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COLLEGE NOW AND COLUMBUS
by
CNN STAFF
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION. This is the first appearance of a new column. We hope you will enjoy it. We expect it to cover the various happenings in College Now and the school in general. Also covered will be various happenings of importance to the staff and to the students. Feel free to contribute.
We're glad to begin this fall issue of College Now News (CNN) by announcing additions to the College Now staff. Let us first welcome welcome our two new guidance counselors, Anna Parra and Justine Stern. They have moved right in (and fit in).
Also, a hearty welcome to new teachers Jennifer Devall and Maudi Rodriguez (Science); Milica Gasparevic and Brian O'Neill (Social Studies); Matt Molloy and Carolyn Yaffe (English). We wish them all the best.
Before we begin with this term's school happenings, let's hear the summer news. First of all, as far as the College Now faculty, one of our favorite English teachers, Mr. New, became engaged; former guidance counselor Ms. Silverman was married and is now Mrs. Joy Gralnick; Mr. Clausi moved to the Bronx (from Hoboken); Mr. Molloy white rafted the Arkansas River for a second time; Mr. Novak went to Washington DC for a family vacation and also to scout out sites for the junior CN trip; and our new freshman counselor, Justine Stern, enjoyed almost four weeks in Munich, Germany.
As far as the students are concerned, DaVaughn Bryan and Paul Azzu participated in a summer Shakespeare festival sponsored by Lehman College. Also during the summer, several of our College Now students were employed in CCHS by the Board of Ed in Mrs. Aronoff�s �bridge� program. (See Lillian Agjei's article further down.)
Susan B. Auslander has been appointed to the Title I Peer Math Coach. Matt Molloy has been selected the Title I ELA/Speech Coach.
Mr. Minetti�s freshman CN art class created a mural in honor of September 11th. The class participated as a team in which all 22 students expressed themselves through artistic creations such as poems, drawings, replicas of the towers and positive words that represented their emotions of the tragic day. This mural will be on display at Marine headquarters in New York City. Staff Sergeant Lopez representing the Marine Corps was fascinated to see the students at work. He later stated, �It would be an honor to display your creation inside our main offices.�
On November 6th, the 9th graders went on a trip to Lehman College for a campus tour. Almost a hundred freshmen, their teachers and guidance counselors (and a special treat by having our house marm Mrs. Vielandi --Miss Maureen to most-- joining us. And we had a great time. We left (by cheese buses) after 2nd Period and returned during 7th. We toured the campus, visited the art gallery and the Apex (gymnasium, fitness center and pool), and enjoyed a video on Gangs In the South Bronx. This was followed by a pizza lunch. A fun, informative time was had by all.
On Tuesday, November 12th, almost 150 College Now students (and 15 team members) went to the Museum of Jewish Heritage. For a complete review of this trip, see Mariam Khan's article below.
Mr. New, Mr. Clausi, Ms. Dacillo and Mr. Escudero, with their respective classes, took part in a McGraw Hill pilot testing program. Deputy Chancellor Joan Mahon-Powell recommended the Christopher Columbus College Now students for this project.
We have been enjoying the Lehman College film workshops. So far we have seen "Glory", "Hester Street" and "Matewan". Later in December will see "The Grapes of Wrath."
Students in Mr. Minetti�s Graphic Design class have created products that incorporate their last names. Each student developed an advertisement along with a slogan, logo, and visual to promote their product. One example included �Lillian�s Lipstick,� created by Lillin Agei. Here slogan was ��and you thought forever never lasted.� To view the product ads, go to the second floor, Room 231, and check out the bulletin board in front.
Mr. Clausi is anticipating colder weather --so that he can head for the hills. Mr. Clausi is on the mountain patrol and a ski instructor at Hunter Mountain.
"Miss Maureen" arrived at school earlier in the term to find on her desk 15 of the hugest, most beautiful roses anyone in the CN office ever saw. The attached card indicated that they were left there by husband, John, who obviously hadn�t forgotten their 15th wedding anniversary. Congratulations to you both!
One hundred 9th grade CN students, along with their teachers and guidance counselors enjoyed a great field day at Lehman College. Although damp and a little cold, we toured the grounds, visited the art gallery and Apex building (Phys. Ed. facilities); and then watched a film on South Bronx gangs. This was followed by a pizza lunch, provided by Lehman College. We left after 2nd period and returned in time for 8th.
