Smithtown West Varsity Field Hockey Opens Up 2010 Season with a Home Game Against Comsewogue:

On September 17, 2010 Smithtown West Varsity girls field hockey won their first game of the season 3-0 over Comsewogue on the home turf. Half of the first half of the game Smithtown West battled out with Comsewogue 0-0. In the last 15 minutes of the first half Smithtown West put in the first goal by Alexa Riportella assisted by Allison Brodmerkle. Minutes later another goal was put in the back of the cage by Allison Smalley off of a corner shot. Goalie Kelsey Sweeney fouled stepping on the ball in the cage, causing much controversy between teams as the referee called for a stroke for Comsewogue. Sweeney watched the ball carefully and attacked at the right time making sure the ball would not hit the back of the cage.  Ending the first half of the Smtithtown West vs. Comsewogue game at 2-0. “Communication on the field is the key, and will help us with realization of the field and help along with passing to other players on the field.” Sweeney.

Starting off second half Smithtown West still came out strong, not worrying about the score. Brodmerkle passed the ball to Briana D’Amico leaving her to a one on one battle with the goalie of Comsewogue, Caitlin Moran. D’Amico scored the third and final goal of the game. Smithtown West stayed strong throughout the whole game and Sweeney, had nine saves throughout the game. Rebecca Martella says that “Passing the ball, spreading out and crossing the field will be our next few biggest challenges on the field and hopefully us as a team can successfully accomplish them.” Captain and Goalie Sweeney state, “For next weeks game there will be much more improvement, practicing hard and trying the best we can only to show more improvement out on the field.” Next weeks game is played on Tuesday September 21, 2010 against Centereach.

An Inside Look at Our Town

Imagine standing behind a curtain, the adrenaline rushing through your veins, and as it rises its first inch above the stage, you see many faces staring back at you with high expectations.  On November 10^th, this will be the case for many performers at Smithtown West, as we are anxiously awaiting the premiere of Our Town directed by Mr. Brannigan.             Surely this play will be another success because Mr. Brannigan is again directing it and he has been directing here for two years, but has been in the theater business since 1995.  When asked how prepared the cast is for the performance, he replied “everyone is at where they should be, but most are beyond”.  When Jamie Saunders, the lead actress in the play, was asked the same question, she replied “I am very excited, not nervous though because we are so well prepared.”

However, having the lead role in a play could also be very challenging.  “For one thing, there are so many lines to memorize, which takes a lot of time” says Jamie. Jamie also spent time doing character research so she knows how to act out the character relationships.

Other performers were faced with challenges as well; “many were challenged with a stylized language, because it was written in a New England dialect, so sayings and Phrases were worded different” admits Mr. Brannigan.

Our Town is said to be a very emotional play, for it contains words that are meant to be taken to heart. From the main character’s perspective, Jamie feels that the central message of the play is that “people should really pay attention to the little things in life because before you know it, it will all go away”.  This message is really one that can affect the audience and can speak to people individually, which is why this play is great for a high school to perform.

On November 10^th, Our Town actors and actresses will be waiting behind the curtain, with adrenaline rushing through their body to put on a great love story, and when the curtain rises its first inch and the piano strikes its first note, they will all be ready for “the best feeling in the world”- Jamie. 

To view the trailer click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xdupyxOcjI

Controversy Over the Commons

With the new experiences of high school, every freshman wants some new freedoms, but the newer rule of freshmen not being allowed to eat lunch in the commons is violating some of these newfound freedoms. The freshmen, soon to be class of 2014, are only allowed to eat lunch in G Café and aren’t permitted to leave this Café, unless they are going to the restroom or have a pass. This means that, yes; freshmen aren’t even allowed to do homework in the library during lunch! All of the various questions that people are asking such as why is this happening and will it ever be changed will all soon be answered.    

Mrs. Cindy Nocero, vice principal in charge of the freshmen and sophomore classes, describes her job with two words, “energy” and “good listener”. Being the woman in charge of all these high school students, Mrs. Nocero must always be ready to listen and have energy while doing so. Around this time of year, Principal Nocero has a lot of listening to do about the fact of no freshmen allowed to eat in the commons. She states, “It’s not my decision fully, I just input and discuss with Mr. Coady, Mr. Solomon, and Mr. McCabe.” Principal Nocero understands the fact that freshmen want more freedom, but she also agrees that as students get older, they should receive more freedoms. “Yes, G café is for freshmen, E café is for seniors and F Café is for juniors and sophomores,” says Mrs. Nocero to the question of where freshmen can eat lunch. This seems unfair considering this class of freshmen has been the first to have this privilege taken away from the beginning of the year, but sometimes that’s the way things are.

Mrs. Majuk, supervisor of 6^th period lunch, says her job at lunch is “challenging”. Mrs. Majuk states, “I love my freshmen,” while talking about her experiences with monitoring the freshmen café. “This is a privilege that freshmen have not yet earned,” says Mrs. Majuk about the controversy. Mrs. Majuk does not have a huge say in whether or not freshmen are allowed to eat lunch in the commons, but she does care about this problem.  

Hopefully, these two authorities will have a say in the allowance of freshmen eating in the commons by the second semester.