The Lamplighter, 9/27/2010

Monday, Sept. 27, 2010 The Lamplighter

New Faculty

THE LAMPLIGHTER

Jamie Ducharme

This fall, Derryfield welcomed four new teachers to the Upper School community: David LeWine, David Barragan, Ying Xia Peterson, and Chris McNeil, back from a three-year hiatus.

Mr. LeWine, a chemistry and technological sciences teacher, comes from a background that couldn’t be more different from Derryfield; an all-girls public school in Harlem, New York, with a student body almost entirely comprised of Latina and African American students. While there, he taught math and coached the robotics team (as he will do at Derryfield). Along with the appeal of being closer to his family in Massachusetts, it was the prospect of crossing over into the lab sciences and facing “new challenges both in terms of subject matter… and students” that brought

LeWine to Derryfield.

LeWine says that his strongest first impressions of the school are “how welcoming everyone has been,” and his students’ “great degree of curiosity and thoughtfulness” in class.

According to LeWine, his first thought for the year is “I hope I don’t screw up!”

More importantly though, his goal is to do his best “as a learner and a teacher (the two go together) and have faith that good things will follow.”

Señor Barragan, teaching upper school Spanish, comes from the Westminster School, a Connecticut boarding school. A native Spanish-speaker who came to the United States from Ecuador sixteen years ago, Barragan has had extensive teaching experience in boarding schools, but decided he wanted a break from the rigors of 24/7

teaching. Derryfield, he says, was the perfect alternative, offering great academics while still getting his “weekends back.” So far, Barragan is very pleased with the Derryfield community, saying that students “know each other a lot, and are fine with the way they are” and have made him “more comfortable than at any other institution.”

Ms. Peterson, a Chinese teacher at both Upper and Middle School levels, has had quite a colorful past. She was born into a military family in China, and moved around for most of her childhood before attending college in China. In 1986 she received a fellowship awarded to young people in developing nations and came to the United States, where she was placed in a job at The Washington Post until moving to New Hampshire with her

The Gateway Building Kristen Ryan This year, Derryfield’s Art House will be demolished and by next fall a new building, The Gateway Building, will take its place.

This building will “serve as the ‘front door’ to the campus,” says Jennifer Melkonian in explaining the name. Her excitement for the project was undeniable as she answered our questions, but the student response has been less enthusiastic.

Melkonian defends the decision to build, highlighting first and foremost that it provides an opportunity to give the Breakthrough Manchester program the space and resources it deserves. This year marks the 20th Anniversary of Derryfield’s relationship with Breakthrough (formerly Summerbridge), and “the Gateway Building will

Inside this issue: New Food, New Prices

2

Whipple Hill

3

Chinema

4

Presidential Address

5

Really, Derryfield?

5

Bachelor & Bachelorette

6

Horoscopes

7

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LAMPLIGHTER

Derryfield News New Teachers cont’d Did You Know…

• Señor Barragan is a twin?

• Ms. Peterson’s original goal was to become the international editor of her hometown newspaper?

• Mr. McNeil has a two-year-old son named Chance?

• Mr. Lewine has worked as a longhaul truck driver and as a scuba instructor?

husband. Once here, she was asked to be a continued on page 2 Chinese interpreter for the court system. Peterson began to realize how culture shock and language barriers were hindering the legal process, and decided to start her own culture-education business. That business, finally, led to teaching—and Derryfield.

Two years ago, when Ms. Foster was preparing for the Derryfield trip to China, she called Peterson to help her prepare.

Ms. Foster “tricked [her] into coming” by inviting her to visit for a day; Peterson, who originally didn’t think she’d want to teach in a school because she

“likes to have [her] own way of teaching”, ended up deciding to interview, and she’s glad she did.

Derryfield, she says, is a “group of extremely motivated, intellectual, friendly teachers” combined with students who are “hardworking and self-driven, yet very at ease.” Most importantly, the students “are willing to help each other,” a factor that made her decision to come to Derryfield worthwhile.

