Octagon 2020-21 Issue 1 by The Octagon

THE

OCTAGON

Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sacramento, CA Permit No. 1668 @scdsoctagon

VOL.44 NO.1 • Sacramento Country Day School • 2636 Latham Drive, Sacramento, CA• www.scdsoctagon.com • September 22, 2020

Lightning strikes spark hundreds BY ARJIN CLAIRE Jennifer Daugavietis, a relative of the Monasa family, recalls being shaken awake by her husband at 5:45 a.m. to the smell of smoke and an orange sky. “Sirens started going off in our neighborhood around 3 a.m. and my husband and I slept through it all,” Daugavietis said. “We woke up to a bunch of text messages from our neighbors checking in with us to see if we were awake and packing.” At 6 a.m., Daugavietis could see

ONLINE OPTIMISM First grader Valentina Ponce at her remote learning workspace. PHOTO COURTESY OF ALMA PONCE

K-5 in-person learning postponed BY ARIJIT TRIVEDI

the lower school prepared for a completely different classroom experience.

n a lower school Zoom meeting on Friday, Sept. 18, Head of School Lee Thomsen, along with the lower school faculty, explained to families that K-5 students are no longer returning to school on Sept. 22. A few days before Country Day was to welcome K-5 students back in-person, the school had to scuttle its plans to reopen, Head of School Lee Thomsen explained in an email on the same day. “I am incredibly frustrated with these developments,” Thomsen said in the email. The school’s previous plan was to have teachers move through cohorts of students, however, the teachers are no longer allowed to teach in-person with multiple cohorts, Thomsen wrote. Before the change of plans, the faculty of

building, fourth-grade teacher Pam Livesey is removing mini couches and stuffed animals from her classroom. Once vibrant, the room has been transformed. Twelve desks are spaced six feet apart — perfect for the lower school’s return to in-person learning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The waiver for K-5 students to return to campus was originally approved on Sept. 10 by the Sacramento County Public Health Department. Of the 219 students in the lower school, as many as 54 were planning to stay remote, said Thomsen. As of Sept. 17, 26 other elementary schools in Sacramento County have had their waivers approved. However, Country Day was unable to get its sixth-grade waiver approved due to the mixing of cohorts

for world language and elective classes. Additionally, most sixth-grade teachers also teach seventh and eighth graders, which makes developing an eligible schedgrade to return to campus starting Sept. 22. The lower school planned to stagger the starting dates of different grades to slowly introduce students to the campus, Livesey said. “We were worried about the level of anxiety some of the kids might feel after being home with their families for six months,” Livesey said. Having a staggered schedule allows facarise, she said. Each grade has been split up into multiple cohorts, each with its own room: three

K-5 RETURN page 3 >>

Enrollment stays over 500 with online learning BY SANJANA ANAND Despite going online, Country Day started the school year on Sept. 1 with 503 total K-12 students (94 new students and 55 new families) — only four fewer than the previous year. The high school and lower school increased enrollment while the middle school decreased, said Dana Vargo, director of admission and enrollment. • High school: 144 this year and 136 last year • Middle school: 118 this

INSIDE the ISSUE PHOTO COURTESY OF LUCA PROCIDA, ILLUSTRATIONS BY ARIJIT TRIVEDI

year and 134 last year • Lower school (Pre-K— 5): 241 this year, 237 last year The school is limited to an overall capacity of 544, but this year, the maximum is “around 525” since some grades were restricted due to COVID-19, Head of School Lee Thomsen said. The highest number of students possible in lower school is 250, in the middle school, the limit is 150 (50 per grade) and 144 (36 per grade) is the cap for high school. Vargo attributed these num-

bers to COVID-19 guidelines. About 20 fewer seats were available due to COVID-mandated cohort sizes. The school was prepared to host 440 to 510 students, Thomsen said. Some families might have been chased away at the thought of paying full tuition for an “unknown experience,” he said. The school also anticipated that some families who had not had a good experience in public schools or other private schools would look to Country Day, Thomsen said.

NEWS 2 Alumni describe life in college during the pandemic, taking hybrid or online-only classes and the challenges that come with it.

A return to on-campus learning could change some family’s minds, he added. “We are always asking ourselves this: ‘How many families would send their kids to campus even when we’re allowed to open?’” he said. “That’s an important number for us because we need to be able to support kids who are in the classrooms and kids who would opt to stay home.” Because schools like Country Day have the ability to do that

ENROLLMENT page 3 >>

CENTERPOINT 4-5 Octagon staffers give their take on hit animated TV shows from “Avatar: The Last Airbender” to “My Hero Academia.”

streets over, less than a mile away. There was “ash coming down like it was snow,” she said. the “August Lightning Siege of 2020” by the public. Thousands of lightning strikes hit California on Aug. 15, igthe state. As of Sept. 16, more than 3.3 million acres of land and buildings have ing to “California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.” With unprecedented temperatures reaching well over 100 degrees, energy shortages across the state and tling to keep them at bay. With mastate, over 120,000 people have been forced to evacuate as stated by Gov. Gavin Newsom. On top of this, tens of thousands of homes are being people have now died as a result according to Cal Fires. On Aug. 16, Newsom declared a statewide emergency to “help ensure the availability of vital resources state,” according to the governor’s website. A few days earlier, Newsom was able to secure Fire Management Assistance Grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help improve the state’s response to ties. were active and something was blown into them it could potentialtrying to avoid. Newsom signed an emergency proclamation allowing some energy users and utilities to use backup energy sources to relieve stress off the grid. The proclamation is to help free

FIRES page 3 >>

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 7 Junior Dylan Margolis reviews the mobile game “Among Us,” which has grown in popularity in the SCDS community.

