Volume 55 Nuimber 2Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer is Singing and Playing

Loud for All to HearBy Erin Schemenski

On the evening of December 14, 2011, Bishop Eustace held its annual Christmas concert at the Scottish Rite Theater in Collingswood. To entertain the large supporting crowd, traditional and modern Christmas carols were sung by the choir and played by the band. At the conclu-sion of the concert, the band, directed by Mr. Phil Gianfortune, and the choir, directed by Miss Jennifer Weir, joined together and delighted the audience with “The Christmas Song.” Other ap-pearances were made by the girls’ Select Choir who showed off their range of notes with exuber-ant harmonies and melodies. Concert Choir was composed of junior and senior girls and boys with a few sophomore boys. Their performance included “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Blow Thou Winter Wind,” and “I Saw Three Ships.” Girls’ Choral Workshop also performed some tra-ditional songs such as “The First Noel.” As the program continued, the Jazz Band, Orchestra, and Concert Band showed off their ability to come together and create beautiful sounds. After months of hard work, elegance and awe permeated the night at this beautiful venue. The next performance will be in May, 2012. Please make an effort to see all of Bishop Eustace’s concerts. They are sure to provide a night filled with talent and enjoyment. The music department would like to thank the community for their support this year, and wish everyone a Happy New Year!

A Bishop Eustace ChristmasBy Gabriella Papale

The first week in December is a big one for the Bishop Eustace community. It is the time of the Christmas tree. Every year, the boys’ varsity football team carries the large Christ-mas tree into the Lulli Library. This year’s team, led by captains Anthony Marcozzi, and Nick Batastini, paraded in with the tree resting in their hands.

Once the tree was in, the library had a great Christmas feel to it. The snowflakes are hanging from the ceiling, the Nativity set is in place, and other decorations scattered throughout. The SLA worked hard to decorate the absolutely enormous tree. Once the main-tenance crew added the Christmas lights, the library became the place to truly get you into the Christmas spirit.

Senior Forward Sho DaSilva Reaches 1000th Point PlateauBy Carson Puriefoy

On Saturday, January 7th, senior swingman Sho DaSilva joined some of South Jersey’s finest by scoring his 1,000th career point. Only twelve other players in Eustace history have reached this mile-stone, and there is more than half of the season left! There is no doubt that DaSilva (1,001 points) will soon pass his current coach, Bob Falconiero (1,073 points) and many more before the season is over.

DaSilva slammed home an excellent pass from senior Trevor Norton in Saturday’s 92-59 vic-tory over Winslow Twp. High School to reach 1,000 points. When the horn sounded, the whole gym erupted into applause as teammates and coaches congratulated the young player. Coach Falconiero awarded DaSilva with a game ball and the two posed for some quick photos as well. Finally, DaSil-va jogged over to the bleachers where he handed his awards to his mother, giving her a nice kiss on the cheek before he returned to the game. He finished the game with a team-high nineteen points.

This is an achievement that most high school basketball players dream about, and it should not be taken lightly. DaSilva is a critical part of a team that has high hopes for this season that include a shot at a state title, which has not been done since the current coach was in high school. Congratu-lations to Sho on his tremendous accomplishment, and good luck to both boys’ and girls’ teams!

A Bright Future for the Bowling TeamBy Ronald Berna

Bowling is often underappreciated as a sport. Many people think of it humorously, but bowling is actually a lot of fun and takes years to master. Avid bowlers may spend their whole lives perfecting their throw. In past years, our bowling team was struggling to recruit enough play-ers to have a team. This year, however, part of the football team and new freshmen have given the team a chance for the future.

Last year, the bowling team did not have much possibility for survival due to the small roster. There were a few freshmen, and not enough boys or girls for a junior-varsity team. In addition, there were barely enough girls for a varsity team at all, even though the team won four conference titles and two state championships in the past six years. The future of the team looked bleak, as most of the boys and all of the girls were seniors. However, we made the best of our small team, and had a good year.

This year, the team’s future looks brighter. The entire team is having a lot of fun. There are more boys and a new girls’ team. In addi-tion, six members of the varsity football team joined. These “cool jocks” bring out the lighter side of bowling. Also, four sophomores and a junior give the girls’ team new hope. Now, there is a chance for next year with several new freshmen and a new girls’ team. Hopefully, the bowling team will have a great year, and enjoy this success for many years to come.

Eustace Soccer: Seniors FarewellBy Ben Keane

It was the last time the seniors of the Eustace Boys Varsity Soc-cer team strapped on their shin guards and laced up their cleats.

“I can remember the first day of training my freshman year, thinking how nervous I was and how badly I didn’t want to mess up for the coaches,” Matt D’Antonio said.

The last time doing anything is sad, but the memories you build up with your teammates will last forever, especially with a group of seniors consisting of TJ Maiorino, Matt D’Antonio, and Alex Graef. The boys had a good season leading the Varsity squad to another winning record and just a great overall season of fun. People think that freshman year is the hardest, but that’s not always true. Each year the coaches expect more and more out of you and sometimes it’s really hard to hold up to their expectations. At least freshman year they don’t expect anything from you.

With all the sadness that comes from your last game and the last time you’ll play with these same kids you have been with for four years, it’s very nice to know you can go home after school and take a nap. End-ing a chapter in your life is a good thing, so you can open up new ones. These boys wont forget the hard work and education they put in together to make the season the best as it could possibly be. We wish them all great luck in their futures.

Living the LifeBy Holly Bischof

Everyone wants to be a superstar, right? Cameras following you around, fans asking for autographs, meeting other fa-mous people, and then just relaxing on the beach with no worries sounds like the life. Well, I got a chance to live this superstar life.

On Thanksgiving weekend, I traveled to Long Island, NY, to run in the Foot Locker Northeast Regional cross coun-try meet. With some amazing competition, I finished fourth, which qualified me for the National race in San Diego, CA.

As a National Foot Locker qualifier, I was treated like a champion. Immediately following the race, I was led into a tent adja-cent to the finish line. Officials greeted me with a cold bottle of water and a package of tissues. Little did I know that this was only the be-ginning. I was asked to fill out several packets of paperwork asking me for my contact information; however, there were addition-al questions that got me excited. I was also asked for my shoe size, pant size, and shirt size. I knew something good had to come out of this.

