Globe Newsmagazine, May 2017, Issue 8, Vol. 88

GLOBE issue 8, volume 88

a lasting

legacy clayton high school, clayton, mo. - may 2017

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GLOBE 14

may 2017

Spotlight on Seniors

Globe profiles the departing seniors who will embark upon careers in theatre.

Sports 20

Athlete Profile: Mary Kate Gelzer

CHS senior’s lasting impact on the girls track team.

A Lasting Legacy Globe profiles the Clayton High School’s retirees of the 2016-2017 school year and their mark on CHS. Page 18.

News 9

Welcoming Danskey

A look into the new assistant principal for the 2017-2018 school year.

F e at u re

34

College Bound Athletes

Read about College Bound Athletes in CHS sports.

Review 38

A Literary Exploration

Catch the vibe of five of St. Louis’ most unique book stores.

40 12

Kevin O’Malley

Read about the former Ambassador to Ireland who lives in St. Louis.

13 Reasons Why

Opinion 44

CONTENTS 3

Pro/Con: Chrome Books

GLOBE editor-in-chief camille respess

chief managing editors kevin rosenthal ellie tomasson

managing editors noah brown nicholas lee mitali sharma max steinbaum

section editors madeline bale michael bernard daniel cho lucy cohen sean kim jacob lagesse zachary sorenson ashleigh williams tara williams

copy editors

charlie brennan harry rubin neel vallurupalli

webmaster nicholas lee

business manager

lucy cohen

photo editor alex gerchen

staff

editors

sophia barnes sophie bernstein lise derksen mariclare gatter olivia joseph nisha klein elise levy grace morris lauren praiss olivia reuter nikki seraji martin sharpe catherine walsh samantha zeid

reporters

madeline ackerburg sarah baker barrett bentzinger richard cheng daniel cohen theodore fehr justin guilak katie he cody krutzch san kwon sol kwon fiona mcguire kellan morrissey laura parvulescu katherine snelling grace snelling philip stahl sara stemmler junyi su lila taylor karena tse victor wei

photographers

synthia baer jennifer braverman daishanae crittenden ella engel sarah franzel akansha goel paige holmes catherine holtzman alivia jacobs xuenan jin areeba khan richard kuehn gabreille lask caroline marsden michael melinger grace monshausen mia redington alhan sayyed sarah schmidt claire schwarz eunice shin katherine sleckman emma weber

adviser

erin castellano

distribution editor grace monshausen

Professional Affiliations: Sponsors of School Publications, Missouri Interscholastic Press Association, Missouri Journalism Education Association, National Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association

FROM THE EDITOR We have (almost) reached the end. And with the end of another school year comes, time and time again, so many endings.

This time it is just a little different.

It is my turn to leave the high school I know so well, to leave a place I have sometimes spent more hours in a day at than at my own home.

It is a place where my own growth has been formative.

Though, over the past four years, I may have only grown from 5-foot-2, to 5-foot-2 and a half.

It is becoming time to depart from the journalism office and staff full of the people who have shaped me, challenged me, mentored me, strengthened me and given me the immense pride of being a Globie for the past four years.

And, it is time for seven educators who have been integral members of our school to leave Clayton High School - to begin a new chapter of their lives.

In this issue of the Globe, we cover seven CHS teachers retiring at the end of this school year.

These educators have all been at CHS for years, have impacted the lives of so many students and peers, have contributed their skill, their pedagogy and their passion to Clayton.

There is something about ending my high school journalism career with the cover being on the stories of these seven educators that simply feels right.

Although their leaving Clayton may mean an end to their career and my leaving Clayton and moving onto college means getting one step closer to whatever career path I

will take, I cannot help but feel connected to these retiring teachers.

These educators have certainly spent more years at CHS than the graduating seniors, but together, we are all embarking on journeys beyond the walls of this high school.

In a sense, they too are a part of the Class of 2017.

There is so much possibility in what the future may hold for all of us - this graduating class of both retiring teachers and high school seniors.

There is so much beauty in that unity.

Yet, my own future does intimidate me.

Saying goodbye to the Globe, a community that has nurtured me, bolstered me and pushed me for the past four years is, well scary.

I consider myself so fortunate to have found a sanctuary within this building - the Globe office. Within this space, I have been consistently inspired and have felt an unparalleled sense of purpose and inclusiveness.

I hope this Class of 2017 has found their own refuge while at CHS and that we find new places, spaces and people who give us that sense of belonging - that sense of home.

Camille Respess, Editor-in-Chief

The Globe Newsmagazine exists to inform, entertain, persuade and represent the student voice at CHS. All content decisions are made by the student editorial staff and the Globe is an entirely self-funded publication. Not every story that our reporters write is published in the print newsmagazines. Visit www.chsglobe.com for additional stories and photos and for more information about the Globe itself. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement - for more information about advertising and subscriptions, please contact our office: Clayton High School Globe 1 Mark Twain Circle Clayton, MO 63105 (314) 854-6668

EDITOR’S NOTE 5

Senior Seth George visits the ARoS Kunstmuseum during his year in Denmark.

PA N O R A M A Midfielder Caroline Marsden looks to win the draw in the Greyhound's match against Villa on May 4. The Greyhounds lost the match 6-9.

Photo by Michael Melinger

NEWS St. Louis Syrians On March 11, history teacher Debra Wiens led a group of students to visit and help at the Syrian Refugee Committee in North St. Louis. Many students brought books, kitchen appliances and other household items to donate to the refugee group. Once they arrived, some students helped cook meals while others played soccer and other games with the refugee children. This was Clayton’s first visit and other visits are planned for the future.

The Clayton Robohounds’ robot Brian, the Husband Stealer competes in a match at the World Championships. Photo by Sean Kim.

NEWS

and notes

Robotics World Championships The Clayton FIRST Robotics team, the Robohounds, competed at the World Championships, held in the St. Louis from April 27-29. At the end of 10 qualifier matches they competed in the last two days, they were seeded fourth in their division with a record of seven wins, two losses and one tie. They moved on and played in the double-elimination quarterfinals. The Robohounds won and advanced to the semifinals, but were defeated by the division champions. Read the full story at chsglobe.com.

Teachers of the Future With seven teachers leaving Clayton next year, the District has begun the process to hire new faculty. The board has already approved three new teachers. Justin Hildebrand, a CHS alum who currently works at Affton, will be teaching business and marketing in the CTE department. Dr. Eric Turley is coming from Kirkwood to teach English. Lastly, Dr. David Schuster from Webster Groves will be teaching physics next year. Additionally, the District has hired a new assistant principal (see page 9) and is in the process of finalizing English positions and hiring a PE teacher.

BY JUSTIN GUILAK / reporter NEWS 8

DECA Student in Global Top 10 When the qualifying Clayton students attended the International DECA Competition on April 29 in California, they all performed well. Every CHS competitor was awarded a Certificate of Excellence. Additionally, Senior Sam Frank, competing in Principles of Marketing, moved on to the finals. There, he placed in the top 10 competitors internationally. He was awarded on stage and invited to a celebration in Jefferson City on May 18.

CHS Wins Chemistry Bowl On April 29, four CHS sophomores competed in the Third Annual St. Louis Area ChemBowl. All four students, Andrew Wang, David Corbo, Julia Zeng and Marissa Lewis, currently take Honors Chemistry with Brad Krone. The team destroyed the competition and moved on to the finals, where they won with a final score of 185 for Clayton, 55 for Kirkwood, and 50 for John Burroughs. This is the second year Clayton has won the ChemBowl and their third year with a trophy.

NEWS

WELCOMING DANSKEY The Clayton School District hires a new assistant principal, from Oregon, Dr. Janelle Danskey.

After working at Century High School in the Hillsboro School District in Oregon for eight years, Dr. Janelle Danskey has decided to take the assistant principal position at CHS. Dr. Danskey, however, was not always an administrator. In fact, she spent five years teaching social studies in the classroom.

“Over that five years I taught nine different classes and I created from scratch five of those with no textbook,” Danskey said.

While she loved teaching, she realized she could also have an impact as an administrator.

“It is so imperative to provide a high quality education for students.

That is the most valuable thing that I can do as an adult. I want to be really good at what I do. And I want to do the very best that I can do and provide the very best that I can,” Danskey said. “That really guides me. Honestly, that was it. It was just seeing that there was a problem I can fix it, I can absolutely do this.”

She went back to school and received her administrator’s license in 2009 and started working in the administration as Dean of Students at Century High School. It was there that she realized being an administrator, for her, was a more fulfilling job than being a teacher. Working in the administration as an assistant principal also added more variation to Danskey’s workday.

“I like that you don’t know what is going to happen during the day. There are always surprises, there is always challenge, there are ways to keep growing professionally.

BY LUCY COHEN AND TARA WILLIAMS There are some unique troubles within the job that come with being an administrator that I enjoy a lot,” Danskey said.

This past October, Danskey realized that she wanted to move cities. Last year, her sister and her family had moved to St. Louis, so Danskey wanted to be closer to her sister. Danskey was looking at high schools throughout the St. Louis area. “[I looked for] a place where I knew my work could make a difference for students because that really matters to me. Being good at my job and working as a public servant - those are all things that I value a lot.

My primary mission is to build relationships with students and staff,” Danskey said.

In Oregon, some public schools struggle with having to deal with large budget cuts.

“I have worked my entire career in a budget crisis. It’s a challenge. We are going to have to cut more teachers and our class sizes are huge,” Danskey said. “Schools all over Oregon have these budget issues.

We also have a large number of students who live in poverty. We had those challenges that Clayton does not have. I just think that [this new job] will be different - but in a positive way.”

The assistant principal position opened in the spring of this year when Instructional Coordinator Stacy Felps decided to return to the math department at CHS for the 20172018 school year. Three years ago, Felps moved from the classroom and into this administrative role - a role that was meant to allow CHS administrators the time to develop a plan for the type of administrator they would later add to their team.

“Dr. Gutchewsky had the idea that if we

NEWS 9

5 YEARS 9 , teaching

CLASSES

5

taught

FROM SCRATCH

Photo of Danskey from the School District of Clayton. slowed down, it would give us a better idea of who we are and what we need. So he asked me about doing some work as an Instructional Coordinator - to be in classrooms, to think with people about teaching and what we can do to be stronger - so I did,” Felps said.

In addition to being eager to return to the classroom, Felps is looking forward to welcoming Danskey to CHS. “She seems awesome,” Felps said. “I sat in on interviews, and it seems like she has a lot of really great ideas.”

Although Danskey is unsure what to expect on her first day at CHS, she is excited to grow into her new role.

“I will use an analogy - the first time I did pole vault in track during high school, I did it because my dad did it when he was in high school,” Danskey said. “When you first pick up that pole you don’t really know what to expect because you have never done it before. So part of it is really exciting, a part of it is really unknown. I use that analogy as I haven’t been to a school day at Clayton High School. I am not sure what to expect quite yet. But I am really looking forward to it.” .

GLOBE 2017 Class of

Globe seniors share their favorite thing about Globe PHOTOS BY MICHAEL MELINGER

Camille Respess: (2013-2017)

University of Florida The Globe has taught me so much, the importance of community, the power of voice and the value in feeling a sense of purpose, passion and belonging.

Ellie Tomasson: (2013-2017)

University of Chicago I have met wonderful people on the Globe staff; it is a special community that has taught me so much. I have had opportunities on the Globe I never would have had otherwise and for that I will be forever grateful.

Ashleigh Williams: (2013-2017)

Tufts University I liked getting to know the rest of the staff, especially people who I do not see on a daily basis.

Tara Williams: (2013-2017)

Tufts University I love the emphasis on establishing mentor-mentee relationships–I learned invaluable advice from the upperclassmen in Globe and I hope that I was able to give some too.

Nicholas “Nick” Lee: (2014-2017)

Harvard University Getting to know the people and stories in CHS and the broader Clayton community–and of course, Justin!

Harry Rubin: (2014-2017)

Yale University

Justin Guilak! and the other youths.

Zachary Sorenson: (2013-2017)

Washington University in St. Louis

The Globe has always been an invaluable part of learning new things and improving on old skills. I love that I can look back on the progress I’ve made in the years I’ve spent here as a writer, editor and designer.

Olivia Reuter: (2014-2017)

University of Wisconsin I liked getting to know other members of the staff and having a place to discuss controversial topics that directly affect the Clayton community.

Karena Tse: (2013-2017)

Truman State University

The Globe has given me the chance to explore and express my thoughts about the world around me.

Elise Levy: (2014-2017)

Oklahoma City University Conversation. Hands down, I have the best conversations in the Globe office, ones I could never imagine having in a high school setting. I’m able to speak my mind and receive only compassion and support for those thoughts–It’s incredible.

Sophie Barnes: (2013-2017)

University of Missouri I love how at the meetings I feel like I am part of a community that really cares about making changes in our community. Everyone is so motivated to show and spread what they believe in; I love it!

Max Steinbaum: (2013-2017)

University of Michigan Through the Globe, I’ve had the chance to learn a lot about the interesting stories surrounding us in the Clayton community and to explore them with curiosity and passion.

Lucy Cohen: (2014-2017)

Washington University in St. Louis I loved being able to meet people I would not have normally encountered, whether through interviews or writing a story with another person.

Kevin Rosenthal: (2013-2017)

University of California, Santa Barbara The people associated with Globe care deeply about spreading truth and building community. I feel a surge of pride each time I wear my Globe sweatshirt.

O’MALLEY ON A MISSION

BY MICHAEL BERNARD AND JUSTIN GUILAK

U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Kevin O’Malley and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, meet at the U.S. embassy in Dublin, Ireland, Aug. 18, 2015. (Photo from the Department of Defense, Wikimedia Commons) “I have known President Obama since the beginning of his campaign and I have campaigned for him all over the US. I would campaign for him in Missouri, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Iowa,” former US Ambassador to Ireland and St. Louis native Kevin O’Malley said. “I was someone who did all kinds of things: knocking on doors and some fundraising. For me, it was a labor of love.”

