The OnLion: News and Features

65 minute classes, C and D days, every class in one day: sounds scary, doesn’t it? What about flex time, less homework, 25 minute long breaks: that doesn’t sound too bad, right?

These were all phrases the Lovett high school became aware of in the 2008-09 year. And they all add up to one thing- The New Schedule.

The year is winding down, and now we’re all seeing how the new schedule has played out. A survey was sent around to see how students and teachers liked or disliked the schedule.

“There was a 50% response rate in each grade,” says Mrs. Little, “So I received enough information.”

Senior Caroline Noonan responded to the survey. “I wanted to answer the questions,” she says, “There were definitely some negative comments I wanted to let people know about.”

Not surprisingly, the freshmen were the most positive, and the seniors the least. “The Seniors had the most time to get used to the last schedule,” says Little, “But the Freshmen were ready for something different.”

Freshman Maggie Wolters says the switch from middle school wasn’t too bad, “It was something different,” she says, “But I was expecting that.”

Senior Clayton Mckenney had some real problems regarding the food aspect of the new schedule. “I felt like I was hungry all the time,” he says, “And it was always the same classes at the same time so the teachers were always getting mad at me.”

The 65 minute classes were what scared most people, but in the end things didn’t turn out so bad. “I didn’t even notice the extra fifteen minutes,” says Senior Mary Scott Wolters.

Dr. Hall looks creatively at the 65 minute class period. “It challenges teachers to vary the way that we teach,” he says. “We have to do more than just lecture.”

Mr. Allegra agrees. “I like to change things up,” he says, “anyone who’s been in my classroom knows that.”

“In the survey we asked if the students thought the teachers used the time effectively,” says Mrs. Little, “And 75% of the responses said they did.”

But the survey wasn’t just about the students’ responses. The faculty also had things to say. I specifically remember one day last semester when Mrs. Swartz was saying that the schedule was so crazy that she didn’t even have time to use the bathroom.

“The faculty struggled with A days,” says Mrs. Little, “How to make 45 minute classes productive without feeling rushed.”

“It’s a hardship because you’ve got to slam right into business,” says Dr. Hall.

A days were not too popular among the students. Sophomore Catherine Conner says she dreaded them. “When an A day rolls around every one is really stressed,” she says, “We have every class and all our homework has to be ready.”

“Over the course of the year, there were only two A days on which I had fewer than three examinations,” said Wallace Winborne.

Last semester there were a couple of times when flex time didn’t happen. “We had long assemblies and then meetings,” says Mrs. Little, “students didn’t even have time to eat an apple.”

Little says that this semester they’ve had to get creative with things so that students get that flex time.

With all the feedback, things will be changed for next year.

Some of these adjustments are now official. There will be an advisory on A days to help ease teachers and students into the day. Break will be twenty minutes instead of twenty-five so that the day ends at 3:00 instead of 3:05. That also means lunch starts at 1:10 instead of 1:15 on B through G days.

According to Mrs. Little, they knew they weren’t going to make any major changes after just one year. Even these tiny changes required a tremendous amount of work to coordinate with dining services, fine arts, the lower school, and the middle school.

by Maggie North and Michaela Hyland

In its third year in action, TAP has had a very successful 2008-2009 school year, from lock-ins, to the MLK parade, to the assembly about walking a mile in each other’s shoes. Most recently, TAP was a part of the Challenge Day “Be the Change” team.

Notice. Choose. Act. These three words seem rather inconsequential alone but when they are strung together they take on a whole new meaning. That meaning is the one that Challenge Day is based upon.

For three years, the administration worked to bring Challenge Day to Lovett, and with the help of a generous benefactor, Jim Mills, Challenge Day became a reality. What inspired the administration to bring Challenge Day to Lovett?

“Lovett is such a great place,” says Dean of Students Mary Spencer, “We have a lot of great people but we don’t always take care of each other.” After studying the student population, the administration realized how much work our school truly needed. It took two years to bring the concept to reality and required a lot of hard work by the advisor of Teens Against Prejudice, Mrs. McLeavy, and also Mrs. Spencer. The point of TAP in the aftermath of Challenge day is to hopefully carry on its message through an array of activities.

The idea of Challenge Day has spread across the nation and even across the world for the past few years, and Lovett teachers like Mrs. Spencer even participated in ones at nearby schools like East Cobb Middle School. Because of the program’s rising popularity it was somewhat difficult scheduling the days and working out all the logistics, but eventually everything was worked out.

Mr. Mills raised the necessary money to cover the three days which amounted to a significant number but as Mrs. Spencer said and many others would attest to, “It was worth every penny.” Lovett brought together 108 adults and 298 students for the three days and also representatives from nearby private schools like Pace, Holy Innocents, Westminster, and Paidea.

On March 31, April 1, and April 2, Lovett hosted a team of two leaders, Katie and Jon. What exactly did they do to “challenge” us you may ask? We weren’t so sure ourselves as we prepared for the day.

“I thought it was going to be extremely sappy and a lot like a corporate team building exercise that I was not looking forward to,” said Sophomore Hunter Rich. “However I came in with an open mind.”

The 10th and 11th grades separated by advisories into thirds to go one of three days: Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. On the first day, our group met in the cafeteria, wary of what the day would include, but even more wary when we were told to give up our cell phones to the large bins. God forbid being disconnected from the rest of the world for a few short hours.

We were all confused as to why the freshmen and seniors were not participating in the day and even afterwards people were still wondering. Mrs. Spencer cleared up that question for us as she explained that the seniors only have a month left at Lovett so it would not have an effect on the Upper School in the long run and also that they planned on repeating Challenge Day for rising sophomores and next year’s freshmen.

As we were led to the Pope Gym by the teachers, we all whispered amongst ourselves, speculating what kind of miserable experience we were in for that day and finding the small positive that at least we did have a NUD. We arrived at the gym and the time had come for the day to begin. We walked through the double doors of the gym to find some of our worst nightmares.

