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The Echo

2016-17

Issue 1

THE ECHO Igniting Character Through Service: Upper School Service Day

The News Page 1: Igniting Character Through Service: Upper School Service Day Page 4: Election 2016: The Echo endorsements Page 6: New Teacher Interviews: Ms. Monfils & Ms. Gilmore Page 8: Fall Play: Cash on Delivery Page 9: Man on the Street: Drew Martin

By Skyler Fox

I’m sure we all get tired of hearing the announcement that “all students must complete twenty community service hours by the end of the school year.” We all get nervous when the deadline creeps up, but maybe it is worth stepping back and asking ourselves: what is volunteering and giving back to our community truly about?

Although every BGA student has an extremely busy life with academics, sports, clubs, theatre, choir, etc., I believe community service should be something everyone regularly fits into their lives. Community service frees us from the cocoon in which we are safely wrapped and gives us a broader perspective of our community and our world as a whole. Character is one of the three main principles of our school, and service goes hand-inhand with character. Although BGA has always been heavily involved with community service, our school has put a special emphasis on community service through the re-establishment of Service Day. I interviewed our service learning coordinator, Ms. Van Jura, and our service learning committee chair, Katie Baier, to learn more about the re-establishment of Service Day and why service is important to them.

The Echo Staff Editors-In-Chief: Skyler Fox and Emma Wylie Staff Members: Sarah Fly, Taylor Knight, Alex Pareigis, Ridley Randolph, Olivia Criswell, Drew Martin

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The Echo

2016-17

Issue 1

Igniting Character Through Service Interview with Ms. Van Jura

Q: As the service learning coordinator, why did you want to re-establish Service Day in the upper school?

Ms. Van Jura: Our efforts to re-establish a Day of Service in the Upper School were directly connected to BGA's Founder's Day. Contributing to the public good was one of the main goals in the establishment of BGA in the late 1880s, and I believe that dedicating an entire school day to service reflects our continued emphasis on service and contributing to our community.

When planning for this day, I wanted students to be exposed to a variety of service opportunities in an effort to see the different ways that we can give back to our community and the different needs that can be found in our community.

Q: What do you think is the importance of service in our BGA community?

I believe that as a school, BGA places a heavy emphasis on giving back to our community, whether that is the local community of Franklin or our broader community in the United States and abroad. Service learning establishes important connections between our community at BGA and other communities and reflects our dedication to improving the world around us.

Ms. Van Jura (cont.): As service learning coordinator at BGA, I hope to be able to foster the same passion for service that my mom did for me and help students to find opportunities to connect with and give back to their community.

Q: Where did your advisory go for Service Day? What did this experience mean to you?

For the Day of Service, my advisory served with Maristone Assisted Living Facility in Franklin. During our time at the facility, we visited with the residents and asked them questions about their life. These responses are then going to be used by the facility to create "Memory Books" for each resident and his or her family. This act of service was important to me because we were actively helping preserve the histories of these residents and because it helped my advisory connect with individuals from another generation.

Q: Why is service important to you personally? Why did this make you want to be the service learning coordinator at BGA? My mom is actively involved in volunteering in her community and from an early age, she would take me with her to serve in a variety of capacities. Through service, my mom taught me the importance of learning other peoples' stories and an appreciation for all of the opportunities that I have had in my life. She also taught me the impact that a single person can have when they give their time to others.

Mr. Johnson’s Advisory at Preston Taylor Ministries

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The Echo

2016-17

Issue 1

Service Day (cont.)

Interview with Katie Baier Q: As the student service learning committee chair, why did you want to re-establish Service Day in the upper school?

A: I believe that Service Day is so important for our BGA community because often we find ourselves caught up in the business of our own lives, and we forget to leave time for the rest of the community.

Service day is an opportunity for every student to go out in the community and serve under the conditions that they have nothing better to do. Once students participate in this day of service, they can find that they don't mind or even that they enjoy serving.

Q: What do you think is the importance of service in our BGA community?

Mrs. Barclay’s Advisory at the Lower School

A: Sometimes students of BGA are stuck in a little bubble and can quickly become unaware of their surroundings. By having service integrated into BGA's values, students can learn that emerging from their bubble is not a bad thing, but rather a beneficial thing for both them and their community.

Q: Why is service important to you personally?

A: I believe that service is important because as teenagers, we often get caught up in our own problems or ruts. Service truly takes you out of your own problems and allows you to be sympathetic to the problems going on in the greater community. Serving makes someone feel accomplished and helpful.

Q: Where did your advisory go for Service Day? What did this experience mean to you?

A: My advisory went the BGA Lower School. This was a good experience for our advisory because it not only gave us all a chance to hang out off campus, but it also gave us the opportunity to serve the larger BGA community.

