August Issue 2008

The Review

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID HOUSTON, TEXAS PERMIT 9081

The Official Student Newspaper of St. John’s School Vol. 60, Issue 1

2401 Claremont Lane; Houston, TX 77019 | http://sjsreview.net | review@sjs.org

August 2008

North Campus Transformed

By CAROLINE GIBSON This summer, the SJS North Campus underwent some renovations. The goal of these renovations, which were planned by architect Bruce Berger of Dallas-based Armstrong-Berger, was to make the campus more compatible to the needs of students.

Mr. Berger had to draw out several variations of his plans in order to see that this goal was met.

As a result of these renovations, the cobblestone pathway of the North Campus was changed to a concrete surface, and new dimensions of the surface were created in order to prevent water from pooling.

Headmaster John Allman added that an additional advantage to the new pavement is that up to seven games of foursquare can be held at once. Also, the new concrete can be used for chalk drawings.

The Mini Quad underwent a few changes as well. Trees were removed and its pavement was flattened in order to make it a more desirable place for students.

Nicole Gras (’11) said, “I like the tables and benches more than the awkward flowerbed.”

Other changes include the removal and transplanting of trees and the planting of magnolias along the fence line of Mr. Allman’s house. “We are especially proud of that area,” Director of Finances and Operations Greg Swan said.

KATHERINE CARMICHAEL | The Review

Renovations to the North Campus include repaved walkways, contoured hardwood benches and additional plant life.

A statue of two children, located in front of the admissions office, was donated by the class of 1957 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of their graduation from SJS. The $750,000 cost of these renovations was obtained from savings from previous renovation projects as well as private contributors. About $310,000

Maverick Sports Fall Preview Coaches and captains from every team discuss summer practices and what’s in store for the season ahead | See p. 5

Captains’ Chat A candid Q & A on the challenges facing the varsity football team in the upcoming season | See p. 7

Index News...........................2 Sports.........................5 BeyondSJS...................8 Photo Spread...........10 Features...................12 Opinions...................15 A&E.........................17

came from savings from the project that built Mewbourne Hall and restored the Quadrangle.

Mr. Swan said that he thinks the improvement of SJS is “an ongoing process.” He added that plans to obtain more picnic tables and to paint them are in the works.

According to Mr. Swan, the renova-

tions have been successful. “We’ve been getting positive feedback,” he said.

He continued, “We talked to a significant cross-section of our community as we planned the project and felt good about what we were trying to do.

However, at the end of the day, you also cross your fingers and hope everyone is going to like the end result.”

Summer jobs decreasing among students

By LILIANA VARMAN This summer marked one of the lowest employment rates in recent history, as students seeking summer jobs faced unemployment to a greater extent than in past years.

Assistant Headmaster Mark Reed attributed this drop in employment to the recent changes in the economy.

“Any time the economy goes down, unemployment tends to go up because there are fewer jobs available and companies cut back. If [a] company’s not employing as many people, [it doesn’t] have as much of a need to employ teenagers,” he said.

Another contributing factor is the return of elderly people to the workplace. Mr. Reed explained that when the market goes down, people who have invested in retirement packages see a decrease in the amount of money saved.

As a result, the elderly return to work and compete for the

Senior summer reading review See how this year’s assigned reading stacks up pages 18-19

same jobs that teenagers seek, such as those in the restaurant and retail businesses.

Nihal Ramchandani (’09) felt the effects of this competition firsthand when searching for a job this past summer.

“A lot of [stores] are looking for older people who will be able to work full time. They aren’t really looking for teenagers who only want a job for a few months,” he said. After applying for jobs at stores such as Barnes and Noble, Robeks, Borders and Soundwaves, he finally found a job at Vector Marketing in June.

“I sell knives, to put it bluntly,” Ramchandani said, adding, “That wasn’t supposed to be a pun.” At his job at Vector Marketing, rated by Forbes Magazine as one of the best summer jobs for teenagers, Ramchandani sold Cut-Co brand knives to specific clients.

Although it was not his original intention to work for Vector, Ramchandani said his job

Debra Magee back from London After a year abroad, Ms. Magee reflects on cultural differences and life across the pond page 8

provided him with a lot of flexibility. “I can basically make my own schedule. I call clients and then we set sales meetings, so I do almost all my work on the weekend,” he said.

Some teenagers seek summer jobs in hopes that these jobs will provide them with an activity to put on their college applications. However, given the recent rise in unemployment, such jobs are harder to come by. As a result, some teenagers are forced to fill up their schedules with other activities, such as doing community service or taking classes.

College counselors Bryan Rutledge and Cara Matzen stressed that a candidate lacking work experience is not necessarily at a disadvantage.

“Colleges just want to know that you spend your time in a way that’s valuable and meaningful to you. [Having a summer job] is not the only

See SUMMER p. 4

Behind the scenes of the SJS bookstore Feature profile of Ms. Medellin as well as a breakdown of textbook prices page 13

news

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The Review

Student causes alarm at Lamar

By MELISSA YUAN On Aug. 14, just six days before school started, SJS received a call stating there was an armed intruder on the Lamar campus.

Following security procedures, SJS responded quickly, closing all opened gates and the Lower School, due to its close proximity to the Lamar campus. Lower School students and faculty were notified to lockdown.

“We had not done that in the Upper School yet because the proximity wasn’t as much and we wanted to see what had happened,” Director of Finanace and Operations Greg Swan said.

After about ten minutes however, the school was informed that there had been a misunderstanding. There had been no armed intruder but rather only some students with toy guns.

Despite the false alarm, Mr. Swan said he believes SJS responded very well. “I think we did great,” Mr. Swan said. “We practiced this a lot… I thought we made the appropriate responses, nobody panicked. We communicated, did everything we’re supposed to.”

The SJS security procedure is nothing new. SJS has had a crisis plan for “at least the last 15, 20 years” that is “enhanced” and updated every year “One of my responsibilities… is look over that plan and to make any kind of changes that need to be done,” Mr. Swan said.

SJS has taken these security measures before, though not frequently. “[The crisis plan] has been but into action before,” Mr. Swan said, “thank goodness not too often.”

“We feel very good about our ability to be able to react to things,” Mr. Swan said.

“It doesn’t happen a lot, but we know over the school year we’ll have at least three or four things that we’ll need to find out more about.”

August 2008

Jennifer Kuhl awarded for outstanding high school Chemistry teaching

By JOE MARTINEZ Recently, Upper ing. I didn’t want to School Chemistry be stuck in a lab my teacher and Assistant whole life. That’s Dean Jennifer Kuhl for some people, it was honored with the just wasn’t for me.”

Thomas Aczel Award Ms. Kuhl returned for Outstanding High to college to earn a School Chemistry Master’s Degree in teaching. The award Education and becomes after 9 years gan her career as a of teaching and a chemistry teacher. nomination by fellow She came to SJS in chemistry teacher, place of Dr. Ken Roxana Allen. It was Lyle, who won bestowed in late May the same award in of this year by the 1995.

American ChemiThe appeals of cal Societies Greater such a career are Houston section. numerous, but for “I’m honored, I’m Ms. Kuhl it comes very excited,” Ms. down to her love Kuhl said. “When I of labs and demheard I won, I was onstrations and her ecstatic. It was such love of working an honor just to be with students. nominated.”

“I love being able An ACS committo expose or introtee votes on the winduce a student to ner from a pool of something they’ve nominees. Each is seen, but now evaluated on a numthey can explain. ber of different criYou know - givteria, including the ing someone the nominee’s teaching ability to explain a ability, their extraphysical or chemicurricular activities, cal phenomenon. and their efforts to My philosophy is I further their underwant to teach you CLAY NICKENS | The Review standing of the field Ms. Kuhl poses with her Thomas Aczel Award. ous sciences to enjoy the process, of chemistry. and then maybe you continue be involved in extracurricular Ms. Kuhl continues to In regards to teaching style, activities. Ms. Kuhl heads the increase her chemistry knowl- it on your own, not just with the teacher must demonstrate Scienctific Research and De- edge by joining the American chemistry, but you can carry it the ability to challenge and sign course, where students Chemical Society, doing sum- over to all of your classes,” Ms. inspire their pupils to not only can choose to initiate their own mer research in various labs in Kuhl said. learn chemistry but to appreci- research project in any given order to stay on top of the latest The award was also given to ate it. The teaching aspect can field, including chemistry. She chemistry developments and SJS Organic Chemistry and be assessed by the committee also works with Faraday Soci- by serving as president of the Chemistry teacher Ms. Allen in in a number of ways, such as ety on occasion.

Metropolitan Houston Chemis- 2001. It would seem Ms. Kuhl recommendations submitted is keeping up a sort of tradition In addition, Ms. Kuhl is a try Teacher Association. by both students and the SJS mentor in the science departMs. Kuhl did not even consid- of SJS winners.

Science Department head, ment of Breakthrough Hous- er being a teacher back in high When asked why this might Priscilla Elliot. ton, where she helps college school. Her decision to become be so, Ms. Kuhl said, “I honestly “I can only imagine [the and high school students learn a teacher occurred after work- think it’s because we are so pascommittee] saw a dynamic how to teach science classes. ing as a science research assis- sionate about what we do. Our classroom where students are She is a teacher in the Hous- tant. peers are very willing to recogconstantly questioned and ton Engineering Math Science “When I graduated college, nize the staff, [and] our whole asked to try new things, do Institute summer program that my goal was to become a re- department appreciates the fact new things. Chemistry is a takes students through four search scientist, to continue in that others need to be recogdaunting process, and I try to summers of classes and eventu- academics or in research within nized for their great work.” make it accessible to all,” Ms. ally leads to an internship with a company. A year after that, I Kuhl said. a company specializing in vari- decided my work wasn’t fulfillThe award winner must also

Peer Leaders to assist incoming freshmen

By ANNE-CHARLOTTE PROFFITT In an attempt to counteract potential feelings of anxiety, confusion or isolation among Freshmen, Upper School Counselor Pat Reynolds is focusing on expanding her program, Peer Leaders.

Although Peer Leaders has been an SJS program for about four years, the program had only girls helping out. Ms. Reynolds and a committee decided that they wanted to expand the program. “So we consolidated, added boy peer leaders, and just kind of re-vamped the whole program,” she said.

Each freshman advisory is assigned two or three Peer Leaders to help out with various

things during the year. “Peer Leaders are an important part of our support system for freshmen,” Ms. Reynolds said. In addition to being Upperclassmen that freshmen can look up to, Peer Leaders are also another set of eyes and ears for the advisor that they are assigned to.

“We’ve cast our nets far and wide because if I was to have the Peer Leaders stand up in front of everybody, I would want each child to say ‘Oh! I see me in that person!’” Ms. Reynolds said of the seniors she chose for Peer Leaders. The variety of students who are Peer Leaders assures that all students can feel comfortable approaching someone from the program.

Despite the new changes to the program, Ms. Reynolds said

she believes that the program can still improve, and the committee in charge is looking for feedback for future years.

“Meanwhile,” Ms. Reynolds said, “[The Peer Leaders are] out there helping us make sure people aren’t getting lost, people get their books, people find where they’re going, people get to fine arts and visual arts and athletic things and things we do that are social here on campus.”

Photo courtesy of Pat Reynolds

Peer Leaders meet to discuss plans for the new year

news

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August 2008

SJS welcomes eight new faces to the Upper School Heidi Arouty

SJS welcomes the new Caprice I and Dance 8 teacher, Heidi Arouty, to the Fine Arts department.

When she was just two-yearsold she was very pigeon- toed, so her mother sought advice from a doctor. Ms. Arouty said, “The doctor told my mother that she could put me in braces for my legs or I could try dance.” Thus, a young Ms. Arouty was enrolled in ballet classes and has been dancing ever since.

Ms. Arouty will be teaching part-time. For the rest of the day, she takes care of her 11month-old son and three-yearold daughter who loves to sing and has already started dancing as well.

Before teaching Caprice I and Dance 8 here at SJS, Ms. Arouty danced with the Skidmore Rangerettes. While attending school there she danced internationally and attended the World Cup, a prestigious ballet competition.

Before switching to private school, Ms. Arouty taught in public schools for seven years.

So far, she said that she has enjoyed her time at SJS and that she loves the “positive” atmosphere and hopes “to grow and learn as much as my students.”

- Caroline Gibson

Lisa Blomquist

Holding a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree and working towards a Ph.D. in French, Lisa Travis Blomquist joins the SJS faculty for the 2008-2009 school year.

Although she is only teaching one class, she has studied at Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt-inFrance, Rice, Bryn Mawr College Institut D’études Francaises d’Avignon, George Washington University, and New York University.

Her first trip to Paris catapulted her into the study of French.

Since this trip, she has been to France nine times and said she loves the atmosphere.

Ms. Blomquist said that she is excited about teaching at SJS. However, she will not be at SJS next year because she will be leaving Houston with her husband. “My husband is a radi-

ologist and will be completing a fellowship in Birmingham, Alabama for the 2009-2010 school year. After one year in Birmingham, we don’t know where we’ll go. We could potentially end up back in Houston.”

