Issue II - East Meadow School District

The Jet gAZETTE“we’re all jets here”Volume I, No. 2 East Meadow High School January 2011Something WonderfulAfter months of preparation, TheaterGuild’s hard work finally paid offwhen they put on their production ofthe Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classicmusical,The Kingand I. Theplay firstopened onBroadwayin 1951 butwas broughtto life onceagain onDecember9th, 10thand 11thof 2010 bythe TheaterGuild.The Kingand I is setaround the1860s andtakes placein Bangkok, Siam, when an Englishwidow named Anna Leonowens movesthere to educate the King’s royal children.The lead role of Anna wasplayed by East Meadow High SchoolPhoto courtesy of FacebookTheater Guild’s Musical Productionsenior Emily Illson. Her standout performancewas stunning, and her voicewas exceptional. It is safe to say wehave a Broadway star in the makingat East Meadow High School. She hadthe audience believing that the stage iswhere she is meant to be. Starring asthe King, sophomore Max Fergusonalso gave an impressive performance.Their interpretations of Anna and theby Amanda Chambersstubborn King were charming, funny,and touching when appropriate. Alsooffering strong performances wereShayna Zweiback (the historian ofSpeaking With The Starsby Diana Barsky and Samantha WeissTheater Guild), Kristina Shafranski,Jason Toledano, Jackie Shikora (thepresident of Theater Guild), TravisCarter (the treasurer of Theater Guild),and Billy Walsh.Under the direction of Mr. Engle,the Pit Orchestra musicians contributedtheir talent to accompany thecast. They were, to put it simply, superb.Their hard work was evident. Theymade theshow all themore enjoyable.Also deservingof applauseis theTech Crewwho suppliedbeautiful sets,lighting, andsound.I was veryi m p r e s s e dwith TheaterGuild’s 2010fall show.The acting,singing, musicand setswere reallywonderful. I can’t wait to see what elseis in store for Theater Guild. Congratulationsto director Mrs. Priole and allthe cast and crew for putting on an outstandingproduction!We sit in empty room F22 withMax Ferguson and Emily Ilson, surroundedby paper butterflies and mannequinbody parts, days after The Kingand I’s final performance. Emily starredas Anna, the British schoolteacher sentto Siam to educate the King, Max’scharacter, and his family about westernways. In an exclusive interview withthe Jet Gazette, the costars open upabout what went on behind the scenes:JG- What was your most embarrassingmoment during rehearsal?E- (to Max) Remember when the daiswobbled? That was a little scary. … Itwas on the last show. It was the scenewhere I had to stand on the dais, thewooden structure on the stage, and itstarted to wobble a little bit by the lastshow… So I was on the dais, and thenwhen I started to get off the dais, I keptwith the accent, like, “Oh my goodness!”So that was a little embarrassing,but luckily I kept in character.M- Well, it was the senior citizen show,and I got on stage for one scene, and Iforgot to put my mike on! So, for twominutes, I had to speak very loudly, becausenot only did I have to have theentire auditorium hear, it was an entireauditorium filled with people. And thenI had about 30 seconds to run backstageand put on the mike before I had to goback onstage.JG- What are some of your pre-showrituals? We already heard about youtalking to yourself in the mirror,Max, but are there any others?E- As a guild, we do traditions beforeevery performance, which are very topsecret,and we’re not really allowed todiscuss them more than just mentioningthem, unless you’re doing them.They’re weird. Everyone rememberswhen they were a freshman, doingtheir first traditions. I always thought itwas kind of cool, that we do traditions,because it’s a little thing that only TGdoes that the rest of the school has noidea about.M- And if they happen to look upon uswhile we’re doing it, they’re just like,oh…JG- What were your favorite andleast favorite scenes?Together- Act Two, Scene Four!M- That’s the, uh, flogging scene.E- Yeah, it’s just that the scene changescourse so many times.M- It’s not that it’s a bad scene—E- It’s a great scene! It’s just complicated.M- We couldn’t get it. In fact, the nightof the senior citizen show, we royallymessed up that scene—E- Yeah, we messed up so bad.M- Everything that could go wrongdid.E- The lines were out of sequence, weforgot key parts of the plot that were inthe script—M- That was also the scene whereI forgot my microphone. It was just...Continued on Page 3Ja n u a r y 2011

2NEWSStaffLetter FromThe EditorDear Reader,Ja n u a r y 2011Editors-in-ChiefMohamed NathaniLauren ThomasNews EditorsDiana BarskySam WeissFeatures EditorsSarah HwangEditorials EditorJaclyn GangiArts and Entertainment EditorAmanda ChambersSports EditorsRyan SacksDan SavarinoAdvisorMary FernandesCopy EditorsAmanda IorizzoAlexandra LopezLauren NissenbaumSunil ReddyJesse ShermanAnson WangGraphic DesignersAndrew RabinowitzAngel ReyesThe Jet Gazette is a student run paper for the students’ informationand entertainment. All editorials are the opinion of the editorial staffunless signed. The Jet Gazette accepts signed letters to the editor,but reserves the right to edit them. The Jet Gazette accepts advertisements,but reserves the right not to print them.I hope you enjoy this secondedition of the refurbished Jet Gazette.Many hours of hard work was put into it,and although the amount of time I spenton it is borderline child labor (kidding,do NOT arrest Ms. Fernandes), I amproud of the weeks of dedication and effortfrom fellow writers and editors overthe past two issues.We havew i t n e s s e ds t e r o i d - l i k egrowth fromone paper tothe next interms of theoverall qualityof our work,and we hopeto continue toimprove andmake it betteras the issueskeep coming.O n eof the excitingupcomingevents for TheJet Gazette isthe additionof our ownpersonal officeto help usimprove ourproductions. The office will be locatedupstairs, next to the library, and will bea valuable asset in our work. We wouldlike to thank both the school administrationand the library for giving us thisspace, and it is our first step to total dominationof school grounds.The upgrades in The Jet Gazettewere made possible by the contributionsNewspages 1-4Arts & Entertainmentpages 5-7Senior Superlativespages 8-9Featurespages 10-11Editorialspages 12-14Sportspages 15-16from our generous advertisers. As thequality of the paper improved and we upgradedto full color printing, the price toproduce The Jet Gazette went up as well.We would like to thank our advertisersfor helping us make this possible, andwe hope our readers support these companies,most of which are located in ourcommunity.A great improvementin TheJet Gazette is theincreased concentrationon schoolissues. In the past,the number ofschool-related articleswas low, particularlyin sports(I’m no exemption,writing aboutthe Yankees in almostevery issue).In this issue, andin the future, welook to expand ourcoverage of schoolsports and news.This could includecoverage of theband, school plays,athletics, or futureguest appearancesfrom squirrels. Ifthere is a story you would like for us tocover, drop by our office, which shouldbe ready anytime now, or contact one ofthe editors listed on the left.Sincerely,Mohamed NathaniEditor in ChiefTable of Contents

