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WIZARDS WEEKLY
Volume IV
December 19, 2014
WIZARDNATION
WIZARDS GIRL’S BASKETBALL
OFF TO A GREAT START
FLHS INDUCTION CEREMONY
"The Wizards Girl’s Basketball Team is really starting
On December 10th, 2014 the Washingtonville High
School chapter of the National Foreign Language
Honor Society conducted its first ever induction
ceremony in the large cafeteria. The induction
recognized both spanish and french speaking
students. The society is run by teachers in the
foreign language department.
By RYLEE CELLA
"
By BLAKE WAALAND
to turn around their program and this year has
gotten off to a great start. Although they are 1-2 at
the start of the season, they played three tough
teams and recently had a huge upset. Senior Captain
Haley griffin said “Our season has gone well, its’
progressing, we have a lot ahead of us and we are
better than last year.”
The girls beat the Cornwall Dragons by 13 at the
Cornwall court and no one saw it coming. Cornwall
is known to always be one of the best teams in the
section and the Wizards were definitely
underestimated.
"
"In order to be accepted into the NFLHS, a student
Mr. Paul Davis
accompanying Masque and
Mime auditions. Photo by
Rylee Cella.
Dylan Turcott
finishing his
race. Photo By
Mrs. White.
needs an 85 overall average and a 90 or above in
their foreign language class. Students had to fill out
an extensive application which included an essay on
why foreign language is important to them, society,
and the future.
Continued Page 2
Wind Ensemble prepare to perform.
Photo by Rylee Cella.
Continued Page 3
THE AUDITION PROCESS
By DANIEL SANIN
THE WINTER CONCERT
By RYLEE CELLA
"The time that auditions roll around can be an "
On December 16, the Washingtonville Band and
Girls Varsity Basketball team standing
together for the National Anthem. Photo by
Matthew Mendez.
School News
"The Winter ConcertRylee Cella
"Teachers Give BackKatie Wells
Clubs
"Masque
and Mime-Dan
Sanin
"Foreign Language
Honor Society-Rylee
Cella
extremely stressful time for drama students. For
our school’s drama club, the audition process takes
three consecutive days and a fourth day the
following week for callbacks. The first two days,
which take place after school on a Thursday and
Friday, are devoted to learning the songs and
dances that are going to be auditioned with.
Chorus Concerts were held. This was unlike any
usual Washingtonville concert. There were several
anomalies that made this concert differ from the
usual program of Winter Concerts. Chamber Choir,
for the first year ever, split into a Women’s Choir as
well as the usual Mixed Chorus.
Continued Page 2
Continued Page 2
""Profiles
"Robyn McNeillyHannah Sheboy
"
Sports
Girls Basketball-Blake
Waaland
"
"
"
Boys Basketball-Blake
Waaland
Boys Swimming-Rylee
Cella
Wrestling-Nick Larocca
"Upcoming Events
12/19- Caroling in all lunches
12/19-1/6- Winter Break-have a Happy Holiday!
12/20- Varsity Wrestling Meet at Minisink
12/20- JV Wrestling at Pine Bush
12/29-12/30- Boys Basketball Tournament
12/26- Track Meet at the Armory in NYC
The Foreign Language Department at the
induction ceremony. Photo by Matthew
Mendez.
School
news
THE WINTER
CONCERT (cont.)
The Women’s Choir (also known as the Treble
Choir) performed three pieces: Gaudeamus
Hodie, a Latin piece, White Wings, and I Will
Be There To See (where Robyn McNeilly and
Marissa Pappas played a flute
accompaniment). In addition to these, they
also sang Give Us Hope, combined with the 5th
grade chorus from Little Britain, Taft, and
Round Hill.
"Then the Mixed Chamber Chorus got on the
risers with the Treble Choir and did a
combined piece called Hatikvah (The Hope), a
Jewish song that is also the National Anthem
of Israel.
"After
the mixed song, the Women’s Choir
finished their debut and took their seats,
leaving the mixed Chamber Choir on the risers
to sing Address to the Moon (the lyrics written
by Nathaniel Hawthorne and then put to music
by John Purifoy), Danny Boy, and Blow, Blow
Thou Winter Wind. During the final song that
Chamber sang by themselves, Thomas Quinn,
Benjamin Kohn, and Eunice Cruz had solos in
the spiritual piece called Ezekiel Saw The
Wheel.
