who the elle is sandy? - plainfield public schools · school musical grease as sandy. february 9th...

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Elle- J Goslin is a sophomore here at Plainfield High School. Elle-J was the second place winner of the 2009 fall talent

show. She has recently received the lead role in this year’s school musical Grease as Sandy.

February 9th I had some one on one time with a PHS

drama club student. Elle- J Goslin, also known as “Sandy” to

her theater friends, has been acting and singing since the

fourth grade when her Plainfield Middle School music teacher Mr. Salisbury told her she had a good

voice. “Ever since then,” she says, “I have been singing. Acting started off around the same year,

when I participated in my first and favorite play Annie where I played the part of Tessie, who was a

big whine baby. I love acting, that’s why I have been doing it for seven years.”

Last year Elle- J played the part of Margie in Bye Bye Birdie, but has also participated in

many other musicals that took place at the Bradley Playhouse in Putnam and at the Killingly Youth

Theater. When Elle- J first heard that Grease was coming to PHS she knew she wanted to be Sandy

right away. “It would be amazing!” she said, “I wanted that part so bad. When I was younger I used

to watch the movie and I always wanted to be Sandy.” I then asked her something I know a lot of

readers are wondering, “Are you excited to be kissing Nate Rose?” who plays the part of Danny

Zuko. Her reply was very simple, “Well, I wouldn’t say I am exactly excited.”

Continued on next page...

Who the Elle is Sandy? Interview and picture By: Stephanie Desrosiers

Don’t Worry, There is Still Time to Fail By: Barry Maily

NEASC is the school wide phenomenon that is destroying

confidence for Plainfield staff and students. This acronym stands for

the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. This Associa-

tion decides whether or not our High School diplomas count for any-

thing.

NEASC is the nation’s oldest operation of their kind. They

have been in operation for nearly one hundred and twenty-five years.

NEASC accredits two hundred and fifty six degree-granting colleges, six hundred and seven-

teen private schools, six hundred and fifty six public secondary schools, and eighty nine

vocational/technical schools in New England. This accreditation process is a ten year proc-

ess. Continued on next page...

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L M A R C H 2 0 0 9 I S S U E # 5 N O . 9

T H E P A N T H E R A D V O C A T E

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

S E N I O R

S P O T L I G H T

3

C A F E T E R I A

P I N N U M B E R S

4

T E A C H E R

I N T E R V I E W S

5 - 8

N A D E A U T W I N S 9

S C H O O L S P I R I T 1 1

S P O R T S 1 4

G R A M M Y

A W A R D S

1 6

S P E C I A L P O I N T S O F I N T E R E S T :

• Grease

• NEASC

• Two Headed Fish

• Chris Brown Fiasco

• Michael Phelps

• Super Bowl

This year’s play is more fun for Elle-J she told me, “Mostly because I’m the lead so it makes it more

enjoyable.” Is it hard to maintain your grades while participating in the drama club? “No, not really, I’m

pretty good at keeping my grades up as it is. And it’s not hard for me to complete me homework because

theater starts after school and goes until about four every night so I have time to go home and finish my

assignments.”

After high school Elle-J would like to stay in the performing arts throughout college, and after col-

lege she would really like to go on Broadway, but if that doesn’t work out she doesn’t know what she wants

to do yet. “Sandy’s costumes are fun, my favorite is the leather pants, they are sexy.” There are nine lead

roles in the musical played by nine very talented actors and actresses.

“The drama practices are really fun especially with Mr. Stevenson, he’s really serious about is so it

makes everything ten times better. He knows what he’s talking about so it really helps prepare the actors

and actresses.” I finally asked her, how do you think the musical will turn out? “It’s going to be AMAZING!”

Make sure you come to the show: May 14th, 15th, and 16th.

The stages of the process are;

Self-Study- This is when they engage the educational community in structured analysis,

self-reflection, and planning in response to the standards.

Peer Review- This brings discipline and perspective to the educational process through the

observations and judgments of visiting peers.

Follow Up- This is when NEASC brings in specially selected staff members to see how well the

school runs and if the educational process is up to par.

The standards that NEASC holds each school accountable for are having a high focus on virtu-

ally every aspect of the school or educational institute’s operation. These standards are often accepted

instead of the standards set by the state’s department of education. The standards are periodically reviewed by the commis-

sions and the members of NEASC. They review the independent nature of accreditation combined with recognition of pertinent

state and federal recognition. These are the standards to which the NEASC accreditation system is ran.

This process takes ten years and people have been obsessing about it because the supervisors are coming to inspect

and oversee all school classes and activities. That just shows how misinformed this school is because the process has already

begun. We have already filled out surveys on our thoughts on the school. So NEASC has already begun to infiltrate the school.

So if we have been being watched already, why would we freak out now? Our school has been improving our test scores with

the changes Mr. Arcarese has implemented. The writing for ten minutes has helped to increase these test scores. As we have

shown our improvements while they have been monitoring us our school should be alright.

With our improving test scores we can hopefully graduate our high school and have it mean something because if we

don’t pass this system then we will have to go to different schools and this one will be overrun by state educators. We can

hopefully pass with our emerging test scores but we need to keep them going up. Because, readers I caution you, slacking

won’t be good because the NEASC staff doesn’t come until 2010, we still have time to fail.

Information taken from http://www.neasc.org/

Who the Elle is Sandy? C O N T I U N U E D F R O M P A G E O N E

W E S T I L L H A V E T I M E T O F A I L C O N T I U N U E D F R O M P A G E O N E


Our school has

been improving

our test scores

with the changes

Mr. Arcarese has

implemented.

Senior Spotlight

Hahahehehehahahaha. You look around wondering what you’ve just heard. It sounds like the laugh of a hyena, but you can’t be sure. Hahahehehahahaha. There is it again. You turn your head and see a student -- tall, dark and handsome, wearing a nice dress shirt, vest and money tie walking down the same hallway. His aura is glowing, along with his bright blue and orange sneakers. You wonder, who can this be? Well, it’s none other than Nate Rose, a senior a Plainfield High School.