Continued from front pageeverything that could possibly go wrong inthat scene did. Except for the songs. Thesongs were good.E- Yeah, the songs were good.JG- What about the best scene?M- 1.4E- 1.4 is the best for Max—M- It’s the classroom scene.E- I love 1.4, but even more is 1.5, whichis the Shall I Tell You What I Think of Yousong, where I get to have a complete tempertantrum on stage.M- You completely tear my characterapart.E- Yeah.JG- Was there any rage at Max hiddenin that?E- *laughs* No, never Max.M- Not even for that one time I missed rehearsal?When we were going to choreographShall We Dance?…M- When people call my name, I alwaysrespond with, “Yo.” And I noticed that nowI say, “Yo, yo, yo.” (quickly)E- *laughs*I definitely started sayingthings in three’s also, as a result of thisproduction. I’ll be like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah,I’m coming.”M- What, what, what? And I’ve been saying“et cetera” a lot.E- So have I! I have one teacher who uses“et cetera” a lot, and I’m always thinking,“Oh, God! The show!” Also, there’sa girl in my math class named Anna, andI’ve started responding to her name… I’veplayed an Anna for two years now…JG- What was the most challengingscene?E- It’s the final scene, the death scene. ActuallyI wasn’t able to cry until maybe oneof the last Hell Week rehearsals, when wewere running that scene and I finally mademyself cry.JG- What did you think about to getyourself to cry?M- Me being shirtless, all the time.E- *laughs* Yes, Max being shirtless.That’s what I thought of. And then I cried.No. Basically, to start crying, I had to thinkof something personal, and then once I wasalready crying, then I could just go backto being in-character and remember that Ido have feelings for the king, and that he’sdying and that’s why I’m crying—M- Dead king.E- Yes, dead king, that’s what made mecry. … But to start crying—this is kind ofembarrassing—I would psyche myself outNEWS3and make myself think that I ruined theshow. I would make myself think that everythingwent wrong, because that’s somethingthat would make me the most sad inthat moment, imagining that the show wasruined because I messed up so many times.Even though I didn’t, I would make myselfbelieve that I did a horrible job, and then Icried on stage.M- I got to chill in the back.E- Yeah, you just got to lay there and die.M- I got to relax the entire scene.JG- If you could tell the character youplayed one thing, what would it be?M- …I love you.E- I don’t know, she’s so strong, and I wishI was that strong. She’s such a wonderfulperson, and…it was an honor to play her,I’ll say that.EMHS Jazz Ensemble Goes To Rochester!by Anson WangEvery year, a lucky and talentedselect number of Junior and Senior studentsare accepted into the annual New York All-State Music Festival, an event honoring thevery best band, orchestra, jazz, and chorusmembers around. To get into this covetedand prestigious event, one must go througha rigorous audition process, followed bymonths of preparation, not to mention yearsof experience. However, this year marked atruly momentous event. For the first time infive years, the East Meadow High SchoolJazz Ensemble was one of only eight musicalgroups selected throughout the entirestate to perform at this year’s NYSSMAWinter Conference, held along side theAll-State festival.Only lastyear, the band conductorMr. Englesubmitted a recordingof one of theband’s concerts toa panel of experts.This year, their hardwork paid off. However,this could onlymean high stressand anxiety, alongwith a rush to preparefor the upcomingperformance.Just weeks after thebeginning of theschool year, auditionswere held andPhoto courtesy of East Meadow High School Music Department.rehearsals began.The band carefullyselected a programof four songs including“The NutcrackerSuite,” “Afro Blue,”“Jamie,” and “StrikeUp The Band.”As rehearsals progressed,they evenbegan to multiply.With All-State approaching,rehearsalswere held in themornings and evenon several evenings.After all, “Practicemakes permanent,”as the Music Departmentsays. After afinal rehearsal anda final pep talk, theband was sent hometo pack and to rest,anticipating the nextFriday when theywould depart to Rochester (Yes, that samefateful Friday where the brave squirrelchewed through the power line).Early the next morning, the band,along with chaperone Mr. Marshall, the 8thgrade band director from Woodland, assembledat JFK International Airport Terminal5 ready to board the Jet Blue flightto Rochester. Bags, suits and instrumentsin hand, they arrived at the airport an hourearly and spent the remaining time runningaround the airport terminal. At about9:00, the band boarded the small Jet Blueplane bound for upstate New York. After arather short flight and a service of drinksand blue chips, the plane touched down insnow-blanketed Rochester. The band wastransferred via shuttle to the Hyatt RegencyHotel located in the downtown area.It was only about noon, but theday was packed with activities. After stowingtheir instruments and bag into a closet,the band first set out to have lunch at a localgrill, and then to view the rehearsals of theAll-State symphonic groups. Where theyventured to next was one of the highlightsof the day. Held in the main building was anexhibition hall, where various stands wereset up with different activities to try as wellas items to purchase. One could even trythe shiny, sparkling new instruments thatwere on display, provided that the playerbrought his or her own mouthpiece. Freesamples, and even free boxes of reeds,were provided in this hall. However, someof the stands were already closed (The urgeto swipe an unattended fancy box of reedsoff the table was very tempting).Finally, it was time to get seriousand prepare for the concert in the evening.The band was to perform in the biggestroom in the hotel, the Lilac Ballroom,where they held their sound-check. Soon,our hotel rooms were finally ready, andThe Jazz Ensemble and its members:Director: Stephen EngleSaxophones: Justin Herman, Daniel Gross, Chris Garzia, Charlie Gionvenniello, Harry ZuckerTrombones: Jordan Fried, Jonathan Tilles, Julian Paykert, Alex GrossTrumpets: Andrew Hocher, Max Hoffman, Nicholas Maltese,Sam Pollenz, Louis PollenzDrums: Stephan StanzioneBass: Jacob UmanskyGuitar: Jason ToledanoPiano: Anson Wangwith three to a room, members stepped intotheir own suites to unload and to unwind.After dinner in the hotel café, it was timeto prepare for the main event. Showers, achange of clothes, and a few pillow brawlslater, the band met in the lobby of the hotel.The time was about 9:00 p.m. before theband traveled together to the Lilac Ballroom.The EMHS Jazz Ensemble wasset to perform second that night. After alast warm-up and practice session, monthsof preparation and hard work were aboutto be tested. The Jazz Ensemble took theirplace on stage before an audience of abouttwice the number of a full auditorium in ourown High School. The excitement, energy,and anticipation were high, and the adrenalinecould be felt throughout the room.Tune after tune, the band played throughthe program with confidence and with theirhighest musicality, and contained almostno audible mistakes.It was truly a magicalnight, one that washighly praised and onethat would go downin history. After playingthrough each song,the ensemble exitedthe stage and headedbackstage, where expressionsof congratulations,thanks, andpraise were thrownaround. Following anonslaught of picturesand celebrations, it wastime to head back to thehotel rooms. Promisesof “all-nighters” soonbegan to fade fast, asfatigue set in and tookits toll.The next day,the band had breakfastin the hotel before headingupstairs to pack.They were then shippedoff to the Rochester Airportin order to catch a1:00 flight back to JFK.Upon arrival back inthe southern part ofNew York, it was timeto reflect upon the pastday. Wait a second, thepast day? What reallywas a twenty-four hourtrip upstate seemedlike a weeklong journey.However, it was atrip full of memories tocarry on. It was a truehonor to play at the All-State convention thisyear, and as Mr. Englesaid, carrying the standardof excellence that our school is sowell known for providing. This trip willdefinitely remain as a highlight of our HighSchool lives for a long time. After claimingour baggage and meeting with parents, itwas time to return home.Ja n u a r y 2011

