Chieftain - June

Sewanhaka Says Farewell to the Class of 2010

Sewanhaka High School a 500 Tulip Avenue • Floral Park, New York 11001 a 2010 Volume 21 Issue 1

Chieftain —the chief source for all the news you’ll ever need.

2Chieftain - June

Editor-in-ChiefKetsia Saint-Armand

Layout Editor Armaghan Behlum

PHOTO EDITOREmtiaz Uddin

StaffCourtney Balgobin

Mary Jane Dumankaya

ContributorsGregory AlexisKaren Gimenez

Catherine JohnsonJames Wighaus

AdvisorMr. Alfino

PhotographsYearbook Club

Ketsia Saint-Armand

SEWANHAKA HIGH SCHOOL

500 Tulip Ave.- Floral Park, New York 11001

contents

Monthly UpdatePage 3-5

Teacher FeaturePage 6-7

Student FeaturePage 8

Special FeaturePage 9

EditorialsPage 10-11

EntertainmentPage 12-13

Student and Community Issues

Page 14

SportsPage 15-16

Greetings from the Editors:

With the school year winding down, we’d like to encourage every-one to consider joining the school paper and getting a head start on next year’s valuable work of stu-dent journalism. This year, we’ve managed to implement quite a few changes and are looking forward to doing much more next year as your editors. Throughout the summer, if you have any suggestions, feel free to email them to chieftain@sewan-haka.k12.ny.us—we welcome your suggestions.

Be a part of YOUR school.

Be a part of YOUR Chieftain!

The Chieftain

Chieftain meets Thursdays, 7:20 A.M. in Room 237. All new

writers and cartoonists are welcome!

The Chieftain

3Chieftain - June

This year’s departing seniors have all made important contribu-tions to the school newspaper, and some of them will continue to do so in college. While The Chieftain will miss them greatly, it wishes them luck in all their future endeavors. Here are their profiles:

Emtiaz Uddin: During his time here at Sewanhaka, Emtiaz has partici-pated in a variety of clubs and sports, making him a true

scholar-athlete. A member of Mock Trial, Varsity Lacrosse, and the Science Olympiads, in addition to being the writer of the Student Council Holiday Play, Emtiaz reg-ularly balances his academic ambi-tions with an active co-curricular career. He also won an award for the Best Entertainment Piece in a district-wide contest and serves as the newspaper’s Photo Editor. Not only does Emtiaz participate in sports, but he is also a member of TAG, where he regularly takes part in math and trivia contests. A member of the winning Trivia Challenge team for two years in a row, Emtiaz has made his mark here at Sewanhaka as a student pro-ficient in many fields. He will go onto Stony Brook University next year with the intention of majoring in biology.

The Chieftain Says Farewell to Its SeniorsEditorial Staff

Anthony Jean: As the “Best Writer” award recipient of this year’s district-wide newspaper con-test, Anthony Jean

has made regular and substantial contributions to Sewanhaka’s pa-per. He will continue his path of success at Hofstra University next year, where he will major in the dif-ficult field of Mechanical Engineer-ing. Of writing for The Chieftain, he says this: “Writing for The Chief-tain has given me insight about the abilities and talents of those in the senior class, the student body, and the faculty of Sewanhaka. After writing three feature articles and winning the Best Writer award at the Sewanhaka Inter-District Newspaper Competition, I have found journalism to be an unex-pected skill of mine. During my time in college, I hope to write for the Hofstra Chronicle.”

James Wighaus: James has con-tributed regularly to the Chieftain as an excellent sports writer, in addition

to his chronicling of school events. During Senior Awards night, acco-lades were heaped upon him, and he ended the night on an excellent note by taking in five awards. As a recruited football player for Hart-wick College, he will go there to major in history and education.

Student Government Looks Forward to Another School YearCourtney Balgobin

Monthly Update

This year’s Student Council hosted its last meeting on May 21, 2010, wrapping up business and getting ready to embrace its new Executive Board. Next year’s Student Council Executive Board will be comprised of: Mary Jane Dumankaya, treasur-er, Sidrah Usman, secretary, Court-ney Balgobin, vice president, and Karim Lahlou, president. When asked on his feelings for next year Lahlou says, “It feels awesome to be president and the future of Sewan-haka is bright!” Ms. Deegan and Mr. Tesoro will remain as advisors for the club. The new executive board looks forward to the new up-coming year and hopes to plan a lot of new activities. Already, activities like Homecoming and Spirit Day have been planned for next year.

At the final General Student Coun-cil meeting, awards were presented to the winners of the Follies Talent Show. Second place solo winner Sara Cataldo was there to receive her award along with the first place group winners, The Story of Six. Their prizes were presented to them and it was a wonderful experience. The Student Council will cap off the year with an end-of-year party for all clubs and officers who par-ticipated in school activities, which will be held on June 8, 2010.

