Verve March 2013 / Volume XIII Issue 6

Sailing goes from high school club to Varsity sport at SHS this spring! see page 5

The cicadas are coming! The cicadas are coming! After a long seventeen years, the bugs are back! see page 2

March 2013

Volume 13 Issue 6

Summit High School 125 Kent Place Blvd, Summit, NJ

Livin’ la vida block. Last year, Summit trialed a four-day block cycle, which yielded mixed opinions on the overscheduling of clubs and activities during common lunch. This year’s trial hopes to remedy that.

BY CARLY NYMAN

Summit High School administration has decided to retest the block schedule this spring. They have set aside 12 days in March, the 12th to the 27th, to run this trial and see how it will play out for students and faculty. There will still be A, B, C and D days, however, instead of a rotating Friday schedule, the rotation of days will just continue.

For instance, if Thursday is a D day, the pattern would start over and Friday would be an A day, Monday would be a B day, etc. There will be six periods during the day that last approximately 58 minutes each. Each day, one period will be dropped and there will be the hour-long lunch period.

This means that every student in all four grades will be hav-

ing lunch at the same time. This leads to the most important question that is on the senior’s and even some junior’s minds: What is the deal with being able to leave school?

Only seniors with unassigned privileges will be able to leave during the lunch period. If a senior has unassigned before or after their lunch, they will only be allowed to leave campus for an hour of the two hours they have free.

Another major question is why is this trial 12 days long instead of like last year’s short four day trial? Vice Principal Stacy Grimaldi explains that last year’s four day trial was too short, however, this year “three cycles will give [the administration] a better idea of what school would be like

with a block schedule.” One reason that the administration is thoroughly considering the block-schedule format is to compromise for Summit’s rapidly growing student population. Grimaldi explains that the “block schedule will make it easier to fit all the students into the building in the upcoming years.” Additionally, it will give us “great utilization of the science rooms,” explains Vice Principal Akey.

Although the block-schedule will not be implemented next year, it is definitely a possibility for the 2014-2015 school year. The administration is eager to hear feedback from parents, staff and of course students to better determine what will happen to SHS scheduling in the future.

BY MADDIE SIMKO

The Quintessence club is in charge of reviewing submissions and organizing the school’s annual literary magazine, Quintessence. Although it has been around for many years, this year English teacher Mr. Michael Magdalenski has been appointed adviser. With his new position, Magdalenski brings some fresh changes with him.

This year, there are more club meetings. Quintessence now meets twice a week: Tuesday mornings and Thursdays after school. Also, the club has appointed more officers, to help manage the club. Megan Shaw, Kahler Newsham, and Emily Vlass are co-editors, and Rachel Burke, Alef Davis, Helen Hardiman, and Julia Heckelman are the associate editors.

Magdalenski is hopeful these additions to the club will “get as many new people as possible to join and submit, especially freshmen and people who have never heard of Quintessence.”

Sophomore Kahler News-

ham explains, “it’s a great club since it allows students to have their work evaluated by their peers, and gives them the opportunity to get published. I like to get to see all the talent students at this school have.”

Sophomore Megan Shaw adds, “It’s an exciting experience to be able to go and read different things that are really interesting, things that I would have never read if I hadn’t joined the club.”

Last year, adviser Kristy Lauricella entered Quintessence in some scholastic publication contests, and Summit High School was granted several awards for its work. The American Scholastic Press Association awarded Quintessence first place out of numerous top high school literary magazines and newspapers.

The magazine was also one of the 21 schools given the rank of “Superior” by the National Council of Teachers of English, out of 417 total schools.

Quintessence hopes its new changes will allow last year’s milestone achievements to grow, allowing a new legacy to build.

Beauty entrances SHS stage

By STEPHANIE OLLOM talented and capable actors and

Summit High School Theater is inviting you to “be its guest” when it presents the timeless Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast. The tale of the transformative powers of love will be performed a record number of five shows, spanning from Wednesday, March 6 until Sunday, March 10.

Student Director Ellie Winter ‘13 is delighted with show cast, sharing, “When the actor is enjoying himself, it’s guaranteed to be a standout. Our dance ensemble groups are terrific this year, and Allison Scott, our Belle, and Matt McGinn, our LeFou, are doing fantastic jobs.”

Besides having extremely

actresses, this year’s musical has an authentic big-stage- production vibe, because some of the costumes are from the original Broadway show! From the beautiful gowns to the intricate wigs, many things were part of the original Broadway run, from 1994 to 2007.

As to how the Drama Club managed to score these threads, Winter say, “The designer, Thom Gonzalez, has worked with other high schools before, and through our directors they were secured. They really add authenticity to the show.”

In addition to presenting five performances this season, the cast of the show will also be holding a Beauty and the Beast

character tea in the high school cafeteria from 12:30 to 1:30 on Sunday, March 10, prior to the matinee performance.

