Automotive teacher Chris Bazzinotti is one of the people who advise the building of the Tiny House. He and others he worked with went to the 2017 Greenbuild International Conference at the Boston Convention Center. Bazzinotti, along with several Malden High School students, represented Malden High School and the Clean Energy Tiny House Project.

The convention went on for a week with a lot of contractors who have built houses and buildings. Bazzinotti said that “[he and the students] presented [their] Tiny House project from last year that they built using green energy to put power into it.” Bazzinotti said that presenting their work at the convention “was a great experience and brought together Science teachers, STEM teachers, English teachers, directors, principals, and students to one event which was amazing.” He said that “there were some important people speaking at the event and former president Bill Clinton was there.”

Bazzinotti adds that the convention “had workshops for people learning about solar energy, learning about geothermal energy, learning about tidal energy, and learning about nuclear energy.” He had also said that the convention offered “classes to people to teach them about different kinds of energies.” Professionals had come in to teach the workshops and the classes had started at different times so people could attend them to learn about different kinds of energy.

Automotive teacher Chris Bazzinotti. Photo by Jett-Le Tran Le

Bazzinotti says that “when the opportunity arrives, [he] would attend the event again.” He said that “it does not mean there will be another Greenbuild around here and that we were very lucky that [the convention] was here in Boston.”, as the event is held in different cities across the nation each year.

At the convention, Bazzinotti and about ten students had explained how the Tiny House worked and what they learned on the construction process, to people who had walked by. Bazzinotti says that “it was really amazing to see the students step up”.

On the convention itself, Bazzinotti believes that “Greenbuild was one of the coolest events that [he had] been to with students and that [the students] have done some amazing things down in the tech lab.” He believes that “[The Tiny House] was a special project because [they] got funding from the state and [they] could hire students and pay them to work on the project.

The 2018 Greenbuild International Convention will be in Chicago next year.

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Girls cross country prating before states. Photo by Quyen Le.

The Cross Country season is officially over. It has been a tough and very exciting season with an amazing team. The Girl’s Cross Country Team consisted of great leaders, intrigued learners ready to observe and improve, hard-workers with respectful attitude, and assiduous runners.

On Saturday, November 11, 2017 the team competed in States. The day before, Coach Courtney Invernizzi expressed how she truly believed that “if [the team] [were] confident in themselves, [were] smart with their running, and [persevered] until the end, [they would] be able to do [fantastic]”. She often reminded the team that “if [they] believe in [themselves] , [they] will be able to do anything”.

She also stated that “the biggest challenge [in states] would be the cold weather”.

Senior Kylie DiMaro has been improving and is “well-prepared” for states. She stated “[she is] very invested in Cross Country, everything [she does] during the day reflects [her] running, like eating, sleeping, making sure to stay hydrated.” She also stated that “[she is] very confident in [herself] and the team because [they] have worked very hard.”

Sophomore Emane Boufaida spends a lot of time on and off the tracks running and practicing. She believes the key to beating her opponent is “just to believe in [herself] push [herself] to [her] greatest potential”.

Sophomore Keri Gilligan felt “eager to see how [she] can place against those great runners”.

On her performance, Senior Jasmine Gray depended on her opponent by creating a strategy in her head which helped her overcome her opponent. She also felt that “[it was] really important to keep [her] legs warm before starting the race, especially in the cold weather”. 

On Saturday, November 4, 2017 the team competed in the North Eastern Conference meet, in which placed sixth out of sixteen teams. Coach Invernizzi stated that “[She] was very proud of them”.

Gray placed second overall. She expressed how it was a great accomplishment. She also mentioned that it was a “good indicator that [she] [would] be able to score well in the distance events in track”.

Overall, the Girls Cross Country team has had a successful season and are very proud of their accomplishments, both individually and as a team.

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Earlier this week, former president of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston, and survivor of the Holocaust himself, Israel Arbeiter revisited the accounts of his life in front of the seniors and faculty of Malden High School. He spoke about tribulations he overcame as a slave under the Nazi regime in Auschwitz.

With his arrival, groups of seniors, greeted Arbeiter on stage. Some students introduced themselves, and all were thanking him for coming out of retirement of public speaking to come speak to them. One student in particular, senior Taylor Winter, who also took a field trip to the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston where she first met Mr. Arbeiter, thanked him for coming to the school. Winter felt that it was “quite special for the students to listen to a Holocaust survivor tell their story for themselves”.

As the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, Antonetta Remedi-Brown expressed that “hearing another person’s ordeals [was]resonating”. She said that the “horrors” Arbeiter brought up in his story, “[were] the devastating reality of many Holocaust survivors, like [her] grandmother’s”. Realities like, divisions of families, starvation, and slave labor.

From Left to Right: Seniors Grace Lugo, Barbara Castro, and Shirley Maximin speaking to Arbeiter after the event. Photo submitted by Mayor Christenson.

Israel Arbeiter was born in a city called Plock in Poland. He was declared a slave at the age of 14 when the German army invaded the city of Plock in September 1939. Him and his family were then transported to a ghetto in central Poland c

alled Starachowice. The ghettos were used to give the German military an easy way to keep all Jews in one place so they could  transport them once the German government figured out what to do with all of them. Arbeiter, and two of his brothers were then forced to work at an ammunition factory to work for the German military. Arbeiter also had to work for the Gestapo which was the Nazi police force. He was forced to do things such as shine the officer’s boots. This went on until 1942.

Israel Arbeiter went on to ask the audience to raise their hands if they have taken a Holocaust history course, which resulted with nobody raising their hands. He then went on to describe how he pictured the decision to exterminate the Jews was made by a bunch of drunken high ranking SS officers.