Two weeks later, I flew out to San Diego with all expenses covered plus more! When I arrived at the airport, I had a chaperone waiting for me. We flew together and he carried my luggage for me. When the plane landed in San Diego, a big tour bus came to pick up all of the athletes and take us to our hotel, the Del Coronado. By the time we arrived at the hotel, I had already been awake for 12 hours, so I was tired and hungry. As I struggled with my luggage getting off of the bus, I found a camera right in my face. I was actually embarrassed, knowing that I was expected to look like some amazing athlete, and here I was unable to lift a suitcase. The camera followed me into the hotel and into the special “private event” room reserved for the Foot Locker athletes. I was welcomed in with the biggest backpack I had ever seen, along with two shoe boxes. I was so excited and awe-struck that I did not even know what to say. The man with the camera remained right in my face and motioned for me to open up the bag. Inside was my uniform for the race, sweats, a hat, socks, a jacket, and extra running clothes all with the Foot Locker logo. But there was more! I was also given a pair of trainers and a pair of racing spikes. Still unsure how to respond, I told the camera man that this was the best Christmas present ever.

That afternoon, we went for a run with the Foot Locker special guests, all of whom were Olympians. I could not control my excitement! I was actually going to run with the fastest people in the world. I always smile when I run, but this day was the happiest I have ever been on a run.

That night, we had a group dinner, consisting of every type of food imaginable. There was even a little section with tea. For des-sert, there were even little Foot Locker cookies. After everyone ate, we had a question and answer session with the Olympians. I was so sur-prised at how down-to-earth everyone was. It was so inspiring to hear their stories and advice. It made me think about the qualities and goals that are such an essential part of achieving high levels of success. After the session, each Olympian signed autographs and took pictures with us.

The day of the race, I woke up with butterflies in my stomach. I felt so nervous and pressured to run a fast time. Once again, cam-eras were in our faces. I couldn’t even stretch without the camera man videotaping me. Right before we toed the starting line, the announcers gave a short bio about each of us as we ran out to our spot on the start line. I literally felt like a superstar. The race itself seems like such a small part of the experience, but it was definitely a good one. I finished 28 out of 40, which I was happy with. I was so excited for my good friends Molly and Edward who became the National champions. We took so many pictures to embrace the moment and capture the excitement.

The day that we flew home, we had to wake up at three in the morning. Most people pulled all-nighters, but I managed to sleep for a few hours. As we boarded the busses in the dark, there was a breakfast buffet set up outside with only the best foods. I loaded up with goodies for the long plane ride home. It was sad saying goodbye to all of my new friends, but was comforting to know that these friendships will last a lifetime.

Foot Locker was by far the most amazing and life changing experience in my life. I encourage all athletes to strive for perfection in all that they do because hard work truly pays off. Whether it is running, swimming, soccer, or lacrosse, every sport can open new doors that lead to amazing places.

NBA’S MVP: Who Is in the Running?

By Dexter Harris Now that the NBA and the players association finally came to an agreement to start the 2011- 2012 NBA season on Christmas Day, who will

be the league’s MVP? Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant are players that everyone know and are in the race every year. Last year, nobody thought that the point guard, Derrick Rose, would be in the running before the season, but he quickly emerged as the league’s clear MVP with an average of 27 points per game and seven assists to lead the Chicago Bulls to the Eastern Conference Championship. Now it is safe to say without a question that Derrick Rose is not only one of the best point guards in the league, but one of the best players as well. Will Derrick Rose repeat again this year? Will Kobe, Lebron, Durant or Howard win as expected? Or will it be another under- the- radar player?

Some argue that Lebron James is the best player in the NBA, though it is argued that he is not the best as he has not won a championship and he plays for the Miami Heat, a team already full of all- stars. Still, we all are aware of Lebron James’s abilities on the court, and he’s nearly impossible to stop. Another contender, Dwight Howard, is the most powerful, physical, and best center in the NBA. He has the supporting cast/role players for his team to go far. He also puts up big numbers every night, scoring twenty points and collecting over ten rebounds per competition. Although he can dunk on and through everything and on occasions will make a sweeping hook shot, can he take his game to the next level and learn how to become a “face-up” big man and add that to his arsenal? We all know what Kobe Bryant can do, although his age is problematic. He has been in the league since 1996 and is now playing at 33 years old. Kevin Durant, I believe, has probably the best shot of winning the league’s MVP. He is a versatile forward who can score from any position. He can score in the post, from mid-range, and from the three- point range with relative ease. Despite being rather frail for his 6’11” frame, he creates mismatches for every defender. How far the Oklahoma City Thunder will go relies on how his year goes. If he averages thirty points per game, there is no doubt that his team will go far and he will win the award. Will any of these great players win the NBA’s MVP? Or will it be a Cinderella kind of story? There is a lot of great young talent in the league: Will the explosive, freak of nature, Blake Griffin be in the running? Point guard John Wall, lightening quick Monta Ellis from the Warriors, or it could possibly be forward Andre Iguodola? Okay, maybe that is pushing it a little, but you get my point about young talented players in the league. Who do you think will win the Most Valuable Player Award?

Girls’ Basketball: It’s Our TurnBy Taylor Hudspeth

As November came around, Coach Burke and her team got ready for the upcoming season. The girls had been in the gym since the begin-ning of October practicing for the November 28th tryout. Captains this year are all returning seniors, Jackie Browne, Alyssa Cirucci and Bridget Feeney. Before the start of the season, senior point guard, Jackie Browne, said “I’m excited for the upcoming season and can’t wait to play with everyone again.” The team is focusing on guards due to the lack of height, but the team’s main focus is running. They have some of the best guards in their conference, so pushing the ball and getting back on defense will certainly come to their advantage. Coach Burke is also looking forward to pushing the ball up the court at all times. Assistant coaches, Jackie Barnes and Erin Dowd have joined the team again for another exciting season. As the season progresses, please come out to support the team!

