Dance is Done

By: Dominique Palker

The Madison high school dance team is over, the girls completed their season being undefeated, 3 first place trophies. The girls are all sad the season is over, they enjoy being together and becoming better together. It was a long and hard season but the girls did the best they could. At the beginning of the season they lost many good girls for many reasons but the four girls still came out on top and ready to go.

The girls went to two very large competitions, with only 4 girls they couldn’t do a lot of other competitions. They went to Findlay high school where they took first place in their Pom and Hip Hop dance. Also junior Ashlee Jones came in 8th with her beautiful dance solo. The girls other competition at Lake Erie College, they took home first in their Pom dance. The girls had to wake up bright and early for that one. It was the girls second and last competition of the year.

Other than doing competitions the girls also did a couple performances for the High school during the assembly, the girls love the support and cheer of the crowd and their fellow students. They love coming up with new and exciting dances for the students and teachers to enjoy.

Each of the girls are sad to see the season end so fast with so much work put in but they are extremely excited to see what is to come in the next years. They all love dancing and becoming better together and closer as a team.

Smash Brothers Tournament

By: Gavin Dooley

The Madison Tech Club hosted a LAN party on the 8th of Friday and it started right after school and lasted until 9:00 PM. The main part of the LAN party took place in Mr. Sivon’s room, the students there played games with the other attendees and some would actually bring their own desktops and the rest would use the school’s computers.

Mr. Sivon bought everyone pizza and soda for a fee of $5. This LAN party has had more students come than any of the other LAN parties. This LAN party attracted so many people that it made a $50 profit at the end of it. The tournament is continuing to attract more people to both the LAN parties and the Tech Club.  

The other part of the LAN party took place in the rooms across from Sivon’s room, this was the Smash Brothers tournament which has brought more and more people to the LAN parties. There was a total of 21 people who participated.

The first part of the tournament only had 20 people participating. The first part consisted of teams who faced each other and the winners were Gavin Dooley, which is me, and Jonathan Hammel. Then the full 21 people participated in the singles part of the smash tournament. The winner of the singles was Jesse. All of the people that were participating was: Jonathan, Gavin, Wesley, Lucas, Ehren, Charlie, Will, Sam, Kameron, Phoenix, Jay, Nate, Jared, Jesse, Josh, Zach, Shane, CJ, Dreas, Jack, and AJ.

Footloose: The Musical

By: Amelia Marlow

Footloose: The Musical is coming this spring and features twenty-seven talented cast members and seven tech crew members from Madison High School. Five students from Madison Middle School will also be part of this production.

The cast is:

Owen Hennessey (Ren McCormack)

Gabrielle Perusek (Ariel Moore)

Brian Cervelli (Reverend Shaw Moore)

Logan Revier (Willard Hewitt)

Rachel Garvin (Rusty)

Bailey Brotz (Vi Moore)

Shane Noblit (Chuck Cranston)

Amia Martorana (Ethel McCormack)

Emma Blake (Urleen)

Casey Couch (Wendy Jo)

Jack Rees (Coach Roger Dunbar)

David Marcelli (Travis)

Suzy Lausin (Principal Clark)

Amelia Marlow (Eleanor Dunbar)

Nick Marcelli (Lyle)

Sam Rees (Jeter)

Mikayla Alcantar (Betty Blast)

Olivianna Mozek (Lulu Warnicker)

Erin Jackson (Cowgirl)

Emily Coach (Townsperson)

Amaya Glover (Townsperson)

Mally Hynd (Townsperson)

Cymira Stewart (Townsperson)

Ashley Estrada (High School Student)

Zoe Frager (High School Student)

Kyleigh Macioce (High School Student)

Katelyn Marcelli (High School Student)

Sydney Winner (High School Student).

The members of the tech crew are Emily Dudaitis, Vilma Dudaitis, Sam March, William Meade, Leah Terrassi, Brandon Torrieri and Soo Varga.

