The Newspaper of St. George’s Independent School Volume XII, Issue VI

TheMay 2014

Gryphon Gazette• •

TopStories

Opinion

Entertainment

Features

Sports

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Top Netflix shows to watch over the summer

Insight into the Honor Council

“Nom” your way to victory

Summer is just around the corner and every student and teacher can feel the an-ticipation rising as everyone counts down the days. The last thing on anyone’s mind is summer work. However, this year is going to be a little different. The English and math departments are instituting changes in how the summer work is present-ed and completed over the break.

Past students are all too fa-miliar with the reading jour-nals they have had to keep, where students would an-swer questions in paragraph form about each of the books they read.

English department chair Mrs. Heidi Rubín de la Borbolla said that the ques-tions were more general than she would have liked, so the assignments this sum-mer will be unique to each grade-level course.

New co-editors in chief take over

Student Life• Seniors salute past

teachers

Ms. Trish Dianetti

Cont. on Page 4

Cont. on Page 5

Changes in summer work aim to benefit studentsJuliana Wall ’15

“Individual classes have written specific questions for the students that pertain to the goal of that particular course,” said Mrs. Rubin de la Borbolla, “and will chal-lenge students to rise to a higher level of analytical thinking.”

Additionally, students will complete literary analysis charts for each book that will help them comprehend the deeper meanings of the nov-els; this will later aid them in writing their essays in the be-ginning of the year.

The summer work is geared toward being able to jump right into the mate-rial at the start of school and keeping students engaged with the material while si-multaneously introducing concepts for the upcoming year.

Lexie Marotta ’15Seniors represent their new schools.

Teachers reflect on the Class of 2014

As the end of yet another school year approaches, seniors must face the realization that they will never again be united in the way that they have been for so long. The St. George’s teach-ers took a moment to share their fondest memories of the graduat-ing class.

Beginning in sixth grade, the Class of 2014 conveyed the unique energy that they brought to the classroom. World History teacher Mrs. Desiree Allen said, “all the classes realized the im-portance of knowing right from left when practicing the phalanx formation.” Mrs. Allen taught

the current seniors a lot about history, but they had a thing or two to teach her too. “I vividly remember Nick Hoel attempting to teach me the Superman dance at Camp McDowell.”

Mr. Chris Miller recalls a time in seventh-grade American His-tory. “Nick Hoel said that Diane

Lane was ‘hot’ and Kate Sweat stood up and said ‘That’s why no girl will ever marry you, because you’re as shallow as a kiddie pool!’ I called him ‘Kiddie Pool’ from then on.”

Student opts for gap year after graduationLeah Hodgkiss ‘15

Gap years provide a host of values for the indi-vidual – whether it is top-ics for well-written college essays, an eye-opening or life-changing experience, or to help the student mature – gap years can be extremely beneficial.

Gap years allow a student to choose to spend a semes-ter, a summer, but most typi-cally a year, doing service or traveling. This can be done through accredited organi-zations and planned so that the student receives college credit and completes classes over the course of their year, or not.

Before a student goes on this gap year, they must ap-ply to colleges and become enrolled somewhere so that if something were to go wrong with their program,

they would have a spot in a college. Once enrolled in a college, the student emails the admissions offi-cer and lets them know that they would like to defer a year.

Courtney is completing her year abroad through a program titled Carpe Diem Education. She will be com-pleting the Latitudes Year; this group is composed of about 20 students who are all 18 years or older. They will all meet in Portland before traveling to the countries in which they will be spending their first year abroad. There is no technology allowed, and these students are only allowed to Skype with their parents once a week using their trip counselor’s laptop.

Cont. on Page 7

In the class of 2014, St. George’s will graduate its first student in recent years who has chosen to take a gap year, Maggie Courtney. She will be spending her first year after graduation abroad in Thailand, Cam-bodia, Vietnam, and a place that is yet to be determined where she will complete an internship based around what she is passionate about.

For some students, col-lege is simply not the best choice immediately follow-ing college. They may need to figure out who they are as people, or may just need a little time away from the structured environment school provides. These stu-dents, upon graduating, de-cide to take what is called a gap year.

2 OpinionMay St. George’s Independent School• •

Newspaper Staff

Editor-in-Chief

Leah HodgkissVirginia Whitsitt

Caroline CannonKellen Young

Caroline CannonJuliana WallLindsey Cayce

Dr. Margaret Robertson

Lexie Marotta

Emily Dickey

Taylor Owens

Maggie CourtneyMeredith Gatlin

Regan Hewitt

Copy Editors

Layout Editors

Photo Editors

Features Editors

Opinion Editor

Sports Editor

Student Life Editors

Advisor

Courtney HarshbargerZoe Leake

Entertainment Editors

Dagny Vaughn

Political Ponderings with Emily Dickey ’14:A final farewell

Staff Writers Anna Marie BeardPreston Vihlen

As a final farewell, I feel it quite important to end my year of column writing with a warning. As far as be-ing politically engaged and socially aware of the world around you, there is one thing that you must tread care-fully around in this digitally connect-ed world: media sound-bites can fool even the sharpest citizens.

Just like statistics can easily be ma-nipulated to show whatever outcome one wants, sound-bites can be taken out of context to work in favor of a particular opinion.

For example, here’s a quote from President Obama from a stump speech made in Virginia in 2012, “If you’ve got a business—you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” Now at first glance, that is quite a bold statement; is our Presi-dent claiming that business owners do not deserve credit for the success of their business?

With a father who started his own business from the ground up, I, a vot-

ing citizen, would be deeply disap-pointed to learn that my president did not think my father was respon-sible for his own success. However, before making drastic assumptions, an informed citizen should take a look at the bigger picture.

In this quote, President Obama was actually referring to the great Ameri-cans before us who helped to create this capitalist society that works to ensure that other small businesses have a chance to survive.

Later in his speech, he went on to say “we succeed because of our indi-vidual initiative, but also because we do things together.” It is important to look at the big picture.

Another great example is Mitt Romney’s infamous 47 percent com-ment: “There are 47 percent who are with [The President], who are de-pendent upon government…these are people who pay no income tax.” I still have liberal friends who harp on how ignorant and pretentious this

The opinions expressed in this section reflect the views of individual writers and are not necessarily those of the Gryphon Gazette or its staff.

It is surreal to think that our junior year is com-ing to a close. It is even stranger to think of our-selves as seniors. Working on the last newspaper issue of the year has gotten us thinking about how fast time has gone by.

Life goes by so quickly, and it can be difficult to maintain perspective about the really important things. For us, the newspaper is a way to capture snapshots in this fast-paced film that is our lives. As the world turns toward technology more and more, there are those that say the printed newspa-per doesn’t matter anymore.

We disagree. A tangible newspaper is irreplace-able; it freezes that moment in time from the point of view of those who experienced it.

For the two of us, our first snapshot that we share dates back to the seventh grade. Two young girls randomly crossed paths at a soccer game that neither of us played in, and ended up sitting at a dinner table together as strangers, who, at the time, did not even go to the same school.

As two young girls who became fast friends, we never would have imagined we would spend our next five years together. Never would we have imagined that either of us would have gone up for the role of editor-in-chief of the Gryphon Ga-zette. And, never would we have imagined that we would take on this role together.

As your 2014-2015 editors-in-chief of the Gry-phon Gazette, we want to capture the coming year as leaders together, with the newspaper acting as our snapshot.

