the PHARCYDE
Prepping For Success With Test Innovators
Caroline Groffman Associate Editor
Along with other changes, the 2024-2025 school year has brought a new addition to the Upper School: the Test Innovators program. The hope is that the new program will assist students in the stressful process of preparing for standardized admissions testing.
A block of approximately 40 minutes has been set aside in the schedule on a bi-weekly basis. Although this may not seem like that long of a session, the time can be very productive if used correctly. Also, the website allows students to complete extra work at any time of the day, week, month, and even year.
“Ultimately this position will require a lot of data analysis because what we get from the program is lots of data collection. I always enjoy being able to dive deep into data and getting to guide the students to where they want to be,” explains Social Studies teacher Mr. Wik, who has volunteered to oversee the implementation of this new initiative.
This Test Innovators program includes practice tests and answers for each section of the SAT or ACT so students can self-examine where they stand in their studying process.
“I’ve been a lot better during the
math section and my test taking skills have definitely increased. I really appreciate having the program,” shares sophomore Jack Hansen.
In order to add to Benjamin’s large net of resources for the community, the administration decided to give students another way to enhance their standardized test scores in a way that has not been done before.
“I think it’s smart for Benjamin to have a test prep program. Obviously, all of us want to succeed on these tests, so it makes sense that there is an implemented program,” says junior Kate Quinlivan.
While this may not be the first program that Benjamin has provided for students, it is the most accessible one. Previous initiatives have included partnerships with organizations such as Revolution Prep, an in-school elective course, summer programming, and after-school workshops. The offering of Test Innovators’ product to the entire upper school community for no extra cost appears to mark
In His Element: Milce Joins TBS As New Chemistry Teacher
Lila Brodner Staff Writer
The start of the school year is a time of change. From sleep habits to schedules, lunch menus to outfits, late August often means new routines. Among those with a new routine these last few weeks is Mr. Abigail Milce, our new chemistry and biology teacher.
Mr. Milce was born in France and then moved to Barcelona at a young age. He moved back to France and lived there until he moved to the United States in 2010 at the age of 21. His family is from Haiti. “The places where I grew up are blessed with rich cultures and histories. Growing up there has shaped my perspective and influenced my teaching style,” says Milce.
Throughout his six years of teaching, Milce has found many ways to make an impact and has learned just as much as he’s taught.
“Before joining the Benjamin School, I taught at Inlet Grove High School. It was a wonderful experience, and I had the opportunity to work with amazing students and colleagues,” says Mr. Milce.
Having the opportunity to become an influencer in young teenager’s lives is a great job opportunity, “I became a teacher because I have a passion for helping others learn and grow. I love seeing the “aha” moments when my students understand a concept and become excited about learning. Being a teacher allows me to make a positive impact on young minds and shape the future generation,” says Milce.
As a science teacher, Milce’s is often called upon to do more than lecture. In labs, small group settings,
In addtion to
and one-on-one tutorials, he is tasked with helping and motivating students to understand and enjoy science. He seems to be succeeding.
“He is so happy and full of energy during class, it makes me feel a part of the class and makes me want to interact with the class,” says chemistry student and sophomore Kallan Pasciuto. “I cannot wait for the rest of the school year to learn from him.”
Being new to the high school can seem challenging and scary, but having support all around him has helped to make Mr. Milce’s transition easier.
“Benjamin School has a supportive community of educators, staff, and parents who are dedicated to the success of every student. I am proud to be a part of this wonderful school,” says Milce.
Getting to know your students is a helpful way to interact with your
classroom, “My teaching style is interactive and engaging. I believe in creating a classroom environment where students feel comfortable asking questions and actively participating in their learning,” says Milce.
Indeed, the way teachers teach is a key component of the students’ learning, and everyone teaches differently. “I like Mr. Milce’s teaching style. He helps us when we need it and teaches us directly,” says sophomore Eryn Miller.
Having a teacher who loves their job and is motivational to students and makes them want to come to class and learn.
Mr. Milce seems to be a great addition to the Benjamin community. We cannot wait to see what else he brings to campus.
the School’s largest commitment to standardized testing preparation to date.
“As colleges are going back to requiring tests, the School feels it should make the effort to help students self-evaluate where they are in their processes.The meetings every two weeks are a fundamental change in how Benjamin is going to look at this and this is a substantial opportunity to have,” explains Mr. Wik.
As appreciated as this program is, there is also feedback that does have a reasonable stance such as when this time should be allocated and how students may already have outside tutoring.
“There are some tricks that have been useful, but a lot of us already have out of school help and 1 on 1 tutors. I like the unlimited questions and practice tests available but sometimes it’s hard to focus on it in advisory. Maybe during a time like English class we could do practice with Test Innovators,” says Quinlivan.
Overall this program has gotten the feedback that would be expected, extremely positive from students putting in lots of time, and still somewhat positive from students who have just begun their Test Innovators journey.
Juniors Ishe Makoni, Owen Olbers, and Sebastian Scaperotto continue to work with the Upper School’s standarized testing program to sharpen their skills before the PSAT this October. “I have enjoyed working with Test Innovators. I love that we have practice questions to do and feel that I have learned a lot,” Scaperotto expressed. (Photo by Caroline Groffman)
teaching, Mr. Milce has a passion for music. Milce learned to play the saxaphone with instruction from teachers at the Presidential Haitan Palace for six years. He was member of the symphonic bands at Palm Beach State College and Florida Atlantic Universtiy. Milce just released his first album, entitled “Gospel and Romance,” make sure to check it out on his website.
A Touch Of Class: Parents
Head “Back To School”
Haley Roth Associate Editor
On Thursday, Aug. 29, Benjamin hosted its annual Back to School Night, a two-hour-long program during which parents get to fully experience the school day of their children.
Back to School Night is designed to allow parents to meet their children’s teachers as well as learn about the classes and subject material taught at The Upper School.
Teachers structure their time during Back to School Night differently. Some review the syllabi and present slideshows, while others explain and discuss course requirements and content with parents.
Upper School English teacher Mrs. Meghan Steiner describes what she usually does: “What I like to do is spend the time in those ten minutes so parents can get to know me. I like to do a presentation about myself, talk about my children, and then let them know I am available for their children by participating in the different sports and art activities, dance recitals, and that I am there for them. I like to make sure that the parents are aware that I am here for them as well.”
Back to School Night is most certainly enjoyed by teachers, “My favorite part about Back to School Night is meeting the parents of students and putting each face with the student and the parent. It is exciting to meet the moms and the dads [and
9/11:We
Caroline Groffman Associate Editor
On September 10, the Upper School held its annual remembrance assembly to honor the memory of those lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
This year’s assembly focused on the animals that had a large role in saving lives on the tragic day. The subject matter allowed the assembled to continue their learning and understanding of a day most were not alive to have experienced.
“From this year’s assembly, I was able to reflect and remember.”
-Iris Hoffman
“I think that the role of the searchand-rescue animals and the support that they offered is kind of an underappreciated aspect of the day. Each year we try to find new ways to present this event to the Upper School to be able to keep people interested in the attacks,” explained Mr. Carr.
The school looked for ways to teach the students about 9/11 and honor the day without being repetitive to the point of covering the same points every single year. Through this system of finding specific fragments
make the connection] of the student to the parent,” said Upper School Math Teacher Mrs. Rachelle Mays. Similarly, parents gain valuable insight into Benjamin as a whole and meet other parents, “I really enjoyed Back to School Night. It is always so well organized and it is great to have just a few minutes of time with the teachers to get to know them a little bit and set the tone and feel for the year,” expressed junior parent Mr. Ari Zur. “It is also a nice time to catch up with other parents after the summer break as we all start off the new year together.”
With his own children having graduated from the Upper School, Head of Upper School Mr. Fletcher Carr relishes the opportunity to continue his Back-to-School experience from a different perspective.
“Back to School Night is one of my favorite events of the year. The school year is still young, and there is a sense of freshness and excitement as parents and teachers connect to preview the coming year. The parents, some new to Benjamin and others established members of the community, have fun navigating their child’s schedule and catching up with new and old acquaintances. I guess the event symbolizes to me the real ‘casting off’ of the lines that have held us all close to shore during the opening weeks and our move into the deeper, less charted waters of the school year,” shared Mr. Carr. Back to School Night offers parents valuable insight into the daily lives of their children. Overall, the night seems to have been a great experience for faculty and parents alike.
New Year, New Clubs, New Ideas
Stella Liberman Staff Writer
The Upper School fair marked the introduction of a wide range of new clubs for the 2024-2025 school year. With clubs like the Film club, Kids Luv Chemistry, Real Estate, Blessings in a Backpack, and Cricket club, students are building communities around shared hobbies and interests.
Through a certain approval process, Benjamin assures that each club is active, providing a platform for students to engage and learn. Upper School Dean of Students Mr Jacobsen is tasked with overseeing the organizations and activities on campus, including whether a group is “approved” to meet. The process is fairly straight-forward.
“When students express interest in starting a club there is a club application form where they fill in the club information, purpose, and proposed activities. They also must have a faculty moderator in place to apply. Mr. Carr and I decide whether a club is warranted or if it could be attached to an already existing club before approval. Said Mr. Jacobsen. The policy is similar to those in the past where the Dean of Students oversaw a small panel of faculty who would also advise on whether proposed clubs were needed and would be bringing something “new” to campus.
The school has a standard set of expectations that student leaders must adhere to in order be listed as an “official” Upper School organization.
“If a club does not meet for two consecutive community block rotations, they may be considered dormant and removed from the club list,” warned Mr. Kevin Jacobsen.
One of the clubs that was introduced this year is Kids Luv Chem. Leaders Chase Zur, Lila Cooper and Nickie Walsh run the club alongside Dr. Haley. The organization’s mission is academic service, with members offering tutoring to students who need immediate help with the difficult science subject. The group also plans to take trips twice a month down to the lower school to do experiments with the younger students.
Another new club that formed this year is the Film Club. Abbey Trousdell, one of its presidents, explains why she, Caroline Fuller, Han
will Never Forget
of the attacks, the faculty has been able to keep the importance of 9/11 relevant to a student population that has less and less of a connection to the day each year.
Still, some students still want to go over the main event each year because they see it as such a significant day.
“I would have liked for there to be more of a highlight on the lives lost and the people that helped in addition to the focus on the dogs even though that was a unique way to remember the lives lost,” says junior Iris Hoffman.
Thanks to the large community at Benjamin, the Upper School was able to feature live music along with the assembly’s presentation, broadening the event’s effect on students and faculty. In addition to the music, the presentation itself was a moving display of care surrounding the terrorist attacks.
“I thought this year’s assembly was impactful especially when the band teacher played music and we watched the video as he played it. From this year’s assembly, I was able to reflect and remember what happened to this country on 9/11 and the tragic events that occurred on that day,” shares Hoffman.
Tang, and Curtis Esta established the group.
“We mainly created this club because we want to bring our love of movies to this school and build a community within it. This club brings a chance for people to discuss movies that interest them and give them a chance to learn something new about film” said junior Trousdell.
One way the club hopes to collaborate with other organizations is by holding joint movie screenings around holidays.
Trousdell describes what she hopes to accomplish within the club.
“We also want to try and gather a team to create our own short film, which we will enter into competitions. For students who are passionate about film, or even just enjoy watching movies, this club will give them a chance to become a part of something they really enjoy, and to share this passion with others”
The Cricket Club, founded by senior Vaibhav Katik, introduces students to the sport of cricket. Kartik shares his inspiration.
“When I moved to Palm Beach two years ago from Singapore, I noticed that the sport wasn’t prominent in schools so I decided that this was an opportunity to share my passion for it. The club provides a space for students to discover cricket. It is a very welcoming environment for anyone regardless of experience and what’s important about it is the way it can help people connect with others and maybe allow somebody else to find a new passion” said senior Kartik.
For Benjamin, September 11 is more than just a date in history. It is a date that still haunts so many in the school’s community. With the influx of northerners moving down to Florida over the last few years and even the families who had already been here for some time, the school has many connections to this tragic day in American history.
“Our school, in particular, is very 9/11 sensitive which I think is mostly because we have so many New Yorkers,” Mr. Carr reflected.
The Upper School finds it crucial to integrate a space to acknowledge the terrors of 9/11 into the schedule for students and faculty. This assembly carried out its function in honoring the lives lost and the community that was able to come together in spite of differences.
Blessings in a Backpack, led by freshmen Jack Henry Diaz, Sky Leonard, and Nash Mackenzie, brings a community focused ambition from Middle School to the Upper School. Leonard explains the club’s mission. “Blessings in a Backpack is an organization that my family has been a part of for a very long time and so I wanted to involve the whole school. The goal of it is to feed kids at Jupiter Elementary School who don’t have food over the weekends due to money or something that is going on at home. Right now we are packing and delivering food to one school, but we are trying to expand to other schools around Florida,” said freshman Leonard.
The Real Estate Club started by Sammy Solomon, offers students awareness of the real estate industry. Solomon highlights the clubs purpose:
“I started the club because my passion is real estate and it is what I plan on majoring in at college. The club brings any students who are interested in real estate an outlet to learn. We will bring in speakers. For example we have a young real estate agent in Jupiter coming in to talk about how he started and what he does on a day-to-day basis,” said Senior Solomon.
These new clubs improve the school’s extracurricular activities, giving students an opportunity to explore new interests, and contribute to the community.
Forging Bonds With
Chase Zur Editor-in-Chief
On Wednesday, August 28, students set aside their books and laptops for a day dedicated to team-building and camaraderie. Whether off-campus or on, students embraced the opportunity to strengthen friendships and build a sense of community.
This year marked the third round of excursions, as the events began as a means of building community following the COVID-19 pandemic. The trips took place slightly later in August this year so as to give new students extra time to adjust to the Upper School, the grade-level deans a little more time to refine their plans for the day, and teachers a couple of more class sessions before taking a break
In order for this day to be possible, it required meticulous planning from the grade-level deans. Dean of Students Mr. Kevin Jacobsen explained, “Each respective grade-level Dean has the responsibility to plan the day for each grade. It’s not easy to plan a day for roughly 135 people (students and faculty), so they do a lot of work to make the day a success.”
Freshman: A Day of Fun on Campus
Dr. Pierman and the freshmen began their day on campus, starting with advisory competitions from 9 a.m to noon. The morning was filled with competition and games, where students competed in various minute-towin-it style activities. A pizza lunch was provided, and in the afternoon, students had the option to watch a movie (The Lorax) in Benjamin Hall, participate in sports like pickleball or basketball, or play a variety of video games in a mobile arcade that the school had rented. Popcorn, cotton candy, and snow cones were also available.
Unlike the other grades, the freshman stay on campus. Pierman explains that, “The freshmen stay on campus because they are still fostering their connection to the school. Working as a team builds camaraderie amongst the students in the advisories. By competing, finding out what people are good at, and laughing at the funny moments, memories are created for a lifetime. Nothing like a good bit of friendly competition to make you feel like you’ve found your people!”
