The Wessex Wire The Student Newspaper of West Essex Regional High School 65 West Greenbrook Road, North Caldwell, N.J.
Vol. LVII No. I
October 2016
TheWessexWire.com
Sports teams unite for a greater cause By Caroline Quinn ’19 and Hayley Brener ’19
A number of West Essex’s fall sports teams dropped their equipment to lend a helping hand this past season. Their charitable deeds range from bake sales to clothing drives with the goal of educating the community on how to get involved. Girls volleyball, boys soccer, girls tennis, cheerleading and field hockey prove their athletic ability within their sport everyday, but also show that they know how to give back. Field hockey participated in a tournament in Suffern, N.Y. on Sept. 7 that supported cancer research. Only the top three teams from New Jersey were invited to compete: West Essex, Bridgewater and Eastern. Out of all the teams there, West Essex donated a total of $5,500 . “We donated more than half of the total amount of money,” sophomore varsity player, Ali Gann said. In addition to donating a signigant amount of money, West Essex faced the No. 1 team in Lakeland N.Y. Their love for the game and compassion for others drove their ambition to win and help out. The boys soccer team held a clothing drive for the less fortunate on Sept. 25. People donated gently used clothes, toys, shoes and household items. This benefitted those who are not fortunate enough to purchase these items and allowed the students to give
Photo courtesy of Karly Blume
The girls volleyball team and Mount St. Dominic at the Dig Pink Event on Oct. 7 to raise money for breast cancer research.
back to the community. “It was a rewarding experience and I was glad we got to help; giving back made me happy,” sophomore Brenden Huelbig said. The girl’s volleyball and the team at Mount St. Dominic held their Dig Pink game on Oct. 7, to raise money for breast cancer. Freshman, JV and Varsity all competed, and through raffles, a 50/50 and concessions, they managed to raise over $5,000. “We knew it would take a lot of time to get donations so we started preparing months before to get the word out,” senior Sophia Colitti
said, who was tasked with the challenge of organizing the event. Later on Oct. 17, West Essex and Montclair Kimberley Academy came together to raise awareness for the Smiles Make Miracles foundation which supports children with brain tumors and their families. The tournament featured 12 different teams, three from Puerto Rico, in remembrance of the late Valeria Reyes who was adopted by Montclair Kimberley Academy and died of a tumor. Money was raised for the foundation through T-shirts, mystery bags, and concessions.
Girls tennis held a round robin tournament to support Rett Syndrome on Sept. 24 which hit close to home for the team and Coach Albanese, whose granddaughter is affected by this genetic disorder. Rett Syndrome, is a mutation in the brain that affects girls and results in cognitive, muscular,respiratory and developmental issues. Each player picked a male partner and entered into the competition by donating $20. They had a 50/50 and a concessions stand where all proceeds were donated towards Retts.
“We raised a lot of money, over $3,000, and it was a lot of fun to play with a guy partner in a round robin format,” Madison Santaromita said, a member of the tennis team. Cheerleaders competed in “Cheer for the Cure” on Oct. 6 in support of breast cancer. The competition featured teams from all over the county. West Essex came in second place in the third and top division. “As a team it allowed us to showcase all of our skills for a good cause,” sophomore varsity cheerleader Sofia Russo said.
will be given a location to stand in the halls or around campus as the camera goes through a planned route, recording the lip syncers while also introducing the different groups. One day will be devoted to the filming of the video. “It is extremely inclusive and involves everyone,” principal Mr. Diliberto said. Student and faculty organizers have spent numerous months preparing and planning for this four hour recording day: multiple weekly meetings, dry runs and preparing the camera route. The
idea was suggested and approved last June, but starting in August, the non-stop preparation began. “From choosing music to editing to mapping out our route to choosing lip syncers to decorating the school to getting all sports and clubs involved, the lip dub requires months of preparation in order for it to be successful,” senior Jules Moskowitz said, one of the student organizers for the video. Computer graphics and multimedia teacher Ms. Jameson suggested the lip dub and is currently in charge of overseeing the project
along with Media Production teacher Mr. McGlynn, Principal Mr. Dilliberto, Vice Principal Ms. Hoebee, Seniors Jules Moskowitz, Alexandra Codella, Elizabeth Martine, Lauren Manniello, Jovianna Barteloni and Amber Tomlin. “My hope is that all the clubs and athletes get involved and embrace this. It is something we are filming and putting out there to say this is our school,” Performing and Practical Art Department teacher, Ms. Jameson said. M s . Ja m e s o n a n d Me d i a
Production teacher Mr. McGlynn’s multimedia classes are main contributers to the project and are behind-the-scenes with specific jobs to have a powerful video. The final video for 2016 will not be seen and finalized until next spring. Songs involved will be: “Let’s Get it Started” by The Black Eyed Peas, “ABC” by Michael Jackson, “Magic” by B.o.B, “Classic” by MKTO, “Can’t Stop the Feeling” by Justin Timberlake, “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees and “I’m on Top of the World” by Imagine Dragons.
Behind the scenes of the first ever lip dub
By Danielle Tabatneck ’18
The first West Essex Lip Dub is set to be recorded on Nov. 23, featuring students and faculty throughout the high school campus within a YouTube video that will encompass all the clubs available at the school. A school lip dub is a continuous lip-sync music video starring students and faculty that tours the school and shows off the entire school, clubs and activities. In order to promote the school and the spirit West Essex has, each club
In This Issue:
4-6 Opinion
School ranking hides student success
8&9 Football
The Knights defeat Caldwell in rivalry game
12-14 Arts
Harambe: Gone but not forgotten