August Issue 2006

The Review

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The Official Student Newspaper of St. John’s School 2401 Claremont Lane; Houston, TX 77019 | http://sjsreview.net | review@sjs.org

Vol. 58, Issue 1

August 2006

SJS to celebrate 60th birthday

Year-long festivities are planned

KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review

By EMILY FOXHALL Typically, when adults climb “over the hill,” they minimize birthday celebrations to prevent others from discovering their true ages. However, SJS is proud to announce its 60th birthday.

A 60th celebration steering committee comprised of both faculty and alumni has planned many celebratory and commemorative events for the 2006-2007 school year to ensure this benchmark in the school’s history will not go ignored.

Last spring, Alumni Coordinator Sarah Bernard began contem-

plating ways to make the school’s 60th birthday especially memorable.

“I just sort of brainstormed and came up with some big picture plans of what I thought would be fun for alumni, faculty and current students and parents,” Ms. Bernard said. “I came up with this laundry list of things that I thought would be great and fun to do and would meet all the different needs of the different groups.”

The 60th celebration steering committee was assembled to help plan the birthday events. This nine-person team proceeded

See BIRTHDAY on p. 2

KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review

Above: 60th birthday banner hanging in the Quadrangle; Right: Vincent Lujan (‘08) using a 60th birthday pen in Trammell Commons.

Maverick football sets sights on SPC championship Dean alig outlines goals for the new school year

By LEEOR MUSHIN After the 28-12 victory over Kinkaid at Rice Stadium last October, the SJS varsity football team is trying to overcome a lack of experience—not only to stop the recent curse of only beating Kinkaid every three years but also to compete for a Southwest Preparatory Conference Championship. “[Only winning every three years] really has been interesting to see,” Head Coach Steve Gleaves said. “It was talked about before, but after it happened last year, people made a big deal about. Hopefully this year KATHERINE CARMICHAEL | The Review we can make it back-to-back.” Will Ytterberg (‘08) and Coach Doug Sharp during a scrimmage.

The other rival, Episcopal High School, comes to play the last year’s game against [Episco- thing Coach Gleaves will alMavericks at Skip Lee Field in pal], we played well the first half low the Mavericks to take adSeptember in the first SPC con- as we were only losing by a field vantage of, especially in their ference game, which has added goal, and despite that we were first game against the Knights. “[Playing at home] is defito the already-brewing rivalry. moving the ball well, but after “With Kinkaid it’s more of the fumbled snap and punt they nitely an advantage,” Coach a traditional rivalry, but with kept marching down the field… Gleaves said. “First of all, you Episcopal, it’s definitely more It was a case of wanting it [so] bad have tradition and things like heated,” Coach Gleaves said. “In that we didn’t let the game flow.”

Home field advantage is some- See FOOTBALL on p. 10

Index

News.................................2 Features............................6 Photo Spread....................8 Sports..............................10 Opinions.........................12 A&E................................14 Odds&Ends....................16

By JUSTIN STEIN If you walk into new Dean of Students Dan Alig’s office, the stacks of colored flashcards with students’ pictures and names on them will certainly catch your eye. The flashcards, Dean Alig said, are just one of the methods he’s using to get to know the Upper School student body as the semester kicks off.

As large as a task as the memorization is, being able to match the names and faces of over 500 SJS students is just one of the things that keeping Dean Alig busy these days. Aside from his duties as Dean of Students this year, he’s also juggling his college counseling duties and personal life.

“I kind of wrap the personal in with the business when I think about my goals for the year,” Dean Alig said. In addi-

page 3

See DEAN on p. 2

Community reacts to new uniform policies. See page 5.

New faces on campus Opposing views Read about the new faculty members on campus this fall like Ms. Henderson, the new Foreign Language Department Head.

tion to trying to “foster a community of respect” at SJS, helping his “26 college counselees find the right college matches” and making “this place beyond the classroom as rich as [he] possibly can,” Dean Alig is also looking to keep his wife happy and run 30 miles a week.

Professionally, one of the most important goals Dean Alig has deals with respect, a topic both Headmaster John Allman and Head of the Upper School Kef Wilson have touched on since school began on August 16.

“When I talk about respect, I’m talking about student respect for faculty, student respect for each other and student respect for staff. I’m also talking about faculty and staff respect for students. I think that’s all about the

Did the North Campus construction ultimately benefit students? Read what two staffers have to say.

page 13

Johnnycake preview One writer takes a look at what the school’s oldest organization has in store for the school year.

page 15

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The Review

August 2006

SJS uses 60th to reflect on past, present and future BIRTHDAY cont. from p. 1 to refine Ms. Bernard’s original plans.

“We worked through further development [of] each of the ideas, cutting back on some things and adding to others,” Ms. Bernard said.

Eventually the committee fine-tuned the ideas and began to fill the celebration schedule with events. A lecture series, an all-school photo and two birthday parties all lie in store for the SJS community.

“I think it will be a really fun year for everyone,” Ms. Bernard said. “It’s important to celebrate big milestones; to have a bit of reflection. People have asked, ‘Why the 60th? Why are we doing something?’ But there are only decade milestones every 10 years. Everyone won’t be here 10 years from now!”

In addition to celebrating SJS, the 60th birthday also provides an opportunity for the community to reflect on the past, present and future of the school.

“I think it’s good periodically just to step back and celebrate the school, and the birthday is a pretty good occasion to think about where we’ve been, where we’ve come from and where we want to go,” Headmaster John Allman said. “The school wants to strike a balance between preserving its past [and] adapting to a world that’s different from 1946.”

The school has changed considerably since its early

years: SJS has grown significantly in size and students now enjoy many new facilities.

However, the school’s goals and mission remain solid.

“I think the school was a

celebrating the present.

“You learn from your experiences in order to shape a better future,” Mr. Reed said. “I think if you stop doing that, you stop shaping a better future.”

will be delivered by Dr. Stephen Klineberg, a professor at Rice University who has studied and gathered information about area trends in the development of Houston over time.

60th Birthday Celebrations

Sept. 13, 2006: Lecture Series I

Sept. 20, 2006: 60th All School Photo

Sept. 27, 2006: Book Fair Alumni and Family Night

Oct. 28, 2006: Celebration Mid-Century Rebels Luncheon FunDay Fair

Nov. 21, 2006: 60th Celebration Grandparents’ Day

Dec. 18, 2006: Celebration Alumni, Faculty & Former Faculty Holiday Art

Reception

Feb. 22, 2007: Lecture Series II

March 23, 2007: SJS Student 60th Birthday Party

March 24, 2007: SJS 60th Birthday Party

wonderful school to start with, with a wonderful mission. That mission is still alive and well, but the way that the mission is achieved has changed over the years,” said Assistant Headmaster Mark Reed. “The core of that mission is teachers and students and will always remain teachers and students. It’s teachers preparing students for the world beyond the school.”

These 60th anniversary celebrations provide a chance for teachers and students to learn from the past, while

DEAN cont. from p. 1 relationship between faculty and staff and students on a day-to-day basis,” Dean Alig said.

Another dimension of this goal, student respect for the institution, has not been addressed in recent years.

Referring to the physical structures at SJS, Dean Alig said, “We just pumped millions of dollars into the North Campus, and we want to preserve the new portions and the old portions. We want students to pick up the trash they drop on the floor, and we also want them to understand and abide by rules here big and small. That’s what any community has to do for it to be a community.”

One of the main ways that respect at SJS manifests itself is the uniform code. There are new policies regarding the code in effect this year, but before discussing the policies themselves, Dean Alig explained the “philosophical underpinning of why [he’s] such a huge proponent of the uniform code.” He said that “the uniform code is an integral part of the SJS education. The alums speak fondly of the uniform; [the] administration totally supports it. Faculty love it; it is a huge educational tool. It’s a way we can mitigate socioeconomic differences in the community, and it’s a way we can teach discipline. It’s also a way we can limit distraction.”

The most controversial policy that the administration announced limits the number of days that student clubs, fine arts ensembles and sports teams can dress up or wear their jerseys or team shirts on game or performance days.

Dean Alig said, “The idea is that we have dozens of teams, ensembles and student organizations, all of which feel entitled, sometimes multiple times a week, to be out of uniform. Last year, it seemed like on any given day, a third of the student population was out of uniform. It is hard for me to look at a sophomore in the hallway and say, ‘You need to tuck your shirt in,’ when you look around and a third of the student population is out of uniform.”

Having so many students out of uniform throughout the week is “a nightmare in terms of enforcement and gradually, it just diminishes the overall feel of the uniform code and its purpose.”

“I’ve seen the last six years I’ve been at SJS a gradual erosion of the uniform code, and I’m taking this opportunity to make sure the uniform code is remem-

SJS history will be incorporated in most of the 60th celebration events. “We hope to bring in some speakers [for the lecture series] who will be able to give some sense of the school in a broader context [and] to talk about some issue in education that has something to do with the historical context of the school,” Mr. Allman said.

The first of two lectures, titled “Making Sense of Our Times: Tracking Economic and Demographic Changes Through a Quarter Century in Houston,”

“He fits the bill,” Mr. Allman said. “He knows St. John’s, he knows Houston and he knows the historical trends that have shaped Houston.”

“The information that [Klineberg] has gathered… on the dynamics of Houston is all very pertinent to a school like this,” Bernard said. “It shows what a different place the city is now than it was 60 years ago when [SJS] was founded.”

In addition to reflecting on SJS history through lectures, the school wants to preserve the his-

bered and bolstered and reinvigorated. I know that I’m in the sensitive area with students there. But it’s important and I think it’s worth it,” Dean Alig said.

Nevertheless, Dean Alig wants students to know that he is the Dean of Students, not the “Dean of Uniform.”

Dean Alig has talked a lot about the “balancing act” that his position often becomes, where one administrator is responsible for both supporting students in their various roles on campus, as well as being someone who keeps them in line.

“When I say I support students, it doesn’t mean that I indulge students. It means that I hold them accountable, and at the same time I praise them, offer them encouragement. It’s all [of] those in one. I think it’s balancing enforcement and accountability with encouragement and daily praise, affirmation,” he said.

He continued by saying that the “uniform code is not my number one policy that [he’s] worried about.

The Honor Code always comes first.” As a metaphor to the relation between the uniform and Honor codes, Dean Alig recalled a story he heard last year.

“A student pointed out to me last year that the City of Houston prosecutes a whole lot more people for traffic tickets than they do for burglaries. That doesn’t mean that the City of Houston perceives traffic violations as more important than burglaries. So we talk about shirt tails more on a daily basis. I don’t want anyone to perceive that I value the uniform code over the Honor Code. I think the Honor code is a lynchpin of everything we do here.”

Although excited about the upcoming year, Dean Alig acknowledged that it is interesting for him to be in this “transition period.” One of the downsides of being the only internal candidate for the Dean position last year was that the student body already had a notion of who “Dean Alig” was supposed to be. “People are looking at me kind of differently,” he said.

