volume 52, Issue 4 December 19, 2013
Walt whitman High school
7100 whittier boulevard
Bethesda, maryland 20817
theblackandwhite.net
photo courtesy TOM KNOX
photo by NICK ANDERSON
MSAs to be replaced by revamped, computerized tests
Top: Guard Riley Shaver drives to the hoop in the boys basketball team’s 64-45 home opener win over Landon. He scored 18 points in the team’s win. Bottom: The girls basketball team lines up on defense against Bishop McNamara in the Vikes’ five-point loss. The team was one of only two MCPS teams invited to play in the tournament in front of college coaches and scouts. Both teams next play Friday at Churchill, the girls at 5:15 and the boys at 7 p.m.
Which mythological hero killed the Nemean Lion? From Britney Spears to 16th century history, new trivia app captivates students BY Matt Yang As much as students hate the idea of quizzes, kids nationwide are going out of their way to take them. Kids and adults alike are flocking towards the iPhone trivia application “QuizUp.” The app, one of the top five free iPhone apps in the country, allows users to take quizzes on roughly 300 topics ranging from 16th century history to Miley Cyrus–and everything in between. The specificity of the topics in QuizUp, as opposed to broader topics in many other trivia games, is one reason the app is so popular, said Thor Fridriksson, who developed the app with a partner. “People don’t get passionate about very broad topics,” said Fridriksson, who is also the CEO of Plain Vanilla Games, the Icelandic company that created the app. “No one says ‘I’m the biggest fan of entertainment.’ However people do say ‘I’m the biggest fan of Game of Thrones’ or Britney Spears or something more specific. Anyone who uses the app can find something they are
Inside Look Engineering classes experiment with 3D printer Page 2
passionate about or are interested in.” The game has taken Whitman by storm, with hundreds of students playing the app against each other. Users can challenge friends in a specific category, playing against each other in real time, or play against a randomly paired opponent through the internet. “I like the app because you can play against your friends through Facebook and it’s very interactive,” said junior Alex Roederer, who as of Dec. 16, was ranked number one in the state of Maryland for the Denver Broncos topic. “I’m a huge Denver Broncos fan, so when I found out it had a topic for that, I knew I had to be number one.” Each time users play a match, they gain more points, which unlocks higher levels and gives them a higher ranking in that specific topic. Roederer, for example, has reached level 33 in Denver Broncos. Black & White sports writer Sam Berson played hours of the Boston Red Sox topic, placing him as high as first in the world in that category.
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by Sarah Friedman Computer screens will replace pencils and free response questions will join multiple choice when the PARCC assessment replaces the MSA as the standardized test for Maryland students next school year. The assessments will cover English and mathematics in grades three through 11. It’s unclear at this point how the assessments will be implemented for high schoolers, said assistant principal Kathy McHale. She predicts that high school students will take the PARCC assessments at least once for English and for math, but not every year like the MSA. Students will take the HSAs for the time being, but the Maryland State Department of Education hasn’t yet decided what will happen to them long term, said spokesperson William Reinhard. Biology and U.S. Government HSAs will most likely remain because PARCC doesn’t assess these subjects, said McHale, who is also the school’s testing coordinator. PARCC, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, is a consortium of 19 states that came together to develop an assessment system aligned to the Common Core State Standards, which have been adopted by 45 states. Educators designed the standards as a national model to be relevant to the real world, with the objective of preparing students for college and careers. MCPS has implemented the standards in the form of Curriculum 2.0. The new assessments will be administered by computer, making them cheaper, easier to grade and more interactive, PARCC spokesperson Lesley Muldoon said. One random class from each county school will participate in a field test of the assessments this spring. High schools will be included in the testing. The Common Core State Standards are more challenging than the previous curriculum covered by the MSA, educators say. “Once the new assessments are ready for full implementation in 2014-15, initial scores are expected to be lower than those on the MSA,” Lillian Lowery, Maryland school superintendent, predicted in a July press release. The English sections of the assessments will include selected response questions and writing prompts that require students to synthesize literature or nonfiction sources and the passages will be more complex than their MSA counterparts, Muldoon said. “Maryland has a pretty good state test, but some kids in their states don’t have any writing at all on their standardized tests, which we think doesn’t really help you guys get ready for college,” Muldoon said. Math questions will focus heavily on concept and application, as well as directly building on concepts covered in previous years. Instead of multiple choice, questions will take advantage of the test’s computer interface by including items that require graphing, drag-and-drop responses and typing in an answer, according to PARCC’s website. Robert Obstgarten, a fifth grade teacher at Carderock Springs Elementary School, appreciates how Curriculum 2.0 and the PARCC assessments require reasoning instead of memorization. “Before, if you handed students a new situation, they didn’t know how to pick and choose from strategies they knew,” he said. To prepare students for the assessments, PARCC has 75 interactive sample test items available on their website and will release a full-length practice PARCC assessment for each grade in March.
New fast casual An end to summer eateries come to vacation? Bethesda Page 6 Page 5
Senior launches landscaping company Page 11
Vikings strive towards pro soccer Page 14
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December 19, 2013
news
Briefs Seven Vikings, coach named All-Met Five soccer players as well as girls soccer head coach Greg Herbert were included in the Washington Post’s annual fall All-Met selections, along with two other Viking athletes. Whitman is the only public school to have two players named to the girls soccer first team, with senior Aliza Wolfe and junior Clare Severe receiving high praise. Wolfe was touted as “one of the most technically-talented players in the area,” while Severe was deemed a “versatile speedster and dangerous striker.” Wolfe had ten goals and two assists on the season, helping to lead the Vikes to the state championship. Severe also added eight goals while dominating defensively. Herbert was named to the first team as well, receiving the title of coach of the year. Additionally, senior Vegas Kastberg and sophomore Davey Mason were named honorable mention All-Met for boys soccer. Senior Anna Gurney, the leading goal scorer for Whitman, also received an honorable mention. Other students were named in the All-Met as well: junior Evan Woods, honorable mention, cross-country; senior Zac Morton, honorable mention, football.
Students travel to Denmark over Thanksgiving break Nine students returned from Copenhagen, Denmark, Thanksgiving weekend after spending a week with host families and exploring the quaint culture of the European country. This year’s third annual trip was led and chaperoned by photography teacher Mike Seymour and assistant principal Brandi Heckert. Each morning students attended Nørre Gymnasium, the host school, with their Danish host sisters or brothers. Danish students, from ages 16-19, all brought laptops to school, and had different classes each day. At Nørre, most of the classes are taught in Danish, aside from English and choice language classes. The host school and families’ English skills, however, provided less of a language barrier for the visiting students. The Danish students will be visiting Washington, D.C. this April to complete the exchange program, mostly staying with the same students they hosted.
MCPS school buildings to undergo renovations The Board of Education recently approved the county’s $1.74 billion renovation request to create more classrooms and alleviate overcrowding. “Enrollment in MCPS has grown by nearly 14,000 students over the past six years, and that growth is expected to continue in the years to come,” Board President Christopher Barclay said in a statement. “Many of our schools are already well over capacity, so we must act quickly to add classrooms for the students who are here today and those who will be coming in the very near future.” Most of the funding will go to elementary schools, where overcrowding problems are acute. Twelve of the 14 classroom addition projects laid out in the Board’s request will be in elementary schools, according to the county statement. There are also planned renovations in several schools around the county, including North Bethesda Middle School and B-CC High School.
BY Adam Simon With NASA investing in printed food in space, Victoria’s Secret printing lingerie accessories and congressmen debating the legality of plastic guns, it’s clear that the technology of 3-dimensional printers is a universally rising industry. Inspired by Pyle’s existing hightech printer, engineering teacher Rachel Stender decided Whitman should have an upgraded printer to add to an existing student-built 3D printer. Stender requested money from Walt Whitman Education Connection—a program that gives grants for educational purposes— and, using these funds, Whitman was able to acquire a Solidoodlebrand printer for $800. “We had some students step up and spearhead the process of setting up the printer,” Stender said. “Now, we’re close to having any student use them.” The goal of the program is to have the printers available for students to print pieces for Intro to Engineering Design classes, prototypes for inventions and parts for the robotics club. With the proper software implementations and work from students, this goal could be met by the second semester of this year, Stender said. “Right now we are just messing around with the printer, creating things like iPhone cases and trying to figure out how to operate it,” senior William Zhang, one of the printers’ operators, said. Although Whitman has had a student-built printer for two years, the new printer opened the door for new opportunities for students, more complicated products can now be created with more precision. “Printers in the past have been
photo by ABBY CUTLER
NEWS
Students make use of 3D printer in robotics club, engineering classes
Engineering students have been able to create a variety of products, including iPhone 5 cases, using the new 3D printer. Whitman bought the printer at a cost of only $800.
used to manufacture parts for our robotics team if we felt it necessary,” said senior Amolak Nagi, another one of the operators. “Because our new printer is far more precise, we’re now preparing to sell merchandise to fundraise for robotics in the Whitman community.” The idea of creating and selling customizable Whitman products— produced by students—became a possibility with the addition of the new printer, Nagi said. Products from iPhone cases to keychains are currently being tested. Whitman’s first printer was acquired about two years ago when Montgomery County received a grant to furnish schools with materials to construct their own 3D printers. Alums Stephen Rodan (’12) and Ryan McGill (’12) pioneered the construction, and successfully built the printer. “Tied alongside the growth of Whitman’s Project Lead the Way program, many of my engineering teachers, like Mr. Wetzel and Mr.
Hays, took the initiative to raise the bar,” Rodan said. 3D printing is a growing market, as it is projected to reach $8.41 billion by 2020, according to “Markets and Markets,” a group that projects economic trends. For Whitman’s purposes, the 3D printers allow students to print visual representations of their work. “We’re hoping to use it in IED, so students could actually print out what they are designing on Inventor,” said Zhang.“ In EDD [Engineering Design and Development], we can use it to print prototypes for our projects in the future.” Other high schools around the county are also a part of the craze. Many other schools in the county have 3D printers, Zhang said. “Thomas Jefferson has at least ten 3D printers,” Zhang said. “I would like to see every high school who wants a good engineering program to have a printer.”
Curriculum 2.0 implements new grading policies in elementary schools By Samantha Zambri With an increase in short-term projects, routine unit testing and standard-based report card evaluations, elementary school is starting to sound all too similar to high school. As part of Curriculum 2.0, Montgomery County elementary schools upgraded their grading systems to incorporate new progress measurement topics, text level expectations and standard-based grading. The change aims to provide parents and educators with a greater understanding of a student’s academic strengths and weaknesses, according to the MCPS website. Curriculum 2.0 is unique to the county, but it centers around the Common Core Standards adopted by Maryland and 45 other states. It allows for additional instructive focus on the arts, literacy and social studies, wrote Superintendent of Schools Joshua Starr in a letter to families. Curriculum 2.0 was initiated in Kindergarten through third grade in the 2012-2013 school year. This is the first year it is being introduced to grades four and five, and the curriculum is still subject to revision. Schools are observing the success of the curriculum, and will provide feedback to its writers. The changes have been made in response to concern stemming from No Child Left Behind requirements. NCLB emphasizes reading, language arts, math and science as core academic subjects and has a smaller focus on arts and humanities, according to the US Department of Education. Curriculum 2.0 plans to resolve the gap by incorporating the non-core subjects into English and math classes, thereby ensuring a more comprehensive learning experience. For example, a history class could require students to analyze historical artwork, thereby reinforcing both history and art concepts. “The transition was a little tricky for teachers,” Wood Acres Elementary teacher Kirsten Crabtree said. “I do like the change, but there’s a lot of hours in meetings and out of school that go into planning and coordinating the new curriculum.” The most notable change is to the report card, which has strayed from the traditional letter grades. Now final grades are more analytical, providing a limited range of marks students can receive and a more rigid rubric upon which teachers base their evaluations. “We don’t ask where students stand against other
boys and girls,” Burning Tree principal Judith Lewis said. “Now we ask where do they stand against what the end of the year standard is supposed to be.” The new grades are ‘N,’ meaning not yet mastered the standard, ‘I,’ in progress towards the standard, or ‘P,’ proficient or have mastered the standard. In very few cases, there are also students who are able to get an ‘ES,’ which indicates surpassing proficiency, Lewis said. To the chagrin of parents, it is not as easy for students to receive high marks under the new system. “I’m not very happy with the new grading system, because the marks given to students encompasses a wider range of proficiency,” said a Burning Tree parent who asked to remain anonymous. “It is harder for parents to see how their child is doing in school if the only representation of progress is a pass or fail grade.” Students are assessed based on their ability to meet and maintain certain checkpoints that the new curriculum defines for each grade in the subjects of math and reading. For example, a fourth grader is expected by the end of the year to be able to sustain reading longer texts, form interpretations and use reading as a tool to build knowledge across other content areas like science or social studies. The new curriculum also emphasizes the use of technology to promote the spread of information. Students are watching more videos, analyzing pictures and using the computer much more often, fifth grader Maria Varbanova said. “When we were learning about the Revolutionary War, we would watch documentaries about the battles and see different political cartoons,” she said. “It’s a lot more interesting than just reading. As of now, there are no current plans to implement a similar integrated curriculum in middle or high schools, though eventually courses will have to be made more rigorous to reflect the Common Core Standards, Lewis said. “The Common Core Standards apply to everyone,” she said. “The curriculum we are teaching is far more demanding than seen in previous years, and asks students to think in a much more creative and flexible way. Memorization won’t get you anywhere with this program, it has to be understanding.”
