THE BUZZZZZzzz
A
PUBLICATION OF
THE HUDSON SCHOOL
WINTER SEMESTER
Photo by Mary Ann D’Urso
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1
Sunday in the Park With George by Steven Sondheim kicked off The Hudson School’s
theater season with sold-out performances and record runs in December.
That Championship Semester
W
hen it comes to
our first semester
of this school year, we have an embarrassment of riches.
Amid thesis statements and all
things science, new teachers and new
ambitions, books to read and algebraic
equations to unriddle, we worked hard
and we played hard. Our performance
space stage has barely been still what
with productions, including Sunday in the
Park with George, Bat Dog, and The Phantom
Tollbooth, the sixth grade play.
We have seen victories of the personal (read Avery Olah-Reiken’s piece on
being a ball boy at the U.S. Open) and
the public (go Hudson Girls’ Soccer
Team!!!, see the season wrap-up on page
two).
And our middle school students remind us of what binds us together: the
power of our words, ideas and creativity
to move and inspire.
And if you are reading this
electronic version, use your Control key and click on the hyperlink
to read blog posts by our 9th and
11th graders (Period 1) and (Period 6) who are using them to post
select assignments from literature
class.
We hope you enjoy the read.
That Winning Season
photos courtesy of Justin McCormick
by Julia Rinklin
This year’s girls’ soccer season was truly memorable. Led by head coach Ari
Raisa, and assistant coaches Ben Tamberella and Ali Fantl, the team went
on to have its most successful season in history. Senior Emily Rosenzweig and
junior Julia Rinklin were team captains. The following reflect Rinklin’s highlights of the season scrapbook.
Game 1, September 23, 2013: Hudson vs. Benedictine
Loss, 6-3 (Goals: Delphine McCann, 2; Maia Kamil, 1)
This was a tough game right from the beginning. It was our first
game of the season so the team was just getting a feel for each
other.
Game 2, September 24, 2013: Hudson vs. Lacordaire
Win, 5-1 (Delphine 4 goals, Maia 1)
This was a great game for us, as most wins are. Maia Kamil was
moved back to defense in this game and was definitely the MVP
of this game.
Game 3, October 1, 2013: Hudson vs. Purnell
Win, 3-0 (Delphine 2 goals, Maia 1)
Purnell left the field very upset. They beat us very badly last season and they were expecting an easy win, but we came into the
game stronger than ever. All the spectators, players and coaches
were amazed at this game. The team kept fighting until the end.
Game 4: October 3, 2013: Hudson vs Hoboken High
Loss, 3-1 (Delphine 1 goal)
We played a great game against a large public school who went far
in the state tournament.
Game 5: October 9 , 2013: Hudson vs Lacodaire
Tie, 0-0
We would have won again, but a lot of the players were distracted.
It was our first game without Maia Kamil, who was injured in the
last game.
Game 6: October 18, 2013: Hudson vs. Purnell
Win, 2-1 (Delphine, 2 goals)
We beat Purnell on the road 2-1. Lily Johnson played an amazing game in goal.
2
On Center Court:
Nadal, Murray...Olah-Reiken???
by Avery Olah-Reiken
H
ave you ever imagined standing on a
tennis court while Roger Federer or
Serena Williams competed? Every
summer 90 boys, girls, men and women get this opportunity. This year, I was one of the 90.
This is not an easy job. At first it was very
nerve-racking. You don’t want to mess up, especially
when you are being supervised. But once all my nerves
were gone the Open was a great experience.
My favorite match was definitely on the last day
of the qualifiers, when there were two people trying to
get in, but only one spot. The stadium was filled and it
was a TV court, which means there were cameras
broadcasting. My adrenalin was pumping and it was a
very exciting match.
Anyone above the age of 14 can try out at The
USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing
Meadows, Queens, home to the United States Open
Championship. In the end, 400 people try out for 90
spots, beginning in June, with callbacks in mid-July for
150 finalists. The Open begins in late August.
Being a ball person at the Open fulfilled a lifelong dream. I love tennis and I also play. Each year,
when I was growing up and watched it, both on TV and
at the Open in person -- I always watched the ball people, knowing that when I turned 14 years old, I was going to be one.
