may 16, 2018 volume 53, issue 6
the
evergreengreenhill.org
Everything Greenhill
Head of School Scott Griggs to retire after 18 years on The Hill
see on page 6
Thank you, Mr. Griggs!
Photo by Rylyn Koger
Views Staff editorial on creating an American Sign Language class for Upper School students p. 2
News Photos by Jeffrey Harberg
STANDING FOR CHANGE: Both the Upper School (left) and Middle School (right) held walkouts on April 20th to protest school shootings. The Middle and Upper School walkouts were both student-run and gave the students a platform to share their thoughts on gun control.
Students walk-out in support of gun control Harrison Heymann Executive Editor
Sonia Dhingra
Online Editor-in-Chief
On Friday, April 20 at 10:20 a.m., many Greenhill students stood up and left their classrooms to join with students across the county participating in student-organized walkouts to support gun reform. The walkout was organized by seniors Zoe Allen and Maya Ghosh, as well as juniors Phoebe Metzger-Levitt and Ross Rubin. They said the purpose of the walkout was to remember the victims of the Parkland and Columbine shootings on Columbine’s anniversary and call for action to prevent the gun violence that has been affecting the country in recent years. The half-hour walkout included a moment of silence for student victims of gun violence, a poetry piece by Sudeep Bhargava and a speech and call to action by Students March
Informing Greenhill since 1966
director and Collin College student Nyasha Magocha. The walkout ended with a voting registration table for eligible students. Maya had the idea of adding the voting registration component to the walkout and the other student organizers decided it would be a good idea. She said it was important for the group to make voter registration accessible because it can be time consuming for some students to get registered. “Some Greenhill parents are know how to register voters so we reached out to them,” said Maya. “There is merit to protest, but it’s important to not only protest but also use our voice by voting.” Planning the walkout was a long process itself, especially since the student-organizers of the walkout wanted to plan it as a community, according to Phoebe.
cont’d on page 5
Crystal Duckert speaks as a keynote speaker at Sout by Southwest’s education conference p. 4
Features
One Love club plans activities to educate students about relationship abuse p. 6
Arts
Cast and crew members of Greenhill’s Cry-Baby nominated for local awards p.13
Sports Boys Baseball makes postseason tournament for the first time in nine years p. 16
4141 Spring Valley Road, Addison, TX 75001
the
Views
Rants & Raves
the
Evergreen staff editors-in-chief Jeffrey Harberg Hayden Jacobs
executive editor
Harrison Heymann
A RAVE to this year’s prom theme! An Enchanted Evening, indeed! Whether it was the psychedelic projections or the boba, prom was a success this year! Thank you to the prom committee and the parent/teacher volunteers who helped organize and chaperone the dance, this night would not have happened without you!
A RANT to charger stands always being full. Why is it that there never seem to be any phones in the charging stations until your phones at one perecent? I feel like a man dying of thirst in the desert, searching for an open cord, while there are ten open sandroid cables, watching my phone screen turn black.
A RAVE to all the new courses next year! There so many more great options for electives and a greater emphasis on non-Western perspectives. Sorry for the seniors who will never get to take Big History or Literature of the Black Atlantic, but we figure you don’t really care because… SKA.
managing editor Amber Syed
copy editor Leah Nutkis
design editor Riya Rangdal
journalism assistant Ross Rubin
arts editor
Sonali Notani
backpage editor Shreya Saxena
features editor Lane Herbert
news editor
A RANT to dirty dishes in the cafeteria. It feels like every other issue I’m nagging y’all to pick up after yourself! I’m not your mom and neither is Mr. Oros, please learn how to be a decent person and put your dishes away, especially Seniors, you really don’t want to be THAT roommate next year.
A RAVE to College Shirt day! Yay Seniors! It’s great to see where everyone is going next year and proof that high school is survivable. Congratulations to the Class of 2018, no matter where you go next, we wish you the best of luck and remind you that Greenhill will always have your back.
A RANT to no markers in the MPAC. The MPAC is a place of learning, not just hosting admission events. While this isn’t the Marshall Family VISUAL Arts Center, there still need to be markers to use in the classrooms.
Raag Venkat
sports editor
Jake Middleman
views editors
Natalie Gonchar Caroline Simpson
asst. arts editor Alyssa Miller Kevin Liu
asst. features editor Brent Ladin
asst. sports editors Davis Gutow Victor Le
online editor-in-chief Sonia Dhingra
online executive editor Mila Nguyen
A RAVE to the mental health presentation. Talking about mental health is so important to break down the stigma that surrounds it. Hopefully this presentation, along with others, can help. You are never alone, and in a community at Greenhill, there is always someone there who will listen to you, whether its Ms. Singhvi, another trusted faculty member, or your friend, don’t be afraid to reach out.
A RANT to the lack of HOH participation. These little kids love Upper Schoolers! If you are in the Forever Club you understand what it was like to interact with the huge scary kids in HOH, and how much it meant to you when they would remember your name or give you a piggy back ride. Be the role models that you had or that you wish you had!
A RAVE to just three days of exams this year. By combining finals in the same week as the Honors Assembly, we leave for summer sooner! And if you don’t have any exams like me, you get a three-day break in the middle of the week! #APLyfe #GradSZN
Content courtesy of Sam Bovard Photos by Natalie Gonchar and Caroline Simpson
Staff Editorial: Signing on; Adding ASL to Curriculum Going to a school that prioritizes a sense of community and inclusion, we have overlooked the opportunity to connect students with a language that’s incredibly beneficial but also manageable within Greenhill’s strict curriculum. As a school using its language resources to branch into diverse languages such as Spanish, Chinese and Latin, Greenhill has glossed over a language that is different, but just as important— sign language. Nearly one million people in the United States over five years old are “functionally deaf.” By not offering the course, we are actively not including this group of people and their role within our community. We should make the effort to learn about this language, even if offering it is all that’s done. While a lot of Greenhill students don’t plan on pursuing or speaking the language they have learned in high school, the benefits of American Sign Language (ASL) far surpass verbal communication with its de-
velopment of motor skills and expression. ASL is still forgotten by many due to its lack of a standard writing or speaking system. In the Digest of Economic Statistics, it was found that only 0.7 percent of students consider themselves “very fluent” in a language that they learned at school. At Greenhill, We stick with one of the three offered languages throughout our whole career on campus, so why not add to the pool of choices? ASL’s usage of the English grammatical structure makes learning the language a lot more accessible to English-speaking students by giving them a connection between a language they’re trying to learn and a language they’re fluent in. This is different from learning other foreign languages that are offered since it is building off of a language that is already familiar to Greenhill students --English. To English-speaking students, learning ASL would be the same as learning new vocabulary. The grammar structure is
the same, it’s just a new motion that’s added to it. An easy solution would be for students to be allowed to learn ASL online, using services such as American Sign Language University, where all the programs and lessons are entirely free. Greenhill already offers many opportunities to take a variety of classes online through Global Online Academy, and an online ASL class should be treated the same. The class would work similarly to GOA; students wouldn’t have a structured classroom but would instead be responsible for their own progress. Students would have a period to work, where they could complete lessons, watch videos for learning motions, and being assessed on quizzes that would help them retain their knowledge. Students would be able to not only learn ASL, but also learn time management skills that are already being emphasized within the Greenhill community.
online broadcast editor Tej Dhingra
social media editor Emma Light
staff writers
Melinda Xu Kaylee Chien Sarah Luan
business manager Ryan Wimberly
adviser
Nureen Patel
asst. adviser
Dr. Amy Bresie
staff photographer Rylyn Koger
staff artist
Kaethe Thomas Ethan Brockett
Have a response? Opinion? Original Idea? Email us at: evergreen@greenhill.org
News the
English Teacher speaks at SXSW
Caroline Simpson
Views Editor
Emma Light
Social Media Editor
Two thousand people sat in front of Upper School English teacher Crystal Duckert, two hundred watched from screens outside the South by Southwest (SXSW) arena, and eight thousand more watched through their computers and phones at home. In March, Mrs. Duckert spoke as a keynote speaker at the SXSW Festival’s Education Series. Mrs. Duckert and three other educators were chosen through The Moth, a nonprofit storytelling organization featured on the National Public Radio. In June of 2017, Mrs. Duckert traveled to New York to share a personal story at a Moth Teacher Institute. Shortly after that, she received an e-mail from The Moth asking her to take on the role of being an opening keynote speaker at SXSW, something Mrs. Duckert hadn’t been expecting. “I went to New York to tell that story and I wanted it to stay in New York,” said Mrs. Duckert. The story is about her journey to live her best brown life and how the experience of discovering that her husband had a brain tumor impacted her journey to find her identity. After being selected to speak, she discussed her speech on weekly conference phone calls with the people who selected her to be one of the keynote speakers. Since she was asked to be on the education panel at SXSW, she had to change her story from the “wife” point of view to the “teacher” point of view, which Mrs. Duckert said took thirty drafts. “It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to write,” Mrs. Duckert said. She said that the difficulty came from having to find one thematic moment from
the whole story, narrowing it down to that special moment. Mrs. Duckert decided to center the speech around a particular moment that she shared with her students during her husband’s struggle with cancer, Mrs. Duckert said that that moment altered how she saw herself as a teacher. “I was stressed for weeks about it, mostly about doing the story justice because it is such a heavy topic,” said Mrs. Duckert. After many rounds of edits and revisions with The Moth and SXSW, Mrs. Duckert and her speech made their way to Austin, Texas, for the festival the week of March 9. Mrs. Duckert hadn’t been nervous to speak until she saw the sheer amount of people with their eyes and ears upon her. “The good part was I could only see the first two rows because of the lighting, which helped,” she said. Leading up to the actual delivery, Mrs. Duckert had not been through a rehearsal of the speech without crying. At the festival, she was able to hold in her tears until the walk back to her chair. Upon hearing audible sniffles in the audience, Mrs. Duckert decided to change the ending of the speech on the fly to a far more uplifting finale than the one she had previously written. One audience member shared their thoughts about Mrs. Duckert’s speech on Twitter: “Teachers rarely get to let their walls down. Loved hearing The Moth story from Crystal Duckert about a moment of letting that down with students. Just beautiful,” tweeted an audience member. Mrs. Duckert said that positive feedback was her favorite part of the experience. “Teachers don’t always get positive feedback in their own work environment, so to get it on a larger scale was validating,”
Photo courtesy of Crystal Duckert
CALM AND COLLECTED: Mrs. Duckert, a keynote speaker at the South by Southwest festival, shares a story about her husband in front of a large crowd of educators.
she said. Mrs. Duckert said that another highlight of the experience was fellow teachers of color reaching out to her and agreeing, empathizing and sharing their similar stories and experiences. “A lot of black and brown teachers wanted to chat, so it created a smaller community within,” she said. Mrs. Duckert said one of the most im-
portant things she gained from the experience of being a keynote speaker at SXSW was that she learned the importance of waiting to tell a story. “You can’t write a story that you’re fresh in because you don’t have perspective. So, to finally get the perspective of this story, to see the threads all come together, was very validating,” Mrs. Duckert said.