Even though she will only be able to teach here for a year Ms. Blomquist said that she is excited about teaching French at SJS. She said, “I have only taught at a college level but I am excited about teaching on a high school level.”

Sarah Currie

Sarah Currie (’02), a recent graduate of SJS, returns this year as the new Stewardship Coordinator in the Advancement Office.

Growing up, Ms. Currie did not particularly know what she wanted to do, although she “always wanted to work for a non-profit” organization.

Before coming to SJS, she worked in a variety of jobs and helped to market Polo Ralph Lauren’s latest line, Rugby. She also worked in a boutique law firm in New York and continued to work for them after she moved to Houston.

Although Ms. Currie said that the move from working at home to working at school was a little tough, she is “so excited about coming back [to SJS]. I love the people who work here.

I love my co-workers. I love the students.”

This year Ms. Currie is looking forward to the challenges her job will bring. She especially hopes to coach soccer and track & field after she settles in. “I’m really glad the kids are back,” she said about the students returning from summer break.

“The school is just so much more alive with them.”

- Veronica Chu

Walker Fair

Walker Fair, a Kinkaid alumnus, now joins the SJS community as the new Technical Theater Director and Theater Manager. He said he still remembers the SJS campus from when he was an extra for the Wes Anderson movie

Rushmore during his years at Kinkaid.

“I’m happy to be back,” Mr. Fair said. “It’s a beautiful theater. I’m really excited to be here and work in it.”

“Anything that happens in the VST or in the Lowe Theater or in the Black Box, I’m responsible for making sure it all happens correctly and on time,” he said. He will design the sets and is in charge of set building, lighting, and sound for all the school productions.

In addition to his other responsibilities, Mr. Fair will be teaching Middle School Technical Theater. He said he has fond memories of his technical theater classes at Kinkaid, taught by Anthony Leakey, Upper School and Middle Schoo Theatre Director and Johnnycake Sponsor, with whom he will now work side by side. “[Mr. Leakey] taught me my love of technical theater,” he said.

After graduating, moving to Kentucky, and working a nontheater related job, Mr. Fair said he found himself missing the theater and missing home.

So when Mr. Leakey informed him of the open position at SJS, he did not hesitate to accept the job and move back to his hometown.

Mr. Fair said his new position was his “dream job” because it combined the “opportunity to come back down here [to Houston] and the opportunity to get back into tech.”

- Sarah Windham

Stephen Kehs

found in North Carolina, he said he is beginning to enjoy his new home in Houston.

Karen Lievre

Jack Soliman

Karen Lievre has joined the Advancement Office as the new Assistant to the Advancement Director and Research Coordinator for the 2008-2009 school year.

Ms. Lievre came to SJS in November of 2007 after working for almost eighteen years at the YMCA of Greater Houston. At the YMCA, Ms. Lievre worked in Development and as the Director of Membership and Marketing. She transferred when her old supervisor, Director of Advancement Mark Dini, referred her to SJS shortly after he moved from the YMCA. While Ms. Lievre said she enjoyed working at the YMCA, she added that she finds her job at SJS much more pleasant. She said she prefers SJS because of its “friendly environment. [It’s] the best I have ever worked in,” Ms. Lievre said.

When Ms. Lievre is not working, she passes the time with a variety of relaxing activities, including reading and watching movies. Her favorite form of leisure is spending time with her husband and two sons. Both boys, ages eight and 14, play for a select baseball team.

Ms. Lievre said she “cannot wait to make an impact on SJS advancement” in the 2008-2009 school year.

Cheryl Plummer

Stephen Kehs, the new Spanish teacher, enters the SJS halls all the way from a North Carolina public high school Mr. Kehs, a man who said he loves his guitar, cards, music, shrimp and traveling, said he could recognize traits of a teacher in himself even as a child. He agreed to tutor his younger sister at the encouragement of his parents despite his sister’s protests.

When he stayed with a family in Spain and felt a connection to the language, culture, and his foster family, Mr. Kehs said he knew he wanted to pursue a career that would allow him to share his experience in Spain with others.

Interested in doing something different, Mr. Kehs decided to move to Houston, the hometown of his girlfriend, who teaches at Strake Jesuit. Mr. Kehs said he was impressed by the physical appearance of SJS, as well as the faculty and the students he met.

Though Mr. Kehs said he is not quite adjusted to his new home and may never quite adjust to the intense traffic not

with a football team except for her graduate school, so she said she feels extremely lucky to be a part of this team. Along with football, Ms. Plummer’s favorite sports are lacrosse and field hockey, both of which she played all the way through college.

Not only does she enjoy working at the admissions office, but she also loves all kids.

She said, “In general, I’m one of those people that thinks kids are great… They’re the greatest people and they’re so much fun and they have so much promise and their whole lives ahead of them.”

- Anne-Charlotte Proffitt

Among the new faces on campus is Cheryl Plummer, the new Head of Admissions at SJS. Ms. Plummer has been working in the field of admissions for ten years all over the country from Colorado to Washington, D.C. She spent the last year at the Kipp foundation and said that she really missed being in a school environment, so she is happy to be back.

“I’m excited to be at a school with a football team and [to go] to games,” Ms. Plummer said.

She explained that she has never gone to or worked at a school

A recent addition to SJS is Jack Soliman, who will be teaching both Upper School World and United States history, along with assisting to coach the SJS Golf Team.

When Mr. Soliman decided that he wanted to pursue teaching, he preferred to do so in an environment similar to the one he grew up in, making SJS an opportunity that he “couldn’t turn down,” he said.

Mr. Soliman said he chose to teach history because of the connections it has to his life.

His parents were both immigrants from the Philippines, and though he was born in the United States, he began to see how patterns in history affected their lives and his.

He said that a good teacher is one who can “understand the experience that kids go through, and connect important curricular themes and lessons to those personal experiences.”

Outside of the classroom, Mr. Soliman is an avid golfer. He said that if he could spend a week doing anything, it would be playing in one of the four Professional Golfer’s Association Tour Majors, and then playing head-to-head against Tiger Woods on Sunday afternoon.

Mr. Soliman even briefly considered a professional golf career, but decided against it because other priorities and his strong desire to be a teacher were more important to him.

“To pursue a professional golf career, one needs to be centrally focused, backed with great sums of money, and needs to be extraordinarily talented and accomplished. At that time in my life I was unsure that I had any of those things,” he said.

Mr. Soliman also said h loves to spend time with his wife, Joyce, and four-year-old daughter, Isabel. He said, “My wife and daughter help to define who I am. My small family is the most important thing in my life.”

- Bagwhat Kumar

4

news

August 2008

History teacher recovers from summer brain surgery

By JOE MARTINEZ been a bit anxOne noticeable abious throughsence among the SJS out the entire faculty this school year ordeal, but he is Upper School Hishas been helped tory teacher Dr. Richalong the way ard Doina, who will by the teaching not be returning to acstaff such as Uptive teaching duty until per School HisSeptember due to a retory teachers cent brain surgery.

Ted Curry and Dr. Doina is victim Wendall Zartto the brain disorder man. He seems epilepsy, specifically very grateful for mesial temporal lobe all of SJS rallyepilepsy of the right ing around him cerebral hemisphere. in such a strong Epilepsy is a condition and unified in which the brain’s manner. natural electrical activWhen his ity seems to spike to abmother asked normally high levels at if he had called random times, causing his brothers neurons to effectively recently, Dr. explode and resulting Doina replied in seizures of various that he talked types and magnitudes. to his brother Dr. Doina has had the everyday. He condition since infancy, was referring and he said hebelieves not to his bioa high fever at that age logical brothers, left scar tissue directly but to Douglas on his brain. The scars Carr, SJS Upper ALLISON PFEIFFER | The Quadrangle were found to be the School Physics epicenter of the sei- Upper School history teachers Stephen Popp and Dr. Richard Doina embrace in front of the Texas State Capitol buildteacher. zures. His seizures have ing. Dr. Doina appreciates all the support from the SJS community.

“He is someone who has occurred throughout always been there for me. type of epilepsy, the damage to during the last week of July his lifetime, though they were the brain and its surrounding 2008 at Memorial Hermann es,” Dr. Doina said. He added, When I was waiting to have a few and far between. However, tissue can become significant Hospital in the Medical Cen- “That’s one of the great parts seizure in the hospital feeling the epilepsy seemed to worsen about St. John’s: your colleagues over time. ter under neurologist Jeremy really care about you and they anxious and uncomfortable, starting in January 2005, when I would call Mr. Carr late at While this damage would not Slater, MD and neurological Dr. Doina began experiencing take care of you and they come night just to say I was really be directly fatal, there was the surgeon Nitin Tandon, MD. more intense sensations. to your aid when there is the having a tough time and he’d fear that Dr. Doina could have For the most part, Dr. Doina’s “Apparently there are difa seizure while driving or doing recovery has gone well. At the need. It’s a big burden for them say, ‘Let’s talk about it.’ That’s ferent kinds of sensations and any other activity where help moment, the difficult part is his to take over the courses; they what friendship is all about, ways in which they manifest need extra preparation.” being supportive and being might not be available. energy level. for different people. Mine were He plans to return to SJS some- there,” Dr. Doina said.

Dr. Doina opted for surgery.

“I get worn out pretty quicka warm feeling that began in the “I’m very fortunate to have “I was very fortunate. Both the ly, but when I’m up, I watch time this September, though lower extremities and started doctor and the surgeon said TV, do some reading, get on before then he will be working people like that out there; to move upward. Then I would I was a textbook case, and so the computer, do some work. with Stephen Johnson, Upper [Mr. Carr] helped me get have difficulties concentratthey were very optimistic,” he My energy level is still pretty School Head Technologist, to through it. In many ways, I’m ing and focusing. Sometimes it form a sort of online chat room overwhelmed by the level of said. low,” Dr. Doina said. would almost feel like it was an to work with students in his The surgery was a temporal Despite these difficulties, he classes to help him “ease back support at St. John’s, all the out-of-body experience, like I cards from friends, phone lobe resection, where the focus said that he feels he is lucky wasn’t really there,” Dr. Doina calls, little emails asking how of the seizures was removed. in that his recovery is being into the groove of things.” said.

In the meantime, he still must I’m doing. There’s a feeling of Before the surgery, Dr. Doina greatly eased by the supportive Then in September of the had an induced seizure while nature of the entire SJS com- finish his recovery, which in- isolation when you are sitting same year, Dr. Doina had two cludes lots of rest and going in at home not being able to do hooked up to an EEG machine, munity. seizures that made him pass for cognitive studies to see how a whole lot. Every little bit is which enabled the doctors to “I’m very fortunate to have out. The frequency and durapinpoint the exact location of colleagues who are willing to his brain is processing informa- very helpful.” tion of the seizures were inthe seizures. After the location step up and cover my class- tion post-surgery. creasing, and in this particular Dr. Doina said that he has was found, surgery took place getting an education. The fact is that a vast majority of individuals who earn a bachelor’s degree never see poverty as defined by the U.S. governvaluable and productive way to spend the sum- ment,” he said. mer, and colleges recognize that,” Ms. Matzen “Education should be the primary focus, [but] said.

I’m certainly not against working,” he added. In Another strong incentive for teenagers to get fact, as a teen, Mr. Reed worked as a dishwasher summer jobs is to earn extra spending money. in a restaurant, and eventually worked his way College counselor Bryan Rutledge said, “There up to helping the cooks prepare food. is a feeling about earning money that is hard to “[It] was certainly not my favorite job by any replace,” and added that having a job can teach stretch of the imagination, but [it was a] great teenagers the value of money. experience,” Mr. Reed said. The experience also While Ramchandani said that money is “obvi- helped him realize that the restaurant business ously the best part” of workwas not a path that he wanted ing, he agreed that jobs can to pursue.

“That’s an unbelievable be educational as well. He “One of the advantages mentioned that his job proabout getting a job [is that] benefit that you can get vided him with opportunities from working. It’s not just it helps you realize things to improve his entrepreneur- about the paycheck, it’s also you might or might not be ial skills as well as his compassionate about. I think it’s about discovering somemunication skills. an awesome opportunity for Ms. Matzen also mentioned thing you’re really passion- someone to work and get that that having a job provides an experience and realize that ate about.” opportunity for teenagers to that’s a passion in life and do learn responsibility. it. That’s an unbelievable benefit that you can get “You depend on yourself as a teenager, but with from working. It’s not just about the paycheck, a job, other people depend on you. You have to it’s also about discovering something you’re rebe there to unlock the doors or to close the reg- ally passionate about,” he said. ister correctly, or else other people suffer,” she Even though the future of teen employment is said. uncertain, Mr. Reed said he is optimistic. “I am Mr. Reed agreed and said that jobs can provide a believer in the US economy. I believe in a free “endless opportunities” for teenagers. However, market economy, so I believe that we will come he said that jobs can also serve as a distraction out of this,” he said. for students.

