TThhee SSppaarrttaann TTiimmeessApril 2, 2014

NewsRecapping CPAC 201 4

By: Casey Knowles, senior

CPAC 2014 has come to a close and manyare optimistic about the future of our nation.Featured speakers included Sara Palin,Governor Chris Christie, RepresentativePaul Ryan, Representative Rand Paul, andmany others.

Former Republican Vice­President nomineeSara Palin gave a well received speech thatpraised Sen. Ted Cruz ( R­Texas), andsatirized the Affordable Care Act put in placeby President Obama. " America is countingon the GOP to get it right, and that's why theestablishment can't blow it", said Palin.

When it came time for CPAC attendees tovote on who they would elect for president,it was Rand Paul ( R­Kentucky) who cameaway with the most votes. This is thesecond year in a row that Paul had the mostvotes. Paul garnered 31% of the entire vote.Ted Cruz finished second with 11%,followed closely by Rick Santorum (R­Pennsylvania), Dr. Ben Carson, andGovernor Scott Walker (R­ Wisconsin).

Rand Paul is the son of formerrepresentative and libertarian Ron Paul. Hebelieves in isolationism for a foreign policy,an idea that has been criticized by manypeople across America. However, he is oneof the few GOP candidates that is notburdened by scandal or heavy criticism.Senator Ted Cruz once was the front­runnerfor the Republican nominee in 2016, but hisopposition to current Republicans incongress have greatly hindered hischances.

Dr. Ben Carson also spoke at CPAC. Dr. Carsonis a retired neurosurgeon from Johns HopkinsMedical Center who is credited with performingthe first ever surgery separating conjoined twinsat the head. Dr. Carson addressed the need toput aside social issues and focus on moreimportant things. "There are so many giganticissues right now. The ship’s about to go off thecliff and we really need to be focusing on those",said Dr. Carson.

Gay marriage was brought up briefly at theconference. Statistics show that an increasingamount of Republicans are becoming acceptingof gay marriage. 61% of Republicans under theage of 30 support gay marriage, whereas 69% ofthe entire Democratic Party supports gaymarriage. Overall, 54% of Americans report thatthey support gay marriage.

One thing was made clear at CPAC, Republicanscannot stray from their values. Almost everyspeaker spoke passionately about this issue.Some Republicans are not happy with congress,so they are trying to move toward independent.Although this may get laws passed, someRepublicans are opposed to this idea.

FlagPhoto By:CaseyKnowles,senior

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Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has been missingfor over a week now. Somewhere betweenMalaysia and China, it went down anddisappeared without a trace.

There have been countless searches and evenmore speculations of what happened to theflight. Many people are thinking about how andwhy this plane hasn't been found yet.

In the morning of Sat., Mar. 8 (US time), theflight was declared missing. There was norecollection of anyone seeing the plane land.The last contact with the plane and the timewhere all connections were lost were 17minutes apart. For 17 minutes, the base didn'tspeak to anyone in the plane, and nothing outof the ordinary was heard.Two passengers were discovered to have fakepassports, but most sources claim they weresimply using them to receive asylum and leavetheir oppressive country.

There have been all kinds of theories aboutwhat happened to the plane. Reports ofsighting a plane that fit the description havebeen told as far as 2200 miles away from theirintended route. The plane could be anywherein the world by now. Unless the plane wentdown and stayed down, people are obviouslystaying quiet. The plane would've needed torefuel in order to get anywhere significant.

Some of the leading theories behind the planego anywhere from piracy to terrorists. Somepeople believe that the plane was taken byterrorists and is being kept until they choose touse it.

Fortunately, unlike Malaysia, China, andVietnam, America has good radars, so aterrorist attack by a secret plane is veryunlikely. If they choose to attack a country withless than desirable radars, the results could bedifferent.

Others speculate that the plane was taken bypirates and is being sold to a private buyer forunknown reasons. This would be quiteprofitable but hard to keep quiet.

Flight 370By Helio Merielles Neto, senior

The plane could have crashed in a densejungle, but sights of fire would certainly havebeen reported. This isn't a car or bus. It's aplane, which is nearly impossible to miss.