4NEWSAngry Birds and Bejeweled Said toRelieve Stress?by Sami ChowdhuryiSchool iLearn iLoveiTouchby Alexandra LopezPhoto courtesy of Google ImagesPhoto courtesy of Google ImagesHave you ever felt really stressedabout taking a test? Perhaps you are evenbored waiting for something. How aboutall those extreme classes, sports, and extracurricularactivities you’re trying tomanag e ?Most oft h e s escenariosdoinvolvestress.Want toknowone surprisingway toget ridof it? Flinging angry birds at pigs or evenplaying Bejeweled. Surprised? Me too. Inever knew that while I was playing AngryBirds, I was actually relieving stressand improving my mood.While I was reading an article in theWall Street Journal, I found out that AngryBirds, Bejeweled, and many otherwell-renowned casual games are saidto reduce stress for many hard-workingp e o p l e .T h a t ’ sright. A2008 studyby Pop-Cap had134 playerswithtwo evengroups ofpeople onthe casualgames likeBejeweled,andanother group just researching articles. Itturned out that the people playing gameslike Bejeweled and Angry Birds hadlower stress levels and improved overallmood levels than those researching. Casualgames are defined as games that areeasy to reach with intricate story linesand controls, such as Tetris. But just howdo these fun games soothe smart people’sminds? Games such as Angry Birds havecharming characters, amusing sound effects,simple but appealing graphics, andeasy rules. Positive reinforcement alsoadds to the fun, addiction, and the relaxingfeeling of the game. Game designerssay that thisreward systemis a significantpartof a game’sappeal. Inaddition, Bejeweledallowsa player’sscores tobe displayedto other playersfor competitionpurposes.The need to compete and be thebest improves stress and distracts peoplefrom their problems, bringing more appealto the game. I’d rather be the best onBejeweled than read Great Expectations.Overall, these games provide a distractionfrom the issues of daily life.So, the next time something stressfulis approaching, like exams and midterms,or if you are just bored because you arewaiting for something, try playing AngryBirds or Bejeweled. I know that the nexttime I read a really hard book or whena bunch of tests are approaching, I willplay Angry Birds to reduce my stress.Who knows? You might just feel lessstressful and even more focused, too.One screaming bird smashing into a pigcould lighten your whole day.As the technology world thrives, themajority of people in America can be foundwith a form of Apple’s iPod, the most commonMP3 player. The latest version of theiPod is the iPod Touch 4. With thousandsof applications available for this device,the possibilities are endless. Though themost common and most obvious use forthe iPod Touch is to listen to music, thereare also many other ways it can be used.Most schools around the country discourageor ban the use of the iPod in classes becauseof thedistraction itcauses, butmost peopleare forgettingthe positiveuses ofthe iPod atschool.M a n yc l a s s e s ,whether it’sfor languageor just definitions,useflash cards. Though it is true that flashcards can help with memorization, thesecards can also be bothersome when theybegin to multiply as the school year goeson. Apple has various applications availablewhich allow you to make and save allof your flash cards on your iPod. Ratherthan having to continue buying and carryinghundreds of flash cards, you can havean endless amount for a small price. Theseapplications also have extra features whereyou can add pictures, change the languagesettings, and take tests frequently.The Associate Dean of the JournalismSchool, Brian Brooks, suggested the ideaof turning the music player into a learningdevice. “Lectures are the worst possiblelearning format,” Brooks said. “There’sbeen some research done that shows if studentscan hear that lecture a second time,they retain three times as much of that lecture.”English is a major subject in whichstudents have to read and also learn newvocabulary. Most distinguished books canPhoto courtesy of Google Imagesbe found at the Apple App Store. As an alternative,you can download the AmazonKindle Application for free. With this applicationyou are able to search for a book,purchase it, and then adjust the setting toyour preference. You also have the abilityto modify the color contrast, font, and fontsize. As for vocabulary, you can downloadthe dictionary.com application for free.Any word you choose can be defined atyour fingertips. This application also includesa full thesaurus.There are many applicationsto help youwith math as well. Notonly does the iTouch alreadycome with a freecalculator, but for Algebrayou can purchasethe Math Solver App foronly 99 cents. This applicationis very easy to usefor people of all ages. Allyou have to do is typein the equation. The appwill not only solve theproblem, but will explainin words and numbers for every steptaken.For most classes, it is necessary to takenotes. There are many simple applicationsto use for this particular task. You can decideto use the pre-installed Note App. Thisapplication is extremely helpful and is amust-have. Here you are able to choose thetype of note you would like to use, from apicture already on your camera, a snapshotyou can take easily, a voice which can berecorded in any volume, or even a simpletext which can be written in a landscapeformat. Other ways to use this applicationinclude taking a picture of your homeworkoff the board, recording the lecture yourteacher is giving, or typing up importantnotes for a future test.The iPod Touch 4 is a very remarkabledevice, but what is even more impressiveare the amazing applications that you canpurchase or download for free. Applicationscan help improve how students do inschool. Schools should encourage all studentsto own one of these devices.Squirrel Obituaryby Melissa GrossJa n u a r y 2011December 3, 2010: tragedy strikes atEast Meadow High School. On this chillywinter day, a young squirrel is seekingnothing butwarmth alongthe grounds ofEMHS; whathe found wasperhaps a littlemore than theheat he waslooking for.As studentsstared longinglyat theclock in theirfourth periodclassroom, thecurious squirrelthought he’d have a peek inside an important-lookingbox on Carman Avenue, andthat’s where he went wrong. As his familymourns the loss of their beloved father,son, and friend, that little squirrel saved thelives of hundreds ofstudents that day inmany ways, whetherit was the postponementof a dreadedmath test that afternoonor simply fulfillingthe desire togo home early andcatch up on thosemissed episodes ofGlee. Filing ontothe buses aroundseventh period, theentire student bodywas thinking thesame thing: Thank you, Mr. Squirrel. Youwill be missed.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT5As of recent times, the AP Tour has beenknown to bring about the rising stars in moreof the ‘pop-rock’ genre, but not this timearound. This year’s lineup however, was destinedto bring out the biggest of mosh pits,the heaviest of breakdowns, and an overallfun night (if you’re into waking up the nextPhoto courtesy of Alexa Spielerday with bruises and not knowing the originof them). Hosted at New York City’s ownBest Buy Theater, the heart of Times Squarewas rocked by This Is Hell, Polar Bear Club,Emarosa, and co-headliners August BurnsRed and Bring Me the Horizon.I could focus on the first two acts foryou, but to be honest there wasn’t much that‘stood out’ in This Is Hell and Polar BearClub’s set. This Is Hell definitely had energy,seeing as though it was their hometown show(or should I say home-state), but I think everyonein that venue agrees with me on thefact that they could have lived without theirset. Polar Bear Club was decent, and I’msure they had fans there for them, but nothingtruly captured me.Now that we’ve gottento the point on theirsets, let’s head over toEmarosa.Emarosa, whereto begin, where to begin?My first encounterof the night withEmarosa started whenI was downstairs inthe venue, and JonnyCraig (lead vocalist)asked me where thegreen room was, andI directed him to it,and he followed witha “Thank you, ladies!”To be honest, priorto the AP Tour, I hadvaguely heard of Emarosaand had listenedto them a small number of times, but boy wasI blown away. Never have I ever heard sucha beautiful, soothing voice as Jonny Craig’s.Hearing Emarosa’s set was a nice calm beforethe storm, just because the two heaviestbands, August Burns Red and Bring Me TheHorizon, were on after. Jonny Craig singswith such passion and soulfulness that you’reimmediately drawn in and want to know whatangel possesses this voice. Emarosa was thestand out band of the night, by far. Next upwas August Burns Red - whom I had caughtup with prior to the show for an interview. Althoughthey were fun guys to speak with, thiswas my second time seeing them, and theirset didn’t truly impress me all that much.Their music is a little too heavy for me, butAP TourbyAlexa SpielerPhoto courtesy of Alexa Spielertheir lyrics are incredible. If you don’t knowtheir lyrics beforehand, you won’t be able toappreciate their musicianship, but then again,if heavy music isn’t your ‘thing’, I wouldn’trecommend them. The crowd, however, waslivelier for them than ever with the breakingout of several mosh pits, and overall just anenergized crowd. Allof this energy, however,would carry onfull force for BringMe The Horizon’sset.Bring Me TheHorizon. Everyonewas awaiting for theBritish metalcoreband to step foot onthat stage ever sincethey entered the venuethat night. It waslong awaited and fanswere screaming everytime a band evenmerely mentioned thename ‘Bring Me TheHorizon’. Comingout to the single offtheir latest album, “There Is A Hell, BelieveMe I’ve Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let’sKeep It A Secret,” their hyped up energypowered the opening song, “It Never Ends.”Lead vocalist, Oli Sykes, continued his habitualaction of going into the crowd duringthe first song, which always makes the crowdgo even crazier. The energy supplied by theseguys on stage is truly remarkable, and that’swhy they’re personally one of my favoriteacts to see live. They performed a good balancebetween tracks off their latest albumalong with tracks off their sophomore album,“Suicide Silence.” They only performed fanfavorite, “Pray For Plagues,” off their firstalbum ‘Count Your Blessings’, but that is understandabledueto the fact that onsuch a huge tourlike the AP Tour,you really want togo out and showeverything, yourlatest stuff. Youwant your set tostart out with abang and finishoff with a bang.That is what BringMe The Horizonultimately did.Besides the facttheir stage presencewas out ofthis world, theirtalking on stagealways made thefans laugh. VocalistOli Sykes cued in with laughable remarkssuch as; “I hope everyone is having a jollygood time out there,” accompanied by othermore obscene and entertaining comments. Itwas truly a combination of stage presence,anticipation, and pure talent that made theirset as great as it was. The only disappointmentwas that it was a rather short set. I lookforward to seeing another Bring Me The Horizonshow in the future, with a rather longerset.Overall, I’d say the people over at AlternativePress did a solid job putting togethera line-up for this year’s fall AP Tour. Thelineup was greatly diverse, and not one bandsounded slightly the same, offering a greatvariation and something for everyone.Giants At Largeby Ilana FriedmanJet Gazette: What is the origin of the band'sname, "Giants At Large"?Matt Lagattuta: The name Giants At Largeis a reference to a really old Mickey Mousecartoon. The moral of the story is that he needsto overcome his fears and believe in himselfto slay the giant. At the beginning of the cartoon,there's a sign that says "Giant At Large"so that's where the name came from.JG: Is it hard tobalance schooland band practice?ML: Not so muchwhen it's justthose two. Rightnow I'm attendingcollege, inthis band, workinga pizza job,recording localbands between allthis, and recordingand mixingmy own band’sstuff. This isdefinitely gettinghard to balance.[Laughs]JG: Do any otherbands inspireyou?Photo courtesy of purevolume.comML: Definitely,my favorite bandof all time is asmall punk rock band called The LawrenceArms. Some of my other favorites are TheAtaris, Brand New, and Blink-182.JG: What is the experience in transitioningfrom one band (Valet Parking) to another?ML: It's strange, with the other band I alwaysshared vocal duties with at least one other person,with this band I sing almost all the time,so that was scary at first. With this band westarted out knowing what we wanted to soundlike and what direction we wanted to go in, althoughnot so much toward the end; there wasalways a struggle for that with the other band.JG: When did you form your band? What inspiredyou to make music together?ML: We formed this band the second weknew the other band was done. Basically Travis,CJ, and I played in Valet Parking together.We were on tour, and our van died in Florida.It was completely unfixable, so we and all ofour equipment were stuck there. We were alltrying to figure out what to do next and ourbass player/singer quit. We all felt so defeated,but we knew it wasn't time to give up. We diddecide that it was time to start fresh and startover though, and not too long after we gothome we met Brian, and everything has beengreat so far.JG: As the songwriter, what are some of themain themes or topics you write about? Doyou think these topics will change over time?ML: All of the lyrics were written at the sametime so all the songs reference each other, andthere's a handful of lyrics that are mentioned ina couple of songs. I guess a main theme wouldbe to stay positive even when everything thatcan go wrong, has gone wrong. The topicswill definitely change. I like to write aboutpersonal experiences,so whateverhappens tome is what I'll bewriting about.JG: How hasyour musicchanged overtime?ML: I wouldn'tsay we are in anyway reinventingthe wheel, butwe're definitelytrying to pushthe boundariesof a "pop-punk"band, and try tothink outside ofthe box for ourgenre. To compareit to my oldband, I'd say it'sless polished anda tad more aggressive.JG: What hasbeen the most difficult time for the band?ML: Auditioning bass players while only havingone song done. That was so frustrating becausewe would do the one song and then belike, "Okay cool, so what do we do now?"JG: Do the band mates always agree or isthere tension?ML: We don't always agree, but we don't dothe "majority rules" thing and leave one personunhappy. If one person wants one thingand another wants something else, we'll compromiseuntil everyone is happy. I feel like thebest stuff comes out when two musicians haveto argue it out to please the two of them.JG: What do you wish to gain from this bandexperience?ML: I just want to make honest music thatpeople can enjoy. I want to travel and makenew friends, and do what makes me happy,and that's this.JG: Anything else you want to add?ML: Support local bands and Long IslandMusic Scene Radio (LIMS). Every band hadto start small at some point, so if you like aband, go to a show, make new friends, andhang out!Ja n u a r y 2011

