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Tabor Academy’s Student Newspaper Volume 95, Number 4
February 2021
Sophomore Wins Writing Award Rayne Xue ’23 Earns Honorable Mention by Tessa Mock Rayne Xue is a talented sophomore from Beijing, China. She turned 16 on February 8, she resides in Baxter dormitory, and her favorite class right now is Honors US History with Ms. Kaplan. In December, Rayne entered an essay she had written for her English class to the annual Scholastics Art and Writing Competition. There were 2,732 submissions in Massachusetts: Rayne’s earned an Honorable Mention. Every year the sophomores write a personal essay about “the things they carry.” Rayne wrote a beautiful piece about her family. She was stuck on campus and unsure of what was lying ahead for her and her family. Rayne was stuck due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Her essay is about an experience she had while on vacation in Sanya, she beautifully ties feelings of insecurity back to the story she now says she remembers fondly. After hitting her head and needing to receive stitches, she shows how her family helped her through a high adrenaline moment in her childhood. The “things she carries” is the “faith in the strength of her family’s bond.” The “Things I Carry” essay asks students to pick a specific object or experience to anchor the essay. Narrowing down to one of either can be hard. For Rayne, though, “Writing the Sanya story out wasn’t hard since [she} remembers the experience quite distinctly, and everything [she] wrote was true. However, it was difficult to make it concise.” To meet the word limit, she “needed to select moments that are indispensable to the story.” She did not have any difficulty recalling such a specific memory: “...I think of it
as a light, funny memory by now, and what rendered the memory not scary was how my family helped me go through the crisis successfully. This is very similar to my experience with the COVID crisis, where I never felt alone because of my family’s support. Both experiences revolved around the theme of the strength of family bonds, and this is why the Sanya memory was the first thing that came to my mind when I decided to juxtapose the COVID crisis with another childhood experience.” While some students find it difficult to figure out exactly what they want to say in their essay, others have too many stories they want to share and it becomes difficult for them to pick one. “Before I decided to write this,” Rayne explained, “I considered writing about how I transition from one culture to another. In the end, I chose to write the Sanya experience because it resembled a story with complete rising actions, climax, and a resolution, which made it fun to write.” Writing in first-person point of view is rare for many students, who have become accustomed to writing in an objective, third-person point of view. Rayne prefers writing in and reading third person POV but she enjoyed experimenting with first-person POV because it conveys the story to the audience in an intimate way.
Rayne wants to continue to become an even better writer than she already is. She is an excellent writer and deserves recognition for the beautiful essay she has written and now shared with the Tabor community.
The Thing I Carry by Rayne Xue
When the Coronavirus began to wreak global havoc in March, I was stuck in America, half a world away from my family in Beijing. In those days, as flights back home to China were canceled, I felt like a fish on a chopping board: tied-up, powerless, awaiting the inevitable blow of a kitchen knife. This knife, in my case, was the imminent closure of my school’s dormitories. Then, I would have nowhere to go.
With so many uncertainties clouding my future, my parents’ frequent video calls offered me a sense of security. On a particularly distressing morning, I woke up to discover that further connecting flights from Hong Kong to Beijing were banned. Amid my family’s discussion about our next move, my mind drifted back to a different crisis we confronted eleven years ago.
Under a horizon blushed with a smooth blend of crimson and orange, my family relaxed on Sanya’s beach. With unfettered glee, my father and I jumped in and out of the waves as they climbed the shore. When the water ebbed, I knelt and scooped up sand with my tiny fists. Giggling mischievously, I splattered the sand on my father’s chest. He bellowed, feigning outrage. Delighted, I sloshed up more sand until both of us were drenched. The pleasure of playing on the beach all evening came at the cost of being commanded to shower. My mother tested the water temperature while I bounced around the room, still elated from my day of raucous play. “The water is warm now, Rayne,” my mother called. “Come here!”
“Coming!” I answered, dashing into the bathroom. But before I could take my mother’s hand, I landed on something slippery and lost my balance. The view of the room contorted in a blur and pain pierced the back of my head. I cried out in agony. Tears obscured the sight of a crimson color seeping into the water surrounding me. I remember being carried by my parents into the backseat of a taxi. On the way to the hospital, I lay on my mother’s lap and watched the passing streetlamps illuminating her anxious face.
“Mama,” I whispered, “I’ll recite some ancient poems for you, to make sure that I’m not going dumb. Listen: ‘Before my bed a pool of light. Can it be hoarfrost on the ground? Looking up, I find the moon bright. Bowing, in homesickness, I’m drowned’……” A small laugh slipped from my mother’s lips: “Excellent. Can you do ‘Spring Dawn’?”
I could. And as my mother listened attentively, correcting where I misremembered, our fear slowly ebbed like ocean waves.
After the doctor ensured us that there was no severe damage, my parents accompanied me into the surgery room, where I received four stitches and a bandage on my head. “My head looks like a pear in the supermarket.” I commented, and my parents grinned in relief. Eleven years later, sitting in my empty dorm room, my parents’ support and reassurance once again became my most potent consolation. That night in Sanya left me with more than a scar on the back of my head. What I have carried since is a faith in the strength of my family’s bond: we had weathered crises before, and we could do so again.
Featured Athlete
Love in the Time of Coronavirus: A Quarantine Valentine
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This winter, as Tabor reopens its campus for boarding and day students, Juliette Piersol ’23 is eager to continue her second year on the Girls’ Varsity Hockey team.
