(Photo courtesy twitter.com)

By Arielle Eighmy – Staff Reporter

Law’s Key Club is seeking make a difference for children in Vietnam.

The club has been hosting a school supply drive throughout the year to benefits kids in need.

“We are sponsoring a school supply drive, where we are collecting any school supplies such as notebooks and pencils,” Key Club Lieutenant Governor Tyler Chavez said.

Every district’s Lieutenant Governor chooses a project to run and organize and Chavez selected the school supply drive.

“I decided to bring this project to Jonathan Law and other schools so we can all work as one to get as many supplies as we can,” Chavez said.

Chavez wants to do more for the children in Vietnam than just giving supplies, however.

“What we are doing and what we are giving to them is more than just school supplies, it’s the ability for them to really learn and have an education,” Chavez said. “I hope that through this drive we will be able to help these kids succeed.”

Not only is Key Club doing a supply drive, but they are helping out the school in other ways.

“We have been running the refreshments stand for all athletic events,” Key Club advisor Mr. Boynton said.

Key Club recently completed their annual Salvation Army drive which raised almost $3,000.

Members are excited that the club has increased its membership since last year and for the club’s upcoming events.

“I am looking forward to the upcoming convention; we have done a lot of work this year and have increased our membership a lot from last year,” vice president Jordan Negron said. “We have around 80 kids in total.”

Students that do not belong to Key Club can help the club by making donations.

“They can help us by donating backpacks and school supplies, also attending events at school like the basketball games that we are doing concession stands at,” Negron said.

The club is also hosting an upcoming cookie dough fundraiser. 

Boynton said that the club is always looking for new members.

“I hope that we can continue working hard, and anybody that is interested in joining the Key Club they can always come and see me in Room 215 or during all lunch waves,” Boynton said.

(Photo courtesy twitter.com)

By Ian Hugo – Sports Editor

The Jonathan Law Science Club recently took part in the Yale Undergraduate Science Olympiad on Saturday, January 30.

Law travelled to Yale to participate in the competition which pitted students against other schools in a variety of events meant to test their scientific ability.

“It was a good experience and we learned a lot from how the other schools performed,” senior James Mercaldo said.

Events were broken down into two categories – building and testing – which the students sign up for in partners and participate in.

Building events consisted of students constructing something (such as a robotic arm) and demonstrating its proficiency performing a task against students from other schools.

The testing events required unique skill sets and knowledge from the teams in order to accomplish a goal.

Law’s full team consists of 30 students and two faculty advisors, Ms. Turcotte and Mr. Stanton, and was split into two teams for the event, the A team and the B team, which is the first time Law’s had enough members for a B team since its induction four years ago.

This large influx of new members came after senior Emma Shea took over as president.

Under Shea’s leadership, the club has been holding members accountable for their events: back in December, members from each event presented what they had been working on and what they still had to finish to make sure members weren’t waiting until the last minute to finish their projects.

“This year we have a lot of smart kids who enjoy delving into the different sciences,” Shea said. “At the Yale Olympiad in January, we saw different ways we could improve our projects and scores.”

At the end of the day and the conclusion of the event, events were given individual scores and the top three partners from each event were given awards as well as the top three schools overall.

The event kicked off at 8:30 a.m. after all students had finished impounding their devices. There were six time slots, each an hour long, spaced throughout the day in which students would participate in three out of the six.

When students had free time, they spent it with the team, exploring Yale and enjoying a warm hot chocolate.

The Yale event was a practice event for the UConn Science Olympiad, which is held on April 2 at UConn and is hosted by the official Science Olympiad organization.

“As a team, we have a lot of potential for success at UConn and I hope we can come together to do our best and represent our school,” Shea said.

(Photo by Emily Carroll)

By Catie Rice – Staff Reporter

Most people know him as “Ruz.”

Mr. Ruzbarsky currently teaches math in the Academic Support Center as well as Algebra 2 Honors. He has been a math teacher at Law for eight years.

“I enjoy the Support Center fully and completely,” Ruzbarsky said. “I enjoy it as much as teaching a normal schedule.”

Ruzbarsky has taught a variety of subjects such as Algebra 1 Level 3, Algebra 2 Levels 1-3, Geometry Levels 2-3, Pre-Calculus Level 2, and Trigonometry and Statistics.

“Ruz is very passionate about what he teaches and it helps us understand the material better,” senior Paige Szygiel said.

There is a new learning tool called the Academic Support Center that all students seem to benefit from.

“I go to the Support Center a lot if I’m not understanding a topic and Ruz always prepares me for my test,” junior Colleen Rice said

Currently, Ruzbarsky only teaches Algebra 2, but has a big role in the Support Center, where students can come down to to get extra help in numeracy and literacy. The center helps students that drop in for help and also helps students that are recommended by their teachers.

Along with teaching Algebra and the Support Center, Ruzbarsky coaches the Law wrestling team.

“He’s a good coach and pushes us to be better with tough love,” Junior Matt Grace said.

Ruzbarsky enjoys coaching the wrestling team. He said that the Lawmen have had a successful season so far.

“I love coaching wrestling,” Ruzbarsky said. “I love the sport and I love giving back to the community that I was once a part of here at law.”

Ruzbarsky was a student at Law, so he takes pride in teaching at the same school that he went to.  

“Times have changed a little from my 2001 graduation but most of the problems that my own teachers helped me through are still prevalent at Law now and I enjoy giving back and guiding the students,” Ruzbarsky said.

Ruzbarsky also tries to talk to students about life after high school. 

“Ruz is a great role model and an inspiration to all students at Law,” Dean of Students Mr. Ragaini said. “His thumb drive and assortment of pens that he carries are outstanding.”

(Photo courtesy youtube.com)

By Nia Cordero – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s Drama Club is performing “Seussical the Musical,” a fun and new spin on Dr.Seuss’ classic stories, this spring.

The Drama Club members participating in this production say it is a lot of fun to be a part of.

“It’s a really good environment where everyone can be themselves and have fun,” junior crew member Ann Reed said.

Members know what it takes to be productive and know the hard work is worth it.

“It’s fun,” sophomore Emma Hudd said. “Of course, putting in work is difficult sometimes and acting takes out a lot of emotion in people, but it’s worth it in the end to see the finished product and put yourself in a fun situation.”

This fun environment has drawn many students to join the production.

“I saw all the productions in my sophomore year and thought it looked like a lot of fun and I never did anything like it so I joined in the fall with ‘Almost Maine’ and I loved it and had a lot of fun,” said junior Tyler Chavez, who will play in “The Cat in The Hat.”

Members of the musical think the audience will really be able to see the hard work they put into it and feel the emotions of their performance.

“I’m excited for people to come out and see this show because I think they’ll be able to tell that it’s a lot of fun, we’re having a lot and fun, and everyone is doing a great job,” Chavez said.

The musical is a fun show for all age groups.

“It’s fun learning how to perform for little kids,” stage manager Sarah O’Brien said.

Though the musical brings a lot of fun and excitement, it also has its challenges.

“When we’re all working hard and lacking sleep for weeks it gets a little tense, but we’re like a family so it’s like your sisters and brothers,” Hudd said.

The play is approximately an hour to an hour and a half with no intermission.

“Once you mix the choreography with the lyrics and actually sing in it, it gets difficult because you have to keep track of your breath and make sure you have breath to not only sing but also run around and do whatever steps you have to do,” Chavez said.

The play will take place at Law on April 15-16.

Members of the play are excited and are hoping for a happy crowd.

“The show is great,” Chavez said. “I’m so excited to be a part of it and I’m super happy that I joined it.”

(Photo courtesy Emily Carroll)

By Renee Lynch – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law seniors are excited to end their last semester of high school with a bang as they are starting to receive their college acceptance letters.

Students so far have received acceptance letters from schools across the country, including some Ivy League schools, and are waiting for more to come. Seniors have been accepted to schools such as Yale, the University of Tampa, the University of South Florida, and Fordham University.

“I’m super excited about getting into University of Tampa,” senior Megan Grabowski said. “Being so far away from home seems scary, but University of Tampa is very high up on my list and I can’t wait to see where I end up.”

Senior Amita Sastry has recently been accepted to Yale University and is excited to take on an Ivy League. Sastry has been working hard all throughout her high school years and years previous and is glad all the hard work paid off.

“Getting into Yale was one of the most exciting experiences of my life, making all my hard work during the past four years worth it,” Sastry said. “I can’t wait to see what amazing opportunities are in store for me there.”

The next step for those planning on attending college is to apply for FAFSA for financial aid.

It is, also, very important for students to start applying for scholarships as they are an easy way to earn money towards their schooling, to cut back on some student loans.

However, some students plan to take a different path that doesn’t involve academics, such as joining the military.

Senior Seamus O’Reilly plans to join the armed forces to fight for his country.

“I am very excited to enlist in the military,” O’Reilly said. “There are so many options and career paths I can chose when I’m there and it will be a great experience.”

As students become accepted into colleges or decide their next path they choose, they are encouraged to let Ms. Angela in College and Career know, so she can post acceptances on the board next to guidance.

“Students should advise their counselors as they receive decisions from colleges,” guidance counselor Ms. Haramis said. “They now have the importance decision of determining which of the colleges they will commit to attending.”

Students have a lot of thinking to do about where they want to spend their next chapter of their lives, and guidance counselors are happy to assist.

“Part of this decision process includes applying for financial aid by the college’s deadline, receiving a financial package from the colleges, visiting campuses and talking about their options with their families,” Haramis said.

Seniors also need to update Naviance with college decisions as time gets closer to May 1, when decisions must be made and deposits for schools must be sent out.

Students who have been deferred from colleges should start to hand in their blue forms to Mrs. Stofko in guidance, as first semester grades have been finalized.

For any assistance with FAFSA or college decision makings, students are encouraged to head down to College and Career to see Ms. Angela as senior year is quickly going to come to an end.

(Photo courtesy Brianna Arnold)

By Brianna Arnold – Staff Reporter

Friends Forever is an after-school club that works with the special needs students at Law

The club holds meetings on the third Tuesday of each month. At every meeting, there are planned activities and snacks that are designed with a buddy system so that everyone has a friend that they can build a better friendship with.  

“It is designed for the buddy to have a friend that can look forward to meeting and talking about things and building a close friendship so that the buddy has someone to go to if they ever need to talk,” junior co-president Leea Palmer said.

Palmer and junior Sydney King are co-presidents of the club and work very hard to make it a fun and relaxing time every month.

“Friends Forever offers its special needs members a place to build relationships they otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to have,” King said.

Friends Forever has new and exciting plans coming up for next month. They hope to take a trip to the movie theater and then start having a bowling night at least once a month in the spring.

There is going to be fundraiser put in place for the club so that they can all go to these fun events.

“Being in the club is very rewarding and lots of fun,” Palmer said. “When you see the smile you can bring to another’s peers face it makes all the hard work worth it.”

The club is holding a raffle starting this week. Tickets are going to be sold for $1 for three tickets or $5 for 15 tickets.  

“Tickets are going to be sold during lunch waves and the raffle includes gift cards to local restaurants such as Mr. Mac’s,” King said. “It is for a good cause and would be great if everyone could participate.”

This club is open to any student at Law and welcomes new members at any time.

“Friends Forever is a no judge zone that can sometimes be hard to find in high school,” King said. “We always like to see new people join the club and are happy to welcome any new students.”  

Club participants Jen Gill and Luigi DeCastro love coming to this club every month. They are excited to meet new friends and learn how to build friendships.

“My favorite thing about Friends Forever club is being able to hang out with my friends,” Gill said.

Everyone is excited for the next meeting coming up on February 16th in the senior cafe.

“I love seeing all my friends,”  DeCastro said.

Junior club member Abby Williamson enjoys spending time with her friends, including Gill and DeCastro.
“Friends Forever is a fun way to interact with people that you do not get to connect with during the regular school day,” Williamson said.

(Photo courtesy Abby Williamson)

By Abby Williamson – Staff Reporter

Law’s Unified Sports team hosted a basketball tournament on January 28. 

Law played against four other Unified Sports teams – Amity, Foran, Bassick and Lyman Hall – in multiple games of basketball.

“We played basketball games with our friends,” Unified Sports athlete Atul Joseph said. “It was fun.”

The Unified Sports team will continue to practice every Thursday up until March 3.

Their next tournament is on February 22 at the New Haven Athletic Center followed by another tournament March 10 at Bunnell High School.

Many people including friends, family and teachers came out to support Law’s Unified Sports team, which is directed by special education teacher Mrs. Daniels. One person who made an appearance was Ms. Andrews, a teacher of a few of the athletes.

“Our kids played fantastic,” Andrews said. “They had great sportsmanship and were great at sharing the ball.”

Because Andrews has such a close relationship with the athletes on Law’s Unified Sports team, she was proud to see her students enjoy themselves by making baskets with their friends from all the different teams.

“It was really fun, the energy was great and everyone was really excited and supportive,” junior spectator Sydney King said. “It was less about the score and more about cheering each other on and our team did amazing.”

