the breeze, july 2015 issue

G e t Y o u r S u m m e r R e a d i n g O n ! P a g e 4

Barstow Brings Home Travel Insightsstory and photos by Julia Barstow

(Note: This introduction is a reprint of the introduction that appeared in the last issue of The Bridge. The story segment is new, however.)

Introduction:

I grew up in Adamant and currently attend Bennington College. I have an interest in journalism, and from the end of January to mid-May, I studied abroad in Morocco with the School for International Training on their Field Studies in Journalism and New Media program.

During the first two months of the program, I lived with host families and studied in Mo-roccos capital, Rabat. One memorable part of the program was a weeklong homestay in a rural village outside of Fez. My host family was welcoming and we were eager to learn from each other, despite having a language barrier. While I was in the village, I wrote about my surroundings and the people.

Fatinas World

Morning sunlight peaks through the half open metal door of Fatinas one-story concrete home. The sound of running water filling up a basin in the kitchen sink mingles with that of an Arabic language morning talk show playing on the small television in the next room. She washes a large terracotta platter, scraping off bits of leftover bread dough into the basin. Carrying the dripping wet platter, she walks the few paces from the sink to the next room. Fatina disappears behind the sheer purple curtain that separates the two rooms and sets down the plat-ter to dry. She soon pushes the curtain back and returns to the sink.

She adjusts her headscarf adorned with oversized red and green flowers with vibrant yellow centers before picking up the basin of dirty water from the sink. Light falls across her pink sweatpants and slipper clad feet as she exits the house. Fatina empties the plastic basin, water splashing on the uneven concrete. A black chicken stands in the doorway and drinks from the little pools of soapy water. After pausing to peek into the unlit interior of the house, it runs off into the yard.

Tossing the slippers off her feet, Fatina pulls on a pair of black rubber boots. They nearly reach her knees. The soles are caked with mud. She grabs

a pitchfork and pushes a metal wheelbarrow across the yard. She pulls back a large white tarp that covered a pile of straw. The tarp rustles and comes to a rest. Fatina loosens the baled straw with her hands, and then picks up the pitchfork with a clang. She swivels at the waist from the straw pile on one side of the wheelbarrow to the other, straw flying through the air. Her movements are efficient. Nearby, a white and tan dog rests in the shadow of a large stack of cinder blocks. He thumps his short tail on the ground, gets up, and moves to a sunnier spot. The pair of turkeys, known as Madame and Monsieur, strut around the yard. Monsieur puffs out his feathers and fans his tail.

Fatinas wheelbarrow is overflowing with straw. She pushes it toward the outdoor oven. The rusting wheel becomes stuck on a long strip of metal. Jerking the wheelbarrow back and forth with some effort, the wheel frees.

Once by the oven, she upends the wheelbarrow. A cascade of straw fans out around her feet. Fatina picks up a large blue plastic sack and empties it out. Inside were large knobby brown plant stalks Fatina had gathered from a field the day before. An orange tractor drives past. The engine noises linger as the tractor moves on towards the agricultural fields.

Fatina returns to the house. She grabs a jug of water from a corner of the room, unscrews the lid, and douses the floor. She then pours out a capful of soap. Using a gray green shirt, dirty with use, Fatina mops the floor in the small entry room. She moves the cloth from side to side across the floor, bent over at the waist. The task is finished within a few

minutes. She wrings out the soaking wet shirt. The uneven floor of the entry room reflects the spreading sunlight.

Fatina walks the few paces to the adjoining bed-room and stops at the small mirror hanging from the wall. She removes her floral print headscarf, and pulls a comb through her slightly graying hair. The mirror reflects her sun weathered face and bright eyes. Fatina returns to the entry room with a black and white patterned djellaba in hand. She pulls it over her head and adjusts the cloth around her short frame. She turns and leaves without switching off the television.

Shadows shift slightly on the rough gray walls of the room where Fatina and her family eat their

Continued on Page 6

The BreezeFor Youth, By Youth

The Bridge Presents July 2015

Fatina brings the cows home in Birta Village outside of Fez, Morocco

The family's dog rests in the yard.

JULY 2015 THE BREE ZE

IN THIS ISSUE

This is The Breeze. We are made up almost entirely of young people, with some guidance from the staff of The Bridge. To them, and to everyone who made this a possibility, we owe a massive thank you. This was truly a community project, with writing and pictures from a diverse cast of very talented young people. We have everything from important news coverage to a killer crossword puzzle, and we believe strongly in the quality of what we are putting forth. On that note, it gives me genuine pleasure to present to you, The Breeze.

