The Bolt

Sage Hill School

20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657

End of Quarter 1

What a whirlwind this first quarter has been! It seems as if the start of the new school year was only a few days ago, yet now we are already coming out of October with piles of stress added to our growing mountains each week with mountains of accumulated stress. Let’s look at some of the highlights of the first quarter:

Our year started on August 22 with anticipation filling the air. The school listened to a delightful story from Ms. Merz involving

a near-death experience and lightning, and afterward, the usual clamor and confusion of the first day ensued. The anticipated Yee haw-themed Back To School Dance followed suit on that Friday, where students dressed up in western clothes and enjoyed a late night at school.

Perhaps the most anticipated event of this quarter was the grade-level retreat. While the freshmen traveled to Big Bear, the sopho mores went roller skating, the juniors headed to a trampoline park, and the seniors were able to experience retreat twice – through

a pool party and a special trip back to Big Bear, the destination we all went to during freshman year. The day of retreats ended with insightful speeches from alumni.

Our annual club fair was held on September 21st. Over 50 clubs participated during lunchtime while almost everyone signed up for more clubs than they planned to. Back to School night ensued, and our teachers welcomed our parents into their classrooms for brief, 10-minute introductions to their classes.

The quarter ended with the first Service

Learning day of the year, which started a reversed Sage Center Stars ceremony – this time, the teachers, not the students, were the ones receiving the awards. Afterward, each grade participated in its various Service Learning activities.

As the chapter closes on this quarter, we look forward to the next. The second quarter of the year approaches, and finals suddenly don’t seem so far ahead, so remember to take some time to rest, relax, and congratulate yourself on making it through these trying times.

There is one unforseen fac tor that has tripped up many of us last minute parking extremists this school year: parking lot parents.

- Brooke Thomassen

Mirabelle Jiang

Courtesy of Sage Hill School

Ms. Cassidy’s AP Calculus AB class enjoys an ice cream party after all of them earned A’s on their exam

96 Year Old Woman Dies of Natural Causes

The recent death of Queen Elizabeth II and all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding her funeral flooded newspapers, television, and the in ternet with images of a dignified, regal, and poised monarch who reigned Great Britain and its Com monwealth of Nations for over 70 years. For many, the Queen was viewed as the stabilizing force that unified its member states–one that perpetuated the pristine image of British exceptionalism and preserved the proud history of this once supreme power.

While her formal position was Head of State, she served as a figurehead in practicality. As Queen, she was praised for her grace, duty, and service to the country. However, her role and her carefully curated image conveniently cloaked the darker as pects of Britain’s legacy, particularly its abuses and exploitation during its colonial empire. Although explicit colonialism was not the policy of Great Brit ain during the Queen’s reign, she benefited from the windfall of wealth and prosperity that England’s imperialistic endeavors reaped upon her country. Aside from her personal fortune of $500 million, the collective royal assets are estimated at over $28 bil lion. Even the crown that sat upon her head, inlaid with inimitable jewels unearthed from England’s former colonies (namely India and several other Af rican states), served as a testament to exploitation of other nations and their citizens.

In defense of the Queen, her supporters con tend that she was an ethical and moral person who was not responsible for the errors of the past that unfortunately cannot be undone. It is likewise un just, they argue, to criticize her for the abuses that were beyond her control as a figurehead monarch. However, it was within her capacity to use the pow er of her position and persona and begin to correct the course on the injustices of that past. On this account, she walked a fine line. She was cognisant to avoid revisiting South Africa and lend credibility to its white-mi nority government until 1995, after Apartheid formally ended and Nelson Mandela welcomed her as the president.

In the case of India, previously Britain’s most prized colony, the Queen stated that there were “some difficult episodes” in their past, a wistful reference to a British massacre on unarmed Indi an protesters demanding independence in 1919.