Students loved the day that Pierman had planned. Reflecting on the day’s events, freshman Peyton Welke noted, “I thought that competing
This photo was taken during the 9/11 Remembrance Assembly on September 10, 2024. (Photo by Jessy Padon)
Freshman and President of Blessings in a Backpack, Sky Leonard helps package up several bags of food to give to underprivledged children in the area. (Photo by Sky Leonard)
Co-Presidents of The Kids Luv Chemistry Club, Nickie Walsh, Chase Zur, and Lila Cooper pose for a photo next to their club stand during the activity fair. (Photo by Haley Roth)
Parents flood the Langauge Arts Hallway while going to their children’s classes to meet their teachers and learn about Benjamin’s curriculum.
(Photo by Kate Quinlivan)
This event also gives parents the chance to get to know each other better. (Photo by Kate Quinlivan)
Bucs’ AP Scores Hit New Heights
Caroline Groffamn Associate Editor
At 8a.m. on July 8, 2024, 294 Benjamin scholars logged into the College Board website for validation of the hard work, sweat equity, and lost sleep associated with taking one of our AP courses. By 8:01, it was clear: once again, the Benjamin School outshined the norm.
With 88.78% of Benjamin exams scoring a 3 or higher, it appears that the Covid slump may finally be over; scores were roughly the same as they were in 2020. Specifically, 261 of 294 students who took an AP scored a 3 or above on at least one exam. In addition to the overall scores being higher in 2024 than 2022, there were 36 more students taking an AP and 88 more tests taken in total.
So we’re smarter, right? The answer is not so clear as College Board continued to recalibrate scoring rubrics this past exam cycle. The changes have altered scoring curves-usually increasing scores-- in order to make the tests more realistic and fair, more closely reflective of the outcomes seen in the college courses the AP exams stand-in for.
Many are unsure to what exactly one should credit this new wave of 4s and 5s.: national scoring changes, institutional alterations to test preparation, responses to Instructional Planning Reports, or simply a more-capable set of test-takers.
Over the past two exam cycles, the College Board has recalibrated the scoring on 7 of its exams: English Lit, World History, Biology, Chemistry, European History, U.S. History, and U.S. Gov. The results are obvious: scores increased. Rates of 4 and 5 scores more than doubled in English Lit and Gov, with increases on the other exams preceding 10 percentages. More than 100,000 students earned a 3+ last year than the year before.
Upper School AP Coordinator Mrs. Hewitt looked to APUSH as an example. “From a global perspective, roughly 25 percent of US History exams received a 4 or 5 in 2023. In the 2024 cycle, the number increased to 46 percent (+21),” shared Hewitt.
The share of The Benjamin School’s APUSH exams earning a 4
The Upper School’s highest averages for this past AP exam cycle include Chemistry (4.5), Spanish Language (4.75), and Biology (4.33), Calculus BC (4.33), and English Language (4.33) all tied for the third highest.
or 5 rose from 39 percent to 81 percent (+42) during the same time period.
“If you take that information and kind of extrapolate that to think about how our Benjamin students probably fared, then you could see that our students did very, very well,” noted Hewitt.
But perhaps our good scores actually were the result of some good work on campus. Consider the state of the US Economics program.
Social Studies teacher Mr. Graham Wik is constantly seeking to increase his student’s knowledge and engagement, and thus his classes’ scores. “One piece is that we did more as a school to ask the student to do more work in the spring to review. Because it’s one of the only one semester fall classes that we have, it is important to prepare later on,” says Mr. Wik.
Last year, the mean score on the AP Microeconomics exam increased from 3.36 to 3.67. As the test was not recalibrated, the improvement has to be attributed elsewhere.
While the social studies’ department’s changes stemmed in part from scheduling, in the English department sometimes change comes in response to the College Board’s Instructional Planning Reports. These documents are provided to teachers each spring, offering insight into the strengths and weaknesses of their classes.
When he was preparing to take over the AP Literature courses from
a retiring Mr. Feyk a few years ago, Dr. Peruggia, and he used the planning reports to discuss changes in texts and unit foci. “We have always had incredibly high expectations and results in our AP and non AP courses, so I knew there was likely little room for much improvement. Nonetheless, the reports hinted that we may have some space to grow in our analysis of poetry, so I seized on that. By adding more poetry to the curriculum, increasing the frequency of poem-based analyses, and striving to make poetry more understandable and enjoyable, our results in those subsections on the AP and SAT exams have risen even higher,” said Dr. Peruggia. “In some cases, its clearly made the difference between a 4 and a 5.”
While the faculty are constantly striving to build on the success of the AP program, it is the students who are ultimately responsible for their AP scores. So, perhaps, the increase is simply reflective of a more-capable set of test-takers.
“If the Benjamin School is improving every year, we must be too. So we have to be smarter, more athletic, more diverse, and more prodigious than the grades before us and the people studying at other schools around us… it just makes sense. Better produces better,” reasoned senior Jonathan Vidal.
Whether curved or earned, the Upper School’s AP scores were stellar last year. Will the digital transition further that trend?
Day Of Fun, Games, Sunscreen
with our advisors was really fun. It was really nice to have a break from school. I really liked staying on campus because I was able to get a better feel for it and learn my way around. I loved having some free time after the planned activities in the morning, and overall it was a really great day.”
Sophomores: Sky Zone Trampoline Park
Mrs. McCambridge and the sophomores spent their class-building day at West Palm Beach’s Sky Zone Trampoline Park. After arriving at the school by 9 a.m, students traveled to the trampoline park, where they had the opportunity to jump on the trampolines, play basketball, dodgeball, and much more. After a morning of fun on several different elements, students enjoyed a pizza lunch provided by Sky Zone and then returned to campus around 2 p.m.
Sophomore Zeta Kujawa loved going to Sky Zone and enjoyed getting to know people outside of her advisory and classes.
“My favorite part of the trip was getting to see all of the people that I hadn’t seen since last year. I also really liked how many different activities there were to do because it allowed everyone to just be together. I felt like I could join any group at any time and
it was so nice to have fun with everyone outside of school. Freshman year, we mainly stayed with our advisors, so I really liked being able to spend time with the whole grade in such a fun environment,” Kujawa said.
Juniors: Fun Depot
Ms. Donnelly and the junior class headed to Lake Worth’s Fun Depot for their class-building day experience. Students had three hours to enjoy the attractions at Fun Depot, which included unlimited arcade games, laser tag, and go-carts, and bowling.
Junior Carter Burden felt that the shared experiences at Fun Depot helped bring the class closer together and foster a stronger sense of camaraderie.
“My favorite part of the trip was definitely the go karts. I have not been to Fun Depot in a while, so it was great to be able to spend a day there with no stress or anything to worry about. I feel like this trip really helped to promote an inclusive environment. When we played laser tag, everyone played in pretty random groups which allowed people who do not normally hang out together to get to know each other better,” Burden expressed.
New View On The College Landscape As Scoir Replaces Cialfo
Chase Zur and Caroline Groffman
Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editor
As students begin their college applications, the School has made a key transition by replacing its former college management system, Cialfo, with a new platform named Scoir This change aims to enhance the college search and application process for students.
To ensure a smoother and more reliable experience for students and counselors, the decision was made to switch platforms.
“Cialfo was great but there were certain things about it that weren’t incredibly reliable,” noted Associate Director of College Counseling, Ms. Maggie Leshin. “We really were not getting good data from the website or it was just really hard to find it. On the students’ end, particularly at the beginning of the application cycle last year, the deadlines for applications that Cialfo would set were not always right, and so for us as counselors, of course we knew the dates, but for the students at home it was confusing for them and their parents. We wanted these things to be more reliable and so we made the switch.”
With these issues in mind, the school has already begun to see positive results from the switch.
“The interface for Scoir is really easy to use. Another great thing is that because almost every other school uses Scoir, we have pretty much doubled the amount of colleges that are coming to visit this fall from last year, and we are not even done scheduling them yet. So we are definitely attracting more colleges because it’s a system that more highschools are using rather than Cialfo,” explained Leshin.
Another large part of the college application process is the collection of teacher recommendations. These letters play a crucial role in providing admission officers with insights into a student’s character as well as academic ability. Upper School English department Chair, Mrs. Sharon Wendler has written several recommendations and feels that while Scoir offers many advantages, it also presents some new challenges.
Seniors: The Rapids Water Park
Dr. Peruggia and the seniors spent their day at West Palm Beach’s Rapids Water Park. After a brief morning meeting about the yearbook, the Class boarded buses for a short ride to the park. Once there, they had the freedom to explore the many activities and attractions from the water slides, to the wave pool, and more. advisors. A buffet style lunch of hotdogs, hamburgers, and salad was served at the park’s picnic area, after which students had a bit more time for splashing around until the group departed at around 2:15 p.m.
Senior Elinor Samarias enjoyed her day at the Rapids and felt that it was the perfect way to spend time with her grade without the demands of school and college applications.
“Doing team building trips like this are really important because everybody can just be together and have fun without the stress of school. I had a great time with my friends and especially loved riding down all of the slides,” Samarias shared.
Overall, the Class-Building Day seemed to be a great success as it effectively brought students together, fostered new friendships, and set a positive tone for the year ahead.
and I can find what I’m looking for much faster. I love the compare feature because the website compares two colleges side by side and I can see their average SAT, ACT, acceptance rate, and type of essays. That tool has been really helpful in making my college list and doing my applications and I don’t think that there was that kind of feature on Cialfo that presented the information as clear as Scoir does,” Senior Maddox Hoffman shared.
Other feedback from students includes more updated technology that can help in their decision making for where to apply as seniors.
“I like to have the scattergram so that you can compare yourself to other students so that you can see where you are with people applying to specific colleges. It’s nice to be able to kind of run your chances based on the graph,” senior Dillon Hoban explained.
The switch to Scoir comes just over three years after Director of College Counseling Mrs. Anna Wright, switched the Upper School to Cialfo from Naviance. At that time, she noted that the school would not contract with Scoir because of its inability to link with common apps and the departments not wanting to jeopardize student applications.
“Three years ago, we made the switch to Cialfo because we didn’t know how Scoir would manage their system without having the Common App tool. However, we have worked really closely with other schools who have been using Scoir for the past three years and all of them have loved the system and have felt that not having the common app tool has been completely manageable. There were two things that were non-negotiable for us: we had to make sure that the student’s data was populating and to be able to easily check for teacher recommendations. For Cialfo, we spent days trying to see if the deadlines were right or if all of the materials had been properly sent. Scoir has a much easier system of seeing that everything has gone and it does a much better job of sending deadlines and dates for students which were our top priorities,” Wright explained.
“I have uploaded 18 teacher recs this year. Scoir seems very similar to Naviance and Cialfo, which are our previous systems. The only meaningful difference that I’ve noted as a teacher is that it doesn’t populate the students for us, as Cialfo and Naviance did. This means that teachers must type the students’ names into the search bar, and then we select the student for whom we are uploading the letter of recommendation. The only reason why this is not quite as desirable is that we need to be certain we know who we are writing for and how many so that we don’t inadvertently forget to upload a letter,” expressed Wendler.
Despite minor challenges for teachers, students have found Scoir to be extremely beneficial and are loving the new features that the platform offers.
“It was pretty easy to transition from Cialfo to Scoir, I really didn’t have any difficulty with it. They are both really easy to use, but I feel like Scoir is more organized than Cialfo
In January 2021, Mrs. Wright said she was excited that Cialfo kept getting better every day and that it would provide students and counselors a constantly better experience. She shares the same optimism about Scoir
“For Scoir, the data is much cleaner, which is huge for our team and important for the students. The data in Cialfo was wrong and we just could not advise students because we didn’t have the correct information. Not only that but, the students seem much happier with the interface and although we haven’t started sending documents yet, we have already seen how much easier it is to view information and make sure deadlines are hit,” Wright expressed.
Overall, the transition from Scoir has brought both challenges and improvements, however it is clear that the new platform is making a significant impact on the college application process for both students and administration.
At Benjamin, we hesitate to say, “Sorry for your loss,” when someone loses a close election or “congratulations” when they win. We often avoid these simple gestures of acknowledgement because we’re afraid of offending someone or sparking the wrong conversation. We tread lightly, unsure if the smallest comments may be received. It’s not just about elections; whether it’s discussing current events, societal issues, or even personal experiences, we often hold back to share our true viewpoints. Why? Because we’ve grown cautious and insecure, fearing that our views might lead to judgment or argument. Our quest to be non-judgemental has gone too far, as now too few of us are willing to even share with others what it is we believe.
We are extremely reluctant to bring up anything that touches on politics. There is not much conversation about immigration, gun control, the upcoming election of our president in the hallways. In fact, this month we seriously considered writing an editorial about gun control considering the most recent school shooting, but ultimately felt that any statement we would write may have been taken the “wrong way.” Right now, those who feel passionate about a particular candidate, law, or general issue avoid educated discussions for fear that
Editorial
their opinions will be misunderstood or dismissed. It is the same case with virtually any topic that might spark a debate. Take, for example, even the simplest of situations: students who are friends with the children of faculty members. These students often feel constrained when it comes to discussing their thoughts or experiences related to school or their class. They worry that expressing their opinions might create “awkwardness” or tension in the already precarious teacher-student/parent-child/friend-friend/ teacher-child’s friend dynamic. This robs us of prime opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations on a personal level. Because of our cautiousness, we are missing out on important parts of other people, those people who make us our better selves..
but not here, and that is something that we should change.
So, how can we as a school promote an environment where we can have educated conversations and speak about controversial topics without fear of repercussions?
So what comes from this? Not much. Avoiding these conversations doesn’t make us more cohesive, it makes us more distant. Important discussions are happening elsewhere,
One of the first steps in creating this open dialogue is to remind ourselves that not every disagreement is a personal attack. We are all entitled to our own views and when someone offers a different perspective, it is not a judgment towards you. For example, when a classmate disagrees with you about a political issue, it is easy to feel defensive, as if they are questioning your values. But in reality, they are not attacking you, they are
sharing a different perspective. If we can recognize that disagreements aren’t judgments but simply differences in opinion, we may start to feel less threatened by those conversations and more open to having them.
One way to do this is to focus on ideas rather than people. If we can separate someone’s
opinion from who they are as a person, it makes it much easier to speak about these topics without things becoming personal.
Additionally, it is important to accept that not every conversation needs a clear conclusion. Sometimes, the value of a conversation just lies in the conversation itself, not in reaching an agreement or decision. Some topics don’t have easy answers, and that is okay. Leaving certain topics open for debate can be just as valuable as finding a “solution.” However, avoiding these conversations altogether, stifles the kind of thinking we should be encouraging.
We should be able to have a polite, respectful argument without fear.
Disagreeing should not have to lead to conflict because they really can help us grow. They push us to think deeper, challenge our current views, and to see things in a new light. We need to strive to engage in these conversations with an open mind and make genuine attempts to understand where the other person is coming from.
