theOctagon
Sacramento Country Day School
www.scdsoctagon.com
VOL. XXXIX, NO. 4
Different name, same game
January 12, 2016
Q & A: Pat Reynolds
Social media apps make bullying easy for sophomores By Zoë Bowlus Online Editor-in-Chief
E
very year in August, high schoolers supposedly read the student handbook from front to back. They even sign
read it and will adhere to all the pol icies therein. Those policies include using “appro ! priate language, manners and ethics” ( ' $ when accessing technology as SCDS rep resentatives. “Students should not use email, instant mes sage, blogs, or any other form of social media to hurt others in the SCDS community,” the handbook states. The handbook also states that students are responsible for how they represent themselves and SCDS on the Internet. Students are to contact a school em ployee “if they encounter any security problems, abuses, or misuse of technology resources.” Brooke Wells, head of high school, said if the use of technology violates any of Country
interest is to keep it anonymous.” Wells said that cyberbullying consequences are an educational issue.
e*ce* " # $ *# % ** e# u% e) # " '
Wells also said students need training so that sites like After School can be used correctly. “We have to teach them,” he said, “and give them the language and $ & ' $ m$ *e% # understanding. When is it time to e# a& & # A% * *# *m stand up for themselves? You could just hope that people understand that.” Enter Pat Reynolds. The newly hired counselor has 37 years of indepen
Houston, as the Upper School coun selor.
ness program schoolwide.” freshmen and sophomores have a “skills class” during their free period. Wells said the classes will present ways to ap proach educational and peer issues. Topics include
same as if it had been physical. Day kid negatively,” he said, “it becomes an issue of the handbook violation.” Presumably, the ground rules re ! e*ce* " # $ *# % $ & volving around social media are clear. But what happens when social me u% e) # " ' e# a& dia bullying occurs on an anonymous app, like AfterSchool, which was launched in 2014? On its site, AfterSchool is described as “an anonymous and private message board for your school...” “a place where you can post freely with anonymity. Now and always.”
to get help if a student is feeling in
' $ m$ *e% # ( ' $ ** e# & # A*" e*Sc' $ $ +
therapist address the situation,” he said. to assess the students in order to identi fy why they are stressed and what they need and build a program around that.
A student creates an account that must be linked to his or her Facebook
Then users can write posts, which can school administrators or parents. After be revealed. According to the Frequently Asked Questions “anything that they think their school would enjoy. Keep it fun. Keep it safe.” Moreover AfterSchool cautions users not to post anything hurtful. According to sophomore Lily Brown, at the start students were posting about the at tractiveness of other students. “I was on the app because my friends had told me about it,” she said. “It seemed like it was a harmless, funny thing. “But then some of them became kind of inappropriate. There was one that was target ing me.” An embarrassing picture with a mean cap tion was posted. “That made me really uncomfortable,” classmate would say what they did about her. So Brown spoke with Patricia Jacobsen,
missing in terms of the counseling program.”
thing.” “I want to get a feel for what stu dents need to know,” Reynolds said, know that they might not be aware of.” Reynolds also plans on “creating an awareness of the good and the bad and present tools so that a student begins to Statistics taken from a poll distributed Jan. 4 to 36 sophomores.
Social media is “a great communicating tool,” she said. “But, she added, “the trouble comes when people forget about the safety idea. fortunately we have to have rules for safety.” Reynolds maintains that the rules ar “The majority of the things that hap pen online that are negative are unin tentional and not deliberate,” she said. like to think that everyone is trying to do the right thing but they get caught up in the moment. “In the skills class, we talk a lot about building community and being inclusive in everything you do.”
