The Navigator Spring 2024 Print Edition

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NewmanSpeechand DebateTeamWinsthe 2024LouisianaState Championship

By Andrew Brandt ‘25

During Spring Break, over forty members of Newman's Upper School traveled to Lafayette to compete at the Louisiana High School Speech League's Tournament of Champions Students competed for three days across fieen separate events ranging from every debate event offered to various limited preparation and platform speech events This tournament was the culmination of all the hard work competitors have put in throughout the school year and showcased their true talents. This is the third time in the last four years the program has won the State Tournament!

These amazing accomplishments were facilitated by one of the best coaching staffs in the entire country, including Mr Vincent (Head Coach of the USA Debate Team), Bennett Dombcik (Recent Champion of the National Debate Tournament), Harun Vemulapalli (Former Dutchtown Debater and Undergraduate Student at UCLA), Lily Gies (Debater for the University of Michigan), and Austin Broussard (Former Debater for Northland Christian and Graduate Student at UT Austin). Special thanks to Lynn Beeson '63 for her assistance with Congressional Debate & Speech and Mrs Nicholson for her assistance with Extemporaneous Speaking

By Vivian Zhou 26 & Russell Huber 26

Entering the 2023-2024 school year, along with the many different clubs and activities arose a new competitive team at Isidore Newman Just reinstated this year by Russell Huber ‘26, Jai Bansal ‘26, and Thomas Gershanik ‘26, The Science Olympiad team is a competitive team where members will compete in 23 different events in mixed fields of science like earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering

Even though Mr. Jones was the faculty sponsor who helped charter the team, the Science Olympiad team is completely student-led Each individual was responsible for studying and preparing for their event From test events like astronomy to practical events like a chemistry lab, to building events that require specific measurements and flight times, this team of 15 people--composed of all sophomores--worked hard in preparation for the tournament

For many of these students, it was their first time even considering participating in these events Liam Wilder, who is on the Scrambler Build Team, stated: “It is something I have never seen or tried before and it was really fun to work with Michael [White]” With so many events, most students had to compete in 2 or 3 events

On Friday May 12th, the team had their last team practice before the competition Aer working hard for 4 hours the night before, they were ready to leave at 4 AM the next morning. Finally, the day arrived, and the team got on the bus and made their way to Louisiana Christian University for the competition The team arrived at 9:00 AM, a little cold but alive and ready to take on the contest As many of the team had multiple events, they were constantly running around from event to event for a couple of hours Aer ordering lunch, they waited for the last event to finish before heading home For their first time doing Science Olympiad, the team overall placed 6th in the state

CurrentEvents

IsThisWWIII?

No,itisn’t

ByLexieToshav‘26

The world is currently facing an unprecedented rise in tensions; war wages on in Ukraine and the wider Middle East while its specter looms over the Taiwan Strait, all conflicts that involve the United States Because of this (and because many news organizations make money from clicks), talk about a possible World War Three have begun to well up The New York Times published an op-ed visualizing how worldwide nuclear fallout would look, Tucker Carlson interviewed Russian dictator Vladimir Putin over the threat, and I’ve seen a thousand Instagram posts foretelling the “end of civilization” and telling me to build a bomb shelter Given that, it’s important for the sake of our sanity to look at what’s actually going on internationally, and why WWIII is a lot farther off than it might seem

Let’s start with Ukraine Russia’s 2022 invasion pushed the world the closest to nuclear war it had been since the Cold War With Ukraine doing far better on the battlefield than expected, analysts worried that a threatened Putin would launch a nuclear missile as a last resort Things have since come down a few notches Cold-War-Era communication hotlines between the US and Russia have been resurrected, and the invasion itself has settled into a stalemate, reducing the likelihood of a nuclear hail-mary Escalation doesn’t prove much of a risk either, given that Russia is running dangerously low on soldiers and ammunition. If WWIII starts, it won’t be on the Eastern Front

The US doesn’t even have troops in Ukraine, though. Surely the presence of the American military makes a war inevitable, right? Surprisingly, not really Even in the Middle East, the risk of serious US involvement remains low Over the last few months, the Israel-Hamas war has spiraled into a conflict that peripherally involves most of the Middle East Despite past aid to Israel, the US is unlikely to directly intervene for any reason other than humanitarian The biggest threat of escalation lies with Iran, who fund the Houthi insurgent group, who have been launching strikes on US and UK ships in the Red Sea The US has already launched retaliatory strikes against the Houthis, and the major worry is they might decide to tackle the problem at the source by striking Iran (a state famous for repeated attempts to build nuclear weapons) However, Iran can’t afford to strike back, either militarily or economically The government remains on edge aer widespread protests last year, and so much of their military funding goes to their proxies that they struggle to spare any for themselves The next world war won’t come from the Middle East, either

All of this is to say that WWIII isn’t happening anytime soon, don’t build a bomb shelter, and don’t spend 3 hours doom scrolling on the current events side of Tiktok. If the international community can’t learn from its own mistakes, you can at least learn from mine

NikkiHaley’sRuninthe2024 PresidentialCampaign

Whatisherfutureandthefutureofhervoters?

ByLaurenKlebba‘24

As she had promised voters, Nikki Haley stayed in the 2024 Presidential race until Super Tuesday, but she gained far fewer votes than Donald Trump in most states When she dropped out, Haley only had 96 of the 1,215 delegates a candidate needed to win the nomination

Despite losing her home state of South Carolina, her campaign journey was not without its successes She won the primary in the District of Columbia with 62 8% and Vermont with 50 2% Specifically, Haley’s victory in Vermont demonstrates that former President Donald Trump attracts less interest from Independents and the more moderate Republicans. He still has significant work to do to pull the GOP together before elections in November which will be a Biden/Trump faceoff Biden also has a way to go in convincing the majority of the Democratic party that he is fit for another term in office

Additionally, Haley has not yet endorsed Trump, and there is no indication that she will. Although both Republicans, they stand separately on a variety of issues, including Trump’s ability to succeed as president if elected in November In fact, her campaign targeted voters who were not satisfied with either Trump or Biden’s time in office Her campaign focused heavily on the fact that she is younger and more realistic than the other candidates

Also, a main draw towards her campaign was her ethnicity and gender Haley’s parents were both born and raised in India before immigrating to Canada and then the United States. They eventually landed in South Carolina and both her parents became US citizens Haley was born and raised in South Carolina where her family faced discrimination for their Indian heritage and Sikh religious practices. A lot of immigrant families and people from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds connected with her because of her family’s story and some people also supported her because she would be the first female President of the US Although we will not see Haley elected as the first female president in November, this election is still making history in a different way: it is the first time two candidates that have both served for a term as president are running against each other.

