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May 17, 2010

Volume 107, Issue 3

The Students Speak Reaccreditation

By Kelly McNeil Editor-In-Chief

The Holy Trinity, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, reign as the “crème de la crème” around the world

The Big Three: Why? [INSERT TEXT HERE]

By Zoey Erdenebileg

field hockey photo by charles garrettson; football photo by ryan erenstein/staff; textbook photo by ryan erenstein/staff

Executive Editor It is well known that in the past, Hill has been generally regarded as an especially W.A.S.P-y (White, Anglo– Saxon and Protestant) school. To get into Hill, you had to be from a certain social class (the top one) and make a certain amount of money (a lot). Boys aiming to become leaders of the future and continue the legacy of their family came here and easily carried on to Harvard, Yale or Princeton: it was just the next step. For them, it was a question of “Which one should I pick?” These days, for Hill students, it seems to be an issue of “Why didn’t I get in?”

Trivia Fact: the Sixth Form class of 1910 had 2 students matriculate to Harvard, 22 to Yale and 12 to Princeton. The ne’er do wells attended Williams, Amherst, Cornell, M.I.T and Dartmouth. Fast forward to 2010, where we had one acceptance from Harvard and one acceptance from Princeton – and it happened to be the same guy. No love from Yale, fourth year in a row.

This small turnout for the Big Three has a lot of the concerned underformers, parents and especially the Board of Trustees posing the question – “Why not?” The answer is complicated, multilayered and has as much to do with the various nuances of social change as anything else.

1910 was a different time from 2010.

First of all, there were less people applying to and attending colleges. Col-

lege was a luxury for the select few who were either smart enough or rich enough or both. Average American high school graduates could make a living off of their high school diplomas. In the 2010 job market, a college degree is a necessity for most occupations. With the specialization of occupations, and the skills needed to operate a technology driven world, education is essential for a comfortable life. Moreover, the Baby Boomers of the post World War II era have added to the competition, driving acceptance rates down to abysmal percentages. Of course, the increasing need for higher education is a social occurrence, a happening that Hill cannot affect or help.

Hothe Sixth Form class of 1910 had 2 students matriculate to Harvard, 22 to Yale and 12 to Princeton. Grade point averages edge closer to 4.0 and the S.A.T. (a test supposed to equalize millions of high school seniors) becomes ever more futile. As students enhance, colleges are looking at other parts of the application more seriously. Harvard, Yale and Princeton want good grades and impressive S.A.T scores; that will always be true, but

now a student must possess more. The Harvard University website quotes, “There is no formula for gaining admission…Students with vastly different credentials come from thousands of secondary schools across the country and around the world. What unifies our students are the talents they bring to Harvard and the passion to explore its vast resources.” An obscure “talent” or an extraordinary “passion”, they claim is the key. A retired Yale University admissions officer who was willing to shed some light on the subject remembered, “For me, what always made a candidate stand out were his or her extracurricular activities.

We got many students with 4.0 GPAs and fantastic SAT and AP scores, but in a sea of kids like that, it’s what else they do that makes them interesting.”

Many Hill students divulge that their interest in attending a boarding school was to challenge themselves and to get into the best colleges. While it is true that a Hill education will test you, it may not hold as true for college acceptances. The Yale source revealed that “…I never paid much attention to what type of school an applicant went to when I reviewed applications.

See College on page 3

Comparing Numbers 1910 Harvard 2 Yale 22 Princeton 12

2010 0 0 1

Reaccreditation descended upon Hill in a flurry of emails, visitors, and harmless bemusement on the part of most students. Once students were more informed about some of the issues the school had tried to improve upon in the past and were trying to improve on now, students couldn’t stop talking. Reaccreditation topics were the subject of dorm and lunch table discussion, and the students the Hill News interviewed expressed some very strong opinions on what they think about the topics, past and present, and what they think could be done to improve. So, in simplified terms, here’s what select members of the student body (all anonymous, due to some rather scathing criticism) think about “plans for growth and improvement.”

Point One: Improved Academic Achievement “I mean, you’re always going to have slackers in the classroom, but in the push to improve I think the smart kids seem to be getting the brunt of the pressure, not the people who need it,” says one 5th form boy in honors English. “I feel like saying ‘we want our students to get better grades’ is almost a cop out. It takes attention away from other more important improvements that could be made.”

Another 5th former agreed with his sentiment: “I think a lot of things are wrong with this school, but none of the things they said they want to improve are the things that are really wrong. ‘Academic achievement?’ Really? I’m actually kinda disappointed.”