Given the energy of everyone on and off the court, the game was an exciting atmosphere for everyone who attended.

“The tournament was fun, I’m a partner  so helping the athletes was a lot of fun,” junior partner Jessica Villa said. “Helping out and shooting baskets with them was exciting.”

The athletes not only enjoyed playing with their team, they had fun playing with all three other schools, and they showed lots of good sportsmanship.

“They were giving highfives, they were saying ‘good job’ to their other friends, especially their Foran friends,” Andrews said. “When the other teams scored, they clapped.”

The game was not about winning, how many points they made, or which team was doing better, but about how all of Law’s athletes recognized how well they did playing basketball and sharing the ball with the other team.

“I [shot] a lot of baskets,” Unified Sports athlete Luigi DeCastro said. “I cheered for the teammates.”

Unified Sports athlete Jen Gill said that what she and her friends most enjoyed about the game was having a good time.

“I had fun at the tournament,” Gill said. “I would do it again.”

After the game, pizza was provided to the athletes which they really enjoyed.

DeCastro said besides cheering on the other team, eating pizza was his favorite part of the game.

Mr. Healy is the advisor of the Multicultural Club. (Photo by Valeria Araujo)

By Valeria Araujo – News Editor

Law’s Multicultural Club is here to welcome students from all countries and backgrounds.

The club has started back up again this year and is looking for new members. They are looking to raise awareness about all cultures at Jonathan Law. The club meets every Monday after school from 2-3 p.m.

“Everyone in the club is so friendly and nice,” English teacher and Multicultural Club advisor Mr. Healy said. “If you want to make instant friends, come on down. Plus, there’s the chance of eating some delicious ethnic food.”

By joining Multicultural Club, students learn about cultures other than their own.

“I have learned about Saudi Arabian, Egyptian, Polish, Italian, Syrian, Indian, Chinese, Philippines, Colombian, Mexican, Ethiopian, Turkish, Puerto Rico, Irish culture, and a few more,” junior club member Shanza Qaiser said. “It’s always nice to learn about new cultures and I would like to meet more people from different cultures.”

Meetings consist of discussions on worldwide issues. Sometimes, students bring cultural food that they love and would like others to try.

“The discussions we have a really interesting and thought provoking,” Healy said. “We talk about racism, world conflicts ,and also discuss ways on how to make the world a better place.”

Besides learning about other cultures, students make lifetime friends.

“I have made some really good friends,” Qaiser said. “I was able to relate to most people and I realized how most people of different cultures go through the same situations as me.”

Healy said that he was excited to be asked to advise the club.

“I love learning about new cultures and wanted to get more involved in the Law community, so advising was a no-brainer when I was asked,” Healy said.

In the club, students are also able to express their personal feelings without fear of discrimination.

“Don’t ever be afraid of doing something new,” Qaiser said. “Multicultural Club is the most fun and friendly club, and once you join it you will be able to relate to a lot of people and love how different cultures have similarities.”

The club is currently working on fundraisers to hold at Law.

“We want to hold a food drive where we sell authentic foods from our cultures,” Healy said.

The club is also looking forward to trips to New York and other locations in the future to experience different cultures in other parts of the world.

Junior Alex Rednak is collecting dog food for the Milford Animal Shelter. (Photo by Emily Carroll)

By Emily Carroll – News Editor

Junior Alex Rednak is asking the students at Law to take the time to donate and drop off dog food in the main lobby of the school. He explained why he is helping collect everything for the Milford Animal Shelter.

Emily Carroll: What made you decide to help the local dog shelter?

Alex Rednak: I love animals. Anything that involves helping them is what motivates me. I saw all of the dogs there and they looked so sad so I wanted to get some things together and do what I could to help.

EC: What other items are you collecting to bring to the shelter?

AR: Anything will help. Any food, treats, litter, and even beds or blankets can be donated.

EC: How many items are you trying to receive?

AR: To get as much as possible. As much as I can get to get them through the winter.

EC: How did you find out about the shelter?

AR: It was online on their Facebook page. I follow their page and they are always posting that they are taking donations.

EC: How does it make you feel taking the time to help the animals in need?

AR: I try as hard as I can to go once a week to visit them and see how they are doing. One of them I want to adopt. I am trying to convince my mom. I am extremely close with animals. I have a dog and two cats at home and thinking of them suffering makes me want to help those animals that much more.

EC: What are some ways for people who are interested to get involved?

AR: Well first, one way to help is to definitely donate. If someone wants to get involved they can visit the shelter and fill out the sheet to volunteer.

EC: What made you decide to bring this awareness to school?

AR: Since Bobo is a big part of this school, I knew that the school would allow me to do something like this. I want students to think about what it is like for those animals and really consider helping them.

EC: Do you have anything you would like to say to the students at Law?

AR: Just think about Bobo and if something like that was happening. To take in consideration that if you saw someone you love out on the street or starving you would want to take action and help.

(Photo courtesy Ms. Hanson)

By Arielle Eighmy – Staff Reporter

The Natural Helpers Club is benefiting Law’s students in more ways than one.

Members of the club were recently professionally trained to give advice to their peers and to help their peers problem solve. The Natural Helpers are also making stress balls for the students at Law.

“(The Natural Helpers) learn that if a peer comes to them with a concern, how to manage it and see if they can help them and if they can’t they know to refer to an adult who can help them,” advisor Ms. Hanson said.

The Natural Helpers are also currently fundraising for upcoming trips.

“We are focusing on fundraising because there is an annual trip at Camp Hazen where we do trainings,” Natural Helpers president Kavita Rana said.

Natural Helpers isn’t only about raising money. The club is focused on meditation and helping peers get through difficult situations.

“Interact Club is here for charity, but Natural Helpers is really building peace and are there for people who are suffering and stressed,” Hanson said. “So the students at Law know that there is a way out, and this is why our club fits in and we are more noticed in school.”

Since their training, the Natural Helpers have given advice to their peers during the months of November and December

“Not only do we fundraise to get money in order to help supply the (club trips) but we are also getting money so that at the end of the year we can go on an overnight training to reinforce helping skills,” Hanson said.

President Kavita Rana wants to make sure that kids at Law know about the Natural Helpers.

“This year I really hope that we make a presence in school, because over the years people normally didn’t hear much about the club, and how we give back to the community also doing fundraisers for charity groups,” Rana said.

Anyone in need of a Natural Helper can see Hanson or juniors Jill Bendlak and Gina DiFederico.

Members stressed that they are always here to help, no matter how big or small the issue may seem.

“In Natural Helpers, the premise of the club is to seek to help people in the school and talk to students are who are needing guidance,” treasurer Tanner Georgelos said. “We learn how to talk to people with their issues in different situations, and know when to confront an adult about it.”

(Photo by Valeria Araujo)

By Valeria Araujo – News Editor

Jonathan Law’s National Honor Society is giving back to the community – with a tree.

The annual Giving Tree has returned to the Jonathan Law lobby. The tree features tags with gift ideas written on them that underprivileged children in the local community want for the holidays.

Students and faculty can take tags from the tree and buy the gift listed on the tag. They must leave the tag and the unwrapped gift under the tree or bring them to Room 212B by December 15.

“Everyone loves opening their own presents, so (students) should help make that possible for others kids whose parents may not be able to afford them,” National Honor Society President Alyssa Paladino said. “Sometimes giving is better than receiving, and the Giving Tree can help people see that.”

The National Honor Society has many goals they would like to accomplish by participating in this annual toy drive.

“We want to improve the holidays for these families that are in need,” science teacher and National Honor Society Advisor Ms. Turcotte said. “We are also trying to get our school community to give back.”

The National Honor Society works with Bridges, a local service that helps – and during the holidays collects gifts – for children that are in need. The counselors for these children and families give the National Honor Society a list of presents the children would want and the National Honor Society tries to get at least five gifts for each child so that they can enjoy their holiday season.

“It’s important that everyone celebrates the holidays no matter what because it should be a time of joy for everybody and I think that it’s important to give back to the community,” senior National Honor Society Vice President Leo Merturi said.

After collecting all of the gifts bought for the children in need, the National Honor Society organizes the gifts for each child and then gives it to the Bridges counselors. The children receiving gifts each year ranges from infants to teenagers.

By participating, students are able to learn that not everyone’s holidays are as joyous as theirs and that not every child is as fortunate.

“By doing this you can give someone a much-needed and much-deserved present that they wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise,” Paladino said. “The thought of just making a little girl or boy smile by opening  their present is important to me.”

Most of the gifts that the children want are items they need instead of just toys and expensive items.

“Some people are asking for clothes for the holidays because they really don’t have much,” senior Honor Society Member Kelly Scianna said.

Members of the National Honor Society enjoy the feeling that participating in this charity gives them and they said they will continue to do host the Giving Tree for years to come.

“When we are going through the gifts and (the National Honor Society members) are seeing what we are doing for these kids, they get to feel like they’re making a difference,” Turcotte said.

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By Emily Carroll – News Editor

Law’s AP Psychology classes hosted the first annual “Brainsgiving” on November 25.

Students in Ms Burns’ and Mr Young’s classes created brain models, zombie menus, and snacks that represent the different parts of the brain. Instead of presenting the projects in class, the assignment was turned into a fair for other classes in all grades to see.

“Mr. Young and I work really close together so I think it was good so all the kids can see we do do the same thing,” Burns said.

Many classes went to show their support for the event, which allowed teachers and peers to take a look at how AP students work.

“It was cool to see how your creativeness stacked up against everyone else’s,” said senior AP Psychology student Evan Carollo.

The different groups came up with creative names for their zombie menus like “Raging Flesh Eater” and “Alice in Wondergland.” The brain models were also represented in different ways from clay replicas to 3D computer images.

“We felt that this activity was at a higher level that would get everybody involved where they could demonstrate their learning over and over again to help them immensely in class,” Burns said.  

Every group had the same rubric for the assignment but there was something different that they showed so people walking around did not see the same thing over and over.

“I thought every menu, every presentation of the brain, all the dishes were really unique and creative,” Young said.

The expectations for the project were to have the students be able to demonstrate that they understood the parts of the brain without having to just take notes or memorize information.

“I think what stood out the most was the enthusiasm,” Burns said.
The snacks that were made were put on display and were sampled by the teachers, students, and other attendees at the fair.

“I got to learn different things about the brain and it was really interesting because they offered us treats that corresponded to different parts of the brain’s functions,” senior Maria Finitsis said.

The fair demonstrated how AP students do creative activities and allowed underclassmen to consider taking the class.

“I think it was a really great way for the students to display what they’ve learned and spark an interest in possible future students,” junior Sydney King said. “I’ll definitely be looking into taking the class next year.”
Students were graded based off of the rubric that they received for the project and a discussion between Burns and Young. Students who attended the fair voted for their favorite menu as well.

(Photo courtesy Cathy Rice)

By Emily Carroll – News Editor

Jonathan Law’s Drama Club presented “Almost, Maine” directed by Christina Kalafut on November 13 and 14.

The play, written by John Cariani, is made up of nine short plays that explores loss and love in unexpected and somewhat hilarious ways, in the fictitious almost-town, Almost, Maine.

“It’s a moving and realistic play everyone can relate to,” Kalafut said.

This was Kalafut’s third production with Law’s Drama Club,. Her main goal is for the students to forget about all that is happening in the world and have a great time with their friends in the stress free environment.

“One of the strongest parts of the production is how we all came together,” said senior Taylor Schultz. “At first some of us haven’t even met, but once drama started we started talking and getting used to know each other.”

The dialogue of “Almost, Maine” was natural and relatable, which made the play funny to watch.

“From my actors on stage to my stage crew backstage, they’re all stars to me,” Kalafut said. “They all put so much time and hard work into our production process.”

The cast and crew help a lot with the production. They spend time building and painting the set and collect other things they might need for the show.

“A lot of hard work went into this play,” Schultz said. “We started in September and we worked right up till opening night to perfect it for everybody who saw the play.”

The members of Drama Club really put a lot of passion into the shows and so the people that go to the plays can enjoy themselves.

“It is an indescribable feeling to be part of something like this Drama Club,” junior Sarah O’Brien said. “It’s a lot of different people coming from different groups and grades that mash together into one family by the end”

In “Almost, Maine,” Tyler Chavez, J.P. Amaro, and Myles Boyd made quite the impression by taking on two roles each in the production.

The upperclassmen who started in Drama Club their freshman year have taken notice of how the underclassmen share the same passion they experienced when they started.

“(Freshman) Cameron Asmussen did a great job at staying in character and (sophomore) Emma Hudd  is such an experienced, talented actress that she really steals the show,” Chavez said. “It’s great to see how the freshman and sophomores are.”

They were some memorable moments from the production that the cast were able to share together.

“My favorite part of the play was when the actors came off stage after they performed,” said O’Brien. “Just seeing them feel all of their hard work pay off is well worth it.”

O’Brien and junior Ann Reed are the stage managers and get to watch the progress of the performers from the start of rehearsals to opening night.

The Drama Club’s spring musical, scheduled for April, is going to be “Seussical.” Auditions will be in January for anyone who wants to join.

