Frank Scott Bunnell
Scribbles
Bunnell High School * 1 Bulldog Blvd. Stratford, CT 06614 * February 26, 2013 * Volumn LI Issue 2
Mr. Yearbook
Crowned
Celeste Burnett
Staff Reporter
On Feb. 7th, Yearbook hosted
its annual Mr. Yearbook pageant
at 7pm where Javan “Mr. Nice
Guy” Parks was crowned the
official Mr. Yearbook. The Elden
Dustin Auditorium was almost
sold out for the event, held to
raise money for the yearbooks,
the yearbook class and promote
school spirit. The winner receives
his own page in the yearbook and
the official Mr. Yearbook title.
The show opened with returning co- hosts senior Katie Kracjick
and senior Natalie Groves. The
nine contestants introduced
themselves to the crowd stating
their real names and pageant
names.
The next portion of the show
Upcoming
March Events:
1-12: CAPT testing
14: ASVAB testing
periods 1-4
Library Media Center
14: Club Photos
auditorium stage
14: Unified Sports
basketball tournament
afterschool in gymnasium
16: Junior formal at
Vazzano’s Four Seasons
19: Winter sports awards
22: Dodgeball Tournament
gymnasium at night
24: Boys lacrosse team
Fundraiser
Shelton Sports Center
27: Spring sports preseason
meeting
gymnasium at night
29: NO School
Good Friday
were the interviews. The judges,
Mr. Ginand and Mrs. Martire,
asked a variety of questions, some
silly and others more serious.“I
was really nervous to see what
everyone was going to say during
the interviews because I heard that
they couldn’t hear the questions
The Blizzard of 2013
Lizzie Cerino
Ashley Pickering
Staff Reporters
Starting on Friday, February 8,
2013, Blizzard Nemo made its way
to CT. Stratford received a total of
33” of snow, causing school to be
closed for an entire week.
School was first cancelled
Friday, Feb. 8, when Nemo was
at its worst. Snow continued to
fall throughout Saturday, Feb.
9. Neighborhoods throughout
CT spent the week waiting to be
plowed, while residents shoveled
their way to work. Pay loaders
were struggling to reach every
street in Stratford.
Neighbors looked to each other
for their snow blowers in order
to get where they were needed.
Students found themselves trapped
at their houses when the plows
did not arrive. “I shoveled my
entire driveway to get to work at
Paradise,” senior Courtney McHale
said.
This blizzard was an historical
one. According to News Channel
8, on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 a.m.,
many other nearby towns received
record amounts of snowfall.
Milford received 38” of snowfall, and Fairfield received 35”.
Monroe and Bridgeport followed
with 30”. Next was Shelton receiving 26.5”. Hamden held the record
with 40” of snow. North Canaan
had the least amount of snow in
CT with a total of 11”.
Bridgeport and Milford had no
school all week as a result of the
storm. “It is what it is. The safety of
our students is foremost in importance,” administrator Dr. Nancy
Dowling said.
Stratford, after school had been
cancelled from Friday, Feb. 8 to
Thursday, Feb. 14, reopened school
on Friday, February 15.
Many students had mixed
emotions over this decision, since
it was the day before February
vacation. “I was happy to get out
of the house”, senior Courtney
before they were asked them. They
all basically had to wing it and sort
of improvise,” junior Neyra Benoit
said.
Following a ten minute intermission was the talent portion,
judged by Mr. Ginand, Mrs. Martire and Mr. Stein.
Mr. Video, Richie Debiase,
displayed his talent through a video that he created on his own. Mr.
Manager, Anthony Grzegowski,
accompanied by fellow contestant
Cameron Soares, reenacted a fight
scene from Star Wars with light
sabers as props. Mr. Library, Terrence Hunter, performed a dance
accompanied by James Shannon.
Mr. Outdoors, Vincent Pastor,
staged a comical scene with fellow
contestants Soares, Grzegowski,
and Petrahai that showed them
tying up an inflatable crocodile.
Mr. Nice Guy, Javan Parks, and
his dance group, Cake Boys Ent;
Continue to page 3
McHale said.
Other students, however, were
upset to come in Friday. “I’d rather
be anywhere but here,” junior
Mary-Kate Early said.
February break was not cancelled, though some felt it should
be because students were off the
week prior. The state legislature
and nearby districts will make
final decisions about the end of the
school year.
According to state law, school
cannot be in session past the end
of June. Unofficially, school is suppose to end on June 27, according
to the school calendar. Stratford
has yet to hear how snow days will
affect the end of the school year.
Check out:
www.bunnellhigh.stratfordk12.org
for more updates, schedules
and the latest BHS news
PAGE 2 BHS Scribbles
February 26, 2013
Advisory gives back to troops
Nora Turner
Staff Reporter
Over 2 million US soldiers
have been deployed overseas
since 2001. Hundreds have gone
without adequate supplies that are
essential to living normally.
