bye bye birdie a hit! - southington high school · formed bye bye birdie to an almost sold out...

The Student Newspaper of Southington High School

Since 1898 • Volume C • Issue 5 April 2009

Nicole Russo ‘09

Contributing Writer

Inside This

Throughout the past year,the Southington HighSchool DECA store has hada major decline in sales. Thisplunge has come from arestriction in the types ofproducts the store is allowedto sell to students.

When the Board ofEducation accepted fundingfrom the state ofConnecticut, theSouthington schools neededto comply with theConnecticut HealthyStandards Act. This actbanned any product the statedetermined to have “toomuch” fat, saturated fat,trans fat, sugar, or sodium.The act also limited the over-all size of items.

With the new, strict limi-tations, the DECA store isselling healthier foods insmaller sizes. However, not

many high school studentsseem to desire these healthysnacks, and they are buyingelsewhere.

The school store is mak-ing less than half of what itdid last year. From Augustthrough December 2007,DECA sales were $37,541.Total sales from Augustthrough December 2008were only $16,130.

The decrease in the sizeof products has been amajor detriment to sales. Thesize of bagels, for example,has been reduced from fiveounces to three, and saleshave decreased from 16dozen to seven dozen perday.

The success of theDECA store affects theentire club. The organiza-tion, which has hundreds ofstudents, funds several chari-ty events year-round andmakes donations to families

in need during the holidays.The DECA store used to

be bustling before home-room and during study halls,when students stocked up ontheir favorite snacks for theday. This year, however, is amuch different story.

“I'm disappointed,” saidSHS senior Jim Longo. “Thestore used to sell things I'dactually buy. But now, I onlyshop there when I'm desper-ate for food.”

This same mindset wasshared by another senior,Angela Burbank, whodescribed the DECA store as“overpriced with an unsatis-fying variety of products.”

When asked about theConnecticut HealthyStandards Act, Alec Ulrychcommented, “I don't thinkthis act is a good idea forhigh school students. Kidsour age should know how toeat properly by now. It's a

Obama’s 1st 100 Days

page 4 Sprin

g Baseball

Preview : 1

Issue:School News:

Page 5Surround Sound :

Page 7

DECA StorE Struggling

Bye Bye B i r d i e A Hi t !Jackie Ford-Cooperman ‘09

Staff Writer

On March 27 and 28,the SHS Drama Club per-formed Bye Bye Birdie toan almost sold out crowdon both nights. The DramaClub blew everyone awaywith their enormous

amount of talent, especiallydirectors Mr. Lindblom,Mrs. Ossias, and AlyssaFontana. The tech crew, pitband, and cast were ener-getic and left the audiencewith nothing but praise.On the other hand, it was asad event for seniors LizSackett, Kayla Teel,Christina Volpe, TaylorHira, Phil Pomposi, JohnNitowski, Brandon Case,and Dan Orlando, who More Photos on page 6

shame, and now our schoolstore is suffering.”

Mrs. Calvi-Rogers, a mar-keting teacher who has beenmanaging the DECA storefor eight years, said, “Theseare the worst sales I haveever seen. We're currentlyselling half as many productsas we were at this time lastyear.”

Because of the newrestrictions, DECA plans to

reposition the store. It plansto move away from the foodbusiness and into otherareas, such as selling SHSclothing and accessories. It isalso considering partneringwith the Corner Café to sellhealthy snacks, such as saladsand smoothies.

“What we really need,”said Mrs. Calvi-Rogers, “is tothink outside the box.”

took to the stage for the lasttime at SHS. They areextremely loved in theDrama Club and will bemissed immensely. Thecast found the show a chal-lenge, but also very fun andrewarding and it showed intheir performance. It willbe fun to see their talentshine again next year whenthey hit the stage again.

SHS Students of the Issue

EMBLEM is officially accepting nominations

for Student of the Issue.

You can nominate yourself or one of your friends. You must

have accomplished something significant (e.g. community

service) or have shared a talent (art, music, etc.). A photo of

the nominee (or you) would be excellent. (send as an e-mail

attachment) and a paragraph or two about their (or your)

achievement should be sent to: [email protected].

Know an unsung hero?

aprilworkinprogress:Emblem 4/20/09 12:31 PM Page 1

SHS Community

The Student Newspaper of Southington High School April 2009

EMBLEM meets every Monday after school in the library. All are we lcome! Send articles or photos to: [email protected]

United States Naval

Sea Cadet CorpsJordan Otero ‘10

School News Editor

Deca Wedding Dress

Designers Lauren Zita ‘09

Contributing WriterFor years, brides have been

spending hundreds of dollars on adress they will only wear once.Now, three girls from SouthingtonHigh School made a bride’s dreamcome true.

They invented a wedding dresswith a detachable bottom, so abride can dance freely at her wed-ding reception. Furthermore, shewill be able to wear this gownagain.

Since October, Kayla Teel,Chelsea Curran, and BriannaBruneau have been spendingcountless hours on this project andit paid off. Their idea won themfirst place in the FashionPromotion area of the AnnualDECA state competition, whichtook place at the Aqua Turf inMarch.

“They had an awesome, cre-ative, and very practical concept”said Mrs. Calvi-Rogers, DECAadvisor.

Have you ever wantedto have an opportunity tomake new friends and havefun, all while learning valu-able life lessons? Maybe youshould consider the UnitedStates Naval Sea Cadet Corps(U.S.N.S.C.C). The program,for young men and women ages11-17, could be compared tosomething like the JROTC. Theprogram is completely volun-tary but does require that par-ticipants have parental consent,as well as good health and adrug and felony free record. It’sokay if you don’t want to jointhe military afterwards – youwon’t be forced to, either; youwill neither be pressured, norrequired, to enter into any con-tract with any military branch.

The United States Naval SeaCadet Corps participants,depending on their age, attend aone to two week, age-appropri-ate boot camp. You can do any-thing imaginable ranging fromlifeguard and medical training,law enforcement and culinaryarts. You can even attend FAASchool (at a significantly low-ered cost) and get your pilotslicense through the N.S.C.C –not to mention that collegeswill be very impressed whenthey see your participation inthe program on your résumé!Also, if you do decide to jointhe military, there are significantbenefits such as an enlistmentbonus, a possible promotionover your peers, and a height-ened knowledge above the oth-ers…which will probably leadto a lot less criticism duringyour basic training.

The closest unit toSouthington is the Barque

Eagle Division inPlainville at theNaval OperationalSupport Center (for-merly the Navy &Marine CorpsReserve Center),

about five minutes fromSouthington. Drills are held onthe the 1st and 3rd Wednesdaysof the month, and last from7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The drillson Saturday last from 8:00AMto 2:00PM. Cadets are requiredto attend at least 75% of alldrills, with the exception ofspecial circumstances. At drillsanything can go on, from vari-ous topic discussions and phys-ical training, or you can godown to New London andeither work on the U.S.C.G.Eagle, or work at U.S.C.GStation New London and assistthe crew in patrols, boat main-tenance and more.

