The Horace Mann Record, Issue 17

The Horace Mann Record HORACE MANN’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1903

FEBRUARY 9TH, 2018 || VOLUME 115, ISSUE 17

RECORD.HORACEMANN.ORG

CCVA invites guest speakers to lead student Reflections

Betsey Bennett Staff Writer

NYU professors Steven Lukes and Michael Posner P’13 ’18 visited classes and reflection sessions led by the Center for Community Values and Action (CCVA) to discuss various topics in Service Learning.

According to the CCVA website, students in 10th through 12th grade are required to participate in two reflection sessions as a part of their Service Learning requirement.

These Reflection sessions can take different forms, including a written essay, an in-person discussion with classmates during the school day, and attendance at a speaker event featuring someone involved in Service Learning.

At least one of the Reflections must be in-person, such as those set up by the CCVA this week.

“The bulk of the Reflections have been opportunities for the students to talk about what their Service Learning work has been and to hear from other students about what they’ve been doing,” Director of the CCVA Dr. Jeremy Leeds said. “But we also want to broaden the idea of Reflection to being able to hear about new ideas and then apply them to how you can live a life that involves public purpose.”

Lukes, who visited the school on Wednesday, is a professor of sociology and author of “The Curious Enlightenment of Professor Caritat,” a required text in the Ethics class.

According to Lukes, the book centers around a character who travels through imaginary worlds and invites the reader to think about what an ideal society would look like.

“It’s a book about political ideas, and it was written nearly 20 years ago, so it’s always interesting to see whether the themes of the book still resonate,” Lukes said.

His Reflection session, entitled “Morality, Power, and Politics,” explored some of the themes of his book and connected them to the present-day, he said.

“I’m going to talk about what’s going on around us, but I’m going to talk about it in a relatively abstract way, and then I am going to invite the audience to apply the ideas towards what’s going on today,” Lukes said prior to his visit to the school.

Posner, who visited the school on Thursday, is a professor of ethics and finance as well as the Director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at the NYU Stern School of Business.

“I am a big believer in public service and hopefully will encourage some students to include public interest work and government service

somewhere in their future endeavors,” Posner said. “I hope I am able to convey how important and rewarding this work can be.”

His presentation posed the question of whether businesses could be ethical and respect human rights, Leeds said.

“He has had a lot of experiences in a variety of areas, including immigration and working across the globe with foreign governments to promote human rights,” Leeds said. “I think it gives students a window into paths they might take in the future with the work they are doing now.”

Many students who attended these reflections found them to be more helpful than other forms of reflections.

Hannah Long (11) found Lukes’ Reflection session to be more interesting and informative than both the written Reflections and the other in-person Reflections that she has attended.

“We discussed power and its relationship to morality and the role of both power and morality in politics, which I think are really relevant and important concepts to think about,” Long said.

Rachel Okin (12) shared a similar perspective on the Reflection session.

“I’ve been to many Reflections in the past that have all been structured in a pretty similar way, so I think this was a really nice change,” Okin said. “I definitely took a lot out of it because of all the interesting and powerful words the speaker had to share with us.”

Posner’s Reflection addressed important issues that are not discussed as much as they should be, Eva Fortunato (11) said.

“I learned a lot about how human rights are affected by large companies around the world, and something that resonated with me was something that Posner said about being aware of where the products you are buying come from and looking into the manufacturing behind certain goods,” Fortunato said. “As upcoming generations we need to make better choices in companies that invest in better manufacturing in order to move the business world in a direction that prioritizes human rights.”

For Joshua Doolan (12), Posner’s visit widened the scope of what Service Learning could mean.

“I very much enjoyed being able to hear a reflection led by somebody whose job it is to really give back to the community through service learning,” Doolan said. “It showed that there are possibilities both inside and outside of Horace Mann to really make a difference in Service Learning beyond traditional projects and certainly beyond an hours requirement.”

Daniel Lee/ Contributing Photographer

inside

REFLECTING Steven Lukes leads student in a Service Learning Reflection.

Not Laude, Proud

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The Editorial Board discusses the decision to no longer induct seniors into the Cum Laude Society.

ASIA NIGHT (Top) Mari Nakagawa (12) and Nora Burke (12) playing the Taiko drum, a japanese drum.

(Bottom Left) Karen Jang (11) performing a traditional Korean folk song called “arirang” on the violin.

(Bottom Right) A traditional dance, “Nagada San Dhol,” performed by Lower and Middle Division students Ayesha Sen, Divya Ponda, Isha Krishnamurthy, Riya Daga, Jiya Chatterjee, Saira Babbar.

International Food Festival serves diverse cuisine

Lynne Sipprelle Staff Writer

This past Wednesday, the Upper Division International Food Festival (UD IFF) filled Olshan Lobby with parents serving and students and faculty eating from a feast of mouthwatering Korean bulgogi, chicken tikka masala, lox laden bagels, and more.

Each year, the Parents Association (PA) organizes the UD IFF and encourages parents to send in dishes representing their cultural heritage, Co-chair of the PA UD IFF Committee Patti Morris said.

“Each student participates by eating a smorgasbord of foods all day.”

“I think the variety of food and the fact that it’s free makes the experience really great,” Oliver Keimweiss (10) said. “I think it’s important to celebrate many cultures while also providing a quality culinary experience for the majority of the population of the school.”

More students come to the festival and more parents send in food every year, Co-chair of the PA UD IFF Committee Haemi Kim P’21 said.

“Every year more of the students ask for food by name. Like they might ask for bulgogi [a type of marinated Korean beef barbecue] instead of beef. And that’s really good,” Kim said.

Each year Morris makes Picadillo Shepherd’s Pie because her daughter in the 10th grade is half-Irish and half-Puerto Rican. “She feels proud that her culture is represented,” Morris said.

“As a teacher, to have an

One Acts

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ASIA NIGHT 2018

Photos Courtesy of Jasmin Oritz

Students star in four student-written plays.

Noah Phillips/Contributing Writer

EAT UP Parents serve students food from various cultures.

international festival is to be exposed to so many cultures it’s just amazing,” French teacher Sonya Rotman said.

“I wish this could be every day.”

“When [students] taste food from other countries, I think that that’s one of the best ways to learn about our culture because our food is a lot about what we’re about,” Greeta Kumar P’20, who brought food as part of the South Asian Family Network, said.

The PA UD IFF Committee coordinates with school affinity groups such as the Chinese Family Network, Black Parents’ Union, South Asian Family Network, and the Hispanic/Latino Family Network as well as the school and Flik, Kim said.

Kim said the festival primarily consists of home-cooked food, but that some of the affinity groups bring catered food since they donate entire tables.

“Like any other food, Korean food tastes the best when it’s kept warm, so to control the quality of the food, we

Off-campus eats

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Moss, Yo-burger, Sal’s, and more!

