University Neighborhood High School

UNHS Press

Penny Wars for Hurricane and

Earthquake Relief By Tyler Johnson

The past two weeks have been very traumatic for both Mexico and Puerto

Rico. Puerto Rico has been hit by not only one, but two Category 4 hurri-

canes back to back— Irma and Maria. Maria has been Puerto Rico’s worst

tropical storm since 1928, killing 10 people and leaving the ENTIRE is-

land out of power. One week ago, Mexico City was hit with two 6.2-

magnitude earthquakes, killing over 300 people and destroying multiple

buildings.

UNHS has decided to do our part in helping the residents of Puerto Rico

and Mexico. The Student Government Organization and the Spanish Club

have collaborated to organize a collection of donated bottled water, canned

food, toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, diapers, baby wipes, bar soap,

hand sanitizer, shampoo, clothes, shoes, and batteries all this week. In ad-

dition, they are holding bake sales, with all money raised going to organizations that are helping both countries.

Finally, UNHS is participating in a classic game of Penny Wars to raise money for the victims of these cata-

strophic events. Penny Wars take place during lunch periods; each grade has a collection jar, and students deposit

their coins to their grade levels. Bills and pennies GAIN points, and silver coins DEDUCT points. The grade

with the highest points will be announced

October 2. As of September 26, the freshman class was in the lead with 854 points. ALL funds will be donated to

worthy organizations helping these countries recover. Viva Puerto Rico y Viva Mexico!

Advisor : Ms. Haff

E7 Journalism Class

Senior Editor:

Tyler Johnson

Home of the Panthers

Our Team:

Volume 2 , Issue 1

September 27, 2017

The Penny Wars funds as of September 26. You can find the Penny Wars bins in the lobby during

lunch 5th and 6th period.

UNHS Press Staff:

Annjalie Chander

Angel Cortina

Andrea Roman

Anthony Rivera

Jennifer Risa

Jennifer Lopez

Kimberley Garcia

Herla Altman

Zoe Chang

Monserrat Perez

Somaiya Akter

Shanice Keitt

Jared Reyes

Sally Jiang

Jacky Martinez

Udeme Udom

School News

Welcome to UNHS all new Teachers and Staff! UNHS Press is formally introducing our new staff of teachers! Our student population has grown overwhelmingly

and we welcome all the new faces among both the faculty and the students. It is a pleasure to add new members to

our community— let’s have a great year!

Mr.Cavalli, Social Studies A Long island native, Mr.Cavalli is the new global

history teacher. He earned his undergraduate degree

and master's degree at Stony Brook University.

Cavalli’s inspiration to teach grew when he was a

teacher’s assistant in college: “I really liked teaching

the younger student.” Mr. cavalla adds, “My ultimate

goal as a teacher is to try and get students to love

history as much as I do,” and we assure you, his

passion for history is great!

Mr. Demaskos, Health and Physical Education

Mr. Demaskos is from Long Island. He attended Itha-

ca College, studying to be a health and physical edu-

cation teacher. When asked about his goal as a teach-

er, he responded by saying, “To be that teacher that

students don’t cut their class and get excited to go

there. For me, it’s to make the curriculum and materi-

al exciting. Outside of the classroom, it’s to be that

teacher that students come to and talk to and be open.”

Ms. Decosta, Science

Ms. Decosta is from Southern California. She

attended four different colleges, including com-

munity colleges. She earned her earth science

degree at the University of California, Berkeley

and earned her Master's degree at The American

Museum of Natural History. Her inspiration was

seeing people help others; she decided she want-

ed to be a part of the change. She believes earth

science helps change the way people view and

interact with the world.

Ms. Liu, Math Ms. Liu migrated to America without knowing

a word of English and now speaks it fluently!

Her ultimate goal is to become a dancer, alt-

hough she says she’s not very good. She

attended Brooklyn College. Her inspiration to

teach came from a summer job at 17 years old

teaching kindergartners Chinese. She wanted

to teach math because she noticed that math in

the United States was really falling behind.

Ms. Locciasano, English She wrote a 38 page thesis on a Korean American

memoir, named Dicky and is a Harry Potter fan!