Since her withdrawal from the race, Nikki Haley has not publicly announced her future plans, although it is likely she will stay in politics There is some speculation that this campaign was to set her up for a run in the 2028 Presidential election If so, she accomplished establishing a name for herself on the national stage and building a strong network of donors with her run this cycle

AnOdetoIngenuity

ALookBackAtEveryone’sFavoriteMartianHelicopter

ByEdwinSalisbury‘25

NASA's recent mission to Mars had been long delayed due to supply chain issues but the Perseverance rover successfully touched down on February 18, 2021 However, while the rover was important, a much smaller vehicle packed inside stole the show A little helicopter named Ingenuity, less than 50 cm (19 inches) tall and only weighing 1 8 kg (4 0 lbs), accomplished something amazing. Ingenuity made headlines as it managed preprogrammed sustained flight at an altitude of 3 m (9.8 ) for 40 seconds. While the flight didn't last long or fly high, it was an amazing achievement as Mars' atmosphere is extremely thin compared to Earth's Besides, the Wright Brothers' famous Wright Flyer only flew for 37 m (120 ) and was in the air for only 12 seconds on its first successful flight In a touching nod to the Wright Brothers, the place where Ingenuity first flew was named Wright Brothers Field Not only that but Ingenuity carries a physical piece of the Wright Flyer, a piece of wing fabric which is attached to a cable underneath the solar panel. However, news and media eventually died down and Ingenuity fell out of the view of the public's eye, mostly due to the ongoing pandemic which instead occupied peoples' minds Ingenuity continued to make flights and exceeded expectations It was expected that Ingenuity would only do about 5 flights before it would fail However, the little helicopter exceeded that goal, performing a total of 72 flights However, disaster eventually struck Contact had been occasionally lost with Ingenuity multiple times without any alarming discoveries. However, aer the 72nd flight, contact was lost. Contact was eventually restored on January 20, 2024 but it was sadly discovered that an error, one of the carbon fiber rotor blades had been damaged While it is sad that Ingenuity

has been retired, let us not forget that it lasted almost 3 years and did 72 flights

In less than 120 years, we have gone from the first powered flight on the Earth to the first powered flight on Mars Hopefully, Ingenuitywill go down in history as an important milestone in space exploration

Meanwhile, everyone ' s favorite plutonium powered rover no offense Curiosity continues to explore on Mars Perseverance has taken multiple samples of rock contained in sample tubes stored inside the rover; one day, it may be possible to retrieve said samples and send them back to earth for further analysis. While Perseverance might not have spied any little green men or evidence of bacteria as of the writing of this article its contributions to science must not be understated It discovered igneous rock in the crate it landed, suggesting the possibility of a lava lake before it was filled with water Famously, Perseverance recorded the first ever audio from Mars Hopefully, its search for evidence of past life proves fruitful May it continue to operate for as long as possible

EuropaClipper

YouthoughttheArtemisMissionwastheonly thingworthlookingforwardto?

ByEdwinSalisbury‘25

While many are waiting for the long delayed Artemis mission to the moon, there is another space related launch that is particularly exciting NASA’s Europa Clipper will launch on October 10, 2024 Europa, one of Saturn’s moons, has always been in the minds of astronomers and scientists as its extremely thin atmosphere contains mostly oxygen. Its smoothness has intrigued many scientists, leading to the hypothesis that liquid water exists beneath the surface of the ice; this could be explained by the aggressive gravitational pull that Jupiter puts upon Europa This pull flexes the moon slightly which causes the planet to dissipate the mechanical energy as heat internally, hypothetically, keeping the ocean in a liquid state This has led to rampant speculation that Europa may harbor life beneath its icy surface NASA plans to put this to the test by launching the Europa Clipper which will further confirm this hypothesis and search for signs of life. Due to the intense radiation fields surrounding Jupiter, Europa Clipper will instead take an elliptical orbit around Jupiter allowing a longer transmission time and a higher life expectancy for the cra While Europa Clipper launches in 2024, it won’t reach Jupiter until 2030 due to the large distance between Earth and Jupiter

Lifestyle

The2024GrammysRecap

ByTrippdeLaureal‘26

To call the 2024 Grammys exciting might be the understatement of the year (and the year has just started!) This year ’ s Grammys took place on February 4 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Of course, L.A. is home to many famous musicians, so it’s no surprise that many of them showed up, and some even performed Some of the most acclaimed performances of the night included SZA performing a mashup of her hits “Snooze” and “Kill Bill” with a set inspired by the original Kill Bill movie and Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs joining forces to perform a duet version of “Fast Car”, which was a hit for both of them 35 years apart. 2 music legends also made appearances at the Grammys: Billy Joel and Joni Mitchell Joel’s performance came as quite a surprise to some, since he hadn’t released a new song since 1993 and had publicly denounced the Grammys that same year However, the release of his new song “Turn the Lights Back On” proved to be a perfect moment for him to return and perform the song Joni Mitchell had her first Grammy performance ever, despite winning her first award in 1969. She sang a touching version of her classic song “Both Sides Now” along with members of the Joni Jam who have been performing with her during her recent comeback aer a brain aneurysm

