learning the ins and outs of computer...

The Rostrum June, 2014

West Haven High School - West Haven, Connecticut 06516 June, 2014 Volume 2, Issue 3

The Rostrum

The Inside Scoop STEM Vietnam Vet visits WHHS Humane Club Bring Back our Girls Westie Day of Hope How Did Your Year Go? Saying Goodbye to our

Rostrum Editors Remembering Maren

Sanchez, JLHS Senior

Learning the ins and outs of Computer Applications.

W H H S , M s . M a c N e i l ’ s c l a s s e s . K n o w i n g t h e i n s a n d o u t s o f a c o m -p u t e r w i l l g e t y o u a j o b , r i g h t s t u d e n t s ? D i d y o u k n o w y o u c a n g e t a n e d g e b y s t a r t i n g w i t h c l a s s e s r i g h t h e r e a t o u r h i g h s c h o o l ? J u m p s t a r t y o u r t e c h n o l o g y a n d c o m p u t e r k n o w l e d g e b y t a k i n g s o m e c o m p u t -e r c l a s s e s s u c h a s W e b p a g e D e s i g n a n d M o b i l e A p p l i c a t i o n s c l a s s e s t a u g h t b y M s . D e b o r a h M a c N e i l i n R o o m D 2 0 7 . W h i l e i n h i g h s c h o o l , i t i s c r i t i c a l t o b e e x p o s e d t o c o m p u t e r s c i e n c e , j u s t l i k e a l l t h e o t h e r m a j o r s u b j e c t s s u c h a s A d v a n c e d E n g l i s h a n d S T E M s u b j e c t s , b e f o r e e n t e r i n g c o l l e g e o r t h e w o r k p l a c e . N o t e v e r y o n e w i l l s t u d y o r e n t e r t h e w o r k p l a c e f o r c o m p u t e r s o n l y . B u t , b e i n g c o m p u t e r l i t e r a t e i s c r i t i -c a l b e c a u s e t h e f a b r i c o f t e c h n o l o g y w i t h d i f f e r e n t c o m p u t e r a p p l i c a -t i o n s i s w o v e n t h r o u g h a l m o s t a l l s t u d i e s a n d c a r e e r s . L e t ’ s f a c e i t , m o s t j o b s a n d e v e n t a s k s l i k e p a y i n g b i l l s o r e m a i l i n g a f r i e n d , n e e d c o m p u t e r s k i l l s . N o w m o r e t h a n e v e r , t e c h n o l o g y a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e v i t a l r o l e o f c o m p u t e r a p p l i c a t i o n s i s c o n n e c t e d t o a l l l e a r n i n g o p p o r t u n i t i e s . B a s i c t e c h n o l o g y s k i l l s h a v e p l a y e d a n i m p o r t a n t f u n c t i o n i n e d u c a t i n g a n d l i n k i n g s t u d e n t s t o l e a r n i n g a n d c a r e e r s . W e a r e s u r r o u n d e d a n d f l o o d e d w i t h i n f o r m a t i o n . T h e u s e o f t e c h n o l o g i e s s u c h a s v i r t u a l l e a r n i n g e n v i r o n m e n t s , a l l o w s s t u d e n t s t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n c l a s s r o o m s a n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s w a y b e y o n d f o u r w a l l s . I t a l s o a l l o w s o n e t o r e a c h f a r a c r o s s t h e s t a t e , c o u n t r y a n d e v e n t h e w o r l d . M s . M a c N e i l s a y s t h a t , “ I b e l i e v e t h e M o b i l A p p c l a s s a n d c l u b i s a g r e a t w a y t o i n t r o d u c e S T E M . I t h i n k w h a t I t e a c h w i l l c o m p l i m e n t t h e S T E M c l a s s e s n i c e l y . ” S h e a l s o a d d s t h a t h e r h a l f y e a r c o m p u t e r c o u r s e s a r e d e s i g n e d t o g e t t h e s t u d e n t s c o m f o r t a b l e o n a c o m p u t e r . F o r i n s t a n c e , t h e W e b p a g e D e s i g n c l a s s p r o v i d e s s t u d e n t s w i t h a m a -j o r e m p h a s i s o n t h e p r i n c i p l e s a n d d e s i g n o f w e b s i t e . S t u d e n t s m a s t e r H T M L a n d t h e n m o v e i n t o A d o b e C r e a t i v e S u i t e u t i l i z i n g D r e a m w e a v e r a n d P h o t o s h o p . M s M a c N e i l a d d s , “ I h a v e h a d m a n y s t u d e n t s a p p l y w h a t t h e y h a v e l e a r n e d f r o m W e b p a g e D e s i g n a n d m a k e l o t s o f m o n e y f r o m c l i e n t s t h e y c r e a t e w e b s i t e s f o r . ”

