Entertainment

Critiquing The Critics: The Cinema Snob

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Well, I’m advertising a lot of “That Guy With The Glasses” producers, aren’t I? This man is certainly worth speaking about. Brad Jones created this character back in 2007, wanting to speak his disagreements with Roger Ebert, another movie critic. Roger Ebert was going into a large rant about a “slasher” film and “nothing more,” as Jones claims. So, he created “The Cinema Snob” out of his love for  Ebert’s and fellow critic Gene Siskel’s works, and to say what he thinks about all the films he’s watched.

The Cinema Snob, surprisingly, goes over exploitation films that were all directed and made in the ’60s-’80s. There have been a few ’90s movies put in there, but those were special occasions. He goes over exploitation films about these subjects: murder, sex, African Americans (when he does, he mainly makes fun of the white people acting in the film), gross-out humor, and plenty more.

Many watchers of his show claim it to be very crass and offensive. In each of his reviews, the delivery of his jokes are all deadpan, and they’re in NO WAY dead. The jokes are usually a homerun with me, and I enjoy watching every second. Also, I think people don’t like him because he tries to act pretentious, which doesn’t work some of the time. His fans urge him to do most of his reviews in the cynical and snarky sort of manner . . . So to see them sort of lose their minds in the comments posted in response to the videos makes me laugh sometimes.

Also, “The Cinema Snob” doesn’t usually do requests, which amuses me. He’ll do whatever he wants, and this proves that he doesn’t need his fans telling him what to do . . . Unlike “The Nostalgia Critic” (Doug Walker), who does practically everything his fans request.

Brad knows what makes a good show, and that’s being himself. He’s usually snarky, but is nice in real life. So, when he edits the episodes, he will usually throw out a hint as to what he’s going over. Also, he knows how to entertain. Brad gets in front of the camera, with the review script mostly memorized, and does whatever he thinks will get a laugh . . .  Which, most of the time, works out just fine.

Sure, some of the jokes can be rather offensive, but that’s his thing. After all, you have to offend at least 10 people to make at least 100 people laugh, right? That’s Brad’s philosophy, and it’s mine too. One day, I plan to make a review series, so I look to Brad and many other reviewers on “That Guy With The Glasses” for whatever I need (humor delivery advice, what content I want to look at, etc).

Overall, I think that “The Cinema Snob” is really funny, which is crucial for a series like his. You need to have a sense of humor when reviewing movies that people don’t know all too well, unless they have an “underground” following, in order for the movie to “leave a mark” that everyone can remember.

I give him a 4.5/5. I think that he could put a little more emotion into the delivery, but I think (in a way) that it’ll kind of mess up the show for him, so  it’s a 50/50 point.

Opinion

“Through The Victim’s Eyes:” Play From the Heart

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Recently, as a part of my Senior Humanities project, I wrote an original play portraying what it feels like for the average kid who is bullied either on a daily basis, or to the point where he breaks and loses all rational thought. Yes, this is somewhat common among children. I have read that at least 14 percent of kids end up committing suicide because they cannot handle the animosity that comes with their bullies. Think about that for a moment. I was shocked when I read that statistic as well.

The play itself wasn’t a total burden to write, but I just felt exhausted at one point. Saying that I didn’t want to write it anymore, seeing as how it sucked almost all of my positive energy out of me. But, obviously, I didn’t let this get to me as I continued to write it. Most insults that I used for one character, I found online. And they were all incredibly hurtful. Reading them to myself before I placed them into the character’s dialogue made me sick. What was worse?

Studies show that 58 percent of bullying happens out of revenge, or the bully thinks that the victim deserves it. That made me lose a bit of sanity inside of myself, as I ranted for at least a half hour about how angry it made me. Who deserves the animosity that comes with some people? The vicious hatred? No one. But, apparently, in this world, people think that others need to be bullied. And you know what? It made me reflect as well. I was bullied before, and I never chose to do anything about it.

Yes. I have been in this sort of position. Not to where I would want to commit suicide . . . Not even close. But, to where I didn’t want to go to school? To where I hated looking at myself? Yes. Last year was the worst for me. Because I was different (and had a pretty cool low voice), people called me all types of things. Each of them made my self esteem crumble down. But then, I realized . . . What do their petty words matter to me? Absolutely nothing.

It’s a horrible experience, and I commend you if you’re staying rather strong through it. No one wants to be bullied, but people think that you might deserve it.

