The LCMR Ice Hockey Team is back this year and is looking to be a powerhouse. Last year they made it to the finals, but lost 3-0 to their rival Mainland. The team has gotten better every year and with a lot of returning players, they have their sites on a winning season. Coach Castellucci has started practices on the ice and is advancing quickly with a team familiar with his drills. The returning players help teach the new players, which can elevate the level of practices. Having over 30 kids coming out for the team this year is a fantastic for an organization in its third year. This puts them right near the top five sports in school with student participation. The team is becoming very popular within the school, even though home games are played in Vineland. With all of its top players returning, everyone should expect great things from this team.The team is in first place at the moment, and will continue playing through February.

The Lower Cape May Tigers are going to put out a tough team on the mat this year. They are returning 5 seniors and 3 twenty match winners. Last year the tigers had a record of 12-9 and almost made it to the group playoffs. Lower has also added some extra talent this year. Corey Damiana a freshman will help out by filling up the 189 lbs. weight class. Frankie Zeigler, a sophomore transfer from St. Augustine will make the upper weights very strong by wrestling 171.Even though Cape May has power in the upper weights, they really shine towards the beginning of their line up. The Caper Tigers start at the 103 weight class with Zach Valcarce, a Sophomore who had 20+ wins last year and only 3 loses. Then Senior Josh Dickinson, the owner of the 112 weight class. Josh won the District 32 title last year and looks to do even bigger things this year. Steve Rossi the 3rd returning 20 match winner is planning on bumping up to 130 this year. Rossi took 3rd place at District 32 and is hoping to be standing on the top of the podium this year.The rest of the line up is filled with experienced wrestlers as well. The middle weights are going to be led by 2 Seniors. Sal Sorace and Dylan Pohlig, both are 4 year varsity lettermen and look to increase their records this year. Jimmy Hall and Kevin Garrabrant are also planning on helping out the Caper Tigers this year. Both are experienced and are ready to step it up. Looking at filling a full line up with no weak spots the Tigers should really be a big threat this year.

Cape May—LCMR guidance counselor Mr. Courtney upholds the one to seven male to female ratio in the guidance office, but he is not waving a white flag yet. The guidance office consists of four female counselors, three female secretaries, and Mr. Courtney. He vouches that the ladies of the office do not gang up on him. “We are one big team,” said Mr. Courtney. He added with a smile, “They don’t bother me; only if I’m asked to carry heavy objects does it become cumbersome.” Ms. White, who is also a guidance counselor, offered up another perspective. “Men are not as good at bringing home the bacon, and then frying it up in the pan, you know multi-tasking.” But there are some advantages to being the only male in the guidance office despite the manual labor. Male students with questions or concerns may be more comfortable speaking directly to a male counselor. Ms. Markovitz, another counselor and freshman class advisor, said that the jokes are shared all around the office; Mr. Courtney is not singled out. “We all have our quirks,” Markovitz said. Mrs. Spicer who serves as one of the secretaries in the office summed up the battle of the sexes in the office perfectly: “I’m sure it’s hard on him (Mr. Courtney). There’s not much sports talk around here!”

When Haiti was hit with the tremendous earthquake and it's aftershock, everything was basically destroyed and rubble was everywhere you looked. The Haitians are still devastated and many people are living in tents because they do not have homes. Schools around the U.S. are doing projects to raise money for Haiti. LCMR is doing their part in helping, along with other schools, in a fun and creative way. The project is called "Houses for Haiti." Mrs. Wolfe's art classes are making little clay houses and decorating them to sell. She first thought up the idea by seeing an article in the newspaper wanting to help Haitian people in their efforts to rebuild homes and businesses. "We are really trying to sell these houses to help Haiti out. Imagine if everyone bought a house and what a difference it would make." said Sara Newman (Grade 10). "I really like these house; they're all different in their own way. They truly look awesome." said Angela Harron (Grade 10). These amazing little houses can be made into magnets, decorations, necklaces, ornaments and pins. Show your support by purchasing one of these houses and wearing it proudly. The Haitians need our help and support. Imagine if you were living with the same conditions they are. Please take the time to visit the school store and purchase a house for Haiti for $3.

