By Kayla Markowitz – Editor-in-Chief 

The 2025-2026 school year has kicked off and Jonathan Law Principal Mr. Darcy is ready to have another great year. Editor-in-Chief Kayla Markowitz interviewed Darcy about the upcoming year. 

Kayla Markowitz: What are you most looking forward to this school year?

Mr. Darcy: All the events like Homecoming, Sophomore Ring Dance, Junior Cotillion, Prom, all the home games, all the pep rallies. All the fun student events we have throughout the year. 

KM: What are your thoughts on the new teachers starting this year?

MD: The great thing about all of them is that their character matches exactly what we’re looking for here at Law. They will always put students first, make strong personal connections with students, and have a kind, open mind to new ideas. 

KM: How do you think your last four years went and what are some things you want to improve on this year?

MD: One thing is Golf Pants Fridays. I think I have done a good job hearing from the students, but I always want to keep working on making sure I am listening to the students’ voice and making sure school policies impact the students in a positive way. 

KM: What is your advice to the new freshman?

MD: Get involved. Stay involved. That is the number one thing I say to all students because the more things you are a part of, whether that’s clubs, sports, Drama, the more connected you will be with the school, and the better you will do academically. 

KM: Do you have any advice to give to our seniors?

MD: Senior year can become very overwhelming. Not only are you working on schoolwork and activities, you’re also planning your future. My overall advice is to try to stay in the moment and not lose sight of your current life. Don’t let senior year fly by. Make that connection. Join that club. 

KM: What does it mean to you to be a Lawman?

MD: No matter what your life is like outside of Jonathan Law High School, no matter what your background is, no matter what your family life may be like, coming together every day and creating a close-knit, warm, loving community is what makes a true Lawman. 

By Harshitha Kothapalli – Editor-in-Chief 

Mr. Stanton, beloved Physics teacher and long-time mentor, is retiring this year after 29 years of dedication to Jonathan Law High School.

Known for his engaging lessons and boundless energy, Stanton has impacted generations of students and staff. Since arriving at Law in 1996, his ability to teach anything from complex physics concepts to simple life lessons has made him a favorite among students and faculty.

“Mr. Stanton’s ability to connect and build positive relationships with students is what sets him apart,” Principal Mr. Darcy said. “He has a personality that draws students into his classroom activities. He’s supportive, has a great sense of humor, and is probably the most active person on staff. He’s always on the move, doing something meaningful for his students or our school.”

Stanton began his teaching journey in 1991 at a school in Stamford before finding his forever home at Law. In addition to his teaching, he played a major role in the Science Club, supporting students alongside Ms. Turcotte and, more recently, Ms. Gagnon. 

“Our kids have done really well over the years, and it has been very satisfying to share in their successes,” Stanton said. “In the classroom, I think it’s just knowing that I have been a positive influence on students, that someone took away something that is helping them today … that’s a very satisfying thing to think.”

To many students, though, it’s not just what Stanton taught, it’s how he made them feel. 

“Mr. Stanton has helped me so much since I’ve come to Law,” junior Rose O’Connell said. “His constant support and guidance have truly inspired me. I will miss his brilliant blend of wisdom and wit, his way of turning even the most complex physics concepts into life lessons, all while making you laugh.”

Stanton reflects on his time at Law with deep gratitude, knowing he’s made an impact. He’ll miss the buzz of daily school life, the students, the faculty, and yes, even the intensity of it all.

“Everything and all of you,” he said when asked what he’ll miss most. “Maybe not some of the paperwork and meetings, but it’s been a tremendous experience here.”

After retirement, Stanton looks forward to trying new things – advice he also hopes to pass on to the next generation.

“First, each of us needs to realize that we have value and that we can do absolutely amazing things if we really want to,” he said. “Second, if we keep trying, we can accomplish really difficult things. And finally, please remember, it is never too late to go and try something new. That’s what I did when I came here, and it’s what I will be doing next.”

Stanton leaves behind a legacy of not just academic excellence but of inspiration, kindness, and a contagious passion for learning. His presence at Law will be forever missed, but never forgotten. 

By Sebastian Beltran – Staff Reporter 

Mr. Lui teaches Civics and American Government and AP U.S. History at Jonathan Law.

But in his lessons he gives students real world knowledge they can use, like what to do when pulled over by the police and understanding their rights as citizens.

“I really enjoy teaching about political socialization – basically what influences the way people form their political beliefs,” Lui said. “It’s always a fun topic because students bring in such a wide range of opinions, whether they lean more conservative or liberal. Their personal stories and perspectives make the conversations way more meaningful.”

Lui teaches his students how to stay informed about the government, while helping them understand their role as citizens, especially in this age where politics and social media blend together.

“Because everything from TikTok to taxes involves the government in some way, students are growing up in a world with a lot of political division,” Lui said. “They need to understand how the system works so they can be informed”

Mr. Lui’s passion for teaching Civics comes from his personal interests and a desire to make a difference. 

“I’ve always liked history and politics,” Lui said. “Civics just felt like a good fit. Plus, I wanted to teach something that helps students understand their rights and responsibilities and how they can actually make a difference.”

Students said that Lui’s lessons are very relatable and memorable.

“One thing that really stuck with me in Mr. Lui’s class was about the importance of doing things the right way while still having fun and being creative,” junior Brian Gonzalez said. “He didn’t just teach me about Civics, he taught us how to think for ourselves, understand what we were learning, and enjoy the process. That balance between structure and creativity really made his class stand out.”

Lui tries to make his classes entertaining so that students better understand politics and the government. 

“I do my best to make the topics relatable,” Lui said. “It’s always fun teaching civics when there’s an election year. I also try to mix up the different types of activities we do in class.”

Lui’s Civics class is different from a typical government class.  

“Mr. Lui’s Civics class stands out because it teaches students practical skills, such as understanding their rights and how to act in real-life situations,” junior William Soda said. “He also makes the topics fun and easy to understand, including creative activities and encouraging open discussion. He also connects politics to everyday life, such as social media and taxes, helping students understand how the government affects them personally.”

By Aislyn McKernan – Social Media Editor

With the end of the year approaching, Advocate Social Media Editor interviewed Law Principal Mr. Darcy to reflect on the 2024-2025 school year. 

Aislyn McKernan: What was your favorite memory of this year?

Mr. Darcy: My favorite memory is talking to students in the TLC. Just getting to know them and seeing how I can help has been a good memory. 

AM: What are your goals for next year?

MD: My goals for next year are to continue to improve how we provide feedback and assess our students. 

AM: What goals did you meet this year?

MD: We met all of our goals this year related to teaching, communication, and other factors.

AM: What is your advice for the upcoming Class of 2029?

MD: The advice for the incoming Class of 2029 is to get involved with a club, activity, or sport. The more involved you are, the more successful you become. 

AM: What is your advice for the graduating Class of 2025?

MD: Stay connected to each other. Don’t let the fact that you are leaving JLHS disconnect you from the people you are close with now. 

AM: Are there any changes you want to make going into next year?

MD: This will depend on what is needed. We adapt and change based on the students and families we are working with. 

AM: Any summer plans?

MD: I’ll be working here at Law for some of the summer, but also have some exciting plans. Our family owns a house in Narragansett near the beach, so we will be there for two weeks. We are also going to Jamaica towards the end of July. 

AM: What was your biggest victory this year?

MD: Our biggest victory will be when our students walk across the stage on June 10th. We have supported this class as much as possible and now it’s time to see them grow into influential people in society. 

AM: What was your biggest challenge?

MD: Professionally speaking, my biggest challenge is always time. When you’re a Principal of a high school, you need to find time for all stakeholders. I feel I’ve done a good job with this, but can always look into finding different ways to use my time effectively to help all.

AM: Any last messages to the Class of 2025?

MD: Feel free to email me anytime after you leave JLHS. Update me on how you are doing and if I can help in anyway. 

By Abigail Merenda – Staff Reporter

The Jonathan Law Class of 2025 danced the night away at the annual Senior Prom. 

Senior Class Advisors Mrs. Francisco and Ms. Russell planned Prom, which was held at Anthony’s Ocean View. Post-Prom, which was held at the Sports Center of Shelton, was planned by a Post-Prom Committee of Law  parents. 

“Planning Prom was easy this year,” Francisco said. “Anthony’s Ocean View is a beautiful venue and didn’t need much planning on the decorations side. (Spanish teacher) Mrs. Trombetta worked her magic on the centerpieces, balloon arch, and welcome table. The Prom Committee agreed on a theme quickly and we had a great night overall.” 

All of the seniors had such an amazing time. Senior Taylor Coretti said she enjoyed the beach venue. 

“I enjoyed Prom because the venue was very nice,” Coretti said. “It had a nice beach and provided good food. It was fun spending time with my friends whether it was going on the beach, or dancing on the dance floor.” 

Senior Ella Franzman said that she made so many memories at Prom. Franzman spent much of her time at the driving range during Post-Prom. 

“Prom was such a fun night,” Franzman said. “I had so much fun hanging out with all of my friends, dancing and just enjoying every moment together. The energy was amazing, and we made so many memories. Post- Prom was just as great, we spent a lot of time at the driving range and we had so much fun.”

Senior Tessa Piselli loved spending the night dancing with her friends. 

“Prom was a very fun night,” Piselli said. “I had a good time with all of my friends” 

Law Principal Mr. Darcy said that he was thrilled so see the members of Class of 2025 enjoy themselves at Prom.

“I received very positive feedback about the Prom from students,” Darcy said. “Anthony’s was the perfect setting right on the beach by the water. The outside area was a nice location for students to relax in between dancing. The food was great and the students seemed to have a great time. We are looking into booking the same location for next year as well.” 

By Ella Franzman – Editor-in-Chief & Editorial Editor

Jonathan Law senior Deepika Chitirala was named Valedictorian for the Class of 2025.  

Chitirala, who will be attending The University of Texas at Austin in the fall of 2025, has compiled an outstanding resume in her time at Law. At UT Austin, Deepika will be majoring in Statistics and Data Science. 

“When I found out I had officially won the Valedictorian spot, I felt a mix of joy, pride, and relief,” Chitirala said. “It was the final culmination of all my years of hard work, late nights, and self-discipline, and that moment made it all worth it. I was proud to see my dedication recognized with the shining title and represented in such a meaningful way.” 

In Chitirala’s time at Law, she has taken 12 Advanced Placement courses including AP Computer Science Principles, AP Calculus AB, AP Computer Science A, AP Psychology, AP Macroeconomics, AP Latin, AP Environmental Science. She is a member and officer for many Honor Societies at Law, including the National Math Honor Society, Science Honor Society, Art Honor Society, Computer Science Honor Society, National English Honor Society, and Latin Honor Society.

Chitirala was also honored with the Bausch + Lomb Honorary Science Award in May 2024, The National Merit Commended Scholar in October 2024, and was an AP Scholar with Distinction Award in July 2024. 

“My first impression of Deepika as a ninth grader was that she was someone who was determined to succeed, was quiet and sort of kept to herself while doing really well in school,” Law Principal Mr. Darcy said. “Deepika has grown into a person who has a ‘quiet confidence’ about her. She not only does well in her classes, but has also opened up socially in our building while becoming a vocal leader in the Senior class.”

This marks the 11th consecutive year a female has been named Valedictorian, and the second year in a row that both the Valedictorian and Salutatorian are both female. 

Computer Science teacher Ms. Corriveau has had the privilege of teaching Chitirala all four years of high school, including two AP classes.

“I have had the relatively unique experience of having Deepika during every year of her high school career,” Corriveau said. “It has been an absolute pleasure of watching her grow not only as a student but as a conscientious, kind, and funny human being.”

Outside of school, Chitirala has also built an impressive resume. She serves as the President of The Greater New Haven Math League, she has been a Girl Scout for six years — where she was also awarded the Girl Scouts of Connecticut Daisy Dream Award in 2024. In addition, Deepika has contributed over 250 hours of volunteer service through various community organizations.

“Balancing rigorous classes, sports, club meetings, and work was complicated, but I managed everything by staying as organized as possible,” Chitirala said.” I always had a planner in my backpack to track my tasks, a whiteboard in my room to help me visualize upcoming deadlines, and a detailed calendar on my phone for all my activities and reminders. I also tried my best to maintain a journal, where I wrote my days, not just to document them, but as a way of keeping myself grounded and collected.”

When asked about her most memorable moments at Jonathan Law, Chitirala couldn’t pick just one. Instead, she highlighted her experience with Model U.N. 

“After four years in the club (three of them as an officer) and attending three NHSMUN conferences, I became part of a close-knit community of people who shared my interests in global issues and debate,” Chitirala said. “It was the perfect way to wrap up not only my senior year, but also a club that has been such a meaningful and defining part of my high school journey.”

As the top student in her class, Chitirala faced her share of challenges. She admitted that burnout and lack of motivation were some of the hardest hurdles. 

“Learning to break tasks into smaller and more manageable steps and setting boundaries helped me push through those moments and build healthier habits for the future,” Chitirala said. 

Chemistry teacher Ms. Turcotte, who was Chitirala’s teacher sophomore year and Science Club advisor for four years, said Chitirala has consistently demonstrated both academic excellence and strong leadership skills, especially in her role as President. 

“I did my best to make the most of my four years at Law, with each one bringing new memories and stories that I’ll always carry with me,” Chitirala said. “Now, as I’ve come to the end of high school, I appreciate everything I was able to experience and accomplish. While it’s a bittersweet feeling, I’m happy to close this meaningful chapter of my life and look forward to the next excitements.” 

By Harshitha Kothapalli – Editor-in-Chief

Jonathan Law High School has named senior Alexandra Fino as the Class of 2025 Salutatorian. 

Fino, who will attend the University of Connecticut this fall, has spent four years at Law building a strong academic and extracurricular foundation. She will continue her education studying subjects she’s deeply passionate about. 

“I am most excited about continuing my education at UConn and studying topics I am more passionate about,” Fino said. “I will be able to focus on specific topics and at a deeper level. I will also be exposed to a large number of new opportunities.”

In addition to maintaining academic excellence throughout her high school career, Fino has been involved in numerous school activities. She was captain of the volleyball team, Vice President of the National Honor Society, and Treasurer of the National English Honor Society. She is also a member of the Math, Science, and Spanish National Honor Societies. 

Her hard work and commitment were recognized with the Harvard Book Award, the SCC Scholar-Athlete Award, and Excellence Awards in Personal Finance, Geometry, AP Government, AP Language, and Pre-Calculus. She has also completed over 200 hours of community service. 

“Being Salutatorian feels rewarding,” Fino said. “Throughout my high school experience, I have worked very hard academically. Whether it was between late-night study sessions or doing my homework on a bus ride home during volleyball. I’ve held myself to a high standard, and earning this title feels as if all this work was worth it, and it was recognized.”

Fino shared that one of her biggest challenges was finding a balance between academics, extracurriculars, and personal time. 

“With taking more challenging courses, a lot of extracurriculars, and having a job, it was difficult to find a balance,” Fino said. “As much as I wanted to succeed academically and be involved in the school community, I also wanted to have time to spend with friends and loved ones. High school is such an important time to have fun and create memories, and I wanted to make sure to experience that as well.”

When asked about her most memorable experiences, Fino reflected on the value of both big accomplishments and small, everyday moments. 

“It is hard to pick the greatest experience when there have been several,” Fino said. “From holding back laughter with my friends in class or being named captain for volleyball, both the smallest and biggest events are so important to me.”

Fino credits much of her success to staying organized and motivated, especially when juggling leadership roles. 

“One method that has worked well for me is planning out everything I need to accomplish,” Fino said. “Whether it is in a planner, on my phone, or just in my head, having an idea of when everything needs to be done and how I will do so makes everything more possible. Staying organized is only half of it, but the other half, the more necessary half, is having the motivation to do what is needed.”

Above all, Fino looks back on her time at Jonathan Law with appreciation for the people and memories that shaped her.

“I enjoyed high school – not only was it a place where I was able to grow and learn academically, but it was also a place where I formed connections with some of the best people,” Fino said. “I’ve met some of my best friends in high school, whether it was through sports teams, clubs, or in class. I had a support system of peers, teachers, and administrators who only wanted to see me thrive. And lastly, I made some of the best memories during my time in high school that I will look back on.”

By Ella Hopkins-Gianotti and Anwita Puttam – Staff Reporters

The senior team won the National Honor Society’s annual Brain Bowl at Jonathan Law High School. 

The Brain Bowl is a annual event that NHS hosts to raise awareness as well as money for brain cancer research. This year, NHS raised $1,100 and donated it to The Cure Starts Now in honor of Finley Maguire. 

“I think that the results were great,” senior NHS member Madde Baranowsky said. “We had many donations and many people actually showed up to the event.”

The NHS has been planning for for the Brain Bowl since the beginning of the school year. It is a long process that includes voting on the themes, creating the tests and questions, making promotional videos, and raising money.

There were four competing teams – each team included four people – and the teams were split up by their grades. Each team put up a fight on stage answering academic and pop culture trivia questions, but the seniors beat the faculty team to win the competition.

“I wish the juniors had like done better but I’m glad like at least like one of the other classes won especially the seniors since i’m going to be a senior next year so now we have like a reputation to uphold,” junior Haliey Stephan said.

Even though they had the least amount of donation points to start the event, the freshman team answered enough questions to advance to the final round against the seniors. 

“Despite the freshman getting robbed of the win, it was such a fun experience that I know every student and contestant enjoyed taking part in,” freshman Vice President Cora Aikenhead said. “The fast-paced environment, responsive audience, and random questions kept everyone on the edge of their seats, and I can’t wait for next year’s Brain Bowl.”

The other two teams had also put up a strong fight for their spot.

“I was a bit disappointed that my team didn’t go on, but I was happy to see the freshmen team almost beat the seniors,” sophomore Everett Alogna said. 

In the end, the seniors had to face the teacher team which included Technology teacher Mr. Barcello.

“It’s always easier to answer the questions when you’re in the seats and then it’s completely different, it seems like, when you get on stage, because it’s more stressful,” Barcello said.