Loccisano attended The College of Mt. Saint Vin-

cent. Despite her large workload in college, Loccias-

ano found a way to be super-involved in her college

community; she even joined the dance team. “There

is never one answer… you will always need to be a

critical thinker, a good writer, and a strong reader in

any job you have, so English is the most important

subject.”

Ms.McPartland, ENL and Creative Writing This is McPartland’s first time teaching at a high

school. She has studied and lived in Poland. Ms.

McPartland is currently finishing her third Master’s

degree at Hunter College. Her inspiration and motiva-

tion to continue teaching “is just seeing people suc-

ceed.” McPartland has always had that passion for

literature, telling us, “I always looked for books I

wanted to read and explore.” McPartland is having a

great time at UNHS and says, “It’s a welcoming envi-

ronment”.

Mr.Mednik, Math Former elevator mechanic now mathematician, Mr.

Mednik attended Baruch College and St. John’s Uni-

versity. Says Mr. Mednik: “I love children and I love

math— two things that go well together.” His ulti-

mate goal as a teacher is, “to get to a point where I

have close to 100% of my students improving in any

aspect.” His inspiration to teach was having the op-

portunity to tutor first graders while in high school.

Mr. Mednik tells us, “Math is beautiful, it is a won-

derful language… it is all the same no matter where

Mr. Moulder, Math Mr. Moulder is from Long Island, currently residing in

Wantagh. He attended Adelphi University, where he got

his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and his Master’s in

Adolescent Education through a five-year program. When

asked what his ultimate goal as a teacher was, he respond-

ed “To make a difference in a student's life, ideally multi-

ple students’ lives, but if I can make a difference with one

student, I’ll be happy.”

Ms.Sanchez, College Advisor Ms.Sanchez is a New Yorker at heart and attended Bing-

hamton University. However, she did leave her beloved

city to study abroad in Spain for one semester in college.

Her ultimate goal as a guidance counselor is “to be a so-

cial worker in a school setting, and this is me just gaining

experience.” Sanchez loves “working with students and

you guys are really awesome!” “One thing I always en-

joyed doing is building relationships and meeting new

people and I knew I wanted to make a career out of that.”

Mr. Viteri, Science Mr. Viteri is Ecuadorian and Italian. He attended Stony

Brook University as an undergrad and Pace University for

graduate school. As a teacher, his ultimate goal is for all

of his students in one school year to become “scientists.”

Mr. Viteri wants to make a positive difference in chil-

dren’s lives, specifically those with limited educational

opportunities, so he teaches chemistry— something that

he is extremely good at!

School News

Welcome Class of 2021 — Here’s Some Advice! The UNHS Press staff went around and asked our current seniors what advice they could give to this year’s

Freshman, and here’s what they said:

“Understand that you’re still finding yourself.” - Patricia Guerrero

“Don’t be afraid of what people think about you.” - Eddy Vargas

“Don’t mess up freshman year because it really affects your

GPA.” - Brandy Ferreira

“Freshman year is just a taste of high school.” - Jordan Torres

“The first year shouldn’t be an intimidation but an experience.” - Hope Martinez

Student Government Kicks off the School Year with

Spirit Week! This year’s Student Government is ringing in the school spirit this year with our first Spirit Week of the school

year. Below are the dates of our Spirit Week and each theme day. Be out on the lookout for our UNHS Press Staff

and Yearbook committee to capture this fun-filled week!

Sprit Week: October 24 - October 31, 2017

Tuesday, 10/24 Sports Day

Wednesday, 10/25 Wacky/Crazy Hair Day

Thursday, 10/26 Bougee Day

Friday, 10/27 Heritage Pride Day

Monday, 10/30 Pajama Day

Tuesday, 10/31

(Halloween)

Costume Day!

Community News

Written and edited by Kevin Barriga, Joe Liang, Shanell Tufino, Xu Xiao, and Tania Joaquin

On September 5th 2017, the Trump administration decided they would be removing Deferred Action for Child-

hood Arrivals (DACA). America is the land of freedom and job opportunities; however, not everyone can afford

to come here legally. So the problem arose when children were being deported. DACA is an immigration law

passed by Barack Obama that protected eligible children who illegally immigrated to the U.S. from being deport-

ed. The program expires after two years but can be renewed. Tere are requirements to partake in DACA.

