The Beacon

A Student Publication of Shore Regional High School

Volume 50, Issue 4 Spring 2013

IN THIS ISSUE:Shore HighlightsGreat things happen at Shore everyday! Check out some highlights. See Pages 2

School News

Living

Sports

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Meet Mr. FarrellBy Jake Friedland

Do You Have Devils Pride?Check in with our Spring sport teams. See Page 4

As one sits down with Mr. Tom Farrell, Shore Region-al’s new Superintendent, the word that first comes to mind is dedication. Mr. Farrell has spent approximately fifteen years educating both col-lege students and high school students alike. After obtaining his Economics degree from Syracuse University he went on to obtain his MBA from

Monmouth University. Mr. Farrell has been both teacher and coach in a multitude of school districts and is currently work-ing towards receiving his doctorate in Leadership at Creighton University. When asked what he likes best about SRHS thus far, Mr. Farrell confidently replied that he is very excited to work with the staff and students of Shore Regional as well as the various other districts that he will be overseeing. He enjoys being the Superintendent at a small school because it allows him to meet face to face with the faculty and students. He looks forward to reaching out to students and frequently comments on the mportance of his “Students First” philosophy. Mr. Farrell commented that “our vision for the District is to produce altruistic graduates that are lifelong learners.” Mr. Farrell’s goal is not just to introduce a very high standard for test scores; it is to produce fully functioning members of so-ciety that give back to their community. In the near future Mr. Farrell intends to incorporate a more competitive atmosphere in the classroom, and do away with the name “extracurricular”. He believes that every activity or sport outside of school is “co-curricular” because it shapes who you are as a person, and also as a member of society. Mr. Farrell’s parting comment was, “If I can help, in just one small way, to move the districts forward, then my goal will be accomplished.” The Shore Regional com-munity welcomes Mr. Farrell and wishes him great success in all of his endeavors.

Students Of The Month Shore’s “Student of the Month” program celebrates individual achievements by creating a culture of learning that values academic success and elevates awareness of student contributions to the Shore community at large. February’s honorees are Laura Phillips and Michael McArdle. March’s honorees are Emily Reiser and Ed

Garrigal. April’s honorees are Jack Donegan and Megen Wellinghorst.

Ms. McGowan has been my swim coach for the last four years and we know each other very well. She is a great coach and swim-ming would not be the same without her [and] Mrs. Ross has always been an amazing teacher and advisor.

Growing up, I have been fortunate enough to have had amazing teachers that have poured their heart and souls into making me an outstanding student and person. To narrow it down to only one, I would have to pick Mrs. Ross. She is constantly working to make not only me, but all of her stu-dents the best they can be.

The teacher that has had the most impact on me has been Mrs. Burley, my history teacher for both freshman and junior year, because as my teacher and my coach she has encouraged me to strive for my best no matter what the circumstances. dedicated.

The teachers who have impact-ed me the most are Mr. Ker and Mr. Santangelo. They’ve both encouraged me to work hard and pursue my goals. I really enjoyed both of their classes.

All of my teachers have impacted me. If some had to impact me more than others, I would say my previous science teachers (Mrs. Mur-ray, Mr. Santangelo, Mr. Aprahamian, and Ms. Aue) and my art teachers (Mrs. Hall and Mrs. Bertolami). Their personalities inspired me to also be the fun-loving guy that I am.

Farewell, Ms. LaPreteBy STAFF

Ms. Renae LaPrete has served as the Intermim Superintendent of Shore Regional High School since the Fall of 2011. Through her guidance and professional-ism, the Shore Regional Com-munity has weathered their most trying times as a result of SuperStorm Sandy.Miss LaPrete came to us with much experience, previously serving as the Assistant Principal and

Principal of Rahway High School, Union County, and the As-sistant Superintendent in Hazlet, Monmouth County. She also served for two years as Interim Superintendent for the Clark Public Schools, Union County. The Shore Regional community thanks Ms. LaPrete for her dedicated service to our students, faculty and staff.

Guess Who!See if you can guess the baby pictures of Shore’s facultySee Page 3

My role model has always been my sister Blake. She inspires me to be the best that I can be and is always there for me when I need someone to talk to.

2 The Beacon Spring 2013

School News

SHORE REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Board of EducationRonald O’Neill, President

Paul Rolleri, Vice PresidentDavid Baker

Beth J. GarrigalMary Lynn MangoSusana MarksonDiane K. Merla

Frank J. PingitoreTadeusz “Ted” Szczurek

AdministrationSuperintendent: Thomas Farrell

Business Administrator: Dennis W. Kotch, CPAPrincipal: Vincent G. DalliCardillo

Assistant Principal: Harry S. Chebookjian, IIIDirector of Athletics: Nicholas Ciambrone

Director of Curriculum & Instruction: Bruce PrestonDirector of Student Personnel Services: Jon Warner

The Beacon StaffAdvisor: Mrs. Victoria KoontzAdvisor: Ms. Victoria CavetDesign Editor: Jenna Wyatt

Contributors: Jessica Kwok, Annie Siegel, Jake Friedland, Mrs. Bertolami, Ms. DePinho, Mrs. Gilbert, Mr.Labush, Ms.

