Brownell-Talbot School • 400 North Happy Hollow Blvd • Omaha, NE 68132 • Volume 9, Issue 1 • Dec. 11, 2015

By Shelly ZhangVerbatim News Editor

By Victoria LeiVerbatim Copy Editor

Mrs. Anne Constantino, the Executive Director of Institu-tional Advancement at BT as well as the interim Head of School last year, concluded her job at Brownell-Talbot on Nov. 13.

Leaving the BT community was a hard decision for Mrs. Constantino to make, but she was facing a once-in-a-life-time opportunity.

“I will be the director of op-erations and product in a com-pany called From Now On,”

Mrs. Constantino said. “We are going to build a student’s experience app for colleges and universities.”

Mrs. Constantino had been working at BT for only two months before she was asked to serve as interim head of school last year. Having been put into a leadership position at such an important time in the history of the school, she gained great experience and learned much. To her, it was a labor of love.

“I learned a lot about the goodness of people and the

strong mission of education and excellence at Brownell,” Mrs. Constantino said. “Last year really helped me hold onto some of those things with my own leadership skill and style.”

Mrs. Constantino’s experi-ence at BT changed not only her life, but also her entire famliy’s.

“Since I was a kid, I had known about Brownell and its excellence of education, but I had never dreamt that I

Constantino embraces new beginning

Row by row, students filed into the auditori-um. As they settled down, six or seven students rose from their chairs and walked on stage. They smiled nervously at each other in antic-ipation. Their first presentation was about to begin.

These students are the members of Chap-el Club, more widely known as “God Squad.” The witty name has quickly gained popularity among students. Ten students signed up in September.

“The name was actually Mr. [Mark] Smith’s idea. We wanted something catchy to get peo-ple’s attention and get them to join,” sophomore Tess Foxall said. “We thought they would be more likely to show interest if we had a fun name.”

Led by Mr. Mark Smith and Father Jason Emerson, the club has been quick to get on its feet. Foxall joined at the start of the year for a new experience.

“I heard that there was going to be a new club for chapel, and I became interested

because I wanted Chapel to be less strictly affil-iated with one religion,” she said. “I don’t really follow a religion, so I wanted to be able to see chapel expand.”

The purpose of God Squad is to widen stu-dents’ perspectives of different religions and connect them back to Brownell-Talbot.

“We’re going to be having an Exploratory Chapel every quarter to examine other religions and tie them back to Brownell-Talbot,” Foxall said.

Students who were interested in joining God Squad convened early in the year and worked diligently for their first couple presentations.

“The student body seemed to respond to the presentations really well, but we definitely have areas to improve on and are looking forward to exploring other religions in more depth,” Foxall said.

Although it takes a lot of effort and time to put these presentations together, it’s not strictly work. Foxall finds their weekly lunch meetings highly enjoyable.

Club aims to improve ChapelGod Squad

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Anne Constantino, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement, smiles as she talks about her experiences at Brownell-Talbot. Photo by Yumi Yu

Photo by Shelby Gibbins

2 News December 11, 2015

Verbatim is a school-sponsored newspaper. Students in the Newspa-per Journalism class at Brownell-Tal-bot School will produce a quarterly issue of Verbatim.

The goal of this newspaper is to cover the events, the personalities, and the accomplishments of the Brownell-Talbot Upper School. We welcome your ideas, feedback, and support.

Advertising space is available in Verbatim. Prices are $125 for a half page and $65 for a quarter page. To inquire about advertising in Verba-tim, contact Business Manager Jack Bydalek (jack.bydalek@brownell.edu) or Adviser Rod Howe (rod.howe@brownell.edu).