Nevertheless, “I’m really looking forward to getting to know the students really, really well even better than I knew them before,” Dean Alig said. “You know I’m going to see them in a different way. I’m going to see them at their best, when they’re running organizations, leading things and playing on athletic fields. I’m also going to see them at their worst, which is all about getting to know their stories. That’s something I love about this place.”

tory it will be creating this year.

This goal will be uniquely accomplished by returning to an old tradition: the all-school photo.

“The last all-school photo was a long time ago, which will make this even cooler,” Mr. Reed said.

The picture of all SJS students and faculty will be taken either before or after the all-school convocation this September.

Another goal of the 60th celebration is to represent all aspects of SJS. “We try to lure [alumni] back every year,” Mr. Allman said. “We’re trying to do something a little bit different so that people come back based on things that they really care about.”

In December, a Holiday Art Reception will display artwork from various current faculty, former faculty and alumni.

The committee is still tossing around ideas of ways to incorporate former SJS athletes with celebrations during the SJS vs.

Kinkaid football game and other events. In addition, alumni from previous choral programs may be invited to perform at some point during the school year.

“Almost all of the areas of the school’s programs are trying to find ways to invite the alumni back,” Mr. Allman said.

Of course, the celebrations aren’t complete without a proper birthday party. Two birthday parties will take place in March; one for SJS students (which will be planned by students) and another for the remainder of the SJS community.

“I anticipate there will be cake,” Mr. Allman said.

KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review

Dan Alig , Dean of Students, takes time out of his busy schedule to discuss his goals for the 2006-2007 school year.

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The Review

August 2006

SJS welcomes 11 faculty members to its family Harold Baber

nich and be in Paris for New Year’s, but the rest remains to be planned. “I prefer Paris,” Ms. Baker said, “it’s the greatest city in the world, but my husband prefers Madrid.” For now, Ms. Baker has returned to SJS and is leaving her traveling for Christmas break.

–– Courtney Carvill

Cara Henderson New varsity boys basketball Head Coach Harold Baber said he understands the rigor of trying to balance a heavy academic workload and athletic success.

“My college background was similar to that of St. John’s; academics came first, but athletics were important too,” said Coach Baber when asked about what attracted him to coach the Mavericks.

Coach Baber attended Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. While there, he was a member of the basketball team. Later, Coach Baber became an assistant coach at Western Michigan University.

Coach Baber credits his love and passion for the game to his high school basketball coach: “He was a great role model.

He was kind of like my dad– –I really looked up to him.”

Coach Baber was attracted to SJS not only because it “felt like a great fit,” but also because varsity football Coach Steve Gleaves attended school with Coach Baber’s mentor and high school basketball coach, Tommy Thomas.

“I hope to be competitive,” he said. “I would like to start a rich tradition in St. John’s basketball, so that one day our basketball success will mirror our academic success.”

–– Jordan Thomas

Emily Baker

“I was not in France, although if people would like to think that it’s fine with me,” Ms. Baker said on why she left SJS last year.

Originally, Ms. Baker left to continue work on a Ph.D at Rice in French Studies but decided to pursue a second M.A. in Counseling Psychology with a focus on adolescents. Now she is back teaching World History I and World History AP, while still taking classes at the University of Houston.

Ms. Baker graduated with a major in Romance Languages and a minor in History at Bowodin College in Maine. She then worked in finance in San Francisco and thought about working in business. “I moved back to Houston to work on my masters when I realized the people weren’t as nice in business as they were in education,” she said.

Ms. Baker loves to travel and plans to go to Europe this Christmas with her husband of five years. They will fly to Mu-

All eyes are turned towards new Foreign Language Department Chair Cara Henderson. “It’s a wonderful opportunity that I feel I’ve just been blessed to have… It almost feels like it fell in my lap,” she said.

With a mother who taught Spanish at River Oaks Elementary, Ms. Henderson grew up with an interest in languages. She chose to learn both French and Spanish throughout high school and went on to Stanford, where she earned a B.A. in Spanish and an M.A. in Education. While attending Stanford she spent her junior year abroad in Salamanca, Spain, living in an all-girls residence that was run by nuns.

“That was when I really, really learned Spanish because outside of the classroom I think I had about four or five classes that I would take during the day, but really I think I learned just by that conversational Spanish that I would have with my roommate,” Ms. Henderson said.

Having taught kindergarteners all the way through to college students, Ms. Henderson has covered all ends of the education spectrum. She has taught in Union City, CA, Seattle, WA and Greensboro, NC, and has now come full circle, returning to Houston, TX to join the SJS community.

“Having one full day to get to see the students, to get to interact with the department where I just got to sit and tell my story… everyone has been so incredibly warm here. I think that’s what really made me want to be a part of the St. John’s family.”

Ms. Henderson will be teaching Spanish I and Spanish V. If you happen to be in her class, here’s a tip: Ms. Henderson’s ideal student is one who is internally motivated, a hard worker, and a good person: “I feel like as a teacher if I’m dealing with someone that I know has good intentions…I go the extra mile further to help.”

–– Anoushka Sinha

Laurel Johnson Considering that all of her six children have either graduated from or are currently attending SJS and that her husband taught at the school for thirteen years, it’s no wonder that

the new Biology I and Anatomy and Physiology teacher Laurel Johnson has “always felt part of the St. John’s family.”

Ms. Johnson is not a stranger to teaching; she brings to the school teaching experience from well-known private schools in Cincinnati and Chicago. In addition, she has substituted for teachers from the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools, teaching classes in virtually every department, particularly the math and history departments.

Ms. Johnson received her B.A. and M.S. from Northwestern University before going on to study physiology and do research at Harvard University’s medical school. She was deciding between an M.D. and a Ph.D. when she was recruited by a Chicago area private school.

“I think it was a happy discovery,” she said, “that I would be just as happy teaching as I would be in medicine or research.”

However, Ms. Johnson’s scientific background has helped to instill in her a deep sense of respect for the environment, and one of her primary goals is to help SJS students become more environmentally friendly.

“It’s a way of being less materialistic, doing without things we don’t need, and serving and taking care of what we do have,” she said. “It’s a really important lifestyle that a school like ours should make.”

Ms. Johnson is equally enthusiastic about the relationships she hopes to build with her students over the course of the year. “I’m completely available to them,” she said. “That’s my favorite part of my job.”

–– Anjali Salvador

Stephen Johnson

One of the new faces around the science building at SJS this year is that of Stephen Johnson, the new Upper School Head Technologist.

Mr. Johnson was born and raised in upstate New York. He grew up interested in all kinds of technology, such as cars, music and electronics in general. He later attended Binghamton University for five years, receiving his B.A. in Social Sciences. He then spent one year at Columbia University, where he obtained his M.A. His first job, however, was teaching social studies at an inner-city school in Harlem,

N.Y. He became interested in computers at that school.

“When I was teaching in Harlem, it was a big time for corporations to deliver computers to the inner-city schools,” Mr. Johnson said. “After we got them, they needed to be repaired quite frequently. So, I would figure out how to fix them, and that’s how I got interested.”

After moving to Houston from New York, Mr. Johnson worked with computers at The Rice School. “I was doing the same things I am doing here,” said Mr. Johnson.

Later, he became interested in working at SJS when he heard about it from Upper School counselor, Pat Reynolds, at a Houston Marathon party. Ms. Reynolds talked about how the old technologist, Harry Portwood, was leaving and that they had a job open.

Outside of school, Mr. Johnson used to spend most of his time running cross-country, painting, riding motorcycles and renovating a 1928 bungalow in Montrose. He still does these things, but now spends more of his time with his two-year-old boy, six-month-old daughter, and wife of six years, Melba.

“This is a new world for me, being in the private school. I want to adapt to the SJS community,” Mr. Johnson said.

“My role here is a little different than it had been, so I want to adapt to that as well.”

–– Hudson Duncan

Penny Meitz

From earning her B.A. in music education to playing the viola in the Houston Ballet Orchestra for ten years, Penny Meitz brings an experienced passion for music as the new Strings instructor for SJS. Ms. Meitz, born in Michigan, has a master’s degree in viola performance from Rice University in addition to her undergrad from Western Michigan University.

As for what brought her to SJS, Mrs. Meitz said, “The caliber of students [was something that stood out about the school.]”

She said that it would be “a really good retirement job,” having retired in May from public school education after teaching at Clements High School.

Cooking, bicycling, reading and freelance viola playing are some of Ms. Meitz’s varied hobbies, in addition to spending time with her husband Mike and her grown stepson. She likes to participate in pick-up orchestras for weddings and such other events.

Though reading and playing are most enjoyable to her, picking a particular piece of music or a book as a favorite is hard, as it is usually, “whatever I’m reading or playing at the time.”

Ms. Meitz looks forward to teaching this school year. She said, “I haven’t met the students

yet [but so far it’s been] great.”

–– Luisa Barron

Alan Paul

New wrestling, football and baseball coach Alan Paul comes to SJS this year with his mind set to win.

Coach Paul graduated from the University of Houston with a B.A. in Kinesiology. He was born, raised and has lived in Houston all his life. Coach Paul also comes from a very close Italian family. “They will probably come to all of the events I’m coaching,” he said.

Coach Paul coached wrestling and football, as well as a Physical Education, at Kinkaid and St. Francis. During his career at Kinkaid, he led the wrestling team to two consecutive state championships. While at St. Francis, Coach Paul coached the 2003 football team through an undefeated season.

Coach Paul said he believes that he can help pull the Class of 2010 out of their notorious football losing streak. “One of my greater assets as a coach is to get my players fired up and excited to compete,” he said.

When he isn’t working with the football, wrestling or baseball teams, Coach Paul enjoys going to sporting events, scuba diving and playing golf. He is known among his friends for biting his tongue when things start getting really competitive. His biggest pet peeves are excuses and losing. “I do not enjoy losing,” Coach Paul said.

“Actually, I can’t stand losing.”

–– Max Susman

Luke Probst

Luke Probst likes to explore— you name it, he’s done it. He’s studied the possibility of astro-biological evidence of life on Mars at NASA, peered into the wide, vacant eyes of sleeping fish and has maintained his body temperature while diving both at night and in frozen lakes in northern Minnesota.

He also wants to bring astronomy and astro-physics to SJS. Mr. Probst, a physics and calculus teacher, was born in Iowa but grew up in northern Minnesota,

See TEACHERS on p. 4

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news The Review

August 2006

SJS alum returns to address newspaper staff

By BRET VOLLMER

KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review

Franz Brotzen (‘73), former editor for CNN international, addresses The Review during the summer workshop.

TEACHERS cont. from p. 2 where he says he would (if not Houston) most like to live. As an only child, he learned to foster a limitless imagination and often read and played saxophone, which he continues to enjoy to this day. Later on in his life, Mr. Probst garnered interest in hiking, traveling, scuba diving and, of course, the planetary sciences.

“My math and science teachers in high school were really some of my early inspirations,” Mr. Probst said.

Mr. Probst is bent on making the science department more diverse and interesting—not just for the scientifically inclined, but for all students alike.

“We could create a couple of different astronomy classes, one where it could be less technical… more just the concepts, which is really fun, and we could also do a more technical [class] for the physics and math people,” Mr. Probst said.

