Octagon 2019-20 Issue 7

THE

OCTAGON

Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Sacramento, CA Permit No. 1668 2636 Latham Drive, Sacramento, CA

VOL. 43 NO. 7 • Sacramento Country Day School • www.scdsoctagon.com • @scdsoctagon • April 28, 2020

Remote instruction scheduled to continue for rest of semester

BY SANJANA ANAND

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CLOSED DOORS SCDS suspended in-person classes on March 13 because of the coronavirus pandemic. As of April 24, the U.S. had 923,474 confirmed cases and 52,085 deaths. PHOTO BY ELISE SOMMERHAUG

COVID page 3

COVID-19 pandemic takes major toll on parent health care workers -

BY LARKIN BARNARD-BAHN

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“It gets stressful. And unfortunately, when we go home, we can’t sleep at night because our brains just will not shut off.”

— Kimberly Sommerhaug

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INSIDE the ISSUE

NEWS 2 After unexpectedly moving back to the Netherlands, senior Héloïse Schep describes how the coronavirus has affected her country.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 4 If you’ve run out of shows or movies to watch, we’ve got you covered! Five Octagon staffers offer their favorite quarantine picks.

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SPREAD 6-7 Teachers, students and parents adjust to online learning as the school finds new ways to deliver content and maintain ties.

HEALTH CARE page 3 SPORTS 8 Boys basketball coach David Ancrum reflects on his journey, including his years playing professionally under legendary Phil Jackson.

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News •April, 28 2020

The Octagon

Senior returns to her home in Netherlands, encounters its ‘intelligent’ lockdown

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BY HÉLOÏSE SCHEP -

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COVID CRAZE Senior Héloïse Schep and her mother, Hortense, prepare to

board a

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‘TAKE GOOD CARE OF EACH OTHER’ PHOTO BY SCHEP

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FRIENDLY REMINDERS PHOTO BY SCHEP

April 28, 2020 • News

The Octagon

3

COVID: Worldwide pandemic moves end-of-the-year celebrations online (Continued from page 1) go , including the winter sports banquet.

Vargo added that the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) canceled all spring sports.

“This will be a big miss,” Vargo said. “(Seniors Rebecca Waterson and Jackson Craw-

Director of advancement Rachelle Doyle informed the school in an April 21 email that the annual auction, which had been scheduled for May 16 at the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel, has been moved online on that date at 5:30 p.m.

The event will feature recorded videos and live interactions. Proceeds will be used to build a temporary Country Day Community Fund to bolster tuition assis-

seasons for swim and golf, (respectively).

The tennis team was undefeated and was having their best season in Country Day history, and the baseball team consisted of many seniors, who will “I think China is (safer) than also be missed.”

According to Vargo, the United States. China is a decision regarding doing great (at) preventstudents’ PE credits ing the virus from spreadfor spring sports has

COVID-19.

English department chair Jason Hinojosa, who teaches the Writer’s Workshop, decided to move it online. ing and has gotten it under “My intention was to control.” although every seprovide a measure of nior has met the — John Fan clarity and reassurance graduation reto both current and poquirements. tential participants,” Thomsen said Hinojosa said. “It feels prudent to plan for end-of-the-year celebrations — including that possibility and to offer a safeguard for college day, high school awards, senior din- members of especially vulnerable populaner and graduation — have been changed. tions who may want to err on the side of Details are being discussed. caution even into the summer.”

Other events scheduled on campus, inHinojosa said the course will follow the cluding summer classes, the annual auc- same curriculum. tion in May and the Writer’s Workshop in “We will exchange manuscripts via email July, have been moved online. and meet for group discussions via Zoom, Wells announced on April 15 that the but otherwise our plans are exactly the summer sessions offered to high school same,” Hinojosa said. students — pre-calculus honors and biology — will still happen, either in-person to Hinojosa. or online, depending on the status of the “We didn’t have concrete plans for a pandemic at the end of the academic year. guest speaker before the workshop moved

online,” he said. “Shifting the program online made it much easier for our guest speaker — a very talented and accomAuburn University and therefore based in Alabama.”

Hinojosa added that moving the workshop online will attract more participants.

“The applicant pool has widened to include anyone with internet access and a High school publications are also forced to adapt. The Octagon will mail print issues instead of distributing them at school.

Medallion editor Yumi Moon, a senior, said methods of distributing yearbooks are being discussed. Editor Anu Krishnan, a senior, said the Glass Knife, an annual litersions will be posted as blogs on a website.

Country Day also hosts many international students, and Wells said he is unsure if they will be able to return home over the summer.

“We are very cautious about that situation because it could be very hard for them to return back to school when summer has ended,” Wells said. “Right now, international travel is very restricted — either leaving or coming back to the United States. If they were to go back home for the summer, we would work with our team in China and immigration attorneys to make sure they could continue their high school experience here.”

Despite these warnings, juniors Stephanie Ye and Joanne Tsai plan to return to their homes in China and Taiwan, respec-

tively, for the summer. None of their family members or friends back home have tested positive, they said.

Sophomores John Fan and Daisy Zhou have left for China.

Fan left on April 18 for his home in “I think China is (safer) than the United States,” Fan said. “China is doing great (at) preventing the virus from spreading and has gotten it under control. Also, people who get the virus in China can get treated immediately.

“People in China are not quarantined, and their lives are back to normal. I really want to hang out with my friends and have fun.”

Zhou agreed and returned to her home in Chengdu on April 24.

Tsai, who’s originally from Taiwan, plans to return in mid-May. “The government has (stated) that when people come to China, they are forced to quarantine in a hotel in Nanjing without to prevent the spread,” Tsai said. “In Taiwan, if you are coming internationally, you only have to quarantine with your family at home for 14 days, so it’s not as bad.”

Thomsen said he plans to communicate with the school community regularly, including the Friday email.

“We also started something called town halls, which is where faculty inform parents about changes or concerns and answer any questions on a Zoom call,” he said. “We plan to have that around once a week for lower, middle and high school parents.”

Health care: Federal government criticized (Continued from page 1) them.”

Although she said personal protective equipment (PPE) — ment worn by an employee for protection against infectious materials,” according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration — is in “pretty good” supply, medical professionals are reusing surgical and N95 masks, which normally is never done.

Beilenson said the federal government’s Strategic National Stockpile is meant to amass PPE to prepare for public health emergencies but that it was incredibly unprepared for the pandemic.

“For the federal government to say, ‘We’re the backstop’ — that’s not the function of the federal government,” Beilenson said.

“The federal government’s function is to be the front stop and the front line. That’s why we have a tective equipment.”

When the Strategic National Stockpile runs out, states and localities bid against one another on the open market, according to Beilenson.

“So we’re competing with hospitals, health departments, health centers, their providers, as well as other companies for PPE, which leads to price gouging and the ridiculous lack of PPE,” he said. “If you lose a bid, you don’t have the PPE that’s necessary to protect your providers. So it’s not a good situation, to say the least.”

The federal government’s most and testing, continue to this day, according to Beilenson.

Sacramento County has increased its number of tests from 50 per day to 500, but it’s still “woefully inadequate,” Beilenson said. Only those with symptoms are tested — but people can be contagious while lacking symp-

toms.

“One of the most important things to do is to get people tested so we know what we’re facing in terms of the scale of the epidemic,” he said. “We need to (test) pling so we have an idea of what percentage of people have been infected and which areas are most highly affected, in terms of socioeconomics and neighborhoods, as well as workplaces.

“Are low-wage workers getting the illness more, or is it health care workers, or is it the general public? All those kinds of questions we can’t answer yet because we don’t have enough tests.”

Beilenson added that antibody testing, which he hopes will arrive next month, is also needed to discover who had COVID-19 and is now immune.

Before the pandemic, Beilenson’s job in public health dealt with everything from mental illness to primary care, but now he is entirely focused on the novel coronavirus.

“The singular focus on this virus has been relatively unique,” he said. “In my 30 years as a pubnovel viruses before, like H1N1, West Nile, SARS, etc. But none of them were quite so involved and led to such a singular focus of the world on the infection as this one.”

