Vol. 22, No. 5 Summer 2006
•
•
1.
Townsend Harris High School at Queens College
149-11 Melbourne Avenue, Flushing, NY 11367
Seniors dance the night away at Prom
by Marissa Green
The Class of 2006 danced and dined
on June I, 2006 for their Senior Prom
at Floral Terrace from 6 to II p.m.
The reaction of most of the senior
class to one of their final celebrations
of their high school career together was
one of j-ubilation . Senior Michelle
Montgoris reflected on the night by saying, "It was something everyone was
building up to, so it was definitely hard
to live up to what everyone was expecting it.to be. However, it turned out to be
an amazing last get-together for the
Class of 2006."
The celebration started at 6 with a
cocktail hour and then a sit-down dinner later in the evening. "The dessert
was really good; it was definitely a highlight of the night," declared senior
Alexandra Stergiou. She added that ev-
eryone looked great that night. She described how the atmosphere really was
an important part of what made the
night so special.
The setting of the prom also received
high praise from those who attended .
Senior Alyshia Remtula complimented
this year's continued choice of the Floral Terrace as the catering haH by stating, "The place was perfect for our
class, It wasn't too big and it wasn't too
small. Actually, it even brought- us all _
closer together."
Prom was the product of a lot of hard
work and planning. Alyshia said, "There.
wa~ a . lot going on. You have to not
match dresses and not match colors. Because if you do, you have to buy a new
prom dress. But at the end of the night,
Seniors Christopher Amanna, Ewelina Kara, Lori Khrimian, and ller guest enjoy the
.
it's all worth it."
·
evening's festivities.
..
Harrisfest II holds on to·devoted fans
by Stephanie Pak
Harrisfest was held for the second
time this year on Friday, May 12, due to
its popularity as a school event. Although the turnout was meager, the audience did not let it stop them from hav-
ing a great time.
Bona to -Vada, Kmnik Kredenti·a ls,
United Nations, Bad Mitten Bunch,
Sasha and the Diamonds, and the wellknown local band Waistina were among
some of the groups that performed along
United Nations brings down the hosue at the conclusion of Harrisfest.
with soloists, such as Deborah Chang,
Tm;govn'ik, and Silbia Han. As a
ara
ists dedicated songs to the senior class,
such as the band United Nations, who
surprise, Lara Torgovnik also sang with performed "Graduation (Friends ForMichael Finkelstein and invited English ever)'' by Vitamin C, and Silbia Han,
teacher Joseph Canzoneri on stage to who played a special request for theseplay guitar for the song "Landslide" by niors as well. Despite the inevitable
Fleetwood Mac. technological difficulties, the show went
From alterna- on as the audience clapped, sang along,
tive rock to rap and cheered to encourage the performto folk music, ers. The audience became very enthusimany different astic and rushed to the stage when the
genres merged rock band Waistina performed. The autogether for. dience interaction greatly increased as
a small moshpit was formed.
Harrisfest.
"I
never
"I love Harrisfest because it allows
knew how tal- you to see just how talented your felented my peers low students really are, outside the classwere . The en- room. Who knows, you could be sitting
thusiasm and next to tomorrow's Grammy-winning
loud volume of artist. The audience was great and rethe music let me ally supportive, even when performers
relax and have made small mistakes , or when technolfun,"
said ogy simply failed on them," said Silbia
sophomore Han .
Ms. Wallace, who is the advisor for ..
Stephanie
"But the annual Harrisfest events, acknowledged the students' hard work as well.
be even more "Harrisfest is truly unique in that everysuccessful if the thing is in the hands of the students.
music IS more They organize everything, practice, perdiverse,"she form, and print the tickets ." She added,
"It's a great way for the students to have
added.
Several art~ fun and appreciate each other's gifts."
M
Special Spring
Insert!
Editor Farewells
p.2
College Stats
-p. 6-7
Travel the world
p. 8-9
tt
2
-
The Classic
Summer 2006
Editor-in~Chi. ef
Ch.ris Aman·na bids adieu
Dear readers:
. Unless you are in the shoes ofan editor. you can never fully appreciate all the wor{that goes into a newspaper. There are big tasks (e.g. writing in-depth
features). There are medium-sized tasks (e.g. editing someone else's work). And there are a lot of minute, painstaking tasks (e.g. figuring out who's the
second person from the left in the picture on page 4, making sure there are equal margins in a text box, attempting to delete one word from an article so the
layout will fit, and inserting that pesky missing comma).
I'm not pointing all this out to evoke sympathy-- believe me the last thing I want is pitY. My rationale is instead to say something about the type of
person who rises to such a challenge. He or she must combine a healthy portion of dedication with a generous slathering of insanity.
I can honestly say this the most accurate way to describe my fellow editors. They are the reasons why I'm going to miss doing all of that craziness
(comas included).
A strange bond has developed between the editors of The Classic. We are like old friends, parents, spouses, siblings, and ex-lovers all r.olled into one.
We tell stories, we freak out, we quarrel, we eat together. we gossip, we sing, on occasion we work, but most of all we laugh. Between Diana's Romanian
techno, Rookie and I reminiscing about middle school, and t!ze interesting language used in some of the things we receive, there is rarely a time a smile is
not on our faces. I would like to thank all of these women for making my time with The Classic bearable and would also like to offer a few words to some
other importantpeople: ·
Jocelyn, the super editrix: I am so confident in handing you the reins of The-Classic that I'm looking forward to reading 'next year's issues. You have the
talent, organization, and dedication that this job demands. You also possess something I lack -- a backbone. So go ahead and use that trademarked iron
fist, but do so judiciously. I know the paper has a ·brightfuture under your leadership.
Rooki, a.k.a. me: Words cannot adequately express how much I'm going to miss shouting "Rooki!" every time I see you and hearing your perfunctory
"Ctitifer" response. Who else w~ntto Bay, has eczema, loves Swedish Fish, the color green, cinnamon-raisin bagels, and vanilla ice cream with chocolate
sprinkles, and takes the "E" intoJamaica_? You want to know who? Nopne.
Diana, my other half: Although you've'been.absent in recent months, I can 'tignore the nearly four years we've spent together. To be honest, I didn't like
you whe~ we fir.~t met, JJut o.m;eJaccmted_you as-an un>likable person, I began io like you. As you can see, you defy logic, but that's a good thing. You were
our comic relief, our DJ, and our Zag at's guide. I only regret that you weren't here in the final throes of The Classic XXII. Regardless, I wish you only the
best of luck.
.·. . .
· ·
· · ·: '
My. other editors: Alex, ;you ate a Jalentedphotographer, and I appreciate all you have done for the paper. Michelle, you are the athlete of the century
and not a .badwriter to boot. Ml_lriel, it is nearly impossible to convey the amount of literary and artistic talent you possess. I sort of sprung this job on you
last minute, but given the circumstances, you were a great help. Laura, I know you had other priorities, and I'm not criticizing you for that. I just hope that
with your copious free time during senior year. you can help out a. little more.:
Dedicated Classic staff, my bebutiflil-jour~alists: To all ofyou'who stuck around and endured the in{>anity, I cannot thank you enough. Remember that
you provide the main ingredient for the paper. The editors qdd seasoning, m'ix things up in a big bowl, and add a spring of rosemary for garnish, but
without you we'd have nothing. So keep those articles coming (and do~ 't forget to copy and paste them into the body of the e-mail).
My advisors, illustrious and numerous:·· I have had 'the disiinguished honot of serving .u,nder three different advisors. Freshman and junior year I was
under the guidance of the incomparable llsa Cowen. She possisses dn·~npard,Jleled breadth of knowledge a,nd experience, coupled with extreme dedica- •
tion. For this reas~n. I am delighted to know that shewil! retur'!- next year as Classic advisor. and I wish her the best of luck. I must also thank Peter
Wamsteker. from whom I formally learned the craft ofjoun1.alism. Your Class was memorable and will carry a lasting effect in my life. And last, but
certainly not least, I thank Richard Cappuccio, this year's advisor. You accepted a gargantuan challenge that not many people would be willing to
undertake, but you proved yourself to be an adept and dedicated advisor.
Everyone who has ever picked up a copy of The Classic: Although The Classic may not be the most timely publication, nor the most glamorous, just
remember that we are your publication. We chronicle the events that impact the lives of members of the Townsend Harris community, as well voice your
opinions. So please treat us with respect and send us your letters.
On that note, farewell Classic, farewell Townsend Harris. Thank you for all that you've taught me.
Sincerely,
Christopher Amanna, Editor-in-Chief
.,
Sports· Editor Michelle Montgoris says goodbye
I can't believe that two
years have passed since I was
first asked to take over as
Sports Editor. In these two
years I've gotten so much
accomplished and met so
many people that have only
helped me confirm that I
want to pursue sports journalism as my future career.
Working on The Classic and
with the editorial staff in particular has been an am'a zing
experience, not only because it
is a fantastic publication, but
because of the people that
worked on it as well. I regret
that I was never able to dedicate as much time as I should
·have to The Classic because of
sports obligations, but to their
credit the editors and the advisors (plural because we've had
so many of them) have always
been completely understanding
of it, and for that I thank them
Jocelyn Wright
Laura Shubert
Rookminie Behari
News Editor .
Feature Editor
Entertainment Editor
Michelle Montgoris
Muriel Leung
Vivian Shibata
Alexandra Stergiou
Co-Art Editors
getting very little accomplished
in a large amount of time.
Keep writing and spreading the
news, I look forward to reading future issues when I come
back to visit. And on one last
note, congratulations to my fellow class of 2006 graduates,
and thank you for four amazing years. Good luck in college
and remember, life is like a
fastball -if you wait on it too
long, it will blow right by you.
!llews Staff: Marissa Green. Elana Gulotta. Megan Law. Marisa Lupo. Gloria Palma, Max
Rivlin-Nadler. Lance Tomas, Lonny Zaretsky
Christopher A manna
Diana Bell
Co-Editors-in-Chief
Sports Editor
with all my heart. The last four
years on The Classic are something that I will take with me
through college and reflect on
as the reason I am pursuing
journalism when the road
throws curveballs at me that
may make me want to stop. I'll
miss each and every member of
the staff and the many late afternoons spent in Ms.
