bccs requires students to complete volunteer...
TRANSCRIPT
Volume 4 Fall 2018 Issue 1
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
BCCS Requires Students to Complete Volunteer Work
By: Luke Bortolotto, 10th Grade
Boston Collegiate Charter School
has an 80 hour community service
requirement for graduation, but don’t feel
bad, our peers around the city, at schools
like Boston Latin School, Boston Latin
Academy, The John D. O’Bryant, Boston
College High School, Mount Alvernia
High School, and others all require
students to volunteer. In 2004, Boston
Collegiate Charter School’s first graduates
were required to complete 60 hours of
community service, that requirement
increased in 2008 to 80 hours of
community service. According to a
document titled “Community Service
Graduation Requirements” given to
incoming BCCS Freshmen in Collegiate
Skills class, every student is required to
complete a minimum of 80 hours of
community service in order to graduate.
Community service provides students with
the opportunity to give back to, and
become active members of their
communities while providing service to
those in need.
Hundreds of students have
graduated from Boston Collegiate Charter
School over the past 14 years completing
tens of thousands of community service
hours. Certain examples of community
service include, peer tutoring at the BCCS
Lower School, working at food banks
across Boston, volunteering at local
community centers and Boys and Girls
clubs, and volunteer work at local places of
worship. Volunteer hours must be verified
by an adult and this adult cannot be your
parent or guardian. Once verified, you
must submit your service to Ms.
Montesano’s mailbox.
To make it easier and give it more
time, students can start your community
service in the second semester of 8th
grade. If it were to be spread out over four
and half years, their service requirement is
only about 20 minutes per week. If you
have any questions regarding community
service hours or opportunities, you should
meet with Ms. Montesano in the High
School Main office or schedule an
appointment with Ms. Morland.
I am looking for any students or
staff to share any stories of volunteer
experiences for the next installment of the
Hurricane Herald. Please contact me at
Upcoming Dates
Wednesday, November 21st Turkey Bowl
Thursday, November 22nd Thanksgiving November 26th – 28th Basketball Tryouts
Thursday, December 20th Fall Athletics Banquet December 22nd – January 2nd Winter Break
Saturday, January 5th Robotics Meet
Week of January 7th Midterms Friday, January 11th End of Quarter 2
9th and 10th Grade Semi-
Formal Dance
If any teams, clubs, or teachers are interesting in posting an announcement in The Hurricane Herald, please e-mail us
Fall Riddle
The deadline to answer this riddle correctly for a prize is
Monday, November 26th
, 2019
The riddle is as follows: What goes on four legs at dawn, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?
Think you know the answer? Email your guess to [email protected].
The first person to submit the correct answer will win a Dunkin Gift Card!
Senior Year? Never Heard of Her By: Kanilla Charles, 12th Grade
Hi everyone! Welcome back to the Hurricane Herald! My name is Kanilla and if you don’t
remember me, I had a column last year called “A Sprinkle of Knowledgeable Melanin.” Was that a corny title? Yes, yes it was. But it described me so well. Nonetheless, I enjoyed writing so much. This year, I am back and more ready than ever to give you my take on the happenings in the world. But before we talk about what’s happening in our world, I’d like to focus on me for a second. Selfish? Maybe. But necessary? Very. This is my last year at BCCS, and being a senior, I have done a lot of reflection. Knowing that I will (most likely) graduate June 6th, 2019 is surreal. I have literally been waiting for this moment my entire life. And now that the waiting is almost over, I feel it is appropriate to tell you how I really feel about BCCS. Academically, compared to other schools, BCCS is rigorous and has a medium. Some nights I was drowning in homework and other nights I was bored because I had no work to do. It really does depend on the day. This, from what I can assume, is similar to how colleges function. I appreciate the teachers of BCCS for pushing me to my potential when they saw that I was skating by. I know they want the best for me, so I appreciate knowing there is always someone in my corner. BCCS in other aspects however...could use some work. But, if I had the chance to change some things about BCCS, I don’t think I would. The way that BCCS functions isn’t perfect and there is room for improvement in every aspect, but the amicable spirit and drive to be better at BCCS is rare to find anywhere else. I am forever grateful to have attended school here and I hope future generations will too. And I hope they treat this new building well because we won’t be around to enjoy it.
