Rampage W E S T H E M P S T E A D Issue #3 Ms. Cassa's Nature World By Jeimy Retana Gomez & Rebecca Sassi Most of us know Ms. Cassa as a Global 9 and AP Capstone teacher, but we found out some interesting information about what she loves to do outside of school! First of all, Ms. Cassa is a New York State Wildlife Rehabilitator and a New York City Parks Super Steward. She is also part of an organization called Friends of Alley Pond Park, which is evolving to a not-for-profit organization. (see page 7 for ourfull interview) April 2023 Have an Idea for a Story? Submit your idea/article to Mr. Killeen jkilleen@whufsd.com, stop by room 209, or speak to any staff member. Soarin’ Thru The 70’s By Ibraheem Abdur-Rahman The senior fashion show at West Hempstead Secondary School was…well where do I begin? The set design, to the nostalgic soundtrack, the hilarious MCs, and the astounding fashion made the show a complete success, The show was actually a testament to the hard work of West Hempstead’s seniors, who were able to construct something so impressive in only two months time! Prior to the show, one half of the MC-ing duo, Mekias Assefa, was rather nervous, anticipating something going wrong since they had only been at it for two months. Despite the worries, he still clarified that he wouldn’t have had it “any other way,” referring to the journey, the people, and everything in between. (continued on page 4)
Soarin’ Thru The 70’s 4 by Ibraheem Abdur-Rahman FILM BROS 6 by Jackelyn Perez and Peter Papangelopoulos Ms. Cassa's Nature World 7 by Rebecca Sassi and Jeimy Retana Gomez The FlyGuy Effect 9 by Jackelyn Perez Boys Bowling 10 by Eduardo Leon Lotero Varsity Girls Basketball 10 by Mekias Assefa Varsity Tennis 11 by Eduardo Leon Lotero Badminton 11 by Veronica Hanna Ramona's Advice 12 by Ramona Westly CONTENTS 2
RAMPAGE STAFF Editor-in-Chief Glenda Garcia Assistant Editors Peter Papangelopoulos Jackelyn Perez Jeimy Retana Gomez Social Media Editor Belinda Rodriguez Jackelyn Perez Andre Lugo Writers Ibraheem Abdur-Rahman Sheyla Alonzo Mekias Assefa Rebeccas Sassi Veronica Hanna Eduardo Leon Lotero Photographers Peter Papangelopoulos Rozlyn Rodriguez Ms. Cassa Copy Editor Andrew Filincieri This month the Rampage staff has worked hard to include new and interesting articles for your enjoyment. In this issue you'll find the best of sports, advice, and school events. Stay tuned as we near the end of school year as we have a lot more in store. Thanksforreading! Glenda Garcia Editorin Chief LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 3
1 Lorem ipsum Soardionlor ’ Thru The 70’s (continued from cover) Witnessing all of the striking seniors just moments before showtime was a sight to behold, with the slew of emotions making for a weirdly bittersweet environment. DJ Christian Marquez and model Nicole Alvarez noted how they were a bit sad that this was their last big show in West Hempstead, while other models like Kayla Pendergast and Brendan Close seemed pumped to be a part of something as special as this. The principal, Prior to the show, Mr. Pumo informed me that the senior fashion show was a West Hempstead tradition of over a decade. While this was a very dear moment to all the seniors who participated, there were also soon-to-be graduates in the audience rooting on their peers, like Michael AbiAoun. He had high expectations for his classmates, and believed they were “going to be amazing!" Similarly, teachers who were participating were expecting a “fun show." Mrs. McCarthy made sure to give her best regards to the seniors, whom she cherishes dearly. Speaking of the theme, it seems that the 70’s was this year’s inspiration simply because our graduating class just “loved the time period”, according to varsity cheerleaderJoselyn Henriquez. At last, the lights had begun to dim and the real show started! Our aforementioned MCs gave a stunning entrance through what appeared to be a time machine, and kicked off the night with their endearing personalities and chemistry. We first got to see some of West Hempstead’s staff, who have a large impact on the current students. The crowd cheered for them as though there would be no tomorrow! At times, you’d even think Beyoncé was walking across the stage with the amount of thunderous applause! I thought the finesse and elegance the staff had would be impossible to top, but I was quickly proven wrong. As the show transitioned to ourseniors, the chemistry and camaraderie of the was off the charts! It felt as though there was love in the air. The unique choreography of each duo and group was beyond adorable, to the point where no one could resist cheering for everyone. As intermission crept upon everyone, I was skeptical about whether the second half of the show could keep the same energy. But it seems like proving myself wrong was the underlying theme of the night, because the second half had me jumping out of my chair even more! by Ibraheem Abdur-Rahman 4
