The Crusader - Issue 2 - October 2012 - Spirit Week Edition

Spirit Week Edition

Turn to pages 6 and 7 to see more Spirit Week features

Cardinal Gibbons High School - 1401 Edwards Mill Rd Raleigh, N.C. 27607

Volume 12, Issue 2 October 17, 2012

Spirit Week a ‘blast and a half’

Stephanie Todd Staff Writer The only week of the entire school year when it is acceptable to have a walking basketball in your English class has come and gone.

Spirit Week is a time to show how weirdly you can express your love for your school, according to sophomore Grace Hackett. This year, there were many students to exhibit such enthusiasm for Gibbons.

A spider costume, made by senior Robert Povlock’s mom about 20 years ago and a ping pong costume he made from his ping pong set were broken out of storage and born to the Gibbons world when Povlock decided to emerge from his past dormant state during Spirit Week.

“I wanted to get crazy. YOLO,” said Povlock, referring to the saying “You only live once.” Povlock was rewarded with two free hugs for his creativity and snazzy dressing by the executive student council team. Povlock said he had enjoyed Spirit Weeks in the past but he has never quite gone all out as he has for his final Spirit Week.

Another impressive costume on Wilderness Day was sophomore Xander Saleh’s ghillie suit purchased at mountain hardware store Gander Mountain. Ghillie suits were originally used in the military and recreational hunting, so it was the perfect costume for Wilderness Day. “I always want to live every day to its fullest and Spirit Week is a fun, exciting opportunity to do that,” said Saleh.

Stand-out costumes for Superhero Day included seniors Lauren Gamble

and Jackie Halula, who were adorned in their Avengers-inspired costumes.

Though the idea of the new Medieval Day is a humorous and creative one, many students found it difficult to partake in and were unable to do much more than put on a grey tee shirt to pass as a knight. For Medieval Day, freshmen supposed to dress as court jesters, sophomores as knights or princesses, juniors as kings or queens, and seniors as dragons.

“Finding a costume/outfit to wear to be a court jester will be difficult,” said freshman Sophie Ebihara prior to the Thursday of Spirit Week. Ebihara’s views on the difficulties of finding a costume for medieval day were shared by junior Brianna Panosian, and Hackett. Both expressed that medieval wear in Raleigh is lacking.

The absence of many past familiar themes such as Pajama Day, Down on the Farm Day, or Throwback Thursday definitely dampened some students’ views on this Spirit Week.

“It stunk. End of story,” said Hackett.

Senior Ethan Wire was not quite as critical of this year’s Spirit Week.

“It was a blast and a half,” said Wire. Wire said his favorite day was Wilderness Day and least favorite was Superhero Day and added that student council needs to be more creative.

Most students seemed to enjoy the week, regardless of the days.

“Despite the absence of Pajama Day and it being my final Spirit Week, I enjoyed it nonetheless,” said Panosian.

Ebihara said the same thing, adding that she enjoyed her first Spirit Week especially because she liked seeing all the different costumes.

Photo by Landmark Yearbook

Photo by Darsey Williams/Gibbons Media

(From left to right) Sophomores Jenna Steele, Alexa Chapman, Megan Sutton, Daniel Gajda, and Chucky Swoboda show their spirit on Wilderness Day.

Freshman Joe Rodri (left) and business teacher Darsey Williams, dressed as Captain America and Wonder Woman, came to Gibbons with a lot of school spirit during Spirit Week. Super Hero Day took place on Wednesday during Spirit Week. The other dress down theme days were Wilderness Day, Sports Day, Medieval Day, and Class Colors Day.

Fall pep rally filled with creativity

Photo by Megan Yates/The Crusader

(From left to right) Executive Student Council members Colin McKendry, Brian Driskill, Dominic Vellucci, and James Becherer dance to “Gangnam Style” during the fall pep rally.

Check us out online at www.cghsnc.org/newspaper and follow us on Twitter @newspapercghsnc Page design by Executive News Editor Caleb Maloney

Photo by Alexis Tyndall

(From left to right) AP U.S. History teacher Taylor Blanton dressed as Captain America, senior Robert von Jess dressed as Robin, junior Andrew Cochrane dressed as Captain Underpants, junior Trevor Burns dressed as The Hulk, and Art teacher Chris Kemple dressed as Batman, saved the day during the pep rally skit.

News

The Crusader 2

October 17, 2012

Families, students come out Alumni return to Gibbons for a fun night of football Caroline Young Staff Writer

Gibbons welcomed over 500 elementary and middle school students and their families during the fourth annual Family Football Night before the September 28 home game against Chapel Hill.

The students and families, from over 30 grade schools, came for a funfilled night of tailgating, games, and a new hit this year, the green machine races.

The event also provides students and families a chance to experience Gibbons in a different way.

“It’s a good opportunity to have families and kids that don’t currently go to Gibbons see what Gibbons is like.

It’s one of the biggest days of the year for the school,” said Assistant Principal of Student Activities Mike Rogosich.

A group of middle schoolers from St. Michael’s Catholic School attended together, including Molly Schimelfenig, whose sister is senior Lexi Schimelfenig.

“I watched green machines, talked with friends, bought stuff, and watched a video my sister was in. The best part was the green machines,” said Molly Schimelfenig.

Schimelfenig and other visiting students enjoyed racing the green machines – three-wheeled, pedalpowered trikes similar to the classic “big wheel” child’s toy – through the parking lot and watching others do the same.

St. Michael’s sixth grader Maggie Pierce had a great time at the festivities, as well. Pierce said her favorite part of the night was “the apple game and hula

hooping”.

Students from the Catholic grade schools weren’t the only ones at Family Football Night. Lufkin Middle School eighth grader Danny Gigliotti came to Family Football Night with his family, which includes two siblings currently at Gibbons, senior Laura Gigliotti and sophomore Tommy Gigliotti.

Danny Gigliotti said he enjoyed throwing the football around, and that the best part of the night was getting to hang out with his friends.

Many parents, both first-time and veteran tailgaters, also had a fun time. Sally Hackett, whose son Tim is a sophomore at Gibbons and daughter Jenna is in fifth grade at The Franciscan School, said she had a great time at the tailgate.

“We tailgate all the time. This is the place to hang: music, food, entertainment, and sports. It’s an awesome environment. I’m excited to be here,” said Hackett.

St. Michael’s parent Sparky Cullen heard about Family Football Night from a fellow St. Michael’s parent.

“It’s better than UNC tailgating,” said Cullen. Cullen doesn’t currently havae any students at Gibbons, but his eighth grader at St. Michael’s is preparing to come here next fall.

“I’ve never heard a bad thing about Gibbons. I’ve only heard good things.

Everyone has always said it’s the best money they’ve ever spent,” said Cullen.

Though the football game later that evening was delayed due to rain and lightning, causing many to leave before the end of Gibbons’ 45-14 victory, nothing seemed to dampen spirits at Family Football Night.

Photo by Darsey Williams/Gibbons Media

(Left to right) Seniors Melissa Walsh, Kelly Majewski, Matt Dixon, Danny Dorsett, and Kyle Unruh greet visitors at the welcome table before the game on Family Football Night.

Photo by Ellyson Williams/The Crusader

Gibbons alumni walk on the track before the homecoming game as part of Alumni Reunion Weekend that Gibbons is beginning to make an annual tradition.

Rebecca Camak Staff Writer Gibbons alumni/ae enjoyed a memory-filled weekend packed with various activities during Alumni Reunion Weekend which kicked off with Homecoming festivities on Friday, October 5.

This was the second official Alumni Reunion Weekend, the goal of which is reuniting different classes of Gibbons graduates at the same time, and is a growing tradition at Gibbons.

362 alumni returned to Gibbons or participated in one of the events throughout the weekend, according to Alumni Coordinator Kirsten Monroe.

Alumni of the various classes enjoyed the event.

“It’s always an honor to participate and see alums,” said Leslie Bryant ‘82.

Bryant’s favorite part of her time at Gibbons was the people and the sense of community, she said.

The weather was warm and sunny and was perfect for the alumni tailgate before the Homecoming football game against Southern Vance, which Gibbons went on to win 45-7.

“The weather is great, that’s what matters,” said Jack Urben ‘62.

