The Review
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID HOUSTON, TEXAS PERMIT 9081
The Official Student Newspaper of St. John’s School Vol. 58, Issue 3
2401 Claremont Lane; Houston, TX 77019 | http://sjsreview.net | review@sjs.org
October 2006
Dr. John Lienhard featured at Book Fair
Community Engines of our Ingenuity creator signs books, addresses SJS family Service Club stays busy By ANOUSHKA SINHA On the night of Sept. 27, the latest chapter of the SJS Book Fair proved to be a fair to remember. Students, parents and faculty alike flocked to Barnes & Noble on Holcombe Blvd. to celebrate the value of literature and two-dollar pizza. Many people were immersed in the pages of a good read, ranging from new books to magazines. The less bookish types found refuge in the music and film section. All in all, Book Fair was a refreshing break from the drudgery of a weekday and an opportunity for the SJS family to come together under one roof and celebrate the joy of reading. Over the years, SJS has varied its curriculum as well as its social events “It’s a tradition at St. John’s that I’ve been doing since I came here in first grade,” said Sarah Nasser (’09). Many students believe this to be a flaw. “I don’t like [that] it’s crowded,” said Shea Herlihy-Abba (’09), “but I just like being here with books.” “It’s kind of a zoo here,” concurred Blake Longoria (’07). Allie Adkins (’09) suggested that “[t]he lower schoolers and middle schoolers should have another day because they keep asking me for free cookies, and it really freaks me out.” Other students enjoyed KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review
Varsity player Allison Bland (‘07) during a game at Scotty Caven Field.
By REBECCA WELBOURN
KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review
Dr. John Leinhard of NPR signed books at this year’s SJS Book Fair in late September. the full-house atmosphere of Book Fair. José Ordóñez (’09) thought this year’s Book Fair was “better because there [were] more people.” “I think this year is better because we have everyone,” added Ginny Griffin (’14). Students toted a wide array of literature from comic books to the classics. Girls of all ages
Field hockey sets high goals By DANIELLE PIKE
Although the season seems like it has barely started, the field hockey team has already played five counter games. The team is full of veteran players, but they have a rookie head coach in Craig Chambers. The girls have a long season ahead of them, with their sights ultimately set on the Southwest Preparatory Conference tro-
Index
News.................................2 Sports................................4 A&E..................................7 Photo Spread..................10 Features...........................12 Opinions.........................16 Odds&Ends.....................19
phy. “I think we’ve got a really good future ahead of us,” Captain Claire Smith (’07) said. The field hockey team has a tough schedule this year. “Basically every game we play except for one from now until the end of the season is a counter game or SPC,” Chambers said.
see HOCKEY on p. 6
amassed at the “Teen Section” to pick up the Gossip Girls series by Cecily von Ziegesar or a Meg Cabot novel. Adkins, on the other hand, purchased The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler. “I don’t know what it’s about, but it has Jane Austen in the title, so it’s obviously a must,” she said. Eric Lai (’09) selected Preludes and Noc-
turnes (The Sandman Vol. 1), a
graphic novel by Neil Gaiman. Other students preferred to browse the racks of the music and film section of Barnes & Noble. Melanie Lilienstern (’09) looked forward to purchasing “some DVDs, CDs and a book or two. Maybe Grey’s
see BOOK FAIR on p. 9
The Community Service Club is starting the year off strong, with many important projects coming up and some already completed. “It’s really an exciting time because so much is happening, and so many of our kids are involved already,” said Community Service Coordinator and club sponsor Marci Bahr. Already, volunteers have spent time at the Ronald McDonald house, which students visit the fourth Sunday of every month, and participated in the cancerbenefit Tour de Pink bike ride, as well as creating the children’s activity area at the Candlelighter’s Walk. Projects such as writing letters to the troops and making pillows for the Houston Area Women’s Shelter have also begun. Also, several students spent part of their summer in Costa Rica where they taught English to schoolchildren at four rural schools and planted vegetable gardens on each campus, in addition to enjoying the rest of the island. A new community service website has been launched this year. The site lists upcoming events, provides contact information for project leaders,
see SERVICE on p. 2
SJS variety show premieres By TIFFANY SHYU “Last year in the beginning of ninth grade, I really wanted to do something––I really wanted to make some sort of contribution to the school, and I know I wanted to correlate [it] with my passion for film,” said Bubba Fish (’09), the leader of MavTV, the new SJS TV show, which premiered in W205 on Friday, Sept. 29. These thoughts were the beginnings of MavTV. At first, Fish planned on making a fictional TV show but then discarded the idea because he felt it would be too hard to write a new script and create costumes for the show every week. Therefore, he decided to make a reality show of sorts. He was at a Paradigm meeting when he decided to get help: “So I just thought, ‘Why don’t I invite everyone in film club to help me do this ‘cause I can’t do it alone––so I got three people who wanted to do it––who
see MAVTV on p. 3 From top to bottom, listed left to right: Bryce Hollingsworth (‘09), Alice Alsup (‘08), and Neeraj Salhotra (‘09) in the Chess Club segment; Paradigm’s logo for the variety show; SAC Sponsor Wendall Zartman being interviewed by Kyle Herzik (‘09) in the Homecoming segment. Screenshots courtesy of Bubba Fish (‘09).
A Mathematician’s Music Revealed New Monthly SJS Student Profile Did you know that Dr. Sharp had a country album? We didn’t think so.
Starting this issue, The Review will profile a different SJS student each month on the Odds&Ends page.
read all about it page 7
check it out page 19
D-Hall Policies Are the new D-Hall policies merited? See what two staffers have to say on the controversial issue.
take a stance page 17
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news The Review
October 2006
Community Service Club cooks, races, sews
Junior girls sew pillows for the Pillow Project. The ongoing project collects the pillows and donates them to the Houston Women’s Shelter.
Photo courtesy of Marci Bahr
Vivian Mullin (‘07) facepaints at the Candlelighters Fun Walk. Facepainting, fishing for Beanie Babies and bracelet making were some of the booths SJS volunteers set-up for the kids New community service events coming up include the Bayou Beautification project, Trinity Breakfast, and the Alumni and Lower School Fun Day, which Ms. Bahr said will have a “mini-carnival atmosphere.” In the spring, one of the major projects will be the SJS version of “Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition,” in which students repaint and landscape a house, as well as replacing the furniture. Also, the Costa Rica trip, which Ms. Bahr called “a magical experience,” will take place next July. The Community Service Club is off to a strong start this year, with a never-ending supply
of new projects and dedicated volunteers ready to donate their time to the community. “We don’t even have any requirements,” said Ms. Bahr, “and [the students] are doing this, with [their] busy academic, athletic, and arts calendars. It just really inspires me.”
Hannah Jeffers (‘07), Caroline Incavo (‘07) and Heather Mellinger (‘07) wait for the Race for the Cure to start.
Photo courtesy of Marci Bahr
and includes last year’s annual report. The website is “really easy to access and really helpful,” said community service officer Laynie Johnson (‘08). One of the main community service events, the Galveston Beach Clean-up, took place on Saturday, Sept. 23. Forty-six SJS students and faculty members spent part of the day in Galveston picking up garbage from the beach in a statewide effort to clean up the shoreline. Another big community service event is the Race for the Cure, an annual event held to benefit breast cancer research. Race for the Cure was held on Saturday, Sept. 30, and Johnson said that she hoped for 400 to 500 participants to sign up in order to beat last year’s number of 462. “With cancer hitting our school families so hard, I really hope that everybody available can participate in this,” said Ms. Bahr before the event. “We’re encouraging everybody to sign up.” The SJS team ended up getting an award for most all-school participation. People who participated in the event wore their race shirts and denim on Lee National Denim Day, which took place on Friday, Oct. 6. Another project taken on by the Community Service Club this year is the Bayou Beautification project. SJS has adopted a section of the bayou to take care of, and a sign has been put up to let people know that SJS students are maintaining the area. “We’ll have at least four projects there this year, and we’ll do everything from general cleanup to removing invasive plants, to perhaps even putting a park bench there,” said Ms. Bahr. In order to raise funds for some of their projects, the community service club has also assumed responsibility of parts of the concession stands. They are managing the Maverick bike and concession stand
inside of the gym. “It’s a ton of fun––also a ton of work,” said Ms. Bahr. She mentioned that managing the concession stand has been difficult so far due to a lack of volunteers. The first way the Community Service Club plans to spend the concession stand money is to fund four new playgrounds in Costa Rica. “The summer trip is going to be awesome because now we have funding from the concession stands so we’re going to be able to do a lot more there,” said community service Officer Adam Hines (‘07). After the playgrounds are installed, the rest of the money is going to be available to students who want to lead a project. “It’s really exciting because we haven’t been able to provide all of the things that we’ve wanted to do in the past, and I think this will just really expand that,” said Ms. Bahr. “Our community has been very supportive of it [and] our sales have been great.” The community service hours so far this year, including summer volunteer hours, have topped the 7,000-hour mark already. “It seems like a lot more people were doing summer volunteer work, so we’re just starting out with tons of hours, and we’re trying to beat the amount of hours we got last year,” said Johnson. The previous year, students earned a total of 19,905 volunteer hours. One of Ms. Bahr’s personal goals this year is to get 100% participation from all students and faculty members. The Community Service Club is particularly targeting the senior class, who contributed 34% of the volunteer hours as juniors last year. Ms. Bahr said that, traditionally, the senior class becomes focused on college applications and tends to neglect community service, but she believes that this year’s graduating class “will continue to be the leaders in service that they have been.” Photo courtesy of Marci Bahr
SERVICE cont. from p. 1
news
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The Review
October 2006
Freshmen participation in varsity pep rallies banned By VAIL KOHNERT-YOUNT Members of the administration have enacted a new policy this year prohibiting freshmen from participating in Upper School pep rally events. Dr. Richard Doina, the faculty sponsor for both Spirit Club and Maverick Guard, said that the decision concerning freshmen participation in spirit activities began with a discussion between him, Dean of Students Dan Alig, and Upper School Student Counselor Pat Reynolds about how to “ease the transition for freshmen” into Upper School. “In past years, freshmen have been targeted. There has been some degree of hazing,” Dr. Doina said. “We thought one way to make them feel more comfortable with the Upper School and to feel more of a part of it was to be more of an observer.” For this reason, pep rallies, marked by past incidents of hazing, came under scrutiny, and a new rule was made to prevent freshmen from taking part in pep rally activities. In addition, Dr. Doina also said another motivation for the new rule was to place the focus on upperclassmen rather than lowerclassmen during varsity pep rallies. “Some of the issues of freshmen participation in pep rallies really should be aimed more at the junior varsity pep rallies, rather than varsity,” he said. “I think the varsity pep rally really is about juniors and seniors, and we want to showcase as many of our juniors and seniors [as possible] because they tend to be the club leaders and team leaders.” Even so, Dr. Doina acknowledged opposition to the policy from mostly “outraged junior and senior girls,” among others. Rush Moody (’10) said he believes the rule is “unfair and stupid.” Moody explained, “it re-
moves [the freshmen class] from the school community and makes it harder for us to be integrated into the school.” Sarah Burkett (’10) said that most of her friends were “really upset” about the change as well. Meagan Longoria (’10) said that the rule was unnecessary because freshmen are not forced to participate against their will. “You get an option if you want to be in [the pep rally],” she said. “I’m sure you probably don’t want to say no to a senior, but if you really didn’t want to, you could [say no].” For this reason, Longoria decided to create an online petition publicized through Facebook protesting the change in policy. As of press time, 107 signatures had been collected. Despite student criticism, Dr. Doina expressed his opinion that the new rule would not significantly impact pep rally traditions. “Pep rallies are pretty quick, pretty quiet, sometimes spirited, sometimes not. I don’t think it really [affects them] at all,” he explained. “Activities like the tug-of-war, senior siblings versus freshmen siblings, [there is] no problem with something like that. But for the individual races, again, I think it’s the best time to showcase some of our upperclassmen.” However, some students still remain unconvinced. Even though Burkett said that she agreed with some of the reasons behind the creation of the new rule, she wished those reason were better communicated to the student body. “I think it should be advertised their real reasons for doing it, not just a ‘no freshmen’ [rule],” she said. The loss of established pep rally rituals concerned Longoria more. She said, “they’re talking about keeping all the traditions, and they just changed them.”
