September/October 2012

Welcome, Bienvenido, and 欢迎 to Penn Charter’s Newest Teachers!by Ani Schug , ‘13

College Recruits • Olympic Recap • Summer Movies • Advice for Freshman year

Inside this edition....

Summer Sports Crossword • Music Reviews • Pop culture grid • and MORe....

Dear sam.... Dear suzy.....Entertainment

This September, the Penn Charter Upper School welcomes two new faces to its faculty, both in the foreign language de-partment. Lea Ekeburg replaces Daphne Lee as the Middle and Upper School teacher of Penn Charter’s new-est and only non-western language, Mandarin, while Sa-rah Aguilar-Francis is teaching levels I and II of the most popular foreign language, Spanish. Born out-side of Chicago, Lea Ekeburg attended Swarthmore College in Pennsyl-vania, majoring in Asian Studies. She took a Mandarin class for the first time in her freshman year and enjoyed the experience im-mensely. However, she did not immediately realize her desire to become a Mandarin teacher.

First, she worked in business, ran a study abroad program, and then taught English as a second language. After receiving her Master’s Degree from Ohio State University, Ekeburg began her

career as a Man-darin teacher at Sidwell Friends School in Wash-ington D.C. At Penn Char-ter, new experi-ences for Eke-burg include teaching Mid-dle School aged students and

becoming accus-tomed to the con-fusing schedule.

She is looking forward to start-ing a Chinese club and teaching through stories rather than using a textbook. Outside of school, Ekeburg enjoys knitting, cooking, yoga, and playing the ukulele.

Sarah Aguilar-Francis was

born in Mexico City and lived there until her family moved to Pittsburgh when she was six years old. She attended college at Juniata College and graduate school at Carn-egie Mellon Uni-versity. Seeing that many mem-bers of her fam-ily are teachers, it seemed natu-ral for Aguilar-Francis to also pursue a career in education. She first taught Spanish at a small school in Fort Collins, Colo-rado for 3rd through 9th graders. Although not a Quaker, Aguilar-Francis feels she aligns with Quaker values greatly and hence appreciates the Penn Char-ter environment. Her new job differs from her old one in that Penn Charter is a larger school and she is teaching older stu-

dents. While Philadelphia does not have a great reputation in Pittsburgh, so far, Aguilar-Francis enjoys living in the city of broth-erly love. Nevertheless, she ad-

mits that she is still a huge Steelers and Penguins fan and dislikes Philly sports teams. Her other interests in-clude travelling, and it is her goal to visit all seven continents. So far, she has travelled

to North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, including trips

to Guatemala, Ecuador, Sweden, Denmark, England, the Nether-lands, Italy, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, and Macau. She plans on par-ticipating in the Penn Charter ex-change program to Buenos Aires, Argentina as well supervising the Upper School Spanish club, Amigos.

Izzy Hirshberg, ‘15, Reflects on theSummer Movie Moonrise Kingdom Director Wes Anderson’s coming of age movies, such as Rushmore, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and The Royal Tenenbaums, have made their way into many Penn Charter English classrooms. This summer, his most recent film, Moonrise Kingdom, hit theat-ers, and Anderson received high acclaim for his poignant story about two “troubled” teenagers who run away together on the New England island of New Pen-zance. This movie can relate to any teenager in the Penn Char-ter community who experienced

a first crush, and it especially relates to me because I have spent every summer on the is-land in which the movie is set. New Penzance is the 1965 cinematic replica of Prudence Island, located in Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, where I spend all of my summers. I run through the same trails and dirt roads as Sam and Suzy, the main characters in the film. Sam, an orphan, escapes from Scouts camp to meet up

Continued on page 6

Lea Ekeburg Photo by Rachael Morris, ‘13

Sarah Aguilar-Francis Photo by Rachael Morris, ‘13

Phot

os b

y M

olly

Pol

lak,

‘14

Penn Charter’s resident honeybees, just like PC students, are already busy at work this fall! As The Mirror staff welcomes everyone back to school, we, like the honeybees, are hoping for another produc-tive and successful year. In order to print a paper that represents the views of the whole student body, we need your input. Please contact The Mirror staff at anytime with suggestions, comments or concerns. Find us in the hallways or send an e-mail to [email protected]. Have a great year!

