Hammond’s Production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream Coming Soon – Audition Tips and More!

By: Kenneth Apana-Korley
Online Editor

 

The first round of auditions for Hammond’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream are happening on June 7th, in the drama room from 2:30-5:00. To sign up, all you need to do is to click the link to head to the Hammond High Theatre website and sign up for a 30 minute audition slot. All of the audition resources are online and memorization ismidsummer NOT REQUIRED for auditions. Continue reading →

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Where are They Now? – Mr. Akatu

By: Aidan Borsh
Staff Writer
Current seniors that were in Mr. Osborne’s 10th grade class will remember the infamous Mr. Akatu. (Although, if Mr. Akatu is more memorable than Mr. Livieratos’ student teacher, Mr. “M,” is up for debate). While Mr. “M” quickly abandoned his desire of becoming a high school teacher, Mr. Akatu stuck with it. The former running back for the University of Maryland Terrapins and graduate of Towson now spends his days teaching in his own classroom at Rockville High School.

At Hammond he touched many lives, mainly by angering several 10th graders about the plot of Life of Pi. Nonetheless, his teaching was only a small slice of why this man kept life interesting through the stress of sophomore year. From his newsboy cap, to the fact that he pours his milk before his cereal,

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Where are They Now? – Mr. Kostrick

By: Kenneth Apana-Korley
Online Editor

For years in the technology hallway at Hammond High School, one man stood firm while so many left along the way. A man named Alan Kostrick stood by his motto, “Kostrick Kares;” but now that he’s gone, everybody wants to know: Where is he now? With that question in mind, the Bear Press was able to get in touch with Mr. Kostrick through email and conduct an interview.

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Where are They Now – Aileen Zhang

By: Molly Schreier
News Editor

Bear Press: So what’s the name of your program in Texas?

Aileen Zhang: So I currently attend the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Sciences.  Eleventh and twelfth graders get to take courses at the University of North Texas.  You either follow a biology,  health-sciences track, or a computer sciences track.  Based on whatever professional career or pathway you’d like, you can concentrate your classes.  So for the life sciences track, you’re taking biology, chemistry, and humanities courses. For the computer science track, you’re taking computer science and other required courses.  Once you progress through 2 semesters you begin taking other electives you like, and you can either stay at the University of North Texas or within the Texas University System and transfer your college credits, so once you’re done with 12th grade you will enroll as a junior in another school, or if you go out of state it would depend on that school’s transfer-credit policy.  So they might only take fifteen credits, which is basically a semester, or they might not. Continue reading →

Where are They Now? – Mr. Bullock

By: Cade Delker
Associate Editor

Mr. Bullock was a staple at Hammond, filling the senior hallway with the smell of amazing meals and covering every locker with vegetable puns. It came as a huge shock last year hearing that he would be leaving us and migrating to the west coast. He is missed just as much if not more than the treats he taught his students to create.  Many of our hungry students have been wondering, “Where is he now?”. To answer this, The Bear Press was able to secure a phone interview with him from his new home in Portland, Oregon.

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Coach Smith Honored by NCAA for 25 Years of Service

By: Shehzan Dayha and Tyler Walters
Photo Editor and Sports Editor

As the best of the best battled for the NCAA national wrestling championship in Cleveland Ohio, our very own Coach William Smith received the Twenty Five Year Service Award from the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Three Hammond coaches (William Yeo, Alex Abarmat, and Bill Smith) were in attendance.

Coach Smith has been apart of the Hammond family since 1983, coaching wrestling, football, boys soccer, boys lacrosse, and  girls lacrosse. Hammond’s Athletic Directory, Mike Lerner, reflected on Coach Smith’s impact at Hammond. “Coach Smith has been helping student-athletes for over thirty years here at Hammond  High School and throughout Howard County. I have never met another coach who was more passionate about helping student-athletes than Coach Smith. He has always and will always continue to help student-athletes reach their potential and help them learn life-lessons along the way.”

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         Coach Smith watching his team compete in the Maryland State tournament.

As an assistant, Coach Smith just finished the wrestling season with a record of 32-6. Many championships have been seen in the eyes of Smith. Wrestling captain, Jordan Davis, a junior at Hammond, says “Smitty is the most caring person I’ve ever met, and there is nothing he won’t do to help a student or one of his athletes. Without Smitty Hammond High School would not be the same.”

“Smitty is a person that would put his students and athletes in front of himself because that’s how much he cares,” says Caitlin Pettengill, #2 on the lacrosse field, “Even though he has retired from coaching girls lacrosse, we will carry his wisdom and great coaching with us.” Continue reading →