Diller Street Journal - Issue 3

NSCDS Bowling

Talented Womb-Mates

Page 5

Page 3

The Diller Street Journal Tuesday, December 18th, 2012

310 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, IL, 60093

Vol.1 #3

It’s the Holiday Season: How to Give Back Cooper Ochsenhirt ‘16

The time is here. It’s happening. It’s… THE HOLIDAY SEASON. I really enjoy this season, due to the fact that it’s time I can spend with family, and as a bonus, not much homework. Year after year, it’s been a fun time, drinking hot chocolate, spending time with people I love.

However, while I try to enjoy myself as much as possible, I always think of how lucky I am, to have the family and friends that I do, and to get an education from as great a school as North Shore. For this reason, I try to do my part for others, as thanks for the great life I have.

In preparation for this holiday season, I have assembled a fantastic four of some great ways to help out your fellow man, as well as organizations that could help you do it.

Presents For Those In Need Of the four ways, this one requires some of the most commitment and time to do. Nonetheless, it’s one of the most gratifying. Although paying for the present is a small commitment, the meaning that it carries to the recipient is large. You can buy gifts and donate them to local organizations like Salvation Army or Northwestern Settlement House.

Sometimes you can even give the presents to the children personally.

I can truthfully say that doing this is worth every second.

When I was in sixth grade, my family and I, with friends, brought gifts for children living at a woman’s home. We spent the day piling presents under an impromptu Christmas tree and playing football in a nearby vacant lot with children from the home. In addition to this, we visited a memorial for children who had lost their lives to violence.

Although this lasted no more than a day, the combined impact of the memorial and giving the presents shaped who I am as a person.

Photos by Lizzy Gendell ‘13 Tutoring Tutoring can have an impact just about anywhere, from the city proper to right here in North Shore. And even better, you can do it through our school’s tutoring club, Aptitude Through Student Instruction (ATSI). While this may take you next to no time at all to do, the person being tutored gains a wider knowledge of the topic. When I tutored a North Shore middle school student in math through ATSI, I found that I too learned from the experience. Not only did the person I was tutoring gain information on the topic, but I gained a stronger base of understanding for the topic at hand. In tutoring, a little time and a little effort helps both people.

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2012: The Year in Review Ilia Labkovsky ‘13

What a year it has been at North Shore! I am sure that many of us will remember this year fondly, possibly even more so than previous years. In addition to the re-release of The Diller Street Journal, which our editorial staff is incredibly proud of, 2012 has had many memorable moments that are in need of review. So here we go: the complete North Shore guide to 2012.

The 2012 spring semester got off to a better start for North Shore Upper School students, who were no longer confined to the “mods” in which classes took place during the previous year. Although the mods were heated, there is no question that the new, high-tech Upper School was a huge leap from the mods of old.

The new year also brought new additions to the North Shore community. Faculty members Kristen Kaczynski, Brian Frederick, and Di Li all brought beautiful children

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News & Opinion

12/18/12

How to Give Back

2012: The Year in Review

Cooper Ochsenhirt ‘16

Ilia Labkovsky ‘13

Cont. from 1

Cont. from 1

The Leftover Donation “The leftover donation” is something my family does when we go out to eat at a restaurant. Whenever we have leftovers — leftovers that we cannot possibly finish — my family goes on a search. We look for someone who can truly use the food, someone who looks as if they’ve been dealt a bad hand in life. Upon discovery of said person, we give them the box of warm food. While those leftovers sitting in your refrigerator could have little or no meaning to you, they might go a long way for someone who doesn’t always know where his next meal is going to come from.

Daycare Center Assistance Like giving presents to those in need, daycare center assistance requires time and commitment, but the payoff is enormous. There are a multitude of options as to where you can volunteer, as there are many daycare centers in Chicago. A good place to look for local volunteer opportunities is VolunteerMatch.org.

I hold my memories of volunteering with kids closest to my heart. Over the summer, I traveled to South Africa. I spent a few weeks there, seeing sights and wildlife, but the service I did is what really stuck with me. One day, my family and I drove to a poverty-stricken township called Khayelitsha. Khayelitsha is a Xhosa township of 329,000 people located in the Western Cape. While we were there, we helped out at a daycare center. We ate a meal with the little kids who were there, and later in the day my brothers and I taught them how to play football and baseball with some bats and gloves we’d brought from home. It only took half an hour to teach them the sports, but I hope that experience will remain with them for years, for hours and hours of hit and catch, and for many games of football.