PRESENTING THE BREEZE

Lindsey Grutchfield, editor of The Breeze

Rachel Isaacs-Falbel and Lindsey Grutchfield Emily Sargent

Lindsey with Carla Occaso, managing editor of The Bridge

Managing Editor: Lindsey GrutchfieldContributing Writers: Julia Barstow, Holly Gordon, Carla Occaso, Emily Sargent, Ruby Singer

Contributing Artists: Rosie Boucher, Michael Jermyn, Lucas Prendergast, Michael Roach

Fundraising: Rachel Isaacs-Falbel

The Bridge Staff:Editor & Publisher: Nat Frothingham Managing Editor: Carla OccasoCalendar Editor, Design & Layout: Marichel VaughtCopy Editing Consultant: Larry FloerschProofreader: Garrett HeaneySales Representatives: Michael Jermyn, Rick McMahanDistribution: Tim Johnson, Kevin Fair, Diana Koliander-Hart, Daniel RenfroEditorial: 223-5112, ext. 14, or [email protected]: The Bridge office is located at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, on the main level of Stone Science Hall. Subscriptions: You can receive The Bridge by mail for $50 a year. Make out your check to The Bridge, and mail to The Bridge, PO Box 1143, Montpelier VT 05601.Published every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, except in July when we publish the 3rd Thursday only.montpelierbridge.com facebook.com/thebridgenewspapervtTwitter: @montpbridge Copyright 2015 by The Bridge

P.O. Box 1143, Montpelier, VT 05601 Phone: 802-223-5112Fax: 802-223-7852

The BreezeFor Youth, By Youth

The Bridge Presents

Page 1: Impressions of Morocco in Words and Pictures, Julia BarstowPage 3: Senior Prank Goes Awry, Emily Sargent / Heard on the StreetPage 4: "Symphony for the City of the Dead" Book Review, Lindsey

GrutchfieldPage 5: "I Yam Not a Donkey" Book Review, Carla Occaso / Top

Selling Books at Bear Pond BooksPage 6: Cover story continued / Student to Spend Senior Year in Peru,

Lindsey GrutchfieldPage 7: Basement Teen Center's Amazing Race / Green Mountain Disc

Association Summer League Ultimate, Holly GordonPage 8: The Adventures of Jack, Ruby SingerPage 9: Editorial / OpinionPage 10: Crossword PuzzlePage 11: Car TriviaPage 12: Coloring Page

Let us know what you think of this issue!Email [email protected]

THE BREE ZE JULY 2015 PAGE 3

MONTPELIER Most students brought party balloons. Some brought spray paint and stencils. And a few brought spike strips. But all of the students present at Montpelier High School the night of May 31 were cited with criminal activity as a result of their actions.

Late in the evening of Sunday, May 31, about 20 to 25 graduating seniors of Mont-pelier High School broke into the High School building, aiming to leave their mark on the school with a traditional senior prank. Last year, several seniors painted on the wall of the library. This year, accord-ing to several anonymous students, the plan was to fill staircases with balloons. However, some students arrived with spray paint and stencils some featuring rendi-tions of male anatomy and a few laid out spike strips in the school parking lot, an-ticipating a police response when the alarm sounded. When police officers did arrive at the school in response to the disturbance, the spike strips punctured the tires of one police car.

In a letter sent to participating students and their parents, the Montpelier Police Department explained that many of the actions committed on the night of May 31 could lead to criminal charges that include: Burglary, Criminal Trespass, Im-peding a Public Official and Unlawful Mischief. The Montpelier Police Depart-ment and the Montpelier Public Schools agreed that the students should go through the Restorative Justice Alternative Program as punishment for the prank. According to the police departments letter, Any senior who accesses the Montpelier Community Justice Center and completes the program will not be charged with a crime.

Students reactions to these disciplinary actions were mixed. Most of the students

contacted expressed their understanding of the police response. As one student put it, I am not upset over the police showing up, it's their job, and I do apologize for the stress they had to go under after their car got damaged. I don't blame them for their reaction. Another student said that the po-lice response was completely appropriate, given the destruction enacted by a select group of the senior pranksters: I'm very thankful we haven't been taken to court or charged with any serious offense. This student went on to describe the program as the best possible discipline we could have received, expressing their hope that the punishment would help to change the culture at Montpelier High School sur-rounding pranks.

However, several students were frustrated by the way in which the punishment grouped together the students involved in the prank; these students emphasized the fact that they, personally, had no intention of harming police cars or even spray paint-ing inside the building. In one students words, I put balloons inside the school and then left. I had nothing to do with anything else that people did. Another student described an argument between several different groups of students with different ideas about the direction the class prank should take. This student arrived at the school planning to fill it with balloons: when I saw others not in my group show up with spray paint, I got a little un-easy. When I saw spikes, I became angry. I guess the important piece here that all the adults seemed to miss is that just about everyone who did not show up with paint and spikes was opposed to the idea of paint and spikes.

Another student agreed that the arrived-upon discipline was fairly appropriate,

but expressed her disappointment with what she called the school administrations initial reactionary response to the prank. This student argued that the administra-tion took the concept of bystander guilt too far by claiming that all students who had been involved in the prank in any way were equally guilty: I feel that there is a difference between laying out spike strips and attempting to fill the school with party balloons. The administrations indiscriminate assignment of guilt caused this particular student to lose a great deal of respect for the leadership in the school in the immediate aftermath. Another stu-dent argued that the administration should have given students a chance to feel guilty or regret decisions. According to this stu-dent, the schools quick response forced students to feel guilty.

