THE SENTINEL THE STUDENT MAGAZINE OF HAMMOND SCHOOL
COULD ChatGPT be a Hammond Student?
FALL 2023 EDITION III
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 5 6
Athletic Program Touts Improvements to Edens Stadium New PSAT/SAT Format: How Will Skyhawks Adapt? Could ChatGPT Be A Hammond Student?
11 12
Math + Art: Spotlight on RJ Naumann Skyhawk Athletes Soar Beyond Campus
14 15 16
Let Her Bake: Pumpkin Roll Book Review: Ryan Holiday’s Discipline Is Destiny Has Lessons For Us All Restaurant Review: Spotted Salamander Worth the Wait With New French Hire, World Language Program Expands
18
New Hammond Day of Service Expands On Service Learning Tradition
20 21
Dance Moms Pyramid: Senior Spirit Week Edition A Hole-in-One: Spotlight on Rollins Reed Using Her Greek Heritage To Make Change: Spotlight on Christina Rizos More Competitive Thursdays: Competitive Club Opportunities Growing at Hammond
22
25 26 27 28
Peter Pan to Involve More Middle School Students Cross Country Goes Co-Ed Sophomores in 3 APs? At Hammond, It’s Becoming Feasible I Know What You Did Last Summer
30
Meet the Staff
Fall 2023
Athletic program touts improvements to Edens Stadium by Alex Magargle and Drew McCall For as long as any Hammond student can remember, the big grass football field in Edens Stadium has been a hallmark of campus: whether through lower school recess, making a world-record “H” in 2016, or countless sporting events, everyone has known the field. This April, a renovation project transformed both the track and the field. “Several things played into the project,” said Hammond athletic director Jeff Barnes, and the company helping build the new field “has worked around Hammond’s fall schedule, the availability of the field, and the temperature.” Although the field has looked unfinished and even been unavailable at times, “the whole project should be completed by December 1.”
UPPER: The field during halftime of a football game. LOWER: The view of the home-side stands from the field during a football game. Photo credits to Shell Suber.
Turf is much more conducive to player injury, especially in rain. ESPN concluded in a study comparing grass and turf that grass fields were significantly safer than their turf counterparts. For Barnes, however, choosing turf over grass was a simple choice: “The main purpose of going in this direction [turf] is for the durability of the playing surface for all teams.” Rain and mud become less of an issue, too, as “turf also allows for games to be played in the rain without having to cancel.” Outside linebacker coach Wynne Thomas seemed to echo Barnes’ sentiments, saying, “It’s been great so far this season for all the football teams,” and that “all the guys seem to love it, and I don’t have to paint the lines anymore.” As for the track, a softer track allows runners to find their balance and grip at the start of their events. Softer tracks also make runners less prone to injuries. Head cross country coach Noel Schuch projects that the new renovations will allow the spring track & field team to “complete more race pace workouts.” Student feedback has also been favorable for the new track and for the turf field. “I’ve enjoyed the turf field so far,” says football defensive back Coleman Marr, “Without the bald or dead spots, you can move a lot faster.” Coleman’s thoughts echo many other football players after 11 successful weeks of practice. Hayes Martin, one of the varsity runners, says the new surface “feels good to run on,” and that there is a nice springiness compared to the firmness of the old track. Some additions to the track, like better-defined relay exchange zones, are still to come. These aren’t the only renovations made to Edens Stadium in the past year: two years ago, Hammond installed new lighting in the stadium complex. These lights allow for sophisticated light shows featuring Hammond’s three main colors: red, white, and blue. They also serve a more practical purpose by lighting up the field during the evening games. As Hammond’s athletic program continues to grow, improvements to facilities and fan experiences are likely to improve further, and athletes’ performance will likely improve alongside it. THE SENTINEL / 4
New PSAT/SAT format: How will Skyhawks adapt? by Adelaide Helmboldt With the College Board's new digital format, many Hammond students have been introduced to an alternative method of testing. Within the past couple of years, as a Hammond student, I have noticed a shift towards digital notetaking, assessments, and group projects. Previously, Hammond students primarily worked in a pencil and paper environment, but recently many students have started to take advantage of digital resources. Much like the College Board’s changes, Hammond teachers have begun allowing students to use their MacBooks for notetaking, assessments, and group projects. The College Board says they are looking to the future when considering the reality of the PSAT and SAT, adapting to the digital norms and applying them to testing so that they remain relevant “to a technologically focused, diverse customer base.” Although growing pains are inevitable when introducing a new digital format, the introduction of a digital test may provide some advantages that a written test would not be able to facilitate. The digital format is shorter and more adaptive, and there are no sets of questions pertaining to a passage or problem. With these changes, Hammond students will have to learn different skills or tweak previous ones in order to maximize their potential when taking the new PSAT or SAT. A primary concern with the change in format is the effect it will have on Hammond students. When speaking to Mr. John McCormack, the 12th grade English teacher, he mentions that the biggest difference lies in the experience. McCormack believes that the digital format is still testing the same skills, but now a student can navigate a passage more easily. When studying the new format, McCormack finds that the passages are more bitesized, thus making them easier to comprehend. When considering Hammond students, McCormack has “no doubt that students will be able to adapt to the digital format with relative ease.” Similarly, Mr. Patrick Rybarczyk, upper school math teacher, believes the digital format is more time efficient. Rybarczyk appreciates the adaptive structure, as it allows students to move to a harder set of questions and thus to achieve a higher score. Rybarczyk was initially worried about the adaptive aspect of the test, but once he learned that a student only needed a certain number of correct answers to move to the harder module, he became more comfortable with it. Additionally, Rybarczyk mentioned that, unlike other schools that might lack PSAT and SAT resources, Hammond students are at an advantage, saying that Hammond students are “privileged to have teachers who are willing to educate themselves on this topic and to share their findings with students."
Photo of students studying from Getty Images via Educational Connections
When considering PSAT and SAT resources, Hammond students should be fully aware of everything that they have at their disposal. With practice, there is progress. McCormack and Rybarczyk were both concerned with the small number of resources at the beginning of the summer, but both were pleased to find more practice questions as students got closer to their testing date. McCormack says that the College Board not only has less materials for digital PSAT practice, but that they are also “slow to populate resources.” However, both he and Rybarczyk believe that as the digital format becomes the norm, more resources will become available, but, in the meantime, he has found it hard to practice the new format digitally. Rybarczyk mentioned the use of Khan Academy for practice; as of November 1st, Khan Academy is rotating out old PSAT and SAT problems and gearing towards practice that is catered to the new format.
“I have no doubt that students will be able to adapt to the digital format with relative ease.” English teacher John McCormack, on the new PSAT format
Photo of students studying from Shutterstock via The New York Post, “Why all students should take the SAT”
All in all, the digital format is definitely a change. Hammond students will have to practice new skills, but Rybarczyk and McCormack both see positive aspects that the physical format was unable to facilitate. With time, both Rybarczyk and McCormack are confident that Hammond students will adapt to the digital format, and more resources will become available.
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Could ChatGPT be a Hammond student? ENGLISH ENGLISH 9 9 AP AP EURO EURO AP AP PHYSICS PHYSICS AP AP CHEM CHEM SPANISH SPANISH II II AP AP SPANISH SPANISH HONORS HONORS BIO BIO
C B B D A A A
by Natalie Engh To understand ChatGPT, you must go down a rabbit hole of complex terminology. First, you must understand artificial intelligence, the “applications that perform complex tasks that once required human output” (Oracle). ChatGPT is a type of interpretive AI, also known as explainable artificial intelligence (XAI). The key to XAI is that it increases the transparency of AI models. It is a more trustworthy and accurate type of AI because its designers can determine how the inputs led to the output, and therefore find any potential biases. ChatGPT was developed by OpenAI. Coming up on its first birthday on the 30th of November, it is free online since the product is still being researched and fine-tuned. It was formulated using a technique known as Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF). Designers created situations in which they played the side of the AI model and the human, formulating multiple responses to their own questions and ranking them from best to worst.
Canva AI generated photo with prompt “ChatGPT.”
Gencraft AI image with prompt “Student using AI on computer.”
The reason ChatGPT is so unique is that users can construct exactly how long and in what style their prompt will be answered. It certainly has limitations” for example, because it obtains information from the Internet, its answers to questions can be completely false, depending on what source it used. Also, it typically pulls information from multiple unnamed sources, and there is no way to know exactly where the information comes from.