Chess Club places seventh in tournament
MAVTV cont. from p. 1 were really passionate about it,” said Fish. MavTV is going to serve as a variety show of sorts for the school. “It’s not as formal––it’s really quick, random news segments about what’s going on at this school throughout the week, and Bubba plans to put it on the St. John’s website so that advisories could access it every morning,” said Gabi Chennisi (’09), one of the other creators of MavTV. The creators come up with a list of sections they want to cover and think of funny, creative questions to ask regarding these sections. Every week, two teams of two to three people cruise the halls of the Upper School asking students and faculty questions that deal with current events in school, as well as events outside of school. One of the goals of MavTV is to “showcase Upper School students’ talents,” said Fish. Another goal of MavTV, as Fish put it, is “to increase awareness of everyone’s activities in SJS.” Most people involved in one activity do not know what goes on in other activities, and the creators of MavTV hope to inform everyone in the high school about current news and events circulating the school. “People who are in football don’t know what people in dance are doing––and they may not really care––but they’re going to hear it anyways and it’s going to be in a quick, funny way,” said Fish. This brings up another aspect of
MavTV–– quickness. Fish theo-
rized that in order to keep the viewer’s attention, the segments of each episode of MavTV have to be quick and funny. Each episode of MavTV is organized into short segments that are anywhere from ten seconds to one minute in order to keep the viewer captivated. “If it’s not quick, it’s not going to be funny. And if one segment doesn’t keep your interest, in thirty seconds you’re going to get another segment, and it’s going to have your interest,” said Fish. In this way, Fish hopes that everyone will be able to find out about other activities as well as how the school is progressing and thus increase a sense of togetherness in the Upper School. “We’ve all got to realize that we’re all linked together––you’re never alone in a high school,” said Kyle Herzik (’09), another creator of MavTV. Likewise, Lauren Hitzhusen (’10), another student involved in filming MavTV, said, “I think it’s a great idea and I think we can have a lot of school unity”. The creators of MavTV also aim “to create consistency,” as Fish put it. He and the other creators of MavTV hope to show an episode of MavTV in W-205 every other Friday during lunch. Episodes will be posted on the SJS website for everyone to view at anytime. “I don’t want to somehow come into some conflict or some challenge and just let it drop like some other ideas I’ve had,” said Fish. “I really want this one to really go through and actually have one [episode] about every other week.”
Senior creates online radio By JORDAN THOMAS
DANIEL PERENYI | The Review
Bryce Hollingsworth (‘09) contemplates his next move in a match during lunch. The club is currently preparing to compete in a tournament at T.H. Rogers. By LILIANA VARMAN Members of the SJS Chess Club recently competed in an all-day tournament at the John Cooper School. The tournament, which took place on Saturday, Sept. 16, was an event that drew avid chess players from private schools around the Houston area. Chess Club members Alice Alsup (‘08), Wiley Fletcher (‘10), Austin Rodd (‘08), Neeraj Salhotra (‘09), and Alexander Stadnyk (‘09) competed in the tournament. Fletcher placed eighth out of 18 competitors in the Championship section. Stadnyk, who won four matches and lost one, took home a second place trophy in the Advanced A Section at the end of the tour-
nament. Rodd and Salhotra, who both won three matches and lost two, placed 11th and 12th respectively in the Advanced B section. Chess club leader Alsup also placed 22nd in the Advanced B section by winning two matches and losing three. Overall, the SJS team placed seventh out of the 25 schools competing in the tournament. Currently, the chess club members are preparing to compete in another tournament in October at T.H. Rogers. SJS is also in the primary stages of attempting to host a regional tournament with the Houston Chess Association in December.
Ralston Clarke (‘07) spent much of his summer working on the development of SJS’ first student- run Internet radio station. Clarke says he got the idea after a varsity football game last year: “A team we played in Oklahoma had an Internet station.” The fact that Clarke would take on such a project –while receiving no academic credit for it– isn’t a stretch. The computer–savvy Clarke is known well for his technological talents. He is given much credit for putting together last year’s Kinkaid video and is currently the lead director for this year’s Kinkaid video. Clarke began his project in July and has been working vigorously for its October debut. In order to get the station off the ground, Clarke needed the help of several faculty members. “I first had to get Dean [Dan] Alig’s permission to start the radio station, and to fund it I had to go through [Jeff] Ritter to get the broadcast equipment, and I had to get permission from [Lawrence] Henderson to add the server to the SJS domain,” said Clarke. Eventually, students will be able to log on to the SJS website, click on a link and listen to the broadcast. Initially, Clarke wanted the station to be broadcast over the radio. After contacting the Federal Communications Commission, he discovered that FCC did not plan on opening any new signals to be broadcast over the radio and to get one would be fairly expensive. Clarke contemplated putting a transmitter atop Lamar Towers, allow-
ing his broadcast signal to be no more than a few hundred yards––just large enough for only the people on campus to hear the broadcast. Realizing the legal complications that could ensue, he opted to use the Internet instead. “We record the broadcast on a computer using Winamp. The mp3 files we record are then streamed to one of the SJS servers which uses the program Icecast to send the files to the Internet,” said Clarke. All shows will be broadcast live, starting with the varsity home football game against Casady on Oct. 13. The opportunity to help out with the broadcast is available to all interested students. Clarke said that he would eventually like the Internet station to be a faculty-sponsored club. He said, “sports games and award ceremonies will be broadcast but not necessarily limited to that.” Anyone who wants to be a part of the station can give input on what events should be broadcast. “Anyone who wants to get involved can talk to me or Mr. Ritter––especially anyone interested in broadcasting the remaining football games,” says Clarke. Although Clarke is busy with another project at the moment, he still wants to put the time in to make his Internet station a big success. “Right now,” Clarke said, “I’m busy with a lot of things––especially the Kinkaid video––but after November 1, I’ll have a lot more time to put into the station.” When asked what he hopes his creation will accomplish, Clarke said, “my goal is to see it become a permanent and valuable addition to St. John’s.”
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sports The Review
October 2006
Varsity volleyball teams reveling in success, looking forward to fall SPC By LUISA BARRON Girls Every varsity team starts a season with high hopes, but girls volleyball is one team that has met and surpassed their goals so far this season. With a strong 23-6-1 record, a solid finish to the season and wins at the Southwest Preparatory Conference are anticipated. Part of the team’s winning mix can be found especially in the senior class. “The strength of the team is definitely senior leadership… They’ve done a real good job since preseason,” Head Coach Dawn Kelly said. But new players are also contributing, such as Julia Gibbs (‘09). “She’s really stepped up,” captain Blair Bashen (‘07) said. “They were already good players from being on JV with Coach Fuller, and they’ve all stepped up to the challenge and are working hard,” captain Nora Niebruegge (‘07) said. Even with the big wins over
Episcopal in both the finals of the John Cooper tournament and in regular conference play, there have been a few tough losses, such as at the Pearland tournament, which had all the top Texas public schools participating. Nevertheless, conference play has been going well with no losses in the season yet. As for SPC, “we’ll see. [We have] only seven more matches, and all but one are counters… In the perfect world, we’d win all those counters and be the number one seed,” Coach Kelly said. The captains want to focus on South Zone games–which determine their crucial seeding for the tournament–right now, but they have “a definite possibility of winning [SPC] if we keep playing like we have been,” Niebruegge said. Their latest wins were against Hockaday and Kinkaid, however the most important and challenging games will be the last ones of the season against St. Andrew’s and St. Stephen’s. With wins against these teams,
KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review
Alex Carrasco (‘09), Virginia Waldrop (‘08) and Julia Gibbs (‘09) block against St. Mary’s. “we have a good shot [at winning SPC],” Bashen said. “They want to win SPC– they know it’s going to be hard,” Coach Kelly said. Winning SPC is not the only item on the team’s list of goals, however. Another focus, of course, is just to have fun. And that means trying to “win South Zone and then our first game at SPC and keep working hard,” Niebruegge said and “play hard for the rest of the season,” Bashen said.
KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review
Volleyball varsity captains Cullen Avidan (‘07) and Robert Howard (‘07) play against St. Mary’s. The Mavericks won 3-0.
Boys A team with not only a positive attitude but with plenty of wins to prove themselves, the boys varsity volleyball team “is absolutely exceeding expectations to this point,” Coach Eric Lombardi said. “We’re doing a lot better than I thought we would,” captain Robert Howard (‘07)
said. The team went through a big change, with four lost varsity starters and several players moving to varsity. “They’ve all adjusted really well from being on JV or benched on varsity,” Howard said. The whole team displays an approach to playing that Coach Lombardi admires. “They are as ‘coachable’ as any you can hope to find… They don’t want to let each other down. The great attitude has been modeled by seniors and captains in particular.” There have been several challenging games so far this year, including a close loss to Greenhill and to Marquette, the Wisconsin state champions, in the finals of the Greenhill Invitational. But there have also been upsides, such as soundly defeating Episcopal and St. Mary’s Hall, two critical South Zone opponents.
