This year’s freshmen will never know the struggle of being so invested in a project that’s due at the end of the period, eagerly working to finish, and in a short forty-two minute period, the bell rings, and the poster board needed for the project is only half-colored.  As of this 2019-2020 school year, the new drop schedule has been implemented t.aint Rose, allotting more class time to students and teachers. Classes that were previously forty-two minutes are now fifty-two. Unlike past years, only six of the eight classes that students sign up for take place everyday. The two classes that don’t take place on a certain day will occur the next, one being the first period and the other being immediately after flex/lunch. The periods that drop will alter everyday; a student might drop their English and Biology class on a Monday, but would drop two different subjects on that Tuesday. 

Along with six classes a day, a forty-minute flex/lunch period also takes place after the third class.  All students either have lunch prior to flex, or flex before lunch. At a student’s given lunch time, they can eat in the cafeteria at a table of eight with some friends and purchase a meal from Maschio’s, St. Rose’s brand new food service. In preparation for the flex and lunch period, students must decide where they would like to go during flex. This recently installed period is a time for all students, including seniors if they do not use their lunch privilege, to work on the school subject of their choice, and can go to a teacher’s room that is available that day. They can go to a specific teacher for extra help, making it easier for students who are unable to stay after school. They can also work on any assignment of their choice, whether it is beginning an essay or completing a lab. 

               When Freshman Class President Gwyneth Fahy was asked about how she felt about the schedule this year, she pointed out the decrease in her workload: “I really like the new schedule because it gives you time to do your homework and study for tests because you don’t have all your classes everyday. It has helped me a lot because I have been able to get studying done and do work quicker. I also love the new lunch food and I think flex is a great opportunity to get extra help or get some extra work done.” Not only does the schedule benefit underclassmen, but is also beneficial for upperclassmen. Keara Reilly stated that “ I like the fifty minutes because the teachers get to fully explain the subject and I like how we drop each subject because there is less homework and it’s a nice break from certain subjects.” The new schedule has had a positive impact on the whole student body along with the faculty and staff. It is allowing the school to progress as a whole and create an exceptional academic environment. 

You may have heard talk about Magnify, Catholic Athletes for Christ (CAC), Acoustic Spirituality, Liturgy Team and Cinematic Spirituality but what are they and how can you join. Magnify is a short one topic meeting on thing not covered or discussed in class held every Wednesday during flex in the little theater. It serves as an opportunity to engage with Catholic content such as demons, saints, miracles, and other random topics of interest.

 At the time of this interview Mr. Petrillo couldn’t comment much on plans for Catholic Athletes for Christ as he was going to a meeting to discuss possible activities for that program but he said that he was open to feedback from students as to what they wanted to see and do in that club. 

Acoustic spirituality focuses on listening to music and pulling out Catholic themes, concepts, and messages in all music no just Christian music specifically. This program is very open format where students can bring in songs that speak to them and using music to encounter the divine in everyday life. A similar program Cinematic Spirituality is also returning and this takes a similar approach to seeing God in our everyday life like acoustic spirituality but through cinema. The idea for this program came from a paper that Mr. Petrillo wrote in seminary looking at The Lion King, creation, and the fall of man in a classic Disney film. 

The Liturgy Team is a group of students that learn about the mass and the various functions within the mass. The team is responsible for fulfilling the roles such as altar servers, putting together programs, different prayer events and serving for liturgical functions.

 In short Campus Ministry’s purpose was summarized best by Mr. Petrillo who said “Its purpose is to bridge the gap between class, Mass, and trying to make the connection between the sacred and secular everyday living.”

St. Rose students have a new card on their lanyard this year, and The Courier has the story behind it! The new swipe card system at SRHS might seem intimidating at first, but it’s here to make everyone’s day a lot easier.  The production company, appropriately named “Swipe K-12”, has been making elementary schools and high schools all across the country a lot safer for many years. It’s new to St. Rose this year, so get excited! This article will reveal everything a swiper needs know. We spoke with Mr. Carey, Vice Principal, to get all the reasons why we installed Swipe. 

