Volume 120, Issue 20

The Record

Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

A day in the life of the mind: Class of 2027 admitted students visit school

Naomi Yaeger Staff Writer

Last week, 60 students admitted to the Class of 2027 visited the school for a taste of what being a student at the school is like.

Every admissions cycle, the school receives between 350 and 500 applications to the ninth grade, Assistant Director of Admissions Emily Cohen said. Out of the 40-60 students they choose to admit, they expect 60% to 69% will accept their offers, adding 35 to 40 new ninth graders to the grade.

After getting accepted to the school, admitted students are invited to spend half a day sitting in on classes. “When students get

moments, it was more about making them feel comfortable and making sure that they feel like they can ask questions,” she said.

Many of the students in student ambassador Sari Sladkus’ (12) groups had questions about Project X. “It was a blessing in disguise,” she said. “It was a really good conversation starter with the students, and all my co-ambassador leaders were talking about how they had their students help them and be on the lookout for their target.” Sladkus convinced her visiting students to surround her as she walked them between classes.

Since one of the students in Aguilar’s Friday group had also been on a tour she led in the fall, the day

“The classrooms I usually see have rows of desks, but when I walked into these, there was a large, round, hardwood table. The students were really focused in each class, reading carefully and discussing the material.”

- Christian Brown, visiting student

their ‘Congratulations! Welcome to Horace Mann’ admitted letter, they are given information on how to sign up for revisit days,” Cohen said. They get to learn about the culture of the school in order to help them decide if they want to attend, Cohen said.

Last Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, around 15 to 20 admitted students visited the school each day. Upon arrival, they split up into groups of four, each with a unique schedule and student ambassador guide. The ten student ambassador leaders took turns touring the students; if an ambassador had an assessment that day, they would not be assigned to a tour group. After D period, the visitors ate lunch with current eighth graders. They ended the day with a presentation from the Art and Athletics Department chairs, and a Q&A with student ambassador leaders.

Student ambassador leader Malcolm Furman (12) led two groups of students on Monday and Wednesday. After each period, Furman asked his group how the class went. “They seemed genuine in their interest in the school,” he said.

Some of the students can be intimidated by the seniors around them, student ambassador Ana Aguilar (12) said. “In those first few

gave her an opportunity to connect more with that student, she said. “We were able to talk about the tour without his parents around, so he had more time to talk,” she said.

When taking students around, Furman had to consider how to best describe the school, he said. “My goal was to present the school in the best way possible while also being true to the school’s community and culture,” he said. “They deserve to have a real understanding of what the school’s like, and if it’s not the right fit for them, then it’s not the right fit and they should see that

a normal day at the school is like.”

When placing visiting students into their groups, the admissions department asked them what type of courses they wanted to see to tailor their experience to those interests, Cohen said. “We tell students at the beginning of the day, you might be in a class where it goes totally over your head, and that’s okay! We just want to have you get a feel of what a classroom dynamic feels like,” she said. Students were encouraged to participate in these classes in any way they feel comfortable, whether that be through answering questions or through listening to the discussions happening around them, Cohen said.

Some of the students fit right in, Furman said. “There was one student that participated in a Precalculus Honors class and got the answer [to a question] right, despite most people in the class not being able to,” he said. “All the ambassadors were impressed that an eighth grad er could do that.”

Others were excited to learn more about the topics presented in the class, student ambassador Steve Yang (12) said. “I took them to Art History, and they had this really lively discussion afterward about the Roman deity Bacchus compared to his Greek counterpart Dionysus,” he said. “The students are really in tuitive and excited about the class,” he said.

Christian Brown, a newly admit ted student, attended Global Envi ronmental History, Environmental Science, Algebra II, and English 10. Sitting in the classes was a little shocking at first for Brown, he said. “The classrooms I usually see have rows of desks, but when I walked into these, there was a large, round, hardwood table,” he said. “The stu

“In all of my classes, the students seemed both focused and interested. The teachers seemed really passionate about what they teach.”

upfront.”

To Sladkus, there was less pressure to “sell the school” to students during the revisiting process than during the tours for prospective students, she said. “In the Fall, we show visiting students the unique features of Horace Mann - like the Steel Drum room,” she said. “This week was more to show them what

knowledge on environmental history, Brown was able to engage in the discussion, and ask questions about the class’ reading on solar geoengineering, he said.

Antoni Sawicki, who visited last Friday, took part in Biology, Atlantic World History, Algebra II & Trigonometry Honors, and 12th grade English elective What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. “In all of my classes, the students seemed both focused and interested. The teachers seemed really passionate about what they teach,” he said. “I didn’t understand all of the material, but the parts of it that I did understand, I enjoyed.”

The revisit process is one of the first times that admitted students can get a sense of what being a student at the school is like, Cohen said. During their tours, students meet a few faculty members for their interview, but no one else, she said. “We tell students, ‘it is so important that when you leave at the

350-500 applicants to ninth grade

12.5-15% (40 to 60 students) admitted

60-69% of admitted students accept their offers

35 to 40 new additions to the Class of 2027

dents were really focused in each class, reading carefully and discuss ing the material.”