Arbeiter explained how in the beginning the Germans would drive the Jews around in buses and trucks in which they connected the exhaust to the inside of them so that they would die of carbon monoxide poisoning. But because this method was too slow, the Germans came up with three ways to exterminate the Jewish people fast. They would lower their food rations, make them work hard labor with minimal food, and also use the gas chambers.

On October 26, 1942, a special unit came into Arbeiters’ ghetto and rounded up the Jews for selection. Arbeiter and two of his brothers were placed on the left side while his mo

Senior Taylor Winters speaking with Arbeiter. Photo submitted by Mayor Christenson.

ther, father and younger brother were placed on the right. He tried running to their side so that he can be with them wherever they were going but his father told him to go back to the other side and to carry on the Jewish tradition. His mother, father and younger brother were later murdered that day. He expressed this day to be “The darkest day of his life and [it] will continue to be until [he]  [dies]”. 

After that, Arbeiter and his brothers worked at the ammunition factory. He described the treatment they got resembled to animals. There was however a doctor because there was an outbreak of typhus within the camp. If a prisoner got sick then the Germans would kill them because they didn’t want to take the time to heal them.  The doctor would aid in the spread of the disease because he would not wash the thermometer he used to check the patients. Arbeiter was among one of the people infected and was put into quarantine. When the quarantine barack got too full, the Germans would kill the infected in the forest to make more room.

In his second night in the barack, a camp commander of whom which Arbeiter testified against after the war, came in and ordered the 87 people in the barack out. Arbeiter managed to sneak out but was still dead according to the Germans. This meant that he got no food ration. Arbeiter was helped hidden in one of the barracks in the camp by some of his friends. The risk of hiding somebody was that they would kill anyone doing so, plus 25 other people.When that barack was searched, they didn’t find him. Arbeiter was however brought back to a the quarantine barrack by a Jewish police officer in the camp that promised he would bring him food and help him hide if needed later. Also, a woman who worked in the kitchen who Arbeiter was friends with stole extra food for him as well. As a result, Arbeiter got stronger and healed from typhus. 

Photo sent by Mayor Gary Christenson. Pictured on the left is Israel Arbeiter, and on the right is Mayor Gary Christenson.

After a while, Arbeiter was forced to leave the Starachowice slave labor camp he was at and went to a number of different camps. At one point he was put on a death march where the Germans took a number of Jews around to different places and tried to find a place to keep them. He was liberated in the middle of this death march in the black forest on his twentieth birthday.

Arbeiter explained that he did not know what to do after his liberation. He was taken care of by a German family after that. But he wondered where his family was. He expressed the confusion he felt for being liberated after being a slave for five and a half years during his teenage years. His life was halted at the age of fourteen. He explained that he had no guidance from anybody and was not able to grow up normally due to all of this.

Arbeiter told the story of how he later stole a high ranking Nazi’s motorcycle. He said that this motorcycle was his lifeline. With that motorcycle, he could find his family, and reconnect with the women who saved him from starvation. Who later became his wife, Chanka Arbeiter.

Lastly, Arbeiter pointed out a poster hung in the halls of Malden High School which displayed the a statement saying “Stop Bullying”. He used this to express how the student of Malden High should know the power of resilience, and the importance of standing up to bullying. 

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The 4 years spent in high school are some of the most important in one’s life. Discover some of the experiences of 5 students at Malden High School.

The post Seniors at MHS: Their Experience appeared first on The Blue and Gold.

Malden High School students from Play Production performed the musical “Once On This Island” on November 16th, 17th, and 18th. This musical takes place in Haiti where a young girl named Ti Moune, played by Senior Ariana Teixeira, rests ashore from the ocean and is taken in by a couple. One day, she encounters a wealthy boy and instantly falls in love with him despite their divided cultures keeping them apart. The four gods, Goddess of Earth (Asaka) played by Junior Leticia Sidney, God of Water (Agwe) played by Senior Zack Dunphy, God of Love (Erzulie) played by Senior Nathalia Sousa, and the God of Death (Papa Ge) played by Senior Ramon Aguinaldo, are trying to shake some sense into her that she can’t be in love with the wealthy boy, Daniel, played by Senior Michael Goroshko who is from entirely different world. But Ti Moune refuses to believe that and goes after the boy. Unfortunately, it is not a happy ending for the two lovers because Daniel is forced into an arranged marriage while Ti Moune dies and turns into a tree.

Senior Ariana Teixiera as Ti Moune and Senior Michael Goroshko as Daniel. Photo by Jesaias Benitez

The faculty members from Malden High worked extremely hard on making this play come alive. With the help from Play Pro directors and English teachers Sean Walsh and Miranda Libkin, Band teacher Erin O’Brien-Mazza, Choral director Todd Cole, English teacher and Technical director Allen Phelps, members of the Haitian Club, Play Pro actors and technicians, and many more, it was definitely a beautiful performance.

Cole was responsible for the all the singing and preparing the soloists, lead characters, and ensembles in the Play Production. He found the “music to be so wonderful” and said that it was easy for him to teach and learn it. For other shows, he usually has to “switch things around and tell [the students who are singing] what part” which can become confusing, but this show was created in a way where Cole could “teach exactly [what is] in it and [he did not] have to [change] things to adapt to the voices.”  

As director and choreographer, Libkin said “it was really fun to put [the show] in front of an audience and see the way [they] reacted. [That is] always one of the best parts of any show.” Libkin stated that the number one strength of the entire production was “the willingness of the Haitian Culture Club and the Haitian community in Malden to help [them] and guide [them] and make it a production where [they] were celebrating that culture…[she thought that was] very special.”

French teacher Paul Degenkolb, who is the advisor of the Haitian Culture Club, said the club gave some background about Haitian culture and taught Play Pro about “the music, dance, and history as [they] [planned] the play.” Degenkolb also said the experience was fun, but it was more the students who took part in it and “all [he] was really doing was facilitating so that the Haitian students could have a voice in the planning of the play.”

