The Wessex Wire (November 2017)

The Wessex Wire The Student Newspaper of West Essex Regional High School

Vol. LVIII No. 1

65 West Greenbrook Road, North Caldwell, N.J.

November 2017

TheWessexWire.com

Knights adopt Florida high school for hurricane relief Students and faculty collect food, clothes and other supplies for the families affected by recent storms.

Nation cleans up after trio of hurricanes, PAGE 3

By Maddie Galligan ’18 Clubs, honor societies, sports teams and more from across West Essex banded together in October to raise money for a Florida high school in need after weathering the devastation of Hurricane Irma.

The school is donating the money raised to Key West High School in Florida, home of the Conchs, where students and faculty have been affected directly

by Irma and the region was additionally battered by Hurricane Harvey. The damage in this area is extensive and catastrophic, and most residents were left without many of their personal belongings.

The fundraisers lasted for about a week and a half, with the end date being on Friday, Oct. 13. Cash donations and supplies began piling up quickly thanks to the participation of so many students. Over $8,000 has been donated for gift cards, and 11 pallets of clothing, footwear and toiletries have been collected.

Photo by alexa dratch

Clothes, toys, home supplies and food are collected and bagged to send to the residents of Key West.

“300 students and 35 teachers are without homes because their homes no longer stand or are damaged beyond repair,” Principal Diliberto said. “Many parents have lost even their ability to provide for their families because their employer no longer exists.”

Music teacher Ms. Mateyka, the school’s point person for leading relief efforts, helped organize a team of teachers and administrators to reach out to the students

and ask for donations to help the Florida victims.

“West Essex students and staff want to help,” Ms. Mateyka said. “We have resources and the willingness to make a positive difference in the lives of people who have been physically and emotionally impacted by a catastrophic event.”

One component of the relief effort is a gift card fundraiser. Clubs and sports teams donated money

to put towards Visa and local supermarket gift cards, which will be delivered directly to Key West High School’s students and faculty and distributed amongst them.

The other fundraising component is the clothing and footwear drive. Because many residents in Key West lost some or all of their personal belongings due to flooding, it was requested that students donate lightly used or new clothing, shoes or toiletries.

Student volunteers helped out in the efforts by boxing up and organizing all of the donated materials.

Senior Sam Adams was among these volunteers.

“The kids at Key West High School have obviously been through a lot, so I just wanted to do what I can to do my part and help them out,” Adams said. “Some of them lost a lot of their everyday stuff, so I hope the clothing drive will make a difference for them.”

Sophomore Lindsay Fusco also donated to the cause. “I can’t imagine what the victims are going through in the wake of what’s happened,” Fusco said. “I donated to try to help in whatever way I could.”

The success of the fundraising efforts will reboot Key West High School not only monetarily, but also emotionally. Organizers hope that the donations will help students and faculty get back on their feet after the tragic events they withstood.

“I’m so excited that we will be able to help the staff and students of Key West High School,” Ms. Mateyka said. “They really need it.”

West Essex stunned by reality of deadly Las Vegas shooting

By Allison Schachtel ’19 and Lara Del Vecchio ’20 Weeks after the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history left more than 50 people dead and hundreds injured, West Essex students are still stunned by the reality of the event.

Stephen Paddock, a retired accountant, opened fire at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada from his hotel room on the night of Oct. 1, 2017.

“It’s heartbreaking,” junior Dane Perrone said. “It is absolutely terrifying to think about how going to an event like a concert can take such a life threatening turn.”

According to an Oct. 12 CNN

In This Issue:

How should gun control laws change in the U.S., if at all?

25%

Laws should be stricter.

Laws are good as they are now.

53%

Laws should be less strict.

22%

A poll of 100 students was taken on Oct. 24.

Poll conducted by Grace Irwin and Maddie Galligan

article, investigators concluded that Paddock meticulously planned every detail of the mass murder. Selecting a hotel room in the

4-6 Opinion

Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino days before the music festival, over 23 reported weapons were purchased illegally and found inside of

Academic culture fosters cheating

8 & 9

New School

the room, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition. Authorities also found ammonium nitrate, a deadly ingredient used in explosives, inside the perpetrators home, car and hotel room.

“It’s just really scary how this can happen at anytime,” sophomore Jackie Artale said. “Whether he is from ISIS or not, anyone can attack us.”

Paddock was claimed a soldier by the Islamic State, but there was no proof that he was a part of any one organization.

As reported in an Oct. 2 New York Times article, Paddock kept a very low profile before the shooting. He hid 19 additional firearms, explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition which were found

New school year brings changes

11-13

when investigators searched his home. He retained most of his money from gambling, the source of income he used to purchase all of the weapons, the Times reported.

Eric Paddock, Stephen Paddock’s brother, was completely unaware of his brother’s unstable mentality and referred to him as “just a guy,” according to an Oct. 25 CNN report.

He had no recollection of Stephen having any religious or political affiliation, which could possibly provide background on why he committed such a crime.

“There should be more restrictions on who can buy certain guns and certain amounts of guns because then things like this won’t happen,” sophomore James DeMichele said.

Arts & Culture

Fan-favorite TV series return

The Wessex Wire: News

November 2017

Page 2

Meet the new additions to the 2018 teaching staff

“My favorite part of teaching special ed is having a student realize that they are capable of doing whatever they can.“ Ms. Miller English and Special Ed teacher

“I love the kids. It’s great to meet everyone, get to know them and help them through the high school process.”

Ms. Tarantola Guidance counselor

“I’m looking forward to teaching about the native knowledge and culture.”

“My favorite thing about my subject is that it’s a life skill that is nurturing and should be learned by everyone.”

Ms. Boymann Food and Nutrition teacher

“I’m looking forward to doing projects, creating things and building something.”

Mr. Florance Earth and Environmental and Sports Medicine teacher

Mr. Alvarez Spanish teacher

“I was surprised at how warm and welcoming everyone is. I love the students and I love the school.”

Ms. Kim Art teacher

“In my free time I like to go out to sporting events. I also have a perfect game in bowling.”

Mr. Ratajczak AP Computer Science and Math teacher

“I enjoy sharing drawing with other people because it’s something anyone can learn.”

“The community is strong and I feel like there is something always going on in every grade.”

“I love the community feel and enthusiasm the staff and students have.”

Ms. Drobik Art teacher

Ms. Moleen Latin teacher

Ms. Rowen Speech Therapist

Trump sets new target on #takeaknee NFL protests

By Heath Kalb ’18

Political debates on the football field intensified late September as President Trump criticized a growing number of athletes for kneeling during the National Anthem at NFL games. The resulting protests and discourse have thrown a new spotlight on how patriotism, rights to protest and freedom of speech all intertwine on the gridiron.

Players unified in week three of the NFL season after Trump ranted in Alabama about the disrespectful nature of the protests. On multiple occasions, teams locked arms with the coaches and owners on the field during the anthem. With the exception of one player who later regretted his decision, the whole Pittsburgh Steelers stayed inside the locker room.

The current NFL protests got its start in last year’s week three San Francisco 49ers game when quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem.

Kaepernick kneeled during every national anthem in the 2016 season, and numerous other athletes soon followed.

Kaepernick and the other athletes state that they will not stand

for the anthem as they believe that African Americans and other minorities have been discriminated against and oppressed, citing examples such as the multitude of police shootings within the African American community. They assert that justice was not served.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said during an August 2016 press conference.

Kaepernick is currently a free agent and has remained unsigned even through months of players publicly saying he has the talent to have a roster spot somewhere.

Beliefs around the NFL community state that he is still a free agent due to NFL owners’ hesitance to sign him, not because of his ability as a player. On Oct. 15 Kaepernick filed a grievance against NFL owners for collusion, according to his attorney, Mark Gerago because of his belief that NFL owners will not sign him solely because he is notorious for his protests.

Since Kaepernick first took a knee and protests have spread throughout the league, the NFL has had a large ratings and in-

come loss. According to Nielsen data obtained by Sporting News, the league’s average TV audience through Week five of the 2017 season dropped 7 percent versus the same period of the 2016 season, and down 18 percent compared to the first five weeks of the 2015 season.

President Trump’s consistent remarks surrounding the players are said to be the reasoning for the NFL’s current loss of popularity.

On Sept. 22 Trump said, “owners should get those SOB’s off the field.” On numerous occasions he has also said how he believes NFL owners should release any player who “disrespects the flag” and how fans should boycott the league.

Outside of football, the first MLB player to take a knee during the anthem was Oakland Athletic Bruce Maxwell on September 23.

The NBA has a rule saying every player must stand during the anthem. Nevertheless, on multiple occasions teams have locked arms throughout the preseason.

While no West Essex football player has taken a knee or protested in any other way, head coach and US History teacher Mr. Benacquista said he respects his

Photo courtesy of Keith Alison (CC By-ND 2.0)

Oakland Raiders teammates kneel during the national anthem.

players’ First Amendment rights to peacefully protest; he added, however, that there are circumstances where protesting could invite controversy and make people lose sight of the game. “I worry about distractions to the team and protests being carried out for the wrong reasons,” he said. “I would talk to the players first and make sure that the reasons for the protest were clear and understood.

“Protesting for a legitimate cause is great and is what makes America such an amazing country,” Mr. Benacquista said. “Protesting without a cause can bring unwarranted

backlash and perhaps do more harm than good.”

Even though no West Essex football player has hinted at protesting, various students throughout the school have differing opinions on the matter.

“I find it disrespectful what these players are doing,” senior Ben Ruvo said. “That being said, the president’s response hasn’t been perfect by any means,” he said.

“Any player who wants to protest should,” junior Kunal Bhatnager said. “They have the right to and people shouldn’t disdain them for it.”

“Oakland Raiders National Anthem Kneeling” by keith alison (https://www.flickr.com/photos/ keithallison/37444579735/in/photolist-Z3Rg1k-3Szag-qpNXKr-YQeVBZ-XNodjd-7fzqmk-MLVQwL

By Olivia Ranucci ’18 and Hayley Brener ’19 Photos by Alexa Dratch ’18 and Allison Schachtel ’19

The Wessex Wire: News

November 2017

Page 3

Summer news around the nation

By Grace Irwin ’18

Charlottesville Protest

The Mac Lab inculdes brand new computers with advanced software used daily by numerous different classes.

Photo by Alexa Dratch

Arts go digital in new Mac computer Lab

By Megan Osborne ’19 Chromebooks are not the only computers students now have at their disposal—the brand new Mac Lab, located in room 102, made 20 iMac computers available for use when it opened this September.

Music teachers Mr. Fabrizio and Ms. Mateyka, along with History and Special Education teacher Mr. McGlynn, all have classes inside the Mac Lab. They use web-based software to teach students different kinds of programs used in technology-based industries.

