Junior High News
KITTATINNY PEP-RALLY
By: Victoria Hull
Hampton, NJ
September 19, 2023
The Kittatinny Pep Rally was a great spirit-boost for the start of the school year. It took place on September 14, 2023. It was a very fun event for all of the students and staff of Kittatinny. There were many games and activities that were planned and put on by Mrs. Lupo (cheer coach). All grades, seventh through twelfth, participated in the activities.
The whole school was outside watching or participating in the pep rally. An Email was sent out to every student in the school asking if they wanted to participate. Many kids sent emails back to Mrs Lupo stating they wanted to play in the games and have fun with their classmates.
Pool “floaties” were the main attraction in the games. Human ring toss, cloud surfing, and even pie face captivated the audience! The human ring toss was played with pool tubes that had to be thrown around the tallest person in the group. Once the group had gotten all of the pool tubes around the person, they would push them over and roll them all the way to the finish line. The seniors won that round.
Cloud Surfing was a hit for the seniors again. The lightest person in the bunch would lay on a long pool float and people would roll under it to make it move.
Kittatinny Cheer Coach Mrs. Lupo shared a few words about the pep-rally. “I always want Kittatinny to have a bunch of school spirit,” she said. “And I always want to kick off the start of the year by getting all of the students pumped.”
Kate D’Agostino, an eighth grader at KRHS commented as well. “I think the pep-rally was a lot of fun. My favorite activity was watching my grade try and win.”
The Kittatinny pep rally was a fun activity for everyone and really DID help start the year right.
Week of Lights
Samantha Doone
September 18, 2023
Kittatinny’s Week of Lights is a week when Kittanny teams take on various schools at night under the lights. This year, the event took place between September 14-September 22. Each night, a KRHS varsity team challenged a rival school and showcased their skills under the stars on Romer Field.
To kick off the week of lights, Mrs. Lupo and the cheerleaders organized a great pep rally on Thursday afternoon that really got everyone psyched! Then, the football team took on Hanover Park on opening night. The game didn’t fall the way we hoped, but it set the scene for the week to come.
The football team was followed by both the girls’ and boys’ soccer teams, the varsity field hockey team and then the football team closed out the week. The athletes all played hard, the crowd was alive and we were able to rack up a number of KRHS wins.
I got to speak to a couple students about the events. Olivia Woollen, an eighth grader, said, “I really love the week of lights. The games are so fun and you can see all of your friends there.” Cameron Sorg, another KRHS eighth grader thinks that “the week of lights is a very fun time for people to get together and make memories.” She also loves the creativity and spirit week.”
Overall, the week of lights is a really fun time to get together with your friends and shows some school spirit. Go Cougars!
Sports
Fall Sports Wrap-Up
By Cameron Sorg and Olivia Woolen
The fall sports season is wrapping up and it’s been a really successful year for both the soccer and field hockey teams. Both the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams competed for the first time in a very competitive Morris County League, but rose to the challenge and finished with winning records.
“We had a lot of people who hadn’t ever played together before, so it took some time to get used to that. But we were able to figure it out and work hard to get some wins,” said Tori Hull, a member of the girls’ soccer team.
Coach Majka reiterated that sentiment. He commented, “This was a really competitive league that we competed in. To see the kids’ hard work and their determination to come together as a team pay off was really rewarding as a coach.”
The field hockey team also found a great deal of success this year. Behind Coach Gill and Coach Peemoller, the team racked up wins against teams like Frankford and Andover and finished the season with only one loss.
Kate D’Agostino commented on the season. “It’s been so much fun getting to play and hang with all of my friends. Field hockey is such a fun season.”
All of the girls share Kate’s opinion and encourage anyone who might be interested to get involved with the sport.
STEAM
Nick Pacheco Wins County Art Honor
In June, KRHS seventh graders entered a “Design a Pin Contest” which honored Sussex County Veterans. The contest was county-wide and our own Nick Pacheco was chosen as first-place winner. In addition to receiving a monetary award, Nick will have his design printed on pins and distributed to veterans around the county.
When asked about this honor, Nick commented, “I didn’t really know if I would win, but it’s pretty cool. I’m really happy and honored.”
Way to go Nick!
pin.pdfNick's Pin Design
Ava Hull - Gr. 8
Hannah Truesdell - Gr. 7
Ashlee Moore - Gr. 7
In Other News
NJ Bear Hunt
Zander Dennis & Reise Castner
Bear hunters in NJ are getting excited for the opening of the bear hunting season. The shot gun week for hunters opens on December 4th and hunters have one week during which they can harvest both deer and bear.
The annual hunt, which went on hold after 2020, was reapproved two years later, but it is still controversial. Many people think that it is wrong to kill bears, but those on the other side argue that without the hunt, the bear population gets out of control and people suffer from property damage and even lose pets and livestock to bears.
According to Joey Berrocal, “I think that in a place like Sussex County, the bear hunt is a good thing and helps a lot of people. Just as long as there are enough bears left at the end to keep them going.”
We will see what happens this year during the one-week bear hunt.