They were all in a row, making a tunnel for us to walk through. All our teachers and parent volunteers lined up clapping, screaming, and dancing. To many of the students, they had just entered hell. While the students were appalled by the excessive energy of the teachers, it was also difficult for the faculty to go crazy and be willing to be laughed at.

Sophomore Hunter Rich didn’t know what was going on, but he said that he “got really excited and started high-fiving everyone.”

“The first time I went, I felt very self-conscious,” said Mrs. Copper-Pribish. “But by the third day, I was fine and started having fun.”

The students’ faces were priceless as you could see a range of emotions cross their face including fear, confusion, happiness, anger, anxiety, and insecurity. The students filed in and scurried to find seats with their friends in the large circle of chairs. The cliques were still together but would soon be broken up by the “icebreaker” games that sent the whole room, adults and students alike, running and dancing around the room.

We played games like Hug Tag, musical chairs, and other not so typical games. In one you had to find a partner, get back to back with them, and do a dance. These games were awkward to say the least but by the end we were all laughing and just having fun.

After the ice was broken, we really began to delve deeper into the more serious aspect of the day. The whole group gathered in a semi circle around Jon and Katie who told us their life stories, and boy were we in for a surprise. Jon and Katie proved to us that you really can’t judge a book by its cover by telling us about the challenges that they had faced.

Katie was a survivor of cancer which you would never have guessed from her beautiful long hair, and Jon had a tumultuous childhood growing up in a bad neighborhood in California. The day took on a different tone at this point when everyone began to let down their internal walls and stop judging everyone around them. We were then taught about one of the biggest issues that teenagers deal with, and that every person deals with too.

This issue was that of expectations and the “box” we are placed in by our families, friends, and peers. For boys, this box told them they had to be manly, they had to be strong, they couldn’t cry, while girls were placed in a “flower” where they must be dainty, polite, and sweet. Jon and Katie talked about how we did not need to fit into these “boxes” and that we should not let others tell us what we have to be.

At this point we were divided into smaller groups where we would be able to be truthful and let out our emotions. And boy did we let our emotions out. Each member of the small group made “If you really knew me” statements that forced us to get real with each other.

“The small group was a great experience to get to know each other,” said Taylor Mack. “It was an enriching experience.”

After that small discussion came the time that everybody had been anticipating: The cross the line exercise.

The cross the line exercise was both moving and difficult because it forced everybody there to put themselves out there and let the whole group know some of the things you had been through or were going through. Some of the categories: cross the line if you have ever been bullied, lost someone you love to cancer, lost someone because of alcohol related issues, were discriminated because of the color of your skin, made fun of because you were too big, made fun of because we were too small, and many others. This activity really forced everybody to reflect on difficult moments in their life and it became a really emotional time.

“I think the cross the line exercise was the most challenging part of challenge day,” said Junior India Brantley. “It helped people to better know each other and themselves.”

After cross the line, we got back into our small groups and reflected on the things that were most difficult for us and what we were facing. Each person had a few minutes where they simply shared how they were feeling and the rest of the group was just listening with support.

Following our small groups, we had the opportunity as a big group to get up and share things that we were going through or make an apology to someone in the room. It was an open-mic type experience and was extremely meaningful, because people were not only putting themselves out there in their small group, they were also putting themselves out there in front of everybody. Many people used this time to make amends with people they have had issues with.

“The open-mic got me in touch with my sensitive side,” said Sophomore Chris Beindorff. “It was a great time for people to join together.”

We ended the day by having a short amount of time to talk and make apologies to anyone on a one-on-one basis. This created a safe place for people to talk and make things better with people. We also signed a poster to commit to the change that we had made.

But have we truly committed to that change? Mrs. Spencer has seen the beginnings of such change, pointing out that she has seen students who tend to be loners spend more time with people rather than escape with headphones in their ears. All around the Lovett campus, students have been throwing up the “I love you” hand sign that was so widely used at Challenge Day. Advisories have been brought closer together as they talk about that day and feel more comfortable as a group.

Ms. McLeavy compared the changes to dropping a pebble in a pond, which produces a ripple effect. The changes may be small at first, but they continue to grow. She also thinks that it has caused people to be friendlier. “People have continued to say hello to each other in the halls,” she said. “It is also encouraging seeing the acceptance that people have for each other.”

While this is a great start, have we truly carried on the message of Challenge Day in our daily lives here at Lovett? Some students are skeptical. Sophomore Kaki Pope says, “Unfortunately Challenge Day has not carried on as we expected it to which is very disappointing.”

“On Challenge Day, things seemed that they could really change but since then I’ve seen nothing to actually do that. Nobody has really put in any effort in my opinion,” says another sophomore, Campbell Gitomer.

There’s still hope, of course, for a better tomorrow here at Lovett as TAP continues to spread the love and support that Challenge Day taught us about. And then there is the idea that emerged on Challenge Day that it only takes one person to make a difference. There are 600 students in the upper school and over a 100 teachers. Those aren’t bad odds.

“Lovett has such great kids, so we must set a bar for how they act,” said Mrs. Spencer.

by Maggie North

Nine days. Two cities. Nineteen students. Three teachers. An experience of a lifetime.

Last year, the idea of a trip to Europe was conceived by Dr. Robert Sanderson and his AP European History students who dreamed of visiting two of Europe’s most famed countries, England and France.

This dream slowly transformed into a vision that finally became reality as the dates were set and the reservations were made. The group would spend four days in London and four days in Paris, experiencing the highlights of each city.

First stop, London, England, home of Paddington Bear and Harry Potter. We began our American invasion with a wild taxi ride to the St. Giles Hotel. From there we made our way to the well known sites of Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. We were given time to shop for souvenirs and the boys spent time trying to mount the over sized lions located in Trafalgar Square with very little success.