Junior Nathaniel Tortorella Silva, one of the Head Costumers in Play Pro said “[Once On This Island] was a really good experience” considering it is his first year in Play Pro. They decided on the style and colors of the costumes by “talking to the Haitian Club and asking [them] their opinions on things…[they] wanted to make sure it was culturally accurate”. They had the help from a seamstress that was familiar with the Haitian culture. Silva looked forward to “seeing [his] hard work pay off and seeing the costumes that [they] worked on, come to life.”

Upon playing the lead role of Ti Moune, senior Ariana Teixeira wasn’t too fond of being labelled as lead because she felt that “everyone in [the] show played an important role in telling the story of [her] character.” What she loved most about playing the role of Ti Moune was the fact that she was able to interact with the audience along with sharing a moment with everyone apart of the cast, which made the show even more special for her. Although playing the lead role was considered difficult, it got easier for her to combat this role because of her classmates and directors.

Senior Nada Tuffaha and Junior Paige Pimental as part of the ensemble. Photo by Jesaias Benitez

Teixeira explained that “throughout the show, Ti Moune is focused on getting out there and chasing [her] dreams and [she does not] care about the obstacles [she] may face because [she] truly believes that [she will] get where [she] wants to be.” It was extremely important for Teixeira to have embodied the confidence of Ti Moune and where she was coming from. It was also difficult for her to act out these emotions on stage when she felt “uncomfortable” or was not feeling confident at times. Teixeira was “happy that [her performance]  was able to put a smile on people’s faces.”

Whenever Teixeira has to perform, she tends to get nervous. But this year, she recalled being “way more calm” and her “heart was racing” as usual. Since this was a musical, she was more nervous due to the fear that she might sing a wrong note or sing flat out horribly. That fear went away as she found out that with the audience, “everything changes and that can be a good thing or a bad thing, but as always, it was a good thing.”

Teixeira stated that if it was not for her “peers and directors and the Haitian Club”, she believes that she wouldn’t “have been able to perform Ti Moune as people saw [her]” and found that character in herself. She found Ti Moune to be “such an amazing character and [she] honestly doubted that [she] could play” without the help of others.

The purpose of this play isn’t about a peasant girl and wealthy boy who fall in love, it’s about realizing that one does not need to fall in love to be happy and that life isn’t always planned out the way one wants it to be, and that’s okay.

The post Malden High School Play Production Presents “Once On This Island” appeared first on The Blue and Gold.

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia.

Let’s flashback about four months back to when President Donald Trump posted one of his many nebulous threads, or a string of tweets, on social media site Twitter on July 26, 2017 at 8:55 am. This particular series of tweets barred the United States from “…[allowing] transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military…”. Trump then went on to describe the involvement of transgender people in the military as a “burden” and a “disruption” concluding that their participation in the military may soon come to an end. And so, a palpable state of gloom settled over many American citizens perturbed by the various implications that this mere 100-word statement would have on the United States of America.

Fittingly enough, this melancholia projected itself the most deeply through my twitter account. I consider myself to be a fairly Liberal person when it strictly comes down to a label, so inherently the twitter accounts I follow all fall within the same category. On the morning that Trump released the so-called “Trans Military Ban” tweets, there wasn’t a single tweet on my timeline didn’t have a mention of it. When I first heard the news, I immediately thought that Trump and his team of politicians had succeeded in provoking a reaction from the general American public and that vehement responses would linger for a while. I also felt like I couldn’t really react to the news itself. I only felt like I could react to its reactions–react to other people’s indignation, other people’s disdain, other people’s general feeling of deflation and hopelessness. A part of me also felt like Trump would never see this proposed Military Ban through. There would have to be some sort of external governmental power that would block Trump from following through with this potential decree. If not, then why would we even have a government to begin with?

Flashback a hair to about a month ago to when a federal judge suspended Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military. I hadn’t heard of this news anywhere on Twitter–my main source of news. I hadn’t heard a murmur of a reaction to it from anyone, online, or even on TV. It genuinely seemed like nobody cared in comparison to how impassioned the public was regarding the topic only a few months prior. I had only heard about this news more recently and in all honestly, my initial response was “Well, that was anticlimactic.” Of course, I felt deeply relieved knowing that our government had pulled through and succeeding in stopping the ban. I felt personally victimized by the initial tweets about the ban due to my close identification with the transgender community. When the news settled in, it truly felt like a slap in the face, knowing the our nation’s President openly stated that he essentially viewed the needs of transgender people as a illegitimate and burdening. I heard the voices of my fellow transgender siblings in voicing their opposition toward the tweets loud and clear, yet I hadn’t heard a peep of celebration over the ban actually being overturned.

A piece of news such as Trump’s military ban should have incited more than just heated debates and quippy remarks. The ban was a easy vehicle for people to feed into the cycle of reacting to inflammatory news yet not caring about it a few days later. It’s simply not healthy for people to have this relationship with news; this type of behavior only breeds more sensationalism into journalism, news, and politics instead of being productive and promoting the change and action that it should. Part of the reason why I find politics so hard to digest is because the news itself is never really presented in its raw form. It’s often clouded with the opinions and sentiments of other people before I view it with my own two eyes. Political news has never truly felt honest to me. A large reason why headlines such as these are so incendiary is because they create a spark from which their viewers can react to as opposed to presenting the news in its bareness. News has the potential to be more than that and ultimately it should.

When I consume news, I actively make an effort to see what I can do with the information I have the privilege to consume. I try to consider others viewpoints and think outside the political box I have put myself in. Maybe from this, the changes in my day to day life will actually encourage me to one day maybe call my senators and protest vocally. The most powerful forms of news spark reactions, but those reactions should entail actions as well.

