the newspaper of gilman’s middle school
volume c
issue 3
november-december 2014
ALL WRITE. ALL RIGHT.
proudly serving Gilman School for 100 years
GMSers PROVE THERE IS MORE THAN ONE SANTA America’s social fabric torn by
‘OUI, OUI, FRENCH C! Ben Levinson & Max Verheyen, B&G Staff
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HOMELAND & ROLAND PARK - The Francophiles of GMS spent the day of December 10 strolling in lovely art galleries and lunching in a delightful, velvet-upholstered bistro...and we never left Baltimore City. Accompanied by Mesdames Abruzzo and Summers and Messieurs Abrams, Anderson, and Burke, GMS’s French C students and eighth grade Art students spent that morning on the annual tour of the BMA before filling their bellies at Petit Louis. Once at the BMA, the group immediately proceeded to the 18th-19th Century European Pre-Impressionist art exhibit. While the art in this gallery was outstanding, our focus on the trip was the Impressionist movement of 19th century France. The first piece we saw from this era was a replica of Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker.
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Ben Levinson, B&G Staff
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - The basic verbs of law enforcement have always been ‘serve’ and ‘protect’. Sadly, a few recent events wherein police have seemingly done the opposite of these words have made world headlines, causing the global society to turn its focus on the Land of the Free. And what has made these stories most upsetting is that the same unusual situation has kept repeating itself: police officers using excessive and even lethal force against citizens. It does not help matters that the cops have all been white and the civilians have all been black. The responsibility of a newspaper and its reporters is to inform its readers. Unfortunately, some news stories are so emotionally charged that simply “informing” often seems inadequate. To that end, in the form of several articles, The Blue & The Gray staff intends to report on recent events, hoping to provide as much fact as possible. The most recent tensions focused on law enforcement and race are not new. It was only two years ago that people were protesting the death of Trayvon Martin
Haywood, B&G Staff
ST. LOUIS - Even people who do not watch football know who the St. Louis Rams are. But not many know who Ariyana Smith is. This brave college basketball player was one of the first athletes to protest the decision not to indict the police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 11. On November 29, Smith, the star player at Division III Knox College in Western Illinois, walked out of the line of players as the National Anthem was
Above, eighth gr aders Noah Seth (left) and Isaac Lee play with the Bell Choir; below, seventh gr aders Ethan Forrester (left) and Aidan Collins perform solos with the Middle Ts.
NBA superstar LeBron James warms up before a December 8 game wearing an ‘I Can’t Breathe’ t-shirt.
St. louis suburb of ferguson remains heart of recent racial turmoil by
Nathan Hedgecock, B&G Staff
FERGUSON, MISSOURI - On August 9, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old young man, was shot by a police officer. Michael Brown was black. The cop was white. Brown had just stolen cigarillos from Ferguson Market and Liquor. Officer Darren Wilson saw him walking across Canfield Drive, so he called the dispatcher and reported that he had found someone who fit the description of the thief. Everything written so far has been fact. It is at this point that the tragic saga that has befallen this St. Louis suburb took on dozens of viewpoints. Different witnesses all have told different stories as to what happened next. Some say that Brown never moved towards Wilson but instead stood with his hands up, while others report him raising his hands but then dropping them
Zak Tini (’20) holds the piece of art he created as a part of Mr. Anderson’s Social Injustice art project, which invited GMSers to express their feelings through artistic media.
#ALLLIVESMATTER articles continued on pages 4 & 5
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by Jonathan
ALUMNI AUDITORIUM - Just before the winter break, GMS students put their musical talents on display for friends and family at the 2014 Winter Concert. At both the daytime concert, performed for the GMS student body on December 17, and the evening show for parents and families on December 18, the Bell Choir played, the Middlemen and Middle T Singers hit the risers, and the Sixth Grade Band, String Ensemble, Seventh and Eighth Grade Band, and Jazz Ensemble all took the stage.
photo courtesy of DAbrams
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‘A CHANGE IS U.S. athletes lift GONNA COME’... their voices in IT HAS TO peaceful protests
Cole Iampieri & Graham O’Brien, B&G Staff by
photo courtesy of DAbrams
GMS - During the holidays, nothing is better than bringing warmth and a smile to another person. This holiday season, GMSers and GMS teachers donated an incredible number of items to both the toy drive to benefit the House of Ruth and to be given to the Baltimore County Department of Social Services. Mr. Kelleher, who once again organized and oversaw GMS’s winter charity drives as a Student Council Advisor, said that he filled at least a dozen big black trash bags and estimated about 120 coats were donated. A wonderful coincidence happened the day Mr. Kelleher dropped off the toys at the Baltimore County Department of Social Services at the Drumcastle Center on York Road. A holiday party for a hundred homeless families was being held later that evening, which meant that the coats he brought in were distributed right away. “It feels great to give out so many coats to needy people, but I just wish the boys could come with us to experience how it feels to give to the
recent issues of r ace and justice
B&G Staff photo
Varun Maheshwari, B&G Staff
photo courtesy of APImages
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‘IT’S BEGINNING TO SOUND A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS’
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In what has become a wonderful tradition, the concert began with the Bell Choir, led by Ms. Nkeba. Her group played three songs, closing with “We Three Kings.” The Middlemen then sang its foursong set of “Awaken, Arise!,” “Silver Bells,” “Trioka,” and “Touch the Sky” from the movie Brave and featuring a solo by seventh grader Thomas Langston. At the Thursday evening concert, Mr. Lander conducted the String Ensemble, stepping in for Mr. Dechosa and directing the group in the playing of “The First Noel,” “Sivivon, Sov, Sov, Sov,” and “Greensleeves.” Ms. Eddinger, who helps direct the strings, played continued on page 2
PAGE HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS GMS Student Council members deliver Thanksgiving Food, Middle Ts sing holiday gigs, plus another Smyth Report
PAGE GR AND-BABY BOOM Five GMS Faculty grandbabies born in one week, and Ms. Park joins GMS Faculty ahead of Mr. Anderson’s sabbatical
PAGES #ALLLIVESMATTER B&G Staffers do their best make sense of senseless & to situations in Cleveland, Ferguson, and Staten Island
PAGE EASIN’ ON DOWN Cast announced for RPCSGMS Musical The Wiz, Devin Grinnage joins Class of 2020, and Music-8 goes to the BSO
PAGE ESPORTS EXPLOSION Contributor Calvin Watkins breaks down the rise of professional gaming, plus Khari Jones becomes a 2019 Hound
PAGE FACES & FUN This or That?, 3 Truths and 1 Lie, Zak Tini’s Who Would Win?, GMS-a-Grams, and a mid-term-themed wordsearch
PAGE POLAR BEAR HISTORY GMSers compete in first-ever interscholastic Polar Bear event, plus contributor Alex Lawson remembers ESPN’s Stuart Scott
PAGE WINTER SPORTS Hoops team starts 4-0, squash squad begins season 4-2, wrestlers win first two matches, while swim team starts 0-2
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