the gregorian chant - october 2014 issue

Upload: tgschant

Post on 02-Jun-2018

227 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 8/10/2019 The Gregorian Chant - October 2014 Issue

    1/12

    By Raymond RoeslerDesign Editor

    Eighth annual Homecoming celebrates new name

    Controversy over new school name apparent inschool and Tucson community

    CHLO DURANDSenior Marcos Castillo dribbles the ball towards the goal during the eighth annualHomecoming soccer game.

    THE GREGORIAN CHANTVOL. XXXI, ISSUE I THEGREGORIANCHANT.COM OCTOBER 2014

    Political controversiesCheck out articles on the ISIScrisis & Arizona stateelections on pg. 3

    Tucson StreetcarCity invests in publictransportation with newstreetcar on pg. 10

    he 2014 Homecoming was put together bymembers of the Family Association, the UpperSchool Student Council, the Middle School

    Student Council, and the Athletic Department. For

    the second year in a row it was held primarily on themiddle school campus.

    As is tradition, different organizations from aroundthe school set up booths for fundraising. Tesebooths were run by a wide variety of organizationslike French club, Te Diamond Childrens Hospital,and Grad Night.

    Varsity mens soccer beat San Miguel 4-1 with goalsfrom senior Marcos Castillo, junior Skylar Decker,sophomore JP Alvarenga, and Senior Miguel Quinac.

    Varsity volleyball beat San Miguel 3-0 for the secondyear in a row.

    JV volleyball also swept San Miguel 2-0.

    Middle School ag football beat St. Michaels 20-6.

    By Raymond RoeslerDesign Editor

    H ead of school JulieSherrill and the Boardof Trustees have de-cided that after 33 years it wastime for a change. To muchpublic response, St. GregoryCollege Preparatory Schoolhas been changed to The Greg-ory School.

    The school has citedthe main reason for the namechange as trying to get rid of

    confusion over the religiousaffiliation of the school. How-ever, the Board was hesitantto remove the Gregory aspectfrom the name.

    Head of School JulieSherrill said,There was verypositive name recognition inthe community in associationwith excellence, so you dontwant to lose the whole name.There have been long-stand-ing concerns over the St. in St.Gregory scaring away poten-tial students because they as-sume the school is religiouslyaffiliated.

    Sherill said, There wassignificant confusion whenpeople heard the saint they as-sumed that we were a parochialschool, so thats where I thinkthe board met in the middle.Lets hold on to the Gregory,but eliminate the confusion.

    The name change haselicited much opinion. TomDanehy, columnist at the Tuc-son Weekly, wrote a scathing900-word article criticizing thename change. Danehy had manycolorful ways to describe thename change, comparing it towatching as your friend makes

    a huge fashion mistake and alsoto Coke changing their recipe.Danehy states that the

    name change has been slow tocatch on. If you were to spenda day at The Gregory Schoolcampus, it would be easy to un-derstand Danehys point. On aregular basis you hear teachers, and students correcting them-selves when they accidentlyrefer to the school as St. Greg-orys.

    According to a poll sentout to the students by The Gre-gorian Chant, eight out of tenstudents do not approve of the

    name change. Without the sup-port of the students, it is hardto envision the name changecatching on.

    In Danehys article hequotes an anonymous studentof The Gregory School. Thesophomore said, I go to St.Gregory. I entered high schoolat St. Gregory and three yearsfrom now, Im going to gradu-ate from St. Gregory.

    Opinions like that haveprevented the name changefrom catching on in a positivemanner. Without the supportfrom the current student body,

    the name change will take muchlonger be a success.I was recently at a gather-

    ing with parents of alumni, andthe main problem suggested wasall of the logistical problems ofchanging the name like havingto change the scoreboards, bas-ketball court, and school vans.

    A few of these alumniparents are upset because theyare the ones that originallypaid to put the previously usedlogos on campus. As a gift tothe school one of these parentsspent thousands of dollars onbranding for the school ranging

    from: painting the school vans,to putting up a scoreboard andpainting the basketball court.

    Now due to the namechange all of these things havebeen undone, and they feel asthough their money, time, andlegacy have been ruined.

    As a result of the lack ofsupport from students, parents,

    and members of the Tucsoncommunity like Danehy,

    The Gregory School willstruggle to overcome the orig-inal name St. Gregory.

    DHRUV PATEL

    A new sign has been placed at the entrance to the school sostudents and parents can see it when they drive in to theschool in the morning.

  • 8/10/2019 The Gregorian Chant - October 2014 Issue

    2/12

    October 2014 e Gregorian ChantPo itics2

    By Sam GroskindReporter

    By Ben PetersenOnline Editor

    In todays exceedinglypartisan environment, right-wing pundits are quick to

    blame President Obama for thecurrent situation in Iraq and thesubsequent rise of the IslamicState. Purveyors of this opinionare eager to point out that whenPresident Bush left ofce, he leftbehind a stable and functioningIraqi state. In truth, what Bushleft behind was a quasi-Iraqistate, led by Iraqis hand-pickedby his administration, fundedby American tax dollars.

    Bushs long term goal forIraq was for American militaryadvisors to remain in thecountry until its new coalitiongovernment was capable offunctioning and maintainingsecurity on its own. Thencame President Obama, whoseforemost campaign promise wasto end the war in Iraq. Obamacapitalized on the widespreadfrustration with US involvementin Iraq, presenting himself as analternative to John McCain, whowas widely perceived as someonewho would continue on thepath of Bush-era foreign policy.

    Six years after he left ofce,

    is it still fair to blame PresidentBush for the current situation inIraq? In short, absolute ly. Is this tosay that President Obama hasntmade his fair share of foreignpolicy blunders, with manymore to come? Absolutely not.Critics of Obama insist that his2011 deadline for the withdrawalof all US forces from Iraq waspremature, and that the coalitiongovernment was not yet ready totake full responsibility. This iscertainly true, but so is the realitythat no amount of time, money,or effort could have createda lasting Iraqi government.

    To understand the currentsituation, we have to look backat the politics that led up to thispoint. The result of the 2003 US-led invasion was the overthrowof Saddam Hussein and the

    ruling Baath party. The Baathparty, while entirely comprisedof Sunni Muslims, was asecular government. However,

    Saddam and members of hisregime were responsible for thebrutal persecution of Shias andextermination of entire Kurdishcommunities. This brutalityonly worsened the centuries-old hostility between the twobranches of Islam, and wouldlater cause Shias to retaliate.

    After Saddamsgovernment was overthrown, the

    US instated a Shiite governmentunder the leadership of Nourial-Maliki. A witch hunt tookplace to identify and prevent allthose who had been involved inSaddams regime or associatedwith the prior government fromhaving a position in the newgovernment. This effectively puthundreds of thousands of Sunnisoldiers, administrators, andlocal government employees outof work. This was arguably themost reckless policy of the BushAdministration. In the years afterthe ousting of Saddam, the USinvested over $60 billion dollarsin grants to rebuild Iraq, with $25

    billion going directly towards theformation of a new Iraqi military.

    What have we to showfor this? The incompetenceof the Iraqi government isstaggering. The Iraqi people are

    impoverished, and there are somany suicide and car bombingsthroughout the country on a dailybasis that many news outlets

    have stopped reporting them.Over the summer, the Iraqi armycame under intense scrutinyafter entire divisions desertedtheir posts when confronted byISIS militants. Iraqi soldiersstripped off their uniforms anded, leaving behind advancedweaponry, along with scoresof tanks, trucks, and armoredpersonnel carriers all supplied

    by the US government. In manycases, the soldiers efforts werefutile. Islamic State militantsmoved with astonishingspeed and often captured andmassacred the eeing troops.

    In mid-September,Congress authorized PresidentObamas initiative to train andarm moderate Syrian rebels inan effort to combat ISIS. Onewould hope that Obama andthose in Congress might havelearned from the mistakes of theirpredecessors, primarily of RonaldReagan and George H.W Bush.During the 1980s, the ReaganAdministration directed the CIA

    to train and arm the Afghanmujahideen in their ght againstthe Soviet Union. PresidentReagan referred to these menas the moral equivalents ofAmericas founding fathers. Not

    long after their meeting at theWhite House, these men wouldtake their American training andarms and become the founding

    fathers of al-Qaeda and theTaliban. After Reagan camePresident George H.W Bush,who supplied Saddam Hussein,of all people, with billions ofdollars in economic aid, anenormous stockpile of chemicaland traditional weapons, andinvaluable military intelligenceto use in his ght against Iran.Many of these weapons would

    later be used by Saddam toexterminate Kurdish and Shiitecommunities, which is one of thefactors that led George W. Bush toadvocate for Saddams removal.

