Presidential campaigns have become two year marathons, in contrast with the first presidential election which was a sprint to the White House. Electors voted in January and George Washing- ton took office in April of 1789. While I think it’s true that we can all agree that this process was much too long, it certainly has provided topics and issues for discussion especially for our history and government classes at Beacon High School. I have observed classes particularly where our older students engaged in spirited debates concerning the beliefs espoused by the candidates during the primaries and continuing with the Clinton and Trump debates. Now we are post November 8th and the discussions continue. I wish to emphasize that it is not my intent to express opinions about the candidates’ positions on these very important issues but to comment about the reactions of and impact on our students. It certainly is an understatement to say that there will be uncertain- ty for so many questions specifically as it relates to education. Ironically the latter topic was hardly discussed during the debates. I am most proud with our students who engaged in meaningful discussions during the pre-election, the election on November 8th and the post election debates in contrast with the unrest and walkouts on high school and college campuses across the nation and adults demonstrating not always in a nonviolent manner. While it’s true that many students were disappointed and incredulous, they remained subdued as teachers talked about the peaceful transfer of power. At this juncture there is uncertainty, it takes courage to move from a familiar place to the unknown without reference points. “There is nothing more certain and unchanging than uncertainty and change” John Fitzgerald Kennedy. November 2016 Volume 2, Issue 1 INSIDE THIS ISSUE English Dept………………..2/3 Social Studies Dept………….3 Science Department………...4 Math Department .............. 4 Athletics ............................. 5 PBISNews ........................... 5 Beacon Players ................... 6 Band Department .............. 6 Music Department…………..6 Other News.…………………….7 PTSO News......................... 8 Guidance Corner ................ 8 SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST *GREASE COMES TO BHS *SCHETTER SIGNS WITH PACE *GLOBAL PROJECTS UNDERWAY *MORGAN ACCEPTED TO U.S ARMY ALL-AMERICAN MARCHING BAND *FINANCIAL AID NIGHT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS HERE AT BHS The Principal’s Message Dr. Joannes Sieverding
Transcript
Presidential campaigns have become two year marathons, in contrast with the first presidential election which was a sprint to the White House. Electors voted in January and George Washing-ton took office in April of 1789. While I think it’s true that we can all agree that this process was much too long, it certainly has provided topics and issues for discussion especially for our history and government classes at Beacon High School. I have observed classes particularly where our older students engaged in spirited debates concerning the beliefs espoused by the candidates during the primaries and continuing with the Clinton and Trump debates. Now we are post November 8th and the discussions continue.
I wish to emphasize that it is not my intent to express opinions about the candidates’ positions on these very important issues but to comment about the reactions of and impact on our students. It certainly is an understatement to say that there will be uncertain-ty for so many questions specifically as it relates to education. Ironically the latter topic was hardly discussed during the debates. I am most proud with our students who engaged in meaningful discussions during the pre-election, the election on November 8th and the post election debates in contrast with the unrest and walkouts on high school and college campuses across the nation and adults demonstrating not always in a nonviolent manner. While it’s true that many students were disappointed and incredulous, they remained subdued as teachers talked about the peaceful transfer of power.
At this juncture there is uncertainty, it takes courage to move from a familiar place to the unknown without reference points. “There is nothing more certain and unchanging than uncertainty and change” John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
November 2016 Volume 2, Issue 1
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
English Dept………………..2/3
Social Studies Dept………….3
Science Department………...4
Math Department .............. 4
Athletics ............................. 5
PBISNews ........................... 5
Beacon Players ................... 6
Band Department .............. 6
Music Department…………..6
Other News.…………………….7
PTSO News......................... 8
Guidance Corner ................ 8
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST
*GREASE COMES TO BHS
*SCHETTER SIGNS WITH PACE
*GLOBAL PROJECTS UNDERWAY
*MORGAN ACCEPTED TO U.S ARMY ALL-AMERICAN MARCHING BAND
*FINANCIAL AID NIGHT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS HERE AT BHS
The Principal’s Message
Dr. Joannes Sieverding
A fabulous first quarter from the seniors in ELA! The seniors have written their essays for college and they have learned about the oldest surviving epic poem written in the English language. Beowulf: bloody, brave and boastful – ripping off Grendel’s arm with his bare hands, slicing off the head of Grendel’s mom with a giant’s magic sword, and finally, meeting his match in the fire-breathing, poison-fanged dragon. But check out our Wiki pages for a new twist on an old frame tale, The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer’s pilgrims have been given backstories based on the 14 th century and our students’ imaginations. Eight pilgrims have been described based on “The Prologue” (pictures included), their tales have been summarized, and for the first time, you will hear how they came to be on the road to Canterbury. Enjoy!