One of the better questions to ask is howwe are having trouble finding this planewhen many first world countries claim tohave satellites that can read a bookanywhere in the world from outer space. Itshouldn't necessarily be easy, but itdefinitely shouldn't be this difficult,especially when is has been going into atwo week process.

We can speculate that some people aredefinitely keeping quiet. It's theoreticallyimpossible that no one saw a Boeing thathas been missing for nearly two weeks.

No one is certain about what happened tothe plane. It's impossible to know for sureuntil we find concrete evidence. All of thetheories are somewhat helpful, but most ofthem are a waste of energy. Regardless ofwhat happened to the plane, there's nodoubt that once we find the plane, we willhave more questions about it than everbefore.

It's a plane!Photo By : DiandraPezzano , senior

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Say Yes to theDress?By: Brittany Gear, senior

As March is coming to an end,prom season is approaching ratherquickly. For teenage girls in highschool prom season can be prettyexpensive and costly. According toabcnews.com, "The cost of goingto prom ­­ the perfect dress ortuxedo, a limo, and pre­dancefestivities ­­ has risen to anationwide average of $1,139."

A lot of families are goingthrough a lot of hardships and can'tafford the money. It begins to costa tremendous about of moneywhen you need to get the latestdress, shoes, your hair done,manicure and pedicure and all theaccessories. Luckily, GeneralElectric(G.E.) in Lynn runs aprogram called, The FairyGodmother Project.

Recently, I interviewed NurseLisa about the Fairy GodmotherProject. I asked her what the FairyGodmother project was. "The FairyGod Mother Project is the projectthat is sponsored by GeneralElectric to allow girls to go and pickout prom dresses, shoes, andjewelry at no cost for free."

This event takes place onMarch 29th at G.E. in Lynn.Theaddress is 1000 Western Avenue.

If any junior or senior girlthat attends SMH is interested theyshould go see Nurse Lisa in heroffice and sign up with her. Anyjunior and senior are more thanwelcome.

Preparing forSchoolBy:Christianna Casaletto, senior

The long (or not so long)morning preparation for schoolYou're at the best part of your dream­ the part where Ellen Degeneres isabout to announce you've won anoscar ­ and all the sudden a hugealarm sounds. No, that isn't in yourhead, it's time to get up for school.

Preparing for school is a topicthat every student dreads. And it'sno secret that your bed is 10xwarmer and comfier when you knowyou have to get out of it. Eachstudent is different when it comes topreparing for school. The time spancan vary from 5 minutes to an hour.This difference also varies betweengenders.

For majority of girls, this processis exactly that; a process. Thispreparation may even start the nightbefore with a face mask or a fruitybody something­or­other. In themorning some girls will start with ashower. For girls like me, over 2 feetof sopping wet hair in the morning isnot ideal. The female students atSMH have a relatively simplerpreparation process consideringoutfit choice is out of the question.This leaves a focus in the areasabove the neck.Girls have the taskof styling their hair as well as puttingon makeup. Depending on whetheryou're going for an "au naturale" or"circus clown" look, this alone couldtake up a significant amount of time.Even an effortless "I woke up likethis" (refer to ***Flawless byBeyonce) look actually takes someeffort. Ask any girl and they will mostlikely rant for 25 minutes abouttrying to achieve the perfectly messymessy­bun.

Morning preparation for guys isa completely different situation.Each morning my brother wakes up5 minutes before he is supposed toleave the house, sticks his headunder the running water, brushes

his teeth, wears a classicsweatpants and t­shirt comboand is never late.

Why is it so much easierfor guys to get ready for schoolthan girls? Maybe it is becausegirls more often than guys use agood external appearance toimpress those they are attractedto. Maybe it is because guyshave dealt with the fact that intoday's society it would be totallyemasculating to wear any sort ofmake up. Maybe it is theinfluence of media and beautyexpectations for girls. Maybe it issimply that most guys don't careand most girls do. The world maynever know.

One huge variable in theschool preparation process iswhat grade a student is in. Thisalso varies for genders.Especially by observing thestudents at SMH, femalefreshman students make asignificantly larger effort ingetting ready for school thansenior girls. It seems theopposite for male students. Girlsat a young age have thepreconception of how to impresspotential suitors while boysmature later, totally oblivious ofhowto catch a girls eye.