Community Service Club: Being the Change You Want to See

into the world. It was a busy time for them in 2012, and I’m sure 2013 will be no different.

Notably, this year marked the first time in North Shore Country Day School history that male and a female school presidents were elected as a team. The election ballot asked students to choose one male and one female for the job, which many students complained was a way for the Upper School to influence the gender makeup of the presidentship.

Fortunately, the mixed-gender presidential duo of Ilhanna Redzovic and Gagan Bhambra has done an amazing job so far, and we look forward to them leading our school into 2013!

North Shore Athletics reached what many consider to be an all-time high in 2012. The basketball team went to state for the first time in school history, receiving fourth place in the 1A division; the football team made playoffs for the third straight year, also a first for the school; field hockey continued their historic success by playing well in the state tournament; soccer played extremely well in the playoffs before a bitter defeat; a bowling team was established. Last but not least, the golf team repeated last year’s success by winning State once again! The team was led by seniors Nick McCall, David Blechman and Andrew Bedford. We thank these seniors, as well as all of the seniors on the aforementioned teams for their continued hard work, and we are sad to see them entering their final semester at North Shore.

If the world does end before the start of the new year, at least it will end on a good note for North Shore. Our school is at an all-time peak in many areas and if we are going out, we’re going out with a bang!

Anna Schmidt ‘13 With the holiday season kicking into full gear, Community Service Club could really use some extra help. I know that it’s difficult to find extra time on top of homework, sports, and other extracurriculars, but it would mean a lot to us if you could stop by to help out!

Trust me, I understand that packing books into boxes or sorting food for the Thanksgiving in the Spring Drive might not sound thrilling, but it is incredibly rewarding. The people who volunteer their time and effort for Community Service Club aren’t doing it just because of what they can get out of it. None of us are sitting around saying, “You know what would be fun? Putting massive quantities of canned food into cardboard boxes!”

But here’s the thing -—what we’re doing can have a huge positive impact on someone else. I think that if you decide to give Community Service Club a go, you’ll see how fulfilling it is and how much of a positive effect you can have— you might even have some fun in the process.

So why not give it a try? At worst you lose one lunch period or one afternoon, and at best you’ll find something you’re really passionate about that will contribute to making the world around you a little bit better. Everyone in Community Service Club is friendly and would love your help, so come talk to one of us if you’re interested in getting involved or stop by Ms. Gallaga’s room one Thursday during lunch.

We’d love to have you involved in the Blood Drive, Spring Thanksgiving Drive, and our other upcoming events!

Photo by Lizzy Gendell ‘13

Interviews & Politics Some Talented Womb-Mates Election 2012 Recap 3

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Nick David ‘15

Annie Murnighan ‘13 When Camille and Kennerly Kitt walked on stage during Morning Ex on Monday, December 12th, there was audible surprise throughout the audience.

Prior to their entrance, there were two large, identical, and beautifully detailed harps sitting on stage.

Although this alone suggested a performance different from what students and teachers are used to, it was clear not many considered the potential resemblance between the two musicians.

It wasn’t just the harps that were identical.

While the similarity was slightly shocking at first, once Camille and Kennerly took to their instruments with beautiful arrangements of songs such as Rihanna’s “Disturbia,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” viewers were astonished in a completely different way.

With precision resulting from rigorous classical training at Wheaton College’s Conservatory of Music, the sisters played unique and self-arranged versions of modern hits with absolute synchronicity.

Not only did they pluck their harp strings in perfect unison, but they also flipped their hair and glanced at each other at the same exact moments throughout their performance.

After listening to their mesmerizing 40-minute set and witnessing their astounding likeness, I wondered whether or not they saw this as a direct result of their genetic closeness.

“We think it’s a combination of work and genetics. We definitely work very hard and we work constantly to become even better. However, we definitely have a connection that creates an intuitive nature to our playing. We have remarkably similar thought processes and we are genetically identical, so we think those play a large part in our ability to be so ‘in-sync.’”

I had a few other questions for Camille and Kennerly, so I spoke with the incredibly friendly pair over email to talk about their journey as musicians.

How did you transition from strict classical training to arranging pop and rock hits?

