Opine
October 2013
Verve 5
By ANIKA BECKER Reporter
Every teacher, parent, sibling, and fellow student has heard the warnings of the infamously stressful junior year. Now that the class of 2015 has reached this pinnacle of panic, current juniors are beginning to feel those junior year jitters. The class of 2015 has quite a lot to look forward to, but with that comes a lot to be nervous about. One student, junior Jenny Martino said “The hype of this year is already stressing me out!” Junior James Demakos said that he is really excited for this year and that “So far this year has been treating me well.” Senior, Julia McNally advised the grade below her to “get an early start on your college preparations.” Junior, Peter McKinley is one student who is seeing the
light at the end of the tunnel, and cannot wait to get there. McKinlay said “I am very excited about this year and am looking forward to going to college.” Students’ source of stress typically stems from SATs and
“Get an early start on your college preparations.”
--Julia McNally ‘14
ACTs. Year after year, more and more kids are applying to school, and colleges are not increasing their incoming classes at the same rate. The competition is so great that many students may feel the
From the editors Yay we are finally seniors, can we get a “woot woot?” After the thrilling feeling of parking in your own spot in the Senior Lot wears off, you think to yourself “alright, let’s graduate already!” Then it sets in that we have 180 days of school. While juniors battle with the SAT and ACT tests, seniors can finally be done. Another benefit to being a senior: unassigned. No more racing to study hall to get the one spot to the library. It’s an awesome feeling to just sign in and be able to do what we
want. Yet it’s kind of sad that we can’t have the pep rally anymore due to the increase in class size. Sorry freshmen, we guess you won’t get the whole high school experience. We also can’t have Homecoming, due to some problems caused in the past years, so we’ll apologize to the sophomores who weren’t allowed to go last year. But don’t despair everyone, we have confidence that President Max Graeb has plans for us to enjoy this fall.
need to step it up. One question that has become quite controversial over the past thirty years for students aiming to attend college is which entrance exam to take: the SAT or the ACT. Among the 1.6 million students across the country taking the SATs and the 1.7 million taking the ACTs this year, which test ensures better results? The answer is different for everyone and many will take both. To guarantee success on these exams, take McNally’s advice and start preparing now! Dean of Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, Eric J. Furda, told the “New York Times” that “I think the dramatic increase over the last five years in the number of ACT scores we receive
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Standardized tests! They love you, they love you not, they love you, they love you not...
comes in conjunction with the increased selectivity.” This harkens back to the idea of higher education becoming more and more selective, and students across the country going above and beyond to stand out in an admissions office. Dean of Admissions at Harvard University, William R. Fitzsimmons, added to Furda’s comment in the “New York
Artwork via ragemaker.net
Jump starting junior year by test decision
Times” that “… it doesn’t concern us at all whether students send the SAT, ACT, or both.” So, Juniors, keep your head up and remember how many other students are in the same boat. Be prepared, enjoy the journey and remember... to breathe.
Freshman congestion By CARLY LEITER Entertainment Editor Each year, the halls seem to become more and more congested. Swarming freshman students crowd the corridors, making it problematical to arrive to class in the diminutive specified four minutes offered in between subjects. Within the past three years, the class size has increased by almost one hundred students. “The school feels so much more crowded this year, I have no idea what Summit is going to do over the next few years when even more kids come” senior Olivia De Santis said. The current senior class
has 267 students, the juniors have 272, there are 314 sophomores and the new freshman class has 344 students. Each class amount has gradually increased over the past three years and there is still more to come. The current eighth grade class has 340 students and the seventh grade class contains 343 kids. By the 2015 school year, the school size will have increased over a two-year period by 144 students. With the continuous growing population, the administration will soon begin to have difficulty allotting rooms and teachers to instruct the overflowing amounts of students.
Verve Views: Senior Hot Spots By TOMMY DiSIBIO Managing Editor
As a senior, where will you go out to lunch this year and what’s your go-to order?
Brianna Boze orders a classic cheeseburger and fries at Smashburger
Conor Ferriso orders the Italian Stallion sandwich from Marie’s
Dyami Jasdanwala’s favorite is a Cowboy burger from Food
Kerri Hannigan goes to Hoboken Farms to get a Caprese sandwich
Nick Lioudis is all about the Urban Cowboy sandwich from Millburn Deli