Chieftain Issue #4 2010

Chieftain - March

DISTRICT CHAMPIONS2010!

Sewanhaka High School - 500 Tulip Avenue - Floral park, ny 11001

Volume 20 Issue 4 ~ March 2010

2 Chieftain - March

SEWANHAKA HIGH SCHOOL

500 Tulip Ave.- Floral Park, New York 11001

CONTENTS

Monthly Update…………………………………....…3-5Student Feature…………………………………………6Teacher Feature…………………………………………7Editorials………………………………………...……8-9World News………………………………………....…10Movies & Music…………………………………….…11Entertainment…………………………………………12Arts…………………………………………………….13Sports……………………………………………….14-15

The Chieftain

Editors-in-ChiefKetsia Saint-Armand

Joseph Platia

Input EditorCourtney Balgobin

Mary Jane Dumankaya

Layout Editor Armaghan Behlum

PHOTO EDITOREmtiaz Uddin

StaffChester CanasaShahrukh KhanEmtiaz Uddin

Rannia AlcindorSuzette Narinesingh

Katrina SimonMarianela Gimenez

Karen GimenezMegan MullaneyAndreas PavlouAnthony Jean

ContributorsStanley Soman

AdvisorMr. Alfino

PhotographsKaren GimenezYearbook Club

Greetings from the Editors:

Thanks for stopping by to visit us online! All of the issues from Volume 20 are online, and all future issues will be published there as well. You can visit us at http://issuu.com/sewanhaka_chieftain. You can also access our online versions from the Sewanhaka High School webpage, http://shs.sewanhaka.k12.ny.us/. We welcome your suggestions on ways we can continue to improve.

Be a part of YOUR school.

Be a part of YOUR Chieftain!

The ChieftainDistrict Sports Night Members

Olubunmi Adeniran Rannia Alcinidor

Courtney BalgobinRemini Banks

Gina Cangelosi Victoria Casso Joshua CastroSajeeda ChinOscar Corado Parrish Davis

Stephine-Anne DuliepreMary Jane Dumankaya

Stephen Dyckman Gabriella FordCindy Gallardo Christine Garcia Mikhail Gilbert Karen GimenezKenton Green

Katherine Hogan Catherine Johnson

Jeffrey Joseph Regina KellettMichael Klein

Jenny Leak-McRae Adrienne LeGrierFrank McFarland

Travis McKie Devin McRae John Miller Ryan Miller

Nicholas Napolitano Ashlyne Polynice

Miguel Ponce Jordan Riddick

Monique Roberge Albert Rocco

Rosina Rubino Isaie Saloman

Miguel Stanford Vanessa Senat

Jean Pierre Tuberquia Rahiem Tucker-Jones

James Wighaus Destiny Wilson

Brian Wint Keenan Woods

AlternatesSola Adeniran

Jinea Fuller-WrightKunle Ogunlowo

District Sports Night ArticlePage 16

Chieftain meets Thursdays, 7:20

A.M. in Room 237. All new writers are

welcome!

3Chieftain - March

Monthly Update

The Three People You Meet When You Get to Heaven

Ms. Allison Leighton

I remember the day Lisa Zahler came into my office and asked if she could store a box of her English books in my office. Lisa was a Special Education teacher who was taking a year off to receive treatment for leukemia. I, of course, said she could leave the box in my office. She exhaust-edly sat down in the chair in my office and said, “There is just not enough time.” Im-mediately, she switched gears and started talking about students she would miss and teachers she hoped would keep in touch.

It was March of 2008 and it was that time of year again-District Sports Night. I was exhausted teaching, being a chair-person and being advisor to the District Sports Night team…oh yeah, I was also a mom and wife. I saw one of the girls on the track team, Jocelyn Holder, and she grabbed my arm tightly and asked, made me promise, to put her on the team when she got into 11th grade. This was a no-brainer—Jocelyn was a great kid, a member of the track team—I could guar-antee her a spot. But, before I could tell her this, she interrupted, “I know this is silly; it’s just something I have always wanted to do.”

I have always been one to police the hallways. Every day I would approach this group of girls and beg them to hurry up, get their “stuff” and leave the second floor. Daily, this would be a battle, until one day I met Abegail Trent—one of the girls who I had tried to scoot out of the hallway. Once again, I pleaded, “Ladies, get your things and get out of the hallway!” Well, Abegail turned to me and said, “Leighton, you need to lighten up!”

A year has gone by and life marches for-ward. Many things have changed in my life, and I am sure they have changed in your life as well. There are the ten com-mandments, the Rules of Life, the Rules of Thumb...but I prefer to think that all I ever needed to know was whispered to me

by three angels:

1) If there is someone you love that you no longer speak to, no longer confide in, no longer love…if you think you will someday solve this problem because time heals all pain, remember…”There is never enough time.” Do it today—tomorrow may be too late. 2) There will be a time when you have the urge to do something crazy. Life demands so much and sometimes we are all work and no play. If something “sounds silly,” just something you want to do —well, be silly...just do it. 3) When things stress you out— when you have a test in three major subjects, a lacrosse game and your parents want you to babysit your little brother, remember...Lighten up!” Things are never as serious as they seem. You are alive, happy and healthy.

Lisa Zahler never did beat her leukemia —she ran out of time. The day I put up the District Sports Night list this year was the day Jocelyn Holder passed away. And although Abegail had been in hospi-tals her whole life, had numerous organ transplants, she succumbed to heart fail-ure.

When I get to heaven, I am going to

thank three people that taught me how to live my life.

Never expect there to be a tomorrow

because life is a precious gift-not a prom-ise.

Do all the things that sound silly. When all is said and done, these are the only things you will remember.

When life gets real serious, lighten up. It is the only way that a smile survives.

Thank you my three angels.

Student Government

After the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, numerous orga-nizations have been assisting with relief efforts. As of February 12, estimates of three million people have been affected. There have been reports of 217,000-230,000 people identified as dead, ap-proximately three hundred thousand in-jured, and about one million homeless. Sewanhaka’s Student Council has lent a helping hand with a donation collection. Buckets were carried around the school in order to collect funds.

The Student Council is also looking to promote a School Bazaar. A Bazaar is like a carnival where all the clubs are in-vited to set up booths and make a profit. In order for Sewanhaka to have a Bazaar, full participation from the entire student body would be required. The Bazaar idea will be further discussed at the Student Council meeting on March 19 held in the chorus room (Room 301) right after school. Additionally, if you’re interested in becoming an officer for the 2010-2011 school year, election packets will be dis-tributed on April 7. Make sure to come to the meetings and get involved!

Courtney Balgobin

The Faculty Rant

This past January, Sewanhaka wit-nessed the passing of two of its stu-

dents: Jocelyn Holder and Abigail Trent. Jocelyn, who would have been completing her junior year here at SHS, passed on after a courageous battle with brain can-cer. She was a member of the volleyball and track teams, and her teammates recall her as being bright, bubbly, and cheerful. Abigail Trent, Class of 2008, passed away due to heart failure only hours before her scheduled heart transplant. They will be sorely missed.

Sewanhaka Mourns Loss of Two StudentsKetsia Saint-Armand

4 Chieftain - March

Monthly Update

The most talented musicians across the district came to Sewanhaka

High School on the night of February 4, 2010 for the Sewanhaka Central High School District’s 49th annual music fes-tival. Featuring a choral group, an or-chestra, and a band, the Festival required extensive preparation on the part of all its participants. The musicians were chosen by district judges after auditions in No-vember, and students came to 5-hour long rehearsals in the months of January and February leading up to the concert. The night of the concert, the students were di-rected by a special guest conductor. The whole event was coordinated by Ms. Deb-ra O’Connor, who was the chairperson of the music festival this year. Of the event, she said that “The Music District Festival is the most exciting event in the five build-ings.” Like the many proud parents in the building on the night of the concert, she was very impressed by the high level of ac-complishment and skill of the ensembles. Sudara Crosby, a Sewanhaka senior and violinist who was part of the District Or-chestra, said that it was a “wonderful expe-rience, one I’ll never forget.” All the rest of the students who participated expressed similar pleasure at their wonderful experi-ence during the District Music Festival.