Senior heads to Abu Dhabi for college Harrison Heymann Executive Editor
Brent Ladin
Asst. Features Editor
In the fall of 2018, senior Matthew Toudouze will be going to college at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYU Abu Dhabi) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Unlike most students, Matthew began his application process to NYU Abu Dhabi in the spring of his junior year. He had to submit his first essay after his college counselor, Randy Mills, nominated him. Once the university selected him as a possible candidate, they flew him out to Abu Dhabi for a weekend in December to conduct interviews and show him around the university and the city. Matthew was admitted to the school in December of his senior year after applying through the Early Decision process.
“
I’m going to meet students and teachers from every corner of the globe.”
Matthew said that initially he had no intention of going to school outside of America, but his college counselor told him a lot about the international college experience. “I was curious what education was like internationally and I’ve always loved travelling, but I didn’t have any intention of going when Mr. Mills told me about NYU Abu Dhabi,” said Matthew. “I wanted to know if I got a degree from the university, whether the degree would be considered reputable be-
Photo by Harrison Heymann
OUT OF THIS WORLD: Senior Matthew Toudouze wearing a t-shirt and holding a penant that displays the NYU Abu Dhabi logo, where he will be attending college this fall.
cause so few people know about the school. Mr. Mills assured me that because it’s still a branch of NYU, it would still have the same reputability as the main university.” Gregory Toudouze, Matthew’s twin brother who is going to Boston College, knew that he and Matthew wouldn’t be going to the same university after they graduated from Greenhill, but he never considered the possibility of his brother going to school on the Arabian peninsula until his visit in December. “Matthew does things that surprise you, things you wouldn’t expect the average person to do,” said Gregory. “It’s really cool he’s going to an international university and will have
the advantage of connections with people from around the world, but it’ll be weird to not be around my twin the whole time.” Accoding to Matthew, NYU Abu Dhabi doesn’t have fraternities or the party atmosphere of some major American universities, but it’s not completely different from the American college experience either. “I’m still going to have fun with many kids that are my age, it will just be in a different way than it might be if I was in America. I’m going to get to play club futsal and have meaningful conversations with people from every corner of the globe,” he said. “I think the opportunities I will have while I’m at Abu
Dhabi will outweigh all of the parties I’ll miss.” Libby Toudouze, Matthew’s mother, said she didn’t know the university existed before Mr. Mills told her about it, but she is confident Matthew will be able to handle himself in a foreign country. Originally, she was nervous about letting Matthew go to college in the Middle East, but she did research on the UAE and that eased some of her fears. “I talked to lots of people who either used to live in Abu Dhabi or knew someone who lived there. The UAE in general tries to remain very neutral and NYU has done a great job; Abu Dhabi is a safe place for Americans,” said Ms. Toudouze. “[Matthew] will be in the minority, something he has never experienced.” An advantage of NYU Abu Dhabi is the amount of networking Matthew will be able to do. Matthew’s incoming freshmen class will have students from over 75 different countries speaking over one hundred different languages. “One of the running jokes at the school is you’ll never have to stay in a hotel after NYU Abu Dhabi because you’ll have friends everywhere. I will know someone everywhere I go,” said Matthew. As far as what he will do after graduating, Matthew knows that attending NYU Abu Dhabi opens a whole world of possibilities for him. “I’m going to meet students and teachers from every corner of the globe. I’ll have contacts from everywhere,” said Matthew. “I can travel to so many different places from Abu Dhabi because it’s in the middle of the world. I might go back to the U.S. for grad school or I might not. I could end up anywhere and possibly do anything.”
4 news
the
Evergreen
wednesday, may 16, 2018
Legends to retire after 25+ years
Mary Tapia 34 Years “Mrs. Tapia has really strengthened my knowledge of Spanish this year. She’s so passionate and makes class fun with interactive activities everyday. ” -Freshman Lucy Sayah
Anne Hudson 26 Years “Mrs. Hudson is special and one-of-akind. She helped me quickly feel like I was part of the Greenhill community from the moment I stepped on the campus.” -Admissions Coordinator Wendy Kyle
Becky Daniels 33 Years
Claudia Loewenstein 25 Years
“Dr. Daniels made every class so positive. I could always count on her to brighten my day. You can tell she has a passion for teaching and loves her students.”
“Ms. Loewenstein changed the way I thought about the Spanish language. She introduced me to parts of Spanish culture that I wouldn’t normally get to hear about.”
-Junior Katy Goodwin
Linda White 37 Years “I had Mrs. White as my homeroom teacher. She taught me how to believe in myself and she made me enjoy math. Her personality is one that I aspire to be like.” -Sophomore Veda Velamuri
-Sophomore José Portela
Cindy Paige 26 Years “Mrs. Paige was amazing and always paitent with me. She meant a huge deal to me and used to be a big part of my life. I really appreciate her as a person.” -Sophomore Carter Truitt
Faculty participates in anti-racism training Riya Rangdal Design Editor
Greenhill selected four of its faculty members to facilitate and participate in an anti-racism and race awareness discussion on April 27. The discussion included school teachers and faculty across Dallas. It took place at a conference run by Border Crossers, an organization that aims to bring awareness to race and discussions about race that are brought up in a classroom setting, as well as teaching people how to deal with them. Previously, Greenhill’s entire faculty from Lower, Middle and Upper School underwent anti-racism training conducted by Border Crossers. The main goal of Border Crossers is to “train and empower educators to dismantle patterns of racism and injustice in their schools and communities,” according to their website. The organization also believes in encouraging educators to explore racism with K-12 students. After participating in the training with Border Crossers, four members of the Greenhill faculty were chosen to get certified and facilitate conversations about race at Greenhill and other schools in the Dallas area. These faculty members were Director of Equity and Inclusion Karen Bradberry, Middle School Math Teacher Jaye Andrews, Upper School History Teacher Amy Bresie ‘96 and the Lower School Equity and Inclusion Coordinator and Math Teacher Caroline Kim. The Border Crossers conference included private and public Dallas area schools. The Greenhill faculty members were excited to learn more information on how to confront racism when brought up in a classroom setting. “The Border Crossers training has taken a step further as the four of us who participated have pledged to take what we’ve learned to promote racial equality at our school
and build an anti-racism practice in our classrooms,” Mr. Andrews said. The discussions at Greenhill have sparked the opportunity to create conversations among faculty about the way race is approached and handled by the school. Dr. Bradberry hopes that by facilitating discussions for other schools, it will ignite the discussion about race in their classrooms as well. “Every time we go, we learn something new,” said Dr. Bradberry. “The thing I am most interested in with this particular conference is learning how other schools handle race-based situations and discussions. Everyone’s school environment is different, and I think we all benefit from sharing the various ways we engage in this work in our classrooms and in the school community.” Greenhill is the first and only independent school in the Southwest to hire Border Crossers to come in and train the school’s faculty on anti-racism this past summer. Now, Greenhill has gone a step further by sending these selected faculty members to facilitate discussions at other schools which were similar to those previously held for Greenhill teachers. “I am expected, as a part of Greenhill’s Border Crossers Cohort Team, to help implement ongoing education of our students, parents, and faculty about the history of race and racism and the perpetuation of racial injustice,” said Mr. Andrew. The faculty team hopes that by implementing this sort of training at Greenhill, as well as other schools in the Dallas area, it will help decrease the stigma surrounding race in schools and help integrate new conversations. “I think that the hardest thing about executing these practices is making sure that people acknowledge the fact that this stigma occurs and that we need to take action and
start discussions about it,” Mr. Andrews said.
wednesday, may 16, 2018
the
Evergreen
news
5
Students walk out on Columbine anniversary
Photo by Jeffrey Harberg
TAKING A STAND: Greenhill students protest gun violence by holding signs that
Photos by Jeffrey Harberg
FIGHTING FOR THE FUTURE: Middle school students walkout and meet in the quadrangle to protest by listening to select speakers (right). Upper school students hold posters with ways to contribute to stopping gun violence as they meet on the fields holding a variety of activities, including listening speeches and stories to protest gun violence (left).
cont’d from page 1 After discussion, the students decided there would be no official Greenhill agenda, such as supporting universal background checks or a ban on bump stocks. Rather, the walkout would be an inclusive event open for all students to come hear the speakers and learn more about the issue. The walkout was not associated with March for Our Lives in any way. The student organizers wanted people of all beliefs, whether they conflicted with what March for Our Lives promoted or not to feel like they could still come to the walkout. Phoebe, Zoe, Maya and Ross held meetings with administration officials in March and April to get the walkout approved. Although Greenhill’s administration did decide to endorse the walkout and the students’ right to freedom of speech, the students said they planned to have the walkout whether or not administration supported the issue. Dean of Students Jack Oros supported the event, but was among administrators who did not want to change the school day schedule to accommodate the walkout. He said what helped make the protest appropriate to him and the school was that students in other schools across the country were walking out to remember the victims of the Columbine shooting. “We wanted [the walkout] to be studentrun and student-driven. We talked with the students planning the event to see what they wanted to do, and when and where they wanted to do it,” said Mr. Oros. “We didn’t want to adjust the school schedule for students who didn’t want to participate
because we needed to honor both sides. The school supported the walkout, but didn’t stop classes to have the walkout.” Both the administration and students used careful wording to discuss the protest. The walkout was only against gun violence and not for gun control. “[The wording they used] made it easier for the school to condone, because student have so many different beliefs and value systems and we need to take care of everyone” Mr. Oros said. Zoe said that she wishes administration would have been less involved and that no courtesy emails had been sent to teachers by students explaining their participation in the movement. She said some of the feedback she received from students who did not join in the walkout but supported the walkout’s message included that administration played too large of a role. “Walkouts are supposed to be disruptive. This movement affects us as high schoolers so directly and so it was important to us that we did something,” said Zoe. “But having administration ‘checking their watches’ so they could basically dismiss students from class at the time of the walkout didn’t make it seem like we were really holding a protest.” On the other side, Maya was a strong advocate for lending teachers and administration the courtesy of telling them the walkout was taking place. “We told administration that we weren’t asking for their permission, we were just informing them this was going to happen,” said Maya. “We thought we should lend them the courtesy because they were not going to derail the protest, but it’s understandable why people were upset about this.”
