Accompanying the typical Facebook college acceptance status came some-thing unusual. Not just a thank you to Staples, or his teachers and friends, but an Isaac Stein ’13 original. Stein invited the entire senior class to join him for a bar-beque in the courtyard during the school day to show his appreciation and thanks for all that the Staples community has done for him. Seconds after the Facebook event was published came one of the fi rst posts: “As of fi ve minutes ago, about a hundred Hebrew National Hot Dogs and associated buns have been purchased. And three bottles of Gulden’s mustard. Let’s go!” Eventually, over 500 hamburg-ers and hotdogs were purchased to celebrate the graduating class and some enter-prising members of the class of 2012 brought along strip steaks of their own. Too bad the administration thought this was the senior prank.

2 NEWSJune 19, 2012

Or

Sophomore year brings the option of a class called Collaborative, or “Collab.” The class was cut because, the administration says, not enough freshmen signed up to take the class next year. Seniors are fortunate that they got to experience one of the last years of this program but feel bad for the incoming. “Collab was a great class in that it allowed students to talk freely and participate in very open discussions,” said Perrin Judd ’12. Maybe with a few petitions and student atten-dance at the Board of Education meetings, this unique class can be brought back.

How often does the fi rst day of school get cancelled because of weather? This year marked an August cancellation not for a snow day, but the never-before-seen Hurricane (Irene) Day. Students thought this couldn’t get any better, but then Superintendent El-liot Landon extended summer by a second day. “I didn’t even care that we had to move our whole family and belongings to our aunt’s house because the beach was so damaged and out of power,” said Vasili Tziolis ‘12. “I just didn’t want to think about school for a sec-ond.” The fact that most of the town was out of power did not even register in students’ minds as all they focused on was the fact that the ’11-’12 school year was already off to a great and delayed start. Not so hot: there wasn’t even one more snow day, delayed opening or early closing for the entire year.

One Writer’s Look At This Year’s Highs and LowsCourtyard Cookout

A Delayed Beginnning

Security Increases

Administrators meant for Homecoming ’11, at sunrise, practically, to be boring, with a dead-asleep crowd. Surprise. The Wreckers crushed the Greenwich Cardinals with a hand-off from Mother Nature. A blizzard of snow shocked the fans and players, especially 1952 marked the last sighting of snow before Halloween. “I stopped watching the game and started tracking the snow,” said Jacob Meisel ’13. Westport wound up with about 6 inches. As the game wound to an end and students emptied the stands, the snow fi lled them right back up and resulted in Staples’ fi rst-ever Snowcoming.

SnowcomingThe new security system of Staples was greeted variously.

This year, a new traffi c guard, David Sweet, while well-liked, forced many Staples drivers and other students to change their sneaky ways. It was just plain harder to escape from school. “You had to time it to make sure he wasn’t there; he made it

more diffi cult to leave,” said Katie Kleinberg ’12. In ad-dition, Offi cer Sweet ticketed a lot of students who were parking in faculty parking or the fi re lane. A number of drivers accumulated over 20 tickets this year, cost them at least $200. Administrators were happy. Students? Not so much.

Collab Gets Cut

Westport may not be the most exciting town, so a little chaos raises the alarms. In October of 2011, an alleged Massachusetts murderer in a silver Honda Civic took police on a chase, off I-95 and eventually around Westport. Including the dog park. For a few hours, the alleged criminal was on the loose, including hid-ing in the yet-unopened space for the U.S. Post Offi ce in Playhouse Square and eventually hit a Westport driver’s Bentley. “I remem-ber my assistant coach, Malcolm, saying that even if the murderer somehow was near us, he wouldn’t be able to catch us anyway. We’re too fast for him,” said cross-country runner, Sam Cohen ’13.

On The Loose

JULIA SHARKEY ’13Features Editor

Taking the temperature

of a year’s events

PHOTO BY JULIAN CLARKE ’12

PHOTO BY ERIC ESSAGOF ’12

PHOTO REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE NORWALK HOUR

PHOTO REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION FROM WESTPORTNOW

PHOTO DRAMATIZATION BY DANNY COOPER ’13

PHOTO BY MADISON HORNE ’12

3NewsInklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

BEN REISER ’13Managing Editor

Whether it’s with cool confi dence, impatient irritation, or terrifi ed

trepidation, seniors ultimately venture off into the world for in-ternships, stride across the stage at graduation, and, a few months later, bid farewell to Westport to achieve their post-high school goals.

For many of this year’s se-niors, however, a piece of West-port will travel with them to their new environments, whether that will be in nearby New York City, or halfway across the coun-try.

For these seniors, they’ll see some pretty familiar faces on their new campuses—faces that they have, in fact, been passing for four years in the halls of Sta-ples High.

With a graduating class of 424 students, it’s not uncommon to wind up at the same college as a former classmate or two, but there are some extreme cases this year. For example, 12 Staples graduates will be attending Bos-ton University, 15 will be headed to University of Michigan, and 21 will be here in the Nutmeg State at University of Connecticut, ac-cording to May 17 statistics from the College and Career Center.

about the same things,” Im said.Future UConn students have

also been interacting more, ac-cording to Jessica Guo ’12, who recently took a road trip with three fellow seniors to the Storrs, Conn. campus for Accepted Stu-dents Day.

“The car ride there and back was a nice bonding experience, because a few of those students were people I wouldn’t normally see outside of school,” Guo said.

However, Guo added that the UConn bond has been strong in Westport as well.

“When I see a senior I don’t know too well wearing a UConn sweatshirt, I’ll ask if they’re go-ing next year, we’ll have a short little conversation, and joke about how many Staples kids are going,” she said.

Ultimately, though, it ap-pears that no group has gotten closer before graduation than those headed to Michigan. They have created a Facebook group called “Staples Does Michigan 2016.” Although it has only re-cently gained momentum, Col-leen McCarthy ’12 believes it will

1. University of Connecticut - Storrs, Conn. 21 Students2. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Mich. 15 Students3. Boston University - Boston, Mass. 12 Students4. Tulane University - New Orleans, La. 9 Students5. Syracuse University - Syracuse, N.Y. 8 Students6. Miami Universtity - Oxford, Ohio 8 Students

From 2009-2011, an average of eight students each year have attended the University of Michigan. This year alone, 15 graduates will beattending.

be helpful when she begins her freshman year.

“I think some people were going to put together a seating section for football games [in the group],” she said.

The “big campus” concern that Im professed about BU has also crossed the minds of some Michigan students—the under-graduate population exceeds 27,000 students. But according to McCarthy, this will not hold her back from meeting new peo-ple.

“It’ll be comforting know-

When Graduation Does Not Mean GoodbyeTravel Buddies

1.2.3.

4.

5.

7.

6.8.9.

10.11.

12.

In the opinion of Barrett Kowalsky ’12, who will attend BU, most other Staples students attending with him share simi-lar sentiments about becoming a Terrier.

“I fell in love with the atmo-sphere and the sense of commu-nity that the school offered,” he said, “and I think that everyone that’s going next year feels the same way. Everyone’s personal-ity really matches up with the students currently attending BU.”

For Dani Kosinski ’12, her chief reasons for attending UCo-nn—the campus, the sports, and, most especially, the fi nancial as-pect—also align with the other seniors who will be going there with her.

However, Cindy Im ’12, a future BU student, added that it might be diffi cult to interact with her previous high school classmates at college due to the large size of her school — BU has nearly 18,500 undergraduate students. But in the meantime, she believes she has grown closer to other future BU students from Staples.

“It’s a bit easier to talk to the others, because we’re all worried

ing some people going in since Michigan is huge, but being so big, I feel like I’ll defi nitely reach out of the Staples comfort zone,” she said.

Whether a senior is headed to college knowing one person or 13 others, Kowalsky believes that bond helps to ease what will be a signifi cant transition.

“I think knowing that these people are going to the same school with me next year auto-matically brings us closer,” he said. “We’re moving on to a new community together.”

12 for ’12: This class’s most attended schools7. Wake Forest University - Winston-Salem, N.C. 7 Students 8. University of Maryland, College Park - College Park, Md. 6 Students 9. University of Delaware - Newark, Del. 6 Students10. Dartmouth College - Hanover, N.H. 5 Students11. Cornell University - Ithaca, N.Y. 5 Students12. Elon University - Elon, N.C. 5 Students

DATA WAS GATHERED FROM THE INKLINGS SENIOR LIST, WHICH SOME STUDENTS CHOOSE NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN. THEREFORE, THESE NUMBERS ARE NOT OFFICIAL..

GRA

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4

Just the Facts Beyond the GPA

4 NewsInklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

Top Scholars

His name may be Matt Silver, but this year’s Valedictorian goes for the gold. Silver’s competitive drive is evident in his pursuits throughout high school, from play-ing soccer and tennis in sophomore and junior year to participating in Moody’s Mega Math Challenge.

“He has a personal drive to be the best,” said Sharon Silver, his mother.

Silver’s competitive drive is evident beyond the soccer fi eld and the tennis court.

His formidable skill in Scrab-ble is evident in his focused poise. As Silver carefully alphabetizes his tiles, his opponent can already taste defeat. Even when faced with a particularly diffi cult set, for ex-ample one with almost all vowels, Silver said he uses words like “eu-geniae” to crush challengers. In middle school, Silver succeeded in qualifying for the National Cham-pionships in both 2007 and 2008. As the fi rst competitor to win two consecutive titles, Silver earned an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

Unfortunately though, due to Silver’s Scrabble prowess, William Jones, his 10th grade chemistry teacher, refused Silver the chance to beat him at Scrabble in exchange for an A in the course. “It’s like playing a computer,” Jones said of Silver’s talent. “But I would be more than willing to arm wrestle him for a grade.”

Silver has also participated in the annual Staples Spectacu-lar Student Challenge since 10th grade. This year, the group also worked together on Moody’s Mega Math Challenge.

Silver’s strength in academ-ics and his competitive nature fuel each other. He describes his moti-vation as mostly personal. “I’m a competitive person, and I like the reward of succeeding,” he said. Sharon agreed. “If anything, I have

to remind him to have fun.”Although he enjoys a

challenge, Silver is not a cutthroat competitor but is dedicated to team-work. Silver tutors outside of school, mentors other stu-dents in Scrabble, and motivated his team members on the Staples Math Team. “Matt wanted to make sure they stuck with it,” Sharon said.

But Silver’s in-terests extend beyond academia. “Given his great successes, he’s very unassuming and down to earth,” said David Haswell ’12, a longtime friend. When not winning competitions, do-ing schoolwork, or helping others, Sil-ver enjoys techno, electronic, and classic rock music, citing “Mr. Brightside” by the Kill-ers as his favorite song. He also likes to read and spend time with friends and family.

Silver has allowed himself to relax as a second semester senior. “I’ve light-ened up,” Silver said. Accord-ing to Silver, he has more time for simple pleasures, like talk-ing to friends on Facebook.

Silver plans to keep tutor-ing over the summer. He will attend Princeton next year and plans to study engineering. Al-though he will be transforming from a Wrecker to a Tiger, Silver is sure to be suc-cessful.

Despite her 4.57 GPA, Carolyn Chen didn’t expect to be Salutatorian.

“It just happened,” Chen said. “I never com- pa red

grades with friends o r even knew where I

stood.” Chen kept a low

profile, keeping grades private. “I

didn’t put my-self out there as

a competitive o v e r a c h i e v -er,” she said. Even Jen-nifer Chen,

C a r o l y n ’ s mother, saw the

title as a surprise. “I know she al-ways tries, so I don’t worry

about what her grades are,” Jenni-fer said.

This year’s sa-lutatorian “never brags, so it’s hard to get a sense of just how smart she really is,” said JoJo

Bryer ‘12, a friend of Chen’s. “I brag

about her more than she does.”

Despite her mod-esty, Chen’s achieve-

ments are worth boast-ing about. Chen is an

Emergency Medical Tech-nician with the Westport EMS throughout the year and during the summer. Handling emergencies from strokes to myocar-dial infarctions, she is truly a lifesaver. However,

Chen is quick to acknowl-edge her team mem-

bers. “I can’t say I’ve ever

saved anyone’s life by myself,” she said. “It’s always a team at EMS.”

Chen’s emphasis on team-w o r k is also evident in her participation as a first violinist in the New York Youth Sym-phony. Every musician, from those in the back of the orches-tra to the principle players, must exert tremendous energy. “The orchestra’s as good as the worst player,” Chen said. Chen has played violin since she was 3-years-old.

Chen is also involved in art. A favorite class is drawing, and her favorite subject the face, with its subtle expressions and nuances. “A crease near the eyes or a slight adjustment to the lips can make a huge difference,” Chen said. She won a Scholas-tic Gold Medal for an oil pastel drawing, a Lyme Art Award for drawing, and a Toquet Hall art contest for an oil painting.

Chen plans to attend Princ-eton. The school appeals to her sense of the power of a team. “Most [students at Princeton] work together on problem sets or discuss essay topics openly,” Chen said. “They completely disprove the stereotypes that other people have warned me about. Princeton is certainly not taken over by cut-throat, ar-rogant, preppy people.” Clearly, there is a place at this Ivy for the hardworking, modest Chen, who plans to study either computer science or mechanical engineer-ing.

Chen dreams of being an astronaut, but unfortunately, she is a quarter inch short of the 5-foot-2 height requirement. Still, with such a strong back-ground in academics, music, art, and medical know-how, she is sure to have many opportuni-ties ahead.

Every year, the titles of valedictorian and sa-lutatorian are earned

by two graduating seniors, and this year the honors were earned by Matt Silver ‘12 and Carolyn Chen ‘12 respective-ly. But these two seniors are

Silver and Chen Lead Balanced, Diverse Lives at Staples

Matt SilverGPA: 4.6Latest he has stayed up on a school night: 1:30 a.m.Number of APs: 10Hardest Class: U.S. History HonorsEasiest Class: Geometry Honors and Algebra 2 HonorsFavorite Class: Pre Calc Honors Favorite lunch: PizzaFavorite unit in gym: Water PoloLowest grade on any assignment in school: C on a chemistry testFavorite book read in English: “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck

Carolyn ChenGPA: 4.57Latest she has stayed up on a school night: 2 a.m.Number of APs: 9Hardest Class: AP English Lit or AP PhysicsEasiest Class: Spanish 4 HonorsFavorite Class: Drawing or East AsianFavorite lunch: Green curry with chicken and rice (brought from home)Favorite unit in gym: ScootersLowest grade on any assignment in school: C+ in freshman English Favorite book read in English: “Nine Stories” by JD Salinger

Matt Silver ’12

ELIZA LLEWELLYN ’14 Web News Editor

PHOTO BY ELIZA LLEWLLYN ’14

Carolyn Chen ’12

more than just astronomi-cal GPAs or straight A re-port cards.

Beyond their “5.0” and slew of AP courses, both are unique and have partici-pated in everything from competitive Scrabble to Westport Emer-gency Medical Services (EMS).

5NewsInklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

One Step At A TimeFor Some Teachers, Retiring Is a Gradual Process

Retirement, it’s the light at the end of the tunnel, the reason you roll out of bed in

the mornings, the fi rst time in your life when you can throw away your alarm clock and do what you want. Adults dream of the day when they can hand in their resignation let-ter and head for the nearest beach, without looking back.

Everyone except those Sta-ples teachers who just couldn’t let their longtime passions go.

