The Rivers Edge - October 2008 - The Rivers School

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Page 4 The Rivers Edge October 31, 2008 Editorial All school assembies, good for just a laugh Not the goldfish! Tell me he’s not going to eat the goldfish! Cowering in my seat, I tried to hide from what I knew was the inevitable. I had seen the Regurgitator swallow everything that sat on the table next to the fish tank for the past half hour now, ingested Butane, sugar, cigarette smoke, a billiard ball, and Rubix cube, all the while prodding the poor fish. But as I watched little Moby Dick swim back and forth I could not smother the sense of impending doom that seemed to loom over the poor fellow. While I had learned all about the anatomy of the digestive system in ninth grade biology class and considered myself to be a science nerd, I’m pretty sure that the Regurgitator was far from educational. However, with a few exceptions of hesitant, somewhat queasy students such as myself, the student body seemed to love every minute of the assembly. The crowd would boisterously applaud with each successful regurgitation, laughing as he teased two underclassmen girls, crying out for more challenging feats. Now, flash forward exactly one week to another, very different, assembly. This week, the school had invited an internationally renowned inspirational speaker to discuss our all-school summer reading, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Clearly this was meant to be an educational assembly. However, I could not help but notice the stark contrast between reactions to the two assemblies. After reading the powerful book this summer, I was intrigued to hear about the conflict from the perspective of Sarian Bouma, born and raised in Sierra Leone. However, after the meeting, I felt unsatisfied, a reaction echoed by the rest of the student body. Nothing against the speaker, but she did not seem to be able to command the attention of the audience quite as well as the Regurgitater had. These two assemblies are only two examples of the sporadic special all-school meetings granted to the student body a few times a year. Clearly, they are quite different. But, during a time when students are panicking over interim grades and seniors are scrambling to finish their college applications, sometimes all that is needed is some light-hearted humor from a man who swallows live goldfish for a living. Truly entertaining assemblies do not always need to be educational. The most powerful are those that students reminisce about for days following, and those that bring a smile to their faces. As inspirational as Sarian Bouma truly was, in thirty years students will most likely still recall the Regurgitator’s coarse humor and his strange talent, signs of an assembly that has made a far stronger impact. Th e Ri v e r s Ed g e OPINIONS AN OPEN FORUM FOR THE RIVERS COMMUNITY Breakfast: the meal of champions b y Al e x Dr e w’10 Co n t r i b u t i n g Wr i t e r Breakfast, it’s the meal of champions, national merit scholars, Michael Phelps, and that lady who gives people bowls of Honey Bunches of Oats during the cereal commercial. It truly is the most important meal of the day, and the most delicious. I have yet to meet a breakfast entrée I do not like. There are eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, waffles, cereal, granola, oatmeal, breakfast sandwiches, yogurt, smoothies, etc. It is all so good that sometimes one even has breakfast for dinner or lunch. Breakfast is also the best because of its staple drink, coffee. Sadly, most of us have little time for this delectable meal. We choose ten minutes of sleep over breakfast. However, that is truly unnecessary. Breakfast will give you more energy and make you feel better rested than ten minutes of sleep ever will. And in that 10 minutes, you can make and enjoy more than just a bowl of cereal. How about an omelet or maple oatmeal Maybe even a smoothie. My ideal breakfast choice is eggs. They fill me up until lunch and are healthy and easy to make. For the world’s easiest omelet, crack two eggs in a bowl and whisk with a fork. If you want to add pesto or sundried tomatoes to your eggs, whisk them in now. I recommend this because it’s delicious, and the good fats in the pesto will fill you up. A good rule of thumb, if you would put it on pasta, it’s good in an omelet. Spray some nonstick spray onto a small skillet and preheat the skillet for a second on medium low heat. Pour the eggs in the skillet and fold the omelet over when the eggs are cooked through. You know they’re done if, when you tilt the skillet, no uncooked egg moves around. Do not stand there watching them cook; that eats up valuable time. I usually use the cooking time to go find socks for my gym bag, to brew coffee or to find a jacket. Once you have mastered this (it should only take one try to master, maybe two if you’re having a bad day), start getting creative. Add fresh basil, chopped peppers, or cheese before folding it over and try whisking