Student-led SM Leads

By Cathy Zhou ‘21

The past few SM Leads sessions featured student-led discussions on sustainability and abusive relationships. These initiative sessions introduced a new format of student leadership training for St. Markers: they adopted a discussion-based approach and incorporated innovations such as engaging situational simulations and distributing bracelets for participants

SM Leads was started in 2018 as a Friday-night discussion session for training current and prospective student leaders. These events explore topics such as substance use, the boundaries and consent in daily life, public speaking, and mental health, aiming to inform better decisions among student leaders for themselves and for the community. Since they set the tone for the school, SM Leads influences the broader community by shaping the actions and voice of the leaders

The Students for Sustainability club (S4S) hosted an SM Leads discussing the role of student leaders in promoting sustainability at St. Mark’s. The session started with a memorable video of Greta Thunberg, a young climate change activist, continued with a recycle relay, and ended with a situational simulation that initiated discussions on how student leaders should react to unsustainable actions around them. According to Clara Hua’21, S4S’s innovative approaches made the event a unique experience: “By incorporating a waste sorting team competition as well as a Kahoot, the SMLeads session was very engaging. We were able to learn and have fun at the same time!” 

Alie Hyland ’20, leader of S4S, explains that the idea of organizing an SM Leads session came up in a discussion with the club’s faculty advisor, Ms. Lohwater. She describes that the planning for this event was a group effort: “We brainstormed what lessons we wanted to share with the school and what information was most important to share with the leaders of St. Mark's. We split into different groups and each group was responsible for planning a specific part of the SM Leads. Everyone in S4S was so helpful and enthusiastic about the SM Leads session!”

On February 21st, a similar student-lead SMLeads was organized by six formers Catherine Pellini and Paige LaMalva who led a discussion on relational aggression and bullying. The session was a part of the project with a grant from St. Mark’s. LaMalva and Pellini’s session was planned differently than that of S4S. “We actually planned it by the minute,” said LaMalva. Sitting down at the end of the winter break, they went through their notes to outline the presentation.  “After gathering all of our information, we decided that the best way to deliver our information was to the SM community,” said LaMalva. 

During the session, students discussed the spectrum of healthy and unhealthy relationships, brainstormed possible actions towards hypothetical scenarios, and learned about the cycle of abuse. In the end, LaMalva and Pellini gave out purple bracelets, which is the color that symbolizes domestic abuse awareness. Lina Zhang’21 thought that this was especially innovative: “the bracelets could serve as a visual reminder for us.”

Coronavirus: A Rising Epidemic

By Julie He and Ingrid Yeung

Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most celebrated holiday in China. Creating a harmonious atmosphere New Year traditions such as visiting relatives, attending lunar dinner, and going to the temples for good fortune bring everyone closer to each other to welcome the upcoming new year. During this time of the year, the roads are filled with parades of people celebrating. Likewise, the train stations and airports are flooded with people eager to return to their families.  However, in the spring of 2020, the streets and squares of China were vacant and abandoned. The reason? Coronavirus. As the name suggests, Coronavirus is a virus that has made headlines everywhere. It closed off places in China and caused numerous deaths. What started as a seemingly insignificant flu turned into an epidemic that has found its way around the world. 

(The New York Times, 27 February 2020)

The disease is highly infectious and spreads through human to human contact. Even contact such as touching a surface that another infected person touched could result in coronavirus. The virus can take up to two weeks before symptoms show up. Even then, they appear as common cold symptoms such as fevers, coughs, or breathing difficulties. If severe enough, the virus could cause pneumonia, kidney failure, or even death. This deadly disease originated from a city in China called Wuhan. When the virus first spread in Wuhan, people from the city did not realize the severity of the situation and flew to other places. It quickly spread and has already infected more than 80,000 people. There have been around 3,000 deaths worldwide, and most deaths are from China.

