Melrose Masters "Safe Streets, Smart Trips"!

Melrose High School’s Andrew Dell Isola and Christian Poutre won the recent Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s PSA competition, a contest that included sixteen Massachusetts high schools.

“[Poutre and Dell Isola] had to promote pedestrian, driving and bicycle safety in sixty seconds or less, which is kind of ridiculous,” said Anthony DiBenedetto, the MHS Television Production teacher.

The Safe Streets PSA contest is one of many programs the school has participated in. Similar contests organized by the Middlesex District Attorney and State Fire Marshall are among the others. Poutre and Dell Isola walked away with first place and Paris Peterson, winner of last year’s fire safety PSA contest, took home an honorable mention.

“I try to alternate between kind of fun and goofy projects and things that are a little more serious,” DiBenedetto explained about TV production class. Public service announcements are only a portion of the fun projects they complete throughout the year.

“All of the music they composed themselves,” DiBenedetto said about his students’ video. With this particular project, Dell Isola and Poutre spent a week working in class as well as some time on their own. They even completed an original jingle which happily closes the video, “Safe Streets, smart tips, keeping you safe.”

“I’m a musician, a music producer,” said Dell Isola, who wrote and performed the video’s music and jingle. “I used their slogan, which they liked.”

“I love the ability to produce a video exactly how I imagine it in my head” Poutre said when explaining why he loves his TV Production class. “Video production is something I will keep in mind for a career,” he added.

Dell Isola described his affection for the class, “I’ve always loved making videos and I’m also an actor.” He later stated, “I want to do music production and film production, so, having won that contest for both of those two things is pretty good.”

“It gives validity to what we’re doing,” DiBenedetto said about the award and his classes will continue the year in with competitive spirit.

By: Devin Castaño

Ms. Mochi ran the Marathon!

On April 21^st, Marathon Monday, runners ran with the “Boston Strong” mind set.  These people were there to represent the victims of the marathon bombings last year, and among those runners was Melrose High special education teacher, Ms. Mochi. 

            

            “I’m running for my mom,” Mochi says, who ran with the Mass Eye and Ear team.  Mochi’s mom is deaf and has to use a copular implant to help with her hearing.  But the implant had some complications and now gives her headaches and dizziness.  Her mom is unable to travel so Mochi says the Boston Marathon was the “first time she saw me run.”

            

            This is Mochi’s fourth marathon; she has run marathons in Chicago, Disney World, and Marine corps in D.C.  The Boston Marathon has been the hardest one she had done.  And applying for this year’s marathon took more time than past ones.  Mochi signed up with Team Mass Eye and Ear which had a “very lengthy application, which took me an hour to fill out.”  The application consisted of questions and mini essays.  Mochi said “out of the blue they [Team Mass Eye and Ear] called me at the high school and asked if I could do a conference call.  Then during the call they offered me the spot right then and there.”

Part of running for this team Mochi had to raise $6500. “I was really anxious,” Mochi says about raising the money, “but I hit my goal in early march.” Mochi said she “did a lot of social media” to raise the money, and had the help of friends and colleagues who donated.   

Now that the marathon is over Mochi says, "I felt really great and so happy to be done, because it was very hot that day." Ms. Mochi got the chance to run with a girl on her team that didn't get to finish the marathon last year.  Mochi said, "it was really nice, we cried the whole way down boylston street."   

Ms. Mochi's next race will be a ten miler in October.  She hopes to run another marathon in the near future.   

By: Anna Garofalo

Imprint Podcast: Ms. Mochi on Senior Week and Boston Marathon

MHS Imprint spoke to Ms. Mochi yesterday to discuss senior week and the upcoming Boston Marathon.  


Ms. Mochi on Marathon!   

Ms. Mochi on Senior Week! 

By: Anna Garofalo 

New School Store in MHS

The school store officially opened on March 10^th. Designed by Ms. Giovanardi’s CAD class and run by the life skills program, the post-grad program, and Ms. McBride’s business class, the Raider Zone is open during the lunch hours.

            Everything from school supplies to Melrose attire will be sold in the store. “Apparel would be sweatshirts, t-shirts, scarves. And school supplies would be anything you need during the day,” said Mr. Lawlor, a life skills teacher at Melrose High.

            At the school store, students can buy pens, pencils, calculators, USB drives, WhiteOut, and notebooks: “stuff that [students] come and ask [the teachers] for,” Mr. Lawlor said. “It is the convenience of needing something while in school.” The prices of these products vary; Pens will be under a dollar, T-shirts and sweatshirts will be sold at ten dollars. Calculators will be two dollars and notebooks will be a dollar. The school store tries to keep the prices around a dollar.

            The money the school store gets will be reinvested in the school store. The school received donations for the opening of the store, so the money will be used to buy more products for the store.

By Christian Hashem

Melrose Alliance Against Violence

                Melrose Alliance Against Violence (MAAV) is an organization that began in Melrose in 1995. It was created to help spread awareness about domestic violence. Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) is a branch of MAAV, run by Northeastern Sports in Society, and helps educate students to better understand how to play a role in stopping issues such as sexual assault and sexual harassment.