The weekend was packed full of activities for alumni, beginning with Friday night’s tailgate. Many alumni felt there was good organization and it was a well-run event.

There was a catered, sit-down dinner for 40-50 alumni under a special alumni tent.

Many alumni who attended

Gibbons when it was located on Western Boulevard admired the “new” campus and the changes in progress, while waiting for dinner to be served,.

“The campus is fantastic,” said Mark Ramsey ‘66. Ramsey said he missed the welcoming and family like environment of Gibbons, agreeing with other alums who felt similarly.

At 7:00 p.m. many of the alumni in attendance were introduced on the football field prior to the kickoff of the football game.

At halftime, there was a Crusader Class Challenge cocktail reception in Plant Ops, thanking those that participated in the fundraising challenge.

The Crusader Class Challenge is designed to reconnect alumni and provide financial support for the school. Five classes had 100 percent participation this year.

Alumni Reunion Weekend continued on Saturday, October 6 with a picnic at the old Western Boulevard campus featuring field games for children of alumni and performances by the percussion program at Gibbons.

Monroe said that the event went “really well” with high class participation from the reunion classes ranging from 1945-1997.

“Everyone really enjoyed themselves,” said Monroe.

There were also evening reunion activities planned by the various class representatives. On the last day of the busy weekend there was Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral to bring the weekend to a close.

Phase two begins in Building the Vision

Only a few months remain until first wing opens in January

Caleb Maloney News Editor The sounds of hammering, drilling, and pounding have become familiar to students since school started this year as the second phase of the Building the Vision construction project takes shape right outside their windows.

The newest and most noticeable part of the project is the new academics wing currently under construction at the back of the school behind the library.

This new wing will connect the current English/Mathematics and

Social Studies/Foreign Language wings and will form a new quad surrounding a courtyard. The wing is going to house theology classrooms along with a new media room. A large part of the new wing will be a “learning commons”, which will be a place where students can hang out and study.

The concrete flooring has been poured over the last two weeks on the first and second floors after the steel frame was completed in September.

Sometime in November the exterior walls should be in place.

According to Principal Jason Curtis, the exterior walls should be

Arts/athletics Wing

Photo by Caleb Maloney/The Crusader

A view from the end of what will be the new front driveway. At the far end is where the new entrance and lobby will be located. Windows have now been placed.

Page design by Executive News Editor Caleb Maloney

in place sometime in November. The progress on the back wing has been moving along at a much faster pace than the nearly-completed first phase in the front of the school Curtis said.

“This wing moves faster than the front wing due to the less complicated architecture,” said Curtis.

Since school began on August 23, progress on the arts/athletics wing has been noticeable. The outside walls are complete and most of the windows are now in place. Workers are now working on the interior, installing walls, electrical, HVAC and lighting.

The arts/athletics wing includes an

auxiliary gym, a wrestling/cheerleading room, a new weight room and new Fine Arts rooms including a studio theater, dance rooms, band rooms and fine arts classrooms.

The arts/athletics wing is scheduled to open when school resumes in early January 2013, and there will be a blessing for it later in the month.

“There will be a blessing of the building in January with the Diocese.

This will be done during Catholic Schools Week on January 31,” said Curtis.

Academics Wing

Photo by Caleb Maloney/The Crusader

A view from the football field onto the academics wing where more classrooms and a learning commons will be located. Workers have poured concrete for the first and second floors and are soon going to start putting up walls.

October 17, 2012

The Crusader 3

Staff Editorial

Gibbons excels in many ways

From the Editor

Media teams work together to show off best of Gibbons

New feature by lit mag brings artists to light Ellyson Williams Editor-in-Chief

Photo by Darsey Williams/Gibbons Media

Many students from various local middle schools, like these girls, came out for Family Football Night on Friday, September 28. Visitors rode Green Machines and enjoyed various activities. Family Football Night is just one example of how Gibbons attempts to be a welcoming place.

The Crusader staff congratulates Gibbons students for making this school such an amazing place. This issue is a good example of how impressive our student body is, in all they do.

So many stories in this issue really prove just how different the student body at Gibbons is. One of the things that really stands out is that students here know how to care about and support their peers, something not all high schools can say, and they show it in various ways.

It is common knowledge that Gibbons does well in athletics and this fall is no different. As of press time, the football team is undefeated at 8-0 and the men’s soccer and women’s volleyball teams are both ranked in the top 10 in The News & Observer’s rankings.

The women’s tennis won its fourth straight conference championship and the men’s and women’s cross country teams will place a number of runners in the state competition. A new sport, field hockey, wrapped up its first season as a varsity sport after its promotion from a club sport. All these students deserve to be recognized for their hard work

and support of each other this season.

Athletes are not the only students who deserve credit. The student body as a whole also deserves recognition.

Spirit Week was filled with students showing off their creativity and school spirit. The pep rally was filled with enthusiasm, and the homecoming game bleachers were packed—with alumni too, who are still an part of the Gibbons family—and our football team was impressive once again. Family Football Night welcomed middle school students from many different schools and provided entertainment for them, including tailgating and green machine races.

Gibbons students are just as impressive outside the walls of Gibbons as inside of them. For the Save A Life 5K, a large number of students came to represent Gibbons and support each other and the Bremen family. Team Shane was by far the largest group to show up for the suicide awareness walk.

Even students who did not know Shane participated to support other Gibbons students.

We commend all Gibbons students for their incredible spirit and involvement.

One of my goals for the newspaper for this year was to branch out and work with other Gibbons media groups. We work closely with video and yearbook covering big school events like the pep rally or football games and much of that work is in this issue.

This issue we also begin a new collaboration with The Repeater, the Gibbons literary and arts magazine.

This issue is the first to have a spotlight by The Repeater in the Inside & Out section featuring artwork and an interview with a Gibbons artist. We are excited to help promote our school’s artists and our fellow school publication in this issue.

Working with other publications is an important challenge because we have to figure out how to best cover events together and show those results to the Gibbons community.

It’s good practice for us because next year, when the Building the Vision project is finished, all media teams will be working together in the new media room.

Another goal was to branch out to younger students. We’ve already gotten a good start through our club meetings. We’ve had a couple meetings so far with impressive turn out.

We have many students—including many freshmen—who are passionate about the various aspects of newspaper production: writing, photography, and design.

Each meeting we plan to have something for new students to do to help produce the paper.

If you are reading this and would like to get involved with The Crusader, or even just find out more about what we do, please see me or stop by room 107 by the chapel to find out more. We always welcome students who are interested in helping us out.

Thank you for reading this copy of The Crusader, and I hope you enjoy it!

Debates best way to get informed Karthik Sundaram Contributor On Tuesday, November 6, our nation will elect the next president of the United States, the leader of the free world, the commander-in-chief, the chief executive. In case you didn’t know, it’s kind of a big deal: the office of the president is the most powerful in the country, if not the world.

I could bombard you with a plethora of statistics about why you should care—such as that 100% of statistics aren’t actually true or that 4/3 of people can’t do fractions—but the dire situation of the nation’s economy should spur your interest in this presidential race all by itself.

If there is any figure you should remember it is this: the U.S. owes over $16 trillion in national debt.

And we are the ones who will be paying that tab, whether we are paying attention or not, so we better start paying attention.

Put simply, our government is not run very well.

While Congress controls the budget, the president assumes the roles as the political head of his party and the main face of government on our TV screens.

The president has a lot of say in matters such as health care, entitlement spending, defense and the handling of the economy, so which one the nation chooses will have major implications for the future of our country.

There are many ways you can keep up with the views of Republican candidate Mitt Romney or Democratic incumbent President Barack Obama— if you haven’t already started—but watching the presidential and vice-presidential debates is one of the best and most important because it allows you to see the candidates and hear them assert and defend their positions themselves. You get to make up your own mind about who and what you like and why.

The first presidential debate was October 3 and many people felt Romney did a better job expressing himself and his views than did Obama. If you didn’t watch it, you should, so that you can decide for yourself.

The Vice Presidential debate was last Thursday, October 11, and while this debate is not usually a deciding factor in the election, it did give important insights into the personalities of Democratic Vice President Joe Biden and Republican candidate Congressman Paul Ryan, who each defended the views of their campaign and criticized the other.

The great thing about both debates is that you can still watch them online and make up your own Page design by Editor-in-Chief Ellyson Williams

mind.