Brown particularly enjoyed Global Environmental History. “We were learning a lot about certain solutions to climate change, which was pretty cool because that’s actu ally something I could provide my input on,” he said. Using his prior

record.horacemann.org March 10th, 2023

Volume 120 Issue 20

- Antoni Sawicki, visiting student

Amira Dossani/Art Director

Catching a case of senioritis? Four seniors weigh in.

Steve Yang

There’s less pressure, allowing me to focus more on the learning aspect of it. I still try to do as best as I can, but now it’s more about trying my best instead of meeting some threshold, however arbitrary. I haven’t left HM just yet! The environment as a whole is less of a pressure cooker, but I really think everyone’s still active in class and still responding to the teachers. Our school probably has less of a senior-slumping problem than other schools because everyone really wants to learn

and is dedicated to the “Life of the Mind.” And since we have so much latitude to choose our senior year classes, I think people have chosen classes that they’re truly interested in. I’m trying to not slump, but I’ve been seeking to slow down a bit, focus more on my well-being, and spend time with friends and family.

Divya Ponda

After the end of the first semester I found myself slumping a lot, due to academic burnout. Because the school is so academically intense and everybody is very motivated, at some point people are bound to kind of max out. And they’re now at that point. Senior year is really the peak of that academic pressure because of the combination of the college process, balancing classes, and also social pressure. I also don’t think that senior slumping is necessarily a bad thing because the school culture could become a little bit more relaxed and people need a break because the first quarter was just constant pressure. Now I’ve been making time every weekend, or at least every Friday, which I didn’t let myself do before.

...What’s supp?

What is your favorite snack?

~Trail mix~

Liberal tears

Middle schoolers

Cafeteria Tilapia

Ayaan DeSilva

I used to think, “I have to get a good grade in every class.” But now I’m like, “you know what? I’m okay with like, an A- or a B+.” I’m not sure how many people in some of my classes are even doing the homework anymore. The fact that everyone kind of slumps when they don’t have to work anymore shows how people are just motivated for grades. Especially when people get into college, ev-

eryone relaxes a little bit. Not trying whatsoever is disrespectful to teachers, so you have to still put in some effort. But it’s natural to ease back a little bit, now that the pressure is off.

Devika Gehlaut

I’ve got a real case of senioritis, and I do support the slump. It started after I submitted my college application. A lot of seniors are in the same boat because we had a lot of work and we were overwhelmed with writing so many essays for college, and now we’re all saying “I’m so done and I’m ready for the spring.” I’m actually loving the senior slump. It’s well deserved for all seniors to be able to enjoy our last semester

after we’ve all done so much work over our high school careers.

Reporting by Jorge Orvanaños Staff Writer

Comic by English teacher Jennifer Little

short answer prompts for their application. The University of Southern California (USC) has a section for “quick takes.”

Their admissions officers like to say that your answers for this section have no effect on your application, “it’s just for you to have fun, no strings attached.” For non-seniors, please know that this is the ultimate Trojan Horse: nothing in the college process or in life is ever for “fun.”

But The Record has always been a place for students to let their hair down and express their most true and creative selves. So I thought I would publish some of my scrapped ideas for the USC quick takes section. Juniors, feel free to borrow, though know that you would be moving to Los Angeles, a city with more lax prosecution policy and veganism than New York.

Describe yourself in three words.

• First Word: Google

• Second Word: My

• Third Word: Daddy

The liberal tears of middle schoolers forced to eat cafeteria tilapia

Best movie of all time:

• Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal

• That Kim Kardashian movie.

• Wolf of Wall Street, you know who you are : - )

Favorite quote:

• “The juice is loose.”

• “Bro I literally started Barry’s Bootcamp.”

• “Can’t talk…sorry, gotta catch my bus!”

• “You’ll be taking this in the testing center.”

Least favorite quote:

• “Here’s a joke from the Happiness Club!...Thanks, Happiness Club!”

• “B+/A-”

• “We have to read articles in advisory today.”

• “When’s your birthday? What’s your zip code?”

• *caption* “Life recently”

Volume 120 Editorial Board

Head of Design

Avani Khorana

Features

Vidhatrie Keetha

Ayesha Sen

A&E

Hannah Katzke

Allison Markman

Art Directors

Amira Dossani

Vivian Coraci

Sophia Liu

Editor in Chief

Emily Sun

Dream job:

• Katz Library influencer

• The fish in the Lutnick fish tank

• Tiger Woods impersonator

• Bat Mitzvah dancer assigned to the grandma

Dream trip:

• UCLA campus tour

• The all gender bathroom

• Dorr

• Escorted walk to Counseling & Guidance

What TV show will you binge watch next?

• How to Get Away with Murder (your alumni are already experts)

• The History Department Speaker Series

Favorite book:

• The Pocket U.S. Constitution

• Spanish Preterite and Imperfect

• The Mannikin flipped to ~his~ half page

• The dean suite group chat

If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?

