theMANE NEWS

May 29, 2007ST. ANDREW’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOLVolume 13, Issue 6

In this Issue:

Art: Kathryn Ticehurst

Retiring faculty (L to R) Donna Starr, Mary Eileen Stevens, Buck Brumbaugh, Dona Weingarten, and Susan Murray at a barbeque in their honor. See pages 6-7.

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Looking AheadSchool ponders options for future development

VA Tech Shooting Raises School Safety Questions

Led by Ms. Dresden Koons and Ms. Holly Funger, the first year of the Peer Leader program has been a huge success. With innovative structured discussions, such as the ninth grade roundtable night at the beginning of the year, the program has been able to delve into sensitive topics such as alcohol use and building strong relationships. The program is based on the idea that upper school students will receive training to lead small groups in discussions and activities. They will then share their knowledge and experience of high school with younger students and their families to help make the transition years easier. The Peer Leaders are trained to help increase communication within families in addition to encouraging fami-lies to discuss “tricky situations.” These

skills have been reinforced with many guest trainers who have helped tune the leaders’ skills in preparation for events involving the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth grades and their families. The program has undergone some recon-struction for next year; it will now have 30 peer leaders total, from the tenth, elev-enth, and twelfth grades. Each peer leader was selected from the nearly 80 students who applied near the end of this year. The program will still include the popular roundtable discussion nights but will be more structured within school, with two students (one male, one female) assigned to a ninth grade advisory for the year. The goal is that younger students will build an even stronger bond, and be more inclined to talk openly with older students as well as their own classmates and families.

Peer(less) LeadersTory Johnson Mane News Staff Writer

In the wake of the massacre at Vir-ginia Tech just over a month ago, safety in schools has become a nationwide is-sue. Because of its Potomac location, St. Andrew’s has never had much to worry about in terms of threats from outside the school, and because students are admit-ted to the school selectively, there have never been any real threats from inside the school, either. Assistant Headmaster John Holden points out that in a small commu-nity, people know each other well enough that it would be difficult for someone to plan any violent act inside the school without somebody else knowing or notic-ing a change in behavior. Even though there is not, nor has there ever been, any significant threat made against the school, there are still strict emergency procedures in place to be fol-lowed in the case of a threat. The Faculty Handbook, in a section entitled “Emer-gency Management Plan: Guidelines and Procedures” defines an emergency as “an

unpredictable, unplanned situation that requires an immediate response.” This section outlines two responses: Code Blue and Code Red. Only the Administrator in Charge can activate either of these responses. The Ad-ministrator in Charge is Headmaster Rob-ert Kosasky, unless he is off campus. The hierarchy prepared for such a situation is as follows: the Assistant Headmaster, the Business Manager, the Head of the Upper School, the Head of the Middle School, the Assistant Head of the Upper School, the Upper School Dean of Students, and the Middle School Dean of Students. These administrators, along with the Nurse, Counselor, Chaplain, and Director of Operations, form the Emergency Team in charge of handling an emergency situ-ation. A Code Blue governs emergencies re-lated to the weather, medical issues, and hazardous materials, or any other situa-tion that is not immediately life threaten-ing but could be called an emergency. A

Jacob HornMane News Co-News Editor

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Goodbye and Good Luck , Seniors

Page 8

Laura Witowsky and Maggie RobertsMane News Staff Writers

With wrestlers in the dance studio, la-crosse players on the baseball diamond, and administrators meeting in the senior lounge, it is evident that the school needs to expand. The school has come a long way since starting out in a church base-ment, and it has already grown and devel-oped to compete with many other pres-tigious independent schools in the area. However, the school still has high hopes for even more development in upcoming years. There has been a great deal of talk concerning future plans for the school in regards to more buildings, more stu-dents, and academic changes. The Board of Trustees currently has a five year plan, which was implemented in 2004. We are continuing to raise the endowment for funding for better facilities in upcoming years. This is the main focus at this time, and there are presently no specific plans for expansion. In the future, the school would ideally like to see three major buildings or areas erected, in a more long-term plan. First, the campus needs a better gymnasium and athletic area. A chapel and perform-ing arts center round out the wish list. No contracts have been established, and St. Andrew’s has not looked into these plans in any detail. These are simply fu-ture goals that the school hopes to create eventually. Once again, this is long-term, after the endowment has been established and the school is financially in a place to start expanding the school. Before these buildings are created, the athletic depart-ment hopes to put in FieldTurf to make the fields more professional. With the new artificial turf, the fields would drain more easily, and make them easier to use and maintain. Currently, plans for turf are very flexible, though it will probably be installed long before the other buildings are built. In order for the school to start raising money, there is a need to build up the en-dowment. Currently the development of-fice is in the “quiet phase” of its capital campaign. This means that the school is in the “cultivation” process and is work-ing on building relationships with larger donors, in hopes of increasing the endow-ment before the capital campaign goes into the public phase. In the public phase the school will be getting donations from a larger group of donors. Having more money already pledged going into the public phase helps get donations. Business Manager Buck Brumbaugh said, “We would have hoped to be public by now, but it took longer to cultivate donors.” Until the school can build up the en-dowment, it cannot start planning the fundraising for new buildings. Right now

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How Safe Do We Feel? Poll Results

Page 2

Club Highlights Page 9

GV Lacrosse Ties For Banner: Page 12

MAC and ISL All League Athletes

Page 12

Farewell, Veteran Teachers and Staff

Pages 6 & 7

NEWS the Mane News2 May 29, 2007 the Mane News

NEWS IN BRIEFElection Season Draws to Close

Faculty Honored for Years of Service At the Upper School Honors Day on May 30, the St. Andrew’s community will honor teachers who are completing their fifth, tenth, fifteenth, or twentieth year of service at the school.

The student body elected new Student Government officers during lunches on May 14.

Spotlight On: Mr. Ritchie Porter

Student Advisory Board Elections These representatives to the Student Advisory Board, the school’s honor board, will serve for 2007-08 school year in cases of disciplinary infractions.

Over the weekend of May 19-20, the Jazz Band and the members of the Chorus com-peted against other high schools at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA. The groups won many awards, some of which were specially created to be awarded to band mem-bers:Overall Award – Choral (High School) with an Excellent rating Overall Award - Instrumental (High School) with a Superior RatingFirst Place H.S. Jazz ChoirFirst Place H.S. Jazz EnsembleOutstanding Soloist: Freshman Wendy Eisenberg (Jazz Band)Outstanding Soloist: Sophomore Jesse Schellenger (Chorus)Outstanding Soloist: Junior Colin Gray (Jazz Band)Outstanding Soloist: Senior Tim Rogan (Chorus)

Jazz Band and Chorus Stun Audiences, Win Awards at Busch Gardens

President: Tom McMackin (‘08)Vice President: Hannah Davis (‘08)Secretary: Dannie Moore (‘09)Treasurer: Stephen O’Dell (‘09)

Next year’s senoir class officers will be:President: William MoodieVice President: Leili DooreSecretary: Bryn WhitelyTreasurer: Thea Klein-Mayer

Class of 2008: Sam Cooper-Wall Drew SingerClass of 2009: Dannie Moore Stephen O’DellClass of 2010: Marco Bonvillian Philip DoerrClass of 2011: Mario Dehesa-Azuara Lauren Melvin

Upper School Exam Schedule

Completing fifteen years:Ms. Elaine St. Clair

Completing five years:Dr. Ian Kelleher Mr. Robert KosaskyMrs. Aileen MoodieMr. Ben RichMs. Caroline Secor

Completing ten years:Mr. Alex HaightMr. Al HightowerMs. Julie JamesonMr. Chuck JonesMr. Glenn Whitman

Completing twenty years:Ms. Debra KanterMs. Donna Lee Starr

main building as soon as a Code Blue is activated and remain there unless the situ-ation requires evacuation. As long as an evacuation is not required, students and employees are required to be in MacDon-ald Hall, a classroom, or an office area during a Code Blue. At the activation, all students must be accounted for, and the duration of the emergency, they must be supervised at all times. Because classes are allowed to continue under a Code Blue, this is relatively simple for most students. Students who have free periods, however, must go to an area where they can be supervised by an adult. A Code Red means that an there is a life-threatening emergency in the imme-diate area of the school. According to the Faculty Handbook, “Examples of a Code Red include any life-threatening situation considered to be an immediate threat to the welfare of the students and staff, such as an armed intruder(s) or an individual(s) who poses a threat.” When the Admin-istrator in Charge activates a Code Red, an announcement will come over the PA system saying an exact, scripted phrase: “This is a Code Red. This is a Code Red. This is not a drill. A Code Red is in ef-fect. Everyone should immediately move to a lockdown mode by going to the clos-est secure classroom or office location.” The announcement will also include the

location and the nature of the emergency, if appropriate. Once the hallways are clear and stu-dents and staff are secure in locked rooms, staff in a classroom or office should check the hallway for anyone who has not yet reached shelter. Once the hallway is clear, the person in charge in any given room should lock the door and shut the blinds or pull the shades over all outside and inside windows. The lights should be turned off, and everyone in the room should huddle in the corner, out of any shot lines (if there was a shooter in the building). Once each one of these steps has been completed, a teacher should prepare a list of everyone in the room. Finally, people in the room should maintain a low profile by remain-ing quiet until an announcement is made. The Administrator in Charge will no-tify police as soon as a Code Red takes effect, while information is shared with students and staff over the PA system as it becomes available. Students will not be told to evacuate the school unless the situ-ation changes. Many other aspects of the Code Red plan, such as whether to secure the exterior doors to the building, also de-pend on the situation and the threat. After reading the 17-page section of the Faculty Handbook, it becomes clear that the school administration has fully prepared for any emergency situation the school may be confronted with. How-ever, this is a fact that many students are

