The Bolles Bugle November-December 2018

The Bolles Bugle Staff Editor-in-Chief: Kennedy McKinney Special Issues Editor: Claire Cywes Online Editor-In-Chief: Salma Shalaan Copy Editor: Havana Frakes Writing Coach: Jisette Baquet Design Editor: Anisa Patel

Letter from the Editor

I read a tweet the other day that said: “Going to school in between Thanksgiving and Christmas break feels like the last lap in Mario Kart where the music is all fast and gets really stressful”. I’ve never read a tweet so accurate.

Thank you so much for picking up a copy of this edition of the Bugle. I hope it serves as a pleasurable read and provides relief from the high stress of midterms. We even have articles specifically on how to manage stress and ways to cope during the school day. Good luck on your exams and have a wonderful holiday!

Now, I have to go study.

Sincerely, Kennedy McKinney Editor in Chief

PR Editor: Jacqueline Emas Perspective Editor: Avani Bansal Coffeehouse Promoter: Gabe Bassin Contributing Writers: Ellie Anderson Kloe Brill Su Ertekin-Taner Taylor Ford Julia Johansen Thomas Keaveny Ian Peiris Soraya Rafat Anya Raheja Sarah Scherkenbach Ava Sickler Adviser: Ms. Jacobson Questions or comments, contact: jacobsona@bolles.org or bollesbugleonline@gmail.com

Editorial Policy: The Bolles Bugle is the newsmagazine created by the journalism class atThe Bolles School. Our publication focuses on increasing community awareness of in-school events and topics relating to the five news values: relevance, proximity, timeliness/novelty, conflict/controversy, and human interest.

Content in the Bugle is the responsibility of the editorial staff and not meant to reflect the views of the school’s administration or the student adviser. Please reach out to our faculty advisor, Ms. Jacobson, with any questions or comments. She can be reached at jacobsona@bolles.org or at bollesbugleonline@ gmail.com.

Copyright 2009-2018, The Bolles Bugle

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Table of Contents

Student Life pg. 4-14

Arts pg. 28-32

Academics pg. 16-20

News pg. 34-38

Sports pg. 22-26

OP-Ed pg. 4-41

STUDENT LIFE

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The Bolles Bugle

The Reflection Room

Meditation, Mindfulness, and More The air stands still. As the fragrance of flowers fills the room, images of calming landscapes come to mind.

The sound of the fountain’s water resonates. After relaxing in a peaceful state-of-mind, you open your eyes and look upon the paintings and dim lamps of the Reflection Room, feeling calmed. This is the experience during guided meditation.

The Bugle Staff tried a guided meditation to relax during the school day.

Anisa Patel, Design Editor, said, “I felt like it really put everything into perspective.” The technique paints a picture of different calming landscapes.

Jacqueline Emas, Public Relations, said, “When I opened my eyes, I kind of forgot that I was here [in the Reflection Room].” Using guided meditation in daily life can positively impact stress levels.

With calming pictures and comfort-

able bean bags, the Reflection Room is the newest addition to the Bent Student Center at the Upper School San Jose Campus, as it provides a tranquil setting for both religious students to practice prayer or reflection and students who need time to regroup Above: The landscape in the Reflection Room is tranquil. and relax.

“We are in a time period where stresses of the day.” there’s a lot going on Although religion is an important with students,” Mrs. Ashman, 10th use for the Reflection Room, and grade advisor and Director of Cultural some students use if for daily prayer, Competence, stated. “The idea came it is also a good place to relax. When up to have a reflection room where you are having a bad day or need students can just get away from the time to calm down, the room is the perfect place to destress.

Below: The Reflection Room is located upstairs in the Bent Student Center.

Mrs. Genduso, one of the guidance counselors, stated, “It’s a good idea to know how to calm yourself, whether that’s journaling, listening to music, meditating, going for a run, or anyway to get yourself at peace.”

Mrs. Ashman thinks reflecting will help in college and in the distant future. “It’s good practice that more people should do because it helps mentally within you.”

Mrs. Genduso sometimes sends her students to the room to “recharge” during the day. When she sees students stressed or experiencing anxiety, “I usually think they aren’t ready to go to class yet, so I tell them to sit here [Reflection Room] and gather themselves. Sitting in here is a place to recenter.”

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Dr. Lieb’s Perspective on Meditation A beach landscape in the Reflection Room.

The setting of the room was inspired by different colleges Mrs. Ashman visited. “I reached out to UNF and Jacksonville University to find out if they had reflection rooms. I was able to go by UNF and take a look at how their room was set up and how it’s used.”

At the universities, Mrs. Ashman found massage chairs, computer programs, and decorations that were all built for the ideal reflection space.

“Since we are a college prep school, I thought we would move in the direction of what students will see when they head off to college.”

Right now, Ashman thinks the room is a huge success. She sees students using the room “during Activities period and in the late afternoon. When the students are dismissed, there will be a couple of students who would come up at around 3:15 before they leave campus to use the room.”

In a few years, Mrs. Genduso hopes there will be more places around campus that allow reflection. “[I probably would want] a place where more kids can go to just recharge, like more picnic tables or seating areas on campus. Places where they can just be a kid.”

As exams approach, it may feel as if the stress is building up inside of you.

Instead of letting this happen, take advantage of the Reflection Room, and you’ll be ready for anything.

How is meditation scientifically beneficial for the brain?

“Well, studies have shown that the brain waves of Buddhist monks that meditate on a regular basis are different from that of everyday people, and those individuals report greater levels of happiness and contentment with their own lives, so it’s reasonable that a meditation is effective for managing those types of things, your expectations in your stress levels, how you think about your daily life, and how you interact with the world.”

Do students have to be religious to meditate?

“Absolutely not- no one needs to be religious in order to meditate. The meditation comes from or has its origins in many religious traditions, but the religiosity is completely separate from meditation of itself in Western society.”

A Quick Recap of a Study on Buddhist Monks and Meditation - A neuroscientist, Richard Davidson, used MRI machines to analyze Buddhist monks’ brains after practicing years of meditation.

- He tested 8 different subjects who spent approximately 34,000 hours meditating in their lives.

- Davidson found that the brains had “high-amplitude gamma-oscillations” indicating resilience and adaptability to change.

- He also found that because of meditation, the monks showed immunity to viruses and their overall mental health were exceedingly high.

- For more information on the study, see https:// www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/07/ dalai-lama-neuroscience-compassion/397706/

Ian Peiris Contributing Writer

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The Bolles Bugle

Stress Less:

Finding Life in All the Right Places

Your heart rate quickens, a knot in your stomach forms, and an overwhelming sense of dread falls over you. You’re stressed.

no means do you have to be extremely talented at art to do this, that simply drawing out what you feel is therapeutic for anyone.

According to Psychology Today, the definition of stress is the psychological perception of pressure, and the body’s response to it, which involves multiple systems, from metabolism to muscles to memory.

However, if you’re not particularly fond of art, then you may find Yash Gulani’s ideas more appealing. When Gulani finds that his studying gets less productive, he takes a break to watch Netflix or to workout.

Stress typically is the body’s way of motivating performance, but, as with most things in life, stress must be experienced in moderation. Our academics, from regular to AP, aren’t for the faint of heart. On a day-to-day basis, students meet slews of assignments, tests, quizzes, labs, well, the list goes on and on. Naturally, these situations can be stressful. So, when stress becomes less of a driving force and more of a debilitating one, people need to find ways to cope with the situation at hand that is causing stress.

He said, “I watch The Office on Netflix. It usually de-stresses me. This usually helps me. I always end the night with an episode or two.” Even something as simple as watching a TV show to clear your mind helps to refresh and become more productive during long study sessions.

Many times, the stress we encounter creates a block in our line of sight, that the stress dominates, that we cannot get around it. The fact that worries most of us is the feeling that stress seems uncontrollable or unmanageable.

Christina Klassen described her freshman year as being a first encounter with a stressful situation, and that she adapted ways to help, saying that art is a method she likes. She described her process, and said, “ I like to use art, particularly drawing. I’ll just get a blank sheet of paper and then I like to start off with flowers. Sometimes it’ll get a little chaotic. [It] helps me get it [the stress] out.”

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Klassen reported that the drawing usually ends up being a visual representation of what she feels. Klassen said that by

In addition to this, Gulani enjoys working out and recommends it to others. He said, “I workout in the morning before school. That way I’m energized and it really clears your mind. Getting that blood circulation early in the morning, even if you’re really tired when you started, it really wakes you up.”

Part of what Guidance Counselor Lauren Genduso does is try to reframe a student’s perspective, hinging on the fact that stress is temporary, that it doesn’t last forever. Genduso said, “[I] present the problem in a different way, present all the options and solutions that child has and kind of see which one works, like trying to look through, a different perspective.

Glass half full kind of way.”

That perspective offers valuable insight, because stress does not need to be a dominating factor, and there are activities we can do to subdue the high amounts we face.

To offer different ideas, I asked Ms.

Genduso what she recommends. Ms. Genduso said, “Exercise in some way to get those endorphins going.”

She said that the exercise can be anything, from walking on the beach, to playing a sport, really anything that stimulates endorphin release, which you can tailor to your own likes and dislikes.

Aside from exercise, Ms. Genduso said, “So maybe listening to music, drawing, writing, music, reading. Journaling. Just carry a book around, journal, coloring journal. Photography. I mean, any hobby.”

The possibilities for stress management activities are endless, and can be adjusted to your schedule easily. Whether it be taking fifteen minutes to draw or watch Netflix, simply taking that time ensures clarity of mind and overall productivity.

While taking breaks eases the immediate feeling of stress, finishing the work which causes stress dissipates the feeling in its entirety.

According to Forbes, creating a productive atmosphere is fairly simple. Some of their recommendations include: creating to do lists, setting realistic ambitions, and constantly asking if your current activities are productive, in other words, if you are actually getting work done. Additionally, procrastination catalyzes most of the stressful situations in which we find ourselves.