Throughout his high school years, Nathaniel Rose has involved himself in a lot of high school events: his favorite being the 2009 Plainfield Talent Show with Kyle Tobaygo and Seth Auger. There Rosie graced the eyes of the audience with some unique dance moves and a crowd pleasing smile. The stage is obviously his calling because Nate was able to land the lead role in Plainfield’s school production of “Grease” as the popular and hardcore Danny Zuko. The confident Nate Rose said, “I think the play will be fun this year, but there’s a lot of pressure at the same time.” He’s most excited to see himself in the track uniform, remembering that in the fifties, booty shorts were more popular for boys than girls.

Another favorite activity of the Rose has been the Plastic’s Program. The Plastic’s Program is a school activity that involves advancing knowledge in the development of plastic type materials. In it, a group of Plainfield students combine their thoughts and brains to create an invention made of plastic so they can present it to a line of judges. Nate has been in charge of the design and the commercials, which tend to be his favorite part. Despite all of these activities, Nate Rose is still most known for his classy style. He mentions, “I was born to naturally look good. I have a style no man can touch.”

As high school ends and adult life begins, the one and only Nate Rose fears actually having to grow up, especially personality wise. He tells us that, “I’m going to miss doing whatever I want and getting away with it.” Fortunately though, the past four years have been nothing but good to him. He’s kept the same friends throughout, including Jon Cote, Steve Ligus and Kyle Tobaygo. Being the social fellow that he is, Nate was also able to gain close relationships with his teachers, especially his “boy W and homeboy Bitgood.” The only thing he regrets is pulling off a successful and daring senior prank, one which would probably keep him from graduating. Nate Rose plans to go to Three Rivers in the fall to pursue a career in architecture or teaching a technical education class. Wherever he goes in the future, his laugh will still be heard.

Lights, camera, action. “Good morning. It’s time for Ruth Reinwald with your daily weather

report. I’m Ruth Reinwald and this is your weather.” Sound familiar? For months Plainfield High School

was blessed each morning with the face of a girl who went by the name of Ruth Reinwald. We knew her

in front of the camera; her pleasant smile, accurate weather and overall classy attitude. Unfortunately,

her minute worth of weather each morning left out one little detail—the real Ruth Reinwald. So, because

of the great disturbance in the minds of many, initiative was taken to find out whom this marvelous me-

teorologist really is. It’s another Panther Advocate Investigation: Behind the Scenes of Ruth Reinwald.

Many can probably tell that Ruth is a very unique individual. From her vibrant youth rally sweaters to her home painted shoes, it’s easy to say she’s one of a kind. She has a mellow, artistic side but can also get very intense while playing some sports for her school. On the artsy side, Ruth is able to express herself through painting. She’s done numerous amounts of paintings and has even won some awards with them. Her favorite painting overall has been her huge self-portrait done in green and orange that is cur-rently hanging in her room. Narcissistic? No, she’s just that glorious.

Her athleticism has also played a major role in her life. For example, she was the goalie for the soccer team both her fresh-man and sophomore year. She also played basketball for all four years in high school. According to Miss Reinwald, the best years have been both her sophomore and senior year in basketball. Although painting shows her self expression and sports enhance her obvious drive to win, Ruthie Ruth likes to portray someone else each year in the school play. She has done theater all four years en-joying treats in the “nest” and the “dancing game” her junior year. This year, she is playing Jan in the well-known musical Grease. She’s excited to make people laugh and is ready to help out with the new cast and the set. The show is sure to be a success, but it will definitely be hard for Ruth to top last year’s performance with her interpretation of the ever so famous character, Candy Merkle, from Bye-Bye Birdie.

For Ruth, high school is almost over. As she looks back at the last four years, she’s reminded of all the good and bad times. “For the most part, I’ve kept the same friends throughout the years. I’ve gained and I’ve lost, but the true ones have stuck around.” Ruth is mostly going to miss the closeness of friends in this environment. “The real world is so cold,” she comments rather tragically. She’s right. The outside world isn’t going to be nice to you. But Ruth ensures us that she won’t let this fear get to her. “I’m more ex-cited than scared. I guess I’m just scared that I’ll forget all the valuable things I’ve learned in high school,” the most valuable being the discovery that “what people think of you doesn’t matter. As long as I like me, I’m doing alright.” Overall, Ruth doesn’t regret any-thing. Fortunately, she was able to do everything she wanted to do. Ruth wants to continue her education in the fall at either Eastern Connecticut State University or UConn, pursuing a career in the art field. She’s got a bright future ahead of her and its safe to say that we haven’t seen the last of Ruth Reinwald. Scene.

Stop and Smell the Rose Picture and article by: Heather Fountaine

The Ruth, the Ruth, the Ruth is on Fire Picture and article by: Heather Fountaine

Hey Baby, What’s Your Number? By: Zachary DeNovellis

The Plainfield Board of Education finally provided two new cash registers to be installed in the Plainfield High School cafeteria. These registers can also be found in many other schools, such as Sterling Memorial School and Plainfield Central School. By using this system the BOE hopes to make lunch purchasing process easier for students.

The new cash registers are technologically advanced compared to the much older cash registers previously used. These feature touch screens and the ability to pull up files on students wishing to purchase lunch. The profile of the students currently contain the name of the student, his/her pin number and whether or not he/she receive free or reduced lunch. All of the information necessary for a successful lunch purchase is displayed for the lunch ladies when you simply type in a four digit pin number. In case a student loses the pin number he or she can simply tell the lunch lady his or her name and the lunch lady can bring up the appropriate profile.

Recently, the installation of the pin number system in the cafeteria made the process of purchasing lunch much longer and dreadfully aggravating. We were given small paper cards. These cards had a four digit number written on the back. This is our pin number. In order to purchase lunch we must now punch in this number. After punching in the number our names appear on the screen of the cash register. The lunch lady proceeds to ask you if the name that appeared is actually your name. Then you give them your money- just like you did with the old system.