“As an educator, I believe teenagers should be

SUMMER cont. from p. 1

Detention slips issued via e-mail

By SAM DUNN This year the SJS Upper School has introduced a new way of submitting detention halls, mid-semester comments, academic progress reports, excessive tardy notations and work halls. Instead of handing paper and forms to students, the faculty will now be giving all this information online.

The way the new system will work for d-halls is that a faculty member will inform a student that he or she has received a detention. Then, the aforementioned faculty member will log onto Whipple Hill and submit a d-hall via the comments section. The d-hall is then submitted to Upper School Dean of Students Dan Alig and Assistant Dean Jennifer Kuhl. Either Dean Alig or Ms. Kuhl will approve the d-hall and then send an email to the student, parent

and possibly athletic coach.

The email itself does not say what the d-hall is for, but the student can find out by logging onto Whipple Hill to check the Comments section. When asked what the benefits to an online submission were, Dean Alig said, “It sorts out paperwork, communication is almost instantaneous rather than a waiting period for the paperwork to be filed and approved and it informs many people immediately due to email.”

Another reason for the change is that “SJS wishes to be more environmentally friendly and switching to an online system saves a ton of paper,” Dean Alig said. He added that “Detention halls have dropped in half the last two years” and that “numbers are expected to stay where they are.” So even though the process will be easier, students should not have to worry about an increase in detentions.

August 2008

sports The Review

5

Varsity teams look ahead to fall season

The Mavericks faced off against Northland Christian in a scrimmage on August 22nd. The team suffered a loss, 24-21.

By SARAH NASSER With the school year back in full swing, the Mavericks haven’t wasted a minute mourning the loss of last year’s seniors, and are instead looking to the future with high spirits and even higher expectations. From talented underclassmen to new training techniques, each team has their own new plan to achieve its goals this season.

Girls Cross Country In girls cross country, the Mavericks have high expectations to make improvements in both individual and team goals. Though they lost some strong seniors last year, this year’s leadership in captains Meredith Gamble (’10), Brittany Beavers (’09) and Nelly Kontchou (’09) “has proved to be wonderful, and [the team] really didn’t miss a beat,” Coach Rachel Skinner said.

One of the biggest changes this season is the increased number of freshman runners. After adding only one new freshman last year, the team has added five freshmen this season.

“They’ve added kind of a new energy and spark to the team, both athletically and personally,” said Coach Skinner.

However, even with new runners, the biggest challenge remains the same.

“Our biggest difficulty will be staying injury-free,” Coach Skinner said. “With so many different types of runners, the key is to push them to where they need to be for SPC while at the same time keep them healthy.” One last thing that the team will need is support. “With the Olympics […] you can see how much crowd support can affect an athlete’s performance. It would be awesome to get everyone out at the Ramble, to be loud and encourage the runners,” Coach Skinner Said.

Girls Volleyball Girls volleyball has already started out the season strong, winning the first tournament of the year at Fort Worth Christian Academy. This year’s team has added a large number of club players this season.

In captain Julia Gibbs’ (’09) eyes, this year’s varsity team has a lot of potential.

“Our team is really going to come together like we did this past weekend [at the tournament], and I’m excited about what we can accomplish,” said Gibbs.

Last year, the team had some trouble finishing off games and holding onto the lead. This year, Gibbs is confident that it won’t be a problem. “Even if we’re behind, I never feel like we’re going to lose the game. We’re always able to come through and finish it out,” said Gibbs.

Football

This season, the football team is hoping to exceed the low expectations that have been set for them. “People expect us to have an off season because we have no returning varsity starters,” said captain Kyle Sparks (’09). “But we worked a lot during the off-season, and I expect we’ll have a pretty good season.”

Like every other sport, the football team had a hard time finding replacements for last year’s seniors, which included finding ways to fix the loss of depth and size in the lineup. However, the team is “working on playing on a solid, consistent level, knowing our assignments and being a more cohesive unit,” Sparks said.

A few new players are hoping to help the team maintain that solid playing level. “Jett Williams (’10) will have a really good season. So will Rush Moody (’10) and Jack Waller (’10), and of course the captains have been working hard too,” said Sparks.

Some big games this season include the counters against St. Mark’s School of Texas and Episcopal High School, but a

St. Thomas High School and Second Baptist will also be on the schedule, two teams that the Mavericks don’t usually play against in the regular season.

Field Hockey This season, the Maverick field hockey team has one goal: to match last year’s successes. “We’re trying to mimic last year’s season as best as we can because it was so successful,” captain Kelley Harrison (’09) said.

In 2007, the team finished with a record of 16 wins and one loss, remaining undefeated until the SPC tournament.

One major obstacle will be to fill the middle line, left wide open by last year’s seniors. “The seniors were our complete straight down center of our field,” said Harrison.

However, “we do have a lot of incoming players that should add a lot in the center.” These new players have been training hard over the summer “in order to learn the new positions and try to fill them as best as they can,” Harrison said.

With eager replacements ready to step into the lineup, “[meeting] our goals shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Last season, the Mavericks had a strong win streak that extended from the first game through winning South Zone.

“We want to repeat our South Zone win and head into SPC in the top seed,” said Harrison. “I feel like we should be really good.”

Boys Cross Country The boys cross country motto: “Pain and fatigue are inevitable. Glory… is optional.” According to captain Ben Marek (’10), this year’s team is definitely heading for the glory.

“I have very high expectations for this year’s team,” Marek said. “We have a lot of great runners and a great new group of freshmen.”

However, once again, the graduation of last year’s seniors has proven to be yet

KATHERINE CARMICHAEL | The Review

another athletic loss. “We lost a couple of vital seniors in Tyler Citek (’08) and Eric Elliott (’08), who turned in great performances at SPC last year,” said Marek.

But the Mavericks are not worried.

Captain Carlos Falcon (’09) returns to the team for his second year as captain, and the team “feels lucky to have him back,” said Marek. “We have a really great core of sophomores, juniors, and Falcon… I’d definitely like to see a top three finish at SPC for us this year.”

Boys Volleyball For boys volleyball, the brand-new addition of sophomores to the team is the spark that will make the team “significantly different from before,” Coach Eric Lombardi said.

At the end of last season, the team set an SJS record, finishing at an all-time low of seventh place in the SPC tournament.

“This season,” Lombardi said, “our first priority is to make sure we don’t have the same falling-apart problems we did last year.”

With a new dependence on the underclassmen, the younger team is seeing a lot of big changes. This youth should play a large role. “At the beginning of the season, it hurts more, because you’re working your way up to the varsity level,” Lombardi said. “With younger players,” Lombardi said, “there is more room for improvement. They are good players and are definitely at the varsity level.”

Another big key for the Mavericks this year will be meeting their own expectations. “We’re working on…a level of intensity and expectation of ourselves… every match that we play will be about building those expectations,” Coach Lombardi said.

With a new team and a new level of motivation, the Mavericks are aiming to finish no less than fifth in every tournament, starting with one right here at home on Sept. 5th and 6th.

6

August 2008

sports

Mavericks in action: upcoming sporting events Volleyball

Football 8/29 7:00 vs. Concordia Lutheran 9/5 7:00 vs. Second Baptist 9/19 7:00 vs. Greenhill 10/10 7:00 vs. EHS 10/24 7:00 vs. Holland Hall 10/31 7:30 vs. KHS AT RICE

9/4 6:30 Girls vs. Houston Christian 9/20 11:00 Girls vs. ESD 10/1 5:30 Boys vs. Kinkaid 10/7 5:30 Boys at EHS

Field Hockey 9/16 5:15 vs. EHS 9/20 11:00 vs. ESD 9/23 5:45 vs. Duchesne 10/2 6:00 vs. Lamar 10/15 5:15 vs. KHS

A football fan’s fantasy As football season begins, SJS students start multiple fantasy leagues

By BLAKE WULFE Millions of people play fantasy football during the fall season, and while SJS students may have different ideas of how fantasy football should be played, it is an enjoyable pastime for many students.

Fantasy football is a game in which team managers draft real football players for their team, and then compete against

“Our league is not intense at all. Honestly, we don’t really care that much if we win,” Andrew Mintz (‘10) other teams in a league. The website which SJS students Andrew Mintz (’10), Ryan Cordill (‘09) and Carter Pearson (‘09) all said they play on is Yahoo!.

The reason for this, according to Mintz, was that “Yahoo makes it easy to set up a league however you want,” he continued by saying, “with yahoo you can choose the point system, number of teams and who will be in the league.”

The point system for fantasy football leagues is a huge part of play, and it determines a manager’s strategy.

“The leagues I play in use the general Yahoo rules because everyone already understands them, and they seem to work pretty well,” Cordill said. However, many people chose to change up the rules, either to make the game more interesting or fairer.

Pearson, who has been playing fantasy football for three years, said, “we try to balance the rules so that receivers, quarterbacks and running backs all receive similar amounts of points.” In addition, Pearson’s league does not use the generic yahoo lineup, but rather one they chose to create on their own.

The point system for fantasy football is based on many different stats, but the ones most focused on for offensive players are the yards gained and

touchdowns. By changing the number of points awarded for yards or touchdowns, managers are able to change how valuable certain players are, once again changing their strategy.

Some leagues alter the point system drastically. Mintz’s league of four people, which he calls a “two man league,” is one of these. “Stuart [Dickerson] (‘10) created it so that all the rules are backwards. You are trying to draft the worst team possible,” he said.

Because of the change in rules, Mintz’s strategy is very different from managers in other leagues. “My strategy for 2 man league is basically to find the worst players, on the worst teams. This year the team I am looking for players on is the Carolina Panthers… they [stink],” he said.

Pearson’s strategy is considerably different, yet it still attempts to achieve a similar goal. “Tony Romo was my guy last year, and I think he is going to do even better this year. Marion barber will come through at running back, and pretty much the entire Cowboy’s offense is going to do well this year,” he said.

Some strategies apply not only to specific players, but also to more general aspects of a fantasy football line up.

“My strategy is to draft strong players at every position except quarterback, because they don’t really matter in fantasy football. I prefer strong running backs,”

“I’m a pretty competitive person, and it helps fulfill that part of me, and it’s just an all-around fun thing that you and your friends can do together.”

Ryan Cordill (‘09) Cordill said.

In Yahoo’s general rules, this strategy is relatively common because running backs receive more points for touchdowns than quarterbacks, making them more valuable.

Some managers’ strategy is to chose players they admire and support in real life. “Angus [Mitchell (‘09)] always picks Adam “Pacman” Jones and Wes Walker, and tries to win with players he likes,” Pearson said.

The creativity for different fantasy football managers allows for different and unique leagues in which each player has a different strategy. This adaptability helps keep fantasy football interesting.

Another aspect that defines the attitude toward play in a league is how intense the managers of that league are.

“Our league is not intense at all. Honestly, we don’t really care that much if we win,” Mintz said.

Pearson agrees with this saying, “Peo-

ple would like to win, but it’s really just for fun.” Some Fantasy football managers have a different view. “Our league is pretty intense, everyone has a lot riding on how they do and whether or not they win,” Cordill said.

No matter how intense a league you are in, fantasy football is fun and interesting. Cordill said he enjoys it because “I’m a pretty competitive person, and it helps fulfill that part of me, and it’s just an all-around fun thing that you and your friends can do together.”

From the draft to the championship game, fantasy football is a game of strategy and luck, but mainly it “is a fun activity that I don’t really need to put that much time into to enjoy,” said Mintz.

sports

7

August 2008

Dissecting the code: a guide to understanding football

Q & A:

the varsity football captains on the season ahead

Football players aren’t the only ones working hard under those Friday night lights. Caught amidst the avid supporters who follow every play, commenting under their breath and the over-enthusiastic fans cheering when everyone else cheers, are the baffled onlookers, concentrating with absolutely no idea as to what is occurring on the green expanse before them.

These are the fans who have gone to countless football games yet still think “down” is used only to describe a location. They cannot tell you the difference between a Fullback and a Running Back.

Or a Tailback and a Slotback. They sit on the metal bleachers, munching on popcorn and try to figure out just why the players are tackling and dodging the way they are.

Below is a list of terms that should help these fans on their way to understanding one of high school America’s most popular sports. Read them or even (in typical SJS fashion) study them, and this Friday’s football game should make a lot more sense.

• Coin Toss o With the flick of a referee’s thumb, this coin toss will determine which team receives the ball first and which end zone they will try to score in first. The team’s change sides each quarter, and the team who kicked off to start the game receives the ball at the beginning of the third quarter.

• Kickoff o Used to start each half and after each score, the kicker boots the ball down the field as far as possible. If the player who is receiving the kick deems the kick returnable, he will try to advance the ball as far down the field as possible. If the receiver catches the ball in the end zone, he has the option to kneel the ball, automatically placing it at the 20 yard line. If the kicker kicks it out of bounds, a penalty is issued and the receiving team gets the ball at the 35 yard line. What a momentum shift!

