âYour Voice in Printâ blakespectrum.org
Issue V
Friday | December 16 | 2022
The Blake School
Holiday Glee Adorns Halls Decorations, activities rally school amidst final examinations Mackenzie Higgins, Sam Tomczik, Rowan Wallin, & Oscar Walsh | Food Editor, News Editor, Editor-in-Chief, & Opinions Editor
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s finals conclude, winter break nears; although the days grow shorter, holiday glee begins to materialize throughout the School. Upper School Director Joe Ruggiero, as he puts it, âwanted to do something creative for the holidaysâ on his office door. Ruggieroâs door is decorated with Christmas stockings; one for each of his advisees. Lilly Anderson â23 says, âIt was nice that each of [the Ruggiero advisees] got to design their own stocking.â Ruggiero says, â[Itâs] a neat way to celebrate my advisory, but also to brighten up the hallway.â
Ruggiero adds, âItâs wonderful that [these decorations can] make people feel happier while theyâre in school.â Additionally, teachers are bonding during this holiday season. âOn the Wednesday during finals week, [Sarah Warren and I told Taher to] prepare a nice lunch for the faculty,â explains Ruggiero. Ruggiero was also able to visit Steve Kabackâs classroom recently; Ruggiero remarks, â[Kabackâs classroom] is beautiful! It just feels nice in [there]; Itâs fun to go in and see that.â Kaback tells the story of how his room was decorated: âTwo of my advisees decorated the entire space⊠All of the decorations [in the room] were voluntarily contributed by these two advisees⊠They surprise-decorated my room.â Kaback describes: âWe are trying to get all of the holidays â the winter holidays all have to do with celebrating light â and so we are hoping that weâll continue to decorate [the room] all the way through next week.â
Rowan Wallin
Seniors study at the fore of a blazing fire and holiday lights.
What began as a wellthought-out surprise quickly became âa gift to all my classes from the advisory,â Kaback reflects. Everyone seems to be able to benefit from the holiday spirit whether or not they are in the Kaback advisory or in one of his physics classes. Kaback notices all of the positive reactions the festive distractions bring, adding, âIt would be great if we did this in all the advisories and maybe the administration could give a little budget to all the advisors and we could coordinate [decorating].â Kaback concludes: âWhen you have such an upbeat vibe everybody gets to enjoy it.â Oliver Duininck â24 agrees. He says, âIt promotes the holiday spirit and gets people in a good mood before break.â SIACs have also found ways to brighten up the school. Kiana Poul â24 explains that SIACs put up decorations âto raise winter spirit and make these stressful times with finals a little bit more cheery and bright.â Ivy Besikof â23 commented on the decorations saying, âI like that theyâre not too Christmas-ey because I donât celebrate Christmas.â Poul explains that SIAC focused on more winterthemed decorations; she says, âBlake does not like to associate with any specific religion, so we were told not to put up Christmas trees or anything like that unless we incorporated all religions,
Mackenzie Higgins
Kaback in his classroom near stockings, one for each of his advisees, and other decorations.
and seeing that most people didnât have Kwanzaa decorations and things like that on hand, we couldnât do any religious aspect.â The choir classes also aspire to improve student and faculty spirit in the final week of the semester. Choir director Natalia Romero explains the goal, âCOVID[-19] kind of stopped a lot of things, so my hope is that we do this kind of around finals week as a time for teachers to stop in and listen to some music and jump back into grading, and to do it in the spring again for Valentineâs Day.â The different choirs sharing their songs throughout the week âare focused on holiday spirit, they are kind of fun⊠Vocare is going to be singing âLast Christmasâ by Wham!â explains Romero. CJ Eckhardtâs room is also outfitted with holi-
day decorations. Like Kabackâs room, the decorating initiative was student-led: â[My advisees] went out and bought a bunch of decorations. They wanted to be inclusive, so they have some Hanukkah vibes going on and Christmas lights and cute little gnomes,â says Eckhardt. However, the sophomores and juniors didnât just buy the âHAPPY HOLIDAYSâ stickers and string lights that line Eckhardtâs room; they also bought mistletoe. Mistletoe is a plant that gets hung on a ceiling, encouraging any two people standing under it to kiss. Some have found this decoration uncomfortable and inappropriate. âConsidering itâs a school that has people celebrating multiple holidays, it probably spreads more PDA [than
holiday cheer],â says Charlotte Palmby â25. Eckhardt recognized this, saying she âhad to make the firm decision to take it down. I was worried that it would entice individuals to do things they shouldnât do.â With the mistletoe removed, Eckhardt hopes her room can spread holiday cheer and provide a âhome away from homeâ that makes students feel excited, gleeful, and welcomed. Some students see past these decorations, however. Anderson admits, âThe decorations are a nice gesture, but theyâre a facade to cover up real problems in school like depression.â Despite this lingering sentiment, Ruggiero is âhappy to hear that people are trying to find little ways to bring the community together and make people feel good.â
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Mackenzie Higgins Kate Rekas
Rowan Wallin
Chloe Lipham
âMark your calendars; Tuesday Dec. 20, both the boysâ and girlsâ hockey teams compete against Benilde-St. Margaretâs at home.â
News & Sports: Page 2
Cleo Kilpatrick
âAritzia, an immensely popular brand mainly amongst teenage girls, first launched the viral Super Puff, a collection of jackets and vests, in 2017.â Pictured right: Kate Austrian â25 Arts & Culture: Page 3
Sofia Hedlund
âWhen passing through cities, colorful decorations and bright lights bring the holiday spirit and generate excitement. However, these bright displays come with a cost.â Opinions: Page 4