WINTERFEST IS COMING

 FIND THE COURAGE PRESENTS WINTERFEST

By Hayley Lane 

On Wednesday, December 8th, Find the Courage hosted their annual 2021 Winterfest Volleyball Tournament! Find the Courage is a club made up of SHS seniors who exhibit positive attitudes and leadership. Seniors gathered in their staff shirts to host a fun and thrilling day of Volleyball with positions such as checking teams in, collecting money and donations, refereeing , and playing in games. 

All money and donations raised from the event will go to underprivileged children in Sussex County. SHS was able to raise $750 Wednesday with more money coming! 

Congratulations to our winning teams Blue Ballers, Bubble Guppies, Red Dragon, A.O.F, Cookies ‘n Cream, Practice Safe Sets, Shawty and more!! Semi-Finals will be taking place this Friday, December 10th, during lunch. Best of luck to everyone! 

SHS ACTOR SHARES FINAL THOUGHTS ON FALL PRODUCTION

 Fall Drama Actor Shares His Experience

By: Shea Harrison, Emma Muth, and Kavya Kamath

On November 19th, 20th, and 21st, Sparta High School students performed in the Fall Drama, Middletown, and showcased their incredible talent to the audience. The cast put a lot of hard work into the play, from the acting, to the stage crew work, to the set. However, to get the best idea of the play experience is to hear from one of our own actors. And so, below is an account from Shea Harrison, who played John Dodge, one of the main characters in the play:

“Middletown was seen as a weird play from day one. I think I can speak for the whole cast and crew when I say we didn’t know what to think of it at first. Even now after the show I can’t really say there is much of a plot. Most of the story is just people living their lives and the emotions that came with that. It also gets dark in a way I haven’t seen in a Sparta show.

I was cast as John Dodge, one of two characters who are named from the beginning. John tries to appear happy-go-lucky and joking on the outside, but it is easy to see that he has a lot of anxieties and parts of his life that make him contemplate (and eventually try to carry out) taking his own life. 

As I said the show was very interesting, and as we kept rehearsing the scenes, the subtle messages hidden in the things the characters say and do were revealed, and how a lot of it has a deeper meaning that relates to life in the real world. It’s a really interesting play like that.

Was it challenging to memorize a whole lot of lines? Sure it was! But even with our short time to prepare the show the cast and crew were able to pull it off and put on an amazing show.”

As one play comes to an end, another starts up! The fall drama ended but Sparta High thespians need not fret—this year’s musical is starting up!

On Monday, November 29th, there was an interest meeting about Newsies, the Spring Musical of 2022. The meeting’s sole purpose was to scope out interest in the show, and to detail information about the show such as audition dates, the rehearsal schedule, parts, and much more. The show dates are on March 4th, 5th, and 6th! We can’t wait to see you all there! 

SPARTAN FOOTBALL WRAP UP

 

Varsity Football Wrap-Up

By: Olivia Flanz

On Friday, November 19th, Sparta’s varsity football team wrapped up the season ending in a playoff away game against Cranford. While Sparta lost to Cranford in the playoff (45-21), let's not ignore the team’s great season with them being the number 1 team in their league. Within their games they won 8 out of the 13 games giving them a 61% winning rate this season. With that Sparta is currently ranked 42 in New Jersey for varsity football.

SHS STUDENTS SHARE LOVE OF LANGUAGE AT HMS

 SPARTA HIGH STUDENTS TEACH LANGUAGES AT HELEN MORGAN

By: Noelle Hanek

Throughout the school year, members of the French and German Honors society teach elementary students at Helen Morgan School. Each Monday after school, members volunteer to drive to Helen Morgan and teach the young children fun and engaging lessons in their language to help prepare them for middle school language classes. So far, the 5th graders were taught introductions, numbers, colors, body parts, and animals. The french sessions involved multiple fun activities for the children to learn. For instance, the class threw around a foam number dice block, and with every number it landed on, they had to say the number out loud in french. To help teach them colors, the class played eye-spy, and to learn animals, they played charades. 

These sessions will continue on until at least the end of January. Additionally, the two honor societies plan on instructing even younger kids further down the road. In fact, the next four sessions are going to be for the fourth graders! These sessions are both a great experience for the kids to get introduced to new languages, a wonderful life skill to have, and a great experience for the high schoolers to gain teaching experience. Any high school student who is considering joining the French or German honor society should definitely do so since fun activities such as this will be available!

Photo of Helen Morgan School, Sparta NJ

THANKSGIVING GRATITUDE

 WHAT IS THE ORACLE GRATEFUL FOR?