Aspirations for SPC are high; as Coach Lombardi said, “[we] hope to win it. We hope that every year, but sometimes we’ve just had competition that was way above us… [This year] we have as good a chance as anyone else does.” “Seeing what I saw this weekend [at Greenhill], I think we have a legitimate shot at winning SPC,” Howard said. Another important game, against St. Mark’s, will ultimately help decide the seeding for SPC. “If we win that, I think we’ll win all of South Zone and get the number one seed,” Howard said. And as the season approaches its end, the focus on winning is not the only goal. Coach Lombardi said, “I know we’ll work hard and I know we’ll be intense [but what we] don’t need to lose sight of is that it’s a really fun sport.”
New club gives baseball fans a place for fun, discussion By HUDSON DUNCAN Whether the professional baseball season is beginning, ending or even in the off-season, the Baseball Club will always come together to talk about the sport they love. New to SJS this year, the Baseball Club was founded by Ben Marek (’10) and is sponsored by David Nathan. Marek came up with the idea for a baseball club one day over the summer. “I just had an idea to start a club based on baseball because it’s always been something that I’ve enjoyed talking about and participating in,” he said. The club has also creatively named different “coaches” that
help Marek and Mr. Nathan– the manager and general manager, respectively–run the club. “We have a first base coach, a third base coach, a pitching coach and a hitting coach,” Marek said. These positions are filled by Nick Jordan (‘07), Will Joyce (‘07), Stuart Dickerson (‘10) and Andrew Mintz (‘10), respectively. When the Baseball Club meets, they talk about what’s going on in the baseball world, what upcoming events are in store and participate in fun contests to test baseball knowledge. “One thing we will be doing is having contests for people to predict the outcome of the various playoff series,” Mr. Nathan said.
They even plan to invite important people to come speak such as Houston Astros players and coaches. The club is not just limited to the boundaries of the school. “We’re going to go to some baseball games, watch some baseball movies and have a wiffle ball tournament,” Marek said. The club is also planning to offer fantasy baseball leagues, an activity that allows anyone to manage players and win and lose games based on their players’ statistics. In just the first year of the club, approximately 56 students have already joined. However, the members do not have to play baseball or even watch it. “Baseball club is just for peo-
DAN PERENYI | The Review
Members of the Baseball Club gather to watch the Astros play versus the Pittsburgh Pirates Sept. 26. The game was delayed. ple who like baseball and kind of want a break from school. They want to enjoy baseball during this break,” Marek said. The Baseball Club usually meets every other week but
not on a specific day. “One of the great things about baseball is, between all the statistics and history, the game makes for fascinating discussion,” Mr. Nathan said.
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October 2006
Tight-knit team uses experience to their advantage HOCKEY cont. from p. 1 The girls opened their season with a tie against Duchesne and then a play day at Hockaday. “The games we played have made us more unified and more team-like, and I think we’ve really grown as a team just from Hockaday and the Kinkaid game,” Smith said. The counter games against Kinkaid and Episcopal are in a best out of three format. The girls lost their first meeting with Kinkaid, 4-0. They fell to them again in a tough match that went into overtime, with Kinkaid ultimately prevailing 1-0. However, they only need to win one more against Episcopal because they won their first meeting 3-1. The girls split the other two counter games they have played—beating St. Mary’s Hall 5-0, but falling to Hocka-
day, who is undefeated, 4-0. “We lost some very critical players last year, but I think we are just as strong with such an old team that we could have a good chance at winning SPC,” Captain Kate Donnelly (’07) said. Not only is the team experienced with twelve seniors, but it is also quite large. “We like to take advantage of our depth as well as use it to sort of modify how we play against different teams,” Chambers said. In practice, the team works on fundamentals and tactics. “Practices are going well. I think we’ve learned that in order to have a good game we have to have a good practice, so we started focusing more on practice,” Smith said. Even though practice involves working hard, the girls still manage to have fun. “I think our goals for the team are to just always play
KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review
Field hockey captain Claire Smith (‘07) defends against Kinkaid.
KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review
Sarah Jewett (‘08) runs the ball down the field during a game against Kinkaid. SJS lost 1-0. our best and have fun doing it,” Captain Sarah Daniel (’07) said. To help bring the team together, the captains have organized team lunches and pregame rituals. Before the recent Kinkaid game, the girls decorated each other’s cars. Also, the captains have made numerous warm-up CDs and spirit packs. Before each game the girls separate into positions—forward, midfield, and defense—so they can talk with players from their position and get excited about the game. It so happens that one of the captains plays each position: Smith plays forward, Donnelly plays midfield and Daniel is on defense. “It’s been a lot of fun having so many classmates on the team and really helpful in getting the younger girls excited
for the season,” Daniel said. Recently, the field hockey team was seen around school clad in pink tie-dyed t-shirts with a smiley face on them. According to the captains, the team will not know the meaning of the t-shirts until SPC. Smith said she is “just getting people excited about practice or excited about winning.” The team is focused on beating teams in their division. “Our angle right now is being first in our division,” Donnelly said. With teams such as Hockaday, Kinkaid and Episcopal in their division, the team has their work cut out for them. Once at SPC, Chambers stresses the importance of winning the first game. “Our initial goal is to win that first game, and then from
there we’ll take it one game at a time,” Chambers said. Chambers also stresses the importance of limiting the number of distractions around the team. “We sort of have to work around the other things going on in school whether it’s heavy academic load or Kinkaid week. We are always keeping in mind how to sort of keep everybody ready to play given all the distractions whether they are social distractions or academic things.” With SPC a little more than a month away, the girls are working hard in practices in order to play well during the many counter games left on the schedule. “It’s just a really fun team, on the field and off, and I’m looking forward to an incredible season,” Daniel said.
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October 2006
The Review
Dr. Doug Sharp: calculus teacher by day, lyricist by night By JADE LAW Dr. Sharp, an SJS Calculus teacher to SJS students, is also known as Dr. Sharp, a lyricist for the Texas Medicine Band, to his friends and family. Dr. Sharp’s interest in writing began early in his life when his mother would read adventure stories and poetry to him. These readings helped breed his love for writing good song lyrics. Later on in his life, Dr. Sharp went to Texas A&M University for his graduate degree in economics where he met a lifelong friend, Clifford Fry. “It was sort of like a social setting where I knew him and I liked him but we became really good friends through the music,” said Dr. Sharp. Their friendship started one day when he asked Cliff if he could bring a few records over, and soon their common bond in music founded a strong friendship. “Cliff is the one that has won the majority of the expense of producing this,” explains Dr. Sharp, “he has converted the garage so it became a recording studio.” As the years went on, the facilities got better. The process of writing the lyrics and giving it to the band to practice has been going on for many years, and one of Dr. Sharp’s songs has even been around for at least thirty years. Throughout his life, Dr. Sharp has gravitated towards songs with good lyrics. “I could put up with mediocre music, if the song had something that I considered good lyrics,” said Dr. Sharp. Another eccentricity of him is that he could never quite listen to an album if he did not know the lyrics to all the songs on the album. The Texas Medicine band focused on a pop-folk theme, inspired by Bob Dylan’s music. During the late 50s, folk music was also emerging as a popular style of music to play on the radio. The Texas Medicine Band’s music is played more often in New Zealand and Aus-
If I give myself a chance, very often I am very happy of how things that turns out. There are other times where things are like magic. -Dr. Doug Sharp
tralia than in the United States. First recorded onto tapes, the two CDs that Dr. Sharp and his band made showcased a “cleaned-up version” of the original songs. At one point, vinyl records of the music were also made. Dr. Sharp enjoyed having a CD made of the band’s songs because of the permanence of the collection. After spending a lot of time perfecting the music, “there’s enough ego involved that you figure if you can get something that’s
JENNY LEWIS | The Review
a good presentation of your work, somebody will discover you and think you are a genius.” In addition to this reason, Dr. Sharp takes pleasure in the sense of satisfaction that comes with the completion of a polished project as well as the closer bond of friendship between the band members. Motivation for writing his lyrics came from different sources, ranging from hearing a good tune to watching little quirks between his cats. One such time was when Randy Le Blanc, who played the electric and acoustic guitars for Texas Medicine, had written a piece of music, and soon after, the tune was implanted in Dr. Sharp’s head. “So I sat out by his pool, and wrote the words to Texas Medicine. That was one of the incredible times where in twenty minutes I had the entirety of the lyrics done,” said Sharp. The development of song lyrics takes time to find the correct words and write them out artistically. Dr. Sharp explains that, “If I give myself a chance, very often I am very happy of how things that turns out. There are other times where things are like magic. You sit down and you have something that’s finished
product or very nearly finished product in a very short period of time.” For example, the lyrics to Thoughtful Helpful Husband, came to Dr. Sharp when he was washing the dishes. When Dr. Sharp was in a setting where he could not find inspiration, he would usually gravitate towards cat references, and this usually “primed the pump.” Before marrying Marylin Sharp, who had a few pet cats, Dr. Sharp was a dog person. But ever since he has been married and moved into a house with Mrs. Sharp, “there seemed to be cats that needed a good place to live.” At the present time, they have seven cats. Their all-time favorite cat was Snowy. She had a litter of kittens, and the Sharps kept one of the most fragile but peculiar kittens. “That little cat was one of the most eccentric cat that I’ve ever been around,” says Dr. Sharp. He wrote a poem about the quirky way the cat dealt with stress. “If you went into the bedroom and looked at the bed, you’d think there was very bad housekeeping because there was a big lump,” said Dr. Sharp. The cat tended to climb under the cover and stayed hidden, giving the Sharps the indi-
cation that the cat wanted acknowledgement. Another one of his many cats was a peculiar Siamese cat. “When he first came to us, all he did was talk about this and about that and complain. And then once we’ve got him shots and got him all
It’s been a love affair with the music and the poetry ever since I was very small. -Dr. Doug Sharp
fixed up and his ear infection has been fixed, then he’s been totally silent ever since,” explains Dr. Sharp. Some of his cats even jump onto his counter to help him with the cat food preparation. These little eccentricities help Dr. Sharp find inspiration for writing the lyrics for songs. By observing his cats, Dr. Sharp has also discovered a type of social structure with the cats. One of the older cats was a “miracle cat. He survived cancer and had to have treatment at the Gulf Coast Treatment. He had 21 radiation treatments, but he’s amazing. He’s
well,” said Dr. Sharp. Spending time just watching the cats and finding inspiration for his writing, Dr. Sharp observed that this miracle cat keeps things running within the cat world in the Sharp household. Whenever a kitten or new cat comes into the house, he rears the kitten, teaching each kitten the rules. Dr. Sharp said, “All the young cats that come to live with us have more of less been tutored by him.” At the present, Dr. Sharp is compiling everything that he has written in order to put it in a “presentable form.” Although Texas Medicine is not planning on coming out with any more CDs, the band still gets together once in a while to play a little music. “It’s been a love affair with the music and the poetry ever since I was very small,” said Dr. Sharp. He also appreciates the common bond he possesses with the band members that has proved to be a key element in a friendship or relationship. He said, “It makes it all the more special. The fact that you can share something that’s a great love, it’s a very valuable thing that makes you stay very close to a person.”
