2026 Crossroads Volume 3 Issue 4

CROSSROADS

a community of faith-filled PVI students and staff collaborating at the intersection of inspiration and information

Messages of Love and Renewal

As the cold of winter slowly gives way to the promise of spring, and we journey through the sacred season of Lent, Crossroads invites you to pause, reflect, and renew. This issue is rooted in faith, growth, and the meaningful connections that unite our community. At its heart are pages filled with messages of love and gratitude—words written from one heart to another, reminding us of the goodness present in our daily lives. Within these pages, you’ll encounter thoughtful reflections on faith, including Mr. Ginyard’s column on “The Law of Prayer is the Law of Belief” and a closer look at the Prayer for Detachment from Earthly Goods. You’ll also meet the heart behind our music program in a feature on our phenomenal music director, Mrs. Jan Siegfried, and gain a powerful, personal perspective in “My Life in Kiev,” where our Ukraine-born 10 grader shares what life was like before Russia attacked Ukraine, changing everything. From stories of passion and perseverance to moments of creativity, curiosity, and kindness, this issue celebrates both who we are and who we are becoming. During this Lenten season, may these stories and messages encourage you to grow in faith, deepen your appreciation for others, and carry love forward in all that you do. With gratitude and hope, we wish you a meaningful Lenten season — from all of us at Crossroads. th

Table of

Columns

“Tommy’s Tech Talk” by Tommy Collens page 4

“The Law of Prayer is the Law of Belief” by Mr. Ginyard page 8

“Cameron’s Career Corner” by Cameron Mangal page 18

“Missy’s Musings” by Mrs. Gurley page 22

“Sideway Thoughts” by Dr. Wanner page 24

“Heaven-Tuned” by Hans Sirotniak page 27

“The Return of Catholic Culture” by Roy Wulf page 30

“The Sweet Spot” by Leah Cashman page 34

“Kameron’s Course Compass” by Kameron Smith page 43

“3 Drinks to Warm Your Soul” by Madie Mays page 46

“The Book Behind the Cover” by Charlie Huly page 48

“All Things Rowing” by Anna Britt page 50

“Iyla’s Insights” by Iyla Sharifahmadian page 53

Artwork

Bluebird and Cardinal by Taylor Kosin page 20

Happy New Year by Eve Robinson page 69

Contents

Features

“Perfect Pitch and Passion” page 6

“It’s Not Too Late” by Morgan Watts page 7

“The Muse Behind the Music” by Sian Chen page 16

“Beyond the Court” by Ava page 21

“Random Acts of Kindness” by Morgan Watts page 36

“Crazy New Year’s Resolutions” by Kate Santiagu page 37

“My Life in Kiev” by: Mykola Shostakovskyi page 38

“Octopuses” by Emma page 40

“2026 Rummy Card Tournament” page 44

”Why We Love a Love Story’ by Charlie Huly page 56

“PVI’s Media Department: Film Classes as Electives” page 58

“Messages of Love and Gratitude” by PVI students and staff see separate edition

Student Contributors page 61

by: Tommy Collens '29

From giant robots and clever gizmos and gadgets to mind-blowing inventions, this column explores technology that’s shaping our worldone awesome idea at a time.

In the world of bike security, this isn’t your typical chain and key. The BenjiLock Fingerprint Bike Lock uses biometric fingerprint recognition so you can unlock your ride with a touch of your finger — no keys, no forgotten combinations, no fuss. It’s built with a sturdy U shaped design and a rechargeable battery that can last months between charges, making it a sleek and modern upgrade from traditional locks.

But there’s more to this cool gadget than its cutting edge tech. The story of BenjiLock began with inventor Robbie Cabral, who set out to change the way people think about locks after seeing how often keys and combinations cause frustration. He spent years engineering hybrid fingerprint padlock technology — the first of its kind — and debuted it at industry expos like Consumer Electronics Show (CES) – one of the world’s biggest technology events that is held in Las Vegas every year. Cabral’s lock gained attention there and won Innovation Awards at the event.

The really big break came when Cabral took his idea to television’s Shark Tank. He secured an investment from Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary; he got $200,000 and O’Leary’s expertise and guidance in exchange for giving O’Learly 15% equity in the lock company. That deal helped turn BenjiLock from a garage born concept into a global brand. Today, the company’s biometric security tech appears in a wide range of products, including the bike lock, traditional padlocks, and travel locks, earning awards and recognition along the way.