This new system was only recently installed but has already been used in various other facilities. For instance the new Sterling school uses this same system. A teacher at the Sterling school informed me that the similar system being used there actually costs the students more money. In Sterling, the system allows you to purchase food without actually giving money. This money is placed on your account and at the end of each marking period a bill is sent home. Some of the students have huge bills by the end of each marking period. The main idea of this system is that a student can have the same pin number for his or her entire time in school. They are given numbers as soon as they enter any of the schools in this area. This removes the manual labor of searching for names. Now a student can prepay lunch. They put a certain amount of money on their account and whenever they enter their pin number the lunch ladies can remove an amount of money from the account.

On the first day the system was in use many students were late for block one because of the initial trial of using these numbers. They tried to buy breakfast and some were sitting in line for a half hour for a Pop-Tart. Several teachers complained about students who were late. These students simply told their teachers that the reason they were late was the new system. Many teachers were forced to accept this excuse. Each successive breakfast has become easier to purchase.

The new cash registers cost as much as two decent computers; in other words they were not that costly. Although these new systems are superior, many students prefer the older method of using a simple cash register. Mostly this is because the system is new. As students become used to the pin numbers they will prefer it. Each day after this the students were complaining less and became happier about the systems.

Some students are concerned about someone else using their pin number. This is not a prodigious problem. Your profile shows if you had already purchased lunch that day during a previous lunch. Student photos will be uploaded soon so that photo identification is possible.

Fortunately, the days following the initial trial of the systems have become faster and more efficient. Many hope that this trend will continue and the new system may one day be faster than the old.

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Picture and Interview by: Katelyn Kennedy Walking in to first period class on a Monday, I am tired, irritable and the day has just started to go all wrong. You would think that first block would put me to sleep, but no - the minute I walk in I am greeted by a friendly smile and a very lively “Hola Buenos Dias.” I leave my Spanish II class with a red face because I have been laughing the whole time and I learned so much. But who is the man behind this enjoyable and educational experience? None other than our very own Mr. DePasquale. I have been chosen to go behind the scenes to learn more about this mystery man. Q. What did you eat for breakfast? A. Cheerios with milk

Q. What made you want to wear that shirt today?

A. It was a gift and I think it looks good.

Q. What made you want to be a Spanish teacher? A. I really like the language and I really like working and helping other people so I just thought that becoming a Spanish teacher would be the most practical way to make a living.

Q. Did you ever want to do anything but teach?

A. Yes I once wanted to be a sportscaster.

Q. What do you think of when you hear the phrase “Act swiftly awesome pachyderm”?

A. I have no idea.

Q. Why are you so organized?

A. Generally I am not very organized, but my desk is very organized because I feel I need to find everything I need to teach.

Q. What’s your favorite color and why?

A. My favorite color is red because it symbolizes my Italian-American background.

Q. If you were stranded on a desert island what three things would you take?

A. fishing pole, something to hold water in, good music.

Q. Are you married?

A. No I am not.

Q. If you could only eat one kind of pie for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

A. Apple pie

Q. What is the hardest word for you to say in Spanish?

A. Estadounidense. (This is another way to say American.)

Q. What is your favorite thing about being a teacher?

A. Working with kids. I like the challenge of getting kids interested in my subject.

Q. What is your favorite moment here at Plainfield High School? A. I don’t know it’s all been great, I really like working here. I really like it here and I mean that.

Q. What is your favorite moment ice fishing? A. Favorite moment ice fishing? I don’t ice fish. Q. There’s a goat in your house. Do you eat it or not?

A. There a goat in my house do I eat it or not? No I would not eat it.

Q. What’s your favorite genre of music?

A. I like alternative rock.

Q. Is there a song or group you like best?

A. My favorite band is U2 and my favorite song by them is “One”. Q. A giant bird picks you up and throws you in to the middle of the ocean where you are picked up by a talk-ing boat; do you kill the boat and ride it home or listen to what it has to say?

A. No comment

Q. Do you have any last comments for this interview?

A. Thanks for interviewing me and I can’t wait to read it in the paper.

Upon leaving this interview I am enlightened about what I have learned about this amazing Spanish teacher. I hope he continues to enjoy his time here at P.H.S.

Una Entrivista Con el Senor DePasquale

“I like the challenge of getting kids interested in my subject.”


I just thought that becoming a Spanish teacher would be the most practical way to make a living.

I am walking into biology class and if you know me, you know I don’t like science. But the minute I walk into Dr. C’s class I am blown away by the amount of energy she has. In her class she keeps her students entertained and learning. I interviewed her to find out what makes her tick. Q. What is Forensics and is it like CSI? A. Forensics is science applied to law. CSI is based on forensics techniques but is a dramatization.

Q. Do you enjoy teaching it? A. Yes I do, it’s fun, it’s interesting, the students really enjoy it and I get to do all kind of things: biology, chemistry and physics all rolled into one. I enjoy teaching it but I wish I had more time to make it better.

Q. What do you do in that class? A. In forensics we discuss different kinds of evidence, different legal aspects of foren-sics investigations. Then we investigate techniques of forensics: finger printing, blood spatter, any other ones that we can practically do.

Q. Do your students have to wear special clothing?

A. No. They have to wear goggles and aprons when we do labs.

Q. Do you enjoy being a science teacher?

A. Yes I do. Being a science teacher can be a lot of fun. I love science and I love teaching.

Q. What reproduces faster a fish or a rabbit?

A. A fish

Q. What do you have planned for this year? A. Pretty much the usual. We have a project with EASTCONN: They are bring in some experts to show students some thing that we can’t handle. That’s the only big new one this year.

Q. What’s your favorite thing to do after school? A. I like to hang out with my friends. I used to spend time with my dog but it passed away. I like to do projects at home. It’s pretty quiet at home.

Q. Do you have any kids?

A. I have one daughter; she’s twenty, her names Katie and she is a biology major in college.

Q. What’s a pachyderm?

A. A pachyderm is a category of animal; it includes the elephant.

Q. Did you ever want to do anything but teach?

A. Absolutely, I wanted to be a researcher and I was for twenty years.

Q. What is the one place you would love to visit and why? A. I would like to go to Australia, to see the kangaroos and the many kinds of interesting animals. I would really like to go the Galapa-gos Island to see what Darwin saw.

