DON BOSCO PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL

492 N. Franklin Turnpike Ramsey, New Jersey 07446 Volume 11, Issue 2 APRIL 2013

IRONMANFeast of St. John Bosco

Bishop Manny Celebrates Spirit Week Mass

By Robert Smith ‘13

On Friday, January 31st , the entire Don Bosco Prep community gathered in the gymnasium to celebrate

Mass for the Feast of St. John Bosco, the school’s patron. The Mass sig-naled the high point of this year’s Spirit Week, a Bosco tradition of bring-ing the school community together through an array of competitive and highly jubilant activities between the grade levels.

Prior to the com-mencement of Mass, Senior Michael Flana-gan made his way to the

podium to welcome the Most Reverend Manuel Aurelio Cruz, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark and the main celebrant of the Mass. Mike high-lighted St. John Bosco’s presence at The Prep, in all those who are a part of this extraordinary community, including Bishop Manny as he celebrates Mass. Subsequently, Father Jim Heu-ser, Don Bosco Prep’s Director, gave his own introduction of Bishop Manny, beginning with a small joke about how the community is used to having Father Manny celebrate the Mass, but on this momentous occasion that honor has been delegated to Bishop Manny. Father Jim went

on to inform the school community that Bishop Manny grew up in Havana, Cuba until he and his family fled to Florida during his early teenage years. After staying there for a time, he relocated to New Jersey, where he was ordained a

priest in 1980. Then on June 9th , 2008, Bishop Manny was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Newark and Titular Bishop of Gaguari by Pope Benedict XVI.

In his homily, Bishop Manny reflected on the importance of being models of holiness and keeping the traditions and values of the Catholic Church alive and well in the world today, as well as keeping Jesus and paragons of faith, such as St. John Bosco, alive too, by following their example. He began his homily by remi-

niscing about an old friend of his named Father Mur-phy, whom he referred to as a model priest. Father Murphy, Bishop Man-ny said, had given up his comfortable life as a priest

in the United States and instead was one of the first priests to volunteer to go to Argentina in or-der to start a new community there, where he spent many years. Subsequently, he spoke about an-other notable person, a Salesian sister, named Sr. Mary whom he considered to be the archetype of obedience. She followed the Lord wherever He called her to go, which just happened to be in Australia, where she remained for a long time and helped to start a Church com-munity. Bishop Manny cited these distinguished people in

his homily in order to convey to the Don Bosco Prep students the importance of going out in the world to do God’s will, which is why he saw it as “A great privilege to bless those going to Nicaragua over the winter break and send them on this Church mission.” Afterward, he shifted the focus of his homily to the idea that to be happy is the reason to live. Bishop Manny spoke about how to achieve this holiness, which he said was to strive to know God through what Jesus taught us on the “Sermon on the Mount”, and through seeing the love Jesus showed for us on Calvary by his sacrifice on the Cross. To reiterate the importance of this truth, he quoted St. Thomas Aquinas who said, “If you want to find happiness, look toward the cross.” Bishop Manny asserted that in order to achieve hap-

piness we must also avoid the four worldly addictions, the four “P’s”: Possession, Power, Pride, and Pleasure, which all lead to great unhappiness, suf-fering, and pain. Instead, we must follow the example that Jesus provided on the Cross: the will of the Father, in order to be strong and avoid evil. Bishop Manny urged the Don Bosco community to pray for the grace of God, His wis-dom, and the grace of Christ so that they may find the way to eternity and not be afraid to look in their hearts to be selfless. Finally, he concluded his sermon by calling upon all those attending the Mass to “pray for us, the Salesian com-munity.”

Following Communion, Bishop Manny called up to the altar those Seniors and Faculty members going on the Nicaragua mission trip – he gave them a blessing and then presented crosses to each of them. After this blessing, Father Jim reflected on Bishop Manny’s first visit to the Prep and his gift to the school community, which was his visit. As a sign of gratitude, Fr. Jim bestowed Bishop Manny with a present of his own from the entire Don Bosco Prep community: a statue of St. John Bosco. In response Bishop Manny spoke of his immense gratitude and gave another gift to the Bosco community: a day off from school, which was followed by a resounding “DAY OFF!” from the ecstatic students in the gymnasium. Then Bishop Manny acknowledged all those who helped in the Mass and gave the final blessing. The Mass concluded with a thunderous applause for the Bishop as the students sang a school favorite, “Friend of the Young and the Poor.” In his comments to the school com-munity after the Mass, Mr. Stanczak reflected on the sacrifices his parents had made to put him and his siblings through Catholic school, because his parents knew it was fundamentally important for their children to have a strong foundation of faith and respon-sibility. Mr. Stanczak then passion-ately acknowledged the sacrifices the teachers and faculty at Don Bosco Prep make day in and day out for all those who are a part of this school commu-nity and voiced his great appreciation for his colleagues, which he implored the students to express as well.

By Kevin Lee ‘15

Don Bosco Prep’s Spirit Week kicked off with an entertaining, lively game of Family Feud on Monday,

the 28th of January. The event, which took place in the audi-torium, was a friendly competition between the

students to see which grade level knew the most about Don Bosco trivia.

2 - Don Bosco Prep Spirit Week April 2013

Day 1 • Family Feud Fires up spirit Week Thefirstmatchupwas between the Freshman family of “The Dangs”, with Br. Minh and the Senior family of “The Weasleys”, with Dr. Catherina. By answering the majority of ques-tions correctly, such as “Name a Popular Food from the Cafeteria”, the Seniors quickly

oustedtheFreshmanbywinningthefirsttwoofthreerounds.Shortlyafter,theSophomorefamilyof“FiveLoko”,withMs.Mazzella,wasupagainsttheJuniorfamilyassistedbyMrs.Byrne.TheJuniorswonthefirstroundwithease,but struggled with the second round; the Sophomores stole the round by giving a correct answer after the Juniors had given three wrong answers. Down to the last straw, the Juniors refused to let the underclassmen defeat them and rallied to give six correct answers to the question, “Name Something Found in a Student’s Backpack”, and won the best of three rounds over the Sophomores.

Thefinalmatchupforfirstplacewasbetween“TheWeasleys”and“TheFisters”,whichseemedtobeinthe Senior class’ favorite match throughout the course of the event. The Seniorseasilytookthefirstround,buttheresilientJuniorscamebacktostealthesecondround.Tiedatoneapiece,theSeniorstookthefinalroundby providing the correct answers for the question, “Name Some Famous Bosco Quotes”, in which they asserted their superiority in the Don Bosco community. The Family Feud opener to Spirit Week was only a foretaste of the exciting, challenging, and competitive events that had yet to come.

Day 2 • lumberjacks’ dodgeball tuesday By Ryan Touhey ‘15

Don Bosco Prep’s Spirit Week was a fun, enjoyable, and unpredictable week. It hosted events such as trivia, relay races, and a talent show. However, no event was more entertaining or electric as the dodge ball event was. All four classes competed in it - the Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors. The judges were Ms. Seward,

Mr. Esposito, and Coach Moore.

