JENNIFER SCHONBERGER

Believing that owning a stuffed animal from Build-a-Bear Workshop is an experience no child should miss out on, freshmen Gabrielle Solovay, Rebecca Solovay, and Lauren White decided to do a service project to put a smile on the faces of kids in need.

“We are collecting new or used Build-a-Bear stuffed animals, clothing, and accessories and bringing them to a school where children may not be as fortunate as we are,” said Gabrielle.

The girls are planning to collect all items donated by May 24 and will be setting up boxes for donations at Dance Theatre in Fort Lauderdale and at Everglades Elementary School.

“It would be greatly appreciated if anyone could give up Build-a-Bear items for a great cause, as well as any other donations,” said Gabrielle.

On the last day of school, June 7, the girls will be delivering the items they receive to New Mirawood preschool and elementary school in Hollywood.

“When we go to the school, the kids are going to get to choose a bear, clothes, and dress it up however they want to,” said Rebecca.

Lauren said she decided to work on this project with the Solovay sisters because she knew the donations were for a good cause.

“We want to bring some more happiness to the lives of kids who may not be as fortunate as us,” White said. “We are hoping to collect enough bears to accommodate many kids at Mirawood schools.”

BY EMILY LASSNER

DECA won four national top 10 awards at the International Career Development Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 26-May 2. Five projects placed top 20 in the nation and four projects placed top 10.

“I had an amazing time and Salt Lake City is beautiful,” CEO Elinor Taieb said. “We did a lot better than last year. Last year we had two national winners and this year we had four.”

Seniors Taieb and her partner Victoria Pino placed third in the category of business services operational research.

“When I got called onto stage for making top 10, my heart dropped and Elinor and I ran on stage and she started crying,” Pino said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

She said that it is her first year in DECA so she went in completely blind and did not know what to expect.

“This was such a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone that can do it because it is worth the hard work,” Pino said. “It is my senior year and you are supposed to slack off, but it was just incredible.”

Taieb said that DECA did a lot better than they expected.

“We had such a great success this year and it was obviously a lot of fun,” she said. “It is unbelievable how many people won because it is really hard to win that many spots so we are really fortunate and thankful.”

Other DECA members who placed top 10 are senior Daniela Rey, senior Angela Herrera, junior Nadia Wasif and sophomores Madison Ferrante and Anna Fernandez.

“We are really excited about the results,” DECA adviser Danielle Sheffield said. “Everyone did a really great job and we look forward to next year.”

A role model is a person who is looked up to by others. They inspire people and serve as an example that others want to follow. The Bay’s Dream Team, a group of high achieving seniors, lives up to that definition.

Chosen by the coaches at the school and through other teacher and counselor recommendations, this year’s Dream Team consists of seniors Martin Giordano, Paul Klein, Ben Mitchel, Jessica Mac Connie, and Whitney Sikes. They have been chosen based on how well they balance strong academics and strong extracurriculars.

“They are really good students who have worked very hard and who have for the most part made very good choices,” BRACE adviser Shari Bush said. “They are not perfect, but they make good choices and are wonderful role models. And they represent the best of Cypress Bay.”

The team will be speaking to fifth graders at both Everglades Elementary and Gator Run Elementary on May 22. Varsity soccer player Martin Giordano, a member of the Lightning’s ESPN national championship team, will be attending Stony Brook University in New York to play soccer and is looking forward to inspiring the elementary school students.

“I’m pretty honored,” he said. “I’m going back to my old school, telling the kids how I grew up and discuss what they should do to be successful. If they get themselves involved in sports, stay out of trouble, and make the right decisions, they’ll be good.”

Since the start of the Dream Team five years ago, only athletes have been a part of the team, but this year is different. The addition of Whitney Sikes expanded the team to not only athletes but to also musicians.

“This year we added a different component with having a young lady who is very musically talented and gifted,” Mrs. Bush said. “I think that this girl is really going to show the kids that whatever your passion is, you should just go out and pursue it.”

Sikes, who will attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology, plays the trumpet and has been in the school band for four years. She is looking forward to helping students understand that there is more than just the academics aspect of high school.

“One of the messages I really want to convey is that in high school, you’re going to have a lot of academic pressure,” she said. “But they should also do things that they like doing such as extracurriculars. I had band, and it actually helped me get into college. I want them to understand that.”

Varsity basketball captain Ben Mitchel, who will be attending the University of Florida, said he feels honored to be given this opportunity. He is looking forward to speaking to the fifth graders about the benefits of balancing academics and athletics.

“I really just want to convey a very positive message,” he said. “A lot of parents and teachers stress grades, but there are a lot of kids out there who love playing sports, too, and there is a balance that allows you to do both and do well in both.”