Chester Canasa

District Music Festival

On the night of January 19, 2010, Sewanhaka’s National and Junior Hon-or Society chapters held inductions for old and new members at the au-ditorium. Sewanhaka’s Honor Society chapter is comprised of 155 students; all who come from different grade levels and walks of life. The National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) is made up of 9th and 10th graders while the

National Honor Society InductionAnthony Jean

National Honor Society (NHS) members are in the 11th and 12th grades. Both or-ganizations consist of high-achiever’s who continue to test what is to be called a high school student.

Started in 1921 and 1929, respectively, the NHS and the NJHS form a collective group of one million high school students who have accomplished a relatively high grade point average and an interesting extracurricular activity portfolio. In or-der to be considered for such an honor, Sewanhaka’s chapter requires members to maintain a grade point average of 88 and

to participate in at least two service activities.

During the induc-

tion, speeches made by Principal Debo-rah Lidowsky, Sewanhaka’s NJHS Presi-dent Rory O’Reilly and many others left a resounding feeling in the stately audito-rium. Mrs. Lidowsky perfectly summarized

the occasion that night, saying that “Success does not go to the smartest but to the most determined.” NHS President Ketsia Saint-Armand shared the same sentiments, congratulat-

ing the inductees for striving “for the best in both their personal lives and in their commitments.” Con-gratulations to all inductees.

A proud NJHS inductee receives his certificate.

NJHS President Rory O’Reilly making his speech

Photos by Karen Gimenez

The programs distributed at the induction.

Science Olympiad

February 27, 2010 was the date of the regional New York State Science Olym-piad after it had been canceled two weeks prior due to a snowstorm. Sewanhaka sent a team of students from grades 9-12 to compete against over 40 other schools, with Mr. Tesoro and Mr. Sexton of the Science Department serving as the club’s advisors. Sewanhaka’s overall performance improved, but there were a few bumps along the way. A catapult machine built by seniors Sankha Ghatak and Emtiaz Uddin posted

among the top results but was knocked down in the ranking due to the fact that it exceeded the size limita-tions. Juniors Mary Jane Dumankaya and Courtney Balgobin sought to repeat their success in the “Picture This” event (like a science-oriented take on Piction-

ary), but did not repeat their second-place finish from last year, scoring 10th place instead. However, there was an overall improvement (53rd to 41st), something club advisors Mr. Tesoro and Mr. Sexton hope to repeat next year.

Ketsia Saint-Armand

On January 12, 2010, what was al-ready beginning as a dark year for

Haiti got darker. On Tuesday afternoon, around 4:00 p.m., a deadly 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti with its epicenter at Petión-ville, a wealthy suburb in the capitol of Port-au-Prince. As night fell, over 1 mil-lion people wandered around, desperately trying to pull others from the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Elmont is home to the 15th-largest Haitian population in the United States,

Earthquake Rocks a CommunityKetsia Saint-Armand

5Chieftain - March

Monthly Updatebudget cuts that have affected many agen-cies providing for youths all across Long Island. Services have been dwindling and often eliminated completely.

The Nassau County Youth Board, which supports 44 non-profit agencies throughout Long Island, is at the center of much these cuts, and because of these cuts, some agencies may be forced to cut down their services, if not close altogether. The Youth Board has been working aggres-sively to make sure the needs of youth on Long Island continue to be met, and the effort has not gone unnoticed. Recently, as a result of the Youth Board being on the forefront of youth-based initiatives, Nas-sau County was selected as one of the 13 communities in the nation to be a part of a new initiative aimed at helping young people deal with drugs, alcohol and crime. This pilot project, known as Reclaiming Futures, was set up in 2001 with a $21 million investment from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The project’s objec-tive is to look at innovative ways to rein-vent the approaches that police, courts, detention facilities, treatment providers, and community leaders use to help young people stay out of trouble. The initiative began with 10 pilot projects, expanding to include key communities like Nassau County and is planning to reach 26 com-munities nationwide by 2010. The expan-sion was made possible by new investments from RWJF, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (ODDJP) and the Kate B. Reynolds Foundation. In 2006, 855 juveniles were in the Nas-sau County Juvenile Justice system, with an average age of 15. The Nassau County Department of Probation found 40% of these 855 teens had substance abuse is-sues. Nassau County was awarded a $5 million grant for initiatives that provide alternatives for substance abuse. The aim is to improve the screening and assessment of troubled youths for drug and alco-hol problems, and to find more effective treatments to help teens break the endless cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime. Debo-rah Barrett-Anderson, an administrator of the Juvenile Justice Programs at Nassau

County Youth Board, was chosen to be a part of this new project. She will be work-ing closely with many of the communities and other branches of the Juvenile Justice System to create a cohesive plan that in-cludes a better understanding of finding treatment for young people. Addition-ally, as a Reclaiming Futures site, Nassau County has opened a Juvenile Treatment Court to offer better opportunities for substance-abusing youth in the justice system. The Juvenile Treatment Court is a non-traditional alternative to Family Court for an adjudicated delinquent or a person in need of supervision (PINS).

While the Reclaiming Futures program is unique in each community, it always in-cludes three important elements:1. Improved treatment services for drug and alcohol use 2. A system of care that coordinates sup-port services, and 3. Community involvement and new op-portunities for teens.

Researchers have found that teens that receive coordinated comprehensive ser-vices, such as those provided for in the Re-claiming Futures model, are more likely to stay out of trouble and abstain from future drug and alcohol use.

Nassau County has created a team that includes representatives from numerous County agencies and leaders in the com-munity. This team has been working to make the vision of Reclaiming Futures a reality for Nassau County’s teens and their families. Laura Burney Nisson, Ph.D., the National Program Director of Reclaiming Futures said, “Every community wants a solution, a way to reclaim lives, decrease crimes, and save money. Our country’s at a turning point, and we’ve an incredibly important choice to make. There is no rea-son every community in the country can’t do this. All it takes is leadership, and we shouldn’t settle for less than a model that truly reclaims futures.” We are sure that Deborah’s role as a leader in the program will help facilitate those changes in our county.

with over 11% of its residents being of Haitian descent. Many of them have felt the tragedy hit close to home, whether it manifested in the loss of a loved one or overwhelming grief for their nation. Sev-eral large-scale drives were organized, with the Elmont district elementary schools quickly galvanizing forces and calling homes to request aid. Sewanhaka is also involved in the effort with the Foreign Language Department’s toiletry collection and the Student Council’s coin collection, taking place in the main office. Immedi-ately after the earthquake, Assemblyman Tom Alfano also mounted a collection ef-fort.

Over two months later, the death toll still remains a nebulous figure, and will most likely never be known. An estimat-ed 222,517 are dead, 1.1 million remain homeless and displaced, and hundreds of thousands of young children have become orphans. One week after the earthquake, Haiti posted an alarming rate of ampu-tee increase, with over 75 new amputees being made a day. It’s important to re-member that many will not have died from the initial earthquake, and that there will be a large number of deaths from medical complications. Aid is flow-ing in daily, but the recent departures by U.S. armed forces, beginning as early as March 2, have left many Haitians worried about how they will maintain security in their still-fractured nation. According to UNICEF, over 3,000 schools still remain closed or damaged in the areas affected by the earthquake. As a gesture of solidarity, Sewanhaka has extended a helping hand, but there’s a lot more to be done when it comes to helping Haitian students. Let’s do what we can to help.