“We use video and audio editing, Adobe software and iMovie,” Mr. McGlynn said.

Students also use the apps iMovie and WeVideo that are included with the Mac computers.

Mr. McGlynn teaches Media Production, and his classes are based around TV studio recording and podcasting.

The Mac L ab i s w h e re M r.

McGlynn works on the morning announcements.

“For podcasting and audio recording, we set up two microphones so two people can talk at the same time,” Mr. Mcglynn said. “They talk into mics and get

recorded through SoundCloud or iTunes.” Students can then upload their podcast for others to listen to.

AP Music Theory and Music Technology are based on creating music, film scoring and podcasting. These classes use GarageBand, which allows students to work with music sheets and to create their own music. There are also piano keyboards to assist in the production of music.

Students are happy to take advantage of the Mac Lab’s resources.

“I love the new Mac Lab,” ju-

“” I personally really enjoy using the Macs as opposed to Chromebooks.

—Madelin Morales

nior Madelin Morales said. “I take AP Music Theory so I’m in that classroom a lot and it’s great.

The pianos are super helpful when it comes to learning new concepts, and I personally really enjoy using the Macs as opposed to Chromebooks.”

Future classes for the Mac Lab have not yet been determined, however, each teacher hopes to add something new to the Mac Lab and its purposes.

“I would like to have a piano class,” Ms. Mateyka said.

The new Mac Lab has opened up many opportunities for students this year, and it could also mean future new courses for West Essex students.

Trio of hurricanes leaves U.S. territories reeling

By Olivia Lieberman ’19 Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria have all caused major destruction in the U.S. and Caribbean, affecting people from more than a dozen countries and leading to one of the worst summers in hurricane history. Although American and international cleanup and relief efforts have been enforced in these areas, there is still a massive amount of rebuilding to be done.

Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4, reached the United States in San Jose Island on Aug. 25 and began traveling inland towards the city of Houston the following day. According to a Sep. 21 World Vision article, the 130 mph winds blew through shops and homes, crumbling buildings into rivers and leaving people without homes.

Near Nederland, TX, rainfall reached over 60 inches, accord-

ing to an article by The Weather Channel. The state flooded, causing one of the greatest natural disasters in U.S. history. Over 200,000 homes were damaged, and almost 4,000 of them were left without power.

Harvey left a death toll of 82 people and caused over $180 billion in damage. In addition to the damage in Texas, other states including Louisiana and Kentucky were wrecked by the hurricane.

Hurricane Irma, the second hurricane in the string, raged through the Southern United States, hitting Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas from Aug. 30 to Sep. 16. The Category 5 storm left over seven million residents without power, and according to a CNN article, storm surges of 7 to 11 feet posed an extreme threat to citizens.

So far, Irma has been blamed for 44 deaths.

The storm also struck Caribbean

countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos. According to a Sep. 14 CNN article, 99 percent of buildings, homes and shops were damaged in these countries. Over 130 schools were destroyed, and two-thirds of the people in Turks and Caicos are still without power.

The United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands have since sent troops to the Caribbean to aid in relief efforts and provide aid packages. President Trump has ordered federal aid to assist these countries in the aftermath of Irma.

Hurricane Maria was the most recent and powerful hurricane of the 2017 season. The Category 5 hurricane blew through Puerto Rico on Sept. 16 with 155 mph winds, leaving the entire island without power.

With only a little more than half of the supermarkets open, the citizens of Puerto Rico struggled to find food and clean water, according to a Sept. 30 article from USA Today. Maria has left a death toll of 48 so far, but that number continues to increase.

The island of Dominica was also hit with the same force as Puerto Rico, the first Category 5 hurricane in their country’s history. According to a Sept. 22 article from Business Insider, residents of both countries were asked to evacuate their homes and live in government shelters.

President Trump created a federal disaster relief fund for most of Puerto Rico, but many say response and relief efforts were slow and ineffective compared to Irma and Harvey, according to a Sept.

30 CNN article. More than 12,000 American citizens are currently aiding in relief on the island.

White supremacist groups rallied on the campus of the University of Virginia on Aug. 14 in Charlottesville, N.C. According to an August report from the Washington Post, as many as 500 protesters gathered with posters and torches to oppose the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue from Lee Park.

In the two days protests lasted, 33 people were injured and three were killed, including 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

As one group of counter-protesters moved away from the demonstrations, a Dodge Challenger, driven by rally marcher James Alex Fields Jr., drove into the crowd, killing Heyer and injuring 19.

President Trump failed to address the issue until two days after the rallies started. The public reacted to Trump’s response negatively, seeing his actions as unpresidential. He spoke in an August press conference saying that both sides were equally at fault for the casualties, allowing for the protests proceed. Trump took to Twitter to further voice his frustrations, suggesting the media will never be satisfied with his responses. He received backlash via Twitter from politicians such as Senator Marco Rubio, who claimed that the white nationalists in Charlottesville were “100 percent to blame”.

Solar Eclipse

The first solar eclipse since 1990 was seen across the United States on Aug. 21. Globally, the eclipse was visible for 90 minutes. Most, however, were only able to view it for an average of a minute and 10 seconds.

NASA scientifically explains a solar eclipse as an “eclipse in which the Moon’s antumbral shadow traverses Earth (the Moon is too far from Earth to completely cover the Sun).

During the maximum phase of an annular eclipse, the Sun appears as a blindingly bright ring surrounding the Moon.”

The shadow cast by the moon results from the moon covering the sun in orbit from Earth’s view. In regions of Europe and in western America, the shadow from the eclipse was visible without the aid of special solar eclipse glasses. Elsewhere, these glasses were necessary to safely view the eclipse. These glasses were available for as low as $5 on Amazon or could be homemade using only a cereal box and tin foil.

Opinion

November 2017 Issue 1

After disasters, take action

In the wake of tragedies such as the Las Vegas shooting in October and natural disasters such as this summer’s hurricanes, there is always an outpouring of solidarity: Facebook filters, well-meaning Twitter hashtags and the crowd favorite, “thoughts and prayers.”

This solidarity, however, is virtually useless.

While it is hard to question the empathy of those who engage in such behavior—these are compassionate people who do genuinely want to help—it is challenging not to cringe at the inadequacy of their efforts.

One can imagine how defeated the battered residents of hurricaneravaged locales would feel upon unboxing the thoughts and prayers of their American brethren.

These non-participatory displays of cohesion are ultimately a product of self-esteem; though one might not have contributed any assistance to the bloodied victims of violence or disaster, a well-executed hashtag satisfies the natural human intuition to help.

What people should realize—besides the fundamental insufficiency of their petty relief placebos—is that participating in legitimate aid is actually quite easy and even rewarding.

In the weeks following the recent shooting at a Las Vegas concert or the attack at Pulse nightclub in Orlando last June, thousands waited in line to donate blood. West Essex adopted a Florida high school following Hurricane Irma and collected thousands of dollars in clothing, household items and gift cards for students and their families.

If tinting a profile picture or embracing telepathy makes one feel morally complete, so be it, but do not pretend that actually helps someone.

Find the dignity to take action and the moral certitude to demand others do the same.

Staff Editorial

The Wessex Wire The Official Student Newspaper of West Essex High School A Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist Paper 65 West Greenbrook Road, North Caldwell, New Jersey 07006 (973) 228-1200 ext. 258 2017-2018 STAFF: Managing Editor & Special Projects Editor Chris Tsakonas ’18

Editors-in-Chief Daniel Laible ’18 Michael Sessa ’18

Art Director

Alexa Dratch ’18

News Editors Maddie Galligan ‘18 Grace Irwin ‘18

Opinion Editors Emily Johnston ‘18 Danielle Tabatneck ‘18

Photography Editors Ally Schachtel ‘19

Features Editors Alyssa Cristobal ’18 Jordan Flusser ’19 Caroline Quinn ’19

Arts & Culture Editors Sara Amil ‘18 Dylan Lepre ‘19 Junior Editor Hayley Brener ’19

Online & Social Media Editor Shaun Goodman ’19

Sports Editors Michael DiGiacomo ‘18 Heath Kalb ’18 Quinn Delehanty ‘19

Faculty Adviser Mr. Hermosilla

Illustrators Michael Sessa ‘18 Grace Pagano ‘18

Contributing Staff Monica Barker ’19, Josie Berger ’20, Giuliana Calix ‘20, Brenna Campanaro ‘19, Lara Del Vecchio ’20, Evan Katz ‘17, Gabrielle Kesh ’20, Olivia Lieberman ’19, Megan Osborne ’19, Frankie Rizzo ’19, Alex Rosenfeld ’20, Danielle Schwartz ’20, Samantha Spero ’19

The Wessex Wire Editorial Policy

The national-award winning Wessex Wire is published with supplemental updates to inform, educate and entertain the approximately 1,200 students of West Essex High School, faculty and community. Unsigned editorials are the consensus opinion of the editorial board and do not always reflect the views of the adviser, staff, administration and/or board of education. Signed editorials reflect the view of the person whose name appears in the byline.

The Wire serves as a forum for the expression of ideas and opinions of students, staff and community members. We urge readers to write letters to the editor on pertinent matters of concern. Letters must be signed; however, anonymity will be granted if necessary upon request. Members of the editorial board reserve the right to edit all letters to the editor for length or libelous content. Students, faculty or members of the community with an interesting experience or strong opinion on any subject are also encouraged to write or contact the Wire at thewessexwire@gmail.com.

Several photos in this issue are used under various Creative Commons licenses. For more info and full licensing details, visit creativecommons.org.

The Wessex Wire Page 4

Schooling cultivates cheating

By Michael Sessa ’18 The kid who copies off of your test is supposed to be an unmotivated, intellectually inferior degenerate—but he is not. The kid you are shielding your answers from is at the top of his class—a straight-A student with a 4.7 GPA and Ivy League ambitions. This kid is dangerous; not because he represents the immorality of cheating, but because he shatters the logically dishonest presumption that cheaters are purely of their own doing.

Cheaters are the product of an academic model that values outcome over experience; their habits are not a manifestation of sub-standard ethics, but the fallout from a system of excessively competitive education.

In a 2012 survey of 24,000 American high schoolers by Rutgers University researchers, 64 percent of respondents admitted to cheating on a test, 58 percent admitted to plagiarism and 95 percent said they participated in some form of cheating before graduating, whether it was cheating on a test, plagiarism or copying homework.

Honors and AP chemistr y teacher Dr. D’Meo said those statistics are “not surprising.”

Cheating among top-tier students, Dr. D’Meo said, is largely a result of the times. “It’s cultural pressure and the narrative they’re fed by friends and mentors.”