History teacher Mr. Roumeles enjoyed his time as a member of the teacher team.

“It was just a good time overall because the competition was really strong,” Roumeles said.

By Taylor Mola – Staff Reporter

Students from the Jonathan Law Choir attended a Broadway workshop on April 9 and saw the musical “Moulin Rouge.”

“We went to Sony Music Hall which gave students an opportunity to sing with their peers from other states and learn new vocal technicals in the style of musical theater,” Choir Director Mrs. Jones said. “They also get the opportunity to be lead, directed and guided by professional performers that are on Broadway right now either that are in the pit band or actors on stage with leads that they are preforming right now.”

The students went there to be able to enjoy the show but to also partake in a workshop with broadway members before the show. This gave students a chance to learn from some professionals and see what its like to be a broadway actor and got a big learning experience by the end of the day.

“We took a train to New York and we walked all the way to a workshop building where we sang with some of the cast from the play”, Assistant Manager Lexi Velez said. “After we did our workshop shop we all went our separate ways in groups for lunch before the show.”

The Choir ate at Ellen Stardust which was an interactive diner with lots of singing and dancing opportunities.

“My favorite part of the trip had to be Ellen Stardust because it had really good food and everyone was singing around me,” junior Ross Dejusti said.

Students took away many important lessons from the trip.

“I took away that if you work hard towards your dream of performing on stage one day you will be able to,” sophomore Ava Daniele said.

The Broadway members at the workshop taught students how to expand their singing and also showed them different ways that they can add to what they already know and do.

“My favorite part was exploring different types of music and singing with some of the people on Broadway,” sophomore Lexi Localzo said.

After the workshop, the Choir saw a live performance of “Moulin Rouge.” During the show, there were also a lot of performer interactions with the crowd.

“The show itself was my favorite part but more towards the end of the show was cool because we got to see confetti shoot out from behind us as it was ending,” Daniele said. 

By Aiden Ramos and Christian Galligan – Staff Reporters

The Jonathan Law Key Club hosted its third annual Kickball Tournament on April 13 on the Law softball field.

Twelve kickball teams faced off against each other and the Grazers were named champions for the third consecutive year. There was a $5 entry fee for the co-ed tournament.

“The money raised goes towards Camp Sunshine,” Key Club Vice President Kayla Markowitz said. “Camp Sunshine is a summer camp up in Maine that provides free support for children with life threatening illnesses and their families” 

Other Key Club officers and staff members assisted with the scoreboard, pitching, umpiring, collecting donations, taking pictures, and overall making the fundraiser run smoothly.

“My favorite part of the Kickball Tournament is the sense of community it creates,” Dean of Students Mr. Ragaini said. “Everyone comes together, whether they’re playing, cheering, or volunteering, all for an amazing cause. There’s so much energy and positivity, and it’s inspiring to see people having fun while making a real difference for Camp Sunshine.:

The Championship Game came down to JDubs Elite against The Grazers, and after a hard fought battle, The Grazers were crowned champions. 

“Our strategy for winning is that we try to hold teams to less than 10 runs,” senior Alex Rodriguez said. “That’s a number that we know we can beat. Our kicking strategy is to have two or three people get on base and have a stronger kicker try and clear the bases.”

“To make our team better next year we need to build our team chemistry up and have a better strategy on the offensive side,” sophomore Amilio Vendetti said. “If we get that all together, you don’t want to see us next year.”

Regardless of winning or losing, all teams had a great time and felt even better knowing what the money they spent went to.

“I would say the tournament was super fun for everyone involved, and it appeared everyone had a good time playing with and against their friends,” Senior Key Club President Addy Barber said.  

The tournament has hopes to continue into next year and will be looking to crown a new champion, as the Grazers are a team full of seniors.

Overall, members of the Key Club and faculty volunteers were proud of the turnout and the money raised during this year’s tournament.

“The Key Club did an incredible job as always planning this year’s event,” English teacher Mr. Kulenych said. “The tournament ran smoothly, the games were competitive, and most importantly, we came together as a school community to help a great cause.”

By Kishal Shah – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s Senior Prom will take place on Saturday, May 17, at Anthony’s Ocean View in New Haven.

The theme for the 2025 Prom is “Spring By The Shore” to celebrate the welcoming of spring and to keep in theme with the venue location.  

For those who choose to attend, Post-Prom will be held directly afterwards, at the Shelton SportsCenter, from 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.

In preparation for the event, the Prom Committee, consisting of Student Council members and seniors who have volunteered their time, helped to plan and communicate the theme and itinerary for the evening.

Senior class secretary Madelyn Baranowsky played a vital role regarding Prom preparations and planning. 

“My biggest piece of advice is to start prepping for Prom earlier than you think you need to,” Baranowsky said. “There are so many things that need to get done and you don’t want to be scrambling at the last minute.”

Baranowsky added that an essential aspect of planning {rom was time management and spacing out responsibilities.

“Make appointments early, and try to have somewhat of an idea of what you want your look to be so that you have time to decide,” Baranowsky added. 

Baranowsky also provided a breakdown of her outfit and what directed the style she chose!

“I didn’t have much inspiration behind my look – I just knew some key features that I wanted,” Baranowsky said. “Sparkles and beading were something that I really wanted, as well as having a fitted top and a flowy bottom.”

Prom has been historically known as an event to showcase art through fashion and clothing, and every attendee’s outfit incorporates personal style, while also paying tribute to the theme.

Senior Class Vice President Sunaina Khan has played an essential role in deciding the theme for the 2025 Senior Prom. 

“The Senior Prom Committee came together to decide on a beach-y and summery theme since spring was right around the corner,” Khan said. “Our Prom location this year is at Anthony’s Ocean View, which definitely played a factor into it as well since it has a beautiful waterfront.”

Senior class president Sarah Ahmed also worked concurrently with Khan to promote the theme for the event.

“Since the venue was at the beach we wanted the advertising and the venue to be beach themed, with it also tying into the spring season,” Ahmed said.

As Vice President, Khan also managed the responsibility of setting budgets and managing expenses for the event. 

“One of the biggest challenges has been managing costs and making sure we have enough funding to cover everything we want our seniors to experience,” Khan said. “Some of our Student Council meetings were entirely focused on allocating funds to make this Prom as memorable as possible.”

Ahmed looks forward to her own plans for the day of Prom, which includes spending time with friends prior to the event. 

“I plan on getting my nails done in the morning, going to buy flowers and make bouquets with my friends, and then getting ready at my house while listening to music or watching a TV show,” Ahmed said. 

Senior Elijah Dos Santos believes the most memorable aspect of the “Prom experience” is to celebrate amongst friends.

“As a kid, I imagined Prom being this huge, magical night, kind of like a Disney movie, with everyone dressed perfectly,” Dos Santos said. “Now that I’m older, I realize it’s probably more about enjoying time with friends, making memories, and just having fun.”

Senior Taylor Corretti will be one of the attendees at Post-Prom, and shared that she is looking forward to the games and social aspects of Post-Prom. 

“I plan on going ice skating, putting tickets in for raffles and probably go to the driving range,” Coretti said. “I think all of these activities will make the night even more memorable.” 

By Cora Aitkenhead and Dani Kotansky – Staff Reporters 

Jonathan Law hosted the annual Junior Cotillion on April 11 at the Patterson Club in Fairfield. 

The dance was a success for all students who attended and Principal Mr. Darcy felt the night was a great opportunity for the kids to unwind and have a fun night. 

“We became educators to support and celebrate our students,” Darcy said. “Holding events like this, allows us to show our students that we appreciate them as people, not just a student at JLHS.”

Junior Class President Layla Alogna found the venue to be a perfect fit for the junior class. 

“It was a beautiful place that took my breath away as I walked in,” Alogna said. ”Everything was beautifully decorated with pastel colors in the spirit of the beginning of spring.” 

One of Cotillion’s organizers, Law math teacher Ms. Loch, was pleasantly surprised about the event’s turnout. 

“I felt like students enjoyed the Cotillion and the new venue we found (The Patterson Club),” Loch said.

Alogna also spoke on the impact that the dance had not only at the venue, but on the days leading up to Cotillion. 

“Law holds events like this for the students to give them a night to enjoy and bond with their peers,” Alogna said. “In the days leading up, all the students were excited, which brought a positive energy to the school. Dances are also great fundraisers for their respective classes.”

Junior Kayla Markowitz also enjoyed the dance and appreciated the fun spirit of the event, allowing the junior class to let loose despite their end-of-year stresses. 

“I had a great time at Cotillion because I got to have a fun night with my friends and classmates outside of school,” Markowitz said. “I would say that my favorite part of Cotillion was dancing because everyone was having a good time together and got to forget about our school stresses for a night.”

By Matthew Sanchez – Staff Reporter

The annual Jonathan Law Key Club Kickball Tournament to benefit Camp Sunshine will be held on Sunday, April 13.

The kickball tournament is a fun, competitive, and enjoyable event for all participants. Multiple teams will be competing for the honor of lifting a trophy and other prizes. The co-ed tournament is open to all Law students as well as anyone in the Milford community.

“I think everyone who participates in the tournament would have so much fun,” Key Club President Addison Barber said. “Whoever doesn’t play is missing out on a fun game with your friends, not to mention we have a trophy and prizes.” 

Sophomore Ethan Pannella said that he’ is excited to participate in the event. 

“I honestly can’t wait to go to the tournament,” Pannella said. “I’ll be able to have so much fun with my friends while also competing against others to win the whole thing.”

Freshman Marcos Tepetl loves the competitive aspect of the tournament.

“For me personally, the best part about the whole tournament is having the ability to create your own team with your friends,” Tepetl said. “While also being able to compete against others, all in the hopes to win the trophy.” 

This tournament allows Law students of all ages to play. Law staff members will be also in attendance to help the competition run smoothly.

“The Kickball Tournament really brings in the Jonathan Law community,” freshman Vincenzo Mannino said. “It allows groups of people to work together as one, and getting as far as they get together.” 

Freshman Adrian Vitale is looking forward to competing and helping a worthy cause.

“I think that the tournament will be a great activity to get the Law community together,” Vitale said. “We’re competing for a good cause and also to win the entire event.”

By Ella Hopkins-Gianotti – Staff Reporter

Law recently celebrated National Pi Day with its annual Pi-lympics.

On March 6th and 7th, students from the National Math Honors Society (NMHS) came to every math class to have classes compete in the Pi-lympics for the chance to win the Pi-lympics trophy and a breakfast party. Five events took place this year. 

“We celebrate Pi Day because it is one of the most fascinating math numbers there is in math,” NMHS Advisor Mr. Ruzbarsky said. “It’s an irrational number that cannot be written as a fraction and is the ratio of the circumference to the diameter. As an Honor Society, we also celebrate it because it’s fun to do math and everyone else can enjoy math like we do.”

Mrs. Hull’s period 4 class was the winner of this year’s competition for the second year in a row. Their win was rewarded with a pancake breakfast party and the Pi-lympics trophy.

“I am so excited and proud of my class for winning the Pi-lympics again this year,” Hull said, “My class worked hard to prepare by memorizing pi and drawing circles. Ruz and the NMHS did a great job, as always, organizing the event this year, and all of the math classes showed great spirit and effort.”

This year, the NMHS decided to donate to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Two donation goals were met, leading to Ruzbarsky and math teacher Mrs. Francisco getting pied in the face on an episode of The Morning Briefing.

“This year we raised $470 to go to the St. Jude’s Foundation,” said Ruzbarsky 

There were a variety of games like Drawing the Best Circle, Guess How Many Are In A Jar, Memorizing Digits Of Pi, and Math and Pi Word Challenges. Students could get bonus points by baking a pie, by making pi-related art, and by donating.

“We had to come up with a few new competitions, one of them being the math challenges,” Senior NMHS Officer Madelyn Baranowsky said. “The Pi-lympics helps get everyone more involved with math and creates friendly competition.”

There were even a couple of competitions in which records were broken.

“Most notably, this year we had the most digits of consecutive Pi remembered broken this year with 136 – the previous record was 105,” Ruzbarsky said.

The students in Mrs. Hull’s Period 4 class took lots of time in preparation to get ready for the Pi-lympics.

“I memorized 75 digits of Pi,” freshman Emma Bonanno said. “I used ASAPSCINCE’s pi song. I liked learning the song because it was catchy.” 

This year, the games were run a bit differently than in previous years.

“Two years ago, we ran the Pi-lympics in the New Gym, inviting groups of math classes to come to the room together and move around to try all the activities,” NMHS President Deepika Chitarala said. “With this style, classes didn’t have a set amount of time, and collecting points was a little more complicated, instead this year, we opted to bring the events to the classrooms instead, allowing us to create a more controlled environment and even the playing field for all the math classes at Law.”

Since the games were set up in classrooms, each student was trying to get a better score than their peers.

“I got a 93% on the perfect circle game,” freshman Dylan Gaillard said. “I found it more fun because it was competitive.”

A new way of having the players compete in the competitions meant lots of planning from the NMHS.

“The NMHS officers spent a lot of time talking with Ruz and figuring out how to get everyone excited over this infinite number we call pi,” NMHS Officer Fiorella Gargiulo said. “We brainstormed ideas and ways to market the two block days to get everyone ready for one of my favorite parts of the year.”

Students and teachers participated in the events and all had an amazing time.

“My favorite part of the Pi-lympics is watching teachers and their students get super excited and nerdy over math,” Gargiulo said. “When people are bringing in baked goods or memorizing the digits of pi, it makes the event so much more fun.”

By Taylor Mola – Staff Reporter

The Model U.N. Club recently traveled to the National High School Model United Nations Conference which was held in New York City from March 12-15.

This U.N. conference was the largest in the world with over 3,500 students from over 70 countries attending. It was filled with many memorable experiences and learning opportunities for the students, and it taught them how to act as delegates from countries.

“This year we represented Indonesia, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago,” Co-Advisor Ms. Healy said.

To prepare for the trip, students spent the year writing research papers, learning about their assigned country and committee, and practicing their debate skills and public speaking. 

“Before the trip, we worked on preparing for the conference as best as possible,” President Senior Deepika Chitirala said. “This included each delegate writing a position paper on their assigned topic from their country’s perspective. We also studied parliamentary debate styles and learned the common vocabulary used by the chairs leading the sessions and by fellow delegates.”

One of he highlights of the trip was an in-person appearance from former President Joe Biden, who spoke about from him about his  journey through politics and public service. He also took questions from the audience.

Students gained many important skills from their time in New York.

“I got better at public speaking as I would have to regularly go in front of over 100 people and speak, as well as the opportunity to talk to people from all across the world,” junior Aryan Sikhinam said. “On this trip, I got to debate topics that affect the world and try to make a change in how legislation affects places around the world.”

At the conference, Law students spent 20 hours in their sessions with other students from all around the world. Every student was roleplaying as a delegate from a different country that they were assigned to, and had to work cooperatively to solve different international issues.

“The results of this trip are that all of our students’ committees passed resolutions to address these international issues,” Co-Advisor Mr. Evanko said. “Students also made friends from around the world and had fun expanding their debate and research skills.”

By Abigail Merenda – Staff Reporter 

The Sophomore Ring Dance was held on March 7 at the Race Brook Country Club in Orange. 

The dance was filled with many memories and enjoyable experiences for the sophomore class.

“My favorite part of the night was when a lot of kids were in the lobby of the country club and we were playing the piano and singing songs,” sophomore Courtney Russo said. “I also enjoyed dancing with the class and just spending time together.”

The sophomore class officers took months to plan this dance in order for everyone to have a good time.

“Planning the dance was fun,” sophomore Talia Hagan said. “We just bounced ideas off of each other. What was more fun than planning it through was seeing it in person and everyone enjoying it.” 

The class officers loved to see everyone having a good time after a long year of planning. 

“My favorite part about planning the sophomore ring dance was definitely seeing everyone’s reaction to the dance,” sophomore Amilio Venditti said. “It took us all year to plan.”  

The sophomore class only had amazing things to say about the dance 

“I had a lot of fun,” sophomore Katherine Wong said. “I thought it was run well and was a good amount of time I liked the food and music and thought the whole dance was a really good time.”

Law Principal Mr. Darcy said it was evident that everyone was having a good time. 

“The feedback that I received from both students and staff was that it was a fun evening for all,” Darcy said. “I saw students having fun, singing, dancing and just overall having a great time all night.”

By Logan Mullarkey – Sports Editor

Jonathan Law’s National English Honor Society (NEHS) and Quill and Scroll Honor Society recently held their induction ceremonies.

NEHS and Quill and Scroll have provided students with opportunities to engage in reading, writing, and journalism. These organizations not only recognize academic achievement but also encourage students to use their skills to give back to the community.

NEHS, in its first year at Law, has already made an impact.

“This year, the NEHS organized a Book Drive in the fall,” English teacher and NEHS Advisor Mrs. Lucia said. “We donated a few boxes of books to the Beth El shelter as a result of the donations from people here at Law.”

In addition to the book drive, NEHS members will visit local elementary schools this spring as “Guest Readers” to promote literacy among younger students. The organization also encourages creative writing and participation in contests, with plans to expand its activities next year.

“This was our first year, and there is so much the organization offers that we needed this year to see what would fit with our community here at Law,” senior Julia Ryan added.

Quill and Scroll, an International Honor Society for high school journalists, continues to support student reporters at Law.

“Quill and Scroll provides opportunities for students to engage with journalism beyond the classroom by offering contests and scholarships,” Journalism teacher and Quill and Scroll Advisor Mr. Kulenych said. “It’s a platform that recognizes and supports young journalists, fostering their skills and passion for journalism.”

The society recognizes and fosters young journalists by providing them with resources, competitions, and networking opportunities. Students who have completed Journalism 1 and rank in the top 25% of their class are eligible for induction into Quill and Scroll, further motivating them to excel in journalism.

“Being part of Quill and Scroll gives us a chance to take journalism more seriously and get recognized for our work,” senior Cesar Mendez said. “It’s great to have a community that supports student writers and reporters.”