Get tips on where to eat when you venture into Riverdale.

decided to cater the food,” Veronica Oh P’21 said.

However, Oh said that all of the catered food she cooks at home and ate growing up. “It’s a gateway to get kids interested in Korean culture,” Oh said.

Brittany Jones (11) said that she enjoys having a fun and special event like the festival annually.

This year, the PA UD IFF committee has focused on how to serve each type of food in the best possible way, Morris said. “We try to put everything into bite size portions using either those small serving cups or toothpicks, so the kids can just grab and go and get a little taste of all the offerings.”

Morris loves all the different kinds of food, and knows it’s something that the kids love too, Morris said.

“It’s very rewarding to be part of the committee because it brings everyone so much happiness.” *Additional reporting by Eliza Poster Staff Writer @hm.record @thehoracemannrecord Horace Mann School 231 W 246th St, Bronx, NY 10471

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THE RECORD OPINIONS FEBRUARY 9TH, 2018

Informing not opposing: the interdependence of our curriculum Editorial Not Laude, but Proud

Emma Jones “I’ll do my English homework if I have time.” “I’ll do the reading on the bus.” “Anybody got the SparkNotes on what happened in that last chapter Things Fall Apart?” These are sentiments as common in the Horace Mann vernacular as the collective excitement over sushi Tuesday in the cafeteria or the murmurs of distaste for having to sit in the Recital Hall.

But I want to raise to you that unlike those listed, this apathy towards the humanities should not just be a normalized part of our daily lives. My fears about peers’ attitudes towards humanities, specifically English, were confirmed by a statistics survey posted in the hall of Tillinghast that asked students whether they would take fewer English classes, given that college counselors recommended STEM classes as looking better on your transcript. The percentage of students that said ‘yes’ was overwhelming to me. Approaching humanities and STEM as being on different planes of value is a slippery slope that can lead to a narrow worldview and can halt innovation. The extent to which we are able to solve problems and create innovation is beyond what past generations could have ever imagined—and that is rightly considered a great feat of human intelligence. But the connection some fail to make is that without the critical thinking skills and empathy learned in humanities classes (English, history, and language) it’s hard to understand what these technological accomplishments mean for our future and how to use them.

But the reason why we’re so likely to give up English class is because we’re misinterpreting what we get out of it. In English, you’re learning 1) to express your thoughts both verbally and orally in a mature, articulate way, 2) to engage with values or cultures that make you uncomfortable and to empathize with those who are different than you, and 3) to question the intent behind stylistic choices and to not simply agree with what is presented to you because it is held up as being “right.” I’ve often heard it said that the appeal of math and science is that there is a “right answer” all the time, and though there’s truth to that in high school STEM classes, that is a narrow approach to learning.

Mathematicians like Newton and scientists like Galileo made the

Spyridoula Potamopoulou/ Staff Artist

discoveries they did by questioning and being critical of the norm. The science of Galileo’s time was called “natural philosophy” as philosophical constructs often informed scientific discovery. Enlightenment thinkers described scientific discovery with a flowery reverence usually associated with humanities-based thinking now.

I am taking a European history class this year and Dr. Oldham has focused heavily on the “history of science.”

This was an eye-opening experience for me to learn about the ways that discoveries in STEM were, historically, not divorced from the humanities as they are conventionally believed to be now. It is only in the age of “high tech” industry that we have held up math and science as being a black-and-white right and wrong. Science and math are not fields of “right” and “wrong,” but rather fields of hypotheses and conclusions. Science and math challenge us not just to question but to be wrong. I always thought I was bad at math until I took calculus, which was so intertwined with history and had such a philosophical backing to its principles. We would not have the modern scientific discoveries if there wasn’t room in history for different ideas.

say close reading Hamlet is going to help you decipher an ambiguous text message, but the ability to look at language with a critical and analytical eye comes in handy in a social space where the only cue that you have is written language. (Give or take a few emojis.) Hamlet is a tragicomedy about a young man coming to terms with the loss of his father and dealing with his grief through nefarious, over-the-top revenge on his uncle.

The cast all becomes implicated in both uncle Claudius’s crimes and Hamlet’s mourning. The razor-sharp exchanges between exes Hamlet and Ophelia, Hamlet’s best friend Horatio as Hamlet’s wingman constantly left in the dust by Hamlet’s drama, Hamlet’s mother Gertrude trying to access her son’s feelings as he has drifted away from his family and “into college life,” and Hamlet’s inner conflict of what it means to do the right thing are as applicable to modern teenage life as Degrassi. Students find Hamlet inaccessible because of the language; the same reason you don’t know how to respond to an ambiguous text message. The language they’re speaking isn’t yours, and so you skim it. The example of Hamlet is an incidental one, because you could

In a world where our accountability for our own words is in more turmoil than ever, it is essential that we learn how to express ourselves, how to empathize with others, and how to use the tools we have...

But history is already a class we take, and an argument commonly made against humanities courses is that a text as archaic as Hamlet has no applications in modern life. A notable example of how the earlier mentioned three principles of what you learn in English can be applied to modern scientific discoveries and life is social media—it is an amazing tool and what it can do makes our lives easier in significant ways, but there is a striking lack of critical thinking and empathy in how we as a culture use it. It sounds sort of ridiculous to

replace Hamlet with any literary work and apply it to the human experience-Toni Morrison’s Beloved, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Harold Pinter’s Old Times, Julie Otsuka’s When The Emperor Was Divine. All of these are books I have read that have increased my perspective somehow.

Language, history, and literature not only inform are worldview but are part of what makes us human.

In a world where our accountability for our own words is in more turmoil than ever, it is essential that we learn how to express ourselves, how to

Volume 115 Editorial Board Managing Editor Eve Kazarian

Editor in Chief Gustie Owens

Issues Editor Mahika Hari

Features Tiffany Liu Natasha Poster

News Sam Heller Yeeqin New

Opinions Seiji Murakami Rebecca Salzhauer

A&E Jonathan Katz Joanne Wang

Lions’ Den Peter Borini Ricardo Pinnock

Photography Amrita Acharya Freya Lindvall Abigail Kraus

Middle Division Ella Feiner Sarah Shin

Design Editors Evan Megibow Nikki Sheybani Lisa Shi

Art Director Ariella Greenberg

Faculty Adviser David Berenson

Columnists Lutie Brown Amir Moazami

Online Editor Michael Truell

empathize with others, and how to use the tools we have as opposed to just celebrating that we have them. You can hate Hamlet. You can hate Things Fall Apart. But have a good reason why. Hate Hamlet because it treats its female characters unequally to its male protagonists and fetishizes female death. Hate Things Fall Apart because you believe Achebe is being held up as the most important African writer of his time when you prefer Soyinka.

