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November 2010 THE WALRUS
Page 3
Families Flock to Open House
By Chris Picher ‘13
Last month on Thursday,
October 21st, St. Sebastian’s held
their annual Open House for perspective
families to learn more about
St. Sebastian’s School. This night is
composed of current St. Sebastian
students giving tours to groups of
families as well as families listening to
three students give speeches about
the major impact this school has had
in shaping who they are as people.
When perspective families arrived
at school, students politely greeted
them and directed them to Mr.
Wishart, the Director of Admissions.
Then Mr. Wishart organized tour
groups consisting of two or three
students with a group of four to six
families who made their way around
the campus.
I was one of the many
students who lead a group of families
on a tour around the school, trying
to give families an understanding
for the unique brotherhood that the
school possesses. Families appeared
very interested and impressed on the
foundation for the school community:
“Love God, work hard, and take good
care of one another”.
Tours walked across the
street, visiting the art classrooms
and viewing the recently completed
Arrows Hall, which is full of all of the
athletic trophies and awards that St.
Sebastian’s has won. In Arrows Hall,
both Mr. Dan Burke and Mr. Curran
enthusiastically informed the families
on the competitive Varsity Sports
teams, and the new turf complex.
They also discussed the importance
of having every teacher also coach a
sport, further emphasizing the importance
of the student-teacher relationship
at St. Sebastian’s. Mr. Dan Burke
and Mr. Curran did a fantastic job
representing the quintessence of a St.
Sebastian’s teacher and coach who is
passionate for what they do and love
to talk about it.
We then looped back to the
Birmingham academic building and
visited all three floors, where teachers
from each department discussed the
unique aspects about a specific class.
“You can’t fake enthusiasm for you
school”, said Mr. Wishart when asked
about the popularity of our touring
system. Mr. Wishart couldn’t have
said it better; the students here are
truly in love with their school, and
both the enthusiasm and dedication
they put forth towards their school is
a reality.
After the tours, which were
aimed to take approximately thirty
minutes, families were directed to
adjacent St. Bartholomew’s Church,
which became standing room due to
the popularity St. Sebastian’s School
had generated. Looking at the
church, with its beautiful images on
the stain glass windows, is a spectacular
and special experience for both
current students and perspective
families. The tremendous attendance
of students at this evening is
a testament to how dedicated and
helpful all the students were to take
several hours out of their evenings.
All of the boys stood
proudly around the perimeter of
the church and listened as their
classmates Alejandro Soto, a seventh
grader, Noah Hannifin, an eighth
grader, and Tom Keefe, a senior,
spoke about the significance that
St. Sebastian’s plays in their life. All
three students spoke extremely well
and reflected the epitome of a St.
Sebastian’s student who can read,
write, and speak at an high ability for
their respective ages.
“The speeches are unique because
they are unscripted, unrehearsed
character that the students reveal,”
said Mr. Wishart when asked about
student speakers.
Despite the fact that
Alejandro Soto has only attended St.
Seb’s for two months, he connected
with all of the perspective students
and shared with them his experience
of being a perspective student, since
he had sat in their seats merely a
year ago. Alejandro discussed how
the St. Sebastian’s community was
so accepting upon his arrival and
how he immediately felt the formation
of a brotherhood here. Noah
Hannifin took families through the
middle stages of a student’s career,
discussing the significance of extracurricular
activities. He stressed that
going to school at St. Sebastian’s is a
life-changing decision. Finally, Tom
Keefe shared his great memories
from St. Sebastian’s and explained
how this school has shaped him into
a person he had never imagined he
would become.
After the speeches and the
concluding remarks from Headmaster
Burke, families filed into
Ward hall where Joe Fasciano and
the kitchen staff provided delicious
snacks and beverages. Around Ward
Hall, teachers and students occupied
tables with information for clubs,
classes, and sports teams. Families
and students were encouraged to
ask questions or find out more about
the extracurricular programs. “Sixth,
seventh, and eight grade students
can see the opportunities that they
can get more involved in, such as debate,
international club, and communications
club, which many schools
do not have”, said Mr. Wishart, when
asked about the significance of the
information tables.
