The Spartan Spirit December 20, 2018

Homecoming Court:

Stephanie Masciulli - Homecoming Queen

Danielle Cordivari, Isabella Desario, Lexi Light, Bryanna Mastro, Natalia Mecca

Homecoming is a time-honored tradition at Holy Spirit that includes Spirit Week, the Homecoming Dance, honoring our

Homecoming Queen and the Homecoming Court, the pre-game Bonfire and of course the Thanksgiving Day game. The

Homecoming Court included six senior girls with Stephanie Masciulli chosen as our Homecoming Queen. All of the girls

were asked how they felt about being on the Homecoming Court. Here are their responses:

Stephanie: Being chosen as the 2018 Holy Spirit Homecoming Queen meant a great deal to me because I had the honor to

represent our senior class. It is a terrific feeling to have the support of the teachers and students; and it is a memory of my time

at Holy Spirit that I can always reflect on proudly.

Danielle: Being able to represent our school and sharing the Homecoming Court with my two best friends since Middle

School, Lexi and Bryanna, meant so much to me.

Isabella: It meant so much to me, personally after suffering an injury early in the season which ended sports for me during

my senior year. Being on the court was so meaningful and the experience continued my enthusiasm for being a part of the

Holy Spirit community. I was honored to be able to represent my school which has come to mean so much to me for the past

four years.

Lexi: Being on the Homecoming Court meant so much to me to have the love and support from the school.

Bryanna: Being on the Homecoming Court meant so much to me. I was so honored to be nominated.

Natalia: It meant so much to me and was such an honor to be on the Court with such amazing girls by my side. It was an

experience that I will never forget and will always treasure. Mary Bryz-Gornia

ADVENT - MEANING OF THE SEASON

Holy Spirit held its 2018 Advent Liturgy on Tuesday, December 18. The liturgy was made more meaningful because Fr.

Nevitt used the liturgy to teach all of us many things that most of us did not know about

the Catholic mass. He identified and explained the history

of the garments the priests wear; the reasons that priests

wear certain colors during the liturgical year; and let us

hear the prayers that priests say to themselves during the

mass. He also explained the parts of the mass that include

the Opening Prayer, the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of

the Eucharist, the Communion Prayer, and the Closing

Prayer. It was a very interesting look at some of the an-

cient liturgical traditions which are still celebrated today.

Advent is a liturgical season lasting for 22-28 days in the

month of December. The first Sunday of Advent begins the

new Liturgical Year in our Catholic faith. The word

“Advent” comes from the Latin word “adventus” meaning “arrival.”

The season of Advent is centered around the coming of Jesus and is the preparation for his arrival. The season is seen as a joy-

ous time as well as a time for prayer, penance and hope. Various symbols and objects can be associated with Advent, and one

of the most significant symbols throughout all of Advent is the Advent wreath.

Consisting of four candles (three purple, one pink), it is arranged in a circle with evergreen boughs corresponding to the four

Sundays of Advent. One candle is lit each week as the season progresses. The purple candles represent the hope, love and peace

while the pink candle calls to mind the joy of the season. The circular shape of the wreath, without beginning or end, symboliz-

es God’s complete and unending love for us.

The season of Advent is a great time to take a step back from our hectic school and extracurricular activities to prepare for the

celebration of the birth of Jesus. It is important to remember our core values of hope, love, peace, and joy throughout the Ad-

vent season . Erin Brennan

National Honor Society Officers:

Megan Shober, President

Bryanna Mastro, Vice President

Riley Hackett and Ryan Keil, Secretaries

Spanish Honor Society Officers:

Alec Sachais, President

Jeffrey Spotts, Vice President

French Honor Society President:

Angela Bannan

Latin Honor Society Officers:

Ryan Keil, President

Natalia Mecca, Vice President

Tri-M Music Honor Society:

Chloe Astin and Molly Pugliese,

Presidents

Danielle Cordivari, Vice President

Honor Society Inductions

The Honors Societies’ inductions took place on November 15, 2018 at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church with a beautiful opening

liturgy. Fr. Nevitt was the presider and Fr. Cherubini was the concelebrant. At the conclusion of the liturgy, the honors ceremony

began with the officers introducing the current and new members. Those represented were the National, Spanish, French, Latin,

and the Tri-M Music Honor Societies. Katarina Patitucci

Spirit Week Hall Decorating Contest

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

This year’s hallway decorating contest winner was the Senior hallway which was decorated with the

theme of The Wizard of Oz. Coming in second was the Junior hallway with The Great Gatsby as a

theme. Third place was awarded to the Freshman hallway which had a theme of The Greatest Showman.

Fourth place was awarded to the Sophomore hallway with Willy Wonka as their theme. This was a great

experience for students who were able to come together with other members in their grades and work

together to create four amazing hallways.