Many of the songs in the musical are well known and include:

"Footloose/On Any Sunday,"

"The Girl Gets Around,"

"I Can't Stand Still,"

"Somebody's Eyes,"

"Learning to be Silent,"

"Holding Out for a Hero,"

"Heaven Help Me,"

"I'm Free/Heaven Help Me,"

"Still Rockin',"

"Let's Hear it for the Boy,"

"Can You Find it in Your Heart?,"

"Dancing is Not a Crime,"

"Mama Says (You Can't Back Down),"

"Almost Paradise,"

"Heaven Help Me (Reprise),"

"Can You Find it in Your Heart? (Reprise),"

"Footloose (Finale)" and "Megamix."

Footloose: The Musical, directed by Steve Couch, will be shown at Rabbit Run Theater on May 9, 10 and 11 at 7:30 pm. Don't miss it!

Newbie

By: Jordan Pasalaqua

Alyssa Lavdis is a Sophomore at Madison High School, she has transferred back to Madison this year from Walsh Jesuit High school to play softball. She is a pitcher and a shortstop for the Lady Blue Streaks. Alyssa pitches 62 mph for all pitches and has very good movement on the ball. she is a very hardworking girl on and off the field. She’s always trying her best during practices and games. Usually when she has free time she's either working out or doing windmills down in her basement. Alyssa is also very hardworking at school, she is a straight A student with a 4.0 GPA.

While in High School she wants to win Conference and go to States for softball, she also wants to get accepted into the National Honors Society. Her most memorable moment in High school was traveling to Tennessee with her last softball team. Alyssa wants to either go to Ohio State University, Northwestern, or Syracuse to continue her softball career. She also wants to go into the medical field when she graduates college.

Outside of all Alyssa’s athletic and school life, she likes to watch her favorite show Gossip girl and Pitch Perfect. Her favorite state to visit is Arizona. She also likes to visit the Ohio State University to watch the softball team and meet some of the girls that she might be playing with. Alyssa has gone to many college camps to show her talent to all those players and coaches. Coach Art and Rose can’t wait to see what she can do for the softball team this year.

The Start of a Season on the Court

By: Angel West

The boys tennis team is ready for another season of making fun memories and winning matches. I interviewed a young student from Madison High School named  Colton Skoch and here's what he had to say about the season coming up:

When I interviewed Colton I asked him what he expects from the season and what are some goals for himself this season. He said his own personal that he wanted to accomplish this season are that he wants to improve on everything and to get better each time, his expectations for this season were to have fun and enjoy his last senior year of tennis.

The boys tennis team at Madison High School’s record last year was 6-8, they didn't win every game but they fought hard like it was there last and they practiced hard everyday.  The boys were very determined to have a good season and they did have a great season ending it with a great record of 6-8.

The boys beat our rivalry Perry High School twice with a score of 5-0 the first game and then 2-1 the second game. The boys worked together on the court and they always showed good sportsmanship. Both Varsity and JV boys practiced in the same area and they always pushed each other to become the best that they could possibly be. Colton would only play singles but don't underestimate that he would swiftly defeat his opponents.

In Need of a Prom Dress?

By: Kennedy Rochford

   Prom time is approaching fast! Everyone is planning their ‘Night in Italy’ and planning on purchasing their dresses and tuxes. Every girl wants to feel beautiful and have an amazing time at prom in their perfect dress, though not everyone has the time or money to go out and buy a prom dress.

In that case, the Cornerstone Church is holding their Second Annual “Say Yes To Your Prom Dress” event, which gives away donated dresses. This event is sponsored by Barrie Beth Boutique. This is an open event for any 9th-12th grader not only who live in Madison but in the also live in the Cleveland Area looking for a used prom dress for free. Any student will be able stop in and choose the perfect prom dress with a parent or guardian along with them in order to receive and participate in choosing a dress.

   If you are interested in attending this event, it will be held this weekend, Friday, March 15th 6-8 P.M. and Saturday, March 16th 9 A.M.- 12 P.M. in the cafe of Cornerstone Friends Church in Madison. Not only are they giving prom dresses they also have the option of shoes and accessories option to choose from to really put your perfect look together. On top of all of that the first 20 people who find the winning dress from them will receive a free ‘Prom Beauty Bag survival kit’ with all kinds of things to help you get ready and make your prom a night to remember.