ThefirstroundbeganwiththeSophomoresvs.Juniors. It was a back-and-forth contest as both teams got

early eliminations. Some players who were elimi-nated tried to stay in the game anyway, but they were caught by the vigilant facultyofficials.Asthematchwenton,theplayer’sclassmates were behind them the whole way, vocifer-ously chanting for their team. The game heated up until it was to be settled in sudden death! It was one-on-one contest. The players were forced to stand in

the small center of the circle near the foul line and were supposed to get the other player outbyeitheracatch,orahit.TheJuniorsattemptedtodrawfirstbloodastheJuniorrepresentativefiredattheSophomore.TheSophomorewasreadyandcaughttheball,givingtheSophomoresthewinandadvancingthemtothefinals.TheSophomoresinthe bleachers went wild!!!

The next round was between the Freshman and Seniors. The debut of the Freshman class was not adisappointmentasfledglingunderclassmengavetheSeniors everything they had. The Freshman bleachers went crazy as well. But, the Seniors proved more su-perb, as the veterans were all over the Freshmen. With the Senior crowd just a few feet away cheering them on

and with their experience, the Seniors eliminated the Freshmen and moved onto the finalstofacetheSophomores.

ThefinalmatchbetweentheSophomoresandSeniors was indeed a unique round. The Sophomores and Seniors were both determined with their classmates ready to cheer them on. Under way it went as the Seniors and Sopho-mores went after each other with everything. This match was wild, energetic, and eye-opening- great catches, great plays, great communication! Time ran out with the same re-sultasthefirstmatchoftheday-suddendeathbetweentheSophomores and Seniors.

The Senior threw the ball at the Sopho-more, and the Sophomore caught it! The Sophomores had won the Dodge Ball tournament!!! The team raced into the stands to celebrate with their classmates as they all chanted, “THIS IS OUR HOUSE!!!” As a Sophomore myself, I was very proud of the team winning, and my hat is off to the Freshman, Juniors, andSeniorsforputtingupagoodfight.I’m sure this is a Dodge Ball tournament Bosco will be remembering for years to come.

Day 3 • patriotic tug-oF-War & Hand ball By Andrew Dawd ’13 Although Wednesday marked the half-way point for Bosco’s Spirit Week, the energy proved to be stronger than ever, as both students and faculty were able to show their true “colors” through the action-packed events. The colors red, white, and blue were painted throughout the halls of Don Bosco on Wednesday’s Patriotic Day, wheth-er through the vibrant costumes of the students or the vastnumberofAmericanflagsthatwereproudlyhungallaround campus. The competitive classes of students were also able to compete against each other on Wednesday in the classic game of “Tug-of-War” and the heart-pounding sport “Hand-Ball”.

challenged the puissant Seniors, which resulted in a huge win for the upperclassmen. To tie for third, the Sophomores beat the Freshmen in a very close bout. Finally, the epic conclusion was decided by the Juniors, who caused absolute chaos when they rose to victory over the Seniors.

In order to shake off their previ-ous loss, the Seniors played their hearts out in their Hand-Ball game against the Sopho-mores, shutting them out

4-0. The Freshmen also wanted to bounce back after coming in last place in the previous event, but were sadly shut-out by the Juniors, also 4-0. Thus, the Seniors and Juniors met again in the finals, which proved to be an action-packed matchup. After a game that focused more on defense than offense, the Seniors were able to win it all in their 2-1 victory over the Juniors, boosting their morale for the upcoming days of Bosco Spirit Week.

April 2013 Spirit Week Don Bosco Prep - 3

nations, flips, and spins), though his act brought in two other performers with whom he staged simulated combats. “The Piano Man’s” younger brother, Matt Gysin, performed solo for the first time and got the audience “feeling alright” with his rendition of “Lean on Me”. “My Girl” was the hit enthusiastically performed by a Senior group that included Razohonn Gross, Al’Quadin Muhammad, Kieran Snyder, Nick Youngblood and Lauren Goodridge. A dance duet of Pat and John Mulyk wowed the auditorium with a

raucous “Gangnam” number. Senior Devin Boodaghian coordinated a Senior group in a staging of “The Yes Dance”, his plea, he revealed at the end of the number, to persuade Mr. Neckel to say “yes” to his request to get his cell phone back. The surprise and highlight of the show was the performance by Tim Gysin’s senior band

(Tim Gysin – keyboard, An-drew Dawd – guitar, Adam Andriulli – bass, Michael Flanagan – percussion, Matt Yazgi – percussion, with backup singers Craig Dei-tel, Will Martora-no, CJ DiNi-cola and Michael Miller). Asking Hart Sibug to come up to the stage, the group per-formed a moving rendition of an original song (“Here We Are”) written by Tim

Gysin after Hart’s father’s passing away. For its second work, the group tackled the vocal and musical complexities of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, which featured a memorable guitar solo by Andrew Dawd and Matt Yazgi’s thrilling climactic clanging of the gargantuan gong.

The Talent Show judges this year were Ms. Petrocelli, Ms. Seward, Coach Moore and Mr. Moreland. The faculty judges gave their objective assessment of each act, sometimes winning the approbation of a par-ticular class and sometimes eliciting a class’ disappoint-ment in their judgment.

Once again, the Talent Show elicited a vigorous display of school spirit and brought to a cacophonous but celebratory close the festivities of Spirit Week. That spirit was manifest in the students’ vocal sing-alongs, their spontaneously coming to their feet to show their support for various acts and their coordinated waves, arm sways and synchronized rockings to the beat of the songs.

Day 4 • Spotlight on Student talentBy Matthew Barker ‘15

Don Bosco Prep’s Spirit Week 2013 came to a rousing conclusion with the ever-popular student Talent Show. This year’s show featured groups and perform-

ers from the various grade levels showcasing a variety of talents.

The emcees for this year’s Tal-ent Show were Seniors Matt King, Tom Whittam (AKA “The Chan-cellor”) and the always audible Anthony Gallo (“Vox Bosconien-sis”). Together, they energized the student body for each perfor-mance, provided lively commen-tary between acts, and gently nudged

the judges to be more generous with the scores for the Senior acts.

Among the acts featured were a Junior band comprised of Eric Coles (piano/vocals), Kevin Quimbo (guitar) and John Quimbo (drums), perform-

ing medley of popular songs (“Numa Numa”, “Kids”, “1,000 Miles”, “September”, “What’s Up”, “Never Gonna Give You Up” and “Gangnam Style”). Kevin Quimbo was then joined by Josh McGann (vocal/guitar), Hunter Kino (guitar) and Dan

Johnson (drums) in a performance of Led Zeppelin’s “immigrant Song” and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”. Junior Dan Magurno made a return to the stage with his choreographed martial arts moves (kicks, punch combi-

Continued from page 2 After a whole day of shortened classes, the whole Bosco community was gathered once again in the gymnasium for the day’s competition. In his opening prayer, Fr. Manny reminded the students about Saint John Bosco’s emphasis on being active and the importance of sports in the lives of children, a

lesson he taught to all of his boys at the Oratory. Fr. Manny ended his prayer by noting the love that we must all have for our country and for the soldiers who risk their lives daily.