Q. What is your favorite childhood memory? Why does it stand out in your mind? A. I remember sitting around in the living room in my family’s house and watching The Tuesday Child Show (Where they show you kids that needs to be adopted). Anyway, there where these three girls, they were sisters, and they needed to be adopted but they could not find a home that would take all three of them. I remember my father saying he would never split up sisters, so he was going to adopt those girls.

Q. If you could go back and change anything in your life, what would you change and why?

A. I can’t think of anything I would change off the top of my head.

Q. What kind of music do you prefer?

A. Country because there is no foul language.

Q. Do you like to read? What kind of books do you like?

A. I like murder mysteries and books about science. I read this really good book called The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat! Q. What is your favorite TV show? What is it about the show that you like?

A. NCIS. I really like the characters and the forensics; I hate reality TV.

Q. What do you want your students to learn the most in your classes?

A. That science is cool.

Q. Do you have any last comments for this interview?

A. Tomorrow is Darwin Day. (Darwin is the scientist that discovered all species come from a common ancestor.)

And now you know the truth about Dr. Culver-Rymsza. Now get out there and discover something!

Doctor Doctor Give Me the News Picture and Interview by Katelyn Kennedy

What is your full name, including middle name?

Brian Robert Stevenson.

Where did you attend college?

The University of Connecticut.

Are you married?

Yes.

Do you have any children?

Yes, I have three children. Three and a half year old twins and a ten month old baby girl.

Why did you pick Plainfield High School to work at?

I’m coming here from another district, a small district, and a larger school for me is a great opportunity to work with a large group of students and be able to do some really great things.

Why did you decide to be a chorus teacher?

In high school I was just so affected by the choral program I was in and I wanted to be able to give back the same opportu-nity to my students every year, you know give them the opportunity that I wish that I could have actually had when I was in school.

How much have your students improved since you have been here?

Greatly. I think there was a great group of kids when I got here. They’ve really started to work together as a group.

What was your previous job?

I was a choral director at Portland High School.

How long have you been a teacher?

This is my eighth year.

Do you have any favorite teachers here?

Yeah, sure. There have been some really great people that have come and helped me out and have been supportive of the music program . I still don’t know a lot of faculty because we haven’t really gotten the chance to get together but, Mr. Bitgood has been a really big help, Mr. Mariano, Mrs. Noble, Mrs. Collins, Mrs. Lussier down in the library, Mrs. Titus are all really great people. They have really stepped up to help.

Do you enjoy singing?

Yes, but not publicly very much *laugh*

Did any of your students audition for Grease?

They did. I would say it’s a pretty good mix between the department students and others.

Who is your favorite artist as in singing, rapping, etc.?

It’s a tough call, but if I had to answer I would have to go with Frank Sinatra.

What’s your biggest mistake as a teacher?

I don’t know. I’m sure that there’s been many but I can’t think of one in particular.

What is the one thing you regret the most?

Probably not fully realizing the effort it took to get through college until the third year.

Do you enjoy your job here?

I love it. I love it to death.

There is a new choral teacher here at Plainfield High School. I figured that people would want to know a little more about him since he is directing some of the singers that are participating in the play Grease.

In high school I

was just so affected

by the choral

program I was in

and I wanted to be

able to give back

the same

opportunity to my

students every year

Fly Me to The Moon - The Stevenson Interview picture and interview by Kaytee Clark

On a long and late bus ride home from our states track meet in New Haven, I took some time to interview two of our Plain-field High School math teachers, also known as our only two track and cross country coaches. Coach Bowne and Coach Parkinson have been coaching at Plainfield for five years now and have many good things to say about the indoor track team and the upcoming outdoor track team

1.) How long have you been coaching for?

Both: We have been coaching for five years together.

2.) Have you coached at any other school before?

Both: Nope, just Plainfield.

3.) How long have you been teaching at Plainfield High School?

Mr. Bowne: I have been working here for four years but I just started teaching last year so this is my second year.

Mr. Parkinson: Five years.

4.) What is more fun for you, teaching or coaching the track team?

Mr. Bowne: ummm, coaching.

Mr. Parkinson: They are both equally rewarding and challenging.

5.) How long have you known each other?

Both: Twenty years give or take, we grew up together.

6.) What are the challenges with coaching?

Mr. Parkinson: 90 athletes and two coaches…

Mr. Bowne: You do the math.

7.) How has the indoor track team been doing this year?

Both: Both girls and boys teams are doing very well. Girls came in fourth place at ECCs which is a huge improvement for us. And the boys are the ECC champs of 2009!

8.) When you were in high school, did you run? Were you any good?

Mr. Bowne: Yes, our team won two state titles.

Mr. Parkinson: Yes, but I was awful. I made All State nine times (sarcasm)

9.) What’s your favorite part about teaching?

Both: New challenges every day… and there is always June, July, and August.

10.) What’s your favorite part about coaching?

Mr. Bowne: Seeing kids do stuff they never knew they could do.

Mr. Parkinson: WINNING!

Both: Sean Mitchell.

11.) What are your expectations for the outdoor track team?

Both: Girl’s team should win ECCs and the boy’s team: world domination!

12.) In one to four words, describe your indoor tack team.

Both: POW... POW POW!

13.) Are you losing a lot of good runners this year?

Both: There are always a lot of new kids to join next year.

POW...

POW

POW!

G@NGST@$$$$$$$!! Interview and pictures by: Stephanie Desrosiers


G@NGST@$$$$$$$!! Continued from previous page...

Random questions

1.) Favorite movie?

Mr. Bowne: Wayne’s World

Mr. Parkinson: Over the Top

2.) Favorite quotes? Mr. Bowne: “I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no good, rotten, four-flushing, low life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, over-stuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, hopeless, heartless, fatty, bug eyed, stiff legged, spotted lipped, worm headed sack of **** he is... HALLELUIA... HOLY **** ...where's the Tylenol...”

Mr. Parkinson: “Pain don’t hurt!” Dalton from Road House

3.) If you were stranded on a desert what three things would you want with you?

