The Maroon & Gray Volume LVII Issue VI Nutley High School April 2013

by Deanna LaRosa and Jamie Myre Over seventy students contributed to the NHS Performing Arts production of Little Shop of Horrors on March 7-10 in the high school auditorium. Little Shop of Horrors, composed by Alan Menken and written by Howard Ashman, is about Seymour, a young florist shop employee, who discovers a unique, unknown plant named Audrey II that re-quires human blood, as oppose to water, to live. The play follows Seymour as his discovery gains him more fame and how he reacts under the pressure of trying to keep the bloodthirsty plant alive. The musical was very different from most of the plays the high school has presented in years past according to senior cast member, Pame-la Henning. “Last year’s show was nothing like this year’s; Cabaret was very racy and touched a lot of political issues for the 20s. This year, Little Shop takes place in the 60s and, although it is essentially about a plant eating everyone, it is much lighter and happier- almost like a creepy Disney movie,” she said. In the play, Henning (Ron-nette) is one of the three “urchins”, along with seniors Stephanie Rubinstein (Chiffon) and Meghan Carroll (Crystal). “The choice of the show is much different from past years because the characters and themes are much deeper and harder to convey,” Henning said, “This year the theme is the importance of not giving in to flattery and temptation . . . Little Shop is more of a crowd pleaser in com-parison to past shows.” The show was directed by Nicole Monte, director of Nutley’s Cho-ralettes, JHWMS Chorale, Debonaires, and Madrigal Singers.

(continued on page 2)

by Teresa Palase and Catherine Pezo Many Nutley High School clubs, including the Health Careers Club, the Gay Straight Alliance, and Math Club have been keeping busy with their recent events. From the Dental Health Awareness play to Pink Out Day to academic competitions, the past two months have been full of club activities. The Health Careers Club performed a play on Wednesday, Feb-ruary 13th when members visited Lincoln and Radcliffe Elementary schools to act out the skit for the first graders at each school. The purpose of the skit was to raise dental health awareness, as well as to emphasize the importance of and the correct way to maintain good dental hygiene. While the play’s goal is to educate, the members of the Health Careers Club strove to entertain as well, with an appear-ance by the Tooth Fairy and water-squirting puppets. The Dental Health Awareness play is an annual tradition that is educational for both the audience and the actors. Second year participant junior Jen-nifer Tapia said, “There is nothing more rewarding than seeing how the little ones enjoy our presence with all [of] the costumes, puppets and props.” On Friday, March 22nd the Gay Straight Alliance held Pink Out Day for the first time at Nutley High School and John H. Walker Middle School. Pink Out Day is an event used to promote anti-bul-lying ideals where participants wear pink t-shirts in support of anti-bullying. This event began after a high school boy was horrendously bullied after wearing a pink t-shirt to school. The day after this young man’s encounter with bullying, the high school’s football team wore pink in order to support him, as well as to take a stand against bully-ing. GSA president Erin Toye, said “We want[ed] to entire school to

show their unity against bullying by wearing the t-shirts.” On Wednesday, March 20th, the Math Club held one of their home competitions. Students take the same test, which consists of a few higher-level thinking problems. (continued on page 2)

Little Shop of Horrors kills the crowd

Club activities encourage student participation

photo courtesy of Joelle FilippiFEED ME, SEYMOUR!: Seniors (left to right) Pamela Hen-ning, Meghan Carroll, and Stephanie Rubinstein, portray-ing street urchins Ronnette, Crystal, and Chiffon respec-tively, applaud their fellow Little Shop of Horrors cast members as they take their bows. The three urchins are among the few who are not killed.

photo courtesy of Sharon RomagliaDON’T FORGET TO FLOSS!: Members of the Health Ca-reers Club present a play promoting dental health aware-ness to students at Lincoln School.

APRIL 20132 NEWS MAROON AND GRAY

by Jillian White and Julia McCarthy Many tenth graders let out a sigh of re-lief when it was announced that, as of this year, the sophomore speech has been re-duced from a minimum of ten minutes to five by a unanimous vote of all tenth grade English teachers. A few other aspects of the project will be adjusted to fit the new time requirement, but the concentration on im-proving public speaking and research skills remains as the main focus of the task. According to glossophia.com, 75% of people suffer from speech anxiety, and both students and teachers agree this change will reduce stress as students will not have to speak for as long and teachers will not lose as many teaching days to presenta-tions. The change in time will still provide students with the same research skills, but will make that process less stressful. Soph-omore John Zeitler said, “I will definitely be less stressed than students who had to do the ten minutes. It allows students to cover information and find the real cru-cial information instead of dragging on.” Sophomore Dana Rebutoc also agrees that there will be less pressure. “The whole no-tion of the speech just being five minutes lifts stress off my shoulders already. One of the most stressful parts is finding informa-tion,” Rebutoc said. Not only will the time change relieve stress, but it will also keep more students interested while listening to their class-mates’ presentations. Junior Julia Serem-ba said, “I feel like speaking for ten minutes drags on the topic and makes the other stu-dents uninterested. I would have made my project more to the point and more inter-esting if it were for five minutes.” Sopho-more English teacher Katie O’Keeffe agrees and said, “Anything over five minutes can lose its flavor.” However some believe the challenge of ten minutes is more beneficial in the long run. Seremba said, “I think I benefited [from the ten minute requirement] because it taught me how to gather a lot of research and talk about one topic for an extended period of time. It was also something that

could help me in the future if I ever have to present an idea to a business or public speaking in general.” Besides the time requirement, the amount of fact cards made and subtop-ics has been reduced. While many sopho-mores see this as a positive, some believe the reductions are limiting. Rebutoc said, “I believe it’s easier to elaborate on a top-ic for ten minutes rather than restrict the amount of information and cut it down to five.” Despite the changes, students still find the speech to be beneficial for the future. “You’ll learn how to pick out the more im-portant information and the more relevant information to keep in the presentation you are making,” Rebutoc said.