Beilenson attributed this to the virus’s contagiousness and severity across demographics as well as the constant stream of media reporting on it.

Another consequence of health care’s focus on COVID-19 is the halt of elective (non-emergency) surgeries, according to Sommerhaug.

“People are not getting the care they need,” she said. “Hopefully that will not cause mortality and morbidity to increase. There’s always the risk of that.

“And when this is over, we’re

going to be inundated by people (who) were going to have surgeries and what have you. So we’re going to be very, very busy trying to accommodate all those people.

It’s going to decrease access to health.”

While her hospital isn’t overwhelmed with patients, Sommerhaug said it could be in about a week or two.

“We did not get the surge like New York and Italy,” she said. “We went into quarantine at the right time, or it may have been different.

“In our ERs (normally), every day there are people in the hallways on gurneys because there are just no beds and no rooms, which is why we have to not do the elective cases now.”

However, Beilenson said that because Sacramento County residents have taken social distancing measures, the area is likely to avoid a surge in infections that could cause hospitals to be overwhelmed.

“Sacramento ranks somewhere around an A- as a county, and that has made a real difference in said. “The spike was predicted to come (the week of April 12), but out over a three- or four-week period.”

Per capita, California is doing better than almost every state in the number of infections due to its relatively early stay-at-home order, according to Beilenson, who added that Northern California is faring particularly well because of its lower population density. He said reducing social the curve and that touching mail, plastic bags and other items is an incredibly minor contributor to the virus’s spread.

Depending on whether “people stick with the pedal to the metal” with social distancing, Beilenson estimates the stay-at-home order

SUIT UP Dr. Peter Gemmell wears personal protective equipment, including a P100 respirator, inside a “respiratory tent,” in which patients who possibly have COVID-19 but aren’t too sick yet are treated. PHOTO COURTESY OF GEMMELL will last until mid-June, when it order. He said that until a vaccine is made — which will probably be in 12-14 months — the world will return to normal slowly, periodically shutting down.

“We’ll step our way forward until we get a vaccine, which will make a huge difference,” Beilenson said.

Leavy added that the infection curve is likely to decrease more slowly than it increased, meaning that it will take more time for life to return to normal.

“This is going to be a marathon, not a sprint,” he said.

But until normality resumes, Sommerhaug said she urges the public to continue quarantining and washing hands regularly.

“Thank you to the community for all their support. From us in health care, we’re so happy about the … ” Sommerhaug paused to wipe a tear. “We’re here because we love people and love to heal people, but of course we’re scared too. But just the outpouring of support has been absolutely On the street outside her hospital, people wrote messages and drawings of gratitude in chalk.

Sommerhaug said she received a list of businesses, such as Starbucks and Crocs, that are offering front-line health care workers free products.

“There’s this huge list of people supporting us, and it makes a huge difference for us,” she said.

“It’s wonderful.”

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The Octagon

In search of at-home entertainment to get you through the quarantine?

ON MY BLOCK

LITTLE WOMEN

BY JACOB CHAND

BY EMILY ASPERGER -

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

JUNO

BY SICILY SCHROEDER

BY SICILY SCHROEDER

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THE WALKING DEAD

THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW

BY SAMHITA KUMAR

BY ROD AZGHADI -

GRAPHICS COURTESY OF PIXABAY

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The Octagon

STAFF

April 28, 2020 • Opinion

“Zoomers” by Emma Boersma

My Angle

PRINT EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Anna Frankel Héloïse Schep

By Arjin Claire

ONLINE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Larkin Barnard-Bahn Jackson Crawford

Being stuck at home isn’t so bad

NEWS EDITOR Ming Zhu SPORTS EDITOR Jackson Crawford

As part of the many precautions against the coronavirus, Country Day students — like many others — were sent home from school on March 13.

I thought I would hate it. I consider myself an in-person learner and believed

FEATURE EDITOR Larkin Barnard-Bahn A&E/OPINION EDITOR Emma Boersma BUSINESS STAFF Larkin Barnard-Bahn, mgr.

Arijn Claire, assistant PAGE EDITORS Sanjana Anand Larkin Barnard-Bahn Emma Boersma Jackson Crawford Anna Frankel Ethan Monasa Héloïse Schep Ming Zhu Arijit Trivedi SENIOR REPORTERS Arjin Claire Dylan Margolis Miles Morrow Arikta Trivedi REPORTERS Emily Asperger Rod Azghadi Jacob Chand Nihal Gulati Samhita Kumar Sicily Schroeder PHOTO EDITORS Emma Boersma Shimin Zhang PHOTOGRAPHERS Miles Morrow Elise Sommerhaug Arikta Trivedi Shimin Zhang GRAPHICS EDITOR Emma Boersma GRAPHICS ARTISTS Brynne Barnard-Bahn Eric Lechpammer MULTIMEDIA STAFF Ming Zhu, editor Miles Morrow BLOGGERS Bri Davies Rebecca Waterson ADVISER Paul Bauman The Octagon is Sacramento Country Day’s student-run high school newspaper. Its purpose is to provide reliable information on events concerning the high school in order to inform and entertain the entire school community. The staff strives for accuracy and objectivity. The Octagon aims to always represent both sides of an issue. Errors will be noted and corrected.

The Octagon shall publish material that the staff deems in the best interest of the school community. The staff recognizes the importance of providing accurate and reliable information to readers. The Octagon does not represent the views of the administration, nor does it act as publicity for the school as a whole.

The Octagon will publish all timely and relevant news, subject to the following exceptions: obscenity; slanderous or libelous material; or material contrary to the best interests of the school community, as judged by the guidrelines among the newspaper staff, adviser and school administration. Editorials are approved by an editorial board.

Columns/commentaries shall be labeled as such and represent only the opinion of the author.

In the interest of representing all points of view, letters to the editor shall be published, space permitting, unless otherwise requested. All letters must be signed and conform to the above restrictions. The staff may change grammar and punctuation or abridge letters for space considerations. Comments can be made on our website to address all stories run.

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EDITORIAL: Students, teachers, we’ll get through this together!

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ollowing the suspension of in-person classes on March 13 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, students conducted classwork from home on their own schedule through spring break. Beginning April 14, however, Country Day added synchronous classes via Zoom with different levels of oversight for lower, middle and high school students.

Now, students dial into their week, but less often than at school, creating a balance of an asynchronous and synchronous schedule, according to head of high school Brooke Wells.

For self-motivated students, the transition to online instruction has been seamless; they’re able to complete assignments and work ahead.

But for students who struggle with motivation or meet often with teachers individually, the transition hasn’t been as smooth.

According to history department chair Chris Kuipers, the transition in his AP classes has been “straightforward” by continuing with the textbook reading and shared lecture notes. But in lab sciences, the curriculum has changed drastically, according to science department chair Kellie Whited.

On April 24, head of school Lee Thomsen announced that Country Day plans to continue with remote learning for the remainder of the school year. Many local schools already had canceled on-campus classes for the rest of the semester.

For juniors and/or aspiring collegiate athletes, the mass cancellation of national testing and sporting competitions has serious implications.

All the AP exams set to take place in May have been reduced to 45-minute open-internet tests taken from home window. SAT and ACT exams

in the spring have been shifted to the summer and fall, shortening juniors’ window to raise their scores before applying to college as early as October.

The continuing gravity of COVID-19 also forced end-ofyear events such as the auction, prom and high school graduation to be altered.

Seniors had been looking forward to a lighter schedule in their spring semester as they prepare for college in the fall.

Now, seniors must make their college decisions without the opportunity to visit campuses and get a sense for the culture of the student body. Yes, there have been a multitude of virtual tours, Q&A’s and admitted-student gatherings online, but ask anyone — it’s not the same.

Whichever way you slice it, COVID-19 has affected people globally in unfathomable ways. While we can complain as high school students about how tough our situation is, we need to understand the bigger picture. It’s important to recognize and be grateful for the people on the front lines who are risking their lives for us every day, including members of the County Day community.