To stay productive, Klassen typically puts her phone in a separate room while she studies, and keep the room she is in relatively quiet to eliminate distractions.

Klassen described that her drive stems from wanting to set a good example for her two younger brothers who also go to Bolles. Klassen said, “[By] showing them

Questions from the Freshmen...

How do I get through my exams without panic attacks?

-Definitely start studying earlier, because trying to cram won’t work. I would say spread it out a little bit. Also, I like going to teachers. I feel like they help. (Christina Klassen) -All right, first look at your exam schedule and mark the days where you think you're going to have the hardest exam, some are definitely harder than others. So mark those days, and then you create a study plan the weaker of the two weeks before, especially during the breaks. You have maybe two more weekends after Thanksgiving break, so definitely use those. Your advantage don't just slack off.

Also, have fun. (Yash Gulani) What are good study tips you have?

-I like to color code things. So like, by chapter or by, like, certain themes, because that really helped me get, like, things organized. (Christina Klassen) -If there's a study guide given, I'll use that first. And then if I really need more practice, going through the textbook, skim through my notes a little bit and then go online, take quizzes. Definitely take good notes in class. Pay attention in class because a lot of teachers give out answers on their tests in class. Also, do your reading every night because that's the way you're going to be prepared for the answers to questions in your teacher's class. (Yash Gulani) How do I keep track of time during an exam?

-I try to finish everything, not rushed, but get through it, finish everything first. And then I go through and look back over and fix anything I may have missed. (Christina Klassen) -You split that up in your mind, take forty five minutes if there's fifty multiple choice questions and then take the rest for review. (Yash Gulani) Do I need to go to the exam review?

-If one is offered, go. For example, with Bio Honors freshman year, it was helpful because the teacher obviously knows what's gonna be on the exam. (Christina Klassen) -Yes, you should because a lot of teachers give out extra credit for coming, they give out answers on exam, and they let you go over your tests. (Yash Gulani)

I work hard and study, hopefully they’ll do that too.”

Sophomore Sophie Monahan finds she is most productive when she turns her phone off and goes somewhere where she isn’t distracted, usually her room or a Starbucks. Monahan said, “Knowing that working hard will result in a good grade motivates me.”

Yash Gulani focuses with music, for reading he listens to a calm playlist, specifically “Reading Sounds.” For math or physics, he listens to rap and songs in the top charts. Additionally, Gulani always stays hydrated while studying to help him focus. To motivate himself, Gulani thinks of his future at college. He said, “The idea of not getting into college usually scares me straight and keeps me motivated.”

With these various approaches, main-

Bugle Staff Defines Stress • • • • •

• •

The inability to feel joy until I get done what I need to get done.

Simmering panic.

The panic of realizing you have so much to do in so little time.

The feeling of everything needing to be done perfectly.

An emotional force that puts a physical pressure on you as a result of the fear of anything from failure to completing a task.

When your mind is filled up with too many things that you have no space for relaxing thoughts.

The SAT.

Tips and Resources •

Forbes “12 Tips for Increasing Productivity”

There’s an App for That!

• • • • • • • • • •

Calm Headspace Officespace Colorfy WeCroak AdobeSpark PocketYoga Rescue Time Asana The Worry Box

taining productivity and staying motivated does not have to be as difficult as we may think.

Stress does not last forever. While the anxieties which encompass the high school experience appear detrimental or defeating at times, remember that we all have the capability to work through it.

Ellie Anderson Contributing Writer

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The Bolles Bugle

Dawg Dictionary

Because Urban Dictionary doesn’t have the right words to comprehend Bolles. You’re welcome.

BGS A cult-like group of girls who enjoy playing soccer “OH EM GEE GOOOOOO BGS!! ROAD TO STATES!”-girl with a soccer hoodie in the parking lot

River Campus

The grass and swings that have a view of the river “Want to eat at the river campus?”-Havana Frakes “Sure, we can go to the one swing.”-Pranit Manohar

Schoology Stalking

What is the name of that hot guy in your science class?

What is your project partner’s email?

What 2nd period does the person you need to return a book to have?

All these questions can be answered by Schoology stalking: Going through classes, groups, schedules, and class rosters to find what you need.

(May require several levels of stalking) “Oh my god, what period does Gabe Bassin have now? He’s in my math class and he’s too cute.”-Gabe’s admirer

Catacombs Sketchy underground tunnels thought to exist under Bolles hall

“HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE CATACOMBS??”-everyone “Uh no I don’t feel like getting possesed or a spider in my hair today.”-Jisette

“Divide up paper for a quiz.”

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The worst words a person can hear when they forgot they had reading last night.

“So divide up paper and number it 1-10...”-any teacher at the beginning of class

Dehydration

When you realize you left your water bottle in one of your last three classes.

“Have you seen my water bottle?”- Everyone

Canteen A student who appears to have no classes because he or she is always in a booth with french fries.

“Hey! Do you know where this kid is?”- New student “ Oh, he’s a canteen--look in Bent.”- Lifer (noun: a senior who’s been here since Pre-K)

The Benches

The location of all food sales but actually a table.

“Chick-fil-a sale at the benches!”- Schoology post

Convocitis

The sick feeling when you left your HW for activities but you have a convocation…

“UGH my convocitis is flaring up, I forgot we have a convocation today and I left my math homework for activities.”-Thomas Keeveny

Alphabet Soup Brain

When you get your letter days mixed up and end up bringing the wrong books and go to the wrong lunch.

“I have a bad case of alphabet soup brain today, I thought it was C day instead of B and I have all the wrong stuff.”-Anisa Patel

The UnlikelyHOODIE of Hope

Talismanically wearing the sweatshirt of an Ivy League while making a really basic academic mistake.

“What’s 2+2?”- teacher “2!”- girl in Harvard sweatshirt “I see she’s reppin’ the UnlikelyHOODIE”- Classmate’s inner thought Jisette Baquet Writing Coach

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The Bolles Bugle

All Treats and No Tricks: Halloween Carnival “(The Halloween Carnival) was also fun for me because kids who aren’t from Bolles are able to come and have an actual Halloween experience and it’s fun seeing what all of the other booths are doing too.”

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Trisha Chakravarty ‘20

Family, Friends, and Fun at the Fall Festival

“It was really fun watching the kids run around with face paint and prizes.

Seeing them get extremely excited when they found out they had won a game was funny and handing out prizes was overall a fun experience.”

Dahlia Kirov ‘21

Kloe Brill Contributing Writer

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The Bolles Bugle

Hernandez takes on a different stage

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When you think of a band, what’s the first group that comes to mind? The Beatles? Queen?

The Rolling Stones? Something Modern? What about Allie and The Kats?

Gianluis Hernandez (‘20) is an artist. You may have seen him acting in either a previous play, perhaps as Hansel in Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, or in one of the biannual acting showcases. However, his passion for the arts doesn’t stop there. Gianluis Hernandez also plays jazz and the blues on the piano with his band, Allie and The Kats.

When he was young, Gianluis used to play with a friend who owned a keyboard. When his mother noticed him playing songs by ear, she suggested he take lessons. “You have to kind of keep on playing until it sounds right, even if you mess up. You just kind of have to find which note is right.”

Until middle school, Gianluis took on and off lessons. “Once I started getting into 7th and 8th grade, I started getting more into it, getting into a band, doing stuff like that, going to battle of the bands, going up to Memphis to perform up there for Blues which is kind of like jazz.”

He joined Allie and the Kats, a

band of 4, sometimes 5, members from schools all over Jacksonville. The lasting members of the band are Gianluis, Gabriel Pfaffman, Evan Mayo, and Allie Rohrer, the lead singer. On their

Another one of their first performances was at the 11th annual Jacksonville Public Library Battle of the Bands, and the library’s last. Why the last? “I don’t know why it ended. Nor do I know how we could make it come back. I guess from lack “Jazz is what you create, what of interest. It might be lack of funding.” Similar to their perforyou invent, it’s all original, mance in Memphis, they were mostly. You can’t read jazz just starting. They played some off music, you have to under- covers again, however they ended up winning. “We won first stand how to play it. It’s a place and that made us more of style like many other things. a band. We started working on harder stuff and putting more Like rap or pop music. It’s effort into it. We’ve improved.” unique.”

When they went back to Memphis a second time, their - Gianluis Hernandez (‘20) improvement payed off. They started playing originals. “ We wrote our own songs with our first year, they went up to Mem- own lyrics, chord progressions, everything.” Gianluis ended up phis, TN to perform the blues. playing both the piano and the This program started couple organ. “We really improved drasyears ago when the Florida Blues Society appeared in Jack- tically from the year prior. We weren’t the same band.” sonville. They started sending While Gianluis would like to go both children and adults up to back, they will not be returning Memphis to perform each year.

“Our first year was only covers of this year. For now, they are playsongs. Nothing original. We were ing local gigs. Allie and the Kats playing based off the covers. We will perform at the Jacksonville Zoo this December. However, didn’t really change the songs much because we had to keep it Gianluis remains confident they could return Memphis. “We original so people could recogcould always go back if we just nize it.”

compete, and as long as we make it first place, which I know we will because I have faith in my band. We are a solid band.”

Beyond Allie and the Kats, Gianluis wants to continue piano as far as he can. “I play the piano because it’s fun. Even if I don’t take lessons, I’m still trying to learn songs.” Though sometimes it is the music as much as it is the instrument. “With jazz, it’s much more expressing yourself in the music and trying to find a fun rhythm...You don’t have to play the right notes in jazz, as long as it sounds good, you’re fine. That’s kind of bad to say, but at the same time it’s kind of true. Because jazz is what you create, what you invent, it’s all original, mostly. You can’t read jazz off music, you have to understand how to play it. It’s a style like many other things. Like rap or pop music. It’s unique.”

The many faces of Gianluis Hernandez: student, actor, and musician.

Outside the arts, Gianluis enjoys playing competitve video games such as League of Legends and Overwatch.

