The Squire
VOLUME III ISSUE i
Summer 2019
ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN HIGH SCHOOL
New discoveries made during Mary statue restoration By Michaela Darcy
prominent place on Riordan’s campus.” The statue was placed in the courtyard in 1954, and survived the 1957 (5.7 magnitude) and 1989 (6.9 magnitude) earthquakes. “The statue is in fairly good condition, but like all monuments, it needs to be cleaned. Pollution in the air has a negative effect on the stone work,” said Juan Zumbado ’98, Dean of Students. He added, “The statue of Mary is a huge symbol of who we are as a school. She is the mother of Christ. He came into the world through her, and we come into the world through our mothers. As we come into the school, we see her image.” And, “It is part of our legacy, and a symbol of what is expected of us. We are reminded of her commitment to her faith and why we are here. It is an example of who we should be as Christians and reminds us how we should treat each other.” Riordan alumnus Reno Taini A 1961 penny and golf putter were found when the junipers were removed. ’59 and Mark Fontana, who is Bro. Bolts said in an email, the owner of V Fontana & Co., “It was particularly appropriate plan to begin restoration at the since the Marianists, a Society end of the summer, according to dedicated to the Blessed Mother, Fontana. should have a statue of Mary in a Taini is invested because his
Grade 8, St. Gabriel School The Mary statue is straight ahead as students, parents, staff, and visitors walk through the front doors of Riordan, which is why it is important to keep the statue in presentable condition. In May, gardeners removed the juniper bushes around Mary, but there is more work to be done to restore it in the near future. According to Brother William Bolts, SM ’53, “The statue of Mary commemorates the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the teaching that Mary was conceived without the original sin of Adam and Eve. That title is her Immaculate Conception.”
Photos by Antonio Maffei ’20 The Mary statue is scheduled to be restored later this summer. father was one of the first groundskeepers of Riordan, and he helped shore up the statue. Brandon Ramsey, Director of Facilities, said, “There is expected work to be done on the statue, like sanding the bottom of its base, power washing, and paint.” There were a few items found when the juniper bushes were removed, including a 1961 penny and a golf putter. Both items look very old, and although there is no estimated age of the golf putter, both are thought to have been covered in the dirt and junipers for many years. Also, after the bushes were removed, lilies began to sprout out of the soil, revealing another hidden gem.
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Staff Page
Summer 2019 The Squire Archbishop Riordan High School
Staff members of The Squire consisted of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students as reporters, and members of The Crusader as editors and photographers.
The Squire Staff Reporters David Alfaro Alycia Azucena Michaela Darcy Maddy Fendyan Finnbarr Harrington Alejandro Siopack Editors Antonio Maffei ’20 Steven Rissotto ’20 Adviser Susan Sutton, CJE
Note: The name of the Camp Crusader newspaper was changed from The Crusader Junior to The Squire in 2018. A squire is “an attendant to a knight before becoming a knight.”
Summer 2019
Campus News The Squire Archbishop Riordan High School
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Construction ahead of schedule for Mayer Family Field By Maddy Fendyan Grade 7,
Stone Valley Middle School
As the summer ends and a new school year begins, one major change that the Riordan community is looking forward to is the new multifacility field. The long-awaited completion of the field is even closer than ever. The construction is running ahead of schedule, and the new expected time for Photo by Riordan Development Office completion is late September, instead of early October. The An excavator dismantled one of the goal posts in preparation for the turf field. crew is running weeks ahead of schedule, and hopes to keep it going steady. After only 12 months, 1,040 donors contributed to donating -John Ring, Development Director $3.1 million to make the field Running back Lavaka Kefu ’20 from the community, with the dreams become reality. The original time for opening was Oct. said, “I’m really excited to play on biggest donation being $750,000 12, the first home football game. the new field. It will impact our from the Carl Gellert and Celia The new date, although expected performance for the better, and Berta Foundation. to be late September, has not been create more school spirit.” Additional donations came The unveiling will not be a from Steve Mayer ’72, Michael announced yet. The eco-friendly part of the new small affair. While details are Mayer ’71, Steve Herrera ’76, field will make the maintenance unknown, plans are in the works Brian Spiers ’75, Philip Cazahous easier, saving $50,000 a year on for a celebration that will include ’70, Jack Fitzpatrick, and Gellert parents, alumni, Board President Bob Grassilli. watering and cutting the grass. students, Also, the amount of gasoline used teachers, staff, and donors. All of the Riordan community The road to getting to this stage is excited for the new addition to to transport all the athletes to other schools for practice and did not come quickly. The school the campus. Coach David Lin ’99, had a series of smaller projects counselor at Riordan and Camp games will be reduced. Many hope the change to the that led up to the field, including Crusader, said the new field is new turf field will not only increase the painting of the school in 2016 “something really great for the enrollment at Riordan, as those and refurbishing the gym in 2018. community” because this is a who play sports are attracted to Now, it is time for the field’s big place for the Riordan community the new facility, but also improve moment. to gather together. The huge amount of $3.1 million the play of the teams because they Head of Development, John will practice and play at home seemed impossible at times, but Ring said, “We are bringing the project had amazing support with their fans behind them. Riordan back to the community.”
