January Pine Needle 2011

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Christmas Outreach

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A Christmas Reflection

The Secret Life of Mr. Tune

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Varsity Basketball Climbs Rankings

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White Looks to Julliard

The Pine Needle

Volume XCII

Richmond, Virginia

January 2011

Number 4 Design by Jabriel Hasan

Curriculum to Integrate Laptops

By Wells Baylor Senior Editor, News

Big changes are coming to St. Christopher’s next year. Freshman and sophomores will all bring in computers.

After years of review and preparation, the administration decided to integrate technology into the classroom. First, a network redesign increased capacity and security. The new model is currently in place and is designed to separate student access from business and faculty access.

The new system will implement an open model. The school will set standards for the student computers; most current computers comply.

Laptops will be required, so if a student does not have a laptop or one that does not fit the standards, he will need to purchase one.

Every class for freshman and sophomores will be required to utilize the computers. Some teachers are apprehensive to the change. Not all lesson plans translate easily to the digital world. Mathematical formulas are simply quicker and easier to write out by hand.

Other teachers expressed concern about being forced to adjust their lesson plans

Helping the Hungry

By Jabriel Hasan Senior Editor, Features

Graphic Design by Jane Ludwig

to computers.

Most teachers are concerned about computers becoming a distraction but are sure they can keep students on task. Another concern is how classes that contain a mixture of juniors and sophomores will be handled, since only some will have laptops. Teachers say thinking of ways to integrate computers in every class will be an issue that will hopefully be sorted out throughout next year.

Most teachers are optimistic. Working with com-

puters is an integral part of our society and adding computers teach students vital skills that they will need beyond the classroom.

Mrs. Hurt plans to expand student “understanding, efficiency and proficiency in Excel”, a program rarely used in classrooms. According to Mrs. Hurt, the new computers will give students skills they will need in college.

Advocates say computers will also make the classroom more efficient. Instead of goSee Laptops, Page A2

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Towell Ties the Knot

We live in a country of extreme affluence, but there is a darker side to this prosperous picture. There is a part of humanity that is far removed from the Grove Avenues of America.

In one of the richest nations in the world, a country where the average working person produces roughly $47,000 worth of goods and services per year, we are faced with a poverty rate that is the highest it’s been in 15 years.

As our everyday living expenses continue to rise, our poor population grows. In the Tri-Cities of Richmond, Petersburg and Hopewell, 25,000 children involuntarily go to school hungry every day. More than 415,000 children in Virginia receive free or reduced price lunches because the government has

determined that their parents simply can’t afford to pay for one more meal. On a national scale, one in seven Americans and one in four children don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

Don’t ask cause. Knowing cause isn’t necessary, because it’s all relative really.

Just see the need, because, in the words of the Central Virginia Food Bank’s Rick Holzbach, “Once you have an opportunity to look hunger in the eyes, you can’t turn away from it.”

St. Christopher’s has helped in efforts to feed those in need, but now that the holiday season, the prime time for charity, is over, we must now ask what we can continue to do to help.

Poverty is not only right at our doorstep, but it is ringing our bell.

Special Report

Continued, Page 6

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News

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Laptops

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Saints Help for the Holidays

By Alex Beale

Continued from A1

ing to the computer lab, students can immediately pull up a YouTube clip about a subject taught in class. PowerPoint notes can be immediately downloaded, in the event a student left his or her notebook at home. The prospect of online textbooks also remains a possibility for textbooks whose physical copies are too expensive.

Mr. Carlson is looking forward to the program.

“It will definitely help with night time study hall,” he said.

The language department is looking forward to increased Skype conversations with other countries.

Mrs. Varner praised the computer’s ability to impart the opportunity to “connect and have a visual for a cultural discovery.” Since the language lab will not need to be shared, different classes can engage in this program

January 2011

Sophomore Contributor

Some students already use laptops for class, like PineNeedleOnline.com Editor Ben Resnik, no doubt tirelessly updating the website when he should be paying attention. Don’t tell Mr. Smith!

at the same time.

This new program will change how the school runs.

It comes after the school’s centennial and marks a transition for the school into the twenty first century. Mr. Stillwell said “It is especially important that we make

sure that all of the students are adept and comfortable with the use of new technologies to think critically and creatively, to connect with the broader world, and to communicate in effective and inspirational ways.”

In many ways this past Christmas season, members of the Upper School contributed to a widespread outreach to people in need.

“It is a great joy to be able to give wind to ideas of young men to help people in need,” said Upper School Chaplain Mrs. Melissa Hollerith.

Some of these ideas that were put into action include Tanner White’s soldier supply drive and Landrum Tyson’s 100 for 100, which was twice as successful as its name suggests because it gave $100 gift cards to more than 200 children.

Other than that, each ninth grade advisory adopted a family from the Peter Paul Development Center to donate to for Christmas.

The freshmen spent time raising money for their family by selling Chick-fil-A or Taco Bell at lunch. And during the final X-period of 2010, peer advisors joined their advisees in a shopping trip to purchase gifts for the Christmas families. “It

made me feel good that we were making a difference for these families,” said senior Ben Thompson.

More recently, juniors Will Turner and Mac Robertson, had the idea to collect cans as admission to the December Varsity basketball tournament. As a result of their thoughtfulness, more than 20 bags of cans were donated to the Central Virginia Food Bank.

