Saturday, July 31, 2010
Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle: For the past several years, the Gilman School Environmental Club, led by Will McCabe ’10 and Evan Sweren ’11, has strived to place this message into the minds of students. How exactly does one translate thoughts into actions? Mr. Carey, faculty advisor to the club, had a couple answers.
“We have to use resources, but we have to use them wisely,” replied Mr. Carey when asked about the club’s mission, which promotes awareness of, acceptance of, and participation in initiatives designed to aid the environment. These projects include the creation of the Lower School garden, the planting of two rain gardens around the Middle School and the implementation of a new composting system to handle lunch waste.
The school-wide effort to conserve comes from the club’s philosophy as stated by Mr. Carey, “It’s going to take everyone, not just the fifteen people in the club,” to make a difference. To do so, the club facilitates the efforts of different elements of the Gilman community, bringing together students, faculty, staff and administrators.
Equally important to the success of the program is the creation of awareness among students. Junior club leader Evan Sweren described this as crucial to the club’s success. “We don't want awareness in the sense that we bombard the school with facts about what they should and should not do, but instead awareness where people only take the amount of food they need, reuse paper when needed.” The club eventually envisions a community where, “People shouldn't have to think about whether or not they should recycle; it should be a life style.”
Quite possibly the crowning achievement to date of the environmental club is the success of the new composting program. Over forty tons of waste have already been diverted from landfills. That waste has instead created new soil. Despite this impressive achievement, the club is not resting upon its laurels. As Sweren says, “One of our primary goals is to create a 'waste free' environment [in which] all of the school’s unused materials are either recycled or composted with none thrown away.” Other plans for the future according to Mr. Carey include conserving electricity with motion detectors for lights, saving paper through email, and exploring renewable energy through solar and wind. It is of little surprise then that Gilman’s program has been touted as a model for other schools, with numerous leaders from the area astounded to see second-graders sorting their trash into the proper categories.
With more stream cleanups planned and more initiatives in the works, it looks like Gilman’s environmental streak is here to stay, motivated by the sense that, as Mr. Carey said, “We have come a long way, but we can do better”
We all have such fond memories of being read to as children, says Mr. Rowell, the director of Gilman theatre productions. Indeed, the art of storytelling is one that has captivated the human race since ancient times, and certainly one loved by many a Gilman student. It is fitting then, that this year’s Winter Drama is Ancestral Voices, authored by A.R. Gurney. It is remarkably unique in that it is literally told as a story, staged as five family members reading their parts on stage. There are no props, no set, and no staging –the performance consists soleley of the five actors’ dialogue. Gurney is also the author of Love Letters, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated drama, consisting of just two characters and delivered in a similar format. Mr. Rowell felt that it was appropriate for this year’s show to be a drama, to contrast the “high-energy musical comedy”, such as the spring’s Guys and Dolls, that has been given preference recently.
As well as the presentation being one-of-a-kind, Ancestral Voices is critically hailed as being an image of microcosmic World War II America and its families. Gurney tells the story of a family that is threatened to be torn apart by the end of the relationship of grandfather and grandmother. While such a plot may be foreign to the viewer, Mr. Rowell remarks, “Anybody who has ever been part of a family dynamic will see themselves in this play.” Cast member Benjie Jenkins summarizes the plot as a “juxtaposition of the internal conflict of family and the external conflict of a nation at war”.
This masterpiece of drama will not be without challenges: few high schools perform it. The seated, motionless style of performing removes the concept of blocking from a director’s playbook: the movement and placement of actors. Likewise, other traditional production features like lighting cues marking scene changes must be replaced by changes in voice and expression. Conveying aging also becomes a verbal skill in this production, a particular challenge that Jenkins and Billy Siems cite for Ancestral Voices. Siems, who plays the narrator (Eddie), finds that drama of this variety brings out specific elements of acting, namely vocal presentation. These differences allow the actors to concentrate on individual line readings and their deeper significances in the work as a whole.
In fact, Ancestral Voices was intended to be published as a novel – “the most well written production I’ve ever been in,” actor Mark Irwin says. Nevertheless, Mr. Rowell expressed his utmost confidence in the tri-school community’s actors to face the challenges of Ancestral Voices and looks forward to doing something a bit different from run-of-the-mill high school productions. Irwin expresses his utmost confidence in his fellow cast members, adding, “I’m confident that it’ll be received well by the audience.”
