Volume CX Issue 3

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

The Parker Weekly, Page 1

The Parker Weekly Happy Halloween!

Volume CX, Issue 3

COVID BOOS

“ART” ON ZOOM

Parker Cancels Halloween Parade Amid Pandemic

T

Fall Play Performed On Zoom

By Emma Manley

By Ana Franco

he screaming and laughter of masked kids walking up and down the streets in their neighborhoods, grabbing candy from each house normally fills the streets on the night of October 31. This year, the night will be filled with social distancing and a different kind of mask.

COVID-19 has brought many challenges to the Parker community and, as a result, Parker administrators have been forced to reschedule or cancel many Parker traditions.

The Halloween parade is the latest to be cut.

This year, Halloween will involve empty hallways, kids in normal clothing, no bowls of candy or lost costumes on the floor -- it will be just like any other day at school.

Halloween 2020 has been a topic of great discussion within the administration this year. The excitement and exhilaration of dressing up on Halloween and walking through the halls, showing off costumes to the rest of the school is always a highlight of the entire school year for the Lower School students. Hundreds of Middle and Upper School students come together with parents and families to watch the Lower School students and their Big Brothers and Sisters walk through the halls. However, attending the Halloween parade exposes kids to many students outside of their pod, which is not ideal under the current circumstances. In response, the administration and teachers came up with a plan that allowed the students to have a fun and memorable Halloween experience while staying safe and socially distant.

John Novick, Head of Intermediate and Middle Schools, and acting Head of Lower School Barbra Hunt, sent an email to Parker families on October 1 regarding Halloween this year. “Given our current health and safety guidelines,in particular those related to the handling of objects, the gathering of crowds in hallways, stairwells, the podding of students and the physical distancing of all, there will not be a Halloween parade this year, and students school-wide will not wear costumes to school,” the email read.

Before cancelling the parade, Novick and Hunt sat down and looked at the health and safety protocols that Parker has set in place in order to keep students safe. They determined that they could not hold the parade in a safe manner. “Halloween was not worth the potential health risks for the

Continued on page 16

October 30, 2020

A

lmost every afternoon for the past two months, high school Fall Play cast members have rehearsed “Art”

by Yasmina Reza. Instead of stepping into the auditorium following their classes, cast members join the Fall Play Zoom call from their homes.

The rehearsals are not the only part of the Fall Play on Zoom. Audience members Student Government President Carter Wagner introducing the Senior Month Resolution during Plenary. Photo joined a Zoom webinar to watch the Fall courtesy of Carter Wagner.

Play at 7 pm on Wednesday, October 28, the opening night. The play was also performed on Thursday, October 29 at 7 p.m. and will be 7 p.m. on Friday, October 30, and 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 31.

“Art” by Yasmina Reza focuses on the conflicts between three friends after one

By Zach Joseph buys a very expensive painting which is s former Student Government Ori, ad decided on late in August. “When completely white. The friendship between President Matthew Turk ‘20 wrote Carter and I had some of our first meetings Serge--who bought the painting--and Marc in his platform to run for office, “I have with Ms. Barr, she brought up how Senior is strained, and Yvan is caught in the middle briefly spoken with Mr. Brandon and month was still being discussed with the of the conflict.

There are five cast members this year. surveyed students about a new program I faculty, and immediately, Carter and I were want to start called Senior Month, where for like, ‘what, what’s going on?’” Ori said. The character of Marc is double cast and four weeks of May, seniors will participate “When we first started hearing about this played by senior Spencer O’Brien and in an internship or some other form of from Ms. Barr, we were so confused that it sophomore Kymari Hart, who plays a enrichment outside of school. Let’s have was still happening, that Carter and I wrote female version of the character named Marg.

Serge is double cast and played by senior more ideas like that going forward.” the proposal in August.”

When Turk wrote his platform, the Before introducing the proposals, Grayson Schementi and junior Cece Lopez, concept of a month off of school for seniors Ori sent out Google Form surveys to the who plays Serena, the female version of the to pursue passion projects was virtually entire Upper School to gauge the level of character. Yvan, a nonbinary character, is unheard of to the general student body. interest in Senior Month for the 2020-2021 played by senior Will Ehrlich.

Upper School drama teacher John The program had not been implemented at school year. One hundred and forty students Parker before, at least not in the last decade. responded, and of those responses, 56.5% Hildreth is the director of the Fall Play.

A year and a half later, roughly 300 students were open to Senior Month over remote Auditions for the Fall Play were held over gathered together virtually to decide whether learning, 20.5% liked doing Senior Month Zoom on September 10. The auditioning this pet project of Turk’s would be a reality over a hybrid schedule, and only 11.6% students joined a Zoom call and stayed in for the Class of 2021. were interested in doing Senior Month over the waiting room to be called in to audition.

“Auditioning was probably the most similar After six weeks of Plenary meetings, an in-person schedule.

Town Halls, and Senate conversations “We’ve seen through the data that we’ve because auditioning really is just sort of over Postmates meals, the student body gathered through, like our Google surveys the same thing as on Zoom,” O’Brien said. overwhelmingly voted to postpone Senior that Ava’s done a great job collecting, we “You’re just performing to Mr. Hildreth Month for a year, which according to the saw it in our town hall with Mr. Brandon, sitting on the other side of the room is what proposal, would make the Class of 2022 the we’ve seen it in virtually every discussion it would normally be except at this time it first to try out the alternative May schedule. that has been held around Senior Month, was a computer, so if anything, auditioning The vote passed 204 to 18, and was the that the seniors overwhelmingly hate it and was a little easier.”

“I thought that this would be a play first proposal passed over Zoom in Student the juniors and underclassmen either dislike Government history, according to senior it or believe it’s a senior-only matter and that’s suited to a virtual performance and and Student Government President Carter therefore vote with the senior perspective,” suited to Parker because it’s a small cast,” Wagner.

Wagner said. “So that’s not encompassing Hildreth said. “It doesn’t matter who enters what door or who’s walking where, so it’s The first five Plenaries in Student everyone. And there are exceptions.”

Government of the 2020-2021 school year Upper School history teacher and really easy to simplify the movements to were dedicated entirely to discussing and Student Government Adviser Jeanne Barr, at home standing in front of their laptops.”

The cast is working to use features on voting on the Senior Month proposal, which however, has been in favor of Senior Month Wagner and Executive Adviser, senior Ava during the discussions on its feasibility. Zoom, like virtual backgrounds, as their set.

THE STUDENTS SPEAK OUT

Proposal To Delay Senior Month By One Year Passes In Plenary

A

Continued on page 15

Continued on page 15

The Parker Weekly, Page 2

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

T he P arker W eekly

“The Weekly” is supported by an endowment created in memory of Brad Davis ‘98 “Weekly” Staff ‘96-’98, “Weekly” Editor-in-Chief ‘97-’98

In this issue:

staff

Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Online Editor News Editor Features Editor Opinions Editor Photo Editor Political Liaison Culture Critic Culture Critic Columnist Columnist Columnist Columnist Cartoonist Copy Editor Copy Editor Copy Editor Copy Editor

Zach Joseph Julia Marks Nick Skok Tess Wayland Jacob Boxerman Emma Manley Sofia Brown Gabe Wrubel Grace Conrad Leila Sheridan Scarlett Pencak Lilly Satterfield Rosey Limmer Spencer O’Brien Denise Román Grayson Schementi Maddy Leja Samantha Graines Max Keller Alya Satchu Eden Stranahan

The Editorial Board of “The Parker Weekly” consists of the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editor, News Editor, Features Editor, Opinions Editor, and Online Editor.

writers Zach Joseph ‘21 Elliot Landolt ‘21 Rosey Limmer ‘21 Julia Marks ‘21 Spencer O’Brien ‘21 Scarlett Pencak ‘21 Denise Román ‘21 Alex Schapiro ‘21 Grayson Schementi ‘21 Nick Skok ‘21 Jacob Boxerman ‘22 Sofia Brown ‘22

Hi Parker!

Happy Halloween! It’s crazy how time flies! We hope your day is full of LOTS of candy and hopefully a good scare or two! As exciting as this holiday is, please remember to be mindful of your gatherings as COVID-19 is worsening in Chicago.

We have a lot of exciting content in this issue, and are so excited to present what our staff has worked so hard to produce.

Please make sure to check out our two head-to-head articles on Senior Month -- one from a senior’s perspective, and one from a junior’s.

As always, please make sure to check out our website (parkerweekly.org) to see more photos, briefs, and quizzes! We miss you all tons.

Love,

Zach, Julia, and Nick

Emma Manley ‘22 Nsaia Pettis ‘22 Tess Wayland ‘22 Ana Franco ‘23 Sadie Gallagher ‘23 Samantha Graines ‘23 Sophia Jones ‘23 Sophia Rosenkranz ‘23 Alya Satchu ‘23 Eden Stranahan ‘23 Riya Jain ‘24 Harry Lowitz ‘24

contributing faculty Faculty Advisor Faculty Advisor

Letter From The Editors

Kate Tabor Eric Rampson

Quote of “The Weekly”

“Thank you to my beautiful daughter, whom I have a very special relationship with.”

- Tess Wayland (in the voice of Donald Trump)

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

The Parker Weekly, Page 3

Playlist of “The Weekly” HAPPY HALLOWEEN

By Alex Schapiro

The full mix can be accessed at https://open.spotify.com/ playlist/35Tm17apqN5zyz4zqRZTdg?si=XM1oH8fURA2QmGVdtBQcBQ or by scanning the code below.

PSYCHO KILLER

THRILLER

by Michael Jackson

by Talking Heads

SUPERSTITION

TIME WARP

by Stevie Wonder

by Little Nell, Patricia Quinn, Richard O’Brien

MY FAMILY

GHOSTBUSTERS

by Migos, Karol G, Snoop Dogg, Rock Mafia

by Ray Parker Jr.

SPOOKY, SCARY SKELETONS

MONSTER MASH

by Andrew Gold

by Bobby “Boris” Pickett, The Crypt-Kickers

SOMEBODY’S WATCHING ME

HIGHWAY TO HELL

by Rockwell

by AC/DC

TWILIGHT ZONE

I WANT CANDY

by Golden Earring

by Bow Wow Wow

ZOMBIE

by The Cranberries

I PUT A SPELL ON YOU

by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins

PET SEMATARY THE MONSTER

by Ramones

by Eminem, Rihanna

SCARY MONSTERS

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

by David Bowie

by The Rolling Stones

Have something to say about what was published in this issue of “The Weekly”? Email our Managing Editor at twayland@fwparker.org and write a Letter to the Editors to be published in our next issue!

The Parker Weekly, Page 4

Events at Parker

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

HOW TO BE HAPPY

Michelle Gielan Speaks at Francine C. Rosenberg Lecture on Happiness During Uncertainty On October 5, at 7 p.m., several hundred people from around the country opened up their computer screens and logged into Zoom for the 23rd Annual Francine C. Rosenberg Memorial Lecturer, Michelle Gielan. Gielan is a positive psychology researcher and bestselling author who spoke on the topic of “Cultivating Happiness During Uncertainty.”

The Francine C. Rosenberg Memorial Lecture series honors Francine C. Rosenberg, and holds lectures with the goal of sharing “innovative views, philosophies and teachings relevant to the education of our children and how we live our lives.”

The virtual event was free and open to the public and lasted around an hour, with a lecture from Gielan and time for questions from the participants.

“I was really pleased to be able to put forward this really important topic especially at this time, and it’s exciting when there’s research based psychology that’s so practical and applicable which this topic of positive psychology is,” daughter of Francine Rosenberg, Sally Rosenberg (‘79) said. “It’s such a valuable asset for all of us to have in our lives.” Gielan was connected to Parker through her husband who spoke at a retreat with Sally Rosenberg. Rosenberg then reached out to Gielan, discussed ideas,

By Julia Marks

Michelle Gielan presenting a diagram in her virtual MX for students. Photo courtesy of Michelle Gielan.

and invited her to be the speaker at this year’s Francine C. Rosenberg Lecture.

With the lecture occurring on Zoom, participants were also able to access a Spanish translation, live closed captioning, and an ASL interpreter, added through a collaborative process with Sally Rosenberg and Parker. “I really appreciated that we could leverage the need to be virtual with making the programming available,” Rosenberg said. “I’m really committed to making sure that going forward whatever format we are in, virtual or in person, that we continue making sure the program is

accessible.”

In the lecture, Gielan discussed tools to cope with uncertainty, handle stress, shift one’s mindset to focus on gratitude and positivity, and enhance happiness.

“The most important thing I feel I’ve gleaned from this research is how powerful individuals are to not only prime their own brain to be positive but also transmit that positive mindset to people around them,” Gielan said.

Specifically, Gielan discussed the “three greatest predictors of long term levels of success,” which include: work optimism,

positive engagement, and support provision.

“Work optimism is the expectation of good things to happen and the belief that our behavior matters, especially in the face of challenges,” Gielan said. With the influx of negative news received during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically those that propose a problem, brains begin to believe that actions won’t make a difference, which can lead to pessimism and depression.

Positive engagement addresses how the brain reacts to stress. “Does your brain go into fight or flight, or do you look at the stressful event as a challenge,” Gielan said.

According to Gielan, experimental data shows that shifting the mindset around stress to view it as an advantage showed a 23% drop in stress related symptoms.

“This basically was trying to test how supportive individuals are of the people around them,” Gielan said regarding support provision, the third greatest predictor of “long term levels of success.” Supporting family, friends, colleagues, coworkers, or anyone around, small acts of support cause a ripple of impact. As presented by Gielan, 40% of people who were supportive of those around them were more likely to receive a promotion.

Continued on page 16

LOWER SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE GOES VIRTUAL! An Overview of the Parker Lower School Virtual Open House Event On October 17, families interested in Parker would usually walk along Circle Drive, enter the alcove, and perhaps explore various classrooms. They would be happily greeted by faculty, staff, and students ready to answer any Parker related questions they were asked. However, on October 17, 2020, families, device at hand, logged on to the 2020 Lower School open house online.

An open house serves as an opportunity for families to observe Parker and understand the curriculum and culture present at the school. The Parker website shows a calendar that indicates the important information, details, and dates regarding the open houses for Upper School, Middle School, and Lower School.