News • September 22, 2020

STAFF PRINT EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Sanjana Anand Ming Zhu ONLINE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Ethan Monasa Arijit Trivedi NEWS EDITOR Nihal Gulati FEATURE EDITOR Ming Zhu SPORTS EDITOR Miles Morrow A&E/OPINION EDITOR Dylan Margolis PHOTO EDITOR Hermione Xian GRAPHIC EDITOR Brynne Barnard-Bahn SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Arikta Trivedi PAGE EDITORS Sanjana Anand Arjin Claire Nihal Gulati Dylan Margolis Ethan Monasa Miles Morrow Arijit Trivedi Arikta Trivedi Hermione Xian Ming Zhu BUSINESS STAFF Arjin Claire, manager Samhita Kumar, assistant HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY Nihal Gulati REPORTERS Rod Azghadi Jacob Chand Emily Cook Jonah Angelo David Katie Espinoza William Holz Samhita Kumar Lauren Lu Callister Misquitta Samrath Pannu Natalie Park Aarushi Rohatgi Hermione Xian Garman Xu PHOTOGRAPHERS Miles Morrow Arikta Trivedi Hermione Xian MULTIMEDIA STAFF Rod Azghadi Jacob Chand ADVISER Bonnie Stewart The Octagon is Sacramento Country Day’s student-run high school newspaper. Its purpose is to provide reliable information on events concerning the high school in order to inform and entertain the entire school community. The staff strives for accuracy and objectivity. The Octagon aims to always represent both sides of an issue. Errors will be noted and corrected. The Octagon shall publish material that the staff deems in the best interest of the school community. The staff recognizes the importance of providing accurate and reliable information to readers. The Octagon does not represent the views of the administration, nor does it act as publicity for the school as a whole.

The Octagon

Alumni adapt to new college environments

BY ARIKTA TRIVEDI

he COVID-19 pandemic has changed the college experience. Everything from how students move into living situations, to class settings and how they get food is being done in a new way. As colleges begin their academic year, they have to operate with proper safety precautions while maintaining the quality of their education. Some colleges are completely online, including the University of California, Berkeley, which Brandy Riziki, ’19, is attending this fall from her home in Sacramento. “The hardest class to do online is chemistry,” Riziki said. “We have a lot of different websites to juggle because the class has two parts: lectures and labs. We use the Berkeley bCourses website to look at all our information for our classes, but from there we use different websites for the labs, lectures and homework.” Luca Procida, ’19, is also taking classes online, but from a different setting. He lives in his college dorm at New York University. “I think there are some classes at NYU that are in-person — such as big science labs — but I’m not taking any classes that require that,” Procida said. Emma Boersma, ’20, attends Tufts University and takes a mix of online and in-person classes. She also moved into an on-campus dorm and started her classes on Sept. 15. “I have three virtual classes — one of which is Korean at Brandeis University — and two in-person classes,” Boersma said All three schools started the year with online orientations and events in place of the usual attractions. The move-in process for both Procida and Boersma was different than usual. Procida moved into his dorm

on Aug. 18. “On move-in day, we had to schedule a certain time to move in, and we only had a 90-minute window to do so,” he said. “I could also only have one guest to help me. Once the 90 minutes were up, my quarantine started. I had to quarantine for two weeks in my dorm room from Aug. 18 to Sept. 1.” Procida also had to take two COVID-19 tests — one on the day he moved in and another ten days later — both tests were negative. Boersma, who moved into her dorm on Aug. 28, also had to schedule a day to move in as well as another day to drop off any large items for her dorm room. “My mom was only allowed to help me for an hour,” Boersma said. “When I got to the college, I had to get tested for COVID-19 and then immediately go to my room because my two-week quarantine had started. Tufts has a policy where we have to get three negative test results. I’ve gotten all three back, so my quarantine is over.” She was tested when she arrived on campus and twice more during her quarantine period. Since Boersma’s quarantine is over, she is allowed to go around campus, but she must wear a mask wherever she goes. The only time a mask isn’t necessary is in her dorm room, when showering and when brushing her teeth. Similar rules also apply to Procida at NYU. “The major difference from my experience last year is not having in-person classes and not being allowed in administrative or class buildings,” Procida said. “We can’t walk around the dorms without masks on, and there’s only one person allowed per laundry room and trash room. Otherwise, in the city, it’s pretty normal, other than constant mask enforcement. It’s manage-

said. “We can go at our own pace and not have to scramble to write down notes. All Berkeley students have Zoom Pro accounts, so we can schedule our own sessions without time limits.” Meanwhile, Boersma said some aspects of her experience at Tufts haven’t been the best so far, such as the school’s website. “The website is so outdated, which has resulted in me missing a lot of information and messing up when signing up for virtual orientation classes,” Boersma said. “It’s frustrating because I’m at a higher institution that is well-known, and they can’t even give us a functioning website. However, I’m glad I decided to attend Tufts in-person.”