In the end, we have an opportunity to create a community where ideas are shared freely and where difficult conversations are welcomed rather than avoided. If we focus on listening, respecting others, and separating ideas from personal identities, we can build an environment where people feel comfortable sharing their opinions, one where no topic is too controversial to discuss.
*This editorial is the opinion of The Pharcyde and therefore is not attributed to one singular person.
Ignorance Is Not Bliss: Get (And Stay) Informed
By Caroline Groffman Associate Editor
What do students today prioritize? For most, it is not paying attention to the news and what is going on around the world. Many people find it difficult to take time away from their “busy” days to read or watch the news to stay updated. While this is an understandable claim, it is still crucial to one’s growth and development as a human to learn about world issues.
The majority of the world’s top businessmen and women have shared with the public how they start their morning. Here’s a hint: it is not by sitting at home watching mindless shows on their televisions. Warren Buffett, the world’s sixth wealthiest person and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (a globally acknowledged multinational conglomerate company), begins his days by reading the Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, the New York Times, USA Today, the Omaha World-Herald, and The American Banker.
Former President Barack Obama also has a morning routine including reading the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. In addition to these, he also
Founded in 1980 as The Spectator 27 September 2024 Volume 46, Issue 1
The Benjamin School 4875 Grandiflora Road Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33418
Contact Information
Phone: 561-472-5998, ext. 2119
Fax: 561-691-8823
Advisor Dr. John Peruggia
john.peruggia@thebenjaminschool.org
Advisor Emeritus
Mr. Kendall Didsbury
Media Consultants
Mr. and Mrs. Tim Burke
claims to be a fan of the New Yorker and The Atlantic.
The list of successful, respected, and powerful people that stay in tune with the news goes on and on because without doing that, it would be impossible to be one of those people. How could you want to be a world leader without knowing about the world?
However, if you feel that you do not have time to read newspapers, there are other options. One choice that can be made is to listen to the radio on the way to school or work in the mornings. There are many news channels that make it possible to hear the updates instead of having to read them. Even Spotify has the option to listen to channels such as NPR (National Public Radio), the BBC (British Broadcasting Channel), and The Washington Post.
In today’s world, people are so quick to make assumptions and come up with random arguments without thoroughly doing their research. There have recently been many issues in America that can be traced to listening to non-credible sources, or worse, not even listening to sources and just repeating things that they might have heard.
The results of this can be extremely dangerous. The polarization
EDITORIAL BOARD
Chase Zur, Editor-in-Chief
Caroline Groffman, Club President and Associate Editor
Haley Roth, Associate Editor
Reid Waxman, Associate Editor
STAFF WRITERS
Isabella Anthon
Lila Brodner
Stella Liberman
Caroline Yohe
MISSION STATEMENT
The Pharcyde is
in America has deepened over the last few years due to issues rooted on both the Democratic side and the Republican side of the political scene. Misinformation has become a large topic of debate in politics stemming from a plethora of issues and events.
For the younger generation, it can be as simple as following news channels on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, or whatever other apps one may be on. By following legitimate news channels instead of just seeing what an influencer you may like will post, you will become a much more intelligent citizen.
One other option to increase your awareness of society is to join the Upper School’s Current Issues class. This semester long class typically run by Mr. Carr or Mr. Jacobsen has the sole purpose of allowing students to learn and discuss the events going on around the globe at the moment. Being a part of this class is a great opportunity for students if their schedules will permit it.
This can be one way of easily integrating the news into your regular routine. Instead of scrolling endlessly through TikTok or Instagram in the morning or bored in a study hall, you can look through the live updates on these channels or sites that were creat-
GENERAL
The Pharcyde, the Upper School newspaper of The Benjamin School, is published seven times a year. 1,200 copies of The Pharcyde are distributed to 398 students and 57 faculty members and are available in the Upper School office.
The Pharcyde encourages submission of Letters to the Editor. Send your feedback, criticism, or outside opinions in 150 words or fewer to tvisha.goel21@thebenjaminschool.org or sophia.liporace21@thebenjaminschool.org.
The Pharcyde reserves the right to edit all letters for length, grammar, and clarity.
ed in order to educate us. Taking even only ten minutes to scroll through CNN and FOX News’ accounts can sufficiently inform you and not take up that much of your day.
Another important aspect that should be considered after doing some research is talking to people.
The more people that you speak with, the more you broaden your horizons and absorb information about topics and people that could be in a completely different sector than what you may typically discuss.
These discussions lead to a more open-minded way of thinking and can
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OPINION
The opinion articles in this paper are the opinion of the writer or the majority opinion of The Pharcyde Editorial Board. They are not the opinion of The Benjamin School or our advertisers.
deeply change how you may think or feel about certain ideas. It is absolutely necessary that when talking to other people about possibly controversial topics, you go into it with respect and genuinely have intentions of learning, not just proving a point to the other side.
Between all of these options, there is really no excuse to not take advantage of your resources and learn about the world outside of your own bubble. Another final tip about how to educate yourself is also to read The Pharcyde and hear about current events that are also related to you.
QUOTATION POLICY
Anyone interviewed by The Pharcyde will have the chance to correct and edit their quotations before the paper goes to press. If they would like to change their interview before the quote confirmations get sent out, they can contact the student who interviewed them and ask to redo the interview.
MEMBERSHIP
The Pharcyde is a member of the Florida Scholastic Press Association, American Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the National Scholastic Press Association.
Comforts Of College O’er Buc Pride
By: Isabella Anthon Staff Writer
It is a well-known fact throughout TBS that high school students get more leeway regarding uniforms. Instead of wearing school-branded merchandise, they can wear plain hoodies or ones with a college name. But why are these college-branded shirts so much more popular than those emblazoned with the Benjamin B? Are they really better?
School merch only goes so far in terms of style. Benjamin’s colors are orange and blue with a little bit of white. Those are two colors one wouldn’t often see together. To put it plainly, the combo isn’t for everyone. Wearing plain sweatshirts offers students the option to wear any color they choose. Stores like Amazon have hundreds to choose from. The Benjamin logos on said sweatshirts are also limited. Most have the classic Benjamin “B” or the full name. The options are still limited despite the various styles to show one’s school spirit, whether from the Nook or online merch stores.
High school is a time of change for students, so self-expression is significant. In my years at Benjamin, I’ve struggled to find my style because of the uniforms. Since starting high school, I’ve been able to experiment more colors that I thought suited me didn’t. Even though the base of
my outfits isn’t my choosing, a splash of my style makes a big difference.
Many students have strong connections to a certain college or university. Some may have siblings who plan on or are currently attending college. An entire generation of my family went to the University of Pennsylvania, and my aunt was a hall-of-fame basketball player there. The school also happens to be my top choice for my post-Benjamin academic life. Wearing my dad’s 1988 UPenn hoodie gives me great pride in my family history. Looking at the logo reminds me of what I’m working towards.
Freshman Cece Munder holds a similar opinion. “My family loves [University of] Michigan,” says Munder. “My dad went there; it’s my brother’s top choice for college, and we root for the football team. I’ve been programmed to love it, but I really do love the school and everything it stands for. Wearing the Michigan Navy makes me feel at home.”
Benjamin is home to incredible athletes. As they enter their junior and senior years of high school, many of them commit to playing their sports at the collegiate level. They can show pride in their future by representing a team on a sweatshirt. The same goes for fans of college sports. Especially in Florida, the spectrum of teams to root for is broad. Students sometimes even have friendly hallway rivalries about who will win that night’s game.
While many camps for teenagers
are outdoor-oriented, some students at TBS take courses at universities during their summer breaks. I’ve studied at Oxford University for two weeks for the last three years. I hold the memories near and dear to my heart, so wearing the hoodies I bought on my trips reminds me of how much fun I had.
Combining these reasons results in a single conclusion: wearing off-uniform sweatshirts offers much more variety for students in their everyday dress. This privilege is invaluable for schools like Benjamin, which have uniforms.
Conflict Brewing
By: Lila Brodner Staff Writer
By Stella Liberman Staff Writer
Breakfast is a key part of many people’s daily routines. With increasing numbers of people finally coming to accept this, there has been a rise in the popularity of breakfast-related commercialism, a move that may--to a large part--be exacerbating the popularity of brands such as Dunkin and Starbucks. From their food selections to their drinks, their drive-thru’s to the ambiance of their interior spaces, both brands have their unique approach to giving us what our groggy morning selves most want. This raises a question: which one does it better?
Coffee
These two coffee chains both offer a similar array of drinks, including cold brews, lattes, and drip coffees. Dunkin’s price range for their coffee is about $1.59 to $4.99, close to Starbucks coffee which ranges from $1.95$ to around $4.45.
WENDLER
“As you may know, my mom is Mrs. Wendler, an English teacher here. It’s nice to have my mom as a teacher. I can leave my stuff in her room and use her fridge to put my food away. There haven’t been any downsides to my mom being a teacher, but if she were my teacher, it might be different.
I got into cross country because my dad made me do it initially, but then I ended up enjoying it a lot. Running cross country is really good for stamina and keeps me in good shape. I like the Benjamin team because they are very positive and the coach is great. The coach is new this year, but he’s great. I love lacrosse as well because I can run a lot. The thing I like a lot about lacrosse is that it’s a team sport too. I’ve always played lacrosse and enjoyed it very much.
Something that most people don’t know about me is that I have three older brothers: 31, 28, and 26. It can sometimes feel that I’m an only child, since all my brothers are older than me, but we are all very close.”
like the Egg, Pesto, and Mozzarella sandwich, which combines rich flavors making it more appetizing than what Dunkin offers. Starbucks also caters to people with dietary preferences, including options like their kale and mushroom egg bites, and a spinach, feta, and egg white wrap. These healthy alternatives help Starbucks outshine its muffin and donut-peddling competitors. With that said, Starbucks’ bakery options--cake pops and loafs included-- always seem to taste fresher than anything I’ve sampled from a Dunkin.
For me, someone looking for both flavor and convenience, the ability to be able to grab a portable healthy or unhealthy meal at Starbucks makes it a much better option.
Popular Drink Options
Dunkin and Starbucks are also known for more drinks than just their coffees. Both stores have refreshers, hot chocolates, and matcha. Both stores have great options, it depends on what you like, “I love the strawberry açai refreshers from Starbucks, it tastes so good and they are my go-to drink,” says sophomore Mackenzie Bryan. Both stores offer many drink options and are both affordable.
The ambiance:
“I like Starbucks coffee better than Dunkin, in my opinion, it tastes better and I love their holiday coffees better,” says junior Bella Contacessa.
Starbucks opens its holiday menu starting in early September, and it lets the customers get excited for the upcoming months. On the other hand, Dunkin rolled out its holiday menu on Nov. 2 this year. The two chains have similar prices, but Starbucks has a more unique menu than Dunkin, giving it a slight, early edge in the breakfast war.
Popular Food Options
These two stores both offer very different food options. Dunkin offers donuts, munchkins, and hashbrowns, but Starbucks offers cake pops, coffee cakes, and wraps.
“I like Starbucks breakfast sandwiches and cake pops, it’s easy to get right before school and I can save it for lunch and it is still good to eat,” says junior Sarah Napier.
Both Dunkin and Starbucks have many good options to eat depending on what mood you are in. Dunkin’s food is more for immediate consumption than the snack-like offerings of Starbucks, which one can save for later.
Starbucks offers higher-ranking food options compared to Dunkin Donuts because of its variety, and healthier choices. Starbucks has a wide variety of breakfast sandwiches
The ambiance in Starbucks and Dunkin differ in terms of atmosphere and customer service. Dunkin tends to have a brighter, more casual setting, with quick service for the pickup-and-go customers. Starbucks has a more cozy vibe, with soft music in the background, and comfy seating, creating a place for people to relax and socialize. Location-wise, Starbucks location encourages customers to come in, offering an inviting environment for meetings. However, for Dunkin, the chain tries to create an efficient and practical area, mainly catering to a fast-paced crowd. Dunkin’s decor opts for more func-
tional designs, whereas Starbuck’s decor is very warm-toned with a more modern aesthetic. In general, Starbucks is a cafe-like environment, while Dunkin Donuts has a more practical straightforward grab-and-go experience.
While both these chains offer similar coffee drinks and affordable prices, Starbucks is a better option with its diverse food options and a more inviting ambiance. Their superb menu lets people know they are inclusive of people who have dietary restrictions and preferences, paired with its cozy atmosphere making it a better choice for those seeking a variety of food options, a place to relax, and convenience.
Humans of
The Benjamin Upper School
Freshmen Ducky Little (left) and Taylor McCorkle (right) sport Duke and UCLA sweatshirts during advisory. (Photo by Anthon)
Galleria d’ artiste
Mic Dropped. Céline Dion Delivers Towering Performances in Paris, Prime Documentary
Amidst the spectacle of sports that was the Paris Summer Olympiad towered the remarkable image of a woman clad in white belting out "L’Hymne à l’amour" ("Hymn to Love") in the rain atop the Eiffel Tower. Making a live singing appearance for the first time in four years, the icon Céline Dion, delivered a performance many had thought may never happen again and millions more have been hoping to see for far too long.
Dion is a world-renowned Canadian singer known for her stunning singing skills. She is known for many things, her amazing voice, her songs, and her background. Yet, in December 2022, she revealed to the public her diagnosis with Stiff-Person Syndrome (SPS). The disease caused her to cancel performances and reschedule her 2023 European tour.
SPS is an illness where the person who is diagnosed with the rare neurological problem can face muscle spasms and the conditions get worse overtime. Although there is no treatment at the moment, people who work with a specialist can make it easier to live with the condition.
This summer, Amazon released I am Celine Dion on its Prime Video platform. The documentary dives deep into the life of Dion, focusing on her struggles with SPS. Director Irene Taylor applies footage from concerts, and moments of Dion’s battle with her illness, illustrating her determination to continue her performances despite the challenges she faces.
In addition, the use of behind-the-scenes footage provides a close look at the life she lives, giving viewers a sense of what genuinely gets her going and her career, despite her health problems.
One thing we learn from Dion is she hopes to return to the stage again. In the documentary, scenes show Celine warming up her voice in hopes to return to the stage again in the future. Clips also provide us with Dion’s performances in the past, showing that Dion has to re-learn how to sing and move again.
"I want to be able to sing with joy, without thinking," Dion explains after several frustrating takes at a power-ballad she could once sing with ease. Her struggle-- and determination-- serve as a powerful life lesson about persevering through complications. Celine’s perseverance can inspire viewers to have faith in their own dreams and abilities, no matter the challenges they face. Whether facing personal losses, health issues, etc, Celine’s journey illustrates that having hope can keep people moving forward. It also reminds us that the setbacks we face in today’s world are not the end of the story, but more importantly a piece of the journey we take part in.