Here are a few quick suggestions for teachers that could assist students and enIf possible, set a clear schedule of the week’s assignments starting on Monday. Many teachers already do this, but if students know what’s coming throughout the week, it’s easier for them to self-govern while retaining valuable time-management skills they can take with them to college.

Also, create more opporfeedback to make synchronous classes more effective and enjoyable.

Lastly, for senior seminars, try to create an interactive environment in which this

year’s class can learn from Country Day alumni about how they became the people they are today.

For example, Sarah Gaither, ’03, an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, spoke at Country Day last year and challenged students’ ideas about race and identity.

Then there’s Morgan Bennett-Smith, ’13, a master’s degree student in Saudi Arapopulation structure, connectivity and ecology in the Red Sea. He was honored by CNN for “best science photos of the year” in December for “Fade to White.”

These are just two of the many people within the SCDS community who could inspire the graduating seniors.

Finally, we offer the following messages to end the school year.

Students: Be kind to your teachers who are adjusting just as much as, if not more than, we are. Nevertheless, don’t be afraid to approach your teachers with any questions or challenges you’re facing.

Teachers and administrators: Thank you for continuing to care about our education and being supportive during this unprecedented time.

Your actions speak volumes to the caliber of instructors — and people — that you are.

As we wait patiently for the shelter-in-place and social distancing orders to be lifted, it’s important to keep in mind how lucky we are to be connected to Country Day. It is much easier for us to continue our education at our 150-person private high school compared to a 2,000-plus-person public school. Not to mention, there have been no within the SCDS community.

Stay safe, and as always, we’ll get through this together.

A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS FOR KEEPING US IN THE BLACK! Anand family, Barnard-Bahn Coaching and Consulting, Crawford family, Frankel family, Intel Foundation, Monasa family, Rye family, Schep-Smit family, Situ family, Trivedi family

online classes.

I really value group discussion, interactions with my teachers and the classroom. I was especially nervous about the transition considering my full load of classes.

Furthermore, my club soccer games were canceled along with training! I had waited the whole winter for everyone else’s high school season to be over, and then, after only a week of practice, it was done.

My mom and dad keep reminding me that everyone is in the same boat as I am.

I did have the slight advantage of seeing my sister, Sahej, ’18, sent home from Stanford University for the same reasons well before SCDS implemented online learning. ing, I received several emails from my teachers checking in and giving due dates and assignments.

Although it started off being a bit overwhelming with all the emails, once I wrote down due dates and assignments and planned them out, I realized it wasn’t so bad after all! I would go through everything I wrote down, decide my way through. I tried to always stay a day ahead so I didn’t feel overwhelmed by a ton of work, and I took a lot more time for myself.

After a week of online classes, I realized that it wasn’t as bad as I had expected. It is still harder for me to learn in online classes, but I’m managing and developing better time-management skills.

I have stuck to my schedule much better and had much more downtime.

In addition, both my parents are because I don’t have to go anywhere in the car and they aren’t always asking me about school, homework and classes. I just sit down and do my work while they do theirs.

With my downtime, and being stuck at home, I am able to do a lot of things I normally can’t.

I can make drawings or learn a new skill like photography.

I have been playing more video games with my friends, which has helped us stay in touch.

I’m reading more books, trying out Gladwell and learning about things that interest me.

I get to spend a lot more time with my family each day, doing something fun like playing Monopoly or Uno, which was much harder when my parents and I were constantly on the go and my sister was away at college. We play some sort of game almost daily and sometimes watch TV shows and movies.

Also, I have started baking and cooking with my mom, sister and dad. We make something new each day, such as cinnamon bread, brownies or cookies.

For dinner one night, I helped make won ton soup.

It’s all a nice break from the really busy days that I normally have when I’m not stuck at home.

Overall, I’m sure there are going to be some ups and downs, but it’s really not as bad as I thought. I feel more productive than ever and hope we all continue to do our part in keeping ourselves and our community safe!

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Centerpoint

The Oc

ONLINE LEARNING

BY ANNA FRANKEL, DYLAN MARGOLIS AND ARIKTA TRIVEDI

High school

O

n March 16, head of high school Brooke Wells announced in an email to high school parents and students that, beginning March 18, the school would conduct asynchronous online classes, in which students complete assignments at their own pace. in the development of an online format.

“As an initial phase, (an asynchronous model) seemed the quickest and easiest way to make sure that everyone could get content seamlessly,” Wells said. “At that point, we were just (conducting online classes) through spring break.”

On April 14, synchronous Zoom meetings were added to the schedule.

According to head of school Lee Thomsen in the Friday email on April 3, the purpose of the new weekly schedule is to “help create structure and contribute to normalcy for our students while balancing the challenges of working from home.”

Wells said the new schedule is “essentially a hybrid model of synchronous and asynchronous, with short, reserved class periods. Synchronous might be a Zoom meeting, a CavNet discussion, a quiz or any number of other things.”

Wells said Country Day worked with other independent schools to devise the new schedule. He hopes the switch will increase effectiveness.

“Having (students) in a classroom is how school works,” Wells said. “Anything separate from that is a little bit different and not quite as effective.”

But he said learning should not be greatly affected.

History department chair Chris Kuipers to deliver content to his students.

For AP classes, Kuipers said this has been fairly straightforward — simply continuing with the textbook and sharing lecture notes. For his ninth grade class, he has relied more on digital resources.

“In terms of content

Kuipers said. “I think students can still learn quite effectively. What I miss most is the discussion and contemplation of the content. That’s much harder to do online, particularly in an asynchronous setup.”

Kuipers said he hopes the structure of the second phase of online learning will provide more opportunities to “delve into materials at a deeper level as a group.”

English department chair Jason Hinojosa agreed that in-class discussions are replaced most typical class activities with CavNet discussions.

my vision of normal.”

“Instead of answering analytical questions in real-time classroom conversations, my students are typing responses to questions and responding to each other’s answers,” Hinojosa said. “I think my students and I agree that online discussions are less effective – and less satisfying – than conversations in person, but we all see CavNet as an imperfect but adequate alternative to being on campus.”

Since April 13, Hinojosa has also implemented live Zoom discussions.

Senior Anu Krishnan said that, before the Zoom meetings, the lack of live discussions affected what she could gain from AP English Literature.

“I didn’t have the same involvement with the book ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ that I did in class,” Krishnan said. “I felt like I was just doing the learning required to complete the homework, but not the class itself.”

But she said Zoom discussions have helped create a class-like environment.

“They have felt like regular classes, where we have breakout groups to discuss the book and then come together to discuss big-picture questions.

We now get the same level of discussion that we did in class,” Krishnan said.

But this depends on the subject, she added.

“For physics, (Glenn) Mangold posts lecture videos and notes, which replace the learning aspect of

class,” Krishnan said. “He also gives us labs and homework, so it’s very similar to what I would be doing in class.” away from school. material when someone teaches it to me,” she said. “But I think this teaches people to is a good skill to have.”

Freshman Eric Lechpammer agreed.

“It becomes harder to learn when you can no longer do class debates or labs,” Lechpammer said.

Science department chair Kellie Whited said almost everything about her classes has changed.

“While I still use the same slides and books, how I present the information to my students is different,” Whited said. “I have to rethink every assignment to make sure it’s something my students can access at home. Every lab has been reworked.”

Whited said adapting labs takes the most time and is one of the hardest aspects of the change.

“Being a lab science teacher, this is also what breaks my heart,” she said. “While I can certainly present the same concepts in a virtual way, it’s not the same as actually doing the lab or dissection in person.”

Because labs are many of her students’ favorite aspects of her classes, Whited said she is working to make them meaningful.

“I refuse to let my students’ education suffer because of this crazy situation,” Whited said. “Most of my students have found their own way to navigate online learning, and I am so proud of how hard they are working to succeed.”

This also means a lot more work for her, according to Whited. again because I’m building curriculum from scratch,” she said. “It’s exhausting balancing this huge workload with helping my own children with their schoolwork.”

Hinojosa, meanwhile, said, “It’s less work that feels like more.”

