The Horace Mann Record, Issue 11

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HORACE MANN’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1903

DECEMBER 14TH, 2018 || VOLUME 116, ISSUE 11

Renowned poet Brenda Shaughnessy visits school Head Handed

Brenda Shaughnessy Stop belonging to me so much, face-head.

Leave me to my child and my flowers.

I can’t run with you hanging on to me like that.

It’s like having ten dogs on a single lead and no talent for creatures.

No hands, no trees. Not my dogs, nobody’s.

Don’t you have a place to go, face-head?

Deep into the brick basement of another life?

To kill some time, I mean. That furnace light could take a shine to you.

There are always places, none of them mine.

And always time—rainbow sugar show Julia Isko/Staff Photographer

MARK MY WORDS Poet Brenda Shaughnessy visits the school to speak at the biennial poetry assembly and read selections of her work.

John Mauro Staff Writer Last Tuesday at the biennial poetry assembly, keynote speaker and renowned poet Brenda Shaughnessy read and discussed several of her poems.

The assembly attempts to showcase poets from every part of the writing spectrum, Chair of the Library Department Caroline Bartels said. Shaughnessy is the first female Asian American poet to be featured at the event.

“We try to feature poets from various backgrounds because they all had different experiences throughout their lives,” Bartels said. “Shaughnessy is also openly lesbian, and that adds to the mix of voices we’d like students to hear.

“I was talking to a historian about Book Day and visiting poets and he called [Shaughnessy] over and we started talking,” Bartels said.

“When Mr. Wilson reached out about what poet we might want for this year, Mr. Bauld had a list of poets he would love to bring in and Brenda Shaughnessy was first

on his list,” Bartels said.

English Department Chair Vernon Wilson assigned his 11th grade classes several of Shaughnessy’s poems before the assemblies, pulling works from her books So Much Synth and Andromeda, he said.

“The language is beautiful and the emotion is alive and raw. There’s a lot of complexity in her work, and the way she structures her poems intentionally make it tangible,” Wilson said. “Her language itself often challenges our expectations of logic and linear progression. It made discussions with my students exciting, but also challenging because it made unpacking the emotionally dense poems difficult,” he said.

English teacher Dr. Adam Casdin thought many of Shaughnessy’s poems were self-explorational, he said. “Many of her poems are reflective and have a double narrative. They exist in two time frames; past experience and current reflection.

Reflecting the experience often gives the poem critical awareness,” he said.

Ben Hu (12) found Shaughnessy’s

of jimmies falling from ice cream’s sky— but that stuff’s extra, it’s never in supply.

“Never,” however, acres of it. Violet beans

explanations of her writing and editing and sarcasm. Too many flavors of it. processes useful, he said.

All those prodigal particles, “It’s refreshing and helpful for students flimsily whimsical miracles, an embarrassment who write poetry to see that she’s human too,” Wilson said. “Her talking about of glitches. The chorus just more us. failure and not knowing the impact of But nowhere bare and slippery have I her poems was really good for students to hear,” he said. got a prayer. If I had two hands “It was interesting to hear how her poetry to rub together I wouldn’t waste the air. and her writing process are so intimately connected to her interests outside poetry and how the two heavily influence each other,” English teacher Sarah McIntyre said.“During the assembly she talked about her past and her ongoing work, and what she called her ‘obsessions.’”

“Her poems are very powerful, but I feel the assembly didn’t do her works justice” said Ashley Dai (11). “I wish she talked more about the meanings behind them,” she said.

Rachel Zhu (10) felt Shaughnessy was different than the speakers usually featured in assemblies because she was less scripted, she said. “It made her feel more connected Artist Juli Moreira’s rendition of Shaughnessy’s Head Handed. to the audience,” Zhu said.

Students attend screening of blockbuster Beautiful Boy Gabby Kepnes Staff Writer

INSIDE

Head of the Upper Division Dr. Jessica Levenstein emailed an invitation to attend a private screening of film Beautiful Boy followed by a talk-back with actor Timothée Chalamet and Nic Sheff to upperclassmen students this last Monday.

Based on the memoirs Beautiful Boy and Tweak by David and Nic Sheff respectively, the film captures the story of how when Nic Sheff ’s addiction threatened to destroy him, his father, David, did everything in his power to save his son.

Kathie Berlin P’90 planned the event after seeing the movie at the Toronto Film Festival, she said.

“I thought that this would be a film that kids should see and, in addition, it would be a great conversation they could have at school or with their parents,” Berlin said.

After speaking to Amazon Studios, the company handling the movie’s press, Berlin decided New York City kids should be invited to the screening, including students from Chalamet’s former high school, Laguardia High School of Music and Performing Arts.

Berlin ended up calling ten schools in the

SDLC

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already been exposed to certain drugs already,” Chalamet said. “The point of the movie is not to romanticize or glorify drugs but to understand how horrible the exposure of it is,” he said.

Sheff explained that at a certain point in his life, he was using more drugs than he ever had before, and that his then-girlfriend encouraged him to run away to continue using drugs, he said.

“If I went with her, we were going to die, and it was going to be real death, like the end of everything; death,” Sheff said. “It was an ‘ahor t i Ed ws ha’ moment which I saw it so clearly, SCREEN TIME Panelists at the screening discuss themes and takeaways from the film.

Ne / g r nbe and where I realized that I didn’t want to lde city, ranging from public to private, and about control addiction. Even if you Go e i t a die, I actually wanted to live and that feeling K 300 students attended. deal with it for your whole life, it’s changed everything.”

“Based on what I saw last year when the uncontrollable,” Sophie Coste (12) said.

The film exceeded Claire Griffin’s (11) author of Call Me By Your Name visited “When I was in high school, I never learned expectations.

“The film was so much more campus, I knew we were going to have many about emotions because no matter the occasion intense than I had ever imagined,” she said. students who would be interested in a Timothée I would resort to getting high,” Sheff said. “I “[Recovery is] not always a straight road, Chalamet movie,” Levenstein said. never learned how to really cope with physical but the fact that recovery is possible is really During the post-film conversation, Sheff feelings.” said that the film is about the internal struggle During the Q&A, Marli Katz (11) posed an honor to be able to speak about,” Sheff said. he had based on his brain chemistry. a question for Chalamet: “As someone who “When I was trying to get sober, I found that I “You have to really believe that addiction is recently graduated high school, is there a had no idea how to exist in this world without a brain disease and it has to be treated like a certain message you want kids our age to take drugs until I realized that it’s possible to live an incredible life sober. There’s a lot of hope disease,” Sheff said. away?” Katz said.

“The film showed me that you cannot “People in high school have probably out there.”

Abi Kraus/Photo Editor

Charles Simmons and Adam Frommer reflect on their conference experiences

The Great HM Bake-off

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Students battle for culinary glory and bragging rights in the kitchen.

MD in Maine

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All about the Middle Division’s production of Almost, Maine.

@hm.record @thehoracemannrecord Horace Mann School 231 W 246th St, Bronx, NY 10471

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THE RECORD OPINIONS DECEMBER 14TH, 2018

Using white privilege to combat racial injustice

Adam Frommer As a white male, I have never really known my place in discussing race and identity. Not knowing my role has lead to my inaction against racial injustices. But, the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), taught me that I have to speak up in the conversation about race.