• Offense o Consisting of the quarterback, fullback and half back, the backfield controls the running game. Once the center hikes the ball to the quarterback, he will have the option of handing it to the fullback, handing it to the half back, running the ball himself or passing to one of his receivers. The fullback is closest to the quarterback, followed by the half back. The receivers line up to the sides of the quarterback. The offensive linemen line up in the middle of the field in front of the quarterback. Without great blocking, nothing can be accomplished on offense. They are the most important part of the offense.

• Defense o The defensive linemen line up facing the offensive line.

They are always trying to tackle the quarterback or a running back if one of them gets the ball. The secondary is where it gets confusing. The secondary consists of cornerbacks and safeties. Cornerbacks prevent the receivers from catching the ball, and the safeties prevent deep passes from being completed and provide help for the cornerbacks. Likewise, linebackers provide help for the defensive line.

• Penalties o The most common penalty issued during a game is a false start. This violation is caused when an offensive player crosses the line of scrimmage (a straight line to the sidelines from the ball) or when an offensive lineman so much as flinches before the ball is hiked. Other common penalties include offsides and holding.

Offsides occurs when a defensive player lines up past the line of scrimmage when the ball is hiked. Holding occurs when an offensive player does not stay in front of the man he is blocking but still holds onto him.

Hopefully, these definitions have helped your understanding of football. If you are still confused by the referee waiving his arms in all kinds of directions and the quarterback yelling all kinds of terms before the play, maybe you should just stick to admiring Ethan Harry’s (’09) chizzled features or even Buddy Carruth’s (’09) rippling biceps.

Scoring Definitons Touchdown: When a player crosses the goal line, his team receives six points Extra Point: After a successful touchdown, if a player successfully kicks the ball through the goal posts, his team receives one point Two Point Conversion: After a successful touchdown, a team may chose to attempt to run or pass the ball over the goal line for two points instead of an extra point Field Goal: When a player successfully kicks the ball through the goal posts, his team receives three points Safety: When a player is tackled in his own endzone, the opposing team receives two points and possesion of the ball

KATHERINE CARMICHAEL | The Review

Kyle Sparks (‘09) and Ethan Harry (‘09) discuss the upcoming year with Timothy Bernica (‘09) and Bryce Hollingsworth (‘09).

Q: What are the aspects of the team that will be different this year?

Timothy Bernica (’09): Every starting player is different.

Ethan Harry (’09): None of us are playing the same position. We just have to adapt to that, and I think we will.

Q: How will you go about adapting to these changes?

Jeff Wu (’09): Just camouflage.

Harry: No. We’ve changed some blocking assignments and we’ve done some things differently to adapt to our personnel.

Q: Is that because the team is smaller this year?

Harry: Yea. Bryce Hollingsworth (’09): Because we’re smaller, we need to make sure we’re better at doing our job as opposed to making a big play. Most of the guys that we have worked out over the summer as much as possible and are as big as they’re going to get.

Harry: Which is not very big.

Q: With all the younger players on the team, how will the players go about gaining experience as the year goes on?

Wu: Like in Pokémon, you battle to gain experience points. We’ve been doing the same.

Hollingsworth: Seeing as a lot of us will have to go on the line both ways, we’ve been doing a lot of cardio and hitting the sled a lot.

Wu: If you were wondering what kind of shape we are in, it’s an octagon.

Q: Is Jeff (Wu) the jokester of the team?

Wu: Absolutely not. I take everything seriously.

Harry: That is not true. Everything is a joke to you.

Q: How is this year’s team’s camaraderie level different than last year?

Kyle Sparks (’09): Our team is a lot closer than last year’s team when there was a lot of feuding between the linemen.

Bernica: People we don’t like, we just light them up in practice.

Harry: There isn’t anyone on the team that I feel like I couldn’t talk to.

Hollingsworth: No one on the team feels like they need to be a hero. Last year, everyone wanted the big hit and to make the big play, and when they didn’t, it messed up the game. Also, this year, if someone makes a mistake, you can tell them what they did wrong and how to fix it.

Not last year. We don’t have any ego problems this year.

Wu: That’s because our team is super young.

Hollingsworth: For a lot of us, it’s our first and last year on varsity, so we don’t get a second chance.

Harry: We’ve wanted to play together for a long time. Except I really don’t want to play with Jeff.

Q: Will there be any different game plans this year?

Harry: If we get the pass protection down, we could see a lot more passing, and I think we will get that down.

Q: What is the biggest weakness of the team?

Harry: Our weakness is our overall strength on the team.

Wu: Our strength is our weakness, in fact.

Q: What is the team’s biggest strength?

Harry: Some of our team’s biggest strengths are our camaraderie and our intelligence. Kyle, you have five seconds to give me back my pizza. As you can see, our strength is our camaraderie.

Wu: No, our team’s biggest strength is rush defense.

Harry: Jeff’s just saying that because he plays middle linebacker. It’s our pass offense.

Q: How do you older players treat the younger players?

Harry: We make them do some stuff, but they’re really part of the team.

Bernica: They kind of scare me.

Sparks: There is respect for all of them. Jett [Williams] (’10) and Rush [Moody] (’10) are obviously going to be a big part of our team.

Harry: Same with Jack Waller (’11), Cameron [Neal] (’11) and William Payne (’10).

Q: Is there more athleticism on the team this year?

Harry: At the skill positions, yes.

Q: How do you plan on exploiting that?

Harry: We want to get the ball out wide and throw the ball a lot, and we have a lot of good receivers. If Kyle could catch, he’d be a really good receiver.

Q: What good or bad came out of the Northland Christian scrimmage?

Harry: We weren’t ready for the speed of the game, so I think that will help us out a lot, and we’ll be ready for the first game.

Q: If you had to tell the fans one last reason to argue why they should come out to all the home games, what would it be?

Bernica: Because we’re wearing tight pants.

beyondSJS

8 London Calling

The Review

August 2008 Photo courtesy of Sami Helgason.

After spending a year across the proverbial pond, former SJS teacher Debra Magee returns to the land of barbeque and boots

By SHEILA NEWAR Though she didn’t receive the same airport welcome that The Beatles did when they arrived stateside in 1964, Debra Magee’s former students will certainly welcome her back from the year she spent across the proverbial pond in London.

Ms. Magee, who taught middle school pre-algebra and algebra at SJS for eleven years, moved to London in May 2007 due to her husband’s job transfer.

Though Ms. Magee was not new to living abroad—she has previously lived in Indonesia—she admitted that being a global citizen has its disadvantages. “The hardest part about moving was leaving my family and friends,” she explained.

However, Ms. Magee’s life in London was never dull. She continued teaching middle school math at the American School in London. Now that she’s back in Houston, she hopes to return to teaching soon.

Houston and London are not only separated by the Atlantic Ocean but also a great cultural divide, Ms. Magee explained.

“The major differences between London and Houston are cultural,” she re-

Ms. Magee, who spent a year abroad in London, celebrated her 60th birthday with her former advisory, class of 2010. marked. “In London there is such a variety of people with many nationalities.

The city is incredibly diverse—it’s like a melting pot!”

Ms. Magee also mentioned the shocking difference in the climates of the two cities. Obviously, London winters are much more severe than Texas winters, and the year-round climate in the city is dreary compared to the hot, humid sunshine of Texas’ gulf coast region.

In addition, London’s urban lifestyle contrasted with the suburban sprawl of Houston. Ms. Magee and her husband lived in a flat in the business and banking sector on the east side of London.

“We stayed in a great location,” Ms. Magee said. “I was able to walk more

or less everywhere I needed to go. I did have a car, but I preferred walking or taking the public transportation system.”

Ms. Magee took advantage of London’s proximity to the treasures of continental Europe. Over the past summer, she traveled in both Europe and Africa, beginning in Barcelona and traveling to Madrid, Normandy, Paris, Rome, Florence, and Milan before ending her trip in Morocco.

While living abroad, Ms. Magee kept in close touch with her family and friends, especially Florence Harris, the administrative assistant to the head of the middle school. Ms. Magee’s three children visited her twice over her year-

long furlough.

Even so, Ms. Magee wished she could have shared more of her exciting new experiences with her friends from back home.

“The main regret I have while living abroad is that we did not stay long enough for our friends to come over and visit and experience the culture and lifestyle we were living in London,” she said.

Overall, Ms. Magee said that her experience abroad was invaluable. “It was the trip of a lifetime, so many memories,” she said. “That was the best part about living in London—I had the opportunity to travel and visit…stuff that is just not available in the States.”

beyondSJS

9

August 2008

Believe

Photo courtesy of Avital Bisk.

The

Hype Avital Bisk, one of the newest SJS alumni, makes a splash in the local theater community

By JESSICA ALLEN Though Avital Bisk (’08) is lowed to act as the directors one of the newest alumni SJS of their plays, a task Bisk conhas produced, she has already fessed to having trouble with. made waves outside of the “Once we reached the restoried cloisters. hearsal process, it became very This summer, Bisk had the difficult for me to refrain from opportunity to see her origi- acting as the director instead nal play, entitled “Sticks and of being just the playwright,” Stones,” brought to life on the Bisk said. “When your piece stage of Houston’s Alley The- is being performed, you have atre as part of the Houston ideas for how certain parts or Young Playwright Exchange lines should come across, but program. as the playwright, it is not The HYPE program offered your job to be director.” six young playDespite havwrights, includ- Bisk said that she grew ing to relining Bisk, the exponentially as a quish creative chance to revise to the playwright under the control their work with director, Bisk p r o f e s s i o n a l guidance of the profes- insisted that d r a m a t u r g e s sional dramaturges. her experience and actors. At “They gave me so many with HYPE the end of the was a powerful questions to think program, each about regarding my learning expeplay was perrience. She said formed at the play [and how] to make that she grew Alley Theatre. it a stronger piece,” she e x p o n e n t i a l l y “Sticks and as a playwright explained.

Stones” follows under the guida high school girl, named Siv- ance of the professional draan, as she struggles to enlight- maturges. “They gave me so en her peers about the hurt- many questions to think about ful consequences of the word regarding my play [and how] “gay” and other anti-gay slurs to make it a stronger piece,” as synonyms for stupid. Bisk she explained. said that her personal experiIn addition to receiving ences in the SJS community professional guidance and inspired her with the material resources, Bisk said that she for the play. valued the cohesiveness of Bisk submitted her script to the theater community. Even the HYPE program and was though the group of “actors, chosen as one of nine semi- directors and techies” ranged finalists out of a pool of 50 from “sixteen to sixty years applicants. From that select old,” Bisk valued the experigroup, only six playwrights ence of working with other were chosen to participate. teenagers and adults with inThe program consisted of a terests similar to hers regardsix week long less of their revision session, “Once we reached the different backin which pro- rehearsal process, it grounds. fessional actors Bisk credits and dramaturges became very difficult SJS for helping gave the young for me to refrain from her realize her p l a y w r i g h t s acting as the director passion for thec o n s t r u c t i v e instead of being just ater.

Though criticism and the playwright. When she only had a advice on how chorus your piece is being per- “tiny” to improve role in the 2006 their plays. The formed, you have ideas production of d r a m a t u r g e s for how certain parts “Once Upon A selected profes- or lines should come Mattress,” she sional actors across, but as the play- said that the to perform the wright, it is not your support she plays, and after received from job.” some rehearsal, the SJS theater - Avital Bisk the plays were community enperformed as couraged her to staged readings during the continue to audition for roles program’s final week. in Johnnycake productions.

After the revision process Soon, Bisk began earning was complete, the playwrights larger roles in school producattended rehearsals for their tions and captured a leading plays and made occasional role in last year’s play, “The comments or suggestions. Boys Next Door.” She won However, they were not al- Johnnycake’s coveted Best

Bisk, center front, poses with the cast of her original play, “Sticks and Stones.” Her play was performed along with five others at Houston’s Alley Theatre as part of the Houston Young Playwrights Exchange.

Supporting Actress award for her role as Sheila, a mentally disabled woman.

One of the best learning experiences for her as an actor, she said, was participating in Matt Rodrigues’ (’06) independent study project, “The Laramie Project,” a play about the public reaction to the 1998 hate crime mur-

“Commit one hundred percent to the smallest role. It’s a much more satisfying and fulfilling experience than spending your rehearsals complaining about how your part doesn’t matter. It will matter if you make it matter.”

- Avital Bisk

der of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay Wyoming college student.

Even though she earned significant roles in several SJS theater productions, Bisk insisted that it was not the bigger roles that mattered the most but rather the smaller roles that taught her about the art.

“More important than getting the larger roles, it was just that I had learned to take any role and not worry about counting the lines, but rather fully become the character and commit one hundred percent to the smallest role,” she explained. “It’s a much more satisfying and fulfilling experience than spending your rehearsals complaining about how your part doesn’t matter.

It will matter if you make it matter.”

This fall, Bisk will begin her first semester at the University of Texas in Austin. However, she said she has no plans to abandon the burgeoning theater career she cultivated

at SJS and this summer at HYPE. “I plan on double majoring in Theatre and English

“I have started work on another play, and because of the HYPE experience, I am now able to ask myself the questions that my dramaturges used to have to ask me.”