December 19, 2013
News
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by Samantha Zambri The Maryland Board of Education published a revised disciplinary code Dec. 10 that acts as a guideline for schools to help keep students in class by scaling back suspension rates and taking a more lenient approach to violations. Data shows that kids who miss school due to suspension tend to either do poorly once they return or drop out of school altogether, said Maryland State Board of Education spokesperson Bill Reinhard. “For nonviolent offenses, such as insubordination, officials are looking for a way to keep students not necessarily in a classroom, but an inschool suspension or special classroom that will allow them to receive educational services they are entitled to under the Maryland constitution,” he said. Under the new code, schools will have more flexibility in dealing with discipline cases and are allowed to decide consequences on a case-bycase basis. Currently, suspensions and expulsions are imposed for a variety of violations, including class disruptions and drug possession. However, under the new discipline measures, suspensions are considered only as a last resort. Whitman already limits its use of out-of-school suspensions, though it is in the school’s best interest to continue to take cues from the Maryland BOE, assistant principal Jerome Easton said.
“Currently, the grounds for suspension are considered on a caseby-case basis,” he said. “The most common offenses are possession of a weapon or drugs or physical altercations, like beating up a student.” Under the new policy, some of the more minor offenses such as theft or hazing may be revised to warrant a more lenient consequence. The new disciplinary code was approved by the Maryland BOE after nearly three years of debate by Board officials. A public comment period of 30 days is now open and will be followed by a final vote scheduled for January. “Since this issue has been a contentious subject, we’ve received a lot of feedback,” Reinhard said. “There is always a concern on the part of educators that the regulations could somehow diminish safety in the classroom, though that is not the state’s goal. The goal is to make sure students receive educational services.” The changes will be implemented in Maryland’s 24 school systems during the 2014-2015 school year. Schools are already shifting their policies to reflect the new regulations, Reinhard said. “Anything dealing with suspension and expulsion is all subjective, though many schools are already looking at the new discipline measures and making big steps to focus on positive reinforcement and student success in the classroom,” he said.
photo courtesy JACI BERKOPEC
New discipline policy encourages leniency with suspensions
Seniors Fionn Adamian and Ben Zimmermann debate in the final round at the New York City Invitational. This year, they have debated topics including nuclear proliferation and NSA surveillance.
Debate seniors dominate Fall tournaments, climb to #1 ranking by Sarah Friedman Senior debate duo Fionn Adamian and Ben Zimmermann won three national tournaments in the Public Forum event this fall, securing the number-one spot in national rankings. Their victories include the Yale Invitational in September, the New York City Invitational in October and the Glenbrooks Invitational in November. The wins earned them a spot in the invitationonly Tournament of Champions, a season-ending national championship. “These three tournaments are some of the most prestigious in the country, because the fields are huge and the competition is really good,” said Rachel Baron (‘13), the pair’s coach and former teammate. “It would be fantastic if they had won any of the tournaments, but the fact that they’ve won every one they attended this year is incredible and not something that’s ever happened before.” Adamian and Zimmermann, both editors on the Black & White, have been debate partners since their freshman year, and feel that their close relationship has contributed to their success. “We understand each other’s specific strengths and weaknesses and we can predict what each person’s going to do,” Zimmermann said. “We really each have our own little niche in the context of a debate tournament.” After a very successful sophomore year, the pair was disappointed with a lackluster junior year. Their first win of the season at Yale was especially meaningful, Adamian said. “Winning the Yale tournament was just this kind of sheer relief that we had snapped the slump and that we were able to win that tournament,” he said.
Unique trivia app attracts students with specific topics and social media aspect Users enjoy real-time games against friends, competitive rankings CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “The Boston Red Sox topic came out after I already had the app, so everybody was starting at level one, and I decided to just go for it and try to be number one,” he said. “I was ranked number one in the world for about two weeks.” In addition to its addictive qualities, Fridriksson cites the game’s ability to educate users as another benefit of the app. “What’s good about QuizUp compared to other apps is that people actually learn from it,” Fridriksson said in a phone interview. “We’ve seen so much feedback from people
saying ‘Hey, I’ve learned so much more from QuizUp today than I did in school.’” Whitman users find Fridriksson’s claim true. “I actually have learned a lot from playing QuizUp,” Berson said. “It asks me about stuff that I never knew before.” Plain Vanilla Games reaches out to large fan bases of specific topics and asks them to contribute content, Fridriksson said. “We’ve always believed that we should engage with our fan community, so instead of trying to hire people with all of these varied
expertises, we just reached out to the fan communities,” Fridriksson said. “For example if there is a book that has a large fan community, we just try to find the biggest fansite for the book, and usually they are happy to contribute questions.” The social component of the game truly distinguishes QuizUp from other trivia apps, as users can play against each other live over the internet. “The fact that you are playing in real-time with other people in the world, and you can compare your rankings to other people in the world is truly amazing,” Fridriksson said.
The Glenbrooks had great significance to the pair, who also won the tournament their sophomore year. “The tournament means a lot to us in terms of sentimental value because it was the time when Ben and I really got into debate and felt successful for the first time,” Adamian said. “Winning it again was the perfect way to kind of come full circle our senior year.” Public forum debate is a two-ontwo event in which debaters argue about a national issue, usually relating to government policy or international affairs. Adamian and Zimmermann generally get their debate topic on the first day of the month prior to the tournament and begin to prepare three to four weeks in advance. Since their side in the debate is chosen randomly for each of the 6 to 15 rounds, they have to prepare arguments for both sides. Baron has seen improvements in the pair’s strategy and preparation this year, she said. “This year, they are better at appealing to the different types of people that judge debate rounds,” Baron said. “Previously, they would sometimes have trouble connecting to judges who aren’t as knowledgeable about debate, but that’s something they’re actually really good at doing now.” The debate team as a whole has had an impressive season this fall, with seniors Jessica Levy and Daisy Massey climbing up the rankings in LincolnDouglas debate. The team’s next tournament is the John Edie Holiday Debate Tournament in Minnesota Dec. 20-22.
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December 19, 2013
News Analysis: College students encourage divestment to fight global warming, movement prompts discussion By Ethan Taswell Sit-ins and protests took center stage on campuses nationwide recently as students have protested their colleges’ contributions to global warming. These students are urging their schools to divest—or withdraw stock holdings—from major fossil fuel companies to strike a blow against climate change. Now, as hundreds of colleges face the decision whether or not to divest, students have discovered the issues involved are more complex than they appear at first glance. Inspired by campus divestment movements of the past—in the 80s against Apartheid and in the 90s against tobacco—students today are taking a stand against global warming. The movement for colleges to divest from the largest producers of fossil fuels, dubbed “Fossil Free,” got its start after Bill McKibben, the environmentalist who started the anti-carbon campaign 350.
org, wrote a plea for action in a 2012 Rolling Stone magazine article. While Fossil Free won’t be a cure-all for global warming, the successful anti-Apartheid movement of the past shows that divestment can cause an extremely powerful response, McKibben said in an email interview. On one hand, the motive for divesting is obvious: fight global warming. Supporters object to portions of their schools’ endowments being invested in companies like Exxon, BP, and Chevron that produce fossil fuels. Without action by the federal government to combat global warming, supporters say colleges must take the initiative to combat fossil fuel production, said Rachel Bishop, the student spokesperson for the divestment movement at Brown, in a phone interview. Since last November when Maine’s Unity College, a selfdescribed“environmental”college, first pledged to divest, several
more schools have followed in its footsteps, including Hampshire College and Yale. Besides colleges, other groups have promised to divest as well, most notably the cities of Seattle and San Francisco.
When schools divest from stable sources of income they endanger their ability to finance the scholarships and research opportunities that represent a school’s best academic interests. Not everyone has jumped on board with the idea of divestment. The presidents of Brown and Harvard have both recently stated that their endowments serve only to achieve educational and research goals, not as a platform
from which to make political statements. Trustees at these schools fear that saying “yes” to divestment will create a precedent allowing any future campus groups with strongly held views to use the endowment as a political tool. Financially, divestment is often cited as a risky move that could come with serious repercussions. When schools divest from stable sources of income they endanger their ability to finance the scholarships and research opportunities that represent a school’s best academic interests. Harvard president Drew Faust criticized the hypocrisy of condemning and boycotting those companies that Americans rely on every day for heat, water and power. While environmental issues are hugely important, divestment is simply not an effective method to bring about change, Middlebury president Ronald Liebowitz wrote in his statement on why the college
would not divest,. The campus is on track to become completely carbon neutral by 2016, yet the school has decided not to divest. Some colleges say they prefer to keep their stakeholder interests in fossil fuel companies so as to have an inside voice, rather than selling those stocks to other investors who might be less environmentally conscious. Ultimately, while divesting from fossil fuel companies may seem like an easy decision to those of us about to head off to college, in reality, it’s far more nuanced. It pits a set of political standards and environmentalism against financial security and a school’s mission statement. Today’s college divestment movement, regardless of whether it proves to be successful or not, raises an important question: how can our generation best stop this country’s contributions to global warming? Readers are invited to comment on this story on the Black & White
New Bethesda restaurants reflect popularity of fast casual dining Bakery chain Panera and Spanish sandwich shop 100 Montaditos add options for popular trend by Casey Noenickx Cava, ShopHouse, Nando’s PeriPeri, Sweetgreen—the possibilities seem endless. Bethesda has never lacked a wide variety of quick but high quality food outlets. But with new players Panera and 100 Montaditos entering the scene, it’s clear Bethesda is favoring “fast casual” restaurants. Fast casual eateries mix high quality food with a casual setting and a personalized, fast style. Popular chains, like Chipotle and Five Guys, have upgraded the fast food experience with freshly prepared food and more relaxed ambiances. Panera, a popular national bakery chain, opened its doors in Bethesda Dec. 3, replacing BD’s Mongolian Grill. The new restaurant provides Bethesda residents with sandwiches, soups and
salads—all with freshly baked bread. “We’ve been looking for the perfect place to open a Panera for about 15 years,” marketing manager Jenny Hurley said. “With parking and everything, we hadn’t found the right spot until the Bethesda location became available.” The restaurant is located on the corner of Wisconsin Ave. and Willow Lane next to Papa John’s. Panera, while new to Bethesda, has been baking bread since 1981. The bakery-café chain is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and offers items appropriate for any time of day. Try bagels and coffee for breakfast, or opt for one of the signature sandwiches, such as the Chipotle Chicken, later in the day. “When walking into Panera, it smells like bread and coffee and you just feel like you have to have some,” employee
Mira Glasser, a junior, said. “My family has already bought maybe five or six different types of bread by the loaf since the Bethesda Panera opened.” Aside from Panera, Spanish sandwich chain 100 Montaditos opened Nov. 17, bringing authentic Iberico flavors and a laid-back atmosphere to Bethesda. The international chain, which first opened in Huelva, Spain, now has over 300 outlets worldwide. The Bethesda location is the first one in the U.S. outside of Florida. The menu is centered around montaditos—tapas-sized bread rolls filled with various combinations of meats, cheeses and vegetables—from which the restaurant gets its name. Though small, each sandwich is under $3, and the wide variety of toppings including Iberico ham, meatballs, grilled chicken and Spanish-style tuna salad
ensures customers always have a wide selection — there are over 100 choices. “It’s a great concept,” general manager Ramy Ramadan said. “I’ve helped open stores in Miami too, and we’ve always been trying to push the freshness. I think we should do really well in Bethesda, considering our quality ingredients with an affordable budget.” The restaurant also features “one dollar Wednesdays,” when every single menu item is only a buck—even the calamari, French fries, and brava potatoes. “I’m in Bethesda all the time after sports or dance and there are really so many different places to eat,” sophomore Sophie Lopez said. “My first choice is always a fast, casual restaurant.”
