The Sentinel
St. Luke’s School New Canaan, CT
Inside This Issue... Getting Back to Nature (3) Presidential Face Off! (4-5) They’re Back: Heavy Metal Heavy Weights Return (6) This Week in History (6) Pendulum Wins a Prize (7) Billy Prince Goes to the Movies (7) Lonely Sports Article (8) Meet Ms. Bell: A New Face in College Counseling (8)
October 2008
Obama Wins SLS Election Poll
Another Year, Another Schedule
Layout Editor
Sentinel Staff Writer
In a survey of a select number of upper school students and faculty, Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama came out a big winner over Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. The survey was administered to two sections of each upper school grade, along with 30 members of the faculty selected at random. Overall, Obama came out ahead of McCain with a 2:1 margin. In reality, however, the race was tighter than the final statistics make it appear. If it weren’t for the liberal nature of the junior class, which voted 88% Obama and 12% McCain, with a little help from the freshman class, 60% Obama, 40% McCain, the results of the poll would have been much closer.The fact is that the senior class, as well as the sophomore class, was evenly divided between the two candidates, and the faculty was only slightly pro-Obama (55% Obama, 45% McCain).“I find it totally inconceivable that teachers who are historically liberal would vote for McCain,” said one faculty member when informed of
As everybody now knows, there have been some major changes in the schedule this year. This happened when the administrators here at Saint Luke’s felt that with forty minute periods, teachers did not have enough time to get through all the necessary material. The upper school also has ‘double periods’ which, according to Mr. Bailey, were created for AP Science classes. With double periods, AP Science classes can complete experiments. Last year, one period a day dropped and AP Science classes all occurred during D period, which doubled every other day. To explore other options, a scheduling consultant came to school April last year to make suggestions about how to
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Jon Salamon
Kelly Wendt
make our schedule better. One of her suggestions was to drop two classes a day (as opposed to one drop period
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School News
October 2008
Election from pg. 1 the teacher results. “How could anyone support four more years of Republican control after the worst president of all time, even worse than Harding and Buchanan?” As for gender, it would appear that Obama is preferred by both males and females, but females had a greater tendency to vote for the liberal candidate. Sadly, seven Obama supporters on the faculty did not reveal their gender, and a whopping 9 did not even manage to return their ballots. It should be noted that this was merely a representative survey, not a full-scale election. The AP Government classes will be holding a full-fledged mock election, including preliminary debates in coming weeks.
WANTED: Enthusiastic sports fans to write informed articles about St. Luke’s athletic teams. See Mr. Flachsbart
October 2008
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School News
Mr. Havens’ Nature Haven Doug Walker
Sentinel Staff Writer
In the past, St. Luke’s had two nature trails, but both were rarely used and served no purpose. Last year Mr. Havens, the renowned weight lifter and science teacher, took it upon himself to recreate and design a nature preserve especially for St. Luke’s. Planning for a nature walk began four years ago as Mr. Havens’ thesis for his second master’s program, and he developed it into an actuality for his third master’s program. The nature walk designed by Mr. Havens consists of a new boardwalk and gazebo, which encompass the land adjacent to the baseball fields. This area serves primarily for educational purposes, with the gazebo acting as the operative area, where students can record their findings from the nature walk. Construction for the nature walk began last year and was completed over the summer, mostly from the efforts of Mr. Havens and his son, David, a sophomore at St. Luke’s. Besides being aesthetically pleasing, the structure is also environmentally non-intrusive. This means that animals may inhabit the area underneath the boardwalk, which will not interfere with the natural ecosystem residing near the bog.
The second component of the nature facility is the nature trail, which includes one major trail that is a mile long. This mile-long, mulchcovered trail begins at Foote Field and intertwines with trees down a large hill and across a small bridge over a stream. The path continues through more trees and finally ends at the art building. Similar to the nature walk, the nature trail is also dually useful as the main running trail for the cross country team in the fall. If you have not yet walked either the nature trail or walk, I highly recommend doing so, as I found it a great way to appreciate the nature around our school.
