Harley Acorn December Issue by Eddy Wang

Acorn

1 December 2011

Acorn 2011; Issue 2

Around The school: Sports (Caitlin Richard, Eddy Wang), Arts (Eddy Wang), Letter to the Editor (Cameron Yudelson)

Town Meeting: Results are out from the town meeting held on school lunches; Letter to the Editor (Rory Bloechl & Malcolm Cochran)

6 Hosting The Scots: by Colette McConnell

Water for South Sudan: by Erin Brennan-Burke

Chesonis Commons: 5 Questions with Dr. Cottrell about Harleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s potential worldchanging addition

When I was In High School: by Ms. Olivier

24 A Day in the Life Of A Sophomore: by Zoe Rankin

Monsters and Masks: from Dr. Malone’s 6th period Monsters class

Autumn Nostalgia: by Sarah Fink

Drama: the Laramie Project: 5 Questions with Matt Rittler Judy Shepard, by Amelia Black

Movies: Breaking Dawn: by Zach Palumbo

ray’s-ism It’s So Unfair: by Ray Chang

21 Fashion: The Dress Code: Interview with Mikayla Brennan-Burke Rochester Fashion Week 2011, by Rosie Gilroy

23 Deciding To Take Your First AP, by Anna Barbano on the cover and back cover: photographs by Ben Tolhurst (from his AP2D 4 in 1 project)

fall sports

Around the School 4

Sectional Champs! by Caitlin Richard

There we stood on the baseline, with our opponents from Pal-Mac lined up on the service line. It was the old tennis stare down. I was playing with a bad knee against one of my toughest opponents; Kristina was ready to claim another win over her adversary; Forest, being absent the last time we played Pal-Mac, was ready to step it up for the Wolves; Meghan and Colette were getting ready to play their last match of their last season together, and Jessica and Morgan were looking to avenge a loss. We started warming up, all of us slightly nervous but completely determined. After an hour or so of play, Kristina stepped off the court with the team’s first win. Shortly thereafter Meghan and Colette finished up with a loss to another strong doubles team. Forest had brought her first set to a tie-break and had won it by two points. She ended her second set quickly and came off the court just before Jessica and Morgan Broberg. They had fought hard in a comeback, but, alas, it wasn’t enough to hold off the other Pal-Mac doubles team. That’s when I knew it was up to me to win sectionals. But, considering my opponent was so upset with herself that she double-faulted an entire game, I didn’t have much to worry about. Although she started playing better towards the end, it was too late. HAC didn’t come there to lose, and we left those courts in the white bus with two consecutive Class B titles. Also, Ava and Kate Bjorkland played an exhibition match and although it didn’t count towards the total points, their enthusiasm and determination were at the core of our win. But, our MVP award for the match goes to Madeline, who gave up her singles match so that Jessica could wear her shoes. Now that’s dedication. I don’t think I’ve ever seen our team happier than when we won that match. We were shouting to everyone on the streets that we were the champions, and were chanting our cheer at the top of our lungs. It goes a little something like this: “HAC we’re the best, we’ll put you up to the test, we’ll show you what we got cause we’re the best we’re hot!!!” (Repeat MANY times). Although some of us went on to individual sectionals, nothing can replace that shared joy as a team of champions.

Golf Sectionals: Finger Lakes Golf League Championship @ Old Hickory Golf Club in Livonia The top 55 golfers from the Finger Lakes League competed both for the Finger Lakes Golf League Championship title and for one of ten qualifying spots in next spring’s Section V Classification Event. HAC had four golfers present: Matt van Niekerk, Davey Jarrell, Will Hampson, and myself. It was a very pleasant day with plenty of sunshine and little cloud cover. Matt shot a 75 to win the tournament; Davey, Will, and I fell short of qualifying with scores of 88, 85, and 87. Personally, I was happy to make the tournament for the second year in a row. Shooting an 87 was my best score all year, and I learned to make the best out of the swing I had. I was only three shots out of qualifying for next year’s Section V tournament, and of course I could think of three shots I could have hit better, but in the end I am proud and amazed of what I have been through in four years of HAC golf. I hope to continue playing in college in one way or another. Although only Matt qualified for next year’s individual county tournament, all four of us (and supposedly a fifth from our team) are going to be competing in Section V Team Sectionals, which are also held next spring. We tied with Honeoye for first place in the Finger Lakes West League, and are looking forward to winning a Class C title in golf for the first time ever! -Eddy Wang letter to the Acorn Dear Acorn, I feel that The Harley School does not have the proper sport teams that a school should have. It is my belief that every school should have a football team and a hockey team, and Harley

has neither. I understand the concerns that there would not be enough people, but first the school should have a poll to see who would play. And if we had enough people, we could get rid of the cross country and put in a football team, and get rid of the bowling team and put in a hockey team. -Cameron Yudelson