–– Ashley Tam

Rachel Weissenstein

After teaching English for three years at Lamar High School, Rachel Weissenstein is making the trek across Westheimer to teach Upper School English and co-sponsor The Review at SJS. During her last year at Lamar, Ms. Weissenstein taught a Theory of Knowledge class, a signature International Baccalaureate course. The class examined ways of knowing and areas of knowledge including science, math, history and ethics and used philosophy and epistemology as bases.

“It’s a course of questioning.

I had to get every book I could possibly find,” she said. “It was a fascinating year of study for me.” Ms. Weissenstein hopes to bring a similar class to SJS. Ms. Weissenstein has switched between private and public schools before. At age 14, she moved from a small private school in Chicago to Houston’s Bellaire High School. “It looked like a jungle to me!” she said of the numerous students and classrooms. After graduating from Bellaire, she attended Mount Holyoke College and declined an opportunity to study in England her junior year in favor of a year at Northwestern University, for the coed experience.

After college she worked in public relations and as a freelance writer while raising her three children, now ages 20, 16 and 14. She soon found it was the right time to pursue her passion for teaching, and discovered an 18-month Masters of Arts in Teaching program at Rice University. She planned

Holding the front page of the Houston Chronicle, SJS alumnus and journalist Franz Brotzen (’73) reads the headline aloud. “‘Foiled Terrorist Plot Was In Its Final Stages.’ This should be attributed,” advises Brotzen, “I’d say ‘Police foiled plot in final stages’.”

As a former copy-editor for CNN international and a number of other publications, Brotzen is both passionate and analytical in his thoughts on current journalism. In his lecture to The Review staff, Brotzen discussed his career as a journalist and shared his thoughts on the state of international news in America.

“International news––in America, and I think this is true in most countries––is what the government says is international news,” says Brotzen. “What you’re seeing is not U.S. propaganda ––I won’t go that far––but [the U.S.] sets the agenda.”

According to Brotzen, international news, as it is reported in America, focuses too much on U.S. international interests instead of true world news.

Brotzen explained that because journalists in print and television struggle with making a story relevant to the American public, much of international news isn’t reported. “You won’t get

and taught three summer school classes and was asked to serve as a mentor teacher this year.

“I always practiced teaching on my siblings and I used to bring worksheets to the kids I babysat. They loved it,” Ms. Weissenstein said. “Eventually, it became the right time, and I found Rice in my own backyard.”

–– Courtney Carvill

Cara Yoder

many stories about the war in the Congo,” says Brotzen, “The [death toll is] absolutely flabbergasting and how many stories have you seen about it?”

Brotzen also emphasized the importance of looking at world news from multiple angles. “That’s what makes international news interesting; getting other people’s perspectives,” says Brotzen.

On the subject of the conflict in the Middle East, Brotzen asked, “What did the newspaper in Senegal say or what did the television in Belarus say?”

After explaining the nature of world news, Brotzen elaborated on the field of journalism itself, particularly becoming a journalist.

“To get into journalism,” says Brotzen, “you don’t have to follow a designated path.” Brotzen demonstrated this idea in his own career after graduating from SJS. “I went to Europe for a year,” says Brotzen, “and then I went to Johns Hopkins for a semester, but I didn’t really like it; I wasn’t ready for college.”

Brotzen then worked in landscaping before returning to school at Rice, where he received a B.A. in History.

After receiving an M.A. from the University of California Los Angeles in Latin American studies, Brotzen became involved in journalism. Because of the news coming from South America, Brotzen became an authority, which helped Brotzen as a journalist. “Immigration was an issue then, believe it or not,” says Brotzen.

Brotzen continued gradu-

During her visit, she met the people in the math department, who had “good heads on their shoulders.” Ms. Yoder says she is very pleased that she gets to work with such great people.

Although the school year has just started, Ms. Yoder said she is enjoying SJS life. “I like all the kids in my classes––so far,” she said, jokingly. When she is not teaching geometry or calculus, Ms. Yoder is training to become an SJS college counselor.

Currently, Ms. Yoder is still in the process of moving all her belongings from Boston to Houston, so free time is “something she has little of” these days. When she does find time to herself, she attends the Post Oak YMCA, where she is on the Master Swim Team. She also plays with her two cats, Thomas and Beechnut.

–– Liliana Varman

Cara Yoder, new math teacher and college counselor-in-training, said she first became interested in geometry while at school in Hawaii, where she was born and raised.

After attending Williams College in Massachusetts, Mrs. Yoder taught at schools in California before returning to Massachusetts to earn her Master’s Degree in Education from Harvard University. She was living in Boston when she heard about SJS. “[I was told that] St. John’s was the best school in Houston,” she said. Mrs. Yoder also heard great comments about its students, which led to her decision to visit the school.

Rachael Skinner

Rachael Skinner has quite a heavy workload to manage; she teaches 3rd, 5th and 6th grade Physical Education, and she’ll be coaching the varsity girls soccer and cross country teams.

A graduate of San Angelo High

ate school at the University of Southern California where he received a second masters.

Before taking a job as a writer and copy editor for CNN, Brotzen worked at several publications in California and Miami.

“I had never worked in broadcast before CNN. I just kind of showed up,” Brotzen said.

Working in broadcast news, Brotzen saw first-hand the effort that goes into live television and the technical problems that can occur. “We were doing a story about Michael Jordan coming out of retirement,” says Brotzen, “and when we cut to an interview, somebody accidentally hit a tape of a field in Pyongyang with hundreds of Koreans applauding.”

After working for CNN International for seven years, Brotzen recently left broadcast news to return to Houston. Brotzen will now work at the Baker Institute for Public Policy. “I make sure the coffee’s hot,” jokes Brotzen.

As an SJS alumnus Brotzen says that his time at SJS helped prepare him for a life reporting and interpreting international news. “I was in the twelfth grade during the 1972 Olympics in Munich and we stopped whatever we were doing in class and had a very interesting debate about it,” says Brotzen. “The teacher at the time, I think David Adams, was very open. He didn’t just come in and say ‘this is wrong, we should condemn it.’ He asked, ‘What would motivate people to do this?’ I had a lot of wonderful teachers at St. John’s.”

School, Coach Skinner attended the University of Texas where she majored in Education and Kinesiology and played soccer.

She spent four years coaching girls soccer at Stephen F. Austin University before becoming the head coach for the soccer and cross country teams at a high school in Dripping Spring, Texas.

Coach Skinner chose to teach at SJS because she had been coaching club soccer, which met a lot at nights and on weekends, which was a difficult schedule to manage because she has two sons, Will, who is 5 years old, and his 2 year old brother Cale.

What were Coach Skinner’s first impressions of SJS students?

“Fantastically unbelievable–– They’re perfect!” She has also noticed that her students were very well-mannered and polite.

Her goals for this year are, first and foremost, “to learn names.”

In cross country she would like to have everyone fast and ready

by SPC, and in soccer her goal is to help the girls to accomplish their goals because, she said, “My goal is their goal”; Coach Skinner also added the her personal goal for this year’s girls soccer team is to place in the top eight at SPC. For fun, Coach Skinner enjoys playing soccer and running, but when hobbies are concerned, “My boys are my hobbies!”

–– Alice Alsup All photos taken by Jennifer Denfield (‘07), Katherine Carmichael (‘09), Dan Perenyi (‘09) and Jennifer Lewis (‘10)

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August 2006

Community reactions to new uniform policy “Though I believe that the new strictness used to enforce existing uniform rules (such as tucked-in shirts) is necessary and better for the school as a whole, I cannot say the same for the new restrictions put on sports teams. As one of the captains of the girls tennis team, I truly believe that wearing our team t-shirts on game days during school helps build the team’s excitement for the match from the morning and enhances team unity… When students and teachers see the apparel on game day, many more are aware of the match and proceed to ask about the result the next day, and as an athlete, I find this interest from the school encouraging and motivating.”

––Roxana Fatemizadeh (‘07), tennis captain and SAMC co-president “[The] wearing of uniforms on game days (especially for football) is in fact a tradition, one that has existed before you or I even arrived at St. John’s. It promotes school spirit and excitement, and as long as the students abide by all other parts of the uniform code, the students still look very admirable and presentable. I understand that some students might feel left out by not being able to dress in a sports uniform, but St. John’s has such a diverse and celebrated student body that every person is in fact recognized in some way. To curtail the wearing of sports and cheerleading uniforms or shirts is not a way to solve the perceived problem. There were worse offenses to our uniform code than allowing teams to show excitement for participating in something they enjoy. “

––Joe Herman (‘04), former Head Prefect and football, wrestling and baseball captain

“I know this decision was made with a lot of thought, but I feel that the heart and spirit of the school is being sacrificed at the expensive of the school uniform. I can see where the school is coming from and I wish the two sides could come to an agreement.”

like myself loved SJS be“Students cause of its diverse environment: athletic achievement on the highest state level while academic achievement on a high national level. If the aim is to strengthen the uniform code and system at the school, then you (the decision makers) are making a huge mistake. It’s the notion of taking away someone’s pride in their individual and team efforts only to replace it with a reminder of enforced uniformity.

From an alumni stand point, it is deplorable and unacceptable to do that to the student body; especially a student body as intelligent, capable, and proud as that of SJS.”

––Matthew Ziemnicki (‘07), football captain

“Having looked forward to my senior year and all the privileges that entails since coming to St. John’s in 6th grade, it is disappointing to me that the administration would take away an established tradition like seniors dressing out every Friday for Maverick Guard. It is especially disappointing that for an administration that demands respect of its students, they have very little respect for us. The administration should have gone to the Head Prefect and informed her and the entire student body about any new changes that were going to occur.”

–– Caroline Wilson (‘07), yearbook editor

––Matthew Starke (‘06), alumnus

For comments from the administration regarding this new policy, and for details of the policy itself, please see the “Dean Alig Outlines Goals for the New School Year” article starting on the front page.

Meet the Editors Justin Stein (‘07) Editor-in-Chief Nickname: JStein Years on The Review: 4 Superhero Power: to not answer my phone every time it rings Reincarnation Animal of Choice: dog The Review: the better publication

Chanel Tran (‘07) News Editor Nickname: Chanelope Years on The Review: 4 Superhero Power: invisibility Reincarnation Animal of Choice: meerkat The Review: forks

Daniel Andreeff (‘07) Beyond SJS Editor Nickname: Dreeff Years on The Review: 4 Superhero Power: to sleep Reincarnation Animal of Choice: falcon The Review: hardcore

Katherine Kelley (‘08) Photo Editor Nickname: K.K. Years on The Review: 3 SuperheroPower: super strength minus the muscles Reincarnation Animal of Choice: koala The Review: photos and sports

Leeor Mushin (‘09) Scrivener Nickname: Lee Lee Years on The Review: 2 Superhero Power: laser vision Reincarnation Animal of Choice: ferret The Review: Max Susman (‘10)

Morgan Childs (‘07) Managing Editor Nickname: Mo Years on The Review: 4 Superhero Power: time management Reincarnation Animal of Choice: gecko The Review: home away from home

Peter Ha (‘07) Opinions Editor Nickname: P-Ha Years on The Review: 4 Superhero Power: to fly Reincarnation Animal of Choice: tiger The Review: happiness, fun, goodness

Meghan Hall (‘08) Sports Editor Nickname: Meghan Years on The Review: 3 Superhero Power: to be in multiple places at once Reincarnation Animal of Choice: eagle The Review: late nights and laughter

Andrew Yeh (‘07) Business Manager Nickname: Andy Years on The Review: 4 Superhero Power: Pokeman powers Reincarnation Animal of Choice: tiger The Review: awesome

Gabriella Wise (‘07) A&E Editor Nickname: Gabby Years on The Review: 3 Superhero Power: x-ray vision Reincarnation Animal of Choice: flying squirrel The Review: sexy

Ryan Staine (‘07) Features Editor Nickname: Richard Years on The Review: 3 Superhero Power: to run fast Reincarnation Animal of Choice: bear The Review: Friday afternoon stealer

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The Review

Photos courtesy of Kaleta Johnson.

