Top 10 things to do on the weekend
Emma Palamidis, Staff Writer
May 10, 2018
Not sure what to do this weekend? Here are the top 10 things to do for fun in the Pascack Valley area! Emma Palamidis Go to Paramus Park, Palisades, or Garden State Mall. Walking around at any mall can get your mind off of school work and is a fun thing to do with friends! Lucky for us, these mall...
Technology at our fingertips
Sevan Gulleyan, Staff Writer
April 17, 2018
As I scrolled through various social media apps, the harsh light from my cell phone made me squint my eyes. I glanced at the digital clock. 3:00 a.m. “I have to be up in three hours,” I thought to myself. “It’s too late to bother starting that Physics homework.” Where had the time gone? How ha...
“I stood up and walked”
Rachel Powell, Staff Editor
March 15, 2018
One month ago, I learned that there had been yet another school shooting and that 17 people had been killed in a senseless and tragic act of violence. I watched as parents tearfully remembered saying goodbye to their children before school that morning, listened to survivors make passionate pleas to electe...
Will we ever feel safe?
Lauren Cohen, Editor in Chief
February 22, 2018
Columbine. Virginia Tech. Sandy Hook. Now, we have another deadly school shooting to add to the list: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. When will this end? There have already been a number of school shootings so far in 2018, and while the three mentioned above took place prior to this year, the Fe...
“Illuminae” is a captivating and untraditional read
Ellie Kim, Staff Writer
February 13, 2018
Caught in the middle of a corporation war, teens Kady Grant and Ezra Mason are forced to flee their home planet after being attacked. Thrust into a battle of their own, they must fight their way through the deceptions of the fleet’s Artificial Intelligence, which should be protecting them, and a deadl...
Worth more than a test
Sevan Gulleyan, Staff Writer
January 2, 2018
I sit in a crowded classroom with the PSAT test packet in front of me, the clock above me, and the time of the section on the board across from me. I will not finish in time, I think to myself as I feel my heart rate begin to rise. I re-read the passage in front of me as twenty minutes pass with 12 questions...
DEAR Administrators
December 13, 2017
Oh, DEAR; not this again. On Wednesday, Pascack Valley held its second Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) session of the 2017-2018 school year during Pascack Period Session A. Students were expected to remain in their homeroom classrooms and read quietly. The first DEAR session of the year was on Oc...
“I’m not ashamed”
Kayla Barry, Managing Editor
November 2, 2017
Kayla Barry shares the struggles she faces every day due to anxiety.
A sport divided
October 18, 2017
NFL players kneeling on the sidelines has been a contentious issue for over a year now. A couple PV students weigh in on the debate.
PV must fix parking problems
Lauren Cohen, Editor in Chief
October 17, 2017
At 2:55 every week day, a long line snakes from the front of the school all the way back to the football field. What seems like hundreds of seniors sit in their cars for up to ten minutes waiting to leave campus at the end of the school day. Yet not even half of the seniors have parking spots in the stude...
Becoming an example for underclassmen
Madison Gallo, Editor in Chief
October 11, 2017
People always say that high school flies by, and I never believed that — until now. An eager, nervous freshman walked into her third-period elective, Intro to Journalism, taught by Mr. Bill Rawson. The Editor in Chief of the school paper, Vanessa Rutigliano, was introduced to the class within t...
Hear and now: PV needs a sign language class
Tara Healy, Staff Writer
May 30, 2017
(Editor’s note: Tara Healy is a PV sophomore who suffers from hearing loss and wishes to tell her story in this opinion piece.) When I was four years old, I was diagnosed with Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome. This means that the vestibular aqueduct in my ear is not shaped correctly, which resu...
Loading ...Site Excellence
Excellence in Writing
Staff Writer
Vasili Karalewich is a freshman and he is in his first year of The Smoke Signal. He contributes to the s...
Read all stories written by Vasili Karalewich
Staff Writer
Julia Guskind is a junior and joined The Smoke Signal at the end of her sophomore year. She looks fo...