Aside from the Phys. Ed. Department, the only other teachers from the entire school who participated in the recent basketball competition with the 49th Precinct were all from College Now (yeah!): Mr. Clausi, Mr. Daly, Mr. Minetti and Mr. Escudero. We may not have won, but we gave it the College Now try.
(More news as it happens. This column will be updated regularly. Check back...)
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QUEEN OF THE DAMNED:
A Movie Review
by DaVaughn Bryan
QUEEN OF THE DAMNED is a movie about the legendary queen of the vampire race Akasha, the dark and evil temptress of the underworld.
What a joke! I cant begin to express the deep disappointment I endured while watching this injustice to the talents of these actors, especially Aaliyah�s, after viewing her work in �Romeo Must die�.
I must admit the story itself was quite captivating. The complexities of Lestat, if you had ever seen �Interview With The Vampire� was a most unstable fiend (if you get into that kind of thing) --and was interesting to watch. The sound track was amazing; I would recommend it to any rock-loving fan. It was the only thing that kept my attention at times when the movie itself bored me.
However, this alone is not enough to play down the lackings of this movie. Take for instance Akasha. Her role in the movie was so limited, aside from her exotic accent and the movements of body. The movie, if that�s what you want to call it, would have been fine without her. She was not shown enough to be considered a main character.
Here�s my recommendation as a movie. I give it four stars out of a possible six.
However, as a for the sound track --a solid six.
Hey, if you love rock and like a little story with your music, then this is the movie for you!!
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WASSUP NEW YORK:
A REPORT ON OUR CITY
by Kurian Matthew
Why is New York City good to people outside this state? Why is New York better than other cities? In this essay I will tell you why.
New York is the leading center of banking, communication, and finance in the United States. It has a nickname called �The Empire State�. New York ranked first among the states in population for about 150 years and is one of the original 13 states. New York is the largest city in the United States and the sixth largest in the world. It is the world�s leading center in business. It has theaters, museums, and musical organizations making it important to all kinds of culture. It also has the biggest and busiest seaport and catches attention to more than one million tourists each day. Our city has five boroughs: The Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island.
People come from all over to see the wonders of New York: Radio City Music Hall, the world�s largest indoor theater; the Statue Of Liberty, a symbol of freedom to people in all parts of the world, and until 9/11/01, the World Trade Center, the sixth tallest skyscraper in the world. Rockefeller Center a 5,900-seat theater featuring film and stage shows. The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark; the Museum of Modern Art displays modern painting sculpture film, photographs, and other works of art; Saint Patrick�s Cathedral is one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in the United States; Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium --all of these attract the people that come from out of this state.
Education in New York City is pretty good. There are about 960 schools with 990,000 students. The industries are good in New York --printing, clothing production, food and even fishing is really good. The transportation are the trains, bus, cars, taxis, planes, and boats.
New York City has everything you need. We have all kinds of food --like Chinese, Italian, French, Indian, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Jamaican, and other types. Sometimes New York City people can be bad. Problems have affected New York: crime, the city budget, drug and racial conflict.
I was one of the people who came from another country. My parents came here to meet our cousin and to see how America is. I had no clue how it would look like, but back then when immigrants came to America, they thought that the streets "were made out of gold and silver�. However, they were treated has garbage. They had no money to stay in buildings, so they stayed in the streets. In my case, I knew English --so I was okay.
I was excited coming her but when I came here it was terrible. Kids made fun of us just because I was from a different region. Even though it was terrible, some of it wasn't. I saw great and thrilling wonders and architecture. When I went to school, some of the kids did make fun of me. I wanted to beat them up, but I couldn�t.
After some months went by, I got along with them and I got to learn new things, like baseball, football, basketball and other sports that I didn�t know about. Also new words. I started eating the food that was made here, but I still eat my kind. I got used to America and started to love it.
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IT'S UP TO YOU
by Grace Cudjoe
Being a teenager is fun and interesting
Because all teenagers want to enjoy life
I am an example of what it�s like
To be a teenager.
When your family falls apart,
The people you think love you
Call you names and s***,
That�s when you drop down in tears
And stop kidding yourself.
It�s up to you to make all the right choices.
Like not smoking,
Commit suicide,
Run away.
And have courage to overcome all the nonsense.
That�s when you realize there�s one you,
Not two, not three.
Only one.
That�s when you have to be bold
And be strong in the lord.
For without Him there�s no you.
But then you think to yourself
Why me?