6A & EMovies are some of the best representationsof life. They are pieces of art that should not simplybe watched and forgotten, but experienced.Film is something I personally value and cherish.While I profusely admire and glorify classicssuch as Gone With the Wind, Duck Soup, DancesWith Wolves, and Kramer vs. Kramer, a lot of myfavorite movies are ones with teenagers as theprotagonists.Sixteen Candles (1984)Sixteen Candles is theperfect example of a comingof-agestory. It is the moviethat made a star of MollyRingwald, and rightfullyso. She won a Young ArtistAward for Best Young Actressin a Motion Picture-Musical,Comedy, Adventure or Dramafor her representation of SamanthaBaker, an average highschool girl making her transitionto adulthood. With all theexcitement in Sam’s housedue to her sister’s wedding,her family fails to rememberher sixteenth birthday. In addition,she is forced to deal withembarrassing grandparents, a geek who likes her,an annoying little brother, a foreign exchangestudent living in her home, and her crush on themost popular boy in school, Jake Ryan. AnthonyMichael Hall also received a Young Artist Awardfor Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture-Musical,Comedy, Adventure or Drama for his portrayalas The Nerd, or Farmer Ted. Writer/directorJohn Hughes manages to show flaws in teens anddepict them accurately without degrading them inall his films. Sixteen Candles is a hilarious teencomedy, one that is well worth watching.Photo courtesy of Google ImagesTop Teen Moviesby Amanda ChambersThe Breakfast Club (1985)When writing about the best teen moviesit is impossible for me not include The BreakfastClub. Possibly one of the best depictions ofteens, this film is about blurring the lines betweencliques, and how difficult that can be. Althoughthis is a movie mainly about teenagers, it is byno means for teens only. The Breakfast Club isa movie written and directed by the late JohnHughes about five teens in Saturday detentionwho seemingly have nothing in common, butsoon learn their initial assumptions about eachother were completely wrong. The film beginswith the famous voice-over monologue in whichBrian (Anthony Michael Hall) explains to theprincipal, Mr. Vernon (Paul Gleason), how allthe kids had judged each other at the beginningof the day solely because of their label in their Illinoishigh school. The cast performances are impeccableand John Hughes’ script deals with thecharacters in a mature manner, making them wisebeyond their years without letting us forget theyare still just kids. Also starring Molly Ringwald,Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez andJohn Kapelos, The Breakfast Club is the definitionof a teen movie at its finest.Pretty in Pink (1986)Pretty in Pink is the sweet love story ofAndie (Molly Ringwald), the unpopular poor girl,and Blane (Andrew McCarthy), the rich boy whois different from all the others. In their school,a “richie” should never be seen with someonewithout money. Despite this and his clever, unsupportivefriend, Steff (James Spader), Blanedecides to ask out Andie. Duckie (Jon Cryer),Andie’s long-time friend who is secretly in lovewith her, is heartbroken and angry when she accepts,to which she points out if she doesn’t likehim for having money, it’s the same thing as themnot liking her for being poor. Andie and Blane’srelationship starts off shaky, but turns for the betterwhen he asks her to the prom. Things seem tobe good, until he starts ignoring her. This leadsto one of my favorite scenes where she confrontshim and accuses him of being ashamed to be withher. In addition to her problems with Blane, she’sdealing with her father (Harry Dean Stanton) whois still devastated that his wife left him years ago.Once again, John Hughes produces an exceptionalscript and helps make Pretty in Pink a classic.Heathers (1989)Heathers is a dark comedy that portrays asinister side of high school and the dangers ofcliques. Winona Ryder stars as Veronica, thefourth member of the most powerful clique in herschool, in which the other three members are allnamed Heather. The Heathers are mean girls whomercilessly bully anyone they want. Veronicareluctantly follows Heather number one’s (KimWalker) lead until one night when she gets tiredof her malicious ways. Veronica and her newboyfriend, the dark and mysterious J.D. (ChristianSlater), decide to hand Heather number onea glass of liquid drainer to kill her and rid themselvesof her oppression. After fullyrealizing what they had done, theyconcoct a plan to make it seem likea suicide. This is just the beginningof a series of fake suicides theyplan against anyone they feel haswronged them or, as J.D. says inone case, “had nothing left to offerthe school.” The charming J.D.drags Veronica into each situation,but his reasoning for his actionsseems to be deeper than one wouldinitially think. He says things suchas, “Seven schools in seven statesand the only thing different is mylocker combination,” and “Theonly place different social types cangenuinely get along with each otheris in Heaven.” Toward the end ofthe movie, he almost starts to makesense, despite his obvious mentalinstability. This movie is a strange one and didhorribly at the box office, but it has grown to bea cult classic. The Los Angeles Times even stated,“Without Heathers, there would be no Jawbreaker,no Mean Girls, and certainly no Juno.”Clueless (1995)Even though Clueless parodies the BeverlyHills lifestyle, it is actually a very smart film.Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is rich, pretty, popular,and becomes well aware that she comes off assuperficial. Determined to prove to people she isnot as stuck-up as she seems, she decides to helpother people in her California high school. First,she helps two geeky teachers find love with eachother. Then a new girl, Tai (Brittany Murphy),transfers to her school. Cher figures she is “clueless,”so she and her best friend Dionne (StaceyDash) decide to take her under their wing andgive her a Beverly Hills makeover. Cher undergoesa change in mentality and realizes that lifeis more than shopping and clothes. Silverstonedelivers some hilarious lines like, “He does dressbetter than I do; what would I bring to the relationship?”and “This is where Dionne lives. She’smy friend because we both know what it’s like forpeople to be jealous of us.” While helping others,she goes through her own transformation, managingto find love for herself with her dad’s sort-ofstepson, Josh (Paul Rudd), and shows she’s muchsmarter than she pretends.Photo Courtesy of Google ImagesFan Mailby Christine KasparovHave you ever considered developing a secretcode on a fan instead of on a piece of paper?And just to clarify, I’m talking about that deviceyou move back and forth to cool yourself down.Well, in the novel, Snow Flower and the SecretFan, written by Lisa See, you can witness a typeof life-long friendship that all starts with the arrivalof a silk fan on which a delicate messageis painted.The story takes place in nineteenth-centuryChina and recounts the life of Lily, a seeminglyaverage and unimpressive soul who at thesame time, miraculously qualifies for a loatong,or “old same,” with whom she will be pairedwith from another village. They have so muchin common before they even meet face to face,such as being born on the same day, in the samehour, being of equal height and beautiful, andhaving the same number of brothers and sisters.Lily and the girl called Snow Flower meet atthe tender age of seven and become inseparable.They send each other messages in the secretcode of nu shu, which, at the time, are usuallycomposed on fans or handkerchiefs.It’s pretty amazing that two strangers, bothof varying social positions and educations, canbecome so compatible in just a short amountof time. It’s interesting to read about how thesegirls bloom into maturity and adulthood whilefacing both happiness and sadness. I enjoyedreading about all of the customs and eventsincorporated into this novel. I would definitelyrecommend this book. Its poetic language isso captivating and deep that it feels as if not asingle word is wasted.Ja n u a r y 2011

A & E 7Mischeif Managedby Soha SalmonThe Best of 2010by Akash ShetyePhoto courtesty of clothesonfilm.comThe first part of the final installment ofthe beloved Harry Potter movies hit theatersNovember 19, 2010 at midnight. Fans eagerlywaited to see what Warner Bros. wouldbring to the screen this time as Harry Potterand his two best friends, Ron Weasley andHermione Granger, began their search for theHorcruxes. The three had hopes of destroyingthe evil Lord Voldemort forever yet didnot estimate the magnitude of danger that accompaniedtheir journey.Fans of the book series always have thesame concern for the movies; will it coincidewith the books? Director David Yatesrelieved many fans by dividing the movieinto two parts, therefore not being forced tocondense a 759 page book into two and a halfhours. This action faced some criticism fromfans of just the movies, because the first partended on a cliff hanger for them.Yates captured and conveyed Harry,Ron, and Hermione’s journey wonderfully.He did not hesitate in fully portraying the lossof comforts the trio had to endure as they setout alone, living in a tent and moving fromcampsite to campsite. The emotions thatauthor J.K. Rowling’s characters possessedthroughout this novel were not lost either.Harry’s confusion, Ron’s frustrations, andHermione’s gloom were developed throughoutthe movie, giving audiences a look intohow their new lives were affecting the trioemotionally.While capturing the horror and dangerthat Harry and his friends face, the moviealso had humorous scenes. A laugh or twohere and there were what the younger audienceneeded because this movie was farmore gloomy than previous films. While thetrio did not return to Hogwarts this year, allromance was not lost from the film. Ron andHermione’s feelings for one another continuedto grow more pronounced, as they havefor the past six movies. Ron’s underlyingjealousy of Harry and Hermione’s relationshipalso came to the surface, resulting ina heart breaking turn of events which left ascar on Harry’s friendship with Ron.While I was interested throughout theentire movie, some fans lost interest in themiddle, which focused on Harry and hisfriends traveling around in search of theHorcruxes. They did not find much throughoutthe middle, and these scenes seemed tobore some, especially those who aren’t familiarwith the books. While it may havebeen a bit boring, it was exactly what it wassupposed to be. During that interval, Harry,Hermione, and especially Ron grew desperateand lost much of their hope because ofthe lack of success their journey was having.However, the action packed sceneswere fast paced keeping movie goers onthe edge of their seats, waiting to see whatwould happen next. These scenes includedthe Malfoy Manor scene, in which the brilliantHelena Bonham Carter, who plays BellatrixLestrange, returned and gave the audiencechills with her twistedmind. Tom Felton, anotherfavorite of the movies wasalso there playing the muchless proud Draco Malfoy.The animation of DeathlyHallows also receivedgreat praise from reviewsall around. It portrayed thehouse-elves Kreacher andDobby realistically, causingthe audience to form abond with them. Animationwas also used to tell thestory of the Three Brothers,a classic folktale of theWizarding world.Harry Potterand the Deathly HallowsPart 1 is a movie that continuesto receive the praisethat the previous six havereceived. Audiences leftthe theatre enchanted, excitedfor the release of Part2 and the final installmentof the series. It’s planned tobe released in July 2011.For film fanatics, this past year was one toforget. 2010 was filled with sequels and 3D filmsthat were looking for money rather than recognition.However, one film this year did break thetrend. That movie is Christopher Nolan’s Sci-Fithriller Inception. In his masterpiece, Nolan carefullyblends story, acting, action, effects, anddirecting. The result is that a person is mentallycaptivated and emotionally heartbroken whilewatching the film unfold.Inception follows Dom Cobb, played byLeonardo DiCaprio. Cobb is on the run from thelaw, and cannot return home to his children. Healso is a skilled extractor, meaning that he canenter people’s dreams and steal their ideas. Now,Cobb is given one last job. If he is successful, hewill be permitted to go back home. Instead ofstealing an idea, Cobb has to plant an idea intosomeone’s mind.On the surface, the plot of Inception seemssimple. However, Christopher Nolan takes his audienceinto a script that twists and turns at everyscene. The result is that Nolan creates a layeredstoryline that leaves the audience at the edge of itsseat for a full two and a half hours.The script of Inception is amazing; however,it is the ensemble cast that turns this good movieinto a great one. Ellen Page is stunning as Ariadne,and Joseph Gordon Levitt and Tom Hardyadd an amazing amount of humor in their roles asArthur and Eames. Ken Watanabe is surprisinglygood as the mysterious Saito. However, the bestperformance is Leonardo DiCaprio’s. An actorwho has built his reputation over the years withprojects such as Titanic and The Departed, Di-G R A N D O P E N I N GC OM E I N A ND T ASTE W H AT E VERYO NE I S T A L K IN G A BOUT !10 % O FFSTUDENT DISCOUNT!2106 H E M P STE A D T PKE . ‚ E AST M EAD OW(516) 307-1180Caprio delivers the best performance of his careeras Dom Cobb. The performance should merit himan Oscar, though it will be difficult to top JesseEisenberg’s performance in The Social Network.Other standouts include Marion Cotillard who ischilling as Cobb’s wife, Mal, and Cillian Murphy,who provides the emotional touch in the middleof the film.At its core, Inception is meant to be a philosophicaldrama. However, Christopher Nolan hasturned what would be a movie that was isolated toone particular audience into a mainstream movie.He has done this by adding some of the best actionscenes in cinematic history. The car chase inLos Angeles is breathtaking, and is followed by ascene that defies the laws of gravity. Joseph Gordon-Levittjumps from wall to wall and ceiling tofloor in a scene that made acclaimed critic PeterTravers describe Inception as “James Bond meetsThe Matrix.” That scene is then overshadowedby a brilliant snow fort sequence in which TomHardy steals the show.The visual effects for Inception were justas pleasing as the action in the movie. DoubleNegative (the effects company on the film) did abrilliant job meeting Nolan’s vision. Most surprisinglywas the fact that Inception had less visualeffects than The Dark Knight, which was Nolan’slast movie. That is Christopher Nolan’s philosophy:never do something on the computer that youcan do with a handheld camera. In a day and agewhere filmmakers are rushing to convert films to3D and create amazing CGI-infested worlds, thatis a true testament to the hard work of ChristopherNolan.W e A ccept FR EED ELIVERYP rinted and distributed by A ll Island M ed ia Inc., TOWN CRIER & PENNYSAVER (631) 698-8400 o r (516) 942-840000329066B045Ja n u a r y 2011

