Octagon 2016-17 issue 4 by The Octagon

THE

OCTAGON

VOL. 40, NO. 4

Sacramento Country Day School

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

2636 Latham Drive, Sacramento

January 18, 2017

HUNGRY KIDS High schoolers and middle schoolers line up outside the MP Room for Noodles and Company lunch on a Tuesday in January, when students wait on average 5-10 minutes to receive lunch. PHOTO BY JACQUELINE CHAO

Slow Tuesday lunch line frustrates older students BY JACK CHRISTIAN

t’s a normal Tuesday, around noon, and 36 high schoolers are headed down to the MP Room to get their lunches from Noodles and Company. And like always there’s a line of lower-, mid-

dle- and high-school students Comb said. that trails out the door and “It’s the manner of distri‘BILL (CRABB) AND I CAN snakes along the outside wall bution that is the problem. ONLY SERVE SO FAST” to the end of the building. “It takes a long time, so if That’s why 66 percent of there is ever a (Tuesday) when JENNIFER ADAMS, LUNCH those students said they were I have to do something at PROGRAM MANAGER either “dissatisfied” or “highly lunch or I am hungry, it bedissatisfied” with the lunch comes a big problem.” service on Tuesdays, in a Dec. In that same poll, two13 Octagon poll distributed to 116 high-school thirds of the students who ordered lunch on students. Tuesdays also said that they waited 5-10 minSenior Quin LaComb is one of them. utes to receive lunch. And 24 percent said they “It’s not the lunch that displeases me,” La- waited over 10 minutes.

The problem may be the time it takes to serve Noodles and Company meals. “Bill (Crabb) and I can only serve so fast,” said Jennifer Adams, lunch program manager. On Tuesdays, the lunch is served by hand. Adams and Crabb serve each student from large pans. On other days the meals come pre-packaged and have the students’ names on them. But wait time is not the only problem on Tuesdays. “It annoys me when I have free period before

LUNCH page 10 >>

Why AP Music Theory isn’t happening

Fine arts teachers say electives get little respect, not enough time timing. Few students want to stay after school or come in on weekends, and in a Dec. 13 Octagon poll, most The school offers a wide range who were interested in AP Music of electives, from AP classes to the Theory said they preferred schedulanalysis of scientifically inaccurate ing it during the elective period. movies. Yet those who teach more rigorous Yet the debate over adding an AP classes during the bi- or tri-weekMusic Theory class next year makes ly elective periods, say it’s hard to it evident that some teach serious conelectives require tent-based courses more commitment, during that time. focus and, more imAP Music The‘LOOK AT HOW MANY portantly, time, than ory must cover TIMES WE HAVE others. complex topics and Over the years, FOUR-DAY WEEKS’ adhere strictly to a students have come textbook, Ratcliff BOB RATCLIFF, BAND to band teacher said. DIRECTOR Bob Ratcliff asking And the elecfor that class. But tive time slot, some it hasn’t happened teachers say, proand is currently bevides barely enough ing put off due to scheduling prob- time for their non-AP classes, let lems. alone AP’s. One of the main obstacles is the Even though Ratcliff said that

BY CHARDONNAY NEEDLER

things had improved under former head of high school Sue Nellis, there still are many holidays, three-day weekends and teacher workdays. In fact, according to Ratcliff, it’s more common for electives to meet only twice a week than three times. “Look at how many times we have four-day weeks,” Ratcliff said. Furthermore, Ratcliff said electives usually come last on the priority list. When students miss tests, they often make them up during their electives,. And Ratcliff isn’t the only teacher who feels that way. AP Studio Art teacher Patricia Kelly does, too. “I challenge any (academic) AP teacher to teach every other day for their AP class, regardless of having an hour and 10 minutes,” Kelly said. “See if they can establish consistency, regularity - if students can stay

ELECTIVES page 3 >>

Valerie Velo

New high-school assistant’s love lived ‘next door’ Valerie Velo is the new assistant to the head of high school. She was hired over winter break as a replacement for Gabriella Foster, who recently moved to San Diego.

TIME STRUGGLE Band director Bob Ratcliff conducts his band elective, which takes place during Elective II from 12:45 to 1:55 p.m. PHOTO BY AIDAN CUNNINGHAM

Senior class first to try out revamped college-application process BY EMMA BOERSMA The seniors have a new SAT, a revised UC application and an earlier submission date for the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Obviously, the class of 2017 has had to cope with a lot of changes related to the college admissions process. Since 2005, the SAT has had three sections - reading, writing and math - with each scored out of 800 points. Now the SAT has combined reading and writing to form a single section called “Evidence-Based Reading and Writing.” With only two sections, the SAT has a maximum score of 1,600 points instead of 2,400. This has created some problems converting old SAT scores to the new point system and vice versa. “Colleges have accumulated lots of data using

the old SAT, and at first they didn’t have much data on the new SAT to use,” said Jane Bauman, director of college counseling. “Students with scores from both the old and new exams needed to convert one set of scores in order to compare them.” “Furthermore, if a student was looking at information about a college that used the old SAT scores, then to compare, scores needed to be converted.” To make converting the scores simple, the College Board has created a converter on their website, as well as a free iPhone and Android app. But, more importantly, the SAT has changed its specifications for what students should study. According to the College Board website, the new questions are based more on problems that a student might encounter in real life. For instance, on the College Board website

under the “Reading Test” section, it states, “The Reading Test focuses on the skills and knowledge at the heart of education: the stuff you’ve been learning in high school, the stuff you’ll need to succeed in college. It’s about how you take in, think about, and use information. And guess what? You’ve been doing that for years.” This means that students no longer have to learn strategies specific to the test. “It tests what we cover in the college prep(aratory) high-school curriculum,” Bauman said. “We don’t have to teach to the test. We don’t have to say ‘You have to know this because it’s on the (SAT).’ “We say, ‘You have to know this because I’m teaching it - oh, and by the way, it’s on the SAT.’” Like the ACT, the SAT has also made its essay optional and is giving students 50 minutes to

APPLICATION CHANGES page 3 >>

Q: What did you do before you worked here? A: I was a preschool teacher for a few years at Holy Family Catholic School and Capital Christian School. I was also a teacher’s aide at St. Mary. Q: Are you married? A: I am; his name is Giovanni. Q: How did you two meet? A: We met back when we were both working at St. Mary. Actually, it’s a funny story. We both went to Christian Brothers (High School) but we never met. I was a freshman when he was a senior. Then we lived three blocks away from each other in college and never met, at least not until St. Mary. —Quin LaComb

Read the full Q&A with Valerie Velo @ www.scdsoctagon. com

THE OCTAGON

FEATURE

January 18, 2017

Staff remembers playfulness, humor, dedication of Ariyana Jones BY ALLISON ZHANG

n assistant head of school Tucker Foehl’s office, there’s a framed photo of an email from Ariyana Jones that reads, “Thank you Tucker, for guiding us through such an important facet of the school. Job well done!” That email was sent to the entire school in response to learning that the Accreditation Self-Study Report for the WASC/CAIS evaluation (of which Foehl was in charge) had been submitted. And it was sent at 6:45 p.m., 45 minutes before Jones was shot and killed in her home on Dec. 1. Foehl said he had invited Jones onto the school-wide Curriculum Committee (which participated in the accreditation process) over the summer. “Because Ariyana had so much promise and talent, it was natural for her to be a part of it,” Foehl said. At first Jones hesitated to accept because there had never been a teaching assistant on the committee before. “But I and many people in the school saw her as the future - the present and the future - of the pre-K program,” Foehl said. Jones, also known by her camp-counselor nickname “Banana,” was an ASE camp counselor for five years and a pre-K teaching assistant for two. A month after she was murdered in her home, the SCDS community is both remembering her fondly and trying to find meaning in her death. Pre-K teacher Barbara Fackenthall said that Jones understood how frustrated she became with small tasks and was always there to bail her out. For example, Fackenthall said, Jones was in charge of a rain gauge that she would hang on the fence. After the last big storm, Jones brought in the gauge. Fackenthall needed to rehang the gauge since there was another storm coming, but without Jones, she could not figure out how to. “She had some clever way of doing it, and I could not come up with anything,” Fackenthall said. Fackenthall eventually stuck the

gauge in a bucket of rocks and left it in the middle of the play yard. “As I was doing it, I was getting so frustrated, and then I just started laughing because Ariyana was so spirited and so playful that I knew she would just be laughing watching me,” Fackenthall said. Both Fackenthall and pre-K teacher Donna Manning said that Jones went beyond the job of an assistant. “She was a quick study,” Fackenthall said. “She knew how to ask questions. She learned quickly. She wasn’t offended if you said, ‘No, that’s not what I had in mind. You need to redo that.’” Manning agreed and also said Jones was very motivated. “She took initiative,” Manning said. “The plan was that I would mentor her, but in so many respects, she mentored me,” Fackenthall said. Even at 26, Jones was not afraid to try out new ideas in front of all the students, Manning said. Jones even started planning lessons. “She prepared herself for doing things beyond what we would expect for her,” Manning said. “She was really an equal in the three of us.” In addition to Jones’s trustworthiness and motivation, director of after-school enrichment Joy Pangilinan remembers her sense of humor.

