T he L og thelog@taboracademy.org
Tabor Academy’s Student Newspaper Volume 92, Number 1
October 2017
Table to Farm: Sustainability in Practice Tabor's former furniture gets new use by Maddy LaCasse
Photos by Hannah Strom
(Clockwise from left) Round the Bend Farm’s conference room, classroom, and Desa Van Laarhoven
The biggest change for the Tabor Community this school year, besides the new scheduling of the academic day, is our brand new dining hall. Most of the community is so enthralled with the new chairs and tables that few stop to wonder what the dining hall did with the old ones. Mr. Sirianni, however, did not just throw our tables and chairs away, but instead donated them to Round the Bend Farm, a new nonprofit farm in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where they are being used as part of their movement to practice, encourage, and educate about sustainability.
When remodeling the dining hall, Mr. Sirianni emphasized how important it was to him that the tables and chairs did not “ just end up in the trash” and go to waste. Will Saltonstall ’82 of Saltonstall Architects put him in touch with Desa Van Laarhoven, Executive Director of Round the Bend Farm, who was remodeling her farm, in a way that reflected her passion for sustainability. She, like Mr. Sirianni, also did not want perfectly good tables and chairs to go to waste, so she took them to the farm where they have found a new home in classrooms used to educate the surrounding community about sustainability and to encourage an appreciation for nature. On a tour at Round the Bend Farm, walking around the newly constructed buildings, Desa talked about the farm’s mission and remodeling process, showing that she practices what she preaches. In addition to sustainability, the farm’s other three main missions are to: “value diversity, not just in terms of race, but also in nature and
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All-a-Eat-o, p. 2. Three championship seasons, p. 3.
farming; model nature; and redefine wealth.” She practiced all four of these beliefs throughout the renovation, by “using everything in its fullest form,” which Desa and the farm believe is the best way to promote sustainability. She spoke about how she was willing to endure more difficulties and work harder to promote sustainability in her new buildings because she has made “sustainability a priority” in her life. When the builders were installing the wooden floors in the classroom, they would keep asking her if she wanted to throw out the pieces of wood that were shorter than the rest or had slight imperfections, but she insisted on using the wood in its fullest form. She emphasized that, to her, “it is common sense to use all you have” and she hopes to inspire this philosophy in the community by sharing her way of life. With the new renovation, which includes a large classroom built with local wood, a kitchen for producing and teaching about healthy, fresh food from the farm, bathrooms with composting toilets, solar panels providing power, an exquisite tile floor made with extra tiles that people had lying around, and Tabor’s tables and chairs, the farm is on a mission to educate the community and promote sustainability through leading by example. Tabor’s old tables and chairs did not end up going to waste in a landfill somewhere, but instead will be used to help the passionate, hardworking team at Round the Bend Farm on their mission to empower the local community through teaching and modeling sustainability.
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! O AT
by Mary Hanrahan
Welcome to our new series, where I, Mary Hanrahan, will be traveling to various food establishments in Marion, comparing the quality of the food, with its price and convenience, to discover the best establishments with the best value for Tabor students. This time, I traveled to three locations: the Dining Hall, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Uncle Jon’s, and ate a breakfast of coffee and a sesame bagel at each to determine which location truly has the best breakfast. Dining Hall
My first stop required me to travel about 50 feet from my dorm to our brand new dining hall. I started with a small cardboard cup of Jim’s Coffee. Though convenient and bottomless, I found that it left a burnt taste in my mouth, with a few stray coffee grounds at the bottom of my cup. The dining hall didn’t serve sesame bagels, so unfortunately my comparison was slightly compromised and I ate a plain bagel instead. I liked that I was in complete control over how toasted my bagel would be, but even when warmed up, the bagel was dense and chewy. The price and location of this spot made it the most convenient. However, the taste and variety of the meal was slightly limited. Dunkin’ Donuts
As I ventured off campus through the town of Marion, I entered the New England staple establishment of Dunkin Donuts with high hopes. I received my food promptly, despite my poor planning and oversight of the fact that 10 o’clock on a Sunday morning at a coffee shop is equivalent to a Best Buy on Black Friday. Luckily, I was able to dive into my meal after weaving through a maze of countless flustered soccer moms clutching their “Boxes O’ Joe” for dear life.
Photo by Eli Hjerpe at Uncle Jon’s
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Mary’s favorite: a coffee, bagel, and cream cheese from Uncle Jon’s
For my beverage I decided to keep it simple with a small hot black coffee. My serving was a bit small, but it was very warm. The coffee was weak with no distinguishable flavor other than a slight cardboard aftertaste. For the price I paid, $1.85, I was left slightly disappointed with the product. My sesame bagel was warm, evenly toasted, and generously buttered. However, the cream cheese that was given to me on the side was dense, nearly frozen, and a dollar extra. The seed distribution on the bagel left something to be desired. Nearly devoid of seeds, the bagel was nearly indistinguishable from its plain counterparts perched behind the cashiers. The price of the bagel and cream cheese together was $2.75. While my meal was slightly better than that at the dining hall, I don’t know if it was worth the trip off campus or the extra $4.88. Uncle Jon’s
As I braved the treacherous voyage across Route 6, I hoped that I could find a coffee-bagel combination to raise my spirits after Dunkin’ Donuts’ disappointing showing. I ordered a small black coffee, and despite the price of $1.88 that was nearly identical to Dunkin’ Donuts’, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my beverage was a larger serving than what I had been served at the previous location. I also found that Uncle Jon’s provided the strongest and least burnt tasting coffee. The coffee proved to be worth the purchase, but the real star of my of my order was the sesame bagel. Perfectly toasted, generously buttered, and liberally coated with seeds, this fluffy masterpiece truly won my heart. The cream cheese I received on the side was an excellent texture, significantly lighter, and easier to spread than what I had found before. Even with cream cheese on the side, my order clearly outshone that of Dunkin’ Donuts’ and came in at $4.82, six cents cheaper than DD’s price of $4.88. I would encourage anyone to either brave the journey, if you are traveling to the actual Uncle Jon’s, or to pay the extra price, if you are at the Beebe, because the breakfast you get will be the best around.