In these trying economic times, everyone is being affected, espe-cially the youth of Nassau Coun-ty. This is largely in part to the

Stanley Soman

Reclaiming Futures in Nassau County

6 Chieftain - March

Student Feature

Few people in life have a diverse range of talents. Some people

are just good in math, some in music, and some in poetry. However, here at Sewanhaka, both Jennifer and Danielle Brogna have emerged as shining exam-ples of diverse talents.

As president of the musical club, Jen Brogna appeared in both per-formances of All Shook Up, a musical inspired by the works of both Shake-speare’s The Twelfth Night and Elvis Presley. Featured as Natalie, the lead role, she performed brilliantly on both Friday and Sat-urday night, citing the experience as something she “loves doing.”

She also plays the saxo-phone as a member of the Sewanhaka High School Jazz Band and the clarinet for All County Band. In addition to being musically talented, Jen Brogna also has a passion for the English language, and wishes to pursue a career in English and writing. Her love for English is evident in her current status as an assistant editor for the Sewan-haka poetry magazine, The Arrow. As a member of the TAG (Talented And Gifted) Club, Jen Brogna has had many of her poems published in poetry collections such as Creative Commu-nications. Her prowess extends to the Model United Nations club, where she won an Honorable Mention in the World Health committee at American University’s Model United Nations Conference (2009), a very prestigious

Armaghan Behlum

Super Twins at Sewanhaka

achievement, consid-ering the fact that Sewanhaka was going against schools from across the coun-

try and from across the world (there was a large delegation from Beijing). She will be chairing, which means she will be the head of a com-mittee of delegates, for Sewanhaka’s inter-district Model United Nations Conference, SIDMUN. Her belief in life is that “the negatives in life are only building blocks” that provide people with an opportunity to learn from past mistakes and reach success. Danielle Brogna is one of the most academically successful alumni of Sewanhaka, as show in her status as the salutatorian of the Class of 2010. She, along with her sister, hopes to go to Muhlenberg College and

pursue a career in math and music later on in life. One of the three main leads in the musical (and its Vice President), she too wowed the audience with her stunning vocals and convincing, come-dic portrayal of the lovelorn Ms. Sandra in the spring musical. Not only is she an excellent vocalist, but she also plays clarinet and tenor sax for the Sewanhaka High School Band and for the All-Dis-trict Band.

As a member of the Model United Nations club since her freshman year, Danielle Brogna is currently the Vice President, a testimony to her persever-ance, which was rewarded with a well-deserved rise in the ranks. She will also

be chairing, which means she will be the head of a committee of delegates, for SIDMUN, Sewanhaka’s inter-district Model United Nations Con-ference. As an assistant editor for The Arrow, she has managed to further her interest in poetry and creative writing. Also a TAG student since the eighth grade, her poems have also appeared in Creative Communications, a competi-tive and prestigious poetry collection series. On the topic of going to college, Danielle says that she is “really excited to go to college” but that she’ll “defi-nitely miss the family I have here at Sewanhaka.”

With all the contributions both these students have made at Sewanhaka in their years here, there is no doubt that both these stellar individuals will be sorely missed.

Jen (left) and Danielle (right) Brogna playing for the Jazz Band during the Winter Pep Rally.

Can you guess which Brogna twin this is?

Photo by Karen Gimenez

7Chieftain - March

Teacher Feature

A well known and capricious teacher walks through the halls of the Se-

wanhaka math department, his name is Mr. Joseph DeSabato. When he was asked where he graduated from, he said “right here.” A graduate of Sewan-haka High School’s Class of 1994, he has roots in both Stony Brook Univer-sity and Adelphi University, where he earned his Bachelors Degree and Mas-ters Degree, respectively.

Self-deprecatingly, Mr. DeSabato described his decision to become a math teacher as a rather simple one, as he considered his math to be “bet-ter than my English.” Although he majored in a more abstract field like mathematics, he knew he did not want to sit behind a desk for the rest of his career and make a lot of money. Rather, he wanted to be active with a hands-on job, even if that meant he wouldn’t have an as-tronomical salary.

Coming from an Italian family, Mr. De-Sabato can understand and speak a moder-ate amount of Italian. Only one of his four grandparents was born in Italy, and his fam-ily “phased out” their use Italian in order to “fit in” with American society at large. In his words, “they didn’t have the option of press-ing #2 for another language.”

He enjoys eating Italian food and loves pasta in any form with any sauce. Mr. DeSa-bato is the youngest of four children and has 2 sisters and 1 brother. He has been mar-ried to Mrs. DeSabato for 4 years and they have a daughter, Maria, and a son, Dimitri. In terms of personal philosophy and how he incorporates it into his work, he tries to have a positive, “glass half-full” frame of mind on life.

He is aware that many people struggle in and have no taste for math, so he tries his best to add amusement to his classes. Mr. DeSabato tries to conceptualize as of one of

A Motivational Mathematician Shahrukh Khan

dent’s best subject, instilling a strong work ethic in a student will enable them to go

anywhere they want to be.

And to the students who, de-spite all of his relentless optimism, are still determined not to take school seriously, he says: “You may think that school is not im-portant, that homework is a waste of time and that you’re never go-ing to use this in life, but it’s all part of building a strong charac-ter.” His work outside of the class-room keeps him motivated in the classroom. He finds laughter can get a person through a tough day

and he finds satisfaction in help-ing others. Mr. DeSabato likes to take things as they come and approach each second every day

with a carpe diem attitude. Impressing oth-ers isn’t ever on his mind; his only interest is in presenting an honest representation of himself. He believes working hard helps you to get through life’s obstacles and things that seem hard but can be overcome with hard work. A person can think clearly under pressured situations and it is important to help others because “you’ll be surprised to see who will help you in a time of need!” With a diversity of thought and personality, it is no wonder that Mr. DeSabato brings about fun, amusement, and entertainment into his teaching and classes.

In his spare time, Mr. DeSabato enjoys to constructing various structures, like his own house, which he recently rebuilt. He also is fond of working in his yard and growing vegetables and a perfect lawn. Most of all, he loves spending time with his kids. Mr. DeSabato doesn’t have a favorite movie, book, or song. Rather, he says, he enjoys watching “anything that will make me laugh,” for he believes that “it’s important to laugh in life and to make others laugh.” If he has any free time, he finds entertainment in watching hockey.

his own children were in his classes and if he would be pleased with what they were

apprehending. His favorite subject to teach is trigonometry, and his least favorite geom-etry. As a teacher, his favorite moments are always when he sees a considerable amount of his students aspiring to become math teachers.

The ultimate accomplishment and greatest form of an accolade is, to

him, when a student who dislikes math learns to enjoy it by the end of the year, and those who already have much interest in the subject to decide to pursue a career in it. His advice to aspiring secondary school math teachers—and truly, teachers in general—is in line with his prevailing philosophy, and simply requires that one remember that high school students are just kids, and kids that are still growing and should be expected to make mistakes. Clear goal-setting is a must, and optimism is required on both the part of the student and the teacher. Establishing the relevancy of the material being taught is one of the key methods of successfully imparting knowledge to one’s students and teaching them how to become productive citizens in society. Mr. DeSabato feels it is important to have a strong work ethic, for although mathematics might not be a stu-

Mr. DeSabato in the place of choice here at SHS: a math classroom.

