Category Archives: Christian DiMartino

A&E, Christian DiMartino

Choir retreat bonds students

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Choir director Angela Hampton’s 5th period a cappella class practices a new song for future practices.”What we’re trying to do is get everyone working in a group rather than as individuals,” said Hampton.

By Christian DiMartino

At the beginning of the school year, it is not uncommon for students to feel anxious. They do not know what their teachers will be like, who has classes with them, or what is in store for the year. Getting to know one another is a difficult task, but some teachers eliminate the awkward introduction period with weekend retreats.

Choir and handbells director Angela Hampton is one such teacher. Every year, she takes her a cappella choir on a weekend-long retreat. This year they traveled to Country Lake Retreat campground, north of Henryville .

“Its biggest purpose is a team building event,” said Hampton. “In a choir, you have many individual voices, but we perform as a single unit. In a nutshell, what we’re trying to do is get everyone working in a team rather than as individuals.”

Hampton, who has been a choir teacher for the past 20 years, has been hosting retreats for the past five years. She attended a conference on choir retreats, and was inspired to have them herself.

At the campground, choir members were divided into sections determined by their voice ranges, and they would rehearse. But they did not just work, they also had fun. They played kickball, made s’mores, canoed, and told scary stories.

“Everyone bonded by talking to each other and getting to know one another; we had free time for a while each day, so people hung out,” said sophomore Brett Yeaton, who joined choir mainly because he enjoyed hearing the  a cappella choir. This was his first retreat.

“I got to know a lot of people. My team won the kickball tournament so I walked away with good team-working qualities,” said Yeaton.

Sophomore Andrew Mills, who has been in choir since the sixth grade, also went on the retreat for the first time.

“I got to know a lot of the people more than I did going in,” said Mills.

Senior Kathryn Pryor is in her first year in a cappella, and this was also her first retreat.

“I really got to get closer to the people I didn’t know before I came into a cappella,” said Pryor,” I’m willing to be very open with all of them.”

Pryor is in her first year in a cappella, and this was also her first retreat.

According to Hampton, everyone bonded very well, calling the trip,”a very successful group building retreat.”

Through this retreat, the a cappella choir has become a more cohesive group.

“A cappella, women’s choir and men’s choir, are a great ways to meet new people so you can grow as both a team and a family,” said Pryor.

Christian DiMartino, News

New attendance policy prevents truancy

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By Christian DiMartino

On a typical school day, students wake up, get ready, and make their way to school. They go from class to class, learning new things. However, some do not. Some students miss one day, and maybe another, and sometimes more than that. Whether it is for illness, personal issues,or simply just playing hooky, attendance is a problem.

What happens when a student misses a day of school? Usually a student will come in the next day, but they have to catch up on everything that he or she missed. But sometimes, a lone desk can be empty for more than a few days, and it could lead one to wonder: Where did they go?
Missing school may not seem like that big of an issue, but it is bigger than one might expect.Before the 2010-2011 school year, if students missed too many days, they would be forced to attend a class known as TEAM (Tuesday/Thursday Excessive Absence Makeup). Then by the tenth absence, a legal letter would be sent home, and any further days absent would result in expulsion.

But now, there is a new absence policy. If a student is gone for more than ten days in just one class, he or she might not even receive credit for the class.  The rest of the absence policy is as follows: On the fourth absence (excused or unexcused), a student receives their first legal letter. On the sixth, there is a parent conference. On the eighth, a student will receive another legal letter, they will pull their work permit, and then they will be placed on probation. On the twelfth, an expulsion is filed.

“When a student hits four absences, then I pick them up off of a print out that is run and two things happen: first, I see the student and the attendance policy. Second, a letter goes home to a parent,” said student liaison Becky Clifton.

Not only does missing school have an effect on students, but it also has an effect on the staff.
“I want you here so you can learn, but we also want you to learn the function of beingsomewhere on time every day. The reason we do that is so when you enter the workforce, you understand the importance of attendance,” Clifton said.

“There are quite often legitimate reasons for student missing school, however, there are far more absences than there needs to be. The grades suffer,” said counselor Jessica Newkirk.

“In math, it puts students behind and they lose that lesson. When students struggle,attendance is part of it,” said math teacher Randy Gianfagna.

“When you miss school, you miss assignments and the work that is coming, so it’s important that you come to school every day,” said assistant principal of student development Joe Voelker.

But here is one fact about the new policy; according to statistics provided by Voelker, it is working. Last year, there was 10,053 student days absent, which sounds like quite a number. But compared to 292,900 student days present, and the overall percentage for the year came to 96.68. So far this year,there has been a total of 1,669 student days missing. However, there is 299,438.50 student days present, and the percentage is 99.86.
But is the absence policy too strict?

“It’s fair… it’s set up so when you miss school because of being sick or court, as an example, you can file a waiver and it is granted, and I think the waivers are what make our policy fair. It would be nice if it were more strict, however, it would be more practical,” said Clifton. “Well, if we decreased the number of days we missed, it would be difficult for some students to survive that and this seems to be a pretty attainable policy right now. If we made it tougher, we have a small percentage of students expelled.”

