By Genetha Bhulai '22 With the COVID-19 Pandemic that has overtaken our lives, it’s been hard for the talented students at Fontbonne Hall to showcase what they’ve got.
For the first time in Fontbonne’s History, The Tri-M Music Honor Society, established last year, is hosting a Talent Show where any and all students and faculty are able to showcase their talents. Such Featured Acts Include: 1. The Tusks performing ‘Seven Nation Army’ and ‘happier than ever’ 2. A Stand-Up Comedy Routine by Rodia Kalamaras ‘22 3. Jennifer Sarji perfoming ‘Dinero’ by Trinidad Cardoza The Tri-M’s President, Julia Piccard ‘22, had this to say about the upcoming show: “I think this year's talent show is definitely going to be more dynamic than what we've seen in the past. We saw a variety of acts at the auditions, and a little birdie told me that there is a possibility that some faculty might be involved in the show as well. There will be a panel of faculty judges and I am interested to see how they will all complement each other and provide different perspectives to come up with their final verdict. There will be a prize for the first-place act, so I am excited to see everyone bring their A-game!”. I couldn’t have said it better. As a performer myself, getting back out on the stage is very nerve-wracking, but the stakes are high and everyone is up for a bit of competition. So now the question remains: Do YOU have what it takes?
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Kareena Joseph '23 On Wednesday, February 9, 2022, the DEI committee held their first listening session located in the Foyer, with several students and administration present.
Many of you may be wondering, what is the DEI committee? It is a Diversity Equity Inclusion committee that was formed in May 2020 after George Floyd's death. In a interview conducted with Mr. Schiedt, one of the moderators of the committee, he said “the purpose of the committee is to try and advocate for the Diversity Equity and Inclusion issues in Fontbonne.” The DEI committee is filled with a group of individuals coming together to make everyone feel included, identify DEI issues present in school and create ways to address them. Some ways the committee has addressed these issues are through listening sessions, professional development with faculty and surveys. When asked what his thoughts about the listening session were and if it was successful, Mr. Schiedt said, “Yes the meeting was successful, it gave students time to think about any DEI challenges that they have faced while at Fontbonne and address them to administration that they may or may not have known about.” In a separate interview conducted with Ms. Miles, one of the moderators of the committee, and her thoughts on the listening session, said, “I think that the meeting was successful and that we created a space where students can share their stories in a safe space.” The DEI committee is also coming up with a website so students can submit their authentic stories anonymously, in case anyone is nervous about sharing them in person. The moderators of the DEI committee hope that what will come out of this meeting are new changes in the Fontbonnes community. The committee wishes to do more things to address the issues from the listening session and even get people from outside of the school to talk to the students. Right now, though, the committee is trying to get an understanding of the issues that students are facing and in order for that to happen the DEI committee wishes to hear any stories that you may have because to them there is value in hearing these stories. When it comes to the issues addressed at the listening session the chair people of the DEI committee and administration will be meeting after the break. Overall the turn out for this listening session was very pleasing to the committee. The committee wants to continue to have more meetings like this because it gives students an opportunity to express themselves and feel more comfortable in school knowing that there are people here to help. However, if you are interested in sharing some ideas with the committee or think about wanting to be involved please reach out to Ms. Miles, Mr. Schiedt, Jailene, Jenine or Zena. Gabriella LaForest '22 Due to Covid-19 restrictions, last year's senior class at Fontbonne Hall could not experience the famous Don Bosco Senior Retreat as usual.
However, this year's senior class went and tuned in with their inner self. Don Bosco Retreat Center is all about finding your way - even if you don't see it straight away, they help you find what you want in life after the retreat. Seniors spent three days in Stony Point, having no cell service so they had no contact with the outside world. These three days consisted of many different activities involving everyone with others they may have never talked to before. They had us expand our horizons and open up to our classmates about anything. This retreat opened everyone's eyes to realize that not everyone is the picture-perfect person they put themselves to be in the public's eye. "It was a great time to listen to what others had to say and bond with my peers differently," said senior Sophia Lopez. We were happy to become closer with people we never would've expected to because a lot of us might've judged a book by its cover. The Don Bosco Retreat caused an emotional rollercoaster for the seniors. Seniors, in general, felt that after they had gone home from the retreat, they were so exhausted from how much emotion went through them and witnessing their peers open up different aspects of their lives. Seniors are never allowed to say what happens at the retreat because everyone who goes after has to experience this first hand. But it can be said that the retreat is not something to complain about because the aftermath creates a new perspective in your life that you would never have gotten without Don Bosco. "I learned how to keep an open mind about people I meet because you never know what happens behind closed doors," said Aaniya Telford '22. Throughout the four years at Fontbonne Hall, young women got closer with others during the Don Bosco Retreat than all of the three years they have spent together. The Don Bosco Retreat is an experience to remember. Emma Flohr '24 Ms. Cipriano, a teacher at Fontbonne Hall, explains how much she loves Christmas week. Ms. Cipriano (affectionately called Ms. Cips) was a student who graduated and is now a teacher at Fontbonne.
