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MUSIC REVIEWS: Christmas Edition

Around Christmas, we all always hear those same old Christmas songs that we know and love, like “Christmas Time is Here”, “Winter Wonderland”, and “Sleigh Ride”. But what about modern original Christmas songs? Yes, we all know those exist, but what about some good ones? I have a few here that you may want to add to your Christmas playlist, even if they can’t quite beat the classics.

“Wish List” by Neon Trees
It seems there are few people who don’t like Neon Trees, and I certainly enjoy them too. This Christmas tune of theirs definitely has their traditional upbeat feel, with strong vocals leading the song, as usual. In addition to the normal Neon Trees feel, there is certainly a Christmas time atmosphere about the whole song, probably due to the classic bells heard in various Christmas songs. It’s certainly the type of song one could really get into, like most Neon Trees songs. The theme of Christmas being about love rather than gifts is a good, albeit very overused, one.

“Redribbon Foxes” by A Fine Frenzy
This song is slightly different from most Christmas songs in that it isn’t very happy or joyful. It’s not entirely sad, but it has a mellow feel to it. A Fine Frenzy, a solo artist, has a fantastic voice, and she shows it very well in this song. Her voice is a soft one, so she matches the instruments’ feel to that of her voice. This song has the same theme as “Wish List”, further proving that it’s a bit overused, but it’s still a good theme, and this song is excellent overall.

“All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey
This song may not appeal to everyone, but no one can honestly say that it isn’t festive and fitting for Christmas. Mariah Carey is a great singer, and she exemplifies that in this song. It really has that happy upbeat feel that just sounds Christmas-like. It may not seem incredibly modern to high school students, as it was released in 1994, but that is still within the last 20 years, which is relatively modern. It seems modern artists aren’t too creative, as this song is also about love being more important than presents.

Traditional knee-baseball game continues to please students

Knee baseball in Room 322.
Knee baseball in Room 322.

While most Saint Ignatius students spent the final day before Thanksgiving break taking tests and quizzes, the students of Mr. Daniel Corrigan’s eighth period US History class enjoyed a period away from work, and instead played a game of \”knee baseball.”

AT DAN’S DESK: New classes, more technology, and team teaching in the future

By DOMINIC GIDEON ’14 & JACK ECKMAN ’15

With technology rapidly changing and innovation in the forefront of society, Mr. Bradesca ’88 has some changes in mind to keep Saint Ignatius from lagging behind. Currently, the changes on the top of his mind are to incorporate more technology into the classroom, to make it easier for teachers to have classes together, and to implement a few new classes into the curriculum.

As technology is becoming more and more integral in students’ daily lives, the school is trying to institute electronics into it’s campus life. As a result, this year many teachers have been testing out tablets in class. For example, there are science teachers using Nooks to see how they function with textbooks and in the classroom. Two more devices– the Google Nexus and the Kindle Fire– will be tested out by faculty in the near future. These trials could lead to further tablet use in later years, a trend that may very possibly be the future of classroom learning.

Along with standard tablet use in classes, Mr. Bradesca is planning on broadening the things that students can do with their BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) approved devices. “We’re working on changing the technology policy for students next year,” said Mr. Bradesca. The details of the changes are not certain yet, but the students will probably be able to enjoy more freedom with and access to technology during the school day.

Not only does Mr. Bradesca want to integrate technology into classes, he also wants to encourage teachers to integrate their classes with classes from other departments. With the current structure of the schedule and availability of rooms, it is rather tough to do this, but in some cases, a history and english class, for example, may overlap on material and it would make sense to have a double period. “Mr. Arko and Mr. Ptak do it quite often, but it’s not in the best circumstances. We want to make it easier to do it more often with other teachers,” said Mr. Bradesca. To make this very useful teaching method more possible, Mr. Bradesca is thinking about making a new room, or two, by knocking down a wall between two small classrooms.