New speech requirement reduces stressIn the past, Monte worked as the assistant director for the musicals. Monte said, “I was excited to begin the process of putting the show together. We have a wonderfully talented group of students and I knew the show was going to be a fun and challeng-ing experience.” Many of the cast members were happy with Monte’s direction. Rubin-stein said, “It is a pleasure working with [Mrs. Monte]. Her method of directing is different than what we are used to, but it had worked out well . . . I feel the show has really come together.” Junior cast mem-ber Jonathan Caplan said, “I feel that Mrs. Monte has been a great director. She has been very understanding with me being in

my first show and the process to get every-one up to speed. We’re setting ourselves up for some great performances.” James Gardner designed the show’s sets and lighting. The costumes were chosen by Monte and mothers of students in the cast; NHS graduate Henry Meola was the sound engineer; senior Daniela Stefanelli was the choreographer; senior Natasha Red-mond designed the posters; and stage crew was managed by senior Melissa Treshock. Monte said, “We have students working as actors, stage crew, graphic designers, set artists, hair and make-up artists, and play-ing in our orchestra pit. It’s nice to see the diversity of talents our students have.” Caplan portrayed former orphan Sey-mour Krelbourne, senior Matthew O’ Don-nell provided the voice of Audrey II, and senior Antoinette Gardner played Audrey. Caplan thinks his first play gave him a great chance to meet new people. Overall, stu-dents were pleased with the outcome of the musical. Monte said, “Little Shop turned out to be even better than I had imagined; I am so happy with the work all of our stu-dents have done.”

Little Shop (continued from page 1)

photo by Jillian WhiteFRIENDS, ROMANS, COUNTRY-MEN: Sophomore Brian Ortiz practices his five-minute speech.

“It’s nice to see the diversity of talents our students have.”

-- Director Nicole Monte

The test is graded and put on a website so that it is seen by schools from other towns. Club advisor and math teacher Jessica Mabel said, “Because the scores just go in a computer, the main competition is student against student in the classroom to see who gets the better score.” Later in the year there will be a bigger competition at Caldwell College. “We take five students of each of the higher level math classes,” said Mabel, “including Accelerated Algebra 1, Acceler-ated Geometry, Accelerated Algebra 2, Advanced Math, Calculus,

and AP Statistics, all honors classes.” Each student will take a one hour test for their cor-responding category competing against stu-dents from all the other counties in New Jer-sey. “They take it very seriously,” Mabel said of the students. “They are all very competitive.” Tied for first place were senior Kevin Li and ju-nior Daniel Son. Club members look forward to more suc-

cessful events in the remaining months of the school year.

Clubs (continued from page 1)

“They take it very seriously, they are all very competitive.”

-Club advisor and math teacher Jessica Mabel

MAROON AND GRAYAPRIL 2013 EDITORIALS 3

The Maroon & Gray

Nutley High School300 Franklin Ave.Nutley, NJ 07110

The Maroon & Gray is a member of the Garden State Scholastic Press Associa-tion, the Columbia Scholastic Press As-sociation and the National Scholastic

Press Association.

Editor-in-ChiefVirali Dave

Senior Editor Dana SanGiacomo

Page EditorsJen Francesco

Deanna LaRosaKatie MaranoTeresa Palase

Alana Pedalino

ReportersJulianna BonielloAbigail Gardener

Kelly HuegelIsaak Lindenbaum

Julia McCarthyJamie Myre

Catharine PezoJon Russo

Jillian White

Graphics/PhotographySusan MaroldiOlivia Russell

Adviser Laura Harbison Reilly

The Maroon & Gray Policy“Letters to the Editor” can be sent to maroonandgray@gmail.com or submitted to the editor-in-chief in Rm. A321 or to any member of The Maroon & Gray staff. Letters may be published anonymously, but the identity of the writer must be made known to the Maroon & Gray editors-in-chief. Opinions expressed in the editorial pages are of those who wrote them and do not necessarily reflect the views of

the adviser, faculty or administration.

Have you ever noticed how two students can take the same course taught by two different teachers and come out with two com-pletely different levels of understanding of the ma-terial? One student strug-gles throughout the year, always failing to under-stand the teacher’s lesson. The other student, how-ever, excels in the course. Not only are this student’s grades impeccable, but he also has an understand-ing of the subject that far exceeds that of the former student. What is the rea-son for the vast difference between the two students’ performances? The teach-er. The manner in which a class is taught has such a tremendous effect on stu-dents’ understanding of a topic. Imagine sitting in two different classes, both teaching the same material at the same level. These classes can even be taught by the same teacher. How-ever, a student’s grasp on the material can complete-

ly vary from one class to another, depending on the methods the teacher has used. Let’s take the example of one teacher, who we can call Mr. X. Mr. X makes a Powerpoint presentation or some sort of pre-made notes that he puts on an overhead in order to teach his class. Now let us look at Mr. Y’s methods. He wants to engage his students with his instruction in order to ensure that they are ac-tively listening and under-standing the material. He also wants to establish a pace that meets his stu-dents’ needs. Mr. Y finds that the best way to do this is to write notes for students to copy and to then explain what the sig-nificance of these notes is. Mr. Y takes into account his students’ specific needs and he finds that when there are premade notes or Powerpoints, students rush to write notes. They are unable to understand his words while they write, and

as a result, they process neither the information from his lecture nor the full meaning of his words. When they are done copy-ing the notes, Mr. Y pauses to explain the significance of what is written. He makes sure that students follow his words before he goes on to explain more material. Mr. Y notices that students are much more able to comprehend what he is teaching as they are able to focus their full at-tention on either the notes or his lecture, and do not have to struggle to follow both. Mr. X’s students not only receive lower grades in the class, but they also fail to comprehend the mate-rial. In comparison, Mr. Y’s students appreciate their teacher’s efforts to take the time to thoroughly explain information with periods of note-taking and lecturing. Mr. Y emphasizes concep-tual learning rather than rushed memorization, and as a result, his methods are much more effective.

