Volume 120, Issue 25

Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

SLS unpacks collective guilt with Bernhard Schlink

Jacqueline Shih Staff Writer

English teacher Dr. Deborah Kassel’s Seminar in Literary Studies (SLS): Man’s Search for Meaning through Literature and Film class hosted German lawyer, academic, and novelist Bernhard Schlink for a presentation on the legacy of World War II last Monday.

As a federal judge and novelist in post WWII Germany, Professor Schlink writes about a variety of subjects, including the concept of col-

lective guilt and responsibility of those who are alive today to work towards a moral future, Kassel said. During his presentation, Schlink discussed the idea of second-generation guilt, a cultural phenomenon describing the remorse that the descendants of Nazis feel for their ancestor’s role in the Holocaust, she said.

The concept of collective guilt describes how a community may feel guilty for atrocities committed by their community, a student of the class Braden Queen (12) said.

“There are also those who are complicit, or indirectly involved,” he said. These people also bear responsibility, Queen said.

Schlink allowed the students to discuss and unpack difficult topics, Queen said. “When we discussed the idea of generational burden, we asked questions such as ‘Should people today feel guilty for their ancestors’ sins?’” he said. “How should you atone for the sins of your father or is there a moral obligation to atone for the sins of your ancestors?”

Suzette Sheft (11) attended the presentation to get a glimpse into Kassel’s SLS class, which she is in terested in taking, and to gather insight for her year-long research paper, she said. “I’m writing my his tory paper on the reconciliation after the Rwandan genocide, and I thought that the ideas of collective guilt would relate to my paper,” Sheft said.

Schmitz, a woman twice his age. “I enjoyed this question and answer session,” SLS student Jack Bleichmar (12) said. “I’d say it was my highlight of this class.”

Queen enjoyed how student-driven the presentation was and how Schlink was open to having a discussion rather than lecturing, he said. “I was very impressed how it was purely guided by class discussion,” he said. “It was a pure Q&A, and we could really progress and have great discussions about a wide variety of topics related to collective

DEEP IN THOUGHT Schlink speaks to Dr. Kassel’s SLS students.

In preparation for the presen tation, students in the SLS class read two excerpts from “The Reader,” a novel by Schlink about 15-year-old Michael Berg and his lover, Hanna

Kassel hopes for the attendees of the presentation to have left with a sense of how complicated people are. “People with different cultures and religions often have different experiences,” she said. “I hope that the next generation can find a way to move on. In the end, they are all hu-

A kaleidoscope of culture: School celebrates Holi and Eid

“Our mission for the festival was to promote South Asian and Islamic culture and diversity in a fun and interactive way,” Divya Ponda (12) said. Last Friday, the school hosted an event to celebrate the Hindu and Muslim holidays of Holi and Eid alFitr. Organized by Ponda, Horace Mann South Asian Families (HMSAF), and the Office of Identity, Culture, and Institutional Equity (ICIE), the event took place on Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly’s patio. The festival featured a variety of tra-

ditions such as throwing Holi powder, drawing henna designs, and listening to Hindi music. “My daughters had their henna tattoos on, and they were showing everyone over the weekend,” Dean of the Class of 2026 Dr. Shalini Sudarsanan said.

Holi, a Hindu festival celebrated in South Asia, celebrates the triumph of good over evil at the start of spring. The event also celebrated Eid al-Fitr, an Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting, prayer, and community. “It was heartwarming to see everyone come together at school to embrace South Asian and Muslim culture,” Aha-

na Gadiyaram (9) said. “I felt very connected to everybody else, and I thought the environment was really positive.”

Celebrating Holi and Eid at school is crucial to provide South Asian and Muslim students with an opportunity to appreciate their culture, as well as to share and exchange their traditions with their peers, Sudarsanan said. “We all tend to know about mainstream holidays that are celebrated in the U.S., but these holidays that are important to us are really important for other people to know about as well,” she said. “I did not grow up having events that were a part of my culture at my school, so I feel like we’re lucky to have that and I want to be a part of celebrating it here.”

Student volunteer Jared Contant (12) enjoyed playing Holi and participating in the festival with the community, he said. “Everyone was having a great time, whether it was talking under the tent, throwing Holi powder at each other outside, or eating together — it was a joyous occasion all around,” Contant said.

The festival’s success was dependent on the parent volunteers who supplied food from an outside vendor and facilitated the activities, HMSAF Co-Chair Sarika Singh P ‘34 said.

“We have a tremendous community of parents who love to volunteer, and

really make these events memorable,” she said. “Our job as co-chairs is to help bring these ideas to life with the help of the school for parents and students who want to participate.”

The other HMSAF Co-Chair, Anuja Dangayach P ‘30, is grateful to the school for hosting the event, she said. “The happiest moment was when Dr. Kelly came — it was amazing,” she said. Dangayach was excited to see Kelly participating in the Holi and Eid celebration, and felt lucky that he welcomed the event at his home, she said.

Ponda spearheaded the Upper Division student body’s participation in the event, collaborating with HMSAF to plan the festival. “When I was in

8th grade, I saw a Holi celebration on Alumni field and I wanted to bring that celebration to the Upper Division this year,” Ponda said. “I spoke to Ms. Sanchez in ICIE and found out that HMSAF wanted to throw a Holi festival as well,” she said. Ponda contacted HMSAF to begin planning the festival in November.

After not being able to gather for three years due to COVID, Singh and Dangayach are grateful they were able to host an event where people of all cultures could come together to celebrate inclusively, Singh said. “Horace Mann is a community that comes together in an A+ way to realize anyone’s vision, and bring the most potential out of any gathering.”

Sofia Sahai

Contributing Writer

BATTLE ROYALE Student showers Holi powder at opponents.

Courtesy of Barry Mason

Courtesy of Barry Mason

Courtesy of Naomi Yaeger

Courtesy of Barry Mason

CELEBRATE WITH COLOR Students pose at the Holi and Eid festival.

Vivian Coraci/Art Director

Sustainability takes center stage at Green Day

Michelle Grinberg

Contributing Writer

Upper Division (UD) students and faculty hosted and attended Green Day workshops ranging from pollution to plant propagation last Friday. The event, organized by Green HM, aimed to raise awareness about individual and community efforts to improve sustainability, Co-President Nia Huff (11) said. UD history teacher and Green HM faculty advisor Dr. Ellen Bales stressed the importance of having a space in which the school community can hold conversations about climate change. Bales chose to attend a workshop centered on the correlation between COVID-19 and carbon emissions. “Although the pandemic has led to a significant reduction in carbon emissions it is not a sustainable way to address climate change,” she said. “We need systematic change to make a lasting impact.”

