The Scribe Issue 2 ('14/'15)

THE

Scribe

TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE THE STATUS OF READING IN HIGH SCHOOL Vol. XVII, Issue 2 Francis Parker School December 2014

table of contents

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DECEMBER 2014 VOL. XVII, ISSUE 2

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COVER BY GRACE SELLICK 4 EDITOR’S NOTE BY SOREN HANSEN 5 STAFF PAGE 6 THE BREAKDOWN COMPILED BY OLIVIA FIDLER

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10 QUADRANTS COMPILED BY JULIANNA D’AURIA AND MORGAN SMITH 11 GOSSIP GIRL BY GOSSIP GIRL 12 HOLIDAY MOCKTAILS BY JULIANNA D’AURIA

AC a r t s & c u l t u r e 16 24 HOURS: INDIA STREET BY MYLA ANDREWS 18 POP ART BY AVI WALDMAN 20 HIYA BYE-A BY CAROLINE WOHL

SP s p o r t s 24 ‘SAVE THE CHEERLEADER, SAVE THE WORLD’ BY MORGAN SMITH 26 KEYING IN BY GABRIEL GROSS-SABLE 28 WHAT WERE THEY THINKING BY CHARLOTTE DICK-GODFREY

FE f e a t u r e s 32 34 35 36

DREAMING OF A GREEN CHRISTMAS BY SOPHIA SWEDBACK FOR RENT BY BREANNA COMUNALE AND MEGAN PAI TIPPING THE SCALE BY NATASHA PARTNOY SATURDAY SERIES BY SOFIA GARDENSWARTZ

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TO T H E B E S T O F O U R K N O W L E D G E

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ONCE UPON A TIME BY EMMA MOORE STACKED AGAINST THEM BY LAKME CACERES AND ISABEL SANCHEZ HODOYAN TO READ OR NOT TO READ BY EMILY WU 8 MUST-“READ” “BOOKS” BY CAROLINE MERKIN CHECK IT OUT BY MADDY MCGRATH BACK COVER BY SOREN HANSEN AND OLIVIA FIDLER

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body typeface: minion pro 9 pt header typeface: prisma and caviar dreams folio typeface: caviar dreams printed by: emagine printing, san diego, ca 750 copies, 100# Endurance Recycled Gloss stock

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY (CLOCKWISE, BEGINNING ON THE OPPOSITE TOP LEFT): MADDY MCGRATH, SOPHIA SWEDBACK, SMUGMUG, COURTESY OF MR. JOHN WILSON, MYLA ANDREWS, CAROLINE WOHL, SOFIA GARDENSWARTZ, JULIANNA D’AURIA.

EDITOR’S NOTE

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t seems to me that the holidays get bigger every year. And not just bigger, but more stressful, rushed, and chaotic too.

Stores are opening earlier and earlier on Black Friday (and even on Thursday) as crowds push and shove to get their hands on the first deals of the season. Christmas lights are going up halfway through November and I heard a holiday song the day after Halloween. My family even got their first holiday catalogue in early September and goodness knows there were department stores with seasonal decorations on the shelves in October.

So what’s the rush? Isn’t the holiday season supposed to be filled with joy and happiness?

The cover section of our second issue, “To the Best of Our Knowledge: The Status of Reading in High School,” shows us that we should slow down and be conscious of the little stuff, like sitting in front of a fireplace with a book in our hands (“Once Upon a Time,” 40) as well as the big stuff, such as an economic situation which has blessed many of us with access to books since the day we were born (“Stacked Against Them,” 42).

One of my favorite holiday movies is How the Grinch Stole Christmas, based off the children’s book by Dr. Seuss. In the story, the Grinch starts out hating the holiday season and everything that comes with it, “But I think that the most likely reason of all, may have been that his heart was two sizes too small.”

As the tale continues, the Grinch attempts to “steal” the holiday season from the Whos in Whoville by taking their trees, trinkets, and trimmings. Yet once Christmas Day arrives and the town is filled with joy even without material goods, the Grinch has a sudden epiphany: “Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!”

I like that saying because I think the holidays do mean a little bit more. Though this wonderful cartoon delivers this clichéd message with simple animation and narration, I think we could all learn a little something from the Grinch.

Perhaps the endless competition and savage consumerism of our modern culture comes from a very simple problem: we are a little too Grinchy—we don’t appreciate what we have and the joy that comes with the simple treasures of companionship and happy holidays.

Sure, we all told ASB we were thankful for “friends,” “family,” and “the toasters at lunch,” when we wrote on those paper leaves way back in November, but it seems the air of conscious thankfulness disappears faster than pumpkin pie the minute Thanksgiving is over.

I’ll grant you, when we are so surrounded by blessings, it might be hard to step back and understand how lucky we truly are, but isn’t that the whole point? Though I hope no Grinch comes to steal your Hanukkah gelt or Christmas stocking-stuffers, it’s important to be thankful for what we have before it’s gone.

As students attending a private school, we are privileged with support from faculty and peers at every step in our educations. Yet even surrounded by a constantly-upgrading campus (“Check It Out,” 46) and unusual teachers who are just like us

(“Saturday Series,” 36), it seems like our holiday happiness is still determined by what we don’t have.

If we count our blessings, it might be a little bit easier to appreciate those teachers, mentors, and coaches while we still can (“‘Save the Cheerleader, Save the World,’” 24).

Even small family traditions take on more value when you consider their eventual impermanence. Whether it be picking out that one perfect Christmas tree at a local farm (“Dreaming of a Green Christmas,” 32) or spending time and sharing food with family (“Holiday Mocktails,” 12), the moments add up to some cherished holiday joy.

The holiday season doesn’t have to be stressful. Our holiday joy should not depend on what color iPhone we get on December 25 or who gets the most likes on their New Year’s Eve Instagram post. The holidays should be a time of joy. Count your blessings, spread seasonal cheer to all you meet, and stop being so Grinchy.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that...

Holidays should be a time of happiness and joy, About thanks and good will, not greed or big toys.

Your holiday can be happy without cell phones or skis, Without new cars, snowflakes, or long shopping sprees.

Give gifts and spread cheer with to all who you can, And ring in the New Year with pots and with pans.

So count up your blessings so you can be sure, That your holidays mean just a little bit more.

With holiday blessings and lots of love,

Soren Hansen Editor-in-Chief

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH US We would love to have your opinion! Letters to the editor can be submitted on our website or emailed to fpscribe@ gmail.com. We will choose selections of these letters to be printed in the next issue.

Visit The Scribe Online at fpsthescribe.org for news, features, photos, videos, and sports scores as well as bonus content from the print articles.

And join our Facebook fanpage at www.facebook.com/ fpsthescribe to stay updated on everything Scribe-related.

CORRECTIONS In the October 2014 issue of The Scribe, the “Saturday Series” erroneously stated that Mrs. Erin Aiston worked in the admissions office. She actually worked as the purchasing agent in the business office. The story also misidentified her alma mater as Northern Illinois University when in reality she attended Western Illinois University.

Also in that issue, “The Breakdown” misstated the number of years that Parker has been contributing to the AIDS Walk. It is 18 years, not 11.

And in “Creature Feature,” senior Adam Wright was given the title of president of the Arts and Crafts Club. In real life, Adam meant this as a joke and holds no such power in the club, though we appreciate his political drive.

PHOTOGRAPH BY OLIVIA FIDLER

ROOK MR. ANDREW HOLB PHOTOGRAPHS BY

STAFF PAGE Editor-in-Chief SOREN HANSEN Managing Editor OLIVIA FIDLER Creative Director GRACE SELLICK Online Editor MADELINE OTTILIE Asterisk Editors JULIANNA D’AURIA MORGAN SMITH Arts & Culture Editors MYLA ANDREWS EMMA MOORE Adviser MR. ANDREW HOLBROOK Contributing Artists ISAAC GRAY EMMA STIENER

Sports Editors JASH BABLA CHARLOTTE DICK-GODFREY Features Editor CAROLINE WOHL Cover Section Editor CAROLINE MERKIN Staff Writers LAKME CACERES MAYUMI CHINO BREANNA COMUNALE SOFIA GARDENSWARTZ GABRIEL GROSS-SABLE LILY GLASSER PAIGE MARTIN MADDY MCGRATH MEGAN PAI NATASHA PARTNOY ISABEL SANCHEZ HODOYAN SOPHIA SWEDBACK AVI WALDMAN EMILY WU

MISSION STATEMENT & EDITORIAL POLICY Serving as the official news magazine of the Francis Parker Upper School, The Scribe strives to report on the major news stories on campus while providing the student body with a cutting-edge take on campus life and culture.

Members of the journalism classes oversee the writing, editing, and production of the magazine. Layouts are designed by article authors in collaboration and consultation with the creative director. Members of the staff also volunteer a great deal of their after-school time to work on the magazine.

The editor-in-chief assumes all responsibility for the material published in The Scribe. For this reason, any questions or complaints should be reported to the editor-in-chief and not to the authors of particular articles. The Scribe also strives to correct any errors of fact. To identify a mistake needing correction, please email us at fpscribe@gmail.com.

FRANCIS PARKER SCHOOL 6501 LINDA VISTA RD, SAN DIEGO, CA 92111 (858) 569-7900

THE BREAKDOWN COMPILED BY OLIVIA FIDLER

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THE GOOD veteran’s day assembly

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THE BAD no more movember

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THE UGLY xmas the day after halloween

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Students were the quietest they’ve ever been (besides the dropping of countless iPhones) in the Field House on November 11. The panel of WWII vets was enthralling, and as inspiring as their words were these 90-plusyear-olds’ wittiness, good humor and zest for life. Added bonus that two of them are Parker grandparents!

Say goodbye to your beloved mustaches, boys. Unless you submitted a written request stating your reasoning on participating in No Shave November, no facial hair was allowed.

Apparently just supporting prostate cancer was not good enough of a reason?

Merry Chrishallosgiving does not have quite the same ring to it. The day after Halloween, big retailers, including Macy’s, Staples, and Kohl’s, announced that they are keeping stores open on Thanksgiving day to begin Black Friday mark-downs. And if you’ve been within 40 feet of a Bath and Body Works, you’ll smell gingerbread and miseltoe and see tinsel galore. Yikes.

OUT OF

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OF 8TH GRADERS NATIONWIDE SAY THEY READ RECREATIONALLY ALMOST EVERY DAY

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OF ARTS AND MUSIC ELECTIVES ARE WEIGHTED AT PARKER READ MORE ABOUT WEIGHTED CLASSES ON PAGE 35

ARTIFICIAL VS. NATURAL TREES AT PARKER Artificial

Artificial 20.2%

Natural 79.8%

READ MORE ABOUT THE CHRISTMAS TREE INDUSTRY ON PAGE 32

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KIDS IN AMERICA GROW UP WITHOUT LEARNING HOW TO READ READ MORE ON THE DEVOLUTION OF READING IN HIGH SCHOOL ON PAGE 40

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STUDENTS OUT OF 124 RESPONDENTS DESCRIBE THE HIYA HIYA AS UNOFFENSIVE STUDENTS DESCRIBE IT AS OFFENSIVE

READ MORE ON THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE HIYA HIYA PERFORMANCE ON PAGE 20

LONG BEACH, CA, WAS RANKED THE COUNTRY’S MOST ILLITERATE CITY, SECOND BEING MESA, AZ, AND THIRD, AURORA, CO (AS OF APRIL 2014) 6 december 2014

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[Brooke Wilson] wore her personality and her emotions on her sleeve. She was one-hundred percent herself to the girls all the time.”

- Assistant Cheer Coach Michael Stutts READ MORE ON COACH BROOKE’S LASTING IMPACT ON PAGE 24

A FAULTY PART CAUSED TWO PEOPLE—LIBRARIAN MS. BRIANA BRYAN AND A FORMER SUBSTITUTE TEACHER—TO GET STUCK IN THE LIBRARY ELEVATOR FOR TWO HOURS DURING THE REMODELING.

1. OLIVIA (7) 2. HANNAH (6) 3. CAROLINE (5)

WHITE WINTER HYMNAL

BY FLEET FOXES

Accompanied by the echoey vocals this band has mastered so well are incredible harmonies, simple strums and bellowing drums. All of this makes for the perfect wintery tune. All The Scribe wants this holiday season is for Fleet Foxes to get back together.

HOT

LIVING FRUGALLY The littler, the better. The Tiny House Project is the perfect example of a crafty, frugal it up this holiday season with DIY gifts and homemade cards. Save some water and eliminate extraneous waste while you’re at it.

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DESIGNER LOGO PUNS

“Homies” for Hermes and “Célfie” for Céline

1. WILLIAM (9) 2. MATTHEW (8) 3. NICHOLAS (7)

STAFF HOLIDAY PICKS

READ MORE ON THE CHANGES IN THE LIBRARY ON PAGE 46

lifestyle on a budget. Also, feel free to change

TOP NAMES ON CAMPUS

WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME

BY THE SHINS

An upbeat, indie take on McCartney’s original ’79 Christmastime classic, The Shins seemed to have quite a bit of fun recording this track. This whole album features stars of the rising alternitive and folk scene and their whole new takes on some tired carols, as well as brand new songs.

is getting stale. You’re not as clever as you think you are, especially because there are hundreds of these in your local Forever 21.

TRENDY

TOPSHOP AT FASHION VALLEY

Now we can all pretend we’re from England!

If you disregard the price tags on each article of clothing in this brand new, two-story store, you’re set. There’s even a shoe department on the lower level, and don’t miss out on the dozens of funky socks.

WINTER SONG

BY THE HEAD AND THE HEART

For just under three minutes, you can finally pretend we have seasons. The unrefined acoustics and hauntingly beautiful harmonies brighten up any room and can immediately take you to a place filled with wood cabins, frosty air, and pines.

SOURCES: DOSOMETHING.ORG, A SCRIBE SURVEY OF 124 STUDENTS, UPPER SCHOOL OFFICE PHOTOS: ALBUMART.ORG, FACT.CO.UK ARTWORK: MADDY MCGRATH THE SCRIBE

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Learn how to make these fun Christmas ornaments, including a melted Olaf from Disney’s Frozen, the Grinch, Santa Claus, and a reindeer at www.fpsthescribe.org THE SCRIBE

PHOTOGRAPH BY OLIVIA FIDLER

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QUADRANTS

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HOLIDAY MOCKTAILS THE SCRIBE

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*QUADRANTS COMPILED BY JULIANNA D’AURIA AND MORGAN SMITH

WHAT’S THE MOST UNUSUAL HOLIDAY GIFT YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED?

SHARE YOUR MOST UNSETTLING HOLIDAY MEMORY.

Santa has given me a handbook for “texting slang” before. I had no idea he was so hip.

When I was 11, we got a new oven and on Thanksgiving, we used it to cook the turkey. My family wasn’t familiar with the new appliance, so our turkey shrank into a chicken.

WHO DO YOU PLAN TO KISS UNDER THE MISTLETOE?

YOU CAN CREATE YOUR THE BEST WAY TO OWN HOLIDAY. SPREAD CHRISTMAS WHAT IS IT? CHEER IS...

Liam Hemsworth.

National “I feel you, bro” Day, honoring all of the people who got socks from a distant relative.

forgetting to cover your mouth when you sneeze.

Friendship.

Once, we had two new animatronic toys. One made a sound, and the other talked back, prompting a response from the first.

Watching two toys talk to one another was both funny and scarring.

Does my dog/cat count?