Will iam Penn Charter School • 3000 W. School House Lane, Philadelphia PA 19144 September 2012

NEWSPAPER • APRIL2012

2

SPORTs

Autumn is filled with seniors rushing to complete the college process as quickly and efficient-ly as possible. As most members of the class of 2013 begin to choose their favorite schools, some have already committed to a single school to play collegiate athletics. For these student athletes, choosing a school is still a difficult process. There are academic require-ments that need to be kept, campuses waiting to be vis-ited, videotapes to be sent, coaches that need to be called, and athletes, simul-taneously, must stay physically in shape. When asked if his ap-

Senior Athletes commit to play at College levelby Aaron Mandelbaum, ‘13

proach to choosing a college was an easy one, Senior Mike McGlinchey, a Notre Dame foot-

ball recruit, ex-plains, “It was and it wasn’t. I knew I wanted to go to Notre Dame, but I didn’t know if it was actually go-ing to be possible...the hard part was staying focused, because through-out the whole pro-cess of picking my [future] school, I would be on the phone with num-bers of coaches and reporters eve-ry night.”

Senior Kelly Kubach, a Michigan lacrosse recruit, offers another perspective. She states, “It was easy in the way that I

knew [Michigan] was the num-ber one place I wanted to be.” However, Kubach adds that her college process is similar to eve-ryone else’s, mentioning, “it’s still on-going. I’m working on my [college] apps just like everyone else.”

Often, student athletes are simply drawn to one specific school. Kubach explains that, “[I] just felt right when I vis-ited…everything about Michigan is amazing: the academics, the e n v i r o n m e n t , and the community. The school and my coaches made me feel wanted and special there.”

Senior Charles Giunta, who will play lacrosse

“The hard part was staying fo-cused, because throughout the

whole process...I would be on the

phone with num-bers of coaches and reporters every night.”

- Michael McGlinchey

for St. Joseph’s University, had a similiar experience. He states, “I always kind of overlooked [St. Joe’s], being from the city and all. But once I got on campus for a visit, I instantly felt that it [was] a great spot for me. The coaches are great and I can see myself really working hard un-der them.” Plus, as Giunta points

out, “spending the next four years with [fellow OPC ‘13] Ray Vande-grift is a bonus.”

While the Penn Charter com-munity is excited to learn about the already com-

mitted athletes, more talented students from the class of 2013 are still deciding where to play and study. So stay tuned; there is plenty more to come from the Penn Charter Quakers!

“[The process] is still on-going. I’m

working on my [col-lege] apps just like

everyone else.”- Kelly Kubach

Michael McGlinchey

Daryl Worley

Anna Wills

Kelly Kubach

Charles Giunta

Raymond Vandegrift

Kevin Murphy

Name Sport School

Football

Football

Field Hockey

Lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse

University of Notre Dame

West Virginia University

Bucknell University

University of Michigan

St. Joseph’s University

St. Joseph’s University

Monmouth University

A List of Early PC Student Recruits

Vandergrift, Murphy, Giunta, Worley, and McGlinchey (order left to right)

will all continue to play their sport at the Division I level next year.

Photos by Julia Vahey,‘13

Page 2


3

Editorials Page 3

Nine Tips of Advice for surviving the Ninth Grade

Everything a Freshman Needs to Know for the First Month of High School: Advice from an

Upperclassman

1. If Mr. Larrabee’s opening remarks did not satisfactorily answer all your questions about the PC Administration or policies, wear a mini-skirt and get to know him and Mr. McCloskey at morning de-tention.

2. Having trouble finding common ground with your teachers and classmates? In the vast diversity of the Penn Charter community, a commonality and bonding factor between the entire PC student body and faculty is that everyone gets stuck in the lunch line.

3. Is it tough meeting people on the first day? Leave your dark-colored, nondescript gym bag in the pile at the bottom of the back stairwell. In the 3:15 pm rush to sports practices, you will be sure to grab someone else’s bag by accident. While frantically search-ing the Field House locker rooms, you are certain to make many new acquaintances.

4. When people say, “Let your light shine” they are not endorsing petty arson.

5. If you always seem to get caught in the mob rushing for the li-brary study hall sign-out sheet, techniques to navigate the crowd include sharpening your elbows, the “chat and cut,” and becoming friends with the teacher who is your study hall proctor.

6. The Math and Writing Centers are the best on-campus resources for one-on-one help or a mid-afternoon sugar rush.

7. Is the forty-six acre campus daunting? If one of your teachers is late for class, volunteer to search for them. There is a 95% chance that your teacher is not at their desk, so take the time to go on a campus-wide hunt to get your bearings and eventually find your teacher.