English teacher Ms. Dunphy, who has taught for 27 years across four districts, echoed the timeliness of trends in cheating. “The cheating rise in the last 10 years is big,” she said. “It’s pervasive.”

As the landscape of cheating has grown, so has the measure of its moral gray area. Though most students the Wire spoke to acknowledged that cheating is wrong, they had a tendency to justify their habits as a necessary evil. Most of the students were comfortable granting considerable latitude to the academic dishonesty of their peers.

“It’s disturbing how accepting people are of it,” Ms. Dunphy said.

The appreciable confidence of the cheating class, Dr. D’Meo said, has much to do with how easy outsmarting the system can be.

“Cheating is hard to prove,” she said. “Very few kids get caught.”

The ability of teachers to accept and respond to the realities of modern cheating, however, Dr. D’Meo said, determines how prevalent cheating will become in a classroom.

“If you don’t think students are

collaborating, you’ve been teaching for five minutes,” she said.

“You’re never going to get it to be 100 percent honest, but it is my responsibility to prepare students to prevent cheating.”

Ms. Dunphy agreed about the role teachers play in curtailing academic dishonesty, but also noted that such efforts have added “a different level of stress to teaching.”

“We didn’t go to college for a gold shield,” Ms. Dunphy said of teachers. “It’s a lot of work to get around cheating.”

Though these attempts by teachers to uphold scholastic legitimacy in their classrooms are noble, they treat symptoms rather than the disease. Creating multiple versions of a test or screening student work through sites such as Turnitin.com may currently be the best defense teachers have against academic dishonesty, but such initiatives fail to address the ailments of a culture that necessitates cheating for so many students.

Ms. Casais, the Instructional Supervisor of English, Reading and Libraries, noted that while statistics regarding cheating among teenagers are indeed startling, most instances of academic dishonesty are “not coming from a place of malice.”

Dr. D’Meo agreed with that sentiment. “They’re all good kids,” she said. “They’re just exhausted.”

Students the Wire spoke to said that finding an easy way out is often the only way they feel able to meet unreasonable standards.

Though the origin of those standards remains in contest, the

Illustration By Michael Sessa

repercussions of that seemingly insurmountable pressure are on full display.

Stress and anxiety among students is rife, Ms. Dunphy said, especially in her AP classes. “I have students who are afraid to bring home Bs,” she said.

Dr. D’Meo, identified the errant messaging many students receive about higher education as a factor contributing to that stress.

“Students think they need to be well-rounded,” she said. “Colleges want a well-rounded class, not well-rounded students. They want passion and grit.”

The powers in education must recognize, consequently, that cheating ought not be viewed as pompous bravado, but as a collective cry for help. High-achieving students do not put their academic record on the line because a few extra points makes them happy, but because the system has conditioned them to value those points over integrity.

To combat cheating effectively, educators must construct an atmosphere where rigor does not inherently negate the character schools try to instill in their students. Students have to be comfortable with earning Bs and Cs; they have to learn that personal happiness is more important than being well-rounded; they have to accept that failures are natural. But they need help to get there.

“Students do the best they can,” Dr. D’Meo said.

It is about time schools showed students that their best is actually good enough.

November 2017

Page 5

The Wessex Wire: Opinion

Controversial new gym rules protect students What do Students’ uproar you think stems from a of the new misunderstanding. gym rules?

By Danielle Tabatneck ’18

West Essex enhanced the rules of physical education by placing new locking doors around the gymnasium as well as the locker rooms during the summer break.

These facility changes came with a new set of rules and procedures for how P.E. classes run. On the first day of school, physical education teachers informed students about these new changes and explained how these rules will affect them and the way they prepare for class.

Students now have six minutes to go from their previous class to the locker room to change. After this time, the locker room doors will be closed and locked, as those who have not made it to the locker

room will not be allowed to participate in class.

Some students disagree with these new changes since it requires more of a hustle to class and worry that they will not make it on time.

However, students are not aware that the administration took this action to increase safety and security in the school by ensuring that no area is left unsupervised. By locking access to these key areas, students will not have access to places in the school where teachers are not present.

Administration are trying to make changes that can help students, as fewer conflicts will happen if the school reduces the amount of areas without supervision.

“The doors have been a concern for us for years, since we look at school as a fortress, so that no one from the outside can penetrate in,” Assistant Principal Ms. Hoebee said.

In past years, students were

given more time to get to the locker room, allowing students to have the opportunity to take their time when changing for class, making the change dramatic for some students.

Therefore, the school is aware that students will tend to arrive later than the bell because of the time change. As a result, an article assignment must be completed to earn participation points for the day if students are late and missed the chance to change.

Opportunities to make-up participation points will also be held after school in order to give kids ample time to improve their gym grade.

Students should not complain about assignments, however, as teachers are making sure everyone will be able to bring their grade up.

This can only be known as a positive opportunity for students.

It shows that even though it will be more difficult to make it on time, students will not automati-

cally fail.

The problem lies in that the assignment is not given to students who simply forget their gym clothes. All it takes is walking faster to make it on time, but for those who forgot clothes, there is no way to bring up a grade.

“It has increased participation and the amount of kids changing and changing appropriately for gym,” physical education teacher Mr. Logan said.

It is a safer route for the students to have these locking doors because it protects both their personal belongings and themselves during class. As a result, students may feel more confident about leaving cell phones and backpacks in the locker room.

These changes may sound overbearing to some students at first, but their ultimate goal is to help students by protecting our items.

It will only have a positive effect on the future of our school.

By Danielle Tabatneck ’18

“These changes are a good idea for our safety.”

Jonalyn Tulanowski ’19

Twitter political influence is here to stay

By Emily Johnston ’18

“Put your stuff in a locker if you don’t want it stolen. In the real world our stuff won’t get locked for us.”

Kevin Chmielewski ’18

Photo Courtesy of hamza butt (CC By-ND 2.0)

A person in the process of making a Twitter account at a coffee shop.

help the world choose leaders that will effectively create change consistent with platforms.

However, Twitter does not only ruin a politician’s career. It can help outliers be heard.

Twitter is arguably the reason Bernie Sanders became a major voice in the Democratic party. His social media platform propelled his campaign from a small amount of Democrats to a large amount of people all chanting #FeelTheBern.

Sanders’ messages were posted on every social media platform: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

His tweets still garner hundreds of thousands of views and his account has 6.2 million followers. The recognition helps those without a strong candidate in mind find their match.

A testament to the popularity of Twitter, senior Victoria Johnson described Twitter use in her personal life.

“I spend a couple hours on Twitter everyday,” she said. Johnson loves the app for the jokes and im-

portant messages.

“Someone could tweet their political stance and it could blow up,” she said. “It would show on thousands of timelines.” For daily Twitter users such as Johnson, tweets that have to do with politics are constant.

Twitter encourages users to share their ideas, even if the limit is 140 characters (280 for the lucky few).

The app highlights chains of tweets on their explore page in a section called “today’s moments.” These range from silly memes to politics, but for many millennials this is where they get their news and where they form opinions.

“I get news from Twitter,” Johnson said.

The app is famous for spreading protest videos in a matter of minutes after they happen. Discourse, of course, follows. Whether it be red, blue, green or any other color, political messages are on the app to stay.

Even if some profiles are jokes,

such as @ProBirdRights, the majority of Twitter has a strong political background. The retweet and like option can make any tweets viral.

All it takes is one person with a high following to like or retweet a message and it will be heard by all of their followers. Then the cycle continues.

This may create a “hive mind” effect, with twitter users bullying those who do not agree with their opinon, but social and political awareness can only be interpreted as a good. It is up to the individual to decide what to listen to. The passion to be involved has to start somewhere, even it is by following groups of people all chanting the same message.

The awareness of politics on apps such as Twitter enable conversations that could only take place today. The new age of increased communication is undoubtedly a good thing, for education is spreading and even the common joe can learn about the most pressing issues.

“Now we have to go all the way to the bathroom since the locker rooms are locked.”

Eric Czerwinski ’18

“I didn’t know about these changes, but they seem good.”

Josephine Salluce ’20

From left:“TWITTER” by Hamza BUTT (https://flic.kr/p/W26Z2P)

It feels like every other day Twitter is in the news for some politician, citizen or other netizen making a claim. Twitter allows one to expand their reach and has become central to campaigns.

Twitter introduced politics to a new era: one of awareness.

Politicians can no longer hide their true self; if they do not own up to who they are, the internet will for them.

Notoriously, Twitter use was extensive in the 2016 presidential election. Donald Trump’s tweets, as a candidate, garnered hundreds of thousands of views as Americans started hashtags on the app against and for his message. #DrainTheSwamp, #NotMyPresident and many more are famous hashtags created by and for users of the app. Not only did these become widespread online, but they became common sayings of both political parties.

Twitter also exposes some politicians for lying. In September, Ted Cruz liked a NSFW tweet, breaking his “godly-man” image. While thousands laughed at this accidental like of a pornographic video, his supporters realized his reputation was a lie. The disconnect between politicians and the masses is gone.

The bigger political conflict social media creates is the struggle to maintain high approval ratings.

Take Trump for instance. His tweets often clash with what he is actually doing in office. According to a Fox News poll, his approval rating is 38 percent.

Some say this a problem, but the exposure of discrepancies between one’s words and actions can only

November 2017

Page 6

The Wessex Wire: Opinion

America does not need praise; it needs criticism

By Alex Rosenfeld ’20 Sticking Adidas on the feet of a 70-year-old chainsmoker will not make him an athlete. Putting red stripes on a Toyota Corolla will not make it a racecar. Slapping a coat of paint on a house that is burned to the ground will not make it prime real estate.

And praising your country and telling your citizens that they are the best will not make America great again.

The “America is the best, anyone who disagrees should get the hell out” approach that President Donald Trump is currently taking is not going to improve life for anyone, supporters or not. What America needs most at the moment is tough love; constructive criticism, acknowledgement of faults and respect.

Trump is a polarizing figure, splitting the nation over a variety of topics. How did Trump amass such a large quantity of support-

ers? The answer is simple: He has praised what they believe in.

It is the reason West Virginia has the highest approval rating for Trump in the country, as opposed to a state like Connecticut, which has one of the lowest. Trump has praised West Virginian workers.

But has he done anything to help them? Nope.

Research from USA Today proves that Trump’s claims about jobs are untrue (he said over a million jobs were added; the real number was 70,000 nationwide).

While this overestimating comes from a patriotic place, exaggerating numbers is not a good luck for the president. It is like lying about a test score to your parents— it will only hurt.

If you play a sport, you know that accepting criticism leads to better results. If you play soccer and don’t communicate, the team loses out as a whole. “You need to take criticism to learn and become a better teammate, because

if you’re not willing to listen to what your teammates have to say, nobody is going to get better,” sophomore JV soccer player Reem Aly said. Sophomore JV soccer player Jordyn White agreed with Aly, saying that criticism helps one perform better.