Lauren Murrell and Ralea Haun at the Harpeth River

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The Echo

2016-17

Issue 1

Echo Staff Endorsements

Pellentesque:

An Endorsement of Donald Trump

An Endorsement of Hillary Clinton

A common overheard phrase since both major party Presidential candidates were announced: “both candidates are awful, and we are in trouble”. This may be true, but the truth is that one of them will be elected in November. It should be Donald Trump.

Donald Trump may say things without thinking and make a fool of himself, but he is still a stronger candidate than Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is a flat out liar; she said she landed under sniper fire while she was getting off her plane, but there was a video of her casually walking to her car. I do not want someone as our president who ignored multiple cries for help from soldiers under attack in Benghazi, which cost four Americans their lives. The mainstream media plays a huge part in this election, and if you turn on any news channel, especially CNN, you will see that everything broadcasted is antiDonald Trump, and they never say anything negative about Hillary Clinton. With Donald Trump, there is no one “behind the curtain” controlling him. He is self-funded and doesn’t have other politicians constantly telling him what to do or what to say. Most people say they support him because of his drive and his leadership to make this country better. Rather than being all talk, I truly believe he is going to take action and “Make America Great Again”.

Hillary Clinton is America’s best choice to lead our nation. Donald Trump has zero political experience, but Hillary is qualified, extremely qualified. As former First Lady, Secretary of State, and U.S. Senator, she knows the job. She knows what is required of her.

She’s been working in politics for the majority of her life. As Secretary of State, she has interacted with almost every foreign leader, giving her extensive experience in foreign policy. When she was first lady, she helped obtain health care coverage for 8 million American children. She’s also extremely progressive, and has spoken out for women’s rights and the LGBTQ community. Donald Trump, however, has made numerous degrading and inappropriate Consectetuer: comments towards women. I would rather not have a president who has video proof against him for making extremely offensive comments which he justifies as “locker room talk”. While Hillary would uphold what America already stands for, Trump would take us backward. Hillary Clinton is not only the most qualified presidential candidate, but she speaks out on important causes for which Trump actively shows no regard. He has not demonstrated an ability to effectively deal with foreign leaders on the world stage. This is why I believe Hillary Clinton should be elected President of the United States.

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The Echo

2016-17

Issue 1

Spa Water: The Hydration We Need

Panini Press for Cafeteria President

Refreshing, cool, fruity, delicious. Ahhh. Spa water. After a long day of school, do you really want burnt bread with half-cooked cheese? Wouldn’t you rather have a taste of crisp, fresh water made just for you? Not only is Spa Water wonderful to drink, but it is also beautifully displayed. Think of all the time and dedication put into each dispenser each day. The Academy caters to your needs of fruit water. They know how important water and fruit are in your diet. Hydration has a key role in your life. So next time you are going through the lunch line, think of all that Spa Water does. To show your support, follow @spawatersofbga.

Ham sandwich. Grilled cheese. Turkey BLT. Italian Special. With Panini Press, the possibilities are endless. There is nothing you cannot do with Panini Press. Why would you want Spa Water over a hot sandwich when you can just bring a gallon of water into every class?

Spa Water is just a fruit bath. However, you can’t take a hot sandwich into class with you.

The sensation of taking a bite of a hot, cheesy sandwich is something you only get during lunch. The only reason you can get this wonderful sensation is because of Panini Press.

When the lunch provided doesn’t appeal to you, you don’t go for a glass of Spa Water. No, you get up, you make a sandwich, you press it until it’s melted and amazing, and then you eat it, because this is America.

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The Echo

2016-17

Issue 1

An Interview with Ms. Monfils

By Sarah Fly Q: What do you teach here at BGA? Ms. Monfils: I teach Honors Algebra II and College Algebra and Trigonometry.

Q: What did you do before you came to BGA? I was a math teacher at Rutgers Preparatory School in New Jersey. Before that, I was a math teacher at Ivy Collegiate Academy in Taiwan.

Q: What is your favorite part of BGA so far?

The best part has been how easy the students have made it for me to adapt to being in a new place.

Q: What are you most excited about for this year?

I am very excited about being in a new place and meeting new people.

Q: What do you like to do outside of school?

I enjoy reading; I read a lot of books. I really love sports and being outdoors; I am looking forward to a hiking trip soon.

Q: Do you enjoy traveling? If so, where is your favorite place to travel?

I love to travel, and my favorite place I have been is Cambodia.

Q: What was your high school experience like?

My high school experience was very different than what it is now. I grew up in a very simple small town and went to a small town public school with no social media.

Q: What do you binge watch on Netflix?