NEWS FROM THE DEPARTMENTS:
ENGLISH – STAFF WRITER—
JANET GASPAR
Mr. Haughie's English 10 class is starting a group project that is based on a Science Fiction
short story called "Of Missing Persons", by Jack Finney. The story that was read in class
depicts a fictional Utopian planet called Verna and makes the claim that people from earth
have the opportunity to go there if they wish to, but only if they are deemed worthy and if
they have absolutely no doubt about leaving Earth. The story also claims that famous people
who have mysteriously disappeared and are never found are actually on this planet (hence
the title).
Students have the task of creating a fictional travel brochure to Verna. They must include
specific details from the story such as: housing/accommodations , ticket prices , sights/
activities , and means of space travel
These projects have been done spectacularly in the past and some students have used
technology to really add a unique touch as well.
***These projects will be on display at the High School in Room B124 or can be seen on Google Docs***
Starting Strong– English 9
Honors
What do these stories have in
common: a pregnant, jealous wife
murders her husband, children of
werewolves learn to act human in a
school modeled after Native
American missionary schools, and
the earliest Classic epics about a
culture at war and a warrior’s
homecoming? Whether we read
delightful short stories by Roald
Dahl, an allegorical satire, or Greek
plays and The Odyssey by Homer,
our ninth grade students recognize
the universal themes about life and
human nature that connect all
people regardless of culture,
location, or time period.
2
Signelil Andersen came to the Participation in Government classes & discussed her experiences with Syr-ian refugees (and their children) in Norway.
State Trooper Francine Torhan came in with the bloodhound to the Criminal Justice (CJ) classes.
Monroe College Professor Bill Cannon also visited the CJ classes. Mr. Cannon is a 27 year veteran in the
NYC Police Force including 9 years heading up the Manhattan North Homicide Squad. He also played a
role on Discovery Channel's "The Perfect Murder."
Ben Allee, Assistant US Attorney (Prosecutor) for the Federal Building in White Plains visited with the
CJ class. He discussed the federal criminal process as well as current issues and past federal cases that
he had experience working on.
SOCIAL STUDIES
More English News
Students in Mr. Burns' Global I Honors class created projects for Quarter 1 based on Stone
Age Tools, Raised Relief Maps, blueprints of River Valley Accomplishments or a display of
Social Scientists. In addition to creating these elaborate displays, students were asked to
complete a writing assignment about their topic, and cite sources they used to create their
project. 3
Ms. Lieberstein and Ms. Hamilton took the ENL students on a trip to Howland Library on November 2nd, 2016. As they walked from the High School to Main Street, one student in each group had a clipboard with a scavenger hunt sheet. The goal was for the students to become more familiar with their community and we used the walk as a way to teach them. Once we arrived at Howland, we were given a tour of the Library. Students were able to see all the resources that our public library offers them. They also had the opportunity to learn about the history of the library, as well as future plans to expand. Most importantly students had a chance to connect with each other and their community.
Mrs. Rider's Marine Biology class went to Long Dock Park on October 6th. Kate Brill of Sce-
nic Hudson organized an ecology packed day. Students surveyed Hudson River fish popula-
tions, identified macroinvertebrates, measured the changing tides, and tested turbidity, dis-
solved oxygen, pH and the temperature of the estuary. The weather was perfect and these
Juniors and Seniors represented BHS in a positive way with their enthusiastic involvement
in the field trip.
More from the SCIENCE DEPT-
MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT-
SCIENCE-MOLE DAY-
October 21st
4
We celebrated mole day at Beacon High
School along with other high schools AROUND
THE WORLD! The mole is a unit of measure-
ment in chemistry and the name lends itself to
puns involving the brown furry creature. We
had fun and got creative and most of all learned
about something new.
*Teachers in the Math Department are using the Remind App on smartphones as a
way to improve communications with both parents and students.
*They have also been setting up Google classrooms which allow students access to
on-line assignments and to submit work electronically.
*The BHS Math Team kicked off the new season with a solid performance in their
first meet. The Bulldogs finished a close third behind Valley Central and
Newburgh. Top individual performers were Emily Bautista, Kalina Brinas, and
Ema Jacketti.