Teach students to learn, not to memorize

M&G FORUMThis month’s question: Do you think students

should be allowed to cut their Decathlon shirts?

Oscar Benitez, freshman, said: “No, because I haven’t been to the Decathlon yet so it doesn’t affect me and it isn’t even a big deal.”

Alison Collins, senior, said: “Yes, because it’s been a tradition at NHS and it expresses individuality. It makes your shirt personal.”

APRIL 20134 EDITORIALS MAROON AND GRAY

by Katie Marano How often do people complain about the difficulty of AP English class? The school system’s decision to eliminate junior and senior honors classes from the English department creates an un-fair problem that forces students to choose between Advanced Placement and regular level classes. Rather than having a middle level -- honors -- class which is much more manageable, stu-dents are forced into classes that may either be too difficult with a higher workload or too easy. Some students will not be challenged enough, while others may be pushed beyond their limits. The teacher must also figure out a way to meet the needs of every student, which can be very difficult if students are at such different levels. The English department is also the main department that has had classes eliminated. If honors classes are avail-able in the music and language de-partments, there is no reason to not have English honors classes. It does not make sense that students can take an honors class in a foreign language, but not in their own language. If the school system is focused on improving the level of education and helping stu-dents to do well on standardized tests, cutting classes -- and ignoring the needs of countless students -- from the English program is counterintuitive. English is one of the main focuses of standardized tests and makes up two thirds of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), which are Reading Comprehen-sion and Writing sections. If the dis-trict is looking to improve test scores, what is the purpose of eliminating classes that will help do so? Eliminat-ing the honors level classes temporarily due to small class sizes is understand-able, but the class should be offered to future students who may want to take it. Other students should not be nega-tively impacted because of small class sizes one year. The English department would greatly benefit from reinstating honors classes and it is very unfair to students that they have not been given the option of taking the class.

by Virali Dave and Jen Francesco The perspective of col-lege students provides in-sight as to how AP English III prepares a student for life well beyond junior year and high school in general. Many students feel that the course provides a deeper understanding and a more evolved perspective useful to those in college and life itself. Students take away from this class a set of skills that is universal. NHS alum-nus (‘11) Elise Trivett finds that the class helped her become a better writer and analytical thinker, skills she finds useful as an engineer-ing student in college. Even though the class is technically of AP level, stu-dents develop an under-standing and ability that transcends the standard set by the College Board. “Ms. Hecht takes the class beyond what the AP cur-riculum teaches you,” 2012 NHS grad Jessica Novak said of Rainone. “Because this class teaches you to value education so highly, I was able to study that extra half hour for AP Chem or read

more of a history text that we technically didn’t have to. Although I have taken some incredible classes over the years, AP English will always stand as one of the most memorable, challeng-ing, and enlightening,” No-vak said. Novak’s statement that the course teaches stu-dents the true value of an education is only bolstered by the fact that not only do students perform well on the AP exams, but they also learn a set of skills and a knowledge of the world that by far exceeds what is found in the average classroom. And while this excellence is the result of a greater chal-lenge, students who take the class certainly agree that the benefits by far exceed the costs, if reading brilliant pieces of canonized litera-ture and improving vastly in skills of reading, writing, and thinking can be labeled so. In fact, NHS alumnus (‘11) Elaine Roghanian certainly found the challenge to be yet another positive attri-bute of the class. Roghanian was so inspired by the class

that she decided to major in English. “AP English III has had an incredible influ-ence on my life, and is one of the main reasons I’ve de-cided to pursue an English major in college. It was my favorite class in high school not only because we had a great class dynamic or read notable novels, but because I was the most challenged in this course,” she said. Alum-nus (‘12) Kimberly Lu finds that the class helped her develop analytical skills and a greater awareness of liter-ary elements. “However, the best thing I took away from AP English was an intensi-fied love of literature,” she said. Lu, a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, said, “I have yet to take a more challenging or thought provoking course in college.” Often students’ hesitations before deciding to take AP English are the result of concerns regarding the in-tense workload. Throughout the year, students read nu-merous novels, plays, and short stories and often write (continued on page 9)

S t u d e n t s a n d a l u m n i d e s c r i b e b e n e f i t s o f t a k i n g A P E n g l i s h

Cutting classes eliminates the challenge

illustration by Susan Maroldi HOPE FOR THE POPE: Catholics across the world celebrated the elec-tion of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina as the new Pope Francis on March 13th. Based on news reports worldwide, many have high expec-tations for the new pope, with some Catholics hoping that he will act as a bridge between old and new ways. With his seemingly open-minded atti-tude, many hope that he will make an honest effort to compromise with dif-ferent groups of conflicting opinions. As the first pope from the Americas, he will represent Latin Americans, who make up the majority of the Cath-olic population. With increasing social issues, the new pope has the ability to create a new reputation of modern day Catholics and accept all peoples. We at the Maroon & Gray look forward to hearing his views on same-sex mar-riage, women’s rights, and other con-troversial issues.

APRIL 2013 FEATURES 5MAROON AND GRAY

Student of the month: Sofie Farrell

NEF looks to expand, strengthen its image

by Jen Francesco World Taekwondo NJ State Cham-pion freshman Sofie Farrell’s fondest memory of her years of training was walking out of the ring with her gold medal around her neck after qualifying for the Junior Olympics and seeing her family and team there supporting her. Today, her ultimate goal is to qualify for the national team and move onto the Olympics. “Representing the USA in the Olympics would be the highest honor for an American athlete,” Farrell said. Farrell dedicates much of her time doing taekwondo at Master Cho’s Ta-lium. She said, “I’m at taekwondo six days a week and the weight room seven days a week. I also benefit from doing cross country, indoor track, and out-door track here at the high school.” Teammate Kevin Degnan believes Farrell will have a very successful tae-kwondo career. He said, “Sofie is an amazing martial artist. Her strengths definitely lie in her abilities in spar-ring (a form of competitive and practice fighting within martial arts). She has the skills, drive, desire and ability to compete in not only the local but also national tournaments and to rank high-ly in these events.” Farrell has been passionate about taekwondo since she first started. “[The Olympics have been my dream] since I’ve started competing. I went to