The first competition began with an “under-dog” story: the Freshmen took on the confident Juniors in Tug-of-War. Despite their strong efforts, the youngest under-classmen fell to the more powerful Juniors in a decisive victory. Next, the Sophomores

Day 3 • patriotic tug-of-War & hand Ball

4 - Don Bosco Prep Christmas April 2013

Christmas ConCert Cheers spirits

By Anthony Gallo ‘13

“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear,” according to Buddy from the hit movie Elf. The Youth Min-istry team of Don Bosco Prep made Buddy proud on December 20th as the members traveled to Our Lady of Guadalupe Academy once again to deliver the fruits of the Toy Drive to the Pre-Kin-dergarten-8th grade students. For some, Christmas came early this year. “With Hurricane Sandy, we were unsure if you were able to come back to our school,” said Tonya, a 7th grader. But sure enough, as the morning sun rose to warm the frigid world, the Ironmen loaded up two school buses full of students and presents for the many needy, inner-city children; for some, these are the only gifts they receive at Christmas. The Mother’s Guild was also a part of the special day, providing decorations, lunch, and des-sert to the entire school. Robert, an 8th grader, offered his thoughts: “We know that there are others who have it worse. People had their lives destroyed. But I know the little kids appreciate that you came back here out of all the possible places you could have helped. It means a lot to be remembered.” Santa Claus and his elves came down the chim-

ney and every student was allowed the opportunity to have his/her moment with “Old Saint Nick”. Afterwards, the children enjoyed recess at the adjacent Don Bosco Youth Center.

For some, it was the first time making the trek led by Father Manny. Chris Di-chiaro, Class of 2013, reflected on his first time spent leading games for the PreK-5th graders, saying, “The expressions on the children’s faces were priceless. It brought me tremendous happiness to know how much these kids appreciate all that we do to make this day possible.” Once everyone was well fed, the students were treated to a reward for their good behavior during the past year. I am happy to report that not one student was given a lump of coal! The younger children leapt for joy as they heard the good fortune! After all was said and done, the Ironmen packed up for home, knowing that once again they had followed in Don Bosco’s footsteps by helping the young and the poor during the holiday season. This trip was my third and final to OLGA as a student, and I can honestly say that I am a changed man because of the beautiful innocence of the schoolchildren.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the pure joy of watching a child in complete ecstasy over their new gifts and of observing them ponder how Santa Claus could have known their every whim and desire can make any Grinch’s heart grow three sizes. All students should try to volunteer to assist Santa during the Christmas season – some things cannot be taught inside a classroom.

November and December are two great months to serve your neighbor. But, they only comprise one-sixth of the entire year. Let the zeal that propels you during the holiday season inspire you throughout the entire year.

Santa ClauS iS Coming to town!DBP Youth MinistrY teaM hosts ChristMas PartY

April 2013 Christmas Play Don Bosco Prep - 5

Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa ClausStudent Production caPtureS cheerful SPirit of chriStmaS SeaSon

by Matthew Barker ‘15 and Sean Weir ‘14

The Grocercy Store is on the left side, and the Bakery on the right side of the stage. Between those two immoveable backdrops, a myriad of sets are moved about the stage, creating in “the mind’s eye”, as newspaper man Joey Dolson as Edward P. Mitchell encourages us to see, a multiplicity of New York City Locations in 1897– the newsroom of the New York Sun, the O’Hanlon residence on West 95th Street or where the Donneli family lives, the bar frequently by Frank P. Church, warehouses and docks where recent immigrants try to find work to feed their families – in short, a time and place reminiscent of the same struggles today.

At the heart of the story is Geno Gonnello, who plays the brilliant but rueful New York Sun journal-ist Frank P. Church who struggles with a drink-ing problem after the deaths of his wife and new-born daughter. His grief over the loss of her love is compounded by his having missed the past three Christmases with her because of ma-jor news assignments.

Chris Sachs plays the role of James O’Hanlon, a recent Irish immigrant who struggles day after day trying to find work. His inability to support his wife (Evie O’Hanlon played by Victoria Lieto) and two children (Sean O’Hanlon played by Dan Magurno and 8-year-old Virginia played by Ashley Evans), particularly during the approaching Christmas season, occasionally erupts in flashes of angry frustration and resentment, which are assuaged by his ever patient family members. The fate of the O’Hanlon family is reflected in that of the Donnellis – James’ friend Dominic Donnelli (Will Trieste) is also out of work, and his wife has been seriously ill for some time.

As Frank Church continues his slide into alcoholic oblivion, Mitchell and another staff writer Andrea Borland (Annalise Caviasco) make every effort to bring him out of his stupor. In fact, when Church reaches the point of suicidal despair, Mitchell intervenes to save his life and tells him he has an important assignment for Frank. The assignment, Frank finds out the next day, is to write an editorial response to an 8-year-old girl’s letter asking about the exis-tence of Santa Claus. While Church is initially skeptical, the process proves to be cathartic – observing random acts of kindness and gener-osity by anonymous New Yorkers in the spirit of Christmas, Church forswears drink and composes what some have said is the most reprint-ed editorial ever written.

When James O’Hanlon is summoned to the police station on Christmas Eve, a turn of fortune in his favor finally occurs – because of his role helping to ap-prehend a notorious criminal earlier in the play, he is of-fered a job as a New York City policeman and returns to his family’s home with a Christmas trees and gifts for the family. Virginia gives her father her Christmas present, which is a copy of the New York Sun with the editorial response to her letter. James sits at the table and begins to read the piece. In the climactic scene of the show, all of the characters gather around the O’Hanlons, and Frank Church, led to the O’Hanlon home by Andrea Borland who wants him to see what good his editorial has done, picks up the reading of the editorial to its conclusion -

“DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. “Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. “Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN it’s so.’ “Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

“VIRGINIA O’HANLON.“115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET.”

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelli-gence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this exis-tence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fair-

ies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unsee-able in the world.

You may tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the stron-gest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the

supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Officially, in the Catholic Church’s calendar, Christmas continues until the baptism

of the infant Jesus. This production of Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus was a timely reminder of what the events of Christmas mean and the values at the heart of the Christmas season. Congratulations to Director Michael Miller, Assistant Producer Tim Gysin, Producer Chris J. DeNicola (DEE Ni Kola), cast members, stage crew, lighting and sound technicians, and all the parent supporters for all the time and effort in bring-ing this production to life! You have made our hearts glad!

By Coach Richard Zawacki ‘67

The 2012-2013 Don Bosco Prep Varsity Bowling season was one of patience and progress. After graduating two very talented bowlers (Vin Siekierski and Marshall Tomat), the Ironmen knew that this season would be daunting. With a lack of experience, our young men did a remarkable job.

Even though their record did not show it, the Ironmen were competitive in every match.

The team was led by Junior Co-captains Joe Maliani (178 average) and Nick Ventura (158 average). Rounding out the squad were Senior Andrew Scerbo (157 average) and Freshman Chris Maisano (150 average). Joe Maliani earned All-League Second Team Honors and Senior Andrew Scerbo was named Honorable Mention. Contributing to the success of the Varsity team with his

participation in both the County and State tournaments was Freshman Tim Kisala (158 average). TheJuniorVarsityteamfinishedasolidcampaign winning 70% of their matches. JV bowlers were Senior Marek Sulich, Sophomore Joe Almacky, and Freshman Chris Letherbarrow.

Coach Rich Zawacki ‘67 feels that with the return of the nucleus of this year’s Varsity team and the continual development of the JV bowlers, next year’s Varsity Bowling team should be competitive in both League and County competition.