Team teaching has been a proven success at universities around the United States. “Because team teaching encourages a variety of perspectives on a topic, students are more likely to feel they can make valuable contributions to class discussions,” Melissa Leavitt Ph. D. said in an article on Stanford.edu. How soon team teaching becomes common ground on campus is unknown, but Mr. Bradesca and the teachers are making progress. “We’re seeing some teachers take the initiative and I like that, and I want to make it more feasible so other teachers can see that they can do it too,” Mr. Bradesca said.

As well as changing how classes are run, Mr. Bradesca has some new classes he would like to put into the schedule. One of them is an advanced computer class that will be available next year for the new freshmen. This class is now in demand because each year freshmen are more computer literate and aren’t challenged enough by the current computer class. Mr. Jarc is nearly finished developing a new computer course for next year, centering around digital literacy and digital citizenship. According to Mr. Bradesca ’88, “it’s not going to be on operational usage, but on effective use of a computer, morally correct use of a computer, and practical ways to make it more applicable to your studies, your home life, and everything else.”

This is just one of the multiple new classes proposed for next year; Mr. Bradesca has some classes in mind for older students. They are looking at a new AP course– AP Economics– that they can offer next year as well as extending AP English to ambitious juniors. Mr. Bradesca would also like to see Honors English IV be offered to seniors who may not want to take the AP course. And finally, an exciting idea for a new class is a Cleveland history class, which would certainly be a fun elective for those with great pride in this rich city which Saint Ignatius High School has proudly called home since 1886.

Collection really “ties” the room together

An cornucopia of ties in every imaginable pattern and fabric can be found for the low low cost of $1 in the Dean of Student's office. All proceeds go to the Mission Collections.
An cornucopia of ties in every imaginable pattern and fabric can be found for the low low cost of $1 in the Dean of Student’s office. All proceeds go to the Mission Collections.
Seasonal ties are priced at a premium, due to limited availability.

Listen, we are all sick and tired of that stupid blue striped tie that you claim is your favorite tie, but in reality, is your only tie. It probably hasn’t even been un-tied in the two years that you have been here. At the only school in the city where you can be reprimanded for wearing the wrong shade of pants, it is important to express your individuality and character. The easiest way to do this is through the extensiveness of your tie collection. So take some advice. Head on down to the Dean of Students Office where Mrs. Pavlik and Mrs. Kane have been hosting a liquidation sale of one of the largest collection of ties ever assembled on campus.

Located next to her desk, Mrs. Pavlik’s necktie collection spins on a mesmerizing rotating rack display. Neckties come in a variety of styles and patterns and cost $1 each. Don’t be afraid to ask for a particular color or style, and feel free to browse the entire the collection. Sales so far have been okay, with an average of three ties being sold per day. Mrs. Kane estimates that she has sold more than 300 neckties so far this year.  The accumulated money goes to the mission, so if you’re feeling particularly unfashionable on a Wednesday morning and want to get something for your mission money, consider livening up your upper torso with a new paisley tie.

Also know that what you see on the rack is not the whole extent of the collection. The Dean of Students office has accumulated hundreds, maybe even thousands, of neckties, donated from alumni, parents, and students. Sales are bound to increase with the arrival of the Christmas collection. Don’t know what to get Dad for the holidays? Who doesn’t love a new necktie (However, Mrs. Pavlik declined to comment on whether or not she would gift-wrapping ties).  So hurry and head on down before the Rudolf ties are all gone, because nobody wants a Blitzen tie.

Hockey Preview

Wildcats look to stay strong after record year

No one will dispute the difficulty that comes with following the stellar performance of last year’s hockey team.  Centered with the great performances of Paddy Spellacy and Liam Geither, the Wildcats went undefeated in the regular season and set numerous records.  Last year’s team was dubbed the winningest hockey program ever.  Some might say this could be a rebuilding year; Mr. O’ Rourke has other ideas.

