The StannerVol. 50, No. 4 Archbishop Molloy High School December 2006

It’s Christmastime againMulticulturalTree-TrimmingBy Tatiana Nunez Archbishop Molloy’s annualMulticultural Christmas Tree-TrimmingParty, sponsored by the French andIndian Clubs, was held Dec. 1 in theschool library. The tree, which was first created in2003 by Ms. Dorothy DeNoto, theschool librarian, is decorated with avariety of ornaments, both handmadeand store-bought, and with red, white,and green lights provided by the ItalianClub. All of Molloy’s cultural clubs wereinvolved in decorating the tree. “The complete mixture ofdecorations represents the diversity ofthe school, “ Ms. DeNoto said. “Itcreates an aura of togetherness.” Nima Vyas, junior classrepresentative of the Indian Club,enjoyed decorating the tree because,“You get to interact with differentcultures and expand your horizons.” Ms. DeNoto, who moderates boththe French and Indian Clubs, said thatseniors Cassandre Kernizan, BiancaNeptune, Mary Perez, AndrewSiconolfi, and Angela Tso deservedspecial recognition for their effortsdesigning and decorating the tree. Junior Amarjit Singh liked the partybecause, “I enjoy working with andmeeting new people.”

Liturgy hearsGod’s voiceBy Faith Conlon andMirela Mohan The Christmas Liturgy, whose themewill focus on hearing God’s voice whilewe’re in darkness and His being ourlight, will take place in the Jack CurranGym on Dec. 21 with Father FrankShannon as the celebrant. The Liturgy Committee designed theservice under the supervision ofmoderators Ms. Mary Pat Gannon andMr. Mike Germano. “All 22 members have beenphenonmenal in so many differentways,” said Mr. Germano. Planning a liturgy is not at all easy. Every year the committee must comeup with a new theme so as not torepeat itself. Last year’s Christmasliturgy theme was “Continuing on OurJourney,” like those of Mary andJoseph, the shepherds, and the Magi. Both moderators agree that planninga liturgy can get a little hectic — makingthe decorations, writing skits, andagreeing on an overall theme are allchallenges discussed at the committee’splanning meetings. The organization of the liturgy and theunique “spin” the committee puts on it“do take a bit of figuring out,” said Ms.Gannon. Mr. Germano said that the quicktransition from last month’sThanksgiving liturgy to the Christmasliturgy is a bit nerve-racking. Juniors Alexis Burgos and SebastianVelez both enjoy being part of theLiturgy Committee. Burgos said thather favorite part is making skitsbecause is makes serious topics reallyfunny and enjoyable. The Thanksgiving liturgy had a hugeturnout from both students and alumni.Velez said he found Mr. ChrisDougherty’s speech at that liturgy verymoving. Mr. Germano said the incredibleturnout last month says a lot about whatit means to be a Stanner. The committee hopes this liturgy willbe as successful as last month’s was.

By Jen McCabe After weeks of practice, MolloyBand Director Mr. Gregory Leonardoand his musicians felt certain their annualChristmas Show Dec. 14 in the JackCurran Gym would be great. “We have had to work very hardevery practice to be ready for theshow,” said sophomore clarinetistZuzanna Michalak a few days beforethe concert, “ but I’m excited for thework to pay off, and I think it will be agreat show.” The band members that have reallystood out during rehearsals, accordingto Mr. Leonardo, are Band President,senior Heather Wellbrock, who playstrombone, and Band Vice President,senior Peter Stamm, who playspercussion. Among the seven Christmas songsplayed at the show, “Funky Ole’ St.Nick” featured solo performances from

senior Bianca Neptune and sophomoreDavid Olusoga, both on alto sax, seniorTom Lynch on drums, senior Risa Suselon trumpet, and Wellbrock and seniorBeth Terranova, both on trombone. Also performing under Mr.Leonardo’s direction were theFreshmen-Sophomore Chorus, whosang “All is Merry and All is Bright,”“The Snow Lay on the Ground,” and“Alegria,” “A Christmas Lullaby,” “MyWish For You This Christmas,” “DingDong Merrily on High” and “O HolyNight,” in which sophomore ConnorHubbard performed a solo.

By Jacqueline Cosse Led by returning soloists JoeDujmovic and Megan Boyle, Molloy’sJunior-Senior Chorus performed aseries of yuletide carols at the annualChristmas Concert on Dec. 14 in theJack Curran Gym.

Dujmovic sang a solo in “WhiteChristmas,” while Boyle sang a solo in“What Child is This?” Chorus Director Mr. Jim Sheehanwas also pleased with the effort of juniorLaura Fontanills, who made her debutas a soloist on “Have Yourself a MerryLittle Christmas.” Among the other soloists performingwere senior Hendryx Silva on “TheChristmas Song,” seniors JessicaDonelson, Roby Abraham, and DeannaGulmezian on “Do You Hear What IHear?,” seniors Sara Downey, AngelaTso, Sonia Sakhrani and junior EvelynAlcove on “Coventry Carol,” seniorLydia Howrilka and junior VanessaMeyerhoefer on “Sleigh Ride.” SeniorGeraldine Carames sang “For Us aChild.” at the sophomore assembly onDec. 13. The chorus rehearsed for weeksbefore the show in order to perfect theirperformances, Mr. Sheehan said.

continued on page 3

Christmas concert features band and chorusBand gets ‘funky’

Soloists abound Christmas featureshappy feet: Thedance club’s 4thannual Christmasconcert. See page 3

The Indian and French clubs played host to the annual MulticulturalChristmas Tree-Trimming party. (Photo by Kristi Tezha.)