“We are bringing Riordan back to the community.”
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Summer 2019
Health The Squire Archbishop Riordan High School
Possible new treatment for pe By Alycia Azucena
Grade 8, St. John the Baptist, Napa During these past few months of 2019, researchers at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) have found a possible new cure that could help relieve people who are affected by peanut allergies. More than 3 million are affected in the United States alone, and it has increased by 21 percent since 2010. The main purpose of this new drug is to relieve the stress and anxiety of those affected in public, for example, restaurants. People never know how the food is being prepared behind closed doors leading to the kitchen. Cross contamination in foods is a major worry to those allergic to specific items like nuts, as this could possibly lead to an unexpected breakout. Aaric Azucena ’19, who has a peanut allergy, said, “Some restaurants actually don’t disclose whether or not they cook with peanut oil and you don’t get to see the behind the scenes of the food preparation.” Another example is public areas. At many schools, there is a peanut allergy friendly table. Separate tables are located in school lunchrooms where the kids with allergies are required to sit. Many schools have this peanut allergy friendly place for the sake of their students’ health and safety.
Parent views on what to do about peanut allergies in school differ. Guillermo Macalpin, Camp Crusader director, said, “Every summer we have less than a handful of campers with peanut allergies (or other nut allergies). We partner with parents by meeting with them to discuss each camper’s allergic reactions. If the campers have EpiPens, we keep those on-site as a precaution, as well as Benadryl.” Macalpin added, “Another prevention is that we have a kitchen staff that serves lunch daily to the entire camp and we don’t use peanuts or peanut oil when we cook. This helps a lot compared to other camps where campers bring their own lunch as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is popular lunch option, and if a camper that ate peanuts touches another camper that is allergic, it can cause a reaction.”
In addition, “One of our Summer Camp Directors, Erin Stovall, is also the athletic trainer during the year at ARHS via a partnership with UCSF. She is on-site daily to assist our youth during camp. Camp Crusader also has a ‘Camper Allergy Report’ on-hand, when parents register for camp they fill out health history forms that include listing allergies for campers.” But, some have argued that more public locations need to be introduced to peanut free areas. Places like stadiums, specifically the San Francisco Giants stadium, now have a new, peanut free area. This allows people to feel safe and to let them freely pick their choice of food, while still enjoying the game. Michael Hickam, a science teacher at Archbishop Riordan
Health
Summer 2019
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The Squire Archbishop Riordan High School
eanut allergy awaits approval High School, said, “It’s a matter of keeping a place safe. My wife is a teacher at an elementary school, and they have a peanut free place, keeping the place safe. A lot of schools are going towards this route, so is the Giants stadium.” Although this drug is still being tested, it consists of a small dosage. Researchers have been giving two groups a pill. The first group has a pill that has been exposed to low levels of peanuts over a duration of six months. The second group, also called the “Control Group,” has a placebo pill. The goal of the drug isn’t to completely get rid of the allergy, but instead, to reduce the reaction of a certain quantity of peanuts that will soon allow people to have a small amount of them. Aliza Cuenca, whose husband and nephews attended Riordan, said, “I think this drug could be a great relief for many people out there. This could be life changing
for them, knowing that they won’t have to worry about accidentally eating something with peanuts and their parents could be really happy about this too, since parents always worry about a child.” The drug for this specific allergy will surely be a big help for people with airborne allergies. Airborne peanut allergies are when a person has a reaction to the smell of peanut dust or airborne particles of peanuts in the air. This creates a lot of worry for the parents and those affected, knowing that they could have an unpredicted reaction any time while outside. This drug could possibly help them cease the constant worry and fear they have in public areas.
The Giants designated a peanut allergy friendly zone at Oracle Park.
Photo by Steven Rissotto ’20 Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are not allowed at some schools because of allergies. Aaric said, “Some people would say, ‘I can’t live in closed areas or indoors because of my fear.’ Others with this allergy could say that their fears don’t want to be exposed and get a severe reaction. People could possibly die because of having airborne allergies.” Even though the drug is still being tested, it will bring reassurance to many who are excited about this new drug, and surprised at how far research and technology has come.