ARTS: First Harley Coffeehouse: Harley’s first ever Coffeehouse was a brilliant display of colorful lights, witty announcers, and talented performers! From the Upper School, performers were: Zach Palumbo, Walker Zupan, Carly Straubing, Eddy Wang, Vocal Chords, Meghan Dewan, 2:20 Band, Daphne Kanack-Pickens, Will Taylor, Tommy Lampeter, and Helen Stern. Deserving of special mention are two very brave faculty who also took the stage, Sandy Foster and Seth O’Bryan. Look out: the Coffeehouse will be back in the spring!

Calliope is looking for your artistic expression! Submit poetry, stories, or artwork to Ms. Malone or Maddie Laitz

ACORN Editor-in-chief: Eddy Wang ‘12 Executive editors: Madeleine Laitz ‘12 Rosie Gilroy ‘13 Zoe Rankin ‘14 Sarah Fink ‘15 Advisor: JAM Artistic Advisor: Ms. O Facebook: Harley Acorn Twitter: harleyACORN Email: theharleynewspaper@gmail.com Online: issuu.com/harleyacorn Blog: harleyacorn.tumblr.com harleyacornsports.tumblr.com The Harley School 1981 Clover Street Rochester, NY 14618

We care about you! If you have an article, experience, or event you want to share, submit it! Send submissions to theharleynewspaper@ gmail.com

Hosting the

Scots

By Colette McConnell

Hosting a Scot has been a memorable experience so far during

my senior year. It all began in September with a list of pairings between us and the Scots. This gave us all a chance to chat with them on Facebook before they came. The day the Scots came was an exciting day for all the seniors. We waited for them in the parking lot for almost two hours. Then, we had a Thanksgiving dinner with all of our families. Students from our senior class sang songs and read poems about the traditions of Thanksgiving. After that, we had two weeks full of activities after school. We went to several soccer games, we had dinner parties, a bonfire, and a Halloween party. For those of us who played fall sports, we had to give our Scots to people who did not play a sport. The tennis season had ended during the second week, so I took several Scots shopping and to Wegmans after school each day. After going to school all day, we had to entertain them for a little while before going to one of the planned events in the evening. We did not do a lot of homework during those weeks!

All of the Scots were very nice and it was enjoyable getting to know them. While they were here, they had a chance to experience the American lifestyle. When we go to Scotland in June, we will be able to learn more about their culture and lifestyle. The Scots all listen to the same music as us, watch the same television shows, and learn the same things in school as us. Even though we live on the opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, we still have a lot in common. This experience has demonstrated that high school students all over the world can come together and bond as much as we have. The second half of the exchange is a time we are all looking forward to. We just have to get through this crazy year of college applications and the responsibilities of being a senior, and then we will get to see our lovely Scottish friends again!

Town Meeting

Results from the student polls are out By the Harley Food Committee 9

few weeks ago, the Upper School took on a Town Meeting to bring students and faculty together in a democratic adventure and to gauge community opinion on aspects of our work to enhance the already great school lunch program here at Harley. Students were broken into smaller groups throughout the theater, each with a student facilitator, and a series of questions and issues were announced and projected on a screen. Everyone had two to three minutes to form a consensus as a small group and document their opinions and thoughts. The room was a buzz of discussion, debate, and active participation. Students in the Green Team have been compiling results and putting together the action plan to move forward. Our Town Meeting opened with a bit of philosophical background and students presenting the following two quotes:

“A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government.” -Wikipedia “When, in some obscure country town, the farmers come together to a special town-meeting, to express their opinion on some subject which is vexing the land, that, I think, is the true Congress, and the most respectable one that is ever assembled in the United States.” -Thoreau Some of the results: One area of opinion gathering sought to identify a general consensus on our favorite meals, our least favorite meals, and suggestions we have for menu options to consider adding. The idea is that this will be crucial information as the Food Committee’s work focuses

F a v o r i t e L u n c h e s

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Results from the town meeting Students were both polled for their favorite and least favorite lunches. The y-axis represents how many groups included that answer in their top 3.