New high-school counselor Pat Reynolds is the new high-school counselor. For the past 16 years, she was the Upper School counselor at St. John’s School in Houston. Reynolds attended James Madison University for her undergraduate studies. “It was kind of a quadruple major: middle-school science, health, PE. And back in the day, I actually taught driver’s education,” she said. She received a master’s degree in education in counseling education from Cleveland State University. Reynolds has 37 years of experience in independent schools. A: I worked for the Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles every summer while I was in college. I looked up people’s driving records and sent them to attorneys. (I worked) behind the scenes. I was a carrier pigeon from one department to another. Q: How did you get interested in education and A: I admired all of my teachers in high school. I’m a lifelong learner of whatever there is to be absorbed. I kind of liked the in-front-of-the-classroom aspect of being a teacher, like the “Can I get the attention of folks and hold them until the ‘aha’ moment occurs and grab that moment and get the most out (it)?” It’s like a live audience. I felt like I kind of was natural at (teaching). I love research; I love creating new projects; I love problem-solving projects. A: By chance someone I played softball with knew someone who knew of a school in Martinsville, Virginia (Carlisle School). They were looking for a sixth-grade science teacher. I drove down there and interviewed
A: The Andrews School in Ohio. It was a boarding school. I taught middle-school science there and was in charge of six dorms. Q: You’ve hiked in Alaska, the Tetons, the Grand Canyon A: I think the Grand Canyon because the hike was from the south end to the north end. I never thought it was something I could backpack. It’s steep uphill; it’s steep downhill. At the end it was really cool to catch up with the people and take pictures. Many people camped the night before they started their hike from the South Rim. Then most people stay at least one night at the bottom, so there is socializing there. Folks hung around the parking lot and took pictures and told stories at the end.
another race. A: Once you turn 50, you can participate in the Senior Olympics. I played on a senior basketball team in Houston, but have not yet found a basketball team here in Sacramento. So I decided to try and qualify for either the 20K or the 40K cycling road race. I will likely need to go to Napa or Pasadena to qualify for the National Senior Olympics, as I haven’t been able Right now it’s kind of chilly to ride. I’m riding indoors.
See Apps, page 2
about the app,” Brown said. “And then I told them what had been posted about me. I think that made them really alert to what things were being posted.” In the wake of this incident and others, Wells contacted the AfterSchool owner. Country Day has since been cleared from the server, and SCDS accounts can no longer be created. But Wells knows that blocking access to this
A: Right now, I’m watching season 2 of “Broadchurch.” It’s in the UK, and it’s a detective murder thing. I’m a “Transparent” fan. I’m a “Parenthood” fan. “Sopranos.” “The Wire.” “House of Cards,” love it. “Game of Thrones,” love it. “Walking Dead,” love it. “Mad Men.” The new one, “Master of None.” Most of my TV watching is streaming once it’s already come out. A: I was a cat girl for a long time. And then Alice (my
See Q&A, page 2
2 Feature
The Octagon
January 12, 2016
Apps: Extremely strict cellphone use policy, very active administration in middle school discourage bullying has had to intervene before. One of Reynolds’s goals is to get students to help monitor their heads.” “We’re not just educators and teachers. We’re supposed to be mentors.”
Q&A: Reynolds finds Sacramento calming, loves her dog Mocha
the material that I put here? Do I remember that nothing can be deleted? Do I understand that someone’s going to read Most importantly, she emphasizes this question: “Am I be ing mindful and deliberate about my opinion?” Reynolds said she aims to have students present as many situations as possible. In one activity, students are given notes. Some are nice, but others aren’t. Students then must react and respond to them. “You can’t address every scenario,” she said, “but you can pen, these are some possible tools.” In the middle school, the technology controls are stricter.
for everybody.”
respond to questions other anonymous users ask them. he said. “I read the comments. We created false usernames to go in under it.”
or make posts. Reynolds said the anonymity of sites is concerning “be
the middle school. “Middle schoolers don’t have any experience to base some of their actions on,” Reynolds said. you have experiences, your brain develops more, and you’re
cluding the social media policies, are covered during orienta Aside from a handbook agreement, there is also a separate document outlining responsible use of the iPads distributed to all middle schoolers and the consequences if guidelines ar “We do set a really strict policy,” Bolman said.
The social media policy in the high school is pretty com mon, Reynolds said. While some policies are stricter and others more lenient, Reynolds said that for the time being, she doesn’t have a
curriculum.
likely bring up the technology parameters in our discussions as a response to an activity.
topics covered.
safety on the net and social media.”
cat) went on to kitty heaven. I (hadn’t gotten) a dog because I’m at school so much, but I went online. It had to be rescue, the right size. I didn’t want a puppy puppy. (Mocha) was turned into a group called Pup Squad in Houston. She was a-year-and-a-half old and was pregnant. She had all the puppies with the foster mom. I got Mocha (when) she was about 2 years old. She just turned 4 in September. She’s a mix, a little bit of beagle. She’s got some brown spots above her eyes. She’s a good girl. Q: How did you end up in Sacramento? A: Houston is growing. It’s too big for me. I think circles in the history of the world. I had taken a year sabbatical from St. John’s. I don’t enjoy not having things to do. I looked up the private schools in the Sacramento area. I sent out some feelers and got a call from Sacramento Country Day, and here I am. Q: So you’re back in the classroom. A: I think that being in the classroom helps a person stay abreast of what’s happening in the world. As a teacher you have to look at all sides of something; you can’t get stuck in the rhetoric. It keeps me sharp.
