3rd Quarter Edition

FEATURED ARTICLE

THE ROCK AND ROLLIN' CRUSADER

Never in a million years would I think a fellow Crusader would be part of a huge, promising rock band in the tri-state area. Aidan McGlone and his band, “Modern Yesterday”, changed my standpoint real quickly. The band is made up of 5 young and talented teenagers between the ages of 14-17 and they have been producing music ever since 2021. Modern Yesterday plays music around the tri-state area including states like PA, NJ, NY, and DE with lots of popping venues and festivals for the teens to flourish at. Modern Yesterday is influenced by music genres from the 70’s and 80’s. Two years ago they released their new single titled “No Way Out” which was listened to over many radios in the local area and their band is only beginning to grow.

As I described before, “Modern Yesterday” consists of five key multi-instrumental teenagers who pour their hearts out every time they perform either at festivals, concerts, or even on the news. On March 6th, the group played one of their original songs, “Let it Burn, on Good Day Philadelphia on the Fox 29 News Station. The leadoff singer, Riley Haworth, is viewed as a “True 90’s kid born two decades too late” and has been singing for the first fifteen years of her life. Riley loves singers from the 80’s too including Joan Jett and Pat Benatar. Audiences and crowds who have watched Riley in her young career describe her as a triple threat being an amazing dancer, vocalist, and actress. Riley is a female tenor and also plays percussion for the University of Pennsylvania Band. If she needed a backup plan, playing her marimba around the world would be the perfect fit for her.

One of the more fundamental pieces of the band made his first album when he was 12 years old and was promoted in an ad playing the Philadelphia Eagles’ “Fly Eagles Fly” song. Seb Braganza has had a very supportive family over his last few years of being the lead guitarist of “Modern Yesterday”. The guitar stuck to his hands when he was only 7 years old with the help of his two School of Rock instructors. During this time, Braganza was also a top 1o finalist in the “2022 Dallas 10 Under 20 Guitar Competition” where he found his passion under Luis Kalil of Red Devil Vortex and Paul Gilbert of Artist Works. Another band member, Alison Haydu, has been playing piano and guitar since she was six years old where she was welcomed into the Girard Academic Music Program and provided a rhythm guitarist for such a talented group of teenagers. Fashion, roller skating, and spending time with her friends are hobbies she does when she’s not on the big stage.

Victor Rosa was not the first ever musician in his family who loved the taste of music. His father, grandfather, and several of his uncles were all multi-instrumental musicians and made sure that the next generation would always have an immense vibe towards music being in their lives. Rosa is the lead drummer of Modern Yesterday and as an infant, he was always satisfied when drumsticks were placed in his hands. At only 5 years old, his parents knew the young man had a purpose to follow and got him his first lessons to pursue that natural potential he was born with. His uncle was his main mentor because he was also a drummer and Ross eventually joined Modern Yesterday in November of 2021. Throughout those three years, he promoted himself and the rest of the band at camps, clinics, and even at schools to advise the youth on how great the music world is.

Finally, the Father Judge prodigy himself, Aidan McGlone, is the bass of the group and has been teaching himself since the 2020 global pandemic occurred. The White Stripes and the Ramones have inspired McGlone through the last few years along with a big-name band like the Beatles as well. He’s in 11th grade here at Judge and has made such an impact on how diverse the Judge community has really become over the years.

The young group of teenagers recently qualified to perform in the Live Nation & Rock and Roll of Fame’s 27th Annual Tri-C High School Rock Off where they made it all the way to the fourth and final round called the “Final Exam”. To be the “Best Band in the Land”, you have to play like you are the best band in the land, and getting one of those podium places was the main focus for Modern Yesterday. In the leadup to the “Final Exam”, every band had to play a fifteen-minute set and a certain number of groups would move on based on their overall performance while playing their origin songs. Jim Stewart Producing and Tri-C Recording Arts produced the songs for the bands and the songs can be downloaded when the Final Exam happens. The prizes are very diverse as well with first place getting paid $3,000 and $250 towards the high school program and will have the opportunity to perform at the House of Blues Cleveland Concert. Second place gets $1500 with $150 towards the program and third place takes home $500.