After a few good photo ops, we ventured on to Hyde Park to Speaker’s Corner where you can legally say whatever you want about anything and not get arrested. Dr. Sanderson managed to control his urge to scream out his protests against the world and we went on to our next stop, the world famous Harrods.

After spending about three minutes in Harrods, I quickly realized that you could actually live there as it houses all the necessities of life from food to bedding.

Harrods is nothing like an American department store like Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s. This store is in a league of its own. We were given about two hours in the store but after about one we were all thoroughly exhausted and begging to leave.

We finished our night with the one British meal that most every American has heard of, fish and chips. After dinner, all 22 of us fell into our beds, exhausted beyond all belief, excited to be in England but more excited to finally be in a real bed.

We woke up the next morning and started our day off with a 9:00 bus tour around London where we saw many of London’s most famous sights. We stopped at popular sights so we could get our pictures taken just so we could prove to our mommies and daddies how much we were learning!

Throughout the rest of our bus tour we drove by places like the Tower of London, Wren’s Cathedral, St. Clement Danes Church, the Summerset House, Gringotts Bank from Harry Potter (actually the Australia House), the Strand (one of London’s most famous streets), the Clock Tower, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Albert Memorial, and the Natural History Museum. We finally stopped for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe where we celebrated Kelly Boyd’s 17th birthday in style.

After being fed and rejuvenated we walked outdoors to find it was raining. That would not stop us. We plodded on to the London Eye, some of us hiding beneath our raincoats, others just giving up and getting soaked by the rain.

Upon arrival at the eye, we loaded our group into our little pod and began the rather slow journey to the top of the oversized ferris wheel. The view of London was incredible as we could see all around us, and we even managed to trick a few of our peers into believing that a cell phone tower was in fact the Eiffel Tower.

After the ride was finished, we made our way to dinner at a typical English pub where Dr. Sanderson tried to teach some of us the rules of rugby since he was apparently a star player in his day (I’m not sure if I really believe this).

During dinner, we decided that we would split into two groups for the rest of the night. One group would head to the renowned King’s Cross Station to see the mythical entrance to the wizarding world, Platform 9 3/4. The other half would go to an internet cafe which clearly would not be as exciting. I chose to go to King’s Cross Station as I am in fact obsessed with Harry Potter.

Dr. Sanderson led us to the station where the group of all girls began to sprint to the platform because they could not hold their excitement in any longer. After staging several Harry Potter scenes, and reenacting several wizarding duels, the group moved on and went back to the hotel. It had been a long day, but one to remember.

The next day would be a long one too as our group began their day by watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham palace. We accomplished one of the most impossible tasks in history that day, we made a guard laugh.

These famed British guards are famous for their composure and refusal to give in to the taunting and jeering of tourists. We, however, cracked a young guard as we managed to get a smile and a blush out of him. After the girls of the group (myself included) finished oohing and ahhing about how cute the guard was, we returned our attention to the changing of the guard in front of the palace.

After the changing of the guard, we made our way to the Tower of London which is home to the crown jewels, massive ravens, and, to our amazement, large mutant pigeons.

After this, we experienced one of the most exciting moments of our trip. We saw the Queen. It was Commonwealth Day in England and the most noted members of royalty were seen making their way into Westminster Abbey. It was an incredible experience and most of us captured the shot on our cameras, that is everyone except me. I took a picture of some other random old lady making her way into the church but I can just pretend it’s actually the queen.

We spent that night at the theatre where we sat through quite a long showing of Les Miserables. While some caught up on their sleep and others scoped out the cast to see who was the best looking (it was the leader of the soldiers in case you were wondering), I thoroughly enjoyed the play.

Tuesday morning began with us packing our things and preparing for the trip to France later that day. We still had a few key sites to visit though. We first stopped at Westminster Abbey where we were all amazed to find the burial places of notables like Charles Darwin, Sir Isaac Newton, Henry VII, and other kings and queens.

Next, we moved on to take a quick tour of the British Museum where we saw the world famous Rosetta Stone within 30 seconds. With this last museum, our time in London was finished. We took our bus back to St. Pancras Station where we would catch the Eurostar train to Paris’ Gare du Nord.

To get to France, the Eurostar train would pass through the Chunnel, which is basically a long tunnel that crosses the English channel underwater. To the disappointment of many students, the Chunnel is an enclosed tunnel, therefore it was not possible to see all the little fishies (though some were still convinced you could).

After our first Parisian dinner with our strange tour guide Nicolas, we headed to the nearby docks of the Seine where we boarded one of the famous “bateaux-mouches” that took us on an excursion along the river. The tour was beautiful as we saw all the sights lit up and also many couples clearly enjoying the romance of the city. The romance was maintained on the boat as junior Zach Wolfe asked his girlfriend Kelly Boyd to prom in front of the Eiffel Tour, drawing the jealous glares of every other female on the trip.

We returned to our hotel exhausted but ready for the next days of our adventure in Paris. We woke up the next morning and took a sightseeing bus tour of Paris where we saw memorable sights like the Luxembourg Gardens, the original Statue of Liberty, Rue Clovis, Palace de St. Genevieve, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, Rue de Trocadero, Sacre Couer, the Eiffel Tower, Napoleon’s tomb, the Palais Royal, and finally the world famous Louvre Museum.

The Louvre is overwhelming as it houses hundreds (thousands?) (millions?) of the most famous paintings and sculptures in the world including the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo. My group spent some of our time in the museum playing the tacky tourists, reenacting famous paintings, specifically the weirdest ones.

We trekked on to Notre Dame Cathedral where we were attacked by dozens of gypsies who all had the same story about their brother having leukemia and needeing money in every language possible (except Chinese we found out). After exploring the church, we headed to the Pantheon that houses many of France’s most influential thinkers, or at least their bodies. People like Pierre and Marie Curie, Emile Zola, Victor Hugo, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Voltaire were buried there and left us all in awe of the magnitude of history that we were witnessing.