Saying “America is the greatest country on earth” is just an opinion. A supportable opinion, yes; a noble opinion, of course. But it is an opinion that does not contribute to the betterment of the U.S. There is a saying: “You can sit on your ass all day with your sneakers on the coffee table telling everyone you’re the champ, but unless you get results, no one will believe you.” Trump is not getting results, and his attacks against free speech only serve to drive a wedge between Americans.

Criticism is scary; it is not easy to take and it can feel personal. But it is necessary to make corrections.

And our great nation needs a lot of corrections.

Photo courtesy of Riley Kaminer (CC By-ND 2.0)

The American flag waving in the wind.

Faith should be more The stress from senior year is real important than work Junior year is not the Every year, students are faced with the dilemma of an abundance of homework assignments over religious holidays. Religious observance can be time consuming, leaving those who celebrate cramming late into the night.

This creates an inconvenience to the families who celebrate and increases student stress.

A policy should be created to limit the amount of homework that can be assigned over holidays.

While the Board of Education recognizes religion under a student’s First Amendment right, there is no actual policy regarding homework on holidays. Some students find the homework given on holidays to be insulting, as they are times for prayer.

“I feel that teachers giving homework over religious holidays can be seen as oppressive toward students who celebrate those holidays,” sophomore Julia Rubenstein said.

Since there are so many different holidays celebrated, West Essex should recognize the days these fall on. Since some holidays do not allow students to be able to work, students are forced to ignore their religious priorities in favor of good grades.

“I don’t know a lot about other religions, but I know every religious holiday is important,” sophomore Chloe Doolen said.

Due to the tight schedule students have these days, they often

ask for an extension with their work. Most of the time they are denied one or they are given one after pleading. This needs to change.

The work should not be expected to be completed.

“I had an experience with a religious holiday and difficulty getting out of an assignment,” sophomore Gillian Wolf said. “I hope I don’t have to experience it again.”

Every teacher has their own way of distributing assignments; some teachers consciously think about the holidays while others stick to their normal schedules.

“I do think that a discussion needs to happen about the type of homework that is being assigned to make sure it is not just busy work for students to complete,” history teacher Ms. Jozefczyk said.

There are many concerned parents who have strong opinions on this issue. They want their children spending time with their families and not studying for exams.

“I have received calls from parents concerned that their student was overwhelmed with work when they should have been free to observe the holiday,” guidance counselor Ms.Goudreau said.

Homework a part of student’s education, but religion is a priority in my life and other students’ lives. There are 10 months to write essays, but only a few days of religious commitments. West Essex needs to respect their students and create a policy to limit homework during religious holidays.

worst of high school; senior year is.

By Sara Amil ’18 Everyone assumes that junior year is the hardest year of high school, with every student dreading its arrival. As someone who brushed off these haunting tales as just rumors, I am now a strong advocate that the rumors are simply fact. So after dragging myself through a harsh junior year, I was excited for a fun senior year. That was my mistake.

I was so naive to think senior year would be fun and relaxing. It has its perks—cute backpacks and Color Day come to mind—but the overwhelming stress of the fall season triumphs over fun.

“Take easy classes,” people often told me. But trouble is, when applying to competitive schools, you have to keep your schedule looking rigorous.

Teachers are not at fault for the inner turmoil that occurs fall of senior year (no, this is not sarcasm). In fact, most teachers actually sympathize with teenagers during this time. The stress comes from applying to colleges.

Not from schoolwork.

As if filling out mountains of

Photo By Emily Johnston

Sara Amil wrangles an immense amount of schoolwork.

information on the Common App is not annoying enough, a good number of schools have their own applications as well, which makes for more tedious information-plugging. Although students write their personal essays in class, which most schools require, an overwhelming amount of schools have completely different supplemental essays.

The tricky thing about senior year is time management. You may have thought that your work ethic and timing was sufficient enough, but that is not the case senior year. If you plan on playing a sport in the fall and having enough time for school, practice, homework and college applications, think again. It is impossible.

My time management would be perfect if only we had a solid

four more hours in a day and human bodies did not require sleep.

Thankfully, I am not alone in my struggles, as the vast majority of seniors seem to be feeling the same way as I do. Senior year is awfully stressful.

The reason that senior year is so stressful is because of the neverending piles of work assigned, coupled with extra college essays and paperwork. Instead of just staying up to late to finish homework, once school assignments are completed seniors have to work on their college applications and managing deadlines.

Soon, the struggles will be over, and we will all (hopefully) be admitted into the colleges or universities of our choice, but until then, seniors remain fragile balls of stress.

From left:“American Flag by Riley Kaminer (https://flic.kr/p/6HTpmh)

By Gabrielle Kesh ’20

Features

November 2017 Issue 1

The Wessex Wire Page 7

Who wore it best? Spirit Week edition ‘Merica Monday

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Students snap their spirit with custom Geofilters

By Jordan Flusser ’19 and Caroline Quinn ’19

Spirit Week-themed Geofilters were the newest addition to this year’s weeklong event. The Geofilters, which are location based overlays users can add to their snaps, were a big hit and made an appearance on many students’ stories complementing their unique outfits for each day.

Many students responded positively and liked the school’s creative use of social media.

“The filters were cool and they were really easy to use because

most people use Geofilters all the time already,” sophomore Christopher LaSusa said.

“I thought they were so fun,” junior Julia Reif said. “I don’t know how we didn’t think of this before this year.”

Student Council meets to brainstorm ideas on how to make the week’s events and activities better every year. With each day assigned to a different theme, the student council saw Spirit Week as a great way to try out creating these Snapchat Geofilters.

The idea came from two freshmen on Student Council; Mike

Aktas and Emma Tartini, were given the task of designing the Geofilters and setting them up for the rest of the school.

“The price of an On-Demand Geofilter depends on where your Geofence is, how big it is and how long you want it to run,” according to Snapchat. The company has to approve the Geofilter before it goes live, and new filters are being added every day.

Each filter matched the theme of the day and color day included each grade’s symbol. The Geofilter included symbols for the movie “The Incredibles,” the televi-

sion show “Friends,” McDonald’s and the cable network Disney Junior. Junior class president Chris Duthie also created a custom Geofilter for the Class of 2019 on color day.

Aktas and Tartini also took the initiative to create a Geofilter for the West Essex vs. Caldwell football game this fall, which generated 25,000 views and uses, according to Student Council adviser Ms. Mondadori-Llauget.

She says she hopes to see the use of Geofilters continue in order to promote school spirit throughout more special events.

Photo courtesy of Sharon O’Donnell

Seniors use color day Geofilter while waiting for pep rally to begin.

November 2017

Page 8

The Wessex Wire: New School

New school year introduces a diffe Lockdown lady causes confusion

Installation of a new security system has unsettled students while increasing security.

By Caroline Quinn ’19 West Essex installed a new security system featuring prerecorded voices to warn students of emergencies and emergency drills this past summer. The voice, which was debuted during the first week of school, is a part of the school’s ongoing efforts to prepare students for an attack or threat.

Violence and school shootings have become increasingly common all over the country. According to the Los Angeles Times, there have been over 200 school shootings just since the devastating Sandy Hook Attack in 2012 where the perpetrator fatally shot 20 elementary school children. With this in mind, schools like West Essex have taken precautionary steps and created procedures to try and protect themselves from the unexpected.

“Our goal is to streamline communication systems and make it more accessible than it was before,” Principal Mr. Diliberto said.

After listening to the new system, students have had mixed reactions. Some think it was impressive while others find it frightening and have compared it to the voice in the popular horror movie, “The Purge.”

“It sounds scary and creeping,” sophomore Abby Pierce said.

“I know that it is meant to protect us, but the voice isn’t what I expected.”

“I think It sounds real and legit,” sophomore Christian Coronia said.

The voice, now named the Lockdown Lady by students, will be used not only for lockdowns, but for other emergency procedures as well like evacuations and shelter in places. The new system should prove to be more efficient than the past one and possibly even save the school from unprecedented trouble sometime in the future.

Class presidents try to breathe new life into their grades with s

By Jordan Flusser ’19

Julia Schmulewitz

Chris Duthie

Julia Schmulewitz is in her third and final year of presidency of the class of 2018.

She has represented the seniors during the majority of their high school experience and has become a friendly face to all of her classmates. “I’m glad I have the opportunity to help make high school a great experience,” Julia said. Julia hopes to make senior year the best of them all by listening to the ideas of her classmates and implementing her own.

“I think it would be nice to open up the courtyard to students during study,” Julia said. She said she is additionally working to bring back excused absences for AP testing since this is a very stressful time for most students. Julia is a member of the French club, quiz bowl and basketball teams as well as captain of the girls lacrosse team. She also has an impressive bouncy ball collection of over 500.

With many senior events to plan, she says it is important that everyone stays involved. “Senioritis is real!” Julia said. “Don’t wish away this last year together.

The more into it everyone gets the more fun we will have as a class!”

Chris Duthie, president of the junior class, has big plans for this year. He has been president of the class of 2019 for two years, but has plenty of experience in student government. “I became involved in student politics when I was much younger, for reasons that are no longer clear to me,” Chris said. “I continue to participate because I truly understand and value my position and the responsibilities with which I am endowed.”

Chris said he hopes to plan an especially fun Color Day, a successful prom and to create more sustainability goals. He is a dedicated member of the STEM club and said he would like to work with them to offer new environmental opportunities.

Chris’s passion for his role as president goes beyond high school politics. “I would actually like to become a politician as an adult,” Chris said. He said he believes Student Council provides him with the perfect outlet for defending his class and improving the school.

“We’re going to have a great year—let’s go forward!” Chris said. “The more involved we are as a class, the better and more productive we can be.”

Photos Taken By Allison Schachtel

Gabriella Benevenga

Gabriella Benevenga is p freshman year and wanted president because I think it everyone,” Gabriella said. A approaching her with any i “I want them to know th dent and we are only going me,” Gabriella said. In addi programs at West Essex. Sh committee and Italian club “Italian was my first lan types of accordions,” Gabrie of all of her classmates. “W make suggestions become r

Phil Seaver

The youngest and newes Phil Seaver. Phil has been i he was in fourth grade He to unify his classmates an are enjoyable.

“I would like to see our sponsored events,” Phil sa wants to implement more also plays on two athletic t Club, Theater Tech Club, D joining Programming club “West Essex is lucky to h so having a positive influe spirit, I hope we can becom

November 2017

The Wessex Wire: New School

Page 9

erent look to students and campus

Traffic at entrance increases as school implements new policies School administration say updated pattern is running smoothly, but many students disagree.