Since ChatGPT has been released, students and teachers at Hammond have feared how students will use this force. The risk is clear—any student using ChatGPT has an unfair advantage. And how are teachers supposed to know the difference between essays from Chat GPT and students? Typically, a student has a specific writing style that can be determined and differentiated from any plagiarized work. However, ChatGPT can mimic a high school student’s style of writing, especially when given examples of the writing style it needs to mimic. This makes decisions difficult for teachers and for students on the honor council, who must determine the culpability and punishment of students accused of cheating. Nevertheless, multiple teachers have found students guilty of using ChatGPT and other interpretive AI. Will this continue?
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Science Struggles and SuccessES To see the true extent of ChatGPT’s power, we instructed it to take tests and write essays for multiple teachers across various disciplines and had them graded. ChatGPT’s 3.5 model cannot read graphics, so all questions including graphics were omitted. One of the highest scores ChatGPT received was on an honors biology test about biochemistry. All points lost were from the multiple-choice questions; the writing section was perfect. One of the multiple-choice questions ChatGPT answered incorrectly asked for the name of the 3-D structure of a protein made from 2 or more sub-units. ChatGPT answered tertiary, but the correct answer is quaternary. The bot likely read the 3-D structure and linked it to tertiary structure due to the shared “3” root. Another missed question referred to topics taught in class, but not found online. This theme is seen with the Honors Chemistry test as well—ChatGPT cannot compensate for not paying attention in class. Any comparisons or references made by teachers aren’t available to ChatGPT, even with its vast resources.
On an AP Physics quiz, ChatGPT scored an 85. Many of the mistakes were assumptions made by the bot or simply nonsensical answers. While it did well with the simpler problems, more complex systems, which are found on the AP exam, were not done correctly. Furthermore, a key part of the AP Physics curriculum is drawing graphs, diagrams, and comprehending illustrations of systems, none of which ChatGPT’s 3.5 model can do. Chemistry and Physics both had issues with the math as the bot would often include the correct steps for the problem, but not the final answer.
CHATGPT FALTERS IN HAMMOND‘S HIGHEST-LEVEL MATH CLASS The bot performed the worst on an advanced algebra assessment. On the questions that were answered correctly, ChatGPT had long-winded answers that could have easily been more concise. Incorrect answers were mostly caused by the bot’s confusion with symbols. As our study involved directly copying and pasting questions, some of the symbols were lost in translation. However, if a student was able to manipulate the symbols, the bot may have answered the questions correctly. Overall, the bot tended to have very poor proofs and, like in physics, occasionally spouted nonsense for answers.
CHATGPT’S RESPONSE TO A POST-CALC QUESTION The equation Φ(n) + σ(n) = 2n holds true for perfect numbers. A perfect number is a positive integer that is equal to the sum of its proper divisors (excluding itself). Let's break down the equation: 1. Φ(n) represents Euler's Totient function, which calculates the number of positive integers less than or equal to n that are coprime to n. The proper divisors of a perfect number are all the positive integers less than itself (excluding itself), so Φ(n) of a perfect number is equal to n - 1. 2. σ(n) represents the sum of divisors function, which calculates the sum of all positive divisors of n, including n. Now, for a perfect number, Φ(n) + σ(n) = (n - 1) + n = 2n. This is because all the proper divisors sum up to n, and adding n itself gives 2n. So, the equation Φ(n) + σ(n) = 2n is satisfied for perfect numbers. Some examples of perfect numbers include 6, 28, and 496.
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CHATGPT SUCCEEDS IN SPANISH One assessment done on the AP Spanish exam is an email response. Students must respond to an email with proper formality, answering questions asked and asking new questions, with a variety of vocabulary and grammar. The email is then scored 0-5, with 5 being the best. ChatGPT scored a 5 on its email, even correctly sensing the formality needed for the email. ChatGPT also scored a 100 on a Spanish 2 vocabulary quiz. This doesn’t come as a big surprise, since translation technology like Google Translate has existed for years. Language teachers can typically decipher when these apps are used because of their flaws. The apps can’t sense homonyms and therefore often mistranslate something. For example, if a student asked for a translation of brush, as in a hairbrush, Google Translate may use the Spanish word for vegetation. However, Spanish teachers didn’t see as much of an issue with this on ChatGPT’s assessment, so it may be harder for language teachers to figure out if a student is cheating. Though it earned a 5, one flaw in ChatGPT’s work for the Spanish response is that the organization of it was rather robotic. Detecting robotic language may be the key to discovering honor council violations for the foreign language department in the future.
HUMANITIES TEACHERS OFFER MIXED REVIEWS
Canva AI generated photo with prompt “Spanish Vocabulary.”
A 5 ON AN AP SPANISH EMAIL REQUIRES... • Maintaining the exchange with a response that is clearly appropriate within the context of the task • Providing required information (responses to questions, request for details) with frequent elaboration • Being fully understandable, with ease and clarity of expression; occasional errors do not impede comprehensibility • Varied and appropriate vocabulary and idiomatic language • Accuracy and variety in grammar, syntax, and usage, with few errors • Mostly consistent use of register appropriate for the situation; control of cultural conventions appropriate for formal correspondence (e.g., greeting, closing), despite occasional errors • Variety of simple and compound sentences, and some complex sentences
Information provided by the College Board
On a standard English 9 essay about To Kill a Mockingbird, the bot scored between B- or C-; Ms. Crabb says that her grade would decrease as the year progressed. Though its grammar was correct, essay did not develop ideas well and, like the Spanish email, had robotic tone and organization. ChatGPT also failed to correctly cite information: Instead of putting the title of the novel in italics, it was put in quotations, and the quotes from the book lacked page numbers. THE SENTINEL / 9
One AP European History assessment is a long essay question. On this, the bot scored an 85, and either a 4 or 5 out of 6 on the AP rubric. The essay’s contextualization, a very important factor in AP history essays, was situated awkwardly. The essay also lacked specificity—instead of citing particular historical events, the bot tended to use broad movements for examples. The essay’s biggest problem is that it never gives an explicit thesis statement; the lack of an explicit thesis statement, by extension, makes the paper lack complexity.
AP European History LEQ Rubric Contextualization Historical Reasoning
Provides Specific Examples Supports with Specific Examples
Thesis
ChatGPT certainly does have limits—some of those being its failure to comprehend or create pictures—but it is a daunting tool nevertheless. It can be useful, especially because it gives explanations for its work, but in the wrong hands, it can be destructive.
Canva AI generated photo with prompt “9th grade English.”
Complex Understanding
Canva AI generated photo with prompt “European history photos.”
More and more companies are using XAI as it becomes more accessible and cheaper. There is a growing fear that XAI can take peoples’ jobs and livelihoods—there are AI tools that can create art in the style of van Gogh, write plays in the style of Shakespeare, and sing “Happy Birthday” in the voice of Taylor Swift. However, in all of AI, there is one fatal flaw: AIs are dependent on us. The only reason an AI can paint like van Gogh is because van Gogh existed. In other words, AI can only recreate what it already has access to. It cannot actually create anything. That is still our job. Its capabilities are still limited by us.
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MATH + ART: Spotlight on RJ Naumann by Lily Balfour One of twenty winners among thousands of applicants in the 2022 Desmos Global Math Art Contest, senior RJ Naumann sets himself apart from his classmates through his dedication to understanding mathematical concepts and his boundless creativity. While in Mr. Stanbery’s class, which heavily utilizes Desmos throughout the course of the year, RJ exhibited an elevated interest in the graphing technology, prompting Mr. Stanbery to tell RJ about the competition in the hopes that he would be interested in submitting some of his work. RJ created a piece in the shape of a butterfly titled ‘Peattercly’, inspired by class lessons on parabolas, and submitted it to the 2021 Desmos Global Math Art Contest. Unfortunately, RJ’s design was not chosen as one of the competition winners, but he wasn’t deterred; his passion for graph making compelled him to keep creating.