Local non-profit provides for families in need during holiday season During the holidays, most parents are solely concerned about their kids, Thompson said. “It’s hard for them to even tell us what they want because they are just so focused on their kids,” Thompson said. “They want their kids to have that hope and optimism that comes with the holidays.” The toys that come from the “North Pole” and the items from the sponsorship program are all new, in hopes that the kids can feel that they are the same as other kids at this time of year, Thompson said. Students can get involved in many ways during the rest of the year, Thompson said, suggesting a drive for non-perishable food items, personal-care items, toys, or even a gift card drive for teenagers to donate to the organization. For older students who can drive a truck, the organization always needs volunteers for furniture A volunteer loads furniture that will benefit families in need. A Wider Circle hopes to furnish about 4,200 homes deliveries and pick-ups. this year. “It’s a great team atmosphere,” Thompson said. “Everybody is just trying to work for the good of what people’s lives, especially kids’ around the holidays. we are trying to do. Once you have contacts with the “It was cool to see these kids appreciate things that clients you see how much they desire change, and that’s many other people take for granted,” Hoffman said. what inspires people.” “After my experience at A Wider Circle I was more A Wider Circle also furnishes homes free of charge appreciative for the things that I have.” and hopes to furnish about 4,200 homes, which will A Wider Circle is open 365 days a year. Constant benefit about 16,000 individuals in the area, Thompson availability is part of the organization’s philosophy. said. “Nobody is in poverty Monday through Friday Freshman Celia Hoffman helped deliver furniture from nine to five,” Thompson said. “We can’t work and sort out clothing for a six-month Bat Mitzvah project on that level if we’re really going to try and solve this at A Wider Circle when she was in seventh grade. problem.” Hoffman believes that A Wider Circle is changing
photo courtesy ANNE THOMPSON
By Caroline Schweitzer A young boy smiles and his face lights up with joy as he learns that he can keep a brand new toy. The holiday season has always been a time of giving and that’s what A Wider Circle does best. A Wider Circle, a local non-profit organization located in Silver Spring, provides everything from toiletries to pieces of furniture. They also provide programs for new mothers and educational programs for those seeking career assistance. The organization is open to anybody and everybody who needs help around the DC area as there are no financial qualifications. Founded in 2001 by Mark Bergel, the non-profit was started to help every child and adult have the opportunity to live well and succeed. The organization officially begins its holiday season Dec. 2, which brings a huge influx of toy donations from the community, deputy director Anne Thompson said. When the season starts, the organization turns their second floor offices into what they call the “North Pole,” an area dedicated to children’s toys as well as adult items. Every person who comes to shop for furniture during the month of December gets to go upstairs and pick out gifts for their families. During the holiday season, A Wider Circle also holds a sponsorship program where 250 families are each matched with a family in need in the Montgomery County area. The organization receives a wish list from each of the needy families with everyone’s ages, names, and gift requests; and the matched family will shop for the items on that wish list.
Staff Editorial
OPINION
‘Flipped classroom’ should expand to more math classes By Ben Titlebaum Math class. The words inspire dread in any student—45 minutes of lectures on topics that get more obscure every day. Departing from the traditional method of teaching, a growing number of teachers nationwide are now trying to “flip” their class, including Jim Kuhn in his AB Calculus class here at Whitman. The ‘flipped classroom’ is a teaching method where students watch lecture videos at home, while doing homework and asking questions in class. This technique can improve students’ performances markedly, and should be expanded to more math and science classes at Whitman.
In a survey of 453 teachers who flipped their classrooms...
67%
reported improved test scores
80%
reported improved student attitudes
99% would flip their classroom again
source: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
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DECEMBER 19, 2013
There are several reasons why the flipped model can work wonders for kids. Students spend their class time with the teacher working on problems, and students who don’t get the work the first time they watch the video can view it multiple times, so re-teaching doesn’t take up class time. Teachers also develop a more personal relationship with each student and can better help struggling students than in a traditional lecture model. Kids receive more one-on-one instruction in class than they would on their own time in a lecture-style class, a professor at Shenandoah University who has extensively researched the effects of the flipped classroom said. Kuhn said that he spends many classes teaching to small groups or reviewing material one-onone. Clintondale High School in Detroit, which the New York Times reports previously ranked in the bottom five percent of schools in Michigan, has gained recognition for successfully implementing the flipped classroom in every class across the curriculum. Clintondale’s principal Greg Green said in an interview that meeting individually with students and better controlling the work they do in class vastly improves their performances. Ever since Green implemented the flipped classroom, student failure rates at Clintondale have plummeted in math. Even though 10 percent of students can’t watch the videos at home, they easily watch the short videos in school and
Clintondale High School, Clinton, MI Passing rate among 9th grade students before flipped classroom after flipped classroom
66% 87%
source: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
perform better. Similarly, Crystal Kirch and Graham Johnson, high school math teachers in California and British Columbia respectively, also flipped their classes. According to both, student’s grades rose and their failure rates dropped. Although Whitman students initially had mixed feelings about the flipped classroom in AB Calculus, Math Department Head Russ Rushton said he hasn’t had any complaints this year, as many of the first-year kinks have been worked out. These initial difficulties may have also contributed to the lack of change in AP scores from an un-flipped to a flipped class, Rushton said. While Kuhn can’t predict his kids’ scores on the next AP test, he said students this year are learning the material well. While math by nature may spin students’ minds, this new classroom model may finally flip concepts in a more understandable way.
Transcript fees no longer neccesary with digital apps In the internet age, all it takes to send a transcript is a few clicks. So why does it still cost $5 to send a transcript to a college, long after the days of physically mailing it in have passed? The transcript office should not charge for sending transcripts to colleges. For years, the counseling department has charged students $5 for each transcript they order after the first, which is free. Until last year, the money covered the costs of sending out transcripts, including postage and printing. But now that almost every transcript is sent electronically, this money pays for general counseling department costs like a Xerox machine. The money is funneled into a general supply fund that pays for costs all over the school. With the number of schools students apply to ever-increasing, the $5 cost per transcript can quickly balloon, adding another expense to the already mindblowingly expensive college experience. Families already pay large amounts of money for SATs, AP testing and the Common App, and they shouldn’t have to pay any more for an electronic transcript. The amount earned from this fee is significant. Transcript secretary Brenda Athanas said the average student orders 9 additional transcripts after the first free one, totaling $45 per student. Overall, the counseling department earns about $22,000 from transcripts annually. Each MCPS school sets their own price for transcripts. Blair and Rockville High Schools give three free transcripts and charge only $3 for each additional one, and Wheaton gives three free and charges $4 for additional transcripts. But counselors don’t need their own supply fund when other departments get their supplies directly and aren’t asked to pay. It’s great that the counseling department gets more money, but overburdened seniors shouldn’t be forced into shouldering these costs, especially since transcripts themselves don’t come with inherent costs. Yet change could be coming. Principal Alan Goodwin said that in light of modern day paperless transcripts, he would be glad to look into seeing how other schools are handling the new paperless age. College applications and standardized testing come with their own high costs, and college itself imposes an enormous burden on families. Performing a simple service shouldn’t add to this burden, especially when submitting the transcripts takes a fraction of the time and effort it once did.
Volume 52, Issue 4 2013-2014 The Black & White is published 9 times a year by the students of Walt Whitman High School, 7100 Whittier Blvd., Bethesda, MD, 20817. The Black & White is an open forum for student views. Students and staff can pick up the paper free of charge. Mail subscriptions cost $35. The newspaper aims to both inform and entertain. Signed opinion pieces reflect the positions of the individual staff. Opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Walt Whitman High School or Montgomery County Public Schools. The Black & White encourages readers to submit opinions on relevant topics in the form of letters to the editor. Letters must
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opinion
Year-round school: an end to summer reading? by Scott Singer As the calendar year dwindles to an end and teachers begin to cram in lessons and assessments, winter break offers a blessed escape from school. But Christmas and New Year’s will soon pass, and everyone will return to school grimacing and groaning: “I wish that break were longer.” Later, when the flowering spring turns to scorching summer, students face an important question: what will they do to occupy the eight weeks of summer break? Perhaps a job, summer program or internship would offer a fun sabbatical. Sooner or later, however, many of us find ourselves bored, perhaps even ready to return to school. By breaking up the two-month summer break into several smaller breaks, students could enjoy their breaks more and retain more information. Meanwhile, teachers would have enough time to relax and catch up on grading. Year-round school is more popular globally than the 10-month system the United States uses. Australia, the U.K., Germany, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa all use a year-round school vacation system. The American system follows a traditional farming calendar, according to the National Education Foundation. While this system made sense in the early 1800s when farmers needed extra hands to help cultivate crops during the summer harvest, the U.S. today is not quite the agrarian republic of Jeffersonian times. With a two-month summer,
December 19, 2013
Teachers should not assign homework night before PSAT
students generally forget information. On average, students lose the equivalent of 2.6 months of math material and 2.3 months of reading, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Summer Learning. To mitigate the effects, teachers turn to less effective summer assignments to prepare students for the upcoming school year. With a shorter gap between breaks, the need for summer work could be eliminated and students would most likely remember the material they learned in years past. In countries with year-round school, few students get summer work and many more maximize vacation time. Teachers would also greatly benefit from a more spread out vacation schedule. Several teachers expressed disappointment towards the fact that they spent most of their Thanksgiving grading papers. A few days here and there are not enough time for teachers to truly enjoy family time or a vacation, and an eight-week vacation becomes less meaningful. But with vacation time spread out, teachers would have an easier time balancing the demands of work and home.
Some students and parents feel that it is important to have eight weeks to wind down and relax. But these overworked students wouldn’t need one long break since they would be winding down with two-week vacations in between, reducing the familiar buildup of stress by the end of the year. Eight weeks of summer is the same amount of time as eight weeks spread over the rest of the year. Others worry about time students have for summer activities such as camps, jobs and internships. But other countries have successfully introduced year-round school, and there is nothing that prevents similar adaptation in the United States. Summer activities should be considered a by-product of a long summer. If we were to switch to a yearround school calendar, our activities and schedules would certainly adapt. So as students return from the break, nostalgic of their time away from the pressures of wonderful Walt Whitmanland, they should remember that year-round school would ultimately help them recall important information and provide an extended mid-term break.