Both NEHS and Quill and Scroll offer students the chance to refine their writing skills while making a difference in their community. Whether through storytelling, reporting, or service projects, these organizations continue to strengthen literacy and journalism at Law.

By Will Smith and Tim Firla – Entertainment Editors

The Class of 2029 has begun its transition from middle school into high school.

A group of incoming freshmen came to Law on February 25 to learn about the many different electives that are offered. After a presentation in the auditorium, students moved to the Old Gym where they visited booths for Food Service, Wood Tech, Choir, Journalism, Robotics, and many more.

The Food Service tent was one of the most popular. Students in the class gave out free samples of freshly-made pancakes and of several desserts that are made in the class.

“The simple pleasures of life such as food are an easy road to happiness and satisfaction,” senior Lucas Brotherton said. “And through us, they discovered they could build their high school career while also enjoying it.”

Law’s Journalism and Broadcast Journalism classes showed off articles they have written, FOX 61 Student News videos they created, and episode of the Morning Briefing.

Junior Advocate Editor-in-Chief Kayla Markowitz was excited to introduce incoming freshmen about Law’s Journalism program.

“Our goal was to reach out to incoming freshmen and show them what the Advocate has to offer,” Markowitz said. “I wanted to help recruit incoming students because I know how hard it is to get involved when starting something new and it always helps to have upperclassmen encourage you.”

Senior Nate Pacelli was part of the Wood Shop and Engineering table to showcase the opportunities students could have to learn in a different type of class environment.

“Having had the opportunity to take a Woodworking class and explain it to incoming freshmen was very fun,” Pacelli said. “It is a class that is very different from any other classes within the school. It is a very hands-on experience getting to use all different types of tools like saws, nails, and screws. You can learn all types of things from these classes, as well as an opportunity to see if it is a type of field you would want to pursue in the future.”

By Courtney Russo and Madi Black – News Editors

The Jonathan Law Science Club competed in its second Olympiad of the year at UConn on Saturday, March 22.

Law’s first Olympiad took place at Harvard University last month. The team is led by two science teachers, Ms. Turcotte and Mr. Stanton. Science teachers Mrs. Gagnon, Mrs. Bouchard, and Intern Mr. Lippert also joined the team on the trip.

“I enjoy the invitational events for many reasons,” Turcotte said. “The first reason is that we don’t have to run the events (at the state we work all day running and scoring events) which allows us to interact more with our students and watch them compete in the engineering events.”

At UConn, Law competed against 42 other teams. Their A team placed 11th overall and the B team placed 16th.

Many students on these teams won medals in their events. Two teams placed in the Write It, Do It category – senior Maddy Baranowsky and senior Sana Joshi took second place and senior Deepika Chitirala and junior Harshitha Kothapalli finished third. 

Two other teams placed in the Electric Vehicle category. Senior Matthew Berndt and sophomore Liam Snow finished second and junior David Guery and junior Aryan Sikhinam took fourth.

“In Electric Vehicle, you have to come up with a car that moves and brakes all by itself,”  Sikhinam said. “You don’t know where it needs to stop until the day of the event, so we have to test out a bunch of different distances.”

The club rotates between competing at Harvard, Brown, and MIT in the winter and competing at UConn in the spring. The Winter Invitational allows the team to improve for the spring Olympiad.

“I prepared by testing different scenarios so that my partner and I could compete with known problems, knowing we were prepared,” Guery said.

Some of the events requires students to take a test (Anatomy, Astronomy), while some require a test and lab (Chem Lab, Forensics, Materials Science), some involve a test that revolve around stations (Fossils, Rocks and Minerals) and others are engineering events where students must design, build and test something (Tower, Bungee, Helicopter, Electric Vehicle). 

“For Entomology, we had to identify real samples of bugs,” sophomore Sadie Timmeny said. “Once we identified them, we had to answer questions about them.”

Some additional highlights from the Olympiad included freshman Ziad Elsayed and junior Kayla Markowitz placing sixth in the Robot Tour event, sophomore Jeremiah Dos Santos and Elsayed placing seventh in the Helicopter event, senior Deepika Chitirala and Markowitz placing ninth in Geological Mapping, and Chitirala and junior Fiorella Gargiulo finishing ninth in Wind Power.

By Anwita Puttam – Staff Reporter

Senior Sarah Gutierrez and junior Lexi Velez were both recently accepted into the CMEA All-State Honors Festival.

The Honors Festival is a large Choir social event where students audition to get into Regionals, but only a select few get accepted into States. Those lucky students get to participate in the CMEA States Choir.

“I am beyond thrilled that two of our amazing Law choir students got into the CMEA All State Honors Festival, particularly this year – it was highly competitive because they took fewer students,” Choir Director Ms. Jones said. “To know out of thousands of students in the state our students were chosen is quite an honor and accomplishment.”

This year is Gutierrez’s last year in the Jonathan Law Choir and was her final chance to get accepted into CMEA. Gutierrez had the highest score out of all the CMEA participants from the Law Choir this year.

“Experience with CMEA is definitely interesting and keeps you occupied, you get to meet fun people and collaborate with musicians across the Southern Region of Connecticut and you meet wonderful directors who are very nice and talented,” Gutierrez said. “For CMEA last and this year I got a 192/198 and for All-State I got a 193/198. I am definitely proud of these scores since I think that these types of scores are very challenging to achieve and it takes a lot to be able to be ranked this high so I’m very happy.”

Velez posted a score of 180/198 at her audition which qualified her for the festival. She was an All-State participant last year as well.

“I am very excited for States because it is an experience that I would never want to miss,” Velez said. “I love and enjoy singing, so for me this is a huge accomplishment. I’m so excited to be able to see everyone and to be able to do this experience again for my second time.”

By Harshitha Kothapalli – Editor-in-Chief

Senior Advocate Editor-in-Chief Ella Franzman was recently named the New England Scholastic Press Association’s 2025 Connecticut High School Journalist of the Year.

Franzman was one of 17 students named to NESPA’s All-New England Journalism Team. The goal of NESPA, which based out of Boston University’s College of Communications, is to promote all forms of student Journalism, such as student newspapers, broadcast programs, yearbooks, and magazines.

Franzman was chosen out of a group of other aspiring journalists across Connecticut and New England for this esteemed award. Franzman has been passionate about Journalism, especially Sports Journalism, for as long as she can remember. Her love for sports was nurtured through years of watching games with her family. 

“I think I’ve always kind of known that I wanted to work in sports for my future,” Franzman said. “When I was younger I was always watching sports with my dad or grandfather so it’s always been in my life. But, I really knew about my passion for Journalism after my freshman year, after taking Journalism 1.”

Taking Journalism 1 at Law allowed Franzman to explore the field in depth as she found a way to combine her love for sports with her newfound passion for Journalism. 

As Editor-in-Chief of The Advocate, Franzman has had a chance to develop her skills beyond writing. Her leadership within the newspaper has made a significant impact, always guiding fellow writers to strive for excellence. 

Franzman has utilized her time in high school to grow her Sports Broadcasting and Journalism career. She remembers some of her most exciting moments announcing school events. 

“Being able to announce the Thanksgiving Day football games have been an amazing part of my career so far,” Franzman said. 

When Franzman was recognized by by NESAP for her accomplishments, she was beyond thrilled. 

“I feel so, so, honored,” Franzman said. “I know that a lot of other amazing journalists from Connecticut applied so I am not only grateful to have been named Connecticut High School Journalist of the Year but also to be awarded as the only Connecticut Journalist on the All-New England Team is truly an incredible honor.”

The process of applying for the recognition she received was no small feat. Franzman poured hours of effort, working on her application with guidance from Law’s journalism teacher, Mr. Kulenych. The process required submitting transcript and letters of recommendation, writing a personalized essay, and creating an online portfolio showcasing her four years of work at Jonathan Law. 

Journalism teacher Mr. Kulenych praised Franzman for her hard work and dedication.

“Ella contributes to The Advocate not only with the content she creates but more importantly, with the leadership she shows in and out of class,” Kulenych said. “If something needs to get done, I know that Ella will get it done effectively and in a timely fashion.”

Franzman’s future in Journalism continues this fall. She will attend Syracuse University, where she will study Broadcast and Digital Journalism at the renowned Newhouse Communications School. 

“I’m super excited to be attending Syracuse – the program they have at the Newhouse Communications School is just so prestigious, so I’m super excited to get to campus in the fall,” she said.

Her ultimate goal is to become a sideline reporter for the NFL, and she is determined to make that dream a reality. 

As Franzman prepares to leave Jonathan Law and start the next chapter of her journey, her dedication to journalism and her future is unmistakable. She has already built a strong foundation and is eager to take her skills to college and beyond.

Whether she’s covering a football game or editing an article, Franzman’s enthusiasm for journalism continues to shine through in everything she does.

“Ella has excelled as a student journalist because of her work ethic and the dedication she puts into all of her content,” Kulenych said. “Whether she is writing an article, editing a video news story, managing a social media account, or creating graphics, she works so hard to make the final product look professional. She is always looking for new projects, always coming up with new ideas, and her enthusiasm for journalism is a great example for the other students in the class. Syracuse is getting a future journalism star and I can’t wait to see how her journalism journey continues.”

By Aislyn McKernan – Social Media Editor 

Jonathan Law’s SAVE Promise Club participated in “Say Something Week” during the week of March 3-7.  

The club decided to participate in this week to encourage people to talk about mental health and speak up if they see someone who is struggling. 

“The club decided to do Say Something Week because it holds a very important message,” Junior Vice President Sarah McCann said. “We want everyone to learn the warning signs of someone who may be in danger of harming themselves or others and for people to know there are safe spaces around the school, that’s why we emphasize trusted adults.”

Members said the week was successful and that it created a safe space between teachers and students. On Trusted Adult Tuesday, many teachers wore Trusted Adult sunglasses and were awarded a Trusted Adult Award.

“My favorite part of this week was the Trusted Adult posters,” junior Ava Ambrusco said. “I think it was a great way to show your trusted adult, that they are your trusted adult.”

There were many activities for all classes to do throughout the week. Club Advisor Ms.Healy said the activities helped to spread a powerful message.

“I feel like the week went well,” Healy said. “Students really enjoyed the positive messages posted around the building, wearing their PJs to school, and everyone loves the fun glasses that get passed around.”

Sophomore August Oliveira participated in many activities throughout the week to show her support for SAVE and to spread awareness. 

“I really enjoyed the different activities I did and thought they were a good way to get everyone involved,”  Oliveira said. “I would definitely participate in this week again.”

By Ella Franzman – Editor-In-Chief and Haley Stroffolino – Social Media Editor-In-Chief

A group of students from Jonathan Law High School, including athletes, winter sports captains, and club leaders, went to Mathewson Elementary school on February 28 for National Read Across America Day. 

The Law students went to various classrooms where they had the opportunity to read to many different students. They were able to talk to the students, find out each other’s interests and enjoy reading. 

“I think my favorite part of Read Across America Day would be seeing the joy and excitement that reading brings to my students,” Mathewson second grade teacher Amy Bugge said. “It’s a day dedicated to celebrating books and stories, which is such a wonderful way to inspire imagination, learning, and curiosity in everyone. Having former students come back to read to my class has created such a meaningful connection between the past and present.” 

Many Law students attended Mathewson Elementary School, so many were looking forward to visiting their old school and seeing familiar faces. Others were excited to be able to see younger siblings. 

“I wanted to participate because I have a little sister at Mathewson and know how much it means to the kids when they see high schoolers come and read to them,” senior Aryanna Maldonado said. “I really wanted to bring a smile to their faces.”

Maldonado, who is a captain on the cheerleading team, was not only happy to see her sister, but was excited to go and read with her friends. 

“I was excited to go to Mathewson because I wanted to engage with the students and help them learn,” senior Tessa Piselli said. “I hoped the students had fun and potentially learned something from me.”

Many students at Mathewson were eager to be able to learn something new from the Law students. 

“Participating in the Read Across America day was rewarding because after seeing how much it impacted the kids and how excited they were interacting with the older athletes,” senior Chloe Konareski said. “It was so special to see and was a great opportunity to do something so small that will impact others so much.” 

Since 2018, students from Law and Joseph A. Foran High School have gone to Mathewson to read to the elementary students to celebrate RAM Day. 

“I believe RAM day is important because it celebrates literacy and brings awareness to the multitude of ways books create lifelong memories,” Law special education teacher Mrs. Drew said.

By Matthew Sanchez – Staff Reporter 

Law’s Black Student Union is a club that unites all Black students and creates a safe space, while simultaneously showcasing the accomplishments of Black people over the course of history. 

In the Black Student Union, there are activities for members, educational school-wide events, and field trips. Throughout the month of February, members of the BSU appeared on the Morning Briefing, and on March 6, the BSU sponsored a school-wide Advisory activity about Black history.

“Students should join the Black Student Union for community within our school environment as well as community within Milford,” Junior Black Student Union President Abigail Jenkins said. “In BSU, we get to spend time together as a unified club, as well as organize school-wide events and panels. During our meetings, we like to plan for future events, enjoy snacks and food, and do activities that promote Black culture.”

Jenkins said her goal is that the club brings students together while promoting Black culture.

Senior Black Student Union Co-President Sarah Ahmed believes one of the main missions of the club is to provide students a place for discussion.

“The mission of the club is to give students a safe space,” Ahmed said. “One where we can discuss our struggles, our history, and educate others on what it’s like to walk in the shoes of someone who is constantly misrepresented not only in the media, but within our own school.”

Junior Kiara Tavarez explained why she joined the Black Student Union and why others should join too. 

“I joined the Black Student Union because it provided a safe space and community for people of color,” Tavarez said. “Other students should join for a space to talk with others about their experiences and build a community.”

Senior Maximilian Akuffo described the club as very welcoming and inviting.

“I think this is a friendly and inviting environment where students can be themselves and create meaningful connections with each other,” Akuffo said. “Everyone is good company and it is a safe space to bring up any views and perspectives you have regarding race in our community.”

Sophomore Jenesis Michel said one of the most important messages of the club is education.

“I believe that the message of the club is to share and educate people about Black culture,” said Michel.

(The following is a personal account of freshman Cora Aitkenhead’s recent trip to Costa Rica as a member of the Builders Beyond Borders service organization.)

By Cora Aitkenhead – Staff Reporter

Builders Beyond Borders (B3) is a service organization that works with students from middle school and high school to perform small community service, as well as annual large service projects in South & Central American countries. This year the organization has been taking highschool students to Costa Rica where we built community center’s for two different communities. 

The organization consists of 5 teams: Odyssey, Amanecer, Equipo Esperanza, Rock-It, and B3 Local (no traveling middle school team). I am a part of the Odyssey team. 

In Tarise, Costa Rica – a community so small the airport had never heard of it – the Odyssey team of 19 students began building a community center that would be used for adult education services. The trip was 8 days long and most importantly, cell phones are prohibited. Out of 19 students, I was the only one from Jonathan Law and the other 18 attend Weston High School and Staples High School. I was nervous that I wouldn’t get to know the team, but the lack of phones made me closer with these kids in one day than I am with most people I’ve known for years. 

Our typical day consisted of a 6:30 a.m. wake up, 7:00 a.m. breakfast, 8:00 a.m. worksite, 12:00 p.m. lunch, 4:30 p.m. leave worksite, followed by some type of community play/downtime/excursion, 7:00 p.m. dinner, and three hours of downtime. The work we did included: moving gravel and hand mixing cement; digging trenches to run electrical wire through; building rebar as the building support structures; carrying/laying cinder blocks; filling cement cracks between blocks; etc. 

Doing labor work and mixing cement for eight hours a day, in the blazing heat, while getting your limbs destroyed by bug bites, isn’t something that is supposed to be fun. But that is why this trip altered my perception of what it truly means to be happy. My happiness had always been derived from having things whether it be security, authority, or receiving items I had no need for. On this trip I had nothing but a team and some shovels, and I can’t think of a time I did have a smile on my face. Parts of me felt guilty that I hadn’t missed anything back at home. But when you are in a beautiful country having the time of your life with your new best friends, how could you possibly miss back home. 

Aside from our eight hour work days, we got to play soccer games with the local kids, we got to go to a beautiful beach where we fed oranges to wild capuchin monkeys, we got to visit a natural pool/waterfall, and even got to see coffee plantations and pineapple farms. Every insecurity or worry I ever had about doing something out of my comfort zone vanished at the thought of, “When will I ever have the chance to do this in Costa Rica again?”

While the experience of building this community center and being immersed in Costa Rican culture was unforgettable, the connections I made beyond language barriers and even just with my team are worth more than anything. There’s a famous quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson that reads, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” But if I’ve learned anything from this trip, it’s that it’s not the destination, it’s not the journey, it’s the company. 

Like I said, when it’s written on paper this trip sounds more like a task than a fun time. But I’ve learned that you’ll learn more in one day of poverty and discomfort than you will in a lifetime of riches and power. This trip evokes one of those feelings you can’t understand until you have it, and then even when you have it you can’t quite understand it. 

By Sebastian Beltran – Staff Reporter 

Spanish teacher Mrs. Trombetta is one of the most influential educators in the Jonathan Law community.

Trombetta is known for her passion for teaching and her ability to make learning a new language both fun and engaging for students.

What makes Trombetta stand out is her ability to build strong relationships with her students, and most importantly, she takes the time to get to know their individual learning styles and interests and uses creative methods to teach them.

“My approach to teaching Spanish includes practical, conversational skills rather than just solely focusing on grammar,” Trombetta said. “It incorporates immersive techniques, allowing students to engage with authentic materials like songs, movies, news clips, and social media in Spanish. Culture is also a focal point of my teaching. By encouraging real-life conversations and active participation, my goal is to foster an environment where language learning feels natural and relevant to daily life.”

Trombetta’s goal is to incorporates real-world scenarios and cultural experiences into her lessons.

“For example, students may engage in role-playing activities that simulate ordering food at a restaurant or traveling in a Spanish-speaking country,” Trombetta said. “We also learn, discuss and reflect upon real life events (from past and present), cultural celebrations and experiences.”

