By Dominick Buccitti – Editor-in-Chief

This year, Jonathan Law welcomed a familiar face, Mr. Hoggatt, as a new assistant principal.

Just before last school year ended, the position opened up when former assistant principal Mrs. Drew announced her retirement. The candidates for the job went through a series of interviews, including a student panel.

“I have enjoyed Jonathan Law and I wanted to get involved with administration,” Hoggatt said. “When this job opened up, I felt that it would be a good fit.”

Before becoming assistant principal, Hoggatt was a math teacher at Law for the past 13 years, where he had served as math department head for the past three years and athletic director three years before that.

“Mr. Hoggatt is knowledgeable, supportive, humorous, sympathetic, and authoritative,” senior Kayla Sharpe said.

Law principal Mr. Thompson feels grateful to have Hoggatt on his administrative team. Hoggatt was what they were looking for in an assistant principal.

“He has shown himself to be an excellent fit as an administrator,” Thompson said. “His love of Jonathan Law and his commitment to making all of us better is evident every day.”

Some of Hoggatt’s goals were to: continue to meet and learn about the students, try to get as many after school activities at Law, and to get into as many classrooms as possible.

“He understands their [students] needs and works with them to reach their full potential,” assistant principal Mr. Marko said. “In every decision that he makes, he considers the needs of the students first and then tries to make it happen.”

This year’s senior class and a portion of the junior class were the last classes to have Mr. Hoggatt as their math teacher.  

“He is a fair disciplinarian and is attentive towards the whole school,” senior Grace Piselli said. “He has a big heart.”

Hoggatt currently oversees the sophomore and senior classes. He has a piece of advice for the Class of 2018.

“Take advantage of all of the great opportunities Law has to offer,” Hoggatt said. “Don’t wish your senior year away.”

By Molly Mercaldo – Entertainment Editor

Milford’s Relay for Life was held on Saturday, September 16, from 1-11 p.m. at Jonathan Law High School.

Relay for Life is a signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society that incorporates communities and volunteers in an effort to raise money in the fight against cancer, while also celebrating fighters, survivors, and their families.  

“it’s a good way to raise money for a well known and helpful organization. And there is so much to do there with your friends,” senior volunteer Ciara Boyd said.

Milford has held this fundraiser for 15 years and has raised a total of over $1.1 million since its inception.

According to the American Cancer Society, almost 22,000 people in Connecticut will have some form of cancer this year, which is one of the leading diagnosis’s amount per state.

“My mom had cancer and my grandmother had cancer; I have lost a lot of important people in my life to cancer,” Jonathan Law senior Brianna Lenotti said.

Relay for Life’s opening ceremonies began at 1 p.m., including speeches from Milford Mayor Ben Blake, and Milford Superintendent of Schools Dr. Feser.

This year, over 30 teams and clubs participated in the fundraiser this year, and raised money for the foundation.

“When I was 10, I got diagnosed with skin cancer and it was the scariest moment of my life,” senior cancer survivor Salma Samih said.

To fund raise, teams held stations where you could win a fish, take pictures, and get henna designs.

Along with stations, Relay for Life also had a lemonade stand, a food truck, and bouncy houses.

“We drew freelance henna pieces on participants who wanted a piece of art,” senior Mikaela Bravo said.

Law’s sports teams and clubs and Foran sports teams and clubs made Relay teams to help raise money.

Milford Public School teams included the Law National Honor Society, Foran Cheer, Law Girls Soccer, Foran Boys Soccer, and Law Girls Swimming and Diving.

Each team included adult supervisors and team captains some of which who are student leaders.

“I felt like I was doing a good deed because I was able to raise money for cancer research while I was having fun with my friends,” president of National Honor Society and team captain Robert Fisk said.

Closing ceremonies from Relay for Life includes a luminary lighting, a slide show featuring survivors and those lost to cancer, and a lap of silence for those taken by the disease.

By Kira Ortoleva – Staff Reporter

Many popular musical artists have revealed new albums and songs recently.

A group of Jonathan Law seniors will soon be joining that list.

Senior Matt Marino, a captain of the boys track team and a rap enthusiast, has been creating the music and lyrics to his own rap songs for three years on Soundcloud. He’s accompanied by seniors Connor Creane, Dean Pettway, Ronnie Spangler, and Jordan Beck.

“I just wanna get to the top,” Marino said.

Marino balances his academics and athletics with his rap career. He has several songs out on Soundcloud, and creates the music himself. He and his senior classmates formed the group The Jiggy Fellows and will drop their debut album, “Jiggy Forever,” this month.

Creane said he enjoyed the process of making the album.

“We gave tips back and forth,” Creane said. “Lyrics back and forth.”

As a boy, Marino was always infatuated with music. He’s played multiple instruments throughout his life, and started with jazz music.

He plays the trumpet, guitar and drums, and was inspired by his father, a music teacher. Marino grew up listening to rap music, and it eventually inspired him to make his own.

Of all the professional rappers in the industry, most of Marino’s inspiration comes from Logic and Kendrick Lamar. He’s based his type of music off of the type that Logic produces.

“He’s got a good mind,” boys track coach Mr. Beler said.  

Pettway is impressed with the diversity of Marino’s lyrics and messages.

“He has a few different flows which is what’s good about him,” Pettway said. “He can switch it up, his lyrics are meaningful, and every beat he uses compliments them well.”

Marino’s peers said they enjoy his music and that they see consistent improvement with each track.

“He’s getting better and better with each take,” Beck said.

Marino plans to become a doctor and study at a college in California. In the meantime, his peers and teachers are taking notice of his musical talents.

“He’s very creative,” technology education teacher Miss Corriveau said. “He’s an outside of the box thinker, and likes to get things done quickly and right. He’s extremely talented with writing lyrics.”

By Cole Egersheim – Staff Reporter

Law’s Fishing Club is looking to reel new members in this fall.

The club is looking for all students,, from those who have never touched a fishing pole to experienced fisherman, to join. To get all the information on meeting times and trip info, students can text @fishing14 to 81010 or listen for announcements on Eagle Eye News.

Meetings are held after school in Mr. Morazzini’s room, Room 199B.

“Our goal is to go on a lot more fishing trips,” senior Fishing Club President Hunter Thomas said.

The club goes on freshwater and saltwater trips during the year. Science teacher and club advisor Mr. Morazzini is planning trips to Gulf Beach, Morningside Rocks, Maltby Lakes and the Middlebank Two charter by the end of the year.

The club is hoping students of all skill levels join. The club’s staff and officers are willing to teach those who are new to fishing. Club members bring their own gear and buy bait as a club for each trip.

History teacher and Fishing Club co-advisor Mr. Roumeles is also helping to expand the club. He brings freshwater fishing experience, allowing the club to increase their fishing locations.

“I bring a different perspective,” Roumeles said. “ I know Mr. Morazzini is the better angler, freshwater and saltwater, but I bring that experience.”

The club also does workshops that include reel maintenance, tackle organization and techniques, and knot tying.  These activities are held in Room 199B, so those who cannot normally go on trips can also be involved.

Morazzini usually gives away a lure for the biggest catch of the day.

“Fishing is a competitive sport and this adds a little extra fun to the experience,” Morazzini said.

Thomas and junior Nick Granito are the most avid anglers in the club, They help anyone in need of anything fishing related.

“(My favorite part of Fishing Club) is getting away from everything and going out doors to fish,” Thomas said.

By Cassandra Soda – News Editor

Jonathan Law’s newest students have been transitioning nicely into their new home.

With a mix of West Shore Middle School and Harborside Middle School, students are now able to meet new people and make new friends.

“My favorite thing about Law is meeting new people and playing sports which also helps me meet new people,” freshman Jordyn Konlian said.

High school can be a big change for some students which Law tries to make as easy as possible for everyone.

“The adjustment from middle school to high school was a challenge at first because all of our classes were five feet away from each other in middle school and also now the expectations are higher,” freshman Sarah Paulus said.

To everyone in the Law community, the class as a whole seems to be adjusting well to their new school.

“I think the freshmen are adjusting really well, by joining clubs, teams and getting involved in activities,” principal Mr. Thompson said. “Most importantly, they seem to really be engaged in their learning and taking their classes seriously.”

Getting involved in the school community is very important and is advice that most teachers give to students.

“I would advise freshmen to make every effort to get involved in some type of activity, whether it is a club or a sport, early on in the year,” freshman teacher Mrs. Hull said. “It is a great way to know students outside of your classes.”

High school is an exciting time for students with many fun and new events to look forward to that they have not experienced before.

“I am really looking forward to playing varsity sports when I am older and I want to be on the morning news and help to plan pep rallies,” freshman James Marino said.

The school held a picnic for the freshman class in the beginning of the year which gave students the opportunity to meet new people and bond as a class.

Upperclassmen also attended the picnic to talk to students about what their next four years will be like and to show them the Law family.

Teachers at Law have high hopes for the Class of 2021 accomplishing great things and cannot wait to see what is in the future.

“I am most excited about the possibilities and opportunities awaiting this class,” Thompson said. “I hope they take advantage of all the opportunities awaiting them at Jonathan Law.”

By Molly Mercaldo – Entertainment Editor

The second annual Jonathan Law 9/11 car wash was held on Saturday, September 9, at Dulin Automotive in Milford to raise money for the 9/11 Tribute Museum in New York City.

The car wash was started last year by Mrs. Rowley, a history teacher at Law, to remember 9/11 and to continue the Act of Kindness movement.

“The event went really well; we raised more money than last year,” history teacher Mr. Zuraw said.

Approximately 35 Law students participated in this fundraiser as well as several teachers, who worked together to raise over $300 for the Tribute Center.

The event was free for all first responders and cost $5 for anyone else who wanted to get a car wash.

“To help that organization means a lot to us as a department and as a school,” history teacher Mr. Evanko said.

Law has partnered with the 9/11 Tribute Center for years and currently has many student features in the center.

“The car wash was really well organized and successful,” said sophomore Morgan Taylor, who was a volunteer at the event. “We washed a lot of cars.”

This event was organized by the history department at Law, including staff members like Zuraw, Batson, and Rowley.

“The event went smoothly,” freshman volunteer Ashley Shaw said. “We all worked together for a good cause.”

The Law faculty members who arranged this event were very thankful for all of those who helped out at the car wash.

Members from Law’s Key Club volunteered to work at this event as well as other Law students.

“I loved being a part of something that has an impact on my community,” sophomore Skylar Sosa said. “Volunteering made me feel good because 9/11 had a huge impact on our country.”

Jonathan Law has opened its doors to several new staff members in a variety of subjects this year.

Here are some short bios of the new staff:

By Dominick Buccitti – Editor-in-Chief

Ms. Russell is one of the new additions to the math department at Jonathan Law.

Before coming to Law, Russell taught at Florence E. Blackham Middle School in Bridgeport for four years.

She came to Law because she wanted to have students who were willing to academically challenge themselves. She also came to Law because she loved Law’s sense of family.

“My cousin went through a hard time (at Law) and the staff went above and beyond to help her get through it,” Russell said.

Before starting her teaching career, Russell attended Sacred Heart University.

This year, Russell is teaching Geometry Level 2 and Statistics and Probability Level 2.

“This year, I hope to challenge myself and my students,”Russell said.

***

By Dominick Buccitti – Editor-in-Chief

Mrs. Sylvia is the newest addition to the guidance department.

Sylvia is Law’s new College and Career counselor.

Before coming to Law, Sylvia lived in Massachusetts and did career counseling at the college level.

“I recently moved back to Milford,” Sylvia said.

Sylvia thinks that being Law’s College and Career counselor is going to be a great fit.

Sylvia attended Eastern Connecticut State University for her undergraduate degree and attended the University of Bridgeport for her graduate degree.

This year, Sylvia has a couple goals for herself.

“I would love to know every student,” Sylvia said. “I hope to start to get the younger students into College and Career.”

Sylvia’s office hours are posted outside of her room. Sylvia also collects all volunteer hours and tracks every student’s progress towards graduating with distinction.

***

By Dominick Buccitti – Editor-in-Chief

Ms. Jessell is a not only a new member of the art department at Jonathan Law, but she is a new teacher.

Jessell attended of the University of Hartford and Southern Connecticut State University. She is actually a former graduate of Jonathan Law High School and had her now colleague, Mrs. Murphy, as an art teacher.

“I had a good student-teacher relationship with her [Mrs. Murphy] to teach with her,” Jessell said. “I was honored to work with her.”

This semester, Jessell is teaching Decorative Arts and Ceramics and Pottery. Next semester, she will be teaching Drawing and Sculpture.

Jessell had one goal for herself.

“I hope to get to know the students, faculty and the Law community,” she said.

***

By Cassandra Soda – News Editor

One of the many new teachers that will be joining the Jonathan Law community this year is Mr. Aguiar.

Aguiar was hired to be a science teacher and is excited to help students discover a passion for the subject. Before applying, he had heard many great things about the Law community.

“When I saw the job opening, I was very excited to have the opportunity to experience the school culture first hand and to get to know the students and staff here,” Aguiar said.

Aguiar attended Boston College where he majored in Environmental Geoscience and minored in Biology. During his junior year of college, he studied abroad in Ecuador and the Glapágos Islands, and then continued to attend Boston College to earn his Master’s in Education.

He is excited to become a part of the Law community and help out.

“I would love to help out with some clubs or after school activities,” Aguiar said. “I used to play volleyball and in college I was in an improv comedy group and also did a lot of volunteer work.

Aguiar previously taught Biology, Forensics, and Marine Science in Hamden and will be teaching Environmental Science and Biology this year at Jonathan Law.

***

By Cassandra Soda – News Editor

Jonathan Law is just as excited to welcome Ms. Furst as a World Language and History teacher as she is to be here.

Furst will be teaching Latin 1, Latin 2, Latin 3, and Ancient History this year, and is eager to teach and spur an interest in Latin in students. She is also excited to learn more and grow as an educator.

“When I asked about what the community was like in Law, I heard nothing but great stories and excitement,” Furst said. “So, when I was offered to teach here, I eagerly accepted.”

She attended the University of Arizona for college and after she taught at Long Island City High School and Weston High School.

Furst is ready to jump into the new year and hopes that students are ready and excited to learn.

***

By Cassandra Soda – News Editor

Jonathan Law is happy to welcome Ms. Ferron to the school community as a Family and Consumer Science teacher.

Ferron will be teaching Culinary 1 Foods and Nutrition, the Peer Culinary Class, and Culinary 2 Foods and Nutrition. She has many goals to help students this year develop a passion for cooking.

“I want to teach my students lifelong skills that they will use for the rest of their lives and help in guiding students to make healthy food choices,” Ferron said.

She attended the University of Wisconsin for college and has previously taught in Ansonia and at Daniel Hand High School.

Ferron loves teaching high school and thought that Law would be a good match, and the location is close to where she lives, which is convenient.

***

 

By Molly Mercaldo – Entertainment Editor

Jonathan Law High School recently hired Mr. Thomas as a physics teacher after he was a substitute teacher last year.

Thomas previously attended Southern Connecticut State University where he earned his teaching degree.

“I’m excited to teach here,” Thomas said. “I enjoyed the staff and the students last year and am excited to be back.”