STAFFEditor-in-Chief: Anjana SrikumarCopy Editor: Victoria LeiPhoto Editor: Yumi YuNews Editor: Shelly ZhangEntertainment Editor:Roman ConstantinoFeature Editor: Denisse Navarro, Rana IsaczaiSports Editor: Ryan EhresmanBusiness Manager: Jack BydalekAdviser: Rod Howe

Brownell-Talbot School400 N. Happy Hollow BlvdOmaha, NE 68132-2198(402) 556-3772

Our Mission“Brownell-Talbot College Pre-

paratory School is a safe, caring community dedicated to academic excellence and to preparing stu-dents for success in college and in life. Through experiences in academics, activities, and the arts, students learn passionately, think critically, act responsibly, and lead with integrity.”

would have the opportunity to serve this community as the Head of School and have my children be a part of such incredible mission and academics,” Mrs. Constantino said. “There were lots of hours I put in last year for the school and my family was so supportive of me.”

Mrs. Constantino is strongly bonded with every student, family, and faculty member at BT. Everything that makes up the community will be in her memories on a day-to-day basis.

“I am going to miss all the students. I am going to miss being able to walk through the halls, and just asking people, ‘How is your day going?’” Mrs. Constanti-no said. “The faculty have become great friends and colleagues to me. I have never had the privilege of working with such a dedicated and committed group of indi-viduals.”

Mrs. Constantino and Dr. Gibbs have become great partners despite working together for only a few months. With Mrs. Constantino’s help, Dr. Gibbs is now fully immersed in the school community with the academic year well underway.

“It was wonderful to partner so closely and comfortably with Anne during my on-boarding process, especially last year as I was gaining an early understanding of the community and culture,” Dr. Gibbs said.

Believing in blue and gold as always, Mrs. Constantino will still be connected with the BT community even without her job here.

“I am grateful that I am going to have an opportunity to remain in the commu-nity as a parent,” Mrs. Constantino said. “I will be working at the concession stands, so I will still be able to see everybody here at BT.”

God Squad wants to include all religionsContinued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

“I look forward to the discussion, and it’s nice to interact with people in the club that I normally wouldn’t talk to,” she said. “I get to learn new stuff every week, too. It’s fun to learn things about different areas of the world that I usually wouldn’t think about.”

With two presentations under their belt, God Squad has had time to figure things out and learn the ropes. Although they have almost everything down, they are still looking to expand.

“I definitely want to see more people join God Squad,” Foxall said. “I would also like to see us have more time to talk in Chapel per quarter.”

God Squad has high hopes for second semester.“I think God Squad is going to make Chapel a lot more exciting, and I think it’s really

going to be interesting for those kids of other religions and make them feel more in-cluded,” Foxall said.

Administrator to still follow ‘Blue & Gold’

As Interim Head of School, Anne Constantino (far left) enjoys a “photo-op” moment with Bridget Collins (Head of Middle School), Kami Landenberger (Head of Lower School) and Bill Harrell (Head of Upper School) at 2015 back-to-school picnic. File Photo by Rod Howe

3FeatureDecember 11, 2015

By Rana IsaczaiVerbatim Feature Editor

No sounds were to be heard in the crisp night air as a bus rolled through the open gateway of Brownell-Talbot. Only si-lence, with the exception of a creaky window and rumbling bus engine. The deflated sighs of children whose aspiring hopes of winning state were just crushed.

Although the Yakking Raiders knew the competition was tough, they could not help but go in with heads high and feeling ready to dominate their competition. The night gave them a bit-tersweet taste and an unfortunate twist of fate, but with a fiery passion in their hearts the defeated Raiders knew they would come back harder next year.

“It was a heartbreaking loss when we lost our championship title two years ago against David City,” senior Abhinav Suresh said.

The Brownell-Talbot Speech Team had held the Class C-2 State Championship title for seven consecutive years and also moved up a class during their last win at state before losing the year after.

“Getting to state is an enormous challenge for any individual.

Getting enough individuals to qualify for state to win a team trophy is an honor very few teams get to enjoy. We are blessed to be in the hunt every year,” speech coach Michael Recker said.

To be qualified for state, competitors need to place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd at districts. Raymond Central High School and David City are the current rivals for Brownell- Talbot and the team hopes to defeat these high schools this year for the state title.

“The kids who medaled at state really deserved it. Their hard work paid off and it’s wonderful to see them succeed,” said speech coach Chris Hamel, when discussing the prospects of winning state again.

Nebraska is one of the most competitive speech states in the United States, making Brownell-Talbot compete against some of the toughest competition in the nation.