Math teacher Allen Jolley can relate to this feeling. Last May, after 45 and a half years of teaching various math courses at Staples, Jolley made the shocking announcement that he planned to retire.

“It was just getting to be too much,” Jolley said. “There were a lot of long days, and I was not get-ting home until late.” Jolley, who had taught everything from A.P. Calculus to Algebra 2C, left Sta-ples last June with no intention of returning. However, as fate would have it, there were a few open classes that needed a teacher, and so Jolley returned to Staples to continue teaching part-time, be-cause it seemed the job included all the good parts of teaching and none of the bad

Jolley isn’t the only Staples teacher who has opted to work part-time in order to reduce the stressful and demanding days teachers face. Chemistry teacher Andrew Strauss has enjoyed the benefi ts for the past decade at Staples.

“I still really enjoy teaching,”

Strauss said. He has also found that by teaching part-time, he is able to enjoy his profession more. “I don’t have to get up quite as ear-ly and I can lower the stress of my

workload.”In 1999, after retiring from

New York State as a teacher and also as the coach of the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams, Strauss spent the fi rst few years of his retire-ment dedicated to philately, or col-lecting stamps. This is, until 2002, when then-head of the science de-partment Dr. Rosvally contacted

Strauss asking him to come and assist in the chemistry labs.

Ten years later, Strauss’s schedule varies from semester to

semester, ranging anywhere from four to one class. Still Strauss re-calls a more hectic time in his life when he balanced coaching and teaching. “I would have to get up at 6 a.m. and wouldn’t get home until 11 p.m.”

Gym teacher Bruce Betts knows a thing or two about getting home late after a game. Last year

after 25 years of coaching volley-ball at Staples, Betts fi nally called it quits.

“It was just the right time for me. People will tell you, that you will know when to retire from something, and I just knew this was it,” Betts said.

Even though he decided that it was time to give up coaching, Betts made the decision to stay on as a gym teacher at Staples. “I still love my job. I love my classes and the people I work with. I can’t wait to get here each morning.”

Like Betts, Jolley arrives ear-ly, still showing up at 6:50 a.m. as he has for the four decades he has taught. The only difference is that instead of having 12 hour days, Jolley is now able to get home by 2:30 p.m., having completed all of his lesson plans and correcting in his spare time after his period two and three classes. This leaves him with stress-free nights that he can

spend with his wife, which accord-ing to Jolley was a motivating fac-tor in his decision to retire.

Each teacher confi rmed how important their students were in their decisions. “I don’t like to say nice thing about my students, but they are wonderful,” Strauss said.

The students can certainly feel the retired teachers’ value. “He was a great teacher,” said Ashley Hyun ’13, one of Jolley’s pre-calculus students. “I’m so glad that I got the chance to have him this year.”

Even though Strauss won’t be returning to Staples next year, Jolley has decided to stay on for at least another year pending an opening in the department. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else,” Jolley said. “I just love teach-ing, it doesn’t matter if it’s A.P. kids or students who don’t really like math.”

JAMIE WHEELER-ROBERTS ’13News Editor

I still really enjoy teaching. I don’t have to get up quite as early, and I can lower the stress of my workload.”

–Andrew Strauss

1965 1985-2010 TODAYTHE EVOLUTION OF A STAPLES CAREER: After graduating From Staples in 1965, Bruce Betts has never left. He fi rst served solely as a gym teacher, before founding the boys’ and girls’ volleyball programs and serving as a head coach, in addition to his teaching duties, for 25 years. After retiring from coaching last year, he continues to maintain a presence at Staples through his role as a gym teacher.

STAPLEITE PHOTO BY KATE BEISPEL ’13

PHO

TO CO

NTRIBU

TED BY BRUCE BETTS

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Kyle MurraySouthern Methodist

University

Coralyn NagelSouthern Connecticut State

University

Caroline NantzUniversity of Southern

California

Ashwini NatarajanUniversity of Michigan

Alexandra NeenanBoston University

Remy NolanBoston University

Daniel NussbaumAmherst College

Samantha OberlanderSouthern Methodist

University

Michael O’DayJames Madison University

Jessica OestreicherUniversity of Delaware

John O’KellyCentral Connecticut State

University

Jordan OlsonParsons The New School For

Design

James OnoratoTulane University

Amanda PacilioLoyola University Maryland

Mason PajolekMiami University

Ryan PannyButler University

Stephan PattersonUniversity of Pittsburgh

Peter PaulOberlin College

Alexis PaulElon University

Jillian PecorielloWashington University in St.

Louis

Robert PedroHousatonic Community

College

Robert PerryUniversity of Michigan

Caroline PerryProvidence College

Annabel PetersonSyracuse University

Christina PetersonMiami University

Bradley PetersonColumbia College Chicago

John Petterson

Columbia University

Andrew PfefferleMiami University

Amanda PiccolinoMiami University

Benjamin PlattTulane University

Emily PlatteUniversity of Maryland

Alexandra PopkinJohns Hopkins University

Kelly PowersGap year then The New

School

Daniel PravderSkidmore College

Chiara PucciBoston University

Michelle PurcellWestern New England

University

Andrew Railton-JonesNorwalk Community College

Chloe RandichUniversity of Michigan

Kathryn ReinerUniversity of Michigan

Sam ReinerSyracuse University

Sarah ResslerAmherst College

Christina RevelliIndiana University

Matthew ReynoldsVanderbilt University

Sofi a RibollaCornell University

William RitterUniversity of Delaware

Stephen RobbinsGap year

Kelsey RobbinsGap year

Marco RomeroUniversity of Maryland

Mackenzie RoofUniversity of Southern

California

Benjamin RootWorcester Polytechnic

Institute

Alexandria RosaUniversity of Connecticut

Logan RosenCornell University

Anya RosenDartmouth College

David RosenbloomUniversity of New

Hampshire

Lily Rosenfi eldGeorge Washington

University

Heather RosoffAmerican University

Blaney RotanzGettysburg College

Leigh RubinNorthwestern University

Joshua Russell-WallingJohnson State College

Samantha RutterMuhlenberg College

Livia RyzinskiMerrimack College

Sebastian SalgadoWorking in Florida

Zachary SanstedBard College

Lexie SchachneHarvard University

Allie SchachterDrexel University

Shelby SchulmanUniversity of North

Carolina

Marni SchulmanUniversity of Delaware

Karin SchultzUniversity of South Carolina

Maya SchumerCarnegie Mellon University

Carlie SchwaeberUniversity of New

Hampshire

Samantha SchwaeberUniversity of Vermont

Andrew ScottTulane University

Elizabeth SeaverAmerican University

Tal SegalCarleton University

Samuel ShafferElon University

Rachael ShapiroOberlin College and

Conservatory

Heather ShermanBrandeis University

Lisa ShirafujiNorth Carolina State

University

Sophie ShufroGap year then Ponoma

College

Halli SigelLehigh University

Michael SilaLafayette College

Matthew SilverPrinceton University

Solomon SloatTraveling

Caroline SmithWake Forest University

Steven SmithSouthern Connecticut State

University

Charlotte SmithDartmouth College

Jake SmithCornell University

John SolderYale University

Isabelle SpadaTufts University

Alexander StefaniWentworth Institute of

Technology

Helena SteinWorking

Margot SteinbergMuhlenberg College

Chelsea SteinbergUniversity of Massachusetts

Amherst

Victoria StewartMichigan State University

Audrey StoneGeorge Washington

University

John StopperGeorgetown University

Michele StrageColby College

William StreiterTulane University

Priyanka SubramanianSt. Olaf College

Avery SuterWashington University in St.

Louis

Sydney TagenIndiana University

Robert TashUniversity of Rhode Island

Samuel TavarnesiGap year

Briyana TheodoreWest Virginia University

Stephen ThomsonSt. Michael’s College

Alexander TonsbergEndicott College

Matthew TrdevajSanta Barbara City College

Jay TsaiGeorgetown University

Vasilios TziolisUniversity of Connecticut

Thomas UptonProvidence College

Caroline ValerioCollege of Charleston

Sage VerneuilArrojo Cosmetology School

Sarah WainshalBates College

Taylor WalkletChamplain College

Samuel WallachRochester Institute of

Technology

Sammy WarshawBoston University

Mikell WashingtonPennsylvania State

University

John WatsonChamplain College

Charlotte WeberConnecticut College

Nell WeberUniversity of Michigan

Nicolette WeinbaumVillanova University

Samuel WeiserTufts University /

New England Conservatory

Lauren WessanBucknell University

Eric WestSyracuse University

Alexandra WienerBrown University

Sarah WilesNorwalk Community College

Gabrielle WimerUniversity of Chicago

Helena WippickBard College

Matthew WisherUniversity of Maryland

Robert WolfUniversity of Texas

Jon WormserChapman University

Lucinda WrightHampshire College

Joseph YangUniversity of Connecticut

Jamie YarmoffNorthwestern University

Nicholas YuUniversity of Southern

California

Cooper YurkiwGap year then Culinary

Institute of America

Sofi a ZenzolaBoston College

Constance ZhouHarvard University

Senior Supplement 2012Inklings / June 19, 2012 / Inklingsnews.com

“Silver Crown Award” for Inklingsnews.com from

Columbia Scholastic PressAssociation 2011

“Crown Newspaper Finalist”Columbia Scholastic Press Associa-

tion 2011

First Place “All-American” from National Scholastic Press Association

2010-2011

All the opinions, news, and features in this paper are those of Staples High School students. Inklings has a circulation of 1,800. The paper is a member of the Columbia Scholas-tic Press Association, the Natioanal Schoalstic Press Association and supports the Student Press Law Cen-ter. All letters to the editor must be signed before they will be published. The editorial board reserves the right not to publish letters and to edit all submissions as it sees fi t.

Editors-in-ChiefRachel Guetta

Ned Hardy

Managing EditorsChloe BakerBen Reiser

Web Managing EditorsCheyenne HaslettJordan Shenhar

News EditorsDanny CooperHannah Foley

Will McDonaldJamie Wheeler-Roberts

Opinions EditorsCallie Ahlgrim

Kate BeispelKatie Cion

Erik Sommer

Features EditorsRachel Labarre

Deanna SchreiberJulia SharkeyHaley Zeldes

Arts & Entertainment EditorsGreta Bjornson

Sophia HamptonClaudia Landowne

Sara Luttinger

Sports EditorsMolly BarrecaAaron Hendel

Simon StracherBailey Valente

Web News Editors Ryder Chasin

Eliza Llewellyn

Web Opinions Editors Bailey Ethier

Eliza Yass

Web Features EditorsSophie de Bruijn

Chris Ramey

Web Arts & Entertainment EditorsClaire O’Halloran

Caroline Rossi

Web Sports Editors Sami Bautista

Joe Greenwald

Photography EditorsAlex GreeneRose Propp

Business ManagersEllie Mann

Alex Spector

AdvisersElizabeth Humphrey

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Correspondence and Subscriptions:

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Printed on recycled paper

Conscientious Abstention Why I Choose to Not Participate in Inklings’ Annual Senior List

For over a half century, In-klings has compiled and printed a list of its gradu-

ating seniors, which indicates where they intend to go to study after high school graduation.

While the mission of the “Senior Lists” at some schools is not explicitly stated, Inklings refers to its own as a “graduation tradition.” I see how this tradi-tion could be used appropriate-ly—as an informational tool for students to know where their classmates are go-ing to college. In theory, it’s harmless and fun.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way in practice.

Because in modern-day Westport, the college process brings out the worst in parents and students alike.

Like any suburban town with a sizable cash fl ow, West-port has its share of problems. Crazy parents who jockey their kids through youth sports. Stu-dents in the school system who cheat to get ahead. Drugs. But all of those problems are dwarfed by the reckless drive to lobby and land Westport students into “prestigious” four-year in-stitutions. And in many cases, I believe that the “Senior List” is employed as something that it is not supposed to be—a tool for students and parents to seek out and judge students who enroll in all types of academic institu-tions.

Just recently, I was in the li-brary when I observed a group of students pull up last year’s “Se-nior List” on a cluster of laptops. Their fi rst objective was to fi nd all of the people from last year’s class who went to local commu-nity colleges, and to question their intellectual capabilities.

What? I am of the belief that going

on to any type of higher educa-tion should be considered an ac-complishment, and therefore I fundamentally disagree with the

concept of making fun of people for going to a place that might just fi t their wants, needs, or, given the ludicrous cost of col-lege, their budget.

I know this group of stu-dents personally. We’re on good terms. I even consider a few of them to be my friends.

But the corrupt college driv-en system that they play into, the same system that the “Senior List” nourishes, makes mean-spirited fools of them all.

In a manner that was less overt than the jeering of what they perceived to be the “fail-ures” of Westport Public Schools, the students in the library pro-ceeded to marvel at and idealize certain other students on the list.

These students were the ones that indicated on the Senior List that they would be attend-ing places of learning that rank within the top 20 colleges in the annual “U.S. News and World Report” rankings.

Similarly, I was talking to another student who explained that he was probably going to choose one college that he was accepted to over the other be-cause it was placed higher in the rankings. Personally, I think that’s a lot of credence to give to a magazine.

Truth be told, I have no vest-ed interest in criticizing the “U.S. News” rankings. The college that I will be attending in the fall was ranked very well.

But I think these rankings are completely bogus.

Take the recent incident at Claremont McKenna College, in California—a school offi cial was accused and found guilty of forg-ing the test scores of incoming students. The reason why? He wanted to manipulate the scores in order to artifi cially boost the college’s ranking.

Who’s to say the ranking manipulation is just coming from Claremont?

Furthermore, several re-

spected academic institutions have come out to publicly reject the rankings because they know that there is no method to the ranking’s madness. One such in-stitution is Reed College, in Port-land, Ore. While some may at-tempt to dismiss Reed as a bunch of drugged–out Northwestern hippies, this by-all-means small college has produced 31 Rhodes Scholars, two MacArthur “Ge-nius” Grant winners, and one of the highest matriculation rates to graduate school in the coun-try.

In 1995, Reed was also the fi rst college to refuse to send “U.S. News” information that the magazine asked for in the pro-cess of compiling its rankings,

demonstrating a re-fusal to sell out its ac-ademic principles. In fact, Reed’s President “informed the editors of U.S. News that he didn’t fi nd their proj-ect credible, and that the college would not

be returning any of their sur-veys.”

Good riddance.I have a friend who has a

phrase that he uses to refer to something that he deems il-logical. That term is “negative sense.” In context, I think it also adequately describes the manner in which the “Senior List” is a product of a fruitless college rat race. But to me, the list is also a symbol.

A symbol of elitism.A symbol of hysteria.A symbol of arrogance.For these reasons, I cannot

in good conscience participate in the “Senior List.”

The day I sign that list is the day that the ego of Westport fi -nally takes an extended vacation.

It will also be the same day that the cupcake shops and ven-dors of organic breakfast cereal shutter their windows, and the same day that this town con-tains just a couple fewer banks. Coincidentally, it will also be the same day that a number of the high-end clothing stores that line downtown will be knocked down and converted into some-thing of use to the common up-standing citizen.

Like a bowling alley.

8 OPINIONSJUNE 19, 2012

GRAPHIC BY OLIVIA CROSBY ‘15

“A symbol of elitism. A symbol of hysteria. A symbol of arrogance.”

