This MonthClubs - Page 5Spectrum of Holton ClubsHonorary, cultural, and more!Features - Page 6GirlUp SummitThe United Nation’s effort to empower women leaders

ScribblerVol. 51, No. 6

Coffeehouse Showcases Creativity Bred from Personal ExperiencesBy Nicole BohaNNoN

The Student Newspaper of the Holton-Arms School Wednesday, March 21, 2012

New Course Registration Options “Cater to a Variety of Interests”By SaNdy Fox

coNtiNued Courses page 3

Starting at 8 pm on March 17, fifteen girls performed ev-erything from original songs to readings of creative writing pieces in the Blackbox Theater at Coffeehouse 2012.

Meagan Carr ’12 and Aaron Ross ’12 started off the set list with a reading of Carr’s creative writing essay, or W, which she wrote for English 12.

“There’s one case that I’ve been in that’s unique, and you’ll see how [Aaron] factors in,” she started. She then told the story of how she and Ross developed a relationship from an awkward first impression at Camp Son-shine to their current status as girlfriend and boyfriend.

Then sophomores Maddie Krips, Alexa Thomas, and Kalya Chernoff sang, with Chernoff on guitar, a “trio arrangement of ‘Breakaway’ by Kelly Clarkson,”

This MonthOpinion - Page 2Feminism at HoltonHow to go beyond the academicA&E - Page 7One-Acts and Winter PlayWhat do Sunday Night and Per-fectly Normal have in common?

Upper School students had at least twelve additional options from which to choose in the re-cent course selection process, and depending on demand, many of these new or modified cours-es may run during the 2012-2013 school year.

Last November, the depart-ment chairs reviewed faculty pro-posals for new courses.

Although Upper School Di-rector Lisa Pence said that “peo-ple around here are not generally eager to change a program that most people feel is very sound,” she supports the changes made to existing courses and the intro-duction of several semester-long classes.

One new option is Global Perspectives, a semester-long minor open to all students but required for the juniors partici-pating in the Global Education (GE) Program.

Through the program fea-turing discussion-based learning, faculty members hope to par-ticipate for the summer trips to Costa Rica, India, and Senegal.

Pence pointed out, “The Global Ed girls were having to meet all the time [during their free periods]. This folds that into a course [and] provides really meaningful conversations.”

Student requests have fac-

Mini-Mester Allows Middle School to Learn in New WaysBy Saachi NaNgia

The third annual “Mini-Mester” kicked off on March 16th with middle school stu-dents attending sessions of the special courses of their choos-ing. Each course culminated after four days in an end project related to its subject.

Head of Middle School Tony Shawe explained, “[The program] is designed to give students an opportunity to fo-cus deeply on a topic…It needs to be interdisciplinary in nature [and] connect students with the ‘outside world.’”

One example of the range of courses is “Cup of Human-ity,” for which students studied the history of both Japan and China through the “lens of the tea ceremony.” Girls had the opportunity to visit an authentic Chinese tea room and then cre-ate their own tea room.

In “Exploring Impression-ism,” students dove into the Im-pressionist era by reading litera-ture from the period and visiting several of Washington, D.C.’s art collections and museums.

In “Marble and Bronze, Honor and Whimsy,” students

explored the history behind the multitude of sculptures in the Washington, D.C. area. For the culmination of the course, the girls created a photograph display of these sculptures.

Yet another course, “Jour-nalism: A Front Seat to History,” provided students with the op-portunity to meet real journal-ists and visit the Washington Post’s printing plant. At the end of the course, the students published their own newspaper.

“I had so much fun!” eighth grader Olivia Thomas said re-

garding the journalism course last year. “Every morning I really looked forward to the upcoming days and the activities we would be doing.”

In “Educational Videos Ex-press,” students explored a dif-ferent type of media: videos. Students began the course by vis-iting a local media source. They then examined how educational videos, such as Bill Nye the Sci-ence Guy and How Stuff Works, convey information. The girls ended the class by making their

coNtiNued Mini-Mester page 3

As part of Holton’s ongoing mission to integrate technology into the curriculum, fifth graders have started using iPads (shown here) in the classroom.

photo courteSy Neha praSad

according to Thomas.Next Zoe Swinson ’13 read

a “poem...about a relationship I was very dependent on, and that’s why I relate it to gravity.”

Kelcie Davis ’12 read her own W, a rant, after Swinson. “I’m ranting about getting kids’ menus at restaurants,” Davis said, complaining about the fact she may be a teenager but still is treated like a child.

“I don’t need crayons, I’m seventeen years old,” she said.

Afterward, Susannah Bane and Julia Anderson ’14 came up to the stage. “This is an original piece Julia and I wrote,” Bane said. “Both Julia and I were new in ninth grade. This song is about friendship and finding someone you can really trust.”

Karen Buitano ’12 then read her W on a childhood experience in fourth grade.

“It all started with Helena Rodriguez,” she began and went

on to describe her frustration with her annoying classmate’s an-tics to distract her from finishing a multiplication test.

Coffeehouse favorite Bob Tupper, an upper school his-tory teacher, sang a country song composed by his daughter Lau-rie.

“Even though it’s raining, things are looking up already. One of them is you,” Tupper said, retelling the story of how Laurie came up with the song

idea when her boyfriend said these same words to her.

Rachel Williams ’12 followed with a rendition of a spoken word poem she had crafted.

“[In the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day assembly,] this one girl spoke in the voice of a mother whose daughter had died in the Alabama bombings during the civil rights movement,” Williams recounted of her inspiration.

In her spoken word, which “is kind of like slam poetry” as Williams described it, she dis-cussed her dreams, her mother’s support of them, and the many questions she often faces with them.

“Will my dreams be shot down like [MLK] was?” she pon-dered in her poem. “I try not to be consumed, but the doom of this world makes me want to run and hide.”

Kelsey Sloter ’12 read her original poem, which was “in-

spired by the closest friends I’ve ever had.”

“I used Sibelius and Garage-band to compose a piece that uses electric guitar, drums, piano, and saxophone,” Delancy Wu ’13 explained once she took the stage. Part of the arrangement played on speakers while Wu played her saxophone live.

Marina Di Marzo ’12 then read a W about a time in elemen-tary school when she bit a class-mate who stole her pencil.

“It’s a dialogue only with no descriptions like a normal story,” she said.

“I’d like to thank my father for being a goof, and for sending the W to his office,” she added.

Finally, Julia Pieperl ’13 closed the evening with two orig-inal songs she had composed on the guitar. She said “I’ve been writing songs for a while, but re-cently I’ve started writing songs about things I really care about.”

photo courteSy KelSey Sloter

In the “Journalism: A Front Seat to History” course, budding journalists produced the Scoop, the middle school newspaper. They also met real journalists and visited the

Washington Post’s printing plant.

photo courteSy Nicole BohaNNoN

2011 Gold Medalist, Columbia Scho-lastic Press Association (C.S.P.A.)

The Holton-Arms School7303 River RoadBethesda, MD 20817301.365.5300

Letters to the Editor and opinion col-umns are the expressed opinion of the author and not of The Scribbler and its editorial board or advisor.