The next year, RJ invented an equation that produced a gear-like circle after learning inverse trigonometric functions in his math class. He showed his creation to Mr. Rybarczyk, who suggested that RJ should make a skeleton watch, a watch that shows the exposed inner mechanisms of the watch ticking with the time. RJ elevated the concept of this watch after discovering that he was able to alter the radius of an ellipse, creating a crescent moon on the left-hand side of the watch and coloring individual gears in the watch to emulate either stars or the sun in order to unify the various elements of the watch under a single cosmic theme.
RJ submitted his new piece to the 3rd Annual Global Math Art Contest in 2022 along with thousands of other applicants. His graph was recognized as one of the top twenty in the 15-16 age group, officially crowning him as a winner of the competition.
When asked if he would be submitting a graph to the competition again this year, RJ was quick to turn down the possibility. “I mean, I don’t want to be the person to be on it twice. I also don’t really use Desmos anymore. I use GeoGebra nowadays. I think it handles better and has more functions than Desmos. It also has a 3D calculator.” Currently, there are no widespread, creatively inclined GeoGebra competitions that RJ is aware of. This does not mean, however, that the end of RJ’s graphing career is upon us. In fact, for the past two years, RJ has been working on and off to create a graph that depicts a carlike system whose suspension rises and lowers systematically over a hilly road. The problem, however, arose early on in the process. While RJ was not lacking inspiration for his project, he was left wondering, “‘How can I make this?’”
“Largely, I try to learn myself, but in an effort to try and do this correctly, I asked Mr. Rybarczyk.”
RJ pinpointed that, first, he needed to create equations that established a circle rolling over a sin wave. The sin wave would create the hills in the road, and the circle would, of course, function as the tires of the vehicle. RJ made a few attempts to limited success, but was determined to keep going, now utilizing a different strategy: turning to his teachers for help. “Largely, I try to learn myself, but in an effort to try and do this correctly, I asked Mr. Rybarczyk about this to see if he had any ways I could do this, and he suggested mean value theorem, so I was learning mean value theorem [as a junior.]”
The design. Photo credit to RJ Naumann.
In creating the design, RJ focused on the importance of using precise equations that preserved the accurate gear ratios of a standard skeleton watch as well as created functional hands on the watch, but also wanted to present an aesthetically pleasing finished product; to do this, RJ tweaked calculations repeatedly in order to enhance the appearance of his graph. His piece, ‘Skeleton Watch,’ featured the “beautiful visual design, varied mathematics, movement, custom colors, and fine detail” that constitute the competition’s criteria.
Unfortunately, the mean value theorem also did not work, so RJ was forced to go back to the drawing board this year. He delved fully into another study: derivatives. His work with derivatives, plastered on the walls of the middle cube located in the Innovation Center, finally presented him a solution one month ago. Now that the base of his car is complete, RJ is working intermittently with GeoGebra to create the suspension of his system. Despite the discontinuation of RJ’s work on Desmos graphing competitions, it is certain that he will continue to impress the Hammond community—and communities far beyond it—as his imaginative ideas are brought to life via complex functions. THE SENTINEL / 11
Skyhawk Athletes Soar Beyond Campus by Drew McCall Historically, Hammond has been a powerhouse in many sports across the landscape of SCISA, winning over 150 state championships in its history. But this profound stat raises one question: how? Hammond’s athletic success can be attributed to factors like the coaching staff, the strength program, and the athletic trainers; however, the skill and dedication of the athletes themselves are the crux of this success. And Skyhawks’ athletic success extends beyond our gates to the next level. This article highlights a few of the big names among Hammond alum college athletes.
Collage of Hammond alumni athletes in their college athletics gear. Collage by Sentinel designer Zachary Schneider.
Burch playing in an Oregon football game. Photo credit to 247 Sports.
Jordan Burch, Oregon Football, Defensive End Jordan Burch graduated from Hammond in 2020 as a top ranked 5-star recruit. He originally attended the University of South Carolina where he played defensive end from 2020-2022. Burch played a total of 18 games in 3 years as a Gamecock, recording 96 tackles, 4.5 sack, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 interception returned for 61 yards. Before the 2023 season, Jordan transferred to the University of Oregon, where he has played in 6 games so far this season, totaling 16 tackles, 3 sacks, and a pass deflection. Alex Huntley, South Carolina Football, Defensive Tackle Alex “Boogie” Huntley graduated from Hammond in 2020 and attended the University of South Carolina to play defensive tackle. Boogie’s freshman year, he only appeared in 1 game, recording 1 tackle, but he was named to the All-SEC freshman team and SEC fall academic honor roll. In the past 2 years, Huntley’s role has become much greater, playing in 30 games and totaling over 45 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 pass break ups and a fumble recovery.
Huntley yelling during a Carolina football game. Photo credit to Garnet and Cocky.
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Bri Pinasco, South Carolina Soccer, Midfielder Briana Pinasco graduated from Hammond in 2023 and attended the University of South Carolina to play midfielder on the women’s soccer team. Bri has played in 6 games as a freshman, where she has recorded 2 shots, including her first career goal against Coastal Carolina. In her time at Hammond, Pinasco also played for the U-17 and U-20 Argentinian women’s national soccer teams.
Pinasco chasing the ball during a Carolina soccer game. Photo credit to Gamecock Women’s Soccer.
Marci Leath, UT Martin, Western Equestrian Marci Leath graduated from Hammond in 2022 and attended the University of Tennessee, Martin for Western Equestrian. As a freshman started in 5 consecutive meets, spanning from October to January, where she competed exclusively in reining and earned a victory against 6th-ranked Auburn. Marci was also named to the Athletic Director’s and OVC commissioner’s honor roll her freshman year. Leath guides her horse during a competition. Photo credit to Sorrel Equestrian Consulting.
Lake Barrett, Wooster Football, Kicker Lake Barrett graduated from Hammond in 2019 and attended the College of Wooster to be a kicker, graduating in 2023. Lake started as a freshman at Wooster and continued in his starting role for 4 out of 5 years at Wooster, playing in 35 games, scoring 24 field goals and 138 extra points for 210 total career points. Off the field, Lake was a multi-time CoSIDA academic All-American, All-NCAC honors selection, D3football.com AllAmerican, and NFF Campbell Trophy Semifinalist.
Barrett during a Wooster football game. Photo credit to The Bargain Hunter.
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Let her Bake
A pumpkin roll is a classic fall dessert: a delicious pumpkin cake and a smooth cream cheese frosting, rolled up into a wonderful log of deliciousness. It may be challenging to beginners, but it’s generally an easy bake.
by Ali Dorrington
Cake Ingredients ¾ cup all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice ¼ teaspoon salt 3 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup pumpkin puree Powdered sugar
Frosting Ingredients 1 (8 ounce) brick of cream cheese, room temperature 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted. 6 tablespoons butter, softened. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 375° F and line a 15x10 baking sheet with parchment paper; keep the sides short (about 1 inch sticking out for easy lifting). 2. Whisk together dry ingredients (AP flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt) in a large bowl until fully combined. 3. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until thick. This should take one minute. Add in the vanilla and pumpkin puree, then whisk until combined. 4. Fold in the dry ingredients to the wet mixture with a rubber spatula until fully combined. 5. Spread the batter thinly and evenly into the prepared pan. Bake 13 to 15 minutes; since this is a thin cake, keep your eye on it in case of burning. If you are unsure if the cake is baked, use a toothpick and see if any cake residue is left on the toothpick. If so, put the cake back in the oven. 6. The old-school way to roll the cake is to take a thin cotton towel and cover it with powdered sugar, then flip the cake on top of the towel and then roll. If this step doesn’t work for you, carefully lift the cake out of the pan, and on a flat surface, slowly roll the cake from short end to short end, keeping the parchment paper on. When the cake is fully rolled up, place it on a wire rack, and cool until it reaches room temperature. 7. While the cake is cooling, prepare your cream cheese frosting. Whisk together the cream cheese and butter. Then, to ensure it won’t be clumpy, sift in the powdered sugar and mix. Add in the vanilla and mix completely. 8. Once the cake is cooled, transfer the cake onto a flat surface and carefully unroll the cake until flat. Spread the cream cheese frosting evenly, but do not spread to the edges or side of the cake; keep it in the middle. 9. Then, carefully re-roll the cake tightly, slowly tearing it away from the parchment paper, until it is completely detached. 10. Roll the cake in cling wrap and place in the refrigerator until cooled. 11. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and unwrap the roll. Cut off the edges of the cake (the ugly bits) until you can see the spiral inside. Place on a serving dish and dust with powdered sugar. 12. Bon appetit!