Senior Snapshots
Seniors at the retreat in September.
Mr. White’s Environmental Science classes.
Boston Sports Today
By: Joey Maiullari, 12th Grade
Red Sox Win the World Series
The Red Sox won their ninth World Series championship on October 28th, finishing off the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games. The Red Sox have won their fourth World Series in the past fourteen years, dating back to 2004. The Sox were led by brilliant performances from first baseman Steve Pearce, designated hitter J.D. Martinez and center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., along with pitchers Chris Sale, Nathan Eovaldi, David Price and Joe Kelly. Pearce was given the 2018 World Series Most Valuable Player after hitting two clutch home runs in Game 5 at Los Angeles, putting the nail in the coffin to the Dodgers and their season. Pearce went 4-for-12 and drive in eight runs. Bradley Jr. was named the 2018 American League Championship Series MVP after finishing off the Houston Astros with two home runs and nine runs batted in. Without Pearce and Bradley, the Sox offense would not have been as efficient or resilient. David Price finally shut down the question of his ability to get it done in the playoffs with a seven inning outing, surrendering only one run in Game 5 to hand the Sox their first championship since 2013. Joe Kelly was efficient out of the bullpen, allowing only one earned run through 11.1 innings of work in the postseason. The Sox big acquisition at the July trade deadline was Nathan Eovaldi, who ends up being the best pitcher dealt. The Tampa Bay Rays gave up Eovaldi for Sox pitching prospect Jalen Beeks. Eovaldi was excellent in October, throwing 22.1 innings and giving up only four earned runs. Eovaldi is a free agent this winter and the Sox look to bring him back in order to strengthen their pitching rotation. Jackie Bradley Jr. won the AL Gold Glove for centerfield, while Mookie Betts won the right field Gold Glove and Ian Kinsler won it for second base.
Celtics Finally Secure Their Health
With Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Gordon Hayward all starting for Boston, it would be difficult for them to not be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics have been one of the most overpowering teams in the league with the health of Irving and Hayward. Although neither have completely hit their stride and lived up their potential, the Celts are 6-4 on the young season with the sixth best record in the NBA. The difference between the Celtics and many other teams, except for the Golden State Warriors, is that every night, there is a different player who steps up and leads the team in crunchtime. We have seen this from Tatum some nights, Irving other nights, and Brown as well. The only other team who can match these assets are the Warriors, who have had 50 point performances from guards Steph Curry (50 points) and Klay Thompson (52 points with NBA Record 14 three-pointers) within the same week and another high-scoring performance with 41 points from forward Kevin Durant. The Celtics have been led by Irving, who has averaged 18 points per game with 5 rebounds and 5 assists, and forward Jayson Tatum and Marcus Morris who both have averaged 16 points per game with 7.5 rebounds. The Celtics look to continue their dominance over the next week’s Western Conference road trip.
Bruins Strong Start Led By Pastrnak, Bergeron
The Bruins are currently tied for second in the Atlantic Conference with a 8-4-2 record as they have 18 points on the young season. The Bruins have been led by forward David Pastrnak and center Patrice Bergeron, their two top scorers. Bergeron has 7 goals and 12 assists, while Pastrnak has 11 goals and 5 assists. The Bruins hold one of the premier first lines in the NHL as left-winger Brad Marchand has 4 goals and 11 assists. Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak look forward to continuing a strong season behind the strength of goalies Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak. Halak holds a 95.2% save percentage this season, which is fourth best in the entire league. The Bruins have recovered after a 7-0 defeat against reigning NHL Champions, the Washington Capitals, on opening night. The Bruins will play the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, November 8th, which is former Thayer Academy and Northeastern University standout, Adam Gaudette’s first game in Boston after winning the 2018 Hobey Baker Award.