“The freshmen this year are beyond amazing and it is excit-ing to lead the team to hopefully win state,” says Suresh when discussing how he hopefully will win at state championships for his senior year.

Although the Brownell Yakking Raiders have suffered some tough luck and heartbreaking losses, they hope to come in strong this year, ready to take back their title.

“The future of YaRa is very bright!” coach Hamel says.

Speech team aims to regain state titleSpeech coach Chris Hamel gives freshman Jamie Gould some pointers for her poetry piece. Gould was putting the final touches on her speech for the Papillion LaVista speech meet. Photo by Yumi Yu

4 Feature December 11, 2015

By Denisse NavarroVerbatim Feature Editor

Junior lands graphic design internshipThe sound of chatter and laughter hums in the background.

The comforting smell of vanilla and the rich coffee beans wafts through the air. There is an energy of hustle and bustle that you can only find at a Starbucks. In the corner, Brownell-Talbot junior Frank Fu is hard at work on a project.

“I was putting together my architecture portfolio for another company when this guy came in. I saw him and didn’t think much of it,” Fu said.

A conversation ensued after Fu took notice of the stranger’s computer. Later on, Fu walked out of the coffee shop with a secured internship at a graphic design firm known as John Clark.

“He had said he was looking to hire. I mentioned I had been trying to find a job at an architectural firm all summer,” Fu said. “After looking at my designs he basically just hired me then and there. It was pretty exciting.”

The exchange that landed Fu the internship hap-pened three months ago and he has now been a member of the firm for a month and a half. On a typ-ical day, Fu meets with clients — going over their wants, brainstorming potential ideas, and even drawing them out a rough draft.

In the past, Fu has worked for relatively small design projects but other than that, John Clark is his what he considers his first legit design job.

“I started working there because even though I wanted to get into an architectural firm, a graphic design firm is definitely the next best thing,” Fu said. “By working there, I gain the experience of meeting all sorts of new clients and fulfilling their wants and needs.”

Fu’s involvement with the firm has taught him to be more cre-ative and to gather inspiration from places he never expects. By working with a different subject every time, he also learns to deal with flexibility.

Schoolwork and a job can add difficulty to managing time and getting everything done but the firm also gives Fu plenty of flexi-bility, allowing him to have his own schedule.

“I have all the graphic design programs on my computer so I can either go to the studio and work for however many hours, or I can stay home and work from there,” Fu said.

Fu’s passion for graphic design began when he was at a young age. Having a love for the intricate lines that decorated the facade of a building and the internal structure that held the building up inspires Fu when he works on his projects.

“Architecture has been a huge influence on the way my designs look and what they are suppose to represent,” Fu said.

Fu also enjoys art. His art style is minimalistic, clean lines that he hopes to use to send a powerful message.

“I never really admired anyone because everything has been done already, it’s just how you do it is what makes it truly differ-

ent,” Fu said. Fu does believe however, that people like Frank

Lloyd Wright really challenged that idea and so did Walt Disney; he considers both as strong imaginers that changed the world in two different perspec-tives.

“I also enjoy the people that work with me. They are extremely artistic,” Fu said. “They are very open minded and produce some amazing works of art that inspire me.”

Besides doing graphic design for an actual firm, Fu is also known for design work at Brownell-Tal-bot. He is a student ambassador for Brownell-Talbot and had mentioned his venture with graphic design to the admission officers of the school.

“Francis is taking our very text-heavy ‘Student Profile’ and mak-ing a modern, professional booklet with info graphics for us to give to prospective families. It is unbelievable,” Mrs. Kim Schinzel, Brownell-Talbot Director of Admissions, said.

Fu has worked quickly and the school is very appreciative for the job Fu has done.

“He is truly helping Admissions tell part of the BT story,” said Mrs. Kim Schinzel, Brownell-Talbot Director of Admissions.

After high school Fu hopes to expand his experience and join the world of architecture.

“My goals as of now is to go to college and get a degree in Busi-ness and Architecture. I’d also like to work for HDR and perhaps one day, start my own firm,” Fu said.