Perspective: A year after shooting of Malala Yousafzi, lack of education worldwide should not be overlooked
BY Sophia Glazer Education is a powerful vehicle to drive success. As hardworking Whitman students, most of us understand the importance of education for our futures, and we’re privileged to live in a world where we have the right to a public education and don’t have to fight for it. However, a world away, some teens aren’t so lucky. About one year ago, 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai from the Swat Valley of Pakistan was shot in the head for standing up for girls’ educational rights. Fortunately, she had a miraculous recovery after intensive surgeries in London. The Taliban, an extremist Islamic group, targeted her because of public statements Yousafzai and her family made supporting women’s education. Yousafzai’s passion to learn was so strong that she was willing to die for her right to education–and she almost did. It’s important to step back and realize what’s going on outside of the Bethesda bubble. Yousafzai, a high school student on the other side of the world, faces not only the stress of school and exams, but also life or death situations. Learning about the hardships in other parts of the world, helps us keep our ideas in perspective. A few months ago, she published her first book, “I Am Malala.” It details the inspiring story about her fight and desire for equality in education. According to the book, on the morning before the shooting, Yousafzai told her best friend, Moniba, “Don’t worry. The Taliban have never come for a small girl.” It’s terrifying to
Drawing Board
read such a serious and scary conversation between two girls our age. But at the same time it’s empowering to know that Yousafzai thinks education is so important that she was willing to sacrifice her life to make a statement and stand up for women’s education. Some students view the competitive atmosphere of the Whitman community as a burden because it means they have to work harder to succeed and stand out. But no matter what, girls and boys alike are privileged to receive a quality public education. It’s understandable to complain about lack of sleep and a seemingly endless workload, but it’s also important to appreciate that we are given a right to education. Many students do understand and appreciate our fortune, but hearing Yousafzai’s story intensifies our privileged society. Freshman Anna McGuire is the president of Whitman’s GirlUp club, a non-profit run by the United Nations that aims to raise awareness for girls’ education and fund education and health-care for girls in developing countries. “Education is really important and we need to become more involved in making sure that everyone has the same basic rights that we have in America,” McGuire said. Education, and especially girls’ education, must be powerful if its rise threatens the Taliban. It’s scary to think about a girl our age who was sought after to be killed for a basic right like education, when in the United States we are encouraged to learn.
The Twelve Days of Senior Christmas
By Rebecca Meron After years of schooling and preparation, we’ve studied the vocabulary lists and mastered grammar and math strategies. But without a good night’s sleep before the PSAT, we won’t be able to perform at our maximum potential. The school should have a nohomework policy the night before the PSAT. High schools choose whether to administer the College Board exam on either the third Wednesday or the third Saturday in October. Whitman administers the exam Wednesday, along with about 85 percent of schools worldwide, according to the College Board. More students are likely to sit for the test during normal school hours than on Saturday, resource counselor Fran Landau said. Freshmen take a self-graded practice exam. Sophomores take the real PSAT, with College Board scoring and analysis for students’ own use paid for by Montgomery County Public Schools. Juniors’ PSAT performance determines National Merit Scholarship awards. These are sound reasons for Wednesday testing. But it also means that getting a good night’s sleep on Tuesday should be a priority. Students routinely juggle afterschool clubs, sports and homework for demanding classes. Late-night homework or studying is commonplace. The night before the PSAT should be an exception. The recent Bell Times Work Group report that MCPS Superintendent Joshua Starr used as a basis for recommending new school start times documents the positive impact of sleep on student performance. Some may argue that no change in homework policy is needed because Whitman students traditionally do well on the PSATs. But with scores coming out this month, some students may find they could’ve done even better if they were more rested and less stressed. The argument that the test is not important is invalid. Scholarship money for juniors rides on it. As a practice test for lowerclassmen, it has little value only when students can’t use it to accurately measure their abilities, and if students take the test without a full night’s sleep, it won’t. As for seniors, who do not take the test, they would welcome a night without homework to work on college applications. Teachers tend to forget that testing is going on, said Landau. They should be reminded that this is happening, she said. Holding back demands for just one night seems like a small sacrifice to help students get more sleep and feel less stressed. The formula is simple: more sleep + less stress = higher PSAT scores.
SGA “ the leaderSHIP never sinks
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December 19, 2013
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Jorge Richardson Marcela Falck-Bados VICE-PRESIDENT PRESIDENT
announcements:
Kendall Eisenberg TREASURER
Happy Holidays and have a great break!
Jenna Kantor SECRETARY
Rachel Ordan SECRETARY
Class Officers:
‘14 ‘15 ‘16 ‘17
Elizabeth Meyer Jonny Rasch, Katie Sullivan, Mia Carmel Jenna Hosker, Selvi Ulusan, Carolyn Hoover Keara Sullivan, Kueho Michael Choi, Sophia Zambri
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december 19, 2013
Earlier start times: Worth it? The science behind sleep and start times
By Raquel Weinberg The proposal to change MCPS bell times has provoked discussion over the causes of teen sleep deprivation--so what is the scientific reasoning behind the reform? Some teen sleep facts are indisputable: experts say that adolescents need at least eight to nine hours of sleep every night. Because of a biological shift that occurs after puberty, adolescents’ circadian rhythms—a master body-clock schedule—cause teens to sleep and wake hours later than younger children. Most relevant to the school start times discussion is that this internal clock shifts the times that teens would previously wake up and fall asleep to a couple hours later, which causes a misalignment between teens’ body-clocks and school bell schedules. This shift is unclear, but scientists have offered multiple theories for what causes teens to wake and sleep later. Because teens’ biological clock is set by wake-up times, sleeping in until noon on weekends can worsen the challenge of waking up early for school, said neurologist Helene Emsellem, the director of The Center for Sleep & Wake Disorders in Chevy Chase. Artificial light and natural sunlight play a substantial role in alertness because of the body chemicals they activate. Exposure to daylight disrupts the buildup of melatonin, a hormone that prepares the body for sleep, and causes the brain to release cortisol, a hormone similar to adrenaline that promotes alertness, according to a NIH report. Many students currently wake up at 6 a.m. or earlier, when the sky is still dark. This lack of hormone activation
prevents the reinforcement of getting up early. Shifting the high school start times 50 minutes would allow students to sleep during the hours that better fits their bodies’ clocks. Natural sunlight when they wake up will help students combat drowsiness increase alertness later in the day, Emsellem explained. “The idea is to not sleep through your first two periods, but to have enough mental prowess to do your homework in a reasonable amount of time.” Emsellem said. “Not be zoned out when you’re trying to get your work done, and to go to sleep and sleep in the extra hour,” noting that, physiologically, it’s extremely difficult to get enough sleep by just going to sleep earlier. Sleep is necessary for survival. Sleep deprivation over time can cause lowered mental ability and physical performance. Many scientists agree that growth, learning, memory retention and overall health restoration occurs during sleep. Moods, immune system strength and alertness should also improve with additional sleep, said Mary Carskadon, a leading researcher on adolescent sleep at Brown University. While student’s face the challenge of balancing a loaded after school schedule and a need for more sleep, Emsellem concluded that sleep is much more important than staying up late to finish homework. “Every study that’s been done shows that you will score better on your test, you will perform better, you will be in a better mood, you will have better friendships and you will look better on an interview, if you’re well rested,” she said.
Will changing start times cause traffic jams? Interview with Adam Tuss, NBC4 transportation reporter By Tyler Jacobson BW: How large of a role does traffic associated with schools play around the area? AT: “It’s a big deal. Every year when school comes back in session, it’s called terrible traffic Tuesday around the area. There are so many buses that come back on the roads, so many parents taking their kids to school. The traffic definitely increases after the summer. School coming back into session automatically puts a lot more cars on the road.”
Whitman’s Opinion Based on a B&W survey of 187 students 17% have no opinion
42% support later times
41% oppose later times
Among those who opposed,
60% cited extracurricular activities 31% cited later school end times
BW: How will a change in start times impact the current traffic situation? AT: “I don’t like to speculate, but I don’t think it helps the situation at all. Around eight or nine o’clock, everyone is trying to get in. So if the start time is 8:15 and everyone is trying to get to work at eight, you basically are moving a certain part of the traffic an hour later to a time where it’s more congested. When these things happen, I don’t think you ever see a huge dramatic impact. You don’t flip on a switch and something’s worse the next day. It’s a gradual increase, people figure out new ways to go and it takes some time for that to shake out.”
Among those who supported,
83% cited need for more sleep 15% cited academic success A day in the life of Jessi
[WAKE UP]
4:05 AM 4:45 AM
In-De
6:20 AM
7:25 AM
SCHOOL
SWIM PRACTICE BREAKFAST
november 26, 2013 december 19, 2013
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by Scott Singer It’s 5:45 a.m. and the iPhone marimba ringtone sounds in my right ear. I moan lazily and turn over to hit the snooze button. Working on around five hours of sleep, I drive to school in the pitch black, trying to find my way through parked cars and cyclists. Around the time I arrive, the sun comes up. But the days of dark dawn drives could soon be over. MCPS should delay school start times 50 minutes to ensure that students get enough sleep, are safe commuting to school and are satisfied with their academic performance. A formal survey of 187 students conducted by the Black & White found that less than three percent of students get their daily sleep need of nine hours and fifteen minutes. While this might not look too bad at first, this lack of sleep messes with our biological clock, according to NIH. Scientifically, the difference is huge. Humans have a “sleep drive,” which is what initiates our desire to sleep, sleep experts at Harvard report. Our sleep drive builds up until it reaches a climactic point in the middle of the night. When we don’t sleep, our sleep drive carries over to the next day, contributing even greater to our sleepiness. With later start times, students can expect to get more sleep. An MCPS survey conducted earlier this year found that 85 percent of students anticipate that later start times would increase the hours they sleep. With more sleep, students can expect to perform better academically. Not only does more sleep lead to greater alertness in the morning, but it’s also important for strengthening and consolidating memory, Mary Carskadon, a sleep expert at Brown, told the Black & White in an e-mail interview. Students will see benefits after school, too. Athletes and musicians will experience faster reaction times, Carskadon says. Moreover, they learn faster and with greater accuracy. Although some fear that their practices may take place in the dark, most fall sports conclude before daylights savings ends. Safety should also figure prominently in the decision to delay start times. Because students won’t be travelling in the dark, they face less of a risk from drivers, many of whom are recentlypermitted students. At first, the $12 million price tag on later start times countywide seems big. But when placed in the larger context of a $2.23 billion operating budget, that expense won’t significantly change our future financial plans. True, delaying start times might delay our other activities and jobs. But because students would be more efficient with their time because of the extra sleep, this impact would be minimized. Plus, the improved moods of students and teachers alike is worth working a little later. And with later start times, we can hopefully put the age of classtime naps to sleep.
99
Co
Students need all the sleep they can get
Pro
epth
Shifting the school day by 50 minutes wouldn’t actually increase the number of hours students sleep.
An MCPS survey found that 85 percent of students anticipate that later start times would increase the hours they sleep.
Later times not worth the inconvinence by Ben Titlebaum Fifty extra minutes of sleep sounds nice, but don’t let late start advocates fool you into thinking this dream will be reality. Everyone will still have the same homework and activities, and delaying school just introduces more problems—like complications with sports, internships, jobs and family responsibilities, and don’t even think about the $12 million cost. School start times should remain at their current times. Changing times would disrupt after school activities like sports practices, causing more night practices and games. It could also limit income for students who work after-school jobs by delaying when these jobs and activities can start. Shifting the school day by 50 minutes wouldn’t actually increase the number of hours students sleep per night because students would have the same amount of homework and activities, so they would just stay up later, students say. The benefits of delaying school start times depend on students realizing that they would gain from more sleep, but students think that their sleep wouldn’t actually change. Students who are sleep-conscious go to sleep earlier even with school starting at 7:25. A recent Black and White survey of 187 students found that support was about evenly split between current and later start times, with 31 having no opinion. Clearly, students are highly divided on the issue. With later start times comes more traffic for the morning commute to school, principal Alan Goodwin said. This rush hour traffic would limit the amount students can sleep in by twenty to thirty minutes. This problem is especially acute for teachers, Goodwin said, because many live in places like Gaithersburg or Rockville and the rush-hour traffic means that for them, getting up at current times would still be necessary. This would effectively mean that teachers would get to school at the same time but end up staying later. And with such limited change in actual sleep, the benefits begin to collapse. Twenty extra minutes of sleep would make little difference to anyone. Changing school start times would also increase costs: the plan has a preliminary price tag of $12 million, and with the unsure plusses and diverse negatives that come from delaying school, the question emerges if the money couldn’t be better spent elsewhere, like more teachers or smaller classes. Goodwin also said that research has shown that more sleep doesn’t necessarily correlate with higher grades, and that sleeping in class is often greater during the afternoon than the morning due to circadian rhythms. This biological function causes tiredness both at night and during the afternoons, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Although starting later seems like a good idea, there are too many complications and problems associated with this change, and students wouldn’t see major benefits. The question must be asked: Is 20 minutes of sleep really worth 12 million dollars?
