Gryphon Gazette, Issue 6, 2013-14

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The

Gryphon Gazette

May 2014

The Newspaper of St. George’s Independent School •

Volume XII, Issue VI

Teachers reflect on the Class of 2014 Top

Stories Opinion

• New co-editors in chief take over

Entertainment • Top Netflix shows to watch over the summer

Features •

Insight into the Honor Council

Sports • “Nom” your way to victory

Student Life • Seniors salute past teachers

Seniors represent their new schools.

Lexie Marotta ’15

A

s the end of yet another school year approaches, seniors must face the realization that they will never again be united in the way that they have been for so long. The St. George’s teachers took a moment to share their fondest memories of the graduating class.

Changes in summer work aim to benefit students Juliana Wall ’15

Summer

is just around the corner and every student and teacher can feel the anticipation rising as everyone counts down the days. The last thing on anyone’s mind is summer work. However, this year is going to be a little different. The English and math departments are instituting changes in how the summer work is presented and completed over the break. Past students are all too familiar with the reading journals they have had to keep, where students would answer questions in paragraph form about each of the books they read. English department chair Mrs. Heidi Rubín de la Borbolla said that the questions were more general than she would have liked, so the assignments this summer will be unique to each grade-level course.

Ms. Trish Dianetti

“Individual classes have written specific questions for the students that pertain to the goal of that particular course,” said Mrs. Rubin de la Borbolla, “and will challenge students to rise to a higher level of analytical thinking.” Additionally, students will complete literary analysis charts for each book that will help them comprehend the deeper meanings of the novels; this will later aid them in writing their essays in the beginning of the year. The summer work is geared toward being able to jump right into the material at the start of school and keeping students engaged with the material while simultaneously introducing concepts for the upcoming year.

Cont. on Page 4

Beginning in sixth grade, the Class of 2014 conveyed the unique energy that they brought to the classroom. World History teacher Mrs. Desiree Allen said, “all the classes realized the importance of knowing right from left when practicing the phalanx formation.” Mrs. Allen taught

the current seniors a lot about history, but they had a thing or two to teach her too. “I vividly remember Nick Hoel attempting to teach me the Superman dance at Camp McDowell.” Mr. Chris Miller recalls a time in seventh-grade American History. “Nick Hoel said that Diane

Lane was ‘hot’ and Kate Sweat stood up and said ‘That’s why no girl will ever marry you, because you’re as shallow as a kiddie pool!’ I called him ‘Kiddie Pool’ from then on.”

Cont. on Page 5

Student opts for gap year after graduation Leah Hodgkiss ‘15

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n the class of 2014, St. George’s will graduate its first student in recent years who has chosen to take a gap year, Maggie Courtney. She will be spending her first year after graduation abroad in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and a place that is yet to be determined where she will complete an internship based around what she is passionate about. For some students, college is simply not the best choice immediately following college. They may need to figure out who they are as people, or may just need a little time away from the structured environment school provides. These students, upon graduating, decide to take what is called a gap year.

Gap years provide a host of values for the individual – whether it is topics for well-written college essays, an eye-opening or life-changing experience, or to help the student mature – gap years can be extremely beneficial. Gap years allow a student to choose to spend a semester, a summer, but most typically a year, doing service or traveling. This can be done through accredited organizations and planned so that the student receives college credit and completes classes over the course of their year, or not. Before a student goes on this gap year, they must apply to colleges and become enrolled somewhere so that if something were to go wrong with their program,

they would have a spot in a college. Once enrolled in a college, the student emails the admissions officer and lets them know that they would like to defer a year. Courtney is completing her year abroad through a program titled Carpe Diem Education. She will be completing the Latitudes Year; this group is composed of about 20 students who are all 18 years or older. They will all meet in Portland before traveling to the countries in which they will be spending their first year abroad. There is no technology allowed, and these students are only allowed to Skype with their parents once a week using their trip counselor’s laptop.

Cont. on Page 7


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