November 2014 | The Evergreen, Greenhill School

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Joseph Weinberg Staff Writer

The series of classes introducing Upper School students to the fine arts now culminate in a letter grade in contrast with previous years.

Beginning fine arts classes are about the learning process and fundamentals. Students are graded on their ability to learn the basic principles of an art. The focus is not on raw skill or final product, but rather on process.

The letter grade has been added to make students more accountable in their classes.

Frank Lopez, who teaches photography, spearheaded the official proposal to the administration last fall, though it had been a conversation in the Fine Arts Department for years. Laura Ross, Head of Upper School, finalized the change this past January.

The previous system of pass/fail for beginning fine arts classes was intended to make signing up risk-free. But not all students took the classes seriously.

“Students would spend more time on their history homework than fine arts work, because they [got] a grade in history but not fine arts,” said Aaron Timmons, who coaches speech and debate.

Corbin Doyle, who teaches video production and digital art, agreed. “[Some students] would do the absolute least they could do to pass a class,” Mr. Doyle said. “In any other class, they would get a D or a D-. I would write comments about how they would do so little and care so little and suck the life out of the room and make me want to jump off buildings. But they don’t care. Now they care.”

Certain hard-working students also said they found it frustrating to see their own work and that of less dedicated students get rewarded with the same “pass.”

“A passing grade could be a Dor an A+,” said f re s h m a n Mat t h e w To u d ouze, who plays in band. “It did not accurately portray the difference in work ethic.”

Grading all arts classes reinforces the Greenhill triangle, equilaterally representing academics, arts and athletics. Fine arts teachers have always equated arts classes the same way as an academic. The letter grade ensures that the rest of the community feels the same way.

“I think people have the misperception that art is not academic, and I think there is nothing farther from the truth,” Mr. Timmons said.

Fine arts classes and academic classes still meet the same number of times and contribute equally to a students’ grade point average.

“There is some perception that if you don’t get a grade, it’s not a ‘real class.’ The sides of our triangle [in our seal] are equal, visually. Each department tries to make sure they are equal in practice as well,” said Rebecca Shuman, Assistant Head of Upper School.

For some students, a good grade in beginning drawing might balance out a bad grade in chemistry.

“With a beginning class getting graded, that gives the student artists a little more of a level playing field when it comes to [their] GPA,” said Tony Schraufnagel, who teaches sculpture and glassmaking. “If you’re a strong art student, your effort should be recognized on the same level.”

Grades are based on an objective grading rubric, created by each fine art teacher to be specific to their course. Vonda Bowling and Michael Manes, Singers directors, use a system based purely on numbers. Students obtain points based on participation in and outside of school, and their overall grade is determined by dividing the number of points they accumulated by the total number possible.

Nick Paraskevas, orchestra director, assesses his students on three things: preparation, participation, and commitment to daily improvement. An “A” student is prepared, shows signs of daily practice, and regularly seeks out one-on-one instruction.

Mr. Schraufnagel uses various principles for each project. A project based on volume, for example, has three main criteria: concept, balance and unity.

Grading is not the same process as assigning chairs in an orchestra. A first-chair violinist in the orchestra has earned that chair by playing the violin better than the second chair, but the two might receive the same grade. They are assessed based on mastery of artistic principles and techniques. Grading a beginning art class cannot solely be based on the final product or individual skills. “[Grading] is not a black and white kind of thing,” Mr. Schraufnagel said. “We may look at something and say, yes, that’s messy, or, yes, that paint job is terrible. That’s what we can grade on. [But] there is a realm that is subjective.”

According to Mr. Paraskevas, grading based solely on skill would be unfair because students have all been playing their instruments for different amounts of time. So, fine arts teachers are rewarding their students for progress and daily improvement.

Similar to an academic class, students are expected to put in time outside of the allotted 55-minutes a day in order to master techniques.

“If a student is struggling, I ask her [or] him to come meet with me individually,” Mr. Paraskevas said. “If he or she does that, most certainly it finds a way into a comment and enhances the student’s grade. If, however, a student does not come by for help, that too will make its way into the comment and affect the overall grade.”

Freshman Matthew Zweig, who is taking sculpture, said he came in a lot outside of class in order to reassess his work and obtain a better grade.

“Sometimes I spend my whole break working on a sculpture,” Matthew Z. said.

It may take time for students to adjust to the change. While they may not be used to spending so much extra time on their art projects, it’s no different than putting in time to excel in an academic

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Should athletics be graded? p. 3

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The “No Joke” Zone. p. 4

The Road to College. p. 7

class.

“I would rather have my core classes take priority, but sometimes they don’t,” Matthew Z. said.

It is important that students understand what they are being graded on and make choices accordingly.

“As a freshman, my abilities are not the same as a seniors’, but I am still expected to practice and participate as much as [them],” Matthew T. said. “The playing assignments will get harder as I work my way up, but I will always be expected to work hard.”

For some students, though, the fact that beginning fine arts classes are graded has not clicked yet. Although rubrics are available for fine arts classes,

students may not be study- ing them the same way they would for an academic class. Jack Oros, Dean of Students, said he had freshmen and seniors approach him with concerns about their grades in beginning classes last timester.

“I don’t think [not understanding the grading process] is any fault of the teachers. I think it is a matter of the students not reading or listening to what was being told to them,” Mr. Oros said.

In many fine arts classes, students can reassess their work if they wish to receive a better grade.

“It’s not a one-time opportunity,” Mr. Schraufnagel said. “If somebody makes a sculpture and they have a critique and flaws are pointed out, then they have the opportunity to make those improvements and resubmit it.

Grades are an opportunity for students to improve what they’ve done.”

Some students said they are focusing so much on doing well in an academic class that they do not realize their arts class grades are falling behind, thus resulting in their fine art actually lowering their overall GPA. “I don’t want a D in an [art] class,” said senior Cole Cramer.

Ultimately, grading beginning fine arts classes is still a work in progress, as they system has only been in place for one trimester.

Academic faculty said they do not want students to get so caught up in the resulting letter grade that they forget why they are taking the course. Berkeley Gillentine, Freshman Class Dean, said she hopes students continue to select fine arts classes based on their passions, not the potential grade.

The fine arts faculty agreed.

“If the only focus of a class is a grade, we have failed,” Mr. Timmons said.

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A Whole New Stage. p. 13

Basketball Preview. p. 18

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Rants&Raves A RAVE to the string of AVP films that have been accepted into major film festivals. Yet again, the rest of the student body is left feeling worthless because nothing we’ve made has been accepted at Cannes.

AVPers may win an Oscar before Leonardo DiCaprio.

A RANT to the broken bathroom stall doors in the English pod. The modern woman has it hard; with catcalling, the wage gap, and maintaining killer brows. At least give us the gift of privacy through functioning doors. And maybe a solution to those first two while you’re at it.

A RANT to the lack of cinnamint Orbit gum in the Buzz. This refreshing flavor is vital to cap off the trend of mint–sweet mint, spearmint, wintermint, so why not cinnamint?

Sometimes you want more than just the taste of winter to spice up your life.

A RAVE to the Two O’Clock Jazz Band, who recently played a set on campus for Music on the Quad. Great jazz music is an American tradition like baseball, drive-thrus, and taxes. Add in some hamburgers, a nice breeze, and good company, and you’ve got the makings of a true all-American afternoon.

Thanks, Two O’Clock Jazz Band!

Living in Ebola City Staff Editorial joked. No, we weren’t. But here is how Ebola did affect our daily lives. Parents didn’t let their kids go visit Big Tex. There was a dramatic increase in emails from our nurse reminding us to wash our hands. We learned more about the geography of Africa than we did in all of our years of history combined.

Dinner conversations revolved around the deadly virus, some even from parents who worked at Presbyterian. The ripple effect was relatively minor for students. But the outbreak was major for Dallas. Stories about our city were plastered on the front page of every major newspaper—a rare occasion for this metroplex. The city known for John F. Kennedy’s assassination was now publically slammed for yet another failure.

To be honest, we deserved it in the beginning. Everyone was playing the blame game, and the media was fueling it. First, it was nurses’ fault. Then, it was the doctors’.

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A RANT to the Buzz’s decision to stop selling breast cancer awareness cookies (in addition to the cinnamint). Chocolate cookies made with pink candy-coated chocolate pieces are a cornerstone of every Greenhill Upper School student’s first trimester, and without them, we felt lost, confused and lacking a cause.

A RAVE to the new direction of the theater program.

Students in the theater have already put on two incredibly innovative shows, demonstrating to audiences the power of theater.

The play’s lofty themes of mortality, love, and understanding gave audiences a lot to chew on.

A RANT to the many problems with the water fountains in the Athletic Center. It’s more than a little disconcerting that the spouts not only smell like Shrek’s swamp, but look like it too. The swim team has begun to send care packages filled with dechlorinated water to the other athletes, but at the end of the day, it just isn’t enough.

A RAVE to the eighth grade trip to Washington D.C. Eighth grade students now have officially inflated expectations. You know what they say: first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a school-sponsored senior trip to Europe in a baby carriage! C’est la vie, right?

Number one. First place. The champion.

With these accolades come SPC Champions and Valedictorians. On Sept. 28, Dallas became a first as well. Eric Duncan became the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, in our very own Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, 8.9 miles away from Greenhill. For once, first was the worst.

This time, first was not achieved through hard work and talent. Instead, we made it to the top through overlooked symptoms, misread charts and botched health protocol.

Living in Ebola City not only caused fear and constant paranoia with each cough and sneeze, but also challenged us to think about how we deal with crises and more importantly, failure.

News spread quickly. Non-Dallasites wanted to know what it was like living in the middle of this nationwide panic. “Are you all wearing surgical masks?” they nervously

A RAVE to the three wins accumulated by the football team this season. The team fought some tough battles, on and off the field, and came out with three glorious victories. While we can’t say for sure, it seems that moving Hugo Hornet up to Varsity may have been the best decision the team has made in years.

Content courtesy of Harris Chowdhary and Zoe Allen

Next, a system error. Meanwhile, everyone was pointing fingers at the Center for Disease Control. Still, playing the blame game did nothing to solve the crisis. It was Dallas’ response afterwards that we can learn from.

When the second case was diagnosed, Dallas officials immediately notified everyone within a four-block radius of the patient’s apartment complex. Even Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings spoke directly to residents on the block. In the span of only two weeks, the city got its act together and began mitigating the damage.

On Nov. 7, health officials declared Dallas’ outbreak over. While we might have made it through six weeks since the first diagnosis and eradicated the virus in the city, washing away the stains of this embarrassment will take longer. How long will Dallas remain Ebola City?

Clearly, as Dallas residents, the Ebola

crisis was very close to home, but we were never really at risk for contracting the virus.

Hopefully, a crisis like this won’t happen again. However, being so close to Ebola can help us deal with small daily failures. As much as we want to achieve the well-earned first place, it doesn’t always work out that way. At some point or another, you’re going to get a C on a test. You’re not going to make the varsity tennis team. Next time, look to Dallas to learn how to respond to failure.

First, don’t play the blame game. Second, learn how to recover from the setback.

Just like Dallas is working to dissociate from the poor publicity of the Ebola crisis, you need to learn to not let personal failures define you. Just because you got one C does not mean you are a “C student.”

Just because Eric Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola in Dallas does not mean we are Ebola City.

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Erratas, Oct. 2014 issue

editor-in-chief

views editor

sports editors

asst. arts editor

Sera Tuz

Megan Wiora

executive editor

news editors

special sections editor

online editors

Andrew Friedman

Christian Holmes Ben Krakow

asst. news editor

business manager

Sofia Shirley

managing editor Sanah Hasan

Madison Goodrich Christina Zhu

features editors Varun Gupta Amna Naseem

arts editor

Catherine Leffert

Lane Hirsch Ben Schachter

Suman Chebrolu

asst. features editor Zach Rudner

Arhum Khan

Ryan Diebner

art director

Ariana Zhang

staff writers

Simra Abedi Zoe Allen Areeba Amer Ellen Margaret Andrews Sophie Bernstein Stephen Crotty Maya Ghosh Abbas Hasan Mia Krumerman Radhe Melwani Kathie Rojas

Joshua Rudner Krish Shetty Lili Stern Zayna Syed Joseph Weinberg Leah Witheiler

addt’l contributor Harris Chowdhary

advisor

Eve Hill-Agnus

staff artists

Sudeep Bhargava Brianna Houston Arhum Khan Anusha Kurapati Ashley Lee Jackson Lowen

p.16 The photo is courtesy of Joe Monaco. p.18 Jason Yaffe’s name was misspelled. p.18 Gillian Glengarry’s name was misspelled. p.14 Mitali Mathur is a senior.

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Should sports be graded?

Yes, sports should be graded.

It seems like one general view about sports credits in some high schools is that it should be an easy “A” or “pass.” However, if you consider the amount of preparation put into a season by the athletic administration, coaching staff, support staff, facilities management, dining group, etc. in terms of sports medicine, strength/conditioning, scheduling of games and officials, travel, pregame meals, field/court prep . . . one might think that athletes should be held to certain conduct expectations. Would a simple “pass/ fail” be enough? Or would a letter grade be a better evaluation of those studentathletes, considering each coaching staff has individual and team objectives and goals and a specific practice plan and game plan for every day? Do all student-athletes give a

strong level of effort and commitment to that program, to coach/teacher, and teammates?

Are all student-athletes respectful, coachable, and attentive? Do all student-athletes who miss practice or are late do so for valid, acceptable reasons? Are some teams or games compromised because of one or more players not giving their best effort or not knowing their assignments? Is that fair to the other players who are sincere and always give their best to their teammates, their coaches, and the program? Those are just some of the things one might consider when determining if differing students’ conduct/ personal growth/work ethic/proficiency of skills or achievement in athletics would be better assessed (and rewarded) with a letter grade.

-Trey Stringer, Director of Strength and Conditioning and High Performance Coach Greenhill is a school that has traditionally excelled in “the triangle” of learning. This triangle consists of academics, arts and athletics. I’ve always loved Greenhill students that shine in various combinations of these three, but I’ve never understood why we only grade two-thirds of this so-called triangle.

For an award-winning painter, taking AP art at Greenhill could be considered a hobby–a hobby they will get a grade for. However, an all-American free style swimmer who would consider being on the swim team a

hobby won’t get a grade for that. That isn’t fair. The two–arts and athletics–should both be graded in order to keep the balance of the triangle. Similar to fine arts, athletics should be graded based on effort. Because both arts and athletics are a requirement, it wouldn’t be fair to grade solely based on talent. At the end of the day, Greenhill should be confident in the statement that they value all aspects of learning equally, because that’s the kind of school all students here expect to be a part of. ​

-Alex Drossos, senior

No, sports should remain pass/fail.