‘THE PLAN WAS THAT I WOULD MENTOR HER, BUT IN SO MANY RESPECTS, SHE MENTORED ME.’ BARBARA FACKENTHALL, TEACHER Pangilinan first met Jones in 2009, when Jones started as a camp counselor. She said they and first-grade assistant Latonia Pitts became friends pretty quickly. “She told (stories) with a really big smile, and something funny always happened,” kindergarten teacher Sarah Song said. When Jones went to Mexico, she asked to borrow camp counselor Morgan McAllister’s camera, Pan-

SUMMER CAMP Ariyana Jones (above) and Latonia Pitts (below) would often play pranks on each other. PHOTO USED BY PERMISSION OF JOY PANGILINAN

MALIA’S BAPTISM Margaret Banash and Joy Pangilinan celebrate with Ariyana Jones at the baptism of Pangilinan’s daughter, Malia. Banash worked in ASE and had a close relationship with Jones. PHOTO USED BY PERMISSION OF PANGILINAN gilinan said. “It was a really nice camera, and she was doing modeling shots,” Pangilinan said. “She was in the water, and a fish bit her, and she dropped the camera in the water!” Jones bought McAllister a new camera. Another example of her sense of humor was at the talent show during the 2014 summer camp. She and another counselor performed “I See The Light” from the Disney movie “Tangled.” “Banana always thought she could sing, but she really couldn’t,” Pangilinan said with a chuckle. “So she’s in the middle of the song, and she had a solo. And (counselor) Morgan Bennett-Smith (‘13) was like, ‘God, that’s awful,’ so he just unplugged her mic, and then we faded the music. “They were all supposed to sing a five-minute song, and it was like 30 seconds.” According to Bennett-Smith, nicknamed Kix at camp, after he unplugged Jones’s mic, she turned, and said through gritted teeth, “Kix, let me be a star.” Jones played many pranks on him, especially when Pangilinan wasn’t paying attention, he said. One time Jones hid Bennett-Smith’s keys in a marker bin. “She let me suffer for three days!” he said. According to Bennett-Smith, Jones had a reputation as a tattletale to Pangilinan. “The only way to ensure that she wouldn’t go selling your secrets to Joy and Sport (nickname for Pitts) was if you could somehow get some dirt on ( Jones) to use as blackmail,” Bennett-Smith said. “If a rare opportunity arose where I caught her sneaking a bite of a doughnut in front of a camper or something, I would cling onto that for dear life, so the next time she saw me doing something, she wouldn’t rat me out.” Despite Jones’s mischievous ways, she felt lucky to be able to bring her daugher Lola to SCDS, Song said. She remembered seeing Jones with Lola at the beginning of this school year, when Lola was just starting pre-K. “I was walking out of the faculty workroom, and (Ariyana) was coming through the gates with Lola at the beginning of the year,” Song said. “It was just one of those moments

where she had the hugest smile on her face (because) her daughter was coming to Country Day.” Pangilinan also recalls how happy and grateful Jones was that Lola could attend the school. To remember Jones, Pangilinan got a banana tattoo - her first tattoo - at the beginning of winter break. (Pitts and another counselor said they plan to get banana tattoos as well.) “I just wanted a piece of ( Jones) with me so I won’t forget her,” Pangilinan said. After a string of robberies in her area, Jones went from door to door to try to start a neighborhood watch. But around 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 1, gunshots were fired into her home on Tortola Way. While neither her husband, Marcus, nor her two children, Lola and Marc, were hurt, Jones was shot. She was rushed to a hospital, where she

died at the age of 26. The investigation for the shooter is still ongoing. But while the police are still trying to uncover the facts, Fackenthall and Manning are struggling to find meaning in Jones’s death. “I’m not one of those people who questions the queries of life a lot, but this is one that has me puzzled,” Fackenthall said. “And I know that there is something that I’m supposed to learn from this, and something that’s going to make me stronger because of her sacrifice.” “And make me a better person,” Manning added. “And she really does set an example for all of us who knew her to become a better person.” “And to really stop and think about what’s important and our priorities,” Fackenthall said.

THE OCTAGON

January 18, 2017

REMAINDER

Application changes: Seniors dive into unknown

Class of ‘17 first to use new SAT, FAFSA, UC personal insight questions SAT CHANGES

GRAPHIC BY ADAM DEAN

(continued from page 1) write it - doubling the original time. Additionally, the essay, which is part of the new section, is scored out of eight points instead of 12. However, though the essay may be optional for some schools, Bauman says she encourages all students to do it because the UC’s require it. Senior Isabelle Leavy, one of four seniors who took both the old and the new SAT, said she preferred the new one (but did better on the old one) because she felt more comfortable with the new SAT’s essay. “The essay on the new one was about reading comprehension and analyzing rhetorical devices in a passage,” Leavy said. “This is something I had already had experience doing in English classes, and also (it is) the same thing that comes up on AP tests. “The old one had an essay where you had COLLEGE PREP Top: Jane Bauman, director of college to have an opinion (in) response to a passage, counseling, reads over the college counseling newsletter. which isn’t easy if the topic is not something you Right: Senior Camille Locke visits Will Wright, ‘13, at UC are passionate about.” San Diego during spring break 2015. UCSD is one of the However, the structure of the new SAT is six UC’s Locke applied to. PHOTOS BY ZOE BOWLUS AND why Leavy thinks she didn’t do as well. USED BY PERMISSION OF CAMILLE LOCKE “The reading and writing questions were all connected, so if you got one wrong, it was hard think sets you apart from other candidates apto get the other ones right,” she said. plying to the University of California?” Finally, instead of applying a quarter-point While the personal statement and the perdeduction, the guessing penalty on the SAT has sonal insight questions are fundamentally the been completely nullified. same - they both allow colleges to get a feel for The UC application has also undergone a the student’s personality - their format is drastimajor makeover, particcally different. ularly with its personal “(The universities) don’t statement essay, which want an essay anymore has been replaced by perthey want content-based an‘(THE UNIVERSITIES) DON’T sonal insight questions. swers,” Bauman said. “They WANT AN ESSAY ANYMORE In the personal statedon’t want any introductions, THEY WANT CONTENT-BASED ment, students had 1,000 metaphors (or fluff ).” ANSWERS” words to answer two Senior Avi Bhullar said JANE BAUMAN, DIRECTOR OF prompts in an essay forshe preferred the personal COLLEGE COUNSELING mat. One of the prompts insight questions to the perasked the student to desonal statement due to the scribe the world they large selection of prompts. come from. In the other, students wrote about a “There was a wide variety of questions, which personal quality, talent or accomplishment, and allowed us to explain and go into detail about how it related to the person they became. activities, aspects of our lives (and extracurricuHowever, in the personal insight questions, lars),” Bhullar said. applicants answer four of eight possible quesBauman agreed, saying that the combination tions, revealing who they are and what they of questions and answers made the students’ rewant to become, and using only 350 words for sponses interesting. each question. For her personal insight questions, senior One of the questions is “What would you say Shriya Nadgauda described her nonprofit work, is your greatest talent or skill? How have you her time in the yearbook elective, how her fadeveloped and demonstrated that talent over vorite subject (physics) affected her decisions time?” about summer programs, and how her family Another is “What is the one thing that you environment differed from that of her friends.

