February 2012 Saint Dominic Academy, Jersey City, NJ FREE

Inside this issue:Amen, Ms. M.......Page 3

A Very Gleeful Christmas.......Page 2Au Revoir, Madame Scholz.......Page 2Dance Celebrates 25 Years.......Page 1Drama Club Performance.......Page 3

Indoor Track.......Page 4New Senior Play.......Page 3

SDA Displays Its Generosity......Page 1 SDA Takes a Dive.......Page 4

Spirit Sweeps St. Dom’s.......Page 1Tough in the Paint.......Page 4

THETRUMPET

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Spirit SweepsBy: Ava Hatiras ‘14

The Blue Devils of Saint Dominic Academy showed their school pride throughout the week of January 30th through February 3rd.

The students kicked off the week by wearing crazy scarves, while the Seniors wore men’s clothing, causing many people to ask, “Who knew Prep boys were allowed into Saint Dominic Academy?”

On Tuesday, the school had special appearances. Many famous celebrities came to school that day such as Nicki Minaj, the Kardashians and even Drake. As the Juniors represented their favorite celebrities, the Seniors, Sophomores and Freshmen spiked and braided their hair and gave new meaning to the phrase “Crazy Hair Day.”

The styles of Bon Jovi and Guns N’ Roses came back on Wednesday as the Freshmen came to school in leather coats and neon

leggings, showing off their 80’s clothing. They were more than brightly clothed, while the other classes walked around the halls with crazy pants.

The Sophomores concluded theme week dressed as twins on Thursday, and no one could tell

them apart from one another, as the remainder of the school stood out wearing funny hats. The purpose of the theme days was to make students aware of the importance of

showing spirit for their school, and it was pretty clear that they got the message.

The week ended with a very loud and exciting pep rally at St. Peter’s College. All grade levels wore their respective colors and tried to outscream the others as the bleachers filled rapidly.

The pep rally started off with cheering from each grade. Everyone looked fantastic and expressed what spirit was really about. The festivities continued

Dance CelebratesBy: Elizabeth Doody ‘15

The 2011-2012 Dance season is a special one for Saint Dominic Academy. The team is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Head Coach Marie Maffia, alumna of Saint Dominic Academy, has been coaching and helping the team compete all over New Jersey. She is responsible for most of the success the team has experienced over the last two decades.

The Saint Dominic Academy Dance Team started as a competitive cheerleading team 25 years ago. The practice space for the team has always been extremely hard to work with. The room to practice stunts and a marble floor that hurts quite a bit if a mistake is made, have always created a challenge for

the team. As one might expect, the

team’s first season was a rather difficult one. After realizing they must use the resources provided to them, Coach Maffia decided to turn the girls into a dance team.

The first competition the school went to as a dance team was unsuccessful, but since then the team has won many trophies, competing in Florida every year at the national dance championship.

This year the dance team is a team of 13, which to some may

SDA DisplaysBy: Catherine Policastro ‘12

Volunteer work and community service are two things Saint Dominic Academy prides itself on. There is never a lack of participation by the Blue Devils whenever a new project to help others arises. Recently, SDA took on two new service efforts - SOUPer Bowl and Teens for Jeans. In light of the Super Bowl (Go Giants!), the Dominican Youth

in Action Club decided to run a SOUPer Bowl. Students from every homeroom, as well as the faculty and staff, were asked to each bring in three cans of soup and any winter clothing they were able to donate. With a free tag day on the line, many people did their part to help those in need by going above and beyond to bring in their items.

25th Anniversary

All-time saves leader Julie Lipyanka

Its Generosity

St. Dominic’s

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THE TRUMPETPage 2 February 2012

Trumpet Staff:Editors:

Catherine Policastro & Jeselle Padilla

Writers: Elizabeth Boyle, Enakshi Das, Elizabeth Doody,Briana Encarnacion, Ava Hatiras, Cara Keating,

Brooklynn Langston, Casey McIntyre, Jeselle Padilla, Meaghan Pereiras & Catherine Policastro

