Choose Your Own Adventure: Bolles Bugle

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

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YOU’RE THE STAR OF THE STORY! CHOOSE FROM 20 POSSIBLE ARTICLES!

SECRETS OF SAN JOSE

Choose Your Bolles Adventure is published by The Bolles Bugle 7400 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32217 bollesbugleonline.com @thebollesbugle Copyright © 2020 by The Bolles Bugle, a Bolles student-run newsmagazine.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. Your support of the publication’s rights is appreciated.

For information regarding permission, contact our faculty advisor, Ms. Jacobson.

Printed in the United States of America in Jacksonville, Florida.

First published in the United States of America by The Bolles Bugle, 2020 Copyright The Bolles Bugle, 2020

Issues published by The Bolles Bugle are printed with recyclable paper.

Library of The Bolles School Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The Bolles Bugle Choose Your Bolles Adventure / by The Bolles Bugle

Includes an index

ISBN-13: 978-1-5923-1973-4

ISBN-10: 1-5923-1973-4

Library of The Bolles School catalog card number: 19-9873 Set in Times New Roman and ITC Benguiat The Bolles Bugle Staff: The Editorial Board: Avani Bansal, Sarah Scherkenbach, Ian Peiris, Thomas Keaveny, Taylor Ford, Ava Sickler, Su Ertekin-Taner, Megan Howard Contributing Writers: Grace Albaugh, Amber Bansal, Isabel Bassin, Katie Creveling, Atticus Dickson, Elliana Emery, Cameron Gratz, Aisha Hasan, Riya Kar, Tyler Schimpff, Clariss Valdivia, Sara Wasserman, Ian Wilkinson Advisor: Ms. Jacobson Editorial Policy: The Bolles Bugle is the newsmagazine created by the journalism class at The Bolles School.

Our publication focuses on increasing community awareness of in-school events and topics relating to the five news values: relevance, proximity, timeliness/novelty, conflict/controversy, and human interest.

Content in the Bugle is the responsibility of the editorial staff and not meant to reflect the views of the school’s administration or the student adviser. Please reach out to our faculty advisor, Ms. Jacobson, with any questions or comments. She can be reached at jacobsona@bolles.org or at bollesbugleonline@gmail.com

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This issue of The Bugle is dedicated to Edward Packard, Joe Stretch, and R.A. Montgomery (inventors of the Choose Your Own Adventure format)

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” -Anais Nin

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Letters from the Editor Dear Reader, Thank you for picking up (or reading online) this special issue of The Bolles Bugle!

The inspiration behind the theme is the Choose Your Own Adventure books that most of us on staff read as children, and hopefully, you have too.

For those who don’t know the premise of the Choose Your Own Adventure books, the story begins on the next page, and you, our dear reader, get to make a series of choices, which will determine the articles you read. After you finish, you can always go back and restart the adventure to choose different paths that you didn’t the first time.

In light of the recent election and other current events of the world, we would also like to address some things.

For this issue, we chose to write about the most important topic during an election—voting and student poll workers. Other stories include student entrepreneurs, international swimmers, and squirrel rescuing.

The Bugle’s priority is to bring engaging, accurate, and thought-provoking stories to the attention of our readers, and we hope such an engagement inspires you to make a positive difference in the world.

As we continue venturing through 2020, we have many reader-favorite traditions coming up, including the editorial cartoon issue! If you want to stay updated on Bugle-related stories or projects, continue watching your Schoology feed. To see some behind-the-scenes action, make sure to follow us on Instagram @thebollesbugle, where we post fun staff challenges, polls, and video interviews.

Adventure awaits…

Avani Bansal Sarah Scherkenbach Co-Editor-in-Chief Co-Editor-in-Chief *Note: Throughout this issue, you may see some QR codes, which can be scanned using a phone camera or QR code reader.

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BEWARE and WARNING! This news magazine is different from other news magazines.

You and YOU ALONE are in charge of what happens in this issue.

There are dangers, choices, adventures and consequences! At any time YOU can go back and make another choice, alter the path of your story, and change its result.

Bolles Hall courtyard. Friday night. 10:58 p.m EST A warm light shines from a second-story window of Bolles Hall. Glancing at your watch, you see that it is almost eleven o’clock. What are people still doing here?

Curious, you enter the empty lobby of the hotel-turned-school and try to quietly close the creaking door behind you. As you wander towards the history wing, you hear the sound of muffled laughter from upstairs.

Climbing the age-old stairs, the laughter gets clearer and you hear voices coming from the small room across from the computer lab. What is going on? The door is ajar, and when entering the room, you see eight students and open bags of food sprawled throughout the room. Looking up, the dark-haired girl sitting at the head of a conference table smiles at you, “Hello, I’m Avani. We are just here working on the newsmagazine, The Bolles Bugle.

This is the editorial staff,” she gestures to the other members of the room, “What brings you by?” she asks.

“Oh, I just left some books in my locker that I need for the weekend,” you respond.

“Would you like to hang around for a bit? We have snacks,” a girl with glasses working on the couch asks. “I’m Sarah, by the way.”

Not wanting to return home to do homework, you agree to stay for a little while.

After engaging in conversation with a few of the other students in the room, you learn that the dark-haired junior boy is a piano player and the tall senior boy knows more about technology than anybody you’ve ever met. The multi-tasking junior girl on your right is providing the entertainment of the night: a long remix of John Legend and Whitney Houston. You’ve seen the wide-eyed senior girl on horse racing tracks, you recognize the blonde junior with a welcoming smile as a member of the swim team, and the curly-haired girl in a sweatshirt loves drawing.

Before you leave to go home, Avani speaks up, “By the way, tomorrow we have a series of adventures, and we are splitting up the staff into two groups. The first group will start with a birdwalk, and the second group will see a production of The Prodigal’s Son. Everyone will do the same activities but in a different order to limit the amount of people for social distancing. You should join us.”

Nodding, you say you’ll consider it, thank the group, and head home.

Are you a nature lover? To join the birdwalk group, turn to page 8.

Are you a theater enthusiast? To see the play, turn to page 6.

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Alumni Keeping Theater Live

By Cameron Gratz, Contributing Writer You arrive at the outdoor space reserved for the play and anticipate your first live performance in months.

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or Rachel Johns ‘20, a typical day “starts out with thinking about all of the things you have to do for the play, then you do it.” Johns, along with Gabriel Bassin ‘20, a former Bugle staffer, is working as a producer for a local performance of John Patrick Shanley’s Prodigal Son. Right now, they are in the beginning phases of production. While they’ve been working behind the scenes for a few weeks, they just recently cast the show, and are working to solidify a rehearsal schedule.

The producers discussed how long they’ve been working on the project.

Johns said it’s been a few weeks since they started, but Bassin feels like it’s been more like a month.

Their exchange after Bassin’s comment shows the easy rapport the two developed working on shows such as The Grimm Brothers Spectaculathon

The original promotional poster for Prodigal Son

throughout their action-packed high school theater careers.

“It’s been a life-long journey at heart!” Johns joked.

“From the moment Rachel and I found theater…” Bassin responded.

Johns said, ‘It’s been something I’ve

Gabriel Bassin, ‘20 (right) rehearses outside with actor Jake McGraw, ‘21 (left).

Photo Credit: Rachel Johns

been doing since I was born!”

They have had some challenges figuring out how to rehearse the show during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re not on a conventional schedule right now. Everyone’s doing online things or working in an unconventional manner,” Bassin said, “and as a result, we’re left with trying to mesh together the free time that people have and the opportunities that people have to work on the show, and also creating a safe environment to do so.”

The student-run production requires creative management. Johns said, “We don’t have a theater company backing us up financially.”

Rachel Johns collaborates on the play via video conference.

Photo Credit: Gabriel Bassin

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This means that actors need to maintain their working schedules since they will not be paid for the show. One of the actors even auditioned virtually while on his lunch break at work.

Despite the challenges, they are determined to see this project reach fruition. “All artists have the obligation to create their own work. It doesn’t matter what kind of artist you are, or what kind of work it is,” Johns said, “We all create our own work, and for me, it wasn’t so much writing or doing a podcast or something like that. It was producing and directing.”

Bassin , “When you so graciously invited me to join you on your crusade, via text, of course, I was very excited to get the chance to potentially audition for a character, and then beyond that, also get involved behind the scenes, working as a stage manager and helping with the whole production process.”

They have been asking actors to check their temperature regularly and minimize infection risks outside of theater, and requiring all actors to use hand sanitizer before going on

“All artists have the obligation to create their own work. It doesn’t matter what kind of artist you are, or what kind of work it is.”

-Rachel Johns, ‘20

stage. However, they acknowledged that there was still some inherent risk.

Bassin said, “Theater is an intimate thing, so naturally there’s going to be some riskier steps that we take, but the goal is, within that, to minimize the risk.”

Nevertheless, they are moving forward with the production. As Johns said, “We also have our first production meeting tomorrow, and after that, things are just going to start rolling, like down a very steep hill.”

They also have an Instagram page, @prodigalsonjax, where they have a link to a GoFundMe page where they

Johns works on the production via Zoom with McGraw (top image).

Bassin (right) rehearses with McGraw (left, bottom image).

Top Photo Credit: Gabriel Bassin Bottom Photo Credit: Rachel Johns

are raising money for the production, using which they have raised $780 of their $2000 goal.

Performances will be on December 6th and 13th at 4 pm at the North Bank River Walk Artist Square.

“It’s beautiful,” Bassin said. “It’s right along the river, right in Riverside, and please, please, please come see our show.”

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As you leave the performance, you see two people taking pictures on opposite sides of the street. One is a girl taking photos of a group wearing jewelry, and the other is a lone boy with a camera who disappears around a corner.

To visit the jewelry photoshoot, turn to page 14.

To follow the solo photographer, turn to page 17.

Bugle Bird Walks With Moyer

By Katie Creveling, Contributing Writer You are greeted by Dr. Moyer as you all venture into the woods to get in touch with nature.

Dr. Moyer goes out birdwatching alone most Saturdays, “I will go bushwhacking into the dense Marsh and thickets where other people would say, no, we’re not doing that.”

“But I’ve been to Tanzania, the Amazon rainforest, Australia, a couple of times.”

Moyer has a deep awareness of where nature can be found around Jacksonville. “This past weekend for instance I went to Masters Tract Storm Water Treatment Plant, which is in southwest St Johns County. And I saw 62 species of the birds.”

In his travels, he’s seen some amazing birds. “I saw it actually in the cloud forests of Costa Rica and that was a quite special moment because it’s a lovely bird.

It’s emerald green and and bright scarlet red and has a long flowing tail and.”

Moyer mentioned also the Elfin Woods warbler in the mountains of Puerto Rico, “That was an unexpected bird you can only see on that island.”

Moyer was first introduced to birdwatching by his family when he was just five years old. He said, “I was very serious. I would pretty much memorize the bird book of the 700 species of North America.”

But there are still a few species that Moyer would like to see in the future, “So many when I have time to travel around, but in Northeast Florida the Swainson’s Warbler comes to mind. That is one I have never seen, and you can only see it during migration, and it hangs out in the densest foliage so it’s extremely difficult to see.”

“If you asked me when I was 11 years old,” Moyer said, “what I wanted to be was a bird scientist, ornithologist.”

Moyer has incorporated his passion into his curriculum at Bolles, “the students learn the 75 noticeable birds of Jacksonville, maybe four or so species per week with periodic quizzes.”

An image captured by Moyer of an Eastern Bluebird perched on the nest box outside the Deans’ Office.

Five years ago Moyer installed bluebird boxes around the San Jose campus, to help aid “the lovely and charismatic” bluebirds in nesting. Since then he has spread bluebird boxes across several locations; including all four of the Bolles campuses, local parks, and even a school in St. Johns county. Moyer states, “We’ve produced 473 babies over the last five years.”

Moyer, who named his family business Bluebird Pharmacy, maintains the bluebird boxes from August through February. He said, “Takes me an hour or two more to sort the data and I upload it to a citizen science website.”

Moyer has an impressive life list of birds he has seen, “I used to diligently keep a life list, up to over 1000 species.”

Moyer traveled to the Antarctic adding to his life list. He spent, “It was almost a month on an icebreaker ship, and we saw all sorts of penguins and albatross and things like that.”

He chuckled, “But one of these days I’m going to see it, and maybe I’ll get a photo of it so other people will believe me.”

But despite what might seem like an obsession for birds, Moyer considers himself not as intense as you’d think.