Co-editors in chief take overLexie Marotta ’15Taylor Owens ’15

comment was, but not many of them know the context of said sound-bite. As damning as this comment seems, he was not blindly belittling this “47 percent.”

His point was that since 47 percent of Americans did not pay income taxes, Romney’s Republican message of low income taxes did not connect with them. He was trying to point out that his campaign was focused on the five to ten percent of indepen-dents that were undecided, not those that were already sided with the President.

Whether you agree or disagree with a politician, there is almost al-ways a vital piece of information left out in an incriminating sound-bite. Going forward, it is not only impor-tant to stay informed, but to be an active reader; do not just soak up ev-erything you read or any opinion you hear. Take things with a grain of salt; politics is far too dangerous a subject to make assumptions.

When I was 10 years old, 2014 seemed ages away. My biggest worry was whose team I would be on for Cap-ture the Flag. I was a fourth grader, not a member of the Class of 2014. How-ever, 2014 has caught up with me, and honestly, with all of us. At the beginning of this year, I felt completely prepared to graduate. I was ready to leave St. George’s behind. I wanted to get out and explore, meet new people and find my place in the world. Now, as graduation looms ever nearer, I find myself dreading gradua-tion more and more. Maybe it is the fact that, at the time of my writing this, up until very recently I did not know what college I would be attending this fall. Maybe it is the idea of actually having to meet new people, when the people I love so dearly are still right in front of me on a daily ba-sis. Maybe it is the fact that the college

Wishing & missing: the life of a seniorRegan Hewitt ’14

world is one step closer to the adult world. Maybe it is the idea of every-thing changing. For the past four years, St. George’s has offered me one of the most com-fortable and understanding learning environments. The idea of having to seek out a new and equally lovely place to spend my college years was a terrifying prospect at the beginning of junior year, and it still is. I will miss everyone from St. George’s. I will miss the juniors from my French classes. I will miss the teachers from over the years, especially my freshman year advisor, Mr. Scott Duff. I will miss the lunch-time conversations with my best friends. I will miss football games where I know every single player on the team. I will miss working on the Newspa-per, with an amazing staff and amaz-ing advisor, Dr. Margaret Robertson. I will miss the two years I spent in that

Embracing change On an afternoon almost one year ago, I sat in a hammock with a note-book in my lap, a pen in my hand, and a seemingly impossible task in my mind. I was to write a farewell to the Class of 2013 reflecting on the bit-tersweet nature of endings, and I had no idea where to start. How was I to say goodbye to friends that had stood beside me for four years? Now, a year later, I sit with a new blank page, try-ing to find the words to describe my own departure, and, I’ll admit, once again, I have no idea where to start. Change is a curious thing that forces us to rebuild our worlds, mindsets, and understandings of our own lives. We become comfortable with the way life works around us, only to have ev-erything thrown into chaos.

Dagny Vaughn ’14

When my friends of 2013 graduat-ed, I believed my senior year would be miserable. I would be forced to find new people to spend my time with, people that I hadn’t already gotten to know. However, I found that this situation did more good for me than bad. Without my graduated friends, I learned to love my own class, finding friends in people I had been around for years but had never taken the time to know. Now at the end of senior year, I face another change, one even great-er than before. At the end of the summer, I will move 532 miles away to the University of Chicago. I will have to start over with no clear di-rection, finding my way in a world completely different from the one

I have known. However, I am now confident that no matter how lost I feel in the beginning, I will eventu-ally become comfortable once again. We may not always know where to start when facing a change, but we will always find our way. It may be daunting to face the unknown, but change is healthy. Change makes us brave and slightly more indestruc-tible than we were before. We learn to face the unknown with confidence and perseverance. So as we move forward into the next chapters of our lives, whether it is college or simply a new grade, embrace the change and find your starting point. I assure you that it will eventually lead you to your new place.

classroom and the way the newspa-pers smell when they have just been delivered. Overall, though, I want to say thank you. Thank you to juniors Taylor Ow-ens and Lexie Marotta for taking over the Editor-in-Chief position. Thank you to Mrs. Page McMullen for not let-ting me fail Pre-Calculus or AP Statis-tics. Thank you to Ms. Beverly Brooks for never, ever letting me give up on myself throughout the college search process, even though I tried to do so many times. For the Class of 2014 seniors, I wish you all the utmost success in your fu-ture endeavors, whatever those may be, and I hope to see you again some-time soon. For the underclassmen, I want you to cherish these days at St. George’s, however cliché that might be, because time is still on your side.

EntertainmentMay St. George’s Independent School• •The opinions expressed in this section reflect the views of individual writers and are not necessarily those of the Gryphon Gazette or its staff. 3

Summer films to watch for

Top summertunesLeah Hodgkiss ’15Lexie Marotta ’15

1. “Cancel On Me” by Bombay

Bicycle Club

2. “Andreas” by Seahaven

3. “Crystalised” by the xx

4. “Sara” by Fleetwood Mac

5. “You’re a Mirror I Cannot

Avoid” by Bad Books

6. “Melanine” by Tycho

7. “Thank God for the Summer-

time” by Ben Rector

8.“Play it Again” by Luke Bryan

9. “Sand in My Shoes” by Dido

10. “Lost at Sea” by Zedd

11.“California Bound” by Caro-

lina Liar

12. “Before We Fall in Love” by

Damato

Summer is right around the corner, and it would not be complete without the summer Blockbusters. So in honor of these movies, I have created a Top Five List of the movies I am most ex-cited about for summer 2014.

5. “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”I have always been a fan of the Spi-

der-Man franchise and was really excit-ed when I learned that they were mak-ing a re-boot a couple years ago. I was not disappointed at all in the first film, which had a stellar cast. I loved the spe-cial effects and I cannot wait for more fighting in the sequel. This movie came out May 2nd.

4. “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”I loved the most recent “Planet of the

Apes” movie, and thought it brought new life into an older film. I am ex-cited that the movie has a more post-apocalyptic feel and that the Apes will be more of an enemy. This movie comes out May 23rd.

3. “Godzilla”Originally a Japanese film entitled

“Gojira”, “Godzilla” is a film that desperately needs a good re-boot in order to redeem this franchise after a series of terrible movies. It has a cast that I love, including Bryan Cranston. No expenses have been spared with special effects and I cannot wait to see this in 3D. This movie comes out May 16th.

2.“X-Men: Days of Future Past”The X-Men franchise is my favorite,

and I was so happy with “The Wol-verine” when it came out last year. I am so excited that they are taking back the actors from “X-Men: First Class,” my favorite film in the series, and putting them back in this new film. This movie comes out May 23rd.

1. “Guardians of the Galaxy”When I heard that X-Men was com-

ing out this summer, I did not think that any other movie could excite me more. However, I then saw the trailer for “Guardians of the Galaxy.” This is one of the best trailers I have ever seen, and if the movie is anything like the trailer, it will be the best of the summer. This movie comes out Au-gust 1st.

The Daily GrindBy Preston Vihlen

During the summer, it can be hard to find a good snack. At home, the cabinets are packed with endless quantities of inedible food. You may consider going out to eat, but that can be expensive and too much of a hassle to get dressed and spend the time sitting, waiting for food.

Drive-thru restaurants are the easiest choice. You can simply hop in the car, drive over and get a tasty snack almost instantly. I took the time to drive around town to four different fast food restaurants to find which one has the best snack food. I chose to try fries and a chocolate milkshake from each one, because fries are the perfect snack for any time of day or year and milkshakes are delicious on a hot summer day.