Schedule from pg. 1 a day). We also have no ‘passing time’ between classes; the moment one class ends, the next class starts. This means that the bells are no longer used. Mr. Bailey says that this helps decrease stress levels. To compensate for the lack of bells, the school purchased one hundred atomic clocks that always display the same time. However, if the clocks break, someone will have to make an announcement via intercom to get everyone to synchronize watches and clocks. Another major change in the
schedule occurs on Fridays. We no longer come in late on Fridays; that’s on Wednesdays - but now there will be staggered dismissals on Fridays. The middle school will get out earlier than the upper school. This is to try to stop the amount of traffic that builds at pickup time. So far, says Mr. Bailey, there has only been positive feedback and no major complaints. He says that the schedule changes so much every year because the administration wants what is best for the students, so every year they take feedback and make alterations to the schedule.
The Sentinel Staff Editor Alex Fomon Layout Editor Jon Salamon Sentinel Staff Writers Alexandra Jaffe Kelly Wendt Aimee Fox Billy Prince Tess Josel Contributing Writer Doug Walker Kevin Mahoney Faculty Advisor Mr. Flachsbart w/help from Mrs. Zwicker
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October 2008
Presidential debate
McCain, McCAN! Tess Josel Sentinel Staff Writer
Before reading this article any further, feel free to empty your system of any need to regurgitate the various insults commonly hurled upon Senator John McCain. “He’s old!” “He was captured!” “He talks funny!” Say them as many times as you want. But once you have exhausted your desire to inflict verbal “humiliation” upon Sen. McCain, you will have no choice but to recognize him for what he truly is: an intelligent individual, a recognized war hero, a loving husband and father, and quite possibly the next President of the United States. A major point of interest to St. Luke’s students (or at least to those of us who can drive) is that of seemingly ever-rising gas prices. The United States has oil and gas reserves worth trillions of dollars at a time when we are exporting hundreds of billions of dollars overseas to purchase energy. This is the largest transfer of wealth in the history of man. It is ridiculous for Americans to spend so much money purchasing what we already possess. Sen. McCain proposes that Americans keep more money in the United States, while simultaneously lessening our foreign dependency and increasing our domestic supplies. Not only that, but the American trade deficit would be significantly reduced; 41% of that deficit is due to oil imports. As president, John McCain
will offer a Clean Car Challenge to American automakers. For every automaker who can sell a zeroemissions car, McCain will commit a 5,000 dollar tax credit to every single customer who purchases that car. For other vehicles, no matter their make or type, the lower the carbon emissions, the higher the tax credit. Contrary to popular belief, Republicans actually do care about the environment. John McCain will establish a market-based system in an effort to curb the emission of greenhouse gases. A climate capand-trade mechanism would limit greenhouse g a s emissions and allow entities to buy and sell the rights to emit, a program which is very similar to the successful acid rain trading program of the early 1990s. When it comes to the present war in Iraq, Sen. McCain’s solution to the unfortunate situation is wellcalculated with a high chance for success, despite the possible longevity of stationed soldiers. On the other hand, Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama is constantly promising the American people the immediate withdrawal of troops if
he is elected as president. However, what Sen. Obama does not share with the American public is that under the Obama-Biden Plan, a residual force will remain in Iraq to conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al-Qaeda. This force will continue to train and support the Iraqi security forces for “as long as Iraqi leaders move toward political reconciliation.” Does anyone know how long it will take for the Sunnis and Shiites to establish friendly relations? Sen. Obama tells the American people what they want to hear and then, encased in the deepest archives of his website, mentions his plan to KEEP troops in Iraq. Meanwhile, John McCain has kept nothing about his plans for Iraq wrapped in shrouds of secrecy. Sen. McCain has been a leading advocate of the counterinsurgency strategy carried out by General David Petraeus. In 2006, Sen. McCain voted for sending reinforcements to Iraq that would implement a classic insurgency strategy of securing the population. That strategy has since paid off; from June 2007 through March 2008, sectarian and ethnic violence has decreased in Iraq by 90% and deaths of civilians and coalition forces dropped by 70%. Not only that, but an election for provincial governments will take place in late 2008 and one for
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October 2008
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Presidential debate Continued from page 4 national government will occur in 2009. John McCain has stated on many occasions that, “Our goal is an Iraq that no longer needs American troops.” Sen. Obama is so determined to gain the position of “the popular one” that he is willing to promise the American people something that he himself does not support. John McCain tells the American people exactly what he plans to do in Iraq, and in every other area of his political campaign. So, for you lucky Americans who get to vote in this upcoming election, take a step back from the preposterous Democratic slams against John McCain and acknowledge him as the best man for the job. McCain McCAN!
