The August 2015 lightningboltonline.com
BOLT
20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657 www.issuu.com/shsbolt @theboltonline
Volume 16, Issue 1 www.facebook.com/sagehillschool
In this Issue:
What We Read Places and Spaces Sage by the Numbers
A FRESH START
CHLOE HENSON
In the afternoon of new student orientation Aug. 20, the class of 2019 participated in a diversity activity with its advisory groups. Students were told to step forward in their circles if they identified with different traits such as religious affiliation and racial background. This exercise brought to light how different yet simultaneously similar the members of the freshmen class are. This photo has live action video imbedded. To access the orientation video, download the Aurasma app, search, type in SHS PUBLICATIONS and point your device toward this photo on page 1.
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EDITORIAL staff editorial
What We Stand For
Recognition of Our First Amendment Rights Peering into the trashcan on March 3, the student journalists of Newbury Park High School saw stacks of their latest issue of the Panther Prowler thrown away by faculty who did not know the law. That issue featured a well-written article about teenage sex appropriately resourced by students and professionals alike, intended to generate healthy discussion in an open forum about the emotions and dangers revolving around sex and the sex education program at the school which many parents opted out of for their students. The article contained sufficient information to inform the student body about the topic, as well as photographic promotional material considered racy by the extended community. Parents quickly condemned the article as “sexual harassment,” and the administration just as quickly agreed with them despite approving the article before it was published. The principal and superintendent took measures to restrict the content of the newspaper both online and in the hallways afterwards . The publications staff reacted courageously, standing behind their article and obtaining legal support in the form of letters and emails written by the Student Press Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union. It turns out that the staff also reacted righteously. As high school journalists in California, student journalists have the same rights as professional journalists thanks to California Education Code Section 48907. According to the legislation, students of public (and later public charter) schools have the right to exercise freedom of speech and freedom of the press in journalism
and other forms of student expression. They have the right to exclusively assign, edit and publish the content of their publications under the supervision of a responsible journalism adviser. They have the right of no prior restraint of material in their publications and the right of immediate justification by school officials who may limit their expression. Student journalists only undermine their freedom of speech when they publish content that is obscene, libelous or provocative of
energy that leapt off the newspaper pages. They relentlessly plastered peace signs on their bodies and belongings until schools prohibited those emblems on the basis of their being ‘subversive.’ The writers took their loud ideas and enthusiasm to underground newspapers when school officials attempted to turn down their volume. Their fervor and resilience to spread the word of their strong opinions led to state legislation out of necessity; that movement changed the world in more ways
unlawful acts or substantial disruptions on campus and that content is prohibited by 48907. The predecessor to students’ rights legislation, Education Code 10611, came about in 1977. High school journalists of the 60s and 70s did not politely ask for a legal outline of their rights pertaining to free speech and expression. They demanded it. High school journalists back in the day published stories weekly about drug cultures and the antiwar movement with a passion and
than one. Here we are in 2015, with the same rights codified by Education Code 48907 and well-earned by student journalists of the past. Do we have the stuff to carry on their courageous tradition? Somewhere along the way, we as a generation internalized that we had no power. We put down our pens in exchange for iPhones. By turning away from high school journalism, we turned away from critically examining our surroundings, voicing our values and leav-
16prakashn@sagehillschool.org
Kristin Saroyan and Namita Prakash, editors-in-chief Stephanie Min Claire Lin Celine Wang Vale Lewis Tommy Lee Amanda Ong Claire Dwyer Julia Dupuis
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16saroyank@sagehillschool.org
publications staff Jackie Nam Lynn Fong Jo Farkas Ava LeWinter Christina Acevedo Catharine Malzhan Lauren Fishman Jamie Dailey Kandis McGee Chloe Henson
ing crater-deep impacts in our wake. Sage Hill School, despite being a private institution and only subject to lesser free speech laws, progressively adheres to Education Code 48907 to successfully reflect the values of its mission statement. As your Sage Hill Publications Staff composed of 50 dedicated writers, designers and photographers, we have a duty to fully exercise our rights within the extent of the law. We have a duty to suspend our fears and aim to change the world each time we walk into H207-208 during X-Block for meetings and production days. We will speak out about issues of race, gender, ethics, disease, decay and other topics lacking in our conversations in other arenas in the sincerest hopes that we will improve our community and society at large. We will observe our campus and comment fearlessly on the state of its members, facilities and general well being in a constructive and honest manner. As a public forum, we will review and publish signed lettersto-the-editor of approximately 200 words because we know that our words are not the final words in any productive discussion. We will persevere to represent each and every voice in the community to ensure that no story is left untold. Our content belongs in the hands of each member of the Sage Hill community to propagate open discussions and earnestness in communication. It belongs in the minds of students, faculty and parents to inform and inspire their speech, opinions and conversations. It will never belong in the trashcan.