4Chieftain - June

exciting and realis-tic matches between stu-dents and teachers dur-ing Student-Teacher Day. One pair that defi-nitely stood out was that of J.P Tuber-quia and Mr. Tsolekas. Both had matching clothes on and even had the same hair cuts—which was no hair at all. Although the morning announcements weren’t exactly the same as

Mr. Tsolekas’, he still did a great job as a whole. Ste-ven Dyckman took the same route in being Mr. Lundergan. Not only were their clothes and hairstyle the same, but Steven also added cray-ons in his shirt pocket to give the full effect. There were many students who took the roles as teachers during Student-Teacher Day, and many of them

did a great job in impersonating them. Student-Teacher Day overall was a fun day for all, and had many great moments. Ev-eryone had a unique and unfor-get-table day!

Senior year is a year full of anticipa-tion and opportunities. As seniors ,you get exclusive privileges that set you apart from the rest of the students: not only do you gain privileges such as leaving school campus, but you also get to attend special senior events. One such event is Student-Teacher day. For Student-Teacher Day, each student gets to be that specific teacher that they may admire or have had a great

relationship with throughout the years. Al-though there is a lengthy process in partic-ipating, overall it’s not difficult. First, you

get to pick your teacher, and then you dress like them, hang out with them for the day, and basically teach

their classes for them. It’s a great day for seniors be-cause you get to see the other side of the spectrum. Instead of being the one hear-ing “You’re late!”, those words come from

Student-Teacher Day is a Success!James Wighaus your own

mouth. It was definite-ly a change of pace for most stu-dents.

Each student had different tasks during

the day. Some were gym teach-ers who spent their day watching the young ones play intense games of dodge ball, while others were subject teachers who gave tests and taught les-sons. After spend-ing the day as

Mr. Burgess John Marco Militano com-mented, “I’m tired; I didn’t think it was actually going to make me tired.”

John Mill-er got the honor to be Coach Kasi-matis and stated, “That was quick, I loved watch-ing the in-tense games of dodge ball.”

There definitely were many

Mr. Tsolekas and J.P. Tuber-quia take it to the next level with

matching hairstyles!

Mr. Lundergan and Anthony Dyk-man have identical glasses and poses

in the art office.

Ms. Gallacher and Madeline Boldyrew were another of the several sets of twins

that filled the Art Department on Student-

Teacher Day.

Ms. Dehler is corrected in English class by her student teacher,

Devin McRae.

Ms. Sherwood and Martine Norgaisse are both rather ferocious

when it comes to Earth Science.

Mr. Alfino and Al-exandra Tuminello show their Giants pride with

matching jerseys.

Various student teachers—and perhaps future teachers, too—pose together for a quick

snapshot.

Monthly Update

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Every year National Pi Day is celebrat-ed throughout the world in honor of the mathematical constant, Pi. Here at Sewan-haka, Pi Day was celebrated on March 15, 2010. It was referred to as “Pi Day Minus .01” since the actual Pi Day (3/14) was a Sunday. Year after year, Ms. Sicherman r a l l i e s the math students t h r o u g h -out the b u i l d i n g from ev- ery grade to partici- pate in the event. The main objective is to recite the most digits of Pi that you can. Unfortu-nately, this year not one person showed up for the competition. The first place “pie prize” went to waste and it was a rather heartrending experience for the math folk all throughout the building. That being said, remember to stop by the TAG room next year on March 14th to join in on some Pi Day fun!

Who Forgot Pi Day?Courtney Balgobin

On May 26, in the library at 6:30 p.m., members of TAG

from grades 7-12 gathered to say one last farewell to their longtime advisor, Ms. Dehler. As a mentor who urged her students to actively participate in writing activities by submitting works to various contests, like the one spon-sored by Creative Communications, Ms. Dehler was beloved by all TAG participants and will be sorely missed. However, Ms. Sicherman, who gener-ally directed the more math-oriented activities, will continue to serve as one of two friendly advisors for TAG.

TAGees Say Farewell to Their Longtime AdvisorKetsia Saint-Armand

When one goes to Six Flags in New Jersey, one hopes for sunny weather. When Sewanhaka physics students went to Six Flags on Physics day, March 18, 2010, that’s exactly what they did not see. The students arrived in an empty parking lot during some heavy drizzling with grumpy looking park officials. Many thought that Se-wanhaka High School would be turned away and Six Flags closed for the day. Fortunately, Sewanhaka High School’s physics teacher, Mr. Sexton, was able to convince the park officials to open up Six Flags for Sewanhaka High School’s students. Even though two more schools joined later on, the park was extremely empty as compared to how it would be on a normal sunny day. Also different from a normal sunny day was the length of the lines. There were none. Physics students were for-tunate enough to enjoy the adrenaline rushes of great roller coasters like El Toro, without the hassle of ever standing on lines. In fact, for the most part students were able to stay seated on said attractions rather then being forced to move on by ways of eager park fans. Students who went last year and were able to go again on the trip this year as mentors noticed that they were able to go on more rides in the entire day because they never had to wait in a line. Unfortunately King da Ka and Superman were closed for the day due to rain and maintenance but for most of the students it did not matter be-

Screaming in the RainArmaghan Behlum

cause the rest of the park was working as if it was a normal day. During the day the students also had to observe the physics of the rides, understand-ing the energies and velocities of the ride, and then afterwards piece clues in a packet about the rides together to form a quote from former president Teddy Roosevelt that would then be presented to Mr. Sexton to receive a grade. The trip was an extremely en-joyable one.