This same student went on to comment, I'm not quite sure what we're supposed to learn from this. We keep being lectured on the idea of mob mentality, but [in] mob mentality, individual people are influenced by a group to behave a certain way, es-sentially working like a hive toward the same goal. However, it was quite obvious from the start that everyone there showed up with different goals in mind. Some to destroy, some [not to]. Several students also compared this years prank with senior pranks from previous years. In one stu-dents words, I think that the vast majority of what was done was no different, perhaps even tamer, than what has been done in the past in terms of senior pranks. Some students went on to express frustration with the police response, arguing that this years prank did not warrant a more severe response than past pranks. At the same time, one of these students acknowledged that the past record of relative tolerance

towards pranks might have contributed to a feeling of invulnerability in the class of 2015, and led some students to believe spray painting and spiking was okay.

All of the students involved in the senior prank were asked to go to the Montpelier Police Department in order to detail their specific involvement in the prank. Each student was then requested to complete several acts of community service speci-fied by the Montpelier Community Justice Center.

Another anonymous source with close ties to the school pointed out that only about 20 out of a class of around 80 participated. Many other students tried to stop it before it happened. There were a majority of stu-dents who didnt know. The students who did try to stop it were upset about the dam-age that was done. It tarnishes everyones name, the anonymous source said. It could have been stopped and it should have been stopped.

Montpelier Police Department Captain Neil Martel said, The Montpelier senior prank has been going on for many, many years. Some years are different than oth-ers. Some years they do it during school hours. It is not the first time the kids have gone into the building when they werent supposed to. Twenty-something kids are participating (in the restorative justice pro-gram). The outcome is not done yet. We support the justice center for these types of crimes.

Annual Senior Prank Goes Awryby Emily Sargent

HEARD ON THE STREET

MHS Students Request Improved Access to SkateboardingMONTPELIER Accommodate skateboarders. That was the message a group of ninth graders from Montpelier High School social studies teacher Heather McLanes class reported to city council during their meeting June 10. The students presented a few op-tions to allow skateboarding and rollerblading, which has been prohibited from many downtown areas since the 1990s. One of the most notable suggestions was to build a new skateboard park at a cost of around $320,000, perhaps on the grounds of the high school. Another suggestion was to allow an alternate skateboard route around town on desig-nated streets. McLanes students surveyed skateboarders and found at least one describe the existing skateboard park (on Elm Street behind the ballfield) as unenjoyable and dilapidated as well as too far. An alternate route in town would require signage and possibly some ramps. The primary change to the existing skateboarding ordinance would be to open up Barre Street and part of Baldwin Street to skateboarders and rollerbladers.

On the Montpelier High School website, McLane praised her students for their efforts. I would like to recognize my students who presented to City Council. Their work was a great example of what you can accomplish if you have a growth mindset, she said. The council also praised the students after the presentation.

Ninth Graders Urge City Council to Ban Plastic Bags

MONTPELIER Another group of Montpelier High School students from McLanes class spoke to city council about the detriments of plastic bags, urging the council to discourage use of them because they fill up the landfills and do not biodegrade. Students said Shaws and Rite Aid accounted for many of the plastic bags distributed in town. Stu-dents suggested either taxing customers for use of the bags or banning them altogether. City council member Anne Watson said taxing and such has to be done at the Legislative level. The council thanked the ninth graders for their thoughtful presentation.

Thank you for reading The Breeze!


Book Review

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Andersonby Lindsey Grutchfield

World War II was a time of great hardship for the whole of Eurasia, but there were few who suffered more during that time than the citizens of the Soviet Union. Trapped between Stalins brutal regime and the crush-ing force of Nazi Germany, the Soviet people drew strength and comfort from love of country, even as they found themselves facing a series of conflicts with nearly impossible odds. One of the places where this was perhaps the most evident, was in the city of Leningrad. During the longest siege in recorded history, Leningrad was bombarded for 872 days by the German army. Its inhabitants starved in the harsh Russian winter. They were driven to eating wallpaper paste, dogs, even the corpses of their neighbors, which were piled high in the streets. Altogether, around 1.5 million Russians lost their lives as a result of the siege, but against all odds the city held firm.

How did the people of Leningrad, emaciated and freezing in what had become a lawless city, survive? In part, they relied on each other for body heat and strength. Paradoxically, they did what needed to be done to survive, in many cases without remorse or regard for the lives of others. Lastly, they looked to art to give themselves a reason to continue living. And so, amid the bombed-out buildings of a (literally) shell-shocked city, renowned composer and native son Dmitri Shostakovich began work on his Seventh Symphony, soon to be known as the Leningrad Symphony. This was the symphony that, when it premiered in the city of 1942, would truly capture the spirit of Leningrad and its people and that would give them strength in darkness, even as it inspired the rest of the Allied countries to come to the aid of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. It is also the subject of M.T. Andersons latest non-fiction book.