Moyer said, “I’ve been trying to focus on learning the native wildflowers more the past few years.”

Moyer wants students to know that

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A Blackpoll Warbler, an unusual bird that can be seen during spring migration.

Moyer said, “When I’m out there for four or five hours immersed in nature, trying to chase down different birds. I feel so much better. And I think it keeps me healthy.”

the campus is a great place to observe different species. He believes there are, “I don’t know, it’s over 100 for sure, maybe 125 (different species) I haven’t checked recently.

But for instance, right now there are ducks coming down for winter and will be out on the river. There will be some interesting species of ducks in a couple more weeks, so taking the spotting scope out and checking those out is cool.”

Moyer hopes that engaging with nature will lead bird watchers, especially the members of the school’s Bird Club, to be environmentalists. “I’d like to raise awareness of these species so people have a greater interest in perhaps conservering land and species.”

But Moyer notes that to really see nature, you have to be on nature’s schedule and birds are most active when feeding early in the morning.

He said, “I like to get out there at the crack of dawn.”

A barred owl spotted in the Cypress Preserve.

Such a relaxing birdwalk has made you want to

A female ruby throated humming bird.

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engage in other cathartic hobbies.

To go stretch your mind at a language club meeting, turn to page 10.

To visit avid Rubik’s Cubes and Funko Pop collectors, turn to page 12.

Arabian Nights

By Clariss Valdivia, Contributing Writer

At the meeting, you engage with the other students and talk about the importance of culture, media, food, and language in people’s life experiences.

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rabic club, started by co-presidents Mohamad Salameh (‘22) and Aman Shaik (‘22) is sponsored

by French and former Arabic teacher Mrs. Bourass. It was made last year, but due to Covid-19, it was postponed to this year.

“We were sort of in survival mode at that point.” Mrs. Bourass said, “We had our first virtual meeting and we are going to have more meetings.”

"We all just all work together, and you sort of fill in each other’s weaknesses."

— Mrs. Phillips-Bourass

But why join? For starters, it’s a great introduction to the Arabic culture if you are completely new to it. Or, if you’re already Arab, it’s a great place to show that part of yourself. Mrs. Bourass describes the club as a “mix of that, of learning kids and kids who are Arab and wanted a place to share that.”

“A great start [to learning Arabic] would be here in the Arabic Club, there’s a lot of Arabic culture here.”

Shaik commented.

But why study Arabic then? Mrs. Bourass studied Arabic in college, alongside the French she already studied since high school.

“I sort of stumbled into it without really having a good reason or knowing what I was getting into.” She commented, “But I loved it, I thought it was challenging, and so I majored in it. And then I kept working on it.”

But Arabic is not just standard Arabic. There are certain dialects that are unique to the language depending on where you live.

“It is pretty different I mean, so if you didn’t have friends or exposure through the TV or something to practice learning another dialect, or understanding other dialects, often you can’t communicate.” said Mrs. Bourass.

What is Tagine?

Tagine is a traditional Morrocan dish that has been part of Moroccan culture for many years.

Tagine can be made of meat, vegetables, poultry, or fish.

Did you know?

The first appearance of tagine is in the 9th century book The Thousand and One Nights.

The pot can be made of earthenware, sometimes coated in a glaze. Some chefs prefer it uncoated due to the earthy texture it provides to the dishes.

Currently, the Arabic Club is searching for organizations to help Syrian refugees and raise money for them.

“We all just all work together, and you sort of fill in each other’s weaknesses. So I’m hoping that the club will be an opportunity for people to pick it, whatever it is that they have a chance to be to maintain a little bit of interest.” Mrs. Bourass commented.

Scan to see Alex Chila's answers to Proust's Questionnaire

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Vegetable tagine takes about 3040 minutes to cook on the stove top.

Japanese Dreams

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ed by Mrs. Braren, the Bolles Japanese classes provide some of the most inclusive communities in the language department. Each class is relatively small, with the most being at five people for a class.

Students who learn Japanese are initially interested in learning things such as anime or Japanese video games, but they stay for "the grammar, conversations, and culture."

“Yeah, many students [are] interested in the culture.” Mrs. Braren said, “But they like the Japanese anime [and] games, they want to learn more.”

"Having lived in Japan for the last two years, news from America never really felt like it was happening. I can't be there to physically protest but I can voice my support and I hope it helps."

— Alex Chila Mrs. Braren also runs the Japanese Exchange Program, where Japanese students come to Bolles, and they go to Tokyo. It’s a great experience to learn Japanese culture.

After marrying an American man and moving to the United States, Mrs. Braren sought out a job, and teaching Japanese was that job. Mrs. Braren is now in her 29th year at Bolles. She said, "I finished Japanese school and came here. I am the first and only Japanese teacher."

Above: Chila teaches students in Matusda, Shimane, Japan.

Alumni Spotlight: Alex Chila Alex Chila (‘14) is a perfect

In college, after studying Journalism and Philosophy, Chila found out about the JET Program, which is how he found his current job in teaching Japanese children English in Masuda, Japan.

example of how a passion in Japanese can get you far. In Bolles he pursued Japanese Class to it’s full extent, starting with Sophomore year, and even going on the Tokyo exchange trip.

“It’s like a rural fairyland.”

Chila said.

“I kind of fell in love with it,” said Chila, “And I knew that I wanted to go back there.

I knew that I wanted to go back to Japan."

Suddenly, your phone dings twice. One is an invite to a Fishing Club meeting and the other is a notification from TikTok.

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Photos of Matuda, Shimane taken with permission from Chila's Facebook page

To attend the fishing club meeting, turn to page 30.

To surf TikTok, turn to page 42.

Puzzles and Pops: Bolles Collectors

By Atticus Dickson, Contributing Writer Funko Pops in pristine boxes are stacked waist-high against the walls and collecting has utterly and completely become a way of life

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ollections: common trope in popular media like video games and fantasy books and movies. From literary hordes, like that of Beowulf’s dragon and the assemblage of the Collector in Guardians of the Galaxy.

With all of this, real-life collections often get overlooked. Like the 170 strong Funko Pop collection of Nittin Davuluri (‘24), or the Rubik’s Cube collection of history teacher Mr. Gebauer.

Mr. Gebauer solving a cube in 1 minute and 11 seconds Photo Credit: Atticus Dickson

“One day I was just trading in my games at GameStop and I saw these cool collectibles.” Said Davuluri.

Since that day, his collection has grown immensely. He has traveled to Conventions across the country, from San Diego to New York to collect different Pops.

If you can go to a GameStop five minutes away and buy a Funko Pop, then why travel 2,339 miles to do the same thing? He traveled for these (a reference to where the image is in the layout): Con stickers. All Pops have stickers, but different stickers denote the value of the Pop. For example, your average retail Funko Pop likely has a sticker on the box denoting that it is from Target.

But a Pop that a collector buys at a Convention will have a sticker indicating which Con it is from, denoting higher value than a retail Pop. The average retail pop goes for around ten to fifteen dollars, while Con Pops can sometimes cost over forty.

The history of Funko Pop and its popularity begins in 1760 when

Chinese nodding head figures were first imported to London. Fast forward to 1997, when Mike Becker founded a nostalgic bobblehead company called Wacky Wobblers.

However, the Funko Pop we know today debuted in 2010, originally under the name Funko Force 2.0.

Gebauer thought he would never be able to solve a Rubik’s Cube. Now he has a personal record time of a minute and a half. “It’s one of those things that’s like it’s kind of cool

“It’s kind of cool to overcome a challenge you didn’t think you’d be able to do.”

— Mr. Gebauer Since then, they have skyrocketed in popularity, landing themselves in every Con and major retail chain in the United States, and many more internationally.

Our other resident collector, Mr. Gebauer has a collection more by chance than intention. “Last year [2019] I saw a student solving one and it seemed pretty interesting, so when I saw one at Walmart, I bought it.”

At the beginning of his journey, [ 12 ]

Video game character Jin Sakai on one of Mr. Gebauer’s Cubes Photo Credit: Atticus Dickson

How to Solve a Rubik’s Cube After interviewing Mr. Gebauer, the Bugle thought it would be interesting to try to solve a Rubik’s cube ourselves, so we bought a few. We now have the pleasure of presenting you with a tutorial on the solution of a two by two Rubik’s Cube.

R= Right L= Left T= Top B= Bottom Ba= Back F= Front

Step 1: your first goal is to solve the white face. Start by getting three white squares on the upper side like this (insert picture) and having the non-white square in the bottom right corner. Then use this algorithm (R down, B left, R up, B right) until it is solved.

Step 2: the next goal is to make a row of two cubes of the same color on the top of all of the sides touching the top side (insert

picture) Unless you have already achieved this with the previous algorithm, use this algorithm (R down, B left, R up, L down, B right, L up, R down, B right, R up). You will now have one of the matching sets at the top of the cube. Turn that to face away from you and repeat the algorithm

Step 3:: the next goal is to solve the yellow side opposite to the white side. Check the side opposite to the white side for any

yellow squares, if there is one, position it in the bottom left corner. If there are two adjacent to each other, position them on the right. If you have any in any other configurations, position them however you like. Then use the following algorithm until it is solved (R up, T left, Right down, T left, R up, T left x2, R down).

Step 4: solve the rest. Look around the cube and see if there are any sides you could solve just by twisting the top or bottom a

few times. If there are, solve them and put one at the back of the cube, and then repeat this algorithm (R down, F clockwise, R down, B counterclockwise x2, R up, F counterclockwise, R up, B counterclockwise x2, R up x2, B counterclockwise x2) with the solved yellow side facing up until it is solved, or can be solved just by twisting the top or bottom.

Happy cubing!

to overcome a challenge you didn’t think you’d be able to do.”

Since the beginning of his cubing career, Gebauer has obtained a collection of eight cubes, four three by threes, two two by twos, a threesided pyramid, and a miniature three by three.

Much like Funko Pops, the Rubik’s cube started small. Its story begins in 1974, when Hungarian architect, Ernő Rubik, was trying to make a way to physically illustrate three-dimensional movement to his students. The original prototype of the worldfamous toy was fashioned from cubes of wood and paper, held together by glue and rubber bands.

To anyone worried if Mr. Gebauer is going to quit his job to become a professional Cuber, he assured The Bugle he will not. “The extent of my Rubik’s Cube career is in this classroom.”

[IMAGE]

[IMAGE]

Step 1: Start. You got this!

Step 2: End of this step...

Suddenly, your phone dings twice. One is an invite to a fishing club meeting and the other is a notification from TikTok.

[IMAGE]

To attend the fishing club meeting, turn to page 30.

Step 4: Almost done!

Photo Credit: Atticus Dickson

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To scroll TikTok, turn to page 42.

Crafting a Connection

By Ian Peiris, Online Editor

How a student entrepreneur’s business has helped her piece together her identity.

Arriving at the photoshoot, you talk with the jewelry entrepreneur, as you learn about her unique culture and how she built her business.

W

hen Dalia Handoush (‘21) opened her jewelry business in 2017, she was only 13 years old.

Unsure if people would enjoy her creations or even want to buy them in the first place, Handoush explained, “I was really scared of what people would think of me.”

But with her persistent passion to create and design handmade jewelry, Handoush established Dalia Designs Co. “When I was younger, I loved jewelry, but it was so expensive, especially for a kid who had no job. I wanted to make something that girls my age, or whatever age, could enjoy without the worry of how much it costs.”

When Handoush first started her business, she went on frequent “JoAnn’s runs,” or trips to gather materials such as beads or chains.

While shopping, Handoush said she “picked the colors based on how I felt that day, and with the beads or pendants that I chose, I would then pick different materials that match with that style.”

To make the jewelry, Handoush relies on her artistic skills and support from the internet. “At first, I learned everything myself, but when it came to the point where I was like, ‘Oh shoot, I don’t know the next step,’ I would just search ‘how to make a star necklace,’ and the idea would pop up.”

Business has been a part of Handoush’s life from the start. Not only is her father in business, but her sister is also in marketing; both [ 14 ]

have helped Handoush grow her business and expand her knowledge of entrepreneurship.

She recalled, “Profits, revenue, expenditures… my dad taught me [those words]. My sister taught me how to edit and how to caption [on Instagram]. Like how things are passed to a child, business was kind of grinded into my brain.”

As a Palestinian-American, Handoush has ideas for incorporating her unique heritage, as well as others’ heritage, into her jewelry. “I think it would be great if I got not only people who are a part of my culture, but people who already model for me now, and they can wear that jewelry and be a part of that culture.”