Electives: Arts teachers want classes to be taken seriously (continued from page 1) focused.” Kelly pointed out that AP Studio Art has about 70 minutes a class or 140 minutes of instruction in a twoclass week. However, the academic AP classes meet for 45 minutes five times per week, totalling 225 minutes - or more if the week includes a long period. So why are our elective classes so short-changed time-wise? According to Kelly, SCDS students’ priorities are primarily their grades, with athletics and the arts following in that order of importance. “If anything’s gonna give in terms of cutting time short, it’ll be us,” Kelly said. Choir and orchestra teacher Felicia Keys agreed, saying that she believes electives aren’t taken as seriously as academic classes. She cited the frequent make-up-induced absences

and tardies as evidence. But both Keys and Ratcliff said the major difference is that when students underperform in (or frequently miss) an academic class, they are hurting only themselves. But in band or or-

‘IF ANYTHING”S GONNA GIVE IN TERMS OF CUTTING TIME SHORT, IT’LL BE US” PATRICIA KELLY, AP STUDIO ART TEACHER chestra, the whole group is affected. Furthermore, Ratcliff said the music electives have very different needs. “In most classes (if teachers) have fewer students in the class, that’ll make the class easier to teach,” Ratcliff explained. “But for the music program, it’s exactly the opposite.

“The orchestra has (only) four or five parts, but it still benefits them to have a bigger orchestra to prevent intonation issues that are inherent to string players.” A wrong note won’t stand out as much in a group of 15 violins as in a group with only four (like the orchestra’s first and second violin sections). Ratcliff said the large number of electives contributes to the problem. “(The large number) dilutes the number of students that would take our class,” Ratcliff said. “Also, because music is progressive, (as students) continue improving, it’s hard to maintain steady numbers. It’s incredibly difficult for a beginner to walk into a band.” And parents add to the problem. “I heard a parent say to their child one time, after they got a B in orchestra, ‘How dare you get a B in this class when it’s just an elective?’” Keys said. Ratcliff argued that the public’s (and parents’) views are influenced by the entertainment industry. “People think (music is) expressive; it’s artistic; it’s very emotional,” Ratcliff said. “I say no. It’s academic.” “When (people) talk about musicians, they use terms like ‘gifted.’

This variety of topics allowed Nadgauda to paint a unique picture of herself, she said. The FAFSA also saw changes, though not as dramatically as the others. The FAFSA is now available on Oct. 1, three months earlier than before. This earlier date allows students to submit and receive a precise financial aid package faster. “(It’s to the) students’ advantage to give them a more accurate financial aid package earlier,” Bauman said. Additionally, the tax and income information submitted is now from the previous year. For example, the seniors applying for college in 2016 and attending in 2017-2018 will submit tax and income information from 2015.

Someone will say, ‘He/she’s so gifted.’ No, he doesn’t sound great because he’s gifted; he sounds great because he worked really hard.” He said this attitude leads parents to consider music their child’s pastime, propagating a “play-your-trumpet-(after)-you-do-your-homework” attitude inside their homes. Kelly, Keys and Ratcliff said it would be beneficial for their students to have more time. But because of the interlacing of the middle- and high-school sched-

ules, teachers in elective slots can’t change their schedules or possibly teach classes in the rotating schedule without running into conflicts. Thus the electives can’t have more time. And AP Music Theory won’t happen, at least not next year.

To compensate, Kelly used to run summer workshops, but even then she was forced to compete for her space with Breakthrough. “We play second fiddle as electives,” Kelly said.

ART TUTORIAL Patricia Kelly, Studio Art teacher, shows her class how to carve their designs on a linoleum block.They will use the blocks to print the designs on paper. PHOTO BY ADAM DEAN

THE OCTAGON

SPORTS

January 18, 2017

ANKLE BREAKER Left: Senior Aidan Cunningham gets fouled during the Dec. 2 game against Victory Christian. Cunningham had one goal and three assists, and the Cavs won 10-0. PHOTO BY ANNYA DAHMANI. Middle: Senior Avi Bhullar tries to steal a ball from a Leroy Greene player in the Jan. 10 game. The girls won 3-2. Top: Sophomore Lia Kaufman fends off a defender and goes to score. PHOTOS BY KEVIN HUANG

Boys lose leading scorer, suffer 3-5 overall record

first half off Vikings’ keeper David Bodner. But it wasn’t the 10-0 blowout that head coach Matt Vargo was the most proud of. InIn the last two seasons, the boys’ soccer team stead, it was the Cavs’ 3-2 loss to the Delta has seen “Loss” written in the box score only Saints on Dec. 13. Due to class obligations, five times in 39 games. Erickson and juniors Theo Kaufman and AnBut this season has been a different sto- drew Rossell couldn’t attend, leaving the Cavs ry. After eight games, the Cavs have already without subs. dropped five, while being shut out twice. “We showed tremendous heart, and at the Last year, scoring wasn’t a problem. The Cavs end of the game the other team didn’t want lost only three games with the largest goal mar- anything to do with us,” Vargo said. gin being two. But that was a different team. But that wasn’t the game that stood out in That was a team the players’ minds. with former stuLike many of his teammates, Erdents B.J. Askew ickson said the game he remembers and Jayce Mcbest was the one against their rivals, ‘WE HAVE A REALLY Cain, who played Sacramento Waldorf, on Jan. 3, when STRONG TEAM BOND’ crucial roles in the the boys defeated the Waves 3-2. Cavs’ system. THEO KAUFMAN, The Waves were looking for revenge “Jayce had a reafter the Cavs defeated them 3-0 last JUNIOR ally strong ability year in the section championship. to always know But with two impressive goals from exactly what was sophomore Jack Christian and one going on around him during games,” senior from senior Aidan Cunningham, the Cavs Emil Erickson, who played with McCain for added another win to their side of the Cavstwo years, said. Waves rivalry. “He was always in the right place and always “We showed that we are mentally tough,” made the right passes and runs.” Erickson said. And sophomore Nate Jakobs was very con“We were able to hold onto our lead right cise in describing Askew’s role on the team. after coming back from vacation after not prac“B.J. scored a ton of goals.” ticing for two weeks.” In his two years, Askew, who scored 50 goals But the boys still have a long way to go if and 127 points, was the Cavs’ main offensive they want to add another section title banner threat. This year, Jakobs is the offensive star, to their collection. leading the Cavs with six goals. Kaufman said the Cavs need to work on But that is not meant to discredit the Cavs’ communicating and connecting passes with a season at hand. Despite losing their leading solid first touch on the receiving end. scorer, the boys have shown they can win in But improving their communication dominating fashion. shouldn’t be too hard because this iteration of Just look at their Dec. 2 matchup against the the Cavs’ lineup has something last year’s didn’t. Victory Christian Vikings, when they beat the “We have a really strong team bond,” Vikings handily 10-0, scoring six goals in the Kaufman said.

BY JAKE LONGORIA

Girls remain undefeated with new set of defenders

have eight players that really know what they are doing, and four or five are good veterans.” One of these veterans is Brown, who has Losing seven starters - including both goal- scored five goals. ies and all their starting defense - the girls’ socOther players have also stepped up. cer team was prepared for setbacks this season. LaComb especially praised keepers Chen, “The biggest difference between this year freshman Alyssa Valverde and junior Lea and last is definitely our defense,” sophomore Gorny. Lia Kaufman said. “We still have a strong midChen has saved 11 shots on goal and allowed field and forward.” none. And coach George Champayne agreed. “The hardest part is probably the mentality,” “The better we defend, the better our of- she said. “Once the ball gets past you and into fense will be,” Champayne said. “I’m testing the goal, you automatically blame yourself and (sophomore) Michaela (Chen) back there and think it’s all your fault.” (senior) Elizabeth (Brownridge) and throwing However, of all the players, Brown has (Kaufman) back there sometimes. Even (se- stepped up the most, according to Champayne. nior) Natalie (Brown).” “If you could have seen her at the Encina He’s also added some brand-new players, in- game, she went all out,” he said. “She was covcluding freshmen Naomi Turnbull and Emma ered in mud and got taken out three times in Boersma, to the defense. the biggest puddle. But she kept playing the “I’m trying to make up for losing the four whole game.” defenders and building from the back up,” Brown scored two goals and had one assist in Champayne said. that Dec. 9 game, when the girls destroyed the And the new line-up has obviously been Bulldogs 9-0. working, since the team remained undefeated “We had a lot of opportunities to score and (5-0) after their game had a lot of shots on frame,” LaComb on Thursday, Jan. 12. said. “As a team we played really well and One reason is startconnected. (The ball) was rarely on our ‘WE STILL HAVE ers sophomore Abby half, and our defense was strong.” A STRONG LaComb and Kaufman. The field condition is what stood out Of the 21 team goals, MIDFIELD AND the most to Champayne. seven have been scored “We played on such a horrible field,” FORWARD’ by LaComb and six by Champayne said. “But we came togethLIA KAUFMAN, Kaufman. er after about the first 15 minutes. Once Last year LaComb SOPHOMORE we got the ball rolling out, everyone was led the team with 13 involved. goals, and Kaufman “It was kind of beautiful soccer. I was followed with 10. surprised.” LaComb and Kaufman are why, despite the To make playoffs, the Cavs must finish in the defensive challenges, the team is very strong. top two teams in league. “We have the ability to pass the ball more This means defeating their biggest rivals, the and make diagonal runs,” Champayne said. “I Buckingham Knights (4-0).