Naturally, the first place I went to was Mc-Donald’s. Their fries are extremely thin and per-fectly golden. They have just the right amount of salt and are cooked to a good temperature. My only problem was the slightly bland spud-like aftertaste left in my mouth after eating said fries. The milkshake was nice and creamy, but the chocolate flavor was not easily recogniz-able. These shakes are something I would buy again only if I wanted a nondescript sugary drink with no extraordinary qualities.

Next, I visited Sonic. The fries at Sonic were also nice and thin with a more golden-brown look. The fries had a delicious potato taste, but the outside crust had sort of an odd flavor. The chocolate milkshake looked delectable, with a perfectly shaped pile of whipped cream and a cherry on top. The whipped cream added a really nice creamy taste to the shake, but it did somewhat mask the taste of chocolate. The

Quick restaurant stops for a speedy snackCourtney Harshbarger’15

cherry added bonus points, and the overall experience was pretty delicious.

Backyard Burger was the next stop on my list, so I drove by and grabbed a shake and some waffle fries. The problem with waffle fries is that they sometimes mesh together or form chewy blobs of tasteless spud. The un-smashed waffle fries had a very nice fried taste, but they were very heavy and gave my stomach a weird feeling. The milkshake had a very nice and prevalent chocolate flavor and was very smooth. Unfortunately there was no whipped cream on top, and there was a bit of a funny lingering taste.

Finally I went to Wendy’s and I did not expect to be so pleased. The fries were very thin, and looked similar to those at McDon-ald’s. They had a good amount of salt and a very nice potato taste. My one problem with the fries was that I wanted to eat them so quickly but they were too hot to scarf down. The chocolate milkshake had a delectable taste and was perfectly creamy so that it eas-ily traveled up my straw. It left a very nice chocolate aftertaste, and the whipped cream on top left a delicious treat at the end of the milkshake experience.

After eating so many fries and milkshakes, I had to come to a decision. I was not at all expecting the outcome, and was surprised at how easy it was to single out my favorite restaurant. Wendy’s was by far the restaurant with my favorite fries and milkshakes. I had no complaints at all, and will definitely be stopping by this summer whenever I am in need of a quick delicious snack.

Top netflix shows to watch over the summerColton Morgan ’14

It is a bright summer afternoon. However, you stay inside your dark room and lie in bed, watching TV shows on your laptop.

For some people, this is the lifestyle that has been created by the popular entertain-ment website known as Netflix, which has made it easy to watch a wide array of TV shows.

While many people do not have time to watch every show offered on Netflix, here is a short watchable list of shows to watch over the summer.

“Archer”Sterling Archer is an egotistical and quick-

witted secret agent who must overcome drug cartels, foreign assassins and his boss. Archer is probably one of the most cleverly written animated comedies on FX. The voice acting by H. Jon Benjamin for Archer is incredible and Archer’s character alone is something to hate and love at the same time. You will defi-nitely want to watch this show, but be careful diving into the Danger Zone!

“Futurama”This show follows the adventures of Philip

J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy from the 21st cen-tury who becomes cryogenically frozen and experiences life in the year 3000. This ani-mated comedy brings a new definition to the phrase intelligent humor, by combining wit, emotional roller coasters and good story writ-ing to bring you a show that is awesome to the max.

“Louie”“Louie” is a television drama-comedy

based on the fictional character version of the

comedian Louis C. K. The show focuses on the main character living as a single father in New York City. The show highlights the co-median’s dark humor and how the portrayal of his life can be both hilarious and sadden-ing.

“Parks and Recreation”“Parks and Recreation” is a television com-

edy focused around the success of politician Leslie Knope, portrayed by Amy Poehler, and the antics in the Parks and Recreation depart-ment of Pawnee, Indiana. “Parks and Recre-ation” has an all-star cast, comprised of Amy Poehler, Aziz Anzari, Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza and, of course, Nick Offerman.

“The Walking Dead” “The Walking Dead” is one of the first

“zombie” dramas on television that shows us how the protagonist, Rick, tries to survive a zombie apocalypse alongside his son and wife. The show itself is a great concept and provides plenty of gore; however, it can be slow. “The Walking Dead” has a lot to offer for you zombie-genre fans; just prepare your-self for a lot of emotions, hard drama and a ton of well-done violence.

“Arrested Development” The Bluth family was at the top of the real

estate game in California. However, after the family business goes bankrupt, it is up to Mi-chael Bluth, played by Jason Batemen, to re-unite the dysfunctional family. This show has ridiculous humor that is always crossing that imaginary line. Each episode is full of great one-liners and awkward character interac-tions.

*Some shows not appropriate for all ages*

4 FeaturesMay St. George’s Independent School• •

Emily Dickey for Coffee

As soon as I wake up, it is straight downstairs to pull out the 100 percent Pure Hawaiian Kona Coffee beans, turn on the coffee machine, and wait patient-ly as it drip-drop-drips into the pot.

Without my little thermos of coffee on my commute to school each morning, I would not only be unpleasant, but com-pletely unmotivated to do anything but sleep and complain.

Coffee’s high caffeine content can both make the drinker feel less tired and in-crease energy levels. Caffeine helps to wake you up in the mornings by block-ing a neurotransmitter called Adenosine to make you feel less tired.

While people’s main goal in coffee consumption is often to kick-start their morning or afternoon, there are also numerous health benefits to this magic liquid. One significant effect of coffee is that caffeine has the ability to boost your metabolism by 3 to 11 percent, which can aid in weight loss.

Another article I recently read in the New York Times claimed that three or four cups of coffee a day can reduce the possibilities of basal cell carcinoma, prostate cancer, oral cancer, and breast cancer recurrence. Studies have shown that regular coffee drinkers actually have a 23-50 percent lower risk of being diagnosed with type II diabetes.

On top of all that, the risk of contract-ing Alzheimer’s disease may be lowered up to 65 percent just by drinking cof-fee. While coffee continues to be one of the most popular drinks in the western world, it is clear that the jolt of energy it gives you is not the only positive effect.

Emily Dickey ’14Zoe Leake ’14

Coffee vs. Tea: The caffeine clash

Anna Marie Beard ’15

Changes in summer work aim to benefit students

Towards the end of every year, the library hosts a book fair at which students and par-ents can buy summer reading books. However this year, Mrs. Leah Allison and Ms. Hillery Efkeman, the librarians at the Collierville campus, have or-ganized all summer reading related information in a Lib-Guide on the St. George’s web-site. The books are arranged by grade level and class type, so it will be easier for students to choose which books they would like to read. The covers, authors and summaries are in-cluded, in addition to interac-tive features such as links to book trailers and author inter-views from the books.

Mrs. Allison seemed eager to release the LibGuides, saying, “We wanted more than just the PDF file that was plain and just gave the title and a short summary. We want to appeal to students and get them more excited about reading.”

A book fair, in order to pur-

Next year, St. George’s will be implementing a new form of education called “blended courses” with the introduc-tion of Women’s Studies and African-American History classes. Women’s Studies will be taught by Mrs. Jamie James and African-American History will be taught by Mrs. Rhonda Charnes-Martin. Both will be of-fered as a history credit.

A “blended course” is one that deviates from the tradi-tional classroom environment and gives the student a greater role in educating themselves. In a blended course system, a class meets every other day, with stu-dents reviewing assigned mate-rials on the “off” days.

A good deal of coursework would be done electronically. One benefit of this is that by tak-ing part in learning outside the classroom, this system opens up new, more dynamic mediums of education. Another is that it gives the student more flexibil-ity in terms of scheduling.

