Junior Issue 1

The Record

Volume 119 Junior Issue 1

Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

record.horacemann.org April 22nd, 2022

Basement Lions motor to FIRST World Championship Erica Jiang Staff Writer

Aryan Palla/Staff Photographer

SCIENCE SCHOLARS Students present at SciTech.

From Medicine to Mycelium, SciTech Spotlights Science Research Ariella Frommer Staff Writer

The Science Research Program hosted the eleventh annual SciTech event this Tuesday. The event featured keynote speaker Dr. Alexandra Sakatos ‘03 and a poster gallery which highlighted research done by Upper Division (UD) students in the Science Research Program.

“SciTech is the culmination of the work that we do in the Science Research Program, and it provides a great opportunity for people who may be interested in the program to see the kind of work we do,” Science Research Teacher Melissa Doellman said. “[SciTech] feels like a real science conference, and it’s an excellent exercise in how to make a poster, how to present, and how to talk to people in a context they understand.”

After obtaining a BA in Neuroscience from Carleton College and her Ph.D. in Microbiology from Harvard University, Sakatos became a venture founder at Deep Science Ventures, a venture fund that creates companies to solve healthcare and technology problems, according to the SciTech website.

Shortly after, she co-founded Ancilia Biosciences, an early-stage company hoping to develop a new class of live biotherapeutics for treating chronic disease, wrote the website.

Doellman and Program Coordinator Dr. Christine Leo picked Sakatos because of her career path and accomplishments as a scientist, Doellman said. “Her area of work, biotherapeutics, has a lot of potential applications in the real world, and also seeing an HM alum who is not only in science but is also starting her own business brings in a whole new dimension.”

Sakatos’ presentation further illustrated how science has an application in the real world because her product can change technology, Doellman said. “Also, I hope that the fact that she is a HM grad who went through the same programs as these students are in shows that you have the opportunity and capability to really change things in the world.”

Science Department Chair Lisa Rosenblum hopes that students were inspired by Sakatos’ career change from practicing medicine to research, she said. “You can try a couple of different things, and your path might be a little windy along the way, but in the end, it’s going to be super interesting.”

Similarly, Science Research 2 student Ethan Waggoner (12) was impressed with Sakatos willingness to enter a new field, he said. “I’ve always had a lot of respect for people stepping out of their comfort zone in this field because there is high risk in research.”

Ellen Wang (9) decided to attend SciTech to gain insight on science research and the school’s program,

she said. She found Sakatos’ career path inspiring and different from what she typically hears, she said.

“Her experience of how she switched onto the research track was very cool to hear because it’s extremely relatable for probably many students.” She also attended the event to get a sense of what research students were able to pursue, Wang said.

Students in the Science Research program also played a large role in the event, creating posters based on experiments they conducted through the program. Because the school offers two levels of science research, the students in each level presented on different topics. Students in Science Research 1 presented on myceliumbased bioplastics, whereas students in Science Research 2, presented on the independent research they conducted over the summer.

Mycelium is a fungus that when baked can become a hard and sturdy bioplastic, which can then be used to create sustainable products like packaging and insulation, Science Research 1 student Lily Wender (10) said.

Doellman and Leo chose mycelium as the research topic because there was an opportunity to connect biology, chemistry, and physics, Doellman said.

Therefore students could be potentially interested in the project regardless of their preferred subject, she said.

For their projects students in Science Research 1 tested the effects of different variables on mycelium growth, Lily Wender (10) said. Her group tested the compressive strength of mycelium under different hour amounts of light exposure, she said. “Because mycelium is a fungus and doesn’t need photosynthesis, we wanted to see if light would have any effect on the growth of mycelium.”

In Science Research 2, students spent the first semester writing papers on their summer research topics and analyzing their data, Doellman said. At SciTech, most Year 2 students presented on the research they did over the summer, she said. Then, at the beginning of the second semester they began creating their posters for SciTech.

Students in Science Research 2 had more freedom in choosing their research topics, Waggoner said. Last spring, he sent a survey to the UD about how their physical health changed during the switch to online school and then compiled the data for his project.

While most projects were a continuation of research, COVID gave Waggoner’s group the opportunity to be the first researchers in the field, he said. “High schoolers in the US have never been to online school before, so there was no background research on it.”

After running their mycelium experiments, students compiled their data, made graphs and charts, and

finally created their posters for SciTech, Harris said. Each poster included preliminary research, methods, photos, and a conclusion, which discussed their findings and if they supported their hypothesis, he said.

At the event, the mycelium presentations caught Wang’s eye, she said. “I’ve never heard of anything like that before, and even though I haven’t had any exposure to it, the projects made it really easy to understand mycelium.”

At SciTech, students presented to small groups in a more informal setting.

“I always feel like papers are too formal and while anyone could read my paper, it’s pretty hard to digest,” Waggoner said, “It was a lot easier for me to convey my research just by talking to people with a poster behind me and showing them the visuals.”

Being able to articulate the work one did over the year in ten minutes is not easy, Rosenblum said. “Explaining your research versus actually writing it out on paper or publication is a different skill to learn.”

The energy of in-person SciTech this year cannot be matched online, Rosenblum said. “I felt like the students were buzzing with energy, which was really palpable.”

Wang was impressed by the depth of every presentation, she said. “I had additional questions, but there weren’t any presentations that had obvious holes,” she said. “And the fact that high schoolers can do research like this that can actually be impactful in the world is such a cool privilege to have at HM.” Seeing students’ joyfulness about their projects, instead of frustration, was rewarding for Doellman, she said.

“As a teacher, you know or want to think that students are enjoying what they’re doing, but to watch students proudly take pictures with their posters, to get excited when they’re talking, to check other posters out is the best part.”

For most of the students in Science Research 1, their science research journey does not end at SciTech, Wender said. A requirement of being in Science Research 2 is to work at a lab during the summer to conduct research that students will then work on throughout the following year in Science Research 2. “It’s interesting to learn from Science Research 2 students who present research they did outside of school because they chose their research, so it is a topic they are passionate about,” she said.

While being in the Science Research program is time-consuming, it was a great experience, Harris said. “If you want a really hands-on experience, learn what it takes to develop a research question, make a hypothesis, and conduct experiments, I definitely recommend the Science Research course.”

Lions, Gurvitch said. “In later rounds, high-ranking teams like Stuyvesant came over and showed their interest “It was a bit surreal — no Horace in teaming up with us because of how Mann robotics team has ever advanced well we did in preliminaries,” he said. to the world championships, and “It was an amazing surprise, it’s never we were jumping up and down with happened to Horace Mann before, excitement,” Justin Gurvitch (12) said. we’ve never been chosen by the highest The school’s FIRST Robotics seeded alliance.”

Competition (FRC) 5806 Robotics The Basement Lions also teamed up Team, otherwise known as the with Queens Technical High School’s Basement Lions, began competing team, The RoboTigers, for the rest of in the FIRST Championship event in the regional tournament, Wang said.

Houston, Texas this Wednesday. The In the pit, a designated space for team qualified for the event, a four-day teams to work on their robot, the robotics championship, after winning team was always ready to modify their the FIRST New York City Regional robot after each round, Gurvitch said.

Robotics competition on April 10 for “Everyone understood what to do in the first time in the team’s history. between rounds and were always ready The team began preparing for to go,” he said. “To see a team work with the competition in January, such cohesion speaks to the growth of w h e n F I R ST the team since January.” released this In order year’s game, to fix their FRC cor o b o t captain Lucca between Correia matches, ( 1 2 ) the team said.

This had to year’s task is stay calm, to pick up and Correia said. “You have shoot balls and as little as 20 minutes climb monkey between matches, so bars, he said. we needed to come up During their with solutions to each first week of problem as quickly as preparation, we could.” the team As a result of Felix Brener/Staff Artist analyzed the winning the regional game and tournament, all three brainstormed the framework needed to teams in the alliance progressed to the build their robot, Correia said. championship event, Gurvitch said.

In preparation for competition, the “The competition was fast-paced and team built a robot that successfully used intense, much like a car race is,” he said. active intake, a mechanism designed to Although the competition was pick up game elements using rotational intense, it was also a great venue motion powered by a motor to pick to make connections, Wang said. up, store, and shoot balls into two During the finals, the team constantly hoops of different heights, Correia said. communicated with StuyPulse and Additionally, their robot was tested on the RoboTigers, she said. “I’m super its abilities to ascend three monkey grateful for their support, I made bars, he said. lifelong friendships with the teams Throughout the building there.” process, team members were split The team has moved on to the into two main groups: Hardware championships in Houston where they and Programming, team member are facing steep competition, Gurvitch Ellen Wang (9) said. Hardware was said. “One team in Houston has their responsible for building the robot and workshop at the Johnson Space Center Programming was responsible for the and learns from mentors who work at electronics that operated it, she said.

NASA,” he said.

Due to disruptions from the This event is a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, this year’s team is relatively experience, Ethan Katz (10) said. “I’m young and largely composed of really just excited, not super confident, students who are new to FRC robotics. but excited to learn from other robots However, their lack of experience did that we witness doing well.” not derail the team, FRC co-captain The team’s advisor, Robotics Lab Justin Gurvitch (12) said. “The plus Manager Fred Levy, was very proud of side is that we have dedicated students the team’s dedication and hard work, across the board, so people pick up on he said. “They’ve made tremendous things quickly,” he said. accomplishments with very little FIRST The team began the regional experience,” he said. “If you weren’t

Courtesy of @hmfrcrobotics

READY TO ROLL Robotics team leaves for Houston competition. competition by going through preliminary qualifications with randomized alliances, Gurvitch said.

