All posts by The Hawk

News

Learning Your Teacher: Mrs. Hansen Preps Students for Future Careers

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Mrs. Hansen
Mrs. Hansen

Mrs. Hansen, the Microsoft Office and internship teacher on the first floor, has been teaching since the early 1970s. She started out as a business education teacher in a high school outside of Albany, New York. Her favorite subjects while in high school were English, because she loves reading, and business management.

Mrs. Hansen grew up in Syracuse, New York. When she attended the State University of New York at Albany, she started as a business administration major with a minor in accounting and business law. For a marketing course, she had to present and sell  products. She discovered that she loved to present in front of the class, leading her roommate to suggest that she take an education course. Once she did, Mrs. Hansen fell in love with it. Now Mrs.Hansen teaches the internship program, which allows students to create resumes, practice job interviewing techniques and have real-life experience in a career.

Mrs. Hansen’s favorite type of music is classical and it’s the only type of music she listens to while in school because she says “it helps you relax and keep you focused.” But once school is over, she likes to listen to ’50s and’6’s Rock and Roll. Her favorite food is pizza with fresh vegetables on top. Mrs. Hansen’s favorite season is summer because she loves the hot weather, long days and likes to travel. Also during the summer, she likes to read books, go out for runs and visit her daughters in Boston.

Sports

Bruno Mars, Chili Peppers Rock Super Bowl Halftime Show

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By Peter Palmer

The 2014 Super Bowl halftime show was a very energetic show with Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. First the show started by having children sing parts of the song “Billionaire.” Then Bruno Mars did a drum solo which led into performances of “Locked Out of Heaven,” “Treasure” and “Runaway Baby.” Then after those songs the Red Hot Chili Peppers appeared on stage and with Bruno they sang “Give it Away.” Even though it was a chilly night it didn’t stop lead singer Anthony Kiedis and bassist Michael “Flea” Balzary from their trademark shirtless look. The final song was Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are,” which also had a tribute to military families.

I personally thought it was one of the best Halftime shows I’ve seen in the past ten years. It was more energetic and the type of music the younger generation listens to. I also thought it was cool how The Red Hot Chili Peppers collaborated with Bruno Mars. The only thing I really got mad over was when I found out the Chili Peppers didn’t play their song live. They recorded a live version to play during the show, but couldn’t get all of their own instruments and amps hooked up for the live concert. The Halftime show can only be so long before the football game has to resume.

 

Opinion

New Year, New You: New Year’s Resolutions at HHS

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When Christmas is over and the final seconds of 2013 have passed, everyone partakes in a classic tradition: the New Year’s Resolution. It is that time of year again where everyone strives to set goals for themselves to accomplish during the year ahead, and people make promises that they hope to fulfill before the next New Year’s countdown. These resolutions can contain anything from a distant dream somebody finally hopes to reach, or a simple task one wants to begin incorporating into their daily habits. Some even want to start the new year off with a new way of thinking, or by adopting a new trait that they are trying to weave into their personality. The endless ideas behind New Year’s resolutions are truly unique- they only depend on an individual’s mind, and are only limited by what we think to be the limits of possibility. New Year’s resolutions can really provide a glimpse into people’s minds, and what better way to gain insight into someone’s thoughts than asking them about their goals for the new year?

Hanover High School students gave up a variety of answers when asked about their New Year’s resolution. Jamie Knight, a freshman, said “I want to be more friendly and be more social.” Junior Sara White resolves to “do more things that make me happy.” Emily Hennessy, a sophomore, jokingly had to say, “Mine is to actually study and do my work considering my midterm grades…and get a higher score in Flappy Bird.” Bryan Connors, a junior, decided “to stop procrastinating,” a goal I’m sure many other students could relate to.

Overall, the students of Hanover High School seem to be excited for the upcoming year, whether for improving their grades or checking something off their bucket list. This new year will be a big year and I wish the best of luck to everyone and their future New Years endeavors.

Entertainment

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Movie Review

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By Jillian Drummy

Despite being out for over a month now, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is still making its way through theaters throughout the country and the world. It has now had close to six weeks in the box office, and has been a commercial success- truly living up to the greatness of the first Hunger Games film. A change to the second film of the series was the loss of the director Gary Ross, who directed the first film. Under the pressure to create theatrical work just as great, new director Francis Lawrence did just so. The film follows many of the book’s most unique details, and the setting of the film was completely accurate to the vast and imaginative world fans pictured in their minds. Many dedicated fans to any series will say that the movie is never as good as the book, and however true this may be, Catching Fire did come very close. Today, after six weeks, it currently holds the place of the 36th highest grossing film of all time, trailing behind some of the most famous movies of all time.