7 L e a s t F a v o r i t e L u n c h e s

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on the menu this year and continues to push our meals to the ideal school lunch: healthy, tasty, and socially and environmentally responsible. Each group needed to form agreement on their 3 top favorite meals, 3 least favorite meals, and 3 suggestions. There were 12 groups total. Suggested menu items included: Sesame Chicken/tofu Vegetable Stir Fry Lasagna Chicken Parmesan And many more… Results from the other questions/issues from the Town Meeting will be presented back to the “town” and will be part of what the Food Committee will use for its further planning. Talk to Hartman to get more involved!

Letter to the Acorn:

juice bar. Everyone is concerned with the overwhelming amount of waste produced by the juice cartons, and the juice bar would be an easy fix to this problem. Rather than getting three or four juices, everyone could grab a dishwashable cup and fill it with juice, and be able to get as much as they want without generating one iota of waste. Also, with a juice bar, we could offer as many choices of juices as people wanted. - Rory Bloechl Dear Acorn, I really appreciate the compost idea and the relentless effort to keep our environment clean. But on the other hand, I do not appreciate getting rid of the juice bar. I think an effective way to have the juice bar and still preserve more plastic containers is to use cups instead, like we had before the containers. In addition, I would like to bring back all the other flavors of juices such as: cranberry, grape, and orange juice. Thank you for your consideration. - Malcolm Cochran

Dear Harley Acorn, I believe that we should bring back the

Chesonis Commons A place that could make Harley one of the most unique schools in the world.

Interview: wth Dr. Cottrell, Head of The Harley School

1.What will the Chesonis Commons be? A place where students and faculty experience the challenges of sustainable living and where we offer programs that touch on multiple dimensions of education for a sustainable future. The challenges of sustainable living…this needs to be authentic, dynamic and community based. The building will be “smart” in the sense of collecting all the data regarding its operation. If you want to know how

much power was used at plug number 23, for example, you will be able to access this information. It will also be designed to approach the ideal of a “living building,” (regenerative is another word) one that gives more to the environment than it consumes. What we will follow is energy, water and carbon dioxide and the student body will be given the challenge of trying to manage a net zero operation in these dimensions. We will have onsite power generation and storage, water treatment and storage, and a

lot of biomass to sequester carbon dioxide. However, once you populate a building, it will be our behavior that determines how well we, as a community, meet this challenge and this is where The Commons will become a part of community life at Harley. For example, if a power tool was hooked up to the aforementioned plug number 23 and used in the construction of say, a boat, then itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s likely that the energy budget for the building will come under a lot of pressure. How do we fix this as a community? Do we

stop using power tools? Do we change to using old fashioned tools? Do we say that we like modern life, power tools included, and work to figure out better energy creation systems? Do we make a trade, power tools instead of lighting? And so on. Student management of an authentic space, a crucible, that has us truly wrestle with the challenges of a sustainable future is at the heart of The Commons. But, there is more to a sustainable future than managing our energy, water and CO2 production. We also

need to be civic leaders, emotionally intelligent, collaborative problems solvers, and people who can bring our creativity into the world. These are the discrete spaces and programs of The Commons. On the second floor will be The Briggs Center for Civic Engagement which will focus on our internal democratic processes and civic leadership within and outside of our school. Also on the second floor will be The Center for Mindfulness and Empathy Education. This is an outgrowth of our hospice program and

from which we continue to grow this work, mindfulness and empathy education, as national leader in the pedagogy of emotional literacy. The first floor of the building will be new 7/8 and Upper School science classrooms. What is being developed here is an idea called “Citizen Science.” How do we marry real science work with civic duty and the collaborative power of the internet? We want to dive into this question. For example, surveillance of West Nile Virus in mosquito populations is being cut by the government. The question of why we would need the government to do work like this is, with the power of internet tools, viable. Why couldn’t Harley be a place where the real science occurs, in this example the RT-PCR testing of the mosquitoes, with a student-led regional collaborative that works on mosquito collection and then we use the power of GOOGLE to share it with the world. There are many examples of projects like this that we could undertake in a conception of “Citizen Science.” Then there is the ground floor that is half an open projects space and the other half a fabrication lab. We want this to be a place where we take things apart, put things together, design solutions, and bring our creativity and ingenuity into reality. That’s the vision for the Chesonis Commons. There are a couple other elements worth noting. The Commons will be connected to the school out the back of Beckerman via a new hallway. This will close off the path from the school through Beckerman to the field house. Beckerman will now be a destination space and we plan to renovate it, complete with a student-run café, so that it is renewed as a center of student life at Harley.