Given the lack of objective standards for evaluation, sports should not be graded.

In a standard classroom setting, there is an objective and fair way to determine the grade–you either put the right answer, or you get the question wrong. Because all students are given the same opportunity to succeed and are on a “level playing field” (pun intended), grades then serve as a largely accurate indicator of effort and intelligence.

With sports, however, there is no such objective standard, especially because each athlete on a team can have a different role to play depending on the sport. How does the coach decide if that soccer kick was a “B+” or if that tennis serve was a solid “A”? Athletics are supposed to be about physical exercise, teamwork, and having fun. It’s about time that we realize that athletics are about the experience — not necessarily about the end result. Likewise, it shouldn’t matter if you don’t end up reducing your mile time by a full minute: what matters more is that you’re putting forth your best effort, that you’re bonding with the team, and that you’re having fun.

The absence of a grading system allows students to foster their own sense of selfdiscipline, encouraging students to improve out of their own personal desire—not

because they would receive a bad grade if they didn’t.

For many students, athletics are a means stress relief. Ironically, many of students turn to sports precisely because they aren’t graded.

Students want a stress-free environment where they can focus on improving their physical condition without the conditions of an academic setting. Moreover, grading athletics would deter students from trying out new sports out of fear that they wouldn’t make a good grade.

Additionally, I worry about the kind of grades some of our athletes would receive.

When I was a swimmer, I was admittedly not very talented and I often felt ashamed of that. I worked to improve myself because I wanted to contribute to a team effort and represent my school in the best way possible.

If I had been graded for my performances, I would have only felt worse about my athletic ability and it would not have been a productive experience for me, and maybe have even quit. Even though our athletes might not win every time, they should be respected for trying and be protected from some arbitrary academic judgment that doesn’t make sense in an athletic setting.

Greenhill should trust its students enough to believe that we try our best whenever we represent our school. ​​

-Ricardo Jaramillo, senior Many valuable lessons–dedication, commitment, time management and leadership skills–are learned from playing sports. I would argue that the most important lesson gained from being on a team is selflessness. Many student-athletes learn this great quality of thinking about their teammates before making decisions, being mindful that their decisions affect more than just themselves when they are a part of a team. The motivation of grades takes away from being selfless. When athletes are tired, they have to learn that not giving 100 percent does not just hurt them, but the whole team. During season, student athletes should make sure they are eating enough, eating well, and getting

enough sleep. While this benefits the student-athlete, it is important to do these things to create the best possible situation for the team. When an athlete has to decide to go to the Mavericks game or to be with his/her team for a game, practice or activity, he/she has to learn that sacrifices need to be made for the betterment of the team.

Also, we learn from our failures.

If grades were given in athletics, fewer students would initially fail and learn how to put the team before themselves. Learning the valuable lessons of being a part of a team and functioning as a single unit on and off the court/field is far more important than receiving an individual grade in athletics.

-Darryn Sandler, Head Varsity Girls Basketball Coach and US Math teacher For as long as I can remember, athletics has never been graded. Did teachers/coaches post comments? Yes. Did teachers/coaches check boxes on report cards with preplanned phrases to help individuals knows where they stand? Yes. But sports/PE classes have never been graded, in my experience, and I am a product of both public and private schools. Rather, individuals had to make a commitment and teachers/coaches were given opportunities to hold studentathletes responsible and then respond to families on their commitment. To me, it is great to know that there is a place–athletics/ PE–where your effort/skill/aptitude are not

graphic by Ashley Lee and Sera Tuz

framed through a grade; in fact, some might argue that game-day results are already a grade in and of itself, which is a logical conclusion. But in the end, PE teachers/ coaches should work tirelessly to build a sense of team based on camaraderie and effort so that each individual feels a sense of pride in their ability to execute what has been asked of them on a daily basis while also being held accountable throughout. Don’t muddy the waters by grading a student-athlete after the completion of a trimester/season when they have been graded, to some degree, all year long. High School athletic departments are not professional sports organizations.

-Chad Wabrek, Head of Athletics and Physical Education

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See p. 6 for more on students’ performance at the Winspear Opera House.

All Jokes Aside: Serious Business

Sophie Bernstein Staff Writer

The goal of a new program for third through eighth grade is to foster good communication skills and to welcome an anti-bullying environment. Teachers have received complaints from students about offensive jokes, both intentional and nonintentional. In response, teachers and administrators have instituted the idea of a “No Joke Zone.” The idea is to teach students not to use “Just Kidding” to pass off an insult as a joke, no matter where they are.

“Moving into Middle School, there’s a lot more freedom and I think with that freedom comes the testing of some boundaries.

We have had some students come to us and say, ‘So-and-so is making fun of this thing I do in my religion … or someone’s making fun [of me],” said Melanie Girard, Middle School teacher. “Some kids aren’t sure how to go about understanding differences, so that sort of lends itself to, ‘Well, if I don’t understand it, maybe I’ll joke about it.’”

The “No Joke Zone” is intended to make students more aware of what may or may not be taken as funny or mean by their peers, and to teach them how to stand up for themselves. In the Middle School, saying “Ouch” lets someone know that what was said was unkind. In the Lower School, students often refer to posters they have made about the “No JK Zone.”

Paula Hall, former Greenhill third grade teacher, was inspired by Rachel Simmons, author and Co-founder of Girls Leadership Institute, to create the “No JK Zone” in her third-grade classroom.

In her article in the Huffington Post, “No Offense, But I Was Just Kidding: Dealing With Mean Jokes,” Simmons described the problem of brushing off mean comments

with a joke. “‘Just kidding’ compromises [students’] integrity because it allows [them] to project a ‘nice’ image, even as they make disrespectful remarks,” Ms. Simmons wrote.

“The term ‘just kidding’ has always been popular for kids to say to each other when a mean word or phrase was intended to hurt feelings,” said Mrs. Hall in a phone interview.

“We talked a lot about how to think about what you were really saying to someone before speaking so that your words didn’t need [to] covered by ‘just joking.’”

Karen Bradberry, Director of Equity and Inclusion, was also inspired by Simmons’ article and brought the “No Joke Zone” to the Middle School this year.

In last year’s fifth grade, Natalie Nihill, Middle School English and Modern Languages teacher, introduced the term “ouch” to give students a term to stand up to manipulatively mean jokes and language.

The fifth grade has made sticky notes for what they find offensive; some of the most common include insults to their: appearance, physical ability, accents, names, academic and mental ability, interests, family, and gender.

The problem of offensive joking did not start this year, but more students have been putting complaints in the “issue box” in Lower School and these issues seem especially prevalent to teachers in the Middle School.

Photo by Christina Zhu

SERIOUSLY NOT FUNNY: Seventh graders Griffin Benners, Anusha Rao and Jhalen Spicer (top, left to right) hold signs about things they don’t joke about. Sixth grade students write down things they say “Ouch” to and organize them on a poster (above).

Photos by Sudeep Bhargava and Ariana Zhang

When Michael Simpson, Head of Lower School, spoke to the third grade, judging by a show of hands, many students have been insulted through a joke from a classmate.

Because “ouch” and the “No Joke Zone” are still relatively new, teaching students to learn to use “ouch” and the “No Joke Zone” is important.

Two Middle School students said that hurtful jokes are often used in the boy’s locker room.

“We saw it in football: it happens all the time in the boys locker room. There’s a lot of racist jokes like, ‘Oh, you can just do this ’cause you’re black. I just ignore it, you know? It’s just ignorance.”

When hearing hurtful comments, these two students say “ouch” to let their teammates know their jokes were taken too far. They also try to put the jokes into perspective: “I knew that they were just talking to hear the sound of their own voice. They didn’t realize that if you say [mean things] to a person that gets hurt easily, that could really hurt [them].”

One student said he hopes to see the ‘No Joke Zone’ taken more seriously in the future.

“I hope people actually realize it’s not funny when you joke about things that could hurt people. I mean, it’s just really kind of disappointing that people joke about that, ’cause it’s not right.”

But each student who stands up for him or herself makes a difference. Like the Middle School student who received a text from one of her friends calling her a “rich spoiled brat.” The next day at school, she said “ouch.” Saying “ouch” gave her a way to stand up for herself and let her friends know the comment hurt her.

Students attend Dallas race conference to gain and give perspective Suman Chebrolu Asst. News Editor

Josh Rudner Staff Writer

Greenhill students recently attended Young Leaders, Strong City, a conference for Dallas youth to discuss race issues. The Nov. 8 conference aimed to gather a city-wide scale.

“I’m really interested in talking about taboo topics with different people,” said junior Meha Elhence. “I thought it’d be cool to hear other people’s opinions about race and the role it plays in society.”

A part of Dallas Faces Race, an annual forum addressing race issues, the Young Leaders, Strong City conference is being put on in the spirit of the upcoming national

Facing Race Conference, an annual event running from Nov. 13-15 this year. This is the first time the conference is being held in the South. In previous years, the conference was held in cities such as Chicago, Baltimore and New York.

Among the diverse cast of partners, including museums and religious organizations, Greenhill is the only private school.

“It seemed natural for [Greenhill] to participate in [this conference],” said Tom Perryman ‘81, Assistant Head of School.

“Given our resources and our commitment to our mission, we ought to be not only players but leaders in [the Dallas community].”

Students feel similarly.

“I’m really proud of the fact that Greenhill is involved with issues of social justice

and civil rights,” said senior Ricky Jaramillo.

“I think it speaks to the character of our community.”

Ricky, Meha and Mr. Perryman, as well as seniors Saveena Mandadi, Brianna Houston, Harris Chowdhary and junior Kalen Beacham attended Youth Leaders, Strong City.

“I know what I think and I know what my friends think but I want to know the other perspectives,” said Brianna.

Karen Bradberry, Director of Equity & Inclusion, said she is “hoping for [Greenhill] to walk away with a greater understanding of race as well as the roles that race plays within the Dallas community at large. As a member of that community, that learning is invaluable.”

Graphic Courtesy of Eventbrite.com

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AP Literature students host guest speaker Author visits Greenhill in first stop of book tour Christian Holmes Online Editor

She talked about her novel at the Texas Book Festival in Austin. She also spoke at the Wild Detectives Bookstore in Dallas…but first, she spoke at Greenhill to an audience of teachers, faculty and AP Literature students.

On Oct. 21, award-winning Mexican novelist, essayist, and dramatist Carmen Boullosa spoke to Upper School English teacher Joel Garza’s AP Literature students about the newly published Spanish-toEnglish translation of her novel, Texas: The Great Theft.

Although the novel became available to the public on Oct. 17, Mr. Garza’s students started reading the work of historical fiction a week before its public release. How did this happen?

It all started with a collaboration between Mr. Garza and Will Evans, publisher and director of Deep Vellum, a literary publishing house.

“

We are all challenged and intrigued by the broad narrative gaze of the novel, in which the protagonist is a region rather than a character.”

Deep Vellum specializes in English translations for new works written in other languages, and it also promotes educational enrichment by connecting members of the Dallas community to these works.

Mr. Evans appointed Mr. Garza to the board, and Mr. Garza decided to use one of the works in his AP Literature class.

“After learning about and working with Deep Vellum for a few months with Will, he pointed me towards Carmen Boullosa’s novel they were publishing. I knew it would be perfect for my AP Literature students to read in the fall,” he said.

The novel examines the conflict between characters of different ethnicities and origins living in Texas during the period following the Mexican American War in 1859.

“We are all challenged and intrigued by the broad narrative gaze of the novel, in which the protagonist is a region rather than a character,” Mr. Garza said.

Mr. Garza’s class started reading the novel in PDF form.

However, the Greenhill Cultural Arts Committee agreed to fund the purchase of the novels for the class upon the release date.

“This is an abnormal book,” Ms. Boullosa said. “I weaved different characters with different ethnicities in and out so my readers could see that every one in life is totally different from the other. It’s up to the public to interpret and give my characters meaning.”

Ms. Boullosa, who grew up in Mexico City but has lived in New York for the past 13 years, said that she incorporates different voices from people in her life to help her write, including her grandmother’s.

“My grandmother was one of those people who did not speak the best Spanish, but was very well read and very lively. I always admired this and try to incorporate her personality into characters in my novels.,” she said.

Mr. Garza said he hopes that his students will gain an appreciation for the literature of different cultures by reading Texas: The

MAIN CHARACTER, TEXAS: Author Carmen Boullosa (above) flew from New York, NY to start a book tour for Texas: The Great Theft.

Great Theft.

“I want students to begin to appreciate the ethnic and geographical diversity of Texas, as well as the diversity of language and literature,” he said.

Senior Alan Bliss, who is in Mr. Garza’’s class, spoke about reading the novel.

“In this book, we’re looking at the influence of southerners, slaves, and Europeans all in a few pages,” he said. “There is a constant zooming in and out of the characters’ lives that adds to the reality of the environment and the novel.”

However, Alan said that the novel is challenging to dissect sometimes.

“We are the first people in the public to analyze the novel, so the class cannot rely on

Phot o

by A riana

Zhan g published literary analysis or other tools to further our understanding,” he said.

“Everything we’re doing is coming from us, without other tools swaying our analysis.”

Ultimately, Mr. Garza’s goal for AP Literature is to increase student curiosity and analysis with newer, more exploratory works, such as Ms. Boullosa’s novel.

“In the English department, we have the freedom to teach whatever we think will challenge our students and reinforce skills of literary analysis,” Mr. Garza said. “This freedom allows the students and me to question together, write together, and ultimately, discover together.”

Gas Lines replaced, latest in list of other changes on campus Megan Wiora Views Editor

Lane Hirsch Sports Editor

Some of the biggest changes at Greenhill this past summer can’t be seen.

New underground gas lines were installed, replacing pipes that have been here since the 1960s.

“With the campus growing, it had finally gotten to a point where there wasn’t enough pipe size and volume to compensate for the larger campus,” said Bruce Thompson, Director of Facility Operations and Services.

With the addition of the new performing arts building, there was not going to be enough gas supply via t h e

existing pipes.

Mr. Grap Thompson had hic b yA the choice to install a shle y Le e completely new gas line system on Midway or renovate the existing one, and opted for the latter, as otherwise there would be no central place to shut off gas for the whole campus when necessary. The $300,000 project spanned two years, as Greenhill had to get permission from the city of Addison for a permit before

they could begin drilling. The process lasted until early this October, when the final parts were installed.

“There were a couple mechanical malfunctions in the equipment, scheduling problems [concerning] Summer on the Hill, construction delays: rain, delivery of parts, etc, ” Mr. Thompson said.