A photo of a pumpkin roll. Photo credit to Very Best Baking.
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Book Review: Ryan Holiday’s Discipline is Destiny has lessons for us all by Anika Gupta Discipline is Destiny, by Ryan Holiday, illustrates the importance of discipline through stories of many prominent figures who have changed the world. It is the second of four books in which the author emphasizes the importance of discipline in achieving certain virtues; in this book, that virtue is temperance. Though the topic may be serious and heavy, Ryan Holiday’s writing style delivers this very important lesson through comical stories and light humor. He delivers stories that show the resilience of Lou Gehrig, the self-restraint of Eisenhower, the calm and dignified nature of Queen Elizabeth II, and the 100% effort mindset of Jimmy Carter, to name a few. Each of these anecdotes teaches us how different people use the same skill of discipline to help achieve their own greatness. It is an easy yet engrossing page-turner that provokes thought for anyone who reads it.
The cover of Discipline is Destiny.
Though it may not be a typical book a high schooler may pick up, it delivers the message we all need going through this phase of our life and beyond, “You have every opportunity in the world at your fingertips” — we just need a little discipline.
Restaurant Review: Spotted Salamander Worth the Wait by John Cuda The name “Spotted Salamander” piqued my interest when I first heard of it, so I decided to go to their location on 1531 Richland Street. From the outside, it was a small, unsuspecting building in the historic district of Columbia. When entering the building, however, it felt like being welcomed into a cozy tavern with dim, warm lights. The waitstaff stood out to me especially with their warmth and personality. The tomato soup starter was warm with a rich, herbal flavor. It is beyond what you would eat at Panera Bread. The chicken baguette entrée was presented as a very full and saucy sandwich, and it was crispy with some sweet and savory notes. The apple crumble cheesecake was a smoky dessert with decadent caramel and a structured crust. Although I wouldn’t write home about the wait times for each course, everything I ate was worth the wait. Overall, this restaurant was a lovely place to get lunch, and it is absolutely worth a visit. Front entrance of Spotted Salamander. Photo credit to Spotted Salamander Cafe & Catering.
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With new French hire, world language program expands by William Grantland
Ms. Henneman answers a student’s question about verb negation during class. Photo credit to Sentinel photographer Baylis Wang.
This year, Hammond hired Bonnie Henneman, a Savannah native and recent graduate of Bryn Mawr College, to teach middle school French. At Bryn Mawr, she was a teaching assistant in the French department, studied abroad at the Institute of Avignon through the Bryn Mawr Fellows program, and received the Pauline Jones Prize in French her senior year. For years, Hammond’s primary world language has been Spanish; most Hammond students take Spanish for at least three years before graduation, and Hammond employs six Spanish teachers in all three divisions. Upper school Spanish teacher Santiago Azpurua-Borras believes there are multiple reasons behind this. “Most people, especially in the States, are going to be exposed to Spanish in real life, more so than other languages,” he states. He adds further, “Most likely your friends are taking Spanish, so you want to be with your friends, so you will take Spanish as well.”
Dr. Aubrey Dillard, an experienced world language teacher who has taught French at both the secondary and collegiate levels, was hired to teach upper school French at Hammond in February 2020. Despite the popularity of Spanish, she believes French is an “excellent choice” for Hammond students. She cites the global increase in French speakers over the past decades as well as the role of French as an official language of many international organizations.
Though there were a handful of students in upperlevel French courses when she was hired, Dr. Dillard says “there had not been a French I course in two years.” And for several years, taking French was not an option for Hammond’s seventh and eighth graders; they could only start to take French I as upper schoolers, a time when many of their peers advanced to Spanish II. Much of Hammond’s ethos centers around developing global citizens, especially through the annual Country of Study program. Dr. Dillard and Hammond administrators knew that “it would…be rather problematic for the school to be reduced to teaching just one language.” At administration’s request, Dr. Dillard created a “language exploratory” class for fifth and sixth graders in 2020, introducing them to the “linguistic connections and cultural diversity” of both languages, and thereby informing their choice of Spanish or French as their primary world language in seventh grade. THE SENTINEL / 16
Ms. Henneman interacts with two students during class. Photo credit to Sentinel photographer Baylis Wang.
Even as a Spanish teacher, Mr. AzpuruaBorras is enthusiastic about the expansion of French at Hammond. He praises Dr. Dillard’s efforts in revamping the program, calling her “such an incredible and intelligent individual.” He, too, does not see Hammond offering any new world languages in the near future, citing budget and scheduling constraints. He does believe that offering a non-European language like Mandarin or Japanese would “really drive home that global citizenship philosophy.” Last year, Dr. Dillard taught the first seventh grade French cohort since 2016; a group of students had opted to take French over Spanish after two years of the exploratory program. It became clear that, with an increase in French students, Hammond would need a middle school French teacher. Ms. Henneman was hired this year to fulfill that need, and she presently teaches all of the middle school French courses. Ms. Henneman’s hiring marks a revamp of Hammond’s world language program, which also included Latin for several decades and briefly included German. A handful of students with interests in other languages have selfstudied them while at Hammond. Senior Danika Foster “wanted to take a foreign language that was not Spanish or French” during her freshman year. After settling on Korean, she worked with upper school head Jody Lumpkin to enroll in the LanguageBird program, where she worked with a private tutor for three years and “also did a lot of independent study.” Director of College Counseling Carolyn Stoddard says that the college counseling office is “supportive of students interested in pursuing language self-study if Hammond does not provide the respective language of interest.” She adds that, in past years, students have self-studied German, Mandarin, and Russian, primarily through LanguageBird. When asked if Hammond has tried to expand its world language options, Mrs. Stoddard says that she “does not believe Hammond has tried to adopt more world languages” in her tenure; she believes administrative efforts have been focused on revamping the French program.
Dr. Dillard had a unique take on the future of the world language program. “As a high school student, I studied both French and Spanish,” she says. “I think it would be fantastic for Hammond students to have the chance to study multiple languages.” Rather than expanding the number of languages offered, she mentions “academic electives in other languages and a course in linguistics” as beneficial to future Hammond students.
A student practices French verb negation on their desk during class. Photo credit to Sentinel photographer Baylis Wang.
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New Hammond Day of Service expands on service learning tradition by Adelaide Helmboldt
Service is a crucial aspect of the Hammond experience woven into many students’ lives. Mrs. Anne Fowler, the Hammond Dance teacher, is primarily responsible for kickstarting many service projects throughout her time at Hammond School. When talking about service at Hammond, Mrs. Fowler states, “Service is not a requirement, it’s more of an expectation” and that nothing makes her happier than “former students reach[ing] out to tell [her] what they are doing to help others.”
UPPER: Freshman Alice Thompson tends to a garden at Homeless No More. MIDDLE: Freshmen Ellis Sowell and Jack Thomas with a player during a Miracle League game. LOWER: Volunteers at Homeless No More smile for a picture. Photo credits to Hammond School (@hammondschool, Instagram).
“Service is not a requirement, it’s more of an expectation.” Anne Fowler, director of service learning
Mrs. Fowler eagerly leads Hammond service projects in order to help others and, most importantly, foster the development of “future philanthropists” so that Hammond students will pay it forward in the future. She began her role as the advisor to the Community Service Club in 2011, hoping to organize and execute her myriad of service ideas. Mrs. Fowler credits Hammond for giving her a foundation of service learning to build on. Additionally, she worked to gather resources to motivate students and make their ideas a reality. Mrs. Fowler believes service is an opportunity to empower students and put them at the helm of these projects. Since 2011, she has had numerous positive experiences in developing service learning at Hammond: The University of South Carolina’s Dance Marathon program notably asked Hammond to become a mini–Dance Marathon school, which only opened up more opportunities such as 5Ks and meal packaging events. These various success stories and increased student involvement sparked the idea of a Hammond Day of Service.
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UPPER: Two parents help clean a barn at Fawcett Farms. Photo credit to Sentinel editor-in-chief William Grantland. LOWER: Senior Sophie Homeyer and sophomore Sullivan Epps smile while cleaning up the lower school after Fall Fest. Photo credit to Hammond School (@hammondschool, Instagram).