2.What is the timetable for construction and when is it projected to be ready? Our plan is to break ground in the third or fourth quarter of 2012 with a one year construction timetable. The best scenario will be that The Commons is open for the 2013-14 school year, but it is also possible that construction will finish during the

school year. The variability has to do with fundraising for The Commons. It is completely funded by donations and not by tuition revenue or any other revenue source. To date we have about $2.2 million of the estimated $3.0 million for the project. We will break ground when the entire amount has been pledged and this is where the quarter 3 or 4 or 2012 is coming from. 3.What do you envision the Chesonis Commons providing for Harley? I would rephrase this question to: “What do you envision the Chesonis Commons providing for Harley Students?” The answer is new opportunities to engage in authentic educational experiences that prepare one for a lifetime of learning, unlearning, and relearning. For better or worse, our world is rapidly changing, and more than ever, we need to be able to change and adapt with it.

4.How can current Upper Schoolers get involved? Mr. O’Bryan has taken the lead on forming a committee to work on how this whole idea of “student management of the building” will unfold. Similarly, Mr. Frye is looking at student democratic processes. Any ideas about the aforementioned areas of The Commons are welcome and these can be brought to the administration (a lot of my time is dedicated to this work) or faculty. In the spring, our first project for The Commons will be the renovation of the Ewell House. Matson “Bud” Ewell was a Harley faculty member for about 50 years. He was Mr. Hands-on learning and his wife Ruth was also an active member of the staff. The Ewells recently donated their home in Fairport, a historic home, to the school so that we could renovate it and sell it with the proceeds going to fund the construction of The Commons. In the spring, we will have teams working on renovations of the house much like what we did 6 years ago when we built the Habitat for Humanity House. There is so much that it’s hard to quantify. Do you have an idea or want to bring a group together to work on: what the fabrications lab would look like, different Citizen Science ideas, Democratic process within the school, a capstone program in service, the renovation of Beckerman, design and understanding of the energy, water, and carbon sequestering systems, the vertical wall agriculture system, and so on. We are moving into a time when we are going to bring something into reality that is unique in the world of schools. All ideas, creativity, and energy are welcome.

Water for South Sudan by Erin Brennan-Burke Last year,

the Water for South Sudan project was started in the Harley Middle School. We are fundraising to build a well and bring clean drinking water to an impoverished village in South Sudan. We believe that safe drinking water is a basic human right. Every twenty seconds a child somewhere in the world dies of a waterborne disease. We know we can’t save every child, but we can help to save some. Access to clean drinking water is an essential building block for an individual’s and a community’s future. Where wells are built, schools and markets often follow. Girls and boys who have access to clean drinking water not only are healthier but also have opportunities to transform their lives. A well costs $15,000. But this project is about much more than raising money; it’s also about raising awareness. In addition to building a well, our goal is to educate students about local and global water issues. Our first fundraiser of the year was a cookie sale. Students baked, packed, and distributed 2,820 cookies. This fundraiser was a smashing success. Everyone was enthusiastic and worked really hard--We made more than $1,200! During the week of November 7th-10th, the Water for South Sudan committee sponsored Water Awareness Week. This week focused on educating Middle School students about the water issues facing our world today. A photo display was set up in the gallery, water facts were posted throughout the school, a H20 Challenge took place, and a woman from the organization Water for South Sudan came to speak at the Middle School Assembly. This week was very successful in raising awareness: discussions, questions, and conversations were heard throughout the Middle School as students further explored what they learned during Water Awareness Week. The Water for South Sudan Committee has planned many more events and fundraisers that will take place throughout the year. Any student interested in joining this committee is more than welcome to be part of the project. Building a well for an impoverished African village is very ambitious, but we know that with enough time and effort we will be able to achieve our goal. We are very grateful for all the support the faculty and students have shown thus far, and we greatly appreciate everyone’s continued enthusiasm.

The Laramie Project 11/16-11/19

In Action Lindsey Arena speaks to the camera during a performance of The Laramie Project

5 Questions with Matt Rittler, an actor in The Laramie Project

audience was that close because they needed to be with us throughout this journey.

