Victoria Hennessey photo

SpectatorVolume 42, Issue 1, Oct. 19, 2018

Marcus Seastedt photo

Mum’s the word as club begins projects

SpectatorVolume 42, Issue 3, December 20, 2018

Model UN team takes first place at GannonStory on page 2

ContentsOn the cover“Best Delegate” winner Joseph Gullo presents a finished resolution at the Model UN conference at Gannon University.Students won top awards at the conference.

3 Middle school musical

4 News briefs

5 Technology changes

6 Homework editorial

7 Gullo’s grumblings

ESSPA awards

8 Homework opinion

9 Art teachers travel

Class drop policy

10 Homework feature

11 Teacher days

12 Athletic fields

13 Basketball season,

girls & boys

14 Boys swim team

15 Wrestling & indoor

track

16 Bowling,

girls & boys

2 NEWS DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR

Dyress BattenNine students were inducted into the Music National Honor Society, also known as Tri-M, on Oct.

23 in the auditorium.In order to be eligible for the Tri-M Chapter, “you need to have a grade point average of an 85

percent or higher followed by the completion of the application,” president Marcus Seastedt said.Once students are inducted into the chapter they take on many responsibilities such as maintaining

a high-grade point average, having a total of 20 service hours by the end of the year in multiple service events and having good attendance at Chapter meetings, Tri-M Honor Society adviser Kirsten Terreri said.

Similar to any other National Honor Society, Tri-M promotes community service in which the only distinctive difference between Tri-M National Honor Society and a regular National Honor Society is that Tri-M specifically focuses on music, Seastedt said.

Many students “help with the middle school musical and do a lot of outreach performances such as Santa's workshop,” he said.

He added that the benefits of the chapter are also rewarding. Students can show colleges, scholarship programs, and employers that they were active both in their school and in their community.

“Just like any other honor society, it shows that a student is a well-rounded person who has good grades and good time management in which they can help better their community,” Seastedt said.

Tri-M also “helps improve a resume by showing an additional service organization that promotes public service through music. It can be helpful for students who are or are not majoring in music,” Terreri said.

Seastedt said, “Someone can give back to the community while doing what they love, which I think is fantastic.”

Elizabeth Bumpus This year on the annual trip to Gannon University

the Model United Nations won first place for their position paper.

Due to this year being the largest group of students in Model United Nations, they represented both India and Kuwait. The position paper for India won first place and second place for overall best delegation. “We had a really nice group of people that returned from previous years,” adviser Patrick Newell said.

Students brought their resolutions for their committees and debated for their positions to be adopted by other countries. Each committee produced a final resolution after each country debated their position.

“Your hope is that some or a part of your resolution is included,” Newell said.

Kelly Gullo, Joseph Gullo and Finn Frerichs won delegate awards. Joseph Gullo won the award for his work on Kuwait. Kelly Gullo won first and Frerichs won third best delegate for their work on India.

“This shows that we can compete against private schools that take this club as a class,” Kelly Gullo said.

Joseph Gullo and Gabby Aldrich addressed the entire assembly consisting of 40 schools. Gullo presented about child soldiers. Aldrich discussed empowering youth and helping them to learn how to create a healthier environment.

The final resolution for her committee included her concept of Youth Empowerment for Environmental Tranquility, or “YEET.”

This initiative was a basis of how to use education to teach youth how they can help the environment.

“I was really familiar with the whole paper since most of my resolution was included in the final working paper,” Aldrich said.

Among the awards won, Seth Hannum won a scholarship from Gannon University for his participation in Model United Nations and academic ability.

The scholarship was awarded to seven people and was only applicable to Gannon University.

Hannum said, “I definitely took a bigger role than the last couple years.”

Honor society gives back to community through music

High participation at Model UN leads to rewards

KUWAITI delegates from General Assembly Three Marissa Burr, Hannah Christy, Kaelyn Zebraski and Mackenzie Quinn prepare during unmoderated caucus.

Courtney Orr

Elizabeth O’Connell Around 150 participants,

including high school students and adults were involved with the making of the middle school musical, “Elf Junior.”

“It was fun to do a story that people knew, but with new music,” director Ben Wendell said.

When he was deciding on a show for this year, Wendell said he thought about “the kids we have and how we might best showcase the talent we have.”

“I have been planning ever since February, but detail planning starts in summer when I meet with production

staff,” Wendell said. One of Wendell’s main goals is to

help students “become comfortable singing in front of their peers,” he added.

Many students who audition for the musical often come across as “shy and reserved.” However, “kids come alive on stage, where they might not anywhere else,” Wendell said.

Middle school students aren’t the only ones involved in making a show successful. Besides the 76 cast members, there were about 40 crew members, including high schoolers and adults.

In total, there were about 150 participants in this year’s show, including volunteers.

“Our numbers for the middle school musicals have been really high, ranging

anywhere from 65 to 90 cast members,” Wendell said.

Many of these participants who contributed to the show were high school students.

“Working with students that I used to perform with and being part of showcasing their talents is my favorite part of musical,” sophomore choreographer Bella Manning said.

Students took part in this year’s show in many other ways aside from choreographing, including costumes and props, stage crew, hair, makeup and crowd control.

“Being involved with the middle school musical, you connect with students by helping and encouraging them throughout the musical process,” Manning added.

There are many other aspects of

Jenna LeidNational Honor Society held their

annual induction ceremony on Oct. 24 in the high school auditorium.

The program only includes juniors and seniors due to the national standards that have been set.

“This is the biggest group inducted so far, welcoming 44 new students as well as 30 students initially in the program,” adviser Gina Gautieri said. “National Honor Society is for students with an overall average of at least 92 percent, and exhibit good leadership, character and service.”

She said there are many requirements that people have to fulfill in order to become a part of the National Honor Society.

“Students receive a letter in the mail inviting them to apply. Once they get the letter, they can choose to apply,” Gautieri said. “They also need to write a letter about themselves and include an outside letter of recommendation.”

Along with introducing new students to the program, new co-adviser Steven Romans began his first year.

Romans said he has many different duties and responsibilities to fulfill. He sends out the letters inviting students to join the program and then he works with the advisory council on the acceptances.

He also coordinates the induction ceremony and helps the officers facilitate monthly meetings as well as introducing the volunteer opportunities.

“I enjoy taking on any extra opportunities to work with students,” Romans said.

Some students who are involved in this program

play a major role.As vice president, senior Jimmy Rush is

responsible for helping the president run the meetings and sign papers for the bank when the treasurer is unable to.

Students in this program must meet once a month and are required to participate in community services to help better impact the environment.

“I was able to take part in helping the Humane Society, tutoring young musicians and participate in park clean-ups,” service chair Dyress Batten said.

There are many benefits these students get from participating in this program.

Rush said, “This program has helped me become a better person and it also looks really good on college applications.”

