firebird newsletter...nov 18, 2019 · unite against bullying students wear orange! october 25 end...
TRANSCRIPT
Firebird NewsletterOCTOBER 2019
What’s Newat Doral Academy?
CALENDAROctober 5SAT Testing at Doral Academy
October 9Teacher Planning DayNo school
October 10Boys JV Basketball InformativeMeeting3:45pm in GYB2
October 16PSAT Testing
October 18FBTV 8th Annual Fright Night
October 23Unite Against BullyingStudents wear orange!
October 25End of 1st Grading Period
October 28Beginning of 2nd GradingPeriod
CHICK-FIL-A FRIDAYS
GOING GREEN
Doral Academy is nowbringing Chick-fil-A to students every Friday.
Chicken sandwiches will be sold at the concession
stand for just $4!
Doral Academy’s first day of paper-based,
biodegredable lunch trays! The Doral Green Club did
an incredible job of making the first move to a greener
future.
Doral Academy is going green!
Thanks to the huge efforts made by our very own Green Club, Doral has made the shift from styrofoam trays to biodegradable plates: an important transition that will greatly help out our planet. Treasurer Victor Ramirez describes his further goals for the Club: “Some of the things I want to accomplish this year are starting schoolwide fundraisers that would be very beneficial for us as a club and for the environment as well.”Recently, Green Club members also participated in the Global Climate Strike. The Global Climate Strike is the third in a worldwide series of climate rallies organized
by school students, and led by Greta Thunberg, inspiring 16-year-old Swede who sailed alone across the Atlantic Ocean in a zero-emission
sailboat. On Friday, September 20, dozens of our members, as well as thousands of other South Florida students, joined together to protest climate issues and demand action in front of Miami Beach City Hall. Member Catherina Macias says, “Climate change is real and is happening right now. Being at the
protest empowered me and made me feel like we really made our voices heard. We can change the world and save our future.”
Firebirds show off their spiriton Homecoming Week
Homecoming Week started on September 23, where
Doral Academy students showed off their school
spirit. Students enjoyed dress-up days with specific
themes: “Homesick Destination”, “Make Yourself at
Home”, “With the Homies”, and “Far from Home”.
On Thursday, September 26 was Spirit Day , which is
hands-down one of the most eventful and exciting
days in the school year. Students went all out and
wore tutus, face paint and their assigned color for
the action-packed Pep Rally. Colorguard, Band,
Cheerleaders and Dancers showcased their hard
work and dedication as the whole school cheered
them on.
Homecoming Court Winners
Homecoming King and Queen: Marco Curbelo And Sophia Bolivar
Senior Prince and Princess: Cesar Sanchez and Clarissa Bullos, David Botero and Natalie Avandano
Junior Prince and Princess: Aiden Ford and Folukemi Olufidipe, Andres Carellas and Gabriela Flores
Sophomore Prince and Princess: Mikele Mancuso and Sofia Garcia
Freshman Prince and Princess: John Wiese and Raisel Muniz
Homecoming DanceOn Friday, September 27 was the long awaited
Homecoming Dance, with a “Met Gala” theme.
The dance took place in the luxurious JW Marriott
Marquis Hotel. Students danced the night away
and made many memories, especially our Seniors.
“It definitely feels bittersweet knowing this is the
last time I’m going to Homecoming,” says Senior
Diana Moya.
FRIGHT NIGHTThe 8th annual FBTV Fright Night is a special event
brought to Doral Academy by our TV production
students, allowing them to showcase their talent
through short and entertaining films made for the
theme of Halloween.
The diversity of these videos ranged from musical
pieces to inspiring works. The atmosphere was
clouded with shocking emotions reacting to themes
of revenge, suicide, and murder. When asked about
the night, Clara Calavia said, “Fright Night is a highly
anticipated event our program puts together every
year. As a senior, being able to produce content
that the masses can enjoy was
truly inspiring. Our family here
in FBTV is filled with talented
students all passionate bout
their craft. I am forever grateful
for having the opportunity to
show my hard work on a big
platform.” Alyssa DeArmas, also
in FBTV, mentioned how “seeing
films we worked so hard on up
on the big screen and sharing it
with so many people...it’s truly an
experience like none other.” FBTV
students aren’t the only ones who enjoyed watching
their creative videos. Senior Luccia Vega described
the night as “a mix of emotions: “One minute I’m
scared and the next I felt inspired.” The variations of
feelings made the how interesting and captivating
for the audience overall. Mr. William Viruet gave
ome heartfelt words about the event, “ It was a lot
of fun, it was a great night and we’re very proud of
our students. They did a great job and really showed
their talent with their pieces.” This year’s Fright Night
was a memorable one, and definitely one for the
books.