Photo Credits: Allie and the Kats Facebook Page, Shoot Like a Girl Photography, https://www.shootlikeagirlphoto.com/, and Gabriel Bassin.

Gabriel Bassin Coffeehouse Promoter

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The Bolles Bugle

Greeking Out Over the Holidays

The festive few weeks of the holiday season provide time with family, an aura of relaxation, and many presents, but what will you provide? Many adults bring dishes made from complex recipes to holiday gatherings. And with seven hours of school a day, plus additional extracurricular activities and homework, unless you are Chef Gordon Ramsay, this does not seem practical.

Delaney Gray (‘19) explains the difficulty of trying to provide food for the holidays in her hectic schedule. “I would like to bake but I just don’t have the time or resources. Personally, I believe it would be easier and less time consuming to go out and buy food that is already baked.

After school, I am always doing sports and homework and baking takes longer than the time I have. It is not that it’s hard to bake; I just don’t want to.”

With a crunched time schedule, buying baked goods is the easier option for most high school students. Rather than routinely getting Publix chocolate chip cookies, local bakeries provide delectable options for your holiday table.

Naomi Herman (‘19) provides a unique tradition for the holiday season. Herman explains, “every year for the holidays, each family member contributes something different. For Thanksgiving, my grandma comes in town every year and bakes with me so we always provide the

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desserts. We have worked out a system so the holidays have almost become a routine.”

The tradition of using Grandma’s assistance when baking is not limited to the Herman household. Jackie Biles, owner of Ya Ya Sweets on San Jose, learned to bake in her Ya Ya’s (Greek term for Grandma) kitchen. Biles refers to her roots, “my Ya Ya taught me from childhood how to make the pastries, breads and the savory items. The baklava goes back to Greece... it’s her recipe. I try to keep all family recipes “tried and true”!”

Biles keeps her Ya Ya’s recipe alive in her bakery located approximately four minutes from the San Jose campus.

Ya Ya Sweets makes an array of food ranging from savory traditional Greek plates to Greek sweets and wedding cakes Biles lists the range of food available on the menu. “Because we’re primarily a Greek bakery, we have Greek pastries and the most popular items are our baklava, chocolate and chocolate raspberry! We make Pastisio which is a Greek lasagna rich with special herbs, Spanakopita, better known as a spinach pie with feta cheese: a savory favorite with our customers. We also offer breakfast sandwiches for those early birds that need a quick breakfast bite on the way to work.”

For the holidays, homemade pies and

cakes are made for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Biles highly recommends the lattice pies in apple or pear, as well as the sweet potato pie, cheesecakes and holiday cookies. She discloses, “If you haven’t tried it, you’re definitely missing out.”

The most famous baked good? The chocolate raspberry baklava. Biles reveals, “the chocolate raspberry baklava is a movie star.”

The baklava is so delicious it caught the eye of host Ali Khan from Cheap Eats.

“Who doesn’t love food like their grandma makes? But when it is Greek pastries made by your Ya Ya… yes please!” Khan exclaims standing in front of Ya Ya Bakery adorning his teal Wayfarer style sunglasses and contagious smile. “A one of a kind pastry shop in the Jax area, Ya Ya Sweets packs in locals looking for a taste of the sweeter side of Greece.”

When purchasing baked goods from Ya Ya Sweets, Biles recommends ordering a week in advance. Biles continues, “however we have plenty on hand for those last minute shoppers.”

Those at Ya Ya’s Sweets understand orders can be requested last second as well, as Biles proceeds, “we’ve made wedding cakes overnight! Yes, overnight.”

If you are looking for a way to provide for holiday gatherings try out local bakeries such as YaYa Sweets and add a new tradition to the holiday festivities in your family.

Jacqueline Emas PR Editor

ACADEMICS 15

The Bolles Bugle

Lower School Learning Together: 1st, 2nd, 4th On the Whitehurst Campus, you’re bound to hear the excited chatter among students at recess or walking to and from activities. What you wouldn’t expect to see is fourth graders and second graders (or first graders) talking animatedly with each other while discussing the Learning Partners activity that they are about to do.

Last year, one of the fourth-grade teachers at the Whitehurst Campus, Ms. Kissinger, founded the Learning Partners program. The program partners students in the fourth grade with either second or first graders (depending on who your teacher is) for bonding activities that include an educational component.

Ms. Kissinger and second grade teacher, Ms. Hager, partnered up and their classes and meet at least once a month so the learning partners can meet. Each of Ms. Kissinger’s fourth graders were randomly partnered with a second grader from Ms. Hager’s class.

To kick it off this year, Ms. Kissinger’s and Ms. Hager’s classes met and did some “getting to know you” activities. The children introduced themselves to their partner, and then they had to think of commonalities that they shared. However, Ms. Kissinger added a twist to the traditional ice-breaker. “It couldn’t be simple. It couldn’t be that they were wearing orange shirts or that they love pizza. It had to be something they had to dig deep into the other’s personality to figure out what they were.”

The kids loved the activity, and they had a great time while devel-

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oping crucial skills that they will need in the future such as creating a relationship with someone that you may not meet otherwise. Ms. Hager recounted the experience and said, “It was so cute; you could hear them shout out things like, ‘OH I LIKE THAT THING TOO!!’”

The goal of the program, according to Ms. Kissinger, is “not so much about fourth graders helping second graders but also second graders’ influence on fourth graders, so it is a reciprocal kind of community.

We learn from them, and they learn from us.”

Ms. Kissinger and Ms. Hager aren’t

Students eating lunch at their first picnic on the River Campus (with their learning buddy).

Photo Credit: Ms. Kissinger the only classes that have the learning partners; all fourth graders are able to experience the responsibility and excitement of having a younger buddy.

Ms. Canfield’s fourth grade class partnered with Ms. Bobbitt’s first grade class, and they work with the first graders on developing the first graders’ reading and vocabulary skills. Fourth grader Olivia Owens stated, “I like working with them

because I know I’m teaching them how to learn. I just like that.”

All the fourth graders that were interviewed said that they like having a learning buddy because they were either cute or because it is a fun experience.

Ms. Canfield’s fourth grader’s even call their first-grade partners cute nicknames (that the younger part-

“Our fourth graders feel like they’re really trying to assume some responsibility for [the second graders’] wellbeing.”

-Ms. Kissinger

ners came up with) like, for example, “T-Bear”.

Another fourth grader, Paris James, said that he enjoyed spending time with his first-grade buddy, “because it’s kind of fun to watch [and help] them do it [learn vocabulary].”

The activities vary for each session, but the point is not to just do a regular classroom activity with someone else, but to develop a relationship with someone from a different grade. Ms. Hager mentioned, “To have a connection with an older student for my second graders is a great feeling for them.”

The program doesn’t just benefit the second graders. Ms. Kissinger explained that, “Our fourth graders feel like they’re really trying to assume some responsibility for [the second graders’] well-being.”

Sometimes, they meet at the River Campus for a picnic lunch, or in either of their teachers’ classrooms.

According to Ms. Kissinger, sometime this year they will meet in the treehouse. Together, they work together to plan the activities. When asked, together, Ms. Kissinger and Ms. Hager mentioned, “I think we

they put on an amazing performance. Ms. Kissinger discussed their role and explained, “What they did was that as our children were talking about 20 facts about Australia, as a child might say their fact, a second grader held up a picture. So, if they talked about deserts and oceans Learning Partners on River Campus having fun! and this, that, and the Photo Credit: Ms. Kissinger other, there would be a usually collaborate, we do collabopicture that would go along with it.” rate, we bring different strengths.

After last year’s second graders We both sit down and plan ideas graduated and moved up to the that we have for our groups.”

Four days out of the week, White- third grade, they still talk to Ms. Hager about their experience. Ms. hurst has something called “flag” where all of the students from all of Hager recounted, “[My students] would say, they’re in third grade the grades meet at the flagpole for now, ‘my learning partner is in 5th announcements or performances. grade! It’s so cool; they’re the big “We were at a teachers’ conferkids on campus, but they still come and say hello to me!’” ence recently and the presenter Ms. Kissinger reflected on why said, ‘Computers can’t teach kids the program is important for the to think in ways that computer students and brought up that, “We [itself] can’t.’ Our program epito- were at a teachers’ conference recently, and the presenter said, mizes this quote. Our program ‘Computers can’t teach kids to think allows our children to practice in ways that computer [itself] can’t.’ leadership, social collaboraOur program epitomizes this quote. tion, coaching, encouraging, and Our program allows our children to practice leadership, social collabomore.” ration, coaching, encouraging, and -Ms. Kissinger more.”

The performances occur on Fridays and are put on by an individual class. The learning partners worked together to put on a performance for the entire Whitehurst Campus.

This year every grade was assigned a continent, and when it was Ms. Kissinger’s class’ turn to do a performance, they decided to do a “20 Facts About Australia” presentation.

Ms. Hager’s class helped out their fourth-grade buddies, and together

Q&A With the Lower School Academic Council Dr. Halloran: What does the academic council do? “The academic council is a group of upper school students who volunteer at lower school and essentially do anything a teacher needs them to do to help out.”

This year is said to be the council’s strongest one yet, any thoughts on that? “It is definitely, I think that the student Savannah Friedlin is helping me out with this voluntarily is just been very inclusive and very good at getting the information and the group we had last year had fun and talked about it.”

Victoria Nicholls (‘22): What is your favorite part of being on the council?

“My favorite thing is grading tests, I think. Just because I really like seeing how they’re developing, their different skills, and how they’re training them to start, early on, because they do things like a bit differently from when I was there. So, it’s good seeing what they do and the mistakes they make because then you could help them with the mistakes they make so that they do better on it.”

How do you think the council helps the lower school kids?

“They ask us questions because they know that we’re here to help them and we know what they’re doing and how to do it.”

Lindsey Blisko (‘22): What have you learned from being on the academic council?

“Patience, definitely patience.”