The majority of the drilling took place underground and under pedestrian areas such as sidewalks, with the few holes on campus across from the library. For Summer on the Hill, campers and staff members needed to walk with care when crossing campus. Special drilling machines had sensors to accurately tell the machine how far to go down and where to come up and would hit within 5 feet of that margin. Now maintenance has an exact reading of where pipes are, and exactly how deep.

The new pipes more than doubled the gas supply, increasing the amount of pressure within the pipes and subsequently the volume of gas, allowing gas to extend and support more facilities. This was necessary

UNDERG R O U N D WORLD: Greenhill’s underground gas lines are one of many changes to Greenhill’s out-of-date infrastruture.

considering that the older buildings on campus were still relying on old, rudimentary gas lines that had a large potential to malfunction or leak.

The new pipes provide new opportunities as well. For example, the natatorium is currently heated with an electric system.

If that goes down then there is no heat for the pool. A back-up gas heater would be the perfect alternative if the system were to crash. With the previous gas lines, there was simply not enough size and volume of pipes to provide an adequate back-up heating system. With the new gas lines, there will be.

The new pipes join a long list of structures that have changed since 1960, when the school moved from its original location was at Walnut Hill and Hillcrest, wedged between Temple Emanuel and Hillcrest High School. When Bernard Fulton saw the opportunity to expand on land in Addison, he jumped at the chance for a permanent campus. On July 20, 1959, the school buildings were dismantled and moved via trucks to the new location.

“They picked this location because, even though at the time it was in the middle of nowhere, it was a lot of land, substantially more than any other location,” said Tom Perryman, Assistant Head of School.

The new location

had been a turkey farm that accommodated two farm houses, one of which is still on campus. It was believed to have been built during the Civil War and is currently situated in the Meadow as the official headquarters for the Parents’ Association. Though the farmhouse is the oldest structure on the property, it too has undergone changes.

“The farmhouse was originally where the eighth grade pod is currently. Similar to how they moved the original school at Hillcrest to the corner of Dooley Road [later Midway] and Spring Valley, they moved the farmhouse from its original location to where it still stands today,” Mr. Perryman said.

The farmhouse is just one of many aspects of the school to move and change.

Rock tennis courts, for instance, used to be located where the admissions parking lot is situated. Once the courts received adequate funds to be revamped to a highclass facility, the courts were rebuilt in their current location.

Another aspect of the school’s sports facilities that have changed are the home bleachers.

“I remember when the home bleachers were on the opposite side of the field,” Mr. Perryman said. “It was awful because the sun was always in our eyes. They were changed in ‘84 for that very reason, however it’s still so weird to see them in a different location.”

Next time you walk across campus, consider: you may not be as far from the past as you think.

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Alumni publish scientific research, science department encourages projects publish more papers.”

According to Barry Ide, Upper School In the last several years, the Upper Science Teacher, the science department has School science department has increased its been actively promoting student research, emphasis on research and laboratory work When students ask him questions he can’t as opposed to text-based learning. answer, he said, his response has changed.

As this research emphasis increases, “Ten years ago, my response would have more and more students have been pursuing been, ‘That’s a great question. I’ll get back to scientific summer research programs, you tomorrow,’ and then I’d go online and try independent scientific study, and science- to find an answer. Now my answer is, ‘That’s based Capstone projects, a great question. How about you research challenging yearlong projects that for your Capstone project?” seniors can partake in.

The department Many students have works to advanced their research into reinforce college and beyond. Some the idea that alums have even published research is at their research. the heart of Naomi Freeman ’13 science. is one example. She said “I [try to] she was inspired to study constantly bring psoriasis by her father, up in class that who had the disease. science isn’t a static Her idea to endeavor; it’s asking study the correlation questions, and all of between psoriasis us can ask questions and Dupuytren’s and find out answers,” contracture came Mr. Ide said. from Dr. Menter, her The science Capstone leader, department has also who noticed the encouraged students correlation in his to do summer research patients. programs like the Her research will be published Graphic by A Science Teacher Access rhum Khan in the next issue of The Journal for to Resources (STARS) at Clinical Experimental Dermatology and has Southwestern Summer already been published in the British Journal Research Program at UT Southwestern. of Dermatology.

Seniors Harris Chowdhary and Jayant “It feels amazing,” said Naomi. “I feel Madugula both participated in this research really accomplished, as not many college program last summer. Harris mainly focused students can say they have their name on the use of Laponite XLG, a synthetic published in a scientific journal. I can’t silicate-based clay as a novel material for wait to continue my research and hopefully ultrasonic gels and phantoms. Jayant wrote Zach Rudner

Asst. Features Editor

code to analyze the noises made by day-old mice to see if the gene FOXP2 may be an autism-indicator.

Martin Li, also a senior, did research with a personal contact at UT Southwestern over the summer.

He studied compensatory lung growth after a pneumonectomy, how the lung grows after on side is removed.

According to Martin, the research experience was more than just the science.

“It was eye-opening how the lab environment functioned, not just in terms of the lab work, but also in terms of logistics, how people [and] schedules worked,” he said.

“I’d definitely continue research in college just because it’s a lot more intense and fun, [and also] finding results that no one else has ever found is pretty cool. It’s like, ‘Wow, real science!’ [It’s] not just diluting Kool-Aid.” Additionally, the lab Martin worked with has plans to publish findings Martin contributed to.

After his positive experience researching lung growth over the summer, Martin has also decided to continue to do scientific research through a Capstone.

He has been researching immunology at UT Southwestern, securing the research opportunity through the science department.

“Greenhill did [it] all in terms of setting it up, I had to write a few emails, but the science department had all the contacts,” Martin said.

Greenhill has also created new space for students to conduct research “We’ve made some physical changes here in the science building to afford students the ability to do research here on campus. [Research] takes a lot of materials and a lot of space and you can’t really set that kind of stuff up in the back of a classroom,”

Mr. Ide said.

“Furthermore, next year, the science department may offer a course to interested sophomores and juniors about doing independent research.”

Harris said he is ready for the challenges that come along with research.

“

I’ve been lucky enough to accumulate quite a few publications. The most important thing I’ve learned is the ability to ask the right questions.”

“I think [we’re] excited about challenging [ourselves] in new ways, and making a real contribution to knowledge,” Harris said.

Avantika Banerjee ‘10 is an example of what those contributions might look like in a Greenhill alum who is in her senior year in college. Banerjee has been published many times in assorted journals about cardiology, and more recently presented the paper “AntiPlatelet Therapy in Peripheral Interventions: Insight from the XLPAD Registry” at the Annual Scientific Sessions of the Society of Coronary Angiography and Intervention National Conference in Las Vegas in late May. This past September, Avantika presented her dual antiplatelet therapy research at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics meeting in D.C., which is one of the world’s premiere cardiology conferences.

“I’ve been lucky enough to accumulate quite a few publications,” Avantika said. “The most important thing I’ve learned is the ability to ask the right questions.”

Chamber Choir to perform at Winspear Photo by Ariana Zhang

ON KEY: Chamber Choir students (above) strengthen their bond with Mrs. Bowling while rehearsing for “Taste of the Arts.”

Abbas Hasan Maya Ghosh Staff Writers

Sixteen Greenhill voices will come together to sing at the 2,300-seat Winspear Opera House on Nov. 15 as a backdrop to two professional soloists in a song from Donald Fowler’s Creep the Musical: the very, very sad but unfortunately true and completely fabricated tale of Jack the Ripper. The musical will be performed as part of a “Taste of the Arts” event.

“I am really excited and honored,” said sophomore Kaavya Venkat, a new addition to Chamber Choir.

Rarely do Greenhill singers perform at such large venues. To prepare for their performance, Chamber Choir members have been practicing intensively.

Sometimes, the Singers was cancelled to allow Chamber Choir to rehearse for their part. Singers is available to all students who want to join; Chamber Choir is audition only.

“Vonda Bowling, [Middle School and Upper School Choral Music teacher] wanted to make sure we were really prepared,” said freshman Samantha Harberg.

Mr. Fowler, the Director, came to campus and critiqued the piece, encouraging the choir to remember that they were setting a scene with their voices and helping to create a character and atmosphere. “[He] listened to the group and was able to give them background on the piece, how he came to write it, and why he chose the subject matter” said Mrs. Bowling In the song “Mothers and Daughters,” two mothers start singing about their daughters, but soon realize they are describing themselves. The Chamber Choir provides backup vocals as the “Londoners,” a kind of Greek chorus. “[The music] is quite beautiful and we have enjoyed learning it,” Mrs. Bowling said.

“This is a huge honor for Chamber to be able to perform on this scale in such a wonderful space.”

Features the

See p. 9 for more on Greenhill students designing apps.

Small kids, big dreams: Gooch and Greenhill Mia Krumerman Krishna Shetty Staff Writers

Junior Andrea Mora vividly remembers her first meeting with fifth grader Gerson Saenz, the student she was assigned to tutor for the year at Tom C. Gooch Elementary. As they sat side by side under a pennant of Rice University one early October morning, the two began practicing problems from lesson 2.2 of Gerson’s math workbook.

Immediately, Andrea recognized her student’s intelligence, but she and her scholar both knew that school would continue to be a challenge until he acquired fluency in English.

“I thought, ‘I need to do everything that I can possibly think of in order to help him learn,” Andrea said, recollecting their first meeting. “He wanted to learn. He wanted to do [the work], but could not because he didn’t understand what it was saying. Automatically, somehow, I thought it was my responsibility to help him learn English. I was about to take on a really big responsibility, but I felt like it was my responsibility because he showed so much enthusiasm already on the first session.”

Greenhill’s involvement with Gooch elementary is different than any other educational service project it has done in the past. Being a tutor at Gooch requires commitment. Many Greenhill students devote their Saturday mornings for a full academic year.

Every Saturday, Andrea wakes up at 8 a.m. to get ready. Once she arrives at Gooch, she walks to the cafeteria, signs in, and sits at a table called Stanford University.

When Gerson joins her at the table, he, Andrea and the other tutor/ tutee pairings start their morning ritual.

“Where are we going?” they chant. The group responds, “College!” “What does it take?” they chant, and others reply, “Perseverance and effort!” “What are we giving?” they chant, and the response is full of excitement: “100 percent!”

“It is very specific and pointed tutoring” said Mrs. Sally Rosenberg, Greenhill’s Director of Community Service and Service Learning. At Gooch, teachers work hard to pinpoint exact problems in students’ workbooks so that Greenhill tutors know exactly what to do with their assigned student. “[The tutoring] is based on the testing that they are doing.They test incessantly.” said Mrs. Rosenberg.

Before Greenhill’s involvement, Gooch elementary was designated as an “Improvement Required” campus by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

They did not qualify for academic achievement in reading or mathematics, nor did they meet the standards for student achievement, student progress, and closing performance gaps.

Greenhill tutors have been working to close those gaps.

“I definitely thought that it was going to be another community

Graphic by Arhum Khan

service project where you are just standing around handing stuff out,” Andrea said. “But it was very different than that.”

With the help of Greenhill student tutors and a committed faculty and staff, the school went from an improvementrequired campus to a metstandard campus with distinctions in academic achievement in reading, closing performance gaps, and postsecondary readiness.

“They are very motivated and inspired by the high school students,” said Gooch’s principal, Martha Bujanda. “They are very patient and very caring of our scholars. We went from an improvement-required campus to a campus with three distinctions in one year.”

Ms. Bujanda works hard to create a competitive, academic atmosphere for the students.

Ninety-six percent of students at Gooch come from economically challenged families. Most students’ parents did not go to college.

Therefore, it is uncommon for a student comes to Gooch knowing what opportunities lie ahead after secondary school. Ms. Bujanda’s job is to expose her students to academic possibilities, such as college, that they can reach through hard work.

“We started the college themes almost immediately.

We hung up the banners and we allowed that college mentality to permeate throughout the culture of this whole school. For example, I do not have Pre-K A or Pre-K B, I have colleges,” Ms. Bujanda said. “I profoundly believe that all of our kids are capable of going to college

and that it is our responsibility to get them there.”

Senior Irma Chavez said she thinks this atmosphere is a good thing.

“Their classrooms are named after colleges. The tables they sit at at lunch have colleges’ names. They have their own uniforms for the school,” said Irma. “It is all about getting them into that mindset.”

This “mindset” is crucial to the students’ development because most of them receive little to no exposure of college at home.

Gerson moved from Honduras last January, when his mother decided it was no longer safe for him to live there.

“I had to walk to school every day in Honduras. It was dangerous because gangs would sometimes come out and assault you. No one ever assaulted me, but on my way to school I would pass by a little hill and everyone knew that that was where gangs assaulted and killed people. I only know a couple of people that they killed and they were my neighbors,” said Gerson. Like most children at Gooch, life at home is not school-focused for Gerson. He is used to working on the fields.

Andrea said she did not expect her student to have such a harsh past.

“I have seen stories like Gerson’s on T.V. and I can remember thinking, ‘It must [be awful] to be that young and already have so much to go through.’ I never thought that I would personally have a relationship with a kid like that, with a story like that,” she said.

Although she admits that she cannot relate to everything that Gerson has gone through,

she empathizes with him. They have more in common than she thought they would.

“I know what he is talking about when he says all of his family works out in the fields, that they only make enough money to make it through the month, maybethe week.

I know what it’s like to be restricted on money and still want to live your childhood.

I know what it’s like when your parents can’t provide you with the things that you need, let alone the things that you just want,” she said.

She is also able to relate when he says that he feels lost in school.

Similarly to Gerson, when Andrea entered Lower School at Greenhill, she was not fluent in English. She remembers how difficult it was when she could not understand her peers or teachers.

“I would hear things, but I would not know the context behind them. I would think, ‘Oh, everyone is saying that. I should say it too!’ and I would end up saying it in the wrong context,” Andrea said.

“I struggled with reading so much.

It was hard for my mom to get me to read for school and for pleasure.

Teachers would ask me to provide chapter analysis and I would just summarize the chapter.”

Both Andrea and her tutee will be the first of their respective families to graduate high school and potentially college. “I am stressed and I have to worry about keeping up my grades.

He has to worry about learning English and getting good grades.

[We are in] different situations, but we both have to worry about these things because neither of us want to let our families down.

We have this opportunity and we need to take advantage of it,” she said.

Andrea said she wants to take all of the opportunities that her parents never had.

“I feel like I would be such a disappointment if I did not go to college at all.”

At the end of the day, the partnership between Greenhill and Gooch is all about the human rapport. Like Andrea, Irma had a notable connection with her assigned student.

“I was working with a little girl all of last year,” she said, “We had a volunteer celebration at the end of last year where we got awards for our hours spent volunteering there. [My scholar] was the only scholar who did this, but she brought me a card and she introduced me to her dad. She was really excited,” said Irma.