An apology, even for the sake of history and humanity, never came. While the British govern ment did offer formal apologies for some blatant acts of abuse and oppression, the Queen herself remained largely silent. Her regal responsibilities seemingly did not include acknowledging the Windrush Scandal, where thousands of British citizens of Caribbean descent living in England for decades were detained and deported. Nor did her duties include recognizing the mass imprisonment and torture of over 150,000 Kenyans in concentra tion camps during Mau Mau uprising for indepen dence. Perhaps these omissions were deliberate

THE BOLT

The Bolt is a student newspaper and serves the public forum at Sage Hill School. Its content - news, editorial, opinion, and feature - is protected by Education Code 48907, the state student rights law and the California Constitution which guaran tees all citizens the right of freedom of speech and of the press. The Bolt accepts signed letters to the editor from members of the Sage Hill Community which may be posted as comments to our website, lightningboltonline.com, or addressed to editor-in-chiefs Lau ren Chung, Xinyi Xie, and Noelani Lee and put in their mailboxes on campus. These letters may not exceed 150 words or they will be edited for inclusion.

Editors-in-Chief

attempts to avoid tarnishing the prestige of the crown and shattering the belief in its honorable legacy.

If the late monarch symbolized her country’s grandeur, she likewise represented its faults and its abuses of power. Selective representation whitewashes the true history of England’s impe rialistic past, and perpetuates the cycle of power and influence at the cost of those who do not have the stage and spotlight to amplify their experi ence. This complete history is less flattering, and selective nostalgia about the late Queen dismisses this reality.

Xinyi Xie Lauren Chung

Noelani Lee Phoebe Pan Grace Yan

Editorial Board

Yasmin Dennis, Grace Yan, Isabella De Leon, Alia Sajjadian, Roya Yaghmai

Yasmin Dennis

Alia Sajjadian

Isabella De Leon Roya Yaghmai

Xinyi Xie, Lauren Chung, Noelani Lee, Phoebe Pan (Online)

Alice Qi

Back to School Night was a successful event for teachers, parents, and students all around. It was a busy and exciting night with days of visible preparation on all ends.

Sage Hill’s campus quickly filled with the buzz of chattering from anticipating parents as they waited for the first bell to initiate the official start of the night. The school provided elegant and

Spring at Sage

Izzy De Leon

All students gathered in the Ube gym on Tuesday, Septem ber 27 in anticipation for the Spring at Sage assembly to learn about the Spring at Sage travel and seminar options for the 2022-2023 school year.

Spring at Sage is an unique opportunity for students to immerse themselves in different cultures, traditions, activities, and more. Implemented in 2011, Spring at Sage has hosted numerous international and do mestic trips, in addition to sem inars that range from “Financial Literacy” to “Harry Potter and the Universal Journey.”

The 2021-2022 school year was the first year back to travel after the Covid-19 Pandemic. In addition to seminars that are available to all grades — such as The Art of Critiquing, Dungeons and Dragons, and Healthy Hab its Boot Camp — sophomores, juniors, and seniors were able

to travel both domestically and internationally. Some of the trips included places like New York, Colorado and New Mexico, Puerto Rico, French Polynesia, Bermuda, and Iceland.

“I liked doing things in French Polynesia that I would not have done on a trip with my family; like visiting a cultural center in Moorea and eating traditional food made in an underground oven,” said senior Avery Watson.

During the Spring at Sage assembly, there was a palpable excitement among students as they were introduced to this year’s options. The theme of this year’s Spring at Sage is global pillars of engagement through civic engagement, equity and justice, innovation, leadership, and sustainability. There are 21 seminars available for on-cam pus experiences.

Back to School Night

delicious snacks and drinks for ev eryone to enjoy. From an exquisite box of chow mein to a light snack of hummus and vegetables, the amazing food set up at the heart of Sage Hill in Town Square was definitely a spot to visit for every one. The continuous refills of food ensured that no platter was ever empty and food accommodations for everyone were made sure to make an appearance.

Registration and check in

opened promptly at 5:00pm outside the Lipman Lobby that was managed by student ambassadors. Campus tours were also provided, and was definitely something that parents were eager to take advan tage of. At 6:00pm, the sound of a bell rang over Town Square indicat ing the night to start with a brief meeting between parents and ad visors. Student Ambassadors were definitely kept busy with anxious parents trying to navigate around

the campus all night. Parents were able to take a step into their child’s everyday school life as they followed their student’s real class schedule and attended all blocks of A through G. Each class was given a 10 minute period with 6 minute intervals in between. Everyone was able to keep track of time with the help of a bell that rang at the start and end of each block.