Admitting the difficulties with replacing someone like a Spellacy or a Geither, O’Rourke says that he has a completely different team altogether.  With senior leadership from senior Miles McQuinn and company, the team has a bright future ahead of it.  As he mentioned during the winter sports rally, this team plays a totally different brand of hockey, with an emphasis on hustle and physicality.  O’ Rourke says that this team is not about the incredible individual goal-scoring like last year’s team, but rather has a wide variety of scorers who could score ten to fifteen goals each.  O’Rourke says that he is happy with the physical nature of this team, pointing out that this year’s team made more hits in their first two scrimmages than the previous team had in the entire season.  Though this team may not have the blowout wins that last year’s team had, Coach O’Rourke is excited to see a new brand of Saint Ignatius hockey.

O’ Rourke is very happy with the work ethic of this year’s team.  Miles McQuinn ’13 has called this team the hardest-working team that he has seen at Saint Ignatius, and Coach O’Rourke could not agree more.  He says that this team bought into the system from the very beginning, starting at the beach for summer workouts.  The team began in the summer with highly attended conditioning practices way back in July.  These practices, attended not only by upperclassmen but also by dedicated freshmen and sophomores, showed the commitment of this team.

Though this team may not have the high-publicity name, Mr. O’Rourke believes that because of his team’s unselfish play, they still can have great offensive output.  O’Rourke says that there are no egos that could interfere with the success of this team.  This means that this year’s team has a focus of developing its own style of unselfish play.  O’Rourke has put an emphasis on controlling the puck from goalkeeper to goal-scorer, which seems to not be a problem so far in this early season.  The hockey ‘Cats, with only a few exceptions, have been able to control the puck even against tough defensive teams like Walsh Jesuit.

All in all, the hockey ‘Cats will be able to be successful this year if they continue to develop their own style of hockey, continue to work hard and buy into the system, and control the puck even against strong defensive teams.  Despite high expectations from last year, Coach O’Rourke is nevertheless looking for a big performance this year.  In conclusion, when asked how his team will beat the Eagles on December 14th, with a great smile Mr. O’Rourke replied \”We’ll show up.”

AS EYE SEE IT: First come, first served

Confronted with a starving family and no other conceivable option of feeding them, Les Miserable’s Jean Valjean ethically resorted to the theft of a loaf of bread. Certainly, one can sympathize with Valjean’s plight. For there comes a point at which any act can be morally justifiable, and so too is the case of frequent usage of the bookstore’s free, edible offerings.

Popular belief around campus holds that one ought to live by the \”once-a-day rule.”

CYO Power Ranking Predictions 2012-2013

The trash talking has already begun, so it must be that CYO season is upon us. Here are the 2012-2013 predictions of how the teams stack up against each other.

1. Saint Angela
\”We just go ham, and you can quote me on that,” the small bigman John Tanis said when asked about the Saint Angela squad this year. Over the last five years his team has won the citiy three times, and he is promising another one. The Ignatius guys on the team includes:

  • Jacob Roth, who  is said to be one of the best shooters in the league, earning him the title of \”streaky shooter”.
  • Patrick Carney, the \”Great Motivator”, leads his team with energy and determination.
  • Bones Velton, who is also a great shooter.
  • And Mike Gibbons, who leads the team on defense very physically. It is said, and I quote, that Gibbons: \”hurts people”. So watch out for this bigman.

Overall, Saint Angela is a solid team, and a force to be reckoned with.

2. Saint Basil The Great
St. Basil The Great in Brecksville is shaping up to be a legit contender for states. After an above average season last year, St. Basil has improved greatly. Senior Jack Politowicz will be the big daddy in the middle and anchor down the defense, along with his brother, senior Pat Politowicz. Pat will play power forward after hitting the weights religiously in the offseason. St. Basil also was able to sign the highly recruited point gaurd, Senior Josh “Juicy J” Johanek, who will create a dominant backcourt. Those three key players, along with a bunch of Brecksville high school bums, will be looking for an undefeated season this year.