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Arts & Entertainment
Summer 2019
The Squire Archbishop Riordan High School
Riordan’s art class paints love for hobby By David Alfaro
Grade 8, St. Phillip School Archbishop Riordan’s Summer Program offers an amazing art class that allows students to explore their creativity. With all the projects the students get to do, they have time to learn new techniques and express themselves. The types of projects include sculpting with clay, drawing, painting, and pottery. Art teacher Mark Alvarez ’16 said, “With drawing and painting, I allow the kids to be more free.” Photos by Steven Rissotto ’20 Art teacher Mark Alvarez encourages a group of students painting, as others, left, work on their projects.
In regards to favorite projects, it seems that most students said that they enjoyed pottery or pinch pots the best. Caroline O’Connell, an incoming 7th grader at St. Gabriel, said, “This is one of my favorite classes. I’ve done it every year for four or five years.”
Grace Alfaro, an incoming 3rd grader at St. Phillip School, said, “It’s my favorite class out of all my classes.” It is proven that art has a way of helping people express themselves and their emotions, as well as relieving symptoms of anxiety.
In regards to grades for the class, Alvarez said, “As long as you try, you get a good grade based on your effort, and you will have succeeded.” Alvarez said he loves teaching art, and the kids always make him laugh. Every summer, the students participate in the clay and paper games, where they compete against each other using their creativity. This summer, the class built a board game, where they made their own rules, characters, and design. Everett Lundin-Mizel, an incoming 2nd grader at Lakeshore Elementary, said, “It’s kinda like my favorite class here.”
Summer 2019
Arts & Entertainment The Squire Archbishop Riordan High School
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‘Avengers: Endgame’ blasts back to theaters with new footage By Finnbarr Harrington
Grade 8, St. Stephen’s School “Avengers: Endgame” is in the theater once again with new footage, challenging “Avatar” for the biggest grossing movie of all-time. Another reason for its return with a new version is popular demand. Rumors have been swirling around this release because Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/IronMan) signed with Marvel Studios for three more years, which calls into question certain scenes in “Endgame.”
For those who have already seen the movie, is it worth it to return to theaters for the extra 20 to 30 minutes added to a threehour movie? No. “Avengers: Endgame” is using this rerelease to achieve two goals: To promote “Spider-Man Far From Home,” and to pass
“Avatar” as the highest grossing movie of all time. “Endgame” has made $2.74 billion, while “Avatar” made $2.8 billion in 2009. Liam Harrington, a sixth grader at St. Stephen School, does not mind the reasons behind the rerelease, saying, “I am very glad
they added extra to ‘Endgame.’” According to an article by the Hollywood Reporter, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige called it a “Bring Back event.” Feige has recently described it as “the true end of the entire Infinity Saga,” in that it deals with the impact of “Endgame’s” ending and “its effect on Peter Parker and the world at large.” The extra footage also includes a tribute to Stan Lee, the main creative mind behind many Marvel characters, who died in November 2018, and scenes that were left out of the original release, which, frankly, could have remained on the cutting room floor. Joel Tiliti ’23 said, “I like how they went back in time to get the tesseract.” But ultimately said, “It was alright.”
Campus News
Summer 2019
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The Squire Archbishop Riordan High School
Egg drop eggsperiment a smashing hit By Alejandro Siopack
Grade 6, St. Finn Barr School On June 21, Camp Crusader’s fifth and sixth grade science students participated in an egg drop competition. The class was divided into six groups, and each group was to design a device that could hold the egg, and when the egg was dropped in the device from the roof, it would not break. The rules of the egg drop were simple.
Photos by Steven Rissotto ’20 Science teacher Patrick Calma drops a device containing an egg, and the children below marvel at the successful results.
Participants could not put the egg or device in a box or container; students could not use liquid in a container; and they were not allowed to use a drone or any machinery to hold the egg, or to fly down with it. The main objective was for the egg to survive the drop in the device. When the device was completed, Patrick Calma, the science teacher, dropped the egg in its hand made contraption from the top of the roof above the Campus Ministry room, and all hoped it would not break. Calma said, “It is an opportunity for students to be creative using different materials and working together.” After the drops, four out of the six
eggs survived. Calma thinks that the class did an excellent job, and were creative in their design. Clive Gabrielson, a student who participated in the competition said, “Our egg exploded.” After the experiment, Calma explained the science behind the egg drop, and showed the
class a video on the best devices that could save the egg from breaking when dropped. The best items to use for the experiment was to construct something that is shockabsorbing, for example, balloons, or air blown items. Using those materials would absorb the shock or forces pushed back from the ground, and reduce the chance of the egg breaking.