For the past few weeks I haveobserved my own morningpreparation schedule and havedetermined it is as follows:

5:30 ­ first alarm ­ decide tosleep 15 more minutes5:45 ­ second alarm ­ decide tosleep 15 more minutes6:00 ­ third alarm ­ decide mybed is warm and should beappreciated for5 more minutes6:15 ­ 6:20 ­ fourth alarm ­ wakeup in a panic; brush teeth/washface6:20 ­ 6:35 ­ attempt to applymake up6:35 ­ 6:40 ­ get dressed andstruggle to find ANY socks

Features

FairyGodmotherDressesPhoto By:BrittanyGear,senior

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6:40 ­ 6:55 ­ style hairIf you disregard the 45 minutes

spent contemplating the pros andcons of leaving my bed, I normallyspend around 40 minutes gettingready for school, and this is withoutputting much effort in. This amountof time would vary for someonewho would put more or less effortinto their appearance.

Getting Ready for SchoolPhoto By: ChristiannaCasaletto, senior

Opinion

Pictured above is Kathryn Donnelly,Junior struggling to pay attention inclass.Photo By: Tia Foglietta, junior

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The school day begins early and lasts aboutsix in a half hours with forty five minute long classes,but is this too much? As students, we wake up asearly as five to six in the morning to prepare for thelong school day ahead of us. We get to school andthe countdown to the bell begins.

According to www.cascaeducation.ca, studieshave been shown that the average attention span ofa high school student is between fifteen and twentyminutes. Therefore, the average class which is fortyfive minutes long may not be as effective as ashortened class period. Although many classescontain idle time and this tends to break up the classperiod, this is often not intended by the teacher. Thisidle time is usually a student getting sidetrackedwhether by talking or asking a non­topic relatedquestion.

We also have those classes where teacherswill lecture for the whole class period, and we findourselves daydreaming or not captivated. Somemay find it even difficult to cram all this newinformation into their brains or keep up with the flowof materials covered. This is no insult to the teacheror to education it is simply the fact that our brainscannot pay attention for an extended amount oftime.

Mike Hayward, a SMH student said,"It's hardto pay attention in forty five minute classes,especially when the teacher isn't even teaching. Forsome classes there's a good fifteen minute periodthat nothing is getting done and they could take thattime off and let us out of school earlier." This provesthe point that a longer class period does not meanmore learning. A longer class period promotesdaydreaming, distractions, and lack ofconcentration. A shorter class period would helpstudents retain information, learn more, and giveteachers the undivided attention that they deserve.

Should Classes be Shorter?By: Tia Foglietta, junior

Entertainment

Frozen SolidBy: Jackie Lavin, Senior

Recently, I finally got thechance to see the movie that haswon the heart of millions­ Disney'sFrozen. This movie left mebreathless and with a sense ofwarmth. From the very first songto the very last scene, it hasproven to be one of the greatestmovies Disney has ever created.It had gorgeous animation of thecharacters and settings, especiallyduring the creation of Elsa's icecastle.

Every single one of the musicalnumbers throughout the moviewere perfectly written andcomposed. When I heard Elsa'ssignature solo "Let it Go," I wasimpressed by her vocals andperformance. Afterwards, I wenton Youtube, looked up the song,and I couldn't stop listening to it.

Frozen was filled withsuspense, surprises, andsadness. One of the mostprominent tragedies was Elsa'sfear of her powers and herisolation from everybody, includingher sister Anna. When PrinceHans betrayed Anna's love for her,it was especially surprising to me.

It was another excellent example ofhow things aren't always what theyseem.

Along with major drama in thefilm was a good deal of comic reliefthanks to the cute and humorousOlaf the Snowman. This adorablecharacter left me in stitches andreminded Elsa and Anna of whatthey had together. Kristoff, the iceman, and his reindeer, Sven alsohad a great mixture of comedy anddrama from their very firstappearance to the finale.

The definite climax of themovie was Anna being on the brinkof death because of her freezingheart. However, when Elsa was

about to be killed, she sacrificedher final moments to save herbefore she froze completely.This scene left me with puresorrow. However, I shed a tear ofjoy when Anna unfroze because ofher love for her sister. This scenereiterated the famous line in themovie­ "An act of true love canthaw a frozen heart."