The next two presidential debates take place on Tuesday, October 16 and Monday, October 22 and both will surely add to the discussion about each candidate.

There are other ways to inform yourself about the topics at hand. You can read newspapers, think tanks, and journals online. Resources of note and credibility include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Cato Institute, and the Brookings Institute.

You can also watch televised news stations, such as CNN, Fox News. Even The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on the Comedy Central channel, while satirizing the candidates and the campaign, provide some information about the important topics of the election.

Whichever media you choose to follow, it is imperative to remember the slant of the respective source when absorbing the information and not to read or watch sources of the same political persuasion all the time, so that you gain a better perspective on all the positions and both candidates.

So I urge all of you, whether you can vote on November 6 or not, to get plugged in and pay close attention to this presidential election. The key for understanding what’s at stake for our country is research, research, research.

For all you know, one of the candidates may decide to support something crazy like cutting public funding for Big Bird. Or did that already happen?

Find out more about the candidates and their positions www.barackobama.com www.mittromney.com www.whitehouse.gov www.factcheck.org

2001-2011

Re-established 2001 Continuing a tradition of journalistic excellence

Ellyson Williams Editor-in-Chief Marisa Casson Exec. Design Editor

Matthew Talbot Exec. Variety Editor

Caleb Maloney Exec. News Editor

Megan Yates Photo Editor

Cheyenne Wood Online Editor

Sean Feick Copy Editor

Staff Writers: Erik Borchers, Rebecca Camak, Brennan Doherty, Davis McDaniel, Andrew Mihok, Preston Moser, Andrew Schnittker, Stephanie Todd, Tyler Welch, Emmett Williams, Caroline Young Dan Jukic Adviser

Editorial Policy

The Crusader is the official student newspaper of Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, North Carolina.

As a school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, The Crusader will not purposefully publish any material that contradicts the teachings of the Catholic Church.

The Crusader will endeavour to publish only the truth, to the best of its ability. The Crusader will not purposefully publish any stories that are libelous or disingenuous nor any images which diverge from the essential truth of the captured image. Only images legally obtained or for which permission has been granted will be published.

The Crusader is the product of class work and as such is subject to prior review by the adviser and administration. Regardless, the commentaries contained herein are the opinions of the newspaper staff only, and do not necessarily reflect those of the faculty/ staff or administration.

The Crusader editorial board as a whole will be responsible for determining editorial opinions, which represent the opinions of the majority of the editorial board. No single member of The Crusader will be held responsible for editorial content decisions.

All submissions to The Crusader will be considered for publication either in print or online but may be edited for space and content.

Please contact The Crusader by email at newspaper@cghsnc.org.

op-ed

The Crusader 4

October 17, 2012

Senior retreat regret

Successful SAT gives competitive edge in college

Go on retreats or you may miss out

Courtesy of www.collegeboard.org The SAT, sponsored by the College Board, was designed to asses how prepared aspiring students are for the academic rigors of college education.

Photo courtesy of Retreats

The sophomore retreatants and leaders of Mosaic 8 gather after completing a team-building wall climb activity.

Marisa Casson Design Editor If you had asked me “what is your one regret of high school?” prior to the first sophomore retreat of the year in September, I would have told you I did not have one. If you asked me that same question today, I would say my regret is that I never took advantage of the amazing retreat program here at Gibbons.

During high school, I have tried everything I wanted to try, and been a part of everything that interested me. I had some failures and some successes, but I had not regretted anything – until now.

After being given the opportunity to be one of the senior peer leaders on Mosaic 8, my view on retreats is completely changed. Over the course of high school, I had developed a negative opinion of what retreats were and had formed thousands of reasons why I should not go.

Freshman year, I was extremely self-conscience and thought I would be judged. Sophomore year, I worried about my image and how my peers perceived me. Junior year, I thought I had nothing to gain from a retreat.

Senior year, I realized I was completely wrong.

Although I have only experienced one retreat as a leader, I have gained a whole new perspective of what Gibbons retreats actually are. Retreats are place where you can escape reality and enter into a world centered just on you, your peers, and most importantly, fun. It’s a safe environment to be 100% yourself and show others who you really are, while sharing common experiences and hardships with others.

You get to see your classmates in a different light, as well as upperclassmen and teachers. Retreats are truly a once in a lifetime experience, and I would hate

to see someone make the same mistake I did and not attend a Gibbons retreat.

As stupid as it may sound, a lot of times we’re strangers to ourselves and retreats can help you find yourself.

From just attending one retreat, I have gained a lot of insight into myself and the community I am part of here at Gibbons. It helped me realize that although I am just one small piece in the giant puzzle of our school, I matter and have a place within Gibbons.

The most important thing to remember if you, like me, are trying to think of reasons not to attend a retreat, is that no one is too cool, too quiet, too shy, too loud, or too outgoing to go on retreat.

Retreats are for everyone and should be experienced by everyone at Gibbons. Take full advantage of this amazing opportunity to get to know yourself, your classmates, other students and your teachers.

Give retreats the chance that I never did, so you don’t end up regretting missing out – like I do now.

Sean Feick Copy Editor It’s college application season and with it comes all the stress of trying to make sure that your profile is good enough to make it into your university of choice.

Although most admissions boards do look at a student’s grades, extracurriculars, and service, arguably the most important and unpredictable aspect of applying for college is the taking of standardized tests such as the SAT. Since these tests are so important for many students, the pressure to do really well on them is huge.

Many students take months to prepare, reading books and taking classes that are designed to prepare them for the kinds of questions they will face on the real test and take up hours of free time every week.

The reason that preparing for these standardized tests is such a huge priority for the students who are doing this work is that they feel they need the help so that they will be prepared for the test, and hopefully get the higher scores that they want.

“The SAT classes teach you how to better approach the SAT in a less stressful manner. They help you manage the SAT better,” said junior Cody Nagy on why he is taking SAT preparatory classes.

While to some degree there may be an exaggerated amount of pressure placed on students by their own expectations and that of their parents to do well on standardized tests, in reality these tests are an important part of the college admissions process.

Doing well on one’s standardized tests can be the difference between getting into the school of one’s choice, so taking these exams seriously is very important for every diligent student.

Photo courtesy of Retreats

Senior peer leaders Marisa Casson (left) and Matt Wacenske with science teacher Diane Ripollone on Mosaic 8 in September.

The World According to . . .

Going Trick-OrTreating?

Favorite Halloween candy?

Pumpkin Spice or Hot Chocolate?

Fall or Winter?

Crista Anders

No

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Hot Chocolate

Winter

Cameron Theobald

No

100 Grand Bars

Hot Chocolate

Winter

Jacob MacEntee

No

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Hot Chocolate

Winter

Veronica O’neill

Yes

Kit Kat Bar

Hot Chocolate

Fall

McKenna Mann

Yes

Smarties

Hot Chocolate

Fall

Director of Retreats

Senior

Junior

Sophomore

Freshman

Page design by Copy Editor Sean Feick and Photo Editor Megan Yates

The Crusader 5

october 17, 2012

What happened to homecoming?

The Repeater Spotlight: Jason Swienckowski

Artist combines art and design

The Dappled Basket, ebony pencil. “Jason created an outstanding image that highlighted light and dark values emphasizing texture and all the areas of study for 2-D Design,” Art teacher Rebecca Dason said of the piece.

Emmary Williams Repeater Editor-in-Chief The new mission of Gibbons literary and arts magazine, The Repeater, is to become better integrated into Gibbons by working with more departments. We have spoken with the Language and Theology Departments about receiving literary contributions.

Throughout the year, The Repeater also hopes to contribute artist interviews, photography,

poems, and stories to the arts section of The Crusader.

This issue features a student spotlight on Jason Swienckowski ‘14.

To see last year’s publication and check out student work throughout this year, visit www.cghsnc.org/litmag.

Ideas? Questions? Want to be a part of The Repeater? See senior Emmary Williams or contact advisor Rachelle Garbarine at rgarbarine@ cghsnc.org.

Q: What is your background in art?

A: I took the mandatory art classes in elementary school, but didn’t take any during middle school. In high school, I took Art I as a freshman at Sanderson before transferring to Gibbons as a sophomore and taking Art II; this year I am taking AP 2-D as junior.