The 90 spots cover the “back,” “net” and
“swing.” Backs -- that was my position this year –
stand, as the name suggests, at the back of the court on
each side. Backs give the server the balls. They also
throw the ball to the other side of the court on one
bounce when the serve switches sides, and hold the
umbrellas over the players’ heads during breaks.
Nets stand on either side of the net, literally
running and retrieving balls hit into the net. They also
throw the balls to the backs on one bounce. Getting the
ball on one bounce is very important. It is the fastest
and most efficient way to get the ball to the other side.
If you throw it on two bounces once in a while it is not
the biggest deal, but not during the tryout or when you
are being supervised. The swings are people who can do
both positions when needed.
In mid-August I had a training day and then I
Avery on his way to work.
started working matches. There are many details and
protocol to observe as a ball person. But once you and
your crew walk out to the court and the players put
down their bags, IT’S ANOTHER WORLD.
It is very exciting being on the court and being
able to interact with the different players. At the same
time, it is very nerve-racking being out there because
you do not want to mess up.
This experience was amazing, from saying hello
to Wimbledon champion Andy Murray to wearing a
very nice Ralph Lauren Polo sweat suit designed for the
Open. I also made a lot of friends. I can’t wait to continue in 2014!
Avery Olah-Reiken is a 10th grader. He has played multiple sports
since he was five years old.
For more information about ball person tryouts
please click here.
3
Color and Light
THS Stages Sondheim’s Darling:
Sunday in the Park
With George
by Dyllan Brown-Bramble
Aft
er
months of practice, The Hudson
School theater department gave
its all to the musical Sunday in the
Park With George, which played to
sold-out performances its opening weekend. George both kicked
off the high school theater season and raised the bar for other
productions that will follow.
Inspired by the famous
painting “A Sunday Afternoon
on the Island of La Grande Jatte”
by George Seurat, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine wrote the
play. Director Adam Sentoni
wanted to showcase the play,
which he described as “the greatest work of theater and the most
unexpected kind of storytelling.”
Starring in his final Hudson School production, senior
Robert Stark, who played Seurat, agreed. “We are getting to
put on Sondheim’s greatest
Broadway success. It has a wonderful and interesting storyline.”
Sentoni said, “It isn’t just
musical comedy. It is interesting
as a story and gives the audience
plenty to consider for a long time
afterwards. I chose it because last
year’s show was about telling
stories and the effect of stories.
This year it is about the creation
of art and life.”
Split between the past and the
present, the play, which ran in December, offered actors double roles. Ali
Gilman, who played the lead female
character Dot in Act I, and Marie in
Act II, described the play as moving.
“People will walk out of the theater
wanting to see the characters have better lives and caring for them,” she said.
“The audience will laugh with the charThe Cast:
Georges/George….. ……...Robert Stark
Dot/Marie…. ……………….Ali Gilman
Old Lady/Blair Daniels…….Lily Johnson
Nurse/Mrs. Pawling ……….Seun Akande
acters and cry for them.”
Sereba Diakite, a senior and
first time Hudson School actress, said,
“Joining the play was one of the best decisions I made. I learned a lot about myself and my peers. and I stepped out of
my comfort zone. I had so much fun being a part of what became an amazing
production.”
The production was a success, as
is expected from the Hudson theater program. For all those who didn’t get to see
it, you missed an enchanting experience.
As for Sentoni, he was happy the cast
could see the effect they had on the audience and see the audience take something
away with them.
Dyllan Brown-Bramble is a senior and a contributing writer for The Buzz.
Franz/Dennis ………..Avery Olah-Reiken
Frieda/Betty ……………...Sereba Diakite
Jules/Mr. Greenberg...Matthew McGowan
Art Ain’t Easy
Yvonne/Naomi Eisen … ……Maia Kamil
To learn more about
Louise/Phtographer … …Tova Esperanza
Sondheim’s work on this
play, see this short documentary narrated by Julie Andrews.
Boatman/Charles Redmond…..RJ Konefal
Celeste #1/Elaine ……………Colby Thall
Celeste #2/Waitress………..Meryl Kurland
Soldier/Alex …………………...Bill Abreu
Louis/Billy Webster ………..Jack Dorfman
Horn player/Lee Randolph……….Bai Yang
4
To learn more about
Georges Seurat, please visit
the National Gallery.