She now helps spread the Christmas spirit to her students. She loved many traditions and now gets to share with her students. The door decorating contest was a huge deal, and every door was decorated when Ms. Cips was a student. Door decorating is still a big deal at Fontbonne, and Ms. Cips said she loves the competition. She said it was always fun, but it has been harder to celebrate this year because of Covid-19 and other difficulties. But the competition is still happening. When she was a student, they always decorated the tree in the courtyard, and no one knows if that tradition will happen this year, again because of the many pandemic-related challenges. Many things have been different this year, but Fontbonne is trying its best to keep that holiday spirit. She also loves the Twelve days of Christmas, another Fontbonne tradition. The students sing, or as Ms. Cips put it, scream "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Typically, all grades sit in the gym and sing their song parts. And Ms. Cips said it's absolute chaos, but she loves it. Every grade tries to scream louder than the other, and it's a lot of fun. This year is not only the freshwomen's first time but also the sophomores' because they were unable to hold this event last year. Christmas is an extraordinary time for students who go to Fontbonne, and they will cherish the memories they make during the Christmas season. Ms. Cipriano cherished the Twelve Days of Christmas and said this was her favorite tradition. She hopes this will impact her students as it impacted her. She loves this holiday and how Fontbonne celebrates it. She loved it when she was a student and now loves seeing the joy Fontbonne brings students during Christmas. Alison Kienzle '22 The Door Decorating Contest is a Fontbonne tradition. Every year, FAs compete against each other to see which FA could decorate their door the best. This year is no different, as the beloved contest is back for Christmas 2021.
Neighboring FAs are allowed to partner up and collaborate with each other, and use as much of the wall space they can. FAs are allowed to use their time in FA to work on their doors and are allowed to come before school or stay after school to work on the doors. Door Decorating allows the FA to work together and spend more time together doing something less stressful and more fun. The door decorating contest themes are most commonly Christmas movies such as The Grinch, Home Alone, and Elf. FAs also decorate their doors as popular Christmas goodies such as gingerbread houses. The door decorating contest is a good way to have FA bonding time and get into the Christmas Spirit before break. “What makes door decorating so significant is the bonding and team work used to create the best decorated door, you get to work together with your peers and get to know each other more when you share your ideas and creativity.” Rose Compere, Class of 2022. Christmas time is a time to cherish your friends, family, and all the amazing blessings you received. Door decorating contributes to the Christmas spirit. Shannon Rose '24 During this time of year, Fontbonne always runs a Coat and Winter Accessories Drive. This is when students have the opportunity to bring in coats, blankets, hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, and coats that will be given to people in need.
With the weather becoming colder, many people are in need of those items. The less fortunate are out in the cold and need to stay warm. Coats and accessories can definitely help with that. Students for Soldiers and Magnify are the clubs in Fontbonne collaborating on running these drives. They are donating the hats, gloves, scarves, and mittens to homeless veterans, and they should be new or very lightly worn. Lauren Esposito ‘24, who is a part of Students for Soldiers, said, “I feel accomplished being a part of these drives and to be part of something this important, because I’m donating to the people who need coats more than I do. It makes me proud.” Both drives started on Tuesday, December 6th. The winter accessories drive ended Monday, December 13th and the coats drive ended on Wednesday December 15th. The coats and accessories donated are now on their way to those who need them. by Gabrielle Reddan '24 This year was the first year in which Fontbonne had a Spirit Week outside of Sports Night season. Spirit Week took place this year on the days leading up to the Walk-A-Thon, beginning on November 3, 2021 and ending on November 9, 2021. This was so important to the Fontbonne community because it was the first ever in-person spirit week for a lot of us.
