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RETURN TO NORMALCY
Volume 70, Issue 5
A Student Publication of the Belmont Hill and Winsor Schools
November 18, 2021
How Are High Schoolers Navigating Life Amidst the Global Pandemic? By Jackson Kendall ’22, Angelina Li ’22, and Kevin Weldon ’24 Banner and Panel Staff
The Banner and The Panel staff working together to complete layout at the Winsor School
In recent months, both statewide and national COVID policies have changed immensely. Many businesses have reopened their doors to excited customers and social distancing guidelines have been eased. Schools are among those organizations greatly impacted by the shifting guidelines. In various aspects, our very own Winsor and Belmont Hill have both begun to phase into normalcy. At Belmont Hill, this year feels more like the school we know and love. When we walked back on campus on August 30th, all students were required to wear masks indoors at all times with no exemptions for those who were vaccinated against Covid-19; however, social distancing requirements were relaxed. In similarity to the 2020-2021 school year, lunch normally consisted of sandwiches, chips, drinks, and dessert, choices in a “grab and go” format. Until the 15th of November, Forms I-III ate lunch together between 12:05 and 12:45 in the regularly scheduled Upper School F-Block while Forms IV-VI were allowed to Luke Hogan ’22 grab lunch at any time between 11:30-2:00. Continued on Page 10.
History In the Making: Michelle Wu Senior Interviews on the College Process the Chair of the Committee on Education. Some major policies that Essaibi George championed during her campaign centered around public education and eqOn November 2, Michelle Wu be- uity. As an educator at East Boston High came the first female POC mayor of Boston School for 13 years, Essaibi George prioriafter Annissa Essaibi George officially con- tizes establishing school-wide safety precauceded. Both Michelle Wu and Annissa Es- tions and individualized special-learning saibi George programs made hisfor students tory, as this with disabilwas the first ities. Aside time in Bosfrom being a ton that the proud Bostwo final ton resident candidates and educawere women tor, Essaibi of color. EssG e o r g e abi George also advois the cated for first-genera- Michelle Wu, Mayor of Boston CNN policies retion Amerigarding clican daughter of Polish and Tunisian immi- mate change and racial justice. grants. Born and raised in Boston, Essaibi While Essaibi George continued George is a graduate of Boston Tech, Boston to emphasize her family roots and her University, and UMass Boston, and a for- more “old school” traditions throughout mer Boston Public School teacher. She was her campaign, Wu ran a progressive one. elected as an At-Large Boston City Council- Wu continued to advocate for Green New or in November, 2015, where she served as Deal, free transit systems, and rent control. Continued on Page 2. By Daniel Bittner ’22, Alex Lo ’23, and Jessica Wei ’22 Banner and Panel Staff
Look Inside The Issue Winsor News 4 Reaction to Mental Health Suvey
Annie Fisher ’24 reflects on the mental health survey taken by all Winsor students.
Belmont Hill Arts 8 Artist of the Issue Read about Jacob Czarnecki ’22’s musical career within and outside Belmont Hill written by Daniel Bittner ’22.
Belmont Hill News 3 Student Senate Hopeful of Return to Pre- Belmont Hill and Winsor Arts 6 Covid BH Dune Movie Review
Class Officers Joe Puglielli ’23 and Luke Carroll ’22 write about the Student Senates’ plans.
Daniel Rashes ’22 and Tarini Dasari ’23 review the newly released movie Dune.
By Isabelle Fan ’23 and Brian Lee ’24 Banner and Panel Staff As historically successful college preparatory schools, Winsor and Belmont Hill have recently concluded another fall of helping seniors apply to college. With Early Action (EA) and Early Decision (ED) deadlines appro a ch i ng , seniors spent these past few months in the full swing of the application process. As most of the seGraduation Caps niors find themselves nearing the end of the first wave of the college admissions process, we’ve decided to ask a few of them to share their experiences with the process at their respective schools. As of now, Howard Huang ’22 explains that “most seniors have submitted EA, ED, or REA (Restrictive Early Action) applications to schools,” although they will
be continuing to write more regular decision applications and prepare for their interviews. Isabella Liu ’22 reports that she is “now working on essays for the deadlines coming up the quickest,” most of which are approaching throughout November and early December. The college application process is certainly tough and rigorous, especially amidst seniors’ involvement in challenging academics and a variety of extracurricular activiNYTimes ties. Some seniors such as Arec Keomurjian ’22 have been able to manage the balance between schoolwork and college apps. He tells us, “I think I have been able to manage my schoolwork and college preparations relatively well, making sure to take advantage of the free time I get. Doing a lot of the work over the summer helped as well.” Continued on Page 15.
Belmont Hill and Winsor Arts 6 Belmont Hill and Winsor Arts 9 Community Members Exemplify Friends- Playlist of the Issue GIVE-ing Check out Isabelle Find out about members of both communities Fan ’23, Gigi Chu that exemplify Friends-Give-ing from Luke Ho- ’23, Luke Wagner ’22, and Kailen Richgan ’22 and Natalie Pan ’23. ards ’22’s favorite songs for this issue.
Belmont Hill and Winsor Sports 19 Boathouse Buddies
Howard Huang ’22 and Lauren Hogan ’23 talk about the camaderie between the Belmont Hill and Winsor crew teams when they share a boathouse on the Charles River.