Both the graphic design firm and projects for school are giving Fu the experience he hopes will benefit him to become successful in architecture.

“Meeting the requirements of everyone is challenging, but when you succeed it is a great feeling,” Fu said.

Graphic designs by Frank Fu

5SportsDecember 11, 2015

By Ryan EhresmanVerbatim Sports Editor

“Live by the code, play for each other,” is the new motto for the Brownell-Talbot basketball team. The motto was brought in by newly hired head coach Eric Jones, who be-lieves a team that plays without hesitation, loves and cares for their teammates and coaches, and maximizes their available talent is the most successful kind.

Coach Jones was previously a boys assistant coach at Lincoln Northeast High School and Doane College and most recently the girls head coach of Pleasanton High School.

Jones believes a good coach adapts to what his or her team needs personality wise, and on an individual basis, adapts to what each player needs to reach his best poten-tial rather than being defined by a win-loss record.

“There are so many fantastic human beings who I have been around I would consider great coaches simply because they care and love their players,” Jones says. “But there’s nothing spectacular about their win-loss record.”

Jones expressed his philosophy by emphasizing the importance of efficiency and execution.

“Offensively, I do not think it matters ‘what’ you run, but more ‘how’ efficiently you run it and ‘why’ you run it,” Jones says. “Defense is 75% about effort and flying around without hesitation. If you can be in a stance, have your head on a swivel, and be ridiculously active, you can stop most things. The other 25% is about knowing the X’s and O’s and making sure you are executing the game plan effectively.”

Jones has set specific goals for the team to obtain this season.

“I want to see our young men develop a love for the game and show they can play with a relentless passion day in and day out,” he said. “Every year we expect to compete in the top two or three teams in the conference.”

The basketball team is in the Frontier Conference again along with Cedar Bluffs, College View Academy, Nebraska Lutheran, Omaha Christian Academy and Parkview Chris-tian, and Cornerstone Christian.

The Raiders had a 9-13 record last year. Many players are returning, including three starters.

“I look forward to the continual development of the relationships with our team and the rest of the BT Family,” Jones said, “I have absolutely loved the BT community so far. There are lots of great people around here.”

Bouncing the ball down the court last year, a dull pain was grad-ually growing stronger up her leg as she passed the ball to a fellow teammate to hopefully score. The pain in her shin grew fiercer until she could barely take the biting pain. She was indecisive on whether she should play or check her leg. Finally, called off the court, only then did she realize that she had chipped her bone.

“I had a lot of things going through my mind. When I fell, I felt like I let the team down, but then I realized that I did not because these injuries make me stronger,” senior Cheyenne Hanson said.

Having an injury that devastating gave Hanson the wisdom of knowing the danger of one. Leading a group of young, eager basket-ball players could prove to be a difficult challenge for Hanson, but she hopes to guide the team with her experience to a great season.

“The team is very young this season, but this contributes new attitudes and skill levels towards our team,” Hanson said.

Having a majority of the team consist of freshmen leads Hanson to believe that the young spirit will bring new talents that will help the team advance and grow stronger.

“I have confidence that leading the team to be united will help us greatly to have fun and build a positive attitude towards the game,” she said.

Hanson has played basketball for Brownell all four years. Last year on varsity, she averaged 3.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. She knows that if a team is not united on and off of the court, it will fail to reach its fullest potential.

“Bonding on the side and supporting each other in practice is a good start to making that happen. When we have done that, winning the playoffs is a goal I have, but the main one is for everyone to enjoy themselves,” Hanson said.

Hanson hopes that she and basketball coach Bob Williams will come close to winning districts and qualifying for the state tourna-ment.

“Coach Williams has always been my primary motivator in play-ing the sport,” Hanson said. “Katie Williams, Bob Williams’ daughter, consistently taught me to be my best and be there for everyone on the team.”

The basketball knowledge Hanson has accumulated over the years has been primarily from coach Williams and his daughter.

Both have been big influences on Hanson as well as the past team-mates she has had.

Hanson did admit that being the only senior on the team adds a little bit of pressure, but she is proud to pass on her skill and play as a Raider.