Now, Bunnell students are
having the opportunity to help
the men and women defending
our country in a generous way.
Through the advisory program,
students have the chance to
collect and donate various snacks
and toiletries, as well as clothing
and games through the AdoptaPlatoon nonprofit organization.
AdoptaPlatoon sends packages and letters overseas to troops
who are in need of supplies and
support.The items that of greatest
need are snacks, microwaveable
food, and necessities like deodorant and shampoo. Cards and
games are also being collected,
something that keeps troops from
being bored.
Students should check the list
distributed during advisory for all
of the wanted supplies.
This is the first year the
AdoptaPlatoon program is being
run at Bunnell and is led by science teacher, Mrs. Carrie Tait. She
commented to the Scribe that they
were “doing (the collection) for
Rashaun Rosario and Mr. Navara’s
brother.”
Rosario was a graduate of
the BHS class of 2012 and is
currently completing his training
in Virginia, before being shipped
overseas. Navara’s brother, Dan,
has served in the Army for 33
years and is stationed in Kandahar,
Afghanistan on his second tour.
Giving back to those who are
in such great need is a positive
way to ring in the new year for
BHS. “Collecting items for our
troops, or getting donations for the
local rescue mission, allows our
students to have some self-worth.
Doing for others not because you
have to, but because you want to,
is a maturation process that all of
our students should go through,”
said Navara.
“I think giving back to the
troops gives students a good
chance to become better people,”
said junior Patricia Meade.
The current round of collection
is for juniors and seniors and will
run through February. Mrs. Tait
plans on mailing packages the first
week of March. Sophomores and
freshman will have the opportunity to give back starting in March
and continuing throughout April,
with a deadline of April 17th.
Students may drop off donations
to Mrs. Tait in C131.
Lasek. Since the tragic incident in
Newtown, Lasek and the Board of
Education (BOE) have released a
series of new safety policies to the
public.
“The safety of our students and
staff is paramount to all of us. The
most recent cases of school violence underscore the importance
for schools and local emergency
services to anticipate and prepare
for these types of situations before
they happen. Our BOE and district
leadership have been working
closely with Mayor Harkins’
Safety Taskforce and our local law
enforcement officials to improve
our response time,” Lasek said.
Durham School Services has
also released documents to assure
the public of their intentions to
upgrade security and safety of
students riding their buses. The
documents explain the new process of hiring bus drivers which
include background checks and
a two-component video training.
These documents can be found on
the Stratford Schools homepage.
“We’re very lucky that the district leadership continues to work
collaboratively with the mayor
and the first responders to redefine
the policies and procedures that
will continue to keep us safe. We
have implemented some swift
changes. It’s regretable that it took
such a tragedy to insititute these
changes,” administrator Dr. Nancy
Dowling said.
The safety and security of
the students and staff are a top
priority to town officials, Board of
Education and the administrators
at Bunnell High School, which is
a main reason behind district wide
recent lockdown videos and future
practice lockdown drills.
“I feel safe because we have
two great security guards who are
always on the lookout for danger,”
junior Ranya Hamada said.
New updates to district security measures
Celeste Burnett
Staff Reporter
Stratford Public Schools is
implementing modifications
to school safety guidelines in
response to the tragedy at Sandy
Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT . Schools all over the
country are taking a second look at
their security policies.
“Honestly, I felt a little less
safe. I felt like the same thing
could happen to us at anytime,”
junior Andre Ely said.
The security policy changes
have been adopted by the new
Interim Superintendent Margaret
Staff: Celeste Burnett, Elisabeth Cerino, Ashley Pickering, Nora Turner, Autumn Wright
Advisor: Mrs. Jennifer Record
Scribbles is a bi-monthly publication of the journalism course at Bunnell High School. The Scribe, the official
newspaper of Bunnell High School, is a monthly publication. These publications welcome submissions from the
student body and staff of Bunnell High School. Students interested in signing up for journalism for the 20132014 academic year should contact their guidance counselor, or see Mrs. Record in D5 for more information.
The Mission of Bunnell High School: Students will acquire content knowledge, strengthen higher order thinking,
and develop character in order to address 21st century challenges.
February 26, 2013
BHS Scribbles
Winter sports wrap up
Autumn Wright
Staff Reporter
As winter sports teams wrap
up the season by competing at the
South West Conference Championships, players and coaches
are taking time to reflect on their
performances.
Boys basketball takes home a
first place ranking in the S.W.C.
Conference, bringing the season
to a close with a final 19-2 record.
They will play Kolbe Cathedral in
the S.W.C. semi-finals tonight.
