Category: by Anokha V ’19

Categories
2018-2019 Archives by Anokha V '19 Clubs/Activities Student Life

Senior Trip 2019: A Weekend of Bus Breakdowns and Cacophonous Karaoke

On January 11th, BSGE’s senior class embarked for three days filled with a haunted hotel, shots to the head, and blown-off tires. The eagerly anticipated trip occurred in Honor’s Haven Resort in Ellenville, New York, one of the six towns in New York without a Starbucks, to many of the over-caffeinated seniors’ chagrin. For one weekend, students were free from the constraints of the first-semester of senior year, able to ignore impending college deadlines and IB assessments. However, In typical BSGE dysfunction, the tire of the coach bus blew off forty minutes into the voyage. Yet seniors didn’t let this dampen their spirits, and proceeded to share snacks and play games while waiting. Finally, another bus arrived, and the trip resumed. However, on the first night of the trip, one could peek into hotel rooms and view people hunched over their laptop screens, colorful art slides reflecting in their glazed over eyes. Graciously, Ms. Tramontozzi extended the due date for these slides until after the weekend. That’s when senior trip really began.

Saturday morning began at 8am, where the seniors sat together at the round tables, feasting on their fluffy eggs and crispy bacon. The sounds of heartbreak quickly filled the dining room once they learned they would not be served coffee. Desperate to satisfy their Mimi’s Deli addiction, some spent $4 on upstate iced “lattes.” Newly energized, the seniors continued their trip at the roller skating rink. Some were more successful than others, particularly Christina who mastered the artful Heel Toe. Coming back with bruised bums and sore thighs, the seniors finally faced the well-known bouncy castles of the Winter Festival. Later, they attended a two hour hike around the resort. Some seniors momentarily parted from the group, tentatively exploring some abandoned houses with rotting wood and a lone Entenmann’s box. After a group photo at the bottom of the hill, and some quick pushes on rope swings in the area, the seniors headed back to the hotel, their noses red but their hearts warm. That evening, seniors gathered in the auditorium for some heartfelt renditions of classic Karaoke songs. Taking to the stage to perform Everytime we Touch by Cascada were Stella, Matthew, Malika, Fariha and Jennifer, the high paced bop done justice by their singing. Following that performance were Joanna, Janielle, Anokha, Ona, Wei, Grace, and Annie, who artfully performed Love Story by Taylor Swift, complete with mock proposals and endless jumping. Another memorable performance was the heart-string tugging Country Roads by Matthew, Kai, Christian, Leon, Christos, Stefan, Justin, and of course, Mr. Caccamo. Finishing off the session on a touching note, Eliana, Marc, and Rodrigo sang ‘Hey There Delilah’ their voices reverberating throughout the hall as the BSGE audience waved their phone flashlights through the air. That night, seniors gorged on chocolate and vanilla ice cream, drowning their bowls in sprinkles and chocolate sauce, then burning off all the calories with some sweaty dance circles in the karaoke hall. At midnight, around half the grade participated in an exhilarating game of Manhunt. People took to the hills, running through darkness, their shadows and foggy breath perhaps the only visible things in the pitch black night. Crawling over dried goose poop, or hiding in fetal position under lawnmowers (*ahem* Kai), they crouched with baited breath, desperately hoping not to be revealed by someone’s sweeping flashlight. The fear was only heightened by hair-raising tales told to Mr. Mehan by the trip manager about the history of the hotel. In the distance, the frozen lake was said to contain the charred bodies of children and teachers, burned in a fire a century ago by some vengeful town dwellers against the teaching of science in their schools. After a few rounds, it was time to return back to the hotel. Throughout the hallway resounded the sounds of the munching and crunching of chips, and giggles from raucous games of Cards Against Humanity and Uno.

The next morning came with perhaps one of the most awaited events of the weekend: Paintball. Covered head to toe in camouflage gear, participants trudged to a lawless terrain, armed with paintball guns and their iron will. Braving through butt-shots, back-shots, arm-shots, and some head-shots, the Class of 2019 went to battle, playing Capture the Flag, Mr. President, and King of the Hill. In Mr. President, Mr. Caccamo relied on his trusty team to protect him, and protect him they did. Word to the wise: If you are proposed with a game of Civil War, do NOT participate.

After a fulfilling weekend in Ellenville, New York, the seniors returned home to the Big Apple. On the ride home, most everyone slept soundly, exhausted by the thrilling weekend’s events.

By Anokha V. ’19 with contributions from Joanna K. ’19

Advertisement
Categories
2016-2017 Archives by Anokha V '19 Culture Features News students U.S.

A Personal Experience of the March on Washington

On January 21st, 2017, my mother, friends, and I chanted “We want a leader, not a creepy tweeter!” loudly throughout the streets of Washington D.C.