After working on her business for years, Handoush feels it has become a part of her identity. “Creating this

business [has] helped me be more confident, and helped me say, ‘I created something. Why do I have to be insecure?’”

A Connection to Business Dalia Designs Co has received its orders from a variety of places, including Tennessee, California, and Jerusalem (where Handoush is from).

She even recalled a customer who purchased from across the Atlantic Ocean. “I just think it’s so cool that someone all the way in [Europe] has my jewelry.”

Other than working on her business, Handoush is active in lacrosse, Mock Trial, and manages a babysitting job on the side. Her strategy to manage her time is unusual when compared to the usual teenage procrastination.

“I get things done ahead of time. For example, if I have homework that is assigned tomorrow, I do it today. So I’m always a day ahead.”

Handoush places a high priority on customer service. In one case, she received a very specific order, unlike anything she had ever made before.

To stay organized, Handoush made use of an empty wall. “I called it the

dream board, and it was just all my orders on one wall.”

By staying organized and listening to her customer, Handoush believes the order “turned out beautiful.” She promised that no matter how specific the order is, she “will go to whatever lengths to make sure [customers] are happy.”

Handoush tries to be expedient in making customers’ orders, shipping it to them in two days.

As a result of her efforts, her business has exploded. In 2017, Handoush started out with zero sales. Currently, she has garnered over 500 on her business’ Etsy page.

Meeting at San Marco, Handoush and around 30 girls go behind the scenes of Handoush’s photoshoots.

A Connection to Conventions

Photo Credit: Dalia Handoush

Handoush’s business extends outside of school and her community. As a member and unofficial board member of the AACC (Arab American Community Center), Handoush sponsors the organization’s annual gala with her business. She also occasionally sells her jewelry at the Riverside Arts Market, which showcases different cultures in Jacksonville every weekend.

However, the most significant event which Handoush attended was the Orlando Al-Bireh Convention, whose purpose is to celebrate, showcase, and recognize people of the ArabAmerican community. When Handoush attended, it was December of 2019, and her first time going to a convention.

With her jewelry table set up at 7:30 a.m., despite the event’s opening time at 12 noon, Handoush placed herself in front of the bathroom doors. “I refused to leave my table because I was like, if one person comes out of the bathroom, they’re gonna order from me.”

When one person walked up to her stand, she immediately switched to her sales-pitch personality. “I was like, do you have a daughter? Do you have a son? A husband? A wife?

How about Valentine’s Day? How about Christmas? I was not about to let them leave with only one thing and not spread it to their family.”

Before COVID-19, Handoush (bottom row in light blue sweatshirt) held photoshoots every three months, inviting any interested girls to model for her Instagram page.

Photo Credit: Dalia Handoush

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Turn to the next page.

In the end, Handoush sold around 500 items, solely from this event. She ended up working for 72 hours, three days straight, not even leaving her table to take a break or get food. “My mom had a waiter bring me food.”

Without this convention, Handoush believes her business would have lacked the opportunities that it received now. “I loved how I had the chance to do that. I don’t think my business would be spread out as much if I didn’t have that.”

A Connection to the Future With the arrival of COVID-19, Handoush’s sales have declined. “I don’t know if I should be buying materials because I don’t know when everything is going to be okay.”

However, Handoush has big plans for the future. “[My business] will be a big part of who I am even after college. Let’s say I have a big job-- I still want this to be my hobby. I don’t want it on the side. I don’t want to let it go.”

For others who want to start a business while living through school, sports, and hobbies, Handoush advises them to have confidence.

“Be proud of what you are doing; it’s something that will become who you are, and shape who you are. I can definitely say it shaped who I am.”

Upcoming Entrepreneur Spotlight Rylie Ringhaver (‘22)

R

ylie Ringhaver (‘22) began her art and jewelry business in seventh grade, fueled by the passion to create. But when school work became too much to bear, she temporarily put her business on hold.

After going on a church mission trip to Kenya, seeing all the children at the Gethsemane Garden Christian Center Orphanage on Mfangano Island, Ringhaver became inspired to reopen her business again during COVID, but this time for a specific cause: to help the children at the orphanage.

Read Ringhaver’s responses All photos courtesy of Ringhaver. below to find out more about her growing business and the generous cause that reinvigorated it.

What types of products do you sell?

“I started off with just jewelry. But then I slowly started to make photo collages, canvases, paintings, custom paintings, posters, masks, other jewelry items, car coasters. A lot of random things.”

What advice can you give to students who also want to start a business?

“Before you start, [make sure] you know exactly what you’re doing, you have everything in order, you have scenarios in your head of what could go wrong and how to fix it, like troubleshooting. And just make sure it’s not going to cause you stress. As long as you organize everything well, it’s such a great thing.”

After your conversation, you notice a group of people fanatically arguing over some fandoms, and you hear the words “Dunder-Mifflin” and “Pawnee.” On the other side of the street is a person proudly holding a “vote here” sign.

To cast your opinion in the argument, turn to page 24.

To talk to the person with the voting sign, turn to page 28.

[ 16 ]

Dylan Schwartz: Behind the Lens

By Isabel Bassin, Contributing Writer

Scan this to see more of an interview with Dylan.

You follow the lone photographer until he stops and turns around to look at you. You start up a conversation with him and ask what he is doing.

D

ylan Schwartz (‘24) is a photographer in his free time.

He feels connected to the relationship between restriction and freedom. The photo he is proudest of is a metaphor for this: a seagull landing on a pole.

He has never edited it, which could be seen as a violation to the message it portrays.

“A seagull is in total control of its actions, like where it flies, but there’s still restrictions as to say it must come down to land at some point.”

Schwartz described. “I managed to catch it specifically at this restricted part.”

“This idea of restricted freedom also comes into photography.” Schwartz said. “You’re in control of your own actions and what you decide to shoot, but at the end of the day photography

Photo of a seagull landing on a street sign. One of Schwartz’s first photos, and currently his favorite. Completely unedited.

Photo Credit: Dylan Schwartz

is photography and you’re still limited by the things that already exist.”

Schwartz was first introduced to photography at the age of eleven. It has since consumed his life and his house, so much so that he converted a spare room into a studio.

On average, Schwartz spends about 10 hours a week taking and editing photos. He also started a brand to put his photos and edits on merchandise called Haute Avant (@hauteavant on instagram), which means “high before” in French.

“Photography is about making something with a meaning” Schwartz said. “It’s not a way to pass time, it’s not a hobby, it’s trying to make something that people will think about and trying to make something that people will remember.” [ 17 ]

Dylan’s Instagram, Haute Avant.

Scan the QR Code to see more!

Schwartz is very intent on spreading the idea of artistic photography, or the act of creating something deeper with photography rather than just taking photos.

He feels very strongly that artistic creativity is a much harder mountain to climb than mechanical skill.

“Material creativity is about what’s being shot and it’s about being creative with what you’re shooting” Schwartz clarified.

“Conceptual creativity is using everyday items that don’t normally have a deeper meaning to try and create the meaning.” Schwartz’s photos are unique and, without an analytical eye, seem confusing at first.

“Your camera, stabilizers, tripods, tools, lighting, all of those affect the final outcome. People really underestimate what photographers have to put into something.”

As with most art, Schwartz’s goal is to evoke thought. “Art is not about what the artist intends, it’s about what the viewer interprets.”

“It’s about just using these everyday items.

That’s a great example of material creativity. You look at that and you step back and you say hold up a second - what is that?

This photo was actually tinfoil, even if it doesn’t really look like it.”

[ 18 ]

Product photography of the shoe Comme des Garcons x Converse on the left, iPhone on the right.

Schwartz spends multiple hours taking and editing product photos. He will then email companies with his results in hope to get a response.

Perspective photo of playing cards. According to Schwartz, the execution of this photo took 2 hours.

“My all-time biggest inspiration obviously has to be Marc Jacobs. He had this task of not only creating a fashion line, but defining years of legacy and defining how that would continue on into the future. That’s why he’s such a big inspiration to me, because it’s not necessarily the artistic skill, but the idea and the task he was given.”

After talking with Schwartz, you see Jeeps speed by with groups of laughing kids, but you also notice a group of students putting up decorations and making diyas.

To hang out with the group in the Jeeps, turn to page 20.

To talk to the students with the decorations, turn to page 26.

[ 19 ]

The Jeeples of Bolles

By Taylor Ford, Copy Editor The groups welcome you and offer to give you a lift, so you, too, can experience the joys of the Jeep.

E

veryone has heard of car guys.

They’ve heard of Disney adults, horse girls, and even K-pop stans, but have you ever heard of Jeep people?

Putting a Jeep’s top-down can be time-consuming and people can’t normally just press a button and it goes down. You have to take off the soft top (which is the part that covers everything) take off the different sections of the soft top, and unhook many latches to release everything.

Makenna Toomey (‘21) found this out the hard way.

Car people have their own type of culture: they talk about parts, they buy parts, they go to car shows, they discuss different modifications; they even talk about different paint colors.

However, Jeep culture is a completely different world.

When she got to the restaurant, one of the workers came out to help her, but neither of them could get the latch fully shut. This resulted in her driving home while holding the top of her Jeep to prevent from getting further wet. A big gust of wind knocked it out of her hand and her top came back down. “I pulled over again and fixed it the best I could but I just ended up driving home with it down.”

One cultural practice Jeep peeps do is wave to each other on the road. When asked if this was actually a thing, Sofia Caron (‘21) answered:

“That’s another funny story. One time I was driving my car on the highway, and there were like four other Jeeps in a row, and we were all just waving and laughing.” -Sofia Caron

According to Caron, the best thing about this story is that they were all random people who have Jeeps, and they were waving and laughing with each other like they were long-time friends.

Caron has a 2019 White Jeep Rubicon. Her father originally wanted a Jeep, and after a year of having it, he gave it to her. “My favorite thing about my Jeep,” Caron said, “is that I have a button that can automatically put the top down.”

Sofia Caron took this picture of her 2019 Jeep Rubicon in her driveway.

One night Toomey was driving to go get food for her parents with the top of her Jeep down when it started to pour. Toomey said, “I got off the road and I got out to try and get the top-up but it would not latch completely. People were also staring at me the entire time just watching me get soaked.”

Toomey tried working on her Jeep top “for a good 10 minutes until I just left to go get the food.” [ 20 ]

When the gust of wind knocked the top back down, it bent the bars on the Jeep so that they had to get them fixed. This repair costs around $300-$500.

To this day, Toomey has not driven with the top of her Jeep down.

Bobby Crouch (‘21) has a different broken Jeep story or rather broken bushes. Crouch has a black 2013 Jeep Wrangler that has been through all of

the Crouch siblings except one. “It was my oldest sister’s [Caroline] Jeep first because she really wanted a Jeep but she couldn’t take it to college so it just kept getting passed down to each sibling.”

There are five Crouch siblings, and Bobby is the youngest and last one to get it. One time when Crouch was 13, his sister, Macey, asked if he wanted to park the car in the driveway, and he said yes.

“I was reversing and she said ‘put it in drive put it in drive’ and I slammed the gas in reverse and went back into these big bushes in someone else’s yard and destroyed their bushes.”

-Bobby Crouch In the aftermath, the car had a few scratches, but otherwise, it was totally fine.

Makenna Toomey poses next to her Jeep on her first day of senior year of high school.

Jeeps are fun, family loving, great for outdoor activities, and good for funny or rainy adventures. As Enzo Ferrari once said, “Jeep is America’s real sports car.”

Open this to see a Proustian Questionaire interview with Sofia Caron

The Jeep ride through the streets of Jacksonville has cleared your mind and made you consider taking up a hobby of your own.

To go to a language club meeting, turn to page 10.

Bobby Crouch’s sibling passed down their 2013 Jeep Wrangler to Bobby. To visit avid Rubik’s Cubes and

Funko Pop collectors, turn to page 12. [ 21 ]

History and Fun Facts About the Jeep In the year 1940 “jeep” was not a word used for the jeeps we know today, but it was Army slang for new recruits or vehicles.

Jeeps were in fact used in the Army first rather than as a personal car. Jeeps were mass made when they were brought into the Army, this means that they, arguably, are the oldest four-wheel-drive car that we now know as SUVs. Jeeps also, unlike many other brands of cars, look very similar to when they were first made. Most cars from the 1940s-now have had a drastic makeover and do not look like what they did when they first came out.

MacBooks in a Microsoft World

By Ian Wilkinson, Contributing Writer Macbooks vs. Surfaces... the question of the century.