The twelve finalists performed at Tri-C’s Gill and Tommy LiPuma Center for Creative Arts and Modern Yesterday finished in the top 10 at the “Final Exam” last month. Despite not reaching their goal of placing on the podium, the team poured their hearts throughout the whole competition. We couldn’t be prouder for one of our fellow Crusaders and his band fulfilling their dreams this young in their lives. The Father Judge family is excited to watch and support this young Crusader flourish in his career!

Ryan Dalesandro

LIFE AT JUDGE

RESSURECTION OF KAIROS

After several years of hiatus from the Kairos program at Judge, it has returned in a small capacity this past month. Kairos, a Greek word that translates to “supreme moment or God’s time,” harbors personal growth without the distractions of any electronic devices or time of day. Since the program was halted due to COVID and other restrictions, two of my fellow students, Matthew Scott ‘24; Ryan Saint-Fleur ‘24; and I, were presented with the opportunity to experience Kairos in October with Salesianum School, another Salesian school in Wilmington, with the ultimate goal of bringing it back to Father Judge. The four-day retreat is rooted in spiritualness, brotherhood, openness, and the time to strengthen one’s relationship with God.

During Holy Week, under the guidance of Campus Minister, Father Vince Smith, OSFS, and Deacon Bill Moser; Matt, Ryan, and I fulfilled our goal and led Kairos with seven retreatants (three senior students and four junior students) at Cranaleith Spiritual Center. The specific contents of the retreat cannot be publicized so that any future potential retreatants can have similar raw emotions to each activity as many others and I have had the privilege to indulge. Furthermore, the retreat featured guest appearances from Theology teachers Mrs. Julie Teson, Mr. Mike Camellone ‘88, and Mr. Tim Poole as well as delicious home-cooked meals from Mrs. Michelle Ganley’s father Mr. Jastrzemski, Mr. Campellone ‘88, Mrs. Teson, Mrs. Aimee Cantwell, and Mrs. Eileen Coughlin.

Overall, the four days were the perfect culmination of Lent, and, the gentlemen came away from the retreat with everything they hoped for and then some. Now that the kairos program is officially back at Judge, the four junior students who attend this year are poised to lead the retreat in a larger capacity next year and offer a life-changing experience to all Crusaders.

Peter Gerace

(Top row left to right: Ryan Saint-Fleur ‘24, Nick Przychodzien ‘25, Xavier Mercado ‘25)

(Middle row left to right: Matthew Scott ‘24, Dylan Fitzgibbon ‘24, Christopher Roy ‘24)

(Bottom row left to right: Austin Czapor ‘25, William Barrera ‘24, Peter Gerace ‘24, Robert Clark ‘25)