Less than twenty-four hours after country musicians strummed their guitars for America’s new president, I marched with more than two million women, men, and children across the globe protesting Donald Trump and what he stands for. With the recent election and inauguration of Donald Trump as America’s 45th president, tensions have been high, to say the least. Each day has introduced new scandals and potential constitutional violations. From taking down the pages on climate change and LGBTQ rights on the White House website on his first day in office to waging a full fledged war on the media, Donald Trump has been a very controversial figure. However, this article is not meant to focus on Trump or his supporters, but on the Women’s March on Washington. While I went to the Women’s March primarily to protest Trump’s administration and the man himself, the Women’s March was used by many to advocate for women’s rights. The idea for the Women’s March originally sparked when a retired attorney from Hawaii, Teresa Shook, created a Facebook page for 40 of her friends, attempting to create a small march in protest of Trump’s election. Overnight, 10,000 people had RSVPed for the event, and that’s when the movement gained momentum. The march had its fair share of controversy, however. When it was originally conceived by Ms. Shook, she named it the Million Women’s March, which was a march organized for black women in 1997. This naming drew some backlash, and felt quite racially exclusive, so the march was handed over to female activists Linda Sarsour, Carmen Perez, and Tamika Mallory, and named the Women’s March on Washington. From there, the march became the monumental event that it became known as on January 21st.

Continue reading “A Personal Experience of the March on Washington”
Categories
2016-2017 Archives by Anokha V '19 Features students

From Poland to America: Bartolomie Halibart

Meet Bart. Bartolomie Halibart, our tenth-grade Polish transfer student, has added lots of character to the grade. Bart, as most people call him, came from Krakow, Poland. He left Krakow, the “most beautiful city in Poland”, to arrive in New York City on June 26th, 2016. However, it’s not his first time here. Previously, Bart lived in New York City from 2002 to 2007, then moved back. He used to live on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. On this Bart remarked, “They call me Brooklyn Bart.” He is to be a man of many monikers: another form of his name is Bartolomiej, which combines his English name and Bartłomiej, his Polish name.

Currently, Bart resides in Ridgewood, Queens with his parents, his sister Katarzyna or Katherine, and his Yorkshire terrier Dexter. He described his commute to school in detail, with more knowledge about the subway map than many of his fellow classmates. New York was well missed by Bart: he proudly stated how great it was to be back. Bart had much to say for his second time in the city.

Continue reading “From Poland to America: Bartolomie Halibart”
Categories
by Anokha V '19

The Ever-Changing Face of BSGE Admissions

While every student at BSGE has gone through an admission process, we might not have all taken the same test. Over the last few years, the 7th grade admissions test has undergone some transformations.

Around 500 to 600 students register to take the 7th grade admissions test every year (however, this doesn’t guarantee that all those students will actually show up to take the test). In the next round, around half of the people that took the test are invited back for an interview. After the interview, around 80-100 students are accepted, depending on the number of streams the school is projecting to fill. 

Continue reading “The Ever-Changing Face of BSGE Admissions”
Categories
by Anokha V '19

2016 Senior IB Art Exhibitions!

IMG_2527On March 14th and 16th, BSGE seniors had a chance to display their 2 years of hard work on the walls of the nearby Aurora Gallery for parents, friends, and teachers to admire. This year’s IB art show was especially groundbreaking, because it was the first year that two art exhibitions were arranged, instead of one. This was partially due to the size of the Class of 2016, as well as new IB requirements for more art to be displayed. Half the grade presented their work on Monday while the other half did so on Wednesday. The exhibition counted as a large part of the Internal Assessment for the IB Art exam. “Because of the new IB Visual Arts exam criteria, these two exhibitions were the largest BSGE has ever hosted, and were the most ambitious,” stated Ms. Schwarz. For many twelfth graders such as Inarra Sorathiya ’16, the art show was rewarding. She said it was strange but gratifying to see all her artworks together and after she had worked hard preparing her pieces for months. While personal satisfaction was one fulfilling factor, having others there to admire the students work was also very validating. Khadija Zulfiqar ’16 enjoyed having her work on display for her parents to see. Gabriel Steinberg ’16 felt a highlight was having friends from other schools come in and see that he “actually does work.”

Continue reading “2016 Senior IB Art Exhibitions!”
Categories
by Anokha V '19

A Warm Welcome to Mr. Rabinowitz, BSGE’s Newest Humanities Teacher

This school year, BSGE gained a new humanities teacher, Mr. Steven Rabinowitz. In a recent interview, he shared the details of the path he took to becoming a teacher as well as a devoted follower of a secret band.

So what made the Long Beach native, and upcoming girls’ basketball coach, interested in the humanities? As a child, Mr. Rabinowitz’s took long road trips with his grandfather. On these adventures, he would stare at maps and memorize all their features, from rocks and rivers, to cities and states. Somewhere along the way, a passion for history and geography was born. In the 6th grade, Mr. Rabinowitz’s guidance counselor asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and not surprisingly, Mr. Rabinowitz said “history teacher.”