An alliance is made up of three teams who work with each other for each round, he said. Though the team experienced technological difficulties early on, by the time preliminaries ended, their robot was performing well, Gurvitch said.

After the preliminaries, other teams started to take notice of the Basement

a senior, you had no experience, yet everyone managed to learn everything they needed in order to get ready — [it] was remarkable.”

Levy hopes the team will take away life lessons from their trip, he said.

“I hope they leave Houston with a lifetime inspiration that you really can do whatever you want to do if you work hard at it.”

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THE RECORD OPINIONS APRIL 22ND, 2022

Rethinking the role of police in society

Avani Khorana Just hours after Frank James opened fire in a subway car full of people on their morning commute through Sunset Park, New York City Mayor Eric Adams pledged to double the number of police officers patrolling the city’s subway system. However, as you have likely seen if you take the subway, stations are already brimming with police — not that it made much of a difference last Tuesday morning.

Since Adams’ inauguration in January, he has sent nearly 10% of the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) 36,000 officers underground, yet they were still unable to prevent or reduce the consequences of the attack nor did they apprehend James at the scene. Adams’ response adheres to a recognizable pattern where an authority figure uses a tragedy as an excuse to expand police resources.

But the NYPD’s inefficiency this

past Tuesday begs the question: is increasing police presence really the path to public safety?

There is a difference between true public safety and the public’s perception of safety. As of the start of April, nearly 600 transit crimes have been reported, a 65% increase from the same time last year. The visual presence of police in NYC subways did not prevent the Brooklyn shooting or a number of other recent violent incidents.

Officers at the attack last Tuesday were unable to use their radios due to a malfunction and cameras in the station were down for a similar reason — but why? Why, with the NYPD’s $10.4 billion budget, can we not allocate funds to put functioning and effective safety measures in place?

Why is the main focus of subway policing on fare evasion when people are robbed, assaulted, harassed, and killed on the train and at stations all the time?

James eluded police for 31 hours before he was arrested in the Lower East Side, a neighborhood I frequent.

Anyone who spends time in that area can attest to the strong police presence, yet it was not a police officer who found James. While it is unclear whether nearby New Yorkers, James himself, or both are responsible for the tip that led to his arrest, we can be certain that the police played only a small role in the success of the search.

Last Tuesday’s shooting proves that increasing police numbers and their range of operation does not equate to greater public safety or fewer crimes. Rather, it can hurt the most vulnerable. This past summer, I watched as police imposed a curfew on Tompkins Square Park — mere steps from where James was found — and kicked out homeless people living there in encampments. This action was under former Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s administration; however, just two weeks ago, Adams ordered officers to clear another encampment near the park dubbed “Anarchy Row” where a number of homeless people have sought refuge.

In addition to increasing police presence in subways, Adams has made police-led sweeps of homeless encampments across the city a focal point of his tough-on-crime platform.

The justification behind these sweeps is the expectation that homeless people will enter shelters, but they are often unsafe and widely thought of as an extension of the prison system.

Shelters are not a permanent nor stable solution; viewing them as one and using police force to intimidate homeless people does more harm than good.

Politicians such as Adams seem to have the mindset that “even a broken clock is right twice a day.” Police are helpful and effective in certain situations, but that does not mean they

are the answer all the time.

I am a firm believer in defunding the police as funneling endless resources into law enforcement instead of education, affordable housing, and accessible healthcare only perpetuates harm. This is not to say that crime will disappear if we divert funds from the police to social programs, but to say that rather than solely reducing the harms of policing, we must rethink the police’s role in society.

As of now, the NYPD responds to mental health crises, shootings, robberies, domestic violence cases, and anything else that people call 911 for and then some. This scope is so much more than any one organization can, or should, deal with.

To address social issues at their root, we need to reinvest in communities rather than in an institution that further oppresses them. Law enforcement is not meant to act as judge, jury, and executioner; police should promote public safety by working with communities, not enforcing against them. When we see such a persistence of police brutality, negligence, and overall corruption, I have to wonder how more money and more uniformed bodies is a solution to unrest.

Adams’ police-focused policy presents a tough-on-crime front, but it has not proven to be an effective solution. Instead of rooting out the problem — why people are unable to

find and afford housing; how the stigma around mental health prevents us from helping those struggling with it; how criminalizing poverty only worsens it — we are stuck in an endless loop of violence and fear. The media’s persistent narrative of a city spiraling into crime and disorder can be disconcerting, but there is another approach, should we choose to seek it out.

The majority upper-class background of Horace Mann students, including myself, insulates us from crime and gives us an internalized, idealistic relationship between police and public safety that does not reflect reality. Law enforcement seems to hold a monopoly on public safety, but there is never one singular solution for any societal failure — we need to unlearn these beliefs about policing and reimagine other pathways towards well-being. Time and time again, we are failed by a system that defaults to the police. Establishing accessible and effective mental health, housing, education, and rehabilitation services is the key to creating safe, stable, and thriving communities.

The main constraint to changing the way we think about police is a lack of awareness. Though most of us cannot vote for public officials to turn this tide, educating ourselves and others by reading stories and doing research is just as powerful. It is imperative that we call for change before we dig ourselves into a hole we cannot climb out of.

Facing the discomfort of the world’s last chances to fight climate change

Lauren B. Kim

Volume 119 Editorial Board Head of Design Sophie Pietrzak

Editor in Chief Emily Salzhauer

Managing Editor Zack Kurtz

Features Ayesha Sen Vidhatrie Keetha

News Audrey Carbonell Hannah Katzke

Opinions Emily Sun Rachel Baez

A&E Sean Lee Allison Markman

Middle Division Alex Lautin Celine Kiriscioglu

Lions’ Den Max Chasin Audrey Moussazadeh

Art Directors Vivian Coraci Sam Stern

Design Editors Arin Rosen Avani Khorana

Photography Jorge Orvananos Lynn Egan

Online Editor Lucas Glickman

Faculty Adviser David Berenson

to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial average temperatures. But if striking changes do not take place fast enough, Earth will rise over 3 degrees by the end of the century.

1.5 degrees Celsius alone will induce catastrophic effects such as heat waves, long droughts, and torrential rains, and floods. A chain effect will follow and cause social instability if resources were to become insecure.

Though highly difficult, it is technically possible to stay under 1.5 degrees with immediate action.

To do so, we must cut our greenhouse gas emissions in half by the early 2030s and achieve netzero carbon emissions by the 2050s.

Unfortunately, our net emissions increase each year by gigatons — at a rate of 1.3% over the last decade — and atmospheric CO2 is already at 418.9 parts per million today while the safe level is only 350 parts per million. If we are to curb emissions, the world must make extreme changes. This means phasing out 95% of coal, 60% of oil, and 45% of gas used by the early 2050s, one of the most daunting challenges because we rely on fossil fuels for 84% of the world’s energy.

The need for drastic reform in many fields in such a short time is essential for us to succeed.

This includes but isn’t limited to energy, transportation, food, and infrastructure. Since our global economy is dependent on systems that produce GHG emissions, we need extreme measures to overhaul

them. Pushing for change might seem in vain at this point, but think about the long term: taking action now will allow us to have a habitable future. Though it is unfortunate that it has come down to the very last bits of time to act, I cannot stress enough that the fight against climate change is not lost.

Climate change is global, but there are unequal effects in different places.

Countries in the Global South are affected the most by environmental problems caused by wealthier and more powerful nations in the Global North. For the Global South, the IPCC reports a “strong link between sustainable development, vulnerability and climate risks” and that “limited economic, social and institutional resources often result in high vulnerability and low adaptive capacity, especially in developing countries.” This means they lack the resources to prepare for and recover from climate damage, which ultimately increases unsustainable development of environmentally unfriendly industries. Even in nations of the Global North, there are areas that lack refined infrastructure for climate defense and energy production which puts them at greater risk. So if nations invest their resources in sustainable development for disadvantaged areas and countries, we can prevent reliance on

Staff

Staff Writers Ariella Frommer, Aryan Palla, Athena Rem, Ava Lipsky, Ben Rafal, Clara Stevanovic, Ella Shaham, Erica Jiang, Etta Singer, Hanzhang Swen, Heidi Li, Isabella Ciriello, Joshua Shuster, Kate Beckler, Lucy Peck, Madison Kim, Maeve Goldman, Mira Bansal, Naomi Yaeger, Neeva Patel, Nia Huff, Rani Ogden, Samantha Matays, Sophia Paley, Sophie Rukin, Audrey O’Mary, Emily Wang, James Zaidman, Leah Marquardt, Malachai Abbott, Oliver Konopko Staff Photographers Aanya Gupta, Allyson Wright, Amelia Hirsch, Anna Miller, Aryan Palla, Ben Rafal, Catherine Mong, David Aaron, Dylan Greenberg, Harper Rosenberg, Jiwan Kim, Madlyn Yoon, Matthew Jacobson, Nicole Au, Oliver Konopko, Trisha Tran Staff Artists Aashna Hari, Addy Steinberg, Aimee Yang, Amira Dossani, Christian Conner, Dani Brooks, Dylan Leftt, Elena Zhu, Felix Brener, Isabelle Kim, Ishaan Iyengar, Karla Moreira, Kayden Hansong, Kristy Xie, Lauren B. Kim, Sam Gordon, Samantha Strasser, Serena Bai, Sophia Liu, Sophie Li

Christian Conner/Staff Artist

“I don’t want to think about it” and “I’ll do it later” — two phrases I’m sure every Horace Mann student has said to avoid discomfort as a form of temporary relief.

I often find myself more worried about a test than the environmental doom at hand. My attention jumps from a drought to a wildfire to a flood as I follow the media, making me want to go crazy and shut myself off. But with our responsibilities as students, we know that in the long run, not facing our problems now will come back to bite us later. We simply need to worry about it. Worry drives us to take action, something we need more than ever following some recent news.

