The Andalusian Volume 20 Issue 1

Page 1

VOLUME 20 ISSUE O1 O C T. 2 0 1 9

A ndalusian The

C E L E B R AT I N G STUDENTS A LWAY S ,

M AC L AY S C H O O L : 3 7 3 7 N . M E R I D I A N R D , TA L L A H A S S E E , F L 3 2 3 1 2

Acorns - Marauder - Wellness - Accountable - Maclay - Be Unstoppable - Honorable - Rowdy - Initiative - Conquistador - Unity - Inspired - Cartee - 52 years - Determined - Notes from the Underground - Virtu -Andalusian -Respectable - Alfred- Webster - Oak Tree - One School- Community - Family - Beck - Spirit Marauder - Wellness - Accountable - Maclay -Acorns - Be Unstoppable - Honorable - Rowdy - Initiative - Unity - Inspired - Cartee - 52 years - Determined - Notes from the Underground - Virtu - Conquistador -Alfred- Webster - Oak Tree - Andalusian - One School- Community - Family - Respectable - Beck - Spirit Wellness - Accountable - Maclay - Be Unstoppable - Honorable - Rowdy - Initiative - Marauder - Acorns Unity - Inspired - Cartee - 52 years - Determined - Conquistador - Notes from the Underground - Virtu Webster - Oak Tree - Alfred- Andalusian - One School- Community - Family - Respectable - Beck - Spirit - Acorns - Marauder - Wellness - Accountable - Maclay - Be Unstoppable - Honorable - Rowdy - Initiative Conquistador - Unity - Inspired - Cartee - 52 years - Determined - Notes from the Underground - Virtu Alfred- Webster - Oak Tree - Andalusian - One School- Community - Family - Respectable - Beck - Spirit Wellness - Accountable - Maclay - Be Unstoppable - Honorable - Rowdy - Initiative - Marauder - Acorns

INSIDE by emily dudley | general editor

Table of Contents

NEWS Page 4-5

OPINION Page 6-7

FE ATURES Page 8-11

ENTERTAINMENT Page 12-13

Sports Page 14-15

An acorn begins small but eventually grows into a beautiful, thriving tree. Students and faculty frequently look upon our symbolic oak tree, as they pass through campus. Today, an acorn sticker can be seen on many teachers’ doors and many students’ laptops. This acorn sticker is just one part of this year’s new initiative “Acorns to Oaks.” It all began with a question asked to the Head of Upper School Charles Beamer: what should a Maclay graduate look like? “I was able to paint a picture in my mind [of a Maclay graduate] and one of the pieces I wasn’t really satisfied with was the wellness component because over the last two years, we have had a lot of students and teachers that have suffered depression, anxiety, and so I started to think what do we already do by way of wellness,” Beamer said. “ As I began to poke around not just in the upper school, but I poked around in the other divisions; I thought that it would be a great idea if we started a conversation around wellness, a conversation around health, and a conversation around physical activity.” Through Beamer’s observation of the upper school and the other divisions, he came to the realization that the conversation around wellness needed to begin. Taking on this new task, Beamer contemplated how to approach this issue and what true wellness meant; the more conversations he had, the more that he realized that something must be done to help the Maclay community, both students and faculty alike. “So I was sitting here trying to figure out how do we do this, and I thought about the two departments on campus that touch everybody.’ Beamer said. “It was the guidance and the fine arts department, and so I went to Mrs. Bakas and I went to Mrs. Daniel and Mrs. Maurey and Mrs. Hicks and the visual

arts department and Mrs. Smith and Mr. Van Syckle and said ‘okay guys here is my idea, how can we develop legs and feet?’” One answer came in the form of a new campus-wide Wellness Day, along with many other ideas already in the works to improve student and teacher wellness. As for the metaphor of growing from an acorn to an oak, the concept was the result of a joint idea between Beamer and Fine Arts Department Co-Chair Kim Daniel. “We were just going to call it the wellness initiative, and one day I was sitting and I was looking out of the window before the construction started and I saw the oak tree. I went to the art room, and I said ‘guys help me wrestle with this’ I’m like the oak we give a lot of credence to the oak tree,” Beamer said. Daniel was the one who built upon his idea by connecting the oak to an acorn. “Our answer is the oak inside the acorn. Why? Think about it,” Daniel said. “We as teachers see such potential in all of our students. We see how truly great they can become.” The oak within the acorn is a metaphor for the potential within students that the faculty and staff want to help students tap into and grow. “The Acorns to Oaks program really came out of how we feel our responsibility as a school is beyond just getting you ready for math class in college,” Head of School James Milford said. “We want you to be successful all around.” This concept of helping students beyond their academics has been given life by the Wellness Center, where every Thursday a free class is offered to upper school students and faculty. Classes range from wheel throwing to yoga, along with plans for future involvement by music teachers and actual painting artists. In addition to Wellness Thursdays, graphic design students have been working on a coloring book titled “Maclay’s Acorns to Oaks Coloring Book” for the

whole school to enjoy when released. “The coloring book is formatted so that each page represents a new part of a student’s journey at Maclay. As they move through the book, they see the same evolution that they will experience in their time at the school, “ senior and one of the book’s designers Stephanie Ribich said. “Students begin their time here as acorns and by graduation they have become mighty oaks.” Aside from students, faculty wellness is also a major focus of this initiative. Beamer is currently working on a wellness room for faculty members to be able to relax and take a break from the chaos of the school day: a place to breathe. This space would contribute to the wellness and happiness of the staff. “Happiness is the goal; having a joyous life needs to be a goal, and I think a joyous and fulfilled life is one where there is a lot of connections and a lot of things that happen under the umbrella,” Milford said. The initiative team feels that a key component to this happiness is diversity and inclusion. They want every member of the Maclay community to feel accepted. Visual arts teacher Kaitlyn Dressel created the symbol of this inclusivity: the acorn sticker. “For me, this symbolizes not only the wellness component but also the inclusivity and the diversity component,” Beamer said. “As you know, there are a lot of students with anxiety and depression; we have students who unfortunately feel they can’t be who they are and they have to hide behind this mask, so if we can focus on us all being this acorn then we are not focused on stereotypes.” An oak is a living being that begins its journey as an acorn, and even after becoming a tree, it continues to grow and develop throughout its life; whether you’re an acorn or already an oak, your growth matters here.


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