NHL Realignment

By Evan Keane The NHL’s Board of Governors approved a controversial realign-

ment plan, eliminating the current 2-conference, 6-division setup in fa-vor of a configuration that features 4 conferences based on geography. Two conferences will have 8 teams and the other two conferences will have 7 teams. The League’s intention is for the four-conference set-up to be in place starting with the 2012-13 season. The makeup of the yet-to-be-named four conferences is as follows; Conference A: New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Wash-ington and Carolina; Conference B: Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Florida and Tampa Bay; Conference C: Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota, Dallas and Winnipeg; Confer-ence D: Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado. When playoffs roll around, the top four teams in each conference advance. The top seed plays the fourth and the second plays the third in the respective conference. Then the winner of the two series advances to play each other. The winners of the four conferences then are re-seeded and play in what is now known as the conference fi-nals. Only four teams remain and the two winners of each series will then play for the Stanley Cup. Next year might mark a time when two teams that are now in the same conference play each other for the finals.

Title IX: Is It Really Equal?

By Ben Keane

What is Title IX? Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 states that: “No person in the United States, shall on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activ-ity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Title IX has its biggest prob-lem in college athletics due to the abundance of money involved. No school can have more scholarships or athletic teams for either boys or girls. This sounds fair in essence, but it’s a known fact that 40 % more males are involved in athletics than females. So why does it need to be equal? It doesn’t seem fair for the men because there are more of them so they need more money and more teams. The idea of this rule is great because women should definitely get the same treatment as men, but it’s not right that the guys are losing athletic programs at schools because they need room for girls’ teams. If there are fewer girls who play sports at a university, then they should get less money and sports.

When I asked a male student, Matt O’Brien, what he thought about Title IX, he said, “I think it’s fair that they are trying to make it equal for guys and girls, but the guys are the ones getting the unfair treatment, not the women.”

California University has to drop their men’s gymnastics team because they need to make room for a women’s sport. This sounds fair, but what happens to those men who lose their scholarships on the gym-nastics team? They even offered to pay for the women’s sports to try and bring their program back, but Title IX wouldn’t allow it. If a team can fund their own program, whether it will make the university have more guys’ teams than girls’, I think that’s fair. I also don’t think the women would have a problem with this because everyone deserves a shot to play sports. No program should be dropped, no matter what.

No matter how unequal the sports teams are at schools be-tween guys and girls, no sports team should ever be prohibited from doing what they love. As long as we monitor the number of women’s sports and make sure they’re getting a fair share in everything, I think its good for men to have a little more than women in this scenario.

Top Christmas Movies and SongsBy Caitlin Sokolowski

Christmas Movies10. Miracle on 34th Street9. A Charlie Brown Christmas: A Christ-

mas classic that is short, sweet and a must see.8. A Christmas Carol7. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Car-

toon)6. A Christmas Vacation: This is a very

funny film of a family who celebrates Christ-mas in their own way that keeps you laughing the whole movie through.

5. It’s a Wonderful Life4. The Polar Express: A storybook classic

brought to life.3. The Santa Clause2. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York: The

best Home Alone created.1. Elf: A humorous story of an elf from the

North Pole who ventures off to search for his dad in the Big Apple. It will leave you laugh-ing from start to finish.

Christmas Songs10. “Last Christmas”- Wham!9. “Christmas Shoes”- New Song: A sad

holiday song that brings tears to all who listen.8. “Santa Clause is coming to Town”-

Bruce Springsteen7. “Christmas” (Baby Please Come Home)

- Mariah Carey: A Christmas song that reminds us of the soldiers who cannot come home to spend the holiday with their loved ones.

6. “Most Wonderful Time of the Year”- Andy Williams

5. “Santa Baby”- Marilyn Monroe4. “All I Want for Christmas is You”- Mari-

ah Carey: A Christmas favorite that never gets old.

3. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”-Brenda Lee

2. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas”- Johnny Mathis

1. “This Christmas”- Chris Brown: A twist on a common song that is a holiday classic.

From the Twilight Saga to the Hunger Games TrilogyBy Molly McBride

Everyone remembers when Twilight came out. Some were entranced, wanting to become vam-pires themselves, which was very strange, and of course dangerous. Some were excited and others didn’t see why they would even be excited. Some were annoyed by the craziness and some were simply oblivious to it all. No matter what group people consider themselves to be in, Twilight hit the theaters in a raging storm, and its most recent installment, Breaking Dawn, earned a record breaking $139,500,000 for its opening weekend. Countless items in pop culture have branched off of the hit: parodies, clothing, and books, hoping to achieve some of the huge profit that the original received. For instance, in recent fiction, the vampire genre exploded shortly after Stephe-nie Meyer’s theme was so enthusiastically and widely received by fans. Now, the movies are get-ting all the attention because the books have all come out and are old news. So, the book world is revving up a new popular genre, dystopian. The spark began by Susanne Collins with her debut of the Hunger Games Trilogy in 2008. Since then, people across the nation have been snatching up the books about a society that subjects children to fight to the death in an arena while being broadcasted for the enjoyment or horror of the nation, depending on the viewer. What could be so appealing about that to readers? It sounds like a completely depressing read. But it had something, as it was the must read for this past summer. It could be the fierce and brave heroine, Katniss, or the love triangle sparking production of clothing that reads “Team Peeta!” or “Team Gale!” or maybe it’s just the jarring suspense that prevents you from being able to put the book down. Re-gardless of the reason, so many are enamored with this book, it too has had the effect of Twilight. Many novels with the same genre have flooded the shelves, such as the Matched Trilogy, Divergent Trilogy, the Chemical Garden Trilogy, the Gone series, and many more. If you’re interested, read them, and if you’re already a fan, remember, the Hunger Games movie comes out on March 23!

Holiday Wrap Up—Did the Waiting Kill You, or What?

By Erin Schemenski

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone. It seems as if we only started school a few days ago. Right after Thanksgiv-ing, everyone gets excited for Christmas, and if you didn’t, Bah Humbug, you are Scrooge!