Thank you to our sponsors for keeping us in the black The Barajas Family The Bowlus Family The Christian Family The Claire Family The Dahmani Family The Fackenthal Family The Fineberg-Chiu Family The Hansen Family The Judd Family The LaComb Family The Longoria Family The Mathisen Family The Naify Family The Needler Family The Scott Family The Tung Family The Wolkov Family The Zhang Family
January 12, 2016
News
The Octagon
3
From top left clockwise: Yelin Mao, Adam Dean, Adam Ketchum and Colby Conner
From top left clockwise: Alice Kellie, Jenny Kerbs, Maryjane Garcia and Smita Sikaria Graphics by Annya Dahmani
Far from Ferguson, is diversity really an issue? Students debate whether skin color, different social classes really matter By Nicole Wolkov Reporter
F
or many outsiders, the name Country
the other hand, students
of
White
41% Asian
27%
they stated that they
said that it is easier for him to make friends among
Multi-racial
18%
Hispanic
8%
African American
make friends based on race, but at the
5%
Other
1%
their race because there are a
When asked if the high
Poll taken Dec. 15 by 123 high-school students
See Diversity,
Marin Country Day offers new perspective By Alexa Mathisen
equity, inclusion and diversity in their student body, faculty, administration and curriculum, and we wanted to see The faculty, staff and administration a school that was actively working,” Diversity Committee has been “revital- she said. A few things stood out for Mathisen, ized” from the “dormant” state it’s been in for past years, according to Tucker Foehl, assistant head of high school tered” curriculum. For example, a wide range of literaand a prominent member of the group. Foehl, Breakthrough Sacramento ture is used so that every student can director Adolfo Mercado, and ASE relate to the characters. Secondly, MCDS mandates that director Joy Pangilinan initiated the reonly 50 percent of vitalization of the the student body committee with a “(At Marin Country Day) a comes from San schoolwide email t h a t s t a t e d t h e wide range of literature is Francisco to ensure group’s new guide- used so that every student both a wide range of backgrounds and lines, mission and can relate to the characters.” lifestyles and geoupcoming events, graphical diversity. including a visit Lastly, when parto Marin Country Day School (MCDS) ents hold meetings or events for other on Nov. 16. Six members of the committee trav- parents, they must evaluate how ineled to MCDS to meet with Lucinda clusive those meetings are so that all Lee Katz, head of school, and members parents feel comfortable participating. Before a meeting is announced, a of her team. The group intended the visit as a sort of informal assessment, committee person planning and hosting the event to evaluate various plans from where member Kristi Mathisen said. “(MCDS) completed a 10-year program working for the development of See Committee,
Reporter
4Sports
The Octagon
January 12, 2016
Inexperience not translating to wins By Annya Dahmani Social Media Editor With the increased number of freshmen, along with a sudden interest in the sport within the sophomore class,
in 11 years. With a wide range of experience, from some to none
Driving to the basket, sophomore Rick Barros III (11) pulls up for a jumpshot against Forest Lake. The Cavs’ 58-29 win was the second of back-to-back games. They beat Sacramento Adventist the night before. (Photo by Adam Ketchum)
Injuries plague hopeful season
coach Latonia Pitts said. Pitts said that it’s a new experience for her because to learn the sport, but she also wants them to have fun while playing it. JV girls, page 10
Cavs start year 9-7, finish in last place at tournament By Katia Dahmani
The boys didn’t have consistently strong defense, student
Page Editor
W
hen junior center Adam Dean sprained his an kle on Dec. 11, the boys’ varsity team lost a huge defensive asset. After Dean’s injury, the boys fell to a team they had beaten last year
Over Winter Break, the team journeyed to Palm Desert to sic. There the boys lost four games in a row to Desert Pines
the teams are less competitive. McCain says that the boys will do well in league if they close
And he was right. The boys ended their losing streak when they crushed Not only did the boys have better defense, but they also had much better ball movement, coach David Ancrum said.