Even after the New Year Holiday, most people in China are not able to go back to work and to school. Most offices and companies stay functioning through online communication and working, but some have reopened recently. Schools have closed their campuses and class-room based learning due to the outbreak. They have also asked parents and students to fill out health forms to report their current health conditions and whether or not they have any symptoms of the coronavirus. In Shenzhen, some international schools and most public schools provide online-courses and long distance learning for the students starting from February. Through email and social media, the students are able to discuss with their peers and teachers outside the classroom. Thus, the students back in China have to adapt to a different approach of learning, and some have gotten used to the new learning environment quickly while others struggle to keep up with the workload.

QSI International School in China is one of the schools that have been utilizing the online learning method and long-distance classroom. Nana, a current Sophomore in QSI, says that online learning is not as easy as it sounds like. The workload for her has not gone down, but instead she has more work than if the school is opened. She also felt that although online learning is very convenient, there are many things that simply cannot be achieved through the internet, for example, hands-on project and group work. Many students have expressed that they would like to go back to school as soon as possible. However, that cannot happen if the virus outbreak persists. Currently, the schools are expected to resume in late March. However, as most school announcements say, the reopen date of school is still subject to change.

It seems like the epidemic is still distant to St. Mark’s, being an independent school in Massachusetts. However, the World Health Organization has already declared the coronavirus disease as an official epidemic. With increasing cases confirmed in the US, the government has started to take precautions and inform its citizens to be aware of the diseases.  There is little we can do, but the most we can do to fight against the coronavirus is to stay healthy. Washing our hands often and avoiding sharing water bottles and dining utensils are the two most basic and important things that we can do to help. Another thing that will be helpful to combat the virus is to eliminate the spread of fake and exaggerated information of the coronavirus disease outbreak. It is a severe and deadly disease and it originated from China. However, making fun of the students from an area of the outbreak or joking with the topic of coronavirus is not appropriate. At this time, support and encouragement is the most vital to the students who are worrying about their family and friends back at home.

Because of the outbreak, students are separated from families and are unable to visit them. Parents are concerned for their kids who are thousands of miles away. Here at St. Mark’s, we have many international students that are unable to fly back to see their families for the upcoming spring break. Students have to find last minute places to go for two weeks. Luckily, the school offers solutions such as the Boston trip or the Arizona trip. However, it does not offer the freedom that comes with going home and having a free schedule. Students are worried about their families who are at risk of contracting the disease. Likewise, parents are worried for their kids who they are unable to see and take care of. Everyone is worried for each other and hope it will be over soon.

Lunar New Year Dinner 2020: A Fun and Warm Reunion For Students Far Away From Home

Written by Sam Wang ‘21 and Kelly Yang ‘23

The Lunar New Year is a big holiday in many Asian countries, such as China, Korea, and Japan . In China,  New Years’ Day is a day to subdue "Nian", a scary monster swallowing other domestic animals. Chinese people have a family reunion dinner and hang out red packets to celebrate the New Year. Vietnamese people prepare for Tet by lion dancing, cooking special holiday foods and cleaning their house. Koreans usually return to their hometowns to visit their parents and other relatives and perform an ancestral ritual, Charye. It is not only the celebration of the new year, but also a time for enjoying food and family reunion.

The Lunar New Year Dinner on Friday night marked the highlight of the celebration. First, Flik Dining prepared delicious traditional Asian foods, such as Korean style beef, Chinese style dumplings, fortune cookies, Japanese sodas, steamed rice, Shrimp shumai, and cooked fish. “I like the authentic Asian food served at the dinner, especially the gyoza since our family usually has them every year around New Year,” said Cathy Zhou, 21’.

During dinner, students’ performance brought the program to the climax. The two MCs were Anni Zhang 21’ and Samantha Wang 21’. A song performed by Ms. Wu's Chinese Class, Xin Nian Hao (Happy New Year), started the dinner. 