At 24, Mr. Rabinowitz went to grad school in “the most awesome place on Earth,” or as others know it, Santa Cruz, California. In 2011, Mr. Rabinowitz completed graduate school, and began covering for teachers on maternity leave. This is his fourth full year teaching in a classroom.  It seems as if Mr. Rabinowitz is a jack of all grades; for the last couple of years, he’s taught everything from seventh to twelfth grade, plus independent study.  He loves contemplating alternate histories, but tries to avoid this when thinking academically. Imagine a world in which there wasn’t a Revolutionary War–we’d be having tea everyday (not that I’d mind, of course).

So what attracted Mr. Rabinowitz to BSGE? Was it the crowded hallways or the cafegymatorium? Surprisingly, neither. Mr. Rabinowitz was enchanted by the fact that BSGE is passionate about its students.

He liked that the teachers here want students to strive and develop on their own. The cozy atmosphere appealed to him as well. At BSGE, almost everyone knows each other, which as many students can understand, is both a blessing and a curse. Mr. Rabinowitz last taught at Brooklyn Latin for a year. It was a good school, but, “it wasn’t me,” he said.  At Brooklyn Latin, the children wore uniforms which he felt minimized expression. Most students there didn’t approach the teachers for help either. Here, Mr. Rabinowitz thinks the students are “great.” He feels that BSGE has abundant character.  Mr. Rabinowitz is amazed by how expressive the students are, and is fascinated especially by the way we interact with one another.

Even though some people may associate the humanities with old, creaky men writing documents, Mr. Rabinowitz’s music taste is not Beethoven. He in fact has 3 ½ terabytes of classic rock, folk rock, jam bands, 80s new wave, and nu disco on his computer.  The Grateful Dead, Talking Heads, LCD Soundsystem, Tool, Zero7, and Paul Simon are some of his favorites. Then there’s THE band. The band he has gone to see 216 times. The Band Who Must Not be Named. Or rather the one he absolutely refused to name because he was afraid he’d bump into one of his students at a concert.

For years in college, Mr. Rabinowitz spent most of his money going to see bands “he couldn’t afford.” Still, he said the concerts were “worth every penny.”  “Yolo,” he said. Then his history-teacher personality kicked in: “‘Unless you’re a Buddhist or Hindu. Or a cat.”

If there’s something that Mr. Rabinowitz loves as much as music, it’s teaching. He loves that “something subtle could impact someone so much.” Thinking back to high school, only his humanities teacher and his French teacher stood out. He said he never forgot how they helped him grow as a person. Now he wants to pay their wisdom forward. He wants to push his students at BSGE to progress just as he did.  Nevertheless, he doesn’t forget that “as much as you guys are learning, I am too.” Often, we don’t realize that we’re not the only ones going through a learning process. While we are growing, Mr. Rabinowitz said, we’re also helping him grow.

Categories
by Anokha V '19

Nepal’s Earthquake: The Aftermath and Relief Efforts

On April 25th, at 11:56 PM, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 claimed thousands of lives in Nepal. As of Friday, May 1st, around 6,300 people were proclaimed dead, and 14,000 people injured. This earthquake claimed 8,836 lives in total (including outside of Nepal), with 21,952 injuries. It took quite long to account for the thousands of people missing, perhaps under rubble and in distant villages. On May 12th, there was an aftershock of 7.3 magnitude, which killed 218 people and injured more than 3,500 people.  The original earthquake had an effect all around Nepal, including Mount Everest. Studies show that the earthquake shrank the the 29,000-foot mountain by at least 3 feet. Due to the earthquake, avalanches occurred on the mountain, killing at least 19 people, and injuring at least 61. This disaster has been the deadliest in Everest history. The effect of the earthquake on Nepal’s tourist industry is also very detrimental. Nepal, a developing country, relies on its historical attractions, such as the Dharahara Tower, which after the earthquake went from 100 feet to a 30 foot pile of rubble. Additionally, due to the fact that many men in Nepal often go far to find decent paying jobs, many women were left to fend entirely for their families after the earthquake. They lost their homes, their animals, and many other things precious to them. However, the most precious things were the children. After the earthquake, an even larger part of these women’s lives was protecting their childrens’ lives.

In order to raise money for Nepal, several advisories have been having bake sales, and Helping Hands has been doing a lot too. Ramisa Bashar ’18 said “Helping Hands has taken the initiative to help Nepal. So we’ve placed boxes in advisories in order to gather money to donate through one of Mr. Lakhaney’s acquaintances stationed in Nepal to work with people there. It’s a very one-on-one sort of thing. We’re also collecting necessities that they may require such as, soap, warm clothing, etc.” 