What makes this lock especially interesting for students and young riders is that it doesn’t just secure bikes — the fingerprint feature lets up to ten fingerprints be stored, so friends or family members can unlock it too. And because it’s weather resistant and ruggedly built, it’s ready for daily use whether you’re commuting to school, cruising around the neighborhood, or locking up a mini motorized bike.

Even though no lock is completely theft‑proof, hybrid biometric locks like this one add a smart layer of convenience and deterrence that traditional key locks don’t offer. You could definitely use it to secure your bicycle or similarly sized ride around campus or in your community — just be sure you’re attaching it to something solid like a bike rack!

Always loop the U lock through the bike frame and at least one wheel when locking up.

Attach the lock to a solid, immovable object like a bike rack or pole — don’t just lock to a signpost or fence.

For mini motorized bikes, make sure the lock secures the frame or main body, not just a small part that can be easily removed.

Keep the lock charged! The BenjiLock’s fingerprint tech works best with enough battery — most charges last months.

Share the love: store up to ten fingerprints so family or friends can help you lock/unlock safely.

With a few smart habits, your ride stays safe, and you get to enjoy the cool tech of the BenjiLock.

Safety + innovation = win!

Featured PVI Student

From the moment she first touched a piano at five years old, Charlotte Streeter’s musical journey has been anything but ordinary. What began as reluctant lessons quickly grew into a remarkable talent for both playing and composing, driven by a rare perfect pitch and a passion that only deepened when she first sang in front of her school during a Mass. Today, as a vocal scholarship student at PVI, Charlotte is transforming that early curiosity into a skill and creativity all her own.

At just five years old, her parents enrolled her in piano lessons after recognizing an early talent. At first, the lessons felt like a chore. The basics of scales and simple pieces were repetitive, and the excitement of music hadn’t yet revealed itself.

That changed once the fundamentals were behind her. As the music grew more complex and expressive, so did Charlotte’s interest. She discovered that she had perfect pitch — the rare ability to identify notes simply by hearing them. Playing by ear came naturally, allowing her to pick out melodies almost instantly. Reading music, however, proved more challenging. Sight-reading required patience and steady practice, a skill she continues to strengthen today.

In sixth grade, an unexpected opportunity expanded Charlotte’s musical journey. During a school Mass, a singer was needed for a solo. Charlotte volunteered. The response was immediate. When she returned to class afterward, the classroom phone kept ringing — teachers and friends calling to say how beautiful the performance had sounded. Encouraged by that reaction, she began taking voice lessons to further develop her skills and prepare for auditions and recitals.

With both piano and voice now part of her repertoire, Charlotte’s creativity flourished. The piano became more than practice exercises — it became a creative outlet. As she continued learning and experimenting, she began arranging and composing her own music, eventually creating more than 250 different piano arrangements. While only forty-two of them have been written down so far, the rest exist in memory and in the spontaneous moments when she sits down to play.

By seventh grade, Charlotte heard about PVI’s amazing music program — and she was just wowed. The following year, she auditioned for the school’s vocal scholarship — and earned a place in the program.

Today at PVI, sophomore Charlotte continues developing both her piano and vocal talents, building on a musical journey that began with reluctant piano lessons and grew into a passion that now shapes her future.

If your New Year’s resolutions only lasted a week — or even just a month — don’t worry. There’s still plenty of time to reset and make the rest of 2026 count. Getting back on track can boost motivation, allow for better selfreflection, and bring you a sense of purpose and accomplishment.

To start, you can focus on your health, including mental and physical. Mental and physical health have taken a toll on thousands of people around the world, and these next few months could be the chance to change that. That could include getting more exercise, drinking more water, or eating three healthy meals a day. These give you more energy and allow you to better take on the coming months, especially if you play sports or have very physical jobs or hobbies.

You can also pay attention to building relationships among your friends and family. You can reconnect with loved ones you haven’t spoken to in a while, or even make new friends by talking with people you don’t normally talk to. This can also be done by giving back to your community and volunteering for different charities or groups that you find inspiring. Making a positive impact in your community before spring can feel really rewarding.

