Inklings December 2

Inklings

December 2, 2013

Founded in 1933

inklingsnews.com

Graphic By Claudia Landowne ’15

Local store fuels body dysmorphia among teens Elizabeth Camche ’14 & Claire Quigley ’14 Business Manager & Opinions Editor

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randy Melville has infiltrated the closets of teenage girls all across America, and she is taking no prisoners.

The original Italian brand, whose designers say they are inspired by the laidback L.A. lifestyle, is characterized by breezy mini skirts, pretty pastels, and soft floral prints.

However, beneath the piles of chunky knit sweaters and

skimpy crop tops lie social pressures that have raised many concerns among both teens and adults of Westport, according to students and residents interviewed recently.

Brandy Melville, which operates a shop in downtown Westport, advertises a brandwide “one size fits most” policy, which is neatly printed on almost all of their tags and also on 10 by 10 inch signs around the store.

Dustyn Levenson ’14, the president of Reshaping Reality, a club of girls whose mission is to “increase the self-esteem of struggling students,” said that

she hates the “one size fits most” scale because “inevitably, some kids won’t fit and are singled out as having a body that is unlike most, and by social standards, bad.”

In an interview at the Westport store, an assistant manager said she understands how people could be offended by the signs.

However, she argued that, “Brandy is an Italian-based brand, so I think that ‘one size fits most’ could be translated poorly. Its meaning could be misinterpreted or lost in translation.”

The Brandy Melville website includes a sizing graphic to

help customers “get a better idea of the fit.” The cartoon model has a small bust, flat stomach, and the coveted thigh gap or space between a woman’s legs (characteristics of a body that many young girls would consider perfect.)

Maria Tripodi, a registered dietitian with a private practice in Westport who specializes in body dysmorphic disorders, believes that the sizing policy adopted by Brandy can only have a negative effect on young teens “because they set up impossible parameters for girls to look like.”

“Stressed Depressed But Well Dressed” -Brandy Melville T-Shirt

Continued on page 4

Alternatives to AP courses being discussed Claire Lewin ’15 News Editor

The Board of Education (BOE) will discuss the future of Advanced Placement (AP) courses at Staples this year.

According to the BOE’s goals for the year, members will begin to “review potential alternatives to, or the elimination of, AP courses.”

Board Chairperson Elaine Whitney, in an email interview, said that the board’s conversation will occur in the context of a larger goal to improve education in Westport and to push forward.

“Some high-performing districts have opted to either develop their own advanced course curricula or to adopt an alternative system,” Whitney said. For instance, in 2007, Scarsdale High School replaced AP courses with Advanced Topic (AT) classes, which give no weighted advantage to one’s GPA. Teachers, however, said they were shocked by the news

Graphic by Connon Hardy ’14

of the discussion, as most had never heard anything about it.

“I think that getting rid of AP courses would cause students more stress than they already have because students feel like they should take AP courses for college,” science teacher Maura Delaney said.

Staples High School math teacher Robin Hurlbut agrees that students might not be happy with the idea of eliminating AP courses. Students use AP classes to gain an advantage, she said. “And they thrive on the rigor of such courses. I’m worried about the college implication. If

Inside the issue

I were a student, I would be thinking about how I would be compared to another student whose school offered AP courses.”

Despite the anxiety in regard to the elimination of AP courses, some acknowledged a benefit to such a removal.

Students can feel pressured to take APs. “People think that they need to take AP courses in order to get into school,” Kelsey Bobrow ’15 said.

Nevertheless, many said they still believe in the many benefits that AP courses offer.

“I enjoy learning about

all of the material, and I desire a challenge to push my limits and expand my learning skills,” Everett Sussman ’15 said. “I believe that AP courses offer a deeper level of interpretations and analysis that furthers understanding.”

At Scarsdale, some would argue that AT classes offer at least as much challenge as AP. “The decision to provide our teachers with more f lexibility and autonomy in our most rigorous courses has changed the dynamic in these classes,” Christopher Griffin, Assistant Principal at Scarsdale High School said.

Instead of covering what he called “copious” content in preparation for exams, teachers can allow time for student collaboration and more research, among other changes.

Students from Scarsdale High School said they believe that the AT classes offer them a greater learning experience, far superior to that of AP courses.

“AT [classes] allow the teachers to go beyond the AP curriculum and focus on aspects they find most interesting,” Dani Cohen ’15, a student at Scarsdale High School, said. In fact, she said, most people taking AT classes still take the AP test and do well.

Whether one is in favor of AP courses or thinks that they should be abolished, everyone has questions. The answers may take a while.

According to BOE member Brett Aranow, “No substantive discussion has happened.”

Sandy Hook, in memoriam 2-3

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News

News

Inklings / December 2, 2013 / inklingsnews.com

One year later, emotions run strong

December 2, 2013

In memoriam

Hannah Foley ’14

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Editor-in-Chief

ennifer Huettner, a Latin teacher, has worn her green and white plastic bracelet with the words “Hope, faith, love.

Angels of Sandy Hook” on her wrist every single day since the Dec. 14 tragedy.

She says she does not plan on removing it anytime soon.

Huettner, who worked at Newtown High School before coming to Staples, said she knew Adam Lanza and his family very well and is still shocked at last year’s events.

“I work at sporting events at Newtown High School because I used to teach there, and whenever I’m going there, I drive by where the memorial

was and this house that is still decorated with 26 ribbons,” she said. “You see it all the time and you hear about it all the time. It will never go away.”

Huettner said the support she received from the school community has been tremendous, especially from teachers like William Jones, a Newtown resident.

“Whenever we all see each other in the hall, they always ask ‘how are you,’ and I always answer ‘fine,’” Huettner said.

“Whatever fine is.”

Jones, a member of the science department, cited the close-knit feeling as a reason why he and his family moved to Newtown.

He said the wounds are still fresh for many Newtown

residents, and that healing is still in process.

“Every day when I drive to work, I pass two houses where families lost their little children,” he said. “Every day I drive past houses where families had kids in that building.

My friends had kids in that building. Many of the surviving kids lost sisters and brothers. Most lost friends. They all lost some of their innocence and capacity to feel safe in the world.”

Jones said when he remembers the lives lost, he appreciates his own wife and two young daughters even more.

Kathryn Lieder ’14, a member of Kool to be Kind, frequently works with elementary school students and says

she still cannot make sense of the tragedy.

“It could have been any innocent child,” she said. “I am still so upset that such innocent young children and caring teachers had to lose their lives because of one senseless man’s unthinkable actions.”

As the one-year anniversary approaches, Marla Friedson ’14 said she plans to encourage her classmates to wear green and white, Sandy Hook’s colors, to school that day as a sign of remembrance.

“There is an expression that is often used along with the Holocaust, and while it’s not the same situation, I think it applies,” she said. “The expression is something like ‘don’t let them die two deaths.’

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What it means is people need to remember what happened so they can prevent future events like those from occurring. If they don’t do that, it is like the people that have lost their lives are dying a second death.”

During his moments of ref lection Jones said he still gets angry about what happened but tries to look at the situation differently.

“If I find myself thinking about the killer, and what he did to those poor kids and their families, I of course find myself getting angry,” he said.

“But I stop myself and force myself instead to think about those who died, and the joy that they had and brought to their families when they were alive.

Love wins.”

Staples redraws school security after Sandy Hook Bailey Ethier ’15 & Eliza Llewellyn ’14 News Editor & Web Managing Editor

The echoes of shots have died away, news coverage has quieted, the stony shock has thawed. Almost a year after Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a memorial playground and the blueprints for a new school show a community trying to heal. The Newtown shootings have left an enduring emotional impact, which has heightened national focus on school safety.

At Staples, though, little seems to have changed: Westport schools have mostly dealt with security at the level of the Board of Education (BOE), with concrete changes not yet reaching

“I don’t want to see the environment that we have and I think we all cherish turn into something that we’re not comfortable with,” -Principal John Dodig

In addition to the names of the six teachers and 20 students killed at Sandy Hook Elementary last year, the items depicted in each image were researched and based on the lives of those lost on Dec. 14, 2012.

Drawings by olivia crosby ’15

students and teachers Many feel comfortable with the current level of security. But when compared to some nearby towns, Westport’s response to Newtown is less palpable, and some see other opportunities to bolster security at Staples.

Steps taken to increase security at Staples include the creation of a security liaison between Westport police and the school district, the establishment of the School Safety and Security Committees, which will help develop and implement changes in security, and a town/school security task force which will organize security projects.

In terms of concrete projects, a Request for Proposal (RFP) for new door handles that lock from

the inside is underway, according to Elaine Whitney, chair of the BOE. On a broader scope, Westport schools hired Kroll Advisory Services to conduct an audit to assess security at Staples, although the approval was not finalized until June.

The audit involved a twoday survey of the school by Kroll employees, who stayed at school from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and spoke to teachers, administrators and parents. Kroll’s report on Staples’ security released to the Superintendent and BOE in November.

From there, discussion can start about more changes to security.

Right now, for students and staff, going to school doesn’t feel different. All visitors are buzzed into the school, a policy that was in place before Newtown. “We’re just trying to reinforce [the policies that presently exist] and keep on top of those things,” security guard David DuBois said.

In some ways, the lack of stringent policy upholds a standard of openness. “I don’t want to see the environment that we have and I think we all cherish turn into something that we’re not comfortable with,” Principal John Dodig said.

Students agreed. “What is [the administration] going to do?

Install a metal detector in front of our campus and at every single door?” Sara Banbury ‘14 said.

“We’re already at a good place.”

One method of bolstering security doesn’t involve locks or cameras. Administration and teachers have a shifted focus to the internal threat, the student who may feel alone or disenfranchised. “I put my energy in making sure that we don’t have a disgruntled kid in our building who we know nothing about,” Dodig said.

English teacher Michael Fulton also feels the heightened emphasis on mental health. “We talk about [keeping an eye on students] all the time. Anyone even joking - bomb, gun, or dropping the word depression. All the teachers that I’m close with are very aware of those things,” he said.

The tragedy’s effects spread

School security under scrutiny: (From left) Michael Koshel and Roy Parks, Senior Associates at Kroll, visit Staples to continue the audit.

from emotional awareness to the way students think about safety.

For example Sam Adelman ‘14 is more careful about opening doors. “Last year right around the time of Sandy Hook I let an adult into the building and assumed they were a teacher, but after Sandy Hook I realized - what if they weren’t?” he said.

The tacit response to Newtown is still present, independent of the process of changing security policy.

However, others note that the lack of true changes feels lax.

“Much feels the same here and I’m not sure how to feel about that. We’re going on the fact that this is a friendly place,” Fulton said. “But we have no control over those things.”

“I wouldn’t advocate putting a high police presence here.

But it would be nice if the cops were around more often,” added an anonymous teacher. Furthermore, he felt that the school does not pay enough attention to possibly disenfranchised students.

However, both qualified that there is a balance: security that is too heightened can compromise Staples’s atmosphere. “[School security] is like the goldilocks principle: not too much, not too little, not too hot, not too cold. I think there could be more done, but you don’t want to lose the atmosphere we have,” the anonymous teacher said.

“You don’t want to put a tank on the lawn. You don’t want battalion snipers on the roof. You don’t want any school to be like that.”

Fulton agreed, “I don’t know

if I want to feel like I work in a prison. It’s a tough call.”

Regardless of the extent of changes, some felt that action just wasn’t taken soon enough. “In retrospect, we could have done easy and sensible things without waiting for the audit,” former BOE member Michael McGovern said. “The discussion about the audit would have been more helpful if we included police and fire at the beginning of it. We could have done a better job.”

However, Dodig disagreed that changes should be made sooner citing his belief that it would be nearly impossible to stop someone who wanted to commit a shooting.

“Suppose you wanted to come in with two backpacks full of bad stuff [after school] and hide it in the building. How would we prevent that? You’d have to have just one entrance to the building, everything else would have to be bricked up and you’d have to have a guard here all the time,” Dodig said. “That’s not Staples High School, that’s not Westport.”

A few miles away, Roger Ludlowe Middle School took a different approach. Since the shooting, all doors have been locked at 8 a.m., ten minutes before the school’s start time.

According to Barbara Milet, a secretary, in the few months immediately following Newtown, secretaries, administrators and custodians had to physically open the doors.

Towards the end of last year, the school installed a buzzer system, and faculty members now

Photo By Aaron Hendel ’14

have swipe cards to accommodate the strict locked door policy.

“The front door had always been open,” Milet said. “It was tedious at first, but you do what you have to do for safety.”

Stamford too has made concrete changes in the year since Newtown.

According to John Perrotta, Director of Security for Stamford Public Schools, not only has school staff been educated to be more aware of their surroundings, but the schools have installed more cameras, and visitors now must answer several questions before entering the building.

Perrotta also said that Stamford Public Schools are looking to install bulletproof glass and an alarm system with alert buttons that could notify administrators to call the police.

“Every school could be more safe,” Perrotta said. “You can always increase security no matter how safe you are.”

With the audit results coming back in November and the RFP underway, the process of fortifying school security will continue.

Whitney estimates that once the funding is approved for the door handles, the installation will be prompt. The estimated net cost of the locks is $345,182 thanks to a state-issued security grant, which reimburses 20.7% of spending for specific security projects.

Once the broader audit comes in, the BOE and security task force will review it. Upcoming changes in security will depend on the audit’s contents.

4 News

Inklings / December 2, 2013 / inklingsnews.com

InBrief Local Headlines

Fall Concert Dec. 4 The freshman and sophomore band and orchestra will have its annual fall concert from 7:30pm to 9:00pm on December 4th in the auditorium.

Guys and Dolls

Dec. 4

Bedford Middle School debuts its production of Guys and Dolls on December 6th. The show will run through the 8th.

SAT Testing Dec. 7

The SAT will be offered at Staples on Saturday, December 7th.