The documentary also shows Dion’s expression of being upset about canceling her shows. Celine and her team came out revealing the reasons why her shows had to be rescheduled and canceled as she broke down in tears. She found it challenging to not be honest to her fans, and how the lie affected her too much, while she was privately dealing with SPS. In concerts, she powered through her performances even though she struggled with her vocals, as she pointed the mic to the crowd to get them to sing with her. Celine’s emotional turmoil over having to cancel shows and feeling that she has deceived her supporters highlight her sense of responsibility and integrity. This lesson can be applied to real life with the importance of being honest with others. This can be seen as a reminder that it's normal to admit our struggles, those aspects of our lives that require mainly courage and honesty. Dion’s story teaches viewers that it's best to take responsibility for our actions, even when it gets difficult.
The I am Celine Dion documentary serves as a reminder of the resilience and strength that describe Celine Dion’s sensational journey. Viewers are left with a big appreciation for her struggles, integrity, and the heartfelt connections she holds with her supporters.
Dion’s voice has earned her the title, “Queen of Power Ballads” for the powerful and technical skills she’s used to conquer a range of genres from pop to rock, jazz to R&B, contemporary to classical standards.
Céline started to gain recognition in 1988 when she won the Eurovision Song Contest representing Switzerland. She transitioned into the English-speaking world, with her first English album, Unison in 1990. She released other albums including, The Colour of My Love in 1993, Falling into You in 1996, and Let’s Talk About Love in 1997, which are just some of her albums she is most known for. She is also known for her singing of “My Heart Will Go On”, the theme song for Titanic.
Closer to home, Dion is also a member of the Benjamin community. Her eldest son, RC Angelil, attended the Benjamin School from kindergarten to fifth grade, before the family relocated to Las Vegas when he entered the sixth grade.
Stella Liberman and Lila Brodner Staff Writers
Makenna Bristow: Introduction to Graphic Design
Branson Smith: Foundations In Art
Julian Luiz: AP Photography
Thomas Harris: Graphic Design I
Leanna Depaulis: Graphic Design I
Landon Ferguson: Graphic Design I
Bridget Stein: Ap Photography
Samantha Frankel: Intro to Graphic Design
Drew Buchanan: Intermediate Photography
What’s a Grade?
According to Joe Feldman, a former teacher and principal, “grades are the way teachers calculate and report student performances. Typically, it’s an accumulation of points (0 to 100) with corresponding letters (A through F, minus E). Earn an 89 on a test and your grade is a B+, for example.”
According to Lory Hough, author of The Problem With Grading, the grading in school is believed to date back to 1785, when Yale President Ezra Stiles gave four grades to his seniors (optimi, second optimi, inferiors, and pejores).”
In the centuries since, grades have become “the main criteria in nearly every decision that schools make about students,” says Feldman. This includes if students move to the next class or are held back, and which level a student can take (regular, honors, or AP). Most importantly, it’s become one of the primary ways colleges decide who they’ll admit.
The Phar Report
But what is a grade communicating? According to Denise Pope, senior lecturer at Stanford and director of Challenge Success, “Grading is evaluation, putting a value on something.”
“Assessment is feedback so that students can learn. It’s helping them see where they are and helping them move toward a point of greater understanding or mastery. Grading doesn’t always do that, but assessment should,” clarifies Pope.
Pope likes to share that the Latin root of assessment is assidere, to sit beside. For her, effective assessments see where students are with their understanding and use that to determine what they need; “sometimes a grade does that, but a lot of times students have no idea what that grade means.”
A small sampling of students on campus reveals a variety of expectations as to what a grade means.
Senior Natasha Yedinak offers, “Grades are the efforts you put into
High? Flying
Assessing the State of Grades
I am used to being an A+ level English student, but I received a 65 on an AP essay… How could that happen?
a class. The point is to see where we stand compared to the class expectations and other students in the school, the state, or the country. Most teachers here would say that if you don’t do well on an assignment but show effort, it helps your grade.”
The idea that grades reflect effort is echoed by Junior Johnny Havlicek. “Grades are based on your work, not on you as a person. It’s about how much work you put into a class.Your efforts matter more than your grade, but your grade reflects how much effort you’re putting in. It shows how hard you try, but it’s more important to focus on learning the material than getting by to get a good grade and then forgetting it.” Indeed, it’s about the journey for Havlicek: “In my opinion, learning the material is more important than striving for a good grade.”
For sophomore Payton Conners, though, grades are about knowledge, not merely effort. “A grade is a cumu-
lative overview of your successes and failures in a class. Grades show where you’re at in a particular subject, but sometimes, they don’t accurately reflect your knowledge. They are meant to set a benchmark, and it can feel intense because it’s like putting a label on you and your intelligence. There are benefits and negatives. Say you’re doing very well in a class and you have an A, that shows that you’re knowledgeable in that subject. A bad grade could make you feel like you’re
Grades are based on your work, not on you as a person. They’re about how much work you put into a class.
-Johnny Havlicek
not good enough,” shared Connors.
On the other side of the desk, Upper School teachers are navigating waters with personalized charts as well.
Science teacher and parent of an alumna Mr. Steven Blount offers his own nuanced meaning of learning and grades. “A grade is just a percentage that reflects what you have learned. It does reflect what you have learned. But both statements are only true when the definition of learning is ‘Learning is what you produce when you don’t study. Learning is NOT what is produced when you do study.’”
Benjamin graduate and current English teacher Mrs. Meghan Steiner sees grades as a form of feedback: “Grades tell me who has not grasped the most recent concepts and allow me to tailor lessons to reinforce learning. I think grades reflect a mix of learning and effort depending on the type of assessment.”
Just two classrooms over, Mrs. Mary Ditaranto urges students to look beyond grades, though she sees the reality she teaches within as well. “I’ve always told my students to focus on learning and not on the grading. Unfortunately, the first image they see when they open their laptop is their current standing in the course. I spend a great deal of time commenting on my students’ written work. I strive to help them understand the problems and areas where they can improve. I write to them in hopes that they realize that their time spent on their essays is not in vain. When a grade does not reflect a student’s learning or efforts, I worry that my student will lose interest,” offered Mrs. Ditaranto.
This diversity in definition is the problem consuming students, teachers, parents, and college officers. How can grades impact us so much if we don’t have a common agreement
The only people who can afford a B are those who can play sports.
of what they are?
What’s our grade situation?
Surely, though, there is an operational definition for grades at The Benjamin School. In identifying it, we looked in two key places: the Student-Parent Handbook and our Academic Profile, documents intended to inform the internal and external communities at large.
The Upper School Student and Parent Handbook includes a scale that converts number grades (0-100) into letter grades (F-A+) into quality points (0-4.33) that factor into one’s grade point average (GPA). It also contains sections that identify grading criteria for academic honors or warnings, and information about the weighting of semester exams (15%). Notably, the Handbook includes a policy that notes Freshman year grades are not included in the GPA used to determine a Class’s Valedictorian and Salutatorian.
In addition to our Handbook, the School communicates information about the state of grading on our Academic Profile, which is compiled by the college counseling department.
According to The National Association of College Admissions Counseling (NACAC), “The school profile can help a college admission officer, among other stakeholders, “decode” information about a secondary school quickly and easily.”
According to Director of College Counseling Mrs. Anna Wright, “We send an Academic Profile with every transcript. It tells them things like, a 93 is an A, and gives them that sort of scale. That’s sort of it. The transcript goes off, the grades go off, and the equivalent of our letter grades is shown on the Profile.”
In its “Guidelines for Designing a School Profile,” revised in 2020, NACAC explains, “There are nearly as many grading systems as there are secondary schools, so including information about the school’s grade structures, grade-point average system, or other details unique to the school is a critically important step. NACAC research has found that nearly half of four-year colleges, and particularly highly-selective colleges, recalibrate GPAs across schools to ensure more comparability among applicants. Absent detailed information about a school’s grading system, colleges may be prone to draw conclusions on their own.”
Is the information present on our Profile enough so that colleges and scholarship organizations are accurately forming a picture of our School? The answer is challenging.
“We tell them about our rigor in our profile, but there’s also a lot of other context,” explains Mrs. Wright. “Your SAT and ACT scores communicate what type of student you are. We spend a lot of time talking about
“When we include a student’s behavior in a grade, we’re imposing on all of our students a narrow idea of what a ‘successful’ student is,” Feldman says, and “you start to misrepresent and warp the accuracy.”
Such behavioral intervention may actually include positive rewards such as effort points, participation grades, or extra credit assignments. For example, a student who participates in discussions and always brings their book to class earns five points, but they get a C on an essay. Adding the five behavior points lifts that C grade to a B-. The student and her parents are happy that the student’s all-important GPA remains high, but reality has been warped in a way that can create longer term problems.
Pictured above is this year’s Academic Profile. The document is produced by the college couseling every year. The document gives context to student grades, and is sent with transcripts to colleges. The Profile can be viewed on the school website.
our AP courses, scores, and the quality of our scores. We send off what classes we offer and what level we offer them at, those sorts of things. [...] We can say we’re a rigorous college preparatory school, and we do. We say we hold our kids to high expectations, we do. But there’s no way any school can say to a school that this is what an A means versus what a B means,” cautions Mrs. Wright.
The burden for that information falls to other voices in our community, specifically our teachers and counselors. “A lot of that context of the grades comes from the teacher recommendations, when the teachers are writing about the students. When they talk about what the student has done in the class, how they performed, what kind of projects they have done, and how well they have done in those, that kinda gives the colleges a glimpse of the rigor of what the student takes. We in our counselor recommendations also talk about how hard and rigorous our school is, but no school can say anything beyond an A is an A. There is no school that can say ‘our A is harder than another A.’ I think universities have a lot of institutional information on being like, well, we know that the Benjamin kids come to our school and do well,” explains Mrs. Wright.
What Do Our Grades Mean?
For Mrs. Steiner, a grade should communicate something about the student-teacher relationship that is built over a term. “I hope the grades students earn in my classes reflect their desire to improve over time and my willingness to help them in that journey,” she explains.
One has more than one companion on that journey, though. Six classes a day can highlight six different guides, six different relationships, and six different levels of effort. With so many voices crafting a narrative and trying to offer an analysis by means of a grade, the airwaves can be frazzling.
It may also explain the state of grading at our school, it can be a bit confusing for students and parents to understand the landscape. The confusion isn’t helped by the lack of consistency about what is a grade between schools, within departments, and sometimes even within the same classes.
“It’s radically inconsistent from
teacher to teacher,” says A.J. Stitch, Ed.M.’12, the founding principal of the Greater Dayton School, a private school in Ohio for kids from low-income backgrounds that doesn’t use traditional grades. At schools where he has worked in the past, he says “most teachers had different approaches to weighting homework, classwork, quizzes, and tests.”
For example, he says, “a student may demonstrate mastery of content on a test, quiz, and classwork, yet still fail a course because the teacher decides to weigh homework 40%, and the student, for one reason or another, struggles in that regard. Obviously, that’s inequitable, and it illustrates the variation of weighted grade scales and how it impacts a student’s success or failure, regardless of whether they mastered the standards taught in the course.”
Jason Merrill, the principal of Melrose High School, says this is one of the biggest areas of concern in education. “Your son has eight teachers right now that all have their own way to grade. Completely their own,” Merrill says. “The average kid often gives up trying to figure it out. Some teachers count homework, some teachers don’t. Some teachers grade homework, some teachers grade it as completion. Some teachers count large tests for a lot more than others.
There’s no way any school can say to a school that this is what an A means versus what a B means.
-Mrs. Anna Wright
What we want to do is not have 85 different ways to respond to a fire alarm.”
Added to this are voices such as those of Feldman, who argues that we also don’t want to include non-academics in grades — things like messy binders and not coming to class with a pencil, or the one that is commonly factored in: late work.
“A student who writes an A-quality essay but hands it in late gets her writing downgraded to a B, and the student who writes a B-quality essay turned in by the deadline receives a B. There’s nothing to distinguish those two B grades, although those students have very different levels of content mastery,” Feldman says.
should assess each student’s work against an established and accepted model of achievement. In such cases, everyone in a class could earn an A if all students met an assessment’s benchmarks and expectations; similarly, they could all get a C.
Feldman explains: “You’re telling students that they’re at a B level in content, when they’re actually at a C. They don’t think there’s a problem, the counselors don’t think there’s a problem, and the student goes to the next grade level and gets crushed by the content. They had no idea that they weren’t prepared for the rigor of that class because they kept getting the message that they were getting B’s.”
This can be troublesome when it comes to planning. If a parent, student, or counselor doesn’t have the ability to see a report card that communicates whether someone is proficient at a skill or has attained the content competency that a grade is assumed to reflect, they may be misplaced and become overwhelmed. The result is more changed schedules, more complaints about unfair grading, and a lot of unnecessary stress.
Ranking/Comparing
At schools such as ours where students are unranked and grades are weighted, the confusion is sometimes compounded. Many parents think that when a student comes home with an A+ in a class, they’re among the very brightest; but if the class average is an A, that may not necessarily be the case. Similarly, is an A in a regular course more impressive than one in an honors course if the average of the regular course is a C and the AP course an A-? How does one even begin to make a case for understanding rigor without a clear standard?
If you think such questions don’t matter, consider whether you are going to earn membership in the Cum Laude Society. Inductees must be ranked in the top 20% of their grade. The cut off for our chapter last year? Just about a 4.3-- a gpa that is unattainable without high grades in honors and AP courses.
On a similar note, consider the difficulty of perfection on the ACT, where there are 36 potential scores to earn versus the SAT, where perfection is measured on a 1600-point scale. How many more “perfect” ACT scores are the result of cut-offs dictated more by scoring scales than actual achievement. What would your GPA be if we eliminated plusses and minuses, or letters in favor of numbers. Would your grade be more accurate? Would it make you happier? Would your stress levels decrease?
To address these, many argue that grades should reflect one’s achievement not against his or her classmates, but against an established norm. Using rubrics, scoring guides, and pre-graded examples, teachers
The reason for Myers’ hesitancy lies in the emotions behind comparative grading systems, where students want to avoid feelings of inferiority and judgment. “I’d rather have a C in a class with many Cs, not A’s because it won’t look like I’m falling behind,” noted Weinberg, hinting that the grades of others do weigh on the minds of many.
Reynolds agrees noting “Where there are many Cs… then I know I’m not alone in struggling.”
Sophomore Chandler Reynolds supports this approach. “My peers in my class are a great example of us as a whole,” notes Reynolds. “Where there are many Cs, then I know I’m not alone in struggling; … where there are many As we’re all succeeding and the teacher is doing their job.”
The practice is challenged by those who believe that universally high or low results are reflections of teaching quality rather than achievement level. “If the whole class has an A, find a way to ask tougher questions” or “if they all stumbled on a quiz, write an easier quiz… or try teaching the material in a way that
Where there are many As we’re all succeeding and the teacher is doing their job
-Chandler Reynolds
allows for students to actually understand it” are just some of the comments offered by norm-skeptics.