One goal of the Green Day work-

shops was to debunk commonly accepted myths about the environment, Anusha Kumar (9) said. Kumar, who led a workshop on the impact that electric vehicles (EVs) have on the environment, created this workshop to show students that increased use of EVs is not necessarily the solution to gasoline emissions. “I thought, ‘What’s so special about electric cars that make them emission-free?’” she said. “I started researching them, and found that they still have a significant amount of emissions.”

Around 30 people attended Aaron Saroken’s (9) workshop entitled “Sustainability in Sports.” “The turnout was definitely unexpected, but I was very happy that so many people cared about this cause,” he said. Saroken hoped to educate other athletes on waste reduction practices. At practice, he often sees trash scattered along Alumni Field, Saroken said. “Small adjustments to everyday habits can have a meaningful impact on the climate.”

more so when we only have about six years left on the Climate Clock before catastrophic effects, such as mass die-offs, diseases, megastorms, and conflict, take place?

Environmentalism seems perfect as a set of values that, when people follow them, ensure a sustainable future. And yet, there has been significant pushback against environmentalism. Why is this, you may ask? A few reasons: general awareness of climate change, preconceptions, and how we discuss environmentalism as a whole. The ways we engage with environmentalism are our biggest threat to collectively working together to successfully fight our planet’s problems.

Last Friday’s Green Day boasted various workshops where people who were interested in environmentalism could learn about ways to help our planet. Despite the event’s good intentions, given the overall engagement of and even naysaying of environmentalism by participants in the workshops, I felt that Green Day also revealed the school’s overall lack of awareness and willingness to take part in environmentalism. Climate change became a front-page issue decades ago, so why don’t we as a community take it seriously? Even

Junior

Heads of Design

Sophie Pietrzak

Alara Yilmaz

Features

Lucy Peck

Neeva Patel

A&E

As inhabitants of the Global North, we currently do not bear the brunt of environmental consequences, making it more difficult for us to grasp the concepts of climate change and other environmental issues. Most of my environmental knowledge stems from outside of school, with a few exceptions largely due to a wonderful class called Global Environmental History (thank you Dr. Bales!). But even this course is not available to students before their junior year.

Issue 4 Editorial Board

Editor in Chief

Erica Jiang

News

Isabella Ciriello

Clara Stevanovic

Jorge Orvañanos

Charles Ampah

Art Directors

Vivian Coraci

Sam Stern

Christian Connor

Managing Editor

Naomi Yaeger

Opinions

Sofia Kim

Kate Beckler

Lions’ Den

After Saroken presented his slideshow, attendees posed questions, Clio Rao (12) said. “It broke out into a really lively discussion where the audience steered the conversation,” she said. “They were especially interested in these seaweed capsules which can replace water bottles.”

To efficiently work towards a green future, large corporations must become more sustainable, UD English teacher Rebecca Bahr said. Bahr attended a workshop run by Madlyn Yoon (12) and Maya Westra (12) that offered creative solutions to hold companies accountable for their environmental practices, she said. “Especially for rising young adults as they think about graduating and, having money, a lot of people are interested in the stock market and it was interesting to see how that tied into the environment,” she said.

Huff and Co-Presidents Tyler Rosenberg (11) and Madlyn Yoon (12) began planning for Green Day two months ago. At the club’s meetings, members

Of course, we might hear about climate change here and there when we’re younger, but the common doomsaying — making dire predictions — of climate change only scares people and makes them ignorant of this issue. Our work as a community has been inadequate, as many of us aren’t aware of the impacts of our daily food waste or how much carbon dioxide is released with each new piece of clothing that we buy. For us, the Global North, this must become a personal issue, especially since the consequences of our inaction reaches those in the Global South who are oftentimes not to blame.

In the face of dire environmental catastrophes, it is difficult to not feel hopeless, pushing many to focus on more “solvable” issues. This is the purpose of Green Day; to discuss solutions for climate change together. Idea exchange is unequivocally important, as everyone needs to be aware of the various environmental issues we face, such as over-extraction, warming, and pollution. In order to have these conversations, we must break down the idea of performative environmentalism.

Performative environmentalism is

Staff

brainstormed ideas for workshops, although non-members were also welcome to host workshops, Huff said.

Throughout the planning process, the club faced logistical challenges, such as getting the school administration’s approval for the event and finding enough faculty members to supervise workshops, Huff said. However, the main worry was student engagement with the day, she said.

Club members were concerned about garnering enough interest in hosting workshops, Rosenberg said. “We wanted to have at least one day of workshops and were worried that we wouldn’t have enough people to fill all the spots,” she said. “Luckily, we had so much interest we had to double down on periods.”

While workshops in past years were held over the course of a week, the club opted to host only a single day of workshops this year in order to increase en-

usually seen as a way to raise one’s social capital without putting in much thought into one’s actions. Oftentimes, it has been the one to blame for environmentalism’s shortcomings. While many of us wish that the planet was not in this dire of a situation, we are unwilling to do the often difficult work needed to tackle this issue. We cannot act on temporary self-satisfaction alone. Performative environmentalism has created a demeaning image for people who work to help the planet and a safety net for people who turn away. Changing this image will be hard, but doomsaying won’t get us anywhere.

Teaching students about the environment helps to foster compassion because they learn of how fragile the world they live in is, whether it’s climate science implemented into humanities courses like Global Environmental History or dedicated science classes to discuss these same issues. After all, making an effort to garner support for environmentalism with a wider scope could ensure more opportunities for engagement with the environment.

