May 2021

FROM THE EDITORS

By Aishani Srikumar and Crystal Huang

As our school year comes to an end, the May Verbatim issue is filled with bittersweet recollections of the highs and lows of this past month. We hope you enjoy these last couple weeks of school and have an amazing summer; don’t worry, Verbatim will be back looking better than ever next fall!

For the first time ever, our feature story mainly focuses on the close-knit community of BT. With pictures and detailed stories, we take you through a day at BT. Starting before school, our feature story shows the dedication of cheerleaders at their morning practice and teachers checking temperatures of students. After recapping a variety of classes, we introduce you to some of our after school activities like robotics and tennis. On our activities page, we summarize the robotics season of our four high school teams and list the future competitions left in their season. Our community section interviews BT students and faculty on their highlights from this past year and their perspective on standardized testing. In senior wisdom, we offer our last parting wisdom before graduating. Dear Susie recommends students on how to prepare for college while the rest of our community section recaps end of the year events like prom. Finally, our culture section will instruct you on how to make the classic banana bread.

FEATURE

A Day in the Life of Brownell Talbot

By Verbatim Staff

On Thursday, April 22, 2021 Verbatim staff canvased the Brownell Talbot campus from early morning to late afternoon to get a snapshot, or a series of snapshots, of an average day of school during the 2020-2021 school year. We recognize that this past year will be unlike any other that most students experience, and our hope is that our final feature story of the year can serve as a sort of time capsule for a year filled with many challenges (masks, temperature checks, altered activities), but as many or more successes. Future readers may look back on this feature story to see how a tight-knit community banded together to spend the vast majority of the year attending school in-person, an unquestioned success that owes a great deal to diligent planning of administrators, flexibility of faculty and staff, positive attitudes of students, and trust of families. While we may have not covered every activity and event that occurs on campus over the course of the day, our goal with this project was to spend a few moments focusing on a representative selection of this unique community's daily life.

Before School

7:30 AM

On this cool morning, a few of the cheerleaders came in early to work on a stunt for the upcoming pep rally in the Scott Gymnasium. This is the first time stunting had been allowed this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, so the cheerleaders were eager to get in the gym and work on stunting skills. The girls learned a new stunt sequence in just three practices. They go up into a prep, then do a twist cradle into the bases' arms, and then the flyer does a back walkover out of the stunt. The cheerleaders had a lot of success this year and are excited to carry that momentum into the next year.

7:50 AM

As students slowly file into campus, Middle Schoolers are greeted and receive a temperature check by Mrs. Harms in the Upper Lot while Mrs. Rider welcomes Lower School students by the playground area. Due to COVID-19, students get their temperatures checked and stand in a single file line before the school bell rings. Children enjoy the beautiful scenery while chatting away with their friends. Once the clock strikes 7:55 AM, students are allowed into the buildings, where they place their belongings in their lockers and walk to their advisory.

Morning Classes

8:00 AM

At the beginning of Flex, or advisory for Middle School, Mr. Dunlap and his eighth-grade Advisory are found in the blue and white chairs outside of the concessions stand. Today, Mr. Dunlap gives his Grade 8 students time to study for tests and catch up on homework to relieve stress from their busy lives. While the students are occupied with reading, studying, or enjoying some free time, Mr. Dunlap spends this time preparing for the track meet at noon. He makes sure all the equipment is ready and all the athletes are prepared. Aside from using this period as a study hall, Mr. Dunlap often talks to his advisory about real-life skills and issues such as time management, stress, and mental health. The time spent discussing mental health and other similar issues has been important and helpful for the younger students living in such unsure times.

8:18 AM

Upper School Choir is in session and singing. To enforce safe social distancing, the group practices in the Chapel to compensate for higher emission rates that come with singing. The class is led by music teacher Mr. Gould; who directs the baritones through their notes to one of the three songs that they are currently working on. The Upper school choir is currently preparing for the event Pitch Perfect, an item available at the Gala where the choir performs and Pitch Pizzeria provides catering.

8:46 AM

Physic class begins with Mrs. Harms setting up the Zoom on her laptop for her online students. She then turns on the projector and starts her lecture. While teaching, she is taking notes on her iPad and projecting it on the board. Today is a review day to prepare for our quiz next class. Students were practicing problems, taking notes, and paying attention to the board. After each problem, Mrs. Harms would go over how to do it and answer any questions students may have had. Mrs. Harms then wishes us goodbye and we head to our next class.