9OpinionsInklings / June 19, 2012 / Inklingsnews.com

May you live in interesting times,” is an old Chinese curse. The idea is that

interesting times are fi lled with disorder and trouble, and that no one would ever want to live in them.

Well, our time in high school was certainly interesting for the world.

In the fall of 2008, we en-tered high school during a tur-bulent period. The economy was starting to collapse, our president had a record-low approval rating, and Americans were uncertain about the future.

We didn’t know whether the economy would improve in time for us to get jobs after college. We didn’t know when the economy would recover. We didn’t know if we could ever trust our govern-ment again.

The situation in the rest of the world was worse. The War on Terror was falling apart. The War in Iraq had no direction and the War in Afghanistan was ignored. Corrupt dictatorships ruled most of the Middle East, and elections held little validity. For decades, the people of these countries just watched as greedy leaders tram-pled upon their human rights. What could one person do any-way?

Our freshman year was marked by chaos at home and complacency abroad.

But, near the end of the year, something snapped.

In Iran, yet another obviously fraudulent election was the fi nal straw. The people had seen enough. With Twitter and Facebook as their weap-ons, Iranian men and women took to the streets to voice their outrage. While this protest was ultimately suppressed, it was a major catalyst.

It was a sign of things to come.

There are few things more powerful than an angry populace, and gov-ernments across the world had angered their people one too many times.

At home, during our sophomore year, we saw the Tea Party protests. Americans had seen too much government spending and too many taxes. Instead of sitting on the couch, they took to the streets. They fi lled town square, streets and even the National Mall to voice their discontent. They didn’t just protest, either. They organized. Tea Party chap-ters sprung up across the country, dedicated to throwing out incum-bent politicians, both Democrat and Republican. Ordinary people

who never had an interest in poli-tics were now using their

First Amendment rights to exact change in

their country. Pol itc ia ns

who consid-ered their seats

safe suddenly saw themselves having

to fi ght lengthy primary battles to keep their seats. Americans in solid blue or red states fi nally got to exercise some choice.

Our junior year was when the world truly got to see what a revolution looked like. When Mo-hamed Bouazizi, a street vendor in Tunisia, lit himself on fi re in protest, he could not have pos-sibly imagined himself inspir-ing an entire region to demand

freedom. Yet, that is exactly what happened. Using the same tactics the Iranians used just three years ago, Middle Easterners rose up and chanted that they had seen enough.

They had seen enough of the violence and fear

that dictatorships bring. They had seen enough of

the ignorance of human rights under theocracies. They had seen enough unemployment, depres-sion and hunger.

They had seen enough, and it was time to stop it.

Even when these people were being run over by govern-ment vehicles and shot in cold

blood by riot police, they never backed down. They

tweeted, shouted and demonstrated with

their lives on the line. They made the ulti-

mate sacrifi ce in order to make a better country for their chil-dren to live in.

The best part of this is that it worked. Just weeks ago, Egypt held its fi rst free election ever. Egyptians get to rule themselves thanks to their courage to speak their mind.

We got to see this same fer-vor for free speech at home dur-ing our senior year. The fi nan-cial crisis was bound to inspire a movement at some point, and that movement came in the form of Occupy Wall Street. Inspired by the demonstrations on Tah-

May We Live In Interesting TimesLessons of Political Turbulence During One High School Career

ed, it was

n of things to

things an

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sid-eir seats

ddenly saw selves having

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nd chanted thenough.

Theyy had of thee violence

that dictatorshThey had seen en

the ignorance of humanunder theocracies. They hadenough unemployment,sion and hunger.

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rir Square, New Yorkers pitched tents in Zuccotti Park, raising awareness about the awful prac-tices of Wall Street and the severe income inequality in this country. The movement quickly spread worldwide, as tents started pop-ping up in Chicago, New Haven, Athens and Rome. Middle class citizens were fed up with the cur-rent world order and spoke out for change.

This worked, too. Income inequality is now a major theme in the upcoming election and is something Americans care about for the fi rst time since the Great Depression.

We entered high school dur-ing turbulent times, but we leave during exciting times. We entered as cynics, but leave as idealists. In the past four years we have learned that speech is a power-ful tool. Bullets and bombs can only oppress people for so long, but words can bring down cruel dictatorships forever and inspire radical change.

A gun can change a life. A voice can change the world.

The Chinese believed that living in “interesting times” was a curse. However, I see it as a blessing. It is out of interesting times that the greatest thinkers, shapers and doers arise. Times of great turbulence and chaos re-quire men and women to speak out and become integral mem-bers of society. So, I say to my fellow graduates, may we con-tinue to live in interesting times so that we can become interesting people.

A gun can change a life.A voice can change the world.

Graduating high school is supposed to mean something. People are supposed to be in awe of it. It is supposed to be an ac-complishment.

But at Staples High School, graduation is just another expec-tation of our community.

Staples High School has a different mentality than any oth-er school. That isn’t a bad thing.

We strive to be better. We don’t just take one AP class; Sta-ples students take six.

We strive to learn; kids hunch over their desk, research-ing for projects about the Afri-can oil crisis.

We strive to create a bright-er future; students here push boundaries and use innovative thinking to make new apps and create businesses.

So, sure, the Staples High School mentality has its benefi ts. But sometimes that mental-ity diminishes great accomplish-ments.

That’s a bad thing.Just think about the four

years of tedious work in high school, three years of miserable anticipation in middle school, and fi ve years of confusion in elementary school. That all adds up to a grand total of 12 years of torture to make it to graduation.

Throughout all of those years there is a lot to deal with. At the top of the list are the fol-lowing:

* Passing impossible quizzes you aren’t prepared for.

* Completing tests that take 10 times longer than the period is.

* Finishing mounds of homework due the next day be-cause some teachers don’t real-ize that we have more than one class.

* Showing leadership and hard work on your sports team (which you have to be on).

In fact, high school is

a journey that not everyone can complete.

But for some reason the Westport community doesn’t recognize that. And that is ridic-ulous. You want proof? Fine.

Imagine trying to answer the typical “Where are you going to college?” question with, “I’m not graduating.” What do you think will happen? Questioners will turn their snobbish noses up at you with disgust.

If they recognized the adver-sity high school presents, they wouldn’t dare be so disrespect-ful.

But that is how our town is.

As Craig Wheat ‘13 stated, “Westport is a really successful community. So, it’s all about suc-cess.” And that is too true.

I am a hockey player. And even in a sport like hockey that attitude persists.

If we beat a team that is a formidable opponent, we cheer and celebrate in the lockerroom. But, if we beat a team we were supposed to beat, nobody really cares because it was expected of us.

Graduating shouldn’t be like beating a team you were meant to beat because high school is a formidable opponent.

Many adults in Westport have some sort of high-paying job. And they expect us to follow suit, meaning we are expected to graduate.

Even seniors like Riley Mac-donald’ 12 said, “I feel like in a community like Westport peo-ple aren’t accepted if they don’t graduate.”

In our community you aren’t looked up to for graduating high school. You are looked down on for not graduating high school.

That is not okay.Westport’s many success

stories shouldn’t take away from the success of graduating.

Graduation should celebrate the hard work students put into high school. It is the culmination of the dedication seniors have shown over the years. It is a day they should feel accomplished.

I don’t want to rant about how Westport is wrong for not appreciating high school. That isn’t going to do any good.

I am writing this purely for the Staples seniors.

They deserve to be able to walk to the podium and feel proud. They deserve to not have their success diluted. They de-serve to be rewarded for their hard work. They deserve much more than what we give.

What I want is for the Sta-ples seniors to know something when they are throwing their caps in the air. That they ac-complished something amazing. That they made it to graduation.

And that it meant some-thing.

GRAPHIC BY OLIVIA CROSBY ‘15

The Expectation of GraduationSurviving Staples Should Not Be Taken For Granted

Frank Zappa once said, “high school is a state of mind.”

Truer words have nev-er been spoken.

As I’m sitting down at 1 a.m. to write this column the night before my senior prom, I’m nine days into my internship, and in my mind, high school has already been reduced to a past state of existence that barely even makes sense. Part of my internship en-tailed paying two brief visits to Staples, and walking through those halls again was the weird-

Moving On: Leaving the High School State of Mind in the Pastest feeling.

It did not feel like I belonged anymore.

I looked around at all the younger students drudging from class to class, and even though we’re only a year or two apart, it certainly struck me that the issues they are dealing with on a day-to-day basis already feel worlds away from mine.

For every junior, sophomore, or freshman reading this who is currently struggling with any as-pect of high school, I promise you that if you persevere, things are going to change. I’ve already ex-perienced it.

And it hit me a couple days ago that I now have choices I haven’t had in a long time. I’m no longer governed by the hallways

of Staples. If I don’t like some-body, I don’t have to see them at all. We’re not going to end up at the same lunch table, we’re not going to see each other on the way to chemistry, and we’re certainly not going to have three classes to-gether next semester. As for my friends? I can still call them up every day if I want.

If this is even a glimpse of how graduating from high school is going to feel, then life is really about to change for us, and I mean that in a good way. Will a major-ity of us still be going to “school” in some form three months from now? Yes. But that is the only area that these next few years are going to have in common with our high school years. How come? Because our mindsets

have changed. As have those of every other high school gradu-ate around the world.

During my four years at Staples, I’ve watched some of my peers doing things that you can only get away with in high school. Things like kicking peo-ple out of lunch tables, poking fun at the way people choose to dress, using high school’s rigid social hierarchy in a mean-spir-ited way.

And let me be clear, I’m not in any way trying to criticize any of my classmates; I wasn’t perfect either, just ask anyone.

I’m simply stating that all of this is behind us now.

We each walked into Sta-ples freshman year with noth-ing but a blank white board at-

tached to our names. Over these last four years, our peers, our teachers, our coaches, and our parents have all written on that board.

Graduation is about erasing whatever’s written on your white board and starting completely fresh.

High school is becoming a memory. Just like the fi rst time you rode a bike, or that time in sixth grade when you tripped and fell at recess, it’s all in the rearview mirror. And whether it’s a fond memory, a sour one, or somewhere in between, is totally up to you.

But any way you slice it, we’re moving on.

Congratulations class of 2012!!

OpinionsInklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com10

The sweat, the tight uniforms, the hun-dreds, no, endless hours of practice, and the potential injuries that must be

faced each day: these are a few of the many struggles that a dancer must overcome.

As a yearlong sport, which I will dare to call it, dance has been a commitment that I have made for over a decade. Five days a week, 36 weeks out of the year; I have spent this much time at my dance studio just doing what we do.

If I didn’t absolutely love every minute that I spent at the studio then I would’ve stopped. But thankfully, dance has been my strongpoint, my security, and my oasis throughout these four long years of high school. In a time when grades, extra curriculars, college applications and maintaining friendships seemed to con-sume my life, dance provided a euphoric escape in which I could channel my stress and create a beautiful form of self-expression.

And the fact that I had fi ve of my best friends dancing with me in Senior Company didn’t hurt.

There is certainly nothing comparable to the camaraderie that is built amongst a group of people working to achieve the same goal, but when you’re already best friends outside of the studio, it makes all the difference. Dance is about channeling emotion, and it’s the strong bonds that we’ve made at dance that have al-lowed us to express and understand each oth-er’s emotions. Although many of my friends do not dance, there’s an inexplicable quality to my friendships with the girls in my com-pany that just makes our relationships differ-ent. There’s a mutual respect for one another and an unspoken appreciation for the com-mitment that we’ve each made. Our teachers and our peers might not know what goes on in our lives when the school day is over, but we know what we do.

Just this past month we performed in our Spring Recital, and within the span of one day we put on three shows. Imagine a striker playing three soccer games in one day, or a wide receiver making it through three football games in one day. Yes, dance might appear lovely and non-contact, but it takes just as much, if not more, stamina to make it through those three shows as it would to make it through three sports games. The rush of adrenaline that we get from each other is what allows us to do this.

I have accepted the fact that my dance recitals won’t draw large crowds from Staples, and I have accepted the fact that most people wouldn’t even call dance a sport, but rather an “art.” We never got that glory and we never got any medals, but winning any sports game seems incomparable to the moment of exulta-tion that I get once I’ve fi nished a show.

I am not alone; I share this sense of accom-plishment with dozens of students at Staples who don’t need scoreboards or morning announce-ments to mark their success. In my experience with creating a life outside of Staples, I’ve realized that success can only be measured by the number of times that you feel proud of yourself – the recog-nition by others is really just a bonus.

, the tight uniformsms, the hun-o, endless hours of practice, potential injuriess that must be : these are a feew w of the many

a dancer must oovev rcome.long sport, whih ch I will dare e has been a ccommitment that or over a dececade. Five days a s out of the e year; I have spent

e at my dannce studio just doing

bsolutelyy llove every minute that studio thheen I would’ve stopped. dance hah s been my strongpoint, nd my oasis throughout these of higgh h school. In a time when

curriculu ars, college applicationsng friei ndships seemed to con-ance pprovided a euphoric escape d chaaaaannn el my stress and create aof seelf-expression.act that I had fi ve of my best g wiw th me in Senior Company

erertainly nothing comparable to ie that is built amongst a group ng to achieve the same goal, but eady best friends outside of the

es all the difference. Dance is ngn emotion, and it’s the strong vee made at dance that have al-

presess and understand each oth-Altht ough many of my friends

therre’e s an inexplicable quality ips wiwithth the girls in my com-

makes oururururururu relationships differ-mutual resessssesspepppp ct for one another ken appreccciai tion for the com-we’ve each mam de. Our teachersmight not knkk ow what goes onen the schoolol dday is over, but we do.past month we performed in cital, and within the span of t on three shows. Imagine a three soccer ggames in one receiver r mamakikingg iit t through

games in one day. Yes, ddanance lovely and non-contact, butt

ss mmuch, if not more, staminaough those three shows as it it through three sports games. renaline that we get from each llows us to do this.epted the fact that my dance raw large crowds from Staples,

epted the fact that most people call dance a sport, but rather

ever got that glory and we nevers, but winning any sports game arable to the moment of exulta-nce I’ve fi nished a show.

lone; I share this sense of accom-dozens of students at Staples who reboards or morning announce-their success. In my experience

life outside of Staples, I’ve realized n only be measured by the numberu feel proud of yourself – the recog-s is really just a bonus.

A Dancer’s Path to Finding Self-Fulfi llment Outside the

Staples Spotlight

11OpinionsInklings / June 19, 2012 / Inklingsnews.com

“Success can only be measured by the number of times you feel proud of yourself”

GRAPHIC BY JACKIE KERAMES

FEATURES12June 19, 2012

Classof2012

StaplesProblems

Amber and Colleen

whentheTVsdontwork

trashtalk

FCIACs

hellweekproblems

whoHarryStyleskissed

AP Assassination

snowcoming

Kony 2012

blackberryproblems

Schoolwide Trends

Staples students walk the same halls 185 days a year. They take the same path to the same classes, fi ve days a week. They see the same people, and normally engage in the same conversations, on a daily basis. It takes skill to employ this dialect–one does not simply “talk” about school or sports or blunt

kid– this level of conversation takes precision and erudition beyond what a student can learn in the class room. This is language. This is what you would hear in the halls of Staples High School.

