St. Luke’s School New Canaan, CT
Inside This Issue... 100 Students Go to Yale (2) Splurging is good! (this year) (3)
A Very Carver Christmas Kelly Wendt Sentinel Staff Writer For the past six years, the juniors at St. Luke’s have had a tradition of going to the Carver Center in Norwalk to help host a holiday party for the children who live in the
Holiday Festival (3) Guide to the Perfect Snowday (4) Coffee House Collage (4) Chinese Democracy (5) Movie Review (5) Sports n’ Stuff (6-7) Artist of the Month (8) George W. Bush’s Treatise on Sneakers (9)
area. This community service project is customarily held on the last Friday before winter break. This year, on December 19th, the juniors will be going to the Carver Center, which provides after-school activities to children with working parents. According to Mrs. Parker-Burgard, the Carver Center party is “hugely significant and provides an important contact for our community with the Carver Community.” The juniors’ job is to help set up for the party, which includes putting up holiday decorations. Once the party starts, juniors all report to different stations: some serve food, some help the kids make crafts, others direct the children in games and entertainment. The juniors are in charge of running the show, essentially, as they conduct all the activities as well as
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CT Challenge
The Sentinel Staff Meet this year’s St. Luke’s CT Challenge Team: Aggie Kelly, Samantha Fomon, Peter Benoliel, Cooper Baer, and alternate Caroline Cullinane, the five students trying to recreate the success of last year’s academic all star team led by Nicho Kelly. After the success of the team in the first round, the brainiacs will compete, yet again, with the best of the best to be known as the ultimate CT challengers. The format of the game is intense. A rapid fire round of questions are shot out at the teams; only the fastest prevail. “It was hot,” said junior Cooper Baer, “I was on my toes the whole time! We dominated.” Although our team lost by just a smidge, they earned e n o u g h points to go on to compete in the next round. “It was not a total d i s a s t e r, ” said senior Billy Prince. “Our biggest problem was vision,” said senior and team captain Aggie Kelly -- quite literally, Sam Fomon misplaced her glasses and was unable to read the question board. Thus she had to wait until the moderator had read the entire question outloud before attempting to answer. Team members also also noted that they were slightly imbalanced, with more strength in math and science, and less in the humanities. The may also have suffered from
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School News Carver from pg. 1
interacting with the children who come. This is the first year in which the faculty has discouraged student drivers due to the lack of parking spaces in the area. Instead, there will be shuttle busses on the day of the party, bringing students to the Carver Center. Also, instead of large cupcakes, the faculty has requested that the students bring bite-sized food to reduce waste and be more environmentally friendly. The freshmen are also doing their part in this project. They are collecting and wrapping toys from SLS families, standing out in the cold every morning at the drop off circle in front of the Athletic Center. The gifts will go with the juniors to the Carver Center and will be given to the children who attend the party. For the first time this year, however, the freshmen are in charge of wrapping the toys. They will be holding a wrap party on Friday, December 12th. The SLS tradition of going to the Carver Center for Christmas is not only fun and memorable, but also a positive community-oriented project that provides service to the deserving children.
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the loss of trivia and academic titan Nicho Kelly who dominated the lightning rounds last year. “My only regret is that I wasn’t there to help out,” said ’08 graduate Nicho Kelly, when informed of this year’s results. Last year, the CT Challenge team had an almost cult-like following. Many fans came out to the Challenge last year, while this year the turnout was disappointing. Then again, this was only the first round, and hopefully, this year’s team will build up their fan base before the next competition. Tune in on Channel 12 (sorry DirectTV, DishNetwork, and phone company TV customers) on December 27th and 28th at 7:30 P.M. to catch our kids in action. Episodes are also available for viewing online at www.powertolearn.com
100 Students Go to Yale Alexandra Jaffe Sentinel Staff Writer The St. Luke’s choir program, under the leadership of Mr. Griffa, was recently given the distinct honor and privilege to perform at Yale with the New
Haven Civic Orchestra, conducted by Chris Hisey. Both the chorale (made up of juniors and seniors) and the chorus (freshmen and sophomores) joined together to sing selected portions of Handel’s oratorio Messiah, the Christmas hymn In the Bleak Midwinter, and a Christmas carol medley sing-along. The concert took place on December 7th at Woolsey Hall, the main auditorium of Yale University. Built in 1901 as part of the Yale bicentennial celebration, Woolsey Hall is a famous and historic venue that seats 2,695. Mr. Griffa commented, “For us to have the opportunity to sing at Woolsey Hall… well, that was worth all the work we put into the Messiah.” Many supportive parents accompanied the choirs to New Haven to attend the concert, and all agreed that the two-hour performance was well worth it. As one parent noted, “The performance moved me to tears.” Especially noble was junior Ali Tesluk, the only student to perform a
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solo. The entire concert culminated with a spirited and emotional rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus. Singing with the 65-piece orchestra was an amazing experience for everyone in choir. This opportunity only presented itself because of Mr. Griffa’s dedication and hard work in developing the reputation of the choir program at St. Luke’s School. What was the result of all this hard work? “I thought it was an outstanding performance—very professional,” said Mr. Griffa.
