The Roundtable Volume 14, Issue 4

The student-run publication of Stuart Hall High School | 1715 Octavia Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

Volume 14, Issue 4 | Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Knights of the Hall

Students worry about school's changing identity after almost 20 years

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Owen Murray

Editor-in-Chief

s Convent & Stuart Hall’s two high school divisions continue to align with continuity in assemblies, a shared logo and more coed classes, some students say that alignment could imperil the unique identity of Stuart Hall. “Stuart Hall has always been the odd ball,� Student Body President Maxi Tellini said. “The campus is set apart from the rest, it has a special Japanese heritage, and it’s the newest of the four K-12 divisions.�

Convent & Stuart Hall may be one school that consists of four separate divisions, but historically those divisions have had noticeably different features.

Until the last three years, each division enforced a different interpretation of the dress code and had its own mascot. Some students say those differences were indicative of each division’s independent identity.

Stuart Hall athletic gear contained the Knight logo until 2016, which is when it started displaying images of the school’s four-division logo, a combination of a lion griffin and the Sacred Heart. “A lot of recent classes believe the new logo will never convey the same meaning to the Stuart Hall community as the old mascot,� Tellini said. “The Knight, which I see as a symbol of the fact our school persevered through the threat of closing almost 10 years ago, and the story of James Kessler, are unique to Stuart Hall and not shared by Convent.�

The school was almost closed by the board dude to a budget shortfall in 2010, but collective efforts made by parents and fac-

A tradition built on Knighthood Legacy

Knights are chivalrous and caring for those in need. The pink cherry blossom conveys the Knights’ capacity for love and represents Mater, an important symbol to the Religious of the Sacred Heart. It also symbolizes the Morningstar Building that has its roots in the Japanese Community.

Leadership, service and building community are the Knights’ core community values. They are gentlemen who treat others with dignity and respect and leave places better than they find them.

The Legend Stuart Hall lives into the mythology of the Knight with a gym named The Dungeon. The Knights play home games in their place of power.

The school’s yearbook is the official record of the Knights of Stuart Hall High School and documents their adventures and preserves their identity as Knights of the Hall.

The name of the school newspaper plays on the mythology of the Knights who gathered around the Roundtable, where each Knight had an equal voice.

Nik Chupkin | The Roundtable

ulty saved Stuart Hall. Two years later, James Kessler, a senior in the Class of 2012 died from cancer. “The love and support James’ classmates offered him, as explained to us freshman year by Mr. [Sergio] Vasquez, can be represented in the Knight and what it stands for,� Tellini said.

For senior Henk Veld, the changes are visible in the physical campus. “The independent Stuart Hall

culture has been masked by recent changes,� Veld said. “Over the summer, meaningful murals were painted over that represented the unique Stuart Hall community for many.�

One mural, known as the Cherry Blossom mural, was painted by students in 2012 to commemorate the history of the Morningstar Building, a piece of the Pine/Octavia Campus that once functioned as a prima-

ry school for Japanese children who were excluded from public schools in 1906.

The murals were painted over to accommodate the repainting of the campus for maintenance purposes, according to Rachel McIntire, Visual Arts Department Chair. “It is almost impossible to repaint around a mural, so we archived photos of the murals in order to always have access to

them,� McIntire said.

McIntire also said the school’s mission of public art relies on change. “The original intent of the mural across from the art studio was to have a wall where students could constantly put up new projects,� McIntire said. “That space has been undetermined, but students will be building on the tradition of the Cherry Blossom mural going forward. We aim to create a public art legacy that evolves.�

While the absence of the murals may have been a physically noticeable change on campus, the abandonment of the Knight mascot would impact all facets of Stuart Hall culture. The school newspaper The Roundtable and the yearbook “The Legend� both rely on the lore of the Knight.

When Stuart Hall used the Knight to represent its students, it was often linked to qualities of chivalry, service and courage.