Which will YOU choose?

If you look at this as a military battle, you might say that the Microsoft Surface conquered the Bolles system.

But the battle between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs is far from over; there are a few students standing solo to represent Apple’s MacBook.

“At the start, I was very worried that there would be issues of compatibility,” Bolles alumni Ashley Khoo said, having started off at Bolles with a MacBook, “my friends would come up to me and ask me, ‘why don’t I just get a Surface?’”

Khoo explained that she considered making the switch on rare occasions because having a MacBook made her “feel like I’m a burden to, like, everyone else.” But in the end, she “weighed the pros and cons and I said, ‘no, I’ve got to keep it.’”

“Honestly I never had any problems!

Once I downloaded the Microsoft applications (word, powerpoint, etc) it was super easy!”

— Ellie Anderson, ‘20

Due to the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) requirement, all students in grades 6-12 are required to bring a Windows 10 Pro Computing device that meets certain requirements, found on the Bolles website under “BYOD Program.”

Photo Credit: Ian Wilkinson

According to the BYOD rules, “The Intent of the required BYOD program is to ensure academic teachers are able to plan appropriate and engaging class experiences, knowing all students will have access to their own compatible personal device.” The Windows Surface, surface, sporting a touch screen, stylus, and the Windows suit certainly meets these requirements and have become the go-to computer for the majority of the student body.

applications (word, powerpoint, etc) it was super easy!”

However, a small group of students have found that the MacBook is better for their own needs, despite the gap between Microsoft and Apple.

— Ashley Khoo, ‘20

“I love to use interfaces and am able to download Microsoft apps that you need for school,” Junior Pranav Kasavaraju said, finding that the Apple ecosystem made working more convenient and easier. “so I get the best of both worlds.”

MacBook users have also found Apple’s interface to be easier to navigate than the Surface’s.

“Having it [MacBook] be so compatible with other Apple products is so helpful,”

“I feel that a MacBook is way more professional looking than a Microsoft Surface, simply because of the way it is designed, and also, I guess, a Microsoft surface is meant for people to use the stylus,” Khoo said, “the functionality gets crossed over because the technology isn’t that amazing yet.”

Ellie Anderson (‘20) also had a similar experience with her MacBook. Anderson agrees. “Frankly, I always “Honestly I never had any problems! found that Macs were easier and more Once I downloaded the Microsoft straightforward to use.” [ 22 ]

Not only that, but “having it [MacBook] be so compatible with other Apple products is so helpful,” Khoo remarked. “Microsoft and Apple have this sort of feud that blocks certain functions and it makes it impossible for them to be compatible.”

Kasavaraju also describes the MacBook’s convenience. “The ecosystem is my favorite thing about Apple,” he said. “I do video production so it’s nice to airdrop on the go, or use an iPad as an external keyboard when I’m traveling. I don’t

[IMAGE]

Photo Credit: Ashley Khoo

need to use a lot of cords.”

Despite the various elements that the MacBook brought to the table for these students, owning one was not without its tribulations. “I remember in the first few times in Dr. Bowling’s classroom when we used some Surface applications,” Khoo recalls, “I had, like, no choice but was unable to just do the worksheet because I just couldn’t possibly open it on my MacBook.”

Despite the rocky road, alums said being familiar with the Apple product has it’s advantages when it comes to

“The ecosystem is my favorite thing about Apple,” he said. “I do video production so it’s nice to airdrop on the go, or use an iPad as an external keyboard when I’m traveling. I don’t need to use a lot of cords.”

— Pranav Kasavaraju, ‘22 preparing for college.

“I personally like the MacBook, and maybe students in Bolles don’t want to continue with the Surface, necessarily, so they want a lot of change after, you know, going to college,” Khoo said, “but then the only problem is a lot of things that they were used to for the last four years, aren’t there, so it makes a transition from using a Surface in high school to using Apple in college.”

Khoo finds Apple much more convenient now that she’s at college in Georgetown. “Pages syncs everything on your iPhone and Mac. I can be in a lecture taking notes and need to get groceries,” Khoo said, “and then go to the store and take notes on my phone.”

Khoo has had less of a transition to using the same machine in college. “For me, it was super easy because I could just keep my same copy. I didn’t have to buy a new one or download any software.”

It’s not really a battle, anyway..The BYOD policy is well-considered but a few Apple rebels do exist on the fringes of the Microsoft empire. [ 23 ]

Suddenly, you see Jeeps speed by with groups of laughing kids, and you also notice a group of students putting up decorations and making diyas in the distance.

To hang out with the groups in the Jeeps, turn to page 20.

To talk to the students with the decorations, turn to page 26.

Knope v. Scott 2020

By Sara Wasserman, Contributing Writer You join the argument, surprised that the teens are arguing about their favorite TV shows.

department. “He’s definitely a character that I wouldn’t mind being for a day and seeing how he lives his life” said Ibrahim.

“It’s so stupid that all you do is laugh. It’s absolutely hilarious.”

- Davis Meux ‘24

T

he Office and Parks and Recreation are two of the most popular comedy tv shows. Known for their signature workplace humor, they are widely loved in the Bolles community. The shows are quoted in daily conversation and many students own merch. “I am privy to the t-shirts, I think my friends have the Schrute Farms t-shirts and I have a Dunder Mifflin t-shirt myself so I get the hype now,” said junior Yasmeen Ibrahim.

“I think love for what you’re doing in any situation no matter how big or small is something that I really admire.”

— Yasmeen Ibrahim

Like The Office, the short length of the episodes in Parks and Rec makes it the show to watch for a quick laugh.

“I think they’re definitely easy to watch when I’m on the go.” mentions Ibrahim.

Parks and Rec’s simplicity makes it universally enjoyable. “I think it’s a great way to connect with friends because it’s something everybody enjoys,” said Ibrahim. “It’s not something that’s for an acquired taste, and it’s not as long as a movie.”

Something that sets Parks and Rec apart from The Office are the characters who have a passion for their small office jobs and demonstrate the value of hard work.

Leslie Knope is one of these characters, and she doesn’t let anything discourage her or hold her back. “The way she makes every small occupation that she has- like her being the head of Parks and Recreation, as small as that may seem, some people really take it to heart” added Ibrahim. “I think love for what you’re doing in any

Yasmeen Ibrahim ‘22 started watching Parks and Recreation a little over a year ago after finishing The Office. “It does have a soft spot in my heart,” she admits.

While The Office is a classic, Ibrahim argues that Parks wins in funniness. “I love the characters that they played, like Leslie Knope, she’s a female lead and all the characters you can relate with.” said Ibrahim. “Everyone has their own favorite character that is so absurdly funny for no reason, and I feel like you can’t really get the same with The Office.”

As for Yasmeen, the character she relates with is Tom Haverford, a sarcastic employee at the Parks

Get to know The Officeenthusiast Sloan Donaldson (‘23) through a Proustian Questionnaire interview.

Right: Leslie Knope

[ 24 ]

situation no matter how big or small is something that I really admire.”

The Office has always been a popular show to watch for a guaranteed laugh, and its popularity only grew through being easily available on Netflix. But why is this seemingly simple show so appealing?

Sloan Donaldson ‘23 is an avid Office fan. “During Hurricane Irma in 7th grade. I was really into comedy,” said Donaldson, “and I thought I’d give it a try, and I was bored and I was stuck in the house, so why not?”

The short length of episodes in The Office is actually part of what makes the show so appealing. “It’s not intense, it’s 20 minute episodes, so that makes it great to watch a short one that you think is going to be really funny.” said freshman Davis Meux.

The Office is filled with moments of laughable senselessness. “I feel like I just felt bad for Michael Scott a lot of the time,” said Ibrahim. “But you know that he’s not the smartest tool in the shed.” Meux argues that the workplace setting of The Office contributes to its hilarious moments.

“It’s so stupid that all you do is laugh.”

These shows offer a break from the chaos of 2020. “I don’t want to be worrying about the current situations that are happening in the world because I already am most of the time,” said Donaldson.

Even though their strength is comedy, The Office has it’s heartfelt moments as well “I really liked the last episode where they all got together, and it made me cry.” admits Donaldson.

One of the most loved parts of The Office is the relationship of Jim and Pam. While some criticize details of the relationship, it is undoubtedly one of the most key parts of the show.

Over the course of the show, viewers see the pair transition from work friends to a family of four. “We really start to see Jim and Pam’s relationship develop, which makes me really happy.” said Donaldson.

Meux agrees that some of the bestepisodes of the show are the bestepisodes of the show are the ones that feature their wedding, not only because it was a very

Older shows like The Office have become increasingly popular with younger viewers. So what’s the appeal of one of these shows over a new one? Donaldson points to the show’s simplicity and ease.

Compared to The Good Place, a show of the same nature that has a complex metaphysical background and storyline, The Office is fairly basic. “I feel like older shows are more relaxed so I don’t have to worry about that as much.” Ibrahim agrees, “Older shows really have that kind of relaxed tone, like they’re not trying too hard.”

A British Office Almost everyone you ask is familiar with the iconic show, The Office. What some people might not know, however, is that the show was actually created in the UK first. The British Office is set in the same workplace environment, displaying the “cubicle culture” that is seen in both The Office and Parks and Rec. While the characters from The American Office align with the characters from the British version, they have different names and slightly different storylines. The Office (UK) was created in 2001 by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and Gervais stars in the series as the equivalent of Michael Scott.

So, is the popular American Office better than its lesser-known predecessor? Reviews from students are mixed, but it is agreed that the British style of jokes and humor is harder to understand. “My culture is American comedy, and the British take on comedic TV shows and movies is totally different.” said Donaldson. The show can undoubtedly be harder to follow than the American version.

“You have to be focused because the British slang is different and the way they talk is different.” said Ibrahim.

heartfelt moment for the show, but also because of the comedy that the show could not go without. “There were amazing jokes and hilarious moments,” said Davis. “It was a big moment for the show because it was their wedding and it wasn’t at the Dunder Mifflin setting.”

Left: Michael Scott

All of the chaos has made you just want to relax.

To see a play, turn to page 6.

To go on a birdwalk, turn to page 8.

[ 25 ]

Lighting Up Jax For Over 40 Years

By Avani Bansal, Co-Editor-In-Chief The students decorating explain that they are preparing to celebrate Diwali, and they invite you to learn more about the holiday with them.

T

he date changes every year based on the moon calendar.

It can be hard to keep track of, but a quick google search will do the job. Astronomers establish the date according to the position of the moon every year, and Diwali is set to fall on the New Moon, Amavasya.

Diwali, or the Festival of Lights, is the most celebrated Hindu holiday as it is the celebration of the Hindu New Year. It takes place over 5-6 auspicious days and symbolizes the victory of light over dark and good over evil.

Diwali historically celebrates the return of King Rama to Ayodhya after defeating the demon, Ravana.

Hindus celebrate the holiday with lighting fireworks, creating rangoli artwork, lighting hundreds of candles, turning on every light in their houses, performing cultural dances, dressing up in fancy clothes, and so much more.

Above: 1982 ICS Diwali Ramayana skit in Jacksonville. Photo taken from old video Photo Credit: Rick Khona

Over the years of Jacksonville’s history many Diwali celebrations have come to light. The major Jacksonville Diwali functions include events such as Gujurati Samaj and ICS Diwali, which are events for dance groups to perform Indian cultural dances to celebrate the holiday. There are also pujas* held at the Jacksonville Hindu Temple which are held to bring prosperity to the new year.

Diwali . Pandya ‘22 shared that she sees Diwali as an opportunity for her “Family to come together to celebrate something special.” She also expressed the importance of celebrating the holiday as it is an “Important way to keep customs and traditions alive here in Jacksonville.”

For Pandya, Diwali is the “Idea of good conquering evil and prosperity for all.”

Some Bolles students shared their favorite family traditions and rituals for Diwali every year: Aditi Ranjan ‘23 explained that her family fills “a small statue house with rice, which symbolizes requesting prosperity for the new year from the goddess Lakshmi.” Deiya Pandya ‘22 explained her favorite part of Diwali, “We call all of our relatives in India to celebrate with them, it should be interesting on Zoom this year.” Sahana Desai ‘27 and Sabrina Desai ‘31 said that they “love making rangoli artwork every year and lighting diyas throughout the house.”