Sarah Scherkenbach Contributing Writer

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The Bolles Bugle

Statistically Significant?

Data Analysis Classes Can Answer This

The Data Analysis classes, “Would you vote for Mr. Incredtaught by Ms. Griffin and Mr. ible even though he is currently Lyons, create the school-wide being investigated for unauthorsurveys you occasionally take on ized use of superhero powers?”

Schoology. These surveys cover Another quality sought for a broad range of topics. Ms. in a survey is repetition. Mr. LyGriffin shared some examples ons said, “Repeats are purposeof topics, including ethnicity ful and they are there to meawithin Bolles, boarders vs. non- sure consistency in a survey.” boarders, grades, and favorite

Another task while creatsubjects. ing a survey is getting equal rep Data Analysis students resentation of opinions. In order choose the topics of their surto find this equal representation veys as well as administer them of student opinions from around to the student body. “This was the school, different methods totally their baby. I gave them of sampling are used such as parameters and said fly and cluster sampling, proportional they did,” sampling, and “It wasn’t about the survey, said Griffin. stratified samit was about the process. The pling.

They chose their topics in students learning the different A well-distheir smaller tributed survey techniques about the groups within represents a their class and sampling. It was about the range of opinthen create reflection, realizing what ions. If one opintheir survey ion dominates, worked and what did not questions. The then that survey whole process work, learning from it” has not been is student-led. properly admin- Ms. Ana Griffin Accordistered. If people ing to Lyons choose not to and Griffin, the key to making respond to a survey, then then a well-written survey is asking that survey was also not propquestions in a neutral manner, erly administered. Lyons said, not asking leading questions. If “People have told us ‘no’, they a question sways you to a spewon’t do it. You just have to deal cific opinion/answer, then it is a with it.” If students face these leading question. For example, situations, it can be a learn-

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ing experience. Ms. Griffin said, “They could see how statistics could be used to vastly misrepresent a topic.”

Once the students receive their answers, they analyze the results. Many times, the results differ from pre-survey predictions. For example, in a survey about favorite subjects around the school, the students predicted English or science and were surprised that math was the favorite.

To visually show the data, they create bar graphs and determine whether their data was statistically significant.

Once the graphs are created, groups begin the hardest stage.

They must give a presentation analyzing the results and the effectiveness of their survey.

Taking surveys can be sweet! Lyons told a story from his own statistics class from when he was in high school. “We had a correlation activity with M&M’s concerning the weights of bags of M&M’s. I made up a joke and sent a letter to M&M Mars telling them that my bag of M&M’s weighed the least and I was ridiculed by my friends.

They ended up sending me a coupon for a free bag of M&M’s- I consider that a win!”

Surveying the surveys...

Which one is the easiest to interpret?

The types of sampling: Cluster sampling- ask small groups around campus at random to take a survey. Sampling is hit or miss Proportional sampling- sampling proportional amounts of students from each grade.

Stratified sampling- dividing the student body into subgroups (or strata) and randomly selecting the final students proportionally

These bar graphs are the results of the recent surveys administered to teachers about different policies such as dresscode, punishments, and technology policies.

There are 3 different ways of presenting data shown here: vertically, horizontally, and 3-Dimensionally.

Avani Bansal Perspective Editor

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The Bolles Bugle

La Semaine Francaise 2018 The French Club and Mme. PhilipsBourass sponsorsed French Week 2018 on the week of November fifth. Each day focused on the cultural traditions of different francophone regions. Monday: Morocco. Tuesday: Quebec.

Wednesday: Belgium. Thursday: France. Friday: Haiti.Various guest speakers came to speak.

Madame’s husband, who grew up in Morocco, performed a traditional Moroccan Tea Ceremony for French students. On Friday, an 18 year old student at FSCJ named Charles came to educate Drench students on Haitian history, culutre, language, music, etc.

The video follows the various activities the French club hosted throughout the week. At one point, we take it to the street to ask Bolles students a little bit of trivia. If you want to skip to any specific part of the video, just click the time stamps in the description view the segments individually. Please like and subscirbe.

Gabriel Bassin Coffeehouse Promoter

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Thomas Keaveny Contributing Writer

SPORTS

The Bolles Bugle

Follow Me: The Winter Captains’ Clinic “Being a team captain and stushirt and a Bolles pop socket. dent leader at Bolles can be a chalAttendees, Frank Iturriaga Ayala lenge,” said Dean Newman. So, in (‘19 Varsity Soccer), Mithe spring of 2018, he began holdchael Hume (‘19 Varsity Soccer), ing Captains’ Clinics.

Ella Edwards, Will Shepherd, and In these clinics, the captains of Stefan Mostovych (‘19 Varsity each sport of the upcoming season Soccer), and I discussed different come together to discuss what it situations for captains to handle means to be a captain as well as such as what to do when another what qualities make a good leader. athlete is not working as hard as he or she should be.

The clinics are a new addition to the Bolles Athletic department.

In the packet, was a list 21 charNewman said, “With the support acteristics that define an excepof the administration and Athletic tional captain and quotations that department, Coach Boswell and I explored those characteristics. held the first workshop last spring Some of these characteristics with the captains of all the spring included: Charisma, Commitment, sports.” As of now, there have Communication, Competence, been 2 additional clinics for the fall sports and for the winter sports.

The clinic is a great honor that tells each captain selected that he or she is a leader and an outstanding member of the Bolles community. “Our primary goal with the program is to help the student-athletes understand the support and resources available to them as well as celebrate the fact their coaches have chosen them to be leaders on this year’s teams,” said Newman.

Courage, Discernment, Focus, Generosity, and Initiative.

“Not every Senior gets an opportunity like this and it feels good Along with each characteristic knowing that I worked hard to earn came quotations and points on my spot,” said Ella Edwards (‘19, how to improve that quality. For Girls Varsity Soccer). example, for the characteristic of Will Shepherd (‘19, Varsity Basketball) attributed his leadership learning to Mr. Newman. “Coach Newman did a really great job of educating us, he made it as fun as it could be with the structure.”

initiative, Conrad Hilton said, “success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”

Additionally, the packet contained a few exercises for us to fill At the clinic, we began with breakout, including a name the captain fast, and looked through a slide game, a goal setting sheet, and a show that reflected the packet we “captain’s quiz”. were given. We also received a t-

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Above: The attendees of the clinic gather for a group photo after completing the clinic.

One of the most important ideas that we took away from the clinic was that many people are misguided about the qualities that make a good captain. Edwards learned that a captain “isn’t just the best player on the team, it’s the person who rises above all when their teammates are down and overcomes adversity in tough situations.”

While the clinics are enjoyable, they are also extremely informative, as leaders learn how to embody the motto “follow me” in which captains act as role models for their peers.

The clinics are designed not only to cultivate leaders on the field, but also leaders off it. Newman said, “If these student leaders can make a positive impact on others in the locker room, classroom and on the weekends, that’s a plus.”

Claire Cywes Special Issues Editor-in-Chief

The Captain’s Clinic Goes Pro The symbol seen in the middle image is a captain’s patch. Not only is it the symbol for the clinics held at Bolles, but it is also worn by NFL captains. Each star represents a year as captain. Once the captain reaches four years in that position, his patch is made gold.

Top to bottom: Andrew Whitworth (LA Rams) Cameron Wake (Miami Dolphins) Thomas Davis (Carolina Panthers) Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) Derek Carr (Oakland Raiders)

Top to bottom: Kam Chancellor (Seattle Seahawks) Telvin Smith (Jacksonville Jaguars) Carson Wentz (Philadelphia Eagles) Patrick Peterson (Arizona Cardinals) Bobby wagner (Seattle Seahawks)

From top to bottom: Malcolm Jenkins (Philadelphia Eagles) Melvin Ingram (Los Angeles Chargers) Luke Kuechly (Carolina panthers) Kirk Cousins (Minnesota Vikings) Todd Gurley (Los Angeles Rams)

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The Bolles Bugle

Foul Play? The Effectiveness of Trash Talk

Above: Bolles Alumni, Orlando Heggs (‘18) advises his former teammates to focus on their job on the field and offers a little bit of positive motivation to play their hardest and rewrite history.

Physical speed, strength and skill aren’t the only measures of how well athletes can thrive in their respective sports. A witty combination of words allows an athlete to sneak into an opponent’s head, throwing them off and making victory more important.

There’s the physical game and then there’s the mental game, known as trash talk.

Trash talking describes friendly banter and boasting that motivates athletes to their best performance or it can be insulting speech intended to demoralize, intimidate, or humiliate.

Alumni Orlando Heggs (‘18) played football for the Bulldogs and now competes at Wake Forest University. While following Bolles’ recent football season, Heggs witnessed a new trend in trash talk: moving off the field to online roasting.

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Brackin stated he finds more fun Heggs said. “Because if I’m not backing it up, I will be looking silly.” in playing, and trash talking, a big rival, “It makes the games more fun to play and more exciting, espeOnline trash talk causes more people, who aren’t involved in the cially when it is with teams that are game that’s about to be played, to our rivals such as PV and BK. It’s good old-fashioned hate.” get involved in trashing the other team. This proved true for the Bolles football team after losing to There are different levels of trash talk. Ryan Brewer, basketball Ponte Vedra (PV) in late October. coach, tells his athletes that there For a game on Friday, October 26th, the Instagram feeds blew up is a line between respectful trash on the Tuesday before. The people talk and uncivilized talk, “Friendly trash talk between opponents is talking smack included Bolles students, students from other local a part of the game, as it’s used to mentally challenge your opposchools, and alumni from all over nent. However, there is a line and the country. athletes cross that line when they threaten physical abuse or verbally “Taking it to social media isn’t attack their opponent with hate necessarily the best thing. It can bring in the opinions and trash talk speech. It is uncivilized and disreof people who have nothing to do spectful, not only to the opponent, but to your coach, fans, and the with the game and people who program that you represent.” aren’t playing,” Heggs said.