However, our service is needed by the STEP Pride for Parents Christmas Store, which was mostly passed on this year. This organization gives less fortunate parents an opportunity to buy unwrapped gifts, donated by thoughtful people, for a fraction of the original cost. In doing so, these parents get the chance to pick out and purchase affordable presents for their children, who might not have otherwise gotten a Christmas gift.

Our service to the community in needed throughout the year, not just when the holidays come around.

We need to remember, as Mrs. Hollerith said, “Service is a daily walk.”

Towell Gets Hitched in Chapel

Mr. Warren Hunter

Mr. Michael Turner

Mr. Mark Holloway

Puberty Hits Faculty Hard

Faculty “Growers” Flash ’Stache for Charity

By Ned Valentine Junior Contributor

Remember the unfortunate moustache on your favorite teacher or coach’s face? A unique organization to help kids in need, Moustaches for Kids, has made its way to St. Christopher’s.

Started in Los Angeles in 1999, the charity has swept across the nation, now with chapters in each state.

The Richmond chapter is currently led by Chairman David Hogan, a seven-year “grower.” The Richmond chapter has 100 members, and some of these “growers” are our very own.

These include: Mr. Mark Holloway, Mr. Durk Steed, Mr. Warren Hunter, Mr. Ned Rider, Mr. Tommy Bishop, Mr. Zach Cressin, Mr. Greg Vick, Mr. John Schmick, Mr. Michael Turner, Coach Chuck Robinson, Mr. Edwin Urey, Mr. Gene Bruner, Mr. Ken Miller and

Coach Craig Foster.

Coach Foster and Mr. Cressin were the leaders in spreading the idea.

“We do good and have fun for children’s charities,” said Coach Foster. “It’s like a support group/comedy club.

The hardest part is that it is a tough sell to our wives and girlfriends.”

During the first stage, participants takes a picture of themselves completely shaven. From that point on, they keep uploading their pictures every week on to the website. Most people have no idea what it is for, so a button was created that says “Ask Me” with a moustache on it. The operation concluded Dec. 10. At the end, they organized a party called the Stache Bash, where all the money raised was collected.

To raise money, participants get people to sponsor their moustache, sell raffle tickets or make tax-deduct-

ible contributions.

Last year, the Richmond Chapter raised $15,000. It was donated to the MakeA-Wish Foundation. This year however, the Richmond Chapter wanted to donate the money locally. “We thought it would be good to donate money here in town so that it directly impacts children’s lives,” said Coach Foster. Much of the $22,000 raised went to Make-A-Wish again, this year, but they also donated to Stop Child Abuse Now and ASK (Association for the Support of Children with Cancer).

Coach Foster would like the students to get involved, next year. “We should try to do something to help each other out, it goes with the school’s mission,” he said.

Ask a faculty member who is participating if you would like to know more about the organization, or if you would like to get involved.

Coach Foster

Coach Robinson

By Kurt Jensen Editor-in-Chief

If you can see past the shy, grumpy exterior of Upper School Math Teacher Mr. Richard Towell, find the genuine behind the maniacal laughs, concern and caring behind annoyed growls, you can find his strong, hidden heart—the same heart that has fallen, quietly, in love.

During Christmas break, everyone’s favorite Grinch tied the knot with Ms. Anita Grymes, a colleague of his from when he taught at Collegiate, the new Mrs. Richard Towell.

The Upper School chapel was a destination for his children from San Francisco to Hong Kong, traversing the country and the world to share in the occasion. With family in the St. Christopher’s community on both sides of the aisle, the chapel was an obvious choice, according to Mr. Towell.

Mr. Towell also wanted Mrs. Melissa Hollerith, Upper School chaplain, to orchestrate the service. It was a job she took pleasure in, tracking the change in Mr. Towell since he first asked Ms. Grymes on a date after reuniting with her at a lecture they both attended.

“He had that tell-tale bounce in his step,” said Mrs. Hollerith.

There was a change in Mr. Towell. While he originally expressed discontent with the new schedule, when

he arrived on the first day of school without missing a beat, without the usual gripes spouting from his room as he taught, Mrs. Hollerith knew he was truly happy. “He was happy with everything, because he was happy with Anita,” she said.

“She’s the light in his life.”

Mrs. Hollerith wrote the homily for the wedding with his transformation in mind.

It began, “Over a year ago, I noticed my dear friend had a glow that was not from Hot Yoga. He whistled on his way to chapel and belted out hymns he did not know…”

The new Mrs. Towell seems the perfect fit for the sharp-witted math teacher, having raised three boys, which requires its own brand of humor, and matching Mr. Towell quip for quip.

Most importantly, she has the singular talent of softening Mr. Towell’s armadillo shell, returning a youthful fitness and good humor to the frame of the seeming-Scrooge.

Their story may have begun a summer love, but there was the unmistakable spirit of Christmas in the culmination of their vows— the transformation, the family—“All their children were so happy for them,” said Mrs. Hollerith.

Mr. Towell was never really a Scrooge or a Grinch, but the concern and caring that lay hidden beneath his rough surface has risen in his joy and good will.

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January 2011

Sports

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Varsity Basketball Crushes Cougars, Climbs Rankings

By Jack Borkey Senior Editor, Sports

Following last year’s 9-10 campaign, Head Coach Hamill Jones has quickly reversed his team’s fortunes, leading a poised team with a winning attitude.