DACA was created by President Obama as a solution to the deportation problem. This solution was met with

strong public support. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey, 63 percent of the participants approved

of the program. In a more recent poll by NBC News, nearly two-thirds of Americans favor the DREAMers to stay

in the United States. However, Trump is against illegal immigration and called Obama’s actions

“unconstitutional.” This led to an attempt to end DACA, making it hard for illegal immigrants to advance into the

United States and have a better life.

The removal of DACA affects people nationwide, but New Yorkers are taking action trying to protect their fami-

lies, friends, and themselves. After Trump announced the possible repeal of DACA, thousands of New Yorkers

gathered at the Trump International Hotel in response. New York City is home to many immigrants; DACA pro-

tects 30,000 of New Yorkers. Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “I have a message for President Trump: Don't mess with

your fellow New Yorkers.” In addition, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Governor

Andrew M. Cuomo vowed to sue over the president’s decision to end DACA.

Trump doesn’t have any response to the protests. However, this week, he started to talk with congressional Dem-

ocrats on ways to save the program and potentially keep "Dreamers" in the US. Although there is widespread sup-

port for the concept of a DACA deal, there are more troubles that need to overcome.

Update: No new DACA applications are being accepted at this time. The University at California will continue to

pay for all renewal application fees while funding lasts.

Sports

Cowboys Demolish Giants

By Adrienne Berrios

The New York Giants faced off against their division rivals,

the Dallas Cowboys. In the off season the Giants acquired vet-

eran wide out Brandon Marshall and drafted the rookie tight

end Evan Engram, which greatly benefited the Giants offense. In the preseason, the Giants star receiver Odell

Beckham, Jr. suffered a sprained ankle week one against the Cleveland Browns, which made it questionable

whether or not he would be able to play the first game of the regular season. The regular season has arrived and it

turns out Odell Beckham would not be able to play. Without the Giants star receiver, the Giants suffered a tough

loss, 3-19. The Giants offense struggled without Beckham; Brandon Marshall did not catch a single ball and the

first round rookie tight end Evan Engram hasn’t made any explosive or dynamic plays. The Giants sophomore

slot receiver Sterling Shepard carried the Giants offense. On top of all this, Eli Manning couldn’t even throw the

ball—the Cowboys’ defensive line completely ran over the Giants’ offensive line, not giving Manning any time to

throw the ball. Week 2 against the Detroit Lions is coming up: Will Beckham be able to recover from his injury

or will the Giants’ offense make any improvements, giving them their first win of the regular season? After all the

Giants transactions and roster changes, along with their draft picks, the Giants were considered Super Bowl con-

tenders; this isn’t exactly the best start for the Giants. Controversy has started regarding whether or not the whole

Giants team is overrated and aren’t really ready for the Super Bowl.

Sports

Swinging and Competing for the Top

By Danny Jordan

The current team standings for the MLB are leading for a close tie-up for who is on the top for the playoffs. The

Boston Red Sox currently stand at 91 wins and 64 losses, but the New York Yankees have 86 wins and 69 losses.

These two teams that are in East Division American League are competing to be top of this league. Current MVP

for Red Sox lead up to Mookie Betts and for Yankees, it is Aaron Judge, but this might change in the near future.

MVP AVG HR RBI OBP

Mookie Betts .291 .76 302 .350

Aaron Judge .267 .52 115 .397

School Sports

Written by Carlos Martinez and Sophia Zhang

With the start of the new school year, we venture into the new season of the school’s athletic teams/clubs. Here

are the few that are right around the corner:

Flag Football

Mr. Chung, the school’s music teacher and sports coach, will be

coaching this year’s Boys’ Flag Football team. Tryouts have been

held periodically throughout September. The official roster is post-

ed below. The school will play on the CHSAA league rather than

the PSAL league. After the flag football season, Chung hopes to

create a girls’ basketball team if enough female players join. He

also plans on a boys’ baseball team. If you are interested in any of

these sports, speak to Mr. Chung in room 201.

The flag football team has their first game this Friday September 30, 2017. Make sure to show support for the

team and stay updated on scores!