Genesis Gonzalez Steven Du Brett Super Tess Hezlep Justin Camp Jenny Wang Meghana Khurana Niva Razin Madison Harris Dana Shan
Sarah Lowey Emma Ruck Luc Levin Jake Eckel Sahar Emtiaz Lauren Hausman Dillon Graveline Adviser Konnie Krislock
ACADEMICS
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What We Read A Historical, Literary Journey ticide and slavery, and most people upon reading the novel are very uncomfortable with the graphic subject matter, whether they admit it or not. But few are prepared for Paul D’s big heart and capacity for love, or the ghost girl Beloved’s womanly beauty and sexual allure. It’s a novel worth reading not for reasons more complicated than the fact that you’ll never escape the story. -Claire Dwyer ‘16
THE STRANGER I love who I am, but I feel the need to put others before myself. I feel unsatisfied if my work is not my absolute best, but I let others distract me; I tend to put on their oxygen mask before mine.
THIS I BELIEVE Coming of age is the primary focus of freshman year in literature and life. In English we read a variety of books about maturation, my favorite being This I Believe. It is a collection of compositions, each by different authors, who share their worldview through personal stories. The expression of their core principles made me think about my own. My favorite story is “The Power of Love to Transform and Heal” by Jackie Lantry. It tells the story of a woman adopting an abused and unappreciated 6-year-old boy from an orphanage. Through her care and love, the boy surpasses his past life and grows to become a loving and kind child. I like how the mother’s affection changed the boy’s life, showing her power to do so much with only love. -Ava LeWinter ‘18 NOTES FROM GROUND Last year
UNDER-
in English II, sophomores read Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky in which the main character, the Underground Man, writes about leading a life isolated from society. Throughout the novel, he faces an internal conflict between yearning for a connection to others while also preferring solitude in his “Underground” world.
Because the Underground Man often contradicts himself and lies to his readers, I originally found it hard to sympathize with his hardships. As the novel continued, however, I related more with his emotions as he explored the idea of why humans often act with irrationality instead of with rationality. It was interesting that after feeling so distant from a character, I suddenly felt a strong connection to his thoughts. Perhaps Dostoevsky hoped his readers could experience an emotional change in thought, just like the Underground Man does throughout the novel. -Jamie Dailey ‘17
BELOVED There are two ways to judge a work of literature off which literary analysis is based. Does the novel make you think? Does the novel make you feel? I’ve done a lot of writing, including journalism, creative writing, science writing and, of course, the infamous analytical essay. But, throughout my entire experience at Sage, no novel has produced better discussion, literary analysis, annotations, essay and more inspired creative writing than Beloved by Toni Morrison. Everybody knows the sob story of infan-
My ADHD doesn’t help. My pill is a blue and orange capsule. Blue and orange are contrasting colors. The essence of The Stranger by Albert Camus, like mine, is grounded in contrast. I cannot figure out how I feel about it, which is why it was the most interesting work I read in AP English. Never before had I read a story through the eyes of a character so dispassionate and unaffected, yet still so human. Never before had I read a novel that I could relate in one sentence, then find myself struggling to find familiarity in the following one. Never before had I read a work that gave me more questions than answers. -Bailey Super ‘15
GRADE LEVEL READING ASSIGNMENTS. Top
left Books from the series read by juniors; top right the series in sophomore English classes; left a selection from the freshman literature program; above a collection from several sections of senior English.