I believe that Green Day should encompass a more diverse and interdisciplinary range of topics while

Staff Writers Ariella Frommer, Ava Lipsky, Blake Bennett, Clara Stevanovic, Erica Jiang, Etta Singer, Hanzhang Swen, Harper Rosenberg, Isabella Ciriello, Jorge Orvananos, Joshua Shuster, Kate Beckler, Lucy Peck, Maeve Goldman, Mira Bansal, Naomi Yaeger, Neeva Patel, Samantha Matays, Sofia Kim, Sophia Paley, Sophie Rukin, Spencer Kolker, Audrey O’Mary, Brody Grossman, Emily Wang, Jacqueline Shih, James Zaidman, Malachai Abbott, Nikita Pande, Oliver Konopko, Rena Salsberg

Maeve Goldman

Samantha Matays

Design Editors

Karla Moreira

Eliana Romero

Photo Directors Ben Rafal

Aanya Gupta

Staff Photographers Nicole Au, Jorge Orvañanos, Trish Tran, Aanya Gupta, Jiwan Kim, James Zaidman, Emily Wang, David Aaron, Harper Rosenberg, Evan Contant

Staff Artists Sam Stern, Dylan Leftt, Sammi Strasser, Kristy Xie, Addy Steinberg, Ishaan Iyengar, Sophie Li, Serena Bai, Kayden Hansong, Aashna Hari, Karla Moreira, Isabelle Kim, Christain Connor, Sam Gordon, Dani Brooks, Aimee Yang

gagement and student involvement, Huff said. Though, this decision turned out to be a blessing in disguise, she said. “One day is very focused,” she said. “When it’s over the course of a week, it’s hard to get the turnout from the student body,” she said. Huff hopes that the event will remain one day long in future years.

Next year, Huff hopes to host an assembly about Green Day and make participation in workshops mandatory, she said. “We would love to possibly have an event like a mandatory Green Day or something of a higher magnitude, but overall Green Day was a success,” she said.

still focusing on the planet’s most pressing problems. While the day covered important topics such as films, recycling, and sports, there is still room to grow. For example, new workshops could explore topics such as political science with environmental policy or architecture for climate-safe buildings. Other topics could include the human psychology of doomsaying and the effects societal prejudices have on the environment. These changes don’t need to be limited to Green Day — they could become a part of the school’s culture. I am glad that the school offers students the opportunity to discuss these issues since there’s no shame in realizing that what we have been doing as a community has been insufficient. Green Day should serve as a reminder for all of us that the HM community can always learn more. It should show us different paths we can take to collectively solve global issues. I’m so excited that more people are expressing their interests, but we should always strive to be more. I hope that in the coming years, nothing will deter anyone from committing to environmentalism.

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.

David Berenson

Online Editor Emily Grant Faculty Adviser

Lauren Kim

Let’s move beyond a performance: Why Green Day does not do enough

Horace Mann does not teach enough about the Holocaust

population in the school or because the event is prominent in societal consciousness, but as a senior, I have yet to study the Holocaust in a classroom. I do not think I am alone, and I believe it to be a phenomenon pointing to a larger issue.

As horrifying as these statistics are, they fail to approach the crux of the problem in our community.

During the assembly last Tuesday, we were asked to stand up if we had ever learned about the Holocaust. I have attended HM my entire life, so when nearly everyone in Gross Theater stood up, asserting that they had studied the Holocaust, I was shocked. Though completely nonplussed, I suspect that these students stood up, earnestly believing they had studied the full extent of the Holocaust.

At our school, there exists a false perception that all students have studied the Holocaust in depth. Maybe it is due to the large Jewish

The Holocaust, instead of being analyzed and examined in classrooms, seems to have been understood, almost discounted as collective memory: something that we all know and accept as a deplorable piece of human history. However, the acknowledgment of the Holocaust as a tragedy is inadequate. Students must study the history behind the systematic, state-sponsored murder of 11 million people, as well as the political context that allowed a person such as Adolf Hitler to accumulate power, to ensure it does not happen again.

One year ago in an op-ed, advocating for Holocaust education in our curriculum, Emily Salzhauer (12) referenced particularly frightening statistics about Holocaust denial that remain equally as frightening today. She mentioned that 63 percent of respondents in a survey conducted by NBC gave a misconstrued death count, lower than the actual 11 million. Further, one in ten respondents had never even heard the word “Holocaust” before.

Upon discussion with peers, it appears that most teachers assume that the subject matter has been covered before their curriculum. When teachers shift the responsibility to teach about the Holocaust away from themselves, students never end up studying the Holocaust in depth. While I can confidently say that students at HM are familiar with the scale of the tragedy, the Holocaust can not be reduced to simply a death count. To understand the Holocaust as solely a tragedy is to undermine the propagation of hate and prejudice that resulted in state-sponsored genocide. Simply diagnosing the Holocaust as a familiar matter of societal consciousness gives us a false sense of proficiency. Instead, I urge classrooms to examine the effects of such a devastating event, in hopes that it can relay solutions and illumination to current and future political climates.

With the rise of the far-right globally, we are at greater risk than ever of a repeat of the tragic events of the Holocaust with other populations. From Hungary, to Brazil, to Italy, and even the United States, authoritarian regimes are gaining

traction, placing everyone who exists on the margins of these regimes at risk. The Holocaust is not the only event that fits this mold. The stories of minority persecution in Apartheid South Africa, the genocides in Rwanda and Armenia, and so many others go unremembered. The best way to combat this historical amnesia is with education. One of the most common answers I have heard to the question of why we study history is to ensure that the past does not repeat itself. As a bit of a history class aficionado, I do not think this is the sole reason, however, it resonates with me in particular after the assembly.

I understand history is vast and it truly is impossible to add a complete history of the Holocaust to our already extensive curriculums; however, I have a few proposals to include history that extends beyond devastation. When we discuss World War II in our U.S. history classes, we should learn about the United States’ late involvement in the war, the complexity of Americans’ reactions and hesitations in doing so, and FDR’s decision to turn away 937 displaced Jewish adults and children seeking refuge from Nazi persecution. At the end of Atlantic World History classes, there should be a brief history character-

izing the rise to power of ultra-nationalists such as Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini. We should be learning why they were allowed to accrue and retain such power along with the legacy of disdain and suspicion that they left between groups of people. Lastly, like Emily and I, and many of you did in fifth grade with Lois Lowery’s “Number the Stars,” a novel about a Jewish family trying to escape Nazi-occupied Denmark, we should incorporate selections from the wide array of literature about the Holocaust into our English classrooms, including books written by survivors. I have read Elie Weisel’s poignant and devastating account of Nazi death camps in his autobiography, “Night;” other books I recommend include “The Happiest Man on Earth” by Eddie Jaku, and the graphic novel “MAUS” by Art Spiegelman. While the assembly was a start, that alone is insufficient. One survivor who spoke for less than one hour cannot teach us a complete history of the Holocaust. The Holocaust is not a box on a checklist that one needs to check, but rather a portion of history that should be studied in depth. Not solely for the story of tragedy, but for an understanding of how human beings allowed it to happen.

