Important Dates

Our next meeting will be on January 21, 2010 in Mrs. Gautier's room (209) until 3:15. If you have any questions, please see Mrs. Gautier or Justin Kiefer.

        Homecoming and Spirit Week are finished. Auditions for the musical have taken place. The football field stands silent. Belvidere’s Holiday Concerts have come and gone, like Father Christmas himself.

It’s hard to imagine that the first half of the school year is coming to a close. Can you believe that only several months ago we were just beginning? The middle of the school year is a very odd time for us students; we have just as many memories behind us as we do in front. Midterms will soon commence, and spring will be encroaching upon us very quickly. In the blink of an eye, the year will be finished, and the senior class will have graduated.

        Looking back on the year 2009, I must honestly say that it was my best school year to date. Performing in My Fair Lady, traveling to Annapolis and winning a solo award on the music trip, and taking the reins of our school paper are all things I will remember fondly. When the ball finally dropped on New Year’s Eve, I was rewarded with an immense feeling of accomplishment.

        As always, the Scarlet Scoop staff has done an excellent job of covering events and sharing their thoughts on paper. Natasha Kowaleuski, our literary critic, has taken a break from her usual writings and gives us her take on SADD Night and the club’s future in general. Rebecca Carney, who went caroling at the Lopatcong Care Center, and Alison Bancroft, who participated in the Leo Club’s “Christmas Party,” take us back to the most simple of all holiday pleasures: spreading joy. Jack Pierone, who also went caroling with Rebecca, talks about the Belvidere Music Department’s recent performance on the radio. Donning her basketball jersey, Coleen Carney gives us the lowdown on winter sports and her thoughts of our athletic department in general. David Yannarella pulls out his tuba to tell us about our very own Jazz Band. Last but not least, Jessica Wasser shares her experiences with training students for the Special Olympics, an event you may not have known students at Belvidere partake in.

        We’ve climbed the ladder of the past and celebrated on the rooftop, but now we stare up an even longer path toward the future. A giant cloud of haze surrounds the way forward, hiding what will be from being known prematurely. We can’t go backward, nor can we dwell below any longer. Let us take heed in the fact that, whatever happens on the way up, the reward at the end is even greater than before.

        Now, let’s start climbing.

    

Happy New Year!

-Justin Kiefer

Editor, The Scarlet Scoop