By Brendan Bisset’14 and Thomas Alessandrello’14

The 2012-2013 Don Bosco Prep Varsity Basketball season can be summed up in one word, unpredictable. The team started off the season very strong, especially in the St. Benedictine Tournament. The team went into the tournament not knowing what toexpectbecausethiswastheteam’sfirstexperience together in a game-like envi-ronment and because the team was very young, with only one senior on the roster. The Ironmen did better than they expected and proved to be not only a state, but also a national threat, considering that many teams came from all over the country to play in this Virginia tournament.

After getting off to a strong start, the Bosco Varsity Basketball team expected to continue playing at a similarly high level throughout the entire year. Junior Paul Jor-gensen especially felt the pressure of these expectations, because this was his third season on the Varsity level. Paul not only met these expectations, but also exceeded

them, leading the team in scor-ing. Along with Paul, Senior Joe Feinberg and Junior Tom Sweeny also helped in guiding their team to victory. The Ironmen proved to be a special team, distinguished by their exceptional talent and skill and traits that simply cannot be coached or taught – perseverance and deter-mination.

Unfortunately, the team lost one of its dominant big men and scoring threats, Jack Ely, to an injury during the critical middle part of the season. As a result, the Ironmen were never able to regain theirdominantstatusandlostinthefirstroundofboth the County and State tournaments. In Bosco’s first-roundCountytournamentgameagainstPassaicValley, a scrappy rival that always proves to be dif-

ficulttoplay,theteamcameoutflatandwasneverabletogetinto the rhythm of the game – Don Bosco was defeated by an opponent it probably should have beaten. This loss was very disappointing for everybody associated with the Varsity Bas-ketball team because the Ironmen made it to the County Final

last year, but lost to Teaneck.

Luckily for the Ironmen though, they still had the State Tournament to look forward to and focus all their time and energy on. They were chosen to play Pope John from Sparta, New Jersey, a team similar in talent, which Bosco hoped to beat so to move to the second round of the State Tournament. The two teams played their hearts out in the game, and after completing regular time, they had to go into overtime to decide the winner. Bosco played a hard-fought game and left everything it had on the court, but fell short and had to accept a tough defeat at the hands of a very competitive opponent.

Despite this defeat, the team was proud of the way it had fought through the

entire game. One valuable aspect of this tough loss was the experience that the young members of the

Varsity team gained, which help them know what to expect next year and the years to come. Next year, the Ironmen will be losing only one senior, so they will be a very dangerous team not only in the County Tournament, but in the State Tournament as well. They willdefinitelybeaforcetobereckoned with and will be playing with a head of steam and plenty of motivation from the players and coaching staff.

6 - Don Bosco Prep Winter Sports April 2013

DBP BasketBall : Playing with HeartJunior Paul Jorgensen leads scoring for young team

DBP Bowling : Competitive in every matChJoe Maliani and Nick Ventura pace Ironmen

undefeated in dual meets during the regular season. If anything, this achievement was a tribute to the team’s amazing ability to accomplish great things when the team members work in unison.

Another important event in the Fencing season occurred at the District 4 Tournament in February. Don Bosco put in a great effort during the long day of fencing. DBP defeated numerous opponents throughout, qualified every weapon squad for the State Squad Tournament, and qualified three fencers for the State Individual Tournament. Overall, the team came in 2nd place at the District 4 tournament, losing by a small margin to Ramapo. However, since Don Bosco placed in the top four teams of the tournament,

the team qualified for the State Championship Tournament, which consists of a series of dual meets to decide which team is overall the most superior in the State of New Jersey. One interesting aspect of Don Bosco’s performance this year was the Ironmen’s lack of success in tournaments in which the team was divided into squads. At the Cetruolo Tournament, the Don Bosco squads generally each finished in the top 15 in the State. This performance was impres-sive, but nothing compared to the team’s performance in the Championship Tournament. Also, Don Bosco’s perfor-mance during the State Squad Tournament did not stand out as being particularly great. These results further prove the point that when the Don Bosco team was divided this year, its performances proved to be good, but when the team came together, they became great.

Don Bosco’s participa-tion in the State Championship Tournament began at home against formidable op-ponent, St. Peter’s Prep of Jersey City. The match was hard fought and outstanding performances, especially those by the Don Bosco Foil squad, helped to win the match. The DBP Foils faced a power-house Foil squad from Saint Peter’s, but were still able to squeeze out a few bout wins against the team which proved critical in a 14-13 victory for Don Bosco. This win in the 1st round of the State Tournament, known as “Sweet 16s,” was an

unprecedented victory for Don Bosco, which has never before reached the 2nd round of the Tournament. The Ironmen went on to face an excellent team in the 2nd round of the State Tournament, Watchung Hills High School. The Ironmen took a lead early and were confident, but Watchung Hills staged a great comeback and defeated the Ironmen 14-13. The Ironmen were disappointed in the loss, but took pride in the fact that they had proved themselves to be among the top eight teams in the State.

The 2013 Freshmen-Sophomore Tournament revealed that the Iron-men’s success in fencing will not be short-lived. Freshman Logan Springer, who fenced very well in a Varsity spot while Kevin Teel was injured, received 1st place in Sabre, Freshman Jared Maldonado received 3rd place in Epee, and Sophomore Chris Jaochico received 1st place for Epee.

The Ironmen Var-sity Fencing Team attributed much of its success this year to the devotion of the team members and the great leadership of overall Captain Matthew Owens, Foil Captain Nick Tormey, Sabre Captain John Lazzari, Epee Captain Matthew Lynch, and auxiliary Captain Kevin Teel. Also, the coaching staff from Nyack Fencing Academy returned this year to give the Ironmen expert advice and lead them to victory. This combination of great leadership and hard work made this a season of unprecedented success for the Ironmen.

April 2013 Winter Sports Don Bosco Prep - 7

Bosco Fencing : Reaching New HeightsIronmen Defeat Ramapo and Excel in Post-Season Competition

By Owen Lane ‘14

The word that best describes the root of the Don Bosco Prep Varsity Fencing team’s success this year was unity. This year, the Fencing team’s ability to be greater than the sum of its parts took Ironmen to new heights. Fencing is divided into three distinct weapons: Foil,

Sabre, and Epee. In a sport like fencing, which is so divided, a team’s overall success is contingent upon good teamwork and a strong, unified work ethic. The different weapons require dif-

ferent skill sets and often, teams are strong in one or two weapons but weak in others. Don Bosco’s Fencing team was able to avoid this pitfall by putting an emphasis on practicing to have a polished, well-rounded team.

The need for every weapon to be strong was the DBP Fencing Team’s main focus as it prepared for a dual meet early in the season against its biggest rival, Ramapo High School. Don Bosco had gone undefeated in dual meets last year after a dramatic win against Ramapo, so the pres-sure was on Bosco to repeat its feat with another win in 2013. Shortly after the ar-rival of the New Year, Ramapo travelled to Ramsey and fell once again to the Ironmen, thanks to a dramatic, final-bout win by Sophomore Epee Christopher Jaochico. Strong performances by Foils Matthew Owens, Nick Tormey, and Robert Caldwell, Epees Brian Kang and Owen Lane, and a few much needed wins by John Lazzari, Kevin Teel, and Jedrick Tranate helped to beat the highly competitive team and start DBP’s mo-mentum for the rest of the season. The Ironmen continued their success by defeating other worthy opponents such as Teaneck, Indian Hills, and Northern Highlands High School. Once again, the Don Bosco Fencing team went

prestigious tournament, an amazing feat for a wrestler of any caliber. Junior Captain, Luke Farinaro, entered the tournament as a 10th seed, but wrestled all the way to 4th place. Senior Captain, Razohnn Gross, was injured during the semifinals of

the tournament, but still placed 4th by injury default. Sophomore Zack Chakonis had an outstanding weekend, placing 2nd behind a nationally ranked wrestler from Good Counsel.