We were trained classically and have BFA Music degrees in Harp Performance from a conservatory of music. However, we knew even when we were in the “classical world” that we wanted to play contemporary music. Our biggest roadblock was that there was little to no contemporary music arranged for one harp — let alone for two harps. So, we decided to start arranging our own music. We quickly found that we have a knack for arranging music. When we were in college, we always felt like we were swimming upstream because we weren’t satisfied with the classical status quo. We were even fighting to include our rock and pop arrangements in our recitals!

As twins, do you ever find it hard to be seen as an individuals?

For us, part of our individuality is that we are twins. We call it our “collective individuality.” Individuality doesn’t come from looks or clothing; it comes from within. People who really know us can see that we’re two individual people, we just look more alike than most. We don’t mind that people see us as a pair, because that is a large part of who we

are. We enjoy our similarities rather than trying to create differences that are not naturally part of us.

What do you find most difficult about performing and making a career as musicians?

We think the most difficult part of being a musician is that there is no set “path” and even the near future is uncertain. We think that we have to work harder than people with “regular” jobs or careers. We don’t go into the office every day knowing exactly what our income that week will be. However, that is also one thing that we love about being independent musicians. We are the creators of our own path. We decided what we wanted to do in life and then we threw every ounce of our time and effort into making our dream a reality.

In college, we had a music professor (not our harp professor) who chastised us for having the goal to only play professionally as a duo. She told us that our dream to only perform together was unrealistic, and in fact, impossible. However, we believe in ourselves, set goals, and create our own niche in life.

We’re so blessed to have the opportunity to do what we love by sharing our music with the world.

How do you choose what songs to arrange?

Can you give me a preview of what you’re working on now?

Many of the songs that we cover are special requests for specific events for which we are performing. However, we also try to cover the most requested songs from our fans. Occasionally we will cover songs just because we ourselves love them and can’t resist! We keep our upcoming arrangements top secret, but we can tell you that starting in January, we have some of our most requested music coming; including our most requested metal song and one of our most requested movie soundtrack scores.

What advice would you give to young musicians?

Work hard. Then work harder. Never stop. Put in the practice hours because there are no real shortcuts.

Find a teacher who not only teaches skills, but who also allows you to love your instrument. Our first harp teacher was a very negative person and condescending teacher. Her underlying character was a “sneer.” We knew that we wanted to play duets when we started and she didn’t want us to play duets. We felt like the better we got and the harder we worked the more irritated and negative she became. We actually considered quitting harp because we were losing our love for it. However, our mom looked around and found us another teacher who was amazing. She not only let us incorporate duets into our curriculum, but encouraged us to do what we love and follow our passions and dreams. She was the polar opposite of our first teacher.

Thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions!

Thank you for the fun interview! We loved playing for NSCDS! We would love to connect with all of you on our Facebook page and Twitter. We have 33 music videos on our YouTube channel and more coming soon!

Last month, citizens of the United States gathered from Alaska to Alabama to have a say in the 2012 election. They voted for presidents, senators, congressmen, governors, local officials, and laws. A total of 121,757,410 people from all around the nation set out to have their say in our country’s government.

There were 32 million election-related Tweets. According to The Center for Responsive Politics, six billion dollars were spent on all the elections, including money spent by the campaigns and Political Action Committees (PACS).

All the Tweets, the donations, the news articles, and the attack ads led up to Obama winning the election, totaling 332 electoral votes to Mitt Romney’s 206. Obama won the swing states of Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, Iowa and New Hampshire, while Mitt Romney won the swing state of North Carolina.

In terms of our local elections, a big change took place: the congressional districts that are used for determining representatives were reshuffled. This happened because after the 2010 census it was found that Illinois had too many districts in proportion to their new population in the 2010 census. As a result of this, Illinois lost one district, bringing the number down from 19 to 18. This caused all of the districts to reshuffle, and caused mass confusion throughout the state of Illinois. Many people did not realize that the districts had been reshuffled until they saw different candidates on the ballot.

Winnetka’s representative changed from IL-10 to IL-9. In the 9th district, Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat and the incumbent seat holder, defeated Republican Tim Wolfe with a 66% to 44% margin. This was no surprise, as it was expected to be an easy win for Schakowsky. However, the big surprise came in IL10, where Democrat Brad Schneider and incumbent Republican seat holder Robert Dold ran against each other. After shifting to a more Democratic district, polls were deadlocked. After election day, Schneider ended up upsetting Dold with a close margin of 50.5% to 49.5%.