Not-Columbus Day, in which we celebrate everything except for Columbus.

mumble-humming vaguely Christmas-y songs under your breath wherever you walk. People will think you’re possessed, which is even more fun than spreading cheer.

Advice from Rick Ross on how to lose weight.

Tearing my ACL on Christmas Day... Happy holidays, everyone!

Nick Scudder, I heard your name once. Thought it was cute. Wanna make out?

National Uggs with Shorts Day. Let the world know you can’t decide if you’re hot or cold!

being Jewish.

Before owning any Apple products: an iTunes gift card.

Having to try on Grandma’s handmade pyjamas despite how ugly and uncomfortable they are.

$ Benjamin Franklin $

Cakemas.

It would honor cake.

through a Scribe survey.

Packed in the same box were a pair of warm socks and a rubber chicken— an unusually awesome gift!

My parents went on vacation and accidently left me home alone. I got my tongue frozen to a metal pole and some guy dressed in green stole all our presents. But everything ended up okay. Elf.

Zooey Deschanel.

Don’t say anything; no one is supposed to know.

The holiday would be on 12/21 and would honor people named Ava, Bob, Eve, and Hannah... You can guess the name of the holiday.

lighting the menorah, eating latkes, and singing songs.

Isabella Cady

Bryce Keletey

Olivia Lawrence

Larsen Hayes

Mr. Ari Gass

SEPARATED AT BIRTH 10 december 2014

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gossip girl welcome

to Gossip Girl! the source ABOUT Francis Parker, FOR Francis Parker and BY Francis Parker!

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BAH HUMBUG, LANCERS. I HOPE YOU MISSED ME. IT’S GOSSIP GIRL HERE, YOUR ONE AND ONLY SOURCE INTO THE SCANDALOUS NEWS ON CAMPUS. ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY BREAKS, BUT JUST KNOW THAT I’LL BE WATCHING THE MISTLETOE. HO, HO, HO!

AND WHO AM I? THAT’S ONE SECRET I’LL NEVER TELL.

gossip The latest “411” on campus.

SPOTTED

It’s a relief to know that as of September, those lovely little blue containers in every classroom are being recylced. Mr. Michael Cain, the director of risk and asset management, confirms that, “No doubt we have a very long road ahead of us as far as recycling goes.” Reduce, reuse and... what’s that last one? xo xo GOSSIP GIRL

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Love is in the air, along with recent engagements! History teacher Ms. Karen Marshall, Class Dean and English teacher Ms. Michelle Adelman and receptionist Ms. Monica Sawaya are all fiancé-d to three lucky lads. Is that a verb? Mazel tov to these lovely ladies. I’m a great wedding planner by the way, so hit me up.

Criticism, drama and gossip galore! Recent Twitter drama has blown up on users’ feeds across campus, and this isn’t limited to one particular grade. Hiding behind a screen is easier than we thought. xo xo GOSSIP GIRL

xo xo GOSSIP GIRL

SPOTTED

The Scribe has been criticizing Ugg-wearers for years now, so, alas, we must continue until they are decimated for good. Students around campus have been spotted sporting these abominations daily, and in all shapes and sizes (including the slipper, short boot, tall boot, and more). Remember kids, Ugg is for Ugg-ly! xo xo GOSSIP GIRL

SPOTTED

Late check-ins and grotesquely short skorts for all! Latin teacher Ms. Katherine Colvin is transitioning to take over the position of attendance secretary, previously held by Mrs. Laura Southworth. Can I get a carpe diem? xo xo GOSSIP GIRL

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HOLIDAY MOCKTAILS DECK THE HALLS WITH FOUR HOLIDAY DRINKS ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY JULIANNA D’AURIA

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olidays are a time of merriment which includes festive food and drink. Try these four themed beverages to brighten up your holiday spirit. During an on-campus tasting, students gathered around to try a sampling of four festive mocktails. As we enter the holiday season The Scribe toasts you with good cheer.

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* 1C R A N B E R R Y SPRITZER

“It’s really berrylicious and delicious. It’s the perfect combination of sour and sweet,” says junior Austin Arthur of this refreshing, cool, and colorful drink. The tasty Cranberry Spritzer combines a fizzy fruit flavor with the floating orange slices and cranberries that will quench your holiday thirst. This can be easily thrown together for a last minute gathering. “This should definitely be the new drink of the cafeteria,” says sophomore Alex Gallanis.

Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups Pellegrino 2 cups Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry Orange, thinly sliced Directions: Place ice cubes into a large pitcher. Add Pellegrino.

Add Cran-Raspberry juice. Add orange slices and stir to combine.

2 FROTHY

CAPPUCCINO PUNCH

3 STRAWBERRY

HOLIDAY PUNCH

This beautiful Holiday Punch includes an ice ring composed of lemonade and strawberries. It is perfect for a large gathering and special toasts. “It’s citrus-y,” says senior Jona Plevin, “but not overwhelming and I like the fizz.” The citrus flavor combined with the fizz will awaken the senses.

Ingredients: 1 quart ginger ale 2 large cans frozen lemonade 1/2 small can frozen orange juice 8 or 10 frozen whole strawberries (for ice ring) Directions: For the punch mix 1 can of lemonade, orange juice, and ginger ale in a punch bowl. Make the ice ring by pouring 1 can lemonade in a bundt pan. Then use the can of frozen lemonade to measure out a can of water. Freeze overnight. Serve.

4 SERENDIPITY

3’S FRRROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE

Who doesn’t love a frothy Starbucks Frappuccino?

Avoid the lines and make this spectacular version in your own kitchen. Junior Anoushka Bose says the Frothy Cappuccino Punch is “perfect for the holidays, and the ice cream really enhances [the flavor].” It is easy to assemble, and sure to impress your guests or friends.

Saving the best for last, in lieu of experiencing this wondrous drink in their New York City or Las Vegas restaurants, we bring you Serendipity 3’s recipe to try at home. “It’s like a chocolate milkshake, but better and fun to share,” says junior Lauren Clark. Savor the frothy goodness with this drink made for two.

Ingredients: 1 gallon freshly brewed espresso or rich roast coffee (chilled) 4 1/2 cups (3 12-fl.-oz. cans) evaporated milk, chilled, divided 1 cup granulated sugar, divided 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 quart chocolate ice cream 1 semisweet chocolate baking bar Ground cinnamon, optional

Ingredients: 1/3 cup evaporated dry milk 1 cup sugar 4 tablespoons cocoa 1 cup milk 3+ cups ice 1/4 cup whipping cream 2 teaspoons shaved chocolate curls

Directions: Pour coffee into a large punch bowl. Combine 2 1/4 cups evaporated milk, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla extract in blender; blend until frothy. Add milk mixture to coffee. Repeat with remaining evaporated milk and sugar. Add scoops of ice cream to the punch and top with chocolate curls and cinnamon. For strong coffee, use 2 rounded Tbsp. coffee per 6 oz. of water.

Use a vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls.

Directions: Stir dry milk, sugar, and cocoa in a small bowl until completely mixed. Add ingredients to a blender in the following order: milk, dry mix, then ice. Blend for 20 to 30 seconds until smooth. Pour into a large glass and top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

SOURCES: D’AURIA FAMILY RECIPES, SERENDIPITY 3’S MENU (FRRROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE)

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Pep Band teacher Mr. Keven Ford helps senior Liberty Pearl set up to perform “Your Song,” Ellie Goulding’s rendition of an Elton John classic at Unplugged.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SOPHIA SWEDBACK

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To find out more information about the other performances at this year’s Unplugged show, visit www.fpsthescribe.org.

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24 HOURS: INDIA STREET

AN IDEAL DAY IN LITTLE ITALY FOR LESS THAN $42 ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY MYLA ANDREWS

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olce far niente, or “the sweetness in doing nothing,” has long been a facet of Italian culture, promoting a slow and serene pace of life. Though many can only dream of vacationing in Italy, San Diegans can replicate the classic European experience in their own hometown. India Street is like San Diego’s own little piece of the Mediterranean, boasting some of the best Italian food and culture in Southern California, while still inclusive of the city’s own rich history and unique aestheticism. So channel your inner European and savor the dolce far niente­—all for less than $42.

According to the staff, other popular breakfast items include the oatmeal and the gluten-free bowl, which comes with eggs, spinach, and brown rice.

“People actually get the chance to come here and try what they see online for free,” says Blick employee Kimberly, “instead of pondering over the Internet and how it might work or how it might not work.”

The interior of the church is decorated with beautiful paintings set into the ceiling and walls.

7 : 3 0 - 9 A. M. : I N F LU X CA F É F O R B R E A K FA S T 750 W FIR ST. 6:00 A.M. - 9:00 P.M.

TOTAL SPENT: $8 Start your morning bright and early on the corner of India and West Fir Street at Influx Café. For breakfast, order a 16-oz. iced coffee for $1.50, and a yogurt bowl, made with lots of fresh fruit and granola, for $6.50. “We make everything fresh,” says Saroeuth, an Influx Café employee. “Our coffees are very, very smooth—we get lines through the door every day!” This small yet airy establishment is a popular study spot, so be sure to bring some work or reading to accompany your breakfast. There are also plenty of outlets, not to mention free wifi, for all your technological needs.

9-10:30 A.M.: SHOPPING AND PERUSING STORES BLICK: 1844 INDIA ST. 9:00 A.M. - 8:00 P.M. MONDAY-FRIDAY 9:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M. SATURDAY 11:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M. SUNDAY

NELSON PHOTO SUPPLY: 1909 INDIA ST. 9:00 A.M. - 5:30 P.M. MONDAY-FRIDAY 8:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. SATURDAY

Just across the street from Influx Café is Blick Art Materials, an art store that’s been in Little Italy since the 1980’s. Pick up a set of Blick Brand Colored Pencils ($2.29) and a Strathmore Drawing Pad from the upstairs loft area ($4.89) for a later sketching endeavor, and be sure to spend some time perusing the many aisles that are chock-full of paints, pencils, craft materials and more—it’s truly an artist’s haven!

Next, head across the street to Nelson Photo Supply, filled to the brim with every possible resource a photographer could need. Parker students even receive a store discount. Not into photography? Not to worry, you’ll be itching to become the next Ansel Adams after a quick browse in the store. Additionally, if you’re facing the harbor front outside of Nelson’s, head to the right for access to even more shopping establishments, from art galleries to boutiques to antique stores.

1 0 : 3 0 A . M . - 1 2 P. M . : A M I C I P A R K + R O S A R Y C H U R C H 1629 COLUMBIA ST Make your way to India Street until you hit West Date Street, and walk about a block to the left until you find Amici Park. Here, take a seat on one of the patio tables arranged next to the bocce ball court, face the small amphitheater, and pull out your new Blick purchases for a relaxing morning sketch. If you prefer a different art subject, Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, an Italian national parish, is just across the street and is another fascinating historical building. If sketching becomes too tedious, you can always engage in a game of bocce ball.

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1 2 - 1 P. M . : L U N C H A T N A P I Z Z A 1702 INDIA ST. 11:00 A.M. - 10:00 P.M. SUNDAY-THURSDAY 11:00 A.M. - 11:00 P.M. FRIDAY-SATURDAY

TOTAL SPENT: $20.18 Head back to India Street until you spot Napizza on the corner of India and West Date Streets. This rustically decorated restaurant has limited seating, but try to snag a spot in one of the booths next to the large windows for prime people-watching. For lunch, order a slice of Margherita pizza for $3.00 and a cup of minestrone soup for $2.00, which comes with a small serving of their delicious bread. Also, take advantage of the free water dispenser to save on some cash for your drink.

Napizza imports the flour used for baking their pizza crust and bread directly from Rome.

1 - 2 P. M . : S A N D I E G O F I R E H O U S E M U S E U M 1572 COLUMBIA ST. 10:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. THURSDAY-FRIDAY 10:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. SATURDAY-SUNDAY

TOTAL SPENT: $23.18

After Napizza, find West Date Street, make a right on Columbia Street, and walk about one block until you spot the San Diego Firehouse Museum, discernable from surrounding buildings by its bright red sign and garage doors. Inside you can view several restored firetrucks from the last century, learn about the history of firefighting in San Diego, and even ring the alarms. “It’s a big part of San Diego, and it’s a big part of the [city’s] history,” says museum volunteer James B. “This particular station is over a hundred years old.”

Tickets are $3 for visitors over the age of 12, and visitors 12 and under are free.

2 - 3 : 3 0 P. M . : C A F F É I T A L I A 1704 INDIA ST. 8:00 A.M. - 10:00 P.M.

TOTAL SPENT: $29.58 After you’ve had your history fix, head toward Napizza, and enter Caffé Italia, located right next door.

Order a 12-oz. hot tea for $2.45, and indulge in a tiramisu for $3.95. Though somewhat pricey, the tea is extremely fresh and the tiramisu comes in a little glass bowl that you can keep if you say it’s to-go. This café has access to a charming covered back patio decorated with mock-Italian frescoes, and a little fountain, giving off the impression that you’ve been transported to ancient Pompeii. In contrast to the rustic charm, Caffé Italia has wifi access, so you can tackle some work during your afternoon respite.

From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Caffé Italia serves delicious Belgian waffles with a variety of toppings.

3 : 3 0 - 5 P. M . : L I T T L E I T A L Y ’ S O N E - M I L E W A L K Now’s your chance to work off all the decadent food you’ve consumed all day (and make some room for more). Make a right out the entrance of Caffé Italia, and walk three blocks down India Street to West Ash, make a left and walk three more blocks to the corner of Ash and Union, where there is a sign designating Little Italy’s One-Mile Walk. Marked by plaques on the ground every eighth of a mile, this walk doesn’t cross any major intersections, and helps visitors become better acquainted with the area. And your incentive to make it to the end? Dinner awaits by the final marker.

5 - 6 : 4 5 P. M . : U N D E R B E L L Y

The One-Mile Walk was funded by the Little Italy Association which, according to their website, is the only management company in the United States to focus on cleanliness and beautification of a city’s Little Italy.

750 W. FIR ST. 11:30 A.M. - 12:00 A.M.

TOTAL SPENT: $37.58 From the end of your route, walk less than a block to Underbelly, a modern and industrial-esque restaurant that is rated by Zagat as one of the five best ramen restaurants in San Diego. Here, order a bowl of Tonkatsu Ramen, which is a large ramen bowl with bean sprouts, ginger, scallions, seaweed, sesame seeds, and a boiled egg for $8. Also, allow some of the designated time to walk to your final destination.

6 : 4 5 - 7 : 3 0 P. M . : G E L A T O A T P A P P A L E C C O 1602 STATE ST. 7:00 A.M. - 9:30 P.M. MONDAY-THURSDAY 7:00 A.M. - 10:30 P.M. FRIDAY

8:00 A.M. - 10:30 P.M. SATURDAY 8:00 A.M. - 9:30 P.M. SUNDAY

Pappalecco offers dairy-free choices for lactose-intolerant people, such as their popular mixed berry flavor.

To begin your final trek of the day, start walking back to India Street from Underbelly, and keep walking right until you hit W Cedar Street, where you can make a left up two blocks until you see Pappalecco Gelato. Pappalecco uses all organic ingredients and natural flavors for their handmade gelato, as confirmed by signs plastered on the walls and doors. Their most popular flavors, according to employees, are pistachio, mixed berry, and limone, and the $4.29 price for a piccolo (small) gives you a choice of any flavor you like. Grab a seat along the outside wall if the weather allows, and take a moment to savor the dolci in the day’s last moments of delicious idleness.