He has set goals for his classes this year including having all of his students comfortable with hands on learning, and having a complete understanding of the subject matter.

Besides teaching at Jonathan Law, Thomas also teaches classes at Foran High School.

He is currently a coach of the Law baseball team and coaches the football team at Fairfield Prep.

***

By Molly Mercaldo – Entertainment Editor

Ms. Sinski is a new art teacher at Jonathan Law.

Along with teaching Art For Seniors at Law, she also teaches elementary school students at Pumpkin Delight.

“I love how subjective (art) is,” Sinksi said. “Students working on the same assignment given the same exact criteria and using the same media can create such unique and authentic work.”

As a teacher, Sinki appreciates having the opportunity to teach both elementary and high school art programs because she gets “the best of both worlds.”

Sinski attended Southern Connecticut State University where she received her bachelor’s degree in art education and hopes to go back to get her master’s degree as well.

Coming in not knowing what to expect, Sinski has instantly felt at home at Jonathan Law.

“I hope to help each and every student grow in their own unique way,” Sinski said.

Her goal as a teacher is to inspire a lifetime appreciation of art even to those who do not consider themselves artists.

***

By Nick Owens – Sports Editor

Ms. Georgetti has arrived at Law to hopefully make math a little easier for all of her students.

Before teaching at Law, Georgetti graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University. She double majored in Mathematics and Education.

Georgetti is a Milford native and attended Foran High School.

“My goals for the year is to learn as many names of students and to increase my students SAT test scores,” Georgretti said.

She is most excited to get to know her students.

Georgetti is teaching Statistics with Probability, a class that helps students learn critical thinking skills.

By Marissa Pollack – Staff Reporter

From volunteering to winning numerous awards, Jonathan Law’s Key Club had an extremely successful year.

“It was another great year for the Law Key Club,” Key Club advisor Mr. Boynton said. “The seniors will be missed because they always leave us with a great nucleus for the upcoming year.”

Over the course of the year, the club volunteered at many events such as school awards nights, the Milford Oyster Fest, Salvation Army, food drives, football games, and the annual blood drive.

“The year went really well because we had a lot of new people join,” senior lieutenant governor Tyler Chavez said. “It was a lot easier to get people to sign up for service projects with so many members.”

At the club’s annual convention, The New England and Bermuda District Educational Conference, the club was awarded 2nd place in the video contest, 2nd place in monthly reports, and 1st place in single service for raising $4,010 for the Salvation Army.

“My favorite accomplishment and event was the district convention because we got recognized for all of our hard work,” Chavez said. “We were in a higher division this year but we still managed to be recognized and rewarded.”

The larger size of the club made it less challenging to find community service opportunities, but created higher demands for the club to thrive at convention.

“Our club has grown drastically since my freshman year which is a big accomplishment,” senior co-president Michael Jalaf said. “This was our first year in the platinum division which has a lot of competition and we did well winning some awards.”

Individually, junior bulletin editor Dominick Buccitti was one of three Key Club members in the district to receive the Sandy Nininger Award. Buccitti will serve as the Key Club’s president next year.

“It was an outstanding honor to be named one of New England’s best key clubbers,” Buccitti said. “Our Key Club overall did a great job.”

Junior Key Club secretary Christina Mohammed received the Outstanding Secretary Award at the convention as well.

“(I thank) my club for volunteering and doing so much for the community,” Mohammed said. “It made doing the secretary reports so much easier.”

The Key Club is looking forward to another successful and fun year next year. They want more students who are genuinely interested in getting involved to strengthen the club.

“Always remember – new members, new faces, and new ideas are always welcome,” Boynton said.

By Mike Dattilo – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law has officially named Trisha Brady the Class of 2017 Valedictorian.

Brady has been successful during her entire high school career. She has taken 7 Advanced Placement courses, which include AP United States Government and Politics, AP Language and Composition, AP Macroeconomics, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Psychology, AP Human Geography, and AP Calculus BC.

She has also taken three UConn ECE courses at Bridgeport Regional Vocational Aquaculture Center, which she attends in the afternoon.

“In high school I wasn’t aiming to be valedictorian,” Brady said. “I took the classes that I wanted to take and was successful.”

Brady will be attending the University of New Haven in the fall majoring in Forensic Science. She hopes to one day work for the United States Government.

“During my six years here, Trisha is one of the finest people to go through Jonathan Law,” principal Mr. Thompson said. “Not only is Trisha gifted academically, but as a citizen and a person, she is the real deal, whether she’s here or at Aquaculture.”

Brady’s most challenging class has been Advanced Placement Calculus BC which she took her senior year.

“Trisha is the one of the most driven and reflective students that I’ve had,” math teacher Mr. Frank said. “I’ve seen her grow to take risks and try new things to improve herself.” 

Brady said that Frank’s course was her most memorable.

“Mr. Frank is a hilarious teacher,” Brady said. “You can tell he loves math and brings in a real life application to math whenever possible.”

In addition to being a great academic student, Brady also brought her talents to multiple extracurricular activities and to the Law tennis team.

“Trisha introduced me to tennis freshman year,” senior Maeve Rourke said. “ The day before try-outs freshman year, she went with me to teach me the logistics of tennis and to help me practice.”

Brady has been a member of the tennis team since her freshman year. She has qualified for State Opens twice, including this year when she and her doubles partner, fellow senior Brianna Arnold, finished undefeated for the regular season.

“For four years, Trisha has been the epitome of a student-athlete,” girls tennis coach Mr. Kulenych said. “She is an amazing teammate, a selfless player, and a role model in the classroom and on the court for the rest of the team.”

Even though Brady will be missed in the Jonathan Law community, she hopes to one day teach, and may be back at Jonathan Law.

“After I have an established career I would like to teach either at the high school or university level,” said Brady.

By Dominick Buccitti – Staff Reporter

Kavitha Mohanarajan is the salutatorian of the Class of 2017.

“I was really excited,” Mohanarajan said. “I found out a couple weeks ago.”

Throughout her four years at Jonathan Law, Mohanarajan has been a member of the National Honor Society, the cross country team, the Fencing Club, the Drama Club, and the recently-formed Lawcapella group.

While being an active member of the Jonathan Law community, she also volunteers outside of school. During her four years of high school, Mohanarajan has been a volunteer at the Milford Public Library, Stratford Public Library, and Bridgeport Hospital.

Mohanarajan also has been a summer camp counselor and an intern for the Milford Democratic Party.

“Kavitha’s a great person who is always trying to involve herself in order to help others,” senior Ally Maccio said.

Mohanarajan began her AP journey sophomore year when she took AP US Government and Politics and AP United States History. She has since taken 8 more AP classes, totaling 10 AP classes in her high school career.

“(Kavitha is) smart, articulate, motivated, kind, and an absolute pleasure to have,” AP Psychology teacher Ms. Burns said. “She’s a gem.”

Mohanarajan has received much recognition over her four years at Law. Her awards include: Biology Academic Achievement (9), Latin Academic Achievement (9,11), the Dartmouth Book Award (11), The Society of Women Engineers Award (11), Friends of Milford Library Book Award (11), AP Scholar (11), and honors (9,10,11,12).

“Kavitha is an exceptional young woman,” Burns said.

Mohanarajan recently received the Friends of Milford Library scholarship. Given to one senior at Law and one at Foran, the honorees were chosen for their involvement in their school and community, academic achievements, and love for reading.

“It was truly a pleasure to nominate Kavitha for the FOML Scholarship,” media specialist Ms. Briggs said. “She is so accomplished as a student and as a person and is very deserving of this recognition.”

Mohanarajan will be attending the University of Connecticut. She plans to study Physiology and Neurobiology.

She also recently was accepted into the honors program at UConn. She strives to become a doctor.

“I’ve known Kavitha for four years now because she is in my advisory,” NHS adviser Ms. Turcotte said. “She is very intelligent and I have no doubt that she will have many successes in her future studies.”

Mohanarajan had a piece of advice for underclassmen and their future endeavors.

“Push yourself, don’t be afraid to try new things,” Mohanarajan said.

By Kristin Frank – Sports Editor

Jonathan Law’s National Honor Society hosted its annual Brain Bowl event on April 28 to bring the school community together and raise money for brain cancer research.

NHS students plan and prepare for this event and ultimate fundraiser for months in order for it to run smoothly.

“During our weekly meetings after school, we would brainstorm questions and themes and plan out characters and roles for the promotional video,” senior vice president Nisali Fernando said. “We spent several meetings coming up with hundreds of trivia questions and as seniors we used last year’s event as a drawing board, and thought of ways we could improve and make the Brain Bowl better for everyone involved.”

The club’s main goal is to organize an event that is both entertaining and educational. Their proceeds go towards brain cancer research.

“The Brain Bowl provides NHS with opportunities to get the whole school together as a community and raise money for a great cause,” NHS advisor Ms. Turcotte said.

There is an optional test that students and faculty are able to take in order to receive a spot on their specific grade’s team.

NHS students are involved in a lot of the work that needs to be done for the Brain Bowl.

“The students come up with a theme for the event and then create a video to raise awareness and interest around the school,” Turcotte said. “The students made up the qualifying test questions and designed t-shirts for the event during after school hours.”

The students in NHS divided up a wide range of questions for the qualifying test. Some of these categories were Science, Sports, Pop Culture, and Arts and Literature.

“I mainly covered the Pop Culture and Sports categories,” senior Owen Paiva said.

The remaining two teams for this year’s Brain Bowl were the junior class and faculty. The scores between the two were close until the last question, when the faculty answered it correctly.

Members of the faculty team were pleased with the outcome of the event.

“My favorite part was Mrs. Briggs reciting the exact line from the Star Wars film that had the answer to the final question. It held the sweet promise of victory,” science teacher Mrs. Mercaldi said.

Many of the students love the aspect of this event bringing the Law community together for such a great cause.

“The Brain Bowl is one of my favorite events that takes place at Law and since I was a freshmen we watched the event in our classrooms,” Fernando said. “I always loved the idea of the entire school coming together to support brain cancer research and to compete in a rousing game of trivia.”

Each faculty member had a unique trait that contributed to their performance that afternoon.

“I thought I could contribute basic science information and get lucky with some broad biology questions,” Mercaldi said.

The class that raised the most money was the junior class. They raised over $130 for brain cancer research.

“I think the event went really well, we raised a hefty sum of money and managed to involve the school in an event everyone pretends is lame, but what could be lame about trivia?” Fernando said.

“I believe this event provides a unique opportunity to raise a significant amount of money for brain cancer research and it takes time and extra effort on the part of the National Honors Society members and their advisor Ms. Turcotte to pull off such an event, Mercaldi said. “I respect the effort every year and was proud to be a faculty representative this year.”

By Tyler Chavez – News Editor

Add physics teacher Mr. Mamrus to the list of teachers saying goodbye to Jonathan Law High School this year.

After four years of teaching at Law, Mamrus will be retiring from the science department.

Mamrus has a long and experienced career of teaching. He started as a math teacher at Stratford High School but after only just one year he went to Fairfield Prep to teach physics from 1986 to 2014.

“I took Fairfield Prep’s retirement offer because I didn’t want to teach full-time anymore,” Mamrus said. “Two months later I got an e-mail saying Jonathan Law was looking for someone to teach two sections of physics, basically from noon to 2 p.m. I had asked Fairfield Prep if they needed a part-time teacher and there were no openings, so this seemed like just what I wanted. And it was.”

His long history of experience has allowed Mamrus to form his own style of teaching physics. Other teachers have remarked how useful a teacher with experience is.

“Mr. Mamrus is unique in that he worked in the engineering industry before he became an educator, so his lessons and professional contributions incorporate a different perspective,” science teacher Mrs. Bouchard said. “He also introduced us to the University of Texas online assessment system, which he has his students do for homework and independent practice.”

Mamrus has left a mark at Law thanks to his teaching style that highly encourages participation and trying out something new. He uses physics in real life examples to show students how the science applies to their daily life.

“We are losing an excellent teacher physics teacher who does his best to make learning relevant to our students by applying physics principles to real life scenarios,” Bouchard said. “Even though he’s only been at Law for a short time, and in a part-time position, our department will be losing someone who actively participated in moving our department toward continuous improvement.”

Mamrus’ teaching lessons are sure to stay with his students who have been able to learn from him.

“My favorite part about having Mr. Mamrus as a teacher is that he doesn’t aim to make physics hard for us,” said junior Brianna Lenotti. “He also does not expect us to memorize equations; he just wants to make sure that we know how to apply them. That took away a lot of stress.”

Mamrus’ students have noted how his teaching method and problems have helped them grow their understanding of physics. His style of teaching is different than most.

“Mr. Mamrus has helped me understand physics because he always relates physics topics to actual real life events which I think helps students learn the material a lot better,” junior Ally Voytek said.

Mamrus’ teaching focus has had an impact on him as well. The importance of having students trying the problems and participating has allowed them to make connections in physics on their own.

“[My favorite memory is] whenever I see the light go on in students’ eyes indicating that they really understood something and it finally makes sense,” Mamrus said.

Just because he is leaving Law does not mean Mamrus intends to stop teaching. He will continue with his focus on independent learning and creativity.

“I have a job teaching two sections of a course involving the project design part of engineering at a private high school near my house,” Mamrus said. “Students work in teams of two to construct a design to solve a different problem each cycle using basic materials ( plastic straws, Popsicle sticks, cardboard, index cards, tape, glue, etc. ).”

No matter where Mr. Mamrus goes next, he will be remembered as a unique teacher at Law.

By Maeve Rourke – Sports Editor

Jonathan Law’s Rhea Grant has been honored as one of the first recipients of the Yale Bassett Award for Community Engagement.

The award winners are “emerging leaders who have distinguished themselves through a record of creative leadership and public service, academic distinction, interdisciplinary problem solving, and experience addressing societal issues.”

Grant is among 20 high school juniors, out of 800 applicants, to receive the award. She applied by submitting information about her academics and extracurriculars, a letter of recommendation, and an essay.  

“I love engaging with the community because I feel like I’m making a difference and helping to make a positive impact,” Grant said.

Some of extracurriculars include playing soccer, being a key member of the tack team, the Interact Club, Key Club, and the National Honor Society. She is secretary of the junior class and treasurer of the Science Club.

“This is a well deserved honor for someone who has really taken a commitment to make the environment a better place,” Principal Mr. Thompson said. “We are very proud of hr and her  commitment to the environment because that is what Jonathan Law is all about.”

Rhea was also sworn in for her second term as a member of the Girl Scouts of the Connecticut board of directors. She is currently preparing to earn her Gold Award, one of the highest honors in scouting.

Rhea is also a inspiration to her friends.

“Rhea is example of what a true ambitious student is : a leader and one who gives back to her community,” junior Morgan Macey said. “She is an inspiration to me and always pushes me to be better.”

Grant’s essay and work in an internship involving environmental justice are some of the key reasons she was selected for the Bassett award.

“I wrote about my experiences working for my environmental education internship at Groundwork Bridgeport,” Grant said. “The main focus of my essay was how I planned to use what I had learned at the national youth summit about environmental justice to address issues such as environmental injustice.”

While working at Groundwork Bridgeport, Grant participated in several community engagement projects.