Trombetta’s love for the Spanish language dates back to when she was a student herself.

“I grew up speaking Italian, which helped me greatly in my study of Spanish because I was able to make linguistic comparisons between the two languages,” Trombetta said. “I studied Spanish for many years in school, including in college where I spent one year studying at La Universidad de Salamanca in Spain. This is where I truly learned the language and culture by becoming completely immersed in it. I also majored in Spanish at Quinnipiac. In addition, I spend time outside of class learning about the people and cultures of the many countries that make up the Spanish-speaking world. I keep up with my Spanish not only in class, but also outside of class by watching series, listening to songs, following Spanish-language social media accounts and reading Spanish news articles. 

Trombetta hopes she has a positive impact on students’ learning and appreciation of other cultures, as it is a primary focus in her class.

“In Spanish 4 we are reading about a teenager from the U.S. who visits Ecuador and experiences various cultural shocks and learns to appreciate another culture through his love for photography,” Trombetta said. “Before we started reading the mini novel, students researched Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands in order to gain an understanding for the country and its people. In Spanish 5 we are learning about a real life event that took place in 1972 in which Uruguayan passengers from a rugby team were stranded in the Andes mountains for almost three months after their plane crashed. We are investigating and discussing the moral, cultural and social implications of the events.”

Another one of Trombetta’s goals every year is to make sure that every student feels supported and engaged in her classroom.

“It is important to create a safe and supportive classroom environment because sometimes students are shy or feel embarrassed to speak Spanish in front of their classmates,” Trombetta said. “This is why I like students to work in small groups to discuss questions or topics first and then share out.”

Trombetta’s students love her Spanish classes for a variety of reasons.

“She has helped me build confidence in speaking Spanish, and she always finds ways to make lessons feel exciting and relevant,” senior Jacen Brewster said. “She makes sure that we understand how language connects us with people all over the world.”

Through her passion for Spanish, Trombetta is shaping the future of her students, inspiring them to appreciate language.

“Mrs. Trombetta’s teaching style has really made me appreciate the process of learning a new language,” junior Jared Saludes said. “She focuses on making lessons interactive and fun, which helps me feel more comfortable speaking Spanish.”

By Ella Hopkins-Gianotti – Staff Reporter

As the school year goes on, the French Club has been hosting some fun events at their meetings.

In November, the French Club recognized National French Week by coloring the flags of all the Francophone countries. Before break, they had a holiday party and a celebration of La Chandeleur/National Crêpe Day in France, combined with a Valentine’s Day party.

Now they are encouraging students to do Manie Musicale and recruiting others to join their club.

“The best part of the French Club is the people coming in since they’re the ones who make it all possible,” Senior French Club President Sarah Gutierrez said “Without the students who come into the French room after school, we would not have the club and we wouldn’t have this community of students interested in French culture.”

Many of the club’s activities have centered around movies and French food.

“The club and I have done different fun activities involving coloring, watching French movies, and eating snacks,” Gutierrez said. “For example, we just had our Valentine’s Day party in which our advisor, Dr. Evans, made delicious crepes for anyone who wanted and brought different other snacks to enjoy while watching a movie.” 

One of the most enjoyable recent celebrations was La Chandeleur.

“Recently we had a party to celebrate La Chandeleur, which is National crêpe Day in France,” Evans said. “The round warm yellow crêpe symbolizes the sun and the arrival of spring. Our party combined that holiday with Valentine’s Day, and we enjoyed making Valentines in French, making and eating crêpes, eating chocolate, and watching a short animated French film.” 

Both the French Club and the classes ask everyone to contribute to Manie Musicale, located on the wall to the right of Evans’s room (214). Maine Musicale is inspired by March Madness but is instead a French song competition, the competitors this year are from over 15 different French-speaking countries.

“Check out the giant bracket and the flags and scan the QR codes for the playlist, where students listen to and vote on French-language songs in a bracket-style tournament,” Evans said. “It’s a fun way to engage students with Francophone music, improve their listening skills, and expose them to different cultures.”

Senior French Club Vice President Reilly Hungerford has enjoyed all of the French Club activities this year.

“Three of the best things that have happened that I think have happened are the crepe party, the increase in membership, and how we’ve started to fundraise,” Hungerford said.

Club members still have many goals they would like to reach before the end of the year.

“The plan is that later on whether it is next year or other years students can make bigger events or even possible field trips,” Gutierrez said. “The goal for the club for the rest of the year is to gain better leadership for next year since we have a lot of seniors and have more underclassmen join.”

Junior Soleil Roberts became a member of the French Club last year and this September and became an official officer of the French Club after only attending for one year prior. 

“I’ve enjoyed being an officer,” Roberts said. “It’s nice to be a part of a club in a higher way, especially the French Club. It is so fun, and the club members are amazing and so smart and talented, and being a part of what makes it happen is amazing.”

Even though it seems that the French Club has celebrated many holidays in the time they have spent together, they are not done with celebrations yet.

“Coming up this spring we will be celebrating Mardi Gras/Carnival by making masks, April Fools Day (where the tradition is to put paper fish on people’s backs and joke around with your friends), and hopefully going outside for a picnic with traditional French foods when spring finally arrives,” Evans said.

To find out more information about the French Club, students can email any of the officers or Dr. Evans. Students can also follow the JLHS French Club Instagram and join the Google Classroom for more information.

By Adrian Vitale – Staff Reporter

The annual Elective Fair took place on February 18 in the New Gym during a special Advisory period.

The Elective Fair was an event for students to show off elective courses to their classmates. 

“The fair was a great chance for students to learn about opportunities of electives to take for next year,” freshman Fiad Rahman said. “It was also good for students to show leadership and teach other students about the electives that they are currently taking.”

The fair was also completely student-run with elective teachers also available to answer student questions.

“The fair was a great change of events to give students a chance to leave the classroom and go learn about how many fun electives they are able to take,” freshman Yusuf Genc said.

Journalism teacher Mr. Kulenych said he was impressed by the student involvement in the fair.

“The most impactful part of the Elective Fair – this year and every year – was just how involved and enthusiastic the upperclassmen are in promoting their favorite electives,” Kulenych said. “It’s one thing for student to hear about elective opportunities, but it means more when it comes from fellow students and those conversations were happening at every table during the Elective Fait. It was great to see that communication and that student-to-student recruiting happening.”

The underclassmen in attendance were grateful for the opportunity to hear about all of the electives that Law has to offer.

“I wish the event could have lasted longer, though I am still grateful for the chance to take part in the event and learn about many of my possible future classes,” freshman Vincenzo Mannino said.

The Elective Fair allowed students to use Advisory time to learn more about the school community and some course offerings that they may not have known much about previously.

“The event took up a good amount of our Advisory time and gave me the chance to meet with my friends and look around at the classes,” freshman Marcos Tepetll said. “It was a great chance to take a break from the school day.”

By Morgan Cappock – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law juniors Harshitha Kothapalli, Layla Alogna, and Kayla Markowitz recently gave two young aspiring athletes a day to remember through the Raffles For Wishes program.

Through the newly-formed Raffles For Wishes Club, the trio of juniors held a raffle that gave elementary school students a chance to participate in a basketball game alongside the Law girls and boys basketball teams.

One boy winner and one girl winner were chosen. The boys winner was Marshall Mercaldi, the 5th grade son of Law science teacher Mrs. Mercaldi, and the girls winner was Sophia Arias, the younger sister of Law junior Emma Johnson.

The raffle was inspired by the Make-a-Wish Program and all of the funds raised went to that program to fund children in need. 

“The program started in Daniel Hand High School and was brought to us to expand the experience,” Kothapalli said. “The program itself is so inspiring, the culmination of being able to give a young athlete an exciting varsity sports experience and also donating to a great cause is so amazing.”

Both raffle winners got to experience what it was like to be a high school athlete.

“What inspired us to start Raffles for Wishes at Jonathan Law was knowing that we would help unite the athletic communities in Milford while also raising money for an amazing cause,” Markowitz said. “Having the opportunity to see younger kids excited about coming to Law and being a part of the athletic community while also seeing our friends be role models for younger athletes was really rewarding as student-athletes ourselves.”

The leaders of the project found it most rewarding to see the children’s faces when they were playing basketball and spending time with all of the other players. The money also went to a great and rewarding cause so the leaders felt positively about the whole project.

“The most rewarding part is seeing the child’s huge smile after an exciting game with players they admire,” Alogna said. “It makes my day to make a kid’s day while raising money for a good cause. It’s a win-win.”

Markowitz credited several members of the Law community with helping to make the raffle a success.

“The process was definitely a bit challenging at first because it was the first time doing the raffle here, but once we got the ball rolling, we felt super lucky because all the coaches, faculty, and teams involved were so supportive and excited to be a part of something so meaningful,” Markowitz said.

By Taylor Coretti – Staff Reporter

The SAVE Promise Club recently held a Valentine’s Day-themed Movie Night, nicknamed a “Pal-entines” Night.

This event was held on February 12 and the featured film was “10 Things I Hate About You.” Club Advisor Ms. Healy said the event was open for everyone to create a fun experience for all. 

“No tickets were sold, anyone could come, we just hd a bake sale going on for anyone who wanted to snack while they enjoy the movie,” Ms. Healy said. “It’s really awesome to see the Law community show up to watch the movie while still supporting our club.”

Senior President Natalia Gagliardi said the Movie Night was one of many events that have helped the SAVE Promise Club raise awareness and get the community more involved. 

“This year we have been pretty successful with the club, we have participated in Candy Grams for Valentine’s Day, the Movie Night, Safe Schools Week, Start with Hello Week, Teacher Appreciation Week, and a lot more,” Gagliardi said. “Participating in all of this helps make our community a better place it helps get students involved while also educating our community on what our club is about.”

Junior Vice President of Operations Sarah McCann said the Movie Night was successful in different ways.

“The event is very beneficial for our club; it is a great way to raise some money as well as have a great time with friends,” McCann said. “The Movie Nights are also a great way to meet new people which is one of the biggest things our club helps to promote not only through our ‘Start With Hello’ week but just through simple activities like movies.”

Junior Melissa Servas is an active member in the club and enjoys being able to create other activities for the school that will help spread awareness. 

“I have participated in the club this year by helping plan our different themed weeks and activities,” Servas said. “I helped set up the Hand Tree which is located in the cafeteria, which was such an amazing activity as well as making posters and hanging them around school to spread awareness.”

Junior Ava Ambrusco attended the “Pal-entines” Movie Night and enjoyed being a part of the experience.

“The idea of the Movie Night that I enjoyed most was that it was the perfect way to spend a Wednesday night with friends and/or family, a great way to unwind after a long day at school, and to get a good laugh,” Ambrusco said. 

By Molly Lynch & Ava Grippo – Advocate Editors

Jonathan Law junior Maya Coffin recently performed in the New Haven Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” at the Shubert Theater in New Haven. 

Coffin has been participating in the theater’s “Nutcracker” performances since 2017. 

“I had a few roles this year because we  perform different parts on different days,” Coffin said. “On Friday and Sunday, I performed as Madam Choupette, which is a dance with Mother Ginger and the bon-bons and snow demi. On the Saturday shows, I performed as a mouse and a flower demi-soloist.”

Since she was a kid, Coffin has always been interested in participating in a “Nutcracker” performance. At the Shibert, she performed in front of four crowds that totaled close to 8,000 people.

“I started being interested in performing when I went to see the ballet as a little girl in New York City,” Coffin said. “I really wanted to be a part of that experience ever since then.”

Law science teacher Ms. Turcotte attended the performance and was greatly impressed by her student.

“Maya’s performances were incredible – the show that I attended had two different roles,” Turcotte said. “In Act I she was one of four snowflake dancers who were perfectly coordinated with each other, and in Act II she had a solo performance which was amazing.”

By Ella Hopkins-Gianotti and Anwita Puttam – Staff Reporters

As the holiday season begins, Law’s Advisories are hustling to compete in the annual Door Decorating Contest. 

Each Advisory class at Law is in the competition. This year, for the first time, the theme is Lawlidays Wonderland, and all doors are due to be completed by noon on December 20. 

“To celebrate this special time of year, we invite all Advisors to participate in a Lawliday Wonderland Decorating Contest,” Dean of Students Mr. Ragaini said. “This year, we encourage all advisors to incorporate elements from various winter holidays, such as Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and more, into their designs.”

This door decorating contest is a way for students to spread holiday joy. It’s also a way for students to express the many different ways people celebrate the holiday season, expanding on the many unique traditions that people celebrate.

“I think I was inspired because I’ve seen so much on social media about ‘Wicked’ and how popular it is,” Spanish teacher Mrs. Trombetta said. “I discussed it with my Advisory and we agreed that we could use the tagline ‘We are all popular at Law’ to promote inclusivity while staying on theme.”

One of the popular doors among the students is Ms. Trombetta’s “Wicked”-themed door. She and her Advisory got rave reviews by completely decorating their door to fit the theme of the new “Wicked” movie. They also set up little props to take pictures with.

“I am in Mr. Barcellos’s advisory and our theme for the door was the movie ‘Elf,’ – my suggestion, of course,” freshman Cora Aitkenhead said. “I think my class door has a shot at getting on the podium, but the ‘Wicked’ door looks pretty great, and I liked Mrs. Evans’s Law-themed cotton ball snowman door.”

Time and effort were put into making each of these doors. Many of these doors include candy cane balloons, movie references, books, snowmen, gift-wrapped doors, and even the students’ and teachers’ faces on the doors themselves.

“My favorite part of door decorating was easily getting to see all of our hard work come together as we assembled the door,” Aitkenhead said. “I put in a lot of effort to make pieces of our door at home, but it was awesome to see people pitch in and collaborate to make such an awesome finished product.”

Inspiration for these doors came from various different places.

“I have Ms. Russell for Advisory and my class wanted to create something that was funny,” freshman Cayleigh Glynn said. “We wanted people that were walking by our door to be able to laugh a little bit.”

The contest also kept people in the holiday spirit while also allowing them to be creative and have fun. 

“My classmates enjoyed the decorating,” freshman Dylan Gaillard said. “It was really fun and it kept everyone engaged.”

By Courtney Russo, Madi Black, Haley Stroffolino, and Aislyn McKernan – Advocate Editors

The Jonathan Law Music Department is preparing to have a wonderful winter concert.

The concert, which will be performed by Law’s Choir, Band, and Orchestra students, will be held at 7 p.m. on December 18 in the Law auditorium.

Choir Director Ms. Jones and her students have been preparing for months to ensure the concert goes smoothly. 

“To prepare for the Choir concerts we warm up with our voices and such, but also there’s a mental aspect of preparing myself,” senior Brayden Dollar said. “I just need to tell myself that the Choir will do great and there’s nothing to worry about.”

During the Choir’s portion of the concert, two different groups will perform: the Advanced Vocal Ensemble and the Concert Choir.

“As an Advanced Vocal Ensemble member, we learned eight songs for our Winter Concert,” sophomore Choir member Analiyah Velez said. “We prepare by cite reading our music in our sections, focusing on the correct notes and vowel shapes. We rehearse every day during class and recently had our dress rehearsal and potluck.” 

The choir had a three-hour rehearsal to perfect everything, including going on and off stage orders and where they will stand. 

“At the end of rehearsal, we all meet as a group in the cafe and have a potluck for all the hard work we have done,” junior Lexi Velez said. “I am looking forward to seeing everyone sing the pieces we have worked on for so long.”

The Band students will perform four songs in total directed by Mr. Pelaggi: two songs from the Jazz Band and two songs from the Concert Band. The songs consist of Christmas themes and classic upbeat pieces.

“The JLHS music program is so excited to present their Winter Concert,” Pelaggi said. “All of the performing ensembles will be playing – instrumental and choral. Our students have worked incredibly hard and we are ready to share it with friends, family, and loved ones.”

Members of the Choir and Band have been practicing very hard for this performance. There are 65 students in the Choir and 40 students in the Band.

“The Jazz Band started rehearsing in the first week of October,” sophomore member Ethan Panella said. “However, the Concert Band started rehearsing in mid-October.”

By Sebastian Beltran – Staff Reporter

At Jonathan Law High School, science teacher Mr. Morazzini has embraced STEM education.

With more than 19 years of experience, Morazzini is a beloved figure in the school community, known for his ability to make complex scientific concepts accessible to students of all levels.

“We have a great science department and we are all very close. We care very much about providing the best experience we can for our students in our science courses,” Morazzini said. “We also have so many outstanding course options that students can take in science.”

Morazzini’s ability to connect with students on a personal level is what sets him apart. 

“He’s the reason I’ve developed such a good foundation in science and tools to solve real world problems,” senior Cam Upchurch said. “Mr. Morazzini always makes sure we can see the bigger picture and how what we learn in class applies to our future.”

Morazzini takes the time to understand their individual goals and interests, in his lessons to help them thrive.

“Our Milford district science teachers have written all of our science units to be based around real-world phenomena, which are events that relate directly to what we can see and experience as part of our lives,” Morazzini said. “We hope that by basing our courses around this NGSS model (Next Generation Science Standards), students will be able to make more connections to their learning and actually figure out key concepts based on their questions.”

Beyond academics, Morazzini inspires students to think critically about their role in the broader community.

“Science is about making changes, big or small, “senior Jaden Oyola said. “Mr. Morazzini taught me that even small actions can make a big difference.”

Through his teaching methods, for science, and commitment to student growth, Mr. Morazzini is shaping the next generation at Jonathan Law High School.

“Last year around the holidays, I received a letter in the mail from a former Marine Science student,” Morazzini said. “He was attending UConn at the time and wrote to me about how our class was a big influence on him and that I had made a difference in his life. I’m sure a lot of teachers would feel that these are some of the moments that make us the most proud of what we do.”

By Carly Ranilla & Noah Oquendo – Staff Reporters

The Jonathan Law Key Club’s annual Holiday Food Drive opened on December 11.

The purpose behind the annual drive is to provide holiday meals for Jonathan Law families who cannot afford it themselves. Law is holding a miniature competition between Advisory classes to see who can bring in the most canned goods. 