Students enjoy summer immersion in new culture

By ELIZABETH RASMUSSEN History teacher Dr. Bela Thacker and English teacher Carol George took eight students on SJS’s first student trip to India this past summer. The group of ten experienced a 12day journey on an unusually luxurious school trip, staying in lavish hotels and palaces that had been converted into hotels.

India’s crowded streets and poverty proved to be a culture shock for many of the students.

“It was nice for the students to see what I saw growing up this existence, this paradox within India between poverty and richness, and between modernity and tradition,” said Dr. Thacker, who was born in northern India. “We all talked about poverty; we all pointed out the homeless, but it was not all that [we] saw. [We saw] that India goes beyond that.”

As it was for most of the students in the group, the trip to India was Kaleta Johnson’s (’07) first time in a third-world country, and she said that the trip “opened [her] eyes to another part of the world,” but as Dr. Thacker said, the students observed much more that just poverty; they were able to absorb a country with a deep culture and history and they

were able to experience the more luxurious side of India.

In order to get to India, the group had to spend 18 tedious hours on airplanes before arriving halfway around the word in Delhi. They spent their first day in Delhi visiting typical tourist sights and then traveled to Agra where they visited the Taj Mahal. After Agra the group headed to the region of Rajasthan in Northwestern India where they spent the remainder of their trip.

“It was a very hectic trip,” said Dr. Thacker. “We were always doing things.” The group woke up around 7:00 every morning and would visit a palace, museum, fort or monastery. They then typically returned to the hotel for lunch and would either relax at the hotel and go swimming, or go shopping in a nearby mall or market. In the evening, they usually had another organized group activity.

One example of the group’s evening activities was a camel ride that they took into the heart of the dessert where they watched the sun set. “That was absolutely gorgeous,” said Dr. Thacker.

“The kids loved it; I think it was one of the highlights of the trip.”

During their stay in Japiur, the group experimented with yet another mode of transportation: they rode elephants in order

August 2006

Kaleta Johnson (‘07), Sarah Allison (‘06), Dr. Bela Thacker, Carol George, Catherine Fondren (‘09), Mary Martha Davis (‘07) and Kathryn Austin (‘08). to reach the Amer Fort, which is located on a hill overlooking the city. “It was wonderful, and you could see the whole city of Jaipur,” said Dr. Thacker.

Dr. Thacker and Ms. George wanted to make sure that the students were fully exposed to Indian culture, so the group participated in various Indian traditions. One day, all of the girls in the group donned saris; another day, they all wore bindis (the forehead decoration or sacred dot worn by many South East Asian women). Another day, the group got henna tattoos, and another day, the group watched a Bollywood movie.

The group also absorbed the culture by eating as much Indian food as possible. Most every-

one in the group felt the need to order mild dishes. “I have to say, Austin [Rodd (’08)], Rishi [Kodali (’08)], and Clayton [Phillips (’08)] can have really spicy food without breaking out into a sweat,” said Dr. Thacker.

“All the rest of us were like, ‘please give us mild curries.’”

Phillips said, “One thing that annoyed me was that Dr. Thacker and the girls kept insisting everything be ordered mild. I mean, I was halfway around the world. I wanted to get my taste buds burnt off.”

During the trip, the eight students and two teachers bonded through their shared experiences. “I went only knowing one person, and when I came back I was really close to everyone,” said Catherine Fondren (’09). “I was nervous [being the youngest person on the trip], but I really wanted to go to India and take the opportunity.”

Many of the students had not expected to travel to India at such young ages. Johnson said, “Being there was just surreal, seeing all the architecture and monuments and soaking in all the history. Everyone was a lot of fun and we grew really close. It was an incredible place, and it opened my eyes to another part of the world.”

Aside from the country’s beauty, many of the students were impacted by the Indian way of life and differences between their lives in the United

States and the lives of those living in India. “There was a lot of poverty; it really shocked me,” said Fondren. “When you walk around here [in the United States] you don’t really see that.

There are the poor guys standing on the corner of the street [here in the United States], but there is so much more of that in India.”

Johnson was also impacted by the differences between the two cultures, “There are so many more people there. You walk down the street and you feel like you are never alone.”

Phillips had a similar response to India as Fondren and Johnson. “India really drove home the point that the world is not the same all over,” he said. “I’ve been to Greece, I’ve been to London and I’ve been to Italy; and each time I left with this feeling that deep down, there wasn’t a real difference. A new custom here, a different standard of living there; a littler richer, a little poorer, [it] didn’t matter; but in India I didn’t get that feeling. Here was something new and alien on most every level, a world cut from a different cloth.”

Profoundly impacted by their journey half way around the world, Fondren said, “If you get an opportunity, take it; it really impacted me. We always hear that America is the land of dreams or whatever, but coming back from India you really get the full impact of what that really means.”

Bela Thacker, Austin Rodd (‘08), Rishi Kodali (‘08), Clayton Phillips (‘08) and Carol George pose for a picture while overseas.

Students thrive in summer community service project

By JADE LAW It’s 9:00 A.M., the start to another day of volunteering at The River, a fine arts day camp for mentally and physically disabled children. SJS students have been volunteering at The River for many years now, helping the disabled children have a funfilled summer. Teen volunteers assisted one class throughout the day, helping the kids on their projects or crafts. There are different rotations for the children, such as dancing, playing music, acting, storytelling and drawing. At the end of the week, the kids put on performances.

One volunteer at The River, SJS student Brooke Schuler (’09), heard about this volunteering opportunity through the National Charity League. She volunteered this summer for two weeks, and has also helped out here the previous summer. Schuler said “[She enjoyed

working with the younger kids because] they had so much energy; they were bouncing off the walls the entire day.”

She added, “It was so much fun seeing how happy they’d get, like making a craft, how they’d be so excited about it.”

Another SJS student, Kaitlin Bahr (’09), volunteered this summer. Bahr heard about the camp from a friend, and decided to try it out because she “really like[s] doing community service.” Like Schuler, Bahr agreed that watching the kids have a good time was rewarding. At the end of the week that Bahr worked there, The River children staged a circus performance. “It was really awesome to see how they learned so much and the were having so much fun on the stage,” says Bahr.

This was the fifth summer in a row that Derry Herlihy (’06) has volunteered at the River. It all began for Herlihy in eighth grade, when his mom wanted him to do volunteer work during the summer and

presented the idea of this fine arts camp to him. “It sounded like it could be fun,” he said, “so I decided to try it out and I really liked it. I just kept coming back.”

To Herlihy, the most rewarding part about being able to volunteer at The River was watching the progress each child made over the week. “At the beginning of the week a kid might be completely refusing to participate and having trouble interacting with other people. By the end of the week, he’s acting in a play in front of an entire audience,” Herlihy said, describing the progress the disabled children accomplish.

“It happens every week with almost every single kid,” he added. These past two summers, Herlihy has worked as a Teacher’s Aid at The River, unlike the other three years that he has been volunteering.

As a TA, Herlihy assisted the same teacher all day, and saw all the age groups instead of just assisting one age group throughout

the day. Ages of the disabled children at The River ranged from pre-school children and up. During the five weeks that Herlihy worked as the TA with the various children, he could certainly witness the kids’ gradual progress at the camp.

His job as a TA was to “help the teacher and the kid to interact.” Herlihy also helped the children do the activity and “a lot of the times that meant participating in the activity, whatever it was, along with the kid. I was in the drama class all five weeks, so I did a lot of skits.”

For Schuler, Bahr, and Herlihy, three SJS students out of many volunteering or working at The River this summer, not only did this opportunity allow them to interact and learn about the different children, but they also helped brighten the children’s summer.

“I’d definitely recommend it,” Herlihy said. “I strongly endorse The River.”

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August 2006

First community service trip to Costa Rica changes lives

By MARGARET GREENBERG Throughout their careers at SJS, students are exposed to the plight of the less fortunate in a variety of ways. They hear about the less fortunate throughout time in history, and they read about the indigent in literature in their English classes. However, now students have a real opportunity to help those in need as SJS has begun an annual abroad community service trip, the first of which took place in Costa Rica this past summer.

The trip was organized by Upper School Community Service Coordinator Marci Bahr after a grant from the Jamail family in 2005 enabled her to explore the possibilities for community service in Costa Rica.

The SJS team began the trip in Liberia, which is located in the northwest quadrant of Costa Rica. From there they were bused to Tamarindo, a beach area where they spent three nights and four days surfing and exploring the city. In the words of Mrs. Bahr, time in Tamarindo was spent “becoming acclimatized and accustomed to the different culture.”

The next six days were more intense as the hours between 9 A.M. and 3 P.M. were devoted to teaching English to Costa Rican children between the ages of five and fifteen. The volunteers worked at four rural primary schools. An additional community service activity provided an opportunity for interaction with Tico (native Costa Rican) kids who were the same age as many of the SJS students on the trip.

Between the teaching sessions, the group worked on building a community garden. According to Mrs. Bahr, “the basic plan was to increase the nutritional possibilities of the Costa Rican diet by adding a lot of fresh vegetables.”

Mrs. Bahr said “[The best part of teaching was] going to the schools [because] we all just felt like rockstars! The kids would just mob us. It was as if we were the most famous human beings on earth, and though these people could afford absolutely nothing they all

Tiffany Shyu (‘09), Brittany Hodgson (‘06), Kaitlin Bahr (‘09), Sarah Kaplan (‘07) Dillon Chapman (‘07) and Doug Elliott prepare for a hard day. [… felt] it was so important for them to give something back.

We all have little treasures.”

The SJS volunteers received everything from wooden carvings to shells to an 18inch strip of paper covered with Dole banana stickers.

Miriam Connor (’08) said her favorite part was “working with the kids because they were really cute. There was one little boy named Andres and […] he really liked learning English.”

Dillon Chapman (’07), who signed up mainly for the interaction with locals, commented, “From what I learned, the Costa Ricans are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and it was really cool how they are so enthusiastic and eager to learn.”

In the evenings, regular debriefings were held to discuss the joys and frustrations of the classroom.

Some time was devoted to creating additional teaching materials. Free time was spent snorkeling, rock climbing and relaxing.