Mr. Bowne: a toothpick, issue of VIBE magazine, and a woolen mitten.

Mr. Parkinson: sun block, water, and a VHS of Over the Top to sleep with.

4.) Who was your hero growing up?

Mr. Bowne: Larry Bird

Mr. Parkinson: Mike Greenwell

5.) What was your favorite thing to do when you were growing up?

Mr. Bowne: Playing outside, legos, and beating up my older brother

Mr. Parkinson: Beating up Bowne’s older brother, and hanging out with my dad at games and practices

THE BIG BOYS ON CAMPUS Interviewed and pictures by: Kayla Robitaille

Chad and Aaron Nadeau are two Senior twins here at Plainfield High School. They play the same sports, have the same friends and look alike, but... do they think alike?

What is the lightest weight you’ve ever been recorded at? Aaron: “Probably when I came out… so like 9.8”

Chad: “160 lbs” What is your favorite quote? Aaron: “Faith is taking the first step when you don’t even see the whole staircase. ” - Martin Luther King Jr. Chad: "Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal." - Albert Einstein What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done? Aaron: “I have no clue”

Chad: “Said that I was allergic to a certain kind of peanut and so I took a handful of mixed nuts and ate them to find out.” What’s your favorite memory?

Aaron: “Getting sent to Mr. Worth’s office the first day I was here for starting a food fight.” Chad: “Whooping East Lyme’s (butt) and hanging out with all my friends.” What size shoes do you wear? Aaron: “17” Chad: “17” Do you share clothes with your brother? Aaron: “Yeah” Chad: “I try not to” Who do you think is the better looking twin? Aaron: “ME! Everyone knows that.” Chad: “I honestly think that I am.”

Who is the better dancer? Aaron: “Neither of us” Chad: “I don’t dance.” Who is the better singer? Aaron: “Probably me” Chad: “Definitely me” What is it like competing with your brother? Aaron: “Fun” Chad: “It gets boring after a while” Do you and your brother have the same taste in girls?

Aaron: “No cause Chad likes model trains.” Chad: “Yeah” What size do you think you would be if you weren’t born premature?

Aaron: “I don't know….a regular size baby.” Chad: “6’7” and a JACKED 315 lbs.” Who is your best of best friends? Aaron: “Bocephus” Chad: “Beau Dugas” What is something not many people know about you? Aaron: “The lowest grade I got on my SATS is a 950” Chad: “I’m a genius” What is your Favorite thing about track? Aaron: “Women” Chad: “Kicking (Butt)” In your opinion who is the smarter twin? Aaron: “We have our subjects. Chad in English me in math” Chad: “Me” What are you going to miss most when you graduate? Aaron: “Hang out with friends” Chad: “All my friends” Plans for after graduation? Aaron: “Go to college” Chad: “Going to college, going to college parties, getting a degree in criminal justice and being either a correctional officer or state cop.” What is the largest animal living animal?

Aaron: “Hmmm… animal... Well it’s not a blue whale because that isn’t an animal… So I’ll go with a polar bear” Chad: “Mammoth”

Spell Necessary: Aaron: “Nessicary”

Chad: “Necessary” -

B I G B O Y S O N C A M P U S C O N T I U N U E D F R O M P R E V I O U S P A G E

WORD ASSOCIATION GAME: Golf Club:

Aaron: “Gofer” Chad: “Golf ball” Sports:

Aaron: “Football” Chad: “Football” Food:

Aaron: “Tacos” Chad: “Steak” Girls:

Aaron: “That’s not a good one” Chad: “Hot women” Killingly:

Aaron: “I hate ‘em” Chad: “hate ‘em” Garbage:

Aaron: “Killingly Kids” Chad: “disposal” Algebra:

Aaron: “Hate it” Chad: “Ughh” Tacos:

Aaron: “Yummmm….” Chad: “Yummmmyyyyyy….” Facetious:

Aaron: “What the hell does that mean?” Chad: “I don’t know, what the hell does that mean?”


Woo! Go Plainfield! NOT! Have you ever noticed the lack of school spirit

Plainfield High School displays? When you walk down the school hall-

ways you do not see a single panther or even a splash of orange and

black on the walls. What this school needs is some spirit, and a lot of

it. The idea of having spirit is to encourage our players, whether it is on

the basketball court, football field, soccer field, competition mat, or

auditorium stage. This building does not have enough spirit, and there

are a few ways we could fix it. My suggestion is to add a spirit club to

Plainfield High School.

Student Council has always been in charge of pep rallies, spirit

week, hall decorating competitions and a lot of other things. Student Council has not given the school enough notice on any

of these things. This year’s spirit week I can truthfully say, was an absolute disaster. I was one of the few students to actually

participate. At my old school, Voluntown Elementary, students could not wait for spirit week; the whole school would dress

up, including faculty. Plainfield’s spirit week is much different; there is hardly any spirit at all. I see maybe ten students and

three teachers throughout the whole school dressed up. This was because Student Council gave the school a days notice! I

remember walking down the hallway wearing a hat and people asking, “It’s hat day?” That just shows the lack of effort Stu-

dent Council puts into making that week a true “spirit week.”

Don’t even get me started on our school pep rallies. Students shouldn’t have to dread at-

tending our boring pep rallies. They should be excited, but that’s hard when the pep rallies have

absolutely no “pep.” The only time I ever see spirit in Plainfield High is at the boys basketball

games, and it’s usually the same group of students making all the noise in the crowd. Why isn’t

everyone? The school shouldn’t have to rely on the same group of kids to bring all the spirit to our

school.

Most schools have pep squads at the games, I am sure everyone has heard of the “zoo-

crew.” Where is our pep squad? I know I’m not the only one who hears the school talking about the

cheerleading squad. Well, I used to be a part of the squad and it’s not easy to go out in front of a

tedious crowd and give the routine your all. If the crowd put as much effort into cheering for the

other sports in the school as they do at the Griswold vs. Plainfield games, I can bet you will see a

tremendous change in the effort of the teams, including the cheerleaders. Teams need fans to

pursue the expectations of the schools. If we had a pep squad all teams would have someone

cheering for them, at all their home games. I don’t think the girl teams get enough credit. When I

attend one of the girl’s basketball games, I don’t see a lot of students; it’s mostly parents and the player’s family. I know the

girls want some encouragement from their school friends.