- Avital Bisk

to continue with playwriting and acting,” Bisk said.

More importantly, she has noticed her growth as a playwright and the effect it will have on her art. “I have started work on another play,” she remarked, “and because of the HYPE experience, I am now able to ask myself the questions that my dramaturges used to have to ask me.”

Photo courtesy of Avital Bisk.

Bisk poses with her fellow playwrights and dramaturges in the HYPE program at the Alley Theatre. She plans to double major in Theater and English at the University of Texas at Austin.

10

August 2008

photo spread

The more the

Photo Editor Katheri

photo spread

August 2008

e things change... e more they stay the same

ine Carmichael captures scenes from our first week of class

11

features

12 T R Just a New Kind of School Bus he

By ARVIND MOHAN At the corner of Buffalo Speedway and Westheimer there is something very important. Almost hidden from view, only those who are looking for it will see it. It is not the River Oaks Plant Shop, the house of the famed psychic or even the shoes dangling from the power lines. It is the jumping-off point for adventure. It is the bus stop for the 81/82 that runs down Westheimer in both directions.

My bus adventure starts every day around 3:30 p.m. when I take the #82 bus from the corner of Westheimer and Buffalo Speedway to Westheimer and Shepherd, where I transfer to the #26 bus to the Medical Center.

So far, the bus has been rela-

tively safe. But when SJS students are asked about the bus, many use adjectives including “dirty,” “dangerous” and “confusing.”

Megan Breckwoldt (‘09) is one SJS student who has been skeptical of the bus. “The bus seems dangerous. I feel that it might be unsafe,” she said. As for me, I still have not had many harrowing experiences (granted I have only ridden a few times).

However, on the Paris subway, which I have only ridden about five times, an intoxicated man fell on me and nobody helped me for a while. If that is not harrowing, then what is?

The answer to that question might be the disastrous trip that I took on Thursday, Aug. 21. At my transfer stop, the bus was delayed for 40 minutes

eview

due to an accident and the rain.

But the trip was mitigated by a woman who stood out in the rain and yelled at cars so they would not splash us.

Alejandro Watson (’10) is wary of the bus. “If I had to ride the bus, I would have no clue how to plan my route. It just seems too complicated,” he said.

In reality, it actually is relatively easy to plan the route.

Because my father never picked me up on time, I visited the METRO website, www.ridemetro.org, where there is a trip planner which will generate a route if an origin and a destination is entered. Landmarks such as the San Jacinto Monument and names of buildings like Texas Children’s Hospital are also permissible as destina-

DANIEL PERENYI | The Review

A Graceful Recovery

By SARAH KOSLOV tion, I still thought I would be allowed to go to SAB,” she said, referring to the School of American Ballet, one of three rigorous ballet training intensives McClure planned on attending this past summer.

After a closer look at McClure’s condition, doctors concluded she had Paget-Schroetter syndrome, meaning she had a blood clot in an upper extremity vein. This rare condition proved particularly difficult to treat. The hospital in Houston was uncertain on the appropriate rout to take in treating McClure, and all potential options were risky. McClure was warned that the necessary surgery had the potential to be career-ending. “They said I had a fair chance [of] having pretty good use of my arm [but] there was no guarantee,” she said.

However, pretty good is not enough when one is training to enter the world of professional dance—it is crucial to have full use and control of one’s entire body, particularly in ballet.

McClure has trained countless hours and years at the Houston

ample, takes 10 minutes longer than it would take to drive.

“In seventh grade, my friends all took the bus, so I started taking it too because it was difficult for my mom to pick me up from work on time,” Sherlyn Galarza (‘11) said. Galarza also said that she always felt safe on the bus, but she also recalled the time that a homeless woman came on the bus “and started talking to everyone. I felt a little nervous, but I did not think that I was in danger or anything like

that,” she said. Like me, Galarza also planned her trip online.

As for the conditions of the bus, Galarza said, “The bus was clean. You can’t bring on food or drinks or smoke. One time I was eating some ice cream and the bus driver would not let me get on the bus until I left it on the street,” she said.

Far from dirty, the METRO buses that I have ridden on are just as clean as the subway systems in London, Paris and Athens. They are well-maintained and each one has clean seats that are relatively comfortable.

Of course, there are some weird smells, but they are no stranger than those found in the Port of Houston, Downtown or other areas. Generally the buses are well maintained and they run on time. However, the smell of diesel fuel at the bus stops is less welcome, as are the strange looks that drivers passing by give you when you stand aimlessly waiting at the corner of busy intersections.

Riding the bus is much cheaper than driving. For students, with a Q-card, the METRO’s version of a debit card, the fare is only 50 cents with free transfers in a two hour period for students.

The bus can be an adventure, but generally most people on the bus are not on it to cause trouble. They just want a safe and uneventful ride home.

“The bus isn’t scary. It’s just my way of getting home. I also get to see all of my friends who also take the bus. It lets me catch up with those who I don’t see very often,” Galarza said.

right, we knew we were in the right place,” she said.

One rib less and three weeks later, McClure returned home for a speedy recuperation. Although the recovery process was more painful than the actual surgery, McClure stayed determined to get back to her ballet training as soon as possible. “[Dr. Thompson] told me I would feel like a bus ran over me…and that was a pretty accurate description,” she said.

McClure is now nearly fully recuperated from her dramatic and perhaps life-altering summer. She said, “Now I’m going to be completely fine…

I’m so grateful,

this would probably qualify as a miracle.”

Although she currently has a few physical limitations, such as some breathing issues due to a reaction to her medication, these limitations are only temporary. “Ballet starts Monday…

I can’t wait to get back.”

Although the situation was not ideal, McClure has a positive outlook on the turn of events.

She said, “[The surgery] was a stressful experience, but I’m a better person for coming through this and it has made me appreciate my arm…and ballet a lot more.”

[W]hen SJS students are asked about the bus, many use adjectives including “dirty,” “dangerous” and “confusing.”

JENNY LEWIS | The Review

Facebook. It’s hard to fight the addiction. It has faithfully kept students from the temptation of finishing schoolwork and drawn many to the point where hours felt like minutes.

However regularly or infrequently students checks Facebook, they probably never considered it something that could change their lives. Kathleen McClure (’10), though, used Facebook in a way that totally changed her plans for the summer.

The initial signs of trouble for McClure started before last year’s finals, when she noticed an unusual swelling and redness in her arm. Her ballet instructors and trainer recommended she visit an orthopedist, where one of four blood clots was discovered. There was one blood clot in the subclavian vein and three more in McClure’s lungs.

Although the discovery was a serious matter, McClure was optimistic and did not think her ballet schedule would be severely impacted while she attended to her health issues.

“After my first hospitaliza-

Ballet Academy and hopes to have a career in dance. The field of dance is extremely demanding physically, and the ballet is particularly competitive.

The Houston surgeons planned on removing a rib, which was part of the reason these clots were occurring, but they ultimately deemed fixing the existing clot too much of a risk based on its location. The situation did not seem ideal or terribly promising, so McClure kept her eyes open for a way to salvage her dance career.

One afternoon, McClure’s father was watching the college world series of baseball. The sports commentator stated Colin Bates, a pitcher for the University of Northern Carolina, had recently recovered from a shoulder surgery due to Paget-Schroetter. McClure then contacted Bates via Facebook, asking him about his condition.

Bates responded to McClure’s message and recommended the doctor who had performed his surgery, from which he had a successful recovery and full range of motion in his arm.

Shortly after this discovery, the McClure family found themselves in contact with Dr. Robert Thompson of BarnesJewish Hospital/Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis, Miss. McClure, her mother, father, and brother traveled to St. Louis so McClure could have surgery. Although there were inherent risks, McClure felt confident. “It felt

tions.

The website will generate various routes that are sorted by duration and number of transfers. Most routes within a 20 mile radius generally require only one transfer, while those farther out may require multiple. Consider it METRO’s version of Mapquest. The routes generally are not much slower than driving. My route, for ex-

August 2008

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August 2008

BOOKSTORE:

By MELISSA YUAN As summer began drawing to a close, students busily shopped for the cheapest textbooks and back-to-school supplies. Yet, students were not the only ones doing their shopping. Susan Medellin, Bookstore Manager and Director of Purchasing, was getting ready for school to start as well.

Walking into the Upper School bookstore, students are greeted with a dazzling rainbow of pens, pencils, highlighters, notebooks, binders and nearly every school supply imaginable prepared for them

by Ms. Medellin.

The first week of school has always been Ms. Medellin’s most hectic time of year. “Everybody’s trying to get their supplies, their textbooks after they change classes. Sometimes if kids have an incorrect book they’ll have to bring it back,” Ms. Medellin said. “The first week is generally the most rushed. It’s a little harder with all the kids coming in at once.

But, I certainly don’t mind it.

It’s good seeing all the kids after the summer.”

Every summer Ms. Medellin, with the help of several others, packs up hundreds of boxes for students who ordered books from the bookstore through the online process. “I’d say [the packing takes] a good 25 days,” Ms. Medellin said. “After 1200 boxes of packing, the books all start looking alike after a while.

We try to do our best and not make too many mistakes. I think this is the first year I’ve been here that I haven’t seen as many returns.”

A full set of brand new textbooks every year can be very pricey. Led by the myth that the bookstore’s prices are higher than elsewhere, many students buy their books from other online websites such as Amazon.com.

The myth, it turns out, has some truth to it, but the bookstore does sell the books at the lowest prices possible. Ms. Medelin said, “All the textbooks come directly from the publishers themselves, because that’s where we get better pricing. The supplies come from a wholesale place in Dallas.”

In fact, Ms. Medellin explained that there is actually not a markup on the textbooks from the original price she pays the publishers for the books, with the exception of the ship-

ping charges. “Shipping so many heavy books is quite expensive,” she said. “The markup for the pens and pencils is just retail, nothing additional.”

Ms. Medellin does her best to keep her prices for supplies and textbooks comparable to outside stores. “I double check everything. All the textbooks I’ll check with Amazon, and there’re only a couple that are different this year. There were a few where ours were higher, since I guess we pay more than what Amazon pays. But the prices [for supplies] I try to keep...comparable to Office Depot, and sometimes they’re actually a lot less.”

Though Ms. Medellin does not go out of her way to clear up the muddy waters concerning the bookstore prices, if students ask her about the prices,

“All the textbooks come directly from the publishers themselves, because that’s where we get better pricing.”

Ms. Medellin responding to supposed higher priced books at SJS

she’s happy to inform them the prices are the same, if not lower in many cases. “A lot of kids have asked me how much locker shelves are. Well they’re seven dollars [here], which I think at Office Depot they were eight dollars. I guess it’s just one of those things where people choose to believe what they want to believe in their head.”

Ms. Medellin usually posts a price list for the supplies and books on the bulletin board along with the supply and book forms. “It’s good just so that people can see what they’re paying,” she said. Though she agrees that some students do buy more than they need because they do not see how much they are spending, there are also others who are also more “hesitant” coming in for the same reason. “Someone suggested that I should put it on the little form that you guys fill out, but then it looks re-

One-Stop School Supply Shopping at SJS

CLAY NICKENS | The Review

The bookstore displays a wide variety of supplies that can be purchased using an SJS account. ally bunched up and the sheet would have to be bigger, and I try not to waste too much paper,” she said.

Nevertheless, students walk over to the bookstore looking to satisfy all of their school supply needs. “I think I’m kid friendly, and I guess, more lenient and helpful to the kids.

At least I hope I am. I try to be accommodating to all the kids,” Ms. Medellin said. She found that the most popular supplies bought by students were the law margin notebooks and her personal favorite, the twisterase pencils.

Other than the supplies and books Ms. Medellin also sells miscellaneous items ranging from lip balm to cowbells to SJS outerwear.

“I came up with the stadium seats and the red hoodie sweatshirts,” Ms. Medellin said. “The T-shirt designs we sort of have to stay with a certain logo so we have to go by Advancement’s rules and their regulations. But I try to come up with some fun T-shirts that kids will actually want to wear. I’m always open to suggestions.” This year, many of the items, such as stadium seats and spirit items like cowbells and T-shirts, will be on sale at the concessions stand during football games.

Besides running the bookstore, Ms. Medellin is also in charge of many of the purchases for SJS such as furniture and carpets.

This summer, the new student desks, teacher desks and justfinished carpet in the VST and the 2nd and 3rd grade rooms were all purchases made by Ms.

Bookstore Bargains?

The popular myth around school is that SJS bookstore prices are higher than those of other booksellers. Staff Writer Melissa Yuan (‘10) decided to investigate.

13

CLAY NICKENS | The Review

Ms. Medellin helps students with their order forms.

Medellin and Greg Swan, Director of Finance and Operations.