“We are hoping that we can get competitions going through Advisories,” Key Club Advisor Mr. Boynton said. “Whichever Advisory brings in the most canned goods and donations will win a pizza party on the return from our holiday break.”

Students also have the opportunity to personally bring in foods on their own. Whenever someone brings in a donation, they automatically get their names entered into a school raffle for the chance to win a $50 gift card.

“If people want to donate individually, Key Clubbers collect donations in front of the main office between 7-7:20 a.m. every day,” Boynton said. “And you have a chance to win a $50 gift card.”

Donations will be accepted until December 20. The Key Club will then take the food and create baskets full of different foods accessible to take home over the holiday break.

People should only bring foods or cans that are non-perishable.

“The only food that wouldn’t really be accepted is if it’s expired or will expire because like most other food drives, it really only collects non-perishables goods,” Junior Key Club Vice President Kayla Markowitz said. “We’re looking for things like box stuffing, cans, potatoes, anything like that.” 

Senior Key Club President Addy Barber said the drive helps keeps the holidays in perspective.

“It’s important to have things like this because the holiday season is a hard time for many people and we tend to take small things for granted,” Barber said. “So having this food drive reminds us to feel grateful for all we have.”

By Madison Krauss – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s FBLA Club attended the Bridgeport Islanders’ Sports Marketing and Management Seminar on November 12. 

At the seminar, students had the opportunity to hear from business people within the Bridgeport Islanders organization as well as representatives from local colleges. These speakers spoke on careers in both the professional and collegiate sports industries that many students may not have previously known about.

“Many students are interested in playing and watching sports and are unaware of the various business jobs and career options available in sports and entertainment,” FBLA Advisor Mrs. Israelite said. 

The Bridgeport Islanders welcomed business students from across the state to participate in a Sports Marketing and Management Seminar. This event provided students with the unique opportunity to gain insights and advice from industry professionals and learn about careers in the business side of sports.

After hearing from the business professionals, students had the opportunity to participate in a Q&A session. This allowed them to ask the speakers questions at the seminar to gain deeper insight into the various career paths explored. 

“I enjoyed the q&a with the amphitheater representatives about the responsibilities the workers have the most, and obviously watching the game,” junior Natalie Rendon said. 

The goal of the Sports Marketing and Management Seminar was to open the doors for students who are interested in playing and watching sports, and who are also unaware of the various business jobs and career options available within sports and entertainment. 

The students learned many lessons from the seminar, including how they can have a future career in sports marketing, along with what goes on in the background of these careers. 

A majority of the student’s favorite part of the field trip was being able to stay after the seminar to watch a minor league hockey game. 

“I enjoyed watching the hockey game after the seminar,” junior Jack Lefevre said.

Another favorite part of the trip for the majority of students was having the ability to enjoy the hockey game alongside their friends.

“My favorite part of the game was watching the game with all my friends,” junior Yeiden Nieves said.

The field trip was centered around the seminar but also offered the opportunity to watch the hockey game which was new for some students. 

“My favorite part was the game when the players had their introduction and outros,” junior Amaya Lewis said.

By Kishal Shah – Staff Reporter   

Jonathan Law’s National English Honor Society held its first meeting of the year in October and is currently running a Holiday Book Drive.

NEHS is a national philanthropic organization which aims to give back to the community by cultivating a vibrant environment where high school students and teachers can immerse themselves in experiences of promoting literacy and serving society. 

Law plans to contribute to NEHS’s values by organizing events and fundraisers that help spread the importance and prominence of  books and reading in a learning  environment. NEHS Advisor Mrs. Lucia believes members must think about the society’s impact on a larger scale than just within Law, and expand its influence throughout the city of Milford.  

“I hope that we continue to do charity projects outside of the book drive, and one of my goals is to get students into elementary schools for reading, whether it’s to just read with kids to help provide support or just take a story time off of a teacher’s plate and entertain the kids for a little while,” Lucia said. “That would be another way to involve students in the elementary school community that will eventually be coming to Law.”

NEHS Treasurer Alexandra Fino is collaborating with fellow officers to organize the society’s ongoing Holiday Book Drive, which they hope will achieve their shared goal of donating books to make reading more accessible for the citizens of Milford.

“One thing we are doing currently is a Book Drive, where students from the school can donate old books they are no longer using, so those books can be recycled to new people who can read and use them more,” Fino said. “Not only does this repurpose books, but it allows people who may not regularly have access to books to be able to read them.”

Apart from contributing to community fundraisers and events such as the Book Drive and reading in elementary schools, another requirement for members of the society includes required English Tutoring in the TLC after school during the Extended Learning Program (ELP) hours. 

Senior NEHS member Brianna Madelung is enthusiastic about helping other peers through peer tutoring as she finds it to be a personable way of giving back to the Law community. 

“I look forward to helping out during tutoring the most,” Madelung said. 

Senior Olivia Pisacane also believes peer tutoring helps build relations with peers and helps foster a positive literary learning environment in the Law community.

“I’m looking forward to fundraising more and helping others in the Support Center,” Pisacane said. 

This practice of tutoring during ELP hours is vital to the society’s mission and values because it is an obligation as a society member to spread the learning of literary knowledge, and helps other peers build their foundations in English to improve in their language skills in their respective courses.

By Aislyn McKernan and Madi Black – Social Media Editors

Law held its first Pep Rally of the year on November 22 to celebrate fall sports and the Thanksgiving Week  football games.

The Pep Rally was held during Spirit Week, specifically on Color Wars Day. All students showed support by wearing the colors assigned to their class. There were many different activities during the rally, including a school-wide game of musical chairs – with a twist.

The winner of the game was sophomore Jackie Rivera.

“I volunteered to participate because it looked like a lot of fun,” said Rivera. “It was the main part of the rally and I didn’t want to miss out.”

The rally was hosted by a group of Law seniors including Cam Upchurch.  

“Hosting the Pep Rally was fun and I definitely would like to do it again,” Upchurch said.

The Law Band began the Pep Rally with a fun performance of the song “Hey, Baby.” Senior Riley Lapham was one of the lead drummers for the performance.

“I think the Band did really well,” Lapham said. “Playing at the rallies is a great way to show off what we learn and work hard on in class.”

The Law Choir sang the National Anthem.

“I was excited but a little nervous to sing, but overall I wouldn’t change anything,” junior Lexi Velez said. “I think the Pep Rally was a success and would take the opportunity again.”

The Law cheerleaders performed along with the Powderpuff boy cheerleaders. 

“I think the Pep Rally went well, we hit all our stunts and the crowd seemed to like it,” sophomore Maddie Nash said. “Training with the Powderpuff boys was fun. It was fun to see the boys try to do the stunts we cheerleaders do.” 

By Will Smith & Tim Firla – Entertainment Editors

It’s the season of giving and Law’s National Honor Society is helping those in need with the annual Giving Tree.

The Giving Tree is located in the lobby and members of the Law community can take a tag from the tree which lists an age and gift idea for the child in need.

“Each year the National Honor Society sponsors the Giving Tree,” National Honor Society Advisor Mrs. Goldbeck said. “We work with a non-profit in our community to receive gift ideas for children who may not receive gifts during the holiday. We place the ideas on the tree and the Law community does the rest. Staff and students take a tag, buy a gift and return it to the tree. The staff of the non-profit then comes to Law to pick up the gifts and distribute them to their clients.”

Senior National Honor Society President Maddie Baranowskiy is grateful to give back to the community during the holiday season.

“It feels great to help the community during the holiday season,” Baranowsky said. “Giving back is always super rewarding and brings the Law and the Milford community together.”

Senior Brayden Hancock, a member of the National Honor Society, enjoys the sense of community and helping others with the Giving Tree. 

“I like how the Giving Tree fosters a sense of community due to the communal aspect of helping others,” Hancock said.

Senior Katherine Cepetelli has made more than five donations to the Giving Tree this year.

“I donated because I feel that everyone should be able to experience the Christmas joy of getting gifts no matter their income or living situation,” Cepetelli said. “I believe that as someone who is more fortunate than others, it is my job to give back to the community and do my part in giving to people in need.”

By Taylor Mola and Morgan Cappock – Staff Reporters

The Jonathan Law Drama Club is making final preparations for its Hollywood Showcase on December 13 and 14.

This showcase is a fun way for the members to show off all of their talents and their love for what they do. The Drama Club has been working hard and is excited to invite everyone to come and watch.

“We have been meeting up every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 3-6:30 p.m. which is such a short amount of time,” Junior President Chris Serrano said. “The club has been extremely dedicated to making a great production. Starting early this week, we have entered Tech Week, going from 5-9 p.m.”

This club has delivered a well-thought out showcase for this weekend and is thrilled to present it to the students and families of Law. The production will showcase scenes from “Barbie,” “Grease,” “The Breakfast Club,” and more.

“I came up with the idea of a Hollywood Showcase because I wanted to do something that would appeal to a wide range of people and I wanted to stay away from Broadway musicals,” Director Olivia Rivera said. “I also didn’t want to do a specific holiday or season like we did last year with the Spooky Showcase and because families are already attending so many winter and holiday concerts this month.”

Rivera wanted to include movies and plays that all audience members would love and relate to in some way.

“We are able to choose songs from the classics like ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ songs from movies that parents and grandparents grew up loving like ‘Dirty Dancing,’ and songs from newer movies like ‘Barbie,’” Rivera said. “There’s something for everyone in the showcase.”

Club members all had such a fun time learning and working together leading up to the showcase. Some members have been in Drama Club since they were freshmen and are excited to show off their talents in their last showcase before their spring musical.

“It’s definitely sad because I like working with all of the underclassmen that have been with me since the start,” senior Sarah Gutierrez said. “But at the same time as all of this, it is cool to see all of the growth and also I get to leave something to the people after me and I’m excited to see what the program turns into.”

Senior Tori DePoto said she is excited for the show but not ready for her Drama Club career to end.

“It’s definitely bittersweet,” senior Tori DePoto said. “I’m excited to get out and graduate but this is the one thing I’ve been doing since freshman year. I’m excited for it to actually be a show.”

Most of the articles written by The Advocate staff each month focus on Law’s extracurricular activities, sports teams, and student achievements outside of the classroom. But what about the lessons that students are learning in the classroom from 7:20 a.m.-1:58 p.m. every day? This special series – compiled by the Journalism 1, 2, 3, and 4 classes – takes our readers inside the classroom and answers the age-old dinner table question: “What did you do at school today?”

Thank you to all of the teachers who participated.

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GLOBAL HUMAN GEOGRAPHY WITH MR. BEARDSLEY

By Madison Krauss – Staff Reporter

Mr. Beardsley’s Global Human Geography class has been exploring global cultures through a combination of in-class interviews and research projects.

Students were assigned with creating 20 questions about culture and religion. After they created their questions, they then asked the questions they created to their classmates. 

“I was hoping that students learned a little bit about each other’s culture, and realized that although we are all different and come from different backgrounds, we share so many similarities with each other,” Beardsley said. 

The goal of this assignment was to gain insights into a variety of cultures and religious practices from the backgrounds of their peers. 

“My favorite thing about that assignment was getting to learn new things about my classmates’ cultures and religions,” junior Emma Johnson said. “It taught me a lot about other people’s backgrounds and it was interesting.” 

By interviewing each other, students gained valuable insights into many different backgrounds within the classroom, allowing students to expand a deeper understanding and notice similarities within different cultures and religions in real-time.

“Getting to know more about my classmates’ backgrounds was my favorite part of the assignment,” junior Lexi Kirby said. 

Students were not only tasked with interviewing their classmates but also had the opportunity to be interviewed themselves. 

“I think by coming up with their own questions and being able to ask them to a classmate, students were able to find out things about their peers that they never knew before,” Beardsley said. 

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CHEMISTRY AND THE EARTH SYSTEM WITH MS. TURCOTTE 

By Amilio Venditti – Staff Reporter

Students in Ms. Turcotte’s Chemistry class recently conducted a lab on Spectral Analysis.

With the use of handheld spectrometers, students observed the wavelengths of the unknown gas spectrum tubes and the wavelengths of the natural light from the sun.

“Students used spectroscopes to separate light into its individual wavelengths and used the data (the corresponding colors and wavelengths) to identify three elements,” Turcotte said. “First, they looked at white light from the sun which separated into what is a continuous spectrum (full rainbow), then they observed the light emitted from three different gas tubes (light bulbs filled with different elements in their gas form), to observe the line emission spectrum that resulted (specific individual lines of color).”

The goal of the lab was to learn about the wave properties of light, interactions of light and matter, and ultimately to identify the gases in the gas tubes by their line emission spectrum. 

“I personally enjoyed trying to discover which element I was looking at based on the spectrograph, I found the process of elimination and comparing different graphs and charts to be pretty fun,” sophomore Elizabeth Ramsauer said. “Then again, I could barely see the spectral lines due to a faulty spectrometer, so no wonder the part that required the least use of that to be the most enjoyable.”

This lab helped a lot of students understand how light is emitted, and showed that there is more than one way that elements can be distinguished from each other. In an environment where one would not be able to procure a scale that can measure the mass of an atom, using spectral lines could be a very helpful way for scientists to differentiate different elements.

“My favorite part was coloring the graphs of the spectral lines,” sophomore Harkaran Sekhon said. “I also understood that we only see a small part of the frequency table which is visible light.”

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ALGEBRA II WITH MS. LOCH

By Cora Aitkenhead – Staff Reporter

Ms. Loch’s Algebra II class has been exploring effective learning strategies by doing fun problem solving in class. 

Each day the class works through a Math Medic, a worksheet designed to use math material, problems, and equations in real world scenarios. Loch finds that the Math Medic worksheets give students a better understanding of what they are learning, and helps bring the learning to life. 

“Students can better understand the value of collaboration, technology, and persistence in tackling mathematical challenges,” Loch said. “By working through these types of problems, students not only improve their technical math skills but also gain a deeper understanding of how to apply those skills in various contexts.”

These worksheets however are clearly delivering messages to students of how to best budget money, all the way to the most efficient architectural structures and patterns. 

“Math Medic is very helpful, because it shows me why what I’m learning is actually important,” junior Jared Saludes said. “Especially when it comes to money, Math Medic is teaching me the most effective ways to use and account for it, which you can’t learn in many other classes.”

While learning is the most important thing, an occasional break for a game never hurts and is a great way to bring up a class’s energy. This is why Loch began implementing an occasional 2-5 minute break to play a round of Family Feud, encouraging thinking and problem solving skills during a break. 

“The competitive and interactive nature of the game helps students stay energized and motivated,” Loch said. “Students enjoy a moment of fun, helping to alleviate stress and creating a more positive classroom environment.”

This combination of a class where students learn and still get to include some high-competition fun has been immediately effective. Students have expressed enjoyment and appreciation for this teaching approach. 

“As a student, getting a break like this during class, even just for two minutes, is extremely helpful,” sophomore Sam Matist said. “We learn a lot, so the occasional break is pretty fun, and very important.”

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MARKETING 1 WITH MR. BELER

By Dani Kotansky – Staff Reporter

In Marketing 1, Mr. Beler’s students engage in fun activities to learn the fundamentals of marketing, especially the 4 P’s – Product, Place, Price, and Promotion. 

Students recently were assigned a slideshow to fill in about the three biggest marketing days of the year coming up, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. Students filled in the blanks on the slides and used different websites to learn more about the history of these days and how they tie in to marketing, specifically price and promotion, 2 of the 4  P’s. 

“For marketing, these are the biggest sales of the entire year,” Beler said. “From Black Friday, to Small Business Saturday, to Cyber Monday, these are some of the top selling days in the entire year.”

Students found this activity interesting, and were able to have insights as to how market research and promotions make these shopping days big for people in the marketing field. 

Freshman Norah Fedigan felt the project was interesting to get insight into these holidays where all people do is shop. 

“I learned about how these days originated and when they were founded,” Fedigan said. “I can’t wait to go shopping on these days with deals coming up.”

Freshman Ella Aoki also found this project unique, as students don’t typically think about all the history behind holidays like Black Friday. 

“I love how we got to learn about these special shopping holidays, especially their history,” Aoki said. 

Beler felt this project was impactful for Marketing students, and they could learn a lot about these holidays that students don’t view as particularly important. 

“Students learn the importance of the marketing that takes place to make this a big event,” Beler said. “Now students understand how businesses come at consumers.”

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ENGLISH 1 WITH MRS. ANDERSON

By Aaryan Doshi – Staff Reporter

Mrs. Anderson’s English 1 class recently learned about different causes that led up to the Civil Rights Movement. 

Students in Anderson’s class had to make a slideshow presentation about an event that led up to the Civil Rights Movement. 

“I hope students gain a deeper understanding of the struggles and achievements of individuals who fought for equality,” Anderson said. “I also want them to develop critical thinking and empathy by connecting historical events to current issues of fairness in their own lives.”

The presentations needed to be three to five minutes long and include interesting and important facts about the student’s topic. To keep the audience involved, the students needed to come up with some fun and thoughtful questions for the audience to answer. 

“In English, we are learning about the Civil Rights Movement, and we are working on a project about an event that caused the Civil Rights Movement,” freshman Logan Thomas said. “I learned a lot about the Civil Rights Movement and I am glad we did a project on it because it helped me learn about the Civil Rights Movement.” 

Students shared that this unit helped them better understand the Civil Rights Movement and its causes. The students especially enjoyed the creative challenge of designing a project with an interactive element, which made the learning experience more engaging. Overall, students found the unit both educational and enjoyable.

“In English, we worked on a project about the Civil Rights Movement and important events during it,” freshman Dylan O’Neil said. “I am doing my project on Jackie Robinson and about him breaking the color barrier and being the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball.”

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BROADCAST JOURNALISM WITH MS. KELLY

By Ella Franzman – Editor-In-Chief & Editorial Editor

Ms. Kelly’s Broadcast Journalism class has been working hard on producing winter sports content and the Class of 2025 Senior Video. 