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Photography Class and Club enjoying brand-new lab By MADDIE MCDOWELL Behind one unimposing door of the Quad lies an open new space dedicated soley to capturing the moment. With the renovation of the Quad last year, the photographers of SJS were left without a space to develop their photos, resorting to the use of a scanner and computer to develop film. This year, however, a brand new, multi-room photo lab has finally been finished, and students and faculty alike have responded with great appreciation. Susan Wallace, the teacher of the photography class, said “There’s a dramatic difference. Any school would covet this lab.” The new photo lab includes a finishing room for matting and preparing work, two film rooms for loading film, a classroom for critiques and lectures, a film processing area and a space for paper printing. The expansiveness of the new dark room allows for at least
fifteen students at a time to develop their black and white pictures from a 35mm camera. “It’s very roomy and allows person space for each student,” said Ms. Wallace. “So far [the students] are enjoying the luxury of it.” With this new space, “the sky is the limit for what we can do,” she said. For Ms.Wallace, the glow in photography is the “magic” of the process. “[You are] starting with a latent image on film, and then you’re creating something that comes to life,” she said. She also appreciates the fact that the process is a personal one. “It’s very demystifying …and it gives the student ownership,” she said. “From looking through the viewfinder of the camera and composing the photograph to the execution of the work… the students get to do every phase of the process themselves. I get to see all this creativity happening before my eyes.” With a pristine new work place and unlimited possibili-
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The new photo lab pleases photography teacher and students. ties, Ashley Tam (’08) decided to form a photography club to make use of this opportunity. Concerning the new lab, Tam said simply “I must say it’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s enormous. It’s so big that I just don’t know what to do.” Her thinking in starting Photo Club was “since there’s a brand new dark room and the [photography] class is very small …that if I started a photo club there would be a lot of interest because…our schedules are so hectic already, it’s really difficult to fit in another class.” With 62 sign-ups and bimonthly meetings, the club has begun to plan out their activities for the year. Already on the schedule is making pinhole cameras, where no conventional camera or film is needed to make a picture. Instead, a
cardboard box and photo paper are used to produce and image. Tam also hopes to organize fieldtrips to the Museum of Fine Arts or other photo galleries around Houston. With sixty-two people interested, Tam said that the club may have to split up their activities into two different days in order to accommodate everyone. Photo Club, however, is not just for the wellversed in photography. “We definitely want the club open for interest not to just to people who already have experience, [but to] people who don’t have any experience at all,” said Tam. “Everyone is welcome. [The club is] planning on having …two one and a half hour sessions where we would teach how to use…a manual camera and develop film
DAN PERENYI | The Review
…using a dark room to print.” Tam’s interest in photography stems from the fact that both her aunt and uncle are accomplished photographers themselves. She views the medium as “an art form…It’s a versatile way of documenting…time periods or events or people.” Her favorite part of photography is the process. “I like certain routine,” she said, “and in the dark room, it’s very precise, but it’s not so precise that you don’t have artistic license, so if you want it a little dark you can either develop it more or expose it more… but there is a very uniform way to do it.” With the aid of the new photo lab, the realm of possibilities for Tam and Wallace’s passion has been given room to grow. “It’s wonderful,” Tam said. “It is a dream come true.”
Two girls explore the taste of Houston on Montrose By JADE LAW Staff Writer
Though Houston is known for it’s delicious restaurants, some Houstonians often dine at the same places day after day. Anoushka Sinha (’09) and I walked around Montrose and found a breakfast, lunch, and dinner restaurant with savory foods and a great milieu. The moment we walked into the original Barnaby’s Café on Fairview, we felt relaxed in the comfortable atmosphere. Conversations among customers, music playing in the background, and the usual sounds from the kitchen greeted us when we entered. We sat down in a cushy black booth, and a pleasant waitress, Cuba, recommended a few dishes to us. Barnaby’s improved the healthiness of their meals by replacing white bread with whole wheat and adding low-fat vegetarian-friendly entrees to the menu. Cuba says that Jeff Gale, the man who founded Barnaby’s in 1992 “has pretty high standards for the restaurant about the quality of the food that we serve.” We sipped some of Barnaby’s famous pulp-less lemonade, freshly squeezed and refreshing. Then we tried their spinach and artichoke dip served with cheese adorning the top. The smooth dip melted in our mouths with each bite.
Afterwards, we tasted the Chicken Mediterranean Salad and the Chinese Chicken Salad. Generous amounts of the richly smooth feta cheese and finely sliced chickens were in the Chicken Mediterranean. A tasty peanut sauce came with the tangy and healthy Chinese Chicken Salad. Next, I tried the Mushroom Swiss Hamburger, and Anoushka tried the vegetarian Garden Burger. A delightful scent wafted into our noses when the succulent Mushroom Swiss hamburger was brought to the table, filled with the aroma of freshly charcoal grilled burgers and steamy French fries. The delicate taste of mushrooms in the hamburger added a burst of flavor. The Garden Burger consisted of a tender veggie patty, vegetables and perfectly toasted buns. Barnaby’s is notorious for their French fries, which are thin and crispy with a dash of paprika. We immediately knew these were not the run-of-the-mill Burger King fries. For dessert, Cuba brought a delectable apple pie with Mexican vanilla ice cream. The apple pie was freshly baked. Cuba said, “This will make your eyes roll to the back of your heads.” We absolutely agree to that. The strong community atmosphere was evident when we dined at the café. Cuba says, “They want to come to a place where it feels good. And that’s what we want it to feel like.” Voted number one for best comfort good, French fries, burgers, as well as being the best hole-in-the-wall, people watching place, and family restaurant, Barnaby’s is certainly a perfect place for a weekend gettogether. Cuba said, “It’s a feel good place.”
By ANOUSHKA SINHA Staff Writer
The streets of Montrose are studded with various gems, and Taft Street Coffee shines as a warm and eclectic alternative to your standard Starbucks fare. Located in Ecclesia Church, the café truly is a buried treasure. It offers more than just tasty treats and drinks: it houses an art gallery, a mini-bookstore, a music recording studio, and free internet access. “All of these are different entities that live in the same space with the coffee shop,” explained Christy Rice, a member of Central City Co-op, the organization that is partnered with the café. “Part of how I knew it was a good match with Central City Co-op [is that] we’re an all-organic community organization, [and] they get all of their coffee from a local roaster, and all of the coffee is fair trade and…organic.” Fair trade promotes equitable standards for international labor, environmentalism, and social policy. With its organic, fair-trade coffee, the café proudly proclaims that it serves “coffee with a conscience.” It offers a variety of unique drinks, including the popular Vietnamese Coffee and Soy Dirt. Concerning the latter, Jeremy
Masters, the barista, detailed, “It’s very chocolaty. It’s got white chocolate, mocha powder, two Oreo cookies... I’m not sure why they put soy milk when it’s got plenty of milk products.” The result is a delicious, refreshing blend of flavors without overdoing the sweetness “We’re always experimenting, especially with the Italian sodas, and we change it out seasonally, like this summer we came up with a whole new line of drinks,” said Jeremy. “We’ll make anything that people want to drink.” The café also serves scrumptious desserts to sweeten your day. The cozy atmosphere of Taft Street Coffee is embellished with comfy couches, cool canvas art, and shelves lined with an extensive range of books for sale, from Homer to T.S. Eliot to Nick Hornby. Currently, the art gallery is displaying artwork by New Orleans refugees. One such piece was painted prior to Hurricane Katrina, and thus the water line of the flood is visible on the canvas. If you are crave more than just pastries and coffee, bring your own sack lunch to enjoy before dessert. The café provides an ideal refuge from a stressful day to stop and sip a coffee while talking to friends and strangers alike. “It doesn’t take a big structure to create community but just a small gesture or a willingness to talk to people and accept them as they are,” emphasizes Rice, and her words ring true to the refreshing friendliness of Taft Street Coffee.
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The Review
October 2006
BOOK FAIR cont. from p. 1 Anatomy, seasons 1 and 2.” While the unifying reason was the promise of a free dress day the following Friday, the students had mixed motives for attending Book Fair. Some took it for an opportunity to meet old friends while making new ones in the worlds charted in books. “I came to Book Fair because I wanted to buy some books, and I wanted to have some fun with my friends,” said Priyanka Jain (’15). Kema Christian-Taylor (’09) agreed, “I like looking for books with my friends.” Other students came to Book Fair to meet the guest authors.
I came to Book Fair because I wanted to buy some books, and I wanted to have some fun with my friends. -Priyanka Jain (’15) “I came to get my book signed from the author Wendelin Van Draanen,” said Marion Gibson (’15). “I think she [was] really funny when she gave her talk [be]cause she gave a lot of expression and she kind of acted out everything else. I’m buying a book and getting it signed from her.” Van Draanen is the author of the Sammy Keyes mystery series, the Shredderman series, and, most recently, Runaway. Similarly, John Wareing (’08) said, “I wanted to see John Lienhard. He’s cool; I haven’t talked to him yet, but I’ve heard his show before.” Lienhard, the host and writer of The Engines of Our Ingenuity, autographed his new book,
How Invention Begins: Echoes of Old Voices in the Rise of New Machines, at Book Fair.
Rick Riordan, a guest author
who autographed his Percy Jackson & the Olympians books, enjoyed his experience at Book Fair. He said, “I thought it was great. The kids had excellent questions, and they were really enthusiastic…I had a super visit.” He offered a couple of recommendations for SJS bibliophiles. “There’s a really great series by Terry Pratchett, who is a science fiction writer, but he’s very funny. He just wrote a book called Winter Script; it’s really awesome…And also there’s a book called Ptolemy’s Gate by Jonathan Stroud, a really awesome fantasy book.” While the students of the SJS family were all alike in that they enjoyed the freedom of charging their purchases to their accounts, each student was unhappy with Book Fair in his or her own way. Disgruntled by the cost of food, Lai said, “Pizza should not be two dollars, and the drinks should not be a dollar each. [They] should be less.” Christian-Taylor, on the other hand, was dissatisfied with Book Fair’s being held on a school night, saying, “I would make it on another day besides a Thursday because people have conflicts… so I think maybe [doing it on] a Friday night … would just free up more time.” Meanwhile, Gibson believed there should be “[m]ore variety of books to donate to the library.” Nasser thought that SJS should make Book Fair “a bigger deal for upper school,” as she explained that “in lower school and middle school … we got to dedicate full days to just reading and coming to the bookstore, but in upper school it… doesn’t matter.” In spite of its shortcomings, Book Fair remains a celebrated tradition of SJS. As the evening ebbed into night and the parking lot began to drain of SJSstickered cars, there was some truth to the saying “a book lover never goes to bed alone.”