Children who purchase tickets can interact and take pictures with the characters, drink tea and recieve a silk rose. Winter says that this “effectively funnels a lot of the children into one show,” increasing the energy and enjoyment in the audience. Plus, she says, “Their enthusastic responses -- laughing and talking back to characters--won’t disturb others.”

Hundreds of cast and crew members are still energetically working to put the final touches on this truly phenomenal stage event.

“Q” Editorial Board. Front L-R are co-editors Emily Vlass, Kahler Newsham, and Megan Shaw. Behind them, L-R, Mr. Magdalenski, assoc. editors Alef Davis and Rachel Burke. Not pictured: Helen Hardiman and Julia Heckelman.

Dressed to the nines & ready to fly! Presenting Beauty and the Beast--a magical evening with costumes from the original Broadway show, sumptuous sets, and spectacular special effects. Above are Belle (Allison Scott ‘14) and the Beast (Brad Przedpelski ‘13)

Photo by Maddie Simko

Block Schedule Pilot #2, March 12-27, 2013

Award-winning student literary magazine revamps

Photos provided by Anne Poyner

After March HSPA testing, trial block schedule returns

OPINE

Beauty meets reason: Prince Charming meets modern fairy-tale rigamarole Of all the problems a junior faces, SATs, APs, ACTs, HSPA’s… the largest has to be LOVE. After being brainwashed by Taylor Swift, telling me that I should have a boyfriend, fall in love, and get my heart broken--weekly--I realize that maybe there is something wrong with my love life! (or lack of same). Taylor Swift is famous, beautiful, she puts herself out there, and everyone loves her (except for her ex’s). How can I compare?!

Well, after realizing that sitting next to a boy in an assigned seat in class does not mean that things are getting serious, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Taylor Swift has taught me thatthere are a few guidelines for my potential mate.

Here is what I’ve gleaned: so boys, start taking notes.

My other half must call me every fifteen minutes to ask how I am feeling, he must rub my feet at the end of each school day regardless of any commitments (I mean, I HOPE I’m his only commitment). He must also call me to commemorate our weekly anniversaries and I expect teddy

Show encouragement for overwhelmed peers

By MEREDITH ROBERTSON

bears, flowers, and chocolates in math class on these important days.

He must also leave notes on my desk before each class period with a compliment for every period of the day and watch breaking bad with me even if they have already seen every episode.

Got that?

But, those are just obvious things that every good boy should do. In addition, he must be someone who isn’t grossed out by the amount of Five Guys I eat, or how much I talk about my bodily functions. And even though all my friends already stand outside my window and sing to me before I go to bed, I need a guy to do that as well.

However, these traits are not OOAK. If anyone is interested in becoming MY Prince Charming, his GPA needs to be at LEAST a 4.53, he needs to speak at least three languages fluently, and has to volunteer at an animal shelter. He must also be able to fly airplanes and conduct open heart surgery while simultaneously modeling. Blue Steel.

Resumes, including personal essay, clubs, volunteer experience, varsity sports (nothing less!), musical prowess, a recommendation letter from a teacher or parent and a fifty dollar application fee payable via check or cash are being accepted now.

Isn’t that reasonable?

High school is filled with ups and downs, highs and lows, disappointment and excitement—it shapes and molds every single student through the course of these four years. Sometimes though, when one stumbles slightly, it can be hard to get back up—everyone has experienced his or her fair share of the blues! And a lot of times it can be impossible to recognize the point of trying so hard and exerting so much effort. So just take a second to be reminded of something: Step back and look how far you have come, how far you have made it already, and all the work that’s been done and goals that have been reached. Times get tough, but they don’t ever stay that way forever!

The process of growing up is accepting these changes and changing with them, there’s no way to survive if you fight against the simple flow of life.

But even with that in mind, it can still be hard to stay uplifted when the pressure to be great increases daily. With the amount of weight placed on students’ shoulders, it’s no wonder that some days feel long and many times unbearable but, before deciding to quit, look back at how far you have come and remember, Elizabeth Ross once noted, “People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when

Editor’s desk

Hedge against regrets

Beauty and The Beast being a topic of discussion around the halls, this month your Verve staff has decided to emphasize themes of beauty and selfimage, because teens are often taxed by the pressure to look and feel good.

High school can be pretty challenging, because students are discovering their own identity while also trying to fit in. It’s hard to balance those two concepts while maintaining good grades.

Did you know that, according to dosomething.org, about 20 percent of teens will experience depression before they reach adulthood because of self-worth issues?

In reality, there is no real definition for beauty because it is what you make of it. Society’s image of beauty is constantly changing. In fact, it was only a few decades ago that that curvy Marilyn Monroe was the beauty icon.

Even music icon Beyonce has voluptuous curves. But celebrities don’t live in the real world, and they certainly are not high- school students!