After a loss to Collegiate in the Henrico Holiday Hoops Tournament during break, the team turned around and beat the Cougars on their court in an exemplary showing of talent and spirit.

Rodney Williams had a huge game to lead the Saints to a 50-44 triumph, ending the Saints’ three-game losing streak and avenging the Saints’ 58-48 loss to the tenth-ranked Cougars.

The loss handed the Saints a second-place finish in a tournament which featured an upset win over fourthranked Henrico High School.

Sophomore Williams scored 17 and junior Jer-

maine Johnson added 15 points for the team. With senior Co-Captain Rob Vozenilek not at full speed after injuring his ankle, younger, less-experienced players were forced to step up.

Answering the call, along with Williams, were fellow sophomores Charlie Yorgen and Porter Reinhart. The two scored eight and six, respectively, and impressed Vozenilek.

“Going in to the game, I knew I was not going to be able to do the things I normally can do,” said Vozeniilek. “So we were fortunate to have players, like Porter Reinhart, step up and play a big role in our success.”

The Saints dominated the first half, and found themselves up by nine at the end of the second quarter. They found their groove with two Reinhart three pointers and superb post play by Williams. Playing in his first game at Collegiate, Williams

credited his great play to the intense atmosphere created by the St. Christopher’s and St. Catherine’s crowd.

“I really like how the [students] came out to support,” said Williams. “I got a lot of energy from the crowd.”

Coming out of halftime, the Cougars adjusted and started to chip away at the Saints’ lead. At times the Cougars, led by Doug Randolph and Colscon Wiley, appeared ready to pull even, but lock-down defense, including key steals

by Johnson, kept the Saints out front. To Coach Jones, defense was the key to upsetting the Cougars.

“Rodney protected the basket, and our guards really pressured the ball well,” said Coach Jones. “It was a fantastic team effort on the defensive end of the court.”

In the fourth quarter, three thunderous dunks by Williams and a timely steal

Clarke Squashes Competition

By Jack Borkey

and basket by Johnson put Collegiate away, sealing the colossal win for the Saints.

Following the victory over Collegiate, the Saints fell to the highly ranked Benedictine High School Cadets, but bounced back against Woodberry Forest School thanks to the heroics of Senior Patrick Martin.

Locked in a tight battle throughout the whole game, the Saints found themselves down six points with only a minute to go. The Saints then busted out to a 6-1 run, setting up Martin’s clutch moment. Coming off a zeropoint performance against Collegiate, the co-captain drove and hit a lay-up with five seconds to go to beat the Tigers 53-52.

“I went in hard and saw the opportunity to put up a good shot,” said Martin. “It was rewarding to know that the team trusted me to take the last shot, and it went in.”

The Saints’ stellar play

The Pine Needle Staff Kurt Jensen

Senior Editor, Sports

Past a gaggle of Middle Schoolers eating at the snack bar, through a narrow hallway, lay the squash courts of the Country Club of Virginia. Here, St. Christopher’s Varsity Squash team sweats out hard-fought matches against some of Mid-Atlantic’s finest players.

Standing out among the group is Senior Willy Clarke, perhaps the school’s most decorated squash player. He has won championships at the 2009 U.S. Junior Silver Championship and the Polar Bear Junior Squash Open.

Currently ranked first in Virginia in the U19 division, Clarke is headed to Middlebury College in Vermont to compete for the Panthers.

Middlebury, a perennial Division III contender, is currently ranked 13th in the nation. The Panthers are coached by John Illig, who actively recruited Clarke, offering him a spot late last October. Illig, head squash coach for 18 years, gave Clarke a tour of Middlebury and made a lasting impres-

has been was recognized by the Virginia Independent Athletic Association, ranking them 8th in their latest poll.

The Saints’ ranking was put to the test with two away games against Fork Union Military Academy and Colonial Heights High School.

Both resulted in decisive wins for the Saints, as they beat FUMA 75-66 and blew out Colonial Heights 72-50.

The recent victories put the Saints’ record at 11-6, already one more win than last year, and 5-2 in the Prep League. Coach Jones is pleased with the Saints’ success, but he and his team are hungry to improve further as a team.

“The challenge is to look at how to learn and improve from the [wins] instead of just being content that we won,” Jones said. “We will have to improve to compete with other teams that are more talented than we are.”

Editor-in-Chief

Senior Editors

Wells Baylor, News Jack Borkey, Sports Jabriel Hasan, Features Ben Resnik, Online Senior Contributor Felix Schapiro

Sophomore Contributor Alex Beale

sion. “[Coach Illig] was my favorite coach I met,” Clarke said. “He’s an experienced coach who will teach me a lot about the sport.”

Middlebury College has a long history of academic excellence, making it an easy choice for Clarke.

“Middlebury has a strong international relations program, as well a solid language department,” said Clarke. “It’s an added bonus

that I can take advantage of the academic opportunities the school presents while playing squash.”

Though they compete in Division III, the Panthers go up against the best teams in the NCAA. Clarke is excited to prove his skill.

“Playing with the best players in the nation will be a welcoming challenge,” Clarke said. “It will be exciting to see how far my [ability] can take me.”

