Informer December 2012 Issue - Woodlynde School

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The Informer Page 4 December 19, 2012 Stage Crew Underappreciated, Yet Incredibly Hard Working Production Director Norma Rizzo (left) puts together a set piece with junior Emily Bank. Freshman Michael McGroary (left) offers guidance as sophomore Oleg Kariouk sprays glitter. By Trevor Bowes and Isabel Tirado-Barrett Staff Writers The backstage was swamped with scissors, glue guns, Scotch tape, cardboard boxes and large cans of glitter. Students were sprawled out across the floor working contently on their creations. The Middle School play this year, Aladdin, was a high quality performance, but it took the help of every person involved to make it that way, including the stage crew. These 15 student volunteers worked countless hours after school and on weekends. Despite that, some feel as if the stage crew is perhaps the most underappreciated part of a play production. The Middle School play this year received a higher budget than ever before, and with that they had a larger stage crew production. Grand plans were made this time, and with the help of devoted student volunteers, they were able to get their jobs done and make last-minute fixes before the premiere of the play. "We set our sights high, which was great, but it was more work than any production I've ever done," said Stage Crew Head Mr. Kupersmith, who has been associated with Woodlynde plays for the past seven years. The largest projects were the camels and the elephant for the Prince Ali scene that doubled as a magic carpet. "Building the elephant and the camel was hard work, but actually maneuvering it and getting people off the top of the elephant without being seen was the hardest part,” said sophomore Norma Rizzo, who was the Production Director on the stage crew and put in over 100 hours attending rehearsals and tech sessions. Norma helped produce “one of the most magical shows Woodlynde has ever seen,” the Play Director said. However, while the elephant and camel were the largest projects, they were not necessarily the hardest ones. The toughest projects for the stage crew required a lot of work on dull tasks to make props for the show, such as a sarcophagus and other background pieces. This play, Mr. Kupersmith said, was “more technically involved.” “There’s always been a lot of costumes, but the construction of set pieces [were] a lot more involved; [freshman] Jack Perme’s father built us a lot of heavy duty rolling platforms.” The stage crew’s work for the play was as essential to the production as the actors were. They worked through many of the hardships and learning processes that came with the larger-than-ever production, and the end product was a success. Freshmen Brad White (left) and Jack Perme hard at work, but having fun. Photos by Christa Deckman, Photographer Concussions Are a Major Concern CONCUSSIONS from page 1 cent. While the population of student athletes susceptible to such injuries could be growing, it is also likely that more are just being reported. The sports culture of handling head injuries has changed, and Athletic Trainer Ms. Gallagher, who graduated from Woodlynde in 1999, sees the contrast first-hand. “Growing up, it was one of those things of, if you hit your head ... it was just shake it off and get back in there. I had my fair share of concussions, I'm sure of it, they just were never classified as concussions,” she said. Even when she was diagnosed with a concussion, Ms. Gallagher neglected to take the proper precautions. “At that point it was, ‘We still need you to be in class, we still need you to be at football, we still need you to do this, we still need you to do that.’” Had she rested her brain immediately after the trauma, she insists, “[my symptoms] would not have lingered as long as [they] had.” “I should have spoken up more, I should have followed up with a neurologist, I should have followed up with the doctor again when things weren’t going away. But I figured, ‘Oh, they’ll go away eventually,’” said Ms. Gallagher, who still suffers from symptoms such as light sensitivity. An estimated 140,000 high school athletes in the United States suffer a concussion each year. Now, she administers neurocognitive tests to all Woodlynde student athletes. The assessment, titled “ImPACT” (Immediate Post- Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing), lasts 20 minutes and measures verbal memory, visual memory, processing speed, and reaction time. It is typically used in professional sports. All student athletes at Woodlynde must take it in the beginning of their sports season. If an athlete suffers head trauma, they can then be tested again to see if their baseline measurements vary from the current ones. A variation would indicate a concussion. Woodlynde’s purchase of this assessment follows new state laws enacted by the Safety in Youth Sports Act to help curb concussions. This piece of legislation requires coaches to complete a concussion management certification training course every year. Those coaches are also required to remove students from an athletic activity if they are exhibiting signs of a concussion. Penalties for coaches who violate the requirements can be as harsh as permanent suspension from coaching. 5 CONCUSSIONS ALREADY At least five Woodlynde students already have suffered from concussions this school year, but School Nurse Trigone doubts that all students report their injuries. “I always get concerned ... with kids who don’t report that they’ve injured themselves, because they know that if they have one more concussion, one more injury, that they’ll be out. There is that fear in kids to not report,” she said. She went on to say, “There’s pressure from the school, there’s pressure from peers, there’s pressure from society [to perform well] ... Photo by Mattie Sweet Athletic Trainer Ms. Gallagher doesn’t want students who have a concussion to suffer like she has. but there’s also pressure that student athletes also put on themselves, because they want to be successful. I think we need to take a step back [and] know why [reporting a concussion is] so important.” Nurse Trigone acknowledges that Woodlynde is ahead of the curve. “I think people here are really on top of this,” she stated. One of the most important factors in preventing concussions from going unreported is education. Nurse Trigone points to an October 2011 article in the journal Clinical Pediatrics that suggests student athletes educated about the dangers of unreported head injuries are significantly more likely to tell their coach if they suffer one. It also suggests that more than half of all student-athlete concussions remain unreported. At Woodlynde, the topic of concussions is covered in all Health classes, but not in Physical Education. Physical Education Department Head Mr. Shank says, “It’s not going ignored; we’re very aware that we need to get the word out. But based on this [interview] I think I’ll do something in P.E. class.” After taking the ImPACT test on Dec. 5, Hunter was cleared for Physical Education class, but still can’t play basketball. While he may view this as a nuisance, it’s personal for Ms. Gallagher. “From my own personal experience having a major concussion, if someone makes a comment about their head hurting, I don’t take it lightly. As I say to the kids’ parents and them: I don’t want them to suffer like I had to suffer for so long.” Concussion Effects Long-term consequences for multiple concussions: Post-concussion syndrome -- Can cause headaches, difficulty concentrating, and irritability. Mild cognitive impairments -- Can lead to dementia. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy -- Can cause prolonged aggression, confusion, depression, memory loss, and dementia. ~ Information from the Sports Concussion Institute