Li, a senior swim captain
[SLEEP]
12:30 AM
* on days when she has morning swim practice
2:30 PM
4:00 PM
NAP
Q: A:
DINNER
6:45 PM
SWIM PRACTICE
9:00 PM
HOMEWORK
If school started 50 minutes later, how would your schedule change? Practice would only be postponed/lengthened if the pool facility allowed it to be. The pool normally opens to the public at 6 a.m., which is
when we exit the pool. If they want to open it to the public at 6 a.m., we would still practice from 4:45-6:00 a.m., and then I would just go home
and take a nap before school.
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December 19, 2013
feature
For students with synesthesia, A & Black & White feature it’s not easy hearing green Ask AThe editors are here to help!
By Annie Ludewig and Alexa Brodsky Dear A&A, I’m a junior this year and just got my license, so I need a way to pay for gas. I’m trying to decide whether to get a job, but the place I applied expects two 5-hour shifts during the week and one on the weekend. I don’t know if I would be able to handle that with my junior year workload, especially with SAT prep coming up. What should I do? Sincerely, Newly licensed Dear Newly licensed, At the end of the day, focusing on school and grades is most important. Try asking the manager if you can cut back a few hours during the week, or accept the challenge and prepare to balance your time. Also, talk to your parents. Tell them you want to find a way to pay for gas, but also want to manage your time. If you present the situation maturely, they will see you’re being responsible. From there, maybe you can work out a system with your parents where you can split the cost of gas. Sincerely, A&A Dear A&A, All of my friends are going out of town for winter break! Got any ideas of some festive things in the DMV that I can do over break? Sincerely, Stuck in the Suburbs. Dear Stuck in the Suburbs, There are plenty of things to do in the area that will get you into the holiday spirit. Try ice-skating near the Georgetown waterfront or catching a couple new holiday flicks at Regal Cinemas or Landmark Bethesda Row. Drive through the winter lights in Gaithersburg with 97.1 rockin’ on the radio. Take the break this year to spend some time with the family—don’t be afraid to whip out the board and card games. Decorate gingerbread houses and make holiday themed cookies with 25 Days of Christmas on ABC Family playing in the background. Sincerely, A&A Dear A&A, My mom and I fight all the time. We’re both really stubborn and though we get over our issues eventually, I feel like we have the same fight over and over. Lately, we have been fighting about college and are arguing over decisions regarding next year. Now that it’s hitting me that I’ll be away in college next year, I want to spend my final year at home getting along with my mom. Please help me figure out how to avoid conflicts and resolve our problems so they don’t keep repeating. Sincerely, Tired of Fighting Dear Tired of Fighting, One way to try to calm her down is by simply talking in a polite and respectful voice even when you are upset. It’s important to explain yourself calmly because your mom will react to that and be more willing to hear you out. Next, try to empathize with your mom and remember that both of you are going through mixed emotions regarding your future. It’s a hard time in every senior’s household right now with college applications, grades and busy schedules. If you can’t seem to avoid a fight erupting, the next step is to just walk away. Cool off and return when you can rationally talk things out instead of making rash comments that you’ll regret later. If it is really important to you to get along with your mother, you’re going to have to make some sacrifices. Your ego isn’t as important as a strong relationship with your mom. Sincerely, A&A
By Nicole Fleck off a somewhat royal, self-possessed aura. Friday has We all can see the rainbow, but only people with always seemed like Meryl Streep to me.” Senior Jake Zeisel is also synesthetic. He associates synesthesia can taste—and sometimes hear—the colors with letters and music, which can help him rainbow. Synesthesia is a condition that causes visual, recognize whether or not a person is singing on pitch. “If someone is singing in [the key of] A, I’ll be able auditory and even gustatory perceptions to involuntarily link. For instance, someone affected by synesthesia may to tell if they have good pitch because they will be on the color,” Zeisel said. “But then if they deviate from associate the color green with sour tastes. Three students at Whitman are aware of having that too much, it won’t be the right color.” Zeisel also associates colors with numbers, and uses synesthesia but it’s hard to tell how rare the condition is because many people don’t know they have it, his synesthesia to simplify math. “Everything seems very connected to me in ways psychology teacher Sheryl Freedman said. that other people don’t really see the world,” Zeisel Synesthesia varies from person to person, as every said. “If I do a math problem, it’s very similar to me sense can theoretically be coupled with any other listening to music because it’s all very colorful so it sense. Synesthesia isn’t the product of imagination or helps me relate parts of my life.” hallucination, but is the biological of enhanced neural Junior Jessa Daniels, who has a more prominent connections, according to synensthesia.com. form of synesthesia, finds it to be a Senior Rachel Bird, a synesthete, associates “Everything seems very distraction. “I cannot listen to music while I’m personalities and colors with connected to me in ways that doing homework,” Daniels said. “I’m the days of the week, colors and other people don’t really see not thinking about my homework— shapes with sound, and strong there are colors everywhere in my smells and colors with some the world.” mind. There are even certain songs physical sensations. -Senior Jake Zeisel that make me hungry when I listen to For example, when Bird them.” hears the phone ring, an Daniels’ synesthesia takes “music taste” to a whole automatic association in her brain pairs the sound of the new level—she can literally taste the music. phone with red concentric circles. She dislikes certain songs and genres because of “I don’t physically see colors when I hear or smell something,” Bird said. “They’re just associated in my unpleasant tastes she perceives while listening to them. “I cannot listen to pop music because it has the brain.” Just as when non-synesthetes hear the word most sickly sweet taste to it,” Daniels said. “It’s awful— “dad”, they picture their father, when Bird smells hand Pitbull is disgustingly sweet.” Many synesthetes are so accustomed to perceiving sanitizer, transparent green shards, similar to shattered the world in a unique way that they have a hard time glass, pop into her head. “When I learned the days of the week in imagining what a non-synesthetic world would look Kindergarten, I assumed that everyone just knew what like. “Having to imagine just thinking normally [without type of person Friday would be, if Friday were a person,” Bird said. “It’s not that I ‘see’ Friday as a person, but I synesthesia] is like trying to imagine a color that doesn’t know that the physical manifestation of a Friday would exist,” Bird said. “It’s impossible.” be an older woman dressed in deep purple who gives
Dirty jerseys and Phil Collins: Superstitious athletes prepare for game day with unorthodox methods By Nicole Fleck Caution: avoid reading this article standing on a cracked sidewalk, under a ladder, holding a smashed mirror, with a black cat walking by, all on Friday the 13th. If you believe in superstitions like these, you make up over 50 percent of Americans who consider themselves superstitious, according to a 2009 Gallup poll. Superstitions are irrational beliefs that a circumstance, not logically related to a course of events, influences its outcome. Whether it’s a pair of lucky socks or a simple routine, superstitions plague many students’ daily lives. Pin to Win Lacrosse goalie Colin Hains has a unique superstition of putting a piece of wrapped strawberry trident layers gum inside of his right sock for every game. “I accidentally left a piece of gum in my sock because I was saving it for after school and ended up playing the game with it,” Hains said. “We won that game so I decided to keep it for the next game and we won that game too and I’ve just been doing it ever since.” Another superstition held by boys lacrosse is a wrestling match that takes place before every game. Before the team’s first home game last year, the team was waiting for the game to start and decided to go into the wrestling room. Midfielders Jake Gray and Joe Szczesny started a wrestling tournament, which then continued before every home game for the rest of the season. Eventually, other people on the team joined in. “If I won the wrestling match
then we would win the game, but if Jake won then we would lose,” Szczesny said. “Before our B-CC game, Jake and I wrestled and decided that it was a tie. We had our only tie of the season against B-CC that night, so that’s proof that our superstition was true.” Dirty Jerseys Girls soccer forward Aliza Wolfe’s unhygienic superstition is not washing her uniform. Wolfe’s superstition began when she forgot to wash her jersey after beating highly ranked Good Counsel mid-way through the season. “We kept winning and winning and winning and then I knew I couldn’t stop,” Wolfe said. “I’m already extremely superstitious and so is the rest of the team. They wouldn’t let me wash it and I definitely couldn’t myself.” After air-drying it after every game outside for seven games straight, the team believes that Wolfe’s superstition lead the team to become state champions. “It was utterly disgusting but hey—it’s not weird unless it doesn’t work,” Wolfe said. Jammin’ to Phil Collins To get pumped up for its game, the football team jams out to “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins, just before storming the field. Listening to this song before games was a confirmed superstition after their game against QO when they were all sitting in the locker room during a rain delay, not knowing when they would have to head down to the field.
“We didn’t want to play the song too early because it wouldn’t have the same effect, and we didn’t want to wait too long because we wanted to hear the whole thing,” cornerback Kevin Baker said. “But we waited too long, didn’t get a chance to play it, we got blown out by QO and I got a concussion.” They believed from then on that they had to listen to that song before every game, otherwise they would lose. “I guarantee that no other school in the county gets pumped up to it, so it’s original,” Baker said. After every victory they also go back to the locker room and turn on “September” by Earth Wind and Fire. “It’s something I’ve witnessed for as long as I’ve been on varsity so I don’t really know how it started,” Baker said. “All I know is that everyone is required to dance for the full duration of the song.” Friendly Notes Cross Country runner Erin O’Connor calms her nerves by writing notes to herself for good luck. “The notes say different things like I have trained, I am ready, just relax and clear your mind,” O’Connor said. “Or even certain strategies like open your stride and fly down the hills. I read the notes over before each race and it helps me stay positive.” O’Connor said that one of the hardest things about running is staying mentally strong and that these notes help her to do so. “I feel like I am finally ready to race once I have read my notes for good luck,” O’Connor said.
Feature
December 19, 2013
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By Annie Ludewig Senior Stephen Nowack has it all planned out. Several years ago, when his family had trees taken down in his backyard, Nowack decided to chop the remaining wood into firewood to sell to his neighbors. What began as an easy way to make money has become a career. Now, Nowack is a self-taught arborist—a professional in the practice of the cultivation, management and maintenance of trees. Customers hire him to trim or remove trees that pose a danger or inconvenience. He has even certified the name of his business — Stephen’s Urban Lumberjack Company — with the Natural Resources Department. With the money he has earned, Nowak bought a truck that he uses for his work, he also plans to pay for part of his college tuition. “After I bought the truck it started paying for itself really quickly because it really expanded the type of work I can do,” Nowack said. “I used to use our family car and that didn’t work very well. My truck allows me to haul more wood.” Nowack will pursue his interest beyond high school. Next fall he will attend Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York; a school for students interested in forestry and natural resource management. After college, he hopes to transition into a managerial role in an arborist company rather than continuing as a laborer. “I like the outdoors a lot and I have a lot of fun doing what I’m doing,” he said. “I can’t see myself behind a desk any time in the future—I want to be outside doing things I enjoy.” Nowack pays attention to the health of the tree while he’s working. If he’s taking down a whole tree and doesn’t have to worry about damaging it, he uses tree spikes strapped to his feet and legs to walk up the tree and cut down limbs. If he’s taking down a limb and needs to protect the tree then he uses a weight attached
photo courtesy STEPHEN NOWACK
Senior follows passion, launches career as lumberjack
Senior Stephen Nowack is a self-taught arborist. He started his own company, Stephen’s Urban Lumberjack Company, and plans to pursue his interest in college.
to a rope to secure a thicker climbing rope that he uses to climb the tree. In addition to his job as an arborist, Nowack also has several hobbies that take place on the ground. For example, Nowack is a talented artist. He’s currently taking AP Ceramics and creates a detailed piece about every two weeks.