In July of 2007, O’Malley began working on the presidential campaign by organizing a series of fundraisers for Senator Barack Obama.

“Nobody joined [the campaign] thinking they were going to get some fancy job at the end,” O’Malley said. “He asked me if I would be ambassador to Ireland and I said sure. It’s a huge honor to be asked by the president of the United States to be an ambassador anywhere.”

Knowing that O’Malley’s family traced back to Ireland, Obama figured that he was the right person for the job. “[My grandparents] came to the United States at the beginning of last century with seven children and no money. My grandfather and grandmother were not educated.

They left Ireland because they were starving to death,” O’Malley said. “They were ref-

ugees, not any different than the refugees that we are talking about today. The United States accepted them into the country.”

On June 5, 2014, Obama nominated O’Malley to be the US Ambassador to Ireland. One month later, he began his confirmation hearings and by September, he was officially appointed, serving until Jan. 20, 2017.

O’Malley had no previous experience as a foreign service officer.

After receiving a law degree from St. Louis University School of Law, O’Malley spent the first decade of his professional life prosecuting mafia cases on the West coast until returning to St. Louis to work on white collar criminal cases.

“I think I was a little bit anxious about [taking the position as an ambassador] because I thought it would be an entirely different avenue to pursue than law,” O’Malley said. “It turns out it’s really not. As a trial lawyer, you dealt with juries. They’re just people and being the ambassador was just dealing with people.”

FEATURE 12

About two-thirds of US ambassadors reached their title through years of foreign work in the State Department.

O’Malley took the path less traveled.

“It helps to know a president,” he said.

“The president has the obligation to appoint these non-career people, like me. Generally, these are people who know the president, who have a personal relationship with the president.”

O’Malley’s role as Ambassador to Ireland, or Chief of Mission, meant he was in charge of all United States operations in the European country.

“There are about 250 employees of the embassy in Ireland. About half of them are American and about half are Irish,” O’Malley said.

O’Malley also acted as the spokesperson regarding any government operation. In Ireland, O’Malley was the personal representative of President Obama.

His role also included traveling the island during visits from Vice President Joe Biden during and other high ranking officials.

While residing in Ireland, O’Malley stayed with his wife and his staff of nine at the Deerfield Residence: an 18th century mansion sitting on nearly 70 acres of land.

His only neighbor was the Taoiseach, or

Prime Minister of Ireland, Enda Kenny.

Although the majority of O’Malley’s assignments were based in Ireland, he was allowed to come back to the United States on certain occasions.

“There is a chief of mission conference once a year in Washington, where all of the ambassadors from all over the world come in and share ideas and hear what’s the latest that’s going on,” O’Malley said.

The former ambassador also had an opportunity to fly back to the US that other ambassadors did not have.

“I came back every St. Patrick’s Day. The prime minister of Ireland, called the Taoiseach, has a standing invitation to the White House for a meeting with the president and a party at the White House every St. Patrick’s Day,” O’Malley said. “I would always come back and would lead the delegation back to the US and be with the president and the Taoiseach during their meetings in the oval office and then at the party later on.”

During his almost three years in office, O’Malley warranted numerous progressive programs and actions.

The one that stood out was his creation of the Creative Minds program in Ireland.

Since Feb. 13, 2015, the program has provided the opportunity for young Irish citizens to interact with American artists, writers, filmmakers and musicians.

“The goal of Creative Minds was to make sure that the next generation of Irish leaders knows that they have no better friend in the

world than the United States,” O’Malley said.

“I would invite people from the US to come to stay with me at the Ambassador’s Mansion in Dublin and then either to perform for, speak with, or demonstrate to various select Irish audiences. We brought in a couple of former St. Louisans.”

Through this program, O’Malley has left a legacy behind in Ireland.

“They are continuing on with that now, and I believe [they] will continue on with that into the future,” he said.

O’Malley did not only focus on the Creative Minds program while in Ireland.

During his time as Ambassador, he also strived to increase the number of business connections between Ireland and the United States.

Currently, 700 American companies reside in Ireland, while only 250 Irish companies that are located within the United States. “[It is] important to develop business connections,” O’Malley said. “One of the best ways to make sure the cultures stay united and that we continue the strong bond between the United States and Ireland is to work on the business connections.”

Galway, the sister-city to St. Louis in Ireland, is a crucial part of ensuring these healthy business connections. O’Malley plans to continue to try and link these two cities together.

“They just are going to be looking more globally than they have in the past,” he said.

“And I just didn’t want them to overlook the United States as they were doing that.”

According to O’Malley, the United States is Ireland’s closest friend.

“They love our country and they love the people that live in it. The welcome that my wife and I received at every corner of Ireland was absolutely unbelievable,” O’Malley said. “They view the United States different than they view any other place on Earth more favorably. The American ambassador is the tangible thing in their presence, so the American ambassador is treated with a great deal of warmth.”

This Irish appreciation included everything from schoolchildren waving American flags while a band played as he entered a village, to an announcement over the PA speaker on his return flight recognizing O’Malley for his service in Ireland.

When Obama left office on Jan. 20, 2017, O’Malley departed alongside him. He and his wife returned to St. Louis soon after.

As a retired ambassador, O’Malley plans to incorporate what he learned while in Ireland to the culture of St. Louis.

“There’s a spark and a spirit in Ireland right now, a ‘try this’ approach. I think we could use a few spoonfuls of that in the St. Louis recipe,” O’Malley said. “We’ve got a great core in St. Louis, but there’s so much more we can do. I think that’s where I’m going to spend my time in my next part of my life trying to see if we can find new ways to make sure [teenagers] stay in St. Louis.”

Vice President Joe Biden and O’Malley applaud for Irish dancers and the band the Chieftains, at Matt Malloy’s pub in Westport, Ireland, June 22, 2016.

(Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

POTLIGHT

ON ENIORS Next fall, six CHS alums will be pursuing theatre as their major in college. Globe spoke to these students about their experiences at Clayton, as well as their hopes for their futures in the limelight.

by Sarah Baker, Grace Snelling and Lila Taylor

amal “I’ve loved dancing since I was young and my passion for theatre was just a slow progression from that,” CHS senior and thespian Kamal Lado said. “It just always felt good to do theatre and to be on stage.”

Lado is starting to look at his future as an actor and as a theatrical educator. He has acted in Cabaret, Middletown, Hairspray and Sweet Charity here at CHS. In addition, Lado has participated in numerous shows at Nerinx Hall High School, as well as shows at The Muny throughout his time in high school.

“I’ve been involved in theatre since elementary school when I started dance lessons at COCA,” Lado said. “I was involved with almost every show throughout middle school and high school. I took acting classes, I was in choir and show choir and basically got involved with anything theatre related.”

Lado will be attending Elon University this fall to study musical theatre.

“I’m most excited to finally be doing what

ado I want to do in college,” Lado said. “I get to take classes in areas I’m passionate about.”

One person in particular, Kelley Weber, inspired Lado to not only pursue acting, but to also become a teacher and mentor. Weber, one of CHS’s theatre teachers, has touched many of the students pursuing theatre, including Lado.

“Kelley Weber is one of the most incredible teachers I have worked with and she inspired and pushed me,” Lado said. “She showed me that I have what it takes to be successful.”

Lado has put everything into the shows that he has been a part of and encourages those who wish to follow in his footsteps to do the same.

“Keep pushing. I know it gets hard but I encourage you to keep training,” Lado said.

“Take dance class, get a voice teacher, take acting class and keep performing. You have so much potential.”

“Ever since 6th grade, I really enjoyed taking the acting classes. I kept auditioning and I think it was around the middle of Pride and Prejudice; that’s where I was like, ‘I want to keep doing this’,” CHS senior Luke Elliott said.

Elliott has been participating in Clayton theatre programs since sixth grade. While at CHS, Elliott committed himself to roles in Tartuffe, Pride and Prejudice, Cabaret, Grease, The Tempest, Middletown and Two Noble Kinsmen.

Elliott’s classmates have helped him to better comprehend competition, rejection and what it means to be part of a theatre company.

“It’s bizarre. Usually the senior class has

“Be a Goofball”

uke CONTENTS 3 FEATURE 15

“Keep Pushing”

maybe one or two students who will audition for [a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree] in college. This year is absurd; the talent is absurd,” Elliot said.

Elliott hopes to pursue a major in either theatre education or acting while attending Columbia College in Chicago.

His participation in main-stage shows, drama classes with Weber and acting festivals over the summer have allowed him to improve his technique as well as to gain experience.

The fun atmosphere of the theatre community continues to draw Elliott in.

“Be goofy,” said Elliott. “Don’t try to be super professional, because it’s not fun if you don’t let yourself be weird. Just be able to let go and have complete fun with it.”

lliott

“ J u s t G o fo r I t ”

annah “Because I have known that I wanted to be an actor my whole life, I am excited to finally be doing the thing that I want to do,” CHS senior Hannah Ryan said.

Ryan has been involved in every theatre production at CHS since freshman year. She has also acted with numerous groups outside of Clayton. For example, Ryan performed in a COCA show called Quilters and The Miracle Worker at the Repertory Theatre of Saint Louis. Ryan also acted in a Mustard Seed Theatre show called Kindertransport with Weber, who is also Ryan’s mother.

“It was really a beautiful show and it was interesting to do a show with my mother,” Ryan said.

Ryan’s parents have been influential in her involvement with theatre in other ways as well. Her mother has taught her drama classes and her parents instilled a love of theatre in her from a very early age.

“I got the onstage love [of theatre] from

“When I got to high school, [everything] just came back to theatre, everything I did was for the goal of getting myself ahead in theatre and improving my skills and my technique and it just was never anything else,” CHS senior Lisi Levy said. “I can’t see myself in a world other than theatre because I don’t think anything else would make me as happy.”

Throughout high school, Levy has participated in almost all of CHS’ main-stage productions. She has also committed much of her time after school to partake in COCA’s honor student program, in which she takes a minimum of seven dance classes per week.

Levy admitted that her schedule can be overwhelming.

“You have these moments where you’re like, ‘why am I doing this, why am I putting myself through this?’” she said.

Despite the difficulty that balancing academics and extracurriculars presents, Levy often experiences uplifting moments on stage that remind her why performing is her passion.

“Hairspray is a good example of like, right before I left for auditions I had that nice confidence boost,” she said.

Although she juggled with the idea of pursuing a different career, Levy decided to focus entirely on theatre and will be majoring in musical theatre at Oklahoma City University this fall.

Levy expressed her fear of the instability within the acting community, joking that she hopes to never become a waitress. One of Levy’s past teachers overheard her and cut in.

“Waiting tables?! A star like you? You were so good [in Hairspray] as usual. What am I going to do without you, Lisi?” the teacher said.

Levy gave advice to students who hope to explore theatre and music as she did.

“Things will not always be handed to you or come your way when you want them to, but being a persistent person and always committing to the material that you’re given–I cannot stress that enough,” Levy said.

isi

FEATURE 16

yan

my mother and my dad would bring me backstage. I gained an appreciation for what it takes to put on a show from my dad,” Ryan said.

Ryan will study at Webster University and major in acting. However, she is sad to leave CHS behind.

“The friends that I’ve made in my grade during theater and the friends that are in grades below me have shaped exactly who I am. I have these really unique relationships with people that I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t done a show with them or been in theater class with them,” she said.

Ryan hopes that other students will be brave enough to be involved in productions as well.

“It is all so much fun and you’ll never know unless you try,” Ryan said. “Try to get rid of those fears that you may have because the overall experience is so much more fulfilling than you could ever anticipate.”

“ B e Pat i e n t ”

evy

auren “I was talking to my parents about where I should apply for college. The thing that I love most is theatre but I didn’t think that I was good enough. But then I got Mary Swanson in the fall play and Charity in Sweet Charity and it was reassuring to get two leads in one year,” CHS senior Lauren Aiello said.

Aiello acted in the spring musicals during her freshman and sophomore year. She was also involved in all three shows both her junior and senior years.

Later this year, she will also perform in the senior showcase. In addition to the shows at CHS, Aiello did community theatre during elementary and middle school.

Aiello recently decided that she will study acting at Missouri State and will audition for the BFA musical theatre program for the spring semester.

“It’s so scary that I haven’t auditioned yet and I’m going to this school. A big reason that I’m going there [is] because they have a great theatre program that’s growing right now and

“Keep an Open Mind”

iello I’m so scared that I won’t get into it,” Aiello said.

Aiello’s theatre friends have shaped who she is.

“It’s so nice to have a group of people that you can just vent with and talk with and they understand it,” Aiello said.

Although it is important to have a passion for acting, Aiello’s advice to younger actors is that it is vital to take classes.

“The best choice I ever made was taking an acting class last year. I think some people are like okay I can act,” Aiello said. “But no, you have to take a class, because there are so many things that you maybe thought you knew but you learn from an actual class.”

“ Ta k e A c t i n g Classes”

essa

“I started doing theatre in 4th grade. I really liked it and I kept doing it,” CHS senior Tessa O’Bryan said. “I knew then that I wasn’t to pursue it and make a career out of it. It’s funny, because as my senior year has gone on, I’m less sure that I want to be a full-time, professional actress. Regardless, I’ll still do theatre, but maybe just not as my number one job. This is a reason why I want to go to college and figure it all out.”

O’Bryan will be attending the University of Southern California this fall.

“I applied to 11 schools. I got into 7 out of the 11. It’s different because most schools I either auditioned or sent in a portfolio into, and there were two schools I didn’t audition for,” O’Bryan said.