For a more personal goal, you can pick up a new hobby or try a new sport that you’ve been interested in. If you find that you excel at it, maybe it’s something you want to keep doing long term. It can bring a sense of accomplishment into your life over the next few months, especially if you have to learn something completely new to you.

To conclude, there are plenty of ways to reset and get back on track in 2026. I hope these ideas will spark your creativity and motivation, and help you make the most of the many months ahead in 2026.

to Get Back on Track with Your New Year’s Goals It’s Not Too Late

by: Morgan Watts

'29

Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi

The

law of prayer is the law of belief.

by: Mr. R. Ginyard '99

The prayers given to us by Holy Mother Church illuminates what we are to believe. The consequence of performing our duty to persevere in prayer is the melting of our hearts so that they may be formed according to the will of Our Lord.

Prayer forms our beliefs and our hearts and – ultimately – impacts our behavior and the life we lead each and every day.

Prayer roots out sin.

Failure to pray allows sin to take root.

This column will explore traditional Catholic prayers, what they teach us to believe, and how they command us to behave.

This issue’s exploration of the prayer:

Prayer for Detachment from Earthly Goods

O JESUS, Who didst choose a life of poverty and obscurity, grant me the grace to keep my heart detached from the transitory things of this world. Be Thou henceforth my only treasure, for Thou art infinitely more precious than all other possessions. My heart is too solicitous for the vain fleeting things of earth. Make me always mindful of Thy warning words: “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his own soul?” Grant me the grace to keep Thy holy example always before my eyes, that I may despise the nothingness of this world and make Thee the object of all my desires and affections.

Amen.

The season of winter is amongst us. Let us contemplate the beauty of God’s creation. Trees, much older than us, lack the rational faculty to disobey God. As such, they perfectly live God's design. Due to their total obedience to Almighty God, let us learn from them.

In this season, without attachment, they freely shed their summer glory of leaves and flowers and fruit. Trees make themselves poor, they abandon their riches, and instinctively recognize from whence they received. The soil provides. It’s the source of glory. Trees, in this season, return their glory to the source in order to be strengthened once again in the spring after what only seems to be death.

Our beloved Lord Jesus Christ shed the appearance of His glory and majesty to be incarnated and take on human flesh. Christmastide has come to a close, and we know He was born poor. Jesus was born in winter, in the piercing cold, in a stable, laid on top of prickly hay in a feeding trough for livestock, with only some poor rags to cover His body.

Spend some time, truly, meditating on the significance of the last sentence. Let it sink in.

The God of glory made Himself poor to set an example for us as to how to recognize from whence our gifts come and to where we ought to direct all of our life’s efforts in order that we may claim the greatest treasure. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that being rich he became poor, for your sakes; that through his poverty you might be rich” (Douay-Rheims Bible, 2 Cor. 8.9).

He lives an infancy of extreme suffering and poverty, having to flee to Egypt, a childhood and young adulthood of simplicity and obedience and humility in Nazareth, a life of homelessness and ill repute as a young man, and He dies a death of unfathomable suffering as if He were a vile criminal in order to make satisfaction for our wretched sinfulness. He shows us the way, because He is The Way. The way is perfect obedience to God’s design, like the trees, and on to the treasure of the eternal spring.

“Amen, amen I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, Itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal. If any man minister to me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall my minister be. If any man minister to me, him will my Father honour” (Douay-Rheims Bible, John 12.24–26).

We are commanded by Our Lord to follow Him and imitate Him by shedding the riches and ways of this world. In fact, He calls us to hate the life of this world, even though we must operate within this world.

We are not called to escape this world, but to suffer within it and participate in its redemption. The ways of the world are not the ways of God. We don’t need worldly progress, success, or money. As the prayer states – all these things are transitory, and they eventually pass away. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away”

(Douay-Rheims Bible, Mark 13.31; Luke 21.33).

Our society seems to never tire of preaching material and worldly gain and utopia, while simplicity, poverty, and humility are often seen as causes for disgrace, concern, and sadness.

Simplicity and poverty and humility, like trees and Our Lord, are conducive to dependence upon God. We must come to the recognition that we are nothing and can be nothing without Him.

Humility.

“...for without me you can do nothing”

(Douay-Rheims Bible, John 15.5).

How might we empty ourselves of the messages of this world and make ourselves poor, return to our source, God Almighty, and allow Him to give us true life?

Let us consider one option.