Seeing the midnight premiere was a personal highlight for me as a fan, to have a first viewing and finally end the very long wait. To add even more to an already great film, the large amount of additional cast members that were added on to this film were excellent. In Catching Fire, many new characters are introduced and play strong roles through the book, and the movie as well, and continue to be present within the remainder of the trilogy. Jennifer Lawrence, reprising her role as Katniss and a recent winner of an Oscar, came back even strong. Not only did Catching Fire personally impress me greatly, but with the evidence from its box-office success and critical reactions, it left other viewers feeling just as satisfied.

News

From Snoozing to Skiing: HHS’s Winter Break Plans!

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Out of all possible winter break activities, it is not hard to assume which one is most anticipated by the student body- sleeping. It’s understandable, of course, since after long, dragging weeks of classes and tests, nearly two weeks of snoring under warm blankets would sound tempting to anybody. But besides packing away the alarm clock for the duration of the break, there were a variety of other activities that people were looking forward to. I interviewed students before school closed for vacation and learned of the diverse plans they had for winter break.

Some, like sophomore Kayla Maslow, were headed to spend the holidays in tropical destinations. When I asked what she was looking most forward to, she responded with “going to Florida.” I’m sure these are the most enviable kind of plans, for nothing says school vacation like dipping your toes into the hot sand. Instead of building snowmen and having snowball fights, surely Kayla, along with others, would be making sandcastles and tanning on the beach.

A good fraction of the student body was excited to partake in winter sports and snow-related activities during their days off from school. “I’m going skiing and riding my horse in the snow!” said sophomore Colleen Dowd. For junior Emily Bartone, winter vacation meant going snowboarding. These and many other students looked forward to spending two weeks on the slopes, some even in competition with ski teams- whether it be on Hanover High’s own or on a club team. Max Shelly, a freshman, was one of those club skiers who anticipated coasting down the snow peaks for his team at Cranmore Mountain in New Hampshire.

Other school sports besides skiing also excited HHS’ athletes, like junior Chase Coogan who said that he was “looking forward to hockey over the break.” The HHS fan base would surely agree, for even on the coldest days, a high school hockey game can easily draw a generous crowd.

But most HHS students were simply excited to have a stress-free vacation where they could hang out with friends and do away with thoughts of algebra or biology. I think sophomore Mike Cratty put it best when he decided  “not going to school” was the best part of vacation. Whether it be by sleeping, vacationing, skiing, snowboarding, spectating, or spending time with friends and family, this year’s winter break promised endless opportunities for the students of HHS. I hope I can speak for all students when I say that winter break truly fulfilled its potential.

 

Entertainment

The Night Before Christmas: A Holiday Instrumental Concert

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The Auditorium came alive on December 19 for the annual Hanover High School Winter Band Concert featuring Concert Band, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Lab Band and Jazz Ensemble. All of these instrumental groups rehearsed during and after school in the months leading up to this concert.

Concert Band is Hanover High School’s traditional “school band” and it started off the concert as it always does with five pieces. Sleigh Ride (Leroy Anderson) started the concert because it is a classic holiday song that most people are familiar with even if they do not recognize the name. Next was Farandole (Georges Bizet), in which the flutes and clarinets had a brief solo. After that, Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring is a famous Bach chorale. All chorales are known for their relatively simple melodies, what makes a chorale special is how the rest of the Band comes together with separate harmonizations to support it. In fact, almost every person in the Band played a separate part in order to make the piece come together as beautifully as it did. The relative calmness of the chorale was a perfect contrast for the excitement of Bugler’s Holiday (Leroy Anderson). The trumpet section really took the lead in their rousing performance. Concert Band’s final song of the night was ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas (arr. by Bill Holcombe), which featured the narration talents of Superintendent Ferron. He narrated the famous poem while the Band played music to set the mood. Out of all the songs Concert Band played, this was the song that the most work and practice went into. While everyone was nervous of how it was going to sound going into the Concert, everyone in Concert Band was overjoyed at the performance.

After Concert Band left the stage to a standing ovation, Percussion Ensemble quickly took the stage. Percussion Ensemble is an afte- school group of the Concert Band percussionists. For the Winter Concert they performed an arrangement of O’ Holy Night. The uniqueness of their chosen arrangement quickly captivated the attention of the audience.