LIMITED LEARNING Emma Boersma, ‘20, attends her women and gender studies class at Tufts University, one of her two in-person courses. PHOTO BY EMMA BOERSMA

Students attend class at midnight overseas BY MING ZHU After the start of the quarantine in March, Country Day’s 15 international students were faced with a decision. They could stay in Sacramento to wait out the pandemic without their families, or they could go home to their families and undertake a completely different schedule Two of those students — seniors Martin Cao and Hermione Xian

— chose to stay, while seniors Joanne Tsai and Stephanie Ye chose to go home. Tsai chose to leave because her family was worried about the worsening pandemic. She said she feared the airlines would be unavailable, so she left mid-May for her home in Taiwan. The pandemic restrictions have eased in Taiwan. Masks are required only on public transportation and in places with large group gatherings, such as

The Octagon will publish all timely and relevant news, subject to the following exceptions: obscenity; slanderous or libelous material; or material contrary to the best interests of the school community, as judged by the guidrelines among the newspaper staff, adviser and school administration. Editorials are approved by an editorial board. Columns/commentaries shall be labeled as such and represent only the opinion of the author. In the interest of representing all points of view, letters to the editor shall be published, space permitting, unless otherwise requested. All letters must be signed and conform to the above restrictions. The staff may change grammar and punctuation or abridge letters for space considerations. Comments can be made on our website to address all stories run.

able, but it’s a big cultural difference.” The provided education has been effective at some colleges but not so much at others. Procida said it’s hard for him to decide whether the quality of education is the same as last year until he gets some more experience with it. “It might be harder to adapt to virtual learning this semester, because during the summer, we all thought we would be back in person,” he said. Riziki appreciates that most of her classes give her the choice to do her work synchronously or asynchronously. “For some classes, like chemistry and math, the teachers pre-record the lessons,” Riziki

MOONLIGHTER Senior Stephanie Ye prepares for her next Zoom class during the lunch break. It’s 3 a.m. in Changzhou, China, her hometown. PHOTO BY STEPHANIE YE

concerts. In addition, temperatures are taken when people enter restaurants. Only occasionally has Tsai been afraid of the pandemic. “When there are more people, like during festivals, I would be afraid because not everyone wore masks,” Tsai said. When school started, Tsai had to adapt to a new routine. She attends Country Day from eight time zones away in Taiwan, stayclasses and homework and sleeping until 11 a.m. As a result, she eats at unusual times and socializes only in the afternoons. Despite the 15-hour time difference, Tsai is handling schoolwork well while maintaining her social life, she said. “No one is awake in the morning anyway,” Tsai said. “The only bad thing is that when I’m doing homework in the afternoon, teachers might not be awake if I have a question.” Like Tsai, Ye left for her home in Changzhou, China, in late May. Ye said she had been feeling homesick for a long time, and since the COVID-19 situation in China was getting better, her family wanted her to go home. Life in Changzhou has largely returned to normal. Masks are

still required on public transportation and at large gatherings. In movie theaters, the audience is still required to sit apart from each other, but social distancing guidelines have been otherwise lifted, Ye said. Ye no longer sees COVID-19 as a threat in her community. People in her community know the dangers of COVID-19, so they are willing to take precautions, Ye said. For Ye, the worst thing about staying home is online school. Similar to Tsai, Ye had to adapt to the 15-hour time difference, staying up from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. to attend her online classes. Online classes have affected her social interactions, too, because she has to sleep through the morning. She can still interact with her friends in the afternoons and evenings, but she doesn’t have enough time to go to the theater, Ye said. Both Tsai and Ye said they would return to campus for classes at County Day. If in-person learning is restored, that means the situation is getting better, Tsai said. “If school goes back to norback — and I hope that happens soon,” Ye said.

The Octagon

September 22, 2020 • News

Enrollment: Student capacity decreases due to COVID-19 (continued from page 1)

INSIDIOUS INFERNO The LNU Lightning Com-

PHOTO BY PETER THOENY* *Photo retrieved from Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Fires: Students’ relatives prepare for (continued from page 1) up energy capacity and minimize the need for energy service disruptions. Daugavietis and her family were not the only people who had to evacuate. Senior Erin Wilson’s, grandmother “It wasn’t a mandatory evacuation, but it was highly suggested and would have worse,” Wilson said. “It was especially stressful for our family, and I can’t even imagine what it was like for her having to take all of her belongings and move.” Wilson added that she had to stay evacuated for a couple weeks before the

ASH-TONISHING!

restrictions were lifted. Daugavietis also had friends who had to evacuate from the Vacaville area. “We have lots of friends who live on the northern side of Vacaville where the ly devastating there because the power went out so no one was receiving evacuation notices.” ers watching their street left to help save people who were stuck in Pleasant Valley, leaving the homes at the base of the hill undefended and without power or water. This prompted the homeowners to try

PHOTO BY DAUGAVIETIS

by a strike team that arrived from L.A. “In the midst of all of this, I was running around the house packing, grabbing anything that was important, while my husband was hosing down the roof,” Daugavietis said. Despite being less than a mile away from the Hennesey Fire — one of many that makes up the LNU Lightning Complex Fire — Daugavietis said that she and her family were not served a mandatory evacuation notice. “After packing everything, we sat around until the evening deciding whether we should evacuate or not,” Daugavietis said. “Ultimately, we decided to drive to the Monasas’ house.” Daugavietis said that despite her husband’s parents living in California for almost 36 years, they had never experienced anything like this before. Daugavietis and her family were away for two days before evacuation orders began to lift throughout the city of Vacaville. Senior Pragathi Vivaik had family members prepare for an evacuation as well. “My cousins, aunt and uncle who live in San Jose had to prepare for an evacuation,” Vivaik said. “They had a go-backpack prepared in case they had to leave on short notice, but thankfully they didn’t have to evacuate.” Vivaik’s relatives planned to stay in a hotel if they had to evacuate. but they were still very worried,” Vivaik said.