The gym — three stories underground and aptly named The Dungeon — contains Stuart Hall High School’s original crest, which resembles a Knight’s shield, next to a quote from the school prayer that sets the goal for men of the Hall to act with “courage and integrity.� “The Knight, the crest and the cherry blossom are images that carry the history of our school, the triumphs and challenges — everything that makes the community of Stuart Hall unique from Convent,� Tellini said. “We are working alongside [Head of School Tony Farrell] to create something in the new Columbus Room to commemorate our past and respect Stuart Hall’s special history and culture.�

Knights lose star players, strive for success Basketball team aims to meet last year's playoff achievements in new season

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Owen Akel | The Roundtable

BASKETBALL READY Junior Mac Hatfield shoots a reverse layup during practice in The Dungeon. The Knights began the season without power forward Nigel Burris, who transferred to Archbishop Mitty High School.

Sartaj Rajpal

Senior Reporter

he Knights say they need to be prepared mentally for the season after losing star players, but they are striving for more success after going well into the playoffs last year. “I think we’ll have a good season if we have the mindset of going out there and beating one team at a time,� center Max Bucchioni said. “We might not go to state, but we’ll have the opportunity to compete [against] and beat competitive teams.�

The team lost key players at the end of last year, but coaches

say they have been replaced with other talent. “We lost a massive group at graduation, plus the transfer of Nigel Burris, � athletic director Charles Johnson said. “We have some newcomers in Luke Moore, Josh Puccinelli and Makanna Leavitt.�

Players say they have already started preparing for the season. “I’ve been playing a lot of basketball in my free time,� guard Luke Moore said. “I also have been working out with Coach Barclay, who’s helping me get stronger, better, and more ready for the season.�

Members of the team say

they are working together better than ever. “The team chemistry is there, and you can see it in the open gyms the school has been holding,� forward Josh Puccinelli said. “No one on our team is selfish, and we can get anything done together.�

Coaches and players say they believe the squad is ready for the season. “We should be a very fun team to watch and have the potential to be a very solid club,� Johnson said. “We want to win league, NCS and even possibly the state championship. Let’s dream big.�

The Roundtable | November 13, 2019

California fires impact community Students and faculty lost power, forced to evacuate Will Burns & Henry Murray

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Reporters

orth Bay wildfires caused mandatory evacuations and deliberate power-outages for many California counties in late October and early November.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. implemented its largest-ever blackout in order to prevent more fires from starting due to high winds knocking trees into power lines.

“I was evacuated out of my home [in Sonoma County] Saturday at lunchtime,” social sciences teacher Jason Enevoldson said. “I didn't get to go home till Thursday night.”

Enevoldson is one of nearly 200,000 Bay Area residents who were forced to evacuate due to the hurricane-level winds spreading the Kincade Fire across nearly 78,000 acres of land. Fire victims weren’t the only ones impacted.

“My family lost power for around three days, and I went to my grandmother's house in San Francisco in order to do homework and charge my electronic devices,” senior Will Larson said.

“I believe it was not necessary for PG&E to shut off Marin’s power as it was not very windy.”

Marin was one of the 12 Northern California counties to lose power as a result of the fire, leaving many Convent & Stuart Hall students and teachers without electricity. Enevoldson, having to actually evacuate, says the event was eye-opening.

“We had packed most of our stuff,” Enevoldson said. “It's hard to think: if you can pack one bag, what are you going to put in it?”

Enevoldson says most people should have a “go bag,” which can be grabbed in an emergency situation and contains necessities one would require to survive for 72 hours when evacuating from a disaster.

“You're supposed to get a piece of paper, stick it to your door and write ‘evacuated’ on it,” Enevoldson said. “When the police come through they can get through the neighborhoods really quickly.

[Evacuation] opens the possibility for looting, too.”

As of Nov. 4, there have been three reports of looting in evacuated areas due to the Kincade Fire.

No arrests have been made.

“People who get evacuated hopefully have friends or families outside the evacuation zones,” Enevoldson said. “If you have nowhere to go, they have shelters, but they fill up really quickly.”

There are 12 shelters open in response to the Kincade Fire, according to NBC Bay Area. However, their combined capacity is not sufficient enough to take in all the evacuees, leaving many with few options in terms of where to go.