a birthday party at a taekwondo school and loved it. After the party I knew I wanted to sign up the next day,” she said. “I love the sparring competition, the physical activity, the tradition of the sport and the people I’ve met.” Farrell is always trying to improve her skills and has great respect for her masters and instructors. Her instructor, Master Michael Konsulis said, “Sofie has a really good work ethic. She follows and takes directions well and is always willing to do what she can to improve herself [. . .] mentally and physically.” Konsulis inspires Farrell and is al-ways available to help her improve her skills. “It’s such a great experience to be on a sparring team with a master who cares about you and works with you so much,” Farrell said. “I am so lucky to have Master Mike training me every day so I can be the best prepared for my upcoming competitions. He shows me that I am capable of achieving any goal I set as long as I work hard and dedicate myself to it.” Farrell’s next goal is qualifying again for the Junior Olympics and testing for her third degree black-belt. Master Mike said, “There are so many sports awards given but not many peo-ple can say they are a second degree black-belt.”

by Julianna BonielloThe Nutley Educational Foundation is a non-for-profit organiza-

tion that was founded in 2003 by former BOE member Maria Alamo. Alamo served as president from the start with the exception of two years when Barbara Hirsch held the position. The current president is Kathy Rempucheski. The NEF is comprised of members of Nutley’s Board of Education and works to provide supplemental funding to the district’s education system.

The mission of the Nutley Educational Foundation, Inc., approved by the NJ Depart-ment of State is: “To obtain and utilize alter-native sources of funding for the Nutley Public School District, including facilities upgrading, curriculum development, instructional and professional development projects, and any other legal projects for the benefit of the Nutley Public School com-munity and the Township of Nutley community.” The NEF raises funds through Nutley alumni contributions. The foundation hopes to put these funds towards the improvement and advancement of cur-rent and new programs within the district. Trustee Alamo said, “The foundation raises funds for the Nutley School District for items such as security, technology, staff development, or any other item or pro-gram that the superintendent recommends. Alternative methods of funding are relied upon heavily during these hard economic times.”

The first Vice President of NEF, Fred Scalera, said, “It’s all about the schools . . . a few years ago [the NEF] bought computers, but we really want to use the money to advance programs in the school.” The NEF is looking to make their relationship with the school administration

even closer in order to provide more to the students. Scalera said, “Now, we’re restruc-turing everything; everything is going to come under the superintendent.” The foundation’s next goal is to work with the superintendent to bring a stronger science program into the elementary schools. The foundation wants to expand itself in order to make greater contri-butions. Scalera said, “The superintendent is really doing a great job trying to advance us to the next level of education. That’s why we’re

really reenergizing the Educational Foundation. We’re going to have an alumni foundation that becomes a part of the NEF.” In addition, Scalera said, “We’re going to create a whole membership structure [for alumni] for $20 per year . . . that money will help create recur-ring funds to the NEF.”

The foundation wants to make itself better known to the commu-nity. Scalera said, “See everything is about spirit, pride, community, and building the school district.”

(continued on page 8)

photo courtesy of Sofie FarrellSPAR FOR THE COURSE: Freshman So-fie Farrell practices her taekwondo skills for an upcoming competition at Master Cho’s Talium. Farrell has qualified for the Junior Olympics and is currently training with the hopes of representing the United States in the Olympics.

“We really want to use the money to advance

programs in the school.”~Vice President Fred Scalera

6 IN-DEPTH MAROON AND GRAY IN-DEPTH 7APRIL 2013 APRIL 2013 MAROON AND GRAY

A collage of occurences: What is happening around around the school?Mysterious creatures invade the halls by Alana Pedalino Nutley High School is experiencing a breach of security by some unexpected visitors. It appears that various mythi-cal creatures have infiltrated the school throughout the month of March. The only factor that may be more surprising than the creature breach is the fact that many of our fellow “students” have actually been masquerading as humans, only recently revealing their true mythical forms in wake of the breach. Senior Sarah Valvano said, “It feels so good to finally reveal my true identity. I’m not some scary urban legend cannibal like Bigfoot. I’m a Yeti, and I’m proud!” Other creatures do not share Valvano’s sense of liberation, but are happy that the truth is finally out. Junior Griffin Airey said, “Honestly, I’m surprised that none of my friends or teachers figured it out by now. My name is literally Griffin. I’ve got a lion’s tail for crying out loud. But, I’m still Griffin, except now everyone knows that I’m Griffin . . . the griffin.” Students and faculty were even more sur-prised when several members of the Math and History departments confessed that they had kept their own alternate identities secret. Math teacher Sean Fitzgerald said, “Until now, I haven’t told anybody that I’m a dragon because I’ll be stereotyped, fo’ sho’. Like I’m a safety hazard because I breathe fire. Or that my favorite song is ‘Puff The Magic Dragon.’” Fellow math teacher Jessica Mabel expressed similar worries over how she will be perceived by her human students and coworkers now that she has revealed herself. She said, “I admit that I’m a leprechaun. I’m able to get my students to receive As on all of their tests! They do their fair share, and I think they understand that, despite fortune be-ing in their favor.” For the most part, human students and faculty have reacted well to this news. Senior human student Veronica Radyuk said, “I was so glad when my philosophy teacher, Bob O’Dell, finally told our class he was a sphinx. It was like a moment of clarity; no wonder why he asks so many impossible questions—sphinxes speak in riddles!” However, English teachers are taking the news very seriously. Fitzgerald said, “Yeah, I keep getting nasty calls from