I think if we had a spirit club, this dilemma would no longer occur. Stu-

dents would know when spirit week and pep rallies would be taking place. This

club would be in charge of events that need spirit, and the Student Council can

focus on other activities they run and no longer worry about “school spirit pro-

grams.” Form a spirit club, and leave it to the students who want to bring spirit

to our school!

They look like they are having fun

Orange Ya Glad We Have Spirit?

Commentary by: Stephanie Desrosiers

What this school needs is some spirit, and a lot

of it.


What Can Brown Do For You?

Commentary By: Devin Kotulsky

Beep, Beep, Beep. In comes a text message onto Chris Brown’s cell phone.

Unfortunately, Rihanna found out that some girl has been texting her man Chris. She is

calling these text messages a “Booty Call.” Rihanna became upset with him and she

wanted to leave the car that the two were in. This is when the tragedy occurred. Once

Rihanna threatened to leave the car Chris Brown grabbed her arm and allegedly bruised

her and bit her, which is when she started screaming “Help.” There were also reports that

Rihanna had bite marks on her hand. She was spotted at Cedars- Sinai Medical Center in

Los Angeles all beaten up with two contusions on both sides of her head, L.A.P.D. stated.

She is now with her family trying to get over the fact her “so-called boyfriend” beat her.

Rihanna’s father would like it if she just moved on with her life and went back to her sing-

ing career without him.

Life after beating up a girl must be a tragic nightmare. Top celebrity Jay-Z stated “he will never be spotted singing with Chris

Brown.” He also wants the people to stand up for Rihanna and all the women out there to stand up for their rights. Unfortunately because of

this ugly scene Brown lost a lot of respect, fans and money. Being arrested for criminal charges is serious, but rule of thumb: never hit a girl.

That was probably one of the first rules my mother ever taught me. Chris Brown may soon see time behind bars. He was bailed out of jail on

$50,000 bond but he also has a court date on March 5th.

Other top artists were devastated by Rihanna’s assault. Kanye West, one of Rihanna’s good friends, refers to her as “my baby sis.”

Kanye went on tour with her last year. He has stated that he would do anything to help her out. I can’t believe anyone would want to beat up

a girl. No matter what happens no guy should touch a girl in a violent way. Even if the girl hits you first there is no reason to hit her back. If it

was up to me I would take Chris Brown and lock him behind bars. Maybe behind bars he won’t put his dirty paws on any girls. Despite his

ability to write a good love song, Chris Brown has certainly shown some violent tendencies.

Information and picture taken from: www.theinsider.com

The Conspiracy to Kill the Siamese Beast

By: Zachary DeNovellis

It all started with a few. Now there are hundreds. Soon there will be thousands and then millions. They are overrunning Plainfield High School. They are the librarians’ guppies.

Recently the librarians’ pet fish had barely visible baby fish. Once these fish grew, a mutation was noticed. Two of the fish were conjoined. This little guppy had two heads and one body. This miniature fish was found swimming lopsided among the other fish and the peduncles. Upon discovering the fish the librarians let out an aw followed shortly by a “hey check this out.”

The librarians loved this little guppy. They took care of him/her like it was their own little baby. They would stare at this baby and wonder how this happened. Now the fish has mysteriously disappeared.

There are three theories of how this fish mysteriously disappeared. First is the more likely of the theories. The fish may have died. No body was ever discovered so this theory is difficult to prove. Even if there was a body it would be difficult to find due to the petite size of the creature.

The second theory is that the two fish simply separated. It is impossible to determine between the hundreds of baby guppies so this is still a definite possibility. The two may have separated and are now two guppies identical to the rest.

The third possibility is that the other fish became jealous of the Siamese fish. They may have conspired to murder the baby fish. This may be one of the most likely possibilities.

Regardless of the fate of the fish we ask that everyone please remember the poor Siamese fish that no one, besides the li-brarians, ever cared about.

Picture From: http://www.sculpturegallery.com/udesign buffalo_large.jpg

Info from wikipedia.org

By Josh Shedd

Sometimes, there’s no plausible reason for saying something. We all know somebody who blurts random things for fun and most of the time what he or she blurts isn’t worth remembering but other times, comic and/or logistical gold spews forth from his or her mouth. This is a remembrance of those phrases and a celebration of the weird kids that said them.

The following is a complete sentence:

“Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo.”

I know you’re staring at this page and trying to take this in, so let’s break it down by parts of speech. The first two words, “Buffalo buffalo,” mean “buffalo from the city of Buffalo.” The third “buffalo” is a synonym for “bully.” The fourth “buffalo” means buffalo in general. The fifth and sixth words, “Buffalo buffalo” again mean “buffalo from the city of Buffalo.” The seventh buffalo means “bully” again. So, literally, the sentence means:

“Buffalo from the city of Buffalo bully buffalo that buffalo from the city of Buffalo also bully.”

This sentence was thought up in 1972 by William J. Rapaport at, unsurprisingly, the University of Buffalo. He wanted to represent how homophones and homonyms can create complex sentence structures. I say he succeeded.

Imagine yourself rushing into your English class after a socially‐spent passing time. You’re having trouble breathing as it is after hauling yourself up the stairs and you look down to see the following printed nicely on a plain piece of paper:

“James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher.”

Do you have a seizure or do you simply pass out? It’s going to be one of them, I can guarantee. The purpose of this is to have students punctuate it and give it meaning. Correctly punctuated, it should look like this:

“James, while John had had “had,” had had “had had;” “had had” had had a better effect on the teacher.”

Beautiful, isn’t it? It’s a shining example of useless language and pointless structure. This is what makes it fun to speak English! It’s meant to be a demonstration of something called “lexical ambiguity,” but we have no need for such obnoxious labels here.