8Senior SuperlativesClass Laugh Class Cutie Best Dressed Class SmileTim Kearon - Erin ZizzaJoe Angelino - Nikki GiocastroTeddy Banker - Jordan FordDaniela Ramirez– Jeffery AngelinoClass Couple Class KlutzPedestrian’sDan Zamora & Kelly OwensShelby Caban – Rob FranzeseWorst NightmareSteve Cukro - Colleen WilkowskiClass HairLindsey Rubinstein – Sam LeeJersey Shore WannabeClass Attitude Class Clown Everybody’s BuddyAnthony DiTomasso - Toni Turrisi Mya Revell– Napoleon Mejia Kareem Roberts - Kim Asdahl Justine Cirola – Jimmy EganClass Flirt Class Eyes All Around Most AthleticMaryJo Formoso– Brett LapidusChris Somma - Dani DigenovaElisa Torres – Brandon NobletJessica Widmann – Sean HinchyJa n u a r y 2011

Senior Superlatives9Take Over World Teacher’s Pet Nickname Terribly TalkativeAntonio Alvez - Jennifer SimberlandChris Sidor - Vanessa De PasqualeBeanie/Chrisine Baker –Ginger/ Eric HansonMichael D’Amico - Ariana OvadiaMost Memorable Life of Party Most Inseparable Best CarMaliha Ali – Ryan Sacks Diana Healy – Matt FlanaganRida Naser – Alexandra KaimisBrittany Zajack – Andrew DanzigerMost ArtisticNicole Settimo – Andrew LeeBroadway BoundMost MusicalEmily Illson – Sam PollenzMost School SpiritLinda Liu – Jared BiunnoMost Likely to SucceedNeha Sahni – Jesse ShermanWait, They’reNot Dating?Chris Swenson - Emily BrummerBest TeacherMrs. Altman – Mr. HelmingJa n u a r y 2011

10One NationUnder Sneakersby Shamoon RizviESLby Rutul UpadhyayIn today’s world, sneakers have rightfullytaken their place in the fashion world,among all things considered “cool’ in moderntimes. Michael Jordan has revolutionizedh o wsocietyv i e w sb o t hsneakersandw h a tfashio nmeansf o rm a n yteens.A perso ncan be homeless, scruffy, and dressed inthe worst clothes imaginable and still beconsidered ‘fly’ in society with a freshpair of sneakers. Sneakers have progressedfrom sporting equipment into a high-fashionstatement.Jordan has released a limited-editionAir Jordan 7, nicknamed the BIN 23’s.These sneakers came out exclusively inNew York City at 11:59 p.m. and wereswept off of the shelves by 12:30 a.m. Thiswas considered the most anticipated shoePhoto Courtesy of http://sneakermaniac.comof the year, and has been compared to thetop shoes of the decade by many sneakerfanatics. These shoes first appeared in themarket in the 1991, and were later pulledoff due to the desire for Jordan to keep thispair of sneakers rare. The inspiration behindthese shoes has been a combinationof African tribal decals, and Olympic colors.This shoe features tumbled leather allaround the front and rear of the shoe, withvery high quality new buck material. Thesole of these shoes have once again beeninspired by tribal-smear painting.These shoes will run around $250 andare currently an exclusive to the peoplewho bought them in New York City.ESL stands for English as a SecondLanguage. ESL is a great programwhich provides help and support. ESL doesnot just teach us English, but also how tocommunicate and write better. It also helpsus with academic work and issues in andout of school. ESL gives us an opportunityto get a goodeducation, startingwith understandingEnglish, which nota lot of immigrantsor their childrengot in the late 19thand early 20th centuries.Not knowingEnglish, immigrantsstruggledJa n u a r y 2011Photo Courtesy of Google Imagesacademically and were made fun of byother students. Not handling the pressurewell, a good number of immigrant childrendropped out of school. Due to most immigrantsdropping out of schools, the schoolboards in the 1970’s and 1980’s recognizedthe need for programs that teach English toforeign students. After hearing these facts,I consider myself privileged to be learningEnglish from someone in the ESL program.ESL is similar to a regular Englishclass, but it does have a few differences.A regular English class focuses mainlyon literature, while ESL focuses mainlyon grammar. EMHS offers three differentlevels of ESL. ESL Basic is a programwhich introduces the English language toa student. ESL 2emphasizes readingand writing.Lastly, ESL 3 coversEnglish grammar,vocabulary,and literature.A studentcould get outof ESL by doingwell academicallyand by passing a state test. Based uponyour level from the state test, your teachermight determine you do not need ESL oryou need it for another year. One of theESL teachers, Mr. Maddaloni, likes teachingESL because he loves the way the languageworks and how people could use itto express themselves. I really appreciateeverything they do to teach us English. Ithink that without them we would have hada terrible time learning English. Thanks!