3. Saint John Bosco
With five former Ignatius basketball players returning, and two new additions to the team, Saint John Bosco is looking very solid.  Last year they had a 6-1 season, and their only loss (which was in the playoffs), was due to a lack of players. Assuming they have a great year this season, don’t expect this team to make that same mistake. Their squad includes:

  • Aaron Buynak, who is a dominant presence in the paint.
  • Connor Hennessey, who has a very intimidating presence.
  • Joe Kavalec, who has an \”icy shot”.
  • Pat Shepard, the veteran ball player of the team.
  • Tyler \’Fink Daddy’ Finkler, who has smoothe handles and would do anything to help his team win.
  • Brian \’Briski’ Kavalec, who is the muscle and heart of the team..
  • The two newcomers to the team, Josh Baker and Rocky Zingale, offer swag and offense to the team.

The team is coached by Kevin Kavalec, who inspires his players by wearing a wig and a sweater vest.

4. Saints Joseph and John
Arguably the scrapiest team of CYO, Saints Joseph and John will do anything to win and get the job done. They’re Led by the beast of the team, John Vanderwyst, and you can expect him to score at least 16 points a game. Not only can he drive to the basket like Lebron, but his crossover is reminiscent of Allen Iversons. The squad includes:

  • Nate Vollman, known as the Flying Albino, mimics Dirk Nowitzki in all aspects of his game. Nate plays lockdown defense very similar to that of Dwight Howard.
  • Craig Cochran, who may be the most hated player in the CYO league, has had a history of getting into at least one fight every game. Not surprisingly, he also averages one technical foul a game.
  • And Nolan Ross, the \”Awkward Pigeon”, shows the type of hustle you would see out of Anderson Varejao.

5. Saint Albert The Great
From the outside shooting of Nick Micheli, to the great “to-the-hoop” drives by Kevin Shekar, to the hilarious antics of Matt Kobunski, Saint Albert is always fun to watch. Last year, this team of athletes (w/o Martin or Wiseman) had a historic run and went to the C.Y.O. city championship to fall just short in a tough game versus the Knights of St. Columbkille.  This year, the boys of #NoRo are back with a vengeance, adding two tough players to the roster. Rob Wiseman, with his four foot vertical (he can dunk, FYI), and Johnathan Martin, with his black knee-brace, are sure to make a splash on this year’s team. With older opponents this year, it’s tough to say how they will match up, but they are expected to make a good run in the playoffs.

6. Holy Trinity
One of the top senior teams this year, Holy Trinity has a very solid CYO team. Last year the team won an Ohio Nets Tournament but lost in the first round in the playoffs to the illegitimate and infamous Saint Mary’s of Mentor. This year however, they are ready to make a real playoff run. Ignatius players include:

  • Mike Schafer (who began dunking last year) is a big threat on offense. Rather than slamming the ball down in the hoop, Mike lightly lets go of the ball at the last minute because he fears the rim rejecting him (Textbook white boy dunk).
  • Nick Mast, who is 6’2”, grabs boards like no other. He has a great ability to score under the basket, and his defense is flawless. Nick also has a big impact on how his team plays, and is one of the leading scorers. Oh yeah, and he can dunk.
  • Jacob \”Buzz” Anderson, who is not one of the best offensive players, is one of the best defenders. Being only 5’7”, he steals everything, and is one of the quickest defenders around. Buzz will guard the fastest kid on the court.
  • Matthew Schafer, who has a dead-on three point shot, is considered the leader of the team.

Along with a couple of other tall kids from Saint Ed’s and Westlake, Holy Trinity may be the sleeper team that you should look out for.

7. Saint Patrick
Led by Marquee Montgomery, Saint Patrick has a good team this year. Marquee is an all around player, who is a great passer and has a nasty three. Other players include:

  • Jordan Robinson, who is a big guy but has a very nice mid range.
  • Eliot Thorkinson, who also has a nasty three like Marquee.

Saint Patrick also has some standout players not from Ignatius. Two of the players are 6’3”, and one of them can dunk like \”Dewight Howard”, according to Marquee.

