The Commonwealth DECEMBER 17,20101

The Commonwealth

As exciting as it is for seniors -

ishing high school and beginning col-lege, it’s also excruciating for them to go through all the steps necessary for the transition while waiting to hear good news or bad news about their ap-plications. In order to give some in-sight into what it’s like to go through the process, The Commonwealth asked Maddie Kanazawa to compile the fol-lowing updates on how she’s trying to determine her future.

We begin with another attempt to ace the SAT. You know, the test that every high school kid dreads yet knows is unavoidable. It’s not as if your whole life depends on your score. Or does it? Anyway, I’m taking it again today in an attempt to increase my overall score

prep courses. Done diagnostics. Here goes. I couldn’t believe it. No, I didn’t earn a perfect score, or totally fail the test. But a girl’s cell phone went off in the room and all I could think of as they escorted her out of the building was oh, no, they may now discount ev-eryone’s scores. Don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. I think I did better, but … The essay prompt was wheth-

Sophie - Once a Shy Girl, Now a

Maddie - Her Heart IS Here but HER Mind Is ON THE FUTURE

October 9:

er it’s a good idea for your lifestyle if you’re into the great outdoors. I wrote about all my adventures.

October 22:

SAT scores time. I’m sitting in English, several weeks after the test, and we’re supposed to go on this web site to check out our scores. I see some kids who look scared. Some oth-ers looked like they’re freaked out. No turning back now. I have to take a peek … I smile to myself as I see the improve-ment in my numbers. Not great but not bad. But I don’t want to show any emo-tion because some kids look pretty sad right now. I accomplished my goal of doing better on all three parts of the test. I guess I’m supposed to do best in math because I’m Asian, or so the ste-reotype goes. I’m just glad it’s over. I mean the SAT. I still have to take SAT subject tests in December. But for now the stress of taking the test is over. But the stress of completing college apps has just begun.

A Tale of Two Journeys

“Cheer”ful Leader

By Maddie Kanazawa

(Continued  on  page  2)

By Gabriella Carmona Imagine being a shy little girl

you think you’re getting hold of your bearings, you’re pulled away to a com-pletely different world – one where you have to learn a foreign language while being challenged to try something that you have never done before. Sophia Park didn’t have to imagine such a sce-nario. The Pilgrim School senior has experienced it. When Sophie began her ad-venture in her Korean homeland, she didn’t know where it would lead. But never in her wildest dreams did she think that her journey would lead her to the end of the hall on the fourth

she now plays as captain of the Pilgrim Cheerleading team the role of her life-time. When you look at the team and the awards it has earned in recent competitions that go all the way to the national level, you would think Sophie has been dancing forever while bring-ing to Pilgrim her natural talent for the sport, but the reality is quite the opposite. Even as a child in Korea, she

version of the American dream by go-ing to school in this country.

“I was a shy, chubby little kid,” So-phie said. “Looking back, I can see the difference between the two cultures when it comes to school. In Korea, the education isn’t as good as it is here. I would learn, but not really learn like you do in America.” Pilgrim is known for attracting international students like Sophie. Just as the others did, she had to pass a test to become accepted to an American school. Sophie was off to America, but not without a detour before she landed at Pilgrim.

school in Texas, and I hated it.” Sophie said. Why Texas, you might ask? Well, you don’t always get to pick where you are going, and when given the op-portunity, you take it without looking back and try to make the most of it. So-phie soon realized, though, that Texas probably wasn’t the best place for her. “I was a cheerleader there, and they were all crazy about football,” she said. “We went to all the games and cheered. Everything was so serious and I was the only Asian on the team. I didn’t know anything about football, but I had to watch.” Sophie wasn’t surprised that she was different from everyone else at her school in Texas. As hard as it

(Continued  on  page  12)

October  30:

The representative from USC is coming to Pilgrim for a talk among the students who are interested in the school. There’s no doubt right now that USC is my Top Runner, my No. 1 choice. I know the joke is that USC

The Commonwealth DECEMBER 17, 20102

Her Mission is to Honor And ServeBy Gavin Somes

Of all career choices, the military is perhaps the most honorable and de-manding. Values such as self -disci-pline, honor, respect, and integrity are all held to the highest standard. If you can make it in the military, you can also make it in any other facet of life be-cause you will have learned how to be a responsible leader. The military also demands mental and physical dedica-tion that is above and beyond the usu-al level. It’s not for everyone, but those who serve in the military learn how to give everything they have, not only to the country that they serve but also to the people that they serve when they change careers. There is one such teacher at Pilgrim School who is making a difference with her students based on the values she developed in the military. Everyone on the Pilgrim campus

-er and volleyball coach. But before she came here, she lived a military

Virginia Women’s Institute for Lead-ership, which is an all-female group made up of core cadets. This program

was in partnership with the Virginia

-cer’s Training Corps (ROTC) scholar-

upon graduation. Sadly, though, Ms.

training because of an injury. But that

the program. Among the famous people who graduated from the ROTC program are Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General George C. Mar-shall, the former Chief of Staff of the Army. More than 20,000 cadets are currently enrolled in ROTC. About 20 percent of them are women, which is

Pilgrim Grad is in the Big LeagueBy Xavier Sallas-Brookwell For the second installment of our Alumni checkup series, The Common-wealth spoke to Felema Yemane (Class of 2009), a standout student and ath-lete who excelled im the classroom as well as on the basketball and volley-ball courts. Felema now attends Cor-nell University of the prestigious Ivy League, while her sister, Delina, is al-most midway through her junior year at Pilgrtim, where she is literally fol-lowing in Felema’s footsteps. According to Delina, her sister is a “great distraction” because “she al-ways makes my parents so happy.” The bad news of having a sister in the Ivy League? “Now my parents have great expectations for me. But that’s OK. It helps make me work harder.” Felema recently took time from her busy college schedule to answer some questions about the connection between her college life and her high school experience The Commonwealth: Do you have any advice for the seniors this year? Felema: Get all your applications in on time. Deadlines come sooner than you think. Get those in ASAP. As far as majors, don’t worry if you are undecided; you’re going to college to get know what you like to do. It is very rare for someone to know at ages 17 or 18, what they want do for the rest of

their life. The Commonwealth: Is there anything you regret about your senior year? Felema: I regret how stressed I was about colleges. I applied to 21 schools and didn’t have a social life from August until December. Don’t do that to yourselves! Enjoy your time left at Pilgrim because as soon as you blink you will be graduating. Also, don’t get senioritis. i know it may seem impossible but please try to listen in Fodor’s class because his Art History

college. The Commonwealth: How well do you think Pilgrim prepared you for college? Felema: Pilgrim really helped me prepare for college because of the small class sizes enabling me to speak up in classes unlike bigger public schools where you’d only be a number. The Commonwealth: What are you up to at college now? Felema: I am a second-year ar-chitecture student, with a double mi-nor in dance and Africana Studies. I am a member of The Cornel Piano So-ciety, Teszia Belly dance Troupe, Ivy Council, and Black Students United. Things get hard and workload is ridic-ulous but like at Pilgrim, you will al-ways get your stuff done.

SENIOR’S FUTURE IS ALMOST NOW stands for University of Second Choic-es. Not for me, though. I realize that I have other opportunities, but it’s the place I want to end up. Of all the stuff the guy talks about, the thing that strikes me is his story of how the stu-dent support system works so well there. I realize it wouldn’t be much of a move for me, and some kids would say why would I want to go to college so close to home? But I wouldn’t expect my mom to knock on my dorm room door. And it would be nice to be able to come home some time – for a good meal or to do my laundry.

Essay time, which means stress time. Nobody likes the college application essays because nobody likes writing about themselves. How are you supposed to be making your-self look good to these college guys

without making it seem like you’re bragging about yourself? It’s getting close to deadline and I’m having prob-lems writing all this stuff. I can easi-ly speak up for myself, but it’s tough-er to write the same things down. I spent part of my Tuesday night at the meeting for 8th graders and their par-ents who are thinking about whether to stay at Pilgrim or leave for anoth-er high school. When it was my turn to speak after N’ketchi and Claire. I feel like even when I leave Pilgrim, I will always carry a part of this place with

-ly where I’ll be doing that carrying. I was asked today by a teacher how it is for seniors to be so obsessed with the college application process

-work. It’s hard. The key is lots of cof-fee and caffeine. As far as extra-cur-riculars go, don’t do things just for the sake of doing them. Do things that you love to do. Do things that matter to you and to others. Also, keep in mind that

October  30:

November  12:

November  29:

 November  21:

November  30:November  2:

whatever you do, it’s not the quantity that counts the most. It’s the quality that counts the most.

