Inside This Week's Issue Forensics, Meek Mill, Student of the Week, and
Volume 41, Issue XIII
Faculty Grid
Edited by Joe Egler '16 and Ryan Naehr '16
The Student Newspaper of St. Joseph's Prep
December 22, 2015
Making the Cut: The Inspirational Story ofAlim Kamara '16
By Mike Grafenstine ‘17 Everyone has heard the cliché phrases “Never give up” and “Hard work beats talent,” but few actually live by them. Alim Kamara ‘16 tried out for the Prep’s basketball team every November in his first three years. He was cut from the team each of these years. For “Yeah, [I considered I played some AAU [i.e., most, this would be enough to discourage them from giving it up],” says Kamara. Amateur Athletic Union] and “But, throughout the summer, just thought, since I really whatever they love doing.
liked it, there was no point in giving it up, because I had ambitions to play in college even if I didn’t play here.” Kamara went on to describe his feelings following his cut in junior year. “I had a sense of disappointment. I wasn’t too upset. I just knew there was some stuff that I could work on.” This year, however,
Getting to Know Mr. Pinto
By Bobby Simons ‘17 What if I told you that the only thing more interesting than Church History is the history of Mr. Dino Pinto? You may know Pinto as the renowned teacher of Church History and Native American Spirituality at the Prep, but even that title does not do him justice. The essence of Pinto—one of the few teachers fortunate enough to boast a five-star rating on “ratemyteacher.com”—is perhaps best illuminated through one of the most popular reviews. “He’s a Papi. Great teacher, great dude,” says an
anonymous student of his. An avid biker, Pinto is the proud owner of four bikes, with the most prestigious among them being his specialized stumpjumper. While he mostly rides and competes in mountain bike and cyclocross racing for fun, his competitive edge will most likely never be tamed. Pinto is fortunate enough to work alongside his wife, college counselor Mrs. Courtney Pinto. This experience has been very positive for him, mostly because talking to her is very easy. Apparently, the only aspect of working together that has caused any disharmony among the Pinto
Contined on page 2
Religion teacher Mr. Pinto is known for his passion and his ability to relate to his students. Here, he is reading next to John Heffernan '16.
dynasty is “When we carpool, and she’s driving.” The one word Pinto would use to describe himself is “passionate,” and this is certainly exhibited through his teaching style and ability to
relate to his students. But another word that comes to mind when speaking of him is “loyal.” Pinto is a loyal follower of NBC’s hit comedy Continued on page 3
Alim (Cont'd)
Alim made the team for the first time as a senior. “I was happy, of course, but I also took a moment to step back and remember where I was last year, because some of the kids who made it last year or some who didn’t make it last year got cut this year. It was a sense of humbling myself and realizing that there were some kids in the same position as myself last year.” He also offers advice to anyone who has
struggled with accomplishing their goal of making any team at Prep. “Definitely just keep working hard if it’s something you love to do, and if it’s your dream or just an ambition or a goal, just keep working,” says Kamara. “Even if you don’t end up making it here or anything, there’s never any limit to what you can do. Working hard will take you very far in life.”