Moderator: Mr. Seborowski

...... Continued from Page 1

...... Continued from Page 1 Thanks to the generosity of the lovely SDA ladies, Sister Alice was able to give food and clothes to needy families through the food pantry of Our Lady of Sorrows in Jersey City. SDA’s National Honor Society also expressed its desire to help others by organizing a Teens for Jeans drive. The program, created by Aeropostale and DoSomething.Org, encourages students to collect lightly worn pairs of jeans. The students then drop the jeans off at a local Aeropostale store, and from there they are sent to homeless shelters throughout the United States,

Canada, and Puerto Rico. Within a week’s time, the NHS was able to collect over fifty pairs of jeans throughout the school, as the young women of SDA once again proved just how generous they can be. Saint Dominic Academy always tries to do its part in

helping others. As proven with the success of the most recent service projects, the students and faculty never fail to rise to the challenge. In the end, the little things

certainly add up, and countless others will benefit from SDA’s generosity.

Au Revoir, By: Enakshi Das ‘14

A Very GleefulBy: Meaghan Pereiras ‘12

Christmas marked yet another successful season for the Saint Dominic Academy Glee Club. Even though it is a particularly busy time for everyone, Mr. Napoli and the members of the Glee Club always find enough time to help add a little magic to the season.

Singing like angels at the top of the tree, the members of the Glee Club performed their annual Christmas concert in Saint Aloysius Church on December 11, 2011.

The repertoire ranged from very traditional pieces, like “Ave Maria,” to more modern songs, including a medley from the popular show Glee, keeping the audience rapturously entertained from beginning to end.

The Dominoes also had an outstanding season, beginning with an incredible performance in the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred

Heart in Newark. Shortly after, the Dominoes

were contacted by New Jersey’s main news station to be highlighted as one of many gifted high school choirs in the area. The talented singers were featured on the segment called “Sounds of the Season,” shown on News 12 New Jersey intermittently throughout Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Mr. Napoli and the singers, the Dominoes have been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall once again this spring.

Always a highlight of the season, this marks the fourth year in a row the young women of SDA will be singing at the iconic location in New York on Memorial Day weekend.

The Glee Club is also happy to present its spring concert on Sunday, April 29th at Saint Aloysius Church.

Madame ScholzThe close of the first

semester brought about a sad turn of events for not only the students who study French, but every other member of the Saint Dominic Academy family as well. After a decade of teaching at SDA, Madame Scholz said goodbye, and the students sent her off with a wonderful celebration.

During the course of her last week here, there were many tearful goodbyes, and senior Michelle Ibarra, with some help from some teachers and students, secretly arranged a farewell party in ELAN.

It is never an easy task to keep a secret at SDA, but the look of surprise on Madame’s face said it all. This even helped to reduce the gloom that surrounded her leaving.

The spirit of St. Dom’s could not be subdued any longer as everyone soon began to enjoy themselves and have a good time thanks to a touching power point presentation dedicated to Madame

(not to mention the plethora of delicious international food at the party, all courtesy of the students and teachers).

Madame Scholz’s sentimental speech did evoke quite a few tears, but by the end of the day the students all had smiles on their faces, as they were all truly happy and excited for all of Madame’s future adventures and accomplishments.

Madame Scholz will forever be remembered for her remarkable dedication to her students. Her work as World Language chairperson and international

trip coordinator has undoubtedly left an impression on all of her students.

Madame’s cheerful “Bonjour!” will definitely be missed in the hallways, but the administration, faculty, staff and entire student body wish her the best of luck in all future endeavors. Nous vous aimons!

with the announcement of all the sports teams.

In between announcing the different teams, the grade levels tried to settle the spirit issue on the basketball court, with the Freshmen emerging victorious over the Juniors and the Seniors beating the Sophomores.

When the soccer team was called to the floor, Coach Lenaghan presented goalkeeper Julie

Lipyanka with a special game ball commemorating her school record in saves.

After the ball was presented, it was back to business, as the day ended with a soccer game between the soccer team and the teachers, which saw the soccer team emerge victorious in overtime. The week was a complete success

and showed the pride of the entire school. GO BLUE DEVILS!

Christmas

Who is that masked lady?

February 2012THE TRUMPETPage 3

New & ImprovedBy: Jeselle Padilla ‘12

With Walk-A-Thon and Thanksgiving Baskets far behind, SDA had one more event to end the 2011 portion of the school year - the Senior Play.