2017 UNHS Flag Football Roster

N. Wiradiradja D. Fleming E. Vargas

K. Barriga C. Fields B. Bobe

A. Kadry R. Reid E. Parrison

J. Paniaga E. Victoriano B. Palloshi

A. Mesa J. Rosado J. Quintanilla

D. Mejia J. Torres K. Johnson

2017 UNHS Flag Football Practice Squad

J. Peralta M. Williams A. Colotl

J. Rodriguez M. Dickson E. Lopez

X. Rivera J. Baptista K. Ren

More School Sports on the next page.

Basketball

Mr. Kornfeld, the school’s physical education teacher and sports coach,

will be coaching this year’s boys’ basketball team. Tryouts for the school’s

team will commence around November. You must be passing all your

classes and maintain a 90% attendance in order to try out and participate on

the school team.

Mr. Fox, University Neighborhood High School’s dean, will be coaching

boys’ basketball and coed handball teams. Mr. Fox encourages more peo-

ple to play because it can “bring the school community together.” He believes students should be more involved in

after-school activities.

Soccer

Join the boys and girls soccer club! The first meeting will be held Thurs-

day, September 28, 2017 after school at exactly 2:45 PM. Students are to

meet in the basketball court located in the school’s park. Soccer club will

meet every Thursday after school at 2:45. MAKE SURE YOU BRING A

SOCCER BALL IF YOU OWN ONE!

Bowling

Come and support the boys’ first bowling game on September 26th and the

girls’ bowling game on September 27th. Visit www.psal.org for more up-

dates.

School Sports

Entertainment

Upcoming Concerts By Juan Cortina

Kid Cudi and Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi will be performing right here in

New York at Summerstage, located at Central Park on October 6th. Tickets

start at $60. Kid Cudi has started on rap and produces his own music, bringing

new and unique sounds to the hip hop scene.

RAC will also be also in New York at Brooklyn Steel on October 8th. Tickets

start at $40. The head artist of this group is André Allen Anjos, a Portuguese

DJ and record producer with many remixes across all the genres. He has also

produced songs for ads. The full group consists of online remixers Aaron

Jasinski and Chris Angelovski and André.

Flatliners Science fiction/Drama film

Five medical students, ob-

sessed by what lies beyond

the confines of life, embark

on a daring experiment; by

stopping their hearts for short

periods, each triggers a near-

death experience, giving them

a firsthand account of the af-

terlife.

Release Date: September 28

Criminal Minds (Season

13)

American drama series

This police procedural fol-

lows a group of extraordi-

nary FBI profilers who

spend their days getting into

the minds of psychopathic

criminals.

The Season 13 premiere of Criminal Minds airs on

Wednesday, September 27

The Mountain Between Us

Sacrifice, Escape, Survival

Stranded on a mountain after

a tragic plane crash, two

strangers must work together

to endure the extreme ele-

ments of the remote, snow-

covered

terrain. Realizing that help is

not on the way, they embark

on a perilous journey across

hundreds of miles of wilderness, pushing each other

to survive and discovering their inner strength

Release Date: October 6

This is Us (Season 2)

Comedy, Drama,

Family

This show follows a

unique ensemble, as

their paths cross and

their life stories inter-

twine, from sharing the

same birthday, to so

much more than any-

one would expect.

Season 2 Episode 1, dropped on September 26

Entertainment

Movies to Watch for: Shows We Can’t Wait to Watch:

Upcoming Fall Activities In NYC By Zhichuan Tan

Happily, fall is coming. A new wave of activities is springing up in

NYC. The one that is causing the most buzz is the Hester Street Fair!

The fair celebrated the first full day of fall (September 23rd) and will

continue until September 30th.

The Hester Street Fair takes place in Hester Street every Saturday. In

this 10,000 square-foot block squeeze more than 60 clothing, accesso-

ry, and food vendors. In this food-and-shopping fair, you can spend less money to buy more expensive stuff.

Of course, the main character of this fair is food. This year, there are Balls Bistro (all ball shaped foods!), Test

Kitchen, Coffee Throw-down, Ice Cream Social, and a lobster event.

