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FEATURES AND ARTS
TOWER/mAy 30, 2014
Students give up summer vacation for rigorous programs Rachel saunDeRs News Editor
run for the doors, soaking up all of the work-free summer air. Although this is a nice thought, it is not always the reality. Most coaches, teachers or parents expect students to show up prepared and
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Gap years offer alternative from college fare Gabby Davies Advertising/Web Content Manager
Gap years: the unspoken option. While the year off from school is not seen as a big deal in some countries, to most Americans, the break isn’t even considered a choice after students have graduated from high school. Director of College Counseling Kathleen Woods believes that a gap year is not harmful to the college process overall.“Many colleges don’t have a problem with a student being accepted, asking for a year off and then doing in the following year as a freshman,” Woods said. “But, you have to state your case, talk to them about what it is you’re going to do.” Though gap years are less well known in America, more students are taking gap years every year.
However, it’s still a small amount of people compared to how many Europeans take the trip. Senior Maria Dubon is taking a gap year because she believes it will motivate her to do well in her upcoming college years. “I want to take a gap year mainly because I don’t feel like I’ve gone through enough experiences to motivate me enough to do as well as I want to in school,” Dubon said. “I plan to do a lot of community service in Guatemala and do a lot of social rights in the United States. I feel like I need to go through a life changing experience so I can mind enough motivation to make me do well at school.” The concept of a gap year developed in Great Britain in 1960’s and has been a popular choice for students from there ever since. In 2012, 2.5 million British students went on a gap year where as only 40,000 American students chose to take the year off.
The year break is also a lot cheaper in Europe, as European students have a less structured gap year compared to the American gap year. According to The New York Times, an American gap year costs around as much a year of college tuition. Izzy Zeitz-Moskin ‘10 took a gap year before going to Carleton College. “I would recommend taking a gap year, but not to everyone and it really depends on what you decide to do with your time,” Zeitz-Moskin said. “I think it made me gain a very different perspective, which felt somewhat lege, but it also was a very useful one which has helped me throughout my college experience.” Dubon believes that the gap year process but also learning about yourself. “I think the year provides a lot wants to do in life,” Dubon said.
September. The preparation can take up a huge chunk of the summer, leaving little room for other activities, or for just resting. So instead of rolling out of bed at noon, alarm clocks are being set for early workouts and classes. Sophomore Hannah Weiss took Algebra II classes last summer, which were to help her get back into the “Algebra rhythm” after learning geometry freshman year. “It consumed a lot of my life because it was really hard to do a chapter every day, which is basically what we do in a month at school,” Weiss said. “So, I felt like I was doing homework and preparing for the tests all the time, especially because I was there for three hours and the classes were only an hour and a half or two hours.” Additionally, vigorous sports practices begin right from where the team left off at the end of last season. Mikelle Sacco, head coach of the varsity volleyball team, expects athletes to work on their skills over the summer and greatly encourages attending a volleyball camp. Sacco also posts an eight week training schedule on the school’s online page for the volleyball players to complete prior to pre-season in August. Sophomore and varsity volleyball player Stefanie Weichert, who will be attending Gulf Coast High School in Naples, Florida next fall, said that her new school offers rigorous summer training programs for students who will be trying
out for varsity teams. “There will be 29 people trying out for 12 positions, and 9 are returning players, so my chances of making the team are slim. If I don’t do the program, I would say I probably have no chance of making the volleyball team,” Weichert said. Some students who hope to take honors or AP classes also prepare, studying up over the summer at classes, programs or with tutors. For AP Studio Art, Cheryl Hajjar, who teaches the class, strongly suggests that students get a head start because of the 24 required pieces, which are to be completed by the end of the school year. Hajjar said, “If you have an opportunity where you can study with someone or someones who can offer you other perspectives for doing things, or who can expose you to experiences that you haven’t had before, you should absolutely consider that, but would I require it? No.” “You shouldn’t do a class if you want to be in AP physics or AP calculus, then you’re doing it because you have to be in that class not because you actually like the courses. You should do it because you like that class,” Weiss said. Additionally, SAT and ACT preparatory classes are popular among sophomores and juniors in order to make the upcoming year easier to handle. Sophomore Emily Barshay will be taking SAT and ACT classes; however she does not see these classes as her priority. thing I’m doing this summer, or by far the most prominent, it’s something I’m doing on the side,” she said. Barshay will be attending a program at Sarah Lawrence College for writing over the summer as well. Because she will be commuting versus being a resident, Barshay will have more time on her hands to use productively, but only somewhat for studying so she can still soak up the summer sun.
These faculTy anD ThRee moRe aRe leavinG masTeRs This yeaR. foR moRe infoRmaTion abouT TheiR sToRies anD impacT upon The communiTy, please visiT ToweR.masTeRsny.oRG foR full coveRaGe anD DeTails.
New eBook library system replaces old books Tony RosenbeRG Sports Editor The school sacrificed a little over 7,000 books due to the establishment of a new conference room in the back of the library. Members of the school faculty have come up with an alternative way to replace those lost books. By the beginning of the 20142015 school year, students can access the “eBook” electronic library system. Librarian Judy Murphy, a full supporter of this new establishment, believes it will sufficiently compensate for the thousands of books lost to the recent construction. “We reduced so many books in the library to make room for the new conference room, so we felt we needed to augment the selection of books,” Murphy said. The system aims to replace all lost books and more. “The ‘eBook’ system will have over 7,500 books for students to use freely,” Pereira said. “It (eBooks) is multidisciplinary. There is not one specific genre that all the books can be classified by.” This will allow for students to be more open and interested in learning different, unique topics all under the common category of “high school education.”
Robert Rooney, Director of Business and Finance, was a supporter of this new establishment from the very beginning. “Blending it (eBooks) into the curriculum was a pretty difficult process,” Rooney said. Once a student downloads a book through “eBooks,” he or she may hold onto the book for a given amount of time. “Students can hold onto books for 12 weeks. Multiple students can read the same book at the same time,” Murphy said. Another convenient asset that eBooks has to offer is page numbers and annotating. “The books have page numbers and the students can annotate the books online,” Murphy said. When the school is ready to introduce this new electronic library system to students, Pereira will make a directions sheet that explains how students can download this new system on their devices. “Students first have to download the app, Bluefire, on their devices so that they can successfully download these books electronically later on. This app is free on all devices,” said Murphy. If a student wishes to read a book through “eBook” on his or her computer, he only has to log onto “ebooks.com.” The school has already completed instating the “eBook” system, as the “eBooks” icon is already installed on all of the school’s desk-
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WHAT ONCE CONTAINED thousands of books now holds an entire conference room and more space. Fortunately, 7,500 books will eventually digitize into the new eBook electronic library system by next year. tops (library, computer lab, etc.). “It (eBooks) is ready to launch now. We have the software installed on all school computers,” Pereira said. As many students are not familiar with the system and unclear with how Masters installed this
program, Pereira is planning to spread the word. “We will most likely have an announcement at Morning Meeting to let the school know about this new electronic library system,” Pereira said.
The books accessible to students at school will increase immensely; therefore, they will have more resources to use for their research projects, making it easier to prove their points and develop a more fluid angle.