8. Want to meet more seniors? Take a casual stroll up the senior stairs between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm.

9. Can’t find the nurses office? Refer above to number 8.

I hope these tips help you survive until mid-trimester!

by Heidi Zisselman, ‘13

Wise Winston Advice Column

Dear Wise Winston,I am a new freshman. How do I avoid the long lunch lines?Sincerely, Impatient Dear Impatient,First off, I’d like to cordially wel-come you to high school. That said, I already hate you just be-cause of your age. But since I’m here to help not to judge, I have a tip or two for you. As you might know, but probably don’t, since you’re new and young, Penn Charter is pretty old. Like older than America and Mr. Larrabee combined (Larrabee sure looks pretty young, but he uses a lot of anti-aging creams). In the Revo-lutionary War, the American army needed space to store some of the British prisoners. After the little-known Battle of Fox Street, the Americans decided the best place to put those bloody Red Coats was underneath Penn Charter. Now you may be say-ing, “Hey, Winston, Penn Charter didn’t move to this campus until the 19-somethings, they couldn’t have stored prisoners here.” Valid point, you obnoxious little twerp. Truth is, Penn Charter’s current campus is actually built on top of those prisons. If you can find a way down into those old dungeons, there’s a trapdoor that lets out right at the front of the lunch line as long as you can beat the dragon. Of course, the only one who knows how is me, and you’ll never find me. So ba-sically what I’m trying to say is wait your turn and let the seniors and Larrabee go first. Love you, Larrabee!

-WW

Dear Wise Winston,Where do I go to get school supplies for cheap?Sincerely, Cheap Dear Cheap, Back to school shopping is easily the third worst thing about school, right behind it be-ing school and being forced to wear clothes. I’m right there with you, I never know what to get, and then when I do get supplies I never get enough. It’s so hard to conserve these supplies, and it’s not like these paper and pencils grow on trees (badabing!). All jokes aside, I’ll tell you where to go for the best school supplies, best in the world. First step: cut out the mid-dleman. From past experiences, I can tell you that it is a better investment to purchase a single engine plane and fly directly to the source rather than shop at these American outlets that are run by the Man. That said, you better be tough and ready, be-cause you’re going to be flying to one of the most dangerous places in the world. This place is so hard, the only time you hear its name spoken aloud is when the toughest of street thugs are rapping it. If you didn’t know already, said street thug is the straight goon that is Aubrey Gra-ham. You may know him by his street name “Drake”. You’re gonna be flying yourself into the deathtrap that is Toronto, Ontario. That’s right. You better not go there wearing the wrong colors. Anyway, since school supplies grow there nat-urally, you’re going to want to harvest all of the pens, pencils, notebooks, small animals, and erasers that you can, once you ar-rive. Fly yourself back home and you should be good to go.

Oh, and finally, even if you come back with enough supplies to start a small school of your own, remember that you should still ask for someone else’s pen or pencil once in a while to avoid suspicion. I know you’ve heard this before, but rule number four is to never get by on your own supply.

-WW

by well, we do not know...

Have your own questions

for Wise Winston?

Submit them in the box

posted on the student

message board and look

for a response in the next

edition of The Mirror!

Phot

o by

Jul

ia V

ahey

, ‘13


4

News and Community News and Community

The Senior Retreat was a fun-filled weekend that took place at Camp Starlight, located in upstate Pennsylvania. The re-treat focused on strengthening the bonds and friendships of the class of 2013. Seniors split up into groups where they spoke about their hopes for the school year and obstacles that they may face in the pursuit of their goals. The student-only Meet-ing for Worship around

a campfire gave the class the opportunity to listen to each other and reflect on its new role as the student-leaders of the Penn Charter community. During free time, seniors par-ticipated in intense volleyball

and hockey matches, went for swims in the pool, and (of

course) had a blast square dancing

with Sue and Lou.