Q4 IMPORTANT DATES

April & May

Apr 9 Wed - Schedule #3

Apr 11 Thurs - Schedule #7

Apr 12 Fri - Schedule #2

Apr 13 Sat - Junior Prom

Apr 17 Wed - 11th Grade Retreat, Schedule #4

Apr 18 Thurs - Junior Ring Mass

Apr 19 Fri - Spring Theatre Production

Apr 20 Sat - Spring Theatre Production

Apr 21 Sun - Spring Theatre Production

Apr 23 Tues - Schedule #6

Apr 24 Wed - Q3 Parent/Teacher Conferences

Apr 30 Tues - Schedule #3

May 1 Thurs - 12th Grade Retreat

May 2 Fri - Senior Prom

May 6 Mon - AP Testing

May 7 Tues - AP Testing, Schedule #5

May 8 Wed - AP Testing, Schedule #3

May 9 Thurs - AP testing, Ascension

May 10 Fri - AP Testing

May 13 Mon - AP testing

May 14 Tues - AP Testing

Q4 IMPORTANT DATES

May & June

May 15 wed - AP Testing, Schedule #3

May 16 Thurs - AP Testing

May 17 Fri - Schedule #3

May 22 Wed - Schedule #4

May 23 Thurs - No School / Principal Holiday

May 24 Fri - No School

May 27 Mon - No School

May 28 Tues - Senior Final Exams, Schedule #5

May 29 Wed - Senior Final Exams, Schedule #5

May 30 Thurs - Senior Final Exams, Schedule #5

May 31 Fri - Senior Final Exams, Graduation Practice, Schedule #5

June 3 Mon - Underclassmen Final Exams, Graduation Practice, Special Schedule

June 4 Tues - Underclassmen Final Exams, Graduation Practice, Baccalaureate Mass Special Schedule

June 5 Wed - Graduation, no school for underclassmen students

June 6 Thurs - Underclassmen Final Exams, Special Schedule

June 7 Fri - 4th Quarter Ends

June 10 Mon - Freshman Chromebook Collection

June 11 Tues - Sophomore Chromebook Collection

June 12 Wed - Junior Chromebook Collection

WING BOWL

An unconventional Father Judge event that is held every year to bring the students and teachers together is the wing bowl, where students and faculty compete with one another to see who can eat the most wings. They stopped doing it for a while during COVID-19 but brought it back over the last two years to continue a fun tradition that brings the community together. Our biology teacher, Mr. Smith has been the reigning champ, with the exception of last year when a graduating senior took the win by just a couple of wings. This year, with his Rick Flair-themed walkout and the urge to take back his mantle, Smith knew he had to give it his all if he wanted to eat the most this year.

The rules of the Wing Bowl are simple and only have three rounds. In round one we see if you can eat 10 wings in the given amount of time, and the top winners make it through to the next round. In the second, you can eat as much as you can in a much shorter period of time to see who wins and makes it to the final round. The final round leaves the two best wing eaters pinned against each other to see who comes out on top.

This year involved around 10 students and 8 staff members competing against each other to see who came out on top. I was the only student to eat the 10 wings that were required to get to the second round, but that was as far as I ended up putting more wings in my mouth before I could even swallow. In the end, Mr. Smith took back his mark as the champ of the Father Judge High School Annual Wing Bowl.

Sean Musial

MISCELLANEOUS

PHYSICS AND ITS UNCANNY LINK TO PHILOSOPHY

For centuries, the art and science of philosophy and physics have advanced our understanding of fundamental knowledge and reality simultaneously. However, to the blind eye, you may never draw that connection. We can follow theoretical physics back 2,500 years ago in ancient Greece to minds interested in the universe, but having an undeveloped field of mathematics. I always believed physics was an independent science that focused on the motions of the universe and it is. Still, the doors that these discoveries unlock allude to much more fascination than you might expect from this “boring” science. Physics from an average viewpoint is dull, bleak, and stark of any stimulating ideas, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Famous theoretical physicist Albert Einstein said “When physics is in a period where it can make progress without paying attention to its foundations, the fields tend to be farther apart, but when it arrives at a point where it becomes clear that to make further progress it has to reflect again back on its foundations, the interaction with philosophy becomes much more fruitful.” This drift we see might explain the reason science seems so dull to someone “less gifted” then Einstein, to us its numbers on a piece of sheet paper, but to people like Einstein, they can almost visualize this greatness, something we can try and remedy with philosophy.

Keeping with Albert Einstein, Einstein’s theory of relativity, famously known as E=mc², was groundbreaking in physics. It led to fascinating new concepts and discoveries like 4-dimensional spacetime as a unified entity of space and time, relativity of simultaneity, kinematic, gravitational time dilation, and length contraction. Now to the blind eye, this doesn't mean much, you take concepts and explain them with words and terms that people do not understand and no one really learns or gets anywhere with it unless it naturally intrigues you. However, this great scientific breakthrough was brought about by his intuition and creativity mainly not his math. A common rumor about Einstein is that he was bad at math, the truth is that he taught himself geometry at the age of 12, so you could argue that he was always destined to innovate; But, has any other physicist achieved anything without math?

