The Crusader X Press The Newspaper of Wildwood Catholic High School Winter 2017 Every year we look forward to Catholic Schools Week when we celebrate all the elements that make Catholic education so valuable. The celebration begins on Sunday, Jan. 29 with a special Mass in St. Ann Church for both Wildwood Catholic High School and Cape Trinity Catholic School, which encompasses Pre-K through eighth grade. Students from both schools will participate in the Mass with readings and bringing the gifts up to the altar. Monday is Teacher Appreciation Day when students visit and bring treats to all the teachers in their rooms. On Tuesday, the Crusader Club, our parent association, will treat the teachers to a very special lunch. Wednesday is reserved for the Freshman Retreat and a Faculty meeting. And then on Thursday students get to show off what they’ve learned in our Jeopardy–style Knowledge Bowl that will be held in the auditorium. And to conclude the week, there will be a Student Apprecia- tion Day Breakfast with honored guest Senator Jeff Van Drew who will make a presentation. The whole week promises to be another enjoyable and mean- ingful celebration of the people and values that have equipped multi- tudes of graduates to succeed in life. We want to thank Art teacher Mary Walsh for planning the events. By Jonathan Feraco Once again, Father Yvans Jazon is journeying to Haiti with even more participants than last year. This year’s group will have about 20 people. The initial trip took place in 2010, in order to help those suffering from the disastrous earthquake that killed about 220,000 people, including some of Fa- ther’s friends and family. Jan. 12 was the 7th anniversary of the earthquake. Father takes the trip every year, back to his home village where he grew up. In an interview, he stated, “They are hungry for help.” The Haitians lack food, clothing, shelter, and especially education, some- thing the group aims to improve. They do this by supporting an orphan- age in Haiti, and they help pay for clothing and education costs. This group of volunteers, along with Father, go to help the Haitians rebuild in any way they can. While in Haiti, they stay in a private home, for there are many diseases in the country. The trip is Jan. 14 through 21. They depart from New York, and fly directly to Port-au-Prince. During this mission, the volunteers help anyone in need with supplies and essentials for living, such as education, clothing, food, and recreation. This year, one of the main focuses of the trip is to provide portable light. WCHS Travels to Haiti to Do God’s Work Fr. Yvans with a little friend in Haiti Photo credit: Julie Roche See “Haiti” page 5 Time Again to Celebrate Catholic Schools Photo credit: Edward Karapcik
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The Crusader
X Press
The Newspaper of Wildwood Catholic High School Winter 2017
Every year we look forward to Catholic Schools Week when
we celebrate all the elements that make Catholic education so
valuable.
The celebration begins on Sunday, Jan. 29 with a special Mass
in St. Ann Church for both Wildwood Catholic High School and
Cape Trinity Catholic School, which encompasses Pre-K through
eighth grade. Students from both schools will participate in the
Mass with readings and bringing the gifts up to the altar.
Monday is Teacher Appreciation Day when students visit and
bring treats to all the teachers in their rooms. On Tuesday, the
Crusader Club, our parent association, will treat the teachers to a
very special lunch.
Wednesday is reserved for the Freshman Retreat and a Faculty
meeting.
And then on Thursday students get to show off what they’ve
learned in our Jeopardy–style Knowledge Bowl that will be held
in the auditorium.
And to conclude the week, there will be a Student Apprecia-
tion Day Breakfast with honored guest Senator Jeff Van Drew
who will make a presentation.
The whole week promises to be another enjoyable and mean-
ingful celebration
of the people and
values that have
equipped multi-
tudes of graduates
to succeed in life.
We want to
thank Art teacher
Mary Walsh for
planning the
events.
By Jonathan Feraco
Once again, Father Yvans
Jazon is journeying to Haiti with even
more participants than last year. This
year’s group will have about 20 people.
The initial trip took place in 2010, in
order to help those suffering from the
disastrous earthquake that killed about
220,000 people, including some of Fa-
ther’s friends and family.
Jan. 12 was the 7th anniversary of the
earthquake.
Father takes the trip every year, back
to his home village where he grew up.
In an interview, he stated, “They are
hungry for help.”
The Haitians lack food, clothing,
shelter, and especially education, some-
thing the group aims to improve.
They do this by supporting an orphan-
age in Haiti, and they help pay for
clothing and education costs.
This group of volunteers, along with
Father, go to help the Haitians rebuild
in any way they can.
While in Haiti, they stay in a private
home, for there are many diseases in
the country.