Why did I call this a play from the heart? Well, like I said, I’ve been bullied. So, in a way, I can connect with the character in my play. Again, nowhere near committing suicide, but hating myself day after day. So, do me a favor before you bully somebody . . . Think about how much your words could really hurt someone else.

Sticks and Stones? That’s a lie. Words are etched in forever.

News

Sophomore Class Silent Auction Raises $2,000

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Every year, the Hanover High Sophomores put together an auction to raise money for their collective class funds, and 2014 marked the start yet another auction endeavor. It was the Class of 2016’s turn to step up to the plate and plan an auction of its own. The respective class always does their best to put new twists on the auction to make it their own, and this year, the current sophomores decided to take a step in a new direction and hold a silent auction at the Hanover Mall for the first time ever. The auction was held in the center of the mall on April 12th, and in addition to the silent auction, the class also designed an auction website, where their auction items were available for bidding online from April 5th-12th.

On April 12th, all of the Class of 2016’s dedicated student council members gathered at the Mall and proudly displayed all of the items they had collected to auction. All afternoon, they greeted bidders, showcased items, and walked the entire length of the mall distributing flyers. The most popular aspect of the auction was a special wheel borrowed from the mall’s event department- the wheel was labeled with many different kinds of candy and gum, and for a dollar, someone could spin the wheel and win the coordinating prize! Class members even spent their own time creating custom Easter baskets filled with candy and stuffed bunnies, placing them in a raffle where tickets only cost one dollar. The auction ran from 12 until 7 pm, and caught the attention of many of Hanover’s citizens and mall employees. The afternoon proved to be both successful and fun, for the class’s members took great enthusiasm in encouraging mall customers to visit the auction, even writing out advertisements and placing them in plastic eggs to scatter around the mall, luring both children and adults alike to the auction site. The class advisor, Diane Turner, joined in the fun, calling out to all of the passing families and directing them to the auction tables and “Candy Wheel of Wonder.”

At the end of the day, the sophomores packed up their supplies with satisfaction, for they had rounded up over $2,000 in winning bids and had put smiles on the faces of dozens of children, parents, bidders, and even simple bystanders throughout the day.
But it took intensive planning to pull off such an event, and student council spent an extensive amount of time designing flyers, writing letters, planning details, designing the website, meeting with a Hanover Mall event coordinator, and even visiting, emailing, and calling countless businesses on their own time outside of school. The members of the Class of 2016’s StuCo worked extremely hard to get their items donated from some of Hanover’s generous businesses, and even some of the students and families. A few of the Class’s proudest accumulations was a Fender Guitar, donated by Crossroads Music, Celtics and Red Sox Tickets, acquired by John Carroll, and a round of Golf at Harmon and a Calloway Golf Bag, both donated by Austin Beringer. And these are only a few of the generous donations acquired by the class! Not only were the donators of the auction items very generous, but the bidders were, as well. All of those who bid were clear supporters of Hanover High and it’s Class of 2016, sometimes placing bids even higher than the item’s initial value.

 

News

Walk For Hunger Nourishes the Soul of First-Time Participant

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Sunday May 4th dawned sunny and mild, perfect weather for for a dedicated group of Hanover High School students planning to complete Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger. After meeting at the Braintree train station at 7 o’clock sharp, the various student council and National Honors Society members participating wiped any remaining drowsiness from their eyes and boarded the train which would carry them to Boston Common, the starting and ending location of the walk. The route itself was 20 miles and wound through the surrounding towns of Boston, Newton, Watertown, Brookline, and Cambridge. This year was the 46th annual Walk for Hunger, and an astonishing 43,000 people came together to participate. Project Bread’s aim in the walk is to raise awareness for the issue of hunger in Massachusetts and raise funds for their continuing anti-hunger work in the state. Shockingly, the food insecurity rate in Massachusetts rose 80 percent from what it was in 2000, and there are 200,000 children in the state who have parents earning less than $11 an hour, making it hard for many families to sustain a healthy lifestyle. Thankfully, this year’s fundraiser raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, including $450 contributed by the Hanover High School team. That money will be put toward educating local students about healthy choices, providing reduced-price school lunches to children of struggling families, staffing school kitchens with nutritionists and health-conscious chefs, and connecting local farmers with school lunchrooms.