When clicking the open house event on the Francis W. Parker website, it takes you to a booking section where all logistics regarding the event can be found. The event took place on October 17 for families of students from junior kindergarten through third grade.

The Parker website states, “Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from Parker’s school leaders and learn more about our Lower School program -- all from the comfort of their own home.”

By Sophia Rosenkranz

The event started with a slideshow of Parker students and facilities. According to the Admissions Team at Parker, over 200 people registered for the Open House Saturday, which is equal to about 100 households. The attendees were from 35 different zip codes,with one from England.

The event consisted of different segments.

As mentioned in the confirmation email the first segment was a, “Welcome with Daniel B. Frank, ‘74, Ph.D., Principal.” Then, Barbara Hunt, Director of Studies JK-5 and Acting Head of Lower School greeted the attendees. “Welcome to our school,” Hunt said while starting the presentation on the Zoom webinar. Throughout her presentation, Hunt highlighted different topics about Parker, one being that, “Students work both independently and collaboratively,” Hunt said.

A faculty and staff panel and a video compilation of students in grades JK-5 were presented in order to answer questions submitted by prospective families when registering for the event. Finally, an “Admission and Financial Assistance Overview with Karen Fisher, Director of Enrollment and Financial Assistance”

closed the event on Saturday morning.

“This is still a relatively new event for the lower school which is still really exciting,” Assistant Director of Admission for grades JK-5 Katy Buoscio said. “For two years it has been on Parker’s campus and it’s been really wonderful to have there.”

The biggest difference between having a virtual Open House instead of an in-person event is, “Not being able to welcome these families into our space, the space that they would envision their child or their family,” Buoscio said.

“Fall is a beautiful time to be on campus at Parker with the leaves falling, and allowing families to see the amazing play spaces we have and our classrooms,” Fisher said.

Having the event shift formats also allows time to explore, research, and discover new ways to approach the Open House. “We are using Zoom webinars as a platform, so we have done quite a bit of professional development as a team to make sure we are ready for the event and to make sure that this is a format that is accessible to prospective families,” Buoscio said.

The new format has also allowed

for additional ideas. “We have not only been trying to replicate the events that we have had, but also find opportunities for new ways of connecting with people,” Fisher said.

The virtual platform has created new elements for the events that occur in the fall.

Lunch and Learns are a new opportunity for families to hear more about Parker and ask questions. “Families can drop in on their lunch hour and have a presentation and an opportunity to ask questions, and so it won’t just be the open house event, although the open house event will be, I think, exciting, and we are trying to show the campus with some of the archival footage that we have,” Fisher said.

Fisher also mentioned that through the registering process one could send questions for the faculty panel to answer and elaborate more on, which is a vital part of the Open House event. During the panel, faculty and staff answered questions regarding a variety of topics.

Among the many questions asked, Director of Parker PM Stacie Newmark, presented information concerning after

Continued on page 16

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

Staying Healthy!

PARKER FLU VACCINE CLINIC, 2020 EDITION

Parker Holds Annual Flu Vaccine Clinic During Pandemic

The Parker Weekly, Page 5

BOOKS FOR CHANGE

Freshman Riya Jain Wrote and Published Two Books

By Samantha Graines

By Jacob Boxerman Flu vaccinations are always important, but experts say they’re even more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parker did its part by continuing its annual “Family and Friends” Flu Vaccine Clinic on October 2.

The clinic was open to children four years and older and adults for a $35 fee.

In addition to the community clinic, employees and their families were a l s o o ff e r e d a n opportunity to get vaccinations—free of cost for faculty, the usual $35 fee for family—on September 25. The clinic is normally held during school hours as a convenience to faculty, but due to the coronavirus inbuilding restrictions, the clinic was moved to after school.

The faculty flu shot clinic was held in the Webster parking lot as planned.

However, the community clinic was moved into the Big Gym due to weather concerns.

According to Parker Nurse Anne Nelson, roughly 125 vaccinations were administered at each event, for a total vaccination count between 250 and 265 people.

Junior Mason Gardner, along with his mother, was one of the 125 who went to get vaccinated on the October 2 clinic.

He said that while no one likes getting shots, the experience was overall positive.

“I got my temperature checked before I came in the building, then waited, and got the shot,” Gardner said. “There weren’t too many people there. It was a pretty quick process overall.”

G a r d n e r estimates that both he and his mother were in and out within five to ten minutes.

Gardner also felt that the vaccination clinic was a safe, low-risk environment, despite the fact that it was staged in the Big Gym. “Everyone had their masks on, temperature was taken ... you had to exit through the main door, you couldn’t even exit through the door you came in through,” Gardner said. “Everything felt pretty safe, pretty well organized.”

Upper School English teacher Cory Zeller says that she had a similar experience at the faculty vaccination. “I felt incredibly comfortable. The fact that it was outside,

that there were dots on the ground separating us for six feet, that there were minimal points of contact with anyone that I didn’t already know. And the nurses there have worked at Parker, and they’ve always done the shot. So I was familiar with the people,” Zeller said.

Zeller’s daughter and husband also received t h e i r influenza vaccine. “I encouraged my husband to come with me because it would be an easy way to get it. And then I told Sloane at the last minute — she hates flu shots.”

Zeller says that had the school not provided the opportunity to receive a vaccination, she and her family would have gone elsewhere, but Zeller did feel more comfortable going to the school.

“I was happy to not have to bring my child to the pediatrician when she’s not sick,” Zeller said. “Even going into a pharmacy this time of year can be high risk. So the fact that we could be outside, distanced, minimal contact, felt really safe.”

This year’s vaccinations were administered by two nurses from ISR Total Testing and Training, a company Nelson has partnered with for a number of years. “They usually have two nurses giving the shots and these folks are experts.

Yo u d o n ’t feel a thing and it is quick,” Nelson said.

Overall, Nelson was satisfied with this year’s flu clinics.

“I think it was a big success this year because people want to get flu shots before flu season,” Nelson said. “People appreciated being able to come to school and get the shot. No fuss, no muss.”

“Even going into a pharmacy this time of year can be high risk. So the fact that we could be outside, distanced, minimal contact, felt really safe.”

“Everything felt pretty safe, pretty well organized.”

Riya Jain reading one of her books to an audience. Photo courtesy of Riya Jain.

A hard-cover picture book has a bright orange background and five smiling faces. On the front cover in big block letters are the words “The Class That Can: Food Allergies.” This title belongs to one of the two picture book’s Freshman Riya Jain has written.

The first book that Jain wrote is “The Class That Can: Food Allergies,” and the second is “The Class That Can: Coronavirus,” both of which have a designated audience of first to fifth graders. She published her first book, about food allergies, last year, and she published her second book, about COVID-19, in April.

Both books are sold as hard copies as well as ebooks that anyone can download for free.

“That way it is accessible to everyone,” Jain said. “We don’t make much money on it. It’s just a nice resource.”

Jain’s first book is all about teaching kids what food allergies are and what to do if one were to have a friend with a food allergy. Jain wanted to write a book about food allergies because she is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, so she knows what it is like to experience growing up with a food allergy. “I thought that it would be really helpful to teach kids at a young age about food allergies, so they know what to do,” Jain said, “Also, food allergy bullying is pretty normalized, like ‘oh you can’t eat this, you can’t eat that.’”

Jain’s mother also happens to be Pediatrician and Director of the Center for Food Allergies and Asthma Research at Lurie’s Children’s Hospital, Dr. Ruchi Gupta. Gupta does a lot of work with food allergies, so Jain gets exposure to problems surrounding food allergies from her. “I started conducting conferences for families with food allergies to help give them information that I felt lucky enough to have and that I wanted to share... Riya, of course, came with me a lot, and observed all this,” Gupta said. “Then, she wanted to be an advocate and she started participating with me to support her friends and peers.”

Gupta was working in the food allergy field before her daughter, Riya Jain was born.

However, her work became more personal when Jain was diagnosed with food allergies at age one. “I started living with it and experiencing

everything I had been researching. It was very interesting and I felt like I could help other families,” Gupta said.

Amidst quarantine, everyone had a lot of extra time on their hands, and Jain was no exception. She wanted to use her spare time for something that would benefit her community, so she decided to write another book. Her second book, “The Class That Can: Coronavirus” is all about teaching kids what the coronavirus is and why they have to be at home. She attempts to answer the questions that first-through-fifth graders may have about the coronavirus. “Younger kids have no clue what is going on, so it is a fun way of showing them what it is,” Jain said.

She chose to write children’s books because she wanted to write books for people younger than her to read as she would not want to read a book from someone younger than her, and she liked the idea of her messages getting across to kids at a younger age. “You get those lessons instilled in them when they are younger,” Jain said.

Another reason that she wanted to write a book is that she has always had a desire to make change through literature. “I really wanted to help people in the way I could with the resources I am so fortunate to have,” Jain said.

To write and publish her two books, she received assistance from multiple people such as JJ Vulopas, a 2019 graduate from the University of Pennsylvania who studied finance, statistics, and computer science. Jain and Vulopas met at a food allergy conference and decided to work hand in hand to co-write both of the books.

Gupta was the one who introduced her daughter to Vulopas. “One meeting, she met JJ, who was also a young man with food allergies who was very committed to being an advocate. They really connected and wanted to work together on a book about food allergies,” Gupta said.

Vulopas, like Jain, also grew up with food allergies. “I’ve been allergic to milk and nuts my whole life,” Vulopas said. In

Continued on page 16

The Parker Weekly, Page 6

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

Gathering and TikTokking

SOCIALIZING OR SOCIAL DISTANCING? A Look Into the Upper School Gatherings

TIKTOK AT PARKER

Anika Gehani and her TikTok account with 31.5k

By Riya Jain

By Sadie Gallagher With the Lower, Intermediate, and Middle School back on campus, Parker hosted a physical gathering for each grade in the Upper School. Due to the grade sizes and the size of gatherings allowed in Illinois, Parker worked to create an enjoyable, but safe, social event for students to see one another in person. Attempting to stay safe from COVID-19 with such large groups is hard, especially when some students have been socializing with each other while others have chosen not to since March.

“It was fun seeing people in my grade, and I am glad I was able to connect more with people,” freshman Danni Kaplan said.

“Truthfully, it was a little awkward to hang out with people six feet apart, and some people weren’t doing the best distancing, but still a pretty good time.” Kaplan is a new student at Parker but was not as nervous to go to the gathering as she had met several students on the tennis team already. “At the social, if I had known no one, it would’ve been really hard,” Kaplan said. “That made sense, because we had to be safe, but it still is tough circumstances.”

Physical Education teacher and freshman grade head Tyler Heidtke was able to attend the gathering and felt that the event went well given the restrictions. “I have heard that it was really nice being able to see their friends and new classmates,” Heidtke said. “It looked like students were a bit hesitant to chat early on, but by the end of the event there was a lot of socializing.” Heidtke felt the grade did well with the social distancing parameters. Students were asked to spread out a few times, but Heidtke expected this, considering the amount of people and new interactions.

For a look into the sophomore gathering, “everyone mingled around so I got to talk in-person to many people I haven’t seen since mid-March,” sophomore Daniel Silets said. “But the COVID-19 safe part of the event was not our best. Everyone kept their mask on for the most part, we were eating pretty close, but overall it wasn’t very safe as no one was distanced, even if it was outside.” The sophomores were split into two groups and were expected to stay on their designated side of the courtyard, but by the end of the event, no one was on the Eastern side.

Like others, junior Ava Rosenberg said she had a good time seeing her classmates again, and catching up with friends was super enjoyable. “Safety-wise, the juniors

were good about keeping their masks on, and we did okay with six feet social distancing,” Rosenberg said.

But despite the social distancing and mask-wearing, Rosenberg thought the split of the grade was useless. “There are pods of people that have seen each other more often, almost quarantining together, so when the faculty split them up, it wasn’t effective,” Rosenberg said. Because of this issue, the grade eventually just came together.

Each grade gathering was planned and laid out by the Upper School Dean of Student Life, Joe Bruno. Socially, Bruno agreed with Heidtke. “I thought by the end of the event students warmed up to being back at Parker and seeing one another. They were all a little awkward at times, but that makes sense due to the facemasks and time apart, and definitely the six feet distance,” Bruno said. He explained how everyone made the best of it, and once students were comfortable with the setting, the socials were a success. When looking at the coronavirus s a f e t y restrictions, “I was beyond impressed with how well people kept their masks on, but the struggling was being six feet away from each other,” Bruno said, then adding that he understands the awkwardness of six feet between you and the person you are talking to.

For social events like these for the future, Bruno says it will be tricky. “I think we have to be respectful when bringing people into Parker, now that it is getting colder, it will be more difficult to do an event outdoors,” Bruno said. “If we did something inside, we would need to get very creative on how we do that, and I really don’t see it happening.” He says in terms of classwide gatherings, he doesn’t see it happening again due to state guidelines.

If people did gather, further preparation would need to take place, but nothing is being arranged as of now.

“It was fun seeing people in my grade, and I am glad I was able to connect more with people... Truthfully, it was a little awkward to hang out with people six feet apart”

TikToker and Parker student, Anika Gehani. Photo courtesy of Anika and @itsreallyani on TikTok.

TikTok, the app where people can post videos varying from dancing, to advocating, to making others laugh, has made its way into Parker. Freshman Anika Gehani recently gained 31.5 thousand followers and almost two million total likes on her account “@ itsreallyani.”

“It happened really randomly,” Gehani said. “It was like my spam account that nobody followed or knew about with like 20 followers, when six months later in June, one of my videos unexpectedly got 1.8 Million likes and 11.9 Million views.” It was a video without any sound of Gehani waxing parts of her face, and all of a sudden, it covered the “for you page.”

It got 7,479 comments and 2,435 shares.

“One of my friends texted me that I went viral, and I was a little scared at first. I was also really surprised and overwhelmed from all the notifications,” Gehani said when asked about her reaction to her new fame.

Gehani says her favorite part of being “TikTok famous” is there is no pressure to be anything special, but instead it is just to have fun. Her personal life hasn’t changed dramatically and her use of the app has stayed relatively the same. “My life hasn’t changed itself. It’s kinda just fun to have an account like that. I’ve still use TikTok the same amount as before,” Gehani said.