*Puja- worship ceremony, time of prayer *Laddu- Indian dessert— mixture of flour, sugar, and butter in the shape of a ball *Mithai- general term for Indian sweets *Halwa- Indian sweet typically eaten following pujas made from semolina, cardamom, milk, butter, sugar, and nuts *Diya- oil lamp made from clay with wick covered in ghee, modern daycandle *Lakshmi- Hindu goddess of wealth, good fortune, and prosperity; primary God worshipped during Diwali *Rangoli- art created on the ground made from colored powder or colored rice, usually done on Diwali *Prasad- sweets blessed during the puja

[ 26 ]

Glossary of words:

Grandmother’s Explanation of 5 Days of Diwali: Day 1: Narakachaudis: Everyone cleans their houses which symbolizes the refreshing/ rejuvenating start to the new year.

Day 2: Dhanteras A new addition is bought for the house. This is the celebration of money and of our prosperity.

Day 3: Choti Diwali Everyone starts the cooking for Diwali festivities. Sweets such as Halwa, Ladoos, Prasad, and Mithai are made as offerings to the Goddess, Lakshmi before the puja on Diwali.

Day 4: Diwali Combination of every festivity: We make diyas* (make wicks, put oil and light it); we decorate the house with those diyas on staircases, through the bathrooms, and throughout the house. This pathway of diyas lights the path for Lakshmi to come through the house to bless it for the new year; we freshen our puja* with new silver coins and fresh flowers; we thank Lakshmi for prosperity; we give of prasad*/money following the puja ceremony.

Grandfather’s method of making fireworks: Diwali is generally the start of the winter season and people start spending more time Indoors. In general people paint, clean their houses, and buy winter clothing.

Some make their own sweets but mostly they buy and distribute to their friends and relatives.

Everybody does Puja on Diwali.

Our neighbor was curious about my fireworks so I gave her one.

She took it casually. and lit it in her bedroom. It went 15 feet high and she tried to cover it with a brass platter but it made a hole in the platter. Their bedroom was a mess. They were ready to call the Fire engine.

Making Fireworks used to be a secret mission because it created a lot of mess. Though my mother was very understanding, there was always a limit.

I would save pocket money and buy these from the market so I could grind them into powder: Sulphur, Rock Salt, Charcoal Then I bought: Iron Powder, Aluminium Powder, Brass Powder, and Copper Powder Then I would mix everything, visit Potteries and buy Shells in the shape of an apple with a tiny hole at the top and a bigger hole at the bottom. Then you cover the top hole by pasting tiny colorful papers. Next, you fill shells with the mix made above and take some dirt and make a paste out of it. Fill the bottom hole with it and then let it dry for a day or two.

It is ready!

I also used to make paper lanterns for Diwali. I took Chopsticks and made a lot of Squares. I arranged them in a fashion to look like a Chandelier or lantern and then bought decorative paper from the market and covered the chopsticks.

Day 5: Ankut 52 types of food such as keer, different subjis, different barfis, and different rasgulas are made as offerings to God following Diwali.

Below: Rangoli artwork done using colored powder Photo Credit: Avani Bansal

Above: 2012 ICS Diwali performance in Jacksonville

Thanking everyone for helping you understand other cultural holidays, you open your computer, only to find an ad for the new Macbook and a Spotify ad for a song titled “Middle Ground.”

To find out more about the benefits of Macbooks in school, turn to page 22.

QR Code for interview with Deiya Pandya (‘22)

To listen to the song, turn to page 38.

1992 ICS Diwali performance Photo Credits: Manisha Bansal

[ 27 ]

Bolles Parent and Student Engage in Democracy The Bugle Staff

Wilkins (top middle) among her fellow poll workers. Photos can’t be taken during work hours so this was taken after the polls closed.

Photo Credit: Katioa Wilkins

You walk over to the group with signs, noticing that they are campaign signs.

T

o be a poll worker you must be 16 years old so this was Katrina Adewale’s (’23) first year. Katioa Wilkins, parent of three Bolles students, has been volunteering since 2016.

Both women agree that working at a polling station during the 2020 election was an education in the democratic process. Adewale manned a station in St. Johns County and Wilkins worked as an Inspector Technician at Polling Site 610 in Mandarin.

Adewale worked at the Earth Fare grocery store, on a two-day shift that ran from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.

Adewale chose to wear a face shield instead of a mask for her long shifts.

Poll workers must work for three days, making $13.50 an hour for early voting and $200 on election day.

But, for Adewale, the pay was secondary. “You’re having a part in democracy,” she said.

At each polling site, Wilkins stated, “there are 12 people, split evenly by party affiliation” at each station. [ 28 ]

Adewale said that three poll watchers were stationed in each area of her polling location and that during their five-hour shifts they did not talk to poll watchers, only observed.

As the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election continues to face ongoing legal action, Wilkins said that from her experience working behind the scenes, she doesn’t know how fraud could happen as her experience was seeing votes counted “in real time.”

Wilkins shared the story of a voter who came into Wilkins’ polling location at St. Justin of the Martyr

Church in Mandarin saying that she’d voted via mail but could not find the record of her ballot online. Wilkins scanned the woman’s driver’s license and immediately pulled up the record of the date and time it was received.

Wilkins staffed the polls for elections in March, April, and the big one on November 3rd. Since the primaries happened during the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage, she and her fellow poll workers shared that fact with incoming voters. “I really do feel every vote counts,” said Wilkins. “Everyone has a voice and an opportunity.”

Both Adewale and Wilkins stressed how their training emphasized voter accessibility. Wilkins said, “You can’t do anything to make it hard for people to vote.”

However, Wilkins said many people don’t realize that while you can early vote at any location, on election day you may only vote at the polling site where you’re registered. Adewale shared the story of one man who came into vote near poll closing time,

realized he was in the wrong county, and sat down to wait for a provisional ballot only to get frustrated by the wait and leave, missing his chance to vote.

Finding poll workers can be a problem, especially when an election is predicted to be contentious.

Adewale said, “Lots of people said they wouldn’t do it. Lots of people canceled so there are always open slots.” Wilkins admitted to being “apprehensive.”

Adewale found kindness. “People ask how your day was. People thank you for your service.” One kid came in to vote with his parent and gave Adewale a high five. Wilkins said some people “bring treats” to poll workers as a thank you.

Wilkins said she saw at least 10 first time voters, including some who were older. Wilkins stated, “They were really excited. They had decided that this was the election where they felt like they wanted to vote.”

Katrina Adewale finds herself paying more attention to the electoral process as a poll worker.

Photo Credit: Katie Creveling

There were so many voters at Earth Fare that they ran out of “I Voted!” stickers.

Adewale had to create a makeshift sticker and sign it so one first-time voter could prove to her college professor that she’d voted.

Adewale came away from the experience feeling more politically engaged.

Adewale said, “In the last one, I didn’t pay attention.

This time, I was looking at the electoral map and guessing who would win.”

Working behind the scenes increases knowledge about the entire process.

Wilkins points out that a Voter Registration card is not needed to vote but any photo id, even a concealed carry gun permit, will allow [ 29 ]

“They were really excited. They had decided that this was the election where they felt like they wanted to vote.”

— Katioa Wilkins you to vote. Wilkins also talked about the satisfaction of being the first to know, once polls close, “exactly how your precinct voted, right then and there.”

Wilkins appreciated learning politics on a local level and the chance to get to know her fellow volunteers during 12-14 hour shifts. Wilkins often felt “like the new kid on the block” as many poll workers are retirees but she said, “there’s a fair mix of everyone.”

No matter what happens in the near future, both women state a firm intention to volunteer again in the next election.

Wilkins said she admired the work political parties put in to get people to the polls. “People’s eyes are opened to the impact of what our process is,” she said, “This has sparked a real awakening. Now I think people see that their vote matters.”

Learn more about Adewale through a Proustian Questionnaire video interview.

After discussing their experiences at the polls, you decide to explore other nuances of history.

To meet teachers passionate about history, turn to page 40.

To explore the nuances of Turkish history through swimmer Kaan Orhan turn to page 44.

Lekas ’21 Hooked On Fishing

By Grace Albaugh, Contributing Writer You are greeted by a tall, marinebiology enthusiast at the fishing club meeting.

A

s an outsider looking in, most people think of fishing as a hobby, something you do every once in a while for fun; however, for a lot of people, fishing is way more than that. It’s a way of life, a community, and an entire culture of its own.

There is a club dedicated to the sport of fishing. It is a place for people to share their favorite places to fish, their stories, and their techniques.

They also host fishing tournaments to raise money for K9s for Warriors.

“We’re using our communal love for fishing to help the Jacksonville community.” Emily Lekas, a member of the club, said.

Lekas, who prefers fishing with seine and dip nets, joined the club to gain experience and learn from others about different ways of fishing.

She said, “there’s a lot of different techniques and attention to detail that may surprise people about fishing.”

Lekas described her love of fishing as being rooted in her love of the ocean.

“I think the diversity of life in the oceans, rivers, and all aquatic ecosystems is amazing,” she said.

Lekas has always fished with her family and especially enjoys fishing at Alligator Point every summer.

“My dad and I were dragging the seine net through the water at Alligator Point and something huge hits the net, we can feel it, it starts thrashing around.”

“We’re using our communal love for fishing to help the Jacksonville community.”

- Emily Lekas ‘21 Lekas explains that not knowing what’s in your net is a big part of what’s so exciting about fishing. “As we’re pulling it up I see a gar and start screaming because you know I want to pick it up, so we pull it up on land and it’s huge like four feet, this awesome gar.”

A gar is a fish you wouldn’t expect to catch in the ocean, they are typically

Fishing is found in many unusual places throughout Jacksonville such as the sidewalk park on River Road in San Marco.

Photo Credit: Grace Albaugh

found in warm freshwater and sometimes brackish water.

“I put on a fishing glove, and come up behind it, full of adrenaline, and just reach out, grab its nose and hoist it up,” Lekas explained. “I was freaking out, that was one of the happiest moments of my life.”

Lekas described that as the most interesting thing she’s caught in a net.

“In the ocean, you would expect to catch, stingrays, flounder, and small fish, but not a gar.”

The excitement of what may be on your rod or in your net is another part of what she finds so exciting about fishing, along with the idea that she worked to catch this creature, and now that hard work paid off.

“A lot of people wouldn’t get fishing because it’s like, ‘oh now I get to hold this slimy disgusting fish,’ but most

Lekas with the gar she caught at Alligator Point

[ 30 ]

Alligator Point If you decide to visit Alligator Point know that you will not see many alligators, the peninsula actually got its name from the alligator tail-like look it has when viewed from above. Since looking for and possibly running from alligators is not available what this peninsula is known for is fishing.

If you catch a fish and you’re not sure what you’ve caught, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has a fish identification page on its website.

people who fish don’t mind because the fish is your reward,” Lekas explained.

For people who love to fish it is a big part of their lives, more than just a hobby. Lekas explained what fishing means to her brother.

To learn more about Alligator Point, scan this QR code:

“I consider myself a germaphobe, but I’ve kissed fish before; it’s just part of the fishing culture.”

-Lekas ‘21 “He won’t eat fish unless he caught it, he has the mindset of I’ve worked for this fish, and now I’ll eat it.”

The peninsula consists of eight miles of untouched coastline which is home to many different species of fish such as grouper, snapper, cobia, tarpon, and redfish. Alligator Point proves to be a hotspot for both inshore and offshore fishing.

Alligator Point’s tail-like peninsula Photo Credit: Alligator Point/ St. Teresa Association

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has a Sport Fish Restoration Program that collects money from excise takes on fishing equipment and motorboat fuels.

For Emily Lekas, that meaning is a little different. She emphasized, “I consider myself a germaphobe, but I’ve kissed fish before; it’s just part of the fishing culture.”

At this point in your journey, you need a pick me up, but you also want to stop by a soccer match to watch the game.

To stop by Starbucks, turn to page 32.

To go directly to the soccer game, turn to page 34.

Photo Credits: All images of Emily Lekas are used with her permission.

[ 31 ]

Espresso Yourself A Latte!

By Amber Bansal, Contributing Writer As you enter Starbucks, you notice the cafe is packed with students, faculty, and staff of Bolles, each with his or her own individual drink of choice.

T

he sights and sounds of Starbucks start with the rich smell of coffee beans enlivening the area, drawing people in for miles.

At 8 a.m. and after 3:15 p.m., Starbucks can be seen filled with orange and blue t-shirts.

Most tables are taken up by textbooks, notebooks, novels, and of course the everpresent Starbucks cup.

The sound of chatter is heard across the shop between interviews, conversations, and Whitehurst kids ordering their own drinks. Baristas constantly field much too complex orders from students, while staying attentive and cheery.