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8 Chieftain - March

Editorial

Some critics say that some children do not do well on standardized tests, despite mastery of the material, due to testing anxiety or lack of time management or test-taking skills. This reflects the fact that tests cannot directly measure student knowledge, only the ability of students to apply knowledge in a stressful situation. Testing anxiety has been linked to trait Neuroticism, which is related to generalized anxiety.

The growing influence of test preparation is also a concern for some. As the importance of standardized testing rises, many students attempt to prepare themselves for a test, either through free sample tests and pro-grams, purchasing books designed to prepare the student for a test, or private tutoring sessions. Some parents are willing to pay thousands of dollars to prepare their children for these tests which create a financial barrier that may give children of more wealthy parents an advantage compared to less affluent families. Many studies also show that test coaching has little effect on scores of well-built tests. The ability of wealthy families to pay for higher-quality education is specifically re-lated to a child’s standardized testing score.

Test scores are in some cases used as a sole, mandatory, or primary criterion for admissions or certification. For example, some U.S. states require high school graduation examinations. Adequate scores on these exit exams are required for high school graduation. The General Ed-ucational Development test is often used as an alternative to a high school diploma.

Generalized tests such as the SAT are more often used as one measure among several, when making admissions decisions. Some public insti-tutions have cutoff scores for the SAT, GPA, or class rank, for creating classes of applicants to automatically accept or reject. This proves that colleges and educational institutes use these scores as a major influ-ence.

The disadvantages of these tests go on and on, but what could be done for the students who feel that this is not a fair assessment of them? The answer isn’t simple, you must compensate for your weaknesses and challenge your strengths to other areas. Although it is difficult to see a low test grade in school, it’s an even bigger mistake to mess up on a standardize test. The chance to redeem yourself is small but it can be done. Including a great recommendation letter, a having a good resume will help you get the college acceptance that you deserve.

Test standards and major research groups such as the National Acad-emy of Sciences clearly state that major educational decisions should not be based solely on a test score. High-stakes testing punishes stu-dents, and often teachers, for things they cannot control. It drives stu-dents and teachers away from learning, and at times from school. It narrows, distorts, weakens and impoverishes the curriculum while fos-tering forms of instruction that fail to engage students or support high-quality learning. In a high-stakes testing environment, the limit to edu-cational improvement is largely dictated by the tests - but the tests are a poor measure of high-quality curriculum and learning. In particular, the emphasis on testing hurts low-income students and students from minority groups. Testing cannot provide adequate information about school quality or progress. High-stakes testing actively hurts, rather than helps, genuine educational improvement.

It is a shame that these are the standards, but for the students who are poor at these tests can be assured that they are not alone on this topic.

Standardized Testing—InconclusiveJoseph Platia

Why spend the efforts to study when you know you’re not a good test taker? Standardized tests are becoming more popular on

many different levels. These standard exams prove your placement amongst your piers, and could mean the difference of getting into col-lege or not. Although these tests are somewhat accurate, what happens if you are a poor test taker?

These are the questions that educators have been trying to solve for many years. Educators try to create a standard point to compare indi-viduals to one another. This method of comparison is not accurate. Its flaws have been the demise of many students across America. Some of the standardized tests that we have in our area are the New York State Regents Examinations, the SAT’s, the ACT’s, Advanced Placement Ex-ams, and even ELA exams for Junior High students.

Though many educators recognize that standardized tests have a place in the arsenal of tools used to assess student achievement, critics feel that overuse and misuse of these tests is having serious negative conse-quences on teaching and learning. According to the group “FairTest,” when standardized tests are the primary factor in accountability, the temptation is to use the tests to define curriculum and focus instruc-tion. What is not tested is not taught, and how the subject is tested becomes a model for how to teach the subject. Critics say this disfa-vors higher-order learning. Of course this can also be used to focus instruction on desired outcomes, such as basic reading and math. New value-added-models have been proposed to cope with this criticism by statistically controlling for innate ability and out of school contextual factors.

While it is possible to use a standardized test and not let its limits control curriculum and instruction, this can result in a school putting itself at risk for producing lower test scores, with negative political con-sequences. For example, under the federal No Child Left Behind law in the United States, low test scores mean schools and districts can be labeled "in need of improvement" and punished. If the test is the only method of accountability, then parents and the community are less likely to know how well children are learning in untested areas.

Bill Ayers who was an American elementary education theorist states a critical point: "Standardized tests can't measure initiative, creativity, imagination, conceptual thinking, curiosity, effort, irony, judgment, commitment, nuance, good will, ethical reflection, or a host of other valuable dispositions and attributes. What they can measure and count are isolated skills, specific facts and function, content knowledge, the least interesting and least significant aspects of learning." Bill’s state-ment is to support the students who are intuitive yet lack a better sense of “book smarts.” This is not a cop out for students that are lazy and do not put forth an effort to try. This is solely for the students who get compared to by others based on a score that can not be prove whether they have the internal drive to succeed.

Supporters of standardized testing respond that these are not reasons to abandon testing, but rather criticisms of poorly designed testing re-gimes. They argue that testing focuses educational resources on the most important aspects of education, imparting a pre-defined set of knowledge and skills while the other aspects are either less important, or should be added to the testing scheme. If "knowledge and skills" include the ability to write an essay for example, then it clearly lies outside the province of standardized testing.

9Chieftain - March

EditorialPinning the Blame on the Wrong Thing

Ketsia Saint-Armand

The standardized testing season is nearly upon us once again, and the collective drubbing our minds will receive in a barrage of re-view sessions is just around the corner.

Standardized testing has become something of a bête noire with educators. At first hailed as a new way to gauge student achieve-ment, it has, as of late—especially with the passage of pro-testing legislation like the No Child Left Behind Act of 2003—gained many opponents. It required, among other things, that students be assessed yearly to provide clear benchmarks of student progress. The central aim of the legislation was to ensure that all students achieve proficiency in math and reading.

However, the results have been far from ideal.

The No Child Left Behind Act focused a lot of effort on decreas-ing the achievement gap between white and minority students. However, the National Report Card published in 2009 shows that while a few districts experienced incremental improvement, the national average for mathematics and reading scores remained the same for fourth graders. The results for the eighth graders were even more dismal: relatively few districts made gains since 2007, but most had improved compared to where they were in 2003. Sewanhaka High School’s report by the New York State Board of Regents shows an upward trend, with the amount of students achieving at level 3 and above shooting up to 71.7% for the 2008 school year. Unfortunately, though, such results are not common-place across the country, with more districts becoming beholden to inertia with every successive year.

G. Gage Kingsbury, an educational expert from Northwest Evalu-ation Association in Portland, believes that the “watershed change” promised by the NCLB legislation hasn’t arrived. Instead, many of the gains made to close achievement gaps that underserved students suffer from took place in the 1970s and 1980s, and the NCLB simply mimics the effect of previous legislation.

Seven years later, we have not drastically improved the U.S. edu-cational system; a spot in the top 10 of the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) rankings has continued to elude us. Standardized tests, once a major measure of student knowledge, have been dumbed down to satisfy the clamoring of those who refuse to set the bar high and are unwilling to make the commitment to an uphill battle that necessitates challenging the entrenched tradition of accepting mediocrity and second bests. In doing so, a dangerous situation has been created where education is now the filling of a pail and not the lighting of a fire.

Diane Ravitch, an education expert, is one such example of the about-face that has characterized much of the educational move-ment. Originally a strong proponent of standardized testing, char-ter schools, and free markets to improve educational system, she now is diametrically opposed to her former stance. As a former supporter of the No Child Left Behind Act, she has now says that the legislation has squeezed out subjects like history and literature out of schools.

And she is absolutely right.

