Curious about the Canoes in the Commons?

 

The Construction of Canoes

By Meglin Bodner

           The Advanced Woodworking classes have worked hard to complete handmade canoes with the help of their teacher, Mr. Niemiec, and various others. Mr. Niemiec was thinking of new projects that the students could try out. He wasn’t sure exactly what to do, so he asked another shop teacher. They came up with making canoes. Mr. Niemiec said that when he was in high school, he built two dinghy type boats. So, he had already had some experience with making boats. This gave him and his students an advantage.

He said, “I got the idea for the canoes from this fellow shop teacher and my wife then got me the book with the plans for these canoes, the rest is now BHS history.”

            Before the construction of the canoes could begin, materials were needed. They used West System Marine Epoxy, ¼” A/C Ext. Plywood, Pine & Maple, Mahogany, and Purple Heart hardwoods for seats and paddles. These were obtained by Mr. Niemiec at the Branford Building Supplies store near the town green and also Birbarie Marine, which is near Branford.

            Now, here was where the building came into play. It took about 2 months to build the canoes. Next came the planning. The plan was that the canoes were going to be tried out behind BHS at the boat ramp. The students weren’t sure if they would actually float or not, but soon they found the canoes to be successful! Mr. Niemiec remarked, “Yes, happily they not only float and are completely water tight, they are also extremely fun and easy to manage. They are designed for calm water and no more than 250 lbs. of weight, and are best suited for one person.” The only element that still needs to be put on is the paint, but altogether they did a really nice job with them.

            After the paint is on and the canoes are finished, Mr. Niemiec plans to raffle them at $5.00 per chance with the drawing at the Spring launch and barbecue during a field trip with the Occupational Foods Classes in 2010. At first, he was thinking on selling them, but no one stepped forward. More plans were coming about. Mr. Niemiec was saying, “Yes, we plan to make more each semester, and possibly some kayaks, in the hope of creating a new full year course specifically for boat building and framing.”

Branford Student Cooking on Channel 8

On June 11, 2009 James Bannon and Zachary Fair appeared on the WTNH Channel 8 midday show in a cooking showcase making Lemon Tartlets. The segment was taped early in the morning and air at approximately 12:30 last Thursday. If you missed it air, you can still see it here

Photo Credit: Here

-Madeline Alden

Fashion Alert: Peace, Love, and…Scarves?

By Merissa Blitz

Photos- Madeline Alden

This school year, many new fashion trends have bloomed. The two most popular seem to be the peace sign and the scarf. You can see many of the street vendors in places like New York City carrying scarves and peace sign attire. Scarves are popular at stores such as American Eagle, Hollister, PacSun, and many more. “I love wearing a scarf,” says Ashley Austin, “it goes with my outfit and looks good and, at the same time, it keeps me warms.” Delia’s carries a variety of different clothing options that contain the peace sign; they even have a peace sign scarf! “I made my peace sign in jewelry class,” explains Kearny Sneath “I like to wear it because I support peace and not war.”

People usually wear scarves folded in half and tucked in hanging in front of themselves usually with a plain shirt or a shirt of the matching color and skinny jeans. It’s also fashionable to either wear a scarf around your head like a head band, or as a belt. There isn’t any one specific way to wear a peace sign; instead, they can be placed on anything, and anywhere.  They tend to be on bags, scarves, shirts, drawn on pants, jewelry, and an infinite number of other options.  Though scarves and peace signs are two of the most fashionable items this year, it is important to wear what YOU think looks good, not just what is “in.”

Q and A with Ms. Valauskas

By Ella Borkowski

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: Guilford, CT

Q: Why did you choose to teach at BHS?

A: I have always heard great things about BHS, and feel very lucky to have been given an opportunity to teach here. It is a school unlike many others where the atmosphere is one of mutual respect between students and teachers and it is a place where students are given freedom that others in surrounding towns are not.

Q: Have you ever taught anywhere other than Branford High School? Where?

A: I taught for four years at Lauralton Hall in Milford, CT, and then spent two years teaching at the Bronx Zoo in NY.

Q: What do you teach?

A: Lauralton Hall: Biology, Env. Science Zoo: I traveled both nationally and internationally teaching teachers how to incorporate conservation education in their classrooms, taught courses in science education at Brooklyn College, The College of New Rochelle, Queens College, and Fordham University. Internationally I did capacity building work with communities focusing on their native habitats and teaching them ways to conserve them and educate people about their importance.

