the bear facts
TRANSCRIPT
The Bear Facts
November 2012
Volume 1 Issue 1
News 2-4
Features 5-8
Sports 9-11
Advertisements 12
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Journalists
. Editor-in-Chief
Kristen Kerstetter
. News Editor
Seherzada Softic
. Feature Editor
Alison Saracino
. Sports Editor
Mike Wszolek
. Writers
Kameron Scott
Andreya Roberts
Kylie McCade
Justin Hickey
. Advisor: Mrs. Morales
DELRAN HIGH SCHOOL
2– News
DELRAN HIGH SCHOOL
The Bear Facts
November 2012
Volume 1 Issue 1
Superheroes Come Home By: Andreya Roberts
Recently Delran High School held their annual their homecoming. To start the fes-tivities we had spirit week. During spirit week each class took part in a contest of collecting soda tabs, bottle tops, change (pennies, nickel’s, quarters and dimes), and canned food drive. Also consisting of spirit week were the hallway banners that each class created. Then if a class really wanted to they could have signs saying that they love certain teachers, counselors, principal and vice principal. Some of the
other contest that are held are color day, Philly team sports day, college logo day, brown and gold day and fancy freaky Friday, which students dressed up for the school pep rally that every class attended. Tradition for the seniors to were togas and come in last.
At the pep rally the classes are judged on their class cheer that can not go passed thirty seconds. Other than the class cheer students sang Alma Mater, and chanted other DHS cheers that have become traditions chants for all DHS students. Also at the pep rally the homecoming court was introduced, where they name the prom king, Eddie Chappell, and later at the game on Saturday, they named the prom queen, Lauren Etter, during half time in the foot-ball game.
The themes this year for homecoming were superhero mov-ies. The seniors choose Batman as their theme. The juniors Spider-man as their theme, the sophomores the Avengers and the freshmen Superman.
Presentations Banners Floats Skirts Chant Spirit Overall
Juniors Seniors Freshmen Seniors Sophomores Seniors Seniors
Above: The Sophomore class shows their
spirit during the Pep Rally. Looking at the
crowd, you may ask yourself “Where’s Wal-
do?”
Left: The Homecoming Court poses to-
gether. (Top Row) Bobby Jordan, Jarrett
Frake, Alex Coluzzi, Eddie Chappell, John
Verzi, Anju Dean. (Bottom Row) Emily
McCann, Taylor Urian, Paige Adams,
3– News
DELRAN HIGH SCHOOL
The Bear Facts
November 2012
Volume 1 Issue 1
Hurricane Sandy Rattles East Coast By Mike Wszolek
Who would have thought that on October 29 a hurricane would hit the east coast? The whole Northeast got hit but New Jersey was hit the worst. Delran had widespread power outages along with a lot of downed trees. Most Burlington County schools including Delran cancelled school for three days. Even the New York Stock Exchange closed for two days since 1888 due to severe weather.
Along the Jersey Shore ocean broke the dunes and caused a ton of damage. On overhead views of the shore, all you saw were the tops of houses and flooded roads. The Sea-side Heights Boardwalk was torn apart and scattered all over streets. New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, toured the shore with President Barack Obama to assess and reach out to the impacted areas. The wave heights got up
to 23 feet in some locations. Because of the damage, Chris Christie said Long Beach Island looked like a war zone. The governor also postponed Halloween to Monday November, 5. The total amount of damage that Sandy caused is in the billions and still rising.
The eye of Sandy touched down in Atlantic City around 8 PM on October 29, 2012. The winds were sustained at up to 90 mph. Not too long after Sandy made landfall it was downgraded to a Tropical Storm. Even being a tropical storm, it was very powerful. The pressure was very low and was equal to the pressure of a strong Category 3 Hurricane or a weak Category 4 Hurricane. An arctic blast was coming from the west while Sandy was coming from the east. When they collided the combined storm dumped feet of snow in West Virginia. Some drifts were as high as 50 inches. Wind gusts were up to 50 mph in Chicago all caused by Sandy. Even though the hurricane was right outside of New Jersey, Atlanta also felt gusts up to 50 mph. This was a storm our country will never forget.
Post Hurricane Sandy—The roller coaster at the Seaside Heights boardwalk now
stands in the middle of the ocean.
4– News
DELRAN HIGH SCHOOL
The Bear Facts
November 2012
Volume 1 Issue 1
The Electrifying Election By Justin Hickey
Tuesday, November 6th 2012—The day our nation has waited four long years
for—the day of the presidential election. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden
went head to head with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, with his running mate Sena-
tor Paul Ryan, in the insane competition for the presidential title. Both are very experienced and
very convincing which made the decision even harder for the American people.
