Baby Boom

 

Maya Claire Horan

Maya Claire Horan was born on February 2, 2010 at 6:30 pm. She weighed 8 pounds and was 20.5 inches long. Ms. Teresi says, “Her name is a combination of unique and traditional – Maya was a friend from college whose name I loved. Claire is for my paternal grandmother who was a spunky matriarch.” Though Maya may someday express traits inherited from generations long past, Ms. Teresi happily says, “She’s a little of both me and Jack – my eyes, Jack’s lips – and she’s huge, so that’s both of us.” Maya is Ms. Teresi’s first child. “She moves constantly and likes to keep us on our toes – literally, she likes to be walked around the house, the neighborhood, the mall. She’s really observant – she’d rather look at everything around her than snuggle.”

Mara Pistacchi

Mara Pistacchi was born on February 4, 2010. Her name is a diamond in the rough as Mr. Pistacchi says, “For her name, I needed a girl’s name that wouldn’t remind me of anyone I’ve taught; after 10 years at Pres that’s a tall order. I’ve never met a Mara before and we both liked the name so there you go!” Mara is also Mr. Pistacchi’s first child. He says of the experience, “Being a father is awesome, every day is a new adventure and Mara is a really sweet baby.”

Thomas Vincent Cafazza

Thomas Vincent Cafazza was born on Tuesday, March 30, and weighed 7 pounds and 5 ounces. While Ms. Cafazza notes that there are many stories to be shared about her new baby boy, she describes one of her favorites: “when I was changing his diaper (probably the 100th of the day) Thomas peed, pooped and threw up all at the same time. It was a wonderful experience!”

Mia Elisabeth Pizarro

Mia Elisabeth Pizarro was born on Sunday, October 25, at 6:50 a.m. She weighed 7 pounds and 12 ounces, and she was 20 inches long. She loves broccoli, the ABC song and sucking on her own toes, and she can’t wait to take chemistry with her good friend Mr. Wang.

Carlos Craig Cobarrubias

Carlos Craig Cobarrubias was born on Monday, April 12, at about 5 a.m. He was 21 inches and weighed 7 pounds and 9 ounces. Mr. Cobarrubias notes how he wishes he could spend more time with his new baby boy, but the time he has had with his son has been eventful. Describing one day when he was changing Carlos’s diaper, Mr. Cobarrubias talked about how unpredictable babies can be – just in the time that Mr. Cobarrubias went to grab a fresh diaper, Carlos had peed all over himself. “The poor little guy!” Mr. Cobarrubias said.

Nelson Garcia-Rodriguez

Nelson Gracia-Rodiriguez came into the world on January 31, 17 days after his sister’s birthday, after a long wait of 15 hours of labor. Mrs. Rodriguez says of her second child, “He likes when I sing to him and will respond with a cute smile. His favorite song is ‘Where is Thumbkin.’” Nelson began his first music class at 10 weeks old with his sister and “Teacher Sean’s Music Factory.” Otherwise, he enjoys walks to the park and laughs when the wind blows in the trees.

Hugh John O’Byrne

Hugh John O’Byrne was born on Wednesday, February 24, at 2:14 a.m., weighing 8 pounds and 11 ounces and just a touch over 21 inches long. While Ms. O’Byrne claims that he promises to be a big boy, she claims that being a good boy will be a whole other story!

Appalachia Trip

 “Where are you going over break?”  For some, the answer to this perennial pre-winter break question was “Nowhere,” or maybe an exciting “Hawaii.” But for Presentation’s principal Ms. Miller, CI Chair Ms. Russo and eight Presentation students, the answer was “Appalachia.” 

For many of us, Appalachia conjures up ideas of a mountain range, but probably nothing more.  Embarrassing as it may be, that is all the majority of us know about a region within our own country that encompasses fragments of 13 states and actually has very little to do with a mountain range.

Appalachia is an eastern region that weaves through multiple states, including all of West Virginia and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.  Although named for the mountain range, the counties from each state that are declared a part of the Appalachian region are done so by economic indicators rather than certain geographical features.  Among these “indicators” are an unusually high number of people living in poor health, high poverty and minimal education.

Although the government has identified this region for the purpose of relieving those suffering from the poverty which persists there, a huge percentage of the population in Appalachia continues to struggle, even since the Johnson’s Administration’s creation of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).  The ARC has been devoted to increasing job opportunities, increasing Appalachia’s participation in the global economy and alleviating Appalachia’s isolated nature with an improved highway system. 

Still, despite the intentions of the ARC, a multitude of people in the Appalachian region continue to live in terrible poverty, with poverty rates in some areas as high as 24% as of 2009, according to the ARC.  With effort, it might be possible to improve the deteriorating conditions of Appalachia, but the problems at the root of the poverty have a cyclical nature, making them hard to escape.

In Appalachia, one economic idea is prominent. “Coal is king” said senior Cassie Brown and Ms. Miller.  However, it’s a double edged sword. Coal is responsible for the vast majority of poverty in Appalachians, yet it paradoxically also keeps them alive.

Approximately eight to ten years ago, coal industries began using a technique called “mountaintop removal” for coal mining.  With this practice, all of the forestation on mountaintops is swept off and obliterated so that the coal can be taken from the top.  In doing so, not only is the scenic beauty of the nature destroyed, but the environment is destroyed for the people living there.  Toxins and wastes flow down from these destroyed mountains, carrying pollutants such as arsenic into the water.  In addition, the lack of forestation on mountaintops results in flooding for those living in the valleys, ruining the already poor towns in which they live according to Ms. Miller.

