The Wessex Wire (October 2010)

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The Wessex Wire The Student Newspaper of West Essex Regional High School Vol. XLV No. 1

West Essex High School, 65 West Greenbrook Road, North Caldwell, N.J.

October 2010

W.E. moves upthein N.J. ranks jump. Longo said, “We have been by Kelly Mosser ’11

Photo courtesy of Melissa Kuscin

The West Essex Knight pumps up the crowd at the Spirit Week Pep Rally on Oct. 22

Seniors dominate spirit week by Geordy Boveroux ’11

Spirit week festivities were held at West Essex the week of Oct. 18-22. Students and faculty showed school pride through strong participation each day. Monday, Oct. 18 was pro sports day. The school’s halls were dominated by Jets, Giants and Yankees jerseys. The next day, students were encouraged to wear apparel from their favorite university or college. Wednesday, the Student Council held a new ugly sweater contest, with a $25 gift card going to the ugliest. Senior Kayleigh Thies and sophomore Erica Gallion tied for the prize. Thursday, the grades were divided by color. They exhibited enthusiam for their respec-

tive grades, seniors sporting blue, juniors purple, sophomores green and freshman yellow. Many seniors, however, were disappointed in not being able to decorate the school, as per tradition. To compensate for the lost opportunity to cover the school in blue, the Student Council organized a pancake breakfast for all seniors sponsored by the Original Pancake House. The council also bought eyeblack and blue necklaces to futher display senior pride. Seniors Pat Dyer and Meghan Gambichler were crowned Homecoming King and Queen the pep rally on Friday. The events at the pep rally included a relay race, screaming contest, dance off and tug-of-war. Seniors won the pep rally events with the highest score of the four grades.

Upcoming Events NJEA Teacher’s Convention- November 4-5 End of First Marking Period- November 12 The Crucible- November 19-20 Thanksgiving Break- November 25-26 (early dismissal on the 24) Inside This Issue:

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News

Midterm elections News Bytes Plane malfunctions

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Opinions

Mosque Debate Privilege Your vote counts

West Essex has moved up in the rankings of the best high schools in N.J., according to New Jersey Monthly Magazine. The 2010 list gives our school the 36th spot, which is a significant jump from 48th in 2008. Schools are judged based upon student-faculty ratio, average SAT scores, HSPA scores, number of Advanced Placement tests offered, scores on AP exams and percentage of students going to two and four year universities after high school. Millburn High School remains at the top of the list for the second term in a row, and McNair Academy and Tenafly High School retained their second and third rankings, respectively. Principal Barbara Longo is pleased with

placing higher focus on academics these past few years. Our faculty has zeroed in on difficulties students have in class and corrected them. These new rankings show that our efforts have paid off.” The jump has several benefits. For students applying to colleges, the shift will certainly help. Many admissions officers regard a school with strong standings as having students who are ambitious and well-prepared for college. Admissions officers are aware that students who attend highly ranked schools have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement classes and to devote time to preparing for standardized testing. Overall, it can only serve as an advantage to students in the application process. The positive shift in the standings will also gain West Essex respect from surrounding districts.

Red and white go green by Celina DeLuca ’11

A “carbon footprint” is a test that measures how many earths it would take to sustain the resources used if everyone in the world lived the same way as the test taker. If everyone lived like an average West Essex student, it would take five and one-half earths to sustain that way of life. West Essex has made several changes this year in the way the school appears and functions. Some of these changes promote a better quality environment. The new windows, for instance, are more energy efficient. In the winter they keep the heat in and the cold out, and vice-versa in the warmer months. By doing this, the heating and cooling systems don’t need to work as hard to keep the school at the right temperature, thus using less energy and making for a cleaner environment. West Essex is a medium-sized high school and needs a lot of power to run day in and day out. The school uses

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Arts &

TV show reviews W.E. likes this Culture “Housewives”

approximately four million kilowatts in energy per month, amounting to a $500,000 monthly energy bill. It is understood that lights need to be on, computers need to function and paper needs to be printed, but there are steps the school can take to impact tge environment According to Communications Officer Carrie Sterrs, the school is considered fully operational running from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and is staffed until 11 p.m. Even more transformations are in the works for West Essex High School. Solar panel installation is being discussed. Sterrs said, “Right now, they [The Board of Education] are exploring different options in relation to solar energy and weighing the costs and benefits accordingly.” Other organizations are also dedicated to improving West Essex. The WE CARE club along with Adviser Deanna Lippi are dedicated to analyzing the way West Essex and the community live, determining how it can become a cleaner society.

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Features

Senioritis Red Mango New lunchroom


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