The StannerVolume 50, Number 4

Editor-in-Chief: Kim SeilerPhotography Editor: Fernando OrtizCopy Editors: Stephanie Almache, Megan Boyle,

Melanie Dostis, Ray Ferreira,Allie Reisch

Production Staff: Stephanie Almache, Ray Ferreira,Melanie Dostis, Allie Reisch

Technical Supervisor: Mr.. Tom HarrisonPhotography Club Moderator: Ms. Jeanne LongeranoStanner Moderator: Mr. Charley McKennaPublisher: Bro. Roy George

The Stanner aims for the highest levelof accuracy in its stories. If you noticean error or have a concern, send anemail to Mr. Charley McKenna at:thestanner@molloyhs.org. Please note the following correctionsto an error made in Volume 50,Number 3: The official title of Mr. Ed Cameronwas incorrect in the Letters to the Editorsection. He is a member of the SocialStudies Dept.

Corrections

We all know what it is like to live ona teenager’s budget. Many of us spendlong hours working after-school jobsto finally receive a paycheck that wecan call our own and not depend solelyon our parents for money. If, like many Stanners, you areresponsible for buying your own schoolsupplies, then you know what a dent inyour limited budget it can create. Many juniors, for example, will buybooks for English class, a SAT book,five Regents prep books, and a coupleof AP review “bibles,” all of which costsabout $150. Suddenly, that money we once calledour own quickly disappears. So it’s about time students starteddoing something that will help them savemoney and help the environment as well. Let’s start re-using the paperbackbooks we all buy for English class. It amazes us that year after year,many copies of “The Great Santini,”“Macbeth” and “Athletic Shorts,” —just to name a few — end up in thetrashcan at the end of June. Not only is our hard-earned moneybeing lost, these practically brand-newbooks are just thrown out when theycould easily be used by another student. What a waste. Most of us are not among those luckypeople who received hand-me-downbooks from an older sibling in the

school. So why can’t we set up asystem where all of us give hand-me-down books to the younger Stanners? Teachers such as Mr. Joe Smith haveset up a program to address thisproblem. He asks his English 10 and11 students give him the paperbackbooks they do not want to keep andreceive extra credit for their kindness.Mr. Smith then keeps the books in hisroom to be used by future classes. Now, some might argue that thosewho spend their own money to buybooks needed for English class wouldbe foolish to just give them up forstudents who would also need thesebooks in the following years. But in thelong run, it isn’t. Giving back the books we buywouldn’t be a hardship because themajority of us probably won’t crackopen ever again most of those booksonce we read them once for Englishclass. After all, what happens to thesealmost brand-new books anyway?They are lost, thrown away, or gatherdust on a shelf. Wouldn’t it be better to give themback to your English teacher and nothave to deal with those books piling upin your lockers or at home? If all Stanners began to return theirused books to their teachers, eventuallymost of us would no longer have tospend so much money on paperbacks

because our teachers would be able tooffer us used copies of “The Catcher inthe Rye” or “The Great Gatsby.” Eventually, enough books would bedonated that the entire class would notneed to buy the books required. It is awin-win situation for all. Two Stanners voiced their opinionson this issue at a recent Student Councilmeeting. Because the reading lists ofmany English teachers don’t changevery much from year to year, thesestudents asked why couldn’t the EnglishDept. implement a department-wideused book donation process. How would this work?

When a class is finished with a book,the teacher would collect the books,store them in labeled boxes and bringthem down to the empty crawl spacein the basement below the gym floorfor safekeeping. Then, the followingyear, those teachers can offer anystudent who wants one a used copy ofeach book. Many trees would be saved andmany students would be richer for it— in more ways than one.

—Joseph Dujmovic andCaitlin Gambill

Exorbitant book costs warrant used book library

Letters to the Editor The Stanner welcomes all lettersto the editor that respond to any ofthe articles published in previous is-sues. In a short letter, voice your con-cerns, comments or opinions. Sendyour letters to the stanner atthestanner@molloyhs.org. TheStanner reserves the right to edit allletters to conform to space capacityand paper policy. Thank you for yourinvolvement.

I wish I could swap my car keys fora Metrocard. But I can’t. I’m an addict.Every Wednesday and Thursdaymorning, I listen closely to the radiotraffic reports, tuning out the delays onthe GWB and the accident on thewestbound side of the LIE, and listenfor the final statement that confirms myworst fears: “Alternate side of the streetparking is in effect today.” Driving as fast as speed limits allow,I strategize where there might be aparking space in the street surroundingMolloy. Circling the backstreets aroundschool, I don’t look for empty curbs. Ilearned in September that on alternateside of the street days any empty spotis really just a driveway or fire hydrant.Instead, I look for people walking totheir cars or brake lights of cars aboutto pull away from the curb. So why do I put myself through all

this every day? It’s because I’maddicted to driving to school. Once you drive to school on anormal parking day, first easily findinga parking space on Main Street, andthen arriving home just minutes afterleaving school, you will be hooked, too.Those nerve-racking mornings ofdriving around for 45 minutes will beforgotten that same afternoon as youenjoy the time you saved from not takingthe train. When I first got my car, I thought Iwould only drive on Mondays,Tuesdays, and Fridays. Yet within aweek I was scouring the neighborhoodon Wednesdays and Thursdays,weighing the legality of various potentialparking spots. I envy those people who can alternatebetween car and bus or subway,especially on those alternate side of thestreet days when I arrive at school only

to see all my backup parking spacesalready occupied. But then I hear the horror stories ofother addicts, and my problems don’tseem so bad. Take senior Phil Shapiro, who livesin Howard Beach and alots an extra25 minutes to find parking on alternateside of the street days. He once had topark at 139th St. and Coolidge on aparticularly brutal day. Why does he forego that extra sleeptime to look for parking? “After schoolI get home a lot faster,” said Shapiro,who would spend 60 minutes gettinghome on public transportation. Driving to school doesn’t really makesense for senior Ali Salameh. He livesin Forest Hills, just a 10-minute rideaway on the F train. Yet he wakes up45 minutes early to drive every day,

even though he’s been late at least fivetimes due to parking problems. Why does he do it? “I hate thetrains,” he said. Ask a senior his or her worst parkingmorning and the stories are varied andplentiful. Senior Johnny Keaney onceparked behind the cemetery acrossQueens Blvd. and had to run to schoolto avoid being late. Sometimes, particularly on alternateside of the street days, I envy peoplewho catch the same train every day,knowing they will be at school on time.But that feeling doesn’t last. So grumble as I do about findingparking, I can’t go back to taking threesubway trains to school. I accept myaddiction and look forward to June.