Kashi Shah, a friend of Gehani and one of her supporters, explained her reaction to Gehani’s account beginning to get millions of likes. “I thought that it was funny to me and I was surprised because of how simple the video

was,” Shah said. “I didn’t actually know about her TikTok account, but Anika called me because she didn’t know if she should take the video down or not.”

Shah is surprised but encouraging., “I’ve been in a couple of her TikToks and they haven’t gotten many views or likes, but she does have a lot of followers now, so they’ve gotten around a couple hundred likes. I mean, this girl is famous!” Shah said.

Gehani’s y o u n g e r s i s t e r, Riana, an 8th grade student at Parker, heard about the viral video from her sister.

“She wasn’t on my For You page or anything, but she told me while we were cooking, and I was kind of surprised because I never knew she was going to be TikTok famous,” Gehani said. “I honestly wasn’t shocked, but she was pretty surprised, so that made me even more shocked.”

Her favorite of Anika’s TikToks is all of the dance videos that they are in together.

“Since she has a lot of followers, she takes a lot of retakes so they look good, but she really doesn’t care as long as she’s having fun.”

Gehani’s main message to all who hope to gain fame on TikTok is to “ have fun with your TikToks and do what makes you happy!”

“It happened really randomly... one of my videos unexpectedly got 1.8 Million likes and 11.9 Million views.”

“she does have a lot of followers now, so they’ve gotten around a couple hundred likes. I mean, this girl is famous!”

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

The Parker Weekly, Page 7

COVID-19’s Effect on Parker PRE-TESTING DURING THE PANDEMIC How the PSAT and PreACT have Operated Amidst the Pandemic

For one of the first times since March, juniors have headed back to campus with masks on, spaced at least six feet apart, and focused on the PSAT. All the while, sophomores proceeded to take the PreACT virtually, in a remote graderoom-like setting.

Learning Resource Department Chair Bridget Walsh explained that Parker kids “benefit” from taking the PSAT and PreACT because it helps “to get some comfortability with standardized testing.”

“It’s not something that Parker typically values in terms of a good read of a kid’s abilities,” Walsh said, “however, it is a reality in the Chicagoland area and nationwide that standardized tests are important for determining things for kid’s futures.”

The PSAT is an optional standardized test taken in junior year for Parker students.

It prepares students for the upcoming SAT, and a high score can even lead to scholarships and National Merit recognition.

The College Board requires schools to have their students take the test on a set date. This year, the PSAT was taken on October 14 and in-person. Approximately 40 members of the junior class registered to take the exam.

The given work time to complete the PSAT is just under 3.5 hours, including breaks.

In previous years, the College Board gave high schools a set time where students were required to start and finish. This year, start

By Alya Satchu

times are described as being more “flexible,” due to the coronavirus pandemic.

One of the reasons for this change is because Parker needs to be more cautious of when students would primarily enter the building. While PSAT testing was in session, students from other grades were attending classes and also entering the building. This caused the need to be even more cautious.

“Part of the change is that this is not an out of school day for JK-7,” Middle and Upper School Director of Studies Sven Carlsson said, “For the other divisions, they’re in the building, and the building has been re-framed to allow for safe social distancing and travel and everything. So, it’s not like you can just roam around the building like we used to be able to.”

The protocol for taking the PSAT in person began with the total number of students that participated being split into two groups. These two groups entered Parker campus and took the exam at different times. The first group did the exam in the morning hours, and the second in the afternoon.

“I wouldn’t recommend that anyone necessarily prep for this test. No one should have been doing workbooks and having a private tutor for the PSAT,” Walsh said.

“But, it is a good snapshot of where you’re at

compared to other students at other schools all across the country, and how you compare to them in terms of your college readiness.”

The PreACT is a practice test that sophomores take in order to prepare themselves for the ACT. This assessment generally helps students and families “identify areas of academic strength and opportunity” according to the PreACT website.

The way that the PreACT has run its course this year was entirely different than previous years. Unlike the PSAT, the PreACT was taken and supervised virtually.

Both of the exams were held on the same day, October 14 at 8:00 a.m..

A large envelope was sent to families of the sophomore class from the Upper School office that contained the physical PreACT exam. Students were advised to not open the envelope until the time to commence the testing began.

The PreACT was remotely proctored and students were obliged to join a Zoom link for registration and time management instruction, and of course to take the exam.

Subsequent to completing the assessment in a quiet space where students could easily focus, sophomores were then expected to promptly mail the test to the Upper School office so that grading could be completed

before Wednesday, October 28.

The PreACT is only a practice test while the PSAT can be tied to scholarship opportunities and awards that can benefit students in the future. There is always the possibility of students finding ways to cheat on the PreACT, due to it being remote.

Since the PreACT is only a practice test, if a student had found a way to cheat, it wouldn’t do anything to help them in the future.

“If a kid wants to cheat on the PreACT, it really only hurts themselves. It doesn’t help them at all,” Walsh said. “We could not send home the PSAT because if you cheated, you could be awarded a scholarship. You could have this distinction that wouldn’t have been truthful.”

Parker still wanted to give sophomores the chance to take a standardized test, but allowing them to take it on campus was not a priority.

Another difference between the PSAT and PreACT is that the PSAT offers extended time for students who need those accommodations, while the PreACT does not. In terms of the PreACT, there were students at Parker who had previously received extended time and who then did not receive it for standardized testing.

“Us just giving you extended time

Continued on page 18

EXPOSED

Upper School Quarantining and Second Hand Exposure This Fall On September 25, Parker parents opened their email to a notification from Nurse Anne Nelson explaining that a student in the Upper School has contracted COVID-19. The email said that parents would be discreetly notified if their child had come into contact with the coronavirus.

This email is one of two that has been sent out regarding the Parker Upper School and one of three regarding any Parker students.

It is similar to many sent out across schools in Chicago and all around the country in the early fall months as schools adjust to varied new realities.

Parker isn’t the only school seeing how quickly school can become affected through large friend groups, sports teams, and second hand exposure. The Latin School of Chicago started their back to school season with their fall sports teams quarantining. “At the start of the year, for preseason sports we had some pretty informal soccer practices happening,” Latin sophomore Cameron Woan said. “These had to be cancelled due to people on the cross country and golf teams testing positive for COVID-19. That basically shut down all preseason sports.”

At Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, students are fully back to school in pods that do all of their classes together. If

By Eden Stranahan

one person in the pod tests positive, all of the students in the group take precautions.

“One girl in my class tested positive, but it was a false positive,” Bernard Zell eighth grader Benjamin Graines said. “As soon as we got the information, they took us out of school, and we waited in the parking lot to get picked up. We were supposed to be out for two weeks, and then the head of our school informed us it was a false positive.”

If it hadn’t been a false positive, everyone in the pod would have quarantined at home. “The plan was that the school was telling us we had to stay at home for two weeks,” Graines said. “But, it was a false positive, and everything was ok. I did have to stay at home for two days until they told me.”

A student in the Parker Upper School tested positive for the coronavirus this school year. “It didn’t affect how I learned this year,” the anonymous Upper School student said. “I didn’t have any symptoms. I just tested positive. I just had to stay inside, but it didn’t affect my work at all. I was able to do it just as I am right now.”

Sports were also thought of in the Parker student’s situation. “We had to

inform the school because my sister was doing sports,” the anonymous student said.

“Nothing really happened that was major because that didn’t impact very many people. We just had to inform the school because of the sports.”

Bernard Zell’s daily school life hasn’t been drastically affected. “Our schedule in pods is pretty similar to what it was last year before COVID-19,” Graines said. “The only difference is math because it’s levelled. It has to be online which would cause more exposure to each other. We also have two recesses, and the teachers come to our room, we don’t really leave the room.”

The anonymous student at Parker wasn’t involved in large groups and was mostly spending their time safely with family and small groups of friends. “This whole pandemic I’ve been really scared about not only getting COVID-19, but spreading it,” the anonymous student said.

“Spreading it is the major fear factor for me.”

Latin has a similar protocol as Parker regarding emailing when students contract the coronavirus. “During the school year there’s definitely been more cases,” Woan

said. “When there is a case, the school will email all of the parents and students and just basically says when you have been in contact with the person we will email you.

They give instructions on your quarantine.”

Latin has had fewer cases in their Upper School than their Middle School, which is going half day in person classes.

Their Lower School is fully in person.

Upper Schoolers at Latin go into school, something that Parker does not, as they log in to Zoom on an eight day cycle in pods.

If Parker was partially remote and partially back, testing positive could have a large impact. “I think if I was with more people, or at school it definitely would have spread faster,” the anonymous student said.

“We were lucky that it didn’t spread to anyone else besides our family, but there are so many what ifs. What if we were back to school or on a big sports team?

Then this situation could have looked very different.”

Contracting the coronavirus did not change this student’s views on going back to real school. “I am definitely not for going back to in-person school,” the anonymous

Continued on page 18

The Parker Weekly, Page 8

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

Budgets and Boos 2020 STRIKES AGAIN

Chicago Faces $1.2 Billion Budget Shortfall in 2021 Editor ’s note: Mayor Lightfoot announced the City’s proposed budget on October 21, after this article went to press.

Walking down the streets of Chicago, residents are met with potholes, construction, and the bustle of public transportation.

COVID-19 has now added a new layer to the city-life norm. Not only are a majority of people masked and distanced, but another change lies under the surface in regards to financing.

On August 31, 2020, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the 2021 Budget Forecast that projects a $1.2 billion budget gap for the next year, meaning the city is having to spend more than it’s bringing in.

In addition to the projected $800 million shortfall for 2020, meaning Chicago had to pay that amount more than what was predicted, the city faces a total of $2 billion in debt. These staggering numbers can be traced back to one primary source: the coronavirus. Many government officials are claiming that financial deficits may be the biggest repercussion of the pandemic the city will have to face.

Total expenditures— what the city has to spend to keep the economy running— increased by $421.3 million over the 2020

By Sofia Brown

budget. This includes paying city workers and fixing public infrastructure such as street repairs. The accretion of pension obligations has been a pressing issue concerning rising expenditures. The city doesn’t have enough money to pay what they owe retirees, prompting the borrowing of money, which causes debt to accumulate and the deficit to consistently increase.

While spending has increased, revenue has decreased by $783.2 million. Most revenue comes from a variety of local taxes— on transportation, business, recreation, and utilities— all of which have declined as a result of the coronavirus.

Furthermore, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is upholding her campaign promise not to raise property taxes.

The official budget overview listed highly generalized potential solutions, including department efficiencies, workforce reforms, exploring new revenue sources, and financial reforms. The Mayor’s Office has been hosting virtual town halls open to the public via Facebook Live. Led by the city budget and financial directors as well as Lightfoot herself, the meetings are meant to inform residents of the budget concerns

and brainstorm plans for the future.

The Office of Budget and Management (OBM) also launched a public survey in order to collect feedback “regarding budget priorities and values.” Respondents were asked to rank services, with one being the highest priority and ten being the lowest.

With nearly 38,000 responses, half coming from northside residents, Public Health and Community Services ranked the highest averages, with rankings of 2.7 and 2.6 respectively. Police Services ranked last with an average ranking of 8.5.

“As we work to build a city government that drives growth and opportunity for all of its residents and neighborhoods, we must ensure we have a roadmap to a sustainable financial future,” said Mayor Lightfoot.

“With the City facing financial challenges this year, it is crucial that we have an open and honest conversation with residents from across the city, as well as with departments, city leaders and other stakeholders to develop solutions that will make our government stronger and work more efficiently for all of our neighborhoods.”

To complicate matters, the federal government has not stepped in

with emergency budgetary assistance that would typically arrive during times of crisis.

President Trump directed federal officials to find ways to refuse funding to democratic governors and mayors. In reference to protests against systemic racism in policing, Trump wrote in a memo that “Anarchy has recently beset some of our states and cities,” and, “my administration will not allow federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones.”

One of the key areas where the budget gap is hitting Chicagoans the hardest is in the Chicago Public School (CPS) system which serves nearly 400,000 students.

Tracy Barrientos, a CPS science teacher and Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) delegate, as well as a Parker parent, says that teachers’ immediate concern is getting kids back to school in-person, which is made difficult by funding shortfalls. While budget shortages are nothing new, the situation has been made worse by the additional needs as a result of the coronavirus. CPS has no choice but to continue remote-learning due to a lack of school nurses and social workers, the

Continued on page 18

THE SCARIEST HALLOWEEN YET

How Chicago is Handling Halloween in the Middle of COVID-19

By Scarlett Pencak

Once the leaves start to change from green to auburns and yellows, the temperature drops, a crisp breeze rises, and the sudden craving for pumpkin everything sets… fall is upon us. Arguably the best part of fall is Halloween. Trick or treating, getting dressed up, and watching scary movies with your friends are meaningful Halloween traditions for almost every American. However, due to COVID-19, Halloween across the country is going to look different.

State by state, health officials have warned their citizens that trick or treating this year will cause major spikes in the coronavirus and have urged people to practice social distancing. According to the CDC, “Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses.” The CDC has recommended people participate in low risk activities such as carving pumpkins, decorating your house, and having virtual costume contests. The CDC has labeled traditional trick or treating as a higher risk activity along with indoor haunted houses, indoor Halloween parties, and attending hayrides.

In Chicago, city officials have made efforts to minimize a coronavirus outbreak by implementing “Halloweek.” “Halloweek” begins October 26 and will mark the start of trick or treating. Chicagoans have been told to keep groups small -- six or fewer people

Although the pandemic is still in full swing, Chicagoans have expressed that this will not stop their trick or treating.

According to Fran Spielman, via the Chicago Sun Times, “Two-thirds of those surveyed planned to participate in trick-ortreating this Halloween -- either by handing out candy or taking their children door-todoor.” Therefore, it is imperative to follow the CDC guidelines to the coronavirus and the city of Chicago’s guidelines to safe trick or treating.

As for Halloween at Parker, there will be no Halloween parade or costumes this year in efforts to keep those in school safe.

Trick or treating? What’s happening? - Halloween!

Photo courtesy of Gray Joseph

-- and to preferably stay in a household bubble. Mayor Lori Lightfoot explained, “The reality is, people are gonna trick or treat. So, we’re dealing with that reality.

We’re trying to spread it out over the course of the week.”

In efforts to make “Halloweek” as safe as possible, houses that will be providing candy have been told to keep on a light or make a sign to let trick or treaters know that they are safely handing out candy.