Same rigor, more credit: Bring back APlease

has instead been replaced by a 3 digit number – “400.” While official APs have been eliminated from the school’s curriculum, the differentiation of courses based on rigor and content is still a part of the HM educational experience. We believe that even without the AP title, the courses that HM offers are essen tially APs in disguise. So, why can’t we have the opportunity to gain na tional credit for completing work of this high caliber?

should be recognized through the College Board’s nationally reputed scale. Many students, including ourselves, would be happy to take these courses for our academic enrichment, the same reason we cur-

cision to require APs, as many other international schools require APs in consideration of admission. Thus, Horace Mann’s lack of AP courses makes it more difficult to apply to several colleges outside of the US

classes.

Out of the 20,469 high schools in the United States, 18,012 incorporate nightmares into their curricula with the nickname “a pain” - better known as Advanced Placement (AP) courses. These unfortunate 18,012 highschools have just begun their AP testing this week, where students spend at least two to three hours each day on extensive tests. AP classes are notorious for their challenging curriculum designed to mirror a semester collegiate course in their respective subjects. Many Horace Mann students have never had to utter, hear, or breathe the acronym AP, but its prominent name

While it is true that the op portunity for teachers to develop more diverse courses is paramount to the trailblazing education the school provides, we acknowledge that some students would prefer to join the 1.24 million American students who engross themselves in AP classes every year. We agree that distinctive curricula allow the core value “Life of the Mind” to flour ish; however, there is no reason APs cannot coexist with courses unique to the school. Newly developed classes such as LGBTQ+ History and Chemistry, Consumerism, and Citizenship should certainly retain their place in HM’s Program of Studies. For courses that have di rect parallels to current AP offer ings, such as Studies in Psychology (which is similar to AP Psychology) and Calculus with Theory (which is similar to AP Calculus AB), we be lieve the rigor of students’ curricula

Lastly, one of the most appealing aspects of the AP curriculum is the college credit it provides. Students who successfully complete an AP course and score above a three out of five on the exam could potentially receive college credit for the class in question. Any student in the popular 400-level class Atomic Structure, Reactivity, & Applications of Chemistry would surely be prepared to “test out” of collegiate Introductory Chemistry, but instead, they may have to spend a semester covering the same material they learned at HM, throwing a wedge into their college course hours that could be used for higher-level exploration or pursuit of other passions. Cutting off a year or even a semester of school could provide additional economic benefits and save at least $20,000 for many people. For many students on financial aid, this argument can be really appealing.

We admire the school’s decision to open up and develop the curriculum we know and love today. One size does not fit all, and although schools similar to Horace Mann’s caliber have abolished APs, the HM approach does not need to follow suit. If HM truly wants to give students the opportunity to pursue its five core values, they should give us a choice — the choice to take APs.

Allison Markman

Rizaa Fazal and Bethany Jarrett

Q&A with future Athletics Director Matthew Russo

What are you most looking forward to as the future Athletics Director?

I’m really excited about the Physical Education [aspect], as well as the athletics, and just trying to have more of a connection with the whole student body rather than just the kids I coach.

What are some lessons you’ve learned from Mr. Annunziata that you might carry with you next year?

Mr. Annunziata has had an incredible career for 35 years. He has brought so much programming to the school, and has done such a

fantastic job that it would almost be impossible to fill his shoes. Mr. Annunziata has been incredibly gracious in showing me the ropes, so we will certainly continue a lot of the things that he has established until I get my own feet on the ground and can figure it out from there.

I just think his ability to build programs is amazing. We have a ton of teams, and kids that want to try something are given the opportunity to try something, so I think putting the students first will be something I continue to try to do on a daily basis.

What changes will you implement?

I haven’t really thought too much about all the changes and things like

that. I do see some room for change in Phys. Ed, though. I want to try some different things to make Phys. Ed. a little more fun and worthwhile.

What will your role as Athletics Director entail?

It’ll be a similar role. Because of all of his years [at the school], Mr. Annunziata was involved in a lot of things outside of Horace Mann, like the Ivy [Preparatory] league itself and other league affiliations, which I will not be involved in. I will have an opportunity to just really concentrate on HM and trying to do a good job here.

What is your favorite part about teaching athletics and Physical Education?

It’s always been the life lessons that come along with the job and the teaching. Coaching is an extension of the academic experience. Our classrooms might look very different, but the educational piece is still very much prevalent, so that has always been something I’ve enjoyed.

What has been your favorite moment at the school?

I’ve been really fortunate and lucky to have some great, great players play for me and go on to do some incredible things, and a lot of times, they’ll come back or we’ll chat on email, and they say that football or baseball was one of the better experiences they had at HM, and they loved it. And things like that always make you feel really good, because you are making an impact on a

young adolescents life and lives. So I’ve had a few different moments where I know I’ve connected and I’ve helped students and that always feels really good.”

Through the ages: Longest-serving faculty members reflect on how the school has changed

“Whenever alumni come to campus, they are always amazed by what we have accomplished [over the years] in the transition of the campus,” Director of Athletics, Health, & Physical Education Robert Annunziata said.

Across all departments, only 20 teachers have been at the school for more than 20 years. During that time, they have witnessed changes to the curriculum, the campus, and the student body.

The school’s environment is now much more concerned about students’ well-being, Annunziata, who is retiring this year after three and a half decades at the school, said. “From public safety to coaches who are certified in First Aid and CPR, the school’s wellness and health curriculum has evolved to make the community a more nurturing place.”

Public safety officer Jerry Weihe agrees that the school has become safer over the past few decades. “Many retired police officers have been hired, so they have experience and ensure safety with the community,” he said.

History teacher Barry Bienstock, who is currently in his 41st and last year at the school, has noticed that the school is more stable now, in terms of

its administration. When he started working at the school in the 1980s, the administration was constantly changing, he said. “I think there was maybe a six-year period where there were new administrators every year, and every year there were interims,” he said. “Now, the school is stabilized by people like Dr. [Tom] Kelly and Dr. [Jessica] Levenstein.”