Billy’s Top 10 Christmas List Items 10. Taylor Swift 9. Enya’s Greatest Hits 8. The serenading abilities of Martita Roca, the Guatemalan love singer 7. Greg Oden to pick me up out of bed and bring me downstairs 6. A 1991 Geo Metro XFI Hatchback 1.0 Liter L3 5. A day as Headmaster 4. Chuck Bass’ purple suit 3. Walden on tape, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson 2. Victoria’s Secret Pink Sweats 1. Where in America is Carmen Sandiego?: The Great Amtrak Train Adventure circa 1998
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Arts & Editorial Spending for Uncle Sam
Sentinel Staff Writer As the holiday season approaches, our consciences berate us for being greedy. We are drawn to the seductive flashing lights and huge “HOLIDAY SALE!” signs hung in every winter-wonderland themed store window in the mall. But this year, shopping is not a selfish indulgence; rather, it is a patriotic responsibility. With the economy in recession and people strapped for extra cash, buying gifts does not seem like a fiscally responsible behavior. However, this holiday season, it is our national duty to make purchases and put money back into the economy to help our country begin recovering from this slump. Although our economic problems have been highly publicized in the news recently, it can still be confusing to try to understand what the basic problems are and what we can do to help. However, you don’t need to be an economist to understand what’s going on. Here is a brief rundown to help clarify. T h e economy is 70% consumer d ri v e n , so when consumer spending is pulled back, the economy shrinks. When the economy shrinks, we go into a recession. A recession is a vicious downward cycle because when people aren’t spending, companies go bankrupt. Therefore these companies cannot pay taxes or make a profit, and are forced to lay off employees. When companies lay their workers off,
there are more unemployed people who cannot afford to go out and buy items, which ultimately hurts the companies. The government affirmed that this recession started in December 2007, which means that it has lasted 12 months so far. The last two recessions in 1991-1992 and 2000-2001 lasted only eight months each. Unfortunately, this recession does not show any signs of slowing down. The financial turmoil continues to escalate because people don’t have confidence in banks or the stock market. As a result, no one is spending. If you want to do your part to help the economy this holiday season, spend, spend, spend.
Chrismahanukwanzakah Kelly Wendt Sentinel Staff Writer
For the first time in three years, CAFE (Cultural Awareness For Everyone) will be celebrating the Holiday Festival. The Holiday Festival is a celebration of different culture’s holiday tradition. Different students are in charge of setting up tables that have information on them about certain countries and how those countries celebrate winter holidays. CAFE did a survey of the entire upper school, asking students what ethnicity they identified as. Then CAFE bought all the flags of the countries that the students identified as being a part of. They are hung up around the cafeteria for the holiday festival. CAFE also has several tables. Each table represents one country, and the student(s) in charge of the table have information about winter holidays and how they are celebrated. Students also have activities and/or games and traditional foods from the countries they are representing.
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The students involved in CAFE are hoping to make this a yearly tradition. Although the holiday festival was held at St. Luke’s once before, CAFE wants to make it a more routine celebration as a way of being more proactive in educating the SLS community.
The Sentinel Staff Editors Alex Fomon Caroline Cullinane Layout Editor Jon Salamon Sentinel Staff Writers Alexandra Jaffe Kelly Wendt Tess Josel Billy Prince Aimee Fox Sports Editor Doug Walker Faculty Advisor Mr. Flachsbart
with miniscule help from Mrs. Zwicker
Photo credits go to:
Mrs. Ahrens and Various Internet Locations
From all of us at the Sentinel,
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Arts & Editorial
December 2008
Guide to the Perfect Snowday Alexandra Jaffe Sentinel Staff Writer
Everyone looks forward to snow days, but there is dissent between how teachers think students should spend their time on these free days and how students actually plan their day.