*The Fall Athletic program was a great success. Our Girls and Boys Soccer programs won the League titles with iden-tical 11-5 records. Girls Coach Hugo Alzate was chosen Coach of the Year and Senior Gabby Lucas, Player of the Year for our league. Congrats to the following students who made Girls Varsity Soccer All League: Reanna Cader, Chloe Antalek, Gabby Lucas, Victoria Banks, Eliza Ericson, Katelyn Rosa and Meagan Meeuwisse. All section Honorable Mention goes to Reanna Cader and All Section to Gabby Lucas. Boys Soccer All League: Mason Burch, Vincent Com-paganonel, Kyle Davis, Devin Lambe, Kellen Sela and Matt Wyant. All Section Honorable Mention goes to Mason Burch, Kyle Davis and Matt Wyant and All Section to Devin Lambe.
*Volleyball’s Kajal Kohll was selected to All League and Lauren Schetter All League and All Conference
*Girls Swim athletes Lauren Hernandez and Amber Butler made All League.
*Congrats to all our Fall Athletes on a job well done. All your hard work and efforts paid off.
*JV & Varsity winter sports started Monday November 14th
ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT-
5
Our very own Cindy Pomarico ran the NYC Marathon on Sunday, November 6,
2016 . The race was 26.2 miles and Cindy had an incredible time of 4.51. We are
all very proud of her accomplishment!
PBIS— STAFF WRITER—Joanna Driscoll
October marked the first PBIS student recognition ceremony for the 2016-2017 school year. Each month students (and staff) are acknowledged for exemplifying a trait represented by the BHS PRIDE acronym: Positivity; Respect; Integrity; Determination; Engagement. In October students were noted and celebrated for being models of positivity. The recogni-tion ceremony is an informal gathering where the selected students are honored for exhibiting behaviors that contrib-ute to making the culture at BHS something we can all be proud of. The gathering was well attended; the students left with the knowledge that their positive behaviors are appreciated school wide, and it was a meaningful experience for all who participated. Here’s to Beacon PRIDE students!
In addition: thanks to the PTSO for their contribution of prizes toward the monthly raffle, and for their support of PBIS.
Congrats to Lauren Schetter!!
Lauren signed her letter of intent to attend Division 2
Pace University on a full basketball scholarship.
Congratulations to Lauren who is also captain of
both the volleyball and basketball teams, president
of Student Council and a member of the National
Honor Society. She is a wonderful example of how
hard work and dedication pays off. We are all very
proud of her accomplishments and wish her well on
her new journey and on her upcoming season here
at BHS!
*The Band marched in the Spirit of Beacon Day Parade on Sep 25th & a few of our stu-dents were there to play when the Fire Ball run arrived in Beacon.
*Jethro Banks was selected to be a Percus-sionist in the NYSSMA Zone 10 Area All-State Orchestra. Jethro earned the spot with an audition this past Spring that qualified him among the best high school musicians throughout Dutchess, Putnam and Columbia counties.
MUSIC—STAFF WRITER -- Susan Wright
Congratulations to BHS chorus members Harleigh
Ebeling, Jaylen Hills and Dana Miller on being se-
lected to represent BHS at the Area All-State NYSS-
MA festival in November. Many thanks to the BHS
chorus members who participated in the perfor-
mance of MacBeth by singing two songs live. They
sounded amazing and added a lot to the show.
THE BEACON PLAYERS—STAFF WRITER—P.J. DEVINE
Former music production students David Gonzalez and
Stefon Seward composed and recorded music for the Bea-
con Player's fall production of MacBeth. Current music pro-
duction student Oji Haynes is working with our very own
Figs on original music for the next PBIS video. Want to
learn how to create your own music with a computer? Take
a music production class at BHS.
This spring, the Beacon Players drama organization began work on their newest endeavor, The Shakespeare Project. In July, students attended a performance of Macbeth at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festivals Boscobel and had the opportunity to have a "talk-back" with the actors at the end. Students worked through the summer and into October to bring their own version of The Tragedy of Macbeth to life in the black box style of performance. Part of the 11th grade curriculum, English students all began their year reading and exploring Macbeth in conjunction with the Drama Club's endeavor. Students were then invited to a special performance in the evening to see their peers bring the curriculum to life. Audiences were seated on stage and the curtain was closed to create a more intimate space. Students learned the art of theatre in the round and mastered the intricate language and themes of one of the Bard's most powerful works. Playing to sold out crowds, students showed a passion for and deep understanding of Shakespeare.
The Beacon Players are also hard at work on their fall produc-
tion of Grease, presented through special arrangement with
Samuel French. Students are working on the costumes, set
design and more to re-create Beacon in the 1950's. Grease will
be presented on November 18, 19, and 20 and tickets are avail-
able on the website, www.beaconplayers.com, and at the door.
The U.S. Army All-American Marching Band Selection Tour came to BHS on September 29th to present Ben Morgan with his acceptance into the group. Ben will be playing the halftime show at the US Army All-American Bowl on Saturday, January 7, 2017 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX
