The Spectator
SOUTHWICK REGIONAL SCHOOL
FALL
2016
RIVER CLEAN-UP BRINGS ISSUE OF TRASH TO THE SURFACE
by Mika Fish
On Saturday September 24th, students from the Southwick Regional School Conservation Club, along the club
advisor Mrs. Hartshorn and her son Luke, participated in the 20th annual Source to Sea Cleanup hosted by the
Connecticut River Watershed Council. Students met at Pynchon Point in Agawam at 9 A.M sharp, eager to
begin the river clean-up.
When students arrived, they were greeted by members from the Watershed Council and given gloves and trash
bags to begin their clean-up. As the Conservation Club trekked their way down to the river, trash bags in hand,
many were appalled by how much waste is actually in the river. Water levels were considerably low, exposing
tons of litter along the banks of the Connecticut River. Students collected a wide variety of waste ranging from
plastic bags to shoes, carpets, tires, and some considerably repugnant items.
After three long hours, students had a changed perspective of how the waste they consume affects their
environment. When asking sophomore Tori Podmore how she felt about participating in the river clean-up, she
replied, “When we got to the river I was overwhelmed. There was so much to clean up. As we left the river, I
felt proud of myself and of our school for waking up early on a Saturday to take part in the clean-up and making
a difference.”
Throughout the rest of the year, the Conservation Club will continue to take part in efforts to spread the word
about our current environmental status and promote recycling. Students at SRS can anticipate upcoming
fundraisers and events. The club will be working on increasing the SRS recycling program and has plans to host
a fundraiser in late November through December. Plans for creating a community garden behind Mrs.
Hartshorn's room have also been discussed. For more information about Conservation Club, speak to Mrs.
Hartshorn or follow the SRS Conservation Club twitter @SRSConservation.
SRS Conservation Club members display their
collection of trash after participating in the
annual Source to Sea Cleanup at Pynchon Point
in Agawam in September
FALL PLAY REFLECTS REAL LIFE FOR TEENS ON THE GO
by Taylor Calabro
The SRS Drama Club’s annual Fall production opens this weekend. The play Somewhere Nowhere captures the
endless struggle of small-town folk and bears a striking resemblance to the everyday problems of students at
Southwick schools. These are characters still developing throughout their high school career that are just trying
to make it in life but don’t know where to go.
All the characters in this play have to decide for themselves in their own ways what they want in life, before the
town decides for them. They all have lives like the students at Southwick Regional - except they actually have a
football team. Everything else is shockingly similar, and will make the audience feel like a part of the show.
One character, Echo, contemplates staying in town with her boyfriend or going off to college without him. Like
many students here, she has a story.
One of the play’s central character’s, Jim, provides comedic relief and a few smiles. Upon interviewing Ricardo
Mora, the actor behind Jim, it’s easy to see the effort being pumped into this show by the entire cast and crew.
Interviewer- So what does this play mean to you, Rick? Do you find something within yourself with acting?
Ricardo- Well, to me it’s a way to be myself through a character. It may not be who I am, but I act as in the
way I would act if I was the character.
Interviewer- Tell us about your character. What is he like? What makes him special?
Ricardo- My character is the comic relief of the play. He may not be the most interesting to talk to and he
usually makes a lot of jokes, so it’s pretty fun to pretend to be a spontaneous character. You never know what’s
coming next from Jim, and that’s what makes him unique.
Interviewer- What do you want students to know about the play?
Ricardo- I just want people to know that this play means a lot to us and we’d appreciate if a lot of people
would come, that’s all. We act to entertain.
Somewhere, Nowhere is something to look forward to. The Cast and Stage Crew includes over four dozen SRS
students on stage and behind the scenes. They are working to make this play one to remember, and they
sincerely hope you can make it to a show. Show dates and ticket prices are listed below. Remember, our Drama
kids can’t do all they do without an audience.