The ultimate purpose of a blended course system is to al-low for more participation and involvement from students in what they learn. Rather than the typical student/teacher dynam-ic seen in modern education, students in a blended course already have a basic knowledge of the material.

Juliana Wall ’15“This is where we started in middle school. Might as well finish the way we started.” Chancellor Zaugg

Continued from page 1

chase summer reading novels, was held at Barnes & Noble. A portion of all proceeds of the summer book revenue from Barnes & Noble will go directly back to the library department.

English is only one part of the summer work St. George’s stu-dents are required to complete. Mr. Aaron Thompson, the head of the Math department, said that instead of everything be-ing paper and pencil assign-ments to turn in, all summer work will be online through a program called MyMathLab.

All assignments can be found on the St. George’s website as well as a screencast explaining step by step how to work the program. Students will sign in, do the work as instructed and the program will give a grade for what is accomplished. While there still might be a few assignments to actually hand in to the teacher, most work will be conducted online for math.

SG adds blended courses

This way, students are better able to contribute to discussion and have a more equal role in the learning process. “We want to create a culture where stu-dents are taking greater control of their learning,” said Mr. Will Bladt, the Associate Head of School.

This change is aimed at ju-nior and senior students, due to the system’s similarity to the college class structure. College classes meet periodically, rather than daily, and have more learn-ing and work done outside the classroom. Blended courses make for a good introduction into the collegiate way of learn-ing.

In the context of St. George’s specifically, this system will work toward alleviating the limitations of space and ex-panding the diversity of courses offered. Having classes meet on alternate days will allow for multiple classes to meet in the same room and take less of the teacher’s time.

It will also create opportuni-ties for the school to offer elec-tives that had not been feasible before. As time goes on, more blended courses should become available at the school, meaning more exciting new opportuni-ties for the student body.

Zoe Leake for Tea

Some blindly believe that the quickest and most effective source of caffeine is in an ole’-cup-a-joe. However, little do most know that black and green teas provide all the caffeine, without any of the deterioration in your stomach lining caused by coffee!

As if the guilt-free caffeine boost was not reason enough to throw down on a hot cup of tea, green tea is also very high in antioxidants, which aid your immune system in keeping you from getting sick.

But wait, there is more! Green tea also burns fat, and according to the New York Times, builds up your endurance so that you can workout longer. After a workout, make yourself a cup of green tea again, because as it turns out, green tea helps rehydrate you more quickly than water.

Green tea also helps to reduce high blood pressure, protects your liver from alcohol and your lungs from smoking, preserves and builds strong bones, pre-vents tooth decay and bad breath, and lowers stress while boosting brain pow-er.

The moral of this timeless tea-tale: the next time you are looking for that steaming cup of caffeine boost, pass up the coffee pot and head straight for the green tea bags.

I know my day is not complete until I have had at least three cups of tea, and who could get tired of it when there are so many variations? Honey and citrus, lemon, chai, white chai, cinnamon, man-go, ginger peach, jasmine, mojito mint, goji berry, lemon ginger, or just plain - you name the flavor, they make the tea!

5FeaturesMay St. George’s Independent School• •

Roommates and goodbyesVirginia Whitsitt ’14

One of the greatest transitions in the life-style change between high school and college can be the addition of a roommate. Finding the right roommate can seem like a daunting deci-sion, but it is important to keep in mind what type of college experience you are looking for and what type of roommate you will be.

When asked, Mr. Timothy Gibson, the Direc-tor of College Guidance, said the most impor-tant part about finding a roommate in college is, “finding someone with whom you will live well.” Going to college and rooming with your best friend may seem like a great idea, but if you are not compatible to live together, then it could be a disastrous situation. “Sometimes great friends make terrible roommates,” said Mr. Gibson.

Many schools will ask its incoming students to fill out a survey explaining their lifestyle in the dorm (how clean you are, how you share, how organized you are and so on). “You need to be super honest on that, because you will be paired based on your answers. If you are a slob, own it.”

Mr. Gibson continued to say that no matter what type of school you go to, “you want some-one to complement you.” It is important to be able to have a good time with your roommate, but it is also important to be able to respect the fact that both of you are at school to get an edu-cation.

When asked what the hardest part of hav-ing a college roommate is, Mr. Gibson said that learning to share is the hardest part. “Many of our students may not have shared a bedroom in years, if at all, and learning to share with some-one who sometimes is a total stranger is hard.” However, going into school with an understand-ing of how well you and your roommate share can aid that struggle, but it is also important to understand that sharing with your roommate is inevitable.

One of the most intriguing yet terrifying thoughts concerning your roommate may be how awkward or uncomfortable it may be after you move into your dorm. Mr. Gibson said, “It’s supposed to be a little awkward. You’re sleeping in a new place for the first time around people you do not know. It is automatically going to be awkward.”

Mr. Gibson offered advice to students in order to aid their transition into a dorm setting. By cre-ating a roommate contract, rules and boundaries can be set in order to create a smooth conversion. “For girls, do you share clothes? Is that going to work? What are the rules for that? It is important to talk about that stuff on the front end.”

What do you do if you and your roommate don’t get along? “When I worked in residence life, the first thing we told you to do was talk to the RA. That’s why the roommate contract was important, because we looked at the rules that the roommates had set.” If that does not work, the worst-case scenario is that one of the room-mates should move.

However, Mr. Gibson added a warning to this choice in saying, “recognize that sometimes it’s the evil you know versus the evil you don’t know. When you move into a new room it’s of-ten random, and it may not get better.”

All year I’ve been writing about the college search, test scores, college acceptance and room-mates. As I reflect on this experience, I have to admit that I have been writing as I have learned.

I have struggled with finding my dream school, and having to go in another direction be-cause it was not feasible financially. As I wrote to you about the importance of ACT and SAT scores, I was struggling with how important they would be in my college decision. Through-out the drafting and publishing of all of my arti-cles, I, as well as the majority of the senior class, have encountered these struggles.

As I come to the end of my senior year, I have done my part in looking back and reflecting on my time here at St. George’s and in my college search, and I now look forward to what lies ahead. In just a few short months, I will make my home at the University of Mississippi, and will no longer speculate on the life of a college student, but live it.

It is my hope that these articles have helped the seniors, and have given the underclassmen some guidance as to what to expect as you begin a search of your own. I look forward to seeing what the world has to hold for me in college and beyond, and it has been wonderful going through this experience with all of you.

Teachers reflect on Class of 2014

Honor Council works to support students

The Honor Council consists of a group of students whose job is to pro-mote the Honor Code and to work with students who break the Honor Code through a hearing. The purpose of these hearings is to gain perspective on a student’s behavior and, after speaking with the student, suggest a reasonable consequence, varying from work hours to expulsion. During hearings, the Honor Council talks with the accused student about how they can avoid repeating their ac-tion in the future, as well as how they can avoid running into similar prob-lems. However, the Honor Council is also responsible for spreading the Honor Code within the high school and making students aware of actions that are commonly seen, but unacceptable.

The Honor Council is also present through popular, light-hearted videos made by the Honor Council that are

sometimes shown before exams. While Mrs. Jill Reilly was the faculty sponsor of the Honor Council last year, she made her way to the Upper School and became the Dean of Students. Mrs. Lisa Ayerst, high school mathematics teacher as well as the faculty advisor for the Make-A-Wish club, took over as faculty advisor this year. Because the Honor Council is student-led, her job is overseeing hearings and being a go-to person when Honor Council members are unsure of what to do in a particular scenario. Lindsey Cayce, current head of the Honor Council as well as Prefect of Honor, made it clear that the biggest part of the Honor Council is confidentiality. “Students have to trust us,” she said.

