Spirit Week is Coming

The Class of 2015 at the Fall Pep Rally

Haley Macray, Veritas Web & Features Editor

Although it isn’t easy to believe with the large amounts of snow covering the the ground all over town, spring is nearly here and with spring comes Rockland High’s annual Spirit Week and Pep Rally.

This year the Pep Rally will be organized by Student Government Council Spirit Committee Chair, Caitlin Yannizzi, Head SGC Adviser, Kristen Walsh, RHS’s Athletic Director, Gary Graziano, and Vice Principal, Kathleen Paulding. During the week students will be encouraged to dress accordingly to that day’s theme (see schedule below).

This year’s theme days will give students the opportunity to dress in anything from their favorite Disney gear to best flannel shirt. Although there are many exciting theme days in store, Yannizzi has already chosen here favorite, “I’m looking forward to Disney day because I’m a child [at heart] and anything Disney makes me so happy.”

The theme days will be followed by the Pep Rally on Friday.

“For the Pep Rally we are trying to get more people involved,” says Yannizzi, “That way the whole school gets a chance to show their Rockland Pride.”

RHS Cheerleaders perform at the Fall Pep Rally

After a great Winter sports season with three RHS teams participating in post-season tournament, multiple first place wins by the Cheerleading team, and two members of the Wrestling team competing in the MIAA State Wrestling Tournament, the school has a lot to celebrate and plenty to look forward to in the upcoming season. Spirit Week will allow students to show pride in their school and finish off the week with a fun rally honoring all of this season’s achievements and preparing for next season’s.

Spirit Week kicks off Monday so get ready to show some RHS spirit!

The Spirit Week schedule is as follows:

• Monday 3/2 – Comfy Day
• Tuesday 3/3 – Neon Day
• Wednesday 3/4 – Disney Day
• Thursday 3/5 – Flannel Day
• Friday 3/6 – Class Color Day & Pep Rally

Wrestlers Eye State Prize

Cameron Stuart, Veritas Sports Editor

Two Rockland High wrestlers, senior Dennis McPeck and junior Brad Gasdia, competed in the MIAA State Wrestling Tournament last Friday and Saturday in Wakefield. The roads for these wrestlers were not easy, however, as not only did they have to qualify for the sectional tournament in Foxborough but they also had to wrestle well enough to qualify for states.

Senior Dennis McPeck had a great wrestling season for the Dogs             photo by Kelley Reale

 

McPeck thrived in sectionals, making it all the way to the final match in his weight class in Division 3. McPeck lost a three-round (maximum) heartbreaker, 6-4. In the state tournament, McPeck ran into a bit of controversy in his 6-5 loss. The official called McPeck for stalling and trying to send the match to overtime, awarding the deciding point to his opponent from Danvers.

“It was questionable,” McPeck said, “but there’s nothing we can do to change it.”

McPeck’s day ended with a 6-2 loss in the next round.

 

Brad Gasdia will compete in All-States this weekend. photo by Kelley Reale

Junior Brad Gasdia continued his successful season by having a very successful state tournament. Gasdia’s 4 wins in the state tournament earned him a spot in the All-State tournament.

Gasdia won in convincing fashion with 2 pins, a forfeit, and an 11-3 decision en route to a 6th place finish in the 138 pound weight class.

“It’s refreshing,” Gasdia said, “I worked really hard for this and All-States is going to be a lot of fun.”

The All-State tournament will take place Friday Feb. 27 and Saturday Feb. 28 at Salem High School.

Girls Basketball Team Advances to Quarterfinals

Natalie Draicchio, Veritas Staff

The Rockland girls basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals of the Division 3 South Sectional tournament last night,  defeating Coyle-Cassidy, 43-40 in a  first round, defensive battle at the Dog Pound.

The lead went back and forth throughout the game.  Rockland led by three at half-time, 18-15 but Coyle tied it up and went ahead in the second half, putting the crowd on the edge of their seats.

Kallie Morss played tough for the Lady Dogs against Coyle last night.

Junior Kyra Rose led the attack last night in a first round tournament game at home against Coyle Cassidy. photos Rockland High Sports

 

Junior Kyra Rose had a total of 23 points and 12 rebounds, senior Kallie Morss had a total of 8 points and, freshman Erika Ochenduszko had 8 rebounds to lead the Lady Bulldogs to the victory. Kyra Rose and Danielle O’Brien both hit huge 3’s while the clock in the fourth quarter while Ochenduszko and Rose hit free throws at the end to secure the victory.

Number 3 seed Rockland (17-4) will be facing the number 11 seed Bishop Stang (12-9) in the quarterfinals Friday in another home game at 6:30 pm.

 

Hockey Team Gets By Abington, 1-0

Rockland goalie Dylan Bernache makes one of his 29 saves on the way to the shut out vs. Abington on Feb. 24. The Dogs won 1-0 and advanced to a first round game vs. Norwell on Saturday. photo by Mark Norris, Rockland High Sports

Matt O’Brien
Veritas Staff

The road to the Garden was kicked off Tuesday night as the Rockland Bulldogs defeated Abington in a hard fought battle on the ice at the Rockland Rink. With a score of 1-0 the game was back and forth all night long.