When to wake: TV viewing: Book: Dress: Website visited: Exercise: Outdoor activity: Academic work: Way to predict: Most awaited call:
From a teacher’s perspective
From a student’s perspective
6 a.m. just like a normal school day History Channel or National Geographic Princeton Review SAT Prep Book Khakis and an oxford NYTimes.com—15 minutes Run on treadmill for 30 minutes Shovel and salt your front steps Get ahead in all your classes Check weather.com Mr. Davis cancelling school
Noon is preferable MTV reality TV show reruns People/Sports Illustrated Pajamas all day Facebook.com—2 hours Snowball fight Make a snowman on front porch Don’t work—pray for snow day tomorrow Sleep with PJ’s inside out and backwards Mr. Davis cancelling school
Coffeehouse Collage
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Arts & Living Rifles N’ Carnations Aimee Fox Sentinel Staff Writer
Guns N’ Roses formed in Los Angeles in 1985. They became famous in 1991 for their double album releases entitled Use Your Illusion I and (oh so creatively named), Use Your Illusion II. Those were the last releases to feature original material by the band. Their newest album, Chinese Democracy, was released November 23 and debuted at #3 on the Billboard Charts. Production on the album began in 1994, and at different points of its creation had five different producers attached to the project. By the time of its release, the album had cost at least $13 million, making it the most expensive album (n)ever released. My initial reaction: This had better be worth it! There were (obviously) many delays in the album’s production including marketing disputes, business problems, and scheduling conflicts. There was also a lawsuit in 2004 by front man, Axl Rose, and a few former band members against their record company about a Greatest Hits compilation album. They claimed it would damage the band’s reputation and Rose felt it would distract the band from developing their current album. When you have had a decade to make an album, how is it possible to suggest that there has been any productivity? Now for the real shocker: after the release of the long awaited Chinese Democracy, the release was banned in the People’s Republic of China for the title song’s criticism of the government. This censorship and similar actions are precisely what the band criticizes in their title track, Chinese Democracy. The title song is an excellent opening for an album with incredibly catchy riffs, which makes it unsurprisingly suitable as a single. The
next track, Shackler’s Revenge, follows with a catchy beat, although not quite as catchy as its predecessor. The third track, Better, which is also a single, is not quite as interesting as the first two tracks. Its repetitive hooks make it easy material for a single. Track four, Street of Dreams, enters with a nice piano piece, accompanied by screeching from Axl Rose. Following this is If The World. It has oddly catchy instrumentation with a nice orchestrastring backing. After this track, we dive into seemingly repetitive power-ballad tracks that are not especially noteworthy. This continues to the end of the album where the last track seems to lighten up slightly. With this overabundance of slow, sad songs, perhaps the band is mourning all their lost years spent on production. Even then, it is not enough to spoil the rest of the album. The earliest tracks are what a listener really wants to hear. Those are the tracks that make people want to rock out, which is what Guns N’ Roses wanted to achieve. Sound Quality: 9/10 Entertainment: 8.5/10 Track list: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
Chinese Democracy Shackler’s revenge Better Street of Dreams If the world There Was a Time Catcher in the Rye Scraped Rhiad n’ the Bedouins Sorry I.R.S. Madagascar This I Love Prostitute
Cookies and Milk Kelly Wendt Sentinel Staff Writer
December 2008
Milk is a revolutionary new movie about the first openly gay elected official, in select theaters now. Starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, who was elected mayor of San Francisco in the 1970s; James Franco as Scott Smith, Milk’s love interest; and Josh Brolin as Dan White, Milk’s political opponent. The movie documents Milk’s many campaigns, including the ones he lost, and his work in office. It opens to Milk, who narrates the movie, with a tape recorder. He recorded his life on tape just nine days before he died, and the movie dramatizes everything he recorded. It picks up when Milk and Smith have just moved to San Francisco, shortly after Milk’s fortieth birthday. Before Milk campaigns for office, he and Smith open a store. As time passes, Milk realizes that the only way for gays to get their rights is for them to stand up for themselves, and stand up he does. In terms of aesthetics, the movie is incredible. Gus Van Sant, the director, brilliantly weaves in clips of actual footage from the time period, the 1970s. This gives it the feel of a documentary, but only slightly. More than that, the footage from the 1970s makes the viewer even more engrossed in the film. The movie also puts in viewpoints from other people, including the Catholic Church. This was the only sore point of the movie; Van Sant manipulates everything the church said so that the opinions expressed were only the most extreme right-wing sentiments possible. This also goes with our time period in some ways because today, more and more members of the Catholic Church are coming to understand that religion and homosexuality can coexist. Milk is not just a special-interest movie for those interested in freedom of sexual expression; in fact, this is clearly a movie anyone would appreciate because, besides Sean Penn’s endearing portrayal of the United States’ first gay mayor, the movie emphasizes the necessity for open mindedness and standing up for what you believe in. Viewers will leave the theater enlightened and emotionally charged.