The students’ assignments have been to create either winter sports “hype’”videos, captain and senior interviews, and interviews with coaches. Another big task has been the Senior Video, which includes the traditional segments, “Where Will You Be In 10 Years?” or “What Is Your Favorite High School Memory?”

“We’re getting ready to start our Lawliday Season and Lawmas videos right now,” Kelly said. “I’m super excited to unveil this year’s Santa, and work with the students to create another great Lawmas video.” 

The Lawmas video has been a great tradition in the Jonathan Law community and they look forward to producing the video once again. 

“During Broadcast my group had been mostly working on filming and editing our podcast, but another main focus for our group has been to film for the Senior Video,” senior Addy Barber said. “We have been going around school during any free periods we have to make sure we can get as many members of the senior class as possible.”

Other assignments the students have been working on are recording episodes of their podcasts and working on producing The Morning Briefing each morning. 

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AP PSYCHOLOGY WITH MS. BURNS

By Taylor Coretti – Staff Reporter

Law’s AP Psychology classes are engaging in hands-on activities to help them learn more about different areas of the brain and body.

Students got to work in groups to create an endocrine amusement park where they pick a ride or element of an amusement park to represent the elements of the endocrine system. AP Psychology teacher Ms. Burns likes to create hands-on tasks for her students to create a fun and effective learning system.

“By designing an amusement park where each attraction corresponded to a specific structure, gland or hormone, students were required to research the functions of the structures and translate that information into an interactive and memorable format,” Burns said. This process reinforced understanding of the endocrine system’s components and their roles within the body.”

The goal of doing interactive activities is to help understand the topic better. Senior Maddy Baranowsky felt this assignment was effective in being able to remember the information learned about the endocrine system.

“Something I took away from the endocrine amusement park assignment was creative ways to remember the different parts of the system,” Baranowsky said. 

Everyone in each class got to pick their own group to work with. Senior Julia Ryan found that working with the people you want to work with makes the activity more enjoyable. 

“I enjoyed doing this project with my friends,” Ryan said. “It gave us an opportunity to do school work in a fun way as we all worked together and made the project creative and fun for us.”

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AP LITERATURE WITH MRS. ROUMELES

By Kishal Shah – Staff Reporter

Mrs. Roumeles’s AP Literature class recently examined the prevalence of science and history in gothic literary works such as “Frankenstein.”

The class recently finished reading the novel “Frankenstein “by Romantic author Mary Shelley – previously known as Mary Wolfstowncraft – and is now dissecting the prevalence of topics such as science, religion, and history in this radical and gothic novel.

“Even though ‘Frankenstein’ is a fictional tale, what’s important is to not only learn about how it reflects the romantic ideals, but also its themes of human nature and that duality between good and evil,” Roumeles said. “We can kind of look at our own behavior and see what the catalyst is for behaving in a moral or amoral way, and how we can relate a fictional tale to how the themes play out in real life.” 

The class concluded after the lecture the relevance of other subjects and real world connections when discussing literary works such as “Frankenstein” because it helps students draw connections between famous themes in literature, and how those ideals are presented in sciences, history, and religion in the real world. 

“I liked this lesson because it allowed me to gain a further understanding on the background of the author’s life, and why she came to write such a radical and gothic novel in the 18th century,” senior Carol Jiang said.

The class observed how Mary Wolfstonecraft – who was a renowned feminist icon of the age – wrote the novel Frankenstein, which included romantic and gothic perspectives in her novel, which was considered a radical and progressive practice. 

Through a class discussion and observing a powerpoint presentation, the class comprehended how the overarching theme of Shelley’s novel was the separation of religion in the journey to acquire scientific knowledge. 

Moreover the class concluded through a lecture about how pursuit for knowledge for the sake of pursuit may sometimes be unethical, as represented in examples in history of unethical psychological experiments performed in society. 

“This lesson was like a continuation of previous lessons where we learned to think about perspectives you would gravitate to otherwise,” senior Naina Khan said. “In this case, the historical background and scientific and ethical questions were raised about the theme and concept of ‘Frankenstein.’” 

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SPANISH 3 WITH MR. RODRIGUEZ

By Courtney Russo – News Editor

Mr. Rodriguez’s Spanish 3 classes for sophomores and juniors recently worked on a project entitled “Un Dia Inolvidable.”

Students were given first half of the story and were expected to write the second half. 

“The purpose of the project was to have students use the irregular preterite tense verbs and vocabulary about camping in sentences that simulate real-world situations,” Rodriguez said. “Having students use the grammar in sentences helps them to be able to put sentences together and form original thoughts, not just remember the conjugations of verbs.”

This was the class’s final assignment before having a test on irregular preterite verbs.

“This project helped me apply our vocabulary and grammar to real-world scenarios, boosting my speaking and writing skills,” sophomore Arnav Saxena said. “It also improved my understanding of harder sentence structures, making me more confident for the test.” 

Students had a great time being creative and using the Spanish that they learned in class. Rodriguez showed an example project and students created their work based on what they saw.

“I enjoyed incorporating the Spanish we learned in class on our project,” sophomore Kristia Gonza said. “I enjoyed working with all of my group members.”

After completing this project, Rodriguez hopes his students build a better understanding of irregular preterite tense verbs.

“By the end of the project, the students were expected to recognize the irregular preterite verbs, conjugate them correctly, use them in a story that makes sense as well as pronounce the Spanish vocabulary during the recording portion of the project,” Rodriguez said.

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JOURNALISM 2/3/4 WITH MR. KULENYCH

By Tim Firla – Entertainment Editor

Thanksgiving Week was a busy one for Law’s Journalism 2/3/4 class and students posted numerous videos, articles and podcasts about the week’s festivities. 

Journalism teacher Mr. Kulenych was proud of the effort put forth by the Advocate editors. Journalism students posted serveral Thanksgiving articles and produced the annual “What Are You Thankful For?” video.

“The Thanksgiving season is always a busy time for The Advocate staff,” Kulenych said. “Our reporters and editors have to cover all of the Thanksgiving Week games plus all of the other school events and fundraisers that occur in November. On top of that, we’ve worked to put out our traditional Thanksgiving videos. We have so many fun Thanksgiving season traditions here at Law and it’s our staff’s job to keep the school community informed about all of them.”

Senior Entertainment Editor Will Smith has taken Journalism for four years and has been involved with many Thanksgiving Week posts.

“The month of November is a big month for The Advocate,” Smith said. “During this month, there are countless activities that are going on and its our job to report and get coverage on it.”

Each piece of Advocate content, whether it is an article, podcast, video, or social media post needs to meet a certain criteria before it can be published online.

“Our class is a little different because all of our assignments are posted for other people to read or watch so it’s important to keep up the quality of what we’re producing,” Junior Editor-In-Chief Kayla Markowitz said. “Our articles need to be reviewed and videos have to be edited before posted to ensure that what we’re putting on social media is not only entertaining, but also accurate  and informative.”

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INTERIOR DESIGN WITH MS. CRISTANTE

By Molly Lynch – News Editor

Ms. Cristante’s Interior Design course gives students an overview on everything they need to know about the world of interior design. 

The course is split up into five units that provide all of the information necessary to pursue a career in interior design. 

As students are finishing up Unit 5 of the course, Cristante had pairs of 2-3 students go into the halls to locate and take pictures of various things they saw around the school that show examples of elements and principles of design. Students then had to submit those photos to a Google Doc and explain how each picture shows the principles of design. 

“Students previously had several opportunities to create visuals of the elements and principles of design,” Cristante said. “This assignment taught them how to identify them within already existing designs and challenged them to think differently (creatively) about a place they spend time in everyday.”

This course teaches students the deeper meaning of things they see everyday. 

“I find it beneficial to recognize that elements and principles of design are everywhere and to see how it is used in our lives everyday,” junior Jordyn Torres said.

Students engage in fun assignments that also help them understand the curriculum at the same time.

“I definitely had fun with this assignment,” junior Charlotte Baldieri said. “It was different than just sitting in a classroom doing online work.”

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AP HUMAN GEOGRAPHY WITH MR. ROUMELES

By Harshitha Kothapalli – Editor-in-Chief 

Students in Mr. Roumeles’ AP Human Geography class have recently completed their Family Migration Map.

Using Google My Maps, students were tasked with utilizing their new learnings about migration to create a map of the roots of their family. They were asked to pay special attention to dates, locations, and reasons for movement. 

“In Human Geography we very often look at human activity on a global scale, and sometimes forget our personal place within the big topics,” Roumeles said. “I assigned this project so students could interact with the concepts of human migration by applying them to their own family history. I really feel that the more personal and relatable a topic is, the easier it is to learn and understand; and that was the overall goal of the project.”

The project allowed students to discover new understandings about their own past and connect it with the ideas they were learning in class. 

“It gave me a new perspective on the way I see my background,” junior Kayla Markowitz said. “Being able to see my own history laid out on a map and also being able to understand the concepts behind it was so compelling.”

Not only did this project resonate with students on an educational and personal level, but it also let them get creative.

“I was able to talk to my parents and grandparents about where I came from and have conversations I wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to have,” junior Santina Scarpa said. 

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CREATIVE WRITING WITH MS. SMUNIEWSKI

By Ava Grippo – Entertainment Editor 

Students in Ms. Smuniewski’s Creative Writing class are wrapping up the first drafts of their short stories. 

Creative Writing, an English elective, is currently in their short story unit, working on their own stories. 

“My goal is that students write a short story that they are proud of,” Smuniewski said. “I enjoy this unit because I find that students are usually invested in their work and want to craft a story that is engaging and meaningful.”

The students are able to use their imagination on this assignment and create something unique. 

“I am writing a short story about a cowboy by the name of Fargis Santiago III who goes on a life changing journey to save the world from a gang called the Renegade who want to take over the world,” senior Izzy Vancho said. 

Students are learning how to better write and use their skills. 

“I hope to learn to better write things like dialogue and descriptions in order to properly convey the emotion or image I’m trying to create,” senior Brady Funk said. 

Smuniewski has high hopes for this assignment and is excited to see what the students come up with. 

“I’m hoping to see interesting, creative storylines that showcase the many skills and concepts we’ve studied throughout the semester,” Smuniewski said. “This unit is important because it allows students to write something that is entirely a creation of their imagination, which is an opportunity that doesn’t often come by.”

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WORLD HISTORY WITH MR. ROUMELES

By Ella Hopkins-Gianotti – Staff Reporter

In Mr. Roumeles’ World History class, students attended the Enlightenment Convention.

Over three classes, Mr. Roumeles’s students have been given one Enlightenment thinker to research and several others to lightly discuss for a debate on the following topics: government, religion, education, rights, and property.

“I wanted students to understand the big ideas about society that were challenged during the Enlightenment,” Roumeles said. “By representing an Enlightenment thinker, I ultimately wanted students to become aware of their thinker’s positions, but also scrutinize that of their contemporaries.”

The students learned about the different ways of thinking of each Enlightenment thinker. 

“I learned about philosophers’ different political points of view during the Enlightenment and how even though they were all trying to change the mindset of people around them,” freshman Anwita Puttam said. “I learned that their points of view are very different and very similar on different topics of religion, government, education, etc.”

All of the students were easily able to provide information on their Enlightenment thinkers during the convention.

“My favorite part of the Enlightenment Convention was how all of my classmates contributed to the conversation,” freshman Layla De La Cruz said. “Everyone did their part and were able to successfully talk about their Enlightenment thinker.”

Other students enjoyed this assignment for different reasons.

“It was kind of stress-free because I knew that I had enough time to do it, the research was easy, and the environment is good there,” freshman Isabelle Phelan-Clark said.

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JOURNALISM 1 WITH MR. KULENYCH

By Abigail Merenda – Staff Reporter

Mr. Kulenych’s Journalism 1 classes reviewed a band called “Almost Monday” and their album “DIVE.” 

Each class listened to two songs from the album – “Is It To Late?” and “Can’t Slow Down.” After listening to each of the songs the students had to write a review about their opinion. 

“The purpose of the album review lesson was to give students a real-world, real-time experience of being an entertainment reporter,” Kulenych said. “Students were given background information about the band, lyrics to two songs, and we listened to the album in real time in class together. Working collaboratively on writing a review of the album gave students the opportunity to bounce ideas off each other and make sure each review was detailed and complete.”

Students had mixed feelings about the band Almost Monday and their album. 

“Personally, I didn’t enjoy the band that much,” senior Taylor Coretti said. “This is because I wasn’t able to understand the lyrics and their music style is not something I usually listen to.” 

Senior Kishal Shah shared her opinion about the band and the themes of their songs. 

“I think the band’s music is definitely loud and energetic, and might sometimes only resonate with a specific target audience,” Shah said. “Although the general ‘summer vibe’ theme comes across, the songs themselves can be a little overwhelming and might only make sense in certain settings. Personally, I don’t love the songs I’ve listened to, but everyone of course forms their own opinions and has their own taste.”

Kulenych said that regardless of students’ opinion of the band, he was pleased to see them work through all stages of the review writing process.

“It’s always a fun lesson to do each year, regardless of whether students enjoyed the album or not, because they get to put themselves in the shoes of an actual reporter through all steps of the writing process,” Kulenych said.

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HEALTH AND SAFETY 1 WITH MR. SWEENEY

By Logan Thomas – Staff Reporter

Health teacher Mr. Sweeney recently went over a lesson about good decision making and about how students can prevent themselves from making bad choices.

Students used what they learned about decision-making to answer questions and make slideshows about the topic. They also learned how to avoid bad decisions and how to prevent them from happening.

“You cannot make progress without making decisions,” Sweeney said.

During the lesson, students learned about different scenarios to prevent making bad decisions. They also worked on a project that made them create a character that was able to make a good decision or was able to make a bad decision. 

Students either chose their character to go home and study or they weren’t out to party. There are many different ways students could have made their character.

“In class, we are learning about decision making,” freshman Dylan Gaillard said. “The projects and what we do in class will help a lot when something happens in the future so we can make the right decision.”

Sweeney explained how students also have to make good decisions based on their self-values. Self-values are very important when making decisions. Self-values are what people focus on in their lives that change how they act or live around people.

“In health, we are learning about decision-making,” freshman Aaryan Doshi said. “We are working on a project right now and it’s a comic strip of characters making a good decision. This unit is all about making the right decision.”

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ENGLISH 1 WITH MRS. EVANS

By Dylan Gaillard – Staff Reporter 

English teacher Mrs. Evans recently had her freshman students start their Social Justice Issue Project.

Students were tasked with choosing a topic they were interested in – income inequality, peaceful protests, and the #MeTooMovement were among some choices. They had to create a brief informative presentation that made their classmates aware of the issue while simultaneously engaging their audience with questions or interesting facts.

“I wanted to be sure my students have a clear understanding of social justice and what constitutes a social justice issue,” Evans said. “As I also believe in choice in learning, I’ve asked that we complete a mini research presentation on a social justice issue”

This project helped students learn more about Social Justice issues, and it was fun for the students because it is a topic that affects them and their lives. 

“At first, I was only slightly interested in researching the topic of Animal Welfare, but once I began researching I started learning a lot and it is a great topic to be educated on,” freshman Cora Aitkenhead said. “Through this project I got to learn a lot more about my own topic, but also learned a lot from everyone else’s presentations.”

Since not many classes at school regularly discuss Social Justice issues, students were excited at the opportunity to address the topics.

“I was very interested in the different things going on around the world,” freshman Patrick Mulligan said. “We never really learn about this topic in other classes so it was very cool to learn about Social Justice Issues.”

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CHEMISTRY LEVEL II WITH MS. TURCOTTE

By Carly Ranilla – Staff Reporter

Miss Doolan’s Chemistry Level II class focuses on the properties, composition, and the structure of elements and compounds and how they change. 

Students were recently put into groups and were all asked to watch a water-dropping experiment in the back of the classroom. After observing the system, students talked in their groups about what they saw and how the dropper had any relation to lightning. 

This exercise was a helpful way for students to witness examples of energy being transferred to create a lightning strike.

“I showed the Chemistry class the water dropper experiment as a way to simulate lightning in a safe way in a classroom,” Doolan said. “It was supposed to show them the process happening in a cloud and what produces lightning.”

Sophomore Joeliez Gonzalez was surprised by the results of the experiment.

“I noticed there was a spark in between the copper coins that were on top of the bucket,” Gonzalez said. “But it only happened because the water dripped into cups that connected to some wires that connected back to the coins.”

While making it an educational investigation for the students, Doolan also managed to make it a fun and memorable learning experience.

“My favorite part of watching the water dropper experiment was not only witnessing the spark between the copper coins, but also understanding the neutrons and particles that caused it to happen,” senior Kylee DelMedico said.

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HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY WITH MS. DOOLAN 

By Aiden Ramos – Staff Reporter

Ms. Doolan recently assigned her Human Anatomy & Physiology students musculoskeletal posters.

Students were grouped and tasked with tracing a classmate’s outline. Once completed, they divided the outline down the center, illustrating the muscular system on one side and the skeletal system on the other.

“The musculoskeletal project has my students create life-sized posters to show the major muscles and bones in the human body,” Doolan said. “I add in an opportunity for extra credit for the most creative poster so this adds a little bit of competition to the assignment. The project provides an opportunity for my students to work collaboratively together and be creative and engaged when learning the names and locations of the major muscles and bones.” 

Students work in groups and each group chose a different theme to base their skeleton and poster on. 

“I enjoyed getting to be creative and come up with my own ideas, and colors, but doing it while learning about science and the human body,” senior Christian Galligan said.

Doolan adds an opportunity for extra credit for the most creative poster which adds a little bit of competition to the assignment. 

“The most challenging part of the project was putting all of the bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the correct places, and making sure that everything was the right size,” senior Cesar Mendez said.

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INTRO TO PHOTOGRAPHY WITH MRS. ROMANOWSKI

By Henry Smith – Staff Reporter 

Photography teacher Mrs. Romanowski recently had her students take pictures using a dynamic perspective, shallow depth of field, and rule of thirds.

