2022-2023 Griffin Review

Griffin

Church Farm School's Arts and Literature Magazine

3rd Edition

Published May 2023

Griffin Review Team

Brandon Le '23

Daniel Eafa '23

Akinkunmi Peter-Koyi '23

Dylan Lumumba '24

Amado Rosendo '23

Jonathan Lee '23

Alain Huerta-Salas '23

Fayi Nshanji '24

Angel Asiamah '24

David Alfaro '23

Dylan Jones '23

Amadu Jalloh '25

Zachary Kogan '25

Hector Audelo Gutierrez '25

Graphic Design and Technical Support

Victor and Oscar Lu '26

Faculty Advisor

Mr Fulmer

Special thanks to Ms. Claypoole, Ms. McDermott, Ms. Schmidt, and all of the members of the CFS community that supported us in this venture.

Front Cover Art Provided by Angel Asiamah '24

Dedicated to

Dr.Campbell

Dr. Nicole Campbell has championed creativity throughout the CFS community over her long tenure as a teacher and leader in our school community. Through her work with the band, music tech, guitar, and the music program, she has encouraged students to tap into their creativity through music and express themselves. She has most recently worked on the senior capstone projects to allow

students to pursue their passion and show off the skills learned throughout their CFS careers. Dr. Campbell and her husband Mr. Ian Weigand ‘09 now pursue a new role as parents to a beautiful baby girl named Eloise The Griffin Review Staff is proud to dedicate the 2023 edition to Dr. Campbell for all her amazing work to inspire students in all their pursuits.

Editor's Note

We are beyond excited to announce the release of our annual school magazine, The Griffin Review! Following the tremendous success of our previous publication, our team was eager to create something just as spectacular, but we faced the challenge of deciding where to begin.

Thankfully, this year we were able to operate under normal conditions and we were delighted to welcome the largest freshman class in years. This only added to our excitement and motivation to create a magazine that we're proud of.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to all those who bravely submitted their works of art Whether it was a picture, poem, drawing, or any other form of literature, we're grateful for your contributions that helped make this magazine truly exceptional

We also want to thank those who participated in our contests, as your support was instrumental in making this year's edition of The Griffin Review one of the best yet

Working together as a team and building connections with our community has been an incredible honor for us. We're proud of the result of our hard work and we believe that you'll enjoy reading The Griffin Review as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Thank you for your support and for taking the time to read this letter. We hope you have an amazing time reading The Griffin Review!

Sincerely,

The Griffin Review Team

THEPOWEROFLIGHT

TROUBLED

EVANGELOS YZBASHI '24

FIRE SPINNING

ByMs.Schmidt

CHAPEL DAYS

THROUGH A LOOKING GLASS

Tyler Armstrong '23

Brandon Le, '23

PSALM HOURS

By Brandon Le, '23

MINDSET SNOOZE 2

LESSONS AND CAROLS

Donaldson Bamgboye '23

CFS Choir

Qatar 2022 World Cup Contest

Time of Lights

by Gabe Soriano

Captain America

by Oscar Lu

Honorable Mentions

World Cup Logo

by Santo "Eddie" Echevarria '26

by Jaden Roberson '23

What was your most memorable moment as a CFS student?

I was a ninth grader in a mixed cottage. So it was like, seniors, juniors, sophomores. And then there's like, two rooms of freshmen. I was one of the freshmen out of the four. It was wild like I was exposed to so much and a lot of craziness that I wasn't ready for but we had so much fun. We were probably the cottage of misfits but like, I don't know how else to describe it. It was so memorable. One of the bigger things that happened that year was that we had water balloon fights between cottages. So that was like super fun, and we never lost. I was in Woodside, we were so good at water balloon wars that other cottages were ganging up on us. Three cottages versus Woodside, and we still wouldn't lose. So it was like mad fun and towards the end of the year people started taking it too far. They like started filling up water balloons and bringing them to school. After school, they'd try to catch someone lacking. It became overly serious but it was still fun because of that reason...Eventually, they had to stop it just because people just complain too much...That was my experience. I always remember CFS as that fun, that like community that we we had!

What values did you learn when you entered CFS?

I learned the value of personal relationships. As soon as I got to college, I would be talking to my friends at CFS. Everything was so different. And I didn't realize or understand. Like, I didn't understand at the time, how important those relationships would be. I realized that... I'm not going to have the same bond as my brothers... The important part isn't necessarily what school you go to or how high your grades are, it's about the people.