Head of Upper School Trevor Worcester said he wanted to try to strike a balance between guiding the students while not making the walkout a school-endorsed event. He said the students were clear from the beginning that this was a student-driven protest. “I find it interesting that in my 20 years here, I don’t remember another time in which students walked out of a class. I think students should have a voice and an agency to affect change in the present or the future,” said Mr. Worcester. “It was very ‘Greenhill’ to have communication between administration and the students about the event. Phoebe finds that a school walkout holds a lot of significance, and can have a meaningful impact on students and the people around them. “I think it’s all about empowering ourselves. Even if you are not doing direct action, you are showing people where you stand which is very important,” said Phoebe. “It shows the community and the country that Greenhill is a school that focuses on national issues and that we stand with all other high schools. It unites us.” Phoebe helped plan the Dallas March for Our Lives and now is the Director of Research and Policy for studentsmarch.org, so she had experience organizing a public event on this issue. She also said that events like Columbine and Parkland have hit people hard, but now is the time to force change. “This happened to students and students decided to fight back. I think part of the issue of giving the platform to adults is that politicians try to take over for personal gains,” said Phoebe. “We don’t want [this
student-led movement] to be abused or used by anyone for their own good. I think students have nothing to gain from this besides saving themselves and fighting for their lives.” Nyasha, who is the Co-Chair of Voter Head of Partners and Sponsorships at Students March, was the last to speak. First, she shared a story about how her best friend’s mother was shot and killed by her husband after they got into a heated argument. “The worst part was not just the fact that she was shot but that shootings like that were normalized where I came from, in the neighborhood that I lived in,” said Nyasha. “Gun violence came in all different forms; it came in domestic abuse, drive-bys and police brutality. No one did anything about it, nobody spoke up.” She then told the crowd of students about her life at age thirteen, when she and her family moved to a more affluent area. She was sitting in her middle school history class one day when there was a gun threat at the high school less than five miles away. No one got hurt, but the news shook the sheltered town. “I learned something incredibly important in that moment: privilege is not bullet proof,” said Nyasha. “I urge you to pressure Congress into recognizing that this is an important issue and that we will not back down. I urge you to register to vote, call your representatives and vote against representatives who are not for gun reform and keep fighting, because we are going to be the generation that puts a stop to gun violence.”
the
Features
An eighteen year legacy
Photo Courtesey of Greenhill Communications Department
THE END OF AN ERA: (Top) Mr. Griggs helps prepare burgers and hotdogs for a traditional school cookout (Right). Mr. Griggs stands with a lower school student at carpool pickup (Bottom left). Mr. Griggs reads the classic childrens novel, “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” to a group of Lower School students in the Three Chimneys Building (Bottom left).
Jeffrey Harberg Editor -in-Chief
Sonali Notani Arts Editor
Head of School Scott Griggs was not expecting the call from Greenhill School. During the 1999-2000 school year, Mr. Griggs worked as the Head of the Upper School at Collegiate School in Richmond Virginia. Then, the phone rang. On the other side was the Greenhill Head of School search firm. I really enjoyed [Collegiate School] and liked what I was doing, but I was ready for a new challenge,” Mr. Griggs said. “[Greenhill] was a school that I had heard lots of good things about.” A year later, Mr. Griggs stepped onto Greenhill’s campus with the title of Head of School. He began his first day by observing the flow of the day and energy of the school. “I basically spent the entire day just walking around and observing, seeing things,” said Mr. Griggs. “I was extremely excited.” Eighteen years, a new lowerschool, cafeteria and performing arts center later, Mr. Griggs is finally bidding adieu to Greenhill and stepping down from his Head of School position. Mr. Griggs grew up in Mendon, Ohio, a town with a population of just seven hundred people. He attended a small public school where he was part of a graduating class of thirty students in 1975. “I didn’t know that private schools existed [at the time],” Mr. Griggs said about his childhood. He graduated from Centre College in Kentucky with a major in physics and a minor in math. After graduating, he worked in the school’s admissions office. When
visiting Columbus Academy in Columbus, Ohio to represent and recruit kids to Centre College, he met the Head of School and learned about a job opening at the academy that consisted of coaching and teaching. Mr. Griggs ended up securing the job, in which he taught sixth and seventh grade math and physical science to ninth graders while coaching basketball and baseball. “I was just at the right place at the right time,” he said. “I started there and have never looked back. It’s been a great 37 year career.” Mr. Griggs then went through several multi-year stints at different schools, including Columbus Academy for six years, Landon School in Washington D.C. for six years and Collegiate School for seven years before getting the Head of School offer from Greenhill. His lasting impact will be seen all over campus far after he leaves. Mr. Griggs has worked hard to keep faculty salaries in the top 25 percent of Greenhill’s peer benchmark schools, enabling the school to attract talented teachers. Also, Mr. Griggs has also been a big advocate for diversity and equality on campus, prioritizing that the adults on campus reflect the diversity of the students. Since his arrival, there has been a 109 percent increase in students of color and 133 percent increase in faculty of color on campus. Mr. Griggs helped make Greenhill the first school in Texas to add sexual orientation to its non-discriminatory statement back in 2001 as well. “At Greenhill, we have really articulated who we are as a school and what our mission is,” he said. “That is something that I am very pleased about.” Mr. Griggs has not only made a significant impact on the school, but the people as well. According to Assistant Head
of School Tom Perryman, Mr. Griggs is fair, reasonable and takes the time to listen to multiple sides of an issue to make the right decision. Mr. Perryman also said that Mr. Griggs is a busy man who never fails to make time for his staff. “I’ve never been around a leader who is more available to his employees and his students. I have never walked in and asked, ‘Can I have two minutes?’ where he has turned me down. He’s always there for his employees and that’s a big deal,” Mr. Perryman said. Mr. Griggs taught math for four years at the beginning of his Head of School tenure, but had to stop in order to focus on other job commitments that needed his attention. This school year, he has picked up teaching again with an Algebra I class in the Upper School. Mr. Griggs said that his job has taken him further and further away from students, and he really values the hour he has with his students every day. “He’s a great teacher. I can always go to him for help even though he’s a busy guy. He always makes time for his students,” said freshman Jessica Thompson. In addition to Mr. Griggs’s effect on the people at Greenhill, Mr. Griggs has also improved the campus itself. Over the last few years, he has led the two largest capital campaigns in Greenhill history while keeping the school on stable financial ground. “We never dreamed of being able to raise 25 million dollars like we did for the Lower School and Upper School [in 2006]. Then, a few years later, we turned around and raised 52 million dollars for the new performing arts center,” Mr. Perryman said. Mr. Griggs said he thinks schools operate in eight to ten-year cycles, each with one or two major projects that are the
primary focus of that time period. He said he has been at Greenhill through two of those cycles, with the fundraising for the new Lower School building and the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center, and now it is his time to make way for a new head. “It’s time,” said Mr. Griggs. “18 years is a long tenure for a head of school.” For his future career plans, Mr. Griggs has recently been appointed as the Executive Director of the Independent School Association of the Southwest (ISAS), a position he will assume at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year. Mr. Griggs said that he is going to miss a lot about Greenhill, but he is ready to slow down and oversee other schools’ progress and professional development as a part of his new position. Although Mr. Griggs is proud of what he has accomplished at Greenhill, he said that everything that has been done has been a team effort. He believes that he would not have accomplished anything without the help of other members in administration. “By all measures, [Greenhill] is as strong as it has ever been. We are distinctive, and we should be proud of who we are as a school,” said Mr. Griggs. “We are known nationally for who we are, the quality of our program and the quality of our people.” Mr. Griggs hopes that the school will be able to maintain or advance its reputation of having a distinct culture in the independent school world following his departure. Mr. Griggs said that he is going to miss the day-to-day activity on campus, the camaraderie, relationships and activities. “I’ve not had a day in 18 years where I’ve awakened and felt ‘I don’t want to go to school today,’ he said. “Never, and that’s pretty special.”
wednesday, may 16, 2018
the
Evergreen
features
7
Auf Wiedersehen, Leopold German exchange student reflects on his time in the United States I knew that football is a big sport in the United States, but after attending to my first University of Texas (UT) game I realized it was more than that. Beyond the fact that football is part of American culture, it also creates a community. Walking around with my Longhorn shirt made me feel like I belonged to the UT family. Only two weeks after I arrived in Dallas, I had been to my first UT game. The game in Austin created “burnt orange” memories for me, but beyond that it was introducing me to a small part of American culture, something so complex I am still trying to understand. Besides seeing the passion in everyone’s eyes at the game, I saw something else-diversity. People in Europe think of Texas as the state of white Republicans people with a “Make America Great Again” sign in their front yard. But having these biases diminishes the beautifulness of this state. The diversity we have at Greenhill is especially something that became irreplaceable to me. Over this year, I got to live with a family of Indian
origin. It is still captivating to me how my host family gave up everything in India in order to have a better life here, but even more amazing how they assimilated to this culture, or more accurately, formed our America and its culture. Talking about the “melting pot” from a distant perspective is different than living it. Hearing family stories of people whose ancestors come from all over the world is what makes our country so unique. Although there might be a difference in the sound of Hello, Hola or Namaste, they all belong to our America. I had never celebrated Hanukkah or Diwali before but now they feel familiar to me. Going to Homecoming, eating turkey at Thanksgiving, supporting Dirk at a Mavericks game and getting traditional Indian clothing for Christmas – I feel like this country became a part of me. I explored a world I couldn’t even imagine in my dreams, a world of openness and welcoming, a great community. I also explored smaller things such as the Texas heat. This was definitely a struggle
Photos Courtesy of Leopold von Hanstein
BECOMING TEXAN: Leopold at a Longhorn game with the Jain family (left), a basketball game with friends (top right), and showing his Texan side on a bull ride (bottom right).
in the beginning. Especially being from Berlin, I am not used to 100-degree weather daily. In fact, heat is a reason that school finishes earlier in Germany, while in Texas we get dismissed when it snows. I especially felt the heat in cross country. 100 degrees in the sun was painful and made me doubt whether running in Texas was the right thing for me. However, after a couple of weeks of having a sport every day, something that was totally new to me, running became a new passion. Now I like running so much that I can’t imagine a day without it. I think my enthusiasm for sports also grew because the appreciation of sports is so much greater in the United States than in Germany. Seeing the White House in the daily news became normal, but mass shootings that happen almost daily are apparently less important than the score of the latest Cowboys game. Although I was aware of the gun situation in the Unites States, seeing shootings at schools, places of education, will stay in my mind. Walking together at the ‘March for our Lives’ with my friends
reminded me even more of how big the struggles with gun violence are in America. I will never understand why it is so easy for people to get guns. On the other hand, seeing students come together gave me hope that our generation will make a necessary change for a safer America! Over the last year I explored more things than I could ever have imagined seeing. I became a small part of a story we all share, a story of growing up in America. I had realized that America is more than a country, it is an evolving process. Over the last year the United States became part of me and I hear myself saying ‘my country’ when I speak about America. Although this year is coming to an end, my American story will live on in my heart.