TOTAL SPENT: $41.83 THE SCRIBE

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Pop Art THE INCREASING POPULARITY OF AP ART HISTORY

ARTICLE BY AVI WALDMAN ARTWORK IMAGE SOURCE: LONDON TELEGRAPH

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t’s one of the only classes at Parker created by a student petition, and the only one that offers either an academic or an arts credit. It’s a class where mashing subject matter with hip-hop lyrics is encouraged, and tests (for some) are optional. It’s AP Art History, and it’s one of the fastest-growing courses on campus.

Among the courses offered

by Parker’s social studies department, AP Art History is unique in its student makeup and fascinating take on familiar history. Often overlooked, this class’ fusion of fact and fun has resulted in a surge in enrollment from 13 to 19 students this year.

Art History has been in the standard AP curriculum for over a decade, but only recently did Parker join the thousands of schools across the country offering the course.

“About six or seven years ago, a group of students got together and noticed that there was no AP Art History class at this school, and they petitioned the administration to provide one,” says AP Art History teacher Mrs. Cherie Redelings. “It’s one of the few instances where a course has been developed because of student interest.”

The class was designed to cover the material tested on the AP Art History exam; that is, according to Redelings, everything from Paleolithic cave art to the postmodernist works of Jackson Pollock and Judy Chicago. Architecture, sculpture, painting, ceramics and glassblowing are all fair game.

The students currently enrolled in this class are as diverse as the artistic traditions they study.

While the class was originally open only to seniors, in recent years enrollment has been made

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available to juniors and sophomores too.

“I know a lot of seniors get irritated when juniors and sophomores take the class,” says junior Maddie Williams. “But...I feel like it’s sort of reasonable in my situation because with the other classes I wanted to take, I couldn’t take it senior year.”

AP Art History’s only prerequisite is an A in World History or an A- in World History Honors, making it attractive to students from all grades looking to get AP experience. However, sophomores intent on enrolling must be simultaneously taking AP World History—a weighty course load for an underclassman. Nonetheless, it is one that they are glad to shoulder.

“I think it goes great with AP World History because you learn about the same things and you see two different perspectives,” says sophomore Bryce Kelety. “I think sophomores taking the class is perfectly fine and to be honest I’m hoping we can push the seniors a little bit.”

Blending three grade levels creates a camaraderie stemming from shared enjoyment of the subject matter that may be in part responsible for AP Art History’s recent spike in popularity.

According to Kelety, awareness of the course has grown since he decided to take it, with some current sophomores intending to enroll next year. Junior Connor Smith was prompted to take AP Art History after hearing about it from some of last year’s students, and evidently was not alone in wanting to try it for himself— class enrollment jumped by 46% this year.

From nine students the first year, the size of the class has more than doubled, reaching its peak this year at nineteen students.

Natural fluctuation may be a factor, but such sudden growth suggests a rising interest among the general student body in AP Art History.

Art history provides a fundamental perspective on human history, students in the class say, that has been neglected by Parker’s social studies curriculum since second grade art projects.

“Every class learns about political history...but we never really get art through [the curriculum], and you can learn a lot about a society through its art,” Smith says. “I really see the civilizations I studied last year being fleshed out.”

There are other draws too.

Field trips to destinations like the Getty Museum—where the student uniform was T-shirts by Fly Art Productions that overlay hiphop lyrics on famous paintings— and the San Diego Museum of Art are appealing, as is the prospect of culturally savvy snacks corresponding to the civilization whose art is under examination.

Students who take the class for an art credit can even recreate paintings and frescoes in place of taking exams.

“I am often [tasked] with producing art that mimics—or even mocks—art of the culture which we are studying,” says senior Brian Gale in an email. “In our studies of Egyptian crafts, I painted what would have been a miniature tomb painting, only the theme was apple pie, with some interlaced Egyptian motifs.”

AP Art History is graded as a college course. According to Redelings, an 85% or higher in the first trimester is an A, decreasing to 80% in second trimester and 75% in the third, by which point students must know 500 pieces of art and themes that span 10,000 years.

“Because college courses are heavily dependent on two or three exam grades, and because the AP Art History class is all about one exam grade, I adjust my class grading to reflect how the College Board grades the exam,” Redelings says.

Ultimately, however, passion for the subject matter is what brings the class together. The course material is rigorous, and demands time and energy on the scale of any other AP class. But in the end, students in the class say AP Art History is worth it.

“It’s really interesting to see how the historical events affect the way art changes over the passage of time,” Williams says “Since it’s something that I’m interested in, [AP Art History] actually hasn’t been that difficult because it’s not tedious to study for. It’s actually my favorite class.”

It would seem that the impulse that first drove early humans to etch scenes and figures on a cave wall is still powerfully present. Redelings says art has an ageless allure, and a vital role in preserving the civilization of its creators.

“Rather than have the picture of human history from the people that ruled, you get a picture of human history from the people that created art. You understand about people’s fears and their hopes and you maybe get more psychological and social history, but still history, right? The history of the ordinary person, the history of what people think is beautiful.”

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LET ME TAKE A SELFIE

EVERYBODY DRINK

AIN’T NOBODY MESSIN’ WITH MY CLIQUE

IF YOU WANT TO BE MY LOVER, GOTTA GET WITH MY FRIENDS

TIP TOE WING IN MY JAWWDINZ

WILL THE REAL SLIM SHADY PLEASE STAND UP

MY MILKSHAKE BRINGS ALL THE BOYS TO THE YARD THE SCRIBE

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hiya Bye-A? HOW PARKER’S CLASSIC TRADITION MIGHT CONVEY THE WRONG MESSAGE

First grader Emily Otto is dressed in her Hiya Hiya gear from last year as she stands with a senior Lifer in her outfit she made when she was in kindergarten.

ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPH BY CAROLINE WOHL

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n a warm November day in the Lower School courtyard, a low, powerful drumbeat begins its steady rhythm. The audience looks around, trying to find the source. Someone yells, “Hiya Hiyaaa!” and all heads turn to Mrs. Mary Moore, the original founder of the Hiya Hiya performance at the Lower School, sporting a dress and headdress with bright colors and patterns. With a smile on her face, she chants the lyrics of the Hiya Hiya song as lines of kindergartners pour into the courtyard.

They march in long white shirts bedecked with drawings and their Native American names, some holding bows and arrows, and others carrying papooses on their backs.

Mrs. Letty Robinson, drama teacher and choreographer of the performance, looks on as the kindergarteners sing the Hiya Hiya song.

“From the first day where we have our name choosing ceremony, to the workshops where the parents help with making papooses, quivers, and arrows to the actual program where the children proudly perform,” says kindergarten teacher Birdy Hartman in an email, “the children love every part of this program.”

However, though controversy over this performance has just now surfaced, the topic is

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not new. Recently, CBS news anchors noted the controversy over the Washington Redskins football team name.

“What we are doing with the Hiya Hiya is making up history and appropriating one group of peoples—indigenous peoples,” says history teacher Mr. Eric Taylor in an interview, “and just allowing little kids to play with it.”

Discussions of the controversy concerning the Hiya Hiya performance have raised political correctness, diversity, stereotypes, and other issues. In over a dozen interviews with Parker Lifers, Lower School faculty and parents, and Upper School faculty, about eleven-fifteenths were for the performance’s continuation, three-fifteenths were against the performance, and one-fifteenth had mixed feelings.

HISTORY OF THE HIYA HIYA

2014 marks the 50th performance of Hiya Hiya. It was created in 1965 by Moore, a former Parker kindergarten teacher. She taught history to the students through a combination of music, art, and dance meshed with the California state curriculum requirement for kindergarteners. As a result, the Hiya Hiya performance was born. It takes place every year at the Thanksgiving concert, where family, friends, faculty, and stu-

dents come to watch.

Preparation for the performance begins earlier. A namechoosing ceremony takes place before the performance and those names will be on the shirts the kindergarteners design in class.

According to Hartman, it is symbolic of the ways Native American tribes, such as the Kumeyaay, named their people a long time ago. Hartman says the teachers researched authentic names and use that list every year. Totem poles are drawn on the shirts as well, and the sleeves are fringed to represent the free spirit of animals that Native Americans valued in their cultures.

“Our current role for preparation for this performance is to make sure that while maintaining this Parker tradition,” says Dr. Bob Gillingham, Head of the Lower School in an email, “we adhere to the current values of being both culturally sensitive and historically accurate from a five or six-year old’s point of view.”

This goal is accomplished through learning more about the Native American ways of life, including inviting speakers to teach the students about the history of the early Americans and going on field trips to the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.

“However, we don’t limit our teaching to just the Kumeyaays,” Hartman says. “We compare and contrast how Native Americans

had to adapt to the land to survive.”

The kindergarteners use their knowledge of Native Americans to make shirts, bows and arrows, and papooses, that are not based on stereotypes, according to the teachers.

The Hiya Hiya performance is relevant to the older students, as well. A part of the performance is when seniors Lifers, who participated in the Hiya Hiya performance when they were in elementary school, come back dressed in their costumes to perform with the kindergarteners.

“I have waited a very long fourteen years to reunite with my Hiya Hiya uniform and sing those songs,” says senior Remi Mooney in an email. “The fact that the senior lifers who [did] this shindig when they were younger come down and do it with the little kids is so awesome.”

Other lifers say they enjoyed their experiences, too. Many keep their shirts and headdresses in hopes of performing with the kindergarteners when they are seniors.

“I thought it was really fun because it is such a big deal for Parker lifers and the Parker family,” says sophomore Aly Arrington in an email. “It was just a really big part of the Lower School and it makes being a lifer very exciting.

I don’t really find anything that I dislike about it.”

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Steven and Erika Otto are the parents of daughter Emily, Class of 2025, who performed in the Hiya Hiya event last year. They say they enjoyed watching their daughter practice the songs and especially loved the seniors’ role in the performance.

“We think that it gave many parents a quick flash forward to their child’s senior year at Parker,” says Steven Otto in an email, “and it also gave many parents and teachers a flash backward to the kindergarteners that had grown miraculously into the seniors standing before them in their twelve-year-old shirts. There was absolutely nothing that we disliked about the performance.”

CONTROVERSY: IS THE PERFORMANCE OUT OF PLACE?

Times have changed and what was acceptable in the 1960s may not be considered acceptable today. Some worry about aspects of the performance that may be offensive or stereotypical.

“It’s plainly disrespectful to Native American culture,” says junior and Lifer Hannah D’Onofrio.

“The appropriation of their culture has been a perpetual joke in American culture for far too long and I think it’s crude that we as a school are holding on to it.”

D’Onofrio says in an email that though the performance may have been created with good intentions, those are not reflected today.

“I think the tradition should be replaced with something more wholesome and much less offensive,” she says. “I don’t think the pain of losing this small dance in my fake Native American garb is worth being racist over.”

Sophomore and Lifer Erin Wright says that though she does not have a problem with the Hiya Hiya, she can see how it could be harmful to others.

“When I was a kindergartener singing the songs, I didn’t think anything of it,” she says in an email. “But the more I think about it now, the more I can see it as being offensive to people.”

Parker plans to solve any problems that might cause offense to be taken by others. Gillingham

says that they’ve changed the performance to remove parts that reinforce offensive stereotypes. He adds that some of the lyrics in the songs have been updated as well.

Orginally, the first line of the song the kids shouted was “How!” but it is now “Howka!” Another line was changed from “Yo ho!” to “Ee ah ho!”

A line used to say “Indians helped the paleface” but was changed to “Indians helped the pilgrims.”

In addition, the children partake in extensive study of Native Americans to maintain the educational value. This study includes the Kumeyaay, the Iroquois, and the Plains Indians tribes.

The teachers say they want their students to know about the people they will portray in the performance.

“We all know that the story of the Native Americans in history is not always such a pretty one,” Hartman says. “However, for our young students, we try to teach them more about the people behind the stereotypes.”

Robinson says the kindergarten program has changed over the years to study and celebrate authentic Native American culture.

“This is a song that was written in the early 1960s so it’s from a different time,” Robinson says in an email. The children are taught to hold a high respect for Native American culture, as well as other cultures.

But do they really show respect to these cultures?

Taylor, whose children both participated in the Hiya Hiya performance, says he told his sons his opinion on the performance and provided them with a different perspective.

“I said it would be kind of like if you dressed up as a slave and just started dancing like a slave would dance,” Taylor says.

“We know that with things like race and representation, white people have been trying to represent black people for a long time and often exploiting people because of their racial differences.”

He says he talked to other historians who have similar views.

“If you dress up like an Indian and dance around, as well,” he says, “why not dress up as other

communities that were genocided or other communities that historically have been treated badly?

It would very much change the meaning of the Hiya Hiya.”

Taylor says he hopes kids will question why would it be okay for them to dress up as a Native American and sing words pertaining to their culture when they know they are not actually a Native American. He says the bigger question is whether we should keep the tradition, even if it is potentially negative and stereotypes people and cultures, but may feel good for others.

“If we have [traditions] that may not be inclusive, but we’re trying to be a diverse community, then we may want to re-think if the Hiya Hiya [performance] is representative of our community.

the tradition that I find hurtful. I would be really disappointed in the school if they got rid of this special tradition.”

The Ottos say they would love to see its continuation, as well.

“We have heard only rumors of concerns, and have not heard any specifics about the concerns, who raised them, when or why,” Steve Otto says. “It is unclear, however, how the Hiya Hiya performance could be considered offensive in any way.”

“Their performance and costumes are generic representations of Indians,” Otto says. “In addition to the performance, there is a month-long educational component to this event that is age appropriate to six year olds.”

A CHERISHED TRADITION

The Hiya Hiya performance is a part of Parker’s traditions and some lifers will always remember it as a favorite part of their time at Parker.

However, the controversy raises accurate points leaving people with the question: Should the school keep this tradition or not?

The performance can be viewed both ways.

Hayman says she recalls something similar happening with the Washington Redskins, as she says she has been a fan her entire life.

“I learned the original fight song in my elementary school music class and since then they changed the words to the song,” she says. “I think it is past time for their name to change.”

The Hiya Hiya performance is loved by some and several want to see its continuation.

“While I definitely see how it is offensive,” says senior Michelle Reed, “the kindergarteners perform the Hiya Hiya with love and interest, not to offend or make fun of Native Americans or their traditions.”

Some alums say they do not want to see this tradition eliminated because they consider it an iconic part of Parker.

“My dad went to Parker, and my grandma has pictures of him doing the Hiya Hiya when he was a senior, and still has the shirt he made when he was in kindergarten,” says she.

Mooney thinks that the Hiya Hiya tradition should not change, either.

“I do not find the Hiya Hiya performance offensive even in the least bit,” she says. “I come from a Native American lineage myself and there is not any aspect to

WHAT ’S NEXT?

“

What we are doing with the Hiya Hiya is making up history and appropriating one group of peoples—indigenous peoples—and just allowing little kids to play with it.”

-Mr. Eric Taylor HISTORY TEACHER

THE SCRIBE

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spor ts

Sophomore William Southworth (center) makes final adjustments before his 2000 meter race on Mission Bay at the 2014 San Diego Crew Classic, one of the largest regattas in the world. Southworth is one of many Lancers involved in competitive club rowing.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LORI KELLY

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To learn more about students who participate in competitive rowing outside of school, visit www.fpsthescribe.org.

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COA CH BRO OKE

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KEYING IN

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WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? THE SCRIBE

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Brooke and John Wilson were engaged in September 2009 at Zuma Beach in Malibu.

