SHS Field Hockey Finally On Turf

Written by: Lauren Groff

The Sparta High School field hockey team has had its first official home games on the new turf field, and with three consecutive wins over high-ranking teams High Point, Chatham, and Jefferson, things could not be looking better.

Unlike other sports played on the new field, the surface of grass versus artificial turf makes a significant difference in the speed of play and range of ability during a field hockey game. Because a field hockey ball is heavy and drags along the ground, a smoother surface with less resistance allows for players to carry the ball faster and for longer periods of time. This same lack of resistance also allows for certain maneuvers, such as the backhanded or “reverse sweep” to be executed.

        

Sparta Field Hockey Seniors and Coach

From left to right: (Audrey Krajicek, Haley Capeci, Lauren Groff, Raina Dhand, Kenzie Merwin, Yasmeen Caswell, Stephanie Villar, Allie McGuire, Taylor Canfield, and Coach Corinne Bright)

“The turf field really allows us to play to our best ability, “ said senior defender and four-year varsity letter winner Kenzie Merwin. “We’re able to have much faster gameplay. It definitely makes a huge difference.” 

The Spartans were set to finish out their week with three more games, facing off against Pope John, and Lenape. Their first HWS game is scheduled for this coming Saturday.

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Meet Sparty the Spartan- Sparta High School's New Mascot

Written by: Emma McNamara

This past summer, along with the new turf field, Sparta High School proudly welcomed their new mascot.

It was time for Sparty the Spartan to help represent the pride that students and faculty have for their school and town. Those who attended Sparta’s first home football game may have already witnessed him giving high fives to students. Parents had the chance to meet the mascot at Back To School Night.

Throughout the school year, Sparty will be seen cheering on more sports games and attending other school-related events.

If students, faculty, friends or family want a picture with Sparty, do not be afraid to ask! The friendly mascot loves posing for pictures, as seen on his Instagram account “@the_sparta_spartan”. Just ask Sparty Security for his attention, or to snap the picture. Spread some Sparta spirit and post photos with Sparta’s biggest fan (and be sure to tag him too)! People can also follow him on TikTok “@spartythespartan”, for more super Sparty content. 

Sparty the Spartan is very excited to meet everyone, and support more of Sparta High School’s endeavors with energy, enthusiasm, and fun.  

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Sparta Football Fight to the End for the Win

Written by: Hunter Peterson

The Spartans had a great come-from-behind victory over West Morris Central this past Friday, Sept. 20.   After falling behind 21 - 7 in the third quarter, the Spartans fought back with 20 unanswered points in the fourth.  

Leading the charge, QB Austen Frattura threw two touchdown passes, one to Tyler Szabo for 58 yards and the other to Colby Plotts for 32 yards, which, along with extra points earned by Vinny DeSimone, tied the game.   To finish it off, Austin Castorina had a 4-yard run, putting the Spartans ahead by 6 points. The defense had a strong showing in the second half. JJ Valentin had 7 tackles and 3 sacks. Sam Bushey also joined in with 1 sack and 10 tackles.  

This win brings the team's record to 2-1.  The Spartans will face Mendham this Friday. Sept. 27, at 7:00 pm at Mendham High School.   

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Student Poll- Backpack or Locker?

Written by: Noelle Hanek

With so many classrooms in such a large school and with limited time between each bell, strategies must be conducted in order to make it on time to each class with the least amount of struggle. This leaves students with a choice between hauling belongings in backpacks or storing them in lockers. A poll was conducted asking 25 Sparta High School students from all four grade levels whether they used their backpacks or their lockers during the school day. The chart below contains the results graphed. 21, (or 84%) of the students asked told The Oracle that they use their backpacks only, and never their lockers. Four students claimed to use both interchangeably, depending on what day it is. Lastly, zero percent of the students asked said that they use their lockers alone.

From my perspective as a student here at Sparta High, these results are not surprising at all. I personally use my backpack each day, because it would be quite difficult to go all the way upstairs from my locker, and then back to my class in such a short amount of time. The 21 students in the poll most likely feel the same. To many, lockers are pretty much useless. However, lockers can be helpful for students to store extra belongings they have instead of carrying them around all day. This can include coats, lunches, projects, supplies, and more. Some students may also have classes near their lockers. In fact, a good amount of students keep their afternoon class subject material in their lockers and switch it out with their morning class material during lunchtime. Others can fit everything easily into their backpack the whole day.