Sincerely, Leopold von Hanstein
8 features
the
Evergreen
wednesday, may 16, 2018
Taking on relationship abuse
One Love club plans activities aimed at educating students and faculty Shreya Saxena Backpage Editor
Melinda Xu Staff Writer
Greenhill’s One Love club has partnered with the One Love Foundation to promote healthy relationships and spread awareness to high schoolers about relationship abuse. Sophomore and One Love president, Elli Dassopolous, was inspired to bring awareness of relationship abuse to Greenhill through the One Love Foundation after watching “Escalation,” a film telling the story of an abusive relationship. “[My friends and I] had a discussion afterwards and the film hit me really hard and it was really powerful. Immediately, I thought 'I have to get involved with this organization,” Elli said. Afterwards, Elli contacted the One Love organization and formed the One Love club at Greenhill in 2017 to encourage other people to recognize and prevent unhealthy relationships. Greenhill’s Upper School has recently held different interactive activities and discussions, led by One Love studentfacilitators to inform all Upper School students about this issue. “It’s time that we start talking about [these issues] and having an open-dialogue about them so people hopefully don’t have that problem in the first place. We want to have some person or outlet to for students to reach out to at Greenhill,” Elli said. Freshman Kate Marano, a Greenhill One Love student facilitator and lacrosse player, got involved with the One Love foundation after she held a screening of “Escalation” at her house. A facilitator is trained through watching the Escalation
Photo by Josh Flowers
ONE LOVE: A few of Greenhills trained One Love seminar facilitators gather to represent the Greenhills one love program as they gather for a group photo during snack break.
video and participating in an online discussion with a One Love foundation member. That same day, Kate got the opportunity to speak to the founder of the One Love Organization, Sharon Love. Mrs. Love started the organization in honor of her daughter, Yeardley Love. Yeardley, a member of her school’s lacrosse team, was weeks away from graduating at the University of Virginia when she was murdered by her boyfriend. Kate said that since she is an avid lacrosse player just like Yeardley, she has a special relationship with the One Love Foundation and believes strongly about preventing relationship abuse. “I definitely feel like I’m more connected to it because I have that aspect from lacrosse,” said Kate. “It feels like if I were in college, it could have been one of my friends because it happened to be a lacrosse player.”
When Kate facilitated a discussion in her advisory, she realized that even though the presentation provided a lot of information, there were still some students who did not take “Escalation” seriously. Kate believed that watching this film in Rose Hall with the whole Upper School made the viewers feel a bit more distanced from the true meaning of the film. In order to avoid students making jokes about or during the film, Kate suggested that the film be watched in advisories instead of with the entire Upper School together in Rose Hall. Priya Singhvi, the One Love club sponsor and Upper School counselor, feels that the club brings an important and necessary message to students. The club has existed at Greenhill for two years, and Ms. Singhvi feels that One Love is important to the school because it allows students to be leaders and raise awareness for relationship
abuse. She says that allowing students to have discussions creates a safe, studentdriven environment. “I’m grateful that this school values this enough to make it a continued, committed partnership,” said Ms. Singhvi. “I hope that facilitators and volunteers still are interested in being involved and the club will grow at Greenhill.” Junior Sam Bovard thinks that the advisory discussions about relationship abuse are necessary. He believes that education, especially at this age, is the best way to prevent domestic violence. Sam said that students should learn about all of the different indications of abuse, not just the extremes. “So many people are unaware of the small instances of abuse, particularly dealing with high school friendships and relationships,” said Sam. “Hopefully if more people know the signs, they can have the tools to stop abuse and leave toxic relationships.” In the future, One Love at Greenhill will be working with the Greenhill varsity lacrosse teams to host a lacrosse tournament called “Yards for Yeardley.” The event will bring awareness to the participants in this event and the rest of the community through athletic tournaments. Elli thinks that the One Love club can really make a lasting impact at Greenhill. “Our goal is to get people talking about these issues. It’s time that we start talking about them and having an open dialogue so people hopefully don’t have that problem in the first place,” said Elli. “We want to have an outlet to for students to reach out to at Greenhill.”
Senior speeches invoke a response
Amber Syed
Managing Editor
Lane Herbert
Features Editor
This year, many seniors have voiced their struggles with mental health in the senior speeches to the Upper School. In response to this, Head of Upper School Trevor Worcester and Upper School Counselor Priya Singhvi asked students for input on how they can change the mental health program for next year. Now, students and faculty members are working to create a better support system at school. In past years, seniors have typically used their senior speeches to reflect on their high school experiences’ and explain some of the lessons they have learned. These speeches are presented during community time assemblies in the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center. This year, many seniors used their platform to call upon the school to reevaluate its approach to mental health. “The feeling of [these senior speeches] shifted from ‘wow that was empowering’ to ‘okay, we need to look at this’,” Mr. Worcester said. Senior Austin Manzi is one of the students that gave a speech addressing his struggles with mental health. He said that Greenhill has not done much to address
By the numbers: Mental health
mental illnesses throughout his time in high school. Austin spoke about his battle with body image and self-acceptance in his senior speech on March 6th. Moving forward, Austin thinks Greenhill should have a bigger focus on mental health in its Wellness classes and X-Day presentations, as well as having workshops to work on coping skills. Wellness is a mandatory class that must be taken before the end of tenth grade that addresses sex education as well as mental and physical health and decisionmaking. “I had to turn to treatment to get those [coping mechanisms], when I think it should be normal to be taught in schools even if you don’t have a mental health issue,” said Austin. The course tries to address issues like mental health but many students feel that the curriculum comes up short. One student who “The curriculum surrounds this idea that if you get the proper amount of sleep and you are mindful then you are not going to have challenges with mental health in the next four years. And I can’t say I agree with that curriculum being successful,” said senior Chelsea Puckett. After hearing these senior speeches, Ms. Singhvi had a mixed reaction. Although she is glad that students were brave enough to share their personal experiences with
their peers, she said that the mental illness stigma is what’s preventing many students from seeking help. Ms. Singhvi also said that seniors did not highlight their road to recovery in their speeches. She wishes they touched on the therapy or treatments they used to help them get to a better mental state. “I think a lot of people talked about that moment where they sort of hit rock bottom without really explaining the climb to the top,” Mrs. Singhvi said. These speeches also made an impact on Mr. Worcester. As Head of Upper School, he wants to help alleviate some of the school pressure on students in any way he can. He said the Wellness curriculum is something he would like to change next year. Additionally, he would like to make sure students' homework loads are manageable. Faculty members created a group called “The Vision Committee” last year and its goal was to investigate the amount of work given to students at Greenhill. “One of the main areas we focused on was balance: balance for faculty [and] balance for students,” Mr. Worcester said. Ms. Singhvi said she meets with an average of twenty five students a week for one-on-one counseling. She said that the rising number of students openly talking about their anxiety, depression or suicide attempts is due to the combination of
1 in 5
Minutes that Stephen can hold Number of adolescents attempt suia plank cide each year.
Number of adolescents have diagnosable mental health disorders. Only 50 percent recieve treatment.
1 in 12
earlier detection of their disorder and their openness to seeking help and getting diagnosed. It’s also a result of stressful school environments and societal pressures, specifically from social media. “There’s a lot more fear and anxiety around all kinds of things, and there’s access to information much more quickly than there was even five years ago," Mrs. Singhvi said. According to Ms. Singhvi, Greenhill is unique to most schools because teachers are willing to work with and modify schedules for students who have missed months of school due to a mental illness. “Greenhill is very supportive of treatment first, and we understand that learning is social and emotional,” said Ms. Singhvi. “Until a person's psychological state is healthy, then information is not going to be absorbed efficiently, which is another reason why we prioritize mental health.” Although Ms. Singhvi feels that a lot of progress has been made in the past few years regarding mental health, she sees more room to improve. She would like to see peer-to-peer support, meaning upper -classmen working with underclassmen in small support groups, and potentially an expansion of the counseling program at Greenhill, allowing for more available counselors at all times.
2.8 million
Number of adolescents had at least one depressive episode last year. Statistics according to National Aliance on Mental Illness
wednesday, may 16, 2018
the
Evergreen
senior section
For the last issue of the year, we dedicate these next four pages to the class of 2018.
12th grade
When we dominated Cistercian on Twitter after they beat us in football
Graphics by Maya Ghosh
9
the
10 senior section
2 0 1 8
Students attending an all-women’s college (Scripps College and Wellesley College)
Everg
1
Student attending college in British Columbia
Students attending university in Europe
Student attending a United States military service academy
Students committed to play athletics at an NCAA Divison I program.
0 students 1 student 2-4 students 5-9 students 10+ students 20+ students
American University Austin College Baylor University (2) Belmont University Boston College Boston University (2) Bowdoin College Brigham Young University California Institute of Technology California Institute of Arts California Polytechnic Institute Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University Chapman University Claremont McKenna College Colgate University Colorado State University
27
Students staying in Texas
Columbia University (2) Cornell University (2) Dartmouth College Duke University Emerson College Emory University Fordham University Guilford University Hampton University Harvard University (2) Howard University Indiana University at Bloomington Johns Hopkins University (2) Lawrence University Lehigh University Loyola University New Orleans New York University
NYU - Abu Dhabi Northeastern University Northwestern University Parsons School of Desig Pepperdine University (2 Pomona College Princeton University Queens University of Ch Rice University (3) Sam Houston State Univ Sarah Lawrence College Scripps College Southern Methodist Uni Texas A&M University ( Texas State University Texas Tech University The George Washington
green
y (3) y (3) gn 2)
harlotte
versity e
iversity (2)
n University
wednesday, may 16, 2018
11
11
Students attending colleges or universities in the Boston metropolitan area
1
Student attending New York UniversityAbu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates
Trinity University (2) Tufts University Tulane University (3) United States Military Academy University of Alabama University of British Columbia University of California, Los Angeles University of California, San Diego University of Chicago (2) University of Delaware University of Denver University of Georgia University of Houston (2) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Miami (3) University of Michigan UNC Chapel Hill (2)
University of Pennsylvania (3) University of Richmond University of Southern California University of Texas, Austin (9) University of Texas, Dallas (3) University of Wisconsin, Madison Vanderbilt University Wake Forest University Washington State University Washington University in St. Louis (2) Wellesley College Wesleyan University (2) Worcester Polytechnic Institute Yale University
*list provided by College Counseling, current as of May 7
the
12 senior section
Evergreen
wednesday, may 16, 2018
Senior Advisors bid farewell to their advisories Let’s be clear: Joanna was the real advisor. From morning snacks to scheduling questions, she led the team. I am forever grateful that you all accepted me as your advisor, and even when I left for three months, I can’t believe it’s you welcomed me back like nothing ever time to say goodbye to happened. I can’t wait to see you all live you. Getting to experience your best lives, and if you need me, Upper School with you for the I’ll be at home taking care of our last four years has been a privilege. mascot, Jerome. Every Monday I ask you what you are grateful for, but know that each day -Mrs. Duckert I am grateful for you. Even if no one ever remembered E day treats. A few memories: “Shut the door!” “Where’s Ali?” Whipin’ It forever! Chem and Calculus study groups The Boat! Holiday break breakfast parties and Home Alone You may be heading onwards and upwards, but you always have a place in Room 401. I’ll save some breakfast casserole for you! Much love, Doc/ Mama Duck
Dear Ducklings,
-Dr. Bresie
I’ve learned a lot from you guys over the last four years: How to get Gene’s fruit jelly snacks out of the little cup, how to shoot laser lights back at Dr. Bresie’s advisory, and the really important things like QR Trivia, Fortnight, and JackBox. We read to primer, played with the preschoolers, and killed hangman. We survived simultaneous cases of senioritis and senior-citizenitis. We will all leave the Hill on June 3, but I will never forget you guys. I look forward to our ten year reunion – see you in the cafeteria at 8:40 am on April 22, 2028.