Jazz Lab followed. Jazz Lab is a group that allows any interest student to join and play solos over traditional jazz standards. For this concert, two standards were played: “Red’s Good Groove” by Red Garland and” Listen Here” by Eddie Harris. During the performance of” Red Good Groove,” Chris Clarke (alto sax), David Raab (clarinet) and James Burke (guitar) all performed solos. Soloists for “Listen Here” included Nate Hanrahan (soprano sax), David Raab (clarinet), and James Burke (guitar). It was clear that the audience was impressed with the variety of instruments and solos that were made from these two jazz classics.

Immediately after the applause died down for Jazz Lab, Jazz Ensemble performed. Jazz Ensemble is an audition-based band which emulates a 193os era Big Band. Big Bands are composed of trumpets, trombones, saxophones, and various percussion.  In addition to performing at concerts, they are available for community events (gigs) and compete in competitions in the spring. For this concert they played two Christmas songs: “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and a medley of famous Christmas Carols called “Christmas Joy and Spirit.” Their traditional jazz standard was” Second Line (Joe Avery Blues),” which featured soloists Bobby McDermott on trumpet, Jake Prescott on alto sax, and Brian Meehan on tenor sax.

 To see a video of the Holiday Band Concert please visit http://vimeo.com/hanoverctv/review/82637373/5587f2843b

News

The StuCo Scoop: January

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By: Andrea Bilton and Jillian Drummy

As 2014 rolls in, Student Council as a whole wraps up and preserves the remainder of it’s Christmas spirit for next year- secret santa, giving tree, gift giving and all, and then whips out  the long awaited plans for a whole new year. Possible new dances coming up, conferences approaching, more volunteer work, and new fundraiser ideas are only a few of the topics brewing within the whole group.

MORE AUCTION EXCITEMENT: As the sophomore class usually does, an auction is being held this spring: it has finally been announced that on Saturday, April 12, there will be a silent auction and raffle display in the center of the Hanover Mall, prizes and items yet to be decided. There will also be an accompanying online auction leading up to the 12th, beginning on April 5.

WHO WILL BE AT M.A.S.C: One of student council’s biggest events approaches- a three day conference in the Spring called M.A.S.C, standing for the Massachusetts Association of Student Council. Student council representatives from all over Massachusetts meet in a Cape Cod location and participate in fun games, workshops, dances and events all while building up leadership skills. Guest speakers and the possibility of new friends are only a few reasons to join the bandwagon- if you’re one of the lucky ones who signed up, enjoy your time, and be sure to support HHS’s own Lauren Murray as she runs for President of the M.A.S.C Executive Board!!

DANCE FEVER: There has been talk this month about possibly holding a 60’s/70’s dance later in the year, where students dressed in garb from those decades and let loose to the music from that time. Surveys were sent around to homerooms to gauge student reactions and anticipation levels in regards to this new idea- the result has not been announced yet as to whether the dance will be held, or if a different dance will be held in its place, but what do you think? Would you get funky at a ’60’s dance or should we keep our events in this century?

LOCK-IN FOR THE WIN: Another cool student council conference coming up is the biennial lock-in, held this time at Middleboro High School. From 7 p.m one Friday to 7 a.m the following Saturday, students will be engaged in fun games and activities that will surely drive away the desire to sleep. It is an opportunity that student council members would NOT want to miss out on- especially if you aren’t quite up to the three day M.A.S.C commitment, but would still like to join in on some conference fun!

Stay tuned for more updates!

***As always, contact hhsstuco16@gmail.com with inquiries or ideas

News

Club Spotlight: Math Team

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One of the many clubs at Hanover High is the Math Team. Math Team is back after years of inactivity due to budget cuts. In fact, this year Math Team participation is at a record high with about 10 students on a consistent basis.  They meet every Tuesday night from 6pm-8pm in Doc’s Room (Physics Lab 219). Dr. Defranzo (Doc) is the math team coach (and Physics teacher) and Mr. Plummer (the STEM Director) frequently helps out at practices as well. Math Team participates in meets on the first Thursday of the month. At these meets, Hanover competes against the 7 other schools in our division. So far, Hanover has participated in meets at Rockland High School and Bridgewater Raynham Regional High School. In these meets, HHS came in 6th at Rockland and leapfrogged to 2nd at Bridgewater Raynham.