Earlier this April, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the third part of its Sixth Assessment Report: Mitigation of Climate Change. The IPCC has released reports since 1990 about “climate change, its causes,

potential impacts and response options” that policymakers and scientists can use. Each full report takes eight years to compile, so this one could very well be the last warning for the world to keep our warming under 1.5 degree Celsius, a near-impossible but necessary goal to avoid a severe climate catastrophe.

I understand why you might not want to read the report. We see news about how climate change devastates more and more of the world each year, yet policy changes do not happen quickly enough. It is frustrating to watch progress inch forward slower than a snail and even come to a standstill at times.

Nations under the Paris Agreement, a global framework established in 2015 to combat greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, pledge to reduce GHG emissions but do not curb them enough as countries weigh their oil and coal-dependent economies over our planet’s future. At times, I feel powerless because it is difficult to think about how onerous it is to fight climate change. But by knowing how dire the situation is and how hard it is to change, we can more meaningfully view what the report has to say about what action to take. The following are summaries of the report’s findings on warming, emissions, development, and reform; while everything in the report is of high priority, here are a few key takeaways that we as a community can act on.

As stated earlier, severe impacts can be reduced if we limit warming

fossil fuels and promote clean energy via solar, hydro, and wind power.

It is 2022 and we are tired after years of living through a pandemic and reading news on heated politics on top of juggling school work as we watch the Doomsday Clock count down 100 seconds to midnight. Climate change is another one of these seemingly endless problems, but it is the most pressing of them all. In 20 years, you probably will not remember that homework assignment or paper you detested writing, but if we don’t act now, we will definitely regret doing nothing to stop climate change for the rest of our lives.

Our situation cannot be pushed aside any longer when there are clear steps towards a solution. As frustrating as it is, we must pay attention to what the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report says and respond with what is within our power. We can reduce demand for resources — take public transportation, walk, or bike; switch to solar energy instead of gas.

We can also advocate for and educate others on environmental topics and discuss ways to be sustainable with family and friends. At times I ask why I am giving myself more work to do, but please trust me on this; it is now or never.

Editorial Policy

About Founded in 1903, The Record is Horace Mann School’s award-winning weekly student newspaper. We publish approximately 30 times during the academic year, offering news, features, opinions, arts, Middle Division and sports coverage relevant to the school community. The Record serves as a public forum to provide the community with information, entertainment, and an outlet for various viewpoints. 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. Horace Mann School is not responsible for the accuracy and contents of The Record and is not liable for any claims based on the contents or views expressed therein.

Editorials All editorial decisions regarding content, grammar, and layout are made by the senior editorial board. The unsigned editorial represents the opinion of the majority of the board.

Opinions Opinion columns represent the viewpoint of the author and not of The Record or the school. We encourage students, alumni, faculty, staff, and parents to submit opinions by emailing record@horacemann.org.

Letters Letters to the editor often respond to editorials, articles, and opinions pieces, allowing The Record to uphold its commitment to open discourse within the school community. They too represent the opinion of the author and not of The Record or the school. To be considered for publication in the next issue, letters should be submitted by mail (The Record, 231 West 246th Street, Bronx, NY 10471) or email (record@horacemann. org) before 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening. All submissions must be signed.

Contact For all tips, comments, queries, story suggestions, complaints and corrections, please contact us by email at record@horacemann.org.

THE RECORD NEWS APRIL 22ND, 2022

From the Arctic to the Gulf: Davis and Demuth discuss environmental history Lucy Peck Staff Writer Jack Davis and Bathsheba Demuth discussed the role of nature in history and the impact of climate change on disadvantaged regions during the third installment of the Environmental Issues Speaker Series this Wednesday. Ana Aguilar (11) and Bela Tinaj (11) served as student moderators for the event.

Demuth is an assistant professor of History and Environment and Society at Brown University, according to the speaker series website. Her work focuses on exploring and analyzing the intersections of people, ideas, places, and non-human species in history.

She has wrestled with questions such as, “what would it mean to give rights to entities that are not human?”

played in environmental history, which is the topic of her book Floating Coast: An Environmental History of the Bering Strait.

Davis is an author and professor of Environmental History and Sustainability Studies at the University of Florida, according to the speaker series website. He has written multiple books including the Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea, which details the history of the Gulf of Mexico.

Upper Division (UD) history teacher Dr. Ellen Bales and Claire Goldberg (12), the creators of the Environmental Speaker Series, as well as UD Science Department chair Dr. Lisa Rosenblum invited Demuth to speak because of her intelligence and youthful energy, Bales said. “We then asked Demuth if there was someone she would

Amira Dossani/Staff Artist

and “how have we gained the right to ‘give’ rights?” according to the speaker series website. Specifically, she has focused on the Arctic and the key role indigenous groups have

like to be in conversation with for the evening and she requested Jack Davis,” she said. “We got in touch with him then and he said he would do it too.”

During the event, Demuth and Davis discussed their backgrounds in environmental history and the commonalities of their work. They discussed potential solutions to ameliorate the current carbon crisis and commented on the representation of the Arctic and Gulf in popular culture.

Listening to the speakers discuss what it is like to be an environmental historian and hearing about their backgrounds in environmental history was very interesting, Tinaj said. “It’s a relatively new field, as sad as it is, and a lot more research and awareness has to be brought to it.”

Daphne Tsai (10) was interested in attending the event because environmental issues are not a topic taught in any of her classes, she said.

“Considering that I haven’t been in a class which has gone in depth about environmental issues, I was even more excited to hear what the speakers had to say,” she said. The series has given Tsai insight into the long-lasting effects of pollution, she said. This has made her more aware of her potential contributions to the crisis, Tsai said.

It was important to hear about the contrast between the Arctic and the Gulf, Tinaj said. “Both regions are extremely important to our earth and for keeping an equilibrium,” she said.

In Lauren Kim’s (11) Global Environmental History class, they had done some reading on the Gulf and the Arctic leading up to the event and discussed common misconceptions about the two places, she said. “People think the Arctic is a really barren landscape and the Gulf is untouched by humanity.” It is important for us to realize that we are more connected to these places

than we might think, she said.

Alara Yilmaz (10), a member of GreenHM, the school’s environmental club, attended the event to hear the speakers’ varying perspectives on the environment, she said. Before attending the event, she

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humans,” she said. “We should realize that humans are influenced by nature as much as nature influences us.”

If humans cannot find and implement a solution for climate change, everything we know

JACK DAVIS AND BATHSHEBA DEMUTH looked forward to seeing whether or not the information she learned from the speakers would contradict or overlap with what she had learned from GreenHM, she said.

Yilmaz has gained more insight into climate issues by attending the series because she has heard many new perspectives, she said. The events have taught her about the history of climate change and her own carbon footprint, she said.

Tinaj was excited when she first heard about the opportunity to moderate the event. “I feel that environmental activism and environmental history are very important, so when I learned that they were looking for moderators, I thought it would be a great opportunity to jump on,” she said.

“I want to be part of the force that is driving environmental activism.”

Kim found the series to be helpful in allowing her to view nature as a historical actor as opposed to a background, she said. “We often view history with an anthropocentric lens because we only think about

about how we live will have to be reconstructed, Bales said. “We can think about that now and start turning the ship or we can allow the catastrophe to happen and the people who still remain will have to pick up the pieces and reimagine life.”

One of Tinaj’s takeaways from the event was that climate change is not just a current problem, but that it has been ongoing, she said. Learning about the historical context from the speakers will give the student body a better lens to look through when approaching the climate crisis, she said.

Bales hopes that students will take away that climate change is a big problem which requires something from all of us, she said. “We all have ways that we can positively contribute through our own talents and inclinations,” Bales said. “I don’t want anyone to have the mindset that if you aren’t inclined towards activism, there is nothing you can do.”

Alumni Council honors President Samantha Brand Sofia Kim Staff Writer Alumni met together at the annual Alumni Council Benefit to honor Alumni Council President Samantha Brand ‘01 P ‘26, ‘29 and raise money for the Student Lunch Initiative this Tuesday. The Student Lunch Initiative is a program that helps pay for lunches for students on financial aid at the school. Every 1,400 dollars donated through the event will fund a full year of lunch for a student.

According to the Parents Association’s e-blast, Brand was honored at the event “for her many years of leadership and dedicated service to the Council.” Brand will be retiring from her position as president of the Council after this year.

The Benefit was held in person and allowed alumni to finally reconnect with one another after years away from the school due to the pandemic. “Most of these people have not been on campus for

over two years,” Benefit Committee member Justin Lerer ‘95 P ‘28 ‘33 said. “There is a lot of excitement for the benefit and also just the chance to be at school.”

As a result of the pandemic, the alumni community was forced to remain isolated which interfered with their engagement in the school’s community, Lerer said. As a result, last year’s benefit took place online.

Regardless, the Council has been trying to keep the community engaged, Brand said. “The goal of the alumni council was to build a community and connections and the unfortunate circumstances of the last few years have really gotten in the way,” she said. “People [were] nostalgic for their Horace Mann days and have missed reunions and homecomings.”

As a result of the excitement to get back on campus, there were a record number of RSVPs and funds raised, Brand said. “I think it meant a lot for alums to come back to campus and see all of the changes

BRAND AT THE BENEFIT Brand addresses the Alumni Council.

and see the facilities being used,” she said. “They took tours last night before the cocktail party and people were thrilled and there was tremendous energy. It really was special to see.”

This year’s Alumni Council Benefit was a valuable event for the community, Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly said. “With every in-person event returning to the calendar, the excitement and participation is through the roof,” he said. Events like the benefit have shown Kelly how the community thrives upon supporting one another and coming together, he said.