Each teacher had their own information to provide and unique

In terms of trips open to all four grades, students can travel to Chicago, Detroit, Mexico City & Oaxaca, Montreal & Quebec City, Southern California for Poetic Surfing, and the Yukon. Students in 10th grade and above can travel internationally to Ecuador, Fiji, Italy, the Nether lands, Thailand, and Uruguay.

“The trip to Mexico sounds re ally exciting since I would have the opportunity to learn about the culture and connect to my roots,” said sophomore Max Gonzales.

Each trip has its own focus. For example, students interested in cars and the auto industry may enjoy a trip to Detroit, whereas students interested in interna tional relations and centers for justice and peace may enjoy the trip to the Netherlands.

ways of using their time. For ex ample, math teacher Mrs. May had parents compete with each other to reflect actual in class competi tions that her students participate in. Parents were split into two teams and tested with concepts like integers, whole numbers, rational numbers, and more.

Overall, the night was filled with so much laughter, excitement, and knowledge for Sage Hill’s community.

SHOT LIKE LIGHTNING

previous four Lightning Invitationals. Unexpectedly, Santa Margarita Cath olic School finished with close to 200 points, taking first place. Sage Hill won a total of 109 points, edging out both Palisades Charter (99 points) and Bishop Gorman (94 points).

Alexia.

The doubles matches were equally demanding, and all of the teams were very evenly matched.

Arya Rawal | The Bolt

Sage Hill’s Girl’s Varsity Tennis team after the Lightning Invitational.

Arya Rawal

On September 30 and Oc tober 1, the Sage Hill’s Girls’ Varsity Tennis team took second place in the Lightning Invitational. Hosted on the campus tennis courts, this tournament included teams such as Bishop Gorman from Las Vegas,

Santa Margarita Catholic School, and Palisades Charter from Los Ange les. Bishop Gorman, a long time attendee, is traditionally one of the strongest teams from Las Vegas, while Palisades Charter has won the previous four Lightning Invitationals. Unexpectedly, Santa Margarita Cath

During the singles matches, the Varsity girls played competitively and a few of them even took home awards. Sage Hill’s singles #1 playe, Arden Stobart, reached the semifi nals before losing to Santa Margar ita’s #1, with a close score of 8 to 6. Later, Arden overcame Santa Margar ita’s #3 singles player and received the title of 3rd place. Our #2 singles player, Alexia Beyrath, lost a tight battle to Santa Margarita’s #2 in a tiebreaker, but rallied to win the next three matches to win the consolation bracket. Both the #3 and #4 singles players, Ella Wong and Abigail Wang, came through with crucial wins for the team. Ella eventually lost in a close match against her teammate,

The #1 doubles team, Kana Byrd and Ava Herin, reached the semifinals, winning three out of four of their matches. They received 3rd place as well, and their coach reported that they “played the best they had all season over the weekend attacking the net as a team”. On Friday evening, both #2 (Eva Ro and Lauren Chung) and #3 (Sunny Sun and Joy Qu) doubles teams worked for incredible wins against Santa Margarita, and the #4 doubles team, Ceyda Sham sai and Madeleine Carroll, pulled through against Santa Margarita’s players on Saturday morning to take the win.

The Sage Hill’s Girls Varsity Tennis team’s performance in this rig orous tournament went above and beyond, and team morale is higher than ever!

Courtesy of Sage Hill School

Students anticipate the reveal of Spring at Sage travel locations

Stories from the Football Team

Carter Bryant

Being the starting quar terback on the football team comes with a lot of pressure and responsibilities, especially this season as a senior captain. Playing Quarterback the last four years has been a major part of forming the person I am today.

Having many under classmen look up to me has been a blessing in disguise, as I have truly learned how to be a leader on and off of the field. With only having one team for the whole school, combining both upper and underclass men, I have assumed a large leadership role, especially the past two years. Setting a good example for the underclassmen to follow not only helps my current football family, but also sets the program up for success in the years to come.