The Scribbler welcomes letters, which should be e-mailed to the Editor-in-Chief atNicole.Bohannon.2012@holton-arms.edu

The Scribbler cannot publish anony-mous letters, or anything deemed libel-ous, obscene, or in poor taste.

Rights are reserved to postpone, edit, or withhold from publication anything that does not meet specifications.

The opinions conveyed in The Scribbler are not those of the Holton-Arms fac-ulty or administration.

Scribbler2 OPINION March 21,2012

Editor-in-Chief - Nicole Bohannon

Managing Editors - Karen Buitano Sandy Fox

Layout Editors - Angelina DiPaolo Zahra Husain

News Editor - Saachi Nangia Assistant News - Susannah Bane

Spread Editor - Hailey CayneAssistant Spread - Jennifer Guo

Features Editor - Lindsay CayneAssistant Features - Tiffany

Onyejiaka

Sports Editor - Catilin Montgomery

A&E Editor - Cheyenne CooteAssistant A&E - Noori Srivastava

Copy Editor - Caitlin Montgomery Photography Editor - Neha Prasad

Assist. Photo. Editor - Saachi Nangia

Cartoonist - Delancy Wu

Advisor - Maggie Spak

I played flag football in fifth grade on a team composed en-tirely of boys except for me.

For most of elementary school, I owned exactly one dress to wear to church.

I’ve caught and gutted nu-merous fish throughout my summers, and I learned to shoot a gun the summer before I entered 10th grade.

Through all of my tom-boyish tendencies, I’m proud of being a girl, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I was lucky to have a moth-er and close role models who have worked toward the pro-motion of women’s rights since the 60s and 70s both here in the U.S. and in the world.

But I feel as though many girls my age or slightly younger only have the most vague and sheltered idea of what femi-nism is and its real life uses.

It’s a complete oxymoron to be surrounded by girls who only know the textbook defini-tion.

But perhaps that’s the problem.

Going to an all-girls school, we’ve all been on the receiv-ing end of an endless number

Create Balance between the “Amazon” and the Lady

The Secret to a Holton Girl’s HeartBy Delancey Wu

of lectures, class lessons, and academic examples of wom-ankind’s accomplishments and contributions.

The Holton bubble, how-ever, has raised a student pop-ulation who, surrounded by hard-working, intelligent, and independent young women, as-sumes the Holton attitude will seamlessly translate into the real world.

Outside of the classroom, I can’t tell you how many “wom-en in the kitchen” jokes I’ve heard from girls across grades at this school.

I admit: I’ve jokingly or-dered my friends to make me a “sammich” when I’m hungry, intentionally poking fun at the 1950’s stereotype of a woman’s role in the kitchen and house.

To us, after hearing for so long the unchanging and sub-servient role of women in so-ciety in history, the idea of a woman being resigned to the kitchen seems so absurd to us now that we can’t help but joke about it.

I believe that humor is sometimes the best way to con-front a serious issue, but when the dialogue doesn’t go deeper

or under the surface, that’s when I get mad.

Even after a screening of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, I struggled to maintain a consistent con-versation among the attendees on their views of Audrey Hep-burn’s character.

Throughout the film, she repeatedly declares she’s not interested in being tied down and caged in, though her entire mission in life is to marry a rich man.

There is no easier fodder for anti-feminism to discuss than that.

But what about outside of school? What happens when there aren’t 600 girls and sup-portive teachers to encourage you to stand up for yourself when you’re being pressured by a guy?

How do you know when to follow that little feminist voice in your head telling you to stay strong and not be passive but when your gut is telling you to go with the flow?

Feminism goes beyond knowing who Gloria Steinem is, reading The Feminine Mys-tique, or analyzing whether Lady Macbeth is or isn’t a

strong female character.Feminism is finding a bal-

ance between being an arm-wrenching, bra-burning Am-azon and carrying the right mix of ladylike qualities seen at teatime.

It’s actively asserting yourself when you’d prefer to remain a wallflower.

It’s learning to say both yes and no, and to whom you should say them.

It’s expecting to be treated the same way as men are, not above them or anyone else.

It’s understanding that promoting human rights and women’s rights are synono-mous.

It’s not groaning, silently or aloud, when we devote a day in history to the women’s rights movement.

It’s not scoffing at wom-en’s leadership conferences, empowerment seminars, or fe-male-based discussions of our roles in society.

It’s fighting every single day to preserve and promote the progress each of our moth-ers and grandmothers made.

We are the lucky ones, and we ought to return the favor.

CORRECTIONIn the February Issue, Jen-

nifer Guo wrote the “ACDA/All-State Offer ‘Fabulous Op-

portunity’ for Learning” article. Susannah Bane was incorrectly

identified as the author.

3NEWSMarch 21, 2012

By Zahra huSaiN

Seniors Celebrate Mother-Daughter Tea Tradition From Courses page 1

own educational videos for the fourth graders.

In “Sustainable Living,” stu-dents focused on the environ-ment by taking field trips to the Montgomery County Recycling center and an organic farm. The girls also participated in sev-eral projects, including fashion-ing solar ovens, creating vegan meals, and building hydroelec-tric cars.

Instrumental music conduc-tor and co-instructor Dr. Sarah Winston explained, “We’re hop-ing that the girls will get a better understanding of how their daily choices impact the environment as well as learn some methods to be more environmentally con-scious in their lives.”

Another course with an en-vironmental focus was “Ecosys-tems and Art.” Students studied ecological terms and also spent time in nature composing po-ems and drawing pictures that honor and celebrate our envi-

ronment.Another one of the unique

Mini-Mester options was “U Street Rhythms.” In this course, students investigated the history of Washington, D.C’s U Street Corridor through its music. U Street was a center of African-American culture, especially dur-ing the Civil Rights Movement. Students had the chance to listen to live jazz music and create some of their own jazz tunes. The Mid-dle Schoolers also volunteered at Martha’s Table, an organization located near U Street.

“[I] had such a fun time learn-ing about jazz artists who lived there and really getting into the culture of the U Street neighbor-hood,” Dara Odunubi ’16 said of last year’s Mini-Mester.

The “Mind Find” course studied the workings of the brain and the variety of learning styles. The course used hands-on labs and featured a cooking activity.

Nikki Reynolds, middle school health teacher and co-

teacher of “Mind Find,” hoped students left “the course with a toolbox of techniques that they can use to enhance the alertness and functioning of their brains.”