O’Bryan is not interested in musical theatre­– instead, she is pursuing acting. In addition, she is also interested in what goes into a play before it is seen on the main stage.

FEATURE 17

’ ryan

“USC is in the middle of LA, so I’d like to experiment with playwriting and screen-writing and film,” O’Bryan said. “The New York crowd is musical theatre, and LA is more film.”

O’Bryan has acted in Pippin, Charlie Brown, Pride and Prejudice, as well as other shows here at CHS. Last year she spent her summer at a course at Missouri State developing her acting skills. She’s also been working with Clayton Community Theatre since she was in elementary school.

“We did a production of ‘The Women’ so it was a cast of all women,” O’Bryan said. “So I was 17, and everyone there was old enough to be my mother or my grandmother. It was really cool to be in this company. I was constantly given advice about life and theatre and the world.”

As her final year comes to a close, O’Bryan gives advice to those who are interested in pursuing theatre later as well.

“Keep an open mind,” O’Bryan said. “Some careers are very set—theatre is not like that at all. A lot of me wishes it were. Go with the flow.

Keep looking; keep trying.”

A Lasting Legacy PHOTOS BY MICHAEL MELINGER AND FROM CLAYMO YEARBOOK

Marci Boland

By Maddy Ackerburg and Barrett Bentzinger “Mama” Marci Boland has been a member of the staff at Clayton High School for 29 years.

“When I was at Clayton High, I would always go into her office and be able to talk to her for hours before school,” 2014 CHS graduate Katherine Ren said. “I felt comfortable talking to her about everything and she was always there to offer advice or give a pep talk when needed. She honestly treated all of her students like we were her children.”

Boland’s first love was business.

“My dad owned his own home-building business called Taylor Morley Homes,” Boland said. “He had an incredible passion for the community that I developed as well.”

After discovering her interest in business, Boland decided to study and, ultimately major in, marketing education with a minor in business at Mizzou. She then received her masters in counseling at UMSL. Boland first began teaching in Pattonville High School’s Positive School; an out-of-school program provided for children and teenagers in need of additional educational assistance.

“I loved working with those kids. I felt like I really connected with them. But I knew that’s not where I wanted to be long term,” Boland said.

After teaching in the Positive School for two years, Boland received a call from Mike Musick, who created the original business program at CHS in the early 1980s.

“He just called me and said he had a position open,” Boland said.

“He told me to put a resume together and to meet him at Denny’s the next morning. I spent the entire night on my typewriter typing my resume and the next morning we met up. He described the program and I said what I wanted to do. It was just a good fit.”

Boland’s career at Clayton began in 1988, but teaching was not her always first choice.

“In college I thought I wanted to major in economics. I wanted to work at the Federal Reserve. I’m a nerd about that stuff,” Boland said.

“Then one of my friends switched their major to marketing education and I thought, why not?”

Boland was uninspired by the typical lecture-style classroom environment.

“I always loved business, but the thought of sitting behind a desk

31 years teaching 29 years at CHS

was awful to me. I think that if I sat behind a desk all day long, I would go crazy,” Boland said.

Boland reflects on her own teaching style as engaging and energizing, the type of lessons she craved as a young adult.

“I like to get up and move around. When I was in high school, my business teacher, Sam Fine, taught a class that wasn’t just lecturing and busy work,” Boland said. “I don’t care when I see a student that needs to get up during class and walk around, go fill their water bottle, or something, because I was like that too.”

Boland’s teaching is a unique, interactive experience that leaves a lasting impact on students.

“She was someone I could approach and talk to no matter what the situation was, whether it was good or bad. She made coming to school everyday fun for me,” CHS graduate (‘13) Varun Chakravarthy said.

Boland’s vivid storytelling and extensive explanations benefit any child who has the privilege to listen to her.

“Her teaching has impacted so many students because she meets each individual where they are,” Tanya Hamilton, a Clayton alumna of the class of 2000, said. “Her teaching techniques are so personalized, which make students more engaged with what she is saying. I have always appreciated that she is always willing to step outside of the box to ensure her students learn in an innovative, exciting new way each year.”

Current students agree.

“Boland’s teaching has had such an impact on me personally,” CHS junior Isabel Alter said. “She’s a teacher who really listens and likes to talk and get to know each of her students and I think that’s something that really sticks with all of us.”

Boland has taught a variety of business and finance classes throughout her time at CHS and has also served as activities director and as the sponsor of DECA. “For six years I was the activities director here and I loved that because it was all about starting programs,” Boland said. “A lot of great programs have come out of that over the years like powder puff, pie-ateacher and even a Mr. CHS pageant.”

The business courses currently offered at CHS were not always in existence.

“I’ve grown the business program at Clayton. We started off with two classes,” Boland said. “It began with my outside of school search for ways to expand our program. I’ve always been really involved in the State department, I sat on curriculum boards throughout the state and found the trends and saw what could be implemented at Clayton and I just had to be careful and find a good balance.”

Boland encourages students to become involved not only in the CHS community, but also through DECA, a business club that gives high school students an opportunity to learn how to enter the workforce.

“DECA is always great because it’s cool to sit down with students at the beginning of the year and ask what they want to do,” Boland said.

“I ask them what they’re passionate about, what they love to do. You have to ask them a lot of open ended questions to get them to the point of creating and coming up with their own ideas.”

Boland has always felt a special bond with her DECA students.

“I love the DECA kids. They’re my favorite. I love traveling with

my kids. I love competition days. I love every class - except accounting, some people love it and you know, more power to you. I feel like teaching a concept that students really enjoy [is] truly rewarding.” Boland said.

Boland feels as though she may have used her counseling degree more than her teaching degree during her time at Clayton High.

“Everyone called me ‘Mama’, because I felt like if I could input my wisdom on someone, I was doing good,” Boland said. “I felt like my counseling degree came in more handy than my teaching degree. There used to be kids in my room all the time, like counseling sessions. We would be at a DECA competition and a boy would cheat on a girl and I’d be up all night talking to her.”

These counseling sessions in Boland’s office quickly became habitual.

“She was my school mom,” Ren said. “She didn’t only care about how well you were doing in her class, she cared about all aspects of her students’ lives. Mrs. Boland’s teaching didn’t stop when the class period ended and her mentorship doesn’t stop once her students graduate.”

2012 CHS graduate Martha Burke agrees. “Probably one of my favorite memories of Mrs. Boland was my senior year when I used her office pretty much as my locker,” Burke said. “Every morning I would come and talk to her before classes. It was a great way to start my mornings.”

Boland gives advice and counseling to those who need it.

“She’s like my second mom,” CHS junior Danielle Bonczewski said.

“She becomes so personal with all of her students and never holds back from what she’s thinking.”

As she strives to be a teacher and friend that her students can trust, Boland also works to help each student see the important role of business in his or her individual life.

“I think it’s very difficult as a teacher meeting all the different needs and preferences of every student in class,” Boland said. “I try and teach a concept at least four different ways [and] say, ‘Did you get this?’”

After years of teaching, Boland has learned valuable lessons from her students in return.

“I think my kids have taught me so much,” Boland said. “Teaching has really opened my eyes to be accepting of everybody and find the good in everyone. It’s a lot easier for some and man, I’m still looking at some kids like, ‘you know there’s gotta be good in this kid somewhere, I don’t know where, but I’ll keep looking!’”

Students are inspired by the valuable lessons Boland has shared over the past 29 years at CHS, whether it be in the classroom, or in the morning meetings with some of her students.

“I really feel like there are all these turns that take us somewhere in life. Don’t be upset when one thing doesn’t work out the way it’s supposed to,” Boland said. “Something else will come along that’s better. I feel like that’s the way things ended up here.”

In her last year teaching, Boland reflects on the community as an environment very different than those at other schools.

“Clayton is different in a good way,” Boland said. “Status isn’t as important here as it is in other schools. I love that, it’s very empowering to everyone here. I tell students all the time - don’t try to be a part of the popular groups, because they won’t matter in college. Nobody cares if you’re the head of the cheerleading squad.”

Boland already has plans for retirement.

“First of all, I will never get up before six in the morning. I look forward to spending more time with my kids as well as taking trips with my friends. I still plan on having a part time job, I’ve got two kids in college, I have to. But I’ve decided I’m not going to work on Friday, possibly not on Mondays either,” she said. “It just was the right time in my life to retire. I’ve taught 31 years, I have 33 in the retirement system and I was just ready. I still love what I do and the relationships I have with my students. I’m just ready.”

The relationship Boland has with her students is one that will not disappear as Boland packs her things for a new life.

“We still text each other and have coffee every time I’m home even though it’s been three years since I’ve graduated,” Ren said.

Ren is only one of the many students still in contact with Boland after graduation. Boland has been involved in various expeMarci Boland in 1992. riences in her past students lives.

“Over the years I have kept in contact with her. She has attended my wedding and other major milestones in my life after high school,” Hamilton said. “She was a major part in launching my non for profit in St. Louis and helping making what is is today. I will be forever grateful for not only being my high-school teacher, but also a lifelong friend.”

For Boland, the secret to her success as a teacher, mentor and as a “mother” ultimately lies in her ability to connect with her students and her love for teaching.

“The most profound experience as a teacher is when kids get it, you know when you see that light bulb go off,” Boland said. “Or when they come back and they say, ‘I’ve decided to major in business, or I had your class and I loved it so much I decided to switch my major.’ I’ve had that a lot and so that makes me really happy.”

COVER 21

Barry Ford

By Noah Brown His love for sports has been a constant in the equation of his life.

As a child, he commanded a presence on the turf in Little Rock, Arkansas.

“Teachers and several coaches asked me to play on an organized team when I was 10 years old. Teachers would point me out to coaches on the playground and the coaches would approach me in elementary school,” CHS physical education teacher Barry Ford said.

And relatively little has changed about Ford since his childhood years.

“I still enjoy sports. I have always had a passion for people and helping others,” Ford said.

After graduating from Little Rock Mills High School in 1982, Ford briefly attended University of Central Arkansas before transferring to Harding University, where he played on both the football and track teams.

It didn’t take long for Ford to find his place.

“I attended a teachers’ job fair at UMSL in 1989 and was hired by Clayton School District and I have been here ever since,” he said.

Ford’s path to becoming a teacher was fueled by his sincere interest in helping others and the inspiration he received from his mother, a former teacher. For Ford, teaching was always more than just a career.

“I think teaching is not only my passion but also my purpose in life,” he said.

Ford’s positive impact within the walls of CHS takes on many shapes; within his many capacities, however, his students are continually inspired by his unwavering positivity.

“He is such a positive, loving person and I never had anything but respect for him,” CHS graduate (‘16) Brian Gatter said. “He knows how to push people and bring out the best part of their personalities.”

Ford’s positive outlook is also contiguous with those he works with.

“Coach Ford is someone that brings an aura of positivity around all he comes in contact with. No matter the situation Coach Ford is able to be positive in the face of adversity,” CHS assistant principal Ryan Luhning said.

But perhaps Ford’s endless optimism is merely a byproduct of a

deeper purpose he is reminded of every time he walks through the doors of CHS. “[My purpose is] to make a positive difference and prepare my students for life. [I’ve always sought to teach students] the purpose in life and the true meaning of love,” Ford said.

To many, Ford is more than just a physical education teacher; he is a figure for guidance and support.

“Even though it’s been awhile since I was in his class, I know I can still approach Coach Ford for advice at any moment. Coach Ford truly cares about his students and athletes on a very personal level,” CHS junior Julia Beliz said.

When asked what he’d be doing if he wasn’t teaching, Ford said, “I would be working in the community as a mentor for youth and coaching. I have a passion to mentor others and give back to society.”

In addition to teaching physical education classes, Ford has coached several sports teams at CHS and currently serves as CHS girls’ track coach. Ford’s coaching responsibilities have added to his abilities to have an impact on the lives of CHS students.

“I have been a part of the development of many student athletes over the years and it has been a real joy,” Ford said. “I get to spend time with the students outside of the classroom building their charac-

TEACHING IS NOT O N L Y M Y PA S S I O N B U T ALSO MY PURPOSE IN LIFE. - Barr y Ford

28 years of teaching at CHS 5 sports coached

ter through sports.”

Ford’s emphasis on building relationships with his student-athletes doesn’t go unnoticed.

“On and off the track, Coach Ford has always been one of the nicest people [to me] at CHS. He will always be the first to say hello and and ask how my day has been or how I’m feeling before a workout,” CHS senior track runner Mary Kate Gelzer said. “Ford values each individual on his team and it’s evident in the way he acts.”

Ford’s life is also defined by the immense value he places on his family - whether it’s his real family, which consists of his wife Rosalyn and his three children, Shatara, Barissa and Brandon, or the over 800 students at CHS that make up what he calls his “extended family.”

For several years, Ford had members of both families together in one building. Ford’s children attended the Clayton School District and benefited from their father’s sincere interest in helping them succeed in and out of the classroom.

“The most rewarding part of going to the school where my dad taught was being able to get school-related advice from him right away,” CHS graduate Brandon Ford said. “He cared about my schoolwork and whenever I needed help, I knew that he was close and willing to give whatever support was necessary.”

Brandon Ford believes his father’s mark on CHS extends far beyond the confines of sport or physical education.

“First and foremost, I believe that my father’s presence alone at CHS was groundbreaking. Years ago, African Americans were generally dissuaded from Clayton schools. My dad helped further Clayton’s integration efforts,” Brandon Ford said. “On a more personal level, my dad will be remembered for how well he could relate to the trends of young people and adults alike. He unselfishly immersed himself in student activities and offered an encouraging voice to every conversation.”

Luhning insists that, despite the void that will be felt following Ford’s departure, his impact will not soon be forgotten.

“Coach Ford has helped make CHS a wonderful place. This place has been around for 100 years and will be around for at least 100 more so we are all just placeholders as we pass through,” Luhning said. “But people like Coach Ford will never completely go away as he will be thought of and talked about for years to come.”