BY ANNYA DAHMANI

Sports Boosters’ Athletes of the Month Adam Dean

Dean scored a goal against Buckingham Charter on Jan. 10. He has been a great presence in the center of the boys’ soccer team. Dean has played consistently since the beginning of the season and is a real asset to the team.

Natalie Brown

Brown had two goals in the girls’ win against the Cristo Rey Saints on Jan. 5. Brown’s experience and skill has helped the girls’ soccer team attain a 3-0 record in league.

THE OCTAGON

January 18, 2017

SPORTS

New leaders emerge as boys adjust to loss of three high-scoring star players BY BRI DAVIES

DEFENSIVE PRESSURE Above: junior Harkirat Lally rips the ball out of a Mira Loma player’s hands as juniors Reggie Fan and Cole Johnson guard in the Dec. 15 game. Right: Johnson defends a Leroy Greene player during the Dec. 5 game. Johnson averages 2.6 steals per game. PHOTOS BY KEVIN HUANG

JV update: young squad improves

The JV girls’ basketball is currently 1-3, having lost to Sacramento Waldorf twice and Natomas High School, and beaten Delta High School. The score of the Jan. 13 game against Valley Christian was unknown at press time. Sophomore Chloe Collinwood, the leading scorer, said the team is doing well, despite the number of new players, such as freshman Jewel Turner and sophomores Jacqueline Chao, Yanele Ledesma and Chardonnay Needler. Head coach Latonia Pitts said she is impressed with the team’s improvement. “I see growth in the players in the knowledge of the game, and their ability to play the game,” Pitts said. “I am very proud of the girls.” —Emma Boersma

For a full update, visit scdsoctagon.com

aving lost seven key players, including last year’s three highest scorers, and with only one senior on the varsity boys’ basketball team, the boys are learning to compensate. Current juniors Jayce McCain (now playing for Folsom High School), Rick Barros (now playing for Capital Christian), and B.J. Askew (now playing for La Mirada High School in Los Angeles) all transferred at the end of last year. “Last year’s team was more physical. We had taller, quicker players like Brad (Petchauer, ‘16), Serajh (Esmail, ‘16), (senior) Aidan (Cunningham) and (senior) Adam Dean,” junior Cole Johnson said. Cunningham and Dean have chosen soccer over basketball in the winter season. “Last year, we had more experience,” said coach David Ancrum. Sole senior Jesus Galindo agreed. “We’re pretty lucky to still have Cole on our team this year. Cole and (junior) Reggie (Fan) have influenced a lot of the freshmen and me as well.” This year’s team is very young. Of the 11 team members, five are freshmen. And freshmen Jackson Crawford and Aaron Graves are both in key roles. “Jackson is one of our best shooters, and Aaron rebounds really well. They can both pass well, too,” Galindo said. Crawford has scored 32 points in five games and has a 100-per-

cent free throw percentage. Graves has 11 rebounds and five assists. Ancrum also praised the improvement of freshmen Chris Wilson and Clayton Townsend. “Chris and Clayton’s skills have really improved,” he said. “They are very hard workers. They play hard, and they give 100-percent all the time” To compensate for the loss of talent, the boys are working much harder. The boys’ chemistry this year is better, and they

connect more together on the court, Johnson said. The boys work well with one another, because there is no “ball hog.” “We play more as a unit this year,” Johnson said. In terms of leadership, Johnson and Fan have stepped up this year. “Last year there wasn’t a very clear leader since the team was so talented,” Galindo said. “There wasn’t someone who would take the team on his shoulders. But Cole and Reggie have assumed that role. ” The boys are 2-1 in league. The starters are junior Bryce Longoria, junior Harkirat Lally, Fan, Johnson and Crawford. The players expect the team to

do well in league and hope to advance to sections. However, Fan stressed that they needed to get their “chemistry” back after winter break.

“We definitely have the potential to (advance to sections). I expect us to win league,” Johnson said. But there is definitely room

for improvement. “We still need to work on rebounding and boxing out,” Ancrum said. “We’ve got to work harder on our layups and offensive mindset,” said Galindo. “We need to work on our ball handling and confidence,” Johnson said. Ancrum said Graves and Lally are the MVPs, but others disagree, choosing Johnson and Fan instead. “Cole is the best player by far,” Longoria said, “Without him our team wouldn’t be nearly as good. Cole basically can do anything for our team that we need him to do. Reggie is also one of the best players. He’s a really good shooter and helps us get into rhythm offensively.” Although they lost 46-57, the boys’ favorite game of the season was against Mira Loma High School, Dec. 15. “It was a challenging game and one of the most competitive games of the season,” Johnson said. “Even though we didn’t win, our defense was amazing because we were able to shut down their main guy,” Galindo agreed. “That was the first game where we came together as a team and played really well as a group against a good opponent,” Lally said. Even though it is a rebuilding year, the boys are obviously staying optimistic and looking ahead to playoffs.

Varsity girls strive for no. 1 in league, but lack of commitment challenges team “That game showed that we could still play well without having our best player on the court,” she said. The girls’ varsity basketball team started the All three feel as though they have also perleague season with a win, and they hope to end sonally improved: Dahmani on attacking the it with another one - in the championships. basket, Gupta on playing one-on-one and JohnAccording to coach Latonia Pitts, the team son on stepping up to opportunities. could finish first in the league. If the girls are aiming for championships, “My goal is to get them there and make it as they’ll have to defeat Valley Christian, which is far as we can in playoffs,” she said. the strongest team in the league. There have already been improvements since “I want to beat Valley (which the girls will the first game against Vacaville Christian on play on Tuesday, Jan. 24) at least once during my Nov. 28. high-school basketball career,” Dahmani said. “Team-wise - including last year’s season But first the team must overcome some prob(which lost in the semifinals) - we’ve started lems, especially on offense. to gel more and more as a team, with players Two players, freshman Briana Davies and coming into their own and playing bigger roles,” co-captain senior Alexa Mathisen, have been sophomore Heidi Johnson out because of injuries. said. But Pitts said that commit“Instead of relying on one ment and a lack of attendance or two people, there’s more in practice and games are the ‘WE DON’T ALWAYS participation from all players, biggest problems. whether it be with shooting, She said that spotty attenSEE THE COURT OR assisting (or) defense.” dance at practices causes conRUN PLAYS’ Along with team unity, ball fusion or panic during game HEIDI JOHNSON, movement has improved. plays, not to mention the “We are seeing each other threat of being out of shape SOPHOMORE better on the court and throwfrom not practicing enough. ing better passes,” co-captain “We don’t always see the junior Yasmin Gupta said. court or run plays,” Johnson Junior Annya Dahmani agreed, saying that said. “(We also don’t spend time) swinging the the better ball movement allows for more plays. ball and trying to get open. We pass once or Dahmani said the most significant game this twice and then go for a shot, even if it’s strained season was against El Dorado Adventist on Jan. or we have bad alignment.” 5 because Gupta fouled out early in the game, However, a united offensive presence isn’t the pushing other players to step up. only obstacle. Others are the dreaded turnovers

BY MOHINI RYE

CHARGE Junior Yasmin Gupta (right with ball), who leads the team with 22.1 points per game, goes for a hard drive against the El Dorado Adventist Eagles during the Jan. 5 league game. PHOTO BY KEVIN HUANG

and rebounding. “There are some games where the amount of turnovers we have is ridiculous; it’s an absurd amount,” Dahmani said. “We sometimes throw the ball without realizing what we are doing, and we lose the ball.” In the game against Cristo Rey on Jan. 6, there were a whopping 29 turnovers. The problems lead back to Pitts’s greatest worry: commitment. On many occasions there have been only five players at the end - or sometimes even the beginning - of the games. However, the team usually plays with enough energy to compensate. “(Latonia) really emphasizes having everyone on and off the court being energetic and talking,” Dahmani said. Four games in they haven’t lost a league game, having beaten Sacramento Adventist, El

Dorado Adventist, Cristo Rey and Lutheran. When former varsity player Julia Owaidat, ‘16, came to the Jan. 5 game, she contrasted this year’s and last year’s team. “The team is more aggressive this year,” she said. “Girls are driving to the basket a lot harder. “But last year we were one of the strongest defensive teams to compete against - it seems we have gotten used to playing small teams and, as a result, don’t box out as much as before.” Dahmani said that this year’s skill level is equal to last, but according to Owaidat, the focus has switched from defense to offense. Owaidat said everything comes down to one simple question: “Who wants the ball more?” The girls have some work to do, but that coveted number-one spot might be in the near future. They just have to want it enough.