1.The Laramie Project almost achieved a documentary, movie-like feel for me. How different was The Laramie Project for you compared to Macbeth (last year’s play)? This play was completely different from Macbeth. For one, the audience and the actors are like an inch from each other. And this had a totally different atmosphere. Macbeth was all about action, fighting, and blood, and The Laramie Project was a sort of calm drama. There was no physical violence in it. This play moved a lot of people emotionally. It had an intensity that grabs your attention, but unlike in Macbeth where it grabbed your attention because of the awesomeness of it, the raw words of Laramie achieved the same effect. Also, it’s a true story, and the script is actually, word for word, what people said, unlike Macbeth. 2.In the play, Jedadiah Schultz came to change his view on homosexuality because of Matthew Shepard’s murder. Did you feel changes in your own views because of the play?

It didn’t really change my views. I was as accepting of homosexuality before doing this play as I am now. If anything, it taught me that there really are people out there like Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. And it showed me just how much of an impact an anti-gay hate crime can make. 3.Having the audience so close seemed to bring greater intimacy but also seemed to provide perfect targets for some characters’ passionate declarations. How did the unique seating arrangement affect you? Well, I usually don’t get too nervous before a play, because usually the audience is far enough away from me that I don’t have to look at them. But this made me really nervous because I had to look audience members in the eye and talk to them and even swear right at them. The first night made me really nervous, but I got used to it enough that it was actually fun. I think it was really important that the

4.From talking to Maria Scipione (the director), it came to my attention that some audiences laughed more than others. Clearly, everyone’s interpretation of The Laramie Project is special and unique to him or herself. How does the reaction of the audience impact you during the performance, if at all? Well, there were a lot of opportunities to laugh and cry during this play. I really wanted the audience to laugh at some of my funny lines because it made me more comfortable with my character. It’s not good if they’re not reacting to you, because then you feel alone and you become self-conscious. In one of my scenes, I had to break down and cry, and it always encouraged me to go the extra mile when I heard those sniffles in the audience. 5.The Laramie Project was some peoples’ last high school play and others’ first high school play. Could you tell me about your most memorable moment throughout this whole journey? The most memorable moment for me happened in the dressing room during intermission. The whole cast gathered in a circle, and we were all sad that it was the last show, and we were saying goodbye to it and saying how great it was to be doing this. And then Helana started saying how Matthew had really been a great friend to us throughout this whole experience, and he will always be a part of us. And then we all were saying goodbye to him. Then we all put our hands in, counted to three, and said, “Matthew!”

Judy Shepard By Amelia Black

fter working for a couple months on The Laramie Project, Matthew Shepard seemed like more than just a name on a page. He was the quirky boy whose life was stolen from him. I walked into the audience of one of Judy Shepard’s talks with these thoughts already in my head, but I left with much more than that. Before listening to Judy Shepard speak, the cast had the wonderful opportunity to take a photograph with her. Walking into the room where Judy was, I expected to find a broken woman. I was actually apprehensive to see her, because I thought that the tragedy that struck her life would doubtless be a cloud surrounding her. I thought that tiptoeing around her would be a necessity. What I didn’t expect to find was a mother. When I saw Judy, I couldn’t look past the fact that she was the most motherly looking person I’d ever seen. Her eyelashes were extremely long, and she spoke very quietly. She seemed like a small, shy, but entirely normal person. Once the cast found seats in the audience, Judy Shepard was introduced. When her introductory video started to play, I immediately began to cry. After the very brief video explaining Matthew’s death ended, I wondered whether I would be able to handle the talk. Judy walked onto the stage with a small smile, and she started her presentation with a couple of jokes. This, however, did not lesson the seriousness of what she was speaking about; it made it bearable. The way Judy spoke of her son was heartbreaking. She told stories about him that you would expect to hear any mother tell. Some of her stories were funny, some were sad, but they all filled her face with love.

“What I didn’t expect to find was a mother.” I was struck by how brave Judy Shepard was. She was standing in front of tons of people discussing her son’s death. She didn’t shirk off the immense way in which his death affected her; she instead voiced the impor-

tance of recognizing all hate crimes. By speaking, she enabled everyone to understand how harmful hate is. She called society into question, and she made everyone in that audience think. The cast walked out of the stadium with a new seriousness. Matt went from being the plot of a play to being a friend who we all knew very well. Suddenly the importance of The Laramie Project was overwhelming. Judy Shepard helped us realize that we truly had the obligation to say it right, and I sincerely hope that we did.