Barry Ford coaching boys’ basketball in 1992.

COVER 23

Karen Hales-Mecham

By Gracie Morris, Lauren Praiss and Nikki Seraji Find good and focus on the good. These are the two mantras of the retiring English Language Learners teacher Karen Hales-Mecham. With these two special mottos always in the back of her mind, Hales-Mecham has touched hundreds of students from different cultures and backgrounds during her time at CHS. From a young age, Hales-Mecham was determined to become a teacher due to her grandparents’ positive influence.

“All of my grandparents were teachers. They had all been educated at these land grant universities. My grandfather was a well-renowned elementary school principal and I was just so proud of him and what he did,” Hales-Mecham said. “So I think my grandparents were an inspiration for me.”

While her grandparents certainly influenced her decision to become a teacher, Hales-Mecham also felt as if she had only three career options to choose from: a teacher, a nurse or a secretary.

“I kind of decided that I wanted to become a teacher. It seemed like a good idea. Then I became a young woman in the sixties and I was like, ‘there might be some other options.’ But by then, I was pretty invested in teaching and I’m glad I made that choice,” Hales-Mecham said.

Hales-Mecham pursued this vocation and has been the English Language Learners (ELL) teacher at CHS since 2000. “[Being the ELL teacher] just fit so well with my interests in literacy and the importance of oral language development in all children,

Hales-Mecham (far right) teaching Kindergarten a t G l e n r i d g e E l e m e n t a r y S c h o o l i n 19 8 6 . P h o t o from Hales-Mecham.

30 years in the district 17 years at CHS

whether you are learning a second language or you are learning at school in your first language,” Hales-Mecham said. “I came at it from my interest in literacy and my experiences at the elementary school and middle school with international students.”

In addition to sharing her interest in literacy with international students, Hales-Mecham always gives her students and colleagues new perspectives with her creativity and abundance of knowledge.

“Karen is creative and willing to think outside of the box to solve issues for students,” CHS counselor Carolyn Blair said. “At the same time, [she is] clear, assertive and unafraid to communicate and enforce rules and regulations about which no one had a better grasp.”

In agreement with Blair, CHS history teacher Paul Hoelscher values Hales-Mecham’s ability to keep the big picture in her mind.

“At the district curriculum coordinators meetings, I will miss Dr. Hales-Mecham’s thoughtful approach to problem solving,” Hoelscher said. “She always keeps the big picture in mind. When it comes to teaching and learning, she has a vast experience and wealth of knowledge. She is calm under pressure and always very patience and thoughtful. She respects her coworkers but has high expectations of the people she works with in important situations.”

Along with Blair and Hoelscher, Ann Edmonds, who taught alongside Hales-Mecham for many years at Glenridge Elementary School, emphasizes Hales-Mecham’s special ability to create a positive environment in which all students are welcome.

“Curiosity, energy, passion and hard work. Karen is not only experienced and intelligent, she pursues knowledge of her craft, of the world around her, of other subjects such as music, art, psychology,” Edmonds said. “She brings all of these together to create a healthy and positive environment for learning and growing. I like the maps in her room. I like the combination of tech and dictionaries, of comfy chairs and bright windows, of soft voices and tough questions.”

Yifang Zhao, a former student of Hales-Mecham, describes how her classroom is not only a safe and positive environment, but also a place of learning and growth.

“Her classroom was a safe zone for me and many of my classmates in high school,” Zhao said. “It was where I cemented lifelong friendships with Ms. Hales-Mecham and my classmates. It was where I vented and cried but also shared my successes and joys. But most importantly, it was where we learned and grew and received all kinds of help, be it studying substantive subject matters like English and social studies, understanding the assignments from a different class, preparing for college applications, or assimilating into the American society by learning about customs, social norms, and music and arts.”

Through her time at CHS and the strong relationships that she has generated with hundreds of students, Hales-Mecham explains that she has grown as a teacher and an individual.

“Lifelong learning never, never stops,” Hales-Mecham said.

“You’re not stuck at a desk. Nothing is routine. I have just the best opportunity to know students and their families from around the world. I’ve worked with students from every continent except Antarctica. Learning from my students, learning from myself by working with my students, but also learning from my colleagues. Every time I work with my colleagues, I learn something new, and I am a better teacher after we collaborate with each other.”

Zhao recognizes Hales-Mecham’s constant willingness to learn and improve.

“Dr. Hales-Mecham is a great teacher not only because she cares deeply for her students, but also because she strives to constantly improve herself as a teacher,” Zhao said. “She isn’t someone who teaches in a certain way because it’s always been taught that way. She keeps up with new development in education, reflects and summarizes from her daily teaching experience, and experiments with new

methods and materials. She received her Ph.D. when I was in high school, which was absolutely inspiring to all of us.”

Indeed, as a lifelong learner, Hales-Mecham has taken the opportunity to understand the backgrounds of all of her students and to meet their families.

“She spends much time and attention with her students,” Edmonds said. “She is dedicated to teach both the subject and the person. She supports the family as well as the student.”

Not only is she dedicated in teaching both the subject and her students, but Hales-Mecham also has a strong work ethic, and nothing has stopped her from reaching her greatest potential.

“She didn’t stop at 3:05 PM. She is relentless with her arsenal of approaching families, students and issues that arise in any part of her student’s lives,” Blair said.

Ultimately, Hales-Mecham is an inspiration to many of her students and colleagues at CHS. By finding the good in what she does and dedicating her life to her passion of teaching, Hales-Mecham succeeded in achieving both of her mantras in life. Hales-Mecham will be remembered for her soft smile and her impact on hundreds of ELL students.

“Every student you work with has an impact on you,” Hales-Mecham said. “I’ve worked with students that have come from very humble, humble backgrounds that have come to US as refugees and others from backgrounds of privilege, but find themselves starting here starting life anew, and I think for those kids, I have a special place in my heart. But it’s just a pleasure to stay connected with these students as they finish high school, go to university, go to graduate school, start their careers and have families.”

COVER 25

Rex Rice

By Nick Lee, Daniel Cho and Harry Rubin with reporting by Junyi Su

District Science Coordinator Nathan Peck remembers that even before meeting Rex Rice, a seasoned veteran who has taught physics at CHS for 28 years, he had heard the name Rice throughout the teaching community. “‘Rex Rice, Rex Rice,’ I started hearing that name over and over for everything having to deal with physics,” Peck said.

Rice’s presence and fame throughout the physics community is not a surprise. “Anyone who knows me knows how much time I put into this. Except for my wife, [teaching] is probably the most important thing in my life,” Rice said.

Rice’s work ethic has certainly been appreciated by students and by colleagues alike.

“He doesn’t really set the standard for other people because everybody realizes that his standard is a Rex standard and no one’s going to get there except him,” Peck said. “His wife would complain because he sets his alarm for 2:30 a.m. sometimes to get stuff done and get ready for school.”

CHS junior Cooper Kennelly has also noticed Rice’s dedication.

“A lot of teachers have office hours that are somewhat restrictive for asking questions because they’re often not there before or after school,” he said. “But there’s about an 85 percent chance that regardless of when you walk into Rice’s room, he’ll be there and will be willing to answer questions.”

From the very start, Rice has devoted himself to making the science curriculum at CHS better. In the process, he has left a significant impact on the lives of his students and on the CHS community.

Even before beginning his time teaching at CHS, Rice knew he would be dedicating his life to teaching high schoolers and impassioning them towards the sciences.

Decades before CHS students would be visiting Six Flags as part of the freshman curriculum, a young boy named Rex grew up in the Chihuahuan desert with a particular interest in the physical sciences.

“As far back as I can remember, I liked making things and figuring out how they worked,” Rice said.

Rice’s journey making things would take him from New Mexico

to Arizona and then out of the southwest. Rice first came to St. Louis as part of a workshop team of four physics teachers who went around the country to different universities, leading conferences with other physics teachers. Having traveled far and wide, Rice finally met the love of his life here, at UMSL, and Mr. Rice, as he put it, “struck up a relationship [with her].”

It was out of love that Rice moved to St. Louis and applied for a job.

One of the offers came from CHS. “It was interesting, but I was very reluctant to accept it because they hired me to take over the physics program, and the person I was going to replace wasn’t retiring for another year,” Rice said.

Rice ended up accepting the offer, not because of the classic “rich kids” argument, but because he lived very close to CHS. Almost as if a stroke of fate, Rice’s decision to teach at CHS, despite the lower pay and smaller school size, has proven to be beneficial not only to himself but also to the school district as a whole.

His impact has been met with strong words of praise from Peck.

“He’s very analytical in his thinking about everything including what to teach and how to teach it,” Peck said. “His insights into physics teaching pedagogy have changed the way physics is done nationally in terms of this modeling approach. He sets very high standards for his students and was able to get students to achieve those standards.”

To meet those standards, Rice often challenges students beyond what they think themselves capable of doing.

“The dude murders you with homework,” Kennelly said. “But if you put a brick through the class, the brick would know physics because of the amount of work he gives you.”

Though he often complains about the amount of work, Kennelly is ultimately grateful for the rigor of Rice’s courses.

“I think it’s one of the few life experiences that’s taught me how to really buckle down because it’s sink or swim and if you can’t put up with the workload, you’re going to sink,” Kennelly said. “I missed half of a question on a 12 question quiz and I got a 72 percent.”

His approach and implementation of the “modeling methodology” has created an environment that fosters success and critical thinking.

29 years of teaching at CHS 2:30 a.m. wakeup time

Despite the tough workload, Kennelly still sees Rice’s modeling approach as one of his largest accomplishments.

“He’s probably going to be kind of an urban legend because his classes were so hard,” Kennelly said. “But at the same time, I think he’s profoundly changed the way science is taught at Clayton with his modeling approach.”

The merits of the modeling approach are evident as the achievements of Clayton students in science have been nationally recognized.

“A normal kid [at CHS] is a top student anywhere else because of the sophistication of their thinking about natural systems and also because of how information is discovered in the classroom,” Peck explained.

“The difference between memorizing and understanding is huge, and [Rice has] always pushed for understanding how something works.”

“Mr. Rice was the one who finally got me into the work ethic and habits that not only got me through high school, but are currently getting me through college,” Jake Shepard, currently an engineering student at Missouri S&T, said.

Hence, Rice sees this model as one of his fondest memories at CHS and his lasting legacy.

“I think that’s an important memory because it’s something that I worked hard at understanding and felt that it had the possibility of really improving the education of a reasonably large number of students,” said Rice. “At the time, the attitude were such that [the district was] willing to try something that was different -- that wasn’t necessarily the norm.

And I think that’s important.”

Despite the great accolade of achievements, there still comes a time when a teacher must decide to retire. And for Rice, that decision came with a lot of caution.

“The decision to [retire] sooner rather than later was governed more by things I want to do in my personal life than to retire teaching,” said Rice.

His dedication to his field is evident as Rice plans to stay involved in the American Modeling Teachers Association and to use his contracting background by volunteering for Habitat for Humanity.

Like his students, Rice’s colleagues also feel as if Rice’s leadership has strongly impacted them.

“Everybody in the science department is on the same page because they have a national leader in teacher development that happens to work here. He provides professional development to everybody in the department all the time,” Peck said.

For students, both current and former, Rice’s influence can last just as long.

“I think people understand how fortunate we have been to have Rice either as a teacher or just on our staff. If there’s a student who doesn’t realize it while they have him, they definitely realize it when they continue on through our science program and beyond.”

As students feel fortunate to have gone through Rice’s classes, Rice also feels lucky to have been a part of the Clayton community. “The daily interactions I’m having with kids, the feeling that I’m having a direct impact on kids, I’m really going to miss it,” Rice said.

Rex Rice in 1992

COVER 27

Heidi Shepard

By Katie Snelling and Lila Taylor “Teaching keeps me more optimistic. I have hope for the future.

Too many people get tainted by media that says ‘teenagers are doing this and that’ butme I actually know whatI teenagers ” CHSToo “Teaching keeps more optimistic. have hopeare fordoing, the future. math Heidi Shepard said. “I work [teenagers] on a daily many teacher people get tainted by media that sayswith ‘Teenagers are doing this basis.

I getbut to Isee what potential [teenagers] and where and that’ actually know what teenagershave are doing, ” CHS[their] math hopes dreams are. said.

Where thinkwith it’s easy to get tainted outside of teacherand Heidi Shepard “I Iwork [teenagers] on a daily basis. education.

I get to see” what potential [teenagers] have and where [their] hopes teaching years. andShepard dreams has are. been Where I thinkfor it’s 32 easy to get tainted outside of Initially, education. ” she taught at a high school in Kansas City as the lead geometry teacher, but years,

Shepard has after beenthree teaching forshe 32 decided years. to return to St. Louis, theshe town she at grew up in.

The in position to her Initially, taught a high school Kansasavailable City as the leadwas a job teaching middle The position was meant to beto temporary, geometry teacher, butschool. after three years, decided to return St. Louis, but town Shepard upin. teaching middleavailable school for the sheended grew up The position to 15 heryears. was aShe job fell in love withmiddle the atmosphere. teaching school. The position was meant to be temporary, but “Whenended I wanted to comemiddle back toschool St. Louis gig that was Shepard up teaching forthe 15 years.

She fellopen in was in middle school,” Shepard said. “I thought I would just do it love with the atmosphere. until I could findto a better job. I to taught junior for 15 years. was “When I wanted come back St. Louis thehigh gig that was openItwas sheer circumstance.

That was job thatkeeps couldme getmore me back to St. I in middle school,” Shepard sa the “Teaching optimistic.

Louis.hope I took and I ended loving it.” get tainted by media that have foritthe future.