There were also many
students who engaged in conversation
to further educate these
perspective families about unique
aspects that make up St. Sebastian’s
School. These tables work effectively
because they allow perspective students
to visualize what they could
participate in if they attended St.
Sebastian’s. “Younger kids can look
up to older kids at different ages and
can put themselves in our shoes,”
said Hannifin when asked about perspective
students interacting with
upperclassmen.
This night was full of enjoyment for
both the St. Sebastian’s students and
faculty who take pride in discussing
the unique brotherhood and also
for the perspective students who
get to step into a new community
for the night. “We are all honored
to represent the school”, said Noah
Hannifin.
As a School all the students,
facility, and staff should be tremendously
proud of what a fantastic
job the community did to welcome
these perspective families into the
community for the evening. Without
the commitment and dedication
from Mr. Wishart, the faculty, and
all of the students, this night would
never have been so successful. Thank
you to all who supported, attended,
and aided at this excellent event.
Prospective students challenge Will Adams ‘11 in his chess prowess. Shawn Lynch ‘15 looks excited.
Strachan speaks to Finance Academy
By Kenny Chen ‘13
The Finance Academy seeks
to encourage students to learn more
about the financial world. Above all
else, the mission of the Finance Academy
is to give students the financial
literacy that allows students to manage
future, independent finances, according
to Mr. Nerbonne. The Finance
Academy meets on a monthly basis to
discuss about various topics ranging
from interest rates to philanthropy.
In the past, several speakers have addressed
students about various topics.
Most recently Mr. Brian
Strachan, who works as a key financial
advisor at Morgan Stanley Smith
Barney, addressed St. Sebastian’s
students Tuesday, November 9. As a
financial advisor, Mr. Strachan works
with about thirty clients, generally
very wealthy, and helps them manage
their funds in terms of where
the money should be invested, what
savings accounts to use, etc. He talked
about many interesting topics, leaving
an open-question environment for
students, which led to the development
of topics such as the advantages
and disadvantages between private
and public businesses (most notably,
GM, or General Motors, plans to go
public in July this year to free itself
from government ownership and to
pay off its debt resulting from the
company’s bankruptcy from last year).
Mr. Strachan also clarified differences
between stocks and bonds. A stock
gives investors partial ownership in
a company whereas a bond is a loan
made by investors to a company. Unlike
stock, bonds are paid back with
a fixed rate of return—a percentage
of the bond’s original offering
price—over a long period of time,
such as thirty years. Bonds also run
the risk that the principal amount
may not be paid back, as companies
may lack the profit and funds to do
so. A myriad of topics and answers
were introduced by Mr. Strachan, and
he covered a wide variety of subject
matters in depth, leaving students
highly impressed with the knowledge
imparted from Mr. Strachan.
Mr. Nerbonne moderates the Finance
Academy along with President
Corey Peters. He shows a desire for
students to especially learn that the
myth that the rich are greedy and
selfish is simply not true. As Mr. Brian
Strachan also pointed out, there is a
death tax in every state except Florida
in the U.S., meaning that a large
percentage of one’s money goes over
to the government when a person
dies (and has no spouse alive). The
tax is applied to the transfer of a person’s
assets at death and is defined
by the Internal Revenue Service as “a
tax on your right to transfer property
at your death.” The estate tax (rate of
55 percent) is imposed on any and all
life-savings on all assets above a $1
million exemption amount, including
transferring inheritance. This includes
personal property (such as a home,
cars, furniture, artwork), business assets
(property, machinery and inventory),
and investments (stocks, bonds
and real estate). Thus, many wealthy
people make huge generous donations
because, quite simply, who
wants to give money to the government?
Why not use the resources for
a greater cause? For example, take
St. Sebastian’s. This school would not
exist without the donations of many
families and individuals according
to Mr. Nerbonne. The same very well
goes for Harvard, the Rockefeller
Foundation, and a myriad of many
other institutions. Both Mr. Nerbonne
and Mr. Strachan advocate that
wealth and philanthropy go hand in
hand.
The Finance Academy plans
to have more speakers in the future
to educate students and will also
hold a stock game (with prizes!) this
academic year. The goal of Finance
Academy is one of education of
economic strategy, but again, as Mr.