Meek Mill Runs into more Legal Trouble By Jack Yocom ‘17 assembled many witnesses, Meek Mill—rapper of “Lord Knows,” “R.I.C.O.,” “Monster,” and many other classics—could reportedly go back to prison. TMZ stated that Meek violated his probation by leaving Philadelphia to attend the AMAs. Due to the infraction, Meek is now on trial here in his native city, but there was no verdict yet in the last court date on December 17. His legal team has
including Meek’s girlfriend Nicki Minaj. Each claims that Mill has been growing up and becoming a better person. Allegedly, the judge has not been swayed, as he remains in favor of the rapper’s reincarceration. “I walk around with Queen Nikki. Things are different now. I act different. I walk different. I can be the biggest rapper in the world,”
didn’t expect seventh,” says Imredy. “I was trying to give speeches off notes as opposed to pre-written [notes], and I was pleasantly surprised by how it went.” In extemporaneous speaking, Ellis Sargeant ‘16 advanced to the finals round, where he received sixth place, rounding out a particularly good tournament for the three officers of the club present, in Imredy, Ford and co-president Sargeant. “I thought I did decent. The other officers did great, going to finals,” says Ford. Perhaps more of the action came from the time before rounds had begun in Princeton, where, in a hotel a few minutes away from the tournament, preparations were being made in every effort to improve performance. “I did a lot of research on Friday before competition. For my event, there wasn't much prep time
between rounds,” says Imredy. For the team, though, it was the belief of many that the team had a good weekend and performed rather well. “I think the team had a good weekend. All officers there advanced, and this was the first regional tournament for some of forensic underclassmen,” says Imredy. Among those underclassmen were Jack Thorell ‘19 and Alex Cabulong ‘19, who went to Princeton in Humorous Interpretation and Extemporaneous Speaking respectively. “This could be a great in terms of recruitment and some great stuff from the older guys,” says Ford. “For the future, these away tournaments can serve as valuable learning experiences for the members of the Forensics Speech and Debate team, and Princeton…allows for the
Continued on page 3
Prep Forensics Continues its Success at the Princeton Classic
Prep Forensics officers beam following their tournament success.
By Christopher Magiera ‘17 The Princeton Classic has been a forensics speech and debate tradition that brings together forensics teams from all over the country. Since participating in this tournament is so prestigious, the Prep’s forensics team has been a proud participant in this tournament annually. This year, the Prep was proud to send many participants to one of the United States’ most storied institutions. The tournament includes a multitude of events
in which the Prep participated: Public Forum Debate, Congressional Debate, Declamation, and Extemporaneous Speaking. The team found most of its success in Congressional Debate, where both Peter Ford ‘16 and Andrew Imredy ‘17 broke into the semifinals round, where Imredy advanced into the finals and eventually placed seventh out of the estimated one hundred participants. “My performance was good. To be honest, I
Continued on page 4
Faculty Grid By Conor Battin ‘17
What is your favorite holiday?
Mr. Conners ‘80
Dr. Berna
Mrs. Smith
Mr. Kearney ‘06
Christmas
Christmas
Thanksgiving
Fourth of July
“Silent Night”
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love
What is your favorite Christmas song?
“The Christmas Song” by Nat King
“Winter Wonderland”
What is was your favorite Christmas gift as a kid?
Electric football game
Cowboy-themed toy box
What is your favorite Christmas movie?
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Meek (Cont'd)
said Meek at the court session. Meek’s original offense occurred when he was convicted of drug dealing and gun possession at the age of 19 years. He was released in 2009 and put on a five-year probation plan. Due to infractions. he is still on probation today. Many know this fact, as he acknowledges it. “I’m on probation so let me not talk what’s illegal,” raps Meek in “R.I.C.O.” Although he did not “talk what’s illegal,” he did something illegal, so he will most likely return to prison. Of course, this depresses many students at the Prep, because they were looking for a new album from
A Christmas Carol
Meek in the near future. “Meek’s going back to prison? No. No please no. At least let him drop another album first,” says Matt Hartz ‘17. Maybe the time in prison will help Meek finally grow up, or maybe the judge will change his views and keep Meek on the streets. The potential jail time is unknown, but he was sentenced three to six months in jail after his last parole violation, so the same could happen here. However long it is, it will definitely delay any album plans that Meek has for the future.