Houses have been told to try and keep a six feet distance from trick or treaters and to

think of ways to safely drop the candy into bags, perhaps by using a pipe. All trick or treaters and those handing out candy must wear masks.

Older Chicagoans celebrating Halloween have been told that all large gatherings and Halloween parties are strictly prohibited. Dr. Allison Arwady, the city’s health commissioner, said “We’re honestly more worried about COVID-19 spread among adults gathering to celebrate Halloween indoors than we are about children outdoors trick-or-treating.”

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

The Parker Weekly, Page 9

Gap Year & Teachers GRADS ON GAP YEARS

Students Choose Gap Years Over Pandemic College

By Harry Lowitz In the face of COVID-19, colleges have been forced to make an important decision about how they can resume higher education while keeping everyone safe. Some colleges have decided to bring everyone back to campus with restrictions, others have decided on hybrid plans, and many have made the tough decision of having online school. Several Parker graduates have decided that instead of going to college while the coronavirus rages on, they will postpone the start of college and take a Gap Year.

A Gap Year is generally defined as a year either between a year of high school and a year of college or sometimes between a year of college and another year of college, in which a student takes a break from their usual academics and finds a different thing to spend their time focusing on. There are many reasons to take a Gap Year, to take a break from school, to volunteer, to travel, or to gain experience in a certain field.

This year, many schools are online which

has caused more students to elect to take a Gap Year.

Last spring, Molly Taylor ‘20 decided to attend Princeton University, and she was not considering taking a Gap Year. In July, Princeton announced its plan to bring different grades to campus for different semesters, and Taylor, who was scheduled to be on campus for the first semester, was still planning on attending. Then in mid-August, they told their students that the full school year would be online. At that point, Taylor opted to take a Gap Year.

“I want to make the most of my education,” Taylor said, “and it seemed like taking a Gap Year would be the best way to do that.” She also does not know what she wants to study in college and thought it would be hard to figure that out if she would be doing remote learning.

Taylor is currently living in Black Mountain, North Carolina, a small town

“I think that it is sort of valuable to have an experience existing outside of school for once”

Learning through a screen is difficult for many in the Upper School, but teaching through a mask presents its own set of challenges.

Though the Upper School remains remote, teachers in the Lower, Intermediate, and Middle Schools are primarily working on campus, teaching to different pods made up of both in-person and online learners.

Beyond navigating new safety protocols, teachers have to adjust to new fears and new student dynamics.

Teachers manage many different safety protocols meant to protect both themselves and the students, and they need to enforce six feet of physical distance, mask-wearing, and the assigned seats for members of each pod.

They’re also adjusting to non-traditional learning spaces, such as the library, the cat boxes, and the gym, which are acting as classrooms. Additional assistant teachers hired during the pandemic are able to help monitor students in these spaces.

The school purchased around 20,000 masks at the beginning of the school year to distribute to teachers, and purchased additional face shields upon request.

Hand sanitizer, alcohol wipes, and other sanitization products are also provided.

Head of Intermediate and Middle Schools John Novick noted that some teachers stay farther from the students and closer to the front of the room, both for safety reasons and to better accommodate

outside of Asheville, where her grandmother also lives. She is working at the local history museum and she is remotely interning for a “new non-profit democracy reform organization called ‘The People.’”

Taylor has enjoyed her Gap Year so far and has found it both educational and productive. “I think that it is sort of valuable to have an experience existing outside of school for once,” she said.

Ta y l o r t h i n k s i t would have been fine if she had not taken a Gap Year, but that she would not have been as productive and successful as she would be in an inperson school year.

She also noted the “weird” challenge of figuring out what to do with a Gap Year because the traditional Gap Year activities such as going abroad, mostly cannot take place because of the coronavirus.

Sarah-Jayne Austin ‘19 has completed

“I think that I am doing a lot more meaningful things...

I think that I am getting a lot more out of getting actual work experience.”

TEACHING MASKED Teachers Navigate In-Person Learning

By Tess Wayland students who are tuned in via Zoom. “It’s very un-Parker-like, but when your health is at stake, you compromise things,” Novick said.

Despite safety precautions, Novick noted that many teachers were still afraid.

“Coming to school during a pandemic and working with children every day is scary and anybody who tells you otherwise is lying to you,” Novick said.

“Most of my fears around in-person teaching are what others fear -- that we’ll have a coronavirus outbreak that impacts our community and the greater Chicago community,” eighth grade history teacher Stephanie Nishimoto-Lorenzo said via email.

Though there have been no oncampus COVID-19 transmission at the time of writing, there have been cases of the coronavirus that have required certain pods and teachers to learn and teach remotely.

“The most challenging part about the switch to remote is that it required me to quarantine from my family,” Lorenzo said.

Upper School Mathematics Teacher Victoria Lee, who is also the head of the Faculty Association, said the administration was responsive to requests for resources such as more Personal Protective Equipment

her freshman year at Barnard College.

Barnard will be online for the 2020-21 school year so Austin decided that she “would rather take a year to gain experience or just, honestly, rest,” as opposed to having her sophomore year online. She described struggling with remote learning last Spring, and how it was evident that the intimate learning experiences that she appreciated about Barnard would not be very present.

Austin is living in upstate New York with seven college friends. From there, she is doing two internships that she started over the summer, working for an indie documentary director in New York and a diversity and inclusion consultant from Chicago. She plans to major in American Studies and Film Studies and eventually work in the film industry. Both internships build on

(PPE) or extra assistant teachers. “You think you have everything, until that first day when all the kids show up,” Lee said.

Novick oversees teachers with a range of reactions to the in-person system.

“There’s clearly that element of the faculty that is relieved and grateful,” Novick said.

“As exhausting as it is with all the health and safety protocols, they’re happy to be here.”

“On the other hand, there are also faculty who really are finding in person schooling overwhelming,” Novick added.

“They find the masking and the physical distancing and the podding, the limited movement for children and the compressed school day, to be a hindrance to connection.”

Novick tries to take feedback from teachers who are having a more negative experience. “They often raise questions that make us examine our administrative practice,” Novick said. “It’s a good, healthy thing for us to do.”

Feedback to the administration is also provided via the Parker Teachers Union, who makes sure that the administration adheres to the verbiage of their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). During the pandemic, the union is particularly monitoring the number of contact minutes with students that teachers have to make

Continued on page 18 sure it’s not in violation of the CBA. Contact minutes are not currently above the limit, as the school day has been shortened by one hour, but the nature of the work teachers do during the day has shifted and increased.

Through the Human Resources department, faculty can submit confidential medical information that qualifies them to work remotely under employment law.

Currently, there are around half a dozen teachers in the Intermediate and Middle School instructing their classes via Zoom, with assistant teachers in the room for supervision of in-person students.

The school has also stated that teachers would not be penalized for contracting the coronavirus. “That was a big concern by teachers,” Lee said. “‘What if I run out of my personal days? And what if I run out of my sick days? And what if I have to quarantine and then I can’t teach?”

Before Head of the Upper School Justin Brandon’s announcement that the Upper School would remain remote through January, Lee noted that many in-person teachers were nervous about a potential return of high schoolers. “They’re getting to be this fine-tuned machine, where they kind of move together in tandem,” Lee said.

“If the Upper School was to come back, that would upset this rhythm and it’s taken them

Continued on page 18

The Parker Weekly, Page 10

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

Senior V. Senior!

SHOULD SENIOR MONTH HAPPEN? THE CLASS OF 2021 WEIGHS IN

Yes, We Should Have Senior Month This Year

By Elliot Landolt Parker has worked on creating the Senior Month concept for two years and the opportunities it provides are infinite and expanding. It is rare that a student gets to write their own curriculum for a month, and although COVID-19 has impacted us and internships won’t happen, there is still a great chance for students to explore a passion or hobby in a low-stress environment. Because of this, I believe that Senior Month should happen in May for the class of 2021.

I have had a plan for Senior Month since it was first presented: a private pilot’s license. I’m also not the only student with a plan for Senior Month. Many students have contacted me privately expressing their support for Senior Month and their unique projects and ideas for Senior Month. There are plenty of examples of ways to use Senior Month as a way to learn a life skill and/or explore a hobby. While it was seen as a joke in plenary, senior Sam Meiselman-Ashen noted that he could eat pizza for a month, and could learn about the art of pizza making as a Senior Month project. Sounds pretty good to me.

Senior Month also provides an educational opportunity for students.

While classes are still held and seniors have to go to class, “senioritis” is in full effect. Most seniors have made the decision for where they are going to college and students have begun to stop caring about high school as they look forward to their college, education. Senior Month provides a chance for students to continue to learn in May and gain educational value from their projects. My opposition argues that they do not want Senior Month to happen because they want to be with their friends in school.

In my opinion, the school wouldn’t consider this argument as valid and would think that students want to be in the school for the social value rather than the educational.

From a teacher’s point of view, they don’t like seniors and senioritis. As I heard in my graderoom from a teacher, “You guys have already been admitted to school and don’t care about high school anymore.”

This teacher said that students complained about having to do homework and continue their classes, that they were not engaged and/or interested in high school anymore.

Senior Month combats this, letting the seniors choose their topics and assign their own homework, even if that means no homework.

In addition to the opportunity to focus individually on a project, Senior Month has a social value for seniors as well. Students that want to see their friends and socialize during May can do so in a four-person group with the same project, or they can circumvent the system to have multiple

four-person groups all interested in the same subject. The social value of being in school can be replicated during senior month, as students still have the opportunity to socialize, especially when there are fewer hours of work in a week of Senior Month versus regular school.

During plenary, I was told to pursue my passion outside of school, on weekends, or during breaks. This quite simply is not viable for many students. We all have tons of commitments and activities. Senior Month provides an opportunity for students to pursue a passion that they previously were not able to with the stress of school.

With Senior Month, students can continue to participate in sports, clubs, and Student Government.

The idea of in-person school has been skewed by our imaginations. In reality, the high school returning to campus means a hybrid system that is able to accommodate K-12 with social distancing protocols in effect. This means no bench, no alcove, no cat boxes, and most importantly, no fourthfloor chairs. Students will be kept in groups and not permitted to socialize with other groups of students. If a group of friends were to do senior month they could also pick the topic, something that they would find more enjoyable than regular classes. The social aspect that so many students wish for in the spring won’t be a reality.

Finally, I want to clarify the comments I made in plenary so many weeks ago. The value of Senior Month and what I hope to learn outweighs spending more time with friends that I have known for over 10 years and will continue to socialize with throughout my life. Many interpreted my words as me saying that I will not stay friends with anyone from high school, but this is not the truth. I have many lifelong friends at Parker, but there is an opportunity presented in Senior Month, a chance to go to college with a new skill, understanding, or hobby. Taking a month to walk in one-way halls, wear a mask all day, and have all of my movements tracked doesn’t appeal to me as much as taking a month to pursue a lifelong dream, alone or with friends.

No, We Should Not Do Senior Month

By Scarlett Pencak

One of the most talked about and controversial plans coming from Parker’s administration, to date, is May Month. Also known as Senior Month, May Month is a possible addition to the senior curriculum in which students would take the month of May off from classes to participate in an internship or “passion project” outside of Parker. Students have been told that during this month they would be connected with a teacher advisor and possible student group that would meet once a week to check on students’ progress. Now spearheaded by Head of Upper School Justin Brandon, May Month was originally brought to the attention of the student body last year by Student Government President Matthew Turk before the rise of COVID-19. However, according to Brandon, May Month has been an idea of the Parker administration for the last 10 years.

Due to the multitude of uncertainties students -- and the rest of the world’s population -- have already experienced this year due to the coronavirus, one would rationally assume that May Month would be postponed. However, the administration is still strongly pushing forward with this idea regardless of the current state of the world and regardless of the student body’s hatred of the plan. On Plenary on September 24, Brandon proposed a question to the high school student body: if senior month wouldn’t occur this year, when would it?

Here’s why we wouldn’t do it now. Because we are in the middle of a pandemic in which the senior class has already missed out on many of the traditions and experiences they have been looking forward to and now will be missing out on all of the first semester. Because the job market and economy are at an all time low making it extremely difficult to find fulfilling internships. Because multiple surveys and Student Government pleneries have shown that the students simply do not want May Month. Because we as students want to spend the last month of our high school lives with our friends that we will never get to be with again. The vast majority of upper school students have expressed their concerns with immense loathing of May Month to the administration. Based on the administration’s response, or more precisely, the lack thereof, it is clear that the students’ opinions are being ignored and blatantly neglected.

Nobody wants to be at home doing online school. Students want to be with their friends and enjoying the teenage years that they will never get back. Teachers, students, parents, and administrators alike can all agree that being alone in our rooms all day staring at our computer screens for hours is no way of life. With more and more being

taken away from the students on an almost daily basis, why would the administration try to take away more? Why spend the entire first semester online and then take away the last possible opportunity for students to be in school in May? Many students have expressed how May Month would worsen their emotional state by adding to the amount of time they are spending alone due to remote learning. “We are the grade being pitied by the country, and I’m so worried about not getting closure from leaving Parker properly,” senior Maddie Mendeloff said during Plenary on September 24. “This is making me so upset because this is just making things worse. So many people are depressed, anxious, and stressed.”

The administration is bluntly ignoring the emotional state and emotional health of their students right now by pushing forward their plan of senior month.

Many students have questioned why we would do Senior Month in the middle of a pandemic in which, according to The Wall Street Journal, between 20-40 million Americans have lost their jobs. As though the reasons to delay May Month are not blatantly obvious, Mr. Brandon has expressed that he feels as though the students are looking for reasons to delay May Month.

“You say we are looking for excuses to delay it, and it is a global pandemic that has shutdown the world, economy, and jobs,” senior Matthew Garchik said during Plenary on September 24. “Is that looking for an excuse or a genuine excuse?” In the midst of a struggling economy, realistically the senior class is not going to find 75 fulfilling internships. On this issue in Brandon’s presentation of May Month, he said that while seniors normally will have the option for a passion project or internship, this spring, seniors will likely only do a passion project. Because the administration recognizes that internships will be hard to come by and this year would just be passion projects, why not postpone May Month until it can actually go as planned? Why push forward with May Month if it is clear that the students will not be able to get the full intent out of the program?