(Photo courtesy Kathy Bonetti)

By Ian Hugo and Valeria Araujo – Advocate Editors

Jonathan Law gave a school-wide “thank you” to a group of invited veterans on November 11.

During the nearly two-hour ceremony, students learned about the armed forces, its members, and their experiences protecting America’s freedom.

“I think it was great what the veterans have done for us because they have educated us about a lot of different things,”  principal Mr. Thompson said. “The fact that we were able to say ‘thank you,’ we don’t get to do that often.”

Law’s history department worked very hard to put together the event for the veterans.

“The whole idea of this was to honor and respect our veterans and it was so great to see a wonderful turnout of veterans from all branches,” history teacher Mr. Batson said.

The day began with the Jonathan Law band leading the visiting veterans down through the auditorium and onto the stage, followed by a warm welcome to all those in attendance.

Law’s senior class officers then led the school in saying the Pledge of Allegiance and the choir sang a beautiful rendition of the national anthem.

“The whole choir was honored to be asked to sing the national anthem at the Veterans Day ceremony, knowing we were going to be singing it for veterans who have fought for our country, so we worked very hard at making it one of our  best performances that we could do,” choir teacher Mrs. Rizzotti said. “We did a really great job. I think everyone enjoyed it.”

The choir’s performance of the national anthem brought many of the veterans back to the past.

“(One of the veterans) he said that after hearing the national anthem that it brought back a lot of memories from when he was in grammar school here in Milford,” Rizzotti said. “It was pretty amazing to be able to be that group that brings back those good memories for all of those men and women who have fought for our country.”

Junior class senator Jill Bendlak then read a short history of Veterans Day in the United States which was followed by Thompson’s introduction of the Veteran’s Assembly Co-Coordinator Lt. Col. Joseph Viscount.

“I talked about the history of Veterans Day, Armistice Day, and how they’ve changed since it was established in the 1930s,” Bendlak said. “It was really interesting to find out the progression of what’s happened over the years.”

Viscount began with introducing the panel of veterans to the Law community by saying their name, which branch they served in, and giving a short background about them which allowed students to get to know the individuals they were honoring better.

After the greetings, Viscount, Staff Sgt. Shane Simpson, and Staff Sgt. Byron Larrea invited students to come up on stage and participate in Drill Games, similar to what members of the Armed Forces experience in basic training.

“I was  in the U.S. Navy, I was a second class petty officer, and I did radar on the ships,” veteran Miles McKenzie said.

Viscount invited 10 members of the audience to come up on stage, however audience members flocked to the stage which had students stretching from one side to the other following Simpson’s lead.

“It was more difficult than I thought,” senior Ireoluwa Opayemi said. “It was very hard to stand still but it was a very rewarding experience. It gave me a little insight into what veterans and soldiers do daily.”

After students were given a taste of what goes on in basic training, Viscount’s close friend Lt. Richard Platt showed a presentation of Milford’s War Memorials, from 1776 to today.

“I was on (an amphibious transport for the Navy) for two and a half years and made deployments all they way to Japan and pacific combat and I just noticed that they had a thing on the public television for Iwo Jima and we had a practice landing there on the 11th anniversary of the actual landing in 1956 so you could say I’ve been to a lot of places people haven’t been because of my time on the Navy,” Platt said.

Many of the veterans were honored to participate in the event and were touched about the recognition given to them.

“It was very emotional, it’s very nice,” said ET1 (SS) Justin Knight. “Most veterans don’t seek attention and are very humble when it happens, it’s just kind of like ‘We did what we did and it’s part of our life and it’s part of us.’ We consider it an everyday thing and not that important, and then to see other people who respect it and show the respect for it, it is a very humbling experience.”

Senior class officers then read quotes from Law students about what Veterans Day means to Law, followed by individual readings from junior class president Zach Anderson, senior class senator Janelle Grant, and senior class president Leo Merturi.

Anderson and Grant recited readings from “In Flanders Fields” and “We Shall Keep the Faith,” respectively, while Merturi discussed the symbol of the poppy.

“I thought it was great that we gathered as a school and commemorated all the brave and selfless veterans,” Merturi said. “I thought the readings were the best way to commemorate the veterans for all they’ve done for our country and to educate students about the history of Veterans Day.”

The ceremonies were wrapped up with a video “thank you” to veterans from the Law community accompanied by an enthusiastic applause and a salute from students and teachers alike.

“My favorite part about the day was what we did to thank the veterans – the video of what Veterans Day means to us as a Jonathan Law family,” Thompson said.

History teacher Mrs. Rowley, who coordinated the ceremony, said she was very proud of everyone involved.

“I felt very proud today to be able to be a part of the planning of a Veterans’ appreciation event,” Rowley said. “I think that it was very well received by the students and I think the veterans have expressed enjoyment in being here.”

Ming-May Hu was elected the freshman class president. (Photo by Tyler Chavez)

By Tyler Chavez – Staff Reporter

Law’s freshman class recently held elections for class officers.

The new freshman class officers include Ming-May Hu (president), Samara Thacker (vice president), Cora Sula (secretary), Kruttika Gopal (treasurer), Troy Anderson (secretary), and Spencer Mehan (secretary).

“When I first heard that I won the election, I was thrilled because I’ve wanted to run for class president since the beginning of eighth grade,” Hu said.

The freshman class holds their class officer elections in the beginning of the year while the other grades hold theirs at the end of the year.

“The job, basically, is to help them transition into the next three years of high school,” Student Council adviser Mr. Boynton said.

The class officers’ main responsibilities include class fundraisers.

“Mostly we collected dues and planned fundraisers such as the duck tape project and pajama day,” former freshman class president and current junior officer Jill Bendlak said.

The officers still set their own goals to succeed at their positions.

“One goal I have for the year is to become acquainted with everyone in my class,”  Hu said. “I plan to accomplish this goal by joining clubs and attending school events to meet new people.”

The officers still need to work together to accomplish their goals.

“The big thing is that they have to communicate with each other,” Boynton said. “Communicate, set goals for themselves, and once they set goals, do their best.”

Each officer has their own reason to run for office.

“I decided to run for this position because I wanted to be more involved with school activities and I want to assist the freshman class alongside with my fellow officers as much as I possibly can to make this year memorable for everyone,” Sula said.

Being a class officer not only helps with getting involved in the school, it also gives students strategies and experience for success.

“Being a class officer always expands your leadership abilities, it helps with public speaking, getting to know people, and just life skills in general,” Bendlak said.

Each officer has their own significance to work together.

“Being secretary is important to me because I love to write and I am also very organized, and I promise to handle any situations that may occur in the freshman class with responsibility,” Sula said.

The officers know what they need to do in order to succeed at their jobs.

“I plan to accomplish my goals by really listening to the freshman class and any suggestions they have,” Thacker said.

They also know that the benefits of being a class officer can be very rewarding.

“This position is important because I know it can help me be a better student and communicate well with others,” Thacker said.

The freshman class officers know what they want to accomplish, and are ready to work together.

(Photo courtesy Nisali Fernando)

By Nisali Fernando – Staff Reporter

Bless you, Batson.

Mr. Batson is a 20th Century Survey and AP U.S. History teacher at Law. Along with these classes, he also teaches night classes for Housatonic College and is assistant coach for the golf team. 

“I had a number of teachers in high school that were passionate about History and until then I wasn’t really interested in it,” Batson said. “Seeing them convey that passion I thought oh this is really really cool and something that I would really love to do.”

Batson knows the true importance of teaching and understanding this subject.

“If we don’t learn our history so much of that could be forgotten,” Batson said. “Small town monuments or houses, if people stop caring about that we lose all our history.”

Batson hopes to connect his classes to modern day occurrences. He sets up his classes so his students can have an “a ha” moment whilst learning.

Before pursuing teaching, Batson also considered other careers.

“Fire service just for fun, I stunk at sports but I loved to play them, I always thought the fire service was always a lot of fun,” Batson said. “I flirted with the idea very briefly in high school of going into the coast guard.”

After nearly 16 years of teaching, Batson has moved a long way up from his first job teaching juvenile offenders. Through these years of experience he has created an atmosphere where students feel safe and ready to learn.  

“I was more intimidated by the class rather than I was by Batson, but once I sat in the class and listened to him I was more at ease,” junior Tyler Chavez said. “I realized this guy is easy to talk to and he’s easy to work with and…handsome.”

From jokingly accusing students of witchcraft during the unit on the Salem Witch Trials or of communism during the unit on the Cold War. Former students of Batson can remember the moments when their teacher made class fun.

“My favorite moment was when we were learning about the Salem witch trials and he called me a witch,” junior Ashley Boehm said.

In and out of the classroom, students and faculty find themselves constantly laughing with Batson.

“Right before a (golf) match I was taking practice swings with my club and he (Batson) put his hand out to take the club to check it out, but I wasn’t sure what he was doing so I gave him a handshake instead,” junior member of the golf team Casey LaScola said. “Now we have a very professional relationship.”

Batson is also described as a “ladies man” is well known for his close friendship with physical education teacher Ms. Paolini.

“We’re always taught not to judge a book by his cover but with Batson I knew he had to be an amazing guy because that’s just what I saw on the outside as well,” Paolini said.

Batson’s favorite memories  from Law include Ms. Paolini

“When Milford hired Ms. Paolini and we locked eyes and instantly I knew we were going to be best friends,” Batson said. “We hang out and make snow angels because she’s a angel”

Batson said he comes to the school ready to teach and learn from his own students.

“A lot of friends will claim how do you deal with those kids?” Batson said. “But really you guys are the best part of the day.”

(Photo courtesy Abby Williamson)

 Staff Reporter – Abby Williamson

Law’s Friends Forever Club met on October 20 for their monthly meeting.

After a successful meeting, they will continue to meet one Tuesday every month. Their next meeting, which will be on November 19, will focus on being thankful.

“All of our kids were really excited,” junior Co-President Leea Palmer said. “They were smiling and giggling which is always fun to see.”

An large amount of Law’s students showed up to get involved in the club.

“It was nice to see so many people join Friends Forever,” Palmer said. “I wasn’t sure how the turnout would be but I’m glad that so many people are eager to build friendships.”

During the October meeting, students and peers were paired up with buddies that are set for the rest of the year. The club officers also started working on having T-shirts made.

“I made many friends and I see my friends in school,” senior club member Jen Gill said.

Everyone was able to participate in painting pumpkins and putting together candy gift bags to take home.

“I had a great experience interacting with the kids because they are all so sweet and it was fun to paint pumpkins and color with them,” junior club member Brianna Arnold said. “They are always so excited when the see new faces excited to play with them.”

Filanowski Farm, a family-owned farm on Wheelers Farms Road, were very generous and didn’t hesitate to donate pumpkins once they found out where the pumpkins were going.

The buddies also colored spooky pictures and ate snacks.

“I liked coloring pages and eating snacks like Cheet-Os and desserts,” senior club member Luigi DeCastro said.

Following the monthly theme, November’s meeting will focus on being thankful.

“For this meeting, we are going to make a leaf turkey and everyone will write what we are thankful for on a leaf,” Palmer said. “We are also going to do some activities to get to know each other so our students feel even more comfortable with their buddies.”

Knowing more about their buddies, peers will be able to have a close connection and become even better friends.

The co-presidents think this will be helpful when the club going on outing outside of school because the members will be able to always have a friend to turn to if needed.

Even after one meeting, Friends Forever is already successful at building connections.

“I like making friends,” junior club member Hunter Cain said. “I think this year is going to be fun.”

(Photo by Catie Rice)

By Catie Rice – Staff Reporter

Mrs. Almonte est le professeur de Francais au Jonathan Law.

Almonte has been teaching at Law for 31 years. Throughout those years, she has taught Global, Russian History, Modern Social Issues, and now, French.

She has been teaching French for the past five years. She decided to teach this class because the enrollment went up at Jonathan Law, but she still loves Russian History just as much.

“I encourage everyone to take French because it is spoken in more countries around the world than Spanish,” Almonte said.

Most students continue to take Spanish when they enter high school, not knowing they have the option take another language.

“French is very enjoyable so it makes learning easy,” senior French student Paige Szygiel said. “Although it is difficult to pronounce some words.”

Almonte is a hands-on teacher and does many group activities so the class can interact as a whole.

“I love Mrs. Almonte, she is one of my favorite teachers that knows how to make the class fun and still teaches us a lot,” junior honors French student Colleen Rice said.

Szygiel agreed.

“She is very a loud and friendly teacher that makes it easy to talk to,” Szygiel said.

Almonte loves to laugh and get close to her students, so it is easy for students to talk to her.

“My first year of French was great and I am very interested in learning more,” sophomore French student Jake Bombace said.

Almonte is also the advisor for Law’s French Club.

“I recently joined French Club this year and encourage everyone to join it,” Rice said.

French Club meetings take place on Thursdays. Starting this month, the club is selling Bon Bons, a French candy, for $1 throughout the school day.

Each May, after AP exams, the French Club goes to the Hill-stead Museum in Farmington. They look and learn about French artists as well as the paintings they’ve created.