Monthly Update

Sewanhaka students on the steps outside of Clara H. Carlson school.

Over the span of two weeks, Mr. Fanning’s AP Calculus class

and Mrs. Sicherman’s Discrete Math class visited Covert Avenue, Stewart Manor, and Clara H. Carlson Elemen-tary Schools to teach mathematics to

fifth and sixth graders. Of the experi-ence, senior Frank Castellano says that he had a “great time working with the kids.” The mathematics department generally does this every year.

Senior Math Classes Visit Local Elementary SchoolsKetsia Saint-Armand

6Chieftain - June

This year, several teach-ers and staff will be

departing from Sewanhaka after years of distinguished and honorable service to-wards their community.

In the Career and Tech-nical Services department, Mr. Fred Anderes, a teacher who has been here since the 1980s, will be depart-ing from his post as the I&A (Instrumentation and Automation) instructor, leaving behind a very big pair of shoes to fill. Ever since he joined the teaching staff of Sewanhaka in January 1981, Mr. Anderes has only taught the I&A program, with a bachelors degree from CUNY City College in Electronic Engineering and a Masters in Architecture from the

Sewanhaka Says Farewell to Some of Its Finest Ketsia Saint-Armand, Armaghan Behlum, and Mary Jane Dumankaya

University of Pennsylvania. The three-year I&A program teaches students computer programming, computer building, biomedical engineering, and AP physics under Mr. Anderes. As a long time teach-er, Mr. Anderes says he “enjoyed the students and the freedom to add lessons into the curriculum like holography, speaker-building, and computer-building.” When Mr. Anderes came to teach at Sewanhaka High School, he found a program that used outdated and irrelevant technologies. In a few years, he would revamp the pro-gram to include modern technol-ogy that the students would find useful when they graduated and went into their respective scientific fields. When he started, Mr. An-deres says there was “no Facebook, no email, no internet, and no

computers.” Slowly, com-puters began to invade his curriculum, to that point that the I&A curriculum now has considerable amounts of computer programming and build-ing. Before teaching, Mr. Anderes worked as an electrical engineer for AIL where, during the Cold War, he would help them jam Russian radars. When the first man landed on the moon, Mr. Anderes was present at the back-up communications station in Puerto Rico. Mr. Anderes

also writes the New York State Regents for the I&A program because there is no other school in New York State that teaches it. His expertise is unmatched in this field and it will be difficult for the next I&A teacher to fill his shoes.

Guidance will also be losing an integral component of

its staff: Ms. Fran Kantor, the chair-person of the guidance department, will be retiring this year after many years of dedicated service. She an-nounced her retirement at the Se-nior Awards Ceremony on Thurs-day, June third. Someone who has worked as a guidance counselor and within the school system for over two decades, Ms. Kantor grew up in the Bronx and attended high school there. Upon graduation, she attained a bachelors degree from

Teacher Feature

Mr. Anderes takes a rare break from teaching his AP Phsyics class to smile for the camera.

Mr. Anderes displays his me-chanical skills with a powerful huff to blow out his first set of birthday candles.

7Chieftain - June

Sewanhaka Says Farewell to Some of Its FinestKetsia Saint-Armand

City College and a masters degree from C.W. Post. Originally a guid-ance counselor at Elmont Memorial High School, Ms. Kantor was ap-pointed guidance chairperson in 1994 and came to work at Sewanhaka that same year. In her spare time, she enjoys playing golf and listening to jazz and the blues, and she frequently attends performances in nearby Manhat-

tan clubs. Also, the secretary of the Guidance office, Ms. Torres, will be departing from the Sewanhaka staff to take on a banking job later this year.

Ms. Kathleen Dehler, of the English department, will also be leaving this year. As a TAG

Teacher Feature

Ms. Torres at her familiar post in the Guidance Office before her departure.

Ms. Kantor is still busy at work in the Guidance Office with only a few weeks to go.

advisor and teacher to many stu-dents in the senior class, she will be sorely missed, something student Stephanie Augustin emotion-

ally stated in a farewell speech at the Senior Barbecue. In fact, the Class of 2010 made a gift to Ms. Dehler of a garden bench, which it hopes she will place in her garden at home.

A Long Island native, Ms. Dehler grew up in nearby

Mineola, and after completing her bachelors degree in English from the College of New Ro-chelle, she moved to Wisconsin for several years and began teach-ing, all the while completing her masters degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her favorite author, as many of her students al-ready know, is the famed Virginia Woolf, though she enjoys reading varied types of literature as well. She is an avid gardener and enjoys making quilts to enter in various competitions. At TAG Night, Ms. Dehler reminded everyone present that she was simply moving on to a new phase in her life, and that she would never truly stop teach-ing.