Performances:
Thursday –Friday, November 17th & 18th @ 7 PM
Saturday, November 19th @ 1 & 7 PM
Tickets:
$7 for General Admission
$5 for Students & Seniors
The Cast of Somewhere Nowhere
in rehearsal for this
weekend’s performances
SRS SAYS BIENVENIDOS TO NEW FACULTY
by Mackenzie Jackson
Over these past few years there have been many changes at SRS, including many among the faculty and staff.
Many of us, especially those of who are not taking classes with these teachers, know very little about them. So
I am taking some time and sitting down with these new faces to give the student community a better idea of
who they are sharing their building with. So to get the ball rolling here are two interviews with two of the new
World Language teachers, Kaylyn Blair and Irene Lassman.
Ms. Blair teaches 8th grade Spanish and Spanish I, and Ms. Lassman teaches 7th and 8th grade Spanish. Both
graduated from UMASS Amherst, and while they both majored in Spanish, Lassman also majored in Resource
Economics. She became interested in teaching when she visited Argentina and taught English to a wide range
of students, from as young as 11 through to adults. It was a Linguistics class that spurred Blair’s passion
become a Spanish teacher. In this class, she learned how to pronounce every sound of every letter of the
Spanish alphabet without her ‘English-speaking accent’ getting in the way. She wanted to introduce the idea of
speaking Spanish without being hindered by American accents to an entry-level class. Although this began her
desire to teach, she remembers distinctly that in her 7th grade Spanish class one of her classmates asked, ‘If you
took all of the Spanish classes offered would you be fluent by the end?’ Blair laughed this off, but by end the
her high school career she had taken all of the Spanish course her high school offered and was close to
becoming fluent. Continuing her Spanish studies in college, she learned much more about the Spanish language
than just how to speak it. Both teachers are only fluent in Spanish and English at present, but Lassman
comments that she has dabbled in Portuguese, and Blair hopes to one day learn more of the Romance
Languages: French, Italian, and Portuguese.
In addition to an interest in learning more languages, the two share a love for travel. Blair has traveled several
times to Costa Rica, where she spent a college semester living with a local family, as well as Spain, Morocco,
Nicaragua and Cuba. And although she stated that Costa Rica was her favorite place to visit, she did say that
going to Cuba was like a “life dream come true. ”All her life she remembers being told that going to Cuba was
impossible due to years of political tensions with the US, so when she did get to go with one of her classes in
college, she felt as if she was visiting the “forbidden land.” Lassman also studied abroad, though in Barcelona,
Spain, and has visited Argentina and Brazil. When asked about her favorite travel destination, she answered
with Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hiking is another of her favorite activities, while Blair enjoys snowboarding,
reading and writing.
Blair’s three career goals in life are to teach, travel, and translate, and although Lassman’s desired career path
now is teaching, she previously worked with EF Classrooms where she helped settle exchange students into
their new schools. As new arrivals to SRS, Blair and Lassman both commented on how supportive and
enthusiastic the students and staff have been and how they couldn’t wish for better. Lassman also comments
that, having lived in Boston prior to working here, she is enjoying our town and the many charming features it
has to offer; expressing her new found love for Blossoming Acres’ apple cider donuts. Both state that they are
pgrateful for the teaching environment they have found here at SRS.
DIVERSITY CLUB PRESENTS A UNITED FRONT
by Taylor Calabro
Southwick’s Diversity Club is like a GSA and an after school study of everyday life rolled into one! Diversity
Club members discuss topics such as LGBT+ rights and activism, current politics, bullying in the SRS student
community and the rest of the world, and a whole lot more.
Meetings are flexible, and you can come and go as you please. It’s a casual look at our world today that is safe
for all, welcoming opinions from every point of view. The Diversity Club is currently working on starting an
LGBT+ weekly lunch group (see Guidance for more info), and standing with the #UnifySelfieChallenge to end
bullying and abuse within student bodies across the world.