By Rana IsaczaiVerbatim Feature Editor

New coach sets goals for boys basketball

Senior overcomesinjury to lead team

6 Sports December 11, 2015

By Anjana SrikumarVerbatim Editor-in-Chief

The smell of chlorine fills the air, the crowds are cheering, and then, the swimmers are off, effortlessly gliding through the water, as they race against the clock, to complete their laps in the shortest amount of time possible.

Brownell-Talbot is home to a multitude of great swimmers, in-cluding state qualifiers Rachel Mazotta, Jack Bydalek, and Lance Culjat. One of these swimmers, senior Lance Culjat, has broken every single school swimming record.

“At the beginning of senior year, I had broken every record, except for the 50 freestyle because I hadn’t had a chance to swim that stroke in a competition. During the first meet of the season

at Brownell, I was allowed to swim that stroke. When I saw my time, I felt satisfied. It’s nice to know that my name completely covers the board,” Culjat said.

Lance has been swimming seriously, since he was 11, and for years, swimming has given him something to work towards.

“One of my favorite things about swimming is that it moti-vates me to work harder to beat my previous times, so because I’m always swimming, I constantly have a new goal to focus on,” Culjat said.

For this year, he aims to qualify for state, break his previous times, and improve on all of the school records. Culjat also plans to continue swimming in the future with the University of Chica-go team.

Lance Culjat breaks all school swimming records

Senior Lance Culjat swims the 100 breaststroke at the state swim meet. Culjat placed third overall at the state competition for breaststroke. File Photo courtesy of Callum Sports Photography

7EntertainmentDecember 11, 2015

By Roman ConstantinoVerbatim Entertainment Editor

On May 25, 1977, Star Wars: A New Hope took the world by storm. It changed the way people think of the “blockbust-er” movie and shaped many children’s childhoods.

Now on Dec. 18, 2015, the seventh installment of the franchise makes its debut, with the property’s first movie in over 10 years.

The film will be directed by J. J. Abrams, who previously directed Super 8 and the Star Trek reboots. The new film will fea-ture a Star Wars that takes place 30 years after Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

“I’m super excited,” junior Nick Roush said. “(Star Wars) has always been a big part of my childhood.”

Many reflect excitement, especially people who grew up with Star Wars. Of course, not everyone is so excited.

“Despite what everyone says, I’m pretty apprehensive,” junior Jackson Henry said. “I didn’t enjoy the prequels too much, and these don’t seem to be doing much in the way of improving that track record.”

He isn’t alone in his apprehension, con-sidering the most recent release of movies in the Star Wars saga did not live up to expectations. Still, we will only know the quality of the film when the movie is re-leased next week and see if it can live up to the anticipation.

New Star Warshighly anticipated

A new concert venue opened its doors in the Omaha Area at the beginning of No-vember. Going by the name Milk Run, the venue hosted its first concert featuring American Cream, The David Nance Band, Robust Worlds, and Church of Gravitron.

The venue’s two owners, Chris Aponick and Sam Parker, opened their concert ven-ue/art gallery with intentions of making a place where smaller bands could play.

“We wanted a room that makes a crowd of thirty or fifty people feel more like an event instead of a bummer,” Aponick said.

The name Milk Run, according to the two co-owners of the venue, is a nod to Omaha’s gay history. A former gay bar by the same name which continues to stand near the venue is the original namesake of the new venue. At the new Milk Run, the name is not only a nod to Omaha’s gay his-tory, but an invitation to be yourself and not be afraid to be who you really are.

“We want people to be open and be themselves in our space,” said Aponick. “By embracing a part of (Omaha) that was once secretive, we’re saying that your

identity is welcome here.”The venue was also founded with the

financial well being of others in mind as well.

“We want to make sure touring bands have the ability to leave Omaha with a good experience and a good payday,” Aponick said.

The owners of Milk Run want to give touring bands proper pay for the troubles and hardships of touring, and make bands want to come back to Omaha.