I was curious to hear what people in our school thought about the election. So, I took it
upon myself to ask a few Delran students, of voting age, what they thought about the candidates of
this year's election. The first student I talked to said that he is in favor of Barack Obama because
Obama supports gay marriage. The second student I spoke with said that he wasn't going to vote
this year because he doesn't like any of the candidates. He did however; say that he wanted Gover-
nor Ron Paul to be a running candidate. The last student I talked to said he was for Mitt Romney
because he promised that he would create more job opportunities for college students who are or
will be unemployed by the time they graduate.
I was shocked at how the opinions and political views
of these three students varied. I was also surprised to
see how politically aware teenagers at Delran High
School are and how serious they took the election of
2012.
I also had students, 18 years of age or older,
fill out a poll, asking them which candidate and polit-
ical party they favored. The tallied results are dis-
played on the charts to the right, and below.
After the all of the states casted in
their votes and were counted, the result was
unanimous. Barack Obama won the presi-
dential title. Similarly, the majority of stu-
dents at Delran High School also voted for
Barack Obama in the mock election and
were in favor of the Democratic Party. Be-
cause President Obama won the election, he
will have four more years in office.
The results of the actual election left many people relieved, but at the same time, it also left many in
disbelief.
Obama
vs. Romney:
What did Delran students think?
5– Feature
DELRAN HIGH SCHOOL
The Bear Facts
November 2012
Volume 1 Issue 1
Are You Tough Enough? By: Seherzada Softic
Mud all over you, your feet sticking to the ground, fire everywhere, muscles screaming, and the
sun burning down on you. Imagine being in those conditions.
Some of our own Delran High School teachers have been
through that in an event called the Tough Mudder.
Participation in the event requires you to sign up online
and be at least eighteen years of age. To train for these events,
the website, www.toughmudder.com, suggests exercising your
body physically and mentally. The challenge consists of ten to
twelve miles of hills, mud, water, ropes, walls, electric shocks,
and fire all designed to push you to your limit. Mr.Counard, a
history teacher at Delran High School that participated in the rac-
es, says “the hardest parts for me were the monkey bars, the ice
bath, and the electric eel which is a bear crawl through electric wires.”
Sounds like fun right? At this point you are thinking you have to enroll into a gym and pay the
monthly fees, when actually you don’t. There is a perfectly new fitness center in our own school that’s
free! “I worked out in the fitness center using Insanity Fitness DVDs and it is very helpful because it has
modern new equipment, plenty of space, and it’s free,” Mr.Counard commented when I asked him about
the new fitness center in our school. Many of our teachers and students have started using the fitness
center instead of outside gyms. Ms. Zuber, a Delran high school gym teacher, commented, “the old fit-
ness center did not provide access for our general student body. The new cardio machines (treadmills,
bikes, ellipticals) will give more students the opportunity to
come in and get in a great workout.”
“The fitness center has already shown progress and there are
already fifteen students using the fitness center and they
come all the time,” Mr. Estrada, the school’s athletic direc-
tor, said about how the fitness center is helping students. To
find out when you can use the fitness center, look for the
schedule on the bulletin board outside of the fitness center
and on the DHS website. Usually it is opened three to four
days a week.
Why in the world, would someone go through all the trouble
of completing a Tough Mudder event? Some people do it to challenge themselves, others do it to win,
and some do it just for fun. Many do it in honor of someone, like one of our health and physical educa-
tion teachers, Ms. LaRocca, did. “My team ran in honor of Sgt. Shauna Adams. She was one of my col-
lege teammates and a great friend, who served in the U.S Army and unfortunately lost her life last
March.” It doesn’t matter what other people think about your reason for completing the challenge, as
long as you know the reason comes from your heart.
DELRAN HIGH SCHOOL
The Bear Facts
6– Features
November 2012
Volume 1 Issue 1
Meet Our Principal By Kylie McCade
Many students here at Delran High School don’t know much about our principal, Mr. Finkle. Before coming to Delran, Mr. Finkle was principal at Denville Middle School for two years. He came to Delran for the great opportunities and because he knows South Jersey schools are very diverse. He wanted to come and learn the culture and give students here a more positive attitude about school. “I want stu-dents to want to come to school”, said Mr. Finkle. “I want them to take advantage of the opportunities so they can succeed in life”.