Tooup many people Shepard loved middle school teaching experience, saysAlthough ‘Teenagers are doing thisthe and that’ but I actually know what she was ready to move up to the teacher high school of secondary teenagers are doing, ” CHS math Heidilevel Shepard said. “I work school with the asonshe calls basis. it, “higher ” what potential [teenagwith [teenagers] a daily I get ups. to see 15 years, done.

I was ” Shepard said. “When ers]“After have and whereI was [their] hopes andgood, dreams are. Where I think Iit’s cametotoget [CHS], [I]outside said, ‘Give me 9th or” 10th.’ I still liked what I did, easy tainted of education.

I just needed something new.teaching ” Shepard has been for 32 years.

Shepard not at always her in heart set on a career teachInitially, shedid taught a highhave school Kansas City as the of lead ing math. teacher, She knew that teaching was the field for buttowas geometry but after three years, decided to her, return St. not Louis, decided subject. and math were her two options. the townon shethe grew up in.Art The position available to her was a job “I didn’t thinkschool.

I couldThe helpposition someone else become a better artist,”but teaching middle was meant to be temporary, said. “The area thatmiddle I couldschool help someone growShe in was Shepard ended up teaching for 15 years. fell in mathematics”. love with the atmosphere.

Shepard is a self-labeled “math geek. ” She applying math “When I wanted to come back to St. Louis theenjoys gig that was open was to the real school, world ”and loves the when her students in middle Shepard said.moments “I thought I would just do itlearn untiltoI connect math to lifejob. situations. her students struggle through could find a better I taught Seeing junior high for 15 years.

It was sheer hard topics, butThat endwas up successful confident thetoend the I circumstance. the job thatand could get meby back St.of Louis. unit compels Shepard. took it and I ended up loving it.”

“Right now we’re in circles, which I love. I love circles because it takes everything I’ve taught all year long and puts it all together. It

makes kids very curious,” Shepard said regarding a unit in geometry.

“I like teaching proofs. I see kids hate them and then get to being pretty successful. It’s fun to watch them feel really powerful about the success that they have. I get to see kids transform, so it’s not so much about the content. It also teaches kids that other challenges down the road can be overcome. For me as a teacher, that’s huge.”

While Shepard loves the academically focused Clayton environment, she also notices the hardships that students who do not desire to follow a traditional post-high school path face.

“I think it’s hard for students who don’t want to go to college to go to Clayton High. I don’t think college is a must,” Shepard said.

“Let’s worry about the learning. Let’s honor the kiddos that aren’t heading off to a traditional university. I feel bad for kiddos having to go against the norm. As much as our students say they go against the norm, they pretty much stay pretty true to course.”

Shepard happened to not have that struggle. She followed a more traditional college path and became an educator.

As a child raised by teachers, Shepherd fell in love with the school setting long before her parents could convince her otherwise.

“My parents, as teachers, were really opposed to any of their children becoming teachers,” Shepard said. “So I was pushed really hard not to be one. It was more from my dad than my mom. My mom was an elementary school teacher while my dad taught high school. Every teacher sees it transform in their 30 years of teaching. I was still on the youthful optimistic side of education.”

Due to her parent’s distaste in her future as a teacher, Shepard was sent off to college to become a computer science major.

“I said I’d try it on, because I was a strong math kiddo,” Shepard said. “And females were starting to get pushed into less traditional roles. But I took computer science classes and I got A’s and I hated them. I hated the classes. And so I eventually said, ‘Tried it. Got my A’s. I have to be quiet all day long. It’s just not who I am. It’s your fault. You raised me in the school setting.’ And so of their three daughters, two of us are teachers.”

In addition to growing up with her own parents in her school, Shepard’s own children have had the opportunity to attend the School District of Clayton. Her son, Jake Shepard attended Clayton schools from the beginning of kindergarten, all the way to walking

32 years of teaching 2 children through the district

across the stage in a cap and gown. Shepard’s daughter and current CHS senior, Sarah Shepard, will follow her brother and graduate this May. “I’ve had the pleasure of having my kids go here,” Shepard said.

“What makes it special is that everyone sees the importance of education and learning. I got to see for my children, how well teachers know their students and how because of that they reacted accordingly. They knew how to help my children access the curriculum better.”

Shepard’s retirement directly coincides with the graduation of her daughter.

“My daughter is heading off [to] college and playing softball, so I look forward to just going and watching her play ball,” Shepard said.

“That’s what really sealed the deal that I would retire this year as opposed to some other year. I want to be able to just watch Sarah play ball and not worry about lesson plans and not worrying about students getting a sub. I just want to go watch Sarah. I just want to watch my daughter.”

In addition to going to softball games, Shepard plans to spend her retirement gardening as well as continuing to sketch drawings.

“My big creative outlet is gardening,” Shepard said. “It’s my canvas.

That’s where I spend my energy. I have five gardens and I’ll probably put in another five later. I live on three acres, so gardening is pretty easy..”

Throughout her many years as a teacher, Shepard has been able to modify her teaching style time and time again. She’s spent most of her life in school, from the age of five as a student, to today as a teacher.

“I started out as the ‘sage on the stage’ where I would just talk at my students and it’s more about honing your craft as a performer and it’s very monologue,” Shepard said. “That’s pretty common for first year teachers. Now it’s very much the flip of that. I have my script. I’m more looking at faces. I might craft 20 problems and I might do all 20 of them. Or I’ll do all three of them. So I’m much more responsive to how my students are learning while I’m teaching.”

Not only has Shepard adopted this is her own classroom, but she’s taught other math teachers how to do the same. Shepard has shown CHS math teacher Kyle McCord how to better his own teaching.

“For me, [Mrs. Shepard’s] definitely been a mentor since I came in,” McCord said. “I’ve worked with her for the last three years and I think she’s done a good job of teaching me what it meant to be a teacher at Clayton. When I came in, she definitely emphasized that as a teacher at Clayton, it’s important for you to be a creator -- not to just go out and find things, but to make a mark. Not to just repeat what you’ve done in the past. To do something new and always be innovative and that’s been really, really important for me.”

Many teachers have the goal for their students take interest in their subject. While this is to many, the most satisfying aspect of teaching, it may also be the most challenging.

“For a teacher, when students are misbehaving, as much as you might think teachers are after you for behavior, we are also on you so that we can do what we’re here to do and that’s to teach,” Shepard said.

“Watching a student struggle and then finally getting it, watching kids do something I never thought of. It’s great to see them pushing and challenging each other in a way that’s exactly how I wanted to see them talk.”

From her students, Shepard has learned much about life as well as how hard it is growing up. She’s learned humor and perseverance.

Shepard has learned that the most important thing is to be honest - not just to others, but also to oneself.

“My advice to you is to make the world great,” Shepherd said. “I’m relying on you to do that, as did the generation before me did on my generation. It’s kind of what you get handed. We’ve given you enough to do, so there you go. We’re going to keep you busy.”

Heidi Shepard in 2006 COVER 29

Sheri Steininger

By Catherine Walsh

with reporting by San Kwon and Mariclare Gatter Xererchit parum fugitat ad molupta ssunt, occabor eperectum lant When she is not working, she is going to alternative rock and ratiossint fuga. Accus. country concerts. She is spending time with her kids. She is reading.

Dam raest, quasperatur, comnim qui cus.

She is writing. And she is making the most of her teaching experience.

Idition sequodi offic to tem quibus as ma et quassequidem quo vende After teaching English for 33 years, Sheri Steininger has made nullatecus ea dolupta tibeatqui optatquam evendip sandis ni cum qui her mark on Clayton High School and even more so on her students. conem arcitist re repelitiorum quis elende dolorectotas net velesti Steininger has taught a variety of grades and courses, her favorite beWhen she is not working, she is going to alternative rock and ing Honors English I. country concerts. She is spending time with her kids. She is reading.

“It’s hard not to love Honors Freshman [English],” she said. “I love She is writing. And she is making the most of her teaching experithe seniors, I’ve always taught seniors but, in general they’re not happy ence. unlike the freshmen who are still happy.”

After te When she is not working, she is going to alternative rock and Her ability to relate to and accept other human beings has only country concerts. She is spending time with her kids. She is reading. strengthened her teaching capabilities.

She is writing. And she is making the most of her teaching experi“We are all people,” Steininger said. “Here we are, with certain simence. ilarities: we are both St. Louisans and we are both Clayton people and After teaching English for 33 years, Sheri Steininger has made her we are both working toward this goal of making you a better reader mark on Clayton High School, and even more so on her students. or writer or both.”

Steininger has taught a variety of grades and courses, her favorite Students and colleagues have connected with Steininger in many being Honors English I. “It’s hard not to love honors freshman,” she ways. said, “I love the seniors, I’ve always taught seniors but, in general “She often gifts people books, that’s her thing,” English teacher Jenthey’re not happy unlike the freshman who are still happy.” nifer Sellenriek said. “It is kind of a combination of her generosity Her ability to relate to and accept other human beings has only and her passion for reading through which she kind of tries to figure strengthened her teaching capabilities. people out.”

“We are all people,” Steininger said. “Here we are, with certain The students notice this, too. similarities: we are both St. Louisans and we are both Clayton people “[Mrs. Steininger] remembers the little things about her students’ and we are both working toward this goal of making you a better lives,” senior Emma Marquis Kelly said. “She had my sister as well and reader or writer or both.” she remembered some of my sister’s papers and even having her in Students and colleagues have connected with Steininger in ways that class and her personality.” her humble personality has prevented her from realizing.

“She’s always been very personal and upfront with her students,” “She often gifts people books, that’s her thing,” English teacher senior Melissa Gastelum-Lopez, who has had Steininger as a teacher Jennifer Sellenriek said. “It is kind of a combination of her generosity for three out of four years at CHS, said. “Which makes her a teacher and her passion for reading through which she kind of tries to figure that will always seem like a close friend or someone you can trust. She people out.” has never been a judgmental person and has always had a very posi-

The students notice this, too. “[Mrs. Steininger] remembers the little things about her students’ lives,” senior Emma Marquis Kelly said. tive attitude, unless it came to someone wearing perfume.”

“She had my sister as well and she remembered some of my sister’s Steineger has given countless hours to her career, often sacrificing papers and even having her in class and her personality.” time with friends for time grading papers and making sure her stuSteininger was born to teach. She has given countless hours to her dents are getting the devotion they deserve. career, often sacrificing time with friends for time grading papers and “She has integrity,” Sellenriek said. “I believe her values are really making sure her students are getting the devotion they deserve. “She clear and really important to her. I think she understands the imporhas integrity,” said Sellenriek, “I believe her values are really clear, tance of holding high expectations of her students or her friends or and really important to her. I think she understands the importance her family or of the world. She has some pretty clear ideas of what she of holding high expectations of her students or her friends or her thinks is right and wrong in the world and I really admire her for that.” family or of the world. She has some pretty clear ideas of what she Steineger honors the dedication her students put forth. thinks is right and wrong in the world, and I really admire her for “To me the students have so many difficulties, so many challenges that.” and here they are everyday they come in and they try to do their best,” “To me the students have so many difficulties, so many challenges, Steininger said. “I think a lot of people are really brave.” and here they are everyday they come in and they try to do their Often, Steininger learns of her students’ challenges through conbest,” Steininger said. “I think a lot of people are really brave.” ferences.

Steininger learns of her students’ challenges through conferences, “Most of [the students] want to get to know you as a person and most of the time. She said, “Most of [the students] want to get to they want to share themselves. I get the feeling that students don’t have know you as a person and they want to share themselves. I get the much of an audience, people don’t really listen to them. I think somefeeling that students don’t have much of an audience, people don’t times they feel like they don’t have enough of their parents listening to really listen to them. I think sometimes they feel like they don’t have them, so they want you to hear what they have to say.” enough of their parents listening to them, so they want you to hear Steininger admits her own personal challenges of teaching. Despite what they have to say.” how appreciative Steininger is of being able to teach at a prestigious Steininger admits her own personal challenges of teaching. school like Clayton, she has experienced the ramifications of such a Despite how appreciative Steininger is of being able to teach at a presrigorous workload. tigious school like Clayton, she has experienced the ramifications of “The hardest thing is that the job is never done. If you want to be such a rigorous workload. “The hardest thing is that the job is never really good at what you do, you can always think of a better way to do done. If you want to be really good at what you do, you can always it, if you put in more time. And it’s a job that can swallow you whole if think of a better way to do it, if you put in more time. And it’s a job you’re not careful, and it happened to me,” she said. that can swallow you whole if you’re not careful, and it happened to Her efforts and self-discipline do not go unnoticed. me,” she said.

“When I think about [Ms. Steininger] I think about how she really However, her strenuous efforts and self-discipline do not go values intellectual pursuit, that we are learning for learning’s sake and unnoticed. not for grades,” Sellenriek said.

“When I think about [Ms. Steininger] I think about how she really

33 years of teaching 12 years at CHS

Recognizing that there are students with low parental and financial support, Steininger makes it her mission to become a role model for those students and to lead them to realize their capabilities.

“What I try to do is show them that they can build their own support networks and learn from what they never had,” Steininger said. “I can make sure that in the future, they have a life that gives them what they need and provide for their kids in a better way.”

According to Steininger, she has found her sense of self in the classroom.

“I really appreciate Clayton High School for letting me be me, instead of pretending,” she said. “The first five years I taught in the room and pretended to be a teacher because I was a kid. I remember by about the third year one of my students said ‘You don’t even own any blue jeans, do you?’ And I thought, ‘I have succeeded, they believe I am an adult.’ But as I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten much more comfortable with just being who I am.”

Every year, Steininger looks forward to showing her students the art of annotating a poem. “That sounds horrible, doesn’t it?” she said. “Except, when they do that they start to - and it takes a month for them to do this by themselves - realize that teachers are not just making all this stuff up, that poetry has deep meaning. And of course if you can read a poem and find the implications and the depth of theme and so on, you can read anything and see it, because it’s far harder to read poetry than anything else.”