Senior point guard Matt
Nolting shared his hopes for his
teammates, saying “I hope they
continue to win, thrive, and focus
on staying together as a team.”
The girls basketball team ended
the season by placing 11th at the
S.W.C. Championships and obtaining a win-loss record of 6-11,
thanks to players such as Jessica
Bogdwicz, Erin Koletar, and
Lauren Kostopolous.
Bunnell’s rifle team continues to succeed this season after
winning all of their matches and
anticipate qualifying for the state
tournament, scheduled for Wed.,
Feb. 27th. Last year’s all-state
qualifier, junior Brigitte Curcio,
said that despite the fact that the
team has participated in less competitions than other sports, they
have “improved from last year
a lot” and that they are “doing
much better (and) our scores are
climbing.”
The S.W.C. championships for
the wrestling team were cancelled.
Although Alon Guglielmoni won
individual matches, no one placed
in the state tournament.
Boys and girls track had a
phenomenal season, with the girls
Mr. Yeabook
Crowned
cont. from page 1
Adam Samuel, Terrence Na’Dabian
and Wayne Williams, showcased
their twerking abilities. Mr. Football, Wydden Etienne, displayed
his talent of strength in the form
of an arm wrestling match versus
Do Nyguen. Mr. History, David
Wiegand, shared his love for history in a comical trivia skit where
team has runner Lindsay Szuch
who qualified for states. Julia
Prusaczyk qualified for states
in three separate events: 300
meter dash, 55 meter hurtles,
and the 600 meter dash. On the
boys team, senior runners Isaiah
Arthur-Brown won the high jump
and Terrence N’Dabian won first
place in the 55 meter dash.
The cheer team has done a
great job bringing pep and excitement to each game. They will
compete in the state tournament
on March 8th.
Boys swimming finished with
a 2-8 record; however, coach
Fielding says that “the kids have
steadily improved...they could go
a little faster than they thought
they could.” Fielding noted some
of his key players, including
Cameron Soares and Hunter
Mitchell-Adams.
Coach Carmen Pagliarella
commented on the bowling
team’s performance and overall
ranking of 8th place, saying “After two years, I’m excited about
having bowling reinstituted in the
sports program.” The team is held
together by their most consistent
bowler Ian Smith.
Step team had a strong season,
despite the decrease in size of
the team. Although they don’t
participate in competitions,
coach Liza Hanson noted that
they have performed at basketball
games this year and praised Ajoni
Wright, captain, who is responsible for making up the steps that
the team performs.
he recited a haiku poem. Mr.
Swimming, Cameron Soares, sang
publicly for the first time accompanied by Pastor, Grzegowski, and
Stephen Petrahai. Petrahai, Mr.
Band, performed with a rendition
of Fun.’s song “Some Nights” with
many members of the band.
“Definitely me singing. That
was the first time that I sang like
that on a stage,” Soares said when
asked about his favorite part of
the night. “I liked Mr. Nice Guy
PAGE 3
Bulldog Buzz: What is your
reaction to the new lockdown
procedure?
Taylor Jean-Guilaume, senior: “I
guess nowadays people are more
in danger. You have to learn how
to protect yourself.”
Sarina Garcia, senior: “When
Jeannine Hazel, freshman: “After
John Svatik, social studies
teacher: “I thought the lockdown
watching this video...I feel really
safe ...it’s nice to see that the
school is taking precautions...”
Hailey Meyernick, junior: “I feel
more safe knowing that they are
doing all they can to improve
Bunnel’s security to keep us out
of harm.”
because he did an amazing job
twerking and representing the
Cake Boys,” junior Sherice Mayne
said.
The results were narrowed
down to three contestants: Mr.
Nice Guy, Mr. Outdoors, and Mr.
Band and audience. Javan Parks,
who received the loudest applause,
was crowned Mr. Yearbook 2013.
I saw the lockdown video, I
thought that the new procedure
was very interesting...”
video was very informative. It
gave us a good idea of what to do
in time of a crisis.”
Aleesha Fraser, senior: “It was
somewhat helpful, but there might
be problems....with pushing the
desks when the intruder has a
weapon.”
Try outs for spring
sports begin on
Monday, March 18.
See Mr. Johnson in
the athletic office for
more information
Teacher Feature: Mr. Adkins
Lizzie Cerino
Staff Reporter
Mr. Brian Adkins, of the math
department, has taught at BHS
since March of 1996. Adkins enjoys helping students and likes to
have an impact on students’ lives.
“Mr. Adkins is truly a great
teacher. His funny jokes and
comments always make his class
enjoyable. He wants you to learn
and is always there for help, “ said
current sophomore student Monica
Gorton.