Juliette Piersol
A gifted athlete, Juliette began her hockey career at the age of four. With her father and elder brother both being competitive hockey players, hockey is her way to “follow their footsteps” and to “be able to relate to them on some level.” Almost twelve years later, Juliette’s talent, passion, and devotion to hockey have allowed her to soar. She is most proud of her experience of getting involved in a national tournament in California, where she “made it far” playing “the best teams all around the country.”
For starters, making cards is always a good go-to. Make them for your family, friends, a teacher, or anyone special to you to show them they’re appreciated and loved. Also, it’s always fun to spend time with friends on this day: take a trip to Dunks, watch a movie (preferably a chick flick), or go for a hike/walk. If you’re good in the kitchen and are feeling up to a little creative challenge, I saw Valentine’s Dayinspired charcuterie boards on Pinterest that looked both yummy and aesthetically pleasing. It seems like a charcuterie board would be fun to put together, either for or with someone else. Finally, I think exchanging gifts with friends or family is an awesome idea. You can get your chocolates and teddy bear without being in a relationship, and it’s always fun to give gifts as well! I hope that you make the most out of this Valentine’s Day, because there’s only one day a year dedicated strictly for showing people you love them. Have fun, embrace the day, and spread lots of love!
Juliette loves hockey particularly because of the friends she can make while playing the sport. “It’s nice to be able to separate my social life at school and home and go to my practice or game with a bunch of new people and be myself around all of them,” Juliette explained. “I think it’s really cool that I have friends around from everywhere just because of the sport I play. I also get to play it with people that I love.”
Featured Dorm Room
Her favorite aspect of being on the hockey team is spending time in the locker room with her friends. Before the pandemic, the locker room was where Juliette listened to music, danced, and chatted with her friends.
Currently, Juliette practices hockey six days a week. Though social distancing did not change her practice routines much, she looks forward to playing games again after COVID.
Valentine’s Day is sneaking up quickly, and whether or not you’re a fan of the holiday, at least it’s a day to spice up a monotonous New England February. The day is what you make it, so I hope that you can find a way to celebrate, whether it be with a special someone, friends, or family. If you’re in need of ideas for something to do this Sunday without a significant other, I’ve got you covered!
Illustration by Silvia Chen
by Rayne Xue
by Meghan MacDonald
by Anastasia Kinsley
In each issue of The Log, we’ll feature one entry in the dorm room contest. We’ll announce the winner once we’ve published all the photos!
Juliette with Chloe Trudel ’22. Photo by Amanda Clark’ 21.
A Little Bit of Marion History
Maisy Holch ’23
Maisy’s fun and colorful room in Cornelia is decked out with great decor. She painted and drew ALL of the artwork on the walls. She is crazy talented!! The neon lights are fun and add pops of color to her walls. Her banner with her name on it is a great use of wall space and adds a touch of personalization. Also, a mask holder is essential nowadays, and Maisy cleverly incorporated her masks into her room design.
Singles:
by Alex Fox While it is not very well known there is quite an interesting piece of military history in Marion. The Kittansett Golf Club located at the end of Point Road on the peninsula across from Silvershell Beach was once a military emplacement during World War II.
To find out more about this subject, I interviewed Mark Milhench ’89, former president of the Kittansett Club. I also talked with Leslie Piper at the Sippican Historical Society. Almost immediately after the start of WWII, the Kittansett Club was told they had to relinquish control of their land so the military could effectively guard the Cape Cod Canal against U-boats. U-boats were early submarines used by the Nazis in WWII to sink ships or sneak spies onto land. To deter and destroy the U-boats, two 155 mm guns were placed on Panama mounts. Panama mounts have cylindrical concrete columns in the center to support the guns and have a steel rail on the outside in which the guns’ support arms are moved. The gun emplacements were finished in early 1942.
Photos courtesy Maisy Holch
The bunkers were close enough to defend the Cape Cod Canal; the range of the 155 mm guns is 12-14 miles and the distance across the bay from Kittansett about four miles. The two artillery guns remained in place, never firing a shot. In 1943, they were replaced by AMTB 934 (Anti Motor Torpedo Boat 934). This emplacement consisted of four 90 mm guns that could target boats but were also effective against U-boats or aircraft. Two of the guns were placed on fixed mounts while two were movable. These also never fired a shot. The site was fully decommissioned in 1946, and the land returned back to the club. Currently, one 155 m gun mount remains fully uncovered while the other is partially overgrown. The 90 mm gun mounts still exist on both sides of the bunkers. I hope this article inspires you to investigate your own local history.
Photos courtesy Sippican Historical Society
Maisy’s room in Cornelia: Maisy’s fun and colorful room is decked out with great decor. She Editorial painted Board: and drew ALL of the Co-Editors: Photo Editor: Hailey Cohen Alex Fox Tracy Fang artwork on the walls. She is crazy talented!! The neon lights are fun and add pops of color to her Grace Crowley Olivia Justice walls. Her banner with her name on it is a great use of wall space and adds a touch of Photography: Meghan MacDonald Anastasia Kinsley personalization. Also,produced a mask holder is essentialTessa nowadays, Mock and Maisy Pipercleverly McKerrowincorporated Photoher Pool The Tabor Log is the student newspaper of Tabor Academy. The Log is distributed Niya Plynton masks into her room design. to students, faculty and staff.
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