(Photo courtesy Bobby Black)

By Bobby Black – Sports Editor

Mr. Schacht is a new Special Education teacher this year at Jonathan Law.

Schacht came to Law after previously teaching at Naugatuck High School. 

“The staff and students at JLHS have been super friendly and helpful,” Schacht said. ”During the first week there was excited energy and good vibes in the building with everyone excited for a new year.”

Schacht is excited to teach the Behavioral Support Program at Law. 

“The most promising trait that we see is that Mr. Schacht will never give up on any student, no matter the circumstances,” Law Principal Mr. Darcy said. ”He’s willing to work closely with students to ensure their individual success.”

Schacht chose to apply for the job after talking to a friend in the building who recommended the Milford Public Schools, and Law specifically.

“I met Mr. Schacht through our Special Education Supervisor, Mr. Paradis,” Darcy said. “He recommended him for the position due to his prior experiences.”

Darcy and others believe that Schacht fits in perfectly with the community at Law. 

“Mr. Schacht fits in perfectly with our Law community because he has the same views we share,” Darcy said. “We believe that all students can learn and we treat each other like a large family.”

(Photo courtesy Quinn Willett)

By Quinn Willett – Social Media Editor 

New English teacher Mrs. Evans made the move to Jonathan Law High this year. 

Evans worked at two other high schools – Masuk High School in Monroe and Oxford High School – is loving the change to Jonathan Law. She is enjoying her time with her freshman classes and is also excited to teach Creative Writing. 

“I like it a lot,” Evans said. “The kids are fun and engaged in school, easy to work with, and the teachers are nice and supportive.”

Evans said she also loves the supportive administration at Law. 

“Here at Law the administration is in it with us,” Evans said. “Teachers and administrators are in it together and they all work together as one.”

Evans’ students said that she is a super-understanding teacher who goes out of her way to help students. 

“Mrs. Evans is a great teacher,” freshman Cole Alogna said. “She’s kind and understanding and always offers to help us.”

Besides teaching English, Evans has 13-year-old twins and a dog named Milo. She enjoys exercising and spending time with her children and husband. 

(Photo courtesy Harshitha Kothapalli)

By Harshitha Kothapalli – News Editor

As the new school year begins, Law’s freshmen are becoming well-adjusted to their new classes and environment.

After a great start to the year, freshmen at Jonathan Law are now familiar with the school and faculty members.

“High school’s been great,” freshman Nik Misra said. “I know where all my classes are now.”

The Freshmen Academy teachers are always trying to get freshmen well-adapted to the new school and year. 

“We are a group of teachers (The Freshmen Academy) who meet with freshman students throughout the year to check on their progress,” science teacher Mr. Morazzini said. “We also design experiences with the help of the upperclassmen (such as Freshman Welcome Day) to introduce our students into the law community.”

This year’s freshmen seem to have had a smooth transition from middle school to high school with the help of their teachers.

“It was pretty seamless because we were taught everything we needed to know and the orientation definitely helped,” freshman Carson Ferguson said.

Assistant Principal Mrs. Sulzycki stressed the need for freshmen to join Law’s extracurricular activities. 

“I think it is so important for freshmen to get involved,” Sulzycki said. “It’s the best way to meet people and feel comfortable in their environment.”

Freshmen have also learned the importance of high school and the differences between middle school and high school.

“You have a lot more freedom,” Misra said. “Teachers let you do your own thing but also make sure you’re on the right path.”

Teachers are excited to work with the new freshmen to make sure they are ready to take on the year.

“The freshman class seems great this year, and as part of the Freshman Team we look forward to developing different experiences for the freshmen to get them acclimated to the law family,” Morazzini said.

Upperclassmen are also always willing to help freshmen out and make sure they know where they are going.

“Everyone’s really nice,” freshman Matt Whitteman said. “Going to my classes has been very easy. I just ask people and they show me the way.”

(Photo courtesy Zack Sulkis)

By Zachary Sulkis – Social Media Editor-in-Chief

Jonathan Law principal Mr. Darcy is looking forward to his second year leading the Lawmen. Social Media Editor-In-Chief Zack Sulkis interviewed Darcy about the 2023-2024 school year

Zack Sulkis: What are you looking forward to most about this school year?

Mr. Darcy: I’m looking forward to seeing students grow academically while working with our great staff members. I’m also looking forward to getting to know more students and understanding how I can support their needs. 

ZS: What are some events at law this school year you are looking forward to?

MD: All of the special events like Prom, but also seeing our talented students in musical acts, art and athletics. 

ZS: What is one important thing that the staff and students should know about your third year as principal?

MD: In year three we are really working to organize and structure our supports we have in place for students when they are struggling. I want students and staff to know that we will do our best to make sure every student is supported to be successful. 

ZS: How do you feel your first two years went as principal at Law?

MD: I feel my first two years went well, but for completely different reasons. In year one, I came in October so I had to learn as much as possible about the school, staff and students. I didn’t get to really dig into details, but only really learned traditions and organizational items. In year two, we were able to adjust some supports we had in place for students and provide more activities for students than in prior years. I was finally really able to get to know more students and staff on a personal level. 

ZS: What are your thoughts on the new vice principals?

MD: Mrs. Sulzycki and Mrs. Farotti have already started to build positive relationships with staff. I know they are the right choices to help lead us based on what I learned about them in the interview process and I’m excited to work with them for many years to come. 

ZS: What are your thoughts on our new athletic director? 

MD: Mr. Drew was definitely the right person to become our new AD. He was the football coach at Foran, but his teaching and coaching roots started here at Law. He’s a Lawman and this is sort of a homecoming for him. I have no doubt he will lead us to the next level with our already successful athletic program. 

ZS: What are your thoughts on all of the new teachers this school year?

MD: Our new teachers have one very common trait. They all love having an impact on students and I’m excited to see what they are able to do this year. 

ZS: Any advice for the incoming freshmen this year?

MD: My advice is to get involved with something. Play an instrument, play a sport, join a club or even start a new club. The more involved you are, the better your high school experience will be. 

ZS: Any advice for this year’s seniors?

MD: This year is going to fly by. Take the time to recognize special moments throughout the year because once you have them, they are gone. 

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

MD: Being a Lawman comes down to treating everyone as a family member. We aren’t always going to agree with our family members, but we support them and respect them. Law is a special place because of the family we’ve created together.

(Photo courtesy milforded.org)

By Gemard Guery – Editor-In-Chief and Editorial Editor

This past summer, two new assistant principals joined Jonathan Law’s faculty.  

Mrs. Sulzycki is one of those assistant principals for the freshman and junior classes. While she only recently started her new job, she is already loving her time at Law.

“I am having a great year so far – enjoying getting to know students and staff here,” Sulzycki said. “My favorite part of working here is the true sense of community that I feel. All the adults in the building seem like they truly want what is best for students. Staff and students seem like they genuinely enjoy being here every day.”

Sulzycki graduated with a degree in Psychology from the University of Connecticut and has a Masters in school psychology from Southern Connecticut State University.  Prior to Jonathan Law, Sulzycki worked as the Director of Pupil Services in Plymouth and an assistant principal at Ox Ridge in Darien. 

“Through the interview process, I could tell she would be good for the school and knew she would be good for students as well,” Law Principal Mr. Darcy said. “She also has a background in psychology and special education which is a great addition for our students and school environment.”

The Law community convinced Sulzycki to apply.

“I applied for a job at Law because I love the Milford community,” Sulzycki said. “I have strong ties to the town (my husband is a Lawman, Class of ’99) and I know that Milford is a progressive school district that has the best interest of students at heart.”

At her past school, Sulzycki developed bullying prevention plans and used restorative practice to implement new discipline procedures.  She was actively involved in professional development that prioritized SEL (Social Emotional Learning)

This school year, Sulzycki is looking forward to getting to know the students better.

“I plan to go to club meetings as they get up and running and attend sporting events so I can see students outside the classroom,” Sulzycki said.

Outside of school, Mrs. Sulzycki loves to read and spend time with her husband and 11-month-old son, Alex.

(Photo courtesy Haley Stroffolino)

By Haley Stroffolino – Social Media Editor

Mrs. Spose is a new math teacher who recently made the move from Joseph A. Foran High School to Jonathan Law High School.

“I am absolutely loving the new and exciting environment at Law,” Spose said. “The students, people, and administration at Law makes me feel right at home. The family-like atmosphere and the strong sense of teamwork and collaboration are what really stands out.”

Although Law is a smaller school than what Spose is used to, it just adds to the super calming atmosphere, sweetness, and helpfulness of everyone here. 

Spose is most excited to teach Pre-Calculus and make math exciting for her students.

“Mrs. Spose is incredibly helpful and nice,” junior Jack Distassio said. “Whether it’s explaining a tough concept or accepting corrections to get a better grade, she is always there to help.”

Outside of school, Spose is a dedicated coach for Foran’s volleyball and outdoor track and field teams. She also has a set of four-year-old twins (a boy and a girl) to keep her on her toes.

(Photo courtesy milforded.org)

By Maya Markowitz – Social Media Editor

Over the summer, Jonathan Law welcomed two new assistant principals into the school community. 

One of the new administrators, Mrs. Farrotti, is assigned to the sophomore and the senior classes. Although school only started on August 30, she already feels welcomed into the Law community. 

“It has been a very smooth transition here,” Farotti said. “I feel very welcomed by students and staff as they are genuinely interested in getting to know me.”

Farotti completed her undergraduate degree at Sacred Heart University and earned her Masters in Education from the University of New Haven. 

Before joining Law, Farotti worked as an assistant principal in East Haven. She also previously worked in Milford as a science teacher at Foran High School where she was involved in many student activities, including the Key Club.

“I believe that through her relatability to students and other staff members, she has really made a great adjustment to the school,” Law Principal Mr. Darcy said. 

As the year continues, Farotti hopes to become more involved with the student body and to get to know students and families.

“Developing strong relationships is very important to me so that when someone needs something they know that they can come to me,” Farotti said.

Outside of school, Farotti enjoys reading and hanging out with her husband and two children. 

(Photo courtesy @jlhshelpers)

By Zachary Santarcangelo – Staff Reporter 

The Natural Helpers Club will be holding a De-Stress Fest on June 1 at Jonathan Law to help students relax before final exams with a variety of activities.

The club will have many activities for students to participate in along with opportunities to relax. The activities will be available in Rooms 185, 187, and 193 in the freshmen wing. There is also basketball in the new gym along with the petting zoo in the student parking lot.

The festivities will start at 2:15 p.m. and will end at 3:30 p.m.

“There will be many different ‘rooms’ that students can check out,” advisor Ms. Smuniewski said. “Including the ‘cozy room’ with movies, games, and snacks, the “arts and crafts room” with friendship bracelet making and rock painting.”

This is just the start, though. There are even more activities for students to enjoy. These activities include an ice cream truck, a petting zoo, a karaoke room, and basketball in the gym. 

“There will be a ‘karaoke room’ where students can sing their favorite songs,” Smuniewski said. “There will also be basketball and other games in the new gym, and an ice cream truck and petting zoo in the student parking lot.”

The De-Stress Fest was started as a way to help students come together and make new friends. The De-Stress Fest also gives students the opportunity to calm down before final exams. 

“We thought that having a big event with a variety of fun activities would be something students would appreciate to help them ‘de-stress’ before final exams,” Smuniewski said.