Night
Reimagining
The following poems were written by eighth graders Kyra Brands, Chloe Baker and Eliza Leal. Their work is
a response to a piece that they read in Night, Elie Wiesel’s account of his life in Auschwitz.
“The Cattle Car”
“Night”
by Eliza Leal
by Kyra Brands
The door opens
People in front of me walk into the cattle car
I take a few steps
An officer looks at me as I walk
I stare into his blank, gray eyes and say nothing
Misery surrounds me
Devastation overwhelms me
Harm is near me
Yet I stay hopeful
For a miracle that will not come
For my family that will tear apart
For strength that will break away
For my community that will disappear
And for myself that will leave with no trace
There is a pestilent stench inside the car
It reaks of ______
Men, women and their children are crowded together
inside
The men tell each other that we are going to Hungary,
to work and have a better life
I am not so sure
“Darkness”
2 Days Later
by Chloe Baker
The train stops
The door roars open
German officers come into our car and demand that our
precious belongings be surrendered to
them: jewelry, wallets, heirlooms
I have nothing to place in the basket
“Put it in!” an officer screams.
I look into all my pockets and shake my head
The officer gives me a blank stare. It was the same officer
from before.
I stare into his blank, gray eyes and say nothing.
The officers leave and the train continues
I remember when I was young,
life was so exciting,
there was always something new to explore,
something to dream about,
oh how I miss that little girl,
She will always be a part of me still,
hidden under the fear,
hidden under the sorrow,
there is a light in my future,
But for now,
life will be colorless,
a pit of darkness,
in which you can see the light at the bottom,
yet the deeper you dig,
you are only stuck lower underground.
“What will become of us Jews?” I think to myself.
I have only heard stories. Are they true?
We stop.
A man peers through a crack in the car and sees a sign:
Auschwitz
Auschwitz?
The name echoes through the car as the door roars opens
We flood out like cattle.
5
What’s Happening In the 5th Grade Writing Corner:
CREATIVE GANGBUSTERS
The Fifth Grade class has been writing a lot this first semester with their teacher, Paula Ohaus. The class, Mrs. O
reports, really enjoys creative writing. The following are excerpts from some of the work they have been doing.
The Storm
The water rushed
Three
through the quaint
little town of
Deserted
Greensburg destroyIslands
ing everything in its path. Even the old
oaks gave up and crashed to the ground,
Peter the
their gnarled roots facing upwards. The
squirrel was very clever and curious. He
thunder and lightning fought to prove
and his best friend Jimmy were ten years
who was the loudest. Then silence. I had
old. Jimmy was a chipmunk and the son
survived the hurricane….Aggie Wilkes
of the mayor who lived in the largest
house on the three islands. The islands
were unknown to humans and did not
appear on any maps. Only the animals
were aware of them and used them for
themselves. Hensington was inhabited
by rich animals; Fuzzzville was for the
middle class, while the poorest animals
Dreams Come True
lived in Hensington…. Harjodh Mann
Let me tell you a simple yet incredible journey of a boy who had a
dream.
Ms. Zhorella
I used to live in JackA story inspire by an
son Mississippi. I never
article in The New
particularly liked the
York Times
town, nor did I feel I
belonged there. We
“Tell me about
were poor and lived in a small apartyourself” I asked
ment on the outskirts of town. My mom
flicking the switch
drove a dusty old Cadillac that was fallon my recorder.
ing apart and we owned a single 16”
Slowly she began,
black-and-white TV. During the day
tentatively choosing each word. “My
Mom worked as a cashier in Walmart
name is Annie. I recently turned 67
and at night as a waitress in Applebee’s. years old.”
She worked late at night and weekends.
“How did you come to live in
Consequently, my grandparents looked New York,” I asked, sliding the recorder
after me most of the time….Alex
a little closer.