The relationships that tutors develop with their assigned students are just as crucial as the academic growth that their tutees achieve.

“There are always two sides to working with these children: there is the mentoring side and there is the tutoring side. You have got to develop a rapport with a child and you’ve got to work with them on the tutoring side,” said Mrs. Rosenberg.

Fixing the academic struggles of a whole learning community may seem daunting, but it begins with helping one student.

The program is about changing one person’s life at a time.

“It’s just one person. It’s not so big. It’s not having to run something and be president of something,” said Mrs. Rosenberg. “It’s just you and me.”

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Photos by Varun Gupta

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT: Seventh grader Josh Lefler (left) and sophomores Cole Forson (center) and Nathan Contreras (right) display their mutual passion for app developing.

The next Steve Jobs is closer to home than you think Exploring the creative and artistic language of app programmers

Ellen Margaret Andrews Staff Writer

Computer programming and application design may seem like daunting tasks. However, sophomores Nathan Contreras and Cole Forson and seventh grader Josh Leffler, welcome the challenge with open arms.

While these three students see what they are doing with technology as a fun hobby, Maria Suarez, High School Computer Science teacher at Greenhill stressed that it takes a special type of person to have the motivation to do what Josh, Nathan and Cole do.

“All the students who are able to learn how to use their phones to their full potential, even to learn how to make the apps, they are doing it on their own time. And not only that. They have to learn how to make it all perfectly,” Ms. Suarez said. “That is a skill that no school can teach.”

These skills are found in numerous Greenhill students who build apps, and Josh Nathan, and Cole are some of the strong examples of what dedication and hard work to the craft of programming can bring.

Josh showed an interest in computers when he was just two years old.

“I got one of those play computers with the plastic keys and a screen that just didn’t really do anything and I thought it was really cool. Then, I got my first real computer and it was amazing to me all the different things I could do on it, and all the possibilities,” said Josh.

Josh was soon busy helping family and friends fix their computers. After realizing how much he loved meeting their needs and the passion he had for it, he decided to make what he called “The Josh Help Desk” into a fully government registered company.

According to its website, the company “is a small help-desk business” that offers different services to help fix computers.

Through the website, Josh receives emails from clients, most of them hearing about him via referral, and he responds to them with a list of steps telling them how to fix their computer.

“I’ve had customers who need the most basic things like plugging in a mouse. And I’ve had customers who need me to update their operating systems and install these applications, and do this and this and this and that,” Josh said.

However in general, he says he spends about two to three hours on each case.

In addition to his company, Josh, a self-proclaimed Apple Inc. fan, learned how to create applications and purchased an Apple Developer license, which allowed him to make apps for the iTunes App Store.

Josh created the app Ok Mommy!, which helps parents get their kids to listen to them by allowing parents to set the device to

answer a question that a child poses. If the child asks, “Can I have ice cream?” for example, then the parent can program the phone to respond: “No, no ice cream tonight.” The idea is that the program is saying it, so children might have better incentive to listen.

“Technology has such power over kids these days, and obviously parents most always know what’s right for their kids.

So, when a kid is being in an uncooperative state and not listening to their parents, then the parent can use this app to convince the kid to listen to them.” said Josh.

As of Oct. 21, Ok Mommy! had been downloaded 159 times. Josh said he loves having an app on the App Store and says that he hopes to continue building his name and company so he can keep doing what he loves.

Cole and Nathan are also Apple Developers, who became fascinated by the world of technology at a young age.

Nathan said, “I remember seeing a keyboard for the first time and being really intrigued by it. And so basically all through my childhood I started creating things on the computer and I was just really interested in how it worked.”

“

There is no reason the next great app couldn’t come from a teenager.”

Nathan eventually designed and released an App called Maze Till when he was in sixth grade.

“It was basically one of those labyrinth type things where you just move it around, and guide the ball to the hole or something like that,” said Nathan.

Nathan said that he learned a lot from making this app and went on to make a few more basic games. He also stressed the importance of distinguishing the purpose of making an app before starting to work on one.

“Is it for money? Is it for an accomplishment? Or is it just to say you made [an app]?” said Nathan.

Nathan said making apps is an outlet to express his creativity. Computer programming and building apps is more than just writing lines of code, he said. For him, makign apps in an outlet to express his creativity.

“The coding aspect is important, and you need to learn the basics. But people often neglect the creative side to it. It really is an art in a way,” said Nathan.

Chris Bigenho, Director of Educational Technology agreed that sometimes students do not realize that creating an App or computer program starts with creativity.

He also applauded the students who have taken a step to start developing apps and sees what could result from it.

“There is no reason the next great app couldn’t come from a teenager,” said Mr. Bigenho.

Cole found his interest in technology after taking summer classes in computer programming, Multimedia 2, and Java.

At first it was a steep learning curve for him, as it is for many beginning programmers.

“It was difficult to learn at first, but it turned out to be pretty simple and made sense quickly. I continued to work with [a game-development program] and was able to do more advanced things with it and make better games,” Cole said.

Nathan agreed that learning how to make an app is not very easy at first.

“When making my first app, it took me a while to learn what to do on the programming side. However, after a good amount of programming, I got the hang of it.

It wasn’t that bad,” Nathan said.

Cole continued to refine and improve his skills and now, for the past year, he has been working on an app that could become a large part of how online communication works at Greenhill.

The app will become a space where all the main online systems that Greenhill uses can be, so that students will have everything in one place.

“It’s hopefully eventually going to replace emails, announcements, surveys, and special schedules. Pretty much everything,” said Cole.

Although the release of the app will occur in phases, Cole hopes to help the whole Greenhill community.

Cole also emphasized that although overuse of technology by teenagers is often criticized in the media, he and the other Apple Developers at Greenhill utilize technology in a beneficial and unique way.

“Watching TV is different from designing and programming things. I mean you definitely can spend too much time on it, but I do feel like I’m learning things when I do this,” said Cole.

Josh, Nathan, and Cole all see technology as a big part of their lives and hope to pursue in some way in the future.

Nathan even said that if the opportunity presented itself, he would gladly move out to the Silicon Valley in California, a place where some of the world’s most promising young innovators move to foster their careers in technology. Nathan has also been working on an app for the past two years that he hopes to release soon, but he is not ready to share the details of the app to the public quite yet, in order to build anticipation for the release.

“I’d like to have [technology] be an aspect of what I do, but not completely what

I do.” Cole said.

Although the exact ways the programming skills Josh, Nathan, and Cole possess will affect their futures are undetermined, building applications and programs will be a key aspect of their lives because it is something each of them loves to do.

“I’ve always been interested in computers, so it’s a natural extension of what I love. Also, in terms of my business, I love to help people, so it makes me feel good to help them,” Josh said.

At the pace these three entrepreneurs are moving in the technological world, maybe the next great app won’t just come from any teenager, but a Greenhill teenager.

App Making 101 1. Purchase an Apple Developer license for $99 a year.

2. Accumulate the tools you’ll need to make the app.

3. Decide which programming language and software best fit your needs.

4. Decide the functionality you want your app to have.

5. Create design simulations.

6. Start programming your app!

7. Once the app is done, go to the developer portal online and submit your app data.

8. Upload a compressed version of your app package (this is what you coded) to Apple.

9. Finally, your app will be approved and go live on the app store.

wednesday, november 12, 2014

In the Spotlight...

Friedman Andrew Special Sections Editor

As many seniors look towards adult life and the real world, senior Rachel Davis stems the tide by remembering her childhood through her collection of science fiction and fantasy novels. Books by authors like JRR Tolkien, Phillip Pullman and William Gibson take her to the Misty Mountains of Middle-earth, the land of talking polar bears or the urban jungle of Chiba City, and inspire within Rachel literary nostalgia.

“I guess I just never lost [the feeling] of being a kid and wanting to be ‘a fairy princess’ when [I] grow up, that love for things that can’t happen really, but can in a book,” said Rachel. “You can tell so many stories and there are no restrictions.”

Rachel’s hobbies include singing, playing the ukulele and piano, heading Greenhill Stage management, and videogaming. (The latter surprises most people, as a quotation on her senior page reads, “Librarian Soul.”)

Ultimately, writing is Rachel’s most significant pastime. She has been writing for as long as she can remember and appreciates the chance to immerse her in worlds similar to those she adored as a kid. Rachel aspires to teach English at the university level.

But for now, Rachel enjoys in costume making in her spare time. She attended her first comic convention, Dallas Comic Con, three years ago after being introduced by friends Emma Pillow and Ashley Lee. Her costume was a true-to-the-book

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Lord of the Rings Gondorian outfit, complete with a long, black surcoat with Gondorian tree embellishments.

It was her first sewing project and took her approximately three months to make. For her next convention, Dallas Anime Convention (usually held at the Hilton Anatole), she created a costume entirely from paper in order to embody King Elrond, an Elven King from the Lord of the Rings universe..

For Rachel, costume making is about enjoyment rather than competition.

“It’s not being the best out there, it’s just about having fun and dressing up as the character you like. It’s sort of like Halloween,” she said. “Except you get to [dress up] as many times a year as you go to [conventions].”

Perhaps the most enjoyable part of comic conventions for Rachel is having her picture taken by fellow convention-goers impressed with her artistry. “[It’s] the best feeling when someone walks up to you and says, ‘Hey, I love your costume, can I take your picture?’’’ she said.

As an editor of Greenhill’s student literary magazine Montage, Rachel enjoys discussing student-submitted creative writing. Many make the generalization that only “artsy” students attend or submit pieces to Montage, but Rachel argues differently. Even after four years, she is still amazed by a multitude of anonymous submissions and “artsy” students who attend meetings or submit

pieces.

“You know which kids are the artists and which kids are the sports kids, but writing is just totally universal.

Sometimes people you don’t expect submit things, and it’s fantastic to see how their minds work, how their words work,” she said.

Rachel is also a leader of Music Club. Meetings feature presentations (for example on screams of rock-n-roll history) and Rachel’s school-famous baked treats.

“I started going [to Music Club] freshman year just sort of for fun,” she said.

Rachel’s music library now contains 609 albums. Among her favorite genres are country, indie rock, classic rock, film scores, and French rap, in which she appreciates a distinct “North-African sound.”

(France has experienced immigration from Algeria and Morocco, both former French colonies, in recent years.) Rachel’s favorite European rappers include Maître Gims and Stromae, but Rachel enjoys a little bit of everything.

“Mostly, I blame my dad for that,” she said. Rachel’s dad, whom she describes as an “adult hipster,” bought Rachel her first CDs and iPod (preloaded with his favorite music) and now recommends new bands based on live performances he has seen.

Rachel’s dad has also influenced the way she responds to social injustices.

She condemns homophobia, misogyny, and the many restrictions that face the

commitments. [Reading] is the one thing that falls by the wayside,” said Jennifer Tirrell, Upper School Librarian.

Despite this, some passionate readers still find and make time to read.

Justin Estrada, an athlete, tries to log at least an hour of reading every night, especially if a book has captured his interest.

“My schedule can affect my reading, but I usually find time to read something.

Crunch-week comes and you have to buckle down and do work, but other than that it’s not so bad. I like immersing myself into a different world and learning about different struggles and challenges. I like imagining the different possibilities in every situation,” said Justin.

“I think a lot of it depends on the student themselves. If they’re a strong, hard-core reader they will keep that up. So I think it’s more of a personal choice: if it is a priority for them then they will make time for it,” Ms. Tirrell said.

Sophomore Getty Hesse, one of six students who signed up to go to the Austin Book Festival in October, returned to Dallas carrying a total of 10 new books. The festival allows similarly committed readers to meet authors, learn about various genres and find new books.

“I specifically went to meet authors I admire and get books signed and to hang out with fellow-minded peers at a book festival,” said Getty.

Although a busy student, Getty is also an avid reader who finds time to read during breaks and in between classes.

“I have always loved to read. It has given me an escape from day to day pressures,” said junior Connor Cowman, who reads every night.

Based on the survey results, 88 percent of students prefer reading fiction to nonfiction.

“Reading expands the scope of your mind,”

said junior Joseph Clint. “You go into a different world and experience. It’s different.

It’s magical. Reading things outside of class can enlighten me and I can later bring in those things and relate them back to class.”

Because reading is not part of the Upper

features

Photo courtesy of Rachel Davis

READ ALL OVER: Senior Rachel Davis, an avid reader, is also a champion of writing.

modern adolescent.

“My dad is politically active, he’s a lawyer, and I’ve sort of inherited his very liberal political views,” she said. “I don’t like feeling restricted by expectations of me, ‘this idea of what I should do,’ traditional gender roles. I feel like you should do what you want to do as long as it’s not harming anyone.”

Her favorite quotation, she said, is by Neil DeGrasse Tyson: “The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.”

Pleasure-reading plummets in Upper School

Radhe Melwan Kathie Rojas Staff Writers

Graphic by Arhum Khan

Sitting in English class, students were rapidly taking notes when Joel Garza, Upper School English teacher, asked a question that made them all stop for a moment. “How many of you have checked out a book from the library this year?” An ordinary question, but the response was what was surprising.

Only two students raised their hands.

In Middle School and Lower School, reading books for fun is part of the curriculum. Librarians and teachers encourage it through competitions, such as the 40 Book Challenge, in which a student has to read 40 books in the school year. In addition, a day dedicated to reading and checking out books from the library is incorporated once a rotation. However, this changes in high school. Of all the checkouts from Montgomery Library last year, only 352 checkouts were from the Upper School, in contrast with 4,785 checkouts from Middle School and 3,509 checkouts from the Lower School.

The majority of students obtain their material at bookstores. The results of a survey sent to Upper School students about reading showed that only 10 percent acquire their books from the Montgomery Library.

Of the 100 students who took the survey, 83 reported they would like to read more, but lack of time is their main obstacle. Only 25 percent of students said they carve out at least two hours of reading time a week.

“I think [free reading] suffers in the Upper School because [students’] schedules are so busy with [the] academic load and sports and other

9

School curriculum, students have to take time out of their own schedule.

“I think if we want to have and maintain a reading culture in the Upper School community, then weneed to advocate for it and share the responsibility in contributing to it,” Ms. Tirrell said.

the

10

Sanah Hasan

Managing Editor

Varun Gupta Features Editor

Two students review their notes before a test. As they discuss the material, one student notices that in his friend’s notebook, there is a completely different page of notes, in different handwriting, with different methods to do the problem. “Where did you get that from?” the student asks. “Oh, my tutor told me to do this,” the other responds.