By Danielle Schwartz ’20

Illustration By Michael Sessa

school suggestions

president of the 2020 sophomore class. She was president her d to run again to continue representing her grade. “I ran for is important to have a passionate person that gets along with As a president, she says she hopes her peers are comfortable ideas they have on how to make the school better. hat every year is a learning experience for me as a class presig to continue to improve as long as they keep their trust in ition to Student Council, Gabriella is involved in many other he is in the school band as well as the jazz band, the yearbook b. nguage so I carry on my Italian heritage by playing different ella said. A goal Gabriella has for the year is to take the advice We are all a team,” she said, “I am just the voice that tries to reality.”

West Essex has implemented a new morning drop off policy for the 2017-2018 school year. In an email blast sent out on Aug. 23, Principal Mr. Diliberto explained the new procedure.

“To ensure the safety of all students and staff, and to maintain steady traffic flow, a new traffic pattern has been established at the high school for student drop off in the morning. The drop off circle at the front entrance will be closed until 7:42 a.m. This drop off should now only be used for dropping off late students.

Additionally, only buses will be permitted into the bus drop off by the rear entrance. Cars dropping off students will be diverted to the through-traffic lane. The faculty parking lanes will also be closed to through-traffic.”

Though the new procedure makes the chaotic morning at West Essex safer, many students are complaining for various reasons that they prefer the morning drop off procedure from past years.

“I have to leave my house earlier because it takes so much longer,” junior Julia Reif said.

Other students say they miss the convenience of being dropped off at the front of the school.

Some students who find the new procedure inconvenient, are having their parents drop them off outside of the appropriate location. Students report parents dropping off their children in

Photo By Dan Laible

Cars are getting backed up at the school with new policies that have been put in place, but they are making the process safer.

the senior parking lot and then cutting through the lot to exit the school district, skipping the line of traffic. This is giving seniors extra stress in the morning, adding unexpected traffic and blocking spots.

“There’s more traffic which makes it more difficult to get to your spot and there’s a greater chance of getting into an accident,” senior Allison Ribardo said.

As soon as the administrators became aware of parents dropping off students in wrong locations, actions were taken to restore adherence to the traffic procedure. According to Assistant Principal

Mr. Macioci, staff members including Mr. Davis have been outside in the morning to monitor the traffic flow. Mr. Macioci said that the number of parents breaking the rules has decreased and the traffic pattern is running smoothly.

Though the procedure has been criticized by many students, some see the benefits of a more organized system.

“The new drop off system allows for less traffic when arriving at school,” sophomore Andie Steinberg said. “Driving to school is a lot less hectic and everything is in order.”

st addition to the Student Council presidents is freshman involved and assumed roles in student government since e said he continues to run for president because he wants nd make sure that the events they participate in together

r class come together as a grade and have fun at schoolaid. He has high hopes for the school year and said he e activities for for freshmen and boost school spirit. Phil teams: ice hockey and track. He is a member of the Tech DECA, the debate team and said he is looking forward to b and Investors club. have such a diverse group of students in the class of 2021, ence is essential,” Phil said. “Through school events and me that positive influence.”

Photo By Dan Laible

Many people say the new traffic light at the main entrance of school is causing a backup for incoming students, teachers and parents dropping off students.

November 2017

Page 10

The Wessex Wire: Features

Not just your average cheerleader

By Alyssa Cristobal ’18 Sophia Rose Dasaro packs quite the punch in her fun-sized stature.

As a senior, Sophia is captain of the fall Cheerleading squad and an avid participant of the STEM club.

A whopping 4-foot-11, Sophia lives up to the term “fun-sized.” She has been coined with the nickname “Bean” ever since she started cheer in 2005.

“Basically I am small and I was wearing a lime green jumpsuit,” Sophia said. Ever since then, the nickname has stuck.

While her petite appearance may be the first thing people notice when meeting Sophia, her size is certainly not what defines her.

“Aside from the fact that she’s so small, good sense of humor, her writing really grew,” English teacher Ms. Dunphy said. “She had a very strong voice.” Ms. Dunphy has had Sophia for creative writing, AP Language and Composition and AP Literature and Composition.

Sophia has a busy schedule yearround with All Star Cheer. Fall is her busiest season because she has to juggle her academics, West Essex cheer and All-Star Cheer. As a stress-reliever, Sophia likes to, you guessed it, cheer. She is very passionate about the sport and loves to participate in a coed stunting program when not practicing with her official teams.

After school and practice, Sophia is welcomed home by her dog Brandy and her three chinchillas: Ozzie, Pappi and Boobear.

Sophia quickly went from dreaming about owning a chinchilla to caring for three. She originally purchased a chinchilla named Herb who passed away. After his passing, Sophia purchased two more chinchillas.

“I still needed a chinchilla in my life,” Sophia said. Her friend was giving up Boobear and Sophia decided to take him in because she could not bear the idea of Boobear going to a stranger.

Surrounded by animals in her home, Sophia makes sure the people she interacts with are just as kind as her pets. “There are so many great people I surround myself with,” Sophia said. “I realize that if you have the right people around you then there is no one to hold you back but yourself.”

Senior Teresa Marinuzzi is one of those “right people.” Marinuzzi has known Sophia for about nine years and describes her as someone who is extremely driven and constantly looking to help the people she cares about. “She’s also pretty funny and super loyal,” Marinuzzi said.

Sophia hopes to pursue chemical engineering in college and also continue cheering. Her peers and teachers truly believe that Sophia

Photo Courtesy of Sophia Dasaro

Senior Sophia Dasaro preforms a stunt with fellow teamates before a game. will have success in whatever she pursues in the future because of her hardworking nature.

“More than anything, I wish her

happiness,” Ms. Dunphy said. “She is a smart, kind person and I would like to see her do well.”

While Sophia’s future is not

completely set yet, this small girl packs a punch, ready to cheer through whatever obstacles come her way.

Unconventional jobs to escape the ordinary career path

By Alexa Dratch ’18 Chances are, if you ask a junior or senior, they will not have the slightest clue what they will go to college for. Where? Maybe. Major?

Less likely. Career path? Funny

joke. But believe it or not, there are more options than most juniors and seniors think. The most advertised and obvious choices including doctors, businessmen/women, police officers and teachers sound like a lot to choose from, but the work,

Illustration by Grace Pagano

Students cannot decide what field or job to enter.

availability and pay can be serious setbacks for many. More often than not, a subject or class a student enjoys in high school will lead them to a college major and eventually, a career.

according to DreamBox Learning.

If you have a knack for mathematics, look into focusing your skils on the interesting architecture of roller coasters.

Math

Fear not! The world of English is not limited to authors or poets.

Even if you love to write, but cannot think of book ideas, or you love learning but cannot possibly imagine teaching, there are more careers you may be interested in.

Curriculum Developer: This job involves deciding what students will be learning and how they will learn it. Developing curriculums is vital to molding the minds of future generations. According to Melissa Suzuno of the website AfterCollege, curriculum developers “research and consult with linguistics experts, write textbooks, podcast scripts, web content, at-home study guides and a variety of other learning materials.”

New Media Specialist: This job allows you to create a digital representation of a company, person or organization. You can use your love of English to write biographies and introductions to give people the broad idea of whoever you are working for at the time.

“Oh, you’re good at math? You should totally be an accountant!”

Classic. To many people’s surprise, there are a lot of other jobs out there beyond the world of accounting and statistics that appeal to math lovers.

Cost Estimator: According to Rachel Zupek from CareerBuilder, cost estimators “figure out how much future projects or products will cost and determine which current endeavors are making a profit.” This allows math wizzes to put their skills to the test with endless new projects, offering them new challenges in each job they pursue.

Roller Coaster Designer: Not many people know the mechanics that go into constructing a (safe) roller coaster. The numerous twists, turns and loops on roller coasters require people “to understand the mathematical properties of these curves, as well as physics, kinematics and material strength,”

English/Reading/Writing

Science

There are tons of great jobs besides a doctor or a chemist that can incorporate your passion and do not demand a doctorate degree, scrubs or a laboratory.

Laughter Therapist: As the saying goes: “laughter is the best medicine.” Researchers have discovered dozens of benefits to something everyone has experienced at some point in their life: laughter. Laughter therapists “lead exercises that help people connect with the deep, joyful laughter that babies experience,” according to Tanya Lewis of LiveScience.

Storm Chaser: While most of this career’s popularity comes from a show on Discovery Channel, storm chasers have a more dangerous job than it may seem. The official title is an atmospheric scientist, and according to Brazen Life, a column from Business Insider, their job is to gather “data on severe weather occurrences, including hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms and flash floods.”

Storm chasers are important to the community because they monitor weather conditions and patterns, determining when or if they should alarm the public with an official warning.

November 2017 Issue 1

&

Arts Arts

Culture

The Wessex Wire Page 11

Quick hits return for second seasons

By Sara Amil ’18

Television shows tend to be addicting, and while this is a great quality when binge-watching, the next season’s premiere is light years away once you run out of Netflix seasons. One of the worst feelings in the world is powering through a show, only to discover there’s no more than one season available on Netflix to watch. Many watchers went through this with popular series “Stranger Things” and “Riverdale.” The shows only have one season released, but were quick hits with teens.

“I know so many people who watched them within the first week of them coming out on Netflix,” senior Danielle Candela said.

Both premiere seasons have highly anticipated returns, and viewers have been waiting about a year for both. “Riverdale” seemingly had a much quicker return, due to the fact that the episodes were spaced out over the course of four months, whereas “Stranger Things” was released all at once.

Despite these differences, they both returned around the same time in October.

“I don’t even like shows like

Photos courtesy of CWTV and Netflix

“Stranger Things” and “Riverdale” are two of the shows returning for their second seasons.

Riverdale, but I’m obsessed with it,” junior Calista Mannuzza said.

“Riverdale” has been especially popular with West Essex students, its popularity sparking over the summer when the first season was released on Netflix. Many

were guilty of binge watching the show and anxiously waiting for its October release.

“The wait is too long!” senior Olivia Altiero said. Despite only just watching the series recently, she is already impatient for its

long-awaited return.

Each series left their own unanswered questions, leaving viewers in suspense for (hopefully) answers in the upcoming seasons.

For spoilers sake, the cliff-hangers won’t be mentioned, but let’s just

say it was enough to leave viewers anxious for its return.

Both shows have highly anticipated returns and big shoes to fill in terms of maintaining viewers throughout their second seasons.

People are expecting big things, especially due to the success of the first seasons.

“Stranger Things” fans have it a bit easier because if they really want to know how the season ends, they can watch it all at once the night it comes out. Though this binge might seem great, remember that a new season only comes out once a year so watch carefully.