Chawdhry
“At twenty I moved here with
6
the help of my aunt.” I noticed her left
eye twitching repeatedly. “My aunt’s
name was Madame Zhorella.” She
paused again cocking her head to one
side like a curious bird. “Funny,” she
continued, “ I never knew her first
name”… Kennedy Munz
Mr. Zhorella
It’s happening all so fast,
but I still have time, I
thought. The train is
coming. I can hear it
rattling as it approaches. Suddenly, a blinding
light of a dynamo
torch flashed in my
eyes. The Gestapo!
“Stop!” yells a heavily accented
voice. I hear the train as it whooshes
directly below me.
Now! I think and dive off the
cliff into blackness.
It all started when I was suspected of being a Jewish sympathizer.
My wife Maria Zhorella and I had been
working with the underground helping
Jews escape from Vienna. “I must leave
soon!!” I whispered to my wife one day
as she prepared food in the kitchen. “I
already have my bags packed.”
“But,” my wife protested.
“There’s no time,” I cut her
off. “The Gestapo is already suspicious
of me.”
She pursed her lips, and it
seemed like a century before she spoke.
“Fine,” she finally said. “Just come back
home safe.”
Fifth Grade:
Writing WARRIORS
One Class, Endless Possibilities
The Trip
Seventh Grade Creative Writing
Inspired by a human interest story in The New York Times
Adventures In
Ethics & English
It was a cruel and unforgiving November day in Vienna, Austria: horse manure was in the air.
My name is Olaf Wolfman and I am a
Jew. I have been hiding out in Ms.
Zhorella’s pretending to be her butler.
My parents have been sent to one of
the worst camps, Treblinka.
She has dyed my hair blond. So far this
ploy has worked…….. Antonio Clemente
“After a week of examining serious ethical dilemmas in our
studies of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, and in the week’s newspaper headlines, we found ourselves hoping for some easy solutions to
complex problems,” wrote Kay Magilavy, the seventh grade English
and ethics teacher.
Boy Lost in Canadian Wilderness
A newspaper article inspired by the novel, Hatchet
“Taking a cue from the approach of spring, and the awakening of the trees, we thought how the trees of summer take in the polluted air and give us back oxygen,” she said. “We imagined if we
could clean our human environment in the same way: to take in the
problems people have created and through our words and deeds, give
back good to the world.”
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson was
flying on a single-engine plane through
the vast Canadian wilderness to visit his
father when his plane disappeared somewhere beyond the Canadian border. Last
Friday, the air traffic control tower at
Newark Airport received an urgent transmission from Robeson stating that the
only pilot on the plane was dead, having
suffered a massive heart attack, and he
was attempting to fly the aircraft alone…. Yunus Hokkaci
Working in teams of three, the 7th grade Creative Writing classes
wrote these word constructs. The activity is drawn from Rip the
Page!: Adventures in Creative Writing by Karen Benke.
by Aidan Gaul, Eric Olah-Reiken, Calvin Weaver
Breathe in homophobia.
Breathe out rights.
Breathe in cancer.
Breathe out a cure.
Breathe in suicide.
Breathe out love.
Breathe in genocide.
Breathe out compromise.
Breathe in the national debt.
Breathe out doughnuts.
Breathe in Alzheimer’s.
Breathe out friends for life.
Tragic Plane Crash Leaves Young Boy
Stranded in the Canadian Wilderness
This Monday, September 23, a harried
call was picked up from Flight 46. It
sounded like a transmission from a
young boy calling for help. He did not
know his location and explained that
the pilot had suffered a heart attack.
The boy sounded in terrible distress,
but after those few exchanges, the
signal was lost…. Greer Garver
7
Seventh Grade Adventures in Ethics & English
by Harper van Doorn, Grace Weinstein,
Rainni Moran:
Breathe in deep, dark war.
Breathe out peace.
Breathe in hatred.
Breathe out love.
Breathe in the fear of losing someone..
Breathe out the experience of a new person, being
brought into the world.
Breathe in depression.
Breathe out happiness.
Breathe in jealousy.
Breathe out friends and family.
by Brigitte Wu, Corinne Motoki, Jaeli Rose:
Breathe in pollution.
Breathe out a fresh start.
Breathe in stereotypes.
Breathe out global unity.
Breathe in a victim’s pain.
Breathe out friendships to fight it.