Competitive math is not the only part of Math Team. In fact, each school can only send 10 people to compete at the meets. The rest of the club simply participates because they either want to get better at math or simply hang out with friends. Many members immediately notice how Math Team compliments their math classes. In other cases, members notice the applications of math that, due to lack of time, cannot always be taught in math class. As an added incentive, Doc orders pizza and soda for anyone who comes to the practices.

If you want to join, just come to one of the Tuesday Night meetings or talk to Doc who is always available in Room 219.

 

Sports

Young Bruins Step Up to Help Team Overcome Injuries

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By Kali Heffernan

It’s the midway point of the NHL 2013-2014 season and the Boston Bruins are doing incredible. With a 28-12-2 record, they are first in the division and second in the conference. Lately, there has been an injury plague throughout the team, starting on an explosive game vs. Pittsburgh on December 7th, where 3 players that started the game haven’t played since. Loui Eriksson has been out with a concussion. Chris Kelly has a broken fibula. Shawn Thornton is serving his 15- game suspension. The injuries don’t seem to end. The next game, Dougie Hamilton sustained a lower body injury & Daniel Paille suffered a concussion. A few games later, Carl Soderberg sustained a concussion. Zdeno Chara missed a few games with an undisclosed lower body injury. Dennis Seidenberg will miss the rest of the season with a torn MCL and ACL.

With all these injuries, the Bruins have had to call up some kids from Providence. They called up defenseman Kevan Miller, David Warsofsky, and Zack Trotman, who all made their NHL debuts this season, and for Miller & Warsofsky, scored their first NHL goals. They also called up forwards Ryan Spooner, Matt Fraser, Nick Johnson & Justin Florek. It has taken some adjusting, but the kids are fitting in good with the team.

Right now, the Bruins are in the middle of what will most likely be the toughest two weeks of the season, traveling to California to take on the Anaheim Ducks, who are undefeated at home,  the LA Kings, and the San Jose Sharks. After the California road trip, the Bruins will return home for a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and then travel to Dallas and, for the first time since the Stanly Cup Final, Chicago.

Even with all the injuries and the young guys having to step up, there is still another half season of hockey left to play. This is definitely a very promising year for the Boston Bruins.

Sports

Celtics Rebuilding Year Is Worth Watching

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By Callie MacDonald

Going into this season, the Boston Celtics were left with many holes on their team.  Losing players such as Kevin Garnet, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry, and DJ White, the team needed to fill several places on the court.  Even with the loss of talent forgotten, the team still had a major loss of leadership.  Team leaders Paul Pierce,  Kevin Garnet — and Ray Allen as well, who was traded the year before to the Miami Heat– are no longer on the team.  Their veteran leadership and team-building skills were far greater than their impressive athleticism.  In addition to this, their coach since 2004 has gone to the Clippers.  Needless to say that there were many gaps on the roster.

Although it’s disappointing and frightening to say goodbye to so many well-known faces, it is still a little exciting to get to know the new players.  They received Gerard Wallace, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Kris Josephs, Kris Bogans and Kelly Olynyk.  There are also some talented returning players like Avery Bradley, Jeff Green, Jared Sullinger, Courtney Lee, Brandon Bass and, of course, Rajon Rondo.  With all of the team’s leaders gone, Rondo appears to be the one who has the ability to take their place.   Rondo creates so many assists that he is often compared to Steve Nash.  However, he tore his ACL last January, so he has not seen the court yet.

Even though we are nowhere near our former Big Three glory, there have been some notable highlights of the season, such as beating the Miami Heat early in the season.  Also, other players are stepping up to fill the roles of past and injured players.  For example, Jordan Crawford averaging 5.6 assists each game is helpful while Rondo remains on the DL.  They are second in their division, behind the Raptors.  They have 13 wins and 20 losses.

It is no secret that the Boston Celtics are not one of the more impressive teams in the NBA.  However, I still believe they are worth following.  It is a young team with a lot of hope.  There are a lot of possibilities in the years to come.  Most of all, the thing that I love the most about the Celtics is that they are a team.   Unlike other teams in the NBA, they are not centered around one superstar (or a couple in Miami’s case).  Egotistical giants do not dominate the Celtics.  I believe that the NBA right now is too focused on the showmanship of the all stars and barely concerned about playing basketball as though it were a sport that uses the five men on the court to win games.  Even when we had our “all stars” in the big three, they were exceptional leaders more than anything else.  They worked to make the team better.   Right now, we may not have the best team in the NBA, we may not have a shot at the championship for a few years, but we have a hardworking team with a lot of hopefuls and I think that is something worth watching.