The boys struggled defensively and not having Dean less ened their ability to rebound as well. showing at the tournament to inexperience playing against competitive teams, as well as poor defense and injuries. tion. Meanwhile they’re counting on Dean’s ankle getting better,
Varsity player Heidi Johnson practices with JV players Lea Gorny and Chardonnay Needler. The team is 0-4 this year. (Photo by Adam Ketchum)
JV boys still win despite exhaustion By Annya Dahmani Social Media Editor
Varsity girls start season strongly, 5-1 By Chardonnay Needler Reporter
when lead shooter sophomore Yasmin
The varsity girls’ basketball team has just begun the league season and is al
was absent for over half the game be
strong defense. “Our team has good speed and de
Other opponents have all had more players than the times, averaging six steals per game, preventing opponents from following through with their plays. the Cavs’ success to defense.
Before the league season, they had said. “We get on the shooters, and we are like crazy and will probably be leading shooting their way to victory.
Yet the Cavs take advantage of their small size and try
“We can’t just run up and down the court like other Bryce agreed. “We get to play the whole game, which The small size also allows individuals to shine on the JV boys, page 10
game. side of school on their shots with boys’ basketball coach David Ancrum on weekends.
in the third quarter, or that she has game, those big points have added up. he is going to focus on throughout the league season. Sophomore Annya Dahmani (2) goes up for a layup, after stealing the ball. Dahmani averages 5.7 steals per game. The Cavs won their third game in a row against Forest Lake Christian, 43-42, on Jan. 6. (Photo by Adam Ketchum)
said. “We are trying to limit our turn Varsity girls, page 10
Sophomore Reggie Fan (25) blows by two Sacramento Adventist players on his way to the hoop. Fan was the player of the game in the narrow 47-46 win on Jan. 5. (Photo by Annya Dahmani)
January 12, 2016
Sports
The Octagon
5
Frosh makes scaling 43-foot walls look easy
But novice can’t attach the ropes, retrieve the camera or even fall correctly By Adam Dean Page Editor
F
reshman Sam Buck lunged to reach for a climbing
He now trains three times a week for three hours with his
Sam Buck grabs for the last rock of a 17-foot wall. It took Buck about 30 seconds to reach the top. He then clambered down a beginner-level rock course route at the top to return to the ground. (Photo by Ben Miner)
Failure would become a recurring theme throughout our
Buck left Miner and me alone while he went to get his chalk
Miner and I decided it would be a great idea to attach
“With climbing you have to get to the top with a plan, otherwise you won’t get to the top.” —Sam Buck, freshman
+
Sports Boosters’ Athletes of the Month Cole Johnson Johnson’s overall game is stellar. He
Yasmin Gupta
per game. He is a great presence in the middle of the zone offensively. Johnson
Athletes of the Month are chosen by the athletic department on behalf of the Sports Boosters.
6
Centerpoint
The Octagon
January 12, 2016
Je suis Charlie. Je suis Paris. Je suis Muslim.
Half a world away from war zones, students singled out for religion S and someone will shout out their
By Madison Judd
“When I was younger, I always shied away from telling people my relimy peers didn’t like Islam and that “In all mosques, we will in
—Serajh Esmail, senior
to the world and current to
When it comes “Islamic” ex
such as ISIS and
al contractor who designs said that terror ings such as churches and as ISIS, are cor The Salam Islamic Cen as “Islamic” ex
“(When my hijab-wearing friends and I were accosted for being Muslim), we had no idea what to say, especially since we were all born in
go in and understand what Islam is,” extremists
—Julia Owaidat, senior
are
which is the Islamic
A poll regarding Muslims taken by 124 high-school students on Dec. 15 yielded the following results.
92%
42%
65%
88%
think that Muslims should be able to serve in public
think that Muslim terrorist groups are correctly labeled as “Islamic” extremists
have personally witnessed racism against Muslims in their communities
think that Muslims should currently be allowed to immigrate to the U.S.
7
6
Centerpoint
The Octagon
January 12, 2016
Je suis Charlie. Je suis Paris. Je suis Muslim.