This was my first time participating in the Walk for Hunger, and I really enjoyed being part of something so significant. People had traveled from all over the state to participate, and many walkers sported stickers proudly labeling them as veterans of 20 or even 30 walks. It was really interesting to read the signs posted along the way bearing information about hunger in Massachusetts, most of which came as a huge surprise to me. Walking through the suburbs of Boston gave me a chance to see a part of the city I had never visited, and the Boston College and Harvard University campuses provided a beautiful backdrop to portions of the route. Project Bread’s volunteers cheered for walkers at street corners all along the way, and helped keep me motivated with their megaphones, signs, and catchy songs. I considered myself to be in pretty good shape being in the midst of track and field season, however, in all honesty I was feeling pretty exhausted by mile 19. Thankfully, the sun broke through the clouds and everyone’s mood lifted when we saw the balloon arch finish line in the distance. I picked up the pace and when my feet crossed the finish line I was filled with personal pride. We had walked almost an entire marathon and in the process raised awareness and funds for an important cause. That night, as I rested my aching limbs, I knew I would be returning for my second walk for hunger next year.

Sports

Boy’s Lax Takes on Tough Schedule, But is Still Successful

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If you look around the sports team at HHS, you will see many of them play very similar schedules. They are mandated to play other Patriot League teams (Keenan Divison once, Fisher Divison twice) and a handful of selected non-conference games. Almost all the teams stay pragmatic and schedule Norwell, Rockland, Abington and one more relatively local team. Not the boy’s Lacrosse program. Partially because Lacrosse on the South Shore is still growing and Hanover is ahead of the curve, and partially to be challenged, Boy’s Lax has arguably played the most difficult schedule of any HHS athletic team the past two years. Already in a league with two teams perennially in the state’s top 15 (Hingham and Duxbury ), the boys load it up in non-conference too. Last year the program faced Mansfield, Milton, Acton-Boxborough, and Cohassett out of league. Three of those teams are classified as Division 1 by the MIAA while Cohasset has been a powerhouse the past five years. The schedule resulted in an excellent season in which they dabbled in and out of power rankings and eventually fell to a great Dover-Sherborn in a thriller of a game.

This season has held a similar tough schedule in which they face Division 1 teams Weymouth, Falmouth,  and Sandwich, along with D3 stalwarts Cohasset and Norwell. The boys have jumped out to a 8-2 start while overwhelming teams with their talent and performing well offensively and defensively. As of Thursday, they were #6 in the Boston Globe South Rankings and named to the ESPN Boston High Schools’ top 25. Their two losses came at the hands of reigning D3 State Champ Cohasset (#13 ESPN Boston) and a talented Hingham group (#10 ESPN Boston). Both games were tightly contested and were lost by a 2-goal margin. Their record has put them second overall in the Patriot League, behind only Duxbury.

The remainder of the schedule will continue to challenge the team as they will take on a good Scituate team as well as a solid Silver Lake squad, both winnable yet challenging games. Hanover will also have to face state #1 Duxbury, as well as Scituate and Cohasset again. If the past is any indication, they boys will still make it though with an outstanding record and high playoff seed.

Sports

Indians Still Working Things Out on the Diamond

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The Hanover Indians baseball team has started off to a pedestrian first half and they know it. It took the team longer than usual to get through 10 games due to four rain postponements against Norwell, Pembroke, Quincy, and Middleboro. The second half of the season will be very compacted with three to four games a week and will require great stamina from the boys. If they play in a way similar to the first half, they very well may miss out on a coveted MIAA postseason birth.

Junior Shane Fallon takes a lead off first vs. Duxbury.
Junior Shane Fallon takes a lead off first vs. Duxbury.

The Indians started out rough with a blowout loss to Norwell, followed by a disappointing 8-4 loss to a mediocre Scituate team. The subpar play was picked up slightly in a 2-0 victory over North Quincy with Ryan Kelleher getting the win and Mike McLeod’s surprise success at the plate. Hanover continued to struggle against Whitman-Hanson through 6 innings, but a change was sparked with a 4-run rally to come within one before the umps took the tie away from them.

Heading into vacation week, Hanover lost freshman Matt Lanagan and junior Mike McLeod to travel, but their absence opened it up for the emergence of sophomore Sean Cornell. Hanover hit Rockland all over the place, taking a 7-0 lead before Rockland made a comeback and Troy Bridson had to come in for the save. Thursday of vacation week marked a doubleheader against a highly touted and undefeated Abington team. The first game, Kelleher pitched a complete game gem and Hanover hit Abington hard for a 5-0 victory. In the second game, Dave Griffin went out and topped Kelleher’s performance while getting an early 2-RBI hit from Kelleher to back him up. The game would end 2-0. Hanover then got beaten 4-1 by a highly ranked Silver Lake team. Matt Sointu threw his best but Hanover couldn’t get its bats moving til the end.  In the next outing, Hanover was tied with a good Duxbury squad 1-1 through 5 innings but a few mistakes in the 6th lead to a domino effect and Duxbury won with ease.