1 Lorem ipsum dolor The time came for the seniors with 70’s songs backing them to grace the stage. Serious props to DJ Christian Marquez, because the flow of the music made me feel like I had a pair of boogie shoes on, with some night fever on the side! The models continued to wow the crowd with their stylish fashion, and the cute choreography kept the crowd wanting more. The crowd was making lots of noise for cousins Jurrel Hall and Chance Mingo, but who could blame them? If there was an award for choreography of the night, it would definitely have to go to athletic duo Caleb Blue & Taliah Thompson! The way they worked that stage, you wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between them and those Saturday Night Feverfolk! After all the excitement, the crowd had collectively looked around in disbelief when it was announced that the show had come to an end. But, to the crowd's surprise, the next segment began and kept the momentum going! The seniors had been dancing together on stage as a final adieu, but it began to look a little suspicious for Emma Shinsato, who had been kept in the center of the stage for a bit too long. It all made sense moments later, though, when her boyfriend, Anthony Blanco, made his way to her through the crowd to “prom-pose!” As she said yes, the crowd erupted once more. If that doesn’t speak volumes to the love in the West Hempstead family, I don’t know what will. In many ways, this will be a night to remember, for many people. It was a successful show and a great display of the love we have for each other here at West Hempstead. Class of 2024, I hope you all take this head start to planning and use it wisely, because this show will definitely prove to be hard to top. 5
Napoleon Dynamite Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 cult classic comedy that centers around an awkward teenager, Napoleon (Jon Heder), and his experiences in his small town in Idaho. When his grandma who takes care of him and his brother Kip (Aaron Ruell) leaves on a trip, Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) steps in to look over them. He meets the new kid Pedro, played by Efren Ramirez and they run for class president. This movie is hilarious and nostalgic, with characters you'll root for and relate to (maybe not completely). The iconic dance sequence is so funny and the soundtrack forthis movie is catchy and fitting. This movie is an easy laugh and will become an instant classic when you watch it. Watch it now on HBOmax! The Fabelmans The Fabelmans is Steven Speilberg’s 2022, semi-autobiographical magnum opus centering around a fictionalized version of himself, Sammy Fabelman growing up in the late ‘50s into the ‘60s with a passion for film. Speilberg wrote the screenplay with his sister as early as the late ’90s while directing Saving Private Ryan (1998). It follows Sammy from the first time his parents (Paul Dano and Michelle Williams) take him to see the film The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). From that point forward, Sammy falls deeper into this love of arts, while also struggling through several family moves, infidelity between his parents, and the anti-semitism he faces after moving to California. Outside of the main cast, Seth Rogan and Judd Hirsch stun in their supporting roles, and there is a great cameo from David Lynch portraying real-life director John Ford. The film is a great watch for both movie lovers and people who just want a movie to watch. Watch it now on Amazon Prime Video! The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson's movies are always a film bros favorite and Grand Budapest Hotel is no exception. The movie is set at the famous hotel and the story is told by now owner, former lobby boy Zero (Tony Revolori) and his memories of his late bequeathed boss (Ralph Fiennes). Wes Anderson is truly a master at his craft and the way he executed the direction of this movie is perfect. The cinematography is beautiful and by classic Wes nature, is symmetrical and balanced. The coloring of this movie feels sweet and nostalgic and creates an atmosphere perfect for the telling of the story. As serious as it seems, the movie also has a lot of humor. The cast is filled with familiar favorites (as usual) like: Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, and many more. Watch it now on HBOmax! The film is rated R so if you're under 17 make sure you're watching this with a grownup! Directed by: Jackie & peter 6