Honor Society inducts new members at ceremony

musical besides being on stage that students really enjoy. “Being part of the cast is a great way to get to know other students and interact with them,” eighth grader Ryan Davis said.

For both middle school and high school students, musical is a “great way to be involved with a school program,” Davis added.

By the time middle schoolers get into high school, they will have an idea of what to expect and they will be more prepared.

Wendell said, “I think we’re starting to see improvement in the high school musicals as a result of the middle school program.”

High school students help backstage with musical

photos by Elizabeth O’Connell

DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR NEWS 3

ABOVE: ELF AND CAST sing “The World’s Greatest Dad” when he first arrives in Manhattan. RIGHT: ELF sings a solo in Manhattan.

ABOVE: DANCERS perform a dance break during “sparklejollytwinklejingley.”Sophomores Bella and Brena Manning choreographed the show.

Briefly Dates to rememberFri., Dec. 21- Winter breakWed., Jan. 2 - Return from winter breakTues., Jan. 8- Board of education meeting at 6:00 p.m.Mon., Jan. 21- No school, Martin Luther King Jr. DayTues., Jan. 22- Board of education meeting at 6:00 p.m.Mon., Jan. 28- Staff in-service day

4 NEWS DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR

THE SPECTATOR is available to view online at the Fredonia High School web page.

The Board of Education will meet in the high school library at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 8.

people who would go on the foreign trips, and like the warm climate and there are people who would like to travel to Europe,” Smith said.

“Trips are a great way to show kids the world, culture, history, foreign and money,” Hontz said.

Caserta said he hopes to have a trip next year and said they have not planned one yet, but there might be one in a year or two.

Smith said she was expecting a trip this year since they did one pretty much every year and that it was different.

Hontz said, “There is a possibility of doing one in 2020.”

Physical education teacher Vince Gullo will be inducted into the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame on Monday, Feb.18. He has been the head baseball coach since 2002, with many championship teams and seven All-Western NY players during his career.

NATIONAL Honor Society officers prepare to give speeches on character, service and leadership. Forty-four students were inducted into the society on Oct. 24. See page 3.

Aliviya MullenThe social studies department has

organized many trips including last year’s trip to England and Scotland.

“In the 21 years I’ve been here there have only been two years we have not gone on a trip,” social studies teacher Amy Hontz said.

Hontz said there will be no trips this year due to many reasons and conflicts.

Social studies teacher Nick Caserta agreed.

Trips are very hard to organize and plan, but “students can make suggestions on

where they would like to travel to make it easier,” Caserta said.

“I was wondering why we did not hear where we were going because every year we hear it in advance,” junior Emily Smith said.

It is also tough to plan a trip if there are several trips at the same time.

“Mrs. Cruver is planning a trip to Belize. It is difficult to plan two trips at a time,” Hontz said.

According to Hontz, it is better to have one trip so that the students can focus on just one trip and not have to choose between them.

Smith disagrees.“I think it is good to have different trips because

there are two different types of people. There are

Diana Ludwig Thirty-six students went on the New York City trip for the drama

club. Any students who are involved with the musicals, middle school and or high school could go.

The first trip took place two years ago. Special education teacher Ben Wendell said that doing a trip every

year would be too much so they plan to do it every two years.The trip was based around two musicals that had workshops that

went with the musicals. The musicals were “Anastasia” and “Dear Evan Hansen.”

“It's a good opportunity and a nice chance for them to see great shows,” Wendell said. “We are lucky that we are close enough that we can make this trip on a weekend.”

Even though the trip was based around the musicals, they also did some touristy things.

“Top of the Rock and Radio City Music Hall were some of my favorite parts of this trip,” junior Jonathan Maternowski said.

Band director Andrew Bennett worked with Wendell to plan trips before so he said helping out with this trip was easy.

Bennett said,“Wendell was very well organized, and our students represented our school very well in New York City,”

What happened to social studies trips?

Drama club travels to New York City

Grace Mroczka

Grace MroczkaJUNIOR ANTHONY Gullo warms up with coach Vince Gullo.

Oliver MadariagaIn an effort to maintain

and modernize, the school has hired a new director of technology for the 2018-2019 school year.

Doug Prince was formerly employed as the director of technology for Pine Valley and also worked as a computer technician for Erie 1 and 2 BOCES.

“My job is to make sure all policies, processes, and planning regarding hardware result in the right stuff in the right place at the right time,” Prince said.

As of right now, most classrooms that require it have access to a Chromebook cart with laptops for students to use during class.

“The long-term goal is to have this thing called ‘one to one’, where every student has their own portable device,” Prince explained. “I believe we could begin ‘one to one’ as early as next year in a trial mode.”

Growing the Chromebook installation is an ongoing

project, along with expanding the wireless network.

“We almost have enough Chromebooks for every student in the middle school and high school,” Prince said.

Mathematics teacher Andrew Pingitore was formerly employed as the director of technology in 2000.

“In a math room, you might not want to trek kids to the lab every time you need to use a computer,” he said in regards to ‘one to one’. “It would be cool to have kids try things on a whim.”

Many classrooms currently have a Smartboard installed instead, which has been an increasingly popular teaching tool for the last decade.

Prince sees the classroom presentation technology as an area of opportunity.

“I would like to modernize the look, if nothing else. Students are more inclined to learn when the teacher’s tools are more modern,” he said.

In order to help promote this, director of instruction Joseph Reyda said he wants to hire a “tech integrator.”

“He is going to help coach our staff how to better use our devices and the Google suite.”

Many students utilize the resources Google provides, regularly using Docs, Sheets and Slides, he said.

“From a hardware and software perspective, the district is in capable hands,” Reyda explained. “The tech integrator is a missing piece between those two worlds.”

Adopting PowerSchool over eSchoolData as the new student portal is the change that allowed the idea to resurface.

“That’s something I thought about

Tech director takes new direction

DOUG PRINCE, director of technology, works from the tech office. He was hired to maintain and modernize technology in the school.

Oliver Madariaga

doing,” Pingitore said. “You can’t expect every teacher on their own to learn every new program. I think you’d save teachers a lot of time.”

Reyda explained that the school will be having a tech integrator for 16 days out of the 2018-19 school year.

“We have very specific goals,” Reyda said. “That fact is an advantage not many other districts have.”

DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR NEWS 5

Fredonia Cross Country By: Mary Polvino

For cross country coaches Mark Fitzgerald and Carol Zirkle it is not just about winning, it is more about helping individuals reach and achieve their own goals.

“Before you can help a student achieve their goals there has to be communication; once we know their goals we set up workouts to help them achieve their goals,” Zirkle said.

Both Zirkle and Fitzgerald look for improvement within each individual as a runner.

“My top goals I would say would be to help each runner improve and help each runner reach their individual goals; this helps us reach our team goals,” Fitzgerald said.