Patriots Tied for Third Best Record in the NFL
Despite playing against the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football and the powerful Chicago Bears defense, the Patriots have found yet another way to dominate the league. Even with a 41 year-old quarterback and an injury-plagued defense, the Patriots hold a 7-2 record. Brady has currently completed 67% of his passes and has thrown for 2,494 yards and 17 touchdowns. He has gone on two game-winning drives and has proven his worth even at an old age. The Patriots have had huge wins against the Chiefs and Packers as their defense showed up in both primetime games in crunchtime. Safety Devin McCourty and linebacker Dont’a Hightower continue to be key anchors on the defense. The Patriots defeated the hottest offense in the NFL of the Chiefs 43-40 with two key interceptions on young phenom Patrick Mahomes, who threw for 352 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Patriots have the Titans on Sunday, November 11th, before entering their bye week.
NFL Power Rankings
1. New Orleans Saints (7-1)- The Saints have not only beaten the Minnesota Vikings, but the Los Angele Rams as well. Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara, and Michael Thomas have become the new big three in the NFL. Thomas has 880 receiving yards to go along with his 5 touchdowns, while Kamara, second-year star RB out of Tennessee, has rushed for 480 yards and a total of 12 TDs. With an improved defense and stronger secondary with the addition of CB Eli Apple, the Saints are making their run at Super Bowl LIII. The Saints signed star WR Dez Bryant to a one-year deal to strengthen their offense even more, making a legitimate push for a strong playoff run.
2. Los Angeles Rams (8-1)- The Rams are one of the most dominant teams in the NFL as they have a high-powered offense led by RB Todd Gurley and QB Jared Goff. In addition to that, they have a stacked defense led by defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Gurley leads the NFL with a whopping total of 16 touchdowns and we are only a little over halfway through the season.
3. Kansas City Chiefs (8-1)- With two young stars contributing immensely to their offense in their second year, the Chiefs prove to be a contender for the next three seasons as long as they can keep everyone together. QB Patrick Mahomes has thrown for 29 touchdowns, 2,901 yards and has only 7 interceptions. RB Kareem Hunt has been even more thrilling, rushing for 683 yards and 7 touchdowns. For a defense to stop both of them and speedy WR Tyreek Hill, it will take a lot of pressure and strong defensive coverage.
4. New England Patriots (7-2)- The Patriots have proven to every NFL team that their reign is not over. The Patriots have succeeded even with major injuries to their offense including first round draft pick, Isaiah Wynn, an offensive guard from Georgia, TE Rob Gronkowski, and RB Sony Michel. With a victory over the Chiefs, the Patriots hold the tiebreaker over them, which could mean home field advantage for the playoffs in the future.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2-1)- Without star RB Le’Veon Bell, who would have ever thought that they would still be one of the most powerful offensive teams in the NFL? RB James Conner has filled the absence of Bell exceptionally well, rushing for 706 yards and 9 touchdowns. With Bell leaving his summer home in Miami on Monday, is there a chance that he returns before the deadline of this season?
Northeastern Basketball Opens Up Against BU
Northeastern basketball opens up their season with a non-conference rival against the Terriers. Northeastern looks to start where they left off last year with a strong 2017-2018 season as they finished 23-10 and played in the Colonial Athletics championship game. The Huskies lost a heartbreaker to the College of Charleston in overtime. Luckily, Northeastern has only lost two players and are back for another season at Matthews Arena. Senior guard Vasa Pusica looks to make a push for the CAA player of the year, which he finished as runner up in his junior season, averaging 18 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists per game. Northeastern’s junior class is stacked as it features guard Shawn Occeus and forward Bolden Brace. Brace won the CAA’s first sixth man of the year award averaging 8 points and 5 rebounds off the bench, while Occeus won the 2017-2018 CAA defensive player of the year after his league-leading 64 steals and 18 blocks. Brace and Occeus look to dominate their junior year and lead Northeastern to March Madness for the first time since 2015.