Stereotypical Student Drinks The Late One

Caramel Frappucino

The Workaholic

Girls sip their strawberry acai refresher (with no strawberries), and teachers drink their lattes with extra shots of espresso. Mr. Hodges comes and orders his “Venti Iced Tea” while catching up with a friend.

Triple shot of espresso

And when 4:15 PM comes, the shop empties and the baristas shed a sigh of relief.

The Helpful One

Starbucks by the Numbers:

- Money spent (drink and food) in an average lifetime: $203,840.

Chai Latte

The Forgetful One

- Time spent waiting in line: 530.8333 days.

Dragonfruit Refresher

- Venti Straw length: 22,082.66’ (15 times the Empire State Building).

Drawing Credits: Amber Bansal Logo Credits: Starbucks

[ 32 ]

Just as our ancestors once crawled on Earth and evolved into advanced humans, we, too, begin our Starbucks

evolution, from the primitive tall hot chocolate, to the Caffeinus Sapiens, the trenta with an extra shot of sophistication.

Starbucks can be a habit and obsession. In one week, over 50 Starbucks cups were spotted around campus. Starbucks drinkers, Sophia Mitchell ‘21, Olivia Janse Van Rensburg ‘24, and Ms. Mendelson ranked their liking an eight to a ten.

For many people, Starbucks is a gateway to happiness; Van Rensburg described it as “a reward after getting up early.”

For others, it’s an outlet of productivity, or “a place where I can focus,” Mitchell said. But Starbucks can brighten one’s day, just by the purchase of a favorite drink. For Mendelson, this is the iced tea. “I feel so happy and refreshed.”

Sophia Mitchell-

Hot Chocolate

Iced Caramel Macchiato

Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

Iced Macchiato

Strawberry Açaí Refresher

Hot Tea

Iced Tea

Olivia Janse Van Rensburg-

Latte

Ms. Mendelson-

Mocha Frappucino

As you leave Starbucks, you see two people taking pictures on opposite sides of the street. One is a girl taking photos of a group wearing jewelry, and the other is a lone boy with a camera.

To visit the jewelry photoshoot, turn to page 14.

To talk to the solo photographer, turn to page 17.

[ 33 ]

Student Referees Learn Leadership

By Elliana Emery, Contributing Writer You arrive at the soccer game entranced by the leadership skills of the referees on the field.

S

ophie Grace Posick (‘22) has been a soccer referee since 8th grade. Posick thanks her older brother Dalton for opening the gate to refereeing. “If it was not for my brother, I would likely not be a referee,” she explained. It was his patience and determination that led her to become a referee today.

Her older brother, Dalton, became a referee, and her father was a soccer coach, which all of her siblings to play the sport. She then decided to switch courses and become a referee. Thanks to her years of being

a referee she is “more confident in myself and in my decisions.”

Being a referee, people have to make fast decisions but also be prepared for whatever response that is given. Posick has learned to take

“You’re the person making the decisions and you have to stick to that.”

- Sophie Grace Posick

authority over her decisions and she believes “it’s a great opportunity to learn leadership skills.”

Soccer player Katie Sollee (‘22) has started a new facet of soccer: becoming the referee. After 6 years of being a goalie on the soccer field she has now switched positions into a referee, yet still plays soccer for Bolles’ JV team.

Becoming a referee has had beneficial effects on Katie’s life. She can make decisions faster and “it teaches me to appreciate the money that I’ve earned,” Sollee said.

Posick is not new to soccer, in fact, she played the game before she decided to referee, which came from

“It teaches me to appreciate the money that I’ve earned.”

- Katie Sollee her family blood. “Soccer gave me the background to become a referee” Posick said.

To become a referee, people have to go through a series of modules then end it off with a test.

Sophie Grace Posick and her brother Dalton Posick (‘20) Photo Credit: Sophie Grace Posick

[ 34 ]

Posick referees for Florida Elite, and she has a trainer who helps her with game calls and makes sure she knows the plays. During some games, her trainer watches and gives her tips on how to improve.

With positive factors, comes negatives, and Sollee has found that she needs a backbone for what she does. The biggest virtue she’s gained is “mainly patience having to deal with people and having a backbone to stick up for yourself,” she said.

Fun Facts: Calls AR’s (Assistant Referees) can make: Offsides: When a player is past all the others from the opposing team without having possession of the ball.

Posick explained that you just have to get past the criticism and “learn that you didn’t really do anything that impacted the outcome of the game so you’re okay.” Since she has been doing this for so long, it has gotten easier over the years to ignore the criticism.

When coaches and parents get upset at her for a decision she made, Sollee explained, “I can ask them to politely stop and if they continue I can go up to the center ref and ask them to talk to them.” Once the center referee asks them to leave her alone, they can even go as far as kicking a coach off the field if they won’t stop.

Although the criticism doesn’t affect Posick as much anymore, she sometimes isn’t always confident in the decisions she makes. “I always

Foul calls: Hurting another player such as tripping, pushing, or even kicking them.

Throw-in calls: Whatever team the ball goes out on the other team gets to throw it in.

Katie Sollee standing in the field watching the players carefully.

Photo Credit: Katie Sollee

worry that I made the wrong one,” she elaborated. Or she feels she gave one team an unfair advantage in the game.

At the end of the day, Sollee loves her job and enjoys the benefits. It even helps her during soccer games while playing goalie, “I can predict what’s going to go on further,” Sollee added.

Goal kicks: After a team kicks the ball but it doesn’t get into the opposing teams goal but outside the lines next to it. The goalie or a defender may take the kick from the top line of the goalie box.

Corner kicks: When a team member kicks the ball on their side of the field, the opposing team gets to take a kick from the corner of the field.

Posick has gained many virtues due to having so much power over the choices she must make.

Along with acquiring selfconfidence and patience, Sophie Grace has also realized, “you’re the person making the decisions and you have to stick to that.”

After the game, you notice a group of people on the sidelines fanatically arguing over some fandoms as well as a person holding a “vote here” sign nearby.

To join the argument, turn to page 24.

Sophie Grace is holding the soccer ball after making a call.

Photo Credit: Sophie Grace Posick

[ 35 ]

To talk to the person with the sign, turn to page 28.

Patel Scores a Point

By Riya Kar, Contibuting Writer The noise, it turns out, was the sound of fencing swords crashing to the ground.

Diya Patel watched intently as the fencer moved swiftly around his opponent, dancing across the silver screen, quickly finishing the match with an elegant victory.” When she watched the movie Vandraft for the first time, Patel thought “it was such a cool opportunity.” Inspired, she joined the local Fioretto Fencing Academy, working with Coach Pavel to practice sabre fencing.

Sabre fencing is the result of years of refining and altering sword fighting. The origins begin in ancient civilizations and become more pertinent in the Middle Ages of Europe.

The heavy armor was reduced and the mass of the sword itself was minimized. This new style emphasized a simple, nimble, and controlled style of fighting, which soon spread throughout Europe to become the sport we know it as today: fencing.

Fencing has many rules and many types of equipment. “I personally prefer saber because there aren’t a lot of rules,” Patel said.

Patel interacts with different fencing gear on a daily basis. “We have a saber sword. We also have a jacket that protects you and a glove. We wear only one glove on the hand we use to fence.”

Despite being an old sport, fencing had become modernized, “We have electric wires attached to machines to help us tell the referee or coach, whoever is refereeing us, who gets the point.” Patel explains.

After learning the basics, Diya went deeper into what fencing means. “I like to describe it as chess, because

of that mental game you have to play.

You have to think ahead, be a step ahead always.”

She reveals that her patience, resilience, and perseverance have helped her grow and are integral to fencing. “ I’ve definitely found that as I grow I’ve been more confident as I work through my weaknesses.”

She continues to have a positive outlook, “Even you lose the point; even if you lose a couple of points.

You can always come back, you can always win it.”

Using the positive mindset she has acquired from fencing, Patel tackles school and it’s stress, looking at the broader picture in order to meet her goals. “One bad grade or two are not going to affect you. Just keep on going through hard times. There will always be an end.”

Diya looks to embrace and continue fencing in the future. She plans to work hard and fulfill her big aspirations. “I hope to go to a college with a good fencing program up north and potentially the Olympics after that”

Suddenly, your phone dings twice. One is an invite to a fishing club meeting and the other is a notification from TikTok.

To attend the Fishing Club meeting, turn to page 30.

To scroll TikTok, turn to page 42.

[ 36 ]

Swords of Myth and Legend Swords don’t only have names in fantasy novels. Check out these real life legendary swords!

Samurai Marumasu Blades These blades were made by a legendary swordsmith during the 14th century AD. It was said that these blades were cursed and would “possess” their wielders causing them to go berserk. Due to its bad reputation the blades fell out of popularity, only a few remain today.

Curtana An ancient sword in the 11th century CE. It is now located in the U.K. This was a steel sword used to crown the Kings of France.

Swords of Saints and Cosmas and Damian This sword was created in the late 10th century CE. It is made of gold and silver filigree. It is said to be a gift from Roman Emperor. The sword was used in combat by the late kings of Germany, later being decorated to commemorate the sacrifice of the saints of Essen.

The Sword of Goujian The Sword of Goujian was made out of bronze in 403 BCE. It is now located in Hubei, China. It is one of the ancient words that remained in excellent condition. The sword is said to have been used in combat for many wars The sword is said to have defied time as it is more than 2000 years old but remains sharp enough to do damage today.

Nebra Sky Disk Swords These are twin swords of bronze and copper made in the 1600 BCE. The Sky Disk Swords are engraved with gold celestial symbols. It is unknown if their use was during battle or for ritual purposes.

The Making of a Musician Mash-Up

By Sarah Scherkenbach, Co-Editor-in-Chief You put your headphones on to listen to the song “Middle Ground.”

“I

think music has been one of the only constants in my life that can really influence the way I think and the way I perceive things. I don’t know how to explain it, but I love getting lost in music—just going down those rabbit holes and listening to different stuff,” Pranav Kasavaraju (‘22) described, his brown eyes shining.

“A lot of time, if you’re hearing really good music, you get these shivers in your body. It kind of is like that sensation that’s like, ‘Wow, this is beautiful,’” Emma McAdoo (‘22) said, tucking a stray piece of blonde hair behind her ear.

Pranav Kasavaraju (P.K.), known in the music world as Turtles Undercover, and Emma McAdoo (‘22) recently joined forces to produce and write a song. The result of their collaboration? “Middle Ground”—an alternative-hip hopelectronic-style song that fuses multiple genres into one.

The duo performed “Middle Ground” at the Halloween edition of Virtual Coffeehouse, a way for performers of all kinds to showcase their talents in an encouraging, electric, and entertaining environment.

Viewer Deiya Pandya (‘22), praised the joint performance. “It was almost like it was professional. It wasn’t just like you sit there in front of a mic and you sing, which is always good, but for them, it seemed almost like the pros.”

For this collaboration, Kasavaraju produced while McAdoo took on the lyrics, and with two somewhat opposite individual methods, they took from the best parts of each other.

McAdoo described her process: “I kind of separate it into multiple days, weeks, or even months to create that one collective song.” Meanwhile, Kasavaraju works on his music every day, but when feeling very creative, he works in long bursts of time— some lasting six hours.

He described that creating music, “gives you a sense of pride when you’re able to make something yourself.”

Turtles Undercover was named for its randomness and lack of connection to anything else.

Although McAdoo discovered her passion for singing in elementary

Photo Credit: Pranav Kasavaraju

From brainstorming sessions via Facetime to having a song released on major streaming platforms, their process of song creation was by no means easy. Making things fit and work together, especially when they integrate different styles, only added to the challenge. “You can have melodies or lyrics in your head to start out with, but if you want to make a song, you have to gather the other pieces of the puzzle,” McAdoo emphasized. [ 38 ]

The “Middle Ground” Album Cover Photo Credits: Pranav Kasavaraju, Emma McAdoo, and Daniel Fewell (‘20)

school chorus classes, she did not begin songwriting until around the age of 14. “I’d say my songwriting has gotten better [since I began]. I think my perspective on the world has really developed. I like to say that I have a unique perspective on the world because I’m a very observant person.”

The evolution of the individual shapes the songs, especially because she channels her experiences and emotions into what she writes. “I’m

also a very anxious person, so I use that to my advantage when I songwrite,” she explained. “Not only does it cause me to think ‘outside the box’ but it allows me to view the world through a magnified perspective. My anxiety makes me curious, and I am honestly grateful for that because it has shaped me into who I am today.”