#GRAPHICS BY RACHEL LABARRE ’14 AND DEANNA SCHREIBER ’13

KATE BEISPEL ’13 & CHEYENNE HASLETT ’13Opinions Editor & Web Managing Editor

#[stuff]staplesstudentsdontsay #[stuff]staplesstudentssay

Seniors Refl ect On Their Friendships

That Have Withstood...

From Barbie dolls to AP Lit-erature, Molly Collins ’12 and Lauren Wessan ’12 have been inseparable since their friend-ship began at the ripe age of three years old, or as Wessan claims, “since before the dinosaurs.” “In preschool, I was play-

ing on the monkey bars, and I guess I just always gave her death glares,” Collins said. “One day we just started talking, and we be-came friends.”

“Molly always decided to glare at me across the playground – quite the friendly one she is,” Wessan said, giving her side of

the story. “Apparently I confused her looks of utter hatred for ‘let’s be friends,’ and the world has never been the same.”

Collins’ and Wessan’s friendship has lasted from child-hood through their years in high school, as displayed by their abundance of photos together.

“There is the famous picture of us after a ballet recital where Molly was going through her ‘I do not enjoy smiling phase’—it lasted from age 5 to 18,” Wessan said. “I am smiling enough for the two of us, and that pretty much describes our friendship.”

Jillian Pecoriello ’12 and Callie Hiner ’12, best friends

since they met at a mommy/baby class, also cherish their photos from over the years.

Hiner said that she has multiple pictures of Pecoriello and her dressed up for Halloween from each year of their friend-ship. “We were even pictured in the Westport News for the Hal-loween parade. We were both in our respective costumes, and I was stealing her lollipop.”

Similar to Collins and Hiner, Christina Kelly ’12 said that she loves her long-time best friend Jackie Gazerro ’12, whom she met in preschool.

“I don’t remember having a moment when I realized that we

were best friends,” Kelly said. “To me, it’s like asking, ‘Was there a specifi c moment when you real-ized that your sister was your sister?’ It doesn’t make sense because the answer is always. There’s never been a time when she wasn’t my best friend.”

Gazerro feels the same way, fi nding it impossible to imagine life without Kelly. Gazerro men-tioned being affected when a guest speaker at the Grim Reaper Day presentation spoke of crash-ing a car and killing her best friend, who was in the passenger seat.

“I was sitting next to Chris-tina at the time and I looked over

at her,” Gazerro said. “Even trying to imagine being in that situation, I realized how I really couldn’t live without her. Moments like that are when I recognize how much she truly means to me.”

With graduation quickly approaching, Collins, Wessan, Kelly, Gazerro, Hiner, and Pecori-ello are all confi dent that they will keep their relationships with their best friends completely in-tact.

“Jackie’s my best friend. She’s my sister, my other half,” Kelly said. “You don’t just stop being someone’s sister. No matter how hard you try you can’t just break that bond.”

HANNAH FOLEY ’14News Editor

It is the start of second lunch. The bell rings, and the sand-

wich line fi lls with two dozen hungry students. There is a hum of chatter as people meet up with friends and talk about the day. Necks crane from the back of the line to see how far it is to the front. One girl towards the rear wears a blue and green striped shirt and sports a bright red backpack. She is trying to catch the sandwich maker’s attention. Colleen, the beloved cook, looks up and sees her. She waves and then bends over to put a sand-wich in the Panini press. The girl moves up from the back and waits for her sandwich.

This scenario is not unusual. Over time, students get to know the people who are affectionately referred to as the “sandwich la-dies,” and buying lunch becomes not only about the food, but about the people who are making the food.

Annika Skjold-borg ’13, started buying sand-wiches in the mid-dle of her sopho-

more year. She is now on a fi rst-name basis with Amber, one of the other ladies who is famous for her sandwich making.

“If there’s a day when Am-ber is missing, I always ask her where she went and tell her that I missed her,” Skjoldborg said. “No one can make my sandwich taste as good as she c a n . ” Skjold-b o r g gets the s a m e “ t r u l y a m a z -ing” sandwich every day, she ex-plained. She gets ciabatta bread with turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, American cheese and “lots of ca-jun sauce.”

Since she has been getting this sandwich for so long, anyone can go up to Amber and just ask for the “sandwich that Annika gets.”

Skjoldborg explained that she loves to know the person who makes her lunch every day. “Am-

ber is really nice, and we sometimes talk about what we did over the week-end or break,” she

said. Many peo-

ple feel simi-larly. David Kat-ter ’12, got to know

Amber very well, after buying a sandwich every day for lunch. “She went out of her way to talk to me about my day, make fun of me when my favorite sports teams lost, she congratulated me when I got into college, baked me cookies for Christmas, and even looked the other way when I cut

the lines...sometimes,” Katter said.

C o u r t -ney Mullen ’12 has also bought a sandwich al-most every

day since her freshman year. At fi rst, Mullen would get the same sandwich every day: turkey and cheese on Portuguese bread.

“I’ve defi nitely branched out a lot over the years. This year I’ve been switching it up a bit, but after trying so many different sandwiches, I defi nitely have a few favorites,” Mullen said.

Freshman year, Mullen started getting a turkey and c h e e s e

sandwich on Portuguese bread. Since then, she began to also like the chicken pesto with tomato and red peppers as well as wheat bread with turkey, mozzarella, spinach, tomatoes, and red pep-pers.

Over all the years, Mullen got to know both Colleen and Amber while she waited in line. “I could always count on them to make me the ideal sandwich,” she said.

Elizabeth Coogan ’14, is an-other one of the regulars. Last year, she began to buy a sandwich every day for lunch, and over time, Amber got to know her.

Since Coogan would get the same lunch each day, Amber be-gan to remember her order. “One day, I walked up to the counter and she just bent down, reached into the fridge, and handed me my usual sandwich (Italian bread, turkey, lettuce, and mus-tard). It was so cool!” Coogan said. “She told me she had made it that morning and ever since then she always had my sandwich pre- made.” Coogan said she en-

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Annika Skjold-borg ’13, startedbuying sand-wiches in themid-dle of her sopho-

this sandwich for so long, anyone can go up to Amber and just ask for the “sandwich that Annika gets.”

Skjoldborg explained that she loves to know the person who makes her lunch every day. “Am-

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been switching it up a bit, but after trying so many different sandwiches, I defi nitely have afew favorites,” Mullen said.

Freshman year, Mullen started getting a turkey and c h e e s e

bread, turkey, lettuce, and mustard). It was so cool!” Coogan said. “She told me she had made it that morning and ever since then she always had my sandwich pre- made.” Coogan said she en-

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“regulars” in the line. But the long lines prove that it is a popu-lar place to be. Even halfway through any of the lunch periods, the lines are still full of students. “The sandwiches are so good; they are worth the wait,” Mullen said. “Even if I had lab lunch, I always made sure I made it to the sandwich line.”

Students who buy lunch all agree on how nice the lunch la-dies are, no matter if they know them well or not. Rachel Paul ’14 said that the ladies “never fail to compliment my outfi ts. Their nice, friendly efforts are noticed and appreciated.”

One of the things that the seniors on internships miss most are the sandwich ladies and the sandwiches they would buy each day. After three years of having the same, favorite sandwich ev-ery day, it is a big change to these students’ daily schedules. “The sandwiches I make at home are never as good as the ones amber made for me so I miss them. But mostly I miss talking to amber,”

Katter said.

“No one can make my sandwich taste as good as she can.” -Annika Skjoldborg ’13

A New Kind Of FriendshipOver Time, Students Form a Relationship With The People Who Make Their Lunch

ALEXANDRA O’KANE ’13Social Media Specialist

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OVER THE YEARS: (above) toddlers Lauren Wessan ’12 and Molly Col-lins ’12 posing after dance recital and (right) Collins and Wessan at junior prom, many years later.

PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY MOLLY COLLINS ’12

13FeaturesInklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

14 FeaturesInklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

In this day and age, it’s hard to recall the time when our phones didn’t talk to us. Rewind to the early ’90s-2000s, long, long ago. This would bring you back to the child-

hood days of this year’s seniors, where technology was not nearly as advanced as it is today.

Back then, “Video Home System” or VHS was a staple of entertainment. “Growing up on VCR tapes, watching a movie was a serious commitment because

it took so long to rewind the tape,” said Caroline Howe ’12. Back then, videos captured the audience of children everywhere. “I watched

‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ almost twice a week,” said Howe. “I also watched the Mary Kate and Ashley series…so all of their movies about sleepovers, pool parties, and boys. I’ve seen it all.”

Today, we are lucky to have On-Demand and Netfl ix, but renting a movie used to be much more of a process (involving actually having to leave

the house. Gasp!) “We’d rent movies at Blockbuster,” remembers math teacher, Gertrude Denton.

When they weren’t glued to the TV, many kids were lost in com-puter games. “When I was a wee lad, my babysitter put me on her computer to distract me when she watched her soaps,” says Johnny O’Kelly ’12.

JumpStart and Barbie computer games were only some that could occupy a kid for hours, letting them use their imagination and see imme-

diate results. Howe remembered spending hours on Barbie games. “I was a vet one day and a spy the next,” says Howe. “Though ‘Barbie Spy’ scared

me so I could only play it during the day.” For those a bit more advanced, Club Penguin was wildly popular, along with Webkinz

“I feel like you could spend days on days watching those shows and you’d

never tire of them,” Sarah Ressler ’12 said. “All the shows followed the same formula of some con-fl ict, great one-liners, and some sappy confl ict resolution, and it never got old.”

Even though seniors stopped watching “The Proud Family” and instead watch “Family Guy,” they also still remember their favorite child-hood shows.

Ressler, who was a huge “Rocket Power” fan, admits to having all the toys from McDon-ald’s. “I would wake up early to watch it every morning before school.”

“Rocket Power” fi rst aired on Nickelodeon on Aug. 16, 1999, lasting three seasons, before ending on July 30, 2004.

David Haswell ’12, also a fan, who last watched the show in 2009, said he enjoyed it because “when you’re a little kid it’s very easy to be entertained by callow humor and vibrant colors.”

While “Rocket Power” only lasted three seasons, “Rugrats,” one of the fi rst three Nicktoons, had nine seasons, starting in 1991 and ending in 2004, with 172 episodes.

“The theme song was great. The opening montage is classic. I love when they go to Paris,” said Ressler. “I remember Reptar, Chuckie’s fi rst words - “ Ressler’s favorite episode showed the toddlers exploring an ice cream obstacle at a mini golf course.

“Rugrats” became so pop-ular that it is the only series by Nickelodeon to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

However, in April 2012, “SpongeBob SquarePants” passed “Rugrats,” becom-ing the lon-

gest running show on Nickelode-on by airing its 173rd episode .

“The Krusty Krab Pizza is the pizza for you and me,” recalls Emerson Lovell ’12.

Lucy DeFlavio ’12 was also a fan of the show. “Patrick was always my favorite character,” DeFlavio said. “It was funny to laugh at his stupidity.”

“SpongeBob SquarePants” is still going strong today, as new episodes continue to be aired.

While Lovell remembers the Krusty Krab Pizza, he also can-not forget the orange soda from “Kenan and Kel,” starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell.

“Who loves orange soda? Kel loves orange soda. Is it true? Is it true? I do, I do, I do, I do, I do,” Mitchell would say on the popular sitcom.

Lovell recalls how “Kenan and Kel” got viewers through Kel’s mishaps. “And you would be like no, but then Kenan would right the wrong,” Lovell said.

Thompson and Mitchell were cast members on another popular ’90s cartoon, “All That,” before starring on “Kenan and Kel” which lasted four seasons.

“Nineties television was the greatest era of television ever and will never be surpassed,” Ressler said.

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Technology CAROLINE ROSSI ’14

Web A&E Editor

As Seniors Age, Ent

15FeaturesInklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

(the gold and white cat, black lab, and Pegasus were only three of the hundreds of adoptable pets). Though when it comes to computer games, The Sims was an unmatched time sucker—once you got that starter disk, you were hooked. Who wouldn’t love to create their own virtual family in a world where a Sim “hour” was the same as a human minute?

But for some, playing God in a virtual game of life didn’t entertain as much as increasingly popular hand-held electronics. Being so portable and easy to carry along, these devices made gaming possible anywhere. “When I was in kindergarten, everyone used to play games on the Gameboy Color," says Jake Lewis ’12.

The race between Gameboy and Nintendo would then produce Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS, etc. To-day’s Xbox was preceded by Nintendo 64, PlayStation, GameCube, and even Wii. There was a learning curve for parents; science teacher, Joanne Klouda, remembers her son Peter ’12 having these games. “I didn’t like the idea that he could play with strangers from all over the world!” she says.

To no surprise, Gameboy tended to cater more heavily to young boys, and girls opted for such things as the unforgettable Tamagotchi, a digital pet that required constant attention. “I had quite a traumatizing experience with a Tamagotchi,” says Sami Schwaeber ’12, who was deemed a worthy babysitter of her best friend’s Tama-gotchi while she was on vacation. “I was ready for this mission, but I ended up leaving it in my locker at school for the whole weekend, and the school was locked. The Tamagotchi died and so did my friendship. Just kidding.”

Fast-forward and technology was more than virtual pets or handheld games—middle-schoolers yearned for cell phones. But it had to be the right kind. Today you’re considered out of the loop if you don’t have an iPhone; then, Razors, enVs, and LG Chocolates were all the rage.

Schwaeber remembers being obsessed with the Razor phone. “First of all, it looked different than any other typical phone. Thin, shiny, and refl ected the sun perfectly. Honestly, it was just like the iPhone back then.”

Today’s seniors live in the age of Siri, and turn to their iPhones to play games, take pictures, and listen to music. What they miss are those glory days when it was a special treat to watch a rewindable video. Says Howe, “Nothing beats the 90's and early 2000's. It's a fact.”

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ertainment Evolves

SOPHIE DE BRUIJN ’14Staff WriterRemember when magic was real, tree houses were time machines, and wizards received letters from Hogwarts on their eleventh birthdays?Series like “The Magic Tree House” and “Harry Potter” have been able to captivate children of all ages and backgrounds. There was always the promise that the next book in the se-ries would be even better, even more enticing.“You reach the last page of one, and there’s this thrill in knowing that there’s more to come,” said Jamie Yarmoff ’12. “There’s such satisfaction when you’re inally able to go to Barnes and Noble, purchase a book, settle in bed by the lamp and a mug of tea, and begin where things left off.”A passion for reading start-ed with series such as “Amelia Bedelia,” “Junie B. Jones,” and “Captain Underpants.”“As a kid, not being able to read makes you feel like you have a handicap,” said Kristhy Bartels ’15. “When I inally got to reading these books, I felt like I could ind some answers on my own.”As these series were out-grown, more advanced series became popular, and readers discovered places like Hog-warts and Alagaesia. Con-tinued adventures with the same characters meant stronger connections and prompted voracious readers to power through the books.“I was that stereotypi-cal girl who hid under the covers with a lashlight and a Harry Potter book,” said Yarmoff.Series books spanned years of kids’ lives; as Max Gib-son ’12 points out,

they of-fered a sense of continuation. Waiting for Harry Potter books to come out, he said, it “was almost like this alternate universe was discovering its own history as you waited, like the events were happening parallel to our own world.”Gibson also enjoyed the sense of escape. “While grow-ing up, having vivid experienc-es in fantasy worlds through books like that was almost like playing a video game.”However, for every kid who loved other universes, there was one who preferred delving into real world problems. Brittany Berlin ’12 is a Harry Potter fanatic, but she also enjoyed reading “Gallagher Girls,” “Beacon Street Girls,” and “American Girls.” Berlin read the Beacon Street Girls series when she was the age of the main character. “I could em-pathize with whatever struggle they faced,” said Berlin. And then of course, there was Matt Christopher’s biogra-phies. Kyle Hoberman remem-bers reading about all the big athletes like LeBron James and Derek Jeter. Since those days, Kyle has continued to love biog-raphies like Lance Armstrong’s “It’s Not About the Bike.”“They tell you more than what you see on the court or ield,” said Hoberman. “They provide insight on the everyday struggles and adversity.”Many readers encountered dif iculty once they entered high school. “So many books required by school have killed my love of reading,” laments Yarmoff. In addition, post-adolescent readers don’t ind quality series.Mary Parmelee, a children’s librarian at the Westport Public Library, understands. “There just aren’t as many well-written fantasy novels for adults.” Berlin keeps checking “New Arrivals” at Barnes & Noble but is often disappointed. “I’m sick of seeing fantastical, yet poorly-written books trick-le into adult iction,” said Berlin.Despite these woes, the avid readers of the Class of 2012 agree that their early reading deeply affected them.“The series I read were the driving force that made me interested in reading,” said Berlin. “With such skill and brilliance, why wouldn’t I be taken?”