The trip is Jan. 14 through 21.
They depart from New York, and fly
directly to Port-au-Prince.
During this mission, the volunteers
help anyone in need with supplies and
essentials for living, such as education,
clothing, food, and recreation.
This year, one of the main focuses of
the trip is to provide portable light.
WCHS Travels to Haiti to Do God’s Work
Fr. Yvans with a little friend in Haiti Photo credit: Julie Roche
See “Haiti” page 5
Time Again to Celebrate Catholic Schools
Photo credit: Edward Karapcik
Page 2 WCHS News Winter 2017
Singing and Painting One’s Way to College By Mae Mathis
Talk about college is buzzing through the senior
hallway, which is filled with ambitious young men
and women with different plans for their futures.
Seniors Caroline Inderwies and Fred Spiewak are two
who stand out from the rest. Inderwies plans to pursue
graphic design and Spiewak will study music.
Today, many art students battle the stigma that they are
wasting their money with useless degrees.
Inderwies said, “It would be so much easier to play it
safe, but to try for what makes you happy is more im-
portant.” Ever since she was little, she’s loved “drawing
and creating things.” For her future career, “there are so
many opportunities for graphic design right now because
of social media. It’s growing.”
Spiewak “loves music and wouldn’t enjoy anything
else.” Fred’s music degree will not be useless either. He
plans on using it to “perform and teach.”
Colleges are an investment for the future. Inderwies
and Spiewak must be serious when deciding what school
deserves their talent, time and money.
Inderwies doesn’t just look for a school with an arts
program but how “well-known” it is. Right now,
“Temple, Northeastern, and UNC Charlotte” are on her
list of top schools.
When searching for a music school, Spiewak “looks for
schools with good teachers and reputation.” Fred likes
Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York be-
cause it is “well known and has a great program.
The application process for arts schools is different.
Inderwies explains, “Art programs require a portfolio
which is a lot of work. On
top of writing my college
essay and applying, I have
to constantly be working on
pieces for my portfolio.”
Spiewak explains that he
must take time to audition
for the music schools. Fred
must practice his audition
pieces in order to make a
good impression.
Inderwies is always
working on improving her-
self “inside and outside the
art room.”
“Ms. Walsh can only teach
me so much, be-
cause just like
anything else, if I
don’t practice on
my own, I can
never improve.
Even just doo-
dling on the top of
my notebook is
practicing.”
If anyone can
overcome this stig-
ma, it is these two
individuals. They possess the talent, courage, and support
system to succeed in these competitive fields.
By Alex Sakena
As a high school
senior, applying to
colleges can be very over-
whelming. I had the grades
for my reach schools, but I
fell short when it came
down to the SAT.
So here are the questions:
Are SAT scores really that
important and should they
affect my chances of getting
into college?
I have never been a good
standardized test taker. I
always found myself sitting
down during those long
tests and sometimes just
staring down at the paper. I
believe these aptitude tests
favor certain types of think-
ers.
This sparks the question
of why some students strug-
gle in school, and yet they
do very well on the SAT.
Then there are the stu-
dents, like me, who do de-
cently well in school, but
could never crack the SAT.
Here is the truth. For top
schools like Harvard, Duke,
and Stanford, a low SAT
score can affect your chanc-
es greatly of being admitted.
This doesn’t necessarily
mean a high SAT score will
guarantee your admission to
those top notch universities,
but it will help.
This also doesn’t mean
you won't get into any
schools with a low SAT
score. Many great schools
such as Wake Forest, New
York University, and Saint
Joseph’s University have
chosen to go “test optional”
for struggling test takers.
Ultimately, SAT scores
will only affect your chanc-
es of being admitted into
America’s top universities.
With schools now going
test optional, people should-
n’t let the SAT discourage
them. If you have the GPA,
extracurricular activities,
and anything else that looks
good on an application,
you're golden for getting
into college.
Artwork by Caroline Inderwies
SATs: Genuine Evaluation or Necessary Evil?
Fred sings his heart out on stage. Photo by: Julie Roche
Page 3 WCHS News Winter 2017
40 Days of Sacrifice: Preparation and Self-Improvement
By William Gloede
Academic Challenge
is frequently men-
tioned on the morning an-
nouncements, but what is it?
"It's a competition among
high schools," said Ms.
Craig Gras, club moderator
and coach. It’s "like Jeop-
ardy but more academically
oriented."
The competition is among
28 teams in 14 schools in
this district, each school
sending two teams.