“Academic performance?” spouts an even more disgruntled 6th former.

“Something has been done to improve that? People seem to have more work and less free time, and in turn a lot more stress. More of my friends (both upperclassmen and lowerclassmen) have been mentally breaking down this year than I can remember. They don’t seem to be helping us except for giving us more work.”

See CAmpus on page 3

The Hill News

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Page Two Vol. 107, Issue 3 Editor-in-chief Kelly McNeil executive editors Steven Gu Zoey Erdenebileg News Editor M. Dinora Smith Photography Editor Ryan Erenstein Staff Writers PJ Mara Cassie Borelly Garvin Chan Maura D’Amico Sam Hernan Kathryn Walsh MJ Kwon Kara Beckman Melissa Lee Emma Woodcock Eddie Lee Christine Oh Ji Young Park Joseph Flanagan Max Spector Jin Limb Felix Kim Jay Knighton Joshua Ko Faculty advisors Tony Reid Nate Yinger Headmaster David R. Dougherty The opinions and attitudes expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hill News, its editors and staff or the Hill School.

Volume 107, Issue 3

OPINION M. DINORA SMITH

To The Class of 2011

N

ow that the final decisions

have come out and the Sixth

Form is at the threshold of the new chapter of life called college, we give you these pearls of wisdom to help you in your application process which approaches much more swiftly than you think. This letter is mainly to the Fifth Form, those with their feet closest to the fire of the hell that is applying into college. Okay, so it really wasn’t that bad, but the process must be taken seriously. These are a few tidbits of information that many of us wished we had before we began this process.

First, the SATs are a very important part of your application. Despite your college advisor’s best efforts to convince you they are not vital, which is a harmless way to keep you from worrying too much, your scores on these tests must be your personal best. Take the SATs a few times, and prepare as much as you can. The SAT course offered at school can be helpful, but the bottom line is the amount of work you put into it is the amount you get out. Take time out of each day

Your Letters

to practice and your scores will leap higher very quickly.

Second, get as much of your application done as you can before you come back to school in September.

Fill out your Common App online in August, most importantly your college essay. While it does sound like a pain, your teachers don’t take mercy on you in the fall term because you need to complete applications. Senior Fall is arguably the roughest term of your Hill career with deadlines, classes and interviews. Also, the grades you earn in this term are usually the last that colleges see before they make their decisions. Lighten your load a bit by completing as much of your application as possible before school starts so that you can focus on achieving a high GPA that first term. On that note, once you’re all back in September, be sure to use the Writing Center for guidance. The Doctors will help you with your essays immensely.

The third and final piece of general advice is to seriously consider Early Action or Decision. Many sixth formers recommended it to relieve your acceptance worries early in the year.

The earlier you get your decisions back, the less worry you have, and less application paperwork. Once you

know where you’re going to college, the world seems more relaxed. No, this does not mean your senior slide; it’s the security of knowing what’s coming up next in your life.

Do not let any of this advice intimidate you. Everyone in your life, from your parents to your teachers, wants you to succeed in this process. Find the college that best suits you, and try to relive yourself of as much admissions stress as possible. Fill out the Common App early, get amazing SAT scores, and keep the level of work to a minimum. This experience is not meant to trick you, it is meant to help you attend the school that’s right for you. Above all, college is what you make it. If you sulk through your first year because you’re not at Harvard, then you definitely will be miserable. Whatever way the winding road of admissions takes you, complete your Hill career knowing you tried your best, and that’s all you can do.

In days gone by, when the forms were grouped together in dorms, prefects served as monitors and advisers for underformers. In the original set-up, the hall masters, as dorm parents were then known, got to choose which rising 6th formers would lead their halls. The idea was that hall masters would choose students with whom they had a relationship so all could work The way the dorms were structured made it necessary for such a prefecting system.

Our community is constantly changing, and our community must evolve to fill the needs of its time.

This fact makes most rules and traditions subject to change. The switch to vertical housing came abruptly, yet it was a necessary adaptation to accommodate the admissions process, the changing demographics of our student body, and the dormitory set-up.

This switch to vertical housing provided a unique opportunity. The presence of 6th formers on each hall

provides upperclassmen with the opportunity to be leaders. In the same manner that one would guide a younger sibling, these older students would direct, advise, and counsel the underformers. Bestowing this responsibility upon all older students would essentially make the presence of prefects redundant.

