10 questions with Mrs. Ficorilli

10 questions with Mrs. Ficorilli

Mrs. Dawn Ficorilli is a new math teacher at Badin High School this year. Senior Alisha Bradbury asked her 10 questions:

By Alisha Bradbury ‘13

1. How long have you been teaching?
This is my first year teaching.

2. What got you interested in teaching?
Teaching combines two of my passions: I love to work with students and I love math.

3. Why did you pick Badin High School to start teaching?

When I was looking for a school to work at, I was impressed by the amount of service done by the student body and I liked the smaller school environment.

4. What college did you attend to get your degree in teaching?

I got my undergraduate degree in math at John Carroll University in Cleveland and got my licensure to teach through Xavier University.

5. Your experience so far at Badin, how has it been?
My experience at Badin has been great so far. The faculty and students are very welcoming and give the school a family feeling. I have great students.

6. What makes you different from other math teachers?
I don’t think I am really any different from other math teachers. I want students to know that I care about them as more than a math student, but as people too. Many students don’t like math, so I hope they will have some success in my class that might make them like math a little more when they leave my class than they did when they started.

7.  When you were in high school, were you involved in extracurricular activities?

In high school, I played volleyball and swam. I was also in our choral group and in National Honor Society.

8. Do you have a favorite song?

I don’t have a favorite song, but my favorite artist right now is Britt Nicole.

9 .What is your favorite place to go on vacation?

Anywhere with sun and water where there is no laundry for me to do.

10. Is there one thing you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t done yet?

I have always wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride. 

Service, Faith at CMC

The Community Meal Center:

 An Experience to Grow in Faith

By Patrick Kuhl ‘13

            The Community Meal Center is not just a chance to get service hours, it is also a chance to grow in faith.

With the different backgrounds and every creed and color, it is a chance to experience many faiths to help you grow. It is at the corner of Front and Court streets in Hamilton. It’s not affiliated with the Front Street Presbyterian Church, but they do allow us to have our services there.

            I am not a stranger to the C.M.C. I started working there through the Cub Scouts at the age of 7. I am now a member of the C.M.C. board and I am the youngest member ever. I bring this up to talk about the many faiths and friends I have met working at the C.M.C.

            I have made many friends just in the past two years. Many of them are involved in different faiths. One is Mormon. One is Baptist. And another is my own faith, a Catholic. I have learned a lot about these three faiths and many more. I talk about these three because these are three of my strongest friends. But more importantly, every time I go I have a discussion about these faiths and their beliefs.

            I feel this has made me grow in my faith and help me decide who I am as a Catholic. I really encourage you to take time out of your Friday and help serve at the Community Meal Center from 4 to 7:30 p.m. You can start by helping on Badin’s night, which is the second Friday of the month. If you like that, you can help on any Friday of the month

'Pitch Perfect' a good laugh

‘Pitch Perfect’ worth a good laugh

By Matilde Starklit ‘14

In the new movie, "Pitch Perfect", Beca (actress Anna Kendrick) is a girl who would rather listen to what comes out of her headphones than what comes out of a mouth.

She arrives at her new college where her father works. She doesn’t want to go to this college, but she wants to go to Los Angeles and work as a DJ. She cannot find a clique for her, so Beca and her dad make a deal. If she hasn't found a clique and made memories at the end of the year, he’ll help her get a job in L.A.

She joins a group she would never think she would and meets some pretty people, funny people and weird people. It’s all about what comes out of their mouths. She’ll go through a lot, and meet people. We will follow her growth as the year goes by.

But will she like it or will she quit college and go to L.A?  

This movie was very funny – sometimes I could not stop laughing. I would recommend people to go see this movie if they would like to get a good laugh.

'Looper' full of action!

‘Looper’ keeps you on the edge of your seat

By Denise Rasche ‘13

         Looper is a great movie if you like action and violence but it is an R-rated movie. It was really confusing in the beginning but it is later explained.

Many reviews say it is hard to follow. The movie shows a man named Joe (actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is a “looper.” Thirty years in the future the crime syndicate cannot hide bodies that they kill so they send them back in time to the loopers who kill them and hide them.

         When the loopers are no longer needed, the people from the future take them 30 years later and send them back to the looper to kill. Then the loopers end up killing themselves and they enjoy the next 30 years.

 Joe has a friend named Seth who lets his loop run (he let his older self go because he recognized him). Seth’s boss ends up torturing Seth’s older self by finding his younger self and cutting off some of his fingers. This is one of the parts where it gets really gory.

         Joe ends up trying to hide Seth but he is threatened by his boss so he tells the boss where Seth is because the boss promises him they won’t kill Seth. They are lying to him, though. Soon after that Joe ends up finding his loop (Bruce Willis) and is forced to let him run.

 The entire movie is about Joe trying to find his loop and kill him so he can go back to living his life. It is full of action and excitement. Looper surely does keep you on the edge of your seat.