THE OCTAGON

EDITORIAL THE OCTAGON

January 18, 2017

My Angle

“Roadblocks” by Mohini Rye

PRINT EDITORS-IN-CHIEF ADAM DEAN MARIGOT FACKENTHAL

By Chardonnay Needler

ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SONJA HANSEN

Yep, it’s spelled exactly like the wine.

BUSINESS MANAGER CHARDONNAY NEEDLER PRINT COPY EDITOR QUIN LACOMB ONLINE COPY EDITOR SAHEJ CLAIRE NEWS EDITOR MARIGOT FACKENTHAL FEATURE EDITOR ANNYA DAHMANI OPINION EDITOR KATIA DAHMANI SPORTS EDITOR ADAM DEAN SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR JACK CHRISTIAN PAGE EDITORS JACK CHRISTIAN ANNYA DAHMANI KATIA DAHMANI ADAM DEAN MARIGOT FACKENTHAL CHARDONNAY NEEDLER MOHINI RYE NICOLE WOLKOV ALLISON ZHANG REPORTERS LARKIN BARNARD-BAHN EMMA BOERSMA BRI DAVIES ANNA FRANKEL MEHDI LACOMBE BRYCE LONGORIA JAKE LONGORIA JACKSON MARGOLIS RIYA RAMPALLI HÉLOÏSE SCHEP SPENCER SCOTT GARRETT SHONKWILER DAVID SITU CARTOONIST MOHINI RYE MULTIMEDIA & TECH QUIN LACOMB PHOTOGRAPHERS JACQUELINE CHAO KEVIN HUANG BENETT SACKHEIM ADVISER PATRICIA FELS The OcTagOn is The high-schOOl newspaper Of sacramenTO cOunTry Day. iTs purpOse is TO prOviDe a reliable sOurce Of infOrmaTiOn On evenTs cOncerning The high schOOl anD TO fOcus On TOpics Of significance anD general inTeresT in OrDer TO infOrm anD enTerTain The enTire schOOl cOmmuniTy. The sTaff sTrives fOr accuracy anD freeDOm frOm bias in iTs sTOries. significanT 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 The reaDership’s having accuraTe anD reliable infOrmaTiOn in OrDer TO be well infOrmeD anD On which TO base DecisiOns anD OpiniOns. The OcTagOn will publish all Timely anD relevanT news, subjecT TO The fOllOwing excepTiOns: ObsceniTy; slanDerOus Or libelOus maTerial; maTerial cOnTrary TO The besT inTeresTs Of The schOOl cOmmuniTy, as juDgeD by The newspaper sTaff anD aDviser.

eDiTOrials shall be vOTeD On by The enTire sTaff. cOlumns anD cOmmenTaries shall be clearly labeleD as such anD represenT The OpiniOn Of The auThOr Only.

in The inTeresT Of represenTing all pOinTs Of view, leTTers TO The eDiTOr shall be publisheD, space permiTTing, unless OTherwise requesTeD by The auThOr. all leTTers musT be signeD anD cOnfOrm TO The abOve resTricTiOns On publisheD maTerial. The sTaff reTains The righT TO make changes in grammar anD puncTuaTiOn anD TO abriDge leTTers fOr space cOnsiDeraTiOns.

EDITORIAL: Electives are classes too, so treat them equally!

classes are difficult. There’s a lot of material to cover in preparation for AP exams, and our school has less time before exams than most. But imagine if instead of meeting every day, class met every other day. Three times per week sometimes, two times per week most times. Imagine trying to learn the material for AP Biology or AP European History in just over half the time. No AP teacher would want to subject their class to that sort of schedule. Yet, that’s the schedule our electives - including AP Studio Art - currently face. Granted, electives do have longer 70-minute blocks, but those 70 minutes are often reduced to 60 or even 55 minutes due to lateness from lunch and the extensive set-up and clean-up some electives involve. AP Studio Art teacher Patricia Kelly has expressed her discontent with the situation - both the unaccommodating schedule and the general lack of respect for electives. And band teacher Bob Ratcliff said that he would like to teach AP Music Theory, but is fearful of starting an AP class during the elective slot for the same reasons.

Orchids

Onions

Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be done about the schedule. To begin with, the fine arts department must coordinate its schedule with the lower and middle school. Thus, it’d be impossible to pull AP Studio Art and the potential AP Music Theory into the core rotation. But even if that were possible, having music and art in the core rotation would reduce the number of participating students. As it stands, one of the arts department’s biggest frustrations is the lack of students, so that “solution” would only exacerbate an existing problem. Another consideration is to make the fine arts electives daily - for example, AP Studio Art could be taught every day, ignoring the alternating elective schedule. However, not only would that not work with the teachers’ schedules (Kelly teaches a different art class in the other elective), but it would also backfire in the same manner as the previous proposal. Students who want to take multiple electives would be discouraged from joining, and the arts would lose even more of them. A last consideration is to change the schedule completely. An alternating block schedule, for instance - four classes one day, four different classes

the next - might eliminate the problem. However, the majority of the school opposes changing the schedule so drastically. Also, unforeseen problems could arise with the scheduling of other classes. In short, every possible schedule change is either infeasible or would end up hurting the arts more than helping. But the other problem Kelly and Ratcliff mentioned is something that we as a community can fix. Students and parents alike do not give the fine arts electives the respect they deserve. Students will often show up late or volunteer their elective period as a time to make up tests for other classes. Parents tell their students not to prioritize electives outside of school, simply because electives don’t factor into the school GPA. Because of this attitude, AP Studio Art is a constant struggle, band and orchestra don’t perform to their full potential and AP Music Theory probably won’t happen. Because the schedule can’t be amended, it’s important that the community reform the way it views electives. The arts - especially the AP’s - shouldn’t be treated as inferior classes just because they happen to be in the elective slot.

ORCHIDS to. . . teachers who put part of or the whole final before the actual week. This helps lessen the workload for students taking many content-heavy classes. ONIONS to. . . head of school Lee Thomsen for removing the junk food in the vending machine and soda machine. Newsflash: no one wants to buy low-fat Doritos! ORCHIDS to. . . assistant head of school Tucker Foehl for finishing the school’s self-study for the WASC accrediation. ONIONS to. . . English teacher Jane Bauman’s viral conjunctivitis. It’s bad that she’s sick, and that her students weren’t able to ask questions before their final in class.