In the future, Kasavaraju and McAdoo are looking to release an E.P. and are hoping to do collaborations

with other students as well.

Specifically, both mentioned possibly working with Daniel Nesmith (‘21) on an upcoming project.

For anyone who is looking into making and releasing their own music, Kasavaraju recommended, “Just focus on how it makes you feel and what makes you feel happy because if you’re more satisfied with a song, chances are, that it is going to be a better song.”

McAdoo and Kasavaraju at their Coffeehouse debout Photo Credit: Pranav Kasavaraju and Emma McAdoo

“I think it started with voice memos and then I eventually started writing things down. I would record things in my phone or hum things, and that kind of evolved to me having songbooks.”

Photo Credit: Emma McAdoo

Turtles Undercover Spotify Profile

Emma McAdoo’s Spotify Profile

Halloween Edition of Virtual Coffeehouse Video

Proust Questionnaire with Pranav Kasavaraju

[ 39 ]

Just as the song finishes, you hear a loud crash from outside the window and a large clatter from another room shortly thereafter. Which noise do you investigate?

To find out the cause of the large clatter, turn to page 36.

To find out the cause of the loud crash, turn to page 47.

The History of The History Nerds

By Megan Howard, Social Media Editor “I don’t know what about it in particular,” Tepas expressed, “but I think it was the fact that that was the first time I had been exposed to history in a way that kind of brought it alive.”

You decide to explore the nuances of world and American history by talking to the schools’ many dedicated history teachers.

“E

ven though Contemporary World History Honors is one of my favorite classes, it’s definitely my most difficult. Probably because there is a lot of reading to do, a lot of analysis, and the tests are really difficult,” Alida Cucoranu (‘23) explained.

Mr. O’Riordan takes a break after helping students with their research papers.

Later, Mr. Tepas finished his American history degree at the University of North Florida with an emphasis on southern, antebellum America, but he was not sure what he wanted to do as a career, as he was in between IT and service to the national parks. In 2007, while working as a teacher assistant at the university, Tepas received a call from Bolles to become a long-term substitute and soon after, he received a call about an open history teacher position.

Credit: Howard

Cucoranu finished history homework with a smile.

Credit: Howard

Bringing history alive, and sometimes visiting the dead, seems to be what draws both students and teachers to the subject. Cucoranu’s favorite part of contemporary world history honors is the class discussions. “I like the way Mr. O’Riordan teaches the material and plans the discussion to get us all involved in class.”

Mr. O’Riordan’s passion for history started with his dad in the cemeteries of Ireland. His father, in the coal business, had an interest in history, genealogy, and reading. “I remember going around with him visiting graveyards and old relatives,” O’Riordan explained, “and all the books, we had tons of books in the house.”

Contemporary World History Honors is known for its geography quizzes on countries, land features, and cities.

The map component of the course began when Mr. O’Riordan and Mr. Tepas realized that their students had no idea where countries were located.

“I think having the context of where places are in the world helps you really understand the history and the current events of the world when you know where they are taking place,” O’Riordan explained.

Many of the history teachers did not plan to go into history or teaching at all. Mr. Tepas was on track to be one of the creatives at the Apple store, and focused more on pursuing history as a hobby through reading books and watching documentaries after finishing his six year term in the Navy. He explained that he first got into American History as a preteen, after watching a documentary by Ken Burns on the Civil War. [ 40 ]

Top photo: Mr. Tepas and his father before he shipped out with the Navy.

Credit: Tepas Bottom photo: International curency from Mr. Tepas’ wall Credit: Howard

However for Dr. Kostandarithes, his passion for history did not start until later in life, when his dad sat him down on their farm in Georgia and asked, “Have you started thinking about college?”

Still, at college Kostandarithes was not sure what he wanted to study. “I think I was a bio major originally, because I had a very good biology teacher in highschool,” he recalled.

Then Kostandarithes went on to get his degree in renaissance history after being inspired by an amazing renaissance professor, before going to Tulane to get his doctorate. At Tulane, he changed his degree to American History after the renaissance profesor went on sabbatical, and the rest is history.

What History Do You Enjoy?

O’Riordan: “I am very interested in European History, it is where I am most comfortable, but I have an interest in all of world history. There are so many history books in the world, so it would take a few lifetimes to get through all the marvelous information.”

Tepas: “I really love all types of history, but I think I get the most excited talking about John Brown’s Raid and Bleeding Kansas. I get excited because I can see how important they are to the development of America.”

Dr. K and his dog Rory relax by the couch.

Credit: Kostandarithes

Kostandarithes: “Theodore Roosevelt was sickly and asthmatic as a child, and through sheer willpower he began lifting weights and running to become the manly explorer of Maine and Colorado that we know him as today.”

Junior Sophie Shwartzman loves the interactive lessons and discussions in Dr. Kostandarithes class, just like sophomore Cucoranu. “His teachings are less lecture based because students

are more actively participating in his class, which allows us to have more conservations about the topics,” Shwartzman explained.

Kostandarithes in the Vatican Credit: Kostandarithes As your conversation finishes, you hear a loud crash from outside the window and a large clatter from another room shortly thereafter. Which noise do you investigate?

Shwartzman, a member of the mock trial team after class.

Credit: Howard

Top: Mr. Tepas’ president figurine collection Bottom: Mr. O’Riordan’s Napolean head Credit: Howard

[ 41 ]

Choice 1: To find out the cause of the large clatter, turn to page 36.

Choice 2: To find out the cause of the loud crash, turn to page 47.

Cosplayers Create Their Favorite Fantasy Characters

By Aisha Hasan, Contributing Writer You grab your phone to surf TikTok only to be greeted by an amazing cosplayer.

T

he popular app, TikTok, attracts many different groups including the vast community of Cosplayers. Cosplay lets people dress up as their favorite characters with great accuracy to express their love for a movie or books. With a great following, sophomore Livvy White (‘23) shares her love for movies and book through cosplay on TikTok. How did you first hear about TikTok and when did you create your account?

“I first heard about TikTok at school.

Out of curiosity and boredom, I decided to download the app and see what all the hype was about. At first, I made an account to like and comment on people’s videos. I did not create my cosplay account until the start of quarantine, which was two months after I had downloaded TikTok.”

How did you gain your fan base?

“Well in the beginning, my intent was to make TikTok for myself, not to get followers. For me it just happened, I gained about 400 followers overnight.

My fan gave me the momentum and more of a reason to keep going.”

(As of 11/17/2020, she had 9460 followers; her next goal is 10k).

What is your favorite character/ fandom to play?

“My favorite theme of cosplay to play is Percy Jackson and Harry Potter because I love the series.” From her TikTok, Livvy has posted with the character, Leo Valdez, recently.”

How does the behind the scenes with makeup and costumes work?

As cosplay is a giant community, have you felt a part of it?

“Yes, I have felt a part of this big community. I have made many friends throughout the world because of TikTok and cosplay. I have a good friend from England and others from Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.”

Is there any advice you would give to someone who is just starting out TikTok Cosplay?

“I would say make videos about what makes you happy. If you are not enjoying what you’re doing, don’t do it. The reason I am still doing cosplay on TikTok is because I truly enjoy it. Also it can take a mental toll on a person so take breaks when you need them.”

“One of the best and most parts of the behind the scenes and cosplay in general is getting into it. I do my own makeup. For costumes, I either buy or even make my own costumes.”

Above: Using costumes and makeup, Livvy White creates the characters Katy Riddle, Leo Valdez, and Poseidon.

Photo Credits: Livvy White

[ 42 ]

Creative Cosplay Couple: Cos·play /ˈkäzˌplā,ˈkäsˌplā/: noun “A love for something, but you love it so much, you feel the need to imitate it,” explained Fred Reed.

Fred and Elle Reed, from Jacksonville, are a cosplay power couple who create together.

“It was eight or nine years ago when a friend of ours told us about a convention in Atlanta called, Dragoncon,” said Elle, “It sounded like this nerdy place where everybody got together and had a great time.”

The Reeds admire the cosplay youth on TikTok. “It never ceases to amaze me the talent that exists among such a young group.” Elle said.

and patterns. When planning her approach, she often uses lists and white boards.

Differing from his wife, Fred confessed, “I get an idea and go running into my craft room and start building stuff without real thought” Though it seems messy, Fred believes it works for his thought process. “Everything I need to build it just turns up in one fell swoop.”

He primarily uses foam and plastic materials.

As for the makeup, Elle does it for both of them. “Most of what I do is visually driven, so I’ll find examples or suggestions,” she explained.

Occasionally, she gets extra creative, “I have been known to super glue something to a person which is not great, but it is kind of what you do for the costume.”

Above: Elle Reed cosplayed as Frostmage with Fred Reed.

Photo Credit; Fred and Elle Reed

don’t think I would want to create cosplays without him.”

The duo has favorites. Fred’s favorite, The Big Mek Ork from Warhammer, a fantasy game, “was fun to build because Ork technology is kind of wacky, I could make mistakes on it.”

Above: Fred Reed wearing his Big Mek Ork cosplay.

Photo Credit: Fred and Elle Reed

Elle’s favorite was the Frost Mage from World of Warcraft, a video game “It is a blast. I mean you get to wear the ears, why would you not love that?” Another favorite of hers is Ursula from the Little Mermaid, “You can be over the top and a bit wild and crazy.” she explained.

“You could be a twenty year old Captain America or a fifty year old Captain America and they would run at each other and say I love your thing, you love my thing, we love the same thing therefore, we are the same,” Fred revealed.

In their many years of cosplay, they have acquired much knowledge. “Be truly open to constructive criticism to somebody who is trustworthy and kind enough to not be mean,” Elle advised. “The first couple things that you produce,” Fred added, “are going to be awful and that’s okay.”

The couple designs their own costumes but the two take very different approaches. “Elle is extraordinarily methodical.” Fred admitted. Elle researches the cosplay she’s creating, especially for fabrics

Fred stated cosplay has become part of their relationship, “Before cosplay, we were a strong couple to begin with which made doing cosplay easier.”

Elle shared, “I don’t think I could create cosplays without him and I [ 43 ]

Above: Elle Reed cosplayed as Ursula.

Photo Credit; Fred and Elle Reed

After talking with Livvy White about making TikTok history with her cosplay experience, you decide to explore some other nuances of modern and ancient history.

To explore the nuances of world and American history turn to page 40.

To explore the nuances of Turkish history through swimmer Kaan Orhan turn to page 44.

On October 29, 1923, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk established the modern-day republic of Turkey.

The hailed “Republic Day” was established after the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne between Turkey and France, Britain, Greece, Japan, Italy, and Romania after a four-year long battle for Turkish independence. 2020 marks the 97th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish republic.

Interview was conducted in Turkish.

97 Swimming in the Sunshine State Su Ertekin-Taner, Creative Director You arrive at the pool to watch the swim meet and are greeted by an unusual sight.

B

efore the Race:

Kaan Orhan (‘22) leans down into the pool, cups his hands around the water, and sips a bit of the chlorinelaced water on the surface.

and seek with their friends or learn to obey traffic signals. “One of my biggest regrets is not starting swimming earlier.”

For Orhan, the green light signaling “go” for swimming did not come until this late age-- most Olympicdesiring swimmers start at age seven or eight.

The late start into his swimming career only motivated Orhan more.

At ten years old, he swam in categoKaan’s race routine of drinking the ries of seven and eight year olds, but chlorinated perfume of the pool only with years of training, Orhan caught began six years ago. up with the help of a beloved coach, Coach Aşkın.

He started swimming at 10-- the age that many children play hide Shifting his eyes down, Orhan ad[ 44 ]

What is your greatest fear?

“I have a fear of losing enthusiasim for the things I do.”

mits Aşkın was his 3-year personal trainer...and hero. Because of him, Orhan became Turkey’s swimming champion, competed internationally in high level categories, and was able to join Turkey’s national swimming league. Orhan said, “Coach Aşkın saw the light in me.”

With nothing but an arsenal of Tuesday and Thursday practices in Turkey and a life’s supply of pruney fingers, Orhan fought his way to the top aided by the belief that if he wanted it enough, he would make it.

D

uring the Race

Orhan dives into cold waters with the Turkey on his mind: He said, “Before the race, when trying to come up with motivation for swimming, the first thing I think of is my nationalistic pride.”