Interview With Ukashah Shabazz '15

What capstone project are you working on with Cam?

Cam talked to me about doing a project on peer support. I do WRAP every Tuesday, and it's kind of the same idea that he had. He ran this thing at Haverford where basically, they would come in week to week and it was just a peer-led support. Kind of the same thing with WRAP except I'm there. I think he was considering adding a component of training peer leaders so that, like, it can happen completely without me helping

What is one thing you learned when working with students?

One of the things that I've learned is that you're constantly reinventing yourself. You should always be reinventing yourself, and you should always be learning. Even as an instructor, teacher, or leader, once you start to think that you know what's best for everybody, and you kind of want to mute or quiet certain voices, take a step back and humble yourself...Always understand that you're a student, no matter what.

Interview With Cameron Jenkins '23

What was your most memorable moment as a CFS student?

I know everyone was just like real welcoming. They really wanted me to feel comfortable and even helped me transition into CFS. So I would say the first week was the most memorable.

As a senior, what advice would you give your freshmen self?

To focus on what I want to do but don’t disregard my responsibilities. Also, hold yourself to a higher standard. I would have also told myself to find a balance between things that I want to do because freshmen year was a difficult year for everyone due to covid, and I wish I had pursued activities I was interested in and maybe find a possible passion. But since I had all this free time (during Covid), it was easy for me to just like to push stuff aside, and I wish I could’ve taken things more seriously.

What is your senior capstone project?

My senior capstone project is about mental health. Primarily because I feel like a lot of guys feel weird talking about their mental health. Instead, they hide their emotions or feel too ashamed to talk about it.

They’ve also been conditioned to think that it’s like not important because they’re a guy, whereas girls are more open with it. And in contrast, women don’t really get shunned for it. So my capstone just focused on ways people can be open about their mental health here.

Interview With Cameron Jenkins '23

How did you achieve your capstone?

I’ve been working with Ms. Hunter and Kash since they are the counselors here at CFS. I just sort of pitched them ideas like activities or ideas for group talks that people can use during their time at (WRAP). And they serve the purpose of getting the topic started, but I’ve pitched certain ideas specifically for the focus of the group because I want the control to be mainly on the participants.

What is one thing you learned when working with students?

One of the things that I've learned is that you're constantly reinventing yourself. You should always be reinventing yourself, and you should always be learning. Even as an instructor, teacher, or leader, once you start to think that you know what's best for everybody, and you kind of want to mute or quiet certain voices, take a step back and humble yourself...Always understand that you're a student, no matter what.

What is one thing you learned from working with a CFS alum?

I learned just do things at my own pace because you kind of know what to do yourself, and working with alumni is simple. You ask the obvious, like what should I do and how do I get to where I want to be. In a way, they are mostly advisors and assist you throughout the process. And another important thing I’ve learned while working with them is that they didn’t have a straight road to their success, so while I might have my own obstacles, I know I will eventually achieve my goal and hopefully be as successful as them. As well as, learning that taking things at your own pace is fine.

RAFAEL AREL '24

ECTOR UDELO GUTIERREZ '25

Child A Word

If you didn’t know

Today will be the day I’ll show you a new voice. A voice that not only speaks language, but Flies high and influences people to rejoice

A voice that shines so bright

That science could never decipher this kind of light

If you didn’t know, if you give a child a word

You’re bringing about new life

A life that is bold, imaginative, Curious and compassionate.

A life that produces more than what you just simply pack in it

If you, give a child a word

There’s no telling where they’ll soar.

Taking the pieces you hand them

Using every bit of them explore

Using their, illustrious mind as a weapon

Never distracted by the violent culture that our youth have been forced to step in.

I don’t, believe in fantasies

Fairytales, or even dreams

But when I look in the mirror,

I know there’s an ultralight that soon will beam

Dylan Jones

"If You Give a Child a Word" Continued

I just, run back to the time where I was just yay tall

As I watched my mother’s smile

After I became the first one in class to break the wall, Of language.

From then, I was raised to learn the power of a word.

And now, I have the spirit of a million voices in my soul that just wanna be heard

Do you hear me when I say if you give a child a word?

You’re not only nurturing a garden

But, You’re building a world that our youth deserves A world where they can escape to A world where their innovative visions can come true

If you give a child a word

You’ll begin to face the truth

Of why I tell stories how I do

Why I move how I move

And why I love how I love, You

Because I believe in you.

You, you, you, you & you

And out there is someone looking towards you.