At SDLC, we spent the majority of the day in discussions, sharing our experiences among a diverse group. Towards the end of the day, however, we moved into “Affinity Groups,” which brought together students with similar selfidentifications to discuss issues that stemmed from their shared identity.

Upon entering the white affinity group everybody seemed out of place. Other affinity groups were supposed to have celebrations.

The other rooms were places of expression and pride. Were we about to have a celebration of white people? It seemed wrong to celebrate the privilege that we have.

Rather then celebrating we stood awkwardly.

One of the facilitators, John Gentile Co-Director of the office for Identity, Culture, and Institutional Equity, instructed us to play a game in which we fought against our intuition. When he said “go,” we would stop. When he said “stop,” we would go and so on. With so many instructions to think of and process, we all made mistakes. Beyond our inability to follow these directions, we were incredibly bewildered as to why we would play a seemingly trivial game.

Gentile explained that people of color understand the challenge of thinking twice before acting. But, we were confused by the very nature of playing the game because we, being white, had never experienced this sort of challenge before.

I soon realized that the next hour would not be a celebration of our identity, but rather a place to discuss what it means to be white. After the game, the facilitators continued to push us out of our comfort zone. We were randomly paired up and had to talk about a prompt: what we do think of when we hear the topic of race come up?

I sensed apprehension from the group. Was there even a correct answer? “I feel guilty that I was born with white privilege that I don’t deserve,” my partner said.

The facilitators encouraged us to lean into the discomfort, and think of why it felt so weird being in this group talking about our whiteness.

At that moment, I understood that as a white male, I have the responsibility to talk openly about my privilege. To combat racism, the first step is to acknowledge it. That means being fully

present in situations, and stepping into others’ shoes. It isn’t possible to further any change without recognizing societal imbalance. If we don’t pause to think about what aspects of our own identity give us our privilege, incidents of racism can pass us by. It’s easy to say that certain places, like the hallways of HM or tight-knit sports teams, have equal opportunity, but that mindset morphs into ignorance all too quickly.

Change cannot be made without our constant attention to our own privilege even in situations where that privilege might not be so apparent.

After we distinguish and sympathise, we have to act. Having racial privilege in society means that I am responsible for changing that. My privilege allows our voices to be heard while others are silenced. Privilege, whether that is

Charles Simmons For the last sixteen years, I never understood how central my race is to who I am. This past weekend it took center stage as I attended the Student Diversity Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. This year’s theme was “Finding Harmony Amid Cacophony.”

After listening to stories from students across the country and grappling with how they relate to our school community, I have drawn two conclusions. One, Horace Mann is becoming more diverse which is, of course, a good thing.

Two, we still have a lot of work to do. The problem at our school is not necessarily the absence of diversity in our student body but rather a lack of discussion and attention to the issues that divide our community. Just because our school is inclusive and welcoming does not mean that people feel like they can talk freely about their identity and the things that make us different.

In my time at HM, I have seen strides of improvement. In sixth grade, I remember being one of two African-American boys. Now, as a junior in high school, I have eight other AfricanAmerican boys in my graduating class. For comparison, in last year’s senior class, there were

Volume 116 Editorial Board Managing Editor Betsey Bennett

Editor in Chief Lynne Sipprelle

Features Abby Kanter Megha Nelivigi

News Katie Goldenberg Surya Gowda

Lions’ Den Natasha Stange Brody McGuinn William Han

Photography Abigail Kraus Ahaan Palla Jake Shapiro

Faculty Adviser David Berenson

Issues Editor Sadie Schwartz

Opinions Rebecca Siegel Abigail Goldberg-Zelizer Art Directors Juli Moreira Jackson Robers

Middle Division Sandhya Shyam

A&E Peri Brooks Jeren Wei Design Editors Allison DeRose Caroline Kaplan

Online Editor Henry Wildermuth

Courtesy of Dr. Oldham

GROUP SHOT SDLC members pose in Nashville.

Diversity is not the same as open dialogue 13 African-American and Latino students in total.

In this year’s senior class, there are 21 African American and Latino students, almost double the previous class. In my grade, there are 22. Of the 22 in my grade, only four are Latino, which shows that our diversity is still literally a “black and white” mindset. Nevertheless, the numbers show how Horace Mann is moving in the right direction.

At SDLC, I was presented with alarming testimonials and anecdotes from students of color across the country. One of the most striking stories that I heard was from someone who told me that he had been asked at his school if he knew how to tie a noose. At Horace Mann, we’ve done a great job of limiting this type of harmful language so much so that I was taken aback by the discrimination that is common for students outside of our zero-tolerance community.

One of the powers of the HM bubble is its ability to shield us from recognizing how privileged we are. At Horace Mann, we are given the opportunity to participate in an illusion that the things that differentiate us, like race or gender or socioeconomic status don’t afford us different opportunities.

When HM students talk about diversity, I have witnessed mainly two strands of thought.

The first is that diversity is a forced reality; that it is the righting of slavery and how white people assuage their ancestral guilt while persons of color must delicately balance cultural authenticity with cultural conformity. This mindset is harmful because the conversation is centered around the removal of white guilt rather than a genuine goal to create a society in which all voices are heard. Moreover, this creates racial nuances by constructing a dynamic in which the same people who benefit from diversity feel uncomfortable admitting so under the spotlight and students of color almost must validate themselves to their white

socioeconomic status, religion, race, sexual orientation, ability, family structure, geographic location, or gender, allows people to have a foot in the door somewhere that others don’t. It is imperative to take advantage of that privilege and use it to promote positive change.

But, I also have to know my place in fighting inequality. It is important that I be an ally in any way that I can, but that I don’t take control of the issue myself. While my white privilege allows me to help, it isn’t my place to take control. I should help as much as possible, but I don’t face the same problems that people of color do, so I can’t speak for them.

I have to acknowledge my place in racism. I have to show up. I have to be an ally. But it isn’t my movement.

counterparts. They feel almost as if they should be “grateful” just to be apart of the conversation.

This reluctance to speak up effectively silences people of color. One of the ways we tackled the awkwardness around uncomfortable topics was using something called “Anti-Fragility” in which we agreed that by pacifying our opinions, we were simply making it tougher to actually have the conversations that needed to be had.

The second, diversity is an all-inclusive reality in which all cultural groups are represented and voices are heard. This is what our environment often seems to lack. The ability to allow people to feel comfortable enough to openly talk about the issues that affect us all as a community. Diversity only works however when everyone has a voice at the table. People of all different races, genders, religions, political affiliations and socioeconomic statuses bring a diverse range of opinions and allows for equal representation as well as the elimination of an “other.”

The recent Affirmative Action Forum held

by East Wind West Wind and the Union is an example of this mentality. The forum focused on the Harvard diversity lawsuit with regards to Affirmative Action which is a controversial policy which favors those who tend to suffer from discrimination, African Americans and Hispanics in particular, and how this affects Asian Americans in the college admission process. It’s a controversial topic which affects many in our college-obsessed community. On paper, it seems as all this would do is further drive a wedge between two minority groups and only reaffirm either side’s belief in their respective opinions. Causing African American students to believe that the policy is an effective equalizer to obtaining institutional equity and Asian American students to believe that the policy is effectively discriminating against them and robbing them of spots they feel they have earned.