 For the incoming freshmen reading this article, lockers are not as necessary as they were in middle school. However, each individual student is different, meaning different strategies may work better for one person than another.

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SHS STUDENTS and TEEN VAPING

Written By- Lauren Groff

Three Sparta High School students were featured on CBS This Morning in an interview regarding

the use of Juul in schools. The interview, which aired on Friday, August 30, was an addition

to the investigative report regarding the health effects and deceitful marketing of e-cigarettes

conducted by CBS network. The previous Thursday, CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil interviewed Juul CEO,

Kevin Burns. In the interview, Burns denied that Juul marketing concepts were geared towards a

youth market. To follow up this claim, Dokoupil turned to the students and staff of Sparta High.

SHS seniors Greg Puszcz, Lauren Groff, and Sebastion Gomez were selected by the

Sparta administration to speak on behalf of SHS in the nationally televised interview with Dokoupil.

“It was such a cool experience seeing how the set worked and how much effort, planning,

and detail goes into a television production”, noted Puszcz. 

In addition to the interview, the roughly four-minute segment featured the installation of Halo

vapor detection systems throughout the school, Superintendent , Dr. Michael Rossi discussing

their costly price, “a thousand dollars each”. While the use of e-cigarettes is evidently a nationwide

epidemic, Sparta High School is taking precautionary measures to deter its frequency throughout

the school day. 

The full video package can be accessed here, on the CBS official website:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/high-school-students-say-about-20-of-their-peers-are-vaping-some-as-young-as-8th-grade/

Our Town, Our Turf

Written by: Lauren Groff 

After much anticipation, a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday night revealed the official installation of a multi-purpose turf field on the Sparta High School campus. Senior captains from each of the school’s respective sports teams were presented with a pair of scissors to unite as one and officially chop the decorative ribbon and open the field to the public. The new SHS mascot, Sparty the Spartan, was also in attendance with a shiny new outfit ready for a photo op with students, faculty, and parents alike.

The Sparta High School Football Team poses with Sparty at the center of the field.

Senior Captains cut the ribbon with Sparty by their side.

SHS Field Hockey seniors jump with joy!

The field-accompanied by a new set of visitor’s bleachers, a snack shack, ticket booth, sidewalks, and adjacent paved parking lot- has been a long-awaited addition to Sparta High School, Sports including, but not limited to football, field hockey, and lacrosse will all be able to utilize the turf. Furthermore, the audio and video control board previously housed in the broadcast journalism classroom of the main building has been moved up to the field’s press box. This system will allow for video features and synchronized lighting sequences in correlation with the newly erected instant replay screen above the endzone. 

With the football team donning new t-shirts stating “Our town. Our turf” on the back, it is evident that the new field has proven to be a source of pride for the student body. The new addition to campus has undoubtedly brought staff, students, and the Sparta community together in a new and exciting way, and will continue to well beyond its first year in operation.

'Beginnings' Celebrates Release

Written by: Kanita Tariq 

Sparta High School’s literary/arts magazine is out! Beginnings celebrated its release with an open-mic reading at Greene’s Beans on May 30 and a pizza party during lunch on Jun. 6.

The creation of this year’s book came with a few transformative changes. Besides changing the size from 7 inches by 7 inches to 7 inches by 10 inches, Sparta High School parted ways with literary advisor Mrs. Barker in January. Luckily, under the guidance of Visual Advisor Mrs. Graham, Literary Editor-in-Chief Kanita Tariq, and Visual Editor-in-Chief Mikayla Bivona, Beginnings welcomed Mrs. Kopp on board as the new literary advisor. "Working with Beginnings this year was such an amazing opportunity for me.  I jumped in to replace Mrs. Barker and was able to see the marriage between the arts and literature.  It was fun to be part of creativity that I don't get to be part of on a day to day basis. Our students are so talented and produced a fantastic Beginnings magazine," she reflects.

Graduating Visual Editor Mikayla Bivona is thankful for her experience with Beginnings. “High school can be a stressful time, but Beginnings has allowed me to focus all my creative works in one place.”

Every year, Beginnings is submitted to the Columbia University Literary Magazine Critique. It has won gold for the last three years consecutively. Students interested in art, photography, or writing should contact Mrs. Graham to join the staff for the 2019-2020 school year.

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