Finally, my visit to Occiden-tal. I was told almost every class is en-couraged to get into Los Angeles and explore, so there is more than just a college campus. I like that Occiden-tal is the greater Los Angeles. Classes with 20 students seems really small, but I guess Oxy is basically just like Pil-grim.. Do I want more of the same?

I’ll admit that I really want to go to USC. it has everything that I want - campus, academics, and social life. Today I went to Discover USC, basi-cally an Open House. When I found my admissions councilors, I asked him to set up the interview he promised me. It’s scheduled for the Monday after Thanksgiving. I’ll be prepared to show him why I should be at USC.

Interview day. I was less ner-vous about the interview then I was about my handshake. So Sunday night, I practiced shaking hands with my dad, since he is tall and manly. While wait-ing, for the interview, a secretary told me the horrible news that the counsi-lor couldn’t make the meeting due to an emergency at home. So naturally I walk into the interview room and the women tells me to sit down, without shaking my hand. She couldn’t shake hands because she was sick. All that practice for nothing. Other than that, the interview went well

D day, as in, Deadline Day for submitting college aplications. I sent mine in at 11: 33 p.m - beating the deadline by 27 minutes. Now there is nothing to do but wait.

a number that continues to grow. More then 40 percent of all current Gener-

were commissioned through ROTC. All these individuals went through the

-volved in and learned the same lessons she learned. “I was disappointed that I could not continue my military career,” Ms.

with the people I met in ROTC.” It’s not -

members. She also has found a way to continue to practice the values she learned in her training when it comes to her leadership role in Pilgrim’s new Honor Council.

the Honor Council is Pilgrim’s student jury set up to deal with breaches of the school’s Honor Code. She brings to the council her knowledge that comes from her background that demands the type of traits that Pilgrim hopes its students will develop. “In the Honor Council, I often use the things that the military has taught

that she brings such a background be-cause Pilgrim wants its council to be a place where students believe that can be heard in an open and honest setting. Along with her work with the

design the values included in Pilgrim’s Honor Code. “It (the Honor Code) is a very im-portant thing for the school,” Ms. Hat-

-

strongly about the code that she helped

introduced students to the code while stress in the positive and negative ef-fects of the choices that students make in each and every day. These seeming-

yourself as well as those around you. There’s nothing unusual about any school having an Honor Code. The dif-ference at Pilgrim is, the students have

the code while in the military. They can look to her as an example of someone who should be an authority on the sub-ject of honor. The military may have

-reers, but Pilgrim gained just the right

from her experience.

“I often use the things that military has taught me.”

The Commonwealth DECEMBER 17, 20103

“If the success or failure of this planet and of human beings depended on how I am and what I do, how would I be? What would I do?” - R. Buckmin-ster Fuller It’s natural to think that one person alone cannot bring about change. Especially nowadays, with so many problems in our country and abroad, there is a need for people to stand up and make a difference. But can just one person do it? Take, for example, Martin Luther King, Jr., who was a power-ful force behind the civil rights move-ment based on his individual ability to motivate millions of Americans into changing their views of how whites and blacks could live together. Albert Einstein was another case of one per-son making a dramatic difference in

when he discovered theories of rela-tivity that made an impact on the en-tire world. In order to make a change, even on a much smaller scale than King or Einstein did, you have to be-lieve that you can make it happen. It doesn’t matter if the change is big or small, obvious or subtle, as long as it has some kind of effect. At a recent chapel meeting,

begin the sessions by asking, “Will you be the change in the world that you want to see?” If you asked Pilgrim students, most would say that they can make a change in the world, but they would probably add that they do not know

-ed out, even a simple smile can make a difference in someone’s life for the way it can brighten someone’s day. Mak-ing a change also takes being aware of an opportunity that presents itself, especially the kind that you least ex-pect. “Mother Teresa had a calling

worked in Calcutta, India when she was 18 years old.. She was studying at a convent school when she noticed that there were children living in the slums who were suffering, so she tried to help them by starting an open-air school. “Eventually, a lot of people saw or heard what she was doing and they wanted to join her, so they vol-unteered. The more people who follow

By Marina Pena

A Call To Arms: To Be A Change

“SKY’S THE LIMIT”FOR STUDENT CDBy Dominic Endlemen big but then had a fall. I just want to

take it slow and see if we can’t be an in-cline.” The students will also do all their own mixing and engineering, and it’s easy to tell where their inspi-ration for such a project comes from.

-ing to make music,” Mr. Kopp said, “I discovered that I didn’t need to be a superstar to play. We did every-thing; formed the bands, organized re-cord labels. It was all youth centered. I couldn’t play an instrument because my parents didn’t allow me to own any. They didn’t like what I was get-ting into, So I started singing.” The Rock Music Club is basi-cally set up the same way that many punk and rock-and-roll bands are formed. Like Mr. Kopp once did, the Pilgrim students are making their own

out that you don’t have to be an accom-plished musician to be in the club. You just have to be willing to let loose while being as creative as possible – just like Mr. Kopp once was. “I was playing punk music from 1982-1986,” he said. “The two bands that I was in were called Anti-Trust and Sedition. The other band I was in was called Stiff Medulla. That was in the late 80’s. This band had a huge mixture of musical styles. By that time, punk was basically dead. Stiff Medulla lasted till about 1991. Grunge was huge by that time, and I was in a grunge band called Cain that lasted for about a year.” Mr. Kopp’s story is not unlike many musicians who started out as members of obscure bands. Some were able to make it all the way to the top of the rock and roll charts, but most of them were never heard from again. “It’ s like how everybody has certain backgrounds, and his (Mr. Kopp’s) just happens to be in rock and roll,” Khari said. “It’s the perfect mar-riage for us. He has his own experience with music, and we’re trying to grow from him.” The bands that Mr. Kopp once played for have long since disap-peared, but with the opportunity he has to work with the Rock Band Club, his Pilgrim students may someday be-come his musical legacy.

“My mom always was into music and I listened to a lot of clas-sic rock that my parents would listen to. And then I was introduced to punk rock music when I was about 12-13

water. And I decided that I didn’t just want to listen to it, but I wanted to cre-ate this music.” Go ahead and take a guess whose words these are. You’re prob-ably thinking he or she is a popu-lar musician. Probably somebody fa-mous. Maybe a rock star from the past, or perhaps a current pop icon. Want a hint? OK. He’s well known to Pilgrim students. He’s also popular among them. You can see evidence of his work all around the campus. Not on iPods, though. Or iTunes. You won’t see him on MTV or VH1. But you will

Building. The source of the quote, of course, is Mr. Kopp – head of the Pil-grim Art Department and inspira-tion for any student with an interest

In addition to his teaching duties, Mr. Kopp runs the Rock Music Club along with Ms. Takahashi and Mr. Molnar. The club helps develop each student’s potential in music while also trying to teach him or her how to play different types of instruments. It’s not just a lot of noise that the members are producing. And this isn’t your typical version of a club. Here, the students get to perform while learning from fellow perform-ers. Ms. Takahashi, for example, is an accomplished guitarist. The students are taking mat-ters into their own hands by produc-ing a CD that will feature the differ-ent styles of music that they all bring to the group. The CD will also feature three Pilgrim seniors who’ve devel-oped their own band. Khari Rhynes on guitar, Haydn Muir on bass and key-board and Henry Downs on the drums often practice together. “The sky’s the limit,” Khari said about the CD. “We’re just inter-ested now in doing this from the start and getting it out there. There are a lot of stories where groups started out

commonwealth staff 2010-2o11 Reed Lovitt – Editor-in-ChiefXavier Sallas-Brookwell – Assistant Editor/Senior WriterGavin Somes - Feature Writer/EditorGabriella Carmona – Feature Writer/EditorMarina Pena – Feature Writer/EditorAnnabella Arakaki – Feature Writer

Sam Kim – Staff Photogra-pher/WriterDom Endelman– Advertising DirectorEric Hwang – Staff Writer/EditorSean Dew - Senior WriterJustin Choi – Staff WriterYihan Chan - Staff WriterKaiwen Liu – Staff WriterChris Yoon – Staff WriterMr. Smith - Advisor

Audrey Dalton ‘12: “I would donate toys to kids in other coun-tries who can’t afford them.”

Declan Moles ‘14: “I would like for there not to be hate between countries. Only planets.”

Ms. Laleian: “I remember attend-ing a Maya Angelou talk in college and hearing her say that she had some insane amount of degrees, and the point of sharing that piece of information was not to brag, but to encourage everyone to keep learning throughout their lifetimes. I will be a student for the rest of my life.”

Coach Daniels: “I would pass

schools and at the work place. Dur-ing a given time, 5 days a week, people will have to stop and exer-cise at least 30 minutes a day.”