However, even more surprises were in store During a commercial break early in the award show, Kacey Musgraves aired a nature-filled video that announced her new album Deeper Well, which comes out on March 15. However, her commercial only included a link to her website and did not actually announce the album, causing this news to be mostly missed outside members of her fanbase But less than 20 minutes later, a second album announcement came that everyone noticed In her acceptance speech aer winning Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights, Taylor Swi

announced her new album The Tortured Poets Department, which comes out on April 19, mirroring the Midnights announcement she similarly made mid-speech at the 2022 VMAS. The Instagram post detailing the album quickly became the most liked album announcement on the platform, showing that it’s already one of the most anticipated albums of the year

But of course, we can’t talk about the Grammys without discussing this year ’ s awards Early in the night, Jay-Z gave his acceptance speech for the Dr Dre Global Impact Award and called out his wife Beyoncé, saying “She has more Grammys than anyone and never won Album of the Year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn't work” Some people interpreted this callout as a drag to other artists like Taylor Swi who have won Album of the Year multiple times, but most people appreciated Jay-Z standing up for his wife and her music Later in the night, the four main awards came, known as the Big Four This year, there was not much surprise as to who the winners were. R&B singer Victoria Monét won Best New Artist aer 15 years of trying to break through in the music industry. Billie Eilish took home Song of the Year for her song “What Was I Made For?” from the Barbie movie Record of the Year went to “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, who had never won a Grammy before the night, something she excitedly brought up in her performance of the song that night The biggest award of the night was Album of the Year, which somewhat unsurprisingly went to Taylor Swi’s Midnights, easily the most successful album of the year. During her acceptance speech, she managed to thank everyone who worked on the album with her, including Lana Del Rey, who was also nominated for Album of the Year, giving her credit for inspiring a generation of artists with her work This win made Swi the first person to ever win Album of the Year 4 times, 15 years aer she first won the award with Fearless in 2009

Lifestyle

2024FashionTrendPredictions

ByMarieWilder‘24

Three months into 2024, and there’s already so many fashion trends that have emerged, showing signs of many accurate trend predictions as the decades of eclectic and creative fashion comes back to life. First of all, these last few years have had a history of repeating fashion styles, taking inspiration from past decades from the 60s to the 2000s!

For example, this is the year of prints, which majorly resembles the comeback of animal prints of female rock stars in the 70s Printed tights and pants are the new fashion statement piece, as legs become the new form of expression, and “going out top” are out. Since bottoms are the new creative outlet, super mini and pleated skirts are way more popular, with influence from brands like Diesel with the “Miniest Mini Skirt” and Edited “Denim Mini Skirts” Even further, capri pants are back in style? Remember that episode of Barbie: Life in the DreamHouse? Basically, she’s wearing capri pants, and they are all the rage! That’s going to be (some) of us this year when people go back in time and show off their capri pants.

Continuing through the decades, this 60s dramatic makeup look, made famous by celebrities like Twiggy, even derived from the “Coastal Grandma” aesthetic. Statement color: Blue. Blue eyeshadow. Blue eyeliner Blue mascara These gorgeous shades are back and bolder than ever and bringing in some daring eyeliner can bring the whole look together Coastal Grandma aesthetic with breezy pants and blue blouses has turned into some striking eye looks to elevate a basic look

Obviously, accessories have been a pretty easy way to create an exciting look, but some new options include tinted glasses and metallic jewelry. We’ve turned from wearing fake glasses in the 2010s to wearing fake tinted glasses in the 2020s These decades are really repeating themselves! Remember fashion icons Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan? Well they were all sporting some serious heavy metal Their metallic jewelry was a chromatic journey of the latest trends, and a super stylish way to incorporate some sleek designs into your fit

Now, us fashionistas must remember that the best way to be a trendsetter is to start thriing! Just a reminder not to take advantage of places with cheap prices (resellers suck), but to shop sustainably and ethically at places like Buffalo Exchange, Funky Monkey, and Red White and Blue One of my fave new fashion trends is thri flipping, where you take an item of clothing (with potential) and use some amazing sewing skills to bring it back to life!

That being said, it’s pretty difficult to be a fashion icon in a school with a dress code, so keep these ideas in mind for a weekend with your friends or a fashion show in your bedroom. Also, check out Pinterest Predicts for more trends to come in the next 9 months!

CowboyCarter:Beyoncé'sTributeTo BlackArtistsFromPast&Present

ByTrippdeLaureal‘26

In case you couldn’t tell, country music is making a comeback Four country songs went number one on the Billboard Hot 100 last year, with one of them (Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night”) holding that position for 16 weeks, making it the longest-running song of 2023 On March 2, 2024, another country song went number one, but it’s not by someone you would probably expect - it’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” by Beyoncé That’s right: Beyoncé, known for her pop hits like “Crazy in Love” and “Single Ladies” has made a country album called Cowboy Carter

This actually isn’t the first time Beyoncé’s performed country music At the 2016 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, she performed “Daddy Lessons” from her album Lemonade with country band the Chicks The performance faced a lot of backlash, with many fans and country artists claiming that since Beyoncé is a pop artist, she wasn’t “country enough” to perform at the CMAs. This incident led directly to the creation of Cowboy Carter because Beyoncé wanted to prove that not only were Black artists “country enough,” but they were also mostly responsible for creating the genre

In addition to features from country legends Dolly Parton and Willy Nelson and pop stars Miley Cyrus and Post Malone, some songs on the new album honor some of these Black artists For example, “Ya Ya” is an energetic tribute to one of Beyoncé’s heroes, Tina Turner, who died last year One of the album’s interludes includes talk from Linda Martell, an early 70s soul-turned-country artist who was the first Black woman to perform on the Grand Ole Opry The most popular song on the album, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” even includes folk musician Rhiannon Giddens playing a fretless banjo, one of the first instruments played in country music, created by Black musicians The album also shines light on up-and-coming Black country artists, like country-rap singer Shaboozey, who was featured on “Spaghetti” and “Sweet/Honey/Buckin’” His appearances created lots of exposure for his music, causing his song “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” to become a top 10 hit Beyoncé also featured 4 Black female artists on her cover of the Beatles song “Blackbird” At the end of the song, Tanner Adell gets a verse all to herself, which many have interpreted as Beyoncé passing the baton to a new generation of Black female artists.