According to a survey conducted by The Evergreen to determine the prevalence of tutoring in the Upper School, 42 percent of the 172 students who responded to the survey currently have a tutor. Students seek tutoring through oncampus tutors or agencies not affiliated with Greenhill.

Different perceptions surround the topic of tutoring. There is no right answer to the question: Do I need a tutor?

Some students seek tutoring to receive a passing grade in a class in which they struggle. Others use outside resources to get the “A”. Another student might just meet a few times a month to go over math homework before an upcoming assessment.

Greenhill, however, has more specific criteria for when a tutor is necessary.

Honelynn Parker, Upper School Learning Specialist, arranges on-campus tutoring. If a student has exhausted all other resources and continues to do poorly in a class, Mrs. Parker meets with that student to understand the issue. After reviewing the student’s case, she will determine whether or not tutoring is the best option. If tutoring is necessary, Mrs. Parker consults the students’ teacher, and family.

Additionally, students with a diagnosed learning disability who have an Individual

Everg

The Elephants in

Learning Assistance Program (ILAP) are encouraged to meet with a tutor. On-campus, Greenhill-recommended tutoring is part of their package for students on financial aid.

Mrs. Parker has a list of approved in-house tutors, which she recommends to students who need them. Upper School students, parents, and Greenhill-vetted tutors are required to follow guidelines that comply with the school’s safety protocol, assembly schedules and Honor Code.

On-campus tutors must send students’ progress reports every trimester. Mrs. Parker also discussed tutoring that happens out of Greenhill’s periphery. Tutoring done off-campus is not regulated by the school.

“There is tutoring that takes places that I have no idea takes place,” she said.

Ultimately, the school’s philosophy is that students should meet with teachers first. In many cases, students resort to outside help without approaching teachers with questions.

“The purpose of tutoring is to not be in lieu of working with the teacher,” said Mrs. Parker.

The Bandwagon

“I think that there is an inaccurate perception that everyone has a tutor” said Laura Ross, Head of Upper School.

The survey results indicate that 84.7 percent of Greenhill students believe that over 25 percent of the Upper School is currently being tutored.

However, parents are the primary reason why students meet with tutors. According to the survey, 75.5 percent of students are tutored because their parents wanted them to have the extra help.

“Parents can sometimes have a tendency to try to create a protective bubble around their children and get a

tutor at the first sign of a struggle,” Mrs. Ross said.

However, parents’ reasoning to send their kids to tutoring does not always reflect a child’s need for outside help.

According to Mrs. Ross, she often hears cases where students do not want to have a tutor but are forced to go to classes by their parents.

“My mom really pushed me [to get tutoring] outside of school,” said junior Nicolas Suarez. At first he was opposed to his mother’s decision, but now Nicolas said he would actually approach his tutor before working with a teacher.

The Over Reliance Some students feel too intimidated to speak up in class if they are confused about a concept, resulting in their needing the extra help to go over material.

“It’s almost as though students feel that asking a teacher for help is somehow embarrassing, but if you go and ask a tutor outside of class, then you can ask your questions and you can admit that you need help in a way that may not be as threatening,” said Upper School English teacher Trey Colvin.

“I can ask [my tutor] something that may have already been asked in class. I don’t feel as uncomfortable asking my tutor,” Nicolas said.

According to the survey, 81.7 percent of students who are tutored, have a tutor in math.

Additionally, 36.5 percent of students with a tutor meet for English.

“The difficulty [lies] when you come to rely on [a tutor, because] then you never want to give up that source,” said

A TUTORING TIPPING POINT: According to a survey of 172 Greenhill students, approximately 4 out of every 10 students currently have a tutor, as seen above. Although they are not physically in the c

green

wednesday, november 12, 2014

n the Classroom Michael Legacy, Head of the Math Department. “In some cases, students have the tendency to disengage from the classroom.

Whenever they are in that mode, it is really hard to break [the habit].”

Dr. Colvin observed students’ quick response to hire a tutor.

“This year in particular, I had several ninth graders that came up to me and said something to the effect of ‘It’s okay, I’m not going to work on this right now because I’m going to go work on this with my tutor’ and [my thought was] why are you working with a tutor instead of sitting here with me in this time that I’m giving you to work with me? I just don’t understand that,” he said.

Mrs. Ross cited a similar concern.

“Parents are creating this protective bubble around their children. This creates a dependency on a tutor. Kids are always like, ‘Without my tutors, how am I going to survive?’ That’s the part that worries me,” she said.

Some teachers challenge the whole idea of getting tutoring for more challenging classes.

“My real concern is [the] students in honors classes that have a tutor. That strikes me as that student should not be in honors,” Mr. Legacy said.

Ghostwriters It is the night before a big paper is due, and you are sitting down with your tutor. She is doing most of the work, while you watch. This scenario is not hypothetical. Some students have tutors who will offer to do a lot of their assignments.

According to Dr. Colvin, teachers have no way of knowing if a student is tutored, unless the student shares that information.

However, the discrepancy in writing style is clear.

“It gets into a sticky

situation if you have a kid who turns in a perfectly crafted paper, well-thought out and well organized that was completed outside of class and then have them work on something in class and the work is no-where near the same quality. That’s a problem,” Dr. Colvin said.

Plagiarism and cheating on English papers has been a frequently discussed concern with Greenhill’s Honor Council.

“We can’t actually punish someone for having their tutor write their paper, because we have no proof. It’s not like they copied their content from the Internet,” said senior Camille Andrews, Vice President of the Honor Council.

Some students are very aware of dangers involved with an over-reliance on tutoring.

Nicolas recently switched from going to an off-campus tutoring center to Elaine Lowen, a Greenhill-vetted tutor so that he could distance himself from tutors who just give students the answer.

“Once, I had a tutor and she was trying to help me, but she was writing [my paper] for me, so I just deleted everything and did it myself. I like for it to be my own work. I hate when [tutors] do it all. [Now] My tutors just guide me if I ever get lost,” Nicolas said.

Similarly, junior Andrea Mora switched math tutors and signed on with a Greenhill-vetted tutor.

“All [my old tutor] did was give me answers and help me with [homework] due soon.

So that wasn’t really helpful,” Andrea said.

Now, Andrea regularly attends private sessions at school w i t h Mrs. Lowen, w h o understands t h e teacher

11

expectations well.

“It was life-changing, because my grades improved dramatically. Now that I’m in Algebra II, it’s a lot easier and it is one of my best classes this year,” Andrea said.

The Big Picture Greenhill is a challenging academic environment.

Whether a student meets with a tutor or their teacher, the learning process is not always easy. The struggle itself can be just as important as understanding a concept.

One of the classes Mrs. Ross receives requests for tutoring in is Honors Geometry. Since many of the students taking the class are new to the Upper School, combining that aspect with a completely different type of math, and style of thinking can lead students to feel overwhelmed and sign up for tutoring.

“Kids flock to tutors because they don’t want a bump in their transcript. But this class has really important lessons, and the rush to tutoring can stifle those skills,” Mrs. Ross said.

If wrestling through a difficult problem is such an important life lesson, are students willing to do it?

“Struggling with a question is a good lesson for students to learn,” Mrs. Ross said.

When reflecting upon his own experiences in math, Mr. Legacy also believes in the benefits of wrestling with a tough problem.

“I think that by having to figure it out on my own, that ultimately made me a better math teacher because I had to wrestle with the tough problems,” Mr. Legacy said.

graphic by Sera Tuz and Ariana Zhang

classroom, they are a controversial helping hand for students. Tutors have a large impact on students’ education, helping them behind-the-scenes, whether it is to get ahead or improve weak skills.

Special Report the

Campaign contributions: students invest time and heart Madison Goodrich News Editor

Zoe Allen Staff Writer

It was only 11 a.m. and the sun was already scorching on this August day in Murphy, TX. Heat waves danced on top of the street while children played and adults watered their lawns. Senior Ricky Jaramillo walked from house to house, encouraging residents to vote for democratic politician Wendy Davis for Texas Governor.

Ricky is one of many Greenhill students who choose to participate in political campaigns because they want to support the candidate, are interested in politics, or want to educate themselves and their community or inspire someone to vote. Whatever the reason, they all hope to make a difference.

Senior Lindsey Ingram joined the Wendy Davis campaign to be a well-informed voter.

“I’ve always been interested in politics, and I felt that if I could be a part of the campaign, I would understand better what the campaign stood for. Since I’m going to be able to vote this year, it’s important for me to understand what the person stands for,” she said.

Lindsey started volunteering in early October by participating in block walks, in which volunteers go to a neighborhood and knock on doors to promote their candidate.

Junior Joseph Clint and Hannah Kim worked with the Dallas County Republican Party and gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott. In their government class at Greenhill, they were given the option of making a presentation or volunteering for a political campaign. They chose the latter and spent multiple hours calling listed republicans in a phone bank.

“It made me feel apart of the community that you don’t really get at Greenhill, being a Republican. It did feel nice,” Joseph said.

Hannah was impressed with the amount of work the volunteers put in. She was also impressed that Dallas County District Attorney candidate Susan Hawk picked up the phone and made calls herself.

“People work so hard for this,” she said. “They really care. She introduced herself to me, and that was really awesome.”

Even though sophomore Lauren Stock cannot yet vote, she volunteered for the Wendy Davis

Graphic by Ariana Zhang Photo courtesy of Ricky Jaramillo

POLITICALLY INVOLVED: Senior Ricky Jaramillo and fellow volunteers train for the Wendy Davis campaign.

campaign.

Some of Lauren’s block walk experience included poor treatment, such as doors being slammed in her face. These reactions surprised her and made her realize that talking about politics is much more difficult than she once thought.

“People are not always very open about their political beliefs.

With our generation, I think it is more common for people to be open about their political thoughts, [but] I always think it’s important to hear people out [even] if you don’t agree with them.”

“

We’re the people that shuffle all the papers, work with our head organizers.

We maintain the structure of the campaign.”

Lauren said her goal is to increase voter awareness.

“It’s important for people to vote and therefore it’s important for people to be educated. That was the biggest thing that we were doing when we were walking: not getting people to vote for her but getting people to understand what her views [are]. They need to at least know what’s going on.”

The chance to make a change

and be apart of history sparked Ricky’s interest in government and politics. His admiration for the American democratic system also contributed to his interest in politics.

“I wasn’t born in the United States, I was born in Venezuela and [they] don’t really have a democratic system anymore. As the son of two immigrant parents whose original country [is] no longer a democratic country, I grew up with an appreciation of where I am, in the United States and the government that we have.”

While knocking on doors as part of the block walk for the Wendy Davis campaign, Ricky and his friend had a long conversation with a registered voter who had every intention of voting but had encountered a problem in the past.

His middle and last names were reversed on his drivers license, though his name was correct on his voter registration card. Because of the mismatch, he was turned away and was unable to vote in the 2012 Presidential election. Due to his limited English-speaking abilities, he did not know he could still vote if he had a signed affidavit.

“I was having this conversation with him and I was very angry. I was like, ‘The reason you are not voting is because some random

government bureaucrat messed up on your drivers license.’ To me that was a moment where I [felt] the real-world impact of a policy that disproportionately affects minority people.”

Cases like this are why Ricky would like to see change. He said he believes that “the real voter fraud” is caused by people in power not educating others about their rights.

Ricky worked on the Wendy Davis campaign for three months and got his start by doing block walks. He then became a Wendy Fellow, an intern for her campaign.

To earn the position he had to submit a resume online and participate in an interview. The Fellows organized and participated in block walks and phone banks, They also processed paperwork and data entry from block walks or phone banks.

“We’re the people that shuffle all the papers, work with our head organizers. We maintain the structure of the campaign.”

Ricky expects to have spend 60 or more hours on the campaign.

Like many students who volunteer, Ricky was drawn to the politician as a person. He first heard of Wendy Davis because of her 11hour filibuster on an anti-abortion bill. After some research, her

humble beginnings and political stance made him a supporter.

“She’s an easy woman to be inspired by because she started off as a poor single mother living in a trailer home, but ended up going to Harvard Law and becoming a successful business woman. I was inspired by her overall story.

I was like, ‘Wow I didn’t know that someone like Wendy was a senator,’” Ricky said.

Scott Cotton, Upper School history teacher, said student interest in politics peaks during Presidential elections.

“I think we have a lot of students here that are generally interested in politics. They follow it on social media, they read about it, they talk about it at home.

They’re interested.

Candidates matter and issues matter too. I think a presidential election will be of greater interest, especially a historic election like Obama or potentially Hillary Clinton. I think that could galvanize certain groups of students,” Mr. Cotton said.

When the Nov. 4 election polls closed and Greg Abbott was named Governor of Texas, Ricky was watching the television with other Wendy Davis volunteers.

“It was pretty devastating.

It’s important to realize that Democrats have good ideas, but it was a midterm election, and the voter turnout was low. [Wendy] was the underdog all the way through.

It wasn’t a shock by any means; we were always scrambling to pull off an upset,” he said.

Joseph was glad he contributed to his candidate’s victory.

“I was happy with all the results. I contributed to something,” he said.

Hannah was satisfied with the results and feels that the win was well deserved.

“I was happy that so many Republican candidates were able to take over. It was earned,” Hannah said.

Lindsey said she was upset about the outcome, but hopes the best for the future of Texas.

“I wasn’t really surprised, but disappointed. The more that we get people to understand that their vote really does matter in the midterm elections, the [bluer] Texas will become. I’m curious to see how [Abbott] handles policies to really know how the future of Texas will end up,” she said.

How Greenhill compares to Governor Greg Abbott on ...

Gay Marriage

GA: GH:

Yes Yes (83%) No (10%) Undecided (7%)

Death Penalty GA: GH:

Yes Yes (38%) No (28%) Undecided (34%)

Gun Control GA: GH:

Yes Yes (63%) No (23%) Undecided (14%)

Abortion GA: GH:

Yes Yes (80%) No (11%) Undecided (9%)

Govt. Health Care GA: GH:

Yes Yes (50%) No (25%) Undecided (25%)

all Greenhill results based on a survey of 100 Upper School students

Arts the

Christina Zhu News Editor

Leah Witheiler

Staff Writer

The Marshall Family Performing Arts Center will soon offer a professionally equipped assembly and concert hall with 600 seats and student actors’ the latest technology to enhance performances. The new center will provide an intimate studio, dance hall, green room, video production classroom, lobby, gallery, and outdoor plaza.

Despite the guarantee of a modern, larger building in near our near future, Catherine Hopkins, Greenhill’s new Upper School theater teacher, is savoring our last few months in the Zale-Fields Theater. She will direct a play in the green room for Shadow box, an unconventional, small space with dimmed lights and cushioned couches that is intended as the actors’ backstage prep room.