Cross country runner Lauren Reyda has been on the team for five years. “I think that they sacrifice a lot of their time for the benefit of the team,

and they’re dedicated to everything they do,” Reyda said.The record so far for the boy team is 2-4; and for the girls team 6-0.“It is very clear cut who the best runners are, this eliminates team

tension and allows better team chemistry,” Zirkle said.One thing that is different about this year’s team from last year’s is the

structure of the team. “The girls team still has a core of upper class men that have been running

for a long period of time, there leadership directs the team as much as the coaches do,” Zirkle said. “In contrast the boys team only has one senior, no juniors, and are young and inexperienced, so the team needs more guidance”.

One thing coach Fitzgerald would like other people to know is what well-rounded people they have on the team.

“I would like people to know what great kids we have on the team, their kind, caring, and respectful, which is more important than their running ability,” Fitzgerald said.

Cross Country runner Jill Kowalski has been on the team for six years. Kowalski said her favorite thing about cross country is “the team

atmosphere.” She also likes staying in shape, and working towards something every single day.

Zirkle said, “I want every member of the team to enjoy the experience and know they are a valued member of the team.”

SpectatorFredonia High School425 East Main StreetFredonia, NY 14063 716 679-1581

Editorial boardEditors-in-chief: Lindsay Lotter, Gabe PerschAssistant editors: Elizabeth Bumpus, Grace MroczkaManaging editors: Cody Austin, Megan Foley, Mackenzie QuinnCopy editors: Aurora Merwin, Samantha Mikula, Finn FrerichsNews: Diana LudwigFeature: Adrianna PucciSports: Jimmy RushOpinion: Meredith Przybycien, Jamison Horch, Dominic GulloEntertainment: Oliver MadariagaPhotography: Victoria Hennessey, Marcus SeastedtAssistant Photo: Courtney OrrGraphics: Anna Schroeder, Finn Frerichs Layout: Oliver Madariaga, Marcus SeastedtBusiness manager: Oliver Madariaga, Bryson PacosCo-advisers: Lisa Reinhardt

Dadie SedotaPrinter: Greg BettsPrincipal: Darrin Paschke

Signed letters to the editor are welcomed and may be left in Lisa Reinhardt's mailbox in the high school office or emailed to LReinhardt@fcsd.wnyric.org. Visit online edition at school website in high school section.

Editorials and opinion pieces in this publication do not reflect the views of administrators or staff at Fredonia High School. Unsigned editorials present the opinions of the editorial board and are written by an editor or team of editors.

6 EDITORIAL DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR

EDITORIAL

Better communication could help students manage homework

At what point does homework stop being helpful and start being unnecessary?Is it when students miss out on family events? When they start falling asleep

sitting up?It depends on who is answering.For some students, four to five hours of homework a night is not a ridiculous

thought; it is their reality.For others, doing even 45 minutes of homework a night is asking too much.It’s worth mentioning that a majority of students would prefer no homework,

which obviously isn’t feasible. However, we should attempt to find a happy medium.So, with such a variety of students, how do we, as a school, come to a consensus

on how much is too much?Students participate in many extracurriculars from musical to sports to part-time

jobs. While participating in these activities, students can find it overwhelming to have what would normally be a manageable amount of homework.

It all starts with the scheduling. Students should be informed of the anticipated homework load as they choose classes for the upcoming year, to ensure that they are able to handle what they will receive.

Many times, a student fills her schedule and then receives a heavier homework load with no study halls or lunches to help complete it. Yet, students with fewer classes have open periods to complete their homework on time.

A way to ensure students select courses with a manageable workload that matches their scheduling needs is to make sure syllabi are clearer about homework expectations.

This should help to keep students from over-scheduling and drowning in homework, and also keep students challenged by their course load.

There also needs to be more conversations between staff about what is being given and when.

One option for staff to consider is better communication with the timing of major projects and tests. This could be done by having a Google Classroom between teachers of each grade level. The calendar feature on Google could help teachers plan around each others’ important deadlines.

An increase of communication between departments would help equally distribute projects and tests throughout the week, so students aren’t doing all of their work on one night.

Although it may seem like a formal written policy would be the best option, this would quickly become too complicated with the diversity of classes offered to students.

The simplest solution will be improved communication between teachers. If individual teachers could see the bigger picture when it comes to students’ homework loads, then they would be genuinely helping students.

See stories on pages 8 and 10.

Bernadette GensThe Empire State School Press

Association (ESSPA) recently honored the SPECTATOR staff with 28 awards including 11 gold ratings at their annual conference. The staff also received four silver, four bronze and nine honorable mention awards.

“It feels like we accomplished a lot, not just as individuals but as a team,” assistant editor Elizabeth Bumpus said.

The staff received the All New York Gold rating for best all-round newspaper as well as a gold for Service to School

“It is always nice for the staff to be recognized for their hard work, especially from a top journalism university,” co-adviser Lisa Reinhardt said, “I am especially proud of the All New York Gold and the two Service to School awards because they reflect the teamwork it takes to produce a journalistically sound publication.”

Bumpus said she acquired many skills from working on the paper.

“I learned to be more confident when

Gullo’s grumblings III

Holiday gifts: a reminder of Thanksgiving

Bernie Gens

DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR OPINION 7

addressing people who are older than me or in position of authority. I also learned how to write better and communicate ideas with other people in a more effective manner,” Bumpus said.

Gold awards include: Service to school Casey Huber, Braden Lesch and editorial board for SRO coverage; Tess Thompson, William Schmitt, Kyleigh Warren, Melinda Waag, Anna Schroeder, Olivia Gullo and editorial board for consistent coverage of scheduling issues.

Editorial Cartoon portfolio (Finn Frerichs), Editorial Columnist portfolio (Meredith Przybycien), News Writing (Braden Lesch), Front Page Design

(Kyleigh Warren), Feature Layout portfolio (Kyleigh Warren), Photographer portfolio (Kyleigh Warren), News Photograph (Kyleigh Warren), and Picture Story Layout (Kyleigh Warren).

Silver awards: Sports Feature (Melinda Waag), Editorial Writing - Editorial Board for "Promises, Promises, Promises" editorial on SRO, and Feature Photograph awards (Kyleigh Warren).

Bronze awards went to: Editorial Columnist portfolio (Olivia Gullo),In-Depth Coverage (Tess Thompson),News Photograph (Kyleigh Warren),Feature Photograph (Kyleigh Warren)

Honorable mentions: Designer portfolio (Olivia Gullo) and Designer portfolio (Bre Rosen).

Honorable Mention- Editorial Page - Editorial staff - "Promises, Promises, Promises” and "The Cost of Indecision," Picture Story Layout (Katie Panasci and Olivia Gullo), Feature Photograph (Katie Pansasci), Personality or Interview Story (Gabe Persch), Review Writing (Caleb Crampton and Katie Panasci) and Sports News (Gabe Persch).

EDITORS of the 2017-2018 SPECTATOR received awards at Syracuse University.

Paper wins Service to School plus gold

Dominic GulloHoliday gift giving is

about showing love and spending time with the people you love. It can be done in many different ways.