Junior Contributors Will Turner Ned Valentine

Freshman Contributor Alec Ball

The Pine Needle: Online pineneedleonline.com CONTACT US:

Phone: (804) 282 - 3185 ext. 4426 Email: jensenk11@stcva.org

Faculty Advisor

Mrs. Kathleen Thomas Publications Consultants

Mr. Greg Weatherford & Mr. Sean Nagle

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Life

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January 2011

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Mr. Boyd, Professor Bear

By Ned Valentine Junior Contributor

This year seniors Will Valentine and Ned Quinn started a different kind of club that aims to give back to the community.

“We wanted to start something that could get us more involved in conservation,” said Valentine.

Though a club at St. Christopher’s, Ducks Unlimited is technically a chapter where people donate money to preserve the wetlands for water fowl to thrive.

There are numerous chapters worldwide and locally, including ones in Richmond, Henrico and Goochland.

The goal of this student chapter is to “bring out a common interest in St.

Christopher’s students and help out a part of the environment that is struggling in whatever way we can, whether it’s on a large or small scale.”

To raise money, the club will sell various kinds of waterfowl to eat as well as T-shirts. The club might also hold group hunts with all of its members.

Overall, the new Ducks Unlimited chapter at St. Christopher’s hopes to make a positive impact on the environment. “The mission of the club is to get kids fired up about water fowl and conservation,” said Mr. Rider. “Also we want to educate kids, and help out the Richmond community through local projects and fundraising.”

Raps & Taps Progresses At Record Speed

Tucker Thompson and Jay McChesney hard at work in Student Pubs.

By Will Turner Junior Contributor

Even before summer began, students working on the 2011 Raps and Taps had come up with a theme, decided on a cover design, designed layout templates and decided what was going on each page. By mid-October, all 33 pages of ads had been finished and both the fall sports and Lower School pages were almost complete.

The staff just reached its mid-year deadline, sending in half of the book.

“They did so much in the spring. We have never gotten that much done right out of the gate,” said Mrs. Kathleen Thomas, faculty advisor of student publications.

The 11 seniors working on the Raps and Taps this year comprise the largest group of Mrs. Thomas’s six-year tenure. In addition to being a larger group, the students work together very well. “It’s a strong team this year,” said Mrs. Thomas.

The three senior editors, Tucker Thompson, Henry Ilnicky and Jay McChesney, work particularly well as managers of such a large project. “Tucker and Henry have provided a really good

balance, because Tucker is just really hard driving, and he is always anticipating what needs to be done.

Henry is more laid back and more creative and likes to think about the big picture.

Jay is a good balance between those two,” she said.

The strong leadership of those three combined with a “strong supporting cast,” including Chase Gunter and Woody Stanchina as sports editors, results in high productivity. “There has been more student leadership from the editors than there has been in the past,” said Kurt Jensen, editor-in-chief of The Pine Needle.

Thompson initially declined to comment for this story because he was busy working on the book. He added later, “We’re basically the jocks of the publications office.”

The seniors devote a lot of time to the project but have a lot of fun in the process.

McChesney had his own take on the work. “I like having a commitment to the school other than just the normal academic work that will leave a physical legacy and something that I will always have to look back on,” he said.

By Alex Beale Sophomore Contributor

More than 90 bears can be seen on pictures, drawings and posters that coat the walls of Mr. Jim Boyd’s classroom. It is widely known that Mr. Boyd, a mathematics teacher in the Upper School, likes bears.

But there is a story to his mild obsession.

“I would draw these little cartoons on the bottom of test papers,” said Mr. Boyd, “and the students liked them.” Mr. Boyd included jokes and short poems to go with the various characters and animals in his drawings.

Of his many characters, such as Dr. Wry Nocerous, Professor Bear was the most prominent.

“He’s simply a character that teaches math,” said Mr.

Boyd. He is best described as an avuncular, middle-aged, glasses-wearing educator who in a strange way resembles Mr. Boyd.

“I worked up the courage to send some humorous cartoons to the ‘Virginia Mathematics Teacher,’ which is a journal sent to math teachers two or three times a year,” said Mr. Boyd.

Dr. John Van de Walle, “Virginia Mathematics Teacher” editor at that time was especially impressed. In fact, Van de Walle insisted that he use the cartoons in the journal and pushed Mr. Boyd to produce them regularly.

Mr. Boyd eventually put his work for the “Virginia Mathematics Teacher” together with additional drawings to create an educational book entitled “Professor

Bear’s Mathematical World.”

The book contained information concerning geometry and the history of mathematics to go with the art.

Soon after, Mr. Boyd was invited by Dr. Bob Underhill to provide cartoons in his monographs called “Implementing the Mathematic Standards.” Next, Mr. Boyd was asked by Bob Buss, a man with whom he corresponded about mathematics, to include his drawings in a Missouri newsletter for math teachers.

Nowadays, not only will students see a Professor Bear on their tests or quizzes, but he spontaneously shows up in various publications, such as “Mathematics and Informatics Quarterly.”

All in all, Professor Bear is alive and well.

Tune Pretends Not to Be a Nerd

By Ned Valentine Junior Contributor

There are many sides of Mr. Greg Tune. He is jovial, yet there is a certain intensity about him at the same time. He also has passions that might surprise you. Mr. Tune collects comic books and medieval weapons.

Mr. Tune has been devoted to collecting comic books and weapons for a long time.