Q: What is your inspiration for this piece?

A: When we got the assignment that we had to draw something crumpled, crushed, twisted, or folded, I hadn’t originally wanted to do the basket. But, when the subject I originally wanted to draw didn›t work, I found this picture on my camera. Other than that, I just tried to draw it as perfect as the photo.

Q: Describe your creation process.

A: The hardest part was definitely the individual weaves in the basket. Once I got started, it sort of turned into a pattern, and it got a lot easier. After that, finishing the piece was simple.

It probably took around 12-15 hours collectively, I’m not sure quite how long, but sometimes I would work for four hours straight.

Q: What do you like most about design?

A: I like how I can walk into art class and forget about everything. I don’t think about school or any other problems, and I can do whatever I want to do with my project. It›s great.

Q: Do you plan to study design in college?

A: Definitely! I’d like to study either Architecture or Landscape Architecture. As of now, I am looking at NC State school of Design.

Erik Borchers Staff Writer A Homecoming dance is traditionally held at Gibbons the Saturday after the Homecoming football game and festivities but there is no Homecoming dance scheduled for this year at all, resulting in many rumors and misconceptions to spring up among the student body.

The main reason there was no dance scheduled on the traditional Saturday after Homecoming on Friday, October 5 is because Gibbons rents its parking lot to N.C. State fans for tailgating before football games and there was an N.C. State game versus Florida St. that night, according to Assistant Principal of Student Activities Mike Rogosich.

“For the last ten to fifteen years, Cardinal Gibbons has had a contract with N.C. State for the parking lot,” said Rogosich.

When N.C. State has home football games, Gibbons clears out due to the parking lot contract.

“N.C. State tailgating is not the appropriate environment for students to be in,” said Rogosich.

There have been times in the past where Gibbons has even had to dismiss at noon because of Thursday night football games because some N.C. State fans begin tailgating in the afternoon.

Some students have wondered why another date has not been selected for a dance. Gibbons Student Council has acknowledged that there is not a dance scheduled and is talking about alternatives. A solution has not been found yet, since many other weekend slots are currently filled.

“If students are concerned about the dance, [then] getting together and discussing alternatives [with us] is the best way to get something done,” said senior Dom Vellucci, Student Council Executive President.

Underclassmen khaki and polo advice

Matthew Talbot Variety Editor So khakis and a white polo, eh? I’m sure the Catholic school freshmen are jumping for joy due to the fact that they are no longer confined to their old plaid skirts and school-issued polos. On the other hand however, public school freshmen, are cringing at the fact that there is such a thing as a uniform.

But have no fear—upper-classman are here to tell you that it really isn’t that bad (some days are worse than others) and it’s not hard to make our uniform your own.

Brands are one of the many ways to be distinguished from everyone else. Almost every brand has their own version of white polos and khakis. Whether you’re used to wearing anything from Abercrombie and Fitch to Volcom to Ralph Lauren, all your favorite brands will most likely accommodate your khaki and white needs.

It’ll eventually become imbedded into your brain to look for khakis and white polos as soon as you walk into a store as a senior. It was so weird going into a

Brands/Stores to be on the lookout for:

store and being able to buy anything you want.

Accessorizing will be your best friend over the next couple years. It seems so basic, but earrings, watches, bracelets, necklaces, belts, socks, and shoes will become your closest companions.

Buying a variety of different polos is another key to switching it up. Buy different brands, types, shapes, and sizes of polos. Don’t forget you can wear short and long sleeve polos.

2) Lacoste:

A)The classic Lacoste polo is fabulous.

Their polo’s are pretty and have minute details that other polos don’t necessarily have. They come with stripes in various colors on the collar and sleeves.

3) TJ-Maxx/ Marshalls:

A)You may have to do a little bit of digging, but all “Maxanistia’s” know that TJ-Maxx has the best deals on everything, including khakis and polos. They have all your favorite brands and styles at a discounted price. So you get more bang for your buck!

4) Mebane Outlets:

A)Only 45 minutes to an hour away from

Raleigh, the Mebane outlets have a large selection of all these name brands for discounted prices

A) Polos, Chinos (a 100% cotton blend of pants) and cords galore in all different shades and colors. They are worth every penny because they will last you through senior year.

1) J. Crew:

Page design by Executive Variety Editor Matthew Talbot

i. Banana Republic Factory ii. Brooks Brothers Factory Store

iii. DKNY

iv. Gap Factory Store

v. Izod

vi. J. Crew

vii. Joes’ Jeans viii. Lacoste Outlet ix. Michael Kors x. Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store xi. Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH xii.Vineyard Vines

MAESTRO

The Crusader 6

Wilderness Day

October 17, 2012

Spirit We Sports Day

Fourth period marketing class shows school spirit on Sports Day.

Junior Xander Saleh dresses up in a ghillie suit to show his true wild side.

Junior Erin Davidson-Dyer dresses as Katniss from The Hunger Games on Wilderness Day.

Junior Kaylan Joseph (left) and sophomore Shannon Brown wear Gibbons football jerseys on Sports Day.

Sophomores Joey Edmond, Caroline Slone, and Sophia San Miguel show off their favorite teams on Sports Day. (Left to right) Sophomores Kelsey Smith, Jenna Steel, Alexa Chapman, Megan Sutton, Daniel Gajda, and Chucky Swoboda get wild for Wilderness Day.

Safari seniors Robert von Jess and Charlotte Randolph dress for their last Spirit Week.

Senior Alyson Perez goes all out for Wilderness Day, dressing as a unicorn.

Sophomores Abigail Binz (top) and Caroline Hill rep their favorite teams on Sports Day.

Senior Nick Hackett goes all out by dressing up as a baseball on Sports Day.

New days added to Spirit Week

Students miss some old favorites like Pajama Day Emmett Williams Staff Writer Spirit Week featured new themed days this year while some old favorites were notably absent.

Spirit Week was Monday, October 1 through Friday, October 5, culminating in the fall pep rally on Friday afternoon and ending that evening with Homecoming events including the football game.

Traditionally, each day features a different dress down theme. This year’s themes were: Wilderness Day on Monday, Sports Day on Tuesday, Superhero Day on Wednesday, Medieval Day on Thursday, and Class Colors Day on Friday, Changes happen to Spirit Week each year but Page design by Executive Design Editor Marisa Casson

this year featured three new themes with Wilderness Day, Superhero Day and Medieval Day as the new additions.

“We wanted to try something new, and set up something new for future classes to try,” said senior Executive Student Council President Dom Vellucci.

The Student Council met in the spring and started to brainstorm and get ideas for Spirit Week well before this school year even started.

The addition of the new days was an entirely democratic process that the Council was happy with in the end, according to Vellucci and Senior Class Vice President James Becherer.

The most notable absence this year was Pajama Day, a student favorite, and some students ques-

tioned the absence of Pajama Day for the first time since the seniors began at Gibbons.

Many students felt that Pajama Day on Monday of Spirit Week is a tradition, and it shouldn’t have been removed.

But according to Assistant Principal of Student Activities Mike Rogosich, the year before the current seniors entered the school, there was no Pajama Day, so the tradition didn’t go back that far.

Still, Rogosich understands why students enjoyed Pajama Day. “Some students have told me it’s an easy day to start [Spirit Week] off with,” said Rogosich.

MAESTRO

October 17, 2012

eek 2012 Super Hero Day

The Crusader 7

Medieval Day (Left to right) Junior Megan Comstock and sophomores Sarah Comstock, Meredith Sitze, and Sam Geaslen dress as princesses and a knight on Medieval Day.

Photo by Katherine Nanny/Landmark Yearbook

(Left to right) Seniors Lexi Schimelfenig, Mary Wood, Brianna Panosian, Catherine Todd, and Carol Ann Bryant become super seniors on Super Hero day.

Freshman Joe Rodri dresses as Captain America.

A group of freshman boys wear crazy hats looking like jesters on Medieval Day.

Photo by Katherine Nanny/Landmark Yearbook

Math teachers (left to right) Christopher Poisella, Kim Timberlake, Dice Hodge, Andrew Tuttle, Diane McClellan, William Catterson, and Jennifer Cipriano embrace Super Hero Day by being super math teachers.