In actuality, both sides came to the table to

Staff Writers Malhaar Agrawal, Laura Bae, Andrew Cassino, Mayanka Dhingra, Victor Dimitrov, Amelia Feiner, Mark Fernandez, Nelson Gaillard, Leonora Gogos, Jude Herwitz, Edwin Jin, Spencer Kahn, Samuel Keimweiss, Suraj Khakee, Gabrielle Kepnes, Madison Li, Noah Phillips, Eliza Poster, Julia Robbins, Kiara Royer, Abigail Salzhauer, Ranya Sareen, Nishtha Sharma, Griffin Smith, Benjamin Wang, Robbie Werdiger, Simon Yang, Isabella Zhang, Bradley Bennett, Sogona Cisse, Jack Crovitz, Jackson Feigin, Adam Frommer, Andie Goldmacher, Marina Kazarian, John Mauro, Henry Owens, Emily Shi, Samuel Singer, Sasha Snyder, Vivien Sweet, Joshua Underberg, Talia Winiarsky Staff Photographers Eva Fortunato, Iliana Dezelic, Griffin Smith, Harrison Haft, Andrew Cassino, Julia Isko, Julia Robbins, Daniel Lee, Ava Merker Staff Artists Elizabeth Fortunato, Alexandra Crotty, Gabrielle Fischberg, Annabelle Chan, Julia Roth

have an effective conversation and rather than condemning each other, an honest and open dialogue flourished. The country we live in is becoming more and more diverse. Derek Kitchen became the first openly gay governor in Utah, Rashida Tlaib (Illinois) and Ilhan Omar (Illinois) are the first Muslim women to be elected to Congress and New York’s very own Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become the youngest woman to be elected to Congress. These are all examples of progress.

But there are also too many recent examples of relapse. Gov. Ron DeSantis winning the gubernatorial election in Florida despite using racist dog whistle language and advising his supporters to not “monkey this up,” a clear reference to his African American opponent Andrew Gillum. Gov. Cindy Hyde-Smith winning a Senate seat in Mississippi despite photos emerging of her at Jefferson Davis’ (The vice president of the Confederacy) home, wearing a Confederate cap and carrying a rifle, with the caption “Mississippi history at its best!” Brian Kemp’s voter suppression tomfoolery in Georgia to prevent Stacey Abrams from taking his seat as governor and preventing her from being the first African American female governor of Georgia.

Horace Mann has the opportunity to become a microcosm of an ever-changing world, a diverse community where intellectual thought is allowed to grow and where we can openly discuss the issues that affect all of us. In order for us to achieve this goal, we need to rewire the way in which we think about each other through open and honest discussion. We need to acknowledge our privilege and bias and make a commitment to evaluate and better ourselves as individuals and a community.

Only by recognizing the faults in our diversity will we find harmony amid cacophony.

Editorial Policy

ABOUT The Record is published weekly by the students of Horace Mann School to provide the community with information and entertainment, as well as various viewpoints in the forms of editorials and opinion columns. All editorial decisions regarding content, grammar and layout are made by the editorial board. The Record maintains membership in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and National Scholastic Press Association.

EDITORIALS & OPINIONS Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the majority of the senior editorial board. Opinion columns are the sole opinion of the author and not of The Record or the editorial board.

NOTE As a student publication, the contents of The Record are the views and work of the students and do not necessarily represent those of the faculty or administration of the Horace Mann School. The Horace Mann School is not responsible for the accuracy and content of The Record, and is not liable for any claims based on the contents or views expressed therein.

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HORACE MANN OPINIONS DECEMBER 14TH, 2018

R eforming ou r s c h o o l

Inflating grades, deflating self-esteem

Amelia Feiner How do you stand out? What makes you special? Who do you want to be?

These are questions I am beginning to hear over and over again. It’s my junior year, and I can feel the college process looming in my notso-distant future, but I have no idea sometimes I wonder what makes me different than the other 180 students in my grade. I like school.

I’m decently smart. I get good grades. But as I look to my left and my right, I’m realizing that the hard work I’ve put into my classes in the past two years is not enough to distinguish me.

Before I transferred to Horace Mann, I went to a public middle school in New Jersey where almost everyone got A’s. If students wanted to stand out, they needed to get straight A+’s.

A difference of 1-2% on a test could be the difference between a top student and an average one. I spent the whole year agonizing over this seemingly miniscule distinction. When I applied to Horace Mann, I thought it would be different. It was supposed to be the hardest school in the tri-state area, and I thought for sure this meant that many less students did so

Juli Moreira/Art Director

well. many students did poorly.

However, this is simply not the case.

According to data regarding the class of 2016, almost 70% of the class graduated with a GPA of or higher than 3.33. That means that less than a third of students averaged below a B+. More recently, the average grade at Horace Mann crept up to an A-. In the 1990’s this grade was closer to a B-/C+. Horace Mann has fallen into a the pattern of inflating students’ grades, essentially making fantastic grades an expectation rather than a distinction.

This grade inflation almost renders grades meaningless. If all students receive A’s, then an A loses its value. In the late 20th century, A’s were saved for exceptional students. An A showed that a student went above and beyond in a class. Now, most students are upset if they don’t receive an A range grade. In fact, teachers at our school really only hand out the same 4 or 5 grades over and over again. This lack of variety in grading is dangerous for many reasons. Here are a few: Grade inflation places increased importance on standardized tests. If 68% of the class of 2016 graduated Horace Mann with a B+ average or above, standardized tests contribute more to differentiating between students. This heightens the toxic pressure that students already feel when taking these tests.

Grade inflation increases stress surrounding testing in classrooms. When a difference of 1-2% separates an average student from a student in the bottom quarter of the class, students tend to pore over and focus more on every point taken off on every test. When our range of grades is so compressed, every point matters more.

Grade inflation makes extensive extracurricular activities and outside of school

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Power to the people: the CC’s voice should matter

awards more crucial to the college process.

Since it is now much more difficult for students to distinguish themselves within the classroom, they are forced to find ways to spend their time outside of the classroom building up impressive resumés.

Most personally, the grade inflation at our school has discouraged me from taking more difficult classes. This year, when I was deciding what classes I would take, I almost stopped myself from taking some of the difficult courses that interested me because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to maintain the high grades that my peers were receiving if I took multiple honors courses. Even my parents were worried that I would fall to the bottom of my class if my average dropped half a letter grade because of the rigorous courses I wanted to take. Within the current system, a student with straight B+’s in all honors classes would rank near the bottom quarter of the class, while a student with straight A-’s in all regular classes would rank near the top quarter. The school does not “weight” honors classes or provides any insight into the levels of classes that students take besides listing the names on the transcript.

TheThis current system seems broken to me, especially since as a community we pride ourselves on the life of the mind. As an intellectual community, we need to ask ourselves, when did improving our grades by half a letter become more important than being stimulated and challenged in the classroom?

Obviously, our school community needs to work towards a solution for this problem.