For the past alumni benefits, the council has raised money for the Student Assistance Fund, Lerer said.

However, due to their success in raising funds in previous years, the Student Assistance Fund felt as if donations would be better used for other programs, he said. As a result, the Alumni Benefit Committee decided to donate to the Student Lunch Initiative, he said.

Donating to the Student Lunch Initiative will be beneficial as the school’s tuition rate rises and the number of students grows, Brand said. With this pressing issue, the Alumni Council has seized the opportunity and will be trying to cover lunch funds for UD and Middle Division (MD) students on financial aid, she said.

Most of the money contributed to the fund was raised in advance through ticket sales and sponsorships, Lerer said.

However, the Council received some donations during the event’s auction, he said.

The council estimates that they raised close to 210,000 dollars — the requested amount by the school, Brand said.

Isabella Kim/Staff Artist

CC organizes water bottle competition James Zaidman Staff Writer In honor of Green Week, the Community Council (CC) organized a division-wide water bottle competition to encourage the use of reusable water bottles. The CC placed four water coolers in the cafeteria, one for each of the four grade levels in the Upper Division (UD). The grade that has used the most water by the end of the week will be declared the champions.

The CC hopes that the event will help students form a habit of bringing reusable water bottles to school, CC Representative Sofia Kim (10) said. Last year, many students only brought reusable bottles to school to win the competition, she said. “It’s hard to remember your water bottle every day and get in the habit of bringing the water bottle to school so that it’s not just a one-week thing,” she said Due to the convenience of having disposable bottles in the cafeteria, Dean of Students Michael Dalo was unsure if the competition could create lasting habits, he said.

Although he was skeptical, the competition did create a noticeable difference in the amount of plastic waste produced during last year’s event, he said. “I think the fact that there’s a competition element to it here helps.”

While Kim was disappointed that the CC could not announce the competition during an assembly to garner excitement among students, she thought that the promise of a

prize was enough of an incentive.

Although the CC has not yet determined the prize, it may involve cookies for the winning grade, she said.

Rose Korff (9) was excited to participate in the competition and help her grade, she said. Since she regularly brings a reusable water bottle to school, the minor adjustment of filling up her water bottle in the cafeteria is an easy solution to help her grade, she said.

“I want to win the prize and it’s also good for the environment.”

In the past, the competition was only successful as a short-term event, Dalo does not believe that it will be sustainable or helpful to run it for longer than a week, he said.

Courtesy of Vivian Coraci

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THE RECORD FEATURES APRIL 22ND, 2022

Students raise awareness about Ramadan Isabella Ciriello and Sophie Rukin Staff Writers

“There’s a big misconception that Ramadan is only for fasting,” Mikail Akbar (11) said. “Actually, Ramadan is much more significant than that. It’s the month of not only fasting, but it is also the month of increased prayer, the month of reading the Qur’an, the month of doing charity, and in general, a month of doing more good deeds and abstaining from bad deeds.”

Ramadan holds important religious significance for Muslims across the world and can mean a variety of things to different people, Rizaa Fazal (10) said. “The purpose

day, including Fajr at sunrise, Dhuhr around noon, Asr later in the afternoon, Maghrib at sunset, and Isha at night. Mikail said.

However, during Ramadan, there is also a prayer called Tarawih, which takes place after Isha, the last mandatory prayer of the day. Tarawih is a long and special prayer exclusive to Ramadan, where the Imam recites the entire 600 pages of the Quran over the 30 nights of Ramadan, Mikail said.

During the Tarawih prayer, many people go to the mosque, making it more crowded than at other prayer times, he said. “It’s very spiritually moving when the whole community gets together just to worship,” Mikail said.

In order to show respect for religious observances such as Ramadan, the

Other students, like Mikail, find it difficult to deal with sleep deprivation during the school day because he wakes up early to eat the Suhoor meal and pray the Fajr prayer, he said. “I’m probably only sleeping around three to four hours everyday, so this can be challenging,” Mikail said. “I have had to find unconventional places to sleep, like on the bus.”

Mikail also struggles at times with not being able to drink water throughout the day, especially during warm weather, he said. “People who have fasted for Ramadan, many times have gotten used to the hunger, but the lack of water can hurt, especially during the summer months when it’s hot,” he said. Although it is easier to avoid drinking water during the cooler months, you can get very thirsty throughout the day even if you’re just speaking, he said.

Some important components of Ramadan conflict with the timing of the school day. Two of the five daily prayers occur during school, so instead school allows a variety of doing them while in of accommodations. school, Mikail waits until As stated in the family he gets home to do them, handbook, if reasonable he said.

Courtesy of Zachary Kurtz accommodations are needed Mikail works to find a for religious purposes students can talk with balance and uses his extra PE free and lunch faculty members and receive appropriate as work periods, he said. “With all the things assistance. that I have, I’m just constantly in the library Even so, due to how draining fasting trying to do work because when I get home, can be, Fazal does not think that there are I have little to no time to do any homework.” sufficient accommodations at the school Even so, Mikail makes sure religion takes for students who are fasting, she said. precedence over school work. “For me, She does not choose to fast religion is definitely the priority,” he said. everyday and worries “Without a doubt, if it’s between school or teachers will not be religion, I’m going to choose religion at the accommodating on expense of my schoolwork.” the days she does fast, she said.

Emily also tries to complete schoolwork in “I’m scared my teachers won’t between prayer and during her free periods accommodate so she has time to dedicate to her religious my tests or quizzes, so activities at home, she said. She also uses I usually don’t choose to fast on weekends to visit the mosque and fulfill her days I have tests or quizzes.” religious obligations, she said.

I n c o n t r a s t , Unlike Mikail, Fazal feels that her Mikail feels as though the school and education takes precedence, she said. “A teachers are very lot of the Muslims at Horace Mann have a c c o m m o d at i n g probably had to give up a lot of their Courtesy of Riva Vig towards his religious religious obligations in order to keep up needs, he said. “I think my with the school.” teachers know about Ramadan, but I try to While Malik used to fast at school, she has make it my priority to let my teachers know stopped because it is too hard for her, she what I’m going through during the month.” said. “Personally, my body can’t handle it if During Ramadan, Mikail typically lets his I don’t eat,” she said. “I get so tired and teachers know that he may have to spend fatigued throughout the day that there less time dedicated to his work and may ask is pretty much no point to me coming to move tests around or get breaks on his to school because I’ll forget anything I

“The purpose of Ramadan is to focus on giving something up to become better people through things like fasting and charity work.”

- Rizaa Fazal (10) of Ramadan is to focus on giving something up to become better people through things like fasting and charity work,” she said.

This year, Ramadan began on April 3rd and will end with the celebration of Eid-alFitr on May 2. Many Muslims commemorate it by breaking their fast with friends and family, along with exchanging gifts, Lamia Chowdhury (11) said. “It’s about being proud of the sacrifices you’ve made, whether it’s financially, giving to charity throughout the month, or fasting or just trying to increase your good deeds.”

Not every Muslim is required to fast for Ramadan, Emily Akbar (9) said. “Usually after children hit puberty fasting becomes mandatory, but you can try earlier, and it is encouraged to fast whenever you can,” she said. There are also exceptions for women on their period, pregnant women, people who are sick, and for those who physically cannot fast for other medical or physical reasons.

Parents’ opinions about their kids’ physical and mental readiness may also affect when their kids start fasting, Zain Lakhaney (10) said. Many parents will let kids fast for a day around the age of 13, but not many kids begin fasting for the full month until later on, he said. Lakhaney first fasted when he was around nine years old.

Celebrating Ramadan looks different for each family, Malik said. “For my family and less conservative Muslims, we don’t fast every day,” she said. On the days that Malik fasts, her family breaks their fast after sundown with a large meal called Iftar, she said.

Iftar, an Arabic word which translates to “breaking the fast,” is a meal eaten as a community after sundown, Mikail said.

Every night, Mikail and his family break their fast at their local mosque. “[Iftar] is very special for us because the community is together, and when we break our fast, the food’s completely free and provided by sponsors,” he said. “You see people that are poor, that are rich, and people of all different ethnicities, who come together to break the fast.”

More religious Muslims usually fast for all 30 days of the month from dusk till dawn, Rizaa Fazal (10) said. “[Muslims] fast to relive the steps of the Prophet Muhammed who also fasted for thirty days during the month of Ramadan.”

During Ramadan, Mikail starts his typical day by waking up around 4:15 AM to eat the morning meal called Suhoor, where he eats a meal to keep himself full and energized for the rest of the day. “This meal often consists of dates, which is very popular among Muslims since it is part of the prophetic tradition,” he said. The Prophet Muhammed usually ate dates in both his Suhoor and Iftar, so during Ramadan dates are commonly eaten to emulate his actions, Mikail said.

After his meal, Mikail goes to his mosque for his first prayer of the day, he said.

Muslims are required to pray five times a

Reed teaches about asceticism, the practice of abstaining from physical pleasures, in relation to different religions including Islam. “Within the context of the class, I tend to focus less on specific practices and more on different types of practice,” he said.

Hanah Cohen (11), who takes Religion in History, enjoyed learning about asceticism, she said. “I did not [have any prior knowledge about it] beyond having some friends who participate in Ramadan.”

In Upper Division French teachers Caroline Dolan’s and Niamh Duggan’s Studies in French and Dolan’s French Seminar classes, students read Kiffe kiffe demain by Faïza Guène, a book that follows the main character, Doria, as she navigates living in France as a Muslim teenager and grapples with the tension between her ethnic, gender, and religious identities as well as celebrates their joys, Dolan said.

