Community Corner

A Letter from Your Editor, Jasmine DeLeon

Dear neighbors,

I hope this message reaches you in good health and spirits. In these difficult and unprecedented times, it is hard to imagine the struggles each and every one of us is going through. I want to thank everyone who is making sacrifices for your families and your community. Hearing stories about what many of you have done for people you don't even know is more than touching; it has been incredibly inspiring and uplifting.

We wanted to share these stories with everyone and continue informing the community, so welcome to this digital version of The Prowler. This has been a goal we have wanted to achieve for several years, and we are so excited to share this with everyone!

As this is my last year at BRHS, on behalf of the other editors, it is important that we acknowledge some special people. Thanks to our staff who have explored the world of journalism together and will, I have no doubt, continue doing great work; we are so proud of the curiosity, bravery, and diligence you have shown us these past few years. Thank you so much to our preceding advisor, Dr. Kathalyn Messano, who has worked tirelessly to encourage and guide us through each issue, inspiring countless graduates to continue writing and editing for their college newspapers. On the same note, we are very grateful to be working with The Prowler’s new advisor, Ms. Mallory Potosky, who worked with me to make the newspaper digital, and brings so much experience and energy to the organization. Lastly, thank you to everyone who supports The Prowler; we are more than just a newspaper staff but part of a collective community, the BR community, who have many stories that are worth sharing.

Just as The Prowler is a team, BR is a really great team, and we will get through this pandemic together.

Best regards,

Jasmine Rose DeLeon

Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Prowler

published May 2020

On Top of the World

It's no surprise that the Math department calculated the perfect way to send a message to their students.

Cheering Us On

The Physical Education Department took to the outdoors to remind us that we are BR Strong.

BR The World

BRHS Administration and the Music Department came together to remind us we can still make a brighter day for one and all.

Sending Smiles

Students have brought such joy to the Special Education staff, they wanted to return the favor.

Art All Around

Through it all, the Art Department continues to create, and hopes you do, too.

FACS Greetings BRHS.mp4

At Home with Consumer Sciences

The Consumer Science department shares some cheer and how they're keeping busy sewing and baking.

BRHS Attends Princeton Model UN Conference

by Sujay Edavalapati, Writer

Some students at the Bridgewater-Raritan High School had the opportunity to go to Princeton, New Jersey for the annual national Model UN conference. PMUNC (Princeton Model UN Conference) is a highly selective and prestigious conference where students are able to get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet delegates from all over the United States. In this conference, students were able to meet and discuss various issues including nuclear proliferation and national security. This conference also consisted of opportunities for students to use their creativity and experience out-of-the-box situations like in crisis committees. These crisis committees allow students to portray the role of a character in hypothetical situations and come up with different ways for the individual to assert power. In addition, there are specialized committees that will deal with more specific issues while general committees handle more broader issues.

The Princeton Model UN Conference occurred from November 14 - 17, 2019 at Princeton University, and it was crucial for helping students engage in world issues and improve public speaking. Many of our own students were able to bring home awards and be able to have discussions with people from as far California on different geopolitical issues. Model UN gives students the opportunity to take their speaking and cooperation skills to the next level, allowing them to improve their ability to communicate and create compromises between delegates from different countries. The Model UN Club at BRHS attends several conferences just like this past one in Princeton and aims at getting students more prepared for the real world where public speaking is crucial and compromise is inevitable. In addition, it provides a memorable and interactive simulation of the United Nations, allowing the students themselves to be more knowledgeable on current world issues. PMUNC was an important experience for many BR students who participated in this conference, and this conference along with skills attained from years in the Model UN Club will help serve them well in the future.

published March 2020

Sweet Reads CHOP Donation

by Julia Senzon, Writer

On November 18th, 2019, Bridgewater-Raritan High School (BRHS) Sweet Reads Members donated over 1,000 books to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Reach Out and Read Program.

Ellie Pan, Tika Kumar, and Teresa Schmeiszer founded BRHS Sweet Reads in 2018. It essentially works as an extension of Sweet Reads, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to support childhood literacy by providing ownership of age-appropriate books. The club works closely with Sweet Reads founder Tamiko Hubbard to provide eager student volunteers for events and an additional influx of books from school-based book drives.