Communication and respect are Mr. Finkle’s main priorities here at DHS. He feels interactions with students and staff are important because they show students want to succeed and learn. His biggest challenge so far as principal was learning the culture of Delran.
He is originally from Bensalem, Pennsylvania and went to Temple University, Penn State, and the College of New Jersey. Mr. Finkle was an Assistant athletic director for three years and a math teacher for thirteen years. He decided he wanted to become a principal because he didn’t like being told what to do as a teacher, he was being told to do things he believed didn’t benefit the students’ education. Now, as our principal, he makes every decision for our school based on if it is helpful and positive for the student body.
Mr. Finkle began his college career as an education major, but then realized that he was especially interested in sports and T.V. so he changed his major to broadcasting and cable. He became very involved in Penn State broadcasting football. Following college, Mr. Finkle was hired to work at a private boarding school and while there, he came to the conclusion he really wanted to get back into education. He liked helping students and making a difference in their lives. We are lucky to have Mr. Finkle as our principal!
Principal Finkle speaks to parents at Back-to-
School Night.
DELRAN HIGH SCHOOL
The Bear Facts
November 2012
Volume 1 Issue 1
47– Features
Got Talent? By Kristen Kerstetter
Do you or somebody you know have a talent? You would be surprised with how many people have tal-ents or what those talents are. Delran High School’s Thespian Society recently held their second annual “Delran’s Got Talent.” I attended the show on Thursday October 18th. There were contestants ranging from 6th graders up to seniors.
Many people think singing is the only talent. That is incorrect. The show included singers, dancers, instrument players, and even an extreme hula hoper! Out of the 15 acts, about 12 of them were singers.
Although the Thespian Society ran the show, none of the members were actually in the performances. I interviewed Thespian Society member Jordan Lindsey about the performance. I asked Jordan what were her thoughts on the show, “I believe everyone performed very well; even the kids that had never performed on stage. Back stage, everyone seemed pretty nervous. But from the sound of it, everyone brought their A game on stage.”
The show was run by Mrs. Mary Jo Hutchinson and Miss Cara Davis, the advisors of the Thespian Society. Un-fortunately, Mrs. Hutchinson was unable to attend due to her recent maternity leave. Even though she was not there, the show went on!
There were four winners of the night. 3rd place was tied between junior Krista Petti and senior Alexandra Lains.
2nd place was 8th grader Cameron McCabe. 1st place was a duo that included senior Nisa Khalid and sophomore Gustavo
Santos. All performers sparkled on stage and did great. This was my first year attending the show, and I will definitely
be returning next year. It really looked like the audience enjoyed themselves. Great job to all performers and congrats to
all of the winners!
SPRING MUSICAL
AUDITIONS
Tusean Pye-Glenn (TJ), last year’s first place winner, performs
for the crowd gathered.
DELRAN HIGH SCHOOL
The Bear Facts
November 2012
Volume 1 Issue 1
48– Features
The History of Homecoming By Ali Saracino
Traditionally, homecoming is welcoming back the alumni of a school. It is typically only celebrated in
North America. Most schools will only hold a huge football game and a dance to follow. However, some
schools have ‘spirit week’ such as the one we are so very familiar with in Delran.
I had the privilege interviewing a current DHS teacher, Miss Schreiner has been teaching at DHS for 34
years and counting on her thoughts of homecoming. When she joined the Delran staff in 1978 she loved home-
coming. Since then she has seen that even the kids who are the least interested in school jumped on board and
participated. However, over the years, it has become a much more reasonable event. Students used to do abso-
lutely nothing for a week. So Miss Schreiner says that “it has been put into perspective”, with students becom-
ing more academically oriented. She also notices that “students have become much more class centered, but
some students go to extremes. There’s always that one handful that ruins it”. As far as spirit goes, “Its usually
the seniors that have the most. They always go all out for their last year. But, if I had to pick one, I would say
that the class of 2008 was wild.” As for Delran as a community, Miss Schreiner says that she sees that parents
do a lot. They all come together and participate with their kids. Also, there is a lot of community support, I’ve
never heard a complaint from a resident. So everyone is very tolerant. And its always nice to see parents work-
ing with their children which is rare with high school students.” Then when I asked about her favorite memory
she lit up and told me, “THE WALLS! They were a section of the hallway where the floor, wall and ceiling
were covered. It was like stepping into another world because it was a 360° cave. Kids guarded the section and
it was really amazing and the coolest thing they did. Banners are good now though because they calm everyone
down. The negativity is still there though! Seniors intimidate underclassmen and I had freshmen that were
scared to come to school because they literally thought they would be smacked with a broom”.