Wischerth's room eating massive amounts of junkfood and
Photography Editor
Feature Staff: Faith Aronowitz, Cindy Chen, Tiffany Cheng, Annie Choi. Jasmine Daniel,
Shruti Karnawat, Sangsoo Kim, Veronica Kim. Linda Kung. Sydney Lowe. Kate Lu.
Adriana Mateo. Julita Mienko. Stephanie Pak. Mary-Grace Papatheodorou. Jennifer Park,
Darcy Rendon. Priti Shah. Nisha Singh, Judy SingKissoon. Anita Sonawane. Elizabeth
Striapko. Samia Ullah, Christine Whang, Janet Whang. Devon Wright, Madeleine Wright
Sports Staff: Maureen McCluskey. Robert McCullagh. Alex Rush, Lance Tomas. Nathlie
Stephens. Wendy Yan
Artists: Mitchell Bader. Darren Deoraj. Rowena Eng. Kinberly Lo. Bonnie Ng
Richard Cappuccio
Kimberly Quon
Advisor
Business Editor
Principal - Mr. Thomas Cunningham
Photography Staff: Warren Cheng, Ashley Guzman. Natalia Guzman, Kenneth. Ho,
Hannah Kang, Sunny Liu. Sumit Patel. Angglelia Sutjipto, Raksha Thapa, Priscilla Tran
Business Staff: Janet Hwang
Corrections: ·
The following errors
appeared in the February
2006 issue of The Classic:
"Holocaust survivor talks to
Hebrew classes" (page 5)
was written by Ramandeep
Singh; "Memoil3'exposes
audience to new culture"
(page 6) was written by
Sydney Lowe.
Townsend Harris High School at Queens College
149-11 Melbourne Avenue, Flushing, N.Y. 11367
The Classic is an open forum for the expression of
student views. The opinions expressed therein should
not be taken to represent those of the administration
or faculty or student body as a whole.
Readers are invited to submit letters to the editor.
Letters should be placed in Mr. Cappuccio 's mailbox in
Room 315 ore-mailed to thhsdassic@yahoo.com. The
Classic reserves the right to edit all letters. Letters must
include name and official class. Names will be withheld
upon request.
-
The Classic
Summer 2006
Reactions to· Random
Scanning Chec.ks
r
by Jasmine Daniel, Sydney Lowe,
Jocelyn Wright, and Madeline
Wright
On April 26th a letter was distributed
to students and parents during band 2.
This letter stated that the Department of
Education would begin random mobile
scanner searches at all, New York City
public schools .
The decision is part of a new safety
initiative by the New York City Police
Department and is being implemented
at public high schools and middle
schools citywide. These searches will be
random and unannounced; temporary
scanners similar to the metal detectors
at airports will be set up on the day of
the scanning. Illegal items found, including cell phones, which are banned
by theDOE but legal under the law, will
be confiscated.
This decision was based on the success of metal detectors at Impact
schools,. where crime has decreased by
59%. Recently, the New York Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to Mayor
Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel
Klein in opposition to the scanners. The
Urban Youth Collaborative, a student
group, has also organized a petitioning
campaign seeking "safety with dignity."
Students., parents, and teachers are
also petitioning for changes to the policy
that allow students to have cell phones
provided they are not used during the
school day.
Here are the reactions of the students,
parents, and administrators. As of yet,
Townsend Harris has not been subject
to these random searches.
Opinions on the random
scanning checks and
their relevance .· at
Townsend Harris:
"The school should check for weapons
such as knives, guns, scissors; however,
electronics should not be taken away."
Alia Onefater,
parent of junior Alina Onefater
"I think scanning machines p'eriodically
is a good safety measure, but I do not
agree that cell phones should be
confiscated. I agree that the school safety
is of utmost importance but the· safety
of children also · relies on using cell
phones to communicate with parents."
Regina Asaro,
parent of freshman Francesca Bartalini
.
Election Results
by Megan Law
He~e are the results of the 2006 SU Elections and comments from some of
our newly elected -officials.
SU President: Michael Bye
"I just opened a new jar of elbow grease and applied it liberally."
SU Vice President: Jim BrianEstil _
"It is good that the school wants to be
more safe, but in speaking that this is
Townsend Harris, there's not much
danger .. .. No [I do not think this practice
is relevant at Townsend] because these
kids seem responsible ."
Marie Telfart,
parent of Jennifer Deliard
"It is ridiculous and unacceptable. It is
also a waste of time, money, and
manpower."
parent of senior Jane Wong
"I want to thank my supporters for all their help."
Treasurer: Peter Park
Secretary: Kelly McCann
''I'm glad I'll be secretary next year. I'm going to help work on other projects
like fund raisers aside from keeping notes and everything. I have a lot of
ideas so I'm ready to get started." ·
Senior Vice President: Jason Lee
"I am humbled by the amount of support I have received during this election. I plan on continuing thy work that the previous SU Senior Vke President had done and making the senior year for the class of2007 a great one."
Junior Vice President: Daniella Silva
j
"It's a legal obligation. Is it legal to do
it? Yes. IS it necessary? It's necessary if
you have students who are breaking the
law . . . The random scanning is a reality
check for us."
Susan Getting,
Assistant Principal of Humanities
"If you're asking if I feel they're
necessary, then no, but if they're going
to travel around to every school, then no
schools should be exempt. I feel it's a
14th Amendment issue." .
history teacher Linda Steinmann
"I think random scanning checks are ·
always going to reveal some surp.rises,
but as a priority, Townsend ·should be
very low on the list becau~e there are not
going.to be a lot of surprises. I think it's
a poor use of money and energy and time
to look for something that's not going to
be there, but keeping us on the list [of
schools to scan] is a fair practice."
Ellen Fee
Assistant Principal of Mathematics
"I believe that scanners are currently ngt
necessary at Townsend Harris High
School. I think that scanners are an
appropriate tool for schools that have a
"The occasional phone call during lunch large number of criminal incidents. I
bands from a bathroom stall really believe that in some schools, scanners
doesn ' t affect our students ' learning are one tool that can be an effective way
capacity, and we certainly don't bring to ensure the safety of students. It
knives to school on a regular·basis. Our certainly is not the only one.
school is so, so safe; the biggest threat At Townsend Harris we know our
student body, we have well trained
we ever have is a bared midriff"
junior Jenn Polish School Safety Agents, and we provide
students with picture ID's. These are
"You need to do scanning. Maybe not at . some other ways that help e!lsure the
Townsend Harris, but definitely in the safety of everyone."
Thomas Cunningham, Principal
city."
junior Marissa Kinsey
'
3
Opinions on the policy of
confiscating cell phones:
"I basically use my_ cell to call my
parents. They like to know where I am
after school. There aren ':t enough_
payphones nowadays so it makes it
harder to get in touch."
freshman Benjamin Snyder
Freshman-Sophomore Vice President: Kathe.rina Bal_ram
Public Relations: Marsha Sukach
"Even though I ran unopposed, I am glad that I got the position of public
relations and that I'll have the opportunity to improve comm~nications
throughout the school."
Consultative Council: Mahmuda Khan
RSAC: Yewande Salau
"Thank you to all the people who voted for me. I could not have done it
without you."
I
Junior SLT: Carmelle Alipio
"I am upset about it. My school schedule
changes everyday: I need to talk to my
dad after school."
freshman Jordano Sanchez
"I think it's silly. Most ofus live so far
from school, so it's important that we are
able to get in touch with our parents."
sophomore Pryanca Zaman·
"Parents lose touch with [their] children,
especially in the post 9/11 worfd. It is ...
a necessity for children-- parents can take
appropriate measures to take care of their
children."
Rajusam Kuruvilla,
parent of freshman Reena Sam
"I don't think they should be. That's the
one way students communicate with
their parents if anything goes wrong and
the parents communicate with their
children. As long as the phones are not
used during class, I think when students
get out of class they need to call their
parents and say I'm finished . I'm on my
way home. Or I'm bringing 5 friends for
dinner."
math teacher Eleanor Reilley
"Security measures are good .. But I feel
children should be allowed to carry cell
phones so that parents are able to be in
touch with children in case of an
emergency."
Rajusam Kuruvilla,
parent of freshman Reema Sam
"I agree that cell phones should not be
used in school and anyone who does text
messaging, calling, etc. should have
consequences. However, before and
after school, for safety concerns, I want
my child to be reachable by cell phone."
Regina Asaro,
parent of freshman Francesca Bartalini
"Teenagers need cell phones to
communicate with thei'r parents and
should t_herefore be allowed to have
them. They should never have them
turned on because it's rude and interrupts
the educational focus of the day. If a
parent really needs to get a hold of the
student during the day, they can always
call the school, but after school it's more
difficult."
Ellen Fee,
Assistant Principal of Mathematics
"I have mixed feelings about the policy.
On one hand, cell phones should not be
allowed to be used during the school day.
As the Chancellor has noted, illegal
pictures have been taken and possibly
used in inappropriate ways, such as
sharing exam questions. Cell phones
have also been used by gang members
to contact other members. On the other
hand, I feel that cell phones provide lines
of communication before and after the
school day. In general they bring a
greater degree of safety to their users and
comfort to their families."
Thomas Cunningham, Principal
~--~
4
-
The Classic
Summer2006
Agent Samsonoff retires
by Madeleine Wright
One of the school's dedicated security agents, Mary Samsonoff, wiH be
retiring this June. She plans to move to a Pennsylvania town named East
Stroudsburg where has already p.jcked out a plot of land on which her new
house is currently being ouilt.
After having worked 21 years as a security agent, Ms. Samsonoff is ready
to seek a quiet, more peaceful life outside the city. Moving to Pennsylvania
will allow her to be closer to her a daughter, a speech pathologist, and her
grandchildren. "It feels like a good time to move," she said. She has been
planning her retirement for three whole years.
Ms. Samsonoff spent most of her career at John Bowne High School,
where she worked for 17 years. ••I was assigned there by the Division of
School Safety back in 1985," she said. "There was a very mixed group of
students, and I loved working there and helping them."
However, life at John Bowne was often stressful for Ms. Samsonoff,
who made frequent student arrests on charges including weapon possession, harassment, and criminal trespassing. ''I had a file of student arrests
this thick!" she said, expanding her hands to the length of a large box. Ms.
Samsonoff also began to feel restless at her job, saying, "It was too long in
that building, and it was getting too state."
