The Cat’s Eye View

Volume XLV, Issue V ~ April 2014

Henry P. Becton Region High School

On April 21, 2014 the science wing finally had its grand opening to the students and faculty of Bec-

ton with a ribbon cutting ceremony. After months of having lab sciences in tiny classrooms, the new

wing has proved itself worth the wait. Lab sciences now have the proper amount of space needed to

conduct a lab. With new lab tables, chairs, and a larger workspace, the classrooms can comfortably

seat twenty-four students. Both the students and teachers alike are ecstatic to be in the newest addi-

tion of the school.

Mrs. Mackanin stated, “The students and I are so excited to start working in a ‘real lab’ setting. It's

so nice to finally be in such a beautiful room.”

Also, for LOLs, Mrs. Mackanin reported, “I am secretly missing the trailer and the boardwalk...it

was like our own little world out there.”

Mr. Cantatore stated, "That feeling you get when you finish a race, break a record, or score the win-

ning goal. Yeah, that's how I felt when that ribbon was severed."

The Science Department Chair at Becton, Robert DiDomenico, stated "I am very grateful to the

Board of Education and the communities of Carlstadt and East Rutherford for commissioning this

renovation to our science classrooms. I am very happy to see the transformation of this building to a

state-of-the-art facility that will serve our students well for many years to come."

Grand Opening

Rebecca Sass

It wouldn’t be March Madness without the

beloved High School Proficiency Assessment, or,

as it is more commonly known, HSPA. Now that

testing is over for the juniors, they can finally relax

and enjoy the rest of their days at Becton without

taking another mandatory state exam. But just

when they thought they were free, New Jersey de-

cided to add another burden to their lives: the

PARCC. Not only will this affect the current jun-

iors, but also the present and incoming freshmen,

as well as the sophomores. For students, it seems

as though they are constantly being bombarded

with test after test.

Students are expected to prepare for these

standardized tests that will ultimately determine

where they stand for the future, or at least their col-

lege future. The HSPA and PARCC have become,

in a sense, biased for teenagers who have the ad-

vantage of worthy test-taking skills. Nevertheless,

there are a decent number of kids who are not as

strong at testing and do poorly as a result. Alt-

hough the unfortunate test takers might have the

ability to prove that they are smart off paper, their

score is the only thing that counts. On the PARCC

and HSPA, students are classified into different

levels of aptitude. Each state has its own standards

on what they believe to be below average and

above average. Grading students on how they do

on a standardized test is a very grey area because it

varies from state to state. Consequently, it is al-

most impossible for the United States to collective-

ly decide on what score will determine the erudite

kids of the nation.

In high school, the teachers and administra-

tion are always emphasizing how they are prepar-

ing students for the real world, but not everyone’s

real world is going to be the same. The stress and

devotion to tests for teens is nonsensical because,

in the real world, they are not taking written tests

on a daily basis. Schools dedicate an enormous

amount of time to preparing students for tests and

exams. Are the students even learning infor-

mation? Or are they merely memorizing the right

answers? Standardized tests do not prepare stu-

dents correctly for the challenges that they will

face once they leave high school. With the current

curriculum, teenagers are not taught how to bal-

ance a checkbook, mail a letter, how to manage

money or a banking account, or even acquire nec-

essary social skills that will benefit them in their

future jobs. Students are only acquiring the skills

necessary to pass a simple standardized test and

this information will not help them support them-

selves in the future. Students are stressed to the

max as it is and preparing for yet another exam

will only wear them thinner.

Even when they aren’t writing responses or

selecting multiple choice answers, students are

constantly preparing for the biggest test ever: life.

Life can be complicated. Each day, teenagers are

exposed to situations in their lives that will help

prepare them and give them experience for the fu-

ture. With the implication of state tests, the state

and nation are indirectly telling students that they

must do well on a test otherwise their future will be

an unfulfilled one. At the end of the day, mandato-

ry exams may arouse more oppression than assis-

tance in every teen’s life. We’re left to wonder:

Are these tests even worth taking?

How do you feel about testing?