The De-Stress Fest was also started to give students many different methods of relaxation that can fit their own personal preferences. The event will have an activity for everyone to do in order to relieve their stress.

“The variety of activities we have planned allows students to pick whichever method of relaxation best suits them,” Smuniewski said. “Whether it’s games, crafts, ice cream, animals, or all of the above, there’s something to help everyone unwind a bit as they begin to prepare for exams.” 

(Photo courtesy Caroline Doyle)

By Hannah Engel – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law sophomore Addy Barber is the new Key Club Lieutenant Governor for District 20. Advocate Staff Reporter Hannah Engel interviewed Barber about her new role.

Hannah Engel: What is your role as Lieutenant Governor?

Addy Barber: As LTG, I communicate between 10 different clubs in our division and I make sure they are doing everything they need to do and communicate with the district board. I also send out monthly newsletters, attend board training, and send in monthly reports on all the clubs.

HE: What are your goals as LTG?

AB: My two main goals are to open a new Kiwanis Family Club and to hold a Division-wide service project. 

HE: Where are the trainings? What do you do at the trainings? 

AB: This weekend I was at a board training in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, and the next ones are in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We did board bonding activities and a lot of information on goal setting, service projects, and how a board meeting runs.

HE: How did you become LTG?

AB: To run for LTG I had to write a speech and give it over Google Meet with the Area Advisor, past LTG, and (Law senior) Caroline Doyle, who is Immediate Past District Governor. Then at DECON me and the other LTGs had a two hour training session on what we have to do.

HE: What service projects do you have planned so far?

AB: This weekend me and three other LTGs started working on a fundraiser for the Thirst Project, which is a non-profit organization that aims to bring safe drinking water to communities around the world where it is not immediately available. 

(Photo courtesy @JLHSBoosterClub)

By Jack Bretthauer – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law hosted the annual Senior Sports Awards banquet on May 17 at Great River Country Club.

The ceremony, which was hosted by Interim Athletic Director Mr. Ragaini, featured many awards including: the Ironman Award (four years of all varsity sports), the Lawman Award (12-season athletes), Male Athlete of the Senior Class, Female Athlete of the Senior Class, the Sportsmanship Award, and the Jonathan Law Booster Club scholarships.

Senior Paige Jolley was the recipient of the Female Athlete of the Senior Class Award.

“I was surprised because I decided not to play basketball my senior year so winning that award didn’t even cross my mind,” Jolley said.

Senior John Neider won the Male Athlete of the Senior Class Award.

“I was very excited to win the award,” Neider said. “It was a big honor and I was very happy that I was selected to win it.”

The Sportsmanship Award went to senior Macie Rascoll.

“I was filled with overwhelming joy and excitement after hearing my name to win such an amazing award,” Rascoll said. “It was so awesome to hear such nice things being said about me. It really meant a lot.”

Some of the biggest awards of the night were the $750 Jonathan Law Booster Slub scholarships which were won by Rishabh Nair, Liam Fedigan, Rascoll, Nicolina Salanto, and Demi Carrapico.

“It was a true honor to receive one of the five JLHS Booster Club scholarships,” Nair said. “It was a surreal moment, and I’m incredibly grateful to Coach Maxwell for writing my recommendation, as well as to the Booster Club for taking the time to read my essay and selecting me.”

The five scholarships were the most ever handed out by the Booster Club.

“I want to extend my gratitude to the Booster Club and all that they do to make scholarships possible,” Fedigan said. “I was thrilled when I heard my name announced as a recipient of this wonderful award. I am so deeply honored and appreciative of the Booster Clubs support on my behalf.”

(Photo courtesy @jlawdrama)

By Bobby Black – Sports Editor

The Jonathan Law Drama Club thrilled audiences with its performances of “High School Musical” on May 5-6.

The play was a musical and included many songs, characters, and scenes from the original movie.

“My favorite moments throughout the play were the scenes called ‘We’re All In This Together’ as well as ‘Get Your Head In The Game’ and ‘Status Quo,” sophomore Max Akuffo said.

Some key characters in the play were Troy Bolton, Chad Demforth, Zeke Bailor, and Gabrielle Montez.

“I played Jason Cross who was the best friend of the main character, Troy Bolton, which was a fun and good character to play,” Akuffo said.

There were some challenges in planning and rehearsing for the play but the Drama Club overcame these challenges and performed well.

Several Drama Club members were even for High School Halo Awards for their performances, including Hailey Russo for her role as Sharpay Evans, Faith Santiago as Ryan Evans, Sofia Mazzella as Ms. Darbus, Finn Sclafani as Troy Bolton, and Tim Girandola as Zeke Baylor.

Freshman Eliot Carter said the play’s choreography was the biggest obstacle.

“Some of the biggest challenges were remembering choreography and lines as well as getting to meet the new people in the play,” freshman Eliot Carter said.

Senior Sofia Mazzella said that despite the large crowds in attendance, she was not nervous on stage.

“I tell myself that rather than letting the crowd intimidate me, to let them excite me,” Mazella said. “I let myself feel all the emotions that may be in my mind at the time, including the nerves, because believe it or not, nerves motivate me to do my best. I also seek support from my cast and crew members in which they help calm me down, and basically hype me up, and share the same excitement that I obtain. I make sure I feel confident within my physical appearance to increase my overall confidence about my performance.”

Remembering lines can be the most difficult part of performing a musical, but the cast said they came up with different methods of memorization.

“I usually easily adapt to my lines, and they naturally get implanted into my mind, and when we rehearse every week, my mind is continuing to be trained to memorize them,” Mazzella said. “In my free time, I sometimes rehearse lines with friends, as well as read over them millions of times until I am comfortable. As for techniques, I sometimes focus on the few last words of the line that the other actor may say before my lines. I sorta use that as my cue to remember which line comes when. If it comes to memorizing a monologue, which I had to do multiple times, I really focused on dividing it into pieces, memorizing those pieces, and then allowing it to all flow together.”

Akuffo said the close-knit nature of Drama Club helped the play go smoothly.

“On both days that we performed there were a lot of people in the crowd and the play went smoothly because of our chemistry and we all got along and worked really hard,” Akuffo said. 

(Photo by Ella Franzman)

By Ella Franzman – Sports Editor

With the end of the year approaching, Advocate Sports Editor Ella Franzman interviewed Law Principal Mr. Darcy to reflect on the 2022-2023 school year. 

Ella Franzman: What are your goals for next year?

Bryan Darcy: My goal is always the same. I want every student to feel heard, supported and valued during their time here at Law. I’ll do everything in my power to ensure a successful school year for all students. 

EF: What was your favorite memory this year?

BD: My favorite memory of the year was our first pep rally in the fall. It was nice to see the school come together to celebrate and acknowledge each other. Coming off of covid years, it was great to do this in a “normal” way as well. 

EF: How was this school year compared to last year?

BD: It felt like a fresh start on a personal level. It was somewhat difficult to start here in October last year. I had to learn about a school, balance covid restrictions, try to modify some things quickly, and get to know students while starting at a new school and district. This year was about coming back to “normal” and learning/navigating the school year together (both staff and students). I’m happy I made the move and truly love it here at Law. 

EF: What big initiatives are you gonna start?

BD: I think our next step is getting more student voices into the equation. I want to meet with students next year and get their feedback on what works for them (or doesnt). This will allow our school to be even better moving forward. So, I wouldn’t just say an initiative, it’s more of a mindshift. 

EF: What is your advice to the incoming Class of 2027?

BD: Get involved. We have a sport, club or activity for everyone here at Law. Incoming freshmen need to be involved in something other than just clocking in and clocking out of school each day. The more involved you are, the better experience you will have over your four years here. 

EF: What is your advice to the leaving Class of 2023?

BD: Give time. Give your time to others. There is only one thing you can’t get back, time… Give your time to your loved ones because you’ll never get it back. 

EF: What is your favorite part about school? 

BD: My favorite part about our school is the love and support I see from students to each other everyday. We are an inclusive family where everyone is supported. You feel and see that everyday in our hallways. 

EF: What was your biggest victory and/or challenge this year?

BD: Our biggest victory was providing more experiences for students this year. We had more dances, activities, clubs, and field trips than ever. This wasn’t just because we came off of covid. It was a concentration on having students experience life outside of our hallways. 

EF: Any summer plans?

BD: I’ll be heading to Narragansett Rhode Island. We’ve been going there since I was a kid and now own a home there. We will spend two weeks there with family and friends. Then, we are taking our girls to Ocean City, Maryland at the beginning of August. I also work during the summer so I’ll be at Law throughout the summer weeks as well. 

EF: Any last messages to the Class of 2023?

BD: My last message is to always know that no matter where you go in life, you all have a home here at Law. You are always a member of the Law community and family. All of you can always reach out to me if you need anything. I’ll do what I can to help. 

(Photo courtesy Maya Rosado)

By Helen Chizmazia, Maddy Gaillard, Olivia Hudak and Caden Simpson – Advocate Editors

The Class of 2023 Senior Prom was held on May 12 at Amarante’s Sea Cliff.

Seniors were able to celebrate their past four years at Jonathan Law by participating in the prom activities. 

Prom was a great experience for students and gave them the ability to have a fun night. The Prom itself was held at Amarante’s and the Post Prom was held at the Sports Center in Shelton. 

“I enjoyed dancing within the crowd of people and taking pictures with the props,” senior Miranda Meyer said. “I also loved seeing the sunset and sitting down on the grass. The food was also very good.”

The question of where prom should be held was a debate; however, the location that was ultimately picked seemed to be a great success. 

“Usually we let the class officers help pick the venue, but since elections were held in the fall (and we needed to book a venue earlier than that) Ms. Russell and I called various locations to book a venue,” Senior Class Advisor Mrs. Francisco said. “Over the summer, we chose Amarante’s and then had the officers help us with the details.” 

During Prom, there were multiple options for students on what they preferred to do. 

“I think it was a very organized event and I think that everyone had such a great time,” Meyer said. “I also loved the option of being inside or sitting outside because it gave people a chance to get away from the music and crowd of people.”

Additionally, there were tons of fun equipment to use to take photos as well as props. 

“My favorite part of the night was the camera that circled around you,” senior Aidan Ryan said. “It was cool seeing the edited video of you and your date after you stood there awkwardly not knowing what pose to do.”

With planning prom and post prom, there were many factors to consider. 

“We wanted to make sure there was something for everyone to enjoy. Whether you wanted to spend your time dancing or simply sitting out in the gazebo, everyone found some fun,” Francisco said. “We also tried to focus on the small details. Our theme was ‘red carpet’ so we wanted to have paparazzi, an actual red (sparkly) carpet, sunglasses for kids to take home, and silver/gold centerpieces.” 

Ultimately, one of the main goals for holding a Senior prom is to let the students enjoy each other’s company considering the school year is coming to a close. 

“My favorite part was post prom because it was a way for everyone to get comfy and play games,” Meyer said. “I think it is important, now that our senior year is ending, to spend time with each other and have as much fun as possible.”

(Photo courtesy Angus Cheng)

By Gemard Guery and Zack Sulkis – Advocate Editors

Angus Cheng has officially been named Jonathan Law’s Class of 2023 Salutatorian.

Cheng will be attending Princeton University and plans to major in computer science.