Mrs. Bush is looking forward to the Dream Team seeing the impact they have on these kids.

“The kids look at them as if they’re the real live rock stars,” she said. “It will be such a high for [the Dream Team] because they’ll just be so into it. It’s one of the things I’m most proud of in my 10 years at Cypress Bay, this opportunity to bring this Dream Team to different schools and inspire these kids to work hard.”

By Jessica Schein

Simone Waite, a 25-year teacher, received a Muse award at the Broward County Teachers of English annual banquet on April 26.

“I was honored and it was nice to be recognized,” Mrs. Waite said.

Joyce Seigel and Leslie Rheingold nominated Mrs. Waite for the award.

“We felt that Mrs. Waite fit the characteristics of being innovative and it was her turn for the award, so we were proud to nominate her,” Mrs. Seigel said. “She is creative, does many hands-on activities and she truly knows how to relate literature to life.

 Mrs. Waite had no idea she had been nominated for the award, which was presented to her by Mrs. Seigel. Before handing her the Muse award, Mrs. Seigel read her a personally written sonnet.

 ”It was a complete surprise,” Mrs. Waite said. “I really appreciate that it was colleagues who recognized me for it.”

Mrs. Waite’s student senior Felipe Lozano also recognizes her innovative way of teaching him and his peers.

 ”Mrs. Waite is very focused on group projects, but she doesn’t leave us just to do the group project by ourselves,” Lozano said. “She allows us to discuss topics in class with the other students and be creative within our groups, but at the same time she is always there for help and to help us with the hands-on activities.”

Lozano likes the unrestricted way that Mrs. Waite runs her classroom.

“Her process of teaching is very innovative in the sense that it allows for student creativity, not a teacher constrict which the student has to follow,” Lozano said. “At the same time, it is guided throughout the whole process.”

 Mrs. Seigel said that over the years many teachers have been nominated for this award, including herself and teachers like Mrs. Rheingold, Mrs. Loden and Mrs. Marchetti.

“There have been a number of us that have been nominated and received Muse awards over the years for Broward County Teachers of English and I think that the highlighted characteristic is creativity and innovation,” Mrs. Seigel said.

 She believes many more Muse awards are in store for the teachers at the Bay in the future.

“We have many wonderful, brilliant, exceptional teachers here and many muses among us,” Mrs. Seigel said.

BY JENNIFER SCHONBERGER

Ranging from the miniature Maltese on the corner to the enormous German Shepherd that may live a few doors down, thousands of families in Broward County households have gone through the process of animal adoption to find the perfect match for them. In 2010, the Humane Society of Broward County gave 8,300 pets new homes

Andrea Silverberg, who is the customer service supervisor at the Humane Society of Broward County, said that families looking to adopt could very well save an animal’s life.

“The Humane Society is basically an organization that gives chances to animals that people can no longer keep,” Silverberg said.

The Humane Society, located on Griffin Road, has a variety of animals to choose from, especially dogs and cats.

“I would definitely say that about 65 to 70 percent of people looking come in for dogs,” Silverberg said. “It’s great because all kinds of families come in, families with kids, or a married couple without kids.”

Freshman Rachel Newman went to the Humane Society to adopt two dogs for her family and said the organization was very helpful.

“We wanted dogs that were easygoing and could fit into our family and our lifestyle,” Newman said. “We were able to check online everyday for about two weeks, and we saw that the Humane Society had these puppies that we could adopt.”

Newman said that she and her family were even given time to interact with their puppies, lab mixes which they named Smokey and Bandit, before officially adopting them to get a quick sense of their sweetness.

“Animal adoption means a lot to me because my dogs play such a key role in my life,” Newman said. “It’s a great thing knowing that you can save a life, it almost seems more like they saved mine.”

As president of the People and Wildlife Support (PAWS) Club at the Bay, junior Fiorella Lopardo said that she has come to notice that a lot of people in Weston buy their pets, instead of adopting them.

“Personally, I believe adopting is the best way to go. There are far too many pets without homes that simply adopting one will change a life forever,” Lopardo said.

If a family wants to find the best method for them to adopt a pet, Lopardo said she recommends searching through www.petfinder.com.

“Through the website, you can find a wide selection of local shelters,” Lopardo said. “I also recommend visiting the Broward Humane Society or even the Greater Miami location.”

Eva Rothal, a biology teacher at the Bay and adviser of the PAWS Club, said that rescuing an animal is the smartest choice, rather than making a dash for the pet store.

“Pet stores look at animals as products instead of as a future family member,” Mrs. Rothal said. “There is no point in supplying the demand for inhumane treatment when it is much simpler to adopt a pet.”