While you are my fifth Dear beloved advisees, graduating advisory, you It has been an amazing four years. You arrived as newly are my first as a minted ninth graders, who didn’t say very much, and have parent! I am not grown to be mature, level-headed, outgoing seniors who really sure what to won’t stop talking. My fondest memories are about write, so I will share a few sitting around eating birthday cake, talking about memories and offer some anything and everything and your arguing over words of advice which you who got the most Kit Kats. I am proud of all can take or leave! Not talking as of you and will miss you terribly. freshman, adding Xavier, Alexa, and Megan, three great years with To quote the great sage, Albus Mrs. Ross, Taboo, the dance that never Dumbledore, “It is our choices happened, MON-KEY, learning what a that show who we truly are, far shrub is, and, our biggest failure-KICKBALL more than our abilities.” are just some of our great memories. We always get caught up in our academic, artistic, and athletic accomplishments, which you all have had success in -Mr. Legacy one or more of these areas, but I care more about your character than any honor you could ever receive. I am very grateful that you all were always very kind, honorable and respectful to one another. As you all head on to your new adventures, I hope your love for learning only continues to grow, you continue being kind and respectful to everyone, you find or continue to develop your passion(s), and you always show gratitude for the wonderful opportunities and support that your families have provided for you. Appreciate every day and live in the moment instead of always focusing on the future. Make this world a better place just as you made Greenhill better. Thank you for four great years; I will miss you!
-Dr. Daniels
Sudeep and Leah drawing on the board, Sloan suggesting music for my Spotify, Oliver becoming a teacher during summer on the hill, Emilie snapchatting, walking into one of my advisee’s house in the AIA Dallas Home Tour and not knowing what to say, bringing bagels and doughnuts because I can’t bake (sorry guys), Matthew (not Matt) talking about his love for math, Talia texting me from the coffee chop that she is bringing me coffee, my name is Jacobo Luna and I use he, him and his pronouns, countless honest conversations in 204 and my cubicle, wait, where is Nicholas? What happens in Luna advisory stays in Luna advisory #padawans #compadres Your first 18 years were good, but the next will be even more -Mr. Luna eventful. Be prepared for more schooling, a marriage, and children. Take pleasure in the small things in life, too. Lastly, I expect each of you to email or visit me at least once during that time.
-Mr. Krueger
From the Seniors: For the past four years, we have grown to love writing, designing and editing for The Evergreen. The spirit that lives in the journalism class and the lab has united all of us seniors to love sharing and being inspired by stories. From winning HQ three nights in a row to having dance parties in the MPAC Parking lot at 10:45 p.m., each one of us has created a special place within our staff community. Through all the stress, deadlines and all the last minute fall-throughs, we managed to be #STATECHAMPS two years in a row, and we could not be more proud of this paper and this staff. May The Evergreen connection live on as we go our separate ways. Forever we’ll be. #SENIORS2018
Live. Love. Layout.
Joe, Zoe, Abbas, Lili, Areeba, Maya, Alice, Radhe, Zeenya and Stephen
-Mr. Sandler
My fondest memories about our advisory revolve around food—Pizza and salad for advisory lunches, birthday treats, including gluten-free brownies (always better than the gluten-full ones!), quiche and French toast breakfasts, personalized Coke Zero, and snacks and candy—always snacks and candy. Thanks for all the laughs and melding together like a family—dysfunctional at times, but a What a family nonetheless! Love you all! I journey we’ve wish you all the best. together, had
these past three years! -Mr. Oros In this transformative experience of Advisory, we’ve #ParkAdvisory, had moments of great pride and it has been a great challenge, times of laughter and great 4 years! I’ve times of heartbreak, and we’ve even done seen great things from some great singing and dancing together. In y’all as you have grown every moment, our love for each other has so much, learned so much grown stronger. What an unbreakable and done so much. I hope bond we will always have as we all you all visit, but in case you embark on our new ventures! don’t: Never stop growing. Never Always wishing you love and stop trying to be better. Try to make a luck. difference, every single day. Give a smile, a kind word. Go out of your way to make Hugs, Hudec somebody’s day easier, more comfortable, less painful. Listen to understand, even when -Mrs. Hudec you know you disagree... Be part of the solution – because I’ve seen that you can!
-Mr. Park
the
Arts
“Cry-Baby” cast receives award nominations Sarah Luan Staff writer
This past winter, Greenhill’s Upper School musical, “Cry-Baby,” gained the attention of the Dallas Summer Musicals’ judges who nominated actors, actresses and crew members for awards distributed by their organization. Senior Walker Mullen was nominated for Best Featured Actor, Senior Erin McGuire for Supporting Actress Honorable Mention and Sophomore Timothy Owens for Leading Actor Honorable Mention. Other nominations for the play include Best Ensemble/Chorus, Best Crew and Technical Execution, Best Choreography, Musical Direction Honorable Mention and Scenic Design Honorable Mention. Results of the winners will be announced on May 17. Dallas Summer Musicals is a private organization that looks at high school musicals in the Dallas area. The organization sends three representatives to judge one performance at each school. After the end of the judging period, all the representatives decide who should receive award nominations based on what they’ve seen. According to Upper School Drama and Theater Director, Valerie Hauss-Smith, there is no specific criteria that the judges use to evaluate each show. Since “Cry-Baby” was a musical, the judges focused mostly on choreography and vocals. “I think we place more emphasis on being a part of a team. It’s not one person who makes this work; it’s a group,” said Upper School Improvisation teacher and Winter Musical Assistant Henry Paolissi. Mrs. Hauss-Smith said that while
Photo by Robert Jackson
POSING FOR THE SPOTLIGHT: Lead actor Timothy Owens (left) was nominated for a leading actor honorable mention. Other members of the cast and crew were nominated for Best Choreography, Best Technical Execution and multiple honorable mentions.
individuals receiving awards like these are great, she believes the musical’s success comes from the hard work of everyone. This includes the people in the ensemble, tech crew and other behind-the-scene members. “The tricky thing with the show is that you have the lead characters and you have a big ensemble, so it’s about how you incorporate everyone meaningfully in the show and make it lively and make it real,” Mrs. Hauss-Smith said. Walker felt that the Cry-Baby cast
really rose up to the occasion for their performances. He said many of his cast members and directors deserve credit, and he praised his peers’ talent and passion for musical theater. “Julia Smith was the assistant musical director and she really helped bring everything together. I feel like we had really young lead actors and actresses, with Sami Khan and Ava Markhovsky…Timothy Owens, who is a sophomore, was the lead, Cry-Baby…He has so much musical theater
promise,” Walker said. As a featured actor, Walker enjoyed performing on stage with his role as Judge Igneous Stone. He said that his character required a big sweeping stage presence and the ability to command the scene. “I feel like I have a big personality off the stage and I feel like that really carried over into my performance.” Walker said. Erin has had past musical theater experience at Greenhill, and feels like “CryBaby” was a more light-hearted musical than those of years past, like last year’s musical, “Cabaret”. “[“Cry-Baby”] wasn’t trying to come across in a strong way like “Cabaret” was,” Erin said. “[“Cry-Baby”] was super fun, it was super fun to work with all the different people. We had a really good ensemble… it was nice to see a lot of underclassmen joining in.” Erin really enjoyed playing Mrs. Vernon Williams in the show. That enjoyment helped her earn her nomination for Best Supporting Actress Honorable Mention. “She’s really the only character that goes through a significant change in the show, other than the female lead Allison. I think that’s what makes Mrs. Vernon Williams stand out as a character,” Erin said. Mrs. Hauss-Smith said that the “CryBaby” nominations would not have been possible without the support the cast had for one another. She said that their nominations prove that the students worked hard day and night for the recognition they earned. “People were just singing their hearts out and dancing… seeing students rise up to their potential, it was the best,” Mrs. HaussSmith said.
Making moves
Dance Company hosts its first invitational Kaylee Chien Staff Writer
For the first time in the school’s 68-year history, Greenhill’s Dance Company decided to host a dance invitational. Greenhill, ESD, Ursuline, and Hockaday dancers spent the afternoon learning and dancing with professional choreographers. On March 8, guest teachers arrived at the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center (MPAC) and taught different styles of workshops. Two workshops went from 1 to 2:15 p.m, and the next two workshops went from 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. The various workshops took place in Rose Hall and the Dance and Choral Hall. During the invitational, there were two time slots with two classes in each. The first time slot had a hip-hop/jazz class and a modern dance class. The second had a Hamilton hip-hop class and contemporary class. Although this year’s invitational was only open for Greenhill students in the Dance Company, future dance invitationals could be open to anyone that is interested in dancing. “We’ll see if this becomes an annual thing. I’d love to see more schools involved, but I really like the idea of our students geting to interact with other students,” Upper School Dance Teacher Kelly McCain said. Ms. McCain has many ideas for future invitationals. “There’s another component that I would like to incorporate; maybe an infor-
Photos courtesy of Kelly McCain
MASTERING THEIR TECHNIQUE: Dance students from various private schools work on their technique at the Dance Invitational in the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center.
mal performance…It’s not a competition by any means. It’s just a day of sharing dances with one another, getting inspired by each other, and getting new ideas,” she said. Ms. McCain was inspired to have the dance invitational by a dance conventional that the Greenhill Dance Company attends at Collin College. At that dance conventional, the classes are offered all day long and dancers do an informal performance at the end of the day. The Collin College dance conventional has multiple classes at the same time that bring about 250 dancers who
split up and then go to their classes. Ms. McCain came across some obstacles while trying to schedule the dance invitational. “This is such a busy time of year in [the MPAC], so finding a time in our schedule where all these spaces are available is a challenge. Finding a schedule that fits in the student’s schedules [is also a challenge],” Ms. McCain said. Despite these challenges, senior Ishani Kale is excited to have the opportunity to get to work with more dancers and more in-
structors as well. “I think it’s a fun opportunity to take different classes. One of the teachers who is coming has come and done classes for us in the past years and [the classes] are always really fun, so it’ll be fun to do that with an even bigger group of people,” Ishani said. Junior Leah Fradkin thinks that the invitational should be an annual event because different choreographers can expose them to new styles every year. “[Having other choreographers] gives you a taste of new kinds of choreography because everyone learns from their own teacher, which is great, but it’s great to learn different styles as well,” Leah said. Ms. McCain started the invitational with hopes that the dancers will feel inspired and be able to explore their passion in dance. “I hope [the dancers] gain inspiration, a rejuvenation about why they love to dance, and be reminded that dance is communal. We share it with one another and it’s more fun when you share it with new people,” Ms. McCain said. Leah believes that the invitational is a place where you can learn from everyone, not just from the teachers. “It’s really cool because you can look at the style that the other dancers have and you can feed off of that when you’re dancing... I think the biggest part is being able to learn from one another and not just from the teachers,” she said.