“A bodacious clam didn’t enjoy fun games; he immediately jumpkicked lions meanly near oversized pickles quivering rambunctiously, slithering towards ugly venomous warthog xylophone yak zits.”

Plainfield High School’s very own student, Barry Maily, came up with this doozy. It uses a word beginning with each let‐ter of the alphabet, and in alphabetical order to boot!

Besides these sentences, there are also some pretty obnoxious words in our language as well. Take this one for example:

“Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis”

(Note: This word was actually in Microsoft Word’s dictionary!) This is actually the name of an inflammatory lung dis‐ease caused by the inhalation of silica dust‐ which means you get it from breathing in some sort of nasty crap. When diagnosing or discussing this condition with patients, most doctors abbreviate it to “Silicosis.”

Another word worth mentioning is:

“Honorificabilitudinitatibus”

This word is defined as “the state of being able to achieve honors.” It is also the longest word ever to appear in one of Shake‐speare’s works, not to mention being incredibly difficult to pronounce correctly (It appeared in Love’s Labour’s Lost, by the way).

So, there you have it. Sometimes being an English speaker is almost embarrassing for the amount of useless language we have, but that can’t take away the amount of fun that can be had looking at our weird assemblage of words. Maybe the next time somebody blurts something weird you’ll actually crack a smile.

It’s A Bit Wordy

Commentary By: Ian Courtemanche

Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Jose Conseco, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa. Now the highest paid man in any professional sport, Alex Rodriguez, has recently admitted to his use of an “illegal substance.” The first news of this came through Sports Illustrated that stated “A-Rod” had tested positive for steroid use and a week later ESPN followed though with these allegations in an interview with the All Star slugger. In this interview when asked about the substances he was taking he said this: “The thing is it was such a loosey goosey era, I was guilty for a lot of things. I’m guilty for be-ing negligent, naïve, not asking all the right questions, and to be quite honest I don’t know exactly what substance I was guilty of using.” In a press conference held just one week after his ESPN interview Rodriguez said: “I used a drug called bola” also claiming he didn’t know exactly what the benefits of using the drug were.

We, being the sports fans that we are, all realize that this is not an isolated case. In baseball last year there were several incidents. The Rocket Roger Clemens testified before a jury saying he never took HGH; his friend and teammate Andy Petitte was sought after as well concerning steroid allegations. On Thursday, February 19th of this year, the Barry Bonds scandal was brought back up, as was Mark McGuire’s situation. What does this mean to sports? More importantly, what does this mean for base-ball?

It is not an easy feet to drive a ball 350 yards. So if Major League Baseball does crack down on these human growth hormones, and it’s obvious they will with the recent coming out of Alex Rodriguez, baseball as we know it at the mo-ment will defiantly not remain.

Fans and teams need to see beyond the big name players and look at the future of MLB to make sure the players of the next generation will not make the same mistake so many others have.

Every year at the beginning of spring training, since I can remember, there has been a new steroid scan-dal in baseball and this year is obviously no different. I’m sure all baseball fans would like the shadow looming over “America’s Pastime” to lift off of its players this spring so they can finally enjoy the sport and see what this season and the seasons to come have in store.

A-Roid

Bong Hits for Swimmers Commentary By: Ian Courtemanche

Fourteen gold medals, seven world records, one photograph. Michael Phelps was caught on camera smoking out of what appeared to be a bong, completely sending his reputation into

the toilet. His biggest sponsor, Kelloggs, has officially taken away their sponsorship from Phelps, claiming: “Michael’s most recent behavior is not consistent with the image of Kelloggs.” His illegal act is not consistent

with Kelloggs and certainly not the example that many American par-ents, whose young children look up to Phelps, would want to see.

Eight people were arrested in connection with the case of the bong photo. The owner of the bong that Michael Phelps smoked out of was reportedly selling it for $100,000, even saying “Michael Phelps toked on this bong.” This owner, who was not at the party, is one of the eight being charged. Phelps has yet to be charged or arrested for any of these allegations.

I personally wouldn’t like to put Phelps in the spotlight of drug users in sports. Most of the American press including the New York Times and sports station ESPN agree with this statement, comparing him to such stars as Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa. Now while this may be a little harsh, I can see what the press is inferring. Illegal sub-stances are illegal for a reason. If Phelps wants to fill his lungs with them he should be treated as Barry Bonds was when he admitted his steroid use: Monitor Phelps and watch what he’s doing.

This brings me to another topic. If these sports organizations are complaining about these people who use “illegal substances” why do they still pay them millions of dollars to play their sport? Athletes are people too and they make stupid decisions. Shouldn’t they be punished just like a normal person would? Marijuana is just as illegal as steroids in an athletic environ-ment and these organizations need to realize that it shouldn’t be tolerated. Kelloggs, one of Phelps’s highest paying sponsors, has withdrawn from their contract with him. Now I’m not saying that steroids is even close to mari-juana on a deadly scale, but if Major League Baseball was pay-ing attention they would be more assertive on their steroid policy, taking away benefits and fining those caught with any illegal sub-stance.

In any case, the sports will go on, the media will forget and nothing will be done about this. Phelps will continue to be a highly paid athlete while the rest of America lives off what they have in this poor economy. Every athlete who uses illegal substances will fly under the radar, and eventually the media will go silent about these cases while “Bong Hits For Swim-mers” will continue.

http//:Newstotheworld.com/bonghits

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Commentary by: Barry Maily What do the Steeler’s fans terrible towels and the referees flags have in common? The first thing is that they are obviously yellow. The other is that more often than not they were in favor of the Steelers. As I watched the Super Bowl I could not help but realize that the guys in the striped shirts had no clue. It may seem a though I have a slight bias but I was pulling for the Steelers. I still found myself wondering, “What the hells going on out there?” to quote Vince Lombardi. This horrendous offici-ating is not justifiable. Now on to the game. The match-up that all the experts

thought would be the one to decide the game was the Steelers defense vs. the Cardi-nals offense. The Cardinals offense and the Steelers defense both played well. These squads are the strong points of each team. The Steelers were the number one ranked defense. As the Cardinals’ had the number three scoring offense in the league. The main battle between these two squads was the final play of the first half. This is when James Harrison, a Steeler linebacker, intercepted a pass and returned it for a touch-down. The play went for 100 yards and is the longest play in Super Bowl history.