Unfortunately for “Riverdale” fans, they’ll have to wait a little longer to find out the outcome of the season, as it airs (mostly) weekly, so the finale won’t be for a few more months which is already being anticipated by fans.

When each show is aired, it will be interesting to see if they live up to the hype of the first seasons or flop, though it is doubtful that the latter would happen as these shows are very popular already with fans. Start binging: both “Stranger Things” and “Riverdale are now airing, so either tune in weekly or pull an all-nighter.

New iPhones put the ‘smart’ in smartphones

By Brenna Campanaro ’19

In typical Apple fashion, new products were announced earlier this fall. The difference this year is that there were two new iPhone models, the X and the 8. Like most new iPhones, the iPhone 8 is very similar to its previous model, but the new design of the X, with facial recognition and wireless charging, transforms the previous design completely.

The iPhones have West Essex students on their knees, begging their parents for the $700-$1,000 purchase. Like most other iPhone releases, however, some do not see the need to get the newest gen-

eration of technology due to the similarities to the previous models.

“I honestly don’t need this phone,” junior Hayley Scheer said.

“My iPhone 7 is working fine and I’m not going to waste my parents’ money.”

West Essex is all about being trendy and staying up to date. In an October poll of 50 students, about 62 percent said they planned on getting one of the new iPhones.

The most common reasons students seem to want the phones are because they either think it’s cool, need an update or because of the creative features.

“I’m super-excited to get the new X. My old phone broke and I

wasn’t able to use it,” junior Janelle Giannetta said. “But I can’t wait to get the X because of all the fresh features and camera updates.”

The excitement about the new phones does not stop with the students, however. Teachers are also interested in Apple’s latest products. Physical Education teacher Ms. Giampapa recently acquired the iPhone 8 for free after an upgrade discount. She had not renewed her iPhone 6 for over two years and was in desperate need for an upgrade.

History teacher Ms. Fernicola invested in the new iPhone 8. “My old 6S wasn’t holding a charge,” Ms. Fernicola said. “And I couldn’t imagine paying $1,000 for the X.” Despite the appeal of the X, many at West Essex reach for the iPhone 8 instead purely due to the hefty price of the X. Unfortunately for Apple, although the iPhone X has significantly different features than previous models, its price makes it less practical.

The iPhone X costs $1,000, which is hundreds of dollars more than other iPhones. Although there is still the contract plans and monthly installments to pay off the phone, the price tag is still rather steep.

According to Apple, both the 8

and X are highly intelligent. The X can respond to voice, touch and even a glimpse of one’s face.

The developed attributes for both includes improvements in the battery, though this statement was made for every previous iPhone as well.

“The battery life is okay,” junior Adem Kalici said. “It lasts longer than my old phone that died at like 20 percent.”

It is possible that these “improved” battery life assumptions are also thought to be true purely because the phone is brand new and has not had multiple years of use in users’ pockets. Furthermore, despite claims that battery life has been improved in the older generations of the iPhone, users have still complained about weak battery life. Though the battery life may not truly be improved, there is a new battery feature. Now, one can charge their phone on a wireless charging pad. This allows for people to listen to music while simultaneously charging.

The latest and innovative iPhone 8 and X will be popping up throughout the nation as well as in our society. As Apple continuously launches cutting-edge designs, the people of West Essex keep up with their new trends.

Photo courtesy of Apple Inc.

The new iPhone X releases Nov. 3.

November 2017

The Wessex Wire: Arts & Culture

Page 12

Masquers open with roaring success ‘Last Chance U’ inspires “You Can’t Beat the House” gave the audience a laugh.

the next class of athletes

By Quinn Delehanty ’19

By Evan Katz ’18 “You Can’t Beat the House,” the choice for this year’s fall production from Masquers of West Essex, was a success full of humor of the best kind: ironic. The cast’s spoton delivery allowed for the sharp writing to produce scenes that were so ridiculous yet amazing, and the audience could not get enough of the hysterics.

The Masquers had some fabulous material to work with, since the setup for the show is already insane: Two robbers break into a house for sale and then pretend to be Realtors when potential buyers enter the room. As one can imagine, chaos ensues. The audience knows they are in for a ride right when the play starts. When actual Realtor Courtney Parfait (played by senior Serena Szarka) enters, the play takes a turn from ironic to flat-out ridiculous.

Howie, played by senior Matt Uhlendorf, and Merle, played by junior Mark Pelosi, were able to keep a straight face while doing the craziest things as the robbers.

Pelosi was especially hilarious, and audience members could be seen mimicking his scenes in the halls after the play. If one would go to see the play for any reason, it would be

Review for Pelosi.

Senior Paige Wasserman, playing Glenda Spears, gave a believable performance as the lead of the play.

She emphasized the bitterness of her marriage well, subtly giving hints to the audience of her secret.

A memorable scene was when Madame Zenobia, played by senior Sam Luk, came in to investigate the supposedly “haunted” house after Lillian (senior Sarah Candido)

invited her. Luk’s portrayal involved a heavy accent that added depth to her character. She exaggerated phrases, making her role hard to forget. After the play, Luk said that she was so into her character that she forgot about the audience members and became Madame Zenobia.

The play closed to a standing ovation for the whole cast, crew and production staff, including new director Ms. Miller and new tech director Mr. Myerson. There were no complaints heard on the way out—only praise for the wonderful job done by the Masquers.

“Last Chance U” is a Netflix show featuring a junior college in Scooba, Mississippi. The population is 716 people with East Mississippi Community College being the biggest money maker and greatest accomplishment for the town; the football stadium and team is the epicenter of this quaint, forgotten town.

The team recruits Division I athletes and those looking for a second chance who have failed a drug test, exhibited bad behavior or failed out of school. They come to this school for a second chance, a new beginning and an opportunity to play at a big time school again in the future.

“Nine EMCC Grads are currently in the NFL—the average Division I school has less than seven,” the journalist highlighting East Mississippi said.

Head coach Buddy Stephens has a no nonsense attitude. He does not coach to make friends or have his team make friends. He coaches to get the boys ready for bigger and better things.

Many people dismiss junior colleges as not being a real college experience. Junior or community colleges are connected with students who didn't care in high school or kids who couldn't

get into a better college academically. More often than not people don’t see it as a two year start to get better grades or earn a sports scholarship, which is what junior colleges truly are meant for.

“Watching ‘Last Chance U’ made junior college seem more realistic,” junior Dorian Gashi said. “I didn't really think about sports at a junior college, I only imagined it to be like something like essex county.” Before watching the show he could only picture a community college as an experience like Essex County with one run down building and students not showing up to class. After watching the Netflix series, he realized that's not the case.

“Playing baseball at CCM has already taught me so much and I’m excited to see what the future holds for me,” said Brandon Barry, West Essex graduate, class of 2017.

County college of Morris is ranked 8 in the nation for division II baseball. Many boys further their careers playing at different schools all around the world.

Barry hopes to also continue his career after his two years at Morris.

“Last Chance U” highlights the positive impact it has and shows that accomplishing your goals at community college can put you back on top.

Popular celebrity conspiracy theories right now

By Hayley Brener ’19

Conspiracy theories are widely talked about but often get more negative attention than positive.

It is easy to believe everything online but not everything on the Internet is trustworthy. Here are some crazy theories fans and theorists believe.

Avril’s Impersonator

After Avril Lavigne supposedly committed suicide in 2003, rumors spread that she was replaced by a look alike named Melissa Vandella. This was allegedly done so Lavigne’s record label could could keep profting. A change in appearance allowed theorists to begin speculating, but when Buzzfeed picked up the blog post, more and more people began to believe it.

Louis’ Fake Baby

In Jan. 2016, Louis Tomlinson and Briana Jungwirth had a baby named Freddie, which came as a shock to fans. Conspiracy theorists believed the baby was a doll and that all of the pictures are either PhotoShopped or are of a doll.

Taylor-Katy Feud

Brittney’s Clone

It is no secret that Katy Perry and Taylor Swift have drama. Some believe their ongoing fights are a hoax to try and get publicity. An article on Buzzfeed provides an explanation that it was staged to try to get people to stop focusing on Swift’s love life. It seems far-fetched, but some believe it.

According to the theory, after Spears’s release of the 1999 album “…Baby One More Time,” Spears and her then boyfriend Justin Timberlake got into a car accident and Britney was decapitated. To keep her fame, Spears’s industry supposedly hired a set of clones to replace her.

Clockwise from top left: “in memoriam” by john smith (flickr.com/ photos/_aldu/2108741603/

November 2017

The Wessex Wire: Arts & Culture

Page 13

New and old horror movie concepts hit theaters

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros., Universal Studios, Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures

These are some of the five new horror movies that are set for release in the fall of 2017.

By Giuliana Calix ’20 The 2017 film season is nearing its conclusion, but that doesn’t mean that genre films are going away. Several new horror films have debuted and are already earning critical and commercial success. Below are five new films that have peaked the interests of students around West Essex.

“Amityville: The Awakening” (PG-13) “Amityville: The Awakening” was released on Oct. 28. and is the next installment in the famous series despite negative reviews for the previous films that did not make it to theatres. It follows main character Belle and her family in their new home. Belle realizes that they moved into the infamous Amityville house where evil lies.

“I’ve heard people talking about this before, and yeah I think I’ll go see it,” sophomore Gianna Silletti said.

“Annabelle: Creation” (R) This past summer “Annabelle: Creation”, was released Aug. 11. It is the next entry in “The Conjuring” Universe and has earned commercial success. In the film, a car accident results in the death of a seven-year-old.

Following this, a spirit manifests itself, claiming to be the dead daughter and convinces the parents to allow it to possess a doll that the couple had built. The movie has earned support from students in West Essex.

“Me and a bunch of my friends saw the first one so we definitely had to see the second,” sophomore Marissa Matus said.

“Flatliners” (PG-13) “Flatliners” is a remake of the 1990 film of the same name. In this psychological thriller five medical students decide to conduct a dangerous experiment to gain insight into what lies beyond life. They explore near death experiences by stopping their hearts for short periods of time.

The film has made decent money and could still prove a hit.

“Jigsaw” (R) “Jigsaw” is the next entry in the popular “Saw” series. The film revolves around a group of people forced to particpate in a sadastic game with a serial killer. The games involve terrifying traps that will most likely lead to gruesome deaths for many of the characters.

Directed by the Spierig brothers, this is the first installment

in years for the very popular franchise.

Distributor Lionsgate hopes to get the franchise back on track with this entry.

“Happy Death Day” (PG-13) New movie “Happy Death Day” was realesed in theaters Oct. 13. It offers a comedic take on the usual Halloween stalker-slasher movies and is a riff on the popular 90s movie Groundhog Day. In the film, main character Tree goes through a time loop in which events on the same day repeat over and over again.