“I think Stephen has a bigger vision,” ceramics teacher Wendy Kleiner said. “The way he approaches his work is very college-like and mature. He’s exciting to work with because he always takes his work to the next level.” To fulfill his art credit, Nowack started taking ceramics sophomore year. After just a semester in the class, he was bumped up to the next level of ceramics. “I tend to make really detailed pieces so they’re pretty tedious” he said. “It’s something I’ve grown to really enjoy though—just working with my hands and constructing things that way.” Nowack also enjoys ice hockey. This year, Nowack’s fourth on the varsity team, his teammates voted him captain. He plans to continue playing hockey in college on Paul Smith’s club team and after college in men’s leagues. And if being a professional arborist, a talented ceramicist and a great ice hockey player weren’t enough, Nowack also rides motorcycles. He attended a three-day class to get his motorcycle license and now rides one of his dad’s motorcycles to school on nice days. Before he got his license, Nowack helped fix his neighbors’ broken bikes. Once he got his license, Nowack decided to buy a motorcycle that didn’t run and he’s been rebuilding it ever since. He has fixed it up enough so that it runs and hopes that soon he will be able to ride it safely. Before moving to his Bethesda home nine years ago, Nowack had lived in Tokyo, Colorado and England because of his father’s job in the Air Force. Senior Will Guerry, a close friend of Nowack, recognizes Nowack’s passion for what he does. “I’m really proud of Stephen,” Guerry said. “He’s probably the most driven guy I know and he’ll definitely succeed at what he puts his mind to — now and in the future.”
National movement spreads to D.C. area
Black & White’s November Project offers local weekly workouts in top flicks of 2013 the D.C. community, attracts dozens of runners
photo courtesy DANNY METCALF
By Sophia Glazer As early as 5:30 or 6:30 in the morning, a substantial group of people gather at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, still sleepy and bleary-eyed, but ready to run hard. The November Project is a running group that requires no membership or cost. The D.C. branch is one of the many cities that has taken part in this grassroots fitness movement. NP was founded in 2011 by two college graduates who wanted to stay in shape after school. Two guys turned into hundreds of people through word of mouth, running up the steps in the Harvard Stadium. The November Project’s goal is to build a community where people The D.C. chapter of the Boston-based can come together and exercise free November Project holds workouts on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial every week. of charge. NP has spread to seven cities week since then has seen their including San Diego, San Francisco, membership grow. Denver, Madison and D.C. NP “Last week we had about 80 leaders have to go through a people,” Metcalf said. “It was our pledging process, in which they biggest one yet, and there’s no real organize a running group in their sign of it slowing down in growing.” city that works out consistently Kathleen Hodge is a running before they are approved to use the enthusiast who has been with the November Project title. NP D.C. from the start. The November Project D.C. “Part of showing up isn’t just to “tribe,” as they call themselves, get your workout in,” Hodge said. began in October. They meet every “It’s to see your friends that you Wednesday morning in sunshine, haven’t gotten to see all week and rain or snow. catch up with people and be around Danny Metcalf and Steve that energy and that environment.” Christiensen started the D.C. tribe. Despite the name, workouts Christiensen ran with the Boston are not only in November, but tribe and wanted to bring it to D.C. participants get out of bed at when he moved for graduate school. the crack of dawn all year long. “The idea of building a Workouts consist of running up community based on fitness and the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial doing something bigger than while the sun rises, and doing ab just working out on your own is workouts like burpees or pushups. something that spoke to me and I The group always keeps the energy just went with it,” Metcalf said. and enthusiasm high. The tribe’s first workout had “We chant, we yell, we sing, a five person turnout, and every always trying to encourage people
to do their best,” Metcalf said. To prevent workouts from getting too repetitive, there is a different theme or variation every week. One workout is called “fireman’s five” where groups of five people form at the beginning and then disperse to run the stairs. When Christiensen or Metcalf yell, the group of five has to find each other and do five pushups. “It’s fun because everyone is running all over the memorial to try to find each other,” Hodge said. A special canine has been known to grace the NP with his presence. Ivan, a husky mix, sometimes comes with his owner to run stairs. The age of participants ranges from 18 to 50, but all ages, abilities and even animals are welcome with open arms and big hugs, which are plentiful at the NP. “Because it’s on the stairs and you’re just going up and down, the fast people are right there next to the slow people,” Hodge said. “You can get a good workout whether you’re super fast or whether you’re just starting out.” Cross country runner Spencer Adams, a sophomore, likes running in big groups and thinks the November Project would be a good fit for him. “You want to change it up while running, so trying out a new experience like the NP would be worthwhile,” Adams said. Hodge and Metcalf agree that one of the best parts of the NP is the tight knit community they’ve built. “Having that accountability in the morning when people don’t want to get out of bed,” Metcalf said. “Knowing that there’s 80 people there ready to smile at you and give you a hug is something I’ve never felt before.”
By Ben Zimmermann After years of clear races between two or three films for the Academy Award for Best Picture, this year’s edition of the Oscars will be the most wideopen in years. This season’s top films include some from every genre, from science fiction to historical drama to musical comedy. Here are the Black & White’s picks for some of the top movies of the year: Gravity: Alfanso Cuaron’s sci-fi thriller contains many common elements of an award-winning flick: strong star performances (Sandra Bullock shines as Dr. Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first mission in space), eternal themes of death and survival and advanced special effects. Similar to “Avatar” in 2009, this box office hit is one of the strongest Best Picture contenders. 12 Years a Slave: This historical drama flew under the radar for weeks until its acclaimed reviews began to lift its appeal. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Solomon Northup, a free-born African American who is kidnapped and sold into slavery. This picture tells the obscure story of Northup, based on his autobiography, in a movie that all history buffs should be sure to catch. Inside Llewyn Davis: Brothers Joel and Ethan Coen returned to the forefront this year with this acclaimed comedy-drama about a singer in the folk scene of the 1960s. The movie features original songs from Justin Timberlake (who also co-stars in the film) and Marcus Mumford, highlighting the struggle of many artists during this era. American Hustle: Director David O. Russell’s film could be a dark horse for Best Picture, with a superb ensemble cast featuring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, among others, starring in this story about a 1970s FBI sting operation into government corruption. Russell’s combination of witty humor with great dialogue could make this into a massive hit among critics and moviegoers. Captain Phillips: This could be the best thriller of the Year, with Tom Hanks starring as the cool and confident Richard Phillips, the skipper of a cargo ship that gets taken over by hostages in 2009. Though the facts (based on Phillips’ book) are disputable, Hanks offers a deep characterization of the fears associated with this type of haunting event. Saving Mr. Banks: The holidays often feature feel-good stories in addition to these awardhopefuls. But “Banks” offers a rare combination of these two styles, telling the story of P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) selling the rights of “Mary Poppins” to Walt Disney. This story highlights the power of storytelling, ultimately convincing the grouchy Travers to let Disney create an animated musical out of the story based on her childhood.
Feature
FEATURE
DUDE FOOD:
Bethesda Restaurant Wish List by Nick Meyer Most guys I know usually daydream about sports or fancy cars while they’re spacing out in class. As for me though, I surf Yelp in search of restaurants I’ve always wanted to have in Bethesda. Here’s just a few from that long list: Dim Sum There is nothing better in the world than waking up at 9 a.m. on a Saturday to make a pilgrimage to the local dumpling house. At least that’s what I thought when I lived in Hong Kong. After all, Dim Sum has to be one of the most dynamic and tastiest of culinary delicacies out there. The southern Chinese style feast features a menu with up to 150 dishes—featuring cornerstones such as steamed dumplings, roast meats and fried seafood, carted around the restaurant on trolleys. My favorites have always been Har Gao (shrimp dumplings), Char Siu Bao (steamed pork bun) and Char Siu (deliciously marinated and always perfectly roasted pork. But tables at Silver Spring’s Oriental East Restaurant take up to an hour and a half to secure, plus it’s a 20 minute drive. So it’s time Bethesda opens up a dumpling house of its own. Taqueria The Mission District in San Francisco is famous for inventing the burrito back in the 60s. For foodies, the neighborhood is a gold mine, as it’s dotted with some of the nation’s best taco shops. These “taquerias” serve up authentic staples such as tacos (with housemade torillas and almost every meat option in the Mexican culinary arsenal—including carnitas, pollo asado and chicharones), jam-packed burritos and the ever popular tortas (massive sandwiches stuffed with a wide variety of meats and other toppings). Not that Chipotle isn’t tasty, but quite honestly, I’d love to frequent a restaurant where I could get three Al Pastor tacos (with a guaranteed assurance of house-made masa) and a Horchata or Agua Fresca for about six bucks. Not only do taquerias cook some of the best Mexican fare north of the Rio Grande, they’re dirt cheap too. Jewish Deli Carnegie Deli, New York, NY: the place I fell in love with a sandwich. At this holy of holies for all things deli, the towering sandwich known as the Woody Allen (Corned Beef, Pastrami and mustard on rye bread), made me realize that an authentic Jewish style deli should not be taken for granted. But sadly, the closest thing to a real “deli” in Bethesda is Boeeymonger. What this town needs is a neighborhood delicatessen that serves hard-to-replicate New York classics. I’m talking about chopped liver sandwiches on onion rolls, piping hot potato knishes, chicken noodle matzo ball soup, the best bagels and lox you’ve ever had, plus perfectly smoked pastrami.
Decmeber 19, 2013
Tech crew uses new techniques to engage audience in world of “Miss Saigon” by Caroline Schweitzer Images of Vietnam terrain, video clips of children on the streets and the ground-shaking sound of helicopters flying above were all successful technical additions to Whitman’s musical “Miss Saigon.” The show featured a row of four panels that stretched the length of the stage displaying projected images and video clips from the Vietnam War. The footage from the Vietnam War that was shown at the start of “Miss Saigon” was a first for the drama department, marking the first time a Whitman musical used projection that heavily in a production, assistant director Brandon Babbit said. “I heard that it was ambitious, but everyone said they liked it,” Babbit, a junior, said. Whitman rented an 80-pound, 8,000 lumen professional quality projector from Illinois to accomplish their mission. “A big concern going into the musical was whether we could actually project through the [stage] lights, but I think it worked out pretty well,” multimedia designer Jordan Day said. The last two fall musicals—“Gypsy” and “Anything Goes”—both had more traditional effects, so the drama department wanted to do something more daring with Miss Saigon, Day said. The tech crew used software called projection mapping to create each projected scene. A program called Mad Mapper was used to isolate the images
on each of the four panels to prevent the images from spilling over the edges of the panels, Day said. The four separate images however were combined to create a single image. For the video aspect, the crew used archival footage to create the montage. The stage panels will also be incorporated into the spring production of Lord of the Flies, but will most likely display separate images on each panel, Day said. The sound effects that accompanied the video montage were overseen by sound director Aaron Zimmerberg. The show featured a surround sound system creating the sense of a helicopter flying from the
“The helicopters made you feel like you were in a war zone. It made you feel like you were really a part of the story.” -Junior Lauren Furst back of the auditorium towards the stage, immersing the audience into the scene. This was the first time Whitman drama used surround sound in a production, Zimmerberg said. The musical also used a dynamic set on stage, meaning most of the set structures were moving around in between and even during scenes. Previous shows have used static sets where most stage structures remain in one spot throughout the production, Zimmerberg said. Junior Lauren Furst thought that all of the technical aspects of the production, especially the surround sound, enhanced the show. “The helicopters made you feel like you were in a war zone,” Furst said. “It made you feel like you were really a part of the story.”