“I felt good and accomplished with myself when I found out that I was Salutatorian,” Cheng said. “I felt like I solidified my presence at Law and fulfilled my greatest goals.”

Cheng took 12 AP classes during his time at Jonathan Law while also juggling other extracurriculars and activities.  

Some AP courses that Cheng took include has taken are United States Government and Politics, United States History, Computer Science Principles, Human Geography, English Language, and Statistics. He’s currently taking English Literature, Calculus BC, Spanish, CSA, Environmental Science, and Psychology.

“Angus is so conscientious about his work,” Spanish teacher Mr. McPartland said. “What separates him from most students is that he works proactively and doesn’t allow things to fall through the cracks. He’s helpful and always wondering what’s next. He cares about learning and wants to get better. Angus is what you wish every student would be.”

Over the course of the past four years, Cheng served as President of the Model UN, Co-President of Math Club, Vice President of the Class of 2023, Secretary of the National Math Honor Society, Secretary of Science Club, and was part of the Student Help Desk for students who need help with their Chromebooks. Cheng was also a soccer captain and camp counselor at the Boys and Girls Club of Milford.  

“Angus is a one of kind friend and student,” senior Rishabh Nair said. “He is always there to help someone if they need. He is dedicated to whatever he puts his mind to and always strives to improve himself everyday.  Everybody would be lucky to have such a good friend as Angus.”

In addition to being named Salutatorian, Cheng has won many awards during his time at Jonathan Law. Cheng is graduating with distinction and he is a recipient of the Harvard Book Award and the Volunteer Award from the Boys and Girls Club of Milford.  Angus is also an AP Scholar and participant in the NSLI-Y program.

“Angus is an intelligent kid, quiet, humble,” Law Principal Mr. Darcy said. “I honestly didn’t know he was going to go to Princeton until about a week prior to him being announced Salutatorian. He’s truly a role model student.”

While Cheng worked so incredibly hard to achieve this accomplishment, he is incredibly thankful for his family that supported him over the years.

“My parents have been my biggest supporters since the beginning, providing me with immeasurable love, offering unwavering guidance, and selflessly making countless sacrifices for me throughout my entire life,” Cheng said. “Their actions and influence have been and will continue to be invaluable to me. I am forever grateful for them.”

(Photo courtesy Mr. Darcy)

By Ella Franzman – Sports Editor

Seniors Aislinn Burns and Cole Pleimann recently won the 2022-2023 CAS-CIAC Scholar Athlete Award for Jonathan Law. 

Burns and Pleimann were selected by building staff and administration in a meeting a few months ago while reviewing the attributes they felt were most important to represent Jonathan Law and CIAC values. 

“I feel Cole and Aislinn are prime examples of what being a student-athlete is all about,” Principal Mr. Darcy said. “They compete on the playing field, in the classroom and they are kind to others. They were great choices to represent JLHS.”

Burns is a 12-season athlete in swimming and indoor and outdoor track & field. 

“I am so honored to be chosen as the female CAS-CIAC scholar athlete for Law,” Burns said. “I have worked extremely hard my 4 years of high school to balance academics and athletics, and I’m so happy that I get to serve as a role model for younger athletes and encourage them to be the best student athletes they can be.”

Burns was also a captain of the swim team and both indoor and outdoor track teams. 

“I consider Aislinn to be one of the most exceptional student-athletes I have ever coached, she is a leader in the pool and will not settle for anything but her best,” assistamt swim coach and history teacher Mr. Lui said. “After swimming her event, she would always be the first to ask for feedback on how she could improve, regardless if she swam a best time.” 

Pleimann is a four-year member of the Jonathan Law baseball team, and is a captain of the team this year. 

“It was an honor being selected for such a prestigious award, it felt amazing knowing that others saw not only the character that I posses, but also the athletic ability as well,” Pleimann said.

Pleimann has committed to St. Olaf College to continue his baseball career. 

“I was exhilarated when I received the letter from VJ (Sarullo) in the mail,” Pleimann said. “All the hard work I had put in during my years here at Law finally was being recognized. It felt terrific, and I am very proud of Aislinn and I.”

Pleimann sets the tone for the younger players and is constantly working hard to get better and better every day. 

“Cole is the epitome of what a coach looks for in their players and represents Jonathan Law to the highest degree,” assistant coach and Spanish teacher McPartland said. “He hits the books hard in the classroom and gets after it on the baseball diamond.”

(Photo courtesy Ms. Burns)

By Kaitlyn Goldberg – News Editor 

French teacher Mrs. Almonte is saying goodbye to Law after 38 years of teaching. 

Almonte is ready for this new chapter of her life and to be able to spend more time with her family. 

“I first plan on going to Virginia to help my oldest who is going to have her second baby in June,” Almonte said. “Then home to Connecticut where my youngest is due with her first child in September. So I will be trading in my ‘teacher hat’ for ‘Nana hat.'”

Almonte has been a staple of the Law community and she will be greatly missed. She has taught so many students the importance of French culture in a fun, engaging way. 

“I will miss the fun activities she has most classes, like Kahoots and Blookets,” sophomore Reilly Hungerford said. “She’s a really chill teacher too and I will miss having a chill teacher like her.” 

Almonte’s experience teaching and her impact on the Law community will not be forgotten.

“During Mrs. Almonte’s 30-plus years of education, she’s had a positive impact on literally thousands of students,” Law Principal Mr. Darcy said. “She has creative lesson plans, has written curriculum, and has built positive relationships with countless students and staff.”

Students recall her fun and family-like class environment as something they will greatly miss. 

“My favorite part about her class was the family dynamic she had in the class,” junior Kailina Scalice said.  

Almonte has made her impression on the staff with her kind and welcoming attitude to all. 

“My first impression of her last year was that she was someone who I could count on to provide me with information that was necessary to make positive changes to our school and I count on her daily in that capacity,” Darcy said. “The thing I’ll miss the most is her smile. She is such a positive person to be around and her smile and her personality is just so infectious.” 

Almonte is going to be missed tremendously by students and staff, and the feeling is likewise. 

“The students made teaching a joy with their enthusiasm to learn,” Almonte said. “They made me much more flexible over the years, they taught me that they don’t put the wrong answer in the blank on purpose, so stop asking why, they kept me up to date with the latest technology and learning games, and they proved that perseverance really does pay off, and that self-discipline and self-motivation are the keys to success.”

(Photo courtesy Aislinn Burns)

By Ella Franzman – Sports Editor

Aislinn Burns has been named the Valedictorian for the Class of 2023. 

Burns will be attending Rice University and plans to major in Bioengineering, with a concentration in Biomolecular Engineering. 

“When I found out I had officially won Valedictorian I was so excited and proud of myself because all of my hard work paid off,” Burns said. “It has been my goal since the start of freshman year and I worked extremely hard to get there so I was beyond excited.”

This marks the ninth consecutive year a female has been named Jonathan Law Valedictorian. 

“My first impression of Aislinn Burns last year was that she is a passionate and driven person, she is someone who has been able to balance academics, athletics and supporting causes that impact the lives of others like the Sandy Hook Promise,” Law Principal Mr. Darcy said. “I don’t know if I have ever met someone so ‘wise beyond their years’ than Aislinn.”

Burns took 11 AP classes during her time at Jonathan Law, including AP Chemistry, AP Calculus AB, AP Literature, AP United States History and many others. Burns was also very involved with many events inside and outside of school.

“One of the most challenging moments I encountered was junior year because I doubled the number of APs I was taking from the year before and was starting to take on leadership positions,” Burns said. “This was a very important moment because I learned that I can’t do everything, so I started to learn to prioritize what I was passionate about and step down/not take on a leadership role in other activities.”

Burns will be graduating with distinction and with 342.5 community service hours. While Aislinn was at Law, she was a three-sport varsity captain as a member on the swim and dive team, indoor track team, and outdoor track team.

“She does everything the coaches ask of her and goes above and beyond to help her team succeed,” head girls swim coach Rob Rosner said. “She embodies everything Jonathan Law athletics stands for and is exactly the kind of captain you want setting an example for the younger athletes.”

Burns is the president and the founder of SAVE (Students Against Violence Everywhere) Promise Club, served as treasurer of Keyettes Club, and was a part of Natural Helpers Club, Lifting Club, and Ski Club. She is also president of the National Math Honor Society and is a member of the Science National Honor Society as well as the National Honor Society.

“Even at 7:20 in the morning she would always come in with a positive attitude and ready to learn,” math teacher Mrs. Diprimio said. “She asked insightful questions and was a real leader in the classroom. She offered help and different insights to any of her classmates in need.”

While Burns was at Law, she also won the Mayor’s Youth Award, the Yale Book Award, AP Scholar With Distinction, and was named CAS-CIAC Female Scholar Athlete of The Year for Law.

“Aislinn balanced her student-athlete life by always making sure that she had her priorities straight,” senior Macie Rascoll said. “She would always make sure that academics came first and then athletics, then time for what ever else she had to do, whether it was extracurriculars or her social life.”

Burns is also treasurer of her class and served as a Board of Education Liaison. She has also been a member of the Sandy Hook Promise National Youth Advisory Board as one of 13 students nationwide for the past two years. Through this she has traveled to Colorado, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio to attend leadership conventions and help run the National SAVE Summit.

“Aislinn is one of the best leaders of the school, on the track she is a hard worker always looking to improve,” head outdoor track coach Joe Beler said. “She is the ultimate leader by example. Every day she comes to work with a purpose but still always provides support for our younger athletes.”

While Burns worked incredibly hard to achieve this, she is incredibly grateful for the supportive community around her.

“Aislinn is an intelligent, motivated and driven student,” science teacher Ms. Turcotte said. “She puts a lot of thought and effort into her work, is genuinely interested in science and doesn’t hesitate to challenge or question concepts covered in class or data obtained in the laboratory.”

(Photo courtesy Ms. Jones)

By Gemard Guery and Katie Servas – Editors-in-Chief

For the first time in history, six Jonathan Law students attended the All-Eastern Music Festival in Rochester, New York.

Emma Vaccino, Ike Opayemi, Eric Relucio, Jasper Chu, Chris Rickard, and Oliver Harrigan were all selected to participate in the festival that brought the top musicians together from 13 states throughout the eastern states.  

The festival took place from April 13-16. In order to be selected for the All-Eastern Music Festival, students had to submit their scores and score sheets from previous All-State and Regional competitions. They also had to write a paragraph about some of their accomplishments as musicians.

“For All-Eastern, we simply applied online rather than an in-person audition with two judges with scales, a solo, and sight reading,” junior Ike Opayemi said. “It was based on our previous All-State score and other choral experiences. The process was much easier.”

The festival consisted of rehearsals, speaker events, dance, socials, and the final performance. These students had the opportunity to perform in the Eastman Theatre with a diverse group of musicians. 

“Everyone has had different experiences and teachings being from other states,” junior Band Section Leader Oliver Harrigan said. “Being able to meet people from other states is a very refreshing and much newer experience than having an all-state every year.”

These individuals all participated in the All-State Musical Festival this year, granting them the chance to participate in the All-Eastern Music Festival.

“Performing with people from all over the East Coast was definitely different from just singing in the All-State choir with people from CT,” senior Emma Vaccino said. “We all came from different conducting styles, voices, and music we’re just used to singing, which took a little getting used to but ultimately made us all better musicians.”

The new experience allowed each student to take something away and instill it in their own lives. 