    President Bush accusedSaddam of being a homicidaldictator who is addicted toweapons of mass destruction.Why did Saddam only becomea homicidal dictator when hestarted gassing a few thousandKurds in Halabja, when hedbeen gassing tens of thousands ofIranian troops for years? The ironyis incredible when you considerthe fact that it was PresidentBushs own father who enabled

    Saddam and fed his addiction.Theres a saying that you

    can lead a horse to water, but youcant force it to drink. When Arabnations are forced into freedom,they have a habit of turning to

    religion instead of democracyand secularism. Sunnis will votefor Sunnis, and Shiites will votefor Shiites. This is something

    weve seen over and over inrecent years, from Egypt to Gazato Libya. What many Americansfail to understand is that electionsdo not necessarily engenderdemocracy, a concept which isforeign in many Arab nations.This is the fundamental aw in ourperceived understanding of Arabculture, and certainly PresidentBushs most consequentialoversight regarding his foreignpolicy. It is because of thisactuality that in most cases,Arab nations are better offunder a secular dictator than ademocratically elected leader.No one is arguing that SaddamHussein was a moral, upstandingcitizen, but it is difcult toassert that Iraq and its neighborsare better off without him.

    The sudden and abruptrise of ISIS in Iraq came asa shock to many in the West,but whos to blame Sunnis for

    jumping at this opportunityafter a decade of hardship andoppression at the hands of Shias?In hindsight, we should havepredicted this. To some, Obamalooks bad because he isntwinning. This is the result of an

    inherent lack of understandingof the situation as a whole.

    Some liken our relationshipwith the Middle East to a doubleedged sword, saying that wecant win either way. For thosepurveyors of Greek mythology, amore accurate comparison wouldbe the Hydra. For every headchopped off, two more growback, each more violent anduncontrollable than the last. Forevery innocent civilian killed atthe hands of American forces, anentire community becomes lledwith anti-American sentiment.

    There have undoubtedly beenpresidents and particular policiesthat have inamed the situationmore than others, but what wehave to come to terms with is thatthere is no winning this game.

    OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO COURTESY OF PETE SOUZA

    ISIS: Whos to blame for its rise?

    Campaigns gearing up for tight 2014 elections

    Candidates for statewide

    and federal ofce in Ari-zona faced an onslaught

    of negative campaigning thismonth in high-prole races pick-ing up attention from across thenation. Millions of outside dol-lars have poured into the state tofund attack advertisements be-fore Arizonans head to the pollson November 4th.

    In Tucson, incumbent Con-gressman Ron Barber (D) is fac-ing challenger Martha McSally(R) in a rematch of the 2012 Con-gressional election that Barberwon by just 2,500 votes. A recentCBS News poll shows candidates

    for governor Doug Ducey (R) andFred DuVal (D) are neck-in-neck.

    Although traditionally con-sidered a Republican stronghold,changing demographics and inde-pendent voters have become the

    wild card in Arizona elections.Voters in Tucson and Pima Coun-ty tend to be more liberal, but thenumber of Democratic and Re-publican Party voters is roughlyequivalent.

    As a result, candidates inhigh-prole elections for gov-ernor and Congress are empha-sizing their independence andarchbipartisanship in southernArizona to appeal to tempera-mental voters.

    Barber, a former aide toCongresswoman Gabrielle Gif-fords, was rst elected in a 2012special election after being shot

    twice during the Congress onYour Corner event on January 11,2011. His campaign touts his ex-perience working with the com-munity, bipartisanship in Con-gress, his record on protecting the

    A-10 and Medicare.Martha McSally was the

    rst female ghter pilot in theAir Force. McSally has publi-cized her political outsider status,promising to work across withboth Democrats and Republicansin congress to address border se-curity and the economy.

    Meanwhile, Doug Duceyand Fred DuVal debated in Tuc-son on September 18. Contestedtopics included the issue of deny-ing illegal immigrants state driv-ers licenses, Arizonas incometax rate, and funding for publicschools.

    Ducey supports lower-ing and eventually eliminatingthe states income tax in a pushto attract businesses from otherstates. He was elected as statetreasurer in 2011 after a stint as

    CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, afranchised ice cream store thatwas sold in 2007 to a franchisingcorporation.

    Fred DuVal served as anaide in the Clinton administra-tion and as the chairman of theArizona Board of Regents, theorganization that governs Ari-zonas three public universities.DuVal also lobbied for green en-ergy interests. According to Du-Val, education is his top priority;he would increase funding to thepublic education system as an in-direct method of bolstering eco-nomic growth.

    All four candidates havebeen targeted by attack advertise-ments from outside groups. In thelast few weeks, the RepublicanGovernors Association has airedseveral advertisements attacking

    Fred DuVal for his support of aplan to address budget cuts thatdoubled the cost of in-state tuitionfor college students in Arizona.

    National partisan groupscontinue to air advertisementsattacking both Congressionalcandidates Martha McSally andRon Barber. Their spending willsignicantly outpace the candi-dates own spending on adver-tising for the November electionin an attempt to persuade or evendissuade local voters this fall.

  • 8/10/2019 The Gregorian Chant - October 2014 Issue

    3/12

    3Opinione Gregorian Chant October 2014

    e Gregorian ChantPursuing Excellence inScholastic Journalism

    Better NewspapersBest Small High School Newspaper in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2014!

    Reporters:Noah Sanders

    Natalie ArmstrongDhruv Patel

    Jack NullMadison Mainman

    Sam GroskindValerie Yarova

    The contents of the paper do notnecessarily reect the opinions or

    views of the faculty, administration, ortrustees of the school, unless otherwise

    indicated. Submit letters to schooladdress, [email protected], or

    call (520)327-6395

    Faculty Advisor:Robert Mossman

    The Gregory School3231 N. Craycroft Rd.

    Tucson, AZ 85712

    By Arii SylversManaging Editor

    By Chlo DurandEditor-in-Chief

    Editor-in-Chief:Chlo Durand

    Design Editor:Raymond Roesler

    Managing Editor:Arii Sylvers

    Copy Desk Chief:Caitlin McCormick

    Photo Editor:Trianha JohnstonOnline Editor:

    Ben PetersenBusiness Manager:

    Karam Katariya

    In the four years Ive beenin journalism, Ive foundmyself reminiscing onone past experience that therest of the Chant staff has be-come all too familiar with:

    On a crisp fall morningin November, a FedEx box ar-rived in the ofce. Inside were300 copies of our latest issue,a black-and-white, eight-pageissue. Opening it up to pages4 and 5, a huge clip-art ghostand pumpkin covered the entirepage, with the word BOO!

    bolded in all caps coming out ofthe ghosts mouth. No article ap-peared on the entire page. It wasprobably single-handedly themost embarrassing moment inChant history, afrming that ournewspaper was indeed a joke.

    Reecting back on thattime shows just how far we havecome. Last year, for the rst timein The Chants history, we pro-duced six color twelve page issuesand not once did we use a clipartdrawing. We obtained a coupledozen subscriptions, several ad-vertisements, and sponsorships

    that secured us a decent amountof funding. Most importantly, thequality of our articles improvedtremendously, encouraging fac-ulty and students to pick up acopy and read it while they atetheir lunch or during their break.

    This years Chant staff isdetermined to capitalize on oursuccess from last year, in ad-dition to the following goals:

    1) Staff Organization:Arii Sylvers, Raymond Roesler,and myself all unanimouslyagreed that organizing and out-lining the roles of each staffmember would increase the ef-ciency of the newspaper anddecrease last minute problems.In collaboration with our faculty

    advisor, Mr. Robert Mossman,the Editorial Board created newpositions, such as Business Man-ager, Copy Editor, Photo Editorand Online Editor, in order tostreamline the production pro-cess and make the creation ofthe newspaper a little bit easier.In addition, the Editorial Boardwas re-organized so that Arii,Raymond and I would be incharge of three different sectionsof the newspaper, unifying thegroup as a whole and allowingfewer last minute problems andcreating a clear go-to person.