The concept of comparison is one that elicits some debate among students and teachers. One one side are those who think grades should reflect a comparison to others in the classroom; on another, to those representing a national or universal standard.
Senior Jake Weinberg believes that his grades should allow for his parents, teachers, and self to position his achievement in relation to that of the average student in the world. “It should be a comparison between you and an average person in the world and should reflect, to an extent, the effort you put in. In classes like English, effort should be rewarded,” argues Weinberg.
As such, Weinberg is not concerned with the grades of his classmates: “I don’t think it matters what the grades of others in the class get. It’s more about me and how it’s going for me than how everyone else is doing.”
Others, like Sophomore Olivia Myers, are keenly aware of how her classmates are performing. “I’d rather be compared to a peer in class since we’re getting the same education,” says Myers.
When asked whether she’d want to have a C in a class with many other Cs or with many As and Bs, she quickly responded: “Where there are many Cs. Then I know that I’m not too smart for the class.” When asked if she’d want to have an A in similar circumstances, Myers was less certain: “That’s a harder question, I don’t know.”
The interviews we held revealed that grades matter more to students when they could be seen as a weakness, rather than when a strength. The majority of Benjamin students want to avoid the perception of weakness but also do not seem to want to boast about their excellence. Ours is not a school for those seeking competition when it comes to grades.
Accuracy
Whether grades reflect one’s standing against one’s peers or against a more universal ideal, one thing parents, students, and teachers want is accuracy. Grades ought to be objective and defensible.
Social Studies teacher and alumnus Mr. Zach Rubiano shares, I know my grades are accurate because I develop the rubric when I develop the assessment, whether it’s a test, quiz, or essay. For instance, when working on a test, I set out a certain number of multiple-choice questions (each one being a point) and then a written question, where each component of the question is five points. I base things off of writing specifically on content because it is more important to focus on the rich information that the student writes about.”
English teacher Mrs. Shannon Anderson shares Mr. Rubiano’s rubric approach; “There are standards and rubrics that we follow to guide the grading process, and students are expected to follow its specifics. It is not random, and we are looking for specific things.”
Those specifics sometimes come by taking the test, a practice employed by math teacher Mr. Matt Currivan. “I make my key myself; I’ll take the test and check that the test problems make sense and the answers are right on my key. I also examined ‘Did you use the skills I set out for you?’ I am super systematic with my grading and key, and by doing all of this in a sitting, I ensure that I grade everyone’s assignment equally,” explains Mr. Currivan.
For some veteran teachers, such as Mrs. Hewitt, the standards are almost innate. “It is by expectation, and I feel like I set my expectations to a certain level, and that is what the highest grade would be. It has to do with quality; for the yearbook, we don’t want fluffy detail. We want to know the student’s feelings and emotions about the story. We want to capture their experience with the situation. If you gloss over and don’t ask the right questions, then you are not meeting the expectations,” said Mrs. Hewitt.
Teachers’ efforts have succeded. “I’m in AP Calc AB with Mr. Ruggie and I have a low A, which I think is pretty accurate, because I am not really good in the class, but I also understand the majority of what is going on. I would say grades do not reflect my efforts because the first
I did not study as much as I should have and I feel like I could have done better,” confesses Sophomore Mackenzie Bryan.
“I’m in Honors Chemistry with Dr. Haley and my grades reflect my knowledge because Chemistry is a knowledge-based class, where you either know the concepts or not. I say that if you definitely know it, then it will reflect your grade. I think it does reflect my grades because there is a ton of homework, meaning if you are doing the work then you will get a good grade,” intones Sophomore Zeta Kujawa.
Rubrics
For many teachers, the quest for accuracy begins with a rubric. According to the Center for Teaching and Learning, rubrics are scoring guides used to evaluate performance, a product, or a project. It has three parts: performance criteria, rating scale, and indicators.
According to English teacher Mrs. Anderson, “the faculty of the English department uses a shared rubric so that there may be a consistent standard for students to meet. The result is a familiarity with what makes an effective essay.”
According to the World Languages Chair Sra. Tejera-Mede, “with a rubric it is very clear to see the expectations and what students need to have to receive a grade. Our rubrics come from our texts and we also create and share our own within the department. If I don’t give students one, they’ll ask me ‘where’s our rubric,’ so I guess they’re expecting them now.”
Several of Sophomore Jayden Cosby-Mosley’s classes use rubrics, including American literature with Mrs. Meghan Steiner. “I like rubrics because they allow me to know what my project or assignment is being graded on and it allows me to make the work better. The rubrics make grading more fair since everyone knows what they’re being graded on, says Cosby-Mosley.
Grade Calculations
Even if a teacher has created the perfect rubric, though, grades may not be perfectly reflective of achievement. Grade calculation, how a semester grade is determined, is a complex and weighty topic every teacher has to contemplate for every course he or she teaches.
The first question in grade calculation is whether to use total points or weighted categories. In a total points system, assignment grades are added together and a simple average is calculated as the semester’s coursework grade. Conversely, when a weighted average is used, teachers establish groupings of assessments-- essays, quizzes, and homework, for example-- and assign each a percentage weight; each category is averaged, with that average contributing to the coursework grade at the designated overall percentage.
Even the weighted average approach, though, has options. A teacher can use simple weighted averages or weighted averages with total points. A simple weighted average considers each assignment in the category equally, while a weighted average with total points gives more importance to assignments with higher assigned point values.
For students and parents, the options-- which can vary by department, teacher, or even course, can
lead to trouble.
“As a parent, I was confused earlier this year when my son’s overall grade in a class was low, even though he seemed to get the content. We looked online at the grading portal the district uses and sure enough, he had Bs and As. But then there was that one grade: a 44 on a test he didn’t have enough time to finish. That one low test score brought the whole grade down because of another impossible part of how we grade: averaging,” Pope says.
Standardized Testing
For many, the gold standard of accuracy tests are whether grades in a course are reproduced or echoed on standardized tests. The PSAT, P-ACT, SAT, and ACT all have the ability to offer support for students’ skill mastery in mathematics, English, history, and science classes to some extent or another.
For other classes, AP exams offer further testimony to whether a student’s grade accurately reflects the expectations of achievement in their course. Each year, the CollegeBoard calibrates scores on their AP exams so that they reflect the scores earned in college-level classes; the goal is that a 3 score on the AP would have earned a C in the corresponding college course, while a 5 score would typically earn an A. If one follows the logic, students earning an A in AP Art History should reasonably expect to
Rubrics make grading more fair since everyone knows what they’re being graded on
-Jayden
Cosby-Mosley
earn scores of 4 or 5 if their grades are accurate.
The Upper School has a notably strong record of performance on AP exams, and teachers of those classes pride themselves on their students’ success not only on the oneand-done test, but throughout the one or two semesters the AP class runs.
“Generally in the math department we try to make sure our grades match up to the scores students will achieve on the AP exam. Usually there is a strong correlation between between a student’s class grade and AP score,” notes math department chair Mr. Michael Ruggie.
When standardized test cores and class scores differ, everyone should reflect on possible reasons why.
Teachers can seek to adjust pacing or assessment forms in their classes, students can reassesses whether they memorized, synthesized, and learned material or only partially mastered some topics, counselors and parents can look into whether some other
factors may be at the root of the differences.
Is Our Grading System Fair?
With so many variables, from definitions to calculations, how can any system of grading be considered fair? Educational researchers have debated the limitations associated with grading schemes for decades, with the result being a long list of potential flaws in the current system: A-F grades are inconsistent and subjective, like all grading, but present a façade of quantitative precision and objectivity.
Including zeros in calculations is misleading since 60 percent of the grading scale means “failing.”
The system was designed to rank students not to report mastery of skills or knowledge of content.
These grades often hide learning and academic achievement by including various other factors in calculations (attendance at plays, lateness penalties, participation points, book purchasing, syllabus signing, etc.).
Grading is too often used to promote behavioral compliance in students and not to stimulate creativity, critical thinking, and learning.
Grades nudge students toward task-completion and discourage them from adopting a learning orientation. (Barton and Thomas)
The biggest flaw, though, seems to appear when parents, students, and even school staff try to view grades from one school in relation to another. A “fair” comparison could only really exist if the scales, calculation system, course content, and standardized testing results were all the same, an occurrence that is rare.
Below are the grades Joe received for his German Class.
Tests: 86/100, 87/100, 94/100, 172/200
Essays: 71/100, 88/100, 84/100
Quizzes: 10/10, 20/20, 5/5, 10/15, 9/10, 8.5/10, 0/20
Homework (all out of 10): 10, 10, 10, 10, 0, 10, 10, 10, 0, 6, 0, 8, 8, 9, 10
If Joe’s teacher calculated using total points, Joe’s coursework grade would be a 82.25%
If Joe’s teacher calculated using weighted categories (test=30%, essays=40%, quizzes=20%, homework =10%), Joe’s coursework grade would be an 81.0%
If Joe’s teacher calculated using total points and weighted categories, Joe’s coursework grade would be a 79.42%
Same grades throughout the semester, yet three different averages. Which system would you want? Choose carefully, as changing even just one of those grades could result in very different outcomes.
college admission rates. The reality? Everyone getting A’s is often quite problematic.
A’s and B’s actually fluctuate in value depending on how many there are, something even educational proponents of systems with many students earning A’s acknowledge.
But while Feldman argues that it’s fine if lots of students earn an A, since “meeting an external standard, like writing a persuasive essay or passing the driver’s license test, or even exceeding it is not like taking a limited resource, like gold or oil,” grades are often actually linked to limited resources such as admissions slots at universities or membership in honors societies.
According to Coffey, “when most students get A’s and B’s, undesirable outcomes might occur. First, these high grades become less meaningful as a signal to students and parents (and colleges) about actual achievement in a class. Is the student really excelling in the subject? Should she pursue advanced study? Or is she merely proficient? If so many students are truly excelling, then maybe it’s time to make that class more challenging. On the other hand, when students receive A’s and B’s for mere proficiency, schools risk decreased student effort and warped decision-making when it comes to college applications, choices of majors, and career paths.”
Secondly, when everyone’s grades are high, other “measurements” of success or achievement become overly-important. These can include standardized test scores, athletic performance, extracurricular involvement, and even family backgrounds. Should the budding chemist who may one day cure cancer lose their chance at attending Johns Hopkins to someone who, although they share the same GPA, spends his afternoons serving as the backup goalie on a team instead of spending time studying in the library? Should the student whose family can afford summer programs tagging rhinoceri get the leg up over the one who spent the summer watching National Geographic documentaries on Disney+? Another problem with assessing a grading system’s fairness is that sometimes optimism is not practical. Even the specialists tie themselves up in knots when trying to remain positive. Feldman, for example, argues that teachers should only grade endof-unit or end-of-year assessments, holding that grading summative work is more accurate, fair, and equitable for students. Students’ struggles
You either know the concept or not.... if you definitely know it, then it will reflect your grade.
-Zeta Kujawa
on these assessments testify to their preparation and level of mastery. Yet, Feldman also pushes for unlimited retakes, even after grades are due for report cards. Imagine how short summer breaks could become if you or your parent wanted your transcripts to be perfect… how many more attempts at a perfect essay are you willing to write? Can you realistically revise? Can a teacher read? Are such approaches considerate of our human
inclination to procrastinate or our still developing executive functioning skills? Grades should motivate us to set priorities, not define us. Such a statement only comes, moreover, if one understands what the “re” in re-do implies. Is a student retaking the same exact assignment or correcting the same questions or has the teacher crafted a new assessment of the same content or skills? What changes between attempts at showing one’s mastery?
Sophomore Stella Liberman relishes the opportunity to revisit assignments: “they give me the chance to get a better grade when I didn’t do as well as I thought I had the first time. Even raising my grade two points is better than what it was before I did the rewrite.”
Junior Reid Waxman is more conflicted about revisions. “I don’t like rewrites, but if offered, I will do them because they help my grade and if I don’t my parents would get mad,” shares Waxman.
Finally, our grades need to be personalized. We have different skills, different dreams, and different lives-we should not all have the same classification. Some of us don’t want mandatory rewrites or retakes. Some of us are simply taking the class because we have to fulfill a requirement. Some of us actually prioritize other activities before homework. We should be allowed to advocate for what we believe is best for us. Again, we are going to be motivated most when we have a voice in the process.
Grades and College Admissions
While they may not agree on what an A or B communicates, most everyone does agree on the importance of grades in getting students into a good college. In short, good grades are always going to be essential to standing out in the competitive college admissions process. According to the NACAC, For the Fall 2023 admission cycle, NACAC member four-year colleges reported that the most important factors in admission decisions were grades in high school courses and strength of the high school curriculum.
How are Benjamin School grades received and perceived today? Are those perceptions matching what our school is marketing?
“When meeting prospective families, we discuss our grading scale with pluses and minuses, how our midterms and finals operate, but not how we grade. Our reputation remains to be one of if not the most rigorous academic schools in Northern Palm Beach County, so families come with that expectation,” shares Associate Director of Admissions Mr. Christopher Nordland.
The “Benjamin bump” refers to the idea that students of the Benjamin school have an advantage over other students applying to college. For example, if a college requires a 4.0 to be accepted, the “bump” is applied to a student with a 3.8. This “bump” is exercised due to the school’s recognition of rigor and college-preparation. This expression has been stated very clearly throughout the admissions office in the last several years, and has become obsolete. This leaves a question of whether it is still existent and applicable to current students.
According to Mr. Fletcher Carr, Head of the Upper School, “The Benjamin bump is nearly mythical.”
To combat this, some argue that challenging schools should have grades that are higher, so as to show that their students are actually stronger. The result? High percentages of As and Bs. Happy families. High
Assessing the State of Grades: Final Words
He believes that this is on account of the evolving admissions processes, as well as modern technology, “As colleges now become less trusting of the essay, because of AI, that causes one less admission tool being utilized by colleges. That was always a very helpful thing for our school because our students write very well.”
Current students share Mr. Carr’s observations about the “Bump.”
“I think that there is a difference in rigor at Benjamin compared to public schools around us. However, I feel that most students think that the “bump” is bigger than it actually is.
I think colleges may recognize that Benjamin is a hard school but I don’t think it makes much of a difference in the application process,” senior Maddox Hoffman
Echoing Hoffman, junior Nickie Walsh expresses doubt about the existence of the “Benjamin Bump,” emphasizing that colleges may view the academic achievements of students from different schools as comparable.
“I don’t think there is a Benjamin
Bump because I don’t think colleges view our classes as much more difficult than other schools. I think that if a college was looking at a 4.0 from a student at Benjamin and a 4.0 from a student at Jupiter, they would see both GPAs as equal,” said junior Nickie Walsh.
Where did the Bump go and why?
The answers differ.
For Mr. Carr, the Benjamin bump has seen a decline due to the influx of applications, “The one thing to note is that there are so many applications and colleges haven’t really increased the number of admissions officers by a lot. Their caseloads get bigger and bigger, and then they’re spending less time on the actual applications.”