“My biggest takeaway was to make sure you do everything with the most you can give it,” junior Jasper Chu said. “Whether it be singing, playing your instrument, or even relaxing, give any activity your most, we learned this from a very inspirational keynote speaker when we visited the convention hall and exhibits.”

Many concluded that they were grateful for their opportunity to participate in the festival and enjoyed their week with empowering and dedicated musicians.

“It was very humbling, although I believe that our school has one of the best music departments, in terms of people, and educators in the state, it was very humbling to see students from states like Pennsylvania who put a lot of hard work into their craft,” Chu said. “They were all amazing singers and performers, being able to sing with such a wide variety of people and so many talented performers was a blessing in itself.”

(Photo courtesy Mrs. Francisco)

By Cesar Mendez and Aryan Sikhinam – Staff Reporters

Jonathan Law’s National Honor Society hosted the annual Brain Bowl on April 27 in order to raise money for brain cancer research.

Every year, the Brain Bowl has a theme. Last year it was “Avengers” theme; this year, the theme was “The Office.”

Students and faculty took a preliminary test on March 27 to qualify for the Brain Bowl. The top four scores from each grade were selected to be on their grade’s Brain Bowl team.

“I took the test during common time and got one of the top four highest scores out of the freshmen,” freshman Yeiden Nieves said. “It was a good feeling knowing I would be on the team.”

Students and faculty had a lot of fun, and between all four grades and the faculty, NHS raised over $1,500 for “The Cure Starts Now.” 

“It was a very good experience and I had a lot of fun participating,” sophomore Ryan Chay said. “We did the best we could but unfortunately lost to the upperclassmen donating more than us.”

Junior Arshaq Ahmed enjoyed the challenge of competing. The juniors advanced to the semifinal round before falling to the seniors, who defeated the faculty in the final to win the Brain Bowl title.

“I think our team did very well on the fundraising aspect by really taking advantage of people’s competitive nature but we did not do that good on pressing the button on time and lost a lot of points because of it,” Ahmed said. 

Students and faculty had no fear in front of the big crowd of Law students in the auditorium.

“When I was on stage I didn’t really think about who was watching me, but I was just thinking about the questions and if I was ready or not,” senior Jake Ackley said. 

For every $10 donated towards Brain Cancer, one point was awarded to each team. The freshmen started out with 17 points, sophomores started with 28, juniors started with 35 points, and seniors started out with 37 points.

Seniors Kyle Chy and Lylah Eckert hosted the Brain Bowl and asked the questions, while NHS advisor Ms. Turcotte and a group of students and faculty checked and verified the answers given by the teams. 

“Competing in the Brain Bowl was a fun experience,” English teacher Mr. Kulenych said. “Even though we only answered a handful of questions correctly and knew nothing about ‘The Office, we tried our best and most importantly raised a lot of money for a great cause.”

Overall, Brain Bowl was a great experience and students and faculty are very excited to see what next year’s event will bring.

(Photo courtesy Choices Matter)

By Maya Markowitz and Quinn Willett – Staff Reporters

All Jonathan Law juniors and seniors were called to an assembly on April 28 called “Choices Matter” where they learned about the consequences of driving under the influence. 

“Choices Matter” is ed by Chris Sandy and the Connecticut Highway Safety Office. Sandy is a motivational speaker from Atlanta, Georgia, who has travelled to over 40 states to speak to students about his life after he killed two people in a tragic car accident.

Sandy was originally sentenced to 13 years in prison and 17 years in probation. He first lived in Jackson State Maximum Security Prison, but he was transferred throughout the 8.5 years spent in jail. 

While in prison, Sandy was able to volunteer with different organizations which shortened his 13-year sentence. Immediately after prison, he started working with “Choices Matter.” 

“I started this program because my mentor told me to try to turn a bad situation into a good one,” Sandy said. “I was told I could really turn my life story in a good way no matter what it was.” 

Sandy expressed that he was able to stay motivated because of his family and best friend, Eric Krug. 

Krug suffered traumatic brain injuries causing him to lose his ability to speak and walk. 

“I wanted the program, the speaker’s personal stories, and the interactive materials, to inspire our Law students to make the right choices in life and when they are behind the wheel,” Dean of Students Mr. Ragaini said.

One of the biggest takeaways for students from this assembly was how decisions can lead to major consequences. 

“I learned how making a poor decision at a young age can affect your life for years to come,” junior Liam Valvo said. 

Students were able to put on a VR headset after the assembly and experience a drunk driving simulator. 

“The simulator allowed us to experience what it’s like to navigate while under the influence,” junior Olivia Hudak said. “It was difficult because I felt dizzy and couldn’t really see anything in front of me”

This was a great opportunity for new drivers to learn from Sandy’s real life experience with driving under the influence.

(Photos courtesy Harshitha Kothapalli and Kayla Markowitz)

By Harshitha Kothapalli & Kayla Markowitz – Staff Reporters

Jonathan Law seniors celebrated their plans after graduation with a “Life After Law Day.”

On Friday, April 28, all seniors celebrated “Life after Law Day” with fun activities at the Jonathan Law football field. Seniors played corn hole, Spikeball, soccer, and ate free pizza and ice cream. 

“Our goal with Life After Law Day was to celebrate every single student and their choice for life after Law,” Director of School Counseling Mrs. Dunnuck said. “It’s an opportunity for them to show off whatever they decided to do and get together to acknowledge every student’s success.”

The event was very successful and gave a way for seniors to come together and get excited for college.

“It made me feel more comfortable to see everyone with their college merch on and see where everyone’s going next year and see that we’re all on the same boat going to different places,” senior Sabrina Lawless said. 

It was a good opportunity for seniors to have fun together before they graduate and spend one last day as a class.

“We got free food and played a lot of exciting games,” Lawless said. “We played really great games of Spikeball”

Seniors were able to celebrate with each other and talk about which college they are attending. It was a great way for everyone to feel more comfortable about going to college.

“We got to see where everyone’s going with their sweatshirts and merch and it was just an overall cool experience, to top it all off we get pizza and ice cream,” senior Jake Ackley said.

Before the event, teachers also wrote messages for the seniors to help them with the future. The messages were displayed outside each teacher’s door. 

“From all the signs outside the teacher’s doors, I learned that you have to take advantage of the future and the new opportunities you’re getting,” senior Aislinn Burns said. “A lot of the teachers said to travel a lot and make sure you’re saving your money and exploring.” 

Seniors recommend all juniors attend the event next year because it was a great opportunity for everyone to have fun and acknowledge all of their hard work.

“I think juniors should definitely go next year because it’s a great day to just get excited about college, have a lot of fun, and just let go of all the burdens for a little bit,” Lawless said. 

(Photo courtesy @jlawchoir)

By Olivia Augustine and Kaitlyn Goldberg – News Editors

The Jonathan Law Choir recently attended and performed at All-State.

The All-State festival took place at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford and hosted by CMEA. In total, nine Law Choir students qualified for All-State.

“The performance was probably one of the most memorable choir moments in my career and I can only hope the students felt the pride and gravity of their achievement,” Choir Director Ms. Jones said. “They performed with so much care, skill and precision and yet, one of the best aspects of their performance was their attention to their stylistic approach to each genre they performed.”

Choirs students had fun at All-State – and also put in a lot of hard work.

“Our days consisted of about seven hours of rehearsal split up by meals, so while it can be physically taxing, it’s also such an honor to be chosen to sing amongst the best performers in the state,” senior Kalli Kinsman said. “It also was very fun to be able to share the experience with other members of the Law Choir, and use our time there to bond.”

Junior Jasper Chu enjoyed all of the work he put in during his time at All-State as well.

“To help us, they provided the scores and gave us practice tracks of our individual parts so we can be fully prepared upon arrival,” Chu said. “I looked through the pieces multiple times and listened to other choirs performing them to get a feel for how the piece flows and its energy.”

The Jonathan Law Advanced Vocal Ensemble also got selected to perform as the Showcase Ensemble. They were blindly selected by CMEA to be a showcase ensemble for the festival.

“I enjoyed being in the performance ensemble because of all the music we made together,” sophomore Reilly Hungerford said. “Admittedly, it was very tiring preparing over five songs in a little under two months, but the process was very exciting.” 

Junior Kiley Sherman hopes to qualify for All-State again next year.

“It was an amazing experience and I would totally love to do it again,” Sherman said. “Singing with your choir is quite rewarding.”

(Photo courtesy @JLHSPrincipal)

By Helen Chizmazia and Madison Gaillard – Advocate Editors

Jonathan Law seniors Caroline Doyle and John Neider recently received the 2022-2023 SCC Scholar Athlete Award.

Both were nominated by staff and honored at a banquet at Anthony’s in New Haven. 

Doyle is a four-year member of the girls tennis team and Neider is a 12-season athlete in football, basketball, and baseball.

“I felt so happy after receiving the award,” Doyle said. “I was honored that the administration thought of me when selecting a student for the award.”

Doyle is one of the captains of the tennis team this season.

“I am very proud of the accomplishment,” Doyle said. “The award encapsulated everything I had done throughout high school.”

On top of her athletic responsibilities, Doyle maintained the role of Key Club District Governor, managing events and activities while giving back to the community. She is also the Vice President of the National Honor Society and Social Media Manager for the SAVE Promise Club. 

“I think there were several things that led to me receiving this award, including Key Club, tennis, and the other clubs I have been involved with here at Law,” Doyle said. “They have all taught me how to be a leader and to do great things.”

Doyle is attending George Washington University in the fall with the intention of majoring in Political Science. 

Neider, who was this year’s Gatorade Football Player of the Year and Walter Camp Player of the Year, was excited to win the Scholar Leader Award. 

“Winning the Scholar Leader Award means a lot,” Neider said. “It is really cool being recognized for the hard work I have put into the classroom.” 

At the ceremony, Doyle was also awarded a $500 Bill O’Brien Scholarship for an essay she wrote about the importance of being a leader at Law.

“I took away from the experience that very opportunity is only what I make of it, and that I can succeed at anything if I apply myself,” Doyle said.

(Photo courtesy Caroline Doyle)

By Maya Rosado – Editor-in-Chief

The Jonathan Law Key Club attended the 74th annual District Educational Conference for the Bermuda and New England District of Key Club earlier this month. 

The Key Club won a variety of awards including: 1st place in the Non-Digital Poster, 3rd place in Traditional Scrapbook, 3rd place in the Oratory Contest, 1st in Annual Achievement, 1st in Monthly Reports, and the Early Bird Dues Award.

Key Club advisor Mr. Boynton was honored as well with a Leader of Leaders Award. This year’s District Governor, Law senior Caroline Doyle, was given an Administrators Award.

“While at DECON, I learned how to say a proper goodbye,” Doyle said. “I was given the opportunity to give my governor farewell, and even though it was emotional, I’m so grateful for the time I was given to reflect on my time in Key Club.”

There were about 400 attendees at the conference. They spent the weekend attending a variety of workshops, learning about service projects, and spending time with their peers after their successful year came to a close. 

“My favorite part about DECON was having the freedom to walk around in the hotel with friends during downtime and getting to talk to Key Clubbers from all over New England,” Key Club treasurer Kyle Chy said. 

Every year, the current District Governor picks a service project for all the Key Clubs to raise money towards, and this year Doyle chose Camp Sunshine. Camp Sunshine inspires hope in families affected by life-threatening childhood illness. 