‘SAVE THE CHEERLEADER, SAVE THE WORLD’ REMEMBERING COACH BROOKE POWERS WILSON ARTICLE BY MORGAN SMITH PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF MR. JOHN WILSON AND SMUGMUG

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rooke Powers Wilson, Francis Parker’s head cheerleading coach, died October 19 after a 20-month battle against melanoma. She was 33.

Wilson joined the Parker community as the assistant cheer coach in 2011, drawn to the position because of her athleticism and her love of cheerleading. She became the head coach in 2012.

During her time here, Wilson created a Middle School cheer program and served as an impactful leader for the Upper School cheerleaders. She encouraged the varsity team to compete in its first competition. Wilson also began hosting pep rallies at the Lower School in order to create a strong cross-campus program. In just over two years, Wilson made a difference not only in the athletics department but throughout the Parker community.

Wilson grew up in Los Angeles County. She began devoting her time, energy, and resources to others at a young age. During her youth, she was involved in Girl Scouts, which provided guidance during her difficult teenage years, and taught her to leave the world a better place than she found it.

This mantra drove Wilson to seek solutions and do positively unto others throughout her life.

Wilson earned a degree in communication studies from California State University, Northridge. After completing her education, Wilson became an employee of the Recreation and Parks department of Los Angeles and continued to strive to better

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the lives of others. “[Brooke] believed in the mission of the LA Rec and Parks,” says her husband, Mr. John Wilson. “She wanted to give the people around her a place for kids to feel safe, and have as a home when they weren’t at home.”

In 2006, Wilson joined Cheer LA, a philanthropic organization for adult men and women with an interest in cheerleading that seeks to provide diversity and understanding throughout the gay community. She continued to devote time to the foundation after she moved to San Diego, and after she was diagnosed with melanoma in February 2013.

The Wilsons met in their mid-twenties through mutual friends. One night, after Brooke began interning with two men who attempted to start a television show on the National Lampoon Network, she went to dinner with the men­—and one of the men’s friends, John Wilson. The group danced, celebrated, and spent the weekend together. John and Brooke clicked almost immediately. They began dating shortly afterward.

After struggling to nurture a long-distance relationship between San Diego and Los Angeles, the couple broke up, got back together, broke up, and got back together yet again. The two were engaged in September 2009 at Zuma Beach and were married a year later at the Malibu Nature Preserve.

She even named her beloved puggle Zuma, in honor of the beach that holds so many memories for the Wilson family.

Wilson was devoted to her work to the end. The last time Wilson was able to watch her cheerleaders and the dance team perform was their Homecoming routine, which she saw via her iPad the day before she died.

Wilson’s close friend, Laura Kanellos, first sent a selfie to Wilson earlier that Saturday while she stood outside of the campus. Wilson immediately recognized the familiar setting, and after being reminded, remembered Kanellos planned to attend the Homecoming halftime show in order to livestream it to her. After asking her husband for her iPad, Wilson set up a Photo Stream on iCloud, and soon began sending Kanellos complete and coherent text messages about the performance and the cheerleaders.

“It was amazing,” John Wilson says. “She wasn’t functioning very well toward the end. It was pretty amazing that she set up the Photo Stream so quickly and told Kanellos what to do.”

Kanellos sent many photos of the cheer team before the halftime show began, to which Wilson replied, “Why are you sending me photos of my girls sitting down?” She was vibrant, joyous, and reminiscent of a healthier version of herself.

As Wilson lay in bed, Kanellos livestreamed the performance via FaceTime directly to Wilson’s iPad. Wilson held the device close to her face and enjoyed the moment with her husband.

“Brooke absolutely loved it,” he says. “She was engrossed in it.

For that hour that Laura was there

at the school, that was Brooke being Brooke. It was very special.”

Wilson is remembered by colleagues and students as a fun, crafty, devoted, and diligent woman.

“She was really silly. Especially with the girls. She knew them very well,” says assistant cheer coach Michael Stutts. “She wore her personality and her emotions on her sleeve. She was one-hundred percent herself to the girls all the time, and brought a lot of fun.”

In addition to her husband, Wilson is survived by her mother, Barbara Tullo Booth, and father, Kevin Powers.

A celebration of Wilson’s life was held November 2 at the Malibu Nature Preserve. Looking over the ocean, approximately 400 people remembered Wilson by admiring photos of her, watching a video montage of her life, and viewing her cherished mementos. Family members and friends spoke, including her former Girl Scout troop members. After the service came to a close, the cheerleaders in attendance—including Parker squad members and Cheer LA participants—performed a stunt and hoisted John Wilson into the air.

“People spoke about how she put so many people above herself,” says senior Hannah Lettington, a co-captain of the cheer team. “The essence of her being was helping others.”

SP REMEMBERING COACH BROOKE Cheerleaders write about the influence of their coach and their memories of her.

CLAIRE KLEIN, CLASS OF 2014 Brooke never gave up on us, but was never afraid to put us in our place. The moments when we truly made her proud were my fondest memories of my cheer career. [She] was relentless. If you didn’t know about her diagnosis, there was no way to tell what she was going through because of her unwavering optimism and strength. She still supported our team and put her heart and soul into coaching when she was enduring the worst pain imaginable. She loved cheer and our team more than anything, and put us first. We will never be able to thank her enough for that. Brooke taught us to never stop doing what we love no matter what obstacles presented themselves. She showed us that sometimes laughter and a positive mental attitude can be better than any other treatment.

ALLANA PLATT, CLASS OF 2014 When Coach Brooke became a part of the cheer team, I was a

sophomore who highly doubted she would impact the cheer program as much as she ended up doing by my senior year. Having been lucky enough to witness her whole Parker Cheer career, I look back on every practice and routine she ever put together and I realize how hard she pushed us.

Physically, she made us do conditioning; she made us write down goals for the season and put them on a wall, and she came up with crazy stunts that seemed impossible, which somehow ended up in our famous Homecoming routine. I think if she taught me anything, it’s the value of hard work both personally and as a team.

SENIOR MARGARET MACVEAN If there is such a thing as a good kind of crazy, coach Brooke was the definition of it. I have never seen anyone as genuinely dedicated to so many things as her. Her dedication would push us forward, and when we were at our low points, she knew how to motivate us. Even though she wanted us to do the best we could, and she often had higher expectations for us than we did, she knew our limits and recognized that sometimes we just needed to waste some time and all laugh together.

When she wanted us to smile and we just weren’t having it, she would start dancing in her own special way that would quickly

have the whole team laughing. It’s those little things that I will miss the most. Seeing her dancing in the back of the bleachers while we performed, seeing her excitement over us completing a routine, her impressive wit, her organization that made you feel secure, her pride in us that affirmed that we were doing things right, and her caring nature are all things that I still have trouble saying goodbye to her. Even though she is physically no longer here, her presence is still strong in the Parker cheer program and in my life.

SENIOR EMILY CHIEM Coach Brooke was probably one of the craziest people I have ever met. She was dedicated to us and stayed with us until her body wouldn’t allow her to anymore. My favorite memories of her include her dancing while making us suffer through conditioning, and her laying across our legs while we did wall sits. Her energy and enthusiasm always shone through, even when she was going through intense treatments. She would schedule her radiation treatments around our practices and games.

Brooke forever changed the Parker cheer program and will always be loved by her girls.

SENIOR JENNIFER FURRER What I admired most about Coach Brooke was the fact that she was involved in cheer up until the day she died. She made sure that she saw our Homecoming routine that we had been working on since September. She would come to practice even while her chemo was making her incredibly sick. Whenever I was having a bad day or struggling with something, I could always count on Coach to make me feel better.

She had the uncanny ability to make me feel justified in my feelings while showing me that everything would work itself out. With this mentality, I have been able to have a more positive outlook on my own life in general.

SENIOR LIBERTY PEARL I only joined Parker Cheer this Summer to participate as a Senior Cheerleader in the Fall. Even in my short time with Brooke, it Above: Coach Brooke Powers Wilson watches her team perform during a game against Santana High School in September. Below left: Wilson, an avid Girl Scout, grew up in the San Fernando Valley. Below right: Wilson flies during a cheer routine for Cheer LA. the

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was obvious to me that she was one of the strongest people I will ever know. I couldn’t fathom the energy she had at every single practice we had together, even toward the end of her time with us. While I was completely new to the team and knew nothing about cheerleading, she was patient and built my confidence throughout the season; I now feel a leap of faith can lead to something rewarding. Even in my short time with Brooke, it was obvious to me that she was one of the strongest people I will ever know.

I am grateful for her time, her inspiring philanthropy, and for the privilege of knowing her.

JUNIOR CAROLINE LEZNY Coach Brooke was one of the most hard-working, committed, and inspirational people I know.

For those of you who didn’t know Coach Brooke, or may only have seen her pulling her cheer wagon stacked high with pompoms to and from the football field, let me give you a little example of what she was like. When the new football stands were built two years ago, they were accompanied with a four foot brick wall that stood about ten feet from the sideline. This meant the cheerleaders were effectively hidden from view. At the beginning of this year, Coach Brooke surprised us with boxes! We were all so excited that we would finally be able to see and be seen. It was not until later that we learned that Coach Brooke had asked the school to build her a stage, and only when she was turned down did she demand boxes. This is a perfect representation of who Brooke Wilson was.

FRESHMAN EMILY POTTS The first time I met Coach Brooke, I was overwhelmed by the amount of energy she had.

Her passion and cheer radiated in every room she walked into. Each time I saw her smile or heard her laugh, it lit up every inch of me.

Every part of her was absolutely beautiful. Despite all the obstacles thrown at her in life, she kept fighting. Battling cancer in no way haltered her love for crafting, serving others, and enjoying life experiences. She taught me to never give up and to keep fighting no matter what you are going through because there are always people who support and love you.

I admire every part of her: her strength, her passion, her love for every bit of life. 5-6-7-8 PARTY!

to read the full versions of these rememberances, visit fpsthescribe.org.

THE SCRIBE

december 2014

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KEYING IN

WHY NOTHING CAN STOP THE VARSITY BOYS’ BASKETBALL TEAM FROM ACHIEVING ITS GOAL

ARTICLE BY GABRIEL GROSS-SABLE PHOTOGRAPHS BY GRACE SELLICK

The 2014-15 varisty boys baasketball team, left to right: junior Scott Wais, junior Drew Cross, senior Paulo Cruz, junior Jonathan Taylor, junior Tim Harrison, freshman Matt Brady, junior Michael Pelaiz, sophomore Jack Brady, sophomore Zach Teutsch.

Not pictured: senior Khaleel Jenkins

O

n June 15, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat 104-87 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, winning the league championship for the fourth time in the last eleven years. The team was led

by Tim Duncan, who, at 38, still averaged double digits in points and rebounds. Although the Heat

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had the best player in the world in LeBron James, it was the Spurs that emerged victorious yet again.

The real reason the Spurs have been able to build such an amazing winning culture is that they are a team. The franchise has been centered around the same three players—Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan—since 2002, and the family feel that they

instilled upon arrival has never left the organization. They have never been the most athletic, fastest, or flashiest team in the league, but they have always stayed together.

The Spurs have a foundation that wins championships, and that’s why they continue to win.

There’s a team similar to the one in San Antonio on the campus of Francis Parker, and it’s the

varsity boys’ basketball team.

“As a team, I’d say we’re like the Spurs. The Spurs aren’t the most athletic team, but they’re the best team,” says junior shooting guard Jonathan Taylor.

This year, no one on the team has individual goals. They all work together in order to accomplish one goal: winning a CIF championship.

SP HARD TIMES

Last year, the team experienced heartbreak in the league championship game, losing to Mater Dei by nine points, but it was never really a close game.

Now they have to forget the past and move on, but they’re going to have to do it without one of the best players the students at Parker have ever seen: Evan Fitzner, class of 2014. But this group knows how to deal with adversity.

“This year, everyone has to pick up their role and take on more responsibility because Evan was such a vital key to our offense,” says junior point guard Michael Pelaiz.

The team dealt with a lot more adversity than they expected last year. Taylor went down with an achilles injury early on, and Fitzner was dealing with a foot injury late in the season. It was a difficult stretch, but they kept their composure throughout and left everything on the floor.

“Last year it was especially tough losing Evan towards CIF, and obviously [Taylor] for the season, because our numbers started dwindling down,” says senior forward Paulo Cruz. “We ended up counting on guys that weren’t as familiar with the offense, and they had to step up and play as a team when some of their agendas were for themselves. That was definitely the toughest adversity we had to deal with last year.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF LEADERSHIP

If you ask anyone who the leader was on last year’s team, they would say it was Fitzner. This year, Cruz and guard Khaleel Jenkins are the only seniors, but one thing that’s changing from last year is that anyone on the team can really be the leader. Everyone is encouraged to speak up and take charge when they feel the need to do so.

“Most of us are juniors and [Jack Brady] is a sophomore, but that doesn’t mean we can’t lead,” Taylor says. “So Paulo and Khaleel are the main leaders as the seniors, but we’re really all leaders because we all have more experience now.”

Pelaiz notes that there need to be multiple leaders on the team because the offense is so complex.

“Any time someone can help out, we need them,” he says. “We can’t have guys on completely different pages. Everyone on the team is a leader, and if someone ever has a discrepancy, if they don’t know

where to go or they’re not doing something, we count on each other to pick us up or tell us what to do because we all have to be an extension of Coach Tomey.”

Star junior shooting guard Andrew Cross thinks his biggest priority as a leader is to guide the younger players. Cross has excelled on the team for two years now, so he knows the keys for success as a young player.

“For the juniors, we have to really help out the younger players,” Cross says. “We look up to the seniors, and then the seniors are telling us what we’re good at and what we can do on the offense. So I think being a leader is immensely influential on this team because we always have to be mentally focused.”

One of those young players is sophomore guard Jack Brady. Last year, as a freshman, Brady played more than he expected due to the injuries to Taylor and Fitzner. He acknowledges the team’s leadership qualities, but he also touches on the fact that everyone on the team has a role and is fully capable of contributing.

“That’s the great thing about this team: We’re all capable of having a big game. We’re all capable of making shots. We’re all capable of doing something that’s valuable to the team,” Brady Says. “I think our teammates know that, if we’re doing something really well on a given day, then we have to get the ball to the people who are executing the most effectively.”

The word “together” seems to be the one the players think is the most important. Some other themes are organization, toughness, and resilience.

“How we respond to something that goes wrong and just moving on from it and not worrying about it as much is vital,” Cross says.

Coach Jim Tomey has a sign in the film room that says, “Mental is to physical as four is to one.”

In Cruz’s opinion, one of the best players to ever step onto the court at Parker was David LeBaron, who graduated two years ago. Cruz says that it wasn’t LeBaron’s athletic ability that made him great; it was his mental capabilities.

“He was just the smartest guy on the floor in every game,” Cruz says. “That made him able to get around people and outsmart people. He was always onto the next move when people were a step behind.”

PRE-GAME JITTERS

The mental and physical preparation the players get during practice is translated onto the court for those special Friday-night home games. With the bleachers packed, the student section roaring, and so much at stake, there is good reason for the players to be nervous. Some of them still experience those pre-game butterflies, but others have moved past them.

Pelaiz says all he needs to feel comfortable is for the ball to be tipped: “At the tip I’m always nervous, but once the ball’s in someone’s hands I’m fine.”