It was all so overwhelming that we just had to go shopping. We went to the French version of Harrods, Gallerie Lafayette. There we spent time perusing the racks of French designers, often too expensive for us to even dream about.

The next morning, we took the train to the enormous chateau of Versailles. We toured the castle which includes the state apartments and famed Hall of Mirrors and greatly enjoyed our guided tour through one of the most extravagant palaces in history. After lunch in the gourmet restaurant called McDonalds, we got back on the train to head to the Musee D’Orsay where we spent time perusing the halls of paintings we knew and others we didn’t.

We then moved to the Eiffel Tower where we were appalled to learn that we had to climb the stairs. For those of us with a fear of heights, welcome to hell. The view was incredible and our very gullible peers finally noticed that you could not see Big Ben from the Eiffel Tower. What a bummer.

The next day we experienced one of the most famous landmarks of Paris. Les Champs Elysees. We began our day at the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were brutally executed. After this we walked the right side of the Champs Elysees where we ventured into stores finding some moderately priced and others, like Cartier, a little bit out of our price range.

We then navigated our way to the Arc de Triomphe which stands at the end of the Champs Elysees. There we climbed to the top where I believe you have one of the best views of Paris. From there some us ventured down the other side of the street while others took a tour of Roland Garros Tennis Stadium where they hold the French Open. After lunch on the Champs Elysees, we made our way to another large department store, Le Bon Marche.

From le Bon Marche, our group ventured on to its final destination of the trip. Montmatre. Montmatre would make John Winthrop proud as it is quite literally a city upon a hill. After a somewhat long trek up said hill, we were pleased to take in the immense beauty we found at the top. We sat on the steps of the famous church Sacre Couer and watched as a French street performer butchered American classics such as Wonderwall, but we didn’t mind because the memory was one we will never forget.

For our final meal of the trip we dined at a restaurant named La Poutre. There we met an interesting character who we would all remember although we were not sure we wanted to. This character was an old man who reeked of alcohol and probably hadn’t bathed in days. He played his accordian in our ears throughout the whole meal and I made the mistake of letting him know I spoke French. He continued to bombard me with questions and thought I would really enjoy if he sang a solo in my ear. Dr. Davis, Mrs. Sanderson, and I were all kissed on the cheek by this dirty man which we all are a bit scarred by.

Thus the trip ended. We made our way to Charles de Gaulle airport where we faced terrible lines due to a supposed bomb threat because of an unattended suitcase. After a long time in a miserable line, several rants by Grace Langsfeld about how the French were communists, and a brisk run to the gate where we would take off from, we found ourselves fastening our seatbelts and preparing for our return to the States.

You might call this trip amazing. You might call it epic. No matter what word you assign it, all in all it was a trip to remember. We survived pickpockets, gypsies, and bomb squads and we did it with style.

If you are interested in taking an epic adventure into Europe during either Spring Break of 2010 or the summer of 2010, please contact Maggie North or Dr. Robert Sanderson.

by Elizabeth Ridgeway/Contributing Writer

Late nights spent searching for that perfect piece. Unfinished homework sacrificed to memorize it. Labouring over hand guestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice while the next day’s history test looms in your thoughts. Practice, practice, practice. It is hard work, but we on the Speech and Debate team are not afraid to work hard. This is one of the reasons why the team has had such a successful season.

From a boom of new members to the National Qualifier tournament in Carrollton, it has been a season full of fun and excitement. The fall semester was peppered with successful tournaments at Carrollton and other high schools, with a growing number of members competing in the Prose and Poetry category.

Two of the forensics in this category (otherwise known as Oral Interpretation) are Sam Bailey and Harrison Hwang, who will be attending Nationals. Among many competitors in Duo Interpretation, Aleha Saleh and Syndey Zander dazzled judges with their piece and also won a bid to the national tournament. Royce Ennett won with his skill in Extemporaneous, while Loren Hampton, Peter Diaz, and Alexandra Hightower swept away the competition in Declamation, a category in which the student performs a speech originally delivered by another person. Finally, our president Connor Wakamo won a bid with his self-penned piece in Original Oratory. Also of note is Teferri Taylor, who put the “Debate” in “Speech and Debate” this past year.

There have also been several very memorable pieces this past year. There was the hilarious duo “I’d Like to Buy an Owl”, performed by Tommy Bronsted and Jay Mainthia. In it a customer becomes more and more frustrated with a pet store owner’s repeated parrying of his request for an owl. There was the innocent “After You, My Dear Alphonse”, a short story about a boy who doesn’t understand his mother’s prejudice against his friend. Shadiyat Ajao gave this tale just the spark it needed in her insightful rendition. As mentioned before, Alexandra Hightower is going to Nationals for her Declamation piece, in which she is a recovering convict/addict mother pleading with a judge to consider the serious flaws in the governmental correction system. That sounds dry, but Alexandra put both pathos and strength into her performance: a winning combination.

Junior Alyshah Ebrahim’s Original Oratory was both funny and serious in its coverage of ADHD, while seniors Medha Marsten and Namita Mainthia finished their long Duo career with a traditional, humorous sketch about two nervous airplane passengers.

A few weeks later, the team held its annual post tournament-season party and election of officers. Although this was a new experience for me, it was wonderful to hear all the members’ speeches which expressed in many different ways their love for Speech and Debate. From the “Godfather” theme of Sonia Forodastan to the farewell words given by the graduating seniors, the afternoon was one of both fun and solemnity.

Soon after this we found out who would guide the team as officers in the following year; some were new, and some were returning to an office. This school year will close with the National Tournament in Albany, New York.