Candlelight Show Dec. 13 Staples Orphenians will present their annual Candlelight Concert Friday, December 13th from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in the Staples auditorium. Tickets are free but required for admission. There will be both a matinee and evening performance on the following Saturday.

Senior Internships Dec. 17 Seniors interested in the internship program will need to attend an important meeting on Thursday, December 17th in the college and career center during their lunch wave.

The meeting will discuss the beginning of the selection and application process for seniors who are hoping to get an internship through the school.

Sports Tryouts Dec. 2

Tryouts for winter sports will begin on December 2nd, for all teams except girls’ basketball.

To participate, each athlete must provide a current sports physical and emergency permission form, filled out and signed.

Winter sports include boys’ and girls’ basketball, boys’ and girls’ ice hockey, boys’ swimming and diving, gymnastics, boys’ and girls’ indoor track, wrestling and boys’ and girls’ skiing.

For continual updates check www.inklingsnews.com

Sophomore class must shoulder double test load Rachel Labarre ’14 Managing Editor

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ophomore year is plagued with just one major thing: Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT). Freshman year, students struggle adapting to the new high school environment; junior year is notoriously the hardest year during high school; senior year is haunted by applying to colleges. But sophomore year has remained generally unharmed.

Until now.

Starting with this year sophomore class, students not only have to take the CAPT test during their sophomore year, but they will also have to take a Smarter Balanced test the following year, which measures Common Core Standards. If that weren’t enough, sophomores will now be writing their research paper in the months after the CAPT tests, which take place in March.

The school has implemented this new testing because we are a Smarter Balanced Member State, which means that we are committed to instilling Common Core State Standards. This test will provide feedback and possible action that the school can take to make sure that students meet these standards.

“To make the students take two years of standardized tests is unfair and doing the opposite of enhancing our learning,” Gracyn Levenson ’16 said. Levenson is disappointed that learning has become about learning to pass a standardized test, rather than learning to simply learn.

Susan O’Hara, an English

Employees at the store, however, argue that there are a variety of styles available to customers. It is true that although Brandy’s signature crop tops only skim their models’ belly buttons, they also have loose, baggy shirts that hang to the models’ knees.

Carley Brockwell ’14, a former employee, said she had heard complaining. On the other hand, “there are different styles of clothing in the store, some much bigger than others and some much smaller than others.”

Many students disagree and call the sizing policy unnecessary.

Sydney Newman ’15 said, “It’s embarrassing and discouraging that I can only buy an oversized sweater. I should be able to find more than one item of clothing that would fit me in a store that targets growing girls.”

Levenson argued that the clothes serve as what she called a “breeding ground” for body comparisons. “Everyone wears the same size, and

New courses discussed

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Ben Goldschlager ’14

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Hitting the books: Grace McCarthy ’16 preps for the upcoming year by starting CAPT practice.

teacher for some sophomore classes, has observed confusion between the words “standard” and “standardized.” She explained that “standardized” means that people across an area have the same curriculum, but “standard” means that people are teaching towards the same goals.

“In Denmark, where I taught in a public high school, exams were made by teachers from neighboring high schools to make sure that all schools kept to the same ‘standard,’” she said. She expects that students who work hard will do well on the Smarter Balanced testing, as they have done with the CAPT tests for years.

Clothing store has adverse effect on body image Continued from page 1

News

Inklings / December 2, 2013 / inklingsnews.com

it turns into a competition of who wears it better and whose body does it fit the best,” Levenson said.

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, “The body type portrayed in advertising as the ideal is possessed naturally by only 5% of American females.”

Students agreed that when a brand that is “one size fits most” is advertised by models who are stick thin, perfectly toned, and six feet tall, the ideal body based on their sizing is unrealistic and disheartening for young girls.

“Having clothing that fits only certain figures and body shapes narrows down the amount of people who can wear their clothes and allows only certain ‘types’ of people to wear it,” Eryn Loberbaum ’14 said.

“This is terrible. Talk about lowering a girl’s self esteem. This is absolutely the kind of media inf luence that will affect someone with or without an eating disorder,” said Tripos.

photo dramatization by rachel morrison ’16

Vig Namasivayam ’16 is another displeased student; he thinks these types of tests are a waste of time. However, he sees benefits in writing the research paper sophomore year instead of junior year.

“I think it will be less stress on me next year, when I’ll have a heavier workload while starting to take care of college work,” he said.

Sophomore English teacher, Holly Sulzycki agreed. “I think the multiple demands of junior year are very stressful, and removing the research paper from that mix does seem like a logical way to lighten the load a bit,” Sulzycki said.

She is, however, feeling the

pressure of fitting everything in. “As you might imagine, the thought of getting three classes through a research paper process is rather daunting, especially given the time already dedicated to preparing students for CAPT in March,” Sulzycki said.

Michele Beaudoin ’14 thought about the changes, as she went through high school without these requirements.

“If I had to do all of that standardized testing and write my research paper right after CAPT testing, I would be really mad,” Beaudoin said. “I feel like this standardized testing is getting in the way of the curriculum and I just don’t know if it’s worth it.”

Web News Editor

t its meeting tonight, the Board of Education [BOE] is scheduled to vote on a controversial expanded engineering program that would displace, in the eighth grade, drama and presentation skills.

Last Monday, the board was to vote on the proposal, but a crowded room of students, members of the Staples Players organization, and parents largely argued that drama and presentation skills are too important to remove from the eighth grade.

Also last Monday, the board approved five new high school courses for next September: AP Studio Art: Drawing, Differential Equations, Animation, Financial DecisionMaking in the Digital Age and Visual Literacy: The Art and Narration of Graphic Literature.

During their presentations to the board earlier in the month, teachers emphasized progression in their respective course sequences, as each of these courses are the next step in established tracks.

Bill Wilkes presented Differential Equations, Camille Eskell presented AP Studio Art, and Trudy Denton and Sarah White presented Financial Decision-Making, Art teacher Carla Eichler, who presented Animation, said that the course arose out of “genuine interest among students,” while English department chair Julie Heller, who presented Visual Literacy, stressed that students must be exposed to a “wide variety of very complex texts.”

“I want to go back to high school,” shouted one audience member after the presentations.

The board had also discussed expanding the middle school program for STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math, so that eighth graders, who currently take the class once a week, would take it twice, and sixth and seventh graders, who currently don’t take it at all, would take it once a week.

“We’ve put our toe in the design and engineering water, and it’s fine, and I propose that we take the plunge,” science department chair A.J. Scheetz said at the earlier meeting. “The middle school age is a critical age for giving students exposure to those fields.”

Bedford Principal Adam Rosen estimated expanding the program would initially cost about $200,000. Another $150,000 would pay for supplies and equipment, and $50,000 would pay for “facility improvements.” It would also involve a small increase in staffing, he said.

To add class periods for STEM, the proposal changes other parts of the middle school schedule around.

It cuts sixth grade General Music, eighth grade Presentation Skills and computer classes across the board.

Officials said the computer curriculum will be integrated into the core curriculum while sixth graders will have 18 more sessions of Presentation Skills.

Parents expressed concern about what the proposal cuts in order to make space for STEM. “I remain nervous about the arts,” parent Darcy Hicks said. “I know they’ve only been slightly touched, but there’s this switch away from choice.”

“Do we need to keep poised to protect the arts at these meetings?” she asked.

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Graphic by Claudia landowne ’15

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A.P. Studio Art

Designed to give students a chance to create a “personal vision” of the world around them.

Students will create a portfolio to demonstrate mastery of various mediums, such as pencil, crayon, ink, pastel, and paint.

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Differential Equations

Topics will include solving and applying differential equations, as well as various other equation types. This class is designed for those at Staples who would be on track to take Multivariable Calculus BC prior to their senior year.

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Animation

This class is for students interested in learning about the various forms of animation, such as flipbooks, stop-motion animation, as well as digital techniques and processes. This class will also discuss the history of animation, and contemporary animation topics.

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Financial Decision-making

Intended as a followup of the Personal Financial Management class, and is intended to further the students’ financial literacy.

Students will build on topics such as financial goal setting, investments, insurance and retirement planning.

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Graphic Literature

This interdisciplinary class will work with the graphic literature genre.

Students will learn about the history of this genre and work to understand how graphic literature shows and tells a story.

Students will then create their own original graphic literature piece.

Community opposes state testing

Ale Benjamin ’15 & Michael Mathis ’15 Opinions Editor & Staff Writer

On Thursday, Nov. 21, the Bedford Middle School auditorium roared with the pleas of concerned citizens as Connecticut State Representative Gail Lavielle and Weston Schools Superintendent Colleen Palmer asked for input on recent educational legislation.

Over 150 attended, including residents from Westport, Newtown, Shelton, and other towns.

The addressed legislation encompasses the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), new teacher evaluation system, and Smarter Balance tests. The standardization creates what some called a “one size fits all” approach.

However, Palmer noted that “One size does not fit all.”

This was taken with near-unanimous agreement as speakers voiced their issues with the Common Core, which is scheduled to begin at Staples in the spring of 2015.

Desiree Galassi, an Italian teacher at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, said the testing and standards will hurt students with learning disabilities. Galassi offered the example of a struggling student of hers whose grades vastly improved, but not within the course of a year, as the new evaluations demand, thus rendering she and her students “failures.”

Many others recognized this issue. Jack Bestor, an elementary school psychologist, was particularly concerned about learning disparities in younger children.

The new legislation implies all students can reach specific stan-

Speaking Out: Staples Principal John Dodig speaks to an audience of educators from all across Conn.

dards by a certain age.

“Some children enter kindergarten as readers, some don’t recognize letters and numbers,” Bestor said.

The forum was also home to argument regarding the inefficiency of standardized evaluation in already thriving school systems.

Principal John Dodig of Staples High School was quick to recount his experiences with this issue.

“The head of my math department tells me he spent three hours of his time scripting data into a computer, time that he could have spent working with a teacher,” he said, adding that the math CAPT scores at Staples are among the highest in the state. “The day [the

people at Staples] stop doing well is the day that the state should start taking over Westport Public Schools.

Westport Assistant Superintendent Lisabeth Comm and Math Department Chair Frank Corbo also spoke against changes in testing and evaluation.

Smarter Balance Tests have frustrated students and educators alike, some speakers said.

New York state has already issued the tests, and subsequently faced community protest.

Mary Burnham, an educational consultant, was concerned with the enormous 45 percent weight that Smarter Balance Test scores can have in teacher evalu-

photo by ale benjamin ’15

ation.

Teachers’ stress is then passed down to students, Burnham said.

“Students who have participated in trial Smarter Balance Tests have been stressed to the point of tears,” she said.

While Lavielle noted that her task force still has much work to be done with mandates, she reiterated her appreciation for the people’s support. She expressed frustration with attempts at the state level to stall the task force by procrastination in filling in committee positions.

“They can hold up the task force, but they can’t hold up the public,” she said.

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Opinions December 2nd, 2013

Cartoon by Olivia Crosby ’15

A year later, a year wiser

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We know we have an open environment and are grateful for the administration’s trust. This is our daily environment. This is what gives us our sense of safety.

This is one of the beneficial elements of the often sarcastically-dubbed Westport bubble. Teachers, students, and the administration can coexist in a pleasant atmosphere.

This atmosphere is what makes our community as unique as it is. People enjoy being a part of it. People feel safe.

Sandy Hook made people question that safety. All of the freedoms felt like liabilities.

A year later, and no substantial changes have been made. In a way, it’s a good thing--we resisted the temptation of putting in the metal detectors and hiring the se-

curity guards.

But it is a year later. It doesn’t seem right that nothing has changed: on that day, everything changed .

It’s not that we want to go to school in an impenetrable fortress.

First of all, it is highly unlikely that Staples will ever be impenetrable. If someone with a gun wants to get in to Staples, they probably will.

But the goal of a security system isn’t solely to prevent access to the building, but to slow the assailant down once inside the school. To give them less of a window for destruction. To give the police time to respond. To minimize damage, because we’ve all witnessed the catastrophic damage that can be done to families, to a classroom, to a community.

We have hired Kroll In-

dustries to conduct a security audit, the results of which have yet to be seen. That was a $100,000 dollar investment, and we genuinely don’t know the payoff as of yet. We don’t want a fortress; we need to know something’s changed.

Until we hear from Kroll, there are minor precautions we can take that don’t affect the atmosphere that we all value but might give us a greater sense of security.

These things don’t cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. We can put posters on the windows of classrooms, so an intruder wouldn’t be able to see inside. Or at least have them readily available if a lockdown were to happen.

We can take 5 minutes to review a lockdown procedure for every classroom that a student might be in, including the library, fieldhouse,

and cafeteria and especially free periods. We can keep the doors open but always have them locked, so should the need arise, they can be pulled shut right away. We know no one’s going to leave their friend shivering in the cold coming in from first period free, but think twice about opening the door for someone you don’t recognize.

It doesn’t seem right that nothing has changed.

Right now when we go to school on a daily basis, we feel safe. We want to make sure that if there is ever a crisis that we feel safe then, too.

Our ideas aren’t revolutionary, and Kroll Industries will probably do a lot better. But in the meantime, we can start taking smaller steps tomorrow, and people would hardly notice.

And that’s the best part.

Editors-in-Chief Katie Cion Hannah Foley

Claire Lewin Cadence Neenan

Silver Crown Award for Inklingsnews.com from Columbia Scholastic Press Association 2012

Managing Editors Rachel Labarre Will McDonald

Advisers Mary Elizabeth Fulco Rebecca Marsick Julia McNamee Lauren Francese

Silver Crown Award for Newspaper Columbia Scholastic Press Association 2012

Web Managing Editors Ryder Chasin Eliza Llewelyn

Opinions Editors Alexandra Benjamin Jackie Cope Larissa Lieberson Claire Quigley

Web Opinions Editors Abbey Fernandez Eliza Yass

t Staples, you walk into the lobby and see Principal Dodig greeting students. At other schools you walk through metal detectors and are greeted by a security guard.