French Club is a relaxed club that has in-depth discussions of the French culture. They also eat French food and enjoy French films.

“The club allows all students in Jonathan Law to embrace french culture by watching french films as well as participating in field trips related to the language of French,” junior French Club treasurer Michael Dattilo said.

Students who do not take French as a class or know how to speak the language can still join the club if they are interested.

(Photo by Emily Carroll)

By Amanda Downs – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s art teacher Mrs. Romanowski enjoys all of her classes.

Romanowski loves teaching her Digital Photography classes and interacting with her students. She teaches Digital Photo, Advanced Photo and Advanced Photo 2.

“I find fulfillment teaching students how to express themselves creatively through a variety of media,” Mrs. Romanowski said.

Romanowski has been teaching for 17 years and was inspired to become a teacher from her elementary art teacher whom she looked up to.

“Mrs. Romanowski is a gem, I really learned a lot when I took her class and would’ve loved to take more classes with her,” senior Anna Downs said. “She is one of the kindest teachers I’ve had and really shows interest in all of her students.”

Romanowski went to Southern Connecticut State University and graduated with a double baccalaureate degree in Art Education and English.

Her first teaching job was at Jonathan Law and Alternative Education class. She then worked at Foran, West Shore, and now at Jonathan Law.

“I’ve always loved working at the high school level and I’m so happy at Law,” Romanowski said.

In her past she has had two self run businesses for dog training and a dog treat business, but loves what she does now and would not change it.

“Mrs. Romanowski really cares about her students, like when you have problems outside of class or if something cool and exciting happened and you bring it up to her she’ll listen and talk to you about anything that’s on your mind,” senior Erik Brzoska said.

Romanowski likes to focus on getting to know students and their individual personalities and most of the students love her for that. She hopes that she can impact students the same way she was impacted by her teacher.

“I’ve taken three classes with her and she’s been one of my favorite teachers throughout high school,” senior Jaret Petrie said.

Outside of the classroom, Mrs. Romanowski is interested in hiking, writing, the state of Oregon, and nature. She also loves animals such as snakes, donkeys, and sloths.

“I really like taking photography here at Jonathan Law because it gives me and other students the opportunity to either learn or perfect our skills with photography,” said freshman Amira Samih. “Mrs.Romanowski is very helpful and makes sure that we fully understand every concept she teaches us.”

(Photo by Emily Carroll)

By Emily Carroll – News Editor

Jonathan Law students and faculty represented their school on Thursday, October 15, at Law’s annual Open House.

Eighth graders and their parents were given ‘swag bags’ after they signed in to the event. Each ‘swag bag’ contained literature about the school and course offerings, Law accessories, and tickets to a volleyball or football game.

“Our school pride and spirit really came through thanks to all the students, teachers and staff that came out and volunteered their time,” Principal Mr. Thompson said.

Students Ian Hugo, Emma Shea, Tyler Chavez, Leo Merturi, and Abigail Williamson spoke in the auditorium about the academics, extracurricular activities, electives, athletics, and their overall experiences at Law. A “We Are Lawmen” video produced by the Broadcast Journalism class was also shown.

“I tried to make it more sentimental in front of the parents and make Key Club as appealing as possible to show how it can help students in other areas in their life,” Chavez said.

After the speeches, the eighth graders and parents moved to classrooms where teachers gave mini-lessons. Law students and teachers then gave guided tours of the school.

“Both the parents and students in my class seemed very excited about the school,” English teacher Ms. Rosner said.

The mini-lessons were an opportunity for the eighth graders to see how an actual high school class would be taught.

Thompson’s presentation in the auditorium was a highlight for many eighth graders and their families.

“I did not know Law was ranked highest (in terms of) AP courses,” eighth grader Connor DiMuro said.

After the guided tours, everyone moved into the new gym for the Academic and Activity Fair, where sports teams, clubs, and subject areas set were on display..

“You could tell that there is a lot of school spirit (at Law),” parent Mrs. LaBanca said.

Law’s band and color guard also showed their pride and talent by playing music outside of the new gym.

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By News Editor – Valeria Araujo

The Jonathan Law Unified Sports team attended a tournament at Amity High School on October 14.

They won all three games they played including a hard-fought victory against Foran. Members said that the team has worked really hard to get where they are, and they are excited for their upcoming scrimmage against against Foran on October 28 and their next tournament at Staples High School on November 2.

“I like when we have tournaments and I’ve made (many friends),” senior Unified Sports athlete Jennifer Gill said. “Hunter is my friend, Luigi is my friend, Robert is my friend, Elizabeth is my friend, Ashley is my friend, and Kristen is my friend.”

The Unified Sports program pairs disabled students and peer partners to play on the same team.

“Mostly I’m paired up with Richard – he has this attachment thing to help him with soccer and I help him out a lot with that,” sophomore club member Matthew Mainieri said, “It’s how I like to spend most of my time here.”

Law’s Unified Sports program also offers wiffle ball, bowling, volleyball,soccer,basketball, and track. After soccer season, the team will start playing wiffle ball, and then in January, they will begin basketball.

“I like bowling because when we bowl it’s really fun, there is a lot of disco lights every time we go and all the kids are having fun and it’s such an easy sport,” senior member Elizabeth Mainieri said.

Unified Sports runs from September to June and meets for practice on Mondays and Thursdays. If anyone would like to join the team, they can come to the old gym on those days at 2 p.m.

“I like to practice and have a game with my friends and play basketball,” senior athlete Jennifer Gill said.

Unified Sports has created long lasting relationships that continue after graduation between the athletes and partners. It gives members a chance to play an organized sport that the may not have been able to play before.

“Unified Sports is great because everyone gets to participate and have fun,” Unified Sports organizer Mrs. Daniels said. “It is amazing to see how much the students skill level has increased.”  

The students work extremely hard and get better everyday.

“My favorite part of Unified Sports is going to the tournaments, meeting the other team members and connecting with the coaches,” Daniels said. “I also, enjoy hosting a basketball tournament at Law and having our Law family see what the students  can do.”  

The overall environment of the Unified Sports club is inspiring to all involved. Students are very eager to help and everyone shows great teamwork.

“The joy of accomplishment, camaraderie and competition no matter who wins (is the best part),” Unified Sports advisor Mrs. Holden said. “Athletes, partners and coaches all cheer for everyone.”

(Photo courtesy Amita Sastry)

By Ian Hugo – Sports Editor

The Jonathan Law STEM team recently placed first at Module One of the Sikorsky STEM competition.

The competition took place at Cheshire Airport and pitted Law students against STEM teams from nine other schools in the area. The schools were tested on their knowledge of Corsair and search and rescue helicopters and took part in interactive team building exercises.

“I enjoy STEM because it allows me to cooperate with my peers, work together and compete against other schools,” senior James Mercaldo said.

The task at hand was for students to create a business presentation explaining the history and functionality of Corsair (a World War II fighter bomber) and search and rescue helicopters, which teams researched leading up to a presentation in front of Sikorsky staff.

The presentation consisted of five speakers, each of which were responsible for explaining a certain aspect of the team’s presentation. Amita Sastry introduced the presentation, Jake Fucci explained the history of Corsairs, Dan Ouellette detailed the five main Corsairs used throughout World War II, Mattheus Mejia spoke about the history of search and rescue helicopters, and James Mercaldo discussed why helicopters became the go-to vehicle in the search and rescue industry.

“Presenting was difficult but it ended up turning out well so all our efforts paid off,” Ouellette said.

After Law’s presentation, the team participated in a team building exercise, competing against other schools taking part in the STEM presentation. Once the team-building exercise had ended, the top three places were announced and Law was revealed as the winning team.

“I knew we had a good chance because we have a lot of good members on the team this year that work really hard,” Sastry said. “But I was still really surprised and excited when they announced that we got first place.”

Law has been working hard towards this result, improving the place in which they finished each year since the induction of STEM two years ago. Law did not place their first year – they finished third overall – and so far this year Law is in first place.

Law’s STEM team expects to compete in four more modules this year: free body diagram, trade study, the planning module, and the final project which comes in April. The team is currently working on the planning module, which is due on October 26, and working towards the long term goal of the final presentation at Sikorsky and winning the overall Sikorsky STEM competition.

Each module is worth a fixed amount of points, with the final project being worth double, making Law’s preparation that much more important. For the rest of the year and for the remainder of the modules, Law is confident in their abilities and that they’ll place high come the final project.

“I think we’re off to a good start, and that our first place position in this will kind of catapult us to first place in the final event,” senior Emmanuel Alesna said.

(Photo by Emily Carroll)

By Emily Carroll – News Editor

Mr. Marko recently joined the Jonathan Law community as the new assistant principal.

Before he came to Law, Marko was the Dean of Students at Tomlinson Middle School in Fairfield. He replaces Mr. Cavanna, who was named principal at West Shore Middle School.

“He is eager to meet everybody and very welcoming,” principal Mr. Thompson said. “He is going to do a great job complimenting our team.”

***

Marko sat down for an interview with Advocate news editor Emily Carroll. He discussed his early impressions of Law as well as his plans for the future.

***

Emily Carroll: What made you decide to be an assistant principal?

Mr. Marko: I really enjoy being with students and the dean’s role really gets you in with the students, but I was missing out on a piece that I also liked which is the academic role. I was a teacher before I became a dean. The assistant principal role does still lend itself for me to be with the students in a dean-type of position. It also allows me to work with teachers and students in the classroom.

EC: What made you come to Milford?

MM: I was looking for a place that I thought that I would really enjoy going to and the reputation that Law has is that it is a great big family. When I came to interview for the position, that is the feel I got here. I like that the students look like they love to be here, that they take pride in their school, and wear their colors. That was the type of atmosphere I was looking for and Law seemed like the perfect fit.

EC: What are your long-term and short-term goals for this year?

MM: My long-term goal this year is to assimilate myself to become a part of this community and to really entrenched to get a feel for what makes this community so special. Really that’s my short-term goal, too. I want to help take Jonathan Law to the next level. It is already great, but even when you are already great at something there is always room for improvement.

EC: Do you have any idea for how you would help improve Law?

MM: I call it the “look, listen, and feel” aspect of being the assistant principal here. I don’t really have an idea of what is really here yet.

EC: What were some reactions and emotions you felt after your first day?

MM: I was kind of like a whirlwind. You don’t really remember much of what was going on. I think it was meeting the people. Anyone who walked by stopped and said hello. I think when you have an environment where someone new comes in and every person at least smiled or came to shake my hand and introduce themselves – student, teacher, everyone – I think that’s a type of environment i’m going to enjoy really working in.

EC: What are some of the things you like to do outside of school?

MM: I like to travel. That’s one of the things I really enjoy doing to try and get away. I have a wife and two children, a 12 year old and a nine year old. So a lot is based upon their lives. I like to go play golf and to just really enjoy my family.

EC: Is there anything else you would like to say to the Law community?

MM: Just a big thank you for being so welcoming and for just taking me in as one of their own already. Usually it takes a little bit of time, but I really feel very comfortable here and it really is the way that everyone is treating me here.

(Photo courtesy Justin Bartolomeo)

By Justin Bartolomeo – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law High School is adding a Technology Student Association club this year.

TSA, which is run by Mr. Robinson and Mr. Barcello, offers students an opportunity to complete a variety of projects in and bring them to enter them in national conventions. Projects are focused in areas including engineering, science, and arts.

“It’s not just for the tech students,” Robinson said. “It’s a great way for them to display their creativity and put it toward a competition.”

The club offers a great outlet for students to be able to create projects for competitive purposes and to win great prizes. It also gives students the chance to show their abilities worldwide.

“We offer competitions ranging from animatronics, biotech design, desktop publishing, engineering design projects, photo stuff, software developments, videogame design, and even music and art,” Barcello said. “It’s really not just for engineering nerds.”

TSA offers a very expansive list of possibilities to its students.

“We basically guide the kids throughout their projects and what they wanna do, we just try to help them organize with the leadership and the overall schedule of events,” Robinson said.

The students in TSA know that they will get everything they need to succeed from the advisors, from their peers, or from the few great officers that help run the club.

The president of the club, senior Nikolai Jaiseree, is very active and willing to help in any way he can. He helps set up and run meetings, leads projects, and helps out any members in need.

TSA aims for students to achieve their creative goals. Students in TSA learn everything they need to know about any field they decide to pursue by putting their knowledge to the test.

“TSA is for any student that wants to further his or her knowledge in science, mathematics, engineering, or even photography,” senior member Mark Dow said.

To join TSA, student should see Robinson or Barcello in the tech wing.

(Photo courtesy @jlawdrama)

By Emma Saley – Staff Reporter

The Jonathan Law Drama Club is currently prepping for its upcoming fall play, “Almost, Maine.”

In “Almost, Maine,” nine couples embark on a journey of love. Similar to movies like “Love Actually,”  these couples’ stories intertwine, and nine different scenes turn into one large story.

“The play’s coming along very well,” Drama Club vice president Ann Reed said. “We’ve got a lot of talented actors this year.”