by Rebecca Sassi and Jeimy Retana Gomez Jeimy: I have heard from Mr. Killeen that you help NYC parks with environmental problems. Ms.Cassa: Yes, specifically with native planting, which is connected to being a Wildlife Rehabilitator and a Super Steward, which I am legally allowed to do because I have a license. In the past 5 years there's been an increased push for replanting native plants. This [positively impacts] animals and their migration patterns. Rebecca: What do you mean by the native plantings affecting migration patterns for animals? Ms.Cassa: Well, because animals migrating are looking for specific types of plants. For example; Monarch butterflies only eat milkweed and they don't eat any other plants. When they are caterpillars, they only lay eggs on milkweed and, if there's no milkweed, they can't reproduce. Sometimes they'll look for a similar plant and lay their eggs, but if the egg hatches and eats the plant it will essentially die. Jeimy: What other benefits does native planting have on its surroundings? Ms.Cassa: The big push for native planting is essentially to help animals [and] insects even out the ecological zone and provide sustenance to complete migrations and fulfill life cycles. Another interesting thing about Ms.Cassa is that she RAISES MONARCH BUTTERFLIES!!!! Ms. Cassa has raised and released 50 monarchs. She then releases them into the wild. Ms. Cassa: So this year I started looking at which specific parts of the parks the monarchs were hanging out in the most. I found a few eggs on leaves and started bringing them home. Rebecca: How would you bring them home, in a little jar? Ms. Cassa: I have little plastic containers with holes punched in them. In one of them I put water on the bottom and the milkweeds facing up. I put the leaves with the eggs or with little caterpillars in there, but and at home I don't keep them together. They go in separate enclosures. The caterpillar stage to the butterfly stage takes 18 days. They grow 3000 times the size they are from the egg to the caterpillar stage and they eat like you cannot believe. If I have 6 or 7 caterpillars I'd have to cut up the leaves and keep them separate because they will cannibalize each other. Ms. Cassa's Nature World 7
Monarch caterpillars are called instars. When they get to a certain size, they stay in a pose for 24 hours called the ‘’J’’ pose. Eventually they start to wiggle and lose their skin. Next, they form a solid chrysalis for 7 to 10 days. Then they do what's called eclose [emerging from the egg], Once they are open, they need 2 days to dry their wings. There's certain part of the wing called the mitten where I put the tracking tags because it's the thickest and strongest part of the wing. When butterflies are tagged and I track the number, it measure the migration. Next, I record my data: the date, gender, and location. I release them where I initially found the eggs, which is really important because if I released them anywhere else they wouldn't understand the migratory pattern. Jeimy: How do you know if the Monarch butterfly is a male or a female? Ms. Cassa: Monarch females have a thin line on the bottom of their outside wings. Males also have a thin line in the same spot, but they also have bright spots the females don't. Occasionally I will come across a crossed gender: one side of the wing has the bright dot and the other side of the wing does not. Rebecca: How long have you been raising butterflies? Ms. Cassa: I started during Covid. I have always loved animals but I didn't know about this wildflower field right by my house because the flowers are only in bloom for a few months. I started to meet other people regularly walking in the same area and they suggested I join the Friends of Alley Pond Park. This summer I’ll be involved in coordinating park events!!! Rebecca: What type of park events will you hold? Ms. Cassa: I'd like to lead at least one walk a week so people can learn about native ecology and hopefully participate to maintain it. By learning about history I've became connected to enduring issues which are relevant to how we treat are environment and each other. If we don't take care of the things that provide us what we need to survive we might not have them forever. Rebecca and Jeimy: We are so glad that we got to learn about what you love to do regarding the environment and it was so interesting to talk to you about all of this. Thank you for informing us, as you say, “young historians." 8