K-5 return: Lower school to focus on hygiene, distancing for in-person classes (continued from page 1)

Head of Lower School Maisae Affour called each room a “stable bubble.” All the cohorts will stay in their own bubbles during the school day. Recess and lunch will still take place outside. “It is safer to have lunch and recess outside. But, regardless, we will be social distancing, and each cohort has a desdered recess equipment for each cohort, so they don’t have to share,” Affour said. The lower school also hired three teacher assistants and a kindergarten teacher, Richelle Cooley, to assist with the added number of cohorts. Both Livesey and Affour emphasized the enforcement of handwashing and wearing masks. In addition to enforced hygiene, Thomsen said the lower school will be using an app, “PickUp Patrol” to ask parents a series of screening questions before they

bring their children to campus. Additionally, parents would be required to take their children’s temperatures before they come to school; faculty also would perform temperature checks on students at the curb before they let anyone enter the campus, Thomsen said. Likewise, teachers were required to check their own temperatures, and would have COVID-19 tests on a regular basis, Livesey said. To aid in preventing infections, classrooms also have changed. “Bookshelves and comfortable chairs spaced-out desks, so the rooms look more sterile than they have before,” Thomsen said. Livesey said teachers have also gotten “extensive cleaning supplies to wipe down every desk every day” and enough materials for each student so they won’t have to share. The original plan would’ve had remote students call into live instruction using

Zoom, Livesey said. “Our goal as teachers is for every student to feel connected,” she said. “We want to teach a lesson for kids on Zoom and in the classroom at the same time. First-grader Valentina Ponce planned to come back. “We trust that Country Day is a safe place for Valentina, and decided to send her back to campus because we believe Country Day has the best interests of all its students at heart,” said her mother, Alma Ponce. Even though the circumstances are different, Livesey said teachers are trying to deliver the same curriculum as before. “I’ve been teaching for over two decades, and now with the pandemic, I feel like a new teacher — learning every new eryone to know that every teacher is doing their best.”

and public schools can’t, that could increase interest in private schools, Thomsen said. “It’s always a comparison. If and when we are allowed to bring the whole school back, how will our learning compare to these bigger schools? We have the good fortune of being a small school, so we can recreate a pretty normal Country Day experience even with limiting size and social distancing, whereas public schools can’t do that with 35 kids in a classroom.” Emailed surveys were sent to lower, middle and high school students and parents about the online learning process in spring and how Country Day should change for the fall. Head of High School Brooke Wells said the school is trying to raise the high school capacity by 36 students, increasing it to 180 and raising the school’s overall capacity to 580 students. “One hundred forty-four students has been the goal for the last few years,” said Wells, who has been head of high school for the last six years. “It’s wonderful to get there.” Expanding the high school achieves a balance between intimacy and the ability to offer even a greater number of strong sports and theater, Wells said. Country Day’s personal aspect will still be maintained if enrollments go up. Each grade would have 45 students and there would be three sections of 15 for core classes instead of two sections with 19 students, which could help with student-teacher connection, he said. To prepare for this, the high school would have to hire more faculty members, Wells said. Head of Middle School Rommel Loria said the middle school takes feedback and learns from what other schools in the area are doing to improve their connection with students. Students are now required to meet with their advisors every day, so teachers and students spend time together outside of class. “We have also created a time for electives and study hall at the end of the day, which gives them structure, and students are able to pursue something which they’re passionate about,” Loria said. Head of Lower School Maisae Affour reorganized the lower school to prevent any risks of students getting sick. waitlists change every year. Currently, Country Day has space available in kindergarten, fourth, sixth and eighth grades. tion of being placed in a wait pool when the respective grade or class is at maximum capacity,” she said. This year, tuition has increased by 3.4%, which is “within range for typical year-toyear tuition increases,” Vargo said, adding Thomsen said remote learning costs more because classes are taught in smaller cohorts, the number of staff hired increased and teachers were given online teaching tools, such as webcams. “When you look at teaching remotely during a pandemic, there’s a false perception by parents who believe that less class time costs less,” he said. Director of marketing and communications Emily Allshouse said the school’s advertising efforts are paying off. Last year, she ran targeted ads for Pre-K, kindergarten, sixth and ninth grades and increased communications between grades for a smoother transition from lower to middle school and middle to high school. “Retention of current families is a big part of our success,” Allshouse said. Thomsen said the school is continuing to frame its messages around its motto: Wherever we are, we are Country Day.

September 22, 2020

Cente

AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER -

BY ARIJIT TRIVEDI to watch Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” is enjoying a resurgence in popularity — where it stayed on the streaming service’s The show’s worldbuilding, captivating storytelling and character development make it, without a doubt, the best TV show

Avatar) as they deal with the consequencNation and the other nations. These nations also represent the elements introduced in the show’s intro.: nations lived in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.” over their respective elements, having the ability to manipulate or “bend” an element whichever way they please. As the guardian

resolves this by showing the consequence

Watching the show, I was oddly remind-

For example, when Aang travels to an

came; I saw; I conquered.” That is to say, the creators knew exactly what story they wanted to tell — one driven by character development rather than plot progression -

wiped out the entire Air Nomad populaThe show also does an amazingly good sic to children’s shows with more mature

is a little heavy on the “children’s” part,

The show’s world design draws heavy

by summer’s end. “Avatar” uses this simple end goal to pace the series while abandoning the traditional episodic approach and