If you see a poster advertising an upcoming meeting, don’t be shy, come on over. Got questions? See Mrs.
Anderson in room 410 for details.
SOPHOMORE AMBASSADORS SUPPORT INCOMING FRESHMEN
by Victoria Podmore
This year, almost twenty new sophomores signed up to be Student Ambassadors at SRS! Sydney Gorman and
Kelechi Ezeugwu are two of the new recruits. I was able to meet with both of them and get an understanding of
why having student ambassadors at our school is so important.
Student ambassadors are mentors and leaders for the seventh and eighth graders. Their main priority is making
sure the younger students feel like a part of the high school. Sydney decided to become a Student Ambassador
because she “knows the anxiety of experiencing new things” and she wanted to make the jump from middle
school to high school the least drastic for their peers as possible. Kelechi and Sydney both have the same goal
for this year: to make the incoming classes feel as comfortable as possible.
Recently, they participated in Mix it Up Day! The Student Ambassadors urged the seventh and eighth graders to
sit with different people at lunch to make new friends. Both Sydney and Kelechi plan on continuing to be
Student Ambassadors throughout their high school years because of events like this.
Student Ambassadors invite
Middle School students
to Mix it Up in the Cafeteria
FINAL WHISTLE FOR LADY RAMS ON SOCCER FIELD
by Aidan Brown
The 2016 Fall Sports season is over, which
means the SRS Varsity Girls Soccer team is
saying farewell to its five seniors players:
Lydia Kinsman, Alex Mello, Sam Perusse,
Morgan Peterson, and Tori Richburg. On
Wednesday, October 19, the team held their
annual senior game to honor the graduating
players. Before the game started, the girls
and their families were acknowledged, as were
seniors from the visiting Central team, and
the National Anthem was sung by Kinsman.
The team was able to celebrate the seniors by
winning the game 2-1 against Central, a great
win on the first and last home night game of
the year. Goals were scored by Kinsman and
sophomore Aelish McGivney.
Kinsman gave some insight on what it feels like to be a senior by commenting, “Looking back as a freshman I
never realized how fast my senior year would sneak up. When you realize it could possibly be your last home
game, it hits you and it hits hard, and it’s always a great feeling to win it.” Goalkeeper Richburg was asked
how it felt to play the game as a senior. She said, “It was a lot of mixed emotions. Everything happens so fast.
I felt excited because I am a senior and I’m playing the game I love the most. But it is also kind of scary
because senior year is going by so fast and before I know it I will be going off to college and moving on with
my life.” Peterson also offered her opinion, “It felt weird to be the one all the decorating was for and not being
the one decorating. It had always been someone else that was leaving. It didn’t hit me that my competitive
soccer career was almost over until tournament started though.” When asked the same question, Mello replied,
“It was odd to think that it would be the last home game of the regular season, and a bit emotional, but overall I
had a great time with the other four seniors knowing this was our last together!” Perusse said, “It didn’t feel
like our senior game at all. It’s crazy how these past four years have gone by and I’m going to miss all of the
girls on the team next year. I wish them all good luck next year.” After the game, a few of the younger players
on the team gave speeches about the seniors, which brought tears to some eyes.
Good luck to all of the seniors, you will be missed!
NHS VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 22ND 5:30 PM
$5 TO PLAY $3 TO WATCH
$1 OFF WHEN IF YOU BRING A DONATION OF
CANNED GOODS OR SCHOOL SUPPLIES
TEAM SIGN-UPS THIS WEEK DURING ALL LUNCHES
PLASTIC: A TOXIC LOVE STORY
Book Review by Jodie Cahill
Susan Freinkel opens her book by explaining an experiment she performed. She made a list of things she
touched that were made of plastic within a 24-hour time span. The next day, she recorded the things she
touched that contained no plastic. The plastic to non-plastic ratio was nearly two to one. Freinkel decided to
research eight common plastic items, devoting one chapter of her book to each: a comb, a Monobloc chair, a
Frisbee, an IV bag, a disposable lighter, a grocery bag, a soda bottle, and a credit card. Each item poses a threat
to either our environment, our health, or both. Traveling to places like China, and all across the United States,
Freinkel is determined the truth about plastic is unleashed.