--Kim Seiler

I just can’t quit you, my Chevy Aveo

By Tara Gildea The Dance Club presented its fourthannual Christmas Dance Concert,which featured many genres of dance,including jazz, hip hop, funk, andmodern, on Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in theJack Curran Gym. Performers from the Dance Club,Dance Team, Asian Club, French Club,Boys and Girls Step Teams providedthe bulk of the evening’s entertainment.The Dance Team dedicated itsperformance to the memory of Mr.Ronald F. Bello, the late father of teammember Alexandra Bello. The concert also featured musicalperformances by Molloy’s Pipe &Drum Corps and the “Christmas SuperGroup Band” made up of seniors fromvarious rock bands. In the weeks leading up to theconcert, Dance Club members filledmany third floor classrooms working ontheir routines. “Despite limited rehearsal space andlack of equipment, you should expectthe best quality of performance,” Dancemoderator Ms. Elizabeth Murdoccasaid a few days before the show. “The rehearsals have been fantastic,”she said. “We have had greatattendance, energy, and student help.We expect this to be the best showyet.” Dance Team captain AlessandraRannazzisi and Dance Club captainKate DeMarco also were very happywith the rehearsals. “The dancers are willing to cometwice a week,” said Rannazzisi. “Havingmirrors this year make practices moreefficient. The club members are also

dedicated and very helpful. They’remore organized, partly because wehave a classroom to practice in now[instead of the hallway as in years past].”General admission tickets were $5,Molloy student admission was $1 andkids under five were free.Dance Club performers: “Christmas Rewind”: Liz Ferraro,Alexandra Landivar, Nadina Latchman,Daphne Lui, Regine Marquez, KaterinneMariano, Daniela Morrone, Jen Morrisey,Gerri Paul, Rosa Rizzo, Alyssa Rochat,Christiana Terborg, Ruth Villagra, Cathy Zhu. “Santa Hooked Me Up”: Joan Albelardo,Caroline Abikaram, Natalia Dudek; SylwiaMackiewicz, Sandra Olech, JeannetteOrtega, Natalie Paret, Natalie Rivera, TracyRodgriguez, Lais Santos, KatarzynaTopczewska, Jackie Vargas. “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays”:Melissa Gangi, Margaret Mrzyk, NicoleRaffloer, Emilie Rosano, Jillian Ruggiere. “Sock It to Me, Santa”: AshleyAnderson, Liana Angrisani, Victoria Barrett,Sabina Grech, Melissa Hannon, KristenHimmelberg, Grace Lisandrelli, JillNickerauer, Angela Nolan, Joanna Santos,Christine Sito, Laurie Wick. “Christmas Collage”: Justine Bello,Jeannette Bocklage; Martyna Buczek,Gabrielle Cassese, Danielle DelGrosso, KateDeMarco, Angela Falco, Melissa Gazal,Andrea Kausch, Jen LoCascio, ElyssaNoblesala, Alessandra Rannazzisi, AnnaMaria Smeraldi. “Eight Days of Christmas”: Maria Akay,Amanda Angad, Shaheeda Anif, NicoleCommisso, Valentina DiGiangi, MonicaDluzniewski, Michelle Eichorst, Kim Falco,Lauren Kalma, Stephanie Kotnik, CaitlinLawlor, Kerry McDonald, Kaitlin Motley,Julie O’Lansen, Dominique Ruggiero,Dorota Sawicki, Gabriella Scalzo, CassandraSchneller, Mary Kate Schwerdt, KimberlySeoane, Alyssa Shahzaman, Jillian Sheehan,Elizabeth Shelly. Dance Team: Alessandra Rannazzisi,

Alexandra Bello, Justine Bello, BrittanyBieber, Fran Capitelli, Alexandra Fabilli,Angela Falco, Jennifer LoCascio, MarissaNostrano, Julie O’Lansen, StephanieRiccardi, Gabriella Scalzo, Alyssa Tallini.Asian Club: Kristen Cadacio and KatiJohnson (co-captains), Justine Bello, AlexisBurgos, Joyce Callada, Denise Calma,Theresa Cervantes, Christina Chiu, Orellanadel Fierro, Kirklyn Escondo, MarissaGirraputo, Katie Mariano, Regine Marquez,Elyssa Noblesala, Angela Tso, TiffanyYeung, Catt Yiu. French Club: Bianca Neptune (captain),Michael Acoba, Frank Gentile, CassandreKernizan, Mary Perez, Matthew Poon, EricaRodriguez, Andrew Sicolnofi, Stephen Silva,Catherine Soderberg, Mica Tan, DianaTrent, Angela Tso, Yvette Villanueva, MaryCatherine Wen. Boys Step Team: Alvin Dimalanta andJason DelPilar (co-captains), Richard

Christmas features happy feet

Cadena, Andrew Castillo, John Cruz, JustinMare, Muller Pierre-Louis, Brian Rodriguez,Gavin Spence, Christian Ventura. Girls Step Team: Malika Langaigne andTenisha McDonald (co-captains), NicoleAmbrose, Amanda Carrasquillo, CailinChang, Michelle De Silva, Ndome Essoka,Janice Isidro, Tosin Jolaoso, Claire Mahon,Bianca Neptune, Gerri Paul, Mary Perez,Brandi Wilson. Pipe & Drum Corps: Heather Ditroia,Brittany Dombrowski, Kevin Doyle,Kathleen Madden, John Maguire, JoeMcCarthy, Sean Towey, Kevin Carberry,Mike Conley, John Maldonado, KirkMutafopulos, Laura Sawyer, Zullay Yepes.Christmas Super Group: Mark Giernicki,Deanna Gulmezian, Zachary Kramer,Thomas Lynch, Robert Nappi, JohnSaladino, Adam User, Timothy Viani.

By Priam Saywack Archbishop Molloy’s ScienceOlympiad team is busy this monthresearching their subject matter andconstructing their robots and cars inpreparation for the city competition inFeb. 10th at Grover Cleveland HighSchool. The interscholastic competition,open to all public, private, andparochial school students in New YorkCity, will feature various eventsinvolving biology, chemistry, physics,earth science, and engineering. Events will include “Sumo Bots,” inwhich student-built robots try to forceother student-built robots outside ofthe playing field, and “Scrambler,” inwhich an egg is placed in front astudent-built vehicle with an automaticbraking mechanism that must stop thevehicle before the egg breaks byhitting a wall. Molloy placed first in“Scrambler” in last year’s citycompetition and senior Victor Lipnickireturns to defend his title with a newpartner, sophomore Kyle Hounsell.

A team’s overall ranking in thecompetition is determined by pointsassigned based upon how well the teamperforms in individual events.Therefore, it is important to do well ina wide range of events, said Sci-OlyModerator Mr. Mike DeMarco. In the 20 years the team hascompeted at the city level, it hasqualified for the state competition 17times and has consistently been the bestparochial school. Last year in the city competition, theteam placed fourth among 37 schoolscompeting, earning a place in the statecompetition. “Our goal this year is togain respect from other teams and makestates,” said Mr. DeMarco. Despite the Science Olympiad team’ssuccess in the city competition, it hasnever placed higher than 12th overallin the state competition, which will beheld at West Point in March. Though trying to be realistic, the teamis optimistic and hopes to bring homeas many city and state medals in

individual events as possible, said Mr.DeMarco. The Science Olympiad teamconsists of 15 students and this yearabout 40 students tried out for sevenopen spots on the team by taking testsin various fields of science. The newcomers who made theteam are: freshman Saahil Trivedi,sophomores Raymond Ferreira,Hounsell, and Jonathan Mangar,juniors Jenny Kochupurackal andKevin Rhodes, and senior AndrewFesler. The returning team members aresophomore Anthony Cagliano,juniors Michael Camardella andKatarina Duzdevich, and seniors TinaKochupurackal, Lipnicki, StevenMontoni, Mary Catherine Wen, andCatherine Zhu. Trivedi, who will be competing inentomology (the study of insects) and“Sumo Bots,” enjoy being a memberof the Science Olympiad teambecause “it’s fun and it’s interesting.”

Molloy’s Science Olympiad reloads for ‘07

The dance club rehearses in third floor classrooms for their performance on December 18. (Photo by Steve Montoni.)

continued from page 1 Junior Alyson Cadena agreed, sayinga few days before the show, “I thinkwe’re doing great. We come togetherreally well and by the time of theconcert, I have no doubt we’ll beawesome.” Other Christmas carols sung by theJunior-Senior Chorus were: “WinterWonderland,” “Silent Night,” Rejoicewith Joyful Song,” and “Let It Snow.”Sara Downey predicted, “This showshould be great. We’ve got the oldfavorites and some lesser known onesto sing.” The Chorus will sing a medley of“Ring On, Christmas Bells,” “O ComeAll Ye Faithful,” “Joy to the World,”“Westminster Carol,” and “Go Tell Iton the Mountain,” with Cadenafeatured as a soloist. Mr. Sheehan was especially pleasedwith the group of juniors who havejoined the chorus this year becauseeven though it is a smaller group thanususal, it features many strong singers. The Freshmen-Sophomore Chorus,under the direction of Mr. GregoryLeonardo, also performed at theChristmas Concert.

Junior-SeniorChorus

By Emily Tansey Molloy’s annual coat drive, organizedby campus ministry director Mr. MikeGermano, donated 510 coats to theBriarwood Shelter and two otherhomeless shelters in Bushwick,Brooklyn last month. Of those 510 coats, 384 were usedcoats donated to the cause by Molloystudents, faculty, and staff while 126new coats were bought from theConway clothing stores in Jamaica withthe $2,600 raised via the homeroommission collections. Representatives from each sheltercame to Molloy to pick up their coats.The top homeroom was homeroom 1B,raising $470, followed by homerooms,3J, 2F, and 2A. Mr. Germano said his nine seniorleaders and 20 other students helpedwith the coat drive by sorting the coats,and promoting the cause to homerooms. The nine seniors were: Dana Blond,Megan Boyle, Dominique Brown,Kristen Cadacio, Steven Jelcic, CaseyMcAuliff, Alessandra Rannazzisi,Stephen Silva, and CatherineSoderberg.

Boyle enjoyed going to help pick outthe new coats that were purchased withhomeroom funds. “It was a good experience,” saidBoyle. “My favorite part was going toConway and picking out the coats, andalso knowing that 510 more people willbe warm this winter.” Blond helped out by going toindividual homerooms to promote thecoat drive and then went with Mr.Germano to buy the coats fromConway. “I got involved because I thought itwas a good cause and wanted to helpmake it a success,” said Blond. Mr. Germano agreed that the 2006coat drive was a success but added, “itcould have gone a little better,” becauseit fell 10 coats short of last year’srecord total and he had hoped to breakthe record this year. “510 coats is still a good number,though,” he said, “and the coats arevery much appreciated.” Mr. Germano expressed his thanksto everyone at Molloy who helpedmake the drive a success.

By Melissa Bhikham There’s a first time for everything and82 Stanners went to the Marist RetreatHouse in Esopus, N.Y., Oct. 27-29 forthe first freshman retreat of the year. Despite the fact that it was a newexperience for all of them, filling up theroster for the first frosh retreat, “wasn’thard at all,” said Bro. John Raeihle, acoordinator of the retreat. “The girls’roster fills up before the boys though,for some strange reason.” Frosh Karen Demarco and MonicaDluzniewski said they heard from upperclass students that the retreats werereally good. They said that any froshwho had prior experience at Esopus forFreshman Camp also were highlymotivated to attend the first froshretreat. The general theme of the frosh retreat,Brother John said, was “acceptingyourself, accepting others, andaccepting God into your life.” There was a variety of activitiesscheduled daily to aid in “communitybuilding, becoming comfortable,enjoying each other, and getting to knoweach other as part of the Molloy family,”Brother John said. The frosh left school at 12:30 p.m.on Friday Oct. 27 and upon arriving atEsopus, they received their group

assignments, had group discussionsand completed their poster projectsthat reflected on everyone’sindividuality, and, of course, played thetraditional game of Flag. Saturday’s activities included moregroup discussions, personal postersbased on the central theme of theretreat, a Reconciliation service, and amass, which all underscored the topicof accepting others and God into theirlives, in addition to a second game ofFlag. On Sunday the frosh all rose frombed to say good bye to Esopus. Demarco said her favorite parts ofthe retreat were the “Reconciliationservice and retreat leaders’ storiesbecause they were really good and Icould relate to them. It was emotionalbecause I knew the leaders.” Demarco said there wasn’t anythingshe didn’t like about the experience.“I love Esopus!” she said. Both Demarco and Dluzniewskirecommended their classmates to goon the next Freshman Retreat, whichwill be held April 27-29. As Bro. John said, “Going on aretreat is one of the most powerfulexperiences you can have while you’reat Molloy. Everyone should go at leastonce.”

By Erin Kenny When the sophomores gathered onDec. 1-3 at the Marist Retreat Housein Esopus, N.Y. for a weekend ofmemorable prayer and experiences, themain hope for the sophomores was thatthey would get to know themselves andtheir classmates better and to deepentheir relationships with God. The sophomore retreat was verydifferent from the freshman retreat asthey were given more time in groupdiscussions, more personal reflectiontime, more talks from upperclassstudents, and a completely differenttheme. The sophomores focused on thetheme: “Come Let Us Adore Him: whoor what are we really worshiping?” The schedule for each day consistedof talks, group sessions, prayer,meditation, and of course, Flag.

Billy Vabrinskas and MelissaObermeier said their favorite part ofEsopus was playing the Flag game. Elizabeth Abikaram said the best partof the retreat was being with her friendsand having a great time. After the weekend, Vabrinskas saidhe felt he was “closer to God,” whileAbrikaram said, “I was able to establishgreat memories and become closer tomyself.” Brother John Raeihle said he enjoyedthe weekend “immensely” and he was“very impressed” with the sophomoresand their relationships with Jesus. Those three sophomores whoattended this retreat recommended thatother sophomores go on the next onein the spring because the retreat is funand, “no matter what, everyday youlearned something new.”

‘06 coat drive falls 10 short of record

From left, seniors Stephen Silva, Catherine Soderberg, DominqueBrown, Kristen Cadacio, and Steven Jelcic gather coats to be do-nated to homeless shelters in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Molloy donated 510coats this year. ( Photo by Bro. Roy George)

Underclass retreats in EsopusFrosh experience theirfirst retreat; acceptance amajor theme of the retreat

Sophomores learn about Godand also themselves on retreat

Sophomores Jackie Ehrhardt, Adriana Pena, Jessica Gavilan enjoythe Esopus tranquility . (Photo by Johnathan Mangar)

By Jeffrey Kasakyan Molloy’s student newspaper, TheStanner, published its December issuein a new office using new equipmentpaid for by funds generated by the 2006Walk-a-thon thanks to the school’sPresident Mr. John Sherry, who wantedto reward the staff for its good work,said Mr. Charley McKenna, thenewspaper’s moderator. Since Mr. McKenna took over withthe December 2005 issue, the staff hadto work after school in the computerlab, which was often noisy, and whichdid not contain many computersoutfitted with the proper software to putout the paper. “Working in the computer lab wasvery difficult due to the limited amountof space and computers available tous,” said Mr. McKenna. “Only onecomputer in the lab was equipped withPhotoshop, which made producing thepaper a lot slower. ” The new office, located opposite themusic room on the Main St. side of theschool building, contains five new

computers, all equipped with the twonecessary desktop publishingprograms, PageMaker and Photoshop,a new printer and a new scanner. “The Stanner finally has a home,”said Editor-in-Chief Kim Seiler, asenior. “Instead of being spread outacross the computer lab trying to claimspecific machines for ourselves, wenow have the correct equipment to putout a paper quickly and efficiently.” Mr. Sherry first approached Mr.McKenna last spring with the idea ofrewarding The Stanner staff for itssuccess in putting out the newspaperon a monthly basis for the first time indecades by giving the staff its ownoffice. The room was cleaned during thesummer months and the computersinstalled in November, one month afterthe Walk-a-thon. “Thanks to the new room andequipment, the paper will be put outmuch more efficiently and the staff’s lifewill be much improved,” said Mr.