    2) Online & the TGSCommunity: Each month wereceive about three differentlocal schools newspapers andcompare them to our own. Wequickly realized that all of themhad an online website with ad-vertisements and featured con-tent. While we do technicallyhave a website now, the edito-rial board decided that having awebsite with articles, photo gal-leries, and upcoming events will

    help us become a presence oncampus that students, faculty,parents and alumni could go toto keep up with the latest news.

    3) Legacy: Since highschool doesnt last forever, itis important for the senior staffmembers to pass on their knowl-edge to new journalists. So whileRaymond, Arii and I can write a500 word article, layout a pagewithin an hour, take pictures, andacquire advertisements last-min-

    Letter from the Editor: Octoberute, one of our main goals thisyear is to pass on as much of ourknowledge as we possibly can torising members of the journal-ism class in hopes that they cancontinue the work that we havedone. The newspaper shouldcontinue to ourish, even whenthe seniors are gone, and withthe group of journalists we havenow, I am certain that the news-paper will only continue to grow.

    e 2014-2015 staff from le to right: Sam Groskind, Natalie Armstrong, Madi Mainman, Caitlin McCormick, TriahnaJohnston, Valerie Yarova, Ben Petersen, Chlo Dur and, Karam Katariya, Noah Sanders, Arii Sylvers, Raymond Roesler,and Jack Null. Not Pictured: Dhruv Patel

    What happened to all of the TGS spirit?H omecoming season is comingto an end and familiar scenesof students wearing pajamasin the hallways, sports teams preparingfor their showcase games, and postersadvertising the Homecoming Danceare on every surface. Although theseare all typical homecoming sights, TheGregory School obviously isnt a typ-ical high school. Were a small com-munity, so we dont have ordinary highschool experiences. However, I think

    thats what makes our school so special. Most of us have seen larger pub-lic high schools display their schoolspirit all over social media. Pep ralliesare lled with cheering and sometimespainted fans, cheerleaders wearing schoolcolored ribbons that support perfectlycoifed ponytails and bands playing theght song are typical scenes from larg-er schools. They enthusiastically takepart in spirit week activities, show up tosports games by the busloads, and gener-ally seem to have school pride. But evenin these environments its difcult to geteveryone to demonstrate school pride.

    Could some of it be the plague ofthe teenage years and not wanting to bepart of the status quo? Building schoolpride and spirit is a problem at everyschool, no matter the size. How do youmotivate someone to fully engage andparticipate in anything, especially as ateenager? As a student body, were re-luctant to participate in school sponsored

    activities, and I often hear grumblingsabout our school as a whole. I have towonder if there is some reason for theapparent lack of school spirit. I believeschool spirit is directly related to thelevel of school pride and overall schoolsatisfaction. Maybe the problem is deeperthan not wearing a hat on crazy hair day.

    Student Council has made a goalthis year to increase school spirit, buthow will they accomplish such a taskwith the lackluster participation from

    the student body? Students busy withstudies, sports, and extracurriculars cansometimes view spirit week activities as

    just another task. Generally the negativeattitude toward spirit week and schoolpride activities are that they are lame.

    When polled and asked whatwould they like to do there are few re-sponses or nonsense answers. The pre-dicament of motivating and moving agroup of people is a dilemma for society,businesses, schools and even families.

    Our goal of building school spiritneeds to start with building school pride.The place to start is focusing on what wedo have rather than what we lack. Whereelse can you nd a more passionate groupof instructors and staff who are person-ally committed to your success? Whatother school gives you the chance to playany sport that youre interested in withoutthe fear of not making the team? Thereare amazing opportunities here that larg-er schools cant possibly provide. These

    things make the traditions and history atThe Gregory School worth taking pride in.

    Bear down is a familiar chant herein Tucson. When the University of ArizonaWildcats win it actually affects enrollment.School spirit is an emotional response andsports are emotional! Theres nothing likeseeing a great attack to win the fth setof a closely played volleyball game, theexcitement of watching a team pass theball and scoring a game winning goal inthe last seconds of the soccer game, or the

    rush of watching a swimmer pull an armslength ahead of the second place swimmerto win the heat. Homecoming games aregames you never want to lose as an athleteplaying fall sports here because the wholeGregory School community is watching!

    If the whole school turned out forevery game, it would denitely inspirethe teams to play better and increase theinterest in athletics on our campus andprobably increase school spirit. Theresnothing like chanting Go Hawkswith an adrenaline lled crowd dressedin blue and white to create memories.

    Since we dont have cheerleadershere to lead us in school spirit, we shouldmake it a goal to create some high schoolmemories and show The Gregory Schoolpride. Attend the sporting events, rootfor your favorite players, and go to thedances and dance like nobodys watch-ing. Wear your blue and white with pride!

    Seniors during Homecoming dress up inHawks gear to cheer during the soccergame.

    CHLO DURAND

    ROBERT MOSSMAN

  • 8/10/2019 The Gregorian Chant - October 2014 Issue

    4/12

    ampus October 2014 e Gregorian Chant4New schedule

    causes backlash

    T he Gregory Schooladministration madesignicant changes tothe daily schedule at the startof the 2014 school year. Headof School Dr. Julie Sherrilland a scheduling committeeare responsible for the shorterday that begins even earlier at7:50 AM and ends at 2:30 PM.

    The schedule remainsat odds with many teenagestudents sleep schedules andthe recent recommendationof the American Acadenyof Pediatrics that all classesshould begin no earlier than8:30 AM. The earlier start hasresulted in an uptick in morninglatenesses and more severeconsequences for late students,including weekend detentions.

    While the school kept itssignature block schedule withfour classes per day and eightblocks in total, the administrationreduced the number of rotatingdays to just two. A student willhave the same four classes oneday, but the next day they willhave their next four classes.

    In the past, classes began at8:00 or 9:00 AM, ending at 2:50or 3:30 PM, with an optionaltutorial period after schoolwhere students could meet with

    their instructors. This year beganwith a mandatory tutorial duringthe rst part of lunch for UpperSchool and during the secondpart for Middle School students.

    Upper School studentscriticized the mandatory delay asunnecessary and unproductive.After consulting with the studentcouncil, Sherrill modiedthe tutorial requirement forstudents with a GPA above3.0 and swapped Middle andUpper School student lunch.

    Middle school studentsnow report to tutorial at 12:05

    PM as Upper School studentshead to the cafeteria for lunch; anoptional Upper School tutorialrounds out the hour lunch periodas middle schoolers get their lunchduring the second half of the hour.The Fifth grade also has a freerecess where they can go and play.

    Upper School classes dismiss

    thirty minutes earlier than lastyear; middle school students getout a full hour earlier. This changewas made to avoid conicts withathletic competitions held at faraway schools. Freshman AddisonMort said, Ending earlier is muchbetter. It helps if you have a lotmore stuff to do in the afternoon.

    The administration alsoeliminated weekly late starts,replacing them with a monthly11:00 AM start that lets out at2:30 PM. Classes are just 40minutes long to allow for facultyprofessional development ledby history department chairDr. Michelle Berry.Signicantconfusion arose about lunch periodsduring these late starts days, sincethere is only a 30 minute breakand brunch is served before class.

    A new after-school Encoreblock for classes was also introducedthis year. This new Encore blockoccurs after school from 2:35 pmto 3:45 pm. Nine Encore classesare offered, including AP BiologyLab, Yearbook, Yoga, and Italian.

    According to Sherrill, thechanges were made to accommodatethe wide range of student interests.Sherrill said, Encore is just what I

    call a pilot experience to see if wecan offer additional classes thatstudents want to take, but withoutadding another constraint to whatis already a really tight schedule.

    In the future, Sherrill hopes toexpand the offerings during Encore,including classes like MarineBiology, German, and Madarin.Other in the administrationexpressed concern about theearlier start time after learningabout the medical ramications ofearly classes for teenage students.

    More structural changesin TGS administration

    S ince the beginning ofthe new school year atThe Gregory School(formerly St. Gregory), therehave been tweaks in theadministrative structure oncampus. While there havebeen no additions to theadministration this year therehave been modifications tothe roles of several membersof the faculty and staff.

