Monthly Archives: March 2014
Purple Cobras strike again at dodgeball tournament
Photos by Caitlin Yannizzi.
The 2nd Annual Rockland High School Dodgeball Tournament was held on Friday, March 28 to benefit the Stephen P. Sangster Scholarship Fund. The Purple Cobras, defended their title from 2013, despite losing some players to graduation. The event was organized by the National Honor Society.
Nine teams of six players competed, including a team of teachers from Memorial Park Elementary, one from Rogers Middle School, two Rockland High staff teams, and five students teams. Each team needed to have at least two female members.
Sophomore Abby Kinlin, a member of Team Blitzkrieg, faced off alone on the court against seniors Matt Nicholson and Andy Reardon and dodged and ducked across the court to avoid getting hit. She joked that she “feared for her life” and tried to stay in as long as possible.
English teacher Amanda McDonough and math teacher Fred Damon were the officials, and Athletic Director Gary Graziano MC’ed the event.
Graziano said that Principal Alan Cron was the most improved player from last year’s tournament.
“There was question that [Cron] even attended a physical education class in high school, he was so bad. This year we found out that he took a one week vacation and went to a dodgeball camp in upstate Vermont [and] improved his dodgeball skills,” Graziano teased.
While Cron denies the training time, he attributed his improvement to “mental focus and a lot of meditation prior to the start of the match, as well as a lot of emotional support from Mr. Graziano and Mr. Burneika.”
Senior co-captain of the Purple Cobras Nicholson says, “I thought we were better this year because we added Andy and Ally [Cerrato] and RJ [Ryan Johnston].”
Nicholson was surprised by the victory, saying the team didn’t know their final victory was the championship game until it was over and they were declared winners.
Some first time players seemed intimidated by the veterans focus and determination. The teachers from the middle school even arrived with knee pads so they could give it their all on the court without risking injury.
“I am not athletic so it was a struggle,” says English teacher and first time dodgeball participant Kendra Donovan.
Despite her team’s loss, Donovan added, “I enjoyed the event and thought it was fun.
Ribbons on sale to benefit Boston Fire
Red ribbons will sold before school Friday 3/28 in the RHS lobby and during all three lunches. Suggested donation is $1 to benefit the families of the two Boston Firefighters killed Wednesday 3/26 in the line of duty, Lt. Ed Walsh and firefighter Michael Kennedy.
Ribbons and pins were donated by Tilden’s Florist in Rockland, Hartstone Flower in Weymouth, and Embroid Me in Weymouth.
Sock it to us!
The RHS Student Government Council is currently holding a Sock Drive. Bring in a pair of new socks to the cafeteria to help out the less fortunate in our community. The deadline is Thursday, April 17.
With your contribution you can help the non-profit organization, Skate for Change, make a difference. Skate for Change is an organization created by Mike Smith, a professional skateboarder, who wished to help the low-income and homeless in the community.
All socks will be donated to Rosie’s Place and the Pine Street Inn.
Help us reach our goal of collecting 500 pairs of socks. Every act of kindness no matter how small can change the world.
Senioritis hits RHS
With the coming of spring tomorrow, we thought it would be a good idea for students and teachers to explain what senioritis is. The following video was produced by students in Journalism, Haley Reardon, Bob Gasdia, Alex Peppino, Sam DeMarco and Harrison Shields and videographer Jenna O’Connor from the Digital Media class.
Bulldog Nation: Tournament time or all-year round?
By Caitlin Yannizzi
For those students who do not know, our boy’s and girl’s basketball teams along with our hockey team made it to the second round of tournament, and the state championships are being held around the state this week for most sports. Some students from our school are so dedicated and supportive of teams that make it into tournament that they got dismissed from school to see other schools play this week in tournament. When it comes to Spirit Week, a good deal of students complain about not wanting to participate, but when it comes to cheering on their schools teams in tournament, that is a different story.
What is it about tournament games for our school’s sports, that get more people excited and involved? Yes, it is exciting when Rockland High School’s sports teams make it into tournament and it is fun to get hyped and show our spirit, but isn’t that the same thing as showing spirit during a whole week of school?
Spirit Week makes each day of school more fun and perhaps even easier to get through. For others, that is not the case. Maybe it is the fact that it is only one or two days a week that tournament games are held, instead of five days in a row that make people more intrigued to participate. Maybe it is their ability to “show up” the other school’s fans that they are facing, and make our school and school spirit seem much better than theirs.
Spirit Week gives students the opportunity to do just the same things, to show off school spirit and have a little fun before a big event at our school is coming up. It gives people a chance to get their work done in class, but while dressed in a fun and creative way.
There are always a few people who will complain about the days chosen for spirit week, but there is truly no way to please everyone in the school. It is the same fact of the matter for tournament games as well. When students take the initiative to decide what theme they want to go by for tournament games, there must be some who do not agree, but in order to fit in with the crowd, they go along with whatever is picked.