There is no national com-
petition, but many other dis-
tricts have a similar pro-
gram.
In recent years, Wildwood
Catholic's Academic Chal-
lenge team has "done well,
considering that most of our
students on Academic Chal-
lenge [are involved in other
activities] as well, “last year
coming in 5th in the 25 team
competition.
Overall, Academic Chal-
lenge is a valuable extracur-
ricular experience.
Bring It On: Crusaders Accept the Challenge
Worshipping Differently, Together
By Hanna Grimes
Why do you have
black cross on your fore-
head?, you may be asked
throughout the day. Well,
because it’s Ash Wednes-
day, the first day of Lent.
Lent is exactly 40 days
before Easter. So we Catho-
lics are preparing for Easter
by receiving ashes signify-
ing that we are people of
Christ.
We will have mass March
1 to begin our observance of
Lent. Many people during
these 40 days “give up”
something or even better, try
to do random acts of kind-
ness each day leading up to
Easter.
Are you having trouble
thinking of something to
“give up” or some ideas to
make a positive impact,
here’s some ideas
1. If you feel the need to
gossip about someone, say a
prayer for them instead.
2. Talk to people you nor-
mally don’t talk too.
3. Eat healthier.
4. Take a day off social me-
dia.
5. Call/ Visit your grandpar-
ents .
6. Perform random acts of
kindness during the week.
7. Donate money to an or-
ganization/volunteer more.
8. Forgive mistakes.
9. Smile more .
10. Be you :)
By Dillon Barry
Most of us practice one reli-
gion and celebrate the holidays
with that certain religion. But what
happens when your parents are of two
different religions?
Senior Dan Moses is one of those
people whose parents celebrate two
different faiths. His Dad is a practic-
ing Methodist who sings at his local Methodist Church.
And his mother is Jewish. She helped encouraged Dan and
his twin brother Josh to learn about the faith and to hope-
fully pass it down to their future families as well.
Dan stated that, “I celebrate the Jewish faith and have
had my bar mitzvah, but I do attend Christmas Mass and
some other Masses here and there due to my father being a
Methodist, but even though I celebrate the Jewish faith my
father explains to me what he was
taught and about what they believe in
as Methodists.
Dan celebrates both the Passover
and the Easter holiday in his household
and says, “Even though it's two differ-
ent faiths, I enjoy learning about both
and what each one celebrates because
you don't get many parents with two
different faiths, so it's always some-
thing new and interesting each time.’’
Though the parents are of two different faiths they all
support one another and celebrate openly about their reli-
gion.
Dan couldn't be happier about his faith and how he cele-
brates these special religious holidays.
Ah, winter! Ah...who needs it?
By Willis Wareham
I don’t like winter at all. Instead of walking or rid-
ing my bike, I have to look for a ride all the time to avoid
the cold. I try to stay indoors. I don’t even want to get out
of bed on cold mornings in January, February, and
March.
And so...
I’m really looking
forward to spring!
Page 4 WCHS Celebrations Winter 2017
By Limmy Feng
Chinese New Year, known in modern Chinese as the "Spring Festival," is
an important Chinese festival celebrated at the turn of the traditional lunisolar Chi-
nese calendar. Celebrations traditionally run from the evening preceding the first
day, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first calendar month. The first
day of the New Year falls on the new moon between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20.
In 2017, the first day of the Chinese New Year is on Jan. 28.
Festival: A great way to start the New Year
February Loves Romance
By Maggie Peters
Did you know approximately 150 million Val-
entine's Day cards are exchanged annually, making Val-
entine's Day the second most popular card-sending holi-
day after Christmas?
Although Valentine’s Day is a
holiday used to celebrate the
ones you love, the legend be-
hind it is a dark one.
According to History.com,
Valentine's Day originated from
the Legend of St. Valentine.
While there are many stories
about St. Valentine, a popular
one is that St. Valentine was a
kind-hearted priest who married
By Rian Lawley
On Feb. 10, the
junior class will
receive their class rings at
the traditional Ring Day
ceremony. This is a big step
for the junior class and an
important milestone for
them and their parents.
During the Ring Day cer-
emony, there is a Mass held
in the auditorium which
young couples against the wishes of Emperor Claudius II.
The Emperor was against men marrying during wartime.
For performing these secret weddings, he was sent to pris-
on. While in jail it is believed he wrote letters to the jailer's
daughter, signing them "from your Valentine."
He was later beheaded for his deeds on Feb.14.