Phot

o by

Em

ma

Hig

gins

, ‘13

Photo by Emma Higgins, ‘13

A look back at london 2012by Bennett Samuel, ‘13

During the first two weeks of August, I enjoyed watching the world’s best athletes com-pete at the highest level while I sat on my couch and ate chips (not the only one I am sure). This year’s Olympics were nothing short of amazing. London set the stage for the games with an excellent opening ceremony, then the competition began. The US dominated in the pool with newcomer Missy Franklin tak-ing center stage while Michael Phelps became the most deco-

rated Olympian ever. However, the swimmers were not the only ones getting wet. The US men’s and women’s basketball team were about as wet as the English Channel, both taking home gold. Other coun-try favorites included women’s beach volleyball pair Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh as well as the emergence of the “fab five” women’s gymnastics team. Averaging an age of about 17, they were the oldest in the com-petition, while China had a few toddlers backflipping their way to the podium. The games are the best two weeks of competition in sports and always produce amazing stories, like that of Os-car Pistorius. This double leg amputee became the first to compete in the Olympics and lead his relay team all the way to the final round of the 4x400 meter relay. It is uplifting stories like these that captivate us all every four years for those two special summer weeks.

Seniors bond over square dancing, volleyball, and campfiresby Rachael Garnick, ‘13

Photo by Julia Vahey, ‘13

Photo by Julia Vahey, ‘13

Page 4

Maria Georgiou, ‘13, who travelled to

London this summer, shares some of her

photos of the Olympic Games. She was able to watch parts of the

volleyball, rowing, and swimming com-petitions while she

was there.


5

6 hours. We have to keep hopping on and off buses and your passports keep getting checked…That’s [for] me but there are other people who are really really suffering. They live in refugee camps and some of them live in tents. They depend on U.N. aid and help for all the basic things. A: What advice would you give the next exchange student about the first month?S: I think that they should believe in themselves and where they come from and stay true to themselves and their values because the Ameri-can lifestyle is very different from the Palestinian and Arab lifestyle and culture. So, I want them to stay true their selves. They’re going to have fun here. Everybody is nice and they’re going to make new friends. It’s going to be a great ex-perience and they won’t want to go back home. (laugh)

The Mirror Staff2012-2013

Editors-in-Chief Ani Schug

Kidder Erdman

News & CommunityHeidi Zisselman

Aaron Mandelbaum

SportsBennett SamuelLeigh Steinberg

Online SportsTed Foley

EditorialsGlynis Braun

Greg Nazarian

EntertainmentIzzy Hirshberg

Lauren Matt

Photography Anna WillsJulia Vahey

Online EditorRachael Garnick

Faculty AdvisorFred Huntington

Check out our website at www.pcmirror.org!

Staying True to Herself: An Interview with Sara Habbash Ani Schug, ’13, sat down with Sara Habbash, the new Pales-tinian exchange student, to discuss her experience at Penn Charter so far and the differences between life in Philadelphia and Ramallah, Palestine. Ani: Why were you first interested in coming to Penn Charter?Sara: I knew that it [would be] a very good experience and not eve-rybody can have that kind of expe-rience, going abroad, studying for a year and living with a host family. And I think that I’m going to ben-efit from it now and after when I go back to Palestine because I’m going to be independent for a year. I have to be responsible for myself, and I’ll learn about different cultures and different people, and get exposure to a new place. A: Can you describe your daily life in Palestine and how it is different from life in America so far?S: We finish school at three every-day. We don’t have sports (laugh). We can go home. Sometimes, if we finish earlier we can go home. We have 6 classes that we can choose and we have two lunch breaks. I usually walk home and it takes…13 minutes… I go out during the week. I walk my dog. I go to a café after homework and then during the weekend (we have Friday and Sun-day off, instead of Saturday and Sunday) I go out on Friday—well actually, Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Saturday (laugh!). I can stay late outside…because it’s a safe place, nothing’s going to happen and I can walk home, even at 10 p.m. at night, if I have someone else with me. I wouldn’t walk home alone. Yes, well, you can tell the difference from Palestine and here. A: When you go out with friends in Palestine, what do you do?S: Well, we don’t have malls. So, we go to each other’s houses or a café. We have a bowling place (smile) and we have a cinema but not all the latest movies come in. So, if there is something we’re particu-larly interested in, we’ll go watch it. And yes, that’s it. (laugh) A: Oh yes, weren’t you on TV in Pal-estine?S: (Shyly) Yes, I’m on TV. Well, the last time I was on TV was in August for a TV series (laugh).A: Were you acting? Did you play a character?S: I had a different character each episode… The TV series [was] talk-ing about problems in our commu-nity and how we should act—from fighting with your siblings, your parents, or school. In each episode I play a different character.A: And you’re in the play here, yes?S: I’m Lady Montague…It’s so excit-ing!