We highly recommend that you take the opportunity to head down and explore the fair and celebrate the com-

ing of fall!

Horoscopes Provided by Grisell Garcia and astrologyclub.com

Fun Page

Aquarius( Jan 20th - Feb 18th)

You may have been feeling very free spirited over the past

year, eager to explore other cultures and ideas. This plane-

tary alignment could have influenced you to change ca-

reers, invest in higher learning, or open you to see other

ways of looking at the world. You may have even expand-

ed your physical horizons by traveling and stepping outside

of your comfort zone.

Leo ( July 23rd - August 22nd)

Your communication abilities with those around you have

been stellar, and you are able to engage in these relationships

more positively because of it. While you are always the cen-

ter of attention, lovely Leo, you have learned over the past

year to listen and be patient for another person. This has

helped you mature and grow into a well-rounded individual

who people can count on if they need advice and support.

Pisces (Feb 19th - Mar 20th)

You always do your best to do the right thing but there will

be days you will really do your best to do the right thing.

Why? Because it is the right thing. For another, you could

really end up helping somebody. Some really spectacular

news is coming your way!

Virgo (Aug. 23rd- Sep.22nd)

There is nothing stopping you from achieving your fullest

potential in your career right now. You may find yourself

presented with new opportunities for more income, with a

possible promotion in place. This influx of money could lead

to a bigger investment down the road since you will be pre-

paring for a major financial shift towards the end of the year.

Aries ( March 21st - April19th)

If there is territory, you are going to explore it. If there’s a

new idea you are going to pioneer it. If somebody’s emo-

tions are unclear, you’re going to blaze a super-

communicative trail to get to the bottom of what’s happen-

ing. You’ll be making new connections and learning new

tricks and reveling in the all-out awesomeness of every-

thing.

Libra ( Sep 23rd- Oct 22nd)

As Jupiter leaves your sign, you will continue this fortuitous

path and feel like a million bucks. However, the energy will

shift from being all about you to more about how you can

help others. This transition will hopefully be one of ease, as

you have been flying practically all year! Your confidence

and energy will give you the ability to understand and assist

those around you.

Taurus (April 20th - May 20th)

This month will be filled with love, spiritually, and guid-

ance for you, dear Taurus. You have been doing a lot of

work over the past year to make strides in your profession-

al development. While this focus on career will remain

steady throughout the month, your focus will shift to more

personal matters.

Scorpio ( Oct 23rd - Nov 21st)

Your growth and expansion of self-identity over the last year

are in part thanks to Jupiter, who makes his transit through

each house of the horoscope for an entire year before going

to the next. The planet comes full circle every twelve years.

You have done a lot of deep work on yourself and have

learned a lot from your life experiences thus far. The biggest

lesson Jupiter wants you to learn now is to “love thyself”.

Gemini ( May 21st - June 20th)

Get ready for a month of fun and pleasure, lovely Gemini!

The stars predict that you will have lucky month with

friends and domestic attributes. If you don’t go overboard

in discretionary spending, you should be fine! That being

said, you will have many opportunities for socializing this

month.

Sagittarius ( Nov 22nd - Dec 21st)

Oh, sassy Sagittarius, delights await you during the month of

October this year. This month will test your patience once

again. This entire year has probably been filled with more

responsibilities and tasks than ever before in your profes-

sional and personal life. While you must wait to see the fruits

of your labor until next year, you are seriously effecting

change behind the scenes!

Cancer ( June 21st - July 22nd) October has a lot to teach you, dear Cancer! Saturn remains

in your sixth house throughout the month of October, and it

has been here for quite a while. Saturn acts like a discipli-

nary father, teaching you important lessons about work and

commitments. The hardest lessons are often our most re-

warding in the end, and this will be revealed to you when

Saturn’s reign in the sixth house is over by this December.

Capricorn ( Dec 22nd - Jan 19th)

The month of October begins with some seriously influential

aspects! Mars trines Pluto on the 1st in your sign, dear Capri-

corn. You might feel particularly innovative today, thinking

of solutions to problems that have been bugging you for

weeks! Take advantage of this delightful alignment and use

this time to apply yourself.

