Monthly Archives: March 2020
WHO Declares COVID-19 a Global Pandemic, Should We be Worried?
Jonathon Moreno ‘21
EE Staff Writer
Human Coronavirus, also called COVID-19, is now widespread throughout the world with the exception of very few countries. The United States is one among many countries to have this new virus. In the U.S., as of March 20th, 2020, all 50 states have cases ranging from as few as 2 in West Virginia to as many as over 5,000 in New York according to the LiveScience U.S. case map.
Here in Connecticut, there are 159 confirmed cases and 2 confirmed deaths from coronavirus. Schools and towns throughout the state of Connecticut have postponed and cancelled large public gatherings and events.
According to the Trumbull Public Schools website and email that was sent out to students, parents, and staff, the local Trumbull Libraries are closed, school is cancelled until further notice, and many other public places and events throughout the town are cancelled.
Colleges throughout the state such as University of New Haven and Quinnipiac University, have also cancelled classes and have switched to online learning alternatives. For some colleges, the rest of the spring semester is cancelled and students will now have to continue the rest of the semester online. College graduations are being cancelled and postponed due to the spread of the virus. This reaction from colleges from the virus lead to many college students coming back home from school. Families are all at home, spending more time at home and self quarantining to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
With a new virus on the loose, not only have schools been affected throughout the country, but businesses have taken a toll from the virus as well. Stores like Stop and Shop and Big Y are completely out of things like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and cleaning products. Cleaning aisles are completely empty, and stores have limited customers to one or two products per person to ensure everybody has a chance to get the things they need.
Little Women Has Big Impact
Kathryn Wilkinson ‘20
EE News/Science/Tech Editor
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is a classic childhood novel that I read and grew to absolutely adore. I admired the strong female lead characters, the close bonds that the sisters shared, and the heartfelt messages threaded throughout the plot. It also reminded me of the antics that I engaged in with my own sister, so I was captivated by the story from the first page.
When I found that they were adapting the book into a screenplay, I was incredibly excited. The movies are never exactly like the books, so I was interested to see how the director, Greta Gerwig, chose to adapt the story.
After viewing the movie, I have to say, I was impressed. I loved the casting, and especially the choice of actresses. Saorise Ronan brilliantly captured the fiery spirit of Jo March, and her desire to stand out amongst a crowd. Emma Watson was the perfect choice for Meg March, capturing her mild temperament, and her desire to quietly help those around her without praise.
I loved seeing many of the iconic scenes that I had read about on the big screen. From the family gathered around the fire to read a letter from their father at Christmastime, to Amy falling through the ice, all of the integral parts of the story were expertly directed and executed onto the screen.
A Study on Political Ethics
Aileen Aizenshtat ‘21
Jacob Herman ‘21
EE Contributors
Editor’s Note: This submission was excerpted from a larger research project completed in Mr. Darrow’s AP Statistics class.
The search into a possible relationship between politics and morals through a statistics study surveying a random sample of Trumbull High School teenagers was interesting, to say the least. Through this, a final conclusion was reached: With differences in party affiliation, there are several identifiable distinctions in the core moral values of an individual.
Such beliefs and distinctions were found to have been heavily influenced by familial ties and values — in other words, it was the political beliefs of the subject’s family that came to be similar to the person’s own leanings. This makes it plausible that when one identified themselves to be conservative or liberal in this study, they could have been influenced by family opinions to do so, as their own ideals were not parallel to those held by the views of the political body they identified with. However, the findings of this study with political ideology still remain significant even with this confounding.
The most obvious divide between these political sects was within a puzzle that is not at all unheard of in the philosophical world of ethics. The dilemma itself is simple: a person close to you is dying of a disease that only your neighbor has the cure to. However, they ask for an outrageous price in exchange for the cure, one that you have no way of paying. The options are to either (a) steal the cure immediately, (b) only steal the cure after asking to pay for half of the cure’s price or, (c) refuse to break the law through theft, despite the repercussions to your friend’s life.