It is clear that there are many flaws in the May Month plan, especially for this year and the students have shared their voices and expressed their loathing towards senior month in Student Government.

In Student Government, the high school passed a resolution opposing Senior Month and postponing it. Many students have recognized that the decision to stay online for the whole first semester came

Continued on page 18

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

The Parker Weekly, Page 11

The Junior Take

SENIOR MONTH: YAY OR NAY? A NON-SENIOR PERSPECTIVE

Don’t Pass Up Your Winning Lottery Ticket

By Nsaia Pettis May Month is a concept that will provide students the opportunity, during senior year, to discover their passion and potential future majors in college. I support the idea of May Month because as a student, it is difficult to know exactly what you want to do as a career or what subject to major in without first being a college student, and/or experiencing that industry in realtime and space. The ability to discover who you are or what you want to become in life, while in high school, and without exposure, isn’t easy. For example, how many times have you wanted something, only to learn later that it wasn’t to your liking? Having the ability to explore career or educational options during high school is an opportunity one should embrace.

However, many students believe that they can accomplish the same goals after graduating high school. Procrastination is the arrogant belief that you have time to do anything later as if your life and or circumstances cannot change. There is not one example of when procrastination works; it fails every time. So, the real question is, why push your chance of exploring your passion and future career path to college, when you can get the opportunity to optimize your college time better? As a young person, I’m aware that there’s a refusal of discipline. Going to college will require you to make an arduous effort that a lot of people are not willing to take.

May Month is not going to combat senioritis, nor is that the intention of Senior Month. This is an opportunity in time to explore internships, career work experiences, and/or passion projects; to learn your real interest and gain direction and focus for college. For instance, you go to college and you pay for a college course that you think has your best interest at heart, now you’re halfway through this course and you find out you don’t like it. May Month gives students that opportunity to circumvent this situation.

Career day can be within May Month and can be utilized to gain knowledge about more fields, to network, and to find more meaningful internships. Why put off for later what we can do now?

It is not uncommon for students to be told to either get a job out of high school or major in something that will make a lot of money. In this mindset, one can become conditioned to chase money and not their personal interest. This approach isn’t

recommended because these very students are often first-generation college students who are shy to admit that they do not know what to expect when these decisions need to be made. Adopting May Month will allow students the opportunity to invest in their own future. May Month will also be inclusive to those who have to manage home life, work life, clubs, and etc., and it may help reduce the stress of what major they want to go into by allowing students to explore and get a head start in a passion. Passion projects have the benefit of allowing students to express themselves or to try something new. For example, if a student always wanted to start a business but never had the time to learn how, May Month would be a perfect opportunity to build up that business and connect with people with similar interests.

All of these qualities match what Francis Parker stands for: “Cultivating individuals to the highest degree of knowledge, skill, power and service.”

May Month will provide for all students. The majority of students (80% of college students) in our age range are unsure of what field in which they want to major.

It is not wise to waste time and money on future college courses when you can use free resources now. Some students do not have the privilege to do it over the summer, to do it in their free time, or to even do it as an independent student. Students tend to be self-absorbed, instead of considering the overall message Senior Month is trying to bestow.

There are concerns about not being able to spend time with friends, but on the contrary you can make plans to hang out with friends, schedule a sleepover, facetime your friends, and it is only a month. Senior Month is not going to hinder students from enjoying their high school moments.

Most Upper Schoolers do not know what they want to do as a career and May Month could be life changing for students.

The Student Body at Parker is not the type to waste time, no student’s family would allow them to waste time, nor do we as students want to waste time. May Month should not be perceived as a chore, we have the privilege and resources to create anything during that time.

Continued on page 17

Senior Month Isn’t The Way To Cure Senioritis

By Emma Manley

When Senior Month first was pitched in Student Government, I was intrigued.

It seemed like an interesting opportunity to bring back an old Parker tradition and a way to cure the notorious “senioritis.” But, as the hypothetical Senior Month has gotten more real and Plenary debates have gotten more heated, I’ve started to side with the anti-Senior Month perspective.

Senior Month has been framed as a way to combat senioritis by getting students out into the real world.

But Senior Month isn’t going to fix senioritis. If seniors are losing motivation to do homework and show up to class, they aren’t going to magically regain this motivation during an internship. If a student is going to goof off at school, it’s not good for them to be goofing off during their internship or passion project, especially since they are representing Parker.

I have noticed that during Plenary, a lot of students share the sentiment that they will just avoid doing any meaningful work.

Senior Month isn’t seen as an opportunity, it’s just seen as one of the many barriers that come before the finish line of graduating.

Meaningfulness can’t be quantified and I don’t think that Parker would block a student from graduating just because they didn’t do enough during Senior Month.

Senior Month will also take away from the Class of 2021’s last moments with their Upper School friends. During quarantine, I’ve realized that hanging out with people at school between classes is one of the things that refuels my energy and keeps me going. Sure, I may not be best friends with the same people for the rest of my life, but I wouldn’t want to lose those moments.

I’ve looked forward to being able to play foosball on the fourth floor and hang out with my friends during our senior year. It feels like the reward at the end of four long years of constant productivity. I don’t want to lose that.

One of the options for Senior Month is to do a passion project with a small group.

Sure, that would fix the friends issue but not entirely. My friends are passionate about extremely different things. I don’t want to spend a month doing a science project when I would rather do a writing project.

If Senior Month were to come around, however, I know exactly what I would do. The thing is, I don’t need a month set aside to do a passion project, and Senior Month wouldn’t be the best way to do this.

I could just as easily do this project in my

free time, over the summer, or as part of an independent study.

Most Senior Month passion projects or internships could be done outside of an independent study. Besides the fact that many internships are only open to college students and graduates, those internships would usually happen during the summer and aren’t limited to a month.

I agree with the idea that Senior Month is a good way to create opportunities for students with less connections. It’s not the most equitable way, though. Parker says it will work with the alumni office to connect students to internships and mentors. Though an internship or mentor is beneficial, it’s better to have a greater network of connections than just one. Many Upper Schoolers don’t know what they want to do as a career. Though Senior Month could be life changing for one student, it may be a waste for another because they decide that they want to do something else.

A plan that involves networking and gaining experience is important, but Senior Month is not the way to do it. Last year, a career day was being planned. That is the event that needs to be the focus, not senior month. We need a career day that connects us to many people, so that we can gain more knowledge about more fields. The opportunity to find mentors and possibly work with them later for a longer more meaningful internship is more important. I want a program that puts me in contact with more people, so that I can figure out what I want to do.

With connections to more alumni, there would be more opportunities to discover new careers and get this needed experience in the job world before we go to college.

With mentorship, we as students could shadow someone for a day, which I believe is more beneficial than buying someone coffee and changing the ink in a printer day after day. Many jobs would have more requirements and necessary qualifications that we cannot meet as high school students.

Many internships aren’t for high school students. In my own search for internships, I kept seeing “must be a graduate student” or “must be a sophomore in college or above.”

I don’t want to be stuck with an internship or passion project I don’t enjoy because of

Continued on page 17

The Parker Weekly, Page 12

Colonel Columns

LET’S GET REAL Parker Education Equals Long Commute

I’M PRETENDING YOU ASKED Someone Talking about Senior Month. Again

By Denise Román Last Friday night, I found my Ventra card while emptying my backpack. A rush of nostalgia entered my body, and I was taken back to a long-forgotten time. Six months and 20 days ago, I was waking up early, catching two CTA buses to school, and most likely coming late to my first-period class.

Looking back at my daily routine before quarantine, I can’t help but think about the handful of Parker students who have long daily commutes to school. Just like me, they’d come from a different side of Chicago to immerse themselves in a Parker education.

Every day I crossed Chicago’s invisible lines that were meant to segregate me from the neighborhoods that surrounded Parker.

Now I am at home, in front of a laptop, and no longer commuting. It’s funny how things change.

Before quarantine, my daily routine consisted of waking up at 6:00 a.m, brushing my teeth, grabbing a quick breakfast, choosing my outfit, packing my practice clothes, and tracking the bus on my Ventra app. I’d be out of the house at 6:55 a.m, and on the North Avenue bus heading Eastbound.

By 7:50 a.m, I’d be on the Clark bus heading northbound.

After commuting for ten minutes on the Clark bus, I’d be at school by 8:00 a.m.

Although it was sometimes difficult to wake up in the mornings, I enjoyed commuting to school because I had the opportunity to meet new people on the bus and enjoy the scenery of the city. There were some challenges that presented themselves when having a long commute.

From Monday through Friday, I wouldn’t come home until 8:00 p.m from practice because I had to take public transportation. I wouldn’t finish homework until 1:00 a.m because after coming from practice, I had to shower and eat dinner. If I had a morning meeting or practice, I’d have to get up earlier than 6:00 a.m.

In a way, I had to get used to my routine before quarantine because there wasn’t any regard for students who lived far away from Parker. Despite being accustomed to my daily routine for four years, many consequences came from having a long commute to school. I had to be caffeinated every morning to maintain focus in my classes, and I often found myself easily

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

irritable because I wasn’t getting enough sleep.

As a senior in the Upper School, I don’t enjoy remote learning, but it has relieved the stress of having to take public transportation to school every morning. I no longer have to worry about waking up early, missing my bus, and losing sleep. Many extracurricular activities take place during the school day, and it’s easier to meet with teachers since there are many free periods in our schedule.

The reality of having a long commute to school isn’t particular t o m e .

Approximately a third of C h i c a g o teenagers have long commutes to school. This statistic includes a good number of Parker students.

These Parker students come from different Chicago neighborhoods that don’t include Lincoln Park, Old Town, Southport, and River North. They proudly come from the South side or West side neighborhoods of the city like Humboldt Park, Pilsen, Hyde Park, Back of the Yards, and Albany Park. Over my years at Parker, I’ve talked to some of these students about their long commutes. I have asked them about whether they feel like Parker extracurricular activities are flexible with students who have longer commutes, and they often respond negatively.

It’s time for the Parker faculty and staff to realize that morning practices aren’t equitable, late-night play practice can be stressful for students who have long commutes, and that not everyone can make morning meetings for particular clubs. Parker faculty and staff need to keep students who have longer commutes in mind.

The alleviated stress from the lack of the long commute made me realize that most of the Parker community doesn’t have to continually operate with this added challenge. Lastly, if you’re a Parker student who lives near school, I encourage you to question why you don’t have to commute for a Parker education.

“Despite being accustomed to my daily routine for four years, many consequences came from having a long commute to school.”

“Parker faculty and staff need to keep students who have longer commutes in mind.”

By Spencer O’Brien You’re done reading about Senior Month? That’s too bad, because I’m not done writing about it. To be completely honest, I was a little hesitant at first to jump on the “Seniors Hate Senior Month” Train when it started picking up speed, and then the multiple Student Government plenaries and the ceaseless talks with Mr. Brandon (which should have been helpful, if not for the entitled students who felt like it was their right to take themselves off mute and fill the air time) that really persuaded me that no matter how I felt, a decision had been made for me and that I should avoid the train all together.

When Senior Month was pitched last year, doing a passion project with whoever I wanted on whatever subject sounded super fun!

I was all for it. Then it became an internship, and that word automatically brings me to a sweaty young person bringing the wrong coffee to a big business person who then yells at them. Naturally, I (and my total lack of knowledge on what an internship ACTUALLY entails) was against spending the May of my Senior year doing that.

Then, while grumbling in my chair during another seemingly endless Plenary session, I got to hear some of the more opinionated students tell Mr. Brandon (who, by being there was doing what I believe is called ‘extending an olive branch’ -- a gesture normally treated with respect) how they really felt in a manner that I would consider almost disrespectful.

Expressing your opinion is an American right, sure, but there is a point (not staying muted and yelling for literally no reason, because its Zoom and volume is controlled by buttons now) where expressing your opinion comes a little too close to Student Government’s amped down version of Civil Unrest.

So this leads me to my question (and I promise my answers will be shorter than the last paragraph): Should the Student Body even have a say on weather Senior Month is happening or not?

Silly Spencer, OF COURSE we should have a say in it! It is happening to us right?

That fact alone should mean that we have SOME sort of say in the process. At Parker, we claim to be an embryonic democracy.

What sort of true democracy doesn’t give a select portion of its population a vote when making a big decision. Seeing as this is a big decision that’ll define how the rest of the year goes for Seniors, we should be able to speak our minds and have at least a little bit of sway on the matter, right?

Well, maybe not. The title of student implies that we are still learning, no? And when most of the qualified adults who we’ve agreed to learn from say somethings a good idea, I tend to want to listen to them.

Besides -- the class of 2021 have been Seniors once, and the people in charge have not only been Seniors but have watched countless numbers of second semester Seniors fall prey to the feared senioritis that we hear so much about.

As a wise voice in plenary pointed out, Parker students often seem OVERLY resistant to change. All we (the student body) can do is complain, and then when there’s a solution that changes things up a little, we resist it? This sounds like we’re stuck in a bit of a loop. Maybe we should give some change a try. What’s the worst that can happen -- it epically fails? Well at least we failed so that others didn’t have to.

Maybe all of this seemed a little intense. Well, it’s a fairly intense subject seeing as it’s all the rage when it comes to the “things to complain about” part of any given conversation. You know it’s a hot topic when it’s up there with COVID and the Government. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed hearing my take on this issue, and stay tuned for my next article which will be on whether or not the coronavirus is actually real.

“Expressing your opinion is an American right, sure, but there is a point where expressing your opinion comes a little too close to Student Government’s amped down version of Civil Unrest.

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

More Columns!

THE JOYS OF LIFE Chess.

By Grayson Schementi

The Parker Weekly, Page 13

A MICROSCOPE OF THE MODEL HOME Silence of the Students

This week, as we look towards the 2020 Election, which we will most definitely get into, I wanted to talk about the best game of all time: Heads Up 7 Up. That’s not the best game of all time. It’s also a game I will never have to play ever again. No, the real game we’re talking about is the one where it’s called chess: Chess.

Chess is a game where one side is black and one side is white. Politics is a game where one side is red and one side is blue. OH WAIT, I’M ALREADY EDITORIALIZING, we’ll do more about how chess is the best game of all time, which I still have to prove. Chess is a game of pure skill. It is one of the only games that is pure skill. And, yet, it is not totally skill. Whoever goes first gets a major advantage and THAT is why I always go first.