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad is not a book only about the Leningrad Symphony, nor is it even about the Siege of Lenin-grad. Instead, it covers the scope of Russian history from Shostakovichs birth during the reign of the last tsar, to his death in 1975. This was a time of great turmoil in Russia, and in Leningrad in particular; during Shostakovichs lifetime, the city had no fewer than three names, each reflecting the political climate of the time. Thus, in being centered around a

person living in and shaped by tumultuous times in a uniquely historic place, the book chooses its subject well. The story of Dmitri Shostakovich is an excellent platform to explore broader questions about Bolshevism, human endurance and the true impact of art.

Although it does explore broad ideas such as these, Symphony for the City of the Dead is really at its best while recounting the siege, its aftermath and the writing of the symphony itself. At other times, particularly when describing the early years of the USSR in the 1930s, during the Great Terror, the book fumbles a bit for concrete detail and is forced into speculation regarding Shostakovichs actions and beliefs. In fairness, this is not wholly the fault of the Symphony for the City of the Dead. As the book repeatedly mentions, this was a time when secrets and lies were lifes only constants and no one could be trusted. Even official records of the time cannot wholly be counted on to relay accurate information. Needless to say, this makes the historians job somewhat difficult.

Once the siege begins and the facts are a little more concrete, Symphony for the City of the Dead picks up steam. The book manages to avoid becoming too esoteric and dense in its tell-ing. Instead it captivates the reader with vivid description and detail. At the same time, Symphony for the City of the Dead also avoids oversimplifying the events recounted and becoming trapped in a young-adult designation. True, the reader does not have to be a devoted scholar of Soviet history or classical music to comprehend this work, but neither do they need to be a dim child in search of easy reading.

Surprisingly, one of the most intriguing parts of Symphony for the City of the Dead is its frequent analysis of Shostakovichs various works. Anderson does a beautiful job of analyz-ing the music and bringing it alive to the reader, even one who knows nothing about orches-tral music. As one might imagine, this is an incredibly useful skill in writing about one of the most influential composers of the first part of the 20th century. As a whole, Symphony for the City of the Dead is a resounding success, animating with plenty of skill one of the greatest examples of human cruelty and human strength in modern history, and bringing to life the man and music that defined it all.

The Center for Leadership SkillsBUSINESS & LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Lindel James coaching & consultingTaking You from Frustration to Enthusiasm

802 778 0626 [email protected]


The Perils of Conjugation: I Yam a Donkey, story, pictures and bad grammar by Cece Bellby Carla Occaso

Perhaps the moral of the story is, Dont lecture a don-key on bad grammar or youll get yours. A cranky bespeckled yam sets out to formalize the language usage of a vegetarian donkey prone to colloquial speech. The cantankerous yam might remind the adult reader of any number of English grammar police out there who feel it is his or her job to correct linguistics. But the yams best inten-tions backfire when its ever-intensifying grammar lessons are fiercely misunderstood.

The whole kerfuffle starts when the yam overhears the don-key declare, I yam a donkey!

The proper way to say that is, I am a donkey, the yam responds, peering over the top of its glasses with an air of superiority.

The poor confused donkey takes the remark literally, and thinks the yam is declaring itself a donkey. This leads to further confusion as the yam gets increasingly angry and the donkey gets increasingly confused. You are a donkey, I am a yam! the grouchy yam contends. This leads to such an argu-ment that a talking turnip, carrot and a trio of green beans draw near to find out what the fuss is about.

To settle the matter, the vegetables join the yam in conju-gating the verb to be with pictures. The yam stands over a depiction of a photograph of itself holding a sign that reads, I am. Then, the yam stands over the depiction of a photograph of the donkey with a sign that reads, you are. Then, standing over a depiction of the carrot, it holds a sign reading, he is, and finally, standing over a depiction of the lipstick-wearing turnip, the lumpy yam holds a sign that reads, she is. The three beans are they are and the entire group together is we are, by the yams assertion in a very clear, simple grammar lesson to the slow-learning donkey.

But, the lesson is a failure. The donkeys takeaway under-standing is thus conveyed by the donkey: Is you trying to tell me that I yam not the only donkey here? That you and all them critters is donkeys, too? I need to get my eyes checked!

This reviewer cannot bring herself to reveal what happens to the perfectionist vegetables in the end because they really seem like they mean well and only want to help the simple donkey improve upon its syntax. You will just have to read it for yourself, or preferably read it to a child (aged baby to learning-to-read) using evocative facial expressions and a dramatic tone-of-voice.

Top Selling Young Adult Books at Bear Pond Books

"Ill Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

Winner of the 2015 Printz award, this New York Times Bestseller follows the complicated relationship between two siblings as they grow up and apart. Told half from the per-spective of introspective Noah, and half from that of dare-devil Jude, the twins must find a way to reconcile the past with the future.

"Paper Towns" by John Green

This is not a particularly new release, but with the movie adaptation coming to theaters July 24, popular author John Greens Paper Towns is selling like hotcakes. When Margo runs away, Quentin must track the enigma that is his child-hood best friend, following the clues that she has left for him.