The Law Key Club raised a total of $1,200 for the cause through a kickball tournament hosted at school. During the recognition session every school had a representative share how much they raised and which cause they were putting it towards. 

“My favorite part of DECON was the recognition session,” Doyle said. “The District Board dressed up, and we spent the night giving out awards. It was so much fun being able to recognize the accomplishments that have occurred throughout the year.”

The club’s senior officers officially said their goodbyes at the farewell breakfast on the last day. After years of dedication, their time volunteering through the Law Key Club came to an end.  

“I’m so glad I had the opportunity to be involved in the Key Club,” co-president Hanna Keating said. “I learned about leadership and the best way to collaborate with my peers. Some of my best friends were people I met through the club and I know everything I learned will continue to help me in the future.”

(Photo courtesy amarantes.com)

By Ella Franzman – Sports Editor

The Jonathan Law Senior Prom is being held on May 12 at Amarante’s in New Haven.

The senior class is super excited to finally have their Prom. Last year, Jonathan Law decided to switch Prom to senior year and Cotillion to junior year. 

“I think it will be a great turnout and I am hoping that a majority if not all of our grade attends,” senior class president Macie Rascoll said. 

The senior class is expecting to have about 200 students at Prom which will include the senior class and any guests students wish to bring. 

“The Senior Prom is an event that literally takes about a year to plan – there is a lot involved in the process,” Principal Mr. Darcy said. “Our senior class advisors, Mrs. Francisco and Ms. Russell, planned the event along with members of the senior class.”

The Prom venue was booked last year and the Prom Committee has been coming up with ideas since about February. 

“Students should expect a large, beautiful venue with a familiar Red Carpet theme where they will have tons of food, music, a photo booth, and loads of fun,” Rascoll said. 

Since each Prom typically has a theme, this year’s Prom will be a theme for seniors and by seniors. The hope is that everyone who attends Prom this year will remember this event for the rest of their lives. 

After Prom, students are invited to attend Post Prom at the Sports Center in Shelton.

“I’m most excited for Post Prom because it is going to be an enjoyable night with my class before we all graduate and we will be able to hangout all together,” senior Hailey Oliver said.

Students are super excited to make memories that will last forever together, since the Prom will mark one of the last events when they are together with their entire class. 

“Students can expect great food, photo booth fun, something to take home with them, poppin’ music from the best in-house DJ and so much more,” Fransisco said. 

The plan is to make this the best last dance for them by creating a theme that everybody likes as well as an environment that is super fun and inclusive.

“My sincere hope is that students understand this and live in the moment so they keep lasting memories as they move on to the next step in their life,” Darcy said.

The Prom Committee doesn’t want to give all of their secrets away about Prom but they are super pumped to create a fun atmosphere. 

“Since I was able to go to Prom last year I’m super excited to go again,” senior Jack Aliberti said. “Getting to go to the Sports Center and just having full and unlimited access to all that they offer is so cool.”

(Photo courtesy @mrsdiprimio)

By Quinn Willett – Staff Reporter

Law’s National Math Honor Society hosted a school-wide Pi-Lympics event on March 8 and 9.

Mr. Ruzbarsky is the advisor for the National Math Honor Society. He and a group of NMHS students helped plan the event which included events such as Pin The Radius On The Circle, Ring Toss, Ring Hook, Basketball, Draw The Best Circle, Guess How Many In The Jar, Memorize The Digits Of Pi and How Many Words Start With “Pi.”

“I first met with the officers of NMHS to run by an idea that (math teacher) Mrs. Francisco had to make our Pi day events more enthusiastic and interactive for the whole school,” Ruzbarsky said. “We then brought the idea to all the members and we voted on it. It was then a process for officers, members, and myself to coordinate how we wanted to do it. It was a lot of work but it paid off because everyone seemed to have a lot of fun.”

Throughout the two-day event, students could bring money to donate to Livfree Foundation. Those donations helped each class team earn more points.

In the end, Francisco’s Period 7 Algebra II class came out on top. 

“Last year we donated to the Livfree foundation and we wanted to pick them again since we had such an interest last year and it’s for a good cause – childhood cancer,” Ruzbarsky said. “We will probably look to donate to a different foundation next year and make it a yearly goal of ours.”

Many students helped participate in making this school event happen. Senior Aislinn Burns, who is a member of the National Math Honor Society, planned several of the events.

“My favorite part of the Pilympics was definitely seeing all of our ideas come to life and watching students enjoy a lot of the activities with their math classes,” Burns said. “It also seemed like students had a lot of fun and it was good to get them up and moving during their math classes.” 

(Photo courtesy Advocate staff)

By Kriuthi Nandam – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s Business and Journalism classes recently hosted a very special guest speaker.

Famous sportscaster Dan Patrick, who currently hosts The Dan Patrick Show and who formerly worked for ESPN, spoke on March 13 to a group of Law students about the lessons learned in his decades-long career in broadcasting. Patrick has also appeared in several Adam Sandler movies and has covered all major sports and the Olympics.

During his visit, Patrick talked about taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. He also discussed the importance of young people believing in themselves and about the need to put maximum effort into working towards your dreams.

Patrick said he hoped his message reached all of the students in the audience, not just those looking for a career in sports broadcasting.

“My message was not really directed towards an athlete or someone who wants to work in sports,” Patrick said. “It is for everybody and I hope they looked at it in a perspective that benefits them.” 

Freshman David Guery said the advice Patrick gave was very motivating.

“Some the advice he gave was to Be sure of what you want to do so you won’t regret it later on,” Guery said. “You need to be prepared if you want to reach your goal.”

Freshman Aryan Sikhinam said the whole assembly was inspirational and uplifting. He said he liked the question and answer part of the assembly as other students could ask about Patrick’s journey.

“He told us never to give up on our dreams and to pursue them, even if you fail the first time,” Sikhinam said. 

Business teacher Mrs. Israelite, who organized Patrick’s visit, said that she hopes students learned some valuable lessons from Patrick’s visit.

“I loved that part of Dan Patrick’s message was for students to follow their dreams, but he also provided a road map to success by explaining the importance of hard work, determination, experience, volunteering and internships,” Israelite said.

(Photo courtesy Caroline Doyle)

By Tim Firla – Staff Reporter

The Jonathan Law Key Club is preparing for the 74th Annual New England and Bermuda District Key Club Educational Conference, also known as DECON.

The conference will be held at the Sheraton Hotel at Monarch Place and Marriott Downtown in Springfield, Massachusetts from March 31 to April 2. 

Senior Caroline Doyle is the District Governor of Key Club and is working hard to make this trip the best it can be.

“We have been preparing for the trip by working on our contest entry submissions,” Doyle said. “We created committees, and we’ve been working these last few months on entries such as scrapbook, video, essay and more.”

This will be one of Doyle’s last responsibilities as a member of the club.

“I’m super excited for the conference,” Doyle said. “This is my last DECON, and it marks the end of my term as Governor. I’m so excited to be reunited with friends from around New England, and have a great end of my Key Club journey.”

Everyone in Key Club has certain roles to make the overall club’s success even greater.

“As an editor for the key club I write monthly newsletters about what we’ve accomplished during that month,” senior Maya Rosado said. “All the officers work together during the meetings and I work specifically on helping create the scrapbook for DECON.”

Key Club members want the same outcome for this trip, and that is to be successful.

“My goals for DECON are to come out of the trip with a lot of awards, and to hopefully do well in every category,” Rosado said. 

Each of the club’s members are making preparations for their team and for themselves to have their most successful trip yet.

(Photo courtesy @jlawdrama)

By Alana Pires – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s Drama Club is preparing for its upcoming spring performance of the movie “High School Musical.”

The dates for the play are Friday, May 5, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 6, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

“High School Musical” is a classic Disney movie where high school students audition for a school musical, filled with lots of music, love, and rivalries between students. 

Senior Drama Club President Sofia Mazzella is excited to bring the play to life on the Law stage.

“When you come to see the spring musical of ‘High School Musical’, expect to see greatness, strong vocals, and killer choreography,” Mazzella said. “Our goal is to bring the classic movie to life on stage, and we have been working hard to make sure that our show nearly mirrors the greatness of High School Musical!”

The preparation for the play has also included lots of hard work along with time that goes into making each scene and song.

Junior Stage Manager Isabelle Maselli said that preparations for the play continue every day.

“The preparation is going well,” Maselli said. “We have a lot of new members this year so it was definitely a change from last year. But everyone is excited and as long as we continue to work hard I think the show will be great!”

Drama Club has grown in number a lot since last year, and many of the students involved believe that their productions will be even better. 

“I think it will be different because we have a lot more people in the club this year,” junior Drama Club Vice President Hailey Russo said. “It is a lot more stressful but they are very talented people who I believe can go far and be a big asset to the club and I feel it will all come together and be great.”

(Photo courtesy Helen Chizmazia)

By Harshitha Kothapalli – Staff Reporter

The Love, From Law Club, created by junior Helen Chizmazia, tries to always spread love and kindness to the Law community. 

The new club meets on E Days during common time in Mrs. Lucia’s room, Room 205. During meetings, they write letters and cards with words of encouragement to different organizations in Milford. 

“The main goal of the club is to spread love to all different people and recognize and appreciate them,” Chizmazia said.

Recently, the club made cards for women in shelters and for their families.

“This month, we focused on Women’s History Month, and we will be sending our letters to women at the Beth El Center,” Lucia said. 

Members enjoy each meeting and realize the meaning of each of their cards.

“Making a card and spreading a small bit of kindness to others takes a couple of minutes of your time and could essentially be brightening someone else’s whole day,” junior Atiana Tandon said. 

Love, From Law Club members also encourage other students to join.

“I would definitely encourage others to join the club because it’s an easy way to give back,” junior Maya Markowitz said. “You get to spend time with your friends and it’s also just nice to be able to color during common time and relax.”

The club also allows members to create new friendships and bonds

“It’s a great way to get involved and be a part of the community,” junior Maddy Gaillard said. “It is a creative way to express gratitude and love to other people and make new friends!”

Club members take the meetings time to take a break from the stresses of school and participate in a variety of uplifting activities. 

The club also has many fun activities planned for future meetings.

“We have a few upcoming ideas for who to write to next,” Chizmazia said. “We’re going to take a club vote on where the next cards will be sent.”

There are also many students that are excited to join the new club.

“I’ve heard so many great things about the club and I can’t wait to go to the next meeting,” freshman Kayla Markowitz said.

(Photo courtesy Ms. Turcotte)

By Aryan Sikhinam – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s Science Club participated at the Connecticut Science Olympiad at UConn in Storrs on March 11. 

Science teachers Ms. Turcotte, Mr. Stanton and Ms. Gagnon are the advisors of the Science Club.

“The Jonathan Law Science Club is a platform for students to connect and explore their interests in STEM.” said Science Club’s President Rishabh Nair. “You can engage in a range of activities such as conducting experiments, building contraptions and learning more about a specific science topic.”

Science Club also recently participated in an overnight trip at the MIT invitational Science Olympiad in January.

“The events range from things like Chem Lab, Forensics, Cell Bio, Rocks and Minerals, Code Busters, etc.” Turcotte said. “Students must study the content related to that event and prepare to either take an exam, or perform a lab investigation.”