Ms. Dehler poses for a quick snapshot during a rare break eight period, when she teaches one of her two AP English classes.

8Chieftain - June

Known to her teachers as a conscientious student,

to her friends as a willing listener and dependable individual, and to her peers as a serious, intellectual-minded person, Michelle Balgobin has made her mark here at Sewan-haka in a variety of ways.

The Valedictorian of the Class of 2010, Michelle has attained a sky-high G.P.A. of 101.4%, which she attained while taking a variety of Advanced and Advanced Place-ment courses, which rank as the most difficult in the school. She is a member of a variety of clubs, es-pecially Women in Science, which she credits with cementing her “de-sire to pursue a career in the science field.” A member of the club since her sophomore year, she has sup-plemented her activities there with participation in the Talented and Gifted program, where she became a published author. Her writing is not limited to getting pieces pub-lished, though: she also participates extensively in Sewanhaka’s literary magazine, The Arrow.

Strong performances on her AP Exams led to her being awarded the title of AP Scholar, which en-tails scoring a 3 or higher on three or more exams. Not only did she earn accolades from the College Board, but she also was inducted as a member into several Depart-mental Honor Societies. Michelle regularly volunteers through ser-vice organizations here at Sewan-

Ketsia Saint-Armand

Sewanhaka’s Best Heads Off to a Bright Future

haka like Key Club and the Foreign Language Honor Society.

Michelle was born in the Booth Memorial Hospital in Queens, New York. After moving to Flori-da for a brief time, she moved back to New York in elementary school. She will remain in New York for her post-secondary edu-cation, and will attend St. John’s University as a Pharmacy major with the career goal of obtain-ing a PhD in pharmacy to work in a hospital setting. Her parents are her “number one fans,” and Michelle has their support in whatever en-deavor she ultimately chooses. She credits her experience as a seventh grader in Mr. Naraine’s class with sparking her interest in science and

influencing her career goals; her brief tour of the life sciences in her first year at Sewanhaka, along with the fact that “Mr. Naraine made science interesting and enjoyable,” have helped formulate her “love for science and searching for answers to experimental issues.”

However, Michelle’s pur-suits are not limited solely

to the academic sphere; in addition to community service, she plays the violin as a member of the Se-nior High Orchestra. Of playing the violin, Michelle says that “play-ing [the] violin provides an escape from the monotonous work of a classroom,” and her musical en-deavors have no doubt contributed to her well-rounded personality.

Outside of school, Michelle en-joys listening to reggae and soca music. She cites Project Runway

and Myth Busters as her favorite shows. With regards to fashion, she likes to be “unique and chic.”

While her favorite school subject is sci-ence, she enjoys a va-riety of other activities which have all enriched her as an individual. No matter what road she eventually takes in her career, success will not easily pass her by.Michelle as a

young toddler on her way to becoming a budding scientist.

Student Feature

9Chieftain - June

Stephie-AnneDuliepre as Laila Ali and Mujitaba Zafar as Fred Flinstone

on “Celebrity Day.”

Victoria Lobos, Tatiana Overton, Mujtaba Zafar, Presilla Daniel, Madeline Boldyrew, and Julia

DeFeo all representing different decades in U.S. History.

Emtiaz Uddin as a rapper, Vrindra Singh as a rock band guitarist and Christian Lucke as Beyoncé

for “What I Want to Be When I Grow Up” Day.

Cindy Gallardo, Miguel Ponce, Christine Garcia, Jacques Gustave, and Stephie-Anne Duliepre pose for the

camera on “Decades Day.”

Karen Gimenez as an orange M&M poses with Minnie Mouse on “Celebrity

Day.”

Special Feature

What I want to be When I Grow Up Day: Day 3

On this day, seniors were asked to dress in the outfit their future occupation would require. There were a lot of doctors, but some took the creative route and posed as musicians of all kinds.

Celebrities Day: Day 2

Seniors took this opportunity to be creative and dressed as celebrities from a variety of mediums. Some chose to dress up as real-life people; others decided to go the fictional route. On Wednesday morning, they gathered together to admire each others’ outfits at the Senior Breakfast.

Decades Day: Day 1

As the title of the day suggests, seniors dressed up in a vari-ety of outfits from all different time periods. Some students even went international in their outfits.

Purple and White Day: Day 4

The week culminated with the Senior Barbecue, at which students were encouraged to showcase their school spirit by wearing purple and white.

Senior Week is a Smashing Success!

1.

2. 2.

3.

2.

10Chieftain - June

Teachers favor certain students over others – this is a fact of life. Far from being an unusual phe-

nomenon, it’s quite simple: human beings prefer or like certain things or beings more than others. It’s not out of the norm for certain students to be likeable and therefore get more leeway or just a more posi-tive disposition from a teacher.