If a student does not trust all members of the Honor Council, he or she may not follow through with suggestions in order to improve for the future. There-

Annie Vento ‘17

When the seniors were eighth graders, Mr. Brendan Gorham was in charge of the Honor Council. He remembers that this particular year of the Honor Council could not hold a session, unless Alexa Basinger had dumdums.

Mr. Patrick McGraw recalls having the seniors in his eighth-grade Language Arts class like it was yesterday. He remembers being stuck in a particular dilemma be-tween Lindsey Cayce and Lindsay Abrams as they “each tried to convince [him] that the other spelled her name incorrectly.” Mr. McGraw said that he “had to take refuge in calling Ms. Cayce ‘Lindsey with an e’ and calling Ms. Abrams ‘Lindsay with an a.’”

As the Class of 2014 made the transition to the upper school, many attempted to step up their academic efforts. Collier Roberts was determined to do all she could to get the best grade possible on her final exam in geometry, the infamous tessellation project, which would have boosted her trimester average. Mrs. Lisa Ayerst recalled that “for the company commercial phase of the proj-ect, Collier hoped that buying a lizard with tessellating skin would be the answer. She did get props for creativity.”

Mrs. Ayerst also credits the best April Fool’s Day prank ever to Andrew Grissom and Zoe Leake. “Andrew Grissom was al-ways one to ask lots of questions during class as he tried to gain better understand-ing, while Zoë Leake was one to quickly grasp the ideas and asked very few ques-tions. On this particular April Fool’s Day, they traded roles. Andrew was quick to respond to questions and even explained answers to others, while Zoë asked quite an unusual number of questions.” The switch definitely threw Mrs. Ayerst off in class that day.

While in their sophomore year, the Class of 2014 had the opportunity to be taught by Dr. Cort Casey. Dr. Casey remembers the se-niors extremely well for being the last class he taught at St. George’s. “Andrew Gris-som and Jack Dunavant are actually twins switched at birth. Who is the good twin and who is the evil twin? Only Jack knows, and he’s not telling.”

Dr. Casey also said that “I will always re-member Scott Mullahey’s hog call, the time when Zach Lane claimed that his grand-

father invented the term ‘maverick,’ the color blue, the penny, and the @ symbol, and Worth Woodyard’s signature wrestling move ‘the projectile vomit’. I remember going to Casey Schneider’s house right before Christ-mas to administer a Dante’s Inferno test, and I fondly recall Robert Schutt opening up ev-ery journal session with a horrific axe story.”

Dr. Casey remembers teaching the “cool Dani Cafferty, the deep-thinking Jenna Mehmed, the affable Rollin Rossetti, the in-quisitive Emily Dickey (referred to simply as Dickey), and the back-flipping Mia Bargiac-chi.” He also recalled the unique nicknames of some of the Class of 2014, including Darius “Wait, what?” Brooks, Catherine “Cannot” Cantu, Meredith Gatlin “Gun,” Colin “Baron Von” Kraus, Jordan “Too Smooth” Littlejohn, Anna “Chicken Little” Merino, John “I didn’t put that raccoon there” Porter, Josh “Captain Normal” Warlick, and the extremely creative, Byington “B” Rhea.

Mr. Luther Mercer had an interesting en-counter, or rather lack of encounter, with Grant Hirschman. “While he was in my ad-visory, we decided to sit down and talk about his golf career, so we set up a time to meet over the weekend. I came and I waited there for about an hour and he never showed up. The next day at school, I said ‘Hey it was re-ally nice chatting with you,’ and the look on his face was priceless. Eventually he brought me a venti chai latte with soy and said ‘Are we even?’ Only then was I satisfied.”

Mr. Mercer also teaches the Citizenship classs and says that the Class of 2014 had some very interesting discussions. “In Citizenship one day, we were talking about the possibil-ity of the end of the world, and I said ‘Well if worse comes to worst we can just eat some babies,’ and the always quiet Brynna Bartlett nearly falls out of her chair laughing. Jason Crawford turns around and says ‘We never hear from you all year and eating babies is what makes you laugh? You are a baby eater.’ And for whatever reason it just became hys-terical and we laughed for weeks afterward about it.”

Team College Guidance has the privilege every year of getting to know all the seniors before they graduate. Ms. Brooks commented that day-to-day interactions with the seniors were always hilarious. “In terms of great mem-ories, I’d just say any moments in my office. Robert Schutt treats the rolling chairs outside my office like he’s riding a horse. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the time when Walker Ward, Dean Brown, Caleb Kelsey, and William Brown sent pictures to Mr. Gibson reenacting the Valentine’s Day celebrations at the Memphis campus. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed that hard in my life.”

As fun and crazy as the class of 2014 was at times, in the words of Dr. Casey, “I think we can all agree that, hands down, the wildest member of the class of 2014 is Michael Kutteh.”

Continued from Page 1

fore, all members have to work together as a team toward helping the student. “Our purpose is not to judge students, more to work with them towards better choices,” said Cayce. Towards the end of the year, incoming ju-niors and seniors are given the opportuni-ty to become a part of the Honor Council. Candidates participate in the Exhibition of Ethical Reasoning where they are given an ethical dilemma once they arrive with little time to think of a solution. They then speak in front of the school about how they would approach certain scenarios in real life, giving voting students an oppor-tunity to see if that candidate is the kind of person they would want on the council.

Therefore, candidates cannot campaign for a spot on the Honor Council as if they were running for Student Senate or anoth-er leadership position. The only way they can win the position is by being the type of person others think should represent them

Dagny Vaughn ’14

The Class of 2014 by number of students attending schools in each state.

6 SportsMay St. George’s Independent School• •

Vaulting above the competitionHallie Gillam ’15

Another new building joins Collierville campus

You might have already noticed that the space of land between the baseball and softball fields is under construction. In fact, the school has decided to construct a new athletic building.

This indoor facility is designed specifically for baseball and softball players, according to Mr. Jay Philpott, and it will include batting cages as well as areas for pitching. This building will be helpful during the pre-season, or on days with bad weather.

Sophomore Samantha Majuri stated, “I am looking forward to using the new building be-cause it gives us a place to practice even when it rains.” Many generous donors who have a passion for the baseball and softball programs have funded this building in order to further enhance the sports.

Kelsey Pepper ‘15

Summer is just around the cor-ner and the excitement to be out of school is boiling over. Everyone has so many plans for the summer, whether it is going on vacation, exploring college options or dorm room shopping with your room-mate. However, we all know that in between these busy summer days, there are also boring, hot days that seem to be endless. My advice to everyone on these days: go outside and play.

According to Urban Dictionary, ENOing, derived from Eagles Nest Outfitters, can be defined as sleep-ing, hanging out, socializing or performing an assortment of tasks while lounging in a hammock, also known as an ENO. This has become quite the popular hobby (as well as noun and verb) among adolescents.