Ready, Set, Go!

By: Sydney Guyer

The Girls Track and Field team has officially kicked off their outdoor season and has started to practice outdoors. The team is welcoming back many seniors and they are hoping to make the best of their last season. The girls have their first official indoor/outdoor meet on Monday, March 25th at SPIRE Institute. The running events will be held on the 300 meter track inside of SPIRE and the throwing events will be taking place outdoors on the shot-put and discus pits.

Senior, Abby Piert states that,  "The girls track team works hard to continuously get faster and stronger. We will be sure to perform very well together, we are a family that cannot be broken apart."

   

There are many new faces being added to the Girls Track and Field team, coming mostly from the freshman class. While the sprinters always seem to have a larger group than most of the other events, the throwers have added a plethora of newbies. Freshmen Madelyn Moretti and Becca Martin are two of the newest additions to the throwers. They are working constantly on perfecting their techniques out in the pits and getting stronger in the weight room.

While the throwers are working on getting stronger in the weight room, the sprinters are working on getting faster out on the track. Sophomore Lexi Fleischer is looking forward to what this season will hold and hopes to make it to District Finals this year in the 100 meter dash. She says that she, "Loves the competition that comes along with track and I’ve never seen a group of girls get so close in such little time. This time of year brings lots of potential in success, with a bond that will help us all work harder together.”

Senior Alyssa Caruthers is starting her “comeback season” as she is about to be 5 months out from her ACL reconstruction surgery and feeling great! She has been practicing with the track team and is hoping that she will be able to participate in the meets before her final season of track ends. Upon her return, Alyssa will be running the 400 meter dash.

Come out and support your Lady Blue Streaks who are running on the track, jumping, or throwing in the pits this season!

Jordan Matty and the Competition Cheer Squad

By: Alyssa Knezevich

Jordan Matty, a sophomore at Madison High school, is a member of the 2019 Competition cheerleading squad. This is Jordan’s second year of being on the competition squad and she is very passionate about it. Jordan was also on the JV basketball and football squads and she was even a captain for the basketball cheerleading squad.

Jordan says, “Cheerleading over all, I love everything about it. Yes there are hard times, but you create these bonds with each other that is like nothing else. I’ve definitely made new friends this year who I’m very close with now.” Jordan has been apart of the Madison cheerleading program since she was in 7th grade and she also was in little league cheerleading. Her dream is to be on an all star competition cheer team when she is older.

The competition team has been doing very good this season. They have won grand champions twice and 2 place twice. Jordan says, “Everything can always be improved. Motions can always be stricter, spirit can always be higher, but also we need to speed things up. Our strengths as a team are getting the crowd involved and bringing each other up in and out of practice. We have a lot of spirit and our facials have gotten pretty good too, we really get into it.”

The next competition the girls compete at will be nationals and the girls are very nervous but will keep practicing so they can win grand champions again.

Reaching Goals

By: Jillian Jeschenig

As this year’s Lift-A-Thon quickly approaches, I got to talk to a few of the 62 boys that are participating in the events. The boys will be competing in three different categories: squat, clean, and bench.

Those three categories are then divided by power and speed. They are divided into 10 teams, which will be announced the day of the Lift-A-Thon. Most of the guys have set goals for themselves that they are hoping to surpass at the event.

I got to speak with a few of the boys that are participating in the event, the first being junior Aidan Thompson. Aidan made it onto the power squat board last year at 430 pounds. He’s not done though, this year he is hoping to make his way onto more of the boards. He is excited, but it’s a bittersweet feeling. After junior year the football players don’t participate in Lift-A-Thon anymore. Aidan said, “We have lots of strong guys this year and we’re all hoping to take up some spots on the boards and all put in our best work”.

I also got to talk to another junior, Alex Dragas. Alex has some high goals for the event and is excited for the team bonding experience. His mindset going into the Lift-A-Thon is “Hard work equals success”. Sophomore Truman Myers is amped up for his second LIft-A-Thon. “I would like to dedicate all of his hard work to my good pal, Conor O’Bryan”. Lift-A-Thon is this Friday, March 13th at 5:30 pm. Admission is free and all are welcome to come out and support.