The Hammond Day of Service is a passion project of Mrs. Fowler’s that stems from a desire to do more in the community, especially after COVID-19. Mrs. Fowler says that she is a “firm believer in Hammond students being fortunate, so it is incumbent of us [Hammond School] to get involved with members of our community.” Mrs. Fowler noted the personal influence of author Max Lucado and his book, Outlive Your Life, which places emphasis on leaving a pure mark on others without being around to see your mark. Lucado speaks to the importance of doing something out of the pureness of your heart, knowing you have helped someone, instead of getting involved to appear noble or service oriented to your community. Lucado’s ideology circles back to Mrs. Fowler’s belief that service should be something the student wants to get involved in, for the purpose of benefiting their community. The Day of Service takes place on a Saturday, thus allowing Hammond families to get involved alongside students. Mrs. Fowler explains that families getting involved allows them to “gain the same experience, knowledge, or exposure to their community if not more than those they are serving, simply by dedicating their time.” She accumulated enough volunteers to leave a significant impact through several different opportunities, which included Camp Cole’s Pumpkin Palooza, family picnics and fair games, Miracle League’s baseball games for kids with special needs, cleaning up Hammond’s south campus, cleaning out the flower beds with St. Lawrence Place and Homeless No More, and feeding and interacting with the homeless at Transitions. Accumulating volunteers to serve at these six different volunteer sites allowed for maximized opportunity to give back to the community. Mrs. Fowler is excited to hopefully make Hammond Day of Service a tradition that is possibly held twice a year.
Mrs. Fowler only hopes service within the Hammond community continues to grow. In order to amplify the possible effect volunteering could have on the community, she encourages the idea of a massive meal packaging event, such as the sandwich blitz completed on homecoming. She anticipates that Hammond will only increase its number of service projects and organizations, and that these projects will continue to be founded on the ideas of giving back to one’s community. True to this spirit, she encourages students to reach out to her for the consideration of new projects. THE SENTINEL / 19
Dance MomS Pyramid: Senior Spirit Week by Preston Swarat Edition Hammond Spirit Week is a fun, carefree way to bring a 2nd goes to Jeb Berry for his traffic cone. When I was sense of community to the student body in anticipation of told that Jeb’s traffic cone would be a good addition to Homecoming. This definition implies that I shouldn’t judge this article, I was doubtful. I hadn’t seen it, but how how other people choose to go about Spirit week and special could a traffic cone be? I soon realized that I instead focus on my own personal enjoyment. I disagree. simply did not have the mental capacity to imagine the And, evidently, editor-in-chief William Grantland size of it. It speaks for itself. disagrees as well; otherwise he wouldn’t have assigned me this article. As seniors, it’s our last spirit week and we 3rd place is joint effort by May and Lucy for their have a moral obligation to make it count. Thus, with portrayal of Dr. Ruehlen and Mr. Rice, respectively. For comparative brevity to my senior speech, I bring to you May it was evident that she prepared for this role – her gait alone, in its ineffable similarity to the Dr. Ruehlen’s, the Dance Moms Pyramid: Senior Spirit Week Edition. brings this costume to third. As for Lucy, it was exactly Given that mystique and anticipation is lost due to the what it needed to be. The belt buckle showed superb visual aid, I’ll start at the top. Without a doubt, Simone attention to detail, but she is docked points for not Okereke’s Steve Harvey takes the top. The bald cap, shaving her head or wearing a bald cap. the oversized suit, and the mustache – I had behind-thescenes access to see Simone nearly tear her skin trying to 4th was earned by Nathan Riley. The shopping cart was take the mustache off to eat – were mere supplements to both whimsical and functional, with the aid of an elevator. the poise and bravery with which Simone played the While his backpack choice lacked originality, he is given famed show host. If you missed a chance to see Mr. special mention for sneaking it past the eyes of Dr. Harvey, there are various videos on her TikTok to enjoy. Turner. Additionally, I’ve been told it’s his own shopping cart, so kudos for not stealing one from the Target parking lot. 5th is a collective award to those that wore actual pajamas during pajama day. While I can’t prove it, I have suspicion that people usually don’t sleep in knee length athletic shorts and a t-shirt. 6th is for everyone that didn’t dress up. I don’t demand that you go all out, but some believe they’re above the supposed indignity of spirit week attire and that’s a disappointing perspective. Spirit week helps to foster a closer Hammond community through silliness and whimsy, and I think that’s far more important than maintaining an air of professionalism. UPPER: Simone Okereke, champion of the pyramid, poses as Steve Harvey with a Family Feud sign. MIDDLE LEFT: Jeb Berry and traffic cone. MIDDLE RIGHT: Lucy Peacock and May Malanuk as Mr. Rice and Dr. Ruehlen. LOWER LEFT: Nathan Riley with shopping cart. LOWER MIDDLE: AP Literature students dressed for the occasion in actual pajamas. LOWER RIGHT: Mr. Simpson, a Spirit Week non-participant, in shirt and tie. Photo credits to Hammond’s yearbook staff.
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A hole-in-one: spotlight on Rollins Reed by William Grantland
Rollins poses proudly with the ball after her hole-in-one. Photo credit to Hammond Athletics (@hammondathletics, X).
Rollins Reed began playing golf at a young age, but moved away from it because of her dance pursuits. When she transferred to Hammond in seventh grade, she needed a sport for PE credit and tried out golf again. She says that she’s “worked every year to hopefully bring down my score,” practicing for hours with her team and on weekends. Rollins got a hole-in-one at a Hammond vs. Heathwood match on September 7 at Northwood. When she was told that her ball went into the hole, she was initially incredulous, “but when he said the second time…I threw my club in the air and it was really like all my hard work paid off.” She didn’t place first at the match, but a hole-in-one is rare even among professional golfers. She says, “That feeling of being on top of the world made me speechless.” Rollins has no plans to play golf in college but says she will still play with her family and friends for fun. Despite her big achievement, she says she still has “a love-hate relationship with golf,” but adds that “I definitely don’t want to quit playing.”
Using her Greek heritage to make change: SPOTLIGHT ON CHRISTINA RIZOS
UPPER: Taken while boating on their latest trip. LOWER: Christina, sophomore Marina Rizos, and their father during their latest trip. Photo credit to Christina Rizos.
by William Grantland The daughter of two Greek immigrants, junior Christina Rizos feels a deep connection to her homeland. She’s done summer programs in Greece and visits every summer to see family and friends. She says that she is “very proud to represent Greece, especially because there aren’t very many Greek-Americans in the States for people to learn from.” Christina knows many people affected by the wildfires that occur every summer in Greece. While Greece’s chaparral biome means its environment needs wildfires, Christina says that, in the past few years, fires have “been getting more frequent due to hotter and dryer summers thanks to climate change.” Christina plans to begin a fundraiser to raise money for people affected by these wildfires. While her rigorous school schedule has stalled some of the fundraising, she plans to “raise money in various ways” and send that money to a reputable nonprofit in Greece. Her hope is that “in the coming years, I can do enough” so that “people’s lives in Greece are easier after these disasters.” THE SENTINEL / 21
More competitive Thursdays: Competitive club opportunities growing at HammonD by Drew McCall You could ask any Hammond student what they are supposed to do on Thursdays after E period and the answer would likely be, “It is club times, but we all just go to lunch early.” During this time, a fair number of students have historically participated in club time on Thursday with interest-focused groups like FCA, Go Green Club, or SAGA. However, over the past few years, and this year especially, there has been a resurgence of completive clubs and organizations and groups, such as Quiz Bowl, Math Team, HOSA, Barbecue Club, and Mock Trial, which have taken the student body by storm.
M o c k T r i a l
Sophomore Shindara Olatosi instructing attorneys during a mock trial meeting. Photo credit to Sentinel photographer Lily Balfour.
It would be a travesty not to highlight sophomore Shindara Olatosi and her incredible work to create the Mock Trial Club at Hammond this year. Shindara has worked tirelessly to create the Mock Trial Club this year “to let students at Hammond experience the legal system and be a part of it.” Mock Trial is a regional competition between both public and private schools in February, that leads to a state competition in March. Shindara, the club’s founder, plans “to compete in regionals and hopefully to compete in State as well.”