Although the cost of ENOs is in the high range for young adults with little money in their pockets, lounging with a friend in their hammock is always the way to re-lax on a nice day. This activity can happen anywhere: the medians of busy streets, a neighbor’s front yard or even over the Wolf River. When talking with fellow peers about this hobby, ENO enthusiast junior Garrison Deaton put it best

Students enjoy unusual summer activitiesTatum Nix ’15

when he said, “Hammocking is chill.”The Frisbee Club is destined to

make a rebound this summer. Mr. Kyle Slatery leads the St. George’s Frisbee Club, and this club alternates between frolf, also known as Frisbee-golf, and Ultimate Frisbee. The presi-dent of the Frisbee Club junior James Cloutier said, “Coming to hang with the Frisbee Club will meet all your disk related needs. Plus, it is a phe-nomenal way to stay active in the sweltering heat of the summer.”

Nalga is a popular soccer game originating in Spain, and it has been brought to the United States. For Spanish speakers, you will under-stand that the name is pertinent once you learn how to play. People of all sizes and athletic abilities can play Nalga. Junior Haleigh Joyner has even made a couple Nalga game ap-pearances. These games take place at WC Johnson Park, at night, on the weekends during the summer. If you are looking for an ethnically diverse contact sport, Nalga is for you.

To most, swimming seems to be the only physical activity that can take place in the summer. However, this is obviously false. These unique activi-ties will broaden your available bank of pastimes and allow you to make more creative choices for summer activities, as well as even make new friends.

Pole-vaulting is a sport that many people are unaware about because so few people actually compete in it. This is partially due to the lack of recognition it gets in the media as well as in schools, and also partially due to the difficulty of the sport.

Part of what makes pole-vaulting so unique is that it takes an incred-ible amount of body awareness. A vaulter must carry a pole with them as they run full speed, plant that pole into the box and then jump into the air while using their upper body and core to invert (as in, flip upside down) so that they can clear the bar. Anyone can work to get the strength required to pole vault, but the amount of air sense and body awareness that is needed is some-thing that only comes naturally or with many years of practice.

Pole-vaulting, which falls un-der the category of track and field, is where a person uses a long pole (usually fiberglass or carbon fiber)

to jump over a bar, which is set at a certain height. Each pole has a height and weight on it. They are used to determine which pole should be used to clear any given height for any given vaulter.

The pole is relatively flexible, meaning that it will bend as a re-sult of the vaulter’s arms pushing it forward. The more the pole bends, the better chance the vaulter has to launch him/herself over the bar. (Unless of course the pole bends so much that it snaps, in which case one can just hope to land on the pit.)

In the case that the vaulter does not gain enough speed or does something technically wrong so that they are basically just hanging on to the pole straight up in the air, they must hold on until the pole lowers them down. Usually, they will land on the pit. Mistakes happen often in pole-vaulting, as it is a sport of trial and error. However, if the vaulter remains composed and keeps a hold on the pole, there is little chance of being hurt.

A pole-vaulting competition is conducted in the same way as the

New sports facility will be avaiable for the 2014-2015 school year.

Juliana Wall ‘15

Caroline Cannon ’15 reclines in a hammock.

Chris DiNicolantonio ’15

Students going the extra mileMeredith Gatlin ’14

Not all student athletes at St. George’s are involved in the different sports programs that are offered. In fact, there are a few stu-dents who participate in challenging sport-ing events outside of school. These particular athletes push themselves to the limit with half-marathons and triathlons.

Junior Rebecca Matson, along with a few other dedicated runners, runs half-mara-thons in her spare time. A half marathon is a race where participants run 13.1 miles. Mat-son ran her first half marathon her freshman year in Seaside, Florida. She then ran her second half marathon her sophomore year in New Orleans, Louisiana. She plans on run-ning that same half marathon next year. Mat-son said, “My favorite part of half marathons is carbo-loading the night before the race.” Matson hopes to one day eventually run a full marathon.

Freshman Kneeland Gammill not only runs cross-country and swims for the school, but he also devotes his life to triathlons. His father introduced him to triathlons at the age of six, and since then Gammill has participat-ed in over fifty triathlons across the nation. Gammill said, “I love the competition aspect of triathlons and always wanting to get bet-ter. I love everything about it.”

He trains between eight to fourteen hours a week with specific workouts that consist of

swimming, biking and running certain dis-tances. Last June, Gammil was seventh in the nation, based off a point system for the non-draft legal triathletes. His next triathlon is May 2nd in Richmond, Virginia.

Senior Zoe Leake participated in her first triathlon in September of her senior year and came in second of her age group. Her train-ing for these races involves running, swim-ming and biking. She completes specific workouts twice a day, six days a week.

Leake said, “I really like triathlons; I enjoy the dual fitness part of it.” She has now com-peted in four triathlons this year and plans on competing in the Mighty Might Triathlon in June in Forrest City, Arkansas.

All three of these talented athletes agree that this type of sport requires great mental fortitude. Gammill says, “Triathlons are all mental. It is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical.”

For any fellow students at St. George’s in-terested in triathlons or marathons, it is never too late to start training. Leake said, “Don’t go into training with high expectations. It’s a process and you work at it slowly.”

This type of sport requires a great deal of perseverance and endurance both mentally and physically. All the time and energy that these students dedicate to the races is worth it when they cross the finish line.

“Nom” your way to victoryWhen sports or personal fitness

schedules hit their max, and each work-out is really tough, you are not only completely worn out at the end of the day, you are also starving.

A working body calls for more than just junk food, though, and not fueling-up with what your body truly needs may weaken your performance.

It is no secret that the teenage metabo-lism moves quickly. Often, active teens will take advantage of their hyperactive metabolisms and eat perhaps an entire box of Pop-Tarts after a workout, which is maybe not the most nutritious post-workout fuel in the world, stuffed with sugar and simple carbs.

The best post-workout foods are those that are low carb, low sugar, high protein and of course, tasty. Eating foods high in protein, such as a protein smoothie

with banana and spinach, or a piece of lean grilled meat with vegetables helps repair muscles and quicken recovery by aiding muscle development.

We all know about carb-loading the night before a big game or race, but when you are not storing fat and sugar for the performance of a lifetime, it pays to get your fruits and vegetables. Adult men and women are recommended to have two to three servings of fruit, and three to four servings of vegetables a day.

But what do you do when you hate broccoli? I cannot say I did not go through that time myself. If you are hav-ing trouble getting motivated to serve up your daily values, try looking at the label. One cup of broccoli only has 31 calories, but packs 130% of your daily vitamin C, not to mention vitamins A, D, B-6, Iron, Calcium and Magnesium.

Hate strawberries? You lose me here

with the sympathy: strawberries are de-licious and also nutritious! One serving of strawberries has seventy-six calories, with an amazing 149% vitamin C and 4% Magnesium, not to mention calcium, vitamin B-6, and Iron.

Whole-grain is not only more filling than simple carbs, such as potato chips, but it also acts as a protein source. One slice of whole wheat bread has about 69 calories and about four grams of protein. Foods rich in fiber, such as brown rice, keep you full longer and do not cause your blood sugar to spike, which can cause an energy crash later.

So, this spring season, aim to clean up your diet, if for no other reason than to meet your body’s demanding needs for vitamins and minerals. While everyone loves a cookie now and then, take into consideration your needs for daily func-tion, a lot of which cannot be found in your average Pop-Tart.

Zoe Leake ’14

high jump. The athlete may choose at which height they would like to vault. After warming up, the vault-ers compete in order and are given three attempts at each height. Usu-ally, the bar is moved up six inches at a time.

If all three attempts are missed at the given height, the vaulter is eliminated from the competi-tion. If the vaulter does not clear any height, it is denoted as a “no height”. The athlete to clear the highest bar wins. If there is a tie, the winner is considered to be the one who had the least number of misses throughout all of his or her attempts.

