by Melissa Nogler
As a senior my last days are down to 6 days and counting.
Starting Monday, May 14 I along with the other 176 seniors will be having “senior week”
until Friday, May 18. Friday is our last day of school, but May 11 is our last day of classes. We come back May 21-25 and prom is May 31. I am really excited. I cannot wait.
What I'm going to miss the most when I look back is writing for the Pembroke High School Sentinel and working with everyone and sometimes being a brat about my stories.
But looking back at my 3 years at this school changes. I used to be this young punk kid who didn’t care about school and now I'm 2 weeks away from graduating. It gets to you.
Most people say, “Oh I hated school, but being a senior was fun...” and that is how I looked at it. It is scary going out into the real world. Next fall I will be going to the University of Maryland to major in Criminal justice and Journalism. I can’t wait to be successful. My dream is to at least make it on 7 News. I would love to be a reporter. I love to interview people. I like to talk about current events. I just do not like talking in front of millions of people. But I would love to have that chance, or also write for the Patriot Ledger. I met a woman who writes for it, and she interviewed me after my friend Brittany died, and she said if I ever need to get started in journalism outside of high school to give her a call. That made me really happy. I have achieved my goal.
Others might say its “stupid” but I believe out of 176 seniors graduating, I will be the most successful, I'm meaning it in a bad way but I know what I want and im going for it.
My senior week will be worthwhile. I know I can't do senior skip day or I will lose credit. Senior week is better than that anyways. I have shared so many memories being at this school.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Spring is here
by Lauren Mulkern
Take a second right now to stop and breathe. Once the warm weather comes, people seem to have a lot less time to relax. It is go, go, go, because the warm weather is finally here and people want to do the wonderful things that they have missed during the winter. However, we are doing so much that it seems like the spring has flew by.
Varsity sports are well into their seasons even though it seems like we have just started. Seven weeks have already gone by for the spring sports. For softball, we only have three weeks left as of right now. However, this can change if they make tournament.
The point of this is to show you that spring sports go by so fast that you don’t even realize the season is close to ending. One reason we don’t realize is that they come up so fast. This is due to the fact that the spring sports begin before “spring” gets here. Another reason is the rain. This year, there was approximately about ten days that sports were postponed due to the rain. Then once the beautiful sun comes out, all these postponed games are rescheduled and teams have about four games a week which makes the time go by so fast.
Enjoy the last few weeks of spring sports because before you know it they will be over and your seniors from your teams will be graduating and you will start to look forward to the next season that is a year away.
Take a second right now to stop and breathe. Once the warm weather comes, people seem to have a lot less time to relax. It is go, go, go, because the warm weather is finally here and people want to do the wonderful things that they have missed during the winter. However, we are doing so much that it seems like the spring has flew by.
Varsity sports are well into their seasons even though it seems like we have just started. Seven weeks have already gone by for the spring sports. For softball, we only have three weeks left as of right now. However, this can change if they make tournament.
The point of this is to show you that spring sports go by so fast that you don’t even realize the season is close to ending. One reason we don’t realize is that they come up so fast. This is due to the fact that the spring sports begin before “spring” gets here. Another reason is the rain. This year, there was approximately about ten days that sports were postponed due to the rain. Then once the beautiful sun comes out, all these postponed games are rescheduled and teams have about four games a week which makes the time go by so fast.
Enjoy the last few weeks of spring sports because before you know it they will be over and your seniors from your teams will be graduating and you will start to look forward to the next season that is a year away.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Senioritis
by Jennifer Bayliss
I wish I were an Oscar Meyer wiener, that is what I’d truly like to be. ‘Cause if I were an Oscar Meyer wiener, everyone would be in love… oops.
Sorry about that, I’m a bit distracted now that the sun is shining and the weather allows me to wear short sleeves without freezing my derrière off.
Anyway…
Senioritis. Every senior gets it at some point. Everyone knows what it is. Even my spell check on the computer is accepting it as a word. Underclassmen even look forward to use the senioritis excuse. It’s such a great one… teachers even understand it.
We’re done. We have about 16 days left. If you have AP exams to take, you only have about two weeks. None of us want to be here. The weather has been becoming nicer and more spring-like, we’re ready to hit the beach. We’re tired of being in school and the teachers are becoming weary of our lackadaisical ways.