Key to the message of the play is the humor with which the characters face adversity. Ancestral Voices conveys the powerful message of using comic relief in times of stress and hardship – not a bad lesson to heed, in general. For instance, Emma Kaplan’s favorite scene of the drama is towards the end – a “hilarious fantasy sequence”, reminiscent of Scrubs, and a change in tone from the surrounding scenes.
Most students will not have seen a drama of this nature, Mr. Rowell said. Its cast is very small, and a terrific opportunity to “play some really sensitive scenes with really touching material,” along with its light-hearted aspects.
Come out to see it…
It has been a long, cold winter break, and many of you I’m sure are in dire need of some new music. Well if you are looking for a breath of fresh air be sure to check out Said the Whale. Said the Whale is a Vancouver based indie rock band formed in 2007. The band started out as a small project between two songwriters, Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft. They released an EP together, titled “Taking Abalonia,” and eventually the full album “Howe Sounds/Taking Abalonia” that showed the bands great potential in many different styles such as folk, indie pop, and hard rock. After the release of the first album, Worcester and Bancroft expanded the band to include drummer Spencer Schoening, keyboardist Jaycelyn Brown, and bassist Peter Carruthers. After the release of the CD, the band toured across Canada, which in turn gave the band inspiration for their next release.
“Islands Disappear” chronicles a coast-to-coast journey of Canada with many references to Canadian cities and towns. The second album presents a much more confident band that fully explores their musical potential and creates a wide range of sounds for the listeners pleasure. Their first single off the album and biggest hit, “Camilo (The Magician)”, is a powerful, upbeat, and uplifting song about finding the truth in the world through the help of a friend. The powerful guitar riffs and Bancroft and Worcester’s soaring voices radiate positive energy and create a truly feel good song. Nevertheless, the band is not one dimensionally in the slightest. They can produce powerful songs like “Camilo” with powerful guitars, and they can concoct beautiful, lullaby like melodies accompanied by a ukulele such as “Goodnight Moon”. Other notable songs include “Black Day in December”, “Emerald Lake, AB”, and “Out on the Shield”.
One trend that holds through in all of Said the Whale’s music is the simple way they begin their songs: often with one instrument, or just vocals. This allows for an amazing buildup of complexity that wows your ears when that climax of sound is reached. This trend is most relevant in my favorite song off of this album, “Goodnight Moon”; the ending is possibly the happiest and optimistic music ever played.
If you are looking for a new band that is sure to satisfy all of your auditory cravings, give Said the Whale a listen. They will truly amaze you with their breadth and depth of sound, as well as with their effervescent and uplifting lyrics that will surely pull you through the dark and cold winter.
If you pass by the senior room at any time of the day you’ll probably see a group of people crowded around a seemingly normal table, often yelling after a period of silence. You’re probably wondering what they could possibly be doing in such a small room. A wood lamented table stands in the center of the room. This table, however, holds more importance than you might think; it’s actually a ping-pong table responsible for some seniors’ favorite time of the day. It all started about a month ago from “120 seniors having free time,” says senior J.D. Kameen. The only materials needed: ping-pong net, a couple paddles, and a few balls that were all found two floors above in Ms. Hammer’s office. From there,“the net was then placed on this pretty standard table that had been in the senior room from the beginning of the year” says senior Kostas Skordalos. “Table is decently smaller than a real ping pong table; it just makes the games more interesting.” The table itself is “a wood lamented surface which can be tough on the balls themselves and we often have to replace them” says school President and ping-pong player J.D. Kameen.
Once the table has been set up, its time for them to play. “The rules are that there’s no getting upset, no one likes when people throw paddles, that’s how people get hurt. I personally, never get upset,” claims Kameen. Both Skordalos and Kameen say the title contenders seem to be Will Faison, John Kelly, Matt Berger, and “the tricky trickster” Patrick Shikani. If playing ping-pong in school on a wood table isn’t interesting enough, “BTB’s” are encouraged and “when ball hits your ring finger the entire room erupts yelling "ring of fire!".” Despite the fun times that come along with ping-pong, the senior class has become more unified because of the game. Kostas Skordalos claims, “I have to say that having the table has really unified our class even more. You really get to know your classmates whom you don't have class with a lot better when your playing them in ping pong.” Kameen also agrees, stating that “This is a sport enjoyed by dozens around the senior class and it brings smiles to peoples faces and joy to their hearts.” So next time your wandering around the terrace level be sure to check out the newly decorated ping pong arena in the Senior Room.
From the New York Times:
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