Steininger has not just opened her students’ eyes to the world of possibilities when they annotate poems; she has shown them that there is more to anything than what they see on the surface. She has truly shown them the value of deep thinking.

English teacher Adam Dunsker notes that Steininger works towards improvement in her students’ writing.

“She pushes students to identify areas of their writing or thinking that they’d like to improve, and she then works with the student to tailor the next assignment to provide opportunity to do so,” Dunsker said.

Steininger has taught her students life skills.

“When I teach students argumentative techniques I always say, ‘In your marriage when you need X, you need to be able to express that and give reasons why. Let me give better examples to you: In your family now you would like these privileges and you need to be able to go to

Sheri Steininger in 2006 your parents and explain why.’”

She has high hopes for the Clayton community after she leaves.

“I hope that they discover that they can become better communicators, that it’s not just an assignment. It is very important to your life that you know how to communicate and to understand, for example, when you don’t actually make sense because young learners don’t understand when they don’t make sense,” she said. “So I hope that students take away that more than any other subject that we’re teaching, that communication is essential to everything that we do for the rest of our lives.”

COVER 31

Sue Teson

By Camille Respess and Kevin Rosenthal “There is this verb: to be Teson-ized. If you have been Teson-ized, it basically means that you have been made tough, you have been made intellectually strong, rigorous,” CHS English teacher Adam Hayward said. “It means that you can go to any university in the world and if someone asks you to write a paper, do research, and think critically, you will be successful.”

In 2009, Hayward, a colleague and friend of Sue Teson’s, began to instruct a section of the Honors American Literature course Teson crafted at CHS. The moment he met Teson, he knew the two were kindred spirits.

“When you work with Sue, what happens is you find your own energy increasing. It was extraordinarily intense and collaborative. I found myself learning a lot about teaching American Literature especially in terms of painting and music,” Hayward said. “We tried to work together to ensure that our students, who launched their Honors American Literature careers with different teachers, would be in a similar place. She let me creatively steal everything that she had. We constantly worked together.”

A blueprint for Teson’s Honors American Literature course is transmittable to teachers of any stripe. As resources, “HAL” teachers could borrow from Teson hundreds of lesson plans, a highly intentional and chronological list of American books and a cultivated thesis any student can adapt to the infamous author’s project.

But the relationships Teson has built with her students during her 28-year English teaching career belong to Teson and her students, exclusively.

“I’ve worked hard to make my lessons purposeful and meaningful. I don’t take my connections for granted. If you come off as a person who doesn’t work hard to authentically develop connections, kids see through that so fast,” Teson said. “I’ve never tried to be the cool teacher on the first day; I’ve always just tried to be myself. I let kids warm up to me and come up to me - I’ve never tried to impose myself on people. Kids recognize genuineness and that’s what I’ve always tried to be: genuinely myself.”

Although the Honors American Literature course might be synonymous with Teson’s name at CHS, Teson’s dimensionality shapes her character.

A decorated college student, Susan Elizabeth Owen was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, served as editor of The DePauw, received the English Student Department Award and graduated Summa Cum Laude from DePauw University. With a degree in English, Owen returned home to St. Louis from Greencastle, IN. and began a career in sports journalism.

This career was short-lived.

Owen’s former high school principal beckoned her back to Parkway South High School. When the opportunity to teach English at her alma mater presented itself, Owen was intrigued.

But another offer emerged: Kirkwood High School.

A vacancy in the middle of the 1988-1989 school year allowed Owen to eagerly quit her job in journalism and hop directly into a masters degree program in which she could also receive her teaching certification. Then, in January her first batch of students awaited.

During her tenure at Kirkwood High School, cornerstones of Owen’s life formed. Sue Owen became Sue Teson when she exchanged vows with Kirkwood High history teacher, Bob. The Tesons were entrenched in Kirkwood, MO. They built lives there: Bob and Sue raised three kids in their Kirkwood home.

The Tesons shared the same commute to work everyday for 12 years.

But in 2001 their career paths diverged.

Kirkwood could no longer accommodate a fireball in the classroom and a mother of three in the interim.

Teson said to Kirkwood: “If you value what I do, I need some help. I teach two AP Lit classes, two 10th grade honors and a regular 10th grade. I have three little kids at home. I teach in a certain way that requires lots of feedback, so I’m looking in other places.”

Newly retired Clayton English teacher Jim Lockhart - also a product of the Kirkwood School District - had encouraged Teson for years to teach at Clayton.

“I always said there was only one place I would leave Kirkwood for and that was Clayton,” Teson said.

Compared to Kirkwood, Clayton allowed Teson to teach three classes instead of five. Within the conferenced English program at Clayton, Teson could develop intimate relationships with 70 students rather than focusing her attention on 130 students in the Kirkwood classroom. Fewer students per school year at Clayton did not stunt Teson’s work ethic.

“I remember feeling that this was someone who was doing maybe twice as much work as I had seen anyone else do,” Hayward said.

The concentration Teson directed toward her work each day both challenged and motivated students.

“It was not scary, but intimidating. You feel like you have to match her intensity. She inspires you to want to say something thoughtful and meaningful,” CHS alum (‘16) Lem Lan said. “With Teson, she actually helps people think about what they’re going to say before they said it.”

Teson’s intensity can be defined by her eye contact, movement and spirit.

“She looks at you and it’s like she sees into you. She has this beautiful, powerful presence and it’s almost like she is the conductor of a symphony in front of the classroom,” Honors American Literature alum Sarah Murphy (‘05) said. “She always wore bangles and they would always clank together, especially when she was articulating something - driving the point home.”

28 years of teaching 16 y e a r s a t C H S

Sometimes in class Teson cannot tame her passion.

“Part of the reason I love my subject is I love words and I love beautiful words. I love thoughts that are well expressed whether they are on the page or coming from a student. I say ‘Yes...Yes...

Yes!’ when someone expresses a thought with great words.”

Nurturing belief in young adult students, Teson offered her soul to her subject.

“I think a lot of time people do not give teenagers enough credit for their ability Teson at the white board teaching The Scarlett Letter in 2004 to think critically and understand things.

(Photo by CHS graduate Sarah Murphy, Class of ‘06).

She does. She understands the developmental stage that you’re at when you’re 16 and 17 so tunities never materialized. I’m not going to lie - it hurt. I gave the job my best, but my vision of what constitutes great teaching has apparently well,” Murphy said. fallen out of step with the times. When I came to that recognition, I Teson’s lessons transcend standardized mundanity.

“What I like about the Humanities is it’s a forum for debate, it’s a knew it was time for me to walk away.”

In addition to teaching in the high school setting during her career, forum for discussion, it’s a forum for thinking and words,” Teson said.

“The type of learning that is so essential to a classroom environment is Teson also co-taught a Methods in Teaching course at Webster Univerunquantifiable. It’s not something you can’t gather data on. There’s no sity with former CHS English teacher Nick Otten from 2005-2008. Otten taught Honors American Literature at CHS concurrently with Teson survey or a test that I can give to measure that.”

Teson had not always envisioned retiring after 28 years in her career. in the early 2000s. Teson was honored with the 2015 Bill Mendelsohn “One of my long-standing career goals was to retire after 30 years Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Teson’s poster of Johnny Cash, her portrait of Walt Whitman, dozens of teaching. Clearly, I’ve elected to retire two years short of that goal.

Teaching literature and providing writing instruction at the level I’ve de- of books, family photos and memorabilia representative of the Amerimanded from myself has been rewarding, but exhausting work,” Teson can story and her own will be relocated from English office 3G when said. “After 25 years in the classroom, I reached a point in my career August 2017 arrives.

For Hayward, the absence of Teson in coming school years will leave where I was eager to share my pedagogical insights and acquired experience with others. I then decided to “put myself out there,” as it were, in a profound void in the English department.

“The personal feelings, it’s just a loss. I would say that coming [in] terms of seeking a leadership role, but for whatever reason, those opporand teaching is difficult. You look for certain people that help you get through and she has been one of those people for me,” Hayward said. “It is kind of like a tectonic shift in the department. That’s a foundational person and she’s leaving.”

How might this force of nature occupy her time during retirement?

Perhaps an onlooker will find Teson in one of her devotional positions: curled inside Walt Whitman’s bathtub, straddling Zora Neale Hurston’s tomb, or staring contemplatively at Asher B. Durand’s Kindred Spirits in Arkansas.

In a matter of weeks Teson will firmly shut the door to her classroom, but the pages of text she has shared with decades of students will remain open to her as long as she lives.

“I can promise I will never teach again. It’s done. It’s over. That doesn’t make me sad either. I gave it my best and now I’m leaving it alone. I have no regrets about the classroom or my relationship with students. I pride myself on what I have with each individual kid. That’s how I look at my impact or my career as a teacher: it’s my job to try to reach every kid in the best way I can,” Teson said. “I’m still young. I’m going to have a happy life. A lot of these authors, they’re a part of me, they’re in my soul, and so you don’t cut out your soul just because you’re leaving the venue that demanded your daily attention to those people.”

NEXT LEVEL

Sam Frank

Emma Marquis-Kelly

Sport: Basketball Commitment: University of Rochester

Sport: Soccer Commitment: Denison College Clayton has been a really great experience for soccer because I get to play with girls who came from all different skill levels and learn from them but also help them become better players.

The most rewarding part was being able to play soccer with my friends from school but also meeting girls from different grades who play soccer.

The most challenging part of high school soccer is getting the team to work as a whole rather than individuals.

I am just excited to keep playing basketball. I love this game and I am not ready to stop playing it. I just don’t want to let go. Going to a great school and also being able to play basketball is a dream of mine.

Maddy Vaughn

Will Lerwick

I first started playing lacrosse my freshman year of high school and after my freshman year I started playing year round. I have loved playing with my teammates and coaches at the high school because they have helped me grow as a player and as a person.

I am very excited to continue playing with teammates who have grown up playing the sport. The pace of the game is a lot faster on the East coast. At Ursinus I am able to do everything I want to do and continue playing lacrosse.

Rowing has opened up a lot of opportunities for me. I have met a lot of new people and traveled to cool places. In addition, winning races and being able to compete on the national stage is very rewarding for me. The most challenging thing for me overall is having to balance school and athletics while giving both my full attention. I am excited to compete at a DI level and having the experience to compete against some of the top rowers in the world.

I really enjoyed Boston as a city. I really like the business school and the co-op program. The school had also offered me an athletic scholarship.

Sport: Lacrosse Commitment: Ursinus College

Sport: Rowing (Club) Commitment: Northeastern University

by NOAH BROWN and NEEL VALLURAPALLI

CHS’ 12 COLLEGE-BOUND ATHLETES REFLECT ON THEIR YEARS IN HIGH SCHOOL UNIFORM AND LOOK AHEAD TO CONTINUING TO COMPETE ON THE COLLEGE LEVEL

SPORTS 34

AT H L E T E S Max Hunter

Bryant Thompson

High school baseball has been a good time. It’s rewarding to win playoff games, but challenging to lose a group of seniors every year. I’m just excited to pitch at the next level and play with and against very talented players. Dartmouth was a good fit because the coaches know the game very well and how to develop players. I also have the opportunity to get a great education.

I’d say my experience playing baseball in high school has been exciting and unpredictable. The most rewarding was making it to the state quarterfinals my sophomore year. Most challenging was getting injured and missing my whole freshman year. I’m excited about getting to face new competition and getting to improve as a player. It’s a good fit because it offered a lot of the education opportunities that I was looking for in a college.

Sport: Baseball Commitment: Dartmouth

Sport: Baseball Commitment: Case Western Reserve

Grace Monshausen

Lily Ciampoli

I would describe my soccer career at Clayton High School as a learning experience. The most rewarding aspect of Clayton soccer is definitely knowing that the other girls on the team look up to me. It’s really exciting when I give people advice on the field and they apply it and when I organize team bonding and the girls get psyched about it. I am so excited to play with girls who all have the same incentive as me next year. A primary focus on academics, (most of the girls on the Lake Forest soccer team are also majoring in a science) and a shared level of dedication to soccer. I’m also excited to know I’m in a place where I will have the ability to make a strong impact on the team as a freshman, I think it’ll be an equally challenging and fun experience.

I have been riding horses for the past eight years of my life. The most rewarding part of riding is knowing that every horse you get on, you have an impact on it. The most challenging part is the mental factor. There are about 100 different things you have to think about when riding. You have to know what the horse is doing underneath you. I am excited to see the progress I make and see where I end up in the equestrian business.

Meeting a whole bunch of new people and horses and learning new things along the way is something that makes me very happy about the direction I am taking for my future. I chose to go to William Woods University in Fulton, MO because I knew that they would be able to teach me the things I needed to know and help me get on course to where I want to go.

Sport: Soccer Commitment: Lake Forest College

Sport: Horseback Riding Commitment: William Woods University

SPORTS 35

Elise Yang

Joe Taylor

I started rowing in the spring of my freshman year so that I could keep in shape for the fall varsity volleyball season. Although it is extremely tough to balance academics and rowing, as rowing takes up two hours of my day in addition to another hour to drive to the boathouse and back, I have developed a better sense of managing my time and prioritizing what I need to get done. To be rowing on the famed Charles River every morning alongside the Boston skyline is a dream come true. I liked the welcoming, collaborative atmosphere at MIT and found a lot of like-minded people there as well.

My experience with Clayton football was okay. Most rewarding would be having the chance to meet great coaches. But downside to Clayton Football was the lack of support especially through the recruiting stage. I'm most excited just to see myself get better and be able to compete and lead people much older than me.

Mckendree good fit for me because they have about the best defensive in DII and working with them will keep me close to that DI level and academically they were a great choice especially with my path for pharmacy because of the access to internships.