"Wind Ensemble then took the stage, starting
with Shenandoah, by Frank Ticheli. Then, the
concert was paused, as the band’s student
teacher Mr. Vahos came onstage to conduct,
after giving a tearful thank you to the
Washingtonville Band and Music Department
for helping him in his endeavor to become a
music teacher. He then conducted the band’s
piece Dynamica. Afterward, the percussion
section presented him with oversized drum
sticks as a gift from the band.
Mr. Briggs conducting the Concert band. Photo by
Rylee Cella.
Next, the Chamber Choirs came back onto the
risers and sang Hallelujah Chorus. “I think the
best part was coming together with the chorus
and the 8th graders and the 5th graders...to
play music,” says senior Clarinet player Taylor
Casey.
Christmas “Pop” Sing-A-Long,
accompanied by the Wind Ensemble, as well as
the Middle School 8th Grade Band. “They
were great,” Casey states, “I wish to have them
again...I think to was great to have them come
and play with the older kids so that they can
get an idea of what music is like in the high
school.”
"A raffle was also done to raise money for the
Music Department. The Music Boosters Club
was formed last year by parents who wish to
support the Washingtonville High School
musicians, who are generally under-funded
and are trying to be able to do more things
such as trips and competitions.
"Tuesday night was filled with excellent music
from all levels of school and of all varieties of
genre. Bringing together the different ages and
groups proved to be a huge success. Keep an
eye out for the band and chorus caroling on
Friday during all lunches.
Mr. Bucco, Art teacher at WHS who has
organized the event for the past eight years,
says “ Its all about giving back”. The lunch
ladies do a lot everyday, and the event is a
great way to be appreciated for their work.
Over the years the event has become more
popular since it first started in 2006.
"The event has become popular amongst the
students; the students are able to see their
teachers from a different point of view.
Students are eager to have their favorite
teachers serve them food, and see them in a
different environment they have never
experienced
them in before. In total, 21
teachers are participating in the event.
"To start the day off - and to end the calendar
year - the teachers will also be having an ugly
christmas sweater contest and breakfast for the
holidays, hosted by the school administrators.
So come see your teachers on this eventful day,
and help them show their appreciation for our
lunch ladies!
clubs
FLHS INDUCTION
CEREMONY (cont.)
By KATIE WELLS
"T o d a y ,
"
"Other speakers included senior officers Co-
Presidents Nick Pham, and Devin Johnson, in
addition to senior and Vice President Tim
Henry. The Society started last year but this is
the first induction ceremony, and hopefully
there will be more to come.
"Tim Henry talked about how he manages to
play football, run track, and participate in
various clubs, such as National Honor Society
and the Foreign Language Honor Society,
saying “Being apart of many other
extracurricular activities can become difficult
from time to time; but balancing school and
social time is very important.”
"The Foreign Language Honor Society has made
their debut to the school and are excited for the
year to come. ¡Próspero año!
THE AUDITION
PROCESS (cont)
The third day takes place on Saturday from
eight in the morning until twelve in the
afternoon for the actual auditions.
"Masque and Mime director, Ms. Jodi Davis,
explains the auditions, saying “Day one of
auditions include the students learn music, the
music is picked by [the] musical director to
reflect each of the major leads. Students are
required to sing a portion of a song of their
choice. Day two the auditioners learn a dance
combination, one is for the students in the
ensemble and the other is for those students
who just want to be featured as a dancer. Day
three of auditions the students are to sing
whatever song he/she chose and then they do a
dance combination.”
TEACHERS GIVE BACK
December 19, the staff of
Washingtonville High School will be taking
over the cafeteria and will be serving the
students lunch. The teachers won’t be cooking
the food, so you won’t have to worry! The
reasoning behind the event is all about giving
back. This event is perfect for the upcoming
holidays.
“As a teacher I hope that the kids will go on in
life and use foreign language [in the future],
says administrator Ms. Alemany. Ms. Alemany
teaches Spanish as well as Italian.
"For every person who auditions, they have to
MaryKate Paulus lighting her candle at the
induction ceremony. Photo by Matthew Mendez.
stand on stage in front of all other roleaspiring students and sing a short clip from
one of the songs from the show, then soon after
Page 2
perform one of the dances from the show. In
retrospect, the actual act of auditioning takes
about two minutes. It is a short song and a
short dance. This seems like it shouldn’t be too
stressful. However, for many of those students
who really want to take part in the play, it’s the
most stressful time of their high school career.
profiles
WIZARD’S MUSIC
PROGRAM IS EXTREMELY
SUCCESSFUL
By HANNAH SHEBOY
Ally Wolfe, Danielle Flower and Nicole Quinones
at auditions. Photo by Rylee Cella.