So we hope you enjoy this month’s issue of Verve, and look forward to a feature next month in Verve views that asks members of our community to share their ideas on what beauty IS. schoolers. It’s important to realize that your values and ideas should come before trying to please your peers. ☺

Everyone has been talking about the new app KeepSafe, which allows one to hide any photos via iOS or Android!

Phillip and Zouhair created KeepSafe, which hides pictures under password protection. The app was recently updated on February 19, 2013 for minor bug fixes and work rate.

The app has 3 million monthly active users, who are mostly people in their twenties, and over 1 billion hidden photos.

For an additional $4.99 a month, a premium version is available with a “cloud” photo back up service--useful if a phone gets stolen because pictures can be retreived from the cloud!

The app receives a 4.5 star rating and high praise from customers for its high efficiency and work rate. On the other hand, it is criticized for not having enough storage availability.

Many may say that this app sounds familiar to Snapchat, but KeepSafe allows users to send pictures to anyone, whether or not they have the app!

Hiding pictures protects privacy, and that’s a good thing: what we find funny in a photo today may just not be so amusing to our future selves.

Think before you publish.

With our school’s spring musical By MELISSA MacPHERSON

the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.”

A situation may affect a person’s actions, but they alone are in charge of the way it affects them on the inside. So don’t be afraid to embrace this inner light, spread it around, because one may never know who needs a little help finding theirs.

Photo by Emme Harris

By LINA MOCKUTE

March 2013

Robertson to the rescue...Student relays positive message to peers.

Akey Responds

By TONY AKEY

Some people think my column has gotten too soft, but that’s because the Verve staff has been cutting some of my best lines. I get it; people would rather read about a sailing team for a school that’s 20 miles from the nearest body of sailable water. Give me a break.

Swim team, major props. Not only are you a great team, but also unlike some other sports, we don’t have to pay an adult to attend your games to keep fans from swearing at officials and members of the oppositions.

Itís called modeling. Thanks swimmers and swimmer parents and fans.

Quesadilla cook off rocked. About 50 kids competed in this Spanish Club activity. I was a judge and it was great fun. I can only imagine how you will bastardize the event and turn it into some get-into-college scheme.

Speaking of which, would you kids please relax about college when you are in high school. Take courses you want to take and do them well. Play some sports, get involved in activities. If you enjoy high school you’ll do well in high school get in to a fine college. We’ve never had kids getting in to better schools, never. Way

to go kids. And we’ve never had more adults screaming that the kids arenít getting in to the right places.

Don’t let the facts get in the way of voicing an opinion and making kids feel awful about great accomplishments. My all time favorite was a parent who went bonkers when her kid didn’t get in to Brown and had to settle on Colgate. The parent blamed everyone for the failure to get in to Brown (she simply didn’t have the grades or scores) rather than celebrate the fact she had an amazing kid who got in to an outstanding school. PS: The kid graduated Colgate and is enormously successful and happy.

Drama kids, break a leg. And break a tradition and show up on time next week. I’m watching you.

Peace Love and the Woodstock nation

Photo by Alex Arias

Page 2

Senior psych check-in

Cartoon by Claire Harrison

By JEMMA STANDING The school clock struck 12:30pm (or really 12:34pm) and it was evident that the final midterm was over. While a lot of the underclassmen were relived and excited to go home, the seniors of SHS was overjoyed and knew that this meant they were now embarking on their final semester. While I can’t speak for everyone, I knew this is what I felt. Anyway, congrats on getting this far class of 2013! It’s such an achievement that we’re only about 4 months away from graduating our beloved SHS! It seems like just yesterday we walked in as 4 feet tall freshman, afraid that we would get pushed into lockers and be incredibly late for class. Again this is what I felt like so this statement is merely an assumption.

I hope everyone can enjoy what is left

of our high school career,and really embrace the people that were around.

A myth that I’ve heard a lot of is that second semester seniors get to sit back, do nothing, and eat cake, but this isn’t true. I have continuously had just as much work (maybe even more) than I had the first few months of school. Every teacher is trying to push on and make us do work, like what is this, a school? My advice is to keep a good work ethic and maybe the cake and lounging will come soon enough, or so I hope. Good luck to my fellow classmates and I hope that everything goes better then ever in these last couple of months. I will truly miss all of you next year.

Peace and blessings, Jemma

GLOBE

Page 3

Pope Benedict resigns, speculation begins Pope Benedict stunned the world last month when he said that he would retire on Feb. 28, a decision he said he had made “in full liberty and for the good of the church.” In his statement, Pope Benedict -- who turns 86 in April, said he had come to the certainty “that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.” The pope stepped down at 8:00 p.m. on February 28, Rome time.

While not unprecedented, at least five other popes have resigned in the church’s history; the last papal resignation was Pope Gregory XII in 1415.

The Code of Canon Law allows popes to resign although it’s very uncommon. Some said that the very idea of a retired pope meant that the title had lost some of its luster.