Standardized tests are simply one component of a more complete educational policy: one that incorporates the clear-cut educational standards, precise classroom teaching technique, and a recogni-tion of the need for dynamism in any 21st-century curricula. However, to insist that they are unfair and improper measures of student achievement is patently false. In contrast to more tradi-tional measures like GPA, which can vary widely from school to school, standardized exams like the SAT exam provide institutions with a chance to view students’ results when they encounter the same type of test. Some students are poor test takers, it’s true, but to querulously criticize the use of standardized exams in college admissions blatantly ignores the holistic nature of many of these processes.

A recent article in the New York Times Magazine chronicled the journey of Doug Lemov, an education reformer, who grew to re-alize that “data-driven programs that would diagnose individual strengths and weaknesses” were incapable of solving the problem. The problem with legislation like NCLB is that some of the more important holistic aspects of assessing students fall through.

And this is where proper teacher training comes in.

Without properly trained teachers, no amount of standardized testing will solve the current quandary of the U.S. educational system. We need standardized tests to serve as an equalizing fac-tor, but without the proper teachers, the program will not be able to proceed. In an New York Times article entitled “Building a Better Teacher,” several things necessary to be able to lead a class-room successfully without having to teach to the test are advocat-ed: dropping a lesson plan and being able to fruitfully improvise a lesson plan; the ability to explain content in a variety of ways to ensure maximal understanding; and the utilization of various classroom techniques like cold calling.

Two summers ago, at the Saint Aloysius Education Clinic, I was given the opportunity to work with a group of exceptionally bright young children who were beholden to high expectations. Some came from financially strapped families or unstable homes, and yet all were made to understand that as young students, they had a responsibility to better themselves and their communities through education. The Saint Aloysius Education Clinic showed me the power of enrichment programs that had aggressive outreach and a no-nonsense attitude about its standards which I believe would be highly effective on a nationwide scale.

Standardized testing is not the problem with our educational sys-tem; an incomplete implementation of useful programs is. So with both students and teachers gearing up for the next raft of assessment exams this June, it’d serve us well to look into imple-menting new studying and teaching techniques to ensure that we don’t become a part of the dismal statistics on the National Re-port Card.

10 Chieftain - March

Movies & Music

It’s been a decade since Lil Wayne en-tered the rap game, and already he

has certified himself as one of the best rap-pers, if not the best—for now. To add more to his career, Lil Wayne has decided to do something not many would

expect: to drop a rock album. Lil Wayne always wanted to become a rock star and by dropping his newest album, “Rebirth,” he believes that it would not only give his career a makeover, but the genuine stereotype of rock stars as well. Unfortunately, “Rebirth” has nothing to offer. With the exception of one song, “Drop the World,” featuring Eminem, the entire album is nothing spe-cial. Rock just does not fit with Lil Wayne, and imagining him with a guitar and singing with a raspy voice just makes it even worse. After dropping “Rebirth,” Lil Wayne is go-ing to need a rebirth if he wants people to take him and his music seriously again.

Ke$ha began her musical career alongside Flo Rida in his single

“Right Round”. After being featured on a track, Kesha has fi-nally broken through with her debut al-bum, “Album”, and has every-body playing her songs at parties. One

particular single of hers, “TiK ToK”, has been well-received by fans and just any-body who enjoys music. What makes Ke$ha unique from most artists is her im-age. She isn’t afraid to be her real self. Like the title of her album, Ke$ha is proud to

Already an

award-win-ning and best-selling novel, it was time to put Alice Sebold’s masterpiece on screen. Because the of the novel’s critical success, it would only make sense to increase its fan base by allow-ing a big name director to do such a job. That job was given to no other than the award winning director himself, Peter Jackson, who is most notable for di-recting The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and King Kong. Having a great director being in charge of bringing such a great book to life would make the most of sense. How-ever, The Lovely Bones was far from great. If anything, it was simply amusing.

Like the novel, the movie is narrated by a young teenage girl, Susie Salmon (Ro-nan). Susie is like your average teenage girl.

Ke$ha: Animal

The Lovely Bones

Lil Wayne: Rebirth

Emtiaz Uddin

Emtiaz Uddin

Emtiaz Uddin

be pictured as a party animal. Almost all of her tracks off “Animal” justify her posi-tion. Another single off “Animal” is “Blah Blah Blah” which also features 3OH!3. Ke$ha has stated that the song speaks of men in the same way that they have talked about women in the music industry. Like her first single, “Blah Blah Blah” has also generated positive reception from critics and fans. Ke$ha may be new to the musi-cal game, but she ha proved to be a success with her debut album, and hopefully gen-erates more fans in the future as she did with this one.

She comes from a nice family whom she gets along with, and has her girly fantasies such as having a crush and etc. However, Susie’s life is cut short after she is raped and brutally murdered by her creepy neighbor George Harvey (Tucci). It’s after Susie’s death, where things begin to change. Her family is deeply saddened, especially her father (Wahlberg), who goes over lengths to find his daughter’s murderer, which breaks the family apart. Not only does Su-sie’s family change, but the perspective of the movie as well. After Susie is murdered, the audience is given a view of Heaven, and how Susie enjoys it there. This is what hurt the film, because too much time was

taken in depicting the afterlife, and took less away from the real world.

Although the film’s lineup was full of stars such as Peter Jackson, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, and Irish su-perstar Saoirse Ro-nan, the only per-son to garner critical acclaim happened to be Stanley Tucci who played George Harvey in the film. Tucci has received many nominations for Best Support-ing Actor for his role, and he played the role very well indeed. The Love-ly Bones seemed

promising when it began, but as the film went on it was losing that promise. How-ever as the film hit its climax it did bring suspense on how the murder situation would be handled. But after the climax, it ended too abruptly. The Lovely Bones wasn’t going to be an easy film to adapt to the big screen, but it could’ve been better than it was by Jackson. The Lovely Bones is probably worth to watch once and may-be twice if you’re bored.

11Chieftain - March

Arts & EntertainmentHoroscopes

Katrina Simon

Capricorn December 22-January 19

In order to succeed, a competitive edge is necessary. Don’t expect to succeed in a task without giving it your full attention.

Aquarius January 20-February 18

It is not always necessary to say yes to every request that comes your way. It’s important to have free time for yourself.

Pisces February 19-March 20

First impressions of people are not always accurate; sometimes cer-tain people need a second chance to show you their true personal-ity.

Aries March 21-April 19

People have been appreciating your hard work lately, even if it may not seem like they have no-ticed. Keep the good work up!

Taurus April 20-May 20

You’re usually a risk taker, but maybe sometimes it’s better to stay low-key. A big consequence may occur if you rush in to things too quickly.

Gemini May 21-June 21

Direct communication is the best way to get what you want, so in-stead of hinting at something, come straight out with it. You’ll be surprised at how easy getting what you want is.

Cancer June 22-July 22

As much as you wish, life does not have a rewind button, nor a fast forward button. Take each day one at a time, and stop stressing about the future or past.

Leo July 23-August 22

Sometimes the best thing may be the wrong thing to do.As you decide things, remember that the hardest decision and the right decision are disappoint-ingly sometimes the same.

Virgo August 23- September 22

You cannot always expect every-thing to be handed to you on a silver platter, sometimes you must work for what you want yourself. Persistence is necessary.

Libra September 23-October 22

Although you may be feeling re-gret, there is nothing that can bedone about the past. The best is to keep moving forward and take every opportunity seriously.

Scorpio October 22-November 21

Always remember to consider all sides of a story before taking sides. This step could be pivotal in taking sides.

Sagittarius November 22-December 21

You’ve always been a caring and helpful person, but remember that in order to truly help others, one must help their own self first.