However, before coming to an immediate choice for adoption, the No. 1 step Mrs. Rothal recommends would be to research the breeds of animals.

“Some animals may be beneficial to families with older kids because many pets are abandoned or given up,” she said. “It also may be the complete opposite with animals that are yappier or more energetic.”

Mrs. Rothal said that another idea would be to  “get a taste” of the pet-owning life before diving into it.

“Before I got my pet, I dog-sat for a weekend to know how it feels to have that responsibility in my life. It’s a big deal to be caretaking and maintaining a dog,” Mrs. Rothal said. “They become your furry child.”

BY ALYSSA CARRAHA

The boys water polo team will head to the state tournament on April 27-28 at Ransom Everglades, after winning their regional game on April 20 against Cooper City, who was undefeated prior to the game. Senior Andres Alemann scored the game winning goal for the Lightning in overtime ending the game 9-8.

“Scoring the winning goal is like a childhood dream for everyone,” Alemann said. “The truth of the matter is I wouldn’t have had the opportunity if Santi (Santiago Rengifo) and Gabby (Gabriel Indriago) didn’t both score two goals in the fourth quarter to tie the game.”

After having a two-point lead for three quarters, Rengifo said it was hard to believe they were letting the win slip away when the Cowboys were up by four points with only two minutes left.

“It was definitely nerve racking and not fun especially being on the losing side towards the end of the game, but when we came back and won it was nice,” Rengifo said.

This year will be the third consecutive year the team will advance to states.

“Heading back to states this year as a senior is a big accomplishment,” Rengifo said

The quarterfinal game will be against Winter Park and Alemann said he knows they can win and move on to state semi-finals.

“We’re playing Winter Park in the first round and they’re a really good team but we should be able to beat them,” Alemann said. “We have a really good team this year with great chemistry so if we play our best we should get the win.”

Coach Laura Vera said she is more than satisfied with where the boys have made it so far.

“I’m honored to be their coach and I’m indescribably proud of how they pulled through,” she said. “Long story short, I’m awed and happy.”

BY NICOLE MOSHE

ONLINE FEATURES EDITOR

For my brother it was band, for my sister is was chorus and for me, it’s newspaper. For others, the elective they focus on the most may be a sport or an art class.

Being students in such as large and diverse high school gives us a chance to find our place and become involved in an elective that over our high school career develops into a pivotal aspect of our lives. The question is: does having one elective take over a large majority of one’s time turn it into something negative? I say no.

Devoting countless hours and putting much effort into an activity a student loves is something worth investing in. We are told that high school is the time to explore every elective to find our niche. When found, why not take everything we can from it?

As you enter high school, there are so many possibilities and so few restraints as to what classes you can choose and in what you can immerse yourself. With so many options, finding just one activity you love is special. You feel almost stable, as if for the duration of your high school life, you are a part of something that you’re truly interested in.

Focusing on one activity gives you a chance to take something that you don’t know much about and really excel at it. It allows you to connect with others who feel as passionate as you about a specific activity.

With constant academic and social pressure, meeting people who are similar to you makes high school a lot easier to face. Knowing that you have that one confortable environment in school to go to when you feel like the stress of everything else around you is getting too much really helps. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be involved in multiple electives, but if you feel especially pulled toward one specific activity, it’s okay to make it one of your top priorities.

Being extremely involved in one particular elective activity can have an impact on what your future career may revolve around, especially since a lot of students go into college as “undecided” when it comes to choosing a major. If you see that you’re especially good at something and feel passionate about a certain activity, then that brings you one step closer to understanding what you want out of your future.

For me, being especially active in newspaper class is beneficial because it is what gives me enthusiasm while otherwise living a life surrounded by stressful classes and the worrisome unknown future. It allows me to engage in work that is productive, yet gives me a creative outlet. It gives me a class to look forward to because I am able to work in a way that works best for me.

This is what the real world is like. The way in which you work and what you produce is reflective of your work ethic and determines your results. An elective that it a prominent factor in one’s life is more than just a college application boost, it is something that shapes who you are as a person.

BY ALYSON MASO
ONLINE NEWS EDITOR

Student Government Association (SGA) is selling Cypress Bay spirit gear in front of the cafeteria during all lunches until April 30.

Executive board and fundraising committee member Amanda Hernandez said that they are selling CB running shorts for $15, Bay Life frat tanks for $10, long sleeve shirts for $10 and Bay Life car stickers for $1 each.

“Students have a choice of a hula girl, flower or fish which would be featured on the car stickers,” she said.

Hernandez said that the “Bay Life” idea was mimicked after the popular brand, Salt Life, but instead it’s personalized for Cypress Bay students since surfing and flowers has become the Bay’s signature theme.