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Chess, a historically highly regarded game of strategy, has found its place at Malden High School. On Tuesdays, Malden High School Chess Club meets to compete against each other and practice on bettering their skills in chess. The club includes and accepts both proficient chess players as well as people who would like to learn how to play chess. In total there are about 15 to 20 members in the club.

The idea of the club came mainly from a senior at Malden High School named Dylan Duarte. Him and friends such as Matheus Pereira came with the idea in the Malden High School Library while they were playing chess. They thought it would be a good idea to start and actual club for chess since so many people enjoyed playing it in the library. Thanks to Dylan Duarte who acted upon this idea and got the club started, chess club is now open on tuesdays after school in the Malden High School Library.

The club is run by senior Matheus Pereira who is president of the club. The club is currently looking for a Vice President, which they will choose by having a tournament within the club. The club is open to regular chess players as well as anyone who has never even played chess before. The club offers to teach anybody who wants to learn and who is willing to put the effort into it.

There are competitions within the club but members do not have to be apart of the competitions to be a part of the club. Members can also join just to play chess recreationally as well. The club does plan on growing and competing against other schools in the future. But since the club is new and many of the members are not proficient enough in the game, they are waiting for the club to grow as well as the skill set of their members in order to actually create team that is competitive enough for other schools.

The chess club was not created for competition. The club was started mainly for recreation and for an opportunity to create a good community of people who enjoy playing chess. Any sort of competition is optional if you are a member of the club. As said by the president of the club Matheus Pereira, “Honestly, our goal is to have fun, meet great new people, and get better at chess. Simple as that”. Chess club is always accepting new members to make sure all of that happens.

Members of the club playing chess. Photo by Antonio Tarantino.

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A collection of photography and paintings. Photo by Cristopher Correa.

By Gabriel Matnog and Cristopher Correa

For the second year in a row, Malden Arts hosted a Pop Up shop at 480 Main St in Malden, MA. The shop is open from November 16 to December 24, which is longer than last year’s open dates. The whole operation is run by Ose Schwab. When asked about the inspiration for creating the shop she stated “It all started last year. This space has been open for many years, and an artist in the community suggested creating a gallery in this space. It also helped the need of local artists to exhibit their work.” After a few phone calls, they were able to acquire the space and open up the shop.

Although this year, they plan to provide a creative community space where there is art and performances. Schwab stated, “This creative space is meant to inspire and stimulate the community.” There are more artists in the shop this year with a total of 72, while last year’s was a total of 54 artists. A big difference in the shop is the addition of performances, which they host every weekend. They also have much better marketing in the shop, which they hope helps them get more sales than last year.

The items that are on sale in the shop are mostly handmade by the artists themselves, however there are also items that are made in other countries and then brought to the shop. When asked about the items that are on sale, Schwab stated, “[We] have hand printed clothing, quilts, silk screen prints, collages, glass blown items, ornaments, jewelry, textiles, baskets from Uganda which are sold by a non profit organization called Project Have Hope. [We] have photography, mosaics, books, CD’s, and wood art.”

An assortment of ornaments and jewelry for sale. Photo by Cristopher Correa.

Schwab believes that, “More marketing and getting the word out to more people, and merchandising is something that [they] look to improve on this year.” They also want more artists to come to the shop and be present to the public. Schwab also wants to even out the duties between every volunteer so that she is not the one doing all the work. 

Most of the art that is on display is from local artists, fine artists, or artisans from different parts of the world such as Zimbabwe. “It ranges from people who rely on their art as a living to those who have jobs but are skilled in a craft and don’t have the time to put their art on exhibit.”

When the shop closes, Schwab is going to sit on some citywide committees that discuss arts planning, such as possibly creating more pop up programs in different parts of the city. “We’ll be expanding the business and expanding the Malden Pop Up’s program.”

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Sophomore Haoxi Wang, has started his second year on the Malden High School swim team. Wang has been swimming since the age of six; practicing and competing in the stroke freestyle.

Wang as a child was introduced into the sport by his family. Before getting to know the sport, he wasn’t as interested, but later on, explained that “after a year or two of being forced into swim lessons [he] decided it would be fun to join the local swim team that was available at the YMCA. Ever since [he] made that decision was made to join, [he] stuck with swimming from then up until now.” Wang included that he loves the competition aspect that comes with the sport and the feeling of improving with every practice.

Wang described that everyone on the has a good chemistry, explaining that “the people that are on the team…make the sport so much more fun. The team aspect really makes [him] feel like they’re my other family”. With this, he also explained how everyone on the team is looking forward to the remainder of the season.

Some of Wang’s strengths as a swimmer, are freestyle sprinting, specifically the 50 yard and 100 yard. Anchoring both the 200 yard medley & free relays at states last year, he holds the current record for the 200 yards medley relay.

Moreover, he revealed that as an athlete this season he plans to reach a personal record “on the 50 & 100 yard free”. As a student Wang aims to “to build more relationships with both teachers and students”

Wang claimed that he does, in fact, have areas of improvement, stating that, “[he] [needs] to improve on some specific stroke techniques that will hopefully allow [him] to swim faster and shave off more time”. Furthermore, he mentioned that the team “lost quite a bit of swimmers last season, but [they] also have a high turnout of new swimmers this year. [The team] [needs] to improve teamwork wise, getting to know the new swimmers more and bond as a team with everyone new and returning swimmers.”

Although he is excited about the new league (N.E.C)  he also expressed feeling nervous for the future competitions and meets. However, he stated that he believes he is ready “with the practice here at the high school and at [his] club swim team [he] [thinks] that [he] [is] well equipped for the remainder of the season.”

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Screenshot of MIAA Sportmantship Summit from Malden High Athletics’ Twitter Account.