Bolles Bulldog, Simon Brackin (‘20), engaged in online trash talk during both PV and BK games and Before social media, trash talk took thinks of trash talk on social media place primarily on the field, player as a way to create interest in the vs. player, and the performance games, “I think it’s very exciting spoke for itself. “I personally love because not only can both schools to trash talk but only on the field see what’s being said back and and only if I’m playing well, making forth but also it brings a lot more sure I’m backing up my trash talk,” attention to the games.”

Players can use social media to extend an olive branch to the opposing team. Before the October 26th gameday Mark Young, PV football player, sent a sportsmanlike Snapchat wishing Bolles players good luck but because of the large online audience the gesture was not responded to sincerely.

Left: Mark Young, a PV shark, reached out by phone to Michael Jubran and CJ Grimes at an attempt to put an end to the beef.

Young said, “I sent that to Michael Jubran and CJ Grimes posted it with no context. I wasn’t surprised after the game. I knew Bolles would talk all week and focus too much on the trash talk. I love trash talk but they didn’t know when to shift their focus to the game… so they got what they had coming.”

The Bugle reached out to Jubran and Grimes for comment but both declined an interview.

know a bunch of my friends trash talk. It hypes you up before a big meet.” However, Degrado said that if you focus on it too much it just distracts you, “I just focus on myself. I’m learning to focus more on what I’m doing cause everything else around you is just irrelevant.

For swimming it’s about your time not everybody else’s.”

Problems with trash talk occur when athletes let it affect their composure and emotional control.

During the heat of the battle, trash Studies referenced by the New York Times, NBC, ESPN, and CNN in talk can lead to frustration and aggression, “I believe that trash analysis of social media and hutalking can be a distraction,” Heggs man emotions show that online said. “It can take away the team interactions lead more quickly to aspect of the game and turn it into negative emotions than positive ones. “I believe there is a difference a selfish vendetta instead of being between online beef and in-person focused on the team and plays.” beef. If I’m actually playing and Trash talking takes place at all levtrash talking, my emotional reels. Richard Sherman and Michael sponse will be different than if I’m Crabtree, two talented NFL football on Twitter or Instagram when all of my emotions are all invested on players, engaged in an online feud in 2014 and in 2017, Crabtree’s the social media,” Heggs said. feud with Aqil Talib was intensified by Twitter commentary from Football players aren’t the only fans and commentators alike. This athletes who engage in trash talk.

Bianca Degrado (‘21), an advanced turned into an ESPN headline and their anger and frustration was swimmer, reported swimmers from Bolles and Episcopal engage reflected on the field in the form of penalties for “unsportsmanlike in swimmer-specific trash talk, “I

conduct.”

Heggs confirmed trash talk takes place at the collegiate level and confirmed that for his teammates social media trash talk after the game has a different vibe.

“After our big upset win against an in state rival, NC State, some of the seniors on the team took to Twitter and engaged in some friendly trash talk but only because we won and they didn’t do the trash talk prior to the game,” Heggs said.

Athletes use trash talk as motivation and it even makes them play harder. On October 12th, our football team played Bishop Kenny (BK) after a week of intense trash talk. In that case, they won the game, “One of the most satisfying moments is when we win and the other team, that did the trash talk, has to eat their words. All I gotta say is ‘Dogs by 1000,” Brackin said.

Heggs confirmed that trash talk can be a motivator, “At Wake, we play Duke, which is an in-state rival and our coaches put up old pictures of them celebrating a win on our field as motivation.”

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The Bolles Bugle

Foul Play, cont.

Left: A sample of the kind of message found on Instagram before the PV/Bolles game.

Players who trash talked were asked to comment on their behavior but they declined to be interviewed.

Wake Forest beat Duke 59-7 this season. In many ways you can turn trash talk and beef into positive motivation.” Heggs said Michael Mulvey, lacrosse coach, has witnessed trash talking but tells his athletes to stay focused on the game, “ I tell them to not let trash talk get into their heads and to use it as a motivator and focus on their skills,” Mulvey said.

Mulvey notices that in games where Bolles plays big rivals such as BK there is more intensity, “During big rival games trash talking can grow more personal in nature since our athletes have so many relationships with BK and Episcopal,” Mulvey said.

Christopher Sanders (Sr.), parent of two student-athletes at Bolles, has attended games where Bolles plays a big rival, “When they play rivals there’s always a little bit more intensity involved,” Sanders said.

Athletes engaging in trash talk should remember the student

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handbook which states: “Conduct both on and off the athletic field will be an example to the whole student body, nothing will be done to bring discredit to the athlete, the team, or the School.”

Twitter. While pro athletes’ bad behavior can influence young players, parents can have just as much of a negative impact, if not more.

Mulvey has also noticed parents trash talking the other team, and in some cases more than the athletes, “You hear a lot more coming from the stands and that riles players up as well,” Mulvey said.

Trash talking has been around forever. However, for Bolles, this is the first year where it has crept off the field and onto social media, making it a source of entertainment and controversy. Heggs commented, “After losing to PV, all the ‘rah rah’ that happened between the two teams on social media made us look weak and nothing about Bolles football is weak.”

Parents can also be a positive force. Sanders teaches his kids Coach Mulvey helps to define the to use the trash talk as a motivadifference between friendly banter tor and to not get caught up in and starting a fight, “Saying ‘you it, “We try to focus on turning can’t block me’ versus targeting things around to have the proper someone’s race and ethnicity are perspective and in doing so that two very different types of trash becomes motivational to them,” talk,” Mulvey said.

Sanders said.

Full disclosure: As a Bulldogs football fan, I attend most games.

Sitting in the parent section, I’ve observed parents cursing at the other players. Before the October PV game, a parent posted a “hype video” of Bolles players titled ‘The Shark Fighters’ on Facebook and

ARTS PAGE

The Bolles Bugle

Different Types of Assessments in the Arts

Art classes at TBS are not just seen as a “bird class,” an easy class students fly through. They are treated just as seriously as an academic class because graduating students should have experience all essential subjects. Even so, many students express surprise to find out there are assessments like quizzes and tests in their art classes.

Some classes even had to take exams, “I took the foundations exam when I was a freshman” said Emma Mcadoo (‘19).

The tests and quizzes are given to see a student’s skill level, to test your knowledge for how much you know, and to go towards your grade as an addition to participation grades.

In every arts class, there are going to be different vocabulary words and terms that students need to know to help them get the most out of the class.

“Take dance, for example, there are so many terms that are needed to understand movement and in order to perform if your choreographer is using certain terminologies, well, you better know what it means,” said Mrs. Marks.

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Tests and quizzes or ‘assessments’, said Mrs. Rippell, Head of the Fine Arts department, are given in almost every class for the same reasons as they would in an academic class.

In art classes, a quiz is not always the traditional multiple choice.

“There is this sort of generalization about what an assessment is and a lot of people think that it is a test or a quiz but all of the art classes give assessments,” said Mrs. Rippell.

In every section of art classes, like drama, art, and chorus, there are different assessments.

“So specifically for my theater classes the kinds of assessments I give are, we call them rehearsal grades, we’re assessing skills like are you turning out on stage are you projecting are you annunciating are you working on character, but then also recognizing this is a space for growth. So we give a lot of copious amounts of notes and then we would give a final grade at the end of the project,” said Mrs. Rippell.

If Juniors and Seniors took Foundations Art when they were a sophomore or a freshman, they had to take a final exam at the end of the semester.

Foundations used to take an exam at the end of a semester. The exam consisted of artists they had learned about that semester and vocabulary. And at the end of the exam, they had to draw something but the drawing had certain requirements like, “use 2d art.” The exam has since been dropped.

Current Sophomores and Freshman, if they took foundations, did

not take the exam because they instead have a final art assessment.

Which they do little projects after every new type of art they learn like painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.

Every art class does different assessments because of which art it is (i.e. band, chorus, art, etc), but their assessments are also similar because of how they are given.

“We also do quarterly projects which are called musicianships which is where you can do essentially anything you want which you can do a recording, make your own instrument, go to an orchestra, some people even make a CD,” said Zach Makari (‘21).

Band’s assessments are similar to foundation arts with their assessments but they are different because they are different departments of art.

In art, chiaroscuro is the treatment of light and shade in drawing and painting. Art students would need to know this term for their class. But the only way for a teacher to know that the student actually knows the terms are to give tests, quizzes, assessments.

“And that can also happen in art if a teacher is talking about chiaroscuro and you’re like ‘what?’ so you need to learn what that is,” said Mrs. Marks.

By Taylor Ford Contributing Writer

How Much Do You Know About the Arts?

3. What are the correct five groups of instruments?

A. Keyboard, drums, guitar, triangle, and trumpets B. Strings, woodwinds, triangle, drums, and keyboard C. Percussions, keyboard, strings, woodwinds, and triangle D. Woodwinds, keyboard, percussions, strings, and brass 4. True or false: it is ok to turn your back to the audience on stage during a performance.

5. What are the correct orders for the grouping in a chorus?

A. Bass, alto for girls and soprano, tenor for girls B. Tenor, alto for guys and bass, soprano for girls C. Alto, soprano for girls and bass, tenor for guys D. Alto, soprano for guys and bass, tenor for girls

Answers: 1. B 2. A 3. False 4. D 5. C

1. What does dominance mean in visual art terms?

A. Rough painting with dark colors B. The strongest focal point with the greatest visual weight C. Using a white pencil/crayon on a black piece of paper D. When the teacher yells at you 2. What does rectilinear mean in visual art terms?

A. Shapes whose boundaries usually consist entirely of straight lines.

B. A drawing consisting of only rectangles C. A rectangle with a painting inside it D. Multiple shapes overlapping each other

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The Bolles Bugle

The Life of a 2-D AP Art Student Ava Sickler Contributing Writer At first it almost seems silent. The soft scratching of pencils or the swish of a paintbrush are the only sounds that can be heard. There is a sort of settled peace about the place. It is both enjoyable and serious, heavy with intent focus. The room’s dynamic is just as unique as the one between Mr. Bied, the 2-D AP arts teacher, and his students-- he keeps a fun, dry sense of humour while maintaining a rigorous pace; a sort of personality that enraptures his students.