KATHERINE CARMICHAEL | The Review
Aaron Foote (‘09) and Shea Smith (‘09) converse at the Book Fair last month.
Review
Jump 5 meets with SJS dance ensembles Disney band’s presence created excitement By ASHLEY TAM Staff Writer
There’s no question that pop group Jump 5 loves to jump—they bounced into the dance studio on Thursday, September 28 to teach the SJS dance program how pop-dance groups dance, sing, and wear Hollister all at once. As they introduced themselves to the SJS dancers, they seemed nice and down to earth—almost normal, if a bit ditzy, for a kind-of-famous Disney power-band. Impressively, all four of Jump 5’s members— Britney Hargest, 18, Brandon Hargest, 19, Lesley Moore, 19, and Chris Fedun, 20— were able to slide easily into both splits, despite their distressed, over-dyed denim. After finishing to warm up the dancers jam-packed in the studio, Jump 5 taught the SJS dancers the choreography for the chorus of their song “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride,” featured in the immensely popular Disney film Lilo and Stitch. Because they were moving at an extremely fast pace, it was a challenge to keep up with their energetic and vocal teaching. Split up into groups, the SJS dancers per-
formed the choreography over and over until the cheerful voices of Jump 5 singing about oceans blue rang in their heads. Nevertheless, the master class was an interesting, if not refreshing change from classical ballet and modern, straight to a mixture of bubble gum grins and hip hop. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, the four members of Jump 5 began dancing long before they began to sing: since they were about three and four, they began dancing in performances and competitions. Funnily enough, Britney, Brandon, and Lesley’s studio danced against Chris’ studio. Somehow, they got together and as a result of an audition from Disney, became Jump 5. A Christian group whom churches nationwide welcome for performances, Jump 5’s “group verse” is 1 Timothy 4:12: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity” (NIV). In the hour that they taught the SJS dance ensembles, their adherence to their faith is evident in their comportment and cheerfulness. The members of Jump 5 seemed very easy with each other—after all, they’ve known each other almost their whole lives. It was good to feel such amity in the group; there appeared to be no competition or struggle whatsoever, and they laughed with each other in between debating dance moves and having a fun time teaching and dancing.
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photo spread The Review
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All-Scho Conv
Photos by Ka Septemb
photo spread The Review
ool vocation
atherine Kelley ber 22, 2006
October 2006
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Michael Wilson (‘08) generates some spin on a shot in a heated game of Ping Pong one eighth period in Trammell.
October 2006
KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review
Juniors’ competitive juices flow in Trammell Ping Pong By MAX SUSMAN Ping Pong. It is played by many at various levels of intensity, but rarely is there such a dedicated group of players as those juniors who compete in Trammell this year. The sounds of the paddles echo off of the windows of Trammell. The cries of victory are heard all the way down the hall. Michael Wilson (‘08) has won yet again. When you walk past Trammell, the inevitable every student runs across is this duel for the honor and glory of conquering yet another opponent. Wilson is one of the more dedicated competitors. According to Mills Kelly (‘08), Wilson’s involvement in Ping Pong got kicked off “when Michael stopped doing his homework and [started] only playing Ping Pong.” That is not where Wilson’s inspiration came from, however. “It began one day when the maintenance guy pulled the Ping Pong table out of the closet. It pretty much started from the beginning,” he explained. Some might question the productiveness of beating up a small plastic ball; however these students’ dedication has not wavered. Wilson and his fellow classmates plan on having a Trammell-wide championship. “We will have a tournament sometime soon,” Wilson said. “We practice and train everyday [for] multiple hours I usually go home and put one of the halves of my Ping Pong table up and practice like Forest Gump.” How heated is this competition? Pretty darn hot! “Evan Winograd (‘08), Jack Mauel (‘08) and Daniel Rubin (‘08) are my biggest competitors,” Wilson said. Mauel stated his own theory. “I like to think of it in three layers. You have the scrubs on the bottom layer
of the ping pong group, who usually Michael and I can skunk, which is a seven-zero victory. Then there are the middle players who tend to use ‘grated’ paddles because they don’t know how to master the spin that we can. And then I think there are the elite players that consist of Michael, myself, Daniel Rubin, Evan Winograd, John Wallace (‘08), and Charlie Pendergraft (‘08).” The line that separates the elite players from the good players can be hard to differentiate. “I think we have a good understanding of the game. We tend to play a lot further back from the table, which allows us to hit the ball harder,” said Mauel. On rare occasion, the juniors will allow their holy ground to be forsaken with freshmen blood. Daniel Zilkha (’10), currently undefeated in Senior Country, is one of the more “fortunate” freshmen who are allowed to compete in Trammell. Zilkha has battled the juniors numerous times. For a long period of time, he remained undefeated with the juniors; however, Michael Wilson recently prevailed with a close 21-19 score. Community Service Coordinator Marci Bahr, whose office is across the hallway from Trammell, believes that it’s great to include lowerclassmen. “I think it’s been cool this year to have the juniors invite other classmen in to play Ping Pong.” One of Zilkha’s victims is Mauel. “I lost to him 18-21… But Michael beat him, redeeming the [junior students].” Jack said. “Also Evan Winograd beat him two out of three”. As demoralizing as these losses may seem, Zilkha still enjoys the heat of the game. “It’s really intense, it’s a lot of fun… it just stinks when you’re being booed by a horde of juniors,” he said.
Despite the fact that Zilkha is a freshman, the juniors still have respect for his skills. After walking around Trammell watching ping-pong, I was itching to get in on the action. So, I challenged Wilson to a quick game. He easily skunked me. During our game, we talked about the various aspects of the game. You may wonder if it’s difficult to have a conversation while playing ping pong… not
for Wilson. “I’m very good at multitasking,” he said, “It’s essential for trash-talking.” Also, we talked a little strategy. “Spin is very important in the game, but I prefer power, especially my thunder-forehand. When I forehand slam, it usually goes like this… HADOUKEN!” There is more to this sport than you may think. Players are deeply passionate about this aspect of school. According to
Mills Kelly (‘08) returns a serve while playing in Trammel.
Chandler Moody (’08), “[Ping Pong] really brings our grade together, and we all socialize here in Trammell. I really think we’ve grown together as a grade because of Ping Pong.” Mauel also had deep thoughts about ping pong. “I thoroughly enjoy it. I think it’s an excellent aspect of Trammell. It provides friendly competition and is an excellent stress reliever at school.”
KATHERINE KELLEY | The Review
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The Review
October 2006
Student abroad survives her mentally taxing “dis-orientation”: Elizabeth Rasmussen writes from her new residence in Spain By ELIZABETH RASMUSSEN We all stood together silent and dazed, intimidated by the imminent introductions to the families that we would soon become parts of, separated from them by a river of overstuffed suitcases. One by one, our names were called, and we were rapidly introduced to our Spanish families, giving our new family members a hurried kiss on each cheek before being shooed away so that another American student could repeat the process with their new family. This hurried introduction was my first experience in my new hometown for the next nine months, Zaragoza, following the four and a half hour bus ride from Madrid. After our rushed introduction, Gema, my mother “Spanish mom”, tried to assist me in
I was bombarded by kisses, hugs and names that I had no chance of remembering.
locating and maneuvering my large, unwieldy suitcases to the edge of the parking lot where we waited for Davíd, her sonin-law, to pick us up in his taxi cab. As if our hurried parking lot introduction had not been uncomfortable enough, we had a fifteen minute car ride to our apartment. Gema tried to make small talk with me, but I did not make much of an effort to reply, my responses were choppy, and I did not pay much attention to my verb conjugations. Meanwhile, Davíd sat silently in the front seat, trying to avoid taking part in our awkward conversation. Then, after what had seemed like a never-ending car ride, Davíd announced that we had
Elizabeth Rasmussen (‘08) posing in front of a cathedral in Zaragoza, Spain. arrived at the apartment. Sleep was the only thing on my mind, but it was of very little importance to my new Spanish family. Just as Gema pulled open the door to our apartment, a roar of chatter filled my ears. I was not going to be able to sleep any time soon. Gema’s two daughters, their husbands, and all of their children (there were ten in all) had all crammed
into our tiny apartment to meet me. I was bombarded by kisses, hugs, and names that I had no chance of remembering. The introductions began immediately upon my arrival, but they went in one ear and straight out the other. There was Gema’s oldest daughter, Gema (a second one), who was married to Javier. They had two children, Gema (yes, a
third Gema) and Javier (a second one). Then there was Gema’s youngest daughter Charro who was married to Davíd. They had four children: Miguel Angel, Amaya, Jon, and Cristina. Gema’s oldest son, Luís, lives in Andulucía and was not present. He is married to Conchie and they have twins, Luís (a second one) and María Jose. Gema’s two other children, María Jesús and Enrique were working night shifts and would
School Year Abroad definitely has a different academic focus than the American schools, for example, four of my six academic classes are taught in Spanish, but that does not make it any easier.
Elizabeth Rasmussen (‘08) with her new friend in Spain, Cecilia Schechter.
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Rasmussen
meet me the next morning. After going thirty hours without sleep, these twenty something names meant nothing to me. Forget the shower; all I wanted to do was to climb into bed. That night, my first in Zaragoza, was my first glimpse of what the rest of this year holds for me. I have only been here for three weeks, but little by little I am starting to understand exactly what I got myself into. Back home, everyone told me that a school year abroad would be a piece of cake, that a breath of fresh air and an escape from the chaotic junior year at SJS would be wonderful. I did not pay attention to the adjectives my
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Rasmussen
friends used to describe my junior year; I knew all along that work load would parallel my work load at SJS with the added stress of adapting to a new life. Everyone knows that SJS is a very challenging academic environment, but what most people forget is that it is not the only challenging academic environment. Here in Spain, my English teacher is from Choate and my math teacher is from Phillips Academy at Andover, two demanding prep schools in the Northeast. The academics at those schools are on par with the academics at SJS which are on par with the academics here at School Year Abroad. Yes, School Year Abroad definitely has a different academic focus than the American schools, four of my six academic classes are taught in Spanish, but that does not by any means make it any easier. My classes in Spanish here are nothing like my Spanish class was at SJS. My Spanish history and art history textbooks are written in Spanish for Spanish children my age. There aren’t any English definitions or translations in Spanish class here; some of my teachers do not even know how to speak English. Occasionally, I sit at my desk, listening to a lecture in Spanish with words and phrases whizzing by my head. I sit there totally dumbfounded by the speed at which my teachers talk in this foreign language; but, poco a poco, I am adjusting to my new life, my new family, this new culture, and this new language.