One familiar face that students can expect to see in the halls is that of Mr. McNeil, back in the Derryfield community and teaching Upper and Middle School Latin. McNeil left Derryfield three years ago when

he moved to California to “pursue professional freestyle street bike riding” and travel the country performing his stunts for big-name companies like BMW. He was so successful that he’ll be featured on the Versus Network’s new TV show, “Inside XDL”. Still, McNeil missed teaching and “being a part of a community where [he could] see the fruits of [his] labor.” According to McNeil, he always knew he would come back, “it was just a matter of the right situation and timing.” In the end, being around kids was something he couldn’t give up, and he’s looking forward to being back because “kids keep

New Food, New Prices Maggie Cochrane At the beginning of this school year, it was announced that the cafeteria was making plans to serve more nutritious food. This included more options at the salad bar, different proteins and dishes every day. All of this is well and good, except for the fact that this wonderful new food has notched the price up, in some cases, to almost a dollar more than it was last year.

Andrew Voss says, “Often times I can’t tell which foods are organic.”

The reasoning may be this: the food in the cafeteria isn’t exactly “organic” yet. The only food we sell that is certified as “organic” is Stonyfield yogurt. Yes, there are new, healthy options that come from local places such as the fruit from Sanders Farm in Somersworth. Derryfield’s goal is

to be able to sell organic, healthy food in the future, as opposed to the heavily processed food of the past.

The school, along with SNHU, is in a transition phase at the moment. The movement even has a mission statement: we are “working together with SNHU to create healthier options.”

These may be good intentions, but what’s the point of having more healthy food if people aren’t going to buy it because of its price? It is a sad fact of today’s society that, generally, the more unhealthy food is, the less expensive it is. In our own cafeteria, for example, a cup of fruit and cheese (appearing to contain about 15 cheese cubes and about 15-20 grapes) costs $4.50. No matter how delicious those grapes and cheese look, students are

more likely to side with the cheaper option over the healthier option.

As it turns out, the meal prices have apparently remained the same, whereas the side options have gone up. Students would be more aware of this except for the fact that there is no price list up in the cafeteria.

There are lists of which teacher is on duty, but signs listing the prices of food are yet to be seen, which results in a rude awakening for many students when they get to the counter to pay.

“It’s ridiculous,” says an anonymous student, “That I can go to Subway and get a better, healthier lunch for less money.” Indeed, something must be done about the prices of our food in the cafeteria.

Administrative staff is working towards this goal now, and we can

MONDAY SEPT. 27

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Gateway Building, cont’d provide space specifically designed continued on page 3 to support the many facets of the program,” Melkonian explains, “[such as] teaching, tutoring, counseling, faculty/parent/student meetings as well as inviting space for sponsors and other guests.” Melkonian also addressed a common concern among members of the Derryfield community that Derryfield is raising tuition every year and seems to be spending it on extravagant and unnecessary things. “In April 2008 the Board of Trustees refinanced Derryfield’s HEFA (The New Hampshire Health and Education Facilities Authority) bond,” allowing them to, “take advantage of low interest rates and capture money for long lived capital improvements.

These did not include equipment, faculty salaries or items like that.”

HEFA required Derryfield to

specify what the money would be used for. “Many schools use their money to upgrade heating, ventilation and sewage systems…fortunately, Derryfield’s infrastructure in those areas was adequate. HEFA approved the bond proceeds to be directed to the construction of an artificial turf field and replacement of the inadequate facility currently called The Art House.” To add to the restrictions, the funds expire in April 2011, and as Melkonian says, “we want to use them before we lose them.”

The cost of the Gateway project is estimated to be $1,365,000. “This past summer we received a grant totaling $450,000 in tax credits from the NH Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA),” Melkonian adds, and “of that Derryfield will receive $360,000 to toward the project.” All of that, combined with submitted grant proposals to several foundations that “have been incredibly supportive of

Derryfield projects in the past,” as well as $250,000 they have received in cash and pledges leaves Derryfield with $230,000 to raise. “Thus,” Melkonian assures, “none of the money to fund this project is coming from tuition dollars.” She adds, “the annual increases are typically a result of increases in faculty benefits.”

