THE WINDOW A LOOK BEYOND THE HOUSES

Volume IX Issue I

Seventh grader Eva Wirtz sprints for the finish line at a cross country meet. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams fin-

ished first in the state. Photo by Grace Delmonte

The Decisions of Foundations

What do you really know about House Council? The details can only be found here!

By Anika Malhotra

Staff Reporter

Have you ever wondered who decides on the theme for the socials? Or who confirms

the videos that will be played at open house? Well, some students don’t know that in fact the

House Council makes all of these decisions and more. They meet and discuss events like so-

cial themes, open house, and other subjects, essentially making all the decisions for the Foun-

dations House program. Seventh grader Christina Battaglia says, “Foundations House Council

has been really fun so far, and I like being a leader.” Battaglia decided to run because she had

participated in Student Council in her previous school, and thought it would be exciting to try

it again. Seventh grader Lindsay Weinzierl stated her idea that Marist has Foundations House

Council to help our peers and their ideas on certain topics. Overall, Foundations House Coun-

cil has helped out greatly in the Marist School.

Damascus Seventh graders have a positive experience at Damascus

By Hailey Tangum

Staff Reporter

On two Saturdays during September and October, numerous seventh graders poured

onto the field before the Damascus retreat. Many of the seventh graders had a very positive

experience. The seventh graders enjoyed the meditation in which the leaders and their group

were asked to focus on their relationship with God. Maura Tangum, a senior who lead the

retreat, mentioned that her group was interested in each other’s lives and got to know each

other. All in all, the Damascus retreat was a positive experience which helped the seventh

graders to connect to others and God.

The WINDOW is a news magazine published by Marist School Foundations students several times per year. Please ad-

dress all comments to WindowNewsmagazine@marist.com. The staff meets weekly during activity period in room I204.

Editorial Policy: The thoughts expressed in opinion articles are those of the author and do not represent the position of

the Window staff, the moderator, the Marist School administration, or the Society of Mary.

Issue I Contributors

Editors: Natalie Selover and Olivia Roberts

Reporters: Grace Delmonte, Alexis Derickson, Sarah Todd Hammer, Anika Malhotra, Sarah Monarchik,

and Hailey Tangum

Photographers: Grace Delmonte, Alexis Derickson, Sarah Todd Hammer, Anika Malhotra

Faculty Moderator: Mrs. Perrin Rains

Book Review: The Other Side of Me

By Sarah Todd Hammer Staff Reporter

All teachers have hobbies they like to do outside of school.

It may not seem like it, but they’re just the same as students when

they’re not in a classroom. One example is Mrs. Likes, the ITT

teacher. She loves to write, and she has written many outstanding

young adult books.

One of her books that is absolutely amazing is TOSOM The

Other Side of Me FRESHMAN. Mrs. Likes is planning on making

this book the first one in a series that continues throughout the main

character, Amarea’s, high school experience. In fact, The book is

about Amarea falling in love with a boy named Joey. The couple

can communicate through their thoughts, making things more com-

plicated. On top of that, Amarea has to deal with cancer.

Mrs. Likes included a brief description of the plot, sum-

marized in the following quote: “List of things that suck in my

life: cancer-check, moving to a new school-check, having people think I’m contagious-check, being in love

with someone who’s in love with someone else-check, being able to communicate telepathically with him-

well, that doesn’t suck all the time. A story about what it means to be a friend, what it means to fall in love,

and what it means to be there when you really don’t want to be.”

Her novel is a very excellent book, and it is definitely worth reading. Mrs. Likes truly has a talent and

love for writing, and she expresses it perfectly. Mrs. Likes is proud of her work, saying, “We [she and her

daughter Taisha] started talking about characters, and I fell in love with Joey and Amarea. I wrote the ending

to the fourth book in the series several years ago, and now I’m trying to fill in the middle. I love the second

book! It makes me laugh a lot. Most of the characters are students or people I know. I’m honoring them, for

who they are, in the books.”

The TOSOM The Other Side of Me book cover.

Did the Maze Runner movie live up to the fans’ expectations? The Maze Runner movie just came out, and the fans have high expectations. Did the popular movie meet them?