“We went to Novato because we had friends there,” Enevoldson said. “There was no power, but we had food. We moved back on Thursday and I remember [how] nice Thursday night was.”

NorCal regions affected by fire, power outage Redding

Kincade Fire

The Kincade Fire started on Oct. 23 in Sonoma County. It burned 77,758 acres in 13 days.

Sixty structures were damaged and 374 were destroyed. There have been four confirmed injuries.

Five engines, 2 water tenders and 55 firefighters were assigned to the Kincade Fire on Nov. 6, when it reached full containment.

Ranch Fire

The Ranch Fire started on Nov. 3 in Tehama County. It has burned over 2,534 acres over eight days.

Four fire personnel and civilian injuries have been confirmed.

Ten engines, 4 water tenders and 284 fire personnel are currently assigned to the containment of the Ranch Fire, which is 95% at time of publication.

Sacramento Stockton

Yosemite

San Francisco

Approximate location of active or recently active fire

General region affected by former power outage

Significant location

Power to these areas has been restored

Sources: California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection, Heavy

The student-run publication of Stuart Hall High School | 1715 Octavia Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

Volume 11, Issue 2 | Tuesday, August 22 2017

Nik Chupkin | The Roundtable

Apprenticeship opens to art students

The student-run publication of Stuart Hall High School | 1715 Octavia Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

Artist enourages learning by connecting art to world outside classroom

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Owen Akel

Reporter

local artist is offering an apprenticeship to Convent & Stuart Hall students who are interested.

“What we will be working on in this apprenticeship is of critical importance for our society,” artist Brian Enright said about the apprenticeship he is offering.

“We are going to talk about and dig into issues that the majority of the western world pretends are not reality.”

Enright has a background in Cognitive Science and Human Computer Interaction, his first career being in usability.

He left his corporate job and became a mountaineering instructor in Alaska. He then began taking welding classes, became a welding instructor at the Crucible and later founded 12Sticks Design Studio.

“These young people are the designers of our future. They are the ones who have the ability and opportunity to create new and positive or negative changes in our world and society,” Enright said. “Working together, we will be redefining what it means to be a creator, designer and artist.”

Rachel McIntire, visual arts department chair, connected Enright with Convent & Stuart Hall.

“The apprenticeship program allows students to break out of the traditional school schedule and learn from the practice of professional artists,” McIntire said.

McIntire was introduced to Enright by Spiritual L.I.F.E Di-

rector Kirstin Monfredini, a friend of his.

“Brian's work is mind blowing,” Monfredini said. “He is all about thoughtful work that takes discarded or reclaimed objects and transforms them into something that is deeply provocative.”

Monfredini met Enright six years ago when he was invited to speak at a Stuart Hall for Boys Chapel about his Buddhist

practices.

Monfredini says Enright’s 2018 sculpture of a flower built out of confiscated weapons from the Alameda County District Attorney's Office is “one of the best dialogue starters in the art world.”

Students who are selected for the apprenticeship will visit Enright’s studio and learn about sculptural techniques.

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Stuart Hall High School Schools of the Sacred Heart, San Francisco

School Address

1715 Octavia St. San Francisco, CA 94109

Mailing Address

2222 Broadway San Francisco, CA 94115

Contact the Staff

roundtable@sacredsf.org 415.292.3161

Staff Owen Murray | Editor-in-Chief Sartaj Rajpal | Senior Reporter Nik Chupkin | Design Editor Owen Akel | Reporter Will Burns | Reporter Henry Murray | Reporter Tracy Anne Sena, CJE | Adviser Reviews and personal columns are the opinions of the individual author and are not necessarily those of Stuart Hall High School or Schools of the Sacred Heart San Francisco.

Nik Chupkin | The Roundtable

MAKING ART Art teacher Malisa Suchanya helps senior Xander Nuñez with a crafts project in the Art Studio. The art faculty informed students of the apprenticeship with Crucible instructor Brian Enright to encourage applied skills learning outside the classroom.

Corrections and letters may be addressed to the editors at roundtable@sacredsf.org