Let us know! catseyeview@bectonhs.org

How Much Testing is Too Much? Jamie Scangarella

Student of the Month

Jamie Scangarella

Rebecca Czarnogursky

Mateusz Ostasz

March’s student of the month is Rebecca Czarnogursky. Her current class

ranking is 3rd and she has earned a GPA of 101. At Becton, Rebecca is a part

of many clubs such as Key Club, Environmental Club, Girls Helping Girls,

Youth Alive, National Honors Society, Italian Honors Society, Images, and

Theatre Arts Club. Rebecca has participated in both volleyball and track and

field. Ms. Czarnogursky is very active here at Becton and is taking AP English

and AP Biology as well as drama this year. Drama is Rebecca’s favorite class

because she is given the opportunity to truly demonstrate her passion: acting.

Theatre will be her major in college whether she goes to Farleigh Dickenson

or joins the Stars Program at Bergen Community College then transfers to an-

other school. Some of her hobbies include spending time with her family,

singing the Frozen soundtrack with friends, watching old Hollywood movies,

and listening to Frank Sinatra and Michael Bublè.

Rebecca describes her mom as an inspirational role model for her. She would like to encourage others with her

own words of advice, “Don’t ever let people stop you from chasing your dreams.”

April’s student of the month is Mateusz Ostasz. His current class ranking is

7th, and he has earned a GPA of 96. Here in Becton, Mateusz is active in

several clubs such as the National Honors Society, Spanish Honor Society

and Math League. Additionally, he has taken part in soccer and tennis, where

he dedicated three years and four years respectively. While others fall victim

to senioritis, he decided to challenge himself by taking a very hard workload,

consisting of six AP classes, which include: AP Calculus AB, English 12 AP,

AP Government and Politics, Chemistry AP, Physics AP, and AP Calculus BC. His favorite classes are AP

Calculus and AP Physics because he’s always had a profound interest in math and science. He is considering

going to Penn State: University Park for aerospace engineering. Mateusz volunteered at Most Sacred Heart

Church on many occasions, such as distributing food for the church’s picnic. On his free time, he enjoys

playing on the electric guitar, listening to music, writing songs and watching war and action movies. Mateusz

is very hardworking, and he’s determined to succeed in the future. He is one who wants to follow the major

role in his life, his father because he started with little as a youth and ended up a successful businessman years

later as an adult.

Aneta Ostasz

A rendition of Good Night Moon

Goodbye trailers…

Goodbye Mr. Barbo,

so kind in opening the doors for us

Goodbye Mrs. Mackanin, no more getting

locked out after another late night scoring

tests

Goodbye too cold...goodbye too hot

Goodbye walking in a blizzard...good bye walk-

ing in a downpour

Goodbye dirt pile, tucked in the corner

Goodbye boardwalk, not in any way like the

Shore

Goodbye Trailers…

Robotics at Becton

As Becton opened its new science wing this year, it also created a new club called Robotics, a small group of stu-

dents from all grades supervised by Mr. Cantatore. The five days spent with the $16,000 NAO robots had consisted of learn-

ing basic code for the robots. Each robot was fully equipped with cameras, speakers, and microphones that allowed the robots

to speak as a person would, play music, and even recognize peo-

ple. Learning how to code for the robot enabled the students to

complete a variety of interactions and movements. The students

at Becton were allowed to explore these markets and test out

whichever program they desired. The students were not only

able to test the abilities of the robots through the premade pro-

grams, but were also allowed to create and do a test trial of their

own programs. During the week the students shared with the

robot, they were able to fully understand and create a program

used by the robot. But what’s work without play? At the end of

the week each group of students was expected to present some-

thing for a talent show. Some talent show acts went as far as

reenacting a scene from Star Wars with the robots. The future

hopes regarding the robots is to use them to teach and better

connect to children with autism. This would include teaching the

children everyday applications such as shapes, objects, places, and how to have a conversation. Aside from teaching others,

the robot might have a future in the arts! Specific programs ordered the robot to do things like dance, practice yoga, sing, and

more. The NAO robot community expands throughout the world and even has several phone apps to allow easier use of the

robots. The promise of both teaching students and students having fun Becton is looking forward to the possibility of creating

a new permanent robotics club at Becton in the coming school year.

Kerolos Aziz

Sports

Mr. Bononno, a history teacher and the sports director here at Bec-

ton Regional High School, has just made Becton sports history. Mr.

Bononno was recently added to The New Jersey State Interscholastic Ath-

letic Association’s Hall of Fame. The NJSIAA is made up of 433 accredit-

ed public, private, and non-public high schools throughout New Jersey,

which means Mr. Bononno earned this achievement by being nominated

from among the NJSIAA’s 330,000 member coaches to be inducted into

the Hall of Fame. He was awarded this honor on March 30th, 2014.