Inklings Editorial

During free periods, students go to the caf, grab a hot chocolate, and head to the library. At other schools students report to study hall, under the constant supervision of a teacher.

At Staples, students don’t even have to ask to go to the bathroom; they can just leave. At other schools, walking through the hallways without a pass can result in a detention.

Pace Maker Finalist from National Scholastic Press Association 2013

All the opinions, news, and features in this paper are those of Staples High School students. Inklings, a curricular and extracurricular publication, has a circulation of 1,800 and is uncensored. All letters to the editor must be signed. The editorial board reserves the right not to publish letters and to edit all submissions as it sees fit. The editorial board determines all editorial opinions, which are authored faithfully by the Editors-in-Chief. Inklings reserves the right to not publish advertisements that promote products that could be harmful to student health.

The paper is a member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the National Scholastic Press Association and supports the Student Press Law Center.

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Reflecting on a tragedy One year later, a student remembers the Sandy Hook schoool shooting in disbelief Ale Benjamin ’15

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Opinions Editor

pon hearing mention of bad news, a lot of people tend to jump to worst-case scenarios. I’m probably the polar opposite of one of those people.

Maybe it’s some kind of emotional defense mechanism, but when I hear a negative story, my immediate reaction is to assume it can’t possibly turn out as bad as it sounds. Oftentimes, unfortunately, things are as bad as they seem; lingering in disbelief, while tempting, can only help you for so long. The eventual shellshock of reality is inevitable.

I experienced this rude awakening most notably on a day that many people remember for many different reasons:

December 14, 2012—the day of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.

It was mid-morning on a Friday, and I was in history class.

I don’t remember exactly what we were talking about, but we were having a class discussion about something in the Gilded Age. My teacher called on a girl raising her hand.

“This doesn’t have to do with what we’re talking about,” she interjected quickly.

Before anyone could protest or question that, she continued.

“My friend at Newtown High School just texted me saying they’re on lockdown. There’s an intruder at one of the other schools. They heard someone might have been shot.”

There was a brief shocked silence, immediately followed

by a rushed chorus of confused, anxious murmurs that would come to characterize the next few hours as the world spent decoding the Sandy Hook tragedy. But in that moment, the problem was not yet real, and panic had not set in.

And in that moment I thought absolutely nothing of it: it was probably a false alarm; there were never “real” school lockdowns. If anything, it was a mild misunderstanding, a quickly snuffed altercation.

But we all know what really happened next.

The f loodgates opened, and muddled information suffocated us from all angles. It was at the middle school, no— the elementary. The principal was killed—the principal was alive but hospitalized. The

shooter’s mother taught at the school—or she was a gun collector. One child was dead— no, two—no, ten.

Teachers who had lived or taught in Newtown called old friends. Everyone seemed to be piecing together the story—or worse, discovering some connection to it.

But from the trickle of the first rumors to the breaking of the first news stories, I found myself remaining frozen in that first moment, stuck on that first thought: It couldn’t possibly be that bad.

Even as it f lashed in front of my eyes at high speed and blaring volume in the form of days of constant news and developments, a high school lockdown twenty minutes away from my town could nev-

er turn into the untimely death of twenty children less than half my age and six adults who tried to save them.

A year later, sometimes I still feel frozen in that moment, despite the fact that since then, there are still debates about the measures of security that should be taken by schools. Despite the fact that, a year later, my brother still wears his green and white Sandy Hook sweatshirt that his soccer coach designed for their team. Despite the fact that, a year later, people are still talking about Sandy Hook, and I’m still writing about it.

Despite all that, the moment that is and always will be most vivid in my mind is the moment when I never would have believed any of it could be true.

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Watch this or we’re no longer friends Michael Mathis ’15

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Staff Writer

elevision can do so much for a person. TV is when we let our emotions get wrapped up in someone else’s.

Shows make us laugh, and they make us cry.

And then we cry more because we are shedding tears watching “Battlestar Galactica” and we realize we are alone.

We can’t be alone like this.

We need people in our lives.

And so, we must capture them, and get them to care about people who don’t exist.

Easier said than done.

Trying to get a friend hooked on a show is like being a mental patient; you’re trying to convince everyone you’re not crazy for feeling the way you do.

But there are ways of convincing others to tune in to their TV kajiggers at a certain time.

First off, no matter the show, the first step towards getting someone hooked is simple: never shut up about it. Just don’t stop. You need to laser-etch the show into your friend’s brain, and the only way to do that is to never relent.

Examples you ask? Case in point: “Breaking Bad.” Yes, you may have heard of it from every single one of your friends who has Netflix.

“Breaking Bad,” while on the air, was one of TV’s biggest success stories. According to “TV by the Numbers,” on average, 852,000 viewers watched each season premiere. But it didn’t get that way because it had commercials playing on every TV channel. It got that way because your aunt Denise, who has eight cats and six cases of Top Ramen, wouldn’t stop calling your mom about it, and then your mom called all of her friends, too.

We can learn from the wise ways of Denise.

But, whether or not your show has a cult following like “Breaking Bad,” playing the missionary role to your show is crucial. It must dominate your entire conversation. There is no room for asking questions like, “How was your day?” or “Why is your Facebook profile picture an ultrasound?”

Forget empathy. That’s not your mission. Your mission is getting someone next to you on a couch in a dark room.

When you’re talking about your show, don’t give them too much information. When you’re promoting your show, be vague: “Oh the characters are amazing!” or “The plot is fantastic.”

You don’t want to give a full summary, just a few fragments of praise sprinkled in.

Even when they ask for specifics about the show, like what the show’s about, your descriptions should be limited to “It’s about a guy who does a thing.”

This will not only make your friend extremely curious but also infuriated. He may possibly want to harm you. It’s all standard stuff. This curiosity and anger is the perfect cocktail for creating a desire to click a few buttons and roll the video on the television, computer, pager, or whatever it is kids use these days.

Assuming you follow the steps correctly, your friend will hop on Netflix and watch an episode just so they can tell you how bad it is. Just imagine the scene: loading up the computer, scrolling for that godforsaken show with a countenance of both anger and weariness.

It seems ghastly to think about now.

But, one hour later, mission accomplished.

Cartoon by Alice McDonald ’14

Embarrased for you Ale Benjamin ’15 Opinions Editor

Photo by Ronan May ’15

Graphic by Jackie Cope ‘15

NETFLIX ADDICTS: Having succesfully convinced Denzel Washington ’15 to watch his favorite show, Ronan May ’15 switches on the TV. Netflix has 29.2 million subscribers, including the two shown above.

I can handle a little embarrassment.

I have tripped over my own feet too many times to count and worn a cow onesie to an airport.

The throwback-to-freshman year selfies my friends post on my wall for my birthday are unprecedented.

By now, I have reached what the most enlightened of philosophers would call a state of acceptance. We all need to learn to laugh at ourselves at some point, and in my case I haven’t found much that some good old healthy repression couldn’t fix.

Well, at least with my own embarrassment, that is.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a public service announcement. I am here to tell you about the real life struggle of second-hand embarrassment. Urban Dictionary defines the aff liction as, “when you feel so embarrassed for someone else’s actions that you feel the embarrassment for yourself as well.”

Synonyms include “my life.”

Perhaps I have just been cursed with an ungodly burden of empathy for the pain of others, but to me, there couldn’t be anything worse than watching my friends’ uncomfortable interactions with ex-boyfriends or hearing someone in my A.P Gov. class ask aloud if Winston Churchill helped write the Federalist papers… just a century or two before he was born.

Whether the victim is in TV or real life, the embarrassment of others is just something I can’t witness. My cheeks f lush, my heart rate accelerates, more often than not I’m tempted to curl up in the fetal position.

Let us all recall the quintessential pinnacle of awkward: Michael Scott, standing in front of a class of underprivileged high school seniors, after promising them all his payment for their college tuition. Meanwhile, the students applaud his generosity, chant his name, and praise the inspiration Michael gave them.

The viewer, of course, knows Michael has no such money, but all the while can’t help but share in the pain of his pitiful situation.

Teachers too, have contributed to my embarrassment assaults.

In my English class last year, while reading “Catcher in the Rye,” we arrived at the part of the book where Holden, shall we say, seeks some friendly company.

My teacher asked a girl in the class to tell her what a prostitute was.

The girl turned every shade of cotton candy pink to cherry red, and I froze at my

“Can I get a service dog for a medical condition of such severity? A pass out of gym?” desk, praying for a swift and immediate death.

Go ahead, laugh at my distress, but there’s science on my side.

According to a study by German and British researchers, observing others in embarrassment actually activates the centers of the brain that trigger pain (anterior cingulate cortex and left anterior insula if you’re fancy like that) .

Can I get a service dog for a medical condition of such severity? A pass out of gym?

The latter would certainly help, considering the majority of second-hand embarrassment offenders in my life are the ones dive-bombing each other in an all-too-serious game of capture the f lag, only to limp away with a raw and bleeding turf burn swelling up one leg (tell me that isn’t embarrassing).

The battle is real. And if you’ve ever been writhing with agony in your seat while watching the on-stage puke scene in “Pitch Perfect” and you just can’t hide behind the extra-large popcorn tub any longer, remember this my comrades: You are not alone.

Opinions

Inklings / December 2, 2013 / inklingsnews.com

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Balm is the bomb Sophie Hampton ’15 Features Editor

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counted the other day, and in pre-calculus alone, I applied lip balm four separate times.

Health classes at Staples talk about addiction to dr ugs and alcohol, but they fail to mention the addiction to lip balms.

Emphasis on the plural.

For me, it usually star ts in September, when the balmy summer breezes are replaced with icy winds that leave my lips lifeless and parched.

I just won’t stand for it.

I cannot tolerate that feeling when the layers of skin on my lips begin to crack and peel.

Just thinking about it, I have to pause to apply Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm with Kokum Butter that according to Bur t’s Bees,’ will give my lips the hydration sensation I deser ve.

I have discovered that it’s not just about moisturizing your lips anymore; a lip balm must provide a thirst-sating solution for my lips, giving them the love and care they deser ve.

Interestingly enough, I am not alone in the battle against chapped lips.

There are a multitude of blogs and ar ticles dedicated to the subject of a lip balm addiction, namely various versions of “10 signs you might be a lip balm addict.”

I have acquired most, if not all, the habits associated with the addiction, such as the strategic placement of tubes, pots and sticks of the stuff, so I am never without the ability to quench a dehydrated lip.

On lipbalmanonymous. com, “The Original Site About Lip Balm Addiction,” it became clear that I have a seasonal lip balm addiction.

It’s all about easy access.

In order to make sure I am never without a balm or a butter I stow a Bur t’s Bees’ Beeswax Lip Balm next to my bed, in my desk and in my car.

I have three or four Eos Eggs scattered in my backpack, lunch bag and bathroom.

I also pack a Fresh Sugar tube

in my make-up bag and pencil case.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a ser um or a salve. I don’t discriminate.

I can’t stop buying more either. Ever y day I f ind new types, textures, and tints that are destined to end up halfused and forgotten about in the back of my make-up drawer.

It’s like I’m on a quest for some Holy Grail of lip balm that will provide the perfect smooth silky shield from the winter air.

My mom says step one is admitting you have a problem...which I plan to do... eventually.

Graphic by Annie Haroun ’16

Find the Pro on Snow Olivia Kalb ’14

Arts and Entertainment Editor

Waking up in winter is one of the best feelings. Everything is cold outside of the little nest you’ve shaped from the covers.

You’re curled up in the perfect position with blankets, warmed from your body heat, covering every inch.

You wait a minute, maybe 10, just lying in bed and enjoying the absolute rightness of the moment.

When you finally move, ready to face the day, you look out the window and what do you see? A frozen paradise to adventure in, cold grey trees and a bleak sky. There are few sights more beautiful than that of the perfect stretch of untouched white.

I love snow. It is by far the best part of winter. It turns a depressing and dreary landscape into a blank canvas of opportunity.

The first step outside into the first snowstorm is the best

Graphics by Jackie Cope ’15 and Larissa Lieberson ’15

“That one perfect boot print, the beginning of snow fights and sledding and snow men and snow angels and hot chocolate melting away the chill from your fingers.” step of my entire year. That one perfect boot print is the beginning of snow fights and sledding and snow men and snow angels and hot chocolate melting away the chill from your fingers.

And what brings the family together more than a ball of snow in the face, or the shoving of snow down one’s back?

Okay, maybe the event itself isn’t fun, but the anticipation of retaliation is. Who doesn’t love

There’s snow way I’m going out there

a good ol’ snowball fight?

And, of course, how can I forget snow days?

Snow gives us one of the greatest gifts of all, no school.

You get to sleep in and spend the day however you wish, whether it’s playing outside or turning on the TV with a cup of cocoa.

How can you not love that, even if you don’t enjoy playing in the snow?

Jane Levy ’16 Staff Writer

Let’s put it this way: the only thing I like about snow is my f luffy white childhood teddy bear, Snowy. The white winter f luff and I have never really hit it off.

Believe me when I say, all the hype about playing in the snow is overrated. When I was younger, my mom would bundle (suffocate) me in every shirt, f leece, jacket, hat and pair of gloves I owned.

Emerging from the back door, I was a massive marshmallow waddling through the winter wasteland.

Ha, you thought I was going to say wonderland, didn’t you?

On the rare occasion that I agreed to play outside, I lasted five minutes tops, after spending at least 20 preparing for my venture.

With every trudge, I sank deeper and deeper until my chin was paving my way.

Snow rushed into my pants, until my poor little butt practically had icicles hanging from it. Within seconds I was a sick-looking Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

You can just forget sledding; I face-planted enough on my own two feet.

And I’m not going to lie, I’m still frustrated by all my failed attempts at making a snowman.

Heck, I can’t even make a snowball that doesn’t explode in mid-air.

Snow sports are also a no-go. Never have I ever and never will I ever, volunteer to speed down a snow-covered mountain against gusts of piercing wind at raw, hypothermic altitudes.