In the Illinois 18th district state congressional race, incumbent candidate Democrat Robyn Gabel defeated Republican Candidate Eric Liberman with 62.41% of the vote. In an interview with the Northbrook Patch, Robyn Gabel’s campaign manager said, “We worked very hard to reach out to all the voters, about 30 to 35 percent of whom were new to the district. We’re very gratified to see that the voters responded to her message.”

In the Illinois 9th district state senate race, Democrat Daniel Biss squared off against Republican Glen Farkas. Since Democrat Jeffrey Schoenberg, who held the seat previously, had announced that he was not running for re-election, both candidates were new to the 9th district race. After 72,763 votes were cast, Daniel Biss was declared the winner of the race with a total of 67% of the votes.

Only 10 students at North Shore Country Day were able to vote in the 2012 election, but in two years many more students are going to be eligible to vote in the 2014 elections, and in 2016 most students will be voting for the presidential race. It is important to be informed now, so that we can make the right choices when we are old enough to vote in coming years.

Features

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My Interim in New Orleans Katherine Chandler ‘13

This year, the week of November 5th was dedicated to Interim. Interim week is an annual tradition at North Shore, and it gives students the opportunity to learn about something unique and interesting outside of the classroom. Among the projects offered this year, the trip to New Orleans was definitely a popular and highly anticipated trip.

In the spring, the Class of 2013 voted on the service-learning project that should be offered for fall Interim. They chose to travel to New Orleans and volunteer with the St. Bernard Project, in order to rebuild houses destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

This was the third time that the senior class voted to travel to New Orleans, so at this point our school has a close relationship with the St. Bernard Project and its co-founders Liz McCartney and Zack Rosenburg.

The group of 17 seniors who chose to go — led

by Mrs. McHugh, Mrs. Hiland, Ms. Macholl, and Mr. Kowalczyk — got a head start to Interim week and left for New Orleans early Saturday morning.

The first two days spent in New Orleans were dedicated to getting acclimated with the city and its rich culture, which included learning about its history and sampling its amazing cuisine.

After two days of exploring the city, we got to work and began volunteering with the St. Bernard

Project on Monday morning. We worked with the organization for five days, four of which were spent on one house in the Chalmette area. For those four days, we worked on a variety of tasks inside the house; we emptied out the attic, demolished the ceilings, swept the entire house, wire-brushed all the wooden beams, and coated the wooden beams with chemicals. Although some of the work seemed tedious and repetitive, we knew that somebody had to do it, and the house could not be rebuilt without our efforts.

On our fifth and final day working with the St. Bernard Project, we traveled to Plaquemines Parish and demolished a house. The house was badly damaged by both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Isaac, and the man who owned it wanted to rebuild it. We knocked down the walls and ceilings of the building. Not only was it thrilling to sledgehammer the walls, but it was also very fulfilling knowing that we were helping a man rebuild his house so he could eventually reclaim his home.

Although I’m sure people back home eventually became irritated with our flood of #nola pictures on Instagram and Facebook, everybody on the trip was eager to share the powerful experience they had with friends and family back home. I cannot speak for the entire group, but I can personally say

ATSI: North Shore’s Newest Way to Give Back

Justin Savin ‘15

North Shore has offered a multitude of ways to give back over the years. A student can join GEM and learn to give through education about global empowerment, or even participate in soup kitchen excursions through Community Service Club and help the greater Chicagoland area.

North Shore’s newest way to give back is called Aptitude Through Student Instruction.

ATSI is a club founded by Xander Mitchell ’15 and Daniel Vellieu ’15 that centers around the concept of students teaching other students. The club allows for North Shore Middle School students to email tutoring@nscds.org if they need assistance with their school work. Once the email is received, ATSI provides an Upper School student tutor whose free block corresponds with that of the Middle School student’s.

The idea for ATSI was thought up by Mitchell while he was on spring break, “trying to think of ways to give back to the community.” Mitchell says he noticed that “it is easier [for students] to learn from other students, as opposed to teachers, on occasion,” and he decided to develop a tutoring system based off of that concept. Mitchell says he shared the idea with Vellieu and they created Aptitude Through Student Instruction together.

