Check out Eastside’s Junior Prom Fashion Trends

All photos taken by Paige Hymson (’10)/ Eastside Entertainment Editor

All photos assembled by Avra Bossov (’11)/ Eastside News Features Editor

Junior Prom recap

On May 1, the junior prom was held at the Collingswood Ballroom in Collingswood, New Jersey. While tickets cost $70 each, the fun and memories created were priceless at this year’s junior prom. The theme was “11:11 make a wish” and the students couldn’t have wished for a better time.

 The ballroom was very spacious, with two floors and a dance floor in the center. “I like the location, it’s very nice”, said Nick Birbillis (’11).

In regards to the theme, there were center pieces on every table and decorations coating the ballroom. However, while some thought the decorations were lacking others felt quite the opposite.

“I like the atmosphere,” Ashley Eng (’11) said, “It’s very party like”.

One look at the dance floor meant seeing a swamp of students moving to some beats, both old and new. Most students could be found on the dance floor throughout the evening and not many people were sitting. Of course songs like “Rude Boy” by Rhianna and “Shots” by LMFAO got the crowd going. Yet Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” and Spice Girl’s “Wannabe” were certainly crowd pleasers as well.

Katrina Hauck (’11) said, “I’m trying not to be sweaty” as she and her friends took a break from dancing.

If not on the dance floor, dinner and refreshments were being served. The evening started off with a garden salad and moved onto a dinner of a large variety. There was chicken, vegetables, ziti and more to choose from to satisfy ones hunger.

Amid the food, the music, and the decorations, the junior prom came down to one thing; friendship. Students gathered with their best group of friends and enjoyed a night of dancing and singing to some favorite tunes.

 Alexis Baker (’11) puts it best as she said, “The best thing about tonight is my friends. Without them it wouldn’t be as fun.”

Italian American Club plans a bake sale

On Wednesday, the Italian American Club met for the 6^th time this year. Costa Vrontis (’10) is the leader of the club, beneath supervisor Mr. Marano.

The goal of the club, according to Vrontis is “to share Italian culture.”

The group met to discuss a bake sale that will be going on next week. The bake sale will include only Italian desserts. Also in preparation for next week, the club has been getting ready for multi-cultural day. They will have a museum that displays Italian culture and history.

The Blind Side review

Based on the extraordinary true story of Michael Oher, The Blind Side stars Sandra Bullock and newcomer Quinton Aaron in an uplifting football film. Director John Lee Hancock really captures the realities of the once homeless and struggling teen. Watching The Blind Side is like watching the actual well-off Tuohy family in action. Bullock does an incredible job portraying the sassy, no-nonsense Leigh Anne Touhy.

The story of Michael (Quinton Aaron) begins in Memphis, Tennessee, in an area of the projects surrounded by drugs and problems. We find out through a series of flashbacks that Michael’s mother was a drug addict; he had no father, and moved through foster homes at a young age. All of those aforementioned issues came to an end when the Tuohy family, a wealthy family of four, welcomed in Michael. Sean, the husband is played by country singer Tim McGraw, and the teenage daughter, Collins, is played by Lily Collins. Finally, the young son SJ, is played by Jae Head, who creates a comic relief every time he hits the screen.

The movie is most concerned with the outcome of Michael’s life, and the extraordinary situation in which he finds himself. Although an obvious success story, it is not the average tale. Due to his large size, Michael catches the eye of his high school football coach and soon becomes a player to watch. Quickly many college football teams want Michael because of his impressive blocking ability. In order to get his grades up the Tuohy’s hire a tutor, Miss Sue (Kathy Bates). As time progresses the NCAA begins to investigate Michael’s story. Because both the Tuohy parents attended Ole Miss, as did Miss Sue, when Michael finally decides to go there as well people become suspicious. No one can believe that the Tuohy family would take in a poor boy with no selfish reasoning. However, that point is what makes the story so unique and uplifting.

Sandra Bullock really does an outstanding job showing the emotional mother-son relationship created between her and Michael. Overall it is a lighthearted and uplifting film that combines reality with some added humor. The Blind Side definitely has potential to be the top movie of the year, and it definitely deserves the nomination.

ABC Fall Preview

ABC will return this fall with an abundance of new shows. Eleven series premiers will take off beginning in September. Here’s a look into each new show so you know what to expect from ABC this season.

 

Cougar Town

Series premiere Wednesday, September 23^rd

Cast: Courteney Cox, Christa Miller, Busy Philipps, Dan Byrd, Brian Van Holt, Josh Hopkins and Ian Gomez.

Cougar Town is a comedy expressing the reality of dating after divorce as portrayed through Jules Cobb (Courtney Cox). Cobb is a middle aged woman who attempts to balance a son and a career, as well as a love life in a small Florida town.

 

The Deep End

Coming soon

Cast: Matt Long, Ben Lawson, Tina Majorino, Norbert Leo Butz, Leah Pipes, Billy Zane, Sherri Saum and Clancy Brown.

The Deep End takes place in a high-status L.A law firm called Sterling Law. The four new workers starring in this show all need to work together and form alliances to succeed in such a rigorous firm.

 

Eastwick

Coming soon

Cast: Rebecca Romijn, Lindsay Price, Jamie Ray Newman, Paul Gross, Sara Rue, Veronica Cartwright, Johann Urb, Jon Bernthal and Ashley Benson.

