Embedded Files
The First Edition of the 26-27 School Year is out!
Bethel Success at UConn ECE Cardboard Boat Race
Francesca Baia '27 ~ Staff Writer
On September 18, UConn Early College Experience students from across Connecticut gathered at UConn’s Avery Point campus in Groton for the 15th annual Avery Point Cardboard Boat Race. BHS students participated in a day filled with lectures from UConn professors, ice cream from UConn’s dairy farm, and a friendly race of everyone’s cardboard boats.
Before the race, students participated in academic activities facilitated by UConn staff members.
The day then shifted to a quick fuel break sponsored by UConn’s dining services, then it was the highlight of the day: the boat race.
Students tested the boats they designed and built themselves. Each boat was required to be built out of cardboard and duct tape, challenging teams to apply creativity, engineering, and problem-solving skills to create vessels capable of floating.
First, there was a teacher competition where Bethel’s very own Mrs. Ciskowski and Mrs. Westlake competed with their boat “The De-nominator.” Mr. Poapst assisted in constructing their boat and pushing them into the water. Unfortunately, their boat sank almost immediately and forced the ladies to forfeit. Mrs. Ciskowski was especially disappointed in the result of her race, but was met with a pleasant surprise during the student races.
The three student-made Bethel Boats were the “American Row-volution” led by James Chaparro ’27, Jonah Funk ’27, Henley Gow ’27 and Nicholas Gonzalez ’27 supervised by Joseph Dos Santos '27); “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Buoyancy,” led by Ivana Abotsi Sewornu ’27 and Victoria Mastracchio’27 (supervised by Charlotte Snyder ’27); and “Steve No Jobs,” led by Lukas Battle ’27 and Joseph Corigliano ’27 (supervised by Toshan Bhattacharya ’27).
Each team competed in three heats, some performing better than others, and “Steve No Jobs” went on to win the championship race!
The team earned the Cardboard Trophy, a traveling trophy, meaning whichever school wins gets to display it for the following year. Winners got to sign their name on the trophy and there is a plaque on the back that lists Bethel as the 2026 Cardboard Boat Race winner. The trophy is currently showcased in Mrs. Ciskowski’s classroom.
More than simply a race, the event highlighted the collaborative learning experiences fostered by UConn’s Early College Experience courses. By combining classroom knowledge with fun engineering challenges, students get the opportunity to work together, experiment with unusual designs and tour the Avery Point campus in a unique way.
Congrats to our Bethel winners!
BHS Hires New Security Advocate
Madeline Balanda '30 ~ Staff Writer
If you have walked through the English wing, you may have noticed a new presence guarding the boys' bathroom door. His name is Mr. Moore, BHS’ Security Advocate.
Mr. Moore is a Bethel resident with an extensive background in law enforcement, working as a federal officer for 24 years. He retired from that position early to work at Bethel High, a job which he already loves.
Though you’ve likely seen him monitoring the cafeteria and patrolling the hallways, Mr. Moore’s goal isn’t to catch you in the act or get you in trouble; he’s passionate about what he does here and just wants to make sure that students are where they are supposed to be.
“I’m here to help my town and here to help the students that are part of my town,” he explained, adding that he is not here to be a ‘gotcha’ kind of guy.
“I was a teenager once. I know being a teenager is not easy,” Mr. Moore explained.
While he mainly monitors the hallways, he also wants students to know that he is there if they need someone to talk to, if something is bothering you, or there is something you want to tell him about. You can find him in Officer Broad’s office or catch him patrolling the hallways.
A New Course for the Digital Age
Max Salvenstrini '27 ~ Managing Editor
This year, Bethel High School is offering a new AP class: AP Cybersecurity, taught by Mrs. Ragan. This is the first year that Collegeboard is offering the course, making BHS one of the only schools in the area to offer it.
The class introduces students to cybersecurity and teaches them about online safety and ways to detect and mitigate cyber threats, a topic that is becoming ever more important as the field of technology grows. However, as one of the first groups to take the course, it also has its challenges. Since the course itself is brand new, there are limited resources available compared to other AP courses, making it more difficult to find additional materials that are unblocked.
Despite such challenges, AP Cybersecurity gives students at BHS an opportunity to learn about a rapidly growing field, gain practical knowledge about cybersecurity, and potentially earn a cybersecurity credential, depending on their score on the AP exam.
Rain or Shine, New Cadets Rise to the Challenge
Caleb Metcalf '29 ~ Webmaster and Outreach Coordinator
Nellie Adams '29 ~ Social Media Manager
Prisha Desai '29 ~ Staff Writer
For Bethel High School’s newest NJROTC cadets, the school year began with an important first step: becoming part of the unit.
New Cadet Orientation, or NCO, is an event for all freshmen participating in a Naval Science class, also known as NJROTC. During NCO, cadets were exposed to the different clubs and departments Bethel’s NJROTC Unit has to offer. A presentation was given by the Battalion Staff, with each slide representing a different club or activity offered.
Throughout the school day, cadets participated in activities designed to help them get to know one another while learning essential NJROTC skills. One of these skills was Basic Drill, which was taught by Cadets Makenzie Maxwell ‘28, Audrey Steele ‘29, Luke White ‘29, and Nellie Adams ‘29, during NCO.
Overall, NCO was a success. The freshman cadets who attended left with a basic understanding of the NJROTC unit and were prepared to participate in Basic Leadership Training the following day.
Basic Leadership Training, or BLT, is designed to introduce freshmen to the unit and hit the ground running, giving them insight and a taste of the unique experiences Bethel NJROTC has to offer.
The day's activities included an armored vehicle pull, lessons in drill and ceremony, an academic test, and an obstacle course.
At the end of the day, the unit came together and recognized two cadets from each platoon who showed the most motivation and effort throughout the day.
Although the rainy weather was a curveball, BLT ran smoothly, thanks to its coordinators Katherine Kechejian ‘27 and Gavin Kopreski ‘27, and all the platoon, company, battalion, and station staff.
The day was mainly run by the senior cadets, who were responsible for setting up the day’s activities. All the activities were scheduled to be outside, but the rainstore forced last minute adjustments to bring all events indoors.
The smooth shift to Plan B demonstrated the unit leaderships’ resilience.
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