Pelaiz is now in his second year starting on varsity, so it’s easy to see him staying calm. But Brady is only in his second year on the team, and after not getting much time on the floor last year, he expects to have a bigger role.

“Last year, when they needed me to go in, I would go in,” Brady says. “This year, anticipating having a bigger role, yeah, I would say I’m a little nervous.”

It seems daunting now, but Brady knows that it won’t be too difficult to find a groove and ease in to the system because of the players around him.

“I think when I step out on the court with these guys it’ll definitely fade away,” he says.

As a senior, Cruz is the most comfortable on the floor. Anything gets easier when you’ve done it for three years. But as a freshman and sophomore, Cruz said his mindset during the games was that he had to play well so that he could play in the next game. Now, he thinks the team is much more well-rounded, so he’s confident that everyone will perform to their best ability on a nightly basis.

“What it really comes down to, when we step on the floor, is that we’re hungry,” he says. “I think we’re the hardest-working sport on campus, just because we go all year round. We practice so much before the season actually starts, so I think the nervousness should be brushed off by our first game.”

Taylor missed all of last year with an achilles injury, but even so, he thinks he’s a lot less nervous

“

than two years ago. What he most enjoys about the games is that it gives the team an opportunity to show what they’ve been working on for such a long time.

“That’s the most fun part,” he says, “being able to use what we’ve been practicing.”

THE MAN BEHIND IT ALL

Sometimes the students get so engrossed in the games that they forget about the biggest reason why the team is so successful.

Yes, the players are hard working and talented, but another reason why they can work together so efficiently is their head coach. Most people don’t see what goes on during practices and what he tells the players. The only time people see Tomey is when he’s screaming at the referee after a bad call. But his players say Tomey has an amazing set of qualities that make him an outstanding head coach.

“His presence makes you want to listen,” Pelaiz says. “It makes you want to embrace and come together, and you definitely feel secure around him. He’s a father figure to all of us.”

Besides his father-like qualities, Brady appreciates the fact that he never asks them to do more than they can.

“Everything he asks of us, he knows we can do,” he says. “He knows that, in us, there is some way we can do what he is asking.”

But possibly the most notable quality of the long-time coach is that everything he teaches the players is applicable to life. Taylor says that he’s more of a life coach than a basketball coach.

Some people might question his sometimes yelling at the referees, seemingly asking for a technical foul. But the players just see that as another one of his exceptional attributes.

“It just shows that he’s behind us,” Cruz says. “A lot of coaches, when the ref makes a bad call, they’ll say something and then back off. He’ll go until he gets a technical foul just to show that he’ll fight to the end if we fight for him.”

What it really comes down to, when we step on the floor, is that we’re hungry.”

-Senior Paulo Cruz THE SCRIBE

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What WERE they thiNking?

NOT JUST ANOTHER PRETTY FACE

COMPILED BY CHARLOTTE DICK-GODFREY PHOTOGRAPHS FROM SMUGMUG

I don’t think my elbow is supposed to bend like that.

Wheeeee!

I don’t want you anymore!

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Errmahhgerrd!

Cheerleaders, you’re doing it wrong.

Can’t see the haters.

Bleegghhh.

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features

32ING OSFTMAS A

I M EA CHR R D EN E GR

34 FOR RENT

36 SATURDAY

SERIES

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35 G THE IN

P TIP

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AL SC

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This greenery, growing at the Family Christmas Tree Farm in El Cajon, makes an excellent choice for the holiday in San Diego. Read more about the advantages of buying real trees on page 32.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SOPHIA SWEDBACK THE SCRIBE

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editorial

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This douglas fir is one of the many pre-cut, natural evergreens sold by the Family Christmas Tree Farm in El Cajon. The farm’s selection also includes potted and choose-and-cut trees from a variety of species.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SOPHIA SWEDBACK

FE PIECING TOGETHER THE INDUSTRY BEHIND ONE OF THE SEASON’S MOST POPULAR TRADITIONS ARTICLE AND LETTERING BY SOPHIA SWEDBACK

O

ne might assume that my Jewish upbringing has limited my experience with Christmas trees.

Though the tradition isn’t emphasized in my household during the season, it has still been apparent throughout my childhood. The Soviet custom of substituting “New Year’s Trees” for Christmas trees influenced my mother’s Russian background, as well as my own perception of having a tree during the holidays.

Whether or not your family partakes in the tradition during the season, the industry has expanded to have widespread environmental and economic effects. While artificial trees tend to be ecologically damaging, locally-grown evergreens provide environmental and financial benefits. After all, who doesn’t love the fresh scent of pine during the holidays?

THEN AND

NOW

The concept of Christmas trees derives from the Germanic customs of decorating with pine branches during the winter solstice; however, it was popularized in Europe during the Victorian era. The practice was brought to the United States by German immigrants during the mid-19th century and has since been one of the central focuses of the holiday.

The Christmas tree industry currently concentrates on the cultivation, production, and distribution of trees. Each year, an estimated 25 to 30 million Christmas trees are sold in the United States, most commonly from chain stores such as Costco and Walmart, retail lots, and chooseand-harvest farms.

“It’s an interesting time for the industry,” the National Christmas Tree Association’s executive director, Rick Dungey, says in an email. “While there has been some consolidation and reduction of total farms growing trees, consumer demand is still strong and predicted to get stronger. However, there are challenges. Farmers, suppliers, and retail outlets need to work together now more than ever in learning about consumer preferences for both trees and buying experiences.”

According to the 2012 Census conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, California is ranked 15th in production of Christmas trees. Despite a recent increase in the acreage of production in California’s tree farms, Dungey says that the number of harvested trees has dropped significantly: from 2002 to 2012, there was a decline of about 275,000 cultivated trees. This trend is also evident in the value of sales of natural trees, decreasing by $6 million dollars from 1998 to 2009.

ARTIFICIAL VS. NATURAL

Though the use of natural trees is still more apparent during the holidays, greater accessibility in chain stores has contributed to the increasing trend of an artificial alternative. The main motives to purchasing artificial trees are their durability and cost-effectiveness. “[My family] bought a fake tree about 15 years ago for $250,” says senior Britta Wichary. “We continuously used it until last year, when we bought a new fake tree. It sits in our garage and on Thanksgiving, we take out the pieces, stack them together, fluff them, and boom— it’s Christmas.

We usually decorate it as a family and then take it down sometime between New Year’s and Epiphany. It’s less messy, it lasts longer, and is more cost efficient.”

However, this is where the beneficial aspects of artificial trees fall short. Environmental compatibility due to reusable features is a common misconception among those who side with this alternative. The majority of artificial Christmas trees consist of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a substance that is harmful not only to the environment but also to personal health. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the dioxins released during the production and burning of PVC result in liver cancer and developmental issues.

This characteristic also prevents artificial trees from being recycled, resulting in non-biodegradable trees consuming space in landfills once they are thrown away. The 85% of artificial trees

manufactured globally are produced in China, where most factories are supported by coal as a fuel source.

A comparative life-cycle analysis of natural and artificial trees conducted in Canada found that it would take 20 years of using an artificial tree to make natural ones less eco-friendly. Though the assessment concludes that plastic trees could eventually compensate for their environmental impact, it does not take health consequences into account.

The positive aspects of natural Christmas trees far outweigh those of artificial trees. The cultivation of trees on farms not only increases oxygen emissions but also purifies groundwater in surrounding regions and provides habitats for animals.

Corporate farms have a history of using pesticides to maintain tree production, but there has been an increase in local farms opting to use organic-harvesting methods.

The biodegradable qualities of natural trees provide alternatives to Christmas tree disposal other than simply throwing them away. Programs have sprung up across the nation for donating their trees to areas that require maintenance and conservation. Old trees in New York City are often chipped and used as mulch in Central Park, whereas conservation groups in Louisiana use leftover trees to conserve wetlands that have been damaged by hurricanes.

The production of natural Christmas trees also has a significant economic impact. Supporting tree farms not only expands local economies but also creates jobs.

Each year, an estimated 100,000 people are employed to work full or part-time in the industry.

GROWING LO CA L LY

This concept of seasonal employment is apparent at one of San Diego’s own local farms, the Family Christmas Tree Farm. During the holidays, this El Cajon-based business employs around 35 to 40 people to manage 10-acres of tree production.

The Family Christmas Tree Farm was the first of 14 pineries established in the county; however, this number has dropped to four in recent decades due to the expenses of tax and drought regulations.

According to farm owner Richard Gass, one of the ways that the farm has been maintained is through its drip irrigation sys-

tems, which conserve water and money. The popularity of the Family Christmas Tree Farm can also be attributed to its stance as a choose-and-cut location.

“There will always be strong demand for the on-farm, cutyour-own tree experience,” Dungey says. “That’s an important tradition for many families.”

A NEW ALTERNATIVE

Though the farm does import the common Pacific Northwestern firs like chain stores and retail lots, the majority of its production consists of choose-andcut and potted trees. The latter alternative not only provides a unique seasonal experience but is more eco-friendly and cost efficient.

The grown and potted trees carried by the Family Christmas Tree Farm are typically Monterey and Aleppo pines, which are sustainable in San Diego’s climate— this allows them to last longer than the firs that are accustomed to a colder temperature.

Potted trees are also gaining popularity for their reusable qualities. Some of those who purchase potted trees plant and grow them in their backyard after the holidays. The cost of potted trees is determined by size, while choose-and-cut range from $40 to $50. This can be compared to the more expensive cut trees from the Pacific Northwest, with expenses that consist of their cultivation in Oregon or Washington and the shipping required to move them.

In terms of environmental compatibility and cost efficiency, locally grown trees that are a native species are the best alternative.

If you do lean towards an artificial tree this holiday, think about keeping it for a span longer than 20 years, for this will reduce your carbon footprint drastically .

ARTIFICIAL VS. NATURAL TREES AT PA R K E R Artificial 20.2%

Natural 79.8% Source: survey of 124 Parker students THE SCRIBE

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AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE RENTING OF PARKER’S SPACES ARTICLE BY BREANNA COMUNALE AND MEGAN PAI ARTWORK BY ISAAC GRAY PHOTOGRAPHS BY MEGAN PAI

A

s she made her way to the robotics room on a Saturday afternoon this fall, junior Anoushka Bose spotted a group of people she didn’t recognize, and she wondered what they could possibly be doing.

“I was a little bit [surprised] because you don’t usually expect [to see] non-Parker students or teachers,” she says, “but it was pretty cool to see people that didn’t go to Parker on campus.”

While some people are unaware of it, something that has been taking place in the background of the many busy lives of Parker students is the leasing of space on campus to outside organizations.

Eastlake Church, Albion Soccer, and Nike are just three of the groups Parker is currently renting its facilities to. Administrators say one of the school’s motivations is

an effort to offset operating costs.

When renting out space to outside organizations, Parker treats the money earned as another source of income alongside tuition fees.

This, in turn, benefits the student body financially, administrators say, as the school is less reliant on tuition, which currently accounts for 91% of the operating budget.

Mrs. Vianney Yamada, head of facility rentals, declines to disclose the amount Eastlake Church pays every Sunday, instead directing the question to a price sheet.

The most costly space to rent is J. Crivello Hall, at $2,000 per weekend.

“One of the pieces in our Strategic Plan is really not just serving Parker alone,” says Head of Finance and Operations Mr. Mike Rhinehart, “but serving the broader community.”

While Rinehart cannot provide a definite time Parker initial-

ly began renting out its facilities, Parker is now allowing groups to rent out many of the facilities on campus, from Crivello, to the athletic fields, to the Nicholas and Middle School Commons. There have even been commercials for companies including Ford and Hyundai filmed on campus.

The interest shown in Parker’s grounds over the years did not come without advertisement from the school. Yamada is the figure behind the promotion of the school facilities. She communicates the opportunity for renting these spaces through a variety of different ways, including the distribution of brochures and advertising on the school’s website, but the most prevalent way is through word of mouth.

Yamada recalls that her predecessor, Mr. Tyler Bernardini, tried to interact more with athletic groups, specifically already including Parker students.

“Initially, [those were] the first people that we wanted to make a connection with,” Yamada says. This is what originally incited the spread of information about Parker renting its spaces, and over time the word of mouth attracted further organizations.

Camps held over the summer bring additional interest from students not attending Parker and are another way the school raises revenue. As a whole, client’s positive experiences while spending time on campus is what keeps bringing them back, Rinehart says. For example, Eastlake Church, which had previously been renting space from the DoubleTree Hotel, made the switch to Parker in the past year. “[Parker’s facilities are] some of the nicest ones I have seen, and

I love working with the staff here,” says Pastor Luke Crosby.

However, while more and more groups are renting from Parker, all the organizations still must be eligible to rent by meeting school criteria, Rinehart says.

Each organization renting from Parker must be able to cover the costs of the space it wishes to occupy and have a stable reputation. These costs are determined by the size of the facility and the amenities available in it. For example, a facility such as Crivello has a higher rental rate than a basic classroom, due to its greater seating capacity and sophisticated acoustic and lighting equipment.

Renting out classrooms for transfer students taking language classes, predominantly from China, is another way the school receives supplemental funds. In the summer, there are also other classes for Chinese students who are interested in enrolling in a American colleges.

There is an additional aspect considered before granting consent to an outside organization to rent, Rinehart says. He makes sure that the group’s values and actions do not conflict with Parker’s mission statement.

He says the school wants to keep a broad horizon of who they rent out to, and serve a diverse group of people, whilst meeting the school’s needs.

“Eastlake Church rents the space from us,” he says, “but that doesn’t at all imply that we as a school necessarily are condoning that particular religious group. If a different religious group wanted to rent from us, that would be perfectly fine, as well.”

TIMELINE OF SETUP FOR EASTLAKE CHURCH SERVICES 5 : 0 0 P. M .

These are the beginning stages of a complex threehour setup on Saturday night.

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5 : 1 0 P. M .

Black carts, originating from two 24-foot trailers, contain the setup equipment.

6 : 0 0 P. M .

The setup crew begins to take down pictures in Nicholas Commons and put up the framework for the sound equipment.

7 : 1 0 P. M .

The rest of the equipment such as speakers, lights, and curtains are set up in preparation for the services the next day at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m.

7 : 4 5 P. M .

Members of the church help fold brochures and programs.

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editorial

TIPPING THE SCALE WEIGHTING METHODS STEER STUDENTS TOWARDS SCIENCES

ARTICLE BY NATASHA PARTNOY ARTWORK BY EMMA STEINER

A

ccording to Francis Parker’s 2014-2015 Course List, 75 percent of the school’s computer science electives are weighted. How many arts and music electives are weighted?

Four percent.

This disparity is representative of Parker’s approach to weighting. The math department offers students weighted classes for all four years of high school.

The English department, however, only offers weighted classes junior and senior year. Across the board, more weighted classes are available freshman through senior year in math and science than in the humanities, which encompasses art, music, social studies, English, and other electives.

AP Physics teacher Dr. JP Pierce says that students “underestimate how much people actually look at the transcript and see what the student took, as opposed to thinking that magically weighting a class by a certain factor is going to really change anything,” In a recent survey, over 50% of Parker students admitted to taking a class just for the weighted grade. With more than half of the students who responded looking for a GPA boost, and the social studies department being the latest humanities department poised to remove a weighted course, the present lack of weighted classes in the humanities could steer Parker students towards taking more math and science classes.

DEAD WEIGHT

The number of weighted math and science courses and the number of weighted humanities courses at Parker is actually the same: nine. The difference lies in when those classes are available.