But why are we willing to work so hard? For the glory? For the trophy? No. For the hurried hotel breakfasts and the long hours of waiting in between tournament rounds? Certainly not.

We work hard because we love the team.

Family. The Speech and Debate team is one of the most tight-knit and welcoming clubs at Lovett. When I first walked into Mrs. Swartz’s room one Wednesday afternoon, my shyness was immediately expelled by the smiles that greeted me. I soon found out that even the bus rides to and from tournaments are filled with noisy, friendly laughter and shouts.

Experiential. The Speech and Debate Team is a wonderful way to meet new people, travel to other high schools, and improve one’s public speaking. Simply being on the team for part of one year has provided me with great experiences and new friends.

Eclectic. In the words of the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, eclectic indicates something “composed of elements drawn from various sources.” This word perfectly describes the Speech and Debate team, as it has many members from different backgrounds and nationalities. But there are also students from every different grade level and field of interest, from sports to fine arts to academics.

From time to time the results of a Speech and Debate tournament are announced in morning assembly, but how do these tournaments operate? At a typical tournament, the team either stays overnight in a hotel near the host high school, or we meet at Lovett at about 6:45 A.M. to drive directly to the tournament. Throughout the day we compete in a total of five rounds, four preliminaries and one final round. As stated before, there are often long hours of waiting in between rounds, which gives us an opportunity to meet other students from other teams, have a snack, talk with each other, or do homework. During the hours before the finalists are announced, the stress of the day can be seen on almost every face. However, excitement and goodwill reverberate over the team with the posting of the finalists and eventually, the awards ceremony. When I say “eventually”, I mean “eventually”: often the awards ceremony isn’t until nine o’clock or later. All the waiting, practice, and fun is finished- until the next tournament.

Mrs. Swartz, our head coach, says about the past year, “I thought it was a great building season,” adding with a smile of approval that the upperclassmen have unselfishly helped the underclassmen move forward in forensics. There have been many fun and interesting experiences on this year’s journey with the Speech and Debate team. I wonder what next year will bring!

by Laura Quittmeyer and Amanda Torie

See that yellow powder on your car? It’s not fairy dust. In fact, it’s anything but magical. Pollen has attached itself to the ground, our cars, and most importantly our lungs. This devil dust is causing some serious health problems for members of the Lovett Upper School.

Junior Tyler Decker told us, “I sneeze like five billion times and I want to cry.” Gabriella Welch said, “I feel like i have a bowling ball in my skull.” Casey Ward said she feels like someone is taking a paint brush and brushing it across her nose.” Without a doubt these allergy victims have spent endless hours sneezing and wondering, what is doing this to me?

It’s sort of ironic that the same powder that is the basis of life for plants (and those who eat them and breathe the oxygen they produce) can be such a great burden on our respiratory systems. Very few people understand the biological and chemical functions and construction of pollen but perhaps if we all had a better understanding of pollen we could better cope with it.

Lovett’s Botany teacher, Mr. Reynolds, an expert in all things plants related, explained to us why pollen is causing such a fuss this time of year. In the spring, plants are “getting busy,” literally trying to spread their seed. Pollen is the sperm of plants that is spread through wind pollination. Bees help with another form of pollination. But these bees are not to blame for our sneezing. Their form of pollinating plants keeps the pollen out of the air and only in the plants.

How does the pollen make us so sick? It is our body’s defense to sneeze and become stuffy. Since there is such an abundance of pollen, when we breath it in, our body treats the pollen as a foreign invader. The pollen grains causes an immune response. This response causes a production of mucus, sneezing, and the swelling of some of our muscles. These reactions are caused by chemical messengers called histamines. Anti-histamines such as Claritin and Benedryl help lower your body’s defense against these foreign invadors.

Ironically, you can thank yourself for the abundance of pollen. Since we cut down so many trees for land development, we now are trying to plant more trees to compensate. “We plant male plants instead of female plants because they are messier,” Mr. Reynolds explains. For example, male ginkgo trees are always used in landscaping because the female fruits smell really bad. Biologically speaking, you can blame these males that throw all the pollen out into the air because they are wind pollinated. The worst offenders, though, are pine trees, which throw out the yellow dust (their sperm) coating your cars. Pines are not usually planted, but they are more common in disturbed areas, resulting in a lot of springtime pollen in areas such as parking lots.

Now that the science has been narrowed down, how do we deal with our allergies?

There is an incredible array of over the counter concoctions that claim to cure all, however some of the most effective treatments are the ones we come up with ourselves at home. Junior Casey Ward strongly suggests the lotion tissues for runny noses, claiming they keep your nose from drying out.

Junior Dory Womack deals with the dust by taking Claritin D and Benedryl. She also suggests sitting in a steamed shower for clearing the sinuses right up. “On a scale of 1-10, I probably hate allergies at a 24,” says Womack. Much like other students she loads up on medication and tissues to help ease the spring months.

Some people have to take more drastic measures to take care of their allergies. Senior Lenzie Avery goes through weekly allergy shots to keep her nose clear. After years of taking Claritins and Benedryls, her doctors decided the shots would be the best option. With weekly shots she can now breathe clearly every day.

Allergies are stressful and obnoxious, but most likely unavoidable, unless we want to burn down all the male trees. That leaves us working to mitigate their effects through drugs, remedies of our own invention, and counter-spells for fairy dust.

by Maggie North

While many at Lovett may think that the National Honor Society is simply a club for smart kids who get a pin and then don’t do anything to live up to the organization’s ideals, this year’s NHS efforts clearly undermine this perception.

The goal of the National Honor Society is “To create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, and to develop character in the students of secondary schools.” These goals are certainly achieved by the members of the Lovett chapter of the National Honor Society, led by History teacher Dr. Robert Sanderson and led unofficially by current seniors Hudson Vincent and Judson Green.

On April 20th, 72 juniors and 8 seniors were inducted into the National Honor Society.