Despite the inconsistency, some Hanover players still put up great numbers. Pitchers Sointu and Kelleher are pitching great, each with a 1.94 ERA. Kelleher has also been hot at the plate, leading Hanover with a .345 batting average, followed by junior Justin Paskell at a .344 clip. In limited action, Phil Levangie is hitting .294 and just getting started.

Despite their ups and downs, Hanover is ready to get rolling in the second half. The second half of the season will be a grind for the Indians but that doesn’t mean they can’t be successful. Says senior captain Kelleher, “We need to have more timely hitting if we want to start winning games. Our pitching has been strong but we need to start scoring more runs.”

Kelleher pointed to the performance of Sointu, who has a 1.94 ERA but is 0-3 due a lack of run support, and team batting average of .210 when he is pitching.

Kelleher is very optimistic about the second half. “I’m looking forward to getting the bats going. As soon as we start to hit we are capable of going on a 5-game win streak. Tourney Time is the best time of year and hopefully we can make a run this year after an extra innings loss to Apponequet last season.”

Hanover gets back at it May 5th in Patriot League play.

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Ms. Fay: Read-a-holic, Pop Culture Fan!

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You all know Ms. Fay, am I right? The awesome English teacher with passion and soul for teaching. Well, she started to teach at Hanover High School in 2003, but going even further back, she taught middle schoolers right when 9/11 had happened.

“I will always remember that year not because it was my first year of teaching, but because I had to  try and keep a room full of eighth graders from panicking after they heard that America was under attack,” Ms. Fay said.

That commitment to her students has made Ms. Fay one of the most popular teachers here. She actually cares about the well-being of her students instead of just walking in and giving lectures all day long.

Before Ms. Fay was a teacher, she had the following jobs to keep herself going: copy editor, medical transcriptionist, executive assistant, and, one of the most difficult jobs, a stay-at-home mother. She said that she could’ve gone right into teaching when she came out of college, but she wanted to have a family and devote all of her time to raising her family as best as she could.

Ms. Fay says that she always has some sort of an adventure each day, and that is her favorite part of teaching at HHS. “I really never know what the day is going to bring. Each time I step foot into this school it’s an adventure waiting to happen. Each day has the potential to be amazing!” And she’s not kidding. With more than 700 students roaming the building, each day will always bring something unpredictable.

Speaking of the students, Ms. Fay has some advice for graduating seniors. She says that they should take every opportunity given to them, especially when it comes to improving their quality of life.  Career-wise, she says that you should never place yourself in a profession where there is absolutely zero passion for it. “Find out what it is you love to do and then do it — even if you have to change your major three or four times to get there!” she said.

When she’s not teaching students, or helping her kids at home, Ms. Fay is either watching television, reading, or planning her next family trip to Disney. Some of Ms. Fay’s favorite shows include “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (quite the obvious one), “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “Modern Family,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Grimm.” She is also calls herself a “read-a-holic.” She reads about one book a week — imagine that! She also does soccer, kickboxing, and yoga..

News

YouTube Access on the Way for Students on School Computers

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Every student knows that YouTube is one of the most popular websites on the Internet today. It contains a wealth of videos about a wide array of topics. There is truly something for everyone on the world’s largest user content site. Many teachers frequently access SonicwallYouTube in order to show  videos relevant to their lessons. I would bet that the average student would be hard pressed to go an entire day without watching at least one YouTube video as a part of class.

In spite of the educational benefits, YouTube has been blocked for student access for as long as anyone can remember. After all, with the great power of educational videos comes the opportunity to waste time watching the infamous 10-hour Nyan Cat video or perhaps even worse things.

Within the coming weeks, all students will have the ability to access Youtube. “Students will be able to sign onto the Sonicwall and gain access to YouTube on any school owned iMac computer,” said Mr. Ciccolo, the Hanover School District Director of Technology.  It is important to note that students will not have access to YouTube through the HHS-Guest wireless network. According to Mr. Ciccolo, this is both for reasons of network limitations and personal accountability. Simply put, the existing school wifi infrastructure cannot handle the additional traffic. Already, according to Ciccolo, “75+ devices” are connected to any one access point at a time, which is way over the recommended capacity.  Also, by limiting YouTube access to school-owned computers, teachers will be able to monitor which video students watch. Inappropriate usage would result in discipline according to both the teacher’s classroom rules and the district’s Digital Technology Acceptable Use Policy.