SHS junior Alex Lada hasparticipated in the N.S.C.C.since age twelve and has beenactively involved for six and ahalf years. He has staffed twobasic trainings as a member ofthe medical staff, as well asspent a week in the summer atU.S.C.G Station New Londonperforming security escorts andboat maintenance with thecrew.

“I love every minute of it,”he says, “I am the Recruiting &Public Affairs Petty Officer formy unit. I also plan on joiningeither the Coast Guard or theNavy after high school.”

Interested in learning moreabout the program? ContactSN Lada, Recruiting & PublicAffairs for Barque EagleDivision by e-mailing [email protected]. You can alsogo online to www.seacadets.orgor www.barque-eagle.org.

Teel, Curran, and Bruneau usedtheir own personal feelings and thevoices of others to design the win-ning dress.

The dress is form-fitting andflares out at the bottom. Thedetachable bottom is fastened byhidden clips. When bottom isremoved, it looks like a new dress.

The girls will be leaving forAnaheim, California, April 28,where they will be competing inthe national competition with over13,000 other DECA students fromacross the United States. Joiningthem will be other SHS DECAfinalists: Annie Freer, MackenzieAngels, Kathryn Young; TylerCalvi-Rogers, Matt Roncaioli,Evan Rodriquez and Nick Perez.

“I’m so excited to compete atNationals in California and to rep-resent Southington High School,”said Bruneau. “This is a life-chang-ing experience.”

“I am looking forward to thecompetition,” Mrs. Calvi-Rogerssaid. “I have my fingers crossedthat we have finalists and winners.”

‘King’size Opportunity

for SHS Students

Emblem720 Pleasant Street, Southington, CT 06489

(860) 628-3229, Extension 495

www.shsemblem.org & [email protected] Emblem is a non-profit student-run newspaper that publishes six to eight

issues a year. To advertise in the Emblem, please call the number above.

Editor-in-Chief................Rabia Hamid

Managing Editor......Lisa Petropoulos

Copy Editor..............Vicki Woszczyna

School News Editor.......Jordan Otero

Arts Page Editor.............Alaina Monts

Sports Editor.......................Zack Etter

Global News Editor..........Rael Ramos

Features Editor...........Kaitlin Higgins

Layout Editor............Kylie Harrington

Graphics Editor.....Nosherwan Hamid

Webmaster..........................Nick Tosta

Faculty Advisor...Mr. Joseph Cipollini

Chris Amnott, Daniel Ardnt, Cassie

Brayfield, Mary Boisssoneault, Sylvie

Chho, Mark Cole, Chelsea Corarito,

Rich Donovan, Jacquelyn Ford-

Cooperman, Melissa Galuska,

Andrew Goldstein, Rachel Hayes,

Pamela Lichaj, Bethany Lint, Brenda

Lisitano, Bailey McLellan, John

Nitowski, Katherine Otis, Phil

Pomposi, Laurie Slade, Meaghan

Ukers, Stephen Wood, Tomek

Zubrowski

Photographers:

Brigid Bednarczyk, Kylie Harrington

The Student Newspaper of Southington High School

Goodbye Pontiac!Philip Pomposi ‘10

Staff Writer

G.T.O now means good times

over. That’s right, the legendaryautomotive company Ponitac isnow done and gone. It now joinsPlymouth and Oldsmobile in theranks of classic American cars thathave since become obsolete.

Pontiac was founded in 1926and was very obscure until 1955.Then, almost overnight, it becamethe car to have when, in 1955, thefamous arrowhead emblem wasfirst introduced.

If Pontaic had a rock star era itwould be the the early 60s throughthe mid 70s. Classic Americanmuscle cars were introduced inthese years, and some of themincluded the Catalina, Trans Am),Ventura and the legendary GTO.

Pontiac was able to do some-thing that other car companyscould never do. While the styleschanged, Pontiac always kept cer-tain themes. Many cars were pro-duced, then discontinued. Pontiacwent on the look out for newtrends, but the spirit was still thesame.

While people who despiseAmerican cars may rejoice, the restwho appreciate these truly iconicsymbols of Americana have lost animportant symbol of an era .

Maybe the residents of PontiacMichigan, will change the townsname. Maybe Michael Bay knowsabout this and will have thePonitac Solstice killed inTransformers.

General Motors, who ownsPonitaic has said it will discontinuethe brand but some “niche" mod-els will still be sold. Among thosemodels is the Solstice. Somehow,its just not the same.

This is one small step in GM’sdownword spiral. A month agotheir subsidiary Saab was almost inruins but the Swedish governmentgave in, and Saab is steady fornow; however bankruptcy mightbe on the horizon.

The sad thing is that GM owns13 different companies that oper-ate in about 140 countries. For 76

Everyone knows that the lionis the king of the jungle. Well, atSouthington High School, ourschool’s newest club, the LEO’SClub, is roaring into the spotlightas the most exciting and reward-ing community service club. Theclub’s name, LEO’S, stands for,“letting everyone openly serve.”The LEO’S Club is a junior affil-iate of the well-renowned Lion’sClub; the club’s communitysponsor is Mr. David Santoro,director of the Southington CareCenter. The LEO’S ClubPresident is Kiah DeVona andZack Etter is the Vice President.Mr. Cipollini is the club’s schoolliason. Geared toward communi-ty service, the LEO’S Club giveshigh school students an opportu-nity to earn service hours, meetnew people, and gain the self-confidence needed to succeedafter high school. Becoming amember of the LEO’S commu-nity service club is a great way tomake any college resumé shine,and any application shinesbrighter with a highly respectedcommunity service club’s nameon it.

Any student interested inbecoming a member of theLEO’S Club can attend thebiweekly Monday meetings in thelibrary. The next meeting will beMonday, April 20, 2009, in thelibrary immediately after schooluntil 2:45. If you cannot attendthe meeting, feel free to see Mr.Cipollini in the library, or see

Kiah DeVona for information. Cont. on Page 4


The Students Newspaper of Southington High School April 2009

Congratulations Governor Nowicky!

The Southington contingent at this year’s Youth and

Government Program did very well this year as Matt

Nowicky was elected CT Youth

Governor and Justin Miller and

Rich Donovan won for Best BillIf you would like information on the Youth &

Government program, please contact Steve Silva at the

Southington Community YMCA at ssilva@southing-

ton-cheshireymca.org or (860) 628-5597 ext. 323 or

Mr. Cipollini at SHS: 860-628-3229 x495


Opposing Views: Obama’s First 100 Days


Rael Ramos

Staff Writer

America’s Falling Barak Star Russians

Want Their

People

Back!

The Russian government istrying to solve the country’ssevere population decline by lur-ing back Russians who liveabroad as well as their descen-dants.

Moscow has spent $300 mil-lion in the past two years to getthe program started of bringingback descendants, and officialsestimated that more than twenty-five million people were eligible.