Some families do not even give presents to each other. Instead, they might go out to dinner or simply celebrate at home.

Traditionally, my family gives gifts to each other every year.

I have an extremely large extended family that I celebrate Christmas with.

A few years ago, each person received a present from each family there. Oh, and let me tell you, it was complete madness. There were 40 people packed into my grandparents’ cozy little living room.

Do you think it was easy trying to find a place for all the presents for everyone? Not to mention there were only three chairs and a couch for people to sit on.

As crowded and noisy as it was, we always looked forward to being there and enjoyed everyone’s presence.

So, for the last few years during the holidays, our family made some changes to the gift giving process.

Now, instead of everyone getting a present, each cousin picks a name out of a hat to see who they will buy a present for.

The thing is, it really does feel special receiving a gift from your cousin, because you know that he tried his very best to get you something you would really enjoy.

However, some years you tend to like your gift more than other years.

That is one of the downfalls of the

new gift giving process.You won’t get as many gifts as

previous years due to the fact that only one cousin is getting you something. That means that if you are not really feeling your gift, you better find a way to appreciate it because that is the only gift you are getting.

This concept is quite difficult for my younger cousins to understand.

For example, last year my four year old cousin Nathan got awesome blue pajamas. Little did we know his favorite color is yellow.

Nathan then cried because he did not get the color he wanted, but he soon began to like them when his dad got the same ones.

Many times, it is funny to watch my older relatives open their gifts and see them not really like it.

One year, one of my uncles got an iTunes gift card. Now, if you gave me one of those I would love it and use it right away. However, there was a small problem. He did not have an iPhone.

My uncle ended up giving the gift card to his son and everything worked out.

The point is that sometimes your intentions may be good, except the reality does not turn out the way you had wanted it to.

Everybody reacts to receiving underappreciated gifts differently. Some people better than others.

We all just have to find a way to appreciate what we have in our lives no matter what gift we get.

Most people give gifts to show their love and gratefulness for someone. But how much is too much when it comes to spending money on gifts?

What is the point in spending all of our money on gifts if we aren’t really thankful to have special people in our lives?

Thanksgiving is not the only holiday where we can be thankful for what we have in our lives.

Lexi SchroederContrary to popular belief, homework is actually

not the enemy and it is not as bad as people make it out to be.

Homework that is worthwhile and isn’t too time consuming will help account towards a student’s achievement.

According to “Homework is Necessary Part of Learning” written by Harris Cooper of the Albany Times Union newspaper, “Research overwhelmingly supports the notion that students who do homework do better in school than those who don't.”

A manageable amount of homework every night will help a student retain more material in a shorter

Nathan ShuartHomework is assigned every single

day at school and is expected to be done and returned with great quality. With only six to seven hours of sleep a night, how do teachers expect the homework quality to meet their expectations?

Most teachers have 80 minutes, while some have 120 minutes to get everything done in class that needs to be done.

With a full workload at school, why do students need to complete another workload at home? Also, according to a Duke University study, there is a ten minute homework rule which basically says that students should only be given ten minutes of homework according to grade level per night.

Ultimately, first graders should only receive ten minutes per night while seniors should only be assigned a maximum of two hours per night. The amount some high school students recieve exceeds this ten minute rule. Even though those two hours seem like a reasonable amount, students have other daily activities they participate in such as working at their jobs, spending time with family, playing sports and getting sleep so they can be well rested for the next school day.

Also, having too much homework can lead to poor health. It can cause exhaustion, headaches, weight loss, and the main one, a lack of sleep. Lack of sleep reduces concentration and focus in the classroom. Learning any given amount of material with a lack of sleep can be cumbersome. Some teachers do not understand that. A lot of homework causes students to lose sleep which also leads to less focus in the classroom.

Most business classes and technology education classes do not give homework to their students and most of the students are successful in the classes.

Science teacher Greg Lauer, who teaches AP and regents physics, said he does not give homework to his regents classes and his students are doing as well as his students have done over the past couple years. ¨So far they have been successful.

The test and quiz grades have not dropped from previous years,¨ Lauer said.

He also said he thinks that in some cases homework can be very beneficial, but if he can set his students to work hard and stay focused in class, he can get them to get a lot done and not have to take home homework.

At the end of the day, the teachers have enough time during the classes they teach to allow for work time in class so homework doesn’t cut into our daily lives.

He said

Homework is not necessary

Finn Frerichs

amount of time. In a Duke Study: “Homework Helps

Students Succeed in School, As Long As There Isn’t Too Much” by Duke Today Staff, it explains the “10-minute rule” for homework. This talks about how ten minutes of homework for every grade level is the optimum amount.

For example, a third grade student should have 30 minutes of homework every night. A high school senior should have a maximum of two hours of homework every night. While this may seem extreme, this is the ideal amount for students.

So why do people view homework in such a bad way?

Those who participate in extracurricular activities may find it more difficult to find the time to complete their homework, activity and get enough sleep.

But in all honesty, that was up to the student. The student decided to spend his time participating in an extracurricular activity.

Students also make the choice to take Advanced Placement (AP) courses that tend to eat-up their homework time. These courses, however, are optional.

When you choose to partake in more, time-consuming things, rather than only participating in things that fit in your schedule, that falls on your shoulders.

To succeed in school, you need to do homework. Whether homework itself falls into your schedule is up to you, but homework is not to blame.

Homework isn’t a problem when students get reasonable amounts and allow only classes that fit in their schedule.

She saidHomework is part of the learning process

8 FEATURE DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR

Grace MroczkaAlthough students get to decide what

classes they want to drop, administrators and teachers make the ultimate decision on what students can do.

“According to the FHS Handbook students can drop before five weeks with an add/drop slip or after five weeks with administrative approval,” school counselor Steven Romans said.

Senior Carly Morton said that she dropped two classes this year including Advanced Placement Literature and analysis of functions.

“Since I dropped AP Lit at the beginning of the year I only had to switch my classes, but I dropped analysis after the five weeks so I needed an add/drop slip and had to talk to an administrator for approval,” Morton said.

AP Literature teacher Lisa Reinhardt explained that summer assignments are assigned as part of the AP curriculum, which is meant to challenge students in a college level course.

Maddie Abate After high school art teacher Brandy Noody won a scholarship to take a painting class in Italy, she invited retired middle school art teacher Sheila Cannon and they both took a trip of a lifetime.

Noody and Cannon left for their trip to central Italy on Sept. 19. They flew out of Toronto and had a nine hour flight.

They both traveled to Rome, Assisi and the Umbria Region, which is located in central Italy. This region is very mountainous and “is the only part of Italy where you can’t see the ocean,” Noody said.

While they were there, they both attended a painting class called “The Textures of Italy” at La Romita School of Art and traveled around the Umbria region.