Over 30 teams from all around Connecticut participated in the UConn Science Olympiad, including Foran High School.  

“This past weekend the team went to the States competition at UConn and we did great,” junior Science Club Vice President Moulika Sivalenka said. ”It was exciting and fun for our members and we had a great time there.”

Members had a great time competing in the Olympiad.

“I really enjoyed my experience at UConn’s Science Olympiad,” Science Club member Kishal Shah said. “I also liked getting to meet people from different schools and seeing what they created and learned, so that I could expand my knowledge from them.”

Science Club is split into two teams – an the A team and B team. The A team has mostly upperclassmen, while B team is primarily underclassmen.

At UConn, Law’s A Team earned two first place medals and one fourth place medal. The B Team won three second place medals and one first place medal.

The A and B teams finished 11th and 13th place overall respectively at the UConn Science Olympiad.

Junior Srivarsh Gudlavaletti and junior Jasper Chu won first place in Bridge and junior Moulika Sivalenka and sophomore Deepika Chitirala won first place in “Write It, Do It.”

“Me and Jasper won first place at the bridge building event at Science Olympiad,” Gudlavaletti said. ”in this event we were required to make a bridge in which we must hold weight at the center of the bridge” 

Science Club has participated previously at Brown, Princeton and Harvard in addition to MIT and UConn. 

The Science Club meets every Monday after school in Room 212.

(Photo courtesy spartanburgparks.org)

By Jack Bretthauer – Staff Reporter

The Jonathan Law Key Club will be hosting a charity kickball tournament to benefit Camp Sunshine on Sunday, March 26.

The first game starts at 10 a.m. and the event will run throughout the afternoon.

“The JLHS Key Club came up with our Kickball for Camp Sunshine event following a brainstorming session particularly focused on fundraising efforts for Camp Sunshine,” senior Skylar Johnson said. “Caroline Doyle currently serves as the Governor for the New England and Bermuda district and has chosen this activity for her Governor’s Project. This means the majority of all fundraising from the district will go towards the camp this year, as a particular monetary goal has been set. We wanted a fun and engaging event to raise both awareness and funds for the project. Given our advisor’s experience with kickball tournaments, we thought this would be a great outlet. We hope to see you all there on Sunday, March 26th.”

All of the money raised will go to Camp Sunshine which is located in Maine. Camp Sunshine is a camp for children with life threatening illnesses and their families. It offers counseling and activities and runs completely off of donations so families attend at no cost.

The New England and Bermuda District of Key Clubs has set a $15,000 fundraising goal for the year as part of Doyle’s Governor’s Project.

“What I’m most excited about for the Kickball for Camp Sunshine tournament is competing with and against my friends while also generating money for a good cause,” senior Ben Rossi said. “Also the new rules are very intriguing and I’m excited to see how these rules affect the game.”

The Key Club hopes that the tournament will be a fun event to bring the school community together and raise money at the same time. 

“We decided to do the kickball tournament because we were trying to plan an event that people would want to participate in and be excited to join,” senior Kyle Chy said. ”We came up with kickball idea because it could be fun for the law community as a whole you don’t have to be super athletic to join and you can pick your teams to play with friends. Now that everyone knows the kickball tournament is for a good cause, no one minds paying the entry fee we require which is only a small portion where we will be raising money.”

(Photo courtesy sandyhookpromise.org)

By Maya Markowitz – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s SAVE Promise Club will be hosting “Say Something Week” from March 20-24 with five different fun events planned for each day. 

Some of the activities planned for next week include Motivation Monday, Trusted Adult Tuesday, Wear Purple Wednesday, Therapy Dog Thursday, and Law Family Friday. 

“Say Something Week” is meant to spread awareness about warning signs of violence in schools. The club also focuses on activities that strengthen the community and establish trust.  

​​”I am most looking forward to Therapy Dog Thursday because it is a new activity for this year, but I am also excited for all of our other activities and to educate the Law community about the importance of being an upstander and speaking up if something is wrong,” senior Aislinn Burns said. 

The club focuses on recognizing warning signs of violence and addressing them.

“I’m looking forward to advocating about violence in schools and educating people to take action,” senior Giuliana Aguilar said. 

Leading up to “Say Something Week,” members of the club met once every cycle to prepare. These meetings involved splitting into “committees” to plan each day. 

“Our club members have been awesome in planning for Say Something Week,” SAVE Promise Club advisor Ms. Healy said. “We split into different committees to encourage more collaboration and involvement from everyone. Our activities committee put together the days for the week, our hype squad has been putting ‘Say Something’ posters and stickers around school and will be posting all over our twitter and instagram throughout the week, and our fundraising committee has been putting together some awesome ideas and future merch.”

One day that many teachers and students are looking forward to next week is Trusted Adult Tuesday, which is meant to highlight adults who are upstanding citizens in the community. The club plans on doing this with templates that students can get from the TLC or Healy’s room and give to their trusted adult. 

“I hope people can understand what Say Something week is and what SAVE Promise Club is and does,” sophomore Ella Franzman said. “I hope that it will help get some new members for the club and will help people understand what we are trying to accomplish with ‘Say Something Week.’” 

The club hopes to continue to host events throughout the year and continue to raise awareness for violence in schools.

(Photo courtesy Mr. Hoggatt)

By Olivia Augustine – News Editor

A group of Jonathan Law students recently participated in Read Across America Day at Mathewson Elementary School.

The Law students read books to classrooms of elementary school students. They were able to talk to them and enjoy reading with them. 

“Law students listened to the young learners read to them and then the Law students read books to the young learners,” Special Education teacher Mrs. Drew said. “All students also engaged in conversations, shared stories, laughed, and had fun.”

Students enjoyed being able to read to the younger students. 

“I enjoyed reading to the kids,” senior Liam Fedigan said. “They were all happy to see us come into the school, so it was a good feeling to spend time with them knowing how much they were looking forward to it.”

Sophomore Sarah Ahmed also said she had a great experience.

“I really enjoyed getting to read with the students at Mathewson for their Read Across America Day,” Ahmed said. “It was so fun seeing how excited they were to meet high schoolers and ask them questions about themselves. It was a very fun experience.”

Many of the Mathewson students took the opportunity to ask the Law students about high school life.

“I really enjoyed talking to all of the kids and telling them about what high school is like,” senior Jack Bretthauer said. “I also got to see a bunch of teachers I had in elementary school and it was a lot of fun to catch up with them.”

Senior Nicolina Salanto said she learned many valuable lessons throughout the day.

“It made me realize how much of an impact you can have on a kid by anything you do, especially when they’re at that age because they look up to you,” Salanto said. “I loved hearing the kids talking about all the things they thought were exciting about the book and even about their own life, it was so fun seeing all these little kids so excited to meet older kids and listen to us read books.”

(Photo courtesy Oliver Harrigan)

By Katie Servas – Editor-in-Chief

How did Jonathan Law junior Oliver Harrigan get to Carnegie Hall?

Practice, Practice, Practice!

This past week, Harrigan performed in the Honors Symphonic Band at Carnegie Hall through the Honors Series by WorldStrides with conductor, Jason Noble. This program prepared musicians worldwide to audition after their nomination.

The ensemble performed the following pieces; “Illumination” by David Maslanka, “Always” by Julie Giroux, “Lichtweg/Lightway” by Jennifer Jolley, and “Of Our New Day Begun” by Omar Thomas.

“It was so crazy to play in such a place like Carnegie Hall where everything has been fine-tuned to make all the musicians sound perfect and this experience was amazing,” Harrigan said. “Performing in Carnegie Hall felt very stressful because of the venue but after playing there I can say that I would never say no to performing there again.”

Harrigan auditioned for this ensemble after hearing about the opportunity from Jonathan Law Band Director Dave Pelaggi.

“I was approached over the summer by the company that put together the honor’s ensemble to see if I had students who fit their description to audition for this opportunity,” Pelaggi said. “Oliver was a great fit for what they were looking for, and I didn’t help him with his audition, I just nominated him to be able to audition for the ensemble.”

Harrigan was required to submit a video audition which required him to play multiple pieces of music. 

After hearing about his acceptance into the group, Harrigan was provided with a new music repertoire to learn for the performance at Carnegie Hall. To properly prepare for the performance, he would ensure he had a good grasp on each piece and that there were no sections he was struggling to play through. 

When the time came for the performance, all of the musicians met one another for the first time during a rehearsal before the performance. These rehearsals would include full run-throughs of each piece as the group has never played with each other before. 

“When the first rehearsal started, we started by running through our first piece and getting a glimpse of where we would be with the music,” Harrigan said. “When we started we were immediately able to play together with each other even though we had never met before.”

Playing a piece of music with a new group of musicians is important to see how the group plays together, and how the group instrumentation balances out. Being comfortable with the other members of the ensemble is extremely important, as relationship-building helps the group of individuals gel together. 

“I got to know the people who I was playing with and my roommates; this helped us to become more of a group and play better together,” Harrigan said. “Overall this was such a great experience, I got to know people from all over America and also play some great repertoire by some amazing composers and I even got to meet Jennifer Jolley.”

(Photo courtesy Law’s Black Student Union)

By Helen Chizmazia – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s Black Student Union hosted various events throughout the month of February to celebrate Black History Month.

Activities included a movie theater fundraiser and a school-wide Advisory activity. BSU presidents Gemard Guery and Ike Opayemi said the goals for these events – and others – were to spread awareness during Black History Month.

“Over the course of the month, we started off with a poster project where our members helped make posters that have been posted all around the school,” Guery said. “Ike and I also participated in a library event put on by an African American museum in Stratford.” 

The club hosted a “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” movie night and a Kahoot Advisory competition about important Black culture. 

“We really hoped that people would enjoy and be engaged in these learning experiences that would increase awareness of Black culture and history,” Guery said. 

The Black Student Union meets every Thursday at 4:00 p.m. in Room 207. English teacher Ms. Kelly is the club’s advisor.

“This month we have had informative and active presentations and discussions during Black Student Union meetings where students prepared their own slideshows about different aspects of Black culture,” Kelly said. 

The “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” movie night was held on February 3 in the auditorium. 

“Mostly with these activities we truly wanted people to not only learn but understand the Black experience through more creative outlets like the ‘Black Panther’ movie,” Opayemi said. “Creating BSU and hosting events for the entire school can be the starting point for this and hopefully turn into something even better.”

The Advisory activity was a competition between all classrooms, with the winning Advisory receiving a Dunkin’ Donuts breakfast.

“I really wanted to ensure people were actually learning things during the Advisory,” Guery said. “In the past, our school has done choice boards, but I don’t think they have been really good learning experiences and have just been ignored to some degree so I was hoping that people would partake in a fun activity to learn.”

The purpose of the Advisory activity was to educate students on Black history facts.

“For example, we know that the question specifically about who started the bus boycotts in Alabama was difficult and many thought it was Rosa Parks when it was really Claudette Colvin,” Opayemi said. “Learning these facts in this way can help people around the school better understand our stories and experiences within history and in the current world.”

The Google Classroom code is pbsczb5 for individuals looking to join.

“Black Student Union meetings are open to any young Black boys and girls who want to come to celebrate Black culture and strengthen their community,” Kelly said. 

The Black Student Union has many events in store for the rest of the year and is eager to keep students engaged and learning about Black culture and history.