Nerbonne and Mr. Strachan prove,
the Academy also provides students
with the ability to manage their
personal lives in the future and also
teaches students that wealth and
philanthropy go hand in hand, breaking
the general misconception.
Tom Keefe ‘11 and Colie Leuders win the hearts of the crowd in “How To Succeed in Business”
“H2S” Wows Full Audiences
By Julian Matra ‘13
This fall the Drama Department
put on a production of the
Pulitzer Prize winning musical, How
to Succeed in Business Without Really
Trying. The musical was chosen due
the fact that it could accommodate
for the large amount of boys and few
girls we had at our disposal, as well
as having great music and a hilarious
script. “Performing this year,” co-president
Tom Keefe remarked, “the 50th
anniversary of its opening of Broadway
is very opportune. The revival of
this show will open in February staring
none other than Daniel Radcliff.
The production fit our needs and was
very timely.”
The musical followed the
story of a young and ambitious window
cleaner, J. Pierrepont Finch, who
reads from a book, How to Succeed
in Business Without Really Trying,
as a “Book Voice.” Finch's first act in
the corporate world is to knock J.B.
Biggley, the president of the World
Wide Wickets, to the ground. Unfazed,
Finch presses Biggley for a job,
who dismisses him to the personnel
manager, Mr. Bratt. Having seen all of
this, Rosemary Pilkington, a secretary,
is impressed with Finch and is
immediately smitten with him. Finch
is given a job in the mailroom where
he works with Bud Frump, Mr. Biggley’s
nephew. Twimble, head of the
mailroom, is being promoted so he
appoints Finch to take his place, but
Finch declines the promotion, saying
that Bud Frump is more qualified.
Bud accepts and Bratt, impressed,
offers him a job as a junior executive
in the Plans and Systems department,
which he accepts.
Finch then convinces
Biggley that they both are Old Ivy
alumnus, as Mr. Biggley is very fond
of his old college. Finch continues to
climb the corporate ladder and ends
up the Vice President in charge of
Advertising. Bud Frump comes into
Finch’s office and tells him about his
idea for a treasure hunt. Finch loves
the idea, unaware that Biggley has
already heard the idea and shot it
down. He presents his idea to hide
five thousand shares of company
stock in each of the ten offices
around the country, and give the
audience weekly clues as to their
whereabouts. Biggley is about to
reject this idea yet again, when Finch
explains that the clue each week will
be given by the World Wide Wicket
Girl: Miss Hedy LaRue. During the
first television show, the Treasure
Girl is asked to swear on a Bible that
she doesn't know the location of the
prizes. Hedy, who knows where they
are, reveals this to the entire television
audience. Treasure hunters then
wreck World Wide Wicket Company
offices across the country, and the
executives, including Chairman of
the Board Wally Womper, are waiting
in Biggley's office for Finch's resignation.
About to sign, Finch mentions
that he'll probably be going back to
washing windows. Womper hears
this, drawn to Finch as he, too, was
a former washer of windows. Finch
manages to place the blame for the
treasure show on Bud, also mentioning
that Frump is Biggley's nephew.
Womper is about to “clean house
from top to bottom,” when Finch
steps in on everyone's behalf. Everyone
is spared, except Frump, who is
fired. The show ends with the announcement
to the employees that
Biggley is still president, Womper is
retiring to travel the world with his
new wife, Hedy, and that Finch will
become Chairman of the Board.
We began practices in late
September meeting on Monday,
Tuesday, and Thursday from five to
seven. While these meetings were
highly entertaining as we joked
around with each other, we were
able to get some serious work done
each night. Mr. Rogers constantly
stressed the vastness of the project
we were undertaking and provided
us with direction, encouragement,
and criticism. Ms. Carroll assisted
Mr. Rogers in directing while also
helping us with our choreography
(no easy feet considering the large
group of people she had to work
with). Mr. Grohmann acted as
our musical director who through
sarcastic, but good-natured humor,
helped us learn the many songs of
this musical. After a month of practicing
we entered Tech Week, which
began on the same week as opening
night. During Tech Week we would
run through as much of the show
as we could without missing an
entrance, forgetting lines, or other
various issues. At the beginning of
each practice, Mr. Rogers would give
us “Notes” or critiques from the previous
night. Some people were able
to make it out of Tech Week with
only a few Notes. Others were not so
lucky.