Why does Parker offer weighted math classes earlier than English classes? According to Dean of Academics and Enrollment Coordinator Mr. Paul Roudebush, most weighted math courses, particularly in early high school, are higher-level versions of core classes like Geometry, Algebra 2, and Pre-Calculus.

Students cover the same topics in both levels, but go into more depth at the honors level. However, in humanities classes like English, Parker decided that freshmen and sophomores of different ability would benefit from combined, unweighted classes. This thinking fueled the removal of the weighted sophomore English class a few years ago.

“When we had separated classes, the people who were very interested, the top students... had very animated... discussions,” says Roudebush, “and then the other classes were less engaged, so the discussions weren’t as good. We integrated [them] so the stronger students would help raise the level of the students who struggled”.

However, Roudebush also points out that the slower pace of combined classes could hold back more advanced English students.

Other weighted humani-

ties classes for non-seniors may disappear soon. Current sophomores can take World History, World History Honors, or AP World History, but starting next year AP World History will most likely be discontinued. Next year, according to Roudebush, most of the material from the AP class will be split into Global History I and Global History II and II Honors, taken freshman and sophomore year.

Answering why she thinks the class is being discarded, sophomore Olia Javidi says in an email that “the pace [of AP World this year] is what is most difficult to handle... to cover all that history, we have to move REALLY fast.”

However, she also says that if she hadn’t been able to take the class this year, she “wouldn’t have been very happy... I really like to learn, and I wanted to... feel the stress and pressure of difficult classes because that will prepare you to deal with college and eventually the workplace”.

INCONSISTENCY IN ELECTIVES

The disparity between weighted math or science and humanities classes is most evident in Parker’s electives. Students can take a weighted computer science class for all four years of high school if they wish.

“Advanced Programming requires AP Computer Science as a prerequisite, so there’s no question about it being an honors class”, says Computer Science teacher Mr. Jim Partridge. “About half of the students go on to take Advanced Programming... those people are very interested in computer science, and often major in it in college.”

However, humanities electives where students demonstrate a similar level of passion are not weighted. English teacher Mr. Jared D’Onofrio says students have audited his Creative Writing

course “because they were afraid that an unweighted A+ would drag down their GPA”. If several students did this, he says, how many must there have been who wanted to take the class but didn’t?

D’Onofrio says of these students, “They would’ve taken it if it were weighted, or they would’ve taken it instead of another class, if the other class hadn’t been weighted.

Other demanding humanities electives are also unweighted.

Freshman Yearbook staffer Ben Krongard says, “Most people in Yearbook consider it a job. It’s up to you how much work you put in and how good your page is. At a certain point you need to reward creativity, especially with how many hours people put in. We’ve committed... [to] affect people’s lives in a significant way. We should be getting more credit for that.”

FOLLOW YOUR PA S S I O N

Parker teachers have a message for students who feel that loading up on weighted classes regardless of actual interest is the sole path to acceptance at elite colleges: students, whether they’re interested in computer science or creative writing, should take courses that they’re passionate about and work hard to excel in them, whether they’re weighted or not.

D’Onofrio says that students’ great devotion to humanities subjects like art and English will be evident to colleges on their high school transcript. He says, “School is hard enough without doing what you want to do. Every student’s going to have to take classes that they don’t really care about. But I’d hate to see a student decide against something that they really, really liked just because of numbers.”

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SATURDAY SERIES JONATHAN ZIEGLER’S DAY OFF

ARTICLE AND PHOTGRAPHY BY SOFIA GARDENSWARTZ

T

o Mr. Jonathan Ziegler’s ninety students, he is “Mr. Z”: a nerdy videogame enthusiast and devoted single father.

On November 8, when he would normally have been wrapping up end-of-the-week grading, physics teacher Mr. Ziegler took a trip off-campus to explore the monkeys, hippos, and giraffes with his children at the San Diego Zoo. At the zoo, Ziegler arrived in his orange Oregon State hat with his children, Danielle Lu,

six, and Gabriel, seven.

They began their day with a quick stop at the flamingos, followed by a trip to the monkeys.

The children giggled, reaching forward to get a closer look as the monkeys jumped around.

Ziegler looked on, a smile forming as both Danni and Gabe scrambled forward and pressed their faces against the glass. He reflected on his own childhood experience as he continued to watch them attempt to communicate with the monkeys.

Danielle Lu Ziegler, six, and Gabriel Ziegler, seven, with their father Mr. Jonathan Ziegler at the San Diego Zoo on Saturday, November 8.

GROWING UP

Gabe, Danni, and Mr. Zielger admire the animals at the zoo.

Father and son try to figure out where to go next.

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Growing up, Ziegler lived in Massachusetts, until he moved to northern California when he was 16. In high school, he recalled himself as a bit of a know-it-all.

“I would be the guy who always knows everything and finishes first,” Ziegler said.

However, he did not characterize himself as a teacher’s pet.

He fondly remembered tuning out his physics teacher for the whole class, until his friends stepped in.

He would work on other homework, already knowledgeable about the entire lesson, until his friends urged him to ask a question. Then he would listen long enough to come up with a question and ask it, knowing that the teacher couldn’t possibly answer it. But of course, he said, the teacher had to try, so Ziegler and his friends would sit back and relax while the teacher spent the rest of class trying to answer the question, therefore not finishing the class notes and subsequently making him unable to assign the class homework for the next three days.

“My friends did that relatively frequently,” he says. “They used me as a way of getting out of homework by confusing the teacher. I was that guy,” he said.

Ironically, Ziegler had already been thinking about the possibility of becoming a teacher when he played tricks on his own teacher.

He recalled that when he was in 9th grade, he went to visit his grandfather’s apple farm. His

grandfather was looking for a grandchild to take over the family business, and one of Ziegler’s brothers casually joked that he would be more likely to paint apples than grow them, because he was a painter.

Ziegler, trying to emulate the comedy of his older brother, said that he would be more likely to count apples, because he would be a math teacher.

“Later I realized that that was a very lame joke,” he said, “but point being is I remember that, so I remember that even back in 9th grade I wanted to be a teacher.”

He also recalled how high school today is different than his experience. He was envious of one of his friends because she had a pager—very high tech. His friends used her paging abilities as a means of getting in contact with one another, because, as Ziegler put it, “that’s what you did in the late 90’s.”

But he also noted that many things were still very similar.

“It’s still the same subjects, taught obviously in a different way,” Ziegler said. “Your friends still wanted to hang out after school, and you didn’t want to do homework, and you skipped this or that or the other thing. It was good. School was fun.”

COLLEGE LIFE

After the monkeys, the family continued on to one of Danni’s favorite spots: the aviary. Both children squealed in surprise as

FE FE the Andean cock-of-the-rock with its comically large head swooped over them, settling comfortably next to a toucan.

As the children watched, Ziegler continued to describe his younger life.

After graduating high school, Ziegler attended college at UCSD to study physics. “[The coursework would] be usually working with a whole bunch of other people, trying to figure out how to start it, how to do it, how to do the math, how to come up with an answer,” Ziegler said. “Sometimes even we had homework solutions, and even still it was just like, ‘How do we make sense of it?’”

He said this is reflected in his teaching at Parker as well. He gives his students no more than about eight homework problems on Monday for the week, but the difficulty requires students to work together and try multiple approaches to get the end product.

“It was hard stuff, but it was satisfying,” he continued. “I like stuff which is challenging, that requires many people to do it, yet you can do it, it’s obtainable.”

S TAY-ATHOME DAD

Only six days after his college graduation, he got married to a woman he met in college. She was a geophysicist. When they had children, Ziegler became a stay-at-home dad. While his wife was at graduate school, he stayed home and raised the children.

“I was just a dad. I was a dad and I did tutoring at two in the afternoons,” he said. “So I just raised these kids for quite a while, did all the cooking and cleaning.

I wouldn’t want to say [I was] a housewife, because I wasn’t a wife.”

That’s why he said it wasn’t as difficult a change as it could have been when he and his wife got divorced.

“It’s not like I had to go straight from, I mean the typical... divorced dad who doesn’t even know how to make food or anything, or just always orders pizza,” Ziegler said. “That was never me.

I was always the one who would make them supper, and lunch, [and] breakfast.”

But Ziegler said it wasn’t easy.

Just last year, he was living in multiple places to try to manage the children and his job. He lived in one place to be near the children, but that was a 90 minute com-

GETTING TO KNOW GABE AND DANNI ZIEGLER

Gabe and Danni look at all the different birds in the aviary.

mute to his work. So he also had a place closer to his former school, but that was much farther away from his children. He continually moved between his residences, one day being closer to the children, another closer to his job.

FA M I LY F U N

The hippos were next on the list of places the children wanted to visit. The hippos were stationary, asleep under water as people flocked by to see them. Ziegler looked on, envious of their abundance of free time.

His biggest difficulty now, he said, is time.

“Especially being a single dad starting a new job, just the job itself probably takes about 60 hours a week, and then being a dad takes up almost the rest of that,” he said. “So you don’t really have much [time] to yourself.”

“Now,” he continued, “my commute time is a lot less so I have a little bit more free time, but that’s actually mostly grading now, thanks to this whole quiz every week schedule. I don’t know whose great idea that was.”

As Ziegler talked about what he likes to do on the weekends, Danni interjected.

“Spend some time with your little child!” she said without hesitation.

Both Danni and Gabe currently attend Bay Park Elementary in San Diego, where Gabe is in second grade and Danni is in first.

Ziegler said that both children are enjoying their new school, but Danni especially likes it.

“She’s got this guy teacher, Mr. Dorner. He’s like, I don’t know, in his 40’s maybe. She talks about him all the time,” he said with a smile. Ziegler hinted that Danni might have a little crush.

At this, Danni’s cheeks turned bright red.

“It’s Durner, not Dorner!” she corrected him.

they arrived at Koalifornia, Gabe got excited. Koalas are his favorite animal, Ziegler pointed out.

After the koalas, they went to the giraffes, Danni’s favorite animal. Growing up, Ziegler mentioned, he always liked the cheetah.

“I just liked that they could run so fast, it was like, ridiculous.

I always like the things that are, unusual. The extremes,” he explained. “In this zoo, there’s this tiny, this frog about that small [holds up hands to show size], a little yellow frog, and he’s just so small, I like him.”

To finish off the day, Ziegler and his children visited his favorite mini frog. Both he and his children talked about how much they had learned about the little frog since they first saw it, just a few months ago.

As they were walking out, Danni recalled one of her favorite days with her dad.

“I like that one Saturday we got to play Minecraft for the whole day long!” she said.

“Yeah, that was a day that I was grading for a long time,” Ziegler said. “My best parenting moment.”

When he’s not grading his weekly quizzes, Ziegler said he enjoys spending time with his family.

“I do like to have a good fun weekend with my kids when I can.

Go to the zoo, go to the park or the beach,” he said. “I like playing video games, so if there’s a nice video game, just sitting down and just enjoying that, especially if I can do that with the kids.”

Q: If you could be any animal, what would you be?

Danni: Most of all my favorite kind of animal is a kitten. I love kitties, they’re so cute! Gabe likes kittens too!

Gabe: What? I don’t want to be a kitten. I don’t want to be anything!

Q: What’s your favorite thing to do?

Danni: Play Minecraft!

Gabe: Play Minecraft!

Q: Do you want to be a scientist like your dad?

Gabe: No! I haven’t made my decision what I could be yet!

Danni: I want to be a dressmaker when I grow up. [My store will be called] Cha Cha Dresses. There’s going to be a boy top level and the kids section are just right in the corner. [I’ll sell] very pretty bathing suits. I’m just not going to work one month. I’m just not going to work in August. Because I want to spend some time with my parents like my mama. But I still have June and July to sell bathing suits. During the weeks, I’m closed on Mondays and Saturdays.

Q: Do you like that your dad is a teacher?

Danni: Yeah, because I was planning that when I go to high school I will go to Francis Parker and we’ll see if my teacher is my dad!

Gabe: Sorry, no comment!

Q: What do you like to do with your friends?

Danni: Most of all, what I like to do with my friends is play kitties!

Gabe: I— Danni: Really, his favorite friend is actually me!

Q: What do you love about your dad?

Danni: ...He loves to snuggle me as much as I do. And he also loves me so much!

Gabe: I like that he has Minecraft at his house.

Danni climbes on the koala jungle gym in Koalafornia

“ B E S T PA R E N T I N G MOMENT”

Continuing on the children’s route, the koalas were next. When THE SCRIBE

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37

cover section: THE STATUS OF READING

TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE

T

here’s something about those 8 by 5.5 inch diameters. The crisp, beige pages; the precisely spaced, black text. It can introduce you into a world you could’ve never imagined. It can provoke wet cheeks, furrowed eyebrows, and never-ending thoughts.

A book.

Reading has been ingrained into our minds as the building blocks of success for as long as we can remember. It scores you a high score on the SAT, broadens your vocabulary, and enhances your thoughtfulness. However, even with such advant ageous

outcomes, the amount of kids who actually delve into a “good read,” outside of the classroom seems to deplete each year. It has been blamed upon gross-family income (“Stacked Against Them,” 42) or the lack of interest in hardhitting novels in teens (“To Read or Not to Read,” 44), yet somehow young adults still have the funding, energy capacity, and time to read and send, on average, over 50 texts per day.

The Parker Library even underwent a significant transformation this past summer, hoping to boost educational efficiency and promote comprehensive capabilities. Whether or not that is working in it’s intended favor, is shown

through the students’ work ethic and behavior in the new studying grounds (“Check It Out,” 46).

If the unpopularity of readings amongst young adults presumes, our future human race’s usefulness and knowledge will exponentially deplete. According to UNESCO and the United Nations Programme on Youth, “[Reading] is central to development and to the improvement of the lives of young people globally.

Worldwide 11% of young people are non-literate, lacking basic numerical and reading skills, and as such lack the means to be able to sustain a living through full and decent employment.”

This issue’s cover section

explores the current condition of reading at Parker and nationwide.

Our school stresses reading and expects us to be skilled in all literature aspects. Unfortunately, it’s present status in teenagers’ lives falls below Parker’s ideal level of reading proficiency (“Once Upon a Time,” 40).

As we mature, we will come to realize that reading truly is essential and significant. It’s a daily task, something you can’t escape.

It truly does shape our lives and their potential. So listen to your nagging parents and teachers, reading is beneficial, and as much as you may not believe it, reading is fun (“8 Must ‘Read’ ‘Books’,” 45).

BY CAROLINE MERKIN ARTWORK BY MEGAN PAI

ONC

40

E UP O TIME N A

42 STACKED AGAINST THEM

4 CH 6

EC OU K IT T

R O D 4 D 4 A EA RE O R O T TT NO

45

8 MU S “REA T D “BOO ” KS”

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ONCE UPON A TIME HOW READING IN HIGH SCHOOL HAS CHANGED FOR THE WORSE ARTICLE BY EMMA MOORE ARTWORK BY MEGAN PAI

W

hen looking around the Parker library, it’s impossible to miss the stacks and stacks of books, lining the walls and covering the shelves. Yet even though there are thousands of volumes from all genres, it’s hard to find a single student reading or checking out a book. Instead, students are huddled around the various tables on their laptops, iPads or iPhones, either working on schoolwork or simply relaxing with friends.

It is evident through this scene that books are losing their impact, slowly vanishing into the background as the Internet and social media overpower the onceprominent art of reading.