Mr. Carey has a lot of great information on the new system. “The first reason is for school safety. Every person that comes into the school has to show their license, so we can do a background check. Second, to cut time down with attendance. The system processes much larger amounts of people in short amounts of time compared to attendance by hand, like we did last year. It can process around two hundred names in under three minutes. 

 Third, student tracking, especially for the flex periods. If we need to find one of the students for any reason, all we have to do is look for the last place you swiped in. Another reason is consequence management, for issues like lateness. Everything is automatically tracked and any consequences are automatically issued.” These consequences are the new student responsibilities for being late, like restricted lunch. This cuts down the time it used to take to email students warnings or issue them slips. 

On the topic of safety, Mr. Carey says that with the new background checks and ease of student location, the school is much more secure. And that’s not all – he also says that taking attendance has sped up a lot compared to last year.

“Everyday, there are about two to three errors (maximum). Much less than when we did it manually.” When a card is swiped before entry to Convocation, the system automatically tracks presence as well as the time that it was scanned into the gym. Then, all of the teachers seen throughout the day know if that person is present in school or not. It simplifies the process in many ways.

Before the interview ended, I asked Mr. Carey for any advice to students that want to make their morning entrance to Convocation faster: 

“Take off your lanyards when you come in the make it easier for you, make sure you scan your card correctly, and look to make sure your picture is on the screen before you take your seat.” If the picture on student ID cannot be seen by the scanner, the teacher that’s monitoring should be asked to check it. All it takes to fix an error is to swipe the card again.

Swipe K-12 is just one of the many interesting new additions to our school this year.  For any additional questions about the system, reach out to a teacher for some help. Happy swiping!

Riding Into the New Season With the Surf Team

 

The St Rose Surf Team is dropping in on the new season, and they’re ready to work their way to the top this year. The surf team is a fairly new program at St. Rose High School. This year, everyone is ready to start their second season off with a bang. Seniors PJ Dwyer, Nolan Beohmcke, Spencer Flynn, Matt Pelech, Dan Magrini, Declan Coyle, Patrick Kennan, and Molly Moore really make an impact and set examples for the rest of the team. Some of the other members including Joe Dechev, John Harold, Dereck Hope, Joey Bryceland, Aidan Bryceland, and Olivia Allen are all very excited to compete this season and hopefully get some big wins. 

The team had their first meet against Manasquan, and unfortunately had a tough loss. Senior Captain Nolan Beohmcke admits, “Manasquan was tough, they’re a great team and on top of that, the waves weren’t ideal but we tried our hardest. When we went against shore the waves were better and we dominated each heat which led us to win the meet”. Other than the Squan meet, the last few meets the team has competed in, went great! Sophomore Joe Dechev has a great attitude for the rest of this season. He said, “Our biggest competition is Manasquan, the rest of the season should go pretty smoothly, up until states, we go up against teams a little further away, one being Ocean City. States won’t be easy, but I believe that we can come out on top”. The surf team also just went up against CBA and finished the meet off with a winning score of 114 to 91. Declan Coyle finished in first place for the long board event. “Based on how we did these last few meets, we should have a pretty smooth and successful season.” , said Nolan Beohmcke filled with hope. 

Some of the teams that our surf team goes up against are CBA, Point, Shore, Manasquan, and Wall. These should all be some great meets, the team enjoys when peers come out to support. Joe Dechev agrees, “I’m looking forward to a long, successful season and hope everyone can come out and support, our meets are always fun and it always motivates the team when we see our classmates watching.” Another reason to come out to the meets is to buy a #samvincible T- Shirt. The surf team has been selling these since the beginning of the season, and have donated the money to one of our own, Sam Jarmer and his family. The surf team started selling these shirts at the Belmar Pro, which is a surf competition in belmar. Our team’s tent was set up and got the opportunity to sell a lot of T-shirts and raise more money than expected for Sam. The team also has merchandise of their own that is also available to students, or anyone in the St Rose community. 

Overall, the St Rose surf team has a very bright season ahead, and will hopefully come out on top. Don’t forget to come out and show your support, it will be the surf team.