• Coping with a University Deferral

• History through Twitter

• History through Barstool Sports

• Intro to Microaggressions

Staff

Editorial Policy

Managing Editor

Emily Salzhauer

Zachary Kurtz Opinions

News

Lions’ Den

Max Chasin

Photo Directors Jorge Orvañanos

Aryan Palla

Sam Siegel

Ben Rafal

Audrey Carbonell

Sean Lee

Middle Division

Celine Kiriscioglu

Rachel Baez

Design Editors

Sophie Pietrzak

Alara Yilmaz

Arin Rosen

Staff Writers Ariella Frommer, Ava Lipsky, Clara Stevanovic, Erica Jiang, Harper Rosenberg, Isabella Ciriello, Jorge Orvañanos, Joshua Shuster, Kate Beckler, Lucy Peck, Maeve Godlman, Naomi Yaeger, Neeva Patel, Samantha Matays, Sofia Kim, Sophie Rukin, Audrey O’Mary, Blake Bennett, Brody Grossman, Emily Wang, Gillian Ho, Hannah Becker, Jacqueline Shih, James Zaidman, Julia Bouchut, Malachai Abbott, Nikita Pande, Oliver Konopko, Nora Wildman, Rena Salsberg, Diya Chawla, Zach Hornfeld, Julia Lourenco, Lily Sussman, Charles Ampah

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

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.

David Berenson

Online Editor Emily Grant Faculty Adviser

Staff Artists Sam Stern, Dylan Leftt, Aydan Ergin, 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, Sarah Aaron

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

2 THE RECORD OPINIONS + HUMOR MARCH 10TH, 2023

Lions at work: Students hold part-time jobs

some for students who need to work out of familial obligation, Tao said.

Every Saturday and Sunday, Yasmeen Masoud (11) trades her backpack for a black and orange apron and hops on the train to “About Coffee” on the Upper West Side, where she works as a part-time barista. After a four-hour shift of drawing latte art, steaming coffees, and copying down orders, Masoud returns home to finish her heavy workload.

While the school’s culture of wealth and rigorous workloads create the impression that there are no students with jobs, this is not the case, Christine Tao (11), who works as a referee for the Westchester Soccer Referee

Students today frequently have to make decisions regarding how to al locate their free time between clubs, internships, community service, or traditional jobs, HM library intern Louise Kim (12) said. “That depends on what stu dents re gard as helpful or strategic to one’s own moral compass,” she said.

“You learn something valuable do ing all of those activities, but it is up to the student to explore and eventually decide.”

For Kim, working as a library in tern is an extension of her passion for books, she said. “I wanted experience getting to know the structure and technicalities of our library system,” they said. As a senior, spending one to two free periods per week at the library serves as a stress reliever from hectic school life. “For me, reshelving books is cathartic and, to an extent, escapism from a stressful school day when I’m running on autopilot,” Kim said.

for things I wanted, rather than things I needed,” she said. Fazal spent her $1,600 paycheck on stores like Brandy Melville, Lululemon, and Sephora.

Juliet Burgess (11), a school stagehand at the tri-annual orchestra and band concerts, was also drawn to the benefit of financial compensation, she said.

“I really love helping out and making the concert special because I am part of the music community, but I also really like getting money.”

Burgess spends her salary, which is $100 per concert, on expenses such as extra food and shopping that her parents may have otherwise covered, she said. “Having my own money and source of income gives me more independence.”

Max Feng (11) earns $20 per video

ees, Khosrowpour sends out an email to a list of students from stage crew asking if they are available to work.

At the library, student participation is high enough that the library does not need to advertise the internship positions, UD librarian Melissa Kazan said. “The qualities we are looking for are people who are interested in books, in particular students who participated in the Middle Division Readers Forum or are currently part of LitChat.” Next year there will be three library intern positions open, Kazan said.

trips then a lot of people see it as a waste,” they said.

There is also a lack of respect for students working blue collar jobs, Tran said. “When I tell people I worked in a food truck they say ‘ooh that’s a cool experience,’ not ‘that’s hard work,’” they said. “They see it as a novelty factor, not real work.”

Organization and a Chinese teacher’s assistant at Westchester Community College, said. From on-campus work in the library to weekend commitments like Masoud’s, a small but active portion of the student body is employed.

For decades, the national percentage of high schoolers who held after-school jobs has dropped. According to CNBC, in 2019, 35% of American teenagers were employed, while 60% were employed in 1979. As more students focus on college enrollment, extracurricular activities, and homework, the amount of time students have in the day to hold a job diminishes. These realities are magnified at a highly competitive school like HM and are increasingly burden-

Trish Tran (12) works part-time during the summer at their family’s food truck in Ohio, Be Tran Eggrolls. Serving dishes such as fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, and the truck’s renowned egg rolls, Tran operates the oil station, preps meals for customers, and handles change.

The summer before sophomore year, Tran began working alongside their father and uncle. “I felt an obligation to work in the beginning since my dad wanted to show me how he grew up,” they said. “But now I really like it. It’s a fun way to spend my summer and make money.”

