The Patriot News

On February 4th, twenty members of the John Jay High School Chapter of FBLA traveled to Carmel High School to compete alongside seven other schools, and over a hundred other students in the 2016 District 3N Spring District Meeting. Here, they would be able to participate in an assortment of competition events, the diversity of which would cater towards a variety of interests, allowing everyone to find something that they enjoy while each event still related back to skills required in business. Examples are Business Calculations for those who enjoy math, and speaking events for people who enjoy performing. Additionally, the competition provided a great opportunity for all of the participants as they would be able to practice skills that they would need later on in life but in a lower risk environment, allowing them to go more freely outside their comfort zones. The morning of the event, the students of our chapter arrived to school already in full business attire, ready, excited, a...

On Saturday, March 12th the John Jay Debate Club hosted their 7th annual Model Congress and it was a great success. A model congress may not seem like the most thrilling thing in the world at first, after all, the actual one appears to move at the pace of a snail, if not slower. However, as a member of the debate club I knew that debates could be extremely fun, and that, added with the promise of extra credit made me decide along with several of my friends that going would be in our best interest. At the event, participants were separated into four committees based on interest: Judiciary which dealt with civil rights issues, Energy and Commerce which was eventually merged with Judiciary, Foreign Relations, and Education and Health. It would be within these committees that people would be debating over bills concerning current political issues such as gun control, health care, the war on terror, and more. At first most people in my committee were quiet as they were still getting...

On March 8th, after school, in honor of Youth Art Month, the art program held “Upstyle Your T” in the library. Designs varied from a skull crop top to a angel with wings. One that stood out was a stormtrooper cut out in the back with the arms and neck cut off of the tee. Ms. Lancer and Mrs. Hooper came up with the idea from Generation T:108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt by Megan Nicolay and Pinterest. Lancer created her own examples and ideas students could get ideas from. Students were given a shirt of their choice, scissors, templates and directions. They were then off in their own world to design whatever and however they wanted while showing off their John Jay Pride. Youth Art Month is to continue all throughout March. Recently the art department carved into yams, making faces, a starry night, and many other designs. This month gave the students a chance to express themselves in work they can call theirs. The “YAM” show is on March 31st at 2pm in the library, showing John Jay’s love...

This April, the John Jay Proscenium will be performing Disney’s High School Musical: On Stage! The Patriot sat down with Bobby Kleinertz, who will play the male lead, Troy Bolton. So Bobby, you’re basically Zac Efron now, right? I mean, he played the same role as I’m playing now in High School Musical , but I’m still working on getting my physique up to his level. At least you have your charm. Now, with the school doing such a well-known and beloved show, especially amongst our generation, what obstacles does Proscenium run into? Are you trying to replicate the original movie or are you doing a whole new interpretation? Well, the On Stage version of the show does deviate a bit from the movie: there are new lines, new characters, and even a few new songs. So we pick and pluck from the movie but at the end of the day, everyone bring their own light and interpretation to each character. I’m certainly excited to see the similarities and differences between the two shows. Now Hi...

Congratulations to our John Jay Science Olympians for winning 7th place at the New York State Science Olympiad competition! The club began in September where students were assigned “events,” or mini-competitions, for which they were to prepare. Some were knowledge-based events that required extensive studying outside of school and some were build-based events that required building and extensive testing of a project to complete a goal within specific parameters. The events covered topics from anatomy and forensics to invasive species and geological mapping. Build events included events like making electric cars, pendulums and bridges. For four months, the students prepared. Then the season began in late January. First, a select group of members went to the Yale Invitationals where they scored 13th place and won the Best New School award. Then, they went to the Regionals competition in early February, bringing home 2nd place and a plethora of Top 10 medals. Then, they went ...

Baseball season is quickly approaching. Teams have switched from offseason to preseason mode and have already begun Spring Training. Fans nationwide wait for the beginning of the 162 game season to decide the World Series champion. For the Mets, expectations are higher than any other year in recent history. Last year, New York was the surprise of the MLB, making it all the way to the World Series only to lose to Kansas City in 5 games. Fortunately, the Mets core of stars are all returning for another season. This includes the best pitching staff in baseball featuring Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and Bartolo Colón. The Mets also get back Zack Wheeler, a promising young starting pitcher who had missed all of last year due to an elbow injury. With his addition to the already dominant pitching staff, the Mets look to be the strongest pitching team for the second year straight. The big difference between last year’s team and this year’s is that the Mets’ offense...

These days, we know media and body image contribute to our everyday lives. We try so hard to impress ourselves and people around us. Those pictures in magazines and online don’t express what an actual person looks like. Girls and boys look at the photos and feel insecure; they try to find an effective way to be better. This search happens to cause eating disorders and low self esteem. Most girls believe skipping a meal will make them skinnier. Seventy percent of 6-12 year olds want to be thin. People have such high standards of how the human body must look. This causes eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Girls are more scared to gain weight than to lose a loved one. Today, most girls desire a flat stomach and thigh gap labeled “bikini bridge.” The average weight is 169 pounds while the weight of a model is 120 pounds. To be skinny with a thigh gap and flat stomach, girls tend to be even more underweight than models, depending on age. Up to twenty percent of people with serio...