Half a world away from war zones, students singled out for religion S and someone will shout out their
By Madison Judd
“When I was younger, I always shied away from telling people my relimy peers didn’t like Islam and that “In all mosques, we will in
—Serajh Esmail, senior
to the world and current to
When it comes “Islamic” ex
such as ISIS and
al contractor who designs said that terror ings such as churches and as ISIS, are cor The Salam Islamic Cen as “Islamic” ex
“(When my hijab-wearing friends and I were accosted for being Muslim), we had no idea what to say, especially since we were all born in
go in and understand what Islam is,” extremists
—Julia Owaidat, senior
are
which is the Islamic
A poll regarding Muslims taken by 124 high-school students on Dec. 15 yielded the following results.
92%
42%
65%
88%
think that Muslims should be able to serve in public
think that Muslim terrorist groups are correctly labeled as “Islamic” extremists
have personally witnessed racism against Muslims in their communities
think that Muslims should currently be allowed to immigrate to the U.S.
7
8 Editorial
The Octagon
January 12, 2016
My Angle By Marigot Fackenthal
Wait, so there’s more to the food drive than just points? I have a story to tell. It was November of my freshman year at Mira Loma High School, and the student council was making preparations for body is relatively large, the competition is always held among was freshman World History, and we were determined to prove
EDITORIAL: The new counseling class should teach us to be reasonable, too Out of the recent turmoil concerning social media and stress, one good thing has risen - the much-awaited presence of an on-site counselor. Ever since the counselor position was reRecently, the school hired experienced counselor Pat Reynolds, who will be teaching life skills to freshmen and sophomores. The hope is, according to Brooke Wells, head of high school, that the lowerclassmen will learn how to eliminate stress and behave properly in both physical and virtual settings. Unfortunately, this seems to have raised serious qualms among students in the classes indent complaints were already circulating in the classrooms and the quad. What exactly are they complaining about? Many lowerclassmen have expressed their frustration at the loss of their beloved “free longs” and openly label the class a waste of time. But wait a minute there - who was it who complained about high stress levels? Who was it who misused social media? Who was it who criticized The school has made a massive effort to ad-
complained and complained and complained. And the school has responded. It responded rather quickly, too. So before we begin berating the staff with
the Editors-in-Chief Madison Judd Manson Tung
Online Editor-in-Chief Zoë Bowlus
Business Manager Sonja Hansen
Feature Editor Madison Judd
Opinion Editor Marigot Fackenthal
Sports Editor Zoë Bowlus
Copy Editor Amelia Fineberg
News Editor
The Octagon suggests that members of the student body and faculty be selected to form a committee that will meet over the summer to update the handbook.
Alexa Mathisen Allison Zhang Ben Miner Chardonnay Needler Grace Naify Jack Christian Jake Longoria Mac Scott Mohini Rye Nicole Wolkov Quin LaComb Sahej Claire
Photographers
Adam Dean Annya Dahmani Katia Dahmani Madison Judd Manson Tung
criticizing the baby, teach it something. Make suggestions; help it grow. Even if the counseling program is initially unsuccessful, our tolerance will aid the school in strengthening it. And who knows? Maybe in the future there will be a student who really needs the help. All that said, one immediate problem remains: educating students about online etiquette is a step in the right direction, but absolute boundaries must be set in stone. As of now, rules regarding online behavior remain fuzzy because the student handbook is outdated. ic offenses, students have an uncertain sense of
Reporters
Annya Dahmani
Page Editors
life skills. Finally, this is a program in the making. May-
Marigot Fackenthal Sonja Hansen Ulises Barajas
Graphic Artist
baby glop than actual human sustenance. serving size. The easiest way to win? Well, one container of Country Time Lemonade Drink Mix will earn your class 136
it encourages this kind of outcome.
week since these classes began, meaning most students have taken one class and some have tak-
Octagon
Manson Tung
Social Media Editor
complaints about their attempts to assuage our -
So we decided to play it strategically. We pooled our money and calculated the item that would get us the most points for the least amount of money. This ended up being a questionable brand of processed baby food. At the end of the drive, three people from our class went
Jake Sands
Adam Ketchum Kevin Huang Ethan Hockridge
Adviser Patricia Fels
The Octagon is published eight times a year by high-school journalism students of Sacramento Country Day School, 2636 Latham Drive, Sacramento, Calif. 95864. Phone: (916) 481-8811, ext. 347. The online Octagon (www.scdsoctagon.com) is updated daily.