The school athletics department has also increased in size. Over As sociate Athletic Director Rawlins Troop’s 41 years at the school, the department has more than doubled in size, he said. In 1988, there were only 44 athletic teams. Now, there are 87, he said. “Our students have always demonstrated great pride in representing Horace Mann and many more students participate in athlet ics than in the past as a result of the growth of the athletic program,” he said.

To accommodate the larg er athletic programming, the school’s campus has expanded, Annunziata said. “We’ve built an aquatics center, fitness center, with updated facilities and gym space,” he said. These new athletic spaces have provided an opportunity for curriculum, program, and teams to grow exponentially, he said

The athletics department is not the only part of the school that has undergone changes in recent years; long-serving teachers have witnessed

transformations in academic curriculums as well. English teacher Rebecca Bahr, who is coming up on her 24th year at the school, has witnessed a shift in the English department to incorporate more modern literature into the curriculum, she said.

Head of the UD and English teacher Dr. Jessica Levenstein, who has taught at the school for 20 years, has seen similar changes in the English

When Bienstock first began teaching in the 80s, there wasn’t much variety available to upperclassmen after they finished their required classes. The History Department only offered Advanced Placement (AP) US History, AP Modern European History, and two electives, including a two trimester Urban Studies course, followed by a one trimester course on the Kennedy years, Bienstock said.“Over the course of many decades, the electives became much more robust, and there are now more options for students to choose from.”

behavior of the student body. With the rise of social media, students now have less time to focus on their schoolwork than they used to, she said. “During my first years teaching here, Facebook had just started, but the entire influence of social media wasn’t around, so I think that has shifted the landscape,” she said.

Another major change to students’ behavior is decreased independence in their studies, Bienstock said. “Students have shown that they want to meet with teachers about the work that they’ve done in preparing for assessments, causing them to be less reliant on themselves.”

futes the common perception that prevailing political norms are influencing the curriculum. “I would really call it more of an effort to make sure that a wider array of students could find points of connection to works that they’re reading,” she said. “I wouldn’t consider that a political act, I consider that serving our students.”

Similar to the English department, the history department also offers a much more diverse curriculum than they did in 1982, Bienstock said.

Beyond the curriculum, Levenstein has also noted changes in students’ behavior, she said. When Levenstein first started teaching at the school, she felt that students were constantly trying to get away with breaking the rules, she said. On one senior absurdity day, a group of students arrived in a fire truck, she said. While it was funny at the moment, it was only enjoyable for the students that could afford to rent the firetruck, she said. “Coming from a nostalgic perspective, that could be kind of fun, but I don’t think that it was a healthy environment, as it only spoke to a small segment of the student body,” Levenstein said.

Bahr also notes changes in the

None of these changes stop teachers from returning every September. Bahr comes back each year with a passion to teach and is happy to see students eager to learn, she said. “It has been very exciting to teach as I enjoy the English department’s dynamic and students’ interest in learning.”

At the end of the day, teachers stay at the school not because of any individual curriculum but because of the passion and excitement of the students at the school, Bienstock said. “The most rewarding part about my job is that every year, students are deeply engaged in not only becoming better people but also better informed about history,” he said.

STILL SMILING Annunziata grins through thirty-five years.

THEN AND NOW Forty one years at this school, what a trooper!

Diya Chawla and Blake Bennett Staff Writers

VivianCoraci/ArtDirector

Courtesy of Coach Troop

Courtesy of Coach Annunziata

James Zaidman Staff Writer

Courtesy of Barry Mason

VICTORY Russo poses with student.

Digging into the campus food delivery craze!

Oliver Konopko and Julia Bouchut Staff Writers

“Ordering food is definitely a really easy and convenient option for students,” Ahaan Modi (10) said. “Just a couple clicks on my phone, and then I can start working and pick my food

the time.”

Avani Khorana (12) is one of the students who regularly order food. Khorana began ordering food regularly during Junior year because she would stay late at school once a week to work on The Record, she said. Currently, Khorana does not have a lunch block, so she orders food to make sure she has something to eat, she said. Khorana typically orders full meals, and

While some students feel the Café has limited options, Kayla Choi (11) feels the Café has been very helpful in fulfilling her caffeine cravings, she said. “Ordering was the only way to get coffee if you didn’t have time to go down the hill,” she said. “The only reason I would order is if I want coffee before the Café opens at 10:00 a.m.”

Some students critique the school’s obsession with food delivery. Students have created

HM’s most popular food delivery services

her most common order is pad thai chicken from Moon Thai Kitchen, she said. She typically pays $15 per order and tips $2, on each item she orders. Other students order food because of dietary restrictions which are not well accommodated by the school, Ahaan Modi (10) said. As a vegetarian, Modi has difficulty finding nutritious, satisfying meals at the school cafeteria, and often eats a bowl of pasta for lunch, he said. However, twice a week, Modi orders a burrito from Chipotle for a protein-rich, vegetarian

a culture that normalizes ordering food despite it being, for the most part, unnecessary, Madeline Ment (10) said. There are so many options, between the cafeteria, the Café, and even going down the hill, that the instinct to immediately order when craving something can reflect a lack of restraint, she said.

Ordering food to campus so often and expecting delivery workers to make the trip even when there is so much food readily available at the school indicates a level of privilege, Ment said. “There are certain situations where maybe you just need something to cheer you up and brighten your day,” she said. “But if you’re thinking on a whim ‘oh I would love a dessert right now,’ I think everyone would like their favorite dessert delivered to school, but maybe it’s better to see what there is on campus instead.”

51% of students order more than once a week

dents ordering food this year, she said. “Five years ago, the only food delivered was pizza for after-school events,” she said. “Now there are these bags that are sitting here in Tillinghast all

While Modi’s burrito costs $15, he ends up paying $22 due to delivery fees and tips, which makes ordering less appealing, he said. In con trast with most students who tip 14% per order, Modi has gone from tipping $4 to now only $1$2, he said. Cutting tips was the only way Modi could cut down on the cost of his orders, he said.

In addition to food, many students order beverages to the school, which make up 53% of the poll respondents’ orders. Before the Mong Family Café opened on February 27, Nicole Au (10) would order her favorite drinks, Starbucks acai tea or Pearl Dynastea bubble tea, because of the lack of caffeinated beverages at the school, she said. “We’re all tired and we need to power through the last few periods of the day.”