Following, a romantic Chinese song, He Tang Yue Se, was sung by Yiwei Lu 20’ and Richard Zhang 21’. The mix of pop songs, representing the current pop culture in China, sang by Celine Ma 21’, Anni Zhang 21’, Reina Wang 22’, Sunny Li 22’, and Amanda Wang 22’ also gained high popularity during the dinner. Besides, a Guzheng and piano duet of a Japanese pop song, Lemon, performed by Lora Xie 20’ and Jenny Tang 20’ drew the performance to an end. 

Parents and families overseas also sent their best wishes to all students at St. Mark’s by video in their own languages. This was a very moving moment that some students almost broke into tears when they saw their family in this surprise video. 

During the performances, due to parents’ generous donations, there were five rounds of the lottery. To win the opportunity of drawing the lottery, the person needed to correctly answer a question about Lunar New Year. This provides people an opportunity to learn more fun facts about Lunar New Year as well as a chance to get their good luck at this special time. The questions include:

• What is Lunar New Year also known as? (Spring Festival)

• What are the twelve zodiacs in order? (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig)

• Name any 6 Asian countries that celebrate the lunar new year (Choices: China, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Mauritius)

In the end, students came upstage to give their new year wishes in their own languages. We heard wishes in Chinese, Thai, Korean, Vietnamese, Chilean, Shanghainese, and Cantonese. To close the dinner, ASA heads, Helen Huang 21’, Chris Lee 21’, and Kevin Takayama 22’ also gave their best wishes and plans. In the end, all members of ASA took an annual group picture:

The dinner also received positive feedback from parents. A parent of the class of 2020 later commented that “In the moment of ringing out the old and ringing in the new, it is very special for kids to gather at St. Mark’s and celebrate the traditional festival while being thousands-miles away from home. ASA helped create a home-like Community at St.Mark’s, where all have each other’s back and build lifelong friendships.” 

The new year is a brand new beginning, a starting line. Now on this starting line, may we find ourseleves heading toward a splendid future! 

A Unique Sport at St. Mark’s School: Casino Night

Written by James Nichols-Worley ’23

What is a sport? Does it involve a ball? Physical activity? Is it stressful? Gambling is a sport in much the same sense that chess or even golfing is a sport.

The Casino Night at St. Mark’s is a revelry of crazy bets and crazier costuming. The dress ranges from a rodeo to a gala to Guy Fieri in Flavortown. Clothing is unique and dazzling. Even the choice of sweats, to swim against the tide, is stylish and cool. The codified uniform of Casino Night is whatever one should wear to have the most fun.

The air in the center was thick. Rock and roll boomed from speakers, from The Blues Brothers to Elton John to the Electric Light Orchestra. The atmosphere of Las Vegas transforms into a small Massachusetts town for one night. Despite the cold weather of January in New England, many students found themselves sweating in the midst of thrills and screams. 

The games themselves oscillate from watching paint dry to a paintball fight. Waiting for a seat at one of the crowded tables is horrifyingly dull. Conversely, once someone finds a seat at a table, they’re unlikely to leave. The games are mesmerizing. “Just one more round,” one says to themselves after already losing $20,000 of funny money. It’s stressful, making life-or-death decisions. Even on the verge of going broke, one still finds themselves gambling high stakes.

Poker, blackjack, craps, a roulette table, and a wheel. Not everything needs skill, but everything needs a bit of luck. The games are encapsulating and a wonderful opportunity to spend time with friends. The “House”, or the chaperone faculties running the tables, welcomed everyone with kindness. One is hard-pressed to find a dealer unwilling to explain the odds of the game, or even how to play it. It is not rare (if not, common) that they’ll advise you from making an awful choice. 

There’s a uniform. A buzzing atmosphere of music surrounds the center. There’s a sense of camaraderie and competition. The physicality is practical, bodily weariness. Waiting is a chore, much like sitting on the bench only to be put on for the final minute. Gambling and betting may not be a sport in the traditional sense, but one is hard-pressed to deny its similarities. At least at St. Mark’s, the casino night was full of excitement and energy, just like any other hockey games or of conventional sports.