The 24th Annual MIAA Sportsmanship Summit was held at Gillette Stadium with over a thousand participants this year. The MIAA Sportsmanship Summit is an event that is held to honor and educate those who give priority to sportsmanship in their schools and continue to try to improve the athletic culture in high schools all over Massachusetts. At the Summit was Holland House Principal and president of the MIAA Marilyn Slattery, Malden High Athletics Director Charlie Conefrey and 11 MHS student athletes.

Slattery had learned about the MIAA from the previous school she worked at as the school’s team was in the MIAA Super 8 tournament. Throughout the tournament, she had gained “a better understanding of how the organization worked” and thought it was a “really good organization”. Slattery has “learned a lot” as the President of the MIAA as she was “never an athlete during school”. Being a part of the Board of Directors of the MIAA, she was “a founding member of an inclusion committee, which is working to open up athletics for everybody”.

Slattery had a “very nice experience” at the Sportsmanship Summit. One of the best parts of the event for her was seeing MHS students as she didn’t know they were also coming. As she doesn’t like speaking in big groups, having people from MHS had “made it so much nicer and comfortable.”

During her speech, Slattery had talked about women and sports. This was brought up by a recent controversy in the MIAA where a female golf player had gotten the highest score on the men’s golf team, and “as a result, she could accept the team award, but could not accept the individual award and go forward with that” stated Slattery. The MIAA is taking a look at the issue to see if the rule should be changed. Slattery mentions that “It’s really exciting to be a woman and be part of the MIAA right now” because she believes that there are a lot changes coming.

Slattery mentioned how it is interesting to look outside of what is done at MHS as she knows people who are a part of the MIAA that live on the other side of Massachusetts, and their concepts of team sports and what they do and how they work is so different. Slattery also mentioned that “the whole experience, as a non-athlete representing athletics” is kind of crazy, but kind of good.

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Ending the season on a positive note, Malden High’s football team defeated the Medford Mustangs with the score of 27-22 at the Hormel Stadium. Although the Tornadoes had their struggles this season, the game against Medford was an important one with a 130 years of history behind, and a victory earned them some bragging rights against their rivals and concluded the season in a good way.

The Football team photograph with Mayor Christenson after their Thanksgiving Day victory. Photo courtesy of Marcus Simon.

Malden controlled the game during the first and second quarters with some huge  chunk plays. During the 3rd quarter however, Medford started to improve and outscored the Tornadoes, seemingly shifting all the momentum in their favor. However, with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, nearing the end of the game, Malden scored a clutch touchdown and getting them the win in the 130th meeting between the second longest high school football rivals in the country.

In the first play from scrimmage, malden scored an 80 yard touchdown  to take a 6-0 lead Malden. The tremendous start to the quarter continued when senior Edouard Bazile scored another touchdown for Malden, increasing their lead 13 – 0 with 2 minutes left in the 1st quarter. Bazile ended the game with five carries for 84 yards, including that touchdown, while sophomore Wootchy Pierre Rene took five carries for 109 yards and a score himself. Before halftime however, Medford replied with a touchdown of their own reducing their deficit to only six points going into the half. 

Team members in the midst of an intense play against Medford. Photo courtesy of Marcus Simon.

During the second half, Medford scored with five minutes remaining in the third quarter and  made the score 13 – 12 Malden. Malden soon responded with a touchdown of their own, but a safety by the Mustang defence brought the scoreline to a narrow 19 – 14 lead for Malden with 2 minutes left in the game. A couple minutes left in the 4th quarters, and the score changed to 27 – 22 Malden and everybody cheering for Malden to score, the football team got a big stop on the 4th and 9. 2 minutes left remaining for the game to be over and the score still 27 – 22 Malden, the team got another stop on the 4th and 10 and the stadium was loud and Malden fans started cheering on for Malden football team to score. The time is over and with the score of 27 – 22 Malden, the Malden Tornado football team score their first and final win and this topped their season with good note for themselves.

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Sophomore Ved Gray photographed by Jett-le Tran Le.

Ved Gray is a sophomore and this year is his second year on the wrestling team. The season had started on monday November 27th of 2017. Gray said that he likes wrestling because it is something that he cares about, that it is fun, and it is something that he takes joy in doing. He had already walked into high school already wanting to try out for the wrestling team. The thing that had really convinced him were the wrestlers going around asking people to join the team. This happened during the activity fair when he was a freshmen coming to Malden High. He said that when the people were running around asking people to join he was already convinced and wanted to join the sport.

Gray had said that “last year [he] was one of the lightest guy on the team so it is going to be a change of pace this year.” The wrestling is split up into different weight classes and depending on your weight is the class that you will wrestle in. Since this year the guys are more evened out, it is going to be a different experience from last year. He says that the team does not have tryouts, as long as you pass in your Appendix D and ask to join the sport then you will become apart of the team.

Gray said that this year he is looking forward to sectionals this year. He is hoping that he does better in the sectionals this year than last year. His freshman year he did not do too well and is hoping he does better this year. Gray said that “sectionals are the qualifiers for the states.”

Gray’s hobbies other than wrestling is running since; he took cross country before the season before wrestling. He also likes to swim during his free time. He would recommend people join the wrestling team because the sport can get you better in shape. Even if you’re not that interested in competing it is a really good sport to take part in, so you can be a better all you. When you do join the wrestling team you are able to meet new people on the team that you have not met before. People can make new friends when joining the team and should try it out to see if they might enjoy it.

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Junior Salma Bezzat, who is the youngest captain of the MHS Girls Basketball team, is hoping for this season to be more like a “family” a s well as having everyone the same page, which is to win states. She stated, “[She knows] [it is] in [the team], [they] just need to work and practice like it is the day before the game, or [it is] all on the line.”

Girls’ Basketball team mid-practice. Photo from the Blue and Gold archives 2016-2017.