She asked her supervisors in 2002 to be transferred to Townsend Harris
"to get a new perspective on life." About working at Townsend Harris, Ms.
Samsonoff said, "What's not to love? The atmosph~re is calm here, and the
students are mature and intelligent, and you can reason with them."
Ms. Samsonoff greatly tooks forward to retirement and is literally counting clown the days. ''l'U enjoy sleeping late and doing thi.ngs I want to do,''
she said. "I'll get to pursue my hobbies, such as sewing, gardening, and
animal watshiug. There are plenty of animals i:n tib.e Poconos. I'm also ~O·
ing to do some traveling and maybe go to Paris where my husband was
born."
Looking back on her days at Townsend Harris, she commented, "My
four years here went by so quickly. They just tlew by .... Working around
young people definitely keeps you young. It keeps you on your toes and up
with the times."
"I'm going to miss everyone here, but change is good," she said. "I have
a little granddaughter, and I'll be able to visit her more often after I retire."
Young mu~icia·ns
astoun,d audi.en·ce
by Jill Markowitz
. Seven young musicians blew their audience away wi.th assorted violin,
cello, and piano solos on Sunday April 9 at The Lefrak Music Building at
Queens College. All of the performers were winners of a former concerto
competition.
The concert began with Katherline Liccardo, age 13, on violi-n, performing the Allegro from Mozart's Concert in G minor. She was foiJowed by
Kai Manners, age I0, on piano, performing a movement from the Concertina
in F major by Haydn. Next came Juliette Hainline, age 11, on piano, perfanning altthree movements of Haydn's Concertino in G minor. Sophomore Adriana Mateo o.n violin, age 15, concluded the first half of the concert with the first movement, ''Summer," from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi.
The second half started with a bang as eleven~year-old Ari Evan performed the Prelude and Allegro Moderato from Lalo's Cello Concerto. N·ext,
Nicolas Ryba, also 11, performed on piano the Allegro from Concerto in D
minor by Bach. Helen Yao, age ll, ended the concert with the Presto from
Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto #I in G minor.
Senior Alex Boukas found the concert enjoyable. "The quality of the
performance was exceptional given the young ages of some of the soloists."
English teacher Robert Babstock was inspired by Adrianna's performance.
"Someday I hope to be almost as mature as Adrianna," he remarked. He
went on to say that "she is a diva of the fiddle. I can't wait until she branches
out from classical music and tries her band at country, alternative, and hip
hop."
.,
Adrianna was extremely pleased by the outcome of the concert and was
happy to see that the audience was appreciative and attentive. "You always
come across an audience who is inattentive; however, this concert worked
out really well," she said. Her fears about being able to connect with the
audience were also put aside. "There was a wide range of ages in the audience as well as performers. This allows you to connect more to the audience
and pull them into the music, making them understand what it's really all
about. In the end, we had a lot of fun on stage, while saying something
profound and rnoying at the same time," she added.
Spdng Concert bdngs audita-dum to life
by Faith Aronowitz
Despite the unseasonably chilly
weather outside, music, like a sweetsmelling aroma, wafted through the auditori urn on Thursday, May 18 at the annual Spring Concert. The Tenth Band,
Concert Band, Intermediate Band,
String Ensemble, and Chorus show.cased their musical talents for fellow
students, teachers, and parents.
After the formalities ofthe Pledge of
Allegiance and the Star Spangled Banner, the Intermediate Band, directed by
Mr. Peter Lustig, kicked off the concert
with a bang with "March Slav," a slow
march by Tchaikovsky. They conclude.d
their segment with "James Bond Returns," a medley of songs featured in the
The Ten th Band and Conductor Peter Lustig jazz up the evening with "In the Mood." .
James Bond movies. The band surprised Miyazaki took the stage singing the aria
"Queen of the Night" from one of
the audience with a James Bond skit,
featuring junior and Intermediate Band Mozart's most famous operas, The
member Sebastian Lagos as 007. The Magic Flute. "She was phenomenal!"
skit was centered on the "sabotaging" remarked one parent. That opinion was
of the Intermediate Band by the String certainly shared by many. Another parEnsemble. In it the "secret weapon," ent exclaimed, "Phenomenal is the only
word I can think of to describe her perMr. Lustig's baton, was stolen; eventuformance." She was a difficult act to folally it was returned to him.
low, but the chorus took the stage again
Following the Intermediate
with an a cap pella version of "Over the
Band, _the Chorus, directed by
Dr. Mari ko Sa to, performed
Rainbow' ~ in four-part harmony. Follow- .
their first number, a rendition
ing the Chorus, the String Ensemble, di of Billy Joel's "New York State
rected by Paula Zarmon , performed four
pieces including Mozart's Eine Kleine
of Mind." Then Slyde Lustig's
Nachtmusik and Czardus, featuring soTenth Band picked up the
tempo with several catchy
loist and renowned violinist. Foster
tunes, including the familiar Wang.
Headlining the concert, the Concert
numbers "In the Mood" and
"Fever," which was accompa- · Band, also directed by Mr.Lustig, ended
nied by ·senior and All-State
the concert with three numbers,
Chorus
member
Lara "Bacchanale," "Toccata for Band ," and
Torgovnick. They concluded
"Mancini Magic," a medley of TV and
their segment with "Water- movie themes written by Henry
~elon Man," a piece in which - Maocini. Jessica Yang, who plays the
all band members had a chance alto saxophone, said, "I thought we
to showcase their i mprovisa- sounded amazing . It was a great contion skills. Sophomore Michael cert overall." Mr. Lustig agreed:"It was
Best, trombone player and one of the best concerts we ever had.
member of the Tenth and ConAll three bands played very well. There
cert Band, said, "I thought we - wasn't a single mistake. Every piece was
played as well as· the bands had ever
did amazing. Everyone?s
played them. Usually in a concert, there
improv sounded real good."
The audience was in for a
is something that goes wrong, but that
treat as guest soprano Selina didn't happen tonight."
c;
-
'~"--·---
j :\.
-----
Scholars experience
The. ~Ciassic
J'\\li ~
-~ W~
.
5
Summer 2006
Bro~dway
by Mary-Grace
Grace Papatheodorou, John
Over the course of seven meat pies is the best way to experience as a TDF scholar.
Papatheodorou
. Santucci, Nathlie Stephens , months, the Ope_n-Doors summarize my favorite show," Through TDF, we all learned to
New York City has long _ Melissa Tsang, Evangelos
Townsend Harris group at- he said. Sweeney Todd was the look at the theatre as a place to
been a \Yell-known center for Vekios , and Caswanna'Spruill,
iended six Broadway shows: TDF group's first outing, and see views on our current world
the arts and theatre. It is a cui- who was chosen as an alterSweeny Todd , Doubt, Jersey' it was
tural center full of life and ex- nate. TDF was created by
Boys, Bridge and Tunnel, The by far
citement. As New Yorkers, it is · Wendy Wasserstein, a PulitzerColor Purple, and The History t h e
our birthright to live the thrill Prize winning playwright, to
Boys. Every show revealed dif- best.
of the theatre once in a while identify and provide support,
ferent aspects of Broadway, - It was
because it is right at our door- including financial as~istance,
e;;:(lr(~~sr rrwR;;
varying from fun and engaging a mustep. It is a gift to have the the- to encourage and enable dimusical-s to more serious, - sical
atre so c lose to us a place to verse audiences to attend live
thought-provoking plays. Each with
"-~
vent out the frustrations we ex- theatre and dance. As part of show sparked new ideas and very
perience in our lives, a place to the Open Doors Program, stuquestions that set the tone for funny,
learn something new about so- dents attended six Broadway
heated post-theatre discussions s e flciety, or simply just a place to shows for free. At the concluover pizza. "My favorite part of 0 us,
have fun. Broadway itself has sion of each play, they partici- _ each session was the discussion drahelped shape New York City pated in a seminar discussion . afterward over pizza. Not just matic, _
into what it is today, and as New conducted by a mentoring thebecause I love pizza, but be- a n d
Yorkers we must understand its atre artist. Each student also
cause it felt really good know- thrillvalue and take advantage of this kept a journal in which they reing that other people pondered i n g
privilege that is at our finger- corded their reactions to the
what I pondered during the play m otips .
show. - Robert Longbottom, a
and felt the same way I did," ments.
In September, The Theater Broadway director and chore- - said Caswanna Spruill, who, It is a
Development Fund (TDF) of- ographer,served as the mentor
despite being an alternate, at- show ·
fered eight scholarships to stu- for the Townsend Harris stutended four of the productions that
dents wishing to experience _ dents . Eng lish teacher Richard
the Open Doors group attended. will
more of the theatre. The stu- Cappuccio also worked as the
When asked to retlect on his · have
dents were Krystal Hartley, liaison between the student
TDF experience , Evangelos anyLina Li, Matt Medina, Mary- group and TDF.
Vekios declare!} The History o n e
Boys his walkfavorite . ! n g
" T h e out of
themes it it beaddressed ing spellbound by its creativity clash and combine i_nto someon
the and charisma," he added.
thing as beautiful as a simple
meaning of
Though everyone 's experi- play or a lavish musical. Theknowledge ence with the Open Doors pro- atre became so much more than
spoke to gram differed, each student left a place to watch some good actme
di- with incredible memories . ing, dancing, and singing, but
req.Iy, and "There is no other prograni like it became a place that awakens
for
this Open Doors," said Lina Li the mind to new realms of
reason it when looking back on her ex- thoughts and ideas. Looking
back. it seems that Oscar Wilde
·-affected perience over the past year.
...J
Ill me
more "You enter thinking you're just clearly ·said what we "all learned
c: than any going to get to watch Broadway from this program: "The theatre
0 o t h e r plays for free , and you leave is the most immediate wa_y in
changed forever,.- from the which a human being can share
~play," he
way you think about Broadway with another the sense of what
~ explained.
~p o h n
to the way you think about life." it is to be a human being."
u Santucci Krystal Hartley described the
TDF has decided to fund 8
0
had a dif- overall experience "as an em- more scholars for the 2006~
c. ferent fa- bodiment of what drea)Tis, 2007 school year. Applications
vorite hopes and imagination are will be available in the fall for
TDF scholars and mentor Bobby Longbottom smile for the camera at the TDF
s h 0 w . made of. It was beautiful."
anyone who is interested in pargraduation.