Breathe in a world of insecurities.
Breathe out the confidence to keep going.
Breathe in every lie.
Breathe out every new truth.
Breathe in controlling ropes.
Breathe out broken chains.
by Kaya Warsharwsky, Hadiyyah Lesure,
Nicole Smith:
Breathe in death.
Breathe out the living.
Breathe in abuse.
Breathe out the ones who seek help.
Breathe in the homeless and the poor.
Breathe out the generous.
Breathe in the people who have cancer.
Breathe out the treatment and the survivors.
Breathe in suicide.
Breathe out the ones who hold back.
Breathe in rape.
Breathe out the ones who speak up.
by Louissa Chanin, Grace Melville,
Madeline Hartshorn:
Breathe in the crippling thought of death.
Breathe out the beauty of your life.
Breathe in your unnecessary self-loathing.
Breathe out your perfect imperfections.
Breathe in others’ ignorant judgment.
Breathe out your self confidence.
Breathe in the stress of perfection.
Breathe out your humanity.
Breathe in your feeble power to change things.
Breathe out your strength to be heard.
Breathe in the dark isolation that comes with solitude.
Breathe out the peace of being alone.
by Julia Bushman, Seana Chambers, Esheka
Varshney:
Breathe in all the what ifs.
Breathe out the laughter of friends and family.
Breathe in the death of your loved ones.
Breathe out the positives of your life.
Breathe in the fears of darkness
Breathe out Netflix on Friday Night.
Breathe in all the painful memories.
Breathe out the people who help you forget.
Breathe in your insecurities.
Breathe out independence, confidence, your unique
beauty.
Breathe in Justin Bieber.
8
Photo by Mary Ann D’Urso
The Phantom Tollbooth
From the left: Sasha Ustilovsky, Lola Buczkowski, Stella Borelli, Ava Grosso and Elyse Donohue.
and Mr. Gabe Hernandez, our amazing directors.
Once everyone was off script, we were able to
have fun with roles and props like The Castle in the Air.
When actors on stage are enjoying themselves, the fun is
contagious. During rehearsal, many shrieks could be heard
from us, the (pseudo)audience savoring the laugh, and waiting for our moment under the spotlight.
We are also excited to donate the profits of our
performance to Doctors Without Borders. At the beginning
of the year, through a blind vote, we selected it as the charity we would support. The other options were the Malala
Fund and the ASPCA. Many sixth graders said that they
chose Doctors Without Borders because they wanted to
help people in war-torn regions.
For a while, our class had been pondering how to
donate to our charity. Could we have a bake sale? A hot
chocolate stand? A movie night? Finally, we chose to donate
the profits of the play to the foundation because it benefits
everyone: The victims receive aid, the sixth graders see their
families watching them performing, and the parents feel
proud of their children.
The Phantom Tollbooth has also been associated with
Language Arts: Mr. Ryan Bensley assigned the novel to
our class. We had to assemble five readers’ journals on it -in each one, we were required to create an alternative title, a
succinct summary, two critical reflections, a personal reflection, and last (but not least) vocabulary. Each journal entry
by Ananya Jain
Life
is boring. Yawn.
So thinks a young boy named Milo who believes
that EVERYTHING is a waste of time: reading a book,
practicing piano, riding a bike. What does it matter? Who
cares? Yaaaaaaaawn.
Then one day, a mysterious tollbooth appears and
whisks Milo into a strange new land. There, he meets eccentric creatures with human qualities, such as the brothers of
Wisdom: the Mathemagician who is obsessed with numbers,
and Azaz, the Emperor of Phrases, who is engulfed by
words. If you haven’t guessed, Passion rules and Rhyme and
Reason were banished from the land.
Since October, the sixth graders have known Milo.
His story has been presented to us in various ways, so we
have absorbed it completely, just like a sea sponge swills the
Pacific.
We were introduced to Milo in our drama class
when we were told that our play this year was going to be
based on The Phantom Tollbooth, a novel by Norton Juster.
Zakariah Rizvi plays the main role of Milo, and Olivia
Leonard has the second lead as Tock the Watchdog.