Argue with your classmates. Argue with your teacher. But don’t hate the books you read in English class because you refuse to engage with them. Think about cracking ancient languages using computational linguistics– I have often been fascinated by how computational reasoning and logic is used in my own study of Japanese, and how memorizing a verb table uses the same part of the brain as memorizing a mathematical formula. In language, you need both the mathematical reasoning you learn in your STEM classes and the critical thinking you learn in your humanities classes; you need to know how to construct phrases using the placement of each clause and word in the correct place, and you need the decorum and creativity to know what to say when.

Remember that math is part of language, and language is part of math, and without mathematical reasoning and combinatorial logic we would not be able to express ourselves in the first place, but that without grammar or literature we would not know how to say what we need to. Remember that science is part of history, and that history is a part of science, that once upon a time we did not have calculus or geometry because they had not yet been discovered, and that in the literary works of the past we are brought back to a world where people did not have the modern invention of the light bulb. The hindsight of history, the articulation of English, and the complexity of language, combined with the technical genius of scientific and mathematical thought are what are going to allow us to solve the problems of the future.

Staff Writers Malhaar Agrawal, Betsey Bennett, Peri Brooks, Amelia Feiner, Elizabeth Fortunato, Leonora Gogos, Caroline Goldenberg, Katie Goldenberg, Surya Gowda, Will Han, Jude Herwitz, Edwin Jin, Solomon Katz, Janvi Kukreja, Madison Li, Connor Morris, Megha Nelivigi, Noah Phillips, Eliza Poster, Julia Robbins, Abigail Salzhauer, Nishtha Sharma, Sadie Schwartz, Tenzin Sherpa, Sandhya, Shyam, Becca Siegel, Charlie Silberstein, Lynne Sipprelle, Griffin Smith, Georgi Verdelis, Ben Wang, Jeren Wei, Robbie Werdiger, Simon Yang Staff Photographers Iliana Dezelic, Eva Fortunato, Miyu Imai, Abigail Kraus, Daniel Lee, Mimi Morris, Benjamin Parker, Tatiana Pavletich Staff Artists Elizabeth Fortunato, Sofia Gonzalez, Surya Gowda, Damali O’Keefe, Spyridoula Potamopoulou, Jackson Roberts, Zoe Vogelsang

Seniors and their families have typically gathered in the Recital Hall year after year in the Spring to recognize and celebrate the achievements of the students who received grades in the top quintile of the class. Yesterday, Head of the Upper Division Dr. Jessica Levenstein announced in an email that the school would no longer induct students into the Society beginning this year.

In the email, Levenstein wrote, “We made a decision to withdraw from the Society because honoring high grades alone -- without considering the way students have grown, taken intellectual risks, or contributed to our community -- seemed to send a message that was at odds with the school’s values.”

The school already doesn’t calculate student’s GPA and doesn’t have class rank.

Withdrawing from the Cum Laude Society continues that trend, showing students that their academic achievement is more than a number. School is about thinking critically, morally, and creatively; exploring the boundaries of your interests; becoming engrossed in conversations with friends and teachers; sitting back and applauding the talents of your peers as they dance, debate, sing, and swim. Graduating Cum Laude, meaning “with praise” showed that the school most recognized students with the highest academic achievement. This recent decision demonstrates that grades are no longer the highest form of achievement, but that there are other forms of distinction and academic excellence.

We encourage students to take that to heart. Of course, getting high grades can reflect hard work and intelligence, but the pressure to attain high grades can close intellectual doors. Take the harder math class, even if it means you may get a lower grade! Take that half credit about Bach and classical music! (And most importantly, write an op-ed for The Record!)

Corrections - Issue 15 In “Spotlight: Alexia Gilioli” on page 6, Saif Moolji was misidentified as 12th grader. He is in 10th grade.

Editorial Policy ABOUT The Record is published weekly by the students of Horace Mann School to provide the community with information and entertainment, as well as various viewpoints in the forms of editorials and opinion columns. All editorial decisions regarding content, grammar and layout are made by the editorial board. The Record maintains membership in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and National Scholastic Press Association.

EDITORIALS & OPINIONS Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the majority of the senior editorial board. Opinion columns are the sole opinion of the author and not of The Record or the editorial board.

NOTE As a student publication, the contents of The Record are the views and work of the students and do not necessarily represent those of the faculty or administration of the Horace Mann School. The Horace Mann School is not responsible for the accuracy and content of The Record, and is not liable for any claims based on the contents or views expressed therein.

LETTERS To be considered for publication in the next issue, letters to the editor should be submitted by mail (The Record, 231 West 246th Street, Bronx, NY 10471) or e-mail (record@horacemann.org) before 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening. All submissions must be signed and should refer to a Record article. Letters may be edited for grammar, style, length and clarity.

CONTACT For all comments, queries, story suggestions, complaints or corrections, or for information about subscribing, please contact us by email at record@horacemann.org.

HORACE MANN NEWS FEBRUARY 9TH, 2018

Students tutor and teach music to local students on Saturday mornings Surya Gowda Staff Writer Every Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m., while most students are resting at home after a long week at school, various middle schoolers from around the Bronx area and lower Westchester arrive at Horace Mann every weekend for the Saturday Morning Tutoring Program (SMTP) and the Saturday Morning Music Program (SMMP), volunteer based programs that are led by Upper Division (UD) students.

One particular student who shows up to Rose Hall early hopes to sneak in an extra hour of studying math, a subject he once hated. At the same time, over in the Lower Division, Nathaniel, a middle school student, learns how to play the drums under the guidance of a Horace Mann student.

Almost all volunteers work with the same middle schoolers, called tutees, for all their years with the SMTP, creating a “really deep relationship with them”, SMTP coPresident Emily Bleiberg (12) said.

“You’re working with one kid and fostering a deep connection with them that spans beyond the intellectual material you’re covering,” she said. “You’re talking to them about their problems at school, what’s going on with their families, how their siblings are, and what their favorite TV shows are. I think being a positive role model and being a mentor as well as a tutor is definitely the goal of the program.”

SMTP provides free peer tutoring to students from fifth to eighth grade. The program pairs an UD student volunteer from the school with middle school students from “public and parochial schools in the Bronx, and now lower Westchester,” SMTP faculty advisor Norma

Courtesy of Jane Frankel

Courtesy of Emily Bleiberg

TUT(OR)ING OUR OWN HORNS (Left) Jane Frankel (12) and Zaie Nursey (12) teach music to students. (Right) UD students bake with children from around Bronx.

Rodriguez said.

The tutees are required to bring their school work with them to every session. Tutors engage with their tutees, going above and beyond to teach them things that go outside of the classroom, SMTP co-president Jonny Cohen (12) said.