" Human
I was also impacted by my ticipating .
PLAYBILL
o
Fed Challenge Triumphs in First Round
by Ramandeep Singh
What is the current Federal
Reserve Bank chairman Ben
Bernanle's take on inflation
targeting, and what are the pros
and cons of targeting? What
would happen to the prices of
bonds if China decided to suddenly dump all of its bond reserves?
These are just a couple of
the questions students faced at
the Fed Challenge on March
28th and April 7th. The Fed
Challenge, an academic contest held at the Federal Reserve
Bank in Manhattan, is des igned to test the students'
knowledge of economic poli- · lower rates, and back it up with
minute question and answer
cies. After a disappointing seasession about the presentation
evidence in the form of these
indicators," explained Ameriand U.S. economics, the team
son last year caused by a short.age of members, seniors Nalin
can his tory teacher Jaime
advanced to the second round .
Kashyap, Joshua Budhu, Atin
Byrne, who advises the club.
"It felt awesome that the
Teams from the tristate area
Sana and juniors Noureen
team did make it through the
Ramzan, Lisa Liu , and Alice
important first round ," said
prepared a IS-minute presentation on the economy with a I 0
Moy advanced past the first
Nalin Kashyap, president of
round .
minute question and answer · the Fed Challenge Club. "Out
session, in hopes-of winning the
of around I 00 teams , only 25
Preparing for the Fed Chal$50,000
first
prize.
During
the
advanced to the second round. "
lenge is not a simple task. "StuFederal Reserve Bank
first round, the team discussed
dents must gain an understandwhat the Federal Reserve
economists and officers who
ing of economic indicators and
judged the competition tJSed a
how they interact and contrib- should do about the short-term
interest rates it controls and reccomplex scoring system. Beute to the. economy of the
U.S.A.They then have to make
ommended that the rates be incause the THHS team didn't
score enough to enter the· secan interest rate ' policy recomcreased due to existing intlamendation, to raise, hold, or tioriary pressures. After the I 0
ond round , they did not ad-
vance to the_finals.
"For thi"s reason, the team
didn't win anything," explained Ms. Byrne, "but it was
an enormous effort and a fantastic achievement for the team
to make it past the first round .
This is not easy to do ."
The students had been pteparing for the competition
since September, studying every piece of economic news .
''Despite all the work and late
hours spent in the school (up
to 5 :30 on certain days and
meeting at school -on weekends) , it's been a great run ,"
declared Nalin Kashyap.
Where to now? Class of
AGGARWAL SUNITA
ALAMISRAT
AMANNA CHRISTOPHER
AMINI MARY AM (Tina)
ANKUMAR SEEMA
ARCIDIACONO CHRISTINE
ARCOS BRYAN
ARENA ROSANNA
BADALOVA IZABELLA -~
BASSO KENDRICK
BAYARD NICOLE
BELL DIANA
BENARDIS STEPHANIE
BENITO BERNADETTE
BLOOM ERIN
BOCHYNSKI MICHELLE
BONNER ANA-MARIA
BOUKAS ALEXANDER
BRANCH TIFFANI
BRASS DEBRA'
BRODOWSKI JAKUB
BROOK ALEXANDER
BUDHUJOSHUA
BYRNS KATHERINE
CARAHALIOS LAUREN
CARR KETURAH
CASS ANTONY MICHAEL
CATALANO PETER
CEBADA FRANCISCO
CEDENO CANDICE
CHAI LI BIN
CHAKPENNY
CHANG KENNETH
CHAWENGWONGSA TINA
CHECA CONSTANTINE
CHEN GLORIA
CHENG TIFFANY
CHEUNG RAYMOND
CHIU DAVID
CHOI IN SUN (Annie)
CHRISTOFORIDIS MARIA
CHU JENNIFER
I CITRON RANDI
CONLISKSHANNON
CONSUEGRAJOANNA
CONTE JOSEPH
DAVIS BRANDON
DEFENDRE JOSEPH
DELACRUZ ANDRE
i DELUTY AUSHA
DENNIS SIMONE
DEVORA ABIGAIL
DIGIOVANNI ERIC
,DIN AS JACQUELINE
I DIPLAN Y ANILKA
DOUGLAS DIANE
DURANTE DANIEL
EHRLICH ROBERT
ELIUK STACEY
FADIKA SARAH
FALLON ELEANOR
FIROZA KARIN
:FISCHER ASHLEY
. . . .. .. .. . . . .. .. '" ....... " .......... .
N.Y. Institute of Technology
SUNY - Stony Brook fSUNY]
CUNY - Hunter (HONORS) fCUNYI
Boston UniversitY
St. John's
CUNY- Hunter (HONORS) !CUNY]
St. John's
St. Jolin's
CUNY - Queens [CUNY)
St. John's
Lehigh
NYU (A&S)
Boston University
Fordham
SUNY - Farmingdale [SUNY]
CUNY- Baruch fCUNY]
CUNY ~ City (HONORS) fCUNY]
St. John's
SUNY - Stony Brook [SUNY]
SUNY- Purchase fSUNYl
Fordham fEA 1
Boston University
NYU (A&S) fED]
Colgate
U of Mass
U of Virginia
Skidmore
CUNY - Queens fCUNYl
CUNY - Baruch fCUNYJ
St. John's
Out of U.S.A.
CUNY- Brooklyn (HONORS) [CUNY]
Boston University
St. John's
CUNY Oueensborough CC
CUNY- Baruch (HONORS) fCUNYl
NYU (A&S)
Northeastern University
_...,I
I
St.John's
Amherst
CUNY - Baruch fCUNYl
NYU (Gen. Studies)
NYU (Steinhardt) [ED]
SUNY - Binghamton fSUNYl
SUNY - Buffalo [SUNY]
Hofstra
J
I
SUNY -Albany fSUNYl
SUNY - Buffalo [SUNY]
Boston University
LIST College
Boston College
SUNY - Stony Brook [SUNY]
SUNY- Stony Brook fSUNYI
Boston University
CUNY - Hunter fCUNYl
Columbia Union College
N.Y. Institute of Technology
SUNY-Albany fSUNYI
CUNY - Queens (HONORS)
Boston University
CUNY - City Sophie Davis [CUNY]
Wellesley
Marist
~
---
---
........ ' ......... - ......... .
~
~
Cornell [EDl ·
FRIEDMAN MELANIE
Fordham [EAI
FUNEZ VICTORIA
St. John's
GANDHI RIMA
CUNY -City (HONORS) !CUNY]
GAO XIU MING (Lily)
GARCIA ANDRES .
NYU (Tisch) fEDl
NYU (A&S)
GOMEZ MARTIN
SUNY- Stony Brook fSUNYl
GRABER DANIEL
Amherst [EDl
GRECKI EMILY
SUNY - Binghamton fSUNY]
GUIDO LAURA
NYU (Stern)
GUO LE.DENA
NYU (A&S)fEDl
GUZMAN NATALIA
St. John's
GYURA TZ PETER
Boston UniversitY
HAMILTON YOLANDA
SUNY - Buffalo fSUNYl
HANSON DANIELLE
U of Virginia
HARRISON JIW AL (Adriel)
SUNY - Stony Brook fSUNY]
HASSAN KHALED
Northeastern University
HICKEY JENNIFER
·,
Boston College
HIPOLITO HOWARD
Rensselaer
HOVICTOR
SUNY- Binghamton [SUNYI
HSUEH MARION
St. John's
HUNDLEY A VAN
NYU (A&S-) fED!
HUNG CATHLEEN
CUNY
- Baruch fCUNYl
HUSSAIN UMAIR
NYU (A&S) fEDl JABLONKA OLGA
SUNY - Binghamton fSUNY]
JACOB NOEL
CUNY - Baruch !CUNY]
JARAMILLO JONATHA
CUNY - Lehman fCUNYl
JEMISON MISHA
,_
Fordham
JETER STEPHANIE
~
CUNYOueensborough CC
JOHN GATANAS
'
JUNG SARAH (Sarah)
Syracuse
CUNY - City Sophie Davis [CUNY]
KAINTH MANDEEP
Manhattan College
KALLADARY AN ULYSSES
CUNY - Hunter [CUNYl
KALPAXIS ANDREAS
- li
CUNY - BaruchfCUNYT
KAMVISIOS SOPHIA
School of Visual Arts
KARA EWELINA
CUNY- Baruch <HONORS) fCUNYl ·
KARNA W AT SHRUTI
Rensselaer
KASHY AP NALIN
SUNY - Geneseo ISUNYl
KATZ SAMANTHA
Temple
KAUFMAN JENNIFER
CUNY - Baruch fCUNYl
KHAZEY ALIREZA
Columbia
KHRIMIAN LORI
Pending
KIM ANNIE
Boston University
KIM DANIEL
Syracu-se
KIM IN YE
Cornell HE
KIM JANE
Columbia
KIMSANGSOO
Boston College
KIM VERONICA
Brown [EDl
KOMADA JOHN ISISSA
U of Delaware
KORNBLA TI ALLISON
CUNY Quccnsborou-gh CC
KRIV AC ALLISON
SUNY- Stony Brook fSUNY]
KROMIDAS JOHN
CUNY
- Hunter fCUNYl
KURIEN NANCY
SUNY- Buffalo fSUNYl
KUTIL MONICA
Brown
KW AK WOO YONG KEVIN
Penn State- University Park
LAMBERT BRITTNEY
LASKARIDIS CONSTANTIN N.Y. Institute of Technology
LATHOURAKIS -STAMATIOS St. John's
St. John's
LA YIN BRENDAN
NYU (Gallatin)
LEARY BRENAE
St. John's
LEE BONNIE
_ St. John's
, LEE MELISSA
SUNY - Binghan-iton fSUNYl
LEE TIMOTHY
George Washi11_gton University
LEHRMAN REBECCA
. ........ .......... .