Another feature of the venue, other than a concert space, is an art gallery. Its purpose is to show the work of local artists and give them a chance to get their work out there, a common mission for art galleries. Monthly rotations of artists are shown to keep the gallery fresh with new art and more artists.

“Ideally, they would display their artwork, make a playlist of songs that influence their work; and that list would be played during the showings,” Aponick said. “This would give the viewer a more in-depth feel to the artist.”

To keep up to date on Milk Run, follow their Facebook page and go to a concert.

Yet another album was released by synth pop wonder boy, Mac DeMarco, in August. So far, it has been well received by fans and critics alike. Since the release of his previous album, Salad Days, Mac has been on tour almost nonstop, so when Mac announced he would release another album, listeners were shocked at how quickly Mac was writing material.

His new record, appropriately titled Another One, is comprised of only love songs, and according to Mac himself, this was done on purpose.

“Last time with Salad Days, I was like ‘this is about this, this is about this, etc.,” Mac says in an interview at Time Festival only a few days after Another One’s release. “[Another One] is very personal and meaningful for me.”

While the meaning of the songs on Another One are predom-inately about love, the music itself is enchanting and has a welcoming spirit.

In songs like the title track, “Another One,” the synth piano stands out most and provides a warm sonic atmosphere with meaningful lyrics that accent the diverse yet simple instrumen-tation. In contrast, the album’s opener, “The Way You’d Love Her,” provides a welcoming beginning of the record with the jan-gly guitar sounds that all Mac DeMarco fans all know and love. Various other songs throughout the record provide a perfect middle ground between these feelings with big warm synth and simple drum parts that make the listener feel right at home.

On his new album, Mac DeMarco delivers yet another melod-ic, heartwarming collection of songs that only reinforce Mac’s friendly and sensitive persona. Blended with Mac’s unique an-alog recording style, they give the album a more organic sound with exceptional clarity and sincerely beautiful tunes.

Bottom line: This album is just one more step forward for Mac DeMarco in terms of great songwriting and catchy instrumenta-tion. I suggest you buy this album, and whether it be on vinyl or mp3, a good time is assured.

Mac DeMarco presents fans with new mini album

MILK RUN: New venue welcomes diverse artists

By Roman ConstantinoVerbatim Entertainment Editor

By Jack BydalekVerbatim Business Manager

8 Photo Essay December 11, 2015

Right: The casts start the mu-sical with the song, “If You Are An Addams.” It was their final rehearsal. Below: Sophomore

Roman Constantino accompa-nies for the musical. Constanti-

no is a member of Upper School jazz band. Lower: Sophomore

Audrey Graves works on her costume. Graves played Uncle

Fester in the musical. Photos by Parker Gottsch

The Brownell-Talbot Upper School musical is an auditioned extra-curricular theater production for students in grades nine through 12. On Nov. 6, 7, and 8 students presented the musical, The Addams Family.

People who came to see the show were really impressed with the students’ performance.

“I was really proud the actors stayed in character the whole time,” said Mrs. Aileen Zeigler, the director of the Addams Family. “Including our ensemble members, who had a lot of time simply sitting there, but had to be the best in the show and be actively involved in performing and acting without having a line to work with. I think they successfully did that.”

Students and teachers started preparing for the show starting Sept. 8, spending about two hours every day.

“We worked a lot on engaging the character, filling the space

of the whole stage, and constantly making strong choices,” Mrs. Zeigler said.

The reason Mrs. Zeigler chose the Addams Family as the fall musical was because she loves all the actors to be a character, and work on physical action.

“That’s one of my major reasons for choosing the Addams Family — to give every students something they can latch onto and develop character and story physically, and really do actor work at all levels in the show. The Addams Family gave us that opportunity,” Mrs. Zeigler said.

Sophomore Audrey Graves and freshman Jamie Gould both played male roles, Uncle Fester and Pugsley Addams.

“It was not about gender, it was about who can play the role, who can do the character pieces, who can sing the songs. They were the best people to play those roles,” Mrs. Zeigler said.

The Addams Family will also perform at the Nebraska Thespi-an Conference Friday, Jan. 8.

By Yumi YuVerbatim Photo Editor

Addams Family steals the spotlight