Frozen was downrightmagnificent. It is proof that Disneyhas not lost its magic. It wasanother marvelous example of howlove can overcome anything, whichis a huge lesson everyone shouldlearn.

Anna (left) and Kristoff (right) kissing. They fall in love with eachother over the course of the movie.Photo taken by: Jackie Lavin, senior

SMH's Talent ShowBy: Zuzu Haefner, Senior

Going to the St. Mary's TalentShow is definitely an item oneveryone's bucket list, especially forseniors. The performances werevery good for a high school level.There were three judges that alsohappen to be teachers at our school.Mrs. White, Mr. Steadman, and Mr.Cappelluzi all had difficult rolesbecause it as an extremely closecompetition.

There was great support at theshow. Many students and friendsattended the Talent Show andwatched the performances. Overall,

the show made a substantialamount of money. Beverly Buckley,who organizes the event every yeardoes a wonderful job to help makemoney for the junior class. Herefforts allow the students toshowcase their talents. Two dancecrews performed. One of them wasLynn's Dance Crew and the otherwas performed by Gianna Iafrate'sdance team. They were bothoutstanding and capturedeveryone's attention.

At the end of the show thejudges awarded all of theperformers metals for participating.Next, the interesting part beganwhen the winners were announced.

One of 3 vocal awards went outto Jackie Lavin who did anoutstanding job singing "AveMaria." Eve Smith played theguitar and sang a beautiful solo.The top performers of the nightwere Gianna Iafrate and BrittanyJones. Gianna Iafrate danced,while Brittany Jones sang.Separately, both girls provedtalent that stunned the judgesand put the audience in silence.

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Green Means GoBy: Jennie Mucciarone, senior

St. Mary's High School recentlyimplemented a "Go Card" programfor all student athletes. The new planwas established by SMHadministrators. The administration,school nurse, and athletic directordecided that the system would behelpful in keeping track of updatedphysicals for all athletes.

The card system started in Nov.2013, just in time for the start of thewinter sport season. All studentsparticipating in school­sponsoredsports are required to have anupdated physical on file in thenurse's office. The MassachusettsInterscholastic Athletic Associationdemands that all athletes shouldreceive a physical examinationevery 13 months. As the schoolnurse, Lisa Morin­Plante played amajor role in the implementation ofthe Go Cards. "This newarrangement is supposed to moreeasily keep kids in compliance withthe current physical exam rule,"shared Morin­Plante. "They are a lotof work but are helpful in trackingthe updated physicals of all highschool athletes."

Spring sports began on Mon.,Mar.17. In the weeks leading up tothe start of the spring sports season,students were asked to stop by thenurse's office and sign their namesin a book for the sport they intendedon participating in. After studentssign up, Morin­Plante checks the listand makes sure that all studentshave a current physical on file. If thestudent­athlete has an up­to­datefile, a Go Card is made.

There is a pick­up period forstudents to redeem their respectiveGo­Cards during the week beforethe start of the new season. The

concept has not been an entirelysmooth transition. Some springathletes have forgotten to retrievetheir Go Card, or they did not haveone because of an expired physical.The administration has beenadvertising Go­Cards in the SpartanUpdate, school website, and bymaking announcements. All coachesare aware of the program. Without aGo Card, athletes are unable tocompete in tryouts.

Once a student presents hisor her Go Card to a coach at tryouts,they are eligible to participate. Allcoaches collect the cards andeventually hand them in to AthleticDirector Jeff Newhall. Newhall thenrecycles the cards back to Morin­Plante for the next season.

Morin­Plante reflected,"Before Go Cards, thecommunication process was difficult.This process alleviates a stepbetween Mr. Newhall and I. We areable to work together and make surestudents have their physicals onfile."

Spartan HockeyWraps Up SeasonGarrett Molea, senior

Senior Bailey MacBurnie decided toreturn to the 2013­2014 SMH schoolyear, and graduate with his friends.This was a huge advantage for thehockey team, since he is one of themost talented goalies in the state.Once the season started, the rest ofthe team knew hey had to step uptheir game, and prove they could dotheir job too.