The Beast of the East was officially the beginning of the competitive season, and Don Bosco was in perfect shape. The first dual meet was against St. Joe’s; the Ironmen remembered the feeling they had after Joe’s beat them on their own turf last year. The match resulted with a huge Bosco win, boosting the wrestlers’ confidence for a couple of tough matches before the playoffs. As the season went on, the team faced its ups and downs, as any team in this sport does. One match, in particular, every wrestler knew would be very close and would come down to heart. Ranked 4th behind Bound Brook (3),

Bergen Catholic (2), and South Plainfield (1), Don Bosco Prep would take on Bound Brook. Captains Dan McBrinn, Tristan Hollenbaugh, Luke Farinaro and Razohnn Gross had led the team to this point, and relied on the others to sacrifice all they held on to in order to win the match. If Don Bosco won this match, the Ironmen would move closer

to achieving their goal of being first in New Jersey. After the coaching staff com-pared our lineup with that of the other team, the coaches realized there were about six swing matches (matches that could either be a win or a loss). They also knew that in one or two matches, a freshman would have to fight to not get pinned. Three swing matches went to Bound Brook, and three to Bosco. Heading into the last match, Bosco was down by four points. Senior Captain and two-time State Cham-pion Razohnn Gross would now have to beat his opponent by at least 8 points to tie the match. For the entire six minutes, the wrestlers were on the edges of their chairs, as Gross just barely beat the wrestler by eight, winning the match for the team.

Don Bosco was now ranked 3rd in New Jersey, and 2nd

in its division behind Bergen Catholic. Flying through the quarterfinals of the playoffs, Don Bosco would now have to face its rival, Bergen. Having lost to Bergen in a very close match earlier in the year, the wrestlers came out onto the mat fired up, ready to advance to the Finals of the State Tournament. Just like the first match, it came down to the

wire, and Don Bosco had a difficult time pulling together. The match happened so fast – in the end, the team as a whole was devastated by another close Bergen victory. The wrestlers had trained so hard for so many months, though there was a sort of consola-tion in that the team had remained a family through all the adversity. While the Don Bosco Wrestling team did not reach its goal of being 1st in New Jersey, the wrestlers had achieved some amazing victories and had formed an incredibly tight-knit fam-ily, both extraordinary accomplishments. In fact, some of the greatest achievements came in the individual State Championship events. Two Bosco wrestlers won States – Luis Gonzalez in the 113 weight class, and Razohnn Gross in the 195 weight class. In addition, two of our Ironmen were runners-up – Kyle Bierdumpfel at 106, and Zack Chakonis at 220. The Ironmen are pumped for next year!

By Tristan Hollenbaugh ‘13

Leading into the 2012-2013 season, everyone had high expectations for the Don Bosco Prep Wrestling Team. Bringing in some young power-houses and preparing the upper classmen for a great year, the team was looking even stronger than the Don Bosco team that captured the State Title in 2010. Chris Bitetto had seen huge holes in the lineup during his first two years as Head Coach (starting in fall 2010), though the lineup was very strong heading into the season, with few to no gaps in between weight classes. The coaches knew it, and the kids knew it - they had a great team in their hands with outstanding potential.

During the annual grind of practice before com-petition started, the coach-ing staff wrote a date on the board, January 27th, which was the date that Don Bosco would wrestle its rival, Bergen Catholic. Whenever a wrestler would “dog” it in practice, the coaches would point to the date, and the “slacker” would be reminded of how badly the team wanted to beat Bergen. Af-ter Nunzio Campanile gave up his coaching position in 2010 when Bosco won the State Title, the team kept his contribution to the wrestling room. He wrote above the door so everyone could see on the way out, “Did you get better today? If not, turn back around” (N.C. 2009). The team strove to achieve greatness, and more impor-tantly, strove to be a family.

As competition be-gan to pick up, the team rode down to Pennsylvania to take on the Beast of the East tournament. Freshman Kyle Bierdumpfel had officially integrated himself into the team and had made known his tremendous talent in the sport of wrestling. Wrestling all the way to the semifinals as a freshman, he really made a name for himself. Overall, he took 4th place in the

8 - Don Bosco Prep Winter Sports April 2013

bosco wrestlingGreat team effort, Great IndIvIdual efforts

Ironmen began their season playing Seton Hall at home where they won 4 to 1. However, the next day, the Iron-men got their first loss of the season against underdog Gloucester Catholic. The early loss gave the players motivation. It showed them that they needed to give it their all every time they stepped on the ice.

The Ironmen had the opportunity to play one of the best teams in the state of Massachusetts, Boston College High School at Harvard University. During their trip to Boston, they got to practice at Boston University’s practice rink and get exclusive tours of the BU and BC locker rooms. It was a great way for the players to bond and learn what it takes to get to that level and what makes teams such as Boston College so successful on and off the ice. The Ironmen went on to play one of their best games of the year, keeping the score at zero going into the third. Unfortunately, the Ironmen went on to lose 1 to 0 when one of their goals was called off late in the third. Even though they did not get the result they wanted, it was one of the most memorable experiences for the players. The Ironmen came back home and beat rival CBA 6 to 4 and Gloucester Catholic 6 to 2. Unfortunately, during one of the most anticipated games of the season, the Ironmen lost to #1-ranked Delbarton 2 to 3.

The Ironmen were now in the second half of the season. To get things going again, they went on to win the annual Bergen County Tournament beating Glenrock and then Paramus Catholic in the Final. Robby Marsanico, Bosco’s leading scorer, went on to win the tournament MVP award. Getting back into regular season play, they went up to play Connecticut powerhouse, Fairfield Prep. The Ironmen played well keeping the score tight 2 to 2 until a series of bad penalties cost them two power play goals, leaving them with another loss with a score of 2 to 4. The next

big game for the Iron-men was the inaugural TK Cup against Suffern High School. The game was played in honor of Major Thomas Kennedy, where his brother and wife were awarded a team jersey and given a standing ovation from the players, fans, cadets, and other West Point officers who came in Major Kennedy’s honor. The Ironmen went on to win 3 to 0.

The Don Bosco Varsity went on to have a successful end of the season run, closing out the regular season with a winning record and in good position for the Gordon Cup and State playoffs. The Ironmen went on to lose against CBA in the Gordon Cup semi-finals, cutting their

chance short at the title. However the season was not over yet, they still had the state playoffs. Greg Toskos made it clear to the boys that it was their year. He told them to put everything behind, to keep a smile on their faces, and put it all in. He told them to take it game by game, all in, together as one. The Ironmen went on to win back to back to back games against St. Peters Prep 11 to 1, St. Joe’s Metuchen 5 to 2, and CBA 5 to 3 advancing them to their second ever State Championship since 1994.