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School Safetycontinued from page 1

New SGA Officers Seniors Gain New Leadership

Thursday May 31: HistoryFriday June 1: ScienceMonday June 4: MathTuesday June 5: LanguageWednesday June 6: English

Although neither Ritchie Porter’s moth-er nor his father was involved in the per-forming arts, playing acting games was a common occurrence in the drama teach-er’s home. As the youngest of six, he was the family’s clown. It was in his senior year of high school in Vienna, Austria that he became truly involved in the arts. A woman, Ruth Brinkmana, asked him to audition for Vienna’s English Theater after seeing him in a school play. From there, he took a year off from school for performing before going on to Middle-bury College to become an English major. Once out of college, he took acting class-

es and auditioned in Washington, DC. At this point his act-ing career became steady with many theater appearanc-es. He also started teaching as a career. In 1896, his first son was born and the need for a stable life-style became more necessary. He began to work at Stone Ridge and later at Na-tional Presbyterian School. Around this time, acting was no longer his priority and he stopped auditioning. In late March, he received a call from the Stage Guild, a local theatre organi-

zation. They were putting on a production of Opus, a play by Michael Hollinger. The show tells the story of a string quartet group who loses a member when he is fired and replaced by a younger woman, Grace. The play focuses on the mu-sicians’ adjustment to their new member. Porter was

offered a part, which he felt was perfect for him, for which he would not even have to audition. However, Porter was unsure as to his performance skills because, “act-ing requires a lot of confidence,” and he considered himself a rusty actor in that as-pect. It took three weeks to prepare for the

show. For one week of this period, Porter was on spring break. For the remaining two weeks, he had to use his free time out-side of school to rehearse. Then, the show opened on the 21st of April. The Wash-ington Post gave it an outstanding review, praising it as, “remarkably harmonious” despite its discord. Porter’s performance is mentioned in the article as “hinting at Carl’s [his character’s] defining trait”. When asked what skills he had felt were essential to his accurate portrayal of the role, Porter said the he “had to learn how to pretend to play a cello.” For more information about the Wash-ington Stage Guild or their performances (including Opus), visit their website at www.stageguild.org.

Jessica Jones Mane News Staff Writer

Middle School Exam ScheduleThursday May 31: LanguageFriday June 1: ScienceMonday June 4: HistoryTuesday June 5: EnglishWednesday June 6: Math

Porter, right, in the play Opus.

NEWSthe Mane News May 29, 2007 3

Mane News The Mane News is a forum for news, opinions, and features by and for the students at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. It is a school-supported publication produced six times a year through the extracurricular work of its student staff and faculty advisor, as well as contributions from the Journalism class. The staff makes every effort to report the news free from bias and editorial slant; additionally, not all editorials reflect the opinions held by the newspaper staff and its writers. The Mane News reserves the right to restrict or deny publication of any stories it does not deem fit to print. Letters to the editor may be submitted via e-mail to manenews@saes.org. The newspaper staff welcomes all letters, but reserves the right to edit or deny publication to any received. All letters must be signed, though writers may request that their names withheld. The Mane News is a member of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and a proud recipient of the CSPA Bronze Medal.

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The Mane NewsSt. Andrew’s Episcopal School

8804 Postoak Road, Potomac, MD 20854(301) 983-5200

- www.saes.org -

Co-Editors-in-Chief..............William White ........Maneesha SakhujaAsst. Editorial Editor...............Ted DunmireAsst. Production Editor.......Lacey GutierrezExec. Layout Editor.................Chase FelkerAsst. Layout Editor...........Johnathan BurketCo-Photography Editors ........... Kimi Hugli ..Thea Klein-MayerFaculty Advisor..................Mr. Chuck JonesTech Support....................Mr. Nathan Kreps

Co-News Editors......................Jacob Horn .................Martha MatinoOpinion Editor.................Matthew VaverisAsst. Opinion Editor..............Joey GottliebStyle Editor............................Neha ShastrySports Editor...................Thomas Simpson

Copy Editor..............Alex Lis-Perlis

Callen BrennerCharlie GillXander GlassmanTory JohnsonWilliam MoodieRoger Robinson

Staff Writers & Photographers

It’s the spring of 2009, and as a senior at a Maryland public high school, you’re ready to graduate. You know where you are going to college, you have finished all your work, and you are waiting to receive your diploma. Alas, you find that you’re not done quite yet. You failed your exit exams and must retake them. Too bad,

says the school board, as you see your di-ploma deferred. Beginning in 2009, Maryland Public Schools are planning to introduce exit ex-ams into high schools. In order to gradu-ate, students must obtain a passing score. If they don’t, they must retake the exit tests. The aim of these examinations is to confirm that the would-be graduate has the basic knowledge to earn a diploma. These tests are designed to examine the intended high school graduates knowl-edge in four basic areas: Algebra, Biology, English, and Government. While the tests are conceived to be comprised of ques-tions concerning basic knowledge, 25,000 sophomores of the class of 2009 failed the preliminary test last spring. The passing grade statistics are not the only issue. Many members of the Mary-land government and the school board are reconsidering with apprehension for those who might have a harder time gain-ing their diploma, namely students with learning disabilities and those who speak English as a second language. According to Tom LoBianco of The Washington Times, “lawmakers said they were concerned about the achievement gap for minorities, who score about 30% below average.” The school board needs to figure out what to do for teens who are qualified but cannot earn their diploma through this testing. However, Maryland is not the only state struggling with the issue of fair testing when it comes to the low passage rates of learning-disabled students. For Cali-fornia’s exit exams, a graduation require-ment for the class of 2008, only 48% of students with learning disabilities passed according to FairTest.com, as opposed to 91% of the general population. The exit exams for Maryland Public Schools are called the High School As-sessments, and are commonly referred to HSAs. The HSAs are comprised of four exams, each devoted to a different sub-ject. There is the Algebra exam, and ac-cording to marylandpublicschools.org, it has three learning goals. The goals are to demonstrate proficiency in functions and algebra, geometry and reasoning, and data analysis. The English exam has four learning goals. Students must be able to respond to text with critical analysis and personal ex-periences, demonstrate ability to write in different styles and form proper for their audience, show proficiency in the English language, and evaluate content and orga-

nization of different texts. For the Government exam, as of June 2002, the students must show aptitude in four areas: political systems, people and nations of the world, economics, and ge-ography. The Biology exam, however, has many more expectations. They must, for exam-ple, not only show how skepticism and the recognition of bias are important in sci-ence, but also show their own understand-

ing of the scientific method. They must organize and analyze the data as well as relate it mathematically and logically to real life. Further, students must understand the fundamentals of the biological world. They must be able to exhibit a concrete knowledge of the structure and uses of cells, organisms, and chemical molecules. Genetics and the evolutionary process are another component of the Biology exam. In order to pass these exams, they must pass all four exams individually by gain-ing at least 396 in English, 412 in Algebra, 400 in Biology, and 394 in Government, out of a possible 600. Or a student can use the Combined Scoring option, meaning that they must earn a collective score of 1602. If a student does not pass, then they can take the exam again at the next scheduled test date. In Maryland, a student may take the HSAs as many times as they need to pass; there is no limit. However, there are students that may not be able to succeed on the HSAs. These students often include those with learning disabilities or who are involved in ESL learning. These students frequently use the 504 Plan, a government educational service that provides extra instruction to

Maryland High School Exit ExamsHilary EisenbergMane News Staff Writer

Public Spectacle:Educating Students on Domestic ViolenceSadie DavisMane News Staff Writer

During a recent Monday activity period, Public Spectacle, a group that performs and holds workshops to teach about do-mestic violence and abusive relationships, presented to students. Mr. Roy Barber teaches a music class called “Theater for Social Change” at George Washington University where Public Spectacle has performed. He and I2I advisor Ms. Dres-den Koons had the idea of bringing the is-sues presented in Carousel to some of the school’s students. Barber said, “I brought them here because I thought it was good for us to see, and also it was particularly in connection with Carousel,” the winter musical, which deals with domestic vio-lence. Jaime Rothbard, co-founder of Public Spectacle, began the group during her third year of college, after suffering from an abusive relationship when she was only nineteen years old. She said, “Even though I was being stalked, held against my will, and verbally assaulted by this person on a daily basis, I lacked the sup-port to identify what I was experiencing as an ‘abusive relationship.’” She began to volunteer at a domestic violence shelter where she realized just how many women suffered or are suffering from the same thing she is, She became motivated to do something about the problem. When she and Ms. Liz Odongo, her business partner and co-founder of Public Spectacle, came here, they led a program for about 25 students and a few teachers. They began the program by singing “99 Ways,” a song they wrote to get people thinking about domestic violence and abusive relationships. After the song, they asked participants to move into positions representing certain lines of the song.