We all know that besides getting together with your family or contributing to “Family to Family” baskets, Thanksgiving dinner is the best part of this holiday, for which we have the Pilgrims and Native Americans to thank. Tradi-tion for most is a decent sized turkey, stuffing to go along with it, and pie for dessert. Everything else in between is a treat…especially the deli-cious aromas! This is also not the right dinner to be “watching your weight.” This is Thanksgiv-ing; a time to indulge and eventually fall asleep into a “food coma” because of your “food baby.”

Because the two holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, are only a month apart, B101 obvi-ously plays the same Christmas music over and over again. The music typically starts within the 24 hours of Black Friday Shopping, but it seems that the music starts earlier and earlier each year. But who doesn’t enjoy a few Christ-mas carols to get you in the spirit? The smell of the beautifully decorated evergreen tree fills your house with a fabulous scent. Many churches offer a midnight mass to celebrate the birth of the Lord Baby Jesus. Then, before you know it, the next morning arrives to open pres-ents and engross yourself in just another family holiday meal. There is always hope that snow will fall, and we have a real “White Christmas” to watch while we cozy up by the fire with a cup of coco to watch those all-time favorite holiday films, such as Elf, A Christmas Story, and of course The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Next arrives New Year’s Eve where everyone gets a chance to make those resolutions and get a fresh start! After a short break from school dur-ing the week of Thanksgiving, and a great break at Christmas, we find ourselves sad to have to head back to school. But, get excited—it was a great time to be in a jolly good mood and spread the spirit. The wait felt like it was forever, but cherish every great moment you had taking “the time to smell the [holly],” because good times fly.

Now that January has arrived, there are plen-ty of great new things to anticipate—the junior trip, sophomore cotillion, the senior trip, black and white week, prom, ring dance, ring mass, and watching those college acceptances roll in!

Friend FinderBy Vince Marone

Friend fi nder, the newest app out, can only be acquired with the iOS5 update. This free app lets you track friends and family as accurately as within a couple of feet. A cool feature available with friend fi nder lets you name certain locations as home, work, or even your own unique name. It also allows you the ability to temporarily dis-able your location. This can be useful because it hides you from your peers (or your parents).

The popularity of friend fi nder has begun to increase each day and in the near future will be downloaded by many iPhone owners. This app is catching on because of how cool (and freaky) it can be. Within this community, many new trends visit Eustace and this appears to be the newest one. Friend fi nder also has many stories in the news. For instance, a husband was able to catch his wife cheating on him! Crazy, right!

This app works very well. It can fi nd you anywhere and constantly update your cur-rent location. Just ask Burch Martin. He asked what address I was currently at and I did not know. But Burch pulled me up on friend fi nder, found my address and was then able to meet up with me in minutes. Most importantly, you can set different people to see your loca-tion for only a certain amount of time. This can come in handy if you’re being stalked. Is friend fi nder good or bad? You be the judge.

The Holiday Season: A Time of Joy

By David Diaco

Each year when the weather starts to become cold and snow begins to fall, every-one is thinking about the same thing, Christ-mas time. Christmas songs can be heard on the radio and people start to get excited. Ev-eryone begins to think about what they are go-ing to receive and also about the joy that the season brings. People are in a lighter mood and fi nd ways to enjoy themselves even more.

Not to mention it is that time of year when we have the least amount of school be-cause of the days off from the holidays! Joey Diaco says, “I love this time of year, es-pecially when we get those extra days off from snow.” Most of the students can agree with him and when we get those extra days off I do not think anyone is complaining.

The holiday season is simply a great time to be around friends and to be happy. Between the songs and presents and days off of school there is no reason not to be happy. Everyone looks forward to this time of year and it may well be “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

A Very Appropriate Color for a Shopping Holiday By Pat Leuzzi

Has anyone ever thought of the reason as to why Black Friday is black? The only logi-cal thing that would make sense is that black is a negative color and Black Friday is not so positive. It is not positive because people absurdly stand outside in lines for hours in the cold to wait for something that a security guard hands them a ticket to buy (if they’re oh so lucky enough) something that is not all that much cheaper than on any other day. People do not take any consideration into the fact that being out on Black Friday costs them more money than any other shopping trip of the year. It is very, very time consuming, much gas in your tank is emp-tied, and you have to eat out because there is no way you are going to lose your parking space and drive all the way home (and waste more gas.) Another issue is the fact that people risk get-ting into accidents just to park in a space, and if one adds up all the inconveniences of this day, they may second guess planning next year’s activity after Thanksgiving’s coffee and dessert.

To prove you all wrong, I went shopping the Sunday after Black Friday to the Mecca of malls, King of Prussia in Pennsylvania. I call this day White Sunday because white is a positive color and positive things happen on this day. Every year on Black Friday I watch the news, and they always show a bunch of crazies at the King of Prussia Mall going completely insane, but what they don’t show you is what happens on the following Sunday. My crew and I arrive there around 11:00 AM, no traffi c, or fi ghting a soccer mom in a minivan over a parking space. We walk in and all is pretty quiet, no lines, no screaming babies, or anything annoying for that matter. All of the stores we went to continued their Black Friday sales! This is a prime example of how easy things can be for people who don’t know anything but the hard way. We had no problem fi nding anything we needed even at the discounted price, so the next time you think your missing something on Black Friday think again.

Books: A Thing of The Past; The Rise of Technology

By Yolanda Quintana

As a book- lover I fear the loss of the lovely pages, eccentric covers and libraries. This day and age, EVERYTHING is going technical. With new products like the Kindle, Sony Read-ers, and the Nook it would seem, that in a few years physical books won’t be around anymore. I understand the need of these devices; saving trees, portability, and the saving of space but for good ol’ fashion book lovers nothing beats turn-ing the pages! With the rise of this technology I fear books will become like music. The mu-sic industry makes the most money on tours but books do not have tours. What does that have to do with anything you ask? Well music, mostly advertised on the internet can be illegally down-loaded through programs like frost wire, lime wire, bear share and other such sites. It does not hit their industry as hard because money is coming from tours. Now that e-books (electron-ically books) have made their debut on the web it is now possible to download them illegally as well. Well why does that matter? Decrease in the sales of paperback books will decrease the production of paperbacks and the debut of authors. It could mean, in the future the produc-tions of paperback books and authors with drop dramatically. As a book collector and reader I like to see how many books I collected and read and like having to turn the pages. But with this technology I wonder how long I will be enjoy-ing this luxury and how long will it take for the production of paper- made books to disappear.