“The crummy reality is that the admissions process has become much more “numbers” driven.” Carr refers to the idea that colleges have become much more dependent on SAT scores and grades, “Between that and the turnovers of the admissions office, you’re not developing those longer term relationships.”
For students like Junior Lila Cooper, the decline is just another symptom of COVID: “If you are a student that goes to Benjamin you think that the classes are harder than if you were to go to a school down the street. But at colleges, I don’t think that there is much of a difference. For example, if a college is looking at two students; one with good grades at Benjamin and one with outstanding grades at a public school, I think that the college would view the student at the public
school as better. I think now, especially since COVID, it matters a lot more what you do outside of school than the school you go to.”
Assuredly, the process of college admissions has changed substantially. Carr explains, “When I was doing college counseling in the 1990s, we would literally set up calls with Brown, Harvard, or Yale. Admissions officers would speak directly to counselors to determine a rank order and discuss best fits....Ultimately the Justice Department defined this as collusion.”
Carr acknowledges that the “Benjamin bump” is not as effective as it used to be, but the school has made efforts to adapt to the new admissions standards, “Historically, I believe we could do better with our testing as a student-body, which is something we are working on now.”
The Benjamin School has introduced a new SAT preparation program to equip students with new test-taking skills, “That’s why we have put some money into an outside
test-prep organization which is notably a great program for our students. Just to get that extra bump of points can make a big difference in college applications.”
Our Recommendations
For parents
Please continue to encourage us to achieve at our full potential, but know that it may mean we aren’t perfect.
If you think there’s a problem with our grades, talk to us and let us start the conversation with our teachers; we need to learn to be our own best advocates.
If you can see it on our Buclines, so can we; our panic may have already occurred at school, so please don’t think we don’t care if we’ve already calmed down by the time we get home.
If we say we’re confused about our grades, we probably are really confused about them and are seeking your help.
For teachers
Thank you for staying after school and replying to emails quickly.
The more you can be clear about how much an assignment can affect our grade the easier it is for us to explain things to our parents, sometimes it’s not us who are the grade focused people.
Whether we can revise or retake or redo, please continue to give us clear feedback on how to improve on
the next assignment you’re challenging us with.
Please know that our grades matter when we apply to college. We don’t want fake grades, but we do want colleges to somehow know just how hard our classes are.
For students
Be your best your advocates-- ask your teachers to explain your grades, don’t just complain about them.
Seek out your teachers’ help if your grades are not matching your expectations.
Stop comparing yourself to others; consider who your best self can be.
When your parents are questioning your grades, don’t view them as attacking you as much as they are showing how much they care.
Don’t make big proclamations… your classmates may actually have done well on the quiz you’re complaining about or they may have struggled on the one you are claiming was easy.
Homecoming Preview: Themes At A Glance
“This summer, I went to South Africa and Zimbabwe with my mom’s side of the family. We’ve always gone to places like Jamaica and Mexico, but they wanted to do something different. It’s funny: My sister found a picture of a lion and then cropped my grandma’s face onto it. It started as a joke, but then the plan became reality.
Being with my family was the most fun part of the trip. We live in different places and don’t always see each other, but we always get close again on these trips. The elephants were one of my favorite parts. They’re so big and cool. I saw them going into a lake and playing and swimming.
If I went back to Africa, I’d definitely visit more countries. Cape Town was my favorite place to visit. It’s a very cool city, and the diversity between the nicer areas and the not-so-nice ones surprised me. The difference is noticeable; they’re literally right next to each other.
Seeing them in their habitats changed my perspective. It’s very different to see them in a zoo. Out in the wild, you’re fully immersed in their lives. In zoos, they’re living in our world. When I went to Africa, we were on a truck and just drove around. It felt like they welcomed us into their world for a change.”
Sabrina Carpenter’s Stardom Won’t Be “Short and Sweet”
Isabella Anthon Staff Writer
How does one spell stardom? S, A, B, R, I, N, A. Since her time at Disney Channel on the hit TV show Girl Meets World, Sabrina Carpenter has established herself as nothing less than a pop sensation. And her new album, Short n’ Sweet, may be her best yet.
Born just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Carpenter began her career singing covers on YouTube. She was cast in Girl Meets World in 2014. Upon the show’s end, Hollywood Records signed her. Eyes Wide Open, her first studio album, saw relative success, as did the three that followed (EVOlution and Singular Acts I & II). The four singles released before Carpenter’s fifth album did better than any of her others. “Nonsense,” the hit track of emails i can’t send, rose on the charts and took social media by storm. It peaked at #56, but a song from the deluxe album reached number one in the United States. Both “Feather” and “Nonsense” are well on their way to a billion streams.
Despite Sabrina Carpenter’s obvious success, many critics agree that she has yet to reach the heights of her popularity. May 2024 saw the release of “Espresso.” To say the song blew up would be an understatement. From TikTok dances to being the third fastest song to reach a billion streams on Spotify, “Espresso” was declared this summer’s anthem. It even held one of the top spots on the US charts for seven consecutive weeks.
Garaj
That is until her next song came out.
“Please Please Please” shot to number one on the Billboard, and its music video went to #1 on YouTube’s trending list the day it was released. Fans enjoyed the video’s nod to Carpenter’s real-life boyfriend, actor Barry Keoghan.
On the eve of her album’s release, Carpenter appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Music news outlets like Rolling Stone have praised it. The leading track, “Taste,” even came with a music video starring Jenna Ortega, who was on the Disney Channel around the same time as Carpenter. The lyrics on the album, co-written with Jack Antonoff, Julia Michaels, and Amy Allen, have been hailed as witty and fitting to Carpenter’s energy.
Students here at TBS can’t get enough of the album. Over 50% of those who listened to it agreed that their favorite song is “Espresso.” Other favorites include “Slim Pickins,” “Juno,” and “Taste.”
Sophomore Eve Nicoletta says, “Overall, I love how creative the whole album is. She makes funny references to her Disney Channel days. Sabrina [Carpenter] is coming into a new light like the world’s new popstar.”
Sabrina Carpenter’s popularity ascent is far from over. After her stint on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, she announced the Short and Sweet Tour. Columbus, Ohio, hosts the first concert on September 23rd. The tour will conclude in Milan next March.
One stop on Carpenter’s previous tour, Emails I Can’t Send, was Los Angeles where she played at Wiltern Theatre on October 15, 2022. At this performance, she played songs like Nonsense, Feather, and because i liked a boy. This tour left fans wanting more and waiting for her next tour to be announced.
Sabrina Carpenter was originally an actor on shows like Girl Meets World before she found fame as a pop singer. (Photo by Billboard)
The Suits Sensation: Stu-
dents Can’t Get Enough
Reid Waxman
Associate Editor
Netflix shows have grown in number and popularity over the recent years, but one in particular has simply blown up: Suits. The nine-season drama, which originally ran on the USA Network from 2011 to 2019, broke a record on Netflix for total viewing time for an acquired series with 3.14 billion minutes of watch time, toppling the previous record holder, Manifest, which had 2.49 billion viewing minutes, according to the Hollywood Reporter
Suits tells the story of Mike Ross, played by Patrick J. Adams in the show, and how he uses his photographic memory to weasel his way into a job as a legal associate for successful attorney Harvey Specter, played by Gabriel Macht. Even though Ross never attended law school, he and Specter win several cases throughout the show as Ross and Specter continue to hide the secret.
“Mike is such a good lawyer. From the second Harvey meets him, he knows he is special, so he takes the chance to hire him. Mike’s incredible memory and brain make it easy for him to understand all aspects of the law. He is also a very quick learner, which is shown throughout the show, so even when he makes a mistake, he is quick to learn from it and never do it again,” junior James Carpenter exclaimed.
“Harvey is confident in himself, and I also like how he backs up his trash talk. It is always so interesting that there is some type of argument in every episode, and I like to watch it,” sophomore Matthew Null explained.
One of the biggest names on Suits is that of Meghan Markle, who played Rachel Zane, a paralegal and Ross’s wife, who looked to rise in the law firm. The show began before Markle became involved with-- and later married to-- Prince Harry; she left at the end of Season 7.
“Rachel was such a good character in the show because she showed how smart she was, not only her dad but also the firm. She was always hard-working, and it was cool to see
that,” sophomore Elizabeth Merill said.
Specter’s razor-sharp assistant Sarah Rafferty, played Donna Paulsen, and the firm’s managing partner Jessica Pearson, played by Gina Torres, were presented as strong and confident throughout the production. These women’s dynamics kept Harvey, Mike, and their prickly colleagues, Louis Litt, played by Rick Hoffman, in check and held viewers on the edge of their seats.
“I find it cool how Donna is always so quick with everything. She is on top of the game, and Harvey is not Harvey without Donna,” senior Matthew Schepp said.
“Jessica is so smart. She has the power throughout the show to run Harvey and other lawyers around the firm, and I find that so cool,” junior Caroline Smith stated.
“Louis is so funny in the show. His saying, ‘You Just Got Litt Up!’ is hilarious. His facial expressions and his feud with Harvey and the rest of the partners within the firm make the show. He is so smart but does not get the fame he deserves, and I think Suits does a great job developing that aspect of his character throughout all nine seasons,” junior Chase Connor explained.
For other students, the show’s popularity does not stem from its characters, but its subject matter: the law. Sophomore Cian Hoban, after watching Suits, has decided that he wants to learn more about being a lawyer in the future.
“Before I watched Suits, I knew nothing about the law. It made no sense, but watching Harvey and Mike take down everyone in their path, it looks so cool. I know it’s hard work, but everything they do is super cool, and I want to do that one day,” Hoban said.
If it were easy enough to get this much attention quickly, every streaming service would have a Suits-sized hit on its hands. Programming executives are likely already scrambling to figure out how to replicate its success. Now, the hunt for the next Suits begins.
Five Stars For It Ends With Us
Lila Brodner Staff Writer
When books become movies, it makes watching and seeing the characters play out what happens in the book more fun. The film It Ends With Us directed by Justin Baldoni is based on the novel by Colleen Hoover.
Colleen Hoover published this book on Aug. 2, 2016, but this book has such a great plot that it had no problem reconnecting with audiences. It helps, too, that both the movie and the book follow closely the same story line, so fans of the one can easily become fans of the other.
It Ends With Us premiered on Aug. 9, 2024, with the cast of Blake Lively as Lily Bloom, Justin Baldoni as Ryle Kincaid, Brandon Sklenar as Atlas Corrigan, and Jenny Slate as Allysa. This cast made such a great movie that the people who read the book love to see the plot happen in theaters, “I read the book, and seeing it in the movies was so interesting to see the characters portrayed with real people,” says junior Bella Contacessa.
This movie contains a very powerful message about abuse. The main character, Lily Bloom, is in a circle surrounded by abuse. Her mother
was hurt by her father, and the mother of her childhood friend, Atlas was also hurt. Then Atlas was kicked out of his house and lived in an abandoned house next to Lily’s, and then her husband, Ryle, hurt her too. Lily did not want to end up like her mother, and was certain she wanted to get out of the relationship. She stayed through while she was pregnant, and kept in touch with Ryle, but at the end she says she wants a divorce.
The movie shows how hard it is to break out of an abusive relationship, while highlighting the freedom you get once you’re out.
This movie was interesting to watch and even better because I’d read the book. I loved seeing how the characters interacted with each other. Different viewers might have different opinions.
“I liked the book better than the movie because it was such an interesting story, and I liked reading about the characters and imagining how they looked and what they did with each other. Watching the movie shows the intensity when the characters meet each other and fall in love at first sight, but reading the books lets you imagine it,” says junior Riley McCaughey.
This movie is such a great watch
and I would recommend it to anyone who has read the book or is interested in a good love triangle. “This was an interesting movie and kept me reeled into the movie the entire time,” shares Contacessa.
PharReview: Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
Haley Roth Associate Editor
As the Halloween season quickly approaches, it is a very appropriate time for Tim Burton to release another one of his iconic films titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Released on September 6, this new movie scored a 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is designed as a sequel to the original Beetlejuice film created in 1988. It is categorized as a dark comedy mixed with a little bit of horror. As of Sept. 16, the movie has made $264.3 million at the box office.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice takes place 36 years after the original movie, once again following the life of Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder). Deetz, who is now an adult, has become a ghost show host, who speaks with spirits and sees the dead. Although her career seems to be very lucrative, she cannot shake visions of Beetlejuice, who tormented her in the past. When the news of her father’s death gets back to Lydia, she picks up her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), and returns to Winter River for the memorial.
During their weekend in Winter River, many events occur rather quickly for the Deetz girls. Astrid meets a boy named Jeremy Fraizer (Arthur Conti), who she quickly begins to like. Lydia also gets engaged at her father’s funeral to one of the producers of her show named Rory (Justin Theroux).
On the night of Halloween, Astrid has a date planned with Jeremy at his house. On this date, Jeremy reveals that he is a ghost, who died in an accident while jumping out of his tree house. He asks Astrid to create a portal to the other side and help him get his life back, and she agrees to do this to see her father who had previously passed away. When Lydia discovers that Jeremy is a murderer who killed his parents, she decides to have Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) help her save her daughter before she is stuck in the afterlife forever.
Beetlejuice agrees to help if Lydia marries him, allowing him to come back to life and escape his crazy ex-wife. She agrees, and they stop Astrid from boarding the soul train and switching lives with Jeremy. After a quick journey through the afterlife, the Deetz girls end up back at the church just in time for Lydia’s
wedding to Rory. The wedding goes awry and is called off when Beetlejuice begins to haunt it. Just before Lydia is forced to marry Beetlejuice instead of Rory, Astrid finds a loophole in their previous agreement and saves her mother. By the end of the film, the mother-daughter duo has restored their relationship and all is well.
This film was extremely exciting and action-packed. It still followed the life of Lydia Deetz but in a way that kept the plot fresh and unexpected. Towards the end of the movie, there was never a dull moment. The costumes, filming, and dialogue were both whimsical and terrifying, something that is to be expected from director Tim Burton. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice also has many plot twists that help the reader become invested, such as the revealed backstory of Jeremy and the struggle to escape the afterlife. Other parts of the plot evoked emotion, such as the relationship dynamic between Lydia and her daughter as well as Astrid being able to reunite with her father in the afterlife. The wedding scene was one of
the best, mixing music and dialogue in a very chaotic but entertaining way. This scene kept me on the edge of my seat as I prayed that Lydia was not forced to marry Beetlejuice. Other aspects of this film were a bit puzzling to me. A lot of the plot in the afterlife was too busy and confusing to follow. The afterlife was also extremely creative and uneasy to grasp in terms of design. In addition to this, the context of this movie is nearly nonexistent, requiring viewers to go back and watch the original Beetlejuice to understand all of the ins and outs of the plot. The death of Lydia’s stepmother, Delia (Catherine O’Hara), was also not fully explained or focused on, making it a part of the movie that could have been left out.
