January 2015 Centipede

The Centipede

September 1, 2007

Volume 50 Issue 5

Concord Academy Student Newspaper

What to Celebrate? Holidays at CA by Kunaal Verma ’17 How does the administration choose what holidays CA takes off? With diversity and acceptance as integral parts of CA’s community, this decision cannot come lightly. Students have the day off to celebrate Yom Kippur, but not Rosh Hashanah. Memorial Day is taken off, but often not Labor Day. School runs throughout Hanukkah, but not Christmas. The first major decision with respect to setting up the school calendar is choosing the start and end dates of the year. “We use Labor Day and Memorial Day as our two major peg dates,” says Dean of Students David Rost. Commencement, the last day of school, usually occurs the Friday after Memorial Day, but the start of school varies depending on Labor Day. If Labor Day falls early - on September 1st, 2nd or 3rd - then CA holds student registration on Labor Day, and the first day of classes is the day after. Yet when Labor Day falls a week after school would normally be in session, CA makes the controversial decision to have classes. “We are just starting to form connections and form community, and [if] people take off [for the weekend]… It’s disadvantageous for students both boarding and day,” explains Rost. So why don’t we start after Labor Day, and push back the end of the school year by a week to have the same number of school days? The first semester of school, from September through December, is significantly shorter than the second. Since many classes at CA operate as semester-long courses, and not yearlong ones, maximizing the number of school days in the first semester is key to fitting in all the material. Taking away a week from the first semester to accommodate Labor Day, and adding it to the second semester, creates a further discrepancy of school days between the two semesters. Labor Day is not the only holiday when school remains in session. Another is Rosh Hashanah, a holiday that falls in the first semester and celebrates the Jewish New Year. CA does, however, give the day off for Yom Kippur. According to Rost, CA’s community is about 20% Jewish. “To take two days off would impact the number of class days in the first semester.” The reasoning again returns to maximizing the number of class days in the first semester. Nonetheless, CA allows students to fill out pink slips and miss school on Rosh Hashanah to observe the holiday. So as to not place students celebrating Rosh Hashanah at a disadvantage, John Drew, the Academic Dean, reminds teachers that there should be no assessments on that day or the day after. CA also keeps school in session during Good Friday, and similarly assessments do not take

place on the holiday. Rosh Hashanah and Labor Day are not, of course, the only holidays on which CA is in session. Rost says, “For other holidays, like the Chinese New Year, it’s about the number of students who celebrate it, and it’s less than [other holidays where CA keeps school in session].” Missing school to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Good Friday, or any other holiday is tough. CA is an academically rigorous school, and missing school, regardless of whether it’s for sick days, appointments, or holidays, creates extra work that must be made up. Nick Ornstein, an active member of the Jewish Club at CA, says, “Missing a full day of classes puts… stress on [me], and usually ends up with… a late night spent making up missed work.” Rost realizes that making up schoolwork is difficult, but explains, “That’s why we ask teachers to give work ahead of time because each kid has to struggle with [allocating time] to the things in their lives, including their faith.” Kids who participate in clubs or other activities outside school can plan ahead. Similarly, students who know they will be celebrating a holiday and will need to miss school can plan ahead to lighten the amount of work they have to make up. CA can’t give the day off every time a student has an illness, an appointment, or is celebrating a holiday. “It’s unfortunate,” says Rost, “but that’s the reality.”

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January 29, 2015

Arts and Athletics at CA: Achieving a Balance by Elly Veloria ’16 In the world of Massachusetts prep schools, Concord is not known as a “sporty school,” but it may be in the future. Historically recognized for its arts and academics, CA seems to be now emphasizing athletics. Yet, while the administration has welcomed this focus, not all students have. With the opening of the brand new Moriarty Athletic Campus in 2012 and the increased success of teams thereafter, CA’s athletics have become more prominent. The change has some concerned students, who feel that the CA they attend is no longer the CA to which they applied. A statement from 2002’s “People and Program, The Strategic Plan for Concord Academy” summarizes CA’s long held reputation: “The school remains committed to providing a superior arts program and to

been in need of renovation for years, whereas athletics have a state of the art facility. It is clear that there is something of a division among students. All have noticed the changing atmosphere on campus, and each student has an opinion. Whether or not the emphasis on athletics is inherently good or bad is debated, but there is no doubt that CA remains committed to using athletics as a way to build character in its students. Head of School Rick Hardy remarked that he doesn’t “see it as a shift in the focus of Concord Academy toward sports away from arts. I think for a long time Concord Academy didn’t keep the promise that it made to student athletes,” he said, detailing that the upper fields on campus were poor quality to practice and play on. “We can be both a school that honors student athletes and … a school that engages kids in profound ways in the arts. While in the short term it feels like we’ve made a big investment in

Some students question whether the recent focus on athletics has diverted attention away from what CA has been known for historically: arts and academics. Photo courtesy of Bre Kelly ’16

Students leave for winter break on December 19th. While students receive Christmas off, school is in session on many other religious and federal holidays. Photo courtesy of Ben Carmichael

Inside This Issue...

the belief that participation in the arts offers important life lessons in creativity, selfexpression and cultural awareness.” Some students have begun to ask where athletics fits in this plan, or if it fits in at all. “The continued focus and the continued pressure to do more with athletics is something that I don’t really agree with,” said Morrie Trimmer ’15. “One of the reasons I came to CA is because [athletics] … wasn’t a focus.” Jack Treanor ’16 explained, “I came to CA with an expectation of what CA was going to be, and that included amazing arts programs, academics, and minimal athletics. Athletics was never high on my list. I think that before, sports were auxiliary. They weren’t an integral part of CA. They weren’t the pride or the center of the school, and I think it’s shifting ever so slightly to that…which is not ideal for what I thought CA was.” And Britney Rosa ’16 says that “CA has gotten really invested in the Athletic Department, but it hasn’t really progressed.” Many CA athletes, on the other hand, support continued efforts to revitalize the athletics program. “I think there can always be more,” said Allie Morin ’17. “Coming from an athlete, the more emphasis the better.” And as Anita Onyimah put it, “CA hasn’t spent enough time on athletics. Just as CA cherishes and nurtures its arts program, similar attention should be given to its Athletic Department.” Isaac Ignatius ’16 shared similar sentiments, saying, “CA does not put nearly as much effort and investment into the Athletic Department as they do the arts.” However, as Tommy Girdwood ’16 pointed out, the Performing Arts Center has

athletics, that’s an investment that’s been long overdue.” And Brett Kelly, an Assistant Director of Admissions and Concord Academy’s Athletic Liaison, stated that, “Here at CA, we value the balance between athletics and the arts and academics.” When asked about athletes being recruited for the school, he responded, “We want to have a balanced class that includes different types of students with a variety of interests.” June Sass ’16, who does not describe herself as “sporty,” stated that the reason she came to CA was because she did not believe CA was a sporty school. Still, she elaborated, “Athletics are something everyone has to do. Sports teach you a lot about competition, and about being part of a team, and they give you so much mental strength that you can’t get from anything else. I think that they’re really important, and I think [CA] is doing a great job investing more time in athletics.” Sports may not be every CA student’s forte, but the emphasis on the athletics will likely continue. As Sass summarized, sports are an opportunity for students, even those who are not “sportsy,” to pursue new interests and challenge themselves. CA is undeniably beginning to increase an emphasis on athletics, but this does not represent a shift away from CA’s core values. Instead, it is a move to encourage students to express themselves through athletics, like in visual arts, performing arts, and academics. CA has always been known as an “artsy school,” and athletes have not always felt as if they are appreciated equally. In this recent focus, CA has demonstrated how it values all students’ interests.