Along with hallway decorating, the different grades were asked to wear a certain color on Spirit day.

The seniors had the greatest number of students wearing their color, blue, and won 1st place. 2nd place

was won by the sophomores who wore red. 3rd place was won by the freshmen who wore green, and

4th place was won by the juniors who wore pink.

The seniors again came in 1st place in the Spirit games; 2nd place was won by the sophomores, 3rd place

went to the juniors, and 4th place went to the freshmen.

Overall:

1st place-Seniors

2nd place-Sophomores

3rd place-Juniors

4th place-Freshmen

Edie Hoerner and Maddie Marino

Thanksgiving Day Game

Some Players’ Perspectives on the Championship Game

at MetLife Stadium Alvaro Lora: Even though we lost, playing at MetLife Stadium might have been the best experience of my life. It’s where my favorite team

plays so it was a crazy feeling playing on that field.

Lance London: Being on that field was just an unreal experience. I know we didn’t win this year, but I do believe that next year’s team has the

talent to pull it off if they work hard enough.

Nick McDonald: Playing on an NFL field was the best way to end a 12-year career in football--despite the loss. I’ll never forget the feeling of

being on the field and looking around at the huge stadium. It was incredible.

Colin Nolan: These past four years have been the best years of my life, and they wouldn’t be the best without football. Although we never won

States, it was the experience that matters. The players, the coaches, the school, and the community have made my high school years great, and I

will never forget anyone or anything from the past four years.

Jeff Petrauskas: Being a Spartan and sharing the field with my teammates has been an honor. To compete on a NFL field was a once-in-a-

lifetime experience that I’ll never forget. Although we couldn’t close it out in the end, I wouldn’t trade this team and this experience for the

world.

Sophia Pasquale Represents Holy Spirit at NJSIAA Student Advisory Council

Sophia Pasquale was chosen as Holy Spirit’s representative at the first meeting of the NJSIAA Student Athletic Advisory

Council held at the Woodbridge Community Center on November 15th. The purpose of

the SAAC is to give student athletes from around the state a chance to voice their opin-

ions on evolving sports issues and to have a voice in high school sports in our state. So-

phia is a sophomore and participates in several sports including tennis, basketball, and

softball. She was excited to participate and felt it was a very good idea to have student

athletes get together and discuss any sports related issues that they felt were important.

At the meeting, the students listened to three informative speakers and were given the

opportunity to ask many questions. The first was Lee Rubin who became captain of the

Penn State football team who said “I love being around young people and giving them

some of the stuff I wish I knew then.” Next were two speakers who officiate games in several sports, Greg Bailey and

Maureen Dzwill, who answered many questions including how to best talk with them during games and how to continue the

love for sports by being a game official after high school.

Sophia was most impressed with the third speaker, Kalee Iacoangeli, who is the Unified Sports Director for Special Olym-

pics New Jersey. Special Olympics is an international competition in which disabled students compete. Ms. Iacoangeli

spoke of the alliance between the Special Olympics and the NJSIAA. After lunch, students split up into meetings where

they talked about issues relating to themselves and high school sports in general. Some topics, Sophia said, were time man-

agement, time limits for practices, and stress.

Sophia was impressed with the meeting’s purpose and the discussions that were held, and her take-away was that stu-

dents need responsibility, opportunity, and visibility. Sophia’s opinion about sports is that they help to relieve stress.

A saying that Sophia has heard fits her philosophy about sports--and life: “Hard work beats talent when talent isn’t

working hard.” She was happy to be a part of the council and looks forward to the help it can give to sports-related

issues. Luke Sullivan

On November 14th Senior Riley Hackett signed her National Letter of

Intent to row the next four years at Temple University. Riley has been a

competitive swimmer for most of her life and still pursues it to this day

for Holy Spirit. Riley started rowing during her sophomore year, and it

didn’t take much time for her to catch up to the others around her. When

it came to choosing what she wanted to do in college, she didn’t even

have to think about it. The talents she has shown on the water and in

rowing came easy to her. Riley is a extraordinary leader and mentor for

all underclassmen and anyone who may be interested in rowing. She says, “I’m

excited to continue my education and athletic career at Temple. It was an easy

decision to continue there.” Riley’s advice to underclassmen is “Don't be afraid to

try new things; if you don’t, you will never know what the outcome might have

been and you won’t know how much you might have liked it.” Lauren Kayes

Riley Hackett signs with Temple University on National Signing Day

1st Team—All CAL The 34th Annual Cape Atlantic League Fall Awards Ceremony took place on November 28, 2018 at the Atlantic

County Institute of Technology. Congratulations to our Holy Spirit athletes who earned 1st Team honors as

listed below.