FEATURES 11A student does not experience randomacts of kindness on a day-to-day basis,especially in the ‘me first’ world oftoday; it is just a simple fact. So when thestalls and mirrors of the school bathroomare plastered withsimple,beautifulmantras aboutlovingyourself,surprise is only anatural reaction.Accompanyingthe Post-it’sscribbled with abrightSharpiewere typed lettersspreading a messageSmile You’reeveryoneshould embrace. Love who you are; bethe person you are meant to be withoutcatering to what society believes to becorrect. Your flaws make you beautiful;we are all only human, after all. Withteenagers striving for perfection everyday because of outside influences, it iseasy to lose sight of the simple things inPhoto courtesy of Lauren ThomasPhoto courtesy of Lauren Thomaslife. You are alive; what could be better?Every person in school is fighting hisor her own battle, whether it is physicallyor mentally. To have a complete strangergo out of his or her way to reassure youAliveby Lauren ThomasEa s t Me a d o w Sc h o o l Di s t r i c tBoard of EducationBrian O’Flaherty, PresidentJoseph Parisi, Vice PresidentJoseph DanenzaCorey FanelliJeffrey RosenkingMarcee RubinsteinWalter Skinnerthat being you is good enough is uplifting,and could possibly save someone’slife. The person responsible for this inspirationalproject is still a mystery, makingthis all the more intriguing that theywould look for no publicity.Selfless acts like this should happenmore often in order to slowly revivefaith in humanity. Imagine a worldwhere people spend more time pointingout the positive than the negative. Isn’tit a wonderful vision? It was a beautifulday knowing that there are people inour world, and in aneven smaller case,our own school,who care about othersmore than themselves.PlatonicAdministrationLouis R. DeAngelo, Superintendent of SchoolsLynne Manouvrier, Asst. Supt. for Curriculum and InstructionRobert Gorman, Asst. Supt. for Business and FinanceAnthony Russo, Administrative Assistant for Human ResourcesPatrick Pizzo, Director of School Facilities and OperationsMary Ann O’Brien, Assistant Business Administratorlivesdo not exist; spendyour life sharingthese messages ofhope, instead oflooking in the mirrorexamining every‘flaw’ and freckle onyour face. You can make a difference:this singular person has. Now follow suitand keep your head held high.Smile, because you’re worth it!The Handy-DandyCURRICULUM GUIDEby Anson WangThat very special time of year againhas arrived. No, I’m not talking about theholidays, although we all wish that timewere back. We must look towards the future.In the following weeks, you willbe called/hunted down to your respectiveguidance counselor to schedule yourclasses for next year. To some, this is anoverwhelming point of the year. So manyclasses to choose from! I can’t make a decision!Should I really take that class? Whatdo you mean it won’t fit into my schedule?!These are some of the things I hear whilegoing throughout my school day from peoplewho are carefully planning out their futures.However, tomost, this conceptis beyond them.That little bookletthat we receivedbefore the holidaybreak with the bluecover is usuallyforgotten. Let’sall rewind andactually considertaking a look inthat handy dandyCurriculum Guidebefore it winds upbecoming food forthe dumpster.My first questionto all of youis, do you knowhow many creditsare required tograduate? I mean,before a guidancecounselor informs you about that fact. Ifyou don’t, you might want to pull out thatguide and flip to page iv and take a closerlook. As in most high schools, one musthave a necessary number of credits in orderto receive the appropriate diploma. Beforeyou move up to the next grade, you mightwant to reconsider if your class choicessatisfy your credit requirements. You don’twant to wind up being the senior who endsup realizing, “Oh I’m missing one year ofart! I should’ve taken Studio Art duringmy sophomore year!” And if you are, thenstinketh to be youeth.“What classes are you taking nextyear?” “Oh I don’t know, I’m just gonnatake the same courses as Ralph.” Really?It is true that teenagers don’t have the habitof planning for the future, but in an agewhere we emphasize individualism, thisis surprising. People should learn to pilottheir own lives, and not just take classes tobe with their friends. Even if you sign upfor the same class, there’s no guarantee thatyou both will be in the same section. TheGuide is point blank, sprawled out, plainas day, a roadmap of your high school, describingeach class in detail for your consideration.It cannot be easier to plan aheadand select the classes that are right for you.To not utilize this to its full advantage issimply just foolish. A little bit of effort toplan will make a huge difference in thedays to come. After all, you are going tobe in these classes for an entire year. Intense,right? Also, think of all the trees thatsacrificed their lives for this cause. Shouldtheir efforts have been in vain? So insteadof peeking over at Ralph’s schedule, trycoming up with your own.I also hear many other comments thatPhoto Courtesy of Google Imagesdon’t make sense to me. For example: “Myschedule stinks” or “All my classes areboring, I hate them.” Then what on Earthpossessed you to pick them? There are wellover fifty different classes to choose from,so there is bound to be one that catches yourinterest. This usually results as a symptomof I-Do-Not-Look-In-My-Curriculum-Guide syndrome. It is called a “guide” for areason. To avoid this disease, a prescriptionof careful analysis of the course descriptionsis recommended, followed by plentyof liquids. EMHS is doing everyone a hugefavor by providing these guides. In college,they will not be so kind. It is better to getused to the processnow thansuffer. Also,why wouldn’tyou want to tryto find a classthat you enjoy,have fun, ANDget good gradesin? All of theabove are just afew page turnsaway.F i n a l l y ,the final goldenquote: “Thisschool isn’t interesting.”Ifyou think this,you just haven’tbeen looking inthe right places.Maybe it’s timeto start somethingnew. Your day can be brightened upwith just the attendance of one interestingclass in this schedule. How will this everbe discovered if that Curriculum Guide isleft sitting in a corner collecting dust andserving as a home to spiders? Flip throughit, and you may find some very interestingchoices. For example, EMHS offers manydifferent programs in technology, business,and art. Combining these together,did you know that there are classes thatoffer Animation and even Introduction toVideo Game Design? Or are you musicallyinclined? Think about taking courses suchas Music Theory or Music Production, oreven play in a small group everyday withthe Chamber Music class. You will neverknow what you might find until you try.Even main subjects such as Math, Science,Social Studies, and English don’t have tobe boring. Some courses that are offeredare computer programming, culture studies,food studies, interesting book genres,journalism, public speaking. There aredifferent fields of science such as marinebiology, or even classes where you watchand analyze films all year. Those who feeluninterested are just too lazy to search forsomething extraordinary. There is somethingin that Guide for everyone, and fillingup your schedule with off-periods offers nobenefits.There are tons of new classes beingadded each year, and the school is opento suggestions for new ones. Learn to liveyour life the way you want. In the schoolenvironment, start with a smart decision ina class of your choosing. The CurriculumGuides are given to everyone for a reason…and not for scrap paper.Ja n u a r y 2011

12EDITORIALSAgreetoDisagreeby Lauren NissenbaumWatchYour Toneby Jaclyn GangiThink back to the 1990’s. What doyou remember most about that decade?Do cartoons ring a bell? Whether itwas mornings, afternoons, or nights, onweekdays or weekends, a majority of uskids were watching cartoons of all differentsorts. Now think about your teenageyears.How often do you watch cartoons?More importantly, are any of those oldcartoons still on television? I’m sureyou’ve noticedthatmost 1990’scartoons haveeither beencancelled orsimply showreruns. Cartoonsnowadaysjustaren’t thePhoto courtesy of Google Imagessame. Forsome teenagers,born inthe 1990’s, this could be considered extremelyunfortunate due to the excellentquality of those cartoons. However, someteenagers enjoy the new shows broadcastedon channels like Nickelodeon,Cartoon Network, and Disney Channel.This is something I constantly question,whether or not cartoons were better inthe 1990’s or presently.Some of my favorite Nickelodeoncartoons used to be The Angry Beavers,As Told By Ginger, CatDog, Hey Arnold!,and Rocko’s Modern Life. Of those fiveshows, I’m sure you watched at least oneof them when you were younger. Theyall had different storylines which cre-ated a broad imagination for children ofthe ‘90s. I remember watching Nickelodeoncartoons for at least an hour, andI was never bored. And who could forgetKenan & Kel, All That, and Legends ofthe Hidden Temple? Those sitcoms andgame shows were absolutely hilarious aswell as entertaining. Now we have showslike iCarly, and The Penguins of Madagascar.In my opinion, no modern showcould ever top these old ones.H o wabout CartoonNetworks formershows?I rememberc o n s t a n t l ywatching cartoonslikeDexter’s Laboratory,Ed,Edd, n Eddy,Courage theCowardlyDog, andDragon Ball Z. Again, shows that neverfailed to entertain. Nowadays, CartoonNetwork provides kids with shows likeAdventure Time and Chowder, whichI’ve heard are funny. However, I willforever remain a 1990’s Cartoon Networkfan. Also shows on Disney Channellike Boy Meets World and Bear in theBig Blue House have been replaced withHannah Montana and Phineas and Ferb.Although some of these new shows areinteresting to watch, I don’t believe theywill ever equal to shows from the 1990’s.What do you think?More often than not, messages carriedout through devices such as cell phones orthe internet are lost in technological translation.Written text cannot convey emotionsquite the same way as speaking directly toa person can. I’m sure most of us can relateto the awkward moment when you donot understand the tone of someone’s textmessage or IM. You stare at it for a fewminutes, wondering what to reply. Sometimessaying ‘lol’ (laugh out loud) is yoursafest bet.For example, a short message like,‘I hate you’ can be read in various differentways. It could be a joking response,or it could be legitimate. Joking throughtechnology-driven communication usuallyIntersection in theHallwaysDid you ever leave your class a bit lateand have to rush to your next class? You’retrying to walk as fast as possible, but then,there is a person who is walking very, veryslowly. Hey, we’ve all been in this position.You tryto slide intotheopeningnext to wallin order topass them, butthatdoesn’twork. A slightcough or an“excuse me”doesn’t work,either, and thebell is usuallysecondsfrom ringing.Typically, thissituation leadsme to wonderPhoto courtesy of Google Imageswhere they are all going. Don’t they realizethat the bell is about to ring? Maybe theyhave an off period, or perhaps they likewalking into class a minute or two late.by Sarah Jacksidoesn’t pan out well without the help of thetrusty three-letter-word that I mentionedbefore: lol. Adding ‘lol’ to any sentenceinstantly makes whatever you happenedto have said into a joke. The harsh connotationsof ‘you’re stupid’ or ‘shut up’ aregiven the lightness of a laugh when yousimply add ‘lol’. Certainly those may notbe the kindest things to say, but most ofus say them in a light-hearted tone whilespeaking on a day-to-day basis.All in all, watch your tone. While youmay be laughing on your side of the conversation,your friend could possibly beconfused OR even worse, hurt on the flipside.Whatever their individual reasons, you arebeing late to class! The worst situation ofall is definitely around the H Wing and theend of the E Wing. The end of the E Winghas lockers on both sides of the hall, whichmakes it hard forstudents to makeit to their lockers.It also makes ithard for the trafficof people tokeep moving. Theintersectionofthe H Wing to thehallway perpendicularto it is aproblem place aswell. The trafficis basically goingfour ways, whichleads to a horriblesituation for everyone.Perhaps,if the two-way traffic sticks to differentsides of the hallway, the situation could getcleared up, if not solved.“Ask The Jet”Do you have any questions or concernsj a n u a r y 2011that you want answers to? Well the “Jet”has your back! Submit your questions orconcerns to “Ask the Jet” at mfernand@eastmeadow.k12.ny.us and the answerswill appear anonomously in the next issue.