La Romita took care of all of the planning and traveling of the trip, which is normally something that the person traveling would have to do. Noody also said during their time at La Romita, they learned a technique called relief painting which consists of creating layers of paint to make certain aspects of the painting stick out.

“I’ve started teaching my painting class techniques I learned while there. The class taught me many things,” Noody said.

During their time there, they also visited the little towns and cities and got to meet the people there, Cannon said.

This was both Cannon and Noody’s first time ever traveling to Italy. “Learning about the culture and seeing the old broken relics and

physically being able to see and feel them was my favorite part,” Cannon said.

“The only negative part of the trip was feeling like there wasn’t enough time to see things,” Noody said.

She and Cannon returned from their trip Oct. 3 on a ten hour flight.

Noody said she definitely recommends going to Italy, taking a class at La Romita School of Art and exploring the region. Cannon also recommends going to Italy to meet the people, see the ruins and artwork and try the food, especially the gelato.

ART TEACHERS Brandy Noody and Sheila Cannon experience Italian culture while studying abroad.

Teachers learn new painting techniques in central Italy

Romans said if students drop before the 12 weeks then the first quarter grade in a certain class will not be on the report card.

“Students cannot drop physical education or go below six classes per semester,” Romans said.

He said it is time consuming to add or drop a student from a class because of the process the teacher, student and counselor have to go through.

“When a student plans to drop I meet with the student, talk to the teacher, make the schedule change, get the student caught up on missing work and sometimes change other courses in the schedule,” Romans said.

He said it is also very difficult to have the administrators approve of the add/drop to a class since they are so busy.

“If a student is about to fail a class and knows they will do well in another class it shouldn’t be as big of a deal for them to drop the class,” Morton said.

Morton said she signed up for the classes because the teachers believed she could do it and her grades from the past years have showed that she is capable of doing the work.

“The summer workload for AP Lit and the regular workload for analysis was too much for me to

handle,” Morton said. “It was also hard to keep up with the work and understand it at the same time.”

Morton said she went into English 12 and senior survey because the workload was easier for her and she knew she would perform better in those classes.

“I was over struggling with math and my other classes throughout high school so I didn’t want another whole year of complete overwhelm and stress,” senior Lindsay Lotter said.

Lotter said it was hard to keep up with work if she didn’t understand the concepts of the class. Romans said, “I believe students have dropped not to avoid hard work but to focus on working hard on all classes except just one.”

Counselor explains policy for dropping classes“Students cannot drop physical education or go below six classes per semester.” Steven Romans, school

counselor

DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR FEATURE 9

10 FEATURE DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR

Lindsay LotterAfter a long day of school, three

different seniors sit down to begin their homework.

John Smith, who just returned from basketball practice, has a math assignment and some textbook reading for English. He gets it done and goes to bed.

Jane Doe, who takes four APs and participates in the musical is up until 2 a.m., nightly, trying to complete her work.

Kyle Alex, just goes to bed. These fictitious scenes reflect the

experiences of various students and their attitudes towards homework.

Results of student surveys show that while opinions about homework may vary from student to student, the amount of homework received tops student concerns.

“I always stress out about my homework, and get very frustrated if I don’t understand the material. It makes me feel down about myself,” senior Grace Mroczka said.

In a survey completed by students across grade levels, 52 out of 71 students reported that the amount of homework they have received this year is at least a four out of five in affecting their life outside of school.

In that same survey, 45 out of 71 students reported not seeing any change in the amount of homework they have received this year, compared to last.

Following student feedback from the district survey given last June, administrators decided to review the current homework situation.

“Based off of the student survey we collected last year, we decided to take a look at our homework policy and its effectiveness,” assistant principal Daniel Parker said.

As introduced in the first-day assembly, a new plan for homework has been introduced to students and staff. Instead of a written policy, administrators talked to teachers about reviewing what homework is truly effective.

“While there is no specific high school policy, there was a shift in the mindset of what is truly worthwhile in terms of homework,” Parker said.

As it stands, the new homework policy is not an enumerated document. Instead, it is a change in mindset, to focus on quality over quantity.

But, despite administrative

encouragement, teachers are not required to create any change in their policy.

“While the teachers are not bound to any specific policy, the general consensus was to evaluate what they are doing and how much they are giving,” Parker said.

This discrepancy from teacher to teacher has made it difficult for students to recognize the policy in effect.

The most significant changes in terms of homework load have been in the science department.

One teacher who did adjust her homework load in the pursuit of effectiveness was chemistry teacher Jessica Richards.

“I decided this year to scale back the amount and intensity of my Regents chemistry labs,” Richards said.

Her decision to change came mainly from the student feedback in the survey. Many students discussed the labs being difficult and time-consuming.

“My goal for these labs is not to overwhelm, but to prepare my students for writing an academic science paper,” Richards said.

Richards decided to transition her Regents chemistry labs from independent write-ups for every lab cluster to collaborative documents which focus on one section per unit. This allows for assistance and further development in each section.

“I decided to work on a section at a time and really develop my student’s skills. Then, at the end of the year, they will create a cumulative project,” Richards said.

The hope for this change was to encourage students to learn all year the proper write-up procedure, to then create an in-depth and advanced research paper at the end of the year.

In a similar sentiment, physics teacher Greg Lauer, decided to abolish all homework for his Regents physics class.

“After encouragement from the school to try to reduce the homework load, I decided to see if all homework could become classwork,” Lauer said.

This policy was originally only designed for the first quarter, but since students have been more focused in class, and quiz and test grades are the same, if not better, than last year, the policy will continue into the second quarter.

“Having less homework will hopefully help students not to be as tired and worn down, and as long as grades remain good, less homework is more effective,” Lauer said.

Having less homework also allows students to focus on other matters, such as college searches and applications.

“Not having homework this year in physics has been such a relief. It’s one less thing to stress about at

night, and if I have questions, I can ask for help as I do the work,” senior Max Kinkela said.

While these new science policies are being received well, not all classes have the option to reduce the amount of homework they give.

“Some homework is necessary, especially for classes like APs where we are behind other schools already,” senior Kaelyn Zebraski said.

Cutting some assignments may also interrupt the student’s learning process, and make it more difficult to comprehend a new lesson.

“As for me, my goal was to make homework effective. Lessening the amount might cheapen the lesson learned,” Parker said.

Especially in content heavy courses such as Algebra II and AP Physics, a majority of learning is done at home, where students practice and develop their skills and can work at their own pace.

“A no-homework policy would probably never work in my AP class.” Lauer said. “There is way too much problem solving associated with an AP that needs to be developed at home.”

Less homework also means less grades in a quarter, potentially putting more emphasis on test and quiz grades.

“Having less homework would help us get more sleep, but it also means less grades in a quarter. Then, if we do bad on a test, our grade would drop,” a surveyed sophomore said.

However, if having less homework allows students to focus on truly understanding the material, test and quiz grades should be higher anyways.

“Even without homework, the student’s test grades are the same, if not better than last years,” Lauer said.