Students were able to go around the building to capture images. Once students had taken their final images they turned them in on Google Classroom.

“I hope that students got a better understanding and level of control within their camera throughout this assignment,” Romanowski said.

The activity had the students focus on the aperture and manual focus challenging students to find the perfect settings. The students’ photos had to clearly capture a defined subject with the background completely out of focus.

“It was challenging but really fun,” senior Nick Morales said. “It took a while to get the right image, but it was all a part of the process.” 

It took the class three periods for students to complete the assignment. Each student took their time to create a creative and correct photo.

“It was fun going around the school and taking photos,” freshman Lukas Saraco said. “Changing the setting on the camera was difficult but with help I was able to use the correct settings and take a good photo.”

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ENGLISH II WITH MR. HEALY

By Chloe Edmonds – Social Media Editor

Students in Mr. Healy’s English II class are reading “Catcher in The Rye” by J.D Salinger and  recently completed a reflection on Holden’s character. 

The lesson had several purposes: practicing skills students have been working on, encouraging collaboration, and helping students recognize key moments in the novel.

“We’ve been using notice and note moments pretty much every day trying to get reps in, so noticing those key moments, like ‘aha’ moments or words of the wiser, becomes automatic when you read,” Healy said. “Once you notice and note them, you can begin the work of deeper analysis by asking questions about their meaning, what the author’s purpose in including them, and what they reveal about characters.”

Students enjoyed the lesson and found it insightful to discuss Holden’s character. 

“Dealing with real world issues made me feel more connected to Holden’s character and made the message Mr. Healy was trying to get across much easier to understand,” sophomore Aiden Ramos said. 

The lesson was very in character for Healy’s teaching style as he finds assigning collaborative work better since students can feed off of each other. 

“The lesson has contributed to what we’ve already been learning in this unit,” sophomore Alivia Kaplanka said. “Reading the chapter as a smaller group of four people makes for deep discussions with my peers since it’s a lot more grounded when we read in class.” 

For this lesson, Healy wanted his students to ask meaningful questions about the text and record deeper thoughts about it. 

“Instead of me saying, ‘Holden keeps asking this same question. Why?’ and pointing it out to you, I wanted to see what you thought was important or meaningful,” Healy said. “And more often than not, you all both cover things I would have covered anyway, or bring up new and interesting ideas about the text that I never would have.” 

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AP MACROECONOMICS WITH MS. HEALY

By Kayla Markowitz – Editor-In-Chief

Students in Ms. Healy’s AP Macroeconomics class created personal circular flow models to demonstrate how their very own factors of production impact their contribution to the economy. 

To combat the difficulty of understanding how the circular flow of an economy works, AP Macro students were asked to create a model showing how they contribute to the economy through providing labor, earring income, and putting that money back into the economy by spending it. 

“We started to do the Circular Flow Model project to give students a more real world idea of how money and goods flow in our economy on a more personal level,” AP Macroeconomics teacher Ms. Healy said. “Students create the model centered around themselves or a family member if they don’t have a job. Students get to take a much closer look at how they provide resources to the “factor market” through the hours they work each week, they get to see how their labor, and other resources like rent and materials, are purchased and utilized by businesses to then create products they then spend money on in an endless loop.”

By going through the process of finding out how much they work and their weekly income, learning how much money it costs for the businesses they work at to operate, and then estimating how much of their income they put back into the economy, students were able to grasp a deeper understanding of how money flows in the economy.

“Making my own circular flow model helped me understand how the economy flows because it gave me a visual to connect back to my own life,” senior Sana Joshi said. “By physically making a model of how the economy affects me, it allowed me to understand how the economy affected the general population”

The project encouraged students to be innovative because all of the information came from their own life experiences. 

“My favorite part about the project was how creative I could be with it, and overall I feel it deepened my understanding of this unit and the economy as a whole and how money and labor flows in their own life,” senior Basel Chwiki said. “The model is a representation of how students contribute to the economy with their labor and how they choose to spend their income.”

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HONORS HUMANITIES WITH MR. KULENYCH AND MR. ZURAW

By Christian Galligan – Staff Reporter

In Honors Humanities, students are given the opportunity to learn about history, literature, and society.  

To begin their unit on Subcultures and Countercultures, teachers Mr. Zuraw and Mr. Kulenych gave students the opportunity to watch the ESPN documentary “The Fab Five,” based on five freshmen who played basketball at the University of Michigan in the early 1990s.  

“The Fab Five” introduced students to a famous counterculture in society and provided them with a sample documentary that they could use as a template for their upcoming Subculture Documentary Project.

“The documentary showed students the impact a counterculture group can have on society,” Kulenych said.  “Students also had to evaluate the director’s decisions in terms of who was interviewed, what B-roll footage was used, how certain shots were filmed, and how the story was told.”

The “Fab Five” documentary not only helped students understand the concept of countercultures but also allowed them to brainstorm ideas for the documentaries that they will produce on their own.

“For the ‘Fab Five’ assignment we are learning about how to make a good documentary and learning more about subcultures in documentaries,” senior Ella Franzman said.  “The documentary is teaching us good angles and what types of shots we should have when we make our documentary for Humanities.”

The documentary was able to teach students about what cultural impacts look like and also helped them understand the background of the “Fab Five.”

“I learned they created a significant cultural impact through multiple perspectives, such as sports and fashion,” senior Ivan Galicinao said.  “They changed how people saw the game of basketball and what it represented, as they would wear baggy shorts and trash talk, which was never done before them.”

The documentary was viewed as a great start for students, as they are expected to have their own documentaries completed by the end of the quarter.  

“Watching this documentary gave students a template for how to film their own upcoming documentary projects,” Kulenych said.  “Humanities students will have to make all of the same producing decisions themselves when they produce their own documentaries on subcultures here at Law or in the Milford community.”

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SPANISH II WITH MR. MCPARTLAND

By Reid Moulton – Staff Reporter

Mr. McPartland’s Spanish II class has just started a project for “hay que” and “se prohibe” vocabulary and how to use it.

The project is to help students understand how other countries around the world speak and how you can advance your knowledge with other languages. Students were able to work in pairs and had two and a half class periods to work on this. 

This project is supposed to give rules and things that incoming freshmen should do to be successful next year.

“I hope students learn how to effectively communicate rules and advice in Spanish beyond the language itself,” McPartland said. “The project also encourages them to think critically about what it takes to succeed in high school and how to express those ideas in a clear and concise way. Students are developing their ability to express things that should and should not be done in Spanish, which is an essential skill for practical communication.”

This project helped expand students’ knowledge of Hispanic culture, and helps students prepare for their future with languages. 

“The project helps me understand the unit better, and I think it will really make things easier to come,” freshman Daniel Rascoll said. “Being able to elaborate with other students really makes an impact with my learning.”

Students not only wrote about rules for incoming freshmen, they also got artistic by making drawings.

“It helps sharing ideas with other students and getting their perspective on what they think about the assignment,” freshman Arthur Rossi said. “The project allows me to get creative with my work, and lets me show my thinking outside of the Spanish.”

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FRENCH II WITH DR. EVANS

By Anwita Puttam – Staff Reporter

Dr. Evans’ French II Level 1 class recently had a group quiz focusing around the city Brittany in France.

The quiz was set up so that on the first day, students would have to answer 50 questions with just their general knowledge. Then they were given reading packets in French that broadened their information on Brittany. On the second day, students would work in pairs to compare each other’s answers, getting a new viewpoint on the questions while also negotiating with each other to prove which answers were right.

“My goal was to have you finish a quiz with more knowledge about the French region of Brittany than you started with; in essence, you were learning and processing new information while being assessed on previously learned material,” Evans said.

The goal of this style of taking quizzes was to expand the information of the students, while also seeing how far they had come with their knowledge on Brittany.

“Here it would have been nice to study everything that was on the quiz, yet we didn’t know all of the answers and even so, completing the quiz was still achievable with the ready, and even with the help of a fellow classmate,” freshman Breana Aquino said. “Breaking it down and comparing with somebody else was honestly beneficial, and helped us understand the questions and our answers better.”

This style of quiz taking allowed students to understand what they already knew, but also helped them gain new knowledge.

“This kind of style for quizzes is very unique and intelligent,” freshman Yara Saim said. “This style of taking quizzes would benefit students who might have trouble with the lesson. The given article can also teach students more about the topic at hand, showing them more than what they studied in the classroom.”

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CHOIR WITH MS. JONES

By Taylor Mola – Staff Reporter

The Jonathan Law Choir is working hard, rehearsing, and doing activities to prepare for their upcoming Winter Concert.

Choir Director Ms. Jones starts every day with different engaging warm-ups to prepare the students for class. The warm-up is followed by announcements so students know important dates and other information.

“We are working on so much in class,” Jones said. “I send out recordings for kids to work on at home, so by the time we get all back together the next day we are ready to work. We have a lot of part and section work that we do that needs to all be put together, so students need an idea so they are learning how it works all together.”

In class, students all gather together in their sections – Soprano, Alto, Tenor, or Bass – to work on the song or skill for that day. The Choir is consistently working on getting better day by day.

“I think everything is going really well,” senior Joshua Valentine said. “I know Concert Choir is the best it has been and Advanced Vocal Ensemble is going great. We all have most of everything down, and our class time is getting used very well. I’m just excited as this is my last Winter Concert and my last year of high school Choir.”

The Winter Concert is made up of six to eight songs that are all structured and performed differently. These songs help students to understand different kinds of music and learn how to be able to sing all types of music.

“We have a lot of great songs that are done very well and are going to be great,” sophomore Lexi Localzo said.

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INTRODUCTION TO CULINARY WITH MRS. LOPEZ

By Madi Black – Social Media Editor

Mrs. Lopez’s Introduction to Culinary classes recently made cinnamon rolls. 

Students loved this assignment and Lopez enjoyed helping students to expand their horizons by making new food that they can easily make at home. 

“My favorite part of this activity is to see the satisfaction in my student’s that they gave it their all,” Lopez said. “Even though it wasn’t perfect, they tried and learned and that is what this is all about. Mistakes in the kitchen are guaranteed and should be looked at as a part of the learning process. I would absolutely do this activity and recipe again and again.”

Even though this was a complex activity, many students enjoyed making the food and later eating it. Sophomore Maddie Nash loved making the food and being able to remake the food when she made a mistake. 

“My favorite part about making the cinnamon rolls would be messing up and redoing it,” Nash said. “I like how Mrs. Lopez does not rush us and lets us take our time.”

Senior Cameron Upchurch said that the rolls were one of his favorite foods and it was interesting to be able to learn what went into making the food. 

“I love getting the cinnamon rolls from the mall,” Upchurch said. “When I found out we were going to be making them I was so excited.”

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ROBOTICS 1 WITH MR. BARCELLO

By Vaughn Kraynak – Staff Reporter

Robotics teacher Mr. Barcello recently presented his Robotics 1 class with a new challenge: to pull as much weight as possible using their robots with the addition of gears. 

Depending on the size and order of their gears, students could build their robot to gain speed or strength based on the challenge they are given. The students’ goal was to attach a bucket of weights to their robot and be able to pull the weight. 

“The purpose of this assignment is to discuss the idea of gear ratios,” Barcello said. “Combining the different gears affects the torque and power as well as the speed.”

Attaching a smaller gear to the motor and adding additional larger gears can cause the robot to increase it’s power and pulling speed. On the other hand, attaching a larger gear to the motor and adding additional smaller gears can lead to an increase in the robots speed. 

“My favorite part about the gear activity is figuring out how the gears work with each other to produce power and speed,” sophomore Abdulla Faial said. “I like being able to experiment with different combinations.”

To make things more exciting, Barcello has turned the challenge into a competition amongst his students. Sophomore Justin DeGregorio currently is at the top of class, with his robot successfully pulling 15 pounds. 

“I’m really proud that I was able to pull 15 pounds,” DeGregorio said. “It took a lot of changes to my robot and a lot of fails to make everything work right.” 

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THE LIVING EARTH WITH MRS. MERCALDI

By Connor Ryan – Staff Reporter

Mrs. Mercaldi’s Living Earth Level 1 classes had some fun last week as they worked on an earthworm dissection.

Students had to cut open the earthworm using tools given by Mercaldi. They were assigned to write down measurements and identify the body parts.

“I enjoyed doing this dissection – I liked how I was able to work with my friends and classmates,” freshman Lia Veteri said. “I also was very unfamiliar with the tools and then after and during the dissection I understood how to use them.”

The students did not have to finish the dissection; this activity was just to have them learn how to dissect and if they enjoyed it. The students were partnered into groups of three, with two people being the experimenters and one being the note-taker.

“The experiment was meant for the kids to learn about how earthworms work and I really saw improvement in this experiment in the kids with the tools,” Mercaldi said

Students enjoyed the experiment and many said it was the most fun they have had this year.

“I really liked this experiment for multiple reasons,” freshman Ryan Woods said. “One, being able to work with my friends; two, being able to learn how to use new tools; and lastly, seeing my other classmates work hard and same with my friends.”

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ORCHESTRA WITH MR. PELAGGI

By Matthew Sanchez – Staff Reporter

Band Director Mr. Pelaggi recently rehearsed songs with his Orchestra students to prepare for the upcoming Winter Concert on December 18.

The pieces that the Strings Orchestra will be performing during the upcoming Winter Concert are “Burst,” “Allegro Molto,” and “Swan Lake.” At the start of class, Mr. Pelaggi makes his students tune together so that they are ready for playing. During class, he works with the Orchestra for all parts: violins, violas, and cellos. 

“I usually start class with a warm up or exercise, then move into the repertoire we play at concerts,” Pelaggi said. “When it gets closer to the concerts, we spend more time on repertoire than exercises, and vice versa when we have more instructional time.”

Pelaggi works with all members of the ensemble right up until the concert. The entire Orchestra listens to each other before playing for tuning. Junior violinist Jared Saludes is excited to play the Winter Concert selections.

“I think they’re super cool, especially Swan Lake because it’s a well known piece,” Saludes said. “‘Allegro Molto’ is my personal favorite because of its changing dynamics.” 

Members of the ensemble enjoy playing their parts. They all work as a group and improve with every practice. 

Freshman violinist Erik Borowski said that Pelaggi has helped him improve throughout the year. 

“Mr. Pelaggi has helped me improve greatly,” Borowski said. “I wasn’t confident with my violin skills until I had his class. He helps me with bowing, fingering, reading the music, and lots more.”

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AP U.S. HISTORY WITH MR. LUI

By Logan Mullarkey – Sports Editor

Mr. Lui’s AP United States History class recently worked on DBQ skills, focusing on reform movements from the early 1830s, like abolitionism, temperance, and women’s rights. 

The class was assigned a DBQ with seven documents where students had to describe each one, connect it to the topic, and create a HIPP statement (Historical Context, Intended Audience, Purpose, and Point of View).

“I was hoping that students could really hone their skills in analyzing primary sources and connecting them back to larger historical themes,” Lui said.

Students split into small groups to write responses for the three categories, then presented their work on the board for the class to review.

“I thought this activity was helpful because it gave us a chance to see what other groups came up with and how they approached the assignment,” junior David Guery said.

Afterward, the class participated in a gallery walk where students gave feedback on each other’s responses, providing new perspectives on the assignment.

“My favorite part was walking around during the gallery walk and seeing how others interpreted the documents,” sophomore Elizabeth Ramsauer said.

By the end, students not only improved their DBQ writing skills but also gained a deeper understanding of reform movements in American history.

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AP GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS WITH MR. ZURAW

By Brady O’Neil – Staff Reporter

Mr. Zuraw’s AP Government and Politics class offers students the opportunity to get college level information on different topics of the U.S government, including political institutions, public policy, and civil rights.

In order for his students to understand the different roles of government in the U.S, especially in individual states during massive catastrophes, Zuraw constructed a lesson using Hurricane Katrina to demonstrate the different levels of government and their individual involvement. Students were split into groups, and were given three separate levels of government – state, federal, and local.

“The point of that lesson is to bring some of the content vocabulary from the unit to life,” Zuraw said. “The concept of cooperative federalism is much easier to understand when you are actively acting it out. So by having the students each take on the role of a level of government and discuss different solutions to issues that arose during the hurricane, it really highlights the need for the cooperation of the levels of government (and also highlights the difficulties).”

This lesson helped students strengthen their understanding of government and their involvement in the states. 

“I had trouble understanding the difference between the federal government’s involvement and the state government,” junior Cooper Pietrowski said. “This lesson really made it clear to me how the federal government has power over the other factions, but the lower levels try to keep the federal government from interfering with their work.”

Not only was this a great way for students to learn about government, but it was a very collaborative assignment that required students to talk to one another in order for full comprehension to take place.

“It allowed me to collaborate with people I usually wouldn’t talk to,” Pietrowski said. “I think it allowed me to be a lot more receptive to other peoples opinions because I usually don’t talk to those people, and it took bias out of the equation.”

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MARINE SCIENCE WITH MR. MORAZZINI

By Sebastian Beltran – Staff Reporter

Students in Mr. Morazzini’s Marine Science class recently studied the chemical properties of water and its impact on marine ecosystems.

The assignment, “Water Polarity,” is essential for Marine Science students, as it allows them to understand many more ocean processes, from nutrient transport to climate regulation. By exploring how water interacts with itself and other molecules, students want to better understand the fundamental workings of the marine environment.

“The polarity of water leads to its high heat capacity which makes water resist changes in temperature, therefore moderating the temperature of the ocean making it suitable for marine life. Also because of this, living on the coastline of Long Island Sound we tend to have slightly warmer winter and cooler summer conditions than inland areas (due to water’s heat capacity),” Morazzini said. “Water’s polarity also affects its density which causes layering in the ocean and affects the way marine life interacts at different ocean layers. Sometimes you can find large schools of fish hanging out on a thermocline which is where water temperature changes drastically due to density differences.”

Water molecules have a slight positive charge on the hydrogen atoms and a negative charge on the oxygen atom, which creates a dipole moment. These properties, resulting from polarity, are the reason why water sticks to itself and other surfaces, influencing ocean currents and wave dynamics. Water’s ability to dissolve salts and gases is key to maintaining marine biodiversity and supporting food chains.