“Through working with my internship I’ve done tree planting, beach cleanup, planting gardens, environmental education programs for the public (teaching people about issues in Bridgeport), and I also worked with a landscape company on a waterfront restoration project in Bridgeport,” Grant said.

Next year, Grant plans on applying to Yale and continue to advocate for environmental justice.

 

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By Nisali Fernando – Entertainment Editor 

The National Art Honor Society recently celebrated Jonathan Law’s innovative visual art students.

On March 22, The National Art Honor Society welcomed the best and brightest of the art community  into the prestigious club with a stunning ceremony. Students walked into the Media Center, candles ablaze, backed by the beautiful sounds of the Jonathan Law choir.

“I enjoyed having Ms. Jones and the choir sing for us as the students walked in, and I loved seeing their (the inductees) faces when they came up to get their certificates,” club advisor Mrs. Murphy said. “I felt such a sense of joy and pride for them.”

The clubs officers said a few words about what NAHS embodies and dove headfirst into the world of art by discussing form and color in artwork.

“The goals of NAHS is to provide an environment where artists can share their pieces and collaborate on pieces that benefit themselves, their school, and even their community,” junior co-vice president Dominick Buccitti said.

The NAHS was first introduced to Jonathan Law by Miss. Main, who then passed the reins onto Murphy. During the ceremony, Miss. Main and other insightful speakers poured out endless wisdom to current and new members alike.

“My favorite part of the ceremony was hearing some excellent, encouraging speeches from some of our school’s finest role models: Mr Thompson and Ms Main,” junior co-president Jordan Beck said.

New members could not contain their excitement, as the reputation of NAHS precedes it as a community of devoted artists who inspire those around them. Not only with their stunning artwork, but with their determination to bring art education to the attention of the school and community.

“NAHS encourages students to incorporate art into everything they do. This creative environment is what made me want to apply,” senior inductee Malena Araujo said.

Aside from a hard-working advisor, club officers play a tremendous role in cultivating a family atmosphere in this honor society.

“I ran as an officer of the NAHS because I love being able to guide my peers and help organize a really cool project with them all,” senior co-president Ally Maccio said.

The club is currently juggling several projects and will be working alongside the Kindness Club, also advised by Mrs. Murphy, to spread kindness and beauty during the Peace Love Music from Maren festival this weekend.

The club has hand-painted Ben’s Bells kindness coins and will be selling them alongside bookmarks of Maren’s garden, photographed by Advanced Photography student Nicholas Glorioso.

“This year in the NAHS we have numerous exciting new projects in store to try and give to the community with our talents, especially in the school,” Beck said. “I’m sure you’ve seen our mural in progress in the media center.”

The National Art Honor Society shifts the focus onto an incredibly under-appreciated group of students who apply themselves to make the world a little more beautiful. The club allows these students a chance to receive well-deserved praise and serves as a place where their devotion to the arts transforms into something they can be honored for.

“What I like the most about NAHS is the opportunity to collaborate with some of this town’s best and brightest artists to create works that greatly impact our community for the better,” Beck said. “With this in mind, I felt it was only necessary that I run to be a co-president so I could lead this great group and perhaps learn some responsibility along the way.”

By Mike Dattilo – Staff Reporter

After 20 years at Jonathan Law and 27 years as a teacher, Mrs. Jaekle will retire at the end of the year.

Jaekle said she always knew she wanted to be a teacher.

“When I was five I started playing school with my grandfather, so I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” Jaekle said.

Throughout her career, Jaekle has been known to go the extra mile to help students succeed.  

“Mrs. Jaekle is a great teacher,” senior Evan Karlsen said. “She is always willing to stay after to work with you.”

During her time at Law, Jaekle has taught Physical Science, Human Anatomy, and Environmental Science.

“I loved Physical Science,” Jaekle said. “It was so much fun teaching electricity and magnetism.”

Jaekle said she will also miss all of her colleagues at Law, specifically the members of the science department.

“The science department has such dedicated teachers who have a love of science and a love of the students,” Jaekle said. “We are always trying to do are best to make a love of science for the kids.”

Jaekle has really enjoyed both the staff and students during her time at Law. In addition to teaching science at Law, she has also served as the Keyettes advisor.

“She has a passion for learning, and will certainly be missed,” science teacher Mrs. Bouchard said.  “In addition to her contribution to our department, she was also a dedicated adviser to the Keyettes Club.”

Keyettes is a community service club open to girl in all grades. The club has coordinated blood drives and organized entertainment events.

“My favorite thing [about Keyettes] had been the Mr. JLHS pageant, though unfortunately we hadn’t been able to run it the last couple of years,” Jaekle said.

Besides running the Mr. JLHS pageant as Keyettes advisor, Mrs. Jaekle also enjoyed running a school-wide talent show.

“About four years ago at the talent show Maren [Sanchez] was in it and it was the first time in public she sang ‘Home,'” Jaekle said. “That will be a memory.”

Many staff members have high regard for Jaekle, including principal Mr. Thompson.

“Thank you for your years of dedicating your time and talents for the betterment of all students, thank you for making a difference,” Thompson said.

Science teacher Mr. Koorejian agreed with Thompson’s sentiments.

“Mrs Jaekle has been a loyal supporter of Jonathan Law, the students, and the faculty for over 15 years and her dedication will be missed,” Koorejian said.

During her retirement, Jaekle plans to spend time with her grandkids and to volunteer.  

“I am going to miss being here, but I won’t miss getting up at 5:30 a.m.,” Jaekle said.  

By Maeve Rourke – Sports Editor

Jonathan Law’s Science Club has finished a successful season of competition.

On April 1, the club traveled to UConn’s Storrs campus to compete in the Connecticut Science Olympiad. This year the club sent two teams to compete in each event.

“We are really proud of how our members performed this year,” club advisor Mr. Stanton said. “This was our second year running two teams which was really successful.”

The Science Olympiad consists of events that range from labs, tests, and building events. Each member had the opportunity to sign up for specific events compete against students from all around the country.

“I enjoyed competing because I loved the competitive environment and the fact that it revolved around scientific methods and ideas,” junior Grace Piselli said. “I really enjoyed meeting and talking to students from high schools all across Connecticut.”

The science club’s full team consists of students of all grades and two advisors Ms. Turcotte and Mr. Stanton. This year they sent an A and B team to compete in the Olympiad.

This year the teams placed very well in all their events.

“Overall, the club performed very well at UConn, we placed 4th in two events, and 3rd in one event, and 2nd in another,” junior club president Meghana Jaladanki said. “More people won medals at UConn compared to last year, and many other participants placed in the top ten. Both of our A and B teams beat Foran too!”

Senior Club member Nisali Fernando and sophomore Sana Rana placed 3rd in disease detectives. In this event the partners took a test consisting of multiple choice and open ended questions. They had to interpret graphs and case studies which required the ability to identify common illnesses. Lastly, they had to be able to come up with a plan to control hypothetical outbreaks.

“I think I was successful because Yale’s invitational in January showed what not to do and what I needed to improve on,” Fernando said. “I stayed after school every Tuesday and worked tirelessly with my partners until we felt prepared for the upcoming events.”

The club plans on improving more every year. Next year, the officers are already planning on ways to get more organized, and start working on their events early.

“I think that by having a large number of Juniors and junior officers, our team will have a good deal of experience going into next year and the team will be able to be more organized and successful,” senior vice president Trisha Brady said.

By Emma Caserta – Staff Reporter

The Key Club at Jonathan Law provides an opportunity for students to become involved in their community and to earn service hours.

Volunteering is optional so the members of Key Club prove to be model individuals by donating their time in order to help others and contribute.

The Key Club when appointing presidents only chooses the most qualified and deserving members who prove to be serious about their commitments to the club.

Junior Dominick Buccitti was recently elected the next president of the club. His qualifications stood out among the other candidates.

“The importance of Key Club is to spread the idea that people can make an impact on their home, school, and community through community service efforts,” Buccitti said.

Over the course of Buccitti’s Key Club career, he has successfully accumulated over 450 volunteer hours.

In order to graduate with distinction, a student needs to have 200 logged volunteer hours, and the recently elected president doubled that before his senior year.

“Dominick Buccitti is what we call a go-to guy,” Key Club advisor Mr. Boynton said.  

Boynton said that Buccitti is a vital and reliable member of the club.

In order to be Key Club president, it requires a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication that cannot be found in just anyone.

“Within the school, I hope to grab the attention of more students by getting more members and getting more people to contribute to fundraisers and projects,” Buccitti said.

He added, “I hope to get people to understand the importance of making the world around us better.”

By Valeria Araujo – Editor in Chief

ACES Educational Center for the Arts students and staff are completing another year capitalizing on the amazing opportunities afforded to them.

ECA is a magnet school based in New Haven that is focused on certain sectors of the arts. Inside the brick stone building in New Haven is a staff of brilliant educators and hardworking students. 

“ECA is a model for arts infused education,” director Jason Hiruo said. “It builds skills in innovation and creativity and critical thinking that they don’t get to advance in their typical high school.”

Currently ECA has five departments: Theater, Music, Dance, Visual Arts, and Creative Writing. A student can apply, through the ACES website, for as many departments as they want but can only study in one of the departments throughout the year.

“If you plan on going into the arts in college or whether you just like writing/dancing/singing as a hobby, this program is for you,” Law senior music department student J.P. Amaro said. “You will gain so much knowledge and wisdom from ECA that regular high school students won’t gain.”

When applying, students must  submit portfolios at the department’s request which will help with the admissions process.

“It’s different from a club/after school activity because it’s an actual school,” Amaro said. “You have homework and it is graded, unlike after-school clubs. You get graded for doing what you love to do.”

Unlike after-school clubs, students from all over Connecticut begin their day at their home school and then attend ECA from 1-4 p.m.

“I enjoy ECA because there are so many other like-minded students here with me,” Law senior theatre student Jaden Esse said.

ECA is a rigorous curriculum that pushes students towards honing their skills in their artistic field. Students at ECA go above and beyond to make sure that the work they put out is their best and will help them in their field of study in the future.

“Managing regular school and ECA is a little hard at first because you are juggling two schools at one time, but when you get into the routine of things, it gets easier,” Amaro said. “I would say that being collected and organized is what will help you manage.”  

ECA provides the opportunity for students to pursue their passion in the arts which allows them to be creative and learn to take risk and to be individuals.

Students have expressed the wish for ECA to add more departments and elements in the future.

“Hopefully, in the future ,ECA will expand to encompass three more departments such as culinary, film, and a technical department (for theatre and film),” Esse said. “ECA is one of the only schools like it in the entire country. That alone makes this school important to me and unique.”

By Arianna Goenaga – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law will be saying goodbye to one of its most beloved art teachers this year.

Miss Main is retiring after 19 years at Law, but those ears were not all that her career in art entailed.

In a bizarre coincidence, Main’s teaching career started in the same room she teaches in currently. As a substitute teacher, Main sat in that room and dreamt how amazing it would be to teach art. Years later, her dreams became a reality.

As a young adult, she attended the University of Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State University, Wesleyan University (where she received her Masters degree), and then Vermont College (where she received her Masters of Fine Arts degree).

Before her career in the Milford school district, she began teaching at Saint Joseph’s in Trumbull. Then she moved on to Naugatuck High School, and then was an assistant professor for art and art history at the University of Bridgeport.

Main began teaching in Milford at Harborside Middle School in 1995. Two years later, she went to Foran for one year and then finally came to settle down at Jonathan Law.

Main has impacted the lives of so many students throughout her teaching career.

“She made me realize that I wanted to get back into art again,” senior Nicole Kopek said.

With her constant positive attitude and encouragement, Main has taught a lot of lessons rather than just art.

“Miss Main pushes us to do our best,” senior Rebecca Tighe said. “She believes in us when we don’t even believe in ourselves.”

Senior Brianna Marshall agreed.

“She is a great person; she brings out the inner artist in me,” Marshall said.

After retiring, Main plans to work on her own artwork, travel around the United States, and go to The National Gallery in London.

“I plan on eating some good pub food,” Main said.

Although her students will miss her, Main will miss them as well.

“I’m going to miss the energy of the students, my friendships with other teachers and staff members, and my big, beautiful art classroom,” Miss Main said. “Most of all I will miss my art department colleagues Mrs. Murphy and Mrs. Romanowski. We’ve worked as a team to grow a quality visual art program for this school.”

Although she will be miss her family at Jonathan Law, Main still has a lot of exciting opportunities ahead of her.

“Working at Jonathan Law has fulfilled my dream of living and working in my hometown,” Main said.

By Tyler Chavez – News Editor

The Jonathan Law choir hosted the choirs from Harborside, West Shore, East Shore, and Foran High School in a concert on March 20 to celebrate “Music in Our Schools Month.”

Each school performed songs directed by their respective choir teacher.

“Music in Our Schools Month” is a program created by the National Association for Music Education to focus on the importance of music education and to show people that all students should have access to music. Schools across the country engage in multiple activities and concerts to promote music education.

“This is a wonderful way to showcase students’ talent, hard work, rigor and team-work that shines through the beauty of music,” Law choir teacher Ms. Jones said.

The Law choir class prepared for the concert for weeks. Outside of class, they hosted a large rehearsal with the middle schools.

“The rehearsal went super well,” senior Chloe Erickson said. “The middle schools were incredibly well behaved and we were amazed by how good they sounded in our joint choir and how well they followed directions.”

The big draw to these concert was the fact that every Milford middle and high school were represented. Each school’s choir performed a number of songs.

“At first we weren’t going to do the concert because our chorus program at West Shore is small due to the large number of students who take General Music,” chorus and music teacher at West Shore Mr. Kalafus said. “Then I decided let’s do it and be different.”

The Jonathan Law choir performed two songs, including“Bohemian Rhapsody” by legendary rock band Queen.

“My favorite song to perform was ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ because the audience really loved it and the song explores a lot of different styles, which is always fun,” Erickson said. “The sheet music was like 20 pages long.”

There was also a finale song of every participating choir. The Jonathan Law stage was filled with talented singers from all over Milford.

“I think my favorite part of this experience was that we got to interact with everyone and everyone was involved,” freshman Brooke Nabors said. “It was amazing seeing everyone come and sing together.”

The concert had a profound effect on the teachers. They see “Music in Our Schools Month” as a very important cause.

“As I reflect on the concert, I hope the audience leave with a feeling that performing in a music ensemble is something that cannot be replicated or replaced,” Jones said. “Yo-Yo Ma, when speaking about the importance of music, said ‘To me, nothing is more totally engaging in mind, body, spirit, experience, tactile hearing, visual…that’s what the arts do.”

The concert was a positive experience for middle school students to grow in their musical endeavors.

“At first they didn’t believe we could pull it off because we knew the other schools were going to be three times our size,” Kalafus said. “In the end I think they saw that hard work and effort pays off.”

The experience also had an effect on the students. Students both experienced and new to choir gained a strong appreciation for music education and respect for their teachers.

“The music teachers at this school know what they are doing, and the fact that music programs are getting cut is scary, because studies show that music helps students excel in their other classes as well,”  senior JP Amaro said. “Music is something everybody needs in their lives, and music education is one of the most important and engaging forms of education I have ever known.”

The Law choir will start preparations for their spring concert in May. Jones said she is already looking forward to the show.