Each of the ten choices for Mini-Mester provided students with the chance to delve deeply into new topics in a unique way.

As middle school art teacher Barbara Mandel, who co-taught the “U Street Rhythms” course, said, “[Mini-Mester] offered an experiential, interdisciplinary ex-perience…[and] gave students the opportunity to pursue a con-centrated area of study.”

The teachers worked hard to make Mini-Mester a success.

Several of the middle school faculty members created each course. As Science teacher Tif-fany Reddinger, who co-taught “Cryptography: The Science of Coded Writing,” explained, “There is so much preparation [the teachers] must do to make sure the girls are learning and en-gaged those four days!”

In “Cryptography,” for ex-ample, students learned how to decipher messages using a variety of codes, including Caesar ci-phers, Vigenere ciphers, Dancing Men, and PigPen. The girls also watched the film Sherlock Holmes and visited the Spy Museum.

“In this digital age,” Red-dinger explained, “I think it’s awesome for the girls to learn how all of their information is se-cured as it is transmitted through cyberspace!”

Mini-Mester was a four-day course for all middle school stu-dents that presented them with a unique opportunity to venture outside of their normal learning environments.

As Winston explained, “[Mini-mester] is totally different than most academic classes be-cause of the field trips and proj-ects we did.”

The course allowed students to “engage with experiences and people outside the confines of the classroom,” she continued.

On Sunday, March 4, the Class of 2012 celebrated one of the first of many second semes-ter traditions for the graduating class: the Mother-Daughter tea. The event was put together by senior mothers, led by Melissa Carey (mom of Ellen Carey ’12). During the week leading up to the Tea, the mothers displayed baby pictures of all of the se-niors on the walls in the Adal-man Gallery, much to the delight and enjoyment of the Holton community.

On the day of the event, the seniors and their mothers showed up in perfect tea-time attire and came to partake in the special afternoon.

Senior Amanda Lee noted, “I thought the Mother-Daughter Tea was adorable this year, and I always love seeing everyone all dressed up.”

“The Mother-Daughter tea was fabulous!” Mimi Lynham ’12 said. “I think that every mother-daughter pair there had a won-derful time. Mrs. Carey and all of the other mothers made it so special for us with the baby pictures, the set-up, the teas and treats, and the slideshow of all of our pictures and our moms’ se-crets. Everything was absolutely perfect! I could not have asked for any better way to spend time with my mom.”

As part of the slideshow, many mothers submitted funny

and interesting facts about them-selves, including crazy experienc-es from freshman year of college and a wide variety of unknown talents.

The video won the praise of many seniors because it showed special mother-daughter mo-ments.

“My favorite part was defi-nitely watching the video, made by Mrs. Cutler [mother of Alexis Cutler ’12],” Alexandra Michaels ’12 said. “It featured a photo montage of mothers and daugh-ters and a hilarious segment filled with miscellaneous facts about our mothers that very few people (or no one!) knew before.”

Another special component of the Tea gave the mothers and their girls a chance to write letters to each other, an assignment that proved challenging.

“The seniors and their mothers were all given blank Holton stationery and enve-lopes,” Michaels explained. “The members of 2012 were asked to write a letter to their moms, and mothers were asked to do the same for their daughters. The seniors were told a few weeks before that the letters would be mailed to our moms in one year’s time [when we’re at college]. We received no prompt. I think that was definitely the hardest part: trying to think of what to write to my mom. Of anyone, my mom is the person with whom I am closest, and even so I had no idea how to start.”

Each of the traditions cel-ebrated the seniors’ journey through Holton as the girls em-bark on their next adventures in college.

From Mini-Mester page 1

tored significantly into several of the decisions for next year.

For years Holton students have had to take AP Psychol-ogy as a consortium course or through the Online School for Girls, but for the first time next year, they will have the chance to take the class at Holton.

“There have always been a few students who’ve been motivated enough to ask” for their own AP class, Psychology teacher Yolanda Keener said.

Student appeals also in-spired the new AP Chemistry class.

“A lot of girls are super ex-cited,” said Chemistry teacher Xu Duan, who views the AP class as “an opportunity for many girls to do more in sci-ence and [to pursue] Chemistry in their college careers.”

Other additions to the Pure and Applied Science Depart-ment include the semester op-tions of Earth and Space Sci-ence.

In addition, in the Science Research Program students are now required to take two se-mester courses in order to learn the lab skills required for sum-mer internships.

Depending on their choice of a physical science or bio-medical internship, students enroll in either Computer Pro-gramming and Robotics or Molecular and Microbiology, respectively.

Kayla Moffett ’14 is espe-

cially interested in Molecular and Microbiology, which she hopes will “open the way for potential work in an actual sci-entific lab.”

The Mathematics Depart-ment has expanded its options to include Introduction to Dif-ferential Calculus and Statistics and a semester-long Statistical Thinking course.

Math teacher David Weis said he hopes “to give students more of an opportunity to take Statistics at a high school level because many will end up taking it in college.”

Other changes to the cur-riculum include Spanish 3 Hon-ors, a semester-long Figure and Portrait Drawing Minor, and Photography Major, now a full-year course.

Most students approve of the changes.

Katie Kirk ’13 said the sin-gle semester options “cater to a variety of interests” and “allow people to get a taste for the sub-ject matter.”

Along with these changes is a pilot iPad program in the fifth grade that will decide what tech-nology the lower school girls will receive next year.

In the Lower School, about fifteen iPads have been circulat-ing the fifth grade homerooms as part of the Technology De-partment’s test run of the Apple tablet.

Director of Technology David Rossell said that, depend-ing on teacher and student re-actions, the device may replace Lenovo Tablet PCs for next year’s fifth and sixth graders. Rossell noticed the iPad during the “annual review of choices” available to students.

“The curriculum has to drive the choice of device,” he said, “and the product had ma-tured enough that we envisioned it could be used for school work.”

If its Holton users rate the iPad poorly, Lenovo Tablets will remain the standard.

Although he sees the po-tential for the iPad to work well in a classroom setting, Rossell remains skeptical that the tech-nology will be used in Upper School.

“A lot of high-school lev-el programs aren’t available,” he said. “I don’t know [if] you could write a 20-page paper with footnotes on an iPad.”

Course selection forms for students were due mid-March after discussion with family and teachers for juniors and soph-omores especially. The final schedules will come out in Au-

Caitlin Montgomery ’12 (left) and her mother Charlene Yu (right) wrote each other letters to be mailed when Montgomery’s in college. All of the other mothers and

daughters took part in the tradition as well.

photo courteSy caitliN moNtgomery

By aNgeliNa dipaolo

Academic Focus Allows Clubs to Expand Outside of SchoolHolton’s academic clubs

provide opportunities to think critically and expand knowledge learned from inside class to new dimensions.