the
14 arts
Evergreen
wednesday, may 16, 2018
Introducing the spring theater series Mila Nguyen
Online Executive Editor
On April 3, Greenhill Theater announced its 2018 Spring Theater Series. This year is the first that Greenhill is performing a theater series, and according to Upper School Theater Director and Drama Teacher Valerie Hauss-Smith it will be the first of many to come. The series is made up of three productions that are being performed throughout the spring season. Mrs. Hauss-Smith also noted that the goal of the series is to invite more people to come see a greater variety of productions. “Instead of having to sit through a twohour production in one sitting, people can come see a one-hour production and have a good time,” Mrs. Hauss Smith said. The first production, called “Ouija”, was performed by the Theater Production Company. The Theater Production Company is a class where students direct the play, write the play, and do all the tech theater work necessary. “Ouija” was performed on April 6 in Rose Hall at Greenhill and was also performed at the ISAS Arts Festival in April. The production was about five kids who come in contact with the supernatural and become possessed by a demon. The cast included sophomore Caroline Sasso and Timothy Owens, as well as freshman Ava Markhovsky and freshman Georgia Sasso. The show was directed by senior Erin McGuire. After the first show was finished, the second production, “The Collective Works
of David Ives,” was performed on May 4 and May 5 as a mainstage production. The production was a comedic piece that allowed everyone in the cast to have a featured role through four quick one act scenes that lasted 12 to 18 minutes each. This piece was unlike most of the pieces that have been put on in the past as a mainstage production. Most productions have been long plays that follow the same plot throughout, but “The Collective Works of David Ives” is similar to four small plays in one.
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I love watching the younger performers step up into the bigger roles. They trust me and will step out of their comfort zones to become someone that could seem uncool.”
The last production that was put on this school year, called “Edges,” was directed by senior Grace Jackson and musically directed by senior Julia Smith. The production was about four young adults trying to find their way through life. The show featured four main actors: sophomore Timothy Owens, senior Julia Smith and juniors Scottie Pearson-Thompson and Sophia Brisbon. “Edges” was Grace’s directing debut. Grace had plenty of experience stagemanaging and has been involved in theater since her first year at Greenhill as a sophomore. “I didn’t anticipate the workload or the level of thought that has to go into every
Photo courtesy of Robert Jackson
HARD AT WORK: The spring theater crew (above) put together multiple theatrical productions. Their show, “The Collective Works of David Ives” included four one act scenes.
movement, but that being said I really like it. It’s a very different way to approach the theater,” Grace Jackson said. Each production was smaller in scale, but gave spectators more opportunities to come see what Greenhill Theater is all about. Actors learned last year that the spring season is very busy and there is not enough time to put on a huge mainstage play. The show in the series are classics with a contemporary twist. “It will be the nonconventional thing that you are used to. You can look for us to be taking chances,” said Mrs. Hauss Smith. Not many seniors participated in
theater this year, so many underclassmen have stepped up into lead roles. “I love watching the younger performers step up into the bigger roles. They trust me and will step out of their comfort zones to become someone that could seem uncool,” Mrs. Hauss Smith said. Next year, Theater Production will start with their second series, Series ’19, for the spring and will continue creating three to four productions per series.
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DINNER & A MOVIE Sonali and Riya watch and “Ready Player One”, before enjoying arcade games and eating dinner at Dave and Buster’s Sonali Notani Arts Editor
Riya Rangdal Design Editor
With all the current hype about video games and Fortnite, we were inspired to watch a game-themed film. That’s how we found ourselves seated at the Stonebriar AMC at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon watching “Ready Player One.” Set in the year 2045, “Ready Player One” is a movie that follows Wade Watts, a 17year old orphan who finds himself spending all of his time playing in the OASIS. The OASIS is a virtual reality world where anyone can become anything they want to. The plot follows Wade as he fights for justice and for the fate of the OASIS to end up in the good hands. The themes of the movie include friendship, courage and trust. Going into the a movie about gaming, we didn’t expect to learn about the importance of putting our electronic devices down and spending time with people in real life. After watching the movie, we can safely say this lesson was the most important one we picked up on. Wade and his friends learned that nothing in virtual reality really matters, because it’s just an escape for people who are
disappointed with their real life. The characters realize that they shouldn’t be working so hard to fix their virtual reality as much as they should be invested in real life. “Riya, I literally don’t understand what’s happening,” Sonali declared halfway through the movie. “Maybe if you weren’t on your phone and were paying attention, you would!” Riya snapped back. The film included scenes that shocked us, made us laugh and even made us a little scared at one point (Riya mostly). Our experience with “Ready Player One” was not what we first expected when we got to the theater, but we naturally adapted and continued to watch the movie. Or rather, Riya watched intently while Sonali kept checking her phone and irritating the woman next to her with the brightness. Our popcorn and Cokes were soon gone as we continuously munched and sipped. Not having read the book or knowing much about the plot prior to entering the movie definitely made it more suspenseful. The movie depicted gaming in both a good and bad light. We were a little confused as to which perspective we agreed with and walked out of the theater discussing gaming’s pros and cons. But that didn’t stop us from
visiting the Dave and Busters next door for dinner and games. We dove straight into the arcade so we could work up a really big appetite. We played air hockey, “Deal or No Deal”, Fruit Ninja and even ended with a few prizes, but ultimately, our favorite arcade game was definitely the racecar driving, because it reminded us of the ongoing racing in “Ready Player One”. When we finally sat down to eat, we were surprised by the extensive options on the menu of an arcade-restaurant. After a lot of thinking, we decided to share the “Fives All Around” appetizer. Although it was just a starter, it was more than enough for both of us. In one dish, we enjoyed five buffalo wings, five chicken quesadilla wedges, five pretzel dogs, five pepperoni pull-apart pieces and our favorite: the loaded crispy tots. “Dang that was delicious!” Sonali exclaimed as Riya returned from playing “Deal or No Deal”. “Wow you didn’t even leave any for me? You better pay for it!” Riya complained. After a long and fun night, we learned the importance of lifting our heads up and taking time to look at the life around us (at least Riya did). So many interesting and cool things happen in our daily lives
Graphic by Kaethe Thomas
that we tend to overlook because we are absorbed in our cell phones. For anyone who is looking to enjoy a good movie or simply play games and have a nice meal, we would definitely recommend watching “Ready Player One” and hanging out at Dave and Busters.
The Warrior, the Dragon and the Loofa Seniors lead an ISAS tradition unlike any other Hayden Jacobs Editor-in-Chief
After a long and hard fight, the Warrior lays on the ground looking hopeless and defeated. The cruel, ruthless Dragon is now ready to finish her off. Then, out of nowhere, Loofa appears. He fearlessly fights off the dragon to avenge the Warrior’s death and save the rest of the cheering and painted Greenhill students. This is not an uncommon sight at the annual ISAS Arts Festival. In fact, it happens every year. “It’s a tradition that’s been going on for at least a decade now. Its Greenhill’s passing of the torch [from the senior class to the junior class],” said senior Cameron Crates. Although every Warrior gets to write his or her own version of the story, the ending stays consistent every year: the heroic Loofa defends the Warrior by defeating the evil Dragon and the person playing Loofa becomes the Warrior at the next year’s ISAS.
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As the Warrior, I got to see the story I created be enjoyed by so many people who participated and even other schools... [Warrior] was a fun event for everyone to join on in.”
All of the Greenhill students who attend the festival prepare for Warrior by painting themselves and their friends with different green and blue patterns all over their bodies. The students march around the festival’s host campus, encouraging people to join the
Photos courtesy of Ross Rubin
FIGHT TILL THE DEATH: The Greenhill crowd watches intently as the Warrior (Cameron Crates) gets killed by the Dragon (Walker Mullen). Suddenly, Loofa (Ross Rubin) slays the Dragon and claims victory.
group and earning the intrigue of spectators. After circling around the lead characters in an open field, everybody watches the battle scene before they get to close the circle and dance in celebration of the defeat of the dragon. As this year’s Warrior, Cameron spent a lot of time preparing for the event. She spent multiple weeks before the festival making
sure that everyone involved knew their lines as well as spreading the word about when the event would take place. She also had to make sure that there was plenty of body paint for everyone that wanted to take part in the tradition. “[As the Warrior,] I had to draft a script, pick who would play the different characters and decide how the tradition would be carried out, as well as picking who will be
the next Warrior,” said Cameron. Cameron says that of the four Warrior skits she has been a part of, her favorite was this year when she got to lead the tradition and play the Warrior. “As the Warrior, I got to see the story I created be enjoyed by so many people who participated and even other schools. It was a really cool celebration at ISAS and a fun event for everyone to join in on,” said Cameron. Senior Walker Mullen, who played this year’s Dragon, heard about Warrior long before he was able to participate in it. Even before coming to Greenhill his junior year, he remembers Warrior always being a popular event that kids from all different schools would come watch at the festival. “Last year I was amazed at the mass spectacle that Warrior was,” said Walker. “I hadn’t gotten to see Warrior [until then] and just thought ‘wow this is really cool.’” Freshman Lindsey Jade Feinstein got to experience Warrior for the first time this spring. Like other freshmen, she was purposely given very little information about what the event would consist of, except for being told it was a fun Greenhill tradition that everyone would enjoy. “I really liked watching how everyone from Greenhill came together and had fun,” said Lindsay Jade. “It created a sense of unity between everyone from Greenhill and allowed us to go around showing pride in our school.”