Mitchell says that, initially, ATSI was meant to assist students in underprivileged areas. This idea did not come to fruition, so Mitchell and Vellieu decided to shift their focus to the North Shore community. This focus on the School community is what Mitchell believes to be the main component that sets ATSI apart from the other service clubs at North Shore.

Mitchell says that while he admires and respects fellow service-related clubs, he acknowledges that they “only focus on organizations outside of North Shore.” The addition of ATSI allows North Shore students to serve the North Shore community as well.

While the planning component of ATSI is complete, the taking action element is just beginning. Mitchell says that ATSI recently tutored their first two students. He believes the young club is “at a good starting point,” and as Middle School participation continues to grow, so will ATSI.

that my trip to New Orleans was inspiring. Seeing the damage from the Hurricane, more than seven years after it hit, was astonishing. It was incredibly moving to work on destroyed houses and speak to people about their experiences during the hurricane.

I will never forget it.

Photo courtesy of Katherine Chandler

Mixtape: Olivia Scheyer Annie Murnighan ‘13 Since, as many of you may know, I am one of the oldest students at North Shore without a license, I end up asking people for rides pretty frequently. My friends hate this. They tend to complain and whine at first, but once I convince them (often by physically forcing myself into their vehicle), we have a good time.

I especially enjoy guilt-tripping Olivia into transporting me places because of the self-proclaimed “eclectic” mix of music on her driving playlist. Since some students miss out on her interesting mix of songs, I thought I would give people the opportunity to hear what we hear when we go for a drive. I would also like to say, for the record, that I have not and never will want anything to do with One Direction.

“My car playlist has almost 100 songs on it, but these are probably my top 15 and are pretty representative of the rest of the list. I like a comprehensive mix in my car, on the spectrum of chill to upbeat depending on the day. I have mostly alternative rock because that’s my genre of choice, but I also have a good amount of rap and electronic/techno. And everyone knows they want a little One Direction here and there. Admit it.”

1. “Cherry” – Ratatat 2. “Affection” – Crystal Castles 3. “Lucky Cup” – Grouplove 4. “Good Ol’ Fashioned Nightmare” – Matt & Kim 5. “Everlasting Light” – The Black Keys 6. “I Would” – One Direction 7. “Phantom, Pt. 2” – Justice 8. “I Wanna Go” – Summer Heart 9. “Erase Me” – Kid Cudi 10. “Live While We’re Young” – One Direction 11. “Teenage Icon” – The Vaccines 12. “Friends” – Band of Skulls

Sports Girls’ Basketball Update 5

Katherine Chandler ‘13 What the girls’ basketball team lacks in numbers, they make up for in hard work, perseverance, and optimism. The team consists of 11 girls representing all four grade levels, and the small size of the team does not discourage the players. They started the season strong and show great potential for the rest of the season.

The girls’ first competition came on November 16 with the Thanksgiving Tournament. The team came in second place at the tournament, beating St. Martin de Porres and Northtown Academy.

On December 7, the girls faced off against Chicago Hope Academy in a tough game. Things were not looking good for the Raiders, and they were down 35-37 in the last minute. With twenty seconds left in the game, Annie Kroll ‘15 launched the ball in the air and scored a 3-pointer for the Raiders, giving them a 38-37 win over Hope.

Kroll is only a sophomore but is a force to be reckoned with on the court. The returning starter put 20 points on the scoreboard for the Raiders against Chicago Hope. The Winnetka Talk quoted Kroll after her game-winning basket: “I saw them in a 2-3 zone, and I saw the top of the key open and that’s my best shot from around the 3-point line so I just took it.

As soon as it left my hand, I knew it was going in.”

With an exciting win over Chicago Hope, the girls are looking forward to success in future games. Ilhana Redzovic ‘13, a co-captain and the only senior on the team, said, “We are very well organized this year, and we’re very prepared to confront the challenges before us.”

Boys’ Basketball vs. Christian Liberty Academy at Home

Photo courtesy of Art Jessen Team captain Ilhanna Redzovic ‘13 snags a rebound

Much of the girls’ success can be attributed to their new head coach, Dana Leonard, a former Glenbrook South High School state champion and a 2001 Northwestern University captain.

Stephanie Chandler ‘15 said, “I really like Coach Dana. She’s dedicated to the team and you can tell how much this means to her. She is always willing to go above and beyond to help us improve and always volunteers her free time to the team and whatever we need.”