Now don’t get me wrong, watching Appa, -

background lore and to explore the world surrounding Team Avatar, as well as the characters themselves. but I’ve watched shows that have countless throwaway side characters and never seem to know when to throw in the towel — yes, I’m looking at you, “The Flash.”

quickly. Don’t worry, though. Seasons two and the war. son one is where the Avatar returns and seasons two and three take a more serious However, the show ditches big army-ver-

who chases Team Avatar — and Toph, who animation; she uses her earthbending abiltions in the ground around her.

that progressively get better as the characters’ skills develop. Normally, this would present a problem: ly shown without big battles. But “Avatar”

The only exception is the Water Tribe, which bears a close resemblance to the Inuit, is split up into two tribes — one at the north pole and another at the south pole. nese instrument, to accompany the overall

convincing worldbuilding and well-written story. The show, along with its sequel series

Rating:

ANIM

Students review

REVI Rating: MY HERO ACADEMIA ing him the nickname, “The Hero Killer.” Though his actions are radical and brutal,

BY LAUREN LU “Boku No Hero Academia,” or “My Hero Academia,” is a superhero manga series created by Kohei Horikoshi and adapted season is set to be released in early to mid2021. The series revolves around a boy named Izuku “Deku” Midoriya, who does not have ties and superheroes. Despite his powerthe world’s greatest hero like his idol, All Might. He is eventually accepted into UA Acading great heroes to go above and beyond, or plus ultra. vivid animation, complex villains and character spotlight moments. However, the complete due to the shockingly large cast. which made the anime unoriginal.

cus on, such as Deku’s dark green hair or the extremely detailed close-up shots. The dialogue, scenery and music also

crime group, Deku’s monologue about the stands up against the villains despite the odds. The complex villains in the show are other mainstream Shounen anime, action-oriented shows targeted towards teens. These antagonists are driven by a clear goal or ideology. For example, the villain Stain believes truism. Stain begins attacking heroes who he believes are unworthy and greedy, earn-

hate anime tropes because they are so predictable and unoriginal. -

I also loved the character spotlight mocharacters development scenes where they shine. scene, revealing their heroic side without However, not every secondary character gets a spotlight because there is an overis a huge imbalance in the development author. Most characters in the show end up being random, unimportant heroes or students a personality or support the plot in any way because Horikoshi gets lazy and only works -

male protagonist.

character is usually only created to be the this disappointing because I would like to ter. I understand that Uraraka is supposed to be likable, but she seems very shallow and boring. She isn’t especially inspired to be a hero and doesn’t have a proper scene to

superheroes. It has complex villains and amazing animation, and the only downside ary characters.

The Octagon

erpoint

THE LEGEND OF KORRA BY NIHAL GULATI elodeon show to “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” gets a mixed reputation. Some say it’s show is equal to, or even better than, the original. is a great show, with thought-provoking themes, cool visuals, decent characters and humor. While nothing could beat the origi-

the point where, just a century ago, there were no industrialized cities. Now, there’s a nations. The themes and characters in the show also seem to mature with the Avatar world. a unique character. She was raised mostly isolated in the South Water Tribe, where she already mastered waterbending, earth-

that certain people in the population can terbenders, earthbenders, airbenders and

and more than a little bit arrogant. She’s entertaining to watch, and as she comes into contact with the real world, she doesn’t hold that arrogant attitude long. -

At any point in time, there is also one Avatar: a person who can learn to bend all

airbending and to assume the Avatar role in order to help people. There’s constantly

government, media, gangs and police and a -

anism, equality and balance are explored,

She also quickly meets new people. Brothers Mako and Bolin — who are total opposites — and Asami, an inventor, even-

story. The show is mostly set in a 1930s style

particular, adds some much-needed humor to the show, whereas Mako acts as more

with his level-headedness. Asami is more like Korra, but she’s also not as hot-headed.

Avatar can’t always do it alone.) They also help her grow and become more compassionate throughout the show.

ice, summoning tornadoes — it’s just awesome. The animation is complemented by the show’s amazing soundtrack. It’s enough to

you’re into that.

emotions in quieter scenes where Korra is contemplative or sad. There’s an interest-

character. He actually has a reasonable mo-

and 1900s style music in the cities, and it hits hard, especially in really emotional climax scenes.

group seeking an end to the discrimination against non-benders. -

show. It just gets a little convoluted sometimes, especially compared to the simplic-

tion with everyone having a vote. An overarching theme in the show is the concept that the Avatar is obsolete, unneeded in this new technological world, which simply drives Korra to do more. Korra brings huge change to the Avatar world,

talking about you.

Korra” is more serious. Real villains, less messing around, but still trying to keep -

with spirits and restoring the Air Nation, which was decimated by the Fire Nation

original edges it out in my mind.