Then, they split everyone into five groups and instructed students to create a scene of domestic violence. Each participant had to have one line in their head represent-ing the scene. The program ended with a question and answer session for any stu-dents who wanted to talk further. Con-cerning the workshop, Senior Nora God-dard said, “One thing that I thought was interesting is that there were more girls than guys attending the activity. Public Spectacle works to empower women, but I also feel that it is important to enlighten men to the issue of domestic violence. And at the same time, violence does not have to be gender specific. Though male to woman abuse is much more common, males can also be victims, and Public Spectacle made this point.” Public Spectacle began working in February of 2007 at GW. Since then, they have been working on expanding their workshops since then, and here is the first high school they have done a workshop. They plan to spread their message as far as South Africa by December 2007. Ac-cording to Rothbard , “The beauty of Pub-lic Spectacle’s programming is that we can tailor our workshops and activities to the needs of each audience.” Public Spectacle has also created a play to be performed by students in high schools. They have volunteer opportu-nities for students who are interested in performing with them. As Rothbard said, “Currently, our culture is trapped in a mindset that still criticizes women for being in abusive relationships. Pub-lic Spectacle works to shift the focus off the victims and onto prevention, stopping abusive behavior before it begins.”

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If you are interested in volunteering, email Odongo at lizodongo@gmail.com

“In order to graduate, students must obtain a passing score. If they don’t, they must re-

take the exit tests.”

the

the Mane News4 May 29, 2007 the Mane NewsNEWSunaware of. In a poll conducted by The Mane News in history classes on May 18, students were asked if they ever thought about an emergency or attack happen-ing at school. Of students polled, 64.5% replied that they rarely or never worried about this, 23.7% chose “sometimes,” 7.9% chose “occasionally,” and 3.9% chose “often” Nobody chose “occasion-ally” or “often.” The next question asked how famil-iar students believed they were with the school’s emergency response plans. Re-sponses were “I would know exactly what to do,” “I think I would know what to do,” and “I would be fairly clueless.” Of ev-eryone polled, 14.5% said that they would know exactly what to do, 43.4% said they thought they knew what to do, and a close 42.1% believed themselves to be “clue-less” when it came to emergency plans. The survey continued by describing two different scenarios, asking where a stu-dent should be in such a situation. When asked about a tornado being spotted near the school, students surveyed came up with many different responses but many were able to think of the correct response, the lower (basement) level of the school. Holden explained that the main goal when a tornado nears the school would be for students to move away from windows and to get to the “underground” part of the campus, the hallways on the lower level. Because of the windows in MacDonald Hall and the Chapel (two other respons-es to the poll question), however, these rooms and some other classrooms would be unused. The second scenario posed by the sur-vey asked about what would happen if a dangerous intruder entered the school. Most students again were able to think of

School Safetycontinued from page 2

the basic correct response: get to a locked room with the blinds shut. Some also specified that the lights would be turned off and that students would have to follow all rules from teachers. Others gave just a basic answer: “Hide.”

Based on students’ responses, it seems that students know the emergency plan more than they think they do. When asked how the school could improve emergen-cy preparedness, many students said that they felt uneasy because they had not seen a clear explanation of the emergency re-sponse plans. The “Student Handbook,” which all students are required to read at the beginning of each school year, does not, as of this time, contain any infor-mation about a Code Blue or Code Red. Holden said that the administration chose not to publish information about these plans in the Handbook because they were concerned about possibly causing confu-sion. The handbook explanation would be too brief to cover all possibilities. He said that all students really need to do in an emergency is listen to teachers and other adults. Every year before school begins, the staff practices the Code Blue and Code Red procedures so that all adults are prepared to guide students through an emergency response. Holden said that the school chooses not to hold emergency drills for students because they could cause unnec-essary panic and take away valuable aca-demic time. However, many of the stu-dents surveyed indicated that they would like to run through Code Blue and Code Red drills during the school year.

“we don’t know that we can build any-thing,” said Brumbaugh. When the school has finished raising the endowment, then the administration can start planning a fundraising campaign for new buildings, but right now “we have no plan to build and we don’t want the impression that we do,” according to Brumbaugh. St. Andrew’s moved to its current Post-oak location in 1998, concluding a long

process of finding a home after being evicted in 1988. After several previous homes which included a church basement and rented public school, St. Andrew’s fi-nally was able to find a permanent loca-tion. The school spent approximately $17 million to purchase the current land from Harker Preparatory School and to con-struct a new campus. Even though there was a significant amount of money spent for the new buildings, St. Andrew’s was able to stay mostly on budget. In regards to the fi-nancial aspects of the move, Brumbaugh said, “The reality was that we were able to stay on track even though there were some scary moments.” At the former lo-cation in Bethesda, commonly referred to as the Bradmoor campus, the annual cost of upkeep was about $50,000. That figure changed to approximately $665,000 every

year after the move, so there were defi-nitely additional costs associated with the move. The community established its iden-tity after relocating, as the move was one of the major defining moments of the school’s history. “The physical environ-ment of the school compared to a church basement or rented public school build-ing are part of it is much better. But also, I think the programs, the courses that

you’re able to take, the teams you’re able to play on, the arts offerings you’re able to experience, some of the leadership opportunities or clubs you’re able to go to, the range of colleges you can apply to and be accepted by. All of those are demonstrably stronger than they were,” comments Headmaster Robert Kosasky. It could now attract more students and families to our community since having new facilities have allowed St. Andrew’s to contend with other independent schools in the Washington Metropolitan area. In the last year at Bradmoor, there were 400 students. St. Andrew’s had planned to in-crease the number of students at the new campus within the first several years of moving, but an increased interest in the school caused the school to add 50 new students in 1998, the first year at Postoak. It is possible for the school to have 495

The Future at St. Andrew’s continued from page 1

“We were able to stay on track even though there were some scary moments”

unaware of. In a poll conducted by The Mane News in history classes on May 18, students were asked if they ever thought about an emergency or attack happen-ing at school. Of students polled, 64.5% replied that they rarely or never worried

about this, 23.7% chose “sometimes,” 7.9% chose “occasionally,” and 3.9% chose “often” Nobody chose “occasion-ally” or “often.” The next question asked how famil-iar students believed they were with the school’s emergency response plans. Re-sponses were “I would know exactly what to do,” “I think I would know what to do,” and “I would be fairly clueless.” Of ev-eryone polled, 14.5% said that they would know exactly what to do, 43.4% said they thought they knew what to do, and a close 42.1% believed themselves to be “clue-less” when it came to emergency plans. The survey continued by describing two different scenarios, asking where a stu-dent should be in such a situation. When asked about a tornado being spotted near the school, students surveyed came up with many different responses but many were able to think of the correct response, the lower (basement) level of the school. Holden explained that the main goal when a tornado nears the school would be for students to move away from win-dows and to get to the “underground” part of the campus, the hallways on the lower level. Because of the windows in Mac-Donald Hall and the Chapel (two other responses to the poll question), however, these rooms and some other classrooms would be unused.

students under zoning regulations, but Kosasky does not think the student body will reach that many, as it would change the school’s feel. SAES was founded as a nurturing school where students could receive a great deal of support from parents and faculty. When asked about the goals of the school Ko-sasky said, “we need to provide environ-ments like this one for students that are supportive, that are healthy, that are bal-anced, that talk about what you do well, who don’t continually tell you you’re not good at things, you’re not good enough at things.” With the schools growth, all aspects of the school have developed throughout the years: athletics, arts, and academics. The curriculum used to have more emphasis on the arts, but now that it has started to emulate other independent schools, academics have taken a more important role. The faculty is still able to offer more art classes than many other schools in our area, which adds to the idea of our school’s four pillars. Other schools in the area, including Georgetown Prep and National Cathedral School, have recently expanded their fa-cilities. Those schools have been estab-lished for over one hundred years, where-as St. Andrew’s will soon be entering its 30th year. With an older, more established school, there is generally a greater endow-ment for the school to use. St. Andrew’s is definitely the youngest in its league but it means that we have to work harder to increase our finances.