“My favorite part of It’s Ac,” explained Alexandra Berthiaume ’13, an alternate for It’s Academic and a member of Model United Nations, “is all of the fun stuff we learn and the good times we have together, joking about stuff that most people would think was really, really nerdy (like the fact that President Chester Ar-thur had 80 pairs of pants).”

It’s Academic is both enjoy-able and time-consuming, and it provides time for a “nerdy” kind of fun found in trivia.

“We practice twice a week at 7 AM, more when we’re ap-proaching a game,” stated Ber-thiaume.

Although annoying at times, waking up early proves beneficial in the long run.

It’s Academic shows that

with dedication comes success. This year, the club won its

first-round game and won the playoff game on Saturday, March 3. They next round is May 5.

Model United Nations also allows time for academic pursuits outside of the classroom.

Berthiaume reflected on Model UN, saying, “My favorite event at Model UN is VAMUN, which is a slightly smaller, more casual meet than our other one.

It’s held at UVA, and we get to debate in (relatively) small com-mittees. It’s great getting to go around the campus with your friends, and the debate is always very lively.”

But what is it that Model UN does behind the scenes during those endless pizza lunches and meetings?

“At Model UN, we learn about and research world and historical issues and then go to

meets at different colleges to de-bate. Between meets, we practice debating and talk about issues facing our nation and world,” Berthiaume answered.

Again, with enjoyment comes hard-work, a recurrent theme in Holton’s academic pur-suits.

Yasmeen Haider ’15, mem-ber of Model UN, stated, “Writ-ing a position paper on a topic with a country or person’s point of view can sometimes be chal-lenging as the position on the topic could be one that you per-sonally do not agree with. Debate can get intense and sometimes fast paced where a chance to speak is rare.”

Although challenging at times, an academic club provides fun for its members.

Model UN prepares for three meets: Holton-Arms MUN (HAMUN), University of Vir-ginia MUN (VAMUN), and the North American Invitational MUN meet (NAIMUN).

Haider stated, “My favorite of them all was NAIMUN. Be-ing the largest meet I have ever attended, it was a thrilling new experience. NAIMUN was filled with twists and turns, and I feel that it was the best meet this year!”

The Robotics Club also combines academic challenge with entertainment.

“The mission of the Robot-ics Club is to learn how to cre-ate different types of robots for different situations (challenges) while also learning how to prob-lem solve, work in a team, and have fun,” Beverly Sihsobhon ’14 stated.

Members of the Robotics Club enjoy using their practiced skills to compete with others. “Botball is the biggest event for the Robotics team because it is where we get to compete against other teams after several months of programming and building one or two robots to complete a challenge,” Sihsobhon said.

By cheyNNe coote

Animals, Veterans, and Children Fuel Enthusiasm for Charity ClubsWhether it is assisting pets

in the local animal community or raising money for those in need, clubs devoted to organizations, charities, and causes serve as im-portant elements of both Holton and the larger community out-side our walls.

Working to raise “awareness about all kinds of animal abuse and to advocate for the rights and protection of animals,” ac-cording to their club page on the Holton website, the Animal Rights Club has focused on helping pets in the area.

Specifically, the club has “at-tended adoption events for a lo-cal, non-profit organization Lost Dog and Cat Rescue,” said presi-dent Nicole Romness ’12.

She said that the aids ani-mals who “do not have their own voice.”

Volunteering or giving dona-tions are both ways that students can help the club.

Celia Spiritos, advisor of the Community Service Club, said that the club’s mission “provides students with the opportunity

to become involved in service projects inside and outside of school.”

With “fundraisers, drives and trips,” the club plans “upcoming events to help particular disad-vantaged groups in society and work with other clubs to orga-nize their own community ser-vice projects.”

The club also plans various initiatives with Landon such as the Soup ’n Bowls, a fundraiser to support Brainy Camps.

Out of all the initiatives, Spiritos said she loved volunteer-ing at House with a Heart, a “se-nior pet rescue organization.”

She believes that the club “increases our awareness of the Holton campus.”

Spiritos said that students can sign up as volunteers for fu-ture events, such as Spring Day in the Country, an April 21st event on Landon’s campus that pro-vides members of HEART op-portunities to interact with kids in need.

Operation Smile allows “children all over the world with cleft lip and cleft palate to receive free correctional surgeries,” said

club President Nina Singh ’12.The club not only operates

independently at Holton but also collaborates with schools all over the area.

According to Singh, the club hopes to “visit a children’s hos-pital for Dr. Seuss’ birthday and read some of his books to pa-tients there.”

Singh said that the charity club not only gives children the opportunity to receive a “beau-tiful smile” but also betters the lives of kids who could not “eat or breath properly” prior to the surgery.

Horton’s Kids, known for its popular dumpling sales, focuses its efforts on a local venture in the community.

Club leader Sara Hou ’12 said that members “raise money for low-income families in Ana-costia, D.C.”

The profits are then used “to buy non-perishable, easy-to-make food that we deliver to them in reusable grocery bags.”

The club’s work is especially important to families who, ac-cording to Hou, “might not have anything without [the club’s] do-nations.”

According to Hou, the club’s work makes “a small dent in the fight against hunger, but [their] work still has a large impact on the 50 families it does help.”

Started by Beth Hansen ’10, Holton Helping Heroes aims to “support our local heroes such as policemen and firemen while also supporting our troops over-seas,” said Kasey Miller ’12.

Club advisor Jen Chen said that Hansen started the club be-cause “she felt passionate about thanking men and women who devote their time and energy to serving their communities and/or country.”

“Baking holiday cookies for a local fire department to send-ing backpacks filled with fun and necessary items brightens the days of wounded soldiers around the world,” Chen added.

This year, the club also “sent holiday cards to wounded veter-ans at the Bethesda Naval Hos-pital.”

Chen hopes that the club’s work will inspire Holton students “to incorporate elements of ser-vice to their own communities throughout their lives.”

Holton

photo courteSy alexa goldmaN

The Holton It’s Ac team consists of (from left to right) Katie Kirk ’13, Sandy Fox ’12, and Jenna Milstein ’12 as well as a group of alternates.

Clubs:

photo courteSy Nicole romNeSS

The Animal Rights Club has “attended adoption events for a local, non-profit organi-zation Lost Dog and Cat Rescue,” such as this one from earlier this year.

By SuSaNNah BaNe

Honorary Groups Recognize Accomplishment and TalentSome honorary clubs at

Holton have requirements and induction ceremonies in order for students to become mem-bers.

These prestigious clubs hon-or girls who have excelled in their respective fields.

While some may worry about the exclusion of these clubs, the girls who are members find the induction a satisfying reward for the work they have put in.

Holton-Arms Athletic So-ciety (HAA) is one of the most visible clubs at Holton.