But, finding a balance is key, and as the year goes on, teachers will adjust their policies to find out what works best.

Parker said, “As teachers and administration, we are always trying to enhance how we perform professionally.”

Anna Schroeder

Homework: a top student concern

Cody AustinWhile students have the occasional

inservice day off, teachers are at school working to make their classroom better.

“Inservice days are often overlooked as not being helpful,” director of instruction Joe Reyda said. “I try to make it as helpful as possible for the teachers.”

He said inservice days are scheduled five times throughout the year. Two in August, one in October, one between semesters and one typically during the spring.

“The second day is for teachers to work on their own work and set up their classrooms. All other days are devoted to professional work,” Reyda said.

Events that happen on inservice days are planned far in advance, especially for speakers who come in.

“I have to work up to a year in advance to plan speakers,” he said.

Spanish teacher Cathleen Cruver has also assisted Reyda in planning inservice day activities.

“I’ve planned activities for staff and provided ideas for trainings and speakers,” she said.

Principal Darrin Paschke also has a role in the execution of inservice days.

“Often, I participate in professional development with staff. Sometimes principals run faculty meeting-like activities for their school,” Paschke said.

However, he said he has a very minimal role.

“This is since the days are typically set up by Mr. Reyda since he is primarily in charge of professional development. He sets up the days with input from administrators,” Paschke said.

The events that happen on these inservice days are not the same thing all the time.

“I try to change up the days so they are not boring to the teachers,” Reyda said.

Cruver gave some insight as to what teachers do on these days.

“Usually we have one large meeting and from there we break into different groups depending on what we teach,” she said.

Since the day is focused on the teachers and their curriculum, all the days consist of events with the same general topic in mind.

“The days are set aside for teachers to

get together and talk about the profession, including curriculum and instruction,” he said.

According to Cruver, the day proves to be very beneficial to her.

“I love the opportunity to collaborate with my colleagues,” she said. “I like to hear what other teachers are doing and have the opportunity to connect what I do in my classroom with other classes.”

However, Reyda said the goal through all inservice days remains the same.

“I want teachers to get something out of the day,” Reyda said.

Inservice days provide the opportunity for teachers to bring back new methods of teaching to the classroom.

“Depending on the style of inservice, my lesson planning is definitely affected. Also the way I look at my procedures, the environment of my classroom and my students learning styles and needs,” Cruver said.

Some things taught during these days can also have a different effect on how it comes back to the classroom.

“Sometimes you might learn things about planning but it has a more indirect effect on the classroom,” Paschke said.

English teacher Daniel Darrell-Sterbak said he still uses methods that were taught on an inservice day 16 years ago.

“We had a great inservice day with a guy named Louis Mangione who gave us ideas for using inflections in our voices, gestures and body language to make our delivery more memorable,” Sterbak said.

He added how the day is also a day of

consideration.“It’s a chance to stop, reflect, digest and

think about how we might do things differently,” Sterbak said.

On March 15, a regional inservice day that involves many area schools, teachers will get the opportunity to meet with a speaker to talk about classroom learning.

“On this day Weston Kieschnick will be coming in. He talks about practical changes in education, primarily about linking technology with instruction,” Reyda said.

The goal of linking technology with instruction is to prepare kids for the future.

“We’re trying to make sure kids get exposed to different technology to prepare for jobs we don’t even know about yet,” Paschke said.

He gave some insight as to what he hopes the future will hold for inservice days.

“I would like to see a greater connection to community sources such as SUNY Fredonia during our inservice days,” Paschke said.

For Cruver, inservice days provide her with an opportunity that regular school days do not.

She said, “Inservice days provide me with the opportunity to interact with other teachers I may not see daily and also is proof that we have a fantastic teaching staff.”

What teachers do on inservice daysThe truth is out!

DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR FEATURE 11

Lisa ReinhardtSTAFF members Danielle Roberts and Tim Wright make a stop in the elementary music room during the October scavenger hunt during the staff development day.

Courtney Orr Foreign exchange is a life changing

experience. “I’ve always had a strong interest in the Spanish culture and language,” senior Elizabeth O’Connell said.

O’Connell returned from a year abroad in Valencia, Spain. She lived with the Castillo family. “They were the most caring and welcoming people I have ever met. They made me feel like one of their own,” she said.

“My cousin went on exchange her senior year and that really influenced me to want to go,” O’Connell said.

O’Connell was one of the few who applied for exchange.

She is currently a senior. Anyone 15 or

older can apply for exchange. According to O’Connell, the Spanish culture and

lifestyle is much healthier. She said that the traditions are much more interesting, however, she did not prefer one culture, English or Spanish, more.

“The best way to truly understand how much the world has to offer is to go out and explore it,” Spanish teacher Cathy Cruver, who lived in Madrid, Spain for a year, said.

Foreign exchange gives you the opportunity to explore diversity and learn that “everyone doesn’t need to be exactly alike,” Cruver said.

Cruver said that going on exchange and learning another language makes a person gain a respect for diversity.

“It is a life changing experience that everybody should be able to endure,” O’Connell said.

Joey GulloField conditions can affect sports players and their performance in

numerous ways.For some players, this is a good thing. For others, not so good..“You have to play with the conditions,” varsity soccer player

Alexander Rush said. “It can pretty much determine whether you win or lose the game.”

Each of the fields are kept in ways that can prove challenging to many players.

“The baseball field at the high school may not be perfect. It is often very windy and the infield is bumpy,” varsity baseball player Anthony Gullo said.

The conditions the fields are in can have negative impacts on some players and affect how well they perform.

“I stress about games and not knowing if there’s going to be a game until an hour before messes with me,” junior varsity softball player Tess Corell said. “I need to be in the right mindset before games.”

The weather can actually mentally keep a player from performing at their best.

“Sometimes, I’ll think too much about the weather and it’ll mess with my playstyle. If there are puddles, I’ll tend to overthink about them,” Rush said.

On the contrary, some players take pride with the conditions their fields are in.

“For football, we played at the orange bowl and the mud and lack of traction is such a home field advantage. It really helps when facing teams that are used to turf fields,” Gullo said.

Gullo also said the baseball, softball and soccer fields each provide their own benefits.

“We are so used to taking grounders on a bumpy infield. These are advantages that our opponents do not have. The opponents really aren’t used to playing on fields like ours,” he said.

If conditions are bad enough, the field the team plays at will move to a different field entirely.

“I like the softball fields being right next to the school,” Corell said. “It’s easier for practices and games because we don’t have to travel far.”

This has happened before with the junior varsity and varsity football

teams playing home games at Brocton’s field.“Honestly, I’d really just want for our fields to be kept in better

conditions rather than just moving them altogether,” Rush said.Despite how the fields are kept, athletic director Greg Lauer said

blame cannot be put on the staff members in charge of maintaining the fields.

“Our staff does the best they possibly can with the pre-existing ground we have left,” Lauer said.