My passion for leader ship, originally rooted on the field, has transferred to every aspect of my life. Football has also helped grow my loyalty and open-mindedness, two values that I believe are very important when it comes to who I am. This sport has given me a diverse brotherhood that I will forever cherish and be loyal to, as we have always had each other’s backs, and I never see that changing. Football at Sage Hill has especially gifted me with the opportunity to play with people who are very different from me. I have met people through the sport that have completely different back grounds and cultures, opening my eyes to how important it is to have a diverse communi ty around me that constantly makes me apply empathy towards my peers.

The team, coaching

an open mind and empathy towards my peers.

The team, coaching staff, and I have a major goal we are working towards this season: winning CIF. This year’s journey started last spring when we joined a 7 on 7 league and dominated. We posted victories against 11man programs: Huntington Beach High School, Universi ty High School, Portola High School, Buena Park High School and more. The team kept the momentum rolling as we grinded throughout the summer and participated in special workouts led by our new assistant coach, Coach Rulk.

“It was a grueling two months that bonded us to gether and will propel us to

great success this year,” said Junior Wide Receiver Danyel Khan when asked about the summer workouts. I couldn’t agree more. Coach Rulk’s workouts were arguably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, and I believe it has fully prepared me and the rest of the team for the long season ahead of us. Senior Lineman Ty Mazakas also added, “Football camp really pushed the team beyond what we thought was capable.”

We also have the larg est roster size, 45, since Sage Hill became an 8-man football program. With only 2 graduating seniors and 13 new freshmen, our numbers quickly grew. The freshmen have done an amazing job this year and have been an

integral part of the team’s success.

“I love football because my teammates are like a sec ond family to me, I’ve gotten to make new friends and I have grown as a person,” said freshman Bear Balossi on what football means to him. I have played many sports in my lifetime, but nothing compares to football. The camaraderie between teammates is un matched, and I look forward to going to battle with my broth ers every Friday night.

Aidan Chung | The Bolt

Jack Weisburg (2024,8) and teammates Danyel Khan (2024,2), Aidan Powell (2024,5), and Jack Pheasant (2024, 7).

Affinity Groups Connecting Through Identity

Grant Faney

Affinity groups are gathering spaces for individuals who share a common identity to come together, celebrate, con nect, and support each other.

At Sage Hill School, there are a number of affinity groups that meet throughout the school year. The returning groups include Black Students Union (BSU), LGBTQ+, and Latinx. The three new groups for this year are Jewish, Middle East ern North African (MENA), and Multiracial. There is also a club to discuss topics related to Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders (AAPI).

Students view these groups as spaces to be authentic and proud of their identity. During

meetings, some individuals choose to bring food that relates to the region or culture that the group focuses on. Other activities include discus sions and games. Rather than being a space where students feel obligated to educate oth ers about the issues they face, these meetings provide stu dents with the opportunity to talk amongst their peers who understand and appreciate a shared culture or aspect of identity.

Junior Alyssa Picasso, a mem ber of the LGBTQ+ and Latinx Affinity Groups, said, “It’s fun to talk to others with similar experiences…it’s a good expe rience, and it’s a safe space.”

Junior Sofia Jacinto, a member

of the Latinx Affinity Group, shared examples of different discussions the group has had. One included discuss ing favorite meals. After the group shared their thoughts and ideas, Jacinto said, “it’s all similar, and it’s nice to talk with others who share the same tra ditions and cultures as you.”

As Sage Hill School continues to strive towards creating an inclusive and diverse communi ty, these Affinity Group spaces help give students the opportu nity to connect with one anoth er on a deeper level and have honest conversations about their experiences. The hope is that these affinity groups pro vide students with a sense of pride and belonging on campus

and also in the world at large. All students who identify with one or more of the groups are encouraged to attend meetings throughout the year. During Sage Center Days, affinity groups will meet after Service Learning. Other dates and times along with the locations of the meetings can be found on the bulletin board in the Lower H Building and on the SAME (Sage Advocates for Multicultural Education) Ins tagram page. Since there are many additional identities as a part of the Sage Hill School community, the school hopes to continue growing these spaces in the coming years.