I am currently the only pole-vaulter at St. George’s and this is my first season to compete in pole-vaulting. Because of this, I do not know how I am ranked yet. In May, our team will compete in sectionals. The top four from each event will qualify to State. I hope to qualify and compete there, which will give a good indication of how I measure up to other pole-vaulters in the region.

7Student LifeMay St. George’s Independent School• •

Seniors salute past teachersNatalie Proctor ‘14

Second-graders imagine 2024

All students, seniors included, remember our first thoughts of what high school might be like. These mus-ings start at such a young age that one could never imagine the year of your graduation creeping up, the way it has for many seniors.

The Class of 2024 is exactly ten years from being seniors themselves and have started to have some pon-derings of how high school – and the world at large – will be in ten years.

Parker McClain said, “Tests will be harder, and I’ll be more athletic,” when asked about what he thought would be different about being a se-nior. Walker Webb said, “The class-rooms will be different and the teach-ers will be really sweet and kind.”

If there is one thing that has impacted the students most at St. George’s, it is the teachers. While most schools’ teachers and students have a strict relationship, we have the pleasure of getting to know and love our teachers on a different level. From day one at the elementary cam-pus, these people have made a mark in our lives with their fun quirks and habits. We’ve decided to take a trip down memory lane and reminisce on some of our favorite teacher-student moments.

If you were here in senior kin-dergarten, odds are you have had a tooth pulled by Mrs. Finny. It was ba-sically a rite of passage to move onto the first grade. “Hey, my tooth is barely wiggling. I better go get Mrs. Finny to yank it out.” Great memo-ries of pain and bonding followed.

Another great time from elemen-tary school is from the class of 2014 getting interrogated by Mr. Bopp af-ter violating the quilts at the Brooks Museum. We were not asked to re-turn. Sorry guys.

Mr. Ferguson made his mark on us early as well. He would dress up as an alter ego known as “Mr. Dish” and would come and talk to us about his new products such as “smoking baby,” a small plastic baby that held a fake cigarette. He even wore a giant afro and big trench coat.

One memory that sticks out to Senior Maggie Courtney was on the infamous fifth grade cave trip. Known as one of the best field trips at St. George’s, Maggie recalls bond-ing with Ms. McWaters over washing vomit off of themselves in the middle of the night after an unfortunate up-

set stomach event. All the seniors are able to appreci-

ate the fact that the six grade teach-ers gently eased us into the transition from elementary school to middle school. No one can forget Mrs. De-siree Allen and her black beauty or Mr. Patrick McGraw’s witty puns.

In high school we were given more freedom and teachers that told it to us like it was. Honestly, though, it was time someone put us in our place. In the tenth grade Dr. Cort Casey made Seniors Ryan Tornillo, Jason Crawford, and Marshall Hum-phrey stand up after forgetting their vocabulary book and recite: “I am worthless, girls do not like me, I will die alone.” After getting to be with Dr. Casey, we were introduced to one of our favorite teachers, Mr. Wilson Taylor. Senior Scott Mullahey recalls hiding underneath his desk and get-ting hit in the shoulder after scaring him.

Senior Catie Wilcheck is known for her great interactions with teach-ers, one including our nature enthu-siast Mr. William McClain. Once on a test she wrote that she would feed bunnies to deer to keep them alive. Mr. McClain responded by telling her the next day that deer are herbi-vores…needless to say she failed the test.

These are only a few special mo-ments that we have all experienced with the wonderful adults here called teachers. They are so much of what makes St. George’s unique and truly made an impact on all of our lives. Keep on doing what you’re do-ing, teachers, the class of 2014 salutes you.

Rosalyn Higareda said she thought there would be “flying cats,” while her fellow classmate Bruce Taylor said, “In 2025, there’s going to be flying cars and a law where you can’t drive a car but have to use only flying cars.” Mehki Harper explained, quite adamantly, that once he was a senior in high school, he would “live on a farm and will be married.”

Many of the ideas from the second graders included items that flew, more homework, and lockers in high school by their senior year. A large group of girls shared their glee and excitement about the conviction that they would have boyfriends once they were se-niors and would attend high school dances.

Taylor Owens ’15

The fifteen-year club

Katie Scott Sellers ‘14

Some might think that being at the same school for fifteen years would be repetitive or just get old. However, those students in the fifteen-year club at St. George’s would tell you that life here has been anything but bor-ing. Throughout our time here we have made discoveries, memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. Re-flecting back on our time here, these are just a few distinct memories we will always remember.

We will always remember the time we got kicked out of the Brooks Mu-seum of Art for touching the quilts hanging on the walls. We will always remember the pawpaw fight we had at Reelfoot Lake, thus forbidding future fourth grade classes from being al-lowed on the Indian Mound.

We will always remember the boys being trapped in the chapel ev-ery recess for three weeks, due to the “bathroom incident.” We will always

remember the infamously and noto-riously known raccoon episode at the tenth grade campout, which scarred Alexa Basinger for life. (If you are re-sponsible for this, it’s still never too late to confess.)

We will never forget the songs we sang over and over again at our Ger-mantown campus music programs. (“Let There Be Peace on Earth” or “Greatest Mom in the World,” any-one?) We will never forget that time in fifth grade that Josh Warlick had his heart surgery and we all dressed up in Ole Miss paraphernalia to wish him well.

We will never forget the countless games of grounder we played on the playground, or the races we had on the soccer field. (The day Hallee Hurt beat Grant Hirschman is one, which will live in infamy.) We will never for-get the time Emily Dickey was dared to kiss the Forbidden Fruit, otherwise known as Dean Brown, on the cheek.

Student opts for gap year

Continued From Page 1

ficked, all during her first semes-ter.

During her second semester, Courtney will have picked a coun-try where she will spend the entire semester completing an internship based around her passions. She will work with her trip’s counselor during the first semester to deter-mine the best fit for an internship for her.

Courtney must keep a daily journal, write papers, complete re-

While Courtney is in Thailand, she will be staying with a host family and learning the Thai lan-guage. She will also be working in an orphanage while teaching English, as well as spending time in a Buddhist monastery where in exchange for lessons in Eng-lish, she will receive lessons in meditation. She will be scuba div-ing in Vietnam and working with women and children in Cambodia that have been previously sex traf-

quired reading and give presenta-tions to her group about her trav-els and lessons of her days. This will be where she will earn credit for classes through Portland State University. The credits she earns during this year will be eligible to transfer over to wherever she chooses to attend college when she returns in 2015.

She believes that many of us get too comfortable, that we get stuck inside of a bubble that we either refuse or simply do not know how to get out of. Maggie, having lived inside this bubble for the majority of her life, refuses to be apart of it. She finds it “ridiculous that an 18-year-old should even be asked what he or she wants to do with the rest of his or her life” and be-lieves it to be a “glorious opportu-nity to be able to pause and chal-lenge everything you believe in order to find a deeper understand-ing of oneself and of the world around them.”

When questioned about her trip and the decision to take a gap year, she stated, “I personally think anyone who has the opportunity to go out and seek a deeper un-derstanding of the world and its inhabitants should do so because it cultivates citizens who are bet-ter equipped to lead… You cannot lead or change the world if you do not strive to understand and have an inherent willingness to give a part of yourself to the world.”

Juliana Wall ‘15

Where in the world is Maggie on her Gap Year?