The French department decided to integrate the book into the curriculum because a large percentage of the Frenchspeaking world is Muslim, Dolan said. “It was really important to teach about Islam because we want our students to be able to interact with real people,” she said. “That means learning about who people are and what is important to them.”

Dolan has taught the book for the last two years in the Studies class and for slightly longer in the French Seminar class. “Last year, we saw a great opportunity to integrate the book into the Studies class, so we decided to make that switch this year so it is the last time we are teaching it in Seminar but it will continue to be a guiding text in Studies,” she said.

Dolan and her colleagues believe it is important for the French department to familiarize themselves with Muslim cultures, so they can answer questions from students in class while they learn about Muslim practices, traditions, and holidays, she said. In order to prepare to teach the material in the book, Dolan attended talkbacks and presentations hosted by the Horace Mann for Islamic Awareness Club about common misconceptions surrounding Islamic culture, she said. Dolan also reads complimentary texts independently and with her students. “We teachers are always learning too, so research is an opportunity for us to be better informed,” she said.

In general, Dolan thinks that learning about other cultures is the best way to grow as individuals, she said.

“It just creates a better sense of community when we want to have mutual understanding for people” Raghav Poddar (10) enjoyed learning about Islamic practices and traditions that are observed during the month of Ramadan in his Studies in French class, he said. In Kiffe Kiffe Demain, a learned the entire day.” character hides dates in her While Malik does not fast blouse to eat before at school, she still finds a sunrise because her Courtesy of Mikail Akbar place for religion in her boss doesn’t recognize life, she said. “It’s definitely hard to balance Ramadan in the workplace, he said. “It was religion and schoolwork, but if you are able eye-opening because I wasn’t aware of the to figure out what you personally want from issues that many people face.” your religion it becomes a lot easier,” Malik Scarlett Goldberg (11) had limited said. “I don’t find a lot of value in following knowledge about Ramadan until reading the every single tradition to the tee, so book for class, she said. “I don’t even know I just kind of do whatever makes that much about it, which is kind of crazy

“It’s very spritually moving when the whole community comes together just to worship.”

- Mikail Akbar (11) homework, he said. “It’s really good for me because they are able to accommodate me during Ramadan and make my life a little bit easier.”

Emily also believes that the school provides more than adequate accommodations for Ramadan, she said. She is allowed to skip PE during Ramadan, which helps her avoid getting too tired or thirsty, she said.

Emily also appreciates that she is able to go to the library during her lunch period instead of the cafeteria, she said. Emily finds it difficult to socialize with her friends during Ramadan, because she doesn’t like to eat lunch while fasting, she said. “I still connect with friends over text and after school, but not during lunch.”

Lakhaney also finds it hard to be around food at school since it is hard for him to fast around people who are eating because he craves food when he sees it, he said. It took Lakhaney a few days to adjust to this at the beginning of Ramadan, he said.

“Ramadan is a time to reflect on how you can be more grateful for your community.”

- Myra Malik (11) me feel the happiest or most connected to religion.”

Traditions such as fasting are discussed in the Religion in History, Studies in French, and French Seminar Courtesy of Myra Malik classes where teachers incorporate content relating to Ramadan and Islam into the curricula. In his Religion in History class, Upper Division (UD) history teacher Peter

because I know it’s a big holiday for a lot of people.”

Overall, Malik feels that there is a good amount of awareness of Islam, and hopes that people continue to learn about Islam, she said. “To me, Ramadan is a time to reflect on what you have, and reflect on how you can be more grateful for your community and how best you can support others in your community.”

THE RECORD FEATURES AND ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENTAPRIL 22ND, 2022

Reduce, reuse, recycle: Earth Day and environmentalism Harper Rosenberg and Sophie Li Staff and Contributing Writers “Earth day, it’s this moment to a day to stop and think about the planet as a whole and how we can survive and help the Earth itself to survive,” English teacher Rebecca Bahr said.

Today is Earth Day, a holiday that takes place each year on April 22nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection, Bahr said. As a result of her experience witnessing the harmful effects of pollution in her neighborhood, such as no longer being able to swim in the Hudson River due to contamination, Bahr strongly appreciates Earth Day, she said.

“To me, Earth Day is really about awareness, and I think that’s really nice,” Elena Zhu (9) said. Zhu believes that awareness about the environment and climate change are important in order for positive change to occur, she said.

“Climate change is something that’s really scary for our generation,” Zhu said.“As we grow older, I do believe Earth Day should be less about our own individual actions and very much more about awareness so we can actually work on the major issues that cause climate change.”

Zhu believes that, while individual action against climate change should be encouraged, there is not enough focus on the efforts made by large enterprises or systems, she said. “When you do look into what’s mostly causing climate change, it is the major corporations,” Zhu said. “If we want to say something that would actually help the planet, we have to

be the ones to stop supporting these corporations.”

Jake Ziman (11) also encourages large scale change, but is more optimistic about the effects of an individual’s actions, he said. “I know [that] last year, Green Week covered a lot about what we can do as individuals to change our habits or especially around food waste and purchasing,” he said. “Even [though] 400 kids deciding to buy less clothing isn’t going to have a worldwide impact, you’re never going to start changing everyone’s habits if you don’t start somewhere,” he said.

However, Ziman is

Sophia Liu/Staff Artist

conflicted about the i m p a c t of Earth Day initiatives, he said. He appreciates efforts to dedicate the day to learning about the environment and spreading awareness about climate change, but would prefer more of an emphasis on action and engagement, he said.

Alara Yilmaz (10) is a member of Green HM, a club dedicated to promoting greater awareness about

5

climate change. This week, Green HM hosted workshops to educate students about global warming, Yilmaz said. “It’s a great way for people who are passionate about this topic to come together and discuss changes to our school in general,” she said. “I don’t think climate change is at the front of everybody’s minds, even though I think it should be because it’s a very urgent issue, but this week will help it come back and bring awareness to the issue.”

On Thursday, Yilmaz and Tyler Rosenberg (10) hosted a Green Week workshop about an organization called The Ocean Clean Up, Yilmaz said. “It’s basically educating students on water pollution and ways they can help, then [there was] a Kahoot at the end.”

R o s e n b e r g appreciates clubs that raise awareness about environmental issues, such as Eco 2 and Green HM, she said. “I wish Green Week was a full week because it’s just Thursday and Friday,” she said. “Having a full week would be better, but I think the steps that are being taken are good so far.”

Members of the faculty, such as science teacher Camilla Nivison, have implemented environmental themes into their lessons, Bahr said. “[Nivison] is doing workshops on environmental dangers and sort of these warning signs,” she said. “It’s great because it merges the class with Earth Week.”

Bahr wants to use her resources as an adult to help younger generations fight climate change, she said. “I’ve been the advisor

[for Green HM] for about three or four years now and as an adult, just seeing more and more disasters happen,” Bahr said. “I felt like, ‘okay, I want to be with the kids who want to try and bring awareness and try and do some solutions, at least on a small scale in our own environment here at Horace Mann.’”

Students’ families also contribute toward protecting the environment.

“We find ways to donate clothing or hand it to others,” Ziman said. “[We are also] very big on recycling and limiting food waste,” he said. His family is very mindful about what goes in the trash, and ensures that what they cannot save does not end up in a landfill, he said.

Zhu’s family also emphasizes reducing waste, she said. “We are very much a leftover based family, simply because of the fact that it’s so much more sustainable to constantly eat the food that you already have, instead of just throwing it out.”

In the school’s Lower Division (LD), students have recognized Earth Day by participating in activities such as planting flowers, Rosenberg said.

In 2015, students in every grade in the Lower Division participated in activities ranging from studying butterfly cocoons to writing thank you notes to Earth and making crafts using recycled materials, Lenny Lane (10) said. Students also made wallets out of old milk cartons

and scraps of paper, planted seeds on the Grasshopper and playground in reused bottles, and did a water taste test for tap versus bottled water to prove tap water tasted better, he said.

“In fifth grade, we used to put on a musical assembly about ways you can help the environment, we would all dress up,” Jack Chasen (10) said.

“The Dorr staff [also] used to come and we’d [do] activities with them related to the environment, such as learning how to compost.”

While Ziman thinks that the school should be doing more to celebrate Earth Day, he believes that the school’s strength in helping the environment lies in spreading awareness about environmental issues and educating the younger generation, he said. “The impact the school can have by reducing our electricity use is relatively small in comparison to the impact the school can have educating us, who in 20 to 30 years will be making those decisions, about both the issues and ways forward.”

Although Bahr hopes the school will be able to provide an assembly specifically for Earth Day in the future, she is happy with how far the school has come, she said. “I think there’s been much more awareness of environmental issues in just the past ten years in the school,” she said.

begin teaching third graders next week, Casdin said. This week, they began with the balcony scene, and will cover three other scenes in the coming weeks, he said.

In order to prepare for the workshops, participating students have been meeting every I period to discuss logistics, Clementine Bondor (11) said.

During meetings, students learned RSC techniques and crafted their own lesson plans, Contant said. “We talked a lot about ways to keep the class engaged and things that work or don’t work in an elementary school setting.” “[The training process was] exciting, given the pandemic, to see other actors with their masks off, seeing facial expressions, and doing acting exercises in close proximity to each other,” Jiyon Chatterjee (11) said.

When Bondor was in the LD, she was not exposed to any of Shakespeare’s works until fifth grade, which inspired her to become involved in Casdin’s initiative. Bondor also felt that the initiative was

a great way to form connections between the divisions, she said.

“I get the bonus experience of reconnecting with some of my old teachers and studying the Shakespearean texts myself,” Bondor said.

Similar to Bondor, Chatterjee’s own time in the LD inspired him to become involved in the initiative.