While grade inflation does run rampant here, Horace Mann is not the only school that is subject to this dilemma. In fact, grade inflation is a nationwide trend. In a study conducted

by The College Board and the University of Georgia, investigators found that 47% of high schoolers in America had an A average. This means that 47% of students are at the top of their respective classes, meaning that there is no top of the class. To make big changes, there needs to be a nation-wide movement, but our school can definitely try to solve the problem within our community.

First, we could deflate grades. This entails giving the teachers a quota for the grades they assign to students’ work. For example, only the top 15% of students receive A’s, no matter what the quality of the work throughout the class was. I don’t like this idea, because it creates more competition amongst students in classes, and also fails to account for situations in which many kids actually submitted A level work.

Second, we could just get rid of grades. I know this sounds crazy, especially at a rigorous preparatory school like Horace Mann, but many believe that comprehensive reports written on students are much more useful in determining the students’ academic capabilities than a letter grade. I really like this idea, but I’m not sure how well the HM community would accept it.

Third, we could list the median grade in a class next to students’ grades on their report card. This would show where the student lies not just in the individual class, but also among students in other classes in the grade. There’s a big difference between getting an A- in a class where the median was a B and getting an A- in a class where the median was an A-. However, this is not currently reflected in a student’s transcript. Not only will this solution help to quell grade inflation, but it will also help to even out the disparities between different teachers’ grading and create a fairer grading system across grades. To me, this seems like the best and simplest solution.

As I approach the halfway mark of junior year, I have begun to focus more on who I am inside and outside of the classroom. I am asking myself these same questions over and over again, but I’ve realized, high school is a place to form interests and passions, not a place to agonize over a 2% difference in your semester grade. That being said, addressing grade inflation will by no means end HM students’ concern about their grades, but it will create a fairer and more even scale on which to measure academic success.

Jude Herwitz I know you’ve thought it before. “The Community Council (CC) doesn’t do anything.”

And, while that claim is false (as per the recent Thanksgiving video, Letters to our Heroes, Career Lecture Series), the CC could, and should, accomplish more. When I first ran for CC two years ago, I wanted to make school more enjoyable for the student body, be it through fun activities, like Project X or simple reforms in various areas like the cafeteria. Though I believe I’ve had an impact, I wish that I could be part of more meaningful efforts. I believe there are a few reasons that we have not been as much of a force for positive change as we should be.

removed power from student government in past years. The school abolished the Governing Council (GC), the CC’s predecessor, partly because of its responsibility for club funding, which I agree is not the role of student government.

However, students, along with faculty members, should have a legitimate say in school affairs. Students are affected by big decisions just as much as those making them. A greater voice for students would be a unifying force for the community, rather than a divisive one. A stronger student voice grants a sense of agency to the student body, in turn fostering school spirit.

It provides an opportunity for students interested in government to pursue their passions and support ideas they approve of. It helps teach CC members how to oppose government policy they do not like.

What’s more, an empowered CC would be vastly more interesting for representatives, helping solve the problem of students not attending meetings. This year, the Chair has done an excellent job of boosting attendance.

While obviously it is no one’s fault but the representatives’ if they choose to skip a meeting, offering more responsibility would further incentivize attendance.

“In 1968, the student government abolished the dress code. The idea of today’s CC accomplishing anything of that magnitude is unimaginable. I say that not because of our members, all of whom are incredibly motivated, but because we simply don’t have the opportunity.”

First, the CC lacks a standardized process for coming up with, discussing, and accomplishing initiatives. If a representative has an idea, he/ she is supposed to tell the CC Chair, who adds it to the agenda for the next meeting where the CC as a whole discusses it. While this process might sound reasonable, it has its failings. Take, for example, a meeting held on November 15th.

Out of 11 items on the agenda, only two were discussed.

I propose an end to our current procedural ambiguity. The CC needs to come up with an explicit order of operations for the following through of ideas from birth to fruition. That new process should begin with representatives investigating the feasibility of their proposals and continue with representatives submitting their ideas to the Chair, along with a brief description and a list of next steps to take. With these adjustments in place, the conversations during meetings could focus on the specifics and merits of a proposal rather than a roadmap for how to proceed.

Second, the administration has deliberately

While it is fantastic that we launch so many initiatives meant to be just for stress-relieving fun, an improved CC could do even more. In 1968, the student government abolished the dress code. The idea of today’s CC accomplishing anything of that magnitude is unimaginable. I say that not because of our members, all of whom are incredibly motivated, but because we simply don’t have the opportunity. Representatives do not put forward sweeping changes because doing so has no point; nothing in the two years of my membership gives me any indication that such a suggestion would be seriously considered. The largest change I remember talking about, trying to install a soda fountain in the cafeteria last year, did not amount to anything.

When they consider broad changes that affect the student body, such as the adoption of a semester system, the CC could also fill an advisory role for the administration. Grades elect CC representatives to represent them. It’s time the school let us do that.

Wilder Harwood/Staff Artist

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THE RECORD NEWS DECEMBER 14TH, 2017

That’s a nice bake: Great baking challenge takes over the cafeteria

Emma Colacino/ Contributing Photographer

SLICE IT UP Members of the competition dig in to the cakes.

Chloe Choi and Yin Fei Contributing Writers Students and faculty gathered in Cohn Dining Hall on Monday to participate in the Great Baking Challenge, organized and hosted by members of the Community Council and Student Body Presidents.

The event permitted teams of students and lone bakers from all grades to bring in their own edible creations, which were then judged by teachers and members of the Flik staff.

The competition first began last year and was so successful that it was reintroduced again this year, Student Body President (SBP) Janvi Kukreja (12) said. The intention behind the event was “to bring the school together in a silly sort of way,” she said.

Kukreja found that “many bakers’ talents are not able to be showcased” considering the fact that most of the assemblies focus on the performers of the school, she said.

Students were judged based on appearance, creativity, as well as taste by the panel of judges when the time came to present their creations. After the judges sampled the baked goods,

student spectators sampled the creations of their peers.

Isabella Remedios (11) was chosen as winner of the competition for her cinnamon pumpkin cupcakes.

Participants Euwan Kim (11) and Brigette Kon (11) baked a cake flavored with matcha, a green tea powder from Japan.

The two topped their cake with gingerbread cookies and other decorations. The pair spent nearly 10 hours baking their entry, they said.

They described the baking process as “nuts” and their adventures “took up a lot of their time.”

Participants Jaden Sacks (9), Emmi Zeitler (9), and Sarah Taub (9), who entered snowman cupcakes, were glad to be able to have an “opportunity to work with their best friends to make something creative,” Jaden said.

“We love baking together, and thought this would just be super fun to participate in while sharing our desserts with others,” Sacks said.

“I love seeing everyone’s creativity and go out of the box,” Emma Colacino/ Contributing Photographer

Emma Colacino/ Contributing Photographer

WINTER WONDERLAND Festive cakes filled the competition.

JUDGEMENT TIME Judges tally up the scores.

Caroline Bartels, who helped to judge the competition, said.

Claire Goldberg (9) made Sufganiyot, a jelly doughnut traditionally consumed during the time of Hanukkah, with her

siblings. She appreciated that students were able to bring in foods with different cultural backgrounds, she said.