The New York Times reported, “‘the mere fact that he’s resigning has permanently changed the nature of the papacy,’ said Eamon Duffy, a historian of Christianity at Cambridge

Photo provided by lambswar.blogspot.com

By GWEN ROGERS

Pope Retires! Benedict XVI is the 265th pope, he stepped down on February 28, due to poor health.

University. ‘He’s thought the unthinkable, done the undoable. He’s broken a taboo that had lasted 600 years, the last 150 of which presented the pope as a religious icon, the emblem of Jesus Christ, not the leader of a global church.’”

2013 collections wow lucky audience members

By JULIA HECKELMAN

A meeting of the College of Cardinals to elect the next pope will be held. The gathering is known as a conclave.

In his statement, Benedict said he wished “to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer”.

Club shares, celebrates year of snake

la Renta and Thom Browne’s. Fur dyed in an array of showy colors was everywhere on the runway such as dresses, skirt hems and even capes in Vera Wang’s collection. Additionally, feminine sequins and embellishments glimmered in the bright runway lights. Fashion Week continued in London from February 15th to the 19th, Milan from February 20th to the 26th, and ends in Paris from the 26th to the 6th of March. The shows are available for viewing online, as not everyone is lucky enough to see these amazing collections in person.

Photo Provided by hipcandy.blogspot.co

Celebrities, fashion icons, and journalists flocked to the fashion capitals of the world for the 2013 runway shows for a chance to see the trends before they trickle down to mainstream buyers. From the 7th to the 14th of February, Mercedes Benz presented runway shows in New York City for some of the biggest brand names in the world.

Marc Jacobs’ show closed fashion week, wowing the lucky audience members with a giant sun in the background of the runway. Model Cara Delevigne, the 20 year old who is as famous for her funny faces backstage as her modeling talent, walked in Marc Jacobs’ show along with 12 other models in New York. Delevigne then went on to walk at least five more runways in London. Other surprises that shocked the audience were the funky and somewhat bizarre beauty looks on the runway. Dip-dye hair was on many of Rodarte’s models. Bold red colors and hues appeared in full force From the Runway! New York Fashion Week Spring 2013 in many collections such as Oscar de

By XIAOYING YU A bake sale on Thursday, February 14, was held in honor of the Chinese Lunar New Year. There were cupcakes and fortune cookies on sale, with club president Tian Bao and Alex Mueller, both seniors, selling treats provided by themselves and fellow clubbers Pamela Kariotis, Ellie Hallenborg, and Jon Mueller.

Lunar New Year, a holiday for people to connect with family and friends near and far, is the biggest festival in China. During this holiday, people get together and enjoy big meals over the course of five to ten days.

This year is designated The Year of the Snake, according to the Chinese zodiac. Ancient Chinese traditions separate every twelve years into distinct periods using animals from nature like the snake and tiger, domesticated livestock like roosters and pigs, and the fictional dragon to represent the characteristics of each year.

The Chinese Club, established in 2010 by senior Tian Bao, is advised

by Ms. Joan Lu, the SHS Mandarin

Summit High School 125 Kent Place Blvd Summit, NJ 07901 Principal: Mr. Paul Sears Assistant Principals: Mr. Anthony Akey & Mrs. Stacy Grimaldi English Supervisor: Mr. Corey Walsh Adviser: Mrs. Anne Weisgerber EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Miriam Meller & Carly Nyman FRONT PAGE Section Editor: Tommy DiSibio GLOBE Section Editor: Gwen Rogers OPINE Section Editor: Gwen Rogers SCREEN AND SOUND Section Editor: Stephanie Ollom BUZZ Section Editors: Lindsay Leiter, Felisa Delli Santi TURF Section Editor: Jamie Macpherson Contributing Editors: Megan Shaw, Maddie Simko BACK PAGE: Contributing Editors: Sarina Musallam, Meredith Robertson Staff Reporters: Emily Harris, Julia Heckelman, Nicholas Lalicato, Carly Leiter,

Will Lycan, Max Macpherson, David Meyers, Sarina Musallam, Meredith Robertson, Ellie Schaffer, Megan Shaw, Jackson Sidebottom, MaddieSimko, Emma Standing, and Xiaoying Yu

Photo provided by Xiaoying Yu

March 2013

Bake sale! Club members Alex Mueller (L) and Tian Bao (R) kick off Chinese New Year with good food.

teacher. The Chinese Club provides interested students with the opportunity to enjoy Chinese culture outside of the classroom.

Ms. Lu says, “I hope more students will join the Chinese Club, not only for the Chinese New Year activity, the other events also.”

Verve Views:

By FELISA DELLI SANTI

“What would you

Matt Hermann ‘13

“I would take John Persche and Mrs. Retotar to see Cats the musical”

Mrs. MacTaggart “I would open up my own tutoring center and name it MacTaggart”

do if you found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?”