Bezzat explained that her experience last season as a sophomore on the varsity team allowed her to have a different experience in the sense that there was a whole different coaching staff who were also new to the program. She continued to explain her first experience on varsity and said that she got a “high” from the feeling of being on varsity. She continued to say, “it just overpowered the bad things that [should have] been fixed last year.”

Although MHS Girls’ Basketball had only been able to win five games last season, Bezzat made clear that there is still room for improvement. However, regardless of the record, she added that she was able to get along with everyone on

Junior Selma Bezzat on the court. Photo from the Blue and Gold archives 2016-2017.

her team.

Becoming a “family”, beating the record from last season, and making it to states is the goals that Bezzat plans on achieving by the end of the season. She adds that personally, she wants to feel more confident as a basketball player.

Sophomore Meley Ephrem, who plays the position shooting guard on the varsity team, mentioned that Bezzat is the youngest captain on the team and explained that she encourages the team to do better as well as pushing them to try their hardest.

Ephrem explained that she hope the season goes well and hopes to have a close relationship with all of her teammates. She is looking forward to playing a successful season and making it to finals at TD Garden. 

Bezzat added that she herself is looking forward to the leadership responsibility, now that it is her first year being captain. Bezzat stated, “[She is] excited and both terrified at the same time and [she is] also looking forward to [the] new team and what [they] have to bring.”

Ephrem describes that the team will all grow and expand as a whole, including their basketball knowledge and their friendships.

Although there are new members to the team, there are also new members to Bezzat as well. Losing three seniors allows for the junior varsity players to be able to prove their point that they deserve it and were put on the team for a reason. She continued to explain how her teammates will push her as she pushes them to do better as well. She stated, “But [it is] all for the better of the team, and to beat [their] goals.”

Now that the season is coming to a start, the girls are determined and ready to persevere through the upcoming games that are soon to come.

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Recipient of the the Peter Donoghue Golden Eagle Award, Patrick Pereira, giving his speech. Photo courtesy of Paul Hammersley.

On November 18, Malden High School’s Tornado Club held their 32nd Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony. Distinguished leaders from Malden were all present at this event, including the Mayor of Malden Gary Christenson, the Superintendent of Schools John Oteri, and the Principal of Malden High School Ted Lombardi.

In addition, many of Malden High School’s alumni attended to the event and were recognized. The Golden Tornado Club now has 245 members, including the seven 2017 inductees. One being former Physical Education teacher, and current Athletics Director. The other inductees were Paul Frazer, Paul Miller, William Roderick, Corey Johnson, Shelia Nanjenjo, and Stephan Verdi.

Former Athletics Director Charlie Connofrey photographed with MHS Principal Ted Lombardi. Photo courtesy of Charlie Connofrey .

A scholarship for $1,000, the Peter Donoghue Golden Eagle Award, is given to a Malden High School athlete every year. Last year, basketball player, Nathaniel Ilebode was given the scholarship. This year two people from the senior class of 2018 was awarded with the scholarship, Patrick Pereira and Harrison Zeiberg.

Patrick Pereira has played soccer since middle school, and has continued his soccer career for all four years while being at Malden High School. He stated, “It’s not just playing the sport,” to him soccer has been a pivotal point in his life. He added that he will always “remember the amazing records set, the moments created, and all the other fun activities that occurred during the season”. Pereira believed that the relationship with his team members and Soccer Coach Jeremiah Smith “made [his] essay a little more meaningful”.

In addition to the Peter Donoghue Award, two people were given the Distinguished Service Award. The two individuals were Henry Dorazio, Jr. , and James “Jimmy” Dorazio. Also, Harry Mehos and Dick Vaughan was given the Golden tornado Club Alumni Award.

Aside from awards, current Officers, Board of Directors, and past Presidents were honored at the event.

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After three years since the release of 1989, Taylor Swift returns to the music scene with Reputation, her sixth studio album and her second pop album.

I have been an avid Taylor Swift fan since my freshman year of high school, after listening to the album Red in anticipation of 1989. Like most Taylor Swift fans, what attracted me to her music was her honest, youthful spirit relating to relationships and, in her earlier albums, high school. Now, in her late twenties, Taylor Swift has grown up into a woman who continues to inspire me and other young women who have felt shamed, betrayed and criticized by the world around them.

Taylor Swift performing in 2017. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

At my first initial hearing of the album, I was shocked by the drastic change in Swift’s lyrics and musical tone from 1989. It seemed like she went from catchy, bubble-gum pop tunes to something in the works between dubstep and hip-hop. Not only that, but the meanings behind her songs changed along with type of music. Swift has been culturally known for her break-up songs against men who have wronged her. Now, Reputation does have takedown songs against the media and those against her, particularly the lead single “Look What You Made Me Do” and “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”, but it appears that Swift has finally found Mr. Right, as indicated by songs such as “King of My Heart” and “Call it What You Want”. Some of these songs reflect mature messages that were never previously displayed in Swift’s song. She has said goodbye to “dating the boy on the football team” and has moved on to “whiskey on ice”

While Swift sets a superb example of how to create success out of struggles one goes through in life, what really struck me about this record is that despite all the media has said about Swift, she still got her happy ending. For a 17-going-on-18 young woman like me, this is such a heartwarming, reassuring message. If Taylor Swift can pull through being ridiculed by the media and consistently having her heartbroken, then I can get through my college application deadlines and my rhetorical analysis paper. Reputation proves that while people will say what they may, one doesn’t have to give them the power to determine how one is represented.

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Recently, the National Education Association/National Council of Urban Education Associations presented a grant, 2017-2018 Urban Grant to the Malden Education Association. As stated by President of the Executive Board of the Malden Education Associations, Deborah Gesualdo, “The Malden Education Association, Massachusetts Teachers Association, and National Education Association are the professional associations/unions at the local, state, and national level in which Malden has professionally certified faculty (educators, principals, assistant principals, program managers and etc.)”.The National Education Association is known for being a teachers union.