Au only started ordering food and beverages this year, but has recently ordered less frequently because of the opening of the Café, she said. However, she finds that she goes to the Café more out of convenience than because she prefers its options, she said. While she enjoys many of the foods and drinks the Café has to offer, she finds that it lacks the particular beverages she has come to look forward to, she said.

Meenakshi Vora (9) also sees issues with resorting to delivery instead of taking advantage of the school’s food options, she said. She believes frequently ordering food is wasteful because families already pay a large fee for food from the cafeteria each year, she said. “Excessive ordering is a waste because our parents already pay a set amount of money for the year, so you don’t need to be ordering food all the time,” she said. “Though I can understand ordering every

26% of students order from Chipotle

18% of students order

der,” she said. “It’s never just because there’s an option there and I have a free period.”

There is no clear answer to whether or not to order food. Although Smith sees plenty of food get thrown out because students forget to pick it up, he also understands students’ desire to order food or coffee, he said. “If I was younger and had access I would definitely order, but not ev ery day. It just seems excessive.”

“Five years ago, the only food delivered was pizza for after-school events. Now there are these bags that are sitting here in Tillinghast all the time.”

- Stephanie Feigin, Dean of Grade 11

Karla Moreira/Staff Artist

Vivian Coraci/Art Director

Sophie Li/Staff Artist

Courtesy of Neeva Patel

Kayden Hansong/Staff Artist

The art of theater tech: Behind the scenes of Catie Miller’s journey to HM

Madeleine Offit Staff Writer

“Anything that you could do in theater, I’ve done it,” Technical Director and theater teacher Caitie Miller said while reflecting on her experiences bringing theatrical productions to life. “I have been a director, stage manager, actor, set designer, and lighting designer. I love it.”

Miller knew she wanted a career in the arts ever since elementary school, she said. Her choice to pursue theater was the product of growing up in a family with careers in the arts and a lot of experimentation. “I went to an elementary school that focused on the arts and my mom teacher there,” said. “I found that theater was the art thing that I loved do ing the most.”

The first time Miller got to take charge on set was as a stage manager for her high school’s production of play wright Molière’s play “Scapin the Schemer,” she said. “Scapin” required an intricate set that Miller produced with the assistance of the technical director of the play, she said. “It was the first time I thought, this is what theater is,” Miller said. “It’s wacky, it’s fun, everyone was laughing so much, it was pretty, it was goofy. I think that is my earliest and most fa vorite theater production I have ever worked on.”

Miller particularly loves how theater is a collaborative art form, she said. “It brings together a ton of people in service of one artistic goal. And I also love that it’s the one art form that really brings together all the other ones,” she said.

At Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, Miller pursued an English major alongside her theater major with a concentration in design. She

built sets, hung lights, and took as many classes as she could, she said. She also built the sets of every theatrical production that ran at her college as part of her work-study job in the scene shop. During her senior year, Miller designed one of the college’s large-scale shows for the musical “Urinetown.” “I got to draw all the pretty pictures and then watch other people bring my vision to life, so that was pretty cool,” she said.

After graduating in 2012, Miller struggled to find a job, she said. “In 2012 we were still in the midst of a recession, so jobs were not to be had.”

Miller spent a year living in Memphis and was able to find work at a local Olive Garden. “I took as much design and stage management work as I could…I worked on tiny little shows in Memphis that paid you barely anything for your work,” she said. In 2013, she and her husband moved to New York, where she got a job working at a restaurant in the Museum of Modern Art, she said. She spent four years working at the restaurant but continued her passion for theater on the side, she said.

“When I finally moved to New York, I started stage managing at a great little theater, the Astoria Performing Arts Center in Queens,” she said.

Once she felt ready, Miller attended graduate school for a three-year master’s program in Design and Technology at Brooklyn College. “To be a designer, there’s a lot of technical stuff that I felt like I was missing and so that’s why I went back to grad school,” she said.

During her last year at Brooklyn College, Miller instructed students in an ‘Intro to Design’ class. “Graduate school was all the aspects of theater and design in college, but multiplied by 1,000,” she said.

Right after graduate school in 2020, Miller began work at the school. She teaches three main classes in the Upper Division (UD) and leads the after-school stage crew. One of her classes is an introductory class all about learning the design process and visual literacy — the ability to convey ideas with visual language instead of words, she said. Miller also teaches Applied Design and Technical Theatre, a more tactile and hands-on course in which students design sets for the Horace Mann Theatre Company’s (HMTC) seasonal productions.

Athena Spencer (12) the leading set designer for the UD’s recent production “Something Rotten!,” appreciates Miller’s devotion to her work, she said. “She is really hard working and she really cares about her students,” Spencer said. Spencer and Miller have built a particularly special bond through their work together on various sets, and have been able to bond over things that transcend production design. “We both really love to talk about Taylor Swift,” she said. “Ms. Miller has a lot of strong opinions and they are fun to hear.”

Amaris Christian (10), a member of after school stage crew, adores Miller, she said. “Ms. Miller is a really strong woman and she takes the time to show you how strong you can be,” Christian said.

Christian’s favorite moment with Miller was when she first learned how to use a chop saw, she said. “I didn’t really know how carpentry would work and she showed me. She always wants to make sure the people in the stage crew are doing something hands-on,” she said.

Master electrician for the after school stage crew Gwendolyn Simon (11) and Student Technical Directors Juliet Burgess (11) and Bailey Hecht (12) all highlighted the importance of a female mentor in a male-dominated field. “I hope the stage crew will continue to be a place where girls and people of all genders feel empowered,” Hecht said.

A Tuesday in the life of Ms. Miller

10:00 a.m.

Miller begins her school day at 10:00 a.m. as opposed to 8:25 a.m, and gets settled in.

10:15 a.m.

Miller runs backstage to help with assembly. Some of her students run the lights while others work the curtains. Miller makes sure everything is running smoothly and working safely.

11:10 a.m

Miller teaches her D-period “Intro to Design” class with 3 Freshmen and 2 Seniors.

11:55 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Miller wraps up her class and cleans up whatever pieces of set the class was building, from painted backdrops to treehouses for actors to stand on.

12:00 p.m.

Miller usually either paints something or builds for a set during this free time.

12:50 p.m.

1:40 p.m.

Coraci/Art Director

Lunch! Miller likes eating during F period because the Cafeteria is quieter.