McGowen, Mrs. Mooney, and Mr. Pryor.

The Beacon is published several times a year by the students at SRHS, West Long Branch, New Jersey. The staff encourages letters and editorials from interested readers. Items for possible publication should be submitted to The Beacon Staff, c/o Victoria Cavet, Room A-10Shore Regional High School.

The views and opinions expressed in this paper do not necessarily repre-sent those of the staff or the administration of Shore Regional High School.

Do you need something to look forward to?

*Check out these upcoming events!*

Final ExamsJune 24th-27th

GraduationJune 28th

Senior AwardsJune 5th

Senior PromJune 7th

Volleyball Tournament

June 13th

The F.O.R. Club and Conqueer Cancer club ran the first annual”Shore’s Got Talent” Talent Show on April 18th, 2013. Tons of fun was had by all and they hope to continue this in the future.

The Sophomore class had their Sophomore Carnival at the West Long Branch community center on May 18th, 2013.

Interact had their annual Student Faculty Basketball game on April 23, 2013. The students were victorious in the game. Interact raised $345.00 to Kick Cancer Overboard.

Recently, SADD secretary, Kelly Brody, and Mrs. Czajowski went to the 94.3 station to guest DJ and talk about what is happening here at Shore Regional. The SADD executive board hopes to return to the sta-tion, before the end of the year.

At Battle of The Classes, students signed a pledge aganist texting and driving and entered in a raffle to win tickets to see Bruno Mars this summer at PNC Arts Center in Holmdel. The concert ticket winners was Senior, Kara Cassale.

On June 3rd SADD will be bringing in guest speaker Jacy Good to speak with underclassmen. She will also make a presentation for Senior Prom attendees and their parents that same night.

The Beacon staff is firing up to publish the Senior edtion of the news-paper. Seniors- be sure to check your emails daily for important surveys and notices.

Students from The Great Books Group travelled to England and Scot-land over Spring Break . They saw everything from Shakespeare’s birth place to Westminster Abbey.

Let’s Go Clubbing!Your guide to Shore’s clubs and activities

Congratulations Mrs. KoontzBy JENNA WYATT

Each year teachers are nominated by their collagues, board members, and a panel of educa-tional professionals to award a teacher with the great honor of be-ing the “Teacher of the Year”. The Board of Eduaction and the faculty and staff of Shore Regional High School congratulate Mrs. Victoria Koontz on being slected as the Shore Regional High School 2012-2013 Teacher of the Year. In celebration of this rec-ognition, Mrs. Koontz represented

Shore Regional as an honoree at the Governor’s Teacher Recognition Luncheon on May 17, 2013 in Shrewsbery. Mrs. Koontz is an English teacher loved by all, in addition to be-ing the advisor for both The Beacon newspaper and the Interact club. She is a woman who is truly passionate about what she does. Koontz influ-ences her students to work hard and have a positive attitude, referring to her classroom as a “classroom of kindness.” Mrs. Koontz recieved her undergraduate degree at Loyola Univer-ity and began her professional career working in Public Relations. Dur-ing her work in P.R., she realized that her passion was in education. She then obtained a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Monmouth University and became an English teacher here at Shore Regional in 2009. We are so happy to have her here at Shore Regional High School and we know that she will continue to touch many student lives in years to come.

Spring 2013 The Beacon 3

LivingGuess Who?

By JESSICA KWOKSee if you can figure out which teachers are featured in these throwback pictures. Answers can be found below.

Spring HoroscopesBy ANNIE SIEGEL

Gemini (May 21st- June 20th):You may feel more emotional this season, but this will help you high-light your talents and work better with others. Your workload is a bit more relaxed this spring, which will motivate you to do better with what you have.

Cancer (June 21st-July 22nd):Your confidence will shine through to all of your relationships and will let you make positive changes in your life. You will also work extreme-ly well with others this month, as you may need their help.

Leo (July 23rd-August 22nd): This month, you will be extremely passionate in everything you do. You won’t let anything hold you back, nor will you take no for an answer.

Virgo (August 23rd-Spetember 22nd):Spring will make you extremely emotional and sentimental, though things will most likely work themselves out. Communication is key this season!

Libra (September 23rd- October 22nd):This season is all about strategies and decisions, whether it’s about school projects, or relationships with friends, so make sure you think critically about your actions.

Scorpio (October 22nd-November 21st):Your relationships will flourish effortlessly this season, but you may have a tendency to slack in your work ethic. Try to stay focused and stick to your schedule!