    The head of school,Dr. Julie Sherrill, statedduring a recent interview,Some students have differentlearning plans here at TheGregory School. Severalfaculty members have taken onthe responsibility to providestudents who need it withadditional support, along withadditional communicationwith parents of these students.

    Several teachershave taken on various rolesapart from their primaryteaching roles in order to

    provide administrativesupport to the school withoutthe school needing to hiremore administrators. We arenot currently in a financialposition to recruit new

    administrators, Sherrill said.So, we are grateful thatseveral faculty members havevolunteered to help us fill theroles they are interested in.

    Drama teacher, Mrs.Lisa Bodden, is now theStudent Council advisor and incharge of facilitating morningmeetings. Also, Spanishteacher, Dr. Matt Teller,and leadership teacher, Mr.Brian Lorimer, are assistingstudents, and communicatingwith parents of students whoneed extra attention. Historyteacher, Dr. Michelle Berry,

    is now helping with facultyprofessional development.

    The school has alsomade Ms. Lori Barnett a fulltime substitute teacher. Shedid a great job teaching Englis hduring the first semester,Sherrill said. Also, I thoughtthat we needed some continuityfor students when theirteachers arent at school. Everytime a teacher needs to be outof school, the beauty of havingsomeone always on campusthat builds relationships withthe teachers and the students.

    If a teacher knows he or she isgoing to be out on a c ertain day,they can easily tell Ms. Barnettin advance, because she isaround and easily accessible.Barnett is also assisting Berry

    in professional development.Ms. Mary Babbitt, who

    was last years Director ofStudent Services, now has a newtitle, the Direct or of Admissionsand Outreach. When askedabout Babbitt, Sherrill stated,Because so many faculty arenow doing many of the thingsshe was doing last year, herresponsibilities are now muchmore focused on the rebrandingof the school.As Director ofAdmissions and Outreach,she is now reaching out to thecommunity to to make sure theschools new name is getting

    spread around. This shouldhelp us recruit more studentsin the future, said Sherrill.

    The school has alsobeen searching for a newbusiness manager, since theirformer business manager, CarolBaranowski, moved to La Jolla,California. I have done a greatnumber of screenings andinterviews this past month. Wehave now narrowed down ourprospective business managersto about two or three people.We are currently doing verythorough reference checks onthree candidates, and we hopeto have one selected soon.

    By Jack NullReporter

    By Karam KatariyaBusiness Manager

    Tuesday-Friday Regular Schedule:

    Monday Late Start Schedule:

  • 8/10/2019 The Gregorian Chant - October 2014 Issue

    5/12

    e Gregorian Chant October 2014 5Will student council be able to follow

    through on its promises this year?

    D uring the first fewweeks of school,the upper schoolstudent council (also knownas STUCO) was relativelyquiet. Besides a coupleannouncements about payingfor the STUCO packageto get into all their events,the school was in the darkabout who belonged to thegoverning council and whatwas planned for the year.

    Unbeknownst to therest of the school, STUCOwas quietly working on a fewprojects that have since beenintroduced and implemented.

    The first projectintroduced was the Housesystem, modeled after a St.Gregory Day theme about sevenyears ago, in which all gradeswere divided into separategroups who collectivelyearned points to be the victor.

    At the end of last year,STUCO thought about re-

    introducing the House systemas a way to increase school

    spirit, and encourage studentsto participate in activities andattend events. We decided tomix grades and assign studentsand faculty to the list randomly,in the hopes that everyonewill meet someone newthrough getting House pointstogether, said President andsenior Riley Matulewic. Thisis Matulewics second yearserving on Student Council.

    I believe the housesystem implemented bySTUCO is ingenious andincredibly unifying, saidsophomore Zakaria Lamri.

    Some improvements thatwould make the housesystem better would be moregroup activities where thehouses meet and compete,tutorials where each houseis grouped together, andperhaps more incentivizingrewards for gainingpoints in a certain house

    Matulewic alsoemphasized how the StudentCouncil was working towardshaving a bigger presence inthe Tucson community, Wehave a food drive lined upfor the month of October,and Penny Wars set for themonth of November. I am in

    the process of coming up witha big Holiday thing, since weare no longer hosting t he MDAChristmas Party/Toy Drive.

    Junior and TreasurerBrian Liu said, So far, thegeneral direction of studentcouncil looks different fromwhat it has been in the past.In my previous years, theevents and plans seemed fairlyformulaic and stale. Plan a fewdances, hold some fundraisers,have St. Gregory Day, call itdone. It looks like this yearwill be about breaking fromthe routine, with respect to

    both meetings and events.Liu explained studentcouncils goal to rekindleinterest in school eventsand school spirit. A lot ofSTUCOs focus this year ison school spirit and buildinga sense of community, so Ihope the students warm tothe idea that they can havefun as a whole school.

    While the optimisticand driven attitude ofthe STUCO members isinspiring, the council has ahistory of promising largeand entertaining events, onlyto fail through with thesesame promises later on in

    By Chlo DurandEditor-in-Chief

    Administration welcomes inaugural 5th grade class

    In January of 2014, it wasdecided by head of schoolDr. Julie Sherrill and the

    board of trustees that TheGregory School would add afth grade to the lower school.The hope was that a fthgrade would increase overallenrollment and enter the schoolinto the highly competitiveeld of elementary education.

    To complete this goal,at the beginning of the 2014-2015 year a main fth gradeteacher, Margaret Scoeld,and an assistant teacher, AmieBergersen, were hired, withtwo classrooms devoted tothe grade. Scoeld has taught

    students age pre-kindergartento sixth grade for over 30years, notably at SunriseDrive Elementary School andCastlehill Country Day School.

    As a teacher, Scoeldhopes to instill in the fthgraders critical thinking skills,condence, and a willingnessto take risks in all aspects oftheir education. She believesthat the openness of TheGregory School campus andthe resulting independence itprovides are huge factors thatset this fth grade apart fromothers in the Tucson community.

    In its introductory year,the fth grade boasts fteenstudents. It operates as a separateadjunct to the middle school,with a different course list andslightly modied schedule.Fifth graders, however, arewelcome to participate in all

    middle school extracurricularsports, clubs, student council,and any other activities.

    Even just minimal timespent with the fth graderswill quickly enforce the ideathat theyre really just like anyother class within The GregorySchool. The vast majority ofthem are involved in two tothree clubs, and many playsports both in and out of school.

    In their classes, they studycomplex issues like density, inunique and entertaining ways.Fifth grader Hannah Calonje saidshe loves her teachers because

    they make everything fun.In one memorable example

    provided by Calonje, the classused rockets to s tudy geography.In their English studies, the classtraveled to the movie theateron a Friday night to watch andanalyze the new lm adaptationof the famous novel TheGiver after reading it in class.

    A particular favoritefeature of the campus for thefth graders is undoubtedlythe farm yard. Many of thembelong to the farm yard club,and believe strongly that the

    goats contribute something

    special to the campus.

    For most of the fthgraders, a dening factor oftheir transfer to The GregorySchool was the wealth ofopportunities afforded to themby a school that was previously6-12, meaning that there arestrong extracurricular athleticprograms and clubs they canparticipate in that enable themto have more freedom than theaverage fth grader. Fifth gradersNicholas Mojica and Kris Boldsboth even said they were mostlooking forward to becominginvolved with the Hawkssoccer team later this year.

    Elisa Acuna, daughter to

    Athletic Director Vic Acuna, saidof the increased independence,At break we dont have to stayin the classroom and stay rightwhere our teachers can see us.We get to go to the cafeteria onthe high school side and havetime to play in other places.

    The fth graders areecstatic to be at The GregorySchool; many of them are unableto determine their favoritecharacteristic of the schoolbecause they love it all so much.Although by large all of theolder students and faculty havebeen very welcoming of the fth

    the year. Matulewic andLiu both credited theseprevious failures to thedecaying internal dynamicsof the team in last yearsarticle Student Councilneeds some counseling.