Carissa Carter How to Speak Map

map,” or a “no, it isn’t,” to each display, and occasionally small arguments would emerge when the slide displayed something ambiguous. Finally, the pre sentation settled on a bolded definition: Maps – information that’s sorted spatially and depicted (even slightly) visual ly, often to focus on different aspects of a dataset.

panies design, innovate, and implement plans. She joined the d.school in 2014, where she continues to work with students to this day, teaching courses on maps, data, and design.

“So what exactly defines a map?”

Several hands went up around the Black Box Theater. “Spa tial representation of a rela tionship,” someone from the right corner answered. In the back, another voice piped up, “Something presented in a de liberately organized manner.”

On the podium, Carissa Carter looked up from her notes and gave a nod of approval. “Let’s take a look at some examples and decide whether or not they’re maps before settling on a concrete definition, shall we?” Several slides flicked across the screen: a pie chart, a photograph, a story, a globe, a drawing. The audience mur mured along: a “yes, it’s a

Carissa Carter is the first of three speakers scheduled to visit Sage Hill as part of the Sage Center Speaker Series, and her presentation was all about maps, covering a variety of mapmaking topics such as types of maps, crafting maps, gathering data, and fighting bias. The current Academic Director at the d.school (which is short for the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford), Carissa Carter hadn’t always been a designer or a mapmak er; in fact, she started off as a geomorphologist, studying bedforms and subglacial de posits. Over time, she found her true passion lay in map making and designing. In 2011, she founded Parallel Design Labs LLC, helping other com

After the presentation, soph omore Haley Li said, “In gen eral, tonight was very fun and engaging. I especially liked the activity where [Carissa] called down 10 volunteers and had us organize ourselves by our shoes. [Claire Sueyoshi ‘25] and I kept breaking the systems everyone else came up with ‘cause our shoes were just too unique.”

When asked what she took away from the presentation, Haley said, “Well, the key points were all things I’ve known before already. But even if I didn’t learn anything in particular… [it] was still a good experience.”

Carissa Carter’s book, a Stan ford d.school guide called The Secret Language of Maps, expands on the topics covered in the presentation, and copies can currently be found in the library.

Grace Yan

Grace Yan | The Bolt

An audience member speaks with Carissa Carter after the presentation

Student

Grade Level Retreats

Back to Big Bear!

Lauren Chung

On a cloudy Monday morning, the senior class arrived on campus with sleeping bags, duffel bags, and suitcases, boarding the buses to visit Camp Cedar Lake at Big Bear once again for an overnight retreat.

Initially, the senior retreat was planned to take place in mid-September, but due to the Radford Fire in the Big Bear area, the retreat was postponed to early October.

Upon arriving at Big Bear, students unpacked in their rooms and were able to explore the area before gathering for lunch in the dining hall.

“During free time, not only did I go for a hike with my friends, but I stopped by the hot chocolate machine in the dining hall,” said senior Mikayla Tetteh-Martey.

After lunch, students gathered together at the amphitheater to hear a presentation from Mr. Campeau and Ms. Rutherford about leadership among the senior class and in the real world. Following the presentation, the senior class had to find an example of leadership with in the nature around them and share with their advisories.

“I took a picture of a red tree in the middle of the woods,” said senior Andrew Cobb. “I told my advisory that as seniors, we must stand out as role models to everyone else like the red in the tree.”

Later that evening, seniors participated in a drum circle, where they learned how to play metal drums. Afterwards, there was a dance party featuring a DJ as well as glow sticks and bubbles for the senior class to have an unforgettable night.

“At the drum circle, my group and I performed ‘Jingle Bells’,” said senior Ryan Katkin, “and we had so much fun.”

The next morning, many seniors embarked on their senior sunrise hike in the cold, yet fresh, morning air. With a bittersweet goodbye, the senior class packed up, tidied up their rooms, and headed back to campus.

Up, Up, and Away!

Yasmin Dennis

Defying gravity at DEFY, the junior class let their inner child take over as they jumped across trampolines, navigated obstacle courses resembling that of America Ninja Warrior, and played their best game of dodgeball while simultaneously soaring through the air. Students explored a variety of activities, from jousting to parkour. Many students demonstrated their incredible gymnastics skills by flipping and performing cartwheels. Some seized the oppor tunity to shoot slam dunks, bouncing off of the trampolines and flying several feet in the air. Others trekked across a balance beam, sinking into a pit of foam blocks upon their fall.