The biggest challenge while

working with the kids was the language barrier. Many volunteers spoke no Spanish, and the Costa Rican kids had never dealt with Americans or spoken English before. Connor, who taught children between the ages of seven and nine, struggled with the “really, really short attention spans [of the kids. It was a challenge because I] didn’t speak the language very well, and they didn’t really understand that I don’t speak their language very well.”

The volunteers taught basic phrases such as “My name is…” or “I live in Costa Rica.” Chapman taught successfully by “making teaching fun and keeping the kids entertained.” He found that “repetition is the best way to help them learn. If you repeat something over and over again they’ll eventually catch onto it.”

The final three days were spent in north central Costa Rica in an area called Volcan Arenal.

There the group went on a canopy tour described by Mrs. Bahr

as “a zip line crossing rushing rivers and incredible cascading waterfalls, taking you from one platform to another [… Once you reach a new platform] you zip again to the next section.

In addition to the canopy tour, the group hiked up an active volcano. The four-mile trail first went through a dry forest, then a rain forest, and came up into lava fields. The trip ended in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica.

Connor said “I think a lot of countries don’t look fondly on America, and I like going to other places and [proving that I am] not an annoying American.” In addition, she particularly enjoyed the beaches and the native food, especially arroz con pollo (rice with chicken).

Chapman had been to Costa Rica twice with his family, but he commented, “This trip was by far the best. I absolutely recommend the trip. The teaching and gardening were such good experiences. You make new friends and get to help people,

and it was just a lot of fun.”

The dates are already set for the summer of 2007. The trip is planned for July 19 to 29 and is expected to fill up even faster than it did this year. If so, there is a possibility that a second trip will be scheduled. According to Mrs. Bahr, “pretty much everyone who went this year wants to again, and they will have priority.”

When Mrs. Bahr visited Costa Rica in 2005, she met with native Costa Ricans working to properly develop the country. Their motto is “Educacion es la puerta de la vida,” or “Education is the door to life.” Building on this theme, the SJS community service team was able to reach out to hundreds of Costa Rican children, teens and adults while enjoying the beautiful scenery of Costa Rica. “All around,” said Mrs. Bahr, “I think the word for this trip is just magical.”

Photo Courtesy of Marci Bahr.

Henry Caplan (‘07), Laura Jane Wolcott (‘07), Claire Smith (‘07), Doug Elliott, Doug Bahr (‘07), Travis Foxhall (‘09), Shannon Chen (‘09) on the trip.

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photo spread The Review

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August 2006: Back

All Photos: KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review

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August 2006

in Black (and Red)

Clockwise from top right: view from Mewborne, Patrick Lukens (‘08) sits in advisory, Lauren Hawley (‘07) and Mary Martha Davis (‘07) pose on picture day, Mr. Nathan teaching freshman English, a lifesize cardboard version of Dean Curry in his new room, view from Science Building, Berkeley Brown (‘08) studies in the library, students studying in the library, view from Mewborne, Travis Foxhall (‘09) walking up the stairs.

sports

10 T R Mavericks attempt to overcome youth, inexperience on varsity he

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quarterback, and I feel confident with him,” Coach Gleaves said. “Lawson is a good runner and has a decent arm. He has good control of the huddle as the other guys with him realize that he [will] make plays and lead them. Although we will rely on our running game with Danny who was big for us last year, just as we’ve done with Pace and Colby Young [(‘05)], we will pass more often.”

As for the team makeup there are only three returning senior starters—running back and backup safety Ball, tight end and linebacker Derry Herlihy (’07) and Division I recruit right guard and defensive tackle Da-

August 2006

vid Sklar (’07), who will all be captains along with center and defensive tackle Matthew Ziemnicki (‘07)—but according to Coach Gleaves a lot of promise.

“This is a year some would call a rebuilding year because our lack of experience, returning starters [only 12 seniors as opposed to 24 last year] and the fact that we have a lot of positions to fill, but we do have size and talent,” Coach Gleaves said. “You play for a championship in any season, and we feel like we can do that. That means that we can’t have injuries, especially to our impact players, and the ball has to bounce our way, but we feel we can do it.”

KATHERINE CARMICHAEL | The Review

Football captains Matthew Ziemnicki (‘07), Danny Ball (‘07) and David Sklar (‘07) play against Second Baptist in a scrimmage August 18. Their first game is Sept. 1 against Concordia Lutheran.

FOOTBALL cont. from p. 1 the logo at midfield as well as the fans. Also, if you have to go to Oklahoma or Dallas/Ft. Worth, the traveling wears a team down. Last year we had to play Holland Hall and Cassidy in Oklahoma, and that was really tough. Thankfully we don’t have to go there once this year.”

Especially with the season starting earlier do to public schools changing their seasons, Coach Gleaves is hopeful that the team will be able to click despite one fewer week of “two-a-days.”

“This year we’ll have nine games and two scrimmages with two non-conference games unlike previous years where we had 10 games and a scrimmage with three non-conference games,” Coach Gleaves said. “We had to get more done in a less amount of time.”

Depth is a major concern for the Mavericks since their number of guys that have played in the past is down from 40 last year to 32.

“The reason depth is a problem is because even though we have good backups, the backups are

starting on the other side of the ball,” Coach Gleaves said. “For example, Luke Phillips [(’08)], who is playing wide receiver and safety, will be rested by Ethan Harry [(‘09)] on offense who is also backup quarterback and Danny Ball [(‘07)] on defense who’s running back. Another example is Eugene Wu [(‘07)] who is starting at cornerback, but is also backing up Danny.”

After the departure of quarterback Pace Doherty (‘06) a glaring position hole emerges.

“Lawson [Gow (‘08)] will be

KATHERINE CARMICHAEL | The Review

Captain David Sklar (‘07) takes a tumble during the scrimmage.

Astros struggling hard for invitation to October party

By MEGHAN HALL Sports Editor It just kills me—it really does—that the Astros are underperforming so much in a year when the National League is a lump of mediocrity. In what’s probably our last year with The Big Three—Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens—we can’t seem to do it.

If they really want it, they better start pouring it on fast. Here are five things that the Astros absolutely need if they want to continue playing into October.

1. Andy Pettitte Pettitte is the biggest key for the Astros. If he can somehow regain his form from last year (17-9, 2.39) he will help the Astros make the playoffs. His stats this year (11-13, 4.51) aren’t going to cut it.

2. Bullpen The bullpen—which was so good last year—has lost countless games for the Astros. The obvious weak link is Brad Lidge, but the other relievers have had their moments, too.

3. 4th/5th Starters Brandon Backe has been back and forth from the DL all year, and he may be done for the season now. Here’s hoping he doesn’t need Tommy John surgery. Jason Hirsh was called up a little bit ago from Triple-A Round Rock and can provide a big lift if he can dominate like he did in the minors.

4. Lineup All the Astros need is for someone to get hot—besides Lance Berkman—and carry this team.

Whether it’s Craig Biggio or Aubrey Huff, I don’t really care.

Someone needs to step it up.

I can see Chris Burke helping out, too. That guy plays great baseball, and he plays the game the right way.

He busts his butt every time he’s out there, and it’s so much fun to watch. As much as I love Biggio, I can’t wait to see Burke as our everyday second baseman. He and Luke Scott are the two players I’m most excited about for the future.

5. Willy Taveras/Luke Scott That was a great trade: Jeriome Robertson to the Cleveland Indians for Willy Taveras and Luke Scott. The two best friends have been bright spots for the Astros this season. Taveras finally started to hit after spending some time on the bench and is currently riding a 27-game hitting streak. Scott was called up from Triple-A Round Rock and has been nothing short of a miracle. With a .407, he has the highest average in the majors since the All-Star break.

And without further ado, here’s how I think the rest of the playoff scenarios around the league will play out.

Photo courtesy of Associated Press

Luke Scott smiles while becoming the first Astros rookie to hit for the cycle July 28 against the Diamondbacks. Astros lost 8-7.

AL East I think the Yankees are going on to win the East, especially after their slaughter of the Red Sox in a five-game series sweep. The addition of Bobby Abreu at the trading deadline helped them out immensely.

Their pitching has been pretty good, too. Mike Mussina (13-5, 3.61 ERA) has been their ace,

and Chien-Ming Wang (14-5, 3.86) has been a great surprise.

But what’s really amazing is their offense. Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu. They’re so balanced all the way through their lineup.

See PLAYOFFS on p. 11

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August 2006

Fall sports teams begin preparations early

By VAIL KOHNERTYOUNT Field Hockey Under the instruction of new Head Coach Craig Chambers (’81), the field hockey preseason practices began Tuesday, August 7th. Two-aday practices ran from 9:00 to 11:00 AM and 5:00 to 6:30 PM and lasted until the 12th.

Though Coach Chambers is not new to the field hockey program, the departure of Coach Kim Bush last year brought him into the head coach position.

“Coach Bush was very dedicated to the field hockey program and worked extremely hard to develop every aspect of our team,” said Hannah Jeffers (’07).

Although Jeffers said she will miss Coach Bush, she explained, “I’m looking forward to having Coach Chambers who, besides devoting so much energy to the program, really knows how to encourage all the players.”

Coach Chambers listed his preseason priorities as “getting used to playing in heat, getting fundamental skills back up to par for tryouts and also [hav-

ing] a great time for players to get reacquainted after summer.”

A mix of individual stick skills and scrimmaging composed the practice sessions.

The players worked on dribbling, dodging, and shooting, as well as general conditioning in the mornings. The afternoon practices provided more game play. Jeffers said she enjoyed the schedule because “skills you worked on in the morning could be used in the afternoon.”

Jeffers also noted a difference between last year’s workouts and this year’s practices. “Last season’s preseason seemed to start at a much faster pace than the preseason this year…Though it was a very beneficial, it also was a lot less forgiving since it came just after summer,” she said.

Coach Chambers said that though the coaches did not require any specific summer workouts, they had “a vague expectation that everyone show up for pre-season in decent shape and with the knowledge that they would need to be able to deal with the heat. Most, if not all players are in good shape for the start of the season.”

KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review

Regan Rau (‘08) and Hannah Shepard (‘09) attempt to block against Nora Niebruegge’s (‘07) spike during volleyball practice.

PLAYOFFS cont. from p. 10 AL Central The Tigers have the best record in baseball, and they’re going to carry it all the way into the postseason. Their pitching is just too good: they’ve got the lowest team ERA in baseball. Nate Robertson, Jeremy Bonderman, Zach Miner, Kenny Rogers and Justin Verlander represent a great rotation. Only two of their starters—Miner and Rogers—have ERAs over four.

AL West The Athletics have gone on their usual August run and now lead their division by five and a half games over the Angels.

They have good pitching—third best ERA in the league—highlighted by Dan Haren (12-9, 3.79) and Barry Zito (13-8, 3.76).

AL Wild Card The Wild Card race will come down to the Twins and the White Sox, and I think the Twins are going to sneak in and steal it from Chicago. They started off slowly and then went on a furious run to come back into contention.

For a while, they had one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball with Francisco Liriano and Johan Santana.

KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review

Boys varsity volleyball captain Robert Howard (‘07) bumps a ball while practicing with the team.