Q: What do you think makes BHS different than other high schools you have worked at?

A: There is a relationship between adults and students here that I haven’t seen elsewhere. It makes for a really nice environment to come to every day.

Q: Are you involved in any clubs, or bands? What do you do for fun?

A: I play, sing and write songs for a band based out of New Haven. We have one cd out and another on the way in October. Music has always been a huge part of my life, and I feel really lucky to be able to teach and play music on the side. I also enjoy yoga and being outdoors as much as possible.

Q: Why did you choose to be a teacher?

A: I sort of fell into teaching by mistake. I took a long-term sub position to make some extra money when I finished school and found out that I loved it.

Q: What makes teaching so rewarding?

A: I think what makes it so rewarding is that I learn so much on a daily basis from my students, and also get to share my love of science with them, with the hopes that some of it might rub off on them.

Q: Have you ever held a different job than being teacher?

A: I worked on a farm and at an environmental education center just out of college, I still waitress one night a week and I did some animal training at the zoo.

Q: Why did you choose to teach at a high school level?

A: Despite what everyone thinks, high school students are fun!!!!!!!!!!

Award Winning Year Book

By Liz Tate

The 2008 Branford High School Milestone yearbook won four marks of distinction from the National Scholastic Press Association.

The NSPA rated The Milestone yearbook a 42.50 out of a possible 45 points.

This puts The Milestone in the top 5% of the best yearbooks produced in the country.

In fact, one of the judges said, “What you produce here is a college quality yearbook.”

With award winning coverage, photos, concept, and design, Mrs. Butler wants it to be known that she is only the staff’s “cheerleader,” and that she gives them free reign to produce the yearbook.

She gives all the credit to the editor-in-chief, and other staff members.

Jack Prior, 2008 Editor-in-chief and graduate of the class of 2008 definitely deserves some recognition and praise.

He got everyone to do all they needed to do in order for The Milestone to be the award-winning yearbook it is today.

Let’s just hope that this year’s Editor-in-chief, Morgan Krause and her Co-Editor-in-Chief, Lauren Hackett can do just as good a job, or even better.

Lauren Hackett says, “since this is the first year for our all color yearbook, we hope that everyone will enjoy the new change and be motivated to buy a book.”

With this new change our yearbook should be brought to a new level, making it even better than before.

Fall Sports

By Alice Ni

Girl’s Soccer- After last year’s phenomenal season, the girl’s soccer team set higher expectations for themselves for this year. But although they played well, it wasn’t enough. Chelsea O’Connor who plays defense said that, “We’re all really athletic, talented, and hardworking, but we got really discouraged once our season started out rough and we never got back into things until the very end when it was too late.” The girl’s highlight for this season was beating East Haven after they had been beaten by them once already earlier in the season. The girl’s season ended with a record of 6-10. Coming off of such a great season last year, the girls had to play harder teams outside of their division this year, which is where most of their losses came from.

Girl’s Field Hockey- Just like previous years, the girl’s field hockey team performed well throughout the entire season. Kristina Ruotolom who plays center half backm said: “this was a very successful year, we were defensively strong and had a young offense, but it worked well.” The girls accomplished many goals, such as beating their long time rival, Hand- Madison twice, and winning the SCC Title Championship.

Girl’s Volleyball- This year’s girl’s volleyball team has set a high standard for the next seasons. The girls had a regular season record of 12-6. The four seniors, Zoe Lowe, Lexi Pepe, Danielle Bourne, and Nablissa Lomotey led the team with great poise that gave the rest of the girl’s motivation to play harder and better. The team won their Divison Championship defeating other teams like rival East Haven and North Haven.

Girl’s Swimming- The girl’s swimming team has performed up to par as expected. Throughout most of the season, the girls were undefeated until their loss to Cheshire. Two of the most anticipated meets were against Shelton, who beat them last year, and Amity. The girls defeated both of the teams along with every other team they faced, with the exception of Cheshire. Many of the girls qualified for state’s, and their great efforts left them with a strong 4th place finish.

Boy’s Soccer- The boy’s soccer season ended with a record of 4- 12. The team was led by captains Scott Berges, Matt Schell, and Matt Ragonese. The captains next year have been chosen as Nildi Pino, Tommy Verderame, and James D’ Amico.

Football- With two more games to go in the regular season, the football team has a 5-4 record. This year’s team has improved greatly compared to last season, with big wins over North Haven and Lyman Hall. In the game against Lyman Hall, the boys played excellent defense and completely stopped their opponent’s offense from gaining any points.