However, the real match-up that decided the outcome of the game was the Cards defense against the Steelers’ offense. The Cardinals’ defense just could not contain the very average (at best) Steelers offense. The Cardinals inability to stop the Steelers passing attack, namely Santonio Holmes (Super Bowl MVP), is what shot them in the foot. Especially in the final drive of the game where Holmes grilled the Cards secondary for four catches and seventy three yards. This drive culminated in a six yard pass and catch from Roethlisberger to Holmes.

As if that final play wasn’t enough, on the other side of the drive came a Cardinal drive that ended with a ques-tionable call. The Cardinals got the ball with a mere thirty-five seconds left. They worked their way to the fifty yard line and then came the infamous play. In this play Kurt Warner was going to throw the ball deep to Larry Fitzgerald, when he was hit. The ball was jarred loose and Larry Foote (a Steeler linebacker) recovered the fumble. I wish that I could say it was definitely a fumble. But this play should have been reviewed and subsequently overturned. This would have set up one play for the Lombardi Trophy. Instead, the Steeler’s trotted out Ben Roethlisberger for a kneel down. That was the game.

The legacy of this game will be of two Hall of Famers who led the underdog Cardinals within a play of the title. But their sub par defense could not contain the very average Pittsburgh offense. Some may say this was the greatest Super Bowls ever, but it wasn’t. I could find at least forty two others that would be more appeasing. But the only reason for this is that the referees decided the game, not the players. It should not be like this, and I can not help but wonder what would have happened if Warner would have had one more throw.

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Defense Wins Championships, or Bad Officiating, Take your Pick

Would you like to get your game on? Last semester I was finishing up my quarter two’s final exam and I had to go to see if Mr. Chavarias was staying after to work out. I found myself watching Aaron Nadeau and Beau Dugas playing Wii Baseball in the work out room by the gym. I asked them if they brought in their own Wii to play while the final exams were going on. But they said, “Our school bought them.” Thing is, our school bought four of them for the students here at the school.

I found out today that our school put in a grant for the four Wiis and the government approved of it. Our school officially has four Wiis. The Wiis are being used for the students that have an Elective Physical Education. Ms. Voland is the one who gets all the credit. She put in for the Wiis three months ago but all the stores in our perimeter have been sold out. Ms. Voland hopes to get the Wiis in the work out room for the Physical Fitness class so they can use that as a work out but with lack of supplies for the games that will be difficult. She is hoping to Wii Fit. The Wii Fit is a game that has a fitness work out and the whole game is different ways of working out. But it’s so expensive and we don’t have enough num chuck controllers at the time. So she is trying to get the school’s budget to buy them for us.

One good thing Ms. Voland told me was that she was letting the Special Ed. Kids use the Wii. I find this very fortunate; I’m sure those kids like doing that. I know I would love to play Wii Bowling here in school. What other school do you know that has a Wii system inside their school while classes are in session? I doubt that any other school has any type of gaming device in their school. This brings in excitement for the students here at Plainfield High School to come to school everyday. Ms. Voland got these Wiis from a program called “Healthy School Alliances.” This program is a way for schools to get the help they need to become a healthier place for the staff and the students. This program supposedly increases the opportunities for the students to get some exercise and have a good time while they are in school. This will also prevent some circumstances of obesity in the world today. From the students here at Plainfield High School thank you Ms. Voland.

Wii would like to Play

By: Devin Kotulsky

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Grammy Winners By: Kaytee Clark

The Grammy Awards were originally called the Gramophone Awards and are given out by the National Academy of Recording

Arts and Sciences of the United States for the artists who have the most outstanding achievements in the music industry.

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Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the

winners of the Album of the Year Award with

Raising Sand.

They also got Record of the Year, along with

Pop Collaboration By A Duo Or Group With

Vocals and Country Collaboration with Vo-

cals.

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Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III was the winner of

the Rap Album at the Grammys.

Lil Wayne also won Rap Solo Performance.

The Award for the Male Pop Vocal Perform-

ance went out to John Mayer. He was also

awarded for the Solo Rock Vocal Perform-

ance.

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Coldplay were the winners of The Rock Album

Award, Song of the Year, and Pop Performance by

a Duo or Group with Vocals.

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The Award for the Best Country

Song was given out to Sugarland for

Stay. Sugarland also received Coun-

try Performance By a Duo or Group

with Vocals.

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Some of this year’s winners include:

New Artist: Adele

R&B Album: Jennifer Hudson - Jenni-

fer Hudson

Female Pop Vocal Performance:

Chasing Pavements - Adele

Pop Vocal Album: Rockferry - Duffy

Pop Instrumental Performance: “I

Dreamed There Was No War” - Ea-

gles

Alternative Music Album: In Rain-bows - Radiohead

Rock Performance by a Duo or Group

with Vocals: “Sex on Fire” - Kings of

Leon

Hard Rock Performance: Wax Simula-cra - The Mars Volta

Metal Performance: My Apocalypse - Metallica

Rock Instrumental Performance:

Peaches En Regalia - Zappa Plays

Zappa

Rock Song: Girls in Their Summer

Clothes - Bruce Springsteen

Rap Performance by a Duo or

Group: “Swagga Like Us” - Jay-Z and

T.I. featuring Kanye West and Lil

Wayne

Rap/Sung Collaboration: “American

Boy” - Estelle featuring Kanye West

Rap Song: “Lollipop” - Dwayne

Carter, Darius Harrison

Female Country Vocal Performance: “Last

Name” - Carrie Underwood,

Male Country Vocal Performance: “Letter

to Me” - Brad Paisley

R&B Song: “Miss Independent” - Mikkel S.

Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen and Shaffer

Smith

Contemporary R&B Album: Growing Pains - Mary J. Blige

Information taken from: www.grammy.com/

who the elle is sandy? - plainfield public schools · school musical grease as sandy. february 9th...

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