Redzovic could not be more excited about this season. She said, “In my four years on this team, I have never been more confident to be on a part of a basketball squad that I know will embody the unity and spirit of everything that is associated with the word ‘team.’”

It will be exciting to watch the Raiders throughout the rest of the season and see the great things they are capable of doing.

NSCDS Bowling

Come support the North Shore basketball team at the Mac Gym on Tuesday, December 18th!

Girls’ Basketball @ Notre Dame High School Wish our girls luck in the big game on Wednesday, December 19th!

Prom Fundraiser

Justin Savin ‘15 The current senior class has contributed a number of accomplishments to North Shore. In the Class of 2013’s time at the School, the football team has gone to state three times, the golf team has won state twice, the field hockey team has won conference four times, and the basketball team made arguably the most memorable state run in memory. The North Shore bowling team, founded by “fearless captain” Andrew Segal ’13, is the senior class’s newest addition to their North Shore legacy. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with members of the team to discuss their goals for the future.

The team is led by 6’ 1’’, 220-pound Segal, who explained the depth chart of the bowling team. While the team has many members — such as Joel Hylton ’13, who is known as the “Intimidation Factor” — the actual lineup is comprised of the top five bowlers: Segal, David Blechman ’13, Nick McCall ’13, Andrew Blechman ’15, and Kendrick Hales ’13. The team’s camaraderie is evident, and Segal explained that it “isn’t just a bowling team, it’s a brotherhood.”

The brotherhood Segal referred to has recently become known for making humorous announcements during school wide gatherings. Segal made it clear that while the bowling team has fun together, during

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games they are a competitive entity.

“When the team steps on the lacquered Wilmette floor and smells the burnt pizza, [they] immediately transform into men on a bowling mission,” said Segal.

Segal also suggested that there is a higher purpose to their bowling, saying their goal as a team is “to be enshrined in the eternal case of glory.” In addition, when asked why he bowls, Segal says he bowls “for pleasure, for the love of the sport, and to honor the bowling forefathers.”

Despite their determination, the North Shore bowling team came up short in their most recent match. Segal says that his teammates “showed a lot of spirit, enthusiasm, and hustle.” The character the bowling team showed after the loss is admirable, living up to their slogan: “It’s All About the Follow Through.”

Segal said that the bowling team “might not finish first at the lanes, but we will finish first in everyone’s hearts” in their effort to be “the best bowling team to ever walk the halls of North Shore.”

Be sure to follow the bowling team on Twitter as they continue to live their bowling lifestyle: @ nscdsbowling.

The final delivery date for the prom fundraiser is Friday, December 21st.

Please get your orders in by Wednesday, December 19th!

ATSI Aptitude Through Student Instruction is looking for more tutors! Contact Xander Mitchell ’15 or Daniel Vellieu ’15 for more information.

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North Shore Photos

Photos by Brent Rolfes ‘16

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Instagram

Photos by Lizzy Gendell ‘13

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The Acorn

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Grandmother Banjang: An Essay Hayun Cho ‘13 I hurry through the sliding doors, leaving a surprisingly chilly September morning behind. As always, the lobby smells like cigarettes and smoky sweet air freshener. There is a traffic jam in front of the elevator; an elderly man in a wheelchair pushes the buttons, a nurse waits with her rolling table full of medication, and a young couple hesitantly watches the elevator doors. Once we are inside the elevator, there is an awkward silence.

We examine each other, pretending not to look, wary of the silent reasons why each of us is here.

Every Saturday, at ten o’clock in the morning, I arrive at the Glenbridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and ride the elevator to the third floor: the Korean section. After two years of volunteering, I have become accustomed to the smell of old sheets and urine, the vacant stares of many of the patients. I smile as brightly as I can and greet them in Korean – anyunghaseyeo! My volunteer supervisor motions for me to follow her into the dining room; I grab a seat at a back table to watch over the elders, and pour juice and coffee for those who need it. The halmonis, or grandmothers, are entranced by the Korean soap opera; every few minutes, I peep my head into the hallway, checking to see if the nurses need my help. On screen, a man has just cheated on his wife, and the screaming escalates. As I am folding napkins, the supervisor walks into the room. She takes my arm, her rouged lips pursed, and quickly walks me over to the cor-

ner of the room. I lean my head towards her as she whispers in my ear.