Room leaders, tutors who are in charge of making sure that everyone stays on task in specific classrooms, arrive at Rose Hall at 9:30 am and discuss previous weekends as well as attendance, SMTP room leader Claire Yoo (11) said.

Regular tutors arrive at 9:50 am and get ready for their tutees, who arrive at 10:00-10:30 am. From whatever time the tutees show up to 11:30 am, tutors go through homework, study for tests, or work on projects with their tutees individually. After doing a group activity like playing Jeopardy or 7-Up, everyone eats pizza at 11:45 am, and the tutees depart at 12:00 pm, Yoo said.

“I guess the goal is to prepare these middle schoolers, who aren’t getting a lot of attention at their schools

now, for high school and later on in life,” Cohen said. “We really try to emphasize not only school work but important things like organizational skills and study habits, a lot of things HM students have developed over the years.”

Unlike the tutoring program, SMMP has a more specific process in aligning teachers with students who want to learn the instrument they play. Dr. Delanty does outreach to public schools and tells the leaders how many kids are interested in playing piano or playing guitar, SMMP co-president Jane Frankel (12) said. Using that information, teachers and students are matched together.

Most of the kids who attend the program come in with very little knowledge of music, so the students volunteering as teachers need to be passionate about music and have a basic sense of music theory, Frankel said.

“I thought it was really cool to join a program that I’m so invested in. Music is a huge part of my life and for me to be able to pass on

my knowledge to other people in a creative environment is something I want to be a part of,” SMMP teacher Olivia Kester (11) said.

Kester teaches guitar and piano students anything from music theory to chords and songs, she said.

“For the most part, we see everyone in the program turn up every Saturday, which is really cool.

It seems like the high schoolers who are there and the kids in the program are super committed. Everyone wants to be there,” Frankel said.

“I think [the program is] more than just the music, it’s a way to connect with them. You see this kid every weekend and you’re with them for a hour and a half, pretty much.

You don’t only focus on music, you get to know them, you get to know about what their school is like, what they do in their free time. So I think it’s a way to mentor them,” SMMP co-president Zaie Nursey (12) said.

Both the tutors and teachers said that they feel as if they walk away from the programs growing as learners as well.

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SMTP music teacher Nina Gaither (9) learned that though the tutees do not have the same opportunities and privileges many students at the school have, they are still just as enthusiastic to learn, she said.

The experiences that tutors get to witness with their tutees are rewarding, teaching students to become better leaders, which has a lot to do with patience and knowing when to assert authority, Yoo said.

“Teaching younger kids teaches me how to be more patient because if one of them doesn’t understand a concept, I have to explain it to them through their perspective, where they don’t already have a full understanding of what I’m teaching,” SMMP teacher Vivien Sweet (9) said.

Similarly, besides creating bonds with students, teachers are able to use their teaching to expand their own knowledge of music.

“I’ve learned a lot about simple music theory, things that I normally wouldn’t think about. As the kids ask questions from their point of view, I’m forced to think about the different aspects of music and how to explain them,” SMMP music teacher Sofia Del Gatto (10) said.

Through Frankel’s work with Nathaniel, the student who had never known how to play the drums, he was able to perform for his school band, he said. “[The goal of the program] is definitely to cultivate self-expression for the kids. We’re basically just trying to give a means to these kids to be able to express themselves.

They don’t have to become music prodigies, we don’t expect them to become music prodigies, but just to have a fun way to express themselves,” Frankel said.

hosted to showcase construction progress Customized food truck to Tour Tenzin Sherpa Staff Writer be hosted at school Amelia Feiner Staff Writer FLIK Staff have been working with Radhika Mehta (12), Alexa Watson (11), and Eliza Bender (10) to bring a customized food truck to the school. The truck will be used for events such as sports games, and will serve all different kinds of food, Mehta said. The truck will be

manned by members of the FLIK staff, and students can get food from the truck wherever it is located on campus, she said. The team has been planning the truck’s arrival to school this Friday. Mehta is excited to see how the community reacts to the new truck, and she encourages students to submit designs for the outside of the truck, she said.

GOOD LUCK FOOD TRUCK Food truck parked on campus.

Courtesy of Arianna Laufer

On Monday, investors of the building project HM in Motion observed construction progress firsthand through a “hard hat tour,” followed by a cocktail party.

Construction crews have recently installed drainage systems, as well as all of the mechanicals, plumbing, electric, masoning, and sheet rock, Director of Facilities Management Gordon Jensen said.

“There are about 140 contractors in the building every day working,” Jensen said. He also said that they are on schedule, and on budget, he said.

In terms of a long term timeline, Jensen said that by March 1st, the old pool would have the water drained out of and that demolition of the pool would officially begin. “We also put a temporary wall by the women’s locker room to start demolition and to build a connector into the new building,” he said.

Currently, there are two generators on the field that power the buildings. Jensen said he expects them to be replaced with permanent power from ConEdison by the end of February, he said.

“I can’t wait to see the windows installed. Once all of the windows are in, we can really move the project along regardless of the weather,” Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly said.

Kyra Kwok (11) is excited about

the construction project, she said.

“I play two sports, and I love the science department, so it will be great to have those facilities.”

“The new facilities will provide great experiences for athletes,” Sophia Zelizer (10) said.

By June 1st, the department buildings should be completed in order to start inspection, Jensen said.

“I just hope that the construction is done on time for our senior year,” Kwok said.

Zelizer is excited to be able to experience the new buildings, she said. “I’m excited to see the final products of the whole construction process that has been taking so long.”

Courtesy of Evie Klein

WORKING HARD Construction of new science and gym facilities.

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THE RECORD ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FEBRUARY 9TH, 2018

The One Acts

The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes Peri Brooks Staff Writer During her sophomore year, Amrita Acharya (12) began to work on her play “The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes,” which has developed into a play that combines themes of love, classdivisions, and political views during the 1960s Vietnam War era.

The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes is about a friendship between two adolescent girls: a wealthy girl who is less exposed to the war, and the other who is less privileged and

therefore more affected by the war, Acharya said. The play focuses on “how the friendship deteriorates over time due to these problems,” she said.

The play looks at political reason, economic boundaries, and socioeconomic classes. “It’s really determined by how people actually viewed the war,” Acharya said.

The play also explores the “difference between who you love and who you think you love,” actress Bebe Steel (11) said.

“The play is about personal

relationships and the kinds of love that people feel in different ways,” Steel said. “You see a lot of comparison between a new love, or a friendship love, a love that you feel obligated to feel between your family, and a lot of different sides of things.”

The actors wear “stereotypical” costumes based on style of the 1960s, Acharya said. The play is accompanied by 60s rock music and radio broadcasting news from Vietnam. These factors allow the play to be “emblematic of the time period,” Acharya said.