“They’ve involved probation, and I think that the level of absences have dropped, because the attendance has improved,” said Newkirk.

“It’s gotten better, now with it just being eight absences; it’s gotten better,” Gianfagna said.

“I think it’s very good. I think it’s worked, I only deal with about 40 kids [in a semester] with an attendance issue, and I never have to meet with them again,” Voelker said.

Ferris Bueller, the lead in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, skipped school nine times and went out for an adventurous day with his two best friends. But in the meantime, someone was out to get him: his principal, Ed Rooney, who tracks Ferris all around Chicago so then he can catch him in the act. The movie may set a bad example.

But the question is: Are there people like Ferris Bueller? “We have one every year,” said Clifton. “But the policy that we have now doesn’t let them get to an extreme amount of absences.”

How about Ed Rooney? “It’s kind of what I do, but I hope I don’t look that bad,” said Clifton.
“There are times, but I have never actually tracked anyone down,” Voelker said.
So far this year, there has been a total of 1,669 student days missing. However, there is 299,438.50 student days present, and the percentage is 99.86.

Missing too much school can cause many problems, and it is a good thing that the rate isimproving.”There’s a benefit to coming to school. you learn more in class, socially also, you get along better because your friends see you as a dependable person,” Voelker said.

A&E, Christian DiMartino

Heroes, Aliens, and Vampires: The Summer in Review

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By Christian DiMartino

What do most people do during their summer vacation? Some will go on vacation, some will become video game-loving hermits. But if you are like me, summer only means one thing: movie season. Highly anticipated films are always released during summer, and this summer was no exception. 

This summer brought us a wide variety of film filled with heroes, aliens, vampires, male strippers, and Tom Cruise jamming out to iconic 80s music, just to name a few. Even though I missed out on some, namely, The Amazing Spider-man. These are the top five movies that I enjoyed this summer.

5. Ted: Family Guy creator Seth McFarlene’s directorial debut has just the right of off the wall humor. Mark Wahlberg gives one of his best performances as the man-child John, and every joke, whether vulgar or crude, is done so well by its actors. It is also pretty clever and original, considering the fact that there has never been a comedy about a foul mouthed teddy bear (voiced by McFarlene himself). It may look strange, but trust me you have not seen anything yet.

4. Men In Black 3: One of the most refreshing movies of the summer, Men In Black 3 is the best one in the series. It has many funny moments, and the special effects are merely decent. Josh Brolin gives a terrific performance as 1960s Agent K (the older version played by Tommy Lee Jones) and its overall very enjoyable entertainment. It is all good fun, but it does not turn out to be remarkable until the final five minutes.

3. Brave: Pixar’s latest film Brave is the only movie that I have ever been to see without knowing the plot. I’m sure glad I did not, because it was an enjoyable surprise. This is a wonderful film filled with imagination, humor, and beautiful animation. Is it quite Ratatouille, Up, or Finding Nemo? No, but it is up there somewhere.

2. Prometheus: Ridley Scott came back to the world of Alien this summer with a prequel called Prometheus, a frightening, grotesque, nail-biting, and sort of disturbing film that does not quite reach Alien’s excellency, but it definitely returns Scott back to form. Filled with special effects and relentless horror, Prometheus is the first movie to scare me in a long time.

1. The Dark Knight Rises: I think you all saw this coming. Film-god Christopher Nolan, who just brought us 2010s spectacular brain-bender Inception and the flawless predecessor The Dark Knight before that, has brought us a spectacular final chapter to the already perfect Dark Knight trilogy. Although the film is missing the spirit of The Joker, the trilogy enters someone even more sinister, named Bane (the chilling Tom Hardy), who is the ultimate villain for Batman (the always perfect Christian Bale) to take down. Mainly due to the fact that he doesn’t feel pain. Filled with great performances, spectacular action sequences, beautiful character development, plenty of powerful moments, excellent twists and turns and relentless unpredictability, this film has my vote for next year’s Oscars.

I feel that an honorable mention is well deserved, so let me begin with Tom Cruise. Cruise had quite a summer, with the whole Katie Holmes thing and all. So it is only necessary to mention his brilliant turn as rock god Stacee Jaxx in the musical, Rock of Ages. I liked the movie, despite the fact that some of the moments did not work. But every moment with Cruise worked. Like in 2008s Tropic Thunder and 1999s Magnolia, Cruise gives the best performance involved. He is hilarious, he is outrageous, he can sing, and he gives the most enjoyable performance of the summer.
Then there is The Avengers, and when I say that I do not mean it in a bad way. I would have liked to have included it on my list, but it did not quite make it. Is it great? Not quite, but it is a good ride. But others may disagree, considering it is one of the most successful films of all time.

The summer brought some promising movies my way. And if something like The Dark Knight Rises came to us half way through the year, I can only guess what is to come in the other half. Personally, I can not wait.