Being an AP art student is no easy task, as it requires a recommendation and 3 years of prior classes-Foundations in Studio Art, Drawing I or Painting I, one year of an intermediate level 2D, and although not required, Portfolio Development Honors is highly recommended. AP art is also a huge time commitment, with at least 5 hours of work expected outside of class per week.

Many students work even more than this, especially upon approaching due dates. Each student has a unique view on art, with different motivations and interests. AP focuses on further developing a students’ talent, while giving them even more creative freedom.

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2-D AP art is structured such that students must submit two different groups of art; concentration and breadth. Twelve breadth pieces are required, and past pieces may be used; they are meant to show off the student’s versatility and an interesting array of mediums. Ten concentration pieces are also required, and must be created around a specific theme chosen by the student. Each piece is meant to evolve in complexity while carrying on the same theme.

The 6th Period AP Art class at work.

Do you have a favorite piece you’ve created?

Nithya Badarinath: I have one picture I took a couple of years ago of a dandelion. It’s really funny. I always tell people this story. I was just kind of squatting on the ground to take this picture. And this random lady was walking by and said, “You know that’s just a weed, right?” And I was like yeah, okay, whatever. And the picture turned out really nice. So I was like, it may just be a weed, but it was a really cool picture.

Alex Hastings: I’d like to think that if the piece I’m working on is not my favorite piece, then I’m doing it wrong.

Tyler Wang: At the beginning, I didn’t like anything that I finished. But the more pieces I’ve finished, the more pieces I like. So it’s hard to say. I think the first one, which really encouraged me, was the one I finished in Drawing that was mixed media, because before that, I kind of forgot how to do art because I stopped for so long.

How much time do you work on your art outside of school?

Serena Scalcione: Ok, so it all depends on if it’s like, the first week of working on a project, I may only working like a couple hours outside. But as it gets closer to the deadline, I work on it way more. I always cram it and there have been times where I’ve pulled all nighters and worked like hours and hours. It just depends on what I have going on.

Cindy Fallon: Yeah, it does. But i still love it. It takes up most of my time, but it’s still awesome.

Hastings: I work a lot on weekends. That’s really the time when I get everything done. You know, spend a Sunday morning or Saturday morning, just bring out the computer, sit down, start grinding on a couple of projects or whatever I want to get done. You mess around, it’s you. It’s, you know, ‘try and make some things.’

Wang: A couple of weeks ago I spent 18 hours in a week, because I take two arts classes, and I had to turn in two pieces at the same time. But usually 6 to 8 hours outside of class.

What is your concentration’s theme? What inspires you?

Scalcione: So I knew that I wanted to do a drawing when I went into it, just because I like the more technical aspect of it. I like being able to look at an image and know what i’m drawing. I really like nature and combining different aspects of life, the natural world with the inanimate world. Things that combine together to make something interesting.

Hastings: I did a project last year that included a lot of optical illusions and designs and stuff. I really wanted to take that and make it into something a little more concrete, but at the same time, abstract. My uncle is really into architecture, and he got me into architecture. I took a class sophomore year at SCAD, and I learned how to do graphic design in Photoshop. So it speeds up the process, makes everything more precise; I could take exact angle measurements of certain lines and dimensions, and it just makes everything a lot more accurate than doing it by hand.

Wang: No one in my life really does any type of art, and I’m the only person who does it in my family, and all my friends. But I think, when I came here, I was trying to find some places I could do well [Wang boards at Bolles]. I can do pretty good in math and science, but I don’t like them. And art is the thing I can both like and do well on.

Is there anything you would like to say about your experience in AP art?

Hastings: It’s freedom for your mind; I don’t think I would be as happy as I am at school if I didn’t have a heart and that creative outlet.

Scalcione: Just like, okay, so it gets really stressful sometimes. And a lot of people don’t understand that art is probably one of the hardest AP classes. I would say, especially, because we have to work on it so much and we all put so much effort and time into it. And it’s, like, it’s not just a class to goof of in.

You know, we are here. We all are passionate about it. You can’t do it if you don’t enjoy it somewhat. And it’s nice to have an outlet, you know?

Wang: It’s really different from past art classes. It’s really time consuming.

And you can’t really just expect a really good grade, especially in AP. You can put in the same amount of time in one work as before, but you wouldn’t get the same grade as you’d probably get a couple years ago, because Mr. Bied’s really strict on anything we have done. But it’s pretty interesting to see how he grades differently; otherwise you can’t see your own issues in your own art.

It’s different from other subjects. In English or Math if you spend five hours studying in a night, you can probably get an A+ on the following day’s test.

But in AP Art, no matter how much time you spend, you’ll probably get a B+, and you should expect that.

Patience and passion are probably the only things which support us to continue the art.

Each year in Mr. Bied’s AP classes, two weeks of school remain past the AP due date. Four years ago, the illustrators of the image above came up with the idea of painting the classroom’s ceiling tiles. Any graduating AP art student can create one, and the tiles range from beautiful to humorous-and often Mr. Bied themed.

The Bolles Bugle

A Two-Minute Masterpiece: A Lifetime of Mastery

Many students at Bolles are talented artists. Most of them know how to paint, but did you know that one of them can even speed paint? Meet Natalie Garcia (’21), the talented speed painter who amazed many audience members at this year’s Halloween Coffeehouse.

Her unique performance, a speed painting of the Marvel superhero Thor, was the result of her hard work in her art on and off campus. “I felt very nervous since it was my first time doing it, but once I started, I felt more relaxed,” Garcia said.

Speed painting is not a very common form of art. Her art teacher, Mr. Bied, had only heard of “quick sketches”, which is when people quickly sketch images, but he had never seen speed painting before.

teaching her how to draw bees and mountains. “My brother is now 26, so I don’t think he’s had time to draw like he used to,” Garcia explained.

A piece Garcia is currently working on is a color pencil drawing of her mom and younger sister standing in front of a war scenery, turning away from it. The piece symbolized “how people were at times ignorant of the events happening around them.”

Garcia says that this piece is the one that she is most proud of right now.

“Many times I never feel fully proud about anything I do, but that’s what makes me do more.”

Everybody is proud of Garcia and recognizes her talent, especially Mr. Bied. “This is something she’s compelled to do,” Bied said with a smile.

the school in some way, even if it’s a little,” Garcia said about her art.

Garcia loved performing in Coffeehouse this year and watching everyone else’s performances. “I remember the cool environment there. I liked the performances and how people got together,” she said. She felt relieved after hearing the applause from everyone watching her.

Many students are looking forward to seeing what Garcia will perform next if she does it again. “It was a lot of fun doing it. I might try again if I’m not that busy,” she said.

You know she will always be busy, making more art.

Around five weeks before Coffeehouse, Garcia began to prepare for her speed painting performance.

“What I did was to first draw it like I usually would draw anything else (semi realistic) and then I started to experiment on how to paint it. Once I figured it out, I used a random app where I trace the picture into an online and I eventually drew it like it would look like if speed painting. From there, I practiced a lot until I got fast enough while looking kind of like the original.

So basically, I learned from practicing a lot,” she explained.

“I first started with thirty minutes drawn, and when I first started painting, it took me around 35 minutes.

Later, it turned to sixteen or fifteen.

Around two weeks before the performance, I narrowed it down to nine, which then lowered to six, I think. On the week I had to do it, I narrowed it down to four and then the next day, I narrowed it down to three, and on the performance I did 1:58.”

Garcia’s practice paintings of Thor.

Although Bied was unable to attend Coffeehouse, he felt very enthusiastic about Garcia’s performance.

Garcia’s art career began when she was inspired to draw for someone’s baby shower. “There were no cards to give her, so I drew one. I guess after that I was inspired to draw more.”

He recalled, “I knew she was doing it, so I gave her an easel. I didn’t get to see it, but she’s the only student who’s ever done anything like this. Obviously, she’s willing to put herself our there.

Most artists don’t like to work with people around.”

Garcia’s family was another inspiration to her. Her mother used to draw, and Garcia gave credit to her older half-brother for inspiring her and

Not only did she perform, but she also drew some banners for Coffeehouse, which she has done for two years. “I feel happy about trying to help

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Garcia speed-painting at Coffeehouse.

By Soraya Rafat Contributing Writer

News 33

The Bolles Bugle

The Story Behind the Substitute

teach Latin, French, Art, and English Mrs. Sherman Besides her predecessors, she enbecause of her extensive knowledge Every morning a substitute teacher joys the company of her successors: of the languages. Her passion in, wakes up to a steaming cup of cofher children and two grandchildren. “[connecting] the students with the fee, pre-planned attire, and a filing Sherman often travels to Georgia culture and life and the emotions of cabinet of courage to face a roomful where her daughter lives and Wyopeople,” aided her ability to advise of strangers. Hired by Kelly Educaming where her son lives along with students. tion Staffing, a company that conher grandchildren.

When she moved to Massachusetts nects schools to substitute teachers, Her dedication to her children and for college, Sherman skipped over a the substitutes then check the Kelly grandchildren reflects her loving atyear of classes and quickly attained Education Staffing website to confirm titude in the classroom. She enjoys her English teacher certification. Shertheir upcoming job. watching students that she has had in man later taught in California before Bolles’ contract with Kelly Educapast years grow up and just “being in deciding to stay home with her two tion Staffing allows them to directly the classroom with kids.” kids. Her first teaching job after time contact substitutes in times of teacher Mr. Harman with her children was in St. Petersabsences. If an expected absence ocWhile many students recognize him burg, Florida, moving her classroom curs, Bolles could call weeks ahead. as a substitute all over the Bolles east. This classroom is carried on the If an unexpected absence occurs, campuses, Mr. Bryan Harman, roster capable shoulders of Mrs. Sherman, a Bolles can let substitutes know early in hand, enjoys seeing new student teacher who, “like[s] interaction with that morning, or even faces. during the day, as they Throughout the class, Harman are needed. On days feels a connection to the students, when subs are needed a connection that he hates to for several teachers, Mrs. break when the bell rings signalHarcrow, the Executive ing the end of the period.