“Banjang halmoni passed away.” I blink my eyes, disbelieving. In Korean, banjang is a casual term for “boss,” or “class president.” This halmoni was always bustling about, watering the plants or helping me sort the disposable silverware. She quite literally ran the place. I can still see her snow white hair, generous grin, and stooped figure. The flowery shirts she wore.

“No,” I whisper, “but she was so healthy. She was the healthiest!” The supervisor grimly shakes her head.

“It was the lungs,” she says. “She went to the hospital a few days ago, then passed away, like that. See, you never know with people.” I nodded and hastily returned to folding napkins. I missed her. I would never hear her soft voice again, the “oh, you’re here early.” She would no longer bring her tray into the dining room, chuckling at the TV screen. She would no longer painstakingly stack each leftover styrofoam plate to reuse later, gingerly cupping the white circles in her hands.

After my usual lunch routine of passing out trays and feeding the elders, I turn to leave with the heartiest goodbye I can manage. Once outside, I look back at the sad brick building. Inside are so many lives. My grandmothers and grandfathers.

Their ghosts and their laughter, they are with me always.

ACROSS 3. 3 Words, North Shore’s motto 8. A person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task.

9. 2 Words, a popular service club at North Shore 10. Acronym for student tutoring club DOWN 1. Acronym for Global Empowerment Movement 2. The inclination to do good 4. One who gives back to others, particularly with money 5. The voluntary giving of help, typically money, to those in need 6. Something that is given to a charity 7. One who receives donations

Crossword by Justin Savin ‘15 and Nicholas David ‘15

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With Apologies to Clement Clarke Moore Matt Griffin ‘14 ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when my door made a click, So I woke up to answer and greeted St. Nick.

With a wink of his eye we went out the door, And before I could tell we were both at North Shore.

I asked Mr. Claus why he required my aid, And he said that his list needed an upgrade.

“For this reason I solicit your advice, I need you to say who’s been naughty and nice.”

To help out St. Nick, I felt so honored, Yet many more questions my head still pondered.

“Which students and teachers, Mr. Santa Claus, sir?

I would like to know which names you prefer.”

More rapid than eagles his answer it came, And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name; “Now, Potter! Now, Hiland! Now, Curren, Macholl!

Now, Dowling! Now Frederick! Now one, and then all!

To the top of the Mac! To the top of the V! Now right away! Right away! Hurry, tell me!”

Now knowing not to speak ill of my teachers, I quickly told Santa all their best features.

“Randolph is witty and quick with a joke, Mr. Roth can fix that which is broke.

Don’t know for sure if Dachille’s coal-free, But you’ll get into college because of Kaczynski.”

“All the teachers are nice?” asked Santa, amazed, “Yes,” I replied, hoping grades would be raised.

“And what of the students?” asked Santa with glee, So I asked the names he wanted from me.

More rapid than thoughts it came from his noggin, “Now, the clubs and presidents, Ilhana and Gagan, and— “Okay, I get it,” I said with a grumble, “Don’t get your reindeer all up in a bundle.

LAWL Club will give you some laughs and some yips, While the Golf Team will win more Championships.

French Club will have you in Pah-ree for a while, And K-Pop will listen to Gangnam Style.”

“All of the school has been good this year?”

“That’s what it seems like if you’re going here.”

“Then presents for all!” said Santa with haste, And the presents appeared, in the V they were placed.

“Now thanks for your help,” he said with a boom, And before I knew it we were back in my room.

“And where are you off to, Santa, from here?”

“I must be going, off to New Trier!”

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight, “Happy Holidays North Shore, and to all a good night!”

The Acorn

9

Book Reviews: Gift Edition Rachel York ‘15

Keeping with the theme of the season and this issue about “giving back,” I thought it would be appropriate to write the first DSJ book review section on the best books to give as gifts, either for friends, family, or for yourself! There is something for everyone on this list, and it will certainly make holiday shopping easier.

If you know someone who likes The Hunger Games, I would suggest Life As we Knew It

by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Through 16-year-old Miranda’s diary entries, she tells the story of her life before and after a huge meteor hit the moon and threw it out of orbit, causing massive environmental changes on Earth. Food becomes scarce, gas prices shoot up, the climate changes drastically, and she knows the world will never be the same again. This novel will keep you reading until the very end. Another good option would be its companion, The Dead and the Gone, which takes place in New York City and is told from 17-year-old Alex’s perspective.