Where we all see this as an amazing achievement for him,

he remained quite humble. Bononno stated, “I’m very proud of our school

and all of the student athletes that have worked tirelessly throughout my

24 years being involved in the program. Also, without my assistant coach-

es, this achievement would not have been possible.” Although, the student

athletes have done a remarkable job, this award rightfully belongs to Mr. Bononno for everything he has done

for the athletic department.

With that, we should all be grateful to have such an amazing person as our sports director. Congratula-

tions to Mr. Bononno and to all of the amazing athletes involved in Becton Regional sports.

Bononno Named to NJ Coaches’ Hall of Fame Rebecca Cruz

Mr. Bononno and family after accepting

award. Photo courtesy Mr. Bononno

For Becton Regional Track and Field, the 2014

season was filled with hard work and perseverance.

Constant speed workouts, long distance runs, and

weight training have all helped to secure Becton’s spot

as a significant league contender under the leadership

of Coach Mendelsohn, Coach Scalera, Coach Lynch,

and Coach Mulligan.

The team has acquired several talented new

faces including Freshmen Collins Kipchumba, Emily

Ruiz, Erika Williams, and Laura Cobo, who leads the

girls in sprinting times.

Becton’s throwing team has been successful

and continuously proves to be the team’s main source

of points. Senior Captain Mark Brizzolara leads the

boys in discus and shot put records while Senior Nick

Cimera and Junior Dylan Lewin follow close behind.

Senior Maggie Falco, Junior Frankie Plescia, and

Freshman Taylor Di Meola join with Erika Williams

to form a reliable female throwing group.

With a solid 500 record, the team possesses

several solid athletes in each event and continues to

progress each day. Sophomore Michael Cabrera leads

the distance team – Sophomores Brent Addeo and

Paul Tello, and Senior Andrew Quintana – with his

impeccable endurance and quick pace while Junior

Matt Cano, Senior Captain Andrew Quintana, and

Freshman Jonathon Regnifo put points on the board

with their newly discovered aptitude for hurdles.

Sophomore Nadia Gani and Freshman Kirsten Kenne-

dy also thrive in hurdles and hold the best times on the

girls’ team. Junior Alex Gatopoulos, Sophomore Alex

Montalvo, and Freshman Collins Kipchumba lead the

boys’ sprinting team. Successful long and triple jump-

ers on the team include Brian Byun, Dean Hernandez,

Danny Vera, Kaity Cruz, Sabrina Decio, Devyn Di

Meola, and Rebecca Czarnogursky.

Although the season has ended for many track

athletes, several will continue on to the NJIC League

Meet and possibly even the States. Coaches and ath-

letes both remain optimistic about the season as it

comes to an end.

Becton Track Devyn Di Meola

Becton’s baseball program has un-

dergone a complete transformation for the 2014

season. The team’s current record of 4-5 gener-

ates optimism and morale as the players prepare

for upcoming opponents. Compared to last year’s

2-21 final record, Becton baseball is clearly mov-

ing uphill and improving drastically.

A portion of the team’s newfound success

may be contributed to the brand new coaching

staff. The team recently gained Coaches Flan-

dery, Kronk, Picinich, and Decio in addition to

Coach Barbo who also coached last year. These

additions along with the senior leadership of Eric

Garcia, Alex Jennerich, Jon Arendas, Stephen

Barone, Joe Viso and George Felidi have visibly

strengthened the team and turned it into a more

competitive program.

The team has conquered Wallington, Sad-

dle Brook and North Arlington so far and contin-

ues to look strong as the season progresses. The

major turnaround of the Becton baseball program

was definitely created much confidence and deter-

mination as the season carries on.

This year’s Becton tennis team is certainly

missing last year’s seniors. Despite losing many

valuable players, the team continuously shows

improvement. This year’s only Senior is the team

captain Mateusz Ostasz who plays first sin-

gles. At second singles we have Tenzin Loden

and at third singles we have Alex Puchal-

ski. Both head coach Mr. Maucione and assistant

coach Alex Whiteside are extremely confident in

this group.

Mr. Maucione says, “The team is learning

how to compete and is making strides. Although

our record does not show it at this time, this effort

will payoff in the long run for the program.” At

first doubles the team has the duo of Enzo Macri

and Nick Gonzalez who currently hold the best

record on the team. The second doubles team in-

cludes David Stoltz and Ryan Hickey/

Muhammad Hammouda. Mr. Maucione says the

team is growing in

the right direction

and both the players

and coaches are ex-

cited to see what the

team can do in the

second half of the year.