If clearly given this responsibility, these older students would rise to the occasion. Raise the bar and they will strive to reach it. Also, by providing everyone with the same opportunity, the best natural leaders would rise to the top providing for the best leadership on the hall, not just the students a committee thinks would do the best job. This system would eliminate the need for the Residential Life Committee to choose those whom they deem best fit to be prefects, and then, all the controversy that inevitably follows those decisions. Everyone knows someone whom they believe should have gotten the position, and See PRefect on page 3

JON FONT

[INSERT TITLE HERE]

How to submit The Hill News welcomes e-mail from its readers. Anyone wishing to com ment on any story in the paper should send an e-mail to:

hillnews@thehill.org

HML Hill my life Today, I slept-in because the school encouraged me to. Because of it, I missed my class. HML. Today, I was rudely awakened by leaf blowers during my only sleep-in of the week. HML. Today, I got in an arguement with Alex Hero. HML. Submit your own HML at:

hillnews@thehill.org

H

ill is a traditional place, both

in philosophy and in practice.

Think of chapel talks; of coats and ties; of seated meals; of the Sixth Form dinner. All have been handed down from one generation to the next through the ages, and that process and these things serve to define the character of the school. The Hill School respects the idea of tradition – that customs from the past are worth preserving – and yet, it is dynamic, able to apply new ideas that reflect our ever-changing times.

Some traditions, alas, outlive their pertinence, and certainly, we can argue about whether that’s true of a few already mentioned. Should we be wearing coats and ties when the powerbrokers on Wall Street shed them a decade ago? Should we be going to a Protestant chapel when the religious makeup of the school’s population has long since exceeded that narrow boundary? We’ll save those debates for another day. The tradition we want to deal with today is the prefect system, a relic that has become unnecessary in its current form.

photos by ryan erenstein/staff

Letters may be edited for content or shortened to fit the allotted space.

The Hill News

May 17, 2010 College, from PaGe 1 Of course, I did note the difference between the difficulty level of a boarding school and, say, a public school (having worked at a boarding school), but that was about all I considered.

For me it wasn’t a strike for or a strike against a particular student.” Acceptances from Hill to Yale have been sparse and in the fourth year of a dry spell, do not show signs of improving.

This is not to say that Hill students would not succeed at Hill. Ms. Ciacci, Hill Class of 2001, was Yale Class of 2005 and received writing honors during her time there. But this does point to a major issue – perhaps Hill does not produce appealing Yale applicants.

The Yale source continued to say, “One reason I would mark a strike against an applicant was because there was a lack of specialization on the student’s part. Many kids (especially those I saw from boarding schools) seemed to be spread way too thin: obviously trying to cram in sports and other things like yearbook and band to try and make themselves more appealing to colleges. To me it was always more important that a student be passionate and skilled at a few things than to try and do everything at once.”

“Spread way too thin” could be Hill students’ mantra. From the morning to the afternoon, students are committed to classes, sports, activities, required events, meals and meetings.

It is a sincere fact that Hill kids do a million things in one day. As a result, they are well rounded applicants, with toes dipped in sports, school and a club or two. On the other hand, they do not display the lopsided, passionate reach for one specific activity that other applicants might possess. The Hill schedule does not allow the time for that kind of specialization under the stresses of sports, arts and meal time requirements.

photo by joshua ko/staff

“Spread way too thing” could be Hill students’ mantra Then again, the argument also runs that most teenagers have not developed extreme passions yet. Therefore, colleges like Harvard, Yale and Princeton with acceptance rates of 6.9%, 7.5% and 8.2% respectively, are looking for impossible candidates.

It is hopeless to pinpoint what Harvard, Yale and Princeton want from applicants, and even harder to do so when the schools do not even know.

Consequently, the Hill College Office stresses the importance of “fit” – a frustrating concept when all one might want to do is attend a highly ranked school. But perhaps the question should not be why Hill students are not gaining admittance to Harvard, Yale and Princeton, but rather why those schools matter this much.

Then again, it does. So that’s why this article exists. Conclusion: just deal with it.

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Campus, from PaGe 1 Point Two: Improved Student Leadership Says one 6th form girl in a leadership position: “I mean, I think that Alex Hero’s influence on the new schedule has improved the status of student leadership and given the student body the idea that we really are listened to, but I don’t think it’s going to be a reoccurring thing, unfortunately. To me the positive reaction to the new schedule seems like it should send a message to the administration that we should be listened to because we actually have good ideas. But will it help? Probably not.”

“We have a lot of student leadership positions, but all of the same people seem to fill them,” gripes a 4th former.