“We are planning a conversation with a special guest as an in-school field trip,” Guery said. “We are also hoping to work on a service project as well.”

(Photo courtesy @tpturcotte)

By Maya Rosado – Editor-In-Chief 

The National Honor Society held its annual induction ceremony for new members on Tuesday, February 7.

“Everything at the event went as well as I could have hoped,” senior president Kyle Chy. said “The inductees were celebrated, the speakers were great, and overall the event went smoothly.”

There were 26 students inducted this year. Each received a pin and signed their name into the roll book to become official members.

“I think that being a part of the National Honor Society is important because it helps develop leadership and organizational skills, while also offering many opportunities to give back to our home and school communities,” senior vice president Caroline Doyle said. 

In order to be invited to apply to the NHS students must maintain an overall 4.25 grade point average. To be accepted into the club, students must have community service hours, a leadership position, and receive positive recommendations from the teacher panel.

During the event, the club officers each gave a speech on one of the four core values of the NHS: leadership, scholarship, service, and character.

“Getting to read the speech about service was really exciting for me,” Doyle said. “I was able to write from the heart, and praise our new inductees for their dedication to service, I was nervous at first but being passionate about a topic makes it easier to speak about.”

The students inducted into the NHS exhibit these four traits in our school and community. The event is held to honor these students and thank them for their dedication to the school. 

Every year, the members of the club choose a teacher to speak at the ceremony. This year, English teacher Mrs. Lucia was chosen for her kindness and supportive energy that have helped the students in their time at Law. 

The club is selective in choosing members and the current and new members are very happy to be chosen to be a part of it. 

“I love NHS because it allows everyone to be recognized for their accomplishments while encouraging themselves and others to strive for excellence,” Chy said. “It also allows us the chance to give back through various activities we run like the Brain Bowl which is coming up soon.”

Overall, everyone in attendance was happy with how the night went and hope that in the following years it goes just as well.

(Photo courtesy wordbynature.org)

By Maddy Gaillard – Entertainment Editor 

The Class of 2026 recently organized a Candy Gram fundraiser for Valentine’s Day. 

The fundraiser went to the freshman class and allowed students to purchase a bag of Candy Grams and send it to anyone in the school with a personalized letter.

“My role was mainly planning when we’re gonna pass them out along with advertising the fundraiser by going on the news and posting on our Instagram,” Freshman Class Officer Kayla Markowitz said. 

This event helped spread cheer and spirit throughout the school for the holiday. 

“The Candy Gram fundraiser is intended to collect money for the Class of 2026 as well as celebrate Valentine’s Day,” Freshman Class Advisor Ms. Kelly said. “We met and chose candies that would be included, the students hand wrote the notes that donors wanted to send their friends and it will be passed out during Common Time.” 

The Class of 2026 hosts numerous events to raise money for multiple events. 

“Funds that are raised during freshman year fundraisers help the Class of 2026 put on events, like our Movie Night, and also have money for future dances so that students don’t have to pay as much to participate,” Kelly said. “It also helps the class officers introduce their Class of 2026 to the rest of the school.”

This fundraiser was a great way for students to get involved and was a sweet way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. 

“I am always the Class of 2026 advisor, so I help the students brainstorm fundraisers and help with logistics,” Kelly said. “I love Candy Grams and think they are very fun for everyone.” 

(Photo courtesy @jlawchoir)

By News Editors Olivia Augustine and Kaitlyn Goldberg and Entertainment Editor Reilly Hungerford

The Jonathan Law music department recently performed at the CMEA Regionals Festival at Francis T. Maloney High school on January 13 and 14. 

Regionals is a music festival that members of choir and band can audition for. If they qualify, they can go to the festival, which is a two-day long event where songs are rehearsed and performed.

Students in band are able to choose if they would like to audition for Regionals, while students in the advanced vocal ensemble class must audition for Regionals.

“Most of my students who audition for Regionals prepare with a private teacher,” Law Band Director Mr. Pelaggi said. “I always listen to their audition materials before their auditions, but most students prepare with a private instructor on their specific instrument.”

A lot of preparation goes into preparing for rRgionals to make sure students can perform to the best of their abilities. 

“To prepare for Regionals, we had to learn five songs on our own and practice as much as possible,” said senior Marisa Laviano, who participated in regionals.

Some of the audition pieces have been around for years. 

“I have been aware of all the audition pieces since freshman year, since CMEA keeps them posted online,” junior Chris Rickard said. “I learned all of them in middle school and Freshman year, and just had to refine parts to be ‘by the book. In addition, I would spend some nights just doing all the scales in different keys, and end with some endurance building, all of the pieces are challenging in their own respect, and always need work.”

Members of the Law ensemble were proud of they way the group performed.

“I thought our choir members performed very well and were leaders in their respective ensembles,” senior Kalli Kinsman said.

(Photo courtesy Law Science Club)

By Olivia Hudak, Helen Chizmazia, Caden Simpson and Maddy Gaillard – Advocate Editors

Members of the Jonathan Law Science Club were excited and honored to attend a recent Science Olympiad and collaborate with their peers.

The event was an overnight trip from January 27-28 at MIT – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – in Boston. 

This competition consisted of a variety of individual and team tests and tasks. Students had the option to take tests or go to building events where they could show off their abilities. 

“The biggest take away from this competition was that no matter what I did on the test, I should have fun and I should be able to enjoy what I’m doing,” junior Moulika Sivalenka said. “Instead of stressing out, I was able to just do the tests with a clear mind and also learn new things while doing them. I think I learned many new facts and techniques about the tests and now I can better prepare myself for the States competition.”

The Science Olympiad encouraged students to use their prior knowledge and current knowledge on information gained in their science courses at Law. These students arrived at the event with goals in mind and things they were eager to learn. 

“My personal goal was to have fun and learn how the in-person competitions work and I’m glad I was able to achieve that,” junior Sara Moshirzadeh said. “While the scores weren’t the best, I think I’ve gained a good idea of what to improve on.”

Each student participated in at least three individual events. They competed against other schools that participated who fell in the New England high school region. 

“After this competition I feel that I was able to learn a lot about how in-person competitions are structured and how we can improve for the future,” senior Science Club President Rishabh Nair said. 

Nair said he is looking forward to future Science Club competitions.

“My main goal was to just learn or take away something from this experience and I feel as though I achieved that,” Nair said. “Considering this was our first in-person competition, I think we did decent overall but there is definitely room for improvement in our next competition at UConn.”

By Katie Servas and Gemard Guery – Editors-in-Chief

During the Martin Luther King Day weekend, Jonathan Law senior Aislinn Burns and SAVE Promise Club advisor Ms. Healy attended the Sandy Hook Promise Winter Institute to meet with the Youth Advisory Board (YAB), their advisors, and the SAVE team.

While attending the training, they discussed many different topics including a discussion about Martin Luther King Jr. and his speeches that focused on his value of non-violence. They also visited the King Center the following day.

“We talked about what our ‘dream school’ would look like and spoke about school climate,” Burns said. “We also spoke about the current discrimination and racism still present in schools/in general, planned activities for Say Something Week and National Youth Violence Prevention Week, and I presented about our SAVE Promise Club here at Law.”

While Burns was with other members of the YAB, Healy participated in workshops with other SAVE advisors around the country.  

“So my role is on the Student Advisory Council as Aislinn’s advisor, and all of us advisors would meet separately about different subjects compared to the Youth Advisory Board,” Healy said. “One of the meetings we had was to review pieces of ‘curriculum’ that Sandy Hook Promise had put together for schools to use for their ‘Say Something’ activities and we gave feedback on how we thought the activities could be better implemented if schools were to use them.”

The SAVE Promise Club has exponentially grown especially since the start of the school year. As the year has progressed, many ideas from the Youth Advisory Board have been incorporated into the SAVE Promise club at Law. Many of these ideas and activities are mirroring other clubs to further educate students and spread awareness of mental health, especially in school atmospheres.

“This weekend I learned a lot about nonviolence, discrimination, and school climate,” Burns said. “The best thing about the Youth Advisory Board is that all 13 of us are from all over the country with different experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives which is what makes discussions more meaningful and educational.”

The YAB builds program guidelines for each SAVE Promise Club together for events like “Say Something Week, Mindfulness Day and Wear Green Days.  

Burns has seen growth within her school community as well as herself while spending time on the Youth Advisory Board. 

“My time on the board has helped shape me into who I am today and has allowed me to become much more aware of what’s going on around me as well as empowered me to advocate for myself and others,” Burns said. “I have learned a lot not only about the programs and discussion topics but about myself as well.”

Not only has Burns enjoyed her time on the YAB but so has Healy, becoming a member of the Student Advisory Council this year.

“This was my first time being able to join the whole YAB and SAC group because I couldn’t attend the Summer Institute and I just really loved getting to know the other advisors and student board members,” Healy said. “It is a really unique little community full of such passionate, hard-working, and creative people and I am really looking forward to the Summit in April because the YAB group has really put together an awesome plan.”

Both Healy and Burns are ready to grow and educate students within SAVE Promise Club as well as through Law.

Compiled by The Advocate Editors

As we welcome 2023, the editors of The Advocate took a look back at 2022 and the events and experiences that affected the Law community.

(Photo courtesy Eagle Eye News)

By Caden Simpson – Social Media Editor

Jonathan Law High School has kicked off Lawmas Week to get students into the holiday spirit during the last few days before break.  

Starting on December 8, teachers and their Advisory groups began decorating their classroom doors to participate in a Door Decorating Contest – just one of the few activities Lawmas has in store. 

“The purpose of the contest is to promote community spirit and group dynamics through a seasonal activity while encouraging creativity, craftsmanship, and teaming skills,” said Dean of Students Mr. Ragaini, who is conducting the contest. “Each Advisory class will work together to decorate around their classroom door or around another designated door at Jonathan Law in celebration of Lawmas.” 

Teachers had December 9, December 16, and December 19 to decorate with their class, and almost every teacher has participated so far.

“I have a combined advisory with Mrs. Branco and three doors so we are doing a few different themes,” science teacher Ms. Doolan said. “Each of my students decorated a snow globe that has their picture in it, and we even made snow globes for my dog Bucky and Mrs. Branco’s dog Delilah.  We also made an interactive ‘What brings you JOY’ sign for students to write on.”

The contest continues throughout the last week before break, and the winner will be, determined by a secret panel of judges

“The winning advisory class will be given a special treat when we come back from break,” Ragaini said.

Not only is the door contest underway, but the Broadcast Journalism class has once again produced two Lawmas videos, “Twas the Night Before Lawmas” and “What Do You Want For Lawmas?”

“Each year, we produce two videos to celebrate the Lawmas season and we are continuing that tradition again this year,” Broadcast Journalism teacher Mr. Kulenych said. “We are excited to debut this year’s rendition of  ‘Twas The Night Before Lawmas’ and a video that asks the Law community what they want for Lawmas this year.”

Students and staff at Law have the entire week planned out to fully embrace the Lawmas spirit.

“The goal of all these activities is to get the entire school in the Lawmas spirit and to have a fun final week before break,” Kulenych said. 

Mingle and Jingle Lawmas Day will occur Thursday, December 22, where students will choose between numerous activities to participate in rather than going to their classes for the second half of the day.

“Students are able to choose between basketball, bracelet making, a dog room, and even yoga as options,” senior Ben Rossi said. “Students can choose two out of 20 activities to do in place of 7th and 8th period classes.”