Dear CrusaderBy Alexandria Morris

Midterms are coming up and I have so much material that I have no idea how to even begin studying. How should I or-ganize my time to study for everything?

- Stressed for TestsDear Stressed for Tests, Hopefully you have been taking notes

throughout the year in all of your classes, so it should not be too hard to get your study material together for all of your classes. Once you do so, start with the hardest class and read over each chapter in your book, and see how much you can remember when reading your notes. If you can make a list of vocabulary for the class, try to do it mostly by memory once you studied the chap-ters, so you can see what to work on. Don’t start studying the night before the test; balance it out over a week or two, doing a little bit at a time. Try not to stress over it, just do one thing at a time until you know the material well. You’ll do fi ne!

Bishop Eustace Welcomes Mr. Moffa to its Teaching

Staff By Kathleen DiBari

Dave Moffa is a former graduate of the Bishop Eustace class of 2006. He has now re-turned to our campus as a teacher in AP Eco-nomics and World History. I asked him what he thinks of his classes and his students and he happily said, “I love to teach my classes, and my students make it all worthwhile for me.” For those of you who may not know this, Mr. Moffa has been one of the coaches of the girls’ Eustace soccer team since 2008. I can personally say he is a great coach as he has been my soccer coach throughout my four years at Bishop Eustace. He told me that one of his favorite things to do is play soccer. He currently plays for several men’s teams in Philadelphia, teams that have games every weeknight. He began his soccer career at Bishop Eustace, and this eventually led him to continue playing at St. Joe’s for his college years. Mr. Moffa graduated from St. Joe’s with a BA in history and a minor in Spanish. Over the course of his high school and college years he traveled to Italy, Spain, England, and France. Recently, he went to South Africa for the World Cup in soccer as well as to Tunisia and Mexico. He told me that while in Tunisia and Mexico he took part in several service programs. He has a friend from college who currently lives in Mex-ico and as often as he can he travels there and they do daily service works. Over the past few summers, he has also traveled to Guatemala. During these trips Mr. Moffa remains there for ten days for a service program he got involved

Sweaters are TrendingBy Evan Keane

It wasn’t yet that time of year, but by the looks of it, it may have seemed like sweaters were mandatory in the Eustace community. It might not yet have been a requirement of the Eu-stace school dress code but it is something the students just love to wear. Once the first day of cold air comes through, kids pull out the black sweater from the closet and bundle up in its warmth until spring rolls around the following season. One senior claimed, if you do it one day you can’t turn back. “It’s like once I put it on, I never want to go back to wearing just my dress shirt. I don’t know what it is or how else to describe it” he says. Its thick layer adds comfort to your daily routine, and also finds loop holes out of some of the boys’ normal dress codes. Some senior boys find it useless to tuck in the shirt when they can simply roll it under the bottom. Many teachers can attest to this, always seeming to find one or two boys in the hallway telling them to “tuck in your shirt tail!” It is a constant saying heard throughout the school during the winter time when sweaters are mandatory, but on the early days when they aren’t required, the boys just simply roll it back under and hope no one notices again. Every day more and more students arrived to campus wearing the black sweaters. Is it fashion, or comfort?

Making the Transition: Middle School to High SchoolBy Dexter Harris

We all remember making the transition from our middle school to Bishop Eustace Prep. Although it was four years ago, we still remember our very first day of high school, and all of the different thoughts going through our head. Thoughts such as: Will I fit in and make friends? Are my teach-ers going to like me? Is Eustace as hard as everyone says it is? Or What if I cannot navigate this campus to get to class on time? It seems like all of these thoughts were roaming our just yesterday.

The truth of the matter is that everyone has a different experience when making the transition from middle school to high school. There are some students that came from a public school who probably do not know what to expect. It may be more of a transition for a former public school student than a Catholic school student. In public schools, you do not have uniforms you wear every day. The majority of the time the public schools have a higher enrollment and are bigger than the small parochial schools. Also the students vary in personalities. The bottom line is that you can have a wide range of different thoughts if you are making the transition from a public school. Catholic school students making the transition probably do not panic or are not as nervous as public school kids. Oftentimes the kids you went to Catholic school with when you were in middle school will be in the same high school. The main concern coming from a Catholic middle school won’t be social issues; it would most likely pertain to meeting their new teachers and hoping that they will like you.

I had the opportunity to catch up with a freshman by the name of Brian Keller. I interviewed him on his transition from his middle school to Bishop Eustace Prep and how he has adapted to his new school. Keller replied by saying that his transition was surprisingly easy, and that the teach-ers here at school made his transition a lot easier. They were always there whenever he needed advice or whenever he had a question. He learned very quickly that teachers here at Eustace want to help you and appear more as a guide rather than a stranger. Brian also said that he was over-whelmed coming into school. “I was overwhelmed because I was not really sure what to expect, and then I had soccer and academics that I had to keep balanced”. He also added that he was pretty nervous coming in, but that is always expected. “Knowing like fifteen people going in to school also helped” Brian mentioned. He knew a good number of people coming in from his Catholic grade school and also knew the soccer players as well as the basketball players who have helped him out and made him feel welcome. It has been only a few months into our school year, and Brian was confident in saying that he has many friends in his class as well in the upper class. Overall, Brian Keller’s transition probably represents that of most freshmen by this time--a success.

with in college and still continues involvement with today. I told him how interesting his life is and how good of a person he is for doing so

much service for others, and he responded saying, “I still haven’t done enough.” Finally, I ended our interview asking him again for his honest thoughts of his students, and he respond-ed saying “They are some great groups of kids to teach, and they are the reason I love teaching.”