Fun Page

Sudoku The objective is to fill a 9×9 grid with digits so that each col-umn, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 sub-grids that com-

pose the grid contains all of the digits from 1 to 9. The puzzle

setter provides a partially completed grid, which for a well-

posed puzzle has a unique solution.

PTA and School Leadership Team

Updates

On October 31, the budget will be finalized and UNHS will be receiving money February 2018 to accom-

modate our increase in student enrollment.

This year’s CEP goals will be focusing on literacy across all classrooms. Clubs and tutoring time has been

established for teachers during their C6 periods.

Ms. Sanchez, the college coordinator, will be assisting in College Writing classes. All CUNY applications

are due October 16th. 85% of students have registered for the SATs. You can contact Ms. Sanchez at her

email, collegeadvisor@unhs.

Mrs. Kowalsky spoke about applying for a grant for $100,000 for fortify the CTE program. Pays for NAFF

(Spring Expo).

All sinks and floors have been replaced in the Science Labs in rooms 503-504. $100,000 was donated by

Ms. Margaret Chin. Room 411 (computer lab) will get 25 Macs as well!

Unity Luncheon will be on November 17, 2017. PTA will write an invite to parents for their attendance. Is-

sue: Who will be donating this year’s turkeys? Possibly the school store. Mr. Usatin will be the coordinator

for this event with the help of Student Government

Next SLT meeting will be held on October 11th, 2017!

Parent News

Senior Section Senior Dues have been placed for this year’s graduating class ($225) which includes: Senior photo shoot

and photo package, cap and gown for graduation, diploma case, senior T-shirt, and yearbook.

Payment schedule as follows: Oct. 16 ($56), Nov 16 ($56), Dec 16 ($56), and Jan 16 ($56)

For those who cannot afford Senior Dues, student government is providing scholarships to a limited number

of students to cover the costs. If you are interested in applying, an essay detailing the need of the scholarship

that has been signed by a parent or guardian is required by October 15th.

Other possible expenses this year that are optional:

Prom ($100) due by April 6, 2018

Senior Cruise ($80) due by Feb 16, 2018

Senior Hoodies ($30) due by May 1, 2018

Senior Class Rings ($150 +) - more information to follow

This year’s Graduation will commence on Monday, June 25, 2018 at 8:30 AM at NYU’s Skirball Theater.

All Seniors must have joined in the Senior Activities Google Classroom in order to receive more infor-

mation.

Please contact Mrs. Kowalsky (room 410) with any questions or concerns.

Want more UNHS swag?

Get custom Panthers gear at the official UNHS online spirit store! Purchase hoodies, hats, bags, T-shirts, sweats,

and more! Visit: www.unhsgear.com.

Please see next page for our September and October events.

Sunday, October 22, 2017

The Jacob Javits Center, Hall 1C

1-4pm

Come to the 2017 Big Apple

College Fair

The college fair will host over 200 Colleges and Universities. Admissions’ Representatives will be

there to talk with you and your parents.

September Events

October Events

For more information about any of these events, please call our parent coordinator,

Haydee Rodriguez, at (212) 962-4341, ext. 3060.

9/4 Monday Labor day: School Closed

9/5-6 Tuesday-Wednesday Staff Development days: No students in attendance

9/7 Thursday First day of classes

9/13 Wednesday SLT meeting 4-5:00 P.M.; PTA meeting 5-6:30 P.M.

9/16-17 Saturday-Sunday High School Fair at Brooklyn Tech, 10:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M.

9/21-22 Thursday-Friday Rosh Hashanah: School closed

9/25-29 Monday-Friday Fundraisers, donation drives for Mexico and Puerto Rico

9/29 Thursday Family Night, 4-7:30 P.M.

10/9 Monday Columbus day: School closed

10/11 Wednesday SLT meeting 4-5:00 P.M.; PTA meeting 5-6:30 P.M.

10/14 Saturday Saturday school begins; 8:30 A.M.-1:30 P.M.

10/14-15 Saturday-Sunday High School Fair at MLK 11:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M.

10/20 Friday End of Marking Period 1

10/24-10/31 Tuesday-Tuesday

(one week)

Spirit Week!

10/31 Tuesday Halloween