Budding Artist Pursues Uncommon Passion

Usually, when people mention that they enjoy reading manga, a popular form of Japanese comics, they are

met with blank stares, raised eyebrows, and a scornful “har-rumph!” once they explain what it means. But to draw manga is an even stranger hobby, one that very few people pursue to the level of Mikhail Gilbert.

An amateur artist who is enrolled in AP Art classes, Mikhail has enjoyed writing his own manga and creating his own, original storylines since he was eleven years old. However, in the past two years, he’s been engaged in a time-consuming project: making his own volume of what will (hopefully) become its own manga series. The series, entitled “Coffin,” is the story of a melancholy young man named Mecaire who got caught up in the wrong crowd and had his life snuffed out violently. Having died, in Purgatory, he was given the choice and committed to the Devil’s Game, a trial that rewards him with a wish fulfilling any of his hearts desires. But the quest to get his life back turns into a bout to stop the Devil’s conquest of Purgatory, Heaven and Earth.

Ketsia Saint-Armand

Sneak preview of one of the panels from “Coffin.”


Spirit Day

“It was all

dream…,” just another hip-hop fantasy come true. For Spirit Day, the Senior Class chose hip-hop and brought back the 90s. The se-niors “hooked up” the Main Office hall-way with a graffiti banner, cassettes, fa-mous artists, and loads of “dope” décor. It

was a great success to see most of the seniors helping out weeks before and the day of Spirit Day. Not only did the se-nior hallway look amaz-ing, but so did the se-

niors’ attire. They dressed the part of

90s hip-hop, win-ning extra brownie points with the judges. All the hard work and effort put in by the seniors paid off in the end, leading them to victory as first-place winners in the Spirit Day hallway competition and giving them hope for another success-ful performance at Follies.

Rannia Alcindor

Class of 2010

Take a trip down Ab-

bey Road through the Class of 2011’s hall-way and feel the spirit of rock and roll. The Junior Class of 2011’s did a wonderful job on their hallway for this year’s Spirit Day. They

put in a lot of time and effort but it really paid off. “Everyone put in a very good effort, taking work home with them and stay-ing after school every day, it really showed the dedi-cation of all of the class-mates” said class advi-sor Miss Poyer. The juniors had a wonderful time working on their hall-way. You could just see the teamwork as they were setting everything up on Friday

Suzette Narinesingh

Class of 2011

After showing a tremendous amount of skill and dedication

during Homecoming 2009, the sopho-mores enthusiastically were able to con-tinue their hard work for the celebration of Spirit Day. With the category of music genres, the sophomores re-ceived the theme of disco, and definitely did not disappoint. With their adroit use of flashy neon colors and their inclusion of a real disco ball, the sophomores were able to work their way into win-ning second place, just behind the seniors. The students who worked on the hallway greatly appreciate the continuous help and assistance from their advisors. When asked about spirit day, class president Rory O’Reilly stated, “Class advisors Miss Lev-entelis and Mr. Mewhinney, as well as the class of 2012, truly worked hard to accom-plish the hallway of our dreams. We take pride in placing 2nd, and congratulate the seniors who finished 1st.” The sophomores

Katrina Simon

Class of 2012

Juniors pose in front of their jukebox.

A portrait of the members of RUN DMC by Jef-fery Joseph in the senior hallway.

morning. With the help of Mr. Herrle and the class advisors, Miss. Poyer and Miss. Morratto, the juniors were able create an impressive hallway.

The Graffiti-inspired banner that adorned the senior hallway.

Photo from Yearbok Club

Senior Class President Ran-nia Alcindor and senior Al-bert Rocco proudly display their ‘80s hip-hop outfits.

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Photo from Yearbook Club


A view of the junior hallway from below.


The bar in the Sophomore’s disco themed hallway.

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13Chieftain - March

For the 2010 Spirit Day, the 9th grader’s challenge was Salsa Music.

It was their first year in high school and the hardest one yet. There expe-rience as said by Mr. Quinn, the advisor, was “chaotic.” It was not as overwhelming as everyone expected it be, but there still a lot of work and little time. The custo-dians weren’t happy about about cleaning up the rooms they were using, especial-ly since the freshmen left

Shahrukh Khan

Class of 2013

also received a large amount of assistance and guidance from vice president Shana Brouder, who designed the layout of the hall-way. The Class of 2012 hopes to win first place in the Spirit Day competition next year, a goal that they may be able to accomplish, given all the hard

work and dedica-tion they devote to everything they do.

The Freshmen’s depiction of their theme: Salsa.

posters on the lab tables in the science rooms. It was more of a group activity and the 9th grad-ers needed a longer term perspective. Mr. Quinn felt that kids operate better under more pressure so in a way it was bet-ter for them. They were in 4th place among the 9th-12th graders and hope to place higher next year.

Decked out in their 1950s attire, class advisors Ms. Morrison and Mr. Lo-

tosky met at 6:00 a.m., along with 20 members of the 7th grade class, to decorate their hallway for Spirit Day. The students were also decked out in their ‘50s decor, prepared with goodies, decorations for the walls and ceilings, music from the 1950s, and plenty of Sewanhaka spirit. Not to anyone’s surprise was Ms. Morrison’s and Mr. Lotosky’s twisting to Chubby Checker’s hit “The Twist” as Kristina Mazzamuto shouted out, “The Class of 2015 loves ‘50s

music!”

Class of 2015

The class of 2015’s hallway dec-orated with ‘50s decor.

The sophomore hallway advertising a dance-off between the Assistant Principals.

T. McBrien

Spirit Day

Class of 2014

The Class of 2014, advised by Mr. O’Brien and Mr.

Renart, has had a year filled with fun and success!

Beginning with Homecoming, the 8th graders presented Hallow-een as their theme, which looked amazing! President Joseph

Pep RallyJoseph Platia

Pep Rally marked the end of a very eventful day! This year’s winter

Pep Rally seemed to mark a new pre-cedence of tradition. Although every year we have one, this year had some

of the best performanc-es that I have seen in all my years of Sewan-haka. The Student Council President an-nounced the winners of the Hallway Com-petitions, and intro-duced the Coach’s to

come up and speak on behalf of their team as well as introduce them. Dio Rodriguez was the Sewanhaka Mas-cot for this years winter Pep Rally and states, “I enjoyed myself during the Pep Rally, and would love to be the permanent mascot for the remainder of my stay at Sewanhaka.“ A great highlight of the eve-ning was the two performances form our performing groups. The cheer-leaders put on their routine that they showcased at their competiton the next day. I cannot wait to see how we try and top next year’s Pep Rally from this year’s.

Mazzeo stated, “The best part was that we all came together when we needed to. It showed good class teamwork.” Spirit Day came and went, and we decorated the hallways in Coun-try Music’s finest. Vice President Jennifer LoPresti said, “Besides coming in at 6 in the morning to decorate, it was a lot of fun!” They look f o r w a r d to many more activi-ties such as more pizza sales and maybe a dance.

The entrance to the Freshman hallway.

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A complete view of the Sopho-more hallway.




The eighth Grade Hallway displayed a ceiling full of cowboy boots.



Spirit Day

Rockettes pose before the pep rally.

Photo from Yearbook ClubThe Color Guard and Rockettes await the start of the Pep Rally.


The Girls Varsity Basketball team poses for a photo at the pep rally.


The Student Council officers Mary Jane Dumankaya, Courtney Balgobin, and Joey Platia, along with the school’s mascot, Dio Rodriguez.

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The cheerleaders put on a performance that was full of tumbles, twists and tricks!


Mr. Sexton designed the Class of 2010’s “Victory Meter” which ac-curately predicted their upcoming triumph!