The two most dreaded words in New Jersey: Budget. Cuts. Yes, everyone in New Jersey has heard the two words thrown around for months now, especially those involved in education. But what has come out of this dismal situation? It’s not all bad…really. The arts are among the first to take a hit when it comes to curriculum cuts. But Mrs. Neville, one of the fine arts teachers, has found a creative solution to deal with the cuts- and it comes in the form of gray, messy clay. Instead of using paint, which is very costly, she selected clay as the medium instead for an Art Nouveau lesson. By introducing sculpture to the Fine Arts 3 and 4 curriculums, Neville thinks it will help the students in the long run. “We do a lot of painting and 2-D work in the class, and colleges want to see diversity in a portfolio.” Neville is excited to have students work with clay and experiment with a new project. She confidently smiles and says, “It will be very successful. I would definitely keep this project [in the curriculum] for the future.” Mr. Belasco, of the English Department, has begun a paperless-curriculum campaign. Belasco intends to go paperless in his classes by having students turn in assignments through the Internet. By using the web site “turnitin.com,” he will be able to make corrections and give feedback to his students as he would on a hardcopy of an assignment. If other teachers catch on, it would help decrease cost on paper and other supplies. “It would have to,” Belasco says, nodding decisively, “with the cost of paper, ink, and copy machines, it would definitely save money in the long run. It would do away with wasteful copying.” But a paperless curriculum is not just frugal; it makes a positive impact on the environment as well. In times of despair, mankind becomes creative- just as the Dark Ages transformed into the Renaissance. After all, necessity is the mother of invention. So put on those thinking caps LCMR, and in the words of Tim Gunn: make it work.

The LCMR Caper Tigers Varsity football team is off to an exciting and optimistic 2-0 season. They kicked off the season with a victory against new rivals Cape Henlopen. This year’s varisty squad has goals of making it to the playoffs this year, and maybe even winning the the division. Coach Mike Wilson wants to take this season “one game at a time,” and so far things are looking up from the last. Since the season opener, there has been talk of a “Rival of the Capes.” Wilson described the team as “identical to us,” and everyone hopes to keep the Cape Henlopen game a tradition. The players are optimistic about the season too. This year’s captains Gary Kocher, Eric Fletcher, Tyler Sole, and Mike Mulligan demonstrate leadership amongst the other players. They want to keep everyone working as hard as they can, “keep everyone in line,” said Eric Fletcher, and “lead by example,” said Tyler Sole. Not only do they want everyone to keep up the good work, Gary Kocher said that he wants to “make sure no one keeps their head down when things get rough.” Although he is not a captain this year, another huge leader of the team is junior Jimmy Hall. He carried the team to their first victory of the season Hall said that it feels good to be a leader of the team, and that it is a big confidence booster. He also feels a sense of responsibility on the team, because “carrying the ball is a big responsibility.” This has potential to be one of the Tigers strongest seasons, so come out and support your Varsity football team at all their games this fall.

LCMR is hosting there 4th annual Dancing with the Faculty, presented by Miss. Dana Markovitz. This event takes place on February 3rd at 7pm in the Paul W.Schmidtchen Auditorium. This event was first presented in 2008 when she had been in the front office making jokes about Dancing With The Star and that’s how Dancing With The Faculty came up in her mind. This event is attended by almost one-thousand people. This event is not only attended by the students and faculty of LCMR but also the whole community love to come out and watch it. Markovitz has never had a sold out show but she is always really close and the show is always worth coming to. The show is judged by six people, three faculty members and three students; they are judged by there dancing and best outfits and also most surprising faculty dancer. Most groups will start practicing months ahead of the event. “My most favorites have been the ones most entertaining”Markovitz says. Markovitz has been trying to get a celebrity judge, such as someone well known in the community and that almost everyone knows. This event helps students see that any teacher that they don’t really take a liken to see that there actually fun and not a mean person like they think, it makes everyone closer for just one night. This event is so worth paying the $5 for this event. This money will go to the Class of 2014 for their senior prom and class trip and ect. This event has so many acts and everyone has such a great time there and it gives the community something to do on a cold Thursday night. For anymore information please feel free to contact Dana Markovitz at Markovitzd@lcmrschool.com or 609-884-3475.