Louis Richman ‘14

“I would buy flowers for Ms. Putnam and Ms. Shue because I always fool around in the library”

Allison Daney ‘16 “I would take my family on vacation”

TURF

Page 4

Photo provided by Amy Macdonald

By MEGHAN SHAW

Ahoy! Summit Sailing trains for it’s first official varsity season.

In less than three years, the renewed Summit High School sailing team has made the switch from a school club to an official varsity sport. In 2010, now juniors Amy Macdonald, Will Elia and Jake Groskoph created the sailing club out of love for their summer sport. Amy expounds, “we started the club because we all love to sail and it was something different that Summit didn’t already offer.”

Co-founder, Will Elia explains, “a bunch of us realized that we all had sailing in common, and we knew that there was a club in the past that had died out, so we got together and restarted the club so we could keep sailing throughout the school year” Now that the team is making the switch from the realm of clubs to the roster of varsity sports there is speculation as to how this will affect the team. Jake Groskoph looks at this monumental step as an important opportunity for the team, “Now that the sailing team is a varsity sport,” he explains, “I believe that the team will grow and continue to build.”

“I hope not too much will change,” says Will Elia, “A lot of the schools we’ve raced against in the past are varsity clubs, so the competition won’t change. I think that the aspect that will change the most is the number of people joining and figuring out how that’ll affect our racing. Sailing has been an important part of many of the team member’s lives and incorporating their passion into the school year has only allowed them to do more of what they love.”

For example, Kahler Newsham, sophomore, details, “I learned to sail down at the beach, and as you get older you get to sail bigger and compete in regatta. It becomes more and more fun.”

The sailing club has provided the students with chances to enhance their skills and capabilities but also do an activity they love. Amy details, “even though we’re all in different grades, I’ve become friends with more people who I wouldn’t have otherwise known.”

As a varsity sport, sailing offers new opportunities for the team to grow in its ability to compete as well as benefit many students’ high school experiences.

USA, Japan headline global contest of baseball’s finest nations

By DAVID MEYERS On March 2 the third World Baseball Classic began; an international competition played every four years since 2005.

The tournament displays the best baseball players in the world as each nation competes against each other for the ultimate goal of being dubbed baseball giants of the world.

The tournament runs from March 2 through 19 and displays 16 teams. Top teams include the United States, Japan, Korea, and Venezuela with Japan emerging victorious in the first two World Baseball Classics. The current international standings rank Japan at number one with the United States following close behind in second place.

The United States team is filled with superstars such as outfielders Ryan Braun and Giancarlo Stanton, infielders David Wright and Mark Teixeira, catchers Joe Mauer and J.P. Arencibia, and pitchers R.A. Dickey and Ryan Vogelsong.

Legendary manager Joe Torre leads the star-studded team. In a recent news conference, Torre felt good about the club when he commented “These players I have talked to that are going to be a part of our club seem

Photo from bustasports.com

Sailing looks to gather way this season

March 2013

Champions! Japan hoists the championship trophy following its gold medal win in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. This year’s tournament begins in Japan and Taiwan on March 2 and continues through March 19, ending in Arizona and Puerto Rico. Fans can catch all the action on the MLB Network.

excited about the prospect of playing for our country.”

Not only does the World Baseball Classic provide early season excitement, it also provides international competition that baseball has missed since being discontinued as an Olympic sport following the 2008 Beijing Games.

Sports play shifts to courts of law

By JAMIE MACPHERSON Performance enhancing drugs, or PEDs, were not conversation-starters in sports until Senator George Mitchell began investigating them. His results, released in December 2007, stated that 86 professional baseball players had used steroids or other PEDs. In the 409 page report athletes such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were accused of use.

The release of the Mitchell report brought the sports under closer scrutiny. Since the report was released 7 MVPs and 31 All-Stars were caught using PEDs. President Bush spoke after

the report was published saying “My hope is that this report is a part of putting the steroid era of baseball behind us.” Unfortunately that was not the case.

Well-respected players such as Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, and Manny Ramirez were suspended during the 2011 and 2012 seasons for PED use.

Baseball is not the only cuplrit performance enhancing drug use, all major sports are affected. The 2012 London Olympics saw 12 players test positive for banned substances.

Cheating on the national stage once again brings into question the legitimacy of major accolades for athletes.

Not Hall of Famer... yet. Former Yankees pitching ace Roger Clemens stands trial before Senate, testifying about PED use.

When asked about his opinion on the World Baseball Classic, junior Connor Hanley responded by saying that, “Baseball was never fun to watch in the Olympics because professionals never played in it. But the World Baseball Classic is different, and I like watching the MLB’s best compete against the world.”

The World Baseball Classic marks the beginning of baseball season around the world.

The international competition, played in three countries and seven cities, is an exciting event displaying each nations most exciting players.

The World Baseball Classic is a grand slam of an event.