the English teachers. They keep accusing me of killing Beowulf. Who’s Beowulf?” However, not all of these creatures are long time residents of Nutley and NHS. Some are merely passing through due to the Spring Migration, which occurs every 500 years. Thankfully, many of the migra-tory creatures mean no harm; in fact, many of them are quite kind, and understand that they are inconveniencing the school as they pass through. Airey said, “My cous-ins, the Hippogriffs, are staying on the roof of the library for now. But they’re offering free rides to school while they’re around. One of them even played Buckbeak in the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azka-ban movie, so riding them is totally safe.” Other creatures have also followed the Hippogriffs’ example. The mermaids, who have taken residence in the Mud Hole, are offering beauty tutorials, including “Per-fect Beach Hair” and “Scale Polish: Choos-ing the Perfect Color for Your Tailtone.” In addition, the trolls under the Yantacaw Park bridge have assured others that they do not plan to consume humans during their stay. Unfortunately, not all of the creatures are safe to be around. Some wish to wreak havoc on students, disrupt classes, and de-face school facilities during their time at Nutley High. Radyuk said, “I saw a couple of grindylows [water demons] by the wa-ter fountains the other day. They wanted to eat my face!” For fear of the grindylows’ man-eating tendencies, the faculty asks that students abstain from water fountains at this time. Meanwhile, misogynistic pol-tergeists have clogged all of the toilets in the girls bathrooms. Again, faculty advises that students avoid all of the girls bath-rooms until further notice. Fortunately, the janitorial staff is currently taking care of the excessive phoenix droppings and the damage from the March 20th unicorn stampede. At this time, human faculty members advise students to stay alert, aware and cautious until pest control eradicates any other pesky pygmies, poltergeists and pegasi. In the meantime, they ask that all human students respect their non-human students and teachers during the adjust-ment period.

Linfante to star in next Beyonce music video by Virali Dave

Nutley High School students were shocked to hear history teacher Andrew Linfante’s con-fession. Linfante announced to students on Sunday, March 31 on the Nutley Schools website that in between shopping for flannel shirts and mixing cement by hand, he is working on his moon-walking dance routine for his role in Beyonce Knowles’ next music video.

Linfante explains that Knowles had specifically requested his participation for the video. “I was just sitting in my house eating pizza when Beyonce hit me up. She asked me if I’d be one of her backup dancers and I was like, ‘Yeah man, totally. Just have your people call my people,’” he said. In order to get in shape for this video, he plans to do several sets of squats and lunges as per Knowles’ recommendation. “This workout routine should get me totally ready for her ‘Mrs. Carter World Tour,’ ceteris paribus,” Linfante said.

However, NHS’s own professional hip hop dancer is up to much more than busting a move alongside Sasha Fierce; his dancing career has resulted in a rise to fame which extends across multiple industries. Linfante is also being featured in several teen reads and will grace next month’s cover of Tiger Beat magazine. “Yeah, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be hosting Saturday Night Live soon. I can’t wait to do a sketch on Otis Redding’s song ‘Cigarettes and Coffee’ and call it ‘Cigarettes and Eggnog,’” he said, alluding to an economics lesson on the production possibilities curve. Linfante also revealed that he plans to pursue a career as an actor. “Yeah, the inside scoop is that they’re actually making another Twilight movie, some sort of prequel or something. They’ve asked me to play the part of Edward’s cool uncle, Keynes Cullen,” he

said. The economics teacher expressed excitement over playing a character who was named after economist John Maynard Keynes. “I’m just glad I didn’t have to play Jacob’s French and Quileute cousin Jean-Baptiste Black,” Linfante said.

Senior Laurenz Rafer is looking forward to this next Twilight movie, which is called Daylight Savings and is said to feature several classical economists as sadistic vampires. “I’m secretly a huge Twilight fan so I can’t wait to see this in theaters!” Rafer said.

When asked if he has any other projects on which he is currently working, Linfante discussed his plans to join the mainstream and launch his own celebrity fragrance. He said, “Yeah I’m actually talking to my publicist about possibly creating my own scent as something anyone from James Bond to Paul Krugman to the Dalai Lama would wear. Something rich, musky and glamorous. I kind of want to bottle the aura of a flannel shirt, you know?” Linfante says that he will use an anagram to name the fragrance. Using the letters of the word “inflation,” he will call it Linfantio. “It sounds sort of like a . . . Shakespearean economics god,” Linfante said.

Linfante reveals that senior Melvin Pastrana has been a great source of inspiration through-out his rise to fame. “He’s sort of a muse to me. My dance moves? Inspired by him. My celebrity fragrance? Inspired by him. My role as Keynes Cullen, my poses for the Tiger Beat photoshoot, everything--it’s all Mel,” Linfante said.

“Cats,” Pastrana said.

by Angela Salazar Oscar-winning Director Ang

Lee, known for his movie Life of Pi, has chosen Italian teacher Dan Cicchino as his leading actor on his upcoming film adaptation of Dante Aligheri’s The Infer-no. On March 1, 2013 during his second period class, Cicchino received a phone notifying him of Lee’s selection.

Cicchino has always loved classic Ital-ian literature, especially the Inferno, which he shares with his students on a regular basis. “My students are aware of my love for Dante’s Inferno and it’s a big honor to be chosen out of 500 pro-fessional actors, especially when one of those actors was Leonardo Dicaprio!” Cicchino said.

Participants were instructed to bring a headshot and read lines during their au-ditions. He revealed his secrets to stand-ing out during auditions and making it onto the big screen with other inspiring movie actors and actresses who wish to do the same. According to Cicchino, a fresh new face and an outstanding per-sonality can make a big difference in an audition. Cicchino landed the lead role because of his winning personality and star quality. “There were so many men in line waiting to meet with Lee, and I re-

member thinking, ‘Just be you and they will love you’” Cicchino said.

Ang Lee said that Cicchino’s authentic Italian identity was one of the main rea-sons for the selection being so easy. Lee also commented on Cicchino’s entertain-ing characteristics. “Cicchino stood out to me because of his welcoming person-ality, his star quality smile, and knowl-edge of The Inferno. Unlike most candi-dates, he had background information on the literature and is a fluent speaking Italian, which is why I chose him over Leonardo Dicaprio” Lee said.