Although Beetlejuice Beetlejuice may have been confusing plotwise at some points, it is a sequel and does require the context of the previous movie. It included horror, comedic relief, and the eccentric character of Beetlejuice. Overall, it was a great film to intrigue viewers and create a spooky feeling.
The cover from the show consists of Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres), Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty), Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle), Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman), and Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). (Photo by Becky Lang).
In Season 5, Mike Ross is on trial for fraud and Harvey Specter is defending him. After this, Ross goes to prison which is the basis for the plot line following this episode. “This was one of my favorite scenes in the entire show,” says junior RJ Munder. (Photo by Entertainment Weekly).
One of the most memorable scenes of this new Beetleejuice movie was the wedding musical scene. The song used in this performance is named “MacArthur Park” and was written by Jimmy Webb in 1967. The person who sang this was none other than Richard Harris - who one may know as Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter movies. This part leads to the conclusion of the movie in which Lydia is released from her promise of marriage to Beetlejuice.
Featured in the picture from left to right are Lydia Deetz, Delia Deetz, Beetlejuice, Astrid Deetz, and Bob. (Photo by IMDb)
“I thought the movie was great but very different from the book which was interesting to me. For example, in the book Lily had a journal that she would write to her future self and her husband got upset over however the movie did not have that at all,” shares sophomore Lila Cooper.
2024 NFL Season Kicks Off: Top Teams to Watch
By Reid Waxman Accosiate Editor
The 2024 NFL Season kicked off on September 5th, 2024, and many familiar faces found themselves on different teams. The Pharcyde has chosen to highlight the top eight teams throughout the season, with the first set of updates debuting below.
The Eagles are coming off of an inconsistent season. They started strong with a 10-1 record but then cooled down, finishing off the season 1-5. Concluding the season with an 11-6 record, the Eagles faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wildcard round and lost 32-9. The team significantly changed at running back by trading away D’Andre Swift to Chicago. Eventu-
ally, the Eagles signed former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley. With their star-studded offensive line, there is no reason why quarterback Jalen Hurts and his star receivers, A.J Brown and Devonta Smith, should not make a scare to other teams this season.
Projected record: 12-5
Since the Detroit Lions had one of the best offenses in the league last season, fans nationwide look forward to another season of their firepower. In the regular season, they went 12-5 and faced the Los Angeles Rams in the wildcard round, 24-23. The Lions moved onto the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round and won 3123. They lost in the NFC Conference championship to the 49ers. The Lions have a very talented
offense, with quarterback Jared Goff leading the backfield, along with a duo at running back, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had a career season last year with 1,515 receiving yards, and looks to continue on the same path, along with tight end Sam LaPorta. The defense is a solid unit, led by star defensive end Aidan Hutchison.
Projected record: 11-6
There was not a team more entertaining to watch than the Miami Dolphins last season. Finishing 11-6, they played the Kansas City Chiefs, in -4° weather, marking the coldest game in Arrowhead Stadium history. The Dolphins lost that game 26-7.
The Dolphins’ offense is one of the most impressive in the league.
The backfield, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and running back Devon Achane, exemplified elite chemistry last season The wide receivers, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, were Tagovailoa’s favorite targets last season, along with Cornerback Jaylen Ramsey and defensive end Jaelen Phillips that headline the defense.
Projected record: 11-6
The Chiefs are coming off of back-to-back Super Bowl wins. They finished the regular season last year 11-6. They cruised through the playoffs, beginning in the wild card game against the Dolphins, winning 26-7. The Chiefs then faced the Buffalo Bills and won 27-24. They took on the Ravens in Baltimore, won 17-10, and advanced to their third Super Bowl in the past four years.
The Chiefs took on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII and won in overtime 25-22.
For the past six seasons, the Chiefs have been led by two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Except for tight end Travis Kelce, there has been a lot of change around this offense in the past few years. Wide receiver Rashee Rice look to help Mahomes. The defense, led by All-Pros in defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback Trent McDuffie, looks to help the team.
Projected record: 11-6
The Ravens had an incredible regular season last year, finishing with a league-best 13-4 record. Their regular season success granted them a bye, and in the playoff’s divisional round, they hosted the Houston Texans in Baltimore, winning 34-10. In the AFC Championship, their season came to an end against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Reigning MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson is the face of the offense, and the Ravens signed former Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry to complement Jackson’s elite rushing ability. The pass catchers to help out Jackson, wide receiver Zay Flowers and tight end Mark Andrews, had great 2023 campaigns that helped Jackson throughout the entirety of last season.
Projected record: 12-5
Last year, the Houston Texans snuck into the playoffs with a 10-7 record and the AFC South title. They defeated the Cleveland Browns 45-14 in the Wild Card round but then lost to the Baltimore Ravens. This team’s star power on both sides of the ball is incredible. At quarterback, C.J. Stroud is coming off a fantastic season that ended in him winning Offensive Rookie of the Year. Newly signed running back Joe Mixon will significantly help the run-and-pass game. The receivers are the focal points of this team. Newly acquired Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs will give Stroud another great target. Along with his pass catchers from last year, Nico Collins and Tank Dell, the offensive side of the ball is potent. On the other side of the ball, Defensive Rookie of the Year and defensive end Will Anderson leads the front. Coming off a season in which they had both the offensive and defensive Rookie of the Year, the Texans have mounds of potential. Building off of that, they traded for an All-Pro wide receiver, establishing themselves as contenders for the 2024 season.
Projected record: 13-4
College Sports: Are They More Fun Than the Pros Ringing In Victories: Three Teams Win States
By Reid Waxman Associate Editor
In the United States, we love our sports. Most families prepare for the weekend by watching football on Sundays. I was always excited to watch football on Saturdays, though. I would get up at 9:00, watch College Football Gameday on ESPN, and prepare for the big games that day. The unpredictability of college sports always kept me on the edge of my seat. As much as I loved professional sports, I have watched college sports more over the years and seen how much more fun they are to watch than are pro sports.
The environment of college sports shows the athletes’ and the crowd’s motivation for the sport. College students go to these games, make a considerable fanbase, and give their full support and attention to the game, whether it’s football, basketball, baseball, etc. Fans of professional games are not as into the game. MLB games have the fewest fans statistically because of the 162 regular-season games, similar to the NHL’s and NBA’s 82 regular-season games. Collegiate seasons are considerably shorter, just like the attention span of your typical enthusiast.
“I was watching a college football game at night with my dad in seventh grade when Michigan took on Penn State. One of the sports moments I will never forget was when the Penn State stadium was so loud that we couldn’t hear anything but just screaming and cheering, and Michigan had to take a timeout on the first play of the first drive of the game,” senior Dillon Hoban stated.
Being paid for your talent doesn’t necessarily mean you are the best.
While college players have NIL deals, they are usually not earning as much as professional players. Nonetheless, they are often more interesting to watch. Not all professional players show the most motivation and drive for the game as college players do. Although they are not as good, college players are more fun to watch because they show more passion for the game.
According to nfhs.org, fewer than two percent of NCAA Division One college athletes go professional for their sports. So by saying that, most of these players won’t have a professional career, which means they live more in the moment. College players simply give it their all because it could mean something huge for the school or themselves, and maybe could get them a job in the future for that sport or even sneak onto a professional team.
One example of this is for college basketball this past season. Former Oakland Golden Grizzlies guard Jack Gohlke had a fantastic past March Madness and was a prominent factor in the #14- seeded Golden Grizzlies winning their first-round game against the #3-seeded Kentucky Wildcats. After Gohlke scored 32 points with ten made three-point shots, he said in a post-game interview, “I know they have draft picks, and I know I’m not going to the NBA…. but on any given night, I can compete with those types of guys.” Gohlke went undrafted, but signed with the Thunder after the draft and made the team roster for the regular season.
The players’ loyalty continues past their graduation. Often, players come back to the same place to remember unforgettable memories.
One of the top reasons why college sports are more fun to watch is that students and alumni become a family that stays with the team and them for the rest of their lives.
Now, professional sports offer many benefits, too. Unlike college sports, where talent can vary from team to team, professional sports showcase the highest possible level of athletics. Professional leagues have better resources, technology, and facilities, which help elevate the viewing experience with top-tier broadcasts and more sophisticated game strategies. Lastly, pro athletes often have longer careers, allowing fans to build deeper connections with their favorite players. With exceptions, college players can only stay on a team for four years, but the average length for different sports is five years for the MLB, six years for the NHL, and seven years for the NFL, according to RBC Wealth Management. College sports are fun, but the quality of professional sports could attract fans to the game.
Junior Luc Borzilleri took a different angle on the take because one pro sport in particular is simpler than a college sport.
“I like pro sports more than college sports. The rankings of the NFL are easier to understand, with only two conferences and four divisions. There are five conferences for the NCAAF in division oneand I can’t keep track of which team is in which conference,” Borzileri exclaimed.
The drive and passion most college athletes show are unmatchable to any sport. Overall, there is more motivation to succeed at the college level, making it more entertaining to watch.
From left to right, A.J. Brown, Aaron Rodgers, Micah Parsons, and Patrick Mahomes are some of the impactful players of this year’s NFL. (Photo by ESPN)
(From left to right) Sophomores Maria Navarro, Milana Ronert, and boy’s and Girl’s Varsity Tennis Coach Leon Olivier stand for a picture after their state win for doubles. (Photo by Jeremy Ferris)
The ring that every player got that was on either boy’s lacrosse or track and field teams. “The ring looks so cool. It was really fun to open it with all of my friends on the team, and I know that we have the ability to go back to back next year,” junior Chase Connor explained. (Photo by Jermy Ferris)
(From left to right) Members of the Boys’ Track and Field Team, Chancellor reddick, Jeron Atwater, and Michael Winfield show off their rings. (Photo by Jeremy Ferris)
The Boys’ Lacrosse Team gets together for a picture with their rings. “I think it’s possible to go back-to-back,” senior Ford Cash said. (Photo by Jeremy Ferris)
On Par For Greatness: Bucs Golf Teams Aim For Victory
By Reid Waxman and Haley Roth Associate Editors
The Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity Golf Teams have highexpectations for their fall seasons. As the season goes underway, both teams feel like they can succeed.
In his 40th season as the Bucs’ leader, Coach Toby Harbeck looks to extend the team’s dominating performance that resulted in last year’s State Championship.
Returning players spent the off-season improving, while multiple new faces joined them on the course.
“We all got so close over the offseason. We kept in touch when everyone was playing tournaments during the summer. We updated each other on each round, and I thought that was an aspect about this team that I love,” veteran junior Drew Sterling explained.
One of the players who was not on the State Championship team last year, eighth grader Clint Lewis, is excited about making an impact in his first year on the squad.
“Being an eighth grader, I am so excited to be a part of such a great team. We are all so close with each other, and I did not realize how good everyone on the team was when I first played with them in practice. I am hyped for the upcoming season and ready to get better,” Lewis said.
Despite the youth of the team, they have still seen great success in the past, and started off this season well. Harbeck sees the team’s star players as integral to establishing the team’s morale.
“Pavel Tsar, Brooks Colton, Charlie Woods, and Jake Valentine will be our keys this year. If the four of them play well, we should be in
very good shape for the playoffs. They may be the best top four players in the state. Only time will tell. They have all been in the ‘heat of battle,’ so they should do well. It is an exciting time to be a member of this team,” Harbeck explained.
The Tsar brothers are indeed impactful players. With his elder brother, Pavel, committed to Notre Dame, Andrew is excited to share one last round with his brother on the team.
“It’s nice to have somebody like him because we golf a lot together and it’s always fun winning with him. We’ve gotten so much closer over the offseason, and it’s pretty cool to be with him on the course,” A. Tsar explained.
Given his six years of experience on the team, Pavel has assumed a leadership role both on and off the course.
“I have gained leadership throughout my six years on the team and was a captain in my junior year. Being the captain helps me gain confidence on and off the course. It’s a responsibility that you must be willing to take on a team like this with such good chemistry. I also push my younger brother to be a better golfer and person, and we are always supportive of one another and do our best to lift each other,” P. Tsar said.
The team’s success thus far is one primary reason the Bucs have expectations that are as high as they can get as the season continues. Junior Jake Valentine has high expectations after coming off of a State Championship.
“My expectations are very high for this year and ultimately a State Championship is the goal. We can’t get too comfortable and have to remember that we will have off days but we have to fight. Everyone on the
Kai Trump to Miami
By Haley Roth Associate Editor
On Sunday, Aug. 18, Benjamin golfer Kai Trump announced her commitment to continue to play her sport at the University of Miami. As she is still in her junior year, Trump will officially sign with the school next fall.
Committing to a specific college can be stressful, and Trump had to weigh the caliber of the University of Miami’s golf team against her other choices. She chose the University of Miami for many reasons other than just the Division-I program she will be a part of, but also for the support she will receive as a student-athlete.
“My other choices were Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and the University of Texas. I chose Miami because I liked the campus and the coaches were really nice. It was also a fullride [scholarship]. They have a really good marketing team for the golf program as well,” explained Trump.
Trump also had to consider what she wanted her college experience to be like, The college life of Miami factored into her decision, “Miami is a big city, and I knew I wanted to be in
team plays an important role and can contribute and it will be a fun next couple of months,” Valentine said.
The Girls’ Varsity Golf Team is also looking forward to a very promising season this year. The team hopes to repeat many of their winning matches from last year, including the District Championships.
As all of the players have returned from the 2023-2024 season, the team already has amazing playing experience and chemistry.
“I think this year is going to go well as the team is already looking good. No one graduated last year and there are a few new players this year,” shared junior Kai Haydon.
The Girls’ Varsity Golf Team also has various new freshmen and middle-schoolers, allowing them to have a larger roster as well as a greater chance of getting better scores. Having these new players benefits the entire program as it allows all of the players to improve and bond with more members of the Benjamin community.
Freshman Soleil Demers explains why she decided to join the golf team this year, “I’ve been playing golf for a while and I wanted to do a team sport, especially as a freshman, to meet a ton of new people.”
The upperclassmen believe the new players are valuable, “I think the new additions to the team are great because we have more backup than just one player. It’s great to have someone to count on when three of us mess up,” shared junior Kaitlyn Hummers.
This year’s Girls’ Golf Team also has adjusted the way they practice and play in order to improve their skills and preparedness for actual matches.
Hummers describes the new practice plan, “We have a new coach this year so it is a lot more course practice than practice on the range, so that’s definitely an adjustment but I think it will help us eventually.”
Although there are many matches to look forward to, there was a general consensus of what schools the Varsity Girls’ Golf Team is most looking forward to playing this year.
“I’m most looking forward to playing both Oxbridge and King’s at Districts. We’ve won the past three years so it will be fun to hopefully win again,” said Hummers.
Demers had a similar opinion, “I’m most excited to play at Districts in my first year on the team.”