Above, Ms. MacNeil teaching one of her computer classes.


This picture is a student in the Civil Engi-neering STEM program using and learn-ing about land surveying equipment in the courtyard. The course is part of the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) program, which cur-rently has three course options and is ex-pected to offer a fourth next year.

Vietnam Vet Comes To West Haven High School By Jay Silver

Edward Mannion, a former West Haven resident, graduated from Notre Dame in 1966, flunked out of college,

joined the Marine Corps in January 1970 and headed to Vietnam. After serving two years in Vietnam, Mannion re-

turned to get degree at the University of Connecticut, teach English and educate high school students about the real

war in Viet Nam.

On his visit to our school on May 6, Mannion told us about the day he arrived in Viet Nam. “When I arrived there, I

put my uniform on and got my boots. The guy told me not to wear mine. He said I have to break them in once in a

while before I could fully wear them. So I went to a place where all these coffins were and in the back I found the

boots. I had to go dig through them to find a pair of boots in my size and not covered in blood and brain matter”.

His experience from day one in the war zone awed many in the audience. From the time he just missed getting hit

by a mortar to having to relieve himself off the side of a truck on convoy patrol. One story that was particularly

memorable was when he told students about a German Sheppard that was there. He said the German Sheppard re-

membered all of the scents of all of the men. While he seemed like an innocent dog, Mannion said they were told,

“Whatever you do, you should never pet this dog. He will bite you!”

One of the things that Mannion stresses to student was that the Viet Nam was very painful. Mannion shared many

experiences of his on the field. Some moments were funny, some close-to-tear jerking and most, just simply power-

ful. From the moments when he was close to death, to the days when he found himself going into the murk of the

swamps, Mannion found a way to survive and make the most of his time there. He recalled a massive battle in Janu-

ary 1971, and showed us part of a mortar that landed just a few inches from his foxhole. He showed us pictures of

himself while serving in the ware and of his stations, and managed to display a sense of humor as he spoke of each

incident that he recalled.

Most students seemed impressed by Mannion’s presentation and willingness to share some of his experiences, good

and bad. Some students said they would like to thank Mannion personally for serving his country and sharing his

memories with them.

Pictured left, students from our school

on a college visit weekend. Our School

Counseling Department sponsors this

event. The overnight excursion included

college visits to college campuses in

Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia.

Sophomores and Juniors had this oppor-

tunity. Forty seven students participated

in this venture.


WHHS Engineering Students Participate in After School Mentoring Program

Special article written by Science teacher Mr. Michael Barracco

Several West Haven High School engineering students participated in the ACE mentoring program this

year. ACE, which stands for Architecture, Construction and Engineering, is a nation-wide program founded

in 1994 to inspire students to pursue careers in these important fields. With more than fifty thousands par-

ticipants since its inception, it is considered one of the top mentoring programs in the country.

The students who participate in the program meet once a week at sponsored architecture firms

throughout the New Haven area. The students then have the opportunity to work with industry profes-

sionals to create a real construction project using architectural and engineering design processes. As an

added bonus, the mentors supply pizza and snacks every week after the meeting.

West Haven had three consistent participates for the 2013-2014 school year: Georgie Driver, Joe

Miller, and Jose Chankuk. The students were given several ideas for construction projects. Georgie’s team

chose to construct a library. The culmination of their hard work came on April 3rd when each student,

along with their team, presented the completed project at the University of New Haven.