“I just want students to understand that theater doesn’t have to be performed on a stage with a traditional set or traditional lighting,” said Ms. Hopkins. “The only thing you need to make theater is a space to perform and an audience.”

The green room isn’t the only nontraditional space she will use

See p. 15 to read more about the culture of learning percussion music.

Thinking Outside the Blackbox this year: the second-trimester Advanced Acting class will perform a play promenade-style with the audience moving to a new location for each act.

“The space that we have is meant to be an alternate space,” said Michael Orman, Middle School/Upper School Technical Theater Director, about the ZaleFields theater. “It wasn’t originally designed to be a proscenium, or auditorium-style seating. When it was built it was meant to be a flexible space. It’s great Ms. Hopkins came in and saw the space for what it was worth, to exploit it the last year and use the space for what it was meant to be.”

To Ms. Hopkins, the philosophy of theater is not only about the acting, but also about the stage.

“My approach with theater has always been working with the space, and I fell in love with this theater,” she said.

She seeks innovative ways to go beyond the traditional highschool theater experience.

Ms. Hopkins first started teaching students 12 years ago when she was living in Panama and wanted to to get more involved with the theater community. At first she started working at a local theater in Panama called The Theater

Guild of Ancon as a designer, but soon she began to write plays and direct. Once a year they rented out the theater to an international high school for performances. After watching a teacher work with high schoolers, she realized that was what she wanted to do as a career.

“It’s such a magical moment when you have the chance to introduce some great literature to young people. I wanted to be that person,” she said.

This year, Acting for Stage will put on a play called Shadow Box. Shadow Box is about terminal cancer patients, their families and loved ones, and how they handle and confront the concept of death.

“It really makes you think and I think that’s a big parallel with Our Town, because they make you think in ways you usually don’t about death. And that’s something a lot of people don’t want to confront,” said Mose Kane, a junior with roles in both productions.

This play was performed in the green room, where space was limited to approximately 25 seats per showing. With only two shows, in total only 50 people were able to see the play. The limited audience had the unique opportunity to be close to the actors. “[Performing in the green room is] also an opportunity to

break down a lot of barriers for the actors and create a real connection with the audience,” Ms. Hopkins said. “Theater should really be about communication. So having chosen these really intimate settings and really charged environments will help our students become more confident, risk-taking actors.”

Sophomore Jonah Goldberg agreed that there are benefits to acting in compact spaces.

“Performing in a small space definitely forces you to develop good characteristics,” he said.

“When you’re in a more closeup environment, the audience is noticing more little movements and the little changes in your facial expression. It forces you to establish yourselves as the character and have the reactions be more realistic. It’s less overreacting and more intimate acting.”

Not only does Ms. Hopkins wish to break down barriers between the actors and the audience members, but she also wishes to provide more opportunities for the actors. In the past the theater department put on three shows.

Ms. Hopkins is planning to have nine shows this year.

“These [class productions] are providing performance opportunities and more chances for students to develop acting

skills, build their creative resumes for college applications and to play larger, more demanding roles more consistently outside of the fall show, the musical, and the student production,” Ms. Hopkins said.

With more shows, students will have a more diverse array of works and roles. This will nudge students out of their comfort zones and let them increase their range of acting skills.

“I think Ms. Hopkins believes we can push ourselves to be better than just settling for average, which will carry in a positive direction for us,” said Aryn Henderson, a senior in Acting for Production.

“She is very helpful with finding us audition material and is very familiar with the process of applying to college for theater. She encourages us to add more tools to our ‘acting toolbox.’s” These changes may make students think outside of the box, but Ms. Hopkins hopes that thechanges will also help the theater department expand.

“I hope that the theater department will grow exponentially,” said Ms. Hopkins.

“I hope people have to fight to get into the classes. That’s my dream.

That people have to compete to get in. I think it’s going to take a little while, person by person.”

Photos courtesy of David Pillow and Ariana Zhang

OUT OF THE SHADOWS: The cast of Our Town, the fall drama, holds their final pose (top). Sophomores Jonah Goldberg and Addie Gomez played the lead characters, sweethearts George Gibbs and Emily Webb. The Acting for Stage class rehearses their play Shadow box, which was performed on Nov. 10 and 11, in the green room of the Zale-Fields theatre (bottom).

14 arts

the

Evergreen

wednesday, november 12, 2014

Graphic by Ashley Lee

DISAPPEARING ACT: Some of our most cherished institutions close and change as fast as the seasons pass. We’re called to reminisce on the past and move on to new traditions.

What happened to Dinner and a Movie?

Lane Hirsch Sports Editor

Amna Naseem Features Editor

Friday nights were once reserved for a Blockbuster movie and some Papa John’s pizza. It was the best day of the week.

Not because it was the last day of school or the start of the weekend, but because it was family movie night. Or at least it used to be.

Right now, we’re sitting on a couch staring into blank space. It’s Friday, but our traditional dinner and a movie no longer means sitting with our families sneaking the veggies off our pizzas and onto our parent’s slices and watching our favorite Blockbuster films. And it’s not just because we’re growing up. Times are changing.

“I would look forward to it all week, thinking about what movie I would pick if it was my week to choose the movie.”

“The best part was walking up to Blockbuster and smelling the pizza cooking right next door, the pizza I knew was being cooked for me. Those were the times.”

And yet those times can never return.

The Blockbuster at the intersection of Preston and Royal has become a Specs Winery, never

to house the movies that once held so much prominence on our Friday nights.

The fun of going out to pick a movie has all but vanished. Blockbusters have disappeared, and there is not a single one left in the metroplex.

“Some of my favorite movies were the ones I never even knew existed, the ones that had intriguing covers on the disc case so I picked them just because.”

“Netflix take-out nights that consist of binging on junk food and old T.V. shows are fun, but they’re just not the same.”

“Exactly, because now there’s no longer the thrill of walking along the crowded Blockbuster aisles, scouring the shelves for the perfect pick.”

In fact, now we don’t even watch movies without checking our phones every five minutes. Movies at home are now accompanied with surfing Instagram and Twitter feeds, reading the latest CNN breaking news, and shopping online.

Alongside our connection with our phones, the traditional dinner and a movie at home has been altered by DVR. Now that most of us have DVR and the most recent movies are available to us at the touch of a button, we no longer watch the old

Blockbuster classics that were our parents’ childhood favorites.

The old Friday night traditions had to be replaced with new ones, but those didn’t last long either.

“We also used to eat at EZs, the restaurant right across from Temple Emanuel, all the time, but it was replaced with a chains restaurant and that tradition was broken, too.”

“It’s hard to let yourself get attached to something as trivial as a restaurant or movie store that has the possibility of shutting down.”

Certain restaurants and movies hold a special place in all of our lives, as they become parts of family traditions. One of the hardest things, then, is to stand by and watch as those places symbolic of times in your life are torn down, shut down, or replaced. Most of us don’t appreciate the special traditions until they’re gone.

“I remember always stopping at Purple Cow on Saturdays after our YMCA soccer games. My brother, sister, and I would fight over who got to sit in the booth, and we would all get chocolate milkshakes with extra whipped cream. It was a Saturday tradition that I’ll never forget.”

Almost all of us can relate to a restaurant or store that we visited frequently–whether it was EZ’s, Purple Cow, or a different local hot spot. The experience of regularly visiting the same place with your family or friends is one that many of us take for granted. For most of us, it’s hard to imagine that our Friday night family fests (and equivalents) may not last forever.

“We’re starting to sound like old timers… It’s ironic that we’re only 17 but have all these lost traditions.”

The “old-timers nostalgia” is a foreign emotion to most people in our generation.

As a fast moving society, most of us never take time to reminisce on what we have, but rather, we are always looking forward to what is next, like the newest iPhone or trend.

“All these lost traditions definitely make me really appreciate my mom’s Sunday morning homemade pancakes. That’s something that I know I never want to lose.”

So here we are, just sitting on the couch on Friday night. There is no Papa John’s pizza and no old Blockbuster film, but we want to continue having our own traditions, even if they are different.

“How about we start Friday night Chipotle and bowling?”

Jena Rose Raphael leaves Greenhill to follow her passion for music Simra Abedi Zayna Syed Staff Writers

Former Greenhill student Jena Rose Raphael left Greenhill in order to pursue a career in music. Jena began her third year at Greenhill as an eighth grader, but made the decision to leave in October. At 13 years old, she is a singer of indie-pop music, has received over a million views on her YouTube videos, acquired a talent manager, and been to multiple red carpet events.

Like any normal Greenhill student, Jena struggled with balancing schoolwork and extracurriculars, but in her case the extracurriculars included a blossoming music career.

Jena left Greenhill after discussing her decision at length with her family. She describes her family as very supportive of her decision, though it was mainly her idea.

“It’s very difficult to balance a rigorous music schedule along with the rigorous academics at Greenhill,” said senior Alex Raphael, Jena’s older brother.

Jena was clear about what meant the most to her.

“Music is my number one priority. It’s everything to me.

I don’t know what I’d do without it. I can’t imagine a world without music and without me doing it,” Jena said.

Currently, Jena is enrolled with Keystone, an online private school, whose more flexible workload allow her to be more independent with her schedule. “The main driving point was the travelling. I wanted to have the ability to be flexible and not turn things down when things come up,” Jena said.

Most of Jena’s trips are to New York City and Los Angeles. She has performed at Six Flags, the American Airlines Center, MTV’s Fashion for Charity, a World Peace Day event in Tennessee, and the United Nation’s Global annual conference in New York City.

Jena writes her own music advocating against bullying and selfharm through her music.

Her song “Take A Breath”, for example is specifically dedicated to this. In the song, Jena gives her friends advice: “Take a breath, take a breath my dear. Take a step now, take a step my dear.”

Photo courtesy of Jena Rose Raphael

RED CARPET READY: Jena Rose poses on the MTV Fashion for Charity event red carpet before her performance, which included her original song, “Hail to the Queen.”

She says these issues are particularly relevant to her, as a lot of her friends have dealt with bullying and hard times. To Jena, music is about more than just singing a song, it’s about inspiring people.

“I want people to have a new outlook on life,” Jena said.

As well as writing her own music, Jena also performs covers, such as her cover of “Gravity” by John Mayer. Jena accompanies herself on the piano, which she has been playing since the age of four.

Despite her maturity and awareness of serious issues, Jena is normal kid.

“She was just like any normal Greenhill kid,” said Jaye Andrews, Jena’s former math teacher and advisor at Greenhill. “If you were maybe wondering if she was a diva or anything like that—no, she was just a hardworking student trying to make her way at school.”

Jena said that switching from Greenhill to an online school meant certain losses.

“It’s kind of bittersweet because I get to do something I love: music. I get to perform for people. On the other hand, I miss out on stuff with my friends. But I try and make up for it as much as I can,” says Jena.

She has no regrets, however, about the path she has followed.

“This is the happiest I’ve been in my life because of all the opportunities. I’m so thankful for them,” Jena said.

“There’s always opportunities. The question is, when do you want to take them?”

wednesday, november 12, 2014

Amna Naseem Features Editor

Areeba Amer Staff Writer

A jittery 10-year-old boy always taps his fingers on his desk during class.

Everyone thinks, “Hey, he would be a great drummer!”

This association, directly relating hitting objects to percussion, is common. Percussion is defined as a combination of hitting and shaking instruments. However, much more rhythmic skill is required before that jittery boy grows up to be a percussionist, though the unconscious habit may be a spark.

Many percussionists began with this attraction to drumming.

“I would be playing with my fingers on the dashboard and think, ‘That is really cool!’” said freshman Grace Doyle, a percussionist in the Greenhill Band. “It was one of those things where you are like, ‘I want to learn how to do that!’”

Following her passion, Grace began playing piano the summer before sixth grade in preparation for the percussion program, which students must audition for, and which only accepts five students in sixth grade.

Brian Donnell, Middle and Upper School Band Director, explained that a background in piano gives new percussionists a good foundation for reading music and developing a sense of rhythm and keeping tempo.

Once chosen for the program, sixth graders begin learning two basic building blocks: melodic instruments and non-pitch, or battery instruments (instruments that you hit or shake).

The students spend half of their time learning how to play melodic instruments by practicing on bell sets, an instrument with several tuned bells. This helps the percussionists read music. The other half of class time is concentrated on the battery aspect of percussion: students learn to keep time and rhythm, to sustain a steady beat, and to properly hold drumsticks.

“By spending time on both of these aspects of music [melodic and non-pitch], the students then have a good foundation for any kind of instrument,” Mr. Donnell said. “You don’t grow up focusing on being a cymbal player or focusing on being a woodblock player. You’re learning the basic techniques that you can apply to any of the instruments at any time.”

It takes time to build up these rhythmic skills.

“You don’t really play at first,” Grace, said. “You might start off with the beat or how to count and how to hold your sticks before you start hitting something.”

Hitting an instrument may not be as easy as expected, as rhythm is a huge part of playing.

Each percussionist’s own personal growth contributes to the percussion ensemble’s development as a group. Each person has to focus on his or her strengths and weaknesses.

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Evergreen

Stick to the Beat

“[Mastering rhythm] was hard,” Grace said. “At first I didn’t understand what they were talking about. It kind of comes to you after a while, you just have to work on it.”

The percussionists must work on mastering rhythm in order to keep the beat and tempo of the entire band during concerts and ensembles. Although percussion instruments may seem less musical than other instruments, their role is crucial.

“Percussion is the root of the band,” said junior Nitish Jindal, a percussionist.

“Percussion always has to be 100 percent on time, right on beat.”

The drums, xylophones, cymbals, and other percussion instruments must be in sync with their band director. Because of this, the percussionists and band director develop a close relationship with one another.

“The snare drum, the bass player, they need to act with me, not react with me. The people sitting playing trombone and clarinet will react to the percussion sound behind them, but the drummers can’t react to that, they have to act with me,” Mr. Donnell said.

According to Mr. Donnell, one of the most difficult aspects of percussion is building up the confidence to stand alone and play their part at the right time, because, while other instruments such as the trombone or trumpet play as a group, each percussionist has his or her own unique part.

Many people also pigeon-hole them as “non-musical” members of the band.

“That originates from the fact that percussion is used, especially in concert pieces, as backing, almost like a portable metronome to make sure the band stays on track,” said senior Nikhil Ranganathan, a pecutionist.

“I think a lot of people associate music with pitch [how high or low a note is],” said senior Nikhil R anganathan, a percussionist.

“That originates from the fact that percussion is used, especially in concert pieces, as backing, almost like a portable metronome to make sure the band stays on track.”

But many percussionists said musicality, which is the quality of being “musical,” has a broader, more liberal definition than just the use of pitch in a piece.