If my family ever decides to head up to Vermont for a weekend, you’ll find me perfectly happy by the fire, enjoying a good book, sipping a cozy cup of hot chocolate and hugging my own snuggly Snowy.

Who needs real snow anyway?

When icy f lakes fall from an endless grey sky, I long for radiance only a shining sunny day can provide. If I could, I would spend every second of winter hibernating in my bed.

There’s no way I’m playing in the snow this winter. SNOW way.

Features

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Students look back on Sandy Hook

December 2, 2013

graphic by evan AngelAstro ’14

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Features

Inklings / December 2, 2013 / inklingsnews.com

Jack Zeldes ’17 Assistant Business Manager

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graphic by noelle adler ’15

n Dec. 14, 2012, tragedy struck Newtown, Conn. A gunman went into Sandy Hook Elementary School and took 26 lives, most of those from young children.

While it did not directly affect most students at Staples High School, it did have an impact.

These are the stories and perspectives of Staples students as Dec. 14, 2012 unfolded:

The festival of hype

In Judaism, Hanukkah is actually not that important Simon Stracher ’14

Social Media Managing Editor

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n Nov. 27, presents will be unwrapped, candles will be lit and songs will be sung.

This is no early Christmas.

This is Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights.

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the Maccabean revolt in the second century B.C.E. Traditionally a holiday not greatly celebrated by the Jewish people, Hanukkah has taken a place equal to Passover in importance and has become a symbol of Jewish identity in the 21st century. Passover is an important biblically-derived Jewish festival that celebrates the liberation of the Jews in Ancient Egypt nearly

3,500 years ago. Widely considered by rabbinical scholars to be one of the most important Jewish holidays, the story of how Moses liberated the Jews from slavery in Egypt is one that has been passed down for generations.

Hanukkah, on the other hand, is a relatively new holiday that is mentioned nowhere in the Torah. Several Jewish Staples students are not necessarily happy about that.

“People confuse themselves and think of Hanukkah as ‘the Jewish Christmas’... people have even started buying and decorating ‘Hanukkah bushes’ as a Jewish alternative to Christmas trees and coming up with Santa-like characters such as ‘Hanukkah

Harry,’” Izzy Baildon ’17 said.

Mike Moritz ’14 agreed with Baildon.

“It’s a holiday made for the commercialization era,” he said.

Remy Bonett ’14 was blunter in her assessment of Hanukkah.

“Jews feel left out during Christmastime, and, since basically all of our holidays are depressing, we use [Hanukkah] as an excuse to give presents to family members so we look cool to the Christians,” she said.

However, Moritz went on to say that, while it is a commercialized holiday that may not have any true religious value, it is still a fun holiday to celebrate.

“It’s nice to match up with Christmas and have our own

holiday. Plus, free gifts,” he said.

Bonett agreed, opining that Hanukkah is the one somewhat exciting holiday Jews have.

“It’s just the most fun. You don’t have to eat flat cardboard or talk about blood and frogs,” she said.

Though it may be an overhyped and over-celebrated holiday, there is no doubt that Hanukkah is a holiday loved by many.

“It’s less of a religious holiday and more of a happy time that you get to spend with friends and family. We have other holidays that are very religious and serious, so this is one where we can just have fun,” Sydney Newman ’15 said.

$35.00

10:40 a.m.

As Ben Foster ’16 anxiously waited for the bell to ring in his biology class, he felt a vibration in his pocket. Quickly glancing at his iPhone, he noticed a notification from USA Today. “School Shooting in Newtown, CT school.”

The rest was unknown. Foster froze, didn’t know what to feel and just sat still.

11:30 a.m.

It was lunch time, and advanced technology caused rumors of the shooting to run rampant. Students all around the school were beginning to fear, security felt loss and students just wanted to go home.

However, things would only get worse.

1:30 p.m.

While on most Friday afternoons, Vignesh Namasivayam ’16 would be anticipating his weekend, this day was so different. Some of the unknowns in the day were now being reported. As a result, there were much bigger things on Namasivayam’s mind. His teacher was thinking the same thing. Spanish teacher Susan Pels didn’t feel it was appropriate to teach. Instead Namasivayam’s class had a discussion in English detailing the gun laws of the country and personal stories. “Everyone was pretty sad, pretty serious. We really spent the entire class talking about how we felt about the situation. Everyone seemed very shaken up by what happened, and it was very clear throughout the conversations,” Namasivayam said. Still early in the day, the gruesome details of the day were yet to come.

1:45 p.m.

Almost simultaneously, Gilli Rozynek ’16 nervously sat in her child development class. “I was really scared because we had never experienced something so horrible in such a close proximity to our school,” Rozynek said.

Child development teacher Linda McClary took a different approach to the situation and had the live streaming news broadcasted on the Smart Board with constant updates coming in about the devastating shooting. “Everyone in class was so frazzled; it was a truly scary situation,” Rozynek said.

3:30 p.m.

As Kenji Goto ’16 walked down the street, he could hear sirens ringing in his ear. This could’ve been any school, any place, Goto thought. Fear was in the young student’s mind as he continued his now brisk walk down the street. There was such a somber and scary feeling in the air. This would continue for days.

Looking back on that day is heart wrenching and difficult for most students. It brings back memories of a day when the sense of security in school was lost. It put things in perspective for Staples students and will always have a lasting effect on this town and out school.

gears up for Fall State Jordan Goodness ’16

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graphic by olivia crosby ’15

Political clubs get involved and stay involved Emily Wolfe ’15 Staff Writer

Even though most of them are not quite old enough to bubble in the name of their candidate chosen on Election Day, these kids are more politically active than most of the eligible voters in Westport.

The members of the political clubs at Staples worked side by side with the selectmen candidates throughout the recent election. Both the Young Democrats and Young Republicans were wholeheartedly invested in supporting their respective campaigns, doing everything possible to get votes for their candidates.

“We helped out in the campaign by handing out campaign water bottles, making and setting up signs all over town and even on Election Day, campaigning outside the polls,” Young Republicans president Jackie Chappo ’15 said.

Young Democrats president Dan Kaseff ’14 said that his group made hundreds of phone calls directly to voters, and, they even ventured out on the streets of Westport, campaigning in person to anyone who was willing to answer the door.

While most students were celebrating the joyous holiday of Election Day, basking in the luxury of sleep, these clubs were at the polls by 6 in the morning, supporting their candidates’ campaigns until the last ballot was counted.

On Election Day, the Republican candidates Jim Marpe and Avi Kaner won the selectmen elections over Democratic

candidates Helen Garten and Melissa Kane.

Kaseff explained that, while the Young Democrats were disappointed by the loss, they understood why the Republican candidates won.

“The candidates definitely had a kind of popularity that resonated well with some Westport voters,” Kaseff said.

Young Democrats member Nora Cowherd ’15 said that she is proud of the Democratic selectmen candidates and the work the club did to help, despite the election results.

“It was disappointing, but the worst thing that can really come out of it is that our golf courses get a lot nicer,” Cowherd said.

The election may be over, but the Staples political clubs are not slowing down.

Kaseff said that the Young Democrats plan to get involved with current national issues such as gender equality, antidiscrimination laws, income inequality and campaign finance reform, along with other upcoming elections. Kaseff specified the Himes and Malloy reelection campaigns.

Young Republicans President Ian Palmer ’15 said that the two clubs have had a few debates in the past in which they discussed controversial national issues such as gun control and healthcare.

“It’s interesting because we know it’s unlikely that anyone will actually convince another person to change their views, but we get to hear the other side of the story and further develop our own opinions,” Palmer said.

Staff Writer

tudents are packing their bags, preparing their notes and gearing up for their passionate debates.

Why? Because, for the young politicians involved in the Staples chapter of Junior Statesmen of America, or JSA, their annual Fall State conference is right around the corner.

The conference, which is scheduled to take place Dec. 7-8 in Boston, features students from the northeast coming together to debate and participate in a wide variety of activities.

“In my opinion, it's one of the most important conventions of the year,” Jacob Nadel ‘15, a member of the club, said. “It's one of the three major conventions, and it's a great way to really kick off a

new year of JSA.” The weekend trip is organized into eight blocks of time for students to debate, moderate, and watch others.

As the club members eagerly await the trip, they reflect on all their favorite aspects of the conference in previous years.

“It’s always interesting to watch the keynote speaker,” Emma Broadbent ’16 said.

“I’m not sure who it’s going to be this year yet, but I’m really excited to find out.”

In addition to a keynote speaker, students are also given time to do a variety of different activities during the weekend.

“There’s a newspaper distributed that features a lot of articles about political affairs and popular debate topics,” Zoe Feygin ‘16 said. “JSA is all about sharing opinions, and the newspaper is a way to get

more opinions out there.”

But all the JSA kids are looking forward to watching and participating in the most important element of the club.

“The best part of Fall State for me is the debates themselves,” Nadel said. “It's extremely interesting to hear all the different opinions from the kids from around the northeast on a huge variety of issues.”

But it certainly isn’t all work and no play for JSA debaters. Cole Bruno ’16, said of his experience with debates at Fall State: “Fall state is full of fun debates, and we debate really all topics. I once even used a ‘Godfather’ quote in a debate.”

While the countdown to Fall State continues, the JSA students continue to work at their debating and moderating skills in their after school meetings.

STAPLES STUDENT DISCOUNT

The Nutcracker

Dec 7th: 3 & 7pm, Dec 8th: 2pm Performed at Staples High School Tix $25, $15 for students/seniors

$10 tix special for Staples Students only

Visit www.westportdance.com or call 203.226.9987 for tix $10 Discount ticket available Sat. Dec 7, 7pm show only.

Staples Students only.

Mention this ad for discount.

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Staples students get into the holiday spirit Students gear up for the holidays

The most popular gifts through the years

Daniela Karpenos ’15 Staff Writer he Halloween hype screeched to a halt November first, and excitement of the approaching winter holidays began full swing: digital Christmas countdown clocks were downloaded, rough-drafts of wish lists formulated, and merchandise marked down.

“I start getting really excited for Christmas as soon as it gets really cold out and I have to use the seat warmers in my car,” Harley Kowalsky ’15 said. “Plus, I just love the thrill of holiday shopping. It’s an addiction.”

Siobhan O’Loughlin ’15 noted there have been noticeable shopping trends during Christmas and Hanukkah in previous years.

“It’s always the new technology ― the new iPhone or iPad or MacBook,” O’Loughlin said.

Last year, iPhone 5 sales

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spiked to a whopping 27.4 million during Christmas time. Not only this, but Apple CEO Tim Cook said they simultaneously set new records for iPad sales.

“No company has ever reported these kinds of results,” Cook said.

There’s no denying that this slim and sleek new smartphone was number one in our hearts last year, and Claire Maki ’16 believes that the iPhone 5s will be a success this holiday season as well.

“Personally, though, I want sweaters and boots for the cold winter,” Maki said, also commenting on the fad of watches and jewelry which have adorned the hands of many Staples students since the last winter holidays.

In order to accommodate these consumer trends, stores began readying for the hectic holiday season well in advance ― especially downtown Westport

where store shelves have been stocked, windows decorated with lights, sale signs displayed, and gift wrapped ordered.

“Sweaters are definitely our most popular items sold this season,” Anita Rosenboro, the women’s section manager at Urban Outfitters, said.

“We start getting ready before the big groups of holiday shoppers come in on and around Black Friday, which is when we begin to markdown our merchandise,” Rosenboro added. “After that it’s very, very busy until Christmas.”

So, as trendsetters and giftgetters alike flock to Main Street or a nearby mall in the coming weeks, it’s important to keep this year’s trends in mind ― whether it be the bigger and the better in technology or cozy sweaters for the rapidly dropping temperature.

Gifting gratitude to teachers Sarah Ellman ’15 Staff Writer t’s that time of year again. The trees downtown light up and the store windows overflow with possible holiday gifts for parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends. But what about teachers?

Many can say that in elementary school and maybe even in middle school, it was routine to buy the teacher a holiday coffee mug or a Christmas-themed Starbucks gift card. But, now that we’re in high school, have things changed?

With the gift-giving season approaching and the college process in full swing, many seniors find this the perfect time to thank teachers for writing letters of recommendation.

Charlotte Rowland ’14 stated that she plans to buy gifts for these teachers because she knows how much effort they put in.

“They definitely deserve something nice in return,” Rowland said.

An anonymous teacher explained that sometimes students don’t realize the amount of work and consideration that goes into writing a letter of recommendation and said that a simple “Thank you” can go a long way.

“It’s not an object that a teacher is looking to receive: it’s the idea of saying ‘thank you’,” the anonymous teacher said.

There are many seniors like Rowland and Annie Raifaisen ’14 who plan on showing their gratitude in letters. “I really appreciate them taking the time out

I

Graphic by Daniela Karpenos ’15

of their busy schedules to write and send a letter about me,” Raifaisen said.

Whether it’s a homemade dessert, a small holiday decoration or just a simple “thank you” note, teachers will always appreciate the kind gesture of saying “Thank you.”

For the students who aren’t going through the college process yet, some might wonder if they should be looking for gifts for their teachers as well.

Although this is a popular trend in elementary and middle schools, some students have carried the tradition into high school.

Olivia Wiener ’15 said that she buys gifts for her teachers to show her appreciation for everything they have done so far this year. “I think it’s important to honor that,” Wiener said.

Customized stationary, gift certificates, classroom supplies and holiday treats are all examples of generous holiday gifts that are easy to find and frequently given to teachers by students.

“In the past I have gotten my teachers books and gift cards to Barnes & Noble,” Brynly Marsh ’16 said.

For students like Wiener and Marsh, giving holiday gifts to teachers is simply a way of recognizing what they do. “I know how good it feels to receive a gift, and I know that my teachers work really hard and deserve it,” Wiener said.

Whether you are thankful for a letter of recommendation or for having an excellent teacher, the holiday season is an ideal time of year to show it.