“Any opportunity to return to the LD is really exciting for me,” he said. “[LD students] are so much more free and open-minded than older students, so teaching them through acting and revealing the text through acting is a really meaningful experience,” Chatterjee said.

Theater teacher Benjamin Posner became involved through his own passion for Shakespeare, he said. He believes that this experience helps UD students utilize skills learned from their RSC training, work with the text themselves, and gain valuable teaching skills. With this work, they are able to share their own passion and enthusiasm with LD students, he said. “They come with this great sense of wonder and fun.

“The RSC at HM program is one of the few that connects all four divisions — Nursery, Lower, Middle, and Upper — and several of our projects have involved students from different divisions performing for one another,” Casdin said.

Contant found his first session to be quite fluid. Students played acting games, ran an abbreviated scene involving as many fifth graders as possible, and ended the session with the students reading a section of the balcony scene, hitting a piece of paper to emphasize one word in each line, he said.

“The kids were great. Even though they didn’t understand every word of the scene, they definitely understood what was going on, which was pretty cool to watch,” Contant said.

Fifth grade English teacher Eliana Taub’s students have voiced excitement about the amount of Shakespeare they can understand and how much they relate to the works, Taub said. Additionally, the students in her class were thrilled to have high school visitors and get a sneak peek into what the UD looks like, Taub said.

During the session, Contant felt like a fifth grader again and forgot about the stress junior year brings, while also enjoying seeing the LD after almost seven years, he said.

“The learning goals are that they find the human side of Shakespeare and start exploring the complicated questions the play asks of us about love, relationships, disobeying parents or how we function within the rules of our society,” Casdin said.

Ben Rafal/Staff Photographer

CLEANING UP Jimmy Ostuni keeps the campus fresh.

UD students host Shakespeare workshop for LD Nia Huff Staff Writer

For the next few weeks, Upper Division (UD) students, assisted by English teacher Dr. Adam Casdin, will host Shakespeare Workshops for Lower Division (LD) students.

During their frees, UD students will lead 30-minute sessions in which they teach and perform scenes from Romeo and Juliet that have been slightly edited

by Kindergarten teacher Nora Meredith, Jared Contant (11) said.

The initiative began when Head of the Lower Division Deena Neuwirth, voiced her excitement about resuming the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) Shakespeare program after two years, Casdin said. As a result,

Head Kindergarten teacher Nora Meredith, and the RSC developed a plan for performance-based teaching of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in the LD. However, because the teachers who had trained with the RSC had either retired or moved, Casdin, who has been working with the RSC for seven years, volunteered to teach those classes, and Neuwirth agreed to let Casdin work in her classrooms, Casdin said. Having heard about a Shakespeare Ambassador program in the UK, he put out a request to UD students and has seven UD students participating in the lessons.

So far, UD students have taught in two fifth grade classes, two fourth grade classes, and will

Courtesy Zachary Kurtz

ROMEO, O ROMEO Students perform scenes from Shakespeare.

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THE RECORD ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT APRIL 22ND, 2022

Musical Maestros: Students pursue music in pre-college programs Isabella Ciriello and Sophie Rukin Staff Writers

she said. “It’s not like you just have a private ensembles for piano, Pryor plays cello in the lesson and you’re done,” she said.“They also school’s orchestra. have Music Theory and Ear Training classes, a Jeon also participates in music programs at professional ensemble, and an orchestra, which the school such as Orchestra, Sinfonietta, and a are both great communities.” chamber group that practices outside of school Every Saturday, students at Juilliard are called HarMonia, he said. “Sinfonietta is a group required to participate in a series of group and of talented musicians who are more advanced private classes, Sen said. “For Music Theory, we than the orchestra level, and due to the relatively are given worksheet homework, which isn’t too small number of people who play classical excessive, and for the two Ear Training classes instruments, those with experience in the music I’m in, you have to prepare certain pieces to field are usually accepted,” he said. recite or perform for next week,” she said.

For in-school ensembles, however, Jeon feels In May, Sen will be required to participate in that he is competing against fewer students. “juries” where she will play pieces or rudiments, “The MSM program is much more strict than and receive grades from teachers based on the our school’s program because here, you can performance, she said. experiment with the way you are playing,” he Kymm finds juries to be less stressful than said. “But, the conductors at MSM are way other performances because it is more of a harsher; they give you a practice schedule to personal recital rather than a strict test, he said. follow and if you don’t, they can tell.”

“However, I practice for my own pride and At first, Jeon found it difficult to balance ego because I want to feel good about my own schoolwork with MSM because he had to give performance, so in that way it is stressful,” he up half of his weekend. However, with time, it said. has become easier to manage, he said.

To prepare for juries, he practices three pieces Kymm finishes all of his homework every day, ensuring that he memorizes them assignments on Friday and Sunday so that he fully, he said. Kymm also practices his pieces can dedicate his time to music on Saturdays. at Juilliard every Saturday to receive advice “It’s definitely hard to manage my time, but I from teachers about what to improve on guess I just find a way to cram it all in, and for the next week, he said. “At juries, I it works out,” he said. usually perform pieces I have already Pryor also finds it difficult to manage been working on for a while, and I prepare schoolwork and sometimes has to cut anywhere from half a year to a full year in assignments out of his schedule to advance,” he said. accommodate practice time, he Juries occur at both programs, as said. “I try my best to make sure I students at MSM are also required to practice piano before I start any of ist rt A ff ta /S Sophie Li participate in these assessments at the my homework because if I start my end of the year. Each year, students have assignments, I will never be motivated enough an end-of-the-year playing test which is used to practice,” he said. to ensure students are practicing effectively In contrast, if Sen has a test the next day for throughout the year, Pryor said. school, she will not practice her instrument.

Pryor also recently performed in a Senior Whether she is studying or practicing, she Recital that all students graduating MSM makes sure not to switch between the two in perform, he said. During this recital, performers order to stay focused, she said. were allowed to play for up to 45 minutes When Italiani came to the school her freshman and chose the pieces they played, he said. year, she found that she could not participate in “The preparation was intense and very time- activities like Model UN or Debate because they consuming, and in my case, it was also rushed would meet on Saturdays when she attended because I picked up some new repertoire MSM, she said. “It’s an intense commitment; shortly before the recital,” he said. Despite you are giving up all your Saturdays to go, so it this, Pryor sees his Senior Recital as a nice does close up my schedule.” way to wrap up his experience Although Italiani sees the program as timeat the program as it was more consuming, it is still a great experience that has personal than past performances, allowed her to meet many talented musicians, he said. she said. Many students at MSM have expressed Italiani is currently preparing for her interest in continuing music beyond high upcoming Senior Recital on May 14th, she school and are attending conservatories, specific said. “It’s a lot of stress preparing, but I’m colleges that prepare musicians for a career in excited to play for all my family and friends. I music, she said. think it will be a really good close to MSM,” she Kymm also finds the students at Juilliard said. to be especially talented and dedicated, he At school, Sen plays percussion in the school’s said. “Although there are students there who Wind Ensemble and enjoys practicing at school are better than me, they just push me to work when she gets the chance. “If I don’t have a test harder, the competitiveness of the program ends the next day, I stay at school and use the music up for the better,” he said. room to practice,” she said. “I usually take the While Italiani admires many MSM students’ late bus home and I do that most days of the commitment to their instrument, she will not week,” she said. continue piano to the same degree in college, Pryor also makes use of the school’s practice instead, she plans to treat it as a hobby, she said. rooms during the day, he said. “If I find myself “In the past, I have taught little kids music and in a high-pressure piano situation since I have played at senior centers, so using that as a way a lesson or recital soon, I sometimes practice to give back and connect with other people has piano at school to take my mind off,” he always been my favorite part of the art.” said. While he is not a part of any in-school

Li/Staff

Artist

“As long as we don’t have a Hell Week, giving up eight hours of my Saturday to attend cello class isn’t too hard to manage,” Daniel Jeon (10) said.

As a student at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege program (MSM), Jeon spends every Saturday taking classes and playing in the school’s orchestra. Jeon began playing cello eight years ago when he saw his friends playing instruments outside of school, he said. “I tried cello for a month or two and I really enjoyed it, so I kept pursuing it.”

Jeon was accepted into MSM in seventh grade and has attended the school ever since. He sees MSM Precollege as the best fit for him because of the great community his professors and friends provide, he said.

The application process for music schools, including Juilliard Precollege, is very competitive, violist Jisang Kymm (10) said.

“There were two audition rounds; first, I submitted a video for the pre-screening round which wipes out about 50% of applicants,” he said. “Then, I submitted a video for the second round which is usually held in person, but because I auditioned during COVID, it was held online.”

Applicants play around 15 to 20 minutes worth of pieces during auditions, and in

college since classes can be held at any time of the day, she said. “In past years, I have been there from 9 a.m to 5 p.m., but this year my first class is at 12 p.m. and I end at 4 p.m., so it’s a little shorter.”

In addition to required classes, Pryor is enrolled in the Piano Literature elective and a Harp Workshop, he said. “I actually have a paper due this week for Music Theory, which is a huge pain.”

Italiani is currently enrolled in the Advanced Piano Literature elective and a music history class where students learn about different composers each week, she said. “Level one is Baroque, level two is Classical, and now I’m studying contemporary and lesser-known composers.”

Jeon is required to take tests and midterms for his Music Theory class in addition to performances in recitals for the Orchestra, he said.

Pryor also performs in recitals and competitions at MSM, and has taken part in the Concerto competition a few times, he said.

At MSM, competitions and recitals are not required, but they are encouraged, Pryor said.

At the Juilliard Precollege, students are required to perform in at least two recitals with the program per year, Kymm said. “I usually end up doing eight or nine more performances outside which are not a part of the program,” he said.