The club meets every Monday in Mr. Simpson’s room during lunch, alongside some outside-of-school practice. Mock Trial practices involves the role of witness, where participants give their testimony in the case, and attorney, where participants question said witnesses. “Mock Trial team involves a lot of commitment, but the student gets to learn acting if they are a witness and about law if they are an attorney,” Shindara comments:
UPPER: Senior Ranti Olatosi reviews a case. LOWER: Advisor George Simpson offers feedback. Photo credit to Sentinel photographer Lily Balfour.
“Mock Trial team involves a lot of commitment, but the student gets to learn acting if they are a witness and about law if they are an attorney.” Sophomore Shindara Olatosi, head of Mock Trial Club
As for the future, Shindara hopes that more and more students will join Mock Trial, and “If the high school mock trial goes well, I would hope to implement this in the middle school.”
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Not all these new and growing clubs are focused on purely extracurricular subjects. Two paramount subjects of STEM have taken to the club scene this year in the forms of Math Team and HOSA. Math team before the 2023 College of Charleston math meet. Photo credit to Sentinel graphics & digital editor Lauren Asbill.
Although the upper school math team has existed for As for the remainder of the year, the longer than most Hammond students, this year the team math team looks to compete in nine is doing something new. “This will be the first year different meets, including the Clemson Hammond has gone to UGA or Georgia Tech,” says Calculus competition, the SCISA Math math team coach Mr. Patrick Rybarczyk, “I am hoping Meet, and the American Mathematics that our team can make a positive impression at these Competition. In addition to these group contests,” he continued. contests, Mr. R says that “some students will compete as a part of the Mr. R describes the club as “a fun and competitive Columbia Math Circle and South activity that allows students to sharpen their [math] Carolina All-State Math Team.” skills,” and clarifies that “anyone is welcome to join.” The team meets every Thursday after school from 3:30 to 4:30.
H o s a
Similarly, Mrs. Lauren Jackson, senior Ranti Olatosi, and junior Zamam Lone have created HOSA as another club opportunity for this year. HOSA, or Health Occupations Students of America, is a national organization to “help students who are interested in studying or who want to pursue a career in a health-related field find opportunities...that teach them new skills in medicine,” says Mrs. Jackson. Mrs. Jackson further notes that “HOSA students also have several opportunities to apply for summer internships throughout the country and apply for over 16 different scholarships.”
m a t h t e a m
Being a national organization, students must be registered in HOSA before attending a conference or HOSA event, but Hammond’s chapter will allow students to join throughout the year. Mrs. Jackson notes that, so far this year, Hammond HOSA members have already attended a guest lecture presented by cardiologist Dr. Bashir Lone. Looking ahead, “Our members are very excited about HOSA Week that will be November 6th – 10th.” HOSA students have the opportunity to hear from guest speakers at Hammond and participate in over 90 different individual or team activities in HOSA competitions that “frankly, I would just enjoy watching.” THE SENTINEL / 23 Sophomores Sullivan Epps and Lola Thompson, junior Zamam Lone, and senior Lilly Hensley representing different medical careers on HOSA Career Day.
Although the traditional core subjects of math and science play a big role in student organizations this year, two more unique clubs are increasing in popularity with the help of Mr. Matt Henderson.
b b q c l u b
Everyone remembers how the barbecue club dominated the club fair with their smoked wings and homemade sauces, notably including the “honey jalapeño” sauce from Jack Fulda. However, not to be a one-hit wonder, the club was featured making the barbecue lunch for Friday of homecoming week. After their spectacular barbecue sandwich lunch, which many members spent the night before homecoming cooking alongside Mr. Henderson, the barbecue club will hopefully appear on the menu throughout this year alongside their handcrafted barbecue sauces.
LEFT: BBQ club members during the club fair. Photo credit to Sentinel graphics & digital editor Lauren Asbill. RIGHT: Seniors Coleman Marr, Durham Kirk, and Sam Porter preparing pulled pork for homecoming. Photo credit to Hammond School (Instagram, @hammondschool).
Mr. Henderson says the club was “founded for the love of great food,” and top pitmasters include seniors Reece Bluestein, Hampton Redd, Robert Malanuk, and Tanner Chastain. They also have their own Instagram, @hammond_bbq. UPPER LEFT: Junior Cole Glenn and sophomore Wesley Childress at the quiz bowl competition. UPPER RIGHT: Junior Drew McCall and sophomore Wesley Childress at the quiz bowl competition. LOWER: Upper school head Jody Lumpkin and the team pose together at the competition. Photo credit to Hammond School (Instagram, @hammondschool).
Another new competing club stemming from Mr. Henderson is the quiz bowl team. The team was started to “let students have fun and compete showing off their general or unique knowledge,” Mr. Henderson says. The team typically meets on Thursdays, but over the past months, they had to ramp up practices to prepare for the SCISA Quiz Bowl competition, held in Orangeburg on October 19. The team had great success at this competition, scoring almost 450 points and finishing second in the region. Moving forward, the Quiz Bowl Team looks to potentially compete again and to host some in-house quiz bowl competitions “to get more students, or even teachers, involved in trivia.” Student leaders of the club are Cole Glenn and Drew McCall.
q u i z b o w l
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Peter Pan to involve more middle school students It is safe to say that the fall production of Peter Pan, brought to life by the Hammond drama department under the direction of Linda Khoury, will be a play unlike any other in the recent history of Hammond theater. That is because this play features something rather unique: a high level of middle school involvement. When speaking to Ms. Khoury about the increase in middle school involvement in this year’s fall play, she attributed it primarily to two different factors. The first factor was a decrease in interest from the upper schoolers, limiting the cast size, and by extension, the number of plays she thought could be successfully performed. “We had fewer upper school kids putting the notice in, you know, when I put out who’s interested in being in the play. There were not as many as we usually have, like fifty to sixty.” Ms. Khoury did, however, make it clear that she would have plenty of other options with a smaller cast, and that her decision was not made solely out of necessity. A major factor in her choice of Peter Pan was the large body of talent available to her from her middle school drama classes. Six middle school participants pose together during play practice. Photo credit to Sentinel graphics and digital editor Lauren Asbill.
by Lily Balfour Senior Ryan Barnes gives a piggyback ride to sixth grader Grant Smith during play practice. Photo credit to Sentinel graphics and digital editor Lauren Asbill.
When asked if middle schoolers have always been allowed to perform in the upper school fall play, Ms. Khoury revealed that she’s “only done that like three times,” despite her twenty-fiveyear tenure at Hammond. However, this is not due to a lack of talent from the middle schoolers. When asked about their acting caliber, Ms. Khoury commented that “sometimes [the middle schoolers] act better [than the upper schoolers.] They’re kids, and they’re acting like kids. And they’re fantasy kids, so it’s very easy to act like ‘Oh no!’ and, you know, ‘Here’s the pirates!’ The kids live in a world where there’s pirates and native Neverland people and all kinds of strange birds and they have mermaids that are real. They’re totally capable of it.” Ms. Khoury believes that it is important to cast for the age, as it would be more difficult for an upper schooler to portray such a childlike wonder over these fantastical tales than it would a middle schooler. She also believes firmly that the kids have the capability to work as dynamic, convincing actors and actresses. Senior Aiden McKewan supports the decision, acknowledging that one “can’t capture the essence of being a child with somebody who is not a child.” For Aiden, having children play children lends the play a feeling of genuineness that grounds the show in reality, while also creating a fun, energetic environment during rehearsals.
She says, “This was a unique time because my sixth-grade class this year was just outstanding, and every single one of the kids was great.” Ms. Khoury says that she has two eighth graders in the play as well, and all of the middle schoolers that she has incorporated are “just so amazing.” Ms. Khoury said that she hoped she could pull off Peter Pan originally with younger grades of the upper school, but that she discovered the show “really needs children.” Ms. Khoury also believes that, by spurring on the younger students in middle school, it will continue to strengthen the drama program as the middle schoolers return each year, especially once they reach the upper school. By getting middle schoolers involved, Ms. Khoury hopes to build her program moving forward, so that these kids may grow into lead roles with time like their predecessors, such as Sarah Adams and Luke Weinbach. By incorporating middle schoolers into the play, and specifically Peter Pan, Ms. Khoury is also hopeful that the drama department can broaden their audience to more parents, as well as lower schoolers who would be able to experience a wonderful fairy tale through exposure to theater.