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LIFESTYLE
Places &
W
e are known as the beautiful school. We have stately tan buildings, fake grass in Wilkins Town Square, computers in the library, a brand new field with a track and new science buildings and laboratories. But this wasn’t even the extent of the vision of our founders. They wanted to create a centralized campus with a pool and tennis courts, a true community where everyone could feel accepted. Patricia Merz, head of school, is excited about the new additions of the courts and the aquatics complex, as they will make a positive impact on student life on campus. “They bring everyone home. There are so many student athletes. How many of our students have to go away to play tennis at different courts and go to different pools?...It would be great to be able to have competitions on campus…,” Merz said. The tennis courts will be completed by spring of 2016, and the aquatics center will tentatively be completed by 2018.
To the school’s founders, these construction projects were always a part of the vision for the evolving Sage Hill School community. “This is the vision when the school was first designed, which was to always have a pool...After 15 years, we are finally realizing the original vision,” Merz said. And even the garden was part of the plan. “I hope that the movement of the garden to the science building ...allows the garden to be used as a teaching garden. The building was built knowing that the garden would be behind it.” Merz said. “The designs for the aquatics center are in progress...There is an additional building that would include a team meeting space, locker rooms and additional lockers and showers.” “Because of where that location is we are able to build it in a way that the bathrooms would be able to used as public restrooms. Right at the corner will be a new trainers room. T Meg [Meaghan Beaudoin] cannot wait to have that new space,” Merz said. For the Athletics Department which for years has dealt with a decentralized program, these new additions to campus could not have come soon enough. “I think it’s been long enough for all the tennis players who need
LIFESTYLE
& Spaces
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Article by Claire Dwyer
to drive and practice off campus,” Merja Connolly, director of Wellness and Physical Education, said. “The swim team has had to wait until the Corona del Mar team was finished with their pool...I think the construction will help them have a better balance in their lives, as they can practice right after school on campus instead of at crazy times that make them lose time commuting.” “As a P.E. teacher, I’m really excited for us to offer some more fun electives and have some time to do things on the court. It’s not just affecting the athletes. It’s going to help all P.E. classes and be a really cool facility even for advisories to potentially use,” Connolly said. For a school that wants to support its multifaceted student athletes to be successful in both athletic and academic arenas, the new construction and changes on campus are a positive step in that direction. “Hopefully the tennis courts will be done by late spring...We are so lucky because CW Driver, the company that built the science center, is the same company that is doing this project,” Merz said. “They stay within the ‘green fence.’ They’re very responsive to campus life, in that there will be no noise, no dirt moving during con-
vocation. They make sure the school day and the school event takes precedence over what’s happening on the construction site,” she said. “Knowing that Orange County in general is low on pools for the community,” Connolly said. “I also think the pool specifically is going to be great to allow other members of the community to use the pool because everybody is always searching for pools. It’s always been part of our mission to help the community.” But for now, we are just getting started with the process. “Let’s get them built, and then to be able to generate those ideas for community outreach.” Merz said. But ultimately, it is the spirit of the talented, diverse student body of Sage Hill School that really drives everything: the construction, the fundraising, and the passion administrators have to protect and continue the vision for our campus and culture. Merz spoke to this visionary spirit: “There’s always a further vision. Who’s to say what that is, as the school continues to change, teaching and learning changes, and technology changes, and we learn what we can and cannot do in the classroom.”
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ARTS
Who Needs
Airplanes Anyway? By Catharine Malzahn and Lauren Fishman assignments editors
Over the summer, many students travel across the country, or even the world. The majority of students fly via airplane. However, sophomore Dillon Graveline decided to push his limits and bike across the country. This summer, he spent six weeks biking 3,200 miles across nine states with 12 other friends.