Hecht also recalled Miller’s sense of humor, “Ms. Miller always has the best sayings,” she said. “My favorite of hers is that you can tell how stressed a techie is by how many pencils are in their hair. She told me this during tech for ‘James and the Giant Peach’ when I had roughly five writing utensils shoved in my bun,” Hecht said.

Miller is able to bring wild visions of her students to the stage using her past expertise, she said. “My 13 or 14 years of building sets come into use whenever one of my designers really wants to make this crazy thing happen.” she said.

Miller hopes her students feel what she did during her first experiences designing. “Watching my students grow is the best feeling in the world. It’s why I teach,” she said. “I remember the joy I felt when I first had a design that I drew on a piece of paper and then saw my vision come to fruition. Watching my students feel that feeling is the best.”

Outside of her work at the school, Miller focuses on her two year-old

Miller uses G-period to get ready for after-school stage crew which runs from 3:20 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She spends this period drafting, pulling out tools, or cutting things in preparation.

Miller teaches in-school stage crew H-period with four students. They build sets for upcoming productions.

daughter. “Right now, my whole life outside of school is about my daughter,” she said. “We are learning the alphabet and trying to get her to feel brave enough to slide down the slide — that’s pretty much what I do.”

Reflecting on the lessons she has learned at the school, Miller emphasized the unique students she has been able to work with, she said. “Horace Mann students have so much academic knowledge and you’re all in your heads all the time,” she said. “What I’m going to take away from the school is how to get people to open up and turn all their knowledge into physical and artistic creations,” she said. “Teaching at any other school would be different.”

Miller hopes that all students at the school have the chance to see an HMTC production. “It has been a wonderful experience working here. We have created some really cool art,” she said. “We do some really cool stuff down here in the basement and behind the scenes.”

3:20 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Miller oversees after school stage crew of 20 students. The students are broken up into their different projects and are usually working in different areas including the Gross Theatre, the shop, and the Black Box. Some work on lighting while others work on building sets. Miller works with Middle Division teacher John Griffin to supervise the students

5:30 p.m.

The crew cleans up and leaves by 5:45 p.m. 6:00 p.m.

Miller leaves the school and goes home to her family!

HARD AT WORK Miller poses in front of the workshop.

Ben Rafal/Photo Director

“Watching my students grow is the best feeling in the world. It’s why I teach.”

- Caitie Miller, Technical Director

Heidi Li/Staff Artist

Choupette-inspired couture celebrates Lagerfeld’s legacy at Met

Harper Rosenberg Staff Writer

This Monday, Amala Zandile Dlamini (professionally known as rapper and singer Doja Cat) made a striking, avante-garde Met Gala debut, strutting down the carpet dressed as none other than her namesake: a cat. In my excitement for the Gala, before the big day I usually research the theme and its inspiration. Once Doja Cat came on, I saw the internet light up, amused by the unique interpretation of this year’s Gala theme, which honored the late Karl Lagerfeld. I wasn’t surprised. In fact, I was fighting for her to dress like that, because it is perfect for her. I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to dress like Choupette. It made me a bit squeamish because prosthetics scare me, but she pulled off the look with the style and grace befitting of a hip hop star.

Lagerfeld was known for his white Birman cat Choupette, whom he adopted in 2011. She has become a cultural icon and I know I am never disappointed to see a new photo of her uploaded onto the cat’s prestigious Instagram account. She may be the world’s most coddled cat, being a millionaire, model, and the rumored inheritor of Lagerfeld’s riches. In fact, Choupette was invited to the Met Gala, but being the diva she is, she stayed home instead.

Doja Cat and her creative director Brett Alan Nelson partnered with designer brand Oscar de La Renta, spending six months hand beading the sparkly gown, complete with a hood and cat ears. For a six hour event this seems like a bit much, but I assure you, their work paid off.

Doja Cat herself suggested the idea of using facial prosthetics to solidify the feline look. Nelson contacted professional prosthetic artist Malina Stearns to execute the look in a fashion that would honor Choupette. “[Doja is] no furry, but

I had images of Choupette as references,” Stearns said. While I find it funny that Nelson claimed responsibility for the furry inspiration, I understand because the audience opinion of an outfit often reflects upon the design team. Two months prior to the Met Gala, Nelson worked with Doja Cat to create a mold of her face so that she could sculpt the piece with high accuracy. Only a couple years after the infamous live action Cats movie, the public, and I, remain traumatized by eerie visuals of human-like cats. However, Doja Cat pulled off this look in a manner that put me on edge, but also managed to retain Choupette’s glamor and grace.

In addition to Doja Cat, other attendees, such as Lil Nas X and Janelle Monáe, dressed as Choupette. However, the feline interpretation to turn the most heads, and not in a particularly excited way, was undeniably Jared Leto’s human sized fursuit. Complete with whiskers, ears, paws, and bright blue eyes, the suit took a month to create. Working with production studio SCPS, the project remained top-secret, with the suit stored in a locked room in which only a small team of designers could enter. the final product, I get locked up. However, the perfect candidate outfit; while the cat unique, it has the ing charm that strive for. I found rie look to be strange, ing nonetheless. It Met Gala without puts viewers on

Lawson Wright (12) wins National History Day for documentary

Annika Bhandari Staff Writer

For the fourth year since 2019, Lawson Wright (12) won first place last Monday in the New York State History Day (NYSHD) Competition for his documentary “Little Rock: A Frontier of the Global Cold War,” which examines the 1957 Little Rock Crisis in Arkansas through the lens of the Cold War. The competition is a branch of National History Day, a nonprofit organization that runs annual, global project-based contests for students in sixth through twelfth grade. Wright submitted his documentary in the “Senior Individual Documentary” category, where he placed second in the New York City History Day competition and then first in the NYSHD competition. Wright has advanced to the national level, where he hopes to win an award, he said.

Wright’s documentary argues that exposing racism in the U.S. was central to the Soviet Union’s campaign throughout the Cold War, and that communists used the Little Rock Nine crisis to promote their own ideal model for society. The Little Rock crisis occurred after the US Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which stated that segregated schools were “inherently unequal.” Following the ruling, nine African-American students enrolled in the Little Rock Central High School, which prompted the governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, to order the Arkansas National Guard to prevent them from entering the school.