AUTUMN NOSTALGIA 19 Things I Miss About Fall by Sarah Fink

“October gave a party; The leaves by hundreds came-The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples, And leaves of every name. The Sunshine spread a carpet, And everything was grand, Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind the band.” -George Cooper

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2) Getting your groove on at homecoming!! 3) Getting lost in those huge corn mazes. 4) That odd numb feeling from running in the rain. 6) Boys obsessing with their fantasy football. 7) World Series highs and lows, leaving fans wait ing and hoping for those great trades during the long winter. 8) That strange urge to climb a tree and read an entrancing book (but not so entrancing that falling out of the tree is a risk!) 10) SCOTTISH EXCHANGE!! 11) That sugar rush after eating as much candy as humanily possible on Halloween. 12) Carving crazy faces into those big orange pumpkins. 14) Thanksgiving dinner (mostly pumpkin pie and mash potatoes)!!! 15) Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Lattes...Yummy!! 17) The flight of migrant birds against the bright harvest moon. 18) That snuggly feeling of wearing a knitted sweater. 19) Fireplaces spreading their warm glow once more!

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Movies

Breaking Dawn by Zach Palumbo

make no effort to hide the fact that I am not a fan of the Twilight franchise. Having read the entire series of books, I can wholeheartedly say that Stephanie Meyer is a terrible writer. Her characters aren’t likeable, their motives rarely make any sense, and the romance falls completely flat since both Bella and Edward are totally devoid of any sort of personality. And that’s why I feel so bad for the people who have to work on these adaptions (or would, were it not for the fact that they are making millions of dollars from it). A few actors notwithstanding, these people are not incompetent. It’s just that the source material they have to adapt is really, really bad. But I can blame the movie studio for their overtly cash-grabbing decision to split Breaking Dawn up into two parts. Yes, yes, I know. Harry Potter did it, and I gave The Deathly Hallows pt. 2 a perfect score. Here’s the thing, though: The Deathly Hallows is an immensely dense book packed full of major plot points, setpieces, and character revelations. Breaking Dawn is a substance-free work packed full of...well, nothing, really. And that’s precisely the problem. The film has to stretch out about five plot points over its two-hour running time, and it suffers immensely for that. Now, I’m certainly not one to lambast a film because of its slow pace: 2001 is one of my favorite films of all time, and it’s also inarguably one of the slowest films ever to garner mass attention. The difference (other than the fact that 2001 is a masterpiece by one of the most brilliant directors in the history of cinema whereas Breaking Dawn pt. 1 is an adaption of an insipid novel aimed at teenage girls without any literary standards) is that 2001 is intellectually engaging and psychologically gripping. If you can immerse the audience in your world, you don’t need to rely on a fast-paced story. But Breaking Dawn fails here, because the characters are boring, predictable, and unsympathetic. The plot is just as poorly constructed. Actual plot points

of interest are few and far between, and instead of filling the empty space with well-written dialog or characterenhancing drama, the film opts for musical montages. I believe I counted about five of them throughout the film, and none do much to advance the plot. That said, if the writers are as bad as they seem, perhaps it’s best we weren’t exposed to their script constantly. The characters speak in clichés, there is no subtlety to be found here whatsoever, and there are no noticeably progressing character arcs to speak of. Sadly, the dialog never quite maintains the level of “hilariously bad”, so it’s difficult even to enjoy it on that level. The blame, though, doesn’t lie entirely with the writers. There’s got to be some bad direction going on here, because Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are both perfectly fine actors. The delivery is downright wooden, done with little inflection. Taylor Lautner, on the other hand, is in a league of his own. After seeing his performance in this film, I can say with a good deal of confidence that he’s just a terrible actor. It’s easy to tell that he’s not actually thinking about his lines at all; he’s just delivering them in whatever tone the director tells him to. So, is there anything to like here? Well, yes, actually. Though I complained about the montages, the music itself is actually quite good. It’s a very good-looking film, too (pathetic werewolf CGI notwithstanding); the scenes of Bella and Edward’s honeymoon are beautifully shot. Sadly, those are about the only compliments I can pay. Everything else is either poorly handled or bad by virtue of the source material. I can’t speak for fans of the Twilight franchise; if you’ve liked the previous films, chances are you’ll like this one, too. God knows you’ll have to be extremely invested in these characters to find any of this remotely interesting. I can, however, speak directly to the people who don’t give a damn about Twilight’s flat characters and ridiculous melodrama, and to them I can say this: those problems only get worse here. Stay far away from this one. (1/2 out of 5)

“Breaking Dawn is a substance-free work packed full of...well, nothing, really.”