The messages of this world are broadcast incessantly and loudly through all forms of media, most notably the streaming of television, music, and movies.

Trees exist in silence. Our Lord was born in silence.

Turn off YouTube, turn off modern music, turn off modern movies and television. They are all filled with the spirit of this world.

“Now we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God; that we may know the things that are given us from God” (DouayRheims Bible, 1 Cor. 2.12).

The silence created by turning off modern media is an elevator to heaven. It provides the space to discern what is of God and what is of this world.

Silence is an excellent discipline to consider as we now enter into the magnificent and penitential season of Lent.

Silence will assist in growth in the virtue of obedience in imitation of trees and, more importantly, in imitation of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

Allow Our Lord to fill this silence with His Spirit, and make you rich.

Read Holy Scripture, the writings of Church Fathers or Doctors, or the Catechism. Listen to Mozart, Palestrina, or Handel.

Pray the Holy Rosary!

“So many Rosaries means so many saved souls.” – St. Maximilian Kolbe

Silence, meditation, and contemplation with the above tools during Lent may guide the soul into the mystery of Our Lord’s suffering. It is said that one single drop of His blood is enough to redeem the sins of the entire world – past, present, and future – just one single drop.

Why would God enter into time and suffer more than is necessary in order to save our souls and to release us from the bands of the ancient serpent? He suffered not only more than what was necessary, but also more than any man could possibly bear. “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Douay-Rheims Bible, John 15.13).

Oh, the love Jesus, God Himself, displays for us that he was born for us, suffered for us, and called us His friends! Oh, how could we ever be worthy of such a gift? “And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me” (Douay-Rheims Bible, Matt. 10.38).

May we ponder these things silently in our hearts so that they will be less solicitous for the vain, fleeting things of earth and more desirous of Our Lord Jesus Christ. May this be the cross we bear to be obedient, like the trees, to Our Lord, because only He can truly satisfy our hearts. Seeing it any other way is a rejection of Him. “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God” (Douay-Rheims Bible, James 4.4).

In conclusion, let us ponder the words of the Holy Apostle St. Paul.

“For we brought nothing into this world, and certainly we can carry nothing out. But having food, and wherewith to be covered, with these we are content. For they that will become rich, fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition. For the desire of money is the root of all evils, which some, coveting, have erred from the faith, and have entangled themselves in many sorrows.

But thou, O man of God, fly these things: and pursue justice, godliness, faith, charity, patience, mildness. Fight the good fight of faith: lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called, and hast confessed a good confession before many witnesses.

I charge thee before God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate, a good confession, That thou keep the commandment without spot, blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, Which in his times he shall shew who is the Blessed and only Mighty, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, and inhabiteth light inaccessible, whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and empire everlasting. Amen” (Douay-Rheims Bible, 2 Tim. 6.7–16)

The Muse Behind the Music: Mrs. Siegfried –

Creating Goosebumps and Tears of Joy Through Music

by: Sian Chen '27

The final note of the concert faded, and applause filled the auditorium. Mrs. Siegfried stepped forward and bowed beneath the glow of the stage lights, then quickly turned to gesture proudly toward the students behind her. “Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. Although the spirit be not master of that which it creates through music, it is blessed in this creation, which, like every creation of art, is mightier than the artist.” Few people embody Ludwig van Beethoven’s idea more clearly than a conductor. Standing before an ensemble, baton raised, Mrs. Siegfried transforms written notes into a shared emotional experience – guiding PVI musicians as they turn sound into something that resonates far beyond the stage.

After more than twenty years of teaching music, Mrs. Siegfried understands one thing clearly: the spotlight belongs to her students. “The people who truly give are the ones on stage,” she says. “My job is simply to bring everyone together and inspire them.”

That desire to empower others traces back to her own days as a student musician. Long before she stood on the conductor’s podium, she once also sat among other high school musicians. Watching her director inspire and guide their school’s ensembles, she felt the power of being seen and supported as a musician. During one rehearsal, that realization clicked: “I want to be a conductor!” From that moment on, she pushed herself harder, practicing relentlessly and striving to become a better musician.

That same dedication and quiet determination now define her approach to teaching, shaping the Paul VI music program and influencing generations of students in ways that go far beyond music itself.