“Hi, good afternoon (sir or ma’am),” I say as the salesperson answers the telephone. “My name is Chardonnay Needler; I’m a representative and the business manager of a local student-run newspaper called the Octagon . . .” This is how I start phone calls to Sacramento businesses in my quest to get more ads. If I’m lucky enough to nab any interest, I’ll occasionally get, “What?! Is that really your name?” But usually it’s no more than a “Can you repeat that?” accompanied by faint chuckling. And, yes, it is very original for them (and possibly you) to point out that it is just like the wine. Even the famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma (whom I met backstage at a concert) couldn’t avoid the easy gag of replacing my name with another wine: “Oh wow, really? Well hey, Pinot!” Ever since I was a kid, my name has brought me unneeded attention. Yes, fellow second grader, I knew that my name was also a kind of white wine even back in lower school! And, no, before you even go there, my parents don’t love white wines they prefer reds and beer. I’m named this because my mother wanted me to be individual; were I a boy, she was considering Wolfgang. And when I was younger, I embraced my unique name. To this day, I don’t think there’s anyone else in the world named Chardonnay Needler. But so what? People make assumptions the minute they see your face and hear your name, and in a world that is rapidly finding new ways to do business without meeting in person, a name is more important than physical appearance. Even stats show it! I did some research to see if names really affect people’s lives and, lo and behold, having a common name means being more relatable and hireable in the corporate world. And just as Sharon is associated with strippers in England, Chardonnay is associated with lower-class “chavs” in both the U.K. and U.S. I now envy the everyday Emilys, Sarahs and Olivias of the world. And my name isn’t just something outré like Stargazer, Apple or Blanket; mine’s associated with alcohol. It’s not like I can just tell people to address me by my middle name (Summer Rose), either, without raising suspicions that I might be some stoned ex-hippy’s child. People might pretend they don’t judge, but they do. A friend’s father once assumed I was black because of my name (and this family is slightly racist towards the African-American community). My Chinese teacher gave me a very common Chinese name (夏欣怡, Xià xīn yín), and I love it. Although I don’t use it, knowing that there is a part of my identity that is normal and not associated with alcohol (which I incidentally abhor) makes me feel a bit more like everyone else. Being called “Char” is the closest I get to this, but “Char” is clearly a nickname, so someone will eventually ask what it stands for. I don’t know whether or not I’ll change my name when I get older (I like Cynthia), but I hope that other kids like me can teach future parents that children’s names have consequences. Individuality comes with a price.

THE OCTAGON

January 18, 2017

REVIEW

According to our reviewer, Pinkberry’s decor and professionally served yogurt are its primary appeal. PHOTOS BY JACKSON MARGOLIS

SELF-SERVED HAPPINESS Freshman Jackson Margolis dives into a chocolate and tart yogurt from his favorite shop, Yo-Yo Yogurt. PHOTO BY JACK CHRISTIAN

W CRAZY FOR YOGURT Crazy for Yogurt has three locations in Sacramento; one is at 5150 Arden Way. Unlike other yogurt places, in addition to yogurt, Crazy for Yogurt also has shaved ice, smoothies, shakes, ice cream, root beer floats and baked goods. As for the yogurt, there are six machines and 12 flavors, including one dairy-free flavor, cucumber lime, which was actually not half bad. The yogurt itself is creamy and rich. For those who want yogurt that leans towards ice cream, this is the place. Crazy for Yogurt does not make its own yogurt but buys it from Gold Country Distributors. This means that they get their yogurt in liquid form and then put it in their own machines. As far as toppings go, there was nothing out of the ordinary. They had a large selection of candy, a small selection of fruit and various sauces, including caramel. My only complaints are the few tart flavors and fruit toppings.

YOGURTLAND Located on 2381 Fair Oaks Blvd., Yogurtland, like Pinkberry, makes its own yogurt. With eight machines and 16 flavors, Yogurtland is known for its multitude of options, including its two dairy-free choices, rocket pop and strawberry lemonade. Unfortunately, the taste of the yogurt is a slight step down from the others. The chocolate is less rich than its competitors’, and the vanilla is less creamy. As far as the other flavors go, none were out of the ordinary. It’s clear that they spent more time coming up with the name Alphonso Mango Tart than perfecting the fla-

PINKBERRY Pinkberry has by far the best interior design of all the shops. And the precision of the dimmed lights, the stone-designed floor and the smooth orange chairs is reflected in the yogurt. Located at 2442 Fair Oaks Blvd. in Loehmann’s Plaza, this Pinkberry is one of 260 international shops. Pinkberry has three machines and six different flavors, with one dairyfree option at all times. And I liked all six of them, including coconut and cookies and cream.

Being a fan of tartness, I could feel my palate being brightened by the yogurt. When asked why it was so good, the worker said that it was because “when yogurt is frozen, unfrozen, and frozen again, it begins to lose its flavor, (but) Pinkberry makes its own.” Though I was sure about which flavor to get, I wasn’t sure about size. Pinkberry isn’t a self-serve shop. The employee dispenses the yogurt and puts the toppings on. For some, this might not be a problem, but for me this is everything. Self service allows

YOGURT AFFAIRS

PRICING

CRAZY FOR YOGURT PINKBERRY

YOGURTLAND BIG SPOON

YO-YO YOGURT

# OF FLAVORS

vor. Yogurtland has six fruit toppings and the smallest number of candy toppings. Actually, the best thing about Yogurtland is the comprehensive labeling. For example, above strawberry lemonade was written “dairyfree,” “gluten free” and “nonfat.” Yogurtland changes its theme - which involves changing the spoons, cups, and decor - every two to three months. Past themes have included Kung Fu Panda, Super Mario, and Candy Crush.

BIG SPOON Big Spoon, located on 3644 J St., is one of six shops in Sacramento. Big Spoon has three machines and six flavors. To be honest, nothing at Big Spoon was impressive. The two most interesting aspects are the root beer float machine (also at Crazy for Yogurt) and the different pie filling toppings, including apple and cherry. As someone who loves pie, this looked like heaven to me. But it was not. After only one bite of the apple pie filling, I decided to avoid the rest of them. There are hardly any fruit toppings but lots of candy. Big Spoon also buys its yogurt from Big West Distribution. The yogurt at Big Spoon is surprisingly bland - every bite is the same thing. The only tart flavor was the dairy-free option, sour green apple, which overall symbolizes Big Spoon entirely. Somewhat runny and truly unpleasant, the sour green apple was by far the worst dairy-free option I tried. The yogurt costs 52 cents per ounce but should be less for the quality.

me to get my yogurt just the way I want it. Leaving my fate in the server’s hands, I selected coconut (the dairyfree flavor). Believe it or not, the fact that the yogurt was dairy-free made it better, as Pinkberry uses coconut milk, producing a rich, tart flavor. But then it came time for toppings. Even though Pinkberry has only six candy toppings, they also have the most fruit toppings, including watermelon and mango bites. When I asked how many I could get, the server said however many fit.

MOST POPULAR DAIRY-FREE FLAVOR

SCDS POPULARITY

In a self-serve yogurt shop, this would never be an issue. Nevertheless, I was mostly satisfied by the look of my yogurt, so I asked about the pricing. They told me that there are four different sizes (small, medium, large and cone), costing from $3.50-$6.50, but that’s without toppings. Each size is $1.45 more for toppings. Keep in mind that you can get a large, on which you might be able to fit five toppings, for $1.45 instead of a small, on which you can fit only three.

STUDENT DISTANCE DISCOUNT? FROM SCDS

hen it comes to frozen yogurt shops, the difference between a great shop and a lousy one can be determined by two simple things: toppings and flavors. I visited five of the most popular yogurt shops, all within a four-mile radius of the school to decide which one is the best. —JACKSON MARGOLIS

YO-YO YOGURT The only single-shop business I visited, Yo-Yo Yogurt was also the only shop with the feel of a nonmass producer. Located in Lyon Village Shopping Center (2580 Fair Oaks Blvd.), Yo-Yo makes the space feel open and inviting with its tall glass windows. Inside, there are four machines and eight flavors. Owner Marque Molodanof said “the machines are cleaned every other day,” the most frequently of all the yogurt shops. Yo-Yo gets its yogurt from a variety of distributors, including Terranova, Gold Country Distributors and Big West Distribution. However, the refreezing doesn’t seem to affect its flavor. The vanilla is subtle and creamy, and the chocolate is dense and fresh. There are usually two dairy-free yogurt flavors, too. Dole Pineapple tasted as it did when I visited the Dole Headquarters in Hawaii. The tart is sharp, and there are plenty of fruit toppings to go on top of it. There’s also plenty of candy and nuts to go on the yogurt. And Yo-Yo’s sauces include hot fudge, marshmallow, caramel and chocolate shell. In addition, you can put your yogurt into a cone.

JACKSON’S FLAVOR PICK

JACKSON’S RANKING

$0.56/oz.

vanilla

cucumber lime

10% off with student ID

3.9 mi.

cucumber lime

S $3.50 M $4.40 L $6.50 +$1.45/topping

chocolate hazelnut

coconut

52%

10% off with student ID

0.5 mi.

cookies and cream

$0.44/oz.

birthday cake

rocket pop

N/A

0.8 mi.

rocket pop

$0.52/oz.

vanilla & chocolate

sour green apple

N/A

3.7 mi.

vanilla

mr. smith’s vanilla custard

dole pinapple

38%

20% off with student ID

0.5 mi.

mr. smith’s vanilla custard

$0.56/oz.