Orchids
&
Onions
foods based on sustenance level and need. Before each drive, we/student council should ask our contact items will be worth the most points, and vice versa. In this way, with every item we donate, the points we receive will be cor
into general categories such as meats, grains, vegetables and fruits.
system could be improved. So get a committee together, get Student Council together,
need.
member that the food items we bring in for points are actually going to be eaten. And with a system that awards more points to a single con ultimate goal will inevitably be lost on us students in the mad scramble for the meaningless golden can.
O
rchids to. . . the weather for finally bringing California snow! It’s been years since ski and snowboard conditions were this good, and we’re enjoying every minute.
O
nions to. . . the messy students who got us temporarily banned from eating inside the library. When classrooms are closed, the library is our only safe haven.
O
rchids to. . . teachers who are taking time out of their personal lives to give students one-on-one help. We really appreciate it as we cram in the runup to finals.
nions to. . . our locker awnings for being so narrow and not having gutters. Stepping under them as we run between classes gets us more wet than the actual rain.
O
Opinion
The Octagon
January 12, 2016
9
Fresh wheels for student drivers
By Katia Dahmani
2015 Volkswagen Golf and Jetta
Page Editor
2015 Honda Civic and Honda Accord
W
ith the help of Daniel Neukom, history teacher and car enthusiast, I compiled this list of cars that are best for teen drivers. “I’m a great advocate of sensible vehicles, espe
He does not recommend high performance, very large or small ve hicles for teen drivers. After my interview, I collected information about the cars he rec ommended from the Kelley Blue Book. Insurance prices are dependent on the driver’s place of residence and their family’s insurance plan. 2015 Ford Focus
Teacher Lauren LaMay likes her 2015 Volkswagen Golf
2015 Ford Focus
Neukom’s tips for
Buy a car at the end of the month. This makes a huge difference in cost because the car salesman and dealership want one more sale for the month,making them receptive to lower offers. Buy “Consumer Reports Ratings and Pricing Guide” (at Barnes & Noble, Raley’s or other stores). It lists the MSRP for cars and what the manufacturer charged the dealership for the car. For example, if a dealership is selling a car for $30,000, it’s expected that the manufacturer charged them about $27,000 for the car; buying the car between the manufacturer’s charge and the dealership’s price is a deal. Don’t believe everything the dealer tells you, most of the time. There are some honest salespeople, but you need to be on your toes. (Neukom knows because he once spent a summer selling used cars!) Doing research on the price is critical for getting a bargain. Be sure you check with your insurance agency to see how much it will cost to insure your car before you commit. There can be surprising differences in cost between similar cars.
10 Remainder
The Octagon
Diversity: Need for teachers of color
January 12, 2016
JV girls: Learning the game
it’s not hard to relate to any of them.” more diversity.” sity. “The school is diverse in the sense that we don’t deny demic record,” he said. “And it’s already very diverse.” One place where most students agree the school needs more diversity is on the faculty. The high school has only two teachers of color: Spanish teacher Patricia Portillo and orchestra teacher Felecia Keys.
similar experiences. “I don’t identify with many of the teachers because most of them are white and come from a higher class than I do,” she said. teachers just for the sake of diversity.”
dents say the high school has enough. comfortable.” And Keys said this was true when she was in high school. one who was Hispanic. If any person of color needed some
were instrumental for me getting ahead in life. They had a better understanding of where I was coming from as a per son of color and my background as an immigrant,” she said. “If I had any problems, those were the people I sought.” But Tung disagrees.
of a team. “The excitement from learning a new sport and getting in volved was fun, so I thought I’d give basketball a try,” she said.
can and Hispanic, would like more racial diversity amongst
a place to go,” she said. Portillo had a similar experience in high school.
bleachers, but now she’s on the court. “I got such great excitement from watching last year’s basketball games that I decided I wanted to be a part of the
ic group of students would give more privileged students a wider view of the world. “It gives a better perspective about how people live,” she said. “Not everything is handed to you, and people work hard for what they have.”
joys basketball more. She also said that she likes team sports better than individual sports. lationship with them,” she said. “However, there’s pressure to not weigh down the team.” ball is knowing what’s going on around her. “It’s hard to know what you’re doing when there’s so many people and so many things happening at a time,” she said. “It’s also hard having so much responsibility as point guard.”
ers as I would if they were Asian. I think that opportunity
this in the high school.”
with 23 points throughout the four games. Freshmen Emily Hayes and Chloé Collinwood played in middle school, so they know the basics of basketball.
situation,” he said.