Charybdis

Mark Fernandez Staff Writer

Adrian Rogers/Staff Photographer

Cameron Levy (12) and Eric Ohakam (11) converse in “Charybdis.”

Zachary Troyanovsky ’17 has been working on his play, “Charybdis,” since his junior year. The one act, filled with twists and turns, is centered around themes of the Odyssey combined with aspects of teenage life and mental illness.

“Charybdis” dives into the idea of how people project themselves onto those they love, so they eventually fall in love with a

Adrian Rogers/Staff Photographer

Rivers Liu (12), Amelia Feiner (10), Bebe Steel (11), and Ben Rosenbaum (11) star in “The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes.”

false reflection of themselves, Troyanovsky said.

It’s a play about the “teenage mindset,” actress Mikayla Benson (9) said. “It’s about how they think of themselves and how they judge themselves.”

“The message of the play is that if you try to suppress part of yourself, it will come back to bite you,” actress Juli Moreira (11), who plays a character named Scilla, said.

There are many multidimensional experiences that

subliminally shape us, and this play explores that, actor Eric Ohakam (11), who plays the titular role of Charybdis, said.

Actor Cameron Levy (12), chose to be in Troyanovsky’s play because he was intrigued by his character’s “interesting backstory,” he said.

“I think it’ll be amazing and it’s because Ms. Dahl and all the actors have given their time and energy to work on understanding the characters, Troyanovsky said.

In a Blink Mark Fernandez Staff Writer Nikolas Elrifi ’17 returned to the school to direct his play In a Blink, a story about a man in a coma who dies and is forced to confront his memories. When he tries to run away, he realizes that his life had been a mind game. “‘In a Blink’ is about reflecting on your life, and how experiences that you have, whether good or bad, can change you in big ways,”

Bebe Steel (11) said.

“The toughest part was creating the idea,” Elrifi said. This process took a lot of brainstorming and revision, he said.

Once the idea was done, there were set deadlines, given by Theater Arts Teacher Alexis Dahl that he needed to meet, Elrifi said.

The play feels “somewhat like an action movie,” actor Everett Kagan (11) said.

The play is very character-

driven, and Kagan feels like his character is very enigmatic, he said.

“My character has so many layers,” Kagan said.

“The show created an aura of anxiousness, fear, and darkness,” Joshua Benson (11) said.

Kagan is excited for Elrifi as he imagines “it’s the most incredible experience to see a play you wrote come to life,” Kagan said.

Adrian Rogers/Staff Photographer

Everett Kagan (11) and Charlotte Pinney (11) act in “In a Blink.”

Hareway to Kevin Peri Brooks Staff Writer

Adrian Rogers/Staff Photographer

Binah Schatsky (12), Eric Blum (12), and Allison Li (12) in “Hareway to Kevin.”

The hilariously nonsensical “Hareway to Kevin” was written

by Theater Arts Teacher Alexis Dahl’s playwriting class last spring, during a time when “we were all deliriously tired because it was the end of the year,” class member Zoe Vogelsang (12) said.

In writing the play, “we were trying to make it as ridiculous as possible which ended up being really fun, because no idea was too weird,” Vogelsang said. The class wrote anything that made them all

laugh.

Essentially, the play is about a love story between a barista named Matthew and a customer at the coffee shop named June, actor Ben Rosenbaum (11) said. However, there is a parallel love story between the fictional Tortoise and the Hare, Rosenbaum said.

“It’s an experience and it’s funny,” Benson said. “Even if you go to see the show and have no idea what’s going on, you’ll still be laughing the entire time.”

A unique aspect of this play is that each scene, character, and line that people wrote were individually

their own “weird sense of humor,” Vogelsang said.

For instance, the play includes a scene where two people speak entirely in a text language that is indecipherable to the audience, McKayla Benson (9) said.

An important takeaway from “Hareway to Kevin” is that “sometimes, you just have to embrace the chaos in your life,” Rosenbaum said. “There are definitely moments that are very chaotic in the play, and I love just leaning in to every awkward or crazy moment.”

HORACE MANN ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FEBRUARY 9TH, 2018

5

Music Week Preview Becca Siegel Staff Writer

Adrian Rogers/Staff Photographer

One Acts Review Solomon Katz Staff Writer

Amelia befriends Lucy, played

by Amelia Feiner (10), and they grow to have many similarities.

But as all friendships do, theirs die. Lucy’s rattling devastation displayed by Feiner’s heavy sobs prodded the memories of every important friendship of mine that ended abruptly.

Another question addressed in the One Acts is what happens after death, a question that has haunted everyone at least once in their lifetime. “In a Blink” proposes a possible answer with a sequence of serious memories and finally the acceptance of an unsatisfying afterlife condemned to purgatory.

In contrast, “Hareway to Kevin” provoked easy laughs from the audience with extravagant animal costumes and a disjointed script. It lacks an engaging plot line or any

Moreira (11), but the play never becomes about a horny teenager, regardless of how easy it would be to focus on that. Each kiss is short The Student-Written One Acts and sweet, and it feels as though brought to life the inner workings they are trying to send a greater of playwrights searching to express message about their feelings for everything from dance moves one another: They are two parts of to depression. They addressed a whole. questions and concerns that When Scylla believes Felix may surround adolescence, making discover enough about her to leave, each play relatable and engaging.

Moreira made me feel nervous and In “A Girl with Kaleidoscope desperate just watching her. Her Eyes,” Beverly Steel (11) plays body quivered, and her breathing Amelia Holden, a girl in a toxic quickened until the moment Felix relationship with a possessive broke up with her.

Everything that boyfriend. Though she has a chance they lose is due to Felix’s mental to be with the more chivalrous illness.

The frustration of Felix’s Jack, played by Pana Persianis (11), inability to handle his illness took her insecurities prevent her from a painful toll on me. being with him.

The play had so much more Everyone can relate to Amelia’s substance than a funny teenage pain: Whether it is the pressure romance drama.

The only thing as of being surrounded by people impactful in a teenager’s life more charismatic, as romance is mental illness. wealthy, or Whether it is the pressure of His illness, represented by intelligent than Scylla, becomes a plague you, we all have being surrounded by people more upon Felix. Scylla ceases all felt insecure at charismatic, wealthy, or intelligent flirtation including anything some point during our high school than you, we all have felt insecure at resembling a smile, and she becomes an unavoidable, experience. some point during our high school ominous presence in the The fear of room. your work not experience.

In Felix’s time of need, being good Ed steps up for him. Played enough makes depth, but it relieved the audience, by Cameron Levy (12), his role in you procrastinate an assignment; as it followed “Charybdis, ” the the play becomes as harrowing as similarly, Amelia sabotages herself. most intense play of this collection.

Felix’s and Scylla’s.