Obamanos! Alexandra Jaffe Sentinel Staff Writer
If you were to ask me which candidate was better, a liberal graduate of Harvard Law, who earned the prestigious spot as president of the Harvard Law Review against a 72-year-old war veteran who graduated in the bottom 1%, 894 out of 899, of his class at the United States Naval Academy, I would say that the answer was blatantly clear. Barack Obama, who if you hadn’t already guessed is the Harvard Law grad, possesses the passion and foresight that our country needs to re-establish itself as a world power. Obama has ignited enthusiasm and interest from people of all ages, ethnicities, and socio-economic
backgrounds to take action and participate in this monumental election. His fresh thinking about pressing issues, from terrorism to immigration to alternative energy to universal health care, has shaped his campaign and attracted the attention and support from Americans of all ages. Obama especially has a stronghold with young America, the new voters of the rising generation who want a president who will improve the country that we live in. We can believe in Obama, the candidate for change. Now let us evaluate the judgment of the candidates. One of the most critical decisions a candidate has to make before presidency is choosing a running mate who embodies values important to the candidate, a running mate who, in a sense, completes the candidate. Obama’s running mate, Joe Biden, could not be a more appropriate choice for the campaign. Biden has served as a senator for 36 years, bringing a voice of experience and familiarity to his partnership with Obama. In a time of such globalization and foreign issues, it is very fitting that Biden currently holds the prominent position of chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
While Obama’s pick for running mate reinforces his sound judgment, McCain’s “Hail Mary” choice of Sarah Palin leaves many people scratching their heads in confusion. Palin’s claim to fame is that she looks like Tina Fey and can field-dress a moose; I’m sure people would agree that these are two crucial prerequisites for a vice president. She has only held office as governor of Alaska for one term, providing virtually no experience whatsoever to McCain’s crusade. It should be noted that in stark contrast to Biden’s expertise on foreign affairs, Palin did not possess a passport until 2006 and traveled from North America for the first time in 2007. It is a statistic that 20% of vice presidents assume presidency, and factoring in McCain’s age and his four bouts with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, the odds seem to be upped in this situation and Palin is quite literally one heartbeat away from being President of the United States. Therefore, due to Obama’s superior education, demonstrable intelligence, support from young America seeking change, and track record of sound decisions, Obama is clearly the better candidate. Support Barack Obama, in whom we can see a visionary with a passionate plan to direct our country for the better.
October 2008
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Arts & Living Metallica Conquers Charts with 9th Album Aimee Fox
Sentinel Staff Writer
American heavy metal band Metallica formed in 1981. They were catapulted to fame in 1991 with their fifth album, their self-titled r e l e a s e , featuring the now legendary single Enter Sandman. Their first number one album sold 22 million albums worldwide, went to number one on music charts all over the world, including the Billboard Rock albums, and is one of the best selling heavy metal albums of all time. In the seventeen years since then, they have released three other number one albums, including 2003’s St. Anger. Now, five years later since their eighth release, with a new producer and a new bass player, the Los Angeles quartet have returned with a new album that reconnects them with their roots. Death Magnetic is the ninth studio album by Metallica. The album is the band’s fifth straight studio album to debut at the top spot on the Billboard music charts. For any devoted fan or even someone who knows only their old singles, this album takes the listener back in time to 1991 with the band’s
characteristic roaring guitars, rapid solos, pounding drums, and raw vocals. For listeners completely new to the band, Death Magnetic is a great example of some of Metallica’s best work. The album starts out heavy with “That Was Just Your Life” and cruises through long pieces of work that range from ballads, such as “The Unforgiven III”, groovier songs such as “Cyanide,” and shredders such as “My Apocalypse” and the lyrics range from brutal to predictable rhymes, all exploring M e t a l l i c a ’s t y p i c a l subjects of darkness, corruption and society. Death Magnetic also features the band’s first instrumental track in years, “Suicide & Redemption.” The only complaints any listener might have about this fine piece of work is the sound production. The only compromise Metallica seems to have made on this album is to the music industry’s increasing need to make music as loud as possible, which many listeners often confuse with quality sound. The loudness, although characteristic of this genre, has passed beyond distortion and has entered levels of a compressed thunderstorm of sound. Despite that fact, Death Magnetic is an excellent album that caters to old fans and
will definitely attract new fans. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
That Was Just Your Life The End of the Line Broken, Beat & Scarred The Day That Never Comes All Nightmare Long Cyanide The Unforgiven III The Judas Kiss Suicide & Redemption My Apocalypse
Sound quality rating: 7/10 Entertainment: 9/10 Singles: “The Day That Never Comes,” “My Apocalypse,” “Cyanide,” “The Judas Kiss,” “The Unforgiven III.” Highlights of the album: “That Was Just Your Life”, “All Nightmare Long”, “The Judas Kiss.”