Sport: Rowing Commitment: MIT

Sport: Football Commitment: Mckendree University

Sarah Shepard

Will Keller

Sport: Softball Commitment: St. Louis Community

Sport: Football Commitment: Clark Atlanta University

I was only able to play for CHS for two years but both were very rewarding. Last year we won first in districts and this year we placed second, I was also able to obtain a lot of awards such as making the all-region team. One of the most challenging things was trying to keep my team up in tough situations. I am really excited to play with a group of girls that love softball as much as I do and can’t wait to see what school I will play at next once my career at St. Louis Community College is over.

Playing football had always been fun in high school, the most challenging part of my time in high school would have to be losing in the first round playoffs my junior and senior year, most rewarding would be playing in Mississippi against an out of state team it was a different experience.

I’m most excited about playing football at the next level and just having fun on the field with new teammates.

Photos from Globe archives SPORTS 36

AT H L E T E P R O F I L E

MARY K AT E GELZER

BY MAX STEINBAUM / managing editor Senior Mary Kate Gelzer impacts the girls’ track and field team, pushing to strive for excellence.

Photo of Gelzer by Xuenan Jin “She’s a wonderful captain,” Barry Ford, coach of the Clayton girls’ track team said.

“She motivates the team with her hard work and dedication.”

Mary Kate Gelzer, a senior, is the current captain of the girls’ track and field team. A track runner of five years, Gelzer started running competitively in 8th grade before joining Clayton’s squad as a freshman.

Also a member of Clayton’s cross country team, Gelzer clearly loves to run.

“One of my favorite things about track and running sports in general - is that there is both a team and individual aspect to it,” Gelzer said. “Everyone on the team works hard to individually improve and that hard work pays off in the form of personal satisfaction. But it also helps your team win.”

Gelzer also articulated several personal goals for the season.

While in the past she concentrated on improving her performance in the two

mile and 4x800 meter races, her focus has changed this season.

“I shifted to focusing more on my mile race,” Gelzer said. “The mile has always been a hard race for me to run. It’s a combination of speed and endurance.”

In addition to working to achieve her personal goals, Gelzer has added responsibility as a captain. She remembers the help and advice seniors provided her as a freshman and seeks to fulfill a similar role for the newer members of the track team.

“When I was a freshman, I remember feeling grateful and comfortable when the senior captains would show me the ins and outs of [the sport],” Gelzer said. “With this year being a big year [for] so many girls trying out so many different races, I’ve tried to be supportive of each girl through the experience of running a new race.”

Junior and teammate Maggie Baugh acknowledged Gelzer’s contributions as a team leader.

SPORTS 37

“She’s repeatedly organized team bonding events that made everyone feel closer [as a team],” Baugh said. “It motivates us all to work harder.”

Baugh also spoke to Gelzer’s work ethic and drive.

“She works hard,” Baugh said. “She stays positive, which helps with long runs.”

Coach Barry Ford spoke similarly of Gelzer.

“She’s always working to improve as an athlete and as a person,” Ford said. “She’s always willing to do extra work, and to help others when needed.”

Describing her hard work, dedication and love for the sport, Ford also said that Gelzer, “leads by example - and any coach would love having her at the front of the team.”

Baugh would agree.

“She’s friends with everyone on the team,” Baugh said. “Everyone is going to miss her when she leaves.”

REVIEW

A L I T E R A R Y E X P L O R AT I O N

BY CATHERINE WALSH / page editor Photos by Elizabeth Cordova and Katherine Sleckman An extremely valuable, yet underrated aspect of St. Louis is its local businesses – especially its local bookstores. There is something special about being able to browse, get one-to-one assistance and relax as you delve into a new science fiction novel or book of poetry. As the population starts to shift towards technology-based reading material that we get on our Kindles or order from Amazon, it is important that we still immerse ourselves in the exquisite and unmatchable ambiance of a bookshop.

While the ease of online shopping is inviting, being able to purchase books while supporting your local businesses is infinitely more rewarding. Each bookstore has its own unique experience, which is why I’ve gathered observations on local bookstores throughout St. Louis.

1. SUBTERRANEAN BOOKS This rustic, 17-year-old bookstore holds much more than words. The homemade tissue paper flowers and the mannequin dressed in pages of writing displayed in the front window as well as the soft jazz music playing throughout the cozy store makes Subterranean Books all the more delightful. Books illuminated by the fluorescent lighting and the reflection of the blue and green walls welcomes pedestrians in the Delmar Loop. The dedicated staff create a section called “hand-picked” for their personal favorite books.

Subterranean Books supports their community by advertising local writers and events.

2. LEFT BANK BOOKS From the moment you step in, an immediate rush of tranquility sweeps over your body and mind. If for nothing else, I would go to this bookstore for the meditative atmosphere. Left Bank has a wonderful location on Euclid Avenue in the Central West End. With high foot traffic and nearby cafés and restaurants, Left Bank provides the perfect place to pass time on a busy weekend afternoon. They take advantage of their bright, large space to invite local and international writers to hold readings and speeches; some of their upcoming events include “Storytime with Cliff ” and “#Fergusonreads: pushout.” Not only does this store have a great variety of material, the staff is also highly qualified to help you find the material you need. When I asked a woman for book recommendations for teens, it was easy to tell by the amount of recommendations and her passionate explanations of every book that this is not just a job for the staff; this is something they love to do and something they know a lot about. My mom and I have gone into Left Bank countless times and come out refreshed and accomplished, with a handful of new books to read.

REVIEW 38

3. HALF PRICE BOOKS Located in University City, this store sells books as well as CDs and records. Half Price features a wide variety of genres: gender studies, self help, military history, manga and metaphysical studies to name a few. As I walked through the store, I saw people of many ages browsing the shelves. Hence the name, these books are extremely affordable, but still in great shape. Although this store lacks the “cozy” feel that other bookstores have, Half Price is a brightly lit, wide area that welcomes you to walk down the aisles and aisles of books, almost like a grocery store. I was extremely impressed by how well-organized the shelves were, despite the number of books they had to place on them.

4. THE BOOK HOUSE This Maplewood bookstore would be best described as antique. The eclectic mix of “vintage and unusual bargain” books and modern books is what makes The Book House so memorable.

The Book House welcomes the sharing of opinions. When I walked in, there was a group of women having a heated discussion about the value of politics. Perfect for relaxation, the store has cushioned chairs and lamps placed in nooks and crannies for visitors to settle into, giving the store a very homey ambiance. The shelves of books reach the ceiling upstairs and downstairs and still there is an overflow of books that do not fit stacked next to the shelves. Among the diverse range of books on religion and foreign languages are also posters and paintings on the walls. On the way down the stairs, it’s hard to miss the grand painting of a tree along the wall. Evidently, The Book House has reached their goal of having a “wide array of titles containing ideas as diverse as the world in which we live.” Although The Book House may seem a bit cluttered, I believe it adds to the cozy and pleasant atmosphere in which you would want to curl up to a book on a rainy day.

5. THE NOVEL NEIGHBOR

The Novel Neighbor has all the creativity and imaginativeness I could hope for in a bookstore.

This charming, all-purpose bookstore in Webster Groves has a compelling mixture of colors and knick knacks. In addition to selling books, The Novel Neighbor offers creative cards for every occasion, arts and crafts classes, jewelry, paintings, handmade accessories and more. The store’s decorations are just as unique as the merchandise itself. The bright, yellow walls, the colorful paintings and the diverse selection of papers and lamps displayed on the shelves astounded me– I felt compelled to explore the entire store. The Novel Neighbor has classes like “How to Draw Monsters” and camps like “Around the World Camp.” This store will never fail to surprise you.

REVIEW 39

REVIEW

13 R E A S O N S W H Y

BY BARRETT BENTZINGER, MADELEINE ACKERBURG and SARA STEMMLER

Dylan Minnette in “13 Reasons Why” (Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons) Suicide is a difficult topic to discuss. It insists that we concentrate on the abhorrent realities of mental illness, bullying, poor family situations and differing class cultures.

The lack of uniformity between each case of suicide makes the issue itself a very difficult concept to understand and discuss confidentiality.

Additionally, the facts revolving a case of suicide are often manipulated to come across softer than the raw and unpleasant nature of self inflicted loss of life. The stigma surrounding suicide often prevents the spread of awareness.

Perhaps this is why the new Netflix series “13 Reasons Why,” based on the book written by Jay Asher in 2007, has become such a sensation. The show begins shortly after Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) commits suicide in her junior year of high school.

Some critics and suicide prevention experts state that the show could be doing more harm than good. Dan Reidenberg, executive director of Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, agreed stating, “the fact that Hannah gets to tell her story after her death, through the audiotapes, glamorizes the death and sends a potentially dangerous message to viewers.”

Critics have also argued that the show is selfish in its failure to show an abundance of scenes reflecting Hannah’s personal pain, instead showing scenes of Hannah inflicting pain on others by making them feel guilty

for her death. At the end of the show, several characters ultimately make drastic decisions driven by their guilt and fear after listening to the tapes.

Psychologists have also reported that the show fails to address the permanence of Hannah’s decision to end her life. Critics believe that teenagers and young adults may fail to see that Hannah’s choice to end her life was final; and while she may be inflicting revenge on those who ultimately hurt her, the revenge is sought through the tapes after her death. President of the Child Mind Institute Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz added, “Teenage suicide is contagious. We know for over three decades that when kids watch television where they depict a suicide, they’re more likely to attempt and they’re more likely to actually [kill themselves].” Hannah is not the “winner” by inflicting condemnation on those who damaged her. She is dead. She is not coming back.

The National Association of School Psychologists recently sent out a letter to professionals at schools worldwide, encouraging parents of children who are currently watching or already did watch the series to have a thorough conversation about suicide with their children.

Psychologist Elana Premack Sandler is worried that without the ability to differentiate between a TV drama and reality, chil-

REVIEW 40

dren will have morphed ideas of suicide and perhaps not be able to distinguish fact from fiction.

According to CHS health teachers Alexandra Libby and Darby Hille, this is the first year guidance counselors have scheduled speakers from the CHADS, an organization dedicated to spreading awareness about mental health and suicide, to make an appearance in the Choosing Wellness and Healthy Decisions courses.

In addition to the CHADS presentation, Libby and Hille will be crafting a presentation that all CHS students will receive before the end of the year.

Because not everybody is presently enrolled in a health class, Libby and Hille plan on working the presentation into core classes on a chosen day.

While the middle school health department weaves some surface-level information about mental health into the curriculum, Libby stresses the fact that the high school curriculum will get more in depth with the “real stuff ” dealing with mental health.

Mental health is a serious subject that can not be taught or understood simply from watching a Netflix T.V. show.

While “13 Reasons Why” depicts a powerful image on the realities of depression and suicide, adults and young adults alike should use this show as a launchpad for further research and learning opportunities in order to better understand suicide.

REVIEW

THE CIRCLE

BY VICTOR WEI / reporter

Emma Watson in “The Circle” (Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons) Set in modern day California and situated in a world eerily similar to 1984, The Circle is a sci-fi thriller that combines The Truman Show with The Social Network, in a suspenseful film that explores the danger of technology and its threats to privacy.

The movie, based on Dave Eggers’ 2014 novel, The Circle, follows Mae Holland (Emma Watson) in her life since landing a job at The Circle, a supposedly futuristic company that is essentially the poster child of Google and Facebook combined with Apple-like features. While at The Circle, she meets CEO Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks), a Steve Jobs-like visionary, as well as founder, Ty Laffite, (John Boyega) and is confronted with the ability to change the world through her actions.

Today, you can find information about anyone on the web. Whether it be their age, address or phone number, personal information is becoming more and more accessible to the public.

In a world becoming increasingly dependent on technology and situated around social media, this movie truly strikes feelings of uncertainty about disclosing our private information to the web. The Circle also shows that even the smart and innocent cannot be protected. As we watch

Emma Watson’s character transform from a sweet, kind person into a mad lunatic, we can only help feel disturbed.

As an avid fan of Emma Watson, Tom Hanks and John Boyega, I was originally drawn into the movie by the cast. Starting with Emma Watson, she satisfies yet again, with a stellar performance and portrayal of Mae Holland. For example, Watson successfully incorporated many different emotions into her acting. When she cried in the emotional scenes, it was particularly moving, which isn’t typical for a sci-fi thriller. By fully embodying all the characteristics of her character - from perfectly achieving Mae’s initial curiosity and surprise at the new world around her, to a more confident figure, Watson creates the perfect yet realistic protagonist, which only helps to make The Circle even more genuine and sinister.

Tom Hanks completely kills it as well.

In all of his scenes, he is everything that you would expect a tech company CEO to be - charming, charismatic and extremely optimistic. John Boyega masters his character too, at least, as much as he can. Boyega’s character was cut to the point of only a few lines and a few scenes, most of which take

REVIEW 41

place with him looking concerned while sitting in a backlit stage.

In the book, Boyega’s character was an integral part of the story, and the storyline of Ty Laffite also carried the main plot twist, which was unfortunately cut off from the film. Essentially, Boyega’s character was presented, jumped from scene to scene and was not fully developed at all.

As the film closed out with a final scene of Emma Watson, I found myself craving for a few more scenes of Hanks and Boyega.

The movie was also slightly underdeveloped overall. The introduction seemed quite rushed and the fact that events happened so suddenly (as opposed to the book) made this movie definitely capable of being drawn out.

There was a huge collage of ideas that the director, James Ponsoldt, was trying to mesh together, but it failed.

All in all, The Circle, although not spectacular, was a very unique movie, which is enough reason to explore what The Circle is about. Despite certain characters that were not developed well enough and a rather rushed plot, the film combined great cinematography, acting and a stimulating central idea that drove the movie onward. The final scene made me beg for a sequel and find out the fate of their world.