While students’ reasons for working a job vary, one common motivator is making money, part-time coach at Atlas Debate Camp Rizaa Fazal (11) said. “I could use the money I made

writing scripts for the popular psy chology youtube channel Psych2Go, he said. Every week, Feng researches for three hours to create in formative five-minute scripts on mental health topics.

His two pub lished videos, “5 Signs you have Chronic Depression,” and “If You Struggle With Body Image Issues, Watch this,” have over 235,000 views, he said. A fan of the channel, Feng read that Psych2Go was hiring in a community post and submitted an application.

The process of hiring for on-campus jobs is more informal, UD music teacher Dr. Amir Khosrowpour said.

The main requirement to be a stagehand is being a part of the Horace Mann Theater Community (HMTC) stage crew, since the work requires experience with Gross Theatre’s lightboards, fly system, and general layout, he said. To find prospective employ-

HM library intern James Zaidman (10) learned about job openings at the school library via word of mouth during his freshman year. After providing information such as his employment history, skills, and references, he submitted a school job application and filled out employment and tax forms at the school’s business office.

Hiring is the easiest part of the process because once work begins, striking a balance between school soud said. “School takes up so much of our lives, it’s hard to have a social life, much less a work life,” she said. “You almost don’t have time to still be

For Ben Wu (12), who worked as a Starbucks ing his time in a corporate work climate was ficult, he said.

“Starbucks implemented a minimum ment of 12 hours per week,” he said.

“I ended up having to stay up late and wake up early on weekends to make everything in my schedule fit.” Wu turned in his two weeks’ leave notice in mid-January after having difficulty managing schoolwork, Varsity Swim practice, and employment, he said.

The school’s culture fosters an environment where student jobs are not only undervalued but looked down upon by peers, Tran said. “Especially because the school is so academically focused, if you are not spending your summer studying or going on fancy

Working a minimum wage job dispels misconceptions regarding money and success, Tao said. “There is this narrative, especially at HM, that hard work automatically equals financial success, but in reality you can work so much and still be undercompensated,” Tao said. “More students should work minimum wage jobs to see just how hard they are.”

Aside from practical benefits, work is also just fun, Masoud said. “Knowing I have an upcoming shift gives me something to look forward to every weekend,” she said. As a burgeoning latte art master, Masoud has perfected the six layer heart, feather, and tulip, and is currently learning how to make a swan.

At the end of the day, minimum wage jobs shouldn’t be stigmatized, Wu said. Rushing to meet customer demands during rush hour and toiling long hours on his feet, Wu gained an increased appreciation for service

and hospitality workers. “I have so much more respect for these people,” he said. “They are often undervalued and people don’t recognize how impactful they are to the community.”

3 THE RECORD FEATURES MARCH 10TH, 2023

Maeve GoldMan Staff Writer Trish Tran (12) Server and chef at their family’s foodtruck, Be Tran Eggrolls Vivian Coraci/Art Director VivianCoraci/ArtDirector Trish Tran/Staff Photographer Courtesy of Christine Tao James Zaidman/Staff Photographer Nicole Au/Staff Photographer Taige Sarkari/Staff Photographer James Zaidman (10) HM Katz library intern Christine Tao (11) Referee at Westchester Soccer Referee Organization Louise Kim (12) HM Katz library intern Max Feng (11) Scriptwriter for Psych2Go YouTube Channel

Cat Mong (10) to compete at state-wide poetry contest

Clara Stevanovic Staff Writer

This coming Saturday, Cat Mong (10) will compete at the New York state-wide Poetry Out Loud (POL) recitation contest.

This event will be Mong’s third round of the contest after the school-wide and regional rounds.

At each stage of the contest, Mong recites three poems: “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, “A Fixed Idea” by Amy Lowell, and “A Hunger for Something” by Chase Twichell. Mong said she selected these poems because they resonated with her own experiences.

Last year, current POL co-president Emily

Wang (10) also advanced to the state level. If Mong wins the state-wide contest, she moves onto the National level taking place this April. “No Horace Mann student has ever made it to nationals,” Wang said.

Mong loves reciting poems because they create a unique story for each reader and listener’s own interpretation, she said. “You become the narrator and talk to the audience when you recite, which is really cool.”

Even though each poem is different, Mong is able to elicit emotion from them all, Wang said. Of the three she performs, Mong’s signature is ‘Ozymandias.’ “In the line from the Ozymandias poem ‘my name is Ozymandias, King of Kings!’

she essentially takes the king’s form and projects so powerfully that she knocks the breath out of you,” Wang said. “When she’s up there, it’s like she’s not Cat anymore.”

Upper Division English teachers Sarah McIntyre and Dr. Jonathan Kotchian have been working with Mong to analyze the poems she is reciting. For example, McIntyre and Kotchian spent a significant amount of time studying the poem ‘A Hunger for Something’ by Twichell with Mong, which contains nuanced imagery and complex grammatical structure to unpack, McIntyre said.