Some of the seniors in the school have suffered senioritis since mid-winter, it truly is an illness. Most have pulled out of the slump to muster enough effort together to do the last few pieces of coursework that they’re given. Others, well… they have continued to slack off, not a care in the world, and somehow seem to scrape by.
And now, I have fallen victim yet again to this illness known as senioritis.
I wish I were an Oscar Meyer wiener, that is what I’d truly like to be. ‘Cause if I were an Oscar Meyer wiener, everyone would be in love… oops.
Sorry about that, I’m a bit distracted now that the sun is shining and the weather allows me to wear short sleeves without freezing my derrière off.
Anyway…
Senioritis. Every senior gets it at some point. Everyone knows what it is. Even my spell check on the computer is accepting it as a word. Underclassmen even look forward to use the senioritis excuse. It’s such a great one… teachers even understand it.
We’re done. We have about 16 days left. If you have AP exams to take, you only have about two weeks. None of us want to be here. The weather has been becoming nicer and more spring-like, we’re ready to hit the beach. We’re tired of being in school and the teachers are becoming weary of our lackadaisical ways.
Some of the seniors in the school have suffered senioritis since mid-winter, it truly is an illness. Most have pulled out of the slump to muster enough effort together to do the last few pieces of coursework that they’re given. Others, well… they have continued to slack off, not a care in the world, and somehow seem to scrape by.
And now, I have fallen victim yet again to this illness known as senioritis.
Breaking In Blog
by Katie Jochems
A few weeks ago a Pembroke Student, whom I will keep anonymous, made copies of one of the school’s master keys after stealing it from a gym teacher. He was caught with the keys and was punished for his illegal activity.
It is kids like this that ruin it for everyone. The school had to spend the little money they have to get completely new locks for the entire school and maintenance men had to work extra days to put them all in.
I used to wonder why the school couldn’t just trust us and not lock every door after leaving the room, but now I can see the reason; stupid people who think that it’s funny to take a key and make copies of it.
It’s scary to think what that idiot could have done and thank goodness the key was found before he could, especially with recent going-ons at Virginia Tech, school security is a major issue and its all because of untrustworthy fools trying to do something “cool.”
A few weeks ago a Pembroke Student, whom I will keep anonymous, made copies of one of the school’s master keys after stealing it from a gym teacher. He was caught with the keys and was punished for his illegal activity.
It is kids like this that ruin it for everyone. The school had to spend the little money they have to get completely new locks for the entire school and maintenance men had to work extra days to put them all in.
I used to wonder why the school couldn’t just trust us and not lock every door after leaving the room, but now I can see the reason; stupid people who think that it’s funny to take a key and make copies of it.
It’s scary to think what that idiot could have done and thank goodness the key was found before he could, especially with recent going-ons at Virginia Tech, school security is a major issue and its all because of untrustworthy fools trying to do something “cool.”
VT
by Lauren Mulkern
On Monday 4/16/07, a student at Virginia Tech. murdered a total of 27 students and 5 teachers. This student was originally from South Korea and moved to the U.S. due to financial difficulty in South Korea. Classmates of this student mentioned that he was a very quite man.
ON the day of the massacre, he shot two students two hours before killing the other 30 people. During this two hour period, he prepared a package of photos and a video. Also in this NBC studio was a written statement. NBC released these disturbing photos, videos, and statements to the public.
The decision that NBC made to release items from this package, sparked a controversy. People are now arguing if this was the right thing to do.
The ultimate purpose of the newspaper/news studio is to make a positive change. Releasing devastating photos, videos, and statements to the public is a positive change? Personally, I believe that releasing photos that have guns pointing at you is horrific. Why does something that was so tragic to many people have to have things to show you what the 32 victims went through? These things show what the victims were looking at before the passed away.
On 4/19/07, I walked into a store to purchase the Boston Herald and Patriot Ledger. As soon as I looked at the newsstand, I was horrified. I had multiple guns pointing right at me. Of course they were not literally there but it was still horrifying. The Boston Herald decided to send a photo from the package with the murderer pointing a gun right at the camera on the front page. I personally don’t see the positive change in this situation. All I see is terrible images. NBC should have spent more time considering the consequences of releasing packages.