Deep powder: answer to ski junkie’s prayer

By MAX MACPHERSON After a dismal 2012 ski season from a dearth of snow, Mother Nature has coyly decided to give the gift of not only snow, but also cold for that snow to stick this year.

Ski resorts last year took a big hit because of the poor conditions from a lack of natural snow. Skiers were shying away from taking that weekend drive to their local ski mountain because half of the trails were closed or the trails would get too icy.

This year, East Coast ski mountains Okemo (which recorded 30 inches of powder in late February) and Sunday River (with 36 inches) and out west Snowbird and Alta have been getting a steady amount of snow that has kept the trails open and the skiers returning to

the mountains. Alta recorded 92 inches, and Snowbird with an awesome 86 inches.

Skiers are rejoicing over such good ski conditions-more snow means less rocky terrain on the slopes--but skiers might see the impact of good conditions translating to longer lift lines.

Mountains in the West have gotten some of their best snow ever. Over Christmas break mountains in the Maine and Vermont area recieved about fifteen inches of fresh snow and over President’s weekend mountains out west had close to two feet of fresh powder.

This makes for great ski conditions in 2013.

Nothing makes a ski junkie happier than having snow on the mountains and cold weather to keep it there.

March 2013

TURF

Page 5

Provided by nj.com

Team Love! Kirsty Gargiulo and Gillian McIlroy, representing the SHS Track & Field girls team, hug after an important race when Gillian ran a new personal best.

Provided by nj.com

Nice Save! Goalie Garrett McGowan and Whit Cummings at Summit vs. Brick game help ensure a key victory for making the state playoffs.

Provided by Peter Gangi

Big Win! Summit Boys Swim place 2nd at counties and win state championships. From left to right back row: Justin Vitti, Will Benn, Tom Anderson, Peter Gangi, Tommy DiSibio, Kevin Fries, Luca Guadagno, Matt Samay, Alex Ingerman, Andrew Thieck. From left to right front row: Alex Thompson, Matt Casagrande, Ryan Sebastian, Michael Peck, Jimmy Currie, Daniel Stone, Will Beckett, Timmy Kostolansky, Andrew Aguilera, Matt Stern.

Provided by Anna Baumeister

Provided by Rich Burns

Think Pink! The girls Varsity basketball team wears pink to show its support for Breast Cancer awareness.

From left to right back row: Anna Baumeister, Madeleine Gramigna, Marissa Murray, Katie Chase, Carly Wilson, Hannah Feeney, Cassidy O’Malley, Kyla Houston. From left to right front row: Caitlin Osmulski, Liz Kulpan, Jenny Martino, Olivia Kelly, Marissa Tarashuk.

Hit the Ice! Girls Ice hockey players, Jess Sanyour, Caitlin Stabler and Stuart Humphrey, celebrate after a goal.

They ended even with a 6-6 standing-a great season and improved from last year!

Provided by Catie Currie

Provided by David Berardi

Provided by Peter Gangi

Swoosh! Coach White walks out of the locker room with the starting five players hoping for another victory. Senior Ba’Shawn Mickens, on right in jersey number 3, reached his high school career thousandth point this year!

Rockin’ Hilltopper rollers! The bowling team preps to knock down some pins. They had a six-win season with MVP of the team Brianna Boze. Back row left to right: David Carvajal, Hope Trisler, Nick Hand, David Berardi, Andrew Bowyer. Front row seated: Brianna Boze.

Make a splash! Summit Swim juniors and seniors celebrate after the the final home meet with their annual senior night, filled with emotional speeches and team bonding. Back row from left to right: Anna Yurkova, Adrianna Schoenhaut, Tasha Kewalramani, Kristen Fedor, Coach Ross, Catie Currie, Emily Rowe, Grace Newcomb, Jessica Martins, Emma Von-Haus. Front row from left to right: Lina Mockute, Alex Riba, Kelly Haberl, Josie Persson, and Maria diMayorca. Great season!

BUZZ

Page 6

March 2013

Magicicadas are periodical insects that emerge in seventeen-year cycles in the United States – and to our dismay, 2013 is the year of their return. The last time magicicadas came to this region of the country, referred to by scientists as Brood II, was 1996. And this year, millions are expected to rise from the ground in our area.

However, it is not a guarantee that you will find these bugs in your neighborhood because their presence depends on many factors. One main factor is that if there aren’t many deciduous trees (like oaks and birches) near your

home, you probably will not find any in your backyard.

Although it is impossible to predict their exact arrival, historically magicicadas surface when the average temperature gets to 64°F, which is usually in late April or early May. The magicicada invasion typically lasts four to six weeks (from the time the first nymph crawls from the ground until the last adult dies).

The first indicator that magicicadas have arrived is that their singing can be heard. Only the males sing and it may be persistent until the invasion is complete.

Fortunately, these bugs do

not bite or sting and they aren’t poisonous. They are mainly just annoying because of their persistent singing, swarms, and the propensity they have to damage plants in the area.