Levy expertly She convinces herself that she did “Charybdis” hit hard, making it made his scripted passion for Felix not deserve Jack’s love and that he the highlight for me. discrete and then increasingly is not honorable because he avoids The undeniable force of more powerful as the play serving in the Vietnam War. These “Charybdis” amazingly did not unfolded, becoming so passionate excuses are flimsy, as she is against impede on its humor, largely based in one scene that his face writhed the war in its entirety anyways. on the awkwardness of boys with with bright red.

The need for codependence crushes, which had the audience The way Felix’s illness plagues that every son and daughter has roaring with laughter. himself gutted the audience with felt for their parents or their peers Eric Ohakam (11) perfectly fit empathy and realization. The drives these teenager’s actions. the role of the main character Felix power of depression and selfJack’s father’s control over him by being imperfect.

A combination hatred is what drove “Charybdis” ultimately dooms all possibility of of awkwardness displayed with to be as tragic as Shakespeare’s their relationship. He takes Jack lavish movements like falling on Hamlet, a play in which the tragedy out of the war regardless of Jack’s his face after a kiss and subtle stems from a ghost’s existence, opinion. If Amelia heard out Jack’s movements, such as a smile when while “Charybdis” is just as tragic explanation of his father’s role or hearing a sexual innuendo and without any supernatural ailments: if Jack took more agency with his father, Amelia may not have left. a vernacular full of thoughtful During the final scene, shocked But they are too insecure to open pauses, brought sensibility to his gasps swept through the audience, up to each other. Thus, they do performance. In a play that strives and the play blurred my eyes with not see each other for who they to get across serious and important tears. actually are; they see each other messages about mental illness, through warped, kaleidoscope Ohakam’s authenticity was vital.

Felix kisses Scylla, played by Juli eyes.

From being serenaded by a violin before a test to the ingenious Strokes covers of the 12th-grade band, “I’m lactose intolerant but I still enjoy ice cream,” music plays an integral part of life at the school.

In the upcoming week, music teachers Doug Epstein and Dr. Amir Khosrowpour plan to demonstrate the student body’s love for the art with an event dedicated entirely to it: Music Week.

Music Week will encompass a variety of performances, ranging from the traditional Japanese koto, a guitar-like instrument, to the school’s Sinfonietta performance on Friday.

This year promises to be one of the most exciting, action-packed music weeks that the school has ever hosted. Every period is filled with performers such as Kenny Ascher, writer of “The Rainbow Connection,” Grammy-Nominated countertenor Ryland Angel, and an NYU Acapella group led by Sebastian Brunner-Stolovitzky ‘15, and other exciting guests, Epstein said.

Students and faculty alike will be surrounded by music on all sides and will have no choice but to listen to beautiful pieces being generated, Epstein said.

Started by former student Clarell Antwon in his senior year of high school, the event originally consisted of a sporadic collection of student performances. After Antwon graduated, other students tried to keep Music Week going but less unsuccessful. During college, Antwon took his own life and in memory of the event that he created, his parents asked the school to continue Music Week.

Since its inception, Music Week has allowed students to experience and appreciate new forms of the art, Khosrowpour said. During the event, Khosrowpour often finds himself blown away by live ensembles that he did not know before, he said.

For Craig Murray (11), playing and listening to music is a transportive experience, and Music Week allows talented students and faculty share this sentiment, he said.

Mieu Imai (11), a violinist for 13 years and a member of Sinfonietta, loves the acknowledgement of other types of music that the week brings, she said. Without last year’s koto performance, Imai never would have discovered this aspect of her Japanese heritage, she said.

This year, Sinfonietta and professional musicians of the Brass and Woodwind ensembles will play an intensely complicated piece by Terry Riley known as “In C.” The piece is written for an indefinite number of performers and strings together 53 musical phrases that each musician may repeat as many times as they want in an articulation of their choosing.

“The changing texture of this piece of music creates a string, brass, and woodwind wall of gorgeous sound that is entirely unique, and I strongly encourage everyone to come and see it performed,” Epstein said.

“During this music week, I hope that students will have a realization of the breadth of music, and see what it can do, and what role it plays,” he said.

Students can kick off the week on Monday with an all-day karaoke in the Fisher Rotunda.

Ariella Greenberg/Arts Director

6

THE RECORD FEATURES FEBRUARY 9TH, 2018

OFF-CAMPUS EATS:

a guide to restaurants near the school Moss Cafe Kosher, farm-to-table restaurant

3260 Johnson Avenue 5 minute drive, 20 minute walk “Their matcha latte is the best one I’ve ever had,” Malka Krijestorac (11) said. When Krijestorac goes to Moss Café during C period, she gets the sweet bowl (a mixed grain porridge with sweet potato puree and pecans). If she goes during F period, she gets the avocado toast or kale salad, she said.

“The vibe is pretty relaxed and a bit cramped,” Honor McCarthy (12) said. “Moss attracts a wide range of people, from students from the hill schools to older Riverdale residents and young professionals,” she said.

Tierney Fine Foods Inc. Irish Deli 5780 Mosholu Avenue 6 minute drive, 23 minute walk

Yoburger Burgers and self-serve frozen yogurt 3726 Riverdale Avenue 5 minute drive, 14 minute walk “It’s pretty far, so it’s a place I go when I visit a friend from Fieldston. They have fries and shakes and burgers, so it’s a fun place to go and hang out,” Devereaux Mackey (11) said.

“I don’t go often, but whenever I’m nearby I would go back,” Jack Eagan (10) said.

“It’s a pretty good burger place; it’s nearby and better than the caf,” Young-Joon Kim (11) said.

“I’ll sometimes call in if I have a large order, like before late-night basketball games or if a lot of seniors want Tierney’s,” Jane Frankel (12) said. Her usual order is a panini or a salad with chicken cutlet, mozzarella, avocado, and pesto, she said.

“It’s far away if you don’t drive, but they make a mean chicken cutlet sandwich,” Louis Toberisky (12) said.

Liebman’s

Salvatore’s of Soho Classic Italian restaurant 3738 Riverdale Avenue 5 minute drive, 14 minute walk

Kosher Delicatessen 552 W 235th Street 6 minute drive, 18 minute walk

“The dishes they serve there are tried and true and hit the spot for any time of day,” George Loewenson (12) said.

“It’s a family owned place, so it feels really good to eat somewhere that’s not owned by some huge chain,” Solomon Katz (11) said.

“The quality of their sandwiches and the people there all make it really great,” Mckayla Widener (10) said.

“I think that it’s a nice alternative from Broadway Joe’s because we always order from there whenever we have an event. At Sal’s Pizza, the crust is thinner so there’s some crunchiness,” Eunice Bae (11) said.

