Finally a Senior

Senior Year: The Final Installment

I like to believe that senior year, like any good teenage book series, is the compelling final installment of the 12 years I have spent at GA.   In this particular case, senior year will be filled with exclusive experiences including Senior Step at the Pep Rally, Senior Strut, Prom, and senior projects.  Though the previous volumes of my story at GA have been filled with events that have encouraged me to grow and expand as a student and member of society, I definitely believe that senior year will be the most adventure-packed and fun-filled.  I must say, what I am most looking forward to as a senior will be my senior project trip to China.  As a student of Chinese, I have fallen in love with both the language and culture and have been looking forward to this opportunity since I was in the eighth grade.  China, the much anticipated climax of my story, will be the perfect bookend to my time at GA.  With the conclusion of my senior year, I will have the knowledge and experience to enter the college of my choice; finishing one series and ready to start another.

~ Nichelle H. ‘15

Nichelle and three classmates ended their junior year on quite a high note,
earning the McNeil Patriot Scholarship Award at Prize Day.

 

City Championships in the Coxswain Seat

Nichelle preparing to row a race. . .

As I jumped into the boat during the early Sunday morning of City Championships and we pushed off the dock, I tried to forget that I would only be coxing my second race.  Midway through the season, I had decided that I would transition from rowing to coxing; feeling as though I needed a change of pace.  If you are not a fan of rowing, a coxswain is the person in the front (or back) of the boat that steers and makes calls based upon what is happening during the race.  As a rower, I had the opportunity to push myself past my limits, pull so hard that I would lose my breath, and scream my heart out when I wanted to win.  I chose to transition from rowing to cox because it had finally caught up to me that I was the smallest girl on the team.  Though I still consider myself a relatively competitive rower, I thought that my size would be more beneficial somewhere else in the boat.
 

. . . and nervously preparing to cox one.

In my very first race, I didn’t have a single clue what I was doing.  I called the start late, I steered out to starboard so far that the coxswain in the boat next to me had to wave her hand around so that I wouldn’t crash into her, and I kept rowing way past the finish line because I wasn’t totally sure where it was.  But when we finally finished, my boat had done a great job, and we had proven ourselves as a team.  Between their post-race breaths, the rowers in the boat complimented me, telling me that I had done a great job and thanking me for all my hard work.  I couldn’t believe it.  If anything, I should be thanking them for a nice ride down the river and for exerting themselves so extremely that their voices turned into raspy growls.  Right then, I realized that I was as much motivation to them as they were to me; and from then on, we worked as a unit to be the best that we could.

In the time leading up to City Champs, there was a lot of stress.  In the two and a half weeks between the races, there had been a horrible flood which shut down the boathouse for several days.  Everyone was worrying about limited practice we had before the biggest race of the season.  When we all met at the river the day of City Champs,  the four rowers of my boat and I met to talk about how much this race meant to all of us.  We were nervous, but we were one unit; knowing that the mental preparation was as important as the physical.  As we approached the starting line of the qualifying round, I made the call to start.  The rest of the race was a blur, but only one thing mattered when we finished: we made it!

 

~ Nichelle H. '15

Members of GA's crew team pose post-race.

 

Girls' Lacrosse Season Winds Down

Lacrosse action this spring at Sisters' Woods.

The girls’ lacrosse season is down to its last week of games. Though I was on JV and we've won only 3 games so far, it was still a fun time playing with my team. I'm happy to have met some new friends through lacrosse. Practices are hard, though we still find time to have fun. We run every practice, which is good considering the large amount you run in games. It's nice to cheer on teammates who have never played before or see them, along with yourself, improve throughout the season. Watching Varsity play makes you want to do better yourself. As the season ends, it's sad not only because it means we won't play anymore but also because it means the school year is almost done. I'm glad to have played alongside these girls and have as much fun as we've had.

-Sarina S. ‘17

Washington, DC Comes To Fort Washington

Senator Bob Casey spent a day talking with GA students.

            On April 17th, GA had the pleasure of hosting very well known Pennsylvania Senator, Bob Casey. Due to the busy life of a politician, he was only able to speak to the juniors for about thirty minutes. But in this time, Senator Casey was able to answer some very controversial and interesting questions from the Class of 2015.

            The assembly started with a question pertaining to the Affordable Care Act, which Senator Casey said he supports and also helped to create. Then questions switched to the topic of gun control. Senator Casey stated that he believes we do need better gun control, but that it will be very hard to implement since there are such strong opinions on both sides. While both of these questions were interesting to hear the answers to, my favorite question was the one regarding the legalization of gay marriage.

            To me, the fact that gay marriage is not legal yet is downright absurd, and while I know that many people do not feel the same way, I did expect Senator Casey to agree with me. But when he started to answer, I was surprised. Casey explained that initially, he was totally against gay marriage. He didn’t think it was a law that should be passed. But then he went on to explain that as he spent more time hearing the many reasons it should be passed, he slowly changed his mind because he realized that it’s the right thing to do. Now he considers himself an avid supporter of the legalization of gay marriage and is going to continue the fight to push it through.

            While a lot of the students who listened to Senator Casey talk did not agree with many of the things he said, I think that it was a great experience for everyone to meet such a high profile figure who has such influence when it comes to law making. Personally, I found the assembly quite interesting and I hope that GA continues to bring in more people like Senator Casey.