“Oh…and join Law choir,” Jones said.

By Molly Mercaldo – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s Drama Club is rehearsing for its upcoming musical performance of “Bye Bye Birdie” on March 31.

This musical will feature characters such as Rose, the female lead, played by Law junior Margaux Accorda, and Albert, the male lead, played by senior J.P. Amaro.

“I have fun playing my character and watching everyone else play theirs,” Accorda said. “I also like the story line and the plot.”

This is Accorda’s first time appearing in a Law play. She auditioned and received the lead role.

The play will feature other Jonathan Law performers such as juniors Maddie Baldieri (Kim MacAfee), Berat Celik (Kim’s boyfriend), and senior Ally Maccio (Mrs. MacAfee). Freshman Justin Amaro plays the title character of Conrad Birdie.

The show follows Conrad Birdie, a teen pop-rock star, just days before he goes out to serve in the army. Albert, his manager, and Rose, Albert’s secretary, come up with a publicity stunt to make one lucky girl Conrad’s last kiss and hilarities ensue as plans go wrong.

“Here at Drama Club, we are just like a big family,” Celik said.

The director of the musical is Christina Kalafut. She directs the play and also works with the students on choreography and vocals.

“I was cast in this musical when i was in high school and took away many wonderful memories from it,” Kalafut said.

Seniors Sarah O’Brien and Ann Reed are helping Kalafut choreograph parts of the show.

“I’m always impressed with the talent everyone of my students have in drama club, both on, and off stage” Kalafut said.

Law chorus teacher Ms. Jones is also helping out with the vocal aspect of the show by helping the students sing well together.

“The show itself is entertaining,” Accorda said. “’Bye Bye Birdie’ has great jokes, music, and dialogue. The cast has worked really hard.”

The performance features many songs like “Honestly Sincere” and “An English Teacher,” two of the most popular songs from the original play.

The play is set in 1958 and is going to be set up to look like it is from that time period.

“This play is different because it is old-fashioned so the story is set in a different time period,” said Baldieri.

The shows debuts on Friday, March 31, at 7 p.m. There will also be performances on April 1 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Admission will be $12 for adults and $7 for students and senior citizens.

By Marissa Pollack – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s Model U.N. Club recently welcomed Jane Ekayu, a speaker from Uganda.

Ekayu helps Rwandan victims with counseling and restoring them back to their old selves.

“I have learned to love humanity more, I learned resilience,” Ekayu said. “No matter how heavy the situation that puts you down, you can rise up.”

Ekayu has extensive experience as a child trauma therapist. While working at the Rachele Rehabilitation Centre from 2004-2006, her role was to receive child soldiers returning from captivity, assist them in their physical, emotional, and psychological healing, and facilitate their reintegration back into the community.

In three years, the Centre received over 3,000 child soldiers. Since the Rachele Center closed down in late 2006, Ekayu has continued her work with the children through Children of Peace Uganda.

Ekayu emphasizes a gradual process of forgiveness consisting of four main steps. In order to forgive, she says, one must understand why they should forgive, have the desire to forgive, decide to forgive, and finally begin completing acts of forgiveness

“Her mission was to teach us the healing process and how to forgive and move forward from our pasts,” Model U.N. co-president Sam Rossi said. “Aside from learning that, we were able to ask her questions that specifically pertained to our committees, topics, and countries.”

Ekayu’s visit to Law was organized through a conversation that history teacher Ms. Burns had with Scarlett Lewis, the founder of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation

“Scarlett mentioned her foundation was sponsoring a presentation by Jane in Connecticut,” Burns said. “They had no speaking engagements scheduled for (that day) and offered to come to Jonathan Law. It was an incredibly fortuitous opportunity for us. I am thrilled Scarlett offered to bring such a distinguished speaker to our students.”

Model U.N. members will soon be attending their annual conference in New York City where they will be representing both Uganda and Rwanda. This special presentation helped the students prepare to speak about the countries with more knowledge.

“Everyone’s questions were so genuine and you could tell that everyone who was there was interested in what she had to say,” Model U.N. secretary Gina DiFederico said. “Being able to speak to someone from Uganda who has real training and experience in dealing with mental illnesses was an incredible experience.”

Ekayu was able to teach the students more than factual information. She left them with important life lessons.

“The guest speaker was so important for the Model U.N. because she spoke to our students in person about how to help people recover from a horrific conflict, psychologically and socially,” Model U.N. advisor Mr. Evanko said. “Her work exemplifies the best of what we hope our students will learn: problem-solving to create a more just, peaceful world.”

There are about 3,500 children at Ekayu’s center with about 12-15 full time staff counselors.

The organization receives no government funding, but the government does check the center’s progress. Most of the money is donated and fundraised by students, friends, and people who want to help make a difference in other’s lives.

“Hearing her speak was such an honor and a privilege,” Rossi said. “Listening to someone who has been all around the world to give speeches to people was a once in a lifetime experience.”

Students were extremely appreciative of this once in a lifetime opportunity.

“I think the most important message that we took from the speaker was forgiveness and that’s what she was teaching about,” Model U.N. co-president Jordan Negron said. “In addition to that even though going to Model U.N. conferences gives you experience and lets you see through other people’s views, I think this is more personalized because it was one-on-one and it was an even more eye-opening experience than what we normally see talking to International kids because of the struggles that her country went through.”

 

By Dominick Buccitti – Staff Reporter

The Jonathan Law winter guard pulled out the moves and made a “magical” performance at their recent home competition.

On Saturday, February 18, the Law winter guard hosted their home competition. The theme of this year’s competition was “Just 1 Wish.”

The Law winter guard was dressed as genies, which coordinated with the theme.  

“I wanted to pull out character and the fun in the music, considering it was the second competition of the season,” director Pam Rossman said.

Before performing, each of the competing schools must go through hair and makeup, costume changes, body warm-ups, and equipment warm-ups.

“Performing feels like it goes by fast,” sophomore Katie Garlock said.

Law had a strong routine full of tosses, twists, turns, and gymnast-like moves. Freshman Karina Jakab caught the attention of the crowd, through her large and intricate tosses.

The other schools in the competition performed well and had some interesting costumes.

“It was a great show and I had fun,” senior Sarah Dempsey said. “But it was also kind of sad.”

For most of the girls, this was not their last home performance. However, it was for their senior members of the group.

“I think next year without the seniors will be different and sad,” said sophomore Jess Scherback. “We all love them and will miss them being in the competitions.”

There were over 10 groups that performed at the competition. The last performance took place at 8:00 p.m. and awards soon followed.

“We got our scores and helped at cleanup,” Garlock said.

Through their efforts and strong performance, the group has shown a great bond, which comes in handy for a great, future routines.

“We all have fun with the shows and we work hard,” freshman Angelena Plona said. “We are all like a family and I am glad to be able to perform with them.”

The winter guard is still continuing their season and has high goals for their future competitions.

By Nisali Fernando – Entertainment Editor

Royalty walks the halls of Jonathan Law in the person of Colleen Hugo.

Hugo, a junior at Jonathan Law High School, was recently awarded the prestigious title of Miss Emerald Isle. This honor is annually awarded to one young woman in the Milford community who embraces her Irish roots.

During the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 11 at the Milford Green, Hugo will be enrobed in a beautiful gown, tiara in tow, greeting her friends, family, and fellow community members.

“I wanted to be Miss Emerald Isle because I had always seen her in the parade from the time I was little, and it looked like a fun thing to do,” Hugo said. “It also seemed very honorable to me to be part of Milford’s annual ‘royal Irish family’.”

Aside from an appearance at the parade, Hugo’s duties as Miss Emerald Isle require her attendance at the dinner at which she is crowned, a ceremony at city hall to raise the Irish flag, a pancake breakfast, and the Milford Irish heritage festival in September.

“I’ve also only been in the parade once before (when I was a Girl Scout), so I’m thrilled to be part of it again,” Hugo said.

Hugo heard of the opportunity through Eagle Eye News and despite her loss the year before, she persisted and with her essay submission and successful interview was awarded the honorary title.

Her friends and classmates are convinced Hugo was royalty before her coronation and believe she is very deserving of her success.

“I believe Colleen embodies Miss Emerald Isle as she is a natural leader and she has always been proud of her heritage for as long as I have known her,” junior Grace Piselli said. “Colleen is kind and supportive, and is quite fit be named to the position she holds.”

Though this contest highlighted Hugo’s caring nature and plethora of extracurricular activities, she also had to learn more about her Irish heritage.

“While writing the essay, I had to learn more about my ancestry because I wasn’t entirely clear on it- but after I called up relatives and did research, I felt much more pride in being Irish,” Hugo said. “Attending the dinner, flag raising, and breakfast with the society also helped me to feel much more apart of Milford’s Irish community.”

Hugo decided to research her family roots for what seemed like a requirement for a fun contest and managed instead to reconnect with her culture.

Her demeanor and devotion to her heritage prove why she snagged the crown.

“Colleen has such a good heart and devotes her time to helping others, I think this enthusiasm for community service shows how she embodies miss emerald isles,” junior Rhea Grant said.

The Law and Milford communities are ecstatic to support their fellow community member this coming week at the parade.

“I’m extremely excited to see Colleen at the parade! She has been looking forward to the event for months and has been ardently preparing for it,” Piselli said. “I’m excited to see Colleen show her Irish spirit and hold an important position in the parade.”

Hugo implored next year’s winner to have fun with the entire experience because it goes by quickly and to practice their wave and signature.

By Maeve Rourke – Sports Editor

The National Honor Society is a club that plans events, such as fundraisers, that benefit the Law and Milford community.

The club welcomed 17 new juniors to the club on March 2.  The induction ceremony was a celebration of these students’ accomplishments.

“The club provides an opportunity for these students to continue to serve as leaders and to serve the school community with other like-minded students,” science teacher and club supervisor Ms. Turcotte said.

During the winter, a handful of Juniors and Seniors who have shown good character and academic success are invited to fill out an application that provides evidence of leadership skills and service. The four basic requirements for NHS are scholarship, leadership, service, and character.

“I’m excited to become a member because I have always admired the academic pride that members have held, and their authority in school,” junior inductee Grace Piselli said. “NHS is a prestigious organization and I’m excited to be welcomed into it, as I am opened up to another outlet of community service that I am eager to participate in.”

Being a member of NHS has many benefits as well. Members have opportunities to get volunteer hours, and give back to the community.

“By becoming a member of NHS, you start to make a positive impact on the Law and Milford community,” senior club vice president Nisali Fernando said. “You get to spend time doing kind things for other people, and there’s nothing better than watching our community prosper because of the actions of NHS and the hardworking kids in it.”

Also, being a member of the National Honor Society is a great addition to college applications.

“Being a member of NHS shows I’m a very well rounded student and it will prove to colleges that I am a good student,” junior inductee Brianna Lenotti said.

The National Honor Society’s main goal is to help to give back to the community. Many of the events benefit organizations around Milford, and help people in need.

“My favorite part about being in NHS is giving back to the community,” senior club president Jillian Bendlak said. “Service is a big center of NHS and it’s a great feeling to raise money for organizations like the American Cancer Society.”

Many of the members within the club create and partake in fun activities around Jonathan Law.

“Since my induction NHS has organized events such as The Brain Bowl, The Giving Tree, Relay for Life, the Halloween Costume Contest, and 50/50 raffle for Dani Kemp,” senior club member Trisha Brady said.

Currently, NHS is planning another event for students called Welcome Back Graduates, where juniors and seniors get the chance to talk with past Jonathan Law graduates.

By Mike Dattilo – Staff Reporter 

Mr. Robinson’s class looks a lot like any other modern technology education classroom. It has computers, robots, and a three dimensional printer.

But soon the class will be missing one thing.

Mr. Robinson.  

After 16 years as a teacher, coach, mentor, and Law graduate Mr. Robinson is leaving to become the Technology Education Teacher and Department Head at Ludlowe High School in Fairfield. His last day at Law is Wednesday, March 8.

“Becoming the Department Head was a big attracter,” Mr. Robinson said.

During Robinson’s tenure in the Tech-Ed department there has been many changes.  

“I couldn’t have helped made the tech-ed department better without the help of Mr. Barcello, Ms. Corriveau, Mrs. McCoy, Ms. Ryan, Ms. Martinich, Ms. Juhase, Mr. Beler, and Ms. Sipos, “ Robinson said. “They’ve all bought in into what we wanted to do, I was fortunate for all of us to have the same vision.”

He is looking forward to his new job to lead new people.

“I don’t feel like there’s any more I can do to lead (the department at Law), because they’re great,” Robinson said. “Fairfield is behind us in the Tech-Ed and Family Consumer Science Departments, there’s a lot of work that could be done.”

Beginning in January of 2001, Robinson began teaching at Law right out of college, and was named Law’s head football coach later that year. Before becoming a head coach, Robinson was an assistant coach at two schools in Kentucky.

“It was always a dream of mine once I began coaching, to come back to [Law] and coach,” Robinson said. “It was tough and hard, it was a big eye opener to me especially being a former player from here.”

In his first season the team went 5-4-1, Law’s first winning season since 1992.

“We had great football players the first year, we’ve always had great kids,” Robinson said.  

In 2007, the team went 9-1 tying the school wins record. Thirteen years later, Robinson retired as head coach.

“In 2014 I retired, I didn’t resign,” Robinson said. “There’s a big difference, you resign when you did something wrong, I retired because it was time to spend time with my kids. I will not coach football ever again.”

In addition to football, Robinson also coached track as an assistant for 10 years and is in his fourth season coaching girls basketball as an assistant.

“I absolutely love coaching girls basketball,” Robinson said. “It’s a good way to give back to the school.”

Robinson still plans to coach girls basketball next season.

“He’s definitely impacted my life a lot through coaching and teaching,” senior Keala Hoff said. “He will always have a place in my heart, and will truly be missed.”

During Robinson’s 16 years at Law, enrollment has gone up in Tech-Ed. Also more Advanced Placement students have taken Tech-Ed classes compared to when Robinson began teaching in January 2001.

“Ryan Siddall (a Law Class of 2015 graduate) never took a Tech-Ed class until his senior year,” Robinson said. “He took a Computer Animated Drawing Class, and now he’s interning with NASA this coming summer.”

Robinson hopes his impact on the Tech-Ed department will be felt long after he leaves.

“Everyone needs to try at least one of our classes, because they’re going to realize they can apply it to what they’re learning in math, science, English, and history, and apply it in a real world situation and they’ll find a love for it,” Robinson said.

Not only has Robinson’s teaching has been praised, but also his character.

“I like what Mr. Robinson stands for,” English teacher Mr. Nigretti said.  “What I learned from him as far as coaching is he always cares about the well-being of the student, before the athlete, that plays an integral role in my teaching and coaching.”

Before becoming a teacher, Robinson was also almost drafted into the NFL.

“After college, Mr. Robinson almost made it on the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots,” business teacher Mr. Beler said. “There’s not a man who embodies Jonathan Law more than him. When parents send their kids to us, there’s not a better role model who always puts the kids first.”

Robinson is also a vital part to the school’s auto shop.

“Mr. Robinson’s commitment to our school and our community is both amazing and remarkable,” Principal Mr. Thompson said. “Above all, his dedication to EVERY student he worked with, whether in the classroom, in the shop, on the field, on the court, or in the community created a standard that all of us strive for every day.”