“It would be nice to have some variety instead of having, [for example], one 6th form girl holding four leadership positions.”

“I think student leadership has improved, actually,” a 5th former contributed. “It seems to be taken a lot more seriously than before, which I think is great.”

Point Three: Enhanced Community Relationships (specifically the areas of weekends at Hill, community involvement, and community service) The school has stated that the weekend presence of students on campus “is an indirect indicator of the strength and health of the campus community.” Here’s what students had to say:

Opines a 5th form girl in Dutch: “I think the administration’s got it wrong: I go home because I miss home, I don’t go home because I hate Hill. I just don’t want to be stuck here all the time, and I miss my family a lot.”

“I can appreciate the school’s eagerness to improve our Hill community, but if they make any more closed weekends I’ll scream!” laughs a 4th former at the Grille. “You can’t just expect us to grow closer together by making us stay here on the weekends.”

“As a day student,” a 3rd former says.

“I have a lot of respect for boarders.

True, their life is a little bit easier, but I think living here everyday for weeks on end would be unhealthy or something without a break to go home.”

Next up, community involvement.

The school wants an “increase in the number of students taking advantage of the cultural resources and opportunities available by virtue of the school’s location.”

“We don’t really do anything in the community,” a 5th former tells me. “To me we’re never really offered opportunities to go into Pottstown in a positive way; we’re told to not walk into it on our own. We’re not particularly inviting, either. With all the gates and security and air of isolationism, I think we seem to cut the Pottstown community out. The school seems to be sending a dual message: Pottstown isn’t dangerous, but don’t go into it past Its and don’t leave campus alone.

I think that we need to get more in touch with getting out there and inviting them in here.”

Prefect, from PaGe 2 someone whom they believe should not have. And in some cases, they’re right. Some may argue that without one clear individual to assume a responsibility, the job will not get done.

However, consider our existing Honor System.Implementing our Honor System is not the responsibility of one specific individual, and yet it is a responsibility accepted by each and every one of us. It works not because of the efforts of a few people, but because of the collaboration of the school as a whole.

I have served as a prefect this past year and I genuinely believe that many of my peers, especially those who are older and more mature, exercise the same good judgment and decision making as those individuals who have been chosen as prefects and who could have contributed in a worthwhile manner if they had been given the responsibility. I often feel uncomfortable “prefecting” other 6th formers because I view them as fellow peers. The fact that our peers are on the hall, our social equals in age, status, and responsibility, creates a difficult dynamic for prefects. In one of the prefect meetings earlier this year, Mrs. Dougherty said, “Prefects act as the bridge between the faculty and the student body”. Imagine having the entire 6th form class as a bridge instead

of a select group of 6th formers. This would allow for better student-faculty relations and would include the entire 6th form as members of the leadership of our school.

“Prefects act as the bridge between the faculty and the student body.”

Responsible change should always occur in a slow and thoughtful manner with all points of view being carefully evaluated and considered. I am not proposing immediate elimination of the existing system, but rather a slow evolution whereby 6th formers are systematically given more responsibility while prefects see a reduction in the demands placed upon them.

This subtle progression would give all involved individuals more time to adjust to their changing roles and would permit restructuring of the system to evolve in a more natural and palatable manner. Tradition simply lays the foundation upon which we build needed change.

Complains a 4th former: “Day trips into New York and Philly are hard because Sunday is really the only day you can do it, and Sunday you want to sleep in , and usually you have a lot of work to do for the upcoming week. I would to different cities around here if I had more time, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon, so I won’t be traveling very far very often.”

And the final section, community service.

“I like community service,” says another 3rd former. “I volunteer with my church at home. I think it would be helpful if we could be given more opportunities. I don’t have time to volunteer on my own, considering sports and academics. I think more community service days as a school would be really nice.”

Says a 5th form girl: “I did community service for a term, but I would like to do more of it. It’s almost impossible to volunteer outside the school; I tried when I was a day student. I don’t know what the school could do to fix it so that we could have more opportunities or something, but if they fixed it that would be good.”

Improved academic achievement, improved student leadership, and enhanced community relations: genuine issues facing the school or “cop outs?”

Students interviewed differed greatly in opinion about these two views, but all expressed a need for change. Overall, the students expressed a strong desire for the school to improve, not out of hate for the school, but so that our “city on the Hill” can reach its full

The Hill News

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You Say Goodbye, and I say Hello Leaving and New Faculty

By Zoey Erdenebileg Executive Editor While sixth formers dive into the Dell and the underformers dot their i’s and cross their t’s on final exams, certain faculty members say “Goodbye Hill” as well. Hardest hit departments are Modern Languages and Sciences with both areas replacing senior faculty members as well as those young, novice teachers.