THE OCTAGON

REMAINDER

Lunch: Fix to include meal pre-packaging (continued from page 1) lunch and I want to go get my lunch early, but I can’t,” freshman Larkin Barnard-Bahn said. On Tuesdays, high schoolers are not allowed to get in line to pick up their lunches until 12:05 p.m. High schoolers have to wait because the lower and middle schoolers are supposed to eat first, as their lunch time starts earlier (11:55 a.m.), according to band director Bob Ratcliff, who monitors the lunch line on Tuesdays. But even after 12:05 p.m., lower and middle schoolers continue to enter the lunch line in front of high schoolers. “It annoys me when a crowd of middle schoolers goes in front of me after I have been waiting for five minutes to get my lunch,” Barnard-Bahn said. Some days there are even two lunch lines: one for the lower schoolers and another for middle and high schoolers, with the lower-school line getting priority. “I think the problem is that there are two lines, and some people cut in line, which extends the wait time,” freshman Jackson Margolis said. Moreover, high-school students have days on which they don’t get the food they ordered at the beginning of the month because there isn’t any left when they reach the front of the line. “When I didn’t get my macaroni and cheese in November, I had to get butter noodles instead, which I didn’t want,” sophomore Nate Jakobs said. The cost of the meal for high and middle schoolers is $7 per entree (or $28 a month) if a

January 18, 2017

he is currently investigating Tuesday lunches after the recent incident, and that he had no knowledge of any problems before that. So what’s the solution? Barnard-Bahn suggested that high schoolers should be allowed to get lunch at any time. “We aren’t going to trample any little kids,” she said. Jakobs agreed with Barnard-Bahn but also suggested that that the school order more food to avoid shortage problems. LaComb had a different idea. “My suggestion would be prepared lunches with names and sizes,” he said. And Margolis agreed. “Just put the food in boxes and there will be no problems,” Margolis said. “There aren’t any problems on other days, so Tuesdays should be just like them.” And Margolis is right. All the other lunch FOCUSED FACES Juniors Miles Edwards, Cameron Collins and Andrew Rossell check their names off the lunch list days run smoothly. with the help of band director Bob Ratcliff. PHOTO BY JACQUELINE CHAO Adams attributes the lack of conflict to the pre-packaged lunches on Monday, Wednesday student orders on only one day, which is why he scuffle on Dec. 6. and Thursday and the ease and speed of handing is angry, Jakobs said. A lower-school student was attempting to out pizza on Friday. Some high schoolers attribute the lack of crawl through the entire lunch line, which anSo she plans to introduce packaged lunches food to students changing their order in line. gered other students who had been waiting in on Tuesdays for the month of February. “Some people say they ordered one thing line for a while. “We already do it for the lower school, so (macaroni and cheese), but they actually ordered So one high schoolwhy not try it for the rest of the another (spaghetti),” Margolis said. er grabbed the crawling school?” Adams said. But Adams attributes the shortage to portion student, took off his shoe, Adams said the only reason size. and threw it away from ‘WE AREN’T GOING TO prepackaged lunches from Noo“The problem is that we order a set amount of the lunch line. dles and Company were not inTRAMPLE ANY LITTLE food from Noodles and Company every month The crawling stutroduced at the beginning of the KIDS’ based on how many kids have ordered,” she said. dent attempted to crawl program was portion size. “But some days, some kids come in really through the line again LARKIN BARNARD“On some days, students come hungry, wanting more food, while on others, after retrieving his shoe, in wanting a lot of pasta,” Adams BAHN, FRESHMAN they want less. and this time was blocked said. “We then have to try and balance the amount by the arm of a different “But Noodles and Company of food that we order because we don’t want too high-school student. has a smaller portion size (10-12 much or too little.” The crawling student then bit the arm of the ounces), so I was originally worried that people Adams reports that in the month of Decem- other student and ran off. would complain about the amount of food. ber she ordered more food, leading to everyone The high-school students involved said the “Now that there are other problems, I think receiving their ordered lunches. entire incident can be attributed to anger bewe should try the prepackaged lunches in FebDespite the change in December, the lunch cause of the long wait. ruary and see how it goes. problems on Tuesdays escalated into a minor Head of high school Brooke Wells said that “The lunches would stay warmer, too!”

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We Thank Our Sponsors for Keeping Us in the Black!

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THE OCTAGON

January 18, 2017

COMMUNITY

Dwarfs, goblins, adventure await in Dungeons & Dragons Senior Mac Scott resurrects former Country Day club, invents unique storyline with surprising obstacles BY MEHDI LACOMBE

laying dragons, plundering gold and casting magical spells – these and an infinite number of other activities are all possible in the fantasy world of Dungeons & Dragons. Senior Mac Scott developed a passion for the game last summer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Scott participated in a computer science program, where one of his fellow students saw him looking at a D ungeons & Dragons website at ‘WE WANT the end of TO HAVE their class FUN, AND session. Scott had WE DO also brought THAT BY a rule book, TELLING A prompting Scott and STORY’ sumMAC SCOTT, other mer-camp SENIOR students to try it out. His summer experience playing a full adventure inspired Scott to start a Dungeons & Dragons club at school. Dungeons & Dragons, also known as D&D, is a fantasy tabletop game that involves role-playing as different characters and slaying fictional beasts. However, this imaginary world isn’t easy to create. The game comes with a very complicated set of rules, managed by the Dungeon Master. The Dungeon Master, or DM, is also responsible for every non-player character, or NPC, in the story, along with the world the players play in and the events taking place in this world. For Country Day’s club, Scott has taken on the role of the DM, as he did when he played over the summer. He said it makes sense for the most experienced player to take control over the play session. Even though Wizards of the Coast, the company that owns D&D, offers pre-generated adventures, Scott decided to write his own story.

He said he spent most of his free time creating the world and planning possible encounters, such as fighting off bandits or solving intricate puzzles. However, the players can also affect what happens in the game. “It isn’t fully scripted because it wouldn’t be roleplay if (the players) had no choice,” Scott said. The game uses a variety of different dice - usually a 20-sided one - to determine the success of each action a player or NPC tries to perform. In addition to these rolls, characters have statistics on their character sheets that affect their ability to perform certain tasks. These statistics are shown through values added or subtracted from the values rolled on the dice. Weapons and abilities can also make the actions easier to perform. A character sheet is an outline that players use to fill in the stats, weapons, abilities, items and any backstory about their character. The more complex a character, the more fun players will have roleplaying, Scott said. The players in the club (freshmen Spencer Scott and Emme Bogetich) have their character sheets finished and ready to use in their adventure on Jan. 13. “Everyone will be making their own characters so that once we actually begin playing, (the players) will feel a lot more invested into the story,” Scott said. Once the characters are made and the DM has created the world, the game can begin. Each adventure is different, especially since Scott is creating his own. Scott taught the players most of the rules during lunch meetings in late November and early December. Scott, who said he enjoys role-playing video games, was always interested in playing D&D but never had people to play with. During his freshman year he wanted to join the school D&D club. However, the seniors who ran the club grew too busy and could not continue, so the club disbanded. “I had tried to play (outside of school) tons of times,” Scott said. “But it never caught on because I just found it too complicated.”