New and Improved Cotillion 2012By Cristina Johnson

The excitement for Sophomore Cotillion is building in all of the sophomores. Sophomore, Alyssa Gallagher, says “This is our first for-mal dance that we have as a grade so I am really excited. I am already looking for my dress.” Many other sophomores are also very ex-cited and most girls are looking for their dresses. Over the years Cotillion has become more of a prom than just a dance. For most schools girls wear short dresses and boys do not wear suits, but at Eustace everyone gets very formal. The only difference between prom and co-tillion at Eustace has been that cotillion is in the field house. It seems a little silly to dress so formally to go to a gym, but this year cotil-lion is being moved to the Marian House in Cherry Hill. This change has made sophomores even more excited for their first formal dance as a grade. Cotillion is also being catered for the first time this year so there will be a lot more food choices. March 31st can’t come fast enough!

Senior Year: All That It’s Cracked up To Be?

By Alexandra Canal

As I sat in homeroom on a warm Septem-ber day in 2008, one question buzzing around the room was, “Is freshman year the easiest?” Our homeroom teacher confidently responded that freshman year was more of an “adjusting” year while senior year was in fact the easiest. My fellow classmates and I sank down in our chairs, eagerly waiting for the day the blue lanyard would hang around our necks. Now, just four fast years later, the time has come for the class of 2012 to finally be on the road to graduation. However, one thing many seniors have been noticing is that, contrary to popular belief, senior year is not all that easy. In fact, many believe it has been their most difficult year at Bishop Eustace. Personally, I can agree with that statement, stressing out more times this year than last. Perhaps it is the tough academics piled on top of the many college applications that need completion. Perhaps it is the rigor of schedule students take in order to gain acceptance into those super competi-tive universities. Perhaps it is just the idea of leaving Bishop Eustace forever that is freaking some students out. Whatever the case may be, it is pretty clear that senior year is definitely not a “breeze.” One senior, Ian Moy, noted, “The first semester of senior year is definitely the most stressful time of my life. I think it is definitely because of the college applica-tions. There are a lot of essays you have to do. Keeping up with that and school is hard. Hopefully the second half of the year is as easy as everybody says it is.” Another senior, Samantha Testa, suggested that the extra stress may be because “a lot of people are worried about getting accepted to college. That in itself is stressful.” Hopefully, as first semester comes to a close and all of the dreaded applications are submitted and processed, the stress lev-els within many seniors will begin to simmer down. After all, second semester contains the highly anticipated senior trip, prom, and of course, graduation. Nevertheless, underclass-men should keep one thing in mind as they look ahead toward senior year: be careful what you wish for.

Bishop Eustace’s Homeless Project 2011 By Kathleen DiBari

This year a group of seniors experienced Bishop Eustace’s homeless project. A group of my fellow seniors and I camped out for a night on our campus quad. The purpose of this night was to experience what so many unfortunate people experience daily. Students do not even realize that most of these people are right in our backyard. One of the most influential parts of the night was the prayer service and then the guest speaker. He was a service worker at the Romero House in Cam-den. He also started a homeless shelter in Camden called Joe’s Place. One of his friends, as well as resident of Joe’s Place, also spoke to us. He has firsthand experiences of poverty. It is one thing to talk about how much people are suffering, but to see someone who actually is suffering makes the sad truth a reality. Another inspirational speaker was a graduate from Bishop Eustace. Because of her involvement in the Homeless Project her senior year, she discovered a passion for service work. She even began a homeless shelter with fellow students in her college. Our night did not end there. As many of you saw the next day, we had boxes and tarps laid all throughout the quad. This is all we had to sleep on and it was freezing. The next day those involved in the project went through school asking for donations from their fellow students. This money was given to different home-less shelters including both speakers’ homeless shelters. Despite my own discomfort throughout the night, I have to say that it was worth it. This was truly an eye opening experience that makes you appreciate all that you are lucky to have. It also makes you understand what others less fortu-nate then you have to go through every day and you understand why service for others is so vital.

Christmas Time at Eustace: Holiday Spirit Everywhere!By Brittany Laine

Christmas time at Bishop Eustace Prep is always a very joyous and exciting time for our school! A few weeks before school lets out for Christmas break, as the students are cram-ming for last minute tests, we all like to spend our time talking about what we will be do-ing over our long and well deserved break. However, there are many things to look forward to on campus before winter break. A longstanding tradition at our school is setting up and dec-orating a gigantic Christmas tree in the Lulli Library. The staff and students always get excit-ed about decorating the tree and the library every year. Ornaments and twinkling lights fill up the tree and the library is turned into a winter wonderland that always brightens our day. We all enjoy these decorations that give Bishop Eustace such a warm and merry holiday atmosphere.

Another Eustace tradition we look forward to is the “Wear a Christmas Sweater Day!” This is a relatively new Bishop Eustace tradition that the students and staff love to participate in. In-stead of the standard black, Eustace sweater, everyone dresses in a crazy Christmas sweater. We all try to outdo each other! Seeing everyone come to school in ridiculous over-the-top Christmas sweaters and enjoying the huge Christmas tree in the library are just a few of the many excit-ing traditions our school has during Christmas time! Everyone really gets into the holiday spirit!

Christmas is a time for being with family, friends, and all your loved ones. There is no better place to get into the spirit of the holiday than with our Bishop Eustace family. Next year when we (the class of 2012) are all in college, we will look back fondly on these holiday memories at Bishop Eustace Prep.

Breaking Through the ExteriorBy Gabriella Papale

The menacing looks, small whispers, and turning backs are all things that people hate, especially when directed towards them. Usually, those looks are due to the fact that they heard something about you or don’t like you for no reason. Being judged by people that don’t even know you can be a very hard thing to deal with.

Coming into freshman year, I did not know what to expect. Not many people went to my school and I was having a fresh start. One of the first weeks of school, I was upset about something after school. The things I heard people say had blown my mind, like “Oh the princess didn’t get her way like always.” The funny thing was, I had never met any of those people before in my life.

Since my dad is who he is, people have perceptions about me that aren’t necessarily true. They assume we are millionaires: false. They assume I get everything I want: really false. They assume I’m self- centered and stuck- up: super false. People automatically make judgments about people they do not even know because that is what people say. They do not give them a chance to get to know the person and see what they are really like. I admit, there are times when I do the same thing. As I am getting older, I rarely do it because I would not want someone judging me, so I should not judge them.