BC Football Holds 17th Rank in Nation
Despite competing in one of the most competitive conferences in all of college football, the Eagles are ranked second in the Atlantic Coastal Conference and 17th in the nation. This is the first time since 2007 that BC has been ranked for multiple weeks during the same season and the highest they have been placed since then as well. The Eagles have had huge victories over the University of Miami, Temple University, Holy Cross, Louisville, and Virginia Tech. BC has been led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Anthony Brown who has thrown for 1567 yards and 16 touchdowns, along with sophomore phenom running back, AJ Dillon. Dillon came into the season as a Heisman favorite, but was injured and missed two games. Even with the injury, Dillon has ran for 897 yards and 8 touchdowns. BC has a primetime game at 8 o’clock and is hosting College Gameday in Chestnut Hill on Saturday night against the number two team in the nation, the Clemson Tigers. Clemson’s star freshman quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, has thrown for 18 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. The Eagles will have their hands full at Alumni Stadium, but all hope lies in BC’s offense, which has averaged 37 points per game this season. If BC pulls this win together, they have a legitimate chance to break the top 10 in the rankings for the first time since Matt Ryan’s days. BC will have a premier bowl game this coming December.
Boston Sports Today…continued!
MLB Offseason and Awards
Predictions for MLB Awards:
American League (AL) Cy Young Candidates: Corey Kluber (CLE), Justin Verlander (HOU), Blake Snell (TB) Joey’s Winner: Blake Snell had the second-lowest ERA for a starter, which was 1.89, and pitched 180 innings, striking out 221 batters. Snell was dominant all season and helped the Rays finish the second half of the season with one of the best records in the MLB. Snell is only 25 years old and can only get better from here. National League (NL) Cy Young Candidates: Max Scherzer (WAS), Aaron Nola (PHI), Jacob DeGrom (NYM) Joey’s Winner: Jacob DeGrom had a 1.70 ERA, which was the best for a starting pitcher in the entire league. People can argue all they want that he had a 10-9 record and does not deserve it for that reason, but in the end, he was left with no run support from one of the worst offenses in the league. DeGrom broke the record of 23 straight quality starts, which is a stat for when a pitcher throws for six innings and yields three runs or less. DeGom has had 26 dating back to the end of the 2017 season. If that does not say enough, I do not know what does. AL Rookie of the Year: Gleyber Torres (NYY), Miguel Andujar (NYY), Shohei Ohtani (LAA) Joey’s Winner: Miguel Andujar was a key anchor in the Yankees lineup and one of the toughest outs on a team with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Didi Gregorius. Andujar hit for a .298 average with 27 home runs (HR) and 92 runs batted in (RBI) . NL Rookie of the Year: Juan Soto (WAS), Walker Buehler (LAD), Ronald Acuna Jr. (ATL) Joey’s Winner: Walker Buehler pitched 137.1 innings over the season and struck out 151 batters, while maintaining a 2.62 earned run average (ERA). Buehler was dominant the entire season for the Dodgers and even started Game 3 of the World Series, surrendering no runs through 7 shutout innings and striking out 7 batters. AL MVP: Mookie Betts (BOS), Mike Trout (LAA), Jose Ramirez (CLE) Joey’s Winner: Mookie Betts hit a .346 average with 32 HRs and 80 RBIs as the leadoff hitter. Betts did have an injury during the season which took him out for 26 games. Even with that, he still was still one of the most dominant hitters when healthy. Trout missed 22 games himself so that should not be a reason to not give it to Betts. NL MVP: Christian Yelich (MIL), Nolan Arenado (COL), Javier Baez (CHI) Joey’s Winner: Christian Yelich had 36 HRs and 110 RBIs and was the premier player in an explosive Brewers lineup. Yelich not only had power, but hit for contact as well, posting a .326 average. He deserves this award for helping rebuild the Milwaukee Brewers in the matter of a season. AL Manager of the Year: Kevin Cash (TB), Alex