“Students said that they felt uneasy because they had not seen a clear explanation of the

emergency response plans”

students with special needs. The Depart-ment of Education is considering delay-ing the test for those students with special needs. As of February 28 of this year, state superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick an-nounced that she planned to bring these tests before the school board for review in order to make adjustments to the tests in regards to students with 504 learning plans (due to a learning disability), Eng-lish language learners, and special educa-tion students. For the class of 2009, 71.5% of the students passed the Algebra test, 79.4% passed Government, and 77.8% passed the Biology test. However, because of the low passage rates of students with learn-ing impairments, the state board has spent the past few years evaluating the tests in order to require this year’s sophomores, the class of 2009. The 2007 review of these tests will serve as a determinant. The Comparable HSAs, which are modified to cater to those who struggle with traditional testing, will be introduced in 2007-2008. The Maryland State board has voted to instate the High School As-sessment as a requirement for earning a diploma for all students who entered high school by 2005. Over the course of the last few years there has been talk about the possibility of public high school students taking exit ex-ams. The thought has stirred debate over whether or not exit exams are a good idea. Also, a main focus has been on the effects of the exit exams on the county’s set cur-riculum. School districts within the United States have explored the idea of an exam that is required for students to move on to gradu-ation. The exams have been successful in such a heavily populated area as Califor-nia where students have been taking exit exams for years. Counties have structured a set curriculum that all teachers much teach in order for students to feel comfort-able academically for college. The issue of exit exams and the effects it would have on the curriculum has raised many eyebrows and questions. One be-ing what happens to students who attend an under- funded and run down school where administrators struggle to get stu-dents to show up to class. An ongoing problem with inner city schools is that counties cannot afford superior teachers who could convince students to learn. Some private schools over the coun-try have decided that exit exams are not necessary for their school. Administra-tors believe that their curriculum is strong enough that they do not need to use exit exams to determine graduation. Max Ag-gery a senior at St.Albans school said, “At our school we are required to write a se-nior paper that must be of good quality. Students at our school believe that this is a good ‘send away’ paper that we work hard on. We believe that because of our vigor-ous curriculum that there is no need to add an exam on top of the required exams. I have found this to be helpful and not an overwhelming project.” School systems all over the country have decided not to use exit exams to de-termine who graduates. They too have de-cided that the writing of a “senior paper” is more appropriate than an extra exam.

Exit Examscontinued from page 3

May 29, 2007 5the Mane News OPINION

Arts WeekEDITORALS the staff takes a stand

“And don’t forget, this week is Arts Week, and, uh, we’ll have the band play-ing this afternoon, along with some oth-er little, surprises. So, uh, get ready!” Dr.Wooley’s announcement was only the beginning of a full week of tribute to all those who are artistic and left-brained. It was a fun time where classes were shorter, and there was something to look forward to at the end of the day. Many students and teachers were ex-cited for the upcoming week and had a lot to say. For some background, Arts Week is a celebration to commend those who have excelled in artistic endeavors. From dancing and juggling to chorus and im-provisation, all manner of arts were cel-ebrated, and it was a good time for stu-dents to demonstrate their skills. This year, there was a lot happening in the many assemblies. There were crying teachers (guess who!), there was drama, and there were moments of pride as sig-nificant members of the graduating class received their final recognition. Although many students enjoy Arts Week, it does nothing to help with the workload. There were B days every day, which means that homework in every subject was due every day of the week. This year, many students noted the revamping of the number of awards, such as numerous freshmen and senior awards being introduced for the first year.

Freshman Kristina Petraites said, “Al-though it took longer, it was nice to see all the students being given awards to, not just the seniors or really good peo-ple.” She agreed that awarding students for enthusiasm and commitment is a good thing, because it helps the “people in the back to get in the spotlight”. The visual and performing arts faculty members were also very enthusiastic about this year’s Arts Week, promising it would be a good one. The pride and joy that emanated from the staff are very engaging, and keep the interest of the student body. All in all, it was a very successful Arts Week with a great diversity of perfor-mances and art mediums that had great appeal to both students and faculty. Arts Week is, “… a time to kick back and enjoy art itself. It’s so different from mundane schoolwork, but still is part of school. In this way, we can both appre-ciate the beauty of art, but still become more closely connected to our school community,” said photo teacher Ms. He-via Paxson. However, the schoolwork was what made Arts Week difficult for so many people. A week with every class every day is too painful for students, and re-hearsals after school every day are hard on performers. Perhaps a format where the arts assemblies are spread over two weeks (the dance concert is several weeks later anyhow) would better serve the community.

On Friday, May 4, the entire school attended the Senior Cry Chapel, when seniors shared their memories and gave words of advice to younger students. We have sat through this every year since we were in sixth grade. It has not changed a bit. Here is the format: First, two class members talk about different memories from grades six through twelve. These memories are usually very funny, though some people say that they do not like them because they are all inside jokes. There was no indication of any disappointment dur-ing this year’s chapel; the entire crowd laughed. This year there was more music and singing to make the chapel more excit-ing. The songs were the best part of the whole chapel. It was also sad because those were probably the last songs we’d hear from this year’s seniors. The next part is boring. It is the time when seniors give advice such as “get to know everyone,” “have more class uni-

ty,” or “try new things,” that sound like pieces of Mr. John Holden’s Fresh Start speech. It sounds like the administration, not the student body, is talking. Originally, Senior Cry Chapel was a time for seniors to let out all their emo-tions and reminisce on whatever they wanted. Now the seniors have less con-trol and have to submit their plans in writing to Reverend John Thomas. Can we call it Senior “Cry” Chapel anymore? According to the Rev, Senior Cry Chapel is not a time for seniors to say whatever they want. Though this is true to some extent, Senior Chapel should not consist of the seniors bashing people, but rather it should be a sharing of happy memo-ries. However, the generic advice each year, as well-intentioned as it is, is bor-ing. While it may not be as wild as it was before, Senior Chapel is still tradition and therefore should remain. For most of us, it is a milestone to look forward to when we become seniors.

Senior ‘Cry’ Chapel: It May Be Boring, But

It Is Tradition

LETTER TO THE EDITORDear Mane News,

I am writing to offer my perspective on the new speed bumps recently installed on the St. Andrew’s campus. First, let me assure you that I am no fan of speed bumps. Nor do I recall ever seeing any-one drive too fast on the school property. However, when I was in high school (at Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, Califonia), a student struck and killed a teacher one morning as the student drove

on the school driveway. Following this in-cident, the school installed speed bumps. With that history, it is hard for me to do anything but commend the school for this action before a similar tragedy occurs at St. Andrew’s.

--Liz Ehinger, Mother of William White ‘08 and Stephen White ‘10

Peer Leader Selection:

Owed to the excessively competitive nature of the peer leader program this year, many students who applied were de-nied spots in the program. Eighty people applied for 36 spots, though a peer leader advisor suggested that the program could hypothetically function with 80 students and that 36 was an arbitrary number. This could happen if four or five students were assigned to an advisor group rather than just two. However, it would be difficult to train and keep track of that large a number of students. The applicants were reviewed and se-lected by a committee which consisted of Upper School Head Joanne Beach, Dean of Students Ginger Cobb, as well as fac-ulty advisors Mr. Chuck Jones and Ms. Dresden Koons and school counselor Mrs. Holly Funger. Also, a number of senior students who participated in this year’s Peer Leader program helped to review the applications. In spite of the fact that there were many qualified applicants, there remains doubt as to how one qualified applicant was chosen over another. Funger suggested that other extracurricular activities played a large role in the decisions because the amount of time taken up by other activi-ties, and the motive of the Peer Leader program is not to “steal” the leadership from other school organizations. Also, some students find it unfair that there was such a pronounced gap in how difficult it was for a boy to be accepted

versus for a girl to be accepted. There were clearly more girls applying than boys, therefore boys had less competition in being accepted. Why must a peer leader program be so competitive at a school that clearly values leadership qualities in all students? Fung-er suggested that the ideal peer leader is difficult to differentiate from the typical St. Andrew’s student: one who is a kind, empathetic, respectful, reliable, optimistic student who would be a good role model for younger students. However, I find it difficult to believe that there are only 32 people at St. Andrew’s who exhibit these qualities, and, if there are indeed many more, why are they not entitled to be peer leaders? Also, how can those in charge of the peer leader selection process ever be certain that the accepted peer leaders do, in fact, possess the necessary qualities of a peer leader simply from reading an application? While it is obviously not the intention of the peer leader advisors select-ing peer leaders, they may risk creating a program that is too competitive. The peer leader advisors have suggested, in defense of the selectivity of the program, that it is an essential life skill to know how to re-ceive a disappointing decision. However, many of us will probably get a rejection letter of some sort before we go to col-lege. I am not sure if students need to be rejected from a leadership program (in a high school that prides itself on being in-clusive) instead of being allowed to gain confidence that could perhaps even better prepare them for the disappointments they will inevitably face.

Lacey Gutierrez and Maneesha SakhujaMane News Editors

In our previous issue, the Mane News took a stand against the old speed bumps installed in the main driveway. The editorial board is pleased to note that they have been changed to a new, slightly gentler variety.

Peer leader Brian Luzier discusses good communication with parents and students.

Competion, Application Process: Fair?

The Mane News welcomes letters to the editor. Submit them to manenews@saes.org

the Mane News6 May 29, 2007 the Mane News

for 130 Combined Years of Derivatives, Vocab, Band-Aids, and Keeping the Books

Thank You!

