March 2014 The Blue & Gray Page 1 May 2014 Spring Fever A Wonderful Performance! Manasquan Sta and Students Take the Stage and Perform Young Frankenstein MHS Band Plays to Honor Wounded Warriors The King and Queen! Also in this Issue - Senior Acceptances - Surviving the AP Exams - College Advice - Spring Play Review - Teacher of the Year - Monthly Riddle March 2014 The Blue & Gray Page 2 The Stylish Mrs. Villano Named Teacher of the Year By: Kaylan Burns Every once River at first with in a while, a teach- children grades Kin- er comes along who dergarten through really knows how to Eighth grade. figure out the spe- When Mrs. Vil- Manasquan cific learning style lano had her daugh- of each student and ter, she took a whop- lead them to suc- ping ten years off to cess. These are the be a stay at home High School teachers who can mom. While she was really help a student not working, Mrs. or inspire a student. Villano became an The Blue & Gray And this year, one active volunteer in of those teachers the American Can- Volume LXXXII has won Teacher cer Society and of the Year here at many other organi- Manasquan High zations. Mrs. Villano Issue Six School. says she has loved This year’s helping others and May 2014 Teacher of the Year, plans to continue Mrs. Villano, may with these organi- Principal: be a teacher some zations once again students at MHS have not had the when she is retired. Mr. Rick Coppola privledge of knowing. They may rec- As a close friend of Mr. Bram- ognize her for her wonderful fashion ley, who was the head of the child Adviser: sense and beautifully colorful hand- study team at the time (also father of bags. However, those who do Mrs. our current vice principal), Mrs. Villa- Mr. James Mawn Villano know that she is much more no was asked to work as a Special than that. Education techer at Manasquan Ele- Mrs. Villano is a Special Edu- mentry School as a sub for someone Editors: cation teacher and finds herself as In- on maternity leave. Class Support for many students at Being back after ten years Megan McLean MHS. What did Mrs. Villano do to win was not easy, but Mrs. Villano worked this award? After 25 years (as of next and worked to try to get herself back Dara McGuinness December) in the Manasquan School into this temporary position. Once District, Mrs Villano knows her stuff. the substition ended, Mrs. Villano Staff: Though she thinks some students returned to her life as a mother, wife may think she is a bit tough on them, and volunteer until Mr. Bramley called Molly Bryant her dedication to her students put her upon her once again. Megan Chelednik above the rest. It was Decemeber 1989 when Mrs. Villiano did not always Mrs. Villano was offered a posi- Amy Conover want to be a teacher however. She tion as a Special Education teacher CJ Hobbie was a trained speech therapist once again, but this time in the high Vanessa McCarthy who began working in Paterson school. Though she was hesitant, Mr. with inner-city children. The severe Bramley convinced her that she was Andrew Sullivan situations that came with this po- significantly qualified for the position Annie McLaughlin sition caused Mrs. Villano to reeval- and she agreed to begin the next day. Mary Kate Otchy uate whether or not this position was As she began to work, Mrs. something she wanted to do for the Villano took classes to help her tran- Emma Paslawsky rest of her life. sition into the world of high school Kaylan Burns After thoughtful consideration, students, since she had never taught Mrs. Villano decided to switch profes- them before. She learned how to sions and become a Special Educa- tion Teacher. She worked in Toms continued on page 21 March 2014 The Blue & Gray Page 3 Manasquan Students and Staff “Killed it” in Their Rendition of Young Frankenstein! By: Megan McLean On April 3rd, 4th, and 5th Manasquan High School’s students and staff performed one of their best musicals yet, Young Frankenstein. Funny, dramatic, risky, this musical had everyone’s attention for the full time the actors where on stage. If you missed this mu- sical, you missed out on a wonderful night of theater. From the cast and costumes, to the makeup and sets, everything about this production was spectacular! still keep up with his A.P. classwork is beyond belief! All of the scenery was so well made, and the Along side these upper-classmen lead roles was the transitions from scene to scene (in terms of changing Frankenstein monster himself, Jackson Dunson. As a sets) were flawless. It was obvious that the sets were sophomore it is an honor to have such a large role, created by very talented students, and not produced