By Anika Malhotra Staff Reporter It started with a bang. Unlike most movies, The Maze Runner did not start with a title screen or cred-

its. In fact, it began with an intense scene that most peo-ple would think should belong in the middle of a

movie. But, it captured the view-er’s attention. The rest of the movie definitely kept everyone on the edge of

their seat. The movie had many jump scares in it, but just enough to keep you wanting to know more and

more about the plot, which was the best part of the movie. The Maze Runner had an excellent story which,

surprisingly, was very unlike any other movie plotline. The movie is based off of the first book in James

Dashner’s best-selling trilogy. The movie foreshadows at the end that there will, in fact, be another movie

coming after this one. After speaking to several dedicated fans of the series, I can confirm that the movie

lived up to the fandom’s standards. It was an exciting movie that had a large amount of action, and kept you

on the edge of your seat.

The Battle Within Student uses her own struggles to help others

By Sarah Monarchik and Abby Anderson Window Staff Reporter and Blue and Gold Reporter On April 19, 2010, Sarah Todd Hammer’s life changed

forever. Sarah Todd, currently a seventh grader at Marist,

would no longer be an ordinary second grader, but a warrior

battling transverse myelitis. Transverse myelitis is a neuro-

logical condition that involves the inflammation of one’s spi-

nal cord. When Sarah Todd was diagnosed, she was only

eight years old and a student at Ocee Elementary School.

When she was diagnosed, she spent two months in the hospi-

tal and could not move her arms and legs at all. During this

time, Father Rowland visited her every day and gave her a

stuffed dog to be her prayer buddy.

Although her arms are partially paralyzed, Sarah still

pursues an education, which is a miracle in itself. Sarah Todd

inspires people daily. On October 18, 2014, she walked a 5K

in Baltimore, Maryland to raise money for the Kennedy

Krieger Institute (KKI) where patients, especially those with

spinal cord injuries, can go for doctor’s appointments and

therapy. When asked why she chose to support the KKI, Sa-

rah Todd answered, “I feel connected to it because I was

treated there.” Sarah Todd and Jennifer Starzec co-authored a

book called 5k, Ballet and a Spinal Cord Injury about the two

ladies’ struggles with transverse myelitis. Sarah Todd’s bright

smile and friendly personality continue to inspire the Marist community every day.

Sarah Todd Hammer recently raised money for the

Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD. Photo

by Mrs. Lisa Hammer

Above: Sarah Todd co-authored 5k, Ballet and a Spinal Cord Injury

about her own battle with transverse myelitis. She sold copies at this

year’s Holiday Traditions. Right: The cover of Sarah Todd’s book.

Photo by Mrs. Lisa Hammer

Our Newest Addition Wondering what it would be like to be in old Kurht right now? Thanks to the new Ivy Street Center, the memories of Kurht live on in this modern addition. By: Alexis Derickson Staff Reporter

We seventh graders are lucky; we never had to experience

the pained life of going to class in Kurht. We lucky seventh graders

don’t have to experience the confusion of classroom numbers

changing. We lucky seventh graders get to experience the brand new

Ivy Street Center, along with the rest of the joyous Marist School

community. A big change, right? A beautiful, modern, pleasant

learning environment that we are proud to have on our campus.

That’s Ivy Street! Ivy Street, the first new academic building on the

campus in more than 20 years, includes 17 state-of-the-art

classrooms that the Math and English departments get to experience

on a day to day basis, faculty offices, collaborative meeting spaces,

and extended sports facilities. But that’s not all! Classrooms can open

up into eight Breakout Spaces, great learning spaces with

comfortable seating and floor to ceiling whiteboards. The teachers

are enjoying their new short-throw projectors, and there’s a Lecture

Hall on the main level that has a Lenovo outlet at every seat. Along

with that, Ivy Street is eco-friendly! It has exterior sunshades and

interior light shelves on the windows which allow pure natural light to

shine through the whole classroom. There are also high-efficiency

LED light bulbs to save energy, and high efficiency hand-dryers in the

restrooms. Lastly, the classrooms include high occupancy light

sensors that automatically turn off lights when there is no one in the

classroom, and a rain-garden that absorbs water runoff, and a cistern

collects extra rainwater for later use.

E v e r

wonder what Marist students had to go through before this mi-

raculous building was brought into existence? Probably not.