Twenty-six years ago, Mrs. Mary-Eileen Stevens came to St. Andrew’s and began her career as a math teacher. In her years here, this Algebra 3 and Calculus teacher has made a last-ing impres-sion on hun-dreds upon h u n d r e d s of students. Upon her re-tirement, Ste-vens plans to travel but also wants to sub-stitute teach and tutor here. Although she is technically leaving, mem-bers of the school commu-

nity will probably see Stevens around the school in the coming years. When asked to give one piece of advice she would leave with students, Stevens responded,

“Do what you do when you have to do it, and enjoy it.” Her fondest memories of this school lie in the relationships she has built while interacting with fellow colleagues and students. Af-ter a quarter-cen-tury of service to this school, Ste-

vens will be missed by many col-leagues, students, and alumni..

Mary Eileen Stevens: Never Odd or

Irrational

Stevens in one of her first years here.

-Roger Robinson

Dona Weingarten:Dragons and Dragons

and Shakespeare, Oh My! Mrs. DonaWeingarten came to St. Andrew’s in the spring of 1981 in search of an opportunity to teach at a high school for the first time. Twenty-six years lat-er, she leaves us after having established a strong bond with the school community. She also chaired the English Depat for 18 years.After her retire-ment, Weingarten has a list of things to do, some of which include taking Spanish, travel-ing, taking art courses, and working to aid environmentalists in the Chesa-peake Bay region. On her time here, Weingarten said, “I’ve been

here for 26 years because I love the people here....the students, the faculty and the administra-tion. Every day is different when working with students; it’s always

interesting.” Her love of the people here is undeniable, as is her commit-ment to improving the learning expe-rience for every student she teaches or has taught. Wein-garten’s legacy will certainly stay with the school forever.

Susan Murray:Always There with

Bandages and Kindness

-Robin Robinson

After 17 years of service to St. Andrew’s as the school nurse, Murray leaves our community at the end of this school year. In her time here, Murray has made the school a health-ier community and has affected every student in a positive way. After her retire-ment, Mrs. Mur-ray plans to relax and spend some of her well-deserved free time with her four grandsons. She hopes to stay involved with the school in some way and wants to be around from time

OTHER TEACHERS LEAVING

Mr. Vance Hyndman has been at St. Andrew’s since this year’s seniors were in sixth grade, six years ago. During that time he has taught various history elec-tives, including Asian Studies and Clash of Civilizations, as well as being the coordina-tor of substitute teachers. Many students fondly remember when he would read a Chinese newspaper online as he filled in

Vance Hyndman:History teacher (6 Years)

for their regular teacher. Hyndman’s own memories of the school are very positive. He said he has always enjoyed perform-ing arts and honors assemblies, “when I could be so proud to see students I knew and admired show off their achievements.” The community’s caring attitude has also influenced him. He said, “I have loved see-ing those acts of kindness in the halls and classrooms.” Now, Hyndman is leaving St. Andrew’s to go back to school and become an accountant, but he said he “will carry a lot of good with me.” Finally, Hyndman wanted to the community for its “tolerance for the bagpipes.”

Weingarten early in her teaching career.

-Roger Robinson

Caroline SecorMath teacher, Soccer & Lacrosse coach (5 Years)

Erin FlynnEnglish teacher, Soccer & Lacrosse coach (4 Years)

Miss Caroline Secor has greatly enjoyed the experience she has had since she came to St. Andrew’s as a new teacher five years ago. Her fondest memories from teach-ing here range from “winning the banner in soccer” to “watching my seventh grad-ers master functions” to even “eating all of Mrs. [Susan] Burke’s Chocolate.” As she leaves, Secor will still be improving her teaching skills and leadership, as she will enroll in Columbia Teacher’s Col-

lege. There she will study towards a mas-ter’s degree in private school leadership. When she moves on, Secor will most miss “everyone that’s a part of the communi-ty,” because of their support. She would like to remind everyone, “Don’t take this community for granted.”

-Kelly Tillotson and William White

-William White

Nurse Murray in 1992.

Ms. Erin Flynn has taught English for four years. During that time she has also

May 29, 2007 7the Mane News

for 130 Combined Years of Derivatives, Vocab, Band-Aids, and Keeping the Books

Thank You!

Susan Murray:Always There with

Bandages and Kindness After 22 years running the busi-ness office, Business Manager Elliot “Buck” Brumbaugh will retire at the end of this school year. Brumbaugh’s experience in management greatly improved school man-agement and efficiency in his years here. What he considers his greatest accomplish-ment, however, was ac-quiring a new campus and moving the school in a relatively short amount of time (just ten years) describing it as, “an amazing time.” Though Brumbaugh was instrumental, he emphasized

that it was, “Such a team effort with the administration, board, parents, and everyone.” Brum-baugh has also kept the school’s budget balanced for his entire ten-

ure. Though he will continue to work part time to orient his suc-cessor, who comes from another school, Brumbaugh will miss the community and the people who make it up. In his new-found free time, he looks forward to help-ing others, especially through working with

nonprofit organizations.

to time. While she will enjoy spending time with her fam-ily, Murray said, “The thing that I will miss the most is the students.” Mrs. Murray’s ded-

ication to the student body is a testament to the positive influ-ence she has had on our community over the past 17 years. Yes, the school community will miss the weekly flu updates during the winter, but more importantly stu-dents will miss a

school nurse whose respect and care for the student body will never be forgotten.

Buck Brumbaugh:Ensuring the School’s

Financial Health Financial assistant Ms. Donna Lee Starr, plans to retire at the end of this school year. She has been at St. Andrew’s since June 15, 1987 and has truly enjoyed all her time here. She particularly enjoyed the many auctions she has attended. Throughout her many years here, Ms. Starr has been efficient and dedi-cated in her work in the business office. She will absolute-

Donna Lee Starr:Paying Those Bills,Keeping Us Solvent

Ms. Kelly Castellanos joined the faculty after Christmas break, taking the position vacated by Ms. Ria Hoefdraad in the for-eign language department. Though she has only been in the community for two-thirds of a year, she has been a tremendous asset. Next year, Castellanos will return to St. Alban’s, where she had previously worked as a Spanish teacher and middle school administrator, to assume her former position.

-William White

Kelly Castellanos Spanish teacher

Mr. Lysander Vereen, who joined the Development Office as Office Manager in February, 2005, departed in early May. While here, he gave the office valuable skills on the computer and much knowl-edge about the school’s constituent data-base. Sarah Grebow, who worked with him in Development, said that Vereen was the

person who “made this office come alive.” His skills and personality are already being missed. -William White

Lysander Vereen Development Office Manager(2 years)

Mr. Drew Walker has been teaching at St. Andrew’s for three years. During that time he has taught both upper and middle school religion. One of Walker’s fondest memories he will take with him is that of coaching the softball team through several great seasons. He has also been instrumen-tal in the creation and growth of the Gay-Straight Alliance. Walker will be leaving to teach next year at the St. Paul’s School for Girls in Baltimore, where he lives.

Walker will take many happy memories and friendships with him from his time at this school. -Ted Dunmire

coached girls varsity soccer and been the head coach of girls varsity lacrosse, leading that team to two consecutive banners and a tournament championship this year. She leaves St. Andrew’s for Worcester Acad-emy near Boston, where she will continue teaching English and coaching. After leav-ing, Flynn will especially miss the students, who she described as “amazing,” because they “reach out to faculty, even new faculty. It truly makes you fell welcomed and part of the community.” She leaves the com-munity with the advice: “Take advantage of [chapel] to reflect, relax, and SING!!!”

-Kelly Tillotson and William White

Nurse Murray in 1992. Mr. Brumbaugh from a picture of all the admin-istrators in 1987.

Drew WalkerReligion teacher,Softball coach,GSA advisor(3 years)

ly remember how kind and courteous the students have been and will miss how car-

ing her fellow employees have been. After re-tiring, Ms. Starr will be living in Ocean City, Maryland. She will go on new adventures and enjoy her many hobbies includ-ing fishing and painting.

Somehow, Ms. Starr has been able to avoid being in the yearbook for

20 years. Good job!

-Maneesha Sakhuja

-William White-Roger Robinson

Sarah Asterba-di Alex Azzara Kate

Banks Jacob Baron Becca Becker Ashleigh Bradshaw Nick

Bralove Sam Chavis Ally Connelly Atissa Dailami Sadie Davis Matt Devaney

Caroline Downing Chas Duvall Hilary Eisen-berg Gabe Ellsworth Kelsey Freeman Michaela

Friedman Pedro Galicia-Almanza Lucas Garrison Nora Goddard Kate Goldbaum Sam Goldenberg Ju-

lia Greco Mattie Greenwood Phillip Greenwood Alex Guerra John Hale Oscar Harasic Jacqueline Har-ris Margaret-Rose Hart Rachel Hewitt Lexi Heywood Brooke Hicks Chris Hoffman Dan House Nate Huegel Wally Hunt Viveka Jahn Emma James Bob Jeffery Ben Kaufman Molly Kelly-Yahner Amir Khan Daniel Khan Ste-phen Lanpher Bobby Lewis Emily Lubin Brian Luzier Co-lin MacDougall Hayley Mackiernan Amalia Maletta Patrick McKelvy Johanna McManus Jeffrey Michel Zeenat Nabi Katie Nesmith JasmineNiernberger Charley Oldaker Joseph PetersonCasey Petz Marisa RheemTim Rogan Andrew Rubin Sam Schuessler Sam Seifman Hadley Sharp

Julia Shinberg Grekan Simpson Kelly Stew-art Chris Stokes Emily Suttle John Taylor

John Teel Nick Trager Erin Tsui Em-ily Weiss Molly Widrick Jill Wie-

denmayer Lindsey Williams Curtis Wilson Laura

Witowsky

the Mane News the Mane News

Seniors will attend the following colleges in the fall: Bates College Boston College Boston University Bucknell University Carnegie Mellon University Case W

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ollege of Charleston C

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CLASS OF...