Cora (BOS), Bob Melvin (OAK) Joey’s Winner: Alex Cora won 108 games as a first year manager and won the World Series. There is no other coach who deserves it more than him. The Sox defeated the powerful Yankees and Astros’ lineups. Cora looks to come back and lead the Sox to another championship next year. NL Manager of the Year: Bud Black (COL), Craig Counsell (MIL), Brian Snitker (ATL) Joey’s Winner: Bud Black led the Rockies to 91 wins after taking an 87-75 team from 2017 to the National League Divisional Series this season. Black is an effective manager and has become a leader and a learner at the same time. Black made key decisions with his young lineup, dealing with injuries, and helped lead them to the playoffs. MLB Top Free Agents
1. Bryce Harper, OF 2. Manny Machado, SS 3. Dallas Keuchel, LHP
Scenes from the 9th, 10th, and 11th Grade Retreats
Have any pictures of school events you’d like featured in The Hurricane Herald? Send them to us
Collegiate Sunshine Success
By: Ashley Agostinelli, 12th Grade
Last year, I wrote an article in the Hurricane Herald about Camp Sunshine and sending students there to volunteer for a weekend. This was when the idea was fresh and in the planning stages. Now, I write in the completion stages of this project. During the weekend of October 26th to the 29th, Marin Bailey, Parker Traphagen, Robert McCann, Ms. Rodriguez and I volunteered at Camp Sunshine. For people who don’t know, Camp Sunshine is a camp up in Casco, Maine for children with life threatening illnesses and their families. There, you can donate your time to making a child’s experience at Camp Sunshine one they will never forget. And this weekend session affirmed that belief. The weekend we volunteered at was The Great Pumpkin Weekend, where kids with mixed diagnoses came to camp to have some fall fun. Each of us were in different places at camp therefore providing us with completely different, yet fulfilling experiences. I was in the Arts and Crafts room. Marin was with the 9-12 year olds. Parker was within the Tot Lot with the toddlers and newborns. Ms. Rodriguez was with the teenagers, and Robert was in the kitchen. On Friday the 26th, we drove up to Casco, Maine and began the weekend. Friday was a day of orientation for both the volunteers and the families. Despite the rain, Saturday the 27th was when the real fun began. Day camps happened during the day, so each of us went to our groups and participated in activities with the kids all day. The same can be said for Sunday, the rain did not stop us from having a fun day filled with activities and trick-or-treating. After dinner,
the kids got dressed up and trick-or-treated at the volunteer rooms, getting small toys or candy. Then on Monday, we ate breakfast and left camp.
One instance that sticks out for me is during Arts and Crafts with the tots. We had the tots coloring Halloween themed picture frames. They were all sitting on doubled up chairs and they each had their crafts in front of them. All of them were having fun coloring the frames or painting monsters or cutting out hand spiders or foot ghosts. As I am gathering more materials for the crafts, I hear one of the tots call out “Teacher! Teacher!” All of the people in the arts and crafts room turned to him and he was pointing his colored picture frame at one of the other arts and crafts volunteers. It was very cute, and all of us had a chuckle about how cute it was. All of us enjoyed our time at Camp Sunshine. Parker, Marin and Robert all told me that they would love to return and volunteer for the week that I volunteer with my family in the summer. Each of them loved what they did and found value in it. In return for their volunteering, they received 20 community service hours. This trip that we did was fulfilling and fun, each of the people on that trip would attest to that. Volunteering at Camp Sunshine and getting community service hours is something that the National Honors Society is beginning to run. It is a great opportunity for students to learn more about the lives of children with life threatening illnesses and their families, and a great opportunity for students to gain so easy and fun community service hours for their good deed.