After defending the project and its expenses, Melkonian becomes excited to begin sharing about the fun stuff. “The new building will have classroom/seminar spaces, administrative/support space for Breakthrough Manchester, community service and global education programs, and improved admission space.” Another huge aspect of the building is its energy efficiency: “We expect the Gateway Building will consume 25% less energy than an equivalent facility designed with minimum code

Whipple Hill Kristen Ryan Recently Derryfield launched a new website that quickly became an asset for teachers and students alike.

The new change began with a new relationship with Whipple Hill, “a company that does website content management for schools,” Annie Branch explains. “They build and program websites that schools can then manage themselves.”

Derryfield, and Branch specifically, wanted a new website because, “the old website was so narrow that it

only filled half of a typical browser screen,” and also because, “we were unable to change content on the ‘homepage’… without paying someone to do it.” The primary advantages, as determined by Branch, include the “Student Information Systems, which manages information, [the fact that] people can now sign up to be notified of athletic changes and other announcements,” as well as the built-in search feature. Branch acknowledges the “under construction” header at the top

of the student page, saying, “we are still in the process of adjusting academic settings on the academic portal and class pages. The rest of the site is done, but information is constantly being added/updated.”

The hope for the website is that “students and parents will visit the site more often,” which according to student response has already happened.

Have an opinion?

We’d love to hear it.

E-mail 11ryan@derryfield.org

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LAMPLIGHTER

Human Interest Trips Abroad in the Upper School Roz KennyBirch When one utters the word “India”, it conjures up images of Hinduism symbols, the Gangeis river, and of course, the Taj Mahal. The trip to India will include all three of these attractions, and so much more.

Visiting a rural Indian school as well as a school in the heart of New Delhi are not to be overlooked on the draft itinerary. A yoga session near the Gangeis river should not be overshadowed by the actual Gangeis river itself, and the Gandhi memorial site is sure to be a moving experience.

The leader of the trip, Ms. Moyer, lived in India for two years. She remarks that “students and faculty encouraged me to plan this trip”

because of those two years. As an insider into Indian culture, she describes India as a “religious melting pot” with an “urban atmosphere that is similar to us (America)”. For those of you that plan on embarking on the trip to India and thought of India as a land full of ancient palaces and Hindu temples, prepare to be pleasantly surprised.

Semester at Sea is a three week program that allows students to travel on a cruise ship to different countries while continuing their studies onboard the ship. Derryfield is one of the founding schools of the new “precollege program” along with three schools from California and one from

Hawaii. The ship will travel to parts of Central America, stopping in Mexico and traveling along the Panama Canal. Classes on the ship will relate to the countries visited, and stops in several ports will be made to examine Central American culture. This trip is also a perfect opportunity to practice your Spanish.

Probable activities include rainforest zip-lining in Honduras, exploring ancient Mayan ruins, and working with sea turtles. Ms. Foster claims that a student will do well on this trip if they are “motivated” and “responsible”, which are, coincidentally, words that describe

Chinema Zack Chin

“Iron” Man II Goes Soft How does one formulate a good action movie? Still camera action scenes + high budget special effects + a respectable attempt at character development + token attractive woman (in this case, Scarlett Johansson) = entertaining. Iron Man II had only the basic skeleton of this equation, and lacked the essence of what makes a movie worth watching.

It wasn't totally shocking that Jon Favreau, the director of "Zathura: A Space Adventure", wasn't capable of portraying rich character growth. One walks in to the theater expecting the arrogant, narcissistic Tony Stark to enjoy his material comforts for the first half hour of the movie, encounter a challenge that would

come close to destroying himself physically and emotionally, and finally, learn something through catharsis to defeat the challenge. The audience, however, was left to both ponder the emotional effects of Stark's near death as well as the continued narcissism evident in both the beginning and end of the movie. It is true that truly great writers do not always follow formulaic symbolism. However, the Stark Expo, the best representation of Stark's arrogance, was present in both the beginning and end of the plot. As a result, audience members are left with questions: "Did he really change at all?

