The Brooker | Volume 1 Issue 5 | March 2024

The Brooker

No Phones

Middle Schoolers Participate in“Cell Phone Trial”

By Olivia D’Amato, Joshua Kim, and Zach Nasruddin

During the month of March, the Middle School participated in a cell phone trial in order to inform SBS’ future phone policy. For the trial, middle schoolers turned in their phones to the administration at the beginning of the day and received them back at the end of the school day. The trial did not affect the in-dorm phone policy.

Despite talk around school, there are no plans for further phone trials. There are also no plans to take away students’ phones in the long term, which Dr. Detwiler pointed out would be impractical and difficult to enforce, although she refused to rule out the possibility completely.

The Middle School administration first contacted parents about the trial in December, intending to run it through January and February. However, after around a quarter of parents expressed concern, the trial was pushed back while the administration worked to alleviate the parents’ worries, eventually beginning in March.

During the trial, phones were collected in Memorial Hall, typically by Dr. Detwiler, where middle schoolers would dock their phones in a slotted “cell phone cabinet” before school started at 8 a.m. The phones were then stored in Dr. Detwiler’s office until Mrs. Saraniero and Dr. Detwiler, along with the Restoration Council, returned the phones to the middle schoolers at the end of the school day. Additionally, during the trial, the administra-

tion gave the middle schoolers ice cream each Wednesday and a Jeans Day each Friday.

After the trial, the administration plans to survey the middle schoolers about their phoneless month. They will also meet with parents and organize small group discussions for the middle schoolers. The feedback they receive will inform SBS’ future phone policy.

KenYa Romeus, an eighth grader, said she was in disbelief when she “saw the mini jail cells they put the phones in.” But despite her initial uncertainty about the policy, she felt that she had been “more social without her phone”. She added, “I’ve been talking to people that I never really talked to,” concluding that “it’s been pretty cool.”

The most significant issue cited for the need to revamp the school’s phone policy was the decline in social interaction among students. “What I see at lunch,” said Dr. Detwiler, “is a table of ten students: not one person is talking.” “Prior to the rule, many students would come to class, sit down in the chair, and stare at the phone screen,” said Middle School STEM teacher Mr. Yoder. “It was hard to talk with students before class, joke with students, or just catch up on the day or week.”

Another major concern was the effect of phones on academic performance. “There is very little ambiguity about the effects that smartphones have had on students’ ability to read, to think, to focus, to pay attention,” said Assistant Academic Dean Mr. Trouwborst.

One final area of concern was phone-based misbehavior, with a faculty member close to the subject noting that the majority of disciplinary issues in the Middle School

Many students would come to class, sit down in the chair, and stare at [their] phone screen

Mr. Yoder Middle School STEM teacher

had become centered around unkind online behavior like mean messages and social media posts. The faculty member said that since the trial had begun, disciplinary issues with middle schoolers had gone down significantly.

However, the trial remained broadly unpopular, with 57% of middle schoolers and 78% of students in general expressing disap-

My experience with the “Cell Phone Trial” has been mainly...

proval of the trial. (Based on nonscientific polling by The Brooker.)

“What I miss is the flexibility of allowing students to use phones at certain points in class where it makes sense, such as doing online quizzes and the like,” said Middle School Bible teacher Dr. Fay of the inconveniences of the trial. Eighth grader Gisele Brandao spoke of specific issues she had dealt with during the trial like losing her nolonger-phone-case-bound ID, forgetting her schedule, and being unable to text her parents or get people’s phone numbers.

Dr. Detwiler, addressing students concerned about future phone policy, said, “I would tell them to know that their voice is going to be heard. This whole thing is for their good. Our sole purpose is to make SBS the best learning environment possible.”

Seventh grader Ryan Zhou turns in his phone before class

Photo: Joshua Kim

Mike’s Guide to Mini-Course Week

By Haoming (Mike) Jia

80% of SBS students said they learn as much or more in their mini-courses than in regular classes.

It’s April 2024, and mini-courses are back! Here’s everything you need to know.

The Rise of Mini-Courses

The Stony Brook School introduced mini-courses in 2015. From writing about Long Island food to studying law, they are designed to remind students of the love of learning and explore topics outside of school.

The school offers of full-day courses, which lets students focus and sometimes travel off-campus, and half-day courses, which lets students explore multiple topics. “At the start, I think people were confused by half-day. I think half-day is going to become more popular,” said Mr. Trouwborst, the mini-course director.

By Clinton Kilroy

Over the 102 years that the Stony Brook School has been around, many great athletes have come and gone, each showing their prowess and contribution to their own sport. This is most visible when entering Swanson, with the rows upon rows of trophies and awards of athletes past. More recently, a great athlete came, seemingly out of the blue, to dominate the cross country and track scenes: Duncan Kipkoech. A native of Southern Kenya, Duncan said that he was introduced to running from running errands for his mom. Since he wanted to get it done

Mini-courses are designed by teachers and occasionally suggested by students. Teachers fill out a form every fall and spring to propose a mini-course, which the Academic Office evaluates before offering. Popular mini-course topics include STEM and food.

This Spring

Some popular mini-courses this spring are:

• Cooking Around the Globe

• Family History

• The History and Science of Barbecue

• Introduction to Woodworking

• All About Bowling

Furthermore, courses like Admissions and the College Campus Experience (9-12) are offered for the first time.

How to Succeed in Mini-Courses

The best and easiest way to make the most out of mini-courses is to participate. Expect to learn new things and be engaged. Avoid an attitude

of getting the week over with. “You’re gonna get out of mini-courses what you put into them,” said Mr. Trouwborst.

Students are graded on a 1-5 scale, passing with a 3 or above and failing with a 2 or below. Don’t worry if you score a 3 since transcripts only show a pass or fail.

Last but not least, make sure to have fun!

Not Your Average Bear: Duncan Kipkoech

quickly, he would run. From there, he said he had gotten fast as a runner due to playing soccer in his village all throughout middle and high school. This, he said, gave him the endurance to become an excellent runner.

Duncan did “come out of the blue,” to say the least. He joined the cross country team late in the season last year due to traveling issues, but the team was glad to have him anyway. After all, Duncan can break a 5-minute mile on an easy day. After he arrived, Duncan made his mark by continually winning the meets he attended, blowing the competition out of the water. He continued to do so during the track season where he primarily focused on events such as the one mile and 800-meter dash, though he was always up for running a 400-meter dash when needed. Needless to say, Duncan’s first impression on the Cross Country/Track team was one of athletic excellence and master-class performance.

The 2023 Cross Country season was no different for Duncan, as he put his complete dedication into running, going as far as running twice a day. From the look of the scoreboard, that extra running did indeed pay off: Duncan won first at most of the cross country meets he competed in, and the first track meet of the spring season went fantastically for him, placing him first in all but one of the events he ran. Sadly, this is his final season, and as a senior, he will be graduating soon. Duncan plans to go to Tufts University to continue running after Stony Brook.

With all of this said, Stony Brook, but more importantly the friends you made, are happy to have you here, Duncan. Thanks for all the great seasons.

Editors-in-Chief

Joshua Kim

Autumn Nichols

Photos

Autumn Nichols

Layout

Joshua Kim

Copy Editors

Hanna Jia

Joshua Kim

Autumn Nichols

Writers

Olivia D’Amato

Clinton Kilroy

Zach Nasruddin

Lucy Tillotson

Maya Venkatesh

Mike Jia

Advisors

Ana Arias

Brontte Hwang

Ms. Slade teaching in Cooking Around the Globe

Photo: Mini-Course Catalog

Duncan sprints his way to victory

Photo: Gabriella Sun