Sagittarius (November 22nd-December 21st):The first half of spring may not have been too exciting for you, but the second half will bring new projects and opportunities for you to enjoy.

Capricorn (December 22nd-January 19th):A lot of important events may go on this season, allowing you to be very social and amiable to others. This will also allow you to further develop your relationships with others.

Aquarius (January 20th-Feburary 18th):This season you will naturally be more apt to stand strong in your opin-ions and views, but try to sympathize with others or you may come on too harshly.

Pisces (February19th- March 20th):Spring will bring you a busy schedule that may seem hectic at times, but it will also bring you new friends full of charm and new ideas, al-lowing you to broaden your horizons.

Aries (March 21st-April 19th): This month you will have hard decisions to make concerning long-term events and relationships. You will also have plenty of energy allowing you to do extra activities.

Taurus (April 20th- May 20th):Spring brings warmth and light to your relationships, allowing you to be more charming to others. It will also bring recognition to your mer-its if you have been working hard on a project lately.

A.

B.

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D.

E.

F.

G. H.

Answers:A. Mrs. BertolamiB. Ms. DePinhoC. Mrs. GilbertD. Mrs. KoontzE. Mr. Labush

F. Mrs. MooneyG. Mr. Pryor

H. Ms. McGowen Shore Regional High School seniors helped Sea Bright in its last-minute preparations for Memorial Day on Monday by clean-ing up debris and helping in beatification efforts.Rob Spahr / NJ.com

4 The Beacon Spring 2013

SportsTalking About Spring Sports

By JESSICA KWOKWe asked each Spring Sports team what their strengths were this season:

BaseballCoaches: Patrick O’NeillCaptains: Mike Blaney and TJ Sempkowski“It may sound cliche, but there really is a lot to like about our team this season. When we have everyone on the field, and healthy, we are tough to beat. We have a pitching staff with three really good pitchers (Mike Blaney, Matt Cosentino, and Chris Vaccaro) along with a potent lineup that puts up a lot of runs. We have the privilege of playing in the “A” Central where we are constantly playing schools that are much larger than us and we compete day in and day out. Though our record may not show it at this point in time, we are a tough team to beat. As we get hot at the end of the season, look for us to be a tough out come State Tourna-ment time.” -TJ Sempkowski

Boys LacrosseCoaches: Mr. Malfa and Mr. CostantinoCaptains: Mark Costantino, Andrew Johnsen, Jack Kelly, and Jesse Phalanukorn“Some strengths this year are that we have a huge group of return-ing seniors that have either played or started varsity since the opening sophomore season. We have a lot more experience then when we first began and a great deal of team chemistry that has been built up over the past few seasons. All of our players are also very dedicated and support-ive to the team and work very well together. Also our coaching staff, head coach Malfa and assistant coach Cos, have really been working and pushing us to achieve our fullest potential and perform the way that they know we can as individuals and as a team. We are lucky to have a very solid goalie, and middies and attack men that push to their limit to win games. “ -Jesse Phalanukorn

Boys TennisCoaches: Jason VastanoCaptains: Alex Holderness and Derek Moore“Our strength is our returning line up of four, senior varsity starters. We did not lose anyone from the previous year, plus, we actually gained two new starters in the doubles spot.” -Alex Holderness

Girls LacrosseCoaches: Coach Blanchard and Mr. Dudzinski Captains: Claudia Lamarca and Toni Roma“Although we lost many of our significant players last year, we have many new up and coming players in addition to our returning varsity team. Despite our record, our team has tons of determination and we strive to be the best no matter how many times we get knocked down. We are definitely strong defensively, and we have many offensive players with skill. Out of our team, 5 are currently committed to colleges for lacrosse, we will miss them, but in the meantime come and support Shore’s Girls Lacrosse.” -Taylor Caldwell

GolfCoaches: Mr. WhitacreCaptains: Mark Massaro

SoftballCoaches: Mr. Santangelo and Mr. PortaCaptains: Abbey Wortman

“The strengths of the softball team this year is that we have a lot of re-turning players and although some of us are playing in new positions we all mesh well as a team and work really well together.” -Abbey Wortman

Spring Track and Field:Coaches: Mel Ullmeyer, Mr. Re-medios, Mr. Pede, and Mr. DohertyGirls’ Captains: Cailyn McGrath, Laura Phillips, Francesca WeinerBoys’ Captains: John Bazley, Mike Flood, Mike Hurley, Andrew Mahon, Jeff Morse, and Chad Pat-ton“One of the strengths of the team is that we have a lot of great, hard working individuals that are will-ing to work for their goals. Every-body excels in their own event, but the combination of personal talent with the determination during the workouts and the willingness to help each other learn, definitely strengthens the team.” -Francesca Weiner