FIREBIRD TV’s 8TH ANNUAL
“When No Ones Looking” made by Andrea Colon, Grace Wong and Corina Bullos
“Dia De Los Muertos” made by Camila Celaya, Maria Gonzalez and Leilani Peña
“Ding Dong” made by Clarissa Bullos, Valentina Vega and Nathalie Avendaño
“Fun and Games” made by Aquiles Barreto, Adriana Barrios, Cesar Sanchez and Ryan Da Silva
FRIGHT NIGHTFIREBIRD TV’s 8TH ANNUAL
2020 Silver Knight Nominees
The Silver Knight Awards are sponsored by The
Miami Herald, and they are one of the nation’s
most highly regarded student awards programs.
The awards recognize outstanding seniors who not
only maintain good grades, but also selflessly apply
their special knowledge and talents through service
to their school and community. 14 of our very own
bright and talented Firebirds had the honor of being
Silver Knight Nominees thanks to their hard work
and effort!
Nominees from all schools appear on a designated
day to be interviewed by a panel of independent
judges. Each panel of judges selects one Silver Knight
and three Honorable Mentions in that category.
Silver Knights receive $2,000, a Silver Knight statue
and a medallion presented by American Airlines. The
three Honorable Mentions are presented $500 and
an engraved plaque.
Monica Langrange - Art
Nicole Monsalve - Athletics
Bhavya Soni - Business
Clara Calavia - Digital & Interactive Media
Samantha Boutureira - Drama
Sofia Silvosa - English and Literature
Norman Godinez - General Scholarship
Sofia Zúñiga - Journalism
Victoria Moya - Music amd Dance
Astrid Barrientos - Quintanilla - Science
Mariela Hidalgo - Social Sciences
María Victoria Chacón- Briceno - Speech
Isabella Gonzalez - Vocational Technical
Rodolfo Remien - World Languages
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SILVER KNIGHT NOMINEES!
STUDENTACHIEVEMENTS Congratulations to our talented Firebirds who
have won awards in their respective activities!
Our Model UN team attended their first KnightMUN Competition at the University of Central Florida! We took home 2 Best Delegate (1st Place) 1 Outstanding Delegate (2nd Place) 2 Honorable Delegate (3rd Place) and 2 Verbal Accommodations!
Doral’s Computer Science Club became State Champions as they won first place in Orlando at CyberQuest, a state wide cybersecurity competition!
Our Firebird Thespians won a Superior at One Acts and got selected to be one of the district representatives at our State Competition with the play “The Dining Room”! Congratulations to Chanel Martinez for receiving the All Star Cast Award for her performance!
Best Delegate: Miguel Waisman and Miriam Trujillo
Outstanding Delegate: Aisleen Turner
Honorable Delegate: Beatriz Milian and Mikele Mancuso
Verbal Accommodation: Kesia Oliveros and the dual
delegation of Regina Cisneros and Gabriella Behar
Students accepted into FIUHonors High School Orchestra
Three bright and talented Orchestra students
were accepted into the 2019 Florida International
University Honors High School All-County
Orchestra. Congratulations to: Juan Esquivel,
Amanda Miyares, and Mel Lisboa!
This orchestra is populated by the best students
from many top tier orchestra programs in Miami-
Dade County, and Doral Academy proudly sends
three of their very own to represent us!
Visual Arts students exposed toCalifornia Institute of the Arts
Miranda Hoffs, Senior Admissions Counselor of the
California Institute of the Arts, visited Doral Academy
to expose our Visual Arts students to what the school
offers. This opportunity was especially beneficial for
our Senior artists, who were granted an inside look
to the creative outlets that CalArts contains, and are
able to determine if its the right fit for their future
dreams.