He started collecting comic books at age 9 in 1979. He has collected them ever since and is passionate about his collection.

It all started one day when he was riding his bike to 7-11. A young Mr. Tune saw a comic on the magazine

rack and bought it; it has been a love affair ever since.

His collection now takes up his mother’s entire attic in his childhood home in Roanoke, Va. He has an almost complete run of the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Captain America. He usually buys them from B&D Comics.

Mr. Tune claims that his most prized comic book, Incredible Hulk episode 181, could sell for $1,000. Still, he said he would never sell it or any other.

He loves the books for their power to bring back the past. “I can go into my old room and just by the smell of the comic book, the browning of paper, the foxing of

the paper, and the way the ink breaks down, when I begin reading it, it takes me back to that exact moment in time…when I was 13, when one of my best friend’s mother died, when we got in trouble at school,” he said.

They work as a “memory key” to times when he was young, and he values that more than the money he could make selling them.

Mr. Tune also has a collection of medieval weapons. He currently has 12 weapons, including swords, spears, a mace and a Viking throwing axe. “I collect medieval weapons; [that] doesn’t mean I want to dress up and prance around in medieval armor,” he said.

Though he doesn’t play with the weapons, he said that he can cut watermelons and things with his swords.

He also said he can throw his Viking axe pretty far, so students should beware of making the disciplinarian mad. Still, Mr. Tune says that it is just a hobby he has, and he is not too serious about it. “I just think they’re cool,” he said. “I wouldn’t sell my stuff if I could hold on to it, [but] if I had to feed my family, the swords would go before my son would.”

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January 2011

Arts

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Clockwise from right: Jabriel Hasan ’11 - mixed media, Andrew Gilmore ’13 - silver print, Baylis Brown ’13 and company hard at work, Max Parks ’11 - acrylic paint, Trevor Hall ’13 - oil pastels.

Semester in Review

9’s Art Anything but Rusty

White Dances with College Choices

By Kurt Jensen Editor-in-Chief Nice Richmond sweatshirt. - Editor-in-Chief

By Alec Ball Freshman Contributor

The class of 2014 is getting a brand new course and a new outlook on art.

Creativity Through the Arts is a one-semester class that all freshman must take.

“This class is great because it exposes students to new art forms, some which they have never seen, and may open up career options for them as they start high school,” said Mr. Rusty Wilson, Ampersand and theatre program director who teaches the class.

The idea for a class like this has been floating around for years, but it only became reality this year with the schedule and curriculum changes as well as Mr. Wilson volunteering to teach it. “The big goal is to give every ninth grade boy an opportunity to explore the artist or artistry in him,

to whatever degree that exists,” said Mr. Wilson.

Creativity Through the Arts is different from other classes. ”There should be very little sitting at desks and taking notes,” said Upper School head Tony Szymendera. “Students should be moving and thinking; they should be collaborating and designing. They should be experiencing the arts through doing the arts—not studying them in a traditional survey course sort of way.”

Mr. Wilson said that teaching this class is a challenge. “It seems like the boys are having a good time, but for a lot of these guys, taking this class is like learning a new language,” he said.

Mr. Wilson takes this new class as a sign of St. Christopher’s deeper commitment to the arts, and is excited about the future.

Performing a leaping split high over the heads of Peter Dorsey and Jake Holleran, Ira White showcased his immense artistic and physical talent at Joni’s Senior Dance Recital.

The January event marked a milestone in White’s dance career—his first taste of choreographing his own piece. “It was well received,” said White. “I’m starting to get into choreography now, because of Senior Dance Recital.”

Beyond the technical, White’s physical mastery is apparent in the proud, upright posture that doesn’t quite match his humility, or the way he performs to perfection with strong poise and astounding athleticism.

“He reminded me of a ninja,” said Will Abbott ’13 who attended the recital.

Between Joni and Richmond Ballet classes and ensembles, White dances 20 hours per week—an incred-

ible time commitment to an art. After nine years and countless roles, classes, hours and accolades, White’s entire life is dance. “It’s taken a lot of commitment,” he said. “I can’t see myself pursuing a career other than dance.”

But White most appreciates the art of his passion, each dance a “puzzle for the dancer to interpret.” The goal is to make the audience feel, he explained.

“I think that’s how it is with all art, really,” he said.

White also loved to draw since childhood and found a lot of inspiration in Mr. Ron Smith’s creative writing class during first semester.

There’s no doubt in the pleasure he takes from it; White is a true artist.

Currently, White is looking forward to a dream—auditioning at The Julliard School on Feb. 28. The audition entails a full day of dance, progressing through ballet, contemporary dance, a solo piece, learning choreography and finally being chosen for an interview.

“Even if it doesn’t work out the way I want it to, at least I had the opportunity,” he said. “At least I got somewhere.”

White is also looking at Virginia Commonwealth University’s dance program, where he would continue to work closely with the Richmond Ballet. “I’ll always have a place [there],” he said. “But as a dancer, you should try out other places.

[The Julliard audition] will be my chance to see how I stack up.”

White sees the bright side of every possible outcome, however, looking at the benefits of either school—at VCU, White would have some freedom to pursue other arts at a school renowned for its art programs.

With Julliard, he said, “You would be kind of confined to one area, but there would be a lot of ways you can grow.

It’s Julliard, and they’re the best of the best.”