16 FeaturesInklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

Mega Coin: Sandwiches

After days of sprinting through hallways to make it to class on time, knocking down underclass-men and maneuvering around slow students, you’ll occasionally get that one day where your training pays off.

It’s the day you make it to the front of the sand-wich line.

Sometimes it’s because your class has let out early. Sometimes it’s because of some serious bobbing and weaving skills. But every time, Col-leen’s smiling face is a reward in itself.

If there’s one thing avid Temple Runners can agree on, it’s clearly the game’s similarity to Staples High School. Navi-gating through this school is its own art form: sprinting through the halls in a panic, dodging bullets in the form of students and teachers alike. And if you make the grave mistake of tripping in the hallway between the library and

the cafeteria at lunchtime, prepare to be overtaken by the deadly fl ying monkeys, AKA hungry students. Obstacles are tough to dodge in this dangerous place. But by senior year, Staples students have perfected their own versions of Swipe to Turn, Swipe to Slide.

Collecting Coins: Pit Stops

Everyone’s familiar with the common detours of a Staples student. This in-cludes anything that makes you go out of your way: rushing to get a granola bar before your next class, scrambling to print an essay in the fi ve minutes between Math and English.

Little Branches:Freshmen

In Temple Run, avoiding these nuisances is as simple as a small jump, or even just moving to the side. But seniors have created an easier way.

“Just step on them,” Hanna Ahlgrim ’12 said.

Big Branches: Groups of Friends

When it’s a large cluster of upperclassmen, the issue is more problematic. But more often than not, this ob-stacle is a gaggle of squealing freshmen girls or trying-to-be-cool freshmen boys.

Fortunately for seniors, the jump to clear them isn’t too high.

“I just walk up to them and stand there. I don’t say a word, I don’t do anything. And they just part like the red sea,” Shweta Lawande ’12 said.

Dan Haroun ’12 adds, “If they don't, then I power through them like a knife slicing through butter.”

Fire and Skulls: Teachers

We all know that one teacher who loves to stop us in the halls and have a detailed conversation about last night’s homework that no one did. It’s like they don’t even notice us practically bouncing up and down on the balls of our feet, seconds away from yet another tardy. Get the picture: we’re in a rush.The best bet is to duck and avoid. Or else you’re toast.

Invisibility Boost: Late Passes

There’s nothing quite like the comforting pink glow that emanates from a late pass.

They’re rare, especially ones with the glorious little box marked “Excused” checked, Patty’s signature freshly inked. This pink glow wraps around you like a shield; suddenly, whilst clutching this small piece of paper, you are free to roam the halls and make all the pit stops you want.

At least until the effects wear off, and your teacher notices the time on the pass was 15 minutes ago.

CALLIE ALGHRIM ’13Social Media Specialist

Navigating Staples

GRAPHIC BY SOPHIA HAMPTON ’15

17FeaturesInklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

Things You Don’t Know About Karyn Morgan

Assistant Principal Karyn Morgan has stood alongside of the class of 2012 throughout its entire high school career – from the fall of 2008 to the spring of 2012. Although her job is chal-

lenging, Morgan has created a bond with the senior class that is truly special. Beyond her relationship with the students, Morgan, as an assistant principal, is responsible for organizing events, schedules, student discipline, attendance problems, and much more. In honor of Morgan and the work she does it seems natural to take a little time to learn a little more about someone who has given so much to Staples and to the class of 2012.

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I have two daughters in their 30s and four stepchildren in their 40s.I have three grandchildren, all girls: one in college, one in high school and one in elementary school.I taught special education for 19 years, with an average of 17 in a class with reading levels from pre-primer to sixth grade reading level.

I was named Teacher of the Year in Bridgeport in 1996.When I'm told someone's name, I turn it into a song.

I can run in high heels.

I have a fear of heights.

I don't color my hair.

I have a brown thumb, so I only have silk lowers in my house.When I was 16, I worked at Dunkin’ Donuts and got my inger caught in the jelly machine and was rushed to the hospital.

Believe it or not, I survived a kidnapping – now that's an interesting story!I love all my seniors!

ROSE PROPP ’13Photo Editor

’12SPORTY SPICE: Karyn Morgan throws the

fi rst pitch before senior day varsity base-

ball game, showing off her high heels and

(naturally) dark hair.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY STAPLES BASEBALL

Show your press pride!$25M, L, and XL

Contact Stephen Rexford for more information

203-341-1458

A&EJune 19, 2012

18Logos: Class of 2012 Edition

The class of 2012 has done its fair share of exploring everything Westport has to offer and downloaded nearly every game in the App Store. One current fad is the Logos game, in which the goal is to decipher the logos of companies. Below is a sampling of the ones that have surrounded the 2012 graduates’ lives both in and out of school.

1. Pain in the back2. Winter gear outfi tters

1 2

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

1 21. 24-72. Pancakes and fries

1 21. Saturday Night Savior 2. Party hopping prohibited

1 21. July 4th fi reworks2. Cannon climbing

1 21. End of Wakeman2. Juniors beware

1 21. Sweat and socialize2. Spinning

1 21. End of season blowouts2. High prices and holey sweaters

1 21. S-T, S-T-A2. Wrecker representatives

1 21. Slackers ignore it 2. Infamously clickable

1 21. The end of BBM2. Siri at your service

1 21. Aids in bell countdown2. Invented by MIT student

1 21. Staples’ very own Gossip Girl2. #whoisit

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

HALEY ZELDES ’13Features Editor

Answers: 1. The North Face 2. Safe Rides 3. Senior Parking 4. LF 5. Blackboard 6. iSHS 7. The Sher-wood Diner 8. Compo Beach 9. The Fitness Edge 10. Superfans 11. Apple 12. Staples Problems

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Sarah Ressler Tumblr Superstar

ELLIE MANN ’13Business Editor

Even after her classmates continue to tell her how funny she is, the girl doesn’t

see it. Her name is Sarah Ressler ’12, and according to the name of her blog, she is so artsy. Each day Ressler continues to gain a few more followers, but even this has not convinced Ressler that people think she has an amazing sense of humor.

“Oftentimes, when people tell me I’m funny, I’m unsure if I was trying to be,” Ressler said. “In my mind, it doesn’t count if it’s unintentional.”

It was April of Ressler’s ju-nior year when she decided to start a blog. Ressler knew that this had been and would con-tinue to be the busiest and most stressful time of her high school career. Nonetheless, according to Ressler, these conditions de-manded extra procrastination.

“Blogging and tweeting probably negatively affected my schoolwork and grades, but I had more fun doing that than home-work,” Ressler said. “And in hind-sight, I got into college anyways, so it was defi nitely worth it.”

Ressler had been feeling as though Tumblr was in “that awk-

ward mainstream phase” where everyone was suddenly making his or her own blog. At the time, Ressler was “insecure in my own artsiness,” as she put it, and didn’t feel like she belonged on Tumblr. A friend of Ressler’s, Zoe Green-blatt ’12, was the person who fi -nally convinced Ressler to create the blog.

She named her blog “Sara-hissoartsy” with no intention of posting actual artsy content. From then on, Ressler continued to post pictures of things that she liked. Ressler’s fi rst post hap-pened to be a picture of ice cream cones because she has a strong appreciation for dessert.

“In general, I tend to post pic-tures that I fi nd funny. They can be about anything and they’re of-tentimes pretty random,” Ressler said. “However, I also reblog a lot of ’90s things because I have ma-jor ’90s nostalgia.”

Ressler is happy with the re-sponse to her blog and sometimes even receives compliments about her Tumblr in school. While she does have followers who are not from Staples, she believes that her greatest following is amongst Staples students.

However, while Ressler be-lieves that she is “Tumblr fa-

mous,” she doesn’t know why people fi nd her Twitter, called Im-stillartsy, to be so funny. Ressler said that she made her Twitter to stalk and talk to celebrities like the Kardashians.

“Oftentimes I will tweet at Khloe Kardashian asking her to adopt me because I want to be a Kardashian,” Ressler said. De-spite the fact that Ressler be-lieves that the Kardashians are too famous to ever see her tweets, celebrities have tweeted Ressler back.

Ressler has had 15 retweets from the “MTV Realworld/Chal-lenge Series.” Ressler is also be-ing followed by Pentatonix, the winners of the most recent sea-son of the “Sing Off” on NBC, YouTube sensation Maddie Jane, X-Game gold metalist Jamie An-derson and star from the “Secret Life of the American Teenager,” Daren Kasagoff.

Kim Hynes ’12, a friend of Ressler’s, can see why so many celebs have retweeted or tweeted at Ressler. Hynes thinks that Ressler has a wide sense of humor and basically laughs at every-thing. “Sarah likes a lot of dumb, funny stuff, but she also likes smart jokes too,” Hynes said. “She’s just a natural comedian.”

Hynes thinks Ressler is so funny in part because people don’t expect her to be funny. “People expect her to be shy,” Hynes said. However, this is clearly not the case because Ressler has Hynes laughing “24/7” at golf.

Erica Stein ’13, anoth-er friend of Ressler’s, thinks Ressler is hilarious because she is funny in an unconventional way. While Ressler may seem quiet on the outside, Stein said that she is able to “make a very good joke whenever she pleases.”

Stein said that she is go-ing to be very sad when Ressler heads off to college in the fall. “We made the best of bad situa-tions through our use of humor,” Stein said. “For that reason, I am going to miss her immeasur-able amounts.”

Greenblatt, on the other hand, isn’t too worried about losing communication with Ressler. “We are going to talk every day,” Greenblatt said. “She is the queen of social net-working.”

The fi nal piece of advice for the entire Staples community, Ressler said, “If you are going to waste your life away, do it on so-cial media.”

Faces in the CrowdUsually when someone says,

“So tell me something interest-ing about yourself,” the go-to re-sponse is “I have a twin brother” or “I play football.” But Juan Cas-tro ’12 has a legitimate answer.

“I keep it in my pocket for a rainy day,” said Castro.

When Castro was about 4, he was a proud owner of both an ocelot (a medium-sized wild cat) and a monkey. Despite the oce-lot’s normally carnivorous diet, Castro’s mother strove to weed him off of meat to vegetables. As one can guess, the ocelot did not exactly welcome this change.

“The ocelot clearly assumed the monkey was a better meal than the bowl of veggies, and the monkey knew he couldn’t get hurt while he was inside the cage. So he made faces at the ocelot and kept teasing it. Then suddenly the monkey, seeing how the ocelot was just sitting there, stuck his face out of the cage and mocked the ocelot,” said Castro. “How-ever, the ocelot, seeing the situ-ation for what it was, sliced the monkey’s head clean off as soon as it was out.”

Castro says that he was sad but too young to have had a strong attachment to his pets. He likes to use this story for not sympathy but an icebreaker when he meets new people who might only know him as the winner of the 2012 senior class superlative, “Dressed for Success.”

Castro is famous for substi-tuting the casual school attire for his fancy ensemble. He started

However, there’s more to Castro than simply being the “Best Dressed” of Staples High School. During his free time, Castro enjoys participating in WWPT, Kool 2 Be Kind, fencing, training as an MMA fi ghter at LA Boxing, meditating and painting.

His most exciting

e x -

perience during an extracurricu-lar activity, though, was when his friends forced him to try out for a Staples Players production this year.

“My friends told me they needed more guys to try out and I tried to worm my way out of it,” said Castro. “I told them I couldn’t act to save my life, but of course Maddie Kimble ’12, my best friend of nine years, couldn’t let me get away with it.”

Kimble disagrees with Cas-tro’s self-assessment. “Castro has always been a good actor, even when he is not trying to act. He is able to perfectly mimic a comedi-an he heard the night before, like on the ‘Colbert Report’, or get so into his character that you have no choice but to actually believe he is that person,” said Kimble.

“He makes me laugh with his voices and actions, and can tell a story in a voice that makes me cry, so it was no surprise that people wanted him in Players.”

Castro ended up receiv-ing 10 callbacks after his au-dition, and landed one of the main parts as the husband of Susan, another main

character in “The Cook-ing King.” Castro’s sur-

prise was mixed with excitement. “It was an awesome experience. I have never had to change my person-

ality and adapt to so many differ-ent characters in

the span of two days, so it was truly memorable”

SAMI BAUTISTA ’13Web Sports Editor

PHOTO BY RYDER CHASIN ’14

said Castro.His career in Players was

short-lived, however, since he only chose to audition for one play. Once the play was over, rath-er than spend time at rehearsal, Castro opted to plan a couple of block parties in parking lots. The parties began as a joke after Cas-tro’s friend hacked onto his Face-book and invited his entire friend list to a parking lot party.

David Kalb ’12, one of Cas-tro’s friends commented on Castro’s fi rst parking lot party. “Soon into the fi rst party, people freaked out over cops that didn’t actually exist, and everybody hi-lariously ran for the hills,” said Kalb. “However, since then, he and his friend have been throw-ing rave-like parties fairly fre-quently, simply to keep them-selves occupied.”

Although the fi rst one had begun to what he called a “rocky start,” Castro decided to throw some more.

“The best one we had, I think about a hundred people showed up. We had lights jump-ing around everywhere and mu-sic blasting out of huge speak-ers,” said Castro. “To be honest, I think that one was successful be-cause my friend put it on Craig-slist. But I don’t recommend it. I didn’t know anyone there. Some of them seemed like creepers.”

There is no doubt that Cas-tro is a unique being who brings something new to the table. His best friend Kimble can vouch for that. “In all seriousness I think he has always been someone to be a little extraordinary,” Kimble said.

to wear suits as a “passing thing” when he was as young as fourth grade but truly began to commit to the apparel last year.

“I wear suits to school be-cause they honestly make me look good,” said Castro. “I look the best when I wear suits. They fi t me, slim me down, and accen-tuate my best features. It helps to change my attitude on the world.”

According to Castro, he has fi ve full suits, two blazers, one suit jacket, and a couple of suit pants. He admits that some cost a lot of money but that he is able to fi nd good deals at sales and spends only about $60 for a full suit. His favorite suit is a dark green Kenneth Cole Reaction One that he believes looks good with anything.