OMEA Competition

By: Alyssa Kenezivich

This past weekend our Madison High school choirs and band went to Mentor high school and performed at the fine arts center among many other choirs and bands in Ohio. They were judged by three judges on which class they went in.

The concert choir went in class B, the women's choir went in class A, Eclectica also went in class A, the wind ensemble went in class B, and the symphonic band went in class C. They all played and sang their hearts out and sounded amazing. They were a little nervous, but they did an amazing job. Everyone had a good time and the directors did an amazing job as well.

The choirs and band waited patiently at the high school for their scores. If the choirs that went in class A scored a 1, which is the very best you can do, then they will be going to states which is a higher level choir.

In the end, after all of their patient waiting, concert choir received a two, wind ensemble received a one, symphonic band received a two, and Eclectica and women's choir received a one! That means two of our choirs will be going to compete at states! The other choirs also did good because one, two, and three are all very good and impressive! The wind ensemble might also go to states, but we are waiting for the poll results they voted in class. The states competition will be in May. Wish the choirs and band good luck and congratulations to all of the choirs and band!

Defeating the Perry Pirates

By: Dawn Brassow

Your Madison JV Boys Basketball team finished their 2019 season off great with a win. They went to Perry High School and played our rivals, the Perry Pirates. This game took place last Friday, February 22nd in the schools gym.

At half time the score was 19-28, Madison was losing. Then they had a Tip Off and Madison won that! After that the score started getting closer and closer. One the third quarter hit it started really showing how much Madison crept up on our rival. The ending score of the third quarter was 21-28. Also during the third quarter a guy from Perry’s team fouled out.

Now we are coming up towards the end of the game, The Blue Streaks worked their butts off these final minutes. At the end Madison came through with the dub! We ended off with a great score of 52-47.

The boys had an amazing season and won most of the games they played. The boys got better by each game they played and learned from each game on how to improves as individuals and as a team. They really enjoyed everyone that came out to support them and they are all excited for their high school basketball career.

Thank you everyone who came to support our boys during their final game, the stands were packed! Everyone was screaming and there was so much supportive energy going through that gym that night. Congrats boys!

Brainstorming Prom 2019

By: Kennedy Rochford

This year’s prom is going to be a night to remember, the date is confirmed for May 4th, 2019. This year’s theme was voted by the senior’s during the lunches. Some of the options were Galaxy, Massacre, and A Night in Italy. The winner for the theme was ‘A Night in Italy’.

This year the Juniors are meeting and brainstorming to make this years prom the experience and night the seniors have been waiting for as it is their last year and are excited for a time to look back and remember.

The Junior’s had a meeting on Thursday morning at 7:35 before school to plan for this year’s Prom in a Night in Italy. Some ideas they need to go over and thoroughly go over to make this years prom successful including the food, decorations, a place to have the dance, a DJ, entertainment and fundraising, etc

A way to help provide for this year's many necessities is by fundraising, one way they are fundraising is by selling Malley’s chocolate bar for the next few weeks and they are also talking about brainstorming other fundraising ideas, to make the best prom experience. Once we came back from Spring Break in April the Seniors will be voting for who they want to be on Prom Court for their Senior year which is announced at Prom.

Girls and Boys are already getting ready for this year’s Prom buying & trying on their suits and dresses and planning out their prom this year.

Lift-A-Thon 2019

By: Jillian Jeschening

For the 19th year in a row, the Madison Blue Streaks football team will be holding their annual Lift-A-Thon. What exactly is the Lift-A-Thon you may ask?  This event is where the football players compete to see who can lift the most in 3 different categories: squat, clean, and bench.

This year there are 62 boys participating and they will be divided into 10 teams. This event acts as a fundraiser to help raise money for things like new equipment for the team. People can make flat donations to a player or they can donate a certain amount per pound that is lifted by that team member.

