Fall 2018

Here are some highlights from our Fall Issue of 2018!

Why Join the Imprint?

By Eamonn Burke

Though I may have a little bias, let me say that the Imprint newspaper is one of the finest publications of the current day. We here at the Imprint really take the time to tackle the big questions, and don’t beat around the bush discussing all the balderdash going on in Washington. They’re all puppets anyway. If you want the most unfiltered news, take a peek inside these beautiful pages. Straightforward answers and hot takes about the school’s most controversial topics like the LC, Spirit Week, and the New Senior Capstone will be there! So, about the meetings; Meetings for the Imprint are held on Tuesdays after school. In other words, a random time that will still conflict with students schedules but we had to decide on something. They run until about 3:30, or until Mr. Stewart decides to banish us from his sight. If you’re like me they end at about 3. I have things to do after school, of course not more important than the Imprint, but you know, choices. Don’t just take it from me, we have a staff that can provide profound insight into the benefits of joining: “The cookies are a pro” says junior Will Moore. When asked why editor in chief Lauren Abramson joined the club, she had a bit more of a thoughtful response: “It’s a great way for people with different interests to collaborate and share their ideas” she said. The club is laid back, sure, but don’t mistake that for a lack of care. Every single Imprint writer pours their heart and soul into every word they write, just like I am now. Come join and pour your heart out with me.

The Italian Exchanges Have Come to Melrose!

By Sabrina Gardner

As most of you may have noticed, there were many unfamiliar faces around MHS a few weeks ago. From September 7th to September 21st, twenty five students from Melrose hosted twenty five Italian students from Florence. For the majority of these students, it was their first time in the United States. Aside from spending time with their partners, the exchange students took day trips around Melrose, into Boston, Salem, and Plimoth Plantation. After spending two weeks in Melrose, the students then took a short trip to New York City.

According to Elena DeVita, an Italian student, life in Florence is very different from life here in Melrose. For example, she said that people here are much kinder than they are in Italy, where people are typically more aggressive. Also, in their schools, they have all of their classes with the same people rather than changing every block, similar to our elementary schools.

The students from Melrose that I talked to agreed that it was a very fun experience for them and highly recommend participating in the exchange programs. Olivia Mullaney, a junior at MHS, said that she enjoyed introducing her exchange student to things that she enjoys, such as watching an American football game and going to McDonalds. Other students mentioned that they thought it was cool to see the differences between their daily routines and other customs.

The students from Melrose who hosted this fall will be travelling to Italy in April of 2019 to stay with their exchange student and their families for two weeks. Both the Italian exchange students and the students from Melrose agree that this was a mostly positive experience, allowing them to create new bonds, improve on their understanding of the languages, and to experience a culture other than their own.

Student Athlete Feature: Marie Maher

By Emma Lynch-Galvin

Marie Maher is a junior at Melrose High School, and she is one student that somehow manages to do it all. Not only is she enrolled in three AP courses, but she is also a tri-varsity athlete and takes part in three other clubs. During school hours, Maher takes AP Physics, AP U.S. History, and AP Language and Composition, and excels in these subjects as well as her other honors classes, making the excellence role every quarter since she was a freshman. Outside of school, Maher is an active participant in the French club, debate team, and National Honor Society. To add on to this already impressive list of activities, Maher is on a varsity team for each season: volleyball, ice hockey, and lacrosse.

This busy schedule seems too daunting for one high schooler to handle, but Maher makes it work, utilizing her time effectively and setting priorities for herself. “I’ve never considered quitting any sports,” say Maher, who successfully balances her academic and athletic life. She devotes lots of her time to schoolwork, making academics her number one priority. However, she also sets time aside to improve her athletic ability as well, by eating right, working out, and practicing in the offseason.

Maher’s typical weekday is busy from the moment she wakes up to the moment she finishes her last bit of homework, but she also squeezes in some much needed downtime. “After sports I shower and eat dinner, then just take a break in my room for about half an hour to decompress and wait for my adrenaline to chill out. Then I go downstairs to my office and grind out homework for about three hours.” Maher also utilizes time from her half-year AP Lab, which she shares with several other academically talented juniors. “It’s nice,” she says in reference to her lab, “especially because a lot of us are in the same classes so we can work together on homework or study for tests together too.”