EDITORIALS 13The 10 Most AwkwardHigh School Moments!by Jaclyn GangiWhile most of the high-school populationwould like to stay on the nonawkwardside, we all have our moments.From the nerds to the jocks, we are all alittle awkward sometimes. I hope somepeople can relate.10. Seeing someone waving at you,you wave back. You then realize she iswaving at the person behind you.C’mon, this happens to EVERY-BODY. All I can say is: That’s awkward.9. Texting the wrong person. Imean the person you totally DID NOTwant to text. You send the text: “OMGBOB IS SO ANNOYING.” Then, you realizeyou sent it…to Bob. Oh, great.8. Tripping on your own feet.I’m just walking in the hallway, andALWAYS tend to trip on my feet. Haven’tfallen on my face yet, but it’s bound tohappen sometime.Somebody in a store walks up to youand asks where something is. If you don’twork there, it’s an awkward situation forboth of you.4. Mistaking somebody for someoneelse.Okay, this actually happened to merecently. I was at Model Congress, andI asked the boy next to me if his sistercame too. Turns out, it wasn’t my friend’sbrother. Awkward, but hilarious.Or once, I walked up to this man,mistaking him for my dad, and huggedhim. Whoops.3. Talking about someone, notknowing he or she is RIGHT BEHINDYOU.Call it being oblivious if you will,but I always happen to be talking aboutsomeone or telling a story about someoneright close to me, probably in hearingdistance.Proudly serving EMHSstudents, staff andfaculty! 10% off witha valid ID.7. The person behind you in thehallway steps on the back of your shoe,leaving you limping to class.This happens a lot, and it’s reallyannoying. A word to the wise: WATCHWHERE YOU STEP!6. Calling your teacher “mom.”Okay, this has yet to happen to me,but it’s happened to many of my friends.I don’t know what triggers it, but it’sREALLY embarrassing. Hopefully, youhave a normal teacher who won’t callyou on it. However, if you have one ofthose sarcastic teachers, they’ll DEFI-NITELY call you on it, and never let youlive it down.5. The “I Don’t Work Here…”2. Talking with a friend in the hallway,not realizing they’re about 15 feetaway from you, not even hearing whatyou just said.This makes you look like you’retalking to yourself. Just follow this upwith a laugh and tell your friend it’s yourmistake. Then, it’s not as embarrassing.1. The attempted three-pointer.When you get up to throw somethingout, just spare the embarrassmentand walk the few more steps in order tothrow it out correctly. The garbage canis not a basketball hoop, it’s a garbagecan. Even worse is if you miss: this leadsto the inevitable laughter from the entireclassroom.j a n u a r y 2011

14Common Sense in Teenagers“Yeah, I just walked into a wall.”“Really, did I just break that?!?!?”These are the kind of statements floodingmy ears day after day. My entire lifeis made up of friends who are incapableof everyday activities, such as walkingup and down the stairs. I mean, it is reallynot that difficult, but this statementpretty much makes me a hypocrite. SoI thought to myself, “Why do teens lackthe basic ability to multitask?” Thencame along my sister who does practicallyeverything right, and never getsin trouble. She is a clear contradictionof my teenstereotyping.So thatn a r r o w e dmy questiondownto, “Why domost teenagerslackthe abilityto multitaskor have anysort of connectiontoc o m m o nsense?” Thelack of commonsenseis like ane p i d e m i c .Can it bee x p l a i n e das teensneed to do absurd things for attention,fun, or to entertain others? Did heor she really not see that step or thatwall? That is like saying, “Oh yeah, Ididn’t see Godzilla over there... right infront of me.” I mean, like, where wereyou, Lala Land? Or even worse, GagaLand. Imagine a complete world filledwith Lady Gagas? Pretty creepy, ifyou ask me… plus, there would be toomany telephones ringing that Beyoncewouldn’t be able to pick up.Consider for example, the everpopular, “I DID SOO BADDDD ONTHAT TESTTTT,” or random statementssuch as talking about Shakespearewhen someone bursts out, “Whatis your favorite color?” It doesn’t makesense to me. Why would someone wantto inform everyone about their negativeaspects?The bursting out of random thingsleads me to the say, “Think before youspeak.” It’s a little bit of A.D.D, minorPhoto courtesy of Google ImagesEDITORIALSby Sunil Reddydyslexia, and a minor amount of hearingproblems. Another example thatprovides further evidence to my theoryis the trend to wear pants way belowthe waist, practically to the South Pole!The fact that they use a belt and put thepants that low is just fantastic. I’m tellingyou, this is genius. Why on Earthdoes someone need a belt when he putshis pants on the ground? Don’t look atme for an answer, I am just proud to saythat I wear my pants with a belt aroundmy waist at an appropriate height.I always thought that teenswere just simply mentally deprived, butI did my research, seeing that I have nolife, and found out the truth behind thementality of the average teenage brain.We have two eyes, two hands, and twolegs, so why not two brains? The brainis divided in half, a right and left hemisphere.The right hemisphere does a differentjob than the left. The right hemispheredeals more with visual activities,and plays a role in putting things together.The left hemisphere tends to be themore analytical part; it analyzes the informationcollected by the right. It takesinformation from the right hemisphereand applies language to it. If you injurethe left side of the brain, you’re awarethat things aren’t working (the righthemisphere is doing its job) but you areunable to solve complex problems oractivities. People with left hemisphereinjuries are generally more depressed,have more organizational troubles, andhave issues using language. So the leftArtist SpotlightAlyssa Lagattutasector of the brain is where one’s “commonsense” is, in a sense, located. Yourentire brain, specifically the left hemisphere,contains billions of neurons. Aneuron is an on and off switch, like ona remote control. It is either in a restingcondition or, when active, it is shootingan electrical impulse down a wire. It hasa cell body, a long, little wire which isreferred to as the axon, and at the veryend it has a little part that shoots out achemical. This chemical goes across agap where it triggers another neuron tosend a message. One’s common sensefails when the neuron is not used or ifit is overused, causing the left sector ofthe brain to not completely read off themessage sent to the brain from the rightside. This results in the lack of commonsense of teenagers. The only hope left tosave the next generation is probably agenetic mutation which would result ina generation with a super-smart brain,as well as common sense, as long as weall make it through 2012.Ja n u a r y 2011