After winning the majority of theirgames, including a 9­0 win over St.Peter Marian, they qualified for theplayoff tournament. "It really is just agreat feeling, knowing hard workplays off", said captain, Chris Price.The whole team was excited, andthe student body was right therebehind them. Finishing the season16­7­2, next season will only getbetter. Junior Shawn Macburnie,finished the season with 13 goalsand 16 assists. Not only was he theleading scorer, but he was also theyounger brother of all­star seniorgoalie, Bailey MacBurnie. Together,they formed a dynamic duo thatcarried their team.

After the conclusion of theregular season, the Spartansqualified for the D1 StateTournament. The Spartans defeatedWaltham 2­1 in the first game of thetournament, complimented by goalsfrom sophomore Connor Foley, andfreshman Dante Maribito. In thesecond round of the tournament, the

Sports

Spartans played Winchester,winning with an overtime shootoutgoal from senior, Chris Donovan.

After a terrific game, theSpartans moved on to play ReadingHigh School. The game was held atChelmsford Forum, and proved to bethe Spartans' last game. ReadingHigh School defeated SMH 2­0. Thiswas definetly a season to rememberfor the SMH Spartans. The seniorsshould be proud, and for theremaining players, there is simplyalways next year.

SMH Go Sports! Photo By:Mike Hayward, senior

Winter sports are always ahuge deal here at SMH, includingwinter track, basketball, ice hockey,and swimming. This year, the SMHBoy's Varsity Hockey team hasreally shown their game. After a notso successful season last year, theSpartans really had to prove thatthey still have it. Last year, theSpartans finished 8­12­2.Unfortunately, they fell two pointsshort of the playoffs.

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In collaboration with theadministration of St.Mary’s, The SpartanTimes encourages apositive exchange ofideas. The officialnewspaper of St. Mary’sHigh School has beenestablished to inform andeducate its readers, aswell as for the discussionof issues of concern to itsaudience. The SpartanTimes is a tool in thelearning process ofjournalism. The staff ofThe Spartan Times iscomprised of members ofthe Journalism class.Though the administrationdeclines its legal right toreview or restrain prior topublication, theadministration requests anopen dialogue with theeditorial staff of TheSpartan Times.

Student journalists mayuse online media to reportnews and information, tocommunicate with otherstudents and individuals,to ask questions of andconsult with experts, andto locate material to meettheir newsgathering andresearch needs.

The Spartan Timesstaff will strive to avoidpublishing any materialdetermined by studenteditors to be unprotected,that is, material that islibelous, obscene,materially disruptive of theschool process, anunwarranted invasion of

privacy, a violation ofcopyright or electronicmanipulations changingtheessential truth of aphotograph or illustration.

The editorial board hasthe right to determinecontent of official studentpublications. Content ofThe Spartan Times,therefore, represents onlythe views of the studentstaff and not schoolofficials. Although theadvisor of The SpartanTimes has the authority toreview the student mediumprior to publication, theadvisor does not act as acensor or determine thecontent of the paper. Theadvisor will offer adviceand instruction. By notinterfering with the contentof The Spartan Times,neither school officials northe advisor are liable for, orresponsible for, content.The Spartan Timeseditorial staff as a wholewill be responsible fordetermining editorialopinions, which representthe opinions of the majorityof the staff. No singlemember of The SpartanTimes will be heldresponsible for editorialcontent decisions.

As a forum for studentexpression, The SpartanTimes will accept letters tothe editor, guest articlesand suggestions from anyreader.

Staff

Editor­in­chief : Alyse Diamantides

Copy editors:

Casey KnowlesJackie LavinChristina MignosaJennie Mucciarone

News stories:

Diandra Pezzano, ed.Brennan PrambergHelio Meirelles NetoJulie DonagheyCasey Knowles

Features:

Gabby Ayers, ed.Christianna CasalettoCourtney CurryLindsey MoranBrittany Gear

Opinion/Editorials:

Tia Foglietta, ed.Kennedy BoydAmanda PustorinoPat Scanlan

Sports:

Michael Hayward, ed.David CosenzaAlexandria FisherJennie MucciaroneGarrett Molea

Entertainment:

Meghan Buckley, ed.Alexandrea BozarjianZuzu HaefnerChristina MignosaJackie Lavin

Layout and Design Team:

Alyse DiamantidesAlexandrea BozarjianDiandra Pezzano

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