8. Saint Raphael
Lead by Michael Zupan, CYO All-Star at the top, and Jack Karnatz, arguably the best shooter in CYO since Larry Byrd, Saint Raphael hopes to do some damage during the season this year. The team includes:

  • Matt Otter, who is a threat from the corner of the court.
  • Austin Jarosz, known as the \”Albino Wonder”, is great down low.
  • Gavin Whitford, who has been hitting the roids every week during the off season, hopes to beat opponents with his brute strength.

The team also has a variety of wild-card, dark horse athletes from Bay Village and St. Ed’s, who contribute a lot to the team.

9. Saint Ann
The Saint Ann squad features four former varsity players (three Benedictine and one U.S.), as well as two former Ignatius players, Jacob Rossi and Peter Mahoney. Peter Mahoney is a dominating presence in the paint, and Jacob Rossi loves to light it up from beyond the arch. Aidan Martin runs the show as the dominating point guard. This team can put up a lot of points, but their defense is somewhat lacking.

10. Saint Francis of Assisi
The Cougars look to run the tables this year as Paul Haddad leads the team. With his \”amazingly awesome” athletic skill, and being \”super good at sports”, Paul is considered one of the better jump shooters and is pretty good at controlling the paint. He basically gets every rebound, and has been called the next Brian Scalabrine. Vincent Bartram, the other Ignatius player on the team, is the biggest threat. In the words of Paul Haddad, Vince is \”Overall the greatest jump shooter to ever live. He has the dribbling and passing skills of Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul, and he  should have been on Team USA in London. He will be on Team USA in Rio (I can personally guarantee this). Vince is possibly the next Kobe Bryant, but it most likely to be better.”

11. St. Charles, Parma
The Wildcats return in the 2013 CYO season to renew their quest to bring glory to God’s city, the beautiful Parma, Ohio. Team MVP Tyler Tenaglia is a skilled ball-handler and a precise shooter who brings agility and accuracy, as well as unbeatable Champs discounts to the team. Cross-Country standout Jake Maier has the endurance necessary to run up and down the court for all 40 minutes while post player Nick Martin possesses unparalleled height, flow, and bando athleticism. Nate Palella rounds out this impressive group of St. Ignatius athletes and Holy Name hockey players with his great ferocity, determination, and software programming skills. The team goal remains the same: Keep the Politowiczes and St. Basil out of the play-offs. Even if they only win two games again this season, Coach Vito Palella ’78 still cooks the best italian sausage around and they still live in Parma.

12. OLA
OLA is comprised of the all-stars from West Park.  The primary Ignatius guys are Mike Chambers, Chris Keane, Aedan Mangan, and Paden Nagle, who  is considered one of the best water boys in the country.  With multiple players having highschool basketball experience, OLA will look to fight and win games this season.

13. Saint Rita
With a slight lack of talent, Saint Rita looks to play scrappy. Their physical style of play often puts the opposing team in the bonus around the ten minute mark. The team features copious amounts of hustle and heart, essentially the definition of CYO spirit, and they also have an abnormal abundance of wingspan. Saint Rita is overall going to be troubling to most teams.

Ignatius players include: Sean McCann, Nolan Lehto, and Tom McCartney

14. Saint Angela’s 11th Grade Team
St. Angela’s 11th grade team is going to be a hard team to beat. After a promising season last year, and a change in the coaching staff, look for the Bruins to be on the move. They look forward to making up for those years of losing grade school seasons.  Players to look out for:

  • Sean Lavelle, who has the smoothest stroke on the team.
  • Captain Mitch Zawodny, who looks to break his personal record of fouling out within the fifth minute (you don’t wanna mess with this kid).
  • Kyle, “Magic Moroney”, enough said.
  • And of course Owen Manning. He’ll tear you up on the perimeter and in the paint. You gotta like your chances with this kid on the team. Rumor has it, Manning has tweeted guaranteeing three victories this year.