    Last year STUCOhosted only four events -Homecoming, one movienight, the MDA Toy Drive,and St. Gregory Day.STUCO had also promisedmore spirit events, a CasinoNight, and a Disco Dance,all of which fell through dueto lack of planning. In fact,

    the MDA Toy Drive almostfailed because not enoughtoys were collected in time

    With new leadership,and new hopes and plans,one can only wait to seeif this years STUCOwill actually followthrough on its promises.

    grade, and the adjustment to a

    new school has gone seamlessly,Acuna does point out that sheknows some of the higher gradesmight feel as though the fthgraders dont deserve to be here.

    She responded, I justwant to let them know, althoughwe might not be middleschoolers, were mature enoughto be here and we love it.

    Perhaps in our times oflack of school spirit, we couldall learn a bit from the fthgraders and their new exuberantappreciation for the school.

    By Caitlin McCormickCopy Desk Chief

    Riley Matuewlic - President

    Karam Katariya - Vice President

    Brian Liu - Treasurer

    Gabi Ventola - Secretary

    PHOTOS COURTESY

    OF DHRUV PATEL

    VALERIE YAROVA

    e new h grade class, composed of 15 students, poses together for a group picture.

    ampus

  • 8/10/2019 The Gregorian Chant - October 2014 Issue

    6/12

  • 8/10/2019 The Gregorian Chant - October 2014 Issue

    7/12

    7SportsOctober 2014 e Gregorian Chant

    By Natalie ArmstrongReporter

    W ith fall sports in fullswing at The Greg-ory School, studentsare adjusting to their new sched-ules of tackling school, prac-tice, games, and extracurricularactivities. Mens soccer is noexception: its members are jug-gling their tight schedules im-peccably, already evidenced bywinning their rst game of theseason against Alta Vista 2-0.

    Junior Skylar Decker,who has been on the team sincehis freshman year, said that theopening win was huge for theteam because it was a goal theyhad set long before the sea-son started. He felt the teamworked together that day, result-ing in their big win. Tori Sub-lette, a junior and avid soccerfan, watched the rst game andsaid that she could feel the joy,chemistry and companionshipthe team exhibited after theirrst victory. She felt the teamworked as one with their consis-tent passes and awless goals.

    The boys started con-ditioning before school start-ed, which united the team and

    helped them work as a cohesivegroup. The boys faced a devas-

    tating 3-0 loss against compet-itors Desert Christian on Sep-tember 11th, but that didnt hurtteam spirit. Sophomore playerEric Johnson said that the lossstung at rst, but he fueled him-self and the team to ght harderand bring it home the followingweek for Homecoming. John-son also said that if the lost fu-eled anyone it was their coachJeff Clashman, who also teach-es Latin in the Middle School.

    Johnson said that Mr.Clashman lled the boys withspirit throughout the game andthe loss made Clashman evenmore determined to work hard-er than before and make surethis was the boys only loss of

    the season. The players feel asthough Clashman is workingharder than ever to train themto be the best in the section.

    Not only is Clashmanspreading team spirit, but TheGregory School is going all outfor the boys this year with aschool-wide spirit week to sup-port the team before their biggame. Despite the rainy weatherduring the week of Homecom-ing, the students still partici-pated in a week of festivities.Senior player Andrew Zlaketsaid he was really excited forthe homecoming game, despitehis broken hand, and thinks thatthis soccer season is going to re-

    ally be something special. Hisonly concern is nding goodgoal scorers. He thinks if theteam had exceptional ones theycould be the best in the section.

    Despite being concernedabout players who could score,

    Zlaket was optimistic aboutthe Homecoming game and the

    boys beat San Miguel by an im-pressive margin of 4-1. Seniorand co-captain Marcos Castilloscored the rst goal of the gamesoon followed by goals fromSkylar Decker, JP Alvarenga, andMiguel Quinac. Davis Byrne, a

    senior player on the team, saidthat the sole factor in their vic-tory was the level of school spirit

    conveyed from the fans. Nearlyall the students came to watchthe Homecoming soccer game,bringing a lot of loud cheeringand positive energy. If the stu-dents of The Gregory Schoolkeep up the school spirit there

    is no doubt our soccer team willbe number one in the division.

    Senior Andrew Zlaket chases the ball against a defender from Alta Vista during anearly game in September.

    CHLO DURAND

    Boys Soccer kicks off the season with a strong start

    BOYS SOCCERUPCOMING GAMES

    New coach and new cross country teamBy Arii SylversManaging Editor

    T his seasons crosscountry team showspromise. After one meet,the team is hopeful for theremainder of the season. SeniorR.J. Prudic said about theseason, The cross country teamis coming together pretty good.We have a lot bigger team thanlast year. We got a new coach,Robert Scribner, who ran profor a few years, so that bringsa lot of experience to the team.

    The members of theteam are as follows: freshmen

    Kai Morfin, AddisonMort, Sebastian Quintana,sophomore J.P. Alvarenga,

    juniors Keely Breedlove ,Gabi Ventola, Yuxi Xia, andseniors R.J. Prudic, JacobSabino and Eliza Saunders.

    The cross country teamhas gained new members.Freshman Kai Morfin said,Its different, and Ive

    never done cross country forschool before, so its fun.

    Fellow freshmanSebastian Quintana is excitedabout starting a new sport aswell. Quintana said, Its a newexperience; its really fun.

    Some of them seem tomess around sometimes, butthey get the work done, Prudicsaid about his new teammates.Freshman Addison Mort isadjusting to the new sport.Mort said, Its fun; a lot ofrunning though. But still fun.

    Their first meet was abig success, Prudic placedsecond and Kai Morfin placedseventeenth out of 86 runners.Everyone else ran well,

    said Jesse Vondracek, theother cross country coach.Unfortunately, Keely

    Breedlove, a junior and a talentedrunner, could not participate intheir first meet due to an injury.

    The team has highhopes for the season.According to Prudic, Makingstate, is his ultimate goal.

    CROSS COUNTRYUPCOMING MEETS

    Thursday, Oct. 16@ Lourdes Catholicvs. Lourdes Catholic

    Wednesday, Oct.15vs. Flowing Wells & Buena

    Wednesday, Oct. 22@ Tanque Verdevs. Tanque Verde & Pusch Ridge

    Saturday, Nov. 1Division IV Sectional MeetLocation & Time TBA

    PHOTOS COURTESY OF MONIKA GLOSSELEINJunior Keely Breedlove runstowards the nish line. Senior captain RJ Prudic leads in rst place during a race.

    Monday, Oct. 20@ Homevs. Wilcox

    Tuesday, Oct. 21@ Homevs. Immaculate Heart

  • 8/10/2019 The Gregorian Chant - October 2014 Issue

    8/12

    Campus October 2014 e Gregorian Chant8International program expands as local enrollment shrinks

    T he international student programat The Gregory School has contin-ued to grow, despite a long-termtrend of declining local enrollment. 272students enrolled in grades 5-12 and TGSwelcomed a total of 18 international stu-dentsthe largest number so far in schoolhistoryfrom Brazil, China, Ukraine, andVietnam.

    The international program grewslowly, starting ve years ago with justtwo students. We started getting inquiriesfrom students from China, said Directorof International Programs, Susan Warren,because currently theres a huge amountof students in China who want to study inthe United States.

    In fact, there are over 60,000 Chi-nese students studying at high schoolsacross the country this year. Warren de-scribes several different motivations forChinese students to study abroad, includ-

    ing intense competition for college admis-sions and jobs in China, and a rigorous ed-ucational system without a lot of room forcreativity.

    We cannot choose our own class-es and everybody has the same class, saidsenior Jiaming Li, an international studentfrom China. Li said there are eight classesper day, and she appreciates the extra freetime she has in the US. On moving to theUS, Li said, It was a family decision.

    Li has lived with three host fam-ilies, and she is enjoying this year. Lastyear, it was kind of hard for me. They hadtwo kids so it was hard to get along withthe kids. She plans to study design aftershe graduates this year.

    The school initially worked withan agency to locate qualied candidates,but word-of-mouth referrals have in-

    creased as the program has grown. I thinkmost students come to us because theyare looking for an academically rigorousschool and have heard good things aboutThe Gregory School, said Warren.

    Students in the pro-gram come to the UnitedStates without their parents,staying with relatives or aschool-sponsored host fam-ily. The school provides En-glish language learners withdedicated ESL courses, sup-port services, and a compre-hensive orientation after as-sistance with the applicationprocess and immigration.