Each of the four outdoor fields (football, soccer, baseball and softball) all have flaws that make each field tough to play on.

“Our soccer field this year was the worst. In October it was pretty much unplayable,” Lauer said. “We need much better drainage for all of our fields.”

There are hopes for change in the future that point towards certain fields being renovated and being worked on to fix these problems.

“The Building Project is supposed to fix the drainage for our baseball, softball and soccer fields,” Lauer said.

Getting turf fields to replace current fields has been a common way to eliminate the troubles of bad field conditions.

Lauer said “I would love to start discussions for a turf facility in the back of the school.”

Anna Schroeder

She said she missed Thanksgiving and Christmas the most during her year abroad. It was one of the most difficult experiences she has faced, due to the culture shock, language barrier, and family separation.

“Before I went abroad, I had ambitions of being in the Navy. Now, I want to pursue a career relating to Spanish culture and language,” O’Connell said.

She said her year abroad changed what she pictures for her future. She plans to return to Spain Dec. 28 for a visit.

Rotary member Joe Reyda said, “Rotary is a fantastic program. It is low cost and high adventure. When kids come back from time abroad, they come back changed for the better.”

Foreign exchange experience life changing for senior

12 SPORTS FEATURE DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR

Field conditions affect athletes

Grayson KrzyzanowiczHitting the reset button, the girls varsity basketball team started the

season with new head coach Mark Putney. After losing five seniors last year, the team has a fresh start with plenty of long term players.

Putney said he was offered the job in mid August, and accepted shortly after.

“At this point in my life, I wanted to be a coach,” he said.Previously, Putney was a referee for Division I and Division II girls

basketball. He said that at home nothing will really change for him. “As for being a referee for past years, it will be approximately the

same amount of time away from home,” Putney saidAs the season began, Putney prepared to take over the team. “I am very excited to continue the success the program has had,” he

said.Athletic Director Greg Lauer recommended Putney for the job. “He was my assistant coach last year, did a great job, was

knowledgeable and had passion for the game,” Lauer said. Lauer was the boys basketball coach and Putney was the assistant. He expects the team to be very competitive in their league after a

successful past two years.

The junior varsity team also welcomed new coach Dan Vona, who previously coached at Silver Creek.

Sophomore Maddy Marsh said she is excited for the season. “Everyone on the team is close and it’s going to be fun,” Marsh said. Former coach Carol Zirkle is now coaching the girls modified

basketball team. After 17 years of coaching at the varsity level, she decided to step down.

“The commitment at the varsity level is intense,” Zirkle said.Zirkle also said that she would like more time for her family.“My nieces and nephews are playing middle school ball, and I want

to be able to see them play,” Zirkle said.The team was in a recent tournament in Allegany and won both

games to win the tournament. They beat Genesee Valley 45-31, with leading scorers Kazlin Beers with 13 points, and Nagely Vazquez tacked on 7. The girls won the tournament with a win against host Allegany-Limetone, 51-43. Vazquez led the team with 12 points and tournament MVP Beers had 10 points with 6 assists.

“There’s definitely going to be changes. He will bring a different perspective,” Marsh said.

The girls first home game is Dec. 20 vs Falconer at 7:30 p.m.

Nick Frazier & Trey SwartzWhen basketball season started, players

had one goal in mind, make it to Buffalo State.

The goals for the team are simple.“Win league and make a run back to Buff State,” sophomore Tyler Putney said. It is seen as a prestigious place to play. Western New York high school teams play at Buff State for a chance at the section VI title, where players have a chance to win a blue patch.

The team officially started their season on Dec. 5 in a tournament in Alleghany against Buffalo Sciences. The team played their first home game Dec. 10 against St. Mary High School with a win of 65-53.

After athletic director Greg Lauer stepped down as head coach for varsity, junior varsity coach Nick Bertrando stepped up as their new coach.

This is his first year as the varsity head coach, but he has experience with coaching in past years, assisting with the varsity team in regular season and postseason games.

The assistant coach, Eric Swoyer, is a Fredonia High School graduate.

Many of the current varsity players played for Bertrando their freshman and sophomore year.

Tyler Putney said the team will “be good because most of the team has played for Bertrando before.”

The team usually has two or three players the coach considers the ‘captains’ of the team.

“Seniors Owen Nicosia and Keith Piper were elected captains by their teammates, but I expect

everyone to be a leader in their own way,” Bertrando said.

When it comes to the ‘key players’ who will produce the most this year, Bertrando said “a collaborative team effort would be the best answer. We are very deep and skilled, and everyone will get an opportunity this year and be able to contribute in their own way,”

Putney, who has been on the varsity team for two years, was with the team last year when they came up just one game short of making it back to Buffalo State. It took two 1,000 point scorers last year to put the team’s playoff push to halt.

Putney said, “We have to play as a team, and bring the energy every day at practice.”

New coach brings big changes to girls basketball team

Grace MroczkaDyress Batten

COACH MARK PUTNEY focuses in on the girls team at practice.

COACH BERTRANDO yells out a play during the boys first home opener game.

Players aim for Buffalo State playoffs

DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR SPORTS 13

Jon Mann and Brayden MyersStarting undefeated with a record of 3-0,

the boys swim team improved their record from last year.

Before the season started, coach Robert Ball said, “We should be competitive against everyone and have a chance for success in every meet.”

He also said if the team is healthy and eligible he doesn’t expect any negative outcomes this season.

“We welcome anyone who would like to join us as a member of our team. It can be hard work, but also very rewarding,” he said.

Along with the victory over Panama, swimmers Aaron Pacos (500 free) and Ronan Murphy (100 butterfly) have made their personal bests.

The team opened up the season with a win at Panama on Thursday Nov. 29. Bill Osula won both the 100 yard butterfly and

the 100 backstroke and Matt Brockelbank won the 200 IM. The Hillbillies also won the 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay.

Osula has some big goals for his senior season, like to “place top 15 in the state for the 50 free, make states in four events and win an event at sectionals.”

Senior Tyler Donahue also had a good night in the Olean meet, winning the 50-free and 100-free.

“I participate in the 50-free, 100-free, backstroke and the 200-medley relay,” sophomore Bradley LaGrow said.

After the Fredonia team opened up the season with a win at Panama, they looked to do the same in their second meet against their rival, Dunkirk. The Hillbillies defeated Dunkirk 105-34.

Victories from Fredonia included, Osula winning both the 50 freestyle, and the 100 backstroke. Matthew Brockelbank won both the 100 freestyle and 100 breaststroke.

Ronan Murphy won the 100 butterfly, Tyler Donahue won the 200 freestyle, and Finn Frerichs won the 200. Fredonia started 2-0 and they set off to

face Olean on Thursday 12/6. LaGrow said he expects the swim team

to be better than last year.“I’m more prepared than I was last year

because I’m used to the workouts and I’m not as out of shape as I was last year,” LaGrow said.

Junior Finn Frerichs is also on the team. “I’ve been on the team for three years,” he said.