Jeffers summed up the preseason practices as “neither overly intense or super laid back. You might spend water break joking with the coaches about each other’s summer, but when Coach Chambers blew the whistle to go back out, everyone was ready to work. All of the coaches made this preseason a great transition into field hockey.”

Boys Volleyball Preseason practices for all players began on August 8th and lasted until the 10th. Freshmen and players new to the program practiced from 4:00 to 5:30, while returning players attended the 5:00-7:00 session.

On August 12th, boys volleyball alumni returned to the SJS gym to culminate the week with a 6-on-6 match. The alumni won the match 3 games to 1.

Head Coach Eric Lombardi said that most of the players were in “decent shape” as preseason began. “Many had played significant volleyball over the summer at clinics and camps,” he said. He also mentioned that the summer Open Gym sessions were “very successful.”

Evan Winograd (’08), a returning varsity player, described this year’s preseason as

Liriano’s on the DL now with elbow problems, but he could be back soon.

Brad Radke has been pitching very well (12-9, 4.35) through a shoulder injury in his last season before he wants to retire. The bullpen has been rock-solid, leading the majors with a 3.06 ERA. Joe Nathan has a 6-0 record, an ERA of 1.56 and 25 saves. You can’t ask for more.

Their offense hits for the highest average in baseball. Joe Mauer, who’s making a serious run at a batting title, fits in perfectly with this team. The Twins are filled with regular guys— not superstars—having great years.

NL East The far and away most consistent team in the NL this year, the Mets will win the East. Their lineup is balanced: Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran. They get on base and they have power. Another tool they have and use often is speed—they lead the league in steals as a team.

Their offseason acquisition of closer Billy Wagner helped them make their bullpen the strongest in the NL, in terms of ERA. The only possible question mark for New York is their starting pitching.

Pedro Martinez is obviously a prov-

“pretty laid-back. The practices were focused on playing and we did very few drills…Instead, we got to scrimmage and play games to get back into the swing of things,” he said. “This allowed all of the players to show what they were capable of in a game-like situation.”

Coach Lombardi also noted the “great crop of new players” entering the program, though he said that “everybody who played last year…raised the bar.”

Winograd said that the preseason practices helped him regain his rhythm. “The first day of preseason was the trial and error day,” he explained. “Since then, I have gotten closer to where I was at the end of last year.”

Girls Volleyball The girls volleyball teams began preseason practices on August 7th. Two-a-day sessions were held from the 7th to the 10th, then once-a-day practices continued on the 11th, 12th, 14th, and 15th.

Coach Dawn Kelly explained the program’s revised preseason plan this year. “The plan was to focus on fitness, positive energy, and skill review. We added more fitness-based activities this year,” she said. “It seems that a lot of the girls were

en playoff pitcher, but he’s been on the DL twice this season. John Maine (3-3, 2.68) has been great for them.

NL Central Despite rumors that the Reds are looming, I think the Cardinals will hang on and win the Central. They are certainly weaker than they have been in previous years, however. Chris Carpenter is not in his Cy Young form of 2005, but his stats aren’t bad (12-6, 3.05). Jason Marquis is leading the team in wins—with 13—but his ERA is not pretty at 5.70.

Their bullpen also isn’t as strong as in the past. Jason Isringhausen still has 30 saves, but he has had 39 opportunities and accumulated seven losses.

Still, they have Albert Pujols. He cooled down with a stint on the DL after his torrid start, but is not in any kind of a slump. Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds are doing well, too, but neither of them are hitting for as much power as in the past.

NL West The Dodgers stumbled hard coming out of the All-Star break—dropping 12 of 13 games—but then went on a crazy streak to give them a one-game lead in the West. They’re still play-

in shape, though I do think we caught a few off guard with how much fitness we required.”

Hannah Shepard (’09), a returning varsity player, said that though this year’s preseason required a higher level of physical fitness, she found it to be less strenuous than last year because she knew what to expect.

“For me, [this year] was a lot easier,” she said. “I learned [to prepare] after freshman year.”

The Open Gym sessions held once a week over the summer brought “moderate success,” said Coach Kelly, and gave many participants the opportunity to play over the extended break. “Preseason is invaluable for learning the way we do things here at SJS, getting into volleyball shape, and showcasing your talents.”

Coach Kelly also complimented the success of both the veterans and the newcomers to the volleyball program.

“The freshmen did a great job and we’re looking forward to seeing the impact they have on the program,” she said. “Our seniors were fabulous during preseason! Gabby Wise [(’07)], Nora Niebruegge [(’07)], Alison Bloch [(’07)], Corinne Hughes [(’07)] and Blair Bashen [(’07)]—they were great!”

ing solid baseball and received a boost from Julio Lugo and Greg Maddux.

Brad Penny, who started for the NL in the All-Star Game, is 13-6 with a 3.70 ERA. Derek Lowe is having a good year, as well.

A prime contender for Comeback Player of the Year, Nomar Garciaparra is beginning to find his form from a few years ago. He’s hitting .330 with 14 home runs. Although he’s been on the DL with a sprained wrist and a sprained abdominal muscle, Jeff Kent continues to contribute. The Dodgers are the best hitting team in the league.

NL Wild Card I still think the Astros have a chance to win the Wild Card. The Reds have a lead right now, and they might hold it, but I don’t know if they have enough. Besides Bronson Arroyo (10-8, 3.44) and Aaron Harang (138, 3.72), their starters aren’t great.

Although GM Wayne Krivsky has made a flurry of trades this year— mostly to bolster their bullpen—the Reds still have the second worst bullpen ERA in the NL. They do hit well, but I don’t know if they can hold their lead. If they do win the Wild Card, they won’t get far in the playoffs.

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opinions

Editorials New uniform policy misses the mark The new sports uniform policies have inevitably changed the dynamics of school and team spirit. With school just beginning, the new policies have already received much criticism from all grade levels.

Threatening the team spirit and unity that came from wearing team shirts, the new policies suppress school spirit rather than promoting it.

As of press time, the new out-of-uniform policy states that sports teams can no longer wear their team shirts on every game day—teams are now restricted to wearing their team shirts only four days out of the entire season, Sports Chapel included. Football players are allowed to wear their jerseys four out of their ten game days for the entire day, while the rest of the game days they must change out of their jerseys after pep rallies.

The Review believes that wearing team shirts on game days fosters a sense of school spirit that is hard to substitute with signs on doors announcing sports games. Varsity athletes wearing their shirts became the chief form of communication to the rest of the school about game days.

By only wearing team shirts on four games out of an entire season, that line of communication is broken, and with it the school spirit that develops from wearing sports team shirts.

Unfortunately, the policy changes do not end with wearing t-shirts on solely four days out of the season. The administration has also chosen to ban out of uniform days for sports teams and arts clubs/ organizations. According to the US student handbook, the only exceptions to this rule involve “ecological field stud-

ies and other community-service efforts.” Sports teams and art clubs, however, will go unnoticed before leaving for SPC or any other major tournaments.

The policy changes also affect Maverick Guard and cheerleaders. Maverick Guard and cheerleaders can only wear their shirts on four football game days. The Review believes that the traditions of the school involving Maverick Guard and cheerleaders should be preserved, especially when SJS will be celebrating its 60th anniversary.

These policies, however, are not arbitrary. According to the Administration, it is harder to enforce uniform rules when students are out of uniform on any given day. This issue, although brought up among teachers, was never communicated to the students. The Review believes that students should have been informed of the complications with team shirts and other sports outof-uniform policies instead of being punished for something the students did not know was a problem.

Above all, the new rules inhibit the perks that varsity athletes work hard for. Why take the honor and privilege that varsity athletes earn of distinguishing themselves from the rest of the school by wearing team shirts and dressing up for tournaments and special events? Ironically, the uniform policies make the student population more homogenous than ever before.

The Review hopes that the student body manages to uphold the high standards of staying in uniform in order for the administration to eventually relax the sports uniform policy.

New grading system benefits students

Among the many changes the Administration has implemented this year, perhaps none is more welcome than the revised academic grading system.

Instead of continuing the traditional four quarter system, the school has implemented a semester-based system in which grades are averaged only once a semester, a system modeled on college grading systems.

Althogh students will still receive teacher comments and their mid-semester grades at the same time when the first and third quarter used to end, each student’s final grade will now be calculated solely on the basis of their semester

August 2006

The Review

and exam grades.

Although Head of the Upper School Kef Wilson has already informed parents of the change in a letter, he and Academic Dean Ann Louise Hagerty plan to discuss the change with the student body during this week’s class meetings.

The new system should reduce end of marking period stress, eliminate workload discrepancies between quarters, and give freshmen a chance to adjust to the demands of the Upper School.

The Review commends the administration and Mr. Wilson for thoughtfully revising a traditional policy in the interest of the students.

The Review

The Official Student Newspaper of St. John’s School 2006-2007 Editor-in-Chief: Justin Stein (‘07) Managing Editor: Morgan Childs (‘07) Business Manager: Andrew Yeh (‘07) News Editor Chanel Tran (‘07)

Features Editor Ryan Staine (‘08)

Opinions Editor Peter Ha (‘07)

beyondSJS Editor Daniel Andreeff (‘07)

Sports Editor Arts&Entertainment Editor Meghan Hall (‘08) Gabriella Wise (‘07) Photo Editor Katherine Kelley (‘08)

Scrivener Leeor Mushin (‘09)

Staff Writers Alice Alsup (’08), Luisa Barron (’09), Courtney Carvill (’07), Hudson Duncan (’10), Emily Foxhall (’09), Margaret Greenberg (’08), Vail Kohnert-Yount (’09), Jade Law (’09), Maddie McDowell (’09), Danielle Pike (’08), Elizabeth Rasmussen (’08), Anjali Salvador (’07), Tiffany Shyu (’09), Anoushka Sinha (‘09), Jeremy Slawin (’07), Max Susman (’10), Ashley Tam (’09), Jordan Thomas (’07), Rebecca Welbourn (’09), Liliana Varman (’10), Bret Vollmer (’09) Circulation Manager Johana Dickerson (‘07) Advertising Manager Cathleen Chang (‘07) Online Editor Austin O’Connor (‘08) Web & Graphics Staff Max Susman (‘10) Evan Winograd (‘08)

Photography Staff Business Staff Katherine Carmichael (’09), Allison Adkins (’09), Ryan Cordill (’09) Jennifer Denfield (’07), Geoffrey Dunn (’09), Cameron Harati Jennifer Lewis (’10), (’07), Sage Klement (’09), Caroline Parks Daniel Perenyi (’09) (’09), Balpreet Purewal (’09), Matthew Illustrator Ziemnicki (’07) Kat Oshman (‘09) Advisors Kyle Parrish (‘01) Rachel Weissenstein

Headmaster John Allman

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 the email letters and guest columns to review@sjs.org; give them to Justin Stein, Morgan Childs, Peter Ha, Kyle Parrish, or Rachel Weissenstein 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.

Dear Readers of The Review, Welcome to another year of school at SJS and another year of reading The Review! This year’s Editorial Board and I hope that you had a fantastic summer and that you’ve enjoyed the first days of school back on our beautiful Upper School campus.