White is far from planning out his life, but whatever happens, one thing is certain. “I’ll be somewhere dancing,” he said. “That’s all I can say right now.”

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Central Virginia Food Bank Photos by Jabriel Hasan

[ The Pine Needle ] January 2011

How It Works

By Kurt Jensen Editor-in-Chief

When individuals and families show up at the Central Virginia Food Bank in Richmond tired, hungry and desperate, no one is turned away; hunger is income blind. Hunger is relative, explained Food Resource Manager Rick Holzbach.

Volunteers conduct a short interview to gauge each person’s situation and needs, proceeding to shop in the food bank’s warehouse for meals to tide them over until they can be connected with a pantry or partner agency on a more regular basis. Hunger is fought one person at a time, one meal at a time, one dollar at a time.

The Food Bank draws support from its nationwide network of partner food banks, using a collaborative purchasing plan to buy in huge volume, getting the most for every dollar.

Local retailers contribute on a regular basis, often supplying perfectly good food items that consumers wouldn’t buy: items past best-used-by dates or sellby dates and dented boxes.

These items are then sorted by volunteers who are educated stringently regarding food safety. For example, many food items are still good for up to a year past the best-used-by dates, and dented cans are fine as long as they aren’t dented along the seal down the side.

But for individual donators, there’s a simple enough rule: donate food that you would feel comfortable feeding your own family.

In its daily operations, the Food Bank feeds thou-

What to Bring

By Wells Baylor Senior Editor, News

Simply put, bring money.

As a general rule, people bring the wrong half of supplies to food and fund drives.

People like to bring cans.

They are tangible. You can feel the difference you’re making. You can see the food that will find its way into the hands of people who need it.

Bringing money is more abstract, but it is also much

Weekend BackPacks

By Jack Borkey Senior Editor, Sports

Towards the end of our tour, Mr. Holzbach brought us to a large cardboard box full of white bags. These bags were chock full of dry food and easy to open canned food. Every weekend, these bags are given to impoverished children, who make up 38 percent of the food bank’s consumers.

In many cases, hungry children are only fed when they receive free and reduced lunches through their

schools. Once Friday comes, many of the children go hungry throughout the weekend until they go to school again.

These bags, which contain two breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners, fill the children on days they might go hungry. They are designed to be put into the child’s backpack to avoid potential harassment from other classmates.

The Food Bank hopes to expand the program in coming months, according to Mr. Holzbach. “Hunger doesn’t take a vacation,” he said.

more essential. Each dollar you bring in can equal five meals. The Food Bank is able to buy in bulk, combining purchasing power with food banks around the country, so they can purchase the same food you would bring in for a lot less money.

Also, it takes money to keep the Central Virginia Food Bank running. Storing food in freezer rooms costs an estimated $70,000 each month.

Giving to the Food Bank

sands of individuals through its 500 partner agencies and many programs. Of those individuals, 38 percent are children.

Hunger is a crippling part of poverty. Issues with under-performing schools and students can be linked directly to malnourishment.

It takes three meals a day to promote growth and learning, explained Mr. Holzbach.

Through programs such as Kids Cafes or the newer Weekend BackPacks, children and students receive the nourishment they need.

Every day, the Food Bank combats poverty and pride to be a part of the cure. “Hunger has a cure,” said Mr. Holzbach. “We are all a part of that solution.”

is an incredibly rewarding experience. Money and food can make a tangible difference. “There are very few times in your life when you will really be able to directly affect the quality of life of another human being,” said Rick Holzbach, food resource manager.

If you want to bring food as well, tuna fish and peanut butter are always in high demand. But in this case, the simple answer, money, is also the most effective.

Reporter’s Notebook: Food Pantries

By Jabriel Hasan Senior Editor, Features

They say that you never really know until you’re in it, but I wasn’t even in.

I was just an observer. I’m not sure that one can truly comprehend a food pantry scenario until you’re there.

The best phrase for it is organized confusion. I walked into the parish hall of my church, expecting to see food, of course, but I never really expected so much of it.

The food—ranging from frozen pizzas to Ukrop’s deserts—seemed to form mountains on every table in the room. The herd of volunteers traveled the room, laughing occasionally at a side comment, working intently.

I stood in the corners, trying not to be the nuisance in the way, in wonder of it all. I was asked if I felt okay, and I naively shook my head “yes.” However, the worst and

most powerful part was still ahead of me.

I chose to go out into the crowd of hungry recipients to interview and take pictures.

What I heard summed up to a sense of appreciation. “I feel real good,” one woman said. “I got a $200 gas bill due next month, and I don’t know how I’m gonna pay that, but I got food to eat.”

But there was also pure frustration—frustration at being late for the line, or not having the required identification, or the lack of organization in the system, even though everything was free. Hunger, it seems, will make a person do, feel and say crazy things.

When I asked a woman where she thought God was in it all, she responded, “He’s here.

He’s here. He’s always here.”

See PineNeedleOnline.com for Food Bank volunteer interviews.

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January 2011

Opinion/Editorial

A7

]

Where’s Our Senior Lounge?

By Wells Baylor Senior Editor, News

Class of 2011?

Seniors have earned a senior lounge. A space is available. The only missing piece is action.

Currently, most students use Mr. Abbott’s office as a surrogate senior lounge.