“I would make the world a forgiving place. I think forgiveness is one of the most im-portant pieces to healthy relation-ships.”

Gabe Garza ‘13: “This is proba-

in the world to do. If I could, I’d become a millionaire and donate to disaster relief often/constantly.”

Senora Arribas: “I would get rid of drugs.”

Dr. Kidder: “I would get more students involved in community service like what Senora Arribas is trying to do.”

Mother Teresa’s example, the more there were people who could help her make a change in the lives of the unfor-tunate ones they were trying to help.” With the message about change delivered, the Commonwealth was interested to found out how Pil-grim students thought they could be a change in the world.

The Commonwealth DECEMBER 17, 20104

Pilgrim Students Lending A Hand AMAZING GRACE FILLS HEARTS AND TUMMIES WITH HER BAKED GOODIES

The Cookie Monster from “Ses-ame Street” is regularly seen mum-

chocolate chip cookies into his gaping mouth. On “Commonwealth Street,” Pilgrim students are supplied with a variety of snacks baked by Grace Cho, an enthusiastic sophomore who holds

others rather than herself. Coming to school in the morn-ing carrying a picnic basket almost half her size, Grace shows her fresh-ly baked creations to hungry stu-

around in their pockets for the bak-

to two dollars. “I make about thirty dollars per week, “Grace said. But it’s not as though she spends the money on her-self. The truth is, Grace raises the money for the Commonwealth Middle School, a neighboring school that lacks basic supplies for its students. Grace believes that providing for the Commonwealth School would make a difference by giving them an array of choices and chances to become a bet-ter-equipped school. “I just want them to have as much diversity, as much variety, as Pilgrim.” She said. Unlike Pilgrim, the Commonwealth School doesn’t have materials like Smart Boards or librar-ies. They need general supplies like textbooks, erasers, paper, pens, and pencils. Grace plans on making at least $500 by the end of the year. Last year, she contributed to such chari-ties as “Meals on Wheels” and “Su-san G. Komen,” a breast cancer fund-raiser. Her job was to make hundreds of detailed miniature pins and phone charms in the shape of food. From car-rots to chocolate fudge cakes, the pins

and charms were a major success in the blooming business of Pilgrim. Like last year’s mission, Grace wants to be able to provide for the deprived. Not only does Grace bake for a good cause, but she also does it for the simple pleasure of doing so. So it was only natural that she combined her hobby with her generosity. “It’s fun to go grocery shopping every Saturday,” Grace said. “I love shopping for food and buying all the materials I need to bake. After I buy all the ingredients I want, I have to restrain myself from making everything on Saturday.” Usually a time-consuming ef-fort, Grace doesn’t let anything stop her from making her creations. Imag-ine having to run an entire mara-thon to donate a small fund for char-ity. Many would choose not to run at all. Yet, like the marathon runner, Grace feels the urge to participate in the world of humanitarianism while at the same time taking pleasure in it. Grace must overcome the haz-ards of her work, such as making sure she has different recipes each week to constantly be pleasing her customers. “I think about all the combinations of foods that I like, like blueberries with honey, or strawberries and yogurt,” she said. “I try to make all the things I like and all the things that interest me. If somebody doesn’t like my recipe or gets a stomachache from it, I learn from my mistakes and make a better version of it.” So, the next time you are tempted to pass up Grace’s goodies because you think you can’t spare some change or a dollar, think about the Commonwealth Schools kids - and your stomach. After all, what’s wrong with savoring a mouth-watering oven baked brownie that could help build a better tomorrow.

By Sam Kim

By Marina Pena “Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally” Where do you think you might hear this? The kitchen after your cranky old relative insults your mom’s cooking? Or from a neighbor after she

walks outside to get the morning paper with her curlers still on? If you’ve tak-en pre-algebra, you probably recognize the phrase as a reminder to follow the order of operations. What you probably didn’t know is how it’s used during peer tu-toring when Pilgrim upperclassmen try to give younger students the bene-

-signed to bring the community togeth-er while offering academic assistance. If you listen to those who do the tutor-ing, though, they get as much out of the tutoring as the kids they have vol-unteered to help. Maddie Kanazawa refers to her own experience as a young student as her greatest motivation to reach out to others. “ When I started math,” Maddie said. “I had a tutor for geome-try and I enjoyed it, therefore I wanted to be a peer tutor to make math enjoy-able for others as well.” What is Mad-die’s greatest satisfaction as a tutor? “Knowing that a student understands a problem not only brings the stu-dent a great feeling. It also brings me a great feeling.

grader Nasir, in math. If you watch their session, you will see how she

Peers are Near and Dear to Tutorees

makes sure that he understands the problem by asking him several ques-tions that lead up to the answer. One of these questions is: “What do you do next in the equation?” She also uses her hands to help him visualize what he is doing, which includes counting up and down with Nasir. There are always opportuni-ties for students to get extra help from Pilgrim teachers, but there are times when students would prefer for some-one their own age to them because they can relate to them. According to Mr. Grady, who is involved with the peer tutoring program, “it is very help-ful, but it’s also very demanding. “You have to be in 10th grade and above to be a peer tutor,” Mr. Grady continued. At least in Algebra II,

subjects that he or she needs help in. The program basically began this year when Mr. Concialdi and I wanted to get more students involved in helping each other. The person being tutored gets a lot out of it, but the tutor gets to

put this on his or her college applica-tion. You can also make some money, but that’s not really why you do this.” The peer tutors may not real-ize it now, but they are truly making a change, not only by helping others im-prove their grade, but also by helping members of the Pilgrim community of all ages to become closer than ever be-fore.

“Helping a student brings me a good

feeling.”

“It’s helpful, but it’s also demanding.”

Maddie Kanazawa ‘11

Mr. Grady

The Commonwealth DECEMBER 17, 20105

Sophie Makes The Right Choice time without her family by her side. They were, however, still there to sup-port her. “I would call my mom every-day from Texas,” Sophie said. “They

I would be alone, but in the end they said yes.” Even though Texas wasn’t Sophie’s dream home, she proved to herself that she could survive on her own. When she returned to Korea dur-ing the summer of her freshman year, she learned about Pilgrim and set her sights on a new home and school. From all the hoopla of Friday Night lights in Texas to the cozy atmo-sphere of Pilgrim School, Sophie knew she had found the right place, with rel-atives nearby and a challenge right in front of her. “I was still a very shy

and I wanted to be more active, so I joined cheerleading because I thought it would be like I had in Texas,” Sophie said. But she soon found out it wasn’t the same at all. The type of traditional cheer-leading that Sophie had done in Tex-as, on the sidelines of football games, literally cheering for the team, was not what she encountered at Pilgrim. If you’ve been to a sporting event at school, you’ve noticed that there aren’t any cheerleaders on the side-lines. Sophie quickly had to adjust to being part of a Pilgrim team that was all about preparing routines for com-petitions throughout the state and in different parts of the country. For a while, Sophie had the familiar feeling of being out of place.

at it, because I had never done any-thing like this before,” Sophie said. “I couldn’t even jump and turn at the same time.” Trying something new is always hard, and cheerleading wasn’t the only thing Sophie had to wor-ry about. “My American teammates couldn’t understand why I wasn’t good

-ademics were for me as well. I had to learn in the classroom just like I had

American students don’t understand how Korean students don’t like to raise their hands and talk in class. But that’s the way we’re taught to act in a classroom.” Sophie made adjustments all

year at Pilgrim,” she said, “I took ballet class and really started to think that I could do this.” Like anything else, the harder Sophie worked, the better she

-came in all phases of her life. Her greatest reward for all the hard work came when Sophie was informed before she began her se-nior year at Pilgrim that Coach Orte-ga, Ms. Seraphian and Dr. Brooks all agreed she would be the perfect choice for team captain, which she believes speaks for how far she’s come she was that “shy and chubby” kid on the other side of the world.

with international students, and they aren’t all experts at cheerleading,” So-phie said. “I see myself in so many of the girls who try hard and still have

herself as the teacher for her young-er teammates. “I could explain how to turn, and I knew how to teach them (the international students) in a way that they would understand.” As the only freshman on the cheerleading team, Olanna Himmel ap-preciates Sophie’s friendship as well as her leadership. “You’d think that a

Lil’ Wayne, hip-hop’s notori-ously most wanted superstar, recently released his eighth studio album that received more than the usual amount of publicity. Carter III, Lil Wayne’s last album, was the number one seller of 2009 and dominated the Grammys. His latest, “I Am Not a Human Being,” was released while Wayne was incar-cerated in New York City’s Ricker Is-land Penitentiary. The new album feels more like a mix-tape, as it is chock full of witty,