On October 29th, Turkey’s first parliamentary democracy system was established after a war waged against European powers who wanted to control the Bosphorus Strait. Orhan states. “October 29th is the reason we can speak freely...I had the opportunity to grow up in a libertous environment.”

The existing Sultan’s government was overthrown by soldier-politician-activist-author-teacher Mustafa

Do you have a treasured possesion?

What is the most overrated virtue?

“Knowing that I can do something by myself...I can go on with life without anyone really.”

“Religion..I’ve never lived in an environment in which religion was placed above other values.”

Kemal Atatürk in lieu of a public representation system. “He is one of the only people who has created an upward going government from a downfalling empire,” Orhan mused.

them with a four-year exam preparation curriculum. Orhan says, “Tests after a point are completely pointless. It’s nothing more than stress.

There is no life knowledge that comes with this curriculum.”

Now celebrated as “Republic Day” in Turkey, the holiday remains in the hearts and minds of many Turkish men and women...even in those temporarily separated from their country.

Atatürk’s “no cutting corners” attitude echoes in the worlds of Orhan.

Just this year, Orhan moved to the United States for not the American dream really--the swimmer’s dream.

On top of the “bare bones” style curriculum, there are no large swimming leagues in Turkey.

Barriers to success cross his mind as both arms cut through the water at an exponentially rising pace.

During international competitions, especially, he ignites himself with thoughts of his country. “The person you are racing against is from Orhan transferred to The Bolles another country. There is a different School for the opportunities that be- and unique feeling to [these races] ing in a largely-respected swim team because you know you are reprewould bring. “Swimming is a tool senting your country.” for me. I need to swim to get into college”.

Solely plastic disks of pool lanes separate him from Ukrainian, SloveThe only thing stopping Orhan from nian, and German competitors. And swimming professionally was an nothing but a few strokes separates aged Turkish education system. In him from victory. His fingers reach Turkey, he remembers taking fasttowards the concrete of the opposite paced classes, but learning sigside of the pool. nificantly slower. The 30-year old curriculum in Turkey is based on Two breaths later, he touches the preparing high school students for concrete along with 12-some comone exam that is proctored once a petitors. year.

Compared to the American education system, Orhan remarked that classes in Turkey lacked presentations, essays, or projects, replacing [ 45 ]

Turn the page.

A

fter the Race

Orhan pulls himself out of the pool; no one offers him a hand. He exits the pool by himself— the same way he dived in. “I don’t swim for anyone, I swim for myself. I started swimming because I wanted to, I will continue swimming because I want to.”

Swimming reflects two of his most self-assured values: individualism and independence.

Exiting the pool, he hears not so much shouting fans as his coaches’ critiques.

But his biggest self acclaimed accomplishment is believing in future success. “My biggest accomplishment is to want it--to want success.”

In swimming, a single-person sport (“we all have different goals”), you enter and exit the pool the same way: by yourself. Orhan’s greatest pride is his independence and his love for swimming, arguably a oneperson sport, reflects this: “There is

Three years ago, Orhan, born and raised in Izmir, flew for one of the first times to America by himself.

Since then, America was on his mind.

Years later he found Bolles as one of the top ten swimming high schools.

Of course, alumnus Olympians like Ryan Murphy (‘13) and Joseph Schooling (‘14) helped too (“Who wouldn’t want to go to the Olympics?”)

However, Orhan has many accomplishments of his own. Humbly, he admits he has been the 100 meter butterfly Turkish champion, has made the national Turkish swimming team four times, and has been top three in 200 meter butterfly in Turkey. “If you told me three years ago that I would be top three in swimming 200 meter butterfly or coming to America and getting an interview done for my accomplishments, I wouldn’t believe you.”

The Turkish National Swimming League has accepted Orhan into their midst four times.

[ 46 ]

a happiness that freedom brings”.

But Orhan is dependent upon one thing: the synergy and the desire of competitors and teammates. “Wanting something is how a journey starts.”

At this point in your journey you are feeling peckish, but you also want to stop by a soccer match to watch the game.

To stop by Starbucks, turn to page 32.

To go directly to the soccer game, turn to page 34.

Dance Instructor Saves Squirrels

By Tyler Schimpff, Contributing Writer It turns out that a squirrel had fallen from a high branch and appears to be injured. It needs emergency care soon!

Y

ou may know Ms. Blackledge as our dance teacher, but if your name is Luke Skyfaller, you have a bushy tail, and an affinity for acorns, you may know Ms. Blackledge as a kind of mom.

In August of 2008, Blackledge’s cat Benny brought Fay, a squirrel between 24 and 48 hours old that had just been blown out of its home, to the Blackledge household.

Blackledge said, “I guess it was a prize that Benny wanted to give to the family.”

It is important for squirrel rescue that the foundlings be within the 24 to 48 hour period. Otherwise, the squirrels are too defensive. “You can’t really do anything to help them because they’ll just bite you.” Blackledge said.

While older squirrels pose a threat of biting, none of Blackledge’s foundlings have bitten her.

The average life expectancy of an eastern gray squirrel is six years.

Photo Credit: Angela Blackledge

“Now their claws on the other hand [...] are literally like razor blades,” Blackledge said. “Oftentimes in the summer you’ll see Ms. B in a full mask, hat, long sleeves, gloves, long pants, and then they can just go (climb) all over you.”

Luke Skywalker explores the Blackledge household.

Photo Credit: Angela Blackledge

For over ten years now, Blackledge has taken in and cared for squirrels injured during storms. She has raised seven.

Hurricanes and tropical storms blow squirrel nests out of trees and pose a major threat to baby squirrels everywhere because their nests are fragile. Blackledge said, “If you’ve ever seen a squirrel nest, it’s just little twig after little twig.”

These nests fall apart under the stress of hurricane winds that can sometimes reach speeds of over 150 miles per hour. The vulnerable baby squirrels living in these nests lose the protection of their home and their mother.

Once she was rescued by Benny, Fay enjoyed quality care. care under Blackledge’s protection. Such care included a special diet and unique living conditions. Blackledge said, “with a baby squirrel, you have to have a heating pad for them to be on twenty-four seven.” [ 47 ]

Blackledge said feeding had to take place “Every three hours, twenty-four hours around the clock. That means two in the morning and five in the morning every day.”

As Blackledge and the world learned more about squirrel care over the years, baby squirrels’ diets became more high tech. “Years ago, the

“They are really strong, and a little on the plump side but that goes away in a couple of weeks.”

— Angela Blackledge tradition was just a goat milk… now there’s a specific kind of milk you get from the pet food store.”

Every step in the care routine of these squirrels is made keeping in mind the end goal of releasing the squirrels back into the wild. According to

Blackledge, “We want them to be as fearful (of other animals) as we can possibly make them because it’s a rough world out there for a squirrel.”

Along with Fay (named for the hurricane that knocked her out of her home in 2014), Blackledge has raised squirrels named Bear, Annie (named for the Bolles production of the broadway play that was being put on that year), Stevie (who, like his namesake Stevie Wonder, had eye damage when found), and Luke Skyfaller.

“It’s brutal out there in the squirrel world.”

— Angela Blackledge Skyfaller, the squirrel currently under Blackledge’s care, is getting close to moving back into his natural habitat.

“He was transitioning from the small kennel and the big kennel and I was holding him and he went pew! He was gone.” Blackledge said.

While he is much healthier now than he was when Blackledge found him, Skyfaller may not yet be prepared for the dangers of the squirrel world.

Blackledge said “About two and a half days after (he ran off)… he was in his kennel with a little bit of a hurt arm. He was looking at me like ‘shut the door please.’”

After about three-four months of caring for the squirrels, Blackledge releases them back into the wild near where they were found.

Even after the squirrels are no longer under Ms. B’s protection, she still provides for them even after they go back into the wild by leaving out acorns for them.

When asked about how dependent the squirrels are on food laid out for them after being released, Blackledge said “Their first two to three weeks out, dependency in percentages would be about fifty percent. Then it just becomes dessert.”

Eastern gray squirrel kittens (like Skyfaller) do not open their eyes until they are four weeks old.

Photo Credit: Angela Blackledge

If you find an injured animal (squirrel or otherwise) and you believe it is worthy of being saved, you can take it to Hidden Valley Animal Hospital located at 12134 Fort Caroline Rd. This animal hospital cares for animals of all kinds free of charge. After the animal is made healthy again, Hidden Valley will release the animal back into the wild near where it was found.

Get an inside look into the life of a squirrel with a Proustian Questionnaire video interview with a “real-life”squirrel.

With the squirrel taken care of, you are ready to head home.

After such a long day with the staff, you are grateful for all that it has taught you and for the things you’ve experienced. The end...until our next adventure.

[ 48 ]

Skyfaller consumes a special squirrel milk formula from an eyedropper or syringe.

Photo Credit: Angela Blackledge

As squirrel kittens grow, their diet grows as well to include bark, nuts, kale and other new foods.

Photo Credit: Angela Blackledge

[ 49 ] 

As Skyfaller matures, he is becoming more adventurous and will soon be ready to go back into the wild.

Photo Credit: Angela Blackledge

“You have to go in with knowledge and the understanding that you are going to fail at a lot of things, that you are going to have to practice, and the first couple things that you produce are going to be awful and that’s okay.”

— Livvy White, Cosplayers Create Their Favorite Fantasies

“All artists have the obligation to create their own work. It doesn’t matter what kind of artist you are, or what kind of work it is. We all create our own work, and for me, it wasn’t so much writing or doing a podcast or something like that. It was producing and directing.”

—Rachel Johns, Alumni Keeping Theater Alive

“Be proud of what you are doing; it’s something that will become who you are, and shape who you are. I can definitely say [ jewelry making] shaped who I am.”

—Dalia Handoush, Crafting a Connection

“This idea of restricted freedom also comes into photography. You’re in control of your own actions and what you decide to shoot, but at the end of the day photography is photography and you’re still limited by the things that already exist.”

—Dylan Schwartz, Schwartz Behind the Lens

“I think music has been one of the only constants in my life that can really influence the way I think and the way I perceive things. I don’t know how to explain it, but I love getting lost in music--just going down those rabbit holes and listening to different stuff.”

—Pranav Kasavaraju, The Making of a Musician Mash-Up

“I think love for what you’re doing in any situation no matter how big or small is something that I really admire.”

—Yasmeen Ibrahim, Knope v. Scott 2020

[ 50 ]

Index —L—

—A— Alumni Keeping Theater Alive Cameron Gratz, 6-7

Lekas ‘21 Hooked on Fishing Grace Albaugh, 30-31

Arabian Nights, Japanese Dreams Clariss Valdivia, 10-11

Lighting Up Jax for Over 40 Years Avani Bansal, 26-27

—B— Bugle Birdwalks with Moyer Katie Creveling, 8-9

—M— Macbooks in a Microsoft World Ian Wilkinson, 22-23

—C— Cosplayers Create Their Favorite Fantasies Aisha Hasan, 42-43 Crafting a Connection Ian Peiris, 14-16

—D— Dance Instructor Saves Squirrels Tyler Schimpff, 47-49

—P— Parent and Student Engage in Democracy The Bugle Staff, 28-29 Patel Scores a Point Riya Kar, 36-37 Puzzles and Pops: Bolles Collectors Atticus Dickson, 12-13

—S—

—E— Espresso Yourself A Latte Amber Bansal, 32-33

—H— History of the History Nerds Megan Howard, 40-41

Schwartz Behind the Lens Isabel Bassin, 17-19 Student Referees Learn Leadership Elliana Emery, 34-35 Swimming in the Sunshine State Su Ertekin-Taner, 44-46

—T— —K— Knope v. Scott 2020 Sara Wasserman, 24-25

The Jeeple of Bolles Taylor Ford, 20-21 The Making of a Musician Mash-Up Sarah Scherkenbach, 38-39

[ 51 ]

It was a dark and stormy night when the Bugle staff stayed late on the last day of school before Thanksgiving break to work on layout. Little did they know what a journey was in store for them.

All things possible includes the possibility of Bugle articles becoming magic portals that transport their writers (and their readers) into other worlds.

Fueled by tacos, twizzlers, and late night bursts of creative energy, plus a visit from a mysterious guest, the staff will embark on not just one journey but twenty! Every article reveals another twist and turn in the life of Bolles students, faculty, and staff. What wonders these corridors contain, what marvelous mysteries manifest for the solving, what curiousities lie behind closed curtains and unopened cabinet doors?

Reader, you’ll only find out the truth if you join us on this adventure through an unprecedented issue of the Bolles Bugle...

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTUREÂŽ

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