in different pestos and spices. If you’re in a rush, you can throw the omelet into a tortilla or between a bagel and wrap it in tinfoil. The perfect meal for attempting to drive and study at the same time. If the omelet is a little too ambitious, try oatmeal. For quick cook oats, it’s one cup water for every ½ cup oats. Use that ratio, and microwave for two minutes. To the cooked oats, I usually like to stir in a tablespoon or so of maple syrup. Or sometimes a few drops of vanilla extract with a dash of cinnamon. I even have stirred in some peanut butter, grapenuts, and gobs of brown sugar. Oatmeal is extremely healthy and will keep you full until second lunch. If you’re in too much of a rush to eat breakfast, make a smoothie. For the most part, you can get really creative with what you dump in the blender. I usually do a few scoops of yogurt as a base and add some frozen fruit. Any mixture of strawberries, whole bananas, berries, mangos or peaches is guaranteed to turn out good. Sometimes I even add a splash of juice, spoonful of peanut butter, or a few drops of vanilla extract, depending on what is in the fridge. And I always toss in a handful of grapenuts or granola before hitting the blend button. Pour this in a plastic cup and you are ready for school. The most glorious part about breakfast is the large amounts of caffeine you may down. I enjoy a cup of coffee with breakfast and then tea during the drive. I prefer the French press method for making coffee. It requires a few more steps than the machine, but it produces a better result. I usually brew loose leaf tea, because it’s the finest quality, and use a strainer to make it. So if you’re already getting up ten minutes earlier, and somehow can’t manage to find the time to make any of these delicious breakfast items, you’re left with just enough time to make a pit stop along the way. My personal favorites are Lincoln Street Coffee and Peet’s Coffee and Tea, both located in Newton. Their pastries are the best and the coffee is the highest quality. But very few people are fortunate enough to drive past those wonderful establishments on their way to school. The best breakfast sandwich in the area is hands down at Finagle a Bagel. I love the winner breakfast: panini and a sausage, egg & cheese on a whole wheat everything bagel. Their coffee is good too. Dunkin Donuts makes a solid breakfast sandwich too, but it does not stack up compared to Finagle. Dunkin’s makes the best iced coffee and hot chocolate by far. Their hot coffee is not the best, and I find some of their blended drinks strange, but I am still there a few times a week for my medium iced coffee with skim milk. Yum. Starbucks is the king of all possible morning stops. They are the fastest, their coffee is great, and they make a mean latte. The food is not always the best, but a pumpkin spice latte is better than most foods I have tried. All in all, if you are going to stop for food in the morning, it had better be good. Remember, breakfast is the meal of champions, and don’t you want to be a champion Find more great breakfast ideas at www.imfreakinhungry.blogspot.com. The Rivers Edge Co-Editors-in-Chief............................ ........Cara Bigony ’09 Kate Burns ’09 Assistant Editor ........................................Maddy Levitt ‘09 News Editor....................................................Jenn Pollan’09 Features Editor..........................................Katie Voorhes ’09 Opinions Editor..........................................Maddy Levitt ‘09 Arts Editors..............................................Brittany Dixon ‘09 Sports Editor.......................................Adam Lowenstein ’10 Faculty Advisor...............................................Mary Mertsch Contributing Writers: Hannah Armstrong ‘10, Ethan Bauer ‘11, Melissa Benjamin ‘11, Laura Blackett ‘09, Ian Brownstein ‘09, Brittany Dixon ‘09, Ryan Drake ‘10, Alex Drew ‘10, Michele Edelman ‘10 , Ben Foley ‘09, Jonathan Levitt ‘12, Stephanie Lie ‘11, Andrew Navoni ‘09, Ben Silberstein ‘10, Dave Tackeff, Dan Singer ‘10, Rebecca Solomons ‘10, Matt Tanner ‘12; Photographers: Maddy Levitt, The Levitt Family, Adam Lowenstein, Tim Morse. THE RIVERS EDGE is p u b l i s h e d b y t h e s t u d e n t s o f Th e Ri v e r s Sc h o o l a n d m ay b e s u b s c r i b e d to f o r t w e n t y d o l l a r s a y e a r. THE EDGE is a f o r u m f o r t h e i d e a s a n d c o n c e r n s o f t h e s t u d e n t b o d y, a n d l e t t e r s a n d c o n t r i b u t i o n s f r o m t h e e n t i r e Ri v e r s c o m m u n i t y-s t u d e n t s, fa c u lt y, staff, pa r e n t s a n d a l u m n i- a r e w e l c o m e d a n d e n c o u r a g e d. Uns i g n e d l e t t e r s w il l n o t b e p u b l i s h e d, b u t n a m e s w il l b e w i t h h e l d u p o n r e q u e s t. We r e s e rv e t h e r i g h t to e d i t a l l l e t t e r s b o t h f o r s i z e a n d c o n t e n t. Pl e a s e s e n d to Th e Ed i t o r, THE RIVERS EDGE, 333 Wi n t e r St r e e t, We s t o n, MA 02493.