Even with the global financialcrisis, Russia is more stable andprosperous than at any othertime in its history, and the coun-try is confident enough in itsfuture. Now, they are ready touproot themselves and beginanew, in the coastal area inRussia’s far east.

The United Nations predictsthat the country will fall to 116million people by 2050, from 141million now(down eighteen per-cent) largely because of a lowbirthrate and poor health habits.The government is also trying toincrease the birthrate by payingfamilies to have more children.Sofar, only 10,300 people havemoved back under the govern-ment program. The program isnot open to just any descendantsof Russians. In general, appli-cants must speak Russian and becomfortable with the country’ssociety and culture.

100 Days Of Progress

The first one hundred days

of any presidency are alwaysunder intense scrutiny. Morethan fifty days has gone by andfrom a liberal standpoint, Obamais doing all that he can, and withresults that prove it, to repair andput our country back on its feet.

Looking at the economy,Obama has enacted the econom-ic stimulus bill, helping strug-gling families survive one of theworst economic recessions sincethe depression.Naturally, theRepublican Partytried to defeat thebill, but passedn e v e r - t h e - l e s s ,despite noRepublican supportin the House ofRepresenta t ives.Unity on the issuewould have beenbetter for the nation as a whole,but Democrats have proven it isnot necessary.

Regarding health care,Obama is making it possible forthe millions of people that can-not afford sky high premiums tobe protected if a tragedy shouldever strike them. He has alsoproposed that all health recordsbe standardized and electronicfive years from now. This wouldsave billions of dollars, help theenvironment by preventing paperwaste, and stop the many medicalerrors that occur though papertransactions. CNN’s websiteposted the following fromObama: “‘It just won't save bil-lions of dollars and thousands ofjobs -- it will save lives by reduc-ing the deadly but preventablemedical errors that pervade ourhealth care system,’ [he] said dur-ing a January 2009 speech.”

On the education front, theObama administration has madestrides in aiding families dealingwith the rising college costs. Hehas increased the national Pellgrants to $5,500 and offered a$2,500 tax break to those familieswith a child in college. Also,Obama has pushed for legisla-tion awarding effective teachersbonuses, increasing the pay ofteachers who excel in their field

and has called for a longer schoolcalendar to increase US perform-ance standards compared toother country’s scores in mathand science.

During his campaign, Obamapromised to remove troops fromoverseas and he has, announcingmost troops will be home fromIraq by the end of 2010. As forthe increasing fear of conflict inAfghanistan, Obama has unfor-tunately had to ask for moretroops to patrol the area, forinternational security purposes.

Seventeen thousandtroops will join the cur-rent thirty eight thou-sand serving inAfghanistan. As forNorth Korea, tension isat its highest since N.K.has scrapped peaceagreements with SouthKorea and apparently isready to conduct test-ing for missiles that

could potentially hit the UnitedStates. Obama’s administration,specifically Hillary Clinton, isattempting to push peace to thebrink in order to prevent a newconflict with North Korea.

Overall, Obama has beenfaced with an onslaught of issuesin his first fifty days, and consid-ering the situation of being anew president, each issue hasbeen dealt with intelligently andwith extreme caution. TheUnited States resides on aprecipice- depending on howObama handles our country’saffairs, we could be sent spiralinginto self-implosion or rise fromthe bottom to our previous sta-tus as the world’s only superpow-er.

Chelsea Corarito ‘09

Staff Writer

Richard Donovan

Staff Writer

Since January 20th, the UnitedStates has been led by our 44thpresident, Barack Obama. Sincethis day, the nation’s economyhas continued to decline, foreignpowers have continued to act up,and the U.S. government hasmade dramatic and dangerousmistakes. To list everything thathas gone wrong would take for-ever, so I’m going to stick withhis biggest mistakes. First of all,3 and a half trillion is a really bignumber. This is theproposed nationalbudget, a hugeincrease over anynational budget everproposed. Manyrepublicans have comeout against the pro-posal, but have beencriticized about theirlack of a coherent pro-posal to replace it.Either way, it is likelythat the budget willpass through congress,and that Obama will have his taxincreases and spending increases.For those that believe that theirtaxes won’t be a tax increase,you’re right. The increased rev-enue will come from increasingtaxes that are currently enforced,such as the income tax. To off-set this, the administration plansto permanently eliminate taxesthat have remained on the booksbut dormant for years. Overall,the tax increases will look likethey’re balanced out by thedecreases. However, when itcomes time to pay the taxman,the average American is in forquite the surprise. Next, the

nations economy has been hithard over the past few months.There are some signs of recov-ery, but there is still a major fearthroughout the public that willhelp keep consumer spendingdown and unemployment high.Obama’s administration has beenworking hard to deal with theseissues, but in the process havefurther alienated the consumer,especially those looking to buybig ticket items, and given thefederal government too muchpower over American business.

General Motors,once the biggestcorporation onearth, has fallen tonear extinction.The president, inan effort to savethe car giant, hascome out withwarranty guaran-tees, federal loans,restructuring, andeven going as far asremoving RickWagoner, the CEO

since May of 2003. After flexinghis shareholder might, the presi-dent is now dealing with conflict-ing reports about his desires tokeep GM out of bankruptcy.Although he has said that hewishes to restructure out ofcourt, top administration aids aresaying that chapter 11 is still avery viable option. So, is GMsafe in the eyes of the con-sumer…NO. Since that coldJanuary morning, America hastaken a completely new stance onmany old issues, and we can seethat, at least based on approvalratings, the American people arequickly turning their back ontheir favorite Barack star. Pontiac : From Page 2

years it was the best selling

automaker in the world then inlater years it dropped to num-ber 2.

There is speculation thatthe Saturn divison is going tobe joining Pontiac by the endof next year.

Just as Native AmericanChief Pontiac was unsuccess-ful in his uprising, car-makerPontiac was unsuccessful in

surviving a century.

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ATTENTION WRITERS AND ARTISTS!!!Do you enjoy writing poetry, short stories, haikus etc.? Do you like drawing, painting,

or photography? Well, if you do, the SHS Literary Magazine is a great way to show your tal-

ent and creativity! This year, the “Lit. Mag.” is completely new – it will be on a CD, an easy

and convenient way to view students’ work on your computer. In addition, not only are we

accepting students’ writing, but also students’ artwork! If you take an art class, or simply

like to draw, send us a picture or copy of your artwork and it will appear in the Lit. Mag as

well! All submissions should be handed in ASAP, but no later than May 1. Remember, all

submissions must include the name of the author or artist.Written material for the Lit. Mag.

should be emailed to [email protected]. Any questions, please contact Diana

Babineau, Emily Chubet, or Mr. Cipollini in the library.

Don’t miss out on thi s gr eat oppor tuni ty to have your work pub l ished !