Before coming to Paul VI, Mrs. Siegfried served in the Air Force for twenty years — a carefully considered, family-centered decision. After retiring, she sang in a church choir and later entered the classroom as a substitute teacher, eventually becoming a full-time music teacher. To her, this was not a career change, but a calling. “This work is deeply meaningful,” she says. “I get to work with young people and worship God through music. I truly believe this is where I’m meant to be.”

Reflecting on her early years of teaching, she admits she learned just as much as her students did. College taught her how to conduct and teach, but not how to handle administration, communicate with parents, or adapt music to fit students’ real abilities. Over time, she realized that good teaching isn’t about forcing students to conform to rigid sheet music — it’s about letting music serve the students. “Published music doesn’t know our students,” she explains. “Sometimes I have to rewrite it so everyone can perform at their best.”

After the pandemic, these challenges became even more visible. Music education was interrupted, and many students missed critical foundational training. Skills meant to be learned in seventh grade resurfaced years later. Rather than blaming students, Mrs. Siegfried chose patience and rebuilding, filling in the missing chapters not only technically, but also emotionally, restoring confidence and teamwork.

To her, the true value of music education lies not in technique, but in collaboration. In a small program, every person matters. Three clarinet parts mean three individuals, each responsible for their own voice. “It’s like a sports team,” she says. “Everyone is accountable to the whole.”

During rehearsals, she intentionally simulates performance pressure, helping students grow comfortable with being heard, learning not to be overwhelmed by nerves, but to focus on the music itself.

As a conductor, Mrs. Siegfried never makes a sound. She communicates through gesture, eye contact, and trust. “A conductor’s authority exists only through body language,” she says. “If a performance goes poorly, that responsibility is mine.” Her real work happens in rehearsal: refining transitions, strengthening rhythm, so that on stage, students can perform almost on autopilot, free to express rather than fear.

Among all performances, the Christmas concert holds a special place in her heart. Beyond the complex logistics and safety concerns, it carries a deeper meaning. “We celebrate the birth of Christ through music,” she says. Many parents have told her that the concert helped them truly enter the spirit of Christmas for the first time. In a season crowded with commercialism and busyness, the performance becomes a quiet but powerful reminder.

She also enjoys discussing music’s impact on the brain. Research shows that musical training strengthens neural connections, benefits that carry into other areas of life. Whether students become doctors, lawyers, engineers, or take entirely different paths, music stays with them in some way.

Still, that isn’t what she most hopes they remember. “Years later, they won’t remember what I said,” she says. “They’ll remember how they felt.”

The friendships formed in rehearsal, the tears shed after a final performance, the attachment to the ensemble, these are the memories that last. Long after graduation, students return to visit because this place remains warm and familiar.

After the concert ends, the melodies often linger in the mind, replaying themselves. Mrs. Siegfried calls that feeling a gift — a reminder that something beautiful was created together.

That is why she bows during the applause, then steps back. Because to her, music was never about being heard, it was about helping others find their own voice and to remember, as Beethoven believed, music – like every creation of art – is mightier than the artist.

Many local businesses want employees who already have experience, but that can be tricky for us high school students. From internships and part-time jobs to interview tips and resume writing — my column shares essential info for students looking to gain real-world experience!

Cameron’s Career Corner

by: Cameron Mangal '29

fun part-time jobs Gymnastics Coach

Coaching is an easy way to gain experience while working with others. This job at DOMINIQUE DAWES ACADEMY enables you to work with kids while doing something you love, making it a great way to earn extra cash! For students with experience in gymnastics, martial arts, taekwondo, dance, or other sports, this is the perfect part-time job! You must be 16 years old, and CPR and First Aid certification are preferred. Scan the QR code if you’re interested!

Host or Hostess

CHILI’S IN STERLING offers part-time job opportunities for high school students as hosts or hostesses. Responsibilities include greeting guests, managing waitlists, communicating guest concerns to the manager when needed, answering phone calls, and assisting other staff members. Scan the QR code for more information!

Crew Member

Crew members at SKY ZONE TRAMPOLINE PARK IN SPRINGFIELD have the opportunity to build essential skills like communication and organization — skills that will help you in future jobs. This position is a great way to gain experience, and it has minimal qualifications. You must be at least 16 years old, comfortable in large groups, able to work flexible hours, able to sit, stand, and move around the park for extended periods, and able to lift at least 20 pounds. Keep in mind:

Previous experience in customer-facing roles is ideal but not required.