Photo by Katherine Nanny/Landmark Yearbook

Sophomores Elizabeth Chavez (left) and Nicole Knapp dressed as princesses.

Photo by Katherine Nanny/Landmark Yearbook

Senior Robert Povlock, who won three of the Spirit Week days for best costume, dressed as a dragon on Medieval Day.

Freshman Maddie Iannucci, Richard Lee, and Nicole Maiorano dress up as super heroes during their first Gibbons Spirit Week.

Juniors Dillion Zarrelli and Timmy Coughlin (right) are kings for the day on Medieval Day.

Photo by Katherine Nanny/Landmark Yearbook

Students react to Spirit Week 2012 Davis McDaniel Staff Writer Spirit Week is an opportunity for students to express themselves through variously themed days to dress down.

Some students take this opportunity seriously and spend time getting a real costume together.

Others just dress down simply, with many falling somewhere in between.

Previous Spirit Weeks featured days like Team Day and Pajama Day, and most students participated because owning a jersey and pajamas is common.

This year, the days were more challenging for some.

“Going overboard takes courage,” said junior Student Council member Nathaniel Monteleone, who was dressed in an Iron Man costume on

Superhero Day. Some felt discouraged towards dressing in full costume attire because of the trouble of getting a costume on a week day.

“The days would’ve been better if I didn’t have to go out and buy something,” said junior Quinn Matheis.

Some students expressed disinterest in the days’ themes which may have deterred people more from participating.

“We should have better themes,” said sophomore Matthew Scharf, who added he missed Pajama Day of previous years.

However, some of the day choices this year were favorites for some students.

“A lot of people dressed up for Medieval Day,” said freshman Thomas Robbins about his favorite day this year.

See more Spirit Week with the Girls Gridiron pics on page 8.

Photos courtesy of Gibbons Fine Arts photography students and Darsey Williams

INSIDE & OUT

The Crusader 8

October 17, 2012

Students support suicide awareness Over 100 Gibbons students participate in annual Save A Life 5K

Photo by Marisa Casson/The Crusader

Over 100 Gibbons students, as well as family and friends, came out for the annual Save A Life 5K to show support for Team Shane on September 22, 2012.

Marisa Casson Design Editor The weather was perfect with a cloudless sky as over 100 Gibbons students gathered to walk in honor of a classmate during the third annual Save A Life 5K at WakeMed Soccer Park.

The students, mostly seniors, were inspired to get involved in the suicide awareness walk after losing their friend and classmate Shane Bremen to suicide in September of 2011.

Seniors Melissa Walsh, Melissa Cox, Brianna Panosian, Carol Ann Bryant and Lexi Shimelfenig helped to organize the group of Gibbons participants, many of whom wore t-shirts with the words “Team Shane” on the back.

Walsh helped raise awareness about the walk among Gibbons students and helped gather the group of students and friends to show support.

“We put it on Facebook, tweeted it, and invited everyone we knew and through that people found out about

it and told me they were interested, from all grade levels and [including] parents,” said Walsh.

Among the Gibbons students participating were Gibbons dance team members. Senior Cecelia Rabil, who went to middle school with Bremen, originally found out about the race through Walsh and proposed it be a team activity.

“A lot of members of my team were not friends with Shane or [didn’t] even know him, so it was a good way for me to remember him and educate people about suicide awareness and support the community,” said Rabil.

The large turnout at the 5K was not only something that Walsh says she will never forget, but she says it was also comforting to see how many people cared.

“I felt overwhelming love and support for me personally because it was something I feel passionately about and it was nice to know other people support the cause and care

Exploring our Jewish roots

Anthony Palumbo Contributor Over 50 students in theology teacher Mark DeLaRosa’s sophomore Theology class attended a Simchat Torah service with members of a Jewish youth group at the Jewish synagogue Temple Beth Or on Sunday, October 7.

Led by Rabbi Lucy Dinner, who has been a Rabbi for 24 years – 19 of them at Temple Beth Or – the Simchat Torah is the service in which the Jewish community celebrates the end of its annual reading of the Torah, or the first five books of the Bible, and its beginning of a new year.

Sophomores study the Old Testament during the first semester so the timing for this visit fits in well with the class curriculum and also exposes students to the intersection of the Christian and Jewish faith traditions, according to DeLaRosa.

“I want students to realize that the first part of our Bible is still lived in the Jewish community and that they are still praying in the language of the Hebrew Scriptures,” said DeLaRosa.

As to why they think it is relevant to bring students from a Catholic school to a Jewish temple, both Rabbi Dinner and DeLaRosa agree that it’s important for students to delve into the founding roots of Catholicism, which is Judaism.

“In a world increasingly polarized and confrontational, the creation of understanding and tolerance, as well as the pursuit of common interest and dialogue are tools all of us need and should employ,” wrote DeLaRosa about the importance of the visit, in an email about the experience.

Rabbi Dinner said she felt that it was important to not only interpret the Torah as a large scroll of writing, but to live it out and treat it like it is alive.

“I want these [Jewish] students to feel like the Torah is real,” said Rabbi Dinner, regarding the importance of the celebration.

During the service, Rabbi

about it,” said Walsh.

“It was so nice for me to see so many of his friends and to meet the ones that I did not know who were so clearly impacted by his death,” wrote Sherol Lappala, Bremen’s mother, in a post to a Facebook page created for the event.

Lappala also encouraged anyone reading her post to seek help, if they ever felt like they needed it.

“If you are reading this and you are in a dark place and feeling like things are hopeless, please know that there are people out there who care and want to help you. Someone really does want to listen to you,” wrote Lappalla.

Walsh also hopes the walk will make a difference for others like it did for her.

“Shane was one of my really good friends. It was just hard, everyone was feeling hurt but no one was willing to talk about it so the meetings gave me, personally, a way to just talk to people who understood what I was going

through which was a really good outlet for me,” said Walsh.

Photo by Marisa Casson/The Crusader

Seniors Gabriella Richard and Tess Griman show off Team Shane t-shirts designed by Melissa Cox. Over 87 shirts were ordered.

Seniors’ last Gridiron

Photo courtesy of Mark DeLaRosa

Mark DeLaRosa’s sophomore Theology class attended service at Jewish synagogue Temple Beth Or on October 7.

Dinner and the members of the community who had their Bar mitzvah or Bat mitzvah stood in a circle around the rest of the congregation and unrolled the Torah to form a ring around them.

Meanwhile, the congregation danced to Jewish hymns led by the various members of the Jewish youth group. Once the Torah was unrolled in a circle around the people, Rabbi Dinner then used the yad (a pointer used to touch the Torah) to draw attention to different stories in the Torah.

Once she had summarized the entire scroll, she met Associate Rabbi Ari Morgalis at the beginning of the scroll, where he read the creation story of Genesis.

After the conclusion of the service, Rabbi Dinner invited their Catholic friends to desserts prepared specially for the occasion.

Rabbi Dinner and DeLaRosa met when DeLaRosa began bringing groups to the temple 11 years ago. DeLaRosa has been bringing his sophomore Theology classes to the Temple since he first started teaching at Gibbons.

Page design by Executive Variety Editor Matthew Talbot and Photo Editor Megan Yates

Photo by Matt Talbot/The Crusader Photo by Matt Talbot/The Crusader

Senior Mathilde Sellars cheers while walking off the field.

Senior Gridiron coach Robert Povlock laughs with senior Abby Gay during the Gridiron game on October 4 as senior Matt Wacenske (behind Povlock) and Emmary Williams (behind Gay) watch the game.

Photo by Matt Talbot/The Crusader

Senior Gridiron coaches (l-r) Denny Lynch, Tristan Storr, and Luke Raymond deliberate as players (l-r) Katia McClure, Leigh McGill, Emmary Williams, Lauren Velasco and Abby Gay (lower right) listen for the play call.

October 17, 2012

The Crusader 9

Mumford made folk chic

about someone close to the singer who is trying to protect them from something that happens to them and hoping they will be able to get through it: “It’s empty in the valley of your heart. The sun, it rises slowly as you walk, away from all the fears and all the faults you’ve left behind.”

The second track that stood out to me was “Little Lion Man,” a song beloved by everyone. The words are so iconic and almost anyone will start singing along the words with you: “But it was not your fault but mine and it was your heart on the line, I really messed it up this Photo courtesy of nme.com time. Didn’t I, my dear?” It’s an Matthew Talbot Rebecca Camak anthem our generation has memorized by heart.