Drama Club meets once a month, usually on a Friday after school and rehearsals are every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 4 p.m.

At meetings, the play is discussed, and there are talks about how to get involved backstage. They also discuss ways for those without parts to get involved.

“We started rehearsals three weeks ago and have already completed staging the show,” Drama Club director Christina Kalafut said.

The play takes place on a cold, clear, moonless night in the middle of winter. All is not quite what it seems in the remote, mythical town of Almost, Maine. Almost’s residents find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and often hilarious ways.

“I’m very excited for ‘Almost, Maine,’” junior Jill Bendlak said. “I feel like it will be so well done and because it’s a smaller cast, everyone will get along better.”

Unlike last year’s fall play, “Steel Magnolias,”  which featured an all-female cast due to a shortage of boys, in Drama Club, this years play is more diverse.

This year, five boys will be featured. Some will even be playing multiple roles.

“There are a lot of freshman in the play this year, and we have more boys which is exciting,” Bendlak said.

For many, Drama Club is an outlet and a way to express themselves without judgement. Last year, Law junior Nisali Fernando joined Drama Club as a way to conquer her shyness.

“I was determined to get out of my shell sophomore year and what better way to do that than by singing and acting on stage,” Fernando said. “I knew I wanted to commit myself to something and ended up falling in love with Drama Club.”

Drama Club is always looking for new members, and is open to anyone who would like to join.

The Drama Club will also be performing a musical in the spring.

Auditions will start in January, right after winter break.

(Photo courtesy kotaku.com)

By Brendan Felag – Staff Reporter

Mr. Ruzbarsky and Mr. Evanko are looking to make Video Game Club a hit again this year at Jonathan Law.

The first meeting of the club was held two weeks ago in Room 193. There was a big turnout of interested students ready to game.

“The Video Game Club is more focused on variety this year. We are planning on switching consoles every two weeks to enjoy different games more than last year,”  Evanko said. “For example, right now we are playing the Wii U and Gamecube, while in two weeks we will likely switch to the Sega Dreamcast and N64.”

The main focus of the club is to play multiplayer games (especially 4-8 player games) so everyone can get a chance to play.

Ruzbarsky and Evanko plan on expanding the selection of games this year.

“We are planning on playing Wii U and Gamecube games, including ‘Super Smash Bros.,’ ‘Mario Kart 8,’ ‘Nintendoland,’ and others,” Evanko said. “Club members bring in whatever they feel like playing so long as it is school-appropriate.”

Club members most enjoyed “Super Smash Bros.” and “Mario Kart 8” last year, but now with this wider variety of selections, that could change.

The students in the club can really play any games they want as long as they own the game and is school appropriate.

“(Kids can play) any game, as long as the person owns it, it’s up for play,” Ruzbarsky said.

This club is even good for the students that aren’t really into video games; it can introduces them to a type of game that they may like.

“We are trying to expand everyone the genres of games that everyone plays,” Ruzbarsky said.

Evanko and Ruzbarsky enjoy advising this club and hope that it lasts for many more years to come.

By Mindy Le – Staff Reporter

Interact Club is kicking off the year with new goals and fresh ideas.

(Photo courtesy Mindy Le)

This year, Interact Club will be led by College and Career specialist Ms. Intelisano. Meetings will take place every Wednesday after school in the College and Career Center.

“This club offers community spirit, chance to complete volunteer hours,” Intelisano said. “It offers team building, friendship, and an opportunity to do good for our community.”

Interact is a club sponsored by the Devon Rotary. It offers high school students a chance to complete volunteer hours and get involved in the community.

New officers of Interact Club are president Emma Saley, vice president Lauren Paredes,  secretary Samantha Markham, and treasurer Victoria Contaxis.
“Anybody can join, any Jonathan Law student is welcome to Interact with open arms,” Markham said.

The meetings involve briefly going over new opportunities, giving members a chance to sign up for upcoming volunteer dates, asking questions, sharing recent events, and catching up.

“I’d love for more people to know about Interact Club so that they can get involved and see what a great experience that it could be,” Intelisano said “ Right now, we have around 15 members, but we plan on increasing that number significantly.”

Interact Club is making it their goal to get more students involved with the community.

“I want to bring Interact even closer, like a family,” Markham said. “Instead of just going out individually to get hours, I want to have more chances for group, to work together as a club.”

The Interact Club has already offered many ways to get involved such as the annual Christmas Tree lighting, Oktoberfest, Peace, Love, and Music, for Maren, RYLA, Next Generations, and the Beth-El Shelter.

“This is my second year, it really is a great club with great people,” Saley said. “It’s a chance to be active in your community and we want to be able to get more people involved, to open up new things and experiences, like RYLA.”

RYLA stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. The annual conference teaches about leadership, ethics, communication skills, and conflict management. It aims to help build self-confidence and trust. It is held at Camp Hazen in Chester, Connecticut. The program is three days long and will count as community service hours.

“At RYLA you learn about leadership, teamwork, friendship,” junior Hieu Nguyen said. “There’s more, I just can’t tell you, it’s suppose to be a surprise. All I can say is you’ll have a lot of fun, everyone is extremely genuine, it’s a safe place, and after three days you will have a new mindset, you will be coming home the best version of yourself.”

Members agree that Interact is a fantastic club that provides more than a just way to complete volunteer hours or get involved.

“I joined so that I could graduate with distinction but I learned this club doesn’t just offer 200 hours,” Nguyen said. “It offers new friendships, new experience. It motivates you and teaches you the value of teamwork.”

(Photo by Molly Vargo)

By Molly Vargo – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s GSA is preparing to travel to UConn for a conference this spring.

They will attend the True Colors Conference at Storrs for the day to help support and meet the needs of the LGBT youth community. The True Colors Conference is a two-day conference which takes place on March 18-19, 2016.

Law’s GSA will attend the Friday, March 18 conference day.

“We usually go for a day,” GSA co-advisor Mr. Evanko said. “It’s a really cool thing to attend, it’s open to anyone.”

The True Colors Conference is a non-profit organization that works with other agencies and organizations to ensure the needs of sexual and gender minority youth are completely met.

The organization was established in 1992 by Robin McHaelen.

Evanko and Miss Mannion, Law’s GSA advisors, are very excited for the True Colors Conference.

The two-day conference consists of an opening ceremony on the first day. Activists and state representatives come in to make speeches to attendees about the LGBT community and what the day will consist of.

“It’s definitely the biggest event we participate in,” Mannion said.

The workshops that Law’s GSA will attend are workshops about self-help, education about the LGBT, community, and history of the LGBT community as a whole.

“The best thing about the day is learning more about LGBT issues,” Mannion said. “And attending workshops where the kids can sit down with other kids and get advice and feel good about themselves in a safe environment.”

The conference also has comedy acts and musical performances, making the day an even more exciting and positive experience for the people attending.

“It’s almost like a rock concert,” Mannion said. “All in all, I think it’s a great day.”

The two day conference is a very positive, very educational day for all who attend.

“I think it’s really great; it’s a very eye-opening experience for both the kids and adults,” Evanko said.

(Photo by Vishal Manglani)

By Vishal Manglani – Staff Reporter

The students at Jonathan Law have extensive resources to advance their future.

The College and Career Center, run by Ms. Intelisano, gives seniors as well as underclassmen a doorway to their future. Students in all grades can explore the world of universities and career options  which will provide the proper guidance these growing individuals need to flourish.

“It is good to start coming down when you’re a junior,” Intelisano said. “We want kids to come in here and feel welcome.”

Guidance counselors refer students to the College and Career Center when in need of help in the college application process.

“Being a school counselor, I am very involved in the College and Career Center.” said guidance counselor Mrs. Kovacs. “For example, I am involved with certain programs like college visits, and sending students into the room for help with college essays.”

Assistance for college essays can be provided in the room Tuesdays and Thursdays until 8th period by Mr. Kovacs.

The College and Career Center is open every day. However, it is unattended during third lunch wave.

For more information about the College and Career Center, contact Ms. Intelisano at aIntelisano@milforded.org.

The College and Career Center does not only offer opportunities to seniors. Juniors and other underclassmen can come down to find job openings, volunteer hours, essay writing help and computer access.

“When students need help gathering transcripts and help with scholarships, they come to me so I can send them out,” said Stofko. “I’m the last step.”

Intelisano and Mr. Kovacs, who are college essay specialists, encourage students to come down to the room even if you’re not a senior.

“It is a great place to come, no matter what grade you’re in,” guidance secretary Mrs. Stofko said.

Students assigned by guidance counselors are heavily involved in the College and Career room.

“I think the College and Career Center is a great supplement to us guidance counselors,” said guidance counselor Ms. Haramis. “It’s a nice place for seniors to get ahead during a study hall.”

Seniors may take advantage of other opportunities in the College and Career Center that don’t have to do with college at all.

“If I’m not looking up scholarships to apply to or filling out the common app, I’ll be doing my homework, filling out my volunteer hours, and basically doing what I need to do to succeed in life,” said senior Kelly Scianna.

Students find the room very appealing and tend to like the environment the room creates.

“The room is very friendly, and has a very positive vibe,” Scianna said. “Ms. Angela is very helpful and always there for you.”

(Photo by Cyntia Santos)

By Cyntia Santos – Staff Reporter

There has been an alternative physical education class at Jonathan Law since 2011 which is designed for the “non-athlete.”

This class is called Physical Education 2B. This year there are three full sections of the course.

“The class has a non-intimidating atmosphere which is usually made up of mostly females, but we have had males in the class,” physical education teacher Ms. Paolini said. “You’d be surprised with how much of a workout these students get in a short class time.”

Instead of taking the regular required gym course, this class focuses more on fitness than athletic ability.

“I loved it,” Law Class of 2015 graduate Kelsey Kopazna said. “For someone who is very into fitness, it was a great way for me to stay fit in a real workout during school.”

Paolini said that there is a percentage of students that do not always enjoy the organized team sports in P.E. class. This class gives them a chance to be exposed to fitness training on all levels like, weight lifting, yoga, plyometrics, cardiovascular training, and many others.

“I liked it because we could use whatever equipment we wanted, and I prefer working out over sports,” junior Samantha Viscount said.

Students must take  P.E. 1 before they can take this class. That way, all students are exposed to team sports during their freshman year.

“I think that P.E. 2B is a fun way to take gym because it’s not like a regular gym class which would have you do hockey and soccer as activities,” junior Abigail Williamson said. “You get to experience yoga and other fun activities.”

In this P.E. course, students are still required to do the Connecticut Physical Fitness Assessment, which includes the mile, the pacer, the sit and reach, push-ups, and curl-ups, and still take the final exiting exam.

“We did Zumba, yoga and pilates which were all so much fun and a good break from academic classes,” said Kopazna. “It was so cool to learn all new yoga poses and exercises rather than the usual sports in a standard gym class.”

This class has stepped away from the traditional sports in a regular P.E. class. It focuses more on overall fitness levels and gives students an opportunity to perform lifetime fitness activities in a non-competitive environment.

“I would definitely take it,” senior Alyssa Paladino said. “And if you don’t like doing the sports in gym, it’s less competitive and more laid back.”

The sections focused on this year can change in future years depending on enrollment.

(Photo courtesy Carol Phillips)

By Amanda Downs – Staff Reporter

Law’s Natural Helpers Club is ready for a new year.

The club has three main goals for every year: to teach Natural Helpers effective ways to help their friends, to teach Natural Helpers positive ways of taking good care of themselves, and to teach Natural Helpers ways to contribute to a safe and supportive school environment. This program allows peers to help one another.

“I’m excited to do more events this year and really be able to reach out and spread kindness,” Natural Helpers advisor Miss Hanson said. “I want to make sure this club has more of a presence.”

The club meets every Monday after school, unless told otherwise, in Room 170.

Natural Helpers is based on the idea that when people have problems they turn to their friends or other adults who they trust for help. The club allows a “helping network” to be implemented in the school.

The students involved in the club get trained with the “helping skill” that is used to assist peers in complicated situations in a safe, organized, and healthy way.

“I’ve been in Natural Helpers since freshman year and I love it,” junior Ben Warters said. “I always know where to go if I need to talk to somebody.”

Their first fundraiser this year is going to be selling baked goods at the football game to raise money for the club.

Natural Helpers does a lot of volunteer work at law and in the community. In the past they have done volunteer work such as Folks on Spokes, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, and Hands of JLHS.

“My friends have been telling me how much fun it is so I’ve decided to join this year,” junior Van Sirisouk said.

Throughout being in the club, helpers develop many skills such. Many of those skills involve utilizing the “helping skill,” empathizing with others, accepting others, exploring alternatives, exercising self-care and expressing helping limits.

“Natural Helpers is a great peer helping community and it helps bring people together,” Natural Helpers president Kavita Rana said.

In past years, the club has gone to a retreat center for two days with a lake. They also went on a trip to Holiday Hill.

“I love Natural Helpers; it’s a great way to make friends and help other people in the school and community,” junior and club secretary Jillian Bendlak said. “We do a lot of fun activities together.”