October 31, 2008 The Rivers Edge Page 5 Letters to the Editors Do the bus schedules keep students in mind Dear The Rivers Edge, I am contacting the school paper in regard to my feelings about the Boston and Northeastern bus schedules. Bottom line: the school bus schedule in the afternoon needs to change, specifically on Wednesdays and Fridays. For those who are not familiar with the schedule, there is only one Boston and Northeastern bus that departs at six o’clock p.m. sharp on those particular days. Ironically, these are the days that Rivers students get out the earliest. The truth is, if there were an earlier bus on Wednesdays and Fridays for students not doing an activity after school, bus students would have more time to get home earlier and accomplish what needs to be done outside of school. When asked the question, “Why is there only one late bus on early release days,” a faculty member responded by explaining that the reason is that, on those game days, students who take the bus should spend those long four to five hours watching the Rivers games taking place on campus. What confuses me is that if the students who take any of the two buses have to stay to “watch games,” why are other Rivers licensed drivers allowed to leave when they please if they have no priorities after school on campus Why don’t they have to stay from one forty p.m. or two thirty p.m. at least until six o’clock Don’t get me wrong; I believe that showing school spirit and supporting our school’s teams are important throughout this high school experience. Although, it isn’t guaranteed that these sports games are always going to be home on game days. In general, it is quite unfair that students whose only option is to take the bus don’t get the choice to leave when we please. The school’s decision to have just one late bus for each bus route on early dismissal days affects students’ schedules outside of Rivers, limiting their time for activities outside of school. For instance, a sophomore who takes the Boston bus has traditional dance rehearsals throughout the week, including Wednesdays. However, not always guaranteed a ride from the Rivers School to Back Bay Station by a generous driver, she would have to attend a later rehearsal that goes from eight o’clock to ten o’clock. Therefore, she would risk taking the train at night and getting home at eleven o’clock. On another note, there is a junior who has free time after school and would love to get a part-time job. However, because his only option is to take the bus on Wednesday and Friday, he cannot get hired due to the fact that he gets home so late. I personally would enjoy visiting The Badger & Rosen Squashbusters Facility daily because t hat is the place where I am most productive and can complete my school assignments thoroughly. However, taking the six o’clock bus would get me to that building around six fifty p.m. It’s hard enough getting home at seven thirty p.m. on these late days and getting up at five o’clock in the morning, every morning, and leaving home at six twenty to take a stuffed MBTA bus and train, rushing to catch the bus in the morning. On days when students are dismissed earlier, almost everyone claims that we who have to wait for the bus should use that time to get homework done at school. Once that time is taken up, what else is there to accomplish The scenery is beautiful but would you enjoy staring at a tree for more than two hours I think not. Another issue is the cost of buses, which is another claimed reason for one late Boston and Northeastern bus on game days. Honestly, the school doesn’t need an entire bus for the kids who would like to leave early. Instead, something as simple as a van would be efficient and would take the driver less time to get to the destination than it would if he were driving a large bus. An earlier ride provided by the school on Wednesdays and Fridays would make the lives of those who take one of the two buses much easier and less stressful, and that would make future school years run much smoother. - Rochelle Galvao ‘10 Clubs need more time Rivers should designate more time to clubs. Sophomore year I traipsed through the club fair enthused by the prospect of participating in a great array of activities. Within a week, I realized that it is impossible to be involved in all the clubs that I’m interested in. In fact, even with only two clubs I often face conflicting meeting times. Now that Rivers has cut club block to a mere once a week, students are forced to limit their participation in clubs, or run the risk of being overscheduled. Other high schools allow much more time for club meetings which strengthens