The “Town, 2010, “is a heart- wrenching, violent, gritty and truly American story that focuses on four rough childhood friends. Led by Ben

-borhood infamous for crime and turbu-lence, parented by small time thiefves, drunks, and regretful young mothers whose lives have been a train of bad decisions and luck. Yet they still revel in their brief glory days of high school romance and popularity. The boys grow up on the streets of the historical Boston neigh-borhood of Saint Christopher Town. To this day, the town’s percentage of bank robbers to the total population remains higher than anywhere else in the country. The neighborhood has had a long history of industrial factory work amid a poor white community. Alcohol-ism and prescription drug abuse are a multi-generational part of life, where most of the residents feel the best is behind them rather than in front of them, so they have little to live for. They must also cope with their sense of constant discouragement as global-ization slowly rots its way through the dilapidated buildings and destroys jobs that force them into robbery and crime. This is not your typical action

the characters that not many movies dare to do.

is to play a character torn between his family’s history of crime and his new-found morality. He continues to show

Critic’s Corner: Picks and Flicks

By Sean Dew

senior would have nothing to do with the youngest kid on the team,” she said, “but Sophie and I do our stretches together, and when we do we also get to talk together. She’s not only some-one who sets a good example because she dances so well, she also is someone who I look up to for the kind of person she is.” Pilgrim cheerleaders also take advance class, and they must learn steps, moves, and routines that are fast-paced and multi-dimensional. There are only eight girls on the team, compared to 20 or more on most teams that Pilgrim competes with on the cir-cuit, which Sophie admits can be a bit intimidating:“I feel like we won’t win, because all the other teams have so many more people than we do. I get re-ally nervous and don’t remember my

-ize that we can do this together, which makes me feel even better when we go out there and achieve something.” Proving that size doesn’t mat-ter in cheerleading competitions, Pil-

-petition and sixth in a national tournament last year. Not bad for such a small team from such a small school. Sophie is glad to pass around the cred-it. “Ms. Ortega is my coach, and she does a great job all of the girls,” she said. “But for me, she’s also like my life advisor. She helps me when I have problems and is always there for me.” Now when Sophie returns to Korea for the summer, she has stories to tell about all of her success in Amer-

told them I was a cheerleader and took dance classes,” she said. “When they looked at me and saw all my muscles and how different I looked, they were surprised. Now they all take dance, too.” Sophie plans to use her Pil-grim experience in the classroom and

an American college, where she hopes to continue with her cheerleading, which she’s used to help bridge the gap between American and Korean cul-tures. “We have to deal with stereo-types,” Sophie said. The more you get to know us, those stereotypes go away. Now when I go to Korea, I can help oth-ers deal with their stereotype of cheer-leaders. They think it’s like I the mov-ies where the girls hate each other and

each other and hangout as friends.” As for how the Pilgrim team will do in this year’s competitions, So-phie’s short response also shows how far she’s come: “Bring it on.”

   By Gabriella Carmona

that he can thrive in movies without his boyhood friend and fellow leading actor Matt Damon. Jemeny Bennet’s

provides evidence that he is advanc-ing his acting skills with every one of his movies. The Town is one of the best

humorous characteristics of Wayne’s

that have been the foundation to his marketing and unweathering popular-ity. Millions of fans around the country have enjoyed hundreds of free rhymes and hooks over pre-released catchy beats. Many fans found themselves dis-appointed with the lack of a common album theme or game changing tracks

installments of the Carter series. De-spite the lack of intellectually-inspir-ing or deeply-conscious subjects of the tracks, “I Am Not a Human Being” has no shortage of unique tracks and con-stant innovation. The album gets help from the slew of expert producers, such Swizz Beats and Boy1da. Nearly every song has a catchy beat to match Lil Wayne’s expertly crafted hooks that shine on every track. Wayne has a talent for stretching his talent and innovation to a point where none of the songs sound the same, and the listener gets to hear a range of his skills and sounds from his catchy yet not overdone low auto-tuned drawl on tracks like “Popular” balanced by traditional hooks and hard verses on tracks like “Bill Gates.” Tracks to also look out for on this album are “I’m Sin-gle,” “Popular,” and the energetic and

star scale, this album deserves four. It may fall short of his “Carter” series,

to spice it up.

“Game-changing

hip hop”

“This is not your

Sean Dew ‘11

Sean Dew ‘11

Meet Pilgrim’s

Pilgrim School Head of School Dr. Mark Brooks has been keeping the routine of a body builder rather than a Head of School by working out at the same gym three times a week for the last 20 years. His workouts entail cir-cuit training plus many sets of reps and cardio. “It gives me energy so I can keep up with the students; “I can’t af-

out of breath on the treadmill. His per-sonal trainer, Phillip, looks at his client with the kind of admiration that teach-ers and students have for their leader. “He’s different,” he says, “because he does what he’s told. He’s a good exam-ple for young people. He tries his best in every part of his workout, so it’s easy to see that he also tries his best at every other part of his life, includ-ing all that he has to do for his school” As the workout came to end just as the sun began to rise, the trainer couldn’t stop talking up his pupil in a way that everyone around Pilgrim could clear-ly understand. “Dr. Brooks,” he says, “is always ready to go. It’s a trainer’s dream how he never changes, how he never complains. How he gives you ev-erything he has doing one task and then is ready to do the same with the next.”

Dr. Brooks’ home is in a quiet little area, where all the houses have a beautiful view of the city of Los Ange-les. It has a cozy and welcoming feel-ing, while everything in it appears to

in school is always open to any student who wants a few minutes of his time to talk about anything on his or her mind, Dr. Brooks offered his visitors a drink, then introduced them to his dog, Mad-die, who wagged her tail as if to show how she also feels comfortable around the boss. When Will came down the stairs and into the kitchen, Dr. Brooks knew he has to keep both himself and his son on schedule. “I miss my dad because don’t get to see him as much

as I’d like to,” Will said, “but I under-stand why he has to work so hard.” Dr. Brooks hurries up with the bacon and eggs as if he is completing a report for the board of trustees - or arguing a case in front of a jury. Some mem-bers of the Pilgrim community may not know that Dr. Brooks was an attor-ney prior to making his career switch into education. “It was never the same when it was all about money,” he said. “I really loved the law and took every case on as if it were a challenge. But I realized that it wasn’t important to me anymore when I found something (being a Head of School) where I could have much more of a direct impact into the lives of children. It’s the differ-ence between being focused on a case and focused on people.” As he left his house to head to Pilgrim, Dr. Brooks focused one more time on his beloved dog: “Bye, Maddie!” he said. “Have a wonderful day, sweetie,”

the Church building, Dr. Brooks checks his schedule and organizes his priori-ties. “Today,” he says, “we’re going to go to going to the Dad’s Club and the Book Fair. There will also be the usu-al list of meetings with teachers or fel-low administrators. Then there are those moments when even though he might be in the middle of something, Dr. Brooks will always give some of his precious time to a student who comes to him with anything on his or her mind. One of his students once said that the reason Dr. Brooks’ window

any of the kids who happen to walk by and they can see him. It’s time for cof-fee and donuts at the Book Fair, where students are encouraged reach a goal of buying enough books so Dr. Brooks

as a Superhero. One Pilgrim parent thinks he doesn’t have to wear a cos-tume to have that label. “My two fa-vorite things about Dr. Brooks,” says Love Streams, mother of Pilgrim sixth grader Journey and eighth grader Harmony, “is how he is always ener-getic and positive. He runs about 160 miles per hour and he never stops.” As Dr. Brooks engages in a conversa-tion with a parent, Ms. Streams con-tinues: “I feel like he’s one of the fami-ly. He’s like a partner when raising our kid; any problems or something I want

to share, I tell you, it’s like getting ad-vice from a friend. He makes you feel heard and important. You know that everything he does is in the interest of the students. We learn to be part of a community, and that’s what Pilgrim is

about.”

hero of Pilgrim School for the way she is in charge of trying to keep Dr. Brooks on schedule. It’s almost an im-possible task, but one that she willing-ly performs out of respect and admi-ration for her boss. “What strikes you about him,” she says, “is how his peo-ple skills are great and how is able to \remember everybody’s name. Ms. Se-

taking place. “When things get tough in there,” she says, “I sometimes feel like I’m in a mini- courtroom. But I always think how Dr. Brooks is like the best judge that anyone could have. We real-ly are so blessed to have him. How can you not be charmed by him?” Wheth-er the issue is as large as the overall school budget or something as small as returning the microwaves to the cafe-teria, Dr. Brooks went from one item on his agenda to another without so much as taking a break. Such items on this day included missing cups, how to cut the cost of facilities, where should a registration area go, how to handle bad weather, and how to move visit-

Suddenly, in the middle of the meet-ing, Dr. Brooks encourages everyone, “To go around the table and tell each other what we’re thankful for.” Then it’s time to pass around some birth-day cake. Bouncing from his chair, Dr. Brooks was once again on the move. “C’mon, guys, c’mon,” he implores his shadows to keep up with him. “We got-ta go. We gotta go.” It brings to mind all the traveling Dr. Brooks does on behalf of the school, whether it is to attend nationwide meetings or, most impor-tantly, to reach out to potential donors who may help Pilgrim with covering tuition costs. Most big shots would nat-

always be found in the coach section.

he said, “that’s money we can use to

It’s 5:15 in the morning. A nor-

mally ridiculous time for anyone to be up

so early, unless that person faces each day

with more things to do than an army can

accomplish. Melrose Drive is nearly de-

serted. The sun hasn’t even risen. Yet in-

side the gymnasium, there are already

members hard at work curling, benching,

and squatting until your attention is on the

treadmill that faces a mirror where an en-

ergetic man wearing a ratty-old T-shirt and

shorts suddenly looks familiar. He smiles

when he sees you but maintains his focus

on the machine. Dr. Brooks greets his Pil-

grim student visitors as he also greets the

beginning of a typical whirlwind day.