All I want for Christmas is to find a gift .... for you ‘wow this person really knows ’15 said, explaining boys’ differTaylor Harrington ’15 Staff Writer ith Christmas shopping in full swing and the selection of holiday cards at CVS starting to thin, stress eats away at the creative minds of many Staples students. Students saying yes to the big dating question right before the holiday season clearly don’t understand the dangers and pressures they’re committing to.

Two words: Christmas. Gift.

There are so many different factors that go into choosing a present, making it rather overwhelming. A short list includes personality, price, stage in relationship, and amount of time you’ve already wasted procrastinating.

Avery Wallace ’15 defines a perfect present. “A good gift is something that you know the other person put thought into and something that makes you realize,

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me,’” Wallace said.

One Staples Player revealed that a possible present she might get her boyfriend is an “active gift,” something that the two of them could share together, like attending one of his favorites, a Yankees game or a Justin Timberlake concert. “I could easily get him a sweater or something, but I feel like it’s more fun and more special if we could do something together,” she said.

On the other hand, Tim Taylor ’15 says he thinks spending $30 to $40 on a gift is an appropriate amount, ruling out the ticket idea.

For Taylor, “the best Christmas gift from my girlfriend would be either the Walking Dead or Breaking Bad series on DVD and some popcorn,” perhaps sparking ideas for girlfriends still panicking.

“Guys are simple. Just ‘cause it’s inexpensive, doesn’t mean it’s not a great gift,” Oliver Hickson

ent perspective on gifts.

In fact, Jake Reiner ’14 adds that he would be “completely fine” if his girlfriend didn’t have a gift waiting for him under the tree.

Girls, though, according to Olivia Jones ’15, seem to not only expect a gift, but a thoughtful gift.

“Something sweet my boyfriend could give me would be a stuffed animal elephant,” she said, laughing at her nickname “Elephant” that her boyfriend gave her on their very first day of dating. That, she said, would be a gift she would know he put some thought into.

With only a couple weeks left, boys need to get creative.

Like girls always say, “It’s the thought that counts.”

However, girls can take a deep breath and rest by the fire with some hot cocoa. The boys don’t seem to want anything too extravagant this year.

Graphics by Oliva Crosby ’15

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Nick Ribolla sports a nifty set of t-shirts Eliza Yass ’14

Web Opinions Editor

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tons of tees (Above, below): Ribolla has amassed over 25 tee shirts for his collection.

t all started in 2007 with “The Hangover” t-shirt.

On it was a photo of Zach Galifianakis and the words “One Man Wolfpack” written across the top. After that life was never the same for then 13-year-old Nick Ribolla ’16. His t-shirts became not only a silly way for Ribolla to express himself, but also something more.

Having lived the first decade of his life in what he terms a bit of a “socially awkward” phase, this first comical T-shirt gave Ribolla a chance to communicate with his peers.

Almost every person he spoke with complimented him on it.

He became addicted to the satisfaction he received, he said.

“There’s a certain sense of pride and joy when a total stranger compliments you on something as simple as your Tshirt,” Ribolla said.

Since that day in seventh grade, Ribolla and his collection have grown. He has become a more confident and outgoing person, and he now has over 25 shirts. His comical shirt collection, combined with a love for musical theatre, have created the Nick Ribolla his friends know and love.

“Nick has this certain type of sense of humor. You literally can’t not laugh at the things he says. His shirts represent him perfectly,” Cara McNiff ’14 said.

Not only does Ribolla have an incredible sense of humor, but he is also a great friend.

Brandon Schock ’16 has been best friends with Ribolla for a

few years and describes him as “intelligent, understanding and an independent young soul.”

If you haven’t been lucky enough to know Ribolla and his eclectic shirt collection, do not worry.

He has one with a bunch of multicolored cats on it, one with the Oregon Trail on it, the “Vote for Pedro” shirt from Napoleon Dynamite, a bunch of Hawaiian shirts, a ridiculous golfing polo, “this hideous baby vomit/purple button-down,” and others. Ribolla buys these shirts everywhere from Goodwill to Urban Outfitters and various outlet stores

“There’s a certain sense of pride and joy when a total stranger compliments you on something as simple as your T-shirt” —Nick Ribolla ’16 online.

But his all-time favorite shirt is a Hawaiian shirt given to him by his dad, which he calls “a family heirloom, if you will.” The shirt is a multicolored button-down covered in dice and palm trees.

Why is this shirt so special? It’s obvious to Ribolla.

“Not only is it ridiculous, it holds sentimental value to me, and I’m a sucker for nostalgia,” he said.

photos by evan Angelastro ’14

Students assigned homework on weekends Homework is tolerable during the week. What else would one do on a school night anyway?

The problem only comes when homework begins to interfere with the break that is supposed to be a weekend or vacation.

According to Principal John Dodig, there is no official homework policy for weekends or vacations, but teachers are asked to observe religious holidays by refraining from assigning homework or tests and introducing new material.

The Staples student handbook mentions nothing regarding homework, nor does the parent handbook, besides the tip that “when planning after-school activities, parents should be sure there is sufficient time left for study and homework.”

Sometimes, the lack of restrictions on homework can cause distress among students.

Sarah Sawyer ’15 recalls one weekend this year when she was swamped with making note cards for her research paper, studying for an AP Gov and a Spanish test, completing a math sheet and finishing a forensics lab. All in one week-

end.

Sawyer understands that school is not supposed to be effortless but occasionally finds the amount of homework she receives over the weekend unreasonable. Sometimes, she says, the only way to finish it all is to start Friday night.

“Obviously it’s not the way most students want to spend their Friday nights, but there literally just weren’t enough days in the weekend for me to do all of my work by waiting until Sunday to actually do it,” Sawyer said.

Teachers say they intend homework not to be a torture mechanism but an aid to further students’ learning. So little time is allotted to each class daily, they argue.

“I actually don’t think there’s enough time in the day to cover all the things that we should cover,” English teacher Susan O’Hara said.

O’Hara explains that, class time is for explaining concepts and arranging cooperative activities, homework is necessary for independent assignments like reading and writing.

Staples High School, a nationally recognized school, generates a competitive environment—and with good reason, Dodig said. He elaborated that the school holds a 100 per-

graphic by chase emilio ’16

Reflecting on the snow day that wasn’t Caroline Cohen ’15 Opinions Editor

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ith almost all leaves almost fallen and temperatures dropping steadily, snow has already flurried in Fairfield County. With winter months ahead, students brace for the cold and hope for school cancellations. The past, though, doesn’t offer much hope.

On Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, Westport was hit with over 24 inches of snow and winds that reached a high of 82 mph. The snowstorm, dubbed Nemo, began late Thursday night; by early the next morning, all but emergency personnel were urged to stay home, and, by noon, the governor had declared a state of emergency. By Saturday, he had ordered all roads in the state closed except to essential vehicles. Westport schools were even closed on the following Monday, as roads were difficult to access for many faculty members.

However, at the height of the storm, Friday morning, Westport remained one of the only schools open.

“I remember seeing models light up with a record storm,” weather wiz Jacob Meisel ’13, now a Harvard freshman, said, “wondering how anyone could open schools with such a large storm coming.”

Superintendent Elliott Landon remembered the morning in a different light. “The roads were clear; the forecast was for heavy precipitation after the school day at the time of the decision to remain open,” Landon said.

So, early that morning, teachers and students alike started the trek to school armed with snowbrushes and ready to brave a long drive. Snow was already blanketing the roads and temperatures were dropping.

“That morning it was pretty difficult to even walk down from Wakeman, as the parking lots already had ice on them,”

Max Liben ’14 said. “By the time we were let out, there was ice all over the roads.”

When a half day was eventually announced around 10 a.m, conditions were bad, and some feared the journey home.

On his way home from school, Liben took a turn at about 30 mph, and his wheels slipped out. “My car over-rotated and was thrown to the side of the road,” Liben said. “The damage to my tire was pretty severe. A branch was literally straight through.”

Landon noted that the safety of students is always his main concern. But he does not factor student drivers into his snow day decisions.

“During inclement weather, it is our expectation that parents will prohibit their children from driving,” Landon said. He expects that parents “require their children instead to take the busses that are the safest way for students to travel under any circumstances.”

Be a shoveling superstar

According to Meisel, latest indicators show a statistically average winter this year.

“Something around the 30-inch average for Westport looks most likely at this point,” Meisel said.

A teacher in the English department who asked to be unnamed said that, as a teacher who lives far away (as many do), she finds driving to and from school in bad weather nerve-racking.

Librarian Robin Stiles felt similarly. “I have a 45 minute drive, and, in bad weather, it can take over two hours, and it’s a very dangerous ride.”

Landon is infamous for keeping school open, and this storm was no different. The conditions, though, were more severe than what many were comfortable with.

“For this storm, I still hold schools should have closed,” Meisel said. “I remember thinking it was one of the boldest calls I had ever heard of in my history in Westport.”

Mat Jacowleff ’15 Staff Writer

Nothing is better than waking up on a weekday in the winter to a phone call from the one and only Elliott Landon announcing that school is cancelled .

Nothing is worse than looking outside and realizing that that’s a lot of snow to shovel. Here are a few quick tips to make the process the fastest and most enjoyable: First off, it is imperative to have a Home Depot quality shovel with plenty of torque so you don’t pull your back out.

The second most important factor to quick, fun shoveling is music. Pop those Dre Beats on, and wild out to some Miley Cyrus or French Montana.

If you want to know about techniques, there are only two you need to know: “The Tornado” and “The Ice Cream Scoop.”

The Tornado works if you are trying to get the job done as quickly as possible, and it is all about rapid, random diverse terrain at either Long always the thrill of building movements of your arms. BaShore Golf Course or Birch- jumps in the backyard. sically, you are the tornado, wood Country Club. Both offer This way, the cup of hot and you are wreaking havoc longer and less steep hills. chocolate waiting inside is just on any flake of snow in your And, of course, there’s also a couple of icy steps away. area. This technique is perfect for up to a four inch snowfall, because it allows you to raise hell through a (previously) snow-covered walkway or driveway.

“I’m definitely a fan and supporter of ‘The Tornado’ because I hate shoveling, and although it doesn’t do the best job, it gets the job done quickly,” Julia Greenspan ‘16 said.

The Ice Cream Scoop is for any snowfall above four inches, and it involves loading up the shovel as if you are scooping ice cream. You need to get the shovel underneath the snow and peel it from the ground.

Next time Elliott Landon gives your house a call, you will be prepared with the best shoveling methods.

Snow Gear: The Snow Rage snow tube holds a five-star rating on AmaYou’re welcome.

Slip and slide down the snowy slopes Jenna McNicholas ’15 Staff Writer

cent graduation rate with 96 percent of students going onto college and 61 percent of those attending most competitive or highly competitive colleges.

“I look at [homework] as a necessary experience in or-

der for the outcome to be what it is,” Dodig said. “If we want to reduce our expectations and diminish the outcome, then we can reduce the stress,” he added.

Dodig believes that so

many successful students come out of Staples because of the hard work that they do throughout their time here.

Part of that hard work, he said, unfortunately, is homework.

Slip on your snow boots, knock on your neighbors’ doors and clear the cobwebs off your sleds because it’s sledding season.

Winter: when kids get chased off of private property that contains the best hills and kicked out of the sloping terrain at Birchwood Country Club for improper sledding conduct.

“All you need is a good slope and some snow,” Sam Reach ’14 said.

Well. Most people do at least.

“My friends and I really love to sled,” Lauren Garcia ’15 said. “Even when there isn’t snow, we sled down hills.

We get really dirty, but it’s worth it.”

The love everyone has for sledding builds up during the seasons that lead up to winter.

The few months that sledding enthusiasts pine for all

year have arrived.

How to prepare for the first flurry? Well, for novice sledders, these experts offer tips.

“It’s all about technique,” Griffin Thrush ’15 said. “I’m all about speed, and, if someone’s beating me down the hill, it’s back to the drawing board to tweak the toboggan, as they say.”

According to Thrush, sledders should develop their own techniques as their experience builds. Thrush’s technique includes arching his back while applying pressure to the sled with his upper shoulders. “It creates a solid downward force, and with a center of gravity like mine, speed is the only option,” Thrush said.

Lauren Chasnow ’17 knows a few places that offer different types of rides, depending on the mood. “If you’re looking for a steep hill, Greens Farms Elementary School is really popular.”

Sledders can find a more

photo by liana sonenclar ’14

Features Editor

Graphic by julia schor ’16

Zoe Brown ’15

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zon.com and is a top sled choice by Staples students.

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December 2, 2013

Graphic by Amy Perelberg ’15

2013 Naughty or nice list

Abbey Fernandez ’14 Web Opinons Editor

Send gifts to the following persons:

Send coal to the following persons:

Brandon Marshall

Congress

The wide receiver for the Chicago Bears wore green cleats at the Oct. 10th game against the Giants, to raise awareness for Mental Health Week. This risky move cost Marshall a $10,500 fine from the NFL, but that didn’t bother him; in fact, he donated the same amount to a charity for mental illnesses.

“This act took a lot of courage, and I admire that,” Andres Marmelo ’16 said.

Malala Yousafzai

In case you haven’t heard about this powerhouse, the Taliban shot Yousafzai for fighting for her right to education. Not only has she risen above the incident, she has become a global activist for education and was shortlisted for the Nobel Peace Prize. Her book “I am Malala” was released this year, and her inspiring story guarantees her a spot on the nice list. Oh yeah, did I mention she’s only 16?

“Malala should be praised for all of her perseverance. Despite all of the social bounds her society placed on her, she has still managed to make a difference in the world,” Issy Pieper ’14 said.

Ryan Gosling

He deserves to be on the nice list for more than his beautiful eyes and the fact that he took his mom to the Gangster Squad premiere. Ryan also saved a British woman from being hit by a New York Taxi cab last spring. Ugh, what a winner.

“Everyone loves him simply because he’s the most gorgeous man on this earth, plus he’s so charming,” Colleen Bannon ’17 said.