School News


At Southington HighSchool, a new club known asWISE (Women In Science andEngineering) has received agenerous donation from theHartford chapter of Society ofWomen Engineers. At theclub’s latest meeting, SWETreasurer Carol Coppa, who isalso a civil engineer atNortheast Utilities, presentedthe members of the club with acheck from SWE. WISE willuse the donation to organizeactivities that will expose thestudents to careers in technolo-gy and science areas, mainly inengineering. Later this monthmembers of WISE will be tour-

ing the ESPN facilities spon-sored by one of their femaleengineers.

The club began this yearwith female students in theProject Lead the Way pre-engi-neering program; they wantedto raise awareness of the careeropportunities for females int e c h n o l o g y ,math, and sci-ence areas. Theclub is open toany female whomay be interest-ed in pursuing acareer in sci-ence, math ortechnology. JoinWISE to meetother girls at

SHS with similar interests inmath and science. If any femalestudents are interested in join-ing or learning more aboutWISE, you may contact theclub’s advisor Miss Miller in theguidance office or [email protected].

Women In Science And EngineeringShannen Kizilski

Contributing Writer

Chronicle

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Yearbooks must beordered in advance toguarantee you’ll get one.

order online @ jostensyearbooks.com or call 1-866-282-1516

We will not be

ordering extra books

Public Speaking Debates Hit SHS Library

A senior public speakingclass taught by Ms. Zaccardoheld debates on various cur-rent, controversial topics. Theforum was held over two class-es and was attended by manystudents in the audience. Mrs.Patterson, Mrs. Hosmer,and Mrs. Esposito allcontributed immenselyto make the debates asuccess. The topics andgroups were: “Should S.A.T. and

A.C.T. scores be used

for college admission?”

Debated by: Ryan Borawski,Kelly Paterson, Billy Mayer,Abby Debner, and RyanSatterfield. “Should liquor stores be

opened on Sundays?”

Debated by Evan Honeyman,Bridget Sheehan, Sylvie Chho,Patrick Riera, and JessicaBaillargeon.

“Should exotic animals be

allowed in households?”

Debated by Chris Daly, LaurenCwikla, Kellen Jackson, ShelbyDattilo, and Steven Risser. “Should P.E. classes be

required for student-ath-

letes?”

Debated by MatthewRoncaioli, RyanCharamut, AlexisBraziel, ShefaliPatel, KevinThomas, and MarisaTremaglio.

The publicspeaking debates

served as excellent prepara-tion for the upcom-ing college experi-ment and helpedwith student aware-ness of importantissues. More speech-es will be held as thecourse atSouthington HighSchool continuesuntil graduation.

Sylvie Chho '09

Staff Writer

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Designing a Robot to

Play LunacyNatasha Perri

Contributing Writer

Eric Meccariello is a memberof the SHS FIRST Roboticsteam that competed at theConnecticut ConventionCenter in Hartford. He dis-cussed how the team preparedfor the game “Lunacy” in thecompetition. He also talkedabout how the team has fur-thered his interest in engineer-ing. Q: How is the game

“Lunacy” played?

A: There are six robots on thefield, and compete three onthree. We have to try to get themost orbit balls into the otherteam’s trailers, which areattached to the robots. We canscore the balls by either pickingthem up by using the robot orplayers can attempt to shootthe balls into the trailers manu-ally. Q: How do you know what to

build?

A: On the first Saturday ofevery January we get a gamethrough a NASA webcast.From there, we decide ourstrategy and build our robotaround that strategy. Q: How many people does it

take to build the robot?

A: There are four basic teamsthat help build the robot: elec-trical, designing, programming,and manufacturing.Q: Do the students get any

help?

A: Yes, a lot. There are a fewengineers, machine shop own-ers, and parents who help out. Q: How does the team pre-

pare for the events? Is there

any kind of practice?

A: We scout, and look at otherteams’ robots and see how theydid in other competitions. Asfor practicing, we practice afterschool until 3:15 and also from6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays. Q: What is your role on the

team? What kind of things

have you been able to do

while being a part of the

team?

A: I led the design team andlearned a lot of basic manufac-turing techniques. For example,I learned how to use basic shopmachines. I also learned a lot ofcorporate design techniques. Q: Has being on the FIRST

team changed your outlook

on college and your career

choice?

A: I already wanted to be anengineer before, and being onthe team just helped cement theidea of becoming an engineer. Q: Do you believe being a

part of this program has pre-

pared you for life beyond

high school?

A: Yes, it taught me how to bemore self-sufficient and gaveme a real world situation. Q: What is the best part of

being on the team?

A: I like interacting with mymentors, teammates, and evenother competitors.

Della Vecchia

Funeral Home211 North Main Street,

Southington, CT 06489

628-2293



Bye Bye Birdie!


A Slice of the Arts

After over two months ofstrenuous rehearsals brassmusicians, percussionists, andcolor guard members finallypresented their indoor show,Surround Sound IV, on March6 and 7 at 7:00PM in the SHSauditorium. This year's themeof “Temptations” definitely setthe tone for a per-formance thatensured massamounts of energyand amazing visu-als. The musicalarrangement fromthe show was verydiverse, featuringmusic from“BLAST!”, thepopular band Styx,Michael Flatley’s“Riverdance”, andEarth, Wind, andFire.

The show kicked off with astately piece,“ F a n f a r e / A m e r i c a nWake/Riverdance”, whichimmediately showcased themusicians’ superb playing abili-ty. Following the opener was anarrangement of “AmazingGrace” played on the piano byBridget O’Connor and per-formed by upper classmenmembers of the color guard, aswell as their three instructors.Also included in the first actwas “Symphony #2, Movement4”, “All Things Bright andBeautiful”, a color guard per-formance, done all in blacklight, to the song “Threat”from Cirque du Soleil’s “Ka”,and “The Return of ThreeStools and a Garbage Can”,featuring percussionists KevinThompson, Isaac Monts, DaveRoy, and Jolene Vachon. Beforeintermission the audience wastreated to a taste of Irelandwith “Home and the

H e a r t l a n d / R i v e r d a n c eReprise”, complete with Irishdancers.

The second act opened with“Marimba Spiritual”, a pieceperformed by percussioninstructors Brett Berardi, SteveSt. Mary, Bob Rush, and MattThompson. “Land of MakeBelieve”, from “BLAST!”, letthe musicians let loose and have

fun with their performance.Next the band connected withrock and roll fans with a “StyxFlashback”, featuring popularsongs “AD 1928”, “Rockin’ theParadise”, and “Mr. Roboto”.The under classmen colorguard members received recog-nition of their talent in theirpresentation of “I Can SeeClearly Now”. Two percussionpieces followed – “MarchingSeason” and “Stubernic”. Thecolor guard performed as anensemble with their tribute tothe 70’s with a medley of songsfrom Earth, Wind and Fire.The last tune, “Temptation”,had a Spanish flair to it andended the show with a surpriseto the audience – colorfulstreamers dropped from thecatwalk.