The Senior Play, usually a blend of a Christmas message and teacher/student parody, is a special Christmas tradition that everyone always looks forward to. In fact, many graduates usually cite the Senior Play as one of their best memories of SDA. Hoping to keep the tradition alive, seniors Jaimee Laurie and Alexa Daly scripted their own SDA Christmas. After hours of locker room practices and studying teacher voices and certain idiosyncrasies, the play was ready to go.

This year’s play featured Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (played by Meaghan Pereiras) spending a typical day at SDA. As the play progressed, Rudolph discovers SDA’s best and most important characteristic, acceptance. Whether you are a

student, teacher, visitor, or red-nosed reindeer, at SDA you are loved and accepted for who you are. It was very important for the Seniors to share that message with everyone and leave it as their lasting legacy.

Everyone has his or her own “red nose,” and much like

Rudolph, young women gain the confidence at SDA needed to lead their own versions of Santa’s sleigh after they leave and move on to college.

With its heartwarming humor and positive message, the play concluded to loud cheers and thunderous applause. Maybe it was the message of the play, or the gentle fun poked at teachers (or maybe it was because the crowd was minutes away from a 12 day break), but the cheers seemed to be the loudest they have been in a while. Thank you to the entire senior class for the hard work put into the play.

Amen, Ms. M!By: Catherine Policastro ‘12

A Murderously By: Meaghan Pereiras ‘12

seem very small, but for a dance team it is actually rather large.

The team is led by seniors Alexandra Marrero, Shada Paula and Samantha Gonzalez. The underclass members include Marcela Quintanilla, Taylor Seibel, Taylor Best, and Tori Fortunato.

This year’s team also boasts a number of talented freshmen. The list includes Gillian Johnson, Kadira Johnson, Francisca

Quintanilla, Brittany Angrosina, Monica Feijoo and Elizabeth Doody.

This year has proven to be especially successful, as the team has placed in the top three in its division at every competition this year. With so many

underclasswomen on the team, the next 25 years certainly look bright for Coach Maffia and the rest of the young ladies.

With the first semester of the school year complete, students have now settled into a routine that includes adjusting to new classes and possibly new teachers, including Ms. Moisewicz, SDA’s new spiritual director and religion teacher. The Trumpet sat down with Ms. M to ask her about her experiences in a new school.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?A: I was born and raised in Staten Island, and after high school I first started working as a secretary in the Wall Street area at Chase Bank. During that time I discerned a call to enter the convent. I joined the sisters of St. Dorothy and it was during that time that I went to college and began my teaching career.

Q: What made you decide to come to SDA?A: I was looking for a campus ministry position in New Jersey since I moved here five years ago. I saw the opening for the campus ministry and teaching position and decided to apply.

Q: What is your overall impression of the school?A: I absolutely love it. I am impressed with the family spirit

here at SDA. The girls have a real sisterhood and they show a great willingness to be helpful at all times. Q: Do you have any thoughts about the chapel? A: I love the beautiful chapel we have here at SDA. It’s a wonderful privilege to have our Lord present in this way at our school. I do hope that more people will feel free

to come to our weekly liturgies and spend some time in quiet prayer throughout the course of the day.

Q: What are some of the things you like to do in your spare

time? A: I enjoy reading, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. As a spiritual director and a member of the retreat team at Mt. Manresa Jesuit Retreat House on Staten Island, I enjoy spending time there assisting in retreats.

Q: Finally, I hear you had a great accomplishment in 2011. Can you tell us about it?A: Last year I revised an old manuscript that I had written on prayer. I submitted it to a publisher and my book on prayer was published. It’s called Reflections on the Lord’s Prayer. This experience has taught me you’re never too old to do something new.

On April 20th at 7pm, the Drama Club of Saint Domi-nic Academy is proud to offer its spring production, “Murder in East England Subur-bia.” This is an original play written by seniors Toni-Anne Fajar-do and Meaghan Pereiras. “Murder” is a thrilling story about love, loss, betrayal, and the trials and tribula-tions of a family. Enter the world

of Victorian England, and go un-dercover with bumbling detective Danforth on a journey to discover the truth about the questionable

murder of a house-maid. Come be part of the ac-tion and follow the mystery as it unravels.Refreshments will be served. For advance tickets, please see Ms. Gilbert, Toni-Anne Fajardo or

Meaghan Pereiras.