The Urban Grant is given to twenty-five applicants annually. The grant amount goes up to five-thousand dollars. On the National Education Association website, it lists the “strategy plan” with five requirements that a program must meet in order to be awarded with the grant.

One requirements is Membership Organizing which serves to enhance membership growth or enlarge the number students and teachers. Another requirement is that a program must be able to “implement strategies to support new and/or younger educators in the transition from Student to active involvement in the Association” in the Early Career Educators and Young Member Engagement. Leadership Development is exactly what it implies. Examples of this includes, “creating Building Association Teams; worksite organizing teams or an Association Organizing Committee. Community outreach Engagement is meant to increase outreach to underrepresented communities. Also, creating a committee for parent on educational issues. Lastly, Enhance Public Education is meant to protect members rights.

Specifically for large urban locals, it helps to be able to organize and strengthen the Association in order for the local Association to be able to be a stronger collective advocate for working families, educators, students, and the schools that students deserve.

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Written by Quyen Le and Angelina Prum 

Commitment and Common Sense Meet and Greet. Photo taken by Angelina Prum.

The Malden Reads organization hosted a Meet and Greet with author David P. Driscoll, who wrote the book “Commitment and Common Sense”, presented at the Malden Public Library.

Driscoll is a devoted member to his community. He served several years in the education industry. Driscoll started off as a math major at Boston College, where he earned a scholarship as well as his Bachelor’s Degree. When he received his Master’s degree, Driscoll became a math teacher and taught for 12 years in the educational field. Driscoll was named Melrose Assistant Superintendent in 1972, serving this role until 1993. Then, he was appointed as the Massachusetts Deputy Commissioner of Education. Driscoll is the youngest of 10 siblings and was raised in Medford, Massachusetts. Driscoll wrote this book about his life and leadership, and he recommends it to anyone in the education field, especially students.

During this event, Driscoll talks about his past and how his background helped him write his book. The audience was mature and they connected fairly well with Driscoll. During the event, the audience appeared to be very intrigued to what Driscoll has to say. Before the event, there were food laid out in a buffet display. The author and people at the event were friendly and welcoming to all the new visitors.

The book “Commitment and Common Sense” has a five star rating on Amazon. Reviewers thoroughly enjoyed the book. Miriam Freedman stated that they “loved reading this commonsensical” and that the book was “especially fun and nostalgic”. Freedman enjoyed how the book “[honored] the teaching profession”. A fellow reviewer, Robert E. Lee also shared that the story was well-told. Lee also stated that the story would “give skeptics and reform enthusiasts alike to ponder”. Overall Driscoll hopes his book can inspire anyone in the education industry to take leadership and learn from his story.

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Senior Matthew Chin during the hurdles against Beverly. Photo by Sandra Rivadeneira.

Senior Matthew Chin is sprinting into his last Indoor Track season with his determination driving him further than he’s been before. He has been apart of the Cross Country team, both indoor track and outdoor track and found that the adrenaline that racing provides fuels his intrinsic motivation to run.

Chin started running his freshman year when he wanted to explore something out of his comfort zone and decided to give track a chance with no knowledge that it would be what he would do for the next four years. When asked what he considers to be his motivation, he replied by saying “[his] team. [They] train together, compete together, and win together.” Chin has made many friends over the years and likes to stay in contact, even with alumni. He went on to tell us about how a great friend of his helped him get out of slump during his season.

“When you race, the adrenaline from competition fuels you to push through barriers that jogging will not provide.” Chin told us how the feeling overall between just jogging and an actual race is totally different.  A memorable experience Chin had was described as traumatic when he was at an intense meet in Somerville and tripped over a hurdle, but says that “it became memorable because the experience sparked [him] to return with a fiery eagerness.” Chin hopes to improve on his speed and execution when clearing the hurdles to increase his odds of making it to the State Championship.

Coach David Londino claims that  “[Chin’s] leadership serves as a model for the rest of the team. [He is] always worked hard to improve and help others improve.”  Senior Eric Toh explained to how Chin’s determination and hard work has helped him improve over the past 4 years. Toh also added on “what [Chin] lacks, [he] makes up for in hard work and technique. Every year [he] gets better and better.” Toh also said how Chin is great leader and role model to the team and a good friend.

Chin’s goals for this season are to “personally, [he hopes] to qualify for state championships in [his] last indoor and outdoor seasons. In terms of the team, [he] believe[s] that we will hold or even improve our record from the outdoor season — [they] recently joined the NEC conference and are establishing [themselves] as a team.” Londino believes that Chin has improved over the years, saying that “[Chin has] always been dedicated and for that reason [his] performance has improved each year.  [His] indoor 55 meter hurdle time has gone from 11.57 as a freshman, to 9.33 sophomore year, to 8.89 as a junior.”

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As winter approaches, so does the winter sports season at Malden High, including the wrestling season. Wrestling is one of the many winter sports that Malden High School has to offer. It is the sport of grappling with an opponent and trying to throw or hold them down on the ground, typically according to a code of rules.

Tryouts began on November 27th and continued to December 1st after school. The number of members on the wrestling team are relatively low compared to other sports. The numbers on the team have been dwindling throughout the years so anyone who is interested in joining will make it. But whether or not he or she competes is up to Rin Van, the coach of the wrestling team.

Rin Van is quiet yet effective leader. He is experienced at wrestling from when he was a student at Malden High School and was on the wrestling team himself. Jeremiah Smith was Van’s coach at the time and continues to work at the school as an English teacher. This is his second season coaching but had growing pains last year “mainly due to highly amounts of paperwork necessary for wrestling”  mentioned Athletics Director, Charlie Conefrey. He continued that, “Overall Rin has done a very good job” and is “highly consistent in helping the kids.”