Or anybody, that will gracefully extend their hand

To guide them to the ray of light where their destiny patiently stands.

Mason Jarvis '23

Jonathan Lee '23

Tony Thomas '23

"Our Death Letters" David

Alfaro

“If you are reading this, then I guess I died ” Anne wrote down the sentence but quickly erased it, embarrassed at the delivery of the words she had just written down. Why did she let Noah convince her to do this? The chances were low that she would just up and die one day, but she understood the reasons that Noah gave her for writing a death letter

Noah and Anne had just gotten out of classes, and as they usually did they walked to the shabby park right next to their high school just to sit and talk. Anne appreciated spending time with Noah because she had no one else to talk to, while Noah accepted his role as her best friend. But on that day Noah was not swinging like a wrecking ball on those poor swings like he normally would Instead, he was kicking the gravel while gripping the rusty chains of the swings weakly, keeping quiet when Anne would try to reignite a conversation He sighed and looked up at Anne

“What if one of us dies, what then?” Noah asked suddenly, a question that caused Anne to instantly press her foot against the floor to stop her carefree swinging

“What? What’s with the morbid question?” Anne exclaimed, “We are both completely fine why are you even worrying about that?” The question shocked her; why was Noah just talking about death the second their conversation died down? What was wrong?

“Well I have been thinking, we can’t control anything in life, so what if something happens and I didn’t get to tell you everything I felt?” By the end of his sentence, he was quiet and deep in thought which confused Anne further. After another silence between the two arose, Noah finally continued, adding “We should write a note in case one of us dies. We can write some secrets that we can tell each other in case that day comes a bit too early” After finishing his proposal Noah finally took his eyes off the pebbles underneath the swing set and looked toward Anne. Anne examined the tired look on Noah’s face, realizing that there was no humor behind his eyes or sarcasm in his words

“If you are that worried I guess I can write some stuff down. But how would we even get the letter to each other if we are already in the afterlife? Thought that far in? And what kind of secrets are you keeping from me!” Anne teased, trying to get a reaction out of the mopey Noah.

“Hey! Just put my name on it and maybe someone will find it and send it to me, I don’t know!” Noah argued, “And with the way you’re acting I would have to come back from the dead to steal my secrets from your grubby little hands if you aren’t going to appreciate them ” Noah secretly felt relieved It is all going to work out.

"Our Death Letters" Continued

Anne snapped back to the present and stared down at the paper that she was struggling to fill with words. When you are dead, what can you really say? Anne looked at the piece of paper and continued to brainstorm. Is it really possible that I can die at any time? She already planned her career as a data analyst, her wedding in Hawaii, and even her retirement in Fiji where she would definitely live a long healthy life But even with her life scheduled to the tee, the lives of her family were always a worry in the back of her head. Anne would wonder, “Do they worry about me as much I worry about them?” even though she knew the answer Her parents loved her, and she loved them Looking at the portrait of her parents on her desk, she panicked at the thought of never seeing them again. With adrenaline flowing through her body, she quickly reached into her book bag to find another piece of paper, to write them a different death letter they deserved. She would end up pushing the paper to the side of her desk and not writing a thing on it though because she did not want to have the same awkward conversation she had with Noah. Her parents would have loved to sit down with their daughter by the fireplace to comfort her, but there are some things in life that are simply not meant to be.

Anne finally had enough. I really need to just write down my thoughts, it’s not that deep With her pen in hand, Anne started to write down the first things that came to mind when reminiscing on her time with Noah Hey Noah I hope you are feeling better about what happened, but I hope my last words in this note can help you through a hard time, even if it's just by a smidge. You are my best friend, maybe my only friend at this point, and you have been with me despite all the rumors and bullying that I have gone through I guess that type of stuff doesn’t bother you, huh? You have been my stability in life and I want to thank you After writing a few short sentences Anne stopped, worried that she sounded too thankful. It was how she truly felt about Noah, but

To the Editor,

To the people of the United States, it is undeniable that a similar predicament of the Salem Witch trials is upon us. People are being prosecuted for alleged "Un-American" activities and disloyalty to the American people. We emphasize the importance of our court system and the American values of justice, but citizens are being prosecuted for false allegations. If we don't stop these injustices now, we'll end up like Salem, with people wrongfully accused, imprisoned, and killed.

The witch trials suspected the devil was present in Salem, similar to how we suspect and accused good American people of being communists and a threat to the government (Miller, 1953). The Cohn case highlights this issue and emphasizes a conspiracy used to imprison people. McCarthy attacks Roy Cohn and attempts to forcefully draw connections between him and communism, although the court case was unrelated to Cohn's political views (American Experience | PBS, 2020).