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October 2006
New group Pots ‘n’ Pans making noise at SJS athletics
A number of students preparing to cheer on Maverick football to another win, clamoring their pots in encouragement. By LEEOR MUSHIN Who could have thought than an object so mundane could have such an effect on the lives of SJS athletes. This year, SJS athletics are being energized by a group of students utilizing a new mehtod of cheering on their favorite players: banging on pots and pans. Jeff Wu (’09), one of the founders of this new group, said, “My brother Eugene [Wu ’07] came to me and told me that noise production was lacking at SJS sports events, so I told some other people like Grant [Williams ‘09] and Patrick [Wilkey ‘09]. From there I talked to David Sklar (’07), and he announced it. Since then we’ve just been trying to make as much noise as possible.” Pots n’ Pans, led by Wilkey, Williams, and Jeff Wu, is a group whose goal is supporting the SJS athletes with cheering in order to let every other school know that Skip Lee Field as well as the gym and the other fields should be a place they should
JENNY LEWIS | The Review
not look forward to playing. “It started with [the Episcopal game], but it branched out just as a tree would. And that intensity is spreading to every game we have” Wilkey said. The Episcopal rivalry started as any other game a couple of years ago, but it has since developed into a rivalry. “We have to control the SW freeway. Next year we’re going to go to their home field and show them [who’s] the better team,” Williams said. The group has also spread like wildfire throughout the school. Since the group’s inception, it is hard to hear about a SJS sporting event without Pots n’ Pans being mentioned in the same breath. “The group, for the numbers we have, is thriving. We need more members who have the energy and conditioning to make it through the whole game. We definitely have some slackers, but we are happy with it,” Wu said. Pots n’ Pans has spread from football games to volleyball to field hockey and the members want to con-
tinue the number and diversity of sports they attend. “Next season we want to go to some swimming meets. Basketball and those sports are a given, but we want to go to swimming to support them especially against Episcopal,” Williams said. To most, banging pots and pans may seem a bit peculiar, but when a fan is trying to make as much noise as possible, pots and pans seem to work perfectly. “When I bang pots and a spoon together, I feel happiness. What else makes sense? We don’t want to something like a gong. We just want to help our team,” Williams said. A problem that could pose a dilemma in the future is the continuation of good leadership, and someone who hopes that he’ll be able to continue the group when the leaders move on to varsity is Stuart Dickerson (’10). “I just want to follow in the footsteps of my predecessors in the leadership department,” Dickerson said. In a group like this, a constant
flow of ideas is essential. New ways to cheer, new cheers, or new noisemakers are always being suggested by the members of the groups, but one idea that takes the prize in the craziest department is a group mascot. “One day while I was doing some Algebra II homework in study hall,” Wilkey said, “I came across an idea that I proposed to Grant and Buddy. I told them that we needed a mascot, and that a ferret would be a perfect fit. Some are going to tell us how crazy we are and doubt us, but just as some people doubted our group, we will prove them wrong again.” As with all fans, the Pots and Pan members have their favoirte SJS athletes. “My favorite athlete is my brother Steven Dickerson (‘07),” Dickerson said, “because of his extreme navigational skills in cross country.” The faculty sponsor of the group is Ted Curry, a history teacher and the voice of the SJS Mavericks football team. “We knew that Mr. Curry was the old sponsor of the Lee
Field Loonies and the football team’s announcer, and we just saw him as the perfect sponsor. As a matter of fact, just to show his importance to Houston, I believe that the Texans are doing so badly because they didn’t hire Curry for the part-time announcing position,” Williams said. Along with having pots and pans at the games, the group has even started making T-shirts for its members. “It will have a red pan on the back with each person’s nickname above it, and over the right shoulder there will be crossing spoons. I guess you could say that it’s more of a jersey,” Wilkey said. A group that is able to encompass school spirit is a treasure, not a staple, in a school. The people in Pots n’ Pans do not cheer to make fun of the other team, according to its founders. They cheer for their fellow students who battle so vigorously for the pride of SJS, and you don’t need a pot or a pan to cheer for that idea.
who are really dedicated who are there each week to make signs and the run-throughs.” Allison Bland (’07), co-head of the Spirit Club along with Sarah Kaplan (’07) and Laura
achieve. “It’s really fun,” she said, “… but hopefully we’ll start getting more underclassmen to come out because the senior girls are the ones doing it.” Nevertheless, the small club has the large weight of tradition behind it. “It’s been here forever,” Dr. Doina said. Coach Julie Russ, who for many years was the sponsor of the Spirit Club (along with being the sponsor of the cheerleaders and the Maverick Guard), elaborated. “In my thirty-five or however many years I’ve been associated with this school—actually, more like forty—it’s always been here,” she said. The Spirit Club, although it has existed in numerous forms, has been a part of SJS almost
since its founding. “Way back when the school started, they wanted a spirit club because they wanted to support all of the different groups—not just the teams, but even the academic stuff,” said Coach Russ. The primary intentions of the Spirit Club—to promote school spirit and awareness of activities—have remained the same over the years, but the methods by which it works towards those goals have changed repeatedly. Past practices have included making ribbons for team members to wear on game days and having a “best sign” contest for Lower School students. At one point, members of the Spirit Club were required to pay dues and had to attend a certain
amount of games before being eligible for leadership positions. Eventually, of course, the Spirit Club evolved into what it is today—a small group of people mainly responsible for game promotion. The major difference between the Spirit Club of today and the Spirit Club of decades ago is the lack of unity between its different divisions. Today the cheerleaders and Maverick Guard are independent organizations, though all are affiliated with the Spirit Club. In past years, however, members of any were much more involved with it. “Everybody knew everybody,” said Coach Russ. “They
SJS tradition alive and well in the form of Spirit Club By ANJALI SALVADOR “The Spirit Club,” said sponsor and history teacher Dr. Richard Doina, “is a small corps of very energetic and enthusiastic young ladies who are determined to try to raise the spirit and awareness of St. John’s students.” Then he laughed. “Is that a good quote?” Posters for football games, banners for the Friday night run-throughs, pep rally activities, hot dog night and Kinkaid week decorations-all are the responsibilities of the Spirit Club,—a hefty list for a relatively small number of people. “We get quite a few showing up [at the meetings],” said Dr. Doina, “but there are probably just six or seven
In my thirty-five or however many years I’ve been associated with this school— actually, more like forty—[Spirit Club has] always been here. -Julie Russ
Jane Wolcott (’07), agrees that the small size of the club is occasionally detrimental to the amount of work it’s able to
See SPIRIT on p.15
features
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The Review
October 2006
Ms. Flowers grows through tough experiences with daughter By EMILY FOXHALL “It was literally the hardest thing that I have ever gone through,” said SJS English teacher Angela Flowers. “Most people live with the assumption that their children are going to be fine, and unless life proves otherwise… [They] just live in the fantasy that nothing could be wrong with [their] child.” But Ms. Flowers and her husband Curtis were shown that this assumption is not true soon after her second child Bailey celebrated her first birthday. “When you’re one, that’s when you kind of start talking and babbling [but Bailey] wasn’t talking,” Ms. Flowers said. “That’s when we knew something was up, but I had no idea she was deaf.” Having a daughter who is deaf has made Ms. Flowers’ life considerably different from the lives of her colleagues; however, she and her family have developed a unique bond with each other. Ms. Flowers’ mother, coincidently a speech pathologist, advised her daughter to take Bailey to have her hearing tested. Bailey managed to hide her disability, however, and passed the tests using her other senses. To test babies’ hearing, the doctors stand behind them and “clap their hands and see if they turn, and [Bailey] would turn because she either has excellent peripheral vision and she saw something or she’d feel the wind,” Ms. Flowers said. “She’s just really good at faking it.” Bailey’s heightened skill in using her other four senses, commonly seen among kids who are deaf, allowed her to fool even her own mother. “There were things [that made me think,] ‘my child can obviously hear,’” Ms. Flowers said, “but what we realized was that [Bailey is] visual, so if you would dance then she would dance. It wasn’t that she was listening to the music [we were playing], it was that she was really aware of her surroundings.” In order to properly test Bailey’s hearing, she was put to sleep and her brainwaves were scanned to see what she was hearing, if anything at all. It was through this test that the doctors discovered Bailey was in fact deaf. “It was scary because we didn’t know anything about it,” Ms. Flowers said. “We didn’t know anyone who was deaf. We had no exposure to the
The Flowers family poses for a shot at a recent football game. deaf community. [We got] this mation and it’s over. There’s a information that makes [our] lot of ongoing work involved child different from the rest with helping your child.” of [our] family, [but we knew] When Bailey was 18 months nothing about that world.” old, she underwent surgery While struggling with her for her first cochlear implant, fear of the unknown, Ms. and last summer she had it Flowers was pregnant with a re-done in addition to receivthird child who was sched- ing a second implant for her uled to be born the very same other ear. This relatively new week. Needless to say, it was technology takes on the role a week filled with anxiety. of the ear by sending messages “It was a stressful time,” directly to the brain, so when Ms. Flowers said, “[but] I was it is on, the person can hear. at the right place at the right Yet hearing for the first time time… people [at SJS] just re- was just the first step down the ally, really went out of their road for Bailey. She still needed way to be gracious and helpful.” to learn to listen and speak. The Through the relative of an SJS implant “doesn’t mean that you student, Ms. Flowers learned have it and you hear about The Center for Hearing and everything is and Speech, the school Bailey fine,” said Ms. Flowcurrently attends. The goal of ers. A lot of work the school is to help prepare the is involved includstudents for success in schools ing therapy sessions with students who can hear. twice each week. “The reason you do all of the Nonetheless, there therapy and do all of the work are only 24 hours in a now is because you’re trying to day, and time must be prepare the kids, so that they’re spent with the other ready to go to school with the members of the famother kids,” Ms. Flowers said. ily. “It’s really chal“It’s not like you get the infor- lenging. I make sure
SPIRIT cont. from page 14 all worked together, and, whenever there was something going on everybody did it. It’s just not as all-encompassing of the whole school as it used to be. Everything was more unified back then.” Coach Stobie Whitmore (‘68) agreed. He said, “Before enrollment rose in the 80’s, everybody did everything. Now, with higher enrollment and so many more offerings of activities, everyone has their own niche.” As all of the organizations that used to fall under the Spirit Club’s umbrella have split off, the group itself has become much smaller. “It depends on the year and the kids, whether it’s big or whether it’s small,” Coach Russ said. “It’s sort of evolved into just a handful of people that really do all the work. And that’s too bad because it used to be a group that worked really very hard together, supporting all of the teams and not just football.” The duties of the Spirit Club have
decreased with its numbers and the splitting of the different divisions. “The heads are good leaders,” Coach Russ said. “Everything gets done that needs to get done, but if you don’t have a big group then they just can’t do everything. There are so many demands on people’s lives.” Diminished numbers or not, though, one needs only to think back to the Episcopal game to realize that school spirit itself is at an all-time high. “It’s all spirit,” Coach Russ said. “When I see all of the kids in the student section with their pots and pans; the level of spirit seems higher to me. Maybe they should all be a part of the big group.” “It’s really fun. Everyone should come out and join us,” Bland agreed. And ultimately, of course, the most important thing is school spirit, of which the Spirit Club is a major contributor. “It’s all fabulous,” Coach Russ said. “It’s been done a bit differently throughout the years, but it’s always been done. And that’s the cool thing.”