Robinson said that there is a need for Technology Education teachers across the state.

“Mr. Robinson’s departure leaves big shoes to fill here at Law,” Technology Education teacher Mr. Barcello said. “He is involved in many things here at Law, not just teaching Tech-Ed classes, so to find someone to do what he does for this school will be very,  very difficult.”

Robinson’s departure also means that he and his sister, Law special education teacher Mrs. Andrews, will no longer work together professionally.

“We’ve shared many students over the past two years,” Andrews said. “It was nice to work together to meet individual students needs and be able to use the family connection to have the students feel more comfortable to work with us.”

Like many teachers, Robinson has spent many late nights at Law trying to benefit the students.

“I’m leaving; I’m not dying,” Robinson said. “Jonathan Law will always be a part of me forever. When you do things with kids in mind you’re always going to make adults upset until they see the product of why you’re doing what you’re doing. They don’t understand why you’re doing it, as long as the students appreciate what you’re doing it does not matter what an adult is saying,” Robinson said.

By Tyler Chavez – News Editor

The Jonathan Law Science Club competed in the Yale Undergraduate Science Olympiad at Yale University in New Haven on January 21.

Led by science teacher and advisor Ms. Turcotte, the club competed in multiple science themed events.

The Law Science Club competes in different similar competitions every year. The Yale Science Olympiad features schools from all over the east coast.

“It is an invitational Science Olympiad run by Yale undergraduates,” Turcotte said. “Events range from astronomy, to chem lab, to robot arm and electric vehicle.”

The Yale Science Olympiad features multiple events under a certain field of science. Students competed against other students in teams.

“I competed in chemistry lab, hovercraft, and micro-mission,” senior Korbin Betso said.

Science Club members have prepared weeks in advance for this competition. Students did research and worked with one another to get themselves ready for their events.

“For forensics, I would research information about certain types of forensics analysis online, and I would take online tests to prepare for the written tests,” senior Deepika Senthilnathan said.

Their events challenged them academically as they were given unique tasks related to science.

“For wind power, I created a model with my partner, and I would test different models to see the performance level of the wind turbine for the wind power event,” Senthilnathan said.

The competitions consisted of written tests and construction tasks.

“Most of them are tests and there are some building events,” junior Salma Samih said. “So when you enter the building events you have to test what you build and you get scored on how well it worked.”

The Law Science Club found themselves competing against students from Connecticut, and from other states along the East coast. This was a new experience for many students.

“While the tests themselves were a bit difficult, just the whole experience of being surrounded by like-minded people and being in a place like Yale was new and exciting,” Betso said.

The members of Law Science Club spent their time around Yale University in New Haven. They were able to compete in one of the most prestigious university campuses in the world.

“I liked the environment of Yale,” junior Christina Mohammed said. “It was cool watching everything happen.”

Turcotte said she was very proud of the performance of her students. She hopes they can use this experience to improve for the UConn Olympiad in the spring.

“I love watching the kids compete,” Turcotte said. “They work hard to prepare for their events independently and it’s great to see their hard work pay off.”

The students were able to take previous academic experience and apply it to the competitions.

“Science Olympiad competitions has helped me visualize the applications of classroom science into a real life perspective,” Senthilnathan said. “For example, forensics was partially AP Chemistry and AP Statistics combined and different courses that I took at Law.”

At Yale, Law’s “A” Team finished with 768 points from 23 events while the “B” Team finished with 845 points.

The club will now prepare for their next Olympiad.

“We’re going to UConn,” Mohammed said. “We’re going to win.”

 

By Nisali Fernando (Entertainment Editor) and Maeve Rourke (Sports Editor)

Jonathan Law’s Model U.N. classes recently experienced the impact of the United Nations first-hand.

Mr. Evanko’s Model U.N. classes attended an interactive conference at Yale University in New Haven from January 19-22. Over the course of four days, students were involved in an international relations simulation crafted just for high schoolers.

During the semester, the Model U.N. class has been learning about prominent conflicts happening globally. The class centers on current relations within countries around the world in order to prepare for this conference.

“Students can expect to learn about international relations and the focus is on current events,” Evanko said. “We do cover the history of the United Nations and a few big conflicts, but I try to keep the focus on current issues such as climate change, cyber security, the situation in Syria, and other current topics.”

At the conference, students were immersed in intense, challenging situations that members of the United Nations are faced with everyday.  

“I was in was the World Health Organization (WHO) what we did was discuss the distribution of pharmaceuticals to developing countries and combating emerging infectious diseases,” senior Jordan Negron said. “Our goal was to work together to make resolution(s) that would effectively tackle the issue.”

Throughout this four day conference, participants found themselves learning valuable skills that they can apply both inside and outside of the classroom.

“It taught me to always be prepared to compromise, and that preparation is key,” senior Owen Paiva said. “[The conference] helped me with public speaking and conveying important information in front of people.”  

The conference has been running for the past 43 years. This year alone, 1,400 delegates from 40 countries gathered in the prestigious university to solve pressing problems.

Most students acted as delegates for a specific country in certain committees to solve a wide array of modern day issues. In official U.N. fashion, members were able to sponsor and offer resolutions during discussions.

“I was a signatory on Denmark’s resolution dealing with worker’s rights by establishing a committee inside SOCHUM to hear accusations of workers rights violations and setting a global guideline for the treatment of workers,” senior Tyler Chavez said. “I was also a sponsor and co-wrote a resolution for women’s reproductive rights that established a global standard on abortions, and worked with non-governmental organizations to provide clean clinics related to women’s health and classes about sexual education for men and women. This resolution actually passed.”

Many students found themselves at home during the fun-filled, hectic conference.

“My favorite moment of the conference happened during my first committee session… After several “inflammatory” remarks about the Chinese head of state, a YMUN staff member, pretending to be a Chinese police official, kicked open the door and declared the immediate arrest of the two press corp members,” Krois said. “The two press corp members were then escorted out by the police with their hands behind their back. Throughout this, the whole committee laughed and joked around until the chair finally brought order back.”

Students were also able to engage in the bustling city of New Haven, finding opportunities to enjoy themselves outside of the conference.

“My favorite part of the conference was seeing the Donald Trump protest (off-campus) and I joined in,” Rossi said.

The Model U.N. class may be offered as a half year course at Jonathan Law, but the experiences gained in the classroom transcend one semester.

“This conference not only better educated me on Model UN but also granted me experience negotiating with new people, overcoming language barriers and how to better structure and prepare arguments in parliamentary procedure,” Krois said.

By Kristin Frank (Sports Editor) and Owen Paiva (Entertainment Editor)

Students from Jonathan Law visited the Washington D.C. area for the inauguration of President Trump and toured the area throughout the week.

The main draw of the trip was the inauguration, which is one of the most significant events during a president’s tenure. The trip was organized by history teachers Ms. Burns and Mr. Zuraw.

“It was a beneficial trip for the students because this was a once in a lifetime historic event,” Burns said. “We wanted the kids to have that opportunity.”

Students also were able to visit the many historic landmarks in the D.C. area during the five-day trip.

“Our students visited Smithsonian Museums and Arlington National Cemetery, where we saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and watched the Changing of the Guard; that is an awesome ceremony,” history teacher and chaperone Ms. Mannion said.  “We paid our respects at the grave of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his two brothers’ graves, Robert and Edward.”

The students who attended the trip had developed a set of their personal favorite landmarks that they saw along the way.

“We went to the Arlington Cemetery where I learned that they have the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers 24/7,” junior Maggie Kelly said. “We went to Mount Vernon and got to see everything George Washington had on his land.”

Regardless of their political views, this trip was enjoyed by all.

“The trip was a great experience and I’ve never seen the inauguration up close,” assistant principal Mr. Marko said. “There were 60 of us who went and all had different political views and to see them come together to share dinners and conversations even after discussing our opinions was my favorite part.”

There was something for everyone who attended.

“We visited a host of other monuments and memorials, including FDR, the Jefferson Memorial, MLK, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam War Wall Memorial, the World War II memorial and the Korean War Memorial,” Mannion said.

This trip provided both the chaperones and students with more knowledge about politics and government.

“After going on this trip I better understand how the government works,” junior Emma Carollo said. “I also learned the importance of maintaining these historical monuments, buildings, and museums so that other generations can share the same experience I did.”

The whole experience was worth the journey, and the inauguration was the main highlight.

“The experience of being part of the inauguration was special,” senior Zach Anderson said. “ I also found it nice that while the trip was very educational, we all had a good time.”

No matter which candidate students wanted to win, the inauguration was still worthwhile.

“I learned from this trip, that no matter your political affiliation, the inauguration was a moment of history,” senior Jill Bendlak said. “We got to witness a huge event that will be talked about forever, going to an inauguration is something that very few people get a chance to do, and I feel incredibly lucky I was given this opportunity.”

Those who attended were able to take back ample amounts of memories they created in D.C.

“I have never been to D.C. before so seeing all of the monuments,  memorials, and the Supreme Court in person was amazing,” senior Tori Contaxis said.

Some of the chaperons have made the trip to D.C. before. Marko explains that he had experienced a few differences between the times that he has traveled there.  

“I have been to D.C. before when I was a history teacher at my old school and used to take about 250 students to this city,” Marko said. “The biggest difference this time was the amount of security since time has passed, I saw more security in the museums that we visited and the travel time was longer as well.”

Students saw all the monuments that D.C. had to offer.

“We saw every monument possible – the Washington Monument, the Korean/Vietnam War Memorials, and the Iwo Jima Memorial, for example,” senior Matt Zancewicz said. “They were all very informative and gave out a sense of respect for the fallen soldiers,  Arlington was also a solemn place to go and give respect for the soldiers that paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

Aside from Arlington National Cemetery, Mount Vernon was a very popular stop among those who attended the trip.  Mount Vernon is located in Virginia and was the home of George Washington.

“I enjoyed seeing Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home,” Bendlak said. “It was so surreal to see his property and actually see the bed he died in, he is the foundation of our country, and it was amazing to see the way he lived.”

The estate also serves as the burial location of Washington.

“Overall my favorite was attending the inauguration but I also really enjoyed visiting Arlington National Cemetery and Mount Vernon,” Anderson said.

The students also met with Rosa DeLauro, Congresswoman from Connecticut’s Third District, and Milford Mayor Ben Blake when they visited the Capitol Building. DeLauro has been the a Congresswoman for 28 years.

“We stood outside the Rayburn Congressional Office Building in DC, where Congresswoman DeLauro has her office,” Mannion said. “She explained her work today and how she came to run for Congress 28 years ago.”  

For both the students and teachers, this was a unique experience.

“She was very inspiring and enthusiastic, she was so gracious to spend that much time with us,” Mannion said. “We might have a future member of Congress here at Law, you never know.”

By Nisali Fernando (Entertainment Editor) and Kristin Frank (Sports Editor)

In the spirit of “Lawmas,” Jonathan Law kicked off the holiday season by lending a helping hand to the United Way of Milford.

Students and faculty filled the gymnasium on December 22 to participate in a yard game competition to commemorate the money raised for a Milford based organization.

The event was dreamt up by student leaders and was executed by the faculty at Law. English teachers Mrs. Lucia and Mr. Kulenych worked tirelessly alongside students to promote and prepare the event at the school.

“I am so proud of our students here at Law,” Lucia said. “Our school did what we knew it would, because it is what we do best: we came together for a good cause and showed how altruistic we all are. We raised a lot of money that will help a lot of people, and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”

The United Way of Milford does so much to help the Milford community and many members of the school were happy to donate their time and money to such a worthy cause.

“The United Way raises funds and distributes them to 20 health and human service agencies in Milford,” President and CEO of the United Way of Milford Gary Johnson said. “Also, we provide diapers, discount prescription insurance cards and an Emergency Fund which assists residents with rent payments, utility bills, food, oil, and summer camperships.”

The week leading up to the pep rally was filled with a competitive race between classes to raise the most money. The students and faculty were promised incredible prizes for their donations.

The student who raised the most money overall would be Principal For The Day, while the faculty member who raised the most money would become Dean For The Day. The class that raised the most money overall would be awarded the senior cafe for a day while the seniors, if victorious would be awarded a complimentary breakfast.

“We wanted to make the Law United rally a fun way to welcome in Winter Break and, more importantly, a way to thank all of those donated to the fundraising effort,” Kulenych said. “We couldn’t be happier with the result of the fundraising. Hundreds of students, staff, and community members donated and it was amazing to see everyone come together for a great cause.”

Principal Mr. Thompson promised to shave his head live on air of Eagle Eye News if the school managed to raise $3,000 altogether. Much to Thompson’s dismay, Law raised a whopping $3,051.

“Well, I have had better experiences,” Thompson said. “But it was for a good cause and it will grow back. Plus, maybe it’ll be a new look for me.”

There were several ways to donate and to earn a spot at this event. To acquire a seat at the event there was a $2 admission fee and “Law United” T-shirts were sold for $10.

“There are so many things that make us a very special place. One of those things is our commitment to helping our community,” Thompson said. “We have so many activities, clubs and programs dedicated to giving back to our city. This is just one example of the many ways we are the community’s flagship school.”

Kulenych said that the event showed how well the community works together in times of need.

“It was amazing to see the school rally together and be “united” for a common cause,” Kulenych said. “We had so many student help fundraise, help set up the gym, help take donations and sell T-shirts. It was a real student-led effort which was great to see.”

Team members at the rally participated in backyard games such as Spikeball, Kan Jam, Washers, and Baggo.

“We liked the idea of backyard games because everyone can play, and they are fun to watch,” Lucia said. “We wanted the event to be interactive and fun – a way to reward people who were generous enough to donate time and money to our goal.”

The students who collected the most pledges represented their classes at the Law United rally.

“The classes can get pretty competitive especially in situations like this one such as spirit week,” senior Sydney King said. “But at the end of the day we’re all one school and were so happy that we collectively raised so much money for organizations that help the local community.”

The faculty team included Ms. Burns, Mr. Roumeles, Mr. Young, Mrs. Blude, Ms. Corriveau, Ms. Rosner, Mr. Giangregorio, and Mr. McPartland.

“(We) committed to a positive cause for the community,” Young said.

The juniors who placed the highest in all four events took on the faculty team in a relay race at the end of the rally.

“I would love to participate again next year because it was amazing to have fun in helping a great cause,” junior Maggie Kelly said.

Leea Palmer, a senior at Law, raised a total of $278 for the United Way. Palmer single-handedly closed the gap between classes but it was not enough, the sophomore class donated the most money (a total of $787) and will be awarded the senior cafe one day in January.

“The money was going to a good cause,” Palmer said. “This year our family wanted to donate for the holidays.”

Blude, the faculty member who donated the most money, will be Dean For The Day, and Palmer serve as Principal For The Day.

Johnson was presented with a check at the end of the rally. Johnson, Palmer, Mrs. Drew, and Mr. Marko posed for a picture alongside of a giant $3,051 check.

“I enjoyed my time at Law,” Johnson said. “To me, I witnessed a school community full of enthusiasm and a commitment to helping others. I could see that the students and faculty were excited with the fundraiser.”

