Senior Siblings

As seniors look towards graduation, many of their siblings will begin or continue their journey at CHS. How do these students face letting go of their elder siblings and moving through CHS without them?

BY ISABELLA JACOB AND MORGAN MCCLEASE

Ria and Lucy Lowenschuss constructed and created at a pottery class as they formulated a plan to call each other once the results for the CHS lottery had come out. When Ria Lowenschuss picked up the phone the pair triple checked before letting the excitement set in, Lucy had got in. Ria immediately texted her forum leader, Ryan Silvester as the excitement consumed the two as bright hypotheticals of the future illuminated their minds.

“It’s something that we both really wanted,” Lucy Lowenschuss said. “She was very excited for me to go and I was very excited to go.”

Lucy has heard all about CHS through Ria and is looking forward to its unique aspects. As Lucy begins thinking about her time at CHS, she knows that it is a space where everybody knows and accepts each other. When Lucy was making her choice to go to CHS, she knew about the special teacher-student relationships.

As Lucy is promoted to a high schooler, Ria will be starting her first year in college, which adds a bittersweetness to their excitement.

“I’m so sad that we’re missing each other,” Ria said. ‘I love my sister so much and I think she’s so cool. “She’s going to make this school a better place and I really wish that I could be there to see it.”

The pair has become closer as they’ve gotten older together and started to share similar passions.

“We both like to try new things and get to know people and now CHS is something we share,” Lucy said.

Ria Lowenschuss has felt the immense impact of the forum in a variety of ways. From her forum leader to her fellow forumettes, forum has been a central and necessary part of CHS for her. She knows even when she leaves, that she’ll always be a part of CHS and of the Silvester forum.

“I would still have a connection to Community even without my sister,” Ria said. “I would come back here for the theater program. I would come back here to say hi to Ryan and Tracy. I feel so connected to the school. The seniors in my forum, we’re all thinking of getting duck tattoos because we always play Duck Duck Goose and it means so much to us to be in this school and to have met all these people.”

Ria is sad to not experience CHS with her sister, but is mostly excited.

“I’m excited for her [Lucy] to have her own moment at CHS,” Ria said.

CHS siblings Scarlett and Malcolm London were lucky to share one singular year together at CHS. The only reason Malcolm London applied to CHS was because of his sister.

“I wouldn’t have even known [CHS] was really an option,” Malcolm said. “But I’m so glad I went here.”

Scarlett and Malcolm London have not always been close, but have been forced to spend more time with each other this year. This is because of their daily drives to school.

“I think our relationship has changed a lot over time,” Scarlett said. “I think we’ve definitely had phases where we’ve just not talked to each other, when we just exist around each other. But I started driving him to school this year, and I feel like we’ve had more time to talk.”

Now that they spend more time together, Scarlett realizes she’ll miss a lot of the little things about their relationship.

“I see a lot of myself in him,” Scarlett said. “I’m really gonna miss having someone around like that. We’ve become more similar and it’s gonna be weird to be in college to suddenly be surrounded by a bunch of new people.”

Malcolm has seen Scarlett take up leadership roles during her time at CHS. Specifically, how Scarlett has worked in the Communicator and has been an editor-in-chief for web for the past two years. This has inspired him to also take up leadership positions throughout CHS.

Malcolm is passionate about theater and is currently a part of CET (Community Ensemble Theatre). He plans to run for CET president in the coming years and eventually take up more leadership roles throughout his time in the theater program.

The siblings have grown up witnessing their mother’s relationship with her brother. Though they practically live in the same town, the two became more excited to see each other once they lived apart. The siblings have suspicions that this might happen with the two of them.

The London siblings are thankful that CHS has brought them closer and are looking forward to the evolution of their relationship. As Scarlett goes off to college and Malcolm continues his journey at CHS they’re going to strive to continue their relationship.