Members of HAA are se-lected for their dedication to ath-letics at Holton as well as their sportsmanship and leadership both on and off the field.

This year’s president of HAA is senior Anne Corrigan ’12.

Induction occurs during the Fall, Winter, and Spring Sports Banquets.

Current HAA members write poems to the newly induct-ed girls, and then the recently admitted members wear blue and white beanies with all their sports pins for a week after their induc-tion.

HAA member Alexandra Michaels ’12 strived to become part of HAA as she believed

“that as a member of HAA, I would be able to encourage my peers to partake in the camara-derie associated with sports at Holton.”

When students aren’t excel-ling on the field, some donate many hours of their time to ser-vice toward the school.

Girls who are particularly generous with their time are re-warded with membership into Boosters Club.

Girls can volunteer through giving tours, helping out in Ad-missions or the Business Office, assisting at Brown House, or of-fering their time to tutor younger students. Inductions to Boosters occur twice a year.

This year’s presidents of Boosters are Christin Wade-Vir-turo ’12 and Anisa LaRochelle ’13.

Boosters member Cameron Kelso ’14 remembers her main reason for wanting to become part of Boosters was because “all of the girls who were in the club were definitely ones [she] looked up to and wanted to be like.”

Some girls also volunteer their time as Peer Counselors for the freshman advisory groups.

This year’s presidents of Peer Counseling are Wendy Burr ’12 and Ellen Carey ’12.

The application process for Peer Counseling begins during the second semester of sopho-

more year, when girls who are interested in becoming a Peer Counselor must fill out an ap-plication and be interviewed by both the faculty advisors and a current Peer Counselor.

Burr explained that it is very competitive as there are “typi-cally about 45 girls who apply for 13 to 14 spots.”

As well as running the soph-omore Alcohol Symposium in October, Peer Counselors also “help the freshmen navigate their way through their first year of high school both academically and socially,” as Burr explained.

Those who have excelled both on stage and behind the curtain are rewarded with induc-tion to the International Thespi-ans Society.

Unlike the previously men-tioned clubs, Thespians is a world-wide club.

Holton’s Thespian president is Meagan Carr ’12. Inductions to Thespians occur at the end of the year.

Thespians member Marina diMarzo ’12 said the true goal of Thespians is to “call attention to the hardcore theater fans and highlight their achievements in the drama at Holton.”

Carr pointed out that in or-der to earn the twenty points needed for Thespians one must

earn one point through complet-ing ten hours of tech or set work.

Carr finds that this require-ment “ensures that Thespians are a diverse and experienced group of students who truly are committed to and appreciative of all aspects of theater.”

The final honorary club at Holton is the Cum Laude Soci-ety.

Cum Laude is a national academic honors society for stu-dents in Independent Schools.

The top 10% of the junior class and the top 20% of the se-nior class are selected on Class Day at the end of the year.

Upper School Director Lisa Pence is this year’s chapter secre-tary, and this year’s chapter presi-dent has yet to be selected.

As Holton doesn’t academi-cally rank in any other way, Pence said that admittance into Cum Laude is “strictly numerical.”

While other honorary clubs take on a more visible role, she pointed out that “not much goes on in Cum Laude beyond shining in the classroom, which is a huge responsibility.”

Although Cum Laude only recognizes a very small percent-age of upper school students, Pence said that in her opinion “everyone here is an honors stu-dent.”

By leila aNduZe

Students Express Cultural Hertiage in BSU, JCC, and Asia ClubsCultural diversity has been a

chief part of the Holton com-munity for years.

Students are disposed to rec-ognize various cultures through global education programs, the annual Holton Mosaic, and cul-tural clubs.

Through these clubs, stu-dents are able to fully embrace their diversity and spread aware-ness of their various cultures to peers.

A prominent culture club at Holton is Asia Club.

Asia Club provides students with the ability to learn about Asian culture through dinners, assemblies, and a popular, an-nual fundraiser.

Asia Club Co-President Jen-ni Jung ’13 said, “The mission of Asia Club is to spread awareness of Asian traditional and pop cul-ture. So far this year, Asia Club

has had an Asian movie/potluck dinner event and has presented an A day assembly about the Lu-nar New Year.”

“Every spring,” Jung said, “we hold an Asian snack sale to raise money for the Half the Sky Foundation and other causes such as the earthquake in Japan and flooding in Thailand.”

The Jewish Culture Club (JCC) provides students with the ability to learn about various Jewish cultures and traditions. JCC president Alexandra Mi-chaels ’12 said, “JCC’s mission is to educate the student com-munity about Jewish culture and heritage while simultaneously providing a haven for Jewish students.

“We had a small presenta-tion set up during lunch around the time of Sukkot (a minor yet widely celebrated Jewish holiday)

to share the traditions of this holiday...We’re currently working on a community service outing to the Hebrew Home.”

Michaels continued, “We also have some great thought-provoking topics for upcoming meetings during which we’ll ask the attendees to discuss with us.”

Moreover, these clubs such as the JCC are not only open to students of the particular repre-

sented culture.“I’d like add that JCC is not

strictly open to the Jewish mem-bers of our community!” Mi-chaels explained. “Having mem-bers of other denominations actually helps inform others of Jewish practices.”

Like JCC, the Black Student Union (BSU) provides aware-ness of black culture to those in the Holton community.

“The mission of Black Stu-dent Union is to increase aware-ness of the contributions of African-Americans in both the school and society,” said BSU president Bailey Jackson ’12.

Throughout the year, the club has taken part in out-of-school diversity conferences, such as those at Madeira and Woodberry Forest, as well as in-school activities.

Jackson added, “We also had a lock-in where we discussed ste-reotypes and our experiences in the Holton community. We plan to have another lock-in towards the end of the year.”

“Most notably,” Jackson said, “Antoinette [Nwabunnia ’13] and I have been presenting Black history trivia questions and music at morning assem-bly throughout Black History Month.”

photo courteSy Sarah liNcolNHAA seniors and juniors sing out original poems for new inductees into the association.

Where Passion, Drive, and Identity Converge

photo courteSy caitliN moNtgomery

Asia Club (pictured here) not only promotes the knowledge of Asian culture but also raises money for the Half the Sky Foundation.

FEATURES March 21, 20126By Noori SrivaStava

Alum’s Resolve Organization Empowers Women in DRC

On Monday, February 13, Vijaya Thakur ’04 addressed Holton in an interactive lecture on different approaches to sup-porting struggling countries.

Thakur is the founder and executive director of Resolve Network, a non-governmental organization focused on empow-ering women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to help in peace-building.

Alongside Thakur, Lily Kruglak ’08 serves as the pro-gram assistant.

Thakur stressed that Holton’s teaching of critical thinking and the motto “Find a way or make one” led to her success.