8 May 29, 2007

May 29, 2007 9the Mane News STYLE

With Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and Fantastic Four 2 coming out this summer, here are some movies you probably missed and should also see:

Bug: A creepy new thriller starring Michael Shannon (Pearl Harbor, 8 Mile) and Ashley Judd (Heat, Double Jeopardy). This movie is about an estranged war veteran and a café waitress, who both begin to have scary and violent hallucinations of insects. Look out for this one on May 25.

Evan Almighty: Steve Carrell (Bruce Almighty, Little Miss Sunshine, need I say more?) is chosen by god after losing his job, so he can build an ark for a second fl ood. This sequel to Bruce Almighty will be blessing theatres on June 22.

Live Free or Die Hard: John McClane (Bruce Willis) is back to battle an internet terrorist organization with his new sidekick, played by Justin Long. I’m sure the internet organization is deadlier than they sound. This will be blasting its way into a theatre near you on June 27.

Fido: Zombie movies have just gotten a little more “family friendly.” After little Timmy Robinson tells his parents he wants a pet, his mother concedes and gets one for the family. Its not a dog or a cat, its actually a six- foot- tall fl esh eating zombie made to be a butler. Soon afterward, little Timmy develops a bond with the undead servant. Look for this one on June 15.

Ocean’s 13: The fun-loving Ocean crew is back in a third installment about Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his gang which consists of stars such as Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle and Matt Damon. Unfor-tunately, Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones aren’t in this movie, which may hint at a weaker story line. Oceans 13 involves a new casino owned by Willie Banks (Al Pacino). This movie is once again directed by Steven Soderbergh. Watch out for this action packed fi lm on June 8.

Nancy Drew: Based on the popular series for preteen girls, this movie is about the lovable Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts) who is on a trip to Hollywood with her father (Tate Donovan) and comes across an un-solved crime related to a death of a famous

movie star. The Nancy Drew books are classic mystery novels and hopefully the movie will be as captivating as each of the books was. This movie will hit theaters on June 15.

Mama’s Boy: A 29 year old slacker (John Heder) who still lives with his mom (Diane Keaton) seeks help from his only

friend (Anna Faris). His mission is to get rid of his mother’s new boyfriend who is interfering with his easy living situation. Jeff Daniels will play Diane Keaton’s boyfriend in the film. John Heder has recently become a household name and any movie he acts in is usually extremely funny so fl ock to the theaters on June 29

Summer Movie PreviewNeha Shastry Mane News Style EditorCharlie GillMane News Staff Writer

Club ReportsThe various clubs at St. Andrews have ac-complished a lot this past year. This year saw a rise in club activeness and many students found themselves torn between meetings. Every year there are numerous clubs, each one with its own unique focus, that students can join and assume leadership roles in. From Bridge Club to the Black Student alliance, clubs are a great way for students to get involved in the community and have fun at the same time. Here is a look at some of this year’s most active clubs

Book Club1. The Confession by James E. Mc-Greevey2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey (also watched the fi lm version)

Gay-Straight AllianceWith strong leadership from junior presi-dent Franny Tiadem, and support and guid-ance from advisor Drew Walker, the GSA sponsored several events.1. National Day of Silence Party2. Making School Safe Conference in Baltimore3. Day of Silence and Assembly4. Ally Party5. End-of-the-year Celebration and movie6. Diversity Confer-ence at Landon

7. Student Diversity Leadership Confer-ence

Jewish Culture Club This year seniors Rachel Hewitt and Michaela Friedman formed the fi rst ever Jewish Culture Club (JCC). Here’s a look at what they accomplished this year:1. Hosted various discussions such as the Iran Conference which questioned the Holocaust.2. Provided special food for students if they were keeping kosher for Passover.3. Holocaust Remembrance Day Cha-pel

Diversity Club Diversity club had a few important and meaningful programs, that were designed to raise the awareness of the community to issues such as racial prejudice, sexism, and privilege. 1. “Privilege Walk”- Discussion of the

origin and defi nition of privilege 2. Michaela Friedman, Vesna Harasic and Mckenzie Cato attended the Student Di-versity Leadership Conference (SDLC).3. Collaborated with the Black Student Alliance (BSA) and organized a Black History Month assembly. The Diversity Club is determined to continue to help make St. Andrew’s a safe place for all students.

Tech CrewTech accomplished a lot this year and helped out with many shows includ-ing the fall and spring school productions. With leadership from Sarah Danly and Thea Klein-Mayer, the sets were

amazing. William White headed the lighting department and without him the shows would not have been nearly as vibrant or eye-catching as they were.1. Stunning and detailed sets for The Real Inspector Hound and other one acts in the Fall2. Spectacular back drops for Carousel3. Helped out with the various Arts As-semblies4. Lighting for the Dance Show

Make-Trade-FairMake-Trade-Fair was a new club this year modeled on a non-profi t organization that raises money to make sure the trade of products such as coffee is fair and the people involved do not suffer. Emily Suttle,

a new senior this year, headed the club. Unfortunately, the club did not hold many events this year, but it defi nitely raised awareness and kept people fed with their bake sales.

Improv ClubImprov Club started off this year with

its best attendance ever and continued the year with a strong, consistent group of performers. Although confl icts made a performance impossible this year and later prevented regular meetings, Improv Club will return next year with a planned schedule and more activities.

because this movie is sure to bring a smile upon your face.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: The highly anticipated fi fth installment of this popular series has fi nally been put onto the big screen. There is always the question concerning whether the book is appropriately adapted, but we’ll just have to see when it comes out on July 13.

The Simpsons: The hit TV show has fi nally been made into a movie! There is still question on what the plot is exactly, but “Homer must save the world from the catastrophe he created himself!” should be a clue. Since it is The Simpsons, there is no doubt that the movie will be hysterical. It comes out July 27.

The Bourne Ultimatum: Jason Bourne is back and on the run from authorities while trying to fi nd out about his true past. Jason Bourne will obviously be played by Matt Damon. Unfortunately, the Bourne series may have lost its substance by the third installment, so we’ll just have to see if Ultimatum will live up to its successors on August 3.

Fanboys: This movie is a comedy about a group of friends who are obsessed with Star Wars and take a trip across a country to Skywalker Ranch to fulfi ll one of their dying wishes to see an advanced screening of The Phantom Menace. It will feature Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) when it comes out on August 17.

STYLE the Mane News10 May 29, 2007 the Mane News

Vish The Fish’s Guide To A Super Summer Oh-SevenVish The FishMane News Staff Writer

Heyyyyyy folks. Vish The Fish here. I was macking on some honeys in the gut-ter when I looked up through the man-hole and realized I was in your neighbor-hood! Jeez it smells bad. I guess I’m just not that used to it. So I guess it’s about that time again. School is nearing its end. The weather is beautiful. And those ugly birds won’t shut up. Well, people, there are about four more months of this garbage, so I’m here to tell you how to enjoy it. It’s summer baby!! Woo Woo! You need to have some fun. First off, don’t shower, man! I don’t care how bad you look, smell, or feel. I hear the hip-pie movement is back. You kids probably don’t know what that is, but it’s great! I was there when it all happened. I was a bum looking for a place to live, so I trav-eled out west a bit and started living with some very nice people. They talked very slowly because they didn’t know I could speak English. They were just laughing and dancing all the time. Eventually the smoke got to my gills, and I had to jet. All right, what’s next? Oh yeah, fall in love. I swear I’m so happy these days, man. I used to take a different fish home every night from the Murky Water Club, but last summer I left town to go find my-

self. I still haven’t found myself but what I did end up finding is Gloria, the love of my life… for now. Man, is she great. We do everything together. She doesn’t even care if I fart on her. She just cries a little, but I think they are tears of joy! I also listened to a lot of good music on that trip. I listened to the beautiful sum-mer sounds of Dr. Dre and Biggie Smalls. Those hippie dudes got me into this girl Janis Joplin. There’s nothing better than listening to some Janis and Jimi on a nice summer day. But that’s old stuff. These days there’s the electronic/rock group LCD Soundsystem who is guaranteed to get you in the groove, as well as the elec-tronic groups Girl Talk and Ratatat. If you are less of an electro-lover there’s al-ways Dr. Dog and Kings Of Leon. If the new stuff sounds as plain as cardboard or as weird as Icelandic folk music, there’s nothing wrong with reverting to the jives of The Animals, Sam Cooke, The Doors, or Blur, but enough with music! You know what you really need to do? Find your old Snoopy Snow Cone Machine. Life is actually very bland without a snow cone machine. Oh, I almost forgot. The last thing you need to do is sweat. Sweat good! Okay then, my time is up. I’ll talk to you in a while, my little caged meerkats. Think of me. K.I.T.!