Together, the two, along with a few others “agree and disagree” on the choices of desks and carpets. “We try to pick things that will be better for educational use than something you might put in your house,” Ms. Medellin explained. “There’re different carpets for institutional use and for home use, so we have to get something that’s more accommodating for school use, in case kids spill paint or something on the floor.”

Though the bookstore can be hectic at times, Ms. Medellin

keeps a positive attitude, loving what she does. “I enjoy seeing the kids that come [in]. All the kids that come back on a regular basis, I get to know them,” Ms. Medellin said. “I love working at St. John’s. It’s a great place to be. All the kids are really friendly and the Middle Schoolers are cute. They play practical jokes on me sometimes. They’ll come in and ask for seven erasers, and trick me saying I want seven pencils. It’s all fun and games… I just sort of go along with it.”

Amazon.com: $10.19 SJS Bookstore: $14.99

Amazon.com: $120.76 SJS Bookstore: $141.16

: $137.75 Amazon.com : $171.00 SJS Bookstore

S

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er m m u Snapshots

Cath er a lab ine Padh i at Co rnell. (‘10) wor king in

lays ) disp 9 0 ‘ ( s erdini ted.

Eric B ard he pain o Risk b

the

Ithaca, NY­­ From July 13 to Aug. 9, Catherine Padhi (‘10) traveled to Cornell to work in the university’s Nanobiotechnology Department. She worked in a laboratory creating fluorescent silica nanoparticles commonly referred to as C-dots. The C-dots function as biomarkers—the ultimate goal was “to target cancer cells, track metastasis, [and enable] surgeons to see the boundaries of tumors,” she said. Catherine and another student began their lab work by practicing the basic procedure for synthesizing C-dots. They then modified one factor in order to compare effectiveness. Through the use of zetasizers (which use light scattering to measure the size and distribution of particles), spectrophotometers, spectrofluorometers and Scanning Electron Microscopes they determined the effectiveness of their C-dots. Though some data proved to be inconclusive, Padhi was happy to be in “one of the only groups to have particles get inside the cells” that they were attempting to biomark.

Despite the eight-hour workday, Padhi still managed to enjoy herself. “It worked out pretty well,” she said.

Poughkeepsie, NY­­ Lauren Lepow (‘09) spent six weeks this summer at the Powerhouse Apprentice Program studying the craft of acting. The program, which was affiliated with New York Stage and Film, was held in Poughkeepsie, New York at Vassar College. The program gave students the opportunity to explore theater in a workshop environment with the safety and freedom to explore new possibilities. The classes were taught by “successful but starving Lauren Lepow (left) actors,” Lepow said. (‘09) rehearsing.

The schedule was demanding—classes began at nine o’clock every day of the week and ended with two-hour rehearsals for collaborative shows with other students that lasted until one o’clock in the morning. “We didn’t have weekends, but whenever we had free time we got to do tech work for the professional shows,” Lepow said. The students had the opportunity to work with well-established theater professionals, including Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, both recipients of Tony awards for their work on the musical “Spring Awakening”. Despite a long day and heavy workload, the program provided “an appreciation [for theatre] which I didn’t have before,” said Lepow.

The first day of school is exciting for many reason. Students find themselves reading locker combinations off their hands and putting fresh school supplies into newly assigned lockers before rushing off into the uncharted territorry of unfamiliar teachers and classrooms. But perhaps the most exciting aspect of all is being back together with friends and catching up after three busy months; summer no longer equates with lounging by the pool every day after all. Staff writers Gabi Chennisi (‘09) and Allegra Fradkin (‘11) talked to 11 SJS students whose summer tales were, in their minds, stories worth retelling.

All photos courtesy of students

Washington D.C.

New York, NY

Vail Kohnert-Yount (‘09) interned in the office of Tex- Sam Linn (‘09) spent his entire summer working in as Congressman Nick Lampson, a one of the most famous and diverse fashion moderate Democrat and member capitals of the world—New of the Center Aisle Caucus. Her York City. From June 7 to daily schedule consisted of either Aug. 16, Linn lived in a New taking the Metro to and from York University dorm room work or—on nicer days—walkand worked with Filipa Fino, ing to the Capitol from her dorm, Vogue’s Senior Accessories which was located near the LinEditor. His job included “getcoln Memorial. “Unfortunately, ting accessories to and from all the buildings on Capitol Hill photoshoots [and] picking up are connected by underground items from designers.” His tunnels,” Kohnert-Yount said, work for the magazine pro“so I am roughly the color of Xevided him with unique opporrox paper.” She quickly caught tunities to forge connections on to the excitement caused by within the fashion industry.

Congressman Lampson’s voting Though he generally worked policies and grew addicted to with the Public Relations deher job. “They gave me my own partments to coordinate the office key because I would get transportation of accessories, there so early in the morning, he got the opportunity to speak and they would jokingly kick with acclaimed fashion designer me out at the end of the day,” Zac Posen over the phone. Deshe said. Her stay in D.C., the spite the hard work and long “Hollywood for ugly people,” hours, the opportunity to work remained interesting and apfor Vogue proved exciting and pealing. Her days off were interesting. “I really enjoyed filled with free visits to memo- Vail Kohnert it a lot,” Linn said. “It made me Y ount (‘09) with rials and museums, as well as her know what I want to do with my mom at the U.S. Senator sightings. “Nowhere capitol. career.” else would people get so excited about seeing a 90-yearold man walking down the street,” Kohnert-Yount said. The “politically nerdy” friends she made—all of whom appreciated the value of a Senator sighting— served to improve her internship with Congressman Lampson’s office. “Life in D.C. was never dull, not even for one second,” she said.

Houston, TX Eric Berdinis (‘09) devoted part of his summer to improving and expanding Risk—the classic board game of global domination. He worked every day from morning until night for a week painting an exact replica of the traditional game board on the back of a ping pong table. The procedure was painstaking and meticulous; Berdinis invited some friends to come over to his house and help with the process. The painted version measures 9 feet by 5 feet and uses an array of painted army men as game pieces. Though the project took a substantial amount of time, the end product was successful—playing Risk with friends became more exciting and interactive. Crowds can now stroll around the entire board, scoping out the possibilities on a grander scale. “People come over to play more now,” he said. “It was definitely worth it.”

es

by Tim g s p o t 9) s rkin nn (‘0 first day wo i L m Sa is e on h r a u q S gue. for Vo

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August 2008

dressed to the senator, assess their problems and decide where to redirect the letters.

She even got to eat lunch with Senator Schumer on a few occasions.

Wolf’s internship was not always smooth sailing. When Senator Schumer wrote a public letter questioning the stability of IndyMac Bank in California, causing depositors to withdraw a total of $1.3 billion, the bank collapsed. Wolf had just begun her internship, and already phones were ringing off the hook with people yelling about their bank accounts and the safety of their money.

Wolf said she learned a lot from her internship and became more aware of how much “nitty gritty work” is involved in politics.

She has always had an interest and politics and follows the election cycle very closely.

This summer she even met Barack Obama at an event to raise money to pay off Hillary Clinton’s election debt.

Beijing, China

Olivia (’09) and Caldwell Flores (‘11) spent 11 days with their family in Beijing watching the Olympics. They experienced all the highlights from the opening ceremony to American gymnast Shawn Johnson’s gold medal victory and swimmer Michael Phelps’s record-setting races.

The Flores family spent every day travelling from event to event. “Every bit of energy in Beijing was for the Olympics,” Flores said. She noted the games were “the only thing going on that anyone in China was thinking about.”

“Everyone sitting near you was from a completely different country, so you’d hear all kinds of languages, and everyone would be waving different flags,” Flores remarked. She actually ended up sitting next to a gymnastics coach from Houston, who was able to explain the scoring and the difficulty involved in Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, and Alicia Sacramone’s routines.

Flores said some things she saw were not even broadcast on television. For example, in the opening for the USA vs. China basketball game, The Flores family show s their American pr a Chinese team of performers put on a show the Olympi ide while at Fan-Hal Koung (’11) spent the summer workc su m m er ga mes in Beijing. ing on a project for the Siemens Competition, where they jumped from trampolines to baskets a national science and math contest where and slam-dunked. One of the performers fell off students enter research papers with topics like and hit his head, injuring his neck.

Natural Science. They taught epidemiology or partially ordered sets. Three Flores was amazed to discover how revered Ameri- children, ages five to nine, about Egyptians, gems, encans were in China. She said the Chinese treated ergy, Texas wildlife and dinosaurs. Van Sweringen en- people are place on a team to submit an entry to the Americans in particular like celebrities and requested joyed teaching a class called “Da Vinci Science,” where competition.

Koung’s project relates to the game Texas Hold ‘Em. pictures and autographs of Flores and her sisters. Her students learned about Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions brother Caldwell Flores (’11), who wore an American and then created replicas of his work. The flag as a cape throughout the trip, attracted the most miniature helicopter models were a favorite. attention.

Foster said teaching classes was “pretty fun, Flores believes there is no experience that tops at- but sometimes there are a few crazy, hyper tending the Beijing Olympics. She “watched the clos- kids.” He spent his time at the museum teaching ceremony on TV, and it didn’t compare at all. It ing visitors about the “touch boxes,” which didn’t do justice to the whole Olympic experience,” contain artifacts pertaining to exhibits. she said.

Van Sweringen volunteers at HMNS to teach visitors “something exciting and new, in hopes that they can discover the same passion for science that [she has]” Foster described the experience as “a really fun and SJS students may be broadly stereotyped as math-lov- rewarding thing to do since you get to meet ing geeks who spend all day with their noses buried so many cool people and you get a ton of volin books, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have an unteer hours.” appreciation for spending time in the great outdoors.

Van Sweringen encourages others to visit This past June, a group of SJS students led by coach HMNS throughout the year, especially recCraig Chambers, history teacher Marty Thompson, bi- ommending Geopalooza. She exclaimed, “It ology teacher Doug Elliott and recent SJS grad Maggie rocks!”

McDaniel(‘07) boarded a plane headed for Utah where they spent a week hiking through the slot canyons in Zion National Park. Backpacking through the terrain, the group became closely knit, playing games such as 20 questions and listening to Maggie McDaniel read from 50 Cent’s autobiography in order to pass the time. John Allman (’09) and Katharine Romefelt The group also spent a day in nearby Las Vegas before (’10) spent three weeks at the Broadway returning home. Traveler George Alcorn (’09) con- Theater Project, an intensive training procluded, “The bond that are formed between students gram at the University of South Florida in of all grades are bonds that I will keep with me.”

Tampa. They took nine classes a day, all of which pertained to dancing, singing or acting. The faculty members at the Broadway John Allman (‘09, bottom right) performing in Theater Project had impressive résumés, and one teacher even left after the second week a scene from “Minnie’s Boys” at The Broadway Jessica Van Sweringen (’11) and Anthony Foster (’11) to begin rehearsing for Billy Elliot on Broadvolunteered as Ecoteens at the Houston Museum of Theatre Project. way. Allman’s busy schedule was comprised of movement classes like tap, jazz, conditioning, Pilates, modern and hip hop, as “Essentially,” he said, “we found a simplified variant well as voice classes like singing of Hold ‘Em, with the spice being that our variant intechnique, warming up, arrang- volves a flop unlike most other researched variants, ing songs, songwriting and song and then we are trying to find a solution to the game, interpretation. He also took dra- like how to squeeze the most money possible out of it.” ma classes like scene study, script He said that his team is close to solving the problem but has only a month analysis and monologues. remaining to write the At the end of the program, Allactual essay. There are man performed in two shows at typically over 1,600 the Tampa Bay Performing Arts entries.

Center: “Minnie’s Boys,” in which he played Harpo Marx, and in the song “I’m a Lumberjack” from “Monty Python”; both performances were sold out.

Houston, TX

Zion National Park, UT

Tampa, FL

Houston, TX

New York, NY

Caldwell Flores (‘11) documents his summer experience at the Olympics while watching a basketball game.

Daisy Wolf (’10) spent a month interning for Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. Along with 15 other interns, Wolf spent her days answering phones, filing and acting as a liaison to constituency agencies. Each intern was assigned a case worker whose job was to communicate between senators’ constituents and government agencies. Wolf’s case worker was concerned with issues involving student loans and education, the IRS and prison. Wolf got to read letters from New Yorkers ad-

s The RATCO group take e. a break for a pictur

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The Review

Editorial Don’t digitalize detention slips Students have long been accustomed to using SJS’s website and e-mail system to receive class assignments, download supplementary course materials and subscribe to club updates. As technology becomes increasingly integral to education, SJS’s online resources offer both teachers and students a more convenient way to transfer information quickly and efficiently.

The usefulness of the system, however, is often diminished by the disparities between work assigned online and work assigned in class. Considering the confusion that often ensues from mixups on the SJS website and that consequently engenders student mistrust, the Editorial Board is concerned about the administration’s recent decision to channel all student detention notifications through SJS’s email system.

The administration announced this decision at the start of this school year, framing it as part of a larger effort to utilize technology to foster communication between teachers, students and parents. Specifically, it will cut down on the time between when teachers write comments and when parents receive them. The resulting conservation of paper, which will then be used for more necessary purposes, is likewise commendable.

