by Owen S ’20 – The BACC Rag

Everyone listens to music. On the subway, in the car, while doing homework—it is something we can rely on to always be our friend. But every kind of music is made with instruments, and every instrument has a person who plays it and has extensive knowledge of that instrument. Some people only learn how to play the simplest tunes, while others like to go above and beyond by taking lessons for years, investigating music as closely as a scientist observing an experiment, and learning how to play many different songs. Many people, therefore, believe that learning to play in instrument feels better than just about anything.

BSGE is planning on implementing an IB Music program that focuses on students who are learning an instrument—voice, guitar, piano, violin, flute, and others—and to help them further their musical studies with a wider knowledge of music theory and performance. As stated by Ms. Nikkolos, “It’s up to you what instrument you’d like to choose, and when you join IB music, that will be an instrument you have already played [for] four, five years already.”

BSGE Google Hangouts: Unprofessional?

Email is one of the most common forms of communication, so it should come as no surprise that this school offers its own private Google domain – BSGE mail – where you can talk with anyone in the school (as long as you know their name). It is an efficient and easy way for students to contact peers and teachers. Many students talk with each other almost entirely on Google Hangouts, especially since students in the 8th grade have invited their personal emails and often use video chat. According to technology teacher Mr. Shantanu Saha, “everyone in 8th grade has used their Hangouts in the last week or so.” Hangouts is a place where we can all contact each other, discuss our interests, and just, literally, hang out.

Recently, there was some panic after Shantanu apparently investigated the 8th grade Hangouts. Many students were scared, because BSGE mail was a place where they felt like they could behave as freely as they do on any other social media website. However, after some teachers were apparently logged into their BSGE mails on certain Hangouts, and Shantanu went into every single Hangout and turned on history, most 8th graders were scared into behaving more conservatively on Hangouts. Of course, many students now have forgotten that Shantanu can see the Hangouts, or just don’t care. It forced us to reconsider how we use our BSGE emails versus our personal emails.