Lifestyle

DestressingDuringFinals

Tips,tricks,andadviceformakingitthroughexamseason

ByLaurenKlebba‘24

As we come to the final stretch of the school year, end-of-year assessments, AP exams, and final exams are right around the corner. School in general can be stressful, but extra assessments always elevate the feeling so we wanted to lay out a few tips This is by no means a comprehensive list of ways to destress or make studying more manageable, but are just a few things that work for me or my friends, or that Ms Corcoran and ARL recommended

1) Switch up how and where you ' re studying:

● Try working standing up, outside, in different rooms in your house, or at a coffee shop if you start feeling tired of studying

● If you ’ re only studying by reading your notes, try a different method such as quizzing yourself with flashcards, making an outline of the information, explaining the concept(s) out loud, watching a review video, etc

2) Take breaks:

● Taking breaks are really important, but remember to take breaks that correspond to the amount of time you ' ve been working So if you work for 25 minutes take a shorter break (like 5 minutes), but if you work for an hour or an hour and a half at a time, take longer breaks (closer to 20-30 minutes)

● There are two types of breaks/rest and both can be useful in moderation: active rest and inactive rest Active rest are activities like working out, drawing, cooking/baking, hanging out with friends, or doing a puzzle that keep your brain or body engaged Whereas inactive rest includes activities like taking a nap, watching TV, or showering that give your brain more of a full break Finding a balance between the two that works for you is important to feeling rested and ready to work aer a break

3) Try to Keep your thinking in perspective:

● Remember that tests or exams rarely make or break your academic career One lower-than-normal grade in the gradebook will of course lower your average a little, but it oen doesn’t have the massive, catastrophic effect you might be worrying about

● Give yourself some grace if you feel like you ’ re behind on studying or not understanding something everyone else seems to get easily because you are a different person and those extra negative feelings will only make it harder for you to focus

4) Make a plan:

● I find it useful to think through or write down what work I have to get done and then create a schedule based on those tasks If you need help getting started, stop by the ARL for help or, if it’s exam time, ask for one of the study calendars they make for midterms and finals

● Also, I find it helpful to let family members (or people you live with) know that you will be studying at certain times so they know to keep the house a bit quieter, not make family dinner plans, etc It can also be useful to let them know that, because you have big assessments coming up, you will be really busy and have less time to help around the house because you will be devoting more time to your school work

5) Take care of yourself:

● One of the most important things you can do to take care of yourself is always to get enough sleep Of course this varies from person to person, but getting enough sleep and keeping a regular sleep schedule allows you to feel better and be more productive during the day Sleep is especially important the night before assessments/exams, but it can be hard to relax So before going to bed the night before an exam, try to stop studying at least 30 minutes before going to bed. Do something that will help you relax because this will help you sleep better

● Remember to do what can oen seem like the “small things” when you ’ re not stressed but seem like a chore when you are, like showering, brushing your teeth, and changing out of your pajamas (even if you ’ re just studying)

● Eating enough nutritious food and hydrating on a regular basis will also help you have more energy and feel more settled Be careful of having too much caffeine or having caffeine too late in the aernoon/at night because this will make it harder to sleep well

Remember to be proud of yourself for everything you accomplish! Happy studying!!

Arts

GreaseIstheWord!

AReviewoftheUpperSchoolSpring2024Musical

ByVivianZhou‘26&GeorgiaBiever‘26

On the nights of March 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, the Upper School performed their rendition of the popular musical “Grease” by Jim Jacobs and Warren Case Directed by Greg Spencer, this wonderful cast had three fantastic shows, all with amazing turnouts from fellow students and family

“Grease” has been a fan favorite for years, from the release of the musical to the famous movie-musical starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in 1978 Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Original Song, and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, it was no surprise the student body was excited to find out that Newman would get a chance to show their twist on “Grease”

“Grease” follows the story of Sandy Dumbrowski (Lilly Gorman ‘24) and Danny Zuko (John Sanpietro ‘25) who meet one summer and fall in love Set in the 1950s, the two unexpectedly reunite at Rydell High; as they navigate complex decisions on peer pressure, identity, and love, they struggle to maintain their relationship in their respective cliques; the T-Birds: Kenickie (Nick White ‘25), Doody (Cooper Rubin ‘26), Roger (Onyx Kukuy ‘27), and Sonny (Drew Sonnier ‘25) and the Pink Ladies; Rizzo (Morgan Price ‘26), Jan (Eliana Hermann ‘26), Marty (Kamryn Murdock ‘27), and Frenchy (Eve Freyou ‘25).

The cast and crew worked tirelessly to bring this production to life Starting in late January and working to the last few weeks of March, this show took many hours of hard work from our directors and students Psalm McClellan ‘26 who plays the character “Cha Cha” remarks: “It seemed like we wouldn’t finish, but we pushed through” Many in the cast had doubts about whether they would finish blocking and choreographing before opening night on the 21st, but ultimately, the Newman Players finished strong and performed well, as always

ArtsWeek2024:Recap

UpperSchoolstudentshadablastduringthisyear’sArtsWeek!