In the field of scholarship, Lovett students are expected to have an average of 90 or above throughout their high school career even to be considered for the program. Of equal importance is having proof that you have completed sufficient hours of service and demonstrated leadership. Applicants face an extensive evaluation by a board of administrators from the school. Many were not accepted because of a lack of service.

Once in NHS, members participate in group projects organized by Dr. Sanderson. One program they are particularly committed to is a program called Kiva which describes itself as giving “loans that change lives.”

“KIVA was originally begun to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty, and we as members of Lovett’s National Honor Society saw the great things being done through the program and wanted to extend our help,” says active member Hudson Vincent. Through chapel offerings, Lovett’s chapter has been able to donate several hundred dollars over the past year to dozens of people.

“These people have included an elderly women who has started a vegetable market in Tajikstan, a Peruvian woman needing help to sustain her newly begun retail shop, a fruit market salesman of Azerbaijan, and a carpenter of Togo,” Hudson says.

This program has clearly helped to ensure the NHS mission of dedication to service. “The truly great thing about KIVA’s program is the fact that the program is built around paying the loaner back when possible,” says Hudson Vincent. “if the business were to go under, the person would owe us no money back, but if the business continues to grow and succeed, then the person receiving the money begins sending us back the money lent when possible. Through that system, we’ve been able to recycle over two hundred dollars in donations to other needy families and individuals around the world. ”

Kiva is not the only program that the Lovett National Honor Society has been actively committed to in the past years. The first project initiated by this spring’s inductees was bringing in used formal dresses to donate to MUST Ministries located in Smyrna who would distribute the dresses as they saw fit.

Projects like these may seem small, but they make a difference. “I have tried to ensure that the members of the National Honor Society are members in both words and deeds,” says Dr. Sanderson. “A bad day for most Lovett students is a bad grade or a forgotten textbook. A bad day for most the rest of the world has far more serious ramifications.”

This year and year’s before, the National Honor Society has participated in Lovett’s service club Confronting Atlanta’s Poverty by donating peanut butter and jelly that goes to make sandwiches for the less fortunate of Atlanta.

Projects like these are helping to build the character of each and every member as we must all realize how blessed we truly are. “I feel very fortunate that I have had the support of the administration, the NHS society members, and the school body. My hope is that with a sustained effort we will be able to expand the program to help even more people,” says Dr. Sanderson. “This program means a great deal to me and to the NHS members.”

Given the efforts of the NHS members and their leaders, it would seem that those pins are only the beginning.

by Antolina Ramirez and Mek Mesfin

“While you’re here on earth, there’s a reason for you to be here,” explains fifteen year-old Darius Weems. “The actions that you take are going to lead to your future. This right here, this is for the generation that might come after me.”

With the help of Lovett junior, Robert Sewell, Darius’s message was brought to the Lovett School in April. After viewing the documentary last June, Sewell, who is also a part of the Boy Scouts of America program, knew Darius’s message would be worth sharing.

“Compared to a normal documentary it was not depressing and I felt like I actually wanted to help out,” explains Sewell. “It was powerful.”

In order to attain the highest rank, an Eagle Scout, Sewell must demonstrate service and leadership, including an extensive service project, which the Scout organizes, manages and leads.

“When the time came round for my Eagle Scout project I thought back to the showing and decided to do it,” adds Sewell.

Winner of 28 awards at the National Film Festival, the 2005 documentary, Darius Goes West, is the heroic tale of Darius Weems’ journey to open the eyes of people all over the world to the future he just might face without their help.

Diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), the number one genetic killer of children in the world, Weems is dealing with the same degenerative disease that took his brother’s life when he was just 19. Soon this disease will affect his heart and ability to breath and although doctors have discovered the genetic cause of Duchennes, the means to support research and spread awareness is scarce.

Funded by thousands of pre-sold movie credits, Weems, who was 15 at the time, and eleven of his friends who worked at Project Reach, a summer day camp that provides recreational and educational activities for children with handicaps based in Athens-Clarke county, traveled across America in hopes of getting his wheelchair pimped out on MTV’s Pimp My Ride. Unknown to Darius and his friends, their travels became more than just a dream of getting his wheelchair decked out. Within days Darius and his charming personality had drawn the attention of the communities and media of the cities they visited, shedding light on Duchennes and handicapped accessibility across America.

Upon Darius’ arrival at West Coast Customs, Los Angeles, Darius was met with open arms, and the team of designers, engineers and technicians accepted his challenge. They were eager to have a shot at pimping Darius’ wheelchair but unfortunately their enthusiasm was not enough. MTV informed Darius and the team that although they sympathized with his cause they regrettably had to reject Darius’ plea to be on the show. The reason they gave was that they didn’t want to take responsibility for the wiring and electronics.

Returning from his trip of a lifetime, Darius has continued to emphasize his desire for action opposed to sympathy. He wants people to hear his story and take action to ensure the progress of Muscular Dystrophy sufferers and the development of a cure for the disease.

Since the documentary was filmed in September 2008, the crew and Weems have traveled 28,000 miles. In the past year they have raised over $2 million through sales of DVD’s and merchandise as well as separate donations.

Regrettably, Weems was unable to visit the students of Lovett. He had developed a cough after he got back from the last trip and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, an unfortunate reality of the nature of the disease.

Lovett raised nearly $10,000 for the foundation. Sewell hopes to get the entire Lovett community involved with Darius’s cause and spread the word of Muscular Dystrophy.

“The main way to get Lovett involved is to have the Goslabi t-shirt day in order to create a lot of revenue for the foundation and really raise awareness,” says Sewell.

Darius’ attitude, courage and humor made everyone gravitate towards him and his cause. His story had a huge effect on everyone who witnessed it.

by Sullivan Griffith

Mrs. Ohayon’s Memoir class did a two week digital story project. Each student wrote a memoir and then transformed these four page stories into 8-12 line digital stories. The students got pictures off of Flickrstorm, put them in iMovie, and then added music. The end result was their story in movie form.