Spirit Week was granted to the students only if we raised half of the Walk-A-Thon goal of $40,000. By November 2, 2021 Fontbonne raised $20,000, which meant Spirit Week could begin. Many students were so excited that spirit week took place this year. Student Courtney Murtagh ‘24 said “Spirit Week was so much fun, and I hope it is a tradition that Fontbonne will follow forever!” The different themes that took place throughout Spirit Week were Hawaiian, Decades, Country vs. Country Club, Hollywood, and simply Spirit. “My favorite theme was Hawaiian,. I can’t wait to do spirit week again next year!” said student Alex Somerville ‘24. The Student Activities Council managed Spirit Week so well, along with the IA office team. I feel that Spirit Day was such a good way for all of the grades to show their spirit towards the school and their grade. On Spirit Day the freshwomen wore the color grey, sophomores wore white, juniors wore blue, and the seniors wore red. Now that Spirit Week is a new addition to Fontbonne, I feel that this will draw more attention and appreciation towards the school. Spirit Week was a good motivation for the students to donate towards the Walk-a-Thon fund page. Thanks to the help of the Student Activities Council and IA, I feel that Spirit Week is something that could become a new tradition for Fontbonne Hall. By Kayla Leon '24 The Fontbonne Walk-A-Thon is one of the best activities that the whole school does together. The Walk-A-Thon is a special tradition that everyone loves doing and gets everyone's school spirit activated and excited.
This year the goal for the Walk-A-Thon was $40,000 raised. The whole school came together and achieved this goal, so we ended up having a beautiful four-day weekend. The seniors were called down first, so they made their way down to 69th street along the walkway near the ocean. Then the juniors, sophomores, and freshwomen all followed. The Walk-A-Thon took place on Wednesday, November 10th, which was such a beautiful day. Everyone enjoyed their day and got to take many pictures while having a fantastic time with each other. Many students are already looking forward to next year's Walk-A-Thon. Everyone is glad to be a part of the Fontbonne community because of all the fun and beautiful activities that the school does together. Not only is the Walk-A-Thon an amazing day for everyone to have a nice walk, but it gives many students a nice break from class to clear their heads with a beautiful view. I am so glad that I am a part of this beautiful school, community, and, most importantly sisterhood, that comes together to do these incredible things. Evi Delengos '24 After much deliberation, Fontbonne Hall has finally decided that it is time to establish its horseback riding club. The Jamaica Bay Riding Academy will be the home for the eight students who have chosen to participate.
Jamaica Bay Equestrian Center is situated on 500 acres of rough shoreline and untouched woodland, making it ideal for horseback riding. Aside from that, the barn provides three miles of beachfront riding where riders of all levels may use the facilities. There are 80 stables with a variety of horses to choose from to ride. The crew will meet up every Monday and go to the riding academy from 3:45 to 5:15 p.m. There will be two groups; while one is out riding for around forty minutes, the other will learn about horsemanship and other topics. The team began practice on the 15th of November. When the ladies arrive at the school, they must be dressed in full gear, including a helmet, half chaps, trousers, polo, and boots. Eftasia Karahalios ‘24 says, “It was a cool experience, and I can’t wait to learn more.” Having just joined the club, Eftasia is overjoyed and enthusiastic about the prospect of learning more about horses and how to ride. We are all enthusiastic about our new club and are looking forward to seeing how it develops. We are particularly interested in seeing what we can learn and how close we can become to our equine companions due to this experience. By Leigha Curcio '22 On November 5th the senior class went to Six Flags as their first senior trip. They left after their 8th period classes and took a bus to New Jersey, where the park is located. It took the seniors an hour to get to their location and around two hours to return back to campus.