College EssayIncubator
Brought to Doral by the National English Honor
Society, the College Essay Incubator is held every
Wednesday after school in 421H. If a student
needs an extra set of eyes for their college or
scholarship essays, they can bring a draft to
these sessions and are assisted by trained peer
tutors and Ms. Montenegro.
Sabrina Martinez, Lead Tutor, joined the College
Essay Incubator last year. “I fell in love with the
College Essay Incubator in my junior year. The
act of creating a safe space dedicated to helping
others edit their essays and, in some small way,
help them get into their dream schools, was
inspiring to me and I knew I wanted to continue
doing it in my senior year.” It is beneficial to
the tutees because they can receive advice on
Alumni featured on the Miami Herald
Andoni Garrogerrikaextebarria is an alumni
from Doral Academy. He was an excellent
player for our soccer team and a star athlete all
throughout high school. Recently, Walter Villa
of the Miami Herald wrote a story on Andoni,
who is now a soccer player at FIU, and talked
about his love of sports and his 22-character
long last name at his home in Dora.
their personal statements and, in the process,
gain help on their writing skills and understand
why certain edits were madee. For the tutors,
it is beneficial because they gain experience in
editing and exposure to personal statements
and what goes into them. “Personally, the latter
was very beneficial for me as I entered my senior
year and had to work on my own college essays.
The exposure gives the tutors as sense of what
is needed in personal statements which can aid
them with their own.”
She scores a 1500 on her first SAT, starts tutoring sessions to help
other students
Student Nathalia Compres scored a 1500 on the
SAT on her first try during junior year. She started
tutoring sessions near the end of the year through
the National English Honor Society. Now a senior,
she has been promoted to the lead tutor. Students
can go to Mr. Montenegro’s room every Monday
after school if they wish to participate in a tutoring
session. “Everyone is free to show up, regardless of
grade and ability,” says Compres. Regarding how she
decided to start tutoring, she says: “I figured I could
help out since I got a pretty good score, and I know
others might not know many testing techniques.”
In the sessions, she incorporates practices that cater
“I WANT TO NOT ONLY TEACH KIDS THE FORMULAS TO GET A
HIGH SCORE, BUT INCREASE THEIR CONFIDENCE IN THEIR ABILITIES.”
to each student’s needs. “The sessions can be based
on whatever the students need help on. They can
either ask me questions in regards to strategies, ask
me why a specific answer is correct, or we can do
practice tests and review them.”
Compres further describes the impact of learning
testing strategies: “Considering I havent been doing
this for too long, I dont have a huge list of success
stories. However, people have told me that the tips
I have given have helped them not just on the SAT
but on other tests as well. Standardized tests like
these all share a commonality: they use pressure and
doubt to their advantage.” Ultimately, Compres’ goal
for these tutoring sessions is to “not only teach kids
the formulas to get a high score but to increase their
confidence in their abilities. When you have these
two factors, you take away the power the tests had
over you.”
MONICA LAGRANGEHelping the Homeless with Plastic Bags
Meet Monica Lagrange, a 17-year-old Honors and AP
student, certified in both Illustrator and Photoshop,
with the heart of an artist and the dedication of a
model Firebird. This year, she has been organizing
a community service project centered on her twin
loves: art and helping people or, as she puts it,
“Bringing beauty & the arts into people’s lives.”
Bags For Mats consists of students who recycle
plastic shopping bags, cutting and knitting them into
sleeping mats for the homeless. The project started
last March near the end of the school year and has
retained several dedicated initial members. Lagrange
says she got the idea from Doral Academy’s own Ms.
Cassandra Montenegro, who put her in contact with
Ms. Elizabeth Manning and her mother, Ms. Elizabeth
King, who started the project with her friend Georgie
Davis. King says, “Creating these sleeping mats helps
to keep the plastic bags off our landfills and other
places that damage the environment, [while seeing]
the happy faces of our homeless brothers and sisters
By Renzo Calarota Featured on Firebird Digital
when we place the mat in their hands makes it such
a pleasure!” Such a sentiment resonated strongly
with Lagrange, who quickly brought the project to
the attention of her friends, and hopes to continue
expanding the club’s roster this year. Incoming
members should be ready to learn how to properly cut
the plastic bags and knit the plastic ‘yarn’ into the mat
shape, skills which will be taught by Lagrange, King,
and the other senior members. As of now, individuals
who are interested in helping the environment and
would like to support the club can drop off plastic
shopping bags in Ms. Dayami Alvarez’s room, 311C.