"We All Looked Up" by Tommy Wallach

In Tommy Wallachs debut novel, four teens of different personalities and backgrounds must come to grips with what could be the literal end of the world as a massive asteroid comes hurtling towards earth.

"The Alex Crow" by Andrew Smith

Andrew Smith won the Printz award last year for his novel Grasshopper Jungle. His latest book, also very popular, centers around a refugee in West Virginia, a schizophrenic bomber, a group of doomed arctic explorers and a reincar-nated crow.

"Throne of Glass Series" by Sarah J. Maas

The Throne of Glass series reads like a cross between The Hunger Games and any novel by Tamora Pierce. In the first book, an 18 year old female assassin must win her freedom and become the Kings Champion in a massive and deadly game, but there is more going on in the palace than meets the eye.

"The 5th Wave" by Rick Yancey

The first in a series of the same name, Rick Yanceys The 5th Wave is a gripping thriller about an earth ravaged by aliens. 16 year old Cassie must fight to stay alive as she jour-neys through a world where there are aliens at every turn, and they all want her dead.

"Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is part romance and part coming-out story. When a sensitive email is discovered by Simons classmate, Simon must figure out a way to dodge the ensuing blackmail without accidentally outing himself.

"We Are All Made of Molecules" by Susin Nielsen

When Stewarts father and Ashleys mother become roman-tically involved, Stewart and Ashley, who couldnt be more different, find themselves living under the same roof. A funny, fast read, We Are All Made of Molecules bridges the gap between middle-grade and young adult fiction.

To Be Released:

"Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead

Rebecca Stead, known for her writing about complex, nu-anced relationships, is coming out with a new middle-grade novel, to be released August 4. In it, three friends confront the trials and tribulations of seventh grade, and push their friendship to its limits.

"Carry On" by Rainbow Rowell

From one of the hottest authors of the last year comes an all new title, which is to be released October 6. A tale of magic, mystery, and adolescence, Carry On promises to be just as popular as Rowells other books.

Children'sBook

Review


Abi Huntsman is a rising senior at Montpelier High School who is spending the next year in Arequipa, Peru as part of the Rotary International Youth Exchange Program. The Breeze spoke with Abi regarding her upcoming adventure.

Lindsey Grutchfield: So, how is your time away going to be structured?

Abi Huntsman: Im going to be going to school. My school is a Catholic School, which is very different from anything Im used to, and its taking, you know, classes like a regular student, living in a home, etcetera. Im not sure yet if Ill have just one host family or a couple of them. Usu-ally theres a couple, but sometimes if it works out really well theres just one. Im also traveling a lot while Im there, all over Peru. Were going to be seeing the typical (tourist sites in Peru) Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, and the rainforest, but were also doing really cool cultural trips and seeing other big cities. Were even going to Ecua-dor, so thats pretty cool.

Grutchfield: What was the application process like?

Huntsman: Oh my god, a lot of red tape, but really so worth it. You first have to fill out the application. You have to be care-ful to fill out everything correctly. I had a couple run-ins with that. You wait and youre really nervous, and they say youre accepted or youre not accepted, but if youre going to go through all that to apply youre usually accepted. Then, you prepare by learning the language and getting in touch with your local Rotary group.

Grutchfield: What made you want to study abroad in high school?

Huntsman: Ive really wanted to do this since eighth grade. I love to travel, Ive been to Nicaragua twice. Also, Rotary Club is for high school students, and Ro-tary is just an incredibly great program. I wanted to be a part of that. And the other thing, I hosted an exchange student last year, Accia. She was from Brazil, and she stayed with me, I think, for three months, and it was really fun. She inspired me and showed me all the amazing opportunities shes had. That made me really want to do it. Also, I really believe in the importance of international learning, so I wanted to get that in high school as well.

Grutchfield: What made you choose South America?

Huntsman: I just adore Spanish, its what I love to do. I really want to be a Span-ish teacher, actually, because my Spanish teacher at the high school really inspired me to love that language. So I really wanted to be studying that and also, al-though Nicaraguas in Central America and every countrys a little bit different, I really love the feel of South America. I love the weather; Perus going to be a lot warmer in February than Vermont is. Im also really fascinated by their whole history and culture, and the changes that theyre going through, so its just a really cool place in my opinion.

Grutchfield: What do you hope to gain from this experience?

Huntsman: The first thing that comes to mind is f luency in Spanish, and I also hope to learn a little bit of Quechua, which is the second most spoken language. Its an indigenous language. I also really just want to understand what its like to be a Peru-

vian teenager, and especially a Peruvian teenage girl. Going to Nicaragua and deal-ing with the machismo and everything like that is a really different experience than we have, so Im really curious about what its like to be a girl and a woman in Peru. You cant really understand a place until you go there, and I consider it the first part of my college education, because when Im a teacher in 10 years, I want to be able to say to my students, this is what this place is really like.

Grutchfield: What would you tell some-one who is thinking about studying abroad in high school?

