With high school prom night just eight days away and graduation only
around the corner, you can almost taste a celebratory mood in the air.
Fancy dresses, tuxedos and limousines are lined up - maybe even a
few dance lessons at Fanny Blair Hall in Vineyard Haven to get ready.
With less than four minutes left in the Martha's Vineyard-Nantucket football game Saturday, several Vineyard players snuck up behind special teams, linebacker and tight end coach Stephen Barbee and doused him with a large Gatorade bucket full of ice water.
The traditional prank was a fitting end to the afternoon for a coach who saw all three of his units play a starring role in the Vineyard's convincing 27-12 win over the archrival Whalers on a bright but chilly day at McCarthy Field.
They have won prestigious awards in art, journalism and sports and
have played a stronger role in student government than any class before
them, taking the first strides against racial tension in the school.
When the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School class of 2006
graduates on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. under the shelter of the
Tabernacle on the Camp Ground in Oak Bluffs, 204 young men and women
will leave their school a better place than when they first arrived.
Complicated Rank and Grading System Now Slated for a Possible
Overhaul by Administrators and Students
By RACHEL NAVA ROHR
High school class rankings yield one winner come graduation, and the
competition to become valedictorian requires some strategy at
Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. Taking a class called
Stock Market or Sports Management could push you ahead. Architecture and
Island Cooking don't help or harm, but Journalism or Introduction
to Law could set you back.
For the first time, this year the Martha's Vineyard Regional
High School junior prom will require not just a ticket to enter, but a
green light from a breathalyzer.
After alcohol use caused problems at last year's prom, high
school principal Margaret (Peg) Regan considered cancelling this
year's prom and revisiting the issue the next year, but at the
students' request, Mrs. Regan instead collaborated with juniors to
make prom safer.
With all the hype surrounding tomorrow's Island Cup game between the Vineyard and Nantucket, it's easy to overlook that at its core, it's only a game.
Unlike in previous years, when the contest often determined whether the Vineyarders or the Whalers made the playoffs, the only thing on the line this year is bragging rights until the two teams lock horns again next November.
The students manning the phones at the Hebrew Center on this January night are there to kick off the first night of the 2006 SafeRides season. The student-run program provides a free and confidential ride home to any student of the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School who is not in a condition to drive safely or who wants to avoid being a passenger with an unsafe driver.
Even before the 30th annual Island Cup game began on Saturday, things didn't look good for the visiting Whalers from Nantucket.
When the players in blue and white stormed the field before the game and tried to plant their flag, the wooden mast snapped in half and the Whalers' banner fell onto the ground.
Things only got worse for the Whalers after that.
The Vineyard exploded for 28 second quarter points, all fueled by Nantucket turnovers, to put the game out of reach early en route to a 48-6 drubbing.
The Nantucket varsity football team is a formidable foe. When the Whalers come to the Island tomorrow, they bring with them the state’s best coach and a lead in wins for the Island competitive trophy. Nantucket leads the series 35-22-3 since the rivalry began in 1953.
Their weakness is that they aren’t defending the trophy. And they are behind the Vineyard in wins and losses this fall. This has been a tough year for the Whalers. They are 3-5.