This Week in History October 14, 1978- Usher was born October 14, 1979- The first Gay Rights March in Washington D.C. October 14, 1982- U.S. President Ronald Reagan proclaims a War on Drugs October 15, 1981- An audience at a sporting event in Oakland, California makes the first wave October 16, 1923- The Walt Disney Company is founded October 16, 1977- John Mayer is born October 17, 1933- Albert Einstein moves to U.S. October 17, 2006- U.S. population reaches 300 million October 18, 1851- Moby Dick by Herman Melville is published October 18, 1987- Zac Efron is born
October 2008
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Arts And Living Pendulum Wins Gold!
with the printer.” A gold certificate from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association is particularly difficult Alexandra Jaffe to earn these days because Columbia Sentinel Staff Writer has raised standards substantially The 2008 edition of the over the past 10 years. The Pendulum staff meets St. Luke’s upper school literary magazine, Pendulum, received regularly on Wednesdays during the gold certificate from the lunch throughout the year to decide Columbia Scholastic Press which pieces of student writing are best suited for the magazine. The 2008/2009 Pendulum staff includes veteran members Alyssa Ericson, Amy Fox, and Sam Fomon, and the new Editors will be Kara Clark (main), Connor Stirland (assistant), and Maren Engh (art).
Burn After Seeing Movie Review by Billy Prince
Association. Coming out annually in May, the Pendulum showcases student writing and artwork. It was awarded 988 points out of a possible 1000. This masterpiece was created under the careful eye of Editor Allie Lee, Assistant Editor Gavin McIntire, and Art Editor Ila Duncan. The cover drawing, by Costa Kensington, received special praise. The Columbia Scholastic Press Association acknowledged the quality of writing in the magazine, from poetry to fiction and nonfiction. Mr. Flachsbart, who has been the faculty advisor for the Pendulum for the past 15 years, expressed his congratulations to the magazine staff and said, “I was particularly impressed that students acted independently in terms of layout and negotiations
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Coen Brother’s bring yet another smart movie about stupid people as a new bag of tricks is unveiled, teasing and toying with you on an emotional roller-coaster ride that doesn’t end until, well, the end. Ethan Coen calls it “our version of a Tony Scott/Jason Bourne kind of movie, without the explosions.” To be honest, this is not a Spy movie, so don’t walk into the theatre expecting drop kicks and escape plots. What you can expect is a movie so chock-full of excessive paradox, dark satirical comedy, and, well, pure fatuity that you leave the theatre with such mixed in a web of emotions you don’t really know what to think.
I must say, Brad Pitt and John Malkovich make for perfect antagonists, and if I could have changed one thing, I would have had the movie focus strictly on them. Pitt is the life of the film, injecting the pitch black comedy with a much needed adrenaline shot of humor for the average man who does not spend his days watching Woody Allen and reading The Onion. Pitt’s IPod supplies the energy to the movie, setting the pace and providing the “bounce in its step.” He embraces his role perfectly and the result is laughsa-plenty. Malkovich, equally impressive, plays an alcoholic exCIA agent who is on the verge of insanity. With the repetition of a well-known obscenity, Malkovich pulls off the role with excellence. Francis McDormand, on the other hand, almost ruins the movie with her sheer stupidity and the fact that her main goal in life is to get plastic surgery and thereby attract a man. I found it impossible to either feel sorry for her or root for her. What makes this movie interesting is the way that the Coen brothers throw these characters together into a whirlwind of infidelity and paradoxical absurdity. They touch, but never really connect, for they are too self-absorbed and/or harebrained to realize their limitations.