Spirit week will take place throughout December 19- 22, with Pajama Day kicking it off.

“In order, the Spirit Week days are Holiday Pajamas, Ugly Sweaters, Warm Winter Clothes, and White Out,” Broadcast student Elly Van Waveren. “Spirit Week is just another attempt to get students to participate in Lawmas and get excited for the holidays.”

(Photo courtesy @JLHSPrincipal)

By Olivia Augustine – News Editor

The National Math Honor Society held their annual induction ceremony on Thursday, December 1.

The NMHS hosts activities for Pi day and April Math Month. Members also volunteer at Law’s Extended Learning Program which held after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

“Mu Alpha Theta is a mathematics honor society available to students who excel in their math courses,” math teacher and NMHS advisor Mr. Ruzbarsky said. “The purpose of Mu Alpha Theta is to spark interest and discussion around mathematics and spread that interest to others.”

NMHS members are able to help other students who struggle with math.

“Throughout the year, the NMHS tutors students in math after school at the ELP on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” senior NMHS senior president Aislinn Burns said. “We also run activities for April Math Month and Pi day.” 

Students decided to join the NMHS because they enjoy learning math. 

“I decided to join the National Math Honor Society because math is something that I enjoy and strive for success in,” senior Macie Rascoll said. “I like being a part of a group of students that feels the same way.”

Students join the NMHS to be able to encourage math within the school.  

“I decided to join NMHS because I’ve always enjoyed math and wanted to go further with my learning around other people that enjoy it,” junior Isabelle Masselli said. “I also wanted to encourage math within the school community, whether that be helping other students with math or even just arranging fun math-related activities.”

Sophomore Madelyn Baranosky is happy she joined NMHS.

“I joined the National Math Honor Society because I have an interest in math and I enjoy it, and I want to encourage other students to enjoy and learn more about math,” Baranowsky said. 

(Photo courtesy @jlhsSAVE)

By Lana Hanania – News Editor 

The Jonathan Law SAVE Promise Club is exposing students to new activities this school year. 

SAVE stands for ”Students Against Violence Everywhere” and is dedicated to raising awareness of mental health issues and educating students to be advocates. The goal of SAVE Promise is to create a place where Law students do not feel alone. 

Law history teacher Ms. Healy is the advisor of the club. She and club president Aislinn Burns helped to plan a recent series of appearances on Eagle Eye News in support of Sandy Hook Promise, leading up to the anniversary of Sandy Hook.

“This year, I’ve been a fan of our 14 Days of Action leading up to the 10 year anniversary of Sandy Hook on December 14th,” Healy said. “We also have our ‘Say Something’ Week in March that I really like. It focuses on learning warning signs and how to react to them, which is important.”

The 14 Days of Action taught students about the warning signs of violence and suicide and highlighted mental health awareness and support systems in place for students.

“My favorite activity for SAVE is the 14 Days of Action for Sandy Hook,” senior Macie Rascoll said. “I enjoy this activity because it gives students a variety of ways to connect with others as well as spread awareness about an amazing cause.” 

The club has taught many students about these causes and has brought them closer. 

“I think students should join the club because it’s a good opportunity to get involved with the school and it’s a good cause,” junior Maya Markowitz said. 

SAVE Promise is just one of the clubs at Law that give students opportunities to get active in the community as well as their school.

“This year I have been taught that I can be an advocate for student mental health and safety in schools,” senior Caroline Doyle said. “SAVE has taught me to speak out on issues in our community and school that I can help combat as a student.” 

The club will continue to try to make Law a more secure and friendly place. It also allows students to be taught to speak up and create a save environment. 

“SAVE Promise has helped me better my advocacy for my fellow peers and helped me understand my role as a student,” senior Giuliana Aguilar said.

(Photo courtesy @jlawchoir)

By Kaitlyn Goldberg – News Editor 

The annual Jonathan Law Winter Concert is almost ready for showtime. 

Hosted by Law’s music department, Choir Director Ms. Jones, and band and orchestra director Mr. Pelaggi the winter concert is where the choir, band, and orchestra showcase their music from the first half of the year. The concert is on Thursday, December 15, at 7 p.m.  

The music department is very excited to have its first winter concert in almost three years. They are looking forward to performing for a crowd and having the students’ hard work pay off. 

“I’m always excited for our students to perform the music they’ve learned,” Law Band Director Mr. Pelaggi said. “This semester we didn’t have too much time with the music, so it was a great time getting everything together in a short period of time.”

There is a lot of prep work going into the concert to make sure that everything goes smoothly, and the performers are confident. 

“The prepping for the concert is stressful and requires a lot of time and effort, but it is very rewarding when everything gets put together, and we can put on a great show,” junior choir member Kiley Sherman said. 

While the prepping can be stressful, there are some helpful ways students get ready to perform.

“We have our rehearsals where we build skills and work on specific performance repertoire,” Pelaggi said. “Usually, those two parts of the rehearsal are connected, and we also had a special guest conductor come in this year from Western Connecticut State University, and he worked with our students on one of our more traditional pieces of repertoire that we are performing at the concert.” 

Overall, the music department is extremely excited to finally be putting on a winter concert and showcasing students’ hard work over the first half of the school year. 

“I am most excited for people to be hearing the songs that we have worked so hard on for so long,” sophomore Reilly Hungerford said. 

(Photo courtesy facebook.com)

By Will Smith – Entertainment Editor

The Thanks for Giving Food Drive took place on the week of November 17 to collect food for those who may not have enough for a happy thanksgiving.

The Jonathan Law Key Club, the Jonathan Law National Honor Society, and the Boy Scouts of Milford Troop 1 hosted the food drive. The food drive has been going on for eleven years with over 70,000 pounds worth of food collected and 1,600 turkeys collected.

“I have been helping out at the Thanks for Giving Food Drive for at least 5 years now,” senior Key Club member president Kyle Chy said. “Every year, going down there and working with everyone to gather canned goods and prepare the boxes of food has always been rewarding, especially when delivering them to the recipients and seeing how grateful and appreciative they are for the food drive and what we do.”

In total, 350 meals were delivered to Milford families, 354 turkeys were collected, and there were over $2,500 in donations.

The meals and turkeys were delivered to the Milford Food Bank, Cornerstone Food Pantry, John Rigley Food Pantry, First United Church of Christ Food Pantry, Saint Gabriel Food Pantry, Food 2 Kids, Truth and Lies Ministries, Ronald McDonald House, and the  Storehouse Project.

“When collecting food here at Law and watching how much the Law community has donated to the food drive, it was so fulfilling to see,” Chy said.

Any money that was collected was used to support Beth El Shelter, Bridgeport Rescue Mission, Ronald McDonald House, Storehouse Project, and any other Milford area food and support areas.

(Photo courtesy Chris Rickard)

By Maddy Gaillard, Helen Chizmazia, Oliva Hudak, and Caden Simpson – Advocate Editors

Jonathan Law junior Chris Rickard recently realized a life-long dream when he was invited to the National Association for Music Education All-National Honors Festival in Washington, D.C. 

Rickard, who plays the euphonium, initially qualified for the All-State Festival and then from there he was able to audition for All-National Ensemble. Approximately 121 students in the nation, including senior Noah Held from Foran High School, were invited to participate in this year’s Ensemble.

“The Nationals Ensemble was so fun,” Rickard said. “The music was excellent, and provided challenging but enjoyable music to not just listen to but to play as well. It was nice to not constantly be at the top of my section, but to be around other musicians of similar or better caliber, and see how I can learn from them.”

Rickard said he was extremely impressed by the quality of the musical talent and by the passion of the directors and musicians alike.

“The musicianship was incredible from everyone across all ensembles, being able to meet in one day and be able to perform a full concert of challenging music in the span of three days or less,” Rickard said. “Watching all the ensembles play really put into perspective the expectation I would be held to play at when it was my time to go on stage. Beyond the musical context, the people were great from directors, to performers, or even just the volunteers that helped out.”

Being a member of the Jonathan Law band has been a big part of Rickard’s high school career and helped him receive this recognition. 

“Students who want to participate in these types of groups can definitely be helped by participating in the band at Law,” Law Band Director Mr. Pelaggi said. “We offer a lot of experiences similar to those at these ensembles. Just this week we had Dr. Matthew Doiron from Western Connecticut State University come and run our ensemble for a day. Last year, we commissioned a piece by a professional composer. These activities are similar to those that would happen at festivals like All-State and Nationals.”

Rickard went through a long journey to qualify for this Ensemble event.

“I was invited after submitting an audition tape to the National Association for Music Education (NAfME),” Rickard said. “Why I auditioned was because I just felt like it, but didn’t expect to make it by any means. I just thought it’d be cool to at least audition to see and go a little past All-State.”

In order to submit a National Ensemble audition, Rickard needed to participate in All- Regional and All-State events for your respective State Music Educators Association. Both of these require auditions as well as a short application on past experiences as a musician.

“Normally, all music prepared are solos typically known ahead of time accompanied by a major scale of the Connecticut Music Educators Association’s choosing along with a chromatic scale, both of two octaves if possible for that major scale,” Rickard said. “For the Nationals audition, just the solo preparation would be required, however only about a month would be given to prepare, film, and send the tape. The solo, Sonata for Euphonium, was pretty challenging to learn, and I didn’t even think it was gonna make it. In addition, a second piece may be optionally chosen that is under two minutes to go with the rest of the audition. For this, I played the first movement of The Carnival of Venice. I submitted one of the last auditions on the day they were due.”

Pelaggi said he was happy that Rickard was able to expand his musical career outside of Law.

“I’m happy he was able to get to these events, but I hope he has learned more from participating in them,” Pelaggi said. “It is more important to me that a student learns, whether from me or from another source. Sometimes achievements can be hollow, but I know his path to this event was full of excellent learning experiences. I’m always happy to help my students with their goals. My mission is for my students to become better people and then better musicians. If this path is in their future, I’m happy to assist them in their journey.”

(Photo courtesy The Advocate Editors)

By Olivia Augustine and Kaitlyn Goldberg – News Editors and Reilly Hungerford – Entertainment Editor

The National Honor Society has begun the holiday season with the annual Giving Tree.

The Giving Tree is a tree in the school lobby where students are encouraged to buy gifts for less fortunate children in Milford, hosted by the NHS. Anyone who wants to participate can choose a card from the tree, purchase the gift and return the unwrapped gift with the card to the tree or Room 212B by December 14. 

“The Giving Tree is a community project that our National Honor Society members do every year for the holidays,” NHS advisor Ms. Turcotte said. “We work with Bridges Healthcare of Milford, who provide us with the holiday wish lists of the children of their families in need.”

The NHS makes it their goal to provide gifts for less fortunate kids every year. 

“The goal of the giving tree is to get people in the law community to give back to children in need by getting them a Christmas gift that they specifically want so that they can have plenty of gifts this Christmas season,” senior president Kyle Chy said.

NHS members look forward to the Giving Tree every year. 

“I enjoy picking gifts out for the kids based on what they ask for,” senior Caroline Doyle said.

Members enjoy being able to give back to kids less fortunate than them. 

“I enjoy that the giving tree provides the opportunity for anyone in our school to give back and help out less fortunate kids,” senior Maya Rosado said. “It’s a simple and easy way to help others and that’s what I like most about it.”