Like Pryor, Italiani has also taken part in

Sophie

MINI MOZART Italiani (12) performs on the piano. preparation, Kymm took about six hours of recordings, he said. “It was a pretty painful process; I practiced for a year and a half before the audition.”

Similarly to the intensive process of Juilliard auditions, Jeon found the application process for MSM very challenging and rigorous. Every applicant attends an initial round of prescreening auditions; then, selected students are invited to and must pass callback auditions, he said. Both steps were equally stressful for Jeon because he was competing against extremely talented musicians in the tri-state region, he said.

Although students do not have to re-apply to MSM each year, they do have to apply for higher levels of orchestra, Jeon said. The MSM orchestra consists of four levels: Concert, Repertory, Symphony, and Philharmonic. Once a student is admitted to MSM, they are either placed in Concert or Repertory; in order to get into Symphony or Philharmonic, an audition is required, Jeon said. “It is really hard to get into the highest level of the orchestra, Philharmonic, since there are around 300 cellists in MSM and only about ten [are] admitted to the highest level,” he said.

Luca Pryor (12), a piano student of ten years, decided to choose MSM over other music programs because it was a balance of both competition and learning, whereas other schools seemed too intense to him, he said.

The MSM program runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but some classes last until 7 p.m., Jeon said. “Everyone is required to take Ear Training and Music Theory classes, and then I have two hours of orchestra,” he said.

Another piano student at MSM, Federica Italiani (12), sees the program as similar to

annual competitions and recitals at MSM. However, the program recently updated its rules regarding performances, she said.

“It used to be that you could just sign up for a concert and play in a performer showcase, but now it’s more of an honors recital so your teacher has to recommend you, and then you can play.”

Jeon hopes to enroll in higher-level electives and ensembles at MSM, but often finds it difficult to achieve because he constantly has to practice to maintain his skills, he said. “If I don’t put in a lot of time each week to practice and study the course materials, the teachers might notice it and get angry,” he said.

Pryor finds that when he is struggling with a piece, the MSM teachers are helpful, he said.

“As far as skill, they have stuff for everyone,” he said. “No matter what your level is, they have a teacher who is going to be right for you or challenge you.”

Similarly to MSM students, Juilliard Precollege student Anya Sen (9) spends 11 hours every Saturday playing percussion instruments and attending classes. Her classes begin at 8:30 a.m and end at 7:30 p.m. Throughout the course of the day, Sen and other students are given multiple breaks to go off campus for lunch or to hang out with friends, she said.

Sen plays multiple percussion instruments including the marimba, the xylophone, and the snare drum, which she has been playing since age five, she said. “My family is very musicoriented. My mom likes to sing and my sister plays the guitar and piano, so when I heard someone playing the drums when picking up my sister from her music class, I decided to give it a go,” she said.

Sen chose Juilliard because she liked the wide range of classes offered through the program,

FLOW STATE Jeon (10) feels the music.

7

THE RECORD MIDDLE DIVISION APRIL 22ND, 2022

Flavor Fest: MD community celebrates international Food Festival Leah Marquardt and Naomi Yaeger Staff Writers The Middle Division (MD) ran its annual International Food Festival (IFF) yesterday after a two year hiatus due to the pandemic. The event was co-chaired by Joanne Diaz P’24 ,’26, Ratna Mukani P’28, ‘28, and Nyjha Reed P’26, all of whom are members of the school’s Parent Association (PA).

For sixth grade Dean and MD science teacher Michelle Amilicia, the event is a beloved tradition to learn about various families’ cultures and traditions through the food they prepare, she said. She appreciates getting to interact with parents and students, and when her students ask her about their family’s dishes during the IFF, she said. “I think that’s the fun part too, they’re sharing their family’s food culture with us,” Amilicia said.

The event is also cherished by various parents and administrators. “This is an opportunity for families and parents and guardians to be reconnected with the school, to see kids that their children grew up with that they haven’t seen in a long time,” Head of MD Javaid Khan said. “I imagine there could be upwards of 85 to 100 different dishes.”

Diaz was involved in the planning of the event the last time it was held in 2019, she said.

The PA always tries to select at least one chair per year who can lead for two years and pass down the traditions of the IFF, Diaz said. This year, Diaz used her knowledge of the 2019 event to guide the group through the traditions of the IFF, she said.

The planning for the event began at the end of the summer, starting with the school’s decision to change the date of the event from the fall, when it usually occurs, to the spring, Reed said. “We pushed this year’s event to the spring hoping we would be better situated in regards to reported [COVID] cases,” she said.

The committee figured out the logistics of the event six to eight weeks before IFF took place, Diaz said. To plan the event, the co-chairs met with the heads of the school’s five parent alliance groups to discuss their ideas for the upcoming festival: the HM South Asian Families, the Hispanic/Latino Family Network, the Chinese Family Network, the Black Parents Union, and the Korean Parents League, Diaz said.

They communicated with Senior Director of Dining Services Brenda Cohn to organize the supplies needed to serve the food, partnered with the Facilities Management Team on the logistics of the event, and worked with the entire PA leadership to sort out all details of the event, Diaz said.

While moving the event from its usual time in November to April made sense considering the threat COVID posed in November, the move places the IFF during Ramadan, Diaz said.

To accommodate Muslim students and families observing Ramadan, the committee, with the guidance of the HM South Asian Families parent alliance group, set up to-go boxes for students to fill up and take home so they wouldn’t miss out on the experience of the IFF, Diaz said. Khan also offered to store student’s to-go boxes until dismissal, making sure students could fully enjoy the event, she said.

One MD parent, Sharmeen Dossani P’23 ‘25 ‘28 made chotpoti, a popular Bangladeshi street

Aryan Palla/Staff Photographer

YUM! parents serve students and teachers food at food festival

dish for IFF. Chotpoti is traditionally eaten “break bread together,” she said. The festival is during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, as a way to important to the MD community as it promotes break the fast, she said. “The International Food inclusivity and allows students to experience the Festival has always been one of my favorite cultures of their peers, she said. events at Horace Mann,” she said. “I love trying Students got to try foods from many different different foods from different cultures, and I cultures, Sienna Correia (8) said. Correia tried also love sharing the food from my culture with tiramisu, pork dumplings, latkes, and Hornfeld’s other people, and it’s also just a great way to see brigadeiros at the event, she said. all the middle division students, and teachers, Ashley Kuo (8) said that it was nice to see and other parents.” parents and other students at the event. “It was Mauvelette Burchell P’27 also nice to eat homemade food,” she contributed to the event, said. making Jamaica’s Other students national dish, saltfish fritters.

Burchell slightly modified the recipe, leaving out the egg and curry powder, to avoid common Aimee Yang/Staff Artist allergens, she said. appreciated the Simone Ramos P’26 made Pão de Queijo variety of food dishes for the IFF, a Brazilian cheese bread. While available at the event, Maya Yoon the bread is now a staple of Brazilian cuisine, (8) said. available everywhere from supermarkets to Seeing the community come together inupscale coffee shops, it was originally made by person after the planning process was gratifying, enslaved people in Brazil as the ingredients were Reed said. “So much collaboration went into this easy for them to access, she said. Ramos loves to event, I can’t wait to see it all come together and share Pão de Queijo with her family, she said. to see the kids really excited,” she said. “To be “This is a comfort food,” Ramos said. able to eat together and drink together, I mean, Lalita Ramachandran P’27, whose daughter what’s more exciting than that?” joined the school last year while COVID-19 restrictions were at an all-time high, decided to cook for the festival to get more involved in the school community, she said. “I’m looking forward to participating and saying thank you to the wonderful HM community,” she said.

Ramachandran baked samosas and chole for the event to represent her family’s Indian origins, she said. She also made chocolate chip cookies to celebrate the traditions she picked up in her new home, America, she said.

Aleida Hornfeld P’22 ‘26 baked mini chicken pies and a Brazilian dessert called brigadeiros, two foods that she grew up surrounded by, she said. “It’s a flavor of your childhood,” she said.

“It’s not only about bringing a special dish from your home, it’s about bringing your culture,” she said.

No food gets wasted after the event, Khan said. The faculty and staff members eat the leftover food, and staff members bring some over to students in the MD Reading Center, he Aryan Palla/Staff Photographer said.

Amilicia thinks of the event as a way to EAT UP! MD celebrates diversity through food.

MD advisories return to in-person service learning trips Sammy Matays and Nikita Pande Staff Writers Over the course of the past two weeks, several Middle Division (MD) advisories participated in Service Learning trips to Van Cortlandt Park where they focused on cleaning up park trails through removing garbage and invasive species, MD History teacher and Dean of Faculty and eighth grade advisor Eva Abbamonte said.

Before the pandemic, the school had a longstanding relationship with the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, MD History teacher and Service Learning Coordinator Caitlin Hickerson wrote.

Hickerson wants to re-establish the connection between the school and the park in the coming years, she wrote in an email interview.

As the organizer of these trips, Hickerson worked with the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance to plan dates and activities for the advisories to participate in, Hickerson wrote. While designing the trips, Hickerson kept in mind this year’s Service Learning theme: “A Climate Healthy Future for All,” she wrote. Hickerson believes that the trips to Van Cortlandt Park embody that theme, she wrote.

All of the trips center around cleaning up the school’s neighborhood, Hickerson wrote.

The sixth graders focused on cleaning up trash on Broadway and Post Road, while the eighth graders removed invasive species and trash from the park, she wrote. After she created a plan for the trips, Hickerson spoke with the eighth grade advisors to give them details on the trips, she wrote.

Advisors played a key role in the trips, as they signed up their advisories, Abbamonte said.