Congratulations to all of the Fall sports!

Look in the next issue of the Buzz for coverage of the Winter sports.

Connecticut Joins Massachusetts in Legalizing Gay Marriage

by Merissa Blitz

Massachusetts was the only state that allowed gay marriage until October 10, 2008, when the Connecticut Supreme Court came to the conclusion to allow same-sex couples to be married rather than just being joined by a civil union law. This past Wednesday, November 12, 2008, Hartford started to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

From October 2005 to July 2008, 2,032 civil union licenses were issued. That is a lot of marriages coming up! The radio station Kiss 95.7 is helping one couple’s dream come true by making a contest to have a gay/lesbian couple’s marriage broadcasted on their station and on Fox 61 Thursday, November 13, 2008. The couple that was chosen, Jenny and Jen, are residents of West Hartford and mothers to three children.

This is a very exciting time in the history of gay/lesbian marriages in Connecticut. Maybe, soon, the rest of the country will follow in our footsteps to becoming a more excepting government.

The Dreaded Senior Ex

By Jenna Grande

As if senior year wasn’t stressful enough. With college applications, tough classes, and extra curricular activities like sports and clubs, fulfilling graduation requirements adds another necessity to do. One of these requirements is creating and following through with a senior project, or, as many know it, senior ex. For those freshman or new students who don’t know what it is, senior exhibition is a project all seniors must complete with at least a score of 3 out of 5 in order to graduate. Students can pick any topic to do their project on. For example, if one has always wanted to learn how to play golf and is athletic, his or her project can be on learning to play golf. This project can be made fun if a good topic is chosen. It really is a great way to practice organization skills and other life skills while also having fun with whatever it is one chooses to do or learn!

However, some students do not necessarily agree with the idea of having such a big project. They feel, with it being so time consuming and stressful, it takes away time they could be focusing on colleges and class work. “Senior Ex has great intentions,” says senior Whitney Biancur but she, like many other seniors, feel it’s just too consuming. Despite the critical reviews of senior ex, it still gets done.

Senior ex is going to be required throughout the state in the near future so it’s important students start thinking about what they want to do early and plan it out to make it possible. Passing and getting it done are two important things about senior ex but perhaps the most important thing about it is having fun while learning something new; and that’s the best part.

A Glimpse into the Past: Veteran’s Day

By Jenna Grande

Veteran’s Day is commonly overlooked for its historical significance and, unfortunately, is considered just another day off for many students. One of the reasons why students don’t take the time to recognize the meaning behind this holiday is because they don’t know its background. On November 11, 1918, it was official that The Great War (or World War One) came to an end when in France, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. This important treaty brought to end one of the most destructive wars in Europe. Over 117,000 American soldiers lost their lives from the time the US entered the war, 1917, until the end of the war, 1918. (The last soldier to officially die in the war died on November 11, 1918.)

Despite the heavy amount of passed on soldiers, everyone truly appreciates the day off to look back on all the wars that we have won, the freedoms that we have because of this, and to give thanks. “I think this is the perfect time to thank people in the war right now,” says freshman Jeff Grande. With American flags flying high and parades across the nation, nationalism and patriotism boosts up American morale. Junior Julie DeLucia agrees. “It’s important we thank all those who served and are serving right now in the armed forces,” she says.

So this Veteran’s Day, take a moment and reflect on the freedoms you have today and be thankful for the ones who fought so hard for them. Go visit a Veteran or celebrate American pride by simply waving an American flag at a parade. With a whole day to do so, everyone should be able to squeeze in some time to do just that.

Peace Jammers Go to the U.N.

By Sean Smith
Peace Jam Field Trip to the U.N.

The peace loving school club Peace Jam ventured to New York City a month ago to visit the United Nations. There they heard the “messengers of peace” speak about the various troubles around the world. Some of the guest speakers included Jane Goodall, actor Michael Douglas, and author of a series of moving novels about the Holocaust, Elie Wiesel.

Peace Jammer Tara Leite says “I learned about the situations in Liberia and Afghanistan, and ways to spread the news about various world issues.”

The field trip seemed to be a real eye opener for the members of Peace Jam as it was both moving and informative.

Tara says people should “realize the great opportunities that [they] are presented with” when they join these great clubs and various youth groups.

If you are interested in joining Peace Jam, please visit Ms. Shirley for more information.