“It’s fascinating how such a small molecule can have an impact on the world,” junior Yeiden Nieves said. “Learning about the polarity of water and understanding why the oceans are so dynamic.”

The high thermal capacity of water moderates global temperatures, avoiding extreme fluctuations. This property allows small organisms to move across water surfaces and influences gas exchange in marine environments.

“Now I see why scientists say water is the lifeblood of our planet,” senior Evan Nash said. “It’s amazing how something so simple is connected to everything.”

Morazzini teaches the importance of the polar nature of water and helps students delve deeper into the science that shapes the oceans.

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THE LIVING EARTH WITH MR. MORAZZINI

By Morgan Cappock – Staff Reporter

Mr. Morazzini’s Living Earth class recently inspected the digestive system of earthworms in a lab. 

This lab took place during a block period and showed students how a real earthworm digestive system works. This hands-on activity engaged students in what the class had previously discussed in past lessons.

“Having the patience to go through the process of actually dissecting the earthworm engages the students,” Morazzini said.

Students were partnered up into groups of two and three and took turns dissecting the earthworm and writing data on their worksheets.

“It was new,”freshman Emilia Wojnarowicz said. “It’s something that is more fun to do than it sounds. And I feel like it’s a really good way to understand the earth better.”

The earthworms were preserved in formaldehyde and students cut along the middle of the skin just above the large intestine and over organs while pinning the skin to the base to open it.

“The experience of dissecting a once living creature is unlike any activity I have ever participated in,” freshman Malachy Conlon said. “The unexpected excitement was unique in every way. Not only learning, but seeing the digestive structure of an earthworm is fascinating.”

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ADVANCED CULINARY WITH MS. RYAN

By Aislyn McKernan – Social Media Editor 

Students in Ms. Ryan’s Advanced Culinary class recently planned, prepped, and cooked their own personalized beef stew.

The students planned out a beef stew that they could customize to their own tastes. They had several days for meal planning and prep, and then on a block day, students cooked their stew. 

“Various lessons lead up to each person making their own version of the beef stew. They learned about the different cuts of beef, explored different spices and blends, searing and braising, and time management,” Ryan said. “Students were able to customize their stews, choosing seasonings, carbohydrates, and vegetables. The vegetarians in the class learned the same searing and braising methods using dense vegetables.”

The students in the class liked that they could customize their stew and thought it was a good learning experience. They got to experiment with different seasonings and food. 

“The only thing I would do differently is change the cooking time of the beef,” sophomore Eden Jordan said. “I was happy with all my other customization to my stew.”

This activity shows each student’s tastes in food and seasoning.

“I like this lesson because since it is an individual cooking activity, I get to see each student put these lessons into practice,” Ryan said.

Students who prepared this meal had a very positive experience.

“I enjoyed the meal; it was a good combination of spices and ingredients,” sophomore Nicoletta Pacific said. “I would definitely make this meal again.” 

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CIVICS & AMERICAN GOVERNMENT WITH MR. LUI

By Haley Stroffolino – Social Media Editor-In-Chief

Students in Mr. Lui’s Civics class are learning about how a bill becomes a law in a fun, interesting way.

Instead of just reading or writing about it, they’re creating skits, songs, and board games to show what they’ve learned.

Students benefit from this because it challenges them to think outside the box and collaborate with their classmates,” Lui said. “It also introduces some new vocabulary that students might not be familiar with which means they’ll need to ask questions and do research.”

The project is an opportunity to connect what students learn in class to the real world. 

“This is a good way to learn because it makes a boring topic more fun and engaging,” junior Emily Roos said.

For many students, the creative approach made the topic more interesting.

“I think this project was important because every student should know how the government works,” sophomore Natalie Rendon said. “I liked it because Mr. Lui lets us be creative and express ourselves while showing what we learned.”

At the end of the project, the students get the opportunity to play the board games they’ve designed and listen to the songs they’ve created.

“It’s awesome because they get to showcase and celebrate the hard work they’ve put into their projects,” Lui said. 

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INTRO TO BUSINESS WITH MRS. ISRAELITE

By Adrian Vitale – Staff Reporter

Students in Mrs. Israelite’s Intro To Business class recently completed an assignment on the differences between McDonald’s franchises and other fast food franchises around the world.

The assignment showed students the differences in food menus in restaurants in different countries around the world.

“The purpose of the project was for students to explore how different countries and cultures impact the menu offerings at McDonald’s locations around the world as part of our unit on global business,” Israelite said.

The assignment was originally done on a Google Doc, though students were given the opportunity to make the assignment into a Google Slides project and present it to the class for extra credit.

“The project was fun and it was really cool learning about the different foods other countries McDonald’s had,” freshman Aaryan Doshi said.

Students learned about cultures in different countries through the lens of the McDonald’s menu.

“It was great, and learning about different cultures around the world was fun,” freshman Yusuf Genc said.

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SPORTS MARKETING WITH MR. BELER

By Cesar Mendez – Sports Editor

Students in Mr. Beler’s Sports Marketing class are starting to create their own sports franchises while taking into consideration cost and best location for the team.

Students picked a city to place their team and created logos and merchandise. They did everything necessary to create a fun and sustainable franchise.

”The purpose of this assignment is to show all of the different fascist of creating a professional sports franchise,” Beler said. “The research about the city of choice and does it have the capacity of supporting a team. The marketing behind all of the decisions of why you chose the team and the psychology of color schemes when selecting team colors. Once defined, creating a team and all of the marketing responsibilities such as team ticket sales, drafting players to define the organization, and creating a team website to keep fans updated in this social media world.”

The main goal of the assignment was to understand all the marketing and promotion that occurs for every sports team. 

“I had fun creating a team because it was cool to make a website and logos for everything,” junior Yeiden Nieves said. “It was also cool taking players of real teams and putting them onto mine.”

Students were able to take any players in the real word and put them onto their team to createthe best team available. 

“Putting good players on my hockey team made it fun to create the best new team in the NHL,” junior Jack Lefevre said.

By Kayla Markowitz – Editor-in-Chief 

The Jonathan Law AP/ECE French class made its way to UConn-Storrs on November 14. 

French class professors from UConn put together fun activities, games, workshops, and French trivia to help immerse high school students from all over Connecticut in the French-speaking world. Students got to participate in different programs to improve their French speaking skills and dive deeper into French culture. 

“I planned this trip hoping that my ECE French class would feel motivated by the experience of seeing other students from around the state who are also working hard to become proficient in French,” French Teacher Dr. Evans said. “I knew that my students would enjoy and be inspired by all of the French speakers they would meet throughout the day.”

Students from different schools were put into different conversation scenarios and expected to converse throughout the day completely in French. These conversation groups were designed to introduce students to each other and encourage them to demonstrate their french speaking skills. 

“I was able to meet people and have interesting conversations in French while learning lots of new vocabulary and learned a lot about French culture,” junior Siya Patil said. 

The class also participated in a trivia competition against other Connecticut schools to test their knowledge on different French topics. 

“We got to participate in the Quiz Bowl which was basically a series of trivia questions aimed to not only encourage students to learn more about french culture but also sharpened our grammar and vocabulary knowledge,” junior Harshitha Kothapalli said.

After an unfortunate loss of the Quiz Bowl, the AP/ECE class went to enjoy some ice cream at UConn’s local Dairy Bar Ice Cream shop, and share about their experiences throughout the day.

“My personal favorite part was seeing my students’ smiles throughout the day and later hearing about the interesting ‘mini-classes’ they attended,” Evans said. “I also really enjoyed dreaming about winning the huge French Quiz Bowl trophy next year and enjoying ice cream from the Dairy Bar on the UConn campus.”

By Sebastian Marino Beltran – Staff Reporter

At Jonathan Law, Mr. Healy has established himself as an English teacher who is dedicated to exploring literature and critical thinking among his students. 

With over 11 years of experience, Healy has become a beloved figure at Law, known for his unique teaching style.

Healy’s approach to teaching English goes beyond simple text analysis – he strives to make literature a better, relatable experience for his students. By encouraging students to connect themes and characters to real life situations, Healy helps them see literature as a tool to better understand the world.

“I try, as much as possible, to look at literature as a real-life case study,” Healy said. “Even fantasy or science fiction books deal with characters experiencing human emotions and problems. I also try as much as possible to show students how the themes in the novels can be applied to real life. I don’t know to what extent this is unique, but I think it’s the best approach.”

Healy’s students often describe her classroom as a space where to explore literature in a way that is relevant to their own lives.

“I design low-stakes, hands-on activities that students can succeed at so they don’t get discouraged,“ Healy said. ”I also ask students to ask questions about the things we read to see what they want and need to know, rather than me being the only person asking the questions in class.”

Known for his engaging lessons, he frequently incorporates group discussions and interactive activities that help students connect with the material on a personal level.

Students appreciate Healy’s engaging methods. Junior Brian Gonzalez said Healy makes literature enjoyable. 

“He encourages us to think critically and not just accept what’s on the page, with ” Gonzalez said. “His enthusiasm for teaching is contagious, making even complex texts accessible and easy to understand.” 

Healy often incorporates multimedia resources and creative projects, ensuring that lessons remain dynamic and interesting. 

“My goal is to help students not only excel academically, but also develop skills that will benefit them in the long run,” Healy said.

At Law, Healy continues to make a lasting impact on the next generation of thinkers, and his dedication to literature and education ensures students will carry the lessons learned in his classroom long into the future.

“How can we use literature to inspire change? What role does storytelling play in our understanding of ourselves,” Healy said. “These are questions I ask myself to help make my classes more engaging.” 

Healy’s commitment goes beyond academic teaching. He is a mentor who takes the time to understand each student’s strengths and challenges, to grow both personally and intellectually through thought and appreciation for literature and lifelong learning.

By Adrian Vitale – Staff Reporter

The National Art Honor Society is back for another year at Jonathan Law.

The club had its first meeting of the year in September and plans on having two meetings per month – on Mondays – during the school year.

“I can’t wait to see how they use their passion for art and culture to create an artists community of their own here at Jonathan Law High School,” NAHS Advisor Mrs. Murphy said.

To join NAHS, students need to have been in an art class for at least one year. Students must also have at least an A or higher in their art classes, and B’s or higher in their other academic classes in order to join or participate in NAHS.

“This year we have already begun making plans on how to incorporate art into more lives in our community,” Senior Officer Quinn Shane. “We started the year off with a fun meeting to all get to know one another and spend some time together. Now, we have begun our meetings to create something to give back to the community with art.”

NAHS is also excited to add new members this year.

“I hope to be able to learn more about the club this year, and be able to learn some of the people involved in the club,” freshman Fiad Rahman said. “To have a better understanding of it for next year.”

Freshman Vincenzo Mannino is interested in getting involved with NAHS as well.

“Hopefully there will be chances for not only just members, but people soon hoping to join the club to be able to join meetings,” Mannino said. 

NAHS is currently planning activities and events for the year and encourages all members to participate in their activities.

By Taylor Mola – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law students are very excited as they prepare for the much-anticipated Homecoming dance on Friday, November 22.

The dance will be held in the new gym and will take place from 7-10 p.m. 

Students of all grades are welcome to attend this dance as there will be many fun-filled activities for the night and a great experience for everyone

“I’m excited to go to Homecoming for the first time and have a great time with my friends,” Junior Aden Esposito said. “I’m also excited to go with my girlfriend and just have a great experience.”

For this dance, the Senior Student Council has put together some activities to help make this night a fun one for students.

“There will be concessions being sold, a backdrop for pictures, and a lot of dancing and fun,” Senior Class President Sarah Ahmed said. 

This year’s Homecoming is going to be similar to last year’s. Last year, so many students had such a great time and they are hoping that this year will be just as memorable and exciting. 

“I had a great time and a lot of fun last year,” junior Nick Cosmas said. “The music was awesome and I got to dance.”

To get into this dance, students will need a ticket. Students can buy tickets from the QR code outside Mrs. Francisco’s room or from the link in Mr. Darcy’s Homecoming e-mail. Tickets will be available to purchase until November 15 and cost $20.

Just like last year, every student who buys a ticket will have their name recorded for when they check into the dance. Once students enter this dance, they are not allowed to leave until it is over.

Students are excited to be able to find the perfect outfit and go with friends and others to this dance. 

“I’m excited to see all of my friends dressed up and it is something to look forward to,” sophomore Delaney Adkins said.

Homecoming brings everyone together and lets everyone have a memorable time.

“My Homecoming experience was very fun – a lot of my friends showed up and we had a great time,” junior Roman Belbita said. “It was simple and it was nice to have a nice break in the year.”

By Ella Hopkins-Gianotti – Staff Reporter

The Natural Helpers Club hosted a Bingo Night on October 28.

About 40 students attended the event, many coming with friends or showing up to meet new people. The night started off with an icebreaker where they got to learn a new fact about each other. Then they played Bingo and won some awesome prizes.

“We chose Bingo because it was something easy that could bring people in our community together,” Senior Natural Helpers Club President Sarah Ahmed said. “There were candy and prizes, so people got to take treats home.”

Some of the prizes consisted of different kinds of stress toys.

“I liked the candy and prizes because everyone was having fun,” sophomore Kamaya Mittoo said. “Even though I didn’t win anything, I had a great time.”

Before the club began the first round to kick off the game, they started with an icebreaker to make students feel more welcomed and comfortable with being around new people. 

“My favorite part was the icebreaker at the beginning where everyone was able to learn a new fact about each other,” Senior Vice President Carol Jiang said.

Students liked that they got to engage in a bit of friendly competition against each other.

“I got very close to winning and I did have a good time playing as it was friendly competition and although I didn’t when I still enjoyed playing,” freshman Sabrina Ilama Arango said.

Even club members participated in a couple of games.

“I, along with Sarah, started and led the event, making sure it ran as smoothly as possible,” Jiang said. “I started off with calling out the Bingo cards and eventually playing a few rounds near the end.”

Many of the students who came had an amazing time.

“A couple of my favorite things that happened at the Bingo Night were the icebreakers because it made the whole vibe and environment more casual and welcoming, the actual Bingo because it was a lot of fun and there was a variety of prizes, and lastly the candy because it made the energy more relaxed,” sophomore Cassandra Smith said. “Plus, who doesn’t love candy?”

The Bingo cards were Halloween-themed because Halloween was just in a couple of days.

“Overall I thought it was really fun and successful,” Jiang said. “This is an event we’ll probably keep doing in the future.“

Ahmed said the club hope to do another Bingo Night next Halloween season.

“Maybe next year we’ll do it again,” Ahmed said.

By Madison Krauss – Staff Reporter

The Friends Forever Club, advised by Mrs. Blude, connects special education students and regular education for various activities. 

Friends Forever is a club opened to all students that participates in fun activities collaboratively with some of the special education students at law.

“Friends Forever is a club after school where our regular education and special education students come together for conversation, crafts, food and fun,” Blude said.

The Friends Forever Club is open to all students. Anyone interested in joining this club should contact Blude for more information about the upcoming events.

The club meets once a month to get together to take part in themed activities that correspond with the upcoming holiday season. 

“Usually each month we have a holiday theme and we do an activity that pertains to the upcoming holiday season,” Blude said. “We play games and have food.” 

Many members of the club are looking forward to enjoying the activities they do each meeting. 

“I am most looking forward to having fun and making my peers feel safe and happy,” junior Ava Ambrusco said.

Friends Forever meetings feature engaging and relevant events that unite all types of students. 

Senior Riley Lapham is especially looking forward to the holiday themed activities during Friends Forever meetings.

“I am most looking forward to the Holiday party where we take part in various holiday themed activities,” Lapham said. 

While many members cherish the themed activities, senior Parker Michels is excited about the opportunity to help the club grow.

“I’m most looking forward to bringing in more helpers to join Friends Forever,” Michels said. 

Even if students are unable to stay the full hour after school, Blude encourages people to stop in and say hello whenever they can. 

The Friends Forever Club aims to create a positive and lasting impact on the Jonathan Law community.

“It is a really great time for the incredible students at law to spread their love and compassion to their peers,” Blude said. 

Friends Forever is a welcoming space where students can build new connections within the Law community while enjoying a variety of fun activities.

“I am also excited to strengthen relationships with students involved,” Michels said. 

The Friends Forever Club is a community where students uplift and support one another.

“Friends Forever is so generous and always there for a helping hand,” Ambrusco said. “What I like most about this club is firstly our advisors, and secondly, everyone in it.” 

By Aislyn McKernan – Social Media Editor 

Jonathan Law’s Keyettes Club partnered with the Red Cross to host a fall Blood Drive on October 26. 

The Keyettes Club teamed up with the Red Cross and anyone 16 or older could donate blood. There was a successful turnout and each donation of blood saved three lives. 

“It went really well; it was very successful,” Junior Co-President Lexi Velez said. “We reached the maximum number of people we could accept for the drive.” 

The Keyettes worked very hard to make this blood drive happen. The members were very excited to volunteer and the students and staff at Law were also eager to donate. 

“I chose to do the Blood Drive because it’s such a good thing to do for people,” Library Media Specialist Ms. Mundy said. “I know how important donating blood is to help people recover from life-threatening conditions. It feels good to know that I could save a life by giving up a little of my time.” 

Many students and staff members said they were glad they got to participate and to make a difference with their donation. 

“I would gladly do the blood drive again,” History teacher Mr. Evanko said. “I like how many people my donation can help.” 

Many Keyettes members volunteered at the Blood Drive throughout the day,

“My experience with the Red Cross workers and helpers was great,” junior Harshitha Kothapalli said, “They were so friendly and helpful, especially for my first time donating blood.”

The Keyettes are very hopeful that this Blood Drive will continue on in future years. They love working with the Red Cross and advocating for the need for donated blood. 

“Keyettes chose to do a Blood Drive because it was a way to bring awareness of how much donating blood could impact others,” said co-club president Nicole Naula. “Not only that but it enhances the idea that the Red Cross is always in need of blood.”