Back to our trusty source, Wikipedia that has enlightened us about the glory of Bubbles and Puppets, chess got its start as a humble farmer from Scranton, Pennsylvania. I mean, sorry, wrong thing, chess got its start as chaturanga (four divisions [of the military] in Sanskrit) in India, under the Gupta Empire (they’re the ones that gave us the Kama Sutra.) The original four pieces were infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry. This became the pawn, knight, bishop, and rook. Later, as the prototype travelled down the Silk Road, the king was added and the phrase check and checkmate, from the Persian “shah mat” which means “the king is helpless,” became the phrase you say when the king is, well, when he’s helpless.

By 1475, chess had made it all around Europe and the modern rules were developed. Also in 1475, George, Duke of Bavaria, and Hedwig Jagiellon the Pole got married. Good for Hedwig. This 1475 edition included the vizier piece transforming into the queen and becoming “Mad Queen’s Chess,” because 1400s has a sexism quota and also she gained the ability to move basically anywhere on the board.

They added castling, when the king, if it hasn’t moved all game, moves two spaces to the right or to the left of it’s starting position and gets protected into a corner by the rook. Pawns also were allowed to move two spaces, which, good for them, finally workers are getting some rights.

Throughout the next 400 years, chess became a commonplace thing. There were chess clubs, people played chess during

operas, everyone was addicted to chess. So Wilhelm, Steinitz created the World Chess Championship which he then won 8 years in a row. That sounds SUPER RIGGED! Chess has always been a game of strategy. A game of skill. But there is also an enduring moral legacy that lasts throughout the game of chess. Chess is a means towards self-improvement. Chess teaches Foresight, Circumspection and Caution. Otherwise known as the FCC. Also, keeping with a “religions don’t like this” theme of last issue, all of the religions banned it because they thought it was gambling and then they realized THAT ISN’T HOW GAMBLING WORKS! Now, you might be wondering, “Grayson,” you can read this out loud if you want, “Grayson, why did you say you were gonna talk about the election and you still haven’t yet?” And, yes, I was trying to do a more integrated thing last week where the message is part of the overarching narrative, but I decided to wait for this moment. This year’s election is just like a chess game. It’s all skill.

HAHAHA, no, all the balls are in the air and nobody has any idea what’s gonna happen until this issue comes out. Except when you read this, we’ll probably know and Future Grayson will be happy about the outcome, maybe, I don’t know, I’m not Future Grayson yet. But the fact that RBG died, Trump got Covid, Trump’s taxes kind of came out, the Hunter Biden “emails” came out, and we still have a week left is leaving me worried.

I want to take back something I said.

We might not know who actually won this election until much after this election.

It’s like college in that it’ll take six weeks (probably not that long) for them to figure out if I can be happy or not. So we have to be patient. Like I said, in chess, whoever goes first has a major advantage, and it looks like Trump will have more votes before Biden, chronologically speaking. On election night, the winner will not be the winner of election night. The winner will be the winner of the election. We can’t lose sight of that.

This is why you have to keep paying attention even after November 3. It’s not over that day. The Parker community needs to keep their eye on the pulse of the country at all times, but especially now, if we truly want to be representative of an embryonic democracy that educates for global citizenship. We need to be alert, for

“Chess has always been a game of strategy. A game of skill. But there is also an enduring moral legacy that lasts throughout the game of chess.”

By Rosey Limmer Is Francis W. Parker a model democracy, or is it actually a dictatorship?

The way the administration has refused to listen to students makes me fear that we have no say in our own education and development.

Let’s take the case of Senior Month.

Senior Month was proposed by Matthew Turk when he ran for Student Government President; it was the main part of his platform. Basically, due to the fact that last year’s student government wasn’t able to bring the matter to a vote before quarantine, the issue was postponed to Zoom sessions. But in those Zoom sessions, we never had a quorum, so the student body couldn’t vote on the matter. Then, since we never had our democratic say on Senior Month, the administration decided to adopt it. All this because it was one person’s opinion!

Executive Advisor Ava Ori sent out a survey to students about Senior Month.

Seventy percent of seniors shared that they would rather go to school than have Senior Month. However, the administration considers Senior Month a “done deal” and has expressed that neither student opinion nor a student vote matter because it’s already been decided.

We had a plenary session with Head of the Upper School Justin Brandon. He spent most of the time dodging questions and the rest of the time explaining that the negative student opinion didn’t matter to the administration.

Our voices have been silenced.

As seniors who already have our entire year messed up because of COVID-19, we are now suffering a second time because the administration doesn’t care about us or our opinions.

This further shows that the faculty and administration don’t believe we know what’s best for us. In Senior Graderoom,

when discussing questions that the Seniors had for the administrators, we were told that if we were in school instead of having Senior Month, our relationships with our teachers would be ruined since none of us would do our homework. First of all, I don’t know how they know what our future work ethic is going to be! Secondly, I’ve been waiting my entire high school experience to take senior electives. It would be disappointing for me--and I’m sure for many of my classmates--to have those experiences we’ve been looking forward to be cut short.

While it would be discouraging enough to think that our opinions of what will happen at the end of our senior year don’t matter, conversations held with Dean of Student Life Joe Bruno in Civil Liberties class further reinforced the idea that the administration doesn’t care about student opinion. We were given an intellectual exercise to come up with offensive slogans for hypothetical banners in order to figure out which ones would be censored by the administration.

From that, we learned that as students at Parker, the administration expects us to only speak positively of Parker outside its walls. As a school that believes in training students to be outspoken and to bring the morals of embryonic democracy outside its walls, it’s troubling that we are expected only to share positive messages about Parker, as opposed to truthful ones.

We say we have these values and we don’t uphold them. We’re taught to debate, but are prevented from debating with the school. We were taught to protest, but expected to say silent when those protests go against the wishes of the administration.

Parker clearly isn’t the embryonic democracy we are taught it is.

“However, the administration considers Senior Month a “done deal” and has expressed that neither student opinion nor a student vote matter because it’s already been decided.

even longer than we think, and we need to stay on our toes as all moves are on the board.

This game is almost over, but we have to see it through all the way to the final checkmate.

Deal?

The Parker Weekly, Page 14

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

Mental Health & Attitudes EDITORIAL

Mental Health During Remote Learning We as students, teachers, and parents need resources to navigate this difficult time. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of us mentally and emotionally, not just physically. According to data from Mission Harbor Behavioral Health, seven out of ten teens reported that they were struggling with their mental health in some way. Social isolation, Zoom fatigue, and general stress about the coronavirus have all contributed to these alarming statistics.

For many people, classes and meetings on video calls feel more mentally draining than classes and meetings in person. This phenomenon is called Zoom fatigue.

According to an article by the Harvard Business Review, Zoom fatigue happens for many reasons. To be able to absorb the same information in a meeting or conversation that you would in real life, you have to focus more. It’s also easier to become distracted with other computer windows or things around us. Lastly, it affects how we pay attention to others because we are looking straight at them.

To combat Zoom fatigue, the article suggests avoiding multitasking, building in breaks, and reducing onscreen stimuli. In classes, avoid working on other homework or messing with distractions. Switching between tasks reduces productive time, rather than increasing it. Multitasking also reduces one’s ability to remember information.

Resisting multitasking is hard, but closing windows and tabs or using Chrome extensions such as “Forest” can help reduce distractions and improve focus. “Forest” makes you set a timer, and during that time you can only use certain websites.

By “The Parker Weekly”

In the “Allowlist mode,” you can only use websites that you have put on the list already. For the “Blocklist mode,” you can block any websites that distract you such as social media sites, games, and online shopping sites.

Taking screen breaks can also help alleviate Zoom fatigue. During class, try looking away for a 20 seconds twice a class, or every 20 minutes. During breaks, resist the urge to go from your computer screen to your phone screen. Do something off screen like make a snack, talk to a family member, play with a pet, or even better, go outside for some fresh air.

Research has shown that we spend the most time looking at ourselves when we’re on Zoom calls. This leads to losing focus, but you can easily avoid this by using the “hide self-view” feature. To do this, click on your Zoom rectangle and select the option.

Additionally, using “speaker view” rather than “gallery view” can help maintain focus on the teacher or current speaker.

During class, going outside or to a room with natural light can help. Also, neck stretches reduce tension held in the neck during online classes. Bring your shoulders up to your ears, hold for a few seconds, and release. You can also tilt your head to the side and lightly place your hand on your head, letting the weight of your hand gently bring your head down. Then, point your chin to the ceiling, carefully stretching your neck.

Talking to people over the phone or socially distanced may be better than on video chat to take a break from screens.

For time alone, try journaling or going on a

walk. Additionally, doing a hobby you enjoy can offer a sense of accomplishment and productivity; this is a time where motivation can be hard to find. To do all this in a day may seem hard, but creating a routine that incorporates alone time, socializing, schoolwork, and sleep can help maintain order.

Find your flow state. A flow state is when you feel like you are “in the zone.” Hobbies and activities that require concentration, engagement, and enjoyment can help do this. The benefits of a flow state include finding a sense of clarity, reducing stress, and increasing good feelings. Even if you don’t find yourself in your flow state, doing activities you enjoy increase mindfulness, reduce stress, and are just fun to do.

Exercise can also help improve your health and state of mind. “Exercise regulates the body’s central stress response system,” according to an article by CNN, “which can help reduce cortisol and other harmful stress hormones.” On Youtube and other websites there are workouts that you can complete.

Additionally, going outside for a walk or run before it gets too cold gets you into nature and gets you some exercise. Yoga is another form of exercise that incorporates mindfulness.

Meditation is a way to clear your mind and reduce stress. Apps like Headspace, and Calm have meditations to follow, and Youtube has free videos with meditations.

According to a UCLA study, meditation helps relieve stress, lessen depression,

improve sleep, and boost memory and mood.

Most importantly, give yourself a pat on the back at the end of the day. This is a hard time for everyone, but the fact you have made it this far is impressive. During this time more than ever, prioritizing your mental health is what will help you get through this. This doesn’t mean giving up on classwork, though. Do your classwork sooner rather than later to avoid extra stress and communicate with your teachers when you are having a hard time. Take advantage of times when you feel motivated, you’ll thank yourself later.

If things are getting too hard to handle, reach out to your advisors and the school counselors.

We reached out to Dr. Gary Childrey and Ms. Binita Donohue. They both regularly use meditation to center the self.

Here are the websites that Donohue uses: https://www.mindful.org/ https://self-compassion.org/ Also, below are hotlines, websites, and other resources for more information and support.

National Youth Crisis Hotline: 1-800448-4663 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): 1-800-662-HELP (4357) National Alliance of the Mentally Ill: 1-800-950-6264 The Trevor Project: 866-4-U-TREVOR Teen Line: 1-310-855-HOPE (4673) National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) National Hopeline Network: 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433)

THE BEST OF A BAD SITUATION

Why #SettleForBiden Is The Right Attitude For The Election

The 2020 presidential election is an election that has divided the country. On one side are the Americans that support President Donald Trump, elected in 2016.

Many of Trump’s voters are fiercely loyal and supportive of him, to the point that they excuse any action he has done, no matter how divisive, childish, or untrue.

This is helped by the President’s constant exaggerations “So, I think I’ve done more for the Black community than any other president, and let’s take a pass on Abraham Lincoln, cause he did good, although it’s always questionable,” Trump said.

One listening to this has to wonder if Trump really believes it. Is it another empty campaign statement? Or does he really look at his actions and congratulate himself?

Voters listening to this sort of rhetoric may well be taken in, despite the fact that in the past, Trump has claimed that laziness is a trait in black people, and that he wished he could have “short guys in yarmulkes” counting his money rather than African

By Sophia Jones Americans. Trump has no consistency in his views, swinging wildly from congratulating himself for ending racism to perpetuating untrue stereotypes. Although these two statements are opposite in meaning, they are both extreme. Trump doesn’t make compromises or find a middle ground.

On the other side stand the Americans that support former Vice President Joseph Biden, who served from 2008-2016 under President Obama. Biden’s supporter base is overall less supportive than Trump’s. Many people support him because they feel he is the best of two bad options. Unlike Trump, who is as conservative as a politician could be, Biden is more of a moderate Democrat, something that frustrates the supporters of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, two candidates in the Democratic Primary.

Biden has had his share of problematic statements as well, claiming that anyone who struggled to decide to vote for him or Trump “ain’t black.” Biden later apologized

for this, saying he shouldn’t have been such a wise guy. That isn’t much of an apology, but it’s slightly better than Trump dodging responsibility for his words completely.

For many Americans, myself included, this election seems like something from a television show. The first Presidential Debate, held on September 29, would not have seemed out of place on SNL and spawned hundreds of memes and TikToks making fun of both candidates and expressing sympathy for the moderator, Chris Wallace. Wallace had difficulty keeping both candidates from interrupting and allowing the other to speak, but Trump was by far the perpetrator of the unprofessionalism of this debate. He interrupted Biden over 70 times, most of which was shouting “Lies!” or “Tell us about your son and the bribe!” There were parts in the debate where I covered my ears to prevent the incessant shouting from reaching me. Both men acted childish in

both demeanor and what they said. While calling Trump a clown and asking him to shut up during the debate were funny on Biden’s part, that’s not the type of thing I expect a future president to say during a debate. No doubt he was driven to it by Trump’s shouting, sulking, and overall completely ignoring simple manners, but he should have kept his cool and stayed presidential, in sharp contrast to Trump.

The thing about Trump that concerns me the most is simply what he says and has said in the past. Many Trump supporters have claimed that one of the reasons they support him is because he is honest and doesn’t make empty promises. That makes his statements all the more concerning, especially pertaining to immigrants.

America is a country built on immigration.

Trump’s family were immigrants at one point, and so were almost everybody’s in this country. You’d think Trump would have some respect for Native Americans,

Continued on page 17

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

Continuations

SENIOR MONTH Continued from page 1

“As a faculty member, I should tell you that I volunteered to be one of the Senior Month teachers. I specifically rewrote the course description for Talk of the Town to be seniors only because I didn’t want to have a class that would have juniors and seniors next spring and then not be able to work with the seniors. So, I would like to do it,” Barr said.