McKenna, who added that the officehaving file space and desks where copyeditors can work are luxuries his staff

has never had before. Marlon Nepomuceno alsocontributed to this story.

The Stanner gets Walk-a-thon reward

The Stanner’s new office features five new computers which arebeing worked on, from left, copy editors Melanie Dostis, StephanieAlmache, Ray Ferreira, Allie Reisch, and Editor - in -Chief KimSeiler. (Photo by Steven Montoni.)

By Vanessa Meyerhoefer Due to the size of Molloy’s Class of2007, the college application deadlinefor this year’s senior class was Nov.13, the earliest in school history, saidcollege guidance councilor Mr. KerryHughes. The earlier deadline did not seem tobother this year’s senior class becauseMr. Hughes said that in his 25 years asMolloy’s college councilor, “this yearthe seniors have been the best in regardsto finishing their applications not onlyon time, but correctly.” In the past, the deadline had been inearly December, but Molloy’s collegeguidance dept. moved the deadline upbecause it didn’t want to rush throughthe applications of this year’s 400seniors who have applied to morecolleges than any other Molloygraduating class in history. The Class of 2007 is among thelargest in recent Molloy history with 40more students than last year and theaverage senior this year applied tobetween seven and 10 differentcolleges or universities. With all these extra applications, Mr.Hughes and Ms. Joan McCabe of thecollege guidance dept. needed extratime to review each application to catchany mistakes students may have madeon their applications. The college application process neverfails to be time consuming for Mr.Hughes as each application needs tobe reviewed and then teacherrecommendations are gathered togetherto be sent to the college with each

application. As a final step, Mr. Hughesmust take a few minutes to fill out theschool report that goes with eachapplication. The Class of 2007 has adjusted wellwith the new deadline, with 95 percentof seniors bringing in their applicationson time. The other five percent receiveddeadline extensions of three to four daysbecause Mr. Hughes said the collegeguidance dept. at Molloy “arereasonable people.” To receive a deadline extension,seniors had to tell Mr. Hughes thecircumstances of their specific casesprior to the Nov. 13 deadline. With all the applications now in, Mr.Hughes said he has spotted some trendswithin the Class of 2007 such as, “alarger number of seniors applying to thebest and most competitive colleges thanever before.” Though the seniors are aiming highthis year, they also kept a realisticoutlook by applying to safety schoolsin addition to their favorite colleges, Mr.Hughes said. Seniors who were participating incertain colleges’ early-decisionapplication process had to turn in theirapplications by mid-October. Mr. Hughes said the Nov. 13 collegeapplication deadline will remain in placefor the Class of 2008 and beyond. Senior Tim Hanna, who applied toseven colleges, thought that, “gettingeverything right and in on time was thehardest part in the long and aggravating

process of college applications.Nomatter what you do, it never seemsright.” Senior Christine McGrory had noproblem with the new, earlier deadlinesince she started working on herapplications at the beginning of theschool year, which she said helped herto stress less since her work wasspaced out over a few months.

The process wasn’t as terrible asMcGrory thought it might be since shedid her applications online. The toughest part, she said, was,“narrowing down where I wanted toapply to because there are so manygood schools. It’s a waste to apply to15 colleges, when in actuality you areonly going to attend one.”

By Daniel Girdusky The students of ArchbishopMolloy impressed the re-accreditation team from The MiddleStates Commission on SecondarySchools and were praised in itspreliminary report read to the facultyon Nov. 10, said Sister ElizabethBickar, assistant principal. The team, led by Dr. William J.Doyle, dean of academic affairs atArchmere Academy in Delaware,recommended re-accreditation forthe school based upon 12 factorsinvolving the administration, faculty,staff, guidance dept. and studentbody. The school soon will receive thefull report which will outline futuregoals for the school, suggestions forimprovement, and a detailedaccount of the visit. Sister Elizabeth was pleased withthe visit and said the experience willbe an “enriching one for Molloy andI look forward to working on ourgoals which will enrich our studentseven more.” When the five-person team arrived

at Molloy Nov. 7, it met withPresident Mr. John Sherry, PrincipalBro. Roy George and AssistantPrincipals Mr. James Lembo, Mr.Ed Jennings and Sister Elizabeth. The team toured the schoolincluding stops in the guidance dept.and the school nurse. Over the next three days, the teammet with teachers, staff, parents andstudents. Two groups of students met withthe team, one hand-picked by theadministration that featured studentleaders of various school activitiesand the other chosen at random. Junior Meghan Gribbon describedher interview with the team as apleasant experience and she said shehoped to make Molloy a betterplace through her suggestions. Gribbon said one complaintstudents made to the visiting teamwas that Molloy lacked school spiritand it was suggested that Molloy domore to increase students’ overallparticipation in and support of schoolteams, clubs, and events.