It’s that time of year again when all seniors at any high school are starting to suffer from a infectious disease called senioritis. What is senioritis you may ask? According to Oxford Dictionaries, senioritis is a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance. Although it does happen to college seniors, it affects high school seniors the most. It truly is an infectious disease that targets all high school seniors. Mainly, seniors get this contagious disease around the second semester of their final high school year, around that time they get college acceptance letters, decide which college to go to, and think about senior prom. Symptoms are lack of motivation and focus, refusal to do work, laziness, and skipping classes. They may not seem to be very dangerous symptoms when they start, but if they keep persisting, it will become a problem. While senioritis is not a curable disease, it is treatable....

If you ask people what their least favorite day is in the week, they will probably say it is Monday. Monday is by far the most brutal day of the week. Once school is over, all you want to do is sit down, relax, grab a bite to eat and do something to brighten up your day. If this is you, check out John Jay’s newest club: John Jay Believers. JJB is a Christian-based club at John Jay High School that helps strengthen relationships and their faith in God. It meets after school on Mondays from 2pm until around 3pm. JJB is open to all students and faculty so it is a great way to get to know each other better and to see a different side of one another. “JJB is a place where Christians can come share their faith and live life with others,” Leah Rodriguez, a member of JJB, said. “From snacks to games to inspirational messages—it’s a lot of fun and I look forward to it every week.” JJB helps prepare students to take on each school day by meeting every morning before first period to pray. JJB is ...

After months of hard work and commitment to the Italian Honors Society, eligible sophomores and juniors were officially admitted into the club in mid-March. The ceremony, carried out by Master of Ceremonies, Signor Delli-Carpini, featured a live singing performance, flute duet, speeches and well-wishes from several members of the WCSD Board, as well as Signora Fusco. After the newly-inducted members recited the society's Italian pledge, they received their membership certification. As they walked across the stage, members had their favorite Italian word appear across the projector’s screen while the officers announced their favorite part of Italian class and Società. By the end of the night, the society gained a great amount of new members. With the help of current Società members and Signora’s dedication, induction proved a success. As each year progresses, Società continues to grow, inducting new members who are eager to learn the Italian language and culture, thus advancing in t...

At John Jay, we are known for having good athletic teams, ranging from football to volleyball, and no one can deny that we are proud of all our athletes. However, I think there should be an equal amount of pride when it comes to the arts. On February 19th, the Talent Show—hosted by La Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica (Spanish Honor Society)—displayed phenomenal talent. Experiencing it first-hand, I was floored by how amazing all the performances were. At one moment, we were watching a Spanish cultural dance with amazing coordination and then the next, a satire on political debates with Ben Carson falling asleep in the middle of it. We even witnessed the epic rap style of Mr. Davis, with lines flowing so fast, I think he dropped a whole mixtape in just four minutes. If you didn’t come to watch, you also unfortunately missed the reigning champions, now called “Desi Empire.” With their mix of Indian dancing and American pop music, they killed it, earning their spot as number one. Others danc...

When we think of Daylight Saving Time (DST), we tend to think of it as this day where we just lose that precious hour of sleep. But this day has more untold purposes and history. Ancient civilizations had a concept of DST when they would adjust their schedules depending on the sun. Modern DST was introduced by a New Zealand entomologist George Hudson. He proposed a two-hour shift forward in October and a two-hour shift back in March; this idea never fell through. In 1905, a British builder, William Willett, had a variation of this concept and suggested that every four Sundays in April, there should be a shift forward of 20 minutes. And in September, the same, but a shift back 20 minutes. Fast forward to 1918, the concept of DST, which was called “Fast Time” back then, was introduced by President Woodrow Wilson when he signed a law to support war effort during World War I. But seven months later, this biannual time change was revoked; however, cities like New York and Boston continued t...

Flashing smiles and stunning styles—each model flaunted his or her look in the spotlight. The performances and the people were spectacular. Jeana Alfano kicked off the show with a grand opening singing the Star-Spangled Banner. We got to see the teachers’ classy side as they walked the runway. Each model had his or her own signature pose working with their respective looks. We can't forget the singers, such as Rob Daniels and The Cover. The dancers were so insync, it was divine and took months to prepare. And an eight-year-old played the harp beautifully. Rob Daniels, the 23 year old country singer, had released his album in January called "Near Her." He learned guitar at the age of 7, then started singing at the age of 19, which continued into a career. The Cover,which won 3rd place in the talent show, came back for an encore for the prom fashion show. A group of three lovely seniors—a guitarist, pianist, and singer—rocked the stage in their gold outfits. Everyo...