“I’ve gotten a lot of compliments,” said Castro. “People seem to react to me a lot better when I’m in a suit. When I’m wearing a suit I’m more ap-proachable and I’m u s u a l l y smi l ing. A guy in a suit s t a n d s out more amongst a crowd of non-suit wear-ing peo-ple.”

#ARTSY: Ressler updates her blog daily with humurous posts.

‘ ’

PHOTO BY ALEX GREENE ’12. DRESSED TO IMPRESS: Castro poses in his famous suit.

19A&EInklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

Is Juan Castro the Most Interesting Man at Staples?

A&EInklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com20

Off the Beaten Path BAILEY VALENTE ’13

Sports Editor

Drawing Something with Connie Zhou HALEY RANDICH ’14

Staff WriterConnie Zhou ’12 can hardly

even recall when she fi rst began creating art.

“When I could pick up a cray-on, I was drawing,” she said.

Zhou described her fi rst drawing as a depiction of her par-ents, which consisted of a scribble and some lines.

Since then, she’s come a long way.

Zhou’s art has been featured consistently in art shows, accord-ing to her art teacher at Staples, Camille Eskell. Zhou has also won awards for her work, including the Silver Key award for drawing in the nationwide Scholastic Art Competition.

Eskell, who personally be-stowed upon Zhou the Staples art department’s Excellence in Art Award, praised her effort in the subject.

“I thought she’d focus on her skills in science and math, and not be in the art department very often. Thank God, I was wrong,” Eskell said.

As a freshman, Zhou took In-tro to Drawing. As a sophomore, she took Advanced Drawing, and for the past two years she has tak-en Honors Studio Art.

In addition to the help she has received at Staples, Zhou has reached out to the community outside of school to improve her art and grow as an artist.

From eighth grade until se-nior year, Zhou has been enrolled in Roe Halper’s after -school pro-

gram for “artistically gifted” high school age students.

“She gives me advice and in-spiration,” Zhou said.

Halper is a local artist who practices a wide range of tech-niques with a wide variety of ma-terials, many of which Zhou has tried in an attempt to branch out from realistic pencil drawings. Zhou creates works using ink,

paint, and detached once she was done, so that the fi nished product would be displayed as four sepa-rate pieces of a whole painting.

Halper considers Zhou to be one of the top individuals she has taught throughout her 33 years of running the art program.

“She is extremely creative and has immense talent,” Halper said. “She also has the ability to concentrate. It’s an amazing combination; she is wonderfully gifted.”

Despite the broad range of styles Zhou has explored, Eskell

thinks that tremendous detail can be found in all of Zhou’s works.

“The level of meticulous de-tail she is able to achieve would definitely be her hallmark,” Es-kell said.

Though it is difficult for her to pick a favorite style of art amongst the many she experi-ments with, Zhou takes par-ticular enjoyment in portraying people.

“You can really capture personality,” Zhou said. “Your art touches people more than an object or landscape would, because of the human connec-tion.”

While Zhou is looking to pursue a career in business, she will continue exploring art and expressing herself artistically. She plans to become involved in art clubs at Harvard Univer-sity, where she will enroll this September. She also thinks she will be able to incorporate her artistic abilities into certain ar-eas of business, like marketing.

“She will always return to it and use it in some way,” Halper said. “My father used to say ‘if you are born with a talent, you have to use it.’ Connie has. She is truly a marvel.”

ART BY CONNIE ZHOU ’12, BORDER FROM DRAW SOMETHING APP

Ask 6-year olds what they want to be when they grow up, and you’ll get a

different answer every day. Ask typical high school

graduates what they plan to do, and you’ll often get a far-fetched possibility accompanied by an eye roll.

However, there are some who have it all figured out.

Sage Verneuil ’12 has an interest in raves and electronic music that has focused her post-secondary plans on attending Dubspot, a school in New York City that specializes in the pro-duction and disk jockeying of electronic music.

“I decided to attend this school because it is f lexible and allows me to go to class only once a week for seven hours,” Verneuil said. “There’s no ap-plication process so I knew instantly this was the school I wanted to go to since there aren’t many schools like this nearby.”

At Dubspot, Verneuil plans on focusing on both the DJ-ing and production aspect. Stu-dents can choose their own cur-riculum by deciding whether they would like to create their own music or DJ using the four programs Dubspot offers in-struction in.

“The program I picked is Ableton Live, and I will be trained in all uses for this pro-gram, such as sound design, mixing and rendering, DJing

and production, and how to use turntables and controllers like the Akai Professional APC20,” Verneuil said.

The unrestricted course load makes it easy for Verneuil to pursue other interests on the side.

Senior Danielle Hartog’s love for cooking and food leads her down a planned path after graduation to the world’s pre-miere culinary college, the Cu-linary Institute of America in New York.

“I knew I wanted to go into the restaurant industry, and this school is the best for that,”

said Hartog. At the Culinary Institute of

America, learning takes place mostly in the kitchens, but oth-er general education courses are offered as well.

“I’m most excited for the fact that my school is academi-cally driven, but more of a fo-cused subject,” said Hartog. “It’ll be a change from what I’m used to in high school and is seen in liberal arts schools.”

Unlike most seniors, the application process for Hartog did not require years of resume building, months of stress, and weeks of anticipation. SAT’s

were optional, and only an es-say along with two recommen-dations from people in the cu-linary business were required.

“I applied in August, and decisions came out in late Au-gust or early September. If I wasn’t accepted, I would have time to apply to another school, but I didn’t have to,” said Har-tog.

On the contrary, there are some students who don’t have immediate plans at all.

Sophie Shufro ’12 decided to take a gap year in order to take a break from the demand-ing world of academia.

“I’ve worked ridiculously hard over the last four years, and a year off will help me re-cover some lost enthusiasm for learning,” said Shufro.

Not only will a gap year be refreshing, but it will also allow her to accomplish interesting goals and wishes in a conve-nient time period. Although her plans aren’t set in stone, Shufro hopes to spend the fall semes-ter volunteering in a Spanish-speaking country and then trav-el during the spring, possibly on a program such as a Semester at Sea.

Shufro’s decision to take a gap year did not come stress-free. Her high school years con-sisted of studying for exams, writing papers, and preparing for the required standardized tests-all of which contributed to the need for a break from edu-cation.

“I went through the exact same application process as most of the other seniors before I made my decision. I still need to write a request for deferral to the college I’ll be attending af-ter my gap year,” said Shufro.

Once the year has passed, Shufro will begin the 2013-2014 school year as a freshman at Ponoma College in Claremont, Calif.

No matter where students end up, the experiences within the school and Westport com-munity have made an impact on every individual. It is with this knowledge that the stu-dents of Staples will become successful.

paint, oil pastels, and sculptures. “She has explored different

media and techniques, from re-alistic to abstract,” Halper said. “She has the ability to do it all.”

In particular, Halper men-tioned a recent project of Zhou’s, which she described as an attempt on Zhou’s part to “express herself in creative abstract expression,” a fi rst for any student of hers.

The piece was inspired by the work of Joan Mitchell, a sec-ond-generation abstract expres-sionist. It was created on four fi ve-foot high panels that Zhou’s father fastened together for her to

A BALANCING ACT: For some seniors going to non-liberal arts colleges and exploring alternate career paths is enticing.

Making art thattouches people

Editor’s note: You can see more of Zhou’s work on page 1.

ONE YEAR AGO: Zhou drew this portrait during an independent study with Ms. Eskell her junior year.

Some Seniors Choose to Attend Non-Traditional Colleges

GRAPHIC BY CLAUDIA LANDOWNE ’15

Shot By Shot: A Senior’s Movie Experience

For my whole life leading up to it, I was convinced that high school was like

“ M e a n Girls.”

O n my first day of f r e s h -m a n year, I w o u l d b e t h r o w n i n t o l o c k -ers, en-

tranced by the looks of a beau-tiful blonde senior girl whose favorite movie is “Varsity Blues.”

The truth is, I wanted to believe that movies were like real life, unless of course we are talk-ing “March of the Penguins.” All I wanted to believe was that if I skipped school one day, I could be singing in the Chicago parade and pretending to be Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago. For all clueless ones out

G

mdfmywbtil

there, that’s a “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” reference.

As I look back on the early years of my life, I think about the movies that have defined me and dominated my visions of the future. In a way, we all do this, and we don’t even realize it. And I have to say, these mov-ies that define our lives aren’t always the most critically ac-claimed.

As I ref lect on the movies that define my own life, I try to timeline it by around five years.

First five years of my movie watching life? Easy one, “Beauty and the Beast.” Yes, it may not be the manliest Disney movie of all time, but it was all I knew. It is actually sad think-ing of the amount of times I would cry as my mom would eagerly throw in the cassette of the “instrumental side” of the

soundtrack. I swear if I see one more talking candle I’m going to lose it.

Next comes the inevitable “Space Jam” phase. All jok-ing aside, I truly still believe that this film is an absolute cin-ematic masterpiece. Bugs, Daffy, and even Newman (yes, the guy from Sein-

feld is in it) were regulars on my 20-inch Quasar television, stopping by at least three times

a week to say hello. T h o s e Monstars still haunt my night-mares.

L e t ’ s ride this cinematic t i m e l i n e a n o t h e r five years. W h a t ’ s

the next stop? All aboard the “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” train. The facial expressions of a young Jim Carrey still haunt me to this day. I can never think of a field-goal kick the same way for the rest of my life. Laces out, Finkle.

Some of the best memories of my childhood include stay-ing up past 10:00 p.m., eating sour Skittles, drinking f lat Diet Coke, and watching Jim Carrey brilliantly perform his famous “talking butt” scene.

On a side note, one of my personal heroes, critic Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, had this to say about my childhood gem. “[Jim] Car-rey suggests an escaped men-tal patient impersonating a

game-show host.” He finishes the sparkling review by giving the film an “F” grade, a rarity among film critics.

Finally, here we are on the final stop of my cinematic journey so far. It wasn’t really until I became a teenager that I fully grasped the magic behind the film world. I was always intrigued by the silver screen, especially with how they could get Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny in the same shot.

I can still remember ex-actly when I discovered that I wanted to spend the rest of my life involved in cinema. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon my freshman year and I was just about to pop in my coveted “Scary Movie 3” DVD for about the third time that week. Sud-denly, my Father dashed into the room, wield-ing a now dated B l o c k b u s t e r DVD in his hand.

“ T o d a y , you’re watch-ing something different. This movie is called ‘Good Will Hunting’ and it’s a hell of a lot better than ‘Scary Movie 3,’ my dad said.

I d o n ’ t h a v e to ex-p l a i n t h e feeling I had w h e n I was watch-i n g ‘ G o o d Will Hunting’ for the first time. It was unexplainable. Finally, I realized that there was a world that I understood. I could be laughing one minute and cry-ing the next. It is a phenome-non that comes with the magic of a movie that really hits you.

My eyes were now open. For too long, I’ve failed

to recognize that sometimes, it isn’t all about what the crit-ics say and the letters they give each movie. My love for film criti-cism has blurred the lines between fact and opinion, and for too long have I confused the two. The essence of criticism is strictly opinion and experi-ence based, and it took

a little self-ref lection in order to discover that.

SAMMY WARSHAW ’12Staff Writer

21A&EInklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

A&EInklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com22

STAND TOGETHERSTAND ALONE

CELEBRATESAVOUR

LOVELISTENLEARN

LIVESPEAK OUTBE QUIETBE KIND

BE PATIENTBE BOLDBE BRAVE

TRYTRY AGAINREACH OUT

SEARCH WITHINSTAY TRUE

CongratulationsClass of 2012We Love You

F&B

SPORTS 23June 19, 2012

In the jungle of clichés surrounding op-portunity and motivation, run-of-the-mill athletes can become numb to the

opportunities that present themselves.Luckily for Staples football, wrestling,

and rugby, Mikell Washington ’12 is not any run-of-the-mill athlete.

“What’s most impressive to me is he got an opportunity, and he took advantage of the opportunity,” Head Football Coach Marce Petroccio said.

Washington has emerged as one of the hardest workers on all fronts.

“My goal going into all of my seasons was to do better than the year before,” Washington said. “I wanted to leave my mark.”

In football, Washington was a core part of what became known as “The Brotherhood” for the Staples defensive line. Washington averaged 5.8 tackles per game—with nearly a sack per contest to boot, good enough for second in the state behind teammate Pieter Hoets ’13—and ac-quired 70 total tackles on the season

However, Washington holds modestly to his efforts.

“In football it felt great to win an FCIAC title, but that was as a team rather than individually,” Washington said.

But football was not the only sport where Washington independently contrib-uted. Washington was also named captain of the Staples wrestling squad, on which he had possibly his most successful season of all.

“After being named a wrestling cap-tain my goal was to be the best and give 100 percent,” Washington said. “It was a huge honor for me.”

His hard work certainly showed. To accompany his individual 39-5 record, Washington won the Ludlowe Holiday Tournament and took third place in FCIACs, the Nutmeg States, and the state opens. Additionally, Washing-ton racked up impressive selec-tions to the Academic All-State and All-American teams, Conn. All-Region second team, Nor-walk Hour All-Area fi rst team, and an FCIAC honorable men-tion.

“He became the most promi-nent wrestler on our team, and the hardest worker,” teammate Jake Santo ’14 said. While Santo asserts that Wash-ington led by example for the rest of the team, Washington says he only did what he thought was right to do. “As they say, I left it all on the mat,” he said.

After the wrestling season came to a close, Washington transitioned quickly into his spring sport: rugby. Outside of the Staples season, Washington helped the Conn. All-Star 17-U team win the champi-onship title. While the Staples rugby squad hasn’t been quite as successful, Head Rug-by Coach Joseph Barahona still relishes every minute he gets to have Washington on the team.

“Mike is defi nitely in the top fi ve play-ers I’ve coached,” Barahona said. “He is a phenomenal athlete, a smart decision-maker in games, and a role model as a team leader.”

But Barahona also contends that there is much more to Washington than seen on the fi eld.

“Mikey is a quiet, humble and respect-ful young man who always uses please, thank you, yes sir, no sir,” Barahona said.

According to Barahona, it’s this hum-bly debonair persona that makes him all the more comfortable with Washington fi lling the role of the team’s captain. His position will serve as good experience, ac-cording to Washington, when he goes to Penn State next year to play rugby for the collegiate team.

While Washington may have trouble saying goodbye to his four years at Staples, he still has fond memories.

“It’s been an honor and a blessing to fi nish my high school career as I did,” Washington said. “Sports for me is a life-style, but I always enjoy it.”

And, to Petroccio, Washington will have no trouble enjoying it for years and years to come.

“I wish him all the luck in the world,” Petroc-cio said. “But, to be hon-est, he doesn’t need luck.”

Over the past four years, the name Maeve Flaherty ’12 and Staples’ girls’ lacrosse have become in-

terchangeable. Flaherty is the face of the franchise, amassing accolades and press coverage in truckloads—and not undeservedly

However, Flaherty was not the team’s leading scorer this year. No, the team’s leader in that department racked up 55 goals and 35 assists in the regular season, good enough to contend with some of the FCIAC leaders in the category. This “offensive playmaker,” as head coach Cathy Dancz describes her, is Jessie Ambrose ’12.