.:·
":(
006 marches off to .college
LENHART NICOLE
LEON CHU MARIA
LESNIEWSKI ANNETTE
LEUNG MURIEL
LIU ANNA
LIU EMILY
LO BRUTTO GRAZIELLA
LOKIMBERLY
LUCHAN JUSTIN
LUNA DENISE
MAJORCA KRISTYN
MARTINEZ DENISE
MARZOCCHI DAMIEN
MASTROLEMBO CHRISTINA
MATEO KATRINA
MATHEW DIVYA
MATHEW SHYLON
MATHEWS ANN
MATOS ERIKA
MCNAMARA MAURA
MEAD ELISABETH
MELO SEBASTIAN
MIN HEE YOUNG
MITTONE STEFANO MOHABIR SONIA
MONGROO RANA
MONTGORIS MICHELLE
MORDENTE DONNA
MOUT AL MICHAEL
MUEHLBAUER SARAH
MUGDAN ELANA
NAPOLITANO TAYLOR
.
NGKIMBERLY
0 BRIEN JAMES
.
OBERLANDER ·SARAH
OHANDREW
OLSZEWSKA CAROLINA
OLSZEWSKI KRYSTINE
OROZCO OSCAR
ORTIZ ELBA
OTOMO YOSHIE
OWENS MOLLY
PAGADUANJONATHAN
PALMA GLORIA
PAMPALONE NADIA ·
PANTANOJONATHAN '
PANTELIDIS MICHAEL
PAP ANTONIOU NICOLE .
PERRY RACHEL
PETGRA VE VANESSA
PITT AS APOSTOLOS
PNEUMAN AMANDA
POKHOY SAVITA
PONSOT ELISABETH
POONTING
POWER TIMOTHY
PREPOSIELYSSE
.QUON KIMBERLY
RAMOS KRISTEN
. REBAZA ANDRE
REMTULA AL YSHIA
RISIMINI LAURA
RIVLIN NADLER MAX
SUNY - FIT [SUNY]
CUNY - Queens (HONORS)"
St. John's Sarah Lawrence
.CUNY - Queens fCUNYl
Duke [ED]
N.Y. Institute of Technology
•.
Polytechnic
CUNY - Baruch [CUNY]
CUNY- Hunter [CUNY]
M.I.T. [EA]
CUNY- Queens [CUNY]
CUNY - Queens [CUNY]
CUNY - Queens fCUNYl
Vassar
N.Y. Institute of Technology
St. John's
Duke
CUNY- Queens [CUNY]
U of Michigan
U of Rochester
SUNY- Stony Brook lSUNY]
Williams College
SUNY- Stony Brook [SUNY]
CUNY - Queens (HONORS)
SUNY- Stony_Brook [SUNY]
Adelphi [EA l
Cornell ILR
CUNY - Queens [CUNY]
Sarah Lawrence
University of Maine at Orono
Columbia [ED]
St. John's
Northeastern University
CUNY,. - Queens (HONORS) CUNY - Queens !CUNY]
CUNY - City [CUNY]
SUNY - Stony Brook [SUNY]
NYU (A&S)
Fordham
Northeastern University
LIU-Friends World
St. John's·
Fordham
CUNY- Queens [CUNY]
SUNY- Binghamton[SUNYl
NYU (Gen. Studies)
SUNY - New Paltz [SUNY]
Northeastern University
Hampton U.
CUNY- Queens (HONORS)
Pace-Manhattan
CUNY - Hunter (HONORS) [CUNY]
Colby
NYU (Gen. Studies) Fordham
Sarah Lawrence
Wellesley
Vassar
CUNY- City Sophie Davis [CUNY I
Boston University
Fordham fEA 1
Oberlin
RODRIGO IRIS
RODRIGUEZ JUAN (Joey)
ROSSI FRANCESCA
ROUSON COURTNEY
RUSH ALEXANDRA
RYAN CAITLIN
SAHAATIN
SAMALOT AMBER
SANTANA STEPHANIE
SARRAN LESLEY
SCHWEITZER CYNTHIA
SEBAGAARON
SENOL GULSAH
SERRANO NESTOR
SHAH PRITI
SHAIKH AFSHAN
SHENG JENNIFER
SHI ALMA:
SHIBATA ERI
SHUSTER LIY A
SIERZPUTOWSKI GINA
SIMINO\lSKY ALLISON
SKOTNICKA ANETA
SORDILLO GIANNI
STARK BRITTANY
STERBENZ PETER
STERGIOU ALEXANDRA
STERNBERG SCOTT
STROUBOS LEMONIA
SULTAN MARY AM
SURANA SHREY
SZE CHRISTIE
TALA Y MARLIES
TESFA YE MARTHA
TOBAR KEVIN
TOLETE PATRICIA
TOMECEK CHRISTY
TORGOVNIK LARA
TRAN FRANCES
TRAVERS BRIDGET
TROSA DANIELLE
TUZ GABRIELA
UDAIRAM INDIRA
URQUIDI ANN ELYSE
VANCE STEPHANIE
V ANWINCKLE LINDSAY
VELASCO JOELI
VIRGINTINO VINCENT
VON OHLEN SANDI
WANG FOSTER
WIDOM STEVEN
WONG JANE
WONG JENNIFER
YANWENDY
YEH JENNIFER
YEOUNJASON
YUTIFFANY
ZAHARIEFF ANNABEL
ZALIHA DANI
ZAMAN RAZEEN
ZHENG ANJIE
ZHENGJAMES
ZOHRABIAN VA TCHE
Columbia
Baylor University
Lehigh
CUNY- Hunter fCUNYl
U of Maryland
Hobart & William Smith
CUNY - City (HONORS) fCUNYl
Polytechnic
Boston University
SUNY- New Paltz fSUNYl
SUNY- Binghamton [SUNY]
SUNY - Binghamton fSUNYl
CUNY - Baruch (HONORS) fCUNYl
Lehigh
Northeastern University
Out of U.S.A.
NYU (Stern) fEDl
Barnard
CUNY- City (HONORS) [CUNY]
Dartn'louth ·
Pending
SUNY- Binghamton fSUNYl
NYU (A&S) [ED]
CUNY - Hunter fCUNYl
.
U of Pennsylvania
Depaul University
NYU (Tisch)
U of Marvland
NYU (A&S) fEDl
NYU(A&S)
Cornell fEDl
Wellesley fED]
Pomona
Columbia
Fordham
Vassar
NYU (A&S)
NYU (Steinhardt)
CUNY -Queens (HONORS)
University of Mary Washington
Mt. St. Vincent
St. John's
St. John's
SUNY -Binghamton [SUNY]
Dartmouth
St. John's
Barnard
Boston University
Stevens Institute of Technology
Harvard IEA 1
Hofstra
St. John's
St. John's
CUNY - Baruch [CUNY]
Amherst
Williams College [EDl
NYU (A&S)
- Pending
SUNY-Albany fSUNYl .
Sarah Lawrence ·
Amherst
St. John's
Manhattan College
)I
)::
)I
'of
-
The Classic
8
Townsend Harris makes new friends ' in Turkey
Summer 2006
by Madeleine Wright
to us."
The people of Ankara and
"I think some people would
Istanbul, Turkey opened their be nervous about travelling to
arms to sophomores Kelly Turkey since it's right next to
McCann, Jessica Spinoza, and Iraq," said Kelly, "but I felt reVaughn Watson; juniors Ellen ally comfortable. My host and
Abramowitz, Elizabeth Pryor, I got really close and felt at
and Christopher Serna; as well home with her family."
as Assi_stant Principal of HuAlthough Turkey is an ethmanities Susan Getting and nically and religiously homogCOSA Adam Stonehill in the enous nation, the Turks were acsecond part of the Turkish- cepting of the American exAmerican student exchange change students and treated
program.The program, which them, in the words of Ms. Getended in mid-April, was de- ting, "like royalty." Ellen exsigned to forge better relations plained, "Turkey is a predomibetween Muslims and non- nately Muslim country, but the
Muslims post 9/11 and to pro- Turks are very accepting of
vide both Turks and Americans -Christians and Jews, as well as
with a better understanding of all races and ethnicities. The
the other's culture. All partici- Turks don't like Bush or the war
pants agreed that the goal was in Iraq, but they do like Americans ."
met successfully.
If there were fears about beEnglish is not the national
ing in close proximity to Iraq language of Turkey, but the exwhile in Turkey, they were change students and admini-strasoon alleviated by the warm . tors experienced few difficulties.
_and hospitable nature of the communicating with the
Turkish people. "The Turks people. "It was not difficult to
made us feel so welcome; it communicate with students in
was extraordinary," said Ms. the school because many of
Getting. "They gave us gifts; them learn English in school the .
they gave us their time and en- same way that we learn Spanergy, and opened their homes ish or French," explained Christo us, eve·n though they dido 't topher. The language barrier
know us . It was beyond any- "wasn't a huge issue" for Kelly
thing I expected." Christopher because "my host translated for
agreed, saying,"The people me all the time ."
there could not have been nicer
Ankara Ataturk Lises, the
high school the American stu- in Turkey," said Ms. Getting,
dents attended "was very dif- "but the kids were shocked."
ferent from Townsend Harris," She added that "the squatting
·according to Christopher. The helps get your thigh .muscles
walls were plain and undeco- stronger."
rated, the dress code was manThe Americans also learned
datory, and "at first sight the that the Turks are a nationalisschool seemed very empty and tic people. At Ankar~ Attaturk
bare," Christopher added . The · Lises, the entire school ascourtyard w~s enormous, stu- sembled every Monday and Fri- ·
dents were allowed to leave the day afternoon in the courtyard
building, and there were ten for the raising and lowering of
minute breaks between classes, the Turkish flag and the singduring which students could ing of the national anthem. The
talk on their cell phones, listen principal would also give a
to their iPods, buy candy and speech and pep talk before dissandwiches at the snack bar, or missing the students. Nevertheeven have water fights.
less, the Turks, said Kelly,
The American exchange stu- "consider themselves Eurodents also gained valuable in- pean, and they are extremely
sight into Turkish culture by proud of their culture, tradi-_
visiting museums and going to tions, and food."
·c ultural events, mosques, baThe American exchange stuzaars, restaurants, and ice skat- dents also learned about some
ing rinks. The students also lis- shared values and beliefs betened to Turkish pop music, tween Turks and Americans.
picked up a great amount of the Ellen said,"Sila, my exchange
Turkish language and Turkish sister, and I have many values
dances, and became ysed tq and hopes in common: family,
Turkish customs, such as greet- education, travel, fixing the
ing friends by kissing them on world, finding that perfect guy.
both cheeks.