The teams then compete to see who will bring in the most donations, as well as who will lift the most in each of the categories. Each year they create a new t-shirt design for all of the participants, although the design has yet to be released, according to Mr. Gilligan, it’s pretty cool.

Many of the participants are hoping to get their names up on the boards in the weight room. Major contenders include Aidan Thompson and Alex Blackie who were both added to the board last year, as well as Alex Dragas, Jacob Land, and many others. The Lift-A-Thon will be taking place on Friday, March 13th at 5:30 pm. The event will be held in the MHS weight room and entry is free. All are welcome to come out and support the football team in this exciting event.

Catch her if you can

By: Sydney Guyer

Abby Piert is a star-studded senior sprinter on the girls track and field team. She is a four-year letterman in track and field and had a one year letter on the varsity girls soccer team. Abby runs the 100m dash. 200m dash, 400m dash, and the 4 by 400m relay.

For the past two years, Abby has made it to the Indoor State Championship meet at SPIRE Institute. She has placed 20th in the 60m and 200m dash last year and placed 18th in the 200m dash this year.

One of Abby's favorite memories from track is from her freshman year when Kaitlyn Rohl dove across the finish line as she was finishing her 100m dash during the West Geauga dual meet.

Abby maintains a 3.8 GPA and strives to earn A's and B's in all of her classes. After high school, Abby plains on participating in track and field at Cleveland State University while majoring in Biology and minoring in Sports Medicine. She plans on becoming a pathologist and moving out to Seattle, Washington.

She plans on breaking the 100m, 200m, and 400m dash records that currently sit at 12.1 seconds, 25.5 seconds, and 57.66 seconds. Abby also plans to qualify for states in the 100m, 200m, and 400m dash and hopes to help lead her 4 by 400m relay to qualify for regions.

Abby's favorite Netflix series is "You" and enjoys watching college track meets. Outside of school, she enjoys working out and hanging out with her friends.

The Empty Chair

By: Shane Noblit

The empty chair is a play being performed by some very talented Madison High School students. It is held by none other than local police officer, Officer Shannon. The play is portrayed in an addiction help center. It’s a drama about a man named Kevin who was in a car accident, suffered major head trauma and is subsequently in a coma.

The play opens and he finds himself in an empty room with a single chair with a sign on it that says “Do Not Sit.”  Kevin can hear everything that is happening in the world around him. Throughout the play, Kevin has the choice to come out of his coma, but has to come to terms with shocking revelations revealed throughout the play in order to do this.

This play opens the eyes of many including myself. As I watched the show I grew attached to the characters and their stories behind their lives. It shows the true understanding of the dilemma we have within our community. I was given this overwhelming realization of understanding that addiction is not a choice and that those who spiral down that path can’t help but go further down.

Addiction is not a choice and those people who are addicted need help, encouragement, and those close to them to be there for them. The deep theme of this play is performed in hopes to help those who are dealing with addiction personally or have family members struggling. To summarize everything, behind every addict is a person with hopes, dreams, and a family.

The Wonderful Life of Mrs. Vacca

By: Michael Smith

Mrs. Vacca has worked very hard to get into the position that she is in today. She is a high school English teacher at Madison High School and a college professor at Lakeland Community College.

The reason I picked Mrs. Vacca to write my article on is because she puts so much into her work is always going above and beyond for her students. Mrs. Vacca is not only good at getting the information across but by finding way to make it fun and keep things interesting.

Mrs. Vacca says that she love teaching and that her students may not always be as interested in literature, essays, or research as I am, but I try to have enough enthusiasm for all of us.

Mrs. Vacca’s goals are that  everyday she wants help her students to be successful academically while treating those around them with respect.

Mrs. Vacca's best teaching moments are when my students teach me something I never realized before, especially when it is about a literary work that I have taught 25 times.

Someday Mrs. Vacca hopes to be Dr. Vacca.  "I really want to earn my PhD in English Literature," she says.

Mrs. Vacca's favorite novel is The Handmaid's Tale.  I love the author of it, Margaret Atwood, and I got to meet her once and hear her speak. In April I am going to my alma mater Mount Union University with my fellow alumni, Mrs. Chandler, to hear her speak again!