Continue reading “Nepal’s Earthquake: The Aftermath and Relief Efforts”
Categories
by Anokha V '19 Uncategorized

10 Things I Learned When I Went to Buzzfeed

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to visit Buzzfeed’s New York headquarters. Here’s a few things I discovered when I went to this virtual sanctuary.

  1. Each conference room is named after a celebrity, including each member of Destiny’s Child.
  2. Outside each conference/celebrity room is a cardboard cutout of the aforementioned celebrities. I got a picture taken next to 2-dimensional Harry Potter.
  3. On the structural pillars in the building are random celebrity heads, such as Ryan Gosling and Kanye West that watch you ominously.
  4. There are bagels every Friday. EVERY. FRIDAY. It would be the perfect place for Mr. Mehan.
  5. There is a cornucopia of food! There are seven types of cereal, and bins filled with pretzels, welch fruit snacks, etc. There are coffee and hot-chocolate machines. For free. The liquids are dispensed into large Buzzfeed mugs.
  6. There’s a British telephone booth that may or may not work. However it did not double as an elevator that went into the subway station (you go Arthur Weasley).
  7. The heating system in the building is apparently terrible, so all the Buzzfeeders(?) go around wearing hats and blankets.
  8. Everyone there is pretty much in their 20s, so kudos to Generation Y.
  9. The walls are decorated with huge circular “OMG” and “LOL” posters. Oh my god!
  10. They gave me free memorabilia in the form of Buzzfeed pens, stickers, notebooks, and notepads. The one time I actually support shameless promotion.
  11. Bonus: I got featured in a Buzzfeed article! It’s called 28 People Share Why They Love Their “Flaws”. I mentioned the itty bitty dot on my nose, that never fails to give me symmetry. Check it out here! www.buzzfeed.com/kirstenking/people-share-why-they-love-their-flaws
Categories
by Anokha V '19

The Origins of BSGE

Virge Ramos and Peter Wilson were almost laid off during the first year of BSGE’s existence. And, students in the first year were promised laptops if they came to the school.

The Baccalaureate School for Global Education has travelled a long way since 2002. The first year of BSGE had to share its space with Robert F. Wagner Secondary School for Arts and Technology, and only had a seventh and ninth grade. There were a meager 50-55 students in the seventh grade compared to around 80 students now, 60-65 students in the ninth grade, and only 11 teachers.

“The overwhelming majority of the student population

Continue reading “The Origins of BSGE”

Categories
by Anokha V '19

“The Year I Became a Photographer”

8th Grader, Anokha Venugopal, published an article in India Abroad magazine about her new-found passion for photography. Click on the image below to read the article.

Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 3.16.06 PM

Categories
by Anokha V '19

BSGE Bees Try Some Cheese

On Wednesday, October 8th, the French Club had a very cheesy experience. Julien Garrec, a marketer for the French Cheese Board, brought various types of cheese to BSGE’s French Club. This event was organized by French teacher Mr. Rajiv to allow students to enjoy a different part of the French culture and combine it with learning the language.

Mr Garrec brought hazelnuts, dried cherries, almonds, long salted crackers, small slices of french bread, jam, and of course, a few varieties of cheese for the students to taste. Grace C’19, enjoyed being “able to taste cheese and get to learn new words in French.”

Because students were so accustomed to only hearing their French teacher speak, some students had difficulty understanding someone new. Even though Mr Rajiv speak to his students exclusively in French, several students were lost in translation when Mr. Garrec began speaking. For the first few minutes, much of the French Club members sat speechless; several eyes flit to and fro, wondering if they were the only ones trying to decipher Mr. Garrec’s low, deep French. Yet, students quickly became accustomed to Mr Garrec’s accent and mannerisms. His PowerPoint presentation, although in French, had photos that helped the more visual learners understand the love most of France has for cheese.

There were several types of cheeses at this tasteful event.

Continue reading “BSGE Bees Try Some Cheese”

Categories
by Anokha V '19

Opinion: Dear Media, young people are more capable than taking selfies.

Is the media trying too hard to get the attention of our generation?

Selfie is a new show starring Karen Gillan, a former actor on Britain’s Doctor Who, who portrays Eliza Dooley, a twenty-something with the world of social media dominating her life.

5

Many shows like Selfie are attempting to gain a wider audience by relating to young people as well. It seems that marketers working for these shows believe that in order to get teens to watch their material, there has to be references to social media within the script. Why are teenagers always seen as technology-obsessed, narcissistic people?  In an an article from the British news site, The Independent, Jonathan Birdwell, head of the citizenship program at Demos and author of the report, commented: “People think of teenagers as apathetic, lazy and self-centered,

Continue reading “Opinion: Dear Media, young people are more capable than taking selfies.”