“I think the impending invasion is great!” exclaimed Environmental and Biology teacher and nature enthusist, Ms. Michele Taferra, “I can’t wait until they come.”

Despite the frightening possibility, citizens of Summit should try not to worry about the magicicads until the day comes when their dreadful singing is heard. At that point, it’s every man for himself!

How to find a pot of gold on March 17

Gotta dance?

App for that

By YUTA NAGANO

By SARINA MUSALLAM

Photo by Lindsay Leiter

Breakdance Step-by-Step Beginner’s How to B-boy Video Guide is an iOS app that shows how to do foundational breakdance moves.

This app emphasizes correct form, using videos that model your hip hop moves in both slow motion and real time.

To anyone who wants to start B-boying, this app, introduced in 2010 is a great start because it aims to shed light on the movement and culture of B-boying.

Teaching the basic power moves, like flares and windmills, are some of its features.

Bonus features include interviews with real B-boys. The good thing about this app is that the moves are taught correctly, which is important for anyone new to this art form.

Positive reviews praise the app. The only negative aspect is pixilation on the iPad because the screen is so big.

Topspin takeover. Potential ping pong club members, Seniors Mikey Gelber, Matt Hobson (both standing L-R) and Scott Burian prepare for a rigorous, upcoming spring season.

Ping Pong on the Table

By JACKSON SIDEBOTTOM

Summit High School is in the process of approving a new ping pong club. Founder of the club, sophomore Owen Crowl, is very optimistic, “It’s going to be great. I love the game

and hope that I can extend this great sport out to other people throughout the school. We are open to people of all skills coming to the club.” Interested players shuold speak to Crowl.

BOE welcomes parent as newest member

By EMME HARRIS

Mr. Rick Hanley, father of four in the Summit School district, was sworn in at the February 14 Board of Education metting.

His children, junior Connor Hanley, sophomore Claudia Hanley, freshman Samantha Hanley, and elementary school student Maggie Hanley, were by his side at the meeting.

He is replacing Elizabeth Ann Burton, whose family is moving to Colorado Springs.

Don’t fear that the cicadas are here! Take the time to learn and understand the facts about magicicads to prepare for the invasion.

Mr. Hanley was excited to join the Board of Education saying, “with four children currently in the Summit school district, and seeing firsthand what a great education they are getting, I wanted to be more involved and give something back to the community that has provided us so much. I was honored by the Mayor’s invitation to serve and am excited about contributing to the district and making the education

available to future Summit children even better and more rewarding than what my children are receiving currently.”

Prior to his new position, Mr. Hanley volunteered with Summit’s YMCA, Recreation Center, Junior Baseball, and St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church. He currently works as CEO of Hanley & Associates.

The Board is lucky to have Mr. Hanley, for he is expected to do great things in his term.

Every year on March 17 people all around the U.S. celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. In over ten cities, huge parades are held to celebrate the Irish and St. Patrick who is credited for bringing Catholicism to Ireland. The largest parade is held in New York with over 2 million attendees.

This year the parade will take place on Saturday March 16 and will begin at 11:00am. The parade will march up Fifth Avenue past St. Patrick’s Cathedral and finish at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 83 street around 4:30pm.

Celebrations can also be found closer to home.

For example, on March 9 a St. Patrick’s Day parade will be held in Morris County starting at noon.

The Union County parade

will take place on March 16 at 1:00pm. This parade is dedicated to those affected by Parkinson’s.

There are many other fun activities that one can take part in besides attending these parades. To get in the spirit of the holiday, people can be seen dressed from head to toe in green and decorated in shamrocks. Some households dye their milk and bagels green, and for dinner eat a traditional Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage.

Little kids even design leprechaun traps with the hopes of capturing a leprechaun and finding a pot of gold!

This year make sure to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, whether it is by eating boiled potatoes, wearing green, or attending one of the many parades!

Photo from theepochtimes.com

By LINDSAY LEITER

Photo from cicadamania.com

Well-rested cicadas return to seek revenge

Luck of the Irish. Last year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in NYC attracted high school students across the tri-state area to join the celebration and get in the spirit.

SCREEN & SOUND

March 2013

Page 7

Queen B and Destiny’s Child return to spotlight together From shamelessly admitting to lipsynching the National Anthem at the 2013 Presidential Inauguration to her jaw-dropping performance at the Superbowl, Beyonce Knowles has once again taken the world by storm. After returning from giving birth to her first daughter, Blue Ivy, the striking superstar proved that the sky is the limit when one is ambitious and determined. There is no doubt about it, the queen is back and fiercer than ever.

Knowles’ embarassing faux pas of the National Anthem caused an uproar following the January Inauguration, but that didn’t stop her from rising above the rumors. To ensure fans that she only lip-synched her performance due to lack of time she had to prepare, she took the approach of actions speaking louder than words.