Stanners impress MiddleStates: Molloy successfullymaintains its accreditation

Smooth transitionto early deadline

Reindeer R & R: By Ashley Henry

All I Want for Christmas is Coal: By Michael Zecca

Warm Holiday Greetings from the North Pole: By Mr. Mark Lipset

By Aram Hovsepian Two Molloy students were among thethousands of people last month whowaited for hours to buy one of the twonew video game systems. Those two Stanners, sophomoreJose Luis Rodriguez and senior BrianSchwab, stood on two different lines,at two different stores, in two differentlocations, on two different days, for twodifferent lengths of time, to buy twodifferent systems, and had two differentopinions about the experience —possibly because their quests had twodifferent outcomes. Rodriguez waited in line for 16 hoursin the hope of buying the Playstation 3at the Circuit City store in West Nyack. It was cold and raining but Rodriguezsaid, “Most of the people were cool;some were strange.” Once the store’s doors opened,Rodriguez said, “It was at firsthappiness, but then extreme chaos,” asthe people broke out of the line andmade a mad dash to get the games. As a result, despite him being 10th inline, he still did not get the Playstation 3as other people got to the few gamesthe store had before he did. Rodriguez said despite hisdisappointment, he would do it again. Schwab stood in line for 11 hoursoutside the Best Buy store on QueensBlvd. and was able to purchase aNintendo Wii. He was sixth in line of more than 250people. “It wasn’t bad,” Schwab said.“Everybody passed the time talkingabout favorite video games, movies,and various other topics. “The person I talked to all night Iactually ran into later at work and hehelped me with some advice when I gotstuck playing a game.” When the store finally opened,Schwab said, “everyone was prettyorderly because we became friendsduring the night and realized that withcooperation, we’d all get our gamessooner.” Schwab said it was definitely worthit to spend 11 hours in line to get hisNintendo Wii. So why would someone stand in linefor hours just to buy a video game? Schwab said some people just wantto have something before anyone elsebut, “for others, it’s just being able tosay you did it.”

By Louis Lamia Operation Christmas Child collected98 gift boxes from 71 Stanners inNovember, the first time in the fouryears that Molloy has participated inthe program that the number of boxescollected went down from the previousyear, said Campus Minister DirectorMr. Mike Germano. Last year the program collected 150

boxes from 90 students. “I was disappointed,” said Mr.Germano. “I wanted more people topartcipate. I don’t really know why itfailed. We did lose a lot of seniors [fromlast year] who were very involved butthere were 120 pamphlets given out atthe meeting. It threw me off.” OCC is a program dedicated to

distributing gift packages to poorcountries around the world. To participate, Stanners filled ashoebox with gifts and gave them toCampus Ministry. Students who particiapted did notknow the name of the child they werebuying gifts for but could chose the ageand gender of the child.

Two Stannersstand in linefor PS3 & Wii

“I’ve done it every year I’ve beenhere,” said senior Catherine Soderberg.“I’ve always wanted to bring happinessto children around the world. It wasalso fun to shop for it. I was able tochoose what I think would illuminatetheir lives, to show them that peoplethink about them during the holidays.”

Operation Christmas Child ‘disappoints’ but still contributes 98 gift boxes

By Mary Perez Mary Catherine Wen, a senior atArchbishop Molloy, and her partner,Jenny Yeh from Houston, Texas, willsplit $20,000 in college scholarshipmoney as a result of placing fifth at theNational Finalls of Siemens sciencecompetition at New York Univerity Dec.1-4. Wen and Yeh’s project studied the

use of magnetic fields to help speed upthe healing process in bone fractures. Last year, Wen reached the semifinalsof the Siemens competition but this yearshe was able to go all the way to thefinals by finishing first in theSouthwestern Regional Finals of theSiemens competition at the Universityof Texas in Austin.

Wen said she did not feel any pressureto reach the finals this year after makingthe semifinals last year. “Research and science should not beabout winning a competition,” said said.“Good research and good science isabout learning and helping othersthrough your work.” Wen met Yeh at a residential summerscholars program at Stony BrookUniversity where they decided to worktogether conducting research at theGarcia Materials Research Science andEngineering Center. Yeh would fly back and forth fromTexas and New York to work with Wenon their project — “Proliferation andAlignment of Osteoblasts on OrientedMagnetic Nanocomposition.” Wen and Yeh started out by firstreading many different research papersfrom other scientists. Wen discovered studies which, “haveshown that the formation and orientationof osteoblasts are enhanced when theyare cultured in a magnetic field. Furtherresearch involved exposing magneticmaterials to magnetic fields forbiomedical applications such as artificialimplants. “Basically certain calcium crystals emita voltage when a mechanical load isapplied to them. This affects the voltageoperated calcium channels, VOCC’s,

By Melissa Bhikham If each and every American womanwas asked if she was ever raped and/or physically assaulted by a former orcurrent spouse, cohabiting partner, ordate at some time in her lifetime, at least25 percent would answer yes. And that’s just in the United States.Now if we were to ask the samequestion to women all around the world,at least one in every three would sayshe has been beaten, coerced into sexor otherwise abused during her lifetime.Now imagine if all the female students,faculty and staff members at Molloywere to gather in the Jack Curran gymand be asked that same question. Howmany would say yes? Domestic violence is certainly one ofthe toughest human rights challenges ofour time, but some Stanners are tryingto do something about it. The Body Shop has been running the“Body Shop Stop Violence in theHome” campaign for over ten yearsnow to improve the lifestyles of manywomen throughout the world by callingattention to this problem. But this year the Body Shop isfocusing its campaign on the childrenthat are affected by violence in theirhome.

For the second consecutive year, Ms.Rachel Galla, a guidance counselor atMolloy, is getting Molloy involved in aused cell phone collection for the BodyShop campaign. If the donated phone is broken, thecampaign will sell the working parts ofthe phone to companies that can usethe parts to make new phones. If thephone is in working order, all the better.These phones are then donated towomen so that they won’t be silentabout violence in their home but will usethem to call for help. In this way, “a woman in need of helpcan call 911 without it tracing to a bill,”said Ms. Galla. Anyone at Molloy can bring old cellphones to Ms. Galla’s office in room207C until Christmas break. Though this is supposed to be acampaign for 2006, Ms. Galla tried tocoordinate it with the Guidance Dept.’s“White Ribbon Campaign,” anothermovement that supports putting an endto violence against women. Those involved in the White RibbonCampaign pledge, “Wearing this whiteribbon is a personal pledge that I willnever commit, condone, nor remainsilent about violence against women.”