The racism in the U.S. in the 1950s and 60s discredited the nation’s claim that it prioritized equality, Wright said. “I hope that through the documentary, viewers understand how events relating to the civil rights movements, such as Little Rock, were not just a phenomenon in America but also had an international significance.” Through the

Vivian Coraci/Art Director

Student art and poetry showcase

moss forest

By: Louise Kim (12)

The slanted oaken tree trunks are varnished with a strong light green that would perhaps seem to shimmer if the sun shone at the right angle— alas, it is always dark here in the deep rugged forest, here in the lichenous garden. Sermon on the mount And i am the breeze that always listens. a moss forest, a forest of moss a moss forest, forest of moss moss-forest, forest-of-moss forest-moss, forest-moss.

documentary, Wright demonstrates how many acts relating to the civil rights movement were simply performative, intended to improve the United States’ reputation without having a significant impact on the lives of most African Americans.

The topic was a natural choice for Wright because he is enrolled in both Global Cold War History and Contemporary U.S. History, he said. “I thought that this was a great topic that combined many interests and fit within the context of the two classes,” he said.

Upper Division (UD) history teacher Melissa Morales has helped Wright create his documentaries since his freshman year. “Lawson’s documentaries are special because he is deeply interested in the subjects that he researches,” she said. “He puts a lot of passion into the projects.”

Wright started the research process in October and finished earlier this year, he said. He began by finding secondary sources and later contacted archivists at multiple libraries to provide him with primary sources, he said. Wright also took advantage of the school’s databases, utilizing communist posters and video footage. After analyzing all the sources, Wright wrote a script and made a voiceover. Lastly, he compiled all the images and media and edited them together, which only took a week.

Ever since he first began making documentaries in seventh grade, Wright has enjoyed it because documentaries can express elements of history that cannot be told through an essay, he said. “Seeing the violence in Little Rock is a really powerful image, and you can only convey that through a documentary,” he said.

Garden of Eden

By: Erianne Flores (9)

Birthed from your rib, crafted by the broken part of you so all you saw was broken. Something that needed to be fixed and you always liked a challenge. thought you were all that ‘cause you were God’s right-hand man.

So you took me under your wing, called me your wife gave me the illusion of choice to name the birds in the sky. meanwhile, you were gossiping with the man up high.

Did you ever see me as equal? or did you forget you were born from the dust? on the last day of creation, you weren’t even a must.

Do you forget that in the end, the story is really about us?

Not you.

not me

Us.

And how we got kicked out of this mess, banished from the garden. yet it’s my seed that’ll be punished, the taxing task of constantly being harassed by that damned snake. I ate the fruit first,

but you’re the one who followed in pursuit. I was never broken you’re the one missing a rib. maybe some missing brain cells too.

Garden of Eden ever thought about the name? Eve and Adam…kinda reminds you of us? co-owners of the place yet we were both banished. despite being pissed off at you Adam I think I’m more pissed off at the duo of the lamb and the snake.

maybe I am a little broken, but it definitely was not a mistake.

VICTORY! The Wright side of history.

David Aaron (11)

David Aaron (11)

Kristy Xie (11)

Kristy Xie (11)

Courtesy of Lawson Wright

Lions’ Den Record Sports

BVL does not relax

Madeleine Offit Staff Writer

After two hours of back and forth play, the Boys Varsity Lacrosse Team (BVL) defeated Fieldston 10 - 9 on Monday, marking the team’s fifth win out of nine games this season.

Going into the game, the team felt confident as they had played against Fieldston earlier in the season, Joshua Baron (12) said. “We knew what type of offense they wanted to run, so we ran our own defense to counter their offense.”

Anticipating Fieldston’s tactics, the team practiced quick ball maneuvers and settling the ball on offense, Coach Matthew Kambeitz said. The coaches also encouraged the players to be aggressive and make good decisions with the ball, he said.

However, despite preparation, the game did not start according to plan, particularly because of the addition of two new players to Fieldston’s team, Dylan Porges (9) said. The team also struggled as they were coming off a long weekend and had not practiced before the game, he said.

As a result, the team was down by a few goals for the majority of the game, which increased the players’ nerves, Baron said. “It felt like we were going to lose,” he said. With only about four minutes left in the game, the team was

Track races to victory

down 5-9.

Towards the end of the game, the team experienced a sudden shift in momentum as Will Chasin (9) and Nate Wildman (12) each scored a comeback goal, Harrison Smigel (9) said. “I think the real turn- ing point was [Nate’s] goal,” he said. “Everyone really got hyped and our morale went up.”

With only 20 seconds left in the game, Smigel and Julien Harcourt (12) each scored one more goal, tying the game and sending it into overtime or “sudden death,” Porges said.

For Baron, the team’s goalie, overtime was especially stressful, he said. “It’s pretty nerve wracking,” Baron said. “If I let them score, the game’s over.”

The game then continued into triple overtime, Cameron Sipp (11) said. “It was exciting…it was also nice to see our freshmen step up,” he said. “They played really great.” Despite the score remaining tied, the team achieved massive success in this third overtime.

After a pass from Smigel, Porges scored the tie breaking, game winning goal, with a perfect shot from the middle.

The team was thrilled with their comeback, Smigel said. “Right after we scored, we had a mosh pit on the field.”

While the team is excited about the win, what matters most is their perseverance, Kambeitz said. “The team has a lot of talent and personality,” he said. “They’re a great group of young, future leaders of America.”

Spikeball’s

Espaikebaru

Matthew Pruzen Contributing Writer

On Wednesday, the Boys and Girls Varsity

but my coach told me I would regret not doing [the 800-meter race],” she said. “I was very happy I did it as all my teammates were cheering me on.”

May Mayhem Bracket

The Mushrooms 5 *star*

Neva Quamp

Carrot Topp

Stephanie/Erica B.C.

Los campeones

The Mushrooms

HM Thunder *squid*

Murakami’s Army

5 *star*

Ball crushers

Matty Sherm

Hard Hitters

Neva Quamp

Bartolo’s Colon

Fineas and Ferb

Dorchester Delinquents

Sam Squared Boom

Spike Tyson

Hakuna Matata

Harlem Globetrotters

Tolgray

Team Easy W

Angles

Physics without Calculus

the snackeez *fire*

Dolphin Asparagus

*Star of David*

Dolphin Asparagus

Lone Wolf

Pelvic Fractures

The Collegiate Killas

The Hitmen 1

Biggest Bird

Courtesy of Barry Mason

Courtesy of Barry Mason