Despite her disagreement with the passing of the proposal, Barr is still happy with how the process went. “I think the process they went through between the original proposal and the way they reframed the draft was just really great, the way the authors of the proposal were very, very conscious of trying to incorporate feedback in two surveys and making infographics, really trying hard to represent,” Barr said.

Ori and Wagner first introduced a version of the proposal to the student body, but after hearing several amendments and suggestions, created a new version to include all of the ideas they received.

Barr did have some issues with the way in which Senior Month was discussed in terms of its feasibility. “I guess the way this thing took shape this year that I think was just so problematic is that somehow it all got framed around internships, which I just think is such a ‘wow, that’s such a limited view of what a Senior Month project could be.’ And the notion that we need to shoehorn our students into the working world...what for?” Barr said. “So in terms of how my attitude has changed, I just wish that the student body weren’t so fixated on internships because I don’t think that is the idea.”

If Senior Month is implemented, seniors will propose their ideal passion project to the administration, including what the goal is, what they will be doing, and who they would like to do it with. If it passes, they are able to begin work on it in May, checking in with an assigned senior teacher every week to make sure they are doing their work. If a student is able to get an internship or wants to continue to work at a job they have instead of doing a project, they are able to do so if the administration allows it.

Despite the survey results, Wagner knew that passing the proposal to delay Senior Month would not automatically delay the program until 2022. “I’m not naive. I’m fully aware that the administration is not held accountable by Student Government, that Student Government has no actionable moves we made on the specific issue,” Wagner said. “But Student Government doesn’t get its power because of what it can do. It gets this power because it represents the students and it’s the most comprehensive and official way for the students to get their opinion on a topic released. So regardless of if voting on it isn’t going to actually change the outcome, student opinion should always

be taken.”

Ori shares similar sentiments to Wagner, as she too is apprehensive about whether this proposal will actually change the May curriculum. “That’s always been a concern with Cabinet, how much this resolution is really meaning anything, but I believe that the student body coming together in the institution that it was given is very powerful,” Ori said. “My student opinion is that it would be inconsiderate to the seniors to implement this when we have missed so much school, if there’s an opportunity to be in person instead. It just seems kind of careless to our feelings and where we’re at, as 17-year-olds who are missing school and want to be part of that.”

While Barr agrees with the difficult timing of Senior Month for 2021, she still thinks it is a feasible solution to the senior year issue. “Whether this year is the year, there’s all that, of course. But I’ve thought for years that we underutilized our second semester seniors, that we think that they don’t have enough to do, that they’ve got a foot in both worlds. And we’re trying to pretend like they have both feet still in ours. And they just don’t,” Barr said. “So the reality is ripe for experimentation.

And a school like ours should be a little experiment, that’s the nature of a private school, they’re not bound by any state mandates, or at least we’re bound by very few state mandates. In terms of how we design our curriculum we can do whatever we want. And so why not try out and just see new things?”

Five days after the proposal was passed, members of the administration set up a Zoom call with the entire senior class to clarify what Senior Month would look like moving forward. Head of the Upper School Justin Brandon, Dean of Student Life Joe Bruno, and Art Teacher Travis Chandler were all in attendence, as all three were in charge of creating and planning Senior Month. Brandon explained that, in the event that seniors were on campus come May, as they have been trying to make a reality, then Senior Month would not happen. If remote learning was still happening for the class of 2021, then they would be able to take finals early and do Senior Month for the rest of the year.

As the decision of whether or not Senior Month will happen is up to the administration, Barr is curious how it will end up playing out. “We do teach about democratic education. We do teach about our voice and teach about empowerment and all these sorts of things. So in our non-democratic school, which is run by an administration that honors democratic values, what’s the tipping point? At what point do they go with what they want to do before whatever complicated reasons arise that they have to keep in mind and to what extent do they listen to the sort of pleas of

The Parker Weekly, Page 15

FALL PLAY

Continued from page 1 Instead of having a stage crew, the actors use virtual backgrounds to change their setting.

“I definitely think if there is a show to do on Zoom it would be Art,” Ehrlich said.

They have also had to work out other issues during rehearsals, such as the actor’s internet connections breaking up and figuring out how to hand props to one another. The double casting of each character means that if one actor disconnects from the Zoom call, the other can take over.

For props, there has to be two of each prop, one at each actor’s house. During the play, the actors have to pretend to hand something over the computer, while the other actor grabs their own version of the prop.

Lopez planned to do the Fall Play this year whether it was on Zoom or not.

“I didn’t think much about the fact that it would be on Zoom, but I suppose it is a fun challenge,” Lopez said. “It’s a bit difficult to act without having someone right there with you to act with, so it’s a challenge to just bounce off of their voice but I think it can be important to have experience in if I would ever want to pursue acting in the future.”

Along with every other member of the cast, this will be O’Brien’s first Zoom performance. “I’ve never done a Zoom performance before and I feel like that could very well be our future so I should probably try it out now,” O’Brien said. “It’s definitely not the same thing as being on stage or the same thing as being in the same room with other people, but I think that it is a good experience and something new.”

Yvan is a nonbinary character because all of the other characters are double cast into male and female parts. “We have a female cast and male cast,” Ehrlich said, “so we’d love to see some representation from characters who aren’t male or female, so that comes in the form of Yvan.

“Art” was chosen as the Fall Play after Hildreth heard one of his advisees talk about it last year. In most freshman English classes at Parker, “Art” is part of the curriculum. “It’s kind of cool that people have heard about it,” O’Brien said. “I know the complaint is normally that the Fall Play people who are directly affected,” Barr said.

Aside from the possibility of seniors ‘missing out’ on their last year, a large problem with Senior Month that came up in Plenary discussions was the idea of inequality with access to internships. “As cool as Senior Month could be, until the administration figures out how to fix those equity problems, then Senior Month will forever be an inequitable program,” Wagner said. “And I also think that the administration knows that there are problems with inequity this year and they didn’t care. And I think that that is a very telling sign that they did not care about how this new sweeping program was going to

is a little more obscure and maybe not traditional, but I kind of like that it’s a fairly big name because it’s in the curriculum.”

Ehrlich read “Art” during a musical theater summer program. “Exposing myself to the text before I was actually auditioning for the play really helped,” Ehrlich said. “It helped how I as Yvonne interacted with the other characters and how I interpreted the scenarios I was put in.”

The spring musical “Urinetown” was available as a video for people who were unable to watch opening night. Hildreth did not want to have a video for the Fall Play and instead chose to do a Zoom Webinar. “I think the whole exercise of a Fall Play is to put on a live performance,” Hildreth said. “I know we could have gotten some cameras in there and made a film of a live performance, but I think it’ll have the energy behind it of a live performance.”

Although it was possible to do a recorded performance, Ehrlich is glad that they did not due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“I really like doing it as a webinar instead of filming it because there would be a lot of restrictions as to what we could do live,” Ehrlich said. “For example, all of us would have to be six feet apart, and we’d be very limited in the set because stagecraft can’t get together and build a set because of social distancing guidelines.”

Hildreth is glad he chose to produce the play on Zoom. “Every one of the performances will be slightly different due to what each actor brings each night, and I think that’s exciting,” Hildreth said. “And I think that’s the real experience of the Fall Play, that’s what I want the student actors to experience.”

affect the diverse range of our student body.”

With the proposal passing, Ori feels that the administration’s motivation for implementing Senior Month was not entirely to benefit the students affected. “I think it would be for the administration, not for us,” Ori said. “They don’t really seem to be thinking, ‘ohmygosh, this is going to be so great for them this year.’ There’s a general consensus that it’s not even going to be the best that it can be this year, no matter what, so they’re not excited for it, we’re not excited for it. There’s no reason to do it this year. Just do it next year.”

The Parker Weekly, Page 16

HAPPY

Continuations 2.0

BOOKS FOR CHANGE Continued from page 5

Continued from page 4

Additionally, Gielan discussed specific tools to fuel happiness and optimism levels. One tool was the “power lead,” the method of starting conversations with a positive and meaningful statement. Gielan also discussed fact checking, the method of focusing on the “fueling facts” when thinking about a stressful situation. “You don’t want to battle against the original set of facts... instead, you just want to get your brain to start to try to see those other colors changing around you,” Gielan said. Additionally, Gielan discussed sending notes of gratitude to people to whom one wants to express thanks.

Typically, the Francine C. Rosenberg Memorial Lecturer is able to spend time with both students and faculty during their visit to Parker. Prior to the lecture on October 5, Gielan spoke with the faculty, and also created a pre-recorded video for students to watch on October 8 as a virtual Morning Exercise for students. Nearly20 minutes long, the video addressed how our brain functions and how to apply habits to one’s life on a regular basis to fuel happiness.

“I found her lecture to be intellectually stimulating and enjoyable,” senior and Morning Exercise Committee Head Rohan Dhingra said, “I think it will help further intrigue students to watch MXs as they are now optional.

Her content was very captivating, and I hope many students were able to take advantage of the chance to hear her speak.”

Although the Francine C. Rosenberg lecture was planned a year in advance, Rosenberg believed that the lecture was relevant for the current time. “It was completely serendipitous that we had Michelle lined up at this moment in time,” Rosenberg said. “I appreciate that the topic was so relevant and useful and people are really yearning for strategies right now to cope with this truly remarkable, stressful time.”

Gielan also reflected on the lecture’s relevancy. “Never before have we seen such high levels of uncertainty and in so many areas of our lives,” Gielan said.

“We are looking at when you create a more optimistic mindset, how that fuels resilience which in turn also has a positive effect on your success.”

Gielan also presented the “Happiness Challenge,” a challenge that members of the Parker community can participate in, as a way to track practicing happiness through positive notes, practicing gratitude, and random acts of kindness.

“The Happiness Challenge brings to life

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

addition, he has also had prior experience with writing books about food allergies. In 2017, Vulopas wrote the book “The Land of Not.” He wrote the book “to inspire children with food allergies, and their peers, to ‘live in the Land of Can’, that is, to define themselves by what they can do instead of what they can’t,” Vulopas said.

The creation of Vulopas’s first book led to the creation of their organization called The Land of Can. The organization provides an environment to learn and raise awareness of food allergies. The organization also serves as a place for general youth empowerment. “One of the core tenets of the ‘Land of Can’ is resilience, something so crucial especially during challenging times such as these.

It’s essential that students everywhere are aware of their strengths,” Vulopas said.

Jain and Vulopas first collaborated in 2019 on their first book, and Vulopas was amazed by Jain. “I was immediately so impressed with her writing prowess and her passion for raising awareness. We’ve since collaborated on more materials, and she’s such a joy to work with,” Vulopas said.

Vulopas helps Jain with the creative process of putting together picture books.

“I write the first script with all the facts, and then he makes it creative and fun,” Jain said.

Vulopas has enjoyed working with Jain during the creative process of writing their picture books. “At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we created “Class that Can: Coronavirus,” and during the creation of that resource, Riya’s contributions extended even beyond the page,” Vulopas said, “Throughout the whole creative process, she always puts the reader first; she’s constantly thinking of what younger readers will be looking for in order to connect with the material in an authentic way.” Vulopas is excited to continue to share the material that he and Jain produce.

Jain describes the writing and publishing process for her books as fast.

She credits the speed of the process to the resources she has available to her.

The illustrator for both of their books is Bill Dussinger from Lititz, PA. Dussinger helped to bring their characters to life.

Jain was introduced to Dussinger through Vulopas, as he was the illustrator for “The Land of Not.” all of these ideas,” Gielan said. “If anyone feels excited about doing it and leading others in it, just go for it.”

“The process that took a little while was just re-reading it over and over, and fact-checking it because we don’t want any false information,” Jain said. To make sure that all of their information was correct, they had multiple experts check it. The first expert that they had check “The Class That Can: Coronavirus” was Gupta. Gupta and Jain also had the chief medical officer at CPS, Dr. Kenneth Fox review the short book amongst others.

One of the caps that Gupta has worn throughout the book creating process is the expert one. “As an expert, I think that it has been very well-vetted.

Sometimes things have information that isn’t perfectly accurate or doesn’t tell the whole story,” Gupta said, “One thing we really tried to do was tell the story, and answer the most frequently asked questions that they ask, and tell it in a complete way.”

Another lens that Gupta carried throughout the writing process was the perspective of a mother. “From a mom’s perspective... It is important to educate our children on what they have, and what is going on to empower them to be self-advocates for themselves and their friends. That was my goal: how do we make a book that will make kids feel good and very empowered,” Gupta said.

The hardest part about writing the books for Jain was condensing the information in a way that will hold the attention span of younger kids. “I know when I was younger, I would get bored halfway through books, especially when they were on health topics,” Jain said.

“So, just getting the information across in a creative way that will appeal to kids was the hardest part.”

Gupta believes that the hardest part about writing the book was learning all of the different steps in creating it. Another aspect that she found challenging was, “coming up with the story and revising it at least 50 times because you know it’s gonna be out in the public,” Gupta said.

One of the most fun parts of the experience, as a whole for Jain, was being able to see the final result and reading it in classrooms. She also had the opportunity to go on news sources such as WGN, “New York Times,” and CBS. “I am super grateful for it because I know most people do not have the ability to do something like this, so I am glad I was able to do it,” Jain said.

The part of the process of creating the book that Gupta most enjoyed was coming up with the story. She enjoyed

being able to hear what questions kids have.

Jain believes that anyone who has any intention of writing a book should try to do so. “You never know where it is going to take you, or what the process is if you do not try,” Jain said.

Gupta shares this belief with Jain. “I want to encourage any kids to do it because even though being an author seems so complicated, if you have a good idea for a story, fictional or factual, it is doable, and it is not as hard as you think it might be,” Gupta said. She is also offering herself as an outlet for any young authors who want to write a book.

Jain and Vulopas have three new books coming out. “We are doing a staying healthy series. We are doing a book on nutrition that is coming out, a book on sleep and screen time, and a book on gems and sneezing,” Jain said. These books are scheduled to come out in the next month.

OPEN HOUSE Continued from page 4

school programs, specifically Parker PM. “We like to call it our home away from home, our after-school community,” Newmark said.

In the past, students have participated in the Open House, in some way, so this year a video compilation was made answering different questions prompted by visiting families.

“We asked Lower and Intermediate school students questions from their own home, and a parent or guardian recorded them, and we gathered those up and created a sort of a compilation video,” Buoscio said.