and just like his height in those shoes he has to wear, by some company. In my opinion this just makes Jackson was OUT OF THIS WORLD! them increase in value. Any school can go out and To have missed out on this wonderful musical spend tons of money on sets made by another person is a shame, because it was one of the best I have ever or company, but the fact that Manasquan students put seen performed here at Manasquan High School. The their heart, soul, and art talents into the plays is what time and effort put into the show by every student and makes them all the more worth seeing. staff member was obvious because it ran so smoothly. The costumes not only were perfect for each In every way this was a wonderful prodution character and the person playing them, but also very to end the year for our drama club. It gained tons of interesting; not one costume looked ill put togeth- laughs from the audiance and packed the theater ev- er. From suits for the extras to a massive suit for the ery show. Mr. Weisert and Mr. Harvey did a great job Frankenstein monster, everything was so well done. piecing together this production. Also, stage manager, Just by glancing at what a character was wearing (even Sarah Kuper, did a wonderful job helping out behind before they said a word) the viewer was able to get a the scenes to make sure the musical went on without glimpse of their personality just by looking at their a flaw. costume. This musical, although controvercial due to The makeup in this play was masterful! From some of the content, was a great production to have Igor’s darkened eyes, to the creation of a green stitched seen here at Manasquan High School. From floating up Frankenstein monster, all of the makeup was flaw- tables, to lighting Jackson’s “thumb” on fire the play less. The students in charge of makeup really had a was interesting, funny, had great content, and flowed hard task with this set of characters, but they really well, like previously stated, it was a great way for the did a great job of capturing the correct look. participants of drama club to end the year. In terms of the actual production, the acting was marvelous! Seniors Nicole Heilos, Steve Petrides, Grace Rog- ers and Marina Melil- lo truly stole the show and blew everyone away! In addition to this, the musical’s lead J.D. Donohue was truly amazing, how he man- aged to memorize all of his lines and songs and March 2014 The Blue & Gray Page 4 Who was Pops of Color- Everywhere! Dancing Away the 2014 Junior Prom the best By: MaryKate Otchy dressed Stress boggles as girls flood local tunes, you could find students strutting at prom? salons, boys pick up corsages, and ev- their favorite poses in front of the cam- eryone searches for the satisfaction that era. Professional photos were done by everything is set into place. However, Lors Photography. Photos were a great “Jamie Roland” the chaos and last-minute prom touches aspect of the night, allowing students to -junior Mackenzie Queen dialed down as the evening set. This past now have the opportunity to look back Friday, students gathered for pictures on the great time they had dressed up in outdoors, enjoying the beautiful weath- different props. er. From turquoise, to red, to lavender, Nearing the end, prom-goers the students dazzled in their favorite anxiously awaited the announcement of bright colors, highlighting their overall the king and queen after hours of danc- theme of “pop of color”. ing the night away. A spark of excitement Balloons, glow sticks, sunglass- hit the room as Juniors Meghan Gilly es, hats and lanyards- just small sim- and Parker Black were named king and ple touches that made the night of ju- queen, followed by the court. The court nior prom such a blast and portrayed included junior boys Marc Galvan, Logan the theme of “Pop of Color”. The neon Sabins, Tyler Bradley, Sean Flarity, and theme continued as 232 students piled junior girls Shannon Schatzman, Chelsea “Max Hawkins” into the Belmar Waterview. A huge part Eareckson, Lauren Johnson, and Carly -senior Ryan of the night that determines if it is a hoot Garback. All members of the court were Kavanaugh or dull memory, was the music. The DJ thrilled and surprised by their own name & junior Max played hit songs, allowing the juniors to announced. Hawkins stand on their feet and dance practically Overall, juniors say they would every moment they were there. Junior not change a single thing about their Max Hawkins says his favorite part of dance, having a night full of fun, laugh- the night was dancing ter, and such a mem- to the song “Timber orable high school ft Kesha ft Pitbull”.