A: Can you tell me more about Ra-

mallah Friends School in terms of the classes? Is it very different from Penn Charter?S: It’s very different from Penn Charter. We take Arabic, English and starting in 5th grade English Science, and English Math starts in 7th grade… Once we start taking English classes we stop taking Ara-bic Science and Math. We also have religion, history, geography, art, and sports (as a class not after school.) A: What has been your favorite mo-ment here and the hardest moment?S: Um. There wasn’t a hardest mo-ment but the first week when my mother and my sister left, before I made friends…that was hard. I was very homesick. My host family was really nice… My favorite moment, well, everything has been so good. When I knew that I was accepted into the play, that was great. And the girls are really nice, like my classmates. So, I’m not having a hard time. A: Yay! So what are you looking for-ward to in the rest of the year?S: Making friends and represent-ing my country the way it should be represented. I am representing my school, my country and my par-ents—they gave me that trust that I am going to do what I am supposed to do like what the students before me did to provide a good image of Palestine and the school. I hope I can do that (laugh). A: What are your plans for when you go back to Palestine, and after high school?S: I want to study theatre. I am going to become an actress!A: Do you want to study theatre here in America?S: Yes, New York, because we don’t have theatre school in Palestine. Yes, (laugh together) that’s a good future plan. A: What misconceptions about Pales-tine have you found that people hold here?S: Well, two girls thought I lived like Persepolis (laugh together) and one person asked me if we have phones and laptops in Palestine. And one person asked me if I knew cheese or if we have cheese in Palestine,

that’s funny, but it’s nice that they care enough to ask me…They’re not just thinking, “oh she’s from the dark ages. They don’t have cheese. They don’t have laptops.“ A: How do you hope to educate peo-ple in the Penn Charter community about Palestine?S: I didn’t come here with the in-tention of freeing Palestine or talk-ing about politics, but if I’m asked, I answer. And I hope that they un-derstand that we’re not like what the media presents, the miscon-ceptions, as you say. And that we’re friendly people and we have civili-zation and you’re welcome to come visit us if you want…We’re educated people too. A: You live in Ramallah? What is it like there?S: It’s a small city. The people there are very friendly. The atmosphere there is…everything is easy going…I’m not scared. I’m going to talk about the occupation now. The Is-raeli soldiers don’t come into Ra-mallah…there are cities in which they go in every day and every night. They can go and arrest some-one without any charges…But in Ramallah, it’s a lot safer, they don’t come in. They do occasionally, but not everyday so it’s safe

A: How did the conflict and occupa-tion affect your life in Palestine?S: Well, in my city it’s okay, but if I want to go another city, or to the cap-ital of Palestine, Jerusalem, I need a permit. No matter how old you are… you need a permit and sometimes you get it and sometimes you don’t. And that could be really frustrating. And if I want to go to Jerusalem it would take me 30 minutes in nor-mal conditions, but because I have to wait at the check point and be checked and make sure I’m not car-rying anything dangerous, even though nobody is… it will take an hour to two to three hours depend-ing on the mood of the soldiers and if there are so many people…We don’t have an airport as well. We’re not a country in the U.N. And if I have to go to cross the bridge to Jor-dan, from Palestine to Jordan it will take an hour and 30 minutes, but because we can’t drive…it will take

Phot

o by

Ani

Sch

ug, ‘

13

News and Community Page 5


6

ENTErtainment

Moonrise Kingdom Reviewwith Suzy, his pen pal, who re-cently found out her mother is having an affair with the island policeman. In addition to her mother’s affair, Suzy also dis-covers the book Dealing with Your Troubled Child on top of the fridge, which sends her packing and out into the meadow to meet up with Sam. The adults in the film, played by stars such as Bruce Willis, Ed Norton, Bill Murray, Til-da Swinton, and Frances McDor-mand, illustrate how parents and guardians can affect teenagers.

As a policeman, Willis not only strives for order on the island, but also looks to find security in the children’s lives. Contra-rily, as ‘Social Services,’ Swin-ton shows little regard for the welfare of a mere orphan. Throughout the movie, Suzy uses her binoculars to see the world around her. She has much to learn about this narrow frame of reference, and at one point, she even tells Sam that she wishes she were an orphan.