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Sports Varsity baseball ends nine year playoff drought Jake Middleman Sports Editor Tej Dhingra Online Broadcast Editor This past March, the varsity baseball team clinched a spot in the Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) tournament for the first time in nine years. This year, the team made many changes that helped them reach this milestone, including shifts in the coaching philosophy and dynamic. There was also a noticeable increase in the team’s overall competitiveness in practices which translated into both conference and non-conference games throughout the season. Head Coach Troy Haugen has been coaching Greenhill’s baseball program since the 2016 season and making SPC has always been his number one goal. At the beginning of the year, he instructed all of his players to make a goal sheet for the season. Coach Haugen said that many of the goals he received from his players included making the SPC tournament, which is a testament to the values he has instilled in the program in his short time at Greenhill. “My number one goal this season was to make SPC. I wanted to do it for Greenhill and for the seniors that put in three years of hard work and commitment,” Coach Haugen said. The team made significant coaching changes this season. The assistant varsity coaches from previous years have left and
been replaced by Coach Tucker Davidson and Coach Nathan Richie. The relationship between this year’s coaching staff is different from previous years, because they each have areas of the game that they are the most knowledgeable about, such as pitching or hitting. “[The coaches] complement each other, and that’s what makes us a good team,” said Coach Haugen. The coaches also built strong relationships with the players this year, allowing the players to not be afraid to show and receive constructive criticism on their weaknesses. Senior Eli Krakow, who has been on the team all three years that Coach Haugen has coached the team, said there was a noticeable change with the team since Coach Haugen started coaching. “Coach Haugen started gradually changing things, the way we ran practice, the whole atmosphere of the team,” Eli said. “It didn’t take effect right away, but over time, with players getting used to how he coached and how the program worked, we finally made [the SPC tournament] after all these years.” This year the underclassmen had a bigger role in the team’s success. According to Coach Haugen, this year’s freshman class is one of the strongest classes for baseball at Greenhill in recent memory. With so many capable athletes on the roster, players know they are going to have to put forth their best efforts every day in order to continue to play
Photo courtesy of Kam Wilkerson
SPC TIME: The baseball team huddles together at their first playoff game against St. John’s School. Greenhill lost to St. John’s in the first round of SPC by a score of 7-2.
on varsity. “Now we have four freshmen starting out of nine positions. You don’t get that with most high school programs,” said Coach Haugen. “I think the talent level of this freshman class is pushing everybody because they knew coming into their ninth grade year that they had a chance to play. Competition can only make a player and a team better.” In the first round of the SPC tournament, the Hornets lost to St. Johns
School 7-2, ending their season. However, after the game, Coach Haugen told the team to hold their heads high; together they achieved something that Greenhill baseball hadn’t accomplished in almost a decade. Junior Oliver Steinberg feels that he learned a lot this season, and is ready to continue the success going into next year. “Although we lost this year, it was a great experience to finally make SPC, and I’m looking forward to building upon it next year,” Oliver said.
En Garde: a fencing duo Raag Venkat News Editor Freshman Drewv Desai and junior Maya Desai stepped onto the fencing strip at the Summer Nationals last year in Salt Lake City, Utah, remembering their long journey since they first picked up a sword and how far they have come. Siblings Drewv and Maya have had a passion for the uncommon sport of fencing for years, which has only increased over time. Drewv picked up fencing at 10 years old, while his sister Maya started when she was 14. They both have grown to love the individuality of the sport as well as the many places their competition play has taken them. They both stress that along with giving them a fondness for fencing, the sport has had a big impact on their lives by teaching them various life skills to help deal with the challenges they encounter every day. Drewv, after trying and disliking many different sports, decided to give fencing a shot. “When I first started out, I was really scared to fence all the older kids at practice since they were far more experienced,” said Drewv. “After my coach made me fence them, I wasn’t terrified anymore because they all welcomed me, told me what I was doing wrong and helped me correct my mistakes to become a better fencer.” Maya decided to give fencing a try after her parents recommended it to her. “At the beginning, it took me a while to learn how to fence using the proper technique and mindset because it was so different than any other sport I had played previously,” she said. After the siblings started practicing more at their local fencing club in Plano called “Lone Star Fencing Center,” they began competing in small tournaments. Maya said that despite her enjoyment of the tournaments, nerves often got the best of
Photo courtesy of Drewv Desai
SWORD FIGHT: Siblings Drewv and Maya Desai participate in a fencing tournement. Drewv has been fencing since the age of 10 and Maya since the age of 14.
her.
“I would get so nervous that I wouldn’t do well in these tournaments, and I needed to be more mentally strong,” Maya said. In order to overcome their weaknesses and improve their skills even further, Drewv and Maya continued to devote more time and energy into fencing. “I could feel myself getting better at every single practice I went to. After a while, our problems turned into our strengths with lots of hard work and commitment,” Maya said. As Drewv and Maya’s skills progressed, they started competing in more advanced
tournaments around the country in cities like St. Louis, Kansas City and Anaheim. “There’s one tournament out of town every month, and we usually attend those,” said Drewv. “Also, during national tournaments, you get the opportunity to meet new people from all over the world. You can watch other people to get skills that they are using so you can do them too.” Drewv and Maya even got the opportunity to attend the Summer Nationals for fencing in Salt Lake City. “[Competing in Summer Nationals] was my biggest achievement yet because everything led up to this,” Drewv said. “Even
though I wasn’t seeded in my division, I ended up winning the round robin. I was proud of myself and how I fenced because I was able to go undefeated.” Their mom, Manisha Desai, was proud of the dedication and work ethic that both siblings displayed on the journey to and in the Summer Nationals tournament. “Fencing is an individual sport and takes mental toughness every second on the strip,” said Mrs. Desai. “[Drewv and Maya] have both slowly progressed over the years, and last year was great as they both qualified for multiple events in the tournament.” Maya and Drewv have now been fencing for three and five years respectively, and have learned from experience that a lot of hard work and commitment is needed to be successful. “Most people, when they think of fencing, they think of sword fighting, or the Wii game, but it’s so much more than that,” said Drewv. “It’s so much harder than it looks, and it requires a huge amount of your commitment and dedication to become really good.” They also say that their tournament play and the sport of fencing overall has taught them many skills for school. “There are a lot of tournaments during the school year, so we often have to miss a day or two of school,” Drewv said. “Because of this, fencing has definitely taught me time management so I don’t fall behind in my school work, and focus, so I can really narrow down what my goals are.” “In fencing, everything’s on you. How you do is on you, how much you practice and get out of it is how much you put into it, and I’ve learned a lot about how if you want a certain result, you must put in the work,” said Maya.
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Sting ‘em in college! A look at seniors going to play NCAA Divison-I sports
Hailey Wetherill
Mason Marano
Xavier Bryant
Brooke Allen
Columbia University
University of Delaware
Sam Houston State University
United States Military Academy
Hailey Wetherill will attend Columbia University to play softball next school year. Hailey looks forward to being a part of a family on her new campus, and hopes to join a few clubs and become an active member of the school. Hailey said that her recruitment process was long and painful, beginning when she started to talk to colleges in eighth grade. She finished off this season with two home runs and 16 runs batted in. Hailey said that she is very lucky and is excited for what is to come. “I just walked on campus and I just knew the energy and the people there, the coaches, the team, just everything was perfect and it was everything I was looking for; it was like Greenhill in New York City,” she said.
Mason Marano will play lacrosse at the University of Delaware next school year. Mason committed to Delaware University because he liked how close the campus is to neighboring cities. The recruitment process for Mason was very rigorous; he spent six weeks of the summer after his sophomore year traveling to east coast states to play lacrosse in front of college coaches. Mason’s season playing for Greenhill was cut short due to an injury, but through his eight games, he racked up 12 goals, six assists, and 60 ground balls. “It’s an exciting thing, and a lot of athletes who are playing at the next level have worked at this their entire life, and so it is really a dream come true,” he said.
Xavier Bryant will play basketball for Sam Houston State University this fall. Xavier has earned All-SPC honors every year he has played and was awarded team MVP for the previous three years. Xavier leads Greenhill basketball in all-time points, assists, and steals in his career with 2,449 points, 795 assists and 598 steals. He is looking forward to competing at the next level and challenging himself even more as a basketball player. He has already established relationships with his future teammates and is looking forwards to competing with them. Xavier has thought about walking on to the football team, but has not made a final decision. “I am going to miss the Friday night home games and the fans the most,” he said.
Brooke Allen will play lacrosse as a goalie for the United States Military Academy next school year. She plans to involve herself in other clubs and activities around campus after she gets settled into Westpoint’s military preparation atmosphere. She chose westpoint because she feels that there is no other school that encompasses her athletic and academic interests along with having a reputation for building some of the greatest leaders in the nation’s history. The recruiting process for Brooke occurred mostly during the summer before her junior year, which is when she toured several schools and talked to coaches but ultimately decided that Westoint was the best choice for her. “The lacrosse program at Westpoint has a great family-like atmosphere, and I am really excited to be a part of that next year,” Brooke said.
Karis Thomas
Gabrielle Coben
Kassidy Woods
Jessica Pugh
Howard University
University of Pennsylvania
Washington State University
Hampton University
Karis Thomas will cheer at Howard University beginning this fall. Karis didn’t start cheering until her sophomore year which gave her cheering career a later start than most of her teammates. However, her tremendous work and dedication to the cheer team led her to earn the role of being captain. She is looking forward to cheering at a more intense level, but will miss her team at Greenhill. From the start, Karis knew that Howard was the school she wanted to attend, but she did not expect to be cheering for them as well. Karis is excited to involve herself in activism and find some additional clubs that she enjoys on campus. “I am going to miss the Friday night lights and cheering with my team,” she said.
Gabrielle Coben will play lacrosse at the University of Pennsylvania beginning this fall. Gabrielle is a three-sport athlete with twelve varsity letters at Greenhill. As a captain, Gabrielle led the 2017 girls lacrosse team to a Division II state championship. Gabrielle earned All-SPC honors three times throughout her Greenhill lacrosse career. Originally, Gabrielle thought that she wanted to play soccer in college, but her love for lacrosse continued to increase until it became her main focus. Although she remembers the recruitment process as a stressful experience, she is extremely happy that she ended up committing to Penn. “I am going to miss the relationships I had with the girls, the amazing coaching staff, and the consistent love,” she said.
Kassidy Woods will head up to Pullman, Washington after this school year to become a wide receiver for the Washington State Cougars. He came to Greenhill his sophomore year and made his presence known on the football field as soon as he arrived. He was awarded All-SPC Honors all three years he played for the hornets and recorded 1623 receiving yards in that time. During his senior season, he had 37 receptions and eight touchdowns while helping lead the Hornets to their first SPC Championship game in 13 years. “I’m excited to play in front of the huge crowds [at Washington State]. It’s going to be a big adjustment for me playing in front of 40,000 people but I’m ready for it,” Kassidy said.
Starting this fall, Jessica Pugh will play volleyball at Hampton University. Jessica was a starter on Greenhill’s varsity volleyball team all four years that she was in high school. During that time, the team won 105 games and two Southwest Preparatory Conference championships. In addition to volleyball, Jessica has been a member of Greenhill’s varsity cheer and track and field teams. At Hampton, Jessica is excited to involve herself with the rest of the school’s community by joining and participating in different clubs and activities, in addition to her intense volleyball schedule. “I just love volleyball so much so just being able to play at a higher level is really exciting for me,” Jessica said.
Briefs about the Division II and Division III athletes will be published online at evergreengreenhill.org. Story by Hayden Jacobs, Davis Gutow andAlyssa Miller Photos courtesy of Joe Monaco
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wednesday, may 16, 2018
A goat versus a hornet
Views Editor Natalie Gonchar reviews a local goat yoga class
Photos courtesy of Natalie Gonchar
GOAT TIME: (Left) Natalie Gonchar attends a goat yoga class where she stretched and calmed herself in the presence of baby goats. (Middle) She took a picture of herself with the goat next to her after her demanding class. (Right) Natalie sitting and posing with a goat standing on the arch of her back while she performs graceful yoga poses.