    Since the programbegan ve years ago, seveninternational students havegraduated from The Grego-ry School so far, all of whom

    have continued their education in the Unit-ed States.

    I remember a time when Chi-na was considered the enemy, said Lin-da Mount, a history teacher in the Up-per School. My experiences with thesestudents have been fun, rewarding, andmind-expanding.

    In total, 85 new students joinedThe Gregory School this year, with 15 inthe all-new fth grade. 116 students arecurrently enrolled in the middle school,while 156 are enrolled in the high school.

    Three international students are in themiddle school; the other 15 are in the highschool.

    According to Director of Admis-sions and Outreach Mary Babbitt, the 2014-

    By Ben PetersenOnline Editor

    PHOTOS COURTESY OF DHRUV PATEL

    15 year marks the tenth year in a trend ofshrinking enrollment at the school, butBabbitt is optimistic about the future.

    I think we have a lot of work todo in the area of enrollment, said Babbitt.She described the challenges the schoolhas faced, especially increased competi-tion from charter schools in a tough econ-omy.

    Babbitt said, BASIS has beenhard on our enrollment, especially at the6th grade level. However, I feel as thoughwe are really going to be able to come

    back. The administrations target enroll-ment for next year is 300 students. As ofnow, the administration remains unsurewhether to continue growing the interna-tional program.

    International admissions director Susan Warren talks to new internationalstudents about the upcoming school year.

    A new international student studies his textbookduring class.

  • 8/10/2019 The Gregorian Chant - October 2014 Issue

    9/12

    e Gregorian Chant October 2014 9ro es

    PHOTOS COURTESY OF TRIAHNA JOHNSTON

    Danny Benson has just enteredhis seventh year at The Gregory School.Since sixth grade, he has been known oncampus as an outstanding student ath-lete. My favorite c lass is astronomy. Its

    just s o inte res ting I ve a lways wondere dwhats out there, said Benson. Howev-er, his enthusiasm for astronomy isnt theonly thing he is excited about this year.

    I really enjoy sports. This yearI will be playing soccer, basketball,and baseball. I also really enjoy play-ing golf on the weekends. This year,Benson became captain of the soc-cer team and will return as captain ofthe baseball team. If I couldnt playsports, I would probably spend more

    time on my homework, Benson joked.One of Bensons best friends,Andrew Zlaket, has known Danny sinceelementary school at Castlehill. Zlaketsaid, Danny is extremely competitiveand athletic. When asked about hisaspirations, Benson said, Ive alwayswanted to be a pro baseball player. Sincethat wont happen, I just hope I can behappy and successful. Benson plans tomajor in business or engineering, andis applying to a wide range of schoolswhere he plans to continue his education.

    Those who know Benson bestdescribe him as compassionate. Zlaketsaid, Hes an amazing, caring person

    who will always be there for you.Hell always have your back nomatter what. He has one of the big-gest hearts and I love him to death.

    Danny is a significantcharter member of the CanyonPong Club. His many athletic abil-ities, along with a willingness topersevere, are evident. More im-portantly, he demonstrates a com-passionate and considerate spirit.He makes the game fun and is al-ways magnanimous whether hehas won, lost, or is refereeing agame, said art teacher and CanyonPong Club advisor Virginia Encila.

    Beyond the field, Ben-son belongs to an organizationcalled Young Dreamers Tucson.

    Once a month, a group ofTucson teens participate in a com-munity service project. They also

    spend some of their summer va-cation traveling to places such asGuatemala to do additional ser-vice projects. If I had more time,I would definitely do more com-munity service. I would love tosee this organization grow and getsome more kids from The Greg-ory School to join, said Benson.

    Bensons dedication to help-ing the community and his love forall sports make him a outstandingleader on several of The Grego-ry School athletic teams and incommunity service organizations.

    Julia Goes is a senior and a new stu-dent at The Gregory School. Goesis from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

    Goes came to Tucson to live with her rel-atives and study at The Gregory School.Goes said, My relatives knew that TheGregory School was a very good schoolespecially for Tucson so they want-ed me to go here. Goes also reallywanted to come and study here. So farGoes has really enjoyed her stay here.

    Prior to coming to the UnitedStates and to The Gregory School, Goeshas had six years of English. She alsohas been to the United States five timesbefore. She wanted to come to the Unit-ed States so that she could improve her

    English and learn more about Americanculture, but she will only be here for sixmonths and in school for one semester.

    Goes said that, The GregorySchool was very welcoming and thatmade her happy to be going here. SkyeAlgosaibi- Jones said, I am really ex-cited that Julia decided came to TheGregory School. She is really nice andI have enjoyed getting to know her. Ithink it is cool that she is from Bra-zil because then we get to learn someof Brazilian culture. Algosaibi-Jonesadded, I really hope that she can stay atThe Gregory School for the second se-mester because I enjoy being with her.

    Her favorite extracurricularactivity is playing volleyball. Goes ispart of the volleyball team, but doesnot play. Grace Herrick, another mem-ber of the team said, She is very sup-portive of the team. She shows up toevery single practice and helps us out.She also attends every game with theteam. In every game she helps withkeeping stats and she also cheers forus which really keeps the team posi-tive. I just admire her commitment eventhough she does not play in the games.

    Alyssa Metcalf, captain of thevarsity team added, I really enjoy hav-ing Julia on the team because she alwayshas a positive attitude. I also really ap-preciate that she comes to every practiceand game even though she cannot play.

    When she returns to Belo Hor-izonte, she plans on graduating highschool and going to University. She

    wants to go to the University in BeloHorizonte and major in engineeringand return to the United States to studyabroad for graduate school. Alterna-tively, she could finish high school atThe Gregory School and attend col-lege in the United States. If Goes re-turns to school in Belo Horizonte shesaid, I would like to come for a yearas a exchange student in universi-ty here and maybe graduate school.

    Goes is still deciding on go-ing to The Gregory School for therest of the year and staying for col-lege. But, she is definitely stay-ing for the rest of this semester.

    Danny Benson 15 Julia Goes 15By Triahna JohnstonPhoto Editor

    By Noah SandersReporter

    Check us out online!TheGregorianChant.com520.248.1611

  • 8/10/2019 The Gregorian Chant - October 2014 Issue

    10/12

    ev ews October 2014 e Gregorian Chant10

    By Caitlin McCormickCopy Desk Chief

    New streetcar increases public transportation use

    O n July 25, 2014, thebrand-new Tucson SunLink streetcar openedto 17,000 eager citizens excitedto take their rst ride. Cover-ing 3.9 miles in Central Tucson,the streetcar route includes theUniversity of Arizona Campus,the Main Gate and 4th Avenueshopping and entertainmentdistricts, Downtown Tucson,the Tucson Convention Cen-ter, and the Mercado District.

    Despite its recent arriv-al, the planning of the Tucson

    streetcar system has been a longtime coming. The original voteto approve the implementationof the streetcar was made in May2006, although ofcial construc-tion on phase one of the projectwasnt commenced until April2012. The streetcar is just oneaspect of a 20-year, $2.1 billionregional transportation plan cre-ated by the Tucson City Council.

    As is customary in manyprojects, the actual construc-tion time for the streetcar rail-way proved to be much longerthan the estimated time; ofcials

    promised the streetcar wouldopen in late 2013, while the sys-tem didnt ofcially open untilmid-2014. Construction de-lays, as well as additional, un-expected costs that caused theproject to total at $75 million(excluding operational costs)have caused many Tucsonans toquestion the value of the project.

    According to a poll con-ducted by The Gregorian Chant,only 21% of the student body hastaken a ride on the streetcar, but59% of those who had enjoyedtheir experience. Unfortunately,due to the fact that the streetcarcovers only 3.9 miles in a fairlyspread-out city, it does fail to actas a convenient option for much

    of The Gregory School studentpopulation, and Tucson at large.As someone who lives

    directly along the route of theTucson streetcar and watchesit pass my house daily, I have acomplicated relationship withit. During the construction of itsrails on my block and Main GateSquare, the road was completelyblocked off for three hot summermonths with large, unattractivegates. This made traveling to thenumerous shops and restaurantson this area difcult for manyTucsonans, myself included.