Before coming to Bunnell,
Adkins interned at Wilbur Cross
High School in New Haven and
also student-taught at Hamden
High School. At BHS, Adkins
has taught Statistics, Geometry
Honors, Intensive Math 10, and
Introduction to Algebra. He also
taught computers when he first
began teaching at BHS.
“Mr. Adkins is awesome. He
is an exceptional teacher as well
as an exceptional man. He will
do anything to help his students
and colleagues. I particularly love
the way he announces at football
games,” administrator Dr. Dowling said.
Adkins graduated from Marist
College in Poughkeepsie, New
York and completed his graduate
work at Quinnipiac University in
Hamden, Connecticut. He did not
decide to be a math teacher until
halfway through his senior year.
Mr. Adkins believes that being
a father has helped him become
a better teacher. “Over the past
couple of years, I try to teach the
way I would want my own kids to
be taught,” Adkins said.
Adkins has two major rules in
his classroom; to be on time and
be respectful. Adkins believes that
if his students follow these two
guidelines throughout their entire
lives, they will succeed. “As I tell
my students, these rules are not
just for this class. If they can do
these two things in life, they will
find success,” Adkins said.
Adkins has hit many obstacles
throughout his teaching career. A
few years after he began teaching
at BHS, four of his students got
into a major car crash. September
11, 2001 was also a day he will
always remember. The tragic
shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on Dec. 14,
2012 also had a profound effect on
Adkins, as he found himself a loss
for words.
Every year, on the first day of
school, Adkins’ students write letters to themselves about anything
they want. He waits five years and
then mails them to his students in
college or starting a career.
Adkins appreciates his colleagues here and thinks of them
as friends. He has coached with
Mr. Rooney for many years, and
he has also made great friendships
with Mr. Piroh, Mr. Jockle, and
Mr. Studley. Adkins, Studley, and
Rooney and their families have
gone camping together outside of
school. Adkins also spends his
time coaching lacrosse and chasing after his kids. Adkins plans
to retire when his twin children
graduate from college.
“Mr. Adkins is one of my
favorite teachers. He has such
a passion for teaching. I knew
I could always go to him for
anything. Having him as a teacher
has truly made my experience at
BHS a success,” former student
and junior Erin Koletar said. As
students continue to appreciate his
efforts, Adkins works hard to a be
a respected and admired teacher.
Spring sports preview
Ashley Pickering
Staff Reporter
All spring sports will begin
practices and training on Monday
Mar. 18 after school.
David L. Johnson, BHS’s athletic
director states, “I look forward
to having as many students as
possible participate, compete and
have fun. Hopefully our teams will
be successful in the state championship competition.”
Spring sports include baseball,
softball, boys and girls golf, boys
and girls tennis, boys and girls
outdoor track and field, and boys
and girls lacrosse.
Baseball and softball include
varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen teams, coached by Scott
Szturma and Michael Siksay,
rspectively. Games begin on
April 3rd and conclude on May
23. Sophomore softball player
Kathryn Seullivia is “looking
forward to having fun with the
team again.”
Boy and girls golf teams are
coached by Gregory Dobosz and
Kate Petrella. Johnson states “I
enjoy students participating and
competing in all sports at Bunnell...I especially enjoy watching
the golf and track teams since both
my sons played on the golf team at
Bunnell and I was the boy’s track
coach for nine years.”
The first contest for girls and
boys golf is Apr. 3 and the last
date to qualify for tournament is
May 29.
Boys and girls outdoor track and
field teams are coached by Jim
Brown and Barbara Poisson, who
is “looking forward to teaching
Nathan Hennig ran for spring track last
year. Photo courtesy of The Laurel
athletes all the events associated
with track and field and watching
the athletes achieve success...I
love coaching because I like to
teach athletes. I like helping them
improve their techniques which
make them better athletes.”
The first contest for boys and
girls outdoor track is Apr. 3 and
the last date to qualify for tournaments is May 22. “I am looking
forward to running in warm
weather, “ states Freshman Lizzy
Grznarik.
Boys and girls tennis teams
include varsity teams. Carmen
Pagliarella is the girls head coach
and the boys head coach has not
been announced yet. Pagliarella
states “I hope my tennis team is
going to be the best.”
The boys and girls tennis first
contest is Apr. 3. The boys last
date to count for tournament is
May 23 and the girls last date to
count for tournament is May 22.
Boys and girls lacrosse teams
include a varsity and junior varsity
team. The girls lacrosse head
coach has not been announced and
the boys lacrosse head coach is
Meghan Grabowski competed in a relay
event. Photo courtesy of The Laurel
Dick Cerone. Their first contest is
Apr. 3 and their last date to qualify
for tournament is May 22.
Rachel Mudre competed for the girls
lacross team last spring.
Photo courtesy of The Laurel