“We decided to participate because we thought it would be a fun experience, especially since my siblings and I love to bake,” she said.

“There were so many different types of treats, and it was a really great way to try new desserts,” Dalia Pustilnik (9), who attended the event, said.

“It was really fun to walk around and taste all my peers’ desserts, most of whom I didn’t even know were able to bake so well,” Michael Shaari (9) said.

“It’s definitely something all students should attend and experience,” Pustilnik said.

“The CC was really excited by all the fantastic baked goods that were made. It seems as though there is a brand new wave of cooking and baking coming through the school,” Community Council member Will Golub said.

Guardian of the liberal arts, Joseph Saeed retires after 10 years of service Natalie Sweet Staff Writer

Coworkers, friends, and family alike honored the retirement of Overnight Security Guard Joseph Saeed yesterday in the Cohen Faculty Dining Hall.

Saeed has been working at the school for the past ten years and was previously an overnight security guard at the College of Mount Saint Vincent. Before working in security, he started as an associate engineer in Pakistan until he was 23 years old, and he lived in Australia for a couple of years, before working for airlines in California and then moving to New York.

When Director of Public Safety Michael McCaw came to work at the school ten years ago, he was told that the school had an overnight job shift open, he said. “Saeed was my first recommendation for the position, and we have worked together at the school ever since,” McCaw said.

Security guard Bill O’Sullivan holds fond memories of Saeed, he said. “I saw Saeed on Saturday mornings, when his shift ended, and he always gave me all the right information necessary for me to work my shift successfully,” O’Sullivan said.

Mahtab Syed, who has been working for the school for nine and a half years, has known Saeed for 25 years, he said. Since they came from the same town in Islamabad, they have been extremely close, he said.

Syed considers Saeed to be an older brother, he said. “Saeed was always helping me when I moved to the United States, because Saeed came here before me. When I first immigrated, he helped me get jobs as well as helping me adjust to life in America,” he said.

Sayeed shared a similar sense of kinship with Syed. “I will miss the members of the school community the most, especially my best friend Mahtab Syed,” he said.

Syed hopes to see Sayeed at the school after Saeed’s retirement, he said. “Hopefully, he will come back for a couple hours several days a week to help out, and that would be a great time for the rest of us,” he said.

After retiring, Saeed plans to take care of some family business, he said. He also hopes to spend some time traveling in Singapore and London, he said.

“Joseph Saeed is one of the kindest gentlemen that I have met in my life,” McCaw said. “I will sorely miss my colleague and friend,” he said.

Abi Kraus/ Photography Editor

“I would chase after him and give him a big bear hug.

I’m going to miss him,” - Pete Clancy Saeed’s shift, from 7pm to 9am, was extremely important to the safety of the school. He was in charge of keeping the school’s 17 acres safe and secure during the night, O’Sullivan said.

Saeed was the right person to trust with a night shift job, Assistant Director of Public Safety Peter Clancy said. “He always takes notes about specific details that are super important, like suspicious characters on campus, and he is very diligent with assignments,” he said.

Some other responsibilities Saeed held included opening up the school’s classrooms every morning and closing down the school after evening events, McCaw said.

“Saeed always worked six days per week, even if he didn’t feel well or on top of working overtime to cover others’ shifts,” McCaw said. “He has always been available to assist and has never let me down,” he said.

Aside from being a hard worker, Saeed was also known as a happy presence on campus. When Clancy arrived in the morning on the school’s campus, Saeed would have a big good morning greeting for him and reported that everything was “safe, secure, under control, clean, dry, and well lit,” he said.

“Then, he would snap to attention and give me a British style salute. I would chase after him and give him a big bear hug. I’m going to miss him,” Clancy said.

FAREWELL TO ARMS Joseph Saeed poses with his former coworkers at his retirement.

HORACE MANN ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT DECEMBER 14TH, 2018

Steel Band performs in Tuesday concert Maztar Azmi & Abby Beckler Contributing Writers Additional reporting done by Staff Writer Julia Robbins Laughter, smiles, and percussion lit up the stage on Tuesday night, as the Steel Drum ensembles’ performances filled the cafeteria during the Holiday Concert series with the sound of energetic and rhythmic music.

This was the Steel Drum groups first major concert of the year, they played through all of the pieces they have practiced so far in the semester.

There are three sections of Steel Drums in the Upper Division (UD) that meet during A, C, and G periods as a half credit music elective for students. A period’s section played “La La Jam Back” by R. Nelson and “I’m Blue” by Eiffel 65; C period played “Samba Reggae” by Jimmy Cliff and “Feel it Still” by Portugal the Man; and G period closed out the steel band’s performances with the songs “The World is a Ghetto” by War and “Take On Me” by A-ha.

“I think it went great,” Lauren Gay (10) said. “Before the concert we actually didn’t really know how to

play the song really well, but once we got there, it was really nice,” she said.

“I think one of the best things about steel drums is the great community. We have each other’s back, but above all else we’re just out there having a good time.” Solomon Katz (10) said.

“I always feel energized on stage.

I used to think that energy came from the audience, but now I know it comes from my band ensemble and Mr. Bates,” Katz said.

Acting as the human metronome on stage, Steel Drums Teacher Alan Bates played the drums or a cowbell

5

Courtesy of Sarah Rather

WIND ENSEMBLE Band performs in concert.

JAZZ COMBO D Wows the audience with their performance.

Manuscript honors alumnus William Carlos Williams on Red Wheelbarrow Day Lauren Kim Contributing Writer

Red Wheelbarrow Day took place last Friday from periods A through H to honor alumni and poet William Carlos Williams.

Hosted by the publication Manuscript, which includes “art, poetry, and flash fiction” Managing Editor Claire Yoo (12) said, the event allowed students to stop by and write poems.

From these spontaneous poems, Manuscript will decide which poems to include in their winter issue.

Red Wheelbarrow Day is Manuscript’s annual event to honor Williams’ short style of poetry and invite the Horace Mann community to write their own poems, Yoo said. The day is meant “to honor his like kind of short style of poetry we invite the Horace Mann community to like embrace their inner William Carlos Williams and write their own short or long poems and eat a plum, usually for his poem,” she said “It’s a way to make poetry more accessible to the entire HM community and share the accomplishments of one of the school’s most prominent poets,” co-Editor-in-Chief Katie Goldenberg (12) said.

Named after Williams’s poem “The Red Wheelbarrow,” Horace Mann students at the school and faculty wrote on-the-spot poems during the event, said Yoo. Williams’s famous poem “This Is Just to Say,” describes plums in an icebox. Plums and other fruit were handed out in the poem’s honor, Events Editor Paul Wang (11) said.

Upper Division psychologist Dr. Ian Pervil participated in the event. “It is always surprising to see a rather large refrigerator sitting on top of a table in the middle of Olshan Lobby, so I stopped by to see what was going on. It was then that I learned that the display was part of Red Wheelbarrow Day, a celebration of Williams’ birthday,” Pervil said.

Both Manuscript members members of the community wrote poems of their own.

“Everyone was welcomed and encouraged to

participate in the actual event,” co-Editor-inChief Benjamin Hu (12) said. Hu “coordinated with the junior editors and my club advisor to set up the booth, advertise the event, bring fruit, and recruit Manuscript members to volunteer for the event,” he said.