(Photo by Isabela Roldan)

By Isabela Roldan – Staff Reporter

Peer Assisted Physical Education, Peer Assisted Culinary and Nutrition, and Peer Assisted Music classes have welcomed back students for the new year.

Peer Assisted Physical Education’s main focus is fitness and working alongside  students who need assistive physical education.

“Working with special needs students is different from other students,” junior and peer assistant Zach Bender said. “You can learn many things from them that you wouldn’t learn from other students.”

Prerequisites for Peer Assisted P.E. are Physical Education 2 or Physical Education 2B. Prerequisites for Peer Assisted Culinary and Nutrition are Culinary and Nutrition/Exploring Food and Nutrition.

Peer Assisted Music requires students to have taken any previous music class. All classes are worth a half credit each.

These classes are available to provide valuable teaching examples to students interested in going into careers related to teaching and health care. Peer Assisted classes also strengthen students’ communication skills.   

“The best moments in this class would be when all of the students love the food they just made,” junior and Culinary and Nutrition peer assistant Abby Williamson said.

Students in the Peer Assisted Physical Education class, like regular Physical Education classes, participate in activities such as basketball, volleyball, soccer, frisbee, running, and joining their peers in the fitness room. These activities, however, are modified to fit the needs and skill level of the special education students.

Peer Assisted Culinary and Nutrition class allows students needing assistive help to create delicious dishes alongside peers. Students enjoy making meals such as muffins, pancakes, apple crisp, and more.

Peer Assisted Music allows students to work alongside students needing assistive music. It also provides valuable teaching lessons for peer assistant students interested in pursuing a career in music therapy.

“I think this class is helpful to the students because it shows that other kids care about them and it makes them feel appreciated,” junior and peer assistant Briana Marshall said.

All peer assistants learn said they have learned about friendship, treating others with respect, and compassion.

“We have many peer helpers that have a gift for working and caring for individuals with needs, and will make a difference in the world as they grow towards their career,” Peer Assisted Physical Education teacher Ms. Paolini said.

Peer Assisted Music is open to all grades, while Peer Assisted Physical Education and Peer Assisted Culinary and Nutrition are open to any sophomores, juniors, and seniors interested in working alongside students needing assistive education.

“Joining peer assist sounds like a great way to get to know and interact with more people in the school,” junior Maggie Sullivan said.

(Photo courtesy redcross.org)

By Colleen Rice – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s Keyettes Club is ready to welcome new members and to volunteer this fall.

This all-girls community service club is involved in the community and participates in many activities around.  Meetings are every Tuesday after school in Room 205.

“Keyettes Club participates in a variety of different community service activities,” senior Keyettes President Gianna Laezzo said. “Such as the Blood Drive, doing folders at Pumpkin Delight, helping out at Retail 101, and partaking in a clothing drive every year.”

The Keyettes are very involved in helping and volunteering their time in the community. Last year 40 students and teachers signed up and donated 40 pints of blood.

“We have our annual blood drive on October 23,” Keyettes Club advisor Mrs. Jaekle said. “We are also volunteering at the middle school open house, pumpkins on the pier and the Beardsley Zoo Howl-O-Ween.”

Seniors Alyssa Paladino and Laezzo play a key role in the club as co-presidents. They are two important leaders that help Jaekle run the club.

“My Keyettes experience has been very rewarding and has brought me some great volunteering opportunities,” junior Keyettes secretary Deepika Senthilnathan said.

The Keyettes hosted their first ever Caring Closet Clothing Drive last year which was a huge success.

“It’s a really easy way to get community service hours to graduate with distinction and you can hangout with your friends will helping the community,” junior treasurer Madison Laezzo said.

Keyettes is very flexible for its members. The club understands other commitments for students occupied in sports, after school activities, or educational purposes.

“Meetings don’t take up too much time and if you do have the opportunity to attend one, then it would be great,” Madison Laezzo said.

Keyettes Club also runs a Mr. JLHS pageant in the spring. The show typically features 10-12 senior boys doing a “Miss America- type” pageant. The boys perform a talent, have an evening wear competition, and a question and answer portion.

“I am very excited for this year’s pageant; we are still figuring out the date,” Jaekle said.

In years past, many participants used their singing and dancing talent to try and impress the judges. The panel of judges usually are made up of a group of teachers at Law.

“I’m really interested in being apart of the Mr. JLHS pageant and I hope a lot of guys join, too,” senior Abe Ocak said.

(Photo by Catie Rice)

By Catie Rice – Staff Reporter

There are many new eyes watching the students of Jonathan Law.

Dozens of new security cameras have been installed in various spots around Law this year. By installing the new cameras, security will be able to monitor more spots around the school and watch the students closer.

“The security cameras are very essential part of Jonathan Law security,” head security guard Jose Cardoso said. “We not only need to see who comes into the school, but we also need to know what’s going on in our school.”

In total, there have been over 100 new security cameras installed around the school.

In the past, the cameras have been ineffective and not able to see all spots around the school.

“I’m happy we are finally getting all of the blind spots covered by the cameras so there will no longer be blind spots in the school,” Law School Resource Officer James Kiely said.

Some students disagree with the cameras and think they were unnecessary, while others think they make the school more safe.

“I don’t think more cameras were needed,” senior Renee Lynch said.

One of the goals of the new security cameras is to better monitor students entering and leaving the building.

If a student is caught leaving school grounds they will get a 1-2 day in-school suspension and a call home to their parents.

“I think that the security cameras are necessary for school so students can get caught leaving,” senior Paige Szygiel said.

Security has also created a new system called School Gate Guardian.

When visitors come into the school they need to show either their driver’s license or some identification that issues an electronic background. The background checks for registered sex offender notices, child custody matters, and or court issued orders of protection.

If there is someone in the school that security does not want there is a uniform button that alerts rest of security and Mr. Thompson and will make them leave. They are also working on the button to automatically lock all the doors.

Security guards are making sure that students have passes and are not roaming the halls and skipping class.

Security is catching students who are not where they are assigned to be and are putting them on restricted pass so they can only walk in the halls with a security guard. The new security cameras will help in this effort.

“The security cameras will allow for more countability and physical proof that kids are in the hallways,” math teacher Mr. Ruzbarsky said.

(Photo by Maeve Rourke)

By Maeve Rourke – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s Science Club is preparing for a big year of competition.

The Science Club meets every Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Room 212B. The club is run by science teachers Ms. Turcotte and Mr. Stanton.

“The Science Club gives students the opportunity to explore all the different disciplines of science that they may not learn in high school,” Science Club advisor Ms. Turcotte said. “Students get to compete with others from across the state and country.”

This club provides many opportunities for students who enjoy science, engineering, and working with friends.

“Science Club is fun because I like to learn new things about topics I enjoy,” junior club member Trisha Brady said. “I also enjoy the challenge.”

Every year, the Science Club participates in several competitions in the Science Olympiad for Division C. This will be the club’s fourth year competing.

This year, the club wishes to send two teams to compete. They are now seeking out new members to fill the second team.

“I think that sending two teams will allow us to have a better chance at competing at Yale and UConn,” senior Science Club vice president Kavita Rana said. “It also allows more people to become involved with science.”

Every member gets the opportunity to attend the invitational competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Yale in February. The club attends regionals at UConn in March.  

To celebrate and recognize the achievements students in the areas of science and technology, The Science Olympiad awards thousands of certificates, medals, trophies and scholarships.

“Competing at the Science Olympiad is fun and exciting because we get to meet other high school students from around the country who are just as passionate about science as we are,” senior club president Emma Shea said. “It’s rewarding to see teammates do well with their events and projects because we have seen the struggles and the ‘Ah-Hah!’ moments that led them there.”

Members get to build different mechanisms, and learn a range of scientific studies. Also, members of the club get to conduct interesting labs with friends.

The members of the science club are assigned to different events to compete in. Each year there is a new rotation of events.

“The scrambler was a building event where I had to build a car with its own braking system,” junior Science Club secretary Jordan Negron said. “The front of the car holds an egg and it had to stop before hitting a wall.”

This year’s Olympiad include events such as Astronomy, Bridge Building, Chemistry Lab, Disease Detectives, Forensics, Robot Arm, and many more.

Teams from across the country compete in the Olympiad, making preparation that much more important.

Meetings are held every week so members can work on their projects or discuss their topics with teachers.

Last year, three members were awarded medals: one first place medal and two fourth place medals.

This year, as a team they aim to place in the top half of all the competing schools. Individually, each member aims to win a medal in their own events.

“We can improve by being more prepared for the events at the Olympiad this year,” sophomore Science Club treasurer Meghana Jaladanki said. “We plan to place well in all our events by having better notes and study guides for the tests, and by improving how well our projects function during the building events.”

By Ann Reed – Staff Reporter

(Photo courtesy of amazon.com)

Law’s Debate Society provides a forum for rousing debate, and is open to all students.

The Debate Society meets every Monday at 2:10 p.m. to discuss topics that change weekly.

“Debate Society is a gathering of people who discuss a current political topic divided into two groups: the opposition and the affirmative,” junior President of Debate Society Tiffany Carlson said. “It is encouraged to take different stances than your own at times to see new perspectives, but it will almost always be up to the member to choose what side they wish to be on.”

Some topics debated include the Syrian refugee, the 2016 presidential election, and many other timely topics. Students are encouraged to consider both sides of the debate instead of just sticking to their personal opinion.

“We decide as a group which topics to debate, usually cycling through various topics including social issues, economics, political problems, and others,” Debate Society advisor and history teacher Mr. Evanko said.

Evanko is a Debate Society veteran this year and enjoys seeing students passionate and informed about timely topics.

This club challenges students to dig deep and form an opinion on topics that they might be too scared to discuss otherwise. It is a place where students can go to learn about the topics that push boundaries and take students outside of their comfort zones.

“Debate Society is important because it provides a bunch of different skills to the students that they wouldn’t necessarily get out of academic classes such as public speaking and self-confidence,” history teacher and Debate Society advisor Miss. Mannion said. “And it encourages kids to be up-to-date on current issues.”

Students are able to join anytime. You don’t have to come to every meeting to be apart of the club, you just have to come ready to debate.

“Anyone who is interested in learning how to argue, and ready to stand up for what they have researched is welcome,” Mannion said. “It gets lively, but we certainly know that everyone has to be respectful.”

The Debate Society hopes to recruit more members throughout the year by encouraging students to step out of their comfort zones and give their club a try.

“A lot of these kids end up having college interviews with big shot people at colleges and you would like to sound self-assured and academically driven, and it (Debate Society) helps,” Mannion said.

(Photo courtesy Abby Williamson)

By Abby Williamson – Staff Reporter

One club can make you friends forever.

Jonathan Law’s Friends Forever Club will hold its first meeting on Tuesday. October 20. Friends Forever is a club where Jonathan Law peers have the opportunity to interact with kids with special needs to form friendships outside of the classroom and their regular friend group.

Club members are matched up one-to-one by club officers based on personal interests with hope to create bonds that last past high school.

“(Friends Forever) gives you the experience of seeing how you can make a difference in someone’s life,” junior and Friends Forever Co-President Leea Palmer said.

Friends Forever meets after school for one hour every month. The club allows the kids who participate to practice important skills like interacting socially with people while enjoying each others company.

“It’s one Tuesday out of the month that could make a difference in someone’s life,” Palmer said. “Seeing that I’m making a difference in these kid’s lives makes me feel good about myself.”

During the hour kids and peers participate in hands-on arts and crafts while eating snacks and bonding with all of the other friends in the club.

The club officers plan out specifically themed meetings based on the month. In the past, they have had Halloween parties for the month of October and celebrated being thankful for the month of November.

“I’d love to join (Friends Forever),” junior club member Brianna Arnold said. “I want to go into speech pathology so joining the club would be good experience.”

Although Friends Forever forever offers a fun time, it also could look good on college applications if you would like to pursue a career in special education.

“It’s nice to hang out with my friends,” sophomore and club member Atul Joseph said.

Sometimes the club does ‘outings’ and takes trips to places like the movie theater, the Shelton Sports Center, and the senior center for Christmas caroling.

“I’m just looking forward to seeing my kids smile and seeing a bunch of friendships made that can last past high school and into life,” club advisor Mr. Winebrenner said.

Friends Forever is a fun environment to be surrounded by amazing kids eager to build new relationships.

“I just love being around them,” junior and Co-President Sydney King said. “It’s a judge free zone.”

Unlike nationwide clubs like Key Club, Friends Forever originated at Jonathan Law.

“The club was designed for my kids to make friends for life,” Winebrenner said.

By Jessica Cuevas – Staff Reporter

The Jonathan Law Key Club will now be running the concession stand at all Law sporting events. 

Due to the recent disbandment of the Jonathan Law Sports Association, volunteers were needed to keep the stand open and running. 

“After (athletic director) Mr. Sarullo mentioned that the Sports Association wasn’t doing it anymore, Key Club decided to step up,” Key Club advisor Mr. Boynton said.

The members of the club will be volunteering at the field house every varsity football home game. The club will be serving pizza, candy, soda and other drinks like water and Gatorade.