Junior Nina But said, “It was a great way to bond with your friends and classmates while destressing from school.” Although this experience took place for only for a few hours, it was the perfect getaway from the stressors of junior year, with students sharing laughs with friends and classmates while bouncing the morning away.

Rolling into 10th Grade!

Jesse Lew

The sophomore class spent their retreat at the Holiday Skate Center. The sophomores wasted no time, lacing up and hitting the rink as soon as they were handed their roller skates. Many started off holding onto the wall or a friend, but as the day progressed, the rink turned many novices into somewhat seasoned skaters. Of course, this improvement didn’t just ap pear out of thin air.

The class had to fall together and get back up together in order to see any sort of prog ress, repeatedly strengthening their bond in the process. This happened a lot off the rink, too. Not the falling per se, but rather the increase of class camaraderie. There, the sophomores enjoyed the amenities of the rink’s periphery by buying food, eating together, and playing games.

As for attire, students and advisors alike were seen sporting ‘80s garb, but it wasn’t all just sweatbands and preppy polos. Many advisories were coordinated, perhaps prompted by the free In-N-Out lunch that was at stake for the two most on-theme advisories.

Elaborate efforts resulted in victory for Mrs. Robinson’s and Mrs. Kildare’s advisories. In the end, the sophomores left as a sorer, more cohesive unit than they had arrived; a telltale sign that they had all thoroughly embraced the experience.

Class of 2026 First Retreat

Priya Bhakta

This September, the freshmen enjoyed the longstanding Sage Hill tradition of going to Cedar Lake Camp for a grade level retreat. Over the course of three days, they bonded, did a variety of fun activities, and had a great time outdoors!

The freshmen participated in many different activities that helped them get to know each other and themselves. One such activity that focused on identity was the SAME Activity, where students shared the most important parts of their identities and provided a chance for students to connect with each other on a deeper level. The activities that focused on teamwork, such as kayaking, puzzle solving, and even a ropes course and supporting each other were also fun opportunities for them to learn about each other.

Another integral part of retreat is advisory bonding. After spending the majority of the day with your advisory, most return back to Sage closer than ever. Freshman Katelyn Yeh says that this was her favorite and most memorable part of retreat. The memories that advisories make are unique and fond for many as they look back on their experience.

The freshmen had a great time at Cedar Lake bonding with classmates and enjoying each other’s company. This retreat was definitely an experience that they will never forget!

Early morning view of Cedar Lake

Aidan Chung | The Bolt Gage Talluer, Steven Karahalios, Dylan Kang, and Dustin Miller get a lesson from the drum teacher.

Courtesy of Sage Hill School Sophomore advisors pose for a group photo

Courtesy of Sage Hill School

Juniors playing a game

Parking Lot Parents

Sage Hill’s Rush Hour Woes

Sometimes, the morning is just not going your way. Maybe it’s little siblings underfoot, an older sibling that just can’t leave on time, left over homework from last night, or a last minute outfit change. Everyone has those days where just about everything goes wrong before 8 am.

For the greater half of the stu dent body that drives themselves to school each day, punctuality becomes a calculated science of circumstances that determines if one will be walking into class at 7:59 or running in at 8:01. It’s not a perfect science, but most of us have got our timing down by fac toring in every red light, stop sign, and possible delay. One can even calculate how fast they will be able to get from the student parking lot to their A Block classroom based on where they find a parking spot. We students just have to heave our backpack over one shoulder, do a lopsided waddle-run to the cross walk, wait for Gary to stop the cars and give us a “you know what time it is” look, get down those deathly steps and try to make it to class.

However, there is one un forseen factor that has tripped up many of us last minute parking extremists this school year: parking lot parents.

They creep into the student lot

in the wee hours of the morning, before 7:15. Parents chauffeur underclassmen into the empty parking lot, taking up the front row of the good spots. Sleepy freshmen and sophomores sit in the passenger seats, staring at their phones until the engine turns off and they look up to find poof! They are magically at school. They will be on time to their A block class, but at what cost?