“Cat has a very strong understanding of the three poems she chose, but she also is very experimental with her interpretations,” Kotchian said.

One scene from the poem Ozymandias describes details on the sculpted face of king Ozymandias’ fallen statue. Leading up to the POL contest, Mong worked through imagining the visage of Ozymandias’ statue and translating that analysis to performance, Kotchian said.

McIntyre is moved by Mong’s rendition of ‘Ozymandias,’ she said. “I have never heard a more passionate and engaged reading of that poem. I think Cat does Shelley proud,” she said. Mong’s deep understanding of the poems she recites is evident in her performance, McIntyre said. “Having that sort of grasp of what the emotional stakes are is what makes Cat’s readings extraordinarily powerful.”

Model Congress team excels with seven best delegates

Oliver Konopko Staff Writer

At the Harvard Model Congress (HMC) tournament, seven of the Model Congress (MoCo) team’s 19 contes-

tants won Best Delegate for being the most effective at creating and debating legislation. Over 1,500 delegates competed in the conference’s 37 committees from February 23 to 26.

In MoCo, delegates propose, debate, and approve bills in committees. Typically, delegates advocate for their own opinions, but at HMC, they were assigned to represent real-life congresspeople, Malcolm Furman (12) said. That meant each delegate adopted the ideological views of their congressperson.

While most committees are part of Congress, HMC also hosted a mock Supreme Court and even a committee where students pretend to be Founding Fathers, co-president Alexa Turteltaub (12) said. Turteltaub worked on the

transportation committee and acted as the Secretary of Transportation, discussing bills on topics like electric vehicles in rural areas.

Though delegates are not always assigned topics they are interested in, they get lucky sometimes, Heidings said. Heidings, who is interested in finance and economics, was fortunate enough to be on the senate finance committee and connected his arguments to his economics class in school.

Often, the topics discussed in a given committee can shift suddenly when a crisis event occurs that delegates must respond to. Zoe Turteltaub’s (10) crisis event was dealing with asbestos contamination at a medical supply factory that produced essential healthcare supplies.

MD Math Team advances to MathCounts state competition

Ariella Frommer Staff Writer

12 Middle Division (MD) math team members competed in the MathCounts chapter competition on February 27th at M.S. 244. Five of the 12 contestants advanced to the state competition in Saratoga Springs.

There were four components to the competition: two written tests in the sprint and target rounds, a team round, and a buzzer round, Head of MD Math Team Jacob Silverstein (12) said. Team members complete 30 questions in 40 minutes during the sprint round and four rounds of two questions during the target round had four rounds, each with eight minutes for two questions. The team round put students in groups of four to solve 10 problems in 20 minutes. While the MD students were competing, Silverstein and Rhea Singh (10) acted as the school’s faculty advisors, and they graded the competitors’ tests alongside teachers from other schools.

The easiest part for Olivia Xu (8) was the team round because her team worked well together, she said. The final countdown was the most nerve wracking part. “We went in a specific order and I was the last to go, so as each person got called on, I got more and more nervous.”

The target round was the toughest one for Schuyler Levin (8), she said. “The questions just kept getting harder and harder.” For the most advanced problems, the students could use a calculator. “When I didn’t

know the answer, I started putting in numbers [to the calculator] as fast as I could just to see what would come out,” Levin said.

While studying beforehand is not required to compete in the competition, it is recommended if you want to do well, Silverstein said. The topics on the test included geometry, algebra, basic number theory, probability, and combinatorics. “You can go into it and do okay with what you learned in middle school and maybe ninth grade,” he said.

To prepare for the competition, Silverstein and Singh led meetings every other week since the beginning of the year. During the meetings, the students did practice tests from the American Mathematics Competitions and MathCounts.

“The most helpful part is when the high school coaches go over every single problem and explain what we haven’t learned yet in math class,” Xu said.

Unlike most of the team who had been preparing since the start of the year, Levin,

who participates in math competitions outside of school, decided to compete a week before after hearing an announcement for the event at an assembly. “I enjoy math, so the fact that HM gave me an opportunity to compete in different competitions than I normally do is really nice.”

A problem that stumped Xu was a question about the area of a sphere. “I had no idea what the formula for the area of a sphere was, so I was stuck on that for a while,” she said. MathCounts was harder because it did not give multiple choice answers, she said. “You can’t use process of elimination, so on those longer, tricky problems, the only tools you can use are brute force and logic.”

The state competition was last weekend, but the team was unable to attend due to the snowstorm, Silverstein said. “But, we’re hoping to do a makeup state competition with other schools in the area who weren’t able to go.”

Think you’re smarter than a middle schooler? Try this sample question from the competition:

John wants to build a hexagon. He starts by drawing a circle, then places six points evenly spaced along that circle. He then randomly draws six segments such that each point is connected by a line segment to exactly two other points on the circle. What is the probability that the resulting figure is a hexagon?

Before the conference, delegates read their assignments and brainstormed strong arguments, Zoe said. HMC differs from a regular MoCo conference because delegates do not have to submit a bill beforehand, which reduces the amount of preparation needed, she said.