“This is her second season running the offense, and she’s able to score and assist almost equally well,” Dancz said. “She is an incredibly dynamic player.”

While Ambrose’s stats have im-pressed, this unsung hero maintains that individual numbers are only some of what leads to success.

“I’ve been trying to guide our team in the right direction and lead by ex-a m - ple,” Ambrose said.

“I made sure that everyone on our team was on the same page and wanted to do

anything we needed to in order to win: put everything out there and to have no regrets at the end of the season.”

And, according to Dancz, the se-nior not only helped lead, but also per-formed well as a team player.

“In addition to her abilities around the cage, Jessie has lead-in draw con-trols—which are integral to success in lacrosse,” Dancz said. “Some of Jessie’s draw controls were game changers for us.”

This skillset garnered attention from Columbia University, where Am-brose will play lacrosse next year.

Still, lacrosse was not the only sport in which Ambrose excelled this scholastic year. Ambrose also cap-tained the girls’ soccer team as their starting goalkeeper and led them to a Cinderella season.

“We had a lot of obstacles to get past at the beginning of the season and we did,” Ambrose said. “We went on a run that no one else thought was pos-sible.”

Ambrose helped the team to an im-pressive bid at winning the state title, making it all the way to the semi-finals only to lose to Glastonbury—the team that ended up winning the entire tour-nament—on penalty kicks.

However, while a bright future waits ahead, Ambrose still focuses on

her Staples career at hand. Ambrose points to the

team’s Nov. 12 win against Shel-ton as her season’s highlight, and head coach Nikki Ross is in agree-

ment. After a scoreless game through regulation time and double overtime, Staples pulled out the victory on five rounds of penalty kicks to advance to the quarterfinals in the state tourna-ment.

“The way Jessie kept her cool and confidence was impressive. You could feel a sense of ease from the team knowing that we had Jessie in the goal,” Ross said.

To Ross, a stellar performance from Ambrose was nothing out of the ordinary.

“I don’t even know where to be-gin with how much Jessie helped us this season,” Ross said. “I could always count on Jessie whether it is at practice or at a game, and I know the girls felt the same way.”

Ross still focuses on Ambrose be-ing a leading cog in their unprecedent-ed success, keying in on Ambrose’s unique ability to both play goal and score goals.

“Jessie is the type of athlete that you wish you could duplicate,” Ross said. “She always shows up to practice ready to give 100 percent and not only motivates and pushes herself, but her teammates as well.

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Inklings’ Athletes of the Year

The Playmaker An All Around Athlete

PHOTO BY ROSE PROPP ’13

Ryder Chasin ’14Web News Editor

PHOTO COURTESY OF GREENWICH TIME PHOTO COURTESY OF WESTPORT NEWSPHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY APRIL BOOK PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY APRIL BOOK

Senior Supplement24 Inklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

ADMINISTRATIONJohn Dodig

PrincipalSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.A.

Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.Southern Conn. State Univ., 6th

Year

James FarnenAssistant Principal

Dept. Chair, Physical EducationDept. Chair, Media

Central Conn. State Univ., B.A.Sacred Heart Univ., M.A.

Southern Conn. State Univ., 6th Year

Richard A. FranzisAssistant Principal

Dept. Chair, Library and Computer Science

Southern Conn. State Univ., B.S.; M.S., 6th Year

Martin LisevickAthletic Director

Central Conn. State Univ., B..S.Univ. of New England, M.S.

Southern Conn. State Univ., 6th Year

Patrick MicinilioAssistant Principal

Dept.. Chair, Family Consumer Science, Tech. Ed.

Univ. of Conn., B.A.Univ. of Bridgeport, M.A.

Southern Conn. State Univ., 6th Year

Karyn MorganAssistant Principal

Dept. Chair, Fine Arts, Performing Arts,

Academic SupportSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.S.;

6th YearFairfi eld Univ., M.A.

DEPARTMENT CHAIRSLisabeth Comm

6-12 Coordinator, EnglishMiami Univ. of Ohio, B.A.

Indiana Univ., M.A.

Frank CorboK-12 Coordinator, Mathematics

Fairfi eld Univ., A.B., M.A.Southern Conn. State Univ., 6th

Year

James D’Amico6-12 Coordinator, Social Studies

Univ. of Conn., B.A.; M.A.Univ. of Conn., 6th Year

Lorraine DiNapoliDept. Chair, Special EducationCentral Conn. State Univ., B.S.Univ. of Central Florida, M.A.Southern Conn. State Univ.,

M.S.; C.A.S.

A.J. Scheetz6-12 Coordinator, Science

Lake Superior State Univ., B.S.Univ. of Colorado, M.S.; Ph.D.

Elaine SchwartzDept. Chair, GuidanceSyracuse Univ., B.A.

Teachers College, Columbia Univ., M.A.; Ed.M.

David WinerK-12 Supervisor of Music

New England Conservatory of Music, B.A.

Univ. of Conn., M.A.Univ. of Hartford, 6th Year

Maria ZacheryDept. Chair, World Language

Fairfi eld Univ., B.A.Columbia Univ.,

Teachers’ College, M.A.

ATHLETICSGaetana Deiso

Springfi eld College, B.S.

Corey IamonicoSacred Heart Univ., B.S.

ENGLISHJesse Bauks

Univ. of Conn., B.A.Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.

Heather Colletti-HoudeFairfi eld Univ., B.A.

Western Conn. State Unive., M.S.

Anne FernandezBrown Univ., B.A.

Boston College, M.A.

Mary Elizabeth FulcoUniv. of Mary Washington, B.A.

Michael FultonUniv. of Wisconsin, B.A.

New York Univ., M.A.

Daniel GeraghtyHofstra Univ., B.A.

Sacred Heart Univ., M.A.T.Univ. of Conn., M.A.

Elizabeth HumphreyFairfi eld Univ., B.A.; M.A.

Werner LiepoltUnion College, A.B.

Univ. of Pennsylvania, M.A.Columbia Univ., M.Ed.

Julia McNameeWilliams College, B.A.

Univ. of Massachusetts, M.A.

Alex MillerSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.S.

Fordham, M.A.; M.Phil.

Susan O’HaraTufts Univ., B.A.

Rutgers Univ., M.A.Columbia Univ.,

Teachers’ College Ed.M.

Elizabeth OlbrychConn. College, B.A.

Univ. of New Hampshire, M.S.T.Fairfi eld Univ., C.A.S.

Kimberly PalcaBucknell Univ., B.A.Univ. of Conn., M.A.

Christine RadlerState Univ. of New York

at Oneonta, B.A.State Univ. of New York

at Binghamton, M.A.Southern Conn. State Univ., 6th

YearSacred Heart Univ., M.A.L.

Stephen RexfordSkidmore College, B.A.

Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.Middlebury College, M.A.

Southern Conn. State Univ., 6th Year

Christina W. RichardsonNorthwestern Univ., B.S.

Western Conn. State Univ., M.A.

Barbara RobbinsFairfi eld Univ., B.A.

Western Conn. State Univ., M.S,Sacred Heart Univ., 6th Year

Meghan ScheckColby College, B.A.

Middlebury College, M.A.

Beth SemayaIthaca College, B.A.

Columbia Univ., M.A.

Delbert ShortliffUniv. of North Carolina, Chapel

Hill, B.A.Colgate Univ., M.T.

Holly Sulzycki

Indiana Univ., B.S. Southern Conn. State Univ., M.S.

Brian TippyYale Univ., B.A.

Middlebury College, M.A.

Elizabeth TriggsYale Univ., B.A.

Kristin VeenemaFairfi eld Univ., B.A.

Columbia Univ., M.A.

Gus YoungBard College, B.A.

Univ. of Maine, M.A.T.

E.S.O.L.Adriana Woldring

William Smith College, B.A.State Univ. of New York

at Albany, M.S.Fairfi eld Univ., 6th Year

FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES

Cecily GansJohnson & Wales Univ., B.S.;

M.A.T.

Linda McClarySUNY at Cortland, B.A.Fordham Univ., M.S.W.

Alison Milwe–GraceUniv. of Mass.at Amherst, B.S.Intern. School for Culinary Ed.

Cert.

Laura WendtPine Manor College, B.A.

FINE ARTSCarla Eichler

Univ. of Conn., B.F.A.

Camille EskellQueens College/CUNY

B.F.A.; M.F.A.

Janet GarstkaCarnegie Mellon Univ., B.F.A.

Illinois Institute of Technology, M.S.

Jaclyn JeselnikQuinnipiac Univ., B.S.

College of New Rochelle, M.A.

Jonathan NastGettysburg College, B.A.

Angela Mata SimpsonSkidmore College, B.S.

Southern Conn. State Univ., M.S.

Tracy WrightOhio State Univ., B.S.; M.Ed

LIBRARY/ MEDIAJames P. Honeycutt

Fairfi eld Univ., B.A.; M.A.; C.A.S.

Julia RobertsState Univ. of New York, New

Paltz, B.A.Western Conn. State Univ., M.S.

Southern Conn. State Univ., M.L.S.

Robin StilesGrove City College, B.A.

Southern Conn. State Univ., M.L.S.

Michael ZitoSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.A.

Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.

MATHEMATICSStacey Delmhorst

Southern Conn. State Univ., B.S.

Gertrude DentonUniv. of South Florida, B.A.

New York Univ., M.B.A.

Ann DidelotSt. Joseph’s Univ., B.S.

Univ. of Bridgeport, M.S.

Jennifer GiudiceUniv. of Nebraska at Omaha,

B.S.; M.S.Southern Conn. State Univ., 6th

Year

Margaret GomezUnion College, B.S.Fairfi eld Univ., M.S.

Caroline JamesFairfi eld Univ., B.S.

Univ. of Bridgeport, M.S.

Alan JolleyRutgers Univ., B.A.

Wesleyan Univ., M.A.T.; 6th Year

Theron KissingerUniv. of New Mexico, B.S.Univ. of Bridgeport, M.Ed.

Leonard KleinUniv. of Conn., B.S.

Sacred Heart Univ., M.A.

Dana LevySouthern Conn. State Univ., B.S.;

M.S.

Kerrigan MurphySpringfi eld College, B.S.

Univ. of New Haven, M.A.

Nicole PendolphiFairfi eld Univ., B.S.; M.A.

Robin SacilottoUniv. of Conn., B.S.; M.A.

Sacred Heart Univ., 6th Year

Jeffrey SchareWestern New England College,

B.A.Sacred Heart Univ., M.A.T.

Rebecca SternBoston College, B.A.

Columbia Univ. Teacher’s College, M.A.

Karen ThomasMount Holyoke College, B.S.

Univ. of New Hampshire, M.S.TSouthern Conn. State Univ., 6th

Year

William WalshUniv. of Conn., B.A.

Fairfi eld Univ., M.Ed.

John WetzelDickinson College, B.S.

Sacred Heart Univ., M.A.; M.S.; 6th Year

Sarah WhiteUniv. of Virginia, B.A.; M.T.Sacred Heart Univ., 6th Year

William WilkesSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.S.Western Conn. State Univ., M.A.

MUSICCandi Innaco

Univ. of Dayton, B.M.E.Kansas State Univ., M.M.

Nicholas G. MaricondaUniv. of Bridgeport, B.S.; M.S.

Carrie MascaroIthaca College School of Music

B.M., M.M.Southern Conn. State Univ. 6th

Year

Justin MillerChapman Univ., B.M.

Adele Cutrali ValovichWestern Conn. State Univ.,

B.M.E.Eastman School of Music, M.M.Southern Conn. State Univ., 6th

Year

Gregg WintersWestern Conn. State Univ., B.S.;

M.S.

PHYSICAL AND HEALTH EDUCATIONBruce Betts

Southern Conn. State Univ., B.S.; M.S.

Michael CaetanoSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.S.;

M.S.

Cari ChristensonCentral Conn. State Univ., B.S.

Colin DeVineSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.S.

Kelly GarritySouthern Conn. State Univ. B.A.;

M.S.

John R. LawrenceSouthern Arkansas Univ., B.S.E.

Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.

Marcellino PetroccioSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.S.

Nicole RossIthaca College, B.S.

Christopher ShamasUniv. of Maryland, College Park,

B.S.Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.

Janet ZamarySpringfi eld College, B.S., M.S.

Melissa ZigmontCentral Conn. State Univ., B.S.

Sacred Heart Univ., M.S.

PUPIL SERVICESVictoria Capozzi

Southern Conn. State Univ., B.S.; M.S.

Jennifer CurrieUniv. of Delaware, B.A.

Central Conn. State Univ., M.S.

Thank You Staples Teachers...

Senior Supplement 25Inklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

Joel KabakQueens College, City Univ.

of New York, B.A.Yale Univ. School of Medicine,

M.D.

Joanne KloudaPolytechnic Institute of New York

Univ., B.S.M.I.T., M.S.

Alexandra KrubskiUniv. of Conn., B.A.

Sacred Heart Univ., M.A.T.

Michael J. Vieira LazaroffSan Francisco State Univ., B.A.

Nicholas MorganVillanova Univ., B.S.

M.I.T., Ph.D.

Heather MorleyUniv. of Vermont B.S.; M.Ed.

Michele MorseFairfi eld Univ., B.S.

Fordham Univ., Ph.D.

David RollisonMaine Maritime Academy, B.S.

Kristin ScottUniv. of Conn. B.S., M.A.

David M. ScrofaniFairfi eld Univ., B.S. M.A.

Andrew StraussNew England College, B.S.Wesleyan Univ., M.A.L.S.

Flavio TinocoMaharishi Univ. of Management,

B.S.; M.S.Univ. of Iowa, Ph.D.

Serena TiradoEmory Univ., B.S.

Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.

Carrie VeigasConn. College, B.A.

Boston College, M.Ed

Trema VoytekSouthern Conn. State Univ.,

B.A.; M.S.Sacred Heart Univ., 6th year

SOCIAL STUDIESCarol Avery

Indiana Univ., B.A.Southern Conn. State Univ., M.S.;

M.A.

Catherine DanczJohns Hopkins Univ., B.A.

Teachers College, Columbia Univ., M.A.

Ashley GayaniloUniv. of Virginia, B.A.

Sacred Heart Univ., M.A.

Dana GillandUniv. of Vermont, B.A.

Western New England College School of Law, J.D.

Univ. of Bridgeport, 6th Year

Katherine GoulianCornell Univ., B.A.

Columbia Univ., M.A.

Daniel HeaphyUniv. of Conn., M.A.

Catherine HernandezUniv. of Conn., B.A.; M.S.

Sheila HiraiKenyon College, B.S.Boston College, M.S.

Suzanne KammermanUnion College, B.A.

Universiteit van Amsterdam, M.A.

Chi–Ann LinUniv. of Conn., B.A.; M.A.

John MillerOhio Wesleyan Univ., B.A.

Univ. of Cincinnati College of Law, J.D.

Sacred Heart Univ., M.A.T.

Eric MongirdasPenn State Univ., B.A.

Simmons College., M.A.Harvard Univ., M.A.

Rob RogersSonoma State Univ., B.A.

Northern Arizona Univ., M.A.

Kathy SharpStanford Univ., B.A.; M.B.A.; J.D.

Jonathan SheproBoston Univ., B.S.

Univ. of Bridgeport, M.A.Sacred Heart Univ., M.A.L.

Jeanne StevensMarquette Univ., B.A.

Northern Illinois Univ., M.Ed.