Well, as it turns out, yes, famous American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb, had quite rudimentary math compared to most physicists in the same and surrounding fields. Oppenheimer, responsible for the research, design, and implementation of the atomic bomb could have been better at math? Well, not exactly. Oppenheimer would easily ace the average mathematics exam at most levels, but surrounded by him were the greatest minds in the world. So how does he not only build one of the nation's most prestigious scientific institutions, the University of California Berkeley, and then eventually go on to lead the Manhattan Project without any great mathematical ability? Oppenheimer’s success was largely attributed to his philosophical mind and specifically the intuitive perspective he had of the universe, and more specifically, what was going on inside it. He also introduced new ideas, but he did it by asking questions and running experiments similar to the likes of Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato. Oppenheimer’s philosophy offered a unique perspective on cosmic rays and neutron stars eventually predicting what we know as “black holes'. This quote is one pertaining to Oppenheimer’s genius: “His physics was good", said his student Snyder, "but his arithmetic, awful.” The scholarly Snyder failed to realize that his physics was not only good but outstanding. The support from governmental and private institutions allowed Oppenheimer to pair his logic with math and achieve greatness.

If you were to take your philosophical skills and apply them to physics how much would you be able to understand? I suppose that is a subjective question and one that I do not know the answer to, all I can be certain of is that this old, almost hidden, approach provides an ulterior way of viewing physics not as numbers on a paper, but for the wonders that these numbers expose. At many prestigious institutions in the world now including Oxford, Brown, Princeton, and more, they are teaching a joint course in Physics and Psychology. Adam Mann, a journalist specializing in physics and astrology had this to say in an article, published in 2017: “Ideas such as the multiverse and the philosophical foundations of quantum mechanics are among the hottest topics in physics. History suggests that when physics needs it most, philosophy is always there to lend a hand.”

Christian Eroh

PICTURE THE PLAYOFFS; AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE NBA POSTSEASON

With the NBA playoffs around the corner, most basketball fans are preparing for this year’s strongest matches. The problem is, that most NBA fans nowadays don’t have enough time to tune in on every game, especially with the amount of games played a night, and the games being broadcasted much later. This article will update and prepare anyone who hasn’t completely kept up with the league but would like to participate in watching these playoffs.

The standings this NBA season have altered quite a bit throughout the last few months. The fight in the West for the 1 seed has been brutal. The Minnesota Timberwolves are currently occupying the 1st seed in the West, and have kept that for most of the season. Although there have been teams that have challenged them, including the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma-City Thunder, and even at some points the

Los Angeles Clippers. Even though OKC, Denver, and the T-wolves have been at absolute war for this rank, being a game or 2 behind one another, there is no doubt in saying the Nuggets are the best out of the 3.

Granted that on paper Minnesota is the best, who has had flashes of all-around defensive and offensive greatness, with their young super-star Anthony Edwards being a threat on every fast break to crash the backboard and catch a body, or with Rudy Gobert, who’s on pace to win his 3rd defensive player of the year. Although Minnesota seems the best, everyone can agree that the defending champions are the best team in the West. The Nuggets, coming off a championship, are playing amazingly in the stacked Western Conference, holding the 2 seed. They’re accomplishing this with their 2 time MVP in Nikola Jokic, who is likely to win his 3rd this year, and their onslaught of amazing role players. OKC has also been playing phenomenally, holding the 3rd seed, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is also in the race for MVP.

Then the 4th team in the eastern conference is the Los Angeles Clippers, who are likely to do some damage in the playoffs, just based on their star power. They have 2-time finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and 8-time All-Star Paul George. These are two of the greatest 2-way players of all time, both on the same team, making them a clear threat for anyone matching against them. The rest of the standings are likely to change, but if the season were to end today, the Dallas Mavericks with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving would be the 5th seed, and the Phoenix Suns with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker would be the 6th seed. In the Play-In, the New Orleans Pelicans with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are the 7th Seed, and the Sacramento Kings with De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are the 8th seed.