“We felt that since the ‘Salt Life’ brand was so popular among the student population that we should create something similar to that,” she said.

SGA has been heavily advertising the spirit gear in order to promote it throughout the school.

“To promote the gear, we have been posting statuses all over Facebook, hanging banners throughout school, putting flyers in teachers mailboxes and actually wearing the spirit gear that we’re trying to sell,” fundraising committee member Danielle Maso, said.

Maso said that overall sales have been successful, and especially with the new Bay Life spirit gear line.

“We’re almost sold out of our long sleeve shirts, which shows just how popular the new Bay Life line is,” she said.

BY ALYSON MASO

ONLINE NEWS EDITOR

For Youth Art Month, eight of the Bay’s art students were chosen to have their artwork displayed in the Kathleen C. Wright (KCW) building in Fort Lauderdale which is a building for Broward County Public Schools.

Art teacher Bizzy Jenkins said she was very proud to have two of her students work on display.

“It’s very important to have art for everyone to see,” Ms. Jenkins said. “It’s also good to instill pride into the students when they have their art selected to be put on display.”

Youth Art Month was started by the National Art Education Association in order to put spotlight and recognize the importance of art in education.

Eight students, freshmen Kelsi Murphy, Sarah Ortiz-Monasterio and Aina Rivas, sophomore Ray Varela, juniors Mitchell Bernstein and Dalal Semprun and seniors Paula Rondon and Sofia Luna all had their artwork displayed in the KCW building.

Dalal Semprun, who was selected for her photograph, was very thrilled that she got this opportunity.

“I was really excited to have my artwork displayed,” she said. “I centered my piece around a pair of my old ballet slippers which I placed next to a tree and then I used oil paint and silver gelatin print and color touched it to finish it off.”

Ms. Jenkins said that she, along with three other teachers, Amiee Sherwood, Jill Malone and Alan McKnight each selected two students to have their art put in the KCW building.

“I personally picked two of my kids for their photography work,” Ms. Jenkins said. “Some students were selected for graphic design, drawing and painting.”

The only guideline set for this was that the student’s artwork must be two-dimensional.

Ms. Jenkins said they plan on participating in this in the coming years and that it’s a good experience for the students.

BY NICOLE MOSHE

ONLINE FEATURES EDITOR

Students from Cynthia Joseph’s AP Environmental Science class took a field trip during third period on April 4 to the wetland across from Manatee Bay Elementary School to test water quality.  Then on April 5, they took a trip to  Chipotle Mexican Grill to learn about the restaurant’s environmental sustainability.

“At the wetland, the students analyzed the water for things such as water pollutants and dissolved oxygen levels,” Ms. Joseph said. “I think that they had a good time, even though the heat kind of put a damper on things.”

The pond across from the elementary school is not the location Ms. Joseph has taken her students to in previous years for this annual field trip. The pond across Library Park on Vista View and Bonaventure has been the usual wetland that her classes have tested.

“Because this year’s winter has been so dry, there was hardly any water so we couldn’t do it at the usual location,” Ms. Joseph said. “With the area that we went to, there is so much plant life around you can’t really see a whole lot.”

Junior Cydney Halpern attended both field trips to the wetland and Chipotle.

“I enjoyed the field trips because it was nice getting out of class and in the sun, even though it was really hot,” Halpern said. “It was interesting to learn the lesson in a more interactive way.”

Ms. Joseph said that despite the over abundance of trees surrounding the wetland area that was blocking the class’s view, it is still a place with beautiful scenery.

“There are all kinds of aquatic plants and different kinds of birds there,” Ms. Joseph said. “It really is a pretty site.”

This was the first year Ms. Joseph took her students to Chipotle to learn about the franchise’s environmental sustainability. There they analyzed not only food production but also the building itself and enviornmentally sustainable and unsustainable methods.

“We talked about eating local foods and how food production impacts the environment,” Ms. Joseph said. “That’s another theme in the AP Environmental Science class.”

Halpern said that going to Chipotle was the highlight of the field trips her class took.

“It was fun going there and learning about Chipotle’s environmental practices,” she said. “Something I learned was that they don’t have recycling bins in the restaurant.”

For future field trips, Ms. Joseph said that she doesn’t think she will go out to the wetland across from Manatee Bay Elementary because the trees block the visibility too much.

“I think the field trip to Chipotle went pretty well, but the I feel like going to the wetland could have been a better experience,” she said.

Ms. Joseph said that she would have rather taken her students to the Everglades like she has done in the past because students get more of an experience.

“This year because of not getting class coverage and budget cuts it was really hard to take a fields trip like I used to,” she said. “But maybe in the future I’ll go back out to the Everglades.”