This preference by teachers doesn’t necessarily translate into an increase in grades or free passes for certain students, it could be as simple as encouragement from the teacher or extra help.

Coaches, who have the same stu-dents in class as on the field, may be accused of giving preferential treatment to athletes These students might receive more time for assign-ments, and an excess of opportuni-ties for extra credit. There is a whole new level of a perception of favorit-ism outside of the classroom when it comes to extracurricular activities, especially because most teachers double up as coaches and advisors. In 2000, a coach at John Jay High School, Bob Kear, was accused of showing favoritism not only to the varsity lacrosse team members, but also to his sons, which caused the school board to view his activities as a conflict

of interest. By placing teachers in the untenable position of having to de-fend the athletic quality of their team in addition to supporting an active academic career, there is an invitation to favorit-ism that, unfortunately, some teachers succumb

to.

Others will argue that it’s all in the mind of the stu-dent—this is not necessarily true. Nine times out of ten, favoritism is obvious to anyone willing to look. Teach-ers may not admit to having favorites because that would

mark them as hypocrites. Favoritism is defined by Merriam Webster’s Diction-ary as “the showing of special favor.” This showing can be in any number of ways, with the most extreme being the inflat-ing the grades of those “special students.” However, this is the most extreme case, as most teachers will assist any student willing to show they care about their education.

Less extreme situations occur every day, in almost every class. Certain stu-dents feel “picked on” more than others. Sometimes you feel, no matter how qui-etly you sit there, you are a hundred times more likely to get yelled at for talking than that chat-t e r b o x a c r o s s

from you. Just remind yourself everyday that, you’re one day closer to finishing the school year and ultimately being free.

The teachers are not completely at fault; it is a part of human nature to show preference or favor for some over others. It can only be hoped that a uniform adherence to ethics is made the standard in every classroom.

Mary Jane Dumankaya

Nine times out of ten,

favoritism is obvious to

anyone willing to

look.

And My Favorite is…Not You!

Editorial

Even in a marine en-vironment, preference—at least for these baby sharks—is requested if not openly displayed.

11Chieftain - June

Now that the school year is almost over, most stu-dents will start looking back at this year with ei-

ther joy or anger. The people who look back at this year with joy probably enjoyed their classes and liked their teachers. The ones that are not so happy most likely dis-liked their teachers. They may believe that their teach-ers hated them or that their teachers could not do their job properly or these teachers unfairly supported some students over others. These students should re-evaluate themselves and look closely at their year because they are probably wrong.

Favoritism in schools is not truly a widespread prob-lem. It occasionally shows up on the news, usually when one teacher has allowed a below average student to receive high-er grades to help boost their average so that the student can participate in extra-curricular activities like clubs and sports. One fact people fail to notice is that these cases are relatively scarce and most schools have never had a case in which teachers have shown obvious favoritism to students. Students may believe they see it firsthand when they witness other students receive a better grade with much less effort. The problem in this situation is that these students are making an as-sumption. They assume that since the other student took less time, his or her work must be of subpar quality. The sad fact of life is that sometimes some people can produce brilliant work in a short amount of time and this work truly does deserve its reward. The teacher does not see the number of hours any one student may or may not have put into his or her work. Rather, they see the quality of the assignments they receive.

Teachers cannot blatantly show favoritism to any one student. There are many reasons for this, the most obvi-ous of which is that such discrimination among students can cause the teacher’s professionalism to be questioned. Subtle favoritism does not work also because even though it is possible for a teacher to aid a student throughout the year, in the end the ruse will become exposed because

the student will be forced to take state or national ex-ams. These exams test the capabilities of students with-out discrimination and low marks on these exams do not bode well for the teachers. The exam grades truly reveal which students are the ones that have learned through-out the year and which students are the ones that have been rolled along to the finish line. If a student is doing outstandingly well throughout the year and then fails his or her Regents or AP exam, the situation becomes highly suspect and the student has gained nothing in the end.

Teachers are the ones that truly understand their cur-riculum. Most have taught for many years, have seen oth-

ers teach, and have taken courses on how to teach class. They have a very strong and credible understanding of how to educate their students fairly. If a teacher teaches an advanced class or an AP class, they are most likely qualified to do so and have had success in the previous years. If a teacher truly does not do his or her job well, chances are, the teacher will either be let go or will learn and be able to do his or her job much more efficiently. If a teacher had unfairly advanced a student in one of these classes, the student’s score on a standardized exam would be called into question. If students believe they

are being treated unfairly or are not doing as well as they want to in class, they can always talk with their teacher, guidance counselor, and/or parents/guardians.

It is possible that a teacher that we, the students, en-counter may not treat everyone fairly. But what is the real reason for this? Could it be the attitude and work ethic...or lack thereof of the student in question? Nine out of ten times it is probably the student that is being paranoid. Teachers do not arbitrarily hate their students. Most likely it was the student that did something wrong that infuriated the teacher. If it seems a teacher does dis-like you, it never hurts to sit quietly in class and pay at-tention to prove you do care.