Dana Burstynski, now a sen-ior at UCONN, is a marchingband alumni who participatedin Surround Sound I andSurround Sound II. Her sister,Kelly, is now a senior here at

Surround Sound IV

“Temptation”

Madame Tomorr owDear Madame Tomorrow,

I was never very good atmaking decisions and inhigh school I seem to haveto make a lot of choices thatcould really change my life.I guess my question is howdo I know what I choose isthe right path for me?

Signed,Indecisive

Dear Indecisive,

Everyone gets

to a point in

their life where

they question

their choices

and decisions.

Truth be told,

you never really

know exactly

which path is

right for you

until you try it

out. People

make bad deci-

sions sometimes

and they can get

into difficult sit-

u a t i o n s .

Imagine life

being like a gamble, you’ll

never know if you win or loose

until you go for it. As long as

you can make the best out of

every eventuality, you’ll do

fine.

The best way that I know to

make the right decision for you

is to think it over. List what you

want to do and then weigh out

the pros and cons. Contrasting

the good and bad things about

a choice is an efficient way to

look at the decision rationally.

People often believe that when

a difficult judgment comes

their way it is best to ask a

friend or loved one their opin-

ion. This may not be the best

way to handle it because your

friend or parent is not you and

they don’t know exactly how

you feel about the choice.

Asking them is fine, but in the

end you must give the final

verdict.

If the conclusion you come

to is life changing then best of

luck. You may look at both

decisions as realistically and

logically as you possibly can

and still find it to be a difficult

judgment. In such a case you

are just going to have to trust

yourself and pick. Do not let

indecision slow

you down

because you are

just going to

have to settle on

one decision.

People have left

it up to chance

and allowed a

life changing

choice depend

on the flip of a

coin, others

have believed

that religion

will guide them

to the correct

path, still others

say they had a

good vibe from one selection.

However you wish to deal with

your big decision, go for it.

There really is no sure way of

knowing which way will work

out the best, so my advice is to

just pick and know that what

ever the outcome you will

remain optimistic because

everything happens for a rea-

son.

There is nothing more

real than right now

Sincerely,Madame Tomorrow

Jordan Otero

School News Editor

SHS.“As an alumni I'm all for

coming back to see how theband program has evolvedsince I graduated,” she says. “Idid have higher expectationsbecause Surround Sound isaudition-based and marchingband in the fall is an activityanyone can join. SurroundSound is for the people that

want to be there.”Burstynski says

that one of thethings that continuesto amaze her is how“only thirty or fortyindividuals can pullan amazing showlike that togetherand project to fill anentire auditorium.”SHS junior BrittanyRobarge agrees. “Ithink that the visualscombined with the

marching and playing is whatimpressed me the most.Everyone looked like they werehaving so much fun up there –it kind of made me wish I waswith them.”

Freshman Meghan Boweshad no previous experienceattending a Surround Soundperformance like Robarge orBurstynski. “I saw some com-petitions this fall and was reallyimpressed with the band, so Iknew they'd be just as good inSurround Sound,” she says.“The show was awesome…Iliked it when the band mem-bers danced,” she adds with alaugh.

Clearly, everyone involvedwith Surround Sound put on ashow that this school will neverforget. Just think -- if their per-formance indoors was thisgood, just imagine how greatthe fall show next year willbe…especially with thosesnazzy new uniforms!

Since December 2008, fivehigh school Drama Club stu-dents, plus one late comer, havehelped direct FlandersElementary School’s firstDrama Club production ofThe Big Bad Musical. The stu-dent directors have put in theirown time in addition to theirregular SHS Drama Clubrehearsals. They are MarykateScanlon, Anthony Yovina,Alyssa Rubin, Meghan Bowes,Emily Gerrish, and JacquelynFord-Cooperman.

The show was an enormoussuccess, with two sold outshows on March 20 and March21. Not only did these six stu-dents help out, but also severalother Drama Club memberscame to support the Flanderskids on their dress rehearsalsand the night of their shows.“These kids show talent that’sso unexpected that it amazed usall. They have showed an unbe-lievable amount of commit-ment and we couldn’t be moreproud,” said student directorAlyssa Rubin. With so muchtalent, the student directors are

Drama Kids Lend A

Helping HandJackie Ford-Cooperman ‘12

Staff Writer

Right: The six drama clubstudents that helped withFlanders’ first drama club

production Pictured:Marykate Scanlon, Meghan

Bowes, Anthony Yovina,Alyssa Rubin, Emily

Gerrish, and JacquelynFord-Cooperman

ecstatic to help out again nextyear and reunite with the kidswho are the definition of the-ater.

aprilworkinprogress:Emblem 4/20/09 12:32 PM

Features The Student Newspaper of Southington High School April 2009

Kaitlin Higgins ’09

Feature’s Editor

STEPS ProgramWe Challenge You to Take theAsset Test

S.T.E.P.S. = Southington’sTown-wide Effort To PromoteSuccess. It’s a grassroots com-munity program aimed at devel-oping healthy and successfulyouth. Kids, adults and com-munity leaders have formedS.T.E.P.S. to promote and buildassets in Southington. Whatare assets?

Scientific research showsthat the more assets kids havethe more likely they are to suc-ceed in school, respect diversity,show leadership and bounceback from difficult situations.The Search Institute has stud-ied 40 developmental assets.The more you have, the betteroff you are.

Example: 61% of studentswith 0 to 10 assets wereinvolved in violent behaviorwhile only 7% of kids with 31

to 40 assets were.Take the test yourself on the

Search Institute’s websitesearch-institute.org and click on“Developmental Assets” and“40 Developmental Assets forAdolescents 12-18.” How manyassets do you have out of 40?To find out where you matchup with other kids across thecountry, click on “What KidsNeed” and then “AssetsResearch.”

Bottom line: kids who havemore assets aremore successful inlife…why not helpus build assets inSouthington? SeeMr. Hart for moreinfo.

Prom is one of the mostimportant events that anyonewill ever experience. With thisbeing said, you want it to be thebest night that you can make it.That includes picking the rightdress and everything else thataccompanies it. When findingthe perfect dress, keep in mindthat just because you are techni-cally not in school, it doesn’tmean that you should break allof the dress codes. For theJunior Prom, it is ok to wear

shorter dresses, just no tooshort because it is still a formalevent. For Senior Prom, itis best to stick to floorlength. With prom dresses,it can be easy to fall for lowcut styles. Keep it in mod-eration. When in doubt,modesty is always the bestpolicy, but it doesn’t meanthat you have to necessarilyhave a turtle neck on.However, the best trick ofall is to look for a dress thatlooks expensive, but isfound at reasonable prize.One way to do this is withaccessorizing.