We come from totally different
While the responses to the backgrounds, religions, countrip were overwhelmingly posi- tries, families, and societies, but
tive, the students did experi- . I cannot tell you how many
-ence slight discomforts during nights we stayed up Iate talktheir stay in Turkey. " I had al- ing and advising each other on
ready been to China, so I wasn ' t our lives. It was amazing to find
surprised about the squat toilets a best friend halfway across the
Turkish students share
by Jocelyn Wright
Upon returning from their
three-week stay in New York
City, the six Turkish exchange
students compiled a newspaper
called Atati.irk Lisesi Times describing their experiences in .
America. Here are excerpts
from their articles.
Sila Derici
exp~rience
in America
ferent from my first thoughts ."
CanerLiile
Gozde Gok~ek
" If I were to ask, ' How would
you change the world if you had Mert K. Ekinci
a chance?', all of us would an- "This student exchange proswer, ' We , the Turks, don't · gram is a great experience and
think we can change the world an opportunity- to see the real
unless all of the folks agree with America that the movies hide
our opinion and say "we do not from us . But there is one negawant any wars anytime, any- tive side of this program as well
"I think America is -a country
which is completely different
, from the others. In this program
that we are taking part in,
people meet with different cultun~ s . I think this is the only
thing that is necessary for world
peace . I learned lots of
things with this program .
At first I saw that it is a
pity for people of two different countries to view
each other with prejudice.
I also saw that when
people who have different
values go well together,.
they can do anything .... "
"Before coming to the USA, I
wasn ' t expecting the New
Yorkers to be that friendly . I
thought they w"'ouldn't really
care about us . On the contrary,
I was taken by surprise by their
hospitality and friendliness ....
The people in school came up
to us to talk and welcome us. Reyyan Nigdeliogliu
Whenever they saw me in the "As we are the 'TURKISH
halls, they greeted me sincerely -STUDENTS' wandering
which made me happy in a for- around your school from
eign country. If I was in my the first day till now, I had
country, I wouldn't really care . a very good impression.
whether the people greeted me Really! You guys have
or not, but in a foreign country been so welcoming and
it [maked me] feel. .. as if I kind to us that I don't want
wasn't a foreigner but a normal to leave . Townsend Harris
student in the school ... To sum High School looked very
up, New Yorkers are sincere, big and cold on the outfriendly, willing to help some- side, but inside it's very
one who is in need. I am so warm like the people inhappy to get to know real New side it. The first thing that
York people who are quite dif- got me we~e the posters."
world."
Jessica and her Turkish host
shared an experience similar to ·
Ellen and Sila's and wrote a
song on the guitar about people
of different cultures coming together and getting along despite
their differences.
On the final day of the trip
at the airport, tears came to the
eyes of the American exchange
students because they had to
part with their Turkish friends
with whom they had gotten so
close. This was not a final
goodbye, however, and anumber of the American exchange
students continue to keep in
regular contact with their Turkish friends via E-mail. Some
have even made plans to invite
them back to New York during
the summer.
"I think that the trip did
achieve its goal in breaking
down the stereotypes that
Americans have of Turkey,"
- said Christopher. "I didn't
know what iurkey was going
to be like at first. -I was a bit
worried because of the way
Muslim nations are portrayed in
the media. Luckily, now I know
the truth about Turkey : the
people are kind, the food is
amazing, the history is fascinating, and the cities are great. I
would go back right now if I
could ."
where : Peace at home, Peace in
the world ."
as the good side of it which is
that I ' m away from home
where I'm used to living and
trying to _adapt to the way the
people live in this country in
which everything is strange and
odd .... I'm really grateful to be
here and I confess I'm not interested in going back."
""
.5
::
"'
(.!)
c
"'"'
=
rJ)
""'0
~
"'
t:
.-........ . .:. .,: 15
\
•
'
<.>
0
~~ ••
· , o
. . . "" . c
..... ..., -t- ....,....
,.,.j ~ ... ........
The Turkish -and [\merian exchange students stop for a group photo.
Cl.
......
-
The Classic
Summer 2006
,
"Bienvenue a Paris!" read the signs
at the Charles De .Gaulle Airport that
greeted the 17 students and 2 teachers
who went on this spring 's trip to France.
Participants visited Paris, Provence, and
the Cote d ' Azur during the I 0 days they
spent in France . Upon arriving in
France, the group was joined by students
from Massachusetts , French teacher
Mariat d' Souza and English teacher
Georgette Wallace organized the
trip .
After arriving in Paris at 9 in the
morning, participants were in for
a day of sightseeing. After checking in at the ·hotel , they visited the
Latin Quarter, which is also the
student quarter. In the evening
they visited the Arc de Triorriphe
and the Champs-Eiysees. The
next morning they saw Notre
Dame , the Louvre, and climbed
the Eiffel Tower. Sunday afternoon the entire group visi!ed
Versailles , and that evening
they trooped up to Monte-
I(
9
·Estudiantes exploran Espana
Etudiants vistent France
by Jocelyn Wright
'I(
Ma:rtre, a city on the hill where you can ·
get your portrait sketched.
The following morning the group
hopped ofl the Train a Grande Vitesse ,
or TGV, a high-speed train that travels
at up to 320 mph that got them to
Provence in jus.t three hours . They visited Avignon, the Pont du Gard, and Roman ruins in Nimes . Participants saw
more of the Provence countryside the
next day during their excursions to Les
Baux, Aries, the Camargue Region ,
and Aigues-Mortes.
After two days it was time to say
goodbye to Provence and the group
got back on their tour bus and
headed for a hotel in Cannes where
they spent three days. From there
they made a day excursion to Nice.
and Eze. The group also got their
passports stamped in Monaco and
see the changing of the guards at
the castle of the royal fal)lily.
Saturday morning marked the
group 's last day in France as they
headed back to the United States ·
on an 8-hour flight.
~y
Christopher Amanna
As they exited the glass jetway, 33
students and four staff members looked
up at the high-tech interior of MadridBarajas Airport. This was . it- they had
arrived in Spain and would be spending
the next nine days exploring all that the
north of the country had to offer.
After collecting their luggage, the
Burgos, the city ofEl Cid. Rodrigo Dfaz
de Vivar, known more commonly as El
Cid , was a military and political leader
in II th century Spain . He is revered as
a national hero and is the subject of one
of the Spanish language ' s greatest literary works - El Cantar del Mio Cid, del
Pilar. This massive church was the site
of a visitation by the Virgin Mary. Ms.
Spanish travelers pose in front of one of Spain's many cathdrals. ,
'
0)
g
$
~
t)~.
~
0)
2
:;,
~
8"
0
]
o.
Les touristes take a break from sight-seeing to say ''jromage!" in front of the
Eiffel Tower.
travelers, headed by Spanish teacher
Amelia Betancourt, met their trip coordinator, Michael, who hailed from Britain . That first day .the group experienced
the two of the Spanish capital's great museums - the Reina Soffa Contemporary
Art Museum and the Prado.
The next day, they took an excursion
outside of Madrid to see the Escorial and
the Valley of the Fallen. The former is a
massive 16th century monastery ; the latter is a austere basilica hewn into a
mountainside as a remembrance to the
victims of the Spanish Civil War.
Leaving Madrid for good, the group
made their way t~ Segovia, a medieval
town noted for its well-preserved Roman
aqueduct. The travelers also had the opportunity to ascend a narrow spiral staircase to the top of the tower of the
Alcazar, a medieval castle.
On day 5 they found themselves in
Ezquerra used the time in Zaragoza to
see her parents with whom shehad lunch
in a cafe in the main plaza.
The final destination on the trip was
Barcelona, that fabled city situate.d upon
the Mediterranean. Travelers got to see
up close the organic architecture of Antonio Gaudf, specifically the Pare Guell
and his yet unfinished Sagrada Familia
Cathedral. They also walked along the
fashionable Ramblas down to the gorgeous beaches at the southern end of the
city.
"Espana fue fabulosa," said senior
Melanie Friedman. "The best part was
the carousel by the sea in San
Sebastian," she added .
History teacher Franco Scardino was
equally impressed by the journey.
"Spain is a beautiful country and I had
a great time seeing all it had to offer,"
he said.
Trip to Greece and ltal·y -educates and entertains
Wischerth , students visited Athens,
Classical languages may seem use- Mycenae, Delphi , Pompeii , Sorrento,
less or dead , but students had the op- and Rome, exploring archaeological
portunity to experience ancient cultures sites in addition to learning about the
firsthand during the midwinter recess. · different architectural s.tyles that have
Over nine days, students immersed developed th_rough the centuries .
Mr. Hagerty summed up his expethemselves in the history and culture of
rienc-e
in a single word: "InspiraAncient Greece and Rome as a suppletional."
He believes that his own exment to their study of Latin and Greek.
periences
will enrich his lessons . LikeAccompanied by Latin teacher Andrew
many
of
the
students he chaperoned,
Hagerty and Art teacher Margherita
this visit to the
Mediterranean
region was his
Mercedes DriYing School
first. He says he
38-15 Bell Blvd .. Suite 202 ·
Bayside, -NV _11361
now has a "fuller
Tel. 718.28 J.026Z:
appreciation"
for what he
teaches and can
now create a
for tht 5 Hour pre-lictn~ng course,
Point and lnsuranct Reduction cuursc .
"home for the
and Road lesson packages, schedulu/pricing ¥hit us at:
facts."
by Kate Lu
WWW.NYAUTOSHOOL.COM
.,»
:c
0
Q,
)I
'Y:
)I
y
10
-
The Classic
Summer 2006
B~ood
Drive measures success in pints
Poets vi'S:it
Hollywood
at rea,ding
by Stephanie Pak
A record fifty six pints of blood were
collected from students and staff members at this year's blood drive , held on
April 26 . That is-a 20% increase from
last year's donation thanks to an overwhelming number of donors . Senior
Gloria Palma and Coordinator of StudentActivities Ad am Stonehill organized the event together in an effort to
collect blood that could be used to save
lives.
Before giving blood, donors had to
have their blood pressure, temperature,
hemogl ~.bin content, and pulse checked.
All sample-s collected must also undergo
regular procuedres such as testing for
HIV and blood type identification before they can be used .
Afterwards, donors munched on
snacks and received a droplet-shaped
. sticker that said, "I just gave the gift of
life" and a small red stress ball shaped ·
like a heart.
Responses to the blood drive were
positive."Donating blood makes me feel
good because I feel that I am really helping someone out," said junior Luis Vega.