The State Championship was an experience of a lifetime. They were going to play #1- ranked Delbarton once again. The members of the Don Bosco Ice Hockey team were invited to attend a lunch at the Prudential Center hosted by the New Jersey Devil’s organization to congratulate them on their achievement. The CEO, President, and General Manager of the Devils, Lou Lamoriello, along with other Devils players gave speeches to the players. They were told to embrace every moment of the Championship game because it would be an experience they would remem-ber forever. After the ceremony, the Ironmen were dismissed and went back home to prepare and rest for the State Championship game the upcoming day. The next day, the boys were given an early breakfast at

the school at which Father Jim Heuser and Mr. John Stanczak gave motivational speeches to the players and coaches and wished them good luck. Shortly after, the boys loaded onto the bus and road off to the Pruden-tial Center to the play the biggest game of the year, the State Championship. Unfortunately, the Ironmen went on to lose 4 to 0, leaving Delbarton with another State Championship. Greg Toskos told the boys to keep their heads high and keep in mind all the amazing things they did accomplish. It was a season to always remember.

The Don Bosco Varsity Hockey team went on to have an 18-10 record. They won the Bergen County Cup, the TK Cup, made it to the Non-Public State Final, ranked # 1 in North Jersey, # 2 in New Jersey, and # 9 in the Northeast. For the Seniors, it was the best season of their Bosco career and for the returners, it was a season to be proud of and to con-tinue to build for next year. The Don Bosco Ironmen Ice Hockey team became an inspira-tion to the school exemplifying how with teamwork, effort, and determination, anything is possible.

April 2013 Winter Sports Don Bosco Prep - 9

Bosco Hockey All the Way to State FinalsBy Joe Rametta ‘13

The 2012-2013 Don Bosco Prep Ice Hockey season was certainly one to remember. The Varsity team had one of the most successful seasons in the program’s

history, reaching the State Final for the first time in nineteen years. However, the ma-jority of the suc-cess came from a unique source. It was a season de-voted to a soldier, Major Thomas E. Kennedy, who was killed by a suicide bomber

in Afghanistan on Wednesday, August 8th, 2012. Tom attended Don Bosco Prep from 1991 to 1994 and was an active member of the Ironmen Hockey team. He went on to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2000, where he also played ice hockey. He was on his fourth tour of duty before his death, and over his military career, Major Kennedy earned the Bronze Star, the Meritori-ous Service Medal, Presi-dential Unit Citation and the Valorous Unit Award. He was a man of pure heart, loved his teammates, loved giving back, and served our country honor-ably. His name became a symbol to the team. His role as a leading officer in the military exemplified to the team that no mat-ter a win, tie, or loss, the players were all brothers. Whatever happened, they encouraged and supported each other. In honor of his life, the players wore patches on their jerseys with his name.

The Don Bosco Varsity team had one of the toughest schedules in the school’s history. The Ironmen were coached by Greg Toskos along with Assistant Coaches Sean Foye, Andrew Steffey, and Chris Matteo led the Ironmen. The schedule consisted of two games against New Jersey state powerhouse Delbarton, Boston College High, Morris-town Beard, Bergen Catholic, Gloucester Catholic, Fair-field Prep, Christian Brothers Academy, Princeton Day School, and many others. The team was led by a strong Senior class, led by defenseman Rory Garlasco and Marc Buermann, along with forwards Joe Rametta, Lucas Luppino, Jimmy Rainey, and Chris Carrol, and goalten-der Dylan Rice. The team Captains were Rory Garlasco, Marc Buermann, Cody Calcagno, and Lucas Luppino. To prepare for the upcoming season, the team went on to play the Hill School in Pennsylvania. The Ironmen won 7 to 3 and solidified their confidence that they had the tal-ent to compete with the best. On December 2, 2012, the

By Marko Begonia ‘14

This year’s Don Bosco Prep Varsity Swim team did exceptionally well in its League, finishing 2nd behind Bergen Catholic. The season officially started after Thanksgiving break, when the all the swimmers on the team started practicing. The Ironmen practice at Ramapo College, just 10 minutes from Don Bosco Prep. The first meet was held on November 30, 2012, and Don Bosco lost by only a few points to Fair Lawn High School. From there, the Ironmen went 3-2 over their next 5 meets, including wins at away meets against Morris Knolls High School and rival Paramus Catholic. Don Bosco then took a few weeks off from meets over winter break. However, the Ironmen weren’t out of the pool - the Ironmen had practice over winter break to prepare for the second half of the season.

Following the break, the Ironmen had their first home meet against conference rival DePaul Catholic, which they lost by only a few points. The next meet was away

against Suffern High School with the Ironmen suffering another loss. However, that weekend the team went to League Championships at the Passaic County Technical Institute, where they placed 2nd! The next day, Don Bosco had its last home meet against Wayne Valley High School, capturing a big win over the Indians by a very large margin.

On Friday, January 25, the Ironmen swam against long time-arch rival, Bergen Catholic. The Ironmen put up a very tough battle against the Crusaders, but were not able to prevail. The following Wednesday, the Ironmen swam against Hackensack High

School, securng their last win of the season by blowing out the Comets, 109-60. The last meet of the season was against Northern Valley Old Tappan at Felix Festa Middle School. It was a close meet, but NVOT managed to pull ahead during the second half of the meet and win it.

Following the loss to NVOT, the Ironmen prepared for the State Tournament. The Ironmen were ranked 6th in northern New Jersey. Their first meet was against #3 seed, Saint Peter’s Prep in Jersey City. The Ironmen swam great; however, the Marauders were just too fast. The final score was 117-53, giving the Marauders a ticket to the next round of the tournament and ending the Ironmen’s season.

The Don Bosco Prep Varsity Swim team’s season was very successful overall. The Ironmen will miss many Seniors, including Capt. Nate Singer, Capt. Matt King, Capt. Dan Steinmetz, Capt. Benny Piela, Evan Caltavaturo, Ivo Perez, Josh Bukai, Hart Sibug, Adam Andriulli, and Aram Garewal. Don Bosco’s returning swimmers look forward to next year’s season. The complete roster and results from the 2012-13 Don Bosco Prep Ironmen season can be found on www.donbosco.powermediallc.org.

The DBP Varsity Skiing team lost two skiers to injuries this year. Thomas Licata broke his leg

during the annual Stratton trip and Dan LeMaire tore his ACL in a race half-way through the course. Both were out for the season but still supported the team by showing up to the races and practices. Also, John McDermott was injured in USSA practice one weekend and had to get 50 stitches in his chin. A true Ironman, John raced in two races that week with the stiches still in.

The Varsity team took 4th in the State and 2nd in the Independence League. In the Giant Slalom Festival, Jimmy Fava came in 1st place and Timmy Wolfangel came in 3rd place. In the Steven Petro Giant Slalom Race, Jimmy Fava came in 1st place.

Justin McPartland, Jimmy Fava, John McDermott, and Timmy Wolfan-gel made the All-Independence League team, while Timmy Wolfangel and

John McDermott made the All-State team and raced at Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire against teams from thirteen states in the eastern half of the coun-

10 - Don Bosco Prep Winter Sports April 2013

Don Bosco Prep SKIINGTimmy Wolfangel and John McDermott Make All-State Team

By Matt Morandi ‘14 and Johnny McDermott ‘14

The Don Bosco Prep Varsity Ski team had a very successful season under the continued leadership of Head Coach Lori Marchia-fava.