Who said diamondswere a girl’s best friend? Shoes

are every girl’s downfall. Promshoes should be cheap, but nott o oc h e a p .U n l e s sthere wasa miracleclearancesale, mostshoes thatare reallycheap arebad for your feet and aren’tcomfortable. The best promshoe is comfortable, whetheryou wear them all night or not.Also, the best bet is to get shoesthat have a sling back so thatyour feet don’t get too hot.Hair is very dependent on yourdress, but remember that wavesare always chic. Accessoriesshould be kept to the bare min-

imum. Let it highlight yourface and enhance your dress. Itshouldn’t overpower you or anyother part of your outfit.Makeup should also be mini-mal, the biggest mistake is tooverdo on eye-liner or eyeshadow. Nevertheless, the onesingle most important accesso-ry is your face itself. Nothingmakes someone feel more con-fident and is the best outfitaccessory than healthy lookingskin. Prepare weeks in advanceby not skipping skin care rou-tines and not damaging yourskin with too much sun orchemicals and by getting plentyof sleep.

Jacquelyn Ford-Cooperman ‘12

Staff Writer

Prom Fashion Secrets

Skewing History : The Mad Monk

The Romanov family was thelongest ruling monarchy in histo-ry. The Dynasty lasted for overthree hundred years. Russia,being such a huge nation carriedsuch an enormous populationthat simply caring for so manypeople became well… tiring forthe Romanovs. After all, they hadmore important things to dothan worry about a few thou-sand serfs in the Ukraine (aserf is like being a slave, onlyworse) going hungry. In fact,the most pressing matter forthe Royal family in the 1900swas the matter of an heir.The Czar only had threedaughters; he was finally gift-ed with a son – Alexei – onlyto find that he had the genet-ic misfortune of havinghemophilia.

This is where the leg-endary Rasputin comes in.Born in Siberia with a gift forhorse whispering, GregoriRasputin became a priest andmoved to the capital at St.Petersburg. The Czar and hiswife were desperate. TheCzarevich, Prince in Russian,was now a feisty young boy,falling down constantly andresulting with constantly bleed-ing bruises; the symptom ofhemophilia.

The Czarina, Empress, heardabout the new religious preacherwho had mysterious powers. TheCzar summoned Rasputin, andto his amazement, Rasputin kneltnext to the bed, prayed, andAlexei was healed!

Doctors and scientists wereshocked and confused. TheCzarina was impressed and

enraptured with Rasputin. TheCzar began looking towardsissues of national interest (i.e.World War I). As Rasputin hungout around the Romanovs moreoften, he grew closer to theCzarina and the Princesses, andbecame a much more usefuladvisor to Czar Nicholas II thanhis official military advisors.

World War I began. Nicholasmarched off to war withGermany while the Czarina

stayed in St. Petersburg… withRasputin. Claiming to have sleptwith the Czarina, Rasputingained a dark public reputationin the shady bars of St.Petersburg. The war dragged on,more and more Russians werekilled at the front, and theCzarina began to believeRasputin was nothing less than aprophet. In every aspect,Rasputin ruled the RussianEmpire.

Russia signed a treaty withGermany in 1917, officially end-

ing Russia’s involvement in thewar. Nicholas II returned to St.Petersburg to find his country ina state of revolution. Lenin wasgathering his army and preparingfor civil war. The Czar tried tobanish Rasputin from the landand restore order. Only it wastoo late, Rasputin was too power-ful. Sensing his end was near,Rasputin sent a message to theCzar: “my death will come soon,but if you or any member ofyour family is involved, you and

your kin will all die.”In December,

Nicholas’ nepheworchestrated a conspiracyto kill Rasputin andrestore the monarchy.(The details ofRasputin’s murder aretoo epic to describe inthis article. However, fora good read, just google“Rasputin death.”)

The Czar’s family fledSt. Petersburg amidst theOctober Revolution.They were eventuallycaptured by theBolsheviks, taken to asingle room, and gunneddown. The RomanovDynasty had ended. TheSoviet Union was born.

It’s extremely difficult to saywhat might have happened if wesubtract Rasputin from history.Perhaps without a heavyRasputin hand ruling Russia dur-ing the war, Lenin might not stirup so much trouble. Russia mightnot have even gone to war with-out Rasputin’s advice. Onething’s for certain: withoutRasputin, the Soviet Unionwould not have had as much jus-tification for existence.

John Nitowski ‘09

Staff Writer

Kristen’s Kloset Fund Raiser: Friendly’s Restaurant,

408 Queen Street, Monday, April 27, 2009, 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.Join us for dinner or ice cream and help us raise funds to assist local teens so they can attendtheir Proms. 15% of the sales between these hours will be donated to Kristen’s Kloset, a YouthServices program which provides prom essentials to students in need. With tux prices andticket prices staying the same or rising and some family’s incomes going down, there are greater

financial needs this year. No student should miss their prom due to inability to pay.



Bye Bye Birdie !



FBLA WINS!Katharine Otis ‘11

Staff Writer

In this tough economy, thecountry needs all the talentedleaders it can handle to getbusinesses running again. Soit’s comforting to know thatSouthington High School is alittle talent pool in itself.

On March 31, the mem-bers of the Future BusinessLeaders of America (FBLA)attended their annual confer-ence at the Holiday Inn inWaterbury. Southingtonreceived the Golden Chapter

Award for Outstanding Serviceand Leadership and a secondplace award for The MostOutstanding Chapter inConnecticut. Individual awardswent to Alisha Washer, Lauren

Cwikla, Kelley Hwang, JonCrevier, Angie Frosceno,

Milena Meluzzo,Marissa LaBelle, EvanHoneyman, and KatieLainas. Some of theareas in which studentscould compete includedDesktop Publishing,Introduction toB u s i n e s sCommunication, andImpromptu Speaking.

Of course, not everyone canplace. But that certainly has nothindered the hopes of thoseplanning to return. “I think Iwill work even harder for itnext year because I really saw

the competition and it definite-ly brings a feeling of accom-plishment…when you do well,”said Emily Jepson, a sopho-more in high school but afreshman to the conference.

FBLA chapters from allover the state attended the con-ference, which made this day asmuch about socializing and net-working as it was about compe-tition. “You have the opportu-nity to meet other members,”said Katie Lainas, secretary ofSouthington’s FBLA chapter.Those who attended the con-ference were treated to a break-fast upon their arrival and hadopportunities to learn about

skills important to life as well asbusiness, such as credit. “It’scompetitive, but it’s fun too.”

Business these days, howev-er, is certainly not fun andgames. With the country’seconomy in dire straights, whatis the general feeling among themembers of FBLA?

“We’re obviously worriedabout getting jobs in thefuture…We [FBLA officers]definitely talk about it and tryto inform other members,”Katie said. Their outlook, how-ever, remains optimistic. “Wecan recognize what problemscaused the recession and aspireto be a part of the solution.”


National and SHS Sports

Spring Baseball Preview Chris Amnott ’11

Staff Writer

The Big East


As the snow melts and the icethaws, hundreds of majorleague baseball players are get-ting ready for their seasonsunder the hot sun of Arizonaor Florida. With opening day amere three weeks away, everymajor league team opens with aclean slate. Some teams willquickly rise to the top of theirleagues, while others may falterand sink to the bottom oftheirs.