their sense of community. Rivers loves sports. Most groups of friends originate and revolve around sports teams. Why Athletic teams bring together students with a common passion. Clubs could do the same thing. From my experience with Model UN, clubs can be a great way to meet new people that have the same interests as you. Often times, these are people in other grades with whom you may never have had the chance to interact otherwise. Creating these connections is what builds stronger communities. With the addition of more club time, Rivers students could pursue more of their interests. All together, we could construct a stronger community. -Leslie Sachs ‘10 Your trash is now my treasure b y La u r a Bl a c k e t t ‘09 Co n t r i b u t i n g Wr i t e r The night before trash day is my favorite night of the week. Every Tuesday after I return from school my mom asks with wide eyes and a look of childish excitement if I’m ready for another “midnight requisition.” This, I learned at a very young age, is code for our patrolling the neighborhood claiming our neighbors’ wrongfully discarded “trash.” We love the rusty and barely functional, the decrepit wooden furniture, and the outdated and faded things that most people overlook. At ten o’clock (which, for my mother, might as well be midnight) I hear a tap on my door. “Laura,” she whispers, “it’s 22:00, time to roll out.” “Okay, Mom. I’ll be out in a sec.” “Roger that.” I emerge and see my mother’s petite frame dressed entirely in black. She scolds me. “You know you’re supposed to call me Jack Bauer!” I try to explain to her that Jack Bauer fights terrorists, he doesn’t root through people’s garbage looking for home décor, but she’s already on her way to the garage. Our minivan crawls at hearse speed through our neighborhood as we examine the piles of garbage at the end of each driveway. On most nights we only spot trash and the occasional moldy reclining chair, but if we’re lucky, we find broken wooden furniture, dusty boxes, and rusty metal things. We find objects with potential that most people overlook – beautiful pieces with character that are just waiting for sandpaper and stain. Once we return home with the various discards from our neighbors’ lives we clean them, repair them, and find them a place in our own house. Now, before you conjure a false image of our home as a cluttered pit filled with garbage, let me assure you that everything that enters our house will have a purpose. Sneaking around with my parents after curfew is only half the fun. The other half is the process of restoring old beauty and finding an entirely new function for these neglected items. The planters in our garden are repurposed pig troughs; we use a wooden toolbox for kitchen storage, and an old ammunition case to hold CDs. The bookshelf in our living room is a recycled shoe rack from a shoe factory… from a time when shoes actually were made in the US. Enormous effort is invested in finding and renovating these items, but then we have to hide them. We can’t invite our neighbors into our home for fear that they will spot our re-upholstered ottoman. Which used to be their ottoman. Whenever we have dinner parties, we must urge Mrs. Forte away from the back room where we have hidden her old wooden desk as if it were our hostage, and we can no longer make eye contact with the couple that lives across the street after they returned home from a late night out and caught us maneuvering their dresser into the trunk of our van. A more important result of our midnight requisitions is my love of junk – a love that is more than my inner bargain hunter trying to save money or my inner environmentalist trying to reduce waste. To me there’s something special about filling my room with things that have more history than anything you could find at Ikea, and I enjoy approaching what other people consider trash with creativity and innovation. I slam on the brakes and enter a state of giddy excitement whenever I pass a junk shop or even see a “free stuff” sign on the side of the road, and on Tuesday nights my mother and I peer out the window with anticipation, trying to spot anything worth saving. We patrol town, collecting the forgotten fragments of our neighborhood, and if we’re lucky enough to find that perfect thing, we take it home and store it in the garage, knowing that in a week we might not be able to have the Fortes over, but we’ll be surrounded by the character and beauty that we restored. Then, after sunrise on Wednesday, the Dumpster divers in us go home, and we return to our cover as a well-behaved New England family.
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