We will never forget all of the smiles, laughter, tears, broken bones, dress code violations, field trips and raccoon horror stories (hard to let that one fade) that make up the students of the Fifteen-Year Club. Spending the last decade and a half together, we know almost every-thing about one another, while at the same time, we know that there is still so much to learn.

We will soon begin to form new friendships, going back to knowing someone on Day 1 as opposed to Day 5,478. The little things that used to annoy us about one another will all too soon become the things that make us miss each other most. The collection of memories we will take with us is what will make spend-ing the last fifteen years, at the same school, with the same group of peo-ple, one of the most unforgettable experiences of our lives.

Taylor Owens ‘15

8Student LifeMay St. George’s Independent School• •

Class of 2014’s last will and testament...Caroline Cannon ’15

It has come to that time when everything changes: seasons, daily habits and brain activity. The largest change St. George’s will experience is the loss of its beloved seniors from the Col-lierville campus. With the seniors gone, there are some things that must be left behind.

William Brown: my basketball skills to sophomore Judson ScottMeredith Gatlin: the hill Helen at Shelby Farms to sophomore Sarah SuddothWill Adkins: Mr. G’s wise words to freshman John Barton and Kneeland GammillZoe Leake: the recycling club to junior Preston VihlenPearce Trenary: my driving re-cord to sophomore Sam HydeLeann Beard: a serious inability to manage time and three out-standing referrals to junior Anna Marie BeardKellen Young: Mr. Densford’s gryphon puppet to fifth-grader Kym YoungBrittany Correia: my soccer tan to junior Madeline EastShane Talley: the tech corner benches to junior Courtney HarshbargerMia Bargiacchi: my height to ju-nior Kathryn HeardKate Sweat: my cynicism to ju-niors Matthew Turner and Luke RobbinsGrace Hawks: my spot on the swim team to junior Jackson EberTyler Lourens: my heart to ju-niors Clay Crenshaw and Mc-Carthy Robinson to divide my love to everyone at St. George’sCatherine Cantu: my spirit skirt and sweatshirt combination to freshman Eva NeelRobert Schutt: my hair to sopho-more Max UnderwoodMadison Lathum: my peppiness to sophomore Sophia QuesadaAdam Lochemes: my character to sophomore Harrison SchuttKayce Hyde: my sisterhood to sophomore Jared Whitaker; (P.S. Sam, you are no longer my broth-er)Steven Joe: the bear to Kneeland GammillAlexandra Smith: to my younger sister sophomore Kathryn Smith, absolutely nothing

Zoe leake ‘14

The 2014 St. George’s prom was un-doubtedly the highlight of the juniors’ and seniors’ school year.

Hosted at the Old Daisy Theatre on Beale Street, everyone arrived in their prettiest dresses and classiest tuxedos to spend the night partying. The band played a collection of classics and new songs that kept everyone dancing the whole night through.

Swing dancing seemed to be the dance of choice for most couples, although there was also plenty of slow, unsure swaying

and crazy made-up routines as well. There was an assortment of sweet

snacks (Muddy’s cupcakes were obvi-ously the favorite) and Ms. Kalyn Under-wood became a pro at filling water cups before the thirsty dancers arrived.

However, there was one thing on every-one’s mind besides prom: the Grizzlies’ game. It was endearing to see the num-ber of couples who, in between dances or even during them, checked their phones for the score.

Even Prom King and Queen, seniors Colton Morgan and Brittany Correia,

Regan hewitt ‘14

Hollywood on Beale Street

Juniors, before you graduate...Lindsey Cayce ‘14

Senior year comes and goes in the blink of an eye. It seems like only yester-day morning we were decorating each other’s cars before driving to the senior parking lot on the first day of school. Now that it is coming to a close, many of us are fortunate to look back and remember all the memories we made that will last us a lifetime.

Below you will find a Graduation Buck-et List, where seniors have suggested a number of things to do throughout your senior year in order to make it as fun and memorable as possible before graduating!

- Tour Graceland (Madison Lathum) - Go on an SGGO Adventure (Alex Cruz) - Complete the disk golf course in the woods on campus (Collier Roberts) - Have a philosophical discussion with Mr. Mercer over tea (Jason Crawford) - Go to Mud Island (Anna Merino) - Win a state championship (Catherine Cantu) - Take a walk in the woods (Steven Joe)- Swim across the Wolf River on the SG Beach (Kayce Hyde) - Have an undefeated golf season (Josh Warlick) - Eat the Vermonster with friends at Ben and Jerry’s (Natalie Proctor) - Find a prom date on Craigslist (Caleb Kelsey)

Stay green over the summer

Summer is quickly approaching. End-less days and nights all filled with sun and fun. Bright and warm days present a great opportunity to get outside. Local farmer’s markets are a-brew, Shelby Farms has a long list of events, and the Levitt Shell will soon be hosting summer concerts.

As you head out of the house, make sure you turn up your thermostat from the chilly degrees to a more energy-efficient 78 degrees, according to researchers at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program.

Turning up the thermostat before leav-ing the house in summer can save tons of energy, as well as money. In fact, we often head out of the house for extended periods of time over the summer. Before leaving for Hawaii, Arkansas, or wherever you find yourself traveling, shut down and unplug computers, televisions, gaming devices, the DVD player, lamps, the air-conditioner, all electronics.

What better way to appreciate the out-doors other than to spend quality time with the family on the trail? As you or you and your family head outdoors for a little camping, make sure you brush up on your LNT (Leave No Trace) principles in order to preserve and conserve in the backcountry.

The seven Leave No Trace principles cover all aspects of camping and backcoun-try travel. They are:

1. Plan ahead and prepare 2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces 3. Dispose of waste properly 4. Leave what you find5. Minimize campfire impact 6. Respect wildlife 7. Be considerate of other visitorsVisit lnt.org before heading out on the

trail, where you can find explanations and details for each principle. Also when trav-eling, keep in mind that other travelers wish to have a serene experience as well.

If you and your family prefer the road to the trail, there are still ways to stay green and clean. First, make sure everything is in tune before hitting the road. If your vehicle has appropriate tire pressure, and is up to date with oil changes and fuel filters, you will save tons of fuel.

Also, in the name of saving fuel, pack lightly and plan your route. Knowing where you are going prevents wasted miles. Packing lightly creates a lighter load in the car, which has a significant impact on the fuel efficiency of your vehicle.

When you reach your destination, try to find hotels that practice green behav-ior. Check into a hotel that is part of the ENERGY STAR program and/or the U.S Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, which have pledged to protect air quality, support energy efficiency, re-duce their waste, conserve water, and use recycled and organic materials.

Do not get too excited with the hotel amenities, either. Try to reuse towels, keep shower times down, turn the water off while brushing your teeth, use a reusable mug for coffee rather than the paper cups, and recycle your recyclables.

The bright summer sun is quickly ap-proaching, and the heat promises long days full of new adventures. Do not forget to “be green” over the summer, respecting nature being the easiest and most appeal-ing with the coming freedom of summer break. Make sure to explore, and have an splendid summer.

supported the Grizz, by bringing Growl Towels on stage when they accepted their crowns and sashes, to the excitement of all prom-goers.

When the doors opened at 11:00, there was a mass exodus to get onto Beale Street, in the hopes of catching the last few minutes of the fourth quarter of the game, either on the radio or on television.

This departure left few people in the Old Daisy, but allowed the infamous se-niors Catherine Cantu and Alexa Basinger (aka Betty) to twirl around in their dresses to their heart’s content.

Taylor Owens ’15