Mr. Patch’s Advanced Digital Media class served as the pilot group of students for this school-wide initiative.

“Having access to YouTube is extremely useful when trying to create videos,” said Maya Collins, a student in the class. “A lot of the time we use references of videos we’ve seen online while filming. Being able to access this helps in constructing ideas  as well as viewing our own videos, which are uploaded to the school’s YouTube channel.”

Seeing the benefits, the school administration gave the green light for everyone else to have access.

Social media websites, including Facebook and Twitter, will be still be blocked for students on school-owned computers and the guest wifi.

Please remember that with the power to access Youtube comes great responsibly. The school tech staff certainly have the option to block YouTube once again if usage gets out of hand.

Entertainment

Honest Review: “To Boldly Flee”

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Hello, and welcome to another “Honest Review.” I realize that you are probably looking at the title of this movie and are thinking, “What the heck? I’ve never heard of this movie!” Well, let me give you some background.

This movie exists on two websites (blip.tv and thatguywiththeglasses.com), and is directed by the fabulous Doug Walker. Doug has already formed his instant fame online with his famous series “The Nostalgia Critic.” So, here came another feat to direct. He has other movies besides this one, but nothing is as good. Trust me when I say that Doug is not only an excellent director , but a great actor and writer as well.

This movie, as you guessed by the cover, is heavily sci-fi, with comedy sprinkled in. The actor list would be too long for me to get into, so I will say their names along the way. Let’s get started, shall we? Let’s review “To Boldly Flee” (contradictory much?).

Anyhow, we begin with Paw (Paul Schuler) sitting on his car, as he hears some odd frequencies from another planet coming in. Don’t ask me how this is possible from an Earthly laptop, but it just is. He then goes to his friends Joe Vargas, Leo Thompson & Lewis Lovhaug  to discuss what he has heard. Something big ends up happening, for this is the comeback of Nostalgia Critic’s (Doug Walker) old and supposedly dead friend, Ma-Ti (Bhargav Dronamraju). Before Lewis can even think about leaving, a robotic and evil version of himself comes in and locks him in the closet. Uh oh.

Speaking of  Doug, he has a psychotic enemy named Terl (Noah Antwiler), who is trying to get him arrested. Nobody would take a fake alien from the movie “Battlefield Earth” seriously, so the Nostalgia Critic  was only placed under house arrest. However, we see that Noah has the spirit of “Ma-Ti” trapped inside of him, so the Nostalgia Critic  and the others try to get to it. After getting all of the information they need, and the Critic realizing that the house arrest anklet is nearly impossible to bypass, he decides to create a spaceship to go to the source . . . The “Plot Hole.” This is where Ma-Ti is being held, so he can basically mess around with the planet however he wants.

Anyhow, after the spaceship has been built, it’s up, up, and away . . . To Nostalgia Critic’s house? I suppose that’s a clever way of working around the house arrest, isn’t it? All kinds of antics ensue while up on the ship, but let me explain the most important ones:

1.) JesuOtaku (Hope Chapman), after a shock from a machine her and CR (Chad Rocco) were building, she turns incredibly intelligent and begins to build all sorts of crazy machines to help Nostalgia Critic (Doug) out.

2.) Noah gets kidnapped, only to be saved by his friends SadPanda (Julien Diaz),  Sage (Bennett White) and . . . The Nostalgia Critic  in a Judge Dredd outfit? Awesome.

3.) Terl and Zod (also played by Doug) capture one of the shipmates, the Cinema Snob (Brad Jones). Not awesome, considering he’s the one who knows how to fix the missiles that were deactivated.

After all of this craziness happens . . . Oh wait, I’m forgetting someone, aren’t I? Lewis’s  robotic version of himself, of course. Oh, he just goes and turns Nostalgia Chick (Lindsay Ellis) and Todd in the Shadows (Todd Nathanson)  into robots. The oblivious Nostalgia Critic ignores this completely (for humor, I suppose), and allows Noah (the actor playing Terl) to be hooked up to a machine. This machine will allow the others to go into Noah’s mind, to “see” Ma-Ti ask him some questions. Good, but I’m still confused about why the Nostalgia Critic didn’t do anything about the obvious robots standing right in front of them! This is not answered as Film Brain (Mathew Buck) enters Noah’s  mind, to go to see Ma-Ti and ask him some questions, mainly to get the answer as to what Ma-Ti wants Nostalgia Critic  to “remember.”