Variety Editor Staff Writer The title song from the new album, “Babel”, is Mumford & Sons is one of most iconic bands of our generation. When we’re our parents’ age and we one of its best songs: “Like the city that nurtured my turn to the “Two-Thousands-At-Two” radio station, greed and my pride, I stretch my arms into the sky.

I cry Babel! Babel! Look at me now, then the walls Mumford & Sons will be playing.

Their sound is timeless but more importantly of my town, they come crumbling down.” It’s a song they introduced the folk sound that we now love to about how the singer wouldn’t let his past hold him the public and also made it socially acceptable to like back, how he did better than everyone thought he could. folk music.

The second notable song from Babel is “I Will Mumford made folk chic.

Mumford & Sons’ latest album, Babel, was Wait.” The track is all about how the artist is going released on September 25. The sound of the new to wait for someone/thing that they lost. It’s the album is completely different from that of their struggle they face while trying to recover everything they lost. “And I will wait, I will wait for you. Now I’ll breakout album Sigh No More from 2010.

Sigh No More has a darker feel, overall. It has be bold, as well as strong, and use my head alongside a more serious tone and consists of more intense my heart.” The song is quite beautiful and a ballad songs. However, Babel includes more sad, love-story that everyone will soon be singing. lyrics, deeper song meanings and a less aggressive, lighter mood. Also, on Babel, they added a lot more piano to their songs and also included an electric guitar in a few songs, which was a change from their usual instruments used in Sigh No More.

Mumford & Sons consists of Marcus Mumford, feature singer/guitarist/drummer; Winston Marshall, vocalist and banjo/Darbo player; Ben Lovett, vocalist/keyboardist, and Ted Dwane, vocalist/bassist.

For those who may not be familiar with each album, here are some highlights from each.

One of the best songs on Sigh No More is “The Cave.” It starts off with a beautiful guitar and gradually eases into an angry banjo. The vocals also gradually increase from soft to angry and the vocals also reflect this gradual change. The song is Photo courtesy of Rolling Stone

New band spotlight: Imagine Dragons Matthew Talbot Variety Editor “Who in the world is Imagine Dragons? That name is so bizarre…” is probably what you’re thinking to yourself at this very moment.

I asked myself the same question when I saw the cover art of “Continued Silence – EP” on iTunes. It consisted of a guy floating in mid-air in the middle of a forest with an old-fashioned piece of luggage in hand.

Well, once I got over the name of the band and its trippy cover art I humored myself with a listen. As soon as I hit play, I was amazed at what I was hearing. Their sound was unlike anything I had ever heard before.

It was indie, with hit of alternative, a smidgen of folk and a dash of rock, which turns out to be a recipe for lyrical genius.

Imagine Dragons’ latest album “Night Visions,” was released on September 4. The band consists of vocalist Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and percussionist Daniel Platzman,.

“Radioactive” is the first track of the album and as soon as you hit play, you know you’re in for a good listen.

It starts out with guitar but as soon as the beat drops, you feel as if the end of the world could be soon. The beat reminds me of the sound the radioactivity detectors make in the movies, very crackly and electronic.

“I raise my flags, don my clothes. It’s a revolution; I suppose we’ll paint it red to fit right in,” sings Reynolds.

“Demons” is yet another amazing song. Reynolds conveys he wants to let someone into his life, but is afraid that they won’t like what they see inside: “When you feel my heat, look into my eyes, it’s where my demons hide/It’s where my demons hide. Don’t get too close, it’s dark inside, it’s where my demons hide/It’s where my demons hide.”

The most emotional song on the album has to be “Bleeding Out.” It has a little electronic beat to it and expresses how the singer has lost his way but will do anything for his true love: “You tell me to hold on. Oh, you tell me to hold on, but innocence is gone and what was right is wrong.”

These are just my top three favorites, but every song on the album is really good. Overall this album is stellar and you must download it immediately from iTunes.

De-stressing fall homework playlist

Matthew Talbot Variety Editor Stressed? Studying for a test at 12am? Are you about to throw your notes across the room? Well you’re in luck, here’s a playlist to ail your studying pains. Inside and Out presents a playlist of the latest and greatest hits for the month of October. The following music is available on iTunes.

1: “Babel”, Mumford & Sons

2: “Channel 42”, deadmau5

6: “It’s Time”, Imagine Dragons

7: “To the World”, Kanye West, R. Kelly & Teyana Taylor

11: “Home”, Phillip Phillips

12: “Try”, P!nk

Page design by Exectutive Variety Editor Matthew Talbot

3: “Crave You (Adventure Club Dubstep Remix)”, Flight Facilities

8: “Die Young”, Ke$ha

13: “Runaways”, The Killers

4: “Sweet Life”, Frank Ocean

9: “Ride”, Lana Del Rey

5: “Wanted”, Hunter Hayes

10: “Spirit Indestructible”, Nelly Furtado

14: “Don’t You Worry Child (Radio Edit)”, Swedish House Mafia Feat. 15: “We Come Running”, Youngblood Hawke John Martin

October 17, 2012

The Crusader 10

New fall television shows hit the air

Cheyenne Wood Online Editor Nashville series premiere was Wednesday, October 10 at 10/9 central on ABC. The show stars Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere as singers that butt heads when their record label tries to bring them together. Britton plays Rayna James, a superstar who’s losing fans to younger, hotter singers like Juliette Barnes (Panettiere). As Rayna struggles to keep her family and career intact, Juliette’s dealing with her own demons and family issues, and we learn that she’s really just a kid beneath her sassy attitude.

If you are a fan of American Horror Story or Friday Night Lights, you will love to see the drama unfolded between Ryan (Britton) and Barnes (Panettiere) as they fight to be the powerhouses of Nashville. Like Glee and Smash, you will get to experience a lot of music, but it flows more easily during the show.

The Neighbors series premiere was Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 9:30/8:30 c on ABC. The comedy stars Jami Gertz and Lenny Venito as the parents of a typical American family who moves to a new area, only to find there’s something very different about their neighbors. Marty (Venito) and Debbie Weaver (Gertz) and their three children move from the city to the New Jersey suburbs.

Things start off well when they’re welcomed by the somewhat weird neighbors, until they find out that

the whole community is actually a group of aliens who have been stuck on Earth for over a decade.

If you like sci-fi with a fun and humorous twist, then you will like seeing aliens and humans interact as neighbors and experience their different lifestyles.

666 Park Ave series premiere was Sunday, September 30 10/9c on ABC. This show stars Rachael Taylor and Dave Annable as Jane Van Even and Henry Martin, a young couple who move to New York City and find themselves managing the Drake, a luxurious old apartment very mysterious building located in New York owned by Gavin Doran (Terry O’Quinn) and his wife Olivia (Vanessa Williams). The couple begins to get suspicious as they realize something isn’t right about the building and this is where the drama unfolds.

If you’re a fan of Revenge mixed with Once Upon a Time, then 666 Park Ave might catch your attention with its fantasy drama.

Last Resort series premiere was Thursday, September 27 on at 8/7c ABC. Last Resort is considered one of ABC best new fall shows by many media outlets. It is show about the captain and crew of a Navy submarine who go on the run after questioning suspicious orders to fire nuclear missiles on Pakistan. Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher), captain of the U.S.S. Colorado, is a well-respected commander of this ship in the eyes

of executive officer Sam Kendal (Scott Speedman) and the rest of the crew who run the ship. The Colorado gets an order to fire its nukes at Pakistan that appears legitimate, although it comes outside the usual channels. When Chaplin and Kendal question the order, another American sub fires on them, which causes the ship to wreck.

This is How I Made It premiere was Saturday, October 13 at 12/11c MTV. This show is an inspirational documentary series that focuses on MTV’s favorite celebrities and how they traveled down the tough road to success. It shows the other side to those freak outs and fails that we see as fans. You get to see the celebrities’ hard work to reach their full potential and grow mentally and physically. This is a chance to let these celebrities talk about their hopes, failures and what they have learned on their journey.