No NHL for now

NHL postpones start of season

By Emily Swanson ‘14

            It looks like this National Hockey League hockey season will be a short one. The NHL has officially canceled the first two weeks of the regular season. The season was supposed to start October 14, but that isn’t going to happen.

The NHL lockout went into effect on September 16 at 12:01 a.m., when the NHL and the NHL Players Association remained stalled over the issue of dividing $3.3 billion in revenue. The NHL wants to cut back player salaries immediately while the players have offered to take lower future revenues.

On September 24, day 8 of the lockout, the remaining 46 preseason games were cancelled. The big issue now is deciding how the owners and the players split the huge sum of money.

On October 4, day 19 of the lockout, it was officially announced that all games from October 11-24 were canceled. That’s a total of 82 games and a paycheck for each player. The next negotiations are set for October 10 and 11 in New York. On the agenda for this week’s negotiations is for each side to figure out how to divide up the money to bring an end to this unwanted lockout.

Whenever there is a lockout, there are always angry fans who speak their mind. First the preseason, now the regular season is being cut short and fans are not happy about it, especially those who already bought tickets and made travel plans.

So far the NHL has said nothing about refunding tickets for cancelled games. Besides upset  fans, the lockout is holding up other events as well -- the Los Angeles Kings’ Stanley Cup banner raising, set for October 12, is now on hold.

The last NHL lockout was during the 2004-05 season; there was fighting over whether there should be a salary cap. The entire season was lost. The cap is now in place and it’s a matter of dividing up revenue. Until then, no hockey.

10 Questions with Sarah Flum

10 questions with Sarah Flum

By Matilde Starklit ‘14

Badin senior Sarah Flum is president of Student Council and very active in the school. We sat down and asked her 10 questions. Here is what she had to say:

Q. What is your best memory from Badin High School?

A. My favorite memory of Badin is Mrs. Niehaus. She taught sophomore geometry.

Q. What will you miss most about Badin?

A. I will miss most the school spirit, family atmosphere and the relationships between the teachers and students

Q. Where will you be attending college?

A. I hope to attend Ohio University.

Q. What is your grade point average?

A. My weighted GPA is 4.05 and my non-weighted is 3.86.

Q. What is one thing most people don’t know about you?

A. My sister and I dance to Richard Simmons in our family room.

Q. What is your ultimate goal in life?

A. My ultimate goal is to be successful in college and find a good job.

Q. What is your dream vacation spot?

A. My dream vacation would be Ireland because I have an Irish background.

Q. A good quote?

A. “Let go and let God.”

Q. What do you think about being the Student Council president?

A. Being Student Council president is very stressful but I take a lot of pride in this role because it shows that my peers think I am capable of leading our entire student body.

Q. Can you tell us a little about what plans you have for this year?

A. My plans for this year mainly include the Homecoming dance being a success with our Waves of Hope theme and our fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. We will be collecting money for the hospital at a certain game for each sport as well as collecting money during lunch.

Ms. Lyons joins Badin faculty

Ms. Lyons joins Badin faculty

By Patrick Kuhl '13

            This past August, Badin welcomed a new Spanish teacher to the family. In addition to being new to Badin, Ms. Cristina Lyons is still somewhat new to teaching.  In fact this is the beginning of her first full year of teaching. Ms. Lyons previously taught one semester at Athens High School in Athens, Ohio.

            Ms. Lyons was born in Virginia and then moved to the Cincinnati area when she was 8-years old. She attended Lakota East High School and then continued her studies at Ohio University. Her job at Badin isn’t the only thing new in her life – she is also new to parenting.  She has a 1-year-old, Holden.

            So far, Ms. Lyons has really enjoyed Badin High School. It’s different from other schools, she said. “From the get-go, you feel the presence of the family atmosphere at Badin,” she said. Ms. Lyons also likes the fact that it seemed that the teachers were so willing to help each other out. There is not much segregation between groups of people, she added.

            There are many other things that Ms. Lyons likes at Badin. She likes the smaller school size as well as the fact that everyone knows each other. She enjoys the people she works with and the class sizes she teaches are great. Her favorite things about Badin are the cafeteria ladies and the good food they make. She also enjoys walking around on the campus. Ms. Lyons thinks it’s wonderful that so many people put time into taking care of it.

            The community service aspect of Badin has made her feel like getting involved outside of school besides in sports.  Hopefully we will see her pop in at the Community Meal Center some Friday night to lend a hand.

            Outside of school, Ms. Lyons loves to spend time with her family. She also likes to find new Spanish singers and writers.  She enjoys cooking, baking and gardening. Also, Ms. Lyons likes to go to concerts hosted by local bands.

Growing up, she always wanted to be a teacher. She didn’t really learn as much Spanish in grade school and high school as she hoped, so she continued her studies in college.  She wanted to teach Spanish to help others learn Spanish. 

“Aunt Vicky” was her role model, but she didn’t really realize it while she was growing up.  When she looked back, she saw the way that she raised her children and the way she learned and helped others. She also picked up her love of traveling.