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One Student, Two Artifacts of Education
EDITOR’S NOTE: Students do not “specialize.” Students take five or six courses simultaneously and are expected to perform at a high level across the curriculum. This LEO post includes two artifacts of work–one from a Latin III Honors course and one from an American Literature course–by Becca Shea, a V Former. This is simply a microcosm that evinces the impressive ability of a student to multi-task academically, which happens in educational realms every day.
By Becca Shea, V Form
Epicurean Somnium Scipionis (Latin III)
The aristocrat class of Rome divided into two philosophical factions known as Stoicism and Epicureanism. Somnium Scipionis is a story based off of the ideals of Stoics, thus if written from the perspective of an Epicurean, many details would be altered. Unlike Stoics, Epicureans did not believe in a heaven after life. Somnium Scipionis is a story of a man visiting his grandfather in heaven in a dream, so the start of the story must be altered slightly. Also dissimilar to Stoic beliefs, Epicureans did not believe the soul lived on: the soul, which was made up of composite atoms, died with the body. However, they did not fear death itself either. (more…)
Faith in the Leap–Religion and Life of Pi
By William D’Angelo, VI Form
Faith in the Leap–Religion and Life of Pi
The “Leap of Faith” scares many, as it has for eons. Everyone fears the fall, the drop into the unknown. Some enjoy the rush of the unknown. The unknown has infinite possibilities, something which is hard to find in a finite life. Faith requires this fear and this rush. Those are the doubts of the leap. Faith is belief in idea regardless of one’s doubt. If there is no doubt, it is not faith–it is fact. The excitement and fear of doubt are the obverse and reverse of the same coin. They sustain each other, building off of one another. As excitement wanes, fears build. As fear ebbs, excitement crashes over one like a tsunami. In Life of Pi, Yann Martel demonstrates on various levels that faith as well as doubt are what keeps Pi alive during his
ordeal. It is not just Pi that is aided by his faith and doubt, but everyone in the world as well. (more…)
A Failed Yankee Revolutionary
By Jackson Foley, V Form
A Failed Yankee Revolutionary
A revolutionary is someone who, in the name of revolution, sparks or is the center of a revolution that changes a whole society in a new and unique way. Hank Morgan, in Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, tries to stage a coup and win a revolt, but is not a revolutionary. Hank is not successful in the end. His revolt does not gain major public traction. He is just forcing new inventions and ideals on an uninterested medieval society. Also, Hank’s violent acts on the medieval English people are far beyond and unrelated to the name of revolution. This does not describe a revolution. (more…)
Falling Forward: Defining “Innovation”
By Jennifer Vermillion, Director of The Center for Innovation and Learning
Failing Forward: “Defining Innovation”
How do you know if something is innovative? If I asked you to name three things that exemplify innovation, what comes to mind? Innovation is certainly a prevalent topic these days. Universities have started offering degrees in innovation. A quick Amazon search for the term yields 1,158 books about innovation published in the last ninety days alone. Here at St. Mark’s, we have an entire center dedicated to innovation in teaching and learning. Innovation is essential for addressing complex social, environmental and economic challenges, but without careful reflection and discussion, the term can feel vague and even trendy. So how do we define and value innovation at St. Mark’s? (more…)
III Form Physics: First Engineering Design Challenge
By Lindsey Dumond, III Form
III Form Physics: First Engineering Design Challenge
Units 1, 2, and 3 all focused on the same design challenge, which was to create an object with the highest average velocity over two meters. The object also had to be self-propelled and could not leave contact with the track at any time, or it would be disqualified. At the end of unit one, we chose several materials that we thought would be most useful in creating an object that could complete the challenge. We created a first design based on what we knew about physics at that point. In unit two, we built a model of our first design and tried to make it self-propelled. After facing challenges during this step we redesigned and rebuilt. As we redesigned, we were also learning more about physics and concepts that (more…)
Challenging the World to Decrease Energy Use
By Kristen Upton, V Form, Annette Kang, VI Form, and Kristin Smith, VI Form
Challenging the World to Decrease Energy Use
In our Advanced Environmental Science class, we had the challenge of making a 1-2 minute proposal video that would invite and encourage people around the world to find a solution to our essential question: How much of our energy use is actually necessary? In our video, we challenged our viewers to decrease their unnecessary energy use, with our goal being to prompt conversations and spread awareness of superfluous energy consumption. As we try to accomplish this feat at our school, we hope that this video will spur inspiration in others to take on the same challenge.
What The Wedding of Zein Teaches Us About Islam
By Blaire (Ninglin) Zhang, V Form
What The Wedding of Zein Teaches Us About Islam
While The Wedding of Zein by Tayeb Salih portrays the day-to-day life of various seemingly unconnected groups of people in a Sudanese village, it poses important questions about the religion of Islam. In describing events leading up to Zein’s wedding and reactions of the villagers, Salih reveals contrasting interpretations of Islamic faith. One comes to see that under the façade of Zein’s wedding and the author’s use of comic elements exist tensions between those who follow the Sufi tradition and those who prefer the more orthodox, non-Sufi way to Islam. Haneen and The Imam represent individuals who exemplify these two opposing views. (more…)
CHOSEN: The TV Pitch Project Winner
By Alex von Campe and Sean Bellefeuille, VI Form
CHOSEN: The TV Pitch Project Winner (A Contest in Mr. Camp’s Getting LOST VI Form Elective)
PITCH BIBLE–
Logline:
As an unknown disease ravages the world, outsiders fight to gain entry to the one safe place where the chosen people live.
Elevator Pitch:
A group of people is chosen to restart society, but they are unaware of this, and they are trapped in a never-ending underground system with no sunlight. Families of the missing people fight to find their loved ones and eventually find others in similar situations. They come close a couple of times, but soon, an incurable disease ravages the world. It dawns on the outsiders that they were deemed not worthy of restarting the human race. The people realize that their missing loved ones, the chosen ones, are in the only safe place on earth.
Trailer for “Chosen” click here
Synopsis:
Society was struggling as a whole. Natural disasters were ravaging poor (more…)
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