He kindly replies, “I love you, but you don’t know what you’re talk-ing about.” Even parents can be baffled by teenage mishaps. When Suzy leaves with Sam, her mother (Mc-Dormand) asks her father (Mur-ray), “Does it concern you that your daughter has run away from home,” to which he replies, “Well

that’s a loaded question.” This traditional Wes Anderson humor is seen throughout the movie, and leaves room for great inter-pretation. Music is used as both an ac-companiment and a storyteller in the film. “Cuckoo,” sung by the London Children’s Choir, echoes throughout Moonrise Kingdom,

including the climactic final scene. The movie opens with Suzy and her brothers discussing Leonard Bernstein & the New York Philharmonic Orchestra’s “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34,” and Suzy continues to play records for Sam on their escapades. In Moonrise Kingdom, Anderson enforces the importance of friendship. When the world seems turned against every-thing for which you try, it is often your peers who understand your trou-bles. The beautiful cin-ematography only added to the touching storyline, making it a movie for people of all ages to en-joy. Make sure to watch the end credits, when Bernstein’s “Opera 34” is played again in full.

Mirror Entertainment Editor, Izzy Hirshberg, ‘15, poses with props from the movie Moonrise Kingdom on Prudence Is-land, Rhode Island. The police car seen above was driven by Bruce Willis throughout the film.

Superheroes Soar Above Competition:

While the summer pro-duced a few blockbusters, chick flicks and comedies did not rule the box office. Some notable films included Katy Perry: Part of Me, The Campaign, The Bourne Legacy, Moonrise Kingdom and Men In Black III. However, four movies soared above the rest this summer, and ultimately su-perheroes stole the show. Ted provided more than a couple of laughs. Mark Wahl-berg played John, a man whose childhood wish of his teddy bear coming to life came true. The re-sult was the now raunchy and im-mature Ted, voiced by Seth Mac-Farlane, who walks, talks, drives and drinks. Mila Kunis rounded out the main stars as John’s girl-friend, who wants Ted to move out. Ted concludes with a kidnap-ping, wild chase around Boston, a death, a rebirth, and a marriage and by far wins as the best com-

edy of the summer. On to the men in tights saving lives. The Amazing Spider-Man turns back the clock on Peter Parker’s story and begins fresh with a new, young cast headed by Andrew Garfield as Parker/Spider-Man and Emma Stone as his first love, Gwen Stacy. The movie is fast paced and is packed with action scenes of Spider-Man vs. “The Lizard” (a.k.a Peter’s dad’s colleague, Dr. Connors) and, of course, teen romance. It follows Parker from his parent’s departure, to his transformation into Spider-Man, and finally his imminent victory over the city’s nemesis. The Avengers brings to-gether six butt-kicking heroes to defeat Loki and his army. United by Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, the team includes Thor, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye and

last but not least Iron Man. Nick-named the team of “Lost Crea-tures,” the pack comes together to save the world from evil. The pinnacle fight takes place in New York City and the Avengers come out on top. Finally, rising to the top of summer’s must-see-movie list is The Dark Knight Rises. The con-clusion to the epic trilogy, Rises did not disappoint fans. Four years after Batman, played by Christian Bale, defeated The Jok-er, he faces a new villain, Bane, and Gotham is once again under siege. Eight years after the city branded Batman as an enemy, he once again does not fail the peo-ple of Gotham and rescues them from Bane’s plans to destroy the city. Batman is lead into a trap by Selina, played by Anne Hatha-way, and imprisoned but even-tually escapes to save the city from Bane. The city goes through

a social revolution where Bruce Wayne, whose alter-ego is Bat-man, is presumed dead and Bat-man himself seems to lose his life defeating Bane and his allies. Batman is again a hero, but his true identity is never revealed to the citizens of Gotham. To con-clude the film, the Bat-signal is refurbished, Blake, Batman’s ally and young detective and police officer, inherits the Batcave, and Bruce (Batman) and Selina are spotted together and happily alive in Florence. So, as the lights come up and the last bowls of popcorn are finished, we return to school. But no need to fret! While school work may fill the void left by the summer movies, we can only count down the days until we can relive the action on DVD. Our first superheroes return when The Avengers hits the shelves on September 25, 2012.

A Recap of the Best Movies from Summer 2012By Leigh Steinberg, ‘14

continued from page 1

Page 6


7

Entertainment

Pop Culture Grid: faculty editionBy Izzy Hirshberg, ‘15

Name and Subject If you could add any food to the cafeteria

what would it be?

What was the strangest job you held before working at

Penn Charter?

What was the best movie you saw in the

past year?

What was your favorite band when you were in

high school?