PREPARING FOR BATTLE Club members senior Mac Scott (center) and freshmen Emme Bogetich and Spencer Scott pose in front of the inflatable dragon that Mac sets up on days the club meets, although the rain has kept him from doing it recently. PHOTO BY JACQUELINE CHAO

This was until Scott met others Scott said. “More than that makes the willing to play with him at his sum- game way too slow going through the mer camp. They played nine three- different turns. hour sessions during the last few “Four is usually your perfect numweeks of their program. ber.” After that, Scott bought all the On the Friday night before winmaterials, such as dice, game boards, ter break, all three players attended figures and all the player manuals. the D&D club in Matthews Library. Scott said D&D has three levels: Scott started by summarizing the the rules and how previous week’s the game works, adventure, talking the roleplay and about dwarfs and the fun. Without goblins and play‘PRIOR TO BEING the rules, he said, ing battle music SAVED BY BATMAN, you can’t have the to set the atmoroleplay, and withsphere. But as the THE PARTY CAME out the roleplay, gameplay went FACE TO FACE WITH you can’t have fun. on, Scott deviated AN ABOMINABLE “We want to more and more have fun, and we from the Starter SNOWMAN’ do that by telling Set, turning the a story,” Scott said. adventure into a “Because we are Christmas story. older kids, we can’t just make believe. The adventurers stopped in a snowy “With the mechanics, we can town, fully decorated on Christmas (make) these battles or adventures Eve. There the characters were amchallenging, and that makes roleplay bushed by shadow apparitions, to work, making the game fun.” which Spencer’s character, a judge, Once the mechanics were un- shouted, “They cannot fight the law!” derstood by the club members, Suddenly a robotic G-R-I-N-C-H Scott started them on an adven- (Gadget For Insidiously Nabbing ture made for beginners. Children’s Happiness) flew through a Seven people came to his first building on a sleigh, wood splintering two play sessions, but Scott is un- everywhere. He flew up to his gloomy sure of how many will be commit- castle on the hill, taunting the players ted to the full campaign. to follow with a cackle. “A usual party is two to six,” Spencer and Bogetich’s characters

ran up to the castle, where they were joined by Batman and the Justice League. It was then the students realized Scott was really just having fun with this final, non-serious campaign. Prior to being saved by Batman, the party battled an abominable snowman. Upon his defeat, Bogetich said victoriously, “I never liked Frosty anyways.” This was one of many comments made during the session, as the players mixed serious combat with fun and laughter. Scott guided the players through the game, making the experience as smooth as possible. Bogetich, who played D&D with her family this summer, said she was very excited when she heard she would be able to play with different people and vary her playing experience. “It’s fun to have people that share my interests,” Bogetich said. Scott said he has created a very linear storyline early on, giving the players fewer impactful choices so they don’t mess up and get killed in the first few weeks. As the players get more experienced, Scott will start to open up the adventure, giving them choices that will affect the entire campaign. With the full campaign on its way, the players will finally be able to explore Scott’s mystical empire of Archanea.

THE OCTAGON

FEATURE

January 18, 2017

GRAPHIC BY CHARDONNAY NEEDLER

t’s a school night and junior Yasmin Gupta hasn’t studied for a big test in AP Chemistry. Instead, she’s rapidly dialing (916) 766-1035 in high hopes of winning the latest concert ticket. Gupta dials the radio station over and over, as many as 60 times. After perfectly reciting the eight songs that played in the last hour, Gupta wins two tickets for the G-Eazy and Lil Yachty concert.

By Katia Dahmani This 103.5 KHHM FM competition, “The Hot 8 at 8,” happens every day. During “The Hot 8,” callers have to listen to eight songs and then correctly list the song titles and artists of the songs in chronological order. The 35th caller to do this successfully wins the tickets. Considering the slim chances of winning, Gupta has been unusually lucky. She has now entered three competitions and won three sets of tickets to the sold-out concerts of G-Eazy and Lil Yachty, Kanye West, and DJ Snoopadelic. Gupta began her lucky streak while sitting in her car with senior Avi Bhullar on a school morning. They were listening to the radio when they heard they could win Kanye West tickets. Bhullar and Gupta kept calling that morning, but they didn’t win. However, after this loss, Gupta was fired up to win. For the next two weeks she and Bhullar kept calling but to no avail, until one fortunate morning. Finally Gupta got through to the radio stations after 17 calls and got her shot to list the eight songs just played on 103.5. Once she listed them, she heard what she had been waiting for for the past two weeks. “You’re right, and you’ve just won tickets!” It turned out that Gupta had instead won tickets to a G-Eazy and Lil Yachty concert, but she was ecstatic regardless, she said. In fact, she was so happy that she screamed on the radio. From then on, Gupta kept on entering competitions because she wanted to get more free tickets for

herself and friends or to possibly sell the tickets she won. Gupta also continued trying to win the West tickets that had first attracted her to the contests. She called 103.5 for a whole week trying to be lucky caller number 35, she said. After this lack of success, she decided to try just once more. And Gupta’s luck came through. Gupta finally won the sold-out West tickets she had spent over two weeks trying to win. These tickets had prices as high as $250 per ticket, according to the Sacramento Bee. The high cost of tickets is another reason for Gupta’s passion for competitions. “A lot of the time, my mom doesn’t want to pay for tickets, and neither do I,” she said. Surprisingly, Gupta doesn’t consider herself particularly lucky. Gupta said that people don’t try the competitions because they “get psyched out when they try to win tickets thinking that they’ll never win.” But radio stations usually hold competitions the whole week, so there’s a huge possibility of winning, Gupta said. And SCDS students believe either this or they aren’t trying very hard to win. Of 101 high schoolers who filled out a Dec. 13 Octagon poll, only 11 said they’ve entered concert tickets competitions. And of those 11, only three have won. Junior Annya Dahmani put her luck to the test on Nov. 28 during an hourlong car ride to the girls’ varsity basketball game at Vacaville Christian, when Gupta told her that she could win sold-out tickets to the Compton-based rapper YG’s concert by entering 103.5’s contest. For this competition, the 103rd caller won the tickets. Dahmani said she’s always wanted to see YG, who’s one of her favorite rappers, live. “I also thought, ‘Why not try, since I have nothing to do during this super-long car drive to the middle of nowhere?’” she said.

So Gupta and Dahmani started phone, lowered his stage, was untelephoning. strapped from the device holding Dahmani said that she kept getting him to the stage, and left. dial tones until the line started ringMost people were reimbursed for ing after about 30 calls. their tickets, but Gupta was not as “Yasmin said that more than she hadn’t paid for them in the first two rings meant you for sure place. won,” Dahmani said. Luckily, Gupta hadn’t spent any She started money on West merchandise either, bouncing up and as she said she never buys souvenirs down since she at concerts. thought she won, However, she has won a T-shirt but all of a sudden, and CD that was thrown into the the phone stopped crowd of the Snoopadelic concert she ringing and the call later attended. ended. Gupta said that she wasn’t mad So Dahmani kept about the concert being cancelled calling. since she didn’t pay for the tickets, After about 70 and oddly West’s cancellation eased more calls, Dahma- any worries about the cancellation of ni gave up since the the other concert she had won tickets combination of the to, Snoopadelic on Dec. 3. calls she and Gupta alone had Shortly after West’s concert, Snoop made would result in more than Dogg posted on social media that he 103 calls. would never do what West had done Dahmani now believes she didn’t to his fans, Gupta said. use the right strategy. So when Gupta arrived at Gupta said the best time to call is the Ace of Spades venue for at night. Snoopadelic on Dec. 3, “Fewer people are listening (then),” she knew that this she said. “(Also), during these compe- concert would titions I call on four phones to maxi- go off withmize my chances of winning.” out a Ironically, Gupta’s luck hasn’t held when it comes to the concerts themselves. Of the two she’s attended, both have been cancelled. The second set of tickets was for the now-infamous West Saint Pablo Tour concert on Nov. 19 at the Golden One Center. Gupta and her friend arrived 30 minutes early, but West was an hour late. When he finally appeared on his literal floating stage, he sang only two songs and made up with Kid Cudi, a rapper he was rumored to have had lots of problems with, by hugging him on stage. Then West and Cudi sang “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1” together, which was followed by a 15-minute rant by West on the corruption of the music industry. West also criticized his fellow top-selling artists, including famous Clockwise from top: G-Eazy, Kanye musical power-couWest, Snoop Dogg, Lil Yachty ple Beyoncé and Jay Z. After his rant he dropped the micro-

hitch. Gupta and her friend found standing room in front of the stage, and they patiently waited for him, she said. The not well-known opening act performed, but kept adding that he would sing one more song before Snoop Dogg’s arrival, according to Gupta. But Snoop never showed due to illness, and the concert was cancelled. Gupta said she was upset mostly because of Snoop’s hypocrisy. “Snoop was so critical (in the video he posted) of Kanye’s concert cancellation,” Gupta said. “Yet he did the same thing, and it hurt that he did something like that to Sacramento.” Gupta ended up selling her tickets to the third concert on Dec. 14 (G-Eazy and Lil Yachty) since it was on a school night, and the concert was in Oakland. However, she sold the tickets for $50, and now knows that she can prosper from her luck. Maybe Gupta has two-sided luck when it comes to winning, but at least she’s making money off of it. Right now Gupta is taking a break as there are no concert tickets available. But she said she’ll start trying again in June, this time for tickets to see Bruno Mars. She hopes he’ll show up.