“My definition of musicality is anything that can be used in a rhythmic way,” said freshman Amy Yang, a percussionist. “You need a balance between rhythm and sound.”

Nitish agreed. “[Musicality] is the way you play it, the phrasing, the style,” he said.

For Nick Paraskevas, Middle and Upper School Strings Director, it all comes down to the student developing and leaving with a sense of musicianship.

“It’s a kind of thinking,” said Mr. Paraskevas. “A musician is trained to hear intonation, intensity of tone … to have a sense of phrasing [and line … all sorts of things that come with nurturing.”

Freshman Caroline Harris, a cellist, and Grace sat down to discuss the similarities and differences between string instruments and percussion, both leaving with completely different mindsets than when they began.

“I feel like string instruments are so much more about the phrasing [the sequence of notes in a rhythmic pattern] and musicality while percussion is more about keeping everyone together and being the ‘cool effect,’” said Caroline, as the discussion began. “Strings are usually the melody [the main tune of the piece], but percussion is behind that.”

“Percussion–a lot of it is about musicality,” replied Grace. “I think it depends, we can be used for both [beat and melody].”

“I just think string instruments have more capabilities to create a phrase. It’s more expressive. A string instrument by

itself is more expressive than one drum.”

“I really think with any instrument can be musical,” Grace said. “You can be musical by hitting a chair.”

The two finally reached the conclusion that the main difference is the physical qualities of the sounds each instrument

arts

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makes. Grace and Caroline reached this conclusion laughing, since they figured out how similar strings and percussion really are.

“I always thought ‘percussion …cello …totally different spectrums,’ but when you think about it they are really similar,” Grace said.

“We are different,” Grace said, “but when you really think about, we are all working towards a common goal, to finish our music as well as we can and have a good time doing it–” “–and to create beauty in whatever way,” Caroline said.

ALL ABOUT THAT BASS DRUM: Freshman Grace Doyle plays the bass drum in rehearsal.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, in the fall, percussion comes to school at 7:45 a.m. to rehearse for football games.

Photo by Ariana Zhang

Sports the

See p. 18 for more on boys’ basketball’s upcoming season.

Graphic by Anusha Kurapati

FORGOTTEN FOLKS: Crew has not been a Greenhill sport since 2008 (below), but some want to bring it back. The 2005 team (below) is seen commemorating founder Bernard Fulton.

S

Might the crew team resurface?

ince the crew program was cut in 2008, many students have participated in the sport outside of school. Recently, desire for the sport to return to Greenhill has been increasing. Is such a thing possible?

Freshman Megan Lindle recently picked up crew after moving to Dallas this past summer. She has joined a club team and practices two hours a day during the week and three to five hours on weekends.

Megan said she has not had the option to participate in crew at school.

“I am disappointed,” she said, but she has talked to adults on campus, trying to get the ball rolling on a future crew team.

Megan is not alone. Several students row outside of school, investing multiple hours a week. Sophomore Ali Simenc used to row for a club team, but recently quit in order to play volleyball.

“I wanted to be part of school sports, but I would definitely do crew at school if it was offered,” she said.

Until 2008, the school’s crew program ran during the spring athletic season. Greenhill

competed against local private schools, including the Episcopal School of Dallas and St. Marks School of Texas. Although crew is not a Southwest Preparatory Conference sport, many schools still offer it year-round.

Monsie Muñoz ‘05, a Sixth grade teacher at Greenhill, was on the crew team during her high school years at Greenhill and went on to be a coxswain on the crew team at Williams College. Ms. Munoz said she misses crew and would be willing to coach a team at Greenhill as long as she was accompanied by another committed coach.

“

We only rowed in the spring and had limited time to prepare compared to other schools. It just wasn’t fair to the kids.”

“One of the difficulties when I rowed at Greenhill was finding a coach who was knowledgeable. We went through a lot of coaches while I was here,” she said.

In addition to finding a strong coach, the program experienced

By the numbers

other difficulties. Crew is an expensive sport, requiring updated gear and accessories every few years. A quad, or four-person boat, can cost up to $23,000.

Storage facilities and travel costs also add up. Mike Krueger, Upper School science teacher and Head golf coach, served as an assistant crew coach when it was still around.

“Traveling is hard because you need a trailer and truck to transport all of the equipment to places like Austin and Houston,” he said.

On a single trip to a competition, the team would likely need to transport three to four boats in addition to other equipment.

Mr. Krueger also explained that students were not able to practice during the mornings on Bachman Lake while the lake water was calm and in ideal conditions. Practice had to be cancelled at least once a week due to spring weather. With limited preparation time, the team would regularly finish near the bottom in their competitions. They were racing schools that were rowing yearround.

“It just wasn’t fair to the kids,”

The number of kills by senior Chandler Notley on boys volleyballs’s senior night against Trinity Valley on Oct. 30.

Chandler and fellow senior Grayson Taylor were honored before the game.

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Mr. Krueger said.

Though there are students currently interested in crew, numerous steps would be necessary to reinstitute the sport. Introducing new or discontinued sports is a long process that can take up to three years to facilitate. The Athletic Department would need to find funding for equipment, boathouse rental, and coaches.

Chad Wabrek, Head of Athletics and Physical Education, said that his focus does not currently lie on introducing new sports.

6

The preseason ranking of the Greenhill boys basketball team by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. They begin their season against H.S.A.A on Nov. 14.

“Right now, introducing new sports isn’t on our mind. We want to strengthen our current sports at every level, varsity and junior varsity,” he said.

As of now, the Athletic Department has no plans to bring crew back, though he and his staff would evaluate any request in light of the best and most beneficial situation for the school. story by Ben Krakow and Arhum Khan

Photo courtesy of Mike Krueger

The mile time run by boys cross country junior Justin Estrada and senior Paulo Springer in a mile time trial on Oct. 30. This was the best mile time by any member of the team for the 2014 season.

4:47

compiled by Ben Schachter

wednesday, november 12, 2014

Sofia Shirley

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Evergreen

sports

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Synch and Swim

Executive Editor

Don’t be fooled by the bedazzled swimsuit and bright red lipstick. Eighth grader Alisha Nathani is a competitive athlete–a synchronized swimmer.

Alisha was awarded with a top-10 title at the national championship this past summer and practices 10 to 20 hours a week for the Pirouettes of Texas, a synchronized swimming club in North Texas. She plans to try out for the National Team next year.

“A lot of people say that synchro is not as hard as other sports, and I object to that. Try getting in a 16-foot pool, treading water, not breathing, and trying to move your arms and legs perfectly on time,” Alisha said.

When it’s time for Alisha to compete, she and her teammates march in unison to the edge of the water. They dive, and their limbs pierce through the water’s surface in perfect time.

The routines are filled with underwater splits, somersaults and complex formations and patterns.

Depending on the age group, the routine ends approximately three minutes later.

Synchronized swimming merges four different skill sets.

“Synchro combines the musicality of dance, the flexibility and extension of gymnastics, the endurance of water polo, and the conditioning of a long-distance runner,” she said.

Not only that, but some of

these moves are even more difficult in the water than their equivalents on land. For example, doing the splits in the water requires being able to go much deeper even the splits on land. A swimmer’s total competition score consists not only of their routines, but also of these figures, a set of specific skills they need to master for the judges.

Alisha began synchronized swimming after watching a summer performance. She was already in ballet, gymnastics, and swimming for her local swim team, so the sport was a perfect fit.

Alisha’s typical practice begins with an hour of conditioning and stretching. The next 50 minutes are reserved for swimming laps and practicing dives, followed by 10 minutes of drills that will evolve into new moves. Only the final hour of practice is routine rehearsal.

Routines range from solos and duets to pieces performed by teams of four to eight, in addition to combos, which consist of 10 swimmers. For the team and combo routines, Alisha typically “swims up,” competing with an older age group because of her skill level. She is currently mastering four separate routines.

“I’m working triple duty. I do a lot of videotaping to remember them all. My mind remembers by thinking about the movement to the music,” she said.

Although the pools are equipped with both underwater and above-water sound systems,

the swimmers must know routines backwards and forwards even without the music. Twice, technical glitches have prevented Alisha from performing with music, and she’s had to continue with nothing but the sound of the water lapping at the edge of the pool.

This is incredibly difficult to do, because swimmers must synchronize to counts like dancers.

They don’t wear goggles in meets, but rely on blurred peripheral vision to watch their teammates.

They must know their teammates so well that they can predict a teammate’s mistake before it occurs and react accordingly.

“If a teammate misses the movement, you have to make it look like it’s not a mistake and miss the movement too,” Alisha said.

Above all, these swimmers are in sync in and out of the water.

“The team is my second family, always standing behind me.

Like sisters, we eat, sleep, swim, cry and fight together.”

Alisha typically outlines the preliminary choreography for her routines, then the coaching staff revises them.

“I like the freedom of being able to do whatever I want, but I always manage to second guess myself: what if this isn’t hard enough, or what if this isn’t going to look good?” Alisha said.

Routines are put to the test during competition season, which begins with a local Dallas meet.

Next comes the state meet and finally the U.S. age-group nationals,

Photo from Dallas Morning News

IN SYNC: Eighth grader Alisha Nathani (center) competing at the 2014 U.S. eSynchro Age Group Synchronized Swimming Championships.

which Alisha competed in last season over a nine-day span.

“Right before I get in [for a competition], I’m thinking of my coach and how I want her to react when I get out of the water, how I want her to smile, say great job, and list things I can do better,” Alisha said.

However, she has no intention of going to the Olympics, simply because she doesn’t see it as a sustainable career.

The other thing Alisha is

thinking about when she jumps in that pool is her family–her mom, dad, and younger brother, fifth grader Kaden Nathani–who sit by the pool for three to five days, sometimes for eight hours straight.

“I am constantly amazed at the confidence and skill she has developed and when I see her, without hesitation, get out and swim in front of hundreds of people, I can’t help but smile,” said Ramona Helble, Alisha’s mom.

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Evergreen

wednesday, november 12, 2014

Photos courtesy of Brianna Houston and Joe Monaco

THINK FAST: (Left to right) Freshman Antonio Lapeyrolerie, seniors Cooper Raiff, Auston Evans, Chandler Notley, and sophomore Xavier Bryant will lead the boys basketball team in the 2014-15 season as they adapt to the new up-tempo style brought by new Head Coach Joey Sims. Coach Sims has experience coaching at numerous high schools in Texas.

Boys’ basketball coach implements new style Ben Schachter Sports Editor

Stephen Crotty Staff Writer

When he sits in a bustling office as coaches file out, you have to strain your ears to hear him speak. He is not shy, but he is soft-spoken. Meanwhile, in the Phillips Family Gymnasium, it would be hard for a spectator not to hear the voice of the same man challenging his players to work harder.

New boys’ basketball coach Joey Sims has an alter ego when he steps onto the basketball court.

Coach Sims calls himself an energetic coach and said that he is looking to lay his imprint on the Greenhill basketball team this season. The team will look to play with an up-tempo style of basketball that emphasizes fast-breaks and athleticism.

“Up-tempo. Fast. I want my kids to get the ball at least ninety possessions throughout the game. To do that you need to turn the other team over. We’re going to pick you up full court with a lot of pressure and push the ball,” said Coach Sims when asked about his coaching style.

Coach Sims came to Greenhill from Birdville I.S.D where he served as the middle school athletic director for three years. He has previous coaching experience at a num-

ber of schools throughout Texas, including Aledo High School. Coach Sims is taking over for Middle School math teacher Jaye Andrews, who announced his retirement at the end of the 2013-2014 season after 15 years of coaching the junior varsity and varsity levels at Greenhill.

Upon his arrival at Greenhill, Coach Sims made a conscientious effort to build relationships with players. For him, it has been particularly important to get close with the leaders of the team, the seniors.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with [them] so I’ve developed a good relationship with them,” said Coach Sims. “I think having seniors that are seasoned and play as well as they play only makes your whole team better. It’s made this transition a lot easier for me.”

The team is led by seniors Auston Evans, Keyshawn Henson, Chandler Notley, Cooper Raiff, and Eric Yu. Auston, who led the Hornets with 16.5 points per game last year and has committed to Lafayette College (PA), praised Coach Sims. Auston said that he was overcome with feelings of “complete and utter shock” when he learned of the retirement of Mr. Andrews, but meeting Coach Sims helped changed that.

“He’s really good with connecting with us. I know I’ve gotten really close with him

over the past couple of months. We have a really tight relationship and the season hasn’t even started yet,” Auston said.

During the time Auston has spent with Coach Sims, he has enjoyed the style of basketball that Coach Sims has brought to the Greenhill program.

“His [coaching style] fits my playing style a lot: quick, fast, explosive basketball.

He likes athletic guys, and that fits how I play, so I feel like we’ll be able to correspond well,” said Auston.

Expectations going into this season are the same as last year, when the team was shooting for the Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) championship. Last year, the team suffered a close loss to number one seeded Kinkaid (the eventual runner-ups) in the first round at SPC. “Throughout this season I’ll have that game on my mind, because I want to get back to that same place and progress,” said Auston.

While the team expects to improve on last season, they will have to do so without key senior players from last year’s team. Regis Johnson ‘14 and Matthew Jones ‘14 were invaluable players on and off the court, Auston said.

Underclassmen Xavier Bryant and An-

tonio Lapeyrolerie, who stands at 6’4, will play an essential role in the success of the team as they fill in for graduating seniors who provided size and defensive prowess on the court, said Auston.

“I’ll have to fill some of roles [that the seniors left] and contribute with rebounding and scoring and helping the team all around,” said Antonio.

Each player will be vital under Coach Sims.

“I don’t think one person is more important than the other. It’s the number one guy off the bench, the starting five, all the way to the last person off the bench, all of them are important,” he said.

Coach Sims might not have been present for that hard-fought loss last season, but he said he knows that this team is capable of winning SPC–it’s just going to take a lot of hard work.

“We have the talent to win a championship, however [the players] have a lot of things to learn and we’ve got some things to fix before we can get to that step,” Coach Sims said.

At an early November practice, he had the team running fast-paced drills. Coach Sims hopes this style and strategy will be a key to getting the first SPC championship for the boys’ basketball program since 1998.

Training in the classroom and the weight room: teachers in the HPC Lili Stern Staff Writer

A fall athlete walks into the High Performance Center (HPC) for a team lift at 6:30 a.m., droopy eyed and grumpy. She spends her warm-up wondering why she signed up for a sport that would require her to get an hour less of sleep than she already does. With more than a tinge of jealousy, she thinks about just about everyone else in the world lying in bed. That’s when she opens her sleepy eyes and sees her third-period teacher doing pull-ups.