Filming for The Inferno starts May and the movie will be released in early 2014. Cicchino feels as though participating in the film will influence his students to take a deeper interest in the Italian language.

Cicchino’s mission is to inspire his students to do their best and follow their dreams. “Everyday I tell my students to do their best, not for me, but for the man in the glass. The man in the glass reflects who you are as a person. I hope my stu-dents will follow this motto, even during my temporary absence while I make Ital-ian film magic,” Cicchino said.

Cicchino lands starring role in Dante’s Inferno

Who wore it better?

photos by Dana SanGiacomo

The holiday season brought out the best in both staff and students. Senior Patrick Koslecki and history teacher Joe Dwyer were each seen sporting a Haute Couture Christ-mas sweater. Who wore it better? You decide.

APRIL 20138 FEATURES MAROON AND GRAY

Heard in the hallways If you take a moment to stop and listen, you can hear some in-teresting tidbits of conversations among students between classes. The following quotes were col-lected by Maroon & Gray staff members:

“I am literally so unintellec-tually stimulated right now I might as well be a sack of potatoes.”

“We can call ourselves Flub-ber and record our adven-tures in Nutley.”

“We are like mentally taint-ed unicorns. Impure of mind but majestic and rare.”

“I swear I get my frogs and gloves confused some-times.”

“For our science project we are going to need A LOT of lemon pledge.”

“You know that feeling you get when you fall off a swing and you can’t breathe?”

“You’re attracted to my el-bows?”

“He spit directly into her eyeballs.”

“It really isn’t easy being me.”

“You imitated an entire Ro-man legion in one conversa-tion.”

“I think older men are really cute.”

NEF (continued from page 5)The foundation will be working to further enhance all parts of the Nut-ley Schools. Scalera said, “It’s all one theme as far as I’m concerned about everything in the district—sports, music, education, they all tie togeth-er at some point and the founda-tion supports all of that”. Mem-bers wants to cre-ate more activities in order to spread awareness and help raise funding. Al-amo said, “I would like to see greater participation throughout the township and especially through alumni. I would also like to see more grants applied for. Since the foundation is a 501(c)3 [non-profit organization], it can apply for grants that the school district is not able to.”

There will be an awards dinner held in September to kick off a sort of “re-juvenation” of the foundation and its endeavors within the school system. Alamo said, “There is no better way to

promote a program or cause than to bring people together for a common purpose. This dinner will bring greater awareness to what the foundation does,

how it was es-tablished, why it was estab-lished, and what heights it can climb to.” Long-time Nutley resident Ruth Bedford

will be honored for her extensive com-munity service at this dinner. Scalera said, “I call her the ultimate Nutleyite”. Bedford possesses the same spirit for supporting the community that the NEF wishes to harness and promote. Alamo said, “Education foundations are an im-portant tool used by many communi-ties to support and enhance their local school districts. Today’s environment of increasing taxes, rising healthcare costs, mounting expenses and capital improvement needs makes community educations foundations vital to the mis-sion of our schools.”

by Abigail Gardener Senior Courtney McCue beamed as she looked back on the many accom-plishments she had made as class president. “Junior Formal was awesome. We saved like $3,000 by convincing someone to lend us tables and chairs. We do stuff like apparel sales. We make almost $1,000 per sale. And the fashion show was this year. We got into committees and we raised money by doing different fundraisers like bake sales, and then we sold raffle tickets. . . . Everything came together perfectly, so that was really fun,” she said.

McCue describes just some of the many events that Student Council and class officers organize. Others include car washes, bake sales, open gyms, plant sales, the Decathalon, Junior Formal, Prom, the Senior Fashion Show, and the Senior Cruise. Many students might not realize the amount of work that actually goes into being an officer. McCue said, “You need a lot of time on your hands…Things like car washes, and the bake sales, or even your senior year, when you have to work at the snack stand…it takes a lot of time. You have to get there before all the football players; it takes a while.” The amount of time needed to fulfill the officers’ responsibilities often takes first-year officers by surprise. Sophomore Class President Daniel Angelino said, “I wish I knew how much overall effort I needed to input from the begin-ning of the year. Being a class officer definitely takes time and dedication.”

(continued on page 9)

“Everything is about spirit, pride, community, and

building the school district.”~Vice President Fred Scalera

Class officers take on responsibility

“Being a class officer definitely takes time and dedication.”

--Sophomore Class President Daniel Angelino

MAROON AND GRAYAPRIL 2013 FEATURES 9

AP English (continued from page 4)

Despite the big time commitment, McCue looks back on her ex-perience fondly. She said, “At first, my freshman year, we had no idea what we were doing. We kind of did it by trial and error. We had a blast doing it though, I can’t complain about anything. Being involved with Student Council has definitely been one of the best experiences at Nutley High.” According to Student Council advisor Gerald Ryan, one of the biggest considerations is the number of events in which each class takes part. Self-motivation and leadership skills are important, and officer responsibilities are often job-specific. He said, “For presi-dent and vice president, usually more organizational-type skills are needed. They need to organize committees for big events, organize agendas for meetings; they need to be the face of the group, lead meetings, and they need to be very, very proactive instead of reac-tive to things.” The Student Council and class officer elections for the 2013-14 school year will take place in May. A meeting for potential candi-dates was held on March 26th.