To repeat, he has beautiful eyes, treats his mom well, and saved a woman’s life.

Where’s the mistletoe?

From October first through the 16th, the United States government was in a temporary shutdown because Congress could not agree on legislation for 2014 funding.

Democrats and Republicans failed to compromise; their behavior lands all of Congress on the naughty list.

“When we get to the point of a fiscal cliff, it should be imperative from all members on both sides of the aisle to avoid going over that cliff, not continue to fight along that precipice. Now is not the time to be digging in one’s heels so that it can further its own political agenda,” social studies teacher Eric Mongirdas said.

Paula Deen

A former employee accused famous Chef Paula Deen of racial slurs and discrimination earlier in her career. This is destroying her empire and costing her millions.

“It’s a shame because she had such ethos with people. Her actions behind closed doors revealed her true character,” Khaliq Sanda ’14 said.

Miley Cyrus

A bit of an obvious one. Cyrus has done enough wrecking of her reputation to jeopardize her spot on the nice list as well as her chances of ever being viewed as a role model for young girls. No amount of aggressive twerking can save her now.

“At this point, I don’t think anyone should even care about Miley Cyrus,” Marcel Massarani ’16 said.

Dress to survive extreme class temperatures in style Rachel Treisman ’15 Staff Writer

It’s no secret that most Staples students take their wardrobes very seriously.

Although the outfit selection process differs for each individual, there is one factor that all students must consider when picking out their clothes for the school day: the highly variable temperatures within the building.

Regardless of the weather outside, certain classrooms are either boiling or freezing yearround. There could be snow on the ground, but the field house will still be sweltering. And the cafeteria can be chilly even in the sunny days of June. So what’s a kid to wear?

The answer depends on where one is in the school. For example, anyone who takes a foreign language should bundle up for class with a warm vest or jacket, such as those army jackets Staples

girls are so fond of. And if lugging a coat around doesn’t sound appealing, at least wear some sort of sweater.

“My Spanish room is always cold,” Caroline Gray ’17 said.

“Sometimes I just shiver because I don’t have a jacket.”

Another notoriously frigid area of the school is the science hallway. Heat rises, but evidently not to the chemistry classrooms.

“It’s always freezing,” said Malin Hovstadius ’15, who takes three science classes.

Hovstadius added that one of her teachers once let the class take all of third lunch instead of lab lunch because it was so chilly.

“He thought it was too cold for us to suffer anymore,” Hovstadius said.

Chemistry teacher Maura Delaney explained that while many students complain about how chilly the science rooms are, the teachers who spend their

whole day in the cold eventually get used to it, or at least know what to wear to stay warm.

“I wear a lot of layers, and I always have a jacket on the back of my chair,” Delaney said. “And if it’s really cold, I wear two pairs of socks.”

In an ideal world, students would come to science class dressed in winter coats and puffy parkas. Instead, throw on a light jacket or fuzzy North Face fleece, so you can study in style.

But don’t get too toasty. Students also have to account for the oppressive heat they are bound to encounter in classes such as gym and math.

Thanks to the sauna-like atmosphere of the field house, students begin to break a sweat before they even complete their first warm-up lap. To stay cool, stock up on moisture-wicking fabrics and short sleeves, avoid heavy materials, and invest in a locker-

sized deodorant just in case.

Sydney Sussman ’15 believes that the key to staying comfortable in school is layering.

“The health rooms are always really cold, so I need to remember to bring a sweatshirt, especially for the long periods,” Sussman said. “In the math classroom, I recommend wearing short sleeves because the temperature change is so drastic.”

According to paraprofessional Chris Garrity although certain areas of the school have very distinct conditions, each individual has his or her own tolerance of the temperature.

“Some people don’t like the heat, so they’re hot, but other people don’t mind,” Garrity said. “It all depends. You have to layer.”

The climate at school spans more than four seasons, but students who stay on their (sock-covered) toes will make it through the days just fine.

Graphic by Amy Perelberg ’15

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Staff Writer

ooks are great, but turning them into movies is always a risk. Movies that are based off of books often get a lot of praise or a lot of criticism.

Gabby Perry ’16 likes being able to watch a movie she read as a book. “It’s fun to see it on a TV screen and see it all happen. And I like to see the differences they put into the movie and what they changed from the book” Perry said.

Elizabeth Coogan ’13 talked about one of her favorite books, The Hunger Games, that was turned into a movie.

“I thought that the movie was really well done. The actors

are all great. The movie also followed the chronology of the book really well, which I liked,” Coogan said.

Others believe books are almost always better. “Movies leave things out and books leave the reader with more interpretation, which I like,” Sam Ahlgrim ’16 said.

Ahlgrim also read “The Hunger Games” book and saw the movie. “In the movies, it shows you what is happening, when in the book it’s all mental. Some parts can be interpreted differently, and I personally would say the book is probably better,” Ahlgrim said.

“Catching Fire,” the second book in “The Hunger Games” trilogy, is coming

out in theaters November 22, 2013.

So far, it seems that Staples students are excited to see “Catching Fire.” Julia Turner ’17 has high expectations.

“Based off my knowledge of the director of the trilogy and how the first movie came out, I believe it will be equally as good,” Turner said.

Coogan is also looking forward to seeing the movie in theaters.

“I’m really excited to see “Catching Fire.” It was my favorite book of the series because great characters were introduced, and the layout of the arena was so creative that I could never predict what would happen next,” Coogan. said.

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“The book is a lot better than the movie, which failed to fufill expectations from the book.”

-Jonathon Demeter ’17

To Kill a Mockingbird “I just love Harper Lee. I thought the adaptation was really spot on.”

-Margaret Parkhurst, library paraprofessional

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief “The movie cut out scenes that were crucial to the ending. It shouldn’t have been cut into a two hour movie.”

-Jay Mudholkar ’17

Photos by Evan Angelastro

Graphic by Julia Schorr ’15

Carry a tune: This is Luke Rosenberg’s second year conducting

Candlelight.

Striking a Vocal Chord: (From right) Maddy Rozynek ’14, Amanda Horowitz ’14, and Killian Jampierre ’15 rehearse “Winter’s Night,” one of the hardest but most beautiful pieces of the concert.

Helping hand hired for holiday headliner Jimmy Ray Stagg ’16 Staff Writer

Hot chocolate, snow, stockings and wreaths, gingerbread cookies, candy canes, and family all come to mind in December. For students involved in the music programs, however, another date sparkles on the holiday calendar: the Candlelight concert.

Each and every year, Staples puts on its holiday concert,

Candlelight. At the end of each and every Candlelight is a skit put together by the juniors and seniors who comprise the Acapella Choir. In recent years, the skit has usually been composed of different holiday songs organized by the choir director, but this year, outside help was sought.

Luke Rosenberg, choral director for Staples, contacted Don Rickenback, who ended up put-

ting together this year’s holiday performance from scratch. Rickenback has worked with Staples Players as the musical director on several shows in recent years.

Some students who asked to be unnamed said that Rosenberg’s motivation for seeking help was a lackluster scene last year. According to an anonymous senior who was in choir last year, “When we found out there weren’t going to be any

[soloists last year], a lot of people were bummed and had a negative view on the whole [skit].”

When asked why he sought outside help, Rosenberg said, “Last year’s skit was fine, but I knew it could be so much more if it could be better catered to us.”

President of the Acapella Choir, Emily Ressler ’14, is very supportive of the decision, and she says that the rest of the choir agrees.

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Chase Gornbein ’16

Angels and Demons

Taylor Burg ’16

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Anchorman sequel raises monumental expectations

How does the movie adaption compare to your favorite book?

Reeling in The Hunger Games fans

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According to Ressler, one of the main reasons that the whole choir is so supportive is because of Rickenback’s history with Staples Players and his talent for writing music.

“We’re so excited for Don’s number because we know we’re starting off with awesome original songs and a cute theme to tie it together. It moves very quickly, so the audience will be able to stay engaged,” Ressler said.

Staff Writer

ince 2004, Ron Burgundy and his inglorious mustache have taken over the comedy world, with the release of the movie Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

This movie left viewers rolling on the f loor with laughter. It turned out to be a massive success, making $28.4 million in the opening week, and $90.6 million worldwide in its total theatrical run. It left viewers begging for more.

However, a sequel seemed a bit surreal, until now.

Finally, after nine years of waiting, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues will premiere in movie theaters on December 20th, 2013.

Students at Staples have longed to watch the release of the new Anchorman for what seemed like an eternity.

Harrison Ames ’16 said he has been waiting for months. “ I expect it to be movie of the year and a film that nobody will forget.”

Ames also said, “The anticipation hurts because of how good it is going to be.

The first Anchorman blew my mind away, and so will this one.”

Jared Himmel ’16 is very excited to see the new film as well. “I plan on seeing it at the midnight premiere. The first one was so funny.”

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues will have a very similar cast to that of first

Graphic by Julia Schorr ’15

movie, consisting of Will Ferrell, resuming his role as the main character Ron Burgundy.

Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and Jim Carrey will also star.

Weaving together four of the funniest comedians of the

21st century will guarantee another blockbuster hit for director Adam McKay, students predicted.

What Ben Thaw ’16 looks forward to the most is the cast reunion.

“This will be amazing.”

A number of students said they can’t believe the sequel can match up to the original. Jason Chaskin ’14 is in this camp.

“It would be impossible to

be as good because the first one was the best comedy movie of all time,” Chaskin said.

However, Chaskin said that he won’t be able to resist seeing the sequel because he “misses the mustaches.”

Not kiddie food anymore New restaurants reinvent the classics Megan Root ’15 Staff Writer

It’s December.

It’s cold.

As in, never-want-toleave-my-bed and whereare-my-fuzzy-socks cold. It’s weather that makes people crave comfort food, the kind that puffs butter-scented steam and slides off forks and attracts jealous stares from everyone nearby.

The Grilled Cheese Eatery in Fairfield may have perfected this meal.

A “Grilled Cheese Mac & Cheese.” Toasted white bread packed with cheddar-parmesan mac and cheese.

How unbelievably good does that sound?

Maggie Fiolek ’15 thought it sounded delicious too. She tried it, and now she knows for sure.

“I loved it,” Fiolek said.

“I would order the same thing again.”

Even if people didn’t want that particular sandwich, they could choose from nine other specialties or combine any of five breads, eight sauces, and 14 cheeses. Asiago melts into mozzarella between crispy country white and smoked Gouda gushes over the edge of toasted sourdough.

Jamie Swotes ’15 chose “The Classic” and added avo-

cado and tomato: simple, but still excellent.

“The bread was toasted perfectly,” Swotes said. “It was literally unreal.”

Swotes said next time she would get out of her “comfort zone” and try something new. Michelle Gurevich ’14— who has grilled cheese as her desktop background—also wants to try one of the more unusual sandwiches.

“If I took the time to go somewhere like the Grilled Cheese Eatery, I would definitely get the craziest thing on the menu,” Gurevich said.

“The bread was toasted perfectly. It was unreal.”

–Jamie Swotes ’15 It’s up in the air, but that might be the Trophy: Gruyere, short ribs, truff le oil, caramelized onions, and mushrooms on sourdough.

But the Eatery is not the only restaurant that has invented some pretty creative variations on what some may have thought was a basic food.

About three miles away, another Fairfield restaurant, MacDaddy’s, has a menu with no less than 25 different ver-

sions of mac and cheese, including the “Mac Lobster,” made with fresh Maine lobster, lemon zest, and mozzarella.

Tipped off to the spot by his brother, Joe Zec ’15 picked mac and cheese with 12-hour roasted pulled pork, blue cheese and barbecue sauce. Like Fiolek, he doesn’t want to switch things up.

“I would probably get the pulled pork again,” Zec said.

Served in small saucepans, these macaroni dishes are nothing like a box of Annie’s. Just look at most popular order: the “mac buffalo chicken” is made with fried chicken, homemade buffalo sauce, cheddar and blue cheese.

Somewhere, a health nut just fainted.

But when it’s sub-freezing outdoors, no one wants celery and carrots. Winter is the time to find that heavenly cheesy meal oozing heat and f lavor and eat every bite.

What that buttery food lacks in nutrition, it may make up for in emotional benefits. Scientific studies show comfort foods—including mac and cheese—actually counter stress and loneliness.

So really, a visit to the Eatery or MacDaddy’s is a matter of personal well-being.

Cheesy and Delicious: The “Mac USA” is availible at MacDaddy’s, located at Black Rock Turnpike.

Warm and Toasty: The Grilled Cheese Mac & Cheese is stuffed with cheddar-parmesan mac & cheese and is featured on the Grilled Cheese Eatery menu for $9.50, located on Unquowa Road in Fairfield.

Photos by Megan Root ’15

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Emma Lederer ’16 Staff Writer

Five shows for fans of every genre 1. If you like horror…

American Horror Story

Every season of American Horror story follows a different story line, but only the first season, Murder House, is currently on Netflix. Murder House is about a family that moves into a haunted mansion, so cliché. But the show is anything but ordinary. It’s deliciously twisted and just plain creepy on so many levels. Alex Brown ’16 said the show keeps you on your toes.

“American Horror Story is such a suspenseful show, sometimes to the point that I’ve almost had to turn it off because it’s gotten too freaky— but it’s so interesting, like, you have to keep watching,” Brown said.

2. If you like drama…

Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives follows the story of housewives who seem to be leading normal lives. But behind their perfectly manicured lawns and their streak-free windows are tons of secrets and lots of drama. This show is a must. It’s a mash-up of Pretty Little Liars and Real Housewives, but classier. “I have watched the whole series on Netflix like 5 times,” Hadley Ward ’15, a diehard fan said. “It is so addicting, and every time I watch it, I appreciate it more, and at this point I can actually quote, like, the entire show.”

3. If you like comedy…

Freaks and Geeks

Freaks and Geeks is a quirky comedy that stars Seth Rogen and James Franco.