The visuals in the show are great. “Leg-

Rating:

MATED

w popular shows

IEWS Rating: RE:ZERO — STARTING LIFE IN ANOTHER WORLD BY HERMIONE XIAN

sumes that everyone should accept his good

his regular evening routine, Subaru Natsuki

a high school dropout, is summoned to a -

ries with heavy contexts about death. The high-quality production with impressive despair and misery. It is almost startling to see Subaru’s persistence and development reasonable conduct throughout the series. Pompous and reckless, he is an immature young adult in a society who never understands what others think or want. He as-

his discourtesy and ignorance leave them

ability, the listener will die. What’s worse,

people’s stereotypes towards the scent.

someone he cared about is killed in replacecircumstance that leads to his death. In his determination to save her, Subaru jumps

and hides, but he is still bewildered at why -

them. Subaru doesn’t realize his scent is the problem.

mance in presenting the extreme pain and tastic background sound — the dripping

the audience will have a breathtaking experience seeing a man-child with clear

go through numerous trials that are harder than anything he would ever experience in the real world. orcs and mighty elves, Subaru is a weak and turn by Death,” where he would return to he were in a video game. Although the abil-

The most touching scene that highlights

learning and protect the people he cares and revivals. aru’s new adventure.

Opinion • September 22, 2020

The Octagon

Cartoon goes here (29.6 pt by 18.1 pt) Katie Espinoza

We needed quarantine Being stuck at home for six months can drive you crazy. Personally, I really liked staying home. You might think I’m insane to say we needed quarantine. However, quarantine is a funny thing. Even though it has stressed virtually everyone —pun intended—we needed it. Working out, cutting your own hair baking and hundreds of other things could all be done during quarantine. For me, bullet journaling (an ar-

“Together, Yet Apart” by Brynne Barnard-Bahn

EDITORIAL: Follow social distancing guidelines, it’s the only way to get out of this pandemic

ith the school year starting online, many students and parents are wondering when grades 6-12 will be able to return to campus. approved, will now allow grades K-5 to attend school in-person. The pre-kindergarten started school on campus on Sept. 1 and the lower school planned to open on Sept.22 but has been delayed. At this time, there isn’t a waiver for middle school or high school to open. However, returning to campus will require the number of COVID-19 cases to go down. In order for that to happen, people need to start taking the pandemic seriously. California has had a total of 762, 963 cases, and 14,615 deaths so far, according to The California Department of Public Health, as of Sept. 17. Sacramento has had 20,660 cases and 364 deaths, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We are slowly approaching the time when the whole school will be allowed back, and to continue moving forward, we need to keep taking the necessary precautions. Staying in quarantine without seeing your friends and family for six months is exhausting. However, the sooner people start following the proper precautions the sooner we can safely return to campus. If you’re still not sure what you should be doing, here are some necessary precautions, according to the CDC: • Always wear a mask when you leave your house. • Stay six feet away from people. • Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. • Don’t touch your face. • Stay home as much as possible. • Don’t hold or attend large gatherings.

case in the U.S. was reported on Feb. 26, in a California residence, the CDC reported. Cases in the U.S. and California have been rising in general. So, why aren’t people taking it as se-

riously now, as they did when the lockPart of the problem is that wearing a mask became political, and has become part of the ever-growing political divide in our country. As businesses opened up and turned away customers without masks, many anti-mask protests were organized. Our president, Donald Trump, has mocked the idea of wearing a mask, and has held large indoor gatherings and political rallies, where many of his supporters weren’t wearing masks or social distancing. If our president can’t follow basic precautions, what else is to be expected parties left and right — usually without wearing masks. This encourages other people to do the same. Celebrities need to set a good example. Wearing a mask, however, is a necessary precaution to take — if not the most important one — until the country has a COVID-19 vaccine. The reason masks are so essential in stopping the spread of the virus is because they provide a barrier to stop respiratory droplets from traveling into the air, according to the CDC. For example, when someone talks, coughs, sneezes or sings, the virus is spread through these respiratory droplets. A lot of people may have the mindset that since they’re young, it won’t affect them as much. If you’re not worried about your own safety, think about those around you. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2019, 14.8% of California’s population are people age 65 and older. Many of these people are high-risk for severe illness from COVID-19. On top of that people with underlying medical conditions are also at high-risk, including those with cancer, chronic kidney disease, weak immune systems, obesity, serious heart conditions and more. People with these conditions might also be at risk: asthma, cerebrovascular hypertension, high blood pressure, neurologic conditions,

pregnancy and more. Data from 4,905,884 cases showed that 23.3% of cases occurred in those ages 1829 and 20.8% in those ages 50-64, according to the CDC. These were the highest percentages, the lowest being ages 0-4 with 1.8%. While ages 85+ were only 3.3% of cases, they were 31.7% of 140,663 deaths. This shows how the virus especially impacts the elderly. When you leave your home without a mask or don’t socially distance, you’re putting these people at risk, if not yourself. Symptoms of the coronavirus include fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, body aches, headaches, sore throat, congestion and nausea. If you experience any of these symptoms and want to get tested, call your healthcare provider with mild symptoms can recover at home without any professional medical care. If you do need to meet with someone, do it safely. Make sure you socially distance and wear masks. Make sure that the person you’re meeting is also isolating safely. You could also only meet with friends and family in a “bubble,” where everyone has only been interacting with each other. If you do contract the virus, stay home and try to quarantine away from others in your house. If you have trouble breathing, pain in the chest, feel confused, are unable to wake or stay awake or your face and lips are bluish, these can be warning signs of COVID-19 pnemonia, the CDC reports. If you experience these symptoms, immediately call 911. In case someone you’ve met recently contracts the virus, you also should also quarantine yourself for 14 days to be safe. The point is, the pandemic is to be taken seriously. Please follow social distancing guidelines so we can all actually do stuff again. Wear a mask. Stay inside your homes. Every bit helps. We’ve already seen the effect the pandemic has had on our country and our everyday lives. If you don’t start taking it seriously now, who knows when our lives will return back to normal.