December 19, 2012 The Informer Page 5 Fire When Ready: Students Embark on Paintball Trip By Alec Kravitt Staff Writer Junior Patrick Nucci has been looking forward to Woodlynde’s second annual paintball trip all year, because he likes shooting people with balls of colorful paint. Patrick was one of 21 Upper Schoolers who went to Poco Loco Paintball on Nov. 18th to shoot at each other. About seven to ten games were played, and as always, the trip was a blast. Patrick said he had a lot of fun shooting Head of Upper School Mrs. Dougherty and History teacher Mr. Smith, who chaperoned the trip. Student Council co-advisor Mrs. Russell said that her favorite part was running and jumping into "bunkers", which were essentially platforms and barrels. Getting hit with a paintball is like receiving a needle. At first it hurts a lot, but then it goes away after a while. That is, unless you’re Mrs. Russell. "I have a bruise on my leg because [senior] Ryan Mullen hit me [there], and [junior] Emily Bank hit me in the shoulder," she said. Just because the trip is over doesn’t mean the war is. Freshman Rich Sposato left the trip wanting revenge on senior Christian Acosta, because Christian shot him so many times. Christian replied, “He is in for a haircut in his sleep.” However, Christian admitted he’s a little scared and will always be watching his back. He is always ready for the challenge if they ever play paintball together again. Patrick, in the meantime, said that he wants revenge on sophomore Tristan Bosna. “Tristan shot me in the hand. He destroyed me!” Photo by Tianna Buck, Photographer Junior Patrick Daniel-Schnobrich (left) and sophomore Tristan Bosna are ready for action. High Honors Students recently were inducted into the National Honor Society (for Upper School) and Mondrian (for Middle School). Photos by Julia Wolfe and Ben Weisman, Photographers (Left Photo): New National Honor Society members are: (from left to right) Seniors Steven Earhart, Christian Acosta, Jeremy Cooper and Haley Van Schaick. (Bottom Photo): New Mondrian members present their certificates following the induction ceremony. Alum Is Accepted into Teach for America TEACH from Page 1 lowing multiple-step directions," Jerome said. Most schools said they did not have sufficient resources to help him with his learning difference. Even though Woodlynde had the capabilities to aid him academically, Jerome did not want to be there. "The first year was not enjoyable … I truly thought it was going to be a bad four years.” Jerome had a 50-minute ride to Woodlynde; he generally disliked learning; and it was a rough transition from knowing everyone at his old school — which ended at eighth grade — to knowing no one. “From the beginning, I could tell Jerome had a great deal of potential as a student, but he wasn’t always enthusiastic about learning,” said College Guidance Counselor Mrs. Tabun, who was Jerome’s French teacher freshman year. Then, in his sophomore year, everything changed immensely when he made friends with classmates Dimming Jones and Ben Grant. After that, Jerome began to like Woodlynde. And when Jerome found out that he did not get into honors level classes in his sophomore year, he began to put in more effort to drastically improve his work. With better grades and the encouragement of English teacher Mrs. Byrne, he was moved into honors classes in his junior year. Teachers continued to encourage him and would provide support whenever he had difficulties. With this support, he would always strive to do the best work he pos- sibly could. "At Woodlynde, I learned to 'Go the Extra Mile,' and not settle. I honestly still believe this mission, and [I] strive to go further and further every day of my life." In a true show of his determination, Jerome and his friend Ben wanted a journalism class, so they worked to have one formed as an elective. They then became co-Editors in Chief of The Informer, revitalizing the paper and launching it to new heights of quality. "At Woodlynde, I learned to 'Go the Extra Mile,' and not settle ... [I] strive to go further and further every day of my life." ~ Jerome Bailey, Class of 2009 After his Woodlynde career, he used this determination to achieve even greater goals. He was accepted into the Institute for Responsible Citizenship, a national program that finds African-American male college students internships and helps teach them leadership skills. He met many important figures, such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Congressman John Lewis, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. “As a history major who loves African American history, meeting Civil Rights Activist John Lewis is something I will never forget!” Jerome said. One of his most recent achievements was being accepted into the prestigious Teach for America, an incredibly competitive program that trains talented college graduates to become teachers in low income areas. The program is so competitive that, in 2009, less than 10 percent of the 46,359 applicants were accepted. "I desire to teach in low income areas because I want to make a change. Only two percent of teachers nationwide are African American males and I want to help change that woeful statistic!” Jerome said. The day he found out he was accepted, "I was overjoyed! I was speechless! The first thing I did [was] thank God, and then called my parents!", whom he credits for helping him get this far. Jerome will be teaching at a school in South Louisiana. He is eagerly awaiting the start of his official career as an educator on the first week of August. "I want to inspire children who may see no value in education. I am determined to make a change." Mrs. Tabun said she is confident that Jerome will make an “outstanding” teacher. “Jerome has achieved a great deal by actively seeking opportunities such as Teach for America, and committing fully to everything that he does. He is an outstanding example of what is possible when preparation and opportunity meet.”
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