Not only does Maher practice hard for her sports during the season, but she also trains hard in the off-season. From participating in strength and conditioning over the summer to taking part in several other specialized sports camps, Maher does not seem to like taking time off from honing her athletic skills. Maher proves to be a versatile student-athlete and continues to impress and inspire her fellow classmates. Her ambition, positive attitude, and responsibility make her a strong embodiment of what MHS stands for.

New Coach for the Girl's Soccer Team is a Familiar Face

By Lizzie Schwarze

One of the big questions of the fall sports season was who would be the person to step up and take over the chief position of the varsity girls soccer coach. After some overturn in coaching last year, the search was on for the perfect person to take over the team and give the players a fresh start. In June of last year, it was announced that Robert Mahoney, a 6th grade geography teacher in Melrose for the past 6 years, would step up to the challenge. Mahoney is not only a favorite teacher of many students, but has also been coaching the boys JV team for the past 2 years and was the freshman coach for the 2 years previous to that, proving that he is definitely a well-connected person within the Melrose community. Playing soccer has always been a huge part of Mahoney’s life, having played since he was a child and all through college on the intramural soccer team at BU. Now he plays on a division one men's league team.

In terms of coaching, Mahoney has worked with younger kids at various soccer camps and with the MHS boys teams but was eager to have the opportunity to take over the girls team. Coaching a varsity soccer team has always been on his bucket list, and Mahoney was also interested in getting the chance to work with girls formally as he has primarily only coached boys in the past. Mahoney explained how now that he has gotten to know the girls team, he “could not imagine not coaching girls,” and says “I’m really happy with my decision.”Although he is now very acquainted with the team, when heading into the season Mahoney was careful not to throw the players through a huge loop, not wanting to change too many of the traditions and expectations the girls had. When coming in as a new coach for a pre-established team, there were definitely things that Mahoney had to account for to make the transition into this year smooth. In order to do this, he sat down with the three captains--Lily Cunningham, Abby Cunningham, and Lizzy Perella--as soon as he got hired to tell them that “this is not just my team, this is your team; this is our team.” He explained that he wants to keep doing what the team enjoys, but some things may have to change based on what’s best for the program, including the midnight madness tryout.

Mahoney explains that he received warning that it would be very different to coach a girls team and acknowledges that he definitely sees what people meant, but at the end of the day it's still soccer and things aren’t wildly different. A benefit to coaching a pre-established team is the fact that the girls are already so close and the personalities mesh really well together. “They all feel comfortable enough with each other to try new things without worrying about looking bad or making mistakes,” which is very important for the success of the team. Long term, Mahoney is looking to make the Melrose High School girls soccer team a strong competitor in the Middlesex league, but short term, he wants to “let the rest of the league know that this is not the same Melrose team that has been playing the past few years.” This season has had its ups and downs, but he loves how everyone always gives 100% at practices and games no matter what. At practices, Mahoney plans to have one focus per practice depending on what he has seen in games, whether its shooting, defending corners, or ball possession, similar to how a class in school may have one objective. One of his coaching mottos is to respond with “not good yet” when a player complains they can’t do something well, remarking how the girls always respond with “I knew you were going to say that” when he says it. Additionally, he believes the game is about “wins and lessons” rather than wins and losses, something he borrowed from the boys Varsity coach Dean Cirino. Mahoney explains that when you win, there are always things you could do better, and how a loss is really a lesson on what to work on for the next game. Both of these sayings have to do with the growth mindset, something Mahoney tries to live by on and off the field. Overall, Mahoney feels that the season is going great and his favorite parts so far have been getting to know the girls and seeing how determined and funny they are. He feels it is important to always enjoy yourself with the things you choose to do in life, but also be be ready to get down to business.