Most students go into the HPC for a sports requirement. Teachers go because they want to. They are not out to beat a rival school, but to beat cholesterol or stress.

The main draw to the HPC for Greenhill employees is its convenience, but there are also the added benefits of good machinery, plentiful workout options, and trainers to help.

Mary Tapia, Upper School Spanish teacher, makes working out a daily routine. She bikes to school once per rotation and enjoys activities such as kayaking, running and yoga. She also works out at the gym five mornings per week.

Last year, when Mrs. Tapia was ill, she had to slow down her exercises, but she still made it a point to stay active. This was important both to keep her energy up during treatment and because she genuinely enjoys it.

“More than being something to dread, it was something I looked forward to, because it made me feel normal and it gave me strength,” Mrs. Tapia said.

Joel Garza, Upper School English teacher, said the time he spends working out is a time for him to challenge himself. He started working out with his wife before they were married.

“It reminded me of how hard it is to get better at something,” Mr. Garza said. “I really enjoyed the meditative quality of it, and the time that it allowed me to think, and to slow down, and to struggle.”

The HPC has aided Mr. Garza in achieving what in his mind is his biggest accomplishment in working out: his cholesterol level has dropped 15 percent since he started working out and eating healthy lunches from Sage Dining Services.

Michael Haskins, Upper School Science teacher, works out

in the HPC because it is nicer and more spacious than the option he has available at his apartment.

Mr. Haskins does mostly fullbody exercises, such as squats, bench presses, deadlifts and pullups. As a junior in college four years ago, he maxed out at 315 pounds on a squat, 225 pounds on a bench press and 405 pounds on a deadlift.

He has not tested since then, but he enjoys working out to stay healthy and to take a pause during the school day.

“It’s a nice break from school.

I can just put in my headphones and ignore email for 45 minutes to an hour a couple times a week. It’s really nice,” Mr. Haskins said.

A poll of 154 Upper School students revealed that 38 percent go to the HPC for the sole purpose of fulfilling a sports requirement and 47 percent reported that they would not work out as much as they do currently if it were not a necessity to graduate.

The fact that students and faculty share the HPC means they have to mix depending on when faculty members work out.

Chad Bittenbender, Upper School Science teacher and Middle School cross country coach, works

out as a stress-relieving tool.

Mr. Bittenbender also said he enjoys seeing students in a different context in the HPC. “When you coach, you see your students on a different plane, and they see you on a different plane,” he said.

Some teachers enjoy seeing their students in this different context, but others would prefer to work out alone.

“I got a gym membership because it was a bit awkward to be working up a hard sweat next to students,” Priya Singhvi, Upper School counselor said.

Ms. Singhvi is not the only Greenhill employee who feels that way. A poll of 41 Upper School faculty members revealed that 45 percent are uncomfortable with working out near their students.

For Michael Simpson, head of the Lower School, this is not an issue. Mr. Simpson comes into school at 5 a.m. almost every morning so he can work out in solitude at the HPC. Fitness has been important to Mr. Simpson from a young age.

“The maintenance and prevention of pain in my aging body, the prolonging of my life, and having that sense of feeling

fit is more important to me than whatever comes with having a physique,” Mr. Simpson said.

Also, it’s a welcome break from the daily social demands of his job.

“I have a job where I have an open-door policy and people are walking in [my office] all day long, and I don’t have any control over that, so [the time when I work out] is the time of day when I am just by myself,” Mr. Simpson said.

Motives for working out change over time for many people, but the bottom line is fitness has countless benefits.

Graphic by Arhum Khan

WORKOUT WARRIORS: Of the 37 teachers surveyed, 95 percent said they workout to stay healthy.

154 students were surveyed, of which 66 percent answered that they workout to stay healthy.

wednesday, november 12, 2014

Consider the DJ

In the last Student Council meeting, we reviewed the results from a post-Homecoming survey. Few people liked the relay races, and almost everyone badmouthed the DJ. “Play more slow songs!” someonesaid.

“Too much loud EDM music!”

The worst: “The dance was terrible. Barf in

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Evergreen dress shoes and bruise their feet.

Still, I maintained a passion for the music despite the bad dancing. Motivated by over-the-top Youtube videos of Coachchella DJ sets and a suspicion that I could do a better job than school DJs, I convinced my parents to buy me a DJ controller last fall.

After DJing casual parties for a year, I faced my first real test at a BBYO event two weeks ago.

DJing for an unfamiliar audience was one of the hardest things I had ever done. I was forced to abandon my playlist to accommodate a flood of explicit rap song requests, most of which I had a difficult time playing because the sponsor of the event imposed a “clean version” restriction.

By the end of the night, I had spent $40 downloading songs on the spot, more money than I normally spend on concert tickets.

I sweated more than I do in a cross-country

race. Waiting for the crowd’s reaction to a song was more nerve racking than spilling a gallon of milk at my shift at Starbucks. To add to my stress, playing rap songs distressed me; I love contemporary rap music for innovative beat making, but I hate the lewd, unimaginative lyrics. I became tired of playing songs whose lyrics focus on female behinds.

By the end of my set, I was about ready to give up on DJing for big crowds. After all, what do professional DJ’s get but disparaging comments written by high school students on Surveymonkey? But when I climbed into my warm car and turned on my favorite dance playlist, I couldn’t help but think about my next gig. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I began planning my playlist for Hornet Night, imagining the crowd undulating to a new song I had just discovered. My heart beat faster.

Once we shut the doors to my car, the rush to get to school vanishes.

Our rides are pretty unpredictable.

Sometimes, Abbas and I like to enjoy the peace and one another’s company. Other times, I sing along to Enrique Iglesias or One Direction. If we’re feeling chatty, we’ll gossip about school drama. Whenever I’m in a bad mood, which according Abbas is almost every day, I’ll rant about the drivers around me and then I’ll make some snarky comments such as “When the speed limit says 45, you should not be driving at 40.

Who gave you a license?” while my hand is hovering over the horn. Since I’m not the best driver, I might run over an occasional curb or piece of trash, which always makes us laugh about my pathetic hand-eye coordination. Regardless of what type of car ride Abbas and I choose for the day, the

drives are almost always pleasant.

I like to think of my car as our sacred space. We don’t pass judgement on each other. We act however we want to. I like to be the more unedited version of myself in the car. At school, I have all of my notes together.

I’m organized and on top of things. In the car, I am a completely different person. I’m spontaneous, and I like to let go and just turn the music up really loud.

At school, I put pressure on myself to perform well all the time. I have a full schedule with honors classes, and I need a place where I can unwind without anybody telling me to send out emails or write a paper. I like to distance myself as much as I can from school-related thoughts while I’m driving. I don’t want to bring in additional stress into one of the only places I am “free.”

I view my car as a microcosm of all

things Sanah. From the car paint which has “Skanah” printed all over the side, to the “I love whales” bumper sticker, my car showcases my individuality. It would only make sense that I would feel the most comfortable in the place where I can roll the windows down and be myself.

Also, driving a car is comfortingly easy.

I just have to follow the road, brake a few times here and there. I can honestly say that driving is the easiest part of my day. Instead of thinking about the impending AP Set for Calculus, all I have to do is get Abbas and me from point A to point B. I might not be sure how to solve a derivate problem, but I know I can handle Midway Road. With all of the homework piled up on my plate, it’s comforting to know that at least I can cross something off the list: getting Abbas and me to school.

week before we departed was solely devoted to packing. I made multiple trips to REI, stocking up on hiking boots, dri-fit clothes, and a giant hiking backpack. Packing for an Australian winter of 80 degrees and a New Zealand winter of 40 degrees essentially meant I had to take my entire wardrobe.

I crammed my weeks worth of clothes into fancy packing squares, and squeezed, crushed, and smushed until it all fit.

Obviously, I knew we would be travelling a lot. I had studied our itinerary, and was thrilled at the prospect of seeing so many places in only three weeks. One day, we would snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef, and the next we would climb a glacier! But I didn’t consider exactly all that travel meant.

Every morning, we departed for a new location, with no idea of what that would entail. Some hostels were adorable, like the one with cozy couches, Wifi, crackling fireplaces, and complimentary chocolate pudding. In another, four of us girls shared

a room roughly the size of a prison cell with the sole light fixture missing its lightbulb.

There was no heat and dirt caked the walls.

Long gone were the days of complimentary towels and the wonders of a fresh bar of soap.

In those cases, the curse of moving each day became the perk, as we knew we’d be heading out the following morning.

I didn’t realize how much I longed for permanence until we reached our homestay in Nelson. There, we had home cooked meals, a clean shower and towels, and a place to do laundry. Most importantly, we stayed two nights. I could leave my belongings in my very own room and knew exactly where I return when the sun went down.

Even beyond the stress of moving into the unknown, all of the travelling posed logistical challenges as well. Each and every morning, I had to recram all of my belongings into my then despised, ridiculously heavy hiking backpack. But at that point, my clothes stunk. They were muddy, sweaty, and

wet, and I had to cram them back in with the rest of my fresh clothes. Our shoes were so disgusting that when we went through customs to go to New Zealand, the customs agents had to take them from us and give them a thorough scrubbing down. Although I had a wonderful time, by the time the plane landed in Dallas, I was ready to stay in my home for a very long time.

I’ve been told that up until 10,000 years ago, humans were nomads, moving from place to place and never settling long. But since the age of the woolly mammoth, all that has changed. We’ve developed cities and created homes. I realized this summer just how far removed I am from my nomadic ancestors. Even more than genetics, I believe it’s a mental evolution. I’m so used to permanence and returning to the familiar each night. Though I relished my trip down under, sometimes it’s nice to curl up in my own bed and remember just how much I love home.

challenge of understanding Vector Calculus.

How am I supposed to see that cube? How can I see 3-D objects when all I imagine is a 2-D scale? There, on the board, I witnessed the answer to my question. Three lines transformed into a 3-D coordinate plane.

That is when I began the process of retraining my brain.

The first step was letting go. I became comfortable not understanding everything.

For many of the graphs, I couldn’t visualize what they were depicting even if I wanted to.

Dr. Haque’s sketches generally looked like the Pringle- or saddle-shaped figure, but a hyperbolic paraboloid is not something one can sketch in a matter of seconds. I was used to math being concrete. I was used to having a formula to work from, specified applications. I was used to doing hours of practice problems before a test. Now, I had none of that. I did not allow myself to understand because I had to use my imagination. Now I had to imagine floating Pringles? I had to let go. I went into my first Vector test not knowing how to graph

in 3-D, even though I was fully aware that there would be questions about it. I generally understood the concepts, though, so I figured I’d just take a chance. This leap of faith was liberating instead of terrifying. Perhaps it is because I’m a senior that I’ve stopped worrying about the little things. Rather than stressing over four points on a Vector test, I am pondering not living at home next year.

Rather than fighting my imagination, I am submitting myself to the possibilities of 3-D mathematics.

However mysterious the 3-D coordinate plane may be, I have somehow found myself at home surrounded by math. The reaction I get when I tell friends I am doubling in AP Statistics and Vector Calculus is one of horror. But strangely, I am finding that I love getting lost in numbers, finding mistakes and finally scribbling through an entire page just to find out that z = 0.

Doubling in math has taught me that I love the subject. I love that it is not as concrete as it looks on paper. I love that I can use my imagination and still come out with an exact

answer in the end. The process of solving an equation is like meandering up a mountain.

Once I get to the top and look back, I am not sure how I made it here. But I did.

In addition to gaining a passion for numbers, I gained a community. I never would have expected my Vector class to make daily puns with Dr. Haque’s name, discuss The Evergreen at length during class (See, guys, I did write an article about it!), or even have committed 9 p.m. phone calls with Sofia to do our homework together.

In such an individualized, robotic subject that you can do with a calculator, I found a collaborative network of classmates to do it with me.

At first glance, solving partial differential equations sounds like the last thing a 17-year-old would want to spend her senior year learning. But it has been transformative to see basic numbers, lines and shapes in a new dimension. Most of all I learned that I do not need to understand everything in order to find solutions; I just need an open mind.

No Nomads for Me

I’ve lived in the same house since the day I came home from the hospital. I’ve had the same bed, bedspread, chair, and nightstand.

Other than slight fading, even the pillows have looked exactly the same for my whole life. After 17 years, I can walk through my entire house blindfolded and not run into anything. That’s why this summer was such a shock.

In June, I travelled to Australia and New Zealand on the Greenhill trip. The

Retraining My Brain

On my first day of Vector Calculus and Differential Equations, { } was the only thing written on the board. “Graph it,” Dr. Haque instructed. Sofia and I looked at each other and laughed. We then proceeded to doodle in our notebooks, pretending we understand. The horrifying equation eventually became a simple cube, but we had no idea how. Nothing around us is 2-D, but we can easily process 2-D shapes on a piece of paper. Everything around us is 3-D, yet it seems so foreign when discussed in the classroom. This has been the ultimate

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my mouth.”

As a DJ myself, I felt offended for him.

I stay up late the Friday before my own gigs, putting together a 100-song playlist and choosing song order meticulously. I have spent over $500 on turntables and $1000 on a pair of decent speakers. I have read the manual of my Traktor S2 controller from front to back and researched turntabilism techniques extensively. I have learned it is not the cakewalk I once thought it was.

The real reason I became interested in DJing was because it offered a way to escape dancing. I am a bad dancer, and I have always been uncomfortable with the concept of grinding. My default dance move involves crossing my arms and standing in the middle of a circle of dancing people, sometimes adding the occasional finger wag. Frequently, I would land on barefoot girls with my heavy

At Home on the Road

“Sanah, Abbas, hurry up! You’re late!

Just grab some food and go. You don’t have time to eat something right now.” This is how my morning usually starts. I respond to my mom by saying, “I’m done. Tell your son to hurry up! Abbas, I’m leaving now, with or without you!” As you can see, our mornings are pretty hectic.

afterwords

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the

Evergreen

wednesday, november 12, 2014

Dallas Concert Venues Uptown to Downtown: Concerts Across Dallas

The Evergreen showcases two Dallas concert venues. Whether you’re heading north on McKinney or south on Lamar, check out the music.

The Rustic

Come to this Uptown restaurant for a juicy afternoon burger, take a seat at a backyard picnic table, and stick around until the evening for live country music. The Rustic hosts country and rock musicians on its distinctive stage throughout the week. (Pictured top left).

Southside Ballroom Southside Ballroom (formerly known as the Palladium Ballroom) is part of the larger Gilley’s venue complex, located just south of the Dallas Convention Center on Lamar Street. Concerts are open to all ages, and its standing-room-only concert space makes for a lively atmosphere. (Pictured top right, bottom).

Photos by Megan Wiora Story by Andrew Friedman