HMC was the team’s final conference this year, making it particularly special for the seven seniors. Heidings joined as a shy freshman, but found a place in MoCo and developed as a person, he said. “It’s been a very transformative experience for me. I’ve become a more eloquent speaker and really improved my critical thinking skills.”

HM Chefs United for the Culture hosts baking event for Purim

THE RECORD NEWS MARCH 10TH, 2023 4

EPIC EIGHT MoCo winners show off their awards. Courtesy of Allison Markman

Eighth graders reflect on their time at Dorr

“Eighth grade Dorr is like a rite of passage,” Director of John Dorr Nature Laboratory Kate Kerrick said. Since its founding in 1965, every graduating eighth grader at the school has spent time at the Connecticut campus, with the exception of students during COVID who participated in a modified online program. The program has evolved over the years to its current iteration: a five to six day stay with 12 to 16 classmates.

Up at Dorr, students participate in team-building challenges. They navigate through the dark with a map and compass, climb the Cooperative Adventure Tower (CAT), and backpack on Bear Mountain trails. The activities at Dorr are designed to take students out of their comfort zones, Kerrick said. In the discomfort, students learn to trust each other and work together with their peers.

Eighth grade is a point of transition between childhood and adulthood, Kerrick said. As they transition, students learn how much their own actions and decisions can influence their lives, she said. “Our hope is that, through Dorr, students can become aware of their own perspectives and actions, and how those impact their experience,” Kerrick said.

When I heard the news that I was going to Dorr for a week, I was thrilled by the prospect of freedom: no tests, no homework, and no parents. After spending a week there, I realized there was so much more to it. I was in a group of sixteen students, which included a close friend and fourteen others I did not know well. Our days at Dorr were full of adventures and exploring the outdoors, with the day we spent attempting to get to the top of the 50-foot Cooperative Adventure Tower (CAT) being one of the highlights. Climbing the CAT was a thrilling, memorable challenge that encouraged us to push our limits and taught us to trust each other. Some of the most unforgettable moments of my Dorr visit took place in the dark and somewhat eerie cabins. We had so much fun — we played MARSH, a game where we “decided our futures,” we talked about our school lives, and we laughed. Going to Dorr helped me bond with new people in a non-academic environment and away from all the stresses of everyday life and school. It will be a significant part of the unique 8th grade experience and one of my core memories at Horace Mann for years to come.

Being an 8th grader, Dorr was a huge topic of discussion throughout the school year. Early on, I often heard grumbling in the hallways about the prospect of going to Dorr; it was something that many students dreaded. Sleeping away from home for eight days with classmates you do not know well, not to mention doing this all without your phone, did not sound like the best experience for many. I went into the trip unsure of what to expect, with a ton of mixed information.

After the trip, I quickly realized that Dorr was way better than I ever could have imagined , and I even wanted to go back! Dorr was a great chance to interact with classmates outside of the confines of an academic setting. Going from awkward to comfortable, my group of random students came together over the course of a week. From the late night hiking trip to hanging out by the piano trying to sing a duet of “Heart and Soul,” we became friends.

After my week at Dorr, I finally have a glimpse into what camping feels like. I went to Dorr during the short week after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so I did not get the full experience with overnight camping, but I still enjoyed my trip. The highlights were the night compass exercise where we had to find areas around Dorr (I got lost in the woods) and the snowy hike on Bear Mountain. On the hike, we each had a role in our group. I was in charge of organizing departure times and making sure all of our baggage was loaded before we set off. Along with the my other favorite activities were playing UNO around the fireplace and dressing up in the Lion costume in Dorr’s library. Even the food, which I had extremely low expectations for being a vegetarian, was excellent (my favorite dish was the pizza). Our group even had two consecutive “zero ort” days where we left no food waste, a record amongst all the 8th grade groups to have ever visited Dorr. I’m sure next year’s eighth graders will have an excellent time and I would not think twice about taking this trip again. I have many hobbies on the side that I am so caught up in, and a single week was all I needed to change my perspective.

A highlight was the overnight backpacking trip up and down Bear Mountain. Guiding ourselves up the mountain with heavy backpacks, pitching our tents, and making pasta in the freezing dark with a stubborn stove was challenging and seemed like misery at the time. But, once we were back at the lodge, it all appeared like a fun bonding experience that created fond memories to mark the end of middle school.

- Sophie Rukin, Staff Writer

Eighth grade Dorr was an unforgettable experience. My Dorr group was the first group to go, which meant that I had no prior knowledge of what the trip was like, and thus had no prior expectations. I’ve been at HM since first grade and visited Dorr every year. Eighth grade Dorr was different — we stayed for six days, the longest visit yet. There, I learned the importance of stepping outside my comfort zone and trying new things. One thing that stood out to me was camping in the Appalachian mountains. During this trip, we hiked for seven miles and camped in the wilderness. The journey was an adventure, as we had to navigate through rough terrain and winding trails to reach the campsite. The trail was steep and challenging, but the views made it all worth it. As we climbed higher, we were rewarded with breathtaking scenes of the surrounding valleys and hills. My favorite perch was at Lionshead, where you could see the Connecticut countryside for miles and miles. When we finished hiking, we returned to the campsite and cooked our own food. That night, I observed what looked like millions of stars above in the Milky Way. It was a sight I will never forget.