The show is about a group of high school students, all facing their own problems. Katie Wong ’16 said that the show is perfect for every high schooler. “It’s really relatable. It portrays high school in, like, a more accurate and non-dramatic fashion—like not everyone’s drinking and partying compared to, like, Skins or something,” Wong said. “It’s really funny too, in an adorable way.”

4. If you like drama and comedy… Weeds

Weeds is definitely not a family-friendly show, but it’s super funny and well-done. The show has a unique storyline. It’s about a suburban mother whose husband dies. In order to keep up with her current lifestyle, this mother will support her family by selling drugs to the neighbors. “It just has a really interesting plot, and the characters are just really relatable and easy to empathize with. This makes me really want to keep watching the show and see how much they change from the beginning to end,” Ward said.

5. If you like action and comedy… Psych Psych is about a guy named Shawn Spencer who is hyper-observant but tricks the police into thinking he is a psychic and can use his special ability to attempt to solve various difficult cases. Annie Gao ’16 said the show is entertaining, and not too scary.

“I like it because it’s really funny, but, since it’s, like, a crime show, it has mystery and suspense, too,” Gao said. “Not a lot of shows keep me interested, but this one definitely does because each episode is about a new case.”

Five Fast facts about Netflix

#1

“The Blind Side” is the most streamed movie of all time on Netflix

2 Billon

Approximate number of total hours watched

66

Percentage of the digital movie rental market that Netflix controls

1997

Year Netflix was founded in Scotts Valley, CA

40 Million

Numbers of users worldwide

All statistics compiled via the hollywood reporter

Graphic by Chase Emilio ’15

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New flix on Netflix

hether it’s a Friday night without plans, or a Monday night with an English essay due Tuesday, Netflix is a great way to waste time.

There’s nothing like splaying out on the couch, munching away on a bowl of popcorn and basking in the glow of the laptop’s screen.

Even though there are tons of shows on Netflix, sometimes it’s hard to find quality ones. You can look at the shows Netflix suggests based on recent views, but that always seems to just lead back to low-budget reality TV shows.

Here are some new options to try.

Sports

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December 2, 2013

e F h t a n e l tasy k c a T Megan Root ’15 Staff Writer

F

ans that scream at the T.V. as if players can hear them and hang jerseys on the wall with care usually reserved for an authentic Picasso.

These people would do anything to get a little closer to the bright lights of the NFL. It’s not exactly the same thing as owning the New York Giants, but fantasy football is a nice halfway point between the couch and the sidelines.

Fantasy football has exploded over the last fifteen years, valued by “Business Insider” at $800 million by 2012. What is now a national industry had fairly modest beginnings.

Math teacher Lenny Klein and social studies teacher Jon Shepro remember the pre-mainstream fantasy football. They started in 1994, as coowners of a team in a league at their accounting firm.

“We had a live draft,” Shepro reminisced. “If you wanted to change your lineup you got on the phone and pressed buttons.”

Though there are now online drafts and smartphone apps for managing teams, Klein says the essentials of the game are still the same.

“You draft players, they perform…you either earn points or you don’t earn points,” Klein said. “That really hasn’t changed in the 19, 20 years since I started.”

What is new, Klein noted, is everything that exists around fantasy football. There

are websites, TV shows, magazines and blogs. There are even insurance companies that will compensate an owner if his key player gets injured.

All this floats around on the web and with smartphones, fantasy owners are constantly connected. According to a firm in Chicago, it’s a distraction that has cost American businesses about $6.5 billion of lost time.

It’s safe to say that Staples teachers have lost some time as well. Adam Dulsky ’14 admits to

checking on his team when class is slow.

“It’s something to do, especially if I’m a little bored,” Dulsky said.

It’s not just students who feel the pull. Social studies teacher Catherine Schager says she is as addicted as any teenager, even though she knows how irrational it is.

“Being able to check all the time just makes you want to check more,” Schager said. “But what changes from one day to the next?”

“I’ve always been fascinated by how many statistics guys can

keep in their heads… and [they] can’t even tell me ballpark when World War One was?” she laughed.

But she understands the obsession, saying it is a way for fans to make the game they love personal.

Other fantasy football owners agree that their fantasy team connects them to the sport. A game you normally wouldn’t care about is much more interesting if you just fantasy-drafted a quarterback that’s on the field.

Many fantasy owners will up the stakes further by adding money to the equation. Leagues will charge an “entry fee” and pool the money. At the end of the season, the best teams win some cash.

Sometimes this means fantasy owners find themselves in a conflict of interest.

What happens when players from their fantasy team go up against the team they support in real life?

Jack Cody ‘14, a Cleveland Browns fan, stays loyal.

“Always Browns over fantasy,” he declared.

But Dulsky, a Philadelphia Eagles fan, has gone the other way.

“I’m probably going to root for my fantasy player because money is on the line and you gotta win the money,” Dulsky said.

Don’t underestimate the complexity of this quandary. It may be imaginary, but fantasy football is for real.

Bobby Jacowleff ’14 Web Sports Editor

An academic year after Henry Wynne ’13 and his nationwide prowess, Staples has a new athlete with Olympic aspirations to watch.

He doesn’t run, like Wynne. In fact, he doesn’t travel by foot at all.

Ian Rainey ’14 finds his solace in the pool.

Rainey splashed onto the elite swimming scene in both the state and country last year. Along the way, he set Connecticut records in the 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley races over this past summer. And, perhaps even more impressively, Rainey has qualified for the Olympic Trials for the 2016 Olympic games in Rio De Janeiro.

“I just work as hard as I can to become the best swimmer I can be,” Rainey said.

At 5 a.m. every Saturday, Rainey’s alarm clock goes off for his regular 6 a.m. practices. While the rest of the Staples’ community remains asleep after a long week in school, Rainey is already in the water honing his craft.

“Ian loves to train very hard and do things in practice at an elite level,” Randy Erlenbach, Rainey’s coach, said. Rainey’s passion to be challenged in practice has made him into the swimmer he is today, and will help him to continue to improve in his future. “A typical practice day will involve about 10,000 meters of swimming,” Rainey explained. “I know that going all out everyday in practice will lead to success in the future ” Just two years ago, Rainey swam in relative anonymity in his hometown McLean, Va. “At this point I wasn't really

getting any looks from colleges,” Rainey said. In fact, Erlenbach even says that, shortly after moving to Westport, Rainey “wasn’t one of our best swimmers.”

“Working hard paired with a new training perspective, having moved teams, really helped [his] improvement,” Erlenbach said. As Rainey improved exponentially after moving to Westport, he began to really buy into the training and began swimming at least 35 miles a week.

And, with this new perspective, Rainey began to make a name for himself.

“It was not until a Grand Prix meet in Orlando Florida, February 2013, that we began to think that Ian might be very good,” Erlenbach said.

Rainey continued to impress on the big stages, as he swam a 15:59 in the 1500m freestyle at YMCA Nationals in a winning effort that crowned him as a national champion. Then, at the Junior Nationals meet, he went on to swim the 800m freestyle in 8:13 which placed him 11th. Back in Virginia, Rainey swam these two events in 17:56 and 9:56, respectively.

To put Rainey’s improvement in perspective, for the 1500m freestyle, this change in times would be the equivalent of running a mile at a rather pedestrian 6:08 clip sophomore year, and then running a Henry Wynne-esque 4:05 mile as a junior. For the 800m, the time change would be the equivalent of running a gym class 7:31 mile to that same Henry Wynne time of 4:05.

These times qualified Rainey for the Olympic trials, which he describes as his greatest swimming accomplishment yet.

“It felt pretty cool knowing that I will be going up against

GRAPHIC BY SOPHIA HAMPTON ’14

Ian Rainey takes a victory lap to college

ALL SMILES: (From right) Ian Rainey ’14, Verity Abel ’14, and Jonathan Blansfield ’14 sign their National Letter of Intents to the University of Michigan, Duke University, and Northwestern University, respectively.

some of the best competition in the world,” Rainey said.

“After about a year of what seemed to be exponential growth both performance and practicewise, Ian was not just among the fastest on our team and our state, he

“I just work as hard as I can to become the best swimmer I can be.”

– Ian Rainey was among the fastest in the entire country,” Jordan Berger, Rainey’s former teammate, said.

Though the prospect of competing against Olympians might make others shy away, Erlenbach says Rainey is different. “He is not intimidated by competing with Olympians,” Erlenbach said. “In fact, he relishes it.”

“I just focus on swimming my own race and don’t get discouraged

no matter how far ahead they are,” Rainey said. “Actually, I use them as motivation.”

Accompanying his in-pool performance, former teammates Nathaniel Boley ’13 and Berger praised Rainey’s selflessness and out-of-the-pool attributes.

Berger recalls this past summer, when Rainey had to decide whether to travel to YMCA Nationals in Georgia with the team, or to travel to California for the Junior National Championships — an event “crucial” to the recruiting process, according to Berger. Of course, Rainey put the team before himself.

Rainey decided to travel to Georgia in order to swim some events for our team, and then headed directly to California to compete there. “Not only is Ian a tremendously talented swimmer, but he is a selfless team player as well,” Berger said.

Boley agrees.

“Ian never fails to be both

funny and interesting, a trait that is often lacking in the personalities in such high performing athletes,” Boley said.

Boley and Berger both described Rainey as constantly joking around with them, both inside and outside of the pool.

It is impossible to tell exactly what the future holds for Rainey. Someday, he plans “to make NCAA Championships,” he said.

Judging what Rainey has already accomplished, that is a very attainable goal. However, the real question here is; what else can Rainey achieve? Both his teammates and his coach seem to agree, Rainey has the potential to go far in the swimming world. “I would not second guess a go at an Olympic Trial semi-final or final position, a spot on the Junior World Team, or even a chance to swim at the NCAA Championships,” Berger said. “Based on how rapidly Ian has been progressing so far, no one can truly say what his potential is.”

Sports

Inklings / December 2, 2013 / inklingsnews.com PHOTO DRAMATIZATION BY LIANA SONENCLAIR ‘14

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Sports

Inklings / December 2, 2013 / inklingsnews.com

A “frosty” preview

Thumpetty thump thump, here come winter sports

William Dumke ’16

DEMYSTIFYING RECRUITING Look inside the college recruiting process at Staples

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Adam Kaplan ’16 Staff Writer

t is a big business for universities, and the competition starts with athletic recruitment. Staples’ strong athletics program has produced many athletes who have colleges competing to bring them to their schools.

Over the past decade Staples has had plenty of elite track recruits, including Sean Gallagher, who is running at the Naval Academy, and Henry Wynne, a freshman at Virginia.

Staples’ next running prodigy is girls’ track phenomenon Hannah DeBalsi ’16. She is already the sixth-ranked girl cross country runner, according to milesplit.com, and the second best sophomore.

Between her running dominance and her superb grades, DeBalsi is finding that colleges have already started to take notice. While they can’t yet contact her directly until her junior year, they have already made themselves known.

“Sometimes they'll write handwritten notes to me or include information trying to make their track programs look successful,” DeBalsi explained. She also sees scouts at state meets, there to watch her run.

Outstanding athletes often ben-

efit academically from the recruiting process. Staples head football Coach Marcellino Petroccio notes the advantages of playing very good high school football.

“We’ve always used the motto that your football will get you into a better school academically.”

Athletes need to be strategic in the recruitment process, coaches agreed. The Staples football website advises players, “Waiting for coaches to contact you is not a good strategy. Instead, you should create a list of colleges that you might be interested in and market yourself to these schools.”

Petroccio, a seasoned veteran in the recruiting process, says, “It’s a little bit of both us reaching out to schools and schools reaching out to us. If a player really wants to go to a certain school, I will contact the coach, and they will watch his film.”

While Division I recruits aren’t the norm at Staples, the school has sent many players to Division III schools. Last year, six players from Staples were recruited to play football, including Nick Kelly for Amherst and James Frusciante for Princeton. This year, Will Johnson ’14 has been the first football player to commit to Trinity.

Different teams “sport” a variety of recruiting processes Bobby Jacowleff ’14 Web Sports Editor

Over 100,000 people pack themselves into “The Big House” to watch Michigan play football every Saturday.

Nearly just as many pack the Coliseum in Southern California to watch the Trojans run track. These student athletes, along with others across the nation, are placed on a huge stage with the lights on bright. At this point the athletes are asked to do what they do best: compete.

However, the paths they took to reach the big stage is not as simple a story. And the paths vary vastly from sport to sport., even from athlete to athlete.

Baseball and football have showcases and camps.

Showcases for baseball involve up to 250 prospective college athletes all converging on the same baseball facility. And they happen every month of the year. “We’re all packed onto the side of the field. We hit and field as tons of colleges coaches watch,” described Mike Moritz ‘14. “The pressure is intense.”

“After the showcase, you get emails from colleges who liked what they saw,” explained Robbie Vallone ’14. “They usually ask for important statistics from your high school career as well as your transcript and test scores.”

The recruiting process with football is similar to baseball, in that athletes are asked to travel to the actual college campus and showcase their skills in front of coaches, but different in every other way.

“It starts with coaches calling and emailing you to inquire about your academics, seeing your highlights, and getting to know you,” Nick Ward ‘14 said.

Then, each individual college hosts a camp where they iinvite their recruits down to check them out in person. “I went to almost 20 camps so I could get a feel for what schools and coaching staffs I really liked,” added Ward.

This leads to many busy Saturdays.

Many of these college trips are no short drive, and the family of the recruit is entirely responsible for travel expenses and getting the recruit to the college.

Baseball and football are both sports where a recruit’s personal statistics are directly related to how talented their teammates and opponents are. In football, their teammates block for them and their opponent attempts to stop them. In baseball their teammates run the bases and their opponent’s pitch to

them.

The quality of an athlete’s teammates/opponents can cause their statistics to vary drastically. So coaches need to view the athletes in person, so they can see past the numbers for themselves.

While baseball has showcases and football has camps, track and swimming have nothing.