Every person has the right to tell their story before any judgments can be made. If a person comes off as mean, you don’t know the reason behind why they act the way they do. Maybe once you break through that rough exterior, there is a sweet, loving person. It is not fair for us to jump to con-clusions and we need to think to ourselves, “Would we want someone who doesn’t even know us judging us?”

Being Judgmental By Daniella Jaconelli

Throughout the high school years, people branch off and discover who they are. Everyone is different in their own unique ways, and no one should be judged or made fun of for it. Since most people, however, judge books by their covers, being different could almost be considered a crime. I sometimes feel that no matter what you do someone is going to criticize you for it. You could be judged on the simplest things like what you’re wearing, who your friends are, or even where you’re from. For example if someone in your group of friends doesn’t like to be around certain people but you do, they judge you for it and eventually it causes conflicts and pointless drama. I’ve learned in high school to get to know someone before forming an opinion about that person. Judging someone before you get to know them is actually only hurting yourself because you could easily have a lot in common but would never know because you didn’t take the smallest amount of time to see who that person really is. Being less judgmental could benefit people in so many ways; even just a little con-versation with someone could change your whole aspect on that person, and it could form a friend-ship that you’ll have throughout and beyond high school. So, the next time you find yourself about to judge someone, just keep in mind no one deserves to be judged or criticized before you even know them. You never know, one day they could be your best friend or just an interesting acquaintance.

Lanyards at Bishop Eustace: What’s the Use?By Matt O’Brien

Something that Bishop Eustace students are commonly asked by people who don’t know much about the school is, “Why do you wear those things around your necks?” And the explanation that usually follows such a question usually goes something like this… “I don’t know.” On the first day of freshman year at Bishop Eustace, everyone is issued a colored lanyard, which is based on the color of your grade. The freshman are green, sophomores are yellow, juniors are red, and finally seniors are the all- so- powerful blue.

These lanyards are served to identify what grade you are in, but really, who cares? I don’t need a lanyard for teachers to know I am a senior, and you don’t need to see green around a 5 foot 100 pound boy to see that he is clearly a freshman. These lanyards seem to cause way more trouble than good around the Eustace student body. On more than one occasion, I have walked into home-room and was not allowed in because I left my lanyard in my car by accident. This meant I had to go to the late room, and since this has happened more than once, I have been issued my fair share of detentions because of these late marks.

Now, I know these lanyards are a part of the “uniform policy,” but why? Besides serving the newly implemented lunch credit card system (which could easily be replaced), what do these lan-yards do besides cause problems?

Lanyards at Bishop Eustace have become a tradition over the past four years, but I believe that it is something that could and should have been avoided. It is something that all Eustace students have grown to know, and not so much love. Bishop Eustace has a countless number of outstanding qualities, but I just do not believe that these lanyards are one of them.

Homework: Enough Is Enough!

By Amanda LennonMany teachers here at Bishop Eustace

think that giving homework assignments is the proper way to really make students remember what we have learned in class. This theory could be correct in a sense that doing some-thing more than once helps one to remember, but it is wrong in so many other ways.

Students everywhere are struggling with schoolwork because they participate in extra curricular activities, have social lives, and also need to make some room for their families as well. Bishop Eustace student, Claire Casey states, “Trying to juggle swimming, home-work, hanging out with friends, and spend-ing quality time with my family is quite the struggle.” On a Monday to Friday week basis students are required to attend school. As if it isn’t hard enough to focus on something we’re sometimes not interested about in the class-room, knowing that when we go home we will have hours of more work to do definitely does not help.

Everyone knows that teens need a great deal of sleep, and with everything going on in our lives it sometimes gets hard to find time for sleep. I often find myself staying up late to complete my homework or getting up extra early to finish it. Neither of these methods is giving me the sleep I need to perform the next day in class. It just becomes one big vicious cycle, and before you know it you’re pushing off one homework assignment after another to try to make time for different classes, and it never seems to go the way you had planned.

Time in the life of a teen is valued greatly. This is why students should not be given so much daily homework, especially not over the weekend because this is when we need time to recoup ourselves and prepare for the next week of school to come.

What Does It Take to Make Us Happy?By Tyler Margraf

What is it that makes us happy? When is enough enough? Why do we always complain about the small inconveniences that surround our everyday lives? We attend one of the most pres-tigious preparatory schools in New Jersey, and yet we do nothing but complain. Our parents buy us nice cars and have provided us with a great education. We as students rarely say thank you. We rarely see the wonderful life that God has blessed us with. I rarely hear positives from my peers anymore. We complain about shaving, the cost of lunches, and the strict dress code. For many, the daily complaint isn’t the cost of food, but rather if they will find any at all. The poor don’t complain about the strict dress code because some cannot even afford clothing. I admit I complain about a lot of things in my everyday life, but it’s the things that Eustace does for us that allow us to humble ourselves. We have to be thankful for all that we have and for all that Eustace does to expose our sheltered lives to the harsh realities of poverty. We have the homeless project, service for the less fortunate, and 3 outreach programs that are all directed to helping those in need. Remembering how blessed we are is essential to God’s calling to be a Catholic. We always curse the red lights, but never celebrate the green lights. As Catholics we are called to humble ourselves and be thank-ful for what we have, not what we don’t have. Keep in mind the less fortunate this holiday season and be thankful for the simple fact that we woke up this morning in beds with families that love us.

Do You Believe?By Demi Caltabiano

As a child the main attraction of Christ-mas was the belief in Santa. Children would try to be on their best behavior knowing that Santa was always watching them. Most kids would wake up at five in the morning, waking up ev-eryone in their house, just to see what Santa had left for them under their tree. While many chil-dren still believe in Santa today, they are start-ing to lose faith in this “magical idea” at earlier ages each year. For example, when I was in 5th grade, I started to question the concept of San-ta, because of the older kids on the bus always telling the younger ones how Santa wasn’t real. Nowadays if you go into an elementary school and ask the kids if they believe in Santa or not, many of the younger ones will say Santa isn’t real and that their parents are the ones who put the presents under the tree. I feel that this is ab-solutely horrible. If little children can’t believe in Santa what can they believe in? To me, the whole excitement of Christmas was being able to sit on Santa’s lap and leave out cookies for him and food for his reindeer. If you ask anyone who is older what they miss most about Christ-mas as a child, they will reply how they wish they still believed in Santa. Believing in Santa gave them something to look forward to. It al-lowed them to escape “reality” and add excite-ment to their lives. I feel that believing in Santa also makes children more grateful because they weren’t blaming their parents for not getting them everything on their Christmas list or feel-ing guilty that their parents spent more than they could afford. Overall, although Christ-mas is still a special holiday today, many will agree that it was much more exciting when you were a child and all you had to do was believe.