House of Cards.

Q: What inspired you to pursue teaching as a career?

I think I always wanted to be a teacher; when I was three, I had a chalk board, and I made my brother sit down with me and play school. I had some really great math teachers in high school, but math was really hard for meand I had to work at it. Math was very male-dominated when I was growing up, and in third grade, I had a teacher that told me it was okay if I wasn’t good at math because math was for boys. This pushed me to want to be a teacher because he was telling me I could not do something. I didn’t see why a boy could do math, but I couldn’t.

Q: What is the most interesting thing that has happened to you while teaching?

In my first year teaching in Taiwan, I was told that the students I would be teaching were fluent, and I learned quickly they were not. I was teaching a science class, and I was trying to teach them about food chains. They knew what lions were, but I tried to talk to them about giraffes, and they had no idea what they were. It was hard trying to teach them something they had never seen or heard of before and in a different language. However, my experience there definitely taught me a valuable lesson.

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The Echo

2016-17

Issue 1

Interview with Ms. Gilmore

By Alex Pareigis

be a teacher my senior year.

Q: What do you teach here at BGA?

Q: What was your college experience like?

I teach 9th grade Ancient History and 10th grade World History.

I loved college. I met incredible friends, and went on exciting adventures. I loved studying modern history, diving deep into the history of our nation, and learning how history is the study of humanity. I had a great education.

Q: What did you do before you came to BGA? I went to college at University of Arkansas master and secondary in Social Studies, then taught for a little bit at a charter school in East Nashville, and then at Franklin Road Academy. I have been here at BGA since last January.

Q: What is your favorite part of BGA so far?

The kids. The students are intelligent and big hearted. They work hard, and they keep me laughing.

Q: What do you binge watch on Netflix?

Right now I am watching 30 Rock and my alltime favorites are Parks and Rec and West Wing.

Q: What inspired you to pursue teaching as a career?

Q: What are you most excited about for this year?

As a senior in high school, I would help out with the kindergarten class. I realized I loved being on that side of the class. I loved history and I wanted other kids to fall in love with the story of humanity.

Upper school is so much more fun and it’s like one big family.

Q: What is the most interesting thing that has happened to you while teaching?

Q: What do you like to do outside of school?

When Cole Dennis, Ellen Kesler, and Colin Pickens acted out the attack on Fort Sumter, and whatever Cole Dennis and Grant Mikus said in class.

Live music, go hike every once and while, playing in the park near my house, and hanging out with my friends.

Q: Do you enjoy traveling? If so, where is your favorite place to travel?

I love traveling. My favorite places are New York City and Salt Lake City.

Q: What was your high school experience like?

I went to a small school and graduated with 23 other students, and this gave me the base for my beliefs being that it was a Christian school. I was very active in sports and theatre. I discovered I wanted to

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The Echo

2016-17

Issue 1

The Fall Play: Cash on Delivery By: Skyler Fox Through my three years of participating in school plays, Brenda Dixon in Cash on Delivery was the first completely comical character I have ever played. Yes, this was a challenge, but this role gave me the confidence that I could actually play a comical character with success, especially one that screams and cries in all her scenes about her “dead” boyfriend. This play was very different than any plays I have been in before because it was what thespians call a farce. A farce consists of horseplay and chaos including mistaken identities and extremely improbable situations, which is exactly what happens in Cash on Delivery. The most essential part in making this play come to life, in my opinion, was getting the timing exactly right. As Ms. Wallace says, the timing is the biggest factor that can make or break farces because the jokes have to be delivered perfectly. Of course, we practiced the timing for weeks, but we had to account for the audience on show nights. Happily, we had to adjust for the laughter because there were different amounts of laughter for different jokes every night.

Overall, I really enjoyed working on this production because of how close I became with each member of the cast, something I always value during the fall play because of the small, close-knit cast.

I appreciate everyone’s hard work to make this show as great as it could be, especially Ms. Wallace, who worked endlessly to make the set, design the costumes, direct the show, guide us, etc. I really am missing working on this production, and I am especially missing wailing “bigamy” on stage every day.

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The Echo

2016-17

Issue 1

“What is your favorite TV show and why?”

Featuring Drew Martin This week at lunch, we had our field guy, Drew Martin, go around and ask random students what their favorite TV show is and why. Here’s what we got.

Conner Mitchell (Jr): Friday Night Lights, because I see a lot of Smash Williams in myself.

Jaylen Frierson (Soph): The Andy Griffith Show, because I like how peaceful it is.

Coach Price: My current favorite TV show would be Eat the Popsicle because right now the popsicle you are using for a microphone is something we would all like to devour. .

Emily Woods (Sr): The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, because it’s filled with drama.

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