Meanwhile, Cinema Snob confronts the “Executor” (“Emperor” spoof) of the ship, which Terl  and Zod help to run. Cinema Snob converts over to the bad side, making one of his friends on Nostalgia Critic’s ship seem to shiver. Luke, Cinema Snob’s friend, tries to get Cinema Snob back over to the good side, and does so when he goes over to Zod and Terl’s ship to fight the “Executor,” and wins.

All the while, everyone on Nostalgia Critic’s ship is now under a different commander. Phelous is telling the Nostalgia Critic’s  crew to attack the enemy  Zod and Terl’s ship. This attack includes the infamous Mario “blue shell,” created by JesuOtaku (Hope Chapman), Paw , and CR. HOLD ON. While all of this is going on, Nostalgia Critic  is going to the “Plot Hole”, which I guess is a gateway to the “real” world… As the Nostalgia Critic  meets his writer… Doug Walker himself.

Okay, here we go:

Cinema Snob: He turned back to the good side (Doug’s), along with Luke

Zod, “Executor”, and Terl (Noah): All killed with the assault from the crew of Nostalgia Critic’s (Doug’s) crew… Rather quickly, I might add.

Nostalgia Critic : Tries to go into the “real world”, but claims that it is probably just as “phony” as the world he’s in.

Happy ending? You bet! Everyone is re-united and the villains (Zod, Terl, and “Executor”) were all defeated forever. Well, the only bad thing is that Nostalgia Critic had to sacrifice himself over to the “Plot Hole” in order for it to die down, and allow everyone else to be safe.

My Final Take: Honestly, I am not that big of a fan of Sci-Fi, but this movie was amazing. The actors did an excellent job, Doug Walker himself is an amazing writer, the special effects (as expected) were well done, and there were only slight nitpicks to pick out.

Nitpicks: Okay, for one, how did Paw’s EARTH laptop pick up signals all the way from SPACE?

Second, if the “Plot Hole” was left alone for so long, why didn’t it take over space? (I guess Mathew really did tame the “Plot Hole” after all!)

Lastly, if the Cinema Snob knew the technology of Nostalgia Critic’s  ship well enough, wouldn’t he sort of know the villains’ (Zod, Terl, and “Executor”) ship too? If so, why didn’t he just escape before the three could take in away?

FINAL RATING: I give this movie a SOLID 10/10. If you have at least 3 hours to spare, give this a watch. I’d recommend it highly.

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Ms. Bertelli has Music (and a Love of Comics) in her Heart

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Kate Bertelli, the vibrant music teacher, has always had music on her mind. It’s been quite the passion of hers, due to the “awesome educators and role models” she’s had over the years. With the encouragement of those instructors, and a little help from her mother as well, she found her way into teaching. But teaching wasn’t always her first priority.

 Ms. Bertelli had multiple “odd jobs” (even though they weren’t really all that odd) throughout her high school and college years before looking at an opportunity to teach middle school. She worked as a secretary in a law firm, waited tables, and plenty of other things having something to do with some form of leadership. When Ms. Bertelli found a teaching position, it was in East Bridgewater, where she spent three years before joining the HHS faculty in 2012.

 “I’ve met so many great students and parents while in Hanover,” Ms. Bertelli said. “I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know them, and be a part of their lives.”

Ms. Bertelli seems like a very busy woman, teaching music and leading Concert Chorus, VOX, Corporation, and Chorale — as well as meeting with the Friends of Hanover Music booster group. But this doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have any sort of down time.

When Ms. Bertelli has that precious time to herself, she is usually exercising or reading. She’ll go out for a walk on the Cape Cod Canal. She also really likes to grill outside with her family. Her cooking will usually include some sort of “healthier alternative,” although there are only so many “healthy” options with nachos, brownies, et cetera. She’ll sit down to read either some blogs or Marvel comics. She’s quite the fan of the Marvel comics and movies, so she’s definitely excited to see “Captain America” in theatres (don’t give her any spoilers!).

 Ms. Bertelli doesn’t have any advice for the graduating senior class. However, she usually has a song or two up her sleeve. She says that “Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen)” (AKA: The Sunscreen Song) by Baz Luhrmann offers a lot of good advice. Enjoy it!

 If I have any advice for you, it’s that you need to join any music ensemble she runs. Ms. Bertelli is very optimistic and fun to work with, speaking from two years of experience with her. So, if you can sing, don’t be afraid. Just sign up for her classes, and have fun!