“I think I now spend fewer total hours developing lesson plans, reviewing and assessing assignments, and communicating with students and colleagues,” Hinojosa the end of the day with far fewer moments of connection and epiphany to sustain my spirits.”

Hinojosa said the biggest challenge has been communication, although Zoom conversations during class have helped.

“What might previously have been a quick verbal explanation in class has become a painstakingly crafted email and a series of follow-up emails,” Hinojosa said. tions with students energizing and nourishing, and communicating via email isn’t tool than email, and Zoom conversations are a vast improvement over CavNET discussions, but they are

Illustration by Eric Lechpammer

Kuipers agreed. time each day to type out detailed instructions for each class and respond to the multitude of emails that come in,” Kuipers said. “Having Zoom classes minimizes a bit of the need for detailed written communication, but the amount of work and time required by remote learning is similar to that of normal school.”

Senior David Situ said communicating with teachers has been challenging.

“Teachers aren’t always great about communicating what we are supposed to be doing,” he said. “Sometimes I’m doing work that I should have done earlier or that I don’t need to be doing.”

However, Situ said the new schedule has helped.

“Now that teachers have set guidelines, they have become more consistent in sending out instructions,” he said.

Kuipers said trying to maintain a community online has also been challenging.

“Particularly in stressful, anxious times like these, I think most of us really yearn try Day classrooms,” Kuipers said. “That said, I think the school has done well to facilitate as much normalcy as possible through Zoom and other technologies, but it’s obviously still not the same.”

Lechpammer said the community is what he misses most about school.

“I miss eating lunch with my friends, doing homework in the library and just doing Lechpammer said. “I began to realize every little thing that I took for granted. Even not hearing Mr. Wells’ ’80s playlist when I was (transitioning between) classes made my day feel a little more empty.”

However, Hinojosa and Kuipers said “The written record remains in e-perpetuity, either as an email or as a CavNet discussion thread,” Hinojosa said. “There tivity; even with some synchronous class meetings in the new schedule, much of what students and teachers need to do can get done at their own pace and according to their own schedule.”

Junior Avinash Krishna said he has found it challenging to stay on top of his work.

“It’s harder to keep up with a schedule since I’m pretty much the only one maintaining it,” Krishna said.

Situ, in contrast, said he enjoys learning independently.

“It’s nice to work at my own pace and at adding that he prefers working later in the day. “At times, it’s hard to want to do busywork, but some classes have dropped dramatically on the workload.”

Lechpammer agreed that the workload has decreased and he feels less stress.

“Since everyone is on their own schedule, I don’t see many reasons to worry or obsess like I used to,” Lechpammer said. “(A day) with two quizzes and a test would have been pretty stressful. But since I was able to pace myself, I felt pretty good.

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April 28, 2020

ctagon

Students and teachers adjust to unprecedented switch as school implements virtual instruction

iddle school

e middle school began online teachn March 18. e head of the middle school, Rommel said, “Before spring break, (teachers) conducting asynchronous classes — ning homework for students to work themselves. ut as time progressed, more and more classes were conducted to check in ee how students were doing. After g break, there was a more structured ule similar to how it was at school.” e new schedule takes place between 9 nd 3 p.m., though only three 50-minlasses are held each day. Other ac-

ngs. n Hirahara, the father of sixth gradi and eighth grader Chloe, said he is ssed by the school’s online classes. he online programs that have been p at Country Day are so much better the programs at other schools,” said ara. “For example, my niece who n’t attend Country Day just hasn’t chool in almost a month.” enth and eighth grade English teachthryn LaComb said the online learnogram is improving over time.

nts,” LaComb said. wever, she said in-person teaching re effective because she can better e students’ levels of understanding. ia, LaComb and Kristoffer Hall, the father of seventh grader Wyatt, agree online learning.

“It’s

Lower school Lower school teachers are taking different approaches to online instruction, depending on the subject and grade they teach, following a transition to online schooling.

Fifth grade math and science teacher John Yu said his approach differs because email accounts, allowing for more ways to deliver content, such as video lessons for math and science and Google Classroom for all assignments.

“Videos either focus on a set of skills or introduce an assignment,” Yu said. “I often upload these videos to YouTube because it allows me to send a link quickly.”

According to Yu, this system allows him to keep track of all of his students. He also has held a few Zoom sessions to strengthen skills or introduce a lesson.

Similarly, fourth grade teacher Pam Livesey said she uses YouTube and Zoom to keep up with lessons.

“We are making YouTube lessons so the students and parents can watch at their preferred times, as well as pause and/or replay as needed,” Livesey said. “In fourth grade, the parents text or email us with any questions they or their kids have. When we aren’t teaching lessons, we are preparing for the next set of classes and instructions.”

Teachers don’t have much time before lessons, so any extra time is spent preparing for future activities or sessions, according to Livesey.

Elizabeth Monasa, the mother of fourth grader Brandon

personalities, and we can’t usually are.”

— Pam Livesey

Monasa, said her son’s daily schedule is divided into math, language and science.

“Even the music, language and art teachers have come up with assignments,” Monasa said. “It worked as a self-paced way of learning, but I think we need more structure in terms of more Zoom class time.”

The process was different for kindergartners and third graders, according to parent Jasmine Karalakulasingam. Her younger son, Kellen Raheja, is in kindergarten, and her older son, Kian Raheja, is in third grade.

“For the kindergartner, we had a rough schedule with lesson plans for each day,” Karalakulasingam said. “The teachers added on to it as we

teachers is learning to use various digital tools to deliver content,” Yu said. “I, fortunately, had a lot of experience with online learning, so I overcame these challenges reasonably well.”

Nevertheless, Yu said he still struggles with video editing.

“If I mess up in a video, which I do a lot, I end up having to re-record it,” Yu said.

Lower school head Christy Vail added that online instruction is a huge amount of extra work for the teachers.

“Teaching remotely is like teaching in a foreign language,” Vail said. “They have to think through everything in a new way and constantly adjust.

“The teachers, however, are doing an amazing job. They are creative, committed and conscientious. They want more than anything for their students to succeed and to feel supported.”

Despite these efforts, some students still face challenges with the new format.

According to Karalakulasingam, motivation is a problem for both her kids, especially because they’re young.

“Teachers can motivate students in (ways that) parents can’t, and they have a special set of skills (that) we don’t have,” Karalakulasingam said.

Yu and Livesey, however, said motivation isn’t a big problem for the fourth and Instead, Yu said organizational skills are a prominent issue.

“It takes a tremendous amount of organizational skills to meet deadlines,” Yu said. “One has to plan out their schedule to make sure they have enough time to dents, I can imagine this to be challenging because I’ve never had to teach these skills thoroughly during the school year.”

Still, Yu said his students mostly overcame that challenge.

Vail added that online learning can be challenging for students.

“They are used to being able to ask their teachers for help to get them through a place where they feel stuck,” Vail said.

“They may have to wait a bit longer to get their questions answered.”

Moreover, students may miss the social aspect of going to school, Vail said. ing time to pursue their own interests and try some new activities. But I can imagine that after a few weeks of social isolation, some kids might be feeling cabin fever!”

MONDAY

h activities take place in the classand at home in the future. ,” Wells said. “If you can have typical (discussions) take place asynchroy, it seems to me there are things you o in the classroom that go beyond.” ile Wells said he enjoys spending time his family, he misses being at school. y identity is a teacher,” Wells said. “So u don’t have any physical teaching, are you? I would like this to end, but roud of what we’re doing.” ited agreed. miss my students, hearing about lives, their college acceptances, their y stories,” Whited said. “It’s no fun ch to a screen without that personal ection. (But) I have realized in a more al way than ever before how much I love what I do, and how much I love udents and coworkers.”

schedules for the next day. It’s much less effective for my kindergartner because so much of what they do is interactive.”

Livesey agreed that there is no substitute for being in the classroom with a teacher.

“Teachers can see when a student is struggling just by looking at them and their body language,” Livesey said. “We got to know these students, their struggles, their personalities, and we can’t be there for them like we usually are.”

Online instruction comes with a learning curve for both teachers and students, according to Yu.