"I think it's important to donate blood
because it can save lives," he added.
Mr. Stonehill deemed this year's
drive a success. "As a whole, every year
the blood drive is running more
smoothly," he said. "The first time
people give blood, their nerves come
by Rookminie Behari and
Jocelyn Wright
::::
~
-~
~
0
'0
~
a.>
t:
::>
0
u
0
0
..c
0.
into play, and they can possibly faint.
However, many donors were giving
blood a second tim·e this year, and they
were definitely more relaxed this time,"
he explained.
There were many people willing to
give blood but unable to do so because
they did not meet specific requirements.
"I would have donated blood as well,
but I haven: t _turned 16 yet," said
sophomore Bianca Edirisinghe, "Otherwise I'd definitely donate because
it's for a good cause. It can go a long
way.''
To qualify to give blood, donors
have to weigh at least II 0 pounds and
have to be at least 1_6 years old. Paperwork is also required .
Hollywood star walks and
banners adorned the library on
Wednesday, March 29 for the
semi-annual Phoenix poetry
reading which was Hollywood·
tbemed. Many students and
teachers shared both their own
work and that of their favorite
poets during the two- hour event.
Phoenix Edito·r -in·Chief
Melanie Friedman spake fondly
of the poetry reading: "I thought
it was a great theme and I thought
there were a Jot of memorable
per€ormaoces." These performances included her own r~ad­
ing of a poem about Audrey
Hevbum an,d junior Krystal
Hanley's tribute to HoHywood,
which was weU-recei-ved by the
audience. ''1 wb'u:td walk a coun·
try mi1e to see Kystars poetry
performance any eld day,'' said
·- Eng'Hsh
teacher lt<Ybert
B.aest<>ck. Attendees atse en·
joyetl EngJ,ish teacher Joseph
Canzoneri's poem, "Dirty Base·
bafJ Caps," which is slated for
'Two Gentlemen' take ,centerstage
to the tee with his charming
persona and his strong presence as he spent numerous
scenes on the stage by himself. The chemistry between
both Francisco and Emily
Grecki, who played Julia, lit
up the beginning of the play.
with their romantic love
scenes.
Most memorable was Jenn
Hickey's rendition of Lance;
servant to Proteus. With only
a ·stuffed dog as a prop, she
had the audience laughing
hysterically and smiling
· ~ whenever they heard the
a.>
'§ wheels of her wagon sweep
0
~ across the stage floor.
]0. .
Raeann. Walters, got it right
with
the dance parts she choSeniors Francisco Cebada and Kevin Tobar argue while Jen Hickey adores her dog,
reographed to catchy tunes by
Ray Charles, John Lee
that allowed the audience to get famil- Hooker, Frankie Lymon, and Joey Dee
by Marissa Green
Charismatic and classy define the iar with the plot of the story and the and the Starlighters. The dancers were
unique coHaboration achieved by our characters that they would be meeting. well rehearsed and were smiling brilAt first, understanding the liantly showing that they were having
school's talented young actors and staff
presented on April 7' 11 and 8' 11 with their Shakespearean language was a bit dif- just as much fun as the audience was
rendition of William Shakespeare's Two ficult. However, the language soon be- .having watching them.
Mr. Canzo"neri 's passion for
gan to feel like modern day speech since
Gef!tlemen of Verona. ·
Shakespeare
shined through the perforFrom the cleverly thought out play- each actor spoke slowly and clearly to
of
every
student in the play. He
mance
bills to the beautiful scenery, this play bring every member of the audience into
put
a
lovely
message
in the playbill diswas enjoyable and very well presented. the Shakespearean realm.
cussing
how
relevant
he felt this play
All the actors completely stripped otT
It was directed by Shakespearean afiis
to
today's
times
:
"It's
essentially
cionado and English teacher Joseph their New York City student gear and
about
a
guy
who
dumps
his
girlfriend
Canzoneri with the assistance cif his lin- truly made themselves the characters
because
he
thinks
he
loves
his best
guistics classes. The play consisted of they all seemed born to play with exfriend's
girl.
Ask
high
school
students
quisite costumes. First-time actor Fran- ·
21 different scenes and began with a
very funny and informative overview cisco Cebada fit the character Proteus if they know what that's all about." His
publication this fall .
.Reactions to the poetry reading were positive. Sophomore
Alejandro Zarate described the
event as "innovative and [in] true
Townsend Harris style!" Junior
Krysta1 Hartley added, ''Altogether the poetry reading just
exhibits that there's an alternate
side to Townsend Harris ... because we can hear the poetic talents of teachers and students. It's
wonderful for us to convene.."
When asked if the poetry reading was successfuJ, Mr. Babstock
said, 1'Success is a word from the
business world that all poets abhor.''
contagious dedication to Shakespeare
was most evidently seen with the special
guests involvement of Anthony, Joseph,
and Julia Canzoneri, Mr. Canzoneri's
children who played outlaws. Their parts
were the icing on the cake that sealed the
sweetness and preserved the message that
at any age, Shakespeare can be appreciated .
Many times our student body is clas- sified as study nerds and workaholics.
However, this presentation reaffirms our
school's strong reputation for creating
well-rounded Renaissance men and
women.
Mr. Canzoneri stated, "I think
Shakespeare lived." After watching this,
I think Shakespeare will continue to live
on in the hearts of every person in that
audience who has now been touched by
Two Gentlemen of Verona .
'o(
-
The Classic
11
Summer 2006
Hawks keep pace with' themselves -Injuries aid
by Alex Rush
The Boys' Track team has been, in
recent years, one of the most consistent
and celebrated teams of the school and
this year was no different for the outdoor team . With just the right balance
of senior leadership and underclassmen
energy, the team continued their successes from the cross country and indoor seasons right through the spring._
· Seniors Jon Pantano and Shrey
Surana were .the leaders on the team,
both by their titles of captain and by their
examples. Pantano put together an im-
pressive resume this season, including
a third place finish in the 4 X 800 Meter
Relay and a sixth place finish in the 800
Meter Run at the Queens Championship
on May 19. Surana was part of the same
relay team with Pantano and also had a
ninth place finish in the 3200 Meter Run .
Freshman Chris Guerrero put on
quite a show for his elders this season,
placing second in the 3200 Meter Run
in the Freshman/Sophomore City Championship on May 27. and winning the
same race on .May 13 at the Bruce
Selman Memorial Meet. Sophomore
Alyas Hamid, not to be outdone, was
part of a third place 4 X I 00 Meter Relay team at the Queens Championships
and also had a tenth place finish in the
800 Meter Run at the Freshman/Sophomore City Championships.
With the graduation of Pantano ,
Surana, and fellow seniors Joey
Rodriguez, Oscar Orozco, and
Constantine Laskaridis, the Hawks will
look to Guerrero, Hamid, and juniors
Samuel Ok and Jonathan Vazcones to
continue their winning ways next season.
Surprises serve success for girls
by Alex Rush
"The fact that we were missing last
year's seniors made me think it would
be difficult to have a winning record ."
Oh, how wrong senior Allison
Kornblatt was about the Girls' Varsity
Tennis team . Despite losing the seniors
in question, the Class of 2005's
Jacqueline Chancer- and Christina
Tsirkas, .the Hawks put together a 9-3
record in the Queens "A" division and
clinched their fourth consecutive play-
Blowout loss end~ boys'
hopes of championship
by Michelle Montgoris
An ll-4 loss to the Frederick Douglass Academy ended the Boys' Varsity Baseball team's season on May 30. Despite battling back to tie the playoff
game at two after a quick two-run first inning deficit, Frederick Douglass
forged ahead with a run in each of the third and fourth innings and blew the
game out with folff more in· the fifth and three in the sixth to put the Hawks
away.
The loss ended what was otherwise a successful season. Their 11-5 record
gave the team their third straight playoff appearance under coach Ray
Adamkiewicz.
The team was impacted largely by the six seniors in their starting lineup,
seven overall Centerfielder Danny Durante sported an impressive.. 347 batting average during the regular season, which was nicely complimented by
his .475 on-base percentage and his .592 slugging percentage. Starting pitcher
Nestor Serrano dominated on the mound, racking up five wins with only
one loss and a 3.70 earned run average, allowing only 17 earned runs and
striking out 40 batters in 32.2 innings. Catcher Max Rivlin Nadler, first
baseman Joseph Conte, second baseman Brendan Lavin, and rightfielder
Vinny Virgintino, as well as outfielder Scott Sternberg round out the list of
seniors.
With such a bulk of their starting lineup graduating, the Hawks will look
to juniors Chris Cerbone, pitcher, Cletus Schuyler, third baseman, ancl David
Bournas-Ney, left fielder, to carry the team next season and relay their experience in the playoffs to the up and coming players.
off berth before being stopped by Curtis
High School in their first playqffmatch
on May 5.
Kornblatt and juniors Yashan Gui
and Katherine Chancer suffered losses
in the first, second, and third singles
matches, respectively. The doubles
teams of sophomores Jill Markowitz
and Melissa Lin and junior Laura
Schubert and sophomore Elena Gulotta
won both their matches in vain, as Curtis
prevailed 3-2.
• Nonetheless, the season .was a success on account of the way the girls enjoyed the time they spent together.
Coach Shari Basis credits said success
to the "cohesive and supporting" atmosphere tha.t surrounded practices and
matches.
"There is good chemistry 'between
the members of the team and a high level
of enthusiasm," she said.
Kornblatt, along with fellow senior
Sarah Fadika, will pass on the responsibility of carrying the team to next
year's seniors Chancer' and Schubert,
who will undoubtedly hope to continue
the team 's streak of playoff appearances
next season.
Michelle Montgoris
contributed to and
updated all articles.
in striking
out -season
by Robert McCullagh
A 12-0 loss to William C. Bryant on
May 17 all but epitomized the Girls'
Varsity Softball team's season . After
holding the opposition scoreless for the
first four innings, the wheels began to
come off for the Hawks. An error here,
a nicely timed hit there, and soon the
mistakes began to snowball as Bryant
erupted for 12 runs in the last three innings to hand the hawks their tenth loss
of the season. At 4-10, 2006 was the first
time the Hawks -did not qualify for the
playoffs in three years. _
It was a season plagued by injuries
for the girls. The team took a devastating blow when second string pitcher and
third baseman Cecilia Ehresman broke
her arm during the spring break. The
incident ended the freshman 's promising season and placed the pitching duties solely on their first stdng pitcher,
senior Michelle Montgoris. As .the season went on the innings began to take
their toll on her shoulder, and Montgoris
was unable to pitch the 1<1st three games
· of the season. Junior Meaghan Mapes
was also hit by the ·injury bug, sprainc
ing her wrist on a slide into third b~\se
on May 3 against Richmond Hill and
then fracturing the same wrist in the
third inning of that final game against
Bryant.