Beyonce entered a press conference a few days after the Inauguration and immediately asked the crowd to rise.

She proceeded to perform a flawless rendition of the anthem, acapella.

“Any questions?” the star asked the stunned paparazzi in front of her, following her performance.

Clearly for Beyonce, vocals were not the issue. She explained that she is a perfectionist and had been too preoccupied with rehearsal for the Superbowl to properly run through her show for the Inauguration.

Sing it! Rowland, Knowles, and Williams make the crowd go wild with their hot performance of their hit single “Bootylicious” at the Superbowl, February 3, 2013.

At the Superbowl, Beyonce absolutely proved her perfection. In an awe-inspiring performance that was the topic of conversation for days following, Beyonce reunited with her former girl group, Destiny’s Child, to perform a few songs. The three including Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams, graced the stage with their performance of their hit

Music sharing tags a social mission

By ANNA TSELEVICH debut in 2008 in the iTunes App store. Shazam now works on all platforms, including Android, Blackberry, iOS devices, and even on laptops.

The app’s most recent update was January 2013, allowing unlimited tags of songs while using the free version. The premium membership, Shazam Encore, can be purchased as (Shazam)Red and

Photo from swpcontent.com

As music people know, Shazam is the app that identifies almost any song, anywhere, in ‘lightning-speed’, but you might not be aware of (Shazam)Red, the latest version.

Founded by Chris Barton, Philip Inghelbrecht, Avery Wang and Dhiraj Mukherjee, Shazam Entertainment Ltd, has continued to progress since its

Apps fighting AIDS! Check out Shazam, recently updated and available on iTunes.

this version lets users add songs directly to Spotify accounts, plus receive recommendations based on tagged songs, and on top of that, 20% of the profits fund the fight against AIDS in Africa.

Subscribers afraid of committing to Shazam for years will find it now offers an option of paying $6.99 for a lifetime membership, or $4.99 for just one year.

New features include streamlined tagging of both songs and TV shows. There is also a social share aspect, streaming lyrics, music videos, and current tour/performance dates.

Shazam has always worked for most users, but

the main issue is now, when trying to tag a song in a TV program, it only finds the TV show, not the song. The creators say they are working on the glitch. But otherwise, the app is a great resource for musiclovers on-the-go.

The biggest competition in its genre would be SoundHound, which allows users to hum or sing a song that it will recognize instead of wracking their brains trying to name a song or artist, whereas Shazam, can not tag live performances. Shazam has a greater variety of features, and its music recognition is more accurate than SoundHound.

single “Bootylicious,” and other renditions. The chemistry was evident between the women. Their legacy includes selling more than 50 million records worldwide and being ranked as one of the greatest musical trios of all time by Billboard magazine. Although the three went their separate ways over time, they surely were able to turn it back on at the Superbowl.

Beyonce, clad with her 17 Grammy Awards, 12 MTV Video Music Awards, a Billboard Millennium Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (with Destiny’s Child) is undoubtedly timeless. She represents empowerment in women, and the pursuit of a dream.

Her legend will forever be applauded.

Familiar novel with cult fan base making leap to silver screen

By NIC LALICATO

After years of being one of the most popular science fiction book s of all time, Ender’s Game

by Orson Scott Card is finally being made into a film. Ender’s Game is the story of a six-year-old boy named Ender Wiggin, who is recruited to attend a militaryrun battle school.

Set to debut on November 1, the movie will be nothing short of a big deal. Fans of the novel, however, wonder if the movie will be able to hold up to their expectations.

With teen novels being made

into movies left and right it was inevitable that an Ender’s Game movie was to be made. Harry Potter and Twilight are both wrapped up, and it won’t be long before the Hunger Games series concludes.

The Ender’s Game series has about fifteen books in it, and its core of cult fans have opinions on the new movie, especially around SHS, where the book is in the freshman English curriculum.

Sophomore, Jackson Sidebottom has read the entire series, and says, “I am per-

Photo from CBSNews.com

By ELLIE SCHAFFER

sonally a little worried about the this interpretation because, generally, movies based on books don’t hold up well enough and tend to disregard the source material.”

On another hand, some students are more optimistic for the upcoming blockbuster. Junior class president Max Graeb adds, “I read Ender’s Game freshman year in Mrs. Arkin’s class, and it is a fantastic book. I’m pretty excited to see Harrison Ford in the movie.”

One thing the movie definitely does have is a starry cast, wih

Harrison Ford as the intimidating Colonel Graff, Asa Butterfield as Ender Wiggin, Abigail Breslin as Ender’s sister Valentine, and Ben Kingsley as Mazer Rackham.

One tentative link in the production may be its director, Gavin Hood, who is relatively unknown except for his relatively bad X Men Origins Wolverine film.

That movie was certainly filled with action, but not the suspense and character development that is needed to fully embellished Ender’s Game into a movie.

Page 8

CLUBS AND EVENTS

March 2013

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