Period 1: 9:00-9:50 Period 2: 10:00-10:50 Break: 10:50-11:00 Period 3: 11:10-12:00 Lunch: 12:00-1:00 Elective I: 1:00-2:00 Flex period: 2:00-3:00 Period 4: 9:00-9:50

TUESDAY

you’re doing things,” Wells said. “Utithings like the Zoom platform is fasng. What does that mean for classes we return to school? I don’t know.

HIGH SCHOOL ONLINE SCHEDULE

Period 5: 10:00-10:50 Break: 10:50-11:00 Period 6: 11:10-12:00 Lunch: 12:00-1:00 Elective II: 1:00-2:00 Flex period: 2:00-3:00

WEDNESDAY

in the afternoons and evenings I have to do other activities,” Krishnan said. ere are some positives for the school whole as well, according to Wells.

went on. The Monday after school closed, we picked up a packet of work for our third grader. There was also a schedule with assignments.”

Both Karalakulasingam and her husband are physicians, so their jobs have continued through the pandemic.

“We now have to be their parents as well as their teachers, which is another fulltime job for us,” Karalakulasingam said.

“Our teachers are really supportive, but there isn’t always time to get that support

Independent learning time and faculty/staff meetings: 9:00-11:00 Lunch: 12:00-1:00 work time: 1:00-3:00 Period 1: 9:00-9:50

THURSDAY

so helped her avoid procrastination.

nice to not have to commute to work every day, letting us pollute a lot less than usual,” Loria said.

However, Hall added that his son prefers to be at school.

“I can tell he misses his classes and all of the parts of his day-to-day life at school,” Hall said.

Another problem for students is motivation, according to LaComb.

“It can be hard for some students to stay focused and know how to manage their time,” she said. “This can cause anxiety and frustration that translates into a lack of motivation, and it can be hard to help and encourage them from a distance or through a screen.”

Period 2: 10:00-10:50 Break: 10:50-11:00 Period 3: 11:10-12:00 Lunch: 12:00-1:00 Advisory: 1:00-1:30 Flex period: 2:00-3:00 Period 4: 9:00-9:50

FRIDAY

ule, we have structure but still mainhe advantage of time.” shnan said she enjoys the free time

Period 5: 10:00-10:50 Break: 10:50-11:00 Period 6: 11:10-12:00 Lunch: 12:00-1:00 Flex period: 1:00-3:00

7

8

Sports • Ap ril 28, 2020

The Octagon

Head basketball coach recalls journey from CBA to Country Day

Phil Jackson the very next year,” he said. “I didn’t really have a jump shot, and I didn’t ou late!” cause I was just a basketball player.”

It’s an all-too-familiar Ancrum credits Jackson, the Albany Paphrase for varsity basket- troons’ coach at the time, with transformball players as they enter ing him into a true shooting guard and prethe 85-degree Country Day gymnasium at paring him to play overseas.

7:01a.m.

“I owe that guy my life,” he said. “He al“You text me?” ways put me in a position where I would succeed. sit on the bench for a while.

“He was very good at managing egos beHead coach David Ancrum holds strict cause we had some knuckleheads on our standards for his players, but he hasn’t al- team, but he kept us all in place. Then I ways commanded this level of respect on look at what he did with Scottie (Pippen), the court.

Dennis (Rodman) Ancrum didn’t start and Mike (Jordan). playing basketball And with Shaq until he was 15 or 16 “He was always willing to (Shaquille O’Neal) years old in Long Is- come to the plate for me, and Kobe (Bryant), land, New York, where which is instinctual for him he did the same he grew up. thing.”

After playing on After coaching Anis.” the junior varsity crum on the Patroons — Robbie Lemons from 1984-86, Jackhis junior year of high school, Anson eventually won crum was cut as a 11 NBA championships with the Chicago senior.

Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, including “I noticed I still loved (basketball) and three three-peats, cementing himself as a wanted to work at it even though I wasn’t legendary coach. on the team,” Ancrum said. “I just played in “He used to give us books to read on the playgrounds.” road trips,” Ancrum said. “Back then, it was He attended junior college at SUNY magazines because he wasn’t making the (State University of New York) Morrisville kind of money that he (did later). He would after writing to the coach. read articles, and if it (related to) you, he “I said, ‘I’d like to come to your school. I would tell you to read it.” didn’t play (on the varsity) in high school, After three years in the CBA, Anbut I’d like to try out for your team,’” An- crum continued his basketball jourcrum said. ney overseas. He played in Panama In response, Ancrum received a two- and Ecuador, then signed with Irakpage quasi-rejection letter that he’d use as lis in the Greek League. motivation to eventually make the team.

“Now, I had a position as two “I knew once I got the letter back that (shooting) guard, and I just worked on (Morrisville) was where I wanted to go to getting better at my craft,” he said. “It school,” he said. “Anytime I didn’t feel like was wonderful. I got a chance to play practicing, I looked at that letter and then all the time and be the man. I had no worked on my game. idea what that meant until I went over “When I got to school, he saw me play, to Greece.” and two weeks later they gave me a scholPlaying in 104 Greek League games arship.” for Iraklis, Ancrum averaged 33.7 After two years at Morrisville, Ancrum points per game. was recruited by Utica College as a transfer “A lot of the games, it was sink or and cemented his legacy there in only two swim how well I performed,” he said. “I years. wasn’t nervous because I’d been workAncrum was inducted into its Hall of ing on my craft the whole time.

Fame in 2010 and remains the school’s “I didn’t mind us going into a game all-time leader in points per game (23.1) (where) I had to get 30 points for us to in 47 games. He’s also Utica’s only player win. I loved it: I got a chance to play and to reach 1,000 career points in fewer than learned how to really be a professional.” four seasons and score more than 600 points in one season. visited his sister in Sacramento over After completing his eligibility in 1980, the summer and connected with NBA the 6-foot-5 Ancrum began his profession- players. al career in the Continental Basketball As“I was working out with a couple of sociation (CBA). guys I knew, and I saw Kenny Smith, “The biggest challenge was coming from who played with the (Sacramento) Division III Utica College and playing for Kings, down at the other basket,” he

BY JACKSON CRAWFORD

“Y

said. “So I let my ball roll all the way down there. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I just asked him to play a game of H-O-RS-E. He looked at me like, ‘Are you crazy?

Do you know who I am?’”

After H-O-R-S-E turned into multiple games of one-on-one, Smith invited Ancrum to work at a basketball camp at Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills.

Ancrum said Smith told him to bring an ished.

“I see all these cars like Mercedes and BMW pulling up, so I thought it was the parents coming to pick up their kids,” he said. “All of a sudden, I see (then-active or retired NBA players) LaSalle Thompson, Kevin Johnson, Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond, Rick Fox, Rick Barry, Henry Turner and Harold Pressley. I was a nervous wreck, and (Kenny) saved me by saying, ‘Hey, come on my team.’

“As I started playing, I noticed that these guys miss shots just like everybody else, (but) they didn’t miss that many. Their game was just sharper. The more I played, not get on an NBA roster or get a tryout, but I can play with these guys. At the end of the day, that’s all I wanted.”

NEEDING NICKNAMES “I did camps at Utica College in the summer (when I played there), and I would have like 10, 11 kids on my team for a week, so I couldn’t remember all their names,” Ancrum said. “I would usually give them a nickname like their favorite player or what they looked like because it was just easier to remember. We’ve been rolling with that ever since.”

Boys varsity basketball nicknames, 2019-20: Senior Jackson Crawford: Brownie, Jackson Browne after the singer; changed to “What can Brown do for you?” after the UPS slogan.

After connecting with the professionals in Sacramento, Ancrum decided to move to the capital. He continued to play overseas mertime.

Due to a knee injury, Ancrum retired as a player at age 40 and pivoted to coaching.

He learned about Country Day after training Brett Danielson 20 years ago.

“I coached him in the eighth grade, and when he got to ninth grade, the position (as boys varsity basketball coach) became available,” he said. “So, I applied for it, got it, and I’ve been there ever since.”

Training B-Love, as Ancrum nicknamed Danielson, kick-started the “lab” in the SCDS gymnasium.