This Week in Music By: Chris Vadala, Harry Cully, and Blake Lebbossiere, 12th Grade
This week in music, there were multiple albums and singles released. One of the albums released this week was “The Last Rocket” by Takeoff. After listening to this album, we would give it an 8/10 overall rating. It is consistent and does not lack lyrical tone like the album previously released by his fellow band member, Quavo.
Another album that was released was “Reset” by Memphis-based rapper Moneybagg Yo. Although we are not a huge fans of Moneybagg in particular, the last two albums he has released have been very good. This particular album had a number of good features and a few songs we could blast on repeat and not get sick of. I would rate this album an 8.4/10.
Also, New York rapper and member of Rich Forever, Jay Critch, released a studio album. The album is titled “Hood Favorite” and in our opinion, it was the best album released this week. We agree that our favorite songs from the album are “Ego” and “Quicker” featuring Offset. We would rate this album 9.2/10.
This week was also a big week for producers with Swizz Beatz and Metro Boomin releasing albums called, “Poison” and “Not All Heroes Wear Capes”. We would rate “Poison” with a 7/10 because the songs were too short and were not that great considering who was featured. We would rate Metro Boomin’s new album a strong 8/10 because it included features from Travis Scott, who is still being praised for his album “Astroworld” and also another fan favorite, Gunna.
The last album we listened to this week was “Feed The Streets 2” by Roddy Ricch, which we would rate an 8.7/10. Singles released this week were “Mo Paper” by Rich the Kid and YG, along with “Know Me” by Canadian-based rapper Nav. We look forward to listening to more of them and reviewing more music in the next issue. Thank you for stopping by.
Why Do Animes Not Have Second Seasons?
By: Ty’Bria Hill, 11th Grade
Anyone who watches anime understands the frustration, when a well put together anime with perfect character development is left with a one season cliffhanger, everyone is upset. Animes like No Game No Life, NaNa, and Yuri on Ice have left many viewers with an unsettling feeling, because what happened next? Why is it that these well-crafted shows end so early and are pushed aside only to be known as something that was once great? Why is it that these animes will not get sequels or second season until years after? Overlord, an anime that debuted on September 29th, 2015, did not have its second release until the winter of 2018. Two years were left in between the first and second release.
Some are not as lucky as Overlord or Tokyo Ghoul, which did not have its third season until 2018 as it initially had its second season launched in 2015. In some cases, animes do not a have second season due to lack of material. Haikyuu, which is a sports volleyball anime, aired around 25 episodes in its two seasons. Haikyuu producers were able to do this due to the manga material, made by creator Haruichi Furudate, which created a longer range of episodes. In its third season, it was wrapped up to a total of ten episodes as there was not enough manga material to prolong the series. However, Haruichi now has enough manga material to continue the series, but as we learned, only time can tell. Here is the bigger question: What about the animes with enough manga source material that still don't have a second season? Producer Marina Sasaki, creator of (Barakamon, Parasyte-the maxim-, World Is Still Beautiful), gives us insight on the topic. They had went off on a rant in 2015. Although it may have been years ago, Baam Amaam, writer for goboiano tha updates you on anime and other pop culture offers another direction and its relevance. With anime, it first starts off as a manga and then adapts into anime. As a result, manga sales rise and therefore, you have your blu-ray DVDs. The main reason why animes do not get approved for a second season is due to the sales for blu rays. These anime companies rely on the show to sell. Many question the merchants as a result. Even with the merchandise, not enough revenue goes back to the companies. There can be multiple options that go into play. Now, the real question is what can these anime lovers do so they can the second season love? What can they do so they can be renewed like Haikyuu or Overlord? Only time can tell and we can only hope that our favorite shows can be renewed.