Huntsman: Do it! Do it, do it, do it! It takes a lot of perseverance, but you should do it. The whole process is really great and really makes you think a lot about yourself and prepares you for college, and also just makes you a more well-rounded person. Its so worth it!

Grutchfield: As the day that you leave approaches, what are your thoughts going into this trip?

Huntsman: Im definitely nervous, not so much about being away from my parents, although I think I will miss them. Im more just nervous about communication and how Im going to present myself to Peru. But more than that, Im just so, so excited. This is like a dream come true for me. Well, not a dream, more a goal that I have that Ive worked really hard for.

While in Peru, Abi will be writing a blog, which can be found at http://abisperuvianyear.wordpress.com

Thanks to Rotary, Student to Spend Senior Year in Peruby Lindsey Grutchfield

meals. All of the lights are turned off, as they have been for most of the morning. Two flies circle around the kitchen. The television is now tuned to a cooking show. High on the wall, opposite the television, sits a clock. It is stuck at 12:43 and 45 seconds.

Fatina returns. She sets down the bag of vegetables she had gone out to buy and enters the bedroom. She steps back into the kitchen. Sitting on a low table, covered in pieces of cloth are five round loaves of unbaked bread, called khbz. Fatina inspects the rounds of dough. She carries the table out the door to the yard, then gathers up handfuls of straw and thrusts them into the opening of the oven.

Chickens run circles around her feet. The sleeves of her floral print shirt are rolled up past her elbows. Fatina pulls out a lighter from her blue and white plaid apron and lights the straw. At first it smokes. A small flame begins to spread. Acrid black smoke pours from the oven as Fatina continues to feed the fire with straw. Next, she tosses in a few of the plant stalks. She pokes the fire with a long metal rod that was leaning against the cinder block wall behind the oven. The straw blackens and burns. Flames leap. The fire burns fast and hot.

Fatina turns around and sets a broken red milk crate next to the table of khbz. She bal-ances a large metal baking tray on top of the crate, and dusts it with a handful of flour. She transfers the five unbaked loaves onto the tray in quick succession. One loaf folds over on itself. She laughs and reshapes it. Fatina picks up a piece of straw from underfoot, and pokes a hole in the center of each loaf. She places three long green peppers in a corner of the tray.

As the flames begin to die down, she tosses four whole eggplants into the oven and covers them with more straw. The straw flares up. Bent over at the waist, Fatina carries the tray over to the oven and slides it in. She covers the opening with a sheet of metal. Old shirts and pants are piled to the left of the oven. They are all worn to a similar shade of blue gray.

She empties a jug of water onto the clothes and layers them over the oven door to seal in the heat. The clothes steam. Fatina

stands by the oven in her plastic slippers, and waits for the bread to bake.

Julias travels were funded in part by a Gilman Scholar-ship, which provides grants to U.S. undergraduate students

studying abroad and is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the

U.S. Department of State. www.iie.org/programs/gilman-scholarship-

program.

Impressions of Morocco in Words and Pictures Continued from Page 1

Julia Barstow

Rocque Long Painting

Insured 30+ years professional

experience local references.

802-223-0389

Fatina prepares bread to bake in the outdoor oven.


Green Mountain Disc Alliance Summer League Ultimate (Frisbee) is a great op-portunity for players in high school and older to play competitively during the summer, improve their skills and have fun. The 12 teams meet once a week at 6 p.m. in Williston to play a game. The season began in mid-June and concludes in mid-August. Players register for summer league online in May and are selected for teams. Each team consists of 17 people of various skill levels. Players can register in small groups who would like to be on the same team. Summer league games are casual, but also some-what competitive. These games are a great environment for new players to learn skills and strategies of ultimate. It is okay to make mistakes and experienced players are happy to explain rules and strategies.

A very important part of ultimate is the spirit of the game. The unique absence of referees leaves it up to the players to make calls, which they do efficiently and without hostility. Opposing teams are always friendly with each other and maintain good sportsmanship throughout and after the games.

After being created by a group of college students in 1968, ultimate has grown in popu-larity over the years. It is now played in 42 countries. According to U. S. A. Ultimate, their number of college ultimate members has increased from almost 10,000 in 2004 to over 16,000 in 2011. Due to its growing popularity in Vermont, the Vermont Principals Association has decided to add ultimate frisbee as an exhibition sport for the next two years (as of spring this year). By 2017, ultimate may be regarded as a sport, rather than a club team. Vermont currently has 16 high school boys teams and four girls teams. Playing summer league is a good way to become familiar with the sport and potentially increase interest in ultimate at high schools around Vermont.

Friendly and Focused: Summer League Ultimateby Holly Gordon

The Basement Teen Center's Amazing Race 2015

On June 27th, a number of teams took to the streets during the Basement Teen Centers Amazing Race. The teams raced through eight challenge stations designed to test mental and physical acumen. These challenges ranged from a test of logic on the bike path passenger bridge to wading through ooblek back at the Basement Teen Center. Although there was technically a win-ning time, the real focus of the race is fun, teamwork and a sense of community, and prizes are awarded accordingly. Altogether, the race, which generates funds for the Teen Center, raised $5,345.