“Key Club is looking forward to running the stand every home game,” Key Club co-president Marissa Pollack said. “It’s a great way to get volunteer hours.”

Many members are excited to be able to earn volunteer hours while simultaneously raising money.

“It’s a great way to raise money for a great organization,” junior Key Club member Matthew Zancewicz said.

Along with the change in volunteers, there is a change in the menu. The concession stand no longer sells things such as hamburgers or fries.

Some students were disappointed about that change.

“I just want my halftime fries,” senior Seamus O’Reilly said.

The club is considering serving hot dogs at the next few games but will no longer serve items that need to be cooked since the student volunteers can not use the grill or deep fryer.

“I was disappointed and I wasn’t even there at the game,” senior Ian Hugo said.

On top of volunteering at the concession stand, another big upcoming event that the Key Club volunteers at is Salvation Army.

This is when members of the club stand outside stores and ring a bell to grab shopper´s attention to donate money to the Salvation Army.

¨We are very excited for Salvation Army, everyone loves it.¨ junior co-president Michael Jalaf said. ¨It´s a fun time.¨

The Key Club meets every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the senior cafe.

The club is still looking for new members. Dues are $15 and can be handed in by November 1 or as soon as possible.

(Photo by Nisali Fernando)

By Nisali Fernando – Staff Reporter

Kindness continues to be spread at Jonathan Law.

Law students and teachers are fundraising and applying for grants to bring a mosaic Ben’s Bells mural to honor the lives lost at Jonathan Law.

“Jonathan Law High School has been through a lot of tragedy in the past few years, and I think that the mural would be a way that Law would be recognized as a kind school,” art teacher Mrs. Murphy said.

Fundraising efforts are underway to assure the mural will find a place at the school.

“We have to raise enough money to be able to bring the mosaic here so as we start, we hope different people will get involved and embrace the same idea and want to contribute,” Burns said.

The Ben’s Bells program and Kindness Week started at Law last fall. Murphy was inspired by the kindness program at her son’s school and introduced it to Law with the help of Mr. Ragini’s kind-themed activities in advisory.

Following these activities, the Law community found ways to incorporate kindness and Ben’s bells into their daily lives.

“Kindness matters is not just a slogan for us, it’s a commitment,” Principal Mr. Thompson said.

The Ben’s Bells mural would embody the message of kindness and caring Law has embraced in the past year.

“To have a mosaic like that when you walk by, you would just remember all the good Law has accomplished and send that message that we want to be carriers of kindness,” history teacher Ms. Burns said.

The location of the mural is undetermined. It would be visible to everyone entering the school, and it would serve as a reminder of the kindness of the Law community.

¨No matter where we place it in the school it will always remind us of what a special community we have here, not just our school but the whole Milford community,” Murphy said.

Murphy hopes the Kindness Leadership Team she founded will take the initiative to spread kindness, and bring this mural to Law.

“Students and faculty can get involved by supporting our upcoming fundraisers and spreading the word about them,” senior Molly Krupienski said. “They can also actively spread kindness like the Ben’s Bells sets out to do.”

The Ben’s Bells program motivates others to be mindful of their actions and proves how kindness does have a big impact on everyday life.

“I try to spread a little kindness every day by trying to be a positive person, I’m always there to help if needed,” senior Kristen Plouffe said.

The mural would just serve as a reminder that the Law community continues to grow from adversity and can spread kindness even during the toughest of times.

“One of our strongest values is respect, be kind to each other, be kind to other people, and I think that that mural will memorialize that concept,” Thompson said.

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By Owen Paiva – Staff Reporter

Law’s Fishing Club angles for a productive year of fishing and fun.

The club is looking for new members, from those who have never touched a fishing rod in their life, to the most experienced anglers. To have all the information on meeting times and field trip info, text @fishing14 to 81010 or listen to Eagle Eye News.  

“Our focus this year is fishing, period,” club advisor Mr. Morazzini said.

Besides Morazzini, the club is led by junior president Louis Heenan and vice presidents Logan Herb and Hunter Thomas.

The club is encouraging members of all skill levels to join, and the officers are willing to teach those who are new to fishing. The club will also supply most of the gear needed, so those without it can still join the club.

History teacher Mr. Roumeles is helping to advance the club into new realms of fishing. He has brought freshwater fishing experience, allowing the club to expand its fishing locations.

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

Freshwater fishing is different than saltwater; there are different species and different tactics required. The equipment is usually downsized and a little bit different for freshwater.

The Club goes on trips to freshwater and saltwater locations in Milford including Anchor Beach, as well as trips to Maltby Lakes in West Haven.

The club also has different activities including rod building, custom lure building, fishing reel maintenance and knot tying workshops. These activities are held in Room 199B, so those who cannot normally go on trips can be involved.

Heenan is an avid fisherman and is in charge of setting up the meetings and planning each trip.

“My goal this year for fishing club is to get more kids into the sport,” Heenan said.

Thomas and Herb are in charge of helping anybody in need of anything fishing related.

“My goals for fishing club are for everyone to have fun and learn more than what they knew before,” Herb said.

The club recently traveled to Anchor Beach for their first trip of the season.

“The trip was awesome, lots of kids caught snappers,” Roumeles said.

On some trips, the club will have competitions for who can catch the biggest fish. Prizes like lures can be occasionally won.

On one trip to the Maltby Lakes, Herb caught the biggest bass and won the competition.

“At the end of the trip, I was rewarded with a lure for the biggest bass caught that day,” Herb said.

By Tyler Chavez – Staff Reporter

Starting this year, sophomores have been offered AP Statistics as a math course.

(Photo by Tyler Chavez)

The advanced placement math course has been offered to sophomore students who have already finished Algebra 2.

“I expect the same thing from my sophomores and upperclassmen: work hard, and pass that test,” AP Statistics teacher Ms. Loch said. “I treat them all the same because the expectation is the same no matter what.”

The course deals with statistics and probability at a college level. Students utilize probability to help with hypothesis tests.

“In other math classes, the course is taught in a way that is easy to understand,” sophomore Matthew Chang said. “In AP Stat, we as students have to use our thinking in order to understand concepts in AP Stat.”

One of the biggest challenges that come with taking an advanced placement class is the amount of work that the class provides.

“The workload for AP Stat is comparable to that of AP Government,” junior Samir Elhelw said. “The notes take about 1-2 hours to do, and the practice problems that are assigned after each section are easy to complete if you understand the content.”

The decision was made to get students to take more AP classes earlier to help prepare them for college.

“Anyone can handle AP classes if they put in the time,” sophomore class adviser Mr. Boynton said.

AP Statistics is not the only advanced placement class being offered to sophomores. AP Government and Politics has been offered to sophomores for years.

“I think that being a sophomore, they’re still in a transition period,” Boynton said. “So I think the option of having these two AP courses at the sophomore level is sufficient.”

Last year, sophomores were offered AP U.S. History along AP Government and Politics. The experience of having these two AP courses has helped junior students taking AP Statistics this year.

“When I walked in, I knew that an AP curriculum was mostly note taking with teacher clarification on the notes the next day,” Elhelw said.

Some people believe that offering more AP courses to sophomores will benefit them.

“When you take more APs as a sophomore, you become more used to it and you can take more APs,” said sophomore Jake Gwirtz.

But of course, the school would have to figure out which AP courses they would offer to the sophomore class.

“I would offer AP Biology for sophomores considering they take biology their freshman year,” Elhelw said.

The push for sophomores to take more AP classes has already gotten some to start thinking about which they would take in the future.

“I aim to take as many as possible that could help my college career, but that could change if I’m unable to adjust to these classes,” Chang said. “I’m interested in math, so AP Calculus.”

Upperclassmen have also offered tips for those sophomores to succeed in the class.

“Keep up with the notes,” Elhelw said. “The course is fast moving and if you miss a day, you should do your best to make up the work as soon as possible.”

Despite the difficult work load, people believe that the sophomores can succeed in this course.
“As long as the student believes they can do it, go for it,”  Chang said.

By Kristin Frank – Staff Reporter

The Milford community gathered on September 12 to celebrate the annual Relay For Life at Jonathan Law High School’s track.

(Photo by Kristin Frank)

This year’s Relay For Life was its 13th anniversary and raised over $65,000. This fundraiser for cancer survivors and caregivers gives them a fun way to find hope and support for all that they’ve been through.

“My favorite part about Relay For Life was how we all came together as a team to raise money for a good cause,” senior basketball captain Kailee Frank said.

There were 44 teams that participated this year for a total of 506 participants. This huge turnout was a major reason as to why this day was so prosperous.

All the teams that participated were able to raise money by selling a variety of baked goods and holding enjoyable contests and games.

“We sold; brownies, cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, Gatorade, and ‘flips for tips’, for any extra donations,” senior gymnastics captain Megan Grabowski said.

The tents were all located around the track so that while the participants are either walking or running on the track, they could stop by a tent for a quick treat or refresh themselves with a drink.

This event was held outside all day, wrapping things up around 1 a.m., so despite the rainy weather, the community put that a side to make this event worthwhile.

“Dealing with the weather was easy, we stayed under our tents and kept busy by selling our baked goods,” senior basketball player Evan Carollo said.

Relay For Life has been going on for many years, so the Milford community, Law students especially, has made many appreciable donations to this fundraiser.

“I’ve been doing Relay For Life since I was little and in the past years we’ve done it as a team, and we have always had a good time,” junior soccer captain Bethany Edwards said.

Relay For Life is an amazing way for people to meet other cancer survivors and provided them with a great opportunity to hear their story.

“ It’s a good idea getting these young kids involved in Relay For Life because it is important to give back to the community and support a great cause,”  Girl’s basketball coach Mr. Young said. “ Most people have been impacted by cancer, so they can relate to it.”

This year’s Relay For Life was triumphant because of all the activities and treats being sold throughout the day.

“It was rewarding to know what I was putting my time into,” junior gymnast Victoria Contaxis said.

“ It was a fun and eventful experience and I am looking forward to participating again next year.”

(Photo courtesy cgc.org)

By Valeria Araujo – New Editor

Jonathan Law’s Model U.N. Club is ready for a year of fun and fundraisers.

Model U.N. currently meets every F day during common time and will start meeting after school on Fridays soon.

The club has started the year off with an abundance of new members.  So far, they’ve been bouncing off fundraiser ideas and electing new officers so that this year’s trip to New York is a success.

Their main goal for this year is to lower the cost of this annual trip, so that they can stay at the event for the full four days instead of three.

“The trip does currently run about $600 and if we want to stay the extra night we’ll be looking at $700,” senior co-vice president Katie Sabo said. “If we could raise enough money to have the extra day and keep it low instead of going up it would be great.”

Last year, the club fundraised by selling candy bars, and selling items at Cumberland Farms and Stop & Shop; however, they are always looking for new fundraiser ideas for their trip.

“It’s one of the coolest trips we have, I can’t say that any other trip gets to go to New York, meet with student around the world, and stay at a hotel and just have a great time,” junior co-secretary Jordan Negron said.

The club prepares students for the Model U.N. event in New York, during which students are assigned a specific country and role play as the officials of that country. They decided what their country’s positions are on different policies and propose solutions to certain international problems.

The event allows students to simulate the real United Nations in a fun and educational way.

“It’s extremely relevant because we try to pair students based on interest,” Model U.N. advisor Mr. Evanko said. “If students were interested in defense policies or the military we can put them on the security committee. If they are interested in medicine and being a doctor we can put them on the health committee. If they are interested in becoming a lawyer there is a legal committee.”

Evanko believes that if the students look at issues from the perspective of other nations it will broaden their ability to empathize with other people around the world.

“I joined because I was interested in the U.N. and wanted to be informed in global politics,” junior club member Sam Rossi said. “It broadens your horizons on what is really going on in the world.”

The club gives students the chance to meet with many new faces from all over the world.

“You not only get to know your classmates better – during the trip you stay in a room with three of your classmates – you also meet a whole bunch of people all over the world,” senior co-president Ian Hugo said. “I’ve meet people from Massachusetts, Utah, New York, Mexico, Germany, Ukraine, and it’s just an overall great experience.”

Not only does the club allow students to meet many new people and learn more about the world, it also looks great on a college resume.

“I feel like not enough people know about the U.N. what it does in general, and all the work it does, ” junior co-secretary Jordan Negron said. “Aside from just doing regular stuff like the general assembly or informing the security committee of emergencies, they do a lot to get clean water for Africa in addition to a lot of other projects making sure that certain diseases do not spread and stuff like that and it’s just a really extraordinary organization.”

Mrs. Murphy teaches her Digital Drawing class. (Photo by Emily Carroll)

By Emily Carroll – News Editor

Jonathan Law has introduced several new classes for the 2015-2016 school year.

New courses include AP Human Geography, Model U.N., Introduction to Early Childhood Education, Advance Photography 2, Digital Drawing, iPads & Music, American Popular Music, Vocal Performance Technology for Musical Theater, and Computers, Electronics, and Programming.