And what physical evidence backs these claims? All available evidence is mere conspiracy theories. During the Witch Trial, witchcraft was said to be an invisible force disproving all evidence to further the case (Miller, 1953) McCarthyism made it a crime to have off-centered political views or associate with people who did (TED-Ed, 2017).

Are we, not a free country, given the right to freedom of expression, yet we continue to incriminate those who utilize these liberties?

If we continue with this behavior, we will end up like Salem, with 39 innocent people incriminated and many dead (Miller, 1953). In our country, innocent people have already gone to jail, been fired from their jobs, and even been blacklisted (TED-Ed, 2017) This false threat of communism has caused more damage to the state of the country than if this ideology were to take over the US.

Many have lost their employment as a result of the corruption in our own government and legal system. As the lack of due process and protection of one's civil freedoms is the primary cause of our current predicament; we must recognize their importance

Moving forward, we need to hold elected officials accountable to avoid any more political corruption. America is a democratic government, meaning the people have a voice and can ensure that elected officials use their power responsibly.

-Fayi Nshanji

"No More Communism" Fayi Nshanji

Anthony Espinoza '25

"Conflictive Understanding"

By Rae Gordon - Hidden Talents 2003-4

Sittin' in class and havin' questions wantin' to be asked Ponderin' what's comin' up next, which study, which class?

CFS, the boarding school that'll prob'bly change my life. So to exceed I must study and learn, must learn to survive

English, Geography, Math Found, Learnin' strategies, Life Science, Music, SSR, Study Hall, to do all this it's a science Showin' up on time and tryin' to stay out of trouble. And sometimes a period that I'm in could prob'bly be a double.

Facin' the comments and hypocrisy so one day l'll be A college graduate. And get a MBA or PH.D. So I struggle, while some of my "friends" keep abusin' me Callin' me names and startin' stuff. Can they really control me?

This is my time. So I guess I'll have to start to decline

The fact that I'm new here, 'cuz now I'm on the end of the line. So I say to you, "Don't judge a book by its cover."

"Cuz what you do to others, will be done to you by another.

This is a school, not a playground, an educational environment

Yes, it has a twist. We live here. But we ain't escaped violence. There's still things that people do that we'd seen done on streets But does that mean we have to be like 'em. Are we that weak?

7-02. We rule ourselves yet try to understand each other And with the differences that we each have, it's hard to discover So finally, I say to 7-02, "Do your best!"

As we go through this prep school, the Church Farm School, CFS!

"Infatuation"

By Zachary Bryant - Hidden Talents 98-9

To see her again is like eternal bliss

Cause without her I cannot exist Her face is so beautiful, if you only knew I will try to find words to describer to you Her face shines like the morning sun My hear is racing, yet I've only begun Her teeth are whiter than a feather on a dove But that's not why she has my love She ravished my heart with her intricate persona She is so beautiful and pure like The Madona Her skin is as soft as a new silk tie Without her I would probably die I think I love her, but I don't really know Cause when I'm with her I can't let her go But when I'm not it's a melancholy gloom My entire heart and mind she does consume Love is defined as: an object of affection

If this is true, then I have a confession I lover her and that's all I can say Yes, I love her in every possible way.

"Untitled"

By Brian Baker - Hidden Talents 98-9

The epic battle between life and death

Is brought to the wrestling mat

You smell the death on your opponents breath

As he sets up to pounce like a cat

Sweat pours from your body and burns your eyes

You get stretched out and your muscles rip

Crossfaced, the blood in your nose starts to drip

Buzzers go off inside of your head

Conditions aren't in the least livable

Your rage makes the whole world turn red

Whistles delay the inevitable

Survival of the fittest and smartest

Victory to he who worked the hardest

Rafael Arellano'24

RafaelArellano '24

"Lonely Nights"Anonymous

Silent nights, all alone

The world outside, unknown Thoughts

racing, heartbeats slow Memories that won't let go Lonely nights, endless hours

Mind consumed with all its powers Regrets and doubts, fears and pain

Heavy burdens, hard to sustain Lonely nights, bittersweet

The quietness, a calming treat Reflection and selfdiscovery Embracing one's own company

Silent nights, all alone

The world outside, unknown

But within, a sense of peace

A solace that will never cease.