The Modern Languages department will be losing the entire Spanish branch of teachers. Mr. Lagor, head of the department comments, “The MLD is being re-staffed appropriately, and we have filled 2 positions in Spanish and 1 in French. We still have 1 Spanish teacher to hire…This is a great opportunity to make changes and adjustments to our program, to increase our awareness of the use of technology in the language classroom, and to capitalize on the energy that invariably comes with change. It is also a wonderful time to celebrate the contributions of those colleagues who are leaving the department.” This year marks the final classes for Mrs. Maria Adinolfi, Ms. K. Adia Jahi Denalle and Ms. Heather Olney.

Mrs. Adinolfi takes a long needed rest after having served the school as an instructor of Spanish for twentyfour years. She had served on several Committees while at Hill, including Honor Council and was once a dorm parent in Dell. Her husband, Mr. Richard Adinolfi, was a Trainer and published his book Self Massage Plus while at Hill (available for purchase at the Campus Store and Amazon.com).

Ms. Denalle has taught both French and Spanish at Hill since 2004. She has been known for her talent of linguistics – citing Swahili, Portuguese, Chinese and Arabic to her list of spoken languages. Ms. Denalle leaves us with mystery as she will not say where she is going, or what she will be doing.

photos by ryan erenstein/staff

Ms. Olney taught several classes of Spanish as well as a beloved dorm parent. She has also been a vital part of Girl’s Ice Hockey as Head Coach, an up and coming sport on campus. Additionally, she has served as Assistant Coach for Girl’s Cross Country.

The Science Department also suffers huge losses with the exits of Mr. and Mrs. Pine, Mrs. Laucks, Mr. Levitt and Ms. Giffin. Mr. Nelson stated “I’m disappointed that so many members of our department are leaving…We will miss them all. As for the future, it’s always bright, as new faces always bring renewed energy and experienc-

es.”

Duke University in Psychology. He has served Woodberry Forest School Mr. Pine has been a part of the Chem- as the Director of the Annual Fund istry Department since 2000, teaching since 2006.

Chemistry Honors to those wide eyed fourth formers. Mr. Pine has been instrumental to the development of the Girls Cross Country program, leading them to their most successful season this fall and a win over Lawrenceville Fall of 2008. His supportive coaching methods have more than doubled the number of cross country runners.

Mrs. Pine taught AP Psychology and various levels of Math. She was assistant coach on Girls Cross Country and is in such good shape that she should have been a member of the team. The Pines were, for a long time, dorm parents to sixth form girls in Rolfe. They have seen both of their daughters graduate from Hill. The Pines decided to change their locale and are packing their bags for the European life in Budapest, Hungary where they will teach at an international school.

Mrs. Laucks was known for a long time as Ms. Belanger until her marriage this past summer. She has been a Biology teacher at Hill since 2006 as well as J.V. Girls Soccer coach. She will to continue to teach Biology at The Tilton School in New Hampshire where she will also help her husband with his boating company.

Mr. Levitt and Ms. Giffin both arrived at Hill in fall of 2008. Since then, Mr. Levitt has made quite an impression with his love of physics and his odd collection of machetes and origami. Ms. Giffin was originally hired as the Advisor to the Green Team, but later began to teach a section of Environmental Science Honors. Mr. Levitt and Ms. Giffin leave to pursue further education at Louisiana State University and New York University, respectively.

As of April 30, 2010, Hill has already hired six new faculty members. Ms. Blair Barnes comes from Lawrence Academy with M.A.’s in Spanish and French from Middlebury College. Ms. Lucretia Witte comes fresh off from Dartmouth College to teach Spanish as well. Mr. Seth Boyd arrives from St. Paul’s School as an instructor of English. Ms. Patrice Patrinostro has taught at Kent State and comes to Hill to teach Math. Ms. Mackenzie Pelletier also arrives after having received her diploma from Hamilton College in Economics and minor in Mathematics. Dr. Joshua Schmidt will teach Chemistry after having taught at Marianapolis Preparatory School in Connecticut since 2006.

Mr. William Robertson, Hill Class of 1992, returns to Hill as the new Director of Alumni Relations. Since graduating eighteen years ago, Mr. Robertson has received his B.A. from

Volume 107, Issue 3