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OOctoberctober 331,1, 22006006 VVolumeolume 779,9, IIssuessue 1 TThehe QUUILLILL PPUBLISHEDUBLISHED BYBY THETHE STUDENTSSTUDENTS OFOF GHSGHS WWellnessellness PPolicyolicy PPg.g. 3 From Left to Right: Janna Cisterino, Carl Weiskott, Greg Rubin SSchoolchool SSpiritpirit Greenport “in a different light” PPg.g. 4 GHS yields three National Merit semifi nalists by Rebecca Jensen and Elizabeth Lieblein Whispering sounds spread intending to apply to many competitive throughout the school this September, colleges, including Columbia, Harvard, when the announcement was made that and Yale. Greg Rubin, Carl Weiskott and Janna Weiskott is a member of the soc- Cisterino were named National Merit cer team, Drama Club, and band. He is Scholarship semifi nalists. Out of 1.4 also involved in the Robotics League, million entrants, Rubin, Weiskott and a program that challenges students to Cisterino were among a mere16,000. work in teams to build a 200-pound ro- Exceptional scores on the PSAT/ bot that has to complete specifi c tasks. NMSQT distinguish the semifi nalists Weiskott plans on studying architecture; from the rest. Secondary School Prin- his current fi rst choice college is The FFeatureseatures cipal Michael Comanda commented on Cooper Union in New York City. the achievements of this year’s semifi - Cisterino has been involved in PPgs.gs. 66-7-7 nalists, saying that there had only been Interact Club and The Quill, and plays four students to earn this recognition in clarinet in the high school band. She is the past fi fteen years, with three of them planning on applying early decision to in this year alone. “It’s amazing,” says the University of Pennsylvania, where Comanda. Eric Weiskott, Carl’s older she plans on majoring in Accounting. brother, was the last Porter to receive If she is not accepted by Penn, she will this honor, two years ago. apply to several other schools, including The three semifi nalists learned SUNY Geneseo and Boston College. of their status this summer through These semifi nalists are proud phone calls from Comanda. They then of their accomplishments, but Rubin proceeded with the application process and Cisterino have serious reservations by providing a description of activities about the standardized testing process. participated in, a list of awards won, and “It’s dehumanizing,” says Rubin. Cis- SSportsports a personal essay. “It’s defi nitely hard to terino feels that preparation for stan- PPg.g. 8 write an essay all about your own ac- dardized tests “has gotten out of con- complishments,” says Cisterino. Rubin, trol.” With all the pressure to study and however, just “tried to be honest,” and prepare extensively, “no one wants to be Weiskott commented, “It wasn’t hard. I the fi rst to take the disadvantage of pre- tried to write the truth about who I am.” paring less.” Not only are Rubin, Weiskott, Despite these reservations, the and Cisterino high academic achievers, students feel that this is a big score for but they are also involved in a number of Greenport. Out of the four North Fork diverse activities. Rubin has been play- students named semifi nalists, three were ing the piano for 11 years, is a member from Greenport, a school commonly of Congressman Tim Bishop’s Student thought of as the North Fork’s under- Advisory Council, and has been select- dog. “It’s a real honor to beat the status ed to write the “Untitled” column in The quo,” says Cisterino, “to make the com- Suffolk Times. Although he does not munity look at Greenport in a different have any specifi c future goals yet, he is light.” 2 The Quill Greenport, NY our school To our readers, For the last two years, Greenport High School has hosted a fi ve-kilo- meter race in memory of Dr. Dennis Claire, a beloved English teacher who passed away during the 2003-2004 school year. My brother Eric founded and directed the fi rst race, and I took over the next year upon his graduation. I am again directing the race this year, and I would like to persuade any of our readers to attend. The event itself is an approximately three-mile run through Greenport and includes brunch and a t-shirt. The money (a nomi- nal $25 per ticket) goes towards the GTA (Greenport Teachers Association) scholarship fund, a local charity that Dr. Claire greatly supported. See you at the race, Carl Weiskott Wolfstock by Will Bunchuck While Greenport parents may teacher Lisa Baglivi. “It’s a great honor.” reminisce about Woodstock, some of their Explains Baglivi, “In my Drawing children may remember Wolfstock. Wolf- and Painting class last year, we designed stock was a program begun by Stonybrook and painted the statue they gave us.” University