This year is an exciting one not only for SJS, but also for The Review. We’ve moved back into the northeast corner of the Quadrangle, and we have a staff of nearly 50 who is looking forward to covering all the happenings at SJS throughout this historic year as we celebrate the school’s 60th birthday. We’re thrilled to have Faculty Adviser Kyle Parrish (’01) back again this year, and we welcome new faculty member Rachel Weissenstein on as our co-advisor this year. Mrs. Weissenstein joins us from Lamar High School, and we’re looking forward to working with her.

This year, The Review is lucky to have such a motivated and skilled group of editors and writers. We’ve enjoyed creating this first issue, and we hope that you enjoy reading it. A lot happened in our community over the summer, and I’d like to take a moment to highlight some of this month’s stories. Make sure to check out the profiles of new faculty members in this month’s News section and read all about various international summer trips students took in the Features section. Pre-season athletics are covered in Sports, and two writers took their stand on the effects new construction has on students. Finally, don’t miss our fine arts

coverage in Arts&Entertainment this month.

I’m also excited to announce that, starting next month, there will be a few additions to The Review as we continue to create a paper that better serves our community. We’ll run our first “Beyond SJS” section next month, which will cover news from other Houston-area high schools and big stories about some of our most fascinating young alumni, among other things. We’re also going to be adding a “fun and games” page to our Odds&Ends section at the back of each newspaper. Also, look for our photo spread and a letter or column from me each month.

Throughout the year, the paper’s advisors, editors and I encourage you to email us at review@sjs.org with any comments, questions, concerns, or suggestions. Any letters to the Editor can be sent to that email address or mailed to: The Review St. John’s School 2401 Claremont Lane Houston, TX 77019 I have the privilege this year of working with a highly-skilled staff who is dedicated to bringing you interesting articles that highlight all that we do here on campus. The 2006-2007 school year promises to be an exciting one for St. John’s as we celebrate the school’s 60th birthday. The Review has been around for 58 of those years, and frankly, I can’t think of a better organization to document all that is sure to be memorable from now until next May. Here’s to a remarkable year.

Sincerely,

Justin Stein Editor-in-Chief, The Review

opinions

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The Review

August 2006

Point/Counterpoint

Did construction improve SJS? Yes, construction was worth the wait

By DANIELLE PIKE Staff Writer

Ever since I came to SJS my freshman year, my school days have been plagued with construction. I am certainly glad that it is finally over and that the school is restored to its normal self with some renovations and the addition of a new building. Although I was annoyed by the construction as much as my fellow peers were, I believe that the renovations were necessary and worth living through two years of loud noises.

When I first walked into the Science building to start my sophomore year, I was amazed at how nice the building was. I did not really know what the end product was going to be like, so I was quite surprised by the immense amount of work the construction workers had done in just one year. There were new offices for the administrators, new lockers and cubbies, new computer labs and an updated library. The environment had been transformed from a cramped study place to an inviting area that will not distract students from their work.

The new computer labs are helpful for tasks such as last minute paper writing and quickly checking e-mail inbetween classes. Also, the new cubbies and locker areas are spacious and perfect for studying or doing homework during lunch. Before the Science building was renovated, the locker area was cramped and could barely fit all of us freshmen.

Since Mewbourne Hall is located near the cafeteria and where I ate lunch everyday, dust particles would often float down on me as I ate my chicken fried steak. However, it was worth eating some dust for a brand new building.

At the beginning of my sophomore year, I can remember walking into my chemistry room in Mewbourne Hall and feeling a rush of excitement from seeing the brand new lab tables and all the high-tech safety equipment situated around the room. My teacher explained to my class that there was an eye wash, a shower, two fume hoods and other advanced technologies to enhance our chemistry experience. The old science rooms were not equipped with as modern of equipment.

Mewbourne Hall also offers bigger classrooms than those in the old quad. My math class freshman year was in a classroom in the quad and was quite cramped. However, sophomore year, my math class was in Mewbourne in which there was plenty of room to accompany everyone and even allow us to sit on the floor and not block the path between desks.

Although the buildings of the Quad were treasured by many, they were old and out-of-date.

As I was sitting in my French class freshman year, I could not help but notice the mold growing on one of the walls. Not only is mold aesthetically unpleasing, but it is also hazardous to students’ health. Additionally, all the classrooms in the quad were equipped with chalkboards.

Since entering the 21st century, chalkboards have become almost obsolete.

The new classrooms in the quad come

fully furbished with new desks, white boards and non-moldy walls. Although the old classrooms in the quad were quaint and part of the school’s history, the new classrooms make a better learning environment. The quad is now two stories, so they are more rooms for the ever growing faculty to occupy and decorate.

I know that some students were upset that the quad was torn down since it was part of the school’s history, but the buildings were in desperate need of repair. Plus, the new buildings in the quad look just like the old ones. It is as if the old buildings were just power washed and new windows were put in.

By Christmas break this year, the last part of the construction should be completed. This part includes the renovation of the fourth side of the Quad, also known as West Farish Hall. So in January, SJS will be returned to its status quo—no more jackhammer sounds or areas blocked off. After about two and a half years, SJS will be fully renovated and ready for the students to fill the halls. With brand new buildings, whiteboards and computers, SJS is ready for students present and future.

Without a doubt, SJS needed to be renovated and expanded in order to keep up with its’ fellow schools and the everchanging technology of this century.

No, SJS was fine before the construction

By JEREMY SLAWIN Staff Writer

Over the past two years, SJS has been filled with construction projects on nearly every building on the North campus. However, have all of these renovations been worth all of the trouble that they have put us students through?

The additions to the school include two new computer labs, nicer classrooms in renovated buildings and a second floor added to the north, south and east sides of the Quad. However, each of these additions to the school, while nice to have, were not worth all of the trouble and money spent during the construction years.

First, the old Quad was equipped with a very nice computer lab, and the addition of the laptops in the library would have been sufficient to supply all students with their computer needs.

Two entirely new computer labs were not necessary additions to the school.

Second, before the current construction projects, SJS students had been able to study using only the old classrooms. While an increase in the num-

ber and size of the classrooms available definitely do not hinder our ability to learn, it is not necessary to accommodate all of the students here. In addition, all of these new classrooms in the three story Mewbourne Hall and the two story Quad often make it difficult for students to get around from class to class in a timely fashion. Last year, David Maher (’07) experienced such problems, saying, “It was a pain to have to go from the 3rd floor of Mewbourne to the far end of the Quad because I

...rooms such as Mr. Nathan’s, one decked out with a myriad of autographed photos and countless other random items, no longer exist at SJS was always tardy. Eventually all of my tardies led to a d-hall.” While there are advantages to adding all of these additional classrooms, clearly there are disadvantages as well. In addition, these new buildings do not contain any locker areas, not solving the problem of the clogged and cramped confines of the freshman hallway. The new buildings are definitely nice but do not accomplish as much as they seem to.

Finally, while the quality of each classroom was improved, many of these renovations were not necessary to ensure a high quality of learning at SJS. All of the old science rooms already had the essential technology for its classes such as fume hoods for chemistry and PASCO for physics. The mere addition of nicer classrooms did not actually update the quality of technology within each class.

In addition, the classroom renovations have made many of the new rooms bland and without their signature flair.

While this should certainly improve with time, rooms such as Mr. Nathan’s, one decked out with a myriad of autographed photos and countless other random items, no longer exist at SJS. From this evidence, it may seem as if many of the renovations were indeed unnecessary. However, perhaps the greatest loss with the construction was the tradition and old architecture look of the old quad. Although the new buildings look similar to the old ones, they will never be the same.

One of the aspects of the Ivy League universities that make them so beautiful is their old buildings and classic designs. Mr. Wilson, in his speech during the Upper School Assembly on August 17, even said, “Every time a tradition is broken, we lose a connection to the past.” Losing the old quad buildings has made current SJS students lose a great tradition of this school and a connection with past students here.

Another aspect that cannot be overlooked is the great cost of the construction. Fundraisers galore were held and massive amounts of donations were made to enable the school to make such renovations. However, I believe that this money could have been used for other means than renovating a school that was not in need of renovation. Sure, some of the rooms were in bad condition, but a schoolwide overhaul of construction was most certainly not necessary.

KAT OSHMAN | The Review

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The Review

Sophomore girls spend summer at various art camps Photo courtesy of Lauren Lepow (‘09).

By MADDIE MCDOWELL This summer four SJS sophomore girls opted to skip the bug spray and sleeping bags for decidedly more structured and artistic experiences.

Kat Oshman (’09) and Lauren Lepow (’09) both attended the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan for their second year in a row.

Lepow, an aspiring thespian, took six weeks of classes in Intermediate Reperatory Theater taught by a myriad of professionals.

“My classes were all rehearsal and acting technique,” Lepow said, “and the teachers were so amazing that it was such a great experience I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else.”

Aside from the set scheduled classes, the students in Reperatory Theater also got the chance to work with actors from awardwinning plays. “I really liked the Master Classes we had,” Lepow said, “Guest artist[s] such as Barrett Foa from Avenue Q came and taught us about acting and gave us pointers and [it was] just amazing because they were so successful in what they did.”

Oshman, however, took a less vocal and more colorful path through the high school Advanced Painting program, where she completed four oil paintings in three weeks.

“I really enjoyed my class,” Oshman said, “It was a very intense class, like five hours of painting a day, but I really liked the teacher and I think I learned a ton so it was really fun.”

Like Lepow, Oshman was also impressed by the caliber of the faculty and teachers.

“Its such a professional place,” she said, “because everyone there, all the teachers are from colleges and have degrees in [nearly] everything and many of them are professional artists for the art department and so it’s really a neat experience and you can’t get that type of thing at [a more traditional] camp.”

Neither Lepow nor Oshman spent all their time in class, however. Some of their favorite memories from the camp took place outside of the classroom.

Lepow said that her favorite experience was watching another classes’ production “The high school musical of Jekyl and Hyde was so good. It was really the best high school production I have ever seen.”

Oshman was impressed by a band concert at the camp. “Guster came,” she said, “And I didn’t really know who they were until I went and then I realized that I’d heard some of their songs before so that was really really cool, […]And they invited some Interlochen students to play with them [even].”

Lepow and Oshman both savored these performances and the other aspects of their experience during their second summer at Interlochen, and plan to return for a third next year. “If you know

Lauren Lepow (‘09), center, was one of four SJS sophomore girls to spend her summer at an art camp. me,” Oshman said, “You know I love art, and so it’s the perfect camp for me.”

Abigail Hook (’09), took her experience beyond any geographic borders to travel to London for the Royal Ballet Summer Intensive program, where she danced from 9 to 5 everyday for two weeks.

“The really amazing thing,” Hook said, “was it was in the middle of London in this place called Covents Garden which is [where] the Royal Ballet School [is]. The facilities are two years old and it was just gorgeous.”

In these new facilities, Hook took classes with students from across the globe who auditioned by photo for the Intensive.