Now, the most exciting moment in these playoffs will likely be the Play-in game between the 9th-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, starring Lebron James and Anthony Davis, and the 10th-seeded Golden State Warriors, starring Stephen Curry. The rivalry between Lebron and the Warriors is iconic, with everyone being aware of its impact on basketball. Lebron and the Cavaliers faced off against Steph and the Warriors, 4 times in a row. This could very possibly be Lebron’s last year, or at least his last year playing Curry in the playoffs. Whoever wins this game could very possibly have a deep playoff run, both teams are very good despite their standings. The team that loses, is out of the playoffs. This is a must-watch game for any avid basketball fan.

The Eastern Conference is not as competitive as the West. The best team in the East by far is the Boston Celtics, who made many trades this off-season to bring in 2 more All-Star level players with Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingus. These 2, teamed with their 2 already playing All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, have made the Celtics the best team in the East by far. The 2 seeded Milwaukee Bucks have been a little disappointing. It’s not that we thought they would have a better standing, but the NBA community just thinks as a team, they’ve played a little lackluster. With the addition of Damian Lillard everyone was thinking they would be a juggernaut, pairing him with their ‘21 Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, but as a team, they’ve played a little off. Brook Lopez is getting older, Dame hasn’t been playing to Dame’s standards, and they just hired Doc Rivers, which many people think is a mistake.

The Bucks and Celtics are the 2 favorites to come out the east, but the rest of the teams are the Orlando Magic with the 3rd seed, New York Knicks with the 4th, the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 5th, and the Indiana Pacers with the 6th. The 2 other teams in the East that would likely do damage in the playoffs this year are both in the Play-In holding the 7th and 8th seeds, being the Miami Heat, and our very own Philadelphia Sixers. These teams are both highly capable due to their star players with Miami having 2-time Eastern Conference champion Jimmy Butler and Philly having 2023’s MVP, Joel Embiid. The other Eastern Conference game will include the Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls facing off.

These NBA playoffs will be exciting this year. The West is as stacked as ever, and the East has a couple of hungry, young teams wanting to make a name for themselves. Don’t be surprised to hear of the Knicks or maybe the Magic in a few weeks. Nonetheless, these standings we’ve written about could very well change, but the team’s capability shouldn’t alternate. I recommend everyone watch the playoffs this year, they’re fun, exciting, and historic. If you do watch them this year, I hope this article can help you picture the playoffs.

Connor Stevenson & Tyler Newbern

SHAKING THINGS UP IN PHILADELPHIA

In an unprecedented turn of events, Philadelphia residents were treated to a rare spectacle as the city experienced both an earthquake and a total solar eclipse within a single day. The extraordinary occurrence left many bewildered and in awe as they witnessed nature's power on full display. The seismic activity struck early in the morning, catching residents off guard as buildings trembled and belongings rattled. Reports indicate that the earthquake measured a magnitude of 4.5 on the Richter scale, with its epicenter located just miles over in New Jersey.

While there were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries, the event left a lasting impression on the community, sparking conversations about earthquake preparedness and resilience. As the city began to recover from the seismic event, anticipation mounted for another rare phenomenon set to unfold later in the day: a total solar eclipse. Crowds gathered in parks, rooftops, and public squares, equipped with special viewing glasses and telescopes to witness the celestial event. At the peak of the eclipse, the moon completely obscured the sun, casting a shadow over the city and plunging it into temporary darkness. Streetlights flickered on, and the temperature dropped noticeably as onlookers marveled at the otherworldly sight above them. Spectators described the experience as surreal and unforgettable, with many snapping photos and sharing their observations on social media.

The convergence of these two natural phenomena left an indelible mark on Philadelphia, serving as a reminder of the awe-inspiring power and beauty of the universe. As residents return to their daily lives, they will undoubtedly carry with them memories of this extraordinary day, forever etched in the annals of the city's history.

JUDGE ON FILM

Page updated

Report abuse