Monsters and Masks from Dr. Maloneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 6th period Monsters class

Luisa Barbano

Zoe Rankin 20

Matt Andrews

Ben Tolhurst

Richard Munson

The Dress Code Rosie: Where do you like to find cool clothes? Mikayla: Anywhere & everywhere! There are always good things hiding! R: What inspires your outfits? M: The weather... alignment of the stars...and mainly my mood... R: Describe your style: M: Intentional but unpredictable R: Where did you get your funky skirt? M: The skirt was a gift from a relative, bought at Forever 21. R: What is your favorite accessory? M: Jewelry. In all shapes and forms. My favorites are earrings--big dangling earrings that spice up any outfit. R: What do you swear you’ll never wear? M: I think a pantsuit is beyond my limits haha (even though people actually wear them at Forensics competitions...I stick to dresses and skirts). R: Do you have an outfit you would wear every day if you could? M: Nah! I love to mix it up all the time! That’s all the fun of it! I pretty much think of life as a game of dress up.

Rochester Fashion Week 2011 Did you know that Rochester has a fashion week? It does! Rochester Fashion Week is a charity event to benefit The Center For Youth. This year I attended two of the four Rochester Fashion Week events and had lot’s of fun at each. The first event was The Height of Fashion at the Memorial Art Gallery--unconventional and somewhat unwearable clothes, but an enjoyable event all the same. My favorite event was Runway at the Runway--a fashion show in an airport hanger. The RPO played fantastic music and their new conductor, Arild Remmereit, was so enthusiastic and fun to watch. My favorite part of the show was the dance routine performed by Future Pointe Dance. Fashion Week was a great event-what could be better that fashion and charity combined? Mark your calendars for Fashion Week 2012!

A Day In The Life Of A Sophomore By Zoe Rankin

ordered pairs that aren’t ordered pears.

diculous hour, especially on a Monday.

36 Creative Writing: 45 minutes filled with

00 Alarm goes off. Roll out of bed at this ri-

30 Head to school, still half asleep.

00 Morning Meeting: Walk down the science hallway, have morning meeting in the lecture hall.

20 English: Walk to history, and then realize that is a day one. Run back to locker, exchange books, and run upstairs to English.

stories of adventures, mysteries, and whatever your mind desires.

21Writing: DOLAN! LUNCH

36 Latin II: Ecce Romani!

06 Español III: Me gusta la clase de Español! 51 Chemistry: For the lab: closed toed shoes,

fancy goggles, and chemicals.

21 Advisory.

FIRST SHORT:

Fruit! Yum.

51Algebra II: DV explains polar bears and

00 End of a typical day as a sophomore.

Deciding to Take Your First AP by Anna Barbano

et’s be clear: I am no AP queen. In my junior year of high school, I am taking a whopping one AP class. This, however, has been such an experience that I feel I have at least a little taste of what it means to take an AP class. APs are meant to challenge you, to give you something more difficult to gnaw on. Some Harley kids will have taken a total of six or seven APs by the time they graduate, and I take my hat off to them. In this article, however, I am exploring the benefits of taking a few APs of your choice, in subjects you enjoy. After going through my first four levels of French without any extreme difficulty, when Ms. Colosimo recommended that I take up AP French during my junior year, I was ecstatic. After all, APs sound glamorous and impressive, and everyone likes to feel a little full of him or herself and say: “Oh yes, I am taking that AP class.” And so, I decided to do it. I ordered my summer reading book, Un Papillon Dans la Cité, a novella completely in French, and I sat down to read it over the summer. When I opened to the front page, I immediately questioned my decision to take this class. I mean, I was thinking: “Are you kidding me?” Mix the passé simple and a bunch of vocab words that I don’t know, and this book is what you get. I then put it off for about a month. As August was quickly melting away, however, I picked it up again and began to read about ten pages a day, finally finish-

ing the book just in the nick of time, the day before school. Okay, I’ll admit, I did not completely understand the whole book. In fact, one chapter in, I