ByMorganBreaux‘26

Arts Week this year started strong as the talented cast of Grease treated the Upper School to a teaser of the amazing Spring Musical The talented actors drew back many students to watch the show again that weekend Students celebrated the arts with multiple themed dress-up days and arts performances Throughout the week, students covered the senior patio with chalk art, colored in an Arts Week mural, and enjoyed a student visual art gallery

On Friday, the dress up theme was “Dress as Your Favorite Artist” and Mrs. White hosted an open ceramics studio. Students from all Upper School grades attended and made ceramics masterpieces with the instruction of Mrs White Most students dressed up in artists’ concert merchandise from a live performance they attended

On Thursday, students paired, tripled, or even quadrupled up to match the theme “Rhyme without Reason” The highlight of Tuesday’s assembly was the costume contest During lunch, Arts Committee members set up a polaroid photo booth on the Senior Patio complete with a backdrop and many Hollywood-themed props to choose from Students who dressed up took photos with their “Rhyme without Reason” groups Also on the Senior Patio, the Pioneer sponsored a poetry reading

On Wednesday, students exhibited their Hogwarts pride by dressing in the colors of their Harry Potter house. During lunch, students gathered outside by Gottesman Gate to view lunch performances Morgan Price and Cooper sang “Traitor” by Olivia Rodrigo, Aditi performed an Indian classical dance called Bharatanatyam that depicted Shivu (the Hindu god of dance) in his various poses, and Mr Cramer performed one of his band’s original songs

The last day of Arts Week was Thursday, and students dressed in neon Arts Week culminated with the Arts Assembly, showcasing talented artists in our own Upper School community Students were greeted with glow stick necklaces and bracelets as they entered the Henson Auditorium The Assembly opened with an announcement about the winners of the Visual Arts Gallery superlatives, before the Choir started the performances with a rendition of “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” by Dolly Parton, with Evie Bigelow shining during the solo. Lilly Gorman and Colin Rills MC’d the assembly, keeping students’ energy up with their artfully punchy jokes The assembly then listened to a performance from E Freyou, who sang “Anything” by Adrianne Lenker Next, Onyx Kukuy serenaded us with “I Hear a Symphony” by Cody Fry on the piano Aerwards, Aadyha sang “All of Me” by John Legend Next, some of Mrs Niehus’ students screened their films for the Upper School Three films were shown: “Paranoia,” “The Ribbon,” and “Slumped” Aer the showing, Lexie Toshav, Vivian Zhou, Psalm McClellan, and Wendy Sun performed the song “Flowers” from the musical Hadestown Next, Lilly Gorman, John Sanpietro, and Nick White sung “Those You’ve Known” from Spring Awakening Finally, William Pitts closed out the assembly with a hilarious comedy lted in a standing ovation from the audience

the show, students formed a gigantic chain of glow ossed aisles and spanned multiple rows. While Russell Huber claims he started the chain, his details muddled; he soon lost control of the glow stick igrated through the auditorium crowd However, I y attest to the fact that this chain made it much an up all of the glow sticks aer the assembly

Week 2024 was a huge success, and props to the Arts Committee for putting this -wide celebration of the arts together!

BoomwhackedOutofthePark

ARecapofthe2024DEIFilmFestival

ByLexieToshav‘26

In an effort to ensure no student must suffer through a 5-day week in March, Newman held its annual DEI film festival on March 21, 2024 It was a jam-packed day of moving to and from Henson Auditorium, as the day included two presentations: a DEI panel on the importance of making your voice heard in the Newman community, and the Jazz and Democracy lecture This year, the event focused on the theme of Community: Art, Engagement, and Citizenship

The day began with a panel discussion on the overall importance of inclusive community, with guests including Eric Reid Jr, pioneer of the NFL kneeling protests and father of freshman Leilani Reid, Alexis Reed, a Newman alum who brought a similar movement to Newman football games, and Bob Lane, a fellow Newman alum The panel discussed everything from the long term effects of the NFL kneeling movement to the evolution of inclusivity at Newman Additionally, students shared the short film they made about Mr. Reid’s involvement in the original NFL protests. To set the tone for the difficult conversations to take place later, sophomore Aditi Shridhar did a few wildly hilarious sketches with Mr Cooper on the “Ouch and Call-In” strategy

From there, students moved into individual groups to watch their movies. To better connect to the later Jazz and Democracy lecture, all movies centered around the importance of music or of the democratic process While the most popular movie was Jon Batiste’s American Symphony, other movies included Youth v Gov, Dolores, and Symphony of the Holocaust Aerwards, students gathered for pizza and discussions about how they could connect the movies’ messages to their own lives Sophomore Vivian Zhou, who watched Dolores, which centered on the fight for civil rights in México, reflected, “the movie brought my attention to issues that I don’t think are publicized enough I didn’t know about Dolores’s fight before”

The DEI portion of the day (students later enjoyed the Upper School musical, Grease) ended with a bang, or rather, a boom, with Dr Wes Watkins’ Jazz and Democracy lecture, which employed jazz improvisation as a metaphor for political engagement. Students played music on boomwhackers, with differences in playing time used to represent tension between majority and minority voices Students also learned that when given toys, we are no more responsible than lower school students To wrap up a long day delving into the complexities of what it means to be a good citizen, Dr Watkins implored students to go out and use their voices, but most importantly, to listen.

HappyEarthDay!

HowNewmanstudentscelebratedEarthDayin2024

ByMorganBreaux‘26

This Earth Day, Monday April 22, Newman students celebrated in a multitude of ways Throughout the year, students attended SOUL Tree Plantings and community gardening events sponsored by Mr Jones and the Environment Subcommittee of ACTIONS At Monday’s assembly, Mr Jones recognized the contributions of Lauren Klebba ‘24 and Nick Rezza ‘25 (both members of ACTIONS) in planning these events throughout the school year. In addition, Mr Jones recognized students who participated in 7 or more tree plantings since 2022

The Environmental Subcommittee planned many exciting events for students to participate in the week of April 22. All week, students painted rain barrels in partnership with Greenlight New Orleans The Upper School rain barrels were Earth Day themed; the themes included “ ocean ” , “ space ” , and “forest/garden” Lower School and Green Trees students also painted their own rain barrels The Lower School selected their own theme and the Green Trees students used fingerprints to add flowers and leaves to tree trunks that some Upper School students painted

Later in the week, a few Upper School students went to Green Trees and read Earth Day and environmental-themed books to the students. Commenting on the event, Junior Nick Rezza ‘25 stated “Green Trees students loved engaging with Upper School students and listening to the Earth Day stories It was a great experience to foster connections between our oldest and youngest learners”

Earth Day is a reminder for everyone to practice sustainability daily, which can include recycling, reusing, limiting use of water and electricity, and giving back to the community This can be as simple as picking up a piece of trash from the street while on a walk outside. It is important to remember to care for our planet, which is the message conveyed to Newman students during this week’s celebration of Earth Day

BreakingNews:AncientSecretoftheNavigatorRevealed RevealingtheNavigator’ssecretsaswediscoverthemforourselves

ByMorganBreaux‘26&NickRezza‘25

If you are an avid reader of the Navigator, you may know of our “quizzes” section The staff’s newest and most favorite quiz, created by Georgia Biever ‘26, is the “Which Newman Administrator Are You?” quiz While compiling articles, quizzes, and games for the upcoming fall semester print edition of the Navigator, technology coordinator Nick Rezza ‘25 came across an interesting image on the quiz’s page Aer a quick check, it was confirmed that the logo was present on all of the website’s pages with a quiz.