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Sports n’ Stuff Go Figure!
S(LS)ixth Man
Alexandra Jaffe Sentinel Staff Writer The winter sports season has fewer options than the fall or spring seasons, so many SLS students choose to take the season off. This year, the school added a new activity: Go Figure. Go Figure is an aerobics workout studio in New Canaan offering classes that help with strengthening, conditioning, and toning. These classes follow the “Figure Method,” a method that incorporates Pilates and yoga in a way that makes each workout a relaxing experience, yet intense and challenging. Eileen Oakford, mother of two SLS students and frequent Go Figure-goer, was the first to suggest this studio as a legitimate afterschool activity. Unfortunately, the classes at Go Figure are during the day, making it inconvenient for students to go. To give SLS students the special opportunity to experience the classes, Mrs. Oakford worked with Go Figure to add an additional class at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesdays just for SLS students. This activity has already become very popular for many students because it’s a great way to stay in shape during the “off season”. Mrs. Oakford explains, “I organized the class for the girls to help them get into shape for spring sports.” Go Figure is an intensive workout for both athletes and anyone interested in exercising, and is a great way to improve flexibility and continue strength training until spring sports start.
Doug Walker Sports Editor Basketball craze swept over St. Luke’s four years ago when, coach from the Gaucho’s, a renowned AAU team, Billy Lovett took the post as Head Basketball Coach. This movement was jokingly dubbed the sixth man, after the young coach Lovett made over a hundred shirts for fans to wear at games. That year Mike Tramboli, Ryan Shields, Max Brittenham, and Chris Corvese revved up the crowd and laid the fuel for the fire that would become The Sixth Man. The 05’ Team, known as the dream team, added Devon Hill to an already stacked squad. A buzzer-beater win at King and close game against Wick in the FAA finals led the fan base to a new level of excitement. It looked like clear waters, but then the FAA made a drastic move that banned all “noise makers” (thankfully not Glenn Champion). After something terrifying happens people expect things to sour. Caroline Dooley 07’ rose to the challenge of leading and legitimizing the club. The sixth man became The Sixth Man as it got the nod from the school to become an official club. Donning new 06’ shirts, the Sixth Man came out to every game shouting and cheering the squad on. The group truly flourished as more and more people came to the games and the fans began to care more about the team. As if all the goodwill of The Sixth Man became incarnate, Andrew Hilboldt became the head of the Sixth Man. Hilboldt made some swift changes. Like any other major sporting event, SLS basketball games needed music. Hilboldt was somehow able to conjure up a PA system. No…he didn’t stop there. Hilboldt became the DJ for all basketball events. Creating a master mix, Hilboldt could be seen every game rocking in a lawn
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chair with aviators and a Bowdoin hat. Perhaps Hilboldt’s greatest achievement was his ability to draw St. Luke’s together for the February 1st basketball game at Brunswick. Although this was the rematch of an epic game, in which Brunswick hit a last minute three to pull away in, Hilboldt not only publicized the game and provided transportation for over a hundred students, he worked with a student from Brunswick to create a white out black out event that reached an unprecedented amount of five-hundred people. The Sixth Man has helped the school to realize exactly how much pride we have. Recently though, the eye of the administration has shifted upon the Sixth Man for conduct that it views out of line, and has even gone to the extent of questioning whether The Sixth Man is good for the school. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with The Sixth Man; in fact, it’s intrinsically good. I don’t think they’re trying to pick on the school’s beloved fan group; instead, they want to set a higher standard for conduct. Blatant obscenities like “You s__k!” are, of course, unacceptable, while shouting during foul shots is inherent with basketball; this isn’t a tennis match. Luckily, we have not had anything serious happen, or gotten so rowdy that Mr. Davis had to threaten to ban sports events as the Brunswick headmaster did. Because of the passion our students have for the betterment of SLS, I don’t think we’ll have that problem. Heckling the other team is fine, yet we mustn’t take it to a level where we could embarrass the School or ourselves. Now I have a personal word those who are not attending games. Wow. Not liking basketball is a lame excuse. I say buck up. A St. Luke’s basketball game is more than just a game; it’s a place where you can support your friends as well as the school. Next game, walk across the AC to the right side of the Gym. Take a seat with The Sixth Man, and we’ll show you why I’m writing this: fervency.