“I was outside in the back training (Danielson), and his father told us to go to the gym since nobody was in there,” he said.

“B-Love would tell his friend, (who) would tell somebody else, (who) would tell Robbie Lemons (‘10), who’d tell everybody else, and then it became a workout place for Country Day kids and professionals. “(The Kings’) Donté Greene found out about it, then he brought in (teammate) Jason Thompson, and then (teammate) Kevin Martin would come in. Guys started coming in because they enjoyed that they could be themselves and get their work in along with their sons, daughters or cousins who just came in town.”

Lemons, one of Ancrum’s all-time best 36.4 points per game as a senior. He said he thinks of Ancrum like a “second father.” “(Ancrum) was so supportive,” Lemons said. “He did everything he could to make me realize my dream, including driving down to Stanford to talk to coaches.

“He was always willing to come to the plate for me, which is instinctual for him thankful (because) he’s a big part of why I had any success in basketball.”

Lemons walked on at Stanford and eventually earned an athletic scholarship.

Remind you of anyone?

QUICK HITS Number as a player: 6 Most points in a game: 61 in Ecuador Favorite NBA team: New York Knicks Favorite player: Michael Jordan Top three sayings: “You late!” “Get up!” “Cut the baseline off!”

NOTHIN’ BUT NET Head coach David Ancrum shoots while playing for Utica College. During his two years at the school in upstate New York, he scored over 1,000 points. PHOTO COURTESY OF BASKETBOOK

Senior Chris Wilson: Ruth Chris, Steak after Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

Senior Aaron Graves: Mozzy after NBA player Timofey Mozgov; both are tall players who want to dribble.

Head coach David Ancrum: Anc, Anka Danka, Rev after his father, a preacher.

Junior Martin Cao: Power Forward after his position on his team in Vietnam.

Junior Avinash Krishna: James after Houston Rockets star James Harden; Krishna is a fan.

Junior Max Wu: Max Factor after the cosmetics brand; Wu’s mother works in the beauty industry.

Freshman Rod Azghadi: Ironman after the heart monitor Azghadi wore on his wrist because of a health problem.

Freshman Jacob Chand: Ja after rookie point guard Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Freshman RJ Vargo: Rooney after soccer player Wayne Rooney; Vargo is a fan.

HUDDLE UP Ancrum instructs the 2016-17 boys basketball team during a game against Golden Sierra. He became the boys head coach 19 years ago. PHOTO BY KEVIN HUANG

The Octagon

April 28, 2020 • Sports

SCDS, alumni athletes try to stay in shape but struggle with motivation after canceled seasons

B

BY ARJIN CLAIRE

ecause of the COVID-19 pandemic, student and alumni athletes are unable to compete. ford swimmer Amalie Fackenthal, ’18.

“I can’t get into a pool and swim anywhere, and I haven’t been able to for the past three weeks, which is the longest I’ve gone without swimming since I was 10 years old,” Fackenthal, a sophomore All-American, said in early April. “I was feeling pretty burnt out from the season,

ways to stay active.

“I started to take up running,” Fackenthal said. “The satisfaction of doing something athletic to maintain my stamina and keep me in shape has helped take away the weirdness of not being in the pool all the time.” ness coach sends them home workouts.

However, Fackenthal said she has much less motivation.

“In the foreseeable future, I have nothing to compete for,” Fackenthal said. “And without my teammates, coaches and support, it’s much harder to stay motivated.”

Fackenthal also expressed her disappointment at missing the rest of the season. en, who have

won the last three NCAA titles, extended their winning streak to 37 consecutive dual meets before the season was halted in March.

“It feels like we put in all of this hard work and trained every day just for it to lead to nothing,” Fackenthal said.

However, she added her past training

9

LAPPING THE FIELD Amalie Fackenthal (left) swims laps with a teammate during training. PHOTO COURTESY OF FACKENTHAL

“I think it is important to keep the mind- months playing in tournaments and pracset that it wasn’t all for nothing,” she said. ticing all the time to even have a chance of “We still got a lot of training in, and we will playing in college.” be even better prepared for next season.”

Crawford added that he will miss the Fackenthal expressed her anticipation competition if he doesn’t play collegiate for next season. golf.

“We have a re“It is less ally good fresh- “In the forseeable future, I have about missing man class comgolf because I nothing to compete for. And ing in and some still have access returning people without my teamates, coaches to it,” Crawford and support, it’s much harder that redshirted said. “I’m more (skipped a year jostling with the to stay motivated.” of sports to ex— Amalie Fackenthal fact that I probatend their elibly won’t be able to gibility for an compete in college extra year) last and what I am going to year,” Fackenthal said. “Although we didn’t The baseball team’s season was canceled, disappointing sophomore shortstop going to be exciting.”

Miles Morrow.

“I was super excited because I had a realwon the golf team’s season-opening tour- ly good feeling about this season,” Morrow nament on March 9 at Haggin Oaks before said. “Most of our team and some of our the season was cut short.

“I got off to a good start and was looking forward to hopefully being one of the top players in the league and being able to move on to the Mas-

best players were seniors, so we won’t ever be able to play a season with them. Who knows if we will even have a team.”

Anand said she felt similarly to Morrow.

“I was super disappointed because it was end the season strong,” Anand said. “This has been our best season yet. We’ve been undefeated in our (four) matches, and it sucks that we couldn’t see it out.”

Anand added that she can’t practice, either.

“The racket club that I practice at is closed because of the coronavirus,” Anand said. “I have been working out to keep up my stamina, but I still want to play, and it’s hard mentally to maintain my workouts because I’m getting really lazy.”

Anand said she is still looking forward to next season.

“No player is a senior this year, so hopefully next year we can come back and win sections,” Anand said.

Crawford said. “If I played well in that and other big tournaments, I could have moved onto NorCals or states.”

Crawford said he also has lost motivation.

“The course near my house is open just to play through, but it is almost always fully booked,” Crawford said. “It

HOLE-IN-ONE Senior Jackson Crawford dials in his approach wedge shots by hitting to different distances. PHOTO BY EMMA BOERSMA

motivation to play because I’m not being recruited, and my window of opportunity to produce some results in tournaments was really small.

Now it has been shortened even more.”

Crawford had hoped to play in as many tournaments as possible this spring and summer.

Crawford said he’s unsure if he wants to try to play in college. cult,” He said. “With seniors’ eligibility extended until next season and freshmen being recruited, the chance that I have to walk on and play is very slim because there are only nine-man teams. At this point, the reality is that I have to spend the next 18

TENNIS ACE Sophomore team captain Sanjana Anand returns a shot with her forehand during a singles match against Creative Connections Arts Academy at Rio del Oro Sports Club on March 6. PHOTO BY ARIKTA TRIVEDI

10

Feature • April 28, 2020

The Octagon

Students inadvertently buy bogus books

S

BY MILES MORROW

tudents at Country Day have been accidentally purchasing counterfeit books on Amazon.

After noticing that some students had counterfeit copies of “Ethan Frome,” Bauman checked it out on Amazon in a sponsored ad.

After clicking on “See inside,” Bauman noticed that the author’s name was spelled “Edit Warton” instead of “Edith Wharton.”

This book was one of the many counterfeit novels available on Amazon. Others include “My Ántonia” by Willa Cather, “Animal Farm” by George Orwell and “The Marrow of Tradition” by Charles Waddell Chesnutt.

In addition to misspellings, the counterfeits contain different page numbers and font sizes and incorrect formatting, Bauman said.

Junior Layla MoheyEldin encountered several problems in her copy of “My Ántonia.”

“The cover was missing an accent on the ‘A’ in ‘Ántonia,’ ” MoheyEldin said. “I noticed it a few days into having it and showed it to Bauman. She told me that my book was a counterfeit. The book itself contained quite a few typos and (instances of) incorrect grammar. (It) also had no publishing and manufacturing information or copyright by the author.” dealt with counterfeit products on Amazon. She has also accidentally bought

counterfeit skincare products.