On Monday 4/16/07, a student at Virginia Tech. murdered a total of 27 students and 5 teachers. This student was originally from South Korea and moved to the U.S. due to financial difficulty in South Korea. Classmates of this student mentioned that he was a very quite man.
ON the day of the massacre, he shot two students two hours before killing the other 30 people. During this two hour period, he prepared a package of photos and a video. Also in this NBC studio was a written statement. NBC released these disturbing photos, videos, and statements to the public.
The decision that NBC made to release items from this package, sparked a controversy. People are now arguing if this was the right thing to do.
The ultimate purpose of the newspaper/news studio is to make a positive change. Releasing devastating photos, videos, and statements to the public is a positive change? Personally, I believe that releasing photos that have guns pointing at you is horrific. Why does something that was so tragic to many people have to have things to show you what the 32 victims went through? These things show what the victims were looking at before the passed away.
On 4/19/07, I walked into a store to purchase the Boston Herald and Patriot Ledger. As soon as I looked at the newsstand, I was horrified. I had multiple guns pointing right at me. Of course they were not literally there but it was still horrifying. The Boston Herald decided to send a photo from the package with the murderer pointing a gun right at the camera on the front page. I personally don’t see the positive change in this situation. All I see is terrible images. NBC should have spent more time considering the consequences of releasing packages.
JV Sports in a Varsity World
Nicholas Papadopolous
The affairs of varsity sports are widely known throughout the halls of Pembroke High School, while the jv and freshman sports are under the radar and are underappreciated.
An example of the breach in the support is apparent at several of the sports games. In hockey, the jv games are usually played an hour before the varsity plays, yet nobody can be found in the rink other than the few parents spread out through the bleachers. However, as soon as the jv players finish undressing and step back out into the rink, the place is so crowded that it is difficult to get to the exit. And once you do manage to get to the exit, there are still people in line waiting to pay $5 for a ticket to the game.
Another example is the football teams and their fans. For jv games and freshman games, there are usually more players on the field than there are in the stands watching. But when the lights come on and varsity steps onto the field, the bleachers are overflowing with fans hoping that the Titans will pull through.
The only reasons that fans only attend the varsity games are that the players are older and the talent is better. Let’s face it, everybody knows the senior athletes Mike Daniels and Paul Chiampa, but only the freshman and a few others are going to know the Jack Bandera’s and Pat West’s of the school. Not to mention that everybody will know about Rocco DeVincient’s last-second goal but nobody will hear about Ryan Hennigan’s 3-run Home-run to win the jv a game in extra innings. Also, the talent level is far superior at varsity games than at jv games.
Despite that, I think that Pembroke students should show more of an interest in the sports played by the younger student-athletes. After all, they are the future of PHS.
The affairs of varsity sports are widely known throughout the halls of Pembroke High School, while the jv and freshman sports are under the radar and are underappreciated.
An example of the breach in the support is apparent at several of the sports games. In hockey, the jv games are usually played an hour before the varsity plays, yet nobody can be found in the rink other than the few parents spread out through the bleachers. However, as soon as the jv players finish undressing and step back out into the rink, the place is so crowded that it is difficult to get to the exit. And once you do manage to get to the exit, there are still people in line waiting to pay $5 for a ticket to the game.
Another example is the football teams and their fans. For jv games and freshman games, there are usually more players on the field than there are in the stands watching. But when the lights come on and varsity steps onto the field, the bleachers are overflowing with fans hoping that the Titans will pull through.
The only reasons that fans only attend the varsity games are that the players are older and the talent is better. Let’s face it, everybody knows the senior athletes Mike Daniels and Paul Chiampa, but only the freshman and a few others are going to know the Jack Bandera’s and Pat West’s of the school. Not to mention that everybody will know about Rocco DeVincient’s last-second goal but nobody will hear about Ryan Hennigan’s 3-run Home-run to win the jv a game in extra innings. Also, the talent level is far superior at varsity games than at jv games.
Despite that, I think that Pembroke students should show more of an interest in the sports played by the younger student-athletes. After all, they are the future of PHS.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
How much should we support the arts?
by Kerry Richards
Pembroke High School has been criticized by some students for spending too much money on the arts. Students gripe that the school spent so much on a perfect auditorium, but a faulty gym. They complain that the drama club always has so much money (most of it from PAPA), while other clubs and sports can barely support themselves. Many even suggest that Principal Lynch would rather donate practically the entire B building to the Art department and neglect sports.