Goodbyes"

by Mx. Carl Deakins

One of the most difficult things to accept is the lack of control over what people remember you by. For one, you have little control over memory itself. For another we aren’t gods, part of what should bring humility is that we have no idea what others think about us - except maybe the outlines of an icebergbrought in by rumors and anecdotal utterances.

Recently I visited my middle school for reasons. . . I went to a school for students with learning disabilities. I knew of Church Farm School, because many of my best friends from that school ended up attending Church Farm School. There is a certain affinity between that school and CFS. Each school has a fairly clear purpose at their inceptions, to serve communities of students who may not have been served well elsewhere. This is what makes each place a tentative haven, but also what makes the forlorn promise feel ever the more crushing when continually breached.

Much like CFS, there is a subtle and not so subtle way students can easily become sorted into good students and bad students. Unlike CFS, I don’t think the school culture was so rigid about these perceived categories. Maybe I say that as a person who always had the purported luxury of being seen as a good kid-or whatever. . . Still, I wonder if “good kid” means deference and servility to authority. Should I consider my moniker of being a “good kid” a point of shame?

"Breathe Again" Muse Johnson

The howling wind of trees

Hide the steps of man and woman

The silence of the night

Their breath holds still

We will breathe again

We will breathe again

We will breathe again

We will breathe again

Gas Masks and Terror

Fear in the air

Justice has been deprived

But again we will rise

We will breathe again

We will breathe again

We will breathe again

We will breathe again

The hopes and dreams

Let freedom ring

As we sing

We will breathe again

We will breathe again

We will breathe again

We will breathe again

Oscar Lu , '26

Dylan Lumumba 24'

Creek Park

The Willow Tree

Graceful willow tree, Leaves dance in the gentle breeze, Peaceful, serene scene.

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a language model developed by OpenAI. It belongs to the GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) series of models. GPT models are designed to generate human-like text based on the input they receive. They are trained on a vast amount of text data from the internet and other sources to learn the statistical patterns and structures of language.

ChatGPT, specifically, is fine-tuned for generating text in a conversational format. It has been trained on a wide range of conversation data to understand and respond to user inputs in a more interactive and context-aware manner. It can engage in dialogues, answer questions, provide explanations, and assist users in various tasks.

As a language model, ChatGPT uses a transformer architecture, which is a deep learning model architecture that excels in processing sequential data like text. It utilizes attention mechanisms to capture relationships between words and generate coherent and contextually appropriate responses.

The Griffin Review decided to take on the challenge of answering questions that would challenge any reader to think about, pertaining to serious topics about academic integrity and the use of such devices like ChatGPT. We then measured such answers against those of ChatGPT, and we leave it to you, the reader, to figure out which one of the two responses was made by the Griffin Review scholars, and which one was made by ChatGPT.

Who wrote it best?

Is ChatGPT good for schools?

ChatGPT can be a useful tool for students, as it can offer ideas and suggestions on various topics. However, this AI has been brought to controversy as students have been using it for their own work, which is a form of plagiarism, while also not allowing students to critically think on their own. Therefore, while ChatGPT can be used beneficially in education, in current times it has been more harmful for schools.

ChatGPT can be a useful tool for schools in various ways. It can assist students with research by providing information and answering questions on a wide range of topics. It can also help with language learning, offering grammar and vocabulary explanations, as well as providing practice conversations. Additionally, ChatGPT can aid in generating ideas for creative writing tasks or serve as a virtual writing assistant, offering suggestions and feedback on students' written work. However, it's important to note that ChatGPT is an AI model and should be used as a supplement to human instruction and guidance, rather than a replacement.

What is academic integrity?

Academic integrity refers to the ethical principles and values upheld within the educational environment. It involves a commitment to honesty, fairness, and responsibility in all aspects of academic work. It means respecting the intellectual property of others by properly citing and acknowledging their ideas, research, and works. Academic integrity also encompasses avoiding plagiarism, cheating, or any form of dishonesty in exams, assignments, and academic interactions. It promotes originality, critical thinking, and the pursuit of knowledge with integrity, ensuring a level playing field for all students and maintaining the credibility and reputation of the academic institution.

Academic integrity is the expectation that the work handed in is completely your own or that due credit is given. This moral is often instilled in academic environments such as high schools, universities, and beyond. It is a practice that institutions use to exercise honesty and trustworthiness within their communities. Some examples of academic dishonesty include copying others' work, quoting work without proper citation, and falsifying evidence. To stay within the guidelines of academic integrity, it is important to always cite your work and not claim the work of others as your own.