Class officers (continued from page 8)

paper on each. Regardless, this workload is no impossible feat, and by the end of the year all students adjust. And within this adjust-ment is the value of the course, for students find that their reading, writing, and time-management skills improve immensely. Fur-thermore, the class is very organized and students are provided with a detailed daily calendar for every month, which ensures that students are notified well in advance of what the class demands of them. What makes the workload worthwhile is not only the great personal improvements that take place throughout the year, the student also finds a grown appreciation for the books and comes into class with enthusiasm because the structure of the course is heavily focused on discussions. As this passion for literature grows, the workload becomes increasingly doable and the student enjoys and learns more from the class. As Lu said, “I remember many people telling me the course was too difficult, too heavy in work, and too stressful, but I think everything difficult about that class is a labor of love.” The books are simply used as the engine to improve one's analy-sis of literature and writing. In the class students read large and

challenging novels like Herman Melville's Moby-Dick and Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, which are not read in any other classes in the school. Roghanian said, "I had never read texts so large or com-plicated. But taking them slowly and spending plenty of class time analyzing them allowed us to confidently approach such renowned works." One of the greatest and most satisfying parts of the class is the junior paper. It is similar to the junior theme in other English classes, but more intense, requiring a minimum of 21 pages, five sources and a minimum of two books written by one classic Amer-ican author. Furthermore, most students write beyond the page requirements. NHS alumnus ('12) Jessica Novak said of the junior paper, "The paper took weeks to write, but handing that in was one of the most satisfying feelings of my life." Teacher Jenifer Rainone has a special appreciation for AP Eng-lish III herself. “I’ve learned more than I have taught anyone. Teaching students at [the AP] level is a very different experience,” she said. “It’s very rewarding. I look forward to the talks everyday and that higher level thinking.”

photo by Laura ReillyOFFICE HELPER: Senior Advisor Vance Campbell (left) reviews talent show applications with Senior Class Vice President Charlotte Terhune (right).

photos by Abigail GardenerSAVE A LIFE: Senior Anthony Pesci (above) donated blood and saved three lives at the blood drive spon-sored by the Key Club on March 19. Senior Brianna Campo (below right) also donated with the support of her “blood buddy“ senior Mariah DeCilla (left). The drive collected 125 units of blood, a record for NHS.

by Jon Russo Nutley High School’s Varsity baseball team began tryouts on March 1. Although last year’s team experienced much success with the help of their senior players, the coaches have faith in the return-ing underclassmen to continue the standard of excellence Nutley baseball is accustomed to. Head coach Bob Harbison believes the team’s biggest strength this season will be their offense, and the players in the middle infield, centerfield, and the catcher. He said, “I’m hoping that we have the ability to produce runs. We should also be strong up the middle, from catcher to shortstop to 2nd base to centerfield.” Harbison empha- sized that in order for the team to reach their goals, all players in the lineup need to stay consistent. He said, “As much as we have quality returning players, we need to be productive one through nine in the lineup in order to win as many games as we would like.” Despite the loss of key players from last year, Harbison has faith in the two current senior captains, Luke Kelly and Joe Feraco. He said, “Luke Kelly should be a big bat for us, as well as Joe Feraco as our probable opening day starter.” Kelly is very optimistic about the younger players filling the shoes of last year’s graduates.

(continued on page 11)

APRIL 201310 SPORTS MAROON AND GRAY

by Dana SanGiacomo The varsity wrestling team concluded the season by sending four wrestlers to NJSIIA State Tournament in At-lantic City. Seniors Rob-ert Trombetta and Bran-don Keena each brought home an eighth place medal in their weight classes. This final came after the team won Essex County Champions and District 14 Champions titles. Head coach Frank DiPiano said, “We hadn’t won a District title in 32 years, now we have two in a row.” According to DiPi-ano, Nutley wrestling has sent wrestlers to the state tournament for over 20 straight years. In addi-tion to Trombetta and Keena, junior Vin Main-iero and sophomore Joe Ferinde advanced to At-lantic City. Keena said, “Wrestling in the state tournament is every wrestler’s dream. It’s an experience like no other.” DiPiano is proud of Trombetta and Keena, es-pecially because of the obstacles they

faced. He said, “They both did it injured and that says a lot about their character.”

Trombetta came in 8th place, winning him his third state medal, joining coach

Anthony Montes as the only Nutley wres-tlers to accomplish this feat. DiPiano said,

“Bobby has been wres-tling all season with a torn labrum that is go-ing to require surgery to fix. To be in every match that he wrestled and earn a state medal at not even 50% is amazing. This just shows the type of kid he is.” While Trombetta planned to place higher in Atlantic City, he knew that his performance was good considering his in-jury. “Before the tourna-ment I believed anything but first place wasn’t good enough but once I earned my third state medal with a torn labrum, I realized that it was an accomplish-ment and I was satisfied with that,” Trombetta said. During this season, Trombetta became the first wrestler in NHS his-tory to win four county titles. He also broke the school record of 126 wins, claiming his 141st victory

while in Atlantic City. (continued on page 12)

Wrestlers earn titles in state tournaments

Basebal l team prepares for new season

photo courtesy of Frank DeBlasioPIN!: Senior Bobby Trombetta competes with one arm after suffering a shoulder injury. Although his season did not end how he had wanted, he still placed eighth in the state.

photo by Jon RussoSTRIKE!: Senior John Milici throws the ball at a recent practice.

APRIL 2013 SPORTS 11MAROON AND GRAY

by Isaak Lindenbaum After a disappointing [3-12] season last year, the lacrosse team is looking to veteran lead-ership in order to qualify for this year’s state tourna-ment. Five-year Head Coach Brad Zulauf is very optimistic about this upcom-ing year. “A main goal is to make states,” he said, a tough goal to reach considering the team has had a los-ing record the last five seasons. This season, Zu-lauf fears injuries might be a prob-lem. He said, “Just like with any sport, staying healthy is a number one con-cern.” Already this year, senior Jeff Figlar has been injured. Senior Anthony Maschi acknowledges this could be a setback for the team. He said, “Jeff Figlar is injured right now and he’s been a solid contributor in the past.” With this new injury, other play-ers will have to step. Senior Sal Gabriele and junior Eric Fisher are players that will be looked to this year to per-form well. Both Gabriele and Fisher are coming off of indi-vidually successful seasons.