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Senior Play

Good Show

Page 4 THE TRUMPET February 2012

SDA WINTERSPORTS SEASON

Tough in the PaintBy: Casey McIntyre ‘15

The Saint Dominic Academy basketball team is in the middle of an outstanding season. Under the steady eye of Coach Reggie Quinn, and assistants Coach Bob and Coach Kate, the girls are working as hard as ever to condition and improve their game.

As of press time, the Varsity has a record of 15-7, reaching the Hudson County semi-finals. The team is led valiantly by Seniors Arianna Nieves and Tavia Watkins. Both players have been instrumental in teaching the underclasswomen how to be successful both on the court and off.

Their hard work and leadership qualities are evident, as the underclasswomen on the Varsity team are playing hard as well. There are three Freshmen on Varsity, Toni Giacchi, Shannon

Hester, and Hannah Johnson, and the trio has scored more than 200 points this season.

Shannon Daly, Zoe Kushnir, Amanda Lewis, Arianna Taite, and Danielle Wilbert, all Sophomores and Juniors on Varsity, have also made significant contributions to the team this year.

Since there are players from so many different levels on the team this year, the girls realized that without a coherent game plan that stressed

togetherness and team unity, success may have been difficult. That very attitude of togetherness is something the team has believed in from the first day of practice, and the final results of the season proved it.

The team would like to thank all the fans that came to the games.

Indoor Track Goes

By: Elizabeth Boyle ‘15 & Brooklynn Langston ‘15

The Saint Dominic Academy Indoor Track team is in the middle of a wonderful season. The girls have already attended several meets in New Jersey and have been brought to out-of-state competitions by Coach John Nagel, helping to make the name SDA better known. Recently, the team traveled to Rhode Island for the Brown Invitational. There, Cecilia Sabbers medaled in her individual 800 meter run. The team also traveled to New Hampshire for the Dartmouth Invitational where Cecilia had yet another great accomplishment, placing 4th in the 800 meter run.

Another prestigious meet took pace in Connecticut, where the team participated in the Yale Invitational. It was at this meet that Cecilia Sabbers, Sarah Sisk, Leandra Boney, and Cara Keating broke the school record for the Distance Medley Relay. This record had been previously set in 1983 during the outdoor season. The relay team came in 4th place at

Yale with a time of 12:49. Upon return to New Jersey,

the girls prepared themselves for the Jersey City Meet. For the 15th year in a row, the team won, leaving SDA with a record of 27 Jersey City Championships in 29 Indoor Track seasons.

The SDA 2011-2012 Indoor Track squad has proved to be a phenomenal team. The young women work extremely hard, day in and day out. The new freshmen have been great additions and have promising careers ahead of them as well. The members of the team are already looking forward to the upcoming Outdoor Track season and hope to see many new faces at sign-ups. The graduating Senior class of Leandra Boney, Stella Gomez, Sarah Sisk, Zha’Mari Hurley, and Cecilia Sabbers will be sincerely missed, and very difficult to replace, in the years to come. Congratulations to all of them on an outstanding career!

SDA Takes a DiveThe Saint Dominic

Academy swim team has been hard at work since November. Preseason training helped prepare the team, and by the time it was over, the young ladies were ready to compete against the county. The team got off to a bit of a rough start, losing the first two meets; however, in early January the team defeated rival North Bergen, marking its first home meet and first win of the

season. A week later, the SDA Blue Devils struck again by defeating the Hudson Catholic Hawks at the

January 13th meet. It was quite evident that as the season went on, the team grew stronger and stronger.

This team is dedicated, spirited and most importantly

ready to show its talents. Swim meets with the Saint Dominic Academy family are filled with anxiety, pressure, friendship, cheering and most importantly, fun.

27 For 29

Anyone who swims on the team puts a lot of time, effort and heart into the sport. The team decided to take on a motto this season, a famous quote regarding swimming which states, “H20: two parts heart and one part obsession.” These girls have kept this message

alive all season and are determined to end victoriously.

The swim season will continue through February so come out and support the team. Cheering for the SDA team will certainly help motivate and assist in a win.

By: Briana Encarnacion ‘14 & Cara Keating ‘14