The halls of Wildwood Catholic have brought many cou-
ples together. Sophomore homeroom
and Spanish teacher, Mrs. Victoria
Bolle, met her husband here.
They were in the same grade and at-
tended both junior and senior proms
together.
Their first date was when he asked her
to go see the movie “Kramer vs. Kra-
mer” at the movies.
Mrs. Bolle and her husband later at-
tended the same college, Glassboro
State College, now Rowan University.
Closer to Graduation family and friends can par-
ticipate in and witness them
receive their rings.
Blessing the rings is a
reminder of the strong faith
at this school. As a tradi-
tion, once the students re-
ceive their rings they are
then turned, towards the
pinky, the number of their
graduation year by friends,
family members, or teach-
ers or their choice. They do
this to send them on with
good luck and many bless-
ings on their journey as up-
perclassmen.
By Caitlin McMullan
As the new year rolls along, some may be finding
a way to motivate themselves, but others may
just be marking their calendar yet another day.
After conducting a poll on twitter, I found that 53 per-
cent of the 35 students I asked still use a New Year’s Res-
olution to ring in the new year on the right path.
These resolutions vary from outrageous to motivational.
Victoria Bacino and Bill Bolle in yearbook photos, 1981
Resolve to make the New Year better?
Senior Natalie Montgomery says that she would like to
try to run every day, which would lead to a healthier life-
style.
Some of the outrageous (and pretty far-fetched) like
senior Zack Frame said that he would like to “meet
Drake or Bryson Tiller.”
So after this quick poll, I conclude that it’s not a dead
fad. It’s alive as ever. Whether you believe in this fad or
not, there’s nothing wrong with becoming the person you
yearn to be this new year!
Page 5 WCHS Community Ministry Winter 2017
By Thomas Piro
What makes a Cath-
olic School, Catho-
lic?
It’s a school filled with
disciples of Christ. On Dec.
15, our junior class showed
their discipleship by partici-
pating in their retreat.
The theme was Casting
your Nets. The goal was to
show them that being a dis-
ciple of Christ is not weird
or abnormal but a way to
spread the Gospel and live a
life dedicated to Christ.
Emma McCoy said the
retreat “was fun” and she
“learned a lot about” her-
self. She found the witness
talks to be “cool.”
Irving Fenonchio
“enjoyed the retreat.” He
found the small group dis-
cussions to be the highlight
of the day because it was a
place “to talk about our
faith.”
The Retreat
was run by Anthony Fucci,
Jessica Sherwen, Katie
McCann, Janice
Schumann, and seniors Mae
Mathis, Maggie Peters, Fred
Spiewak and me.
Students began the day
with a prayer service fol-
lowed by breaking into two
groups. One group went into
a living room setting and
talked about how life is
challenging and
that we can lose our focus
on our goal in life.
Then they all thought of
who their safety nets are in
their lives and prayed for
them.
The other group stayed in
the chapel and talked about
the mercy of God.
They watched a few
scenes from “Finding
Nemo” to show, in a mod-
ern way, God’s love for us
and how he would do any-
thing for his children as
Marlin the clownfish did.
After participating in
these activities, three senior
retreat leaders gave witness
talks about how faith is im-
portant in their lives.
Then they had small
group discussions to finish
the day.
The retreat was held at the
Marianist Retreat House in
Cape May Point.
Fucci and Sherwen have
been facilitating retreats for
over 15 years and this is
their second for Wildwood
Catholic.
Fucci loves seeing the
“transformation” from the
beginning of the retreat to
the end.
Sherwen loves to watch
students experience that
“click” and then “apply
their faith to real life.”
“Haiti” from page 1
The group is to bring 1,750 solar lights to provide for
three villages and six schools.
They also plan to bring 1000 soccer balls, for in Haiti,
soccer, or football as they call it, is the fastest way to a
child’s heart. In an interview with Father, he stated if a
Haitian child were hungry and was offered food or a soc-
cer ball, they’d choose the soccer ball.
When asked about what it’s like to see the face of a
happy Haitian child, Father stated that he, “sees the face
of Jesus Christ in everyone of them.”
It’s because the Haitians are always happy, no matter
what situation they live in.
Photo credit: Katie McCann
A Day of Reflection for Juniors
Fr. Joseph Wallace during last year’s trip to Haiti Photo credit: Julie Roche
“Love is not patronizing and charity isn't about pity, it is about love.
Charity and love are the same -- with charity you give love, so don't
just give money but reach out your hand instead.” ― St. Mother Teresa