This is inconvenient for everyone involved. Mr. Abbott has frequent meetings and has to herd a group of high school students out of his office every time he needs the space to himself.

Every student who has used Mr. Abbott’s room to play Monopoly or Capitalism is grateful for letting him use his office, but a committed space for seniors is needed.

Luckily, there is a perfectly sized space available.

Connected to the chapel is a small room, slightly larger than Mr. Abbott’s office,

that would serve as a great temporary senior spot. The room is heated and not currently used. Only a few easily moved objects are stored there now.

This room should not be denied simply because it is attached to the chapel. Its entrance is separate from the chapel, and the building itself was previously a gymnasium.

The senior lounge needs to be created almost exclusively by the students. We need to further discussions by having student leadership talk to the school. We need to spend the couple of weekends necessary to renovate the space, and we need to understand that the area will only serve as a temporary lounge, its need being replaced by a student lounge in the Luck Leadership Center next year.

As a class, we have earned this privilege. The Senior Class has completed summer reading at this point. We have achieved excellence academically and athletically.

In addition, our greatest accomplishment is the sense of community we have brought to the school, the strongest comaraderie I have felt throughout my high school career.

Yet we have seen a contraction of senior privileges.

Every student participates in X-term, and the ability to drive off campus seems unlikely at this point. A senior lounge is an easy, simple addition that needs to happen.

Having a senior lounge is a tradition that should be recognized and is only a couple talks and weekends of work away from being a reality.

The Spirit of Service: A Christmas Reflection

By Jabriel Hasan Senior Editor, Features

Sometimes I wonder: when I die, who will I have been? What would I have done for and meant to other people? Did I make the best out of my experiences in the world that I was given?

Volunteering at the Conrad Center shelter on Christmas Day persuaded me to ask these difficult questions of myself, and not to be cliché, but I had never really experienced anything like it before.

I woke up on Christmas day at 9:30 a.m., expecting to do some last minute gift wrapping (which ended up being even more last minute after eating and doing everything else that accompanies the culmination of the most festive season of the year.)

In my eagerness to arrive at the center, my driving was frenzied. Not so comically, upon arrival, I was told that my shift didn’t begin for an-

other 15 minutes. It was the busiest Christmas morning that I had ever had.

When I walked into the center, I was floored by the sheer number of people waiting to eat and to search through the gift room for whatever item they could use. There were adults the age of my parents, some who were, sadly, obviously pass retirement age, and there were herds of children all waiting to be greeted by the volunteer Santas that awaited their presence.

The volunteers overflowed from the gift room, as the attendants held their posts behind the food service line. I didn’t know exactly where to start, so I chose to do what seemed like the simplest option. I jumped wherever I thought help was needed. I volunteered at the winter accessories tables, the T-shirt table and the coat racks.

Many approached me indifferently. To them, it seemed that I was just a

body like any other that circulated the room. By some, I was met almost with rudeness and no exchange of “Merry Christmas!”

But, to be honest, such was to be expected. How can I, a person who has so much everything that I can ask for nothing, expect my level of joy from a person who has so little of nothing that they seem to want everything?

And for a few people, it seemed like they did want everything. They took a scarf for grandma, and a skateboard for each child in the family. They took a jacket when they already had a perfectly good one on, and they complained that their child didn’t win a bike in a raffle.

However, as in the famed “It’s a Wonderful Life,” good prevailed. Others wished “Merry Christmas” with a smile, wore festive clothes, and found happiness in the fact that they were finally able to find a good coat, rath-

er than drowning in the fact that they had to stand in line for a free one on Christmas morning. We communed, and the meal was delicious. We smiled, and the smiles were heartfelt, and we gave and received, and the acts were inconsequential.

In watching “A Christmas Carol” for the umpteenth time on Christmas Eve, I realized much about the Christmas season. Scrooge says that Christmas is merely a time for buying things, a day when a person finds themselves a year older and not a penny richer.

Really, the Christmas season is almost sinful if you take the time to think about it. Every store in America preys on the consumer in all of us. We hunt for things for ourselves that we really don’t need, and gifts for others that they usually don’t want, and for mounds of unneeded “stuff” for our children. With the expense

of the gifts and get togethers, Christmas drained my energy and my wallet.

Yet on that day—the day that the Christian world celebrates the birth of its prophet who championed hope, faith, and above all, charity—my love for the day was renewed.

It is Scrooge’s nephew’s remark though that defines not only the movie, but the Christmas season altogether. He says to his uncle that Christmas may not have ever put a cent in his pocket, but it has done him good.

This is how I feel.

It was the interaction, the anticipation, and the happiness that I felt within because I was a part of making someone else happy that enlivened my holiday spirit, and I finally realized, as did the Grinch, that Christmas can’t be bought from a store.

Christmas is really much, much more.

The Transportation Solution: Personal Transit

By Kurt Jensen Editor-in-Chief

What if there was a way to get everybody from St. Christopher’s to St. Catherine’s on time, save energy costs and significantly lighten the load on crammed, late buses? What if it wouldn’t be very hard?

As it is, the bus system is horribly managed.

It’s nobody’s fault—it just doesn’t work.

Not only do the buses have to deal with a standard issue of mass usage—peak demand far outstripping capacity—but they also have to operate under an unrealistic time limit: ten minutes, (theoretically.

In actuality, since the schools’ clocks run at a twoor three-minute difference, the time could be seven or thirteen minutes depending on which way you’re going.)