Mrs. Ohayon decided to do this digital story project “because one of my goals as a teacher is to do innovative things with teaching. So I went to a teacher workshop on digital stories and saw how it involves personal writing and decided that maybe I should do this with my memoir students. I really enjoyed it so I thought my students would enjoy it and give them a different way to share their stories and help them find their voice.”

The other brain behind the operation was Mrs. Deisley. “My job is Director of 21st Century Learning. I focus on the middle school and taking social media tools and piloting how teachers can use them in class. My first digital story class was with Mrs. Ohayon. I put together a workshop in January with a man named David Jakes who had already gone through the process.”

I personally enjoyed the process. I got to learn how to use iMovie on the Mac. My peers also enjoyed the experience.

“I thought it was really frustrating making it but when it all comes down to it in the end it’s really rewarding and satisfying,” Whitney Kenney said. “It helped me with learning how to work with the computer. Technology is really important so it’s necessary.” Kenney’s story was on the best piece of advice she has ever gotten.

Harrison Reeves seemed to have similar thoughts on the process. “I thought it was a lot of fun. Had I had a compatible computer at home it would have made things easier. I enjoyed watching everyone else’s. I feel I got to know people better. You can tell the ones who put in a lot of effort because it flowed well,” Reeves said. Reeves’ personal narrative was all about his first, awkward, middle school kiss.

My personal narrative was all about how I obsess over to-do lists. I cannot leave the house without a to-do list. Our British student Mek Mesfin wrote about how he broke his leg playing soccer and how it significantly altered his life.

Mrs. Ohayon plans to repeat this project in the future. “I like the project because it combined writing, imagination, creativity, technology, and thinking,” she said.

by Lenzie Avery

At the same time last year, the class of 2008 was leaving us. But even though they’re not around anymore, they have plenty to say about Lovett.

Though many college freshmen left Atlanta, there are a few that are still near by. Georgia Tech freshman Lea Sedehi is still in the Atlanta area, but she lives a very different life than she did at Lovett.

“I love GT,” she says, “But there are still things I miss from Lovett.” Though we dread them, Sedehi says that she misses the uniforms here. “It was nice not having to think about what to wear in high school,” she says.

But the main thing that she has missed are the famous gooey chocolate cookies at the Cafe. “They were sooo good!” says Sedehi.

Leslie Miller, a freshman at Rice University in Texas, says she misses a lot about Lovett. “I miss my friends from Lovett,” says Miller, “It’s hard to go from seeing them every day for seven years to seeing them only over the holidays.”

Lovett is known for its school gatherings, and even though students at Lovett now don’t love the assemblies, Miller says she misses them.

“The Lovett community made the school feel comfortable,” she says. She valued “things like chapel where the whole school would gather together and take a break out of the week.”

While many of us may think college is harder than Lovett, some college freshmen have a different perspective. Kentucky Freshman Nick Stonecipher says things aren’t much harder for him.

“The courses I feel are easier in college then they are at Lovett,” he says, “But the teachers don’t make you go to class or go out of their way to help you like they did at Lovett. Things are harder because of that.”

Stonecipher says he misses competitive sports, and that’s about it. “I play club lacrosse but it’s not the same. I don’t miss the dress code, homework every night, and getting in trouble a lot.” He adds.

As their own year is ending, this years college freshman have some advice for the seniors graduating this year.

“Force yourself to go to classes,” says Stonecipher, pointing that no one else will. Sedehi simply adds “Have fun!” and Miller suggests to “never forget your high school friends.”

by Amanda Torie

There is no denying that at Lovett homework dominates a sizable amount of our time as Upper School Students. Seven hour school days are followed by an array of sports, clubs, activities and jobs; when we finally get home, ready to collapse into bed, we find ourselves face to face with two, three, even four hours of homework and studying. Many students work into the late hours of the night, struggling to stay awake and complete the mountain of work that lies before them. Many days we find ourselves in a race against time to complete that reading or that last math problem in the brief window of time we can afford it. These late nights and rushed days can lead to exhaustion, anger and frustration.

We conducted a survey of Lovett students in order to get a better idea of how individuals have learned to cope with and survive in such a high stress, time-consuming environment, particularly when it comes to homework. We had about 40 Upper School Students respond to this survey which was sent out via our facebook group.

The majority of students who took our survey spend two to three hours every night working on homework and studying. In an attempt to cut out some of this evening work, students report completing between 25 and 50 percent of their homework at school in free periods, break, lunch, and flex time. These numbers make it clear that upper school students are investing a lot of time outside of the seven-hour school day. However, when asked to what extent students believe that homework furthers their understanding of a given subject, 80 percent of survey takers declared that at least half of their homework is, in essence, busywork. For our purposes, busywork can be defined as homework that takes time, but has little educational value in the minds of those doing it.

Arguably the most prominent tactic students utilize to succeed despite the fact that they are racing against the clocks is group work. Whether it is a question in free period or a two in the morning phone call, the majority of Lovett students find themselves collaborating on a regular basis. Reasons for collaboration include everything from lack of understanding to laziness to desperation for a better grade.

While many teachers encourage such collaboration on assignments, the line between collaboration and pure copying can be unclear. In the survey students were asked to draw that line and attempt to define the factor that makes collaboration cheating. The most common answer was that cheating is when you take another person’s work word for word without any input of your own.

Students find it perfectly acceptable, even helpful, to work through problems with others, most definitely an activity that teachers encourage on some assignments as a tool for better understanding. Other students prefer to compare final answers as a way to confirm that they have to correct process and or methods for solving.