What is the point? How do I get my money back?"

To its credit, Iron Man II achieved its primary goal of displaying immense

amounts of advanced special effects and well put together fight scenes.

Vanities aside, the failure to succeed in showing confirmed, consistent character enrichment was disappointing.

Script: 1/4 Entertainment: 2/4 Cinematography: ¾ Bottom Line: 6/12

MONDAY SEPT. 27

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Presidential Address Asseb Niazi This year the student council, once in session, will focus on completing the goals we set last year. They include: raising school spirit, coming to a conclusion regard the technology policy, creating an umbrella organization that will keep all the active groups around the school informed of each other and make this year one to remember.

This year we have already started our mission of increasing the school spirit by creating The Event of the Week, and the Maroon and White competition (name changed to Cougars and Moose- a great suggestion made by Mr. Cousineau).

The creation of the Spirit Club has been an enormous part of our mission. Student Council and the Spirit Club will be working very closely to get the student body excited about school. We are looking for suggestions to make this year the best for everyone, so if you guys want something find your class council representatives, Ann Dipastina or myself. As we have seen change can be made very easily, so let us know what you want to be changed and we will do our best to make it happen.

This year we will be working closely with the Middle School

Leadership Council to provide the Middle School with the same opportunities as the Upper School.

One change that we have made is moving the student council meetings to Fridays so we can include the middle school. This year for the Middle School we are planning on have a huge event per trimester, which will include an event followed by a dance, or another social event.

This year is going to be great, we are putting a lot of work into what we are doing, and we are doing all this work for everyone in the school, but we are asking everyone to join us and participate to make this year

Really, Derryfield?

Hunter Holbrook Raising food prices so that salads are now over five dollars. Really, Derryfield?

Making the cafeteria food “healthier” to the point where all traces of anything delicious are nonexistent. Really, Derryfield?

A safety/school rules assembly taking up an entire common block catered to the kids who really don’t need another lecture. Really, Derryfield?

Wasting money that could be used to put air conditioners in every classroom to tile the computer lab instead. Really, Derryfield?

New Activities Photography Club: Roz KennyBirch Photography Club is a new club this year that will focus on not only taking pictures, but also in learning how to take pictures of good quality. As head of the club, I hope to accomplish this by talking about lighting, focusing, and angles. The goal is to learn about photography while having fun with taking photos! The club will take field trips to various places where we can take photos of nature landscapes and cityscapes. By the end of the year, we should be able to create a book full of our best photos. And of course, we will submit photos to the Lamplighter!

Read and Feed Club: Nicole Chenelle Started by Nicole Chenelle and Zoe Sobin, "Read and Feed" is basically a current events club. With Ms. Foster as a faculty advisor, meetings will consist of drinking coffee, eating snacks, and discussing the latest current events, whether they be politics or pop culture. A few current events are great to have in your pocket when meeting new people, and reading the paper is also a great thing to do if you love trivia. If you enjoy reading as well as eating, but especially if you enjoy doing both at once, consider joining the Read and Feed club!

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LAMPLIGHTER

Bachelor and Bachelorette Hannah Kanik And the Bachelor is…

And the Bachelorette is…

Mike Larson

Ann DiPastina

Do you have your eye on someone?

I only have my eye on the sun.

Do you have your eye on someone?

Only you, Hannah.

Describe your perfect first date.

It includes dancing wildcats, fire explosions, a twenty seat Camero (twenty seats are essential), wolverines in top hats, and a soft- serve twist ice cream cone.

Describe your perfect first date.

There would be some food and we would chat.

So far, what is your favorite class and/or teacher?

God. That’s for both questions.

What is your most valued possession?

The socks I'm wearing right now, I think they’re Adidas. But if I couldn’t pick that, then Barrett Lamp.

Which features do you receive the most compliments for?