Advisors chose between taking their advisories on the trips in the morning or afternoon, Abbamonte said.

While on the trip, representatives from the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance taught the advisory what the invasive species garlic mustard was, Abbamonte said. No students in the advisory had seen garlic mustard before, so they were first taught how to identify it, and then how to dispose of it, she said. Additionally, the advisory learned about ecology and the process of growing and preserving food, Abbamonte said.

After learning more about the plant, Abbamonte’s advisees removed the invasive species garlic mustard, Mara Silverstein (8) said.

Van Cortlandt wanted to remove the species to protect the park’s biodiversity. If left alone, the invasive species would kill all the other species in that environment, Silverstein said.

It is important that students incorporate what they learned into the school community, Hickerson wrote. The goal was to emphasize one of the John Dorr Nature Laboratory’s core values, ‘Beauty and Order.’ ‘Beauty and Order’ is the shared commitment to care for communal spaces. Students emphasize these values on the trips, allowing them to share their knowledge with their community on campus, she wrote.

The trip allowed Silverstein to collaborate with her advisory and give back to the community.

Since the park is a communal space, it is important to keep it clean, Silverstein said.

In addition, the trip taught Abbamonte’s students to appreciate the significance of giving back to their community, Abbamonte said.

Abbamonte’s advisory and her also discussed the importance of giving back to Van Cortlandt Park. “We all benefit from that park whether it’s through sports that take place there or looking out the window and seeing this beautiful park,” she said.

Abbamonte felt fortunate that she was able to go on a trip with her advisory, as COVID limited the advisory’s outside activity in past

years, she said. Although the advisory may not have enjoyed picking up trash, they valued spending quality time together and bonding as a group, she said. “Sometimes things aren’t fun, but it was fun to be doing it together. I can tell you that there was a lot of laughing going on,” Abbamonte said.

Eliana Son (8) appreciated the ability to talk to people she wasn’t close with, she said. Despite the trip only lasting for a few hours, she enjoyed the time spent together outside of a classroom environment, she said.

Participating in service learning is an important part of educating someone on their community and the world around them, Hickerson wrote. “It can help a person find their voice, their passion, and their people,’” she said.

Service Learning also allows students to use the knowledge they learned at school and apply it to the real world, Hickerson wrote.

Son learned about how day-to-day activities affected nature, she said. “It was really interesting how they showed us that our actions actually do have an impact on the environment,” she said.

It is important that the Service Learning Program continues these trips, as having them in eighth grade is an essential way to develop the habit of doing acts of service early on in life, Abbamonte said. “The number one reason when you survey people as to why they don’t volunteer is because they feel they don’t know how,” she said. Teaching eighth graders, who are the next generation of volunteers, how to provide service is essential because they’re more likely to perform acts of service in the future, she said.

Son was inspired by the amount that the group was able to accomplish on the trip, she said. “With so many people pitching in, we could actually make a difference,” she said.

SERVICE IN ACTION MD students clean up.

Lions’ Den Record Sports

APRIL 22ND, 2022

Four-in-a-row, Boys Varsity Tennis goes on a winning streak Rena Salsberg and Oliver Konopko Staff Writers The Boys Varsity Tennis team brought their winning streak to four on Monday with a 5-0 victory against Ethical Culture Fieldston School, rebounding from their loss against The Hackley School on March 30.

The loss against Hackley was a tough one; the team did not perform their best due to their lack of practice prior to the match, Lukas Frangenberg (9) said.

As an extremely competitive player, co-captain Max Meyer (11) said that the loss against Hackley was personally frustrating, not only because the match was the first of the season, but because he was injured during it and was unable to finish the deciding match at full strength.

Luke Peng (9) felt that the loss didn’t affect the team very much because it was their first match, and they knew they could bounce back, he said. The motivation provided by the team’s loss led to very positive practices and ultimately to the team winning their next match, Peng said.

Peng believes that the team’s initial loss against Hackley humbled them

and was beneficial to their overall performance because it pointed out flaws in their play.

After their loss, the team’s coaches, Patrick Westoo and Kenny Bruton, made a few changes in order to strengthen the lineup, Frangenberg said. The team also made sure to remain focused and serious during their practices, he said.

Each typical two-hour practice begins with a dynamic warm-up, which usually includes running, lunges, and high knees, Frangenberg said. Afterwards, three groups are made, two of which spend time with both coaches to practice a range of skills, and one where students play matches against one another, Frangenberg said. Practice usually ends with a team-wide scrimmage, Frangenberg said.

In the smaller groups, the players frequently work on feeding drills in which the coach feeds the ball to the player, Meyer said. Each feeding drill focuses on specific skills such as volleying and overheads, Meyer said.

The drills differ each day, and focus on the skills that the players need to improve in their respective games,

Simon Schackner (12) said.

Practices are crucial because they are a time when players can improve their skills and bond as a team, Meyer said.

Peng believes that the team has a tight bond, he said. “I’m looking forward to hanging with the team because I know that they all love tennis and all love playing,” he said Frangenberg’s favorite part about the team is the competitive spirit and the team nature, he said. Frangenberg thinks that the supportive environment of the team is really encouraging especially because he has not been on many teams, he said. “At the matches, everyone is screaming for each other, and cheering each other on, and the competition gets intense,” Frangenberg said.

“Despite not having a real season in three years due to Covid, the team is really close and always cheers on the sidelines for each other,” Schackner said.

One of Peng’s favorite moments of the season so far was the match against Trinity, he said. “The game was very close, and all the boys on the side [were] cheering for [the] last doubles match to win,” he said.

8

KING OF THE COURT Max Meyer (11), goes for the shot.

Co-Captain Damian Stellings (12) has stood out this season, Frangenberg said. “[Damian] is really talented, he’s won all of his matches, and he’s been a really solid player,” he said.

This past Monday, the school played against Ethical Culture Fieldston School and won all five of their matches, Meyer said. The team lost hardly any games against Ethical Culture Fieldston School; “Fieldston wasn’t as strong of a team in

comparison to the other teams we’ve played so far,” Peng said.

“During the match, I felt a lot of support which helped me in my win,” Frangenberg said.

“It wasn’t a very challenging match, but I thought the team played well.”

Schackner said. When confronted with a difficult match, however, Schackner’s love for tennis keeps him motivated and helps him maintain his confidence, he said.

Despite injuries, Girls Varsity Softball continues their impressive season Aryan Palla Staff Writer “We came back and scored 13 runs in the fifth inning to take the lead and didn’t look back after that,” Girls Varsity Softball Coach Ray Barile said.

In their game against Ethical Culture Fieldston School on Monday, the team had a rocky start and was losing by six runs at the start of the fifth inning, Sunshine Quinones

(12) said. “But once we got our rhythm going, we made a serious comeback,” she said. The team ultimately won the game 25-13.

The team’s streak continued in Wednesday’s home game against The Loyola School with a 12-2 win. Friday’s game against The Hackley School had to be postponed as Hackley’s team did not have enough players.

Throughout the season, the team has dealt with injuries, COVID, limited practice, and canceled games, but despite the setbacks,

the team has been performing well and is improving, Zeba Packer (10) said. “We’re starting to adjust to our new positions and regain confidence as a team. Our recent wins against Fieldston and Loyola have shown that we’re still a force to be reckoned with,” Packer said.

The team battled injuries all season, and Monday’s game was no exception, Barile said.

Four of their starting players were injured, and the team had to play undermanned, he said.

“Everyone had to step up,” Barile said. Players who didn’t have a lot of experience took on the challenge and made some amazing plays, Barile said.

This season, the team has become closer despite the pandemic. “COVID has made it hard these past two years to get close as a team, so the seniors and I wanted to put a lot of priority on bonding this year,” said Quinones. The team’s spring break training allowed for them to get closer as a team and as friends, she said.

Not only did COVID affect the team’s relationships but they had to relearn much of their technique as a team after two years without a normal softball season. “We had to

reteach everything from scratch: the cutoffs, all of our signals, our signs, and our plays,” said Barile. To supplement practices, Barile assigned informational videos for the players to watch during the season.

The team had their first two weeks of practice inside the gym where they worked on building basic skills, like throwing and catching, as well as situational drills, making sure they are aware of what’s happening during the game to avoid any mental errors, Quinones said. “We are able to play better individually and think more strategically about how to score and get outs,” she said.

The team has their sights set on the New York State Association of Independent School (NYSAIS) tournament, but will have to deal with injuries and limited practice. “Our ultimate goal is to get second2nd place in NYSAIS, and I think we’re a good enough team to do it, but we’re also just aiming to play our best each game,” Packer said.

“We also have a bet with our coach that if we can come in second place in NYSAIS, he will dye his hair, so it’s something we’re all working towards,” Quinones said.

BATTER UP! Lions go for the strikeout.

LIONS’ BOX: RESULTS FROM THIS WEEK’S Girls Varsity Softball vs. Loyola -- WIN 12-2 Boys Varsity Tennis vs. Riverdale -- WIN 4-1 Girls Varsity Lacrosse vs. Brearley -- LOSS 9-11 Boys Varsity Volleyball vs. UNIS -- WIN 3-0 Varsity Ultimate Frisbee vs. Packer Collegiate -LOSS 8-13

Boys Varsity Baseball vs. Collegiate -- LOSS 8-9 Boys Varsity Golf vs. Riverdale -- LOSS 1.5-7.5 Girls Varsity Lacrosse vs. Fieldston -- LOSS 1-18 Boys Varsity Baseball vs. Fieldston -- WIN 8-1 Girls Varsity Softball vs. Fieldston -- WIN 25-13 Boys Varsity Lacrosse vs. Fieldston -- LOSS 4-9 Boys Varsity Tennis vs. Fieldston -- WIN 5-0