Handle With Care

changing chairs
Chairs throughout Stevenson are being replaced
Due to the age of Stevenson’s
chairs, the administration
is gradually adding new chairs
in classrooms across the school.
The new chairs are initially being
introduced in the West
Building, and will expand to the
East Building as the school year
progresses.
The new chairs are backed by
researched advantages over traditional
seating, aiming to improve
students’ ability to pay attention
in class. Principal Troy
Gobble explains that this advantage
was important in choosing
the exact chair model. Another
major cause for the change is the
the chairs as they become older.
“There’s a fair amount of evidence
that shows [the new
chairs] require you to stay a little
more physically attentive to
your space, which makes you
stay more mentally attentive to
your space,” Gobble said.
According to a majority of
students, the 3D rocker mechanism
found in the chairs is a
point of controversy as it can
potentially have a negative impact
on the student’s learning.
the primary purpose of this
mechanism, activating the core,
actually improves student attention.
Evan Fredin ’25 believes
that this feature might be a dis-
for others.
“I sometimes want to move
Witty remarks
Failed Presidential Candidates leave audience laughing
“The GOAL of FPC
is to have fun.”
ADITEE SAKHARE ’23
On Friday, Dec. 9, the Failed
Presidential Candidates (FPC)
improv troupe had their audience
cracking up during their
winter show. The performance
featured improv games, which
often includes creating short
on audience members to suggest
words or phrases that FPC uses
to create their scenes.
During practices, FPC’s three
captains ensure the 22 troupe
members practice each game
format prior to the performance.
FPC co-captain Aditee Sakhare
’23 says this more rehearsed style
of improv has allowed students
to familiarize themselves with
the concepts of each game while
still maintaining its unexpected,
improvisational nature.
“I’ve learned a lot of good
skills like spontaneity, taking
risks and being able to perform
in front of people without feeling
too nervous,” Sakhare said.
Sakhare adds that improv
teaches important skills, for
both performances and students’
futures. FPC practices are hosted
weekly, with commitments
increasing closer to the performance.
Often during rehearsals,
leads and explains the games,
encouraging students to apply
certain skills and concepts to
their performances.
“Students learn how to be an
active listener and how to take
what someone is saying and add
to it,” Forberg said. “We call it
‘yes, and….’”
The development of these
critical skills is supported by
Forberg and his curriculum for
the club. Forberg has changed
the way FPC works, adding new
elements to their games such as
Hosting, in which a student is
selected to “host” a game, essentially
taking charge of the scene.
ly
important skill to be able to
sense the scene and what’s going
to happen, and then curate it,”
Forberg said.
Forberg feels that hosting allows
troupe members the chance
to anticipate the actions of their
fellow performers and learn to
end scenes on time. This ensures
that their improv scenes stay
entertaining because the hosts
know to end the scene when the
troupe starts to run out of ideas.
“The goal of improv is to always
try to make the other person
look good on stage,” Forberg
said.
around, and just shifting around
on chairs does help, but for other
students I feel [their] focus is
the chairs rather than paying
attention,” Fredin said.
A survey of 107 students
from several classes about the
new chairs found that over 75
to be less comfortable than the
old ones. Students described the
chairs as “not the most comfortable
to sit in for a longer period
of time” and “shaky nightmares,”
but some saw the ability
of the chairs to “prevent falling
asleep in class,” the intended
purpose.
The Stevenson administration
is working with Sodexo
partners to assemble and install
these chairs, which is a
time-consuming process. Gobble
says that students can expect
to see more of their classes having
these new chairs as they are
gradually replaced throughout
the school.
“I would expect [all chairs to
be replaced] by the end of the
year, it would be a nice, manageable
timeline. It might be much
faster than that.” Gobble said.
“we have a very updated school
and it’s pretty comfortable place
for kids. we’re changing the
chairs because we have to do that
anyway.”
principal troy gobble
Failed Presidential Candidates (FPC) alum and former captain Wyn Thomas
’22 returns to watch a rehearsal. FPC rehearsals provide an opportunity
Forberg emphasizes that the
members of FPC rely on their
teammates while performing,
whether their teammates are
hosting or participating in the
scene with them. Sakhare says
she and many other members
tinuing
with the troupe, many
of which include the skills they
learn through FPC.
“The goal of FPC is to have
fun,” Sakhare said. “All of us
really like comedy and making
people laugh.”
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