In the end, Law was able to learn what it truly meant to be “Law United” through this event.

‘”Law United’ describes something we already knew about our school, but maybe we didn’t have a phrase for it,” Lucia said. “Coming together, pooling our ideas, time, and other resources to do something great, something bigger than just ourselves, is what Law is all about, and now we have a term that defines it.”

Aside from longstanding class rivalries and the hilarious incentive of seeing Thompson’s head shaved, members of the Law community were proud that they proved that no feat too large for a “united” high school.

“Being “Law United” means the Law community doing what it does best – coming together at a time of need to help those who need it,” Kulenych said. “Our school is filled with selfless people who are always willing to help so it was no surprise that ‘Law United’ was as successful as it was.”

***

To get involved with the United Way, students can visit the United Way website or call the United Way at 203-874-6791.

 

By Marissa Pollack – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s choir is bigger and better than ever this year.

Recently, the choir has been featured at events all around Milford. Some events include Christmas caroling at Milford Hospital, at the Lamplight Stroll, the Milford Christmas tree lighting, and the choir’s annual concert along with the Law band and strings.

“Since last year we have gained about 10 new members and we have a new teacher (Mrs. Jones),” senior Brianna Whitlock said. “Advanced choir now has a male group (featuring seniors Michael Maccio and Jon Paul Amaro) which is new.”

The new male members of the choir have made an immediate impact on the program.

“I’ve only been in choir for two years now and it’s been so much fun,” Macchio said. “We all are amazing people and blend together as singers marvelously.”

In mid-December, the choir had another successful performance at its annual winter concert. One song was done a capella, another included a djembe (drum) player, and another was a song that featured the children’s choir.

The choir has already performed at West Shore Middle School and will soon be reaching out to Harborside Middle School as well. They will be promoting the Law music department in general and the choir program.

“It’s going great this year,” junior Emma Hudd said. “We are singing better than ever and nothing can keep us down.”

Gaining a new teacher has only made the group grow closer. Choir teacher Ms. Jones said that each performance and practice has been filled with improvements.

“I could not be more proud of the progress the chorus  has made this year and all the effort that they put in,” Jones said. “Their lives are busy and full of challenges and obstacles and yet they overcome them and rise above to come together as an amazing musical family.”

Jones said that positivity is overflowing this year. The group is advancing vocally while creating a close family like bond helping them to grow stronger.

“I love the energy and the close bond we have formed with everyone,” senior Beatrice Relucio said.

The group can’t wait to see what lies ahead in their future. Members said they have no doubt they will continue their success and become even better as the year goes on.

By Cassandra Soda – Staff Reporter

Law’s Keyettes Club recently held a fundraiser where they asked students to donate a dollar and guess how many Skittles were in a jar to benefit Brady’s Smile.

The person who had the closest guess could either win the jar of Skittles or a $10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card.

“The purpose of the fundraiser is to raise money for the Brady’s Smile organization, which helps kids who are suffering from illnesses,” junior secretary Priya Gupta said.

The Keyettes raised money for two purposes: donating to Brady’s Smile and making fleece blankets for children.

“We wanted to hold the guessing contest, because the proceeds will go to purchasing fleece material to make blankets for children who are in the hospital fighting back cancer,” senior president Deepika Senthilnathan said.

This fundraiser was a very important part of the Keyettes Club and will help many children who need it.

“It is important to do this fundraiser because the blankets can give sick children and their families a sense of comfort while they are spending time in the hospital,” Keyettes advisor Ms. Wilcock said.

Fundraising is a main purpose of the Keyettes Club. The club has also done service projects such as the fall blood drive for the Red Cross.

“Fundraising is an important part of Keyettes because everything that we do is to further benefit the community in some way,” junior secretary Ally Voytek said.

Fundraisers like the one for Brady’s Smile can impacts people’s lives in ways some may not realize.

“This fundraiser is important because those who donate are making a huge impact on kids who are struggling with illness and disability,” junior vice president Brianna Lenotti said. “It is important to keep these kids happy and healthy.”

The fundraiser also raised enough money for the fleece blankets. The club will be able to make many blankets to comfort children.  

“Just a dollar from each person that participated allowed us to buy enough fabric to make about 12 blankets, ” Wilcock said. “That’s going to make 12 little ones who may be really struggling with their health very happy and very cosy.”

The first place winner of the contest was Colleen Goodwin winning the Dunkin’ Donuts gift card with a guess of 3,784 and history teacher Mr. Zuraw came in second place and won the jar of Skittles. The jar actually had 4,135 Skittles.

The club will be making the blankets in one of their meetings after winter break and will give them to Brady’s Smile who will then give them to the children in hospitals in the area.  

In past years, the club has made bags of gifts that they gave to the children but they decided to go back to the original idea of making blankets.  

By Molly Mercaldo – Staff Reporter

The first ever Lip Sync Battle was held at Jonathan Law on December 15 to raise money for the indoor track team.

This show featured many impressive lip sync performances, as well as performances by the Law choir, Lawcapella, and members of Law’s advanced ensemble.

“We’ve got nothing but great reviews and it seems like the school has a little bounce in its step,” said business teacher and track coach Mr. Beler.

The winner of the Lip Sync Battle was “The Spice Girls,” which was a group made up of juniors Morgan Macey, Rhea Grant, Colleen Hugo, and Salma Samih.  

“I think this event really brought the community together; it was really Lawmazing,” Grant said.

The event had an audience of over 500 students, family members, and Law staff members.

“The winning group’s performance was well rehearsed and looked spectacular when it was preformed,” junior Bobby Fisk said. “It’s not a surprise that they won.”

The winning group took home a prize of $50 as well as a Lip Sync Battle trophy to commemorate their victory.  

All grades were represented throughout the event, with Law staff members and coaches also participating.

The event was in the planning process for months and was put together by the indoor track coaches with help from other members of the Law community like senior Ben Warters and members of the indoor track team.

“It became my end of the semester project to create and run the whole show,” Warters said.

The event reached its goal of earning money for the indoor track team that will help cover expenses for the team’s apparel and banquet.

Other groups who participated in the competition include Mike and the Ladies and the Cheetah Girls.

The runner-up performance of the night was from a group of teachers named Out of Sync featuring Beler, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Toussaint, Mr. Rhode, Mr. Barcello, and Mr. Nigretti.

In third place was Hamilton, a group made up of members of Law’s Drama Club, who performed songs from the hit Broadway musical.

Beler said that he hopes the Lip Sync Battle becomes an annual tradition at Law. He hopes to include performances from Law alumni in upcoming years. 

“I think this can be a great new tradition here at Jonathan Law,” Beler said.

By Valeria Araujo – Editor-In-Chief

Jonathan Law’s National Honor Society is hosting its annual Giving Tree event.  

The Giving Tree is back in the main lobby full of cards with presents idead for underprivileged children in the community. Students and faculty are able to leave gifts (new, unwrapped, with the original tag) under the tree.

“It is a way to donate presents to kids whose parents are unable to provide them with everything on their christmas wish list,” NHS vice president Nisali Fernando said. “We essentially serve as Santa’s helping hand in spreading a little Christmas magic.”

NHS will bring the gifts to the Milford Prevention Council and the United Way to help distribute.

“We are a service organization and enjoy helping others, especially children from our community,” NHS advisor Ms. Turcotte said. “We want to brighten the holidays for the children (and parents) of families in need.”

NHS works with counselors at Bridges to collect four to five gifts for each child.

Fernando said that many children ask for clothes and other necessities that many people take for granted.

“Christmas is about giving,” Fernando said. “We have an opportunity to remind our Law and Milford community there is still a little good in the world when giving to those in need during the holidays. When you give a present to someone you imagine the joy on their face once they open it.”

NHS has continued to bring a sense of humanity to the Law community.  

“Being in NHS is a great way to spread compassion within the Milford community,” NHS president Jill Bendlak said. “We encourage all to try to get in to be involved with the community and become good student leaders.”

Once the Giving Tree drive is over, NHS will be working on inducting new members.

“People are nominated to be inducted into NHS and then there is a lengthy application process,” Fernando said. “You are recognized for all you do in and out of school and get to make a differences in the community, you get to spread the magic of christmas and raise money for causes you are very passionate about. It’s an honor.”

By Valeria Araujo – Editor-in-Chief

The Jonathan Law Drama Club knocked out its performance of Neil Simon’s play “Plaza Suite” on November 11-12 in the auditorium.

“Plaza Suite” gives the audience a glimpse into the lives of three different couples staying in Room 719 of the Plaza Hotel on three separate occasions.

Each couple has their own hilarious problem to work through. The Drama Club members and the audience members were thrilled with the set design and performance of the cast.

The cast included seniors JP Amaro, Tyler Chavez, and Chloe Bee Erickson, juniors Berat Celik, Rosalie Filippone, Colleen Hugo, and Allyson Voytek, sophomore Anna Malin, and freshmen Justin Amaro, Kevin Bretthauer, and Luke McDonald.

“My experience working on ‘Plaza Suite’ was wonderful,” senior Drama Club member Tyler Chavez said. “We had a small cast so it was very easy for us to all bond and come together and everyone was so friendly and great to work with that it made the show so much better.”

This play was a very challenging but rewarding one for the Drama Club and has expand their wide range of theatrical ability.

“Neil Simon is one of the greatest playwrights of our time,” Drama Club Director Christina Kalafut said. “I wanted to teach the students his style of comedy and how to perform it.”

The Drama Club is always looking for new members and stressed that students don’t have to be an actor one of the plays if they are in the club. They want anyone who would like to join feel comfortable and welcomed.

“We push anyone who is unsure about joining to come to a few meetings and see for themselves how the Drama Club is full of amazing people that will change your life as they changed mine,” senior co-president Sarah O’Brien said.

Going forward, the club will be having meetings on the first Tuesday of each month in the auditorium.

“Right now, we are planning our holiday party and our Barnes and Noble fundraiser,” O’Brien said.  

Senior co-president Ann Reed said that the Drama Club is a judgement-free zone where students can make long-lasting friendships.

“I’ve been in Drama Club since freshman year and it’s just really fun,” junior Rosalie Filippone said. “I’ve made a ton of new friends and found new interests, and being part of the shows, whether you’re a small role, a big role, or even part of the crew, means that you’re a part of the club and that you won’t be valued any more or less than anyone else. People who have never been interested in theater before have joined and loved it and It’s really worth being a part of in any way possible.”

Kalafut not only works hard with the students to make them stronger performers but makes sure that they are having fun.

“I enjoy seeing my students come to rehearsals each day, having a great time with their friends, doing what they love and creating memories along the way,” Kalafut said. “The smiles, the laughter, and the memories remind myself why I do what I love to do: for them.”

The club is holding auditions for its spring show, “Bye Bye Birdie,” in mid-January. The performance is scheduled for March 31-April 1.

“Even if you don’t feel comfortable performing on the stage, there are plenty of other ways you can still be involved with the club off the stage,” Kalafut said. “You can help run sound, move set pieces backstage, help organize costumes…there are so many aspects to theatre.”

By Nisali Fernando – Entertainment Editor 

For years, Milford students spent Veterans Day at home.

This year, Jonathan Law students and faculty embraced the national holiday and all it represents. As the entire school packed into the new gym, all eyes were on the brave men and women who served our country.

The event was organized by the history department at Law and was led by history teacher Mr. Kravecs. Unlike past Veterans Day events held at the school, students were given a pivotal role in the ceremony; they were given the privilege to educate the audience about the holiday itself.

“On the surface we have the event because we’re in school on Veterans Day and we didn’t used to be in school on Veterans Day,” Kravecs said. “There’s a major feeling out there if this day in particular is gonna have students in school, some level of education about the holiday needs to take place.”

Aside from the students, many veterans also chose to speak to the crowd and had very inspiring things to say to students.

Justin Knight is an electrical technician in the Navy. He captivated the audience with a personal parable about failure, hard work, and reaching success.

“Some people are hard-headed like me and you have to learn them (lessons) the hard way and you have to almost fail or you have to fail and then pick it back up,” Knight said. “If I can help prevent any one kid from having to go through that experience and learn from it that’s worth it.”

Students were given a chance to relate to the speakers, many we’re nodding and chuckling at the idea of failing a class after getting too comfortable. These veterans were more than servicemen and women, they proved to be people too.

Ihlo Yi managed to have the crowd in uproarious laughter by saying he was just going to wing his speech. A petty officer in the Navy, Yi is a recruiter here in Connecticut and told students his love for military came from struggling academically in school.

“I want to help people and the first step to help people I think is to build that relationship, coming here was a great way to have everyone see me and I see everyone and they get to know my face,” Yi said. “Even if y’all need somebody to help tutor in subjects… except math – I just want to be part of the school.”

The event proved to be very uplifting and reminded students what this holiday really means to them and their loved ones. For many, Veterans Day was never just a day off from school.

“I celebrate Veterans Day because I have a cousin who has served in the Army and I understand what families go through while their loved ones are away,” senior Abby Williamson said. “It is only right that we honor the people who put their life on the line for our country.”

Following the assembly, students were given a chance to interact with the veterans one-on-one and ask them any questions they had about their service. It allowed for students to bond with the servicemen and women over pastries as the Veterans offered sage advice.

“I thought the event was a success because the event went as planned, as a social studies department we put a lot of time and effort into thinking about who we wanted to intend and what roles we wanted students to be playing in the event,” Kravecs said. “I think the end result really showed that attention to detail and that planning to try to make it as positive an experience for everybody.”

According to Tom Flowers, the Sergeant Masters General of the Air Force and first speaker at the event, Veterans Day is not for those who have served but for those that are worth protecting.

“We don’t come here to be honored by you, we come here to honor you,” Flowers said.

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To check out hundreds of Spirit Week photos, go to twitter.com/jlawadvocate!

By Tyler Chavez – News Editor

Jonathan Law students showed just how much spirit they have by engaging in this year’s Spirit Week.

Spirit Week is a continuation of the year-long class vs. class competition to see which grade has the most school spirit.

Leading up to the Powderpuff/Thanksgiving pep rally, activities ran from Monday, November 14, to Wednesday, November 23, with Jersey Day, Tacky Tourist Day, ’90s Day, Red, White and Blue Day, Country/Flannel day, Color Wars Day, Blackout Day, and Black and Gold Day respectively.

“All of the credit goes to the students,” athletic director Mr. Sarullo said. “There is an unbelievable amount of spirit and positive energy this year, which is needed for a school to have a successful spirit week.”

The activities were created by Sarullo and a group of students from various grades. The aim was to promote school spirit, getting involved with the school, and a bit of friendly competition.

“The point of Spirit Week is to get everyone excited and have school spirit,” senior Keala Hoff said.

The committee also brainstormed ideas for the upcoming pep rally to hype students up for the annual Law vs. Foran Powderpuff and Thanksgiving football games.

“I hope the students get excited for the Powderpuff game as well as the Thanksgiving game,” said Hoff, who also acts as an emcee for the pep rallies.

Students were encouraged to tweet pictures of them partaking in the festivities to The Advocate Twitter in order to get points for their class. Twitter was inundated with selfies, group photos, and mannequin challenges in an attempt to take the lead.

“The response was incredible,” journalism teacher Mr. Kulenych said. “I think it’s been an awesome showing by all the classes. You can feel the spirit from all the classes.”