When asked how the ACE program impacted her Georgie simply replied, “It was a great opportuni-

ty for me to learn more about architecture and meet some really cool people.” When asked if she would

recommend the program for future engineering students she said, “Absolutely! It’s a great experience, and

you get free pizza…

and free food is al-

ways a good thing!”

The Project

Lead the Way-STEM

program at the high

school aims to offer

as many extra cur-

ricular opportunities

to the students as

possible. The ACE

program aligns per-

fectly with the Civil

Engineering and Ar-

chitecture class that

we currently offer.

We believe that of-

fering mentoring op-

portunities, such as

ACE, to our West

Haven engineering

students gives them

greater access to

the tools and re-

sources they will

need to become

successful industry

professionals in the

future.


By Susie Beyl

The Humane Club here at WHHS has recent-

ly taken to the capital with their beliefs. Not too

long ago, the group went up to the capital build-

ing in Hartford to lobby for animal rights bills.

The club went up for an event titled, "Humane

Lobby Day," which features statewide animal

lovers who want their voices heard in Congress.

The amazing group contacted multiple repre-

sentatives, aids, and congressmen and women,

such as Gayle Slossberg. Congresswoman

Slossberg even sent letters to those who visited

her aid on account of her being unavailable at

the time of the visit. Throughout the day, the

group did real lobbying-- not a watered down

"sample" version for students. This was right

alongside other politicians and representatives!

Everyone was incredibly kind and considered

and admired everything everyone had to say.

The group, led by WHHS teacher Dr. Milano,

received the highest praise while presenting

their passions to the representatives. Only

through the Human Club can a regular high

school student gain the experience of proposing

bill passages to representatives in such a well-

received way. The Human Club continues to

impact its members, community, and WHHS in

positive ways every day.

Congratulations to all our graduating Seniors, Class of

2014. Pictured above, the top 20 students from the grad-

uating class. They were recently honored at a luncheon.

They chose two teachers to honor too, Ms. Marcella and

Mr. Schevling. Photo taken by our Principal, Mrs. Gardner.


Westie Day of Hope Fundraiser for Camp Rising Sun Led by Mr. Kevin Dickson, WHHS Science teacher and Rich Weber, VP of Carrigan Inter-mediate School, students and members of the West Haven Community gathered at the high school courtyard to fundraise for this camp in Connecticut. It supports kids who have had or are currently fighting cancer. Through fundraising and pledges, $13,500. was raised for this very important cause. Many people, including students and teachers, shaved their heads and collected pledges and sponsors to support this cause. This spe-cial event included games and activities from our food services program and school and community clubs and organizations. Thank you to everyone who stepped up to have their heads shaved, to the barbers and stylists who volunteered their time to help.

Starting top left, Freshmen Academy Christine Montano gets her head shaved by Teddi McKenna. Students Jaime Kelley and Iman Molder manning an activity table. Chemistry teacher Joanne Poffenberger with Teddi McKenna. Rich Weber and Kevin

Dickson organizers of this event. For years, Camp Rising Sun was a place where kids who have cancer could have fun with young people just like them.

But now since they can’t afford to let these kids stay for free, WHHS was there to help out! On May 18, 2014, from 12 O’clock noon to 4 in the afternoon , the

school held a Westie Day of Hope. The place was filled with a bunch of activities from different clubs to raise money for the camp so the kids with cancer could

go for free. Teachers, students and staff were getting their heads shaved! More than 20 people’s heads were shaved. Some people were helping, like Junior Jamie

Kelly it because they once lost somebody from cancer. She said with the money she raised, she was going to give half to Camp Rising Sun and the other half to

Yale Smilow Cancer Hospital. The Westie Day of Hope Was once again a great success. By Edward Cruz


How did your year go? Let’s hear from new teachers at our school or those that changed to new positions.

