The Horace Mann Record HORACE MANN’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1903
OCTOBER 18TH, 2018 || VOLUME 116, ISSUE 7
Credit
Daniel Lee/Staff Photographer
LD takes Coastal Lab field trip Kiara Royer Staff Writer
Abi Kraus/Photo Editor Jake Shapiro/Photo Editor
PINK POWER Library features pink decorations (top left), Spectrum performs (bottom left), CAC leaders pose (right).
Cancer Awareness Club organizes Pink Week to support breast cancer Henry Owens Staff Writer
In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Cancer Awareness Club (CAC) organized Pink Week to raise money, support, and awareness for breast cancer. “We assume that most people know what breast cancer is. What we’re really trying to do is garner support and get people motivated to donate and join the cause,” Luke Weber (11), a leader of the CAC, said. Throughout the week, the CAC implemented community-wide initiatives to raise awareness and funding for breast cancer. Beginning Monday, the library featured pink decorations and sold bracelets and pins, donating the proceeds to breast cancer research. The club also held a bake sale to continue fundraising efforts. Several sports teams wore pink clothing at their games in support of breast cancer. The CAC also encouraged members of the general community to wear pink attire throughout the week. “We are a team, so wearing pink is showing that we are unified with each other and in supporting people with breast cancer,” Jolie Nelsen (10), a member of the Girls Varsity Field Hockey team, said. “Cancer is something that’s touched almost everybody in this school,” Kyra Kwok (12), a leader of the CAC, said. “Having everybody wearing pink is going to be a big way we show that our community is standing together.”
By wearing pink attire, Weber hopes the community will demonstrate that “we are committed to putting an end to a cancer that has taken many, many lives in our country,” he said. Rebecca Rosenzweig (10) chose to participate in wearing pink clothing and eye black. “Almost everyone I know, including me, has been affected by cancer in some way,” Rosenzweig said. “It’s so important to show support for breast cancer research
“At Horace Mann, I am truly proud and inspired by the fact that there’s a lot of people who want to help. Everybody has been so motivated, and it is just truly incredible to watch people’s efforts. Especially as a cancer survivor, it is very moving.” - Luke Weber (11) because the fight isn’t only up to doctors and patients. If more people get involved, we can make major steps towards finding a cure.” On Thursday, the student band Spectrum performed several pieces in support of Pink Week. The band has also performed at relay for life, another CAC event, in past years, Nyle Hutchinson (12), the drummer for Spectrum, said.
“Spectrum’s performance was really powerful because it brought the community together in support of the incredibly important cause of cancer research,” Julia Robbins (11) said. Pink Week is also a way of raising awareness for cancer before Relay for Life in the spring, Kwok said. While some smaller initiatives have been implemented in past years during October for breast cancer awareness, Pink Week is the biggest event yet, she said. “We’re hoping that by [holding Pink Week], we are addressing something that can easily go unsaid or unacknowledged,” Julia Roth (12), a leader of the CAC, said. “Having been with cancer for a large portion of my life, I feel like it’s my duty – it’s my responsibility – to do whatever it takes to help other people,” Weber, who battled pediatric cancer on-and-off for eight years, said. Kwok and Roth have both had family members who suffered from cancer, which partly motivated their involvement. “I can see cancer affect people I care about so greatly,” Roth said. Having an older sister who is a breast cancer survivor motivated Hutchinson to show support through his music, he said. “At Horace Mann, I am truly proud and inspired by the fact that there’s a lot of people who want to help,” said Weber. “Everybody has been so motivated, and it is just truly incredible to watch people’s efforts. Especially as a cancer survivor, it is very moving,” he said.
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On Wednesday and Thursday, the Lower Division (LD) first graders explored the Sound Waters Coastal Learning Center in Stamford, Connecticut to continue their study of the ocean. The field trip really helped the class learn some facts about how sea animals live and eat, Simon Shaham (1) said. The trip to Sound Waters is the first field trip of the year, so the students were very excited to experience something hands on, First Grade teacher Monica Gerken said. The first grade has been annually going to Sound Waters for at least ten years, Gerken, who plans the trip every year, said. The Sound Waters site is ideal because the group doesn’t have to travel too far, and the first graders aren’t confined to a classroom all day, she said. Students were able to explore the beaches on the Long Island Sound and collect shells and Asian Shore crabs, First Grade Team Leader and Teacher Jean Eifert said. “We had the opportunity to sort through jingle shells, oyster shells, mussels and clams,” Shaham said. “The jingle shell was my favorite shell because they looked nice and came in different colors like white, orange, blue and shiny white,” he said. “We learned that we can learn what kind of shell it is from the bottom,” Haris Efthymiatou (1) said. For example, an oyster has a purple dot on the bottom of its shell, she said. “[Sound Waters] also has touch tanks, which give the students the
opportunity to take things out and feel them and touch them and get their hands in,” Gerken said. Some of the marine life in the tanks includes turtles, horseshoe crabs, sea stars, and flounder, Eifert said. While some students only put one finger in the tank, others were very adventurous and picked up rocks to see what was underneath, she said. There were hermit crabs and spider crabs in the touch tanks, but Brian Mandigo’s (1) favorite animals were the snails, he said. “When you hold the snail out of the water and hum, the snail comes out,” Mandigo said. Arielle Schaye (1) learned that the turtle in the touch tank could only live at Sound Waters because the site was a mix of fresh water and salt water, or brackish water, she said. After the trip, the first graders summarized their day in their journals, and Efthymiatou wrote about looking for crabs and scooping them up with a sea shell, she said. What Eifert liked about the trip was that the children she least expected to be really into the visit were actually the ones most interested, she said. “It’s a great opportunity for kids that learn in a different way to have an experience that’s not pen to paper or sitting in a desk, and it gives them a chance to shine,” Eifert said. The trip is a fun way to relate what the first graders are learning in class to real life and do something special as a class, Upper Division Physical Education Department Chair Amy Mojica P’30 said. “[Sound Waters] takes the first graders out of the normal classroom environment and gives them a chance to just enjoy nature and the beach,” Gerken said. Courtesy of Monica Gerken
INSIDE
COAST TO COAST LD students take trip to Sound Waters Coastal Learning Center.
Keep it positive!
2
Julia Robbins (11) emphasizes optimism.
Throwback Thursday
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Teachers’ jobs before coming to the school.
Poetfest
6
High school trip to Dodge Poetry Festival.
@hm.record @thehoracemannrecord Horace Mann School 231 W 246th St, Bronx, NY 10471