The juniors started the week with a lead, but the senior and sophomore classes have been right behind them. The friendly competition could be seen throughout the halls.

“I love Spirit Week because I love to see how my grade can work together to get this win,” junior Christina Mohammed said.

The variety of days to participate in gave every student the chance to show off their school spirit and earn points. The hosts of Eagle Eye News got in on the fun by using ’90s slang on ’90s Day and Southern accents on Flannel/Country Day.

“My favorite day was All-American Day because absolutely everyone went all out painting their faces and flying flags,” senior Marissa Pollack said. “It was so fun especially because my friends and I walked in the halls chanting and sang in front of the whole cafeteria.”

The last three days include a Color War, Blackout Day, and Black and Gold Day. The school held its Powderpuff/Thanksgiving pep rally on Tuesday.

“My biggest wish, which I think has already been realized, is that the school comes together to support each other’s teams, clubs, competitions, etc,” Sarullo said.

The positivity of Spirit Week can be seen throughout the school. Jonathan Law students have shown their enthusiasm and energy to create a memorable week and a half of activities.

“I love that Spirit Week reminds everyone how much we love Law,” Pollack said. “As a senior it shows me what I’m going to miss next year and how much fun I had with all my friends.”

The Jonathan Law students will carry their energy from Spirit Week to the pep rally, and the Powderpuff and Thanksgiving football games against cross-town rival Foran High School.

No matter the results, Law students can look back and smile at the smiles formed during Spirit Week.

By Emma Caserta – Staff Reporter

The Jonathan Law Keyettes held their annual blood drive on October 26.

The blood drive took place in the old gym and was open to all students and volunteers. The purpose of the drive was to benefit those agencies who are in low supply of blood.

“Keyettes is all about helping the community, from small to big acts to benefit those in the Milford Community,” Keyettes co-president Deepika Senthilnathan said. “We had a great turnout this year.”

Each person who donated blood helped people in need. It was a small act, but the impact is positive and extremely helpful.

The American Red Cross was in need of blood in order to help patients. All students and faculty members that helped this year and previous years are greatly appreciated.

“It is a great chance for high school students and teachers to donate blood and help the cause,” said senior Abby Williamson, who volunteered and donated blood at the drive this year.

Students needed to be 17 years or older in order to donate blood. 

The Keyettes have hosted a blood drive for the past six years.

“By donating blood, patients can get treated for any illnesses they are facing that require blood to help them heal and get better,” Keyettes co-president Madison Laezzo said.

Keyettes advisor Ms. Wilcock was excited about this year’s turnout.

“With about 25 blood donors on the day of the drive, our Jonathan Law community could potentially have helped up to 75 people,” Wilcock said.

By Chloe McCullough – Staff Reporter  

The Milford Prevention Council hosted its 12th annual “Thanks 4 Giving Food Drive” this year to help those in need during the holiday season.

The food drive took place from November 11 to November 13 in the parking lot at Wasson Field in Milford. There were many community groups that participated in this year’s drive.

Some groups who attended this year’s included the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and the Venture Crew. All of these groups had participants in the drive and most camped out in the parking lot for two days.

The final turkey count this year was 367 and, in total, 315 families were fed this year.

Law junior Molly Mercaldo, an active participant of the drive, said that the plan was to raise as many turkeys as they could to give to needy families. Mercaldo also hoped to provide food to many families in Milford and donate to local food banks.

“The food drive is a really fun way to help the community, see your friends and make a difference in Milford,” said Mercaldo.

In previous years, scouts have collected more than 70,000 pounds of food and 1,600 turkeys. Extra food is normally donated to food banks and the drive is highly supported by local businesses.

Law junior Priya Gupta, a participant in the drive, said she was proud to continue this tradition of giving back.

“I think the food drive is a really good cause and it helps a lot of people,” Gupta said. “It really makes a difference in not only the community, but also the worl.”

The Jonathan Law Key Club was very involved in the drive as well. Key Club members helped organize cans and did other jobs that helped organizers of the drive.

“The food drive is for a great cause because it helps families in Milford who are not as fortunate as others have a great Thanksgiving,” Key Club president Mike Jalaf said. “It is also a great opportunity for community service.”

Law senior Kyle Krois, an Eagle Scout and a member of Troop 1, has been a part of the food drive for the past 11 years.

“This past year we fed over 350 families, and filled all of the food banks in Milford,” Krois said. “We only sent them to non-denominational food banks.”

By Maeve Rourke – Sports Editor

 

With the cold weather approaching, Jonathan Law’s Ski and Snowboard Club is getting ready for its winter season.

The club is an extracurricular activity that is open to all students, no matter how much skiing or snowboarding experience they possess. The next club meeting is scheduled for December 14.

“I enjoy giving kids the opportunity to do something they might not otherwise do,” club advisor and Jonathan Law parent Ms. Lacadie said. “Skiing and snowboarding are great ways to get kids to enjoy the outdoors during the winter months and get some exercise.”

The club was formerly run by parent Mr. Savo. Ms. Lacadie used to run the West Shore Middle School Ski Club for six years and this is her first year running the Jonathan Law Ski Club.

“I give a lot of credit to Mr. Savo who has run this club for many years even after his children finished Jonathan Law,” Lacadie said. “ I look forward to a fun and rewarding season.”

This year, the Ski cCub plans to do four day trips every other Saturday for two months. They also attend an overnight trip to Smuggler’s Notch, which gives them a full day and a half of skiing.

“In the past, we have only gone to Mount Snow and Okemo,” senior co-president Ann Reed said. “But this year we are hoping to broaden our scopes and attend a couple new mountains.”

The club offers a great opportunity for students to make new friends, and learn how to do a new sport. The each mountain usually offers a learn to ski program with lessons and equipment rentals for anyone who may need them.

“The ski club gives you an opportunity to hang out with your friends while doing something that you love,” Reed said. “Skiing and snowboarding can get expensive fast, so getting the opportunity to utilize the group rates along with the transportation to Vermont is an opportunity I’d hate to miss out on.”

Skiing and snowboarding is also great exercise. You can be healthy while having fun.

“I ski and I love it because it gets me outside and moving,” senior Katie Lacadie said. “It’s a non- competitive sport that I can exercise and enjoy without worrying about winning.”  

The team also becomes very close knit. During their bus rides and through learning to ski together, new friendships easily form.

“The club bonds on the bus back home after a trip, where we watch movies and share snacks,” co-president Sarah O’Brien said. “On the longer bus rides we even play bingo together (with prizes!).”

Also, during the overnight trip, the club hosts a pizza party in the lounge one night, and a trip to Ben and Jerry’s another.

“The overnight trip is my favorite part about Ski Club because it’s fun and you get to spend a whole weekend skiing with your friends,” senior Callie Merva said.

Anyone interested in Ski Club is encouraged to attend a meeting and contact one of the co-presidents.

By Daniella Berg – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law has introduced a new SAT Math class this year.

The SAT class is a semester-long course that meets 4th period. Next semester, it will meet during 8th period.

Mrs. Diprimio teaches the class and she believes that the class will help all of her students to be better prepared to take the SAT. Diprimio said that the class exposes students to the types of questions on the SAT as well as the SAT testing format.  

“We review concepts from Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and Geometry in the exam format of the SAT in class,” Diprimio said.

On block days, students work on the Khan Academy website, which is an online program that allows students to work through concepts and SAT-type questions that are specific to their individual needs.

DiPrimio has 18 students in this semester’s course and next semester there are 14 students already signed up. The class is currently for junior and seniors only.

The SAT can be very intimidating for many students. The test is formatted differently than what students normally see in the classroom, so DiPrimio helps students become more familiar with that format.

Students are exposed to the wording of questions as well as the content needed to maximize their SAT math scores.

Senior Jovana Mrvic said she likes how the class reviews the questions that everyone struggles with to get a better understanding of some of the concepts.

Mrvic believes the class helped prepare her for the SAT she recently took.

“On my most recent SAT taken in October, my score has improved,” Mrvic said.

Senior C.J. Rainey is also in the SAT class and said that the class helped a lot when it came to the real SAT.

“You take mini tests to help on the SAT and the teacher helps you step by step on any problems you don’t understand,” Rainey said.

 

By Ronnie Spangler – Staff Reporter

An Ultimate Frisbee Club has recently been formed at Jonathan Law.

The club is run by freshman Zack Chesson and his father, Robert Chesson, who played ultimate frisbee in college

The Ultimate Frisbee Club is a great place to improve your skills and meet new people that also enjoy playing the sport and it’s for all skill levels and they hope lots of people come.

“I want to improve my frisbee skills and become a better team player,” junior Anthony DeBenedet said.

The club hopes to scrimmage other schools in the spring. They already have one scrimmage planned against St. Joseph’s High School and hope to get cross-town rival Foran to also make a club so that they can face off against them.

‘I’m hoping that we get to scrimmage against other teams, but also that we do well and have fun,” senior Melissa Chodziutko said.

The club’s first two meetings were at 7 p.m. on the turf under the lights. Meeting lasted between an hour and an hour and a half. The club hopes to meet every Tuesday.

“It’s a rockin’ time,” junior Matthew Marino said.

The club focuses heavily on respecting the game and being honest. Everyone is there to have fun be competitive but also practice good sportsmanship.

“The community that ultimate frisbee has is similar to the community that Law has created,” Chesson said.

So far, the club has a wide variety of members ranging from freshmen to seniors. Both boys and girls are in the club.

“Multiple friends came up to me and told me I should join and I took their word for it,” junior Matt Tournas said.

The Ultimate Frisbee Club is always looking for new members of any ability level.

By Molly Mercaldo – Staff Reporter

A new Sports Highlights Club has been started at Jonathan Law by senior Mike Dattilo and junior Nick Owens.

The club produces videos that feature outstanding plays and players from Law home games. The videos are broadcast on Eagle Eye News, Law’s daily morning news show.

“We show up to every game with a camera ready, a sideline reporter, booth reporter, and we get interviews as well,” Owens said.

The Sports Highlights Club has covered sports like football, girls swimming, and boys and girls soccer. The club also hopes to continue covering more sports as the year continues.

“We want to cover just about every sport coming forward,” Dattilo said. “Powderpuff will be a big one for us.”

So far, the club has five members including freshman Addison Schwing, junior Paris Champ, and junior Matt Maineri along with Owens and Dattilo.

“We want to extend that number to at least five or six more,” Dattilo said.

All club members take part in the recording and editing process.

“Doing the videos all by myself is tough so I wanted to find other people and inspire other people to be broadcasters as well,” Owens said.

The club hopes to have more members join over the course of the year. They have set roles for their members but is hoping to develop the club to be more organized for the winter and spring sports seasons.

“The club has been a great addition to Eagle Eye News and the school in general,” Broadcast Journalism teacher and Sports Highlights Club advisor Mr. Kulenych said. “Nick and Mike are motivated, talented kids and they’ve found a great way to put there talent out there for the whole school to see.”

The club has allowed sports at Jonathan Law to be broadcast to a wider audience and has brought more attention to the sports that have been covered.

“(The club) has helped to increase the attention on the sports programs and increased excitement as well,” Athletic Director Mr. Sarullo said.

In addition to helping the sports programs at Jonathan Law, the club has also helped to increase the attention to the school news program as well.

“It has made people want to come out to games and has helped people to watch the entire news broadcast,” said Lexi Fisk, a senior and anchor on Eagle Eye News.

The Sports Highlight Club will be continuing to make videos for the rest of the year and hopes to keep the club going in the future.

By Dominick Buccitti – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s National Honor Society held its annual costume contest on October 31 – but with a twist.

The contest was different this year because of the added rule that banned clown costumes as well as a new name for the contest: The ‘Hal-Law-Ween’ Spooky Attire Contest.

“It was very successful; we had a great turnout,” NHS vice president Nisali Fernando said. “Everyone was given a chance to showcase their creativity and love for Halloween.”

Students had to pay $1 to enter the contest. This year, NHS ended up raising approximately $50.

Like every year, there were four categories: best male costume, best female costume, best teacher costume, and best group costume.

Junior John Fowler won the best male costume category for a second year in a row. Last year, Fowler won the same category as Donald Trump; this year, he dressed as Hillary Clinton.

“My inspiration for the costume this year was just to satirize the current election and someone in the media,” Fowler said. “So I chose Hillary Clinton.”

Junior Christina Mohammed won the best female costume category as Joanne the Scammer. Mohammed’s friend Amanda Downs did her makeup for the costume.

“Someone gave me the idea when they told me that I should be Joanne,” Mohammed said. “So I decided to go with it.”

History teachers Mr. Evanko, Ms. Burns, and Ms. Mannion won the best teacher costume category as Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump.

“The idea was born when I wanted to do a couples costume with Mr. Evanko,” Burns said. “I was going to be Hillary and he was going to be Bernie.”

Senior Juliana Rivera, Senior JP Amaro, Senior Beatrice Relucio, and Freshmen Justin Amaro won the best group costume category as Morticia Addams, Gomez Addams, Wednesday Addams, and Pugsley Addams.

“We wanted to be unique from all the possible costumes out there,” Relucio said.

By Maeve Rourke (Sports Editor) and Valeria Araujo (Editor-In-Chief)

Jonathan Law’s band is excited to start this year’s season of competition and fun.

This year, the band is looking forward to expanding not only their group but their skills as well. Band director Mr. Giampietro oversees the jazz ensemble, marching band, and concert band and encourages students in each of his classes to try all three types.

“You can’t win if you don’t play I push my students and set the bar high so they can do great things and then raise that bar higher and higher each year,” Giampietro said. “There is no reason we can’t do better and I will absolutely get them to where they need to go, the sky’s the limit”

Giampietro is hoping to bring the band to bigger and better places.

“Our goal is to expand the band, be more visible, and help with school spirit,” Giampietro said. “We definitely want to be more spirited and more enthusiastic to show how much we love being students here.”

The band is also trying to flesh out their sound to give them a more unique quality over other high school bands.

“We are working on a wide range of music from pop to classical,” junior band member and saxophone player Kyle Shugrue said.

Members perform at a variety of events including home football games, pep rallies, and parades. Last year, they even got to spend the day and perform at Six Flags where they won first place out of all the bands participating in the competition being held there.

“It was an awesome experience,” sophomore saxophone and oboe player Michael Bagdasarian said. “We had to play during the morning, but the entire afternoon I got to hang out with my friends and go on awesome rides making the overall experience amazing.”

Giampietro said the band is ready to showcase that they’ve got spirit and deserve to be heard.

“You can expect us to continue showing our school pride by playing in events in Milford and around the state,” sophomore trumpet player Scott Monforte said.

The band has class during the school day and often practices on the football field. Extra help and practice is completely optional, but many of the band members come in after school on Monday to what they call “Period 9” for this extra practice and to spend time with each other.

“My favorite memory in band is just spending my time with all of my friends in the band it may be small but it’s like one big family,” sophomore flute, piccolo, and saxophone player Hanna Swenning said. “That is also why I continue to do band every year because it is just a very welcoming and fun environment.”

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By Kristin Frank (Sports Editor) and Owen Paiva (Entertainment Editor)

Jonathan Law High School hosted its annual 7th and 8th grade Open House on Thursday, October 16.