The congestion of many parking lot parents trying to get out of the lot at the same time as all of the student drivers trying to get in causes chaos. The increased number of cars at three way stop signs throws an extra wrench in everyone’s time table and when someone forgets who got there first, all three cars will stop and start and awkwardly decide who goes first. Who has time for such small inconveniences? Further more, the student lot roads are very skinny, and turning out of a row of spots while another car is hurrying by is just asking for a collision.

The staredowns are often in tense between incoming students, stressed by morning hurriedness, and outgoing parents, equally stressed with the thought of being late to work -- or going to work at all. This exchange is hardly healthy for our community centered school dynamic.

The Sage Hill Security Team’s

answer to the problem? Simple, just block off the exiting lane until after all the students have parked their cars and gotten to class.

Wrong! This adds to the prob lem. The trail of exiting cars grows longer and longer throughout the morning, forcing student drivers to make tricky maneuvers to get around the snake of a line. Many

parking lot parents have given up exiting all together and just decided to wait in the good spots until the line has cleared out. Still, these spots are precious and vital to getting to class on time.

A possible solution to this problem would be to open up the back of the student lot and create a separate lane that would lead back

to the loop and out of the school. A simple “entrance” and “exit” side of the lot. Just some food for thought.

Until a better solution is suggested and carried out, I’ll see you, parking lot parents, bright and early Monday morning, and you, fellow tardy student driver victims, on the other side of 8 am.

CENTER DAY

Around campus, inno vation and relationships are always flourishing. Whether that be finding the right club for your passions or cultivating bonds between students and teachers, the Sage community finds ways to champion meaningful experiences and form inspiring inter actions. Students are encouraged to further engage with local and global communities through Sage Center Days focused on immersive service experiences, as well as celebrating core values.

On October 5, Sage Center kicked off the first Service Learning day of the new year in Town Square. While Sage Center Days chiefly re volve around various student service projects both on and off campus, the morning commencements acknowledge stellar members of the community who reflect the Six Cs: Cross Cultural Competency, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communi cation, Creativity, and Character.

The recognized “stars” are typically students nominat ed by faculty, but the tables were turned this time. In honor of World Teacher’s Day, students were asked to nominate faculty members whom they noticed demonstrate one of

the Six Cs on a daily basis. In this reversed ceremony, the school excit edly celebrated Mrs. Robinson, Ms. May, Dr. Nguyen, Mr. Schumacher, Ms. Ngom, and Mrs. Lyons as Sage Center Stars.

Starting with critical think ing, Mrs. Robinson was awarded for her efforts of helping students find innovative solutions in chemistry. Secondly, character was awarded to Ms. May, who offers unwavering assistance and care. According to a student nominator, Dr. Nguyen is the teacher that “goes the extra mile” in his communication of advanced math concepts. Mr. Schumacher was recognized for cross-cultural com petency across his history classes.

Ms. Ngom, who is “always there to help,” was awarded collaboration for her meaningful interactions with students. Last but certainly not least, Mrs. Lyons was recognized for creativity, which she “demonstrated during advisory banner making” at retreat, according to an advisee nominator.

Though Sage Center Days are de signed as a day of outreach to other communities, acknowledging valued members of Sage Hill School allows for the celebration of students in addition to faculty and staff.

Brooke Thomassen

Grace Yan | The Bolt Sage Hill parking lot

Anne Chen

Courtesy of the Sage Hill School

Adelia Sandoval, Cultural Overseer of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians/Acjachemen Nation, sings a blessing for Sage Hill students in commemoration of Indigenous People’s Day

“Every job” Will Require Computer Science Education

Mihna Oh

Following technological ad vancements, the computer sci ence field offers a wide range of exciting, diverse, and high-growth careers, from software develop ment to cybersecurity. Jobs in computer science will increase by 13% by 2030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis tics (BLS). Now that technology is pervasive in our daily lives, it seems safe to say that computer science education will be essen tial in ‘every job’ in the near future. Sophia Mendoza, She is now LAUSD’s Instructional Technology Initiative director, and her priori ties are making sure all students have access to computer science education.