Natalie Gonchar Views Editor Like most teenagers, I am on social media quite often. I love scrolling through my ‘recommended’ section and finding things that interest me, like the latest food creation or any cute animal video. So, when goat yoga popped up on my feed one day, I immediately began doing research on where I could try it, only to find a goat yoga studio 20 minutes away from my house! On a Saturday afternoon like no other, my family and friends got in our cheapest athletic clothes and headed over to a small yoga studio in Richardson. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was somewhat reluctant walking into the backyard/goat yoga studio. There was no front desk or gift shop that offered trendy sets of athletic clothing. Instead there were bowls of goat feed and towels by the yoga mats just in case the goats got “too excited”. This definitely didn’t seem like the internet craze that everyone
was obsessed with. I mean, why would someone spend money for goats to potentially “get excited” all over you? My opinion changed as soon as I got a sight of the other members of our yoga class. The sight of goats of all shapes and sizes, and the lovely rustic smell, overwhelmed me. With our phones in hand, we sat down on our mats in the “easy pose”. After a few minutes, I decided to throw some goat feed on my mat to make the class a bit more interesting, only to get bombarded with a small army of farm animals. As difficult as yoga is, being surrounded by a herd of goats helped calm me down. The goats added to the humble and earthy atmosphere that my local yoga class just can’t deliver. Our yoga instructor, Beth, guided us through each pose. It was hard not to get distracted by the surroundings, making this class more demanding than others. It wasn’t easy getting into a “downward dog” pose as a goat decided to jump on top of me, but it encouraged me to adjust and focus on my surroundings, which seems to be the
goal of most yoga studios anyway. After 30 minutes of yoga, we finished up with some breathing exercises before transitioning into 30 minutes of goat play, because that was obviously the main focus of the class. We chased after the baby goat and even got to take some goat pictures with the help of the yoga instructors. Usually, the thought of getting lint on my leggings drives me crazy, but I had no problem at all with the hay and goat hair covering me that day. This definitely wasn’t the usual yoga experience that I was used to, so I was willing to step out of my comfort zone. There is something about getting down and dirty in the goat pen while also preforming graceful yoga moves that I hadn’t experienced before. This contradiction of elements is just so crazy that it works. It’s no wonder this isn’t like any other fad that’s risen to fame through the recommended section.
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A letter from the future Head of School Lee Hark To the Greenhill Student Body, It’s fitting that the award-winning Evergreen would scoop my arrival and garner my first official communication with the Greenhill student community! I’ve followed the paper for a year (I’ve basically followed everything Greenhill-related for a year) and have really been impressed by the work of the staff. When Jeffrey and Hayden emailed me and asked me for a letter introducing myself, I said I’d be thrilled to do it. I wondered if this is who I am, this is what I've done prior to coming to Greenhill, this is what I value and this is why I'm excited to be joining the school would be appropriate. They said, “Yes! All that!” There will be time in the near future to delve into the twists and turns of my career in education (if anyone is interested), but for now hopefully it will suffice to say that I’ve worked in schools for my entire professional career -as an English teacher, a tennis coach, and in various administrative roles -- and entirely on the East Coast. We can’t wait to move to Dallas, and I hope all of you to share with me your favorite parts of living there. I look forward to long debates about who makes the best barbecue (or best vegetarian food if that’s your thing). Is the Pecan Lodge really worth the hype? Or is there some secret barbeque shack somewhere that the locals haunt? I need to know. And I will see you your plate of brisket and raise you a plate of North Carolina (eastern, not western) pulled pork. Greenhill is famous for its debate team, right? Let the debates ensue.
Excellent Texas barbeque notwithstanding, Greenhill is, of course, the reason we’re making this move. In fact, I’ve wanted to work at Greenhill for many years. Ed Costello, the former Head of School at Durham, was the Upper School Director at Greenhill in the late 1980s, and he told me early on in our time together that Greenhill was a school that I ought to keep an eye on. So I did. When Mr. Griggs announced that he was stepping down, I made sure everyone I knew who was connected to Greenhill (a surprisingly large group of people, actually) understood that I wanted to be considered. I remember flying home to Durham with my wife after my interview (our interview, really), and saying to her, “If I’m lucky enough to get this job, we have to take it.” It felt -- and still feels -- like the opportunity of a lifetime. My excitement for joining the Greenhill community has only grown as the year has passed. Frankly, I have interviewed for a lot of head of school jobs, but I never found one that felt right enough to leave Durham Academy... until Greenhill. Among my most important considerations was to find a school that, like Durham Academy, would provide an excellent education for my children, is always thinking about ways to grow, that values diversity in all its many forms, and is filled with interesting people. I know that Greenhill is that school. It was clear when I visited that Greenhill is a place where the entire community is committed to living and fulfilling its mission: “Greenhill School is a diverse community of learners that strives for excellence; values individual-
ity; fosters a passion for learning; promotes the balanced development of mind, body, and character; encourages service; and instills a respect for others.” As it has been said about Greenhill for decades, “Greenhill is more than buildings, it’s people.” And from an outsider’s (soon to be insider’s) vantage, those Greenhill people are amazing. In essence, what really brought me to Greenhill is...you! Aside from that, if you Google me, you’ll get a sense of how comfortable I am making a fool of myself. You’ll also get a lot of hits of 70s kung fu movie star Hark Lee. One question I am asked a lot is, “What do you see for Greenhill in the future?” I hope you’re going to answer that question for me. There is so much that Greenhill is doing right already -- it is one of the truly outstanding schools in the country -- but I bet you have a list of a few ideas that would make it even stronger. Coming this summer, I’ll be surveying lots of groups (faculty, parents, students, and alumni/ae) to ask what makes Greenhill special to you. I’ll also be looking to hear what you think Greenhill needs to do to continue to provide an education that instills the confidence to take risks, the tenacity to achieve aspirational goals, and the kindness to collaborate with peers to change the world. In conjunction with the Board of Trustees, out of that survey will come some of my priorities for the first year and some direction to build on the great work that Mr. Griggs has done for the past two decades. I sincerely hope you’ll participate. Let me close by saying that I cannot wait
Op-Ed: Stop being your harshest critic Amber Syed Managing Editor
A first grader dashes to the SAGE Dining line as they ask for their third plate of food. They return back to their table, practically inhale their plate and sit contently as they ponder the idea of getting even more. Years later, this same kid sits around their lunch table hesitantly munching on the scraps of food they picked off the salad bar. Soon, they won’t even be seen in the cafeteria. Too often, high school students refrain from eating lunch or work out excessively to get a “better body.” With Instagram and Snapchat always showing teenagers what the “ideal” body looks like, it’s hard not to compare yourself to others. That’s not to say eating healthily and working out are bad things. There’s nothing wrong with teenagers wanting to feel like their best selves. Staying physically fit is extremely important for both physical and mental health. The problem is that we lose a part of ourself when we try to meet impossible beauty standards. The number of times I have heard people say small comments like, “I wish I had her body,” or “Why can’t I look like her?” is discomforting, because it’s a glimpse into a much bigger issue. Suddenly, I see people skipping lunch or looking at themselves in the mirror in disgust, as if what they see actually sickens them. Suddenly, I hear stories of people working out so much that they feel physically ill when they return home. Suddenly, these innocent comments aren’t so innocent. According to a study conducted by Yahoo
Photo by Caroline Simspson
SCROLLING THROUGH: An Upper Schooler looks through her feed looking through pictures of Instagram models and compares herself to them. Health, 94 percent of women aged 13 to 64 discovery page, before and after pictures showhave experienced body shaming, and women ing “dramatic weight loss” flood my feed, feel 3.5 times less content with their bodies with the before-photos depicting an unhappy than men. While both men and women face woman or man, and the after-photo showing body shaming, these numbers for girls and an elated version of the same person. Every women in America are shockingly high. Peo- time I open Snapchat, the filters immediately ple don’t seem to understand the significance transform my natural skin into flawless skin, of these numbers and how important this issue while simultaneously making my lips and eyes of body image is until they witness it firsthand. bigger. This implicitly tells us what we should Pressure from society to conform to strive to look like. The effect of this is that we beauty standards is evident around us at all put ourselves down. times. Every time I scroll though Instagram’s The worst part about changing ourselves
to meet you all! I hope you will come by my office if you’re on campus this summer. I look forward to learning your Greenhill story. Go Hornets, Lee Hark
Photo courtesy of Greenhill Communications Office and Huth Photography
and focusing on the figure of others is we mold ourselves into the “ideal body,” yet the “ideal body” is constantly changing. While men and women both struggle with body image, the “ideal” female body type has changed drastically throughout time. According to Medical Daily, the 1800’s ideal female body type was curvy. In the 1920s, women wanted leaner, more masculine body figures. From the 1940’s to 1950s, women sought a “Marilyn Monroeesque” figure. At this time, skinny girls were shamed and posters portraying transformations of women going from skinny to a little heavier were displayed, much like how transformations on Instagram are posted today. Kate Moss transformed the ideal body type in the 1990s, and everyone wanted to be skinny. Today, every girl strives to have Kardashian curves, Taylor Swift’s legs and Kate Hudson’s abs. In ten years, a new body type will become “ideal”- so why not embrace what we already are? Ideal body types are a social construct. Many people agree that we should notshame any body type because each person is unique. However, we rarely take our own advice. There is no true solution to this problem, because no matter how hard we try to change how we feel, there is no switch to turn off our own thoughts. However, we can slowly start to change the way we view ourselves. Stop telling yourself and others that you would rather look like someone else. The more you say it, the more you convince yourself of it. Don’t idolize everyone but yourself. Remember your own self worth.
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We have put together a bucket list to help you determine how exciting your summer this year will be! Add up the points of the activities you plan to accomplish to figure out your answer. Good luck!
Watch a movie marathon-1pt
Go stargazing- 2pts
Go to a water park- 1pt
Learn to surf- 3 pts
Picnic in the park-1 pt
Win a game of Fortnite- 3 pts
Go to a drive-in movie-2 pts
Go some place haunted- 3 pts
Go camping- 2 pts
Play a new instrument- 2 pts
Catch fireflies- 1pt
Go to a concert- 2 pts
Find a pen-pal- 3 pts
Try skydiving- 3 pts
Tie a message to a balloon-3 pts
Bury a time capsule- 3 pts
Solve a Rubik’s cube- 3 pts
Learn a new language- 2 pts
1-13 points Congrats! You will have a great summer. You are curious and adventurous.
14-27 points
28-40 points
Great Job! You will How impressive! You have an incredible have an intense, funsummer! Be ready for filled summer ahead of some exciting events you! Have fun! coming your way.