Prospective students were given the opportunity to take part in a classroom seminar, which allowed students to experience a high school class first hand, to take a tour around Law and view different facets of the school, and to meet with members from teams and clubs the school has to offer.

The administration was very impressed with the turnout of 8th graders that attended.

“The open house was fabulous,” Dean of Students Mr. Ragaini said. “If I had to guess, there had to be about 400 people in attendance.”

The program began in a packed auditorium where the strings orchestra and choir performed. A promotional video entitled “I’m A Lawman, What Are You?,” which was produced by Law’s Broadcast Journalism class was shown, and students from each grade level at Law spoke about the reasons they love Law.

Two Law parents also shared their experiences and Law principal Mr. Thompson followed with a presentation about all of the academic and extracurricular opportunities that the school has to offer.

The students that represented the senior class played a huge role throughout the night. They contributed immensely to the success of the event.

“I think the seniors did an amazing job of handling the tours and volunteering at our academic, activity and athletic fair,” Thompson said. “The Class of 2017 is very special and they showed their love of our school and our community to everybody who attended, I couldn’t be more proud and grateful.”

Tour guides were conducted by selected students, including Nisali Fernando, Jake Mola, Matt Zancewicz, and Gina DiFederico

“I was helping with the tours around the school, showing the new students the amazing school we have,” Mola said. “While on the tours, I answered any questions they had to ask about sports or school or anything, and also represented the football team as captain.”

Classroom seminars were conducted by Mr. Roumeles, Mr. Morazzini, Mrs. Burns, Ms. Rosner, Ms. Lucia, Mr. Young, Mr. Mamrus, Mr. Koorejian, and Ms. Kowalsick.

“I taught a lesson on the Renaissance and it’s connection to our everyday lives,” Roumeles said.

The seminars covered all core academic classes at Law.

“At the Open House I spoke to parents about the science courses we offer here at Law, and about the sequence in which students could take them,” Morazzini said.

In the science seminar, different labs were shown, and prospective students got a good preview of what was available.

“I then had parents and students circulate through stations showcasing some of my favorite labs that we do in Biology,” Morazzini said.  “The stations included, questions about evolution, Elodea and human cheek cell microscope slides, mitosis and meiosis slides, a DNA extraction and yeast cell respiration, and oak leaf stomata.”  

After prospective students had a chance to experience a classroom, they were given the opportunity to take a tour of Law. These tours were conducted by Law seniors.

“On the tours we toured around the whole school, going by the support center and nurse. showed them the freshman wing and the gym,” Mola said. “All the places you need to go.”

Another event that took place during the classroom seminars was the dissection of a mink. This gave the 8th graders a good sense of what they could anticipate at Law.

“I took part in the science section of the tour and represented Human Anatomy,” senior Tori Contaxis said.

After the tours, prospective students and their parents were brought to the new gym for an activity fair. All of Law’s sports teams and clubs were represented by the respective members.

“At Open House I helped at the booth for National Honor Society,” senior Ryan Wasserman said. “I received valuable questions about the events our club takes part in, such as the Brain Bowl and Relay for Life.”

The Jonathan Law community had a positive impression on the prospective students attending.

“Well, my first impression of Law at the Open House was that it was nice, family friendly school, and that it’ll be a really fun and educating time when I go there,” 8th grader Amir Elhelw said.

The 8th grade students also enjoyed the classroom seminars.

“After the Open House, I felt that Law was a school that has a lot of nice teachers that really want to help me be better and have a fun time while doing so,” Elhelw said. “For example, I had Mr. Roumeles and he seemed like a really nice teacher that would give me a nice learning experience.”

Contaxis had a similar impression of the night overall.

“I liked seeing some new faces that could be possible future Lawmen,” Contaxis said.

By Nisali Fernando (Entertainment Editor) and Tyler Chavez (News Editor)

The Jonathan Law Class of 2021 recently learned what it means to be #lawmazing.

Members of the Jonathan Law community recently made its annual visit to speak to 8th graders at Harborside Middle School and West Shore Middle School.

On October 5th and 6th, nearly 20 Jonathan Law seniors visited the middle schools to answer any questions the eighth graders had and inform them about life at the high school.

“I thought the presentation provided my students with important information about all the great opportunities available at JLHS,” said former Law assistant principal and current West Shore principal Mr. Cavanna. “More importantly I thought the presentation demonstrated the family atmosphere that Law offers and the great relationship between our two schools.”

The Law students took a bus to each middle school where Law principal Mr. Thompson presented a slideshow which gave an overview of the school. The presentation gave eighth graders a glimpse into what Jonathan Law was like.

“It was my hope to generate some interest so that the eighth graders would tell their parents to come to our open house because I believe once they get to Law just being there really helps to clinch the deal about making their choice our school,” Thompson said.

Afterwards, the eighth graders and Law students were divided into groups. Here, current Law students gave their personal stories and history with Jonathan Law High School.

“We had a tough task actually, we had to sum up the entire high school experience in only about 1/2 an hour, which as I say it is pretty much impossible,” Law senior Matt Zancewicz said. “We did our best to explain the challenges that can come along with high school. The homework, grading policy and expectations are all new to them so it’s tough.”

The seniors used their own experience to give the middle school students a view into the life they could live at Jonathan Law. They wanted to highlight how getting involved around school could make their experience so memorable.

“I told them how at first I wasn’t really involved in too much,” senior Casey LaScola said. “But then I jumped into a bunch of clubs and joined golf and now, I’ve got little families all over the place.”

The eighth graders asked questions about topics related to Jonathan Law. The seniors and accompanying faculty members answered these questions attempting to give the middle school students a better understanding of Law.

“I was inspired by each of the Law representatives’ stories about their experiences at Law,’ Harborside eighth grader Adarsh Senthilnathan said. “I am glad they came to talk about amazing things at Law. I’m excited to be a Lawman!”

Jonathan Law students made sure to display their school spirit. They didn’t hesitate to make it known that they are Lawmen as they wore their “I’m A Lawman, What Are You?” T-shirts and smiled when talking about their high school.

“[The Law students] were well-spoken, friendly, and knowledgeable,” Cavanna said. “They looked great in their Law T-shirts.”

Everyone involved wanted to show why Jonathan Law was the best choice for middle school students.

“I wanted [the middle school students] to get a first-hand experience of the great academic and extracurricular experiences Law has to offer,” Cavanna said. “Simply put, I wanted them to see that Law is their best choice for high school.”

Middle school teachers were very impressed with how the high schoolers carried themselves. They felt the presentation was informative and helpful for middle schoolers.

“I believe the presentation and particularly the break out sessions where students get the opportunity to talk with [middle school] graduates help to put the students at ease with this big change in their life,” West Shore social studies teacher Mr. Montanaro said.

Jonathan Law seniors looked back at the visits from high schoolers from when they were in eighth grade. 

“Middle school visits were big when I was in eighth grade because I was choosing between Law and St. Joseph’s,” Zancewicz said. “After attending both open houses, the ability to converse with Law’s students truly put Law over the top.”

Middle school students took away valuable information from the sessions. The interaction with actual high school seniors made them more comfortable.

The Harborside and West Shore teachers were also able to reconnect with some of their former students. It was a reunion for the Lawmen with some of their favorite teachers.

“I look forward to the presentations every year but my absolute favorite part is catching up with my former students just to learn what is going on in their lives,” Montanaro said. “I am delighted to see that they have grown into wonderfully caring and responsible young adults who are willing to come back and put our students at ease.”

Reconnecting with old teachers during the presentations were an added bonus for the seniors.

“I loved seeing my old teachers,” LaScola said. “I’ve been busy with school and clubs and everything so I haven’t gotten a chance to go back and visit on my own in a while.”

Even Cavanna and Thompson got in on the reunion fun, sharing a friendly hug and conversation as the seniors and faculty members entered the West Shore cafeteria.

“Now that my friend Mr. Cavanna is at West Shore, it’s really fun to go down and see him,” Thompson said.

From visits to the middle schools, to the freshman seminar, Jonathan Law is working to help prospective Lawmen adjust to high school. These seniors have made it their mission to showcase the great things the school they love has to offer.

By Emma Caserta – Staff Reporter

The National Honor Society is a service-based organization at Jonathan Law created for volunteerism and to acknowledge academic achievement.

Students who are inducted into NHS it must have certain qualifications and go through the process of becoming inducted.

“It is based on GPA (and other factors),” senior NHS member Lexi Fisk said. “You get an application and you tell all of your volunteer information, clubs, and sports.”

The club consists of senior and junior students who meet the guidelines to be a part of NHS. Members take part in a special induction process to become a part of the club.

NHS commits its time to the school and other out of school activities in order to recognize the students that are a part of it.

“In their application, students need to prove they have scholarship, leadership, character, and service,” NHS advisor Ms. Turcotte said. “If they have all four of those qualities, they will be invited to join.”

This year’s NHS president is senior Jill Bendlak, the vice president is senior Nisali Fernando, the secretary is senior Maddie Laezzo, and the treasurer is senior Deepika Senthilnathan.

“The officers run everything,” Fisk said.

This year, NHS has more upcoming projects that are exciting for the school. Their first major project of the year was a 50/50 raffle in order to raise money for Foran graduate Danni Kemp, who is battling brain cancer.

“It is important to serve the Jonathan Law community, and our community in general, to give back,” senior NHS member Lauren Paredes said.

NHS members are very involved in school activities and contribute to the school in many ways.

“We want to acknowledge them for their hard work,” Turcotte said.

Overall, NHS  creates a club for students with outstanding achievements and leadership skills, allowing them to use those skills accordingly to help the Jonathan Law community.

“The club has motivated me to work hard and strive to be the best person I can be,” Bendlak said.

By Valeria Araujo – Editor-in-Chief

Jonathan Law’s Unified Sports team is looking forward to an exciting year.

Unified Sports is a program that pairs special education students with their regular education peers. The idea of Unified Sports is to give all students the opportunity to play sports in a fun, supportive, enthusiastic environment.

“I liked how when we practice everyone participates and it’s amazing to see,” freshmen Unified Sports peer Lily Downing said.

Unified Sports is starting the year off with many practices in preparation for their upcoming tournaments.

“The Unified Sports team loves the tournaments,” Unified Sports director Mrs. Daniels said. “They’re always so much fun for them. They can meet the other players from other teams and other schools and they always have a great time at the tournaments.”

The Unified Sports team hopes to win the prestigious Michaels Cup again for the second year in a row.

“When we won the Michaels Cup, which is an award for being an exemplar program in the state of Connecticut, we were very excited,” Daniels said. “I’ve been wanting to win this award ever since we went to our first Micheals Cup dinner 12 years ago.”

One of their newest tournaments is a Wiffle Ball tournament that started last school year.

“We’re really hoping to have more schools come and participate in a round robin Wiffle Ball tournament where a team is up at bat and a team is out in the field and then we rotate teams,” Daniels said. “It should be a lot of fun.”

Daniels said the team is looking forward to hosting its basketball tournament, which is in its seventh year, as well as participating in other sports.

“Soccer is fun and so are the tournaments,” Unified Sports senior athlete Luigi DeCastro said.

The Unified Sports team works with an air of camaraderie that helps the kids excel from year to year and show how they’re able to really play and understand the sport like anyone else.

“I love basketball and soccer is great,” Unified Sports junior athlete Atul Simeone Joseph said. “I get to play around with all my friends because all my friends are there and get to do some exercises that are fun.”

By Maeve Rourke (Sports Editor) and Nisali Fernando (Entertainment Editor)

Ryan Phillips graduated from Jonathan Law in 2006. He spent his spare time working on cars, playing sports, and spending time with family and his friends. Ryan’s father, Bill Phillips, speaks highly of his son, the pride in his voice is indistinguishable.

Recently, Mr. Phillips took from a beaten manila folder two things. One was a crisp copy of his sons high school diploma. His voice breaking he said, “I want you to work hard in life, and receive this (a diploma) and work hard not to end up with your name on one of these (a grave marker).”

Mr. Philips was one of panelists who spoke at the Opiate Awareness Presentation at Jonathan Law on Friday, September 23. The presentation coincided with Opiate Awareness Week.

There were also many important officials at the assembly which was organized by Law Health and Substance Abuse teacher Mr. Sweeney. Senator Chris Murphy, U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Spector, and DEA Special Agent Dana Mofenson were all in attendance.

“I wanted to be proactive about this. None of the teachers here think there is an opioid issue, so this was a preventative measure of what could happen,” Sweeney said. “And I feel this presentation echoed and reaffirmed what I try to teach in class. I am very pleased with the results.”

An informational movie, “Chasing the Dragon,” was shown first at the assembly. It consisted of real stories from people that got arrested and were involved with opiates.

“During the presentation I felt an overwhelming amount of students were engaged and they  seemed to be interested in the material that was presented, especially the guest speakers,” Sweeney said. “This week in class when I asked about the assembly most of the students felt it was a very good presentation.”

Over 46,000 people die from drug overdose year and the government is working tirelessly to decrease the number of drug abusers in the United States.

Senator Murphy took time to address high school students who had pressing questions about this growing issue. Murphy spoke about current legislation in Congress surrounding the opiate abuse.

“We need more funding for addiction treatment, but we haven’t won that battle yet,” Murphy said. “We passed a new law that establishes a lot of new programming for addiction, but there’s really no money behind it. The law is called the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) but we need to pass some more funding for it.”

Also, police departments from around the nation are teaming up to reduce the deaths due to drug overdoses.

“We try to identify the supplier, the distributor, and work up the chain and get the lethal drugs off the street,” U.S Attorney Deirdre Daly said. “Particularly the pentenoyl which is the most dangerous. But the reality is that there are always going to be people that are selling drugs and we cannot stop that.”

By speaking at high schools they’re attempting to solve the problem before it starts. Government officials and lawmakers are reaching out to students and telling them the real cost of opiate abuse.

“It is important to have these presentations in high schools because the average addict is getting younger and younger,” Murphy said. “Maybe it hasn’t happened here at Jonathan Law but at a lot of high schools’ drug of choice is no longer alcohol or marijuana, it’s prescription pain medication so we’ve got to do a better job of educating kids on how your life can be ruined virtually over night if you abuse these drugs.”

The speakers have provided many ways in which students can help fight against drug abuse in their own homes and communities.

“As students, you have to be responsible for not only yourself, but your friends and classmates as well,” DEA Agent Dana Mofenson said. “By educating yourself and each other, you’re taking important steps to protect yourselves.”

The video revealed that 80% of people that use prescription opioid are not the person that was prescribed the medication, and for many students the revelation was eye-opening.

“I thought the presentation was really amazing,” senior Jillian Bendlak said. “The video gave me a broad view of how bad prescription drugs can actually be, most people don’t understand or know how addicting they can be. This video portrayed this information in a personal, and even sad, way.”

After the presentation subsided, Mr. Phillips looked hopefully at the students surrounding him. Still clutching his wrinkled manila folder. Mr. Phillip’s story about his son shook everyone in the audience, many who were laughing and wincing during the video finally realized the severity of the issue.

“The boy (Ryan Phillips) went to law, he came from our school,” Bendlak said. “He went down the wrong path and unfortunately passed away, it shows how this can happen to any one of us.”