Photo from

Yearbook Club

Class of 2014 shows of their dancing boots.


15Chieftain - March

Spirit Day


School mascot Dio Rodriguez leads Sewanhaka’s school spirit!


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Cheerleaders hoist Courtney McManus in the air.

Sewanahaka’s students wait in eager anticipation for their Winter Pep Rally.

Sewanahaka’s band plays “Tomahawk Chop” as their Color Guard marches out.

Sewanahaka’s Band plays to the tune of school spirit!



District Sports Night

District Champions 2010!

The trophy has been returned to the rightful champions: SEWANHAKA! The Sewanhaka team has won the 24th an-nual District SportsNight after devastating back-to-back losses to Carey. The Sewanhaka team hopes to go back to the bliss that it had in its 10 year winning streak from ’98 to ’07. Sweeping almost all the events, Sewanhaka has redeemed itself. The team of athletes consisted of 48 juniors and seniors who went against the best of the best from the five district schools. The team had practiced diligently, and went in not willing to give up without a fight.

The first event of the night was Hit the Deck. It wasn’t just a matter of speed but also of agility. A team of 6 runners would take turns running the length of the gym floor, sliding forward, running back and jumping through the feet of their counterparts to tag the next runner. With sufficient practice, the Sewan-haka team was sure to leave the other schools in its dust. Sewanhaka runners each went neck and neck with another from Carey; trying to gain a formidable lead. The first to run was Josh Castro, who tried to establish a lead; and those following including Adrienne LegGrier, Isaie Saloman, and Brian Wint tried to lengthen the lead for the last runner: Remini Banks. The Indians ran their hardest but at the last second were edged by Carey in what seemed to be a photo finish.

The scooter race was next and was the easiest victory for Sewanhaka. Every student loved racing on scooters in ele-mentary school, but now the best were put to the test, racing at ten times the speed. Sewanhaka had mastered the art of the scooter race, gaining advantage in every switch of part-ners. Each boy-girl pair would race down the gym, alternate

and race back. From the start, it was evident that Sewanhaka was the one to beat. The first pair to set the lead was Remini Banks and Ryan Miller; with each pair adding to the lead, the last two pairs Gabriella Ford and Devin McRae, and James Wighaus and Cindy Gallardo brought the win home, finish-ing a league ahead of the other teams.

Snake was for the runners; speed and endurance was the key. One person begins running through 5 cones, and each time he or she finishes one lap they latch on to another person, until there is eventually 5 people in a chain running at once. It’s not as easy as it seems, with hands sweating and the crowd roaring; the pressure is on for each runner to hold on tight and run their fastest. There were two teams of six: the first was led by James Wighaus, and the second by Oscar Corado. If one person were to slip up, it would be a loss for the team; fortunately Sewanhaka had no mistakes, performing like true champions. The other schools were not as flawless, Carey go-ing as far as to knock down every cone, acquiring a penalty for each. Each school has two teams that together compete for the fastest time. With a record of 2:03, Sewanhaka gained first place in snake.

Cageball: the ultimate team event. A game of volleyball that consists of twenty people on each side, only instead of a volleyball, there is a cageball. There are only two rules: don’t

let the ball hit the ground, and don’t hit it out. In the first match of Cageball, Sewanhaka was put to the test against our rival: the Carey Seahawks. It seems all those nights practicing in the gym would finally come in handy. The start was a bit shaky but Sewanhaka end-ed it, and victory was ours in the first match. But that’s when it got tough;

in the finals we were to face Floral Park who seemed to have practiced just as much as we had. The team had all the bases covered; Jordan Riddick and Jeffrey Joseph in front; ready to use their strength to spike the ball over, and girls in the back; Regina Kellett, Katie Johnson, and Mo-nique Roberge pushing the ball forward. The ball went back and forth for minutes on end; it seemed like it would never end and POW, Sewanhaka got a point. Floral Park quickly retaliated, and now it was 1-1; Floral Park spiked it into the bleachers, making it 2-1. The game had not been lost yet;

Photo from Lors Photography

The Skis team on their way to victory!

District champions bringing the title back to SHS!


Spectator Ivan Garcia shows his Sewanhaka Pride!


17Chieftain - March

District Sports Nightit was a game to the third point. Sewanhaka tried their best, but Floral Park ultimately won the showdown.

The Skis event was a test of teamwork: how fast could six people make a pair of skis walk? This was a race against time, for the school with the fastest time to “ski” down the length of the team, have their teams switch and “ski” back would win. Sewanhaka had an able team of juniors and seniors who were able to think quickly on their feet. Sewanhaka was paired up with Elmont for their race. The Sewanhaka team gathered, and the skiers began their quest for victory. In the race against Elmont, the Spartans were the beginning product to Sewanhakas finished one. The first team was led by Oscar Corado, and directed from the behind by Katie Hogan. The second team was led by J.P. Tuberquia whose directions could be heard even over the crowd; as they neared the finish line, Michael Klein pushed for even greater steps to shave off some seconds. Next up was Carey, NHP, and Floral Park. The only team who

seemed to be a match for Se-wanhaka was Carey High School, and for a moment Sewanhaka thought that their time of 35 seconds wasn’t fast enough.

Fortunately, it was, Sewanhaka was 1

second faster than Carey: that sixtieth of a minute secured victory for the Indians.

Sewanhaka was anticipating a win for tug-of-war, as the stron-gest of Sewanhaka knew they were the ones that could carry the team to victory. The first match of the night was an easy win against Elmont Memorial, but on the other hand New Hyde Park had had an easy win as well. The finals however were not as easy, NHP’s desire to win was evident as both teams stepped out to grab the rope. The team was ready to use all their strength with Rahiem Tucker-Jones as anchor, backed

by Rannia Al-cinidor, Jenny Leak-McRae, and Parrish Da-vis at the end of the rope. The Sewanhaka team was in tiptop shape and now it

was a fight of determination; plenty of encouragement was

supplied to the Indians as Coach Bren-nan stood in their faces not willing to let them give up. The tuggers did not disap-point and brought in the win that set Sewanha-

ka apart from the rest of the schools for the final time.

The most fun part of the night was the dance; Sewanhaka was fourth to do the exercise dance. The dance was spearheaded by se-nior Katie Hogan with assistance from Regina Kellet and Gabriel-la Ford, and the team had spent hours getting the moves just right. The dance involved simple to complicated tricks; from a pushup to the tick tock. The beginning had its foundations in the tradi-tional jaws theme song, with Jeffrey Joseph in the middle of the gym yelling “Indians come out and play!” There was a variety of music from Paparazzi by Lady Gaga to the classic Time after Time by Cyndi Lauper. The dance ended with two human robots and thirty people dancing to I can transform by Chris Brown. With the end of the song there was one man standing; Jordan Riddick who fell as well after his robotic solo. The Indians were energetic and enthusiastic in their performance; they came in third overall in the exercise dance competition. Carey came in first; Elmont in

second; with New Hyde Park and Floral Park close behind Sewanhaka. The Indians did however covet victory in the poster contest; with a mural done by the team’s very own artist, Mikhail Gilbert.

“A team’s spirit is not what makes them win; it’s what makes them champions!” The Sewanhaka In-dians entered the night as champions and left it as champions. With pride in everything they did, the Indians had fun and at the end of the night proved that they are the best! The team could not have done it with-out the coaches; Mrs. Leighton, Ms. Kelly, and Ms.Brennan. The Sewanhaka Indians worked hard for their win and they deserved it. May another reign of District Sports Night begin!

Seniors Karen Gimenez, Frank Rocco, and Frankie McFarland getting focused for their next event.