“A little bit of a glimpse into what they love about their classrooms, what they enjoy about their teacher, what are their favorite things about Parker that really are fun and exciting to see.”

A silver lining described by Buoscio is that online events can enable people from around the world to register and connect virtually, which allows for a way to join the event without the commute that might have been needed.

“We are really hearing the authentic questions that prospective families have and trying to be responsive to them as well as show our school and the great light that it brings to the world,” Fisher said.

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

BIDEN

Continued from page 14 given the emphasis he puts on being a “real” American, but instead he cracks jokes about the Trail of Tears and Elizabeth Warren’s Native American heritage. Immigrants are crucial to the American economy. They increase money in circulation, besides being hard working and contributing to society in many ways. America has long been heralded as the land where everybody can be free. In the Declaration of Independence, it states that all people should have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To Trump’s mind, this doesn’t include people of color, immigrants, low income families, or even women.

The idea that people could support a man with at least 26 sexual assault counts frankly is reprehensible. The idea that people could listen to a man say that all Mexicans are rapists, saying “You have to treat ‘em like shit,” regarding women, and expressing publicly that he would date his own daughter, and still think such a person should be the President of the United States is mind-blowing. The refusal of Trump to acknowledge the systematic racism in this country is deluded, and his refusal to denounce white supremacy should, if anything, make voters realize the kind of views this man holds.

While I can’t vote, I hold strong opinions about the leadership in our country because as an American, it affects me. Just looking at the way the coronavirus was handled shows the difference a leader can make to a country. If Hillary Clinton had won in 2016, perhaps the high school could be in person now. No matter how privileged you are, the President can change everybody’s lives for better or for worse.

I don’t love Biden. I don’t really like him. But compared to President Trump, he is an example of what a president should be. He has ample political experience. He has actual plans for his presidency. Under Trump, over 210,000 people have died from the coronavirus. The economy has tanked. Millions of people are out of work. Biden’s America won’t be a great America. But it will be a sane America.

More Continuations?

PARADE

Continued from page 1 community,” Novick said.

According to Novick, few parents reached out to discuss Halloween. The only feedback that the parents gave after in-school Halloween events were canceled has been positive.

Even though the costume and parade components of Halloween were canceled this year, parents hope that some teachers will plan something fun in the classrooms for Halloween. “I think right now there is a greater focus on making the most of our time together on campus,” Novick said.

“Given the pandemic, we really don’t have any idea how long we’ll be able on campus, JK-8, whether it will be weeks or months.”

Fifth grade student Gigi Warning is sad that she will not be able to dress up for Halloween and walk around the school.

“For my friends and I, Halloween is very fun and exciting because we all get really cool costumes and then come to school and show everyone our costumes,” Warning said. The students don’t know if there will be any fun activities at school this year.

Warning hopes that she is able to do some fun Halloween worksheets or Halloween games in class instead.

Although Morning Ex has not been in the auditorium this year, the Morning Ex Committee have been sending out weekly videos to keep the community involved.

The committee will be making a Halloween video that will be shared with the whole school.

“It will basically be someone telling stories like Ms. Beh used to do,” Morning Ex Committee Head Gray Joseph said regarding the video. In the past, former Lower School Drama teacher Chris Beh sat on the stage during MX with lots of Halloween decorations telling stories to the whole school. This was a long-standing tradition, and bringing it back through an MX video will bring joy to lots of the students.

JUNIOR YES

Continued from page 11 Additional benefits include the experience of networking. Networking is extremely vital and beneficial, especially for young people. Networking can help leverage students in getting their name out in the professional world and it has the ability to put students in a better position to get a job in their field of interest. There have been a lot of concerns pertaining to getting an internship during COVID-19.

I can say, from personal experience, that it is not difficult to find an internship during a pandemic. Businesses are actually looking for people because there are fewer applications for open positions.

JUNIOR NO

Continued from page 11 the age barrier.

Another sentiment I’ve heard in student government is that the idea of Senior Month has been derailed by the word “internship.”

But even the passion project idea seems lacking. The requirement of Senior Month is 20-25 hours of work for four weeks. That adds up to about 80 hours. I have no idea what passion project would possibly last that long. It’s hard to find something I’m passionate about as a 16-year-old, and I doubt I’ll figure it out in less than two years.

What happens if we get burned out from doing the same thing for 80 hours? Is this really fixing senioritis?

There’s also the logistical issue of classes that are multi-grade. I was in an elective last year where it was all seniors and me, a sophomore. Last year, when the last week of classes got cancelled for seniors, those classes were cancelled for me as well.

Are these classes going to be cancelled an entire month early? It’s unrealistic for them to continue, especially if performances and finals are done, because there will be little reason for the non-senior students to put in effort. Will this not cause senioritis for everyone else?

What about clubs like “The Weekly?”

“The Weekly” needs to continue to be producing issues, but that can’t happen when a large portion of the editorial board and staff are not in school. Integral parts of the Parker community like The Weekly, MX Committee, SIRB, Model UN, and many others are run by seniors and still continue to happen in May. The final issue of the Weekly, the last MXes of the year, and the teachers SIRB hires are the legacies that seniors leave at Parker.

What about Cookies? Is Cookies not an opportunity to explore things we as students are passionate about? Since it’s at the end As an example, over this past summer, I completed a six-week internship in the Corporate level, (C-suite) of Human Resources (HR) at a non-for-profit organization called Always Giving Back Foundation. During my internship, I shadowed the Chief Human Resource Officer and learned the importance of an HR team within an organization. I also participated in the process of recruiting employees, labor relation disputes, and benefit implementation. Not all internships are during the summer, and I do strongly believe that Parker wouldn’t set students up for failure by not providing options for internships that do happen before summer starts. There are so many businesses and corporations that need interns throughout the whole year.

There are numerous internships dedicated to high school students. Some

The Parker Weekly, Page 17

of April and the start of May, it means that seniors have less than a week between Cookies and Senior Month. Cookies will become obsolete for seniors.

The concept of Senior Month is a good one: get students out of the classroom and into the world to gain experience and do something they enjoy. The issue I’m having with Senior Month is that so much of the plan is flawed. There are too many risks and too many issues that haven’t been addressed. Student input must be addressed by the administration before this is put in place because there are so many holes to this plan.

I’ve noticed in student government that each person has a problem with Senior Month and many of the problems aren’t the same. Some students play sports, some want to take electives, some have jobs, and some are in physics or US History their senior year. There are too many individual issues with Senior Month. Each student cannot have Senior Month tailored exactly to them, but if it isn’t, Senior Month will be a waste.

Ultimately, I don’t know what’s going to happen next year. In Plenary, a resolution passed by 92% to postpone Senior Month until next year. Hopefully, that will give the administration some time to work out these kinks. I think that Senior Month is possible and could be so good for us as Parker students if it’s planned right, but so far it doesn’t seem like the execution will be great. These large issues need to be fixed, and until then, I say no to Senior Month.

people worry about being a gofer instead of actually doing work that will provide that internship experience. I do not believe that Parker would allow that and would definitely accommodate if that ever occurs. On the other hand, this is a misconception about internships.

Most internships actually care for young students and provide that professional work experience most people want, I can assure you that it is rare for you to run unnecessary errands.

By not implementing May Month, students may be at a disadvantage because they will not have had the exposure or opportunity to try their interest before committing to a lifelong decision.

If implemented, May Month will not only support the dreams and passions of the great minds at Parker, but it will also combat the abuse of power in the workplace dominated by white-skinned males who refuse to be progressive.

The Parker Weekly, Page 18

Even More? Really?

GAP YEARS

Continued from page 9 her studies by giving her experience in getting film projects “off the ground,” doing some video editing, and getting general job experience and experience meeting deadlines. Austin got the internship with the director through an internship website called Handshake.

Taking a Gap Year after already having done a year of college is a different experience according to Austin. She has “kind of set down roots” at her school and there is a different dynamic as far as being at a different place in her college years than some of her peers.

Austin is living with several people who are taking online classes, and she described their work as a lot of time looking at screens and a lot of professors piling on work. “I think that I am doing a lot more meaningful things, for me, at the moment,” she said, “I think that I am getting a lot more out of getting actual work experience.”

Celia Rattner ‘20 had planned on continuing her education this year at Washington University in St. Louis, where she would study something in the humanities and possibly pursue a minor in business.

WashU has brought students back to campus but with many restrictions, and after hearing their plan, Rattner decided she would be willing to wait a year until the coronavirus will have calmed down or, at the very least, colleges will be better equipped for safe and effective learning.

Rattner knew that she wanted to use the year to do something that would be meaningful to her and would build on her education in a meaningful way. She is currently in Chicago, working as an intern in the State’s Attorney’s Office “among other little things,” and then for the second semester, she will be doing a program in Israel. At her internship, she works under an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office, and so far she mostly scans criminal case-related documents so they can be sent to defendants, attorneys, or the press.

Her second-semester program, “Aardvark Israel,” will be commencing as usual in Tel Aviv even though the coronavirus is likely to still be in effect.

When Rattner arrives, she will go about a strict quarantine in her apartment.

Rattner described what she thought about taking a Gap Year, “For a while, I sort of looked at it as my life going off course,” she said, “but then I just had to sort of look at it through the lens that my course is being reconstructed.”

EXPOSED

SENIOR NO

student said. “Not only because the spread of COVID-19 is scary, but because the learning will be so different, and it would be more focused on not touching or seeing anyone.”

There are people at Latin who work to contact trace and privately email those who have been exposed. “I don’t know anybody well who has been in contact,” Woan said.

“I know they sent you an email telling you they have traced the exposure to you. I’m pretty sure they have you go take tests and then go into your quarantine.”

Parker was not involved in the contact tracing for the student with the coronavirus, as their Upper School is entirely remote.

“Parker didn’t help at all, not one single bit,” the anonymous student said. “Since we’re not in school and my family hadn’t been involved in anything at school, I don’t think it really mattered to them, in a sense.

We’re home anyways. It’s not going to be helped through Parker because we haven’t been at Parker.”

conveniently before the decision of if May Month would be happening this year or not.

Students have questioned if this is a tactic or loophole the administration is trying to use to ensure that May Month will happen. In their final decision about May Month will they say that because we are online for this whole semester and they have to make their May Month decision now and that the student body has expressed that we would prefer May Month over online school, May Month will be happening? Is the decision to be remote this whole semester all in efforts to force May Month on the students?

The results of student surveys have concluded that 79.5% of students would prefer hybrid school over Senior Month in May and 88.4% of students want in person school over Senior Month. It is evident that the student body wants May Month to be postponed and sees the clear flaws in this plan.

Parker claims to pride itself on having a special relationship between students and faculty. However, the blatant disregard for student opinion is clear when looking at how the administration is handling the May Month decision. Senior Ada Collins was frustrated with the administration’s approach to Senior Month, she questioned, during Plenary on September 24, “If this is a school for the students, and students don’t wanna do it, why is it an option this year?” Collins wrote. Parker will be breaking their promise to the students that Student Government is a place where students can make a change in their school, if they do not postpone Senior Month.

As said by senior Emme Silverman in the Student Government September 24 Plenary, “...the goal was to plan a project that fits their mission, but their mission is embryonic democracy, and this isn’t a very democratric way of doing this... it is not aligned with their mission because it does not listen to the input of the students.”

While Senior Month is an interesting opportunity it is blatantly obvious that the students do not want this to happen this year, it’s as simple as that. Summers are for getting internships, not the last month of senior year in the middle of a pandemic.

Continued from page 7 Continued from page 10

PRE-TESTING Continued from page 7

because you qualify at Parker does not necessarily indicate that you will qualify for extended time on the ACT next year,” Walsh said. “So, it’s kind of a false sense of security thinking like, ‘oh I get extended time at Parker, so I’ll get it for the ACT.’” As the PreACT is only a practice test, if a student who had previously received extended time did not perform well on the exam without it, the administration would know this before launching them into the actual ACT without accommodations.

Sophomore grade head Andrew Bigelow encourages sophomores and juniors to see testing as “an opportunity, not an inconvenience.”

“See this as an opportunity to evaluate where you are, and then take whatever steps necessary to improve upon where you feel your weaknesses are or where you feel you need to enhance your skills,” Bigelow said.

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

TEACHERS

Continued from page 9 a while to get used to.”

Union leadership, Principal Dan Frank and Director of Human Resources Laureen Sweers have started meeting every over week during the pandemic, up from once a month, to address concerns like that one and to communicate with the administration about the needs of teachers.

Though she noted that sometimes these meetings can get tense or uncomfortable, Lee values them, especially as non-union schools negotiate the terms of hybrid returns. “It makes me nervous for a lot of my friends who are at non-union schools,” Lee said. “Everyone as an individual would have to confront or have a conversation with their principal and that’s hard to do. Here it’s nice that we have a collective voice.”

The union itself also meets more frequently during the pandemic, to give extra time to get through the agenda and to provide space for teacher’s to vent. Faculty meetings have been shortened in length to give teachers more time to decompress or to attend to childcare needs that have changed during the pandemic.

Even with systems in place for teachers to request support, Novick still worries about the emotional toll the pandemic is taking on teachers. “They’re being asked to adapt their practice to a very strict, stringent protocol,” Novick said. “We feel bad about it, even when we’re reaching kids and changing them for the better. We still walk away feeling less than, because we’re not measuring up to who we were before the pandemic.”

BUDGET

Continued from page 8 need for PPE, costs of retrofitting older buildings with adequate ventilation, and large class sizes which make social distancing more challenging.

“Funding is always the main fight,” Barrientos said, later adding that “as usual, we’re trying to get resources to our families where COVID-19 really hit… one of the things that we’re really concerned about is basically our class sizes and our students who have special learning needs.

And then, reducing our class sizes so we can meet their needs, which of course means hiring more teachers.”

It’s going to be a challenge to make the budget work and with such shortfalls, many sacrifices will have to be made.

Chicagoans now look to October 21, 2020, when the official budget statement will be announced.

Visit us at weekly.fwparker.org

What’s

The Backpage

out?

The Parker Weekly, Page 19

in?

stressful dates in November

November 1

November 3

homework platforms

Portal

anything else

passing periods

five minutes

five seconds

places to meet celebs

MXs

“Secrets of Success”

BBBS

seeing the kids

‘seeing’ the kids

hot weekly (wo)man

Emma Manley

Samantha Graines