With social media on the rise, heavy workloads, and a surplus of extracurriculars, students in today’s high schools have started to lose touch with the art of good, old-fashioned reading.

Many students no longer take the time to read for pleasure, and instead only read their assignments for English class.

Grownups, too, are steering away from literature. According to the Literacy Project Foundation, 44% of American adults do not read a single book in a year.

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“There’s been a slow decline [in reading] ever since I’ve been teaching,” says English department chair Mr. Chris Harrington, who has been working at Parker for the past 24 years. “Over time, you just hear so much less about students reading books on their own.”

This trend—the decrease of reading outside of school—is widespread, affecting teens and schools across the nation. Some students have started to replace traditional books with e-readers such as the Kindle and the iPad, while some have stopped reading books outside of their classes altogether. Reading has evolved from a universal activity to an increasingly rare pastime. “[Today,] you just hear so much less about students reading books on their own,” Harrington says. “Books used to have this subversive power, so teenagers had many different ways they could pursue entertainment, but one was reading books. Books that were challenging and subversive would get passed around outside the school curriculum completely.”

This gradual decline of reading in America could have negative effects in the future.

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According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, twelfth-grade reading scores in the United States have stagnated since 2009. This stagnation reveals that American’s reading levels have merely maintained the same standings over the past five years, instead of continuously improving.

THEORIES BEHIND THE DECLINE

There are various theories as to why this stagnation could be occurring, and why reading itself has evolved so much over the past 15 years or so, yet it is clear that both the increasing effects of the Internet and social media, combined with the impact of other school assignments, have influenced the decline.

“I’m too busy doing other things,” says junior Jack Dodge. “I have homework, outside sports... and making and watching videos.

It’s just hard to find time to sit down with a book.”

When students find themselves too busy to take the time to read anything other than what they’ve been assigned for homework, they no longer take their free time to immerse themselves in literature, and instead turn to other forms of entertainment.

“Instead of having just books, drawing and T.V., [students] now have...this entire world through their iPad or their laptop,” Harrington says. “You just have many more things competing for your time, and it takes a concerted effort to say ‘I’m not going to do any of this stuff, I’m going to read a book.’”

Researchers have started to investigate the impact of social media and its correlation to the academic performance of college and high school students.

A study conducted by the Miriam Hospital of Rhode Island, as reported in the online journal Emerging Adulthood, showed that although there can be no confirmed direct link, college women spend around 12 hours a day on social media, and the women who used more social networking sites

tended to have lower GPA’s.

“I think with the increase of social media and TV and use of electronics...the love for reading has severely declined,” says senior Nick Valverde. “I’m not a big reader myself. I haven’t picked up a book in awhile.”

Not only has social media become increasingly prevalent, electronic reading has gained popularity as well. More and more textbooks and novels are being featured on e-reading devices like the Kindle, Nook, and iPad, sparking a debate over its appeal to the general public and its effect on high schoolers today.

“I think since e-books, there’s been an explosion in publishing,” says English teacher Mrs. Isobel Shapiro. “Maybe not among high school students, but certainly among other sectors of the population.”

Despite the possible increase of electronic book sales, reading on electronic devices still provides easy access to distractions and other social media aspects, which can take away from the traditional reading experience.

PA R K E R ’ S I N I T I A TIVE

According to Harrington, the issue of a lack of interest in reading and the multitude of distractions facing today’s students does not go unnoticed by the Parker English department. While not directly targeting a decline in outside reading, they have discussed making improvements to the curriculum in order to better engage students in both reading and writing. They feel that reading is a vital part of a student’s repertoire, as it has many beneficial impacts.

According to Harrington, the department is constantly theorizing ideas to help encourage students to become more avid readers and learners. However, the department has come to realize that there aren’t many easy solutions.

“No matter what we talk about, it sort of always comes back to the same thing,” Harrington says. “We’re fighting against a larger social trend that undermines attempts to try and

encourage more reading outside of the classroom.”

Some teachers, like Shapiro, are trying their own techniques in an attempt to encourage students to return to the art of reading.

“I try and allocate 15 minutes in our long period to independent reading, and try to really encourage kids to read,” Shapiro says. “The kids who really struggle with their writing, I tell them that they really should read every single day.”

Shapiro is not alone in believing that reading is an important way to help students improve their own writing skills, by absorbing and immersing themselves in the writing techniques of other authors.

“It opens up everything in terms of the way you see your creativity, your verbal skills, your ability to write,” Harrington says.

“It’s really hard to improve as a writer if you won’t read.”

Some students say they agree that reading will help to improve their own writing skills, both for the future and in the classroom.

“It is certainly more informative, I think, than social media,” says junior Isaia Galace. “You definitely get more out of it.”

T H E N E W FAC E OF LITERATURE

al informational article on their Facebook newsfeed.

“Most people are interesting and concerned about stuff, even if the articles are dumb,” D’Onofrio says. “The difference is that those articles are no longer being curated and edited through a big, centralized process.”

D’Onofrio goes further.

While many students may now be reading more fun and “fluff ” articles online, he says, it can be said that the style and quality of today’s novels has declined as well, especially in the young adult genre.

“There’s a difference in what teens were reading 15, 20 years ago [to today],” D’Onofrio says.

“There’s been a huge increase in what’s called YA fiction in the past years. And some of that is really high quality. But a lot of it is not.

At all.”

The decline in the quality of literature, when combined with social media and the digital age, has greatly influenced the evolution of reading over time, but D’Onofrio, at least, still believes that reading will endure.

“Good writing is still good writing, and students will recognize that,” he says. “I don’t think that’s going to change much.”

Although the percentage of students reading novels outside of the school curriculum may be shrinking, English teacher Mr. Jared D’Onofrio says that reading itself has actually increased, simply new and different forms.

“You could argue that, on the one hand, more people are reading,” D’Onofrio says. “They’re just probably reading worse stuff. People read all the time now.”

D’Onofrio contends that people in today’s world still are reading, yet their “literature” tends to be in the form of Instagram captions, Tumblr posts, Buzzfeed articles, or the occasion-

“

It’s really hard to improve as a writer if you won’t read.”

-Mr. Chris Harrington ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CHAIR

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editorial editorial

HOW POVERTY AFFECTS LITERACY IN LOW-INCOME FAMILIES ARTICLE BY ISABEL SANCHEZ HODOYAN AND LAKME CACERES ARTWORK BY GRACE SELLICK AND SOREN HANSEN

F

irst grade teacher Mrs. Sandra Sibley, is all too familiar with a bustling room full of students and a lack of helping hands. She teaches at Bird Rock Elementary, a public school in La Jolla, where she has noticed a difference in parent participation in her classroom this year. When instructing reading exercises with the class, Sibley struggles to individualize her methods in order to support each student effectively. In past years, she’s received an abundance of parental support within the classroom, but says that this class must be comprised of more working parents.

Reading is a fundamental skill that children must acquire at a young age and continue to refine for the rest of their lives. Regardless of a school’s economic status, the same emphasis must be placed on literacy in order for students to succeed academically.

A child’s ability to read fluently is most heavily influenced by the amount of resources at their disposal, and whether or not they have access to a supportive learning environment. In a study by the Search Institute, researchers concluded that educational success is reached when a student forms encouraging relationships with their peers and educators.

Children can absorb information more easily when they are being supported by their families and teachers, so they should be encouraged throughout their endeavors with reading.

To wealthier students, this support is more accessible, but realistically, how much of an impact does affluence have when it

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comes to a person’s success in literacy?

While people have varying opinions about how much of an impact attending a private school over a public school may have, educators have the best analysis.

Their experience in the field of education and interaction with students gives them greater credibility when it comes to the debate of what type of schooling ensures greater success and ultimately becomes more deep-rooted in a child’s lifestyle, leading into their adult life.

PA P E R C U T S

One of the most damaging problems in public schools is the student-teacher ratio. “Your hands are tied,” Sibley says, “you can’t be in one place over here and one place over there.”

Although most students are able to progress at their own rate while still meeting all requirements, class sizes and lack of one-on-one attention can affect a child’s learning in both writing and reading.

Francis Parker, while not only having smaller classes and allowing more individualized attention to students, also has reading specialists who are available to help prevent children from falling behind in their learning. Teachers are able to contact reading specialists to help students before their struggles become a longlasting problem that could potentially affect them in the future.

Sophomore Meredith Wiggins knows this from firsthand experience: “I went into Mrs. Hartman’s room after school [for extra help] and would practice my reading

and my vocab.”

Mrs. Sara Knox, a Lower School literacy specialist, says that “at any given time, just with a quick teacher-student check in, either one on one or in a small group, the teacher is able to see and gauge whether or not a child is struggling.”

Without the constant influence and support of their parents, a child, whether in a public or private school, will struggle.

Sibley states that with most parents working full time jobs, they sometimes depend completely on the school system to educate their children. Without being able to give very much attention to any one student, she feels as if she’s “begging to get extra help” from parents. She explains that she asks them to at least take a few minutes every night to look at their children’s homework and see what they need help on.

Parents at Parker are very active participants during the process of learning to read and continue to encourage their children as they develop and discover the joy and other advantages reading encompasses.

At Parker, “parents really take reading very seriously, and so the kids that we have at our school are in really good shape in that they’re getting this tremendous program during the school day and then they go home to families that really support the reading process,” Knox says.

Children from higher income families are more likely to have a diverse selection of books and educational resources available as they develop their vocabularies. According to the Hand-

book of Early Literacy Research, children from middle income families own an average of thirteen books. In low-income communities, there is only one book per every three hundred children.

Young kids cannot establish a love for reading if they don’t have many genres to choose from, or are reading the same books over and over. If a public or school library is all they have to get their books, soon reading will become a hassle to them, and they will stop altogether.

Parents in affluent households make it a habit to read out aloud to their kids, exposing them to more words than those who are not read to as often. Students who begin elementary-level schooling with knowledge of more words not only perform better but continue to increase this word count at a faster rate. Therefore, students who fall behind their peers at a young age end up graduating high school with drastically lower vocabularies than those who started with an advantage.

Another substantial resource available to higher income families is private education for their children. In an effort to increase economic diversity, many of these schools offer financial assistance to offset tuition expenses. Still, the majority of students who attend private school come from wealthy backgrounds.

At the Lower School, teachers are constantly on the look out for students who need extra support with reading. There are tests to gauge individual reading levels, and teaching assistants that can provide extra support for kids who may struggle more with the

CS comprehension of literature.

The individual assistance they receive leads to improvement in their other subjects, seeing that literacy plays a key role in their confidence. “Year after year we see tremendous growth in the kids that are receiving extra services,” Knox says. “The work that I see teachers doing with kids [keeps getting] better and better, and more and more individualized or differentiated.”

In a study by the National Center for Education Statistics, private and public school reading scores were compared using the National Assessment of Educational Progress. In the fourth grade, the average private school mean reading score was 14.7 points higher than that of the public schools. The eighth grade average mean was 18.1 points higher than the average public school mean reading score.

These statistics not only show higher averages in reading from the private school students, but that as they got older, the difference in level of the education they were receiving became more apparent. It’s not to say that public education is inadequate, but it stands to reason that smaller class sizes, rigorous coursework, and additional learning resources ultimately increase the odds for a student to excel in reading.

Computers are also a helpful resource that children can use to access a vast database of knowledge. Having a computer available makes it easier to complete simple tasks that are menial under ordinary circumstances. Without easy access to a computer, children have less experience with the Internet, a substantial part of education in the current age.

Computers can also provide online publications and databases to further enrich their reading proficiency.

According to the 2011 U.S. Census, 56% of low income households have at least one computer at home, which is drastically lower than the percentage for high income families, at 96%.

Although we don’t know exactly what the computers are used for, it still gives children who come from affluence more control over their learning and how they are able to fulfill their daily standard of reading.

WHY IT MATTERS

Literacy is a cycle: the more we read now, the more likely we are to pass our love for literature on to the next generation. Being aware of the importance of reading will bring greater emphasis to literature in and outside of the school environment. Changes can be made to ensure that schools are able to provide students with adequate resources and teach them to use those assets in an advantageous way.

The ability to read proficiently not only affects a student in their English class but in all subjects. Their ability to comprehend lengthy texts and instructions provides a foundation of confidence that allows them to succeed.

“Giving them the tools that allow them to be successful, I think, really gives them confidence, maybe even in a class where reading isn’t a part of the process, like drama, or music, just because they feel more able to participate,” Knox says.

BINDING IT TOGETHER

In order to improve literacy rates in America, our system of education must first be more thoroughly developed. Publically funded schools should be provided with more finances from the government in order to update current resources, and add new ones. If state funding increases, both school and public library budgets will allow for the updating of books, Internet access, and an overall more pleasing experience for visitors.

Parents should be aware of the effect they have on the development of their children’s reading. Encouraging their kids to read before they begin school will boost their confidence with literature, in turn making them more i n - clined to the idea of reading in

“

Giving them the tools that allow them to be successful, I think really gives them confidence.”

-Mrs. Sara Knox

READING SPECIALIST AT THE LOWER SCHOOL

a learning environment. Parents should also understand that not all learning is to be done in school, but should be reinforced at home, especially if they notice that their child is having trouble with comprehension.

Instead of using the Internet as a tool to further their education, we live in a high-tech Hollywood loaded society, where some kids want easy, fast, and short reads and are not willing to invest their time in a good book. The consequence of this is that by the time students get to high school, their reading level may not what it should be.

Freshman Mahima Masih stresses that “parents need… to encourage their children to read, especially in this technology filled world.” This is why making reading a habit from a young age is so crucial.

The motivation to read comes not only from teachers and hopefully parents, but from the students themselves. Teenagers have to understand that without self-incentive, the spark of interest in reading will not appear or

flourish.

Carole LeCren, English department chair at La Jolla High School, says in an email that when “they [the students] choose their independent reading books... they sometimes choose books that are too easy for them.” She is able to encourage and nurture their reading habits by “let[ting] them read the fluff, as long as they mix it up with the harder, more challenging books.”

LeCren is able to suggest more thought-provoking and immersive books by taking the genre that they are interested in, and proposing classics that not only relate to their interests, but incite the curiosity needed to read stimulating books that will cultivate a lifetime of appreciation for literature.

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TO READ OR NOT TO READ THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF YOUNG ADULT BOOKS

ARTICLE BY EMILY WU ARTWORK BY GRACE SELLICK

W

hen browsing the bookshelves labeled “young adult” (YA), what do you notice?

Some are romances, as shown by the silhouettes of couples on the beach at sunset, but some obviously don’t look to such a “happily ever after” ending.

No matter which kind people gravitate towards, senior Michelle Reed, who in middle school enjoyed reading young adult medieval fantasy books, believes that when reading, people will always be linked to the story simply by being human.

“When you read a good book, you see the characters in their most exposed and honest forms, and we connect with that vulnerability—but really, it is just a part of being human,” Reed says in an email.

That connection pulls some people toward books that fall under the heading of YA, a category which is read by both adults and teens, but the range of lighter and darker topics that it covers raises questions about the psychological effects they could have on young adult minds.

Some YA books are clearly about darker topics, such as depression or bullying. Should teens be reading books about these issues? Are the heavier books changing teens’ outlooks on life?

Or are they preparing teens for how life really is?

O K A Y ? O K A Y.

YA books’ characters are usually around the age of their projected readers’ ages, to make them more relatable. The reader sees the world of the story in the storyteller’s perspective, allowing them to think about things from a standpoint that is removed from their own, whether or not they are similar to the character.