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No one goes unnoticed by Dr.

Brooks as once again makes his way

through the hallways on route to yet anoth-

er appointment. This time, it’s the youngest

and tiniest members of the Pilgrim com-

munity who receive the attention of their

Head. The elementary students march in

line followed by their teacher, each boy or

girl holding his or her hands behind their

backs. “We have this new system for Zip n

Clip, so they can quietly walking through

the halls” Dr. Brooks says. “We don’t want

them to be too noisy because we also want

the secondary school students to keep their

minds on their work in their classrooms.

He greets the children while being careful

not to disturb their orderly procession. The

littlest ones may not even know who he is,

but each and every student responds to his

simple and kind gestures. When others see

the kids, they may see a distraction. When

Dr. Brooks sees them, he sees Pilgrim’s fu-

ture.

improve the school for our kids.” From one extreme to the oth-er, Dr. Brooks leaves the children be-hind to engage in yet another meeting, this time with the heads of the depart-ments around the school who are busy organizing upcoming events that he will closely monitor. There is time be-fore the meeting, however, for him Dr. to steal a minute or two sway from the work in his private kitchen. “I use this place,” he says, “for something on the run because I usually don’t have time for a full sit-down lunch while I’m on campus.” Back at the meeting, he lis-tens attentively to all dozen members of the departments while providing in-stant feedback that is received in the personal manner in which it was giv-en. The meeting eventually narrows down to three persons, after which Dr. Brooks starts a conference call where he again takes in the information and then quickly gives his response. Lunchtime is spent chatting with ad-missions staffers about prospective students. Dr. Brooks wants to know ev-erything about the parents and their students who are interested in attend-ing Pilgrim. “That’s him,” says Ms. Se-

both the parents and the students, he makes it hard for anyone to turn him down.” By mid-afternoon, Dr. Brooks has also found more time to meet con-

-fore he kept an appointment for a pre-sentation in the chapel. The end of the school day is a welcome relief for teachers and students, but late after-noon represents just another hurdle for Dr. Brooks to clear. There are many more hurdles lined up for him before

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Day in the Life of Dr. Mark BrooksBy Anabella Arakaki and Gavin Somes

The Commonwealth December 17, 20106

Birthplace:  Los  AngelesFamily:  Two  older  sisters  (Brenda  and  Debra)College:  U.S.C.Law  School:  Loyola  Major: -­‐

Career  prior  to  Pilgrim:  Vice-­‐President  and  General  CounselFavorite  book:  Tie  between  

Accompanying Photo Gallery By Gavin Somes

Number  of  Years  at  Pilgrim:  SixPilgrim  career  highlights:  Every  year  when  the  new  students  arrive  and  are  wel-­‐comed  into  our  family  by  their  classmates  followed  by  every  year  when  our  seniors  thank  their  parents  at  the  senior  luncheon.  Followed  by  when  the  al-­‐ums  come  back  to  visit  the  school.  

Marathon ManThe Commonwealth December 17, 20107

The Commonwealth DECEMBER 17, 20108

A recent Wednesday at Pilgrim School was the worst possible day to be

Principal? Which principal? Thanks to an idea from Dr. Brooks, there were over 100 heads of schools on the Pilgrim campus for a meeting of the California chapter of the National Association of Inde-pendent Schools (NAIS), which na-tionwide contains over 1,400 schools. Dr. Brooks is a NAIS trust-ee as well as the chairperson of the members services committee. He suggested that the entire member-

-cal meetings, such as the one here. The annual meeting is held in differ-ent locations (last year, San Francis-co; this year, Washington D.C.) Often schools cannot afford to send repre-sentatives to locations due to the ex-pense. So that’s how Dr. Brooks came up with the notion of local meetings. “It was an honor,” Dr. Brooks said, “to be selected as the host for the meeting, as many schools would like to be the place such a prestigious group meets. Once it rolled out the red carpet

-ed NAIS members with all the behind the scenes logistics that must be taken care of for such a large meeting to take place.

The Pilgrim School year still hasn’t reached the midway point in the 2010-11 academic calendar, yet the groundwork is already being laid for next year and beyond. It’s not just the seniors who are making plans for college. Current elementary and mid-dle school students are also thinking ahead to their future Pilgrim years. Parents joined their 8th grade students recently for a Step-Up pre-sentation in which administrators and teachers discussed the transition from middle school to high school. The fol-lowing day, 5th grade parents were treated to art and science class lessons along with their children before they heard about what’s in store for their boys or girls in the coming years. It’s only natural for Pilgrim ad-ministrators and teachers to put their best foot forward in describing the many reasons why the school can also be considered a home over the course of any student’s academic career. But as one Pilgrim parent said, “The most impressive thing about the event was hearing all the sto-ries from actual parents and students about how much they are glad to be at Pilgrim. After all, they’re the real ex-perts. They’re the ones who choose to be here. They’re the ones who choose to stay here. They were all very good – and very persuasive.” Here is a sample of comments from parents and students based on observations from Step-Up Night and Jump-Up Day:

The focus of the meeting was to generate ideas from a discussion among all the heads of school to pro-duce new strategies for individual schools. The group also talked over fu-ture trends and opportunities for inde-pendent schools both generally and na-tionally. Given the current state of the economy, there was also a report from

about how economic conditions are affecting enrollment at independent schools. Among the attendees was Ms.

of NAIS, who credited the homey at-mosphere for producing “A feeling of friendship and ownership. Here we are, competitors for different students, yet we were all working together and sharing our ideas.” Alicia Evans, a fel-

-pitality: “The way they took your hand and showed you the way around, it was like we had a hotel reservation at the school.” Dr. Brooks was naturally inter-ested in showing the Pilgrim campus to all the dignitaries from every part of the state. But there was something else he wanted to show off even more. “Our great students,” he said, “who work so hard yet still manage to have so much fun. I also wanted everyone to see our engaging and dedicated facul-ty and staff.”

Top 10 Things Parents andStudents Are Saying About

Pilgrim10 – “I feel sorry for if you don’t have any children going to Pilgrim. And I feel sorry for me because I don’t have any more children going here.”

9 – “At my other school, I was on the team but I had to sit the bench. Here at Pilgrim, I get to play.”

8 – “The middle school kids here know that they better behave – because they know the little kids are watching them.” 7 - “My son gets up in the morning be-fore I do. He makes his own breakfast and gets himself ready. He can’t wait to get into the car and go to school.”

6 – “There’s no way to fall through the cracks here. There’s no place for you to hide.” 5 - “Dr. Brooks is Batman and Dr. Kid-der is Robin.”

4 – “When I was in the middle school, I looked up to the high school kids. I was in awe of them.”

3 – “I was amazed when my daugh-ter missed school just one day and her teacher sent me an email to make sure I knew what she missed.”

2 – “Even though I had left here at the time for another school, I knew some-day that I’d return to graduate at Pil-grim.”

1 – “Pilgrim doesn’t just build stu-dents. Pilgrim builds parents.”

HeadMASTERS Rave About Visit By Gabriella Carmona

People Say the Darndest Things About SCHOOLBy Commonwealth Staff

pilgrim connectionEach  edition  of  The  Common-­‐

wealth  will  contain  this  section  

in  which  staff  members  relate  

series  of  current  events  to  the  

lives  of  Pilgrim  School  students.  