The season also saw the return of Coach Phil Godwin who had previously coached, but who missed last year due to work requirements as the head of Ski Patrol at Mt. Peter. Phil Godwin is an ac-complished instructor who has coached USSA Ski Rac-ing for many years at Mt. Peter, New York. Coach Phil helped the new skiers on the team, Jonathan Garvey and Peter D’Almeida, and they were both able to race in some Varsity races. This year’s team had no Seniors and was led by Co-captains Tim Wolfangel and John McDer-mott. Also on the Varsity team were Juniors Justin McPart-land, Jimmy Fava, Matt Morandi, and Sophomore Kevin McFad-den. Rounding out the squad were Juniors Scott Nicholson, Dan LeMaire, Taylor Whiteman, Jonathan Garvey, Thomas Licata, and Sophomore Peter D’Almeida.

Bosco SWIMMINGSenior Swimmers Lead Team to 2nd in League

try. John McDermott came in the top half of the racers, and Timmy Wolfangel came in the top ten.

The Junior Varsity Team also posted some noteworthy accomplishments. The team came in 3rd place in the Ju-nior Varsity State Championship, even though not all the racers on the team compet-ed. Matt Morandi took 9th place in the Slalom and 6th place in the Giant Slalom, and

Kevin McFadden took 10th in the Slalom and 8th in the Giant Slalom.

Next year, the Bosco Varsity Skiing team will be comprised mostly of Seniors, and the Ironmen hope to exceed the accomplishments of recent Bosco teams.

In order to achieve our goal of a State Champion-ship next year, Matt Morandi, John McDer-mott, Peter D’Almeida, Taylor Whiteman, and Kevin McFadden

are going to Austria for a summer ski trip with Coach Phil.

Ironmen saw a strong placing at the meet and saw the fruits of their intensive training in the field events.

One of the team’s greatest accomplishments was seen at the New Jersey Varsity Classic, in which the Iron-men Distance Medley Relay team ran a 10:15, one of the fastest times in the nation for the winter season. In fact, the indoor season saw many successes for the school’s long-distance runners, with Kyle Levermore and Michael Higgins beginning the season at the 2012 Bishop Lough-lin Games. Kyle won the 2 Mile invitational race with a time of 9:17, and Higgins held close behind, placing 6th out of 20 in a very competitive race. The distance team’s success continued at the New Jersey Meet of Champions, where Michael Flanagan ran a time of 9:29 in the 3200 Meter run with Rob Townsend close behind at 9:33. Michael Higgins’ time of 4:20 in the 1600 Meter run completed the Ironmen’s success at the meet, showing that Don Bosco Prep could still hold its own against other teams in a variety of events.

Rounding off the distance runners’ success during the winter season was the team’s performance at the New Balance Indoor Track and Field Nationals at the Armory in New York City. There, the 4 x 1 Mile team of Michael Higgins, Michael Flanagan, Robert Townsend, and Kyle Levermore placed 12th with a time of 17:45, earning the team All-American status. Christopher D’Amico also appeared with a strong performance at Nationals, placing 25th in the Shot Put.

Over the course of the season, the Ironmen saw its weaknesses at several meets in the field events, simply due to a lack of athletes involved in the events. The indoor season was an opportunity for the team to explore its opportunities and go to meets not to win, but to test the waters, examine its status as a team, and ultimately prepare for the spring season. The athletes competed with this goal in mind, and the team is now building upon these experiences for the later meets of spring track season. With a very promising freshman class, especially among the track team’s distance runners, and a varied group of very talented upperclassmen across many events, the Don Bosco Ironmen are very excited to emerge stronger after the winter season and to go head-to-head with the many other experienced track teams in the state, in the New York-New Jersey area and around the country.

April 2013 Winter Sports Don Bosco Prep - 11

Bosco Winter trackAll-AmericAn 4 x 1 milers Higgins, FlAnAgAn, Townsend, levermore

By Eric Cole ‘14

The 2012-2013 Don Bosco Prep Winter Track season proved to be a time of testing and training for the school’s track team, which saw the loss of many talented seniors from last year. In order to recover from this loss, Head Coach Rob DeCarlo urged the athletes, both old and new, to consider trying new events and taking chances, hopefully to discover hidden talents. Ultimately, the winter season did provide a valuable test, showing the team’s strengths and weaknesses going into the spring season.

One of the biggest events for the DBP Winter Track team was the Bergen County Relays, in which Don Bosco scored 1st in both the Distance Medley Relay event, along with the 4x800m Relay. The 4x400m and 4x200m Relay teams also placed 3rd, and Chris D’Amico placed 3rd, throwing 51’2” in the Shot Put. Close behind, Matt Rogalski placed 6th throwing 47’7” in the Shot Put. The team’s jumpers experienced some difficulties plac-ing, but overall the meet was a strong performance for the Ironmen.

The Ironman saw another strong performance in the New Jersey Indoor Group State Championships, with high jumper Brian Zied earning a point, and Philip Ozuah close behind in placing. The team also saw great success in distance events at the Group State Champi-onships, with Kyle Levermore, Michael Flanagan, and Robert Townsend scoring 10 points in the 3200 Meter run. Michael Higgins also placed well in the 1600 Meter, contributing to the team’s point total. In the sprint events, Noah Lartigue placed in top 5 of the 400 Meter dash. The

By Shawn Diertl ‘15

WhatonefirstnoticeswhenwatchingDonBoscoPrep’sproductionofGodspell isthestrikingresemblancetothepopularTVmusicalshow,Glee.WithasetthatappearstobeanaverageclassroomandwiththecharactersfirstappearingasstudentsinaclassinatypicalCatholichighschool,DonBoscoPrephasmanagedtoputitsownmoderntwistonthepopularBroadwaymusical.

TheshowbeginswithaphilosophydiscussioninvolvingthefateofmanandRome,whensuddenlyanewstudentshows

upandtellstheclassto“preparethewayoftheLord”,thefirstnumberintheshow.Ontheheelsofthisnewstudenttakingcontroloftheclass,anewteacherappearstotakehisplace,Jesus.Asasignofthebondheshareswithhisclass,Jesusgiveseachstudentaredwristband.

SeniorWillMartorano(Jesus)appearsasthewell-likedteacherwhoisresponsibleforbringingtogetherthedifferentgroupsofchildrenfoundinhis“school”.Hisoutstandingvocalsandreal-lifeconnectionwiththecastmembershelpedWilltofilltheroleasawell-likedleaderofthestudents,quiteliterally.

WhileWillMartoranodominatesthestagethroughtheshow,other“mainroles”deserverecognitionaswell.SeniorCraigDietel,

playingJohntheBaptist/Judas,captivatestheaudienceeffortlesslywithhisenergeticsingingandanimatedstorytelling.WillandCraiginteractnaturallythroughtheshow,andtheinterplayoftheirroleswhenJesusiscrucifiedonaglasscrossoverlayisespeciallypowerful.

SeniorCJdeNicolaalsoisastandout.Withoutevenso

muchasacharactername,CJplayswhatcanonlybedescribedasapreppyhipsterbasedonhischarisma,attitudeandattire.WheneverCJtakesthestage,theaudiencebecomescheeryandlight-hearted.Takingadvantageofhisspotlighttime,CJ

wowsthecrowdwithhissignaturerapnumber,“WeBeseechThee”.