“I’ve known for a while now that Amazon doesn’t really check the legitimacy of the things they sell,” she said. “I’ve bought counterfeit products before, and now I know that I just have to be more careful with what I buy.”

Prices for “My Ántonia” on Amazon range from $5 to $20. MoheyEldin purchased her counterfeit copy for $6.99.

Despite the issues, MoheyEldin continued to use her book.

“The problems weren’t big enough that I needed (a refund),” she said. “When using it, I had to be cautious with my citations because the page numbers in my counterfeit copy were different from everyone else’s.”

MoheyEldin found a simple way to get around these problems. borrowing) someone else’s copy to get the accurate citation,” she said.

Junior Sydney Turner also encountered problems with counterfeit books.

“I accidentally bought the counterfeit version of ‘My Ántonia,’ ‘The Marrow of Tradition’ and ‘Ethan Frome’ from Amazon,” Turner said.

Turner and MoheyEldin had the same problems with “My Ántonia.” Like MoheyEldin, Turner never bought a new copy of the novel.

However, instead of using the copies of “The Marrow of Tradition” and “Ethan Frome,” Turner bought the correct versions.

“The page numbers on the books didn’t align with the copy that the rest of the class to use during discussions, so I decided to just get the actual copies.”

Still, Turner said the experience was comical.

“It didn’t upset me or change my perspective on Amazon at all,” Turner said. “I thought it was funny because I managed to do it three different times, which is a classic Sydney thing to do!”

MoheyEldin, however, said she was slightly annoyed by the situation.

“Having a counterfeit just made it necessary for me to have to pay even closer attention during class,” she said. “My version made it very easy to get lost during class, but overall, it wasn’t a big deal.”

According to Bauman, only a few students bought counterfeits.

“The majority of students found their copies of the books using the designated ISBN, which eliminated the possibility of them purchasing the counterfeit copies,” Bauman said.

A New York Times article last June addressed counterfeits sold on Amazon, stating that they ranged from textbooks to ofAccording to the article, Amazon did not check the authenticity or quality of the books it sold or oversee vendors.

In response to the Times story, an Amazon blog post stated the company “strictly prohibits the sale of counterfeit products.

We invest heavily in prevention and take proactive steps to drive counterfeits in our stores to zero.”

Amazon’s anti-counterfeiting policy on its seller central website states if any inauthentic products are sold to the company, Amazon may immediately suspend or terminate the seller’s account (and any related accounts), destroy any inauthentic withhold payments to the seller.

The website also says Amazon works with manufacturers, rights holders, content owners, vendors and sellers to improve the ways it detects and prevents inauthentic products from reaching its customers.

IDENTIFYING COUNTERFEITS Before you click “Add to cart,” go through these eight tips to avoid purchasing counterfeit books.

1 2

KNOW THE SELLER Ask the seller for their full name, business name and address; be alert if they won’t provide them.

3 4 5 6 7 8

KNOW THE PRODUCT Missing pages, misspellings, creased pages and differences in the pages are signs of counterfeit.

READ ALL THE REVIEWS Scroll through multiple pages, as some counterfeit sellers may write their own high reviews.

DON’T TRUST AUTHENTICITY CLAIMS Counterfeit novels are often advertised as authentic; trust your gut, not the claim.

WATCH THOSE ADS Sellers may recommend additional copies of the same counterfeit book to circumvent quantity limits on each purchase.

ASK THE PUBLISHER Still not sure? Ask the novel’s publisher to inspect your novel.

MAINTAIN

RECORDS

Once

take note of its seller so you can avoid their products.

DON’T RETURN THE BOOK If you received a counterfeit book, do not send it back to the seller; this enables them to sell the novel to another customer.

Instead, notify the publisher.

SOURCE: STOPCOUNTERFEITBOOKS.COM GRAPHIC BY HÉLOÏSE SCHEP

The Octagon

April 28, 2020 • Feature

11

Former Country Day Spanish teacher rises to Episcopal bishop on learning odyssey that began in Costa Rica, Peru

R

BY MING ZHU

ev. Lucinda Ashby kneels in front of the archbishop in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Saratoga.

Priests gather around her as the audience sings a hymn. There are over 100 people inside, but the atmosphere is ecclesiastical and archbishop says a prayer, and the priests lay their hands on Ashby’s head.

Once this procession on Jan. 11 finished, the former Country Day teacher was the fourth bishop of the diocese of Salinas-based El Camino Real, spanning 42 congregations from Santa Clara to San Luis Obispo.

“During the consecration, which is a long service, I felt very grounded,” Ashby said. “I re-

fall into Spanish literature.”

After graduating from Oberlin, Ashby became the middle and high school Spanish teacher at Country Day in 1982. She was 22.

“I had been teaching in college, but I wasn’t used to teaching junior high and high school,” Ashby said. “So I had a lot to learn about being a part of the faculty, teaching kids who were not much younger than I was and living in a place I had never lived before.”

Yet Ashby learned quickly.

“The best thing about teaching at Country Day was that they gave me a lot of (opportunities) to learn, and they were accepting of my mistakes when I was starting out,” Ashby said. “There were a few of us who came in that same year who were all about the same age, so there was a lot of mentoring and support around us.”

becoming the head of school for Courtyard Private School (205 24th St.), a K-8 institution.

Ashby, then 32, said she had to learn about interacting with parents as an administrator.

“I had to get used to how parents would react about what was going on with their kids,” Ashby said. “Even though I was a parent at that time, it was (difficult) to understand where all these parents were coming from and how they were perceiving things. “(Part of being an administrator) is acquiring that wisdom to know that you’re balancing (the opinions of parents and teachers), that it’s important to hold that in balance and that you can’t be (impulsive) about what you’re doing,” Ashby said.

down from the position.

“I had (helped improve) that school pretty quickly,” of it is because the vestments Ashby said. “One of the that I was wearing probably things I talked about with weighed about 25 pounds.

“She brought her enthusithe school board was that, “(After the consecration), in order for the school to I could have taken them off, asm and the opportunity make the greater leap, I she had living outside but there were pictures, which knew I would have to step out.” went on forever. … ” the United States into her Ashby then received an inAs bishop, Ashby supervitation from Dan White, the vises the churchgoers and — Sue Nellis SCDS headmaster at the time, clergy of the diocese. to help him build a school in “I spend time caring for Still, Ashby said teachRumsey Indian Rancheria in Yolo them, making sure that ing students who were County.

She became the educathey have resources to do what similar to her in age was a chaltional consultant for the project. they need to do, and making sure lenge.

“That was a community where that people adhere to the basic “I had to learn that I could education hadn’t had a lot of rules and functioning of the not be friends with my students, value,” Ashby said. “(The comwhole church — people, budget, as much as I really liked them,” munity) had nobody who had worship, property and pastoral Ashby said.

“That was something graduated from high school.” care,” Ashby said.

I had to learn early.

Ashby taught a general eduDuring the shelter-in-place “It’s funny now when I look at cation class to four parents of order, Ashby said she is spending it. I see them posting on Faceprospective students. more time on Zoom meetings book, and I realize, ‘Oh my gosh, “I had to be strategic about and phone calls to ensure the we’re basically within the same (the curriculum) because it was clergy is prepared to lead its age group.’” trying to instill the value (of people through the pandemic.

Ashby said she liked introduceducation),” Ashby said. “And, “I write letters, make stateing literature for her students to honestly speaking, teaching that ments and record videos to get interpret and enjoy. (general education) class was the the message across that we will “I really enjoyed bringing the best teaching I’ve ever done, and adhere to the mandates of the sophistication of (literature) it was just incredibly rewarding.” county public health departto my students,” Ashby said. “I After overseeing the school ments and the guidelines of our think a lot of people didn’t unprogram for a year, Ashby begovernor,” Ashby said. “I give derstand how a language can be came a Spanish teacher and the encouragement when people are such an eye-opening thing into chaplain of St. Michael’s Epislow, and admonish them when another culture.” copal Day School (2140 Mission they stray from good leadership.”

Former SCDS history teacher Ave., Carmichael). There, Ashby Thirty-eight years prior, Ashby Sue Nellis, who joined Country started pursuing her passion for taught Spanish at Country Day. Day the same year as Ashby, said religion.