By Oracle Staff

With Thanksgiving Day just around the corner, it can easily be overwhelming preparing for the holiday, especially for those who are hosting! However, it is important to take a step back and remember why we are doing this in the first place: to reflect on what we are grateful for and to enjoy spending time with our close ones! In honor of this day of gratitude, a few Oracle members have shared what they are thankful for and their Thanksgiving traditions. 

Noelle is most grateful for her friends, family, cats, and her house. Each Thanksgiving, she stays home with her parents, brother, and grandmother were together, they eat lots of delicious food and spend time together. 

Hayley is thankful for her family and friends. She also appreciates how great her senior year has been so far, and she will be sad to leave everyone when the year is done. Each Thanksgiving she goes to her aunt’s house with her family where they have a huge dinner! Her favorites include chicken cutlets and mac and cheese. 

Olivia is thankful for her family, friends, and dogs. 

Mia is thankful for her best friends, her cat, and her job. Her favorite Thanksgiving tradition is making a trifle for her family. 

Emma is thankful for her friends and family and how amazing her senior year has been so far. Every year she goes to her aunt’s house to see all of her extended family. She loves eating butternut squash that her grandmother makes. 

Kavya is thankful for her mom, brother, friends, the future, and all of the opportunities and love in her life. 

Ms DeLuccia is grateful for her family, friends, her community,

Happy Thanksgiving from the Oracle!

Image by Sabrina_Ripke_Fotografie at pixabay.com 

SKI SWAP

 SPARTA SKI TEAM HOLDS ANNUAL SKI SWAP

By Kelly Groome

The Sparta Highschool Ski team held their 20th annual Ski Swap fundraiser on November 13th. The event was held at the Mohawk Avenue School from 8:30 am-1 pm. 

The swap featured a selection of new and used skis, ice skates, snowboards, ski boots, poles, snowboard boots, and more. The event was the perfect opportunity for the community to purchase more affordable ski equipment or to sell used gear. 

Customers had the option of selling their used equipment that they didn't use anymore or had outgrown. Contrary to the name, buyers didn’t have to actually “swap” any items to purchase products, and were allowed access to all gear. Admission was free for anyone arriving after 9:30 am and for early entry access, customers arrived at 8:30 am for a fee of $10 per family. 

The team is holding their first practice on December 1st and attending their ski weekend in Killington Vermont on December 12th!

Thanksgiving Around the World

 THANKSGIVING AROUND THE WORLD

By Hayley Lane 

When leaves are almost done falling, the morning air gets crisp and cold, and the last of everyone’s Halloween candy is eaten up, that can only mean one thing: Thanksgiving is coming! Thanksgiving may be treated as a less-significant holiday compared to Christmas, however, when it rolls around, the world is thankful to be around each other practicing different traditions and indulging in some tasty food! 

Today we will be taking you around the world to discover Thanksgiving traditions from five different countries!

The United States:

This one is probably the one you’re most familiar with! Most American families gather around the TV in the morning to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Foods like turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie are commonly served. It is also typical to go around the table and have each family member share something they are thankful for, and don’t forget Black Friday Shopping the following day! 

Germany:

Germany’s equivalent of Thanksgiving is called Erntedankfest, translating to “harvest festival of thanks.” It is a religious holiday that takes place on the first Sunday of October, where people get together to celebrate the good fortune their congregation received that year. Celebrants carry an Erntekrone, or a “harvest crown”, made of grains and flowers and eat chicken and roosters. 

Japan:

Japan’s version of Thanksgiving, Kinro Kasha no Hi, or “Labor Thanksgiving Day,” evolved from an ancient rice festival. It began in 1948 after the end of WWII to celebrate the rights of Japanese workers. It’s considered a national holiday, but none of the typical feasting takes place. Instead, citizens celebrate hard workers of the community, and children typically write cards to firefighters or policemen. 

Puerto Rico:

After Puerto Rico became a territory of the U.S., it adopted many of the typical American traditions such as Black Friday Shopping. However, Puerto Rico put their own twist on their feast. Their turkey is stuffed with mofongo, a plantain dish. Aside from turkey, they also serve pork, rice, and beans. 

Liberia:

Due to the spread of Christianity in Africa during the 1820s, Liberia celebrates Thanksgiving as a religious holiday. Churches auction baskets of local fruit after their services. Families feast on roast chicken and mashed cassavas. Live music and dance is also a large part of their thanksgiving tradition. 

Pruitt, Sarah. “8 Thanksgiving Celebrations around the World.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 22 Nov. 2016, https://www.history.com/news/8-thanksgiving-celebrations-around-the-world.