FFA Week: A Special Week in Trumbull
Kathryn Wilkinson ‘20
EE Science/Tech and News Editor
FFA Week Line up
Every year, the National FFA Organization hosts a week long celebration of the FFA and all that the organization encourages. FFA Week, as it is formerly known, runs from Saturday to Saturday, and always encompasses February 22nd, George Washington’s birthday. Since 1948, this long standing tradition of the FFA has encouraged the agriculturalists and youth of the present to remember the the legacy Washington left as a farmer and leader.
It’s not only historically relevant, but this special week encourages enthusiasm for the organization and is beloved by all FFA members across the country. Every year, our own Trumbull Regional FFA Chapter joins in on the fun.
This year, FFA Week ran from February 22nd to the 29th. Trumbull’s own student led officer team began devising fun student activities early on in January to ensure that all chapter members had a memorable week. Agriscience students have not been let down! In addition to in-school dress up themes, there was an after school activity every day.
Is A Lot of Homework Actually Valuable?
Kunal Mehta (’21)
Shea Grant (’21)
Mike Rizzo (’21)
EE Contributors
Editor’s Note: This submission was excerpted from a larger research project completed in Mr. Darrow’s AP Statistics class
Many people hold concerns about schools regarding the amount of homework assigned. Are larger volumes of homework really valuable to the success of a student? Or is this work merely “busy” work that has no real value in most cases? We conducted a study to answer this question, surveying ninety-two Trumbull High School students about their academic achievement and the amount of homework they received per night.
Comparing the average time a student reported doing homework a night versus the student’s cumulative weighted GPA, we found that a graph displaying this data (shown [insert layout location] would show higher GPA values corresponding to more hours doing homework if there was a relationship that showed that more homework increases academic achievement. However, the line observed was effectively flat, which means that no matter the amount of homework a student received, they had, on average, about the same GPA as their peers that received more or less homework than they did.
Math Team Performed Better Than Ever In Recent Competition
Joshua Dubreuil ‘20
EE Sports Editor
Sai Kolasani ‘21
EE Staff Writer
The Trumbull High School Math Team placed 6th out of 29 teams at Wilton High School on February 5th, 2020. They participated in the Fairfield County Math League (FCML) for their fifth competition, and they have been improving in all of their meets.
The team practices every Friday directly after school in C28, with advisors Mrs. Capobianco, Mr. Darrow, and Mr. Seamon. Mrs. Capobianco is the only teacher in the school to teach Multivariable calculus, and Mr. Darrow is the only teacher in the school for AP Statistics. Some say he is “Teacher of the Year”. With these three passionate teachers, the team is packed with spirit and fun.
The team captains are Cyrus Asgari and Howard Qian. They lead the team, set a good example, and help everyone out who needs help with their math-related problems.
Sophomore Yash Permalla has been the A-Team’s most consistent high scorer, leading the team to strong performances at each match this year.
The Trumbull High School Math Team is made up of the A-Team, and the B-team. While both of Trumbull’s teams scores points during a competition, only the A team’s score is used when calculating the team’s placement.
Say “Hello” to Bye, Bye Birdie
Neya Kidambi ‘22
EE Features Editor
After nineteen years, Bye, Bye Birdie will be coming back to the Robert E. McCarthy Theatre this spring, as the THeSpians prepare for their twenty-second production with Mrs. Jessica Spillane as director. Alongside Mrs. Spillane, producer Mrs. Shannon Bolan and technical director Mr. Matthew Bracksieck help guide around seventy-five cast and crew members to a successful production.
Inspired by rockstar Elvis Presley’s selection in the 1953 U.S. Army draft, Bye, Bye Birdie is a high energy, light-hearted show from the 1960s that tells the story of Conrad Birdie (Rob Goldstein ‘20), an adored rock-and-roll idol who gets drafted into the U.S. Army. Birdie’s agent, Albert Peterson (Nathan Ayotte ‘22), and Birdie’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, Rosie Alverez (Caroline Marchetti ‘21), plan a farewell performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, where they hope to sell Birdie’s new song “One Last Kiss” and ultimately save Albert’s record studio from going under. At the end of his performance, Birdie will actually give “one last kiss” to Kim MacAfee (Ella Miller ‘21), an avid fan.