THE RECORD MIDDLE DIVISION MARCH 10TH, 2023 5

Ved Daga Ciana Tzuo Vick Tan Maya Rangarajan Photos courtesy of Dorr faculty

Music ensembles shine on All-Choirs Concert

Diya Chawla Staff Writer

Six choirs shined in the All-Choirs Concert on February 24. Due to the pandemic, the concert had been canceled for the past three

concert, organizing all of the moving pieces took a lot of communication and careful planning for both the faculty and the students, Music Department Chair Timothy Ho said.

“I knew that the older kids in all of the ensembles knew how to do this concert, but this

MAP

Lower Division, Middle Division, Treble Choir, Glee Club, Concert Glee Club, and the newly formed Faculty/Staff Choir each performed at least one song individually. Everyone crammed onto the Gross Theater stage to close out the concert with “Beautiful City” by Stephen Schwartz and “When I Grow Up” from “Matilda the Musical.”

With so many ensembles performing in one

All-Bands Concert

Sydney Kurtz and Anoushka Parakh

Contributing Writers

was the first time that younger kids got to experience something like this.” After a long hiatus, Ho felt emotional being on stage as a community for the first time in three years, he said. “It felt so good to make music together, doing what we all loved.”

In Ho’s tenure at the school, there had never been a faculty choir, but the idea had been in the works for a few years, Ho said. “The biggest outlier for me was the faculty choir

since I didn’t know how many people would show up, with such a little amount of time to rehearse.”

Dr. Avner Halevy, a first year teacher at the

read music, like myself.”

Jared Contant (12), a member of Concert Glee, watched all of the performances before their set, he said. “It’s so great to see each

Horizons Ensemble, Middle Division Concert Band, Jazz Combos, Chamber Winds, and WInd Ensemble sparkled as they came together for the first All-Bands Concert since the pandemic last Wednesday.

Music teacher Michael Bomwell led each ensemble through their performance. The concert was a logistical challenge. “I had just come back from being absent for a week because I had COVID, and then we had a snow day the day before the concert,” he said. “I was so proud of the students for

how they came together and prepared at the last minute to get everything concert ready.”

The process of planning for the concert began months earlier when Bomwell chose the pieces for

school, enjoyed getting to know more members of the community through the concert, he said. “I don’t know a lot of people besides the teachers from the math department, so it was a great experience getting to know more people and sing along with them.”

The faculty choir rehearsed after school six times, with only thirty minutes for each rehearsal, Halevy said. “The people from the music department are very professional. They had all of the tracks ready for us to listen at home to practice with for people who can’t

that’s more lyrical and slow, one piece that’s kind of exciting and technical, and then one piece that’s something different.”

One of the high points of the concert for Bomwell was when the Wind Ensemble played “Volver

group in their choir journey, and to reminisce on my own experiences in those ensembles.”

A touching moment for Contant was when the seniors had their solo in “When I Grow Up,” the final piece of the concert. “Not only did we rock it on stage, but to have a chance to show what we’ve developed over the course of six years as a group was a really cool experience.”

played.”

each of his groups, he said. As he selected music for each ensemble, Bomwell considered how to showcase the groups’ strengths. “If I have a really great woodwind section, I’ll try to find music that highlights the flutes and clarinets,” he said.

Choosing the right pieces for each ensemble was a key factor in producing a successful concert, Bomwell said. “If I pick the wrong thing for the wrong group, it never works.” He also takes into consideration how the individual pieces fit together during the concert. “I like to do one piece

a la Montaña,” a Peruvian folk song, which came together at the last minute, he said. “It was a great moment because at that point, everyone finally heard the piece the way it was supposed to be

“Volver a la Montaña” was also popular among the students as it incorporated different parts of their instruments and various techniques. Some of the flutes played solos that included harmonics, which is when they play multiple notes at once using tones within tones, Elise Kang (11) said.

THE RECORD ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT MARCH 10TH, 2023 6

“It was inspiring to play with the UD students because you see what you will be doing later on and where you will be in the future.”

- Emma Wang (6), Horizons Ensemble

“You always feel really nervous as you are about to get on stage, but once you’re up there playing music, it just feels like it’s you and the band and no one else out there.”

- Chris Sperduto (9), Jazz Combo D

“I enjoyed the range at the last piece, from youngest student to oldest teacher, it was a moving mix of perspectives and a lovely feeling of the community.”

- Dr. Avner Halevy, Faculty/Staff Choir

“I liked how everyone came together. Especially after COVID, it felt really good to finally be performing in person with every group.”