A team kneads through a bin of ooblek to find a hidden object.

Choose-your-ball bowling at Turntable Park on Stonecutters Way

The entire group of volunteers and racers.

The winning team with the Amazing Race Trophy

All photos courtesy of the Washington County Youth Service Bureau/Boys & Girls Club


The Adventures of Jackby Ruby Singer

Yawn. My eyes focus and all I see is the oldest kids feet. Does she ever bathe? Although I guess Im not one to judge. The saying is: you smell like a wet dog, not, you smell like a wet human. I get up and do my morning routine. I scoot across the f loor dragging my legs behind me as I use my unkept nails to claw my way across the rug. Then, I scratch my ear until it hurts. My necklace charms jingle annoyingly. The oldest one looks at me with her still groggy eyes. The littlest one is still asleep sprawled out in her bed. How dare she sleep when I have maintenance for them to tend to? I jump right on her back. Not even a groan. I nuzzle my nose under her arm. A little giggle. I start to lick her toes. She is wide awake and quite grumpy. The big one hustles me out of the room.

I trot upstairs with the full intent to start this house up properly. When I reach the top of the stairs (in seven strides instead of 14, and that is impressive because I have my mothers dachshund legs), I head straight for the door on the right. This room belongs to the only boy kid. I walk into the room to find him already on his box that shows moving pictures. I walk out knowing that I can never tear his eyes away from those pictures. The trip wasnt a total loss, though. I did note a very unchewed pair of socks innocently lying on the ground. I will come back to those later. Next is the hardest task of all wak-ing the big humans (the ones who do all the stuff and give me the food). I tentatively peek my oversized ear into the room. Snoring. Bingo! I trot in making sure not to let my necklace charms jingle. Nows my chance! In a matter of sec-onds I am on the bed jumping from body to body and licking what I can find above the covers. Two groans emerge from the two lumps that I previously squished. Ha! My work here is done. Now all I have to do is wait for them to get up and drown me in attention.

As always, I am bucketed with praise and affection. Ahh, life is good. I am fed, then fed again when I f lash each human at the eating table a signature puppy love move I picked up at the Humane Society. As usual, I am then walked. Im not doing a bad job with these humans, if I do say so myself. Then, my favorite part of the day. A little after the second food time they all get really bored and annoyed with each other. Just as planned. They all go to their own rooms and do their own things. Hee hee hee! Living room is first. I eye the couch, then the laundry and last a bunch of square things that look quite

appetizing. I start to innocently wander over to a bunch of paper with words and a cover. There are three of them right next to each other. I can barely keep control of my-self. After a series of jumps, wags and paces I look again. I have my work cut out for me. I should start as soon as possible.

When Im done I have six paper cuts on my tongue and two on my nose. Before I could move on to the next item, the second biggest person walks in. She is the one that does all the food and always has fancy books with old looking people on them. She is always saying its Jane Austen or something. She looks at me with a torn piece of paper in my mouth, then at the three destroyed covers. She looked again. Her face turned from confusion to fury.

Jack! I could tell by her barks that she is mad about something. I think I did something wrong. Nah. Oops, wrong answer. That lady sent me right to my cage with-out a treat to chew on! How rude! The lady picked up my hard work and threw it right in the trash! Noooo. After that, ignoring my howls of objection, she went on the thing you put to your ear and talk to. She said something about library books and paying. I dont really know, I was too busy trying to look cute so I could get out of this stinking cage. I was soon let out then punished again for getting the books out of the trash. Then, thanks to my adorable powers, I was forgiven.

By then I was exhausted. I lay down with the boy one this time. Something catches my eye. The unchewed remote. Now what shall I do tomorrow?

Ruby Singer is going to be a 7th grader at U-32 next year. She lives in East Montpelier and likes to read fantasy and realistic fiction. She also likes to play softball and do robotics. Her dog Jack inspired this piece because he loves to bite his nails, lay under the computer table while biting his nails, watch tv and lick her sisters face. Rubys family got Jack about a year ago from the Humane Society and immediately fell in love with him. He is a German Shep-herd dachshund mix. She hopes everyone enjoyed his adventures as much as she (the oldest kid) did.

Ruby Singer and Jack


Work Hard? Enjoy Summer!by Lindsey Grutchfield

After a long, cold winter and a mucky, unpredictable spring, summer is finally here. The time has come to parade beneath the sun in minimal clothing, to let the day stretch on forever and to embrace spontaneity in all pastimes. School is out, and lazy, hazy afternoons are the new normal, at least for the next couple of months. Make a little money perhaps, go to summer camp, sit around a campfire and toast marshmallows. After all, without the daily grind of school you have not a care in the world, right?

Well, not exactly. Between summer SAT courses, classes for college credit and other en-riching activities, there are a myriad of ways to fill a summer and make it as productive as humanly possible. There is nothing wrong with that, per se, as long as you enjoy yourself. Putting together a newspaper, for example, is immensely productive and challenging, while also being very rewarding and even fun.