school.,” she said. “A lot of kids said the gym and people were ‘so ghetto,’ and that they were afraid. Those are the neighborhoods where I grew up. The people there were be ing stereotyped because of how poor the school appeared.”
basketball is the intensity, Hayes said. “The teams are way tougher than in middle school,” she said.
larger schools in larger cities where they can have a positive says there needs to be some improvements. Conner thinks that as the high school becomes more di verse, kids will want to have other teachers to look up to. Perhaps students would have more relatable role models if there were teachers of the same race, students conjec tured. ican, feels that even though she doesn’t have any Afri
Leavy recalls her time in middle school, where there was less diversity. She does think that in recent years Break through has been successful ain increasing diversity. Keys said she hopes to “start conversations” about diver what they want, for people to provide honest answers and for everyone to feel included.”
“A lot of the time players just watch the ball as it bounces jumping to grab the ball.” As the leading scorer, Mathisen said the team needs to im prove heavily on shooting and layups. “We get to the basket and start a layup, but then we miss,” Mathisen said. One of the girls’ strongest games was a league match against
Committee: Trip to MCDS enlightening the meeting takes place to what time of day it occurs. The entire meeting must also be videotaped and posted to the
“The visit to Marin really helped enforce that belief,” Song said. The committee plans to visit more schools, and some rently being done.
writing an essay. “We wanted to see the paper that got an ‘A’ so as to compare our paper and learn what we could improve. But that also used doesn’t mean they would work with our paper.” growth in terms of racial diversity, but we need more diversity in socioeconomic, political views and learning disabilities, along with having adults on campus who all students can relate to and go to for support,” said kindergarten teacher
and goals of the group, according to Mathisen. “My own understanding of the world as an American and the ‘American experience’ would be such a short story if it were only my experiences and life background,” Foehl said. “Greater diversity and inclusion can lead to a better un
JV Boys: Exhaustion, language prove barrier court, which is evident in the team stats. Jake leads the team with 104 points, followed by Fan with 94 and Bryce with 54. The three together have made 252 of the 316 points made this season. However, Bryce said that there is one big disadvantage to
In addition, the Cavs also have a language barrier. The language barrier is Chinese.
of where to be on the court.” Before the season began, Pitts asked the team to write down individual goals. The team’s goals range from learning to shoot to dribbling. dently dribble,” Mathisen said. The girls’ next game is at 3:30 p.m. at home against Sacra mento Waldorf on Friday, Jan. 15. Waldorf has an overall record
Varsity: Limiting turnovers overs.” need to take and plan good shots instead of just forcing them.” on during the game and keeping eyes up and open to certain plays. “We’ll be working on press breaks a lot this season,”
used to speaking Chinese when playing. “It’s hard,” Jake said. “We usually can’t switch defenses or One of the boys’ strongest games was a preseason match
“It wears us out as a team,” Bryce said. Exhaustion was a big factor in the Cavs’ two losses, ac cording to Bryce. “We have to use all of our timeouts for us to rest,” coach Gary Brisco said. So instead of using the timeouts for planning plays, Bris co calls them whenever he sees that the team needs to sit and get water.
Bryce was sick. his leg and had to come out. This left only four players on the court. “We got demoralized and tired,” Jake said.
biggest opponent. The Cavs were trailing the whole game until the last three minutes, when things took a sudden turn. Highlands had a team of 13, so they subbed in fresh play ers throughout the game. “But we were able to start shutting them down on of Jake said. “We kept our composure and just worked our way back into the game by hitting our shots.” Fan led the team during the Highlands game with 20 points. The boys’ next game is Jan. 12 at 4:30 p.m. against Wilton Christian at Wilton.
of people to choose from, including their 6’4” super athletic center.” “But, she’s been injured, so she doesn’t always play. She’s very imposing when she does, though. She looks like a track star.” season, they have recently showed their potential. “Last year in summer league we beat them.” Owaidat said. Tuesday, Jan. 26, at home, giving them two weeks to strengthen their skills. Before that, the Cavs face Wilton Christian on Jan. 12 at 6 p.m.