9 Everyone has their influences when it comes to life. It can be something like a religion or a group you are a part of but there's always these influences that affect you in some big way and shape you into the person you are today. Today I interviewed Andre Lugo and found out that the media that has influenced him the most, is Fly Guy. Some may say this is an odd choice but if you keep reading you'll find out why he thinks this way. Jackie: Hi guys today we're going to be having an interview, I'm here with? Andre: Andre. Jackie: Andre, I'm gonna start it off with a nice question. So what do you think the most influential piece of media in your life has been? Andre: Probably fly guy. Jackie: Fly Guy? Can you elaborate on that? Andre: Um, it was one of the first novels I read, [which] shaped me into loving literature. And I understand it is like, a little kids book, but it still contains deep themes that you just need to acknowledge. It probably wasn't made with the intent of these themes, but I was able to discover the theme from years of just building up on different types of themes and influence and kind of like different devices that the author would use. Jackie: That's interesting. So what would you say your favorite Fly Guy book is? Andre: Man, there's a Fly Guy in my soup. It was one of my favorites. I was always intrigued by the orange cover because every single Fly Guy book did like, a different color cover. Like, for the superhero one, it was like a bright yellow and red, kind of like the cutaways and old superhero shows like Batman, you know what I mean?You know what the business is. And so, yeah, the orange is like a bright orange to resemble the soup that he was in. And I remember it was like some like some nice orange, and I don't know what it was. I don't know what the soup was. But he was able to cause a ruckus while also being funny, entertaining and witty. Jackie: Witty. Great words. What would you say if you could talk to the author of the book? Do you happen to know his name? Andre: Ted. Jackie: Ted? Andre: First name basis. Jackie: Okay, so if you could say one thing to Ted. I didn't know you guys were on a first name basis. But if you could say anything to him right now, what would you say? Andre: Mainly a thank you, but also to continue implementing these different ideas into FlyGuy books, but only as long as they're pushed out with the same creativity. And I would also ask to just have these themes and maybe in more of what society would seem as normal books and more like advanced books. Things for the high school and the college level, that you could put these different themes in using the same devices, different other types of ways that he was able to implement these devicesinto it. Jackie: So you'd say something like, maybe a high school level book, like, maybe a little girl getting tossed into a soup, like a big soup. Andre: Well, there's more to it. You would need to first create the story, but you need to give layers physically and within the story. So physically, the girl could fall into some soup, but that takes her into another underground world. Now, once again, as an author, not myself, I'm just talking on behalf. Jackie: Of Ted? Andre: Yeah. Jackie: I want to know his last name because I'm not on a first name basis with him. Or do you think he'd allow me? Andre: I don't think he likes you very much. Jackie: Oh. Andre: I've spoken to him about you, and he'slike, jeez. Jackie: Ok, alright. So, we just interviewed the first fly guy. Like, actual fly guy. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Andre: Subscribe to Mr.Beast and eat your vegetables. Jackie: Allright, bye! The FlyGuy Effect by Jackelyn Perez
1 Lorem ipsum Boy dolor s Bowling Team by Eduardo Leon Lotero The West Hempstead Secondary School Boys Bowling Team started off this Winter of 2022 strong, with a very united team full of commitment, passion, and skill. Not different from any other West Hempstead sports team, the Varsity Bowling Team began their year with very good spirit, initiating their scores with a great win against Hempstead High School! The team is led by an amazing Senior this season, Andrew Wells, who has played with the team forseveralseasons now. He isthe only seniorto participate in the 10 bowling team this year.“It's a pretty young team, we only have one senior this year, Andrew, who has had a lot of improvement this past year” said Boys Varsity Coach, Mr. Hanna, “We have seen great improvement by Brady Haberstroh, Eduardo Leon, and we got strong players that have been on the team for a few years now, like Aden Palmer and Steven Poirot, so I believe this should be a good season for us this year”. The team is preparing itself for more encounters with otherschools, and is expecting a great performance! The girls basketball team had an amazing season with many chances to showcase their incredible abilities. There was a beautiful ceremony for the senior girls. The skills they showed were outstanding throughout the entire season and showed grit unlike anything else. Their amazing offensive and defensive capabilities allow for any type of play to occur. “The great thing about the girls on this team is that they grew up playing together since they were in elementary school but what I see as the season goes on is that their confidence levels continue to grow,” said Mrs. Shinsato. Other remarks from fellow students and teachers were nothing short of praises on their tenacity and continuous effort. The Rampage wishes Emma, Chance, Sophia, Noelia, Aniya, and Gianna the best of luck in college and any future endeavors. Girls Basketball by Mekias Assefa