Is this worth it? How important are the arts to a high school education?
Our drama department is obviously benefiting as "The King and I" was recently selected to be part of the North Shore Community Theatre Spotlight Awards. They were nominated for Best Choreography, Best Technical Crew/ Execution, Best Leading Actress- Meghan Haskins, and Best Supporting Actor- Matthew Foster.
Jono King and Meghan Haskins will be performing at the Finale production number during the awards presentations.
This is a huge honor and means a lot to Pembroke High School. However, it raises the question of the importance of arts.
Art is no longer a requirement of graduation at Pembroke High, although it is at many others, and many students go through high school with out it.
Perhaps, this should not be the case...
- Secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs). — Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report. Reported in Houston Chronicle, January 1998
- The very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians. — Grant Venerable, "The Paradox of the Silicon Savior," as reported in "The Case for Sequential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of the Public Schools," The Center for the Arts in the Basic Curriculum, New York, 1989
- In an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data on more than 25,000 secondary school students (NELS:88, National Education Longitudinal Survey), researchers found that students who report consistent high levels of involvement in instrumental music over the middle and high school years show “significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12.” This observation holds regardless of students’ socio-economic status, and differences in those who are involved with instrumental music vs. those who are not is more significant over time. — Catterall, James S., Richard Chapleau, and John Iwanaga. “Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater Arts.” Los Angeles, CA: The Imagination Project at UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, 1999.
- Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. He found that 66% of music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. 44% of biochemistry majors were admitted. — As reported in "The Case for Music in the Schools," Phi Delta Kappan, February 1994
- A University of California (Irvine) study showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers showed a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ. — Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Ky and Wright, "Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Causal Relationship," University of California, Irvine, 1994
All research points to music and arts having a positive impact. It broadens horizons and even helps students in other subjects. Perhaps, Pembroke should reinstate fine arts requirements. Can it really hurt with all of the courses offered here?
Pembroke High School has been criticized by some students for spending too much money on the arts. Students gripe that the school spent so much on a perfect auditorium, but a faulty gym. They complain that the drama club always has so much money (most of it from PAPA), while other clubs and sports can barely support themselves. Many even suggest that Principal Lynch would rather donate practically the entire B building to the Art department and neglect sports.
Is this worth it? How important are the arts to a high school education?
Our drama department is obviously benefiting as "The King and I" was recently selected to be part of the North Shore Community Theatre Spotlight Awards. They were nominated for Best Choreography, Best Technical Crew/ Execution, Best Leading Actress- Meghan Haskins, and Best Supporting Actor- Matthew Foster.
Jono King and Meghan Haskins will be performing at the Finale production number during the awards presentations.
This is a huge honor and means a lot to Pembroke High School. However, it raises the question of the importance of arts.
Art is no longer a requirement of graduation at Pembroke High, although it is at many others, and many students go through high school with out it.
Perhaps, this should not be the case...
- Secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs). — Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report. Reported in Houston Chronicle, January 1998
- The very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians. — Grant Venerable, "The Paradox of the Silicon Savior," as reported in "The Case for Sequential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of the Public Schools," The Center for the Arts in the Basic Curriculum, New York, 1989
- In an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data on more than 25,000 secondary school students (NELS:88, National Education Longitudinal Survey), researchers found that students who report consistent high levels of involvement in instrumental music over the middle and high school years show “significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12.” This observation holds regardless of students’ socio-economic status, and differences in those who are involved with instrumental music vs. those who are not is more significant over time. — Catterall, James S., Richard Chapleau, and John Iwanaga. “Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater Arts.” Los Angeles, CA: The Imagination Project at UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, 1999.
- Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. He found that 66% of music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. 44% of biochemistry majors were admitted. — As reported in "The Case for Music in the Schools," Phi Delta Kappan, February 1994
- A University of California (Irvine) study showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers showed a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ. — Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Ky and Wright, "Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Causal Relationship," University of California, Irvine, 1994
All research points to music and arts having a positive impact. It broadens horizons and even helps students in other subjects. Perhaps, Pembroke should reinstate fine arts requirements. Can it really hurt with all of the courses offered here?
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