Wrestling practices are after school from 2:30 to 5:30pm on Monday through Friday and 10am to noon on Saturday in the wrestling room across from the weight room. The Malden High School has created a new website where everyone in the school is eligible to see the winter sports schedules. Here, you can also see the wrestling schedule and be up to date with competitions and so forth. You can also get notified on whatever sports you choose whenever through text or email. Just make an account to get started and you can see when your next game is coming up.

So far, the wrestling team consists of seven wrestlers, six males and one female. Two of the males are captains, seniors Carlos Parada and Seth Jones. Two freshmen joined this year while the rest are returning members. Two of the members made it to state finals last year but hope to go farther as the season goes.

“Winning an overall match will be difficult for us this season” said by Conefrey because of the little amount of members. But with the team’s hard work and dedication, they’re sure to make up in what they lack. Long term, they hope to build the youth program to encourage younger students to join the wrestling team. 

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By: Sabrina Monteiro and Sidney Rodriguez

The next generation MCAS has been updated to a newest version of the nearly twenty-year-old MCAS assessment. A slideshow made by The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), mentioned that the next-generation MCAS is focusing on “students’ critical thinking abilities.”

Boyle House guidance counselor Erin Craven said that “the biggest difference that students will notice first, will be the change in the measurement vocabulary. [They] are going from the words “Advanced, Proficient, Needs Improvement, and Warning” to “Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Partially Meeting Expectations, and Not Meeting Expectations.” This is an important change because by doing so, students have a better understanding of meeting their expectations and goals. Craven also mentioned that students will “be switching to all computer-based testing for ELA and Math MCAS by Spring 2019, according to [DESE] current press releases” but that this new MCAS will not be used at high school levels yet and paper-based test forms will still be available if a student prefers.

From left to right junior Birukti Tsige, Catherine Bordonaro, Emmanuel Marsh, Jerry Leone, Michael Drummey during the school committee meeting focusing on the MCAS scores. Photo by Sidney Rodriguez.

Assistant Superintendent Carol Keenan added that “The Next Generation MCAS (also known as the “new MCAS”) focuses much more on students’ critical thinking abilities as well as [their] abilities to use [their] knowledge to make connections with what [they] are reading and writing in all subjects. The test is definitely more rigorous, but it should be as compared to a test that is 20 years old.”

The old MCAS being debuted back in 1998, the newest version will be first given in the spring of 2017 to grades 3-8 in English Language Arts and Math and will eventually make its way up through grades 3-10 in the spring of 2019. According to DESE, “2017 is the baseline year -the first year of a new assessment -and [they] expect scores to change over time, as occurred when the ‘legacy’(old MCAS) debuted in 1998. Massachusetts educators set these standards, and [they] raised them in order to make sure [their] students will be college-and-career ready.” They also mention that the results from the MCAS of 2017, “Do not mean that students have learned less; the next-generation MCAS measures in a different way.”

Looking beyond scores,the DESE shared the  “scores can identify areas where students need academic support, but scores can also reflect non-academic barriers to learning. Districts continue to work together to: teach with poverty in mind, build cultural competency,  support homeless students, and make schools safe for vulnerable students, such as LGBTQ students, recent immigrants, and others.”

In a letter sent home to parents of Malden students by Acting Commissioner Jeff Wulfson, he mentioned part of the reason behind the next-generation MCAS is “even though Massachusetts has the highest performing public education system in the nation, [we] have to keep improving to remain globally competitive. Equally important, too many of [our] high school graduates are not fully prepared for postsecondary education or training. That’s why [they have] embarked on this vital project to take responsibility for improving [their] own standards and assessments.”

Malden hopes that with this change, students will demonstrate a far more greater understanding and reach to success in the future.

The following is the opening statement by Superintendent John Oteri at the school committee meeting:

“I want to make this clear, this is last year’s test, this test is taken in the spring is the baseline test. I caution and sustain that we do not compare last year’s results to previous tests, its two different test. To that point, I also sent out a letter, it was on our website, I sent it out via backpack to all schools. And sent out a black opening message inviting parents here…We had a meeting, where I had each school, each program come in and present to our peers a couple Thursdays ago, before Thanksgiving showing their analysis of the results of, what are some highlights, what are some areas we need to work on, what are some of our next steps. What then we did in central office, we boiled this down to a consist overview of the MCAS results moving forward. So to start off, part of process, we got to reengineer and reorient ourselves to what the philosophy was before, with what the current philosophy is: Every student can and will succeed academically, and they will succeed socially, and they will succeed emotionally. This is part our belief in the whole child. We want to educate a whole child. We want to make sure it comes down to those three things. I have out in on all my correspondents agendas; Student achievement is our first priority. We are in a competitive world. There are three school opinions in Malden. I feel that we need to make sure we are getting every parent [at the school committees]. Mr Levine asked me ‘What would success look like?’, Every parent sending their child to Malden public schools, that’s why I feel feel very strongly about connecting with everybody. The days of hearing the excuse of that kids is special education, and  speak english at home are executive excused. People with special education, people who come out of poverty, English isn’t their first language, they are able to become highly successful people. We need to meet each student where they are. That’s the difference between an educator and a teacher…This is the Malden High School MCAS results..89% of our students in english and languages arts scored either advanced or proficient. Remember high school is still on the old legacy test. That is pretty good compared to the state average, which is 91%. Its pretty good, pretty good isn’t acceptable anymore, but it is a good point, we are not terribly behind the state average. We want to be ahead of the state but we are close, we are right there. We have make up work to do in our math. We are only at 76% of our students are advanced and proficient math. As oppose to the state average, which is 89%. There is an explanation of that, a new curriculum came in, last year it was a new sequencing of courses.Which we think will put us in a better position as we succeed. But that is part of what we see…With science and technology we hit 68% of our students in advance and proficient verses the state average which is 74%. We are close..” 

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