Team Sewanhaka getting ready to win in CageBall!


Sewanhaka team members getting ready to receive the ball in CageBall.


The Sewanhaka team successfully forms a human robot during their dance!

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Team Sewanhaka is overjoyed by their victory in the tug-of-war!


Coach Leighton and Keenan Woods share an emotional hug.

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Sports

Four years ago, when a district wrestling team was cre-ated, there was not much fanfare surrounding its in-

ception. Head coach Rocco Sorace had his work cut out for

him. “Four years ago we started from ground zero,” said Mr. Sorace. At the close of the 2009-2010 winter season, Mr. Sorace’s wrestlers have made great strides forward in a very short time. The overall team record was 11-9 (and 3-2 in league), their best record in their four year existence.

This season Sewanhaka senior Miguel Ponce compiled a 30-3 win-lose record and won the county qualifier as 4th seed at 171 pounds. Junior Dan Cedeno placed fifth in the county qualifiers and was a top wild card in the Nassau County championship round at 152 pounds. “Our upper weight classes were our strength this year.” said Mr. Sorace. “We were really strong from 152- and up,” he added.

Not only are these Sewanhaka students proving they can overcome adversity on the mats, they are also

prove they can overcome adversity in life. Chris DeJesus, who is legally blind, has been a member of the Sewanhaka Wrestling team fro two years. This season, on the Madison Square Garden Network, Chris was a feature of the week. His win-loss record may not have brought him to the coun-ty championship, but it has earned him the respect of his teammates, coaches and opponents.

Although seniors like Ponce will be graduating this year, next season looks bright for the Sewanhaka grapplers. Coach Sorace has a few aces up his sleeve. Dan Cedeno will return

Sewanhaka Grapplers Pin Down Respect at County Championship Frank Alfino

Boys Varsity Basketball Closes the Season with a Respectable Finish

The Varsity, Jr. High and Jr. Varsity boy’s basketball teams all tried to do their best to win this season.

The varsity team, coached by Mr. Reece and Ogunlowo fin-ished the season with a score of 9 wins, and 8 losses.

Juniors make up most of the 14 person team this year. One of the key players on the team is CJ Brown, a senior. He averages at 18 points a game, and got an All Conference Award. Another key player is Olusola Adeniran. He has a score of 15 point per game, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks. He was awarded the All County award. The team’s best win was the victory over Great Neck North. Great Neck North lost only 1 conference game, thanks to Sewanhaka. Sewanhaka gave Great Neck North their only loss this season.

The coaches describe the team as up and down, with great completive play, and then some erratic play. With a score of 14 wins and 4 losses last season the team had high expectations to fulfill. The team wants to reach higher next year, and they will not be satisfied until they reach those high standards. The coaches would like to wish three gradu-ating seniors, CJ Brown, Dillan Malebrance, and Kenton Green good luck in the future. The future looks bright with the 11 returning players next year. “It was a good year, but we were one game short of the playoffs” says Coach Mr. Reece. Hopefully the varsity team will continue to win, and excel next year.

The Junior Varsity team is coached by Mr. Reed and Mr. Stewart. This team is described as determined and strong minded about winning. The team is led by tree talented athletes, Jaquan Johnson (freshman), Mike Cothia (trans-fer), and Kareem Ar (sophomore). There are three games remaining in the season, and with the right gameplay, the team has an outside shot at the playoffs.

The Jr. High boy’s basketball team is coached by Mr.

Gerner and Mr. Premisler. There are actually three teams, the 7th grade team, the 8th grade team, and the Travel team.

along with a host of juniors that will carry the weight of the team. Elmont students Nick Roberts at 160, Ben Odvg-beron at 171, Dennis Melendez at 189 all won their first round county tournament match. Zach Hilderbrandt also qualified at 189.

Wrestling Team poses during the pep rally.Photo from Yearbook Club

19Chieftain - March

Sports

Here we go INDIANS (clap, clap), here we go! As cheer-leaders of Sewanhaka High School, they lead a crowd to

Cheerleaders at CompetitionMarianela Gimenez

Both the girls’ varsity and junior varsity have ended their seasons with more than astonishing records. Varsity had an overall record of 12 wins and only a mere 5 losses. Finish-ing the league season with 9 wins and 3 losses, the Indians for the first time in a long time, grabbed onto second place in the confer-ence. All of the girls on the team, es-pecially the seniors, Katie Hogan, Gab-by Ford, Re-gina Kellett, and Anneka Smith have worked hard all season long to make their last, one they will never forget. Leaving their hearts on the floor for the last couple games to ensure they had more wins to add across the board is what Varsity did best as the season came to an end. Coach Soupios has never been more proud of a group of girls before than he is with the 2009-2010 team. Even though the team is losing a handful of great players for next year, Captain Gabby Ford summed up the next biggest task for the younger girls: “Never let the family die”. The winning attitude is far from gone and next season great things are in store for the Indians!

Girls Varsity BasketballMegan Mullaney

The Varsity track team ended its season on a good note, sending four girls and one boy to the counties

meet. Coach Felicetti wishes the seniors best of luck in the

future, and encourages anyone who is interested in joining track to do so.

Although though the season was productive, the team experienced a saddening loss, with teammate Jocelyn Hold-er losing her battle with cancer. In the past several weeks, the track team has been collecting donations to host a run-a-thon in her memory, with all proceeds going towards the purchase of a bench and perhaps a brick in the Tribal Grounds as a small tribute to a wonderful individual.

The winter track season has just ended, and although she has many fond memories of the season, Senior Jenny Leak qualified to compete for a spot on the States and placed 5th overall with a throw in the shot put event of 30ft 10.5in. Coach Felicetti has expressed great excitement to begin the spring season, especially with the roster of the team’s rising stars like Jenny Leak, Celestina Pipia, juniors Brian Wint, Vanessa Senat, Johane Accime, and Keenan Woods.

Varsity TrackKaren Gimenez

Junior Brian Wint gets off to a good start in his 55m race.

The coaches say that they had good teams and that they practiced hard everyday. The 7th grade team ended the sea-son with a score of 3 wins and 5 losses, and in the end came in 3rd place. The 8th grade team had a score of 5 wins and 3 losses, and came in 2nd place for the season. The tourna-ment team played one tournament against all of the schools in the district. This team does not play so much for competi-tion, but for fun.

This season the boy’s basketball teams have proved that they are great at the game. Let’s hope they keep up the good playing.

the chants and cheers as the students and faculty joined to encourage the athletes. This year, the Varsity cheerleaders brought more than enthusiasm to both football and basket-ball games—they brought their excellent performances from their first year of competition, and used them to enhance the quality of their halftime and pep rally performances. This year’s competitions were held at Garden City High School and Mount Sinai. The girls who will not graduate this year will take their skills and determinations to add on to next year’s team. However, the seniors will leave with an unfor-gettable experience.

Team Sewanhaka takes a shot during their game.

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Reputation is for time; character is for eternity.-J.B. Gough

Sewanhaka Central High School District

A Nationally Recognized District of Excellence

Mrs. Debra Lidowsky - Principal

Mr. Warren A. Meierdiercks, Superintendent Of Schools

Board of Education

Jean Fichtl - President

DavidT. Fowler - Vice President

Joseph Armocida

David Del Santo

Laura Ferone

Lorraine Ferrigno

Michael Jaime

Joan Romagnoli

Hank Logerman Award

American Scholastic Press Award NEWSDAy H.S. jOurNALISM AWArD

2009 QuILL yOuNG PEOPLE PrESS AWArD

Chieftain Issue #4 2010

Documents

Transcript of Chieftain Issue #4 2010