Three very dissimilar women learn of their special bewitching powers.  When they enter Eastwick, they enchant the town like never before. This show combines romance with mystery to express the temptations and fantasies in life.

 

Flash Forward

Series premiere Thursday, September 24^th

Cast: Cast: Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Jack Davenport, Sonya Walger, Courtney B. Vance, Brian O’Byrne, Christine Woods, Zachary Knighton and Peyton List

An unexplained incident causes everyone to black out at the same time for a period of two minutes and 17 seconds. During that time, everyone sees a vision of their lives 6 months from the present, causing people to consider whether or not their visions will come true.

The Forgotten

Series premiere Tuesday, September 22nd

Cast: Michelle Borth, Christian Slater, Heather Stephens, Bob Stephenson, Anthony Carrigan, Rochelle Aytes

The Forgotten is a drama that deals with a group of volunteers working to identify the remnants of 40,000 forgotten people throughout the United States. After the police force gave up, these average people from all across the country investigate extreme murder cases in search of the person who killed the unknown victims.

 

Hank
Series premiere Wednesday September 30th

Cast: Kelsey Grammer, Melinda McGraw, David Koechner, Macey Cruthird, Ryan Wynott

Father Hank Pryor (Kelsey Grammer) and his family have been living a life full of luxury in New York City. However, when Hank is kicked out of his CEO Job, he and his family must move back to their old home in a small town. In this family comedy, the Pryor’s must learn to downsize as a new way of life.

 

Happy Town
Coming soon

Cast: Geoff Stults, Lauren German, Amy Acker, Steven Weber, Ben Schnetzer, Sarah Gadon, Jay Paulson, Robert Wisdom, Sam Neill

Haplin, Minnesota, nicknamed “Happy Town”, has been a small friendly town for several years. However, when a murder takes place, the town is shocked. Immediate investigations begin.

 

The Middle
Series premiere Wednesday, September 30th

Cast: Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn, Charlie McDermott, Eden Sher, Atticus Shaffer, Chris Kattan

In the middle of nowhere, almost middle aged and middle class, Frankie Heck (Patricia Heaton) is a loving wife trying to care for her family. Despite her mediocre career and somewhat dysfunctional family, Frankie will do just about anything to put her family first.

 

Modern Family
Series premiere Wednesday, September 23rd

Cast: Ed O’Neill, Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Sarah Hyland, Rico Rodriguez, Nolan Gould, Ariel Winter

This comedy series tells the story of three very different families. However, they all share the same struggle to become the perfect family.

Shark Tank
Series premiere Sunday, August 9th

Cast: Barbara Corcoran, Kevin Harrington, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary

Shark Tank is a reality show that allows entrepreneurs to present ideas to millionaires in order to gain money to grow their own businesses. The show gives people a chance to become successful and to help make their dreams come true.

 

V
Coming soon

Cast: Elizabeth Mitchell, Morris Chestnut, Joel Gretsch, Lourdes Benedicto, Logan Huffman, Laura Vandervoort, Morena Baccarin, Scott Wolf

This series is a sci-fi show that shows the world waking up to find space ships hovering over ever major city. The aliens say that they mean no harm and come in peace, offering gifts that are very helpful to the human race. However, it is discovered that the visitors have actually come to take over the American government and overall mankind.

 

 

Marro to compete in the Meet of Champions

Top cross country runner Meghan Marro (’09) has come a long way from early on in the season. When she started running this summer, her main goal was to make it into the Meet of Champions.

“I’ve been training since the summer with both my team and the coaches,” Marro said.

Finally, she has achieved her goal and will be running in the meet this Saturday.

The NJSIAA XC Meet of Champions includes some of the best runners in the area. The top ten runners from the state meet, held Saturday, November 15^th, qualify for the Meet of Champs. Then, there are two wild card runners chosen. Marro was the 7^th seed out of ten and a chosen wild card for the meet.

In preparation for the upcoming meet, as well as meets in her past, Marro has been running 4-5 miles per day.

“I want to do as well as I can,” said Marro. “I am not expected to win, but I did make it to the Meet of Champs so I want to do my best and I want to have fun.”

The Meet of Champions will be held this Saturday, November 22 at Holmdel Park in Holmdel, NJ. The boys’ race is at ten a.m., followed by the girls’ race at 10:45 am. Cherry Hill East is definitely proud of Marro’s achievements and wishes her good luck.

Blood Drive collects 246 pints of blood for Red Cross

The Cherry Hill East blood drive had another successful year. Starting on November 11 and ending on November 12, the helpers all felt great progress was being made.

“I think we have been right on schedule with our goal which was 230 people,” Todd Hummel (’09), chair person, said.

On day one alone, about 135 people donated blood, which earned the drive 137 pints of blood. The goal for the first day was 130 pints of blood, a goal that was clearly over achieved. Aside from the school participants, around 30 community donors came to donate on the first day. Overall, 246 pints were collected over the two days. The blood drive exceeded it’s goal of 230 pints by 16 pints.

“It’s been pretty standard,” says Mr. Davis, head coordinator of the blood drive. “Everyone understands what’s expected.”

The environment of the drive is very friendly and welcoming for all donors. Many people have helped to organize the drive, as well as participate in making it run as smoothly as possible. The American Red Cross association takes the blood, thus many nurses are needed for this process.

“In high schools it’s more fun because of the kids and the environment. I like coming to high schools,” said one nurse who takes blood about five to six days a week.

Overall, the blood drive is a great way to lend a hand, and donate to a deserving cause.