January 12, 2016
Community
The Octagon
11
Crazy For Video Games Sophomores pop their favorite Disney characters; freshmen run for their lives; seniors practice their addition; juniors have yet to find a class game By Ulises Barajas Page Editor
S
ophomore Nina Dym pulls out her phone and begins playing an app, an app that will soon be played by ev eryone in the room. First it was Angry Birds, then it was Temple Run, then Flappy Bird, and now, for the sophomores, it’s Disney’s Tsum Tsum. Tsum Tsum started as an app in Japan in 2013, becoming available in the U.S. one year later. To use the app, users sign in with Japan’s most used social network: LINE.
paper, pillows, towels and more. The name comes from the Japanese verb tsumu meaning “to stack.” The name translates literally to the objective of the game: to connect as many tsums, or Disney characters, as possible within the given amount of time to earn a high score, coins and experience. The amount of time varies but is usually one minute, de pending on whether a player also gets bonus time. after his friends from Japan told him about it via LINE. when a Japanese friend visited her. “It’s fun because you’re playing with characters that you know well from the Disney movies,” Dym said. After collecting enough coins, the player can purchase a Sophomores Nico Burns and Esme Bruce-Romo play Tsum Tsum. Both Burns and Bruce-Romo said their
to get a character. “Each character has its own special ability, which makes it more desirable to collect them all,” Dym said. Dym said her favorite is Birthday Anna, from the movie “Frozen,” because she’s her strongest character. the best,” Dym said. mores to the game. One of the rules of Tsum Tsum is that players lose a heart ev ery time they play. The heart can be replaced after 15 minutes. However, the game will let a player have only Once the player runs out of hearts, they can’t play. However, players who friend other competitors can gift hearts, thereby extending play time. Another feature of friending is adding that person to a personal leaderboard that ranks friended value.
second-highest score on Tsum Tsum (3,444,174), after sophomore Nina Dym (5,576,121). (Photo by Adam Ketchum)
So what makes Tsum Tsum so competitive? Friendly rivalry in the form of weekly results. Players compete with friends for the high est score by the end of the week. Those in the top three receive virtual coins. Sophomore Carlos Nuñez is one of the most competitive players on the app. In the beginning, Nuñez tried to beat Dym. But his competitor changed once Dym reached 5,576,121.
Schmidt because her
“When I think about it, it seems so juvenile and something that a lower schooler would play to learn multiplication.” fellow senior Julia Owaidat play it a few months ago. “I would watch her for 10 minutes at a time, and then I thought ‘What am I doing? I’ll just play it my self,’” Kerbs said. But the seniors say that Emma Belliveau is their most addicted classmate. “It’s a habit,” Belli veau said. “I play it sub consciously.” Belliveau compared her obsession to others’ obses
is close to mine,” Nuñez said. The freshmen, on the oth Ru nn er hand, are currently obsessed ing Fre with the game Running Fred, available d m on computers. Tsu m The player takes the role Tsu of Fred as he tries to jump, dodge and evade traps in a castle. The fresh ed playing the game around three months ago, when freshmen Ben Miner and Nate Jakobs dis 2048 covered it. Unlike in the other grades, no single video game has swept the junior class. Some play Clash of Clans, while others play sports games such as FIFA. According to many juniors, the only game that the class has enjoyed playing as a whole is Trivia Crack. In Trivia Crack users compete against friends on topics such as entertainment, art, sports, history, science and geography.
“Many people are obsessed come distracted when doing homework,”
When asked how many times she has liveau said “trillions of times.” “It’s rare that I don’t
Unlike oth er grades, said. “If the game had the juniors don’t have cost money, it would’ve a class gam been worth every penny.” e
game that used to be popular throughout the high school. The objective of the game is to slide num bered tiles on a grid to add them and create The game is playable on both computer and phone, which makes it easy to access. One of the most addicted users is senior Jen ny Kerbs. “I don’t really know why I like it,” Kerbs said.
Sophomore Carlos Nuñez, one of the most competitive players of Tsum Tsum, plays with his “most powerful” (Photo by Ulises Barajas)
12 Feature
January 12, 2016
The Octagon
We asked four students about the upcoming year. Freshman
Sophomore ~
Junior
Senior
Emily Hayes
Carlos Nunez
Arvind Krishnan
Saachi Sikaria
Ted Cruz
Anyone but Trump!
Marco Rubio
Hillary Clinton
Do yoga every day and be more kind and patient with
I don’t have
Have better
Be more positive and
The Maldives and Dubai
South Korea Europe - the Netherlands
Boston
Swimming Taekwondo
Badminton because it’s so
Swimming, because I want to see if UC Berkeley swimmer Missy Franklin