For the first time in Manville history, Manville High School hosted Faculty Wars in the auditorium on April 27, 2023. It was organized by the MEF, Manville Education Foundation, as well as various Manville members, including Ms. Daniela DiGena who spearheaded the event. The purpose was to raise funds for scholarships for Manville students. Faculty wars gave all the staff the chance to have some competition while various students and parents filled the auditorium. Staff members who signed up with a team of seven had the chance to go against each other in various events. There were seven events in all, and each team had to present a skit for their introductions. 

Three Manville High School students stepped up and hosted the night! Amy Fields, Hannah Janes, and Bella Guzman Mc’d the night with their funny puns and positive energy. To kick off the night, The Wild Wild Westies brought out their inflatable horse and galloped around the auditorium with some of their students joining them at the front of the stage. The Glass Half Full team who was all administrators had a hilarious skit with them acting as teenage boys in the bathroom. They ended their skit with Mr. Mike Magliacano, principal of ABIS, doing the worm on stage, and Mr. Steve Venuto, Vice principal of Manville High School, showing off his breaking dancing moves. Roosevelt Rockin’ Royalty had a band performance that ended with having to remove Mrs. Karen Sweeney, a Grade 4 Special Education Teacher, from the stage with her rocking guitar.

After the audience had a good laugh, they started the show with “Finish the Lyric,” where a song is played and the participants race to finish the rest of that line. Once the race was completed, the Homecoming Queens, led by Ms. Kira Moebius, a Physics teacher for the high school, won by finishing the song “Kill Bill” written by SZA. Moving along in the night, the next event was musical chairs. Weston Warriors with Ms. Itayelsy Cristalinas, Preschool Administrative Assistant, won the event with Mr. Zachary Tall, MHS Social Studies teacher, on Homecoming Queens being runner up. Next, the teams battled it out to prove their intelligence in the next event, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? Ms. Maureen Stephen, MHS Mathematics teacher, on Detention Heros won the event. By this time in the night, the contests dove into a sticky situation. The contestants had to find gummy worms hidden in chocolate pudding while their hands were behind their backs, with Mr. Kevin Caldwell, MHS English teacher, on Homecoming Queens found all seven at a record-breaking time, with Mr. James Zilinski, on the Detention Heroes coming in second. As the contestants cleaned their pudding-covered selves off, the refs set up for the next event of cup stacking. The next event was cup stacking which could be viewed as one of the most difficult as the participants had to be quick and steady. However, the last competition really stole the show where the Manville staff had to prove their strength. Each contestant had to do as many CORRECT push-ups as possible without stopping. Manville High School teams really finished strong, as Mr. Pat DeNapoli, MHS Gym teacher, completed 74 pushups for his team of the Homecoming Queens. Mr. Wright, Principal of MHS, finished close behind with a total of 70 correct push-ups. 

Throughout the crazy competitive night, all Manville staff teams had fun competing with each other. That being said, only one team could bring home the treasured trophy. The MHS team of the Homecoming Queens brought home the first-place title for the first time ever Faculty Wars! Congratulations to all teams that competed to make this night a success. 

Participants: 

Weston/ Wild Wild Westies: Heather Newland, Danielle Capezio, Dorothy Puzio-Raymondi, Courtney Madrigal, Kristina DiNardo, Erin Regan (Ref Emely Batista) 

Roosevelt’s Rockin’ Royalty: Cristina Zuniga, Karen Sweeney, Meghan Dattola, Jacinta DaSilva, Ayoni Bachrach, Jessica Conover (Ref Peyton Wessel)

SLAYBIS: Matt Bergman, Michelle Gonzalez, Kyle Hamilton, Gregory Jackson, Kelly Peppe, Kevin Pacheco (Ref Brandon Alvarado)

Detention Heros: Chris Del Prete, Stefani Villa, Maureen Stephen, Jim Zilinski, Samantha Harris, Nick McFarland (Ref Deanna Betancourth)

Glass Half Full: Kelli Eppley, Dorothy Eason, Mike Magliacano, Steve Venuto, Donald Johnstone, Adam Wright (Ref Leila Sonnenberg)

Westony’s Child: Kerry Miljkovic, Samantha Wagner, Dana Correnti, Aurora Scanlon, Lauren DeVries, Erin Sperduto (Ref Juliana Bucciero)

Weston Warriors: Courtney Fottrell, Itayelsy Cristalinas, Lisa Molina, Samantha Moreno, Megan Loriot, Bill Sperduto (Ref Eleany Batista) 

Homecoming Queens: Kira Moebius, Zachary Tall, Beth Vroom, Kevin Caldwell, Anjelica Viso, Pat DeNapoli (Ref Camilia Espinoza)