math course, binging “Avatar: The Last Airbender” in less than a week and studying another language are some things I would never have done without six months of quarantine. Of course, I did have days where I wished I was going to school instead of being stuck inside 24/7. School now is nowhere close to before COVID-19. I’ve realized how much I miss being in an actual classroom, even if I am enjoying quarantine. I had a very relaxed and content summer: I would get up, make some Dalgona coffee, watch “Pokémon: Journeys” with my sister and give my dog belly-rubs until she fell asleep. On some nights, my family and I would get together and play cards or watch a new movie. We would all have a great time, even if playing cards got extremely competitive. My 10-year-old sister, Sophia, and I have a stronger relationship now. We would often go walk our dog together or ride our bikes to get some frozen yogurt at Loehmann’s Plaza. We’re always around each other now, even if we drive each other crazy. Spending time with family was a big part of quarantine for me, and I don’t think I will ever have the opportunity to do that again. Plus, there’s a lot of entertainment content. “Mulan” was recently released on Disney Plus, “Avatar: The gest streak record on the Top 10 list at 61 days, according to forbes.com. Additionally, an abundance of music and shows were released by my favorite artists; BTS, Conan Gray, Twice and Stray Kids. It was honestly a blessing to have so many songs to listen to, so I wouldn’t bore myself to death. Some songs I recommend to Gray, “Double Knot” by Stray Kids, “Converse High” and “134340” by BTS and “Fancy” by Twice. Staying at home does something to you in a sense that being blanketed in a calming environment can show how simple life can be, even in the midst of a pandemic. Being at home has made me appreciate the moments I now have and all of the things I’ve done to keep myself occupied these days, instead of taking them for granted. That’s why we all needed some time to relax and appreciate the moments we have in quarantine.

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS FOR KEEPING US IN THE BLACK! Anand family, Claire family, Cook family, Kumar family, Gulati family, Monasa family, Trivedi family, Zhu family

September 22, 2020 • Arts & Entertainment

The Octagon

WHODUNIT? Senior Ming Zhu and juniors Arjin Claire, Sanjana Anand and Arikta Trivedi play “Among Us,” as Trivedi’s in-game avatar is killed by Anand, who is the imposter. PHOTO BY MING ZHU

Review: ‘Among Us’ party game falls flat from simplicity BY DYLAN MARGOLIS

“A

with a lighter strategy game like

What makes this task unique is

what this game does to stand out

time is really inviting to new

animation that other players can

and seemingly has everyone play-

is an odd-man-out or asymmetrical type party game where one or more of the players has an -

running around the map with all

nitely differs from most of the

critical thinking that is presented when trying to come up with who

have done anything to truly sup-

enthused as I am when I win a

all the other players have a dif-

ing people together who usually

late-night get-together with all

games that take around four to

I like this genre; I love playing -

its playstyle is from the role of a

Discord, Zoom replace in-person interaction amidst stay-at-home orders BY DYLAN MARGOLIS Quarantine has made staying in contact with friends or relatives

and the written conversation stays for only the period of time when

Acquisto recommends “Among

Senior Charlie Acquisto uses “I use discord around two to lunch or when I am doing home-

Senior Allie Bogetich used to quisto said

the imposter or the crewmates spent more time with their friends “I never really called or Face-

actually watching a movie with

“I would have had no one to talk

video games for around half of my that I have found fun for such a -

Endpoint • September 22, 2020

The Octagon

SENSATIONAL SUMMERTIME B

ored during quarantine? High school students share the highlights of their summer despite an ongoing pandemic.

Senior Hana Lee started a new job at Salon Bravissimo on Fair Oaks Blvd. “We weren’t allowed to have clients inside, so I spent most of the time training. I went in for two hours almost every day to learn the system and the things they offered at the salon,” she said. Services include eyelash extensions, eyebrow waxing and hair treatments. “Icheck clients in and out, process credit card transactions and keep the salon clean,” she said. Lee started learning Italian on Duolingo,

Senior Avinash Krishna spent time studying for the SAT and working on his senior self-evaluation. “It tells your college counselor about yourself,” he said. “It’s a good prerequisite to get prepared for college admissions.” Although he spent time studying for the SAT, Krishna isn’t sure if he’ll be able to take it. “I signed up for both the August and October (tests). August isn’t happening, and I’m very pessimistic about being able to take it (in October),” he said. ”I’ve seen it on ‘Hawaii Five-O’ — people do crazy waves, so I thought it’d be easy,” he said. “But when I got on the paddleboard, I was struggling to even paddle on it, I was slipping off, and it was very scary.” “It was probably one of the better experiences I’ve had all summer,” he said.

“Although it’s a romance language and I took Spanish for three years, they pronounce everything differently,” she said. “Summer appeared to be disappointing, but it gave me a chance to calm down and appreciate things I have going for me.”

Freshman Annalucia King attended Camp Fernwood in Poland, Maine, for the sixth time; she enjoyed waterskiing and making silver jewelry. King also designed the camp yearbook, an elected position.

STORIES BY SAMHITA KUMAR; GRAPHICS BY SANJANA ANAND AND ARIKTA TRIVEDI

to create the same thing was shortened due to COVID-19.” Camp was reduced from eight weeks to four due to the pandemic. Campers were tested for COVID-19 before arriving and at camp. “I knew that it would be different, and adapting to what we expected was key to having a great summer,” she said. “Even though the circumstances weren’t the best, I had a blast.”