AL East1. Boston Red Sox - The Red

Sox have watched as their rivals,the Yankees, have spent over$400 million on players this off-season. However,, the Red Soxdo not have a clear weakness ontheir team. The pitching staffand bullpen will be dominant.

2. New York Yankees - TheBronx Bombers are going for itall this year, as the signings ofMark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia,and A.J. Burnett indicate. Theywill certainly give the Red Soxall they can handle during theyear. How will the A-RodSteroid Scandal impact theirchances?

3. Tampa Bay Rays - TheRays had to be one of thegreatest storiesin baseball his-tory last sea-son. Bolsteredby a dominat-ing pitchingstaff and ayoung crop ofplayers, theRays will becompetitive for years to come.

AL Central1. Detroi t Tige rs – Last sea-

son was a major disappoint-ment for the Tigers, eventhough Miguel Cabrera playedMVP caliber baseball throughthe season. Look for JustinVerlander to bounce back in abig way in ’09.

2. Cleveland Indians – TheIndians seem play good base-ball every other year. If thetrend continues, watch out in’09.

3. Minnesota Twins – The

Twins were supposed to be ter-rible last season after losing AllStar pitcher Johan Santana tothe Mets. The critics werewrong, as Minnesota camewithin a one game play-off ofthe divisionc h a m p i -onship. Theyare bolsteredwith homegrown talentJoe Mauerand JustinMorneau, aswell as closerJoe Nathan.

AL West1. Los Angele s Ange ls – The

Angels, who annually have oneof the best pitching staffs inbaseball, were dealt a blowwhen closer Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez bolted for theMets. They will be a forceagain, even without MarkTeixeira, as Torri Hunter andVladimir Guerrero will star.

2. Oakland A’s – The A’sacquired baseball’s best keptsecret this winter, as MattHolliday came to Oakland viafree agency. The A’s will be ledby Jason Giambi and JustinDuchscherer but will fall shortof the playoffs once again.

3. Texas Rangers – TheBallpark inA r l i n g t o nwill be rock-ing as theRangers arecompetitivea g a i n .Comebackplayer of

the year Josh Hamilton, as wellas Ian Kinsler, and MichaelYoung will lead the team to thebrink of the postseason.

NL East1. New York Mets - The

Mets, like their cross-town rivalYankees, missed the postseasonlast year and made a big splashin the free agent market, acquir-ing two first rate closers:Francisco Rodriguez and J.J.Putz. The lineup is deep andpowerful. The Mets could verywell win it all in ’09. Can theykeep it together down the

Zack Etter ‘10

Sport Editor

stretch?2. Philadelphia Phil l i es –

After twenty eight long years,the Phils won the World Series.Although the loss of PatBurrell is huge, the remaining

core of players isintact. RaulIbanez is the newleft fielder for apotential pennantwinner.

3. Flor i daMar l i ns – TheMarlins, led byHanley Ramirez,are back again in2009 and ready tochallenge for the

NL East crown. A great youngcore of players should help thecause.

NL Central

1. Chicago Cubs – Can theCubs end their 100 yeardrought of futility? TheCubbies finally let go injuryprone pitchers Mark Prior andKerry Wood, who spent moretime in the trainer’s room thanon the field. All- Star outfielderMilton Bradley came to town inthe offseason to help a flawlesssquad of All Stars.

2. St . Louis Card ina ls –The Cardinals will be led onceagain by future hall of famerAlbert Pujols. Third basemanTroy Glaus and outfielders RickAnkiel and Ryan Ludwick willput up big numbers in theCards new ballpark.

3. Houston Astros – TheAstros will contend for thedivision crown once againbehind Roy Oswalt and LanceBerkman. Will the rest of the

team help out?

NL West1. Arizona Diamondbacks –

The weakest division in base-ball will be won by the D’Backs,who boasts no only goodyoung hitters, but two of thebest pitchers in the game inDan Haren and Brandon Webb.

2. Los Ange le s Dodgers –The Dodgers lost a lot in freeagency, as Derek Lowe andBrad Penny departed LA fordifferent teams. They will beled by catcher Russell Martin,who some scouts compare toCarlton Fisk, and of course,Manny Ramirez.

3. Colorado Rockies – Dothe Rockies have any“Rocktober” magic left fromtheir improbable run to thepennant in 2007? Losing starMatt Holliday will hurt but theyhave the pitching and the batsto make another run to theplayoffs.

This season, the Big EastConference was the strongest inthe country, filled with strongteams from top to bottom. Thestrength was shown throughoutthe regular season, into the confer-ence tournament, and throughoutthe NCAA tournament. Eachcontest was considered a “biggame” in Big East play and theregular season title was up in theair until the final games. ThoughLouisville came out on top, therewere four other teams, (UConn,Pittsburgh, Marquette, andVillanova), who were in the run-ning in the last few games of theseason. Three teams finished theseason with 31 wins, clearly show-ing the strength the conference haswhen they play non-conferencegames.The Big East tournament wasarguably the most exciting of all ofthe conference tournaments.Syracuse surprised everyone bymaking the finals, and though theylost, they played in an instant clas-sic in their quarterfinal game.Playing as an underdog against aFinal Four bound UConn team,the Orangemen forced six over-times, playing an extra three-fourths of a game, eventually beatthe Huskies by ten. Syracuse con-tinued to the championship to playLouisville where they lost 76-66.From the beginning the Big Easttournament was the most undecid-ed conference tournament in the

country. Each team was strongenough to come away with thechampionship. Most thought itwould be between the top threeteams, UConn, Louisville, and Pitt.However, neither Connecticut norPittsburgh would make it to thesemifinals. The sixth and seventhseeds, Syracuse and West Virginia,joined Villanova and Louisville inthe semis. These upsets showedthe depth of the conference, andproved that no game was an easyone in the Big East.The depth of the conference paidoff for its teams in the NCAAtournament because every confer-ence game was a struggle. Fiive BigEast teams made it to the SweetSixteen, breaking a record, andthree of them advanced to theElite Eight. When the Final Fourteams were set, two of them werefrom the Big East. One of thoseteams was Villanova, a three seedin the East bracket who upsetPittsburgh. UConn was the secondBig East team to make the FinalFour after being the third Big Eastteam to receive a one seed, anoth-er record. Led by Big East defen-sive and all around player of theyear, Hasheem Thabeet, theHuskies played through adversityto march their way to Detroit toplay in college basketball's biggeststage. Despite the Big East's pres-ence in the Final Four, it took anupset over the tournament's num-ber one overall seed, Louisville, tokeep the Final Four from havingthree Big East teams.