The only way to ensure

the buses were on time would be to run on a strict schedule. Say it takes four minutes for a bus to reach the other school and unload on a good day—the buses would leave two, four and six minutes after class lets out, arriving on time.

But even in this civil engineer’s dream, ensuring the buses were on time wouldn’t ensure that more students were on time. Far more students would make it to the bus stops four and six minutes after class, because classes often go late, and it’s the best time to quickly speak with teachers. Again, peak demand and capacity.

A large amount of the time involved in the current system is waiting for the buses to arrive, unload, load and unload again. Increasing capacity would be as unrealistic as adding more time between classes—inefficient answers to an effi-

Transportation Breakdown Buses: Ideal Trial – during break, short bus Timed from step Bus starts moving: 00:07.06 ping onto the bus.

Bus stops: 03:02.43

Off bus: 03:13.65 Typical Trial – between classes, medium bus Timed from end Out of class: 04:01.02 of-class bell.

To bus stop: 05:37.67

On bus: 06:18.61

Bus moving: 07:26.65

Bus stopped: 10:22.38

Off bus: 11:06.50

Walking: 06:41.18 Biking: 02:24.26 ciency problem. So what can be done?

The problem has to be approached from the demand side—instituting a personal transit system that would allow students to reach class on their own time—a system that would be faster than

Timed from edges of campus.

Standard pace.

walking and much more time efficient than buses.

In the past, seniors were allowed to drive back and forth between the schools, alleviating a large portion of the demand for the buses. If this were reinstituted, more students would be on time

to class on a regular basis, including the underclassmen riding the alleviated buses.

If seniors were encouraged to carpool to shared classes, traffic and parking wouldn’t be large issues.

But there is another on-demand transit option without parking problems— communal bicycles.

If the schools shared bicycles, the demand on the buses would significantly decrease. Buses wouldn’t have to run for students who get out of class early or are caught between times, and energy usage would decrease.

Students could also be held more responsible for being on time—if they get out of class after four minutes, they can opt to ride a bike to class. And the students opting to ride the bus get a few minutes of waiting for loading and unloading shaved from their time.

The Back Page New Year’s Resolutions

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[ The Pine Needle ] January 2011

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Rodney Yeah Rod Williams GONNA GET GASSED!!!...gonna get those Ws wit da Saints!!...startin with the game 2ma.....hmu January 1 2011 at 1:39am - Like - Comment - Share

Jack Borkey going to buckle down and hit the books and take advantage of my last semester at St. Christopher’s.

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Tony “The Szytuation” Szymendera going to complete the school’s architectural transformation into a run-down construction site. lolz hmu...

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Harrison Houlihan might finally finish my summer reading from sophomore year... meh.

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Jabriel Hasan I think it’s time for me to break out of my shell. I’m going to start being garish and out-of-the-box.

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Jesse White going to try to limit my chat roulette sessions to 4 hours a day. It gets a little weird, sometimes.

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Joseph Burris, Ladykiller?

By Felix Schapiro

Chief of Guerrilla Marketing Disclaimer: This article is a work of fiction; any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Joseph Burris, or “Jokin’ Jojo” as he introduced himself in Mr. Bland’s 6th grade Geography, has been an integral part of the class of 2011—‘integral’ being the key word. His passion for mathematics is legendary, but little is known about his prolific love life.

A former girlfriend was easy to find, but she requested her name be kept out of print. “He is the most apathetic person I have ever met,” she said. When asked to describe him in three words, she responded with “apathetic, math-lover, and I can’t think of a third.”

Then the conversation turned to his expressions of love.

“The only time he shows emotion is when he is explaining math,” she said at first. “Actually he really likes his cat. Whenever he sees ‘LOLcats’ he is like…” and then emitted a series of noises I couldn’t possibly hope to transcribe.

In regards to Burris’s rumored relationship with Katelyn Frazer, his ex-love responded, “I don’t think he likes Katelyn, so I was never concerned.”

Frazer paints a different picture. “We first met in ninth grade Spanish. In

Joseph Burris is a connoisseur of hats and awesome necklaces.

tenth grade, he started to play hard-to-get. We came up with nicknames for him,” she said.

Things got serious in eleventh grade.

“I wrote him a love poem in Spanish; it was called ‘Unrequited Love.’ He wrote about cutting grass. At that point, cutting grass became symbolic of our relationship and how he has to keep cutting down these strong emotions like the grass,” said Frazer.

His hard-to-get methodology intensified, recently.

“I’ve offered him rides all these places, he always says no,” said Frazer. “In summer we used to have text conversations, but he doesn’t respond to my texts anymore.”

Sometimes Burris takes

unapproachable to a new level. “He called me a trollop,” said Frazer. “He and Louise [Ellen] have this stunt, pretending they’re lovers to make me jealous. I told him I was O.K. with being his girl on the side.”

She has her own opinions about Burris’s interests. “He just wants to be unavailable to me, because he can’t admit he loves me. His whole life is denial. Manga and web-comics are his escape from a life of loving me.”

Who is Joseph Burris?

Katelyn Frazer insists he once told her in a weak moment that the graph of his life is “y=ө.” What is it that makes him so irresistible to women? Maybe it’s just that, as his former girlfriend said, “he is just fun to talk to and really cute.”