Since about 200 cell phones werecollected last year, Ms. Galla declaresher goal is to get more than that thisyear. But what she cares about most is forall Stanners “to be aware that there aredifferent things to do to help eventhough it’s not in your home.” Ms. Galla credits junior Cristina

Wen wins $10,000 scholarship in Siemens contest

Donate cell phoneto eliminate abuse

which is one of the ways that cellscommunicate. Therefore, the magneticfields can produce artificial stimulationof the VOCC’s which may enhancebone cell growth.” In other words, this increasing growthcan help heal various bone fractures. Working with mentors Dr. MiriamRafailovich, Dr. Nadine Pernodet,Nicole Brenner, and HilanaLewkowitz-Shpuntoff, Wen workedrelentlessly on her research. “We did everything from creatingmagnetic material to plating cells,” shesaid. “We took confocal microscopeimages, performed analytical tests todetermine the integrity of the material,and determined the modulus — thestiffness/hardness — of the material.” Since Wen’s partner was from Texas,they decided to enter the SouthwesternRegional Finals in hopes of qualifyingfor the national finals at NYU. Wen said she had plenty of fun duringthe finals. Finalists were taken bowling atChelsea Piers, saw the Broadwayshow, “The Lion King,” and ate at B.B.King’s nightclub in Times Sq. Though Wen put in a huge amount oftime and effort into her project, she said,“It was defintely worth it.” It was worth $20,000.

Mary Catherine Wen (File Photo by Fernando Ortiz)

Penin for bringing this campaign to lightlast year. This year Penin continues to help outas she and a few of her friends madeposters to promote the cause aroundthe school. The posters echo what Ms. Gallasaid: “Make a donation, bring in thephones!”

By Andres Gallo Members of the Molloy hockey teamcouldn’t decide which was more fun:beating Christ the King 14-4 in the Nov.22 non-league game that opened itsseason, or doing it in the NassauColiseum right before a New YorkIslanders’ game. “The fact that we got to play on NHLice,” was what Mr. Jim Sheldon willremember most about his first game asMolloy’s head coach. “It’s aprofessionally maintained arena, so theytake better care of the ice.” But for junior left wing CharlieGotard, playing at the Coliseum, “didn’treally phase me. I’m a Rangers’ fan.”Gotard, however, did enjoy one aspectof playing at the home of the Islanders:“The large number of fans that came towatch the game — that never happens— so it was a new experience.” Sophomore forward Gavin Grogansaid the best part of the wholeexperience was, “Killing Christ theKing.” Senior center Matt Sauli andsophomore forward Matt Zay were thestars of Royal slaughter, scoring threegoals each. A NHL rink is much larger than the

usual high schoolrinks where Molloyplays its games. “There’s moreroom to move, butany errors aremagnified,” said Mr.Sheldon. “Obviouslyyour passes have tobe crisper.” While the Stannerswere sharp in routingthe Royals in theColiseum, they foundout what it was like tobe on the oppositeside of a one-sidedgame when they losttheir home opener inleague play 8-2 toMsgr. Farrell at theMt. Vernon rink Nov.24. But that has been the Stanners onlyloss of the season as they have jumpedout to a 5-1 record overall and 3-1 inleague play. Molloy beat St. Francis Prep 5-4 inanother non-league match and wonthree straight league games.

Dishing out a Royal slaughter

Led by Gotard and junior forwardPatrick Brown, the Stanners defeatedSt. Joseph by the Sea 4-3 Nov. 26 inConey Island. The following weekend Molloy beatChaminade 6-2 Dec. 1 in Syosset, andXaverian 5-3 at home Dec. 2 in Mt.Vernon. The Stanners say the period ofadjustment caused by having formerassistant coach Mr. Sheldon take overas their head coach after Mr. RichardRodgers stepped down as head coachfollowing the 2005-2006 season hasgone smoothly. “I kind of miss Mr. Rodgers,” saidGrogan. “He’s a funny guy and a good

coach. But Mr. Sheldon is holding upwell.” Said Gotard, “It has had its ups anddowns but mostly ups. Mr. Sheldonwants us to do well and wantseverything organized.” Mr. Sheldon said becoming the headcoach has brought with it, “a lot moreresponsibility and paper work. Thereare also lots of meetings that I have togo to, along with planning practices andmaking game-time decisions.” Mr. Sheldon lists his top priority thisseason as “making the playoffs.” But the players have high goals. Grogan said his goal is “to win thecity championship.”

The Molloy hockey team gathers around its new coach, Mr.Jim Sheldon, to discusstactics and strategy, above. Below, senior Mike Scotko wins a fac-off against theRoyals. (Photos by Steven Montoni.)

Molloy Varsity Bowling teamfinished the regular season in first placein Brooklyn-Queens with a 17-1 to beseeded first in the playoffs. The JV Bowling team also finished17-1 to finish second in Brooklyn-Queens. The Girls Varsity swimming teamis undefeated, beating Bishop Kearney107-58 and St. Saviour 98-67. The Boys Varsity swimmers beatHoly Trinity 98-87 but lost to Msgr.Farrell 103-80. The Boys Varsity basketball team

crushed Kellenberg 73-52 in its seasonopener in the Jack Curran Gym whilethe Girls Varsity split its first two games,beating Kellenberg 91-52 and losing toCardozo 60-43. The Boys Varsity B team is also 2-0 after routing both Iona Prep (61-36)and Frederick Douglas (57-32). The Junior Varsity basketballteams both opened the season withtough losses, the Girls losing 49-47 atSt. Peter’s and the Boys losing 51-48at home to St. Dominic’s. Frosh boys basketball is 4-0.

Molloy Athletic Shorts

Italians beats Irish 36-24 inAmerican football match

Frosh Patrick O’Grady runs for positive yardage against theItalian club. After breaking out to a 18-0 lead, the Italian club heldon for the victory in its annual game against the Irish club in theManton St. Park on Nov. 21. (Photo by Fernando Ortiz.)