Despite these positive changes, the Editorial Board foresees several potential problems with the new system. There is a concern that, with this

new, painless method of communication, teachers will opt out of more personal confrontations with students when they assign various detention halls.

If teachers rely solely on the SJS e-mail system for communication, as some will surely do, students will lose the chance to hear the reason for their punishment articulated to their satisfaction, as well as the opportunity to defend themselves against the charges.

Additionally, they will be forced to wait from the time of the infraction to their detention notification; communication, although perhaps more convenient, will no longer be instantaneous.

As a result, the Editorial Board wonders how many students will have surprise detention notices waiting for them when they check their inboxes.

Although the administration has implored students to regularly check their SJS e-mail accounts, especially after this new development, it is improbable that a student who has never used an SJS e-mail will change his or her habits specifically in light of the implementation of electronic detention notifications.

The Editorial Board is troubled at the apparent fact that the administration is trying to force students to use the website. While the Editorial Board does understand that the website is a resource and a very helpful one at that, a resource should only have to go so far.

Letter Policy Letters to the editors and guest columns are welcome but are subject to editing for reasons of clarity, space, accuracy and good taste. The Review reserves the right not to print letters recieved, and all letters must be typed and signed. Give letters, guest columns and classified advertisements to Bret Vollmer or Kyle Parrish in the office of The Review (Q-210) or email to review@sjs.org.

The Review

The Official Student Newspaper of St. John’s School 2007-2008 Editor-in-Chief: Bret Vollmer (‘09) Managing Editor: Rebecca Welbourn (‘09) Business Manager: Allie Adkins (‘09) News Editor Jade Law (‘09)

Features Editor Emily Foxhall (‘09)

Arts&Entertainment Editor Sports Editor Anoushka Sinha (‘09) Hudson Duncan (‘10)

Copy Editor Photo Editor Opinions Editor beyondSJS Editor Leeor Mushin (‘09) Vail Kohnert-Yount (‘09) Liliana Varman (‘10) Katherine Carmichael (‘09) Staff Writers Jessica Allen (‘11), Alexa Carrasco (‘09), Gabi Chennisi (‘09), Veronica Chu (‘12), Stuart Dickerson (‘10), Ariana Dickey (‘12), Allegra Fradkin (‘11), Meryl Gibbs (‘12), Caroline Gibson (‘12), Sarah Koslov (‘10), Bagwhat Kumar (‘11), Joe Martinez (‘11), Mariam Matin (‘11), Arvind Mohan (‘10), Anne-Charlotte Profit (‘12), Sarah Nasser (‘09), Sheila Newar (‘10), Andrew Perry (‘11), Tiffany Shyu (‘09), Sarah Windham (‘12), Blake Wulfe (‘10), Melissa Yuan (‘11) Circulation Manager Caroline Parks (‘09)

Advertising Manager Ryan Cordill (‘09)

Circulation Manager Melanie Lilienstern(‘09)

Photographers Jennifer Lewis (‘10), Clay Nickens (‘10), Daniel Perenyi (‘09), Bobbi Richardson (‘12), Pooja Salhotra (‘12)

Business Staff Parker Chambers (‘09), Geoff Dunn (‘09), Lizzy Ehrhardt (‘09), Christy Lee (‘11), Meagan Longoria (‘10), Phoebe Massey (‘09), Neeraj Salhotra (‘09), William Wallace (‘11)

Illustrator Kat Oshman (‘09) Advisors Kyle Parrish (‘01)

As the student newspaper of St. John’s School, The Review provides a forum for student writing and opinion. The opinions (signed) and staff editorials (unsigned) contained herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Headmaster of Board of Trustees of St. John’s School. Staff editorials represent the opinion of the paper. Letters to the editor and guest columns are encouraged but are subject to editing for reasons of clarity, space, accuracy and good taste. The Review reserves the right not to print letters received. Either e-mail letters and guest columns to review@sjs.org; give them to Meghan Hall, Elizabeth Rasmussen, Bret Vollmer, Kyle Parrish or Carol Munn in the office of The Review (Q-210); or mail to Editor-in-Chief, The Review, St. John’s School, 2401 Claremont Lane, Houston, TX 77019.

Letter From the Editor Dear Readers, Welcome to the year’s first issue of The Review.

I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling somewhat surprised – and perhaps slightly dismayed – at how quickly SJS has returned to its yearly tempo. Though summer ended just a few weeks ago, regularity is returning to SJS as new clubs are formed, shirts are untucked and the hallways are once again clogged by that shapeless mass of humanity known as the freshmen class.

That’s not to say however, that SJS hasn’t changed while students

were away. You can read about new policies implemented by the administration in our News section and see the physical changes to the SJS landscape in the photo spread. Also, be sure to look for the profiles of new faculty members at SJS. Students interested in the year ahead can read about the Mavericks’ prospects for the fall season in Sports, as well as learn about Johnnycake’s plans for the year in A&E. Updates from former teachers and students are available in beyondSJS, and finally, anyone who already regards this past

summer with nostalgia can read about their peers’ vacation activities in Features.

We hope you will enjoy reading The Review, and as always, Mr. Parrish, the staff, the editors and I are open to and welcome any suggestions, questions or feedback.

Bret Vollmer

Editor-In-Chief

Be sure to order your annual subscription to The Review!

Keep up-to-date with all the latest school news with the official student newspaper of St. John’s School.

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August 2008

fine arts credit system not as fine as you think By STUART DICKERSON Staff Writer

Countless times while walking down the hall, I have heard discussions of the fine arts credit. Unfortunately, these conversations are seldom positive. Many students lobby for the removal of the entire credit for a multitude of reasons, and many speak with an undoubtedly negative tone.

As a fine arts student myself, I have to say that I respectfully agree.

Although many students themselves have enjoyed the productions, concerts and art shows put on by our fine arts department, it is very clear that this degree of study is cut out for some and not for others. I have learned and played the trumpet through the SJS Fine Arts department for the past 5 years, and am happy to report that it has been a very positive experience for me. I recommend taking up an instrument to any youngsters who love music and want to be a part of it.

“I highly encourage any interested person to enroll in a Fine Arts course as I know how enjoyable a Fine Arts course can be across the bored, but I am suggesting merely that the students at the school be allowed to choose for themselves whether or not they think that a fine arts class would be right for them.”

- Stuart Dickerson

Yet at the same time, not everyone should be subject to this curriculum.

In such an academically potent environment, many people will value their study halls and free periods over the mandatory credit, and end up putting

off fulfilling the credit until the later part of their high school careers, a point in which having time to do work is almost vital. People feel that taking the courses required is merely a waste of their valuable time, and in many such cases, I would have to agree.

Many classes are taken based on the fact that they will be “easy” ways to fulfill the requirement, and end up becoming a roomful of dispassionate students merely taking the course for the grade. Although I have never been a part of one of said classes, I think one can imagine that they are wildly unproductive and that the knowledge gained there is most likely seen as frivolous by most of the participants.

The fine arts department at St. John’s is one of high prestige that features instructors that not only are good at what they do, but love it as well. Shouldn’t they deserve the same in students? It is a clear cut fact that the arts are not for everyone, and thus, it makes no sense that added to the pre-existing and infamous SJS workload is a required one-to-two year commitment that will result in a required credit.

Of course from my experience, I highly encourage any interested person to enroll in a Fine Arts course because I know how enjoyable a Fine Arts course can be across the bored, but I am suggesting merely that the students at the school be allowed to choose for themselves whether or not they think that a fine arts class would be right for them at a given time.

As a compromise the five-day-a-week requirement for the Fine Arts courses may be a little much, so many classes would benefit from three-day-a-week schedules with both half-year and full year options. In this option the student

would have the choice to discontinue the course by taking a half-year option and switch to another fine art course.

Perhaps another middle ground can in fact be reached. SJS, though boasting a well above-average program, loses many of its art students due to a lack of focus on that particular area. Schools like High School of the Performing and Visual Arts and many out-of-state boarding schools offer a program tailored more to these students needs, and somtimes these students transfer out.

Though this suggestion I understand is highly unorthodox, perhaps St. John’s itself should look into offering a more arts driven course of study. A student would still meet the basic requirements, yet replace some to many of the normally mandatory courses with classes that would better suit the art, whether it be visual or performing, that they have clearly demonstrated as their passion in their lives.

With this new program in place, SJS could eliminate the number of wellrounded students they lose and satisfy

the fine arts department by filling its courses with students who are clearly devoted and approach the subject with undeniable fervor.

While some may want to at first look at this opinion negatively I think most of the members of the fine arts department can identify the people who truly want to take each class and those who are there merely because they have to. I would also be willing to wager that the faculty is not very appreciative of what can many times result in a lack of effort from these students. Again while I have never been in these types of classes myself, one can guess that SJS is not free from some of the behavior exhibited in these environments.

The removal and/or reduction of the required fine arts credit could be very useful to not just students, but faculty as well. The students would enjoy a better use of their time for specific interests and teachers could have more attentive students who actually want to learn the material.

student thoughts on...

North Campus Landscaping

The benches look like there should be gladiators fighting on them.

- Laura Burdine (‘09)

It’s kind of cool, but the previous was very SJS. It seems a bit out of place.

–Hilary Young (‘09)

It looks a lot newer and cleaner. We like that.

- Ned Lu, Austin Woo and Jared Lichtarge (all ‘12)

It is very stark and collegiate, and while I like the general aura of it, I do miss the little benches that were around the trees.

-Lauren Lepow (‘09)

a&e

18

The Review

August 2008

Johnnycake team hopes to have its cake

By TIFFANY SHYU

(and eat it, too)

Johnnycake, SJS’s theater group, is preparing for what it hopes to be a successful year.

John Allman (’09), the president of Johnnycake, said that the main goal of the group this year is to get as many people involved as possible.

Anna Ziemnicki (’09), the production manager of Johnnycake, likewise said that she hoped the year would bring in “new blood” to the group.

Similarly, Lauren Lepow (’09), vice president of Johnnycake, said she hopes that the group can also include “people with diverse interests who normally wouldn’t participate in theatrical production and help them find their niche, whether it is acting or behind the scenes.”

“Johnnycake is also about having fun and learning new things that you otherwise wouldn’t learn,” Elaine Flowers (’10), the historian of Johnnycake, said.

“We want to have the largest number of crew members we’ve ever had, and we are the oldest club on campus, so we want to maintain the integrity that goes along with that,” Lepow continued.

Ziemnicki also said that she hoped they could keep the group running because “we have a great history and we want to make sure that we get enough people involved to get enough positive karma for future years.”

KAT OSHMAN | The Review

Rebecca Welbourn (‘09) also joined the team of new officers, serving as ITS Officer.

The Johnnycake team also has its own smaller but nevertheless important goals for the club. The officers are trying to “go green,” so they will be printing fewer flyers and finding new ways to advertise the shows and other events related to Johnnycake.

Johnnycake plans on using Facebook and other technology as well as creating a Whipple Hill page for each show.

Johnnycake also plans to to archive performances.

Another goal the group has in mind is to “bring [Johnnycake] back to the glory days by having little social events.

Johnnycake is also very much about food, so we always have parties,” Lepow said.

A personal goal Allman has for his year as president is to live up to the work of Tiffany Kim (’08), who was president last year.

“She did an amazing, amazing job, and to fill her shoes you would have to wear really high heels,” Allman said.

Lepow likewise said that “ever since I got to high school, I’ve always looked up to the Johnnycake officers as gods, and I can’t believe I’m one of those people now. I just want to be able to fill those shoes.”

Aside from these goals, there are already many changes that are happening in Johnnycake.

The most significant of which, according to the officers, is probably the arrival of a new technical director, Walker Fair.

“We haven’t done a lot with him yet, but we really like him already and we think he’s going to be a great addition to the Johnnycake family. We really want to get everyone to know each other and spend time together because for a lot of us it’s a new experience,” Ziemnicki said.

Lepow agreed, “Automatically, the way Saturday crew work[s] changed. We’re getting used to a different way of working.”

Johnnycake finds its Saturday morning crews one of the most enjoyable parts of the group.

“It’s definitely worth it, it’s a lot of fun and it’s getting to

Summer

reading reviewed

Graphic courtesy of John Allman

hang out with people you like on the weekend, which you’d be doing anyways, except this time it just involves power tools,” Ziemnicki joked.

Furthermore, “we have some amazing shows in mind,” Flowers said. “Willy Wonka,” which the middle school musical, will be coming out in November and will be the first show.

“I’m very excited for a lot of candy,” Ziemnicki said about the show of the all-school season.

Johnnycake will be showing two plays. The first is called “The Skin of Our Teeth,” which is “a Thornton Wilder classic,” according to Allman. “He wrote ‘Our Town’ from last year; this one is a lot lighter than ‘Our Town’ but uses a lot of the same theatrical conventions.”

The second play, which Mr. Anthony Leakey will be directing, is called “Everyday Heroes.”