Senior musician plays lead guitar with local alumni band Dale and the ZDubs By Emma Anderson With an album on iTunes, a marching band under his lead, a coffee house to organize, a talent show to direct, and Guy Poms to dance with, senior Carson Lystad has a full plate of extra-curriculars. But just last month, he added one more. In November, Lystad got the opportunity to perform on stage with local Whitman alumni band Dale and the ZDubs at Jammin Java in Vienna, Virginia. Lystad was called up on stage to perform the last few songs of the set with the band. This wasn’t his first experience with the group. The band invited Lystad to try out when lead guitarist, Justin Masters, decided that he didn’t want to perform full time anymore. Due to his commitments, Lystad cannot be the band’s permanent replacement for Masters but he is happy to temporarily fill in for Masters when the lead guitarist is unavailable to perform with the band. “A band is a business in the sense that people come and go,” said singer and guitar player Dale Rodman. “Someone leaves and it’s unfortunate, but you have to find someone else to take their spot and right now Carson is a great temporary fit.” After asking around for a talented guitar player at Whitman, Dale and the ZDubs contacted Lystad in late October. Dale and the ZDubs have played with Whitman students before, including senior vocalist Calvin Schalch and alumni saxophone player Gabe Schlesinger. The band asked Lystad to learn the songs from all of their albums so that he would be prepped to perform with them in the future. “It was a little scary because no one has ever done that to me before and I don’t have the best ear musically,” Lystad said. Lystad learned one song a day until he could play the whole album. He attended casual practices
photo courtesy CARSON LYSTAD
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Lystad performed at Jammin Java with alumni band Dale and the ZDubs. He was selected out of many auditioners to temporarily replace the band’s lead guitarist.
at the drummer Miles Lieder’s, and played with the band six or seven times before the gig at Jammin’ Java. Rodman said that the band had been casually auditioning other musicians for the position, but that Lystad was better than anyone else who tried out. “It’s not about what you look like or who you hang out with or what your reputation is.” Rodman said. “It’s about whether or not you have the chops, you can play, and you got a good attitude. He [Lystad] has got all of those things.” When Lystad sounded more confident with the band, Rodman asked him to perform with them at their show at Jammin Java. “That was my last audition,” Lystad said. “I came on stage and played two or three songs with them just to see how I felt on stage, how I meshed with the band in front of an audience.” Lystad said he felt comfortable on stage and was not nervous. “Generally age-wise the fan group for Dale and the ZDubs is about the same for the fan group that Carson plays at,” senior Ryan Savage said. “He has gotten a pretty good sense of what works,
what looks good, what people like, what people don’t like, and he can definitely incorporate that with Dale and the ZDubs.” Lystad and Rodman agree that the performance went well until the song “Leave the Drama” when Rodman forget to tell Lystad about the group dance. “They have a dance thing that they do that I didn’t know,” Lystad said. “The whole band stepped one way and then the other way and I was dead in the middle of the stage not going anywhere. It was a bummer.” Lystad enjoys playing with the band and suspects that he will continue playing with them occasionally while Masters decides when he will leave. Rodman says both the band and Lystad benefit when they play together. “He’s easy to work with. He has a great attitude and he is so far from being the older jaded musician that is looking for money to play gigs. He seems to be a very open-minded guitar player who is eager to get a lot better,” Rodman said. “He is more than welcome to continue playing with us.”
December 19, 2013
Sports
SPORTS
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ATHLETES OF THE MONTH
Andy and Sam Dexter Easily confused and wearing reversible numbers 19 and 91, the Dexter brothers are taking over Montgomery County hockey. Senior Andy Dexter and freshman Sam Dexter have each registered eight points this season already and are proving to be a lethal duo, helping propel the Vikings ice hockey team to a 5-2 start. Sam leads the team in assists with six while Andy has registered four goals and four assists, both very technically balanced players. The brothers, both forwards, described their ability to play well together as exciting and effective. “It’s a ton of fun,” Sam said. “It also works great because we work well with one another and tear up the ice.” Andy considers this season one of his best so far and
credits it partly due to being able to play with his little brother. “When we’re playing together on the same line we have great chemistry,” Andy said. “This is our only year together so we’re both trying to make the most of it.” Sam believes that the team has the potential to do something special this year while he and his brother play together for the first, and last time. “This season will be one of the best years that Whitman will have in a long time,” Sam said. “We have a lot great guys on the team and it doesn’t hurt that we are loaded with talent.” Sam Dexter
Andy Dexter
TEAM UPDATES
Girls Basketball
Guard Ben Castagenetti (17) passes the ball in the team’s win over Landon last friday. The Vikes next play Friday vs Northwest.
Wrestling
The wrestling team followed up its first win of the season with a strong tournament this past weekend-going 4-1 as a team overall--and a 45-21 win over Paint Branch on Tuesday. In their first dual meet of the season, the Vikes defeated Wootton 46-24, beating the 0-1 Patriots for the first time in three years. In the tournament this weekend, the Vikes battled various schools such as the Eleanor Roosevelt Raiders, the Anne Arundel Wildcats, and the Century Knights. Seniors Will Baker, Stephen Sharbaugh, and Jacob Cutler were all undefeated, going 5-0 for the tournament. “The team did really well, and it just showed us the ptential we have to do big things the rest of the season,” Evan Smith said. The team followed up with a 20 point win over Paint Branch, who bested the Vikes last year. The squad next takes on rival Churchill Dec. 19.
Forward Douglas Bruchalski takes the puck up the ice for the Vikes. The team has started the season 3-2.
Ice Hockey
The ice hockey team has been sharpening their skates and their play this season and they have become one of the stronger teams in their division. The Vikes took some time off around Thanksgiving but came back strong after the break, winning their most recent game 4-2 against the BCC Barons. With a 3-2 record, the Vikes trail Wootton and Churchill who are both 4-0 in the division. The Dexter brothers—Sam and Andy—have led the Vikings on offense this season. They are tied for the most points on the team with eight points each. Forward Jeff Marr has also played an important role. He has scored the most goals with six than any other Vike. Compared to the teams ahead of them, the Viking’s offense is on the same level but their defense has lagged behind so far. Churchill and Wootton have given up seven and five goals respectively while the Vikes have let in 15 while playing one more game. The Vikes have a chance to make up some ground in the division when they take on the Wootton Patriots this Friday
Led by freshman Abby Meyers and returning seniors like forward Avery Witt and guards Marissa and Maddie Cannon, the team is expected to have a successful season. Despite a record of 1-2, and losing to the tough ranked opponents of Good Council and Bishop McNamara, the team has looked solid in each game. The Vikes were also one of only two MCPS teams to be invited to the Tina Thompson “She Got Game” Classic, an invitational tournament where the top teams in the area play in front of college coaches and scouts. Forward Alison Poffley thinks that the team is looking better than ever this year with the addition of younger players to the varsity squad. “I think we have a lot of talent this year and some very strong young players,” Poffley said. Guard Hannah Niles has very high expectations for the team this season. “We all feel that we can go really far this year and that we have a great chance of being state champions,” Niles said.
Girls Basketball At a Glance
9.8 7 20
Nicole Fleck’s points per game
underclassmen on the team, out of 12 players
pre-season ranking in the Washington Post
Swimming
The swim and dive team dominated their first match of the season, with a victory against the Northwest Jaguars, Dec 14. The boy’s team won 125-44, and the girls 124-44. “Many members of the team stepped up and swept their events,” captain Matthew Kellman said. “It was a great way to start the season with a win for both the boys and girls teams.” This season marks the first time in 15 years the team will compete in Montgomery County’s Division II, after struggling last year in Division I. But with 13 seniors on the squad, the Vikes look to use experience to break past other stong teams including Quince Orchard and Magruder. Senior Sarah Kannan, a Cornell commit, will help lead the Vikings. The Vikings look to keep up their momentum against the Sherwood Warriors, Saturday Dec. 21.
photo courtesy REBECCA FORD
photo by NICK ANDERSON
After a tough first two games of the season, the boys basketball team has rebounded with big offensive outbursts against rival Landon and Wootton. Point guard Max Steinhorn has been a leader for the Vikes, scoring 12 points and nine assist in the win against the Bears and adding 13 points in a tough loss to the Rockville Rams. Guard Kyle Depollar, a sophomore transfer from the Heights, has been a big addition this season with 13.5 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.7 steals per game, team highs in each category. While the team has had strong offensive performances they will look to tighten up on the defensive side of the ball late in games after tough losses early in the season. In their season opener to Georgetown Prep the Vikes held the Hoyas close until they opened the game up in the fourth quarter. They Vikes also held an 11 point fourth quarter lead against Rockville before the Rams also exploded with four minutes left to beat the Vikes by 5. The team has big rivalry games upcoming, first at the Churchill Bulldogs Fri. Dec. 20 followed by a home game against Walter Johnson Fri. Jan. 3, before traveling to B-CC Mon. Jan 6.
photo courtesy WILL MOSS
Boys Basketball
Senior Rebecca Ford goes through defenders straight to the hoop.
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SPORTS
december 19, 2013
Two Vikings pursue professional soccer dreams Junior Jean-Christophe Koffi prepares for the pros with DC United Academy
day for two weeks playing soccer to impress the clubs. “The tryouts went very well,” Koffi said. “Both teams really appreciate my skill.” He said he considers the tryouts in Spain some of the best experiences of his life.
“I’ve always wanted to play at the highest level possible in Europe,” Koffi said. “Going there was like half of my dream coming true.” After a successful tryout at Sevilla FC, Koffi decided to continue playing with DCU while attending summer training with the club until he turns 18 in 2015 and can legally move to Spain
Koffi moved to Bethesda four years ago for his father’s job at Ivory Coast’s embassy. He began playing with DC United Soccer Pre-Academy and was eventually moved up to the U18 academy team. This past season, he registered ten goals in 25 games for DCU, making him one of the team’s leading scorers. He said he considers it one of his strongest seasons so far for DCU.
photo courtesy JEAN-CHRISTOPHE KOFFI
by Caleb Kushner For junior Jean-Christophe Koffi, playing professional soccer in Europe has always been part of the goal. Koffi, an Ivory Coast native, is now one step closer to achieving this dream. Koffi currently plays for the DC United U18 academy (DCU) as the starting center forward and this past July, participated in the United Sport Group (USG) North American Showcase. USG selected Koffi out of elite players from across the country to tryout for professional club teams in Europe. Later that month after the showcase, Spanish teams Malaga CF and Sevilla FC invited Koffi, along with about 50 other players, to tryout for their academy teams. He spent at least three hours each
without his parents. Koffi has high expectations for his future with professional soccer in Europe and doubts that he will play anywhere else. “My ultimate goal is to sign my first professional contract with a club in Europe,” he said. “If I don’t make it by the time I’m 18, then soccer is not for me.”
Vegas Kastberg, a former teammate of Koffi’s, considers him one of the best strikers in the country for his age group. “He’s very dynamic, powerful and fast,” Kastberg said. “He has great technical ability and strength that makes him one of the best strikers in the country.” Tom Torres, the head coach and academy scout of DCU, added that he has high hopes for Koffi’s future playing professional soccer.
“He has a very good chance to make it to the highest levels,” Torres said. “He has a lot of the tools already and will continue to develop into an even stronger player.”
Koffi said that playing at an extremely high level of soccer in Europe this past summer had an entirely different feel to it. “Playing with such great players in Spain makes soccer so much easier and more enjoyable than playing in the US,” Koffi said. “Everyone is so good and they understand the game well.”
by Tyler Jacobson A student pops his new copy of FIFA 14 into his Xbox and starts a game with the United States national soccer team. Of course, superstars Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey take the field. But would you expect a Whitman graduate to be playing alongside them? That may just be what the future looks like. Paul Torres (’09) took to the fields of southeastern Sweden these past two years to begin his professional soccer career. Torres played well in each of his two seasons and has moved up a division each season. Early in November, he moved to a seconddivision team, Landskrona. “This move is huge for me,” Torres said. “Every game is televised and I’m one step closer to the top of Sweden. I’ll be in an environment where I can develop exponentially.” Landskrona’s manager Jorgen Pettersson has experience with the highest levels of European soccer, a place that Torres wants to get to. He played a number of seasons in the top German league and started for the Swedish national team. “I’ll have a mentor and a coach with a lot of experience,” Torres said. “He really cares about my development as a player.” After graduating in 2009, Torres attended the University of Maryland on a full soccer scholarship. Two years, 40 games, and five goals later, Torres cut his college education short without any offers from professional teams. “I kind of was just winging it when I left Maryland,” Torres said. “But I knew that I would
photo courtesy PAUL TORRES
Torres (‘09) gets successful taste of pro soccer in Sweden
end up on some team.” After months of training, Torres travelled to Nykopings (pronounced “new-schepping”), Sweden, to try out with the city’s team. After a successful tryout, Torres received an offer. “It was definitely an ‘Oh my God’ type feeling,” Torres said. After proving himself during his appearances on the youth team and off the bench, Torres eventually became a full time starter. He finished the season with seven goals and
seven assists on a team that went on to win their league title. As a result, the team moved from the fourth division to the third. Torres won the award for best midfielder in the league and earned a tryout for Gefle, a team in the Swedish first division. In Torres’s second season, this past year, he struggled with a nagging groin injury. “I had to play every game with a lot of painkillers,” Torres said. “I really couldn’t even practice during the week. I just had to recover.” Despite the injury, Torres still played well, tallying five goals and three assists on the season, and earned another tryout. Torres continued to excel and Landskrona then offered him a spot on the second division team. Junior David Voigt played on the varsity soccer team this year and trained with Torres before he left for Sweden. “He is definitely someone I look up to,” Voigt said. “It gives me confidence in what I can do, knowing that someone on the Whitman team played professionally.” Torres’s goals have become increasingly lofty after his successful two seasons. “I realized the more unrealistic I set my goals, the higher I’ll go,” Torres said. “There’s no reason why I can’t be one of the best in Sweden.” Torres is back in Bethesda, training until January, when he goes back to Sweden for the preseason. “Anyone pursuing professional sports seriously wants to be the best at everything they do,” Torres said. “I’m trying to go completely off the charts this season.”