But while he acknowledges that it is great to have fun, and that all of the middle schoolers are really good at what they do, “it does sometimes take a bit of prompting,” as “they do like to talk.” He says that drama classes are not created in preparation of a real play, and are mostly designed to be fun, but because this is the first play the middle schoolers have done, they don’t seem to grasp the concept that this is the real thing. In order to do what must be done in rehearsal, listening and serious attention to detail is required. Senior Lauren Asbill, also with a long history of involvement in theater, reflected on her experience as an eighth grader trying to secure a part in It’s A Wonderful Life. Lauren “knew some middle schoolers were being in it,” so she tried to join the cast, but it ultimately didn’t work out. While grateful for her time onstage at Hammond, Lauren wishes she were given the opportunity these same sixth and eighth graders were given. “I’d been doing plays outside of Hammond since fourth grade, so I was excited to finally have the chance to do it at Hammond because my brother did it, so I always looked up to that, and I didn’t have the opportunity as a middle schooler.” THE SENTINEL / 25
Cross Country Goes Co-ed by Isabella Aguilar Peña
The Hammond cross country team has experienced a few changes this season. Firstly, Mr. George Simpson, who has coached the team for almost over a decade, stepped down from the position. Mr. Simpson was the assistant coach for the girls’ team for five years and the head boys’ coach for six seasons. Mr. Simpson says that his favorite part of being the team’s coach was “always the time spent with the runners and watching them get better at a sport that is very challenging, mentally and physically. Running is hard, the kids that do it are beyond tough, and when they accomplish something special for themselves or as a team, it is very rewarding.”
“With a bigger team and running together more frequently, we connected with each other a lot more through the strife of workouts.” Darien Um ‘25, on the new co-ed team
The team is now being coached by last year’s girls’ cross-country coaches Mrs. Noel Schuch, and Mr. Greg Franke, along with newly hired middle school French teacher Ms. Bonnie Henneman. As a result, the team is now co-ed. This was a major change for the runners; nevertheless, cross-country runner Darien Um remarks, “With a bigger team and running together more frequently, we connected with each other a lot more through the strife of workouts.” He also says that cheering the girls’ team at meets is more fun now “because we actually cheer for people we know personally.”
Full team poses in front of a beautiful sunrise after their Friday morning run. Photo credit to yearbook staffers Grace Webb and Sadie Meacham.
Competitions are another aspect of the cross-country team that has been subject to change. There have lately been fewer meets for the team to compete in; this, in turn, puts more pressure on the runners to do better at each meet. The team has faced this challenge with tenacity and communal spirit; they made flags to bring to meets to help cheer each other on and raise spirits. Hayes Martin, one of the runners on the team, helped design the flags. Another aspect that changed this year is the nature of the workouts the team does. The workouts shifted from focusing on physical endurance to mental strength; the team now does shorter runs to incorporate more speed training.
LEFT: Boys’ runners getting ready for their meet. RIGHT: Some of the girls getting a pre-run pep talk from Coach Schuch. Photo credit to yearbook staffers Grace Webb and Sadie Meacham.
Darien and Hayes believe their favorite cross-country memory was their summer runs every Friday at Riverfront Park over the summer. These runs were longer and more relaxed for the runners. Hayes remarks, “It’s always pretty there, so it’s a nice change of scenery.” THE SENTINEL / 26
Sophomores in 3 AP’s: At hammond, it’s becoming feasible by Anika Gupta Many high schools across the country offer an abundant amount of AP courses; though Hammond has a smaller faculty than many AP-heavy schools, it’s no exception, offering 18 AP courses in the 2023-24 school year. Within the last three years, Hammond has expanded their range of AP classes as well as the students who are allowed to take them. First, let’s talk about what APs actually are. AP stands for “Advanced Placement;” they are classes, taken by high school students, that allow students to take more rigorous courses that mimic those of colleges. At the end of a course, one has the choice to take the national AP exam; if you score a 3, 4 or 5 on those, you can earn college credit.
Carolyn Stoddard is Hammond’s Director of College Counseling and the coordinator for all standardized testing that takes place in the upper school, which includes College Board standardized tests like the SAT and PSAT as well as AP exams. Stoddard explains, “Through the recommendation of Hammond’s head of school, Andy North, we have opened up a small number of AP offerings to younger grade levels out of belief that certain students are ready for those rigorous courses.” She adds, “Usually, recommendations for those high-level AP classes are given to those who have an A in the course and are ready for the next level to challenge themselves…however, the specific course-entry requirements are set by the academic department of that particular subject.” Previously, juniors and seniors were the only ones allowed to take AP courses. As of 2023, qualified sophomores are now offered 3 AP subjects, which are AP European History, AP Seminar, and AP Precalculus. Logan Rivers, a current junior, remarked,
“I think it’s great that Hammond has now extended more opportunities for sophomores to take more APs. I do wish, however, that I was able to have those options my sophomore year.” Junior Logan Rivers on sophomores in AP classes
Natalie Engh, a current senior, echoes this, adding on, “I wish AP Seminar was offered to me because I would’ve definitely tried to take it.”
Stack of AP prep books. Photo credit to Greatschools.org, “Role of AP Classes in High School.”
Our very own Patrick Rybarczyk (known by students as Mr. R) has personal experience taking APs as a sophomore. According to him, “I took AP courses in my sophomore year. It gave me a great sense of pride to take college level courses while I was only 15 years old.” Mr. R does feel that he succeeded in AP courses because he felt prepared for them. “While I think some sophomores are certainly ready for AP, if a student is not prepared for the additional challenge, an AP course could be demoralizing and have a negative effect on the student's feelings towards a subject.”
So, how can we be successful when taking AP courses? Biology and AP Seminar teacher Lauren Jackson gives some timeless advice: “I think that it is always a good idea to challenge yourself and you will work that much harder if it’s a course topic that you are actually excited about. My college classes were never easy, but I loved biology enough that I was willing to work hard for them.” Mrs. Jackson also comments that she measures student success based on progress, not perfection. “AP courses are designed for those who are willing to be challenged and how that will serve them in the future. If you are simply looking for the “easier A,” then the AP courses may not be for you.” THE SENTINEL / 27
“I know what you did last summer” “Have a meaningful summer.”
by Natalie Engh
It’s a phrase repeated to Hammond students again and again. A summer experience looks good on your resume, and it gives you something to write college essays about. Furthermore, it can help to explore a future career option. But what does having a “meaningful summer” look like? What activities qualify as meaningful anyway? Many seniors participated in a variety of programs; whether local, at a college campus, or across the world, these students certainly spent their summers discovering. Danika Foster, who is interested in veterinary medicine, took part in ZooTeens through Riverbanks Zoo. In this internship style program, she works with children to “teach and explore animals and conservation at their grade level.” She has also had the opportunity to compile ethograms (charts documenting animal behaviors), for the resident tiger, Koshka.
Snapshot of research area used in Danika Foster’s ZooTeens program at Riverbanks Zoo. Photo credit to Danika Foster.
May Malanuk has a more specific interest. She is fascinated by sharks and traveled to Fiji to study them through a program called Broadreach. She dove 100 feet below twice a day to chart and collect data on many species of sharks, including lemon sharks, bull sharks, and tawny nurse sharks. She also spent time in lectures learning about marine biology. At the end of the 24-day program, May completed a research presentation on black tip reef sharks and a research paper on bull sharks’ agnostic behaviors. May says she gained a new perspective on sharks: “I realized that they really aren’t as bad as they appear and it is important to give everything a chance, no matter how scary it may seem.” Ranti Olatosi was accepted to a highly competitive program at MIT. At this program, he did two research projects; one, a paper on how running-specific protheses help children continue to play sports, and another on the correlation between after school programs and youth gang activity using spatial analysis.
GoPro shot of sharks studied by senior May Malanuk in Fiji. Photo credit to May Malanuk.
Many colleges host programs on their campus. Cass Dorrington did a program at Rhode Island School of Art and Design learning about being a filmmaker, a passion he’s held for a long time. He appreciates that he was able to “learn what college is all about” and experience what it is like to be far away from home.
Cass Dorrington taking a selfie at the Rhode Island School of Art and Design. Photo credit to Cass Dorrington.