The chapter on Monobloc chairs was probably the most interesting. All over America, these chairs are on front
lawns and around campfires. They are made of one piece of plastic, the minimum amount to ensure the
cheapest product. For years, designers tried to figure out how to build a one-piece chair that would take the
world by storm and be a trendy, chic design. The Panton chair was successful in artistic regards, but middleclass citizens thought it a little too weird, so the design never took off commercially. Freinkel dubs the
Monobloc chair “the most successful piece of furniture ever created.” They don’t rust. They’re cheap. They
come in different colors. They’re easily replaceable. Plastic is the only material that can be used for virtually
anything.
Frisbees are a huge part of American culture, and Chinese factory workers are amazed that they are in such high
demand. They are easy to mold, using plastic pellets, and cheap to make. These plastic pellets, though, are a
huge problem. When dumped in the ocean, the pellets can absorb many toxins. Animals eat the pellets, and the
toxins are then absorbed into the animals’ fatty tissues. If the animals survive, the toxins travel up the food
train, meaning we, humans, could be ingesting plastic or toxins the plastic absorbs.
That isn’t the only way humans are “just a little plastic.” Premature babies are hooked up to plastic tubing and
put in plastic incubators, and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) could be circulating through their blood
streams. These babies aren’t the only ones at risk, though. Anyone undergoing dialysis or blood transfusions
could have more plastic in their bodies than safe, because necessary liquids are traveling from plastic IV bags
through plastic tubes into the bloodstream.
Continued on Page 6
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Plastic - continued from page 4
Many cities are taking great measures to make the world greener. Plastic bags are being banned from many
cities in the U.S. Unwanted in recycling plants, they end up in the ocean. One third of leatherback turtles found
dead since 1968 have choked on plastic bags mistaken for jellyfish. David Barnes says plastic “can actually
change entire ecosystems.” Plastic bottles are often recycled, and in certain states, a bottle deposit can be
collected. Any plastic that isn’t recycled through the city’s revolutionary recycling program is most likely
recycled through the state deposit program.
Many cities are taking great measures to make the world greener, and so are credit card companies. Discover
claims they have made a plastic card that can decompose 10 years after is disposal. I never thought of credit
cards being a pollution problem, but everyone has at least one plastic card in their wallet: credit, debit, gift or
rewards card, or a license. Plastic is a huge part of our lives, and none of us know a time when it didn’t exist.
Susan Freinkel stands against plastic. She believes it is killing our environment and humans need to take
measures to lessen the damage we have done to our Earth. There is no reversing it, but there are definitely steps
we can take to help reduce the amount of plastic we use. The only people I could imagine being extremely
gung-ho on plastic are factory owners who make huge profits by selling cheap plastic items. I believe most
people realize plastic is bad for the environment, but few people realize just how bad, and they may do little to
nothing to stop it. It is more convenient for people to just pack their groceries in free plastic bags than it is to
purchase a fabric reusable one for 99 cents. Freinkel wants everyone to have a greener and more aware mindset
as to what they can do to dig us out of Plasticville.
THE NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY
ASKS YOU TO SUPPORT OUR ANNUAL
Holiday Toy Drive
WON’T YOU MAKE THE HOLIDAYS BRIGHTER FOR
A NEEDY BOY OR GIRL?
We help the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children -- we have wish lists from children of all ages – from babies to
teens! Donations of wrapping paper, bows and tape are welcome, too!
Want to help? Get a wish list by seeing Mrs. Margiotta in Room 418 -- or
stop by the NHS table at lunch! Bring your unwrapped toys and clothing to
her room by Friday, Dec. 2.
Thank you for your generosity!!!