The feeling varies for different grade groups
though. For freshman, it is your first show and
you may really want to prove yourself and be
able to start off with an awesome high school
drama club career. This is quite the opposite
feeling that seniors feel. Seniors are typically
looking to end their drama club career on a
high note. For the seniors who’ve been a part
of the plays for all four years, they usually want
their years of devotion to pay off.
In Washingtonville High School’s drama club,
or Masque and Mime, there are many people
who are devoted entirely to the club. From
freshman all the way through to the seniors,
students devote their blood, sweat, and tears
into the club, whether it’s for a month or four
years. Some people are more into the singing
aspect of it, others like to dance, some are
there for acting (in terms of reading lines),
some like the set making and technical portion
of it, and others are just there for the
experience. Either way, no matter what your
inspiration is, stress is always a factor in the
audition process.
There are many ways to avoid stress however.
Since stress is mostly associated with emotions
and fear, if you associate things like
auditioning with good times and positive
memories, there is a high chance you can cut
out that factor of stress. There is always the
fact that you are surrounded by people with the
same interests as you.
That should be
comforting enough to eliminate stress in such
a busy time.
"On Thursday December 11, members of the
Washingtonville High School band got
together to perform in their annual Winter
Concert. This was the first of several occasions
where the band will perform in front of an
audience this year. The members of the
Concert Band and Wind Ensemble have
worked extremely diligently so far.
"According to Senior flutist Robyn McNeilly,
“All of the [band members] were really excited
and the energy of the crowd was great…there
were so many people [there]. It was really
packed.”
"McNeilly also expressed a deep anticipation for
December 16, when the band will accompany
the choir at the chorus concert. She said that at
this second concert, “We are doing
a
Christmas Pop Sing-Along, where the band
and the chorus students are combining.
Hopefully it will really get the audience
[excited]” for the holidays.”
"McNeilly’s excitement for music has lead her to
become an extremely successful musician. This
autumn, she performed with the All National
Band in Nashville Tennessee.
"In order to achieve this honor, McNeilly
had
to endure a rigorous audition process. She said
that, “You audition through this program
called NYSSMA (New York State School Music
Association)...You attend [the NYSSMA]
festival and you are given a score by a judge; I
received a 100, which put me in the pool: for
Area-All State, All State, and All Nationals.
There were only 24 flute [players] at the [All
National] festival. So, I was one out of only 24
flute players chosen from across the country.”
"McNeilly’s success would not happen without a
ton of effort and passion. McNeilly said “I try
to practice for at least four hours a day. But,
usually on school days it is more like two hours
a day because of all the school work.”
"McNeilly hopes that she can continue to grow
as a musician. She said, “I hope to study both
flute performance and music therapy...I really
want to study at George Mason University,
even though they do not offer [music therapy].
I hope that I can combine psychology and
musical performance classes” to create
something similar to a music therapy program
Editorials
DATING IN THE 21ST
CENTURY
By JACQUELYNE AMBROSIO
"Take a second and think back to a time,
roughly sixty years ago; think about what the
social life of a kid your age was like. Small
towns like Washingtonville were filled, corner
to corner, with diners, movie theaters, and
eager teenagers. Take a moment from that
aspect of life and think about relationships
from that time.
To us, many of the ways people acted back
then might seem foreign, bizarre. In order to
ask someone out, you had to call their home
phone; and not only that, but you had to go
through their parents before actually getting to
talk to them.
knock on the door. That may be the scariest
thing of any persons life. You’re taking
someone out, maybe for the first time ever, and
you’re already meeting their parents!
"Scary, isn’t it?
"And not only that, but you can’t use your cell
phone as a crutch during awkward silences. If
you’re at a party and you don’t know anyone, it
becomes a perfect opportunity to play Trivia
Crack. Without a phone, standing in that
corner becomes a lot more uncomfortable. Or
maybe it makes it easier for someone to
approach you and start a conversation.
In order to have a good relationship with
someone you had to confront them in person;
no phones, no beepers, just you and the other
person. To teenagers in 2014, communication
mostly takes place on social media so an inperson conversation might not go as
swimmingly as it would on twitter.
"Let us all turn off our cell phones;
talk to the
person you may be interested in. Ask them out
on a date, and if that date should happen,
please, knock on their door.
sports
WIZARDS GIRL’S
BASKETBALL OFF TO
A GREAT START (cont.)
Fast forward to current time; think of what you
would have to do now in order to ask someone
out. Type on your cellular device, “Wanna go
out?” and hit send; that’s it, nothing more to it,
except pray that they say yes. Dating in the 21st
century has surely gone downhill since the
fifties.
Think back to what a date might have been like
back then. First off someone would have to
Senior boys support the Varsity girls. Photo
by Matthew Mendez.
Page 3
"Senior captain Haley Griffin commented about
their season so far, stating “Cornwall is one of
the best girl’s team in the section so it was
pretty huge for us… It kind of showed other
teams that we are serious this year.”
"Senior forward Kate O’Meara said “The win
against Cornwall was huge for us and it really
gave us motivation to continue working hard
throughout the season.” Not only did the girls
beat them they blew them out by 14 on
Cornwalls home court it was outstanding!
"The girls have a long season ahead of them and
this is just a stepping stone for what is to come.
The girls called themselves the underdogs and
think they are underestimated and hope to
prove the section wrong this year.
BOYS VARSITY
SWIMMING
By RYLEE CELLA
"On
December 10th at the Washingtonville
High School Natatorium, the New Paltz
Huguenots came to verse the Wizards for a
swim meet. The boys went in knowing it was
going to be a very tough meet from the
beginning and were eager to rise to the
challenge.
The meet, started off a little slow for the
Wizards, with the “A” Medley Relay taking
3rd, next to New Paltz’s “A” and “B” relays, but
sophomore Jack Dwyer, junior Connor
Frisbee, and junior Captain Chris Santiago
brought it back in the 200 Freestyle. Dwyer
took first by 5 seconds with a 1:49.56 against
one of the Huguenots’ best freestyle swimmers,
Seamus Trzewik-Quinn. Frisbee and Santiago
captured 3rd and 4th, leaving New Paltz in
their wake. Santiago received 1st in the 500
Freestyle, getting a 5:30.45.
"In the 100 Backstroke, senior Captain James
Molfese took 2nd, going a 1:02.80, not being
very far off from his best time. DJ Quinones
took 4th and Junior Colin McCormick took
6th, the score now being 82-68, New Paltz still
in the lead.
do really well by the end of the season,” says
senior Captain James Molfese. The boys team
always has a big number of new guys trying out
the sport every year. “...I help them out with
their technique,” he states, happy to be able to
help out his teammates.”
Laporte grabbing 3rd place by a third of a
seconds with a 23.54, sophomore Nick
Naporanny getting 5th with a 25.35, and rookie
senior Mike Patterson receiving 6th, with a
time of 26.81, this being a second off from his
best. At the break for Diving, the Wizards were
only down by ten points, 36-26, which could be
a quick reversal for the boys. Laporte also got
2nd place in the 100 Butterfly, next to New
Paltz’s Emile Kuyl, with a time of 56.45.
"In the diving competition, Washingtonville’s
Relay garnered some morale and excitement
from the Wizards, the “A” Relay placing 2nd,
consisting of junior Captain Frank Rodriguez,
Leo Laporte, Chris Santiago, and Jack Dwyer,
and the “B” Relay took 3rd with Nick
Naporanny, DJ Quinones, Zachary Fernandez,
A SUCCESSFUL
SEASON OPENER
By CHRISTIANE WHITE
"The indoor track and field team traveled to the
Gillis Field House in West Point to compete in
the season's opener, the Developmental A Meet
on Friday, December 12.
Teams from
Washingtonville, Cornwall, Valley Central,
Spackenkill, Wallkill, Middletown, Dover, Port
Jervis, O’Neill, Goshen, Sullivan West, Burke
Catholic, Kingston, and Marlboro all competed
in this meet.
"T h e
night started out with Hannah
Cunningham competing in the 1500m race
walk, where she place 12th in a time of 11:51.
In the 55m High
In the 300m race, Christy White took 2nd with
a time of 46.2 seconds. Tina Jeroloman ran the
race in 47.6 seconds and Nicole Geary ran it in
47.9 seconds. Kristen Boerke had a great first
race, running freshman ran the 300m in 46.9
seconds in the second to last heat. Keep your
eye on Boerke; she jumped 4’4” in the high
jump her first time and this girl will be a force
to reckon with in her years to come.
"The 50 Free was a whirlwind, junior Leo
"As the meet neared the end, the 200 Freestyle
"
This left the score at
"“...We’re getting back into it and we’re going to
Nate Sorenson, a sophomore, scored 157.90
points, getting first; in second came New
Paltz’s diver, Gil Sweeney. Nate’s highest score
this season is 187.80, completely clearing the
Section IX cut. Although newcomer Ivan
Reategui did not have a good meet against the
Huguenots, he is close to the Section IX
qualifying score of 140.00, currently holding a
high score of 124.20. After diving, the gap
between the two teams was only 8 points in
favor of New Paltz.
Captain James Molfese at the start for
backstroke. Photo by Rylee Cella.
and Mike Patterson.
72-62 Huguenots.
Captians Chris Santiago and Frank Rodriguez
shake hands after the race. Photo by Rylee Cella.
The 400 Freestyle Relay made the crowd cheer
and jump with anticipation, the Wizards
splitting, what would have been the “A” and
“B” Relays and combining them, leading to a
first and second place win. Connor Frisbee, DJ
Quinones, Colin McCormick, and Jack Dwyer
were the first place team, and Chris Santiago,
Zachary Fernandez, James Molfese, and Leo
Laporte were the team that touched out the
Huguenots’ “A” Relay for second place.
"This brought the meet to an end, the final score
leaving the Wizards just slightly behind by
eight points, 94-86 to the Huguenots. Molfese
said the meet was “A lot closer than I expected
it to be, that was the best we could have done
right there.” Although they lost to New Paltz,
the Wizard Boys Swim Team is expected to do
exceptionally well this winter.
"
"In the first heat of the 600m, Wizards Debbie
Boerke, Brianna Lawless, and Shannon
Thompson were forced to stop 150m into their
race, due to a Middletown runner not knowing
what the commands were, causing her not to
start the race.
"“I thought she’d done [this race] before, so I
thought she knew what she was doing,”
Lawless said after the race. The Wizard girls,
along with two Cornwall Dragons runners,
were called back to the start and were given
about twenty minutes to catch their breath
before re-running the race. In a time of 1:41.7,
Boerke took 3rd, Lawless (5th) in 149.6, and
Thompson place 6th in 1:54.4. Junior Sara
Aselta and sophomore Sarah Hendricks also
ran the 600m, and got 2:00 and 2:01.5
respectively. This is Hendricks’ first indoor
season, and is coming off of an outstanding
cross country season, the once before Rookie
Award winner is hoping for another successful
season.
Page 4
On the boys side, senior Darnell Lubin had a
great day, placing second in the 300m in a
time of 38.0, first in the 55m in 6.81, and lead
the 4x200m relay to victory in an opening split
of 23.6. The rest of the relay surprised the
competition by holding off the previous State
Meet competitors, Middletown. Lubin handed
off to senior, Tim Henry, who missed most of
the last Outdoor season due to an injured back,
showed that he is ready to compete.
Next in the lineup was Nick Pham, who really
amazed the spectators as he ran an amazing
split of 25.2, Aaron Sostre ran ahead from the
competition as he anchored the relay in a time
of 24.3; their final time was 1:37.8.
""
"This
was a strong start to the Wizard’s
2014-2015 Indoor Track season. This
momentum will carry the team through the
rest of the season.
HEARTBREAK FOR
THE WIZARDS
By BLAKE WAALAND
"The Washingtonville Wizards suffered a tough
loss on Monday against the Vikings of Valley
Central. The Wizards were very confident
going into this game, as they were coming off
two big wins against Monroe and Warwick.
This was Washingtonville’s first home game for
basketball this year and the expectations were
high.
"The Wizards did not shoot well the entire game
shooting a total 33% from the field. Despite it
seeming as though they could not make a shot,
they were up by three with 2 minutes left in the
game. The Wizards had some crucial turnovers
towards the end of the game allowing the
Viking comeback. The Vikings also had two
very important offensive rebounds that lead to
baskets. The Wizards ended up losing by one
point in a 45 to 44 loss.
"Junior
Brian McDonough was the leading
scorer scoring 12 points and also was the
leading rebounder with 11 rebounds. The three
senior captains helped the team as well, Tyler
Warren with 9 points, Jakob Woods with 8
points and 9 rebounds, and Keith Leonard
helping the Wizards with 4 points and 5
assists. The Wizards will have to shake off this
loss quickly, as they have to play the Burke
Catholic Eagles onT hursday, December 18 in
Goshen which will definitely be a challenge. Page 5