Nonetheless, the season was a success in the eyes of the team .
"I've never been a part of a team who
could go 4-10 and still have this much
fun," said Montgoris. "We've got a good
core here, young athletes who want to
win but who truly enjoy the game, and l
can see this team going far in the next
couple of years."
With the graduation of three of their
starters, Montgoris, third baseman
Danielle Trosa, and short.stop Caitlin
Ryan, the Hawks will look to Ehresman,
Mapes, and sophomore Danielle
Abatemarco to carry the team next season.
2~0
loss ends Hawks'
4-5 record aces· Hawks playoff run at goal. line
by Lance Tomas
The Boys' Vars!ty Handball team rebounded from a tough 3-7 2005 campaign to end the 2006 season at 4-5, with
their fourth win coming in their last
game against Martin Van Buren, 3-2, on
May 5.
It did not look good for the Hawks
after the first and second singles
matches, as senior Daniel Kim and junior Gary Wang each lost to their respective opponents, 21-7 and 21-18. However, junior Corey Chen got the comeback started with a 21-8 win in his third
. singles match with help from his two
aces and three kills. Junior Ilya
Borukhov and sophomore Priyank Patel
by Lance Tomas
followed with a 21-19 first doubles
15 saves by sophomore Diana
match, and sophomore Michael Kokoszka and three shots on goal each
Coritsidis and freshman Pak Chi Chan by sophomore Mariella Romano and
delivered the finishing blow to Van junior Cait Kilpatrick were not enough
Buren with a 21-6 second doubles win. to save the Girls' VarsitySoccer team
It was a tough season for Kim, who first playoff game, as they saw their seais the only senior on the team . Despite son come to an end on May 31 with a 2his four aces and 18 kills in seven 0 loss to Midwood High School.
matches, he could muster only a 1-6
Although they did not go as far intQ
record in singles play. Wang had some- the playoffs as they would have liked,
what better luck, riding six aces and 15 the girls' season was far from a disapkills en route to a 3-4 singles record. - pointment. Romano, Kilpatrick, and se- With eight freshmen and five sopho- . nior Natalia Gu.zman tied for sixth in the
mores on this year's roster, the team will Queens "A" division with nine goals
look to Wang and Chen to relay their each . Romano led the team in assists
experience to the younger players and with six assists, which also placed her
build a foundation for years to come.
third in the division.
Kokoszka, as starting goaltender,
saved 78 out of I 08 shots this season,
and 15 of 17 in the one playoff match.
With the graduation of the only other
goalkeeper, Brenae Leary, Kokoszka
looks to be an important part of next
season's team .
A total of seven seniors will be leaving the team this year; in addition to
Leary and Guzman, Candice Cedeno,
Danielle Hanson, Graziella LoBrutto,
Stephanie Santana, and Ann Elyse
Urquidi have seen their time on the team
expire. Along with Romano, Kiipatrick,
and Kokoszka, the team will look to
their youth in freshmen Julia Fusfeld
and Lorena Russi to fill the voids in
coming years .
<(
-~
12
-
The Classic
Summer 2006
,__ _...__.;.·
_ _ - - - - ~---·
Seniors serve up aces
byMichelleMontgoris
Coming off a disappointing
.5-5 season last year in which
they did not qualify for
postseason play, the seniordominated Boys Varsity Volleyball team turned in an impressive 8-5 record this season before losing to John F. Kennedy
in two straight sets, 25-22 and
25-14, in their first playoff
game on May 13.
Senior Kenny Chang had
three service points in the loss,
while fellow seniors Kendrick
Basso, Jakub Brodowski, and
Jason Yeoun added two each.
Yeoun also had three digs and
three kills, while Brodowski
added the Hawks' only ace of
the day. Senior Kevin Kwak
passed for ten assists and also
added five digs, while senior
David Chiu had three kills.
These six seniors were the
starting six for coach Elizabeth Dempster, who had a roster of
16 people total. Three seniors,
James O'Brien, Victor Ho, and
Andre de laCruz , were also on
the team as substitutes . When
asked why she took ~o many
people on the roster, Dempster
said, "If they ' re interested, if
they're responsible, dedicated ,
and willing to .work hard, I'm
willing to put them on
the team .
''I'm looking for
them to learn and
build for next year
based on experience,"
she added.
·
The players in
question
include
sophomores Robert
Lum and Peter Park,
who despite a lack of
playing time this season look to factor in
largely on next year's
team in the absence of
the nine current seniors.
..."'
co 0
OJ)
Honorable mention goes out to the members of the Girls' Outdoor Track team,
who qualified for the PSAL City Championship on June 4 and to juniors Devotia
Moore, who won two first place titles at the meet, for an astounding 14 total first
place finishes during the course of the season, and Susan Wasserman, who placed in
the top ten of aH but one of her races this season. Congratulations on a tremendous
effort!
Hawks fall short of champs
by Lance Tomas
It took 16 matches, but the
Girls' Varsity Handball team
was finally defeated by Boys
and Girls High School, 5-0,
May 20. The loss came after a
stellar I 5-0 overall season
record, which was compiled by
12 regular season and three
playoff wins.
Senior Xiu Ming Gao, who
went undefeated during the rest
of the season, simply could not
overcome Boys and Girls'
Quasia Watson in the first
singles match. Juniors Linda
Thai and Joann Lee ran into a
similar situation in their second
and third singles matches, respectively. Factor in two
doubles losses, and the result
is an end to an otherwise dominating season.
Thai led the entire city in
aces with 98, as well as leading the Queens I division with
18 kills. She figures to fill the
first singles void that will be
left by Gao's graduation. According to coach James Jordan,
Gao was "the fire that keeps the
team warm. ·
"She's our shining star," Jordan wrote on her PSAL athlete
· profile.
Thai and Lee, as well as
sophomores Jorgena Mato and
Michelle Kwa, will have to step
up with their experience from
this season to continue the
Hawks' winning ways in years
ro come.
~
~
]
u
~
;>-,
..0
0
0
..c:
0.
Boys serve Queens
..,
competition an ace
by Robert McCullagh
After a 9-3 regular season
record left them second only
to Benjamin Cardozo in the
Queens "A" division, the
Boys'VarsityTennis team was
stopped in the third round of
the playoffs by Brooklyn Technical High School on May II.
After junior Sean Doerfler
lost his first singles match, I 04, junior
Michael
Malhame
evened
t
h e
by Maureen McCluskey
game
After compiling a 4-2 regular season record, qualifying for the postseason, and seeing one of their own fencers
with a
win the first ever PSAL Girls' Individual fencing Tournament, what better way would there be for the Girls'
l 0 - 2
fencing Team to end their inaugural season?
second
Winning the championship, of course.
singles
That's exactly what happened at Long Island High School on May 5, as the Hawks took on Stuyvesant High
Female fencers foil city competition
School. Senior Donna Mordente won both of her "A" matches, and fellow senior Erika Matos won one of her two
to give the Hawks a 3-1 edge. In the "B" match, junior Amy Feng, the winner of the individual tournament, was
perfect in her two matches, while senior Eleanor Fallon went one for two. When all was said and done, the Hawks
had a 6.75-2.25 victory and the first Girls' Fencing Champion title.
Their success came as no surprise to coach Debra Michlew.itz, who had predicted midseason, "These are the
best girl fencers in the city and are capable of going all the way. These girls can compete with the best of them;
boys included."
w
1
n .
However ,
Brook! y n
Technical won
the third singles match against
sophomme David Ferrari as
well as the first doubles match
against junior Sebastian Lagos
and sophomore Wai Lon Wong.
Junior Julian Felder and sophomore Gabriel Felder salvaged
the second singles match in the
3-2 loss.
Despite the loss, it was an
otherwise successful season for
the boy's under first year coach
Khurshid Mutakabbir.
Doerfler entered the 2006
campaign with a 24-l career
record and suffered only one
loss the entire regular season .
Cardozo ' s Jai Yoon defeated
him on March 29, becoming
only the second player in three
years to defeat Doerfler in a
regular season match.
Not to b'e overlooked ,
Malhame also had an excellent
season, going 5-3 in the regular season and adding a perfect
3-0 record in three playoff
matches.
High flying Hawks celebrate athletic prowess
by Darcy Rendon
Athletes from all areas of
sports were on hand on June 7,
but it wasn't for any kind of
meet or tournament. The 21st
Annual Athletics Sports Awards
Dinner and Dance was held to
celebrate the achievements of
school athletes who work long,
demanding hours to better their
performances.
This year, before any awards
were handed out, the athletes
took a minute to acknowledge
the Girls' Swimming and Girls'
Fencing teams for their respective New York City Champion·
ship titles.
The Athlete of the Year
Awards, the highest award
given to one malt: and one female bas.ed on their outstanding athletic interscholastic career, were presented to seniors
Michelle Montgoris and Nestor
Serrano. Montgoris i.s a mem-
ber of the Girls' Bowling, Bas- of the team.
Principal
Th_omas
ketball, <:md Softball teams,
Cunningham
took
a
moment
to
while Serrano is a member of
extend
his
heartiest
congratulaBoys' Indoor Track and Basetions and praises to the athletes.
ball teams.
Individual awards were also . "As participants, you have conpresented to the Most Valuable sistently met high standards
Player, the Most Improved though both drive and skill and
Player, and the Rookie of the yet you have enjoyed the pleaYear of each team . A Coach's sure of the game. The prowess
Award also went to those who you have developed is retlec~
possess qualities each coach tive in both individual and
felt contributed to the success group performances. You regu-
larly test the limits of athletic
and academic endurance."
Wanda Nix, the head of the
Athletic Department and Academic Dean, felt the event was
successful.
') think it went well," she
said. "It's always nice when
you can get people together
with common interests and
have a good time. I think everyone enjoyed themselves tonight."