The West Hempstead Secondary School Tennis Team is ready for the Spring Season of 2023! The Boys Varsity Tennis team begins this season with a strong group of passionate students. This year, the team started off with a lot of competition and ability. They started off by winning their first game against Hempstead High School. The team is led by the talented Singles player Aden Palmer, a sophomore who has been leading the team for the past 3 years with incredible skill. Sophomores Eduardo León Lotero and Stephen Schreck, who have had a lot of improvements this season, are also playing Singles 2 and 3 respectively this year! The team also includes 2 Seniors, Mahib Rahman, and Tenoch Jaramillo, who continue to play hard, and enjoy this amazing sport. Boys Varsity Coach Hovanec has very good expectations for this season. 11 Boys Varsity Tennis by Eduardo Leon Lotero The team has very strong players and everyone has been working really hard in order to have an excellent rest of the season. As the team plays with more spirit and with a great performance, the WH Rams community is excited for more matchesto come. Girls Varsity Badminton by Veronica Hanna This year's girl's badminton team has been on a roll. Our own badminton team has a total of 27 players including a team manager (Leo Liang). We have a total of 5 captains this year, senior captains Olufoyinsola Esan and Eman Khan have worked alongside junior captains Veronica Hanna and Jennifer Panetta and sophomore captain Sofia Sheehan to improve the team as a whole. As their season comes to an end their hard work and dedication has been seen both on and off the court. Senior captain Eman Khan summarized this season by saying, "Such a short period of time we had together, each moment with this team engraving itself as a memory foreverto be cherished." We wish them all best of luck in the future.
There are only four years in high school, how do you get the most out of your experience? The best way to get the most out of your high school experience is to be active and participate. By this, I mean that you should go to homecoming, class night, field trips and any other school event there is. Not only should you attend school events, spending time with friends outside of school will help build closer connections that could last a lifetime or be comforting when truly needing someone in a school environment. High school isn’t all about the fun events, things need to be done in order to participate in them. Being studious and achieving academic goals will grant you access. Focusing on your schoolwork is also extremely important in order to make the most out of high school. Studying the material you learn and raising the bar will help you succeed not just academically but will also help you mentally. Four years isn’t a very long time when you are living through it, so participating, achieving and doing the right thing will grant you the best four years of your life. 12 I joined too many clubs and I want to help out in all of them but I just can’t be at multiple places at once. How can I tell the teachers (in a polite way) that I can’t be in that club anymore? It’s very easy to feel like we can do anything and everything without there being some sort of consequence. Unfortunately, managing our time and saying no is all part of the process of choosing which extracurricular activities we do. The best way to let teachers know of said predicament is to be straightforward and apologetic. Teachers can’t force you to participate in something you don’t have time for, but they can be upset with your decision. Acknowledging the problem and allowing the teacher to get a deeper understanding of your reasoning will help you out to participate in the clubs you can attend. Don’t be afraid to say no! - Ramona What would you do if you don't know what to do with your future? There are thousands of people who are not sure what to do with their future even as adults, so firstly don’t be ashamed that you feel stuck. Your future is what you make out of it so do what you enjoy. Whether that is art, travel, math, business, etc. You do not need to follow the path of others or the path we are expected to follow in life. Of course achieving these goals requires a journey and various steps, luckily there are many ways to begin. You can go to college, trade school, start working immediately for certain businesses or even find a new way that works for you and what you wish to do. What you want to do with your future will eventually come to you whether that is sooner or later, do not worry! - Ramona Ramona's Advice! by Ramona Westly