Meghan WardSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.S.

Sacred Heart Univ., M.A.T.

Tobias WatsonUniv., of Maine, B.A.

Univ. of Bridgeport, M.A.Fairfi eld Univ., 6th yr.

David WillickMichigan State Univ., B.A.

SPECIAL EDUCATIONRebecca Anderson-Furlong

Syracuse Univ., B.S.Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.

Rita AppelCity Univ. of N.Y.

Brooklyn College, B.A.; M.S.

Carmen J. Arciola, IIIAssumption College, B.A.

Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.

Brooke BarringtonSyracuse Univ., B.A.Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.

Andrea BeebeUniv. of California, Los Angeles,

B.A.Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.

Sandra BermanQueens College of the City Univ.

of New York, B.A.Fordham Univ., M.S.W.

Mary Bernhardt Univ. of Rhode Island, B.A.

Univ. of Bridgeport, M.S.; C.A.S.

Karen DeFelice-DuringProvidence College, B.A.

Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.; M.F.T.

Diann DrenoskyUniv. of Conn., B.A.

Southern Conn. State Univ., M.S.

Johanna DriscollLesley College, B.S.

Sharon HalsteadConn. State College, B.A.

Southern Conn. State Univ., M.S.Fairfi eld Univ., 6th Year

Sarah HawkinsHamilton College, B.A.Teachers College, Ed.M.

Julia HorowitzBowdoin College, B.A.

Univ. of Michigan, M.H.S.Columbia Univ., M.S.W.

Heidi HowdenSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.A.;

M.A

Marylou HuiskingLadycliff College, B.A.Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.

Southern Conn. State Univ., 6th yr.

Sally JoyceSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.A.,

M.S.

Aimee LorentiSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.S.;

6th YearSacred Heart Univ., M.S.

Karla MasielloUniv. of Conn., B.S.; M.A.

Tom OwenOhio Univ., B.S.

Marjory PalmerCalif. State Univ., Chico, B.S.Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.; C.A.S.

Sara PriorWheelock College, B.A.

Southern Conn. State Univ., M.A.

Jennifer SorgeUniv. of Richmond, B.A.

Columbia Univ., M.A.

Jennifer WhiteFairfi eld Univ., B.A., M.A.

Carol D. TaneyCollege of New Rochelle, B.A.;

M.S.; 6th yr.

TECHNOLOGY EDUCATIONMichael SansurUniv. of Maryland, College Park, B.S.

Univ. of Bridgeport, M.S.Southern Conn. State Univ., 6th

Year, 7th Year

THEATERDavid Roth

The Theatre School at Depaul Univ., B.F.A.

Southern Oregon Univ., M.A.Southern Conn. State Univ., 6th

Year

WORLD LANGUAGEHoracio Ballesteros

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, B.A.

Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.

Olivier BlanchardonCentral Conn. State Univ., B.A.Fairfi eld Univ., M.A., 6th Year

Natalie ClayUniv. of Montpellier, France,

B.A; M.A.

Claudia Cuevas de TarantoSacred Heart Univ., B.A.

Southern Conn. State Univ., M.A.

Louisa D’AmoreUniv. of Delaware, B.A.

Ana Catalina DeLucaFairfi eld Univ., M.A.

Joseph BarahonaSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.A.

Fengyan HouJi’an Teachers College

Nanjing Normal Univ., B.A.

Christopher FrayConn. College, B.A.

Sacred Heart Univ., M.A.T.

Eamon Griffi nMiddlebury College, B.A.; M.A.

Jennifer HuettnerDenison Univ. B.A.

Univ. of Virginia M.Ed.

Donna KennyUniv. of Iowa, B.A.

Univ. of New Haven, M.B.A.

Carol KochefkoFairfi eld Univ., B.A.; M.A.

Enia NoonanUniv. of Conn.. B.A.

Universidad de Sevilla, EspanaFairfi eld Univ., M.A.

Susan PelsTufts Univ., B.A.

Univ. of Texas (Austin), M.B.A.; M.A.

Lillian RevelFordham Univ., Ph.D.

Renee TorresSacred Heart Univ. B.A.

Univ. of Conn., M.A.

Priscilla WentworthFairfi eld Univ., B.A.

NURSESSuzanne Bookbinder

Brooklyn College, B.S.New York Univ., M.A.

Alicia V. CasucciEmory Univ., B.S.N.

The Univ. of Pennsylvania, M.S.N.

Susie MillerCal State Univ. Fresno, B.S.

Mount Saint Mary’s College, R.N.

Elizabeth RussUniv. of New Hampshire, B.S.N.

SUBSTITUTESCyndianne Gates

Pennsylvania State Univ., B.A.

James GoodrichOhio Wesleyan Univ., B.A.

David Sands Sociology SUNY Purchase, B.A.

Univ. of New Haven, M.A.

We Could Not Have Done It Without You!Christine Gray

Univ. of Conn., B.A.Univ. of Hartford, M.Ed.

Denise HoneycuttSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.A.;

M.S.Fairfi eld Univ., C.A.S.

Edward HuydicSouthern Conn. State Univ., B.S.

Columbia Teachers College, M.A.; 6th Year

Wesleyan Univ., C.A.S.

Micah LawrenceDickinson College, B.A.

Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.

William PlunkettColgate Univ., B.A.

Harvard Univ., Ed.M., C.A.S.

Deborah SlocumWesleyan Univ., B.A.

London School of Economics, M.S.C.

Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.

Christine M. TalericoUniv. of Conn., B.S.

Central Conn. State Univ., M.S.

P.J. WashenkoUniv. of Massachusetts, B.A.Southern Conn. State Univ.,

M.S.

ACADEMIC SUPPORTFrancine Sinay

Eastern Connecticut State Univ., B.A.

Univ. of Bridgeport, M.S.

SCIENCEMichael AitkenheadState Univ. of New York,

Syracuse, B.S.Pennsylvania State Univ., M.A.

Robert AndrewCornell Univ. B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

Antonio CoccoliSacred Heart Univ., B.S.;

M.A.T.

Nathaniel DeweyGrove City College B.S.Fairfi eld Univ., M.A.T.

Cecilia DuffyProvidence College, B.A.

Wesleyan Univ., M.A.Southern Conn. State Univ., 6th

Year

Matthew FilipUniv. of Notre Dame, B.S.

DePaul Univ., M.Ed.

Richard FislerStevens Institute of

Technology, B.E.New Jersey Institute of

Technology, M.S.

Kevin GlassLoyola College in Maryland,

B.S.Southern Conn. State Univ.,

M.S.

Christine HirthUniversity of New Hampshire,

B.S.; M.A.T.

William Jones Union College, B.S.; M.S.

Sports26 Inklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

They say ‘You can’t win ‘em all,’ but fi ve Staples sports teams disagree.

The elite fi ve teams, com-peting in FCIACs, won their re-spective titles. Winners include the boys’ indoor track team, the football team, the girls’ ski team, the boys’ outdoor track team and the fi eld hockey team.

According to Athletic Direc-tor Marty Lisevick, several of these teams played better than expected. “I thought our football team overachieved with a young team this fall - leaving us with a lot coming back for 2012,” said Lisevick.

team not only won the FCIAC championship, but also the state championship, and the State Open, which Staples had not won since 1991.

They fi nished the State championship with a total of 80.5 points. The next-best team fi nished with 55. Henry Wynne, a star runner, was not surprised. “As the season went on, every-one started getting better, and by FCIACs I knew we could win,” said Wynne.

The track team’s great run continued into the spring sea-son, fi nishing with a total of 147.5 points. The next-best team, Danbury, fi nished with 82.5 points. The boys fi nished off the season by winning State champi-

onships. “Our boys indoor track team defi nitely peaked at the right time at FCIACs, States, and the Open,” said Lisevick. “They followed it up with a great per-formance on May 22nd – win-ning the outdoor track FCIAC’s.”

Another team that demol-ished the competition through-out the season was the girls’ ski team. “Winning States as a se-nior made the four years of long bus rides and coming home late twice a week all worth it,” said captain Misha Strage ’12.

While this year had its share of shocks, it is to the sur-prise of no one that the Wreckers dominated the sports landscape across the board during the 2011-2012 season.

TAKING IT HOME: The indoor track team and ield hockey team celebrating their state and FCIAC championships. Center tri-captain Jack Gibson ‘12 celebtrating FCIAC Championship vic-tory against rival Greenwich.

Five Staples Teams Scoop Up Titles in 2012

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED OF STAPLES RUNNING

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With a sophomore quarter-back and few returning starters, the football team was viewed as a “next-year team.” However, behind the strong arm of quar-terback Jack Massie ’14 and the fearsome trio of running backs in Jon Heil ’12, Joey Zelkow-itz ’13, and Nick Kelly ’13, the Wreckers steamrolled the com-petition. They continued their winning ways until the State championship, where they fell to Xavier 42-7.

Another surprising cham-pion was the fi eld hockey team which generally, players say, has not been a juggernaut. The last time the team had won the FCIAC championship was 1994, and before that 1978. Entering

this year’s tournament, Staples was ranked as the fourth seed in a fi eld of eight.

The Wreckers were certainly the underdog. Against Norwalk, Wilton, and Darien in the regu-lar season, the three respective seeds ahead of the Wreckers, Staples had a 0-4 record, with a -6 goal differential. Captain and center-midfi elder Emily Ashken ’12 said, “We won FCIACs be-cause we wanted it more than any other team.”

While the fi eld hockey team’s win shocked opponents and fans, it was no surprise that the boys’ indoor track team won its FCIAC championship. Led by Henry Wynne ’13, Jon Heil ’12, and Max Hoberman ’12, the

TAKING IT HOME: The indoPHOTO CONTRIBUTED OF STAPLES RUNNING

their state and

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Simon Stracher ’14Sports Editor

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY STAPLES FOOTBALL

These Are the Champions

Sports 27Inklings / June 19, 2012 / inklingsnews.com

Massie to Bonenfant in 2011 FCIAC Championship

On the biggest stage of his athletic career, senior football tri-captain Peter Bonenfant came through with the biggest play of his life as the undefeated Wreckers faced off against the archrival Cardinals. With 1:21 left in the game, Wreckers trailing the Cardinals, Bonenfant grabbed a 16-yard touchdown pass from Massie to take the lead and seal the vic-tory. How fi tting for a senior captain to score.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY STAPLES FOOTBALL

Boys Volleyball Garners 100 Consecutive Wins

Winning eight out of their previous nine FCIAC titles with four consecutive state titles, go-ing 100 games without suffering defeat (dating back to 2006) and receiving national acclaim, the Staples Wreckers were untouchable. Bruce Betts led Staples Volleyball to true perfection during the latter part of his long tenure and made

Uconn’s Geno Auriemma seem ordinary. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY SUZANNE KALB

Girls Soccer Cinderella Run in 2011 State Tournament

The 2011 Staples girls soccer team surprised everyone when they reached the Class LL semi-fi -nals, ranked 20th in the state, surpassing expecta-tions. In the fi rst round of playoffs, the 13th-seed-ed New Milford Green Wave was outplayed. Even more surprisingly, the Westhill Vikings, seeded 5th, fell to the hungrier, more aggressive Lady Wreckers in an astonishing 2-1 upset. The Cin-

derella Run ended cruelly in PK’s in the semifi nals against top-seeded Glastonbury, but that doesn’t

tarnish the incredible run by the girls soccer team, which hadn’t even qualifi ed for FCIACs.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY STAPLES GIRLS SOCCER

2012 Staples Boys Track Team Breaks Record

Led by track athlete of the year Henry Wynne, the Staples Boys’ 1600m track relay team, with Zach Mitchell, Max Hoberman, and Jon Heil as well, shattered the Connecticut record by 1.08 seconds. Nationally, it ranked 6th fastest in times recorded this year. All the more impres-sive is that this team had never run this race. It

was a fresh, authentic, blindingly-quick run, and that record will hold for years.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY STAPLES RUNNING

Rob Gau Blocks Kick in Thanksgiving Game 2009

The freshly-crowned FCIAC champion Wreckers were playing their annual Thanksgiving Day game against (yes, them again) the Cardinals. The Car-dinals had a 33-yard fi eld goal for the win set-up. As the ball was snapped, placed, and kicked, Rob Gau, a.k.a. “Staples Football,” shot his extended arm up over the offensive line and got his fi nger tips on the ball to block the kick, clinching the win for the Wreckers. Simply another classic added to the storied rivalry between Staples and Greenwich.

PHOTO BY DAN GELMAN

2011 Girls Field Hockey FCIAC Championship Run

What a year. The Field Hockey team won its fi rst FCIAC championship in 17 years, beating Wilton in the fi nals, but it was truly the journey to get there that made it special. Senior Misha Strage scored the game-winning goal with 3:50 left in the quar-terfi nals against Stamford, leading to a 2-1 victory. The next night Strage scored the game-winning goal as the Wreckers shocked the Darien Blue Wave 1-0 and snapped their remarkable 93-game winning streak. Finally, and who else, Strage scored the game-winning goal to beat Wilton 2-1. The Wreckers were FCIAC champs, and it was the clutch play of their senior captain in three straight games.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY THE STAMFORD ADVOCATE

Boys Soccer 2009-2011 FCIAC 3PEAT and More

To win three FCIAC championships consecu-tively is a remarkable feat But to achieve a #6 na-tional ranking, a state championship, multiple players with All New-England recognition, and one player with All-American status is mind-boggling. On top of that, Brendan Lesch (the All-American) went viral with his 250,000-viewed, physically the inexplicable bicycle kick video. Breaking records for most lopsided state fi nals victory in its 61-year his-tory and most wins in a season (22) says it all.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY STAPLES SOCCER

Brendan Rankowitz 2009 Game-winning Touchdown

The fat lady hadn’t sung yet as Brendan Rankow-itz defi ed odds with the FCIAC championship-clinching, 66-yard, game-winning touchdown. Rankowitz had dropped a potential touchdown pass earlier in the game but made up for it immea-surably. Clutch is too weak a word. “The Play” as it has come to be known, has become Wrecker His-tory.

PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN ABRAHAM FROM CTPOST

Joe Greenwald ’13 and Alex Spector ’13 Web Sports Editor and Business Manager

Staples Baseball Wins Three FCIAC Titles in Four Years

Winning the 2011 FCIAC title in a gutsy 5-3 vic-tory against Danbury, its third FCIAC title in a four-year span, demonstrated clear composure and con-sistency. The Staples baseball program is thriving, and this win brought the Wreckers to the lead of most FCIAC titles, with seven. One of the program’s most established areas of expertise is the pitching mound, where since 2009 pitchers like David Speer, Rob Gau, and Jimmy Kopack have shined in the spot-light and led their respective teams to winning seasons and deep playoff runs.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY THE STAMFORD ADVOCATE

The Top 10 Sports Moments Since Seniors Were Freshmen

Staples Girls Hockey Records Important Win

On February 19th, 2011, the Staples Girls’ Hockey Team made history with its 6-3 win over Stamford-Westhill. After three years of existence, three years of varsity status, and a previous season with losses nearly every game of 8+ goals, the victory was fi t-tingly achieved on senior night. Fired up by its seven seniors, and led by new coach Peter Alfano, the win for this small team showed Staples Girls’ Hockey as a program that deserves respect.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY WESTPORT PATCH

FINALTHOUGHTS