SPORTS 15Award Winning JetsAll eleven East Meadow varsityteams were recognized as NY-SPHSSA scholar athlete teams.Team members must maintain aGPA of 90% or better.GIRLS VOLLEYBALLCOUNTY SEMI-FINALISTSBecky Syers All CountyNicole Laneri All CountyChristine Backer All ConferenceDeanna Groth All ConferenceEmily Hoffman All ConferenceGIRLS SOCCERJessica Widmann All County—ALL STATE (1ST team)Luisa Echeverry All County—ALL STATE (2ND team)Gabriella Fuduli All ClassBrittany Zajack All ClassAmanda Ashe All ConferenceDanielle Widmann All ConferenceBOYS VOLLEYBALLStephan Matos All CountyMatt Viola All ConfrenceGIRLS CROSS COUNTRYRachel Levy All ConferenceKarissa Stankes All ConferenceBrittany Cutler All DivisionCaitlin Langan All DivisionStephanie Fertitta All DivisionNilam Patel All DivisionFOOTBALLBrandon Noblett All CountyRob Healy All CountyDom Morales All CountyWill Kaywood All ConferenceShin Kang All ConferenceHector Guerrero Unsung HeroNational FootballFoundation Scholar-AthleteJared BiunnoUpcomingGamesTuesday 2/1BV BB vs. Herricks 5:00BJV BB vs. Herricks 7:00Friday 2/4GJV BB vs. Port Washington 5:00GV BB vs. Port Washington 7:00Friday 2/11BJV BB vs. Hicksville 5:00BV BB vs. Hicksville 7:00Monday 2/14GJV BB vs. Mac Arthur 5:00GV BB vs. Mac Arthur 7:00Brandon Noblett—Golden 11TeamNFL Playoff Wrap-upby Jobin Johnson“It’s Tracy Porter taking it all the controlling Vick, while they found aBOYS CROSS COUNTRYway, touchdown New Orleans!” That running game which was key to theirwas Super Bowl XLIV’s play, but what victory. Final score 21-16, Green Bay.Sean Grady All Countywill be this year’s?Surprisingly, New Orleans at SeattleBrad Kaufmann All Conference/ The AFC started out with six teams: did not end up to be the game that everyoneexpected. Explosive offenses(1) New England Patriots, (2) PittsburghSteelers, (3) Indianapolis Colts, for both teams, but the Seahawk’s of-DivisionNick Torres All Division(4) Kansas City Chiefs, (5) Baltimore fensive abilities were capped off withBOYS GOLFRavens, and (6) New York Jets. NewEngland and Pittsburgh had the firstone of the greatest NFL playoff runs inhistory. Marshawn Lynch’s 67 yard runTim Kearon All Countyweek of the playoffs off, the excitementremained. Ravens at Kansas was Orleans defenders, sealed the victoryin which he broke through eight NewTom Camastro All Countya blowout, with a Baltimore route of for the Seahawks, and sent the crowdFrank Borrelli All County HonorableMentionNew York at Indianapolis, in a rematch Now, with the four teams remaining in30-7. The other match up featured the roaring. Final score 41-36, Seattle.of last year’s AFC Championship game. the NFC, things started to get exciting.FIELD HOCKEY COUNTY New York and Indianapolis kept it tight Packers at Falcons featured a battle betweentwo teams with good offenses.until the closing seconds of the game,SEMI-FINALISTwhen the Colts got an apparent gamewinningfield goal, but the Jets got the signment because of Matt Ryan’s ex-However, the Packers had a tough as-Maria Minutoli All County HonorableMentionlast score on a 52-second drive to win it ceptional record at the Georgia Dome.Ryan Meyer All County Honorable17-16. New York and Baltimore moved Nonetheless, Rodgers and his offenseMentionalong, but they would have to face much was able to sail through the Falcons totougher opponents. New York at New a 48-21 victory. Seattle at Chicago wasVanessa DePasquale All Conferencewere two exciting rivalry games on one ahawk’s offense failed to score till lateEngland and Baltimore at Pittsburgh an easy matchup for the Bears. The Se-Catherine Masterson All Conferenceof the biggest stages possible. New York in the 3rd quarter, but it was far too lateat New England was a rematch of Week to overcome the Bear’s tremendous de-Ariana Ovadia All Conference 14, as New York looked to avenge the fense. Final score 35-24. Chicago. With45-3 beat down. New York’s pass pressurewas effective all game, and got Packers headed to the Bears to settle theSuper Bowl XLV one win away, theKim Asdahl All ConferenceGIRLS TENNISinto Brady’s head. In addition, the Jets’ AFC Championship game. The historicoffense was highly effective against the rivalry between the Packers and BearsBrittany Piket All Divisionyoung Patriots’ defense. Final score started with a new chapter, written byJackie Tortora All Division28-21, New York. Baltimore at Pittsburghwas predicted to be a defensive Jay Cutler by halftime, and the Bear’sthe Packers. The Packers knocked outKelly Corona All Conferencebattle, but turned into an offensive one. season was over with that. Final scoreAlizeh Yasin All Conference Ben Roethlisberger drove his Steelers 21-14, Green Bay.BOYS SOCCERdown field on the game winning drive.Final score 31-24, Pittsburgh. With theFinally, Super Bowl XLV is set andwe can find the best teams of the season.Hector Guerrero All County Super Bowl one win away, Pittsburgh Packers versus Pittsburgh is a battle betweentwo balanced teams. Rodgers iswas locked in and determined to takeAnthony Posillico All Countydown New York. Pittsburgh looked to looking to write his name into the greatHonorable Mentionavenge their Week 15 loss to New York. Packers’ history, while RoethlisbergerAlex Melnyczuk All Conference Big Ben, Mendenhall, and the Steelers is looking to further establish his greatChris Melnyczuk All Conference defense showed why they deserved to career and redeem himself after hisDom Fragiorgi All Conference go to the Super Bowl, as they defeated four games suspension. The Steelers’the Jets 24-19.defense will be a difficult obstacle toDavid Shmuel All ConferenceThe NFC’s playoff representatives overcome, but Rodgers has proven hisGIRLS SWIMMINGwere the (1) Atlanta Falcons, (2) ChicagoBears, (3) Philadelphia Eagles, all season long. Rodgers will lead hisability to overcome great challengesKatrina Bamba All Division/Conference(4) Seattle Seahawks, (5) New Orleans team to the promised land, and takeSaints, and (6) Green Bay Packers. At-home Super Bowl XLV. Final scorelanta and Chicago had the first week of 21-17 Green Bay. With the conclusionChristina Zoll All Conferencethe playoffs off, but there were still a of yet another great NFL season, somelot of exciting plays. Packers at Eagleswas a battle between two strong offenses.The Packers did a great job ofteams have gained confidence movingforward, while others look for revengenext year.News from the Coach’s DeskCongratulations to Chris Garzia,Tom Ford, Tom Millian, and Kyle Bettexwho won the Shuttle Hurdle Relayat the Stanner Games. Their times of30.52 is currently the fastest time in theUnited States.Our wrestling team is having astrong season on the mats. The teamis unbeaten in conference competitionwith wins over Hempstead, Hicksville,and Oceanside. Andrew Danziger(215) and Evan Pantofel (152) werecrowned individual champions at theEast Meadow Holiday tournament asthe team took 2nd place. Recent nonleaguewins over East Hampton (58-18)and Lindenhurst (42-36) have giventhe team some momentum heading intotough matches in the next few weeks.Senior Chris Dolan (125) has providedsolid performances along with Andrewand Evan.Courtesy of Yearbook StaffThe boys bowling team continuesits strong season and presently has an8-2 record with hopes of winning anotherconference championship. Theteam is receiving contributions frommany. In the victory over Clarke justafter the holidays Matt Viola (242) andAndrew Gold (232) led the squad. JeffJuarez (276) and Vinny Napolitano(264) had strong performances in thewin over Westbury. Matt and Andrewagain took the lead with 3 series scoresof 628 and 618 against Uniondale.In girls bowling, Senior EricaTuthill has had a strong season on thealley and our girls bowling team hasbattled to a 5-3 record. With a 201in the victory over Clarke and a 234against Uniondale Erica has kept theteam in contention for the conferencecrown.Let’s Go Jets!Ja n u r a r y 2011

16JANURARY 2011Catching up with Coach LeSeurCourtesy of Michael GanciLady Jets BasketballUpdateWith a record of 5-4 the girls varsityhoops team is right in the thick of the packas they battle fora playoff spot.A 35-29 nonleaguewin atLong Beach included16 pointsfrom senior MelissaCohen. Aftera tough lossto conferencefoe Herricks theladies defeatedPort Washingtonon Monday42-34. MelissaCourtesy of East Meadow PatchBethany LeSueur is a business teacherhere at East Meadow High School. Sheplayed basketball for Garden City HighSchool, where she was a two time GatoradePlayer of the Year in New York, andset the LI scoring record. She played forthe University of Virginia before she transferredto Georgetown. She is currently thecoach of the Girls Varsity team here. I hada chance to sit down with her and ask hersome questions.JG:What got you into basketball as akid?BL: Kids on my block played. Also,my mom was a swimmer, and while sheswam I played with the water b-ball hoop.JG: How did you end up at Georgetown?BL: It’s a very good school, and theBig East is a great conference, so I thoughtI should play in it. Also a former teammateof mine decided to go there so I joinedher.JG: Favorite moment at Georgetown?BL: When we beat Notre Dame, and Ihad the winning basket.JG: Did you enjoy playing basketballmore in high school or college?BL: They’re different, high school be-by Ryan Sacksagain led the scoring with help from MeganCleary (8 pts) and Danielle Widmann (6).Megan leads theteam in reboundsper game and getshelp from Jen Gundrumand ChristinaGogh. FreshmanKristina Sanicolahad a career highof 4 points againstHerricks—CoachLeSueur is lookingforward to manymore in the nextfew seasons fromKristina.Coach LeSeur coaching at practicecause I learned to be a leader, college becauseI got to play with better kids, and totravel often.JG: Favorite teammate?BL: Mary Lisicky- a PG from Allentown,PAJG: How does this year’s team (EMHSgirl’s varsity) stack up to last years team?BL: Were more experienced then lastyear, since the girls have had another yearin my system.JG: Teams to watch this year?BL: Baldwin, Herricks, Macarthur.JG: Most anticipated game of theyear?BL: Herricks- Early JanuaryJG: Things you need to improve onthis year?BL: Strong post play, eliminating turnovers.JG: Biggest Strength?BL: Melissa Cohen running things atthe point.JG: Favorite NBA player?BL: Kirk Hinrich.JG: Favorite NBA team to watch?BL: The Chicago Bulls.JG: Thanks for the timeBL: No ProblemSharp ShootingSeniorsby Jesse ShermanThe East Meadow High School BoysVarsity Basketball team is aiming to improveupon their 8-8 record from the2009-2010 season.Fortunately, CoachBarry Dickson hasa core group of experiencedSeniorswho are confidentin taking the teamto the next level.Senior Rob Franzese,who averagedjust below 10points per gamelast season, has ledthe charge thus faras the team’s topscorer. He has compiledan averageof over 16 pointsper game by usingan array of threepointshots as wellas his 6’4’’ frameto convert highpercentage layups.Fellow 6’4’’ senior Jeff Angelino hascomplemented Franzese very well, utilizinghis strength in the point to average over12 points per game. Assists are primarilydelivered by Seniors Nick Slevin and KyleBerger, who have had Varsity experiencesince tenth grade. They supply the Jets withleadership, impeccable passing, and theability to knock down any shot when givenCourtesy of East Meadow PatchCourtesy of Yearbook StaffAthlete SpotlightAndrew DanzigerWrestler- SeniorAndrew Danziger is 23-0 in his matchesthis season as of January 7th. He madethe County Tournament in both his sophomoreand junior years, where he placed4th in a division stacked with two all-statewrestlers. This year, he is a contender towin the County Championship and moveon to compete in the State Tournament inthe opportunity. Seniors Chris Melnyczukand Rob Bocchetti provide the Jets withsubstantial depth, as both have the abilityto be effectivestarters or benchplayers. They arealso three-pointRob Franzese hits a jumpershooting threats;Melnyczuk scoreda remarkable 12points from threepointersin a gameagainst ValleyStream South.The Jets’ currentsuccess canbe attributed to acombination ofstrong play fromtheir Seniors andtheir talentedunderclassmen.Sophomore JoeCampay has madehis 6’4’’ presencefelt, averaging 6.5points per game inthe games that he has scored in. Cody Zafran,a Freshman, has also had an impressiveand promising start to his Varsity career.The Jets finished 2010 with a 4-2 recordand will certainly try to continue to buildupon their strong start. They will need asmuch fan support as possible, so make sureyou don’t miss any home games as the Jetsmake their playoff push in 2011.his 215 lbs weight class. Next year he willbe wrestling on a scholarship at BinghamtonUniversity.“I’m excited about it [attending Binghamton],but right now my goal is to winCounties. I need to work hard and willhopefully reach my goal.”