The Dogs scored midway through the second period as sophomore Matt Dunn scored off of a deflection. Throughout the game senior Dylan Bernache came up huge with 29 saves and great stops on multiple five on three situations and with the final minutes of the game winding down.

The Bulldogs had many chances to pad the lead; however, bad bounces and saves from Abington’s netminder Mike Morse, kept the Green Wave in the game.

It’s not often two rivals get to play a tournament game in their own rink. The rivalry between Rockland and Abington is strong in every sport, and Tuesday night was no different.

Rockland Rink was busting at the seams as supporters from both towns cheered and rallied behind their team. Bulldog Nation was especially spectacular throughout the game. A sea of pink filled the rink as Rockland High School students and players took part in a pink out night to support breast cancer awareness.

Coach Mike Flaherty had this to say in the Patriot Ledger about the long rivalry between both towns: “This is a friendly rivalry – lots of the kids play together during the off-season – but it is also a border war with a lot of emotion.”

The Dogs will go on to face top seeded Norwell in their next step towards greatness. The game will be played at 7:00 on Friday night at the Bog in Kingston.

RHS hockey players posed with their new dye and cut styles at practice. Last night’s game with Abington was designated a pink-out game for breast cancer awareness and support. photo by Asst. Coach Kevan Joyce

SAT Prep Course Postponed

Veritas Staff

RHS’s SAT prep course that was scheduled to start today has been postponed until next week due to the number of students participating in tournament games this week. This week’s classes will be made up at a later date.

The registration deadline has been extended until this Friday, February 27.

If you are interested in signing up for the courses the registration form can be found by clicking here. The cost, including all materials, is $75 for one subject and $100 for both.

The Veritas wishes all athletes participating in tournaments this week good luck! Go Dogs!

SAT Prep Courses Begin

 

Veritas Staff

As a reminder to those who signed up for RHS’s SAT prep course, classes will begin tomorrow, February 24, starting with the mathematics review portion of the program.

The math section will be held each Tuesday night from February 24 to April 28.

The critical reading and writing section will be held each Thursday night from February 26 to April 30.

All classes will take place from 7 to 8:30 at the high school.

This nine week course will prepare students for the upcoming May 2 SAT exam.

Should Boston Host Olympics in 2024?

Alexandra Pigeon, Veritas Editor-in-Chief

The city of Boston, Massachusetts is one unlike any other. We are known for our accents, our funny phrases, our rude drivers, our top-notch colleges and universities and hospitals, our courage in the face of adversity, and, most of all, our love of sports.

Having been chosen as the bid city that the United States will submit to the Olympic Committee for the games in 2024, Boston has been given the chance to host the Holy Grail of sporting events. After beating out San Francisco, two-time Olympic host Los Angeles, and the nation’s capital Washington D.C., Boston now has to face tough competition from other cities of the world including Rome, Paris, Berlin, Budapest, Istanbul, and more.

City officials are thrilled at the chance to showcase all that Boston has to offer.

“This selection is in recognition of our city’s talent, diversity and global leadership,” says Mayor Marty Walsh. “Boston hopes to welcome the world’s greatest athletes to one of the world’s great cities.”

 

Governor Charlie Baker adds, “This is great news for Boston and the Commonwealth as it provides an exciting opportunity to promote Massachusetts on the world stage.”

Instead of seeing the small size of the city as a disadvantage, a new and improved kind of games is being conceived.

“Boston’s modest $4.5 billion proposal envisions a new Olympic model: a walkable, bikeable, sustainable Games that uses mostly pre-existing structures. This compact city of 646,000 plans a downsized, compressed, antisprawl Olympics,” commented a New York Times columnist.

While some disapprove of not creating an overly extravagant place for the Games to be held as most countries have done in the past, construction company CEO and chairman Boston 2024 John Fish says, “A Boston Games can be one of the most innovative, sustainable and exciting in history and will inspire the next generation of leaders here and around the world.”

However, even with this conservative approach, Boston would have to do a lot of building, creating, and renovating in preparation to host the 2024 Summer Olympics which, despite what skeptics think, could be a really great thing for the city.

There is actually a good amount of undeveloped or wasted space in Boston such as giant, open slabs of land or old, abandoned buildings and factories. Since architects can now very effectively re-purpose Olympic venues, they could not only be used for that but they could be turned into prettier, more useful buildings. We could even solve the shortage of indoor space in the city by turning these buildings into turf fields, courts, and more.

More benefits that would come with hosting the Olympics in Boston would be improvements in roads, bridges, and public transit. One of the main concerns Bostonians have is how congestion and traffic will affect the city during the games. But with these upgrades it will be worth it in the long run. Essentially, this would give Boston the perfect reason to change the city for the better.

Another factor that has people thinking about whether or not Boston should host the 2024 Olympics is the potential for terrorism. After the devastation of the Boston Marathon bombings from 2013, this is a legitimate worry. However, we are the people that shut a whole city down to find the bad guy. We are the people that came together to provide an incredible amount of support to those affected. We are Boston Strong. And we will not shy away from this wonderful chance because of terrorists.

Overall, Bostonians would be crazy not to embrace the opportunity of hosting something as important and exciting as the Olympic Games. It is very unlikely that Boston would have this chance again in our lifetime.

To see such amazing athletes perform at such a high level of talent in this elite athletic event is a rare and special occasion and we should take advantage of it.