Another Change in the Tabor Community by Hannah Frisch
With the changes to the schedule and dining hall also comes changes to Tabor’s Dean System. The system has been restructured from a dean for each class to one dean for freshmen and sophomores and one for senior and juniors. Mr. Cleary, the Freshman and Sophomore Class Dean and Mr. Millette, the Junior and Senior Class Dean, are responsible for the needs of individual students in regard to transitions and discipline. To supplement this aspect of the student support system, there are new class advisors, one for each grade, whose role is to facilitate class bonding. Ms. Parente, Mr. Sandefer, Ms. McCarthy, and Mrs. Reimold
are the new class advisors for the freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, respectively. Ms. McCarthy, Junior Class Advisor, says she hopes that “...having the one class advisor and one dean system can separate the discipline out of the class advisor’s role...[enhancing] community building and strengthening class unity.” Another positive with the new system is that she “...know[s] exactly what needs to be done” and can, therefore, efficiently complete tasks. Mrs. Bride, the Dean of Students, believes the new system will help students “benefit [from] this integrated and comprehensive system of student support.” Continued on page 3.
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Photos by Photo Pool
Aly Hussein, New England Champion in Cross Country, Squash, and Track for 2016-2017.
A One of a Kind Three-peat by Owen Sughrue
Last year, Aly Hussein won New England Championships in three sports: cross country, squash, and track. A pretty incredible accomplishment for anyone, Aly won these championships in only his sophomore year competing against athletes up to three years his senior. Based on our research, we could find no other high school athlete to ever win three New England Championships in a single year, making Aly’s accomplishment even more astonishing. In the fall, Tabor hosted the Cross Country New England Championships, where several members of the cross country team performed well, including Yudai Yamakawa ’19, Sam Gordon ’19, Alec Durkin ’19 with Aly finishing first, followed by recent graduate Archie Valazquez ’17. These results accurately represented the extremely successful season for not just Aly, but the boys’ cross country team as a whole. Tabor finished the season with an exclamation point at the New England Championships as Aly won the individual and the team won the overall Championship. Asked about his improvement from a year ago, Aly says, “After arriving at Tabor, I learned the value of fitness in athletics and I think it has helped me in all three sports here.” During the winter season, Aly had another amazing couple of months, winning all of his matches against the #1 players from schools like Belmont Hill, Avon Old Farms, and Nobles. The culminating end to his season came with winning the New England Championship against “Brooks’ Aly,” Aly Abou El Enein, a senior at Brooks School. The New England Championship was held at St. Paul’s in Concord, NH, and while the team did well, Aly was outstanding, beating the #1 players from Hopkins, Brunswick, Hotchkiss, and Brooks. In the final, Aly won five
games, coming back from 8-4 down in the fourth game to beat Aly Abou El Enein. While every championship was uniquely special, Aly says “Squash has been my favorite sport for as long as I can remember. To get a New England Championship is very special and being part of last year’s team was special as well.” Thinking about how track and cross country might help with squash, Aly mentions, “Cross country and track help me a lot in the squash season, especially with fitness and conditioning. I think they have certainly made me a better squash player since coming to Tabor.” And, in the spring, you can probably guess how Aly finished in the New England Championship track meet. He continued his winning streak from both the fall and winter season by winning the 3000 meter race, with a time of 9:01.45. Similar to Cross Country, the boys’ track and field team performed excellently, finishing second in the team championships.
One of the best parts of Tabor is the spirit and support of the all the sports teams by the community. The turf is always packed with fans on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the fall and spring, while the Fish is always crowded in the winter with the fans supporting hockey, squash, basketball, and wrestling. For Aly, winning three New England championships is incredible, and a place like Tabor makes the feat perhaps a little more special. Aly came in as a great athlete of course, but his commitment to fitness and the support of the Tabor community has helped him get to where he is today. As he is only a junior, the whole school excitedly awaits to see him continue to excel again this year in all three seasons.
Continued from page 2.
In addition to the dean and class advisor changes, Ms. Richard, the Director of Library Services, is working with Mr. Cleary in hopes to assume his former position as the Day Student Coordinator. Mr. Cleary and Ms. Richard will work together for a while, and eventually Ms. Richard will be the single person in charge, helping to alleviate some of Mr. Cleary’s and Mr. Millette’s workload. Often feeling like a day student herself, Ms. Richard wanted to become involved as an advocate for day students, and she felt that her position, living off campus, could help her achieve this goal and connect with the day students. One of her goals
for this year is to “make a permanent space for day students to put their things and a place that they can call their own.” Her role as Director of Library Services could assist her in this goal by helping to make “the library a place that day students feel comfortable.”
Like all the other changes to our school this year, how powerful and positive an impact the carefully orchestrated restructure of the Dean’s Office will have on the students and our community will emerge as year progresses.
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T he L og k o o N x i l f t e N
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Co-Editors: Danielle Plunkett Madison LaCasse Managing Editors: Sydney Farrell (Layout) Hannah Frisch (News) Mary Hanrahan (Opinions) Abigail LaCasse (Arts/Features) Owen Sughrue (Sports) Photography: Photo Pool
Faculty Advisor: Helene Sughrue