The seniors drove to Six Flags in a bus where Mr. Cleary sang and did karaoke with the students. Throughout their time at the park, they rode roller coasters, played arcade games, explored the park and ate food. Alexandra Arndt said she rode the Sky View and stated, “I got to see the sunset. It was really pretty.” She also said, “It was a lot of walking and I was freezing, but I had fun.” She then said that they got hot chocolate from Starbucks. Julianna DeLuca said they had good funnel cake, however Sofia Passanisi said the food was overpriced. DeLuca also included that Mr. Cleary, Ms. Cipriano and Mr. Scheidt went on the Wonder Woman ride with the students. After everyone was buckled in, the ride was stopped because it was malfunctioning. The seniors made sweatshirts for all of the students to wear to represent their year and Fontbonne. The back says “Seniorworld,” while the front says “Fontbonne 2022.” All students got to wear the sweatshirt to the park. Overall all seniors had a good experience and had fun going on rides with each other and the teachers who were a part of the trip. By Giavanna Torchio '25 I'm just a 9th grader, but I've been anxious to know if we're having a sports night this year, as I'm sure many of you are wondering if we will be having a traditional sports night or any sports night at all. Having attended the event in 2019, the senior's sports night, to watch my sister participate, I saw how fun it was, excited to participate myself one day.
After speaking to senior Vivian D'Orazi, I heard more about how fun it was. She stated that the best part from freshman year was "how excited everyone was, and how everyone was working together while also being competitive." And as for this year, she replied, "I hope to see a lot of teamwork and fun after the time we had apart during covid, and I hope the other years take this as a chance to become closer" So although this year's sports night may not be the same, it can still be used as a bonding experience and for team-building with each activity. You may have many questions, wondering about these questions myself, I did some digging and spoke to Mr. Surdyka. As for the overall status of sports night 2022, there is still a lot uncertain, although there is a good idea of where the event will occur. And once that can be ultimately determined, we'll have more information. What restrictions might there be, will there be an audience, will you need a COVID test? It all depends on which venue it's held at as we will have to follow their guidelines. If it's held at St.Francis college as it is traditionally, we would be following their rules and regulations. Could they mandate that everyone is vaccinated, possibly? When will students start preparing for sports night? As of right now, it's still uncertain, but as Mr.Surdyka stated that "once we get a good idea of how the school will run sports night, we will share with all students what the events will be and if there needs to be practice for those events, when and where they will be allowed to practice, and administration will put out a schedule." So it's still far in the future, but hopefully, we will start preparing soon. Considering Sports night is months away, there's still a lot up in the air, but Mr.Surdyka and the faculty are working hard to bring some sports night to Fontbonne this year in April. Whether it's the traditional sports night at St.Francis college that seniors experienced their freshman year, the sports night we had last year, or maybe even a mix of the two. Ashley Konner ‘23
As the Fontbonne Softball regular season comes to end, playoffs are getting closer and closer. Both the JV and Varsity teams are in great seeds for the 2021 softball playoffs. The Junior Varsity team is undefeated and is getting ready for two important regular-season games against Notre Dame and Xaverian. Allie Hinz, JV softball player, explains, “We have been playing really well together this year. A part of the reason we have been undefeated is due to the relationship and the bond that we all share with one another.” Nicole Petrillo, Varsity softball player, praises her team, “This year we have made some really great comebacks and have faced really hard competition. Our pitching and defense has really allowed us to succeed this season”. Coaches on both the JV and Varsity softball teams have put a lot of their time and energy into practices, scrimmages, and games to allow all of the players to be at their finest when they step on the field. The goal for Fontbonne softball to win has increased greatly since there was no season last year. Due to this, Fontbonne wants to regain it’s title as the best school for softball in Brooklyn. Gina Marie Pettignano ‘21
As the final days for the seniors just passed us by, we all got to celebrate our last day of classes together. We all came together, brought chairs, and sat outside. We tie-dyed our white Fontbonne uniform shirts and signed each other's shirts, skirts, and shoes. In the morning, everyone had happy faces for the last day of school. However, with each period going by, it started to get real. The sad faces began because it was hitting us that we were leaving Fontbonne. Senior Valerie Rosanelli said, “Tuesday was one of the most bittersweet days of my time at Fontbonne. It is time to move on to the next journey, but it’s so hard to leave this journey. It went by too quickly. Thank you Fontbonne for the best four!” Senior Destiny Sauveur: “Senior day was a really fun day. I got to spend the last day with all my friends around me. It is a day that I will never forget! But I am happy that it isn't the last time we will all see each other. We are all going to be together for a week straight, and the day after senior day we had our senior retreat and we were all together. Plus that ice cream truck provided by Gianna Russo completed the end of the day to wrap up the last day of senior classes” Lastly, senior Gianna Russo got the senior class an ice cream truck to close out a great day. Thank you Gianna! All the seniors want to thank Fontbonne for the best four years, and everyone will be missed dearly. Through all the ups and downs, we all got through it together. Having the last day of classes all together was nothing but fun. All the beautiful messages staff and students left on each other's tie-dye shirts are something everyone will cherish forever. We all had so much fun setting up the last day and preparing our tie-dye shirts, fixing the courtyard up, and writing on the floor with chalk to leave our final markings. Lastly, thank you Mr. Somma for letting me be a part of your amazing journalism class. It completed my senior year! So bittersweet writing my last article. Reporter Gina is out. :( Leslie Alhakim '21 Each year at Fontbonne, students are required to take a science course. Freshman year this course is GATES. Sophomore year it’s either Biology in the regular, honors, or AP level or Chemistry in the regular, honors, or AP level. Junior year the science courses are Chemistry in the regular, honors, or AP level or Physics in the regular, honors, or AP level. Finally, Senior year we are able to pick any science course. I originally wanted to take AP Chemistry, but I decided to stick to only two AP courses for my final year. Instead I took Physics Honors with Mr. Williams. What I thought I would dread and strongly dislike, I actually ended up enjoying a lot. I’m not a big fan of math or crazy formulas, but somehow, Mr. Williams was able to make this class into something fun.