Well, in my chat with Ms. Gina Parnaby, a 12th grade English

teacher, I was able to find out what she thought of the new ad-

dition. She has taught here for twelve years, and knows first-

hand what a wonderful addition Ivy is. Ms. Parnaby agrees with

Ivy being the most significant change to the campus, saying,

“Yes, while I have been here.” Her favorite part? “The light! The

windows are so beautiful!” She also believes that Ivy Street has

influenced the way her students learn, because “they like the

flexibility of the classroom space.” She also states that the

Breakout Rooms “certainly facilitate group work, and just walk-

ing through the hallways when I’m not teaching, I’ve seen stu-

dents using them very frequently, even when they’re not in

class, so that’s a good thing.” Her overall impression of Ivy

Street and its impact on Marist is “that it has given us some

space to be creative. It’s certainly given us added ability to

work together.” When asked if there was anything else she

would like to add, she said with a smile, “It certainly smells bet-

ter than old Kurht! It has been a great investment for the

school.” With the new Ivy Street Center, Marist School is look-

ing better than ever!

(Above) The front of the recently constructed Ivy Street

building

One of Ivy Street’s many Breakout Rooms, which help to

encourage healthy study habits.

(Top Left) The brand-new Ivy Street full-length lockers

(Top Right) An Ivy Street classroom

Photos courtesy of

Anika Malhotra ‘20

Cheering for Victory

The Eighth Grade Marist Cheerleaders

By Sarah Todd Hammer

Staff Reporter

Since the high school cheerleaders are

the ones that cheer at the big games, the eighth

grade cheerleaders often get overshadowed by

the older girls. That doesn’t mean they aren’t

important, as they still encourage the middle

school football team to work hard.

Ms. Pelt, the eighth grade cheerleading

coach, loves watching the eighth grade cheer-

leaders encourage the middle school football

players. “In moments when there is not a lot

of cheering from the crowd, the cheerleaders

help get the crowd excited,” Ms. Pelt explains.

“That way the football players almost always

hear enthusiasm from the direction of the crowd.”

There is definitely more to cheerleading than dressing up in a cute uniform with a big bow. Ms. Pelt

tells that cheerleading allows young girls to come together and work on many different things, such as team-

work. Teamwork is a huge part of

cheering, since all the girls work togeth-

er to show off fabulous stunts and tricks.

In order to be a great cheerleader, it helps to have a loud voice, and be very

enthusiastic. “It is always uplifting to hear words of encouragement from the cheerleaders.” Ms. Pelt says.

Eighth grade cheerleader Sara Moyers

loves cheering on the team, explaining, “The most important thing about cheer-leading to me is staying positive. Even if

our team is losing, it is our job as cheer-leaders to keep cheering the players on, and to help the fans cheer on the players

too.”

The next time the football players aren’t feeling they will win, the cheerleaders for sure will boost their confidence up

and help them stay positive. The cheer-leaders definitely know how to work to-gether and help the War Eagles win!

The girls practicing their cheer. Photo by Sarah Todd Hammer

The eighth grade cheerleaders posing for a picture. From left to right: Hal-

lie Jo Schroeder, Lizzie Bonatz, Paige Slusser, Summer Hall, Sara Moyers,

Elizabeth Erdman, Juliana Fraundorf (on bottom), Carley Chastain, Jenny

Jordan (above Juliana), Natalie Magill (ontop), Annie Oates, Emily Davis,

Lucy Luckovich, and Ansley Bittick. Photo by Sarah Todd Hammer

7th and 8th Grade Volleyball Beats Lovett By: Alexis Derickson ‘20

The Marist’s Girls’ Volleyball

Team has had a pleasing season this year,

and that comes with hard work and

determination. Seventh grader Bella

Gregory describes her favorite moment in

their season as being their win against

Lovett. “We won against Lovett, which was

a huge win, because the first time we

played them, we lost in the third set, and

this time we won in the third set. It was

really big because it was a really close

game!” With their record being 14-13, the

team definitely had an amazing season!

Mimi Taylor, an eighth grader, had a

personal favorite. “My favorite moment

was when I went up, hit the ball, somebody

blocked it, Emily Pickell (8th), playing back

row, dug it, the ball was set to me again,

and I went up, hit the ball again, and that

time we won the point.”

However, a few good moments didn’t mean the team

couldn’t improve as well. Coach Julie-Hart Stander said they

could improve on “staying focused at practice. As the season is

progressing, they tend to lose focus at practice. But other than

that, they’ve really made huge strides and have made some

great improvements from the beginning of the year on their

technical abilities, serving, passing, and setting.” It seems that

the volleyball team’s hard work at practice and on the court has

really paid off! Speaking of practice, what is practice like?