“The crust is nice and stiff, but it doesn’t taste like cardboard at all. Also, you can see them making it, which is nice,” Lucinda Li (12) said.

“The pizza is always dumb delectable,” Faijul Rhyhan (11) said.

Reporting done by Jude Herwitz (10) and Madison Li (10).

HORACE MANN LIONS’ DEN FEBRUARY 9TH, 2018

Chidimma Okpara (11): a leader on and off the court Robbie Werdiger Staff Writer Not many people can balance a top 20 United States Tennis Association (USTA) ranking with hefty workloads and sleepless nights, but Chidimma Okpara (11) has managed to excel in her tennis career while maintaining a separate identity as a scholar.

Okpara is one of the top junior female tennis players in the country for her age, currently ranked number twenty in the nation for Girls 16 and under.

She moved to Bronxville from Northern Virginia in the summer of 2016 after immigrating from Kew Gardens, London to the United States in 2006. At seven years old Okpara first picked up a tennis racket after being encouraged by her father to try a new sport. She developed an immediate passion for the game and made the choice to solely focus on tennis over her other physical activities such as ballet and track, she said.

Okpara chose to apply to the school because she had heard great things about it from her dad’s friends and wanted to end her high school years at a school with high academic standards. She joined the community in tenth grade and “has loved the academic challenge,” she said.

However, balancing her intensive training schedule with her workload does not come without sacrifices. Okpara goes to bed between 1 and 2 a.m. on a daily basis, she said.

“In the short term, my life is sometimes uncomfortable due to sleep loss, continuous tennis play,

and stressful school work, but I know in the long run that it will all pay off,” Okpara said.

Okpara played first singles as a sophomore for the Girls’ Varsity Tennis team. The undefeated Okpara helped lead the Lions to an Ivy League Championship but unfortunately couldn’t play in the Mayors Cup. Although Okpara enjoyed playing on the team, she couldn’t afford to miss out-ofschool practices and chose to not play on the school team this year, she said.

“We now have an attendance policy that all student athletes are required to follow. It is difficult for those committed to outside teams, during the school season, to remain part of their school team.

Chidimma is one of the best tennis players I have ever worked with, and I am very happy for her and the career she has started,” Girls’ Varsity Tennis Coach Rawlins Troop said.

Okpara trains at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy at Sportime Tennis Club at Randall’s Island. She puts in an hour of fitness followed by two to three hours of tennis at the academy every weekday and has tournaments on the weekends, she said.

“Chidimma is a very strong and aggressive player who plays with power and athleticism. She is a very hard worker and is working on her consistency to continue to improve her game,” Patrick McEnroe, former Men’s Singles world number 28, said.

Okpara is part of Mac 1, an exclusive group of players at the academy who receive full scholarship for their individual

7

Courtesy of Chidimma Okpara

NATIONAL STANDARD Chidimma Okpara (11) hits a high forehand in a match.

achievements. This group is hand selected by seven time grand slam champion John McEnroe who also founded the academy.

Okpara has placed second in doubles four times at the super nationals and has earned third place in singles at the L2 national, she said.

In girls tennis, not many juniors are taller than Okpara. “My height at 5’10 1/2 gives me the benefit of having a fast serve, strong groundstrokes, and hard volleys, all of which contribute to my doubles success,” Okpara said.

Okpara has become very close with her tennis friends and struggles on a daily basis to keep

up with her fellow peers and opponents. “I have to maximize my time on the court and stay completely focused to stay at the top of the division. Otherwise, most of my competitors who are homeschooled and train six hours a day will surpass me,” Okpara said.

Most of the top national players in the country enroll in online school through websites such as Laurel Springs. Online schooling generally requires few hours of study per day and allows participants to have a flexible schedule. The players can fulfill their courses at whatever time they choose, allowing them to

train during a large chunk of the day. Okpara has never considered homeschooling as she values academics over tennis. It is not her goal to become a top ranked professional player, and therefore a strong education will serve her better in life than tennis, she said.

Okpara is close to achieving her goal of using tennis to help her attend an academically rigorous college. However, she instead has made clear that she does not want to pursue a tennis career after college but rather hopes to study sports medicine and enter the medical field, she said.

Lions support their cubs: parental involvement in sports

Freya Lindvall/ Photo Editor

ROARING APPROVAL Parents and faculty cheer on the swimmers at a recent meet.

Jeren Wei Staff Writer At peak of the winter athletic season, many parents crowd the bleachers at meets, games, and matches to show their support for their children’s athletic accomplishments, while pushing them towards success.

Co-Captain of the Girls Varsity Swim Team Nikki Sheybani (12) believes that her parents encouraged her to pursue athletics but did not play a large role in athletics throughout high school,

she said.

While my parents wanted me to be familiar with many sports, they never pushed a certain activity, she said, “I was fortunate to have my parents supporting me on the bleachers at nearly every competition.”

Likewise, Edward Ahn (11) does not believe that parent involvement has had a significant impact on his athletic performance. “My parents are not super involved. They mostly help me with transportation,” he said. “My parents are nonetheless supportive... It’s nice to know there

are people who consistently believe that you will get better every day.”

Dr. Yiping Han P’20, mother of fencer Richard Han (10), said “My main role, in short, was a driver and a cheerleader. I cheered him on and I think that is the best thing that I could do as a parent.”

Wrestler Jamie Berg’s (11) uncle and dad were both wrestlers, which initially exposed him to the sport.

“But ultimately it was my passion for the sport that drove me to commit to it with such intensity,” he said.

“My parents are very supportive

of my athletics and they spend a decent amount of time around my team. They often attend tournaments and my dad is always driving me across the Northeast for tournaments. My parents have also made a very real financial investment in my wrestling,” Berg said.

On the other hand, students who participate in teams outside of school, such as Ben Hu (11), may experience more parental involvement throughout their athletic careers. “When [Ben] was younger, I wanted swim to help him exercise regularly. After he started, we found that swimming not only helped him get stronger, but helped him develop skills like team work,” Grace Hu P’19 said.

Similarly, Leonard Song (11), a swimmer on the school team and an outside-of-school club team, believes that parent involvement in swim has generally made a positive difference on his athletic performance, he said.

“Over time, my parents have learned more about the sports I play from watching me and have given me their perspective on the effort I put into practices and meets,” Song said.

For co-Captain of the Girls Varsity Swim Team Josie Alexander (12), her mother has been integral to her athletic career. “My mom plays a huge role in my athletic

life because she comes to all my games, and takes lots of photos of my team,” she said.

“I think that my parents’ support for my athletic commitments has had a positive effect on my athletic performance,” Lorenzo Hess (11) said.

For some, parental support has been a source of anxiety at competitions or meets.

“While I love to see my parents’ continued support in my athletics, I have to admit that seeing them in the crowd can make me anxious.