Customer service or sales experience is a plus.

Sky Zone usually responds to applications within one day. If you’re interested, scan the QR code!

Class Assistant

Do you enjoy math or reading? If so, this could be the perfect job for you! Assistants at KUMON MATH AND READING CENTER OF DULLES-LOUDOUN VALLEY help grade students’ work using an answer book and support instructors in preparing for class. Training is provided. You must be a sophomore or above to be eligible. Scan the QR code for scheduling and application information.

The Resume.

The skills and experiences you’re gaining at PVI — like volunteering, participating in or leading a club, collaborating with other musicians, or playing sports — can easily transfer to the workplace and be just as valuable and impressive as traditional work experience when applying for a job. You simply need to be able to present that information creatively and professionally on your resume, and articulate it clearly during an interview! Here are some different sections you will want to include on your resume:

Experience

List your experiences, starting with the most recent at the top and your earliest at the bottom. These could include volunteer work, leadership roles, and even work you do around your community to help your neighbors –demonstrating trustworthiness and reliability (landscaping, shoveling snow, dog walking, house sitting). For each entry, include a description of what you did, the organization or group you worked with, and the dates of your involvement. Use strong action verbs to describe your contributions, and whenever possible, quantify your achievements with numbers.

Skills Education

Create this section to highlight your skills and personal strengths. Include both hard skills (like CPR certification, computer proficiency, and fluency in another language) and soft skills (like teamwork, leadership, or communication). For example, you could list “CPR certified,” “Multi-lingual: German, Spanish, and French” or “Able to work productively and accurately alone, or as a team member.”

Unique Accomplishments

Launched the school Chess Club and grew membership to 20 active players

Organized a fundraising drive that raised $1,000 for a local animal shelter

Completed over 50 hours volunteering at the local food bank

ST. PAUL VI

CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL

Chantilly, Virginia

(include the year you started - present) (2024-present)

Contact Info

Only include your first and last name, phone number, and a personal email address (not our school’s). Your email should be professional — ideally just your name (for example, joeschmo@gmail.com). Avoid unprofessional handles like “cutiepie123@example.com.”

Wrote, directed, and performed in a one-act play attended by 500+ students, faculty, and family members

Selected to tutor students weekly in Latin

Lived in Italy for three years and traveled to five different countries

Captain of varsity soccer team; led team to regional finals.

Co-Editor of PVI’s For Art’s Sake literary magazine, which received a national award

Need help with wording or designing your resume and cover letter? Ask Ms. Fassinger in the English Department and the moderator of The Writer’s Block Club — she’s written and designed thousands of resumes for job seekers.

Featured PVI Student Narrative

by: Ava '28

One day, I decided that I wanted to manage JV Girls Basketball. It was before the season started, so I knew I still had time to make it happen. I asked senior Demi Gilliam, who plays on Varsity, to help me get in touch with the JV Girls coach. Once I reached out to the coach and expressed my interest in working with our PVI team, I was offered the opportunity. The experience quickly became one of my favorite school activities.

When the season first started, I was a little nervous about trying something I had never done before. I had to learn the names of the plays we ran in practice and remember how much time the coach wanted on the clock. After two months, I was starting to get the hang of things, but I still didn’t know how to run the book. I learned by watching Elie Babbit, the varsity manager, and after observing two games, I had to run the book myself. My coach explained what I needed to do, and even though I’m not a very fast learner, I tried my best. After that first game, I ran the book every time and finally felt confident in what I was doing.

During my time as manager, I made new friends and experienced many different aspects of basketball. During away games, I enjoyed meeting new people at other schools, seeing their perspectives on the game, and even talking with referees. After JV games, the players usually stayed to watch varsity play. I didn’t have to stay, but I enjoyed watching varsity in action. The girls played with a lot of spirit and strength, which was inspiring to see. I also loved watching JV play.

At the beginning of the season, we would win some games and lose others, but no matter the outcome, the players always gave their best effort. It was motivating to watch. During the season, I also got to know our coach better, which was a positive experience.

Overall, I had a lot of fun and truly enjoyed being a manager. The experience taught me that I can be actively involved in and contribute to PVI’s phenomenal sports program – even without being a player.