According to Yoo, many of the submissions were anonymous, she said.

Ava Merker (11) wrote a poem about a marsh. “I contributed to the day by helping the other leadership set up a table and let the rest of the HM student body know about it,” she said.

Yoo recalls reading submissions about a pen and a baby. “They are all very exciting, cause they’re all...on the spot,” Yoo said.

“I quickly dashed off a poem that was a riff on ‘This is Just To Say’—which I know by heart— claimed a plum for my own, and was both happier and a bit less hungry after the whole experience,” Pervil said.

Merker encourages others to contribute by coming to Manuscript’s table next year to write their own poetry, she said.

“I thought the simplicity of the event made it all the more enjoyable,” Gavin Delanty (12) said.

“Some people grabbed fruit on the way to class, while others hung out by the table and wrote funny poems about persimmons,” he said.

at all times to keep a consistent beat throughout all of the performances so that students were in sync.

One of the big hits of the night was G period’s rendition of “Take On Me,” an old classic from 1984 by the hit Norwegian snythpop band, A-ha.

A more recent hit performed by C period, “Feel it Still” by Portugal the Man, was also a crowd pleaser and had the audience clapping along with the beat of the drums.

Natalie Sweet (10) enjoyed hearing the period C group play the song “Samba Reggae” by Jimmy Cliff. “It was nice to hear a piece that was not what you normally hear a normal steel band play. I just thought that was really interesting, especially on

a week when different cultures are having a bunch of different holidays going on, it’s nice to hear from seemingly different perspectives,” she said.

“Each steel drum ensemble was augmented by percussionists from the other steel drums groups to form an engine room, the percussive backbone of each song,” Katz (12) said. G period also incorporated some dancing into their performance by spinning and switching partners in the middle of their songs.

“We all played well and are looking forward to our next concert where we hope to crush it again,” Max Migdon (10) said.

Courtesy of Sarah Rather

Record Recs:

Holiday Edition

The Volume 116 Editorial Board’s top picks of December

BEST HOLIDAY MOVIE: “HOME ALONE” SONG: “THANK U, NEXT” BY ARIANA GRANDE

MUSICAL ARTIST: ARIANA GRANDE

TV SHOW: “THE GOOD PLACE” Juli Moriera/Art Director Allison DeRose/Design Editor

Trashketball is coming...

Prepare yourself.

Juli Moreira/Art Director Allison DeRose/Design Editor

6

THE RECORD FEATURES DECEMBER 14TH, 2018

HM alumni admitted to exclusive Mount Sinai program

Juli Mo reira/A rt Dire

ctor

Oliver Steinman and Steven Borodkin Contributing Writers Out of 1000 applicants Eden David ‘16, Lily McCarthy ‘16, and Justin Tang ’16 were among the 40 recently accepted to the Donald and Vera Blinken FlexMed Program at Mount Sinai Hospital.

The FlexMed program allows college sophomores to apply for early acceptance to The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

It is the first school in the country to create a progressive and rigorous admissions path for students who seek early assurance of admission. Students in the program are not required to take the MCAT and have fewer pre-med requirements compared to other students who apply to medical schools.

Tang, a bioengineer major at Rice University, found out about FlexMed through a friend who had been accepted the previous year. He was attracted to the program because it would allow him to pursue his interests in bioengineering research and he would not have to worry about the MCAT and other typical premed requirements.

“The virtue of the program is that you can pursue your interests without the constraints and time consuming portions of the regular pre-med program,” Tang said.

David, who currently studies neuroscience and behavior at Columbia, applied to the program because she knew that she wanted to be a physician from a very young age.

“I felt as though I needed the flexibility and time to spend my remaining undergraduate years exploring the gender, cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors that influence different communities’ emotional and physical responses to disease,” David said.

As an Italian Renaissance major at Yale, McCarthy was drawn to the idea that she could pursue her dream of becoming a doctor while continuing with her interests in the humanities.

“I think that Mount Sinai designed the program with the goal of innovating medical education and cultivating position to our more humanistic side which ultimately benefits the patients,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy believes that the school cultivated her interests by allowing her to focus on both STEM fields and the liberal arts. During her years at the school, McCarthy was able to pursue her interest in Italian Renaissance through the Independent Studies program where she studied anatomical

Courtesy of Lily McCarthy

FLEX-ING HER SKILLS McCarthy works in a lab at Mount Sinai. drawings by Leonardo da Vinci. On the STEM side, her interest was sparked by a biology class taught by science teacher Dr. Matthew Wallenfang in her freshman year.

“Science at Horace Mann is so hands on and dynamic that it is impossible to not love science,” McCarthy said.

Similarly, David thinks that the school is a place where one can truly succeed in both STEM fields and the liberal arts. “I learned at Horace Mann that the skills necessary to close read a text in AP English, for example, are the very skills necessary to parse through a scientific paper,” David said.

Tang also believes that the school is a place where one can excel in both the liberal arts and STEM. Not only do students develop their abilities in STEM subjects, but they also learn other important skills like how to write a paper, Tang said.

David believes that her acceptance into FlexMed shows how the academically rigorous environment of the school pushes its students to exercise their sense of curiosity. Similarly,

McCarthy’s acceptance further proves the school’s academic reputation and culture, demonstrating that students are both adventurous and multifaceted learners, she said.

“I think HM does a great job of pushing that interest in sciences while still fostering things outside of the STEM field while making sure we leave high school with a really solid foundation,” Tang said.

All three alumni emphasized the impact their high school teachers had on their lives. “I remember early morning meetings with my advisor, Dr. Palfrey, who would patiently listen to my concerns and provide me with great advice,” said David.

“David was always enthusiastic about everything she did; she was a hard worker but really enjoyed everything she did,” science teacher Dr. Stephen Palfrey said.

David also said that her math teacher Mr. Jones did a great job of helping her while she was struggling in Pre-Calculus BC Honors in her junior year.

“She is intensely, naturally curious and she combines this curiosity with the ability and drive to explore on her own. The independence that she developed on my watch was amazing. I knew, by the end of that year, that Eden could do whatever she wanted to,” Jones said.

For McCarthy, Head of Upper Division Dr. Jessica Levenstein played a significant role in her time at the school.

She spent a lot of time with Levenstein outside of class, who introduced her to the idea that art and science are not mutually exclusive.

“Lily embodied the life of the mind at HM. She excelled in all her classes because she constantly observed the connections between the different fields she was studying,” Levenstein said.

Kiara Royer/Staff Artist

Juli Moreira/Staff Artist

Juli Moreira/Staff Artist

Courtesy of Eden David

DOCTOR IN TRAINING David presents her research at Columbia University

HORACE MANN MIDDLE DIVISION DECEMBER 14TH, 2018

A look into the Middle Division’s production of “Alm st, Maine”

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Interview with the Director

Juli Moreira/Art Director

Student Review Amelia Feiner Staff Writer Wintery nights in Maine can be chilly, but the Middle Division’s (MD) emotional performance of John Cariani’s “Almost, Maine” brought warmth to the hearts of every person in the theater. The series of vignettes, each taking place in the same ten minute time span around a small town in northern Maine, deals with love and loss in rural America. Under the watchful eye of theater teacher and director Haila Van Hentenryck, MD actors tackled these complex themes maturely while still infusing a sense of youth into every scene.