I’m glad to see that they attended my game or meet, but I sometimes feel pressure to swim well or break my personal records,” Sheybani said. “I want to make each competition worth their time, and most importantly, I want to make them proud.”

Nevertheless,parental involvement in athletics may be critical to a student athlete’s performance, Hu P’19 said, “I think that it is important to have parent involvement in athletic success because parents have to find resources to help their kids improve.”

“Without parental involvement, they won’t be able to go to as may practices and meets. It is really important because it shows support for what they do as well as encouragement,” she said.

Lions’ Den Record Sports

8

FEBRUARY 9TH, 2018

Sea Lions finish their season on a high note Kiara Royer & Steven Borodkin Staff & Contributing Writers On Monday, the Girls’ and Boys’ Varsity Swimming teams participated in the yearly Ivy Trials, before ending their seasons with the Ivy Championship meet the next day.

After a very successful season for both teams, the girls placed third and the boys placed sixth.

All of the meets throughout the winter build up to the Ivy Trials and the Championship meet. Before Ivies, the girls had a record of 4-2, while the boys had a record of 3-3.

At the Ivy trials, swimmers are only allowed to compete in one or two individual events. The top eight or sixteen people (depending on the event) from the season in each specific category partake in the Trials to qualify for the Championship meet the next day. Swimmers earn a certain number of points depending on where they place. At the end of the Championship, the officials calculate which team has the most points for both boys and girls.

Will Han (11) and Betsey Bennett (11) both broke school records. Han broke two school records, a 47:85 in the 100 meter freestyle as well as a 22:24 in the 50 meter freestyle, and Bennett with a 1:08.54 in the 100 meter breaststroke.

Many other swimmers broke their personal records at both the trials and at the

Freya Lindvall/ Photo Editor

STAY IN YOUR LANE Swimmers at practice in preparation for upcoming meets.

Championships, including Girls co-Captain Nikki Sheybani (12) with a 27:30 in the 50 meter freestyle, co-Captain Parul Sharma (12) with a 6:16:46 in the 500 meter freestyle and Allen Park (11) with a 1:09:85 in the 100 meter freestyle.

“I think so many kids had the best swims of their season. It was really awesome to see everyone out there, at least ten kids got their PR, maybe fifteen,” Elizabeth Fortunato (11) said.

On the girl’s side, Trinity earned first, Poly

Prep finished second, and the Lions took home third. The girls’ team was hoping to beat Poly Prep after losing to them during the regular season, Bennett said.

“We lost to Poly Prep in our meet a week prior to Ivies, which put them above us in the Ivy League, and we didn’t get enough points as we needed to at the Ivy Championships to beat them,” Malka Krijestorac (11) said.

“Even though we might not be the fastest team in the league, we are very spirited. Our cheer at the beginning is always loud and

energetic, and we cheer each other on during races,” Bennett said.

The boys entered the championship in a three-way tie for fourth place but finished last of all three of those teams in sixth place overall, with Trinity coming in first again.

“As seniors, we were sad that it was our last meet, especially because it felt like it came pretty quickly,” co-Captain Ben Parker (12) said.

“The seniors were great captains. They really tried to reach out to members of the team of all ages and made us feel like a real family,” Michael DeGraft-Johnson (9) said.

The team had high expectations for themselves going into the year, and they were able to live up to those expectations.

“A lot of people got good times at Ivies so it was a good turnout, and it made us happy to finish on a high note,” Parker said.

“Swimming is a really competitive sport, and we have a lot of kids with that competitive drive who are willing to swim as hard as they can for the team. Throughout the season and at the Ivies, everyone did that, which helped us meet all of the expectations we set for ourselves,” Fortunato said.

The team was very aware that this would be the last time swimming in the old pool, Reina McNutt (10) said.

“When they break down the pool walls, we all want to take a piece of the wall tile, and all the seniors want to take a lane flag as a memory,” McNutt said.

Ski team prevails, despite lack of snow Eddie Jin Staff Writer Despite this year’s lack of snow, the Boys and Girls Varsity Ski Teams won four out of their six races.

The Lions compete in the slalom event in Section One South of the New York Public High School Athletic Association. In slalom racing, skiers are expected to clear a series of gates down a small hill, with runs usually lasting around 30 seconds.

Though not officially a part of the Section One League, the school competes under a friends and neighbor status, Head Coach Rawlins Troop said. Under this status, the team is allowed to participate in competitions against public schools, but cannot ski in the sectional or state championships.

The ski teams expected to have eleven races this year, but five were cancelled due to a lack of snow.

Usually snow is produced artificially, but the Section One League suffered from a lack of funding, which prevented the league from making snow on the mountains, Troop said.

The lack of snow also impacted the team’s training. The skiers’ planned training ground, Campgaw Mountain, was unable to produce snow and unavailable for the

beginning of the season. The winter’s cold weather froze the water pipes, Kelly Troop (9) said. Instead, skiers focused on dry land training in preparation for races, Ryan Leung (11) said.

Troop said dry land training began on November 11th and consisted of running and core strengthening.

Sajan Mehrotra (11), who is also a Varsity Cross-Country runner, said having a strong aerobic base is crucial in ski racing Although fitness and strength are important, Adam Frommer (9) said that without mountain practices races were difficult because the team couldn’t work on the technical aspects of skiing.

“Once we got on the hill we only had one or two practices before we started racing,” Frommer said. “It was a really quick transition.”

Troop hopes to avoid future problems by finding a better-funded league for the team, he said.

The Lions began mountain training in December with a weekend trip to Killington Ski Resort in Vermont, co-Captain Charlie Hayman (12) said. The trip was a great bonding experience and prepared the team for the technical aspects of slalom racing, he said.

Nonetheless, Troop said the team

Courtesy of Ruby Wertheimer

WISHING FOR A SNOW DAY Ski team poses for a photo after a meet.

had an exceptional season.

“We’ve had three skiers in the top five every race,” Hayman said.

The boys team’s top skiers this year were Sam Harris (12), Frommer and Hayman respectively, Frommer said.

Harris won four races out of the six he competed in, with Frommer following in the top five.

Emma Djoganopoulos (9) was the girls team’s top skier, only losing two

races this season.

The girls team, which only consisted of six skiers, used its small size to its advantage by completing more training runs, Djogonopoulos said.

Hayman said that the underclassmen talent on the team is evidence of a bright future.

Djoganopoulos and Frommer both said they have experience skiing

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The Opening Ceremony is today, Feb 9!

competitively outside of school.

Despite the Lions’ talent, Troop said the defining aspect of the team this year was its dynamic.

“They cheer for each member of the team as they come down the hill; none of the other teams do that. Every one of these athletes is a great kid and it’s been a real pleasure coaching them,” Troop said.