- Jiwan Kim (10), Glee Club

Sam Siegel/Photo Director Courtesy of Barry Mason Courtesy of Barry Mason Courtesy of Barry Mason

on Gross Theater stage

UD Steel Bands Concert

Emily Wang Staff Writer

Steel Drum ensembles brightened the Recital Hall on Tuesday evening with their infectious stage presence and vibrant pink shirts. The performers’ energy was magnetic as the audience

least one calypso song from there,” Steel Drums teacher Alan Bates said. Steel Band One’s performance featured popular reggae songs “La La Jam Back” by Robert Nelson and “Rat in Mi Kitchen” by UB40.

The concert also showcased famous pop songs requested by students in the bands. They per-

“My favorite part was being able to play an instrument that’s a big and prominent instrument in my family and culture.”

- Danil Harding (10)

dience with Bruno Mars’ hit “Locked Out of Heaven.”

The overall favorite was “Dreadlocks” by Mungal Patasar, Bates said. “It’s an exquisite blend of European, African, and Indian music.” During the concert, Bates emphasized to the audience the diversity of Trinidad culture reflected in the piece as he introduced the song.

Since the two bands do not have the opportunity to work together before the day of the concert, many students are accustomed to improvising and performing impromptu tasks, Steel Band One member Nate Ogiste (10) said. On the day of the concert, he was asked to perform percussion during Steel Band Two’s piece “Crazy Love.”

“It’s a nice camaraderie.” Before the concert, the bands got food, did a soundcheck rehearsal, and mingled.

Although the concert lasted less than forty minutes due to only having two bands, Bates kept the mood light, joking at the end of the concert that nobody would complain about ending early on a school night.

moved along to reggae pieces from Trinidad and Tobago, the birthplace of steel drums.

“I like to make sure each of my groups plays at

formed the well-known “JoJo’s Theme” by Yugo Kanno, while Steel Band Two wowed the au-

“Usually I’m looking up at people like, ‘good job, guys!’ But this time, I was focused. I was looking at my foot like, ‘you’re going to do the right thing.’ Drumming is physically demanding. It’s insane because that’s the thing about the drummer: you don’t hear them until they make a mistake.”

- Nate Ogiste (10)

All-Orchestras Concert

Hannah Becker Staff Writer

Over 100 students from the Middle Division (MD) Chamber Orchestra, HM Strings,

and Reprise from Concerto Grosso” by Ralph Vaughan Williams together.

For the Upper Division (UD) groups, Orchestra Director Nathan Hetherington asks for input from his students on a piece before

“My favorite part was being able to share my talent with my Grandma, who came. It was really cool for her to hear me play because this was the first concert she’s been to. I was really happy to have her there, and the way she talked to me after made me proud.”

- Tessa Siegel (8), HM Strings

Bates also added other layers of percussion into the pieces, since Calypso music, a Caribbean genre, usually has full percussion, he said. In “Low Rider,” performers clapped their mallets above their heads as part of the rhythm, an artistic choice made by Bates.

Bates kept the concert upbeat with brief, and sometimes comical introductions to pieces. Before performing “Forget You” by CeeLo Green, he assured the audience that Steel Band Two would be playing the clean version of the song as opposed to the explicit one.

One of Bates’ favorite aspects of the concert was joining the two ensembles together. “It’s almost like being a part of a club there,” he said.

String Sinfonietta, and HM Orchestra wowed the audience with skillful songs at the All-Orchestras Concert last Friday. Each ensemble played two or three individual pieces, and the concert ended with everyone playing “March

selecting it, he said. “I try to ensure that if a student has been in the group for a few years, they’ll be exposed to a variety of musical styles.” He also aims to create a balance by selecting some pieces that are challenging and others that are fun to play.

During the two months leading up to the concert, MD students rehearsed together every other day during school hours and practiced at home, HM Strings member Tessa Siegel (8) said. “It was challenging since we had three pieces to practice, but knowing that the high schoolers would be there listening to us pushed me to practice a lot.”

While HM Orchestra violinist Miller Harris (12) felt the beginning of his performance went smoothly, the show was interrupted with a technical error after the second movement of Orchestra’s first piece. Harris was putting a mute on the bridge of his violin when the bridge popped off. “It was embarrassing, but I thought of it as being more funny because it is a common issue with violins that is expected

to happen on the day of a performance,” he said.

Luckily, many musicians were available to help fix Harris’ violin, including a parent in the audience who is a violinist and music

found that the performance tested his adaptability as a musician because the environment is different from rehearsals, he said. “The orchestra setting is enjoyable because you are playing with different groups which you don’t

“I really enjoyed all the support from the audience during our whole concert, even when a member of the Orchestra broke the bridge of their violin. They continued to cheer us on after each movement during the last piece and were patient through the technical issues.”

- Christian Conner (10), HM Orchestra

teacher, Hetherington said. While waiting for the violin bridge to be fixed, Hetherington stalled the audience by telling jokes and stories of previous concerts.

HM Orchestra member Joe Brener (10)

normally practice with, and since there are more people, it is more social.”

THE RECORD ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT MARCH 10TH, 2023 7

Courtesy of Barry Mason Courtesy of Barry Mason Courtesy of Barry Mason