The Spectrum
December 2022 | Volume 29 Issue 3
December 2022 | Volume 29 Issue 3
When most people think about December, there’s usually one thing that comes to mind– Christmas! Twinkling lights, aromatic cups of steamy hot chocolate, bright ornaments surrounding the tree, and cozying up next to the fireplace with family. These are all things that are associated with this cheery time of year, but what about the people that don’t celebrate this cherished holiday?
By Nina Petrou
When asked how the calendar appears while visualized in their mind, most will say that they see evenly sized boxes representing the months laid out with smaller boxes inside to represent the days.
By Jack Thomas
In the technology era, every person walks around with a camera in their pocket, which technically gives everyone the ability to be a photographer. One photo of beautiful clouds and people will declare themself “an experienced photographer.” However, some students in the school have begun setting themselves apart.
By Daniel Anton
For students returning from Thanksgiving break, December marks a critical time. It is the month of college deadlines, SAT prep, new quarters and fresh chances. With this critical period in students' lives comes a large uptick in stress. So what is Nyack High School doing to help student mindfulness? According to students, very little.
Mindfulness plays a very important role in managing student stress. It is a person’s basic ability to be fully present, aware, and tend to overwhelming feelings. The Nyack School District has acknowledged a push towards mindfulness in their schools. However, implementation at the high school has felt sparse and far between.
Image Courtesy of Starbucks
Image Courtesy of Allrecipes
By Michael Kim
She is very busy. The goddess of wisdom, Sarasvati sits upon a mythical bird, which looks rather like a wild goose. But it is not. It’s a magic creature that can sip the milk right out of a mixture of milk and water. I suppose it does that only when Sarasvati is not perched on its back, rather like Mother Goose, completely absorbed in singing and playing her veena, while her other two hands are occupied with the Vedas and her prayer beads. So relax. That cup of chai in your hands is safe for now.
Marvel’s Phase Four comes to a close with the 30th movie within the Marvel franchise, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Despite losing its leading actor Chadwick Boseman (T’Challa) to cancer in 2020, this movie is an unexpected gem in what is considered an underwhelming batch of recent Marvel content.
"My favorite way to spend the holidays is by spending as much time as possible with my family. During school I rarely have time to see my parents or my little sister since I'm working after school everyday. And with my older sister gone at college, the house always seems so empty. Whether it's going out to the city or just eating together at home, being with my family is when I'm my happiest. So during the holiday break, I like to take advantage of the time off from school to spend it with my family, and hopefully don't have too much work to do during the break!" - Mia Abragan, Senior
"I spend the holiday break by relaxing, reflecting, and spending a lot of time with my family. I also take the time to see a lot of my family members that I don't usually get a chance to see during the school year, who live far away from me." - Benjamin Sopin, Junior
"My mother's side is Jewish, so we celebrate Hanukkah. We sit in the dining room and light candles on the menorah each night. On the other hand, my dad's side is Christian so I celebrate Christmas with him by opening presents and spending time with that side of my family." - Brooke Castaldo, Freshman
"I usually celebrate the holidays with my friends and family by watching Christmas movies and eating good food together. For my family, Christmas is a great time for everyone to get together and celebrate!" - Jack Thomas, Senior
"I'm Jewish, so I celebrate Hanukkah with my family during the holidays. We usually light candles every night and my mother makes latkes while my brother and I play games or sometimes help her cook. We have been carrying on this tradition since I was little." - Ella Rakhlin, Sophomore
Ye (né Kanye West) is one of the most highly-decorated rappers with almost 50 million monthly listeners. However, his recent anti-semitic spiral has reinvigorated a culture of violence against the Jewish community that threatens to cause serious harm.
We recognize that sharing Ye’s hateful messages gives a platform to anti-semitism, but we also believe that allowing it to fly under the radar can be incredibly dangerous. Therefore, we have compiled a list of Ye’s hateful behavior in an effort to discourage ongoing support for Ye.
The Spectrum Staff
Staff Advisors.....Robin Maslanek & Adele Metrakos
Editor-in-Chief.............................................Talia Reiss
Copy Editors...........Nina Petrou, Alyssa Lundberg, Kayleigh O'Donnell, Josie Rothman, Layla Roy
Layout..................................................... Rose Gordon
Social Media Manager.............................Risen Wayne
Staff: Nathan DeVisser, Madison Milla, Nina Petrou, Angelina Calbo, Allie Leen, Ezra Seckin, Farrell Hudson, Ava Bach, Mayeli Parada, Kiki Martignoni, Quinn Dabney, Addison Burns, Michael Kim, Zoë Reiss, Hailie Vasquez, Josie Rothman