The Value of PSATsBy Elizabeth Bowman

In the beginning of the school year when panicking seniors are struggling with college appli-cations and disoriented freshmen are determined to find their place in a new school, the activities of the sophomores and juniors are often overlooked. Until the Sophomore Cotillion and Junior Ring Dance, perhaps the most important day for the two middle grades are the PSATs. Even to the sophomores and juniors themselves, this half- day of testing is easily lost in the excitement of a new year; however, the purpose of the PSATs and the benefits of good results should not be forgotten.

Of course, the main purpose of the PSATs is practicing for the SATs. This alone is valu-able since many students have trouble taking standardized tests, and the PSATs allow each stu-dent to determine which test- taking strategies will work best for them during the SATs. Al-though the results of these practice tests don’t mean very much to sophomores, good scores are very beneficial for juniors. For juniors with qualifying scores, The National Merit Scholar-ship Program offers great scholarships for college and earns those juniors recognition even from colleges that do not accept National Merit Scholarships. Although the program’s quali-fying scores are extremely high, the benefits it provides are definitely worth working for.

The PSATs are a great way to try to earn recognition and money from colleges without all of the pressure that comes with the SATs. Although the half- day of testing is easily lost in the busy start of a new school year, the value and purpose of the PSATs should not be forgotten.

The Importance in the Truth By Caroline Dodig

In high school, teenagers are always

talking and gossip is a huge part of the high school life. People are always spreading ru-mors without knowing the true story or situa-tion.

Every day people are engaged in con-versations about people, whether it is a friend, classmate, enemy, parent, or teacher. One person can tell a friend something, and within minutes everyone is talking about it. Rumors are started in the blink of an eye, and with each person that is told, more and more false infor-mation builds up on this single statement that was first made. When people hear something about someone, they rarely do the right thing, which would be going to the source of the in-formation and finding out the truth of the mat-ter. Instead, people believe what they are told and spread the issue to more and more people, causing more unnecessary drama and fights. It is extremely normal to people to believe the first thing they hear and they form their opin-ions on that piece of information. People make different judgments on people all on the things that they hear about them. Because of rumors, judgments can be placed on people that are un-fair and untrue and often hurtful to the person that the gossip is about.

People are extremely gullible, and want to believe everything they hear when in reality, they can’t. The truth is an extremely important thing that needs to be discovered when people are making up stories about someone or something. Rumors are an ongoing issue, especially in high school.

Midterms -___- (The Face from Midterms)

By Tyler Margraf Oh, the dreaded midterms. They are fi-

nally upon us and more difficult to manage than ever. With the exams coming up in one week, the teachers are given the option to give an “in- class midterm” to lighten the load of the week. Unfortunately, too many of the teachers jumped on this opportunity and have success-fully extended the disliked midterms into two weeks. Many seniors having four exams this week and three the next truly defeats the pur-pose of this blessing and increases cramming. Instead of lightening the load of exam week, the seniors now have to cram for two very long weeks. Maybe next year the in- class exams will apply to electives only. Who knows? What-ever the exam schedule may be it is apparent that the next two weeks are going to be miser-able for everyone. May the exams begin. -___-

Bishop Eustace Prep Barnes & Noble Book Fair

By Pasquale M. Leuzzi The word is out that the book fair at Barnes & Noble hosted by the

Student Library Association was a great time for all who attended. There was a magic show, story time, a choir, and even a raffle. All would not have been possible if it weren’t for Mrs. Croce, SLA members, volunteers, and BE students. It was a very festive event, easily putting the lively crowd in Christmas spirit. There were classic books read like The Night before Christmas and The Polar Express. The store was decorated with BE Prep balloons to mark the event. The festivities included a magic show where Ian Flynn awed the crowed with an amazing floating dollar trick accompanied by the soundtrack of Harry Potter to set the tone. Next was story hour where Christmas classics were read, one by Mr. Brady who proudly wore antlers. There was also a choir of 20 singers who entertained the audience. The event was a huge success and has been getting more enjoyable every year.

The EustacianThe Student Newspaper of Bishop Eustace Preparatory SchoolRoute 70, Pennsauken, NJ 08109

THE EUSTACIAN is a forum for student views, photography, and journalism. It is written and produced by the Journalism/Mass Media class and takes submissions from contributing writers, photographers, and artists. It is at the discretion of the moderator and the editors whether a contribution will be used. All contributions will be evaluated on overall journalistic quality. Views expressed in THE EUSTACIAN are not necessarily the views of Bishop Eustace Preparatory School, or of the editors of this publication. THE EUSTACIAN is funded by the Pallottine Fathers and Brothers. Moderators: Mr. Dwight Jessup, Ms. Linda Patterson Editors-in Chief: Holly Bischof, Alexandra Canal, Alex SolonerSection Editors: Elizabeth Bowman, Molly McBride, Erin Schemenski

Staff: Ronald Berna, Demi Caltabiano, Carson Puriefoy, David Diaco, Kathleen DiBari, Caroline Dodig, Dexter Harris, Taylor Hudspeth, Daniella Jaconelli, Cristina Johnson, Benjamin Keane, Evan Keane, Brit-tany Laine, Amanda Lennon, Pasquale Leuzzi, Tyler Margraf, Vincent Marone, Alexandria Morris, Matthew O’Brien, Gabriella Papale, Yolanda Quintana, Caitlin Sokolowski Photos by Eustacian Staff Photographers and Mr. Jessup