“Your Voice in Print” blakespectrum.org
Issue V
Friday | December 16 | 2022
The Blake School
Holiday Glee Adorns Halls Decorations, activities rally school amidst final examinations Mackenzie Higgins, Sam Tomczik, Rowan Wallin, & Oscar Walsh | Food Editor, News Editor, Editor-in-Chief, & Opinions Editor
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s finals conclude, winter break nears; although the days grow shorter, holiday glee begins to materialize throughout the School. Upper School Director Joe Ruggiero, as he puts it, “wanted to do something creative for the holidays” on his office door. Ruggiero’s door is decorated with Christmas stockings; one for each of his advisees. Lilly Anderson ‘23 says, “It was nice that each of [the Ruggiero advisees] got to design their own stocking.” Ruggiero says, “[It’s] a neat way to celebrate my advisory, but also to brighten up the hallway.”
Ruggiero adds, “It’s wonderful that [these decorations can] make people feel happier while they’re in school.” Additionally, teachers are bonding during this holiday season. “On the Wednesday during finals week, [Sarah Warren and I told Taher to] prepare a nice lunch for the faculty,” explains Ruggiero. Ruggiero was also able to visit Steve Kaback’s classroom recently; Ruggiero remarks, “[Kaback’s classroom] is beautiful! It just feels nice in [there]; It’s fun to go in and see that.” Kaback tells the story of how his room was decorated: “Two of my advisees decorated the entire space… All of the decorations [in the room] were voluntarily contributed by these two advisees… They surprise-decorated my room.” Kaback describes: “We are trying to get all of the holidays – the winter holidays all have to do with celebrating light – and so we are hoping that we’ll continue to decorate [the room] all the way through next week.”
Rowan Wallin
Seniors study at the fore of a blazing fire and holiday lights.
What began as a wellthought-out surprise quickly became “a gift to all my classes from the advisory,” Kaback reflects. Everyone seems to be able to benefit from the holiday spirit whether or not they are in the Kaback advisory or in one of his physics classes. Kaback notices all of the positive reactions the festive distractions bring, adding, “It would be great if we did this in all the advisories and maybe the administration could give a little budget to all the advisors and we could coordinate [decorating].” Kaback concludes: “When you have such an upbeat vibe everybody gets to enjoy it.” Oliver Duininck ‘24 agrees. He says, “It promotes the holiday spirit and gets people in a good mood before break.” SIACs have also found ways to brighten up the school. Kiana Poul ‘24 explains that SIACs put up decorations “to raise winter spirit and make these stressful times with finals a little bit more cheery and bright.” Ivy Besikof ‘23 commented on the decorations saying, “I like that they’re not too Christmas-ey because I don’t celebrate Christmas.” Poul explains that SIAC focused on more winterthemed decorations; she says, “Blake does not like to associate with any specific religion, so we were told not to put up Christmas trees or anything like that unless we incorporated all religions,
Mackenzie Higgins
Kaback in his classroom near stockings, one for each of his advisees, and other decorations.
and seeing that most people didn’t have Kwanzaa decorations and things like that on hand, we couldn’t do any religious aspect.” The choir classes also aspire to improve student and faculty spirit in the final week of the semester. Choir director Natalia Romero explains the goal, “COVID[-19] kind of stopped a lot of things, so my hope is that we do this kind of around finals week as a time for teachers to stop in and listen to some music and jump back into grading, and to do it in the spring again for Valentine’s Day.” The different choirs sharing their songs throughout the week “are focused on holiday spirit, they are kind of fun… Vocare is going to be singing “Last Christmas” by Wham!” explains Romero. CJ Eckhardt’s room is also outfitted with holi-
day decorations. Like Kaback’s room, the decorating initiative was student-led: “[My advisees] went out and bought a bunch of decorations. They wanted to be inclusive, so they have some Hanukkah vibes going on and Christmas lights and cute little gnomes,” says Eckhardt. However, the sophomores and juniors didn’t just buy the “HAPPY HOLIDAYS” stickers and string lights that line Eckhardt’s room; they also bought mistletoe. Mistletoe is a plant that gets hung on a ceiling, encouraging any two people standing under it to kiss. Some have found this decoration uncomfortable and inappropriate. “Considering it’s a school that has people celebrating multiple holidays, it probably spreads more PDA [than
holiday cheer],” says Charlotte Palmby ‘25. Eckhardt recognized this, saying she “had to make the firm decision to take it down. I was worried that it would entice individuals to do things they shouldn’t do.” With the mistletoe removed, Eckhardt hopes her room can spread holiday cheer and provide a “home away from home” that makes students feel excited, gleeful, and welcomed. Some students see past these decorations, however. Anderson admits, “The decorations are a nice gesture, but they’re a facade to cover up real problems in school like depression.” Despite this lingering sentiment, Ruggiero is “happy to hear that people are trying to find little ways to bring the community together and make people feel good.”
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Mackenzie Higgins Kate Rekas
Rowan Wallin
Chloe Lipham
“Mark your calendars; Tuesday Dec. 20, both the boys’ and girls’ hockey teams compete against Benilde-St. Margaret’s at home.”
News & Sports: Page 2
Cleo Kilpatrick
“Aritzia, an immensely popular brand mainly amongst teenage girls, first launched the viral Super Puff, a collection of jackets and vests, in 2017.” Pictured right: Kate Austrian ‘25 Arts & Culture: Page 3
Sofia Hedlund
“When passing through cities, colorful decorations and bright lights bring the holiday spirit and generate excitement. However, these bright displays come with a cost.” Opinions: Page 4