Mr. Rice (Science Depar tment Head)

First half year has been really great. Inher-

ited a great hardworking professional staff

and my predecessors has been very helpful

(Mrs. Robles especially) Quote from Mr.

Rice, “Weakness of attitude becomes

weakness of character.”

Mr. Barraco (STEM teacher)

very rewarding. Enlightening

experience. Quote, begin every

task with the end in mind/

Ms Moore First year teacher

Ms. Moore Freshman Academy

Math Teacher says this year was

very exciting, enriching, lots of

challenges. Her quote, To suc-

ceed, you must always try.

Mrs.Hartsoe

(Chemisty and Marine Biology teacher)

Completely different from private

school, where I came from.

Quote, The biggest key to success is

your work ethic.

Mrs. Marseglia First year School

Counselor. It has been an amazing

year. Love the department and my stu-

dents and watching my seniors go

through the process. Get involved in

the student community and stay con-

nected with your counselor.

Mr. Gast History teacher.

Tranferred from Bailey. His year

went well. Quote, "What the world

needs is more geniuses with humili-

ty; there are so few of us left."

- Oscar Levant

Ms Barnes First year School

Counselor. Excellent year. Very

busy and I enjoy working with

kids. Quote, Never give up and

always work hard.

Mrs. O’Leary Transferred from ele-

mentary. Wonderful. Kids are really

nice and I feel very welcomed her.

Quote, It has been a pleasure having

you as my students.

Mrs. Ferraro Transfer from Bailey.

The only thing I would convey to stu-

dents in every grade, is to establish a

relationship with all their teachers. Let

your teachers know that you care. If

you have a question about your grade,

don’t be afraid to ask your teacher.

Mrs. Van Deun

Great first year. Enjoyed working at

high school the best. Get involved in

as many things as you possibly can.

Mrs. McCauley Transfer red from Bailey has a fantastic year. "If you can make something better, do it. If you can't, deal with it." I also love this: “It's hard to take some-one seriously when they leave you a note saying, 'Your ugly.' My ugly what?" - Cara Lynn Shultz

Mr. Knight transfer from Bailey.

Health teacher. The year went well.

Quote "I'm always ready to step up

and take that shot." — Ray Allen

Mr. Favale First year Science

teacher. His year went great!

Quote, Teach the students and

enjoy doing it!

Mr. Goslin.

First year

Math teach-

er had a

great year.

Mrs. Robles

Assistant Prin-

cipal. She used

to teach Sci-

ence, Great

and busy year!

http://www.great-quotes.com/quote/788575

http://www.great-quotes.com/quote/788575

http://www.great-quotes.com/quotes/author/Ray/Allen


Another year down, another school year just over the horizon. Tips on college applications, the college experi-

ence, senior year and much, much more! By Jamie Kelley As the 2013-2014 school year comes to a close, the 2014-2015 school year is fast approaching. As we say goodbye to another won-

derful WHHS school senior class each year, it almost seems unbelievable that senior year is something so close, something that once

seemed so far away as a freshman. But it is important to stay positive, stay focused, and continue to thrive under the direction of our phe-

nomenal staff at WHHS. As I and many other juniors will be applying to college and graduating next year, I took it upon myself to get some

advice from our faculty members, senior class, and WHHS alumni regarding that final year at WHHS and college in general. Margi Malone

Maher, theatre extraordinaire and WHHS faculty member says that the most impor tant things for seniors to keep in mind regard-

ing their final year at WHHS is to: 1. Finish all your college applications as soon as possible so you can refrain from stressing yourself out 2.