Cariani’s vignettes are dotted with profound lines, expertly delivered by the young actors. In the play’s Prologue, Jeffrey Dai (7) and Nikki Pande, playing Pete and Ginette respectively, attempt to move closer to one other on a painfully awkward date. However, the two characters have opposing opinions about what constitutes closeness. During this interaction, Dai’s Pete softly muses about how “the farthest away you can be from somebody is if you’re sitting right next to them.” This vignette set the tone for the cute but raw romantic scenes to follow.

Van Hentenryck stayed true to Cariani’s specific stage directions, maintaining the long beats included in the script so that large chunks of the play were spent in utter silence. This silence felt meaningful and true to life during the first few vignettes, but over the course of the show’s almost two hour run time, it became exhausting. Audiences were forced to sit through dozens of quiet and motionless minutes in anticipation of only a short moments of action. The play’s true power lies within its words rather than its silence.

Although the show was filled with long pauses, most of these delays were not caused by the set. In fact, the show’s simple geometric set transitioned seamlessly from scene to scene without so much as a blackout. One standout transition was the creation of a restaurant in the first act of the show. The two main characters sat downstage so that the focus was on them, but behind an upstage panel, several actors sat eating and drinking to maintain the ambiance of an actual bar.

In addition to the physical set, the use of car lights and engine sounds also added realism to several vignettes. Various scenes relied heavily on lighting to replicate the night sky and northern lights. The beautiful blue, green, and red lights illuminated the skene to create a heavenly glow, and constellations of stars were projected on the stage behind the actors.

The costumes also added to the wintery setting, with the actors bundled in multiple layers of clothing to stay warm during the cold Maine night. This costume design was highlighted in the scene entitled “Seeing the Thing” in which characters who have recently discovered their love for one another rip off their clothes in attempts to explore their new relationship. However, this process took several minutes as each of them has to take of multiple layers of coats, shirts, pants, and socks. The audience roared with laughter as the characters muddled their way through the exciting moment, ripping off layers of clothing only to reveal more underneath.

It is scenes such as this one that encapsulate the heart and soul of “Almost Maine”. Small town characters stumble through transcendent and powerful moments, using wit and charm to process love and loss, all during one snowy winter night, forcing audience members to recall their own lifetimes of heartbreak and joy.

The Record: Why did you choose the play “Almost Maine?”

Haila VanHentenryck: I read it on a plane after Mr. Isaac Brooks recommended it to me. I really loved it; the stories, the themes, the spaces between the dialogues, the way the characters were listening and not listening to each other really captured my attention. I also thought it would be perfect for a large cast of middle schoolers. It would be challenging enough to push and grow them as actors, but not insanely difficult.

TR: What were some challenges you faced during the production?

HV: I think the fact that they were middle schoolers playing older characters was difficult. We did a lot of exercises and redos of the scene to get them in the mindset and explore relationships as older people and not as middle schoolers. Also, the way the script is written, there’s a lot of interrupting dialogue, lines cut off by another character, or are overlapping.

There’s a very specific grammar structure in the play, and that’s hard to rehearse, because you have to know what your cue line is and when to interrupt the person speaking in front of you.

TR: Would you direct “Almost Maine” differently had the members of the cast been adults? If so, how?

HV: No, because even if it was high schoolers or adults, they still would need help exploring relationships.

They probably would’ve understood the mature themes more than middle schoolers but the exercises we did would still be helpful to older cast members.

TR: What were some creative choices or differences that you decided on?

HV: We had two guest artists, the costume designers, and they made a decision early on to have each of the characters wear a specific color so each scene had a themed color based on our interpretation on what

that scene was saying about love. We also had Orion Lehoczky-Escobar (12) design a beautiful set with the idea of things being ephemeral and not lasting, sort of like a snow globe.

We had a clear panel that we did cool light things on so the characters could go in and out to enhance the idea of an alternate reality in the play. In terms of acting, we made some strong choices for pacing. There are a lot of silences in this play, and we tried to make it clear what was going on emotionally so that the kids could act through the silence and not just be waiting for their next line.

TR: Would you have wanted to do anything differently now that the production is over?

HV: I’d like more time. I feel like you always want more time to rehearse in a production. But otherwise, I don’t think so. It turned out really well and I was very proud of the work that the kids did.

TR: Did the cast make this play unique? If so, how?

HV: This cast really grew to love each other by the end and I’m really glad for that. I tried to foster a kind attitude but they just took it and ran with it. They were so supportive and appreciative of one other. Friendships were formed across grade levels, and across interests that will probably last a while. They were all saying on the last night they couldn’t wait to act together again, and it was very sweet.

TR: What should the audience take away from the production?

HV: The audience should take away from the production that life isn’t always straightforward, and love isn’t always straightforward. Sometimes it’s okay to be in the middle of a tense or sad moment, and sometimes things are mysterious and there is no answer to them.

Interview conducted by Staff Writer Vivien Sweet

Middle schooler’s thoughts on the show Emma Colacino Contrbuting Writer

The Middle Division theater cast performed “Almost, Maine,” last week, eliciting a range of opinions from the audience.

“Almost, Maine” features stories of love told in unique ways. The plots, such as a man shrinking in size after losing his love or a woman carrying her heart in a bag are representative of different aspects of love, such as heartbreak and rejection.

After watching the show in a mandatory assembly, the MD students displayed different reactions to it.

“I was really interested and I wanted to keep watching,” Isabella Ciriello (8) said. Cassandra Ortiz (6) thought “it was awesome,” she said.

Science teacher Michael Degasperi thought that “some scenes were a bit awkward for some of the sixth graders,” he said.

Some students asked about things during the play, but explaining in the middle of the play was sometimes awkward because you never want to talk at a show, math teacher Catherine

Garrison said.

Alexandre Saint-Sauveur (7) “became confused because the characters were not on for that long,” he said, while Naomi Gelfer (7)

thought some things they could have explained better, she said.

The disjointed storyline was a cause of this confusion, as Ivan Dolphan (7) “would’ve

Juli Moreira/Art Director

preferred a storyline in the play,” he said.

The younger students were also unable to relate to the themes of love. Kyra Steinbaugh (6) felt that the play was way too mature for sixth grade, she said.

“I don’t think in sixth or seventh grade I’m going to be falling in love with anyone,” Ortiz said. However, she thought it was amazing because she enjoys romantic things, she said.

While Ram Narayanan (8) understood what the play was talking about he couldn’t connect to it very much because it was about adults, he said.

“Most of the plots were for older people, like people in their 20’s, so it didn’t really connect to me,” Ciriello said. Nevertheless, Ciriello thought “the actors did a really amazing job,” she said.

Garrison loved the play, but felt that some students “did not appreciate the play as much as teachers,” Garrison said, as “the understanding of these ideas comes with life experiences.”

“The show did a nice job of showing the complexity of the human brain, mind, and soul,” Degasperi said.