The image is the Navigator’s traditional logo, with the phrase underneath “It’s not copying if the founder used to teach at your school” Given that no one on the Navigator’s current staff was present when the website was created and the logo was added, we were all oblivious to its cryptic meaning. Therefore, it was time to put my internet sleuthing skills to the test, and by internet sleuthing, I mean inputting one or two search terms into Google and letting the algorithm do the hard work for me

The striking similarity of the “Quizzes” part of the logo and Buzzfeed’s logo was my first hint to this image’s mysterious origin

As you can see, the red and white arrow portion of both logos seem extremely similar. Infact, the only difference is that the arrow is flipped upside down on the Navigator logo from its orientation on the Buzzfeed logo

Therefore, the first word of my extremely complex search phrase was “Buzzfeed” Pulling in the text at the bottom of the logo, my second search term was “founder”

The phrase “Buzzfeed founder” resulted in thousands of hits, the top being a Wikipedia page on Jonah Peretti To confirm my suspicions, I searched “Jonah Peretti Isidore Newman School” to determine if the founder of the famous media company used to work at Newman In fact, the first result, an article from nola com, verified that Jonah Peretti’s first job was as a computer science teacher at Isidore Newman school.

We spoke to Mr. Malis, Ms. O’Brien, and Mrs. Nicholson about Jonah Mr Malis started teaching at Newman around the same time as him, Ms O’Brien was in Mr Peretti’s computer class, and Mrs Nicholson remembered his lecture in 2015 While Mr Malis and Ms O’Brien did not remember Jonah well, Mrs Nicholson had a vivid memory of his 2015 Bernard Hirsch Hermann memorial lecture

In addition, we interviewed Mr. Smith about Jonah. During the time Jonah taught Computer Science at Newman, Mr Smith was the Chair of the Computer Science Department Mr Smith commented that while Jonah did not have much experience, he was a phenomenal teacher and students loved his class He transmuted his love for technology unto his students Mr Smith also described Mr Peretti as creative, talented, charismatic, and personable. According to Mr. Smith, Mr. Peretti loved the essence and creativity of New Orleans.

When Jonah Peretti founded Buzzfeed and the Huffington Post, he was on the cutting edge of a huge shi in journalism At the time, many people were comparing Buzzfeed to publications like the New York Times, and there was a debate about whether journalists should publish for clicks or for importance and value. This was a major topic of Jonah’s 2015 lecture at Newman.

Will the Navigator unearth any more secrets about Newman’s history? Check the website weekly and read our new articles to find out!

NewmanAnnouncesPlantoRenovatetheBerthaMarcusLevyStudentCenter

The$5millionrenovationincludesanenhancedDiningHall,redesignedsecondfloor,andreplacementofelectricandconditioning systems.

ByNickRezza‘25

Before spring break, Newman announced its plans to renovate the Bertha Marcus Levy Student Center, an essential building at the front of the school that currently houses the Dining Hall, Mini Theatre, Newman Archives, and Breakthrough New Orleans Office

The Levy Student Center was built in 1973 (along with the Lower School Building, now known as the Doris Zemurray Stone Building) to provide a new cafeteria (which was formerly located on the first floor of Valmont), a multipurpose space for meetings and events (The Mini Theatre), and a space for students to study and hang out (the current location of the archives used to have study carrols, couches, and even a pool table!). Over the years, the second floor housed the Advancement Office, Newman Parents Association Office, College Counseling Office, Summerbridge (now known as Breakthrough), and most recently the Band Room (aer the Keller Fine Arts Center was demolished to make way for Jolly Science & Technology Center) until the Bollinger Performing Arts Building was opened in 2022 The building was last renovated in 2000 with support from the Newman Parents Association and alumni donors.

The $5 million renovation will include aesthetic and culinary upgrades to the Sheryl and Bob Merrick Dining Hall, infrastructure upgrades to the school's generator and Stone and Levy building's HVAC system, and a redesigned second floor to house some of the most important school support services. The Business Office, Human Resources, Information Technology, and Security offices will move from the second floor of Jefferson to the Levy building, and Breakthrough New Orleans and the Newman Archives will receive upgraded spaces The project will also include a new server room and fiber optic upgrades across campus to improve our campus-wide technology infrastructure

The capital project will primarily be funded by Sheryl and Bob Merrick (former Newman parents and current Newman grandparents), in addition to other philanthropic gis Bob Merrick stated: "Sheryl and I are honored to support Isidore Newman School with this lead gi Newman has been a leader in educating New Orleanians for generations, including eight of our grandchildren. We strongly believe in the mission, culture, and values of the School"

This project also marks the 7th major capital project under Head of School Dale Smith's leadership Previous ones include: Green Trees Early Childhood Village, Manning Family Athletic Complex, Rupa and Tarun Jolly Science and Technology Building, Eugenie and Joseph Jones Family Foundation Visual Arts Studio, Joy and Bosie Bollinger Performing Arts Building, and Manning Fieldhouse/Cotonio Palaestra Locker Room Renovations Mr Smith states: "Strong relationships are critical to our mission and a hallmark of the Newman experience These enhancements will foster community for our current students and for future generations of Newman students Thank you to Sheryl and Bob for their unwavering support of Isidore Newman School."