Lagrange states that, “Art is beautiful, and I can’t wait
to share it with everyone.”
Read more on Firebird Digital, our student-run blog containing posts on student life, college tips, academic
help and more! >>> thefbdigital.com
v
Varsity Football teamdestroys Mater with a whopping score of 57-0
The Firebird Football team defeats Mater Charter Academy
on Friday, October 18 with a score of 57-0. The boys have
bounced back from a few unfortunate losses during the
season, but things are starting to turn around, especially
from certain players who stand out, such as quarterback
Nicholas Polo, wide receiver Timothy Carter, and outside
linebacker Jose Vidal. There is a great chance that our boys
will be making it to Playoffs, a grand feat they achieved last
year. The Firebirds are working hard practicing everyday, and
are aiming for the title of District Champions.
FIREBIRDSPORTS
Doral Academy’s sports program reached never-ending success last season, and they
are on the rise this year to earn more titles.
Firebird wrestler places 1st at Super 32 National
TournamentCongratulations to Doral Wrestler Sawyer Bartelt who placed 1st at the Super 32 National Tournament, beating the #1 ranked middle schooler in the country!
TEAMSCHEDULESF O OT B A L L9/26 - vs. Hialeah at 7pm
10/4 - @ Chaminade at 7pm
10/10 - @ North Miami at 7pm
10/18 - vs. Mater Academy at 7pm
10/25 - vs. Homestead at 7:30pm
10/24 to 10/26 - Bye Week
VOLLEYBALL10/1 - @ TERRA at 7:30pm
10/3 - vs. Greater Miami at 3:30pm
10/4 - Florida Christian Tournament
10/5 - Florida Christian Tournament
10/8 - vs. Monsignor Pace at 7:30pm
10/11 - Smoothie King Tournament
10/12 - Smoothie King Tournament
SWIMMING10/3 - Ransom
10/9 - Red/Blue Senior Meet
10/15 - @ Gulliver at 4pm
10/16 - Team Pictures
10/28 to 11/1 - Districts
11/8 - Regionals
11/15 to 11/16 - 3A States
GOLF10/1 - Ransom/Carrollton @Biltmore
10/7 - vs. Belen Jesuit at 4pm
10/8 - Mater Lakes @Shulas at 3:30pm
10/10 - Palmer Trinity @Melreese
10/14 to 10/16 - Districts
10/21 to 10/23 - Regionals
10/28 to 10/30 - States
Football
Swimming
Our Varsity Football team has
practiced and played hard, working
through rain, heat and the humidity
of Miami. The coaches continuously
plan and strategize to give the team
the best tactics to win. From what
we know from the history of Doral
Academy’s wins is that our boys will
take us to the top - and that’s their
current goal: reaching for the title of
District Champions once again.
Our Swim team has consistently
given their all to rise higher than ever.
Cristina Beiner has made history as the
first diver on the swim team, and has
recently committed to Northeastern
University. Our Firebirds also rocked
the 2019 Youth Fair, securing two
trophies. Now, they’re onto Regionals
after becoming District Champs!
DISTRICT CHAMPIONS!
Cross Country
Volleyball
GolfOur Boys and Girls Varsity team have proved
themselves as great and dedicated players.
Our Lady Firebirds have gone up against
difficult opponents yet were able to remain
focused and determined with exceptional
resilience, and have qualified for states for the
3rd year in a row. Our Boys have also given a
great performance, and proven themselves
time and time again as resilient players when
going up against opponents like Westminster,
Ransom, and Columbus.
DISTRICT CHAMPIONS!
The Cross Country team has repeatedly succeeded this season. One great instance was during the King of the Hill Invitational, where they came in first place as a team, leading them straight into a 3-peat victory! The Firebirds are not done yet, as they continue to strive higher and higher in hopes of earning the title of District Champions.
The volleyball girls team has been on the ball with all the wins they have been bringing home - winning three games in a row and now they will be going up against South Fork on October 23. The girls have been working tirelessly to bring us wins and for many on them, it is their last year on the volleyball team. Hopefully our girls will go all the way to championships!