Assistant to Associate As he implements the detailed Head of Upper School, and complete lesson plans, Haroversees the schedules, man said he receives from the assigning periods to teachers, his love for teaching and substitutes who are free football intertwine as he conversduring a period. Howes with the students about daily ever, there is more colorlesson and the last touchdown or ful background to these speed of a player. substitute teachers than Outside of substituting, Harman the blank whiteboard enjoys trips to St. Augustine and behind them. works as a realtor at a real estate Mrs. Carolyn Sherman, company called Legends of Real a Bolles sub for 18 years, Mrs. Sherman (one from the left) with her family Estate in Jacksonville Beach. was originally born in Haiti Harman received his degree in in Haiti. where her parents were history and political science from the students [and] a lot of visuals” in teachers, an influence on her teaching Virginia Commonwealth University. the classroom. career. This career began in an exotic As a result, he adores teaching social In the later years of her life, she was locale, Jamaica, following her high studies in the classroom the most able to move her knowledge of interschool education. because the atmosphere is his more action in teaching to a different aspect Sherman went to high school in Ja“proficient” subject. of her life: her family. Her trip to Swemaica under the British system. After However, Harman’s teaching jobs go den last summer allowed her to meet graduation, her high school, Bishops beyond Bolles, ranging across Florida. relatives from many generations back.

High School in Mandeville, Jamaica, His substituting at Volusia County and Her ability of analysis enabled her to offered her a temporary positon.

Duval County public schools provided find the history of her relatives dating Instead of going to college, she took him with student experience. Howback to the Vikings. Besides spendthe job. ever, he mostly substitutes for Chets ing time with her family, Sherman While filling in “bits and pieces” for Creek and Atlantic Beach Elementary also has a love of painting, portrayed a year at her school, she was able to School; two schools that have taught through one of her murals displayed him the importance of transition from 34 in a spa in Georgia.

classrooms began here. Now, he looks forward to substituting at Bolles.

He says, “I don’t need the money, it’s just a nice place to go for a couple of days in a week.”

ArmMr. Armstrong posing alongside Gwen Stefani during his strong’s longest concert promoting job. substituting a 5th to a 6th grader. This transition is job was his one of the most “enjoyable” moments three-week substituting on the Barin his career. When a student that he tram campus while Mrs. Kellie Marks has seen from previous elementary was on maternity leave. However, he schools transitions into the Bartram admits to not wanting to teach full Campus, he relishes the chance to see time because of the amount of paper them grow up. Harman said, “There grading he had to do. Even during his was so much change in the students. teaching career in Colorado, he disThey were a lot more independent liked grading papers. While his friends [and had more] maturity.” went skiing in Breckenridge, he would Mr. Armstrong stay back and grade papers. Looking Mr. Drew Armstrong is also able to back now, he writes, “that was probreflect on his substituting abilities ably the safest thing for me to have because of previous experience with done.” adolescents. In previous years, ArmArmstrong’s days as a concert strong was a multimedia master, promoter began in the 60s when he teaching Major Event Production and his brother started a band. Their and Music Video Business classes band eventually grew and started to at the Colorado Institute of Art and book other bands in college while the University of Colorado in Denver doing shows at the student union. In because of his experience in concert his junior and senior year at college, promoting. The love for children in his Armstrong started producing concerts

at other schools. After graduating college, his contacts to agents in LA aided him in starting a business. From Little Rock, Arkansas to Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado, he promoted and managed over 120 concerts. His contacts grew as he began to meet famous singers including Gwen Stefani and Reba McEntire, the latter known to him since 1975.

Armstrong still enjoys seeking talent with students he has substituted for at Bolles. Seeing student plays or shows reminds him of the concert business.

He even says, “I could spot an act when nobody knows them” giving the example of knowing he was seeing greatness at one of Bruce Springsteen’s first shows.

In his search for warmer weather after Denver, he settled down in Florida because it was reminiscent of his childhood in Louisiana, a childhood filled with memories of his brother who always went boating with him. In his spare time, he still enjoys boating in Florida and getting calls from former students about their success.

He described, “I love getting calls from former students. [I] know that they are going to do well.”

Su-Ertekin-Taner Contributing Writer

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER: MR. ARMSTRONG (TUESDAY 11/13: F-DAY)

Receives possible calls from Kelly 5th block 6th block Education for begins: begins: last minute Arrives Algebra II Trigonomteacher abetry sences

at school

Honors

7th block Early lunch begins: in the Algebra II Activities cafeteria Honors

A possible text 1st block No Class: is sent by Mrs. begins: Mr. Arm- Harcrow to notify of new Calculus strong teacher Honors leaves absence

8:00 a.m.

9:35-10:35 a.m.

11:25-12:05 a.m.

1:05-2:05 p.m.

8:00 p.m.

12:05-1:05 p.m.

5:30-6:30 a.m.

10:35-11:25 a.m.

8:30-9:30 a.m.

2:10-3:10 p.m.

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The Bolles Bugle

Hurricane of Help

The Thursday before Homecoming, while our students prepared for the game against Ponte Vedra High, families in the panhandle of Florida secured their homes and packed their bags to prepare for Hurricane Michael.

Upper School English teacher Mrs. Roland heard about Hurricane Michael from the media in the days before it touched land. However, she didn’t anticipate the eye would hit her hometown, Donalsonville, Georgia, where her mother and siblings live.

Thursday night, Mrs. Roland said, she received text messages about shingles flying through the air.

Mrs. Roland found her mother’s home and driveway littered with fallen oak trees. Roland said, “The media was accurate when they said it looked like a war zone because it’s a forested area, and just to see all the palm trees and pine trees, it’s just flat now.”

Mrs. Marks’s son, Aidan, went on an immediate hurricane relief trip to Blountstown, Florida where Marks’s niece lives, collecting flashlights, chainsaws, tarps, food, and more beforehand from Facebook networking, getting donations from friends, and family.

Marks reported that Aidan shared one of the challenges for people needing help after a natural disaster.

“He said that he saw a lot of people in shock, and they didn’t know whether they should accept the things or whether they shouldn’t because these weren’t people that were accustomed to having to accept ‘charity’ from somebody. But this wasn’t meant as charity, it was meant just to help out.”

“He said that he saw a lot of people in shock, and they didn’t know whether they should accept the things or whether they shouldn’t because these weren’t people that were accustomed to having to accept ‘charity’ from somebody. But this wasn’t meant as charity, it was meant just to help out.”

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After the storm, Mrs. Roland and Mrs. Marks helped organize a school wide fundraiser called “We Can’t Rest Until Everyone Rests,” where each campus chose a Florida city to donate to. The Whitehurst and San Jose

Above: The lineman Mr. Davis’ house destroyed after Hurricane Michael in Sneads, Fl. Image from Mr. Davis’ Gofundme page.

campuses split the $3600 raised between Donalsonville, GA and Blountstown, FL. Mrs. Roland also sent an email to faculty to collect hurricane supplies after her initial trip, writing, “We worked for two days straight, three chainsaws and seven people, and we were only able to clear two driveways.

There is a lot of cleanup and work that needs to be done.”

People helping out often respond in ways meaningful to them. In response, Mrs. Miller sent three boxes of office supplies, diapers, and formula. “I felt sorry for those babies because I’m a brand new grandmother.

I have a three-month-old grandson, so that’s why I thought baby stuff.”

Roland travled back to Donalsonville to help for a total of three weekends. On the initial trip up, she brought urgent hurricane relief supplies for the town.

Water bottles, generators, and baby formula provided help to the families who had lost electricity. Several weekends later, she continued to bring supplies and now plans to return at Christmas.

While FEMA settled in larger towns, such as Donalsonville, Georgia, Mrs. Roland says the organization sometimes passes over tiny towns, often elderly communities. Roland said that Panama City, Port St. Joe, and Mexico Beach, for example, are still much in need of help.

Roland encourages the Bolles community to look into the Adopt-a-Family program in order to help specific people in need.

Above: Hurricane Supplies Collected in Mrs. Roland’s House. Image from Mrs. Roland.

Mrs. Roland worked with State Patrolwoman Sue Barge, who helped those affected receive aid from FEMA. Roland said,“Personally, I know an 81-year-old veteran and lineman who had a stroke was denied by FEMA, but she personally took him to FEMA to help, and he is now getting the help. Sometimes there are glitches in the system where they didn’t get help where they should have.”

Although the initial repairs are over, there is still much to rebuild. “It’s not immediate. It’ll take months if not a couple of years to get get back to normal,” said Mrs. Roland.

Mrs. Miller has friends from Blountstown, a town with a population of slightly over 2,500. Two of her former sorority sisters one of whom currently teaches at Fishweir Elementary in Jacksonville, are from the Anders and Hayes families of Blountstown.

They told her the town is in need of warm items such as coats, socks, and blankets. Mrs. Miller plans to send the supplies with her friends over Christmas break.

Above: A tent city on Panama City flooded on October 10th, one month after Hurricane Michael. Image from Sue Barge’s Facebook..

Ways You Can Help 1. Donate on Gofundme to Mr. Davis. https://www.gofundme.com/6dd3rhk 2. Donate to the Humane Society of Bay County. https://adoptme.org/hurricanemichael/ 3. Collect books, notebooks, and textbooks for flooded schools.

4. Participate in the Adopt-A-Family program. http://blscounseling.net/sparkofhopeproject/

Mrs. Marks said that Bolles is very involved in helping with natural disasters.“We’re all in this life together, and we need to help one another. I think very often in times of disaster, the best in people comes out.”