Underemployed premiere was Tuesday October 16 at 10/9c MTV. This show is comedic drama that follows a group five friends who are all filled with lofty goals, romantic dreams and learn about becoming adults along the way. The setting is one year after college graduation, when the struggles of life have really sunk in. This group of friends becomes a family as they go through highs and lows together as they try to succeed at being adults and fulfilling their dreams.

The Green Agenda is a calendar full of helpful school reminders, game times and locations, and outof-school activities such as concerts and movies.

The calendar is color coded; green is for Gibbons events and reminders, blue is for sports, pink is

retreats and purple is for anything outside of school.

Each issue, the Green Agenda will select a group to focus on in order to help make their month as great as possible.

This issue’s focus is upcoming school events

that students will enjoy.

Please note that not all sports and concerts are on the list; we chose the ones we feel would be easiest for students to attend.

The Green Agenda

Sunday

30

O C T O B E R N O V

Monday

1

Tuesday

2

3

Thursday

4

Girls Gridiron Spirit Week

Spirit Week

8

7

Spirit Week

9

Alumni Reunion Weekend

14

21

15

No SchoolBox-a-Thon Teacher Work NC State Fair Ends Day Prism 12 Prism 12

28

Spirit Week

10

NHS Meeting

Gibbons Volleyball Senior Night vs.

Chapel Hill at 6:00

22

16

23

Carrie Underwood Greensboro Coliseum Complex

11

SAT Test Alumni Reunion Weekend

13

19 Quarter 1 Ends

24

6

Quest 20

18

No School for Seniors- PSAT for grades 9, 10,11

Saturday

12

NC State Fair

17

25

26

1

2

20 Box-aThon

ACT Test

27

Senior Assembly

29

30

Halloween

31

Late Start- Classes Begin 9 a.m.

Halloween Costume Contest

4

11

Friday

Homecoming 5 Football game vs.

Southern Vance Alumni Reunion Weekend Spirit Week

Quest 20

Quest 20

Open House for Prospective Students

Wednesday

5

Academic Council Meeting

6

All Saints DayAll School Mass

7

Sustainability Day Freshman Assembly

12

Veterans Day Page design by Photo Editor Megan Yates and Executive Variety Editor Matthew Talbot

NHS Meeting

13

8

Junior Mass (St. Michaels)

15

14

Winter Sports Athletes Meeting

Kairos IV

SAT Test Raleigh Living Dead

9

3

10

No Classes for Juniors

16

Dress Down Day for Hunger Kairos IV

17 Kairos IV

The Crusader 11

October 17, 2012

Field hockey graduates NHL lockout continues to varsity sport to frustrate fans

Photo by Jennifer Rilley/Gibbons Media

The field hockey team huddles before its 5-1 loss to Jordan on September 26.

Megan Yates Photo Editor Field hockey made its debut as a varsity sport at Gibbons this year after fielding a club team in previous years.

The team is 4-4-1 after a 1-0 victory over St. Mary’s on October 4 and wrapped up its inaugural season with its final home game against Cary Christian Academy on Tuesday, October 16.

Many members of the team were new to field hockey this year since they were not in the club in previous years.

Several girls came from volleyball and lacrosse, others from golf or cross country.

The lack of experience with field hockey provided some unique challenges. “[Starting the team was] challenging. Some of the girls didn’t know what side of the stick to hold,” said head coach Amy Adams.

But Adams notes that the team is getting better every game. Senior Mary Kate Wall has high hopes for the future of the field hockey team.

“I think it will evolve into a bigger and better team next year,” said Wall.

Adams agrees that the future is bright for the field hockey team, seeing

playoffs and championships in the coming years.

With a sport and a team so new, practices can be trying. However, Wall says the challenges don’t detract from the fun.

“The coaches are awesome and it’s really fun,” said Wall.

The girls do many activities together as a team— running, bowling, and even scrimmaging the JV volleyball team.

The team’s schedule consists of only six schools: Jordan, Cary Christian Academy, St. Mary’s, Cary Academy, Ravenscroft, and Durham Academy.

According to Adams, Cary Academy is the team’s biggest opponent, being that their varsity team has had more experience and practice than Gibbons.

Getting a new varsity program together took teamwork and cooperation from adults as well as athletes on campus. Adams mentioned her appreciation of Strength and Conditioning adviser Greg Koller for helping the team train daily and coming to all the games and also appreciated baseball head coach Jim Liebler’s letting the team use the baseball field for practice this year.

Andrew Schnittker Staff Writer The Carolina Hurricanes, who play right across the street from Gibbons, are the only major professional sports team in North Carolina to win a championship, the 2006 Stanley Cup. But after enjoying arguably the best offseason in team history, they are currently locked out.

Because the NHL locked out its players on September 16 due to the absence of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the players aren’t allowed to use any of their teams’ facilities, and the league will not operate until an agreement is in place.

The entire preseason was cancelled, and the first two weeks of the regular season have also been cancelled, thus far.

Following the acquisitions of Jordan Staal and Alex Semin during the summer, Hurricanes fans, or “Caniacs” were looking forward to an exciting season.

The lockout has crushed this optimism, and now no one knows when or even if they will play.

It’s the fans who suffer most in a situation like this and fans are disappointed and frustrated about the situation.

Many who attended the annual Caniac Carnival at the PNC Center on Sunday, September 30, feel it is an unnecessary hardship that fans shouldn’t have to bear.

“It happened seven years ago, it shouldn’t be happening again,” said Hurricanes fan Mike Bryan.

The disappointment is amplified by the exciting offseason.

“I’m disappointed because they made some good signings,” said chemistry teacher Robert Patchus.

The question many Caniacs now face is what they will do with their time

if there is no hockey this winter.

Some, such as sophomores Cameron Tunnicliffe and Isaac Derr, plan to simply follow other hockey leagues, such as the American Hockey League, and Russia’s KHL. Many fans and students support the players in this dispute.

“I side with the players, because the owners are not satisfied with their billions of dollars,” said Tunnicliffe.

Others offered a different perspective.

“I side with the fans, they’re the ones suffering,” said Bryan.

Some have speculated on when this will come to an end. Many were not very optimistic.

“I doubt there will be a season,” said Derr.

Photo Courtesy of @NHL on Twitter

Gibbons welcomes Canadian soccer team

Men’s team plays first ever international match against team from Nova Scotia, Canada

Brennan Doherty Staff Writer For Gibbons head soccer coach Tim Healy’s team, playing a squad from outside of the state is rare.

But facing a team from another country? That’s a first.

On Wednesday, September 19, Gibbons earned their fourth win of the season and first international win when they defeated visiting Halifax West High School from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, by a score of 3-0.

Halifax West head coach George Iatrou and his team made the long flight from Halifax to Raleigh the night before their match against Gibbons, the first of four games the Canadian team would play against high schools from the Triangle area.

How does a team from Canada end up playing American high schools in North Carolina?

The answer involves Cary High Athletic Director Mike Dunphy, who is a Halifax native, and his relationship with Iatrou.

“Mike Dunphy actually went to the same high school that I attended and a good friend of mine coached him at that particular high school,” said Iatrou.

Once Gibbons found out that Halifax West would be in town, they didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to play them. Thanks to Gibbons Athletic Director Todd Schuler’s relationship with Dunphy, the agreement for Gibbons to play Halifax West was completed last spring.

Iatrou, who has been at Halifax West for seven years, said that he’s taken his team on trips outside of the region to places such as Maine and Ontario to play games, but never as far south as North Carolina.

Iatrou said that his players were very excited at Page design by Editor-in-Chief Ellyson Williams and Photo Editor Megan Yates

the chance to come to North Carolina and face some of the top local competition.

“They’re very excited. Our kids are experienced players that play roughly 12 months of the year. They just welcome the opportunity to come down here and play some good competition,” said Iatrou after his team’s 3-0 loss against Gibbons.

Healy said that being able to play against a team from outside the country was a cool experience.

“It was a lot of fun because normally with us being in North Carolina, high school soccer doesn’t go very far outside of the borders of just North Carolina. It’s always fun to play a team outside of North Carolina, let alone outside of the country,” said Healy.

Still, Iatrou said that his team’s trip wasn’t just to take a trip, they came to compete, and his team did just that for a while against Gibbons as the two teams went into halftime tied 0-0 before Gibbons pulled away in the second half.