“Mother” (R) Though not as popular as other horrors, “Mother” has earned critical praise. When uninvited guests arrive at a couple’s home, their relationship is tested. This is

a psychological mystery that deals with love, devotion and sacrifice.

It has been controversial with audiences and critics alike, but has opened up much discussion on its meanings.

“Leatherface” (R) The newest installment in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” series arrives and with it comes a flurry of good reviews. Many reviews point out the interesting new characters, a fresh story direction and more as reasons to why this films succeeds.

Furthermore, a change in directors shows a willingness to reinvent the series for the future.

However, the release is poignant due to the death of the original director of the series, Tobe Hooper, and many hope the film will do him justice.

Critics and audiences wreak havoc on Hollywood

By Dylan Lepre ’19 The summer months are known for pleasant weather and altogether good vibes, but for Hollywood it was anything but pleasant, as a storm brewed on the horizon for the venerated industry. While it still made around $3 billion, the summer box office hit its lowest totals in 16 years.

This has a lot to do with the box office failures of several high-profile films. “The Mummy,” directed

by Alex Kurtzman and starring Tom Cruise, collapsed domestically and only wasn’t a complete disaster due to strong international showings. “Transformers: The Last Knight,” the fifth in a series that has dominated in terms of box office numbers, only earned $40 million in its opening weekend as opposed to the previous film’s $100 million opening.

Many film studios have begun to specifically blame review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes for the decrease in box office receipts.

Rotten Tomatoes compiles reviews from newspapers and websites to score films. A score of 0-59 is given a “rotten” rating, while anything

higher recieves a “fresh” rating.

Studios have complained that people see this rating and are turned off from a film if the score is low. However, this brings up a counterpoint. Why don’t the studios simply make better movies?

Many of the films this summer were sequels that failed to improve upon previous entries or films that tried to jumpstart universes that share characters.

The expanded universe concept has been a particularly unsuccessful endeavor for most studios.

Of course, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been very successful, but many of the copycat universes have begun to collapse. The DCEU, based on DC Comics’ superhero comics, have been commercially successful, but have struggled in terms of critical reception.

The aforementioned “Mummy” movie was supposed to kickstart a series of films about classic movie monsters like The Wolfman, called the “Dark Universe.” However, after its disappointment at the box office these plans are in flux. While a success in foreign markets, the film bombed critically and commercially in the US.

illustration by Grace Pagano ’18

The 2017 summer box office hit its lowest totals in 16 years with around $3 billion in gross due to low attendance.

These studios use Rotten Tomatoes as a scapegoat for the poor performances, but there are some other factors that these low box-office figures can be attributed to. For example, streaming services such as Netflix continue to gain dominance over theater attendance. Many enjoy watching films from the comfort of their homes, rather than a movie theater.

Furthermore, poor release date schedulings were another major issue this summer. Several films were scheduled in July, such as “War for the Planet of the Apes” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” leaving August wide-open in terms of major releases. If these films had

been rescheduled in August, many of them might have experienced more success as there would have been less competition.

Teenagers continue to be a major demographic for film studios as they make up a considerable amount of a summer blockbuster earnings. West Essex students gave their own opinion on why they personally did or did not see many movies over the summer.

“It’s costly,” junior Sam Chuzhin said. “Especially at AMC, they upgraded the theaters, but the tickets are way pricier.”

Others echoed the sentiment that rising ticket prices are turning them off from going to the theaters.

“The cost of concessions and tickets has gone up so it’s really expensive,” sophomore Amanda Barra said.

Hollywood needs to begin to change their thinking if they wish to preserve their dominance. TV shows have already begun to grow in popularity as the creative freedom and long-form storytelling they offer entices many potential filmmakers. With all of these changes in technology and the popularities of films, Hollywood has a choice in front of them.

The industry must make a change in their business model or the industry will continue to fall for years to come.

November 2017

The Wessex Wire: Sports

Page 14

Freshmen stars tackle the field in their fall seasons Despite their age, Vincent Panzarino and Nico Rosamilia bring energy to their teams.

By Samantha Calick ’19 and Allison Schachtel ’19 Freshmen Vin Panzarino has proved himself thus far this season being the only incoming freshman to make Varsity Football. Playing middle linebacker and tight end, Panzarino is constantly working hard to earn a starting spot for the Knights.

Panzarino started playing football when he was 6 years old.

Growing up in Fairfield, NJ, he would participate in local flag football games which later led to him playing for the falcons throughout elementary school.

“Football is one of my favorite sports because I was raised in a house with 3 brothers and football is a big part of our lives” Panzarino said. “I want to keep improving and to ultimately win a championship.”

This ambitious mindset is one of the reasons Panzarino made the team at the beginning of the school year.

“He’s been an important varsity contributor since the Caldwell game and he hasn’t let that spot go, due to his physicality and intensity,” Coach Logan said. This season, the varsity football team is 6-1.

“I enjoy playing with the varsity team as a freshman because being

surrounded by a bunch older and talented guys makes me want to strive to get better as a player and a person” Panzarino said.

While only a freshman, Nico Rosamilia has made quite an impact on the Boys Varsity Soccer.

Winning Super Essex Conference player of the week, currently the second leading scorer and first in assists, he has quickly earned a starting position as center midfield this season.

Rosamilia started playing soccer at just two years old. He has been playing on Ironbound Soccer Team for the past ten years and occasionally guests on other teams.

“He has a great work ethic and passion for the sport, he is a student of the game,” assistant coach Mr. Ruggiero said. “The one thing that stands out to me, is that he is a true team player, always striving to be a good teammate.”

Rosamilia was chosen as one out of 18 players in the country to play in the international tour of Spain on the Next Generations 2002s select team back in 2015. The team was comprised of players born in 2002 coming from youth academy teams from Valencia, Villarreal, Espanyol and Barcelona. It became recognized as the top youth program in the world.

Photos Courtesy of Allison Schachtel

Freshmen Vin Panzarino and Nico Rosamilia compete on the varsity level.

“By playing on a club team and running on my own I was able to get in great shape for my first high school season,” said Rosamilia.

This season the boys soccer

team is 9-7-1.

“He’s a true asset the team: he’s dedicated, hardworking, and knows how to strategically earn a foul,” fellow teammate and senior

Eric Czerwinski said.

Hard work and determination have made Rosamilia and Panzarino key players for their varsity teams this season.

By Michael DiGiacomo ’18

Most people wouldn’t classify themselves as boxing fans, but they’ve probably heard of the name Floyd Mayweather before.

Floyd Mayweather seems to be the only name that gets people excited to watch boxing anymore.

Millions of people pay a significant amount of money to see if another challenger will be able to break his undefeated streak.

In August, Floyd came out of retirement to fight the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s biggest star, Conor McGregor, in a boxing match.

This fight hauled in over 4.6 million pay-per view buys, the most boxing has ever received.

However, if someone were to ask the average person if they saw arguably the sport’s two best fighters compete, Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin, they’d probably say no.

Senior Lurjan Sela was one of the people who didn’t have much to say about boxing.

“No, I did not watch the Mcgregor vs. Mayweather fight,” Sela said. “I honestly couldn’t tell

Sports Commentary

Photo courtesy of Paul Durst

Mayweather fights one more time.

you the names of any boxer currently fighting right now.”

According to the sports website Metro.com, Floyd made 100 million dollars just for stepping in the ring and Mcgregor acquired about 30 million. The highly anticpated fight achieved a grand total of 700 million dollars.

These numbers seem insurmountable, since regular pay-per view programs don’t come close to reaching this level of prominence. Alvarez was only given five million and Golovkin three million dollars for their most recent fight. This main event featured

two of the most talented boxers in the sport, but McGregor made three and a half times as much money then the two other fighters combined.

According to boxingusa.com, the average professional boxer makes about $60,000 for a regular fight and up to $375,000 for a title bout. Only the elite boxers such as Mayweather, Pacquiao and a few others reach the million dollar range. This large imbalance between the amount of money each boxer makes, proves that there isn’t enough interest in the sport.

If only five boxers are reaching a million dollars and the rest are making around a hundred thousand, this shows how the sport has become more about the individual athletes. People are only spending money on established names over talent and upcoming stars.

Junior Angelo Sewall is one of the few fighting fans that isn’t just a casual viewer. However, he still

prefers Mixed Martial Arts over boxing.

“The only time I watch boxing is to see if Floyd Mayweather is finally going to lose a fight,” he said. “The other fights really don’t appeal to me, I’m just a casual viewer. However, I do prefer MMA over boxing. In the UFC, they allow to do so much more.”

Boxing has been ahead of Mixed Martial Arts for decades, but over the past five years this has changed. The UFC has matched boxing’s television buys this past year and seems like it will eventually surpass them.

UFC.com says that it has promoted its product more than boxing by nearly doubling the total amount of commercials and other social events.

The UFC athletes at the press conferences and weigh-ins seem to hype up the fights better than the boxers. About a hundred thousand more people tune into these events for the UFC, compared to boxing.

Junior Josh Mathios is an avid fan of these type of UFC events.

“I love to tune in and watch the UFC press conferences whenever

Conor McGregor gets ready to fight someone new,” Mathios said.

“He always gets me excited to watch his matches.”

The commercialization and the fighting itself has gotten more people to watch mixed martial arts over boxing.

This appears to be the new generation of fighting entertainment moving forward. Owner of the UFC, Dana White, was on the record stating how boxing viewership has declined.

“Boxing has been dying, waiting for an exciting heavyweight champ,” White said. “It may no longer maintain its relevance to the majority at the current rate it’s going, it seems like the beginning to the end.”

Wise Words: Coach Decker “Win as a team, lose as a team, act like a team.”

“Westbrook” by erik Drost (cC By-ND 2.0))(flickr.com/photos/_aldu/2108741603/

Has boxing finally thrown in the towel?

November 2017

The Wessex Wire: Sports

Page 15

Members of Dance Team say Field hockey looks to they’re ready for center stage repeat off the success from this past season

By Lara Del Vecchio ’20

The West Essex Dance Team doesn’t often get as much recognition for their successes as they’d like, members say—but they’re looking forward to a fresh start this season, with a new head coach and many new dancers who are all motivated to catch more eyes and win more awards.

The Dance Team is made up of nine girls, all with different amounts of experience and coming from all four grades. Most practices are three hours long and take place three times a week. At each practice the girls work hard to perfect their moves for their upcoming performances.

The team performs at all home football and basketball games, the annual pep-rally and host their own recital to showcase their work from the year. The team competed against different schools in the past and is hoping to continue its success in the future.

The Dance Team’s goal is to attract new talented young dancers who have motivation to participate in the activity. The new additions to the team, one being sophomore Liliana Patracuolla, plan on sticking with the team throughout the rest of their high school career.

