaffer
On December 18th, the Summit swim team boarded the buses with high hopes of defeating their long time rival, Scotch Plains. When arriving at the meet, Summit brought a spectacular amount of spirit, and all throughout the YMCA, everyone could hear it. The meet was predicted to be a difficult one because of the number of participants who swim for a club team; the best of the best. Regardless, Summit was well prepared, and geared up to swim their way to victory. The boys definitely brought their A game to the meet. Whether it was the screaming fans lining the walls of the pool, or the arrival of alumni SumSwimmers to watch them in their pursuit, the boys would stop at nothing to come out with a win. Junior, Ryan Sebastian, triumphed in butterfly, winning the race by a landslide. Senior captain, Jimmy Currie, said, “The boys are taking it to the hole. Today will be a start to many other years of beating Scotch Plains.” To back Currie’s statement up, senior Will Benn came in 2nd place in a close race for the 100meter freestyle, following Scotch Plains by less than a second. Though both teams had great swimmers who graduated last year, the meet was no doubt extremely intense. Both Summit and Scotch Plains put in massive amounts of practice in preparation for the meet, but at the end of the day there could only be one winner. The boys came out with a 97-73 victory, defeating
Champions! Summit Hilltoppers win second State Championship in three years, led by veteran senior co-captains Mike Badgley, Tyler Carbone, AJ Iarussi, Nick Liberato, Conor O’Malley, and Andrew Oristanio.