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Happy Holidays at Westover by: Lauren Danielowski ‘14
Westover’s cultural diversity is something to be applauded. Our opportunity to be exposed to different cultures and practices is a rare gift that is sometimes overlooked. This holiday season, we are going home to partake in the familiar family festivities that get us feeling all nostalgic and sentimental. To get an idea of just how some members of the Westover community celebrate the winter holidays, I interviewed three students: Laura Delight Van Tartjwik, a junior boarder from the Netherlands; Stephanie Crudele, a junior day student from Middlebury, CT; and Lauren-Nicole Laurenceau, a junior boarder from New York. When asked about Christmas traditions in the Netherlands, Laura proceeded to tell me about Sinterklaas. “Every year on the 15th of December St. Nikolaas, more commonly known as Sinterklaas, arrives in the Netherlands from Spain on his steamboat together with his helpers who are black because of the chimneys they have to climb down every year! Once he is in the country, kids put their shoes by the fireplace each night and sing traditional Sinterklaas songs in the hopes that he will come and give them gifts or candy. A nice thing to do is to leave some carrots for Sinterklaas’s white horse, Schimmel, who he rides every night. Sinterklaas’s birthday is on the 5th of December, which is the biggest part of this celebration. On this night we expect a black helper called “zwarte piet,” to come by our door and leave a huge bag of gifts! Sinterklaas will also surely leave you a poem. Once you get older, the idea of “believing” in Sinterklaas wears off, and instead groups of friends get together and make each other surprises, usually a handmade object that has something to do with their hobbies and is filled with candy and gifts. These surprises are not justboxes; they are VERY elaborate
December 4, 2012 and require a lot of time. I have received things like a piano made of wood, a microphone, a horse head, and a huge lipstick tube. Common treats Sinterklaas leaves the kids are pepernoten (similar to gingersnaps), speculaas (a type of cookie), taai taai poppen (doll sized dessert that is a crossover between a cake and a cookie), chocolate letters, chocolate coins, and a type of candy called schuimpjes. If you don’t behave well, Sinterklaas always threatens to take kids in his bag back to Spain. Also, if you don’t behave well, you might get hay in your shoes instead of candy! Kids in the Netherlands love Sinterklaas, but they are also a little scared of him!” Stephanie Crudele is 100% Italian and shared about her Christmas dinner. “We eat a lot of food,” she says. For Italians, this consists of sausage, pasta with red sauce, antipasto, polenta, chicken cutlets, and other delectable Italian cuisine items! While Stephanie does not eat the traditional seven fish on Christmas Eve that represent the Seven Holy Sacraments in the Catholic Church, she does enjoy chichirate, “a wreath shaped dessert that is comprised of little fried balls of dough stuck together with honey to form the shape of a wreath. While some people leave it without any garnishes, I like mine with sprinkles on top.” Delicious! Lauren-Nicole Laurenceau is a New York girl, but she still celebrates the rich traditions of her Dominican heritage. “On January 6th, my family and I celebrate Three Kings Day.” For those who are not familiar with the story of the Three Kings, it was said that three kings traveled on camels to Bethlehem to visit the newborn baby Jesus twelve days after his birth and to present him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, which at the time and even today are very precious and valuable gifts. The song about the twelve days of Christmas is often the countdown to the arrival of the three kings. Because Jesus received his gifts on this day, many families wait to exchange gifts until the twelfth day of Christmas (January 6th). This “feast day” is also referred to as “the Epiphany” all around the world. Lauren says “the night before we leave water and grass for the camels and then we get our presents in the morning.” Evidently, everyone celebrates the holidays in their own special way. Every way, regardless of how different it is, proves to be a bonding force amongst friends and family and a reminder not only of our heritage, but of the sacred things in our day-to-day lives.
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December 4, 2012
Kate Wymard
...continued from page 3 hard shots. In addition, squash is a very social game and Kate appreciates that she “made a lot of friends throughout the world, for example: Colombia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Germany, Sweden, France…” and the list goes on. A sport is even more enjoyable when you have connections with the people that you play with. Even though squash is an individual sport, the teams are extremely supportive and fun. All of the members of the team want the other to succeed. Kate was a member of the Trinity squash team during her time at the college. While on the team she held a very impressive record of twenty-two wins and zero losses. That’s right, Kate was undefeated while a member of the squash team. Kate hopes to pass on her knowledge of the game and the interest in squash that was encouraged by Trinity. Kate explained that Trinity has a strong squash program that endorses the sport by offering a beginner class for credits. Kate hopes to reflect Trinity’s support of squash at Westover by encouraging others to try a new sport.
WICK-er of the Month Name: Andie Dahl
Class year: 2014 Home state: CT Hobbies: Sailing, Drawing, Squash Siblings: none Idol: No matter how corny it is, my dad. Pink or Blue?: Blue Rain or Snow?: Snow iPad or Laptop?: Laptop Roommate or single?: Roommate Favorite Westover tradition: Lantern Fondest Westover memory: My first Candlelight Favorite song: “Crash into Me” by Dave Matthews Favorite holiday: Thanksgiving Favorite quote: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” - John Lennon
When I asked Kate about her favorite part about coaching, she told me, “I enjoy coaching girls especially because they remind me of when I was younger.” Kate feels a connection to the girls on the Westover squash team because of nostalgia from when she first started playing the sport. By filling the positions of art history teacher and squash coach at Westover Kate gets to work in her two loves and “feels fortunate to share them with girls and make it a profession.” Seeing improvement and eagerness to learn makes coaching so rewarding for Kate. As a coach, Kate believes that fitness is a vital part of the sport since “at the end of the day, if you can’t get to the ball your control of the ball won’t serve you well.” Squash is a physically demanding and quick game. It is a confidence boost during a game “to have an advantage by knowing that you are physically capable.” Although the team has moaned from soreness this past week, it will greatly pay off during a game. The Westover community is happy to have Kate Wymard as part of our family as she passes down the tricks of the game of squash and whips the teams into shape.
WICK Staff
Layout Editors: Andie Dahl ‘14 and Lauren Danielowski ‘14 Writers: Chae Young-Uhm ‘13, Stephanie Sorosiak ‘13 Laura van Tartwijk ‘14, Lauren Danielowski’14, Andie Dahl ‘14, Photographers: Victoria Graham ‘16 Faculty Advisor: Kati Eggert
Questions or Comments about the WICK? Please e-mail Wendy Westover at wwestover@westoverschool.org The Wick title by Andie Dahl ‘14