“I became interested in biking a few years ago when mountain biking in the trails behind our house with my dad,” Graveline explained. “This interest grew into a desire to go for longer rides on the road. I enjoyed going for long rides to Long Beach, Dana Point or the mountains. This led me to the ultimate challenge: riding across America.” He and his group averaged between 80 and 110 miles per day, facing extreme heat and sometimes headwinds. “My average speed was approximately 15 mph. We biked [without car support] and carried [at least] 60 pounds of gear on our backs,” Graveline said. “The hills we climbed with our bikes during the entire trip represented over 63,000 feet, which is the equivalent of two
Mount Everest[s].” There was another difference between Graveline’s trip and that of countless other traveling Sage students: he did not stay at a single hotel during the entire six weeks. “We slept about one-third of the nights in churches, half in campsites and a few nights towards the end in motels,” Graveline said. But, Graveline had an overall incredible experience, and the trip forced him to go outside his comfort zone and overcome many challenges. “The hardest part of the trip was when we had to bike across the Mojave Desert over two days,” Graveline said. “On only four hours of sleep, we started at 2 a.m. to try and avoid the heat... it felt like being slow-cooked with an increasing fire all around me.”
Graveline also noted how you don’t get to experience the true beauty of America by merely flying above it in an airplane. “Some of my most memorable moments were simply enjoying the diversity of the countryside: the lush forests and steep valleys of the Ozarks, the barren beauty of the Oklahoma plains, leading up to the majestic rocky mountains of New Mexico; and finally, the rocks and sand of the Grand Canyon and California,” Graveline said. However, the purpose of his trip certainly did not solely rest in touring the United States. “This trip allowed me to realize that I’m much stronger and more resilient than I ever thought,” Graveline said. “I feel that if I can bike across America, I can achieve anything I put my mind to.”
Eric Graveline
Crossing the terrain. Sophomore Dillon Graveline concludes his six-week biking adventure across nine states. Graveline spent the summer living in churches and campsites with limited sleep in the company of 12 of his friends.The group biked a total 3,200 miles over a variety of terrains, including hills.
PREVIEW
Fire Up!
By Jamie Dailey lifestyle editor
Konnie Krislock
Beyond academic excellence. Merja Connolly, director of Wellness and Physical Education, discusses the first semester program for freshmen with math teacher Nathan Miller on Tuesday.
Director of Wellness and Physical Education Merja Connolly (Coach Connolly) is one of the few Sage Hill School faculty who has been at the school since it opened its doors in 2000. Her always positive attitude and infectious school spirit are what really set her apart on campus. “What I think is so special about Sage Hill is our community,” Connolly said. “It’s a great school where people can just express themselves. I love that we have the freedom to do that here.” Before her time at Sage, Connolly played collegiate volleyball and basketball at UCLA, even winning an NCAA national championship in volleyball her senior year. She then continued her volleyball career playing professionally in Italy. Eventually, she decided coaching was what she loved most, and she brought this passion to Cornell University for three years and then to University of California Irvine for another six years. After coaching college volleyball, she began at Sage as the Assistant Athletic Director and also girls’ varsity volleyball coach. Since she has been at the school, she has made tremendous changes in herself and also on campus. “When I started 16 years ago, I was coming straight from being a college coach so I was more concerned with students exercising and their fitness. I really pushed the coaching and training of my job,” she said. “Now things have morphed. I am a
7 little more passionate about students overall well-being, and I think staying in shape or coaching a team to a winning season has become secondary. It has been really healthy for me that I have reinvented myself and continue to be totally passionate about what I do everyday,” she said. Another big change Coach Connolly has brought to Sage is starting the school’s wellness program, which began with monthly meetings for 9th graders on topics like stress, eating and sleep. It has evolved since then; sophomores now continue the course online through discussions. “Reading the posts in the sophomore wellness program was definitely a highlight of my year because I was so proud of our students. The model of the program is very much students helping students and seeing how open they were about the variety of topics inspired me.” Another highlight of her experience at Sage is being part of the girls’ varsity volleyball team’s success in the CIF and State tournament last year. It comes as no surprise that Coach Connolly cannot wait for the coming year. One thing she is particularly looking forward to is collaborating with even more faculty now that the Physical Education and Athletics department are merging. “I think the biggest challenge at Sage now with around 520 students is to still take the time for people to get to know each other and to not allow ourselves to become more business like,” she said. “Relationships are key. As long as students can know each other and teachers can really know their students, then we have a really good thing and we can keep it going.”