Cabbage Patch Kids
Guitar
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Home Alone
Pinto (Cont'd) The Office, which produced achieved success with both of nine seasons of arguably the best television show to ever grace the screen. This loyalty is also exhibited through his loyalty to the Prep. Pinto began teaching Church History because he was asked to fill the position, while knowing that this class had a reputation of being one of the most boring courses in the school. Since then, he has worked to overcome the challenges that go along with teaching this course. “I think the hardest part about teaching Church History is keeping the kids engaged and also making Church History relevant to today’s world,” says Pinto. Any student of his will most likely say that he has
these challenges that he has faced. Mr. and Mrs. Pinto currently reside in Merchantville, New Jersey, with their daughter and son. Additionally, Mr. Pinto wants to take this opportunity to debunk any and all rumors that he is harboring Syrian refugees within his home. While there is no evidence to uphold these claims, it does not seem that he has much viable evidence to disprove them. Could one, if not all four, of the bicycles have, at one point, been used to escort the refugees into his home? There is simply no way of knowing at this time. [editors note: Mr. Pinto is not actually harboring any refugees.]
Student of the Week
Buddy King '16 is a crucial part of the Prep Rugby squad and has high hopes for the season ahead.
By Aidan Donaher ‘16 This week’s student of the week is Michael “Buddy” King ‘16. King carries a 3.6 GPA in treacherous classes, and plans to apply to Penn State, Maryland, and Delaware Valley. King excels on the
rugby pitch, as an eccentric flyhalf. His teammates call him Fabio, for his Chilean style of kicking and odd hair. King is excited for the upcoming season. “I think this year’s team has great chemistry. Hopefully, it will be even better after some bonding in Chile. Hopefully, we can bring home some hardware to put in the trophy case,” says King. King lists Mike O’Dell ‘15, Mr. Brian McCloskey ‘91, and Mr. Joseph Falcone ‘91 as his role models. Congratulations Buddy.
Forensics (Cont'd)
competitors to take full advantage of national competition available. At away tournaments like Princeton, one will have the opportunity to compete against competitors from around the country, and through this process one will be able to gauge his performance,” says Kyllian Vong ‘17. This comes at a great time for the Prep forensics team Moderator Dr. Barbara Guiliano and the team welcomed. This is a group that this is a team that is poised to really reach its full potential and with that much success. “We’ve had success
Upcoming Games:
Hawkeye Staff Editors-in-Chief Joe Egler ‘16 Ryan Naehr ‘16
THURSDAY, 12/31: New Year’s Eve (No School)
StaffWriters Aidan Donaher ‘16 Augie Lorei ‘16 Ryan Mannion ‘16 Fintan O’Toole ‘16 Joe Pisacano ‘16 Stas Postowski ‘16 Kevin Sampson ‘16 Joe Schade ‘16 Conor Battin ‘17 Joe Console ‘17 Marcello Garber ‘17 Mike Grafenstine ‘17 Michael Haley ‘17 Von Hobe ‘17 Christopher Magiera ‘17 Tristan Mordan ‘17 Aidan O’Connor ‘17 Mike O’Neill ‘17 Mac Riga ‘17 Bobby Simons ‘17 Kyllian Vong ‘17 Jack Yocom ‘17 Ronan Egan ‘18 David Haddad ‘18 Matthew Phillips ‘18 Anthony Tigano ‘18 Joe Scott ‘19
FRIDAY, 1/1: No School
Moderator Mr. Leo Vaccaro ‘05
Scoreboard and Events By Joe Egler '16 Games Recap:
at tournaments like Yale and Princeton, and I definitely think we’ll continue to speak and debate our way to the top,” says secretary Dan Leonard ‘17.
Next Week at the Prep:
HOCKEY: INDOOR TRACK: 5 Medalists in Track and Away game 12/23 vs. Downingtown East @ Field Coaches 8:05 p.m. Association of Greater Philadelphia meet
MONDAY, 12/28: No School Grade School Basketball Tournament Ends
SWIMMING: 49-45 Win over Father Judge; Nick Belecanech ‘16 1st in 400 freestyle relay
WEDNESDAY, 12/30: No School
TUESDAY, 12/29: No School
Special Thanks To Ms. Ree O’Neill Mr. Frank Raffa