Sideburns.

If you could change one thing about Derryfield, what would it be?

I think they should have a cryptozoology and a cryogenics lab in the basement, a first generation sushi chef from Japan, and a Derryfield brand deodorant.

So far, what is your favorite class and/or teacher?

Doc Simpson is my favorite teacher, and AP Latin is my favorite class.

What is your most valued possession?

My skates.

Which features do you receive the most compliments for?

Probably athletics, my abnormally large brain, and my pants. People like my pants.

If you could change one thing about Derryfield, what would it be?

A better hockey team/ an existent one.

What do you look for in a date?

Good looks, soul mate ability, a sense of humor, and they have to be taller than me. If I can beat you up, it's not going to work.

Thanks to All Our Contributors!

Editor in Chief: Kristen Ryan Managing Editor: Maggie Cochrane Human Interest Editor: Roz KennyBirch Sports Editor: Rachel McCoy Staff Writers: Jamie Ducharme, Zack Chin, Aseeb Niazi, Hunter Holbrook Layout: Kristen Ryan

MONDAY SEPT. 27

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Horoscopes Olivia Donahue

Aries: There's a lot going on that's unspoken recently, and that could leave you feeling mighty confused. Don't worry about it too much -- you just need to make sure that you're paying attention.

Taurus: Life is always intense around you, but this week it's doubly so. You may feel as if you're being stretched out in a new direction, but it's all just part of the plan. Life gets even better soon!

Gemini: Your ability to help others is greatly enhanced right now, and while you may rather deal with your own issues, you should actually get more out of helping them with their tricky business.

Cancer: You are having a hard time deciding what to do next. It could be that your energy is better spent on just trying things out and seeing if they fit, but in the end you might just dawdle the days away.

Leo: You know that there's more going on than meets the eye. You may not be sure what, but if you keep poking and prodding, you are sure to figure out a few more details that can really help.

Virgo: There's a lot going on that you can't see, but that doesn't mean that you need to give up or walk away. If anything, your energy this week is perfect for figuring out hidden forces and unseen influences.

Libra: This week is all about intensity, which sometimes scares you but still draws you in. Make sure that you're ready to go deep into whatever you're doing, from watching a movie to talking with family.

Scorpio: Everyone jokes about how intense you are -- though rarely to your face! This week your energy helps you focus intensely on whatever person or situation deserves it, even if you didn't know until now.

Sagittarius: Your subconscious is trying to tell you something, but you might not be sure what it is at first. You need to make sure that you're paying attention to all the weird little signs coming your way.

Capricorn: Spend some time lost in thought -- it's not wasted. Your good energy is just right for figuring out what you really want or need, and then devising a plan to get you right there fast!

Aquarius: School may or may not feel like an important part of your life right now, but your future does. The difference is how it all fits into your life, and where you see yourself in a few years.

Pisces: Your brain is a little fuzzy, but that just means that you need to set aside any important left-brain work for the time being.

You're fearless when it comes to hunches and leaps of faith, though!

What to Expect from Derryfield Sports With the ever changing technologies, i.e. the improved Derryfield website and the Cougartron, the question has been raised what role should Lamplighter Sports play in actually reporting sports. The conclusion we have come to is that with announcements in homeroom about sports scores, the scores on the Cougartron, and articles on the website it has become unnecessary to report scores in the paper when everyone knows them already. On top of that, with students required to play sports it has become difficult to have reporters at games because our writers are busy playing in their own games. So in short, Lamplighter Sports will no longer cover specific games.

So now you’re thinking, if the Sports section isn’t going to print sports what is the Sports section going to report? It is a valid question; it went through our heads as well. Lamplighter Sports is going to take a more human-interest perspective on sports.

You can expect more Athlete of the Week, for Varsity and JV sports, Independent Spotlights, editorials and season updates from some captains of teams. If you have any interest in writing for the sports section or have any ideas for editorials, please send an email with Lamplighter Sports in the subject to rmmccoy94@gmail.com.