While playing golf and winning matches are of the utmost importance
to the team, the friendships formed and experiences had are also a large aspect of what makes the Girl’s Golf Team so good.
“I like how you can make friendships with all new people and the coaches are really nice. It’s a fun way to play golf when you’re with a ton of people who have similar hobbies as you,” shared Demers.
The Girl’s Varsity Golf Team has already had an amazing start to the season, beating St. Edwards, Oxbridge, Jupiter High School, King’s Academy, and Vero Beach High School. The mix of returning and new players as well as new coaches seems to be helping the players improve and reach another District Champion title this year.
“Setting” Intentions: Varsity Players Rethink Travel Volleyball
By Chase Zur Editor-in-Chief
Competitive sports often come with an expectation to play on a travel team, and for volleyball, the commitment is no different. However, this year, several varsity volleyball players have decided to reassess their commitments to travel volleyball programs, raising the question why?
a city. I didn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere. I have cousins there right now too, which also impacted my decision.”
Even as a child, Trump was an avid golfer, perfecting her game and preparing for her eventual college golf career.
Trump reminisces, “I’ve wanted to play college golf since I was a little kid. I’ve been practicing to achieve that goal since I was two years old. Obviously, when you’re trying to play a sport in college, there are some setbacks throughout your career, but if you can push through them you can make it.”
According to fellow teammates, Trump deserves this opportunity due to her dedication to golf and the commitment process in general.
“I’m so excited for Kai! She worked so hard and she really deserves getting to play at the University of Miami,” shared junior Kaitlyn Hummers.
Trump joins fellow golfer, Senior Pavel Tsar as the second golfer-commitment of the 2024-2025 school year. Tsar looks to join the Fighting Irish of the University of Notre Dame.
For varsity volleyball players, balancing elite-level travel volleyball with academics, social pressures, and extracurriculars is a challenge. While travel volleyball offers growth and college exposure, many athletes are opting out to focus on academics and personal time. This year, seniors Leana Spada and Ellie Bischoff, junior Lila Brodner, and freshman Kinzie Bunting all chose to step down from their travel teams.
Assistant Director of Athletics and Head Coach of the Varsity Vol-
leyball Team, Mrs. Alexandria Clarke has seen how these decisions impact her players.
“As a high school coach, my job is to take everybody, meet them where they are, and think about what we can do as a team, put on the court, and bring all of our skills together,” Clarke says.
Co-captain, Leana Spada, who chose to step away from travel volleyball, feels confident in her decision.
“While continuing to play club might have improved my skills, my performance is still the same or better at the start of each school season. Looking back, quitting was the right decision for me. It allowed me to prioritize what mattered most,” Spada explained.
Bischoff agrees with Spada, noting that the time commitment was a major factor in her decision to stop playing travel volleyball.
“I wanted to have time to babysit and hang out with friends. I was happy that I stopped when I did so I could have time to do other things,” Bischoff said.
Bischoff’s decision reflects a common desire for more balance, but for some, the benefits of playing on a travel team outweigh the cost.
While some players, like Spada and Bischoff, have chosen to step back, a majority of the team still balances the demands of both travel and volleyball competition. Clarke acknowledges the benefits of travel volleyball but emphasizes that it’s not essential for a successful season.
“Usually when kids get to their junior year, I see a big drop off in the number of people playing travel volleyball because it's a really important academic year, and if they don’t want to play in college, it can be a lot of time. I’m never going to hold it against someone if they are not playing travel, it's each person’s preference and whatever can make them the most happy,” Clarke said.
It's clear that both travel volleyball and school competition come with its own set of advantages and challenges. With the season underway, the focus for the team remains on performing at their highest level possible and making the most of their time on the court.
“Although we haven’t always gotten the results we wanted so far in some of our games, I am really proud of how the team has always tried their best and put their best foot forward. I am really excited for the rest of the season and to see where we go in the postseason tournaments,” McCaughey said.
Senior Ryland Rabil reads a putt on the 10th hole during a qualifying round before the boy’s match versus the Winter Park Wildcats. “As this is my first year on the team, I can’t wait to play for the team this year for my final season, and represent Benjamin,” Rabil exclaimed. (Photo by Reid Waxman)
Kai Trump, newly committed to The University of Miami for golf, is eager to join the Hurricanes and compete at the collegiate level. (Photo by Kai Trump)
After practice, the Girls’ Volleyball team poses for a photo. The team is ready to take on the season with teamwork and determination. (Photo by Jermery Ferris)
Football Team Rebounds With Back-to-Back Wins
By Reid Waxman Associate Editor
The Benjamin Bucs football team has struggled in the first three games, with a 0-3 record, but in the past two games, they are starting to find a groove, with two wins to improve their record to 2-3. They look to continue this momentum with five games left in the season.
The first game of the regular season was entertaining, to say the least. On Aug. 22, the Bucs traveled to West Boca to take on the Bulls. The final score was 13-14, and much was learned from this game.
Junior running back Phoenix Donghia had both touchdowns in this game for the Bucs but with one extra point missed by sophomore kicker
Alex Calvo-Ayers. On the defensive side of the ball, the Bucs were strong throughout the game except for allowing two touchdowns from Bulls running back Javain Mallory. Some positives about the defense were senior linebacker Dylan Furshman having five tackles and sophomore cornerback Jayden Cosby-Mosley having the lone interception in the game.
At the end of the game, when the Bulls kicked it off after their second touchdown, Army commit and senior cornerback Joshua Smith was hurt by his own teammate, who dove right into his knee, tearing his MCL and PCL. This ended his senior season. During that game, he was a beneficial factor on the defensive side.
“We could have played a way bet-
Exciting New Chapter For TBS Cheerleaders
By Reid Waxman and Lila Brodner
Associate Editor and Staff Writer
Shouts of support at football games do not only come from the bleachers. Down on the field, 17 energizing athletes, the Varsity Cheerleaders, help raise the excitement level of the crowd, the football team, and even -- surprisingly -- the Dazzlers as they perform at both home and away games.
With last year’s graduation of senior Izzy Casher, cheerleading coach Mrs. Cashier retired her pom poms this summer. Taking up the spirit stick and leadership of this year’s squad are two new coaches: Coach Kali and Coach Felicia. Both formerly of Jupiter High School, one a player and the other her coach, the duo hopes to serve up a winning strategy for this year’s squad. Everyone, especially junior Bella Contacessa, appreciates their eagerness to help the cheerleaders.
“The coaches are helping us take up our level this year with new stunts, tricks, and cheers. It is challenging, but I know it will all work out in the end,” Contacessa said.
Team members have been to camps over the summer, and junior Leanna DePaulis sees a difference.
“There was one camp during summer, a Saturday and Sunday, which was fun; the coaches that came to help us showed us how to stunt and jump properly. Then, we had another camp, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, that the same coaches helped us gain confidence and try more challenging things,” DePaulis stated.
Before their first day of orientation, the cheerleading team’s freshmen came to school and met every-
ter game. We definitely learned that if we are up in a game, we can't get comfortable or laid back just because we have the lead, we have to stay disciplined,” J. Smith stated.
For the second game, the Jesuit Panthers traveled up north to Theofilos Field to take on the Bucs on Aug. 30. This game was one-sided in favor of the Panthers who returned to Miami with a 31-3 win.
The Panthers' Florida Gators commit, and quarterback Will Griffin had one touchdown on a 32-yard play to South Dakota State commit and receiver S.J. Green. Notre Dame commit and running back Justin Thurman ran for 54 yards and had one touchdown. The other touchdown was a fumble recovery by linebacker Tyler McLeod.
For the Bucs, this was a disaster of a game. Brown commit and senior quarterback Jayden Vega was 10/20 with 142 yards. He left the game with a concussion in the third quarter right after a fumble was recovered for a touchdown. Adding to the injury report, South Carolina commit and tight end Preston Douglas only played the first half, sitting out the second with an apparent injury. The game left the Bucs’ hopes for the season dimming.
Vega feels that he could have had a better game. “I think I could’ve done better there’s some throws I missed and just overall didn’t play how I would’ve liked to. As a team we need to stay composed even when things do not go our way. We began falling apart when the game was still in reach and with the tough schedule we plan not everything is going to be ideal but we need to be able to stay in the game and win,” Vega expressed.
The third game was versus the Cardinal Newman Crusaders, a long rivalry. The Crusaders came to Theofilos Field, and made a statement by winning this game 34-20.
The game went back and forth for a while. The Crusaders kicked off the game with a passing touchdown by receiver Max Redmon. Then, junior and quarterback Charlie Smith ran the ball in for a five yard touchdown, tying up the game. Crusaders running back Jaylen Brown ran the ball in to make the game 7-14.
In the second quarter, Donghia ran the ball in for a three yard touchdown, and immediately after, Crusaders kick returner Brown returned the kickoff for a 60 yard touchdown. The Bucs punted the ball on the next drive, and then Crusaders quarterback Jyron Hughley ran the ball in to make it 27-13.
In the third quarter, both teams scored single touchdowns, resulting in the final score.
Although it was a loss, something to note about the game was that Donghia had a field day with 143 all-purpose yards. On the defensive side, Lughley threw two interceptions, one to senior cornerback Jeron Atwater, and junior safety Julian Luiz. C. Smith took over Vega’s spot this game for his first start in his high school career. He was 18/41 in completions and threw for 255 yards and a touchdown to junior tight end Adam Balogoun Ali at the end of the game.
C. Smith sees the potential this team has. “This game, I had all my emotions before the first snap. After that first snap, I felt comfortable and started to work with the team as best as possible,” C. Smith explained.
The fourth game was at the Gulliver Prep Raiders. This game ended at halftime due to inclement weather, but the Bucs won 35-19.
Throughout the game, Donghia was the face of the offense. He scored the first two touchdowns of the game, making it 14-0, then Balogoun-Ali scored the third, making it 21-0. Going into the second quarter, the Raiders returned only two kick returns to the house. The game was now 2113, and safety Julian Luiz blocked a punt and scored a touchdown for the Bucs. And adding onto that, Donghia scored his third touchdown on the ground, ending the game at halftime 35-19.
Senior Dylan Furshman thought this game was a success and the start of something special for the team.
“In this game, we learned that when we work together, we can quickly put points on the board. We put up touchdowns in both quarters with ease, and we communicated on the field and on the sidelines.” Furshman explained.
The fifth game was against the Jensen Beach Falons at Theofilos field, and resulted in a win for the Bucs, 21-14.
Donghia scored two short touchdowns on the ground, and Furshman scored one, too. The Bucs are starting to find their groove, and Luiz has something to say about it.
The football team’s next matchup is the homecoming game, when they host the Seminole Ridge Hawks on Oct. 4th at 6:30. Make sure to get out and support your Bucs!
AquaBucs Dive into the 2024-25 Season with High Hopes
one else. Maddie Amorosino loved the welcoming atmosphere.
“Joining the cheerleading team coming from a school different from Benjamin’s was like getting a warm, welcoming hug,” Amorosino happily stated.
Junior Chloe York sees excellent qualities in this year’s squad.
“We all work very hard in practice and are trying our best. The team is practicing at the Palm Beach Lighting gym, an all-star cheerleading team. This gym helps us expand our capabilities and skills,” York explains.
Sophomore Ty Cohen loves the liveliness the cheerleaders bring to the football games.
“The football games are so fun because we all show our support for the players. The cheerleaders have twice the energy of our student section and half the people. It is really impressive how much noise they make, even at the away games,” Cohen said.
The team’s competitions will start in January. Those on the competitive cheer team will go to a series of competitions called Head to Heads. They would go to another school and do a two-minute and 30-second cheerleading routine.
Junior Lila Cooper is excited for the first season of tournaments with her school team.
“I can’t wait for the tournaments to begin. Being a part of this the first year it’s happening is cool, and I’m eager to see how we do,” Cooper expressed.
“I am so excited for this year, and I can not wait to see how far we get into the postseason,” Contacessa exclaimed.
By Caroline Yohe Staff Writer
The AquaBucs are making a splash as they train for their 24-25 season. Although they have only competed in one meet so far, the Swimming and Diving Team has been working hard to prepare for upcoming competitions.
While last year’s District Champions may have lost some exceptional seniors last year, but the team remains very talented. Assistant Coach and Social Studies Department Chairperson Mrs. Sara Misselhorn shares, “We had an incredible season last year. Everyone participated in districts, we had a lot who went to regionals, and seven went to States. We intend to do just as well this year, or if not better.”
This year’s Swim Team is a great group of determined athletes with experience in many sports. Junior swimmer Caroline Smith shares her experience on the swim team, “I’m not a club swimmer, but I started swimming my sophomore year and I’ve loved it ever since. It’s definitely a hard sport, harder than people realize, but it makes me feel very accomplished. With all the conditioning and strenuous practice, it keeps me in good shape.”
Swimming is a great way to support an athlete’s outside endeavors, increasing physical fitness and stamina. The swim team provides an outlet for athlete’s to restore their athletic abilities in the water.
Early into the season, the Bucs swam against one of their biggest competitors: Kings Academy. Although they faced an early loss, the team utilized the meet as a way to track their progress and advance
through the season.
Junior Kate Quinlivan shared her experience at the meet, “Kings is a very tough competitor and we went into it, not really expecting to win, but wanting to do our best.”
Despite the loss, “The team did have some great individual performances,” Mrs. Misslehorn recounts. The team plans to rebound after their loss and continue training for their upcoming meets.
Diving into the swimmer’s training, Mrs. Misslehorn describes their practice, “There are two kinds of training for the varsity swim team. There’s a group that swims five days a week during school, and some swimmers who train with their club teams; those people train six days a week, often in the mornings as well.
A lot of the time, weights are included as well.” The swim team requires much dedication and commitment.
With intensive training schedules, the
swimmers put their all into the sport.
The swimmers themselves have a great team dynamic, sharing earnest support for one another. Smith tells about the team’s support, “Our team dynamic is very strong and uplifting. When we have a bad practice, we all kind of laugh it off.” The team also contains a vast range of age groups.
Junior Deven Maharaj shares Smith’s optimism. “My favorite part of swim is getting to meet new friends from the Middle and Upper Schools,” Maharaj expressed. The team allows students from a broad range of ages and experiences to connect, catering friendships in and out of the pool.
The Swim Team may not be one of Benjamin’s most acclaimed sports, however their achievements should be flaunted. Collectively, the team consists of hard-working athletes, determined to better their skills. As the 2024 season commences, the team expects a successful season.
Junior Adam Balogoun-Ali goes back into coverage in the second quarter of their game versus West Boca. “This game was a tough loss. We were so close. I know we are a good team, and we just all have to work with each other to get better,” Balogoun-Ali explained. (Photo by Ryan Smith)
Senior Bella Marx swims breaststroke in the girl’s meet versus King’s Academy. “I love swimming, and for my final season, I want to go as far as possinle in the playoffs,” Marx explained. (Photo by Bella Marx)
by Helen Hunt Jackson