A strange combination
of excitement and nervousness
permeated the student lounge on
the first night as we prepared to take
our places. The Overture ended and
the show began and though there
were a couple of mistakes here and
there, they were generally unnoticeable.
The crowd absolutely loved
it. They fed off of our energy and
we fed off of theirs. We then carried
this energy over into the next night’s
performance and although it was
harder to get a laugh out of this
audience, we had another amazing
performance (despite some people
getting caught behind the panels).
All in all, the performances on Friday
and Saturday were successes with
a full house both nights. Everyone
had a blast and the crowd really
seemed to enjoy the show.
With the vast amount of fun it is
a wonder as to why one would
not want to join Drama so to offer
encouragement to those who feel a
little reluctant Keefe had this to say:
“First off, it must be stated that theater
is not everybody's thing, which
is perfectly fine. I think people often
believe drama kids want everyone
to participate in the arts. Not true.
If everyone did, most people would
not enjoy the shows as much… the
kids are nice, the environment is
chill, the shows are always a good
time. I think the arts department is
on the up and up, and will only get
better from here. If you are on the
fence about joining, now is as good
a time as ever. The winter drama
festivals are always one of the best
days of the school year.”
New Black Ops Thrills Gamers
By Kevin Patterson ‘13
On November 9, 2010, video
gaming giants Activision and Treyarch
released the seventh installment in
their record-shattering first-person
shooter Call of Duty franchise. This
new edition, entitled Call of Duty:
Black Ops, takes players behind the
scenes of the Cold War to perform top
secret missions.
Modern Warfare 2, Black
Ops’ predecessor in the franchise, set
records for video game sales upon
its release in November of 2009, but
it seems Black Ops is ready to seize
those awards from its older brother.
In the story mode, players
fight through a saga of historical
fiction based off of the action of the
Cold War. The game’s script, written
with the help of David Goyer, screenwriter
of The Dark Knight, is graced
by the acting talents of Gary Oldman,
Sam Worthington, Ed Harris, and Ice
Cube. From the Bay of Pigs Invasion
to the napalm-ridden battlefields
of Vietnam, the story takes players
through various cultures to save the
world at large.
Although the campaign of
Black Ops is a jewel, most gung-ho
Call of Duty enthusiasts will spend
most of their time on the multiplayer
battlefields. Online, players challenge
each other to matches in which the
winner is decided by the number of
kills, defusing and blowing up bombs,
or simply staying alive the longest.
If players collect multiple kills in one
life, they earn killstreaks, or prizes
that will increase their kills totals.
Whereas lower killstreaks are basically
radar enhancements, making
eleven kills in one live can call in an
army of rabid, hungry dogs that will
chow down on the opponents. Doing
well online will earn players CoD
Points that can be used to purchase
guns, grenades, or perks, advantages
that boost a player’s capabilities in a
certain aspect of the game.
While online multiplayer is generally
a blast, “noobs”, or inexperienced
players who ruin the fun of others,
can be a pain. Whether by firing
grenades around the map, chasing
players around with no intention
of killing them, or by screaming,
blasting music, and blowing into the
microphone by which players communicate
strategy, noobs are the
downfall of the entire game.
The final game mode,
Zombies, is the most unrealistic
aspect of the game. Players team up
in abandoned, apocalyptic buildings
barricaded by sandbags and twoby-fours
and fight off waves of the
undead Nazis killed in earlier games.
As if zombies weren’t enough, players
are forced to fend off dozens of
electric, fire-breathing zombie dogs
that charge and bite hopeless gamers.
No matter how well you fight
them off, the zombies will eventually
eat your brains out (unless you beat
the level, but come on, that’ll never
happen).
All in all, Call of Duty: Black
Ops has many attractive features to
draw forth new players and reaffirm
the love of veterans. Whether
players are interested in saving the
world in campaign, raining fire on
online enemies, or decapitating
scary zombies, the various types of
gaming available in Black Ops make
it an instant classic that should not
be missed by any interested gamer.