However, as Albert and Rosie prepare for Birdie’s big final performance, things do not go as smoothly as planned; Kim’s father becomes starstruck at the thought of being on television, and Kim’s new boyfriend becomes jealous of Kim kissing Birdie on television.
As the story continues with these preparations for Birdie’s departure, the audience is serenaded with many other hit songs besides “One Last Kiss,” including “Put on a Happy Face,” “One Boy,” “A Lot of Livin’ to Do,” “Kids!” and “Rosie,” all accompanied with a live orchestra.
The following is an interview between sophomore Neya Kidambi and Director Mrs. Spillane on the trials and travails of the play:
March is Link Crew Application Month
Katie DeRose ‘22
EE Senior Entertainment Editor
As the first semester ends and spring is on the horizon, many students look for new opportunities to shape their high school experiences— summer internships, jobs, new clubs and activities galore! For the Trumbull High School organization “Link Crew”, this means the beginning of the search process for new student leaders who will welcome and guide incoming freshmen into the next school year.
Responsibilities of Link Crew leaders include showing freshmen around the building and leading them into icebreakers during a summer orientation, helping freshmen find their classes during the first week of school, and leading freshmen into skills necessary for a successful high school career, such as study skills that are taught in the Link Crew’s Cocoa and Cram midterm studying program.
The advisors are Mr. Artese and Mrs. Intemann, who have been organizing and running the program for several years now. They play a significant role in the overall success of the organization and work hard every year to ensure the freshman class is welcomed.
An Observational Study on Standardized Test Scores and Academic Performance
Cole Kurokawa ‘22
EE Contributor
Standardized tests and academic performance, among other things, are considered one of the most important aspects of a student in a college application. Although most, if not all, colleges review each application with a holistic approach, the GPA takes higher precedence since it is considered a reliable metric for academic potential.
Students either dread standardized tests or look forward to taking them. Remember taking the SBAC or the CMT during elementary and middle school? Well, forget about it; the SAT/PSAT is unlike any test you’ve taken before. These tests, especially the SAT, supposedly mean something different. With the argument that entrance exams such as the SAT are not an accurate reflection of a student’s academic ability and with the increase in test-optional schools, I set out to find whether there is a relationship between academic performance and standardized test scores.
For this study, twenty-five Trumbull High School students were randomly selected and surveyed. Respondents were asked a series of questions on Google Forms regarding academic performance and test scores, in which unweighted GPA and most recent SAT/PSAT scores were collected. Not all students had already taken the SAT; however, every October, underclassmen take the PSAT. Therefore, as a substitute for the SAT score, the PSAT score was accepted.
Grammy Awards Recap 2020
Abigail Clark ‘22
EE Staff Writer
From Billie Eilish breaking the record of being the youngest artist to win all three major awards in one night to stars honoring the late Kobe Bryant through song and speech, the 62nd GRAMMY Awards were full of excitement, tears, and breathtaking moments.
Starting off the night, host Alicia Keys began: “We’d never imagined in a million years we’d have to start the show like this,” referring to Kobe Bryant, a former NBA legend, who died earlier that day in a tragic plane crash along with his 13 year old daughter Gianna. In addition, to a beautiful remembrance song sung by Alicia Keys and Boyz II Men, many other stars recognized the death of an amazing basketball player and man.
Lizzo opened the show by singing two of her hit songs “Cuz I Love You” and “Truth Hurts.” She had the whole audience in applause and singing along to her incredibly catchy songs. Lizzo took away three awards that night; Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Traditional R&B Performance, and Best Urban Contemporary. She won three of her eight nominations.
Throughout the night there were many more amazing performances especially when Demi Lovato took the stage for the first time since her drug overdose in 2018 performing her debut single “Anyone.” Her extremely emotional performance had the room in tears and applauding her moving comeback.