After receiving the suggestion from a few members to donate books to children’s hospitals, Pan’s research led to CHOP’s Reach Out and Read Program which perfectly matched the club’s mission.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Reach Out and Read program accepts gently used books for children and adolescents, so the healthcare staff can promote literacy to children, teens, and families with books to take home, keep, and enjoy. CHOP needs more than 200,000 appropriate books for children and adolescents to distribute each year, especially for children ten and under.

After the school granted permission and the organization agreed to a collection date, members commenced their work. On October 21st, the club collected over 1,000 books.

On November 11th, members sorted the books based on CHOP’s scrupulous guidelines. As a reward, Mrs. Hubbard treated the members to pizza for their taxing efforts.

On November 18th, a CHOP representative met the people fueling the effort and presented information about the program. Afterward, members loaded the donated books into a special van for CHOP to redistribute to children at the hospital.

Even after a month of rewarding and demanding work, the ambitious young club has already undertaken more projects and continues to brainstorm new ideas.

When asked about Sweet Read’s future plans, Pan stated, “The club plans to do one more school-wide book drive in the spring. We are also planning to hold a large literacy event by the end of the school year. We are currently compiling bundles of books for the Giving Tree and are working toward finding other organizations to give back to. Club members consistently volunteer to help out at Sweet Reads events and come up with ways to further serve the community. The club is continuing to grow and will continue to meet once a month on Mondays after school in room 504.”

For more information about Sweet Reads, follow @sweetreads and @sweetreadsbrhs on Instagram or read about the organization at www.sweetreads.org. Any interested student should contact Ms. Doherty or Mrs. Erickson. Members and non-members alike should stay tuned for information about the next book drive so that they can contribute.

To read about and find ways to contribute to CHOP’s Reach Out and Read program visit their website.

published March 2020

BRHS Mock Trial Team Advances Beyond Local Competition

by Nicole Sydor, Writer

One of the many amazing clubs that students can participate in at Bridgewater Raritan is the Mock Trial Team. The team competes in the New Jersey Mock Trial Competition against other districts in the region, including Hillsborough, Somerville, Watchung, and many more. The competition consists of a trial given to the teams with witnesses, testimonies, and evidence. Each school prepares a defense and prosecution team with well-prepared witnesses, lines of questioning, direct and cross-examinations, and openings and closings. These teams then compete head to head for the top spot.

The team started preparations for the competition back in September. The team consists of six witnesses, three for the defense and three for the prosecution, 4 attorneys, and case investigators. The witnesses for this year were Kritika Jain, David Mead, Neha Pai, Shreya Shankar, Nicole Sydor, and Mrinmayi Ubgade. This year’s attorneys were Jimmy Chen, Vidushi Kataria, Andrew Useche, and Elder Veliz. Finally, Jess Guan and Shubh Srivastava served as case investigators as they helped deeper analyze the testimonies and provided criticism to help promote growth. The team was coached by Mrs. Walsh and Mr. Griffin, both former prosecutors and current teachers at BRHS.

Over the course of about 4 months, the team held meetings on a weekly basis for the competition on January 7th and January 16th. Not only were the participants able to practice for the competition, but they developed a strong relationship with their fellow teammates. David Mead, a junior and witness for the team even said that his “favorite part about the mock trial was the sense of comradery that was formed between each of the members as we supported and stood by one another side along the way.” Likewise, Vidushi Kataria said “The best memory I have about mock trial is the bond you make with your team. I had a lot of fun building my confidence with my team members beside me.”

Not only was the team great for creating meaningful relationships, but it was a learning experience for many of the members that allowed them to improve upon a variety of skills. According to Mrinmayi Ubgade, yet another witness and junior, said that her“ favorite part of mock trial was meeting every week and helping each other with our individual parts since I feel we all improved our public speaking.”

The team experienced marked success this year as well. The team, for the first time, made it to the semifinals after competing against Ridge. Despite the fact that the team did not make it on to the next round, the team triumphed in a variety of other ways. Nicole Sydor and Mrinmayi Ubgade received the recognition of best witness for the roles they played while Andrew Useche, a senior at BRHS, received the recognition of best attorney for his work. This was a truly successful year for the Bridgewater Mock Trial Team.

published March 2020

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