Frerichs has said he participates in events such as the 100-backstroke and the 200-IM.

He had added that he feels prepared. “I’ve been swimming with the Hammerhead club at the college so I’m really prepared.”

Osula said he believes that Frewsburg will host the biggest challenge for the team this year.

He added, “Frewsburg will be the most difficult to beat for dual meets.”

photos by Marcus SeastedtSENIOR BILL OSULA rests on the lane line after one of his races.

Swim team improves on last year’s record

SENIOR DIEGO REY swims the 500 freestyle for the first time in the Fredonia pool.

SENIOR AARON PACOS finishes his race at a home meet.

14 SPORTS DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR

Patrick ReadingThe Fredonia wrestling season is off to a strong start with a leading

2-0 record.“The team is going to be the best that it has been in a while,” junior

Dalton Gardner said.The Billies took third at their most recent tournament on Dec. 7 and

8 at the Pioneer duals. Senior Brandon Wallace finished 6-0 at 126 weight class.

Gardner at 145, sophomore Ceric Kristin at 170, Jack Storm at 182, junior Alex Christy at 195 and junior Jake Skinner at 220 all finished at 6-1 with Lucas Hoffman at 113, Hunter Larson at 152, Cole Golembieski at 160 all went 5-2.

“Beating the Newfane team is a big win because it makes us one step closer to making the section 6 dual tournaments,” Gardner said.

Fredonia picked up the win against Chautauqua Lake- Westfield-Panama 58-24 on Dec. 5. Gardner picked up a win at 145 against Thunderbirds Austin Bourgeois.

Hunter Larson picked up a win at 152, Lucas Green won at 160 and Cole Golembieski picked up a win too.

Alex Christy, Jake Skinner, Lucas Hoffman, Peter Calanni and Brandon Wallace all picked up wins to close out the match.

“My personal goal for the season is to be top three in the state,” Gardner said.

At the Webster tournament in Rochester Dec. 1 Fredonia took ninth place out of 19 teams. Skinner finished first overall at 220 weight class and finished 5-1.

“We only brought seven wrestlers to compete because of how highly skilled the tournament is,” Gardner said.

Gardner finished third at 145 weight class with a 5-1 record, senior Giovanni Russo finished fourth at 138 with a 5-1 record.

Kristan was 2-3 at 170 weight class, senior Lucas Green went 3-3 at 145 weight class and junior Yani Acevedo was 8-1 at the heavyweight class.

“They are expecting to send five or more weight classes to states,” Gardner said.

Fredonia’s first match at home was on Nov. 27, where they swept Royalton-Hartland 84-0.

Wrestling team tackles first meets of season

Indoor track team rebuilds after losing seniorsJake Davis

After losing many seniors, the indoor track team looks to build their team.

“We are a young team, but we want to get PR’s (personal record) each meet,” coach Laurie Brifu said.

The team started off the varsity season at the Houghton season opener. Sophomore Jack Carlson, junior Emily Brown and junior Hessen Bahgat took home school records in the mile, 3000m and pole vault respectively. Carlson finished his first mile

of the season in 4:42.6, beating the previous record by eight seconds, and punching him a ticket to the sectional championships. Brown ran the 3000m race in 10:55 breaking the previous record by 25 seconds, qualifying her for sectionals as well. Bahgat also qualified for sectionals, setting the pole vault school record to a foot higher.

Other sectional qualifiers included senior Diego Rey in the 3200m run, Brown in the 300m dash, as well as senior Andrew Kennedy in the 55m and Junior Rian Budzinski in the long jump, at the varsity B meet the previous week.

Brown, a state finisher last year, said that in order for this year to be successful “we [the team] need to have a consistent work ethic.” She also said the team needs the desire to achieve.

Senior Kevin Redfield said he and the upperclassmen are hoping to see the younger classes have success and make sectionals or even states again.

Budzinski said, “Indoor track is lots of fun and it allows me to get to know other classmates in my school.”

Jamison HorchSENIOR PETER CALANNI rides out the third period to close out a match at Chautauqua Lake on Dec. 5.

DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR SPORTS 15

Bryson PacosRolling off to a strong 5-3 start, the girls bowling team looks ahead to sectionals. Last season the girls had a record of 6-34 which was not enough to qualify for sectionals.

However, things might be changing this year. “I believe we have a chance to make sectionals. We have improved a lot and I feel we can make it

back to sectionals,” coach Roger Pacos said. “We have improved a lot from last year and I am very proud of this team.”

The girls have a young team this season with only one senior.In order to qualify for sectionals, a team must be 500 on the season (must have 20 wins equal to

or more wins than losses).The team started their season at home against Chautauqua Lake with 4-0 win with scores of 739,

626, 614, for a total of 1979. Top bowlers were Gillian Reed with a 179 game and a 485 series, Liz Bumpus with a 16 game and Savannah Salim with a 159 game.

They won a game against Falconer to improve their record to 5-3. The team’s next match is away against Southwestern at the Jamestown Bowling Center

“Dunkirk is normally our biggest competitor whether or not our season is going well,” senior Elizabeth Bumpus said. “It’s not about how we think we will do; it’s about how much practice and effort we put forth in every match.”

“Although the past few seasons haven't been the best, we are looking forward to bowling alongside some new team members,” Bumpus said. “The team is like a family.”

Girls team works to improve record

Ian ClementThe varsity team is looking to strike

again this year, moving into the new season with an 8-0 record and breaking their own school record against Chautauqua Lake.

They swept the opposing team 4-0 and broke their own school record from last season of 3,154, with a new school record of 3,167.

As in any sport, it’s a team effort. “We were kind of surprised, we realized that a lot of players bowled well and the younger kids had a good debut,” senior Bryson Pacos said.

The mindset going into the season has not changed for Pacos.

“Win or go home. We have the potential to be the best team in Fredonia’s history and there is nothing that can stop us,” he said.

They have many goals in mind for this year’s season, but they will have to face some tough challenges throughout the way.

“Jamestown is always the toughest team no matter what, and Dunkirk is also a strong competitor,” Pacos said.

Beating any team is a good feeling for this year’s varsity team, but beating Dunkirk would top it off especially since they are a big rival.

“We want to beat them for bragging rights,” senior Trace Mackenzie said.

They are looking to win their fifth league championship and also make it to sectionals.

Junior Jacob Marsh said, “We lost a lot of good people from last year, so it would show that our roster is deep and still the best team in our division.”

Bowlers shatter record in first match of season

Home matches take place at Lucky Lanes in Fredonia.

photos by Liz Bumpus

TOP LEFT: Junior Jacob Marsh throws a strike during practice.

ABOVE: Junior Jacob Patterson converts a seven pin during practice.

LEFT: During practice, senior Bryson Pacos works on his form.

Eight of the ten boys bowlers are returning this season.

16 SPORTS DECEMBER 20, 2018 SPECTATOR