New Teachers

By Emma Miller

Have you walked through the halls this year and seen any strangers in the school? This school year, we have a multitude of new teachers and staff at Melrose High School. The new teachers include Ms. Paquette and Mr. DeRosa, English teachers, Ms. Butler, Ms. Fullam, Mr. Ascolillo, and Mr. Gilbert, who are all paraprofessionals, and Ms. Bushey, a special ed teacher. I had the privilege of hearing from Ms. Paquette about her life before teaching. She went to UMASS Lowell, and states, “My freshman year I actually started at Newbury College for interior design but made the switch to English for the second semester and applied to transfer to UML for my sophomore year.” She has worked in various other jobs, including retail and some financial office work. What you may not have known about Ms. Paquette, is that she is a stellar photographer! She says, “the best job was working at a portrait studio in the mall doing photo sessions for families, milestones, and newborns!” Ms. Paquette can probably relate to many other high schoolers when talking about her favorite part of high school. “My favorite part about high school was Spirit Week leading up to the pep rally and the Thanksgiving game! My high school, Chelmsford High, made some changes to their spirit week activities that took away from the sense of togetherness and excitement so I am really looking forward to experiencing this at Melrose this year!” MHS better get their spirit week game faces on this year, as we certainly have someone to impress!

Ms. Bushey went to UMASS Amherst, and luckily I was also able to hear some about her life! Just like many of the athletes here at MHS, Ms. Bushey participated in multiple sports. “ In high school, I loved playing soccer, field hockey and participating in the sprints and relays in track.” I’m sure her and Ms. Kane would get along! Ms. Bushey may just hold the record for most states visited within the USA as well. She claims, “I’m an adventurer who loves to travel. I have been to 47 of the states in the US. Can you guess which 3 I haven’t visited yet?” What an impressive feat! It looks like MHS has some fantastic new additions to our school this year, and we can’t wait to get to know them better!

Cian's Conspiracy Corner: The Flat Earth Theory

By Cian Murphy

The idea that the earth is flat is one that up until recently in history, everyone believed. I, along with many other reasonably minded individuals, initially laugh at the “flat earth theory”. However, with a closer look, it doesn't seem so crazy. A long time ago, everyone thought the earth was flat. No question. You would have been called insane if you said anything else. Somewhere in between, the perspective has shifted. Now, “science” has the majority of the world convinced the earth is a giant sphere. This “science” has provided data, statistics and photographic evidence to prove that we do in fact live on a curved surface, but have we ever considered that these facts were drummed up by a politically motivated machine? We blindly trust the information provided by big companies and the government. The Flat earthers are a group of like-minded people who are opposing these widely accepted spherical ideals. According to the flat earthers, the earth is a flat disk, with an ice wall surrounding the inner water and land masses. They believe that NASA has been lying to the masses, guarding the edge of the icewall and making sure nobody falls off or discovers the truth. They believe NASA has photoshopped images of the earth to look spherical and have altered GPS systems to trick pilots to thinking they are flying in a straight line when they are actually flying on a curved path above the disc. They reject the heliocentric ideas, and return to the 1400s with the belief that the sun and moon revolve around the earth, both the same size and both equal distance away. Now you may be wondering, why? Why would the government put in all this effort and money into something that seems unnecessary? Why would anybody actually believe this? Personally, I could never get behind the Flat Earth Theory, maybe because I am so set in my ways, or maybe because I am so willing to believe anything science tells me. Everyone has their own reasons. From distrust of the government, to the need to feel different, this theory has no real scientific evidence to back it up.But hey, if Galileo can change the perspective of the population of the world, why can't they?

Announcing the Spirit Week Themes for 2018!

By Grace Konstanty

Spirit week: not only is it the epitome of school spirit but a source of great anticipation as the students of Melrose High await this year’s spirit week themes. This year, MHS is taking on everybody’s favorite‒ Pixar movies. The teachers are suiting up with their own theme this year as the Incredibles. The freshmen are swimming through theme week as Finding Nemo, the sophomores are scaring their way through Monsters Inc, the juniors are going back in time with the Good Dinosaur, and the seniors will go to infinity and beyond as Toy Story. As usual, each class will compete to win spirit week using their theme to have the best hallway decorations, class t-shirts, and spirit costumes. However, spirit week is not the only way students can celebrate their spirit: throughout the weeks leading up to spirit week, students can participate in theme days and activities to win points for their class and have fun showing off school spirit. Some theme days leading up to spirit week itself include Vine day, Hawaiian shirt day, class shirt day, and red and white day. There are also the fan-favorite MHS spirit activities like Powderpuff and Spirit Spike, where the girls and boys switch roles to play football and volleyball. With all these school spirit activities, it’s impossible not to show off your Melrose High pride this fall!