“The most amazing thing about it was everyone was so international,” Hook said, “Like, I was the only American in my class. I mean Israel, France, Italy, Lithuania, Russia, you name it. […]. I mean there was someone from […] like every continent except for maybe Antarctica.”

Because of the varied students, the teachers would often conduct their classes in varied languages.

“One of [the teachers] spoke five languages and so he would do the class and depending […] on where the person was from he would speak to them in their

language, like, break out in Japanese randomly. It was really awesome,” Hook said.

“My favorite part,” Hook said, “was when the summer school was invited by the Bolshoi, which is a really famous Russian ballet company, to watch their dress rehearsal of Swan Lake in the royal opera house. [It was] just us watching their dress rehearsal and it was a really cool experience because, you know, you’re in the royal opera house with all these other ballerinas watching one of the best companies in the world.”

Legs sore and mind brimming with lessons and culture, Hook still did not want to leave when the program was done. “It was too short, I think,” she said, “Two weeks at the end, I just didn’t want to come back [to Houston] you know, I was like I want to stay here longer!”

The final sophomore’s adventure was not quite as far abroad or as long as the other three, but was nonetheless a rewarding experience.

Hannah Smith (’09) spent a week of her summer at Baylor University taking part in a Choir Camp.

She sang for around eight hours a day in the company of other students hoping to perform well for their Texas Music Educa-

tors’ Association auditions in September.

“It was really helpful,” Smith said, “because last year for my [TMEA] audition I was given the music […] a week and a half before the audition, and so I was trying to learn it and it was during school so I had homework and stuff so it was a lot better to learn it earlier.”

Aside from getting a jump start on the TMEA tryouts, Smith enjoyed working with talented students and teachers.

“It was fun to be with other singers,” she said, “And there were a lot of people who were a lot better than me so it was fun to learn from them. […]We had really famous teachers [too]. There was one man, his name was Dr. Ames and he actually wrote some of the music, so that was amazing.” Despite an often tiring thirty-minute walk from the dorms to her classes with Dr. Ames and others, Smith was very content with her experience.

All four girls came away with polished talents and scores of memories, not giving a thought to the fact that their summers lacked the traditional hiking boots and campfire stories. To these four, their experiences across and out of the country were not missing one thing.

Ricky Bobby: as American as apple pie

By GABRIELLA WISE

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby tells the story of

www.sonypictures.com

a man who could only count to number one. Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell), a race-car driver who gains his stardom by wining at all costs, represents the American hero who loses everything to a suave French racecar driver with a fake French accent.

Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton, Jr. (John C. Riley) “Shake and Bake” to win first and second place in every race, with Cal always finishing second.

Ricky Bobby falls quickly from his race-car throne when flamboyant French driver Jean Girard takes over Ricky Bob-

by’s title as the number one racecar driver. Ricky Bobby must fight his inner demons in order to win back his title.

Talladega Nights has intensely hilarious moments sporadically that make the movie one of the top comedies of the summer.

Ferrell develops the character of Ricky Bobby into a competitive hick who becomes crippled by his insecurities, among them his belief that his legs are paralyzed for life. In this role, Ferrell makes his stand as one of the most talented comedians of the year. He surpasses his own standards made by his role in “Anchorman” in Talladega Nights.

With his believable naiveté and unmatched comedic timing,

Ferrell plays his best role to date.

Ferrell’s brilliant comedic performance is paired with bizarre scenes that deviate from traditional humor. The most bizarre scene is the Applebee’s commercial that airs during the movie itself. Talladega Nights has other infomercial moments for Big Red and Tampax, among others.

Wantonly absurd moments, such as Ferrell battling a live cougar in order to gain some bravado, separates Talladega Nights from other comedies of the summer. Ferrell, matched with a good supporting cast, makes Talladega Nights a comedy that won’t make you fall asleep at the wheel.

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The Review

August 2006

Dance program to “step it up”

MORGAN CHILDS | The Review

By GABRIELLA WISE The SJS dance program will be “stepping it up” this year. By setting high standards for performances and placing an emphasis on productive class periods, the dance program is blossoming.

The main focus of the dance program is preparing for the Spring dance concert.

Dance teachers Sandra Organ-Solis and Aaron Girlinghouse have both set goals for the dance program and also hope to make some changes. Ms. Organ-Solis has come up with an interesting idea for her classes. “What I would like to see them do is start to bring in some of their curricular thematic things,” she said. “That will be a fun project for them so hopefully that will enliven the way they study because they will be looking for movement.” She also wants to experiment with more cross–curricular activities. “We’re hoping to do something with some of the singing ensembles and maybe some of the jazz ensembles so that we have a lot of music involved.” she said. “One of my biggest goals is to elevate the level of technique and artistry in each level because it was a transitional program last year and I think the students know what is expected of them and will surpass those levels.”

Mr. Girlinghouse also wants to try and work on personal time management during class “so that I can try to expose the students to more technique and the process rather than the end product,” he said.

A change affecting all the levels of dance classes is Ms. Organ Solis and Mr. Girlinghouse’s decision to teach all the classes jointly. “Mr. Girlinghouse is finally going to be able to teach one of our classes every week. It’s good to have a variety and to be able to learn from both teachers.” said Ali Lavine (’07), a dancer in Terpsichore.

The dance program also hopes to increase their publicity with a few more off-campus opportunities or even around campus happenings. “I’m hoping every ensemble has an opportunity to dance in chapel,” said Ms. Organ-Solis.

Mr. Girlinghouse hopes that the dance classes will be able to do an outside performance for a scheduled SJS function and even perform a showcase for the tap club that he plans to start August 29.

The dancers also hope that they will be able to put on more performances during the year. “I wish that we could have had more dances to perform at the end of the year. I would hope that we’d be able to perform more dances if we’d just have enough time to learn them and practice them,” said Lauren Hawley (’07), a dancer in Terpsichore.

Although minor changes are occurring within the dance program, the core dance curriculum will remain the

same. “What I think worked is being able to produce a well-rounded student by exposing them to all forms of artistic dance,” said Mr. Girlinghouse.

The students also enjoy the program’s dance schedule. “On Tuesdays we’d have Modern [dance], Thursdays we’d have ballet and on Fridays we’d have kind of a mixture. I’m really looking forward to that and I’m really hoping that we stick with the similar thing,” said Hawley.

Mr. Girlinghouse believes that exposure to different styles helps the students improve because the mixture helps the students to discover what types of dance they enjoy while expanding their horizons.

On a whole, the dance classes are a

very enjoyable part for both the students and the teachers alike. “It’s not a course that demands outside–of–school work; you don’t have homework and tests so you don’t have the same stress and it’s more fun that way because you get to move around – you’re not in a desk.” said Hawley. Lavine also had a similar feeling about the dance program. “Our dances are fun. I mean, it’s a fun class and it’s just fun to take that time away from having your face stuck in books all day,” she said. “The Upper School dance ensembles are the best part of my day,” said Ms. Organ Solis.

Johnnycake hopes to increase following this year

By GABRIELLA WISE This year, the SJS theatre club, Johnnycake, is reaching out.

One of the club’s biggest goals for the school year is to attract more students, particularly freshmen and seniors, to participate in plays, musicals and the Saturday crew sessions. In addition to building participation, the Johnnycake officers want to make this year even more fun

“Everyone should participate in some way, [such as in] crew or in a play.”

-Tiffany Kim (‘08)

than previous years. “I think it will be a great year, [and] I think we can get a lot of people involved,” said Alexandra Addison (‘08), the ITS officer.

“When I joined Johnnycake, there was a big senior presence, and now I feel like it’s really dwindled. We’ve lost some of that fun energy from the older classes,” said Morgan Childs (‘07), Johnnycake’s president. “That’s one of our goals, to draw from the senior class [and] from the incoming freshmen, because eventually we’re going to need new officers and new upperclassmen.”

One of the ways the club is

hoping to boost its numbers is by planning more socials throughout the year, said Tiffany Kim (‘08), the vice-president. “We’re planning different things [for the socials], and some of the old things will be coming back,” said John Trier (‘07), the historian. “[We have] a lot of fun ideas for socials in mind this year. […]

In the past we’ve really tried to play up themes from shows going on, so […] that will be a goal this year, to really play around with the shows,” added Childs.

The first Johnnycake social is planned for August 26, the second Saturday after school starts, and will coincide with the first Saturday crew day. “It’ll be what we always do: get out the slip-’n’-slide, have barbeque, and just [have] everybody run amok and have fun – after a good solid day of cleaning the shop,” said James Wilson, one of the faculty advisors to Johnnycake who helps with the technical aspects of the productions.

The officers are also considering putting on several smaller, tenminute plays in the black box theatre as another way to draw more students into Johnnycake, said Kim. This will offer students who wouldn’t normally commit to an extensive rehearsal schedule a chance to participate in Johnnycake. “Everyone should participate in some way, [such as in] crew or in a play,” said Kim.

KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review

Johnnycake officers James Van Sweringen (‘08), John Trier (‘07), Morgan Childs (‘07), Tiffany Kim (‘08) and Alexandra Addison (‘08) Mr. Wilson is also planning to reserve a few Saturdays per quarter for “tutorial” days. Instead of focusing only on building and painting the set, he will show students how to work the light board and sound board in the booth.

The first Johnnycake meeting, where the plays and musical for this year will be announced, is planned to take place during the second week of school. “We’re really excited [about the shows] – the musical’s going to be really good,” said James Van Sweringen

(‘08), the production manager.

“There’ll be some fun stuff going on this year, and new ideas,” said Childs. “This is a group of five people who like to have fun and who have seen what works and what hasn’t, and we’re really excited to put our two cents in.”

odds&ends Thumbs Thumbs up down New quad Start of fall sports Dean Alig’s bow tie

Word for Word: Stephen Popp Edition “Who wants illegal drugs?”

- AP Government Teacher Stephen Popp, distributing research paper topics “I don’t have anything but...angry.”

- David Sklar (‘07), after a teacher made him shave and he could no longer “make facial expressions” “Texans are just Americans on steroids.”

- Stephen Popp “I wouldn’t want to be the mayor’s daughter.”

- Justin Stein (‘07) “Historians are very simple people. I mean, we’re professional schizophrenics, but we’re still simple people.”

- Stephen Popp “That was a fast photo.”

“What can I say? I’m a fast girl.”

- Stephen Popp and Maggie McDaniel (‘07)

Staffer of the Issue

Vail KohnertYount (‘09)

Vail Kohnert-Yount (‘09) was given a long, difficult assingment for the Sports section and never complained about the amount of work that was asked of her. The article required several interviews and Vail did a great job, even when she couldn’t contact some people and was under a deadline.

Photos, clockwise from top: Elizabeth Rasmussen (‘08), Spain-bound staff writer with a fondness for late nights at The Review.

Gabriella Wise (‘07), Arts & Entertainment Editor.

Business staffer Matthew Ziemnicki (‘07, left) alongside Business Manager Andrew Yeh (‘07). Meghan Hall (‘08) gives photographer Katherine Kelley (‘08) a grin. All photos by Kelley, The Review.

Humidity Them poor Astros New uniform policy

Welcome back from the staff!