What is it that makes any of this different from spirit week? During Spirit Week, although it may not always take place near tournament games, we are doing what we do to support and show school pride, and athletes are included in this as well. Students take the whole week to dress up and go along with various different themes, and normally end the week with a pep rally, in which we recognize our Special Olympians, and athletes of Rockland High School.
Why do people not put in the same effort into Spirit Week as they do for sports’ tournament games?
It is understandable that some people are more to themselves and are not as outgoing as others and may not like to dress up or participate, and maybe hate rallies. Those types of things are certainly not for everyone.
Just think of how amazing Rockland High School would look if everyone took part in the Spirit Weeks that we have every year. It would mean an great deal to the teams and clubs that are involved with Spirit Week and might not be in tournament, or maybe just kids who do not get that much attention in our school if Bulldog Nation took on the challenge of Spirit Week with as much enthusiasm and participation as they do for sports and tournament games.
The following link will take you to a student produced video on this subject.
Broadway Night is a “Wicked” Success
Leah DeCecco performs “Defying Gravity” from the musical “Wicked”
Story and Photo by Kylie Langhoff, Veritas News Editor
March 17, 2014
Rockland High’s band and chorus brought the house down last Friday in their annual Broadway Night performance. As always, the musical selections were phenomenal. The students performed songs from the musicals Miss Saigon and Wicked, resulting in an expected success.
As the curtains opened, the RHS band kicked off the show with a medley of songs from Miss Saigon. This musical depicts the complex relationship between an American soldier and a Vietnamese prostitute during the Vietnam War.
Senior Jacob Mesheau portrayed that soldier, appearing on stage in camouflage and sang “Why God, Why?”
Sophomores Leah DeCecco and Lauren Illes sang, “Movie in My Mind,” with chorus and band members filling out the ensemble of the scene.
A second duet by sophomore Ella Engle and senior Nheillya Rouse followed with “I Still Believe,” showing the pain the soldier’s wife at home and mistress were both experiencing.
Senior Olivia Olsen melted hearts throughout the auditorium as she sang “I’d Give My Life For You,” acting as a mother to fellow chorus member Genesis Rojas’ younger brother while he colored on stage. Hector Rojas played the son of the soldier and the prostitute.
Closing out the solos for the Miss Saigon performances, Engle beautifully sang, “Now That I’ve Seen Her.” The RHS chorus then closed out the first half of the show with the song “Bui Doi.”
After a short intermission, several chorus members transformed Wicked, a musical that dramatizes the early years of the witches from the Wizard of Oz, was a fitting showcase for this year’s Broadway Night’s talented singers.
The RHS chamber choir opened with “Dear Old Shiz,” followed by the bubbly freshman Sophie McClellan singing a crowd favorite, “Popular.”
DeCecco said she was excited to perform her solo of “Defying Gravity,” saying she’s been a fan of the song for years.
Kayla Frazer performed her last solo in a Rockland High Broadway Night, singing “I’m Not That Girl.”
“I was sad it was my last one, but it was a moment I would never forget,” says Frazer.
In a romantic duet, freshman Lucas Haas and sophomore Kalee Lucier-Hill sang, “As Long As You’re Mine.”
McClellan then followed with another dynamic solo of “The Wizard And I.”
Although there were some technical difficulties with the microphones, senior Ian Haas and Engle, as the Wizard of Oz and the “Wicked Witch,” had the crowd clapping along to “Wonderful.”
Lucier-Hill then came back on stage to follow her duet with a solo performance of, “No Good Deed.”
In the last vocal performance, Illes came on stage in a beautiful, pink princess dress and did a duet of “For Good” with Rojas.
To wrap up the night, the RHS band played many different selections from Wicked.
This year’s production took the audience on a journey of desperation to acceptance. The two diverse musicals couldn’t have had a more positive result, making this year’s annual Broadway Night one to remember.
For more photos go here.
Broadway Night
Broadway Night is coming back to RHS tomorrow night, March 14 at 7 pm in the high school auditorium. Admission is $5.00.
An annual performance, Broadway Night consists of the Music Department’s students coming together to perform musical selections from two musicals. Last year the musicals were Jekyll and Hyde and Chicago, and this year the two musicals are Miss Saigon and Wicked.
The work put into Broadway Night is strenuous and difficult. The chorus has to learn songs for it and the band learns pieces from the musicals to perform. Chorus teacher Ms. Jennifer Hartnett explained that it takes hours. Band Director, Mr. Harden, agreed that it takes “hours and hours and hours” to get ready. However, he says it will definitely be a good production.
Ms. Hartnett is definitely excited for the concert. She said, “The show should not be missed.” She explained that the reason for choosing the musicals, Miss Saigon and Wicked is they are “good shows for students to be exposed to.”
Senior Kayla Frazer, a chorus and band member, says Broadway Night is “a fun experience” and “a pleasure to do every year.”
Tickets are available at the door on Friday night, so don’t miss out!
THE VERITAS 