“The new classes that Jonathan Law is offering this year will not only provide students more options when choosing classes, but will allow for more opportunities for students to investigate potential career options,” guidance counselor Mrs. Dunnuck said.

AP Human Geography, taught by Mr. Dooley and Mr. Roumeles, helps students develop critical thinking skills through the understanding, application, and analysis of the fundamental concepts of geography. This course also gives students the opportunity to earn college credits while still in high school.

“I like how Mr. Roumeles makes the class interesting and fun by connecting what we learn to what is going on in today’s world,” senior Kaitlyn Lynch said.

Model U.N. is a new history class taught by Mr. Evanko. In the class, students discuss and debate current international issues from various nations’ perceptions.

“I am hoping that students get an understanding of their nations’ perceptions through the class and gain a sense of empathy for other people around the world,” said Evanko.

Computers, Electronics, and Programming, taught by Miss Martinich, allows students to complete desired tasks using Arduino and Raspberry Pi electronics platforms. Students will build microcontroller boards and then program things with the boards using coding.

“I want them (the students) to see that computer science is a field where they can be greatly successful from the day they graduate and on,” said Martinich.

iPads and Music, taught by Mr. Giampietro, allows students to compose and perform music on various iPad apps. Students will also learn how to apply their new music-making skills in other media, such as projects and presentations for other classes.

“I love teaching it because I feel I am helping students unlock their ability to express themselves,” Giampietro said.

American Popular Music, also taught by Mr. Giampietro, is an overview of the historical events that have shaped shaped music in this country. Students should be able to connect music they know and love to its social context from this class.

“I look forward to teaching this course because I have a diverse interest in music,” Giampietro said.

Mrs. Murphy will be teaching Digital Drawing starting next semester. In this class, students will create original works of art using drawing tablets and various programs such as Adobe Photoshop, CZ6, and Adobe Illustrator.

“I’m looking for students to think about traditional drawing versus digital drawing using the two new tools,” Murphy said.

Advanced Photography 2 is a new full-year course that will have students concentrate on the more complex aspects of photography and will refine the aesthetic and technical aspects of their work. This course is taught by Mrs. Romanowski.

A new half-year music course that is for all grades is Vocal Performance Techniques for Musical Theater. In this class, taught by Mrs. Rizzotti, students will learn unique skills for singing in a musical production.

Introduction to Early Childhood Education is a new full-year family and consumer science course that provides a study of historical, philosophical, and social perspectives of early care and education.

“We are working on an interactive bulletin board so the kids can learn social and emotional skills,” senior Isabel Cortez said.

Law’s Key Club volunteered at the first home football game. (Photo courtesy Ed Drew)

By Nicole Macchio – Entertainment Editor

Key Club is the world’s largest high school volunteer organization.

Law’s Key Club is currently recruiting new members to join, but due to this year’s high participation, their membership drive is scheduled to end in October. The club’s weekly meetings are held on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. with an initiation fee of $15.

“I think more people should definitely join,” junior president Marissa Pollack said. “We are always looking for new members and the club teaches great leadership and communication skills while getting volunteer hours.”

Key Club is already set up to have multiple great volunteer opportunities, helping out both the school and the community. They serve organizations like the Salvation Army and they volunteer at events like the Irish Festival, St. Mary’s Carnival, and Law band and guard home shows.

Another big event is the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Institute, or KPTI, where members will make blankets for children in a local trauma hospital that is run by the Key Club’s parent group, the Kiwanis.

“Key Club helps me serve the community and reach graduation distinction,” said senior Key Club member Leo Merturi.

There are many different organizations within the community that call Boynton to have the club help out at events.  various other opportunities that are held throughout the school year that help students build resumes.

“It’s a great thing to put down on your college application,” junior vice president Jordan Negron said. “And we have the biggest outlets in the school to help students achieve their graduation with distinction requirements of 200 hours.”

Boynton has been part of the club for almost 20 years and still takes great pride in how everything is run.

“My favorite part is when I see a quiet freshman come in, I see them through the years, and eventually they run the club,” Boynton said.

Each year, the Key Club convention is held in Springfield, Massachusetts. The goal of the convention is to teach students how to be good Key Clubbers and officers.

Law’s Key Club officers have set goals to help out the community and to expand even more into the school. After the first few meetings, they’ve already recruited a record number of people to join the club.

Members say that Key Club is not only a good way to get out and help the community; it’s a good place to make new friends.

“I love how we can all come together to help those in need,” Pollock said. “It’s great becoming friends with people I may not normally see in classes.”

Mr. Ruzbarsky teaches a lesson in the Support Center. (Photo by Valeria Araujo)

By Valeria Araujo – News Editor

Jonathan Law has introduced an Academic Support Center for all students this year.

The Support Center, a district initiative, will aim to help high school students in English/social studies or math/science. Students can drop in during their study hall or whenever they have free time during the school day.

“If a student is in an honors class, an AP class, or even a Level 2 class and want to get something proofread or need some help in geometry they can go in and get a little extra help,” principal Mr. Thompson said.

At Law, the Support Center is staffed every period by English teachers Ms. Hanson and Mrs. Goldbeck and math teachers Mr. Frank and Mr. Ruzbarsky.

Two types of students can use the Support Center: drop-in students that come in during a free period, and long-term students who are recommended by their teachers

“We try to get (the topic) across in many different ways so (students) completely understand the topic before they leave,” Ruzbarsky said.

Classroom teachers can recommend students to the Support Center and then give the Support Center teachers the topics they want the student to work on. After finishing the tutoring sessions, students will have an exit exam, and the result of that exam will determine if they can place out of the Support Center.

“The Support Center is really helpful,” Junior Zachary Bender said. “I can come in for multiple different things and get help for all of them.”

Skill building is one of the main focuses of the Support Center.

“If any kid is missing a skill, or if they’re out sick from school and there was something they missed that day that they really needed, we’re here to help them,” Goldbeck said.

The Support Center has already been proven to be very popular with students.

“What we are noticing – and we are excited about – is that it’s not just about going there for a marking period, or a month a lot of people are just dropping,” Thompson said.

One advantage of the Support Center is that students can get personal, one-on-one support from a content area teacher.

“As a teacher you have thirty kids to worry about but you just getting the general curriculum across,” Ruzbarsky said. “In Support Center, you work on individual topics and ideas with the students. It’s a catch twenty-two, I call it; basically it’s just as intensive here as it is in the classroom and we’re more focused on narrowing down skills here and narrowing down topics instead of getting the general idea across.”

Teachers in the Support Center said that they have benefited from the new program professionally as well.

“The ability to work with Mr. Frank, Mr. Ruzbarsky, and Ms. Hanson on a regular basis makes my teaching that much stronger,” Goldbeck said.

The Support Center teachers also get to interact with different students than they would in their regular classrooms.

“In the past few years I’ve taught the same classes year to year so I see a certain pocket full of students but there are still a lot of students that I’ve never met,” Frank said.  “I’ve already bumped into 50, 60 kids that I would have never met otherwise.”

Mr. DeGrego spoke to Law’s history classes. (Photo by Emily Carroll)

By Emily Carroll – News Editor

Mike DeGrego recently returned to Law to share his story about 9/11 as part of Law’s annual September 11^th commemoration.

DeGrego served in the Air Force, was a former New York Police Department detective, and was also a history teacher. Now he is a substitute teacher in West Haven and is a member of the Milford Board of Education.

He also visits Law’s Crime and Violence classes each year to discuss his time as a detective.

“He has held so many roles in his life, all centered around public service, and it is a great example of someone who just wants to give back to the community,” Law history teacher Mr. Evanko said.

In his most recent visit, DeGrego started his story by telling students how he found out about the attack on the World Trade Center. He was in a darkroom developing pictures, and soon after, shuttle buses were picking up him and his colleagues to take them to Ground Zero.

The bus took them to the Jacob Javits Center, which was where all the volunteers were. Before they left the bus, they put on their respirator for protection from the debris.

Immediately, he wanted to get to work. He walked to three different tents and went through security showing three forms of ID.

“There was a line you wouldn’t believe,” DeGrego said.

At the last tent, everyone received a badge that had a number that would cross-reference to their name. People couldn’t leave the tent without it or else they would get arrested.

“The scene I was about to see I was not ready for,” said DeGrego.

He walked through piles and piles of rubble, concrete and steel. By the time he was done going through security, it was 11 p.m. The Fire Department had supplied so much light he thought it was morning.

“In all the pictures I saw on the channels, it was nothing like actually being there,” said DeGrego.

Everyone that was working on the recovery mission looked the same with their respiratory masks and their hats. There were 12 lines that were transporting buckets.

“Nobody took a break,” said DeGrego. “Nobody wanted to take a break.”

Before he left, he was offered to take whatever he wanted, but the only thing he asked for was his helmet.

A couple months later, he went back to school to get his Master’s degree. There were 911 students in his graduating class.

The students and teachers at Law who heard DeGrego speak said they were moved by his story.

“I thought Mr. DeGrego’s story was very moving and powerful,” Evanko said. “Hearing an eyewitness of what it was like cleaning up Ground Zero was deeply inspiring.”

Many students were also moved by the video featuring 9/11 victim Welles Crowther, which was shown before Mr. DeGrego spoke.

“I almost cried after watching the video because (Crowther) was so young,” junior Nia Cordero said.

Mr. Young teaches a freshman history class. (Photo by Ian Hugo)

By Ian Hugo – Sports Editor

The new school year has arrived at Law and so has the Class of 2019.

Students and teachers are excited for both.

Freshmen are adjusting to waking up earlier, finding their classes, and figuring out how to open their lockers, and although there is a bit of apprehension surrounding these new-found challenges, everyone involved – the students, teachers, and even principal Mr. Thompson – holds optimistic attitudes.

“I’m looking forward to all of the freshmen becoming sophomores at the end of the school year and for them to be ready for the rigors that will follow them as they go through their high school years,” Thompson said. “I’m hoping we teach them not only to be good citizens and be not just high school ready but Lawman ready and [make sure] they are really academically proficient in note taking, in study skills, and all of the areas to succeed moving forward in their high school career.”

Although it’s only September, many freshmen say that they already feel at home at Law with the students and faculty helping them adjust to their new setting.

“The teachers are really nice and I just feel at home when I’m here,” freshman Lisa Hanania said.

Many freshmen have joined a sports team or club and have subsequently made new friends, not just in their own grade but upperclassmen as well.

“I joined the soccer team and made a lot of friends on the team,” freshman Will Contaxis said. “All of the people who I have met on the Law soccer team have been good friends and feel like family.”

A new environment is bound to bring new challenges and being a freshman students are plunged headfirst into their new routine with little background knowledge of how to handle high school. Many students say that finding their way around Law has been the most difficult thing about high school so far.

“I’d say maybe going to my new classes because some of them are really far away,” Contaxis said.

However, students are not navigating these challenges blindly, finding that teachers and upperclassmen are more than happy to help.

“My algebra teacher [helps me out], she helps me with directions to [my classes] and some of the students as well,” freshman Eric Acevedo said.

“[Teachers] give me advice and were always there when I had questions,” freshman Shaniyah Salmon said.

High school is a big change and freshman year is very important no matter what anyone else says, so to help ninth graders start out on the right foot several teachers shared some words of advice with their new students on how to stay on top of their academics and themselves for this upcoming year:

“My biggest advice would be to value your freshman year, know that it counts, know that it’s important,” Modern World History teacher Mr. Young said. “It’s a great way to get off to a good start in your high school career, don’t think it doesn’t matter or won’t impact you later so you build patterns of behavior that are going to benefit you throughout your four years here.”

Thompson offered some advice as well.

“Go to class, be on time, and get your homework done,” Thompson said. “There is an absolute direct correlation between doing your homework, staying current in reading and all that stuff, and succeeding in class.”

Freshman science teacher Mrs. Mercaldi stressed the importance of time management.

“I would say [it is important] to stay organized and make sure that you are taking time to take care of you,” freshman science teacher Mrs. Mercaldi said.

A student’s first year of high school may seem tough looking ahead but many ninth graders are already dealing with it well, whether they realize it or not. Freshmen are becoming a part of something special at Law, something Thompson describes as a “family.”

“If you’re reading this and you’re a senior or junior or sophomore it seems redundant but this is such a special place. Jonathan Law is an amazing, amazing family and it’s a privilege to be here,” Thompson said.

He continued, “Yeah, it’s school, and, yes, nobody likes getting up to be here for 7:20 and that’s just part of life but at the end of the day we’re a really special place that has gone through and gotten through a lot together because we’re so close and as a ninth grader coming in that’s a real privilege that I hope the freshman will get that experience because it means so much. It’s what keeps me coming in every day.”

(Photo courtesy Alyssa Paladino)

Laura Gonzalez was a bright, outgoing, caring student with a vibrant smile and personality that lit up the room. We will forever miss her grace and kindness, and as an Advocate staff, we will miss her incredible gift for writing.

Below is a link to some of Laura’s articles and some articles that featured her volunteer work.

https://jlawadvocate.wordpress.com/?s=laura+gonzalez

Rest in peace, Laura.