Dan Evans, College Counselor

Robert Gordon, Math

Benjamin Dziedzic, English

Jean Taraborelli, Spanish

Teacher Fred, English

Fish Tacos

Milkshakes

More salad bar options and spicy

tofu

Nothing

Pasta dish with sausage and chicken

The dishwasher at the Grand Pix truck stop

General manager at a car dealership

Working at an airport

Mill test clerk

Transporting sailboats from New England to the

Virgin Islands

The Big Lebowski

Midnight in Paris

Annie Hall

The Intouchables

Last Train Home

Rush

The Rolling Stones

Toad the Wet Sprocket

The Beatles

Otis Redding

Fragrant World by Yeasayer Described as “demented R&B,” Yeasayer’s album released this summer is a rhythmic and jittery cup of coffee. Throwing in heavy dub beats, Fragrant World sounds as if it came straight out of a sci-fi movie. Chris Keating uses his vocals to add to the overall sound of the songs rather than using them as the main focus. Gener-ally, his voice blends in as an echoey ghost-like sound layered on top of the other intricacies within the song. Although the band per-forms with conventional instru-ments, half of the sounds heard in the songs are unidentifiable. At points it is almost as if the music itself is melting. Fragrant World does not make a lot of sense, however that is not the ul-timate goal of the band. Whether you want to figure it out or not, it does have its own unique catchi-ness. It provides transcendence to a new musical planet worth exploring. Key Tracks:“Longevity,” “Henrietta,” “Rea-gan’s Skeleton”

Electro SummerRachael Morris, ‘13, Reviews Three of the Hottest New Albums

Gossamer by Passion Pit As a followup to their al-bum, Manners, Passion Pit re-leased its second studio album this summer. Gossamer is an up-beat party of sparkly pop tones and sunshine choruses. Michael

Angelakos, the lead singer of Pas-sion Pit, has a voice that seems to hug its listeners while dragging them into the fast-paced rave that is Gossamer. As the album pro-gresses, it morphs into a slightly stranger and dark-er world. There is a dream-like quality

to the overall sound of Gossamer. Opening with the track, “Take a Walk,” Passion Pit instantly com-pels listeners to enter on what appears to be a catchy pop al-bum. However, Gossamer trans-forms itself un-til its closing track, “Where we Belong,” where the re-cord leaves its audience with a sense of wonder and sadness. Passion Pit’s album is a f a s t - p a c e d

emotional roller coaster that lis-teners will only want more of.

Key Tracks:“Take a Walk,” “Carried Away,” “Where We Belong”

In Our Heads by Hot Chip The sheer excitement I get from this record is enveloped in the first track “Motion Sick-ness.” What starts out to be a foreign s o u n d i n g set of tones builds into a climactic and w o n d r o u s song. Hot Chip’s album In our Heads is a huge step up from their last album (which was far from memorable).

Each song could fit into its own music genre. Neverthe-less, In Our Heads should be seen as one whole sound from beginning to end. Alex Taylor’s voice, despite be-ing pretty high for a male, is beauti-ful to say the least.

Album Artwork From: http://mute.com/wp-content/up-loads/2012/06/Yeasayer_FragrantWorld_deluxe-560x560.jpg http://hotchip.co.uk/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/hotchip_inour-heads_stickered.jpeg http://indiecurrent.com/wp-con-tent/uploads/2012/07/Passion-Pit.jpeg

However, this is not what makes the record work so well. The al-bum pulls from 80’s influences and electronic grooves. It has the instant gratification that a pop record gives, yet Hot Chip does not restrain from including its usual strangeness. While “Don’t Deny Your Heart” is an easy go-ing electronic track, “Night and

Day” verges on Hot Chip’s more eccentric side. Overall, In our Heads is good for every kind of listen-er because it provides the e n g a g e m e n t of an interest-ing pop record while also c h a l l e n g i n g listeners to un-derstand the

bizarreness of Hot Chip.

Key Tracks:“Motion Sickness,” “Flutes,” “Ends of the Earth”

Page 7


8

By Ani Schug, ‘13

Are you interested in writing, taking photos, or making videos for The Mirror ?

If so, talk to Ani Schug or Kidder Erdman... there are still spots available!

Summer Sports Crossword ChallengeEntertainment

The first person to return a correctly completed crossword to Ani Schug will receive a special baked-goods treat!The solution will appear on The Mirror website (www.pcmirror.org) later this month.

Documents

September/October 2012