If you know someone interested in politics, a good idea is Speechless by Matt Latimer. A former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, Latimer gives a great look into what it’s like to work behind the scenes in politics. There are many interesting stories about how he got into politics as a teenager, the different politicians he has worked for, and of course stories about former President Bush. The way Latimer writes is conversational, which makes it an easy read, and he keeps the stories fresh and interesting.

A generally great book for anyone is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. This book was just listed as the TIME Magazine #1 fiction book of the year, and it definitely deserves its title.

Although it is a story about a girl with cancer, it is not a story about cancer. It is a story about relationships, growing up, and how our lives affect the people around us. It will keep you on the edge of your seat, not because it is action packed, but because you care about the characters so much that you want to know what happens to them. This book is definitely going to become a classic, and it is a great book for personal reading or for a gift.

A really fun book that’s easy to read but is also a classic is The Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. This series chronicles Arthur Dent’s travels in space with his best friend (who comes from a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse) after the Earth has been destroyed to make way for an intergalactic expressway. This book is just the right amount of crazy to make it funny. At the same time, I believe it points out many of our flaws as humans.

These are all books that I have read and enjoyed, as well as suggested to other people, and so far I’ve only heard good things! These books are sure to please, and make great gifts. Happy holidays and good luck shopping!

Yearbook: The Mirror

Visit http://tinyurl.com/mirror2013 to order a copy of the 2012-2013 Mirror.

The cost is $65 for the first book and $55 for each additional copy.

Your family’s North Shore account will be billed once you fill out the form.

Books will be delivered sometime during the last week of school.

If you have any questions, please email the staff at mirror@nscds.org.

12/18/12

Logic Problem Nick David ‘15 Do you like math and solving riddles? Below is a logic problem. The solution to this problem does not require advanced math knowledge, but you will have to think logically: A group of people are trapped on a foreign planet that has no mirrors or reflecting surfaces.

These are the smartest people in the universe; if there is a logical solution to their problem, they will find it. Each person does not know the color of his or her hair, but he can see the hair color of everyone else on the planet. Every night a spaceship comes, and if someone knows the color of her own hair, she can leave. Everyone can see the color of everyone else’s hair, but they have no way of communicating with each other.

We know that there are 74 people with black hair and 74 with blonde hair. However, the citizens of the planet do not know this. All they know is what they see. Any one person with black hair can see 73 people with black hair and 74 people with blonde hair, but he doesn’t know that there are 74 of each color.

There is one other person on the planet and he can communicate with everyone. He has blue hair and is a native to the planet. He can speak to the people only once, and he says, “I see someone with black hair.”

How many people leave the planet and how many nights is it after the blue-haired man’s announcement?

If you think you know the answer, email me at Ndavid15@nscds.org.

The first student to email me the correct answer, with a personal explanation of how you came up with the answer, will receive a $15 iTunes Gift Card.

Prosody The Prosody deadline is coming up! Get your submissions in to Ms. Puccia before January 31st. Visit the Publications section of the Student Life area of NSCDS.org to view last year’s edition.

Submit your announcements!

Clubs and individuals can submit announcements to be posted here in future issues of the DSJ. Send your announcements to kclark@nscds.org. We can post images as well as text.

DSJ Editorial Board Ilia Labkovsky ‘13, Editor-in-Chief Annie Murnighan ‘13, Managing Editor Justin Savin ‘15, Editor Nick David ‘15, Editor Cooper Ochsenhirt ‘16, Editor Matt Griffin ‘14, Assistant Editor Rachel York ‘15, Assistant Editor Photographers Brent Rolfes ‘16, Chief Photographer Lizzy Gendell ‘13 Katherine Chandler ‘13 Layout Design Ilia Labkovsky ‘13 Annie Murnighan ‘13 Club Announcements Coordinator Cooper Ochsenhirt ‘16 Staff Writers Katherine Chandler ‘13 Nick David ‘15 Matt Griffin ‘14 Ilia Labkovsky ‘13 Annie Murnighan ‘13 Cooper Ochsenhirt ‘16 Justin Savin ‘15 Rachel York ‘15 Contributors Hayun Cho ‘13 Anna Schmidt ‘13 Sponsor Ms. Kat Clark