Thakur chose to help the Democratic Republic of Congo because it is one of the most troubled African countries, where “a girl … is five times more likely to be raped than learn how to read a book.”

Rebel militias and military especially have marginalized women of the Congo through intimidation tactics to maintain control of black-market trade.

Consequently, families and communities have struggled to rebuild their infrastructure and maintain peace.

The Resolve Network uses a three-tiered system moving from micro to macro: individual, com-munal, and societal.

Through microloans, wom-en start businesses, enrich com-

March Horoscopes

Aries (3/21-4/20)

Venus turns on the charm from the 4th to the

28th, and pals can’t get enough of you. After the

22nd go forth and seek your fortune in greener pastures.

Taurus (4/21-5/21)

Don’t stay home and hide this March; the planets

encourage you to spread your good cheer in any and

all possible ways.

Gemini (5/22-6/20)

Sometimes you have to shake things up to move

things forward, and things have a way of clearing a

path. That is, until the 22nd, when Sun whips up your

social swirl to a whirlpool.

Cancer (6/21-7/20)

If you are itching to travel, March is the month to listen. You are well-prepared to meet whatever challenge

comes your way.

Leo (7/21-8/22)

Don’t allow yourself to long for more than you can have. Don’t think that

you’re entitled to everything and that you don’t have to

work to have it all.

Virgo (8/23-9/22)

Hardworking Virgos are in their element early in March as a plethora of

planets gets you working in high gear.

Libra (9/23-10/22)

Achieve physical perfec-tion in early March while the Sun highlights exercise and

wellness. Your charming and attractive self will be ready, willing, and able to cash in

on the coming spring.

Scorpio (10/23-11/21)

How much fun can a Scorpio have this March? A parade of planets posits in

your engagment calendar, so don’t drop out. Enjoy every fun-filled moment while it

lasts.

Sagittarius (11/22-12/20)

Upcoming events will require novelty, experiment, creativity, and originality. If you offer everything you’ve got, you’ll enjoy a memo-rable, sentimental period.

Capricorn (12/21-1/20)

You’ll be enthusiastic the entirety of March, and you’ll long for adventure.

This combination will create a perfect mood that will at-tract favorable circumstanc-

es to fulfilling wishes.

Aquarius (1/21-2/18)

March is a good time to plant a few good seeds for future projects. But make your moves while Uranus provides the impetus and

the Sun provides the finan-cial grease. By the 22nd all

bets are off.

Pisces (2/19-3/20)

Pisces are pushed into the limelight while Uranus provides the propellant. By the 22nd your fortune will

increase and turn your atten-tion to the bottom line.

50% of all domestic abuse is perpetrated against girls under 15 years old. 10 million teenage and preteen girls will be married this year. Violence kills as many women between 15 and 44 years old as cancer.

These were just some of the facts shared on Saturday, March 10th, the United Nations Foundation’s first annual GirlUp Leadership Summit in Washing-ton, D.C.

GirlUp “gives American girls the opportunity to become global leaders and channel their energy and compassion to raise awareness and funds for United Nations programs,” according to their website.

At the event, powerful wom-en leaders gathered with teenage GirlUp members from around America to discuss current glob-al issues such as child marriage, and changes in the workplace for women in the western world.

Nicole Bohannon ’12, Kath-

By KatheriNe coNNolly

GirlUp Summit Instigates Conversation on Women Leaders

erine Connolly ’12 and Saba Chinian ’12 represented Holton-Arms at the event, which was held at the Swedish Embassy.

In the morning, they listened to a variety of guest speakers in-cluding White House speechwrit-er Sarah Hurwitz, Vice President of National Geographic Betty Hudson, and UN Champion and High School Musical actress Mo-nique Coleman.

After a morning of guest speakers, the girls broke up into small-group sessions to talk about awareness, philanthropy,

fundraising, and the importance of social media.

“My favorite speaker was Betty Hudson (current Nation-al Geographic VP and former NBC VP),” Connolly said. “She achieved so much in a time when executive positions were rarely given to women, and she is such an inspiration.”

Bohannon, who had the most previous experience with the GirlUp campaign, was espe-cially keen about the event.

She said, “It was a great mes-sage preached throughout the day about women’s leadership.

“The GirlUp campaign is based on the hard work of Gir-lUp clubs across the nation who raise money and get the mes-sage out about child marriage. At the event, many club lead-ers from New Jersey, California, New York and many other states led the group discussions. I love meeting girls from so many dif-ferent paths of life who come together for a cause.”

munities, and create viable alter-natives to violence.

The field staff then col-laborates with these women to organize community-building projects for safe drinking water, sustainable irrigation, and educa-tion.

Students found Thakur’s pre-sentation intriguing and thought-provoking.

“It was great to see a Holton alum - someone like me - doing something really great and suc-cessful with her life,” said Alex-andra Berthiaume ’13. “It was really inspiring because I’d like to do much of the same thing as an adult.”

“The guest speaker really gave us an insight into the real life that she faces,” Aarushi Puri ’13 said, “and showed us the real statistics that we might not gen-erally know about the country as well as some nice problem-solv-

ing skills. I think that the grass- roots approach is definitely the best way because you connect to the individuals.”

“Aiding women is an impor-tant step in achieving progress. Women are an essential part of every community, so working with women is necessary to gain peace,” said Elizabeth Kitt ’14.

Berthiaume disagreed, how-ever, by stating, “I think that while aiding women is impor-tant and NGOs like Resolve are necessary, we should not, as an international community, restrict aid just to women. It’s important not to be sexist in the way we help people; we can’t assume that every single man is an abusive drunkard who will gamble away any aid someone gives him.”

Students left the assembly thinking about the future and being an active participant in the global community.

photo courteSy evie chamBerlaiN

Vijaya Thakur ’04 (shown here) is now the Founder and Executive Director of the Resolve Network, an NGO she spoke about in a February assembly.

By mariNa di marZo

7ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTMarch 21, 2012

Sudoku Puzzle

Level of Difficulty

Average

Check the Scribbler online-paper (on your Student Portal under the News bulletin) for

each month’s answer!

created By alex BohaNNoN

One-Acts and Winter Play Energize Holton and Landon Theater

By iSaBel caBeZaS

The winter season provides Holton girls with two opportuni-ties to act. On February 25, stu-dents took to the stage in Land-on’s Performing Arts Center for One-Acts, and the Holton winter play ran during the first weekend of March in the Black Box The-ater.

Twenty eight girls participat-ed in One-Acts, and of the eight plays performed, Holton stu-dents Polly Feldman ’13, Wendy Burr ’12, and Jane Alexander ’12 directed three.

Alexander helped Landon Senior Kyle Gutierrez write their original play Perfectly Normal. While Gutierrez had the idea for the play’s plot, Alexander said she would “highlight places we could make jokes...and together Kyle and [she] worked to find the right joke.”