The  idea:  understand  and  ap-­‐

preciate  how  we  can  all  learn  

lessons  from  events  around  the  

world  and  across  the  country  as  

well  as  from  within  our  campus.

   ............................................................

The  Event:  Tea  Party  legislators  

must  vote  on  the  debt  ceiling  

The  Pilgrim  Connection:  Many  

candidates  were  elected  this  

past  November  to  either  the  

House  of  Representatives  or  the  

Senate  because  they  pledged  

to  their  supporters  that  they  

would  vote  against  the  debt  

ceiling,  which  allows  our  gov-­‐

ernment  to  keep  spending  

money  that  it  doesn’t  have.  But  

if  the  debt  ceiling  isn’t  raised,  

America  could  default  on  loans  

and  send  the  worldwide  econo-­‐

my  into  chaos.

The  Lesson:  It’s  admirable  to  

take  principled  stands,  but  it’s  

also  wise  to  understand  that  no  

matter  how  strong  your  prin-­‐

ciples  may  be,  you  must  rely  on  

common  sense  when  it  comes  

to  making  big  decisions.

.................................................................

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ter  movie  hits  the  screens

The  Pilgrim  Connection:  For  

diehard  fans  of  the  Hogwarts  

tales,  it’s  hard  to  imagine  life  

without  Harry  –  or  life  beyond  

him.  But  with  the  recent  premier  

internationally  popular  books  

came  the  realization  that  there  

will  be  no  more  editions  of  J.K.  

Rowling’s  stories.  For  Pilgrim  

students  who  literally  grew  up  

with  Harry,  it’s  like  they’ve  lost  a  

friend.

The  Lesson:  All  good  things  

must  come  to  an  end.  Just  like  

the  Harry  Potter  series  couldn’t  

last  forever,  so,  too,  do  sports  

seasons,  favorite  classes,  or  even  

all  of  high  school.  So  you  should  

enjoy  what  you’re  doing  while  it  

lasts.    

....................................................................

The  Event:  Former  President  

Bush  reveals  a  transformational  

moment

The  Pilgrim  Connection:  Mr.  Bush  

recently  released  a  memoir  full  of  

personal  stories  about  his  presi-­‐

dency,  including  explanations  

for  decisions  he  made  about  the  

9/11  attack,  the  war  with  Iraq  

and  the  Hurricane  Katrina  disas-­‐

ter.  But  perhaps  his  most  reveal-­‐

ing  item  was  about  driving  his  

mother  to  the  hospital  after  she  

had  miscarried  at  home,  which  

the  President  said  led  to  his  

strong  Pro-­‐life  stance  on  abor-­‐

tion.

The  Lesson:  You  never  know  

when  and  how  an  experience  as  

a  child  or  a  teenager  can  have  

think  or  act  later  in  life.  Whether  

you  realize  it  or  not,  your  values  

as  being  shaped  here  and  now.    

By Commonwealth Staff

The Commonwealth December 17, 20109

While there are many advan-tages to Pilgrim being such a small school, it can be a disadvantage when it comes to athletics. What does a stu-dent do if he or she excels at a partic-ular sport that isn’t offered here be-cause there aren’t enough athletes to

Pilgrim freshman Abby Berg-man is the latest student/athlete to

a way to pursue a sport. “We don’t discourage kids from pursuing their sports outside of school; in fact, we encourage it,” said

“In the past, we’ve had a swimmer and a diver who competed as individuals and for Pilgrim at meets. We had one kid whose mom took him to the meets during the regular season and I took him to the C.I.F. meets.” There doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day for a student to take classes and compete off cam-

how it works: “The student will come to school until G Period and then he or she will earn their P.E. credits for do-ing the sport outside of school. As far as we’re concerned, we have no prob-lem with it as long as the student keeps up with their schoolwork. What we’ve found is that kids who are so dedicat-ed to an individual sport also dedicate themselves to their academics.” It isn’t easy to balance all the responsibilities that come with a high school course load while also trying to compete at a high level as a swimmer and diver. Here is how Abby describes

-ical day to complete her tasks from be-fore sunrise to after sunset:4:55 am: My alarm goes off. I have to

A Stroke Of LuckBy Abby Bergman remind myself why I need to get up. Al-

though most people are still, asleep, I have to get ready for practice.

5:15 am: Heading for the aquatic cen-

drive that would usually take twenty--

ever we pass another car, I wonder why anyone else is up at this hour.

5:25 am: Five teammates, a coach and I gather on the deck, freezing in the dark. Yawning, the coach tells us to get ready and get in.

5:30 am: We argue over who should go

in though is easier than getting out, be-cause the water is warmer than the air.

6:45 am: Some people are now just be-ginning their day; I’ve been awake for two hours and have swum over two miles. I rush into the locker room, which is warm from the steam of the showers

6:55 am: Showered and dressed, I meet my mom out front. She has orange

Monica to Pilgrim School.

7:20 am: I arrive at school, already a little tired. I hope that I will be able to concentrate despite my early morning.

be sure, I check over my homework.

8:00 - 1:30 pm: A typical day of classes and notes and reading and writing and meetings and breaks plus time to eat and chat during lunch.

1:30 pm: School ends because I don’t have time for an elective or PE. On the way home, we stop for a smoothie or cut up fruit. Have to plan ahead.

2:10 pm: Home now, at least for an hour to do homework before changing and leaving again for the pool.

3:00 pm: Déjà vu, anyone? Just enough time to prepare for more practice.

3:45 pm: We usually swim between 3,200 to 6,400 yards, or two to four miles. Although I swam in the morn-ing, my coach still expects me to per-form as if I hadn’t.

-ming for the day; I shower and change in the locker room. Only this time I

6:00 pm: On my way to Hebrew School.

I have already been bat Mitzvahed, but my temple makes us take class.

6:40 pm: Parking at the temple. My mom is thrilled to be nearly back where we started almost 12 hours

-utes from Pilgrim.

6:45 pm: We discuss ethics and mo-rality or Jewish law or Jewish histo-ry. I begin to feel really tired (I won-der why?)

8:00 pm: Home again, after hitching a ride with my neighbor’s grandfather. 9:00 pm: No trouble falling asleep. I’ve

driven from Culver City to Santa Mon-ica to Pilgrim back to Culver City back to Santa Monica and back near Pil-grim. Just think: tomorrow’s anoth-er day.

Shots Of Pilgrim In Series Of Snaps A  snap  of  the  camera  captures  a  moment  in  time.  Spend  any  amount  of  time  on  the  Pilgrim  campus,  and  you’ll  feel  the  heartbeat  of  

the  school  while  compiling  pictures  that  tell  the  story  of  a  place  that  comes  alive  with  sights  and  sounds  of  children  and  adults  shar-­‐

ing  a  unique  experience. By Sam Kim

The Commonwealth December 17, 201010

It’s The Thought That Counts

While students at other schools were back to reading, studying and taking tests the week after Christ-mas vacation last year, Pilgrim School students were ringing in the new year while enjoying Golden Week. It seems only natural that a school with such an international community would devote so much time to different cul-tures. Everyone had such a good time experiencing so many different phas-es of Japanese lifestyle that they will have a similar time this year, when the event takes place toward of the end of the second academic trimester when White Tiger Week is celebrated. Learning so much about Jap-anese culture during the Golden Week, such as making sushi, watching an-

-ment, practicing calligraphy and per-forming karate also allowed students to have fun during a program that is sponsored by Mr. Kanai, a grandfather of elementary school students. As Dr. Kidder said, “Some students think that the Golden Week was one of their favor-ite parts of the year at Pilgrim. Now we think they’ll be saying the same thing this year.” Mrs. Walker will be taking a

group of students on a trip to China lat-er in the school year.If White Tiger Week is anything like Golden Week, it will be a big hit with the students. “I really enjoyed learn-ing how to play the shamisen and the etiquette of the tea ceremony,” said Pil-grim senior Maddie Kanazawa. “The funniest thing that happened to me during the week was having to do the taiko drumming and creating a little dance sequence to exit with. I couldn’t dance so I did the background beat.” Now, it is time for China, an ancient and mysterious country full of culture, to take center stage. Accord-ing to Pilgrim senior and Chinese in-ternational student Tillie, there is a lot to look forward to. “Chinese culture is extensive and profound,” she said. Things like cheongsam, and mahjong may make students be interested in.” The week promises to offer things that you could not even experience in the Chinatown part of Los Angeles. Josephine Louie, a Chinese American in Los Angeles community, who sponsored a Chinese American program at UCLA, works with Dr. Kid-der to organize White Tiger Week. Ac-

We’ll Soon All Be In The Eye Of The TigerBy Yi Han Chen & Kai Wen Liu

Nothing beats the feeling you have early Christmas morning, as you run to your tree to see what Santa had in store for you – assuming you’ve been nice rather than naughty. You could get a puppy, a doll or even a pair

use for them. Though presents aren’t the most important thing about Christ-

cake. When Christmas (or Hanu-kah or Kwanza) season comes, every-one gets out their wish lists and checks them twice to make sure they have ev-erything written down. For a present to make it to the list, it has to pass cer-tain criteria. It must be fun, interest-ing and of, course, unique enough to be remembered. You would think that the most expensive presents would rank at the top because they are brightest, shini-est, brand-newsiest and improveiest products on the shelves. Each Christ-mas season brings a lost of toys or elec-tronics that every kid hopes will be un-der his or her tree. Yet for most Pilgrim students and faculty, the presents they most remember and cherish are the ones that touched their hearts.r It’s different for everyone, of course. But you might be surprised at some of the most memorable Christ-mas presents that surround our tree this year. As you’ll no doubt see from those who shared their choices with us, it truly is the thought that counts.