Photo courtesy of Angela Flowers
that I manufacture time for each of them separately because [Bailey] has all of this built-in private time,” Ms. Flowers said. In addition to her family life, Ms. Flowers also devotes time to her job. Although seemingly just one more thing to do, teaching is something she enjoys too much to give up. “I just truly love teaching, and so this is the one thing that’s for me,” she said. Ms. Flowers’s and Bailey’s tireless efforts have been rewarded, however. Now, at age three, Bailey has begun speaking. Her first phrase? “I love you.” “I think that’s probably be-
cause we were saying that to her all the time,” said Ms. Flowers. Though Bailey’s deafness posed many challenges most people aren’t forced to deal with during their lifetime, Ms. Flowers is not bitter, nor is she filled with self-pity. “I’ve learned so much about patience and gratitude,” she said. “[Bailey has] progressed so much… I really appreciate that so many people have worked so hard for her.” Despite it all, Ms. Flowers pointed out, “She is still just a kid. She’s just this adorable little spunky person.”
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opinions
Editorials SJS should not have school on certain religious holidays
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t is the opinion of The Review Editorial Board that students who miss school – for whatever reason – suffer from a detrimental 1:1 ratio; for each day missed, the Board agrees that the student will require that many weeks to complete his or her makeup work. It is for this reason that, having reported on the ISAS Fine Arts Festivals, the Southwest Preparatory Conferences and the inevitable November Epidemic year after year, the Board gives its deepest sympathies to those who have no choice but to miss a day of classes The Review recognizes the efforts of the St. John’s administration and faculty to acknowledge its students’ observation of religious holidays, particularly Yom Kippur. With a growing Jewish population, this seems only fitting. In fact, it would be unfair not to commend the many teachers who took great care to arrange their class schedules so that students who were obligated to miss class last Monday, October 2, could avoid, presumably, an entire week of stress. On the other hand, The Review believes that it is time for a more global pol-
icy change. No student deserves the stress of makeup work, and it makes no difference whether he or she is on a school-sponsored trip, fighting a virus or celebrating a religious holiday. An SJS-sized class missing five, six or seven students is an indication of an issue that is long overdue to be addressed. What’s more, surely no teacher has the desire to repeat the same lesson two days in a row. If a day off for Yom Kippur is not a possibility, The Review wholeheartedly believes that no tests or quizzes should be administered, nor papers or other assignments due, the proceeding Tuesday. This policy should be set and made clear to all teachers and students months prior to the holiday and enforced without exception. For a non-denominational school that is not affiliated with the church with which it shares a name, it only seems fitting that all students should have Yom Kippur – or, as the Houston Independent School District calls it, “Fall Holiday” – free so that they can fast and atone (or at least gather their bearings before that imminent cold and flu sea-
Community Service Club’s work thus far is exemplary
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he Costa Rica trip, Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Family Alliance Fun Walk, Race for the Cure, Galveston Beach Clean-up, Summerbridge, The River Performing and Visual Arts Camp… These are only a few of the many community service projects that the Community Service Club and Upper School students have completed in past couple of weeks—yet, these projects are only a small fraction of the projects to come. The Review would like to commend those who have dedicated time and effort to promoting community service in the Upper School. Community service has always been strong at SJS; however, this year, it seems as if the Upper School, under the guidance of Community Service Coordinator Marci Bahr, has gone above and beyond any expectations set upon it. The club has been working tirelessly to create new projects, which includes taking over the concessions bike and concession stand in the gym. Funds from concession sales will be collected and used to build new playgrounds in Costa Rica over
October 2006
The Review
the summer. Although the concessions stand has always been a part of SJS, by integrating it into the community service effort, the club has made it possible for every student to contribute simply by purchasing snacks during sports games. In addition to promoting new projects, the club continues to encourage returning projects (like the annual Race for the Cure) in order to increase student participation. This year, SJS received an award for having the most all-school participation from Race for the Cure. Other projects include volunteering at Special Olympics, making breakfast for Trinity Episcopal Church and making pillows for the Houston Area Women’s Center. Last year, the Class of 2007 contributed 34 percent of the 19, 905 hours volunteered. The Review hopes that all students will help the club attain its goal of 100 percent participation. With a plethora of opportunities available, any student wishing to participate in any sort of project need only look at the community service board placed outside of Trammel Commons.
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) Scrivener Leeor Mushin (‘09)
Photo Editor Katherine Kelley (‘08)
Staff Writers 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)
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)
Web & Graphics Staff Max Susman (‘10) Evan Winograd (‘08)
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.
Corrections: September 2006 In last month’s editorial, Jordan Thomas (’07) was misidentified as a prefect and Nora Niebruegge (’07) was left off of the list of prefects. In the Arts&Entertainment section, Abigail Hook (’09) was misidentified in a photo caption on page 8. She was listed as Abigail Adams. In the beyondSJS section, Laura Hughes (’03) had her name spelled incorrectly in a photo caption. She was named as “Laura Hughs.” On the Photo Spread, Katherine Kelley (’08) was listed as taking a number of the photos. This attribution should have gone to Katherine Carmichael (’09). In the News section, the article about North Campus construction was cut off. The quote, which ended the article, should have read, “I think it’s a significant step forward in build[ing] the infrastructure for the future […] and upgrading the facilities for the next 25-
plus years,” said Mr. Mayhew. In the article about the SACplanned Homecoming this year, Junior Class President Sarah Jewett (‘08) was misquoted. In reference to the SAC Party of past years, Jewett should have been quoted saying that it has not always been the most successful event. There were also a number of quotes in the News article about the new College Counseling process that were not revised. A segment of the article discussing new procedures should have read: “The new college counseling handbook this year will be especially helpful for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and parents.” said Mr. Rutledge. All SJS families will receive these handbooks to assist them in the college counseling process. The handbooks contain information about the process of college selection, applying to college, and testing. When the student becomes a sopho-
more, the student and family will meet with a college counselor for a one on one meeting. “College counselors will share added information about deadlines and procedures, and will assist with course selection, recommended colleges and standardized test recommendations.” said Mr. Rutledge. Towards the beginning of the article, Mr. Rutledge should have also been quoted saying that: “This is the most selective point ever to apply to colleges. Students want to attend a school that is right for them and will advance their aspirations.” The article also stated that the junior and senior year components of College Counseling will stay the same. This statement is untrue. Finally, in an article, faculty member Aline Means had her name spelled incorrectly. She was referred to as “Alice Means.” The Review regrets these errors.
Still hoping to subscribe to The Review this year? Visit the SJS website at www.sjs.org! Go to the Students page, and the link to download our subscription form is in the bottom right hand corner of the page under “Student Publications.”
opinions
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The Review
October 2006
Point/Counterpoint
Are the new d-hall policies acceptable? Yes, they make d-halls effective No, they are completely unnecessary By JUSTIN STEIN Editor-in-Chief
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magine yourself having to go to detention hall last year for not tucking in your shirt, being disrespectful, or some other offense. You had to be at school at 7:00 one morning to serve your detention hall, but during that time, you could work on your homework, study for a test or read a book. You couldn’t talk or answer your phone, so there were no distractions. That sounds more like a blessing than a punishment for the habitually behind SJS student. Students are always putting off homework until the last minute; if it is late on a weeknight, why should students finish up an assignment when they have study hall before that class the following day? Most students have a study hall at least a few times a week and cherish the time they have at school to get work done without interruption or distraction from their phones, the internet or the television. It seems, then, that the administration was right on target in implementing new restrictions on the detention hall system this year. Students can no longer work on homework or study for a test during the before-school detention halls; rather, students must sit quietly with their heads up (so they don’t fall asleep) during the period. Students have been displeased with the new policies; my response has to be something along the lines of “Obviously you are unhappy…detention actually means something now.” Sure, students in previous years had to wake up a few minutes early to get to school. However, many students are up early in the morning anyway for sports practic-
es, tutorials, or to finish up homework. I’ve overheard students complaining about how much worse detention hall is this year, which is a relief. It was frustrating for many students to hear that while they were following the rules, their classmates were receiving a form of punishment that was completely ineffective. Science teacher and Assistant Dean of Students Jennifer Kuhl oversees the detention hall system this year, and she has certainly brought a sense of authority to the morning sessions. Like in past years, this year’s administration has presented itself as an enforcer of the rules. However, the contrast is
My response has to be something along the lines of “Obviously you are unhappy…detention actually means something now.” that they now have an actual punishment to back up their detention halls with. Dean Alig and the administration are compensating for the time that students will not be able to work on homework by starting a new program as an alternative to detention halls. Instead of sitting in a classroom before school starts, students will be able to do service for the school in the afternoons after the school day ends. For the same length of time as a detention hall, students can choose to pick up trash, weed flower beds, or sweep floors as their punishment. The change in policy this year has definitely had a positive effect on the administration’s ability to enforce rules. Dean Alig said, “I think students already recognize that detention halls are not necessarily the way they want to spend 45 minutes. I think it’s made people think about their actions a little more carefully.”