                MAAV focuses on violence prevention, and works closely with the community to raise awareness about teen-dating violence and domestic violence. MVP is a program that encourages and empowers student leaders to play a central role in solving these problems that MAAV focuses on.

                Alyssa Abbot, a senior at MHS, has been interested in the MAAV program since she was a little girl. She attended the annual MAAV walks with her family and applied to the MAAV’s Student Action Board at the end of her freshman year. She has since been deeply involved with MAAV.

                “I truly love being part of such an amazing and selfless organization.” Abbot said.

                Every half-day, nominated student-leaders join together with the MVP mentors (from Northeastern University) and discuss how somebody’s actions can make a negative or positive difference in the community.

                “I feel I am making our society a better place with what I have been taught through MAAV and MVP.” Abbot said, “To me, MVP is an opportunity for a wide variety of students to be taught how their leadership and their voice can make a difference in the community, and at large. I enjoy every minute spent with MVP, and I know that the other students do too.”

                MAAV helps the Melrose community, through its devotion to support people and educate them about teen-dating violence and domestic violence.

                “No one should have to face these grueling issues alone, and MAAV serves as an outlet and support for anyone who faces violence,” Abbot said.

                MAAV’s Board recently has put the MVP students in freshman seminar classes to train and teach them on what they have learned through the program.

By: Christian Hashem

Fire Safety Video Competition

            At the end of last year, a number of TV students here at Melrose High School entered a statewide video competition.  Sponsored by the Massachusetts Association of Safety and Fire Educators, the competition challenged Massachusetts high school students to create an educational video about the dangers of fires.  Each video had to be between one and three minutes in length, contain several “tidbits” of information, such as statistics and advice on fire safety, and be well researched (the statistics have to be legitimate).  There are a few other rules that they have to follow.  For example, the participants could not actually film real fires, as that would be unsafe.  Instead they had to use copyright-free and public domain stock footage.  They were judged on a rubric scaling seven categories from one to four points.  For the most part, the categories were mostly about accuracy of facts and making the video creative as well as fitting  the requirements.

            Naturally, because it is a competition, there are prizes.  There are three prizes and three “honorable mention” awards.  A total of three hundred and fifty dollars are given out to the winners.  First place receives two hundred dollars in Best Buy gift cards, split among the group members, and their school receives a brand new camera for filming future videos.  The second and third place groups receive one hundred dollars and fifty dollars, respectively, also in Best Buy gift cards. The three honorable mentions do not receive prizes.

            Melrose has four finalist teams in the competition, each of which seems to have a shot.  The Imprint was able to interview two of the competitors; Quinn Wilkins and Addison Dowell.  Just from these two there is a large and visible difference in the teams.   Quinn Wilkins said that it took was about two hours of research, scripting, and filming to make his video, and one hour additional hour to edit.  On the other hand, Addison Dowell’s group took about five or six hours researching, scripting, and filming, and as much as ten hours editing.  Quinn Wilkins believes that while he himself does not have a great chance, that Melrose will win two of the six places. Addison Dowell claims that his video has a very good chance of winning.  If he wins, Wilkins says he would probably get a brand new 50mm lens for his camera, and Dowell gave no comment.

            If you would like to find the videos, you can find them at the youtube channel Melrose High TV. They are titled Burn Prevention Awareness: Second Chance, Burn Prevention Awareness: Cooking Safety, Burn Prevention Awareness: Radio Station Fire Awareness, and Burn Prevention Awareness: Alone in the Kitchen. 

         By: Duncan McLeod  

Important Dates for Seniors

Senior Deadlines

Internship Meeting – TBA

Senior Paper Due – April 4^th

Start of Internship – April 7^th

Payment for yearbook – March 15^th

Pre-Prom meeting – March 31^st

Completed 48 hours of Community Service – May 1^st

Diploma Decision - TBA

Awards Night - TBA

Senior Week

Graduation Rehearsal – May 27^th (8:30 am)

Prom – May 27^th (Bus check-in 4:00)

Yearbook signing – May 28^th (subject to change)

Six Flags – May 29^th             

Graduation – May 30^th (ceremony starts at 3:30)

Grad Night – May 30^th (doors opens at 10 pm)

By: Anna Garofalo

Poetry Out Loud

           On Tuesday, January 14^th, twenty-seven Melrose High students recited poems they had memorized as part of the annual Poetry Out Loud competition. Five English teachers judged the students based on accuracy, among other criteria. Senior Lilah Drafts-Johnson was declared the winner, and freshman Alana Williams was the runner-up.  The results were announced on Wednesday, January 15^th.

           Melrose High School has participated in the Poetry Out Loud competition for about four years. In the past, only four or five teachers sent students to the school wide competition, and only about twelve to fifteen students participated. Mrs. Stearns, the lead teacher for MHS, wanted more students to participate this year to “increase the quality of the performances.” On the week of January 7^th, English teachers held classroom competitions. The winners from the classroom competitions went on to compete in the school-wide competition.