By Gabriella Camona

Dr. Kidder: A pirate ship I got when I was 8 years old. Arrrgh!

Nadia Skelil (8th grade): A tree house be-cause my dad was too busy to build one for me so my mom wanted to cheer me up so she bought me one.

Liam Battjes: Three pairs of olive green socks from my grandmother and a package of white underwear. It was so memorable because an eight year old always dreamed of this.

It was a submarine set that I love.

Mr. Kopp: My Camp 7 sleep-ing bag. It was the best of the best in 1983 when I re-ceived the gift and is the most memorable because I still own it and use it.

Sala Kim (3rd grade): Amer-ican Dollhouse bed. I didn’t even ask Santa Claus for it.

Kira Lia (12th grade): A necklace from my friend because I haven’t seen her for two years.

Susan Swan: Snow chains for my 1960 Volvo 544.

from my parents. I love them and they are kind of timeless.. I will keep them forever.

Nicole Rodriguez (8th grade): My dog. He is my best friend and I have had him for 7 years.

Audrey Dalton (junior): My email address, because it forced me to start reading emails from people and to check my messages.

Andrea Antonellis (8th grade): When I got my new mom.

Xavier Sallas-Brookwell (11th grade): I met my amazing girlfriend the day after Chris-mas last year.

Ms. Lileian: The most memorable Christmas present I ever recieved was a toy clown. I most likely remember it becuase it gave me the creeps.

You’ve probably heard by now about the recent artillery attack by the North Koreans on the South Korean is-land of Yonpyeong Island. While most people would expect South Koreans like me to condemn the attack, I can see both sides of the story. The North Koreans believe that South Korea ac-tually provoked the attack through it joint-military exercises with the Unit-ed States. President Obama explained that the point of these exercises was to

show aggression and power, and how the South Koreans and Americans would not back down if the North Ko-reans attacked. Here’s my question: If you are North Korean, how would you feel if America, the superpower in the world, holds a military exercise with South Korea, the country that you were raised to hate? If you are South Korean, you certainly have every right to believe that the military exercises were necessary after the North Kore-

ABLE TO SEE a crisis from both sidesBy Chris Yoon

ans killed 46 South Koreans when they sank a ship last year. The military ex-ercises were a logical next step to pre-vent any other attacks. Many Amer-icans people at this point ask, “Why do we care? Why should we send care packages to North Korea even when it continuously shows signs of aggres-sion? Why do we do nothing even when North Korea sends 31 commandos to assassinate the South Korean presi-dent and ends up killing 70 innocent

people? There is no answer to such acts, but there must be another an-swer to the problem rather than all-out war. If we go to war with North Korea, no doubt we would win. But I would fa-vor a more diplomatic approach that would work in the end with no lives lost. Then again, we have been trying for 50 years since the Korean War end-ed to bring peace to the region. If North Korea continues to be so aggressive, war becomes inevitable.

cording to Dr. Kidder, classes have al-ready been prepared for the students. They include: Kong fu, Chinese cook-ing, brush painting, games, and histo-ry. Pilgrim students will also have the chance to take part in a Chinese per-

of White Tiger Week. Get ready for an experience that will be as much fun as it will be ed-ucational.

The Commonwealth december 17, 201011

What if I’m constantly late to school for reasons beyond my control? That’s easy. Buy a trained rooster named Fred and put him in by your parent’s bed. They’ll be sure to wake up at the crack at dawn and you’ll be at school before they even open the front doors. If you have prob-

always solve the problem yourself. If your parents or siblings are making you late, it’s up to you to wake up a bit earlier than you normally do, which will give you precious time to shake, rattle and roll them out of bed. Try making breakfast or packing lunches. Anything to hit the road on time.

What do I do if there are kids in my class who I don’t get along with?

That’s what imaginary friends are for. They’ll always have your back, can save a seat and you’re bound to like them because you’re the one who

lack a bit of imagination, you can al-ways try keeping an open mind about your classmates because sometimes

-ter all. Try getting to know kids better. Don’t think about how different you are from someone. Think about any-thing you might have in common with a classmate – like homework, tests and grades. Put yourself out there. Chanc-es are, they might feel the same way you do. Guess what? Now you have something in common.

What do you do if you are on a sports team and you aren’t playing as much as you think you should? Well, someone has to warm the benches … at least that’s what I tell myself. As a fellow benchwarmer, I know what if feels like to watch the game more then play it. You start to think that maybe you stink worse than stunk, or that the coach doesn’t like you just because you used his or her face for target practice while shoot-ing from half-court. Coaches might just forget to put you in if they are re-ally into the game and especially if you don’t do anything to get them to notice you. If all else fails, hustle as much as you can the next practice. No matter how good (or bad) you are, you can al-ways work harder than anybody else on the team.

it really hard to pay attention to the teacher?

Our Dear Gabby ... Not Too ShabbyBy Gabriella Carmona

Z X Q O M T B P M S M D Y H B U C J B Y C G G J D L K X Z Z C S L H M X V J Y U A Q Q E Z K E M R Y Y F J I N O J M J L V T A O O M H O D I G B L R K Z D S L R Z K S F P R U P F T I H S A H A K A T F R B I B S W O Q W W C O V P C I G O O R S C I V J H V L I F B Q Y R H H E U H A H P Q S L T D M D R N A I E L A L L S A C J A T R T V N R S N A V U E O K O Q S W L N X T K M E I R W H I T E A V T I A J C T N R N S A H T O C I K U X A R R G V M V U O A E O K J R M A F M S N I R L N Y Y E N V V O R J S K Z R Q B X F A D K I Z L I B F I W X L X K T B V F Q A G E T R O L F D R E H F V C H Q E B Z K I E G T E J A U U F N G P M Q J S B T B A T T O U W S L B J T O E N H I K U E T I N V G M W J U Z R J E K I D D E R D S M R I M U Y D L V I E S U B D R R T A M O L N A R N T P C Q D W T F V A V W G S L V U B B R C S J H R N P G I Q A S H B G K A M R F O F I V K Z K Q O Q W C Q G E Z W K R M W J W J X Z Q L J M U T O P U F A S Z G F B L U N D E L L A M Y N H B A I F K L Q M S H H B O C F Q F G R O Q R O R J O D W E W I V T C A E O Z A H Q I S D C C Z Q Y W C E R H N I J Y C T R I J R G R R V N N W Q D G F K O D R V C C T K S K I A Z U Z U U D R V S V B M E P Y L N A M N O A U C B K K X D F S S J A S U S T U X Z O T Z V W A Q O V G A Y P O J Y A S M U C O I T C G K E N I G R H K F J I S Y E I G O M R N O A O Q O Z S D S C E H W W K E V N J X G C R R Q R Y S I P D L R X R U W F S D S K H C T M M I U O C H N G B V S E W K H T G E H G A Q D A V B V M D I O U A Q Z U J O R Z L S G K T E A Q U X F V Z L L S X B P P I X A J D N N L C S N O W E D R N M V F N D A L R N L T H B V Q S Z T K I O V K Y G N E E D L C T O S R Y L A B E X K F H D H R N O W F G H L A D T X E G Z S P V C A D G W A J Z L W G F J M N L C X S N T L X V I I O F J X G G F R W O C A C L A S Z Y G C D D S G J R R X W U M F F

ARRIBAS BLUNDELL BROOKS CONCIALDI DANIELS ETURRO FARRIS FODOR GRADY GRAFFIUS GREGORY HATFIELD INNES JANDOV KIDDER KLEIN KONG KOPP LALEIAN LEROQUE LIEBAU MANLY MOLNAR MORGAN ORTEGA SALTER SARAFIAN SMITH TURRO

TAKAHASHI WALKER WHITE

When you think you have it bad, play the “It could be worse” game. It could be worse if I was giving a hun-gry lion a sponge bath. It could be worse if I had a 2,000 word essay due tomorrow. It could be worse if I actu-ally thought this game was fun. You should try to participate more, and re-ally pay attention in class, you might

being taught and at least raising your hand will be good exercise. The next time you go to class, don’t think about how boring it was before, because it’s bound to be boring. Think positively. As a last resort, you know what they say about curing nervousness when giving speeches: picture your teachers in their underwear.