And yet the question
Is an unsolved mystery
No clues or hints as such.
Then suddenly
There�s an unconditional love
Shown to you
That makes you think
You're the lucky being on Earth.
Don�t ever kid yourself
To let someone convince you easily,
Cuz that�s where it all begins.
And it�s up to you
To be on top
Not at the bottom.
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JEWISH HERITAGE MUSEUM
by Mariam Khan
On Tuesday, November 12, 2022 the sophomore and junior classes of the College Now program went on a trip to the Jewish Heritage Museum located in Battery Park, Manhattan --just a few blocks away from Ground Zero. We were not able to see everything in the museum due to the fact that we were a little late getting there. However, we were able to experience first hand knowledge about Jewish culture and what they went through during the Holocaust.
Students were separated into groups and assigned to different tourist guides who walked us around and explained to us certain artifacts and symbols that were displayed in the museum. After touring two floors filled with information, we followed our guides to the third floor where we sat and listened to a woman whom we came to consider a very special person.
She told us a little bit about her family. Then she went on to telling us a story, which was so unbelievable, yet it was so true. She told us about the pain and the misery she and her family went through during the Holocaust. She also showed us the number that was tattooed onto her arm by which she was identified by the Nazis. She ended her story by telling us that out of her parents and six brothers and sisters she had, she was the only one to survive. I know for a fact that everyone was touched by this story and many people came out that room as a changed person.
I learned many new facts about Jewish culture and the Holocaust. I know you would learn new things, too, if you go and visit the museum.
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SHOULD THE TOWERS BE REBUILT
by Jahaira Sanchez
In my opinion the towers should be rebuilt, because this is how we can show that we are still powerful --that nobody will take the knowledge we have today-- and that freedom still exists for us.
By rebuilding, maybe people (like the families) will feel bad, but we have to show our pride our nationalism by showing them that this country is a democratic country, where people have the right to speak their minds.
On September 11, 2023 life had change for everyone --in the way people think, in the way people lived, in the decisions that people make. The towers should be rebuilt again the same size. It will be better, and it will be a memory of those beautiful buildings that collapsed.
The buildings should be placed one on each side, and then at the center should be a pyramid with names printed of workers and the people from the Fire Department who lost their lives in the tragic event.
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MY SUMMERAND
THE BRIDGE PROGRAM
by Lillian Agjei
 Sophomore year is over, and in comes our junior year --the most important year of everyone�s high school career. But thankfully, before I was to be drowned with stressful papers and problems, summer time vacation eased the pain of September madness.
This summer was actually extremely different from the summer that I'm used to having. You know fun in the sun, traveling the seven seas, etc. But his summer I WORKED!!! I had a actual paying job!
Mrs. Aronoff, the Project Director of Pelham Prep Academy, recommended me and other several othe College Now students (such as DaVaughn Bryan, Veronica Cervantes and Natasha Ballard), as incoming freshman mentors. So from about the 1st of July to the 16th of August I was a working girl!
Incoming freshmen from junior high schools came to Columbus during the summer just to get a feel of what school would be like for them in September. The program was called the "bridge" program. It was started about 2 or 3 years ago to ease the �pain� of entering high school. They take actual classes such as Art, English, Science and Math for 3 actual high school credits. They get to meet their future guidance counselors and make friends before the school year begins so that they don�t feel lost and �abandoned� when the race begins.
I got some feedback from some of the current freshmen that were enrolled in this program this passed summer. The majority of the kids thought that it was a good idea and a great way to utilize their time instead of staying outside all day in the hot sun. They especially liked it when they heard about the rewarding credits (which is the main reason why some of them came!).
During the summer we took a trip over to Broadway with the �mature young adults� to see the play, �Les Miserables.� Some of them didn�t want to go because they thought that it wouldn�t be fun trip, but it turned out to be a great success. Mission Accomplished.
Also to spice up the summer and not make it look like a drag every day, myself and the other mentors set up what we like to call, �color days,� where the newcomers would dress up in a certain color for the day and the class that has the most people in that color gets the most points and a pizza party at the end of the summer. I personally thought it was a great idea, but some of the kids thought some of the colors were a bit too outrageous! (He He)
This past summer was one of the memorable ones I've ever had. The lessons I learned from these kids are irreplaceable. The friends I have gained and the respect I have attained from many different teachers and throughout the school are ones I never thought I could have. I thought this would be torture, but it turned out to be great. I wouldn�t mind the least doing it all over again.
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