-Gideon S. '15

GA Patriots from the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools heard from and asked questions of the Senator.

Upper School Experience at Regional Science Fair

This March during Spring Break, I embarked on a brief bus ride to Oaks, Pennsylvania to participate in the Delaware Valley Science Fair. As I boarded the bus, one of my favorite teachers, Ms. Smith, stood at the front of the bus with a clipboard to take attendance.  “How do you feel?” she asks me as I pass her by.  After a few short grumbles and a roll of the eyes, I mutter “I’m not going to win anything. I’d rather be at home.”  Though I am not usually a pessimistic person, as a junior the competition of science fair goes to a whole other level.   Science fair, to put it plainly, is the war of the nerds.  Of course you are going to have a fun time meeting new people with similar interests, but when it comes down to competing, it’s a Pavlov’s dog eat dog world.

 

This year, I was in the environmental category.  My project aimed to create an anaerobic biomass digester by using 100% recycled materials.  And though I had made it to Delaware Valley – which is the level before the international level – I was expecting some tough competition.   As soon as I stepped into the room, I felt pretty confident, but by the time that I sat down, I was a little worried.   When I had finished adjusting my board, I looked to my left to meet a very smart young man who had created the most successful pathogen detector in history. But wait, it gets better . . . it was also cheaper than anything on the market.  At the science fair works the more successful your project, the greater amount of judges will approach you.  By an hour in, over twenty judges had met him, shook his hand, and offered him large amounts of money.  Each time that a group of judges came over, I was optimistic that that they were coming to talk to me, the boldly suited, glasses wearing, intelligent looking seventeen year-old, but each time I was let down.   As soon as I thought that I may have lost hope, a group of women approached.   After introducing themselves and asking for a brief explanation of my project, we had a conversation.  It was not about science per say, but it was everything in between and around what science meant to us.  As they walked away, it was if they had graced me with good luck, and a few more judges approached me before the competition concluded.  As for the boy next to me, it seemed as if he had gotten some bad news from the USDA judges.  Apparently, the pathogens that he was detecting were, quite frankly, not pathogens.

Though I did not walk away with any medal, I was awarded with a special award from the Women in Geosciences Organization, and as for my fairy godmother judges, who knows if I will ever see them again.  What was most meaningful about the women who had talked to me was that they were able to put in perspective the real reason that I had come there.  It wasn’t to risk my self-esteem at an intense competition of the sciences; it was to experience the inexperienced, to learn, and to grow.  It was those women who had allowed me to remember that, though I had been one of the few girls in the category, that what I was passionate about was of supreme importance. 

As I walked onto the school bus to head back to GA, Ms. Smith asked me how it went.  This time I smiled.  “Not so bad,” I said.  “Not bad at all.”

- Nichelle H. '15

Boys' Lax Takes on North Carolina's Toughest



The 2014 team started its season by traveling to North Carolina.

Over Spring Break, the boys’ lacrosse team went down to Durham, North Carolina. The trip ran from Wednesday to Saturday - four days and three nights.  Those days and nights were filled with a team bowling outing, team bonding on the long bus rides, and, of course, lots of lacrosse. We played two very competitive and challenging opponents: Cardinal Gibbons High School (NC) and Durham Academy (NC). The first game was streamed live on the internet, in primetime on Friday night under the lights. We took on Cardinal Gibbons, who at the time was undefeated at 9-0 and garnering national attention. We fought hard and had a lead at halftime, but ended up falling 8-4 in the game. The following day, we played a very strong Durham Academy team on the campus of the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. We played very well and pulled out the 7-5 victory. Playing on the campus of UNC provided a great atmosphere that was definitely one to remember.

The experiences and memories built on the trip were ones that will last a long time. The talented teams we played provided much needed experience for some of our younger players on the squad that will prepare us for the very challenging teams we play in the Inter-Ac League. The team bonding memories such as hanging out in one another’s room, watching March Madness, or all the times when the guys would go out to dinner or grab lunch together bolstered the strong friendships which we already possessed.

- Hayes N. '14


Hayes captained GA's football team in addition to serving his second year as a lacrosse captain.

Editor's note: Hayes has been an outstanding multi-sport athlete at GA. Elected 1st Team All Inter-Ac as a quarterback, his football career will continue this fall at Cornell University.

Intro to Theatre Class Finds Their Lifeline

Recently in the Intro to Theatre class, students were assigned to collect and present in front of the class ten objects that comprise who you are. These objects help the class understand a deeper side of you besides the person that they already know. I found this project particularly interesting: being given the challenge to search for, let alone present some of my most cherished objects in front of my acting class. After days of searching for objects and asking myself repeatedly “Does this object express who I am?”, I finally found ten objects that actually do frame my life out. Some of the objects included were a painting that I made with my grandmother back in the 3^rd grade, a CD that I produced with my friends this past summer, and a thank you letter I received from a family that CSO supported when I was in the 7^th grade (I originally sent a sympathy letter to that family).

 

Brendan and his class worked on an assignment of self-reflection.

 

The Lifeline Project forced me to look back on the past fifteen (almost sixteen) years of my life and pick out the significant moments and memories that define who I am today. The project showed me how grateful I am for all of the little things in life, from having the ability to record my own music to knowing my grandfather for as long as I did. With this being said, I challenge you to find ten objects that comprise who you are; it’s an amazing way to reflect and remind yourself of what the important things in life actually are.

- Brendan C. ‘17