For a different perspective, I spoke to Mrs. Brogen who gradu-
ated from DHS in 1989 and has been teaching in Delran for nine years.
Since she has attended Delran, she sees that “competition has become
much less friendly. The competition at times has become very cruel.
As a student I don’t remember the parents being as involved as they are
today. For the most part, students did everything.” When I asked her
about the students she added, “It is an event owed to them. Homecom-
ing is a great tradition and privilege. A lot of the schools around us
have done away with the daily competitions, floats and parade.” Mrs.
Brogen agreed with Miss Schreiner and commented, “The class of
2008 embraced the meaning of homecoming.” Also, “I think more
kids participated when I was a student. The classes were a lot smaller
and everyone put aside their differences for a week and worked togeth-
er.” Her favorite theme was ‘The Flintstones’ from when she was a
senior. They had a senior sweep that year. She commented, “It
[homecoming] is a tradition that Delran can be proud of.”
The Delran Bear, Krista Petti, enjoys a cold bev-
erage while taking a break before the Pep Rally.
DELRAN HIGH SCHOOL
The Bear Facts
9– Sports
November 2012
Volume 1 Issue 1
Taking a Swing at Cancer By: Kameron Scott
Ana Guerrero, Caciana Cayo, and Jackey Solimeo are the captains of the 2012 Delran Lady Bears tennis
team. The Lady Bears had a great season with a record of 10-7. They won against Cinnaminson, Trenton Catholic,
Holy Cross, Pemberton, Matawan, New Egypt, Northern Burlington, Willingboro, Moorestown, and Palmyra. Coach
Bodenschatz commented, “We’re doing better than last year.” October was Breast Cancer awareness month and the
team showed their support by wearing pink t-shirts that read “Taking a Swing at Cancer”.
The team captain Ana Guerrero said this, “My happy memory during this season is knowing for 6 years our
team had a winning record. My favorite professional tennis player would have to be Rafael Nadal.” On Tuesday Oc-
tober 23, the Lady Bears helped support Breast Cancer awareness by wearing pink tie-dye shirts in their game against
Northern Burlington that we won 4 to 1.
Later, I had an exclusive interview with Mr. Bodenschatz. Commenting on his experiences, he said“The sea-
son’s over, they exceeded my expectations. We’ve had a great season and we’ve beaten a lot of great teams this
year. I decided to become a tennis coach because I played in high school and I later coached for another school.
When I came here as a teacher and a few years later the position opened up and I took it. During practice all the girls
try hard, they try to inspire each other to do their best.” The Lady Bears have done a truly outstanding this season.
The Bear Facts wishes the Lady Bears more seasons like this in future years!
Game Postponed Due to Sandy
By Kameron Scott
Our Delran High School Boys Varsity team won championships in
2003, 2004, 2008, and 2009, but this year could have been different. On Octo-
ber 29, the Varsity team was supposed to go against Carteret High School; un-
fortunately the game was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy to November 3.
Our team has a good chance of making playoffs this year; if the game had been
canceled we might have not had enough games to get into the playoffs. Delran
is 15-1-4, which means 15 wins, 1 tie, and 4 losses. Carteret has defeated High-
land Park, Bishop AHR, Kennedy Memorial, Metuchen, and 2 other schools.
I talked to one of our star players, Shane Doherty, about the game, “I’m
really excited and it should be a great game…my hopes and dreams are to play
at a high level of soccer in college, I would have to say that Cinnaminson and
Moorestown are our biggest rivals. We’ve had a bunch of comeback games. I
even scored in one of the last minutes to tie up a game, which was exiting be-
cause our team got back in there, it was a shame that we only tied, though.” The
MVP’s of the Delran have played exceptionally well in the 2012 season. Car-
teret’s MVP’s are Prince Ababio and Erasmo Banegas. Ababio has had two
assists in their game against Metuchen, which they won in. They are currently 5
-12-2. We, at Bear Facts, congratulate the Bears on their win against Carteret
and wish them luck against Holmdel on Friday, November 16th.
Girls Tennis Team Captains, Cassie Cayo and Ana Guerrero pose before a
match.
10– Sports
DELRAN HIGH SCHOOL
The Bear Facts
November 2012
Volume 1 Issue 1
JV Field Hockey Shoots to a Winning Record By Mike Wszolek
The JV Field Hockey team finished up the 2012 season with a 1-0 loss at Bishop Eustice. Bishop Eustice is at the top of the division, so with this additional loss the team had a great year. The team official-ly finished with a record of 9-5-3. Coach Ms. Zuber said the team had a lot of challenges to overcome during the season.
