Vol. 38 Issue #6
March 1, 2013
The Knightly News Pace Academy 966 West Paces Ferry Road Atlanta, Georgia 30327
p. 2 Five Minutes with Asante
p. 5 Three Looks with Katja
p. 8 Woes of an ATL Sports Fan
Students Tour Carolina Colleges Photo: Kandace Thompson
By: Riley Muse Staff Writer ‘14
Feb. 15-18, a record number 36 Pace sophomores and juniors piled onto a tour bus and spent their President’s Day weekend visiting eight popular colleges throughout North and South Carolina. Pace students have taken this trip in the past, and it has proven to be a great way to get a first-hand look at a variety of different schools. The trip is organized by a company called College Visits. “The tour is meant to expose you to different kinds of colleges and universities,” said newest member of the college counseling team Ms. Nuckolls, “It’s here to help you understand the vocabulary words and to help you develop your own vocabulary for what you’re looking for.” The trek began Friday afternoon with a long bus ride and a tour of Clemson University. The tour bus itself, a large steel monster plastered in orange letters reading “Christian Tours” (complete with sing-a-long books in every seat), proved to play a prominent role on the trip when it broke down at a gas station in Greenville, S.C., causing the group to miss their scheduled tour of Furman University. “We were stranded for a long while
Juniors Jules Zappone, Pate Hardison, Kandace Thompson, and Maddie Wanzer enjoyed touring Wake Forest University. until a new bus came to shuttle Day three, what was considwere not all fun and games; us to Furman in time for dinner ered to be the most hectic day of the large marble steps of the in the cafeteria,” said junior the tour, included three schools: university’s student center were Corey Richards, “We didn’t end Elon University, Wake Forest the scene of the trip’s medical up getting to the hotel till 12:30 University, and Highpoint Uniemergency. “Highpoint was a.m. It was exhausting.” versity (HPU). HPU was one of definitely not my favorite,” Day two of the tour yielded the most talked about schools of commented sophomore Patrick a surprise day of snow that later the trip for its lavish, hotel-esque Moore, “It broke me.” Patrick, turned into a cold sleet at Duke facilities, giant arcade room, along with two other students, University and the University of campus concierge that provides took a nasty fall that resulted in North Carolina at Chapel Hill. everything from hospitality to a late night emergency hospiMuch to the students’ disapdoing your laundry, and even an tal trip for Patrick to mend his pointment, none of the snow on-campus, five-star steak house swelling kneecap. “It was very accumulated on the ground, but included in the student meal dramatic and I was very lonely the cold, wet weather made the plan. “It’s a utopia of sorts,” said without my roommate,” said Starbucks and Caribou Cofsophomore Erin Rawls on Highsophomore Dylan Abbot on the fee on Franklin St. all the more point, “It’s crazy!” incident, “but it ended up OK enjoyable. Yet HPU’s opulent grounds because he made it back in time
for USC the next morning.” The tour ended with the University of South Carolina on Presidents’ Day, then it was back to Atlanta for some much needed sleep. Students on the tour not only got to see and learn about all of the different colleges, but in some cases had the opportunity to view them from the eyes of someone who was once in the very spot they are now in. Pace Academy alumni, including Cameron Winders and Grant Kelly (both Class of 2012) at Duke, and Stephen Merritt (Class of 2011), Zach Lamb, and Emily Wilson (both Class of 2012) at Wake Forest, stopped by to show their fellow Pace friends around their new school. “Carley Gaynes [Class of 2011] showed my group around Elon,” said junior Marc Bernstein, “She was my peer leader back in freshman year so that was cool to see how she’s doing and have her compare her college experience to her Pace one.” Overall, the college tour was a success. This one weekend gave students a taste of many different types of colleges, and even exposed some students to their first college experiences. “It’s cool that Pace Academy gives us the opportunity to go see these schools,” junior Nathan Sokolic said, “I’ve learned a lot on the tour and I hope it helps me out in the long run, throughout the application process.”
Pace Prepares for ‘Academic Learning Village’ By: Aaron Wasserman Staff Writer ‘14
Change is in the air at the Academy. As more trailers find their way onto the back field, the reality of spending the next academic year in trailers becomes increasingly tangible. Many students are uncertain about what to expect from the planned “academic learning village.” Junior Jeremy Paul voiced the opinion of many Pace students when he said, “The idea of spending the entire year in trailers is certainly not ideal.” This big switch will have a profound effect on students and teachers alike, but not everyone is dreading the upcoming switch. Pace Director of Facilities Dave Fortier is overseeing the construction of the academic
village. He is confident that students and teachers will not only adapt well to the new building, but will come to enjoy it. Mr. Fortier explained that there will actually be more classrooms in the learning village than in the current Upper School, and those classrooms will be considerably larger than the existing classrooms as well. The temporary structure will consist of 53 trailers, creating two main buildings separated by a courtyard and connected by the computer labs and study areas. Classrooms will be grouped together by subjects, and due to the increased number of classrooms in the academic village, some teachers who are currently sharing classrooms will be able to enjoy their own rooms once the switch is made. Many more trailers will be delivered throughout the week of spring break with the hope that
all of the trailers will be on the back field by the end of March. The assembly of the trailers, utility hookups, and all other required construction will be finished in time for the contents of existing classrooms to be moved into the trailers by the last day of exams on May 24. Once this occurs, the Upper School will be demolished, and construction for the Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School will begin immediately. Rumor had it that students would be able to take part in the demolition, but according to Mr. Gannon, there are too many possible legal and liability issues to allow students to take a sledge hammer to the Upper School. Due to the less-than-perfect setup in the current Upper School, many teachers are very excited about the upcoming transition to the learning village. Mrs. Lewis, the Upper School
language chair, is enthralled about the upcoming move. She said, “Soooo excited! Foreign language teachers have taught in the ‘armpit’ of the school since the beginning of Pace. It will
be like a year in the Ritz!” Mr. Whyte echoed Mrs. Lewis’ sentiments, saying, “I am definitely excited about the switch. It will be an interesting change of pace” [pun intended].
Photo: Aaron Wasserman Mrs. Lewis is looking forward to her new classroom next year.