Zulauf said, “We will be leaning on Sal Gabriele and Eric Fisher offensively.” Zulauf also expects

many of the returning players to “step up and help out.” Gabriele has high hopes for this season, saying that their goal is not only states, but also to, “ makes improvements from last year.” He is looking at ways

he can be more of an asset to the team. “This year I am look-ing to become more of a lead-

er,” he said. Last year, Gabriele was named to the sec-ond team all-stars in New Jersey’s I n t e r s c h o l a s t i c Lacrosse League Kimber Division, a strong indica-tion of his ability to lead a winning team. “We play a lot of tough competition, but our toughest competitor will be ourselves,” said Zulauf. He looks at motivation as a key indicator of a good player. “I look for a competitor and a kid who wants to work hard. You don’t have to be the best athlete to play lacrosse,” he said. Zulauf enjoys the challenges of developing players and pushing them to perform to the best of their abil-ity. The lacrosse season began with a scrimmage against River Dell

on March 25th. The team’s first game is home on April 1 against Newark Academy. Nutley lost to Newark Academy last year 14-3, with Gabriele scoring 1 of the 3 goals.

by Dana SanGiacomo The boys’ varsity bowl-ing team claimed first place in the SEC American Divi-sion League for the fourth year in a row. The team also placed first in the RLS Media Classic, a new tournament sponsored by the Brunswick Zone bowl-ing alleys in New Jersey. It used the Baker Format, which features five bowlers who bowl two frames each. Head coach George Ack-erman said, “It forces the team to be good overall, not just rely on one person.” The bowlers who were part of the winning team includ-ed juniors Vin Amato and Chris Monda and seniors PK Patel, Vivek Jani, and Rich Grabowski. The boys’ team also won counties for the first time in three years. “They fought their way back and won by 50 points,” Ackerman said. He says Grabowski and Monda took the role of lead-ers on the team and were the most consistent. The girls’ team placed second in the league after being in first part of the sea-son. “It came down to the last game. It was a valiant try and they never gave up,” Ackerman said. He names senior Sarah Valvano as an important member of the team and the highest aver-age bowler. “She carried the girls when they needed it,” Ackerman said. He also said senior Virali Dave was a four year member who served an important lead-ership role. Many of the players on both teams received All League Honors for their successes this season, in-cluding Monda, Amato, Grabowski, Valvano, Dave, and sophomore Brittany Grabowski.

Lacrosse team strives for success despite loss of former star players

B o w l e r s c o m p l e t e w i n n i n g s e a s o n

photo by Isaak LindenbaumGOAL!: Freshman Brian Hewett waits for a pass in a recent scrimmage. The team is looking to have a successful season while coping with the loss of former players.

Basebal l (continued from page 10)

He said, “I don’t think the young-er guys will have a problem step-ping up this year considering a lot of them have played on the varsity level before.” Besides his hopes for the team, Kelly aspires to be selected for All-SEC and All-Essex County teams once the season is over. Feraco realizes that being cap-

tain carries a lot of weight and he will need to not only worry about playing well, but also setting an example for the team’s younger players. He said, “Being captain is a huge honor and coming with it is an equally huge responsibil-ity. The coaches rely on us to make sure the younger guys are prepared for the coming year.”

Harbison also hopes to bring the team back to the Greater Newark Tournament (Essex County Tournament) finals, as last year’s team, but also bring home the big trophy this season. The team opens their season at home with their first game on April 1 against Seton Hall Prep.

APRIL 201312 SPORTS MAROON AND GRAY

Keena went into the tournament after winning regions, which gave him a bye in the first round of states. He was injured in his quarterfinal match, which affected his placing, yet he received a medal for the first time in his career. DiPiano said, “He knew he needed to win to earn a medal and he wasn’t go-ing to let anything stand in his way. He fought through the pain he was in and reached his goal.” Although he planned on advancing further in the competition, Keena is proud of himself for rank-ing. He said, “I always have higher goals and expectations for myself but placing was a goal of mine since I started wres-tling.” Keena also reached his 100th win during this season. Keena said, “I’m proud of my hundredth win. I got to add my name to a list of very prestigious wrestlers.” DiPiano believes the entire team showed their abilities this season and proved Nutley

wrestling to be one of the best programs, es-pecially based on their District title. Trom-

betta attributes this to the unity of the team. He said, “There was more chemistry on this team then there ever was before and it really

showed.” The team began the season with a record

of 1-5 but rebounded to fin-ish at 13-11. Keena said, “This season was big. The team was labeled as a rebuilding year but we weren’t ready to just accept defeat so we all came together and we had so many kids who did things nobody expected.” DiPiano said the team showed their strength and will to win, evident through their accomplish-ments after the slow start. “The kids have worked hard to reach those goals. They have bought into the system and are showing people that we want to be the standard of Essex County,” DiPiano said. This dedication bodes well for next year, when DiPiano hopes to continue the suc-cess achieved this year. DiPi-ano said, “They have proven that with hard work, deter-mination, and great leader-ship from our captains and

seniors that Nutley Wrestling will continue to grow and get better.”

Wrestling (continued from page 10)

photo courtesy of Frank DeBlasioTAKE IT TO THE MAT!: Senior Brandon Keena wrestles his op-ponent at a recent tournament. He completed his season with an eighth place finish in the state tournament.

THE CHEER IS HERE!: The varsity cheerleading team ended their season with a second place win at the Gotta Cheer Winter’s End Challenge. Throughout their winter season, the team also took home first at the Ramapo Col-lege Dance and Cheerleading Invitational, the Lyndhurst High School Competition, and the Meadowlands Chal-lenge at Secaucus High school and placed second at the Just Cheer competition. Although they hoped to place

photos courtesy of Daniela Stefanelli and Brianna Rizzi first in their last competition, they wanted to have fun as a group. Senior captain Brianna Rizzi said, “It was the last time we were ever going to perform together.” According to Rizzi, the team competed against highly skilled teams in their last competition, but was still able to claim sec-ond. She said, “This performance was one of our best and our coaches couldn’t have been more proud.” Overall, the team was satisfied with their season.

Cheer leaders end award-winning season