When asked why students turn from collaboration to cheating, participants cited two main reasons, lack of time and pressure to get good grades. At a school like Lovett both of the reasons are understandable. There simply are not enough hours in the day to do everything to meet the high expectations set by parents and teachers. While students have found positive ways to cope with this competitive environment, many at times feel forced to turn to less than honorable methods to stay afloat.

New technology such as Sparknotes and online translators make cutting ethical corners on schoolwork easier and more convenient then ever. In addition, students can divide work up (“you do the evens and I will do the odds”) in order to save time. Whether or not these time saving techniques are cheating or not can be determined from two different sets of eyes, those who make the rules and those who are expected to follow them.

Lovett has a handbook which is notably firm in its belief that students can and will uphold standards set forth by the school both in sight and out of sight. Teachers and faculty hold the honor code and the honor pledge in high esteem, placing a lot of trust in their students to abide by the established rules for completing assignments. Lovett has never failed to be clear on the importance of honor. In our first week of school Mr. Peebles spoke to the upper school on the importance of honesty, specifically in terms of academia. He spoke about the value of maintaining honor and integrity even when it may not be the most convenient route available. The point he seemed to be making was that perhaps it is better to suffer a small penalty and maintain one’s honor than to break the honor code but get what you want.

While that assembly was extremely insightful in its explanation of why honor is a valued personal attribute, it did not identify what makes a dishonorable person. It would be very difficult, of course, for him to speak for such a vast and diverse community of thinkers, let alone define universal academic rules of play. Each teacher develops his or her own unique definition of honor and acceptable behaviors which they expect to be respected by their students.

There are certain over-arching rules that deal with cheating. For example, Do not copy your neighbor’s test, and Do not steal the test off the teachers desk. Because there is such a vast array of assignments being distributed, however, more narrow rules may need to apply. Furthermore, as assignments become smaller and of less point value, the line between collaborating or using technology and cheating becomes increasingly gray.

When survey takers were asked to define cheating, nearly everyone used the phrase copying. I think that it is safe to say that teachers would agree. I have personally never had a teacher who told me to copy another student’s homework. I doubt any Lovett teacher has. However when asked two questions that both deal with cheating, students responded with two very different answers

Here is scenario one: Your Spanish teacher assigns you a set of workbook pages for homework one night. You fall asleep early and don’t get them done but you have break before class. You find a friend in your class who has it done and copy from them. Do you really believe that you have done something wrong? Do you think you should be punished?

When asked to define her homework policy in terms of collaboration, Upper School Spanish teacher Eileen Sanchez said “to me, cheating is when you give your friend your notebook and they copy it. Acceptable collaboration is when you sit together with your notebooks and do your work together.”

Upper School math teacher Courtney Moss was asked a similar question in regards to her homework policy and she stated simply “As for not cheating, I would expect my students to work together but not copy someone’s work, I don’t check for accuracy.”

Students were asked whether they agreed that the Spanish student should be punished. The response was somewhat shocking.

To the above question, sixty-five percent of participating students said no, you should not be punished. The same students who defined cheating as copying, also believed that said copying should not be punished, at least not in this case. Compare these results to those of the scenario below.

You have a take home web assign in Physics and no matter how hard you try, you can not get the last question. You find a friend who has done it, log into his or her account, get the answer, and enter it in. Do you really believe that you have done something wrong? Do you think you should be punished?

To the above question, sixty-two percent of participating students said yes, you should be punished.

The two scenarios clearly have their differences, however it is necessary to ask, why is it OK to do what students have defined as cheating on one assignment and not on another? Is it a matter of point value? Is it a matter of the subject? Is it a matter of privacy, of taking someone else’s work without them knowing? Is that different from taking it from them knowingly?

There is no perfect way to answer those questions raised by the above scenarios. Still, it does bring up an interesting point. Undoubtedly, the honor code would say that those students should be punished. But what do student ethics say?

According to the student ethics which were recorded in this survey, the honor code is wrong, and perhaps “cheating” is relative. Perhaps there exists a difference between a breach of honor and a short cut. Does it really make you a dishonest person to copy a worksheet? Clearly, it would depend who you ask.

There was an incredibly vast array of example punishments brought in by the survey, however the majority of the responses had one thing in common. They all included different degrees and situations. The students made it clear that there is no real one size fits all punishment. Many tied it back to the above examples with the workbook and web assign; bottom line, every case is completely situational and has its own unique circumstances.

The Honor Council was brought up in several of the students suggested punishments, but always with reserve. To many students, a trip to the Honor Council is a last resort, a sort of end of the line intervention. However Mrs. Spencer said “there is a lot of misinformation out there on the consequences for your future.” She said that students who go before the Honor Council still get into great colleges and go on to do good things. In her experience a trip to the Honor Council can “show growth.”

What the debate between the honor code and student ethics has revealed to me is that there is something of a grand misunderstanding going on at Lovett. It is one school. Should it not have one opinion on honor? Of course this is easier said than done. Teachers do not want to compromise their ethics and students hold fast to their own as well.

Mrs. Spencer hopes to instill within students the importance of “owning their own work.” In her opinion, when a student has a strong sense of pride in his or her work, they will be less likely to share it. She also stresses that when a student is caught violating the honor code it is not necessarily about “the punishment.” It is important to talk to them about about the value of their time and their work. In her mind the key to a strong sense of honor at Lovett is an intangible sense of community in which students feel a sense of responsibility to themselves their peers and their teachers to be honest.

As technology evolves and our lives become ever busier, new issues involving homework are being presented to faculty and students alike as they struggle to understand and apply the honor code. Perhaps this means that it is time for a new discussion on homework. We began this discussion on honor at the beginning of this year with Mr. Peebles. Maybe next year we should begin with a conversation on homework because clearly it is one topic that will continue to dominate the discussion on honor and time here at Lovett.

Mrs. Spencer and the Upper School faculty are planning to work very hard in the coming years to keep this conversation on honor going.