Landon Juniors Allen Klein-er and John Bair also wrote and directed their own One-Act, We’re Missing One, based on the seven deadly sins.

Landon senior Johnny Cobb also wrote and directed a One- Act for the second year in a row, and Devin Gantt ’12 directed Big Al’s Fish & Seafood Restaurant, which Landon’s 2010 Acting Workshop class wrote.

The One-Acts allow stu-dents to participate in theater in a more relaxed environment than those of Holton’s fall and winter plays as well as Landon’s spring play. Aashna Rao ’12 appreci-ated the lax environment because she “didn’t have a lot of experi-ence or time to commit to a full-length play. Since it’s completely student-run, I got to spend time with my friends!”

For those who did want to commit to theater project, Holton, Churchill, Whitman, and Wilson students performed Stephen Gregg’s Sunday Night, a quirky story about a girl named Whit, who is drawn to another dimension by a box of Raisinets.

Whit, played by Mary Sheers ’14, has to find a way to trav-el back to Earth before she’s

trapped in the nameless world forever.

Lindsay Cayne ’13, who played Piph, decided to take part in the winter play because she “felt that its smaller-sized cast, especially compared to that of a musical, would help further strengthen [her] acting technique since it allows the actress more individual time onstage.”

Drama director Elizabeth Andrews wanted to put on a play that allowed students to be in-volved in designing the set, some-thing different than “shows that have long since been solidified in the theatrical canon through pro-ductions on Broadway.”

Andrews “was eager to take on a project that had no clear ‘right’ answer.” Through e-mail and VoiceThread correspon-dences with the playwright, he al-lowed Holton to take liberties in switching gender roles and com-posing music for Cardiovocians (played by Lucy Wilkinson ’13, Alexa Thomas ’14, Sydney John-son ’15, and Susan Darvishi ’15). Gregg’s liberties also allowed stu-dents to invent solutions to key events in the play such as “How do you swim ‘naked’ through a river of birthday presents?”

Julia Peiperl ’13 described the show as rewarding, citing “the freedom we had to create and influence the show because none of us had any idea how it was ‘supposed’ to be done.”

Student volunteers helped Technical Director Chris Townsend to design the set in a Steampunk Workshop.

On March 2nd, Gregg gave Holton students a rare opportu-nity to read through his develop-ing play The New Margo. Gregg also had a talkback session after Saturday’s matinee; he and the audience discussed the creation of his play as well as Holton’s performance.

Holton girls will again take to the stage in the Middle School One-Acts on May 11th and Landon’s spring play on May 18th and 19th.

Orchesis, Holton’s group of dancers, puts on an annual con-cert to display all of its dances throughout the year.

The February 24th concert featured twelve upper school dances and two dances from the Middle Schoolers.

“The dancers in Orchesis did a fantastic job this year,” Orche-sis director Sarah Roney said. “I am very impressed by how much movement they learned and in a short amount of time and how well they brought it to life during the performances.”

Choreographing dances for the other girls to perform gave the dancers the chance to explore their creativity and learn about the choreographic process.

“Inventing choreography and translating it to the stage is difficult but extremely reward-ing,” Orchesis president Michelle Unger ’12 said. “Choreograph-ing is a different type of self-ex-pression than I’ve faced in other artistic pursuits. When designing and sewing for PUNCH, the fi-nal garment is a direct reflection of my creativity and craftsman-ship. Conversely, choreography depends upon each dancer’s abil-ity to perform my movements. I can’t describe how incredible it was to watch the final perfor-mance of my dance this year. I am so unbelievably proud of my dancers.”

Many choreographers found translating their ideas into mo-tion to be not only the most difficult part but also the most memorable element of choreo-graphing.

“It wasn’t always as easy as teaching movement,” junior Sar-

ah Lossing said. “I’m not great at expressing movement and know-ing terminology...but overall, choreographing was an amazing experience that allowed me to re-ally learn how to not only be a better teacher but also a better dancer.”

“It can be a little bit frustrat-ing,” Alexandra Berthiaume’ 13 said. “As a choreographer, I tend to envision a beautiful phrase involving some movements that my dancers might not have the skill for (or that just plain aren’t practical, like having someone lift someone else onstage). Oth-erwise, it’s fun; my dancers were really respectful and attentive, and they really did push them-selves and their technical skills to help me put my artistic vision onstage.”

Choreographers drew inspi-ration from multiple sources to create their dances.

Morgan McNair ’13 said, “Before school began, excite-ment and about the troops coming home became a more prevalent issue. The soldiers’

Talent and Hard Work Come Together at OrchesisBy KareN BuitaNo

homecomings spurred my idea of choreographing a piece in honor of those soldiers who have fallen.”

She watched army training videos to emulate training and combat moves.

Berthiaume originally want-ed her dance to be more beauti-ful and optimistic, but, she said, “As the school year went on, I started adding sections...about stress, schoolwork, competition standardized testing. It’s about life...I think it is a deeper, more meaningful dance with these dif-ferent layers of emotion.”

Despite all of the hard work choreographing, members of Orchesis said their experience was positive.

“Preparing for the show was really tiring with the long rehears-als,” sophomore Lindsay Coving-ton stated. “It was a great time to bond with other members and spend time with each other. ”

Berthiaume said of dancing, “It’s a creative outlet, and often it’s the one thing I can look for-ward to after a really bad day.”

photo courteSy liNdSay cayNe

Among the many fantastical characters in Sunday Night, Sydney Johnson ’15 (left) played a Cardiovocian and Lindsay Cayne ’13 (right) played Piph.

photo courteSy lee Zampella

From left to right: Kelsey Spencer ’13, Lindsay Covington ’14, Michelle Unger ’12, Kelsey Spencer ’13 and Aimee Jones Wilkerson ’13 practiced their routine starting in August.

SPORTS March 21, 2012

Unique Sport of Women’s Rugby Intrigues Holton CommunityBy allie greeNBerg

New Softball Coaches Bring ExpertiseBy tiFFaNy oNyejiaKa

This spring season, along with all the incoming varsity ath-letes, there are two new additions to the varsity softball team.

Coach Larry Janski and Coach Richard Roberts have replaced Cindy Tindall as the varsity soft-ball coaches for the 2012 season.

Janski and Roberts coached many other teams prior to com-ing to Holton. In fact, the pair has been coaching travel and house league softball teams since 1996, before many of their players were even born.

Janski and Roberts most re-cently coached at Woodrow Wil-son High School in Washington, D.C. before they came to Holton.

At Wilson, they helped their softball team win three consecu-tive District of Columbia Inter-scholastic Athletic Association (DCIAA) City Championships, and the men were named Co – Coaches of the year by The Wash-ington Post in 2009.

Both coaches are excited to be a part of Holton.