The renovation is expected to begin near the end of the school year, with all second floor offices expected to be emptied by May 5th The Archives will temporarily be housed in the Coaches' Hospitality Room on the second floor of the Cotonio Palaestra (next to the Athletic Department, and the Breaththrough New Orleans Office will temporarily be located in Saratoga 205. The renovation is expected to be completed by the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.

WhatFactorsContributetoNewman'sDecisiontoCancelSchool?

Weinterviewed

ventof inclementweat

ByMorganBreaux‘26&NickRezza‘25

New Orleans is not known for its beautiful weather; in fact, we frequently experience heavy rains, floods, and hurricanes Inclement weather in New Orleans frequently causes workplaces and schools to close, due to threats of tornadoes, street flooding, and a multitude of other dangerous weather conditions When Newman decides to cancel school or remain open due to inclement weather, there is always a range of opinions from students and teachers on campus Thus, we interviewed Head of School Mr Smith to learn more about the process the school takes and the many aspects that factor into the final decision to cancel school

When inclement weather is approaching, a team of 5-6 administrators gather to determine the best course of action. Newman and the 13 other local ISAS (Independent Schools Association of the Southwest) schools---including Sacred Heart, Trinity, and Country Day---begin to communicate through a group messaging system about their own courses of action Newman takes into account the decisions of other independent schools---who are in close proximity and share similar capacities to manage bad weather---when making the decision for the Newman community While many public schools are the first to announce closures, Mr Smith provided the example that many public schools provide bus transportation, and those schools might decide to cancel to eliminate any dangers involved with students walking outside (in potentially dangerous weather) to reach the bus stop However, independent schools do not worry about this potential problem The team also considers the actions of nearby Catholic schools and local colleges like Tulane and Loyola to make the most informed decision for our campus

Next, the team looks at Newman’s ability to open and conduct school safely Mr Smith states that “ a lot of data points go into what is a final decision that for some feels like it was just made” Naturally, one of these factors is constant weather monitoring An important aspect of this decision is students’ ability to arrive and depart from school safely If the weather is expected to start around nine in the morning and last until two in the aernoon, parents could drop their children off at school before the bad

weather starts and pick their children up aer the weather ends In addition, students are potentially safer at Newman during periods of inclement weather rather than at home due to the massive brick buildings on campus that allow students to shelter in place The school has procedures outlined in booklets hung up across campus to instruct faculty and students on how to navigate different safety issues. Additionally, it is relatively easy to conduct school during weather events For example, while it may be difficult, the school can function without electricity

In an ideal situation, Mr Smith and the emergency team try to make a final decision around 5-6 pm the night before This provides families with time to find childcare and reconfigure their schedules However, not every situation is ideal. One example was the ice day from earlier this school year, in which the decision to cancel school was made overnight due to new developments that resulted in the consensus that closing school would be the safer decision

Newman also has a few "hurricane days" built into its calendar in terms of hours, rather than days For example, taking two weeks off for Hurricane Ida in 2021 was too much, and required modifications to the schedule later in the year to accommodate school days we missed in August and September However, even though school has been canceled or ended early a few times this year, we are still within our period of “wiggle room ” for hurricane days.

In comparison to inclement weather, it is sometimes easier to operate school under other elevated procedures During boil water advisories, the school can “turn off the taps” and provide bottled water, and the Dining Hall has procedures in place to accommodate their ability to serve lunch to students across campus However, when the water main burst earlier this year, there was no water pressure, leading to no functioning bathrooms This poses a sanitary hazard, especially because there are about 1,500 people on campus any given day, causing the school to have to shut down early

Ultimately, Mr Smith and Newman’s highest priority is the safety of its students, and all decisions are carefully made by a team of administrators with the safety of our students in mind.

YetAnotherDistrictChampionship!

GirlsandBoysTrack&FieldTeamsBringHomeDistrictTrophies

ByMarkieBatten‘26&LaurenKlebba‘24

On Wednesday, April 17th, the Newman Track and Field team competed in the District Meet at the St Martin's Episcopal School track The Greenies gave it their all as they raced, jumped, and threw against many other schools in the district. In almost every event at the meet, the team entered the maximum number of individuals, which gave the team the best chance at getting their desired result In the end, the teams' efforts paid off and the girls and boys teams secured the titles of District Champions for the season

The meet kicked off with long jump, during which Claire Charpentier and Parker Davis both finished first. Throughout the field events, there were several more first place finishes for the Greenies: RJ Livingston in high jump, Ella Faliveno in javelin, Ella Aucoin in high jump The team also excelled in the field events with the following first place finishes: the girls 4x800 relay, the boys 4x800 relay, Remi Cousin in the 100 hurdles, Parker Davis in the 110 hurdles, the girls 4x200 relay, Ava Hartman in the 1600, Sam Haber in the 1600, the girls 4x100 relay, the boys 4x100 relay, Remi Cousin in the 300 hurdles, Parker Davis in the 300 hurdles, Jake Randel in the 200, Ava Hartman in the 3200, and Sam Haber in the 3200 As the meet came to an end with a win by the girls 4x400 relay, points for all the events that day were calculated.

Both the boys and girls teams finished 1st overall and took home 1st place trophies, adding another year to the long stretch of District Meet wins Individually, Claire was awarded girls Overall District MVP and girls Track MVP for her top finishes in long jump, the 100m, the 400m, and the 200m

However, the race isn’t over quite yet The Greenies are headed to Regionals with hopes of qualifying for state! Since Championship season is a marathon, not a sprint, so stay tuned for Regional and S @ T

AGreatSeasonforNewmanTennis Greatwinsallaround!