What do you do if you have a bad hair day? Shaving your head might sound tempting at 7 in the morning as you look into the mirror and see your hair knotted in balls that look worse than Medula’s locks of snakes. Only few can rock the look (right, Mr. Smith?). What you see as a bird’s nest on top of your head, could be nothing but a messy head, and chances are you’re just being a big, fat drama teen. We’ve all had them, we all hate them, and we’ve all seen them. Not everyone can wake up with hair like Repunzel, ready to be climbed on.

What do you do if you have a stress-ful day at school?

No one knows how to relax like him. In the great words of the wise cat, “Lasa-gna makes everything better.” In oth-

you are stressed out, take a few min-

utes for yourself. Do something that you love. It be may drawing, laughing or even running around. Sometimes you just have to take a breather and

What should I tell my parents if I get a bad grade on a test? Tell them it could be worse. You could be telling them that you want a raise in your allowance, that you just had a full-body tattoo, or that you just took dad’s company car for a spin. When it comes to explaning, you can use the old stand-by excuses: You forgot to study. You don’t pay attention in class, or the coin you kept tossing on the true-false answers came up wrong.

out how you can do better next time. ou have a test on a certain day as your screen saver. Only don’t do anything else to get your parents so mad at you

Then if you fail, you can always blame them.

What should I do about always leav-ing everything to the last minute and doing a bad job? You can always be proud when people pick up a dictionary, go to the

-crastination” and see your picture next to it. Everyone has that problem from time to time. Our school gave us planners and computers, so use them. Write out a timeline when something is due and what you’ll accomplish along the way. Planners have calendars and so do computers, so it shouldn’t be hard to plan. Just give yourself that

I’d offer more advice right now, but I think I’ll wait until next time.

Teachers Are Puzzles To Be Solved

Across 2. Baseball fanatic and a Dodger fan, often referred to as Jesus 3. Has a son named Matthew, a daughter named Molly, and is an enthusi-astic fan of the Mets who also hates the Yankees 5. Calls all her students “honey,” is also a wonderful cook 7. Has a son and a daughter at Pilgrim School, takes “delight” in tortur-ing his students 8. Coach for a national championship rowing team Down 1. Wakes up at 4 in the morning and sleeps late at night, loves Pilgrim School and works hard to make it a better place

5. Played cello, bass, piano and percussion, went to Caltech 6. Loves Judo, likes to make his class entertaining

The Commonwealth december 17, 201012

Pilgrim Cheer

Cheerleading has long been celebrated as both a form of art and a means of entertainment, which also explains its controversy. Some see cheerleading only as a stereotypical marketing tool based on its sex appeal. Others see it as beloved passion that brings out the best in their athleticism and precision. Pilgrim’s own Mina Ortega is in a position to see the sport from both sides. The former Los Ange-les Laker Girl and USC dancer teaches dance and cheerleading to Pilgrim stu-

-numbered yet not outdone by compet-ing teams on a national level. It doesn’t matter what any-one else thinks about cheerleading, ac-cording to Ms. Ortega. “Whether you connect with the dance or with the art,” she said, “it’s personal.” For Ms. Ortega, a love of dance sparked her passion toward a career that has included jobs as a dancer/cheerleader and choreographer. She can remember hearing Michael Jack-son’s and feeling the irresist-ible sense to get up and dance. For her, “it started as a love of sports and mu-sic.” Her love of basketball in mid-dle school further promoted her love of dance, as she grew up watching the Showtime edition of the Los Angeles Lakers of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. They didn’t lose very often, but when they did, Ms. Ortega would “physically cry..” Her love of basketball and the Lakers led her to an epiphany when she saw the combina-tion of sports and entertainment in the Laker Girls who cheered courtside. Ms. Ortega connected with the art and entertainment side of dance, and now she encourages her students to do the same. “It’s up to individu-als which path they end up choosing,” she said. “Some will focus on the art of dancing, which would lead to differ-ent forms of dance including modern or ballet, or the entertainment aspect, which can lead to several different ca-reer paths,. Hers took her from a high

school cheerleader to a professional dancer. Jerry Buss, longtime own-er of the Los Angeles Lakers, formed the Laker Girls in 1979 after observ-ing collegiate USC and UCLA cheer-

-al sports team to do so, Buss’s decision sparked a trend among leagues in dif-ferent sports throughout the country. Three decades later, cheerleaders per-form for at almost every professional football and basketball organization. In high school, Ms. Ortega would ditch class with her twin sister, Marina, to choreograph dance routines that they would practice the following day. Their love of Michael Jackson’s Thriller would have them dancing in their room all day long. Surprisingly, she never took a formal dance class un-til she enrolled in college. “We couldn’t afford dance lessons,” Ms. Ortega said. So she and her sister basically taught themselves.

formal lessons “opened my eyes up to the world of choreography,” she said. Soon she earned the opportunity to work with The United Spirit Associ-ation, where she cheered for her be-loved Lakers, as well as several oth-er NBA teams who had also created dance squads that were modeled after the Laker Girls. Having worked professional-ly from here to Japan and Europe, Ms. Ortega calls her experience at Pilgrim “by far my most rewarding” compared to so many other much more glamor-ous jobs she’s had. How can that be? “Pilgrim is special,” she said, “because our high standards for the academ-ics apply to the arts, too.” She credits Head of School Dr. Mark Brooks and the Board of Trustees for recognizing the importance of arts in general and

Unlike Dr. Brooks and the Board, some people still hold sever-al common misconceptions about cheerleading. The inappropriate ste-reotypes that Ms. Ortega constantly proves wrong include the claims that

tools aimed at men, and that the wom-en are just cheering for men instead of working on their own sport. Such misconceptions are nev-er more evident than they are at Pil-grim, where the cheerleading requires

matches or exceeds the level required for any team sport. According to Ms. Ortega, “The work, dedication, and skill” that go into cheerleading make it a sport unto itself. While most athletes play up to three different sports in a given academic year, the cheerleaders dedicate an entire year to their sport. They often come in on weekends lead-

routines to the last detail. Ms. Orte-

She’s Been Dancing With the StarsBy Xavier Salles-Brookwell

Most people naturally associ-ate dance class with females, howev-er a male student in the Pilgrim School community is stepping up to break that stereotype. Pilgrim sophomore Allen Park is widely known for his outgoing per-sonality and love for sports. Football is among his favorites. It’s not often that you link football with dancing, and it’s normal to think it would be quite awk-ward to be the only male among a class full of females. You’d also think that if you were that male, you’d be in for your share of teasing. Not so for Allen. “I do not get teased, and I do not feel awkward,” Allen said. “One reason is that my girlfriend (junior Chloe Nguyen) is in the class.” Dance class is split into the cheerleading section and the dance section. Allen is in the dance section, while most of the girls are in both. Whenever the dance class is practic-ing its cheerleading routines, Allen has a free period in which he can use the time to perfect his dancing, do his

By Chris Yoon homework and exercise in the gym - or even study. Allen’s decision to join dance wasn’t spur of the moment. “I wanted to do dance last year, because I had some friends who were doing it,” he said. “I also think that dancing helps relieve stress, and I was looking for something to do that.”

students, who, like her, have dedicated themselves to their shared passion for dancing. “Ms. Ortega is like one of us be-cause she talks to us all the time about things that we are all going through,” said freshman Olana Himmel. “But when it comes time to do our work, there’s no doubt that she’s the boss. We all respect her not only because of all her experience, but also because she’s someone you’d like to be like. Let me put it this way: If we had a clique, Ms. Ortega would be our Alpha.” Asked to sum up her feelings

toward Pilgrim generally, Ms. Ortega’s few words spoke volumes: “There’s just,” she said, “a lot of heart here.”

“I don’t get teased nor do I ever feel awkward in the dance class.”

Stepping Out On An All-Girl Stage

Not only is Allen in dance class, he’s good at it. “He’s the best dancer, in my opinion,” said Pilgrim sophomore Grace Cho. But you don’t have to take Grace’s word for it. You can see for yourself how Allen and the rest of the class perform during the Winter/Spring concert. If you attend, Allen said, “You’ll see how amazing it is and maybe you’ll want to sign up for the class, too.”

Allen Park ‘13