For the Holden family, basketball is a tradition. Pat Holden has recently stepped down from Lower Cape May Regional High School’s head coaching position, and younger brother Scott Holden has taken over. Their father was a basketball coach at LCMR as well, while also coaching at Camden County’s Haddon Heights High School. “It [basketball] always just seemed like the family thing,” Scott Holden said. Scott Holden has had much experience in basketball, spending over 30 years in the sport in some capacity. He played at LCMR himself for two years; missing his sophomore year due to a broken arm. He also played at the Naval Academy for one year, and played at a Division II School in Florida. “He played collegially at Florida Southern – which ranked in the top ten in the country for Division II,” Pat Holden pointed out. But his coaching experience is also impressive- he got involved in coaching his first year after college. His first coaching job was a junior varsity position at George Jenkins High School in Lakeland, Florida, and he stayed there one year. The following year he moved to the Fort Lauderdale area and became head coach at Pembroke Pines Charter High School and coached there for five years. Now he has joined the family tradition as head coach for Lower, and does not plan to retire from the position soon “I can see myself coaching for the rest of my teaching career.” According to Scott Holden, few changes are going to be made to the team. “Due to the fact that my brother was head coach, we have a lot of the same ideas and principles and values of how a program should be run. But of course it being my first year, I’m motivated to bring my own changes, but they’re going to be very small.” But Holden wants to see less individualism; emphasizing that the team, as well as the program and school, should look good, not just an individual player. He is also looking for a competitive spirit and consistent improvement in the team; two things he values more than winning. “I’ve always wanted to have a hardworking group – competitive every game, every season, and if a championship comes here or there, that’s great, but the most important thing is that they improve all the time.” Pat Holden is completely confident in his brother, remarking decisively, “I think that people might say that I have a biased opinion because he’s my brother, but he is the right man for the job.” Since Scott Holden was the assistant coach for LCMR, Pat Holden believes his brother will be a familiar face to the team and it should be a smooth transition; having no doubt that the team will adjust very well. “I think that’s the biggest advantage they have from hiring from within: that he’s familiar with them, and they’re familiar with him,” said Pat Holden. Ernie Harper, a senior point guard and shooting guard, has been on the team since his freshman year. He agrees with his former coach: “He’s been our assistant coach since my freshman year so it won’t be that big of a change…I’m completely comfortable with him and trust him as our new head coach.” When asked why he applied for the position, Scott Holden responded, “I mostly applied for the coaching position because it seems like something I can offer young people – young guys that want to play basketball. But there’s a certain aspect of it, the competitiveness as a coach, I would feel like something was missing if I didn’t have it.” This competitive spirit has driven Lower Cape May Regional to be a success in previous years, as seen in last season’s 20 - 4 record, and as it appears, it will continue to be the driving force under the new leadership of Scott Holden.

Samantha Safdie is on her way for some big-time fame. The AMDA (American Musical and Dramatic Academy) graduate has been living in New York to promote her career, and spoke recently with LCMR TV Media students about her journey to success. With an education at AMDA, she joins the ranks of successful alumni who have premiered in everything from Broadway sensation Wicked to the popular television comedy Modern Family. Ever heard of Jason Derulo or Jason Mraz? One guess where they got their start. Safdie stresses the importance of education,"Get an education and study the craft," Safdie said. A Fort Lauderdale native, the Florida girl moved to New York, which is a move she advises to anyone who is trying to break into the entertainment industry; a city locale is key. She also suggesrs to take classes and learn from people who know the business. Safdie warned, "Don't make enemies." Sadie's advice is worth listening to. She sang at the Democratic National Convention at the age of sixteen. "Hilary Clinton was right in front of me so that was a little bit nerve-wracking," Safdie said. Her first job was as an extra on the television show Guiding Light, and she then premiered in an off-Broadway play at the Public Theater. She has also appeared on the television show Royal Pains, the film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, and starred as the leading lady in independent fims The Businessman and The Grasslands (to be released later in 2011). Safdie is not only a thespian however. As of late, Safdie has been writing and recording her own music. She co-wrote and recorded a song for a local children's television show in Florida, and one of her recording songs may be featured in a film. The entertainment industry is tough to break into, but Safide is proof that with perseverance it can be accomplished. As Safdie so succinctly put it, "Be determined, don't give up."