“We believe there is a great foundation here at Holton for both academics and athletics,” they said. “Together, we have the opportunity to do great things with the softball team.”

The girls on the team wel-come the new coaches.

Senior Rachel Clayton, one of the team’s captains, believes that the softball team’s “dedica-

When you think of women’s sports, rugby is probably not the first to come in mind.

Predominantly considered an intense, male-dominated sport, rugby has undergone a rise in youth programs and became an Olympic sport for 2016.

According to the U.S. Wom-en’s Rugby Foundation, the first college women’s teams appeared at Colorado State University, University of Colorado at Boul-der, and University of Illinois at Champaign in 1972.

In 1975, the United States Rugby Union was founded.

Three years later, the first Women’s National Champion-ship was hosted by the Women’s Rugby Club in Chicago, but it wasn’t until 1985 that the first na-tional team was formed.

The sport has flourished as the U.S. Women’s team field five teams in the six divisions around the world.

Jackie Force’13 said, “I think that people should be able to play whatever sport they want to in college, and if there’s enough

By adia roBiNSoN

On March 13th, the NCAA basketball tournament officially began, and 68 teams set out to reach the championship game in New Orleans the first weekend of April.

March Madness only comes once a year, and countless Ameri-cans rally behind their favorite teams.

Most sports critics predict that the current number one in the league, University of Ken-tucky, will win the championship.

Last year the team made it to the semi-finals, and this year with the help of star player Anthony Davis it has an excellent shot at winning the title.

Critics also agree that Syra-cuse University has the best chance of defeating University of Kentucky.

Other teams that may do very well are University of Kan-sas (with a 25-5 game record), Michigan State, University of North Carolina, and Marquette University.

The real question is which teams are going to come out of nowhere and unexpectedly rise to the top.

Last year’s top Cinderella team was Bucknell. This year it could be St. Mary College of Maryland.

This underrated team is one of the most experienced in the

country, and with their star play-ers Rob Jones and Mathew Del-lavedova it may be unstoppable.

Other top choices include University of Virginia, which has the potential to make it to the Final Four with the help of se-nior Mike Scott, and Iowa State University, which has managed to hold its own in a league dominat-ed by huge powers such as Baylor University, University of Kansas, and University of Missouri.

At Holton opinions vary on what teams people believe are go-ing to win.

“I think that the Missouri Ti-gers have the best chance at win-ning,” said senior Hillary Meeker. “They have great shooters who play at a frenetic pace. They also play a suffocating defense backed by key veteran leadership.”

Assistant Athletic Director Graham Westerberg said that he thinks either Kentucky or Mis-souri will win.

Sophomore Sydney Poretsky said, “I think that Duke has a good chance of winning the tourney this year. Even though they’ve had a few big losses this season, I think when the end of the season is on the line and with the great chemistry they have un-der Coach K they’ll have a nice run.”

Many members of the Holton community love March Madness because it is something with which they have grown up.

“Ever since fifth grade, I have loved watching college bas-ketball (especially UNC) and have wanted to be a college basketball sports anchor,” said senior Shel-by Tanous. “Surprisingly, I know more about the sport than most boys. My family bleeds ‘Carolina Blue’ and wouldn’t miss any of the games for anything. We even unplug our phones for the games against Duke.”

“It’s the best sports tourna-ment ever,” said junior Danette Frederique.

“Everyone has a chance at winning...Most games are buzzer beaters, and underdogs have their turn in the spotlight. I love it!”

NOTE: Due to when the issue went to print, this article does not reflect changes after Thursday, March 15.

March Madness Fever Infects Holton Students

people who want to play, go for it! I don’t see how women’s rugby is anything different from women’s football or soccer.”

Force noted that “any con-tact sport is going to be intense, but lots of people love it. I per-sonally don’t think I would play just because I like my neck in one piece...When you see people play on TV, it seems like some insane cross between American football and wrestling, though it seems more violent than football to me.”

Many students were not very aware of the sport.

Cecily Spindel ’14 comment-ed, “I don’t know much about the sport, but it sounds like it’d be fun to play especially because it’s unique.”

Girls also agreed that the sport seemed intense.

Nikky Grover ’13 said, “I think women’s rugby is really cool, and it shows another way that women are as equal as men. Of course it is crazy rough, but it fun to watch.”

Keara Scallan ’14 said, “Women’s rugby in college is

intense! It’s great to see, and I think more girls should get into American football at the very least, if not rugby.”

Morgan McNair ’13 said, “My cousin played women’s rug-by for St. Mary’s College, and she absolutely loved it! It’s definitely a rough sport, but it’s also incred-ibly fun to play and watch!”

There is even a veteran play-ing at our very school.

Head of School Susanna Jones played on the first women’s

rugby team at Princeton Univer-sity.

“I briefly played on Princ-eton’s first women’s rugby team. I played in the scrum ([I] can’t remember the name of the posi-tion). It was fun, but it’s a very complicated game. The team was started by a good friend of mine, and it’s still going 30 years later.”

Landon’s Chemistry teacher Brittany Martin played rugby for four years at Harvard Univer-

sity, and the activity benefitted her in terms of her maturity and growth.

“[Rugby] was an awesome experience,” she said. “To start, I almost didn’t play because all I knew about rugby was that ap-parently ‘people got hurt.’ I tried other club sports, but one day I just decided to try rugby and I was hooked. Rugby sometimes has a bad, undeserved reputa-tion in the USA, but I’m so glad I tried it!”

After two years, Martin’s team placed in the top 15 teams in the U.S. During that time, she was able to strongly connect with her team.

She said, “It was very ben-eficial for me to be around such a self-motivated, accomplished, and awesome group of women during my college years.”

“Many people don’t even know women play rugby, but there’s definitely a certain type of toughness to it that is reflected in how players approach daily life. You don’t back away from chal-lenges, and you rely on the sup-port of your teammates.”

tion, spirit, enthusiasm, eagerness to learn and, of course, [it’s] in-credible skills” were also instru-mental in attracting the coaches to Holton.

Junior Abby Hsieh said of the coaches, “They are very knowl-edgeable about the sport and re-ally know what they are talking about. They will really help add great depth to the team this sea-son.”

The Chair of the Physical Education Department Graham Westerberg concurred.

“I am excited to have both of them,” he said. “They have a ton of knowledge about the game of softball. They are off to a great start, and I look forward to watching them and the team throughout the season. The team, the coaches, and all of us here at Holton can agree that this season will truly be sublime.”

New coach Larry Janski (pictured) prac-tices with the softball team.

photo courteSy Saachi NaNgia

photo courteSy ivy rugBy

Head of School Susanna Jones briefly played on Princeton’s women’s rugby team. The current team (shown) was established in 1980 and plays other Northeast schools.

photo courteSy Ku athleticS

8