In 1982, Ashby graduated from she was impressed by Ashby’s “I attended the Episcopal Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, enthusiasm.

Church, and I was starting to with a degree in Spanish liter“She had lots of interesting look at becoming an ordained ature, which she studied due to ways of presenting Spanish,” priest,” Ashby said. “So the her upbringing.

Nellis said.

“She had lived in Peru bishop at that time, (who was “I was raised bilingually in and was really up on the culture also) the headmaster of the (Costa Rica and Peru),” Ashby and not just (teaching) the verbs school, put me in as chapsaid. “It was natural for me to and vocabulary. She did a lot of lain because I could teach fun things, and she brought her and learn about being a enthusiasm and the opportunity chaplain.” she had living outside the United Achieving priesthood was States into her lesson plans.”

Ashby’s lifelong dream.

Ashby taught at Country Day “I had thought of (becoming for 10 years before a priest) since I was a little girl,” Ashby said. “But I would think about it, then I’d move away from it because I thought, ‘That’s just a silly idea.’ When I was at Trinity Cathedral in Sacramento, an Episcopal Church, they had two (female) priests there. I thought, ‘Oh, this is amazing.’ So I began to learn from them.”

Ashby said her greatest challenge as a chaplain was teaching children to understand the Bible.

UNPRETENTIOUS UPBRINGING Upper left: Ashby (bottom right) “(One day), I was leading poses with her family on their trip to Costa Rica. Right: Ashby’s chapel services, and right up third grade class photo in 1968. PHOTO COURTESY OF ASHBY

BLESSED BISHOP Lucinda Ashby stands in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Saratoga on Jan. 11 as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of El Camino Real. PHOTO COURTESY OF ASHBY front were these kindergartners,” Ashby said. “I remember watching them and thinking, ‘Nothing that I’m doing is making sense to these kids.’”

Then came 9/11. As the wave of awe and terror struck the school, Ashby, a third-year chaplain, and the faculty faced a big challenge.

“I spent a lot of time just sitting with (the faculty) and talking through how we should talk to kids about this and also how to help the parents, trying to get them to turn off the televisions and not have kids watching the same thing over and over again,” Ashby said.

Soon after 9/11, Ashby underwent surgery (she declined to elaborate), which damaged her vocal cords.

“I did not expect my voice to come back with any strength, and I did not expect to be able to sing again,” Ashby said.

However, her loss of speech couldn’t stop her love of learning. Since she could not teach, Ashby attended seminary at the Church Divinity School of the ing, Ashby trained at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Davis.

“For about a year, I would sit in class, and I had these notecards,” Ashby said. “I would write my questions on notecards and hold them up so that another student would read my question.

“I was worried I would never be a priest because I didn’t know how I would do it without a voice,” Ashby said.

Though different from before, Ashby’s voice returned after about a year.

“I was amazed and humbled that I was gifted with the return of my voice so that I could continue teaching, preaching and speaking with people,” Ashby said. “I had to learn to be

Sacramento as well, but she was living on this boat because she owned it, (so) she invited me to live with her.”

For three to four days a week, Ashby lived on the 26-foot sailboat at the Berkeley Marina.

“What surprised me was how small the space was; I am tall, and I kept hitting my head. The space I slept in was about the the boat had internet and everything we needed.

“I liked the calm and safety of being on a boat during a storm.

It was like being lulled to sleep “At seminary, they called us the ‘boat sisters,’ ” Ashby said. “I never forgot that (experience), but I don’t think I’d repeat it.”

After finishing her studies, Ashby became ordained as a deacon.

She explained that the deacon and priest are holy orders.

The deacon’s calling is to work with the underprivileged, refugees and immigrants. The priest generally works within a parish, giving care to people and participating in church programs and worship services.

After becoming a deacon, Ashby continued her training at St. Martin’s and was ordained as a priest after 1 1/2 years. Ashby stayed at St. Martin’s for another 1 1/2 years as assistant rector before moving to St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church (2300 Edison Ave.), where she served as the rector.

“St. Matthew’s was really interesting because it was a multicultural setting,” Ashby said. “It was perfect because I’m bilin-

After serving as the rector for 6 1/2 years, Ashby became the canon to the ordinary, serving under the bishop of Idaho.

“My job was to work with all of the congregations in the entire diocese, and it’s “I liked the calm and huge,” Ashby said. “I was safety of being on a boat in my car about 50% of the time driving from congreduring a storm. It was like gation to congregation. And I being lulled to sleep while was teaching, preaching, leading worship and facilitating — Lucinda Ashby training.”

After serving as the canon patient as it returned, not to the ordinary for eight years, expecting too much and Ashby was elected on June 1 to not being disappointed when it become the bishop of the Episcowasn’t as good as I wanted it to pal Diocese of El Camino Real. be. I am very grateful that I can “By the time I left (Idaho), I speak.” had managed to turn over everyLike many of her fellow college thing,” Ashby said. “I got a report students, Ashby commuted to just about (a month) ago that it’s Berkeley. Unlike many of them, all working. she lived on a boat.

“But there was another piece “I was commuting back and that I think is not replaceable, forth from Sacramento to Berkeand that was the relationships ley on I-80, and that commute that I had with individual people was dreadful,” Ashby said. “A all over the diocese. Sitting down friend of mine was in (my) semand talking to people, learning inary, and she had a boat (that) about their lives and tending to she was living on. She was from them. You can’t replace that.”

12

Endpoint • April 28, 2020

The Octagon

Hobbies At Home

W

ith hours of free time thrust into your hands, you may have wondered at least once what to do with it all.

Sure, there’s the typical binge-watching shows and movies, baking, exercising and getting artsand-crafty.

But if you’re like me, you probably tired of your usual hobbies a month ago, so here are some new activities to stave off boredom during this uncertain time. STORIES BY EMMA BOERSMA AND GRAPHICS BY SANJANA ANAND

Explore music genres

Pick up a book OK, hear me out. Don’t just pick up any book; pick up a book you’ll learn something from.

It doesn’t have to be a textbook, but like board games (see below), reading is a great way to keep your brain in shape while staying entertained.

Of course, this includes leisure reading, but trying a different genre can expand your horizons, as it has for sophomore Arjin Claire.

Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell.

it to me, and I was surprised at how good it was.”

I have been trying to read a manga (comic book) in Japand it’s more interesting than a textbook.

If it’s a topic you’re genuinely interested in, learning isn’t such a chore, so why not take this chance to indulge that curiosity?

Arts and crafts on steroids

Listening to music is a given, but now is the perfect time to dive deep into Spotify — or however

serious about killing time, you’re going to need something a little more intense.

outside your comfort zone.

big. For example, create chalk murals on your driveway — think Country Day’s tradition. nence means you can create a new one each day.

Brand New Heavies — it’s a vibe) or bringing back Christmas music (to remind us of simpler times).

A change in taste could even evolve into a growth in mindset, as it has for junior Hana Lee. music, and now I don’t listen to K-pop as much,” Lee said.

According to Lee, indulging in country music

He says it takes him between 24 and 36 hours to complete a model, but the one he’s currently working on — a Gundam model from the popular Japanese media franchise Mobile Suit Gundam — has taken him four days.

to be pale and skinny (the stereotypical Korean try music reminded me that being beautiful can mean being tan and having muscle.”

and imagination.”

Have a photoshoot tos.

Set up a camera on self-timer mode, put on a

Learn a board game

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versions of nearly any game.

One game tricky enough to spend hours on is Go. It’s over

golden.

If you want to go minimalist, take your photo to Photoshop and paste in a background there. reassure her parents back in China.

It even provides Ye with a mood tracker.

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Board games are a great way to keep your brain in shape, especially after hours of binging shows. Plus, if you’re a student-athlete whose season was canceled, this offers a new channel for that competitive drive.

Just Dance

with full makeup; sometimes I take it with greasy hair.”

fun.”

able for Xbox and PlayStation systems.

If you don’t have any of these, try searching up Just Dance And if you want to dance outside the box, try following a