The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Are We Doing Anything?
By Desmond Goodwin, VI Form
The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Are We Doing Anything?
For centuries, the United States of America has promised hope for millions of people seeking freedom and safety. Our country’s rich history began with families facing perilous journeys in order to escape from religious persecution. Right now, as the United States faces the disastrous effects of the Syrian Refugee Crisis, remembering our history has never been more important. As thousands of people flee from their war torn homes, they desperately search for shelter. For refuge. Is the United States one of those places? (more…)
A Swift Introduction to Programming with Swift
By Colin Capenito, III Form
A Swift Introduction to Programming with Swift
Apple announcing Swift
A few months ago, the Computer Science 1 class began to learn and work with a programming language called “Swift”. Swift is a programming language, used to create apps for iOS and OS X, the operating systems that run devices such as iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Swift is a relatively new language, only announced by Apple around 19 months ago. When it was announced, many were surprised: new programming languages are not created all that often. Developers were desperate to get their hands on Apple’s new language, curious to see what it could and couldn’t do. Since Swift was released, it has grown into a popular language for anyone looking to create apps for the App Store. (more…)
The Quest: An Original Composition for a Life Philosophy
By Helena Lin, IV Form
The Quest: An Original Composition for a Life Philosophy
At the end of my fall Roman Religion and Philosophy class, Dr Harwood assigned us a free-swim 
final project that asked for a creative presentation, in any desired form, of something we found interesting and meaningful in what we learned in class. After several conferences with Dr Harwood, I decided to produce my first music composition, which aims to demonstrate my understanding of Epicureanism and Stoicism, the two Roman philosophies that we studied. (Click right image!) (more…)
Northern Pacific Seastar Asterias amurensis & My Zone as an Artist
By Mei-Mei Arms, III Form
Northern Pacific Seastar Asterias amurensis & My Zone as an Artist
(See larger image below)
This seastar originated in Japan, Korea, China and Russia, about 20-40 metres deep off the coasts of these countries. It was introduced by the ballast waters of cargo ships as they returned from these countries and used ocean water to replace the weight of cargo. They can reproduce without the aid of another sea star and can multiply in the thousands. Due their rough exterior, the Northern Pacific Seastar does not have many natural enemies. Their larvae are so small that we cannot find a way to capture them and nothing appears to eat them at that stage in their life cycle. The Sea stars eat crustaceans and due to their numerous population, when they enter a new area, their numbers can wipe out the whole population of crustaceans. They can break off limbs and these limbs can grow in to new Sea Stars, but this process does take years. (more…)
The Art of Calligraphy
By Sean Kim, VI Form
The Art of Calligraphy
As the Western Hemisphere settles down from all the hubbub of the new year, many nations in East Asia and their diaspora communities recently celebrated their new year: the Lunar New Year. Even with all the “westernization,” celebrating holidays based on the lunar calendar and tradition that come with the holidays have stayed an integral part of communities throughout East Asia and beyond. One of the traditions of the holidays is calligraphy. Calligraphy, which began as a crude pictogram in Ancient China, has been considered a work of art for millennia. Just as art did, calligraphy in East Asia developed and evolved, spawning numerous styles of writing that came and went as centuries passed. (more…)
The European Green Crab
A note from the creators, Ellie Hedison (V Form) and Marcus Permatteo (V Form):
While creating our infographic, we wanted to strike a balance between being informative and visually appealing. The European Green Crab, an invasive species, has transformed ecosystems and communities along the eastern coast of the United States. We hoped to address the main aspects of the Green Crab as an invasive species and how it puts ecosystems in danger through visuals and graphs instead of simply just writing a paper. The European Green Crab was an appealing topic for us because it has a local effect, infiltrating the coasts of Maine and Cape Cod. (more…)
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