Paranoia is in BloomArmaghan Behlum

Favoritism in schools is not truly a widespread problem.

Editorial

12Chieftain - June

Artist of the Decade: EminemEmtiaz Uddin

When Iron Man first hit the-atres, new life was brought

upon Marvel comic-based movies. Previ-ous films, such as Fantastic Four and The Hulk came out shorthanded and ended up as flops. Although much of Iron Man was overshadowed by The Dark Knight, it was still a mind-blowing superhero blockbuster. With the success of the first Iron Man, much awaited hype was put on to its sequel, Iron Man 2. Not only is it the first summer blockbuster of the year, but the sequel has an outstand-ing cast of talented actors. Big names include, Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Jo-hansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, and replac-ing Terrence Howard as James Rhodes/Warhawk is Don Cheadle.

The previous film ended with Tony Stark revealing himself as his alter-ego, Iron Man. Iron Man 2 picks up from that ending, and raises questions if the world really needs a man under an iron suit of armor. Classified as a weapon, Iron Man is tried in court. Although Tony Stark is allowed to put on the suit, he begins to question his roles as being Iron Man. These questions lead to the appearance of the fan-favorite, War-hawk.

It would seem that Iron Man 2 would be amazing with both Iron Man

Iron Man 2 MuchEmtiaz Uddin

The new millennium had an ar-ray of fine and talented musi-

cians. But among the many musicians, the one that shines above them is Artist of the Decade, Mar-shall Mathers, better known by his stage name, Eminem. Eminem released his first album in 1999 with The Slim Shady LP. After its release, Eminem won in-stant fame, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Rap Al-bum. Eminem’s de-but album wasn’t his only album to win a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. In fact he has won a Grammy for each of his albums, ex-cept for Encore. Other albums such as, The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show, and Relapse, have all won a Grammy. After coming short with his Encore album, Eminem took a break from his music career. He would later break his five year hiatus, with the release of Relapse. The songs in Relapse mention Eminem’s addiction to prescribed medicine, and how he had to overcome it. Although Relapse received many accolades, it was looked down upon by many of his fans and critics. This was because of the extensive use of an accent he used in each song.

Months after the release of Relapse, Eminem began to collaborate with many rappers in today’s generation. Such col-laborations include the Forever Remix

which also features, Drake, Kanye West and Lil Wayne. Eminem has also guest featured in Lil Wayne’s single, Drop the World, and up and coming rapper, B.o.B’s single, Airplanes Part 2. Each guest feature has Eminem doing one verse, but each and every verse by him has one new thing in common. And that is the new style in which Eminem now raps—unbelievably fast.

Not only has Eminem made guest ap-pearances, but he has also released some of his own music too. After revealing his upcoming album, Recovery, Eminem has released a freestyle as a promo and his first single off the soon-to-be-released album. The Despicable freestyle, has Eminem rapping over two instrumen-tals, Over and Beamer, Benz or Bentley. His newest single, Not Afraid, is differ-ent from many of Eminem’s lead singles. In his previous lead singles, Eminem raps with a taste of comedy. Not Afraid is far from comedy and has Eminem rapping in a serious tone, about his per-sonal life and previous flaws. Not Afraid has already reached number one on the Billboards and has a music video slated to be released soon. His album, Recovery

,is set to be released on June 18th, this summer. If one thing’s clear, it’s that Eminem knows how to rap and please his fans. Eminem has gained so much fame through his previous al-bums, and there is no question he’ll add more with his next.

Entertainment

13Chieftain - June

and Warhawk fighting side by side. The only problem is that the movie barely had any fight scenes. With the ad-dition of more characters such as Nick Fury, Whiplash, Justin Ham-mer, and Black Widow, you would think that would mean more ac-tion. Unfor-tunately, Iron Man 2 is just a soup of char-acters, missing that spice—action scenes.

Although the fight scenes were missing, there was a lot of character development in the film. The audience got to experience how Ivan Vanko (Rourke) became Whiplash, the hatred Justin Hammer has for Tony Stark, how Warhawk came to be, and how Nick Fury and Stark became close. Each character in the film had their own scene, and that’s what made Iron Man 2 different from its predecessor. There were just too many characters, and most of the film was spent on dissecting each one. History shows that films that have added many characters for the fans have always dropped in reviews. Such an ex-ample is Spiderman 3.

Iron Man 2 is basically another Spi-derman 3. Too many characters led to few fight scenes. The only real fight scene we get is at the end, and it doesn’t even last long. If you want to please a crowd, you need to be able to balance out characters with action. Iron Man 2

failed in that aspect. Unlike other super-hero films, Iron Man 2 was more of a com-edy, so maybe that could be another rea-son why there was a limited amount of ac-tion; or just an excuse for the people if they didn’t like it as much as the comics. Much hype was put into Iron Man 2, but at the end all you get is another hint on what is go-ing to happen to the upcom-

ing Avengers film. Iron Man 2 was too long and just too much.