It is important to think ahead and to strive for success. In the end, your extracurricu-lar activities matter, your SAT scores matter and a full rsum is better than an empty one. Sometimes you have to set aside what you want to do for what you should do. However,when enrichment becomes work for the sake of work, there is a point when

summer vacation stops being a vacation and starts to become nothing more than an opportunity to pad the college application or rsum.

The trouble here is not that preparation is bad. The trouble is that applications and rsums are only a means to an end, not the end itself. You are more than a set of words and numbers on a piece of paper. The life that you make for yourself ought to be a testament to

that, not to a piece of paper that some bureaucracy has designated to represent you. Play along with the bureaucracy if it will give you the future you want, but you cannot let it own you. Never let yourself forget that only you are in charge of your own existence, and that that existence is made not only of the future, but the past and present as well. You already know that the future is important, and you have done plenty to prepare, but do not forget that the present is important too.

Nothing lasts, not summer, not youth, not even the college or job application process. There will come a time when spending a whole sun-drenched Tuesday outside with friends is no longer an option. So put aside the textbook, if just for a moment. The future will have its time. For now, it is a beautiful day. Go enjoy it.

Editorial

Why Are There More Girl than Boy Valedictorians?by Andy Leader, North Middlesex

Congratulations are in order to the 2015 Montpelier High School Valedictory Group. However, your photo of these high-achieving young people prompts the question: What's wrong with this photo? I hope it's just one of those anomalous clusters that pop up randomly, but of the nine smiling students, I count eight females and only one guy. Assuming that each socioeconomic group in Montpelier has a roughly equal proportion of males and females represented at MHS, why are the high achievers so overwhelmingly female? Could it be that MHS teachers and administration, know-ingly or not, discriminate against males and reward conventionally female styles of learning and behavior?

As a former long-time high school teacher, I know that adolescent boys and girls differ with exceptions, of course in their approach to school, and that young men are often more challenging for a teacher to deal with than their young woman classmates. As a parent of underachieving high school boys now productively busy in their pro-fessions I was told by a Vermont guidance counselor (not at MHS) that "this school doesn't work well for a lot of boys." That was quite a few years back, and I would hope that schools by now are fully attuned to differences in learning styles and not putting obstacles in the way of male success. We know that men achieve amazing things, post high school, in science, technology and the arts, among other fields. Shouldn't their in-telligence, creativity and capacity for doing good work be inspired and rewarded equally in high school?

Opinion

Design & Build

Custom Energy-Efficient Homes

Additions Timber Frames

Weatherization Remodeling

Kitchens Bathrooms Flooring

Tiling Cabinetry Fine Woodwork

THE BOYS OF BOYS STATE During Boys State, a program of govern-ment put forth by The American Legion, Senator Bill Doyle met with (from left) Michael Roach, Derek Cote, and Isaac Mears to discuss the Boys State agenda. Photo submitted by Senator Bill Doyle.

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Crossword Puzzle created by Michael Roach

Solution on Page 11


Car Quizphotos by Michael Jermyn

Crossword Puzzle Solution

SHOOTING THE BREEZE Without the interference of a struc-tured schedule, the time has come to catch up with old friends.Photo by Lucas Prendergast

There is a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere in our midst. It was found in an old garage on Barre Street by Dan Barrows, the mechanic and friend of The Bridges publisher Nat Frothingham. What is a Plymouth Belvedere, you ask? It is an old car that was probably built a half-century before you were born, if you are one of our young readers. What was it like in 1957? See if you can find out, or if you have an older relative who might know.

1. What is the nicknam

e of this car?

2. Why did the Plymout

h Belvedere have fins?

3. What famous movie fe

atured a 1957 Plymouth

Fury car cousin of the

Belvedere?

4. How much did the Pl

ymouth Belvedere cost in

1957?

5. How much would one

cost if you bought it toda

y?

6. What was the best ye

ar for sales of the Belvede

re?

7. Who was the preside

nt of the United States in

1957?

8. What movie won the

Oscar award for Best Pic

ture at the 1957 Academy

Awards?

9. What was the name o

f the Russian satellite laun

ched in 1957?

10. What famous children

s book featuring a feline w

as published in 1957?

1. Miss Belvedere

2. The designer thought it would be more aerodynamic, or move quickly down the

highway with less wind resistance.

3. The 1983 movie Christine based on Stephen Kings novel by the same name.

4. It cost around $2,200 in 1957.

5. Two 1957 Plymouth Belvederes were listed on ClassicCars.com for between $25,000

and $45,000.

6. 1957

7. President of the U.S. in 1957 was Dwight D. Eisenhower.

8. Around the World in 80 Days

9. Sputnik. This was the first artificial satellite ever launched.

10. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Suess

Car Quiz Answers

Answers at bottom of pag

e


Color Me!

Illustration by Rosie Boucher

the breeze, july 2015 issue

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