“That’s why when you read a book at different times in your life you might see it from a different

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perspective, because you might be able to relate to it more than when you did when you were younger,” says senior Sarah Ogle, head of the Jane Austen club.

To some, similarities between the reader and a character don’t matter. Reed says we hear about violence and disturbing events that happen, but don’t always hear about the psychological toll they take on those who were directly affected. By trying to understand their pain, “it gives us a new knowledge of the world, of humanity, and of ourselves.”

English teacher Mr. Ben Miller-Callihan says, “[Reading] is one of the best ways we have of getting our heads around ideas of different perspectives and understanding ourselves better.”

Other people might read a book specifically because the character is unlike themselves on purpose.

“I think teens like to read about characters who are bigger than themselves, who do things that they wouldn’t do, and it’s really fun for them to imagine scenarios of danger,” English teacher, Ms. Gretchen Taylor, says. “A place where they could imagine who they could be if they were in a different world, in a different circumstance.”

Many young adult books have been read by adults as well, despite being pitched for teens.

In a discussion on the New York Times’ website, several authors and columnists debated whether or not adults should be reading books that are meant for a younger audience.

Joel Stein, a columnist for Time magazine, wrote that “Adults should read adult books.”

He wrote, “I’ll read ‘The Hunger Games’ when I’ve finished the previous 3,000 years of fiction written for adults.”

Lev Grossman, a book critic at Time, disagreed, writing on the same discussion that his book group only reads young adult lit-

erature and that “nothing’s wrong with strong plot and characters.”

He advised to “Read John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars.... I did, and I’ll be surprised if I have a more wrenching, emotional reading experience this year.”

THINK ABOUT I T. . .

These kinds of books are pitched for teens, and while it is a denser topic, about 11% of adolescents have a depressive disorder by the age of eighteen, according to Harvard Medical School’s National Comorbidity Survey. One element of the debate over YA literature is whether teens should be reading material that exposes them to darker things that happen in the world and to people.

Miller-Callihan says that these kinds of books have the power to influence teens, in a positive and self-preserving manner, which could possibly help someone change their outlook on life.

“Creating a safe place in a book to wrestle with [problems and denser] ideas, if anything can provide you with a safe outlet or a safe place to restructure how you think about your place in the world” says Miller-Callihan. “[Teens] can understand that it’s not just them that’s experiencing these sorts of things” Ogle says.

Some YA books do talk about the reality of things, without sugar coating what life is like for the sake of the fact that these books are projected towards young people.

“These books do present societal issues that face teens today in a way that lets a young person think about issues in a controlled and removed way,” says head librarian Ms. Carol Brown.

Many of these books are thought provoking and can help teens think about their place in society, and also issues that people deal with in general.

“You read it at one level, and there’s just a storyline and then you start thinking about it and and you start discovering the subtext,” says Dr. Rosaura Sanchez, a professor from the Literature Department at the University of California, San Diego. Sanchez says there may be something that is not exactly written out by the author, but left for the reader to decipher and interpret on their own.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, is a novel that has teens, adults and critics raving. The novel is about Hannah Baker, a girl who committes suicide and leaves tape recordings for the people who caused the suicide, explaining why she did it. The book is eerie, suspenseful, and written to the point where you can practically hear her voice saying the words that you read on the pages, which keeps readers’ attention until they hear absolutely everything she has to say.

The Hunger Games and Divergent are two other popular young adult series that are less realistic, since they are set in futuristic societies, but are actually reflections of the problems we face today.

“We don’t have it exactly like that but we do have these divisions in society. These become allegories of real problems.” Sanchez says.

For some people, reading is simply something to do in their free time, in which case the text may not be as influential to them. For some, if the character is similar to themselves, whether from an ideological or situational standpoint, the novel may leave a more lasting mark in that person’s mind. Regardless of what topic people choose to read within the YA book genre, there is no doubt that young adult books have captured the attention of many people, of all ages, and will continue to take bookshelves by storm.

CS satire

8 MUST-“READ” “BOOKS” READING IS FOR NOOBS ARTICLE BY CAROLINE MERKIN ARTWORK BY GRACE SELLICK

W

hat better way to spend your time than reading a classic piece of literature? From The Bible to Frankenstein, there’s really nothing else that gets people going. But forget those, here’s a new version of hard-hitting, informative classics. “Read” these suggestions instead. Trust me, your English teachers will approve.

FOR THOSE INTRIGUED BY RACE RELATIONS: FORGET: UNCLE TOM’S CABIN WATCH: FOX NEWS

Watching this channel informs you just as much about on prejudiced, cranky white people as reading any of the classics would.

FOR THE POETRY INCLINED: FORGET: MACBETH READ: LIL’ WAYNE’S LYRICS TO SONGS

His words are just so deep and moving. He really sets an example for young adults. A good example:“[Homies] try to bite my style, but my style jalapeno.” I love jalapenos.

FOR THE DYSTOPIA OBSESSED: FORGET: 1984 READ: TIME MAGAZINE

Our world is really doing great these days, Time magazine will attest to that. #iheartglobalwarmingandterroristattacks

F O R T H E A C T I O N - PA C K E D YEARNERS: FORGET: THE LORD OF THE RINGS READ: YOUR TWITTER NEWSFEED

Have you ever read any of the sophomore girls’ subtweets? That ish gets juicy!

FOR THE COMEDIANS:

FOR THE DRAGON LOVERS:

FORGET: ANYTHING BY MARK TWAIN READ: FRANCIS PARKER UPPER SCHOOL HANDBOOK You’ll get just as a big of a laugh from reading this, I guarantee it.

FORGET: GAME OF THRONES READ: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

This book is all about dragons and mythical creatures, didn’t you know?

FOR THE SCI-FI DWEEBS:

FOR THE SENSUAL READERS:

FORGET: THE WAR OF THE WORLDS READ: REDDIT There’s some weird stuff on there, man...

FORGET: LOLITA READ: 50 SHADES OF GREY

Why not read a book that makes you feel ten times more awkward while reading in public?

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CHECK IT OUT REVIEWING THE LIBRARY’S NEW LAYOUT

ARTICLE, ARTWORK, AND PHOTOGRAPH BY MADDY MCGRATH

F

reshman Jula Harrington sits in the library on a Friday morning at the newly installed bar-like table.

Across from her is a view of whiteboard-topped tables and a rectangular table running the length of the library. This new layout is populated by multiple students, both in groups and by themselves, working on homework and socializing.

“I love all the new seating,” Harrington says, glancing up from her copy of Perrine’s Literature.

“There are so many places to sit now, upstairs and downstairs, and I think that’s a great addition to the library.”

A new seating arrangement is just one part of the new library layout implemented this year, as well as the integration of a design thinking-based program. The new layout focuses on maximizing student collaboration, both through the physical remodeling of the downstairs and the new principles of design-based learning.

These changes, though inno-

“

vative and creatively modern, have received mixed responses from both students and library staff.

THE COLLABORATION ZONE

“We re-purposed the lower floor of the library to be more of a collaborative environment for students,” states a post on Parker’s Design Thinking blog written by Dr. Laurynn Evans, assistant head of school. “Part of the re-purposing involved a great deal of new furnishings coming into the space.”

These new furnishings included five round tables topped with whiteboards, a bar-like table towards the back with seating for four, and a long rectangular table that takes up half of the downstairs. The bar and whiteboard tables replaced the shelves of reference books, and taking the place formerly occupied by the desktops is the large concrete table.

The whiteboard tables, though entertaining at first, are not as useful as hoped, according to freshman Liam Fay. The excite-

Some students are using downstairs as a social space rather than a work area. This can be a problem when the noise gets overwhelming.”

-Mrs. Carol Brown UPPER SCHOOL HEAD LIBRARIAN

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ment of having whiteboard tables has worn off and they are now just used as normal tables, leaving him to wonder whether the tables were an unneeded expense.

“The tables [are] only useful as a novelty....I mean, I’ve never seen more than maybe one table being used for work, while the rest are just either doodling or not used,” Fay says.

Junior Athena Malcolm says she likes the tables and thinks they could be useful, if materials were provided. “They don’t really give us any supplies to use [them]....there’s never any markers,” she says.

The new hours, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., have also received negative feedback, even from the library staff. “I wish we could stay open longer but we do not have enough staff to cover longer hours,” Ms. Carol Brown, head librarian of the Linda Vista library, says in an email.

With two large floors and only two librarians, the staff found it difficult to supervise and manage the library, and consequently shortened the closing time to 4 p.m. Brown says that she knows it displaces the students working after school, but says there is nothing else they can do.

Malcolm agrees about the problems with the new hours. “I think if students have to stay after school and it’s closed at 4, then where are they going to go if they have to do work?” She says. “Do they just get kicked out? That just seems a little bit, I don’t know, annoying.”

The large cement table that

The view from the newly installed table in the downstairs library. The remodel was completed over the month of August, with doors opening the first day of school, September 2.

covers the length of the downstairs, however, receives much more positive feedback. With multiple sets of chargers for students’ devices, plenty of space for binders and books, and a visually appealing design, the table is seen as the best part of the new setup by sophomore Kaelyn Kappes.

“It’s easier to collaborate with other people if you’re doing a group project,” she says when asked what she thinks the best part of the new layout is. And this does seem to be true, because at any given moment during the school day there are multiple groups of students working on projects at the table.

“The goal for the downstairs was for an area where students could get together and collaborate,” Brown says.

This collaborative aspect of the rectangular table has its drawbacks, though.

Brown says that “when Upper School students sit in close proximity and in large numbers, well, studying can suffer.”

She adds that the downstairs of the library is now much noisier because they no longer have the “natural sound buffers of the bookshelves.” And with the sound echoing up in the now-open downstairs into the “quiet zone” of the upper level, things can get loud.

During unscheduled periods and lunch, the library is full of students socializing, creating a

CS distracting atmosphere for people who need to work.

“Some students are using downstairs as a social space rather than a work area. This can be a problem when the noise gets overwhelming,” Brown says.

In remodeling, many of the single chairs were taken away, leaving some students without a place to work when everywhere else is taken.

“They took away a lot of areas where you can actually sit and work. I find that during free periods it’s really kind of crowded, and it’s really hard to find somewhere to do my stuff,” Malcolm says.

Despite these disadvantages, library use has increased, both for Upper Schoolers and Middle Schoolers. The new schedule allows students more free time, and they come to spend it in the library.

“High school students like to be together and I think our space and our staff are very welcoming,” Brown says.

And Middle School students, who have always been somewhat intimidated by the older students, are coming upstairs to check out books more often. “With the upstairs quieter, Middle Schoolers are more comfortable coming upstairs to find books for reading,” Brown says. “We are seeing a real increase in Middle School book check-outs and that is a very positive effect of the change.”

A NEW WAY OF LEARNING

Though it may not seem like it, the remodeling of the downstairs library and the posters across campus emblazoned with the words “notice, focus, brainstorm, create, test, design” are structured towards the same goal: designbased thinking.

Design-based thinking is “a human-centered, prototypedriven process for innovation that can be applied to product, service, and business design,” writes Reuven Cohen in “Design Thinking: A Unified Framework for Innovation”, an article on Forbes.com.

This concept has been brought to Parker and Evans, the new assistant head, is working to expand its influence.

“The hope would be that long term, design thinking is a part of ‘how we learn’ at Parker,” Evans says in an email. “We maintain our academic rigorous standards and our excellent outcomes, but we infuse our students with a new tool kit in terms of how to tackle their learning.”

In the Linda Vista Library, design thinking is incorporated through its open layout, which encourages students to use their minds to solve problems and think through challenges as a unit. Students are invited to work together on group projects and homework at the multiple tables installed with that purpose in mind. “[The new layout] allows a lot of people to socialize and work together,” says sophomore Hershey Suri.

A poster outlining the key principles and concepts of designbased learning is displayed in the window of the library, as well as several classrooms. Evans says she hopes that the introduction of design learning to Parker “would [allow] students [to] tap into their innate ability to design and create.”

However good the intentions of introducing a new way of thinking and learning to Parker may be, the process has not been as successful as hoped. Brown thinks that the changes should have been made more gradually.

“We just really don’t have a set program yet so this change to the library came too soon,” she says about the physical design lab that took the place of the former media room. According to Brown, the school should have waited until the design-based learning program was “more developed.”

However, she supports the idea of having a Design Lab, and likes “the open glass and the concept of white boards.”

Some students say they have no idea that a new way of thinking is being incorporated into their curriculum, and are unaware of the purpose behind the library’s remodel.

“We need to clarify what our program is and where we want it to evolve,” Brown says.

When asked how much he knows about the library’s design lab, Fay responds, “I don’t even... well, I probably don’t know it by name...which one is that?” Malcolm replies to the same question with an even simpler answer.

“Nothing,” she says with a shrug.

The physical design lab is “still a work in progress,” Evans says. “[It’s] just a footprint right now, ready to be the space for design thinking or design lab work that will be determined by our experiences this year.”

Malcolm says she is unimpressed by the lack of materials, preparedness, and communication in terms of the Design Lab. “Of course they’re gonna say a lot of

stuff,” she says. “But they didn’t actually perform and go through and give us any materials to do what they wanted.”

In conceiving a new layout and set of rules for the library, Fay says the result was not as cohesive as it could have been. “The idea of having a downstairs area where they allow talk does not compliment having the idea of having an upstairs area where you’re not allowed to talk,” he says. “It could have been done....with more forward thinking and thought toward the general mindset of students.”

These setbacks will all be fixed in the future, according to Evans. The school is waiting to see how successful the first year with design thinking is, and build the program from there.

“Infusing a new way of thinking doesn’t happen overnight. It will be a slow and steady process that we follow over the long term,” Evans says.

school is taking the right steps to clarify the program, train faculty and explore what other schools have already discovered,” Brown says. “By next year, our Design Lab will be more fully developed.”

FACTS & FIGURES •

layout.

•

The long bar-like table closest to the canyon is reused—it was formerly located in the upstairs library, overlooking the lawn.

•

GOING FORWARD

“We are spending a lot of time educating the community about design thinking (parents, faculty, students). As a result, many faculty are using design thinking in the classroom with their students, which means students are gaining exposure to it,” says Evans in response to a question asking what steps are being made to further design-based thinking.

Parker is taking steps to incorporate this new way of thinking through the classes at all three campuses and possibly the Upper School’s interim trips.

Classes in the Lower School have been interacting with the new program through their “specials,” or arts, classes, and Evans states that many grades have already participated in design-based projects. And in the Middle School, 6th graders are required to take Digital Foundations, a class that introduces them to design learning, and Evans says that “many 7th and 8th graders are experiencing design thinking hands-on in many classes.”

Even though it may not seem like it, there are plans for Parker’s future in the world of design thinking, Evans says, and hints at an event where Upper School students will experience this new program.

“We are crafting a general exposure to design thinking that will happen in November and December,” she says. “Stay tuned.”

The library’s design lab remains in flux as well. “I believe the

There is seating for 50-70 students with the new

The two concrete tables were poured in place, and the crushed blue and green glass came from outside of Nicholas Commons.

•

A faulty part caused two people—librarian Ms. Briana Bryan and a former substitute teacher—to get stuck in the library elevator for two hours during the remodeling process.

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The workers were given the whole of August to complete the project’s goal of making the downstairs a collaborative space.

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Eleven tables, both the round ones downstairs and the rectangular ones in the Design Lab, were refitted with white tile board from Home Depot.

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The second floor of the library was also changed to allow for more independent work space.

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