Becton Baseball Devyn Di Meola

Becton Tennis David Stoltz

Photo courtesy of: Bernadette Marciniak, Staff of

the South Bergenite

And the 2014 Battle of the Grades winner is *drum

roll* . . . The Sophomore Class of 2016! It was quite an

eventful evening for all the spectators and contestants who

attended. The first event was the obstacle course. After all

the players crawled under desks, walked on stools, played

beanie bag toss, shot layups, and distributed hula-hoops,

the junior girls prevailed as well as sophomore boys. Next

was the 3-Point Shot Competition. Sophomores Danny

Zimmermann and Sebastian Grabias earned 40 points for

their class while Nerysa Oliveras and Meagan Majowicz

earned 40 for the seniors.

After intense rounds of Musical Chairs resulting in

three broken chairs, Allison Carella snagged the last seat

earning the sophomores another 40 points. In the next

event, each grade had two couples hobble their way

through the 3-Legged Race. For the females, sophomores

Sam Frola and Amy Ravettine came in first and juniors

Nick Barbo and Roy Forys came in first for the males.

Pudding pie was then served for the next batch of contest-

ants to see who could eat their way through it first. Fresh-

men Fernanda Cavallo and Taylor Christiano finished their

pies before the other females and juniors James Romanello

and Geraldy Flores chowed their way to victory.

Seniors Julie Squeo and Brian Hansen had a spec-

tacular win for their class after successfully launching a

hard-boiled egg across the gym. All the next contestants

swiveled their way through the Hula-hoop Contest. Even

after being at a disadvantage with one less player on the

senior team, Jon Arendas proved that he could not let his

team down and lead them to another victory. Senior Grace

Kim also upstaged all the other females. Together the two

earned 80 points for the seniors. For the group events, the

sophomore girls showed some super strength after domi-

nating the seniors and then taking down the freshmen to

win the first place title. As for the boys, the seniors beat

the sophomores, placing them in the consolation round.

They then took down the juniors after a hard victory since

the juniors did not go down without a fight.

The next event, Pass the Hula-hoop, was all about

strategy and the sophomores took that into deep considera-

tion, since it led them to earn another 40 points. The last

event of the night was called All Aboard. The concept was

that each team had to fit as many players as they could in a

designated space in one minute. After much body contor-

tion and techniques, the sophomores and juniors tied for

first with 16 people. After the total scores were added, the

freshmen received an additional 20 points for having the

most supporters show up; nonetheless, they still fell flat.

What a great job to all those that participated and only

time will tell if the Class of 2016 can keep up their win-

ning streak next year!

Results

4th - Freshmen 320

3rd - Juniors 430

2nd - Seniors 440

1st - Sophomores 460

Battle of the Grades In Becton’s ongoing fight to determine which grade is superior, points were accumu-

lated in the annual “Battle of the Grades” competition. Here are the results and some of

the battle’s highlights.

By Jamie Scangarella

This season’s softball looks so far, so good.

With a record of 2-1, the freshman team is off to a

great start. In one game, the team fifteen-run-ruled the

opponent with a final score of 25-0. The freshman

coach, Ms. O’ Driscoll, has stated, “My team is very

determined. We don’t give up. We’ve proved it since

the first game.” In its first game, the team made a

comeback to win with a final score of 5-4. On the oth-

er hand, an inspiring speech by Coach Kuhns led Bec-

ton’s JV Softball to defeat the tough Saddle Brook

team on April 24. The undefeated JV team has ten-run

-ruled many teams and even fifteen-run-ruled a team

in a perfect game by Sophomore pitcher, Dana Dom-

browski. Junior Ana Freay has stated, “The girls of JV

really put their minds into the game. They’re really

focused. Their engagement in the game led them to

victory.” In addition, Becton’s Varsity team is nearly

unstoppable. With a record of 8-3, they ten-run-ruled

Wallington’s Varsity team. On April 24, Senior Juli-

ana Squeo hit a 3-run homerun to lead the team to vic-

tory. Junior Tanya Sanchez has said of the team,

“We’re learning how to play with each other. Our

pitcher [freshman] Kaitlyn O’ Shea throws heat and

our defense is number one. One team. One family.

Wildcats.” Hopefully the teams continue to thrive as

the season closes to an end.