Girls’ Tennis: Morgan Grimmie, Sophia Pasquale

Cross Country: Angela Bannan, Paige Sofield, Vanessa DeJean

Girls’ Soccer: Megan McCully, Kat Patitucci

Football: Ryan Yost, Ahmad Brown, Elijah Gray, Isaiah Gerena, Walid Jones,

Tommy Finan, Azim Baker-Coley, Malachi Valentine

Earning Honorable Mention CAL honors were: Kaylee Lamaine - Field Hockey

De-Quann Johnson, Anthony Lawler - Soccer

Kat Patitucci

A Musical Christmas Holiday at Holy Spirit

The Christmas holidays are an exciting

time for our Music Department. Our

annual fundraiser, The Spirit of Music,

was held on December 6th at the Gate-

way Theater in Somers Point. Holiday

classics such as Christmas Time is Here

and O Holy Night were performed by our band and choir. They also took part in a performance of Christmas Toons held that night

at the theater. The very next day, the band and choir performed at the Hard Rock Café in Atlantic City.

Practices for this year’s Spring musical, Hello Dolly, have already begun. The show follows Dolly Levi, an outgoing matchmaker

living in turn-of-the-century New York as she sets out to secretly cajole the hard-headed Horace Vandergelder into marrying her.

The show will feature Molly Pugliese as Dolly Levi, Will Pileggi as Horace Vandergelder, Danielle Cordivari as Irene Molloy,

R.J. Hall as Cornelius Hackl and many other very talented students. Make sure you come out to see the show this spring!! R.J. Hall

On December 2, 2018, several of our Spartan band members had an incredible opportunity to be a part

of the Atlantic Cape Honors Band. The Atlantic Cape Honors Band is an affiliation of the National As-

sociation for Music Education and a division of the Tri-M Music Honor Society with several high

schools in our area involved. In order to participate, students on a certain performance level are nominat-

ed. The students who were invited were Noah Kaplan, Chloe Astin, Angela Bannan, Tim Tan, Nick

Fleming, and James Dalzell. This event took place at this year’s host-

ing high school, Absegami, and was an incredible opportunity for all

those who were a part of it. Mrs. Collins says “The mission of this

Honors Band is for a group of very talented and accomplished musi-

cians of Atlantic and Cape May counties to enhance their musical

development and experience ensemble performance with other gifted

students at the top of their game.” Our students who attended said of their experience: “I love be-

ing a part of this spectacular band every year! It was a great experience to have played with so

many talented musicians from all over Atlantic and Cape May County,” said Angela Bannan; and

Nick Fleming said, “It was a new and interesting experience.” Grace Evans

Spirit Students Participate in Atlantic Cape Honors Band Performance

Cantata 2018 - Voice of Christmas

Starting with Blue Christmas, the Holy Spirit Christmas Cantata was performed to a very

appreciative audience on Tuesday, December 18. Many of the Christmas classics were per-

formed including God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Silent Night, O Christmas Tree, Angels We

Have Heard on High, O Holy Night and of course, We Wish You a Merry Christmas. A beau-

tiful rendition of Ave Maria was also performed. Soloists included Danielle Cordivari, Molly

Pugliese, Mollie Knoff, Melody Pugliese, Mia Watson, R.J. Hall and dancer, Chloe Astin.

The performances were absolutely spectacular and the show was a wonderful way to truly

experience the joy of the Christmas season. Grace Evans and R.J. Hall

Held on Thursday, November 29, our Holy

Spirit Juniors--Class of 2020--received their

class rings in a traditional liturgy and ceremo-

ny at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church with Fr.

Cherubini and Fr. Nevitt officiating. Ms. Den-

nen handed out the rings to the proud juniors.

On December 13th, Spirit students from all four grades went to Wesley Manor

retirement home in Ocean City. The students walked around the home to visit

the very appreciative residents. Singing Christmas carols, passing out cook-

ies and handmade Christmas cards, our students enjoyed putting smiles on

everyone’s face that day and lots of holiday cheer was spread. The residents

were very interested in what school we were from and we were proud to say

Holy Spirit.

I’m a senior now and I’ve visited this retirement home for the past few years.

I feel that if I can take one small thing out of my day and help that to be

someone’s huge thing out of their week or month, then that’s what keeps me

coming back and visiting Wesley Manor. Everyone is so kind and appreciative

to the point where you want to spend the whole afternoon with them! Lauren Kayes

Students bring Christmas Cheer to residents of Wesley Manor

Junior Ring Ceremony

Homecoming Dance

Bonfire

Spirit Games

The Spartan Spirit Staff Editors: Lauren Kayes Luke Sullivan Reporters: Erin Brennan Mary Bryz-Gornia Katarina Patitucci R.J. Hall Edie Hoerner Maddie Marino