ByGwendolynGray‘25

The Varsity Tennis team pulled off another great season! Both the Girls and Boys teams competed with determination, skill, and passion throughout the course of the season The season began in January, with the team playing matches until the end of April The team then competed in the Regional tournament, which both teams won and won three out of the four brackets The State tournament took place in the last week of April This year, the Girls had no seniors on the team, but had a strong influence from the middle school, with Junior Captain Gwendolyn Gray. On the Boys team, Senior Captains Simms Hardin and Archer Vandenburgh led the team to State, while also dominating in doubles throughout the season Overall, the Girls placed Second in State with a tough loss to Baton Rouge’s University Lab Eighth Graders Francie Casbarian and Macy Montgomery fought hard to the finals, where they earned second place in the tournament. The Girls team pulled off an amazing feat with their young members. The Boys team also competed extremely well throughout the State tournament. Boys doubles played very well with two teams winning rounds in third set tiebreakers! Additionally, line 1 doubles Simms and Archer dominated until the Quarterfinals, where they, again, played a thrilling, deciding tiebreaker Ultimately, Newman Varsity Tennis proved their incredible skills in their competition throughout the season. See you next year, M !

StaffSpo

JanuaryWriteroftheMonth:

EdwinSalisbury'25

CongratulationstoEdwinSalisbury'25onearningtheNavigator's WriteroftheMonthforJanuary!

Edwin Salisbury was selected by the Navigator's editorial staff to be the January Writer of the Month! This month, Edwin wrote two interesting articles: "Wonka: An Enchantingly Sweet Delight” discusses the new Wonka movie and Edwin's opinion on the new release, while "An Ode to Ingenuity" takes a look at NASA's Ingenuity helicopter!

Edwin is a current Junior, who is a new member of the Navigator staff He likes to write about science and history In addition to writing for the Navigator, Edwin is part of Newman's band, the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra, and the cast of the spring musical, Grease. Please congratulate Edwin on this great honor!

FebruaryWriteroftheMonth:

TrippdeLaureal'26

CongratulationstoTrippdeLaureal'26onearningtheNavigator's WriteroftheMonthforFebruary!

Tripp de Laureal was selected by the Navigator's editorial staff to be the February Writer of the Month! This month, Tripp wrote a detailed article "The 2024 Grammys Recap,” which describes the events of the awards ceremony that recognizes outstanding achievements in the music industry, in addition to articles about Taylor Swi, Spirit Week, and Cross Country State this year

Tripp is a current Sophomore, who has been on the Navigator staff for 2 years He likes to write about Taylor Swi, music, and sports In addition to writing for the Navigator, Tripp is part of the Cross Country Team, Track & Field Team, Pioneer, Science Olympiad, Mu Alpha Theta Math Team, and Co-President of the Book Club Please congratulate Tripp on this great honor!

MarchWriteroftheMonth:

LexieToshav'26

CongratulationstoLexieToshav'26onearningtheNavigator'sWriterof theMonthforMarch!

Lexie Toshav was selected by the Navigator's editorial staff to be the March Writer of the Month! This month, Lexie wrote an interesting article "Is This WWIII?,” which describes why the possible threats to World War III and why they are not going to happen, in addition to articles about Global Politics, Spirit Week, and Movies

Lexie is a current Sophomore, who has been on the Navigator staff for 1 year. She likes to write about Current Events and School Event Recaps. In addition to writing for the Navigator, Lexie is part of the Speech & Debate Team, Pioneer, ACTIONS Environment Committee, Choir, and Arts Committee Please congratulate Lexie on this great honor!

Staff:

Editors-In-Chief

Lauren Klebba ‘24

Marie Wilder ‘24

Gwendolyn Gray ‘25

Technology Director

Nick Rezza ‘25

Writers

Grace Carmody ‘24

Andrew Brandt ‘25

Edwin Salisbury ‘25

Markie Batten ‘26

Georgia Biever ‘26

Morgan Breaux ‘26

Mignon Evans ‘26

Eliana Hermann ‘26

Russell Huber ‘26

Tripp de Laureal ‘26

Sara Lovell ‘26

Lilly Pollack ‘26

Lexie Toshav ‘26

Vivian Zhou ‘26

Faculty Sponsor

Ms. Wilson

Thank you for taking the time to read our spring print edition of the Navigator, Newman’s school newspaper, and supporting the hard work of our amazing staff! We hope you consider reading more on our website (see le)! Thanks again!

ALetterFromTheOutgoingSeniorEditors(2023-24)

As the year comes to a close and we speed towards graduation, we wanted to spend a minute to thank Newman for the experience and lessons we have learned throughout our time here There is also some advice we’d like to pass on to younger generations of Greenies that have years le to experience all of what Newman has to offer

Print Edition Designed by Nick Rezza & Gwendolyn Gray

First, say yes to all the help people offer you at Newman Whether it's extra help from a teacher, a conversation with your college counselor to brainstorm essay topics, or making a plan to budget your time for all the work you have to get done with the ARL, it is always worth the little extra time and effort on the front end. We will be forever grateful for all of the help that was offered by the upper school teachers and staff because learning to accept help was one of the most important things we learned during our time at Newman

Second, try to challenge yourself or take a class that is a little bit outside of your comfort zone every year For me (Lauren), the honors English process seemed so daunting and stressful that I almost dropped out, but I'm happy I put in the work and believed in myself because the experience has made me a much better writer. I'm happy I took a chance and signed up to take a Psychology class my Junior year because I ended up loving it so much I'm hoping to explore it as a major or minor in college I am most of all happy I continued to pursue studio art, even aer I had met my graduation requirements for the arts because I found something I really love, so I have taken an art class every semester of high school

And finally, we are so happy we took a chance and joined the Navigator because it helped us develop our research, writing, and design skills We have been honored to serve as your Senior Editors-In-Chief and are grateful for every moment we spent working on the Navigator We wish you the best of luck next year!

Sincerely,

Lauren Klebba ‘24 & Marie Wilder ‘24

IntroducingOurNewEditors(2024-25)

Executive Editors-In-Chief: Gwendolyn Gray ‘25 & Nick Rezza ‘25

Associate Editors-In-Chief: Morgan Breaux ‘26 & Tripp de Laureal ‘26