Complementingthesethreemainroles,theensembleisalsoawonderfulsighttobeholdineverynumber

andscene.Togetherwiththeleadroles,theensembleinstillsaperkinessandbubblinessthatbringstheshowtolifeimmediately.Thecostumearrangementsfortheensembleareabsolutelyspoton,displayinganeclecticdiversityrangingfromGothsandjockstopreppygirlsandbohemiandancers.Inadditiontotheirdazzlingcostumes,theensemblemembersevokequintessentialemotionsinappropriatescenesintheshow.TheirsmilesonstageforninetypercentoftheshowgaveinsightintohowhappytheensemblemembersareinhearingJesus’teachings.Conversely,theirtearsandgriefreverberatesthroughoutthetheaterwhenJesusiscrucified.Ingeneral,aflamboyantcastisoneoftheprincipalfeaturesofanaward-winningshow,andBosco’smusicaldemonstratesthisfeatureten-fold.

FittingtheGleeconcept,theproducerofGodspell goesoverthetopwiththedesignofacompletelyrealisticclassroomsetting,completewithlockersandaflashyoverhangbalcony.Thebalconyisusedthroughouttheshowforavarietyofpurposes,includingacommon

danceareaandthesiteofJesus’crucifixion.What’sevenmoreamazingaboutthissetishowthestagecantransformedintosomanydifferentscenessimplybymovingthefewmajorpropsaroundthestageandutilizingdifferentlightingschemes.

FollowingtheintroductionofthemainrolesatthebeginningofActOne,theshowcontinuesbydepictinganaverageschooldaywithJesusteachinghismanylessonsonmoralityandholiness.Throughouteachofthese

lessons,theminorcharacterswhorepresentpeopleinJesus’parablesmakeuseoftheirlinestodrawmanylaughsandcheersfromthecrowd.Thisteachingmethodofstory,lesson,andmusicnumberseemstobeabitredundantinthefirstact,butthediversityofspeaking/singingroles,aswellasthevarietyof

12-DonBoscoPrep Spring Musical April2013

Godspell Goes GleeDon Bosco Prep Stages Modern Adaptation of Broadway Show

musical numbers, captivates the audience enough that they are receptive to the teachings.

In the second act of the show, the plot thickens into a thick brew of misery with the crucifixion of Jesus and the loss of a beloved teacher. However, even the grief-stricken half

of the show managed to provide some humor. In the musical prelude to act two, the piano player in the orchestra shocks the crowd with his bright red tracksuit, apparently playing the part of a gym teacher. After many laughs from those who were surprised and humored by the piano player’s appearance, junior Gabrielle Conzo draws more laughter and cheers as she interacts with the new teacher and dances a fabulous tap dance routine with the always-preppy sophomore Jacqueline Scerbak.

After Jesus again wows the audience with “Alas for You”, the passion of Christ begins on stage as Jesus accosts those who question his teachings. The more aware audience members notice that during the condemnation scene, the entire ensemble is staring at John the Baptist, who has now become Judas, a sign of ominous events to unfold. Even more heart-wrenching than the first intimations of sorrow are the goodbyes said to Jesus as his “students” tearfully

hand back their wristbands, realizing that class is over and that they will never again be able to share the same bond with their beloved teacher. Following the Last Supper and prayer in the garden, the entire audience is startled

by a loud slam from the stage left door through which Judas charges both shocked and distraught. Jesus is forcibly dragged to his death on the glass wall at the center of the balcony, converted from a flashy showcase area to a cross-shaped backdrop by the stage lights.

After an uplifting “Long Live God” is sung by one of Jesus’ disciples, the crowd gathers in mixed emotions to watch the body of their loving, caring teacher brought through “the public” for viewing. Then come

some interesting twists. The men break into a reprise of “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord”, smiles re-emerge,

and the set is transformed into the classroom it was before. However, the strangest moment is easily the ringing of the school bell with the same first nine actors who appeared at the beginning of the show at their desks, as if nothing had ever happened. This stage effect leaves the crowd wondering - was the story of Jesus real, or not? In the end, it was if Don Bosco’s production of Godspell was calling into question the audience members’ beliefs about Christ.

Overall, Don Bosco’s production of Godspell was an absolute delight to view. The genuine emotions of the cast members and their enthusiasm for their roles were truly inspiring. In addition to its unique cast, Bosco’s production put a unique spin on a “well-known” musical that has been adapted in so many ways. Despite all of these prior productions, Don Bosco still prevailed in making a traditional story fresh and creative. Perhaps, this play even had a deeper meaning – perhaps, Don Bosco was trying to stick to its Catholic roots and ask that those Catholic members of the audience do the same.

April 2013 Spring Musical Don Bosco Prep - 13

Godspell Goes GleeDon Bosco Prep Stages Modern Adaptation of Broadway Show

“Music for Many” A Big SuccessSenior Tim GySin’S eaGle ScouT ProjecT

By Timothy Gysin ‘13

In preparation for advancement to Eagle Scout Rank, Timothy Gysin (Class of 2013)

worked on his Eagle Scout project. Every day the news reports consequences of a bad economy, one of which is people struggling to put food on their tables.

Add to that the devastation of Hurricane Sandy and a great need in the community is apparent. Timo-thy decided to host a food drive as his Eagle Project to address this need in our local community.

However, this was not an ordinary food drive. The “Music for Many” concert food drive, held on Sunday, December 9, 2012 from 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM in De Sales Auditorium at Don Bosco Preparatory High School, brought together 20 musical acts from the local community who volun-teered their time and talent for a 5 hour concert. The entrance fee for the concert was 3 non-perishable

14 - Don Bosco Prep Features April 2013

food items. After several months of planning, and with over 300 musicians, volunteers, and audience members participating, over 2,000 non-perishable food items and $500 in supermarket gifts cards were collected.

The concert went off without a hitch due to the intense planning and commitment of all who were involved. The volunteers and musicians were so moved by the success of the project that they committed to making the proj-ect an an-nual event, transform-

ing the idea into the “Music for Many” concert series. Timothy was truly grateful for all of the sup-port he received from the Don Bosco Prep, St. Paul Parish, St. Paul Interparochial School, Mahwah Center for Food Action, and the Waldwick, Ramsey, and Mahwah communities.

IRONMAN Newspaper Don Bosco Preparatory 492 N. Franklin Tpke. Ramsey, NJ 07446 2012-2013 Director Fr. Jim Heuser, SDB Principal Mr. John Stanczak IRONMAN Newspaper Don Bosco Preparatory 492 N. Franklin Tpke. Ramsey, NJ 07446 2012-2013 Director Fr. Jim Heuser, SDB Principal Mr. John Stanczak

STAFF

Editors-in-ChiefMatt Barker Owen Lane Sean Weir Komail Jafri Andrew Dawd David Rameau

WritersEric Cole Micahel Mackay Joseph Chung Anthony Delzotto Marko Begonja Anthony JorgeDylan Herina Chris Lengua Timothy Marcotte Justin DeVuono Devin McEnroe Nick Caputo

Liam Hodges Brendan Bissett Ryan Touhey Shawn Diertl Joseph Luongo Albert Wunsch

Photographer Brian Dorsey Moderator Mr. Paul O’Connor

DBP RoBotics team Wins 1stRemote Controlled Bosco Bot Throws Frisbee and Climbs