Well, Coach Stander said that the girls “tried out in the first

week of August, and until school started, we practiced three

hours a day, five days a week. The first two hours were spent

in the gym. The next hour, they trained physically and did

workouts. We worked with Coach Kirillova a little bit since

she’s new this year, and she was helping us do some of our

training.” Once school started? “Now, since school started, we

have more matches, so we might practice two or three times a

week and we’ll work on what the girls were not doing so well

on in the games. “

As is the custom at Marist, there is a reli-

gious factor of the team as well. Gregory, Taylor, and Coach

Stander said that before each game, Kathleen Maley ‘19, their

chaplain, gave the team a pep talk and had the team say a pray-

er as well. As on any sports team, players share one common

thing: a love for the game and a drive to get better. As Mimi

Taylor put it, “I think that volleyball is a great sport. It is easy

to learn, and hard to perfect.” The team ended their season with

a final record of 14-13. Go War Eagles!

Grace Gunning ‘20, at

left, gets in position for

her hit.

Bella Gregory ‘20, at

right, prepares for her

serve.

The team photo. Top row, left to right: Coach Julie-Hart Stander, Kennedy Walls (7th), Kathleen Ma-

ley (8th), Mimi Taylor (8th), Emma McGuire (7th), Rachel Johnson (7th), Grace Gunning (7th). Bot-

tom row, left to right: Emily Pickell (8th), Lauren Corbett (7th), Caitlin Gallagher (7th), Bella Gregory

(7th), Natalie Selover (8th), and Claire Huffstetler (7th). Not pictured: Kara Gandy (8th).

Photos courtesy of Alexis

Derickson

Inside their season and exclusive one-on-one interviews with members of the team.

Some people may not realize it, but

cross country is more of a team sport than

an individual sport. While a runner’s

personal best is an important goal for each

individual, the top seven runners in the

race also earn points for the team’s total

score.

The Marist runners have been

training hard for meets with fast individual

times and winning team scores. The team

started running two weeks before school

started, giving the students a great

opportunity to condition and meet some

new friends (and the visits to Starbucks

after practice were a fun way to bond)!

The coaches this season were Coach Von-Hagen, Coach Burns, Coach McGregor, and Coach Tur-

biville. All of the athletes’ hard work paid off as both the boys’ and girls’ teams won their first meet, the

Crow’s Lake Challenge, in Jefferson, Georgia. Next, the team ran against Wesleyan, where Marist placed first

in girls, but the boys came in second to Westminster. The special meet of the season was the Catholic Invita-

tional at Marist, where the girls dominated with a perfect score. This was an extremely important meet because

Holy Redeemer REALLY wanted to beat Marist. The second to last meet was at Pace Academy. Marist won

the meet in both the boys and girls categories. The last meet of the regular season was back at their home

course and the team once again was victorious for both girls and boys. Before the state championship, Coach

Von-Hagen said, “We’ve had a great season. The girls went undefeated,

and the boys almost did. We looked really competitive this year. As a

coach, I look forward to the State Championship, and I know the other

coaches do as well.”

The team’s top seven girls are Eva Wirtz, Annie Magee,

Annika Callaham, Emma McEvoy, Olivia Baljet, Emily Hartigan,

and Olivia Shutley. Eva Wirtz did not attend the State Championship

meet, but Annie Magee stepped into her place, and Elizabeth Brum-

mer took the seventh spot. The top seven boys are Leif Andersen, Dan

Devlin, Hayden Fukushima, Edward Bonhomme, Michael

McDevitt, Michael Wagner, and Michael Cully. The State Championship

was held on October 18, 2014. Marist swept the stage in both the boys

and girls team events and then took home the combined trophy. The win

was an awesome way to end the season. Each individual runner im-

proved, which helped the team dominate every meet. It has been a great

season, and hopefully the team’s winning streak will continue next year.

GO WAR EAGLES!

Shown from left to right, Emily Hartigan, Eva Wirtz, Emma McEvoy, and Annie Magee,

on their first lap around the field at The Catholic Invitational. Photo by Grace Delmonte

The team proudly posing with trophies at the

State Championship. Shown from left to right

on the top, Dan Devlin, Edward Bonhomme,

Hayden Fukushima, Michel Cully, Leif

Anderson, and Michael McDevitt. Shown from

left to right on the bottom, Olivia Baljet, Eliza-

beth Brummer, Emma McEvoy, Emily

Hartigan, Anika Callaham, Annie Magee, and

Olivia Shutley. (Not pictured: Michael

Wagner)

Middle School Cross Country An Individual and A Team

Grace Delmonte Staff Reporter

Foundations Fall Games 2014 Collage

A Day for Houses to Connect