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Two students took part in research with professors at the University of South Carolina. Ella James helped conduct research for treatments of cancer cachexia, a “metabolic syndrome related to underlying illness and characterized by muscle mass loss” (National Library of Medicine). Ella learned many new skills, such as how to genotype mice and properly write lab reports, but she was also able to “put the scientific knowledge [she] had learned in school into action.” She recommends the program to anyone who is interested in chemistry. Palmetto Boys and Girls’ State, sponsored by the American Legion and its auxiliary, are very reputable programs for rising seniors interested in political science and law. Students who are accepted into this program spend a week on a college campus listening from guest speakers and reating a mock government. Hammond sent six students to Boys’ and Girls’ State: Grace Beacham, Sophie Homeyer, Ryan Barnes, William Hudson, Edwin Miller, and Robert Malanuk. Through this program, students got to experience what it would be like to work in government. While many experiences such as this confirm a student’s interest in a field, they are also useful in deferring interest; Grace realized she was not interested in studying politics in college thanks to Girls’ State.
“Writing and communication skills become increasingly important as you go up in a field of study.” Senior Cal McQueen, after conducting research over the summer
ABOVE: Cal McQueen smiles in front of his summer research work. UPPER MIDDLE: Ella James’ work on muscle disease. LOWER MIDDLE: Ryan Barnes and Grace Beacham trade their Boys’ and Girls’ State shirts. BELOW: Kacy Kraemer experiences animals in Israel. All photos courtesy of respective individuals.
Cal McQueen also conducted research at USC’s chemical engineering lab. He studied electrochemistry and constructed a water purifier that he then tested and presented. Cal says the experience helped confirm “what [he wants] to do in college and beyond.” He also realized that “writing and communication skills become increasingly important as you go up in a field of study.” Finally, he was able to get hands-on insight into graduate school by working with graduate students. Experiential programs abroad are another popular option. Kacy Kraemer traveled to Israel through BBYO Passport, a month-long program for Jewish teens in which she listened to lectures about Israel’s history, discussed political and social issues in Israel, and completed community service. She chose this experience because she has always wanted to go to Israel, but also because she saw an opportunity to interact with other young Jews. She says, “growing up in Columbia, South Carolina, I had never had an opportunity to be around other Jewish people my age.” Overall, a wide array of programs can teach you about a future career path or subject, expand a passion, experience college life, or learn more about your own identity. Many programs, such as internships and work with professors, are free. However, a meaningful summer does not only involve these experiences; summer jobs can teach similar values. Ultimately, any activity that expands your knowledge on something you are passionate about is meaningful.
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Meet the Staff Senior William Grantland is the editor-in-chief of this edition. He’s an aspiring journalist who has always loved to write. Outside of The Sentinel, William is the face behind Dance Marathon’s Instagram, the co-president of SAGA, and a member of Select Ensemble and the Hammond Leadership Council. He also loves planning fabulous trips that’ll never happen and listening to niche genres of music (Japanese citypop is his favorite). He helped lead the revival of The Sentinel last year and is very proud of everyone’s work on this edition; he anticipates future editions being even better!
Senior Natalie Engh is associate editor for this edition who, like many on staff, shares a passion for writing. She’s also an experienced equestrian on Hammond’s hunt seat team and leads both SAGA and Book Club. True to her horse-riding nature, Natalie loves animals and aspires to be a veterinarian. She was instrumental in reviving this publication last year and she’s also been hugely helpful in getting articles to print this edition. Senior Lauren Asbill is graphics & digital editor for this edition, leading the charge on graphics and photography. She joined the staff after witnessing William fly solo on graphics in the winter of 2023, and her graphics experience – this year as senior editor of the yearbook – has been an immense help. Lauren also sings in the Select Ensemble, acts in the theater program, heads up internal events for Dance Marathon, and is on the tennis and softball teams. In her moments of freedom, she loves to bake and read.
Senior Lilly Hensley is graphics & digital associate for this edition, joining the staff last year because of her love for graphic design. Outside The Sentinel, Lilly is an overall chair for Dance Marathon, a leader in National Honor Society, and she’s on the tennis team. She pursues studio 2D art outside school. Junior Isabella Aguilar Peña is a staff writer for this edition, joining The Sentinel because of her passion for writing. She’s also an equestrian involved in mock trial, HOSA, prom committee, and band club. Outside of school, she loves to read and explore the natural world. Senior Lily Balfour is a staff writer for this edition. She joined the staff this year after being “bamboozled” by the editorial staff during their AP Spanish class. Lily is involved in book club, mock trial, Ornithos, and politics & ethics club outside The Sentinel, and also runs cross country and track. She loves to bake and, in her words, “is bad at giving interviews.”
Freshman John Cuda is a staff writer for this edition, and says he wanted to join because he wanted to “help the community of clubs at this school.” Outside The Sentinel, he is involved in Go Green and quiz club as well as karate, which he has pursued for ten years and has been a black belt for four.
Junior Ali Dorrington is a staff writer for this edition. She joined The Sentinel because she likes writing stories that viewers enjoy and that provide entertainment. She’s also involved in Bake A Difference, the art history club, and the theater program as well as the cheer and softball teams. THE SENTINEL / 30
Freshman Anika Gupta is a staff writer for this edition. She joined The Sentinel because she has always loved to read and write. She’s involved in soccer, taekwondo, crosscountry, and track, as well as book club, Select Ensemble, ASL club, community service with the VA, and music lessons. She especially loves to run and do “all things endurance sports,” and also loves to spend time with her family, whether movie night with her sister or a FaceTime call with her grandparents in India. Junior Adelaide Helmboldt is a staff writer for this edition. She joined The Sentinel because of her passion for writing. She’s also involved in Select Ensemble, guitar club, National Honor Society, Latin club, mock trial, Special Olympics, Youth Corps, Transitions, and babysitting. Outside school, she loves playing guitar. Freshman Alex Magargle is a staff writer for this edition. He joined The Sentinel because he wants to “write and engage with my school in a unique way.” He’s a state champion swimmer involved in several clubs, including math team and film club. He loves animals and aspires to be a swim coach. Junior Drew McCall is a staff writer for this edition. He joined The Sentinel because he wanted to expand his “bubble” and get involved with other folds of the Hammond community. He’s on the lacrosse and football teams and is also involved in quiz bowl, legos, and live music. Outside these pursuits, he watches Jeopardy every night with his family. Senior Chase McKain is a staff designer for this edition. She joined The Sentinel because she enjoys the “creative aspect of combining multiple stories to create one piece of artwork.” She’s also involved in Select Ensemble, Dance Marathon, competition and spirit cheer teams, scuba club, and both Hammond and club swim teams. Senior Rollins Reed is a staff designer for this edition. She joined The Sentinel because of her love of graphics and photography. She’s also involved in Select Ensemble, FCA, and babysitting, and you can find her working at Britton’s on Devine. Senior Zachary Schneider is a staff designer for this edition. He joined The Sentinel because he wanted to get more involved with the school community. He also plays soccer, church basketball, and football, and is involved in Service in the Soda City and his Bible study. He enjoys sports and video games. Senior Preston Swarat is a staff writer for this edition. She accidentally joined The Sentinel by filling out its form instead of SAGA’s form during the club fair and “was blessed with a fun, whimsical article.” She’s also involved in ASL club, Bake A Difference, Dance Marathon, book club, math team, and Politics & Ethics. Outside school, she loves art and Formula 1 racing. Freshman Baylis Wang is a staff photographer for this edition. He joined The Sentinel because he wants to “enrich the student life at Hammond.” He’s also involved in scuba, club swimming, and sporting clays, and enjoys hunting in his free time. Freshman Reese Wingo is a staff designer for this edition. She joined The Sentinel because she loves capturing people’s joy through photos and videos. She’s also involved in Select Ensemble, Dance Marathon, theater productions, SMAC, JV tennis, and Freeway Music. She loves to sing, read, and talk to people.
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FALL 2023 EDITORIAL STAFF WILLIAM GRANTLAND Editor-in-Chief
natalie Engh Associate Editor
LAUREN ASBILL Graphics and Digital Editor
LILLY HENSLEY Graphics and Digital Associate
SANTIAGO AZpúRUA-BORRáS CARYN CRABB Faculty Sponsors
THE SENTINEL THE STUDENT MAGAZINE OF HAMMOND SCHOOL
FALL 2023, EDITION III