By BRET VOLLMER Staff Writer
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his year, the administration has reformed some of the Upper School disciplinary policy. One of the new procedures that most directly affects the student body is the decision not to allow students to read or do schoolwork during detention. I believe that the student body appreciates the administration’s efforts and will respect its recent decision. However, many SJS students agree that although prohibiting work during d-hall will make detention a more severe punishment, it will not cause students to be more respectful of the rules. The idea that the previous detention was not an effective deterrent against minor rule violations prompted the change, but many students, even those who rarely get d-halls, feel that the previous detention was punishment enough. Being permitted to read or do work did not change the fact that detention required students to arrive at school much earlier than usual. The accusation that detention was a “glorified study hall” is untrue and I doubt any SJS student would consider the requirement to arrive at school early as anything but a punishment. One of the primary reasons so many students are opposed to the change in detention is that they feel that denying students the chance to be productive during their study hall is impractical, particularly in a school as academically rigorous as St. John’s. Also, not being able to do work, in addition to the possibility that the number of d-halls a student receives will affect what parking spot they receive the next year, makes detention too severe of a punishment for an offense that could be as simple as forgetting to turn in a library book on time. Regardless of whether or not this punishment is in actuality too harsh, if the punishment is widely considered unfair, it undermines the administration’s attempts to build respect among the student body. If students
feel that their time and they themselves are not being respected, they will be less inclined to follow the rules. Although a more severe punishment for untucked shirts and other minor violations may result in students being more determined not to get caught, it will not necessarily create a heightened sense of respect for the uniform code. Also, the fact that this change to detention is happening amid many other changes in the uniform code makes this decision seem much harsher. I understand that the beginning of the year is the most suitable time for policy changes, and I do not think faculty should be more tolerant of uniform violations because the change in policy is relatively recent. However, I think
The accusation that detention was a “glorified study hall” is untrue and I doubt any SJS student would consider the requirement to arrive at school early as anything but a punishment. a more gradual change would not only be better received by the student body, but it would actually be more effective. In a period during which many students are adjusting to new standards of conduct, enforcing too harsh of a punishment will result in more disrespect for the SJS administration and rules, than if the punishment were not harsh enough. The alternative to the new detention that is being discussed, afternoon school service, does not seem to be much of a compromise. Though I admire the administration’s attempt to address student concerns, the prospect of cleaning up trash or sweeping floors does not seem any more appealing than that of d-hall, which is at least not physically strenuous and hopefully air-conditioned. A more conciliatory agreement would be to allow students to do school work during at least part of the total detention time. In doing so, students would feel that they are being respected and I believe that they will return that respect. Students would have the opportunity to be productive and would still have plenty of time for “quiet reflection.”
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opinions The Review
October 2006
A flaw in the fine arts credit system: can it be fixed? By JEREMY SLAWIN Staff Writer
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9½ credits. That’s all you need in order to receive a diploma in May of your senior year. Four in English, three in language, three in history, three in math, two in science, two in athletics, one and a half in elective courses, and one in fine arts. That’s all. You may notice that only one fine arts credit is required for graduation, an insignificant amount in comparison to credit hoarders like English and math. It is, after all, only a minor part of a student’s academic requirements during his or her tenure at SJS. But it is quite the troublemaker. I fulfilled my fine arts credit during my freshman year. Being a trumpet player, I enrolled myself in both Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble, giving me a quick, easy credit after one year of playing my instrument. Most, however, are not so lucky. My friend Morgan Childs (’07) is one of these “unlucky” people. Morgan and I always joke around how I (the less artistic) should audition for the musical and she (the less athletic) should join the soccer team. Of course I couldn’t help but laugh when I discovered that Morgan, having acquired a grand total of zero fine arts credits during her first three years at SJS, was forced into taking Design I to fulfill her requirement. I, on the other hand, had well over the necessary amount of credits. If you don’t know Morgan or me, just trust
me when I say just how ironic this is. However, things were not so funny when she was seriously considering dropping Psychology, one of her favorite classes, in order to make time for her other obligations. Design I added a sixth course to her schedule, and in addition to taking away a free period, contributes a fair amount of work into her daily to-do list. Then there’s the work that goes with being The Review’s managing editor. However, most ironically,
fine arts program. I would meet with my ensembles about 70% of the time due to rehearsal cancellations or athletic conflicts that would prohibit me from going to band after school. Plus there are two concerts each year, performances at Candlelight, the awards ceremony, etc., and trips to the ISAS fine arts festival every other year. Approximately I have spent 250-300 hours contributing to the SJS fine arts department. Morgan’s service to fine arts absolutely dwarfs mine.
Morgan Childs (‘07) qualified as an International Thespian Society member using only hours spent during the first half of her sophomore year and is currently the president of Johnnycake, the school’s drama club; yet, she is taking Design I as a sixth course to fulfill her fine arts requirement a large percentage of Morgan’s time goes to, well, the fine arts department. Since coming to SJS in 2003, Childs has participated in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Season’s Greetings, Noises Off, The Crucible, Stage Right, The Laramie Project, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Canned Hamlet, either acting, working as part of the crew, or helping with makeup and costumes. In addition, last year Morgan organized and directed a play for Outreach Theatre as a community service project. She even qualified as an International Thespian Society (ITS) member using only hours spent during the first half of her sophomore year and is currently the president of Johnnycake, the school’s drama club. Take this amount of time dedicated to fine arts in comparison to the amount of time that I have contributed to the SJS
Yet still, she is the one taking Design I. Try this analogy; I have spent hours upon hours upon hours playing sports for the Mavericks, especially in volleyball and soccer. Every day I go out to practice, doing something I enjoy, yet doing something that takes up a lot of my free time. Volleyball often has tournaments out of town that occupy good portions of my weekends, and soccer has night games which make completing that given night’s homework load rather difficult. However, in return, the school grants me with athletic credits, which translate into free periods where I would have been regularly taking P.E. But what if the school required athletes to enroll in P.E.? What if I had to play dodgeball during the day, and then go to soccer practice after school? This is essentially the flaw
in our credit system. Several students must take fine arts courses during the day, and after school do fine arts activities which they are given no credit for. Elizabeth Blanton (’07) also takes Design I this year. However, she has been a yearbook photographer for three years, in addition to being a section editor last year and the photo editor this year. Elizabeth has also been to ISAS for photography and even enlisted in a photography course at the Glassell School for nearly three years. Sounds like just as much as I have done with respect to fine arts, yet she is taking Design I, and I am not. I completely agree with the school’s policy that all students must fulfill some sort of fine arts requirement. A high school education should be as diverse as possible so as to expose students to as many different areas of interest as possible. However, it is clear that students like Morgan and Elizabeth have received a great deal of exposure to their respective areas of the fine arts discipline, and should not have to take academic courses in fine arts. Forcing students like them to take fine arts classes during school hours tightens up course options in other areas of the curriculum and adds on to the already heavy load of homework. The current system of fine arts credits should at least receive consideration to be changed. Perhaps people with a certain number of ITS hours or people taking fine arts courses outside of SJS can receive some sort of credit. It only makes sense that if a student works and spends his or her time under the realm of fine arts, he or she should be able to receive credit to open up their schedule to other academic pursuits available at SJS.
Guess what? The Review Online Poll is back up! Go to www.sjsreview.net to voice your opinion on the monthly issue!
Dear Readers,
A
s we put out our third issue of the year and the Houston weather finally starts to cool down, campus is buzzing with new clubs and student organizations, various on- and off-campus events, and students working on a multitude of curricular and extracurricular projects. With the mid-semester checkpoint passing last week, the term is certainly moving along! This month, The Review went out and tried to capture all that has been going on at St. John’s over the past few weeks. In the lull between the hyped football game against Episcopal—which we covered in our last issue—and the classic game against Kinkaid—which we will cover at the end of the month in our next issue—our staff has gone out and reported on some really interesting stories this time around. In this month’s News section, be sure to read about MavTV, the Paradigm Film Club’s variety TV show which recently premiered on campus, and about a controversial new policy regarding pep rallies that affects freshmen students. The Features section explores the phenomenon behind the class of 2008’s obsession with ping pong in Trammell Commons, and also hears from Elizabeth Rasmussen (’08), The Review’s staff writer spending a school year abroad in Spain.
Don’t miss the articles about the volleyball and field hockey teams in the Sports section, and read about what one staff member has to say about fine arts credit policies in the Opinions section. Finally, make sure you read about the recent SJS Book Fair and a longtime faculty member who has musical talents that aren’t well known in this month’s Arts&Entertainment section. And, while our new bi-monthly section “beyondSJS” is not running this issue, there are a host of fascinating articles in the works for our November issue. We’ll catch up with several SJS alumni who have continued their athletics on the university level, and also with an alumnus who has thrown himself into the interesting race for the state’s 134th district representative. When we’re without one huge event to report on, the Editorial Board and I enjoy taking the opportunity to step back and write about things that make daily life at St. John’s so unique. We’re part of a fantastic community, and with so much going on in so many different spheres, we try our best to cover everything. If there’s a specific event you want to make sure gets some attention in The Review, please don’t hesitate to email the paper at review@sjs.org, mail us at the school’s address (listed in the masthead above), or let someone on the staff know. We appreciate your support and, as always, thanks for reading.
Justin Stein Editor-in-Chief, The Review
odds&ends thumbs thumbs up down Pots ‘n’ Pans Cooler weather Texans actually win
Astros eliminated Application deadlines Long walk around Quad
word for word “How do you suggest we study for the test?” “Have three martinis and go to bed.” - Laynie Johnson (‘08) and Latin teacher Tony Sirignano “I’m like the love teacher. Everyone hooks up in my classes. If you want to hook up, let me know. I’ll make it happen...nevermind. Awkward.” - History teacher Gara Johnson-West “Every girl has an ugly friend to make themselves feel better.” “I don’t have any ugly friends.” “That’s because you are the ugly friend.” - Ethan Edmonson (‘09), Amber Malloy (‘09) and Olivia Flores (‘09)
sixty seconds with stuart dickerson (‘10) by margaret greenberg name Stuart Dickerson grade Ninth music Patrick Lukens (‘08) or hardcore gangster hip-hop starbucks “I just haven’t started drinking coffee yet. It burns my tongue. I don’t really know the correct method of drinking it yet.” radio station 97.9, The Box. “Can’t stop, won’t stop!” drink Purple Kool-Aid when I grow up I want to be a firefighter sing in the shower? “Yes, I rap in the shower. Sometimes I’ll try to freestyle and sometimes I go with predetermined lyrics. do you read the review? cover-to-cover.
“So, I saw this guy with a shirt on with all these rappers on there, and I was like, ‘Wow, where’d you get that shirt?’ He said one of his homies gave it to him. And at that point I realized, I have no homies.” - History teacher Dr. Richard Doina “Before, I wanted to go to a really good Ivy League school, but now I don’t care. I just want to be rich.” - Nelly Kontchou (‘09), after a math test