Aquarius: Friends : If you’re worried that you won’t be able to afford to do what you want this summer, don’t freak out! Talk to your parents about making a budget so that you can figure out the best way to save some money.

Pisces: You may be tempted to make a hasty decision this week, but try to keep yourself under control. Think about all the consequences, not just the ones that sound good.

Aries: This week is all about communi-cation, Aries. You really want people to listen to you, so you might need to find some clever ways to get their attention.

Taurus: Your family is very important

Horoscopes

to you, so this will be a perfect weekend to spend time with them and share the love and happiness you’re feeling!

Gemini: Your friends may be surprised to find out you want to celebrate your birthday in a non-traditional way, but have fun anyway!

Cancer: If you’ve been struggling with money stuff lately, it looks like your luck may change this week! Keep that great energy going, Cancer, and things will get much better!

Leo: This would be a great week to ex-press your creative side by doing some kind of writing. Whether it’s keeping a journal or writing articles for the school paper or maybe even working on a story, , go for it, Leo!

Virgo: This might be a very good week for you to look at your schedule and see if maybe you can lighten things up a little. Try to find a few minutes each day to just take a deep breath and relax.

Libra: You may not be quite ready to decide what you want to do with your future, but this will be a great week to do a little research about things that interest you.

Scorpio: It looks like maybe this week all your hard work at school will finally be recognized, Scorpio! Your teachers (and your family) are really pleased with how well you’ve been doing.

Sagittarius: Looks like your offer to help out will really be appreciated this week, Sag! Everyone knows what a hard worker you are, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself working on a volunteer project at school or in your community.

Capricorn: You usually have a pretty clear idea of what it takes to get some-thing done, and this week you may get a chance to put that talent to work.

Entertainment

14Chieftain - June

For the past month, the number one thing on students’ minds was the

SAT, which was administered to millions worldwide on May 1st. The SAT stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test and is regard-ed as the end all be all for college admis-sions, along with your high school G.P.A. The mean SAT score for students in 2007-2008 was 502 on the math and 515 on the critical reading. Of the three sections on the SAT, the writing has the least weight out of the three in college ad-missions, being that it’s only been a part of the exam for the last five years. A score of above the average is what ev-ery student aims for. For those who are aiming for especially se-lective schools, a score in the 700 range is a necessity. The SAT is supposedly a measure of the skills you have acquired over the course of your schooling, but nonetheless there are more than enough courses that try to teach you how to take the SAT, even without the skills.

SAT courses range from brand name classes for six weeks

costing up five hundred dollars, to the old fashioned way of studying on your own with a thirty-five dollar Collegeboard book and tons of free time. Even our own school offers a course at a lesser price of $200, taught by our own Math and Eng-lish teachers. For those who need one-on-one tutoring, there are more than enough SAT “gurus” eager to travel to your house and assist you in all that you need, all for the mere price of $85 an hour. It’s no

longer an option to study inde-pendently for most students. Some don’t have the motivation, and for others, time is the question. With a set structure of an hour every week, students can be guaranteed study time, especially with parents forc-

ing them to go to class.

SAT prep courses teach math algorithms and critical

reading shortcuts, but they’re not the best choice for everyone. A good deal of par-ents wonder whether or not SAT courses are really worth it—after, all, for that cou-

ple hundred dol-lars, are you really learning something new?

Spending hours on a

Saturday morning in a classroom with peers won’t help if one is not paying attention. This is often the case in many SAT study programs, where

students feel like they are forced to take the exam. I remember going to my pri-vate course and glancing at the boy next to me only to realize that not only did he have his Advanced Placement U.S History review book rather than his Barron’s SAT book, which was required for every class, but he didn’t even have a writing utensil for the first hour of class. This is a perfect example of a waste of his parents’ money and his own time; he still came to class because his parents had paid for it but he wasn’t getting anything out of it. SAT courses can only do so much: each student must take the initiative themselves to re-ally understand and practice for the exam. Whether you are taking prep courses in school or learning from private companies such as Princeton and Kaplan, it makes no difference if the necessary effort is not put in. After all, these study programs are only worth the price, if one takes that step in trying to do well.

SAT Prep Classes: Are they Worth their Outlandish Prices?Mary Jane Dumankaya

“For those who are aiming for especially

selective schools, a score in the 700

range is a necessity.”

The Sewanhaka budget for the 2010-2011 school year, which was voted

upon on Tuesday, May 18, 2010, passed with record turnout in a vote, according to the Long Island herald, of 5,994 to 4,117. Superintendent Warren Meierdiercks refer-enced the large turnout as one of the reasons for the budget’s ultimate passage, with the

plurality of “yes” to “no” votes the district’s largest ever.