Anya Raheja Contributing Writer

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The Bolles Bugle

Growing Early Decision Trend

As the November 1 and 15 deadlines loomed near, many seniors crammed into the college counseling office for last minute revisions and submissions--not for the final deadline of the year but for Early Decision.

While Early Decision appears to be a growing trend, students have many different reasons for deciding to apply Early Decision, from family connections to the possibility of playing a sport .

Senior Ricky Garcia applied Early Decision to Duke University because “It has a great public policy program, which is what I’m thinking about majoring in. And another thing that I think played into it a lot is that my dad went there and growing up you know he took me to the basketball games. I went on campus a lot and I went to camps at Duke and it was just a big presence for me. So, I always definitely liked it a lot.”

For Kamren Khan, who applied Early Decision to Dartmouth College, said, “I applied ED to Dartmouth because it’s rural, academically rigorous, surrounded by beautiful nature, I’d be able to ski, and I like the school’s culture.” Specifically, Khan appreciates the culture of community, “ they have a bunch of traditions and things like first year trips to bring the class closer together.”

College counselor Martin Walsh at the Harker School in California gives college admissions workshops to an international audience and writes in a 2018 International Educator magazine, many schools are receiving an all-time high of Early Decision applications. For example, “Dartmouth experienced a 13.5 percent increase in early-decision applications. They admitted 565 students, for an admit rate of 25 percent.”

In addition, Walsh wrote,“Duke posted huge gains in the early-decision round, as they received 4,090 applications for an increase of 16 percent. Not surprisingly, the admit rate dropped to 21.4 percent, representing 875 admits.”

In summary, as colleges receive

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more applications early decision, admissions rate for the later application cycles go down in response.

Before deciding to apply to Dartmouth Early Decision, Khan also considered applying Early Decision to the University of Chicago. At University of Chicago, Khan, who runs cross country for Bolles, would likely be able to run. At Dartmouth, however, Khan said it would be much more difficult to qualify.

In the end, Khan decided “Sports played a pretty substantial role in the decision but academics, location and community come first.”

While each student has a different reason for applying Early Decision, the benefits of applying Early Decision are applicable to most people. According to Dr. Stephen Soud “ After the recession and for a variety of other reasons colleges decided they could lock in more of their class under early decision so we now have many, many colleges taking anywhere from fifty to as much as sixty percent of their class through either early decision or possibly early decision round two.”

As stated by Garcia, “Duke, on their website does state ‘we take more early decision applicants’ on purpose, there’s a lot of schools like that.”

Dr. Soud said, “We now have many, many colleges taking anywhere from fifty to as much as sixty percent of their class through either early decision or possibly early decision round two.”

However, Dr. Soud also pointed out some of the negatives to applying Early Decision “That puts a lot of pressure on seniors if they want to have a shot at getting into sort of the college, they have to bolster their odds by applying early decision.”

Garcia pointed out the merits of applying Early Decision regardless of if it factors in your admissions decision “Even if it doesn’t give that much of a boost, if you just know that you’d rather go there than anywhere else, it’s a good step to take.”

Application Terminology Early Decision: Binding, If accepted you must attend Early Decision II: Second Round of ED, the same except with a later deadline Early Action: Non-Binding, Shows demonstrated interest without committing Rolling Admissions: You apply under a wider period of time

“We now have many,

many colleges taking anywhere from fifty to as much as sixty percent of their class through either early decision or possibly early decision round two.”

- Dr. Soud

Havana Frakes Copy Editor

Opinion-Editorial

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The Bolles Bugle @Twitter: Your (Fake) News Source Julia Johansen Contributing Writer

Reliable Newspapers

According to a Pew Research Center survey in 2017, 74% of Twitter users have used the network for news. Over 69 million people use Twitter a month. People read tweets like Alex Jones’ and believe it.

New York Times

Associated Press

Wall Street Journal BBC- an international source

jacksonville.com- also known as Florida Times Union

News4Jax

First Coast News

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“Explosions at the Boston Marathon. Don’t that the FBI has been behind virtually every domestic terror plot in the US, as NY Times reported.” This is an actual--but possibly not legitimate--tweet from Alex Jones, of Infowars fame. This is also why people should not rely on Twitter for news.

When people share news on Twitter, there is a common trend. The event is often coated with someone’s bias, disregarding some information and highlighting to make their point. Consumers get an idea of the event, but the information is tainted with opinion. I see this myself as users recount something but clearly input their own idea into it.

A single tweet allows 280 characters. It is impossible to explain an entire event in 280 characters. One can summarize, but it takes important details to create deep understanding.

Twitter cannot present important details easily because of its layout.

For many who are active on social media, Twitter is their first source for news. Released in 2006, the website was initially used for “microblogging.” Lifewire, a tech and advice website describes microblogging as, “a combination of blogging and instant messaging that allows users to create short messages to be posted and shared with an audience online.” According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the use of the website for news began in 2009, after the Hudson River Plane crash, when people began posting For example- If a user saw this tweet on their tweets about the event on their timelines. timeline without any context, what would they think? The tweet explains the types of polio-like In August of 2018, after the Jacksonville Landstrains of a disease, but it is missing important ing shooting during a gaming tournament, content. Who is this affecting, what exactly is it, many were concerned about those at the Landwhere are people getting this illness, when did ing and headed to Twitter to find out what was it start? happening. Updates and information about the situation were everywhere, tweets even to Next time an important event happens, either international broadcasts. I went to watch live check a trusted news account or check out the footage on the TV, and their sources were all newspaper itself. Many have apps and websites from Twitter. with breaking news coverage. Many people argue they don’t have the time, that information When the information about the shooting first comes much quicker on Twitter. But if the news came out, I personally saw many tweets linking is so fast, there is a higher risk of it being inacthe shooting to either terrorists or to gang viocurate. If you can access Twitter, you can access lence. Neither were true. Twitter is the source a web browser. for much of the misinformation people receive.

As soon as a story releases, people rush to be I have a Twitter, and I honestly love the app. the first to talk, even if the talk is misguided or Twitter is a fun app that I sometimes spend way even outright wrong. As the New York Times too much time on. explains in their 2017 article “How Twitter is BeIt was once my only stop for getting current ing Gamed for Misinformation,” “The idea that information about the world. I liked the synthethe murder last year of Seth Rich, a staff memsized explanations and the user- friendly experiber at the Democratic National Committee, was linked, somehow, to the leaking of Clinton ence. But I found that what I thought were my facts were just other people’s opinions. And in campaign emails. The Fox News host Sean my opinion, before you form any opinion, it’s Hannity pushed the theory the loudest, but it important to get the actual facts. That’s truly was groups on Twitter — or, more specifically, winning the information war. bots on Twitter — that were first to the story and helped make it huge.”

A Shot of Reality If I were to take a survey on what the majority of high school students describe as a “fun night,” I guarantee the results would include dressing in skimpy outfits while puffing on a slick Juul and being the fastest shotgunner at the party.

I could write to you about what is REALLY in that USB you take hits from to get social media clout or about the numerous horror stories and hazards of getting too wasted to remember the previous night. But what would that do?

No one changes his or her behavior because of some facts.

The teens participating in this behavior believe they are indestructible. So, if I said that Juuls had human urine in them I’m pretty sure the majority of users would carry on inhaling. If I said consuming alcohol under the age of 21 gives you a 30% higher chance of getting liver cancer, most would continue chugging. But…why? If I said all these horrific things about these substances, why would teens still be consuming them?

for similar destructive behavior from their followers?

It is your decision to make a change.

Is it industry’s fault?

From alcohol companies to the JUUL company, these industries have pretty bottles and decorative cases, all alluring to teens. JUUL creates ads that show hip young people dancing while smoking JUUL, using fake dance floor cardio to hide the reality of the “Juul lung” phenomenon the New York Times reported in 2018 as negatively affecting the performance of frequent Juulers who are high school and college athletes. These companies reel in their younger customers without a care for their future health.

For anyone who thinks that this is an anti-fun essay, this is the opposite.

Is it a confidence issue?

Do teens feel that they are so low in society that they have to down bottle after bottle to be seen as “cool” or be seen at all?

But if its different for everyone then why are SO MANY teens behaving this way?

I’ve heard people say, “I’m more fun when I drink” or “People like me more when I’m high.”

What is wrong with our society today that the only way teens feel they can have fun is if they are intoxicated?

Why do you want to be around people who don’t like you for your 100% authentic self?

Do the adults in our world make it look like drinking is powerful and cool?

Why do you let other people dictate what toxins enter your body just so THEY can have a more pleasurable experience. What about your fun? How do you have fun? Because those excuses about being the life of the party isn’t your own fun but you providing entertainment for everyone else.

Teens today are shown from birth that drinking is a “cool adult” thing so they idolize this behavior, eventually mimicking it when they want to be a “cool adult” during their awkward teen years.

Are celebrities at fault?

All over movies and social media celebrities romanticize the use of alcohol and substances. Cole Sprouse, a popular celebrity, is seen smoking cigarettes all throughout his social media. Does behavior like this from A-List celebrities open the floodgates

Even though every one of these people have a part in the self-destructive teen behavior of today, it all comes down to one person: the individual teen.

It is your decision to pick up that cup.

It is your decision to pick up that JUUL.

I enjoy music, hanging out with friends, and having a fun night. But what I don’t consider fun is not being able to function or remember what you did the previous night or inhale some chemicals for attention and social media clout.

But then again fun is just how one obtains happiness, so isn’t it different for everyone?

Do they all think the EXACT same thoughts? Or throughout every high school hallway are people trying to drown out their inner voices to fit with the in-crowd? Which sounds more likely?

Live your OWN life. Make your OWN decisions. Don’t destroy your body to gain popularity from people that only talk to you when your Blood Alcohol Content is five times the legal level.

If the teen destructive party culture is going to change, the change has to start among us. Teens need to come together and beat the stereotypes.

Put down the red solo cups.

Put down the JUULs. Pick up your dignity.

Jisette Baquet Writing Coach

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