“The class will be challenging, and at first you might wonder what the heck you’re doing in that class, but I promise you that if you enjoy the subject and you’re willing to put in the work, it will be worth it.” just said “forget it” to the dictionary and started reading without it, using the context to help me. And then, the first week of AP French began. The first week or two, we did parts of the practice AP exam each day including reading comprehension, listening comprehension, writing essays, and speaking into a recording

device. Honestly, I was still questioning my decision. I mean, it was hard. The practice APs were exhausting, and usually I got a lot wrong. I think I initially stuck with it because I felt a little guilty about it being my only AP in my junior year, but now I’m so glad that I did for many different reasons. We’re three months into school, and I am so happy that I stuck with AP French. True, we get a lot of homework and we take a lot of quizzes and the listening exercises are sometimes just utterly confusing, but I actually have fun in this class. We’re a class of all girls, the five of us, and honestly, we’re crazy! I have so much fun using our new vocab words in the most ridiculous sentences, and I love to actually discuss important things in French. It’s amazing to learn to communicate with people from different places and be able to hold my own in a conversation, even if I stumble a lot. I guess what I mean to say is this: don’t take an AP class just because it’s an AP. Take an AP class because you enjoy the subject and want to learn more. The class will be challenging, and at first you might wonder what the heck you’re doing in that class, but I promise you that if you enjoy the subject and you’re willing to put in the work, it will be worth it. Don’t be afraid to take an AP class like I was; enjoy the opportunity you get to show colleges how enthusiastic you are about that certain subject, and give it your all. You won’t be disappointed.

When I Was in High School...

Mz O.

hen I was in high school it was many, many moons ago. Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were shot when I was in high school. My school was built like a motel with classrooms opening out under a veranda that went around the building. The science building was connected by a breezeway—two rooms: Biology and Chemistry. The clothing style was mod, mod, mod; except that my school was prep, prep, prep. I attended Charlotte Country Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina. No uniforms, but if you were a girl, you had to wear Villager dresses, Phelps belts and Papagallo shoes— only. Dare not wear a knock-off, unless you wanted to die of embarrassment. Boys wore khakis and button down shirts. You said, “yes ma’am” and “no sir” to anyone taller or older and did not even think about it. You just did. I took Geometry, Algebra, Chemistry, Biology, and English. I took English, French, Latin and Art every year—no chorus, no electives, no APs. In Biology, we dissected frogs and I totally loved it. In English we had to memorize a hundred lines of poetry and recite them in front of the class—but not all one hundred at once. It was hard—I was terrified when it was my turn to recite--but I am glad I did it. I usually got B’s and C’s in English and A’s in math, science and art. (In college I got A’s in English, so I guess it was good preparation.) I don’t remember taking any history. In gym class, we wore little belted gym suits with the top attached to shorts. They were blue and horrid. The girls played half-court basketball, and if a girl scored, she covered her mouth in shock and squealed. Our colors were green and white and the cheerleaders wore saddle shoes. And knee socks. One of my best friends was head cheerleader. We watched the boys play football on Saturday afternoon –no under the lights. The boys could also participate in wrestling and basketball. The Monitor was the name of the newspaper. My other best friend was the editor. Opus was the name of literary magazine and I was the editor. Actually, I created the first issue ever. We had assemblies every week. Usually there were outside speakers of some renown or a concert. Once Andrés Segovia came. That was amazing! Sometimes my two friends and I would meet on Saturday mornings at Freedom Park and walk around the lake and talk for hours. Sometimes, at the park, we had champagne for breakfast.

Ray’s-ism

It’s So Unfair by Ray Chang

Despite

Harley’s proud effort to serve less fortunate kids through the Horizons Student Enrichment Program, the gap between rich and poor is too wide to be filled. While working as a 3rd grade student reading teacher for Horizons, I felt powerless in the face of the deprivation that was breaking my innocent kids’ hearts. We shared the school campus with the Day Camp children, whose parents pay for them to have an extension of private school experiences. And because of them, the Horizons kids began to realize, one by one, why the Day Camp kids were called “the rich kids.” One day, the maintenance workers were setting up a bouncy house on the playground. Everyone, including me, was thrilled, until they told me that it was only for the Day Camp children. As my kids reluctantly stepped into our classroom, a girl named Aziza asked me if she could play in the bouncy house. I said “no,” and she asked me, “Why not?” I felt a heavy stone free-falling in my stomach. While I was busy inventing a plausible answer for her, kids wearing Day Camp shirts rushed into the bouncy house. I wanted it to collapse to the ground. She whispered with a sigh: “It’s so unfair.” SHOES: Items of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. IRONICALLY, Venezuelan kids who are making your shoes are now in bare feet. SOCCER BALLS: Round objects that are kicked in soccer games. IRONICALLY, Malaysian kids who are making your soccer balls haven’t had the opportunity to kick a soccer ball with their friends. LOVE IS SOMETHING IF YOU GIVE IT AWAY. Happy Holidays! -Ray

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