Early in the springtime, the Sewan-haka district launched a concerted effort to ensure the budget’s passage, beginning with informing all residents in the community in Sewanhaka’s quarterly newsletter, the Sewan-haka Scoop. In this newsletter, the budget was broken down into various expenditures, with special attention paid to those programs that would be cut if the budget did not pass. On the school website, www.sewanhaka.k12.ny.us, the Superintendent posted a letter to all visitors that emphasized the need for the budget to be passed. With the passing of the budget, Sewanhaka has preserved sports and music programs, along with its clubs like Model United Nations and Mock Trial.

Cuts have been made in all sectors of the budget, but special attention was directed to-wards ameliorating co-curricular and athletic programs, which received increases of 4.66% and 4.07%, respectively.. Overall, the bud-get increased 3.7% from last year’s.

Sewanhaka BudgetKetsia Saint-Armand

A screenshot of the Superinten-dent’s letter to the district from the Sewanhaka district website.

Student and Community Issues

15Chieftain - June

The Sewanhaka Varsity Lacrosse team finished the sea-son with a 7-8 record. Led by senior captains Cody

Vassallo and John Marco Militano, the team boasted two All-County ranked athletes—John Marco and Cody—and three All-Conference Players: John DelLatto, Devin McRae, and Miguel Cifuentes. Coaches Burgess and Sako-wich, who were in charge of a young team that contained a lot of sophomores, had a motivational saying of “Sweep the Week,” which stated the team’s goal to win every game that week. While they may not have achieved that exact goal, they set a very high standard for next year’s more experi-enced team to follow.

Varsity Lacrosse

The Sewanhaka Varsity Softball team finished its season with a record of 6-14. Though perhaps not the optimal re-sult, the team did quite well, considering that it had moved up to Conference 1 this year and was competing against ex-tremely seasoned teams. Captains Catherine Johnson, Mi-chelle Mongiello, and Monique Roberge worked hard with the team this year to overcome the competition. Coach Kelly and Coach DeSabato hope that the team can begin to compete on a more equal footing with the other teams in Conference I next year, something they will undoubtedly be able to do with the experience they have received in the 2010 season.

Varsity SoftballCatherine Johnson

Varsity BaseballAuthor’s Name

Sports

Emtiaz Uddin

Headed by Coach Reece and Coach Ryan, in addition to senior captains James Wighaus and Michael Klein,

the Varsity Softball team has achieved record of 8-10 for the Spring 2010 season.

Sewanhaka’s #1 is up at bat and ready to hit the ball out of the park!

16Chieftain - June

The Varsity Track team has finished on a nice note this year, finishing in third place in the conference. All-County ath-

letes were Jenny Leak (senior) and Celeste Pipia (eighth grade) and Jeffery Joseph (senior) in the Shotput. Headed by Coaches Felicetti and Nola, the team has steadily improved its perfor-mance year after year, and looks to continue to make great strides in achievements. Both coaches have expressed their eagerness to begin working with their team next year, and they believe that with hard work, anything for this team is possible.

Varsity Track and FieldKetsia Saint-Armand

SportsVarsity VolleyballGregor Alexis

The Varsity Volleyball team maintained a record of 5-10 this year, and even appeared in a match on MSG Varsity, Cable-

vision’s high school affiliate, in which one of Sewanhaka’s athletes was named MVP. Headed by captain Oscar Corado, the volley-ball team has worked hard under Coach Anderson to develop as a team. Richy Remaris, a senior, says that vol-leyball helped him to learn “the importance of discipline.” Though the team may not have had the most successful season, they have set the foundation for greater successes next year.

The team gathers in a huddle for a pep talk just before one of their games.

Under Coach Brennan, the Varsity Girls Lacrosse team here really flourished, and maintained a spec-tacular record of10-4. The team as a whole worked extremely hard to achieve such an outstanding performance, from early morning practices to intensive weight room workouts. Senior captains Gabby Ford, Karen Gimenez, and Katie Hogan led the team this year, and the excellent results are the result of their leadership and teamwork. This year, Gabby Ford achieved a career high of 63 goals, and junior Lindsey Montoya posted a similarly strong performance of 47 goals. Next year, the team hopes to maintain such an excellent performance and will strive to do so by maintaining its work ethic and commensurate performance in games.

Varsity Girls LacrosseKaren Gimenez

Senior Karen Gimenez sprints to the net to try and score one for the team.

More

Photos

17Chieftain - June

“Happy is the man who can say, “Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today."”-Horace

Sewanhaka Central High School District

A Nationally Recognized District of Excellence

Mrs. Debra Lidowsky - Principal

Mr. Warren A. Meierdiercks, Superintendent Of Schools

Board of Education

Jean Fichtl - President

DavidT. Fowler - Vice President

Joseph Armocida

David Del Santo

Laura Ferone

Lorraine Ferrigno

Michael Jaime

Joan Romagnoli

Hank Logerman Award

American Scholastic Press Award nEWSDAy H.S. jOurnALISM AWArD

2009 AnD 2010 QuILL yOunG PEOPLE PrESS AWArD