Volume XIII; Issue 16
Friday, March 20, 2015
cavchronline.com
HB JAZZ MAKES HISTORY T
Julie Christie ‘15 Editor-in-Cheif
hey thought it was a moment of defeat.
Hollis Brookline’s Honors Jazz Band and Combo Band had performed a grand total of five songs in less than six hours and didn’t even get an Honorable Mention at the Clark Terry UNH Jazz Festival. But moments later, they left exuberant and astonished: HB had instead been one of five bands named for Outstanding Performance, the highest award given at the festival. “It definitely ranks as one of my proudest moments,” said band director Dave Umstead. “I’ve been happy all weekend.” The band went to the festival for the first time two years ago, with this as their second appearance. Both Umstead and Tenor Saxophone player Devin Orr ‘15 explained that their expectations hadn’t been to get the highest honor the festival could give. “Honestly, we’d have been really hap-
Teresa Randlett ‘16 Assistant Entertainment Editor Back in 2005, Hollis Brookline High School’s English teacher Ann Melim noticed a family in her community struggling to stay financially stable while dealing with their son’s medical needs. Her warm heart and passion for helping led her to raise a significant amount of money for the family, but not through just any normal fundraiser: by climbing.
py with just an Honorable Mention,” said Orr. “But getting this was the best feeling in the world.” HB played alongside thirty-two other jazz bands from around the state, including Souhegan, which was also named for Outstanding Performance. The win holds even more significance for the band because of the high level of competition each group brings to the festival. “It’s not just any old bands that go to this,” explained Umstead. “You’ve got to have a strong band to begin with.”
Soloists included Brandon Fox ‘16, Matt Bradshaw ‘17, Nick Sengstaken ‘16, Celeste Marsan ‘15, Nick diCicco ‘15, Devin Orr ‘15, Chris Smith ‘15, Nick Hinchliff ‘17, Curtis Newton ‘17, and Mike Mosca ‘15.
Photo Credit: Julie Christie ‘15
Melim climbed for Cam After Melim’s first hike, which she thought was the last, she became more aware of all the need surrounding her in the community. Now, Melim hikes Mount Washington every two years and climbs new mountains in the years between. Between all the hikes that have happened in the past ten years, a total of $18,000 has been raised for many different causes. Melim has raised money for Haiti relief, specific family situations, and for the past two years, with a purpose a little bit closer to home.
Ann Melim trecked up Mount Washington for her sixth time on Friday, March 6, completing the frigid hike in a mere three and a half hours.
Each year, Melim believes that the purpose for why she climbs is not chosen specifically but instead, just simply “falls into her lap”.
Having raised $1,600 for the Cam Ricard Memorial Scholarship along with having a very strong personal connection with the purpose of the hike, Melim felt especially emotional when reaching the summit. Cameron Ricard was a previous student of Melim’s at Hollis Brookline High School who was killed in a car accident last winter.
Her annual climb last year was up Mount Kilimanjaro for her cousin, Calvin. This year, Melim felt as if raising money for the Cam Ricard Memorial Scholarship was what she was meant to do: “I didn’t climb this year just for the money. I climbed to remember someone who had a zest for life.”
“I went with my husband and our regular guide who has gone with us every year,” Melim explained, “but this year was especially tough and was most definitely the hardest climb yet.”
Melim plans on continuing her now annual hike for a cause and is already preparing both mentally and physically for next year.
Costa Rica Experience Niki Maragos ‘16 Ryan IntVelt ‘15 Staff Writers
This past February vacation the highly anticipated Costa Rica trip finally became more than just a dream for some Hollis Brookline students. A group of forty-one high school students and six teachers had the time of their lives in a tropical country from Friday, February 20 until March 1.
McWha’s artwork wins first place in contest Michaela Dinman ‘16 Staff Writer
What would make the world a better place? This year’s Reflections art competition challenged its contestants to answer this question, and Hollis-Brookline student Caitlin McWha, ’16, went above and beyond in her contributions. McWha won first place in her category, with her vision of a world where people are given new life through a pet. McWha submitted a drawing of her beloved pet Chihuahua, Faye, at the urging of photography teacher Bridget MacMillan. As she looked at all of the other entries, McWha admits to feeling intimidated by the other artists and their pieces. “It feels really weird, having strangers judge me and my work,” McWha says.