School garden donates 1,000 lbs of produce BY ROD AZGHADI Creation of Country Day’s garden began in 2007 when a group of parents and students cleared a quarter of an acre in years, soil was turned, paths were laid and thousands of seeds were planted in rich, productive soil. Christina Kaufman, former president of the Parent-Teacher Association, has been maintaining the garden for the past year. She works in the garden almost every rage across California, she said. “I’ve taken a few days off when the air quality was too bad, but the days I went where there was mediocre air quality, my work was limited to one hour,” she said. The garden is growing summer crops: tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, peppers, jalapenos, butternut squash and delicata squash. Kaufman gets help from several people, including middle school science teacher

Aleitha Burns. Both Kaufman and Burns said their passion for gardening began at a young age. After moving from the Bay Area to Sacramento in 1980, Kaufman’s curiosity for gardening grew. She took advantage of living in the countryside by building a garden box in her backyard. “I didn’t know anything about soil or soil health, so nothing grew. But sprouts came up and I thought, oh, this is the beginning,” she said. Burns’ passion for gardening came from her grandmother, who grew up on a large cotton farm in Rosebud, Texas, in the late 1930s. She visited and worked on the farm during summer vacations as a child, she said. There, she learned how to plant, harvest and can the peaches and other crops that they grew. “The food we ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner was all grown on the farm,” Burns said. Burns and Kaufman are involved with

GROWING GENEROSITY Garden facilitator Christina Kaufman, Micheal Covey, Carrie Meyes and middle school science teacher Aleitha Burns hand out free, fresh produce from the school garden on Aug. 31. PHOTO BY BROOKE WELLS

donating garden produce to the River City Food Bank. Country Day donated 10 times this summer, around 100 pounds of produce each time, said Kaufman. The number of donations were increased in the springtime due to the rise in unemployment, Burns said. “Produce that would’ve gone home to Country Day families actually went to the greater community which was in need,” Burns said. To give food to Country Day families, on Aug. 28. “We handed out free food to all the families that drove through after picking up their school materials,” Kaufman said. There will be future farm stands following the fall and spring harvests. Over the past several years, the garden has been a teaching tool for the lower school. The third grade class uses the garden for their Native American studies unit, Burns said. A sub-garden called “The Three Sisters” grows Native American corn, beans and squash. Due to COVID-19, the garden is not physically available for students, but Kaufman and volunteer gardener Michael Covey have proposed an alternative. “We will create weekly informative videos about what went on that week in the garden,” Kaufman said. “These might even be sent out in the Friday email for the greater community to enjoy.” The garden also is used in the middle school as a Farm-to-Fork (F2F) elective, which Burns has been teaching for 13 years. The elective teaches students how to plant, maintain, harvest and eventually how to cook the crop, Burns said. Due to remote learning, F2F has shifted to an online seasonal cooking elective. Burns will make farmstand bags for students to pick up at school and take home to cook with. She teaches them how to prep, season and cook the food. “I’m hoping to work closely with the garden to make this elective an amazing experience,” she said.

Students grapple with challenges, changes of exercise during quarantine BY ETHAN MONASA With sports seasons throughout Sacramento County postponed or canceled and gyms across the state closed, student athletes have had to search for new ways to stay in shape. Junior Jesus Aispuro, a boxer, said he hasn’t had any training sessions since shortly after quarantine began. set up times and break the group apart so we would work out in smaller numbers,” Aispuro said. But after a week, the gym was closed. Aispuro said he passed the gym recently and saw it open, but he is going to wait it out until things return to “normal.” In the meantime, Aispuro has focused on exercise that doesn’t need a gym: jogging, jumping rope, doing push-ups, shadow boxing and punching a bag. Avoiding distractions and activities he enjoys — video games and watching “The challenge for me working at home is a lack of motivation,” he said. schedule to work out and go outside.” Aispuro sets aside about three hours each week to work out, exercising in the late afternoon in cooler temperature. Freshman soccer player Orlando Ponce Blas said staying focused during “There’s no one else for you to challenge or compare yourself to,” he said. Blas plays competitively for the Valley Hi Soccer Club in Sacramento. He works out for about two hours each day, focusing on soccer drills and strength exercises such as push-ups, curl-ups, bench-pressing, dead-lifting and jumping rope. Unlike Blas and Aispuro, senior Brian Chow has access to sports facilities. Chow is a swimmer; he’s swum for Country Day the last three years and is part of the Elk Grove Aquatics Club. “I’m actively practicing right now, but we have no swim meets coming up,” Chow said. Due to social distancing, training sessions limit two people to each lane of the pool, Chow said. The sessions last a total of 10-12 hours each week. “Otherwise, swim is already an individual sport, so nothing is that different,” he said. Freshman Annalucia King also uses swimming to stay in shape — except she isn’t a swimmer. King plays volleyball for the Sacramento Performance Volleyball Club in Carmichael. While the club isn’t currently practicing, King said they plan to return to training sessions in smaller pods. In addition to swimming in the pool at her house, King works out in her gym or runs around the golf course in front of her house. King breaks down her exercising with 30 minutes of cardio and some strength training on top of the walks she takes. She makes sure to keep a variety, including yoga, swimming, running, cycling or swimming. “There’s no excuse not to workout, especially during quarantine,” King said. “Exercising should be fun, and you shouldn’t have to push yourself to the max every day. “Just do what feels right for you, and little by little you will see yourself improving. But, you gotta keep at it in order to see yourself grow.”