    Although I understand thenecessity of construction duringthe summer to avoid inconve-niencing the large college pop-ulation, it denitely had a mea-surable impact on the alreadystruggling small businesses in adifcult recession. In only a fewmonths, numerous shops in bothMain Gate Square and on 4th Av-enue had announced their closure.

    Nonetheless, I was excit-ed for the opening of the street-car, particularly after watchingit drive past my house multipletimes a day during its months oftesting. It boasted eight Made inAmerica vehicles, which eachhold 148 passengers, a cheap one-way $1.50 fare, and a supposedly

    convenient swipe fare card sys-tem. Not to mention, as someoneunable to drive, like much of TheGregory School student body, thestreetcar provided me with an easymode of transportation. It also hasair conditioning an easy sell.

    Unfortunately, when I rodethe streetcar for the rst time inearly August, I wasnt impressed.Obviously, the streetcar pos-sesses all of the normal imped-iments of public transport: youoften encounter a long wait, asthere are only six cars at maxi-mum used at a time and only so

    many stops. The streetcar is alsocrowded, and you should be pre-pared to ride without a seat ifyou take it during the weekend.

    Additionally, the streetcar is just plain slow. If youd like to getsomewhere within a few blocksquickly, you could get there muchmore rapidly if you just ride yourbike. For someone like me, wholives along the route and might beconsidered the target benefactorof the project, walking is denite-ly more efcient in the long run.

    Finally, of the ve timesIve tried to ride the streetcarin the past month, the vendingmachine at the stop nearest tomy house has been out of ordertwice, failing to accept cash orcards. You might hope that such

    a highly anticipated contributionto our community would be a lit-tle more streamlined and reliable.

    Ultimately though, plentyof Tucsonans have loved their ex-perience on the streetcar and theservice it provides to our com-munity, regardless of its aws.Perhaps its greatest gift to theTucson area is an elevation ofour city as a large metropolis; itputs us among the presence ofother modern, highly populatedAmerican capitals from Den-ver, to Portland, to Boston, thestreetcar provides Tucson witha much-needed modern edge.

    By Madi MainmanReporter

    e Maze Runner:A-maze-ed by the movie

    T he Maze Runner, starringDylan OBrien (MTVsTeen Wolf), is the story ofa fearless teenager who changeseverything in a dystopian futureworld. Sounds familiar, right? It

    is extremely similar to moviesDivergent and The HungerGames. Both of these movieswere based on best selling nov-els, and The Maze Runner is nodifferent, as it was adapted fromJames Dashners best seller pub-lished in 2009. The movie obvi-ously is a bit different in plot andcharacters, but if you liked theseother lms, then you will de-nitely like The Maze Runner.

    The main character, Thom-as, wakes up in a strange placecalled the Glade surrounded bya group of other boys and hehas no memory of the outsideworld save from a few confus-ing dreams about W.C.K.D.,the organization that put themthere. Thomas quickly learnsthat the boys are surrounded bya massive maze and have beentrying to nd a way out for threeyears. Somehow Thomas knowsthere is something that setshim apart from the other boysand from the moment Thomassets foot in the Glade, every-thing begins to change. Thom-as knows they need to escapesoon, and he is willing to breakall the rules in order to succeed.

    If you have read the novel,

    you will not be disappointed inthe movie. The characters arecast well, except, I was upsetwith the character Gally, whowas played by Will Poulterfrom We Are the Millers.The whole time I kept pictur-ing him in an RV singing Wa-terfalls in a ridiculously highvoice. Although, apart fromthat the movie was an excel-lent adaptation of the novel.

    I would recommend read-ing the novel prior to watchingthe movie as it may have been abit more difcult to follow with-out the extra details in the nov-el. Also if you have not read thewhole trilogy, the ending maybe a bit unsatisfactory, as it isnot a determinant ending. With-out the second and third novels,the viewers will have to wait ayear in order to reach the con-clusion of Thomass journey.

    Overall I would strong-ly recommend this movie to

    anyone, as it is appropriate foranyone. It is an exciting and en-gaging piece of science ctionlmmaking that keeps view-ers on the edge of their seats.While tting into the samegenre as movies like Divergentand The Hunger Games, it stillhas a rather simple backstorythat makes it easier to followthe premise with less explana-tion. Disregarding its relationto any other young adult mov-ies, it is still a solid science c-tion lm with great young ac-tors and an awesome storyline.

    A ll the hype is back againfor the new Apple iP-hone, but is it really thatgreat? Apple has announcedtheir new iPhones and the newApple Watch. Hype abounds

    for the next generation of thebeloved Apple phones. Thistime around, Apple has decid-ed to make two versions of theiPhone 6. The larger iPhone 6is called the iPhone 6 Plus,whereas the regular iPhone is

    just known as the iPhone 6. TheiPhone 6 has a diagonal lengthof 4.7, while the iPhone 6 Plushas a diagonal length of 5.5.

    Apple had a lot of pres-sure to compete with Sam-sung, LG, and HTC. The newSamsung Galaxy S5 featuresa water resistant casing thatwill work underwater for upto 30 minutes. The galaxyalso features a 16 megapixelcamera, which is much larg-er than the iPhone 6 with an 8megapixel camera. Mathemat-ically, the camera is two timesbetter than the iPhone 6s.

    Along the lines of An-droid phones, LG has their newLG G3, which has a screenresolution of 2560x1440p anda ppi of 538. Ppi is an abbre-viation for the amount of pix-els per one square inch. Tomost of us, ppi simply meanshow crisp and clear the screen

    looks. The new iPhone 6 has appi of 326. So, a top of the lineAndroid has a better lookingscreen than an iPhone by miles.

    You may be looking atthese numbers and saying, Whywould I want an iPhone 6 or 6Plus if the Android phones haveall this stuff? Many people areasking themselves this questionincluding myself. I looked at the

    base price of the new iPhone 6plus, which is $300. I went tothe Verizon phone store to seehow the competition looked,and I picked up a new LG G3with 32GB of storage for $250.I was also able to pick up an ex-tra 64GB of storage for just $30.That means I have 96 GB of stor-age for around $300. The bestcomparison would be an iPhone6 plus with 128 GB of storagefor $500. On average, you wouldsave about $200 by buying a LGG3, which is almost enough tobuy a whole new phone. With allof the money you save not buy-ing an iPhone, you could go buyyourself a top of the line Android.

    So why should anyone buyan iPhone 6 over a top of the lineAndroid? The simple answer:its an iPhone. It looks nice,feels nice, and it is a big sta-tus symbol. I want to state thatI have nothing against Apple,I have owned an iPhone 5 fortwo years, but I am just begin-ning to realize how great theseAndroid phones are. Anyways,Apple has always had reliabilityon their side. This is where theyreally outshine their competi-

    tion because the phones rarelystop working. With Android,glitches sometimes occur. Theglitches dont really affect any-thing, but they can be annoying.

    The real question still re-mains. Should I shell out $300-$500 for a new iPhone or shouldI just go buy the leading com-petition for less? Personally, Iwould choose an Android and

    use the money you saved to gobuy something else. If you wanta better screen and camera, goget yourself a new Android. Ifyou want a nice looking phonethat is reliable, go get a new iP-hone. But, you should look at theprices and comparisons to reallysee the differences before you gospend $500. Unless you want togo spend hundreds to look cool,you should really consider An-droid before Apple as an optionfor a phone this time around.

    By Jack NullReporter

    New iPhone is bigger &better than ever

    Photo courtesy of tucsontopia.com

  • 8/10/2019 The Gregorian Chant - October 2014 Issue

    11/12

    Reviews 11e Gregorian Chant October 2014

    S honda Rhimes, writer ofpopular television showsScandal and GreysAnatomy, recently producedthe new ABC hit How to GetAway with Murder. The showchronicles the trials and tribu-lations of Middleton law schoolprofessor Annalise Keating(Viola Davis), and her stu-dents Wes Gibbons (AlfredEnoch), Connor Walsh (JackFalahee), Michaela Pratt (AjaNaomi King), and Asher Mill-stone (Matt McGorry) who getcaught up in a murder plot.

    Due to Rhimes previ-ous successes, many weredrawn to watch this new se-ries. The pilot episode wasviewed by over fourteen mil-lion Americans. As a fan ofScandal, I too was excitedto watch it, and Im glad I did.