“We came down here to compete. I thought that was reflected by the way we played in the first half, and a part of the second half,” said Iatrou Halifax West would fall to Panther Creek the following day 2-0, but Iatrou’s squad would earn a 3-2 victory over Lee County the day after before falling to Cary 3-0 in their last game.

Gibbons showed some hospitality to their visitors as they played a recording of “Oh, Canada”, the Canadian national anthem before the match, and Gibbons treated them to a dinner following the game.

Having mostly played local teams, Gibbons senior Kyle Unruh said that it was a neat experience to get to play a team from so far away.

“It was a new experience, and it was fun to meet new people. It was definitely different to have to think about their accents, but as far as it goes, they were still soccer players,” said Unruh.

Photo by Jennifer Rilley/Gibbons Media

Sophomore Cooper Duplantis (in white) battles for the ball with a Halifax West player during Gibbons 3-0 victory over the team from Nova Scotia, Canada on September 19. This was the first international match for Gibbons soccer.

sports

October 17, 2012

Football pursues record perfect regular season

the crusader 12

V’ball preps for playoff run

Photo by Dan Jukic/Gibbons Media

Junior Erin Quinn and freshman Briley Brind’Amour (30) defend against Northern Vance. Gibbons swept the match 3-0.

Photo by Jennifer Rilley/Gibbons Media

Gibbons head football coach Steven Wright addresses his team before its 15-12 win against 4A Cary on Friday, August 24. The Crusaders defense has helped pave the way for the team’s 8-0 start this year. Gibbons hosts conference rival Orange on October 19.

Brennan Doherty Staff Writer The Gibbons football team is just two wins away from the first perfect regular season in school history, thanks to a dominant defense and an effective offense.

Both units deserve credit for the 8-0 start and the team’s #6 ranking in The News & Observer’s football rankings.

Head coach Steven Wright’s offense is averaging nearly 40 points per game thanks to a stellar passing attack led by junior quarterback Shawn Stankavage. Stankavage, a first-year starter, has passed for over 1,300 yards and 20 touchdowns against seven interceptions, four of which came in his first two games, both against 4A teams.

The Gibbons defense has arguably had an even better season than the offense with no opponent scoring more than 17 points against it. Defensive coordinator Okesa Smith’s unit has forced 12 turnovers over the course of the last four games.

Wright knows that his team’s success down the road rests on the defense’s shoulders.

“It’s one thing to score points, but if you can’t stop an opponent, you’re going to have a hard time consistently winning football games,” said Wright.

The defense held 4A opponents

Clayton and Cary in check during the first two games of the season. Clayton scored 15 points and Cary just 12 and Gibbons won both games, by five and three points, respectively.

Since those two games against Gibbons, Clayton is averaging 30 points per game and Cary 24 points per game. Without the defense’s strong play in those first two games, Gibbons very well could have started off the season 0-2.

Following the win against Cary, senior defensive lineman Nick Carroll was ecstatic at the fact that the team got past their two toughest games of the season, and he immediately considered a perfect regular season as a possibility.

“We thought if we beat these two teams, we’re going undefeated,” said Carroll.

The biggest test left for Gibbons is conference rival Orange, whom Gibbons will host on October 19.

Orange is ranked #12 in The News and Observer football rankings with a 7-1 record.

Orange may very well be one of the best defenses the Crusaders offense will face this year, as they have shutout teams on three different occasions this year. Opponents are averaging a mere eight points per game against them. Orange is having their fair share of success scoring as well, averaging

nearly 32 points per game, mostly because of their unconventional Wing-T style on offense.

Still, if Stankavage can continue his growth as a starting quarterback, and play just as well against a staunch defense like Orange as he has against teams of lesser pedigrees, an undefeated regular season with another deep run into the state playoffs is a legitimate possibility.

Gibbons needs to get starting senior running back Ben Grazen completely healthy, however. Grazen has rushed for 512 yards this season in six games for an average of 6.24 yards per rush, though a variety of injuries have slowed Grazen down at times.

Gibbons still has room for improvement, and Wright has stressed the importance of consistency, discipline as a team, and special teams play. Gibbons has had an uncharacteristic amount of penalties recently, and the Crusaders have allowed an opponent to return a kickoff for a touchdown twice this season.

But those setbacks seem minor when the record is 8-0 with two games left.

If they continue to play at this high level, the Crusaders could be heading into the playoffs full of momentum with a 10-0 regular season record and a fourth straight Carolina 3A conference championship.

Andrew Mihok Staff Writer Though less experienced this year than in previous years, the men’s varsity soccer team is not letting inexperience hold it back in its pursuit of a third straight state championship.

The team is 11-3-2 and is ranked #10 in the latest News & Observer soccer rankings.

The Crusaders are unbeaten in Carolina 3A conference play, winning their last two conference matches. On Wednesday, October 10 they prevailed 9-1 over Webb, led by senior midfielder Zach Blondell’s hat trick.

On Tuesday, October 9 the team won 2-0 over conference rival Chapel Hill, currently ranked #11 in the latest News & Observer soccer rankings.

Junior Ade Taiwo scored both goals, assisted by the Rhode brothers, junior Chase and senior Kye. Although the team is composed mostly of upperclassmen, ten seniors and ten juniors, head soccer coach Tim Healy views his team as still having something to prove.

“I wouldn’t consider us a veteran team because of those 20

upperclassmen. Only six or seven have played on the varsity level [before this year],” said Healy.

Healy said he knew coming into this year that this team would be different from past teams because of its relative inexperience, after losing several key starters to graduation last year, including current college players goalkeeper Chris Shannon ’12 and forward Tyler Zimmerman ’12.

“Well, we knew it was going to be different, because of a completely new set of people. We also knew that we had a hard working group, but we still have to work on finding our identity.

Having players getting back to being healthy will help us with that,” said Healy.

This year’s team is looking to win a third straight state championship, but has to think a little smarter and increase the amount of confidence that they play with, according to Healy.

Key players such as senior captains Kye Rhode and Kyle Unruh and juniors Ade Taiwo and Chase Rhode have helped the team not only with their play on the field but with their leadership.

“I am pretty happy with what we’ve

been able to do so far this season. It’s great to see all of the guys come together and start to realize that we can win Gibbons another state championship,” said Unruh.

Unruh also added that he takes his role as a team leader seriously, not just as a building block for the team, but as a guide for some younger players as well.

“I see myself as not only a mental building block for the team, but also as a role model for the younger guys to help them through their mistakes so that when they come on the field, we can put confidence in them to help us to win,” said Unruh.

Unruh does think that the team has some areas for improvement for the remainder of the season.

“As a team, we need to be able to push ourselves at every practice and be able to transfer that to the games,” said Unruh.

Gibbons plays conference rival Chapel Hill again at home on senior night on October 24, which could decide the conference regular season champion.

Preston Moser Staff Writer The women’s volleyball team, despite a tough non-conference schedule and a young roster, is 13-1 and ranked #2 in the latest News & Observer volleyball rankings.

The team’s only loss came on the road to 4A Leesville Road, which is undefeated and ranked #1 in in The News & Observer’s rankings.

A relative lack of experience is the team’s main weakness with only four returning seniors and three freshmen on the varsity team.

“Due to the lack of returning players, we are really trying to mature this season so we can be even better next year,” said junior team captain Cheyenne Wood, one of four captains along with junior Erin Quinn and seniors Haleigh Nelson and Kelly Majewski.

The Crusaders have notched several important victories, highlighted by wins on the road against Orange, Chapel Hill, and 4A Rose, respectively.

They are currently undefeated in conference, but their goals don’t stop there.

“Our goals this year are to win our fourth straight state championship and keep the legacy of Gibbons volleyball going,” said Wood.

The Crusaders continued their unbeaten streak in the Carolina 3A conference by defeating Northern and Southern Vance last week before beating non-conference opponent Ravenscroft on Friday, October 12.

Senior night was Tuesday, October 16 for the four seniors: Nelson, Majewski, Chinwedu Ngwadom and Gianna Preston.

Soccer team’s goal remains championship

Page design by Online Editor Cheyenne Wood and Photo Editor Megan Yates

Photo by Madyson Kneer/Landmark Yearbook

Senior Kyle Unruh dribbles away from the defense against Jordan on September 21.

Gibbons won 2-1.