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OPINION

A G O O D S A M A R I TA N E X P E R I E N C E

BY MITALI SHARMA and SAMANTHA ZEID

Zeid testifying before the MO Senate Judiciary Committee. (Photo by Debra Wiens) In February, we published “The Heroin Epidemic,” a cover story investigating heroin addiction in St. Louis.

What exacerbates this issue is Missouri’s lagging behind in the legal realm. Missouri was the last of all 50 states to pass the implementation of a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). The PDMP requires the prescriptions of opioids to be entered into a registry. Opioids are very addictive substances and often lead to heroin addiction because heroin is cheaper and easier to get. Supporters of the PDMP argue that the registry will allow potential addicts to be identified so that they can be referred to treatment, and that the registry will help prevent painkiller addiction from starting in the first place.

However, a much simpler bill, the “911 Good Samaritan Bill” had not even been put into action. The Good Samaritan Laws allow a person overdosing on an illegal substance or witnessing an overdose to call for help without being prosecuted, as long as they only are in possession of small amounts of that substance and are not trying to deal the substance. 37 states in the country have already passed similar bills.

Fortunately, the process of discussing a “911 Good Samaritan Bill” for Missouri is underway. The bill, known as House Bill 294– but as Bailey and Cody’s Law to the families of heroin victims– has been passed

by Missouri representatives. The bill was read to the Missouri Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on April 24, 2017.

CHS history and government teacher Debra Wiens has been playing an active role in trying to pass this bill, and has been in touch with bill sponsor Representative Steve Lynch.

Wiens strongly believes that this bill is lifesaving. With her help, we quickly realized that this bill was not just necessary, but paramount; by the next month we were heading to the state capitol, Jefferson City, to put our passionate words into action. Rep. Lynch had asked Wiens to bring us to testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

We entered the Senate Lounge at 2:00 PM. However nervous we may have been, we were quickly reminded that we weren’t going in front of the Committee for ourselves.

A middle-aged woman introduced herself as the mother of a deceased heroin addict. She spoke to us about the death of her teenage son, and more importantly, how easily his life could have been saved if someone had called 911 earlier. He laid there in the basement for 17 hours, abandoned, for fear of incrimination.

Rep. Lynch had several witnesses testify.

Just like the mother’s story, each testimony was personal and emotional. We listened to a teenage girl recount her story of being too

OPINION 43

scared to call 911 when her friend was overdosing. Her friend died and at 17-years-old - the same age as us - she has to live with that guilt.

More parents recounted personal experiences and a lawyer turned recovering addict even spoke. However tough to follow, it was time for us to step up to the stand.

A key idea that we conveyed in our testimonies is that although we have lived pretty sheltered lives, our parents have always instilled in us the idea and importance of helping other people. In putting together “The Heroin Epidemic,” we heard stories that caused us to realize the extremity and ubiquity of the epidemic; it is even impacting Clayton, a place generally thought to be free of such problems.

In writing the piece, we knew that we wanted to create an investigative yet heartfelt article which would not only remain in words, but linger in the minds of the readers, prompting action to help the many community members impacted by heroin addiction and use.

We carried that mission straight into the Senate Lounge.

We spoke representing the teenagers who want to save the lives of their peers. We spoke representing the journalists who had investigated the epidemic and seen how a Good Samaritan bill is a pressing need. We spoke, deeply inspired by the passion and emotion evoked in the stories of the other witnesses.

This experience affirmed one thing, for sure. The heroin epidemic is not just a St. Louis issue. It is robbing lives across Missouri. A Good Samaritan Law will not save all those, but even just one being saved is better than none. That one life could be the friend of the 17-year-old, or perhaps the children of the heartbroken parents. All because of the ability to dial 911.

On May 2, Bailey and Cody’s Law was read to the Missouri Senate in an executive session. The Senate reported “Do Pass.” It has been a long journey, but Missouri has finally done it.

It is a universal concept that life is the most important thing. Preserving that is exactly what this bill will do.

PRO/CON

BY OLIVIA JOSEPH / page editor Should CHS implement Google Chromebooks in their curriculum for every student?

An immigration professor came to History teacher Debra Wiens’ class to teach a lesson to students. The first step of her lesson was for everybody to take out their laptops and refer to a graph on immigration.

It was not until she was informed that Clayton students did not have devices available at hand that she changed her plan, doubtful that everybody would see the detailed graph on the smartboard.

With the upcoming availability of Google Chromebooks, each student will have access to devices around the clock. This allows all students to have standardized access to online resources outside of school hours.

Clayton will also be supplying Internet for students, which will take away the deficits of those who do not have accessible Internet or computers at home.

A Junior in Wiens’ class explained that he is at a disadvantage because he does not have a computer at home. When he is assigned a project, he has to spend his forty-five minute lunch period rushing to utilize the Internet and resources he has available at school. He quickly gets his lunch, runs to find a computer lab, and listens to the documentary he

needs, or searches for the database required.

Students who do not have computers have to choose how they spend their limited time in the library. They choose between utilizing school resources for research, writing, or printing.

When students do not have Internet or computers at home, they are not adequately equipped with the essential tools to succeed in Clayton’s competitive environment.

Wiens said, “It’s like me taking a textbook away from a student and saying ‘I’m sorry you just have to [do] the best you can in school’”.

Students who are already at a disadvantage in the Clayton system are not helped and they do not have any upward mobility because they don’t have access to Internet.

This exacerbates the achievement gap that already exists between Clayton students.

In addition to supplying students with equal opportunities, Chromebooks will initiate speed and mobility in the classroom.

They will be used frequently as reliable

OPINION 44

references, and will serve as mechanisms for producing ideas and keeping objectives organized. Chromebooks will also enhance students’ abilities to ask questions and find immediate answers.

Though there are computers currently available for use, classes (not including sciences) are forced to move to one of the few computer labs available in the school.

Teachers have to book labs far in advance, which leaves no flexibility in lesson plans. The class time that is wasted by moving to labs and getting settled becomes an inconvenience when the computers are only necessary for a small portion of class.

When Chromebooks become available in all classrooms, students and teachers will be able to access computers for any amount of time. This will eliminate the time that is lost by trekking back and forth from classes to labs.

With the implementation of Chromebooks, Internet access and resources will be equal; student to student, teacher to teacher, and department to department.

This is a supplement to Clayton that has been long overdue.

PRO/CON

Art by Lizzy Mills

BY CHARLIE BRENNAN / copy editor “There are only two reasons to be looking down at your crotch and smiling - neither are appropriate for the classroom.” This admonition posted in one CHS classroom, although humorous, calls attention to one of the most serious learning impediments for high school students: cell phones.

In our technological age, cell phones have become a necessity. Their myriad of functions range from mindless games to complex calculators. Yet currently, cell phones create the two biggest distractions in the classroom: text messaging and social media.

CHS teachers wage a daily war against cell phones in the classroom. Some go so far as to confiscate them for the rest of the day.

And since cell phones are always forbidden in the classroom, a teacher can easily remove them and their inherent distraction.

But what will happen when laptops - and their distracting abilities - are omnipresent at CHS? Nicholas Carr, the bestselling author of “The Shallows,” claims “the typical electronic screen is an ‘ecosystem of interruption technologies,’ encouraging us to peek at our e-mail in-box, glance at Twitter and waste away the day on eBay.” Once laptops are on every desk, no

teacher will be able to tell whether a student is researching “the role women played in America’s war time economies of the first half of the twentieth century” or browsing the Internet for prom dresses.

By giving all students a laptop, the school is only increasing the potential opportunity and temptation to misuse the device and allow it to detract from learning.

There are also cost concerns. With more than 800 adolescents carrying over 200 dollars worth of technology, there is a high likelihood of dropped computers and cracked screens. Where will the money for the insurance or repairs on these devices come from?

Another continual cost of the Chromebooks will be for the WiFi for all of the devices, which the school plans to arrange for even at the students’ houses.

The School District of Clayton already spends more than $19,000 per student. The expense of these laptops can be eliminated by requiring students to walk 30 seconds to the nearest available computer in the school.

Furthermore, many CHS students already have laptops with higher functioning capabilities than the Chromebook. A student who already possesses a superior

OPINION 45

laptop is not likely to use the school issued Chromebook. As a result, the district begins to waste resources on students who do not need these laptops.

Also, as old CHS computers become out-dated, only sanctioned computer labs will have new desktop replacements. Thus, under the new plan, the science department will not have their computers replaced.

Some members of the Science Department have claimed that Chromebooks cannot support “LoggerPro,” the science department’s graphing and analysis software.

And although Chrome has its own version of “LoggerPro,” it lacks certain capacities beneficial to students, such as calculated columns.

Ultimately, the School District must look at what is best for the greatest number of Clayton students.

But where and when did the Clayton community, including students, discuss buying Chromebooks for ALL students. Since a majority of students already have access to laptops, was providing laptops for only students who NEED them ever considered?

As Chromebooks pose a risk to both the academics and finances of Clayton, the District should reconsider its plan to distribute them.

OPINION

S TA F F E D : H O W C A N W E M A K E C H S A N ACCEPTING PLACE FOR ALL GENDERS? prevent students from using the bathroom of their choice.

“Regardless of what the president’s order says, students can use the restroom of whatever gender they associate with,” Gutchewsky said.

The high school also has four gender-neutral bathrooms which are available to any student who would prefer to use them.

While it is important and commendable that students have the option to use such bathrooms, the locations of the bathrooms are often inconvenient and contribute to the stigmatization of certain gender identities.

Located in the nurse’s office, main office, counseling A restroom in the athletic office at office and the gym CHS which is available for transgender hallway, the isolatstudents. (Photo by Michael Melinger) ed bathrooms force students to leave the realms of normal student activity.

Clayton has always prided itself on its Rather than providing students with an progressive image and its acceptance of stuaccessible option, using the gender neutral dents of all races, religions, sexual orientabathrooms can decrease efficiency and cause tions and backgrounds. This tenet of the those who use them to feel like an outsider.

Clayton community was tested when PresFurthermore, to use the restroom in ident Trump rescinded the Obama Adminthese offices, students must walk past the istration’s federal guidelines that protected desks of staff members. While we underthe rights of transgender students to use the stand that safety regulations may push single bathroom that matches their gender identibathrooms to such a location, this infringes ty. upon students’ privacy - especially taking CHS principal Dan Gutchewsky spoke to the issue, asserting that the new law will not

OPINION 46

into consideration the fact that many transgender people feel may most vulnerable when in the bathroom.

However, the most concerning piece is that non-cisgender students do not know these options are available to them.

“As a trans male, I didn’t know we had any options at the school,” CHS junior Em Calsyn said. “You’d have to know another trans kid or come out to a staff member -which is forcing people to come out, which they may not be comfortable with.”

Most other members of the Clayton community are also unaware that CHS has more than one gender neutral bathroom.

Calsyn still uses female restrooms at school; the question of which bathroom to use was one that riddled him with fear.

He believes the addition of more gender neutral bathrooms would make CHS a much better place for the LGBTQA+ community.

“When I was a freshman, I was terrified of what bathroom I was going to use. I was scared to tell people. I was scared for people to see me in the correct bathroom -- one they deemed ‘incorrect,’” Calsyn said. “I still use the female bathrooms at school. It’s because how scared I am of my classmates, how scared I am of their judgment. It’s terrifying.

Add many gender neutral bathrooms.”

How can our District live up to its face of progressiveness if its own students are not satisfied with the actions that CHS is taking to make its learning environments more comfortable and safe for all identities?

Why is our community and student body so uninformed on the actions that the District takes?

In this shifting political climate, we ask that the administration prove that Clayton is still a welcoming place for all. This means change, and making gender neutral bathrooms more accessible to students is the perfect place to start. Adding a gender neutral bathroom nearby the men’s and women’s bathrooms would help to expel the idea that being transgender or gender-fluid is something to hide.

Let’s make sure that Clayton’s image matches exactly what goes on inside the school walls.

Q & A : J O H N Z L AT I C Student Resource Officer John Zlatic is leaving after 10 years at CHS

BY LUCY COHEN / news section editor What has been your favorite part about being an SRO? Working with the staff and the kids.

You were in the military, what was your favorite part about that?

I got to see places that I would never have been able to see. And some absolutely gorgeous, untouched by human area. The other part was our mission was very clear and when you work with a small group of people on a mission, it is very cohesive.

You know the other people so well and they know you - they become your family.

What will you miss most about CHS?

Photo by Michael Melinger Why did you decide to become an SRO?

Why did you decide to become a police officer?

The reason is because I was a juvenile detective before this. I had felt like helping the children, it wasn’t as fulfilling because children that were abused, the situation is that sometimes we couldn’t prove the abuse, so I had to release children back into what I thought would be an abusive situation. Or children that ended up being murdered. It’s not very fulfilling. I like kids, so I picked juveniles. So this is a lot more positive atmosphere.

I had always felt the need to serve. But when I was your age, I just didn’t know what that would look like. And I went to college and I took a criminology class and I absolutely loved the stories that the teacher told about actually coming into contact with people on their worst day and trying to make it better.

I served in the military and kind of did the same thing. So when I came back, instead of helping people in a different country, I wanted to help people in our own country.

Q&A 47

That’s funny because I was just thinking about that. I guess a lot of things. I guess just cause we just canceled our fire drill, I was thinking, oh you know that’s the last one I will ever participate in. I will miss all of the events that we have like the homecoming, and the dances, and a lot of the times getting to see you guys outside of the school engaged in things. I miss that stuff too - coming and talking with you guys in the classroom.

What are your plans for the future?

Short term is I am going to go back to the Clayton Police Department. While I was here I got a masters in education.

I have six more years until I retire. We have actually been talking about moving to Hawaii and I would like to either volunteer or help children in some way.

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