8:50 AM

Mrs. Moon and Mrs. Kirkpatrick oversee the front office, greeting you with a warm smile as they check in. The morning is their favorite part of the day because they get to see everyone come in. This is from teachers and parents to Upper school and Lower school students. “We get to see everyone in the morning, and interact with everyone, it is very active, it's the hustle of everyone coming in,” exclaims Mrs. Moon. “It’s great we get to see teachers, parents, and students as they come in to start their day at school,” Mrs. Kirkpatrick says. At 8:50 am they are finishing up attendance, checking for any late arrivals, and checking in substitute teachers. This year has been different, from taking temperature checks to using Plexiglass.

9:03 AM

During this math class, Mrs. Simkins' room is silent as her Grade 7 students are taking the math MAP test. Each student was stationed at a desk six feet away from one another, hunched over their iPad. Every fall and spring the students of Middle School and Lower School are tasked with completing these tests. The MAP test is supposed to help teachers and parents get a better idea of a student's academic growth and level. The test takes about an hour to complete, so there is no other task planned for that day.

10:09 AM

In Mrs. Petrulis' classroom, Grade 4 students are busy at work. They gather around the whiteboard while Mrs. Petrulis introduces a new unit. The kids begin to learn about Shakespeare and his writings. One student raises his hand to ask a question. By 10:30 AM, the fourth grade students work hard to complete a writing assignment about Shakespeare using a website. "I want good punctuation in your paragraphs. That means capital letters, periods, and commas when they are necessary," says Petrulis.

Due to technical issues, this image was taken at a later date than the day described in the narrative.

11:10 AM

Midway through the Period B Latin class, Mr. Palo pulls up one of the Greek Poet Horace’s poems on the projector. He talks about Alcaic stanzas in Horace’s poetry. He explains the meter of the poem, called Choriambic meter. The Greek language was well suited to the Choriambic meter, while English is not. Instead, the English language is best suited for Iambic meter. In poems, scanning the lines of poetry to figure out emphasis of syllables helps determine the meter. Any vowel with a macron, diphthong, or followed by two consonants generally makes it long. Since this class only has four students, Mr. Palo is able to give out more individual attention.

Afternoon Classes

12: 55 PM

During Period C, English 10, Mr. Hamel starts by getting ready for the class. He opens Zoom, takes attendance, and hands out a test. Today this class is taking a final test over William Shakespeare's, Julius Caesar. For the rest of the class, the room was silent as students were focused on the work in front of them. With five minutes remaining, Mr. Hamel assigns them a new book they will start next class, All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Remarque. This book covers the life of a German Soldier on the front lines of World War I.

Due to technical issues, this image was taken at a later date than the day described in the narrative.

2:10 PM

One of the adjustments made on campus this year has been staggered passing periods, with Middle School students released five minutes earlier from their classes than Upper School students. During the frigid winter months that could result in noisy hallways on both sides of campus, but on majestic spring days like this Earth Day students are eager to get outside and enjoy the feel of mild April temperatures, the sight of the beautiful blossoming redbud trees, and the smell of fresh-cut grass. These Grade 7 students in the foreground are on their way to science class in the Hitchcock Science and Fine Arts Building, while students in the background leave a study hall for classes on the third floor of Worthington Hall.

2:50 PM

With our last strength coach leaving, Mr. Rohrig, Mr. Dunlap and Mr. Harrell have given their own time and have taken the responsibility to instruct this year's strength and conditioning course. For the last scheduled block of the day, Mr. Harrell's strength and conditioning class is going through a PLT4M workout, which is an online lifting program that accounts for different types of athletes. Today is a tough leg workout that the students are led through.

3:16 PM

It's period D in Mr. Sauer's Biology class. It is the end of the day, and everyone can use some fresh air. The mask break is near the community garden and with the start of spring, flowers are starting to blossom within. With five students learning in person, and two on Zoom, it is easy for the class to go outside. They go outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air and relaxation; a time to wind down. Every time class is in session, Mr. Sauer ensures that his students take a quick break toward the end of the class.

After School

3:43 PM

After BT's school day ends at 3:40 PM, many middle and high school students gather for practice in the robotics lab. Participants in BT's VEX robotics program continually work to design and construct a robot, program the robot to perform autonomous functions, enhance robot driving skills, and document every step of the engineering process in engineering notebooks. Although teams competed in the state tournament in April, they are still busy improving their robots and programs. After school serves as a valuable time for teams to prepare for local, regional, national, and international VEX robotics competitions.

5:03 PM

The Upper School Girls Tennis team is in the middle of their practice at Koch Tennis Center. They start their practice with a warmup that consists of running and stretching. Next, the team works on their technical skills by completing a variety of footwork drills. The players also work on ground strokes. All of the skills they learn in practice are put to work many times a week at their matches. Finally, the girls get to cool down by playing out real game scenarios. These scenarios help the players get used to the fast pace of games and play against people they otherwise would not get to play with.

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