The students participated in activities that were adventure based, such as planting mangrove trees, white water rafting, hiking, and kayaking. The students also had a chance to practice their Spanish language skills. Haley Recke ‘15 said, “The instructors were very nice and did not judge us.” During the trip, the group witnessed the beautiful scenery and architecture that Costa Rica has to offer. The destinations varied from the La Fortuna volcano to a local school that was occupied by thirty to forty students all taught by one teacher. Rick Bergeron, the Student Resident Officer at Hollis Brookline, explained how happy all the local kids were despite the lack of money. Hannah MacLeod ‘15 said, “Meeting the kids was the best experience of them all.” The weather was far different from that back home in Hollis and Brookline everyone agreed that traveling
Cam Chrystal ’16 (left) and Michael Pattelena ’15 (right) after planting mangroves Photo Credit: Meagan Bonta ‘15
from ten degrees in Boston to eighty degrees in Costa Rica was definitely a welcoming sign that they would enjoy the warm trip. Olivia Lukovits ‘16 described the country as “bright, green, and pretty” and explained how “it was extremely hard coming home.” One highlight from the trip was when the students and chaperones planted mangroves together. Bergeron stated, “Everyone came together and worked in unity.The students planted many more mangrove trees than they anticipated.”
When they weren’t meeting the locals, viewing the scenery, or shopping, both the students and the chaperones were on the water. The group took part in activities such as kayaking and white water rafting, which was definitely a favorite of several students. Spanish teacher Alex Basbas explained how the majority of the trip was “adventure-based”: he even held a Praying Mantis. On top of the many experiences in Costa Rica, Basbas said, “It was nice to see the kids applying what they learn in the classroom to the real world.”
So it came as a welcome surprise when she was informed that her piece had won. In a summary of her work, McWha detailed how animals can help better the world. “Animals can really benefit people. They can help people with PTSD, depression, and autistic people.” McWha also supports programs that give incarcerated criminals a pet to love and to care for. “[It shows that] someone does love you, and that someone needs you”–knowledge which, she believes, can help people change. Faye and McWha have been together for almost a year now and have developed a deep relationship. Faye is one of three dogs in McWha’s home, but is especially important because she belongs exclusively to one person. “She’s all mine,” says McWha. “She helps me whenever I have a bad day.” McWha will continue drawing and developing her art portfolio. She hopes to soon produce a portrait of each of her pets: one of each dog and another of her cat. She is expanding her passion and developing roots in more and more mediums of expression, with this year’s Reflections program a landmark as she moves forward in the future. The Cavalier Chronicle is produced by Hollis Brookline High School students. The articles published represent the views of the staff and do not represent Hollis Brookline High School, HBHS faculty, or administration. As this publication is intended to be a tool for learning, please bring any concerns related to the newspaper to the attention Adviser Lin Illingworth. She can be reached at lin.illingworth@sau41.org
Lassoing into the spotlight Bridget Giles ‘15, Molly McAndrews ‘15 Editors
The musicals put on by the HBHS Theater Department are often composed of talented singers and perfectly choreographed dances. This year’s production of Oklahoma will add a new set of skills to the musical mix: lassos. Besides spending countless hours practicing lines, songs, and dances, some cast members also spent time learning how to wield this classic cowboy prop.
Cornwell, who owns property in Barrington, New Hampshire and is experienced in the art of lassoing. Scali and Lazich braved the cold in order to practice. Scali said “it took about an hour to learn the basic motions.”
On set, Lazich uses one of Gray’s authentic ropes while Scali uses one of Tomlinson’s ropes. These ropes must be arranged in a certain way on stage
in order for them to work properly; they can’t simply be thrown into place. Tomlinson hopes that the boys will practice several times a day to ensure success on stage. “They have to rope me every day before practice,” she jokes. This year’s classic musical will be sure to thrill the audience with expert singing, dancing and acting with the added element of lassoing.
Two such cast members, Jake Scali ‘15 who plays Will Parker and Chris Lazich ‘15 who plays Cord Elam, spent time over February break practicing how to properly use a lasso. “[Lassoing] is very awkward, it’s not a natural kind of motion,” said Lazich. After a failed attempt at trying to learn how to lasso from YouTube videos, theater teacher and Oklahoma! director Elyse Tomlinson called in the help of New Hampshire cowboy Gray
Jake Scali ‘15 (left) and Chris Lazich ‘15 (right) demonstrate their new skill in the hallway. Photo Credit: Sarah MacEachen ‘16