            Students who win their school competitions need to prepare three poems for the state and national levels. One must be twenty-five lines or fewer, one must be written before the 20th century, and the student can choose another poem as their third poem. All poems must be from the Poetry Out Loud anthology. The anthology can be found online at www.poetryoutloud.org.

            Mrs. Stearns believes it is “valuable for students to memorize poems” because then they “own” that piece of poetry, in a way. She uses Nelson Mandela to illustrate the benefits of memorizing poetry. Mandela memorized poems and recited them in prison for entertainment. One of the poems he memorized and recited to other prisoners at Robben Island, “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley, is part of the Poetry Out Loud anthology.

            Junior Megan Wolley, a member of the Imprint staff, said the competition made her go outside her comfort zone. She recited “The Maid’s Lament,” by Walter Savage Landor. She chose the poem because she had “never done a poem about mourning” and she wanted to try something different.

            Winner Lilah Drafts-Johnson recited “Cartoon Physics, Part 1” by Nick Flynn. Runner-up Alana Williams recited “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughs.

            The Massachusetts competition will be on March 1^st, 2014. The location has yet to be determined.

By: Emma Morrison

Midterm Exam Schedule

Midterm Exam Schedule

2014

Tuesday, January 21^st              8:00 - 9:45                  A Block Exam

                                                10:00-11:45                 G Block Exam

                                                11:45-12:30                 Lunch/Dismissal         

                                               

                                                12:30 - 2:30                 Extra Help Sessions _______________________________________________________________________

           

Wednesday, January 22^nd       8:00 -  9:45                  B Block Exam

                                                10:00-11:45                 F Block Exam

                                                11:45-12:30                 Lunch/Dismissal         

                                               

                                                12:30- 2:30                  Extra Help Sessions

Thursday, January 23^rd            8:00 - 9:45                   C Block Exam

                                                10:00-11:45                 E Block Exam

                                                11:45-12:30                 Lunch/Dismissal         

                                               

                                                12:30 - 2:30                 Extra Help Sessions

Friday, January 24^th                8:00 - 9:45                   D Block Exam

                                                10:00-11:45                 Make-up Exam

                                                11:45                           Dismissal        

Melrose High in Globe Art Show

   Browsing through the pieces of art Melrose High School students have produced for the 2013 Globe Art show, you will find that they have redefined the word “selfie.”

In this case “selfie” means constructing large self-portraits made up of many different colors and texture techniques, using only colored pencil. Many of these self-portraits and other pieces of art MHS students have created are being submitted to the statewide art show, also known as the Globe Show.

MHS students in the photography program are also submitting pieces to the scholastic show. Becca Kranz, a member of the Imprint staff, is among those students in the photo program submitting new pieces. Becca was last year’s winner of the golden key for her photo titled "Ireland in America."

These students are getting the chance to be recognized with an award or scholarship money. Ms. Melito, an art teacher at MHS, says that, “Melrose has been getting recognized by the award show since 2009.” Every year MHS students get recognized with gold keys, sliver keys or honorable mentions.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards was started in 1923 and the Award’s goal, according to its website is to, “recognize the exceptional vision of our nation’s youth and provide a singular opportunity for students to be noticed for their creative talents.” Teenagers in grades 7-12 can submit their writing or artwork to 28 categories and get a chance to earn scholarships and have their work exhibited or published.

This scholastic art and writing program claims to be the “longest running, most prestigious and recognized program for creative for creative teens in the U.S.” Some of its past winners include Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, and Stephen King.

This year, the MHS art program is submitting 35 pieces of artwork to the show. This is the largest amount of work the art program has submitted since 2005.

By: Anna Garofalo

Melrose High School Battle of the Bands

Students around MHS who are excited to keep a tradition alive will be happy to know Battle of the Bands returned for the second time this past Monday. The videos are posted to the Melrose High School YouTube account, and are ready for the views to start pouring in. 

“Battle of the Bands started because I love music but I’m not good at it” explains Mr. DiBenedetto, who wanted to create a way to showcase student talent throughout the student body.

The first year the Virtual Battle of the Bands was more successful than people were expecting.  Even Mr. DiBenedetto was surprised, that the a total view count was 10,000 views. The winner last year, Anthony Naslas, had close to 5,000 views. 

Eight bands in total are competing this year, and there are a hand-full of returning acts. The acts range through almost every genre, including rap. The bands that are competing practiced and rehearsed on their own all the way up until their recording time. They then recorded a multiple takes of multiple songs. After that, they waited until the videos were posted.  Now they have the difficult task of promoting their groups video to get the most viewers.

There are two rounds in the virtual battle.  The first round has already begun, and is based completely on viewers.  The bands with the most views will then move on to the second round, which is based on votes. In the end, the music group with the most votes is the winner. The people who are involved in the production continue to work hard but it is worth it.  Mr. DiBenedetto claims that it is a “really fun project to work on.”

The second Virtual battle of the Bands has begun and is expected to be just as successful as or more successful than the original. Battle of the Bands has formed into a yearly tradition and can only to hope to get bigger and expand more as the years go on. 

By: Madison Forsberg