Mendoza believes every future job will require some computer science knowledge. LAUSD is the foundation for technology integra tion, and provides development for its educators about how to teach students to be inclusive, balanced, and engaged when they are online. The area which Men doza is most passionate about is computer science education. Not only will older students receive computer science, the younger learners will also earn the oppor tunity to learn about it; by 2025, all students in elementary school

should have a minimum of 20 hours of computer science educa tion each school year.

To foster the best ways to use technology in student learning, she invites educators to bring their units of study for the upcom ing weeks and discusses how they can utilize specific tools to empower students’ voices. Ac cording to Mendoza, “Because if we’re just learning points and

clicks, folks forget that, unless you tie it to something that’s very meaningful for them.” She claims schools must continue to ensure that there is both federal and state funding, for them to sustain the higher levels of technology use. She believes that in order for schools to have effective use of technology, they need additional funding for not just the tools they purchase, but also the high-im

pact strategies they utilize with their students, as something that works at one school may not work at another. Community collabo ration is essential. This work of transforming teaching and learn ing cannot happen alone, and we need partners to collaborate with. The near future will require knowl edge of computer science, and efficient education for all students will be crucial to their success.

Movie Review: Don’t Worry Darling

Isabella Palacio

A clink of a martini glass invites you into the Chamber’s home. Inside, you’ll meet de voted housewife Alice, a blonde American beauty, and her welldressed British husband, Jack. Life in the Victory Project reflects a 1950s-esque patriarchal society, with the men leaving to work ev ery morning, while the wives make sure dinner is prepared for their 5’oclock return each evening.

At the beginning of the film, Margaret, one of the other house wives, has an outburst at a gath etring for the entire Victory Proj ect. She questions the purpose of them living there and suggests that there is something bigger going on behind the scenes. After hearing her claims, Alice begins to have similar suspicions about the Victory Project which are fueled by hallucinations and frightening dreams. While on a trolley ride, Al ice witnesses a plane crash out by the project’s restricted headquar

ters, and decides to go off on her own to investigate. After a stren uous trip through the desert to headquarters, Alice awakes with no concrete recollection of the past hours. Doubts from members of her community, including Jack, begin to make Alice feel more ostracized, just as Margret was at the party. Alice’s suspicions cul minate at a dinner party she hosts for her friends and Victory Project Founder - Frank. In an altercation at the dinner table which leads to Alice’s final episode, it is revealed that she is living in an alternate reality, where her husband, Jack works to keep her there. The vir tual world remains free of prob lems, meanwhile in reality, Alice is a vegetable kept prisoner by her boyfriend Jack who lost his job and was consumed by the inter net. There he found Frank’s incel forum that inspired the Victory Project. Alice is shocked by the truth of her life as a surgeon that

Jack stripped away from her and in a dramatic ‘good for her’ finish ends with bloody revenge as Alice escapes her virtual prison.

This shocking twist revealed about two thirds of the way through the movie can be diffi cult to understand. With so much build-up to uncover the truth, audience members aren’t expect ing the Victory men to be incels working so their spouses can live in this virtual reality. Stylistically, there is a blend of psychological thrill to sci-fi and even feminist critique. Despite the film’s aesthet ically pleasing visuals that add to the 1950s retro theme, the ideas presented throughout the film are very predictable: A patriarchal so ciety is inherently bad, and female autonomy is inherently good. I’m all for it, but the execution was mediocre at best.

And while Florence Pugh offers a bone-chilling performance filled with drama and passion, Harry

Styles does not live up to this same standard. Instead, his acting falls rather flat and one-dimen sional. Think about it this way–you wouldn’t expect an actor to suddenly become a singer, so why do the same for Harry Styles, who falls flat playing a lead who should be much more complex? Thus, he becomes overshadowed by Chris Pine’s portrayal of the cult-like puppeteer Frank who uses the people of the victory project as characters in a video game.

Overall, Olivia Wildes’ Don’t Worry Darling has its merits and faults. With a stunning perfor mance from Florence Pugh and Chris Pine, as well as a great visual aesthetic, it blends in a mul titude of styles that never seem to connect with distinct directorial style. An initial concept and script could have performed better with a more cohesive vision from Wilde and a costar to match Pugh’s beautiful ability to perform in this genre.

When Computers Were Human | NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center