The girls hope to have a successful season and perfect the dances showcased in February. The seniors are determined to make their last show memorable and the best it could be. Some dancers even have goals pursuing this activity past the West Essex doors.

“My goal as a dancer is to suc-

By Dan Laible ’18

Photo courtesy of the Milestone

The dance team performs at the pep rally Oct. 6.

cessfully audition for college, so I can continue my dance education,” senior Sarah Blake said.

Julia Schwartz, who is a senior captain along with Blake, also hopes to continue dancing in college, even if it is not as much as she did in high school. Neither dancer wants to stop all together.

Blake, an attendee at New Jersey School of Ballet, has been on the team all four years. She participated on JV for two years and is currently in her second year on Varsity. At New Jersey School of Ballet, she performs in over 20 professional ballets in one year.

“New Jersey Ballet helped me discover my dreams of wanting to become a professional ballerina,” senior Sarah Blake said. “West

Essex gave me the opportunity to become a more diverse dancer and to show the community and my school friends what my talent is.”

New head coach Maria Piccininni has already had a positive impact on the team, members said. She encourages the girls to learn from one another and help each other improve.

“With a coach who is more experienced in the dance world, we learn more and have more interesting choreography,” sophomore dancer Liliana Patracuolla said.

With all of the positive changes to the dance team this season, the girls aim to shine in the spotlight at their upcoming performances.

The Dance Team’s showcase for this school year is on Feb. 8, 2018, in the high school auditorium.

chemistry is very strong on and off the field, which helps their performance as a unit. Captains Daria Wendell and Brielle Krause agreed that this was the case.

“As leaders it is important that we unite the team,” Wendell said.

“We will go get ice cream together before a big game. We also watch the boys games together and take some things away from their play as well as use the opportunity to talk and bond.”

“We make sure that we have team-bonding moments outside of just practice and games,” Krause said. “Whether we have a psych up or go out to lunch, we hang out outside of soccer which helps us become a true family.”

The senior captains are not the only ones making an impact on the team this season. Junior Cam Marino is making her third appearance on the varsity roster.

Currently she has one goal and

three assists on the year.

She started her career as a freshman looking for advice from her upperclassmen, and now two years later is in the reverse role as a model to her younger teammates.

“As a freshman the senior captains were very welcoming, and made every underclassmen feel comfortable while also setting the bar high regarding worth ethic and attitude,” Marino said. “As a junior this season it is important to display leadership at all times, setting an example for underclassmen and the team as a whole.”

With these leaders come four freshman to the team. Sammy Balzano, Emma Ribeiro, Georgia Tarullo and Julia Conforti have worked to make a mark on the varsity field.

“Being on varsity is everything I expected,” Conforti said. “It’s super fun and the level of play is

The field hockey team has had a legacy at West Essex for being one of the most dominant teams in the state. Last year, they went all the way to the Tournament of Champions(TOC), beating Eastern which defeated West Essex in the 2006 TOCs. This was the first time that West Essex had ever won TOCs in any sport.

Expectations are extremely high for the lady knights this season, as they look to keep winning and striving for the TOC championship.

“I think after winning last year, a lot of pressure has been put on us, but our team puts in so much work, I have no doubt we can do it again,” junior starter Ellie Decker said.

The team is still striving to be better than they were the last year and keep their legacy going. Most students start playing in middle school where up to 90 girls can go out for the team. This then leads to the high school team being able to develop as many of these girls as possible into the extremely successful varsity team they have.

“We do not want that hard work to be forgotten, only pushing us to play better and maintain the traditions that have led us to success,” senior captain Ashley Iannuzzi said.

The team has now started off the year 18-2, with their only losses

Sports Commentary coming against Moorestown and Oak Knoll, and they take each game one at a time, making sure not to take anything for granted.

Even though this loss was devastating for them, they hope to bounce back strong and build a solid foundation. This loss could give them the motivation to gain even more success throughout the rest of the year.

“We improve every practice and game, and we take all the lessons we learn from our coaches and former players and apply it to our gameplay,” senior captain Sarah Iannuzzi said. Many players have been on the varsity team and started for many years, though a lot of their key players left last year.

Lizzy Cimilluca, Jordyn Theis and Lia Sinisi are only a few of the seniors that played a vital part of the team last year. The team is young this year, but they hold the same expectations they have always had.

Even though the team has many young contributors and starters, the team is still continuing through the season as if they are all veterans.

With field hockey being arguably one of the best teams in the school and state, the pressure is on for this season.

Girls soccer credits success to team chemistry

By Frankie Rizzo ’19 and Josie Berger ’20

After a season last year that ended 5-10-2, the West Essex Varsity Girls Soccer team aims to bounce back into a championship contender. Captains Daria Wendell, Julia Farese, Brielle Krause and Maddie Galligan lead this year’s team into the fray.

Currently the team has a record of 10-5-1 with a conference record of 3-3. Their three conference wins include a thriller against Colombia where Bailey Schuster knocked in a goal with less than a minute left to come out on top 2-1. “[Columbia] had a very aggressive, outstanding goalkeeper,” Coach Cirello said in an Oct. 3 interview. “Our girls worked hard to score that last goal. That was definitely one of our most notable wins.”

Cirello also said that the team’s

Photo courtesy of Sam Balzano

Girls soccer is excited to score in the playoffs.

more physical. I love playing for the school and representing West Essex.”

All of the freshman players have had training in order to achieve their goal of playing varsity soccer in high school.

“To make varsity as a freshman over the summer I did extra goal

keeper trainings and I ran a lot so I could have good fitness levels going in,” Tarullo said.

With the post season lurking, the West Essex Girls Soccer Team are going to look for their best game to date. They will look to get a high seed in the playoffs with a strong end of the year stretch.

November 2017 Issue 1

The Wessex Wire Page 16

Girls tennis 3-peats with sectional championship

By Shaun Goodman ’19

On Oct. 17., the West Essex Varsity Girls Tennis Team beat Bernards High School 4-1 to earn the North 2/Group 2 state sectional championship. With this win, the team has now won 3 consecutive state sectional final wins.

At West Essex, successful sports such as football or field hockey have taken most of the spotlight from tennis. Despite flying under the radar, the girls team has maintained a steady work ethic for years, producing outstanding results.

“I doubt that many students or faculty know that our girls tennis teams have won six state sectional titles over the last eight years,” head coach Ms. Bruchac said.

What might be even more impressive is the fact that the team competes in the top tier of the Super Essex conference, which puts the Knights against elite teams such as Millburn, Newark Academy, Livingston and Montclair Kimberley. But playing at this highlevel means that the team was likely to encounter several unexpected obstacles throughout the season. A

loss to the lower-ranked Columbia early in the season became a teachable moment for the team.

“When we lose to teams like Newark Academy or Millburn it is expected since they are top in the state,” junior singles player Sadye Boshak said. “We all just go out and try our hardest. However, it is different when we lose to a team like Columbia. This is a team that when we look back at the match, we believe we could have won.”

Having won the sectionals the year prior, the girls team initially found it difficult to find the motivation to succeed this time around, especially against average teams.

On the other hand, this loss was the turning point in the season for the Knights.

“After losing this match that we did not expect to lose, I believe it lit a fire under us and made us work harder in practice and be more determined to win going forward,” Boshak said.

Many players worked through their routine to improve themselves individually, becoming more focused on the goal at hand: winning their third straight sectional title.

Girls Soccer Sammy Balzano ’21

Football Nick Celentano ’19

Cheer Olivia Guerriero ’19

Marching Band Brian Shields ’18

Dance Dana Stelter ’20

Playing in college: “I definitely have goals of playing in college.

It is something I have looked forward to my whole life.”

What makes you stand out: “The trait that makes me stand out is the power of my shot...from what I have been told.”

Goals Next Season: “Be a two way starter and go to states because thats always the ultimate goal.”

Favorite Part: “The games because of the hype of only having one game a week and the big crowd.”

Goals Next Season: “Our goal for next season is to win first place at the Cheer for a Cure competition.”

Favorite Part: “Cheer for the cure competition was my favorite part, we got second place.”

Playing in College: “If I go to a school with a big band like Michigan, definitely yes.”

Favorite Part: “Lots of vastly different personalities in the band. It’s fun to talk to different people.”

Favorite Part: “I’m excited for the new dances and choreography that we will learn with our new coach, Maria!”

What makes you stand out: “When I perform makes me stand out!”

Girls Tennis Madison Santaromita ’20

Field Hockey Emma Tartini ’21

Boys Soccer Slawomir Slavick ’18

Girls Cross Country Rachel Quinn ’20

Boys Cross Country Dylan Gallion ’18

Playing in college: “Yes, at Montclair State and I want to showcase my athletic abilities.”

Favorite part: “The social environment it provides me with. I love all the guys on the team.”

Favorite Part:“Being on the team with everyone and making fun memories.”

What makes you stand out: “I always try to work hard and put in my best work.”

“Our practice routine usually starts with mini tennis,” sophomore starter Amy Lee said, “and then we move back to the baseline to do crosscourt and down the line shots, then we do volleys and serves.”

Team play was also a factor in measuring the future of the team’s success. The doubles players not only had to account for themselves, but also their partner’s improvements. Simulating in-game matches about six days per week translated into success for the entire team, but especially for doubles partners Jenn and Caroline Ben Nathan.

They won their match against MKA despite being considered longshots.

These types of wins counteracted the disappointing losses to teams like Columbia, giving the team a Photo courtesy of Sadye Boshak mental boost.

“Our communication skills and Tennis team celebrating with their championship plaque. confidence as a team has improved,” Ben Nathan said.

Madison (4-1), Parsippany Hills (4- level in state play. This year, they When it was tournament time, 1) and Bernards (4-1) in the final. fell short of winning the total group there was no looking back. The “Winning sectionals is confirma- championship after being defeated Knights had 5 of 7 starters returning tion that our hard work all season by Haddonfield 3-0. Winning in from the year prior, bringing the tal- paid off,” senior captain Julia A. this challenging environment takes ent and experience needed to make Schwartz said. a lot, but the euphoria from their noise in the tournament. On their Coach Bruchac hopes her team impressive sectional win has spread journey to win the title, they beat will become victorious at the next optimism throughout the team.

Knights continue success in fall season

Goals Next Season: “My goal is to become 1st singles next season.”

Playing in College: “Yes, I would like to play in college and hopefully the college that I decide to go to has a great tennis team.”

Goals for Next Season: “To make the varsity team, become a better defender and to be more of a team player.”

Playing in College: “I would enjoy playing at the college level.”

Favorite part: “With it being my fourth season on the team, I see the progress not only in the team, but myself as well.”

What makes you stand out: “I really understand the workouts and can teach my team what to do.”