“A lot of injuries and keeping ourselves focused during home-coming. We had two girls on crutches, three had concussions, and wrist injuries that could have ended their season and the girls overcame that”, said Zuber.
The game that stood out to Zuber was against Hightstown. “Down 2-0 to Hightstown at half. The girls rallied in the se-cond half and were able to put three goals in. We also had to fight the sun because it was going down earlier.”
They won 3-2 because the team worked together and played great.
“We had a strong freshmen class come in with returning Sophs that set goals for themselves and never lost sight of those goals. Also, we had more support from experienced juniors.” The Varsity team went to the second round of the playoffs last year. Zuber felt that the team’s success was due to their intensity carried over to this year and their great attitude.
“This team has no lack of personality. They are always having fun when they play and that creates a great learning environment,” add-ed Zuber.
The Field Hockey team is anticipating another great season next year!
©
TOYS FOR TOTS!
Congratulations to the Varsi-ty Field Hockey team for
making it to the third round of the Group 2 playoffs!
Great season ladies!
German Club Presents Toys for Tots Drive through De-cember 6
th. Bring a new, unwrapped toy
and leave it in the bin in the main lobby by the bear. Help make a difference in a
family’s life this year.
DELRAN HIGH SCHOOL
The Bear Facts
November 2012
Volume 1 Issue 1
411– Sports
Undefeated Through Eight By Mike Wszolek
The Delran Bears Varsity football team remained undefeated by
conquering Maple Shade on Saturday October, 27 2012 to improve to 7-
0. It was a close game up until the fourth quarter where the Bears broke
away. It was anticipated game for many due to the fact that it was home-
coming in Delran. Alumni wanted to see a win and that’s what they got
as the Bears defeated Maple Shade by a final of 35-14.
The Maple Shade Wildcats scored on their first possession of the
game. It was a long drive that ended in a touchdown. With 6:34 left in
the 1st Quarter, Cedric Baker caught a 14 yard touchdown reception.
This gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead with the extra point being good. Delran
then marched down the field and answered with a score of their own.
With 4:36 left in the 1st, Khalil Thomas caught a 27 yard touchdown pass
from Justin McFadden. Justin McFadden’s extra point was good making
7-7. At the end of the 1st the score was tied at 7 and Delran fans were a
little nervous after the 1st quarter.
The second quarter was quiet until late with 1:39 left in the first
half. Zach Bautz intercepted a Maple Shade pass and took it the distance.
It was officially a 40 yard interception return for a touchdown. McFad-
den’s extra point was good making it 14-7 Delran and this would be the
halftime score. Even though Delran was up by seven, Maple Shade had
nine first downs to Delran’s 5.
There was no scoring in the third quarter as it was a lot of back
and forth with possession. There was finally a score in the second half
coming in the fourth quarter with 6:34 left. It was a 30 yard touchdown
reception from whom else but Zach Bautz. McFadden’s extra point was
good making it 21-7 Bears. Delran got in the end zone again with 4:03
left in the fourth. Mark Jukic ran for 4 yards and made it 28-7 Delran
with Mcfadden’s extra point being good. Maple Shade was pretty much
playing for pride being down 21 and scored a touchdown with 2:11 re-
maining. It was a 1 yard touchdown run by Tyler Nicolo making it 28-14 Delran with the extra point being good.
Delran put the icing on the cake with a 4 yard touchdown run from Josh Johnson with 0:45 left. McFadden’s extra
point was good making it 35-14 and that would be the final. Delran finished the game with 14 first downs and 40
penalty yards while Maple Shade finished with 17 first downs and 20 penalty yards.
In the most recent news, Delran defeated Ewing on Friday November 9th. The final score was 45-25 Delran
as the performance was dominant. The Bears will host Bordentown in the first round of the playoffs on Friday No-
vember 16th and will play on Thanksgiving at Cinnaminson that will count as a regular season game.
Team: 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Final:
Maple Shade 7 0 0 7 14
Delran 7 7 0 21 35
DELRAN HIGH SCHOOL
The Bear Facts
November 2012
Volume 1 Issue 1
12– Advertisements
Happy Holidays
from Bear Essentials!
Stock up on Stocking Stuffers—
Ornaments, Hoodies, Lanyards, and Window Clings