Lions’ Den Record Sports

8

DECEMBER 14TH, 2018

Ski team’s first trip to the mountain in Vermont

Darius McCullough & Adrian Arnaboldi Contributing Writers

Last weekend, the school’s Varsity Ski Team traveled to Stratton, Vermont for its annual training trip. The team left school on Thursday night and returned on Sunday afternoon.

For most of the 17 members of the team, the trip was the first chance to practice their skills on the mountain this season. Only two members, Emma Djoganopoulos (10) and Adam Frommer (10), ski every weekend.

The trip helped to create a team identity, Frommer said. “We train on Four Acres and use the spin bikes, so to be able to stay with each other in condos for three days is very important for us to become more of a team,” Frommer said.

“It’s a great way for the team to unite, to connect, and to really bond,” Varsity Ski Coach Morgan Yarosh said. Three days of training also gave the skiers an opportunity to trigger the muscle memory of skiing, she said.

The team skied all day on Friday and Saturday and for half of Sunday. Skiers were out on the mountain from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and had an hour-long lunch break at noon. In the morning, team members skied in small groups,

and in the afternoon the team did more focused training with the coaches.

“The snow itself was pretty perfect,” Frommer said. “There was natural snow everywhere, and it wasn’t really icy until the last day.”

The group training sessions in the afternoon were important practice for many skiers. “You could learn from what other people were doing to improve your skills,” Jade Ciriello (9) said.

During these sessions skiers worked on their turns, blocking, and conditioning with coaches.

New members of the team used the trip to see what skills they need to improve. “We were able to see how well everyone was doing and what we needed to practice most,” Liliana Greyf (9) said.

“The trip will give us an edge on other teams since we have been out skiing more than they have,” Ryan Leung (12) said. “Last year our first day skiing was an actual race.”

Aside from skiing, team members enjoyed playing games together in their rooms and penguin sliding. “We would go down the mountain on our stomachs and hold up our skis behind us,” Kelly Troop (10) said. “It was really fun.”

Races usually begin in early January, but the team has not received a schedule yet. “The thing

about the races is that we get the race schedule and because it is weather dependent, half of the time races get rescheduled,” Yarosh said. “We can have a schedule, but it is only as good as the

weather is reliable.”

Barring any scheduling issues, the team hopes their practice in Stratton will help propel them to a successful season.

Courtesy of Cy Goudsmit

SNOW MUCH FUN Ski team during their training trip in Vermont.

Former Lions continue to roar in college Mark Fernandez Staff Writer Courtesy of Jack Miller

WIND UP Jack Miller ‘17 throwing a pitch for Middlebury.

Sophia Friedman ‘17, Jack Miller ‘17, Chidi Nwankpa ’18, Kayla Thomas ‘18, and Aman Sanger ‘18 are among the school’s most talented and hardworking athletes who have gone on to play at the collegiate level.

“We practice every day except for Saturday,” Friedman said.

Friedman is a sophomore at Amherst College and runs the 400 meter and 800 meter for the track team. Running these events was a significant change for Friedman as she ran the 100 meter and 200 meter in high school and thought she would continue to do so in college, she said. The coaches at Amherst noticed that Friedman had “gas in the tank” after running her 200, and so they switched her to the 400 because they felt she could handle it, she said. “It was nerve wracking,” Friedman said.

Even in different events, Friedman has worked hard and came in first at a home meet during her freshman year. She even finished eighth in the NESCAC league, which consists of ten teams including schools like Wesleyan, Tufts, and Williams, earning a point for her team.

“I have had this long sprint training from the beginning to the end of the year. I am excited to see how that affects my running,” Friedman said.

Friedman’s mental toughness that helped her successfully switch events was developed at Horace Mann. Her coaches, especially former Girls Varsity Track Coach Matthew Russo, pushed her at every practice, she said.

“Coach [Russo] would say ‘just one more’ when I was heaving and wheezing; it made me believe in myself more,” Friedman said.

On the baseball field in the NESCAC league, Miller walked on to the Middlebury Baseball Team his freshman year. Miller started out as an outfielder and worked his way up to being the set up man (the pitcher who tries to hold the score for the closer) on the pitching staff by the end of the year, he said.

“I had to work my way up from the bottom,” Miller said. He went 2-0 his freshman year and had the team’s lowest Earned Run Average (ERA) at 1.59.

The difference between high school and college was that he has lifted and conditioned more, Miller said. Miller has a lot more free time because he usually only has classes from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and then heads to gym straight after to lift or have practice.

Miller is excited for the upcoming year as he aims to be the closer, the number two or three starter on the team. “My mindset is working hard and becoming better everyday” Miller said. This has been Miller’s goal throughout college and he recommends the mindset to any aspiring athlete, he said.

300 miles away from Middlebury, Nwankpa runs the 100m and 200m at Lafayette College. His recruitment process dealt with emailing and calling coaches, and then he narrowed down his choices from there, he said.

“I chose Lafayette not only because it’s close to home, but also because their neuroscience program is good, and I really vibed well with the team during my visit,” Nwankpa said. “My routine is waking up, going for breakfast, class, lunch, class again, practice, and finally doing work in the library.” Nwankpa said. “I feel HM prepared me for balancing my time among academics, athletics, and maintaining a social life,” he said.

In terms of practice, Nwankpa has improved not just in his running form and speed, but also in the weight room.

Nwankpa has learned new lifts in college and has seen his max lifts significantly rise. “My advice to student athletes would be to be unafraid of setting high goals and aspirations, and to remember the sky isn’t the limit,” Nwankpa said.

On the west coast at Stanford University, Kayla Thomas ‘18 is embarking on her journey as a freshman on the crew team.

In the classroom, the transition from high school to college was smooth because of Horace Mann’s preparation, and the bigger change was on the sports side, Thomas said.

“It was such an incredible shift from high school as everybody is so dedicated and amazing at what they do.”

Thomas said. “Every single girl on the crew team wants it as much as you do if not more, if you blink you might fall behind.”

Thomas said.

Thomas gets up at 5:30 a.m. to go to practice and does not get back until 9 a.m. She then has her classes, meals, some freetime, and then heads back to practice at 3:30 p.m.

She practices until 6:15 p.m. and then spends the rest of the

night working and hanging out with friends. Even though her schedule is much more packed than her fellow classmates, Thomas does not mind: “I love my schedule, and I love being an athlete.”

Aman Sanger ‘18, who competes on the squash team at MIT, also has a rigorous schedule. The transition was smooth from high school to college for Sanger because MIT has a similar schedule to Horace Mann, he said. “It really helped manage my time here.” he said. Sanger debated between playing squash for MIT and Columbia, but chose MIT because of the academic offerings. “I wanted to major in computer science for college which helped me choose MIT.” Sanger said. Another factor in Sanger’s choice was the coach. MIT recently hired former number one ranked squash player Thierry Lincou to coach the team. “I knew that with him there, I would improve,” Sanger said.

Sanger plays less squash than he did in high school, but the intensity is much greater, he said. “In high school, I had both school and club squash instead of just doing the school team now,” Sanger said. This winter, Sanger hopes to see his hard work from this season pay off as he is participating in the British Junior Open which contains the top players of each age group from around the world, he said.

Courtesy of Sophia Friedman

LONG STRIDES Sophia Friedman ‘17 running for Amherst.