by Sabrina Gheller '18On Oct. 4, 2016, Fontbonne held the College Fair in the school’s gym. The two-hour long event hosted more than 60 colleges, and dozens of students from Junior and Senior year attended the fair. The students had an array of options, ranging from colleges in New York to colleges in Florida.
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by Rachel Deodato '18The Fontbonne Community holds many athletic events for breast cancer awareness, especially in the month of October. Fontbonne sports teams such as the volleyball team, softball team, soccer team, and swim team are holding or are involved in events that are held for Breast Cancer Awareness.
by Falon Veccia '18It is no secret that the Culture Club is nothing short of successful. The very first meeting of the 2016-2017 school year took place on Thursday Sept. 22, 2016. The faculty moderators of the Culture Club are Ms. Marangelis Pagan and Mr. Nikola Segoloni.
The Culture Club is highly revered by the students. Mr. Segoloni provided insight as to why the club is a significant part of school life bringing up the idea that it is a beautiful and wonderful way for students to get together after class and find fun in culture. Mr. Segoloni gave insight into the reasoning behind the large number of girls who joined. “So many people joined because last year we had a lot of interesting events and there were a lot of people participating in the club. The news of the club also spread easily. We [himself and Ms. Pagan] made sure people knew about it,” he said. Ms. Pagan has often asked herself this question and took to her students for the answers as to why they joined. “One reason why girls join is because I am the moderator of the club and I choose fun events. Second because it is the "it" club apparently (not my words theirs),” said Ms. Pagan. Keeping this number of students entertained would seem overwhelming to regular people, but Mr. Segoloni and Ms. Pagan know just how to keep their students entertained. The girls this year should expect to learn more about culture. “Trips this year will touch the student greatly. For example, this year the students will go to a Mexican cooking class and will be hands on with the culture. Food is the way to people’s hearts!” said Mr. Segoloni. When asked the same question, Ms. Pagan stated the new trips that will be taken and the idea that the girls will be representing FHA where they should act like proper women. Those who are part of the club must make a commitment participating in four of six activities. The most recent events were a trip Blood Manor experiencing American culture and a trip to Aladdin on Broadway exploring Indian culture. The Culture Club provides knowledge for students who don’t know traditional customs people practice in different cultures where the knowledge is given in a fun and hands on way. With so members it is easy to assume that students agree that the experiences are fun and informational. by Rebecca Kaminski '18Rehearsals began for Fontbonne’s winter play “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” This will be Fontbonne’s first winter show and it is also the first show that is not a musical.
“It always makes me laugh when I see it,” said one of the drama club members, Kristina Zloklikovits. Zloklikovits plays Mother, Mrs. Bradley, who got forced into doing the Christmas Pageant when the director broke her leg. The play is a play within a play. When Mrs. Armstrong, the person who usually directs the play breaks her leg, the mom is forced to take on the role as pageant director. The show is an overall a heartwarming edition of a Christmas pageant and will keep the audience laughing for the entire show. Zloklikovits’ favorite part of the show was when Imogene gets visibly touched and moved while performing her part of Mary. The show will be a success. It is a great way for people to get into the holiday spirit. Fontbonne’s drama club is doing two shows this year, a fall and a spring show. By Maria Hatziminadakis '18On Sept. 20, 2016, Fontbonne Hall Academy had their first FTC robotics meeting when a group of 6 experienced girls decided to create their own team.
Captain Cassandra Burrell ‘17 and co-captain Spiridoula Hatziminadakis ‘18 announced the Varsity FTC Fontbotics is open to anyone who wants to join. These experienced members who participated in other FIRST robotics events decided to show their school spirit and start a new team. “I joined the team because I am interested in the robotics field. I believe it offers a lot of opportunities and it is a great team to be on. The games and competitions are a lot of fun and I believe one could learn a lot of skills from building a robot,” said Sophia Venegas-Delval, junior. The club was created to have a more developed understanding in robotics. FTC allows girls interested in technology to get involved. “Too many people in our society depend on machines and have no concept of how they work or what goes into designing them. The robotics team gives our students a chance to create and use technology in new and innovative ways, ”Mr.Segall stated in an interview. But why should girls be interested in robotics? “Because why not? The engineering field that includes robotics as a branch in mechanical engineering, is a male dominated field. Girls feel pressured to not participate in math or science like activities, because the majority think women aren't capable of handling it,” said Hatziminadakis. Mr. Winston also started a JV FLL club for anyone interested in robotics that requires no experience. The girls would be competing in their first competition this spring. By Marissa DeVito '18A big step for Fontbonne and a giant leap for journalism was made this school year as Broadcast Journalism was added as a new course. Taught by Ms. Marinello, the scope of the course focuses on news writing, videography, editing, and visual storytelling. Students will cover anything deemed newsworthy meaning new, exciting, significant, interesting, and regarding people in the Fontbonne and local community.
Students learn how to make video content as well as to stream it on online platforms. For the purpose of the course a Broadcast Journalism room was installed in the cafeteria. Made with precision and “Foam! Lots of it! In order to soundproof the room” said Ms. Marinello the room is a gem attracting the amazed gazes of manys students. Complete with two monitors, two iMac computers, a laptop, and mixer panel, students will learn in style. Although Broadcast journalism is uncharted and new territory, the student body can barely contain their excitement to take this unique and interesting course. However, in order for a student to take Broadcast Journalism they must first take Print Journalism. When asked what type of students do you think should take broadcast journalism Ms. Marinello said “Students that are interested in journalism and are willing to go above and beyond the requirements of the class. Every week, we have a show to produce, and that might mean staying after school to film in the studio or going to sporting events to get video coverage of an event. Students need to understand that a show is a success or a flop based on the efforts of the entire unit.” Not only are students beaming with excitement but so is Ms. Marinello on being the honored teacher of this new course. When asked what she was most excited about teaching this course she replied “I'm most excited to see what the students create and how they will work as a team to craft a weekly show start to finish. I'm always amazed by the work my students put forth and I'm sure this will be no different. I cannot wait for the class to have that moment where they all gel and understand the power they possess through this channel.” Broadcast journalism is truly a wonderful addition to Fontbonne already beloved by the student body. by Rachel Deodato '18Kathleen “Katie” Byrnes, junior at Fontbonne Hall Academy, started a Gaelic Society Club. Byrnes started this club because she has a very strong pride in her Irish heritage and wanted to spread it. The Gaelic Society will discuss and learn about the Irish heritage, traditions, and history. The teacher coordinator of the Gaelic Society is Ms. Barton.
Byrnes hopes that if the club becomes successful that they will be able to go on trips relating to Irish heritage. The club aims to see popular irish parades or fairs, going to Manhattan to see Irish films, authentic Irish restaurants, and Irish step lessons at the O’Malley Irish Dance Academy where Byrnes works. Byrnes feels it is her duty as the Colleen Queen of 2016 to spread Irish pride. Byrnes stated, “My job as Colleen Queen is to be someone who represents my Irish heritage proudly and to help promote it in my life.” Byrnes teaches children how to Irish step dance at the O’Malley Irish Dance Academy, where she is an assistant teacher. “There are many clubs within Fontbonne that celebrates so many different things and I felt with all the Irish girls in the school, and even those that would just like to learn a little about Irish culture, that this would be a great opportunity” said Byrnes. Byrnes will be sending out an email in October informing students about the Gaelic Society. |