Antoine White (‘07) transitions from coach to college player By Emilia Malachowski Whitman alum Antoine White (‘07) is one of the few players to go from coaching to playing, representing jersey number five from the Whitman basketball court all the way to Southern Vermont College. White played as a point-guard on the varsity Vikings basketball team from 2005-2007, helping the Vikes win a state championship. After graduating Whitman and attending Chesapeake College for one year, he became head coach of the JV boys basketball team in 2010 before leaving prior to this season. White is now enrolled as a sophomore at Southern Vermont College in Bennington, Vermont, where he is a starting point-guard for their varsity basketball team. During his junior and senior year at Whitman, he helped lead the Vikes to two dominant seasons capped off by a Maryland 4A State Championship in 2006. Head coach Chris Lun began coaching White in 2004.
Based on their close relationship, Lun had confidence in White’s ability to lead the JV basketball team. “Having him on the coaching staff really helped our program,” Lun said. “He knows our system very well, and was very good at explaining how we do things and holding kids accountable. He had a tireless work ethic, and brought a lot of enthusiasm to the sidelines.” White said he decided to come back to coach the Vikes after graduating for several reasons, including his love of the sport, as well as a drive to help his former team. Although White only coached for two years, he formed strong bonds with all the players and gave them great advice, junior guard Riley Shaver said. “He knew a lot about the game and overall, he was a very good trainer who helped to keep us in shape,” Shaver said. Before coaching JV, White worked at Koa Sports
for three years, helping coach and run after-school programs for kids. The transition from coaching the JV team to playing for a Division III college was difficult, White said. However, he is now thriving in college and said he loves it there. “I had stopped playing basketball for six years and picking it up again was not an easy task,” White said. “Also, I had to get used to the long hours of studying and it took a little time to adjust but I’m doing very well both on and off the court.” The Southern Vermont Mountaineers now have a record of 6-2, and White has started all eight games. He has scored roughly seven points per game thus far this season. “My teammates are great here and I couldn’t ask for a better coaching staff,” White said.
December 19, 2013
Sports
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Indoor track team embraces new, more organized practice method, tighten attendance standards by sam berson In an attempt to create a more effective and serious workout, the indoor track team has revamped their practice system with more structured groups and tighter attendance policies. This winter, the indoor track team introduced a new system of organization, which will hold runners more accountable and increase efficiency during practice. Each practice is now split up into five groups of 20 to 25 runners each with a captain who acts as the group’s coach. Each group specializes in a specific event, including hurdling, jumping, sprints, mid-distance, and long distance. With more individual focus directed
at each runner and an increase in practice productivity, Coach Stephen Hays thinks the changes have been successful, and said he will try to expand the system to both track and field and cross-country. “The upper level athletes are really appreciating being able to get right into practice and do what they need to do,” Hays said. “Just in the first couple weeks we have been doing it, it has been working.” Hurdler Hannah Hults said she likes how her practices are specialized to just her event. She also said she likes being coached by fellow students because they’re more approachable, but still teach her what she needs to learn. Sprinter Zach Winter agrees, adding that he feels more driven when a fellow
student coaches him. “Specific groups allow runners to excel in events that they are best at,” Winter said. “Runners are also able to relate to the student who is their captain and can often be more motivated by another student.” The changes were put in motion last season when several upperclassmen sprinters met to review how the team was being run, and decided changes needed to be made. “In the past many of the workouts would focus on training for an event that many members of the team were never going to run,” mid-distance captain Ben Schloss said. The team was looking for increased individual accountability, Hays said.
Coaches and captains now have an easier time figuring out who is showing up to practice regularly, a common problem in the past that Hays was looking to fix. Last year the team instituted a policy that allowed up to 10 absences each season, after which a runner would be removed from the team. However, this season group captains and Hays have the power to remove runners who they feel don’t attend practice enough. “We don’t cut people; they cut themselves,” Hays said. “Everyone made the team who came and tried out, and people who are going to be cut are the people who don’t come to practice. Already we have had folks not show up so we just cross their name off the list.”
Two-sport freshman excels on the field, basketball court By Emilia Malachowski While her preschool classmates played with Legos, three-year-old Abby Meyers was shooting a basketball at hoops twice her size and kicking soccer balls into goals that towered over her. Now a freshman, Meyers is a true multi-sport athlete. She is a starter on both the varsity girls soccer and basketball teams, and also plays tennis and golf outside of school. Although Meyers has been playing each sport competitively for over a decade, the environment of high school sports forced her to adjust to the intense level of playing. “I’ve always been used to the competitive side of sports, but upon coming to Whitman I had to learn how to take criticism and yelling and turn them into advice,” Meyers said. While she loves both soccer and basketball, basketball is her real passion, Meyers said. She has
dedicated hours practicing alone in her driveway and said that when she was younger, she played non-stop. “There was no weather that could stop me,” Meyers said. “I practiced basketball for hours through rain, sleet, snow and freezing temperatures.” Meyers would often practice with her sisters, sophomore Emily Meyers and twin sister Livy. The competition they provided helped her get used to team playing, she said. Emily said she admires Abby’s competitiveness and drive. “Abby comes home after school and watches videos of famous basketball players like Michael Jordan and then she goes outside and practices the moves they make,” Emily said. “That’s dedication.” Meyers first met varsity head coach Peter Kenah in the summer of seventh grade, when she joined the basketball summer league. It was there where Kenah recognized her strengths and figured out what she
could play on varsity. “Abby adds the element of being a natural scorer to the team along with creative ball handling,” Kenah said. “She is a gifted one-on-one offensive player.” In seventh and eighth grade, Meyers played for the Pyle girls soccer team. Varsity girls soccer coach Gregory Herbert often attended practices, where he met Meyers and got to know her playing style. This year, Meyers played as a forward for the varsity soccer team and helped the Vikes win their first state championship in nine years—a memory that she said she’ll never forget. Though juggling four sports would be a difficult task for most, Meyers said it is easy for her because of her passion and dedication for all of them. “I never want to stop playing these sports,” Meyers said. “My parents think it’s all for fun but I know it’s something more.”
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by Kelley Czajka Santa Claus, with the help of senior marketing director for Westfield Montgomery Christa Allen, put aside some time this busy holiday season to respond to an email interview with The Black & White. The renowned holiday hero reveals information about the inner workings of the North Pole and the magic of Christmas, plus some of his favorite parts about the season. The Black & White: How do you deliver so many presents in one night? Santa Claus: On Christmas Eve we load up our sleigh and prepare the reindeer for the long flight ahead. I am able to fly hundreds of miles in a mere few minutes and I move quickly from rooftop to rooftop. That magic allows us to deliver toys to each and every child around the world. B&W: How do you keep yourself and the reindeer from getting tired? SC: The reindeer train to stay in tip top shape and Mrs. Claus takes care of me with a brown bag snack for the trip. With all the excited energy along the journey there really is no time to feel tired, just joyous! B&W: How do you decide who goes on the
Down: 1. U.S. senator that graduated from Whitman 2. _____ of Green Gables 3. Tweetybird’s species 4. _____ Big Fish 6. Quaker State abbr. 7. Greeting and breakfast cereal (singular) 8. ___- ___ Binks 9. Rapper whose real name is Ben Haggerty 11. Half of Sam & Cat on Nickelodeon 13. Villainess in The Little Mermaid 15. Premieres 18. Aladdin’s monkey 21. Nation created in 1948 23. What you get from the bank 24. Second syllable of famous sunglasses brand 27. Make your resume better 28. A frightened horse did this (past tense) 29. The Men Who Stare At ____ 30. Greeting 31. Half of French music duo (last name) 38. Spongebob’s job 40. Brand of cookie and sailor’s catchphrase 41. Immoral habit 42. BWI guess 44. What’s on the ___? 46. 1057, to the Romans 47. Actor __ Cage (nickname) 49. Computer software company 52. 1982 Steven Spielberg film 56. 1980s Northern Ireland terrorist org. 57. Lebron is in the ___ (abbr) 58. __ The World Turns (Soap Opera) 61. Initials of Kimye’s baby
Q&A
naughty and nice lists? SC: The thing is, I don’t decide who goes on the naughty and nice list. Children decide for me. Little children always know whether or not they are behaving and being well, so I’m sure they know in their hearts what list they are on. B&W: What do you like most about meeting children at the mall? SC: When children visit me at the mall, I am reminded what an important job we have at the North Pole. More importantly, I love watching my little friends grow and continue to believe in the magic of Christmas. That love and warmth fills my heart all year long. B&W: What is your favorite Christmas cookie? SC: I love any kind of cookie that Mrs. Claus makes for me. I’ve had sugar, peanut butter, and peppermint. I love gingerbread and macaroons too. There are too many to name! But I must say, when I am out delivering presents, there is nothing better than a classic chocolate chip cookie paired with a cold glass of milk. B&W: What present is in highest demand this year? SC: Oh, there are so many popular toys, but the
December 19, 2013
most common among children are still the classics that I enjoyed when I was young. I deliver thousands of dolls, trucks and board games each and every year! B&W: What do Mrs. Claus and everyone else up at the workshop do while you are out delivering gifts? SC: Mrs. Claus and the elves eagerly await our return. The elves are busy tracking our route while others are prepping for our landing. B&W: What is your favorite Christmas song and why? SC: Well “Here Comes Santa Claus” of course. The classic jingle makes me smile every time I here it. B&W: Do you plan on taking a break after Christmas? If so, do you have any special plans? SC: Yes, Mrs. Claus and I like to snuggle up in our cabin in the woods next to a cozy fire and start dreaming up new toy ideas for next year. B&W: When does work for next year’s holiday begin? SC: It takes me quite a long time to sort through the list of children we visited and toys we delivered this year. Once I am done with my calculations we get started right away creating, building and inventing new gadgets and surprises for the following year.
By Haley Maness and Ethan Taswell Across: 1. You know Dasher and Dancer and _____ and Vixen… 5. Movie starring Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny 10. One way to apply to college (abbrev.) 12. Get thee to a _____! 14. first name of Pattinson’s character in Potter 16. Web browser 17. Martial arts actor Jet 19. Cummings’ First initials 20. Island country in the northern Indian Ocean (first word) 22. What a strong man lifts 24. Department stores offers plenty of great these after Thanksgiving 25. IN. college 26. Ö or Ø is used to represent this dipthong 27. Potter Puppet _____ 29. Batman’s birthplace 31. Fruit and Republic
32. Prefix meaning Chinese 33. Black & White sells these (can you please buy one?) 34. Yogi Berry flavor 36. Don’t get left here by your fiancee 39. gifted 43. 60’s spy sitcom remade in a 2008 film 45. An assassin is also _____ 48. Of, in Ecuador 50. First word of a paradoxical band name 51. __ before __ except after C 53. Opposite of pro 54. Knot 55. Hunchback of Notre Dame author 58. Aang bends this 59. A scoreless tie 60. U2 song 62. Ovi’s homeland 63. Second name in a famous musical duo 64. Song Whitman made a video to