    What I found intriguingabout the show is the differ-ence in settings and tones of

    the show. From the lecture hall,to the courtroom, to Professor

    Keatings house, the dramacontinues. The show has provedthat even a pep rally can becomea murder scene. Also, there isa compelling use of flash for-ward scenes in the show, show-ing a sharp contrast betweenthe students before a scandal-ous murder and afterwards.

    Typical of any Rhimesdrama, the acting is exception-al and convincing. AcademyAward nominee Davis is capti-vating as both a serious and con-fident lawyer, and a broken wifeworried for the state of her mar-riage. Keating she is an intimi-dating professor, a manipulatinglawyer, and a suspicious wife.

    The show is also givingmany young and relatively un-known actors the opportunity toshowcase their talents. Enoch isgiven a spotlight as the bright-eyed scrappy lawyer, who waslucky enough to be broughtoff of the waitlist and into theprogram. The bambi-like actoris best know as Dean from theHarry Potter movie franchise.

    The show is also gaining no-toriety for the creation of a

    gay character, Connor Walsh,played by newcomer Jack Fala-hee. Walsh is confident, witty,and his morals are question-able, but he is one of the mostlikeable characters in the series.

    My one complaint sofar is the somewhat forced re-lationship between Wes andhis unfriendly and mysteri-ous neighbor Rebecca Sut-ter (Katie Findlay.) Althoughthere have only been a fewepisodes of the series, theirdialogue doesnt lend itself tothe googly eyes the two share.

    As a fan of RhimesScandal, I find the show a loteasier to follow. Most of that isdue to the fact that the dialoguemoves a lot slower, and it iscloser to a mystery than a thrill-er. However viewers can expectthe same lies, backstabbing, anddanger that was in Scandal.

    The series airs everyThursday night at 10:00 p.m.

    Season premieres:How to get away with murder & American Hororr Story

    By Arii SylversManaging Editor

    By Chlo Durand

    Editor-in-Chief

    Photo courtesy of eurweb.com Photo courtesy of inexwetrust.com

    T he circus has long beenrevered as a source offun entertainment forfamilies and children acrossAmerica, which only makes itmore powerful as the theme ofRyan Murphys American Hor-ror Storys Season 4. Murphyand co-director Brad Fulchukhave created a story that exam-ines the stories behind each ofthe circus workers, otherwiseknown as freaks. The result isa vivid and gruesome look intoa failing Freak Show during themid-1950s in Jupiter, Florida.

    American Horror Sto-ry is unique in that each sea-son contains a completely newplot and theme. In the past,the themes have been centeredon a murder house during themodern day, an asylum in the1960s, and most recently awitch coven that alternates be-tween the 2000s and the 1800s.

    Jessica Lange, known forher other movie roles in KingKong and Frances, has been

    the main character for the pasttwo seasons and has always

    delivered a stunning perfor-mance, whether she a glamorousall-powerful witch, or a south-ern belle. This season she takeson the role of a German womanwho travels America in search ofnew talent for her Freak Show.

    It will be exciting tosee her character develop-ment over the course of theseason and see whether herdream of becoming a famoussinger will come true or not.

    A new character thatveteran American HorrorStory star, Sarah Paulson,takes on is conjoined twin sis-ters Bette and Dot Tattler.

    In a press release aboutPaulsons character, Murphysaid, On average, if you havea two-person scene maybe itwill take ve hours. If SarahPaulsons character is in it, itsaround 12-20. Its incrediblygrueling and very draining onSarah but she really went for it.

    All three seasons ofAmerican Horror Story havebeen truly amazing, but judg-ing by the rst episode sea-son 4 will be truly exceptional.

  • 8/10/2019 The Gregorian Chant - October 2014 Issue

    12/12

    Bac page October 201412

    Staff Picks: Most embarrassing moment from high school

    A t the beginning of lastyear, The Gregory Schoolwelcomed the new head,Dr. Julie Sherrill. Sherrill hopedfor many changes in her rst year,but some werent able to happen.

    Some changes were num-ber effected to help the schoolnancially. This meant lettingpeople go to reduce the number ofpositions, and this meant chang-ing positions for some people.Including eliminating the mid-dle school and high school head.

    Other people were let go tohelp the school nancially likeMr. Roberts. Dr. Sherrill felt manypositions were to aid the studentbody like Mr. Roberts position asthe dean. Sherrill said, What I en-visioned was a position that trulyfocused on the care and well-be-ing of students from the time weconsider you as a student beingadmitted in to St. Gregory [Lastyear before the name change]until commencement day.

    The positions for theseservices were consolidatedinto the Director of StudentServices given to Ms. Bab-

    bit. This eliminated other peo-ple jobs to help with nances.

    With the name change thisyear, Ms. Babbits job changedto help the school to be positive-ly recepted with the new name

    and increase the enrollments.This meant that the student ser-vices position needed more help

    from the faculty like Mr. Lorimerand Ms. Barnett. Sherrill want-ed to create one position thatcovered all student services, butafter one year she chose morefaculty to help student services.

    Letting go of Mr. Rob-erts raised questions about theKenya trip, 12 hour STG (nowTGS), ropes course, and retreats.The Kenya Trip did happen lastyear and will happen this year.Grade level trips will continuethis last year with Mr. Lorimershelp. However, the 12 hour andropes course havent happened.For the ropes course to happenwould result in at least 15,000dollars for repair and new equip-ment. The 12 hour could havehappened, but Sherrill wanteda proposal from motivated stu-dents for the event, and she isstill willing to do it this year.

    Last year, Sherrill informedthe journalists that she wished fora sweet spot of about 350-400students. She felt that this was theright number for TGS while beingable to operate perfectly in termsof nance. However, this yearthere was a drop in the numberof students and her sweet spot

    compared to last year. Drop inher sweet spot went from 350-400 to 300-350 students. Sherrillsaid, In fact I worry about 400now...350 would be fantastic.She felt enrollment growing more

    than 350 would require a mas-ter plan to expand or improveclassrooms and even the campus.

    In her rst year Sherrillwanted to increase enrollment bythe 2014-2015 year, but there wasa drop in enrollment. Sherrill hasproposed new ideas to increaseenrollment. One idea is to vis-it big companies like Raytheon,so they reference our school tothe workers with families thatrecently moved here to Tucson.

    Another idea was to add a5th grade which has successfullyopened to help compete with otherschools and retain more students.Sherrill formed a new retentioncommittee consisting of middleschool faculty. This committeewould look over the thingsthat work or do not workin terms of 8th gradersstaying for 9th grade.

    Last year, Sher-rill was hoping to sitin classes for im-provement, butshe wasnt able toas much. How-ever, she plansto sit in moreclasses this year,so she able to pro-vide more feedback

    for improvementor be able to use thatinformation when inform-ing others about the school.

    By Dhruv PatelReporter

    Dr. Sherrill reects on rst year and whats to come

    SAM GROSKIND

    Head of school Dr. Julie Sherrill poses for a quick picture.

    A) ChloDurand

    B) ValerieYarova

    C) MadiMainman

    D) DhruvPatel

    E) KaramKatariya

    F) NatalieArmstrong

    G) RaymondRoesler

    H) CaitlinMcCormick

    I) Triahna Johnston

    J) BenPetersen

    K) SamGroskind

    L) AriiSylvers

    M) NoahSanders

    N) JackNull

    1) When I accidentally sent a screenshot of our con-versation to the person I was having theconversation with...

    2) My GPA.

    3) When I got a 27 on my Chemistry nal.

    4) I dated the same girl three times.

    5) When I accidentally sent a snapchat saying soand so is so annoying to the person I was talkingabout.

    6) When I tripped over a log and face planted duringthe freshmen retreat.

    7) When I caused a car accident right in front ofschool.

    8) When I tripped, fell, and the entire grade saw.

    9) When I was laughing so hard I spat out all of theSprite I was drinking.

    10) Getting a speeding ticket, and almost caused acar accident with my friends while turning left on agreen light.

    11) When I complained about a teacher really loudlyas they walked by.

    12) Got into a car accident when I was parked in aparking lot.

    13) Getting chased down a parking lot by a RussianAnswers:

    1 L , 2 K , 3 I , 4 G , 5 M , 6 A , 7 C , 8 J , 9 N , 1 0 D , 1 1 H , 1 2 F , 1 3 E .