If there is a club that you have had your eyes on throughout your years at WHHS, JOIN IT! You’ve got nothing to lose. She says, “Did you

have fun playing a tree in 4th grade? Try out for the next play! Like singing in the shower? Join the chorus! Do you write or doodle? Check

out the Rostrum or West Whims! Find something different that you've never tried before! 3. Take chances and enjoy the ride.” She sends out

her love to all of her current and past students that will be graduating this year and wishes them the very best. Stacie Catherine Hurley, a

WHHS alumni who now attends Albertus Magnus College says, “Some advice for next year’s senior class would be to get everything re-

garding college done and over with as soon as possible; especially the FAFSA because for a lot of students where they attend college de-

pends on the tuition and how much financial aid they receive. Some advice to the seniors that’ll be college freshman next year is to not lose

focus of what is important!” –Mark Consorte, head of WHHS’s social studies depar tment, constantly reminds his students, “Don’t be

that guy!”- Stacie says that it is, “Not worth 12 years of schooling to get to college and just give up. Not only is it a waste of money, but you

lose so many opportunities in the long run. Also, seize every possible opportunity; you never know what you might learn, who you might

meet, or what you may want to do as a career in the future. If I never had volunteered for a political campaign, I never would have realized

that I wanted to go into politics and I never would have applied for the job I have now. To both the juniors who are almost seniors and the

class of 2014 enjoy every minute of the time you have whether it be at college or your final year of high school, it goes by so fast and is

something you’ll always hold near and dear to your heart. Good luck to all of you!!” Marla Gagne, a graduating senior who will be attending

Providence College in the fall says, “So as far as college advice for juniors, I say look at colleges over the summer, make some summer

campus trips, and try to apply early action, which is sending your application in early and hearing back from the colleges earlier than regular

decision. Both will help you see what schools you don't like and ones you want to revisit and early action gives you more time to make the

big college decision. As for surviving senior year, my advice is to breath. Things can get crazy and hectic all the time, but you don't want

this to overwhelm you or bring you down. Take a deep breath and enjoy your senior year because it's your last "first" time to experience

everything.” Catherine DePino, another member of our graduating class who will be attending Fairfield University says to our WHHS jun-

iors this, “Senior year is definitely the best year out of high school. There is a bunch of highs and lows, pull-your-brain-out stress, and some

of the most exciting moments of your life. Start your college process as early as possible, and don't narrow in on only a few schools because

very quickly your last choice can become your first. Always do your best and accept that your best is good enough. Focus in on your studies,

but also enjoy the "last" of many opportunities. Senior year is all it is hyped up to be and more, but if you blink once, you will have already

missed it so enjoy it while you can.” Samantha Gilbert, an alumni that now attends Southern Connecticut State University encourages stu-

dents to, “Just do whatever you can to feel comfortable in regards to both senior year and college. Make sure you do what you love and al-

ways stay true to yourself.” I think I speak for everyone at West Haven High School when I say, good luck to all of our Westies that are

graduating, we love each and every one of you dearly and know that you’ll do great in whatever it is you choose to do for your futures. To

quote our school’s endearing alma mater “For you, true blue, for white, pure light, our hearts feel grateful still to thee, West Haven’s blue

and white”. Congratulations Class of 2014!

Thank you and con-

gratulations to our

Rostrum Editors

Marla Gagne

(attending Providence

College) and Ying Guo.

(attending Harvard

University)

Also to Catherine

DePino, staff writer.,

(attending Fairfield

University)

Good Luck.

We will miss you!

L-R: Ying Guo, Miya Bidon

(submitted photos for our paper and

attending WPI), Marla Gagne and

Catherine DePino.


Under the direction of Student Government Advisor and Art Teacher Mrs. Patricia Thompson, students put great effort to support the Maren Sanchez Scholarship Fund. A student at Jonathan Law High School in Milford, Maren was suddenly killed at the school last month. Below, students and staff show support to the JLHS community by wearing purple, Maren’s favorite color. Students pictured to the left are Mi-randa Almodovar, Alexis Goodhue, Jessica Lauer, Vickie Wil-liams, Alyssa Samperi. Missing from photo are Bruna Murta and Morgan Nelson. They spent countless hours making pur-ple ribbons and purple cranes. They were sold for one dollar each. All monies collected went to the Maren Sanchez Schol-arship Fund.

Although it's difficult today to see beyond the sorrow,

May looking back in memory help com-

fort you tomorrow. ~Author Unknown

Remembering

Jonathan Law High School

Student Maren Sanchez.

learning the ins and outs of computer...

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