October 2008
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Football Team Bounces Back
Ringing in the New:
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sentinel Editor
Note: The SLS team has played several games and had a taste of victory since this article was written. The Sentinel apologizes for the “old news.”
With the imminent departure of Mr. Cantrick looming, several new faces have appeared in the chasms of the college-counseling department. One such newcomer who has already gained much popularity with college hopefuls and students alike is Ms. Bell, whose unique view of the feared admissions process is already resounding with St. Luke’s high schoolers. Prior to her arrival at St. Luke’s, Ms. Bell was a resident of Philadelphia, serving as Dean of Springside, a prominent allgirls school in the City of Brotherly Love. She also held a position at Choate, was a member of admissions at Johns Hopkins, and also was head coordinator of CTY, Center of Talented Youth, a self professed nerd camp which embraces glow sticking, Rocky Horror Picture Show hysteria and other such nerd culture rituals. Needless to say, Ms. Bell is more than aptly qualified to handle the particular brand of Fairfield County madness which surrounds college admissions. Fun was the initial catalyst which caused Ms. Bell to switch to the field of college counseling. She explains how her time spent on the opposite side of the fence in college admissions at Johns Hopkins caused her to wonder about the road not traveled and explore the sometimes-turbulent world of high school college guidance. Now completely submerged in the student side of college admissions, Ms. Bell remarks that her favorite part about college counseling is listening to the student; listening to what they like or
Kevin Mahoney
The St. Luke’s football team lost a heart breaker to competitive and former FAA champion Rye Country Day with the final score of 14-13. St. Luke’s scored a late touchdown on a 25 yard completion from Andrew Bradley to Nick O’Meara but failed to get the extra point. We got the ball back with one minute thirty to go but were unable to get into field goal range. Despite a loss this was the best St. Luke’s has looked all year. This could be attributed to the “new look” offense, with senior co-captain Jake Mozdean as the quarterback. Mozdean brings speed and quickness along with a strong arm to the position. He was able to use more of the field, having a huge day with a total of 120 yards on the ground, including a 52 yard touchdown run. The new offensive models the success of the 2007 Arkansas Razorbacks and also the recent Miami Dolphins. The defense looked strong again, anchored by senior co-captains Ali Watson and Chip Larsen. They both were able to dominate the defensive line only allowing one or two break out plays. Even though St. Luke’s is off to a 0-3 start, they look improved and more determined than pervious years. Coach Brown and company are looking to get a couple W’s on the board this year, next facing Kingswood Oxford. As everyone remembers KO was our first win in two years, so St. Luke’s hopes to repeat their success from last year. The standards are set high and Luke’s plans to live up to the hype.
An Interview with Ms. Bell Alex Fomon
don’t like about a particular institutions and their initial gut reaction to each school, further evidencing that Ms. Bell is fiercely and devoutly dedicated to her students. Despite suffering from the culture shock of her move from Philly to New Canaan, Ms. Bell is quite taken with the students here on the hilltop. She found her new seniors to be surprisingly patient and open to change in response to her acquiring of Mr. Terbell’s college advisees, exclaiming “I thought they would be scared!” Instead, Ms. Bell’s approach to college counseling has been met with open college bound arms. Ms. Bell has strongly asserted that she places her emphasis on college fit over college name while lamenting the decline of the college process to brand name and Ivy League obsession. Ms. Bell is also the students advocate and closest ally in a world where criticism runs rampant. She is strongly supportive but also maintains a reasonable perspective of realism. Emlyn Hilson says of Ms. Bell that, “She really listens to you and genuinely cares about you as a person.” And for those freshman and sophomores carrying on without college guidance and confused about what they should be doing in preparation for junior and senior year, Ms. Bell has the best advice: figure out who you are. Suffice it to say that Ms. Bell is quickly becoming both a valued and beloved asset at this school and we are thrilled to have her with us, so introduce yourself to Ms. Bell next time you see her passing in the hallway for she may be your meal ticket to higher learning.