Moreover, the spring musical is going to be “Two Gentlemen of Verona.”

By ANOUSHKA SINHA

By JOHN ALLMAN and REBECCA WELBOURN

Bemusing, befuddling yet downright hilarious, Catch-22 is a shockingly absurd depiction of war. The novel is honeycombed with characters dripping irony, from the mediocre Major Major Major Major to the persecuted Chaplain Tappman, who Heller wryly compares to Shakespeare’s Shylock, a Jew who vows revenge on the Christians who wrong him. Yet, as one treads deeper into the novel, Heller’s painting of the pungent horrors of warfare is dizzying and devastating. Casting this image beneath the diaphanous cloak of humor gives the novel its lasting power. If you enjoyed Dr. Strangelove, you’ll find this novel just as darkly delightful (unfortunately sans Peter Sellers).

The themes of Peter Shaffer’s engaging drama Equus, which centers on a teenage boy’s fanatical religious obsession with horses, are as relevant and provocative today as they were when it was first written. After its opening in 1974, New York Times theater critic Clive Barnes said that Shaffer’s play added “immeasurably to the fresh hopes we have for Broadway’s future.”

By Barnes’ account, the landmark evening consisted of “a bare stage, a few actors, [and] a standing ovation.” 33 years later, the settings are still sparse, the cast is still small and if I had been sitting in a theatre and not in my bed, I would have given it a standing ovation as well.

“Not many people have heard of it, but it won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1974,” Allman said. “It’s going to be fun because it has a real ‘60’s feel and a rock score by the guys who wrote ‘Hair’ mixed with the classical text.”

The year has gotten off to a great start already, according to Allman. “We had our first crew on Saturday [August 23], and Ms. Sanford wrote all the officers a note to say that it was the most proactive first crew she’d seen in her 13 years here, which I think foreshadows good stuff to come,” Allman said.

“We have a lot of revolutionary plans for the advancement of the association, and we hope its going to be a great year,” Ziemnicki said. “We are a very welcoming and encouraging group, and we’re always around the theater. So if you’re walking through to a sports practice, pop in and say hi.”

Allman agreed. “I’m excited,” he said. “I think we have a really great group of people.”

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19

August 2008

Juice Reigns

Smoothie bar offers patrons a

By ALEXA CARRASCO Located next to a Buffalo Speedway Starbucks, Booster Juice opened its doors last winter and has been competing with places such as Smoothie King and Jamba Juice ever since. With its quiet atmosphere, Booster Juice is sure to become a favorite SJS hangout.

Upon arriving at Booster Juice, however, one may find a few problems: The parking lot is often full of caffeine-wired drivers who stay at Starbucks from open until close, making parking for Booster Juice scarce.

The ambiance of Booster Juice is far more suited for social gatherings than it is for studying. The walls are lined with stools, and there is only one table suitable for work; unfor-

ANOUSHKA SINHA | The Review

tunately, unless you are under two feet tall or about five years old, the table probably will not suit your studying needs.

Although there are many things that set Booster Juice apart from its competition, five things in particular make the juice bar stand out. All of the smoothies are made with at least four servings of fruit.

Moreover, in each smoothie customers receive one free booster, which will be added to the smoothie.

Whether you are trying to fight a cold or wanting to help build stronger bones, you will be able to find a booster that suits you. And vegetarians fear not. Along with having vegetarian-friendly boosters, Booster Juice also serves many vegetarian-conscious wraps

“b

and quesadillas that will be sure to satisfy your hunger.

Furthermore, the yogurt is produced from live and active homemade cultures.

Along with its smoothies, Booster Juice provides a large variety of 100% all-natural juices with no added sugars.

From the Tahiti Squeeze to the Red Sunrise, customers can be sure to find their favorite juices, whether they be fruit- or vegetable-based.

On a recent quest to find out more about Booster Juice, Julia Gibbs (’09) and Hannah Shepard (’09) helped me test out the products. Upon glancing at the menu, we decided on the following smoothies: High Impact Acai, Mango Hurricane, Very Berry and Breezy Banana.

Each smoothie had a unique taste, and we quickly discovered our favorites. Overall, we dubbed the Breezy Banana and the High Impact Acai the best smoothies. However, Shepard stated, “Although the smoothies are comparable to Smoothie King and Jamba Juice, the juices are fantastic.”

Before sampling the famous juices we tried a shot of wheatgrass. We were very surprised that in the end it turned out to be somewhat sweet.

For our juice choices we decided to be a little more adventurous. We ended up ordering the Maui Juice, Tahiti Squeeze, Tru-Green and Ginger Ham-

st”

mer. Maui Juice and Tahiti Squeeze, both of which are all-natural fruit juices, were easily deemed the better juice choices that Booster Juice has to offer. Although Shepard was not able to try the Tru-Green or Ginger Hammer juices, Gibbs and I both assured her that she missed out on nothing.

Neither Julia nor I were fans of the Tru-Green or of the Ginger Hammer.

After we politely asked the

Scott Fisher (’04) had a different take. Since the piloting age has increased, Mr. Fisher must pass the physicals in order to keep his license. To aid him in this endeavor, Mr. Fisher said that he drinks the Tru-Green juice with boosters and a shot of wheatgrass.

Furthermore, Mr. Fisher is a regular at Booster Juice because of its time-saving benefits. He also stated that neither Jamba Juice nor Smoothie King boasts

JENNY LEWIS | The Review

worker to throw the juices down the drain, he told us that Tru-Green is probably the most popular juice ordered because of its immense health benefits.

Needless to say, both Gibbs and I prefer that our vegetables be separate and whole.

Though we did not enjoy the captivatingly wholesome TruGreen, Charles Fisher, father of

vegetable juice, whereas Booster Juice does.

With its new and innovative drinks, this juice bar is sure to find popularity among the SJS crowd. So, the next time you are in the mood for something to beat the heat, head down to Booster Juice, where you can find a plethora of new things to try.

Jazz intensive hosted at SJS

By MARIAM MATIN A group of dancers lounged on the floor of the dance studio, chatting with US dance teacher Aaron Girlinghouse. It is hard to believe that they spent nearly six hours a day from June 1620 dancing and pushing themselves to the limit.

Students from SJS, Episcopal High School, Kinkaid High School and schools in Arkansas and Louisiana arrived, and together under the direction of Mr. Girlinghouse and Frank Vega, a dance teacher from EHS, they spent five days participating in what is known as a jazz intensive.

Mr. Girlinghouse and Mr. Vega are the artistic directors and founders of a studio and dance company called La JAZDANZ. Founded in October 1991, the company’s mission is to present, produce and promote jazz dance. They moved the group to Houston in 2004.

Through La JAZDANZ and old connections from Louisiana and Arkansas, students of all levels arrived to participate in the intensive. Many of the students from Louisiana and Arkansas were Mr. Girlinghouse’s former students.

“It was pretty amazing to be able to see the [SJS] dancers exposed to a variety of levels and dance students from my past,” Mr. Girlinghouse said.

On the first day, the students kept to their own groups from their own schools. But when the dancing began, the intensive became a team effort.

“There was definitely a feeling that you were more friendly with them,” Tola Emiola (’10) said, “and it was fun seeing people you know from other schools.”

Mr. Girlinghouse said that seeing the students as a team was “extremely gratifying.”

Several of the SJS dancers, including Laura Brill (’10), were

challenged by this introduction of new students. “They made you work harder because you wanted to be on the same level,” Brill said, “even if you were a beginner.”

A difficult part of the intensive was its fast pace, to which many of the SJS dancers were unaccustomed.

“If there was stuff I couldn’t do,” Kristen Fosburgh (’10) said, “I had to watch the other girls, the ones who were more experienced.”

Often if a dancer couldn’t approach the directors themselves, they could always turn to a peer for help, but even so, they naturally made mistakes.

“You laugh a lot,” Blair BouChebl (’11) said. “You just look bad and deal with it.”

But having a lot of students proved to be a challenge.

“It was very crowded,” Dhea Patel (’10) said. “We are not used to such big groups like that, so you had to work just to

Sarah Pendergraft (‘10) and other students intensely focused Photo courtesy of Frank Vega as they practiced jazz routines. find your own spot to stretch, “Your soul gets credit.” He dance and see the choreogra- added. “No school credit.” pher.”

But that was not the only re“I was energized by such a ward. Many of the dancers felt tremendous combination of that confidence by the end, intalent,” Mr. Girlinghouse said. cluding Emiola.

“Compared to the first day, the “It helped your confidence biggest change I saw [in the because you knew you had students] was the fear of the learned something,” Emiola unknown to confidence and a said, “and you knew you were sense of accomplishment.” better by the end.”

By JADE LAW

By BRET VOLLMER

By ALLIE ADKINS

When I picked up this memoir during the summer, the unique design of the novel intrigued me, for the memoir was to be both the author James McBride’s autobiography and a homage to the life of his mother, Ruth McBride. Although he alternates between the two stories and viewpoints during the memoir, McBride lends a distinctive voice to both perspectives. McBride’s weaving his own life story with his mother’s enables the reader to see how the two lives overlapped and the monumental influence of Ruth on her son. Overall, the memoir presents religion, race and family from an unusual angle, making the novel an intriguing read.

Written as a collection of semi-related essays, David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day, though entertaining, lacks the cohesion to be particularly memorable. It’s clear that Sedaris is a skilled writer who has developed a distinct voice and a strong command of language, but in spite of his literary-darling status Sedaris is not without fault.

At times he can be self-effacing to the point of being repellant. Additionally, though Me Talk Pretty can often effectively maneuver off and on various topics, as the common standard for almost all the essays, this lack of form can become tiresome. This isn’t all to say that Me Talk Pretty isn’t enjoyable or isn’t funny – it is – but it is also somewhat forgettable and even annoying.

Bird by Bird, the nonfiction summer reading book for Creative Writing, defied nature by actually being enjoyable. I started the book with the lowest of expectations. It was an instructional book on writing, for goodness’ sake! However, it impressed me not by just surpassing my expectations for a nonfiction book, but by being a fantastic read according to any standard. I learned a lot about the creative process of writing through Lamott’s entertaining anecdotes and words of advice. So it turns out that nonfiction can make for a good read. I highly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in writing or the creative aspects of life.

odds&ends Thumbs Thumbs down up Maverick the mascot Lawn games in the Quad Revived Senior Tie Thursday

Word for Word

‘08-‘09 student planner School server slowdown Tropical storm Gustav heading to Houston?

Staffer of the Issue

“Ophelia is basically a prostitute...”

“So Polonius is her pimp daddy.”

—Kyle Sparks (‘09) and Dean Alig “This morning when I woke up, the news wasn’t about the Democratic Convention, it was about [American Idol] adding a fourth judge and Paula Abdul feeling threatened.”

—Buddy Carruth (‘09) “And this one says, ‘Click with, uh...Richard Nixon.’”

—History teacher Mr. Popp displaying rhyming political memorabilia “Please cover all open wounds.”

—Ms. Kuhl conveying a message from the nurse to students at a senior class meeting

Sarah Nasser (‘09)

Sarah Nasser (‘09) was assigned the difficult task, especially for a first-year writer, of single-handedly previewing the seasons of all the fall sports teams. She stopped at nothing to complete interviews with both coaches and captains. The editors are glad to have her on the team!

sixty seconds with christian woo (‘09) and travis foxhall (‘09)

“The Amish did play tennis in weird outfits. It hindered their movement but they made up for it in technique.”

—George Alcorn (‘09) “I’m pretty sure I’ve spent half of my life with food on my face.”

—Lizzy Palmquist (‘09), discussing her baby pictures KATHERINE CARMICHAEL | The Review

name christian woo grade 12th sjs cafeteria item whatever patrick ryan gets sport to play tennis if i did an olympic sport it would be trampoline gymnastics music celine dion and mariah carey movie spice world tv show the secret life of the american teenager radio station radio disney restaurant azuma comfort food cleburne’s fast food whataburger breakfast food chocolate chip pancakes holiday christmas color rainbow dream vacation virgin islands drink iced tea heroes patrick ryan and oprah sing in the shower? no kids? a gazillion kids names? james, patrick and ryan when i grow up i want to be famous, i want to be a star if i were an inanimate object i would be a fortune cookie when i grow up i want to live on mars do you read the review? the 60 seconds portion

name travis foxhall grade 12th sjs cafeteria item dumplings sport to play track if i did an olympic sport it would be pole vaulting music rap movie the 50 cent movie tv show nick cannon’s wild ‘n out radio station the box restaurant popeye’s comfort food fried chicken fast food popeye’s breakfast food chicken and waffles holiday chinese new year color red dream vacation fiji drink “drank?” heroes patrick ryan and blaine finley sing in the shower? only rap kids? a few kids names? james, patrick, ryan and curtis when i grow up i want to be patrick ryan if i were an inanimate object i would be a piece of fried chicken when i grow up i want to live in patrick ryan’s home do you read the review? yes, but i hope no one reads the 60 seconds portion