15. Saints Joseph and John (2nd team)
A .500 team last year, the St. Joseph and John’s 11th-12th grade squad is a dark-horse squad on the south-side this season.  The team has made several key additions to revamp their roster, in hopes of a deep playoff run come February.  The team relies heavily on the \”7-seconds or less” offense, coupled with a vast array of trash talk, of which is heavily researched to ensure maximum effect. Some of the key additions include Vetri Ravichandran \’14, a lax bro in the spring, known not only as having the purest shot in the game, but also for his flowing locks.  Also, a late addition to the team is starting point guard Colin Soeder ’14, a battle tested warrior who drops more dimes than a bank teller with a bad hand (how this helps in basketball, I have no clue). His prior playoff experience will be key in the later parts of the grueling season.  However, the cupboard was by no means bare before those two arrived.  Vetri and Colin will join forces with players such as Danny “X-Factor” Dreiling ’14, who like all other great CYO players, lives and dies by the three ball; and the menacing Justin Schabel ’14, a bruising big man who will be sure to rebound and put back the few missed three’s the team has throughout the season.  Referred to as “The Bad Boys of the South”, you will be seeing this team come February.

Arrupe Christmas party a huge success

Over 40 Saint Ignatius students of all grades as well as students from Magnificat and Saint Joseph’s volunteered their time from 8:00 am to clean up until 4:00 pm to help out the neighborhood kids.

Students woke up, at a time when most guys are catching up on lost sleep during the week, and drove to school to set up the party from scratch. This included decorating campus, putting Christmas-themed tablecloths and candy on every table, and building a North Pole on stage for Santa Clause.

By 12:30 pm the school was filled with families enjoying the holiday season. Students lead each family around the party, pointing out and guiding them through each activity. The kids could have their picture taken with Santa, feast on pizza, candy, and cookies, play corn hole with older students, get their face painted, make a Christmas gift for their parents, or visit the book give-away. Here, children could take as many books as they wanted from a huge selection of donated titles. The give-away included children’s classics such as \”Where the Wild Things Are”

From the booth with John Fanta

Myles McQuinn Leading Young Ice Cats With Trust

Although the road is not going to be an easy one for the hockey ‘Cats, Coach O’Rourke certainly has a fearless leader in place in senior Myles McQuinn. The Wildcats, who stand at 4-2 through the first two weeks, got off to a sizzling start. When asked last week about that start, McQuinn turned to me, \”It’s certainly a long season, but we learned a lot through the 4-0 start. We have a long way to go, but I want to try to keep on getting the trust established with each of my teammates.”

What you want for Christmas

Celluon Magic Cube Laser Projection Keyboard

It’s Christmas time! For those of you who have already made your Christmas lists and think that it has everything you could ask Santa for, think again. These are the top 5 tech gifts for Christmas 2012.

Google Nexus 7: Starting at $199.00
With its gorgeous display screen and gigantic library of apps, there’s no doubt that this revolutionary new tablet should be on the top of everyone’s wish lists.

Celluon Magic Cube Laser Projection Keyboard: $169.99

With the Magic Cube, you can project a fully-functionable keyboard on almost any surface. A pretty cool gadget, and one that will make all of your friends jealous.

iPhone 5: Starting at $199.99
With a larger and more vibrant screen, a better camera, and fast loading speeds, why not start off the new year right with what most critics are calling the ‘best iPhone ever made’?

Livescribe Sky Wifi Smartpen: Starting at $149.95
If you are one of those students that loses their notes all the time, the Livescribe Smartpen will make a digital copy of whatever you write.

Acer C7 Chromebook: Starting at $199.99
A $200 laptop with a 11.6” display and 320 GB hard disk drive? What’s not to love?

iPhone Powered Personal Fan

iPhone Powered Personal Fan $12.99
If you walk up to the 5th floor throughout the day, then you may want to check out this iPhone Powered Personal Fan. For a mere 13 dollars, this fan promises to provide hours of battery-wasting delight, and the fan’s 1.5″

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About The Eye

The Eye is the student-led publication of Saint Ignatius High School.

Editors-in-Chief: Kelly Coleman '23, Young Kim '23 & Aidan Oliss '23