Becton Softball Miranda Febus

Ayah Suleiman and Devyn Di Meola

February was a momentous month for Becton Regional because it introduced the first student-run

club in recent memory. Girls Helping Girls, created by senior Nikki Dombrowski in March, is a service or-

ganization geared toward aiding girls in our own community as well as around the world. Run by Mrs. To-

karski, GHG revolves around young women who want to get involved with the community and make a dif-

ference. Not only does the club hold collections and encourage donations for countless young women with

unfavorable economic or social conditions, but it also serves as a support group for local girls who need

companionship or guidance. The club’s goal is simple: to make a difference locally by encouraging em-

powerment through the female peers at Becton.

They have just finished their first project which is collecting prom dresses to distribute to the less

fortunate. Members of the club encouraged fellow female friends, family members and coworkers to donate

their used bridesmaid, sweet sixteen, prom, and formal dresses to the cause. So far they have managed to

donate a substantial amount of prom dresses. Over 150 dresses were donated to Becca’s Closet, an organi-

zation that provides formal dresses for poverty-stricken young women who long to attend their proms, mili-

tary balls, formals, etc. About 60 other dresses were donated to good will. The 183 dresses that have been

successfully collected can now be worn by underprivileged girls who could not otherwise afford to attend

their proms and other occasions.

The next event will be a fundraiser for women who have been sex trafficked which is a critical issue

that deserves recognition. This brand new club is open to any girl who would like to join and make a small

difference by helping other young women. GHG encourages anyone who is interested to contact Nikki

Dombrowski or the adviser, Ms. Tokarski, if they would like to take part in the club. GHG is an easy and

excellent opportunity to help make a difference in the world, so get involved! Girls Helping Girls is the first

step for our community to make that change.

Girls Helping Girls

Help the Environmental Club!

Donate old laptops, toner and ink cartridges, cell phones, and other small electronics such

as digital cameras and GPS devices to be recycled.

The Second Annual Battle of the Grades Recycling Competition will be held in April. Start

saving up those recyclables for a chance to win an ice cream sundae!

The Annual Earth Week Cafeteria Display will include: organic food samples, eco-friendly

personal care product samples, and environmental trivia with plenty of prizes!

This is the logo of the organization

where the dresses were donated.

As teenagers, most of us are looking to stop relying on Mom and Dad and start depending on

ourselves. The usual "Mom, can I have twenty bucks" routine is growing pretty old. So how do we

learn to stand on our own two feet after all this time? We get part-time jobs.

The students of Becton Regional High School are lucky to live in two towns with a plethora of

local businesses that are willing to hire teenagers. Now, as minors, we can't complain too much about

making minimum wage. It pays for lunch and it pays for gas. But what would we all say if the mini-

mum wage of $7.25 per hour was hiked up to $10.10?

For months now, President Barack Obama has wanted to raise the minimum wage as it stands

on the Democratic platform. When asked about raising the minimum wage, Obama stated, “It's com-

mon sense, that's all I'm trying to say. It's just common sense.” The increase in the minimum wage

will greatly benefit many Americans. Obama believes that raising the minimum wage will help out

28 million people.

Of course that is not just 28 million students in high school. This will also affect many college

students and adults working on a minimum wage salary. For these adults, the increase in the mini-

mum wage will surely make it easier to pay for lunch, gas, and the bills.

Despite the many benefits, increasing the minimum wage can also have some negative im-

pacts, as presented by the Republicans. Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Speaker of the House John

Boehner (R-OH) stated, “We know beyond dispute that raising the minimum wage will destroy jobs

for people who need them the most. When folks are still struggling to find work in this economy,

why would we make that any harder?”

So what's the verdict? Do we raise the minimum wage and support those trying to make ends

meet or do we keep the minimum wage as it is and prevent the possible loss of several jobs? Let us

know at catseyeview@bectonhs.org

Cat’s Eye View Staff

Editors Writers Photography Faculty Adviser

Rebecca Sass Jamie Scangarella Prarthana Rajai Bill Carr

Miranda Febus Devyn DiMeola Carlo Maucione

Renee Kochinski Rebecca Cruz

Sharon Skeahan Kerolos Aziz Questions or Comments? Email us!

Akemi Yara Ayah Suleiman catseyeview@bectonhs.org

Miranda Febus

David Stoltz

Editorial Syllabification: ed·i·to·ri·al. Pronunciation: ediˈtôrēəl

Of or relating to the part of a newspaper or magazine that contains news, information, or comment as opposed to advertising.