Besides doing our regular lessons, Mr. Williams would bring scientific “toys” and gadgets to class. For example, something we got to see was the Van De Graaff Machine. This gadget is a generator in which electric charge is accumulated in a hollow, metal sphere. When you touch the sphere, it shocks you lightly. Not only does it shock you, but you can pass the current to another person by touching them. This was a super cool gadget to observe. Something else we got to experiment with was a Compass Array. The purpose of this gadget is to show how a magnetic field works by putting a magnet up to a glass screen. Inside this screen are little arrows, which point to the magnet. This was also a lot of fun to play with and even gave my group a creative idea for our final project. Following the concept of the Compass Array, my group had the idea of creating a magnetic drawing board. Although we did get to see a bunch of cool gadgets, my favorite was definitely the tesla coils. These tesla coils can be seen on YouTube, and what they do is produce sparks and electricity. They’re super cool because YouTubers would use them to play music. In class, we saw people using these coils to play “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Rasputin”. This was both super cool and hilarious. Overall, Mr. Williams helped me look at Physics from a different lens. Instead of seeing it as a math heavy science that makes no sense, I saw it as a way to create something new that can be either innovative or just fun. I really enjoyed all of the labs and gadgets we were able to observe in class Ashley Konner '23
Sports Night is an annual Fontbonne tradition that has allowed students to come together with their grade in hopes of winning. However, last year, due to the pandemic, Sports Night was cancelled. This was not going to be the case this year. The Fontbonne administration, along with the year coordinators, SAC, and Sports Night coordinator Mr. Surdyka, worked long and thought hard about how to have Sports Night while being safe and following the CDC guidelines. The idea of a movie was developed that allowed all students to participate in the tradition of performance. Along with the movie, on Saturday, April 24, students met at shore road to participate in activities including a soccer shootout, a home run derby, a Kan Jam tournament, relay races, a Jeopardy-style trivia competition, and a cornhole tournament, to score points for their year. As a participant on this day, I can say that all of the students that participated had a lot of fun, and were able to have friendly competition with their classmates. Sophomore, Lauren Polito, shared her thoughts, “ I really enjoyed Sports Night this year. I was upset last year when it was canceled because we worked so hard. Now, we were able to include sports and also create a movie.” As for the freshwomen, “It was very cool to be able to come into the school during a pandemic and still be able to carry out the tradition in Fontbonne. I have been looking forward to the events and the movie and I am excited to share it with all of my peers,” Josie Lamatilla ‘24. Mr. Surdyka took a tremendous part in making this day possible. “Sports Night went very well. Everyone who came out for trivia and the outdoor activities had a great time. Change isn't always a bad thing. We had perfect weather and as stated before, everyone who participated had fun. We hope to add some of these activities in the future. It would be nice if Field Day could become a new tradition at Fontbonne. I could definitely see us adding it to the more traditional Sports Night.”. Even though the sports events are finished, the students are still looking forward to sharing their movies with the other years. Students are already satisfied with Sports Night 2021 and grateful that we were able to have it once again at Fontbonne Hall. |