Watching Zak and Olivia is a treat, and no doubt their performances will be cited for years to come. Our class rehearsed several times a week with Ms. Catharine Baldwin
(Continued on page 10)
9
The Phantom Tollbooth
We
are also excited to
donate the profits of our performance to Doctors Without Borders.
At the beginning of the year, through
a blind vote, we selected it as the
charity we would support.
(Continued from page 9)
– and the film, which we watched -- enhanced our views of the
novel, so we could find the deeper meaning.
Collectively, these activities have crystallized our understanding of the play. They also inspired the staging and our portrayal of the story: from our acting, to our style and dialogue delivery,
and even to our paintings on the set. The Mountains of Ignorance
frown. The Castle in the Air sparkles.
The play is gripping, and yet has the warmth that would
help on a frosty January evening. The performance has many
strengths and the BIG life message is to appreciate the pulchritudinous world around you, for there is so much to see, hear, taste,
touch, and smell.
Ananya Jain loves to play the piano, tap dance and paint sets.
Top: Thomas Horan
Middle: Janis Zellmer (left), Jessica
Huang (right)
Bottom: Lead actors, Olivia Leonard as
Tock the Dog, and Zak Rizvi, as Milo.
Photos by Mary Ann D’Urso
10
Book Review:
The Mysterious Benedict Society
For more information about
writer Trenton Lee Stewart,
see his website.
a book and retains all of the knowledge he happens
upon.
Then there’s Reynie Muldoon, who grew up
in an orphanage and has more life skills than almost
all of the other kids his age. Or Kate Weatherall,
whose mother died when she was very young and her
father disappeared when she was also quite young.
She braved everything with the help of her mighty
bucket, where she kept the essentials for her survival.
Last, but definitely not least, there is Constance Contraire, the most stubborn little girl ever to
walk the face of the planet. They are the kind of children who can have an actual conversation with an
adult that has a point to it.
The Mysterious Benedict Society doesn’t follow
usual story guidelines. Just when you think that
they’re going to go for the sling shot or the pocket
knife, they go for the bucket instead, and they utilize
that bucket to the fullest to help them escape from
the enemy. These kids are underdogs. You can see
their lives and instantly feel sympathetic.
One last thing that I like about this book is
that it keeps you on your toes, wanting to keep reading straight through to the end without the slightest
distraction. These are things that are crucial to the
plotline and then once you finally find out what they
are, another thing is revealed, and you have to know
by Coco Berntson
Quirky is not a simple concept. It is something that is understood by many – myself included –
but defining it? Well, that could be a bit quirky.
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee
Stewart covers all corners of quirky, therefore, it is a
pretty good explanation.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and
anticipate enjoying the other titles in the series. This
book was enjoyable for several reasons, one being
that the characters, while younger and more reckless,
all have an intellectuality about them that makes them
more relatable.
Another thing I found is that the book has
beautiful prose, with lines such as “What is life without laughter?” or “Is this what family is like: the feeling that everyone’s connected, that with one piece
missing, the whole thing’s broken?”
Normal 11-year-olds make fart jokes and
don’t care about the consequences, but these 11- (and
12-) year-olds are more sophisticated. For example,
George “Sticky” Washington has a photographic
memory. He spends a lot of his time with his nose in
(Continued on page 12)
11
The Mysterious
Benedict
Society
(Continued from page 11)
what happens. The chain reaction keeps on going and
going and going, until the end of the book.
I would recommend this novel to anyone who
likes fantasy and the small crowd of people who like
the genre of far-fetched realistic fiction. It was very good
and you know, just a bit quirky.
Memorable quotes from The Mysterious
Benedict Society:
“Rules and school are tools for fools! I don't
give two mules for rules.”
“Children are capable of such open
rudeness.”
“For every exit, there is also an entrance.”
“No one seems to realize how much we are driven by FEAR, the essential component of human
personality. Everything else - from ambition to
love to despair - derives in some way from this
single powerful
emotion.”
In
their exploration of Breakfast At Tiffany’s
by Truman Capote, students in Katherine Kingsbury’s
10th grade class were asked to create a character collage
for Holly Golightly. The project was designed so that
each collage be unified around one key aspect of Holly’s
personality.
This piece was created by Isabel Tamberella.
12