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sports n’ Stuff Test Your Knowledge
Test your knowledge against CT Challenge captain Aggie Kelly, who correctly answered all of the following questions. 1. Which tissue may be squamous, cuboidal, or columnar? a) bone b) blood c) muscle d) epithelial 2. The brachial plexus group of nerves is in the… a) ear b) thigh c) abdomen d) upper arm 3. Who immediately preceded Abraham Lincoln? a) Franklin Pierce b) Chester Arthur c) Andrew Johnson d) James Buchanan 4. The book by Betty Friedan that rallied the women’s movement in the 1960’s was titled The Feminine… a) Aura b) Appeal c) Crusade d) Mystique 5. What is the sum of the square roots of 196, 484, 961? a)43 b)52 c)67 d)71 6. What is the product of 23 7/12 and 6? 7. Multiply 137 by 29. 8. The first hot air balloon to carry humans aloft was launched from what European city in 1783? 9. The Ark Royal was the English flagship used in defeating what flotilla in 1588? 10. Bones are normally held together in proper alignment by a fibrous sac, the articular capsule, and by what tough fibrous bands? Find out the answers in the next issue!
Holiday Recipes Caroline Cullinane Co-editor To accommodate everyone’s tastes, here are some great recipes for the holidays: For Christmas: Cut-out Cookies • 1/3 cup butter • 1/3 cup shortening • ¾ cup granulated sugar • 1 egg • 1 tbsp. milk • 1 tsp. vanilla • 2 cups all-purpose flour • 1 ½ tsp. baking powder • ½ tsp. salt To make cookies: Beat butter, shortening and sugar until light. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Beat dry ingredients into moist a little at a time. Chill for 3 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a little dough at a time, roll out to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with floured cutters and bake 8 to 10 minutes on lightly greased cookie sheets. Let cool. To make frosting to spread: Mix sugar with vanilla, water and your choice of food colorings. For intense color, use paste coloring. Frost cooled cookies. • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar • 2 tbsp. milk To make frosting to spread: Mix sugar with milk (to whatever consistency seems best) and your choice of food colorings. For Hanukkah: Easy Potato Latkes • 2 lbs (1 kg) potatoes • 2 large eggs • Salt • Oil for frying Peel and finely grate the potatoes. Put them straight into cold water, then drain and squeeze them as dry as you can by pressing them with your hands in a colander. This is to remove the starchy liquid, which could make the latkes soggy. Beat the eggs lightly with salt, add to the potatoes, and stir well. Film the bottom of a frying pan with oil and heat. Take serving-spoonfuls, or as much as 1/4 cup (50 ml), of the mixture
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and drop into the hot oil. Flatten a little, and lower the heat so that the fritters cook through evenly. When one side is brown, turn over and brown the other. Lift out and serve very hot. For Kwanzaa: • 1 cup finely packed brown sugar • 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened • 1 egg, beaten • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder • 1/4 teaspoon salt • 1 cup toasted sesame seeds Preheat the oven to 325°. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Mix together the brown sugar and butter, and beat until they are creamy. Stir in the egg, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Add flour, baking powder, salt, and sesame seeds. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto the cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are browned. Benne cakes are a food from West Africa. Benne means sesame seeds. The sesame seeds are eaten for good luck. This treat is still eaten in some parts of the American South. Note: These recipes were collected from various internet locations. They are not the author’s original recipes.
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Arts & Living
Maren Engh:
Artist of the Month Tess Josel Sentinel Staff Writer Maren Engh, a St. Luke’s senior, is the recipient of the Sentinel’s first ever Artist of the Month award. This honor for SLS students w i t h outstanding artistic abilities will now be a recurring e v e n t within the Sentinel, a n d M a r e n ’s creative talents have set the bar high for future “Artist of the Month-ers.” Maren’s artistic focus is directed towards photography, and her photographs have been displayed in the main foyer of the school throughout her art career at St. Luke’s. Personally, Maren wants her photographs to “portray a different view of reality.” Ms. Yankura, Maren’s photography teacher, expresses her student’s success in this area, declaring that “Maren’s photographs have the ability to transport the individual into a world where the viewer becomes the actual, real-time observer of the images captured on film.” Our Artist of the Month hopes to continue her pursuit of photography
throughout her years in college, although she is unsure if she will go to art school specifically. She gets inspiration from photographers such as Francesca Woodman, whose haunting style and photographs Maren calls “…beautiful. She worked a lot with shadow. They’re very dark… but beautiful.” M a r e n ’s own portfolio ranges from photographs of feet clad in Tory Burch shoes to a pile of pumpkins and her selfportrait. Ms. Yankura explains that Maren’s artwork “accomplishes a great deal in that her composition is aesthetically pleasing
enough to draw the viewers in for a closer view, a gesture which allows the content of her images to come through to the eye and mind of those viewing her work.”
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Maren Engh is a strong representation of the artistic community at St. Luke’s and will undoubtedly achieve success through her talents as a photographer.