St. Luke’s School
377 North Wilton Road - New Canaan, CT - 06840
February, 2011
Why They Do It Henry Clayton Sports Editor
Courtesy of Sentinel Staff The winter musical launches February 25th and 26th. Get tickets in advance!
Love-Sick Sailors, Anyone?
Students Feel the Crunch
Emily Bergmann Staff Writer
Jenna Decatur Co-Editor
In the wake of this winter’s Snowpocalyptic Snowmaggedon, we could all use a nice vacation. Preferably somewhere warm. The passengers on the cruise liner in Anything Goes echo this sentiment, singing “and there’s no cure like travel to help you unravel/the worries of living today”. For those unfamiliar, Anything Goes is a farce set on a ship headed to London from New York. This 1934 Cole Porter musical starts with Billy Crocker (Christian Langalis ‘12), a worker on Wall Street, falling hard for a young woman he had a missed connection with in a taxi. His boss, Elijah J. Whitney (Colin McIntire ‘12), is about to make a business deal in London, and is boarding the S.S. American. Cabaret singer and former evangelist Reno Sweeney (Molly Brown ‘11), Billy’s friend, will also be on the American. As Billy is bidding them “bon voyage,” he spots his mysterious dream girl, heiress Hope Harcourt (Charlotte Bergmann ’12) with her mother, Mrs. Harcourt (Julianne Wilson ’11) and her British fiancé, Sir Evelyn Oakleigh (Vitaly Fetissov ’11). Billy hops on the ship at the last minute with hopes of winning over his dream girl. “Moonface” Martin (Jeff Joseph ’11), a mediocre gangster and his companion Bonnie (Zoë Smock ’12) disguise themselves as a missionaries and are unknowingly helped by Billy. They, being second-rate at their job, leave their leader, “Snake Eyes” Johnson, behind. As thanks to Billy, the gangsters let him have Snake Eyes’ passport and ticket without disclosing the identity of the owner. The show is a fun filled ride of mixed identities, lovesick sailors, drinking, and half naked evangelists. Molly Brown has also taken on the tough role of choreographer this year, and has been doing a fine job. Anything Goes, directed by Dale Griffa and Susan Doran, will be performed on Friday, February 26th and Saturday, February 27th.
"I don't like it. The days are so long that I'm always tired. I drag myself out of bed every morning, and cry myself to sleep every night." Although this is the opinion of second semester senior Theo Kelly, I think it's safe to say we all feel the same way about the schedule change. While the 7 snow days, 1 delay, and 1 early dismissal were fun and cheery at the time, I don't think any of us expected the attack of the all classes days. Clearly, we had to make up these days somehow. Rumors of Saturday classes, the elimination of March exams, and the extension of the school year were all circling about until a conclusion was established. Last Monday, a special joint meeting of the academic and administrative councils met after school before the double snow day. Speaking for the administration, English Department Head Mr. Flachsbart says, "the idea of all classes days was not so much for making up for lost time, but rather to regain continuity and order in the schedule.” The idea of eliminating March exams was rejected as well, he explained, because that would defeat the purpose of an important new educational initiative. Also, no one wanted to add onto the school year, for the productivity at that time of year is very poor due to the weather and students tend to 'tune out'." As we are all aware, the administration decided on all classes days until March break, an action that has caused an uproar in the St. Luke's community at least during the first couple days of its enactment. Senior class representative Tom Delano says, "With the options being considered by the administration, it was really just picking your poison for the school. All classes days are better than extending school, but why can't they just get rid of exam week and make every student and teacher happy?" All classes days have not been beneficial to anyone; however, we might as well make the most of them since there's absolutely nothing we can do to change the weather.
52 seconds is about all the time a skier has to go for glory. Each racer tucks and launches himself down an icy chute and into a white abyss, heart racing and face being whipped by the biting wind, cascading down the steep face of a mountain with gravity as his only discernable teammate. He closes his eyes to blink. He opens them and he’s crossed the finish line. Upon finishing, whether making first place or last, the racer is done for the day, and eager to stand in the frigid cold to cheer for his teammates as they make their grave descent. As the sky grows dark and all have completed the endeavor, it is now back to the bus to make the long trip home. This is the life of a St. Luke’s skier, and I’m here to tell you why they do it. It recently occurred to me that the Ski Team was the one St. Luke’s sports team that had not yet been covered in the Sentinel this year. It’s quite ironic, as they are arguably the most fascinating team on campus. Well, actually, they’re not exactly on campus, which probably accounts for their lack of recognition among the school community. It’s not like we have our own private ski mountain, which would indeed be sweet. No, their venue is about 50 miles north of the hilltop, at Mount Southington. Located in Wolcott, Connecticut, Southington is shared by schools of all types all throughout New England. Twice a week, the Storm skiers, a coed squad of nine kids, makes the haul up to the mountain to hit the slopes. With one race day and the other reserved for training, the amount of actual skiing they do is slim. While at practice they enjoy a few solid runs, at races, each skier gets less than a minute of downhill motion. What takes up a majority of the Ski Team’s time is a grueling workout regime on dry land, consisting of weight training, endurance and agility exercises. The hours of arduous physical exertion make up the huge commitment required of SLS skiers. Many would question whether it’s worth it. All that hard work for a few seconds of downward plunge once a week, in front of no fans to speak of, sounds hardly convincing. However, to the kids on the team, the passion is shared in the undying commitment to one another. As the season progresses, these nine kids form a special bond through the hardships they face each and every day. Skiing is a labor of love for most, especially for the two senior captains, Cort LaBanca and Lily Holland. Lily Holland reflects with nostalgia on her four years with the program: “I decided to do ski team my freshman year because I had always loved to ski and wanted to continue racing. I kept going back every year because I love the feeling of racing and the super fun team!” As the competition gets steeper, the wind gets colder, and the training gets tougher, the SLS skiers keep their heads up, for the bond will always be there.
Inside this issue...
Bachelors at SLS
Elephants!
Maria’s Facts