Mane News Trivia Smackdown!

1. Who was born with a hammer in his hand?

2. Who wrote Les Miserables?

3. What country in the European Union has the greatest population?

4. How much money do you start with in Monopoly?

5. What vehicle does Wonder Woman get around in?

FINAL SCORE:

Mr. Sinclair Connor VossBen DeSanti Mr. EMs. Yerbury

Thor

Sabrina Manfield

John Henry

Victor Hugo

Germany

$1500

Invisible Plane

Ben Desanti

Victor Hugo

Germany

$1500

An Invisible Plane

Victor Hugo

Spain

A Billion Dollars

An Invisible Jet

Thor

Victor Hugo

Germany...France?

$1010

An Invisible Jet!!!

Andy Brown Thor? John Henry

Matt Damon Voltaire Victor Hugo

England

$1500

An Invisible Plane

Great Britain

$200

An Invisible Jet!

Germany

$2000

Cape of Justice!

Answ

ers

Live Earth: Opening Eyes Around the World

Remember Live Aid in 2005? It was a series of concerts across the globe in which awareness was spread about pov-erty in our world. Many People attended and performers such as The Black Eyed Peas and Kanye West performed, and a lot of money was raised. On July 7, 2007, there will be eight 24 hour concerts occurring simultaneously around the world all for a common cause: to raise awareness about global warming and other international environmental is-sues. This series will be known as Live Earth. The concerts will take place in New Jersey, London, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town and Kyoto. There is also a chance that one particular band will per-form in Antarctica in -65° F weather. So how did this all start? After Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” came out last summer and was a big suc-cess, Gore was inspired to carry on and increase awareness about our decaying planet due to phenomena such as global warming. Collaborating with Paul Wall, a major concert coordinator and producer, Al Gore’s vision became a reality. Live Earth will feature 150 of the world’s top recording artists, who will be introduced by celebrities and “thought leaders” such as Cameron Diaz and Richard Branson. The tickets went on sale on April 16, and immediately sold out. For those who will not be attending the concert this summer, there is no need to worry; the concert will be broadcasted live on TV as well as on the internet and radio, so there’s no way you can miss it.

The artists performing are not all bill-board top 100 artists, but there will be lo-cal favorites from cities around the world. For example, London will have perform-ing artists such as James Blunt, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Damien Rice, who is a very popular singer in Europe. The concert in New Jersey will be at the Giant’s Stadium and will feature art-ists such as Dave Matthews, The Police, and John Mayer. In previous months, there was a possibility that the concert venue would be D.C, but unfortunately

New Jersey proved to be a better loca-tion. The purpose of Live Earth is not to raise money, but to enhance awareness. It is simply a massive public education ef-fort. Hopefully, these concerts will have the power to move massive corporations and governments to take action against the climate crisis that is global warming. So be prepared on July 7, turn on your TVs, radios and computers and experi-ence one of the biggest environmental efforts in history.

Neha ShastryMane News Staff Writer

4 2 2 2 1 3

Look for the Mane News Trivia Smackdown! in

all our upcoming issues! You too could be one of our lucky contestants!

Modeled after series in Kenyon Collegian

STYLE May 29, 2007 11the Mane News

Body Modifications: A Torturous Trend?

The oldest mummified body discovered to date was Ötzi the Iceman. Dated from about 3300BC and found in 1991, this mummy had an ear piercing that was 7–11 mm in diameter, and he sported about 57 tattoos. Ötzi was the original rebel. Tat-toos and piercings have been around for centuries, and there’s no end in sight to the practice and art of body modification. With a seeming increase in teenage rebellion in addition to other various motivations, this trend will only grow in popularity. Mr. Josh Burdette, a bouncer at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC, is probably more well-know than Ötzi in the DC Metropoli-tan area. His intimidating frame scared me as a 12 year old, but he’s definitely a face I won’t ever forget. Known as “that guy”, Burdette is currently covered in 19 piercings and some pretty interesting tat-toos. He has had over 175 hours of tattoo work. Starting with a dragon tattoo that he got when he was 18, all of his tattoos are dragon themed. “I was born in the year of the dragon, according to the Chinese zo-diac calendar, and I have always been ob-sessed with dragons. Nearly every culture that has ever existed has had some form of dragon in their mythology,” said Burdette of his theme. So why is he into body modification? Burdette says, “I have always had a drive to modify my body in very specific ways. I didn’t always understand it, but as I got older it became clear to me that certain tat-toos, piercings, and other modifications were just right for me.” Will he ever stop? “I learned a long time ago never to say that I’m done with something,” said Burdette. Clearly, the end to Burdette’s body modifi-cation isn’t near.

The international and historical culture of tattooing and piercing has changed immensely over the years. Permanently accessorizing the body, which was once seen as a way to identify oneself as a tribe member or even to send secret mes-sages is now regarded as a way to rebel or express oneself in the 21st century. Other tattooing artifacts have been dis-covered in Europe and date back to 7300 BC. The Ancient Greeks recorded the ter-rifying Pict warriors, who had visible tat-toos across their bodies symbolizing their might and power. The Roman Empire used tattoos for sending secret messages, and slaves and criminals were forcibly tattooed for organizational purposes.

When Christianity spread, many people became followers of the church and in-corporated the church leaders’ words into their daily life. The Emperor Constan-tine, in about 325 A.D., proclaimed that tattooing was negative because it defaced the human body, and that our bodies are gifts God has given us. Even though most tattoos were banned, tattoos relating to Christianity were permitted. In 787 A.D., the Council of Churches forbade all tat-tooing. This decision was extremely im-portant because today it is said to affect some of the negative attitudes towards tattoos in America today. Most students at our school have the

same general opinion about body modi-fication. As Molly Kelly-Yahner put it, everything should be “in moderation” and that modification “depends on personality”. “If you can pull off the bellybutton ring, more power to you…but I’d never get one,” said Alex Azarra. The bellybut-ton ring is one of the most popu-lar piercings, mostly for females. Patrick McKelvy thinks, “Girls should pierce their bellybuttons and guys should pierce noth-ing…except for rappers [who] can pierce an ear.” Nick Trager agreed: “piercings look ridicu-lous on guys”. What about the older genera-tions? The baby boomer gen-eration is stereotyped as being turned off or even disgusted by body modifications. Visual arts department head Lauren Cook, however, thinks of it this way: “Tattooing is an art form, and art should be a dialogue between the artist and the viewer.” In other words, if you want to get a tattoo, just know that you have

an audience constantly viewing you, and you should be content with that idea. Tattoos can be beautiful, but they can also be tasteless. The choice is yours, but you should make your deci-sion carefully. Mark Meltzer, a 19 year old student in DC, has several tattoos which are “all very meaningful,” as he said. “I have a bunch, so I try to make them sentimen-tal so my parents don’t end up disowning me!” He added that he only has one tattoo that he regrets. Andrew Reagan at Stingray Body Art in Boston provided insight as to why body modifications are so popular: “Kids

get them to rebel against their parents, schools…any type of higher power. But then there’s the kids who get them for sen-

timental reasons,” he said. “Like, there was this kid who died in a car crash who loved Batman…his friend decided to get a back piece dedicated to him with the Bat-man symbol. It was really touching and a tattoo that will never get old.” He added, “for others…tattooing and piercing can just become an addiction.” Whether body modifications are solely for rebellion, or to celebrate the life of a passed friend, they’re definitely here to stay.

Caroline Downing, Katie Nesmith and Zeenat NabiMane News Staff Writers

Danger of DehydrationAdam StringhamStudent Athletic Trainer

Between 1995 and 2000, there were eighteen reported deaths of dehydrated high school and college athletes, making it the third highest cause of death for ath-letes at that age. Since 2000, the amount of deaths per year has increased. Athletes say it is hard to stay hydrat-ed throughout the day and while it sometimes is, that is no excuse. The minimum amount of water someone is supposed to consume is eight, eight ounce glasses, (64 ounces); without that amount of water an athlete could be exposed to either heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Heat exhaustion occurs at 102 degrees core body temperature while heat stroke occurs at 105 degrees core body tem-perature. It is important to stay hydrated all year long, even during the summer. Some good ways to help stay hydrated are to wear light clothes, to not practice in

the middle of the day (9 AM to 2 PM), because you will get dehydrated faster, and, obviously, to drink lots of water. One will know if they are dehydrated if they start to feel lightheaded, start to get fatigued faster then usual, or become re-ally thirsty. If someone is starting to feel these symptoms, they should go inside

and take a break because getting out of the sun will help a lot; then, they should be sure to drink cold liquids. Sport drinks do work better then water to hydrate drinkers, while caffeine is the worst drink to consume while dehy-drated. At the beach, one will become dehydrated very quickly because of the sun, and because the

body loses its water faster in salt water compared to on dry land. Remember to stay hydrated all summer long, for it may be one of the most important deci-sions you ever make.