At the same time, coal is the Appalachian people’s main livelihood; it is the industry that provides the majority of the jobs and opportunities in the poverty-stricken area.  What sustains the people of Appalachia kills them.  As the participants of the Appalachia trip explained, those living in Appalachia are stuck in a cycle which they cannot escape and which is ignored by the indifferent coal industries.

It is this desensitization and ignorance to a large division of our country that Presentation’s service trip was fighting.  According to Ms. Miller, “the purpose of the trip was essentially through service to be educated.”  The students were visiting “an area with third-world conditions that was located in our wealthy, industrialized nation,” said Brown.  In visiting this region, the hope was that the participants of the trip could apply the mission they became so adamant about during the trip to the area in which we live, where poverty is also present.

Silicon Valley residents cannot even begin to grasp experiences such as one described by senior Allison Tella in which they were serving at a food shelter but could no longer provide food for people one day.  Having to turn people away, even when their request was as simple as a loaf of bread, was not easy to do, especially for this group of girls so devoted to service that they were willing to dedicate their entire break to it.  Tella said, “It was just heartbreaking.”

Throughout the trip, the girls visited numerous organizations in which they were able to truly formulate a vivid picture of the conditions in Appalachia.  Among these many organizations were the Catholic Community Center, the Wheeling Soup Kitchen and the YMCA.  During each of their various experiences, the service trip participants were exposed to a multitude of people, each with their own stories and personalities to share.  There was Larry, a group favorite on the trip, present in anecdotes shared by many of the participants.  Although immersed in desperately poverty-stricken conditions, Larry still had his own personality accompanied by his positive attitude and a hat filled with cheerful trinkets collected in his poverty.  He, like any other person, had his own advice and views to share.  “He taught me to take my time in everything I do because so many people in today’s world rush through every day without thinking about what they are really doing,” said Brown. 

Then there was Rose, from Appalachian Outreach.  Although she herself had been struck by unfortunate circumstances that left her in an unhealthy state and with forced retirement from her job, she still devoted herself and her life to helping others.  “She’s got this spirit that is just so beautiful,” said Ms. Miller, who went on to compare her to a more locally known figure, Louise Benson, who founded Sacred Heart with a similar call for justice and respect of humanity and its needs.

It was this “spirit” that the participants of the trip seemed to find in many of the people they met on the trip.  Everyone they met seemed to have their own story and life.  Just like all of us at Presentation, they had friends, they had family, and they have a history.  The fact is simply that unfortunate circumstances befell them. 

Still, one thing Ms. Miller was so impressed with in the trip was the way that the Presentation students matched the vivid, hard-working spirit of the people.  “They went right through their fear!” she said.  In spending a week fighting injustice and essentially humanizing as well as personalizing the condition, this group of Presentation members has become moved in their cause, a fight against poverty and injustice.  Now that they have returned to Presentation, the fight returns to us within the community.

Thanksgiving Feast-ivities and Family Traditions

This year on Nov. 26, all of us will gather with our friends and families on Thanksgiving to join together for a meal or activity with which we commemorate the holiday each year.  Thanksgiving is a holiday that has been celebrated for centuries, and we expect no surprises when we sit down for our dinners and take part in those activities we now associate with the holiday.  Still, while we may not find surprises in our own Thanksgiving celebrations, some of us may be shocked what other Pres girls do to celebrate.

All of us at Presentation know the traditional activities associated with Thanksgiving, the general protocol.  The most common of these traditions is the “turkey and trimmings,” the traditional idealized dinner of turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy, and many other tantalizing foods.  Visions of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade also materialize in our minds when thinking of this holiday, a day often also associated with casual games of football played to liven spirits.  Many are also acquainted with the classic tradition of splitting the wishbone in the turkey, hoping each year since we were young that this year will be the one we get to make the Thanksgiving wish as the winter holidays  grow near.

Still, while many of us will sit down to nearly gluttonous amounts of food that will yield leftovers for weeks as tradition mandates, there are some girls in our local Presentation community who will be celebrating the holiday in their own special way with unusual traditions that set them apart from the classic horde of turkey-stuffed Americans.  Here is how some of Presentation’s families personalize their Thanksgiving with their own unique traditions:

“Every Thanksgiving we go with my mom’s side of the family, and we rent a cabin somewhere different. So we all go there, and we have a special “Iron Chef Cook-Off Night” where we compete – we have competed with pasta, pizza and other fun foods. We all have aprons and we get an iron-on of the name of the place we went that year. It is really fun, and it is a good way to spend time together.”
-Alex Perroots, freshman

“Both my mom and I have birthdays around that time, and every four years we switch off between whose birthday ends up to be on Thanksgiving. So, depending on whose birthday is on that day or closest to it, she gets that week all to herself. We get to pick where we go on Thanksgiving weekend, and we get to pick the food we eat on Thanksgiving. One year it was directly in between our two dates, and we got to plan it together. It was tons of fun and a cute little tradition we both love sharing.”
-Athena Santos, sophomore

“Every Thanksgiving, my family gets those artificial leaves and sharpies, and we each write what we are thankful for on the leaf, then use the leaves as decorations for the table.”
-Katie Donohoe, junior

“In my family, we go to my cousin’s house for Thanksgiving. During dinner, we each have a candle, and then we go around in a circle lighting the candle of the person next to us and saying why we are thankful for them.”
-Nicole Gomes, senior