While the former sports involve recruits competing against each other, their opponent’s abilities have absolutely no impact on their own results. The nature of these sports involve no direct competition like football and baseball where the other team defends or pitches to you. In both track and swimming, a recruit’s personal time is not affected by how fast their competition runs or swims anyway.

This drastically simplifies the re-

“The pressure is intense.”

– Mike Moritz ’14 cruiting process. Coaches have no need to see a recruit play in person because their times are a product of nothing but their own efforts. And their efforts are easily quantifiable with something as simple as a time.

“I started my process by receiving letters from colleges and visiting the ones that I was interested in,” described runner Tyler Scanlin ‘14. “If I liked the school, I contacted the coach to schedule a meeting to get to know them on a more personal level.” Additionally, coaches let athletes know what times they are looking for, either walk-on or recruit.

This allows prospective collegiate athletes to know if a certain college would be a good fit for them.

Just about every different sport has a different recruiting process, but the same exact endgame: student athletes signing their name on the dotted line of the national letter of intent on signing day. This is the closing ceremony of the recruiting process, and it seals the deal,.

“It feels like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” added Vallone, who recently signed a letter of intent with Manhattan College. “I’m excited to take the next step in my baseball career on the collegiate level.”

A

Staff Writer

s the temperature drops and the snow starts to fall, most athletes pack up their gear and head inside. For the winter season sports teams. This is the moment they have been waiting for. Even with some impressive seniors lost last year, most of the coaches have high hopes for their teams.

Boys’ Indoor Track: Running never stops at Staples, and as the temperature drops, the boys sprint into the winter season, led by Coach Laddie Lawrence. Even with the loss of exceptional runner Henry Wynne, Lawrence has high expectations for the team.

“We have enough talent coming back and some new guys who are going to help the team, and even though we graduated some very good guys, I still think we are going to be pretty good,” Lawrence said.

Boys’ Swimming: Even though the bitterness of winter is approaching, the boys’ swim team is getting ready to hit the pools and dive into the upcoming season. Led by Coach Frisk Driscoll, the boys’ swim team has the potential to be a consistently winning team this year.

“I think we are going to have a really good season this year. We have a lot of potential to do so. We have a strong senior class that’s veteran, and they can be great leaders for the younger groups,” Driscoll said. “I think we can have a chance to have a couple of school records fall. This can be one of the better seasons for Staples’ swimming of all time.”

Girls’ Ski Team: When the temperature drops and the snow starts to fall, most athletes pack up their gear and head inside. The Staples’ ski team has been waiting all year. Led by captains Cecilia Kiker ’14, Ali Thomson ’14, and Caitlin Hartmann ’14, the girls’ ski team has potential to be one of the best teams in the state.

“My expectations are that the girls give 100 pecent, work hard and be willing to work together to give the team the best chance to win. We have a strong core of varsity skiers returning from last year,” Coach Tom Owen said.

“The girls’ team is really going to kick it up a couple of notches this year and buckle down for a season to remember.” Thomson added, “I can feel the gold at states coming this year. The season is going to be a blast.”

Boys’ Basketball: As winter nears, the anticipation for varsity boys’ basketball grows. Most of the players, like captains Andrew Felman ’14, Darryle Wiggins ’14 and David Katz ‘14, have been practicing long hours in the off-season. Even though the team has lost some impressive players from last year such as Peter Rankowitz ’13 and James Frusciante ’13, Coach Colin Devine still has high hopes for this year’s team.

“We hope that the hard work will continue into the regular season, and we can be a playoff basketball team,” Devine said.

Girls’ Indoor Track: Led by Coaches Jesse McCray and Carrie Moore, the girl’s indoor track team is ready to run straight to the start of the winter season. This year is supposed to be a very strong year with outstanding athletes such as Hanna Debalsi ’16.

“We should do pretty well,” Moore said. “We placed really high in FCIACS last year, and we did pretty well at States.

We have a few exceptional athletes on the team and they should do very well individually but should also help push the team.”

For NCAA athletes, it’s accredit or forget it Ellie Gavin ’14 Staff Writer

In case the college athletic recruitment process (make that the college process in general) isn't complicated enough, here’s one more caveat.

If student athletes are pursuing athletic recruitment, they need to think twice when scheduling their classes. To be eligible for a Division I athletic scholarship, there are certain requirements for the core academic classes that the athlete must take in their high school years. For the most part, the requirements are the same or less than the regular graduating requirements for Staples, but there is a catch: not every class counts.

"I actually did try to sign up for Film Analysis, and for a while it was on my schedule for my senior year, but the guidance office informed me before the end of last year that the NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association] doesn't approve it, so I switched into a different class,” swimmer Verity Abel '14 said. Abel was recruited by Duke University and recently signed a letter of intent to attend that school.

Courses must be accredited by the NCAA for them to count towards athletes’ eligibility. Every year, Staples sends the NCAA a description of all its courses, similar to the course catalog given to students to pick classes from. The NCAA then informs the school which classes it will and will not give credit for. Student athletes can, of course, still take non-accredited classes, but they must do so in addition to classes that will fulfill the NCAA eligibility standards.

“It's kind of a tricky situation," guidance counselor P.J Washenko said. "We know our curriculum is rigorous. Why they'd think otherwise, I don't know."

Washenko says that as long as students inform their counselors that recruitment is a possibility, preferably when students start planning their junior year, issues with eligibility hardly ever arise.

Jonathan Blansfield '14, who was recruited to Northwestern University for swimming, echoed Washenko's sentiment.

"My guidance counselors were definitely helpful once the process began," Blansfield said. "The coaches I was getting recruited by were very clear in what classes I needed to have on my transcript when applying, such as honors and AP courses. My counselor and I went over my classes and made sure that I received credit by the NCAA so I wouldn't run into any problems later in the recruiting process."

In most cases, students have very few schedule-based issues with gaining eligibility. However, some of the most popular classes at Staples, like Film Analysis, Journalism, and Horticulture, remain discredited, seemingly because the NCAA regards them as less academically rigorous, and recruit-hopefuls are discouraged from taking them.

English teacher Barbara Robbins, who teaches Film Analysis, feels that while the NCAA is entitled to make its own decisions, there is a misconception about the rigor of her class.

"My feeling is that film requires the same literacy skills that are embedded in any English class." Robbins said. "It's a little old-fashioned, especially when talking about 21st century skills, to say that texts are the only thing worth exploring."

Robbins feels that analyzing film, which students may have had very few opportunities to do throughout their education, forces students to think in a different way than they are used to, which improves both their critical thinking and writing skills.

Washenko feels that since these classes are appropriately challenging for some students, this stipulation is somewhat unfair, but there is little that can be done about it.

"It's something that's out of our hands," he said. "I do wish they'd take student input a little more."

Sports

Inklings / December 2, 2013 / inklingsnews.com

Our cup runneth over with spirit Connor Hardy ’14

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Staff Writer

o matter where it is, who is playing, or what season it is, you can bet that the Staples faithful will be in attendance. The

only question is, which sport do they enjoy the most? A night under the lights at the stadium? An afternoon on the hill at Loeffler? A day hanging beyond the outfield? An evening in the gym?

Many fans, like Adam Dulsky ’14, are quick to answer with their own personal favorite. “The best games are basketball, especially when a good team comes to play.”

Dulsky remarked, “They play a fast-paced game, and Coach Devine always puts on a show.”

The basketball team has always seen significant support since it’s the easiest winter sport to attend. But even basketball doesn’t put up a fight compared to the events of the fall.

Even competing with powerhouse sports like football and soccer, girls’ volleyball takes the cake for the most

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popular sport at Staples.

The team finished in second place in both the FCIAC and CIAC tournaments this year, their best finishes in decades. All playoff games received attendance you’d expect to see at a homecoming football game.

“Being right on the court is an insurmountable feeling,” Joey Schulman ’14 said.

Senior Steven Sobel ’14 agreed with Schulman, saying “The best Staples sport I’ve gone to as a fan is, hands down, girls’ volleyball. The intensity is absolutely unparalleled.”

For additional sports coverage on basketball, football, soccer, volleyball and many more, go to www.inklingsnews.com

GRAPHIC BY RACHEL TREISMAN ’15

Staples’ athletes face a chilly off season Gabrielle Feinsmith ’15 Staff Writer

They anticipate a break all year… but it never seems to come.

Both the girls and boys track teams spend a great amount of their time trying to slice their mile time in hope to have a winning season. Despite the contrary belief, these teams are not only running during their seasons; but they also participate in rigorous training all year.

According to boys’ indoor track coach Laddie Lawrence, the Staples team lost 6 out of 7 of their top runners last year. In order to make up for the loss, the team put together a summer training program that began last June. The average athlete ran about 600-700 miles over the course of the summer. To put this in perspective ,New York City is about 710 miles away from Columbia, South Carolina. As a result of the insane number of miles the athletes are running, the team was able to compete with their opponents.

“If we didn’t train over the summer, they would have just ran away from us,” Lawrence said.

Most distance runners participate in all three seasons, giving them little trouble training during the offseason. Peter Elkind ’14, a boys’ cross country captain, said he hardly takes breaks from running.

“I only take one week off between each season, amounting to a total of fours weeks per year,” Elkind said. Although this is a very difficult and time consuming schedule, Elkind realizes that this hard core training is

what it takes to have a successful season.

Training in the off-season is essential to the girls’ cross country team as well. The girls track meet is only four weeks after the season starts, so the team has to get into shape far in advance.

Although both teams stay on top of their training, the winter becomes a brutal month for all runners.

“It’s definitely tougher to train through the winter because of the cold and the snow, but distance runners normally bundle up and head out on the roads to get some miles in,” Elkind said.

In order to stay warm during the harsh winter months, the team wears running leggings, gloves, ear warmers, pullovers and long sleeve shirts.

“Running while bundled up is no different except for the fact you don’t sweat as much because its so cold,” Girls’ Cross Country Captain, Kellen Smithson ’14, said.

According to those interviewed, training during the off-season is an absolute necessity.

“The worst thing is to come into track out of shape when practice starts because than you will be way behind everybody else. Teams who choose not to participate in the summer program have no chance of being successful for the rest of the season,” Lawrence said.

Although many people believe athletes are given a break from their tiresome sport the truth of the matter is that “With running there is no off season,” Elkind said.

GRAPHIC BY AMY PERELBERG ’14

S De m I Re ys D cr tif Pa ui yin E ge tin g 21 g

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The Wreckers

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InBrief

Light up the night

Boys’ Basketball Team

Staying safe when the sun goes down

Playing without an injured Darryl Wiggins, the boys’ basketball team looks to start off their season strong beginning with two road scrimmages against Bunnell on Friday, Dec. 6 and against Foran on Thursday, Dec. 12. The team plays its first regular season matchup against Danbury in the Staples gym on Wednesday, Dec. 18.

Kelsey Shockey ’14 Web Sports Editor

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hether running is a daily routine or an activity just for fun, many students and adults do it to keep them in shape.

Sometimes runners go out of their way to run in the dark early in the morning or later at night. They’re even crazy enough to run when it’s pouring rain or snowing outside.

This may be because the athletes are “running” under a tight schedule with school or work during the week. According to Hannah DeBalsi’16, “Runners can get really annoyed if they’re busy and don’t have time to fit a run during daylight.”

In any case, running in the dark can pose a danger.

“We try not to run when it’s dark, and we schedule our practices to end before darkness sets in,” Laddie Lawrence, boys’ cross country coach, said. “Obviously, the biggest problem is visibility, both for runners and drivers.”

As a result, drivers should drive slower than the normal speed limit to be careful of any runners who are too close to the road. Last year, in fact, a girls’ cross country runner was seriously injured when she was hit by a car, even though she ran with the team in daylight hours.

“I’ve definitely had bad experiences with drivers, especially at night,” Peter Elkind’14 said. “For this reason, I try to stay on the sidewalks and stay off the edge of the road.”

Kellen Smithson’14 came up with the solution that if it’s absolutely necessary to run in the dark, it’s imperative to wear bright colored clothing and bring a flashlight.

So here are some basic tips to follow: stay close to the sidewalk, wear bright clothing, don’t listen to music, be wary of your surroundings, run in well-lit areas, and maybe run with a friend to have some company.

“Remember that at all times, day or night, runners should always be ready to expect the unexpected,” Lawrence said. “Being safe should always be of the highest priority.”

Girls’ Basketball Team The girls’ basketball team hopes to start the season on a high note when they play against Masuk and Hillhouse.

Both scrimmages are away, with the first on Tuesday Dec. 3 and the second on Friday, Dec. 6. The girls open their regular season in Trumbull on Saturday, Dec. 14.

Gymnastics Team The gymnastics squad will travel to their first meet in Greenwich on Thursday, Dec. 19. Staples will go up against the Greenwich and Weston gymnastics teams during the meet.

Boys’ Hockey Team

The boys’ ice hockey team starts its schedule with two scrimmages against Norwalk on Wednesday Dec. 4 and Joel Barlow on Friday Dec. 6, both at the Milford Ice Pavilion.

The team’s first regular season contest will be held on Saturday, Dec. 21 at the Milford Ice Pavilion, versus Norwich Free Academy.

Girls’ Hockey Team Coming off of a great game against Shelton, girls’ hockey begins the regular season with what is sure to be a fierce battle against Trumbull on Wednesday Dec. 5 at Terry Conners Ice Rink in Stamford.

photo by Evan Angelastro ’14

Indoor Track Team

LIGHT IT UP: A runner circles Compo Beach around 6:30 p.m. in a Brooks Nightlife jacket.

The lights can be purchased at Athletic Shoe Factory or any athletic goods store. These lights are used by many Staples students when running in the dark, in order to be visible to traffic.

After a fantastic cross country season, the indoor track team looks to continue their excellent season on Dec. 13 and 14 during the Blue & White Event in the Staples fieldhouse.

For continual updates on upcoming sports event, check www.inklingsnews.com