On Saturday May 19, 2007, Blizzard, a video game company, announced the re-lease of the new computer game Starcraft II. During Blizzard’s Worldwide Invi-tational (a gaming convention) in South Korea, Blizzard showed a game trailer of a Terran marine suiting up saying, “Hell, it’s about time.” These four words caused the entire convention to erupt into cheers. StarCraft II is the long-awaited sequel to the 1998 StarCraft, which has won many awards and is still immensely popular around the world. Starcraft is a real-time strategy computer game set in a science fiction universe. The Terrans (humans) have left Earth to colonize the galaxy. As they fight a civil war, they encounter the Protoss, an alien race of psychics with advanced technology, and the Zerg, swarms of slimy, parasitic bugs. Each race has its own agenda and the story progresses linearly as you play each side’s campaign. StarCraft, like most action video games, gives the player a bird’s eye view

of the battlefield. The players must use strategy to build a base, harvest re-sources, and defeat the enemy. StarCraft is fast-paced and intense. It has set the standard for strategic video games today. Classic characters like Terran ma-rines, Protoss zealots, and Zerg zerglings will be joined by new creatures like the Reaper, a Terran soldier with a jetpack and two machine pistols, and the Warp Ray, a Protoss cruiser that fires a beam which gets more powerful the longer it fires. Charles Onyett of the Internet Gam-ing Network said, “There’s so much buzz about StarCraft 2 you may forget the traditional focus of this event, mainly the high-intensity professional StarCraft and WarCraft 3 tournaments!” IGN, a video-game website, has the cinematic trailer, game play videos, and previews at www.ign.com. From there, search “StarCraft II” or “StarCraft” and you’ll find it easily. This game is one of the longest-await-ed games ever. Countless fans made fan websites and petitions to Blizzard to make Starcraft II. It has been almost ten years since Starcraft, but now Starcraft II is finally ready to make its debut.

StarCraft 2 Announced

www.hom

e-water-purifiers-and-filters.

Matthew VaverisMane News Opinion Editor

the Mane News

SPORTS12 May 29, 2007

This spring, the girls soft-ball team had a colorful sea-son, with home-runs, grand slams, and some incredibly daunting challenges. The girls followed up their break-through season last year with continued success this sea-son. The team finished with three wins and one amazing come-back against the dominant, upper-league Stone Ridge team. The girls got their first win of the season versus Foxcroft. Notable events in-clude Mallory Harney’s two home-runs, Cassie Banks’ home-run, and a grand slam by Lacey Gutierrez. The girls played a tough team from Stone Ridge, in the league above St. An-drew’s, who had beaten ev-ery other team in the league through the slaughter rule. The Lady Lions got off to a slow start against Stone Ridge, but made a stun-ning comeback in the fifth inning to nar-row the point deficit from nine to two. Although the girls could not pull off the win, such a remarkable comeback against such a talented team was a ma-jor achievement. Against Holton Arms, the Lady Lions

got down in the fourth inning, but then came back in the fifth inning to score six runs and take the lead. They won by a final score of 15-10. In the last regu-lar season game, the girls played Bullis, to win by a score of 25-15 heading into the playoffs. The varsity softball team brought its season to a close with the ISL Tournament, where they also put up a good fight.

Softball Season: Home Run or Strikeout?

Girls Varsity Lacrosse Ties for Banner in Heartbreaker, Wins Tournament

Lacey GutierrezMane News Asst. Production Editor

Players (L to R) Lacey Gutierrez, Maggie Roberts, Eleanor Giese, and Cassie Banks meet on the mound during the tounament.

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When Ms. Beach summed up the Girls Varsity Lacrosse game against Sidwell Friends as, “One of the most exciting games I’ve seen at St. Andrew’s” she could not have been more truthful. Af-ter trailing 10-2 at halftime, the girls be-gan the second half on fire. With goals by sophomores Lisa and Megan Nash, junior Alanne Wheeler, and seniors Jo-hanna McManus and Becca Becker, the team began to chip away at the Quakers’ lead. As the clock reached the one minute mark, the large crowd of St. Andrew’s fans, as well as the team, started to feel the pressure of the clock. As Sidwell tried to keep possession until clock expired, the St. Andrew’s defense, led by senior goalie Gie Gie Hart, double teamed the Sidwell offense and quickly forced a turnover. Lisa Nash took pos-session and with little time on the clock hurled the ball to Johanna McManus who shot with seven seconds remaining in regulation.

William MoodieMane News Staff Writer

After deliberation with both teams’ coaches and athletic directors, the ref-erees decided that the game would be decided by an overtime of two three-

minute halves. The overtime began as a stalemate, with neither team maintaining possession for long. But near the end of the first half of overtime, Sidwell scored,

sending panic through the St. Andrew’s fans. As the girls regrouped and focused, Sidwell was called for a “shooting space” penalty allowing Lisa Nash to take a penalty shot. Lisa scored with just three seconds sending the game into a sudden death overtime period. With one second remaining in the sud-den death, Sidwell scored and won the game 14-13, forcing a three-way tie for the ISL champions. The fans greatly enjoyed the game, as Junior Drew singer said that it was “the best lacrosse game I’ve seen during my tenure at St. Andrew’s.” Freshman Nikki Azzara said, “It was so exciting; I loved it. It was so good.” Although the girls must share the banner with two other teams, they certainly should not feel that they lost anything. Furthermore, Tuesday May 15, the team competed in the ISL tournament and advanced to the finals, facing Sidwell once more. Led again by sophomore Lisa Nash with three goals, the girls defeated Sidwell 7-5.

Sophomore Lisa Nash scores from the air in the first-round tournament game against Madeira. The Lions beat them 16-7 to advance to the second-round.

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At halftime, St. Andrew’s was down 10-2, but they pulled off a stunning comeback to tie the game with seconds left in regulation. Sidwell ultimately won in triple overtime.

Spring Season StatisticsBoys 800 - 1:59.75Joe Peterson

Boys 4x100 - 48.1Howard, Burket, Chavis, Vaveris

Boys Distance Medley - 11:38.7Peterson, Galicia, Gadbaw, Thayer

Boys Sprint Medley - 3:56.1Gadbaw, Chavis, Burket, Peterson

Girls Shot Put - 26’ 11”Ashleigh Bradshaw

Girls 1600 - 5:38Yaa Addison

Girls 4x200 - 2:00.0Rokoff, Carr, Sweeney, Roper

Girls 4x400 - 4:18.46Addison, Roper, Carr, Hatton

Girls Distance Medley - 14:11.7Addison, Carr, Griffen, Hatton

Girls Sprint Medley - 4:37.6Hatton, Rokoff, Roper, Addison

Boys Varsity Baseball 5-13

Boys Varsity Tennis 5-8

Girls Varsity Softball 3-8

Boys Varsity Lacrosse 1-9

Girls Varsity Lacrosse 12-4

Boys JV Tennis 5-0

Girls JV Lacrosse 5-3-2

Boys JV Lacrosse 2-3

Boys JV Baseball 4-0

Coed Varsity Equestrian Team Competed at Oatland Stable Fancy Farm Stables, and Oatland Stable in Brookland, MD.

VARSITY BASEBALLCurtis Wilson and Alex Zurn

Season Records New Track Records

All-League Athletes

SOFTBALLMaggie Roberts

GIRLS VARSITY LACROSSEMargaret-Rose Hart, Megan and Lisa Nash

Thanks for all your years of dedication to our school. You brought life and hap-piness to our com-munity. We will remember your sev-enth grade Life Sci-ence class and your joy of teaching and coaching. We will surely miss you and we hope to see you around campus in the years to come!

Mr. Dut Brown, admired seventh grade life science teach-er, announed his retirement at morning meeting on Friday, May 25, too late to be included in the Mane News first edi-tion. Brown has taught life science for thirteen years, af-ter his previous careers as an officer during the Vietnam War, at the Potomac School, and in the business world. The Mane News caught up with Brown as he walked through the middle school hallway. He frequently stopped the interview to sign students’ yearbooks, showing his dedication to the children above all else. Some of his fondest memories, besides just interacting with his students, include when Hannah Davis, now an eleventh grader, brought in pictures of her room covered in the flipcharts he used in class as she studied for the exam, and how hard his basket-ball teams have always played over the years. Choking up, he remembered how they “always cheered hard when we broke the huddle.” Brown had been “determined to retire” for some time, and made the descision on Wednesday. After discussing his desci-sion to leave with Mr. Robert Kosasky and Mr. John Holden on Thursday, Brown came up with plans for his retirement. They include playing golf and travelling, as well as “thinking of more productive ways to give back for my life.”

Mr. Dut Brown Life Science, 13 Years

Mr. Dut Brown announced his retirement too late for the Mane News. This supplement is to honor him with the other retireing teachers.

Mr. Brown with his golf club as he announced he was leaving to “play the golf courses of the world.”

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the Mane News: Supplement May 29, 2007