this just in
Rick Davitt
By Meghana Khurana staff writer
Front Row Isabelle Gervais De Rouville joins us after a career as an educator in her native France. Originally from Montpellier, France, Madame Gervais de Rouville has a B.A. with distinctions in French from California State University Long Beach and an M.A. in French with a minor in Spanish from UC Irvine.
Kristi Ramsay comes to Sage Hill as the Administrative Assistant to Academic Programs. In the past, Ms. Ramsay worked with the North Orange County Community College District. Lisa Lauducci comes to Sage Hill as a web master. She works under Torrey Olins, the Director if Communications and Marketing. Catherine Ball joins Sage Hill School’s History Department after twelve years teaching experience at Rosary High School, Marymount High School and St. Paul High School. Ms. Ball holds a B.A.
in history from Pepperdine University and an M.A. in education and California Teaching Credential from Loyola Marymount University. Bottom Row Julie Thoren joins Sage Hill as the business Office Coordinator/ Accounting Clerk. Ms. Thoren is currently working toward her B.S. degree at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Elizabeth O’Brien joins Sage Hill as an English II and III substitute teacher. She holds a B.A. in English and Communication and a Masters in Counseling from the University of Delaware.
Katherine Raths joins Sage Hill School as a Spanish and English teacher. Ms. Raths earned her B.A. in magna cum laude in English and Spanish, from Tulane University. Since leaving Spain, Ms. Raths has taught high school in Mississippi and at Kip Academy in Washington, D.C. Frank Gonzales Jr. joins Sage Hill as a substitute teacher for AP Government and Psychology. Mr. Gonzales has a B.A. in History from the University of Chicago and a Masters of Studies in Medieval History from the University of Oxford.
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BACKPAGE
SAGE BY THE NUMBERS Total number of students: 521 Freshman class size: 138 Number of new teachers: 5 Transfer students: 9
Jumping Ahead to a First-Day Edition By Genesis Gonzalez staff writer
Publication Staff started off the year with camp to improve its skills and get ahead of deadlines, changed by many of the new materials they had not heard of. “Yearbooks @ the Beach, in general, was a very valuable insight… it exposed us to a lot more facets,” commented Namita Prakash. Publication Staff was split up, send-
ing a group to newspapers2 at the beach to polish its foundation, Kristin Saroyan said. “Camp changed my outlook because there were so many amazing speakers and journalists who have been in the business for so long,” said Kristin Saroyan, editor-in-chief. “They talked about how their passion for journalism has evolved along with the industry.” Publications Staff’s attendance size affected how much they were able to complete at yearbook camp. As one of the smallest schools participating, the staff had to put together the yearbook with only seven people.
Stephanie Min and Claire Lin agreed that “a word to describe our yearbook is ambitious… I think it’s really evident because we only started recently, and it’s just these past two years we have grown.” They observed that “we still have a lot to do, but considering we are not an actual class and how other people have multiple classes during the day to complete assignments, our work is good quality.” At newspaper camp, Sage was the second to biggest group of students from the same school with 13. “It was really nice having a bigger group at camp because everywhere you turned we could look at each other and
say ‘oh we could use this in our newspaper’,” said Juliet Farkas, who leads the new videography team on staff. “I think communication [is most important] because publications is just not separated into yearbook, newspaper and online here,” Min and Lin agreed. “Another way we can change,” added Farkas, “ is just by using social media getting the word out. Posting pictures and just using the resources we have.” Because of their camp experiences, the staff was able to produce this issue of The Bolt Issue #1 on the first day of school, the first time in the history of Sage Hill School that a publication as arrived with students to begin the year.