for their homecoming celebra- “It was a lot of fun,” said Saman- tion. They asked high schools from Nas- tha Reed, one of the students in last year’s sau and Suffolk Counties to decorate a Drawing and Painting class. “The wolf statue of a wolf, in a style emulating New came out very nice.” York City’s “cow” project. Greenport Of all six teams, Greenport won High School was one of the schools asked the award for “Best Community Spirit.” to join. “This is the third year this compe- “Out of all the schools in Suffolk tition has taken place,” says Baglivi. “It and Nassau County, six were selected was a great experience, and I think it was and Greenport was one of them,” says art a lot of fun.” From left to right : Michelle Schiavoni, Lisa Baglivi, Samantha Reed, Tim Bundarchuck, Michael Comanda Participation fl uctuation by Caroline Seas The fl ock of students fi lled class meetings. “There were only up to the next meeting. afternoon meeting, there will be no the hallways, some wearing pajama four people at our meeting, so I had Another issue remains: Prom.” Fifteen people showed up. pants and half an eye open. As on to be something,” said Elizabeth Li- Prom. Is it going to happen or not? Apparently, all that students need is any other Greenport morning, they eblein, of her position as freshman Two meetings were set up on the a little push for them to participate dragged themselves to class; but class vice president. same day in September; one in the more. “ People do care more this this time, most of them were un- After the horrible outcome morning and one in the afternoon. year because of Prom,” says Doug- aware that their class meetings had of their joint meeting on October Since no one showed up to the las. “They feel that they now have taken place that morning. 5, fl iers were posted throughout the morning meeting, junior class ad- goals, so they push themselves to Brandi Hopkins and Cynthia halls, reading, “Class meeting on viser Melanie Douglas submitted help.” Goldsmith-Agosta preside over the 10/11/06: be there or there will be a strongly worded announcement, combined freshman and sophomore no fl oat.” At least 15 people showed reading, “If no one shows up to the THE QUILL Vol. 79 Issue 1 October 31, 2006 The Quill is the offi cial publication of EDITORIAL BOARD Greenport High School. Opinions ex- pressed on the editorial pages do not EDITORS-IN-CHIEF William Bundarchuk necessarily refl ect the viewpoints or of- Greg Rubin Julia Loveless fi cial policies of the school. The Quill Carl Weiskott Billy Robins welcomes readers’ opinions on all top- Carl Weiskott ics. Letters must be signed, but names STAFF/REPORTERS Greg Rubin may be withheld upon request. The Rebecca Jensen Caroline Seas editors reserve the right to reject, edit, or Elizabeth Lieblein shorten letters. All letters should be sent Sarah Parker ART AND LAYOUT EDITOR to The Quill, c/o Mrs. Gibbs, Greenport Chelsa Purcell Jose Duran High School, 720 Front Street, Green- Jessica Colon port N.Y. 11944. Zoe Panagopoulos ADVISER The Quill was awarded for CSPA Silver Sarah Golden Mrs. Jennifer Gibbs Kristin Biggs Medal Certifi cate for ther 2004-2005 publications. The Quill Greenport, NY 3 our school See ya’, sugar Greenport’s new wellness policy How low will it go? by Kristin Biggs, Jessica Colon, and Katie Johnson GHS absence policy tightens by Julia Loveless For the past fi ve years, annual changes have been made to Greenport High School’s attendance policy. Secondary School Principal Michael Comanda has made the decision for the chang- es alone. In an attempt to raise the total percentage of daily attendance, Comanda formulated a plan to take the number of allowed ab- sences down by two days each year starting in 2001. That year, the attendance percentage among high school students in Green- port was about 90%. “That’s low. The average for high schools is more like 93 or 94 percent. Our goal is to reach 95%,” explains Comanda. Students from grades 7 to 12 are now allowed only twen- ty absences for a yearlong course, ten for a half-year course, and seven for a trimester course. Regarding the previous number of allowed absences, Comanda stated, “That’s an entire month of school. You’d be missing too much.” From left to right : Jessica Millman, Sarah Morey It took six months to develop, many stag- There is a lot of controversy over the sin- more Krista Bracken adds, “The food doesn’t fi ll es of revision, a lot of clashing, and three board gle monthly birthday party. “The kids don’t un- me up.” Even though some students have not meetings to pass, but Greenport now has a new derstand why they can’t have their own special responded positively to the new policy, teachers wellness policy.