Joe Pesce ’11

Contributing Writer

The Tooth MoverDr. Marc Parness

100 Main Street, Southington, CT 06489

621-4455

2009 UConn Huskies

MEN’S

Overall Record: 31-5Big East: 3rd (15-3)

BIG EAST TOURN.Lost to Syracuse

NCAA TOURN.Def. ChattanoogaDef. Texas A&MDef. PurdueDef. MissouriLost to Michigan State

WOMEN’S

Overall Record: 39-0Big East: 1st (16-0)

BIG EAST TOURN.Def. South FloridaDef. VillanovaDef. Louisville

NCAA TOURN.Def. VermontDef. FloridaDef. CaliforniaDef. Arizona StateDef. StanfordDef. Louisville- Champ


SHS and National Sports

Do you enjoy attending

SHS Sporting events? Why

not be an EMBLEM local

sports writer? Contact

Zack Etter at


Jake Rodriques

Football/Weight Lifting Girls’ Basketball

ATHLETES OF THE ISSUEATHLETES OF THE ISSUE

A less than successful yearrecord-wise for theSouthington High School boysbasketball team doesn’t over-shadow the hope of goodthings to come out of a teamthat, at times, looked to itsyounger players for leadership.This year’s team was anchoredby its seniors from start to fin-ish. This group, though under-sized, played thorough adversi-ty all season long and came upwith some very convincingwins.

Playing in the CCC north, theBlue Knights faced very tough,athletic teams each game, lead-ing many to believe that theyplayed one of the toughestschedules in the state. Thoughtheir record may not show it,Southington was a very toughteam to play against. With aroster full of hard-nosed play-ers, each team they played hadto face a strong defense led bysenior Matt Roncaioli with 2.0steals per game. Even with alack of height, the Knightsalways found a way to rebound

against bigger teams. DanMayock took the role of centerand led the team with 6.9rebounds per game.

Even when most of thefocus was on a defense that fol-lowed the team’s motto; “hardwork”, the fast paced offensedid not disappoint even if thegame was not high scoring. Pat

McLaughlin, the senior pointguard, led the team in pointsand assists with 10.2 ppg and5.5 apg.

At times it seemed the BlueKnights couldn't catch a breakno matter how hard and fastthey played. Though they onlywon 5 games, their losses wereusually decided in the fourthquarter, many coming down tothe final few plays. Their shin-

ing point during the season wasa home game againstGlastonbury. A very talentedTomahawks team was short-handed and Southingtonexploited their weaknesses allnight. That game showed avery hopeful view of theupcoming season, as the BlueKnights were led to arguablytheir best win of the season bysophomore Sal Romano, wholed the team in points thatnight. Also, looking ahead, theplayer with the best three pointshooting percentage was alsoan underclassmen - Juniorguard, Nick DeFeo.

The Blue Knights finishedwith a 5-15 season, and thoughit is less successful than yearspast, there is no doubt that theywere a very fun team to watch.Even when they weren’t win-ning, the stands were alwaysfilled with fans that knew theycould come away with a win inany of their games this year.

Joe Pesce ‘11

Contributing Writer

Zack Etter ‘10

Sport Editor

BoyS’ BASkEtBAll rECAp

Annie Freer

One of the most important differencesbetween football and any other sport, partic-ularly at the high school level, is that year-round training is not only encouraged, it'snecessary.Playing a full contact, collisionsport, players on the Blue Knights footballteam have been lifting weights since Januaryto condition their bodies for the rigorous sea-son they will endure in September. Althoughgames are months away, the Southingtonfootball team competed in a state weight lift-ing tournament at New London High School.At the competition, Jake Rodriques stood outthe most, breaking the state power-cleanrecord. Rodriques led the team cleaning 320pounds, while also bench pressing 310pounds, and squatting 425 pounds. Rodriquesknows that working hard in the offseason isthe only way that Southington can reboundfrom the dissapointment of last season. Heleads by example in the weight room everyday, and his hard work will show in the fall.

Senior co-captain of the Lady BlueKnights Basketball team Freer, one of thescoring leaders for the Knights, led her teamto the 2nd round of the Class LL playofftournament with a victory over rivalCheshire, with a key shot that would ulti-mately be the game-winner. Throughout theyear, the team had won many close games,but without the shot from Freer, Cheshirewould have moved on to the next round.The Southington Lady Knights played wellin their final game, but was out-matchedagainst Ridgefield in the 2nd round. AnnieFreer, who is one of five seniors graduatingfrom the team this year, will surely be missedfor her performance on the court. Her abil-ity to get to the basket and drive the lane wasan asset that the Lady Knights needed atcrucial stages of games. She stepped up hergame for the Knights when they needed ascorer, playing to the best of her ability untilthe final whistle blew.

There were seven secondson the clock. SouthingtonHigh School senior wrestlerand co-captain Mike Monsonwas down by a point in thefinals of the 160-pound weightclass in the State Open.

The coin was flipped andMonson took the bottom ref-eree’s position. All he neededwas an escape to tie and gointo overtime against oppo-nent Kyle Lundberg fromGuilford.

The crowd cheered asMonson made his attempt togain control and earn thepoint. Then, the audience sud-denly grew silent as Mikestood up and broke free. Thereferees had not awarded himthe escape. Boos rang acrossthe auditorium. The matchwas over and Monson fellshort in his attempt to win thechampionship, 7-6.

Undefeated during the reg-ular season with a record of29-0, Monson also won the LLConference Championship.His coach, Mr. Dion, had highhopes for him going into theState Open, which was held atHillhouse High School in NewHaven.

“Mike Monson is a hardworker,” Coach Dion said.“He always does a great jobwith his preparation physically.He is a talented wrestler, andI’m glad that he stayed healthyenough to showcase his skillsin the State Open.”

SHS Wrestlers Take

Fourth at State Open

Jocelyn DenHollander ’09Contributing Writer

Salvador T. Landa, SGTWaterbury Recruiting StationTelephone: (877) [email protected]

Contact SGT Landa to find out more aboutour exciting career opportunities and howthe Army will PAY FOR YOUR COLLEGE!

The SHS wrestling teamfinished fourth overall at theState Open. Senior DillonRitchie wrestled at 189 andalso finished second. JuniorCory Seeger wrestled at 140,and Doug Fontaine finishedfifth in the 112-pound weightclass.

By placing second, Monsonand Ritchie earned the oppor-tunity to compete in the NewEngland Championships,where they capped off theirhigh school careers. Although Ritchie wrestled var-sity for four years, he does notplan to wrestle after highschool.

“Wrestling can be draining,”Ritchie said. “The biggeststruggle is definitely the pres-sure and expectations from mycoaches and everyone. It canget you a little worked up.”

“In New England’s, mymain focus was to have fun,”he explained. “It was my lasttournament and whatever hap-pened, I was okay with it. Ihave had a good season and amemorable wrestling experi-ence at Southington HighSchool.”

Ritchie did not place in theNew England championships,also held at Hillhouse, butMonson ended his high schoolcareer by coming in fifth.

“Placing fifth in NewEngland was a bittersweetmoment,” said Monson. “Iwas happy I did well, but it wassad because I knew it was mylast high school match.”


bye bye birdie a hit! - southington high school · formed bye bye birdie to an almost sold out...

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