You don’t have to be on the roster to make a difference; every role – from manager to play-by-play announcer — contributes to a team’s season.

Missy’s Musings:

Still Seen, Still Heard, Still Called by: Mrs. Gurley

How Do I Miss Thee?

(A sonnet for my precious students, based on the thoughts and sonnet structure of “How Do I Love Thee?” By Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

How do I miss thee? Let me count the ways.

I miss thee with each rise and fall of breath

And with full expansive beats in chest I know and feel the lack of you each day.

I miss thee as I recall sheer play

Of light against cheek and smile upon face.

I miss thee and your openness to grace

And in missing, bow silently and pray.

I miss thee and the gentle way you think Considering the Truth, the words of saints.

I miss thee, my eye filling to the brink

With tears. I long for hugs in halls and bright Bright futures shared with me; and if God wills I’ll join, again, with you to fight the fight!

Along with my sonnet to my students, I share with you this gorgeous 19th-century poem by Christina Rossetti called "Sursum Corda" (Lift up your hearts – like in the Eucharistic Prayer). It is a phrase that I haven't been able to shake over the last couple of months. The theological beauty of the poem really reorients the heart e One to whom it rightly belongs first — God. (MG)

“Sursum

Corda”

by Christina Rossetti

“Lift up your hearts.” “We lift them up.” Ah me!

I cannot, Lord, lift up my heart to Thee: Stoop, lift it up, that where Thou art I too may be.

“Give Me thy heart.” I would not say Thee nay, But have no power to keep or give away My heart: stoop, Lord, and take it to Thyself today.

Stoop, Lord, as once before, now once anew

Stoop, Lord, and hearken, hearken, Lord, and do, And take my will, and take my heart, and take me too.

SIDEWAY THOUGHTS:

The Eternity of Time in Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop

by: Dr. Jonathan Wanner

As this new year continues to unfold, we might be entranced with the illusion that time plows forward, like a freight train ramming forth into the future beyond. Willa Cather reminds us, however, that the past is not simply behind us: throughout DeathComesforthe Archbishop (1927), she inscribes the profoundest realities in circles because time, when coiled into revolutions, imitates eternity.

The novel recounts the valiant exploits of two French Jesuits, Bishop Latour and Father Vaillant, who evangelize New Mexico after its recent annexation to America. The territory is in dire straits after profligate Spanish priests failed to minister to the locals. The two missionaries successfully cultivate the fertile souls of the Pueblo Indians not by chance, but by passing on longstanding European devotions and traditions: As much as Bishop Latour performs the sacraments, he practices an Ignatian poverty of spirit; amid the absence of Catholic architecture, he constructs a Romanesque cathedral in Santa Fe; and May is Mary’s month, not only because the missionaries declare it, but because the Angelus is on their tongues and the Alma Redemptoris Mater is in their throats.

The tradition of Romanesque architecture here is more than a stylistic preference — it is a visible force of Apostolic succession, reeling our souls back in time so that, recollecting the Roman litany of the martyrs, we may see how Christ’s first martyrdom wheels across history in constant repetition.

The novel recounts the valiant exploits of two French Jesuits, Bishop Latour and Father Vaillant, who evangelize New Mexico after its recent annexation to America. The territory is in dire straits after profligate Spanish priests failed to minister to the locals. The two missionaries successfully cultivate the fertile souls of the Pueblo Indians not by chance, but by passing on longstanding European devotions and traditions: As much as Bishop Latour performs the sacraments, he practices an Ignatian poverty of spirit; amid the absence of Catholic architecture, he constructs a Romanesque cathedral in Santa Fe; and May is Mary’s month, not only because the missionaries declare it, but because the Angelus is on their tongues and the Alma Redemptoris Mater is in their throats.

These traditions even go so far as to sanctify the very soil of New Mexico. Latour’s newly minted cathedral imbues the landscape around it with sacramental meaning. The desert sunset and red mountain vistas, in the proximity of the church, now recall the blood of Christ (as Latour says, “Sangre de Cristo”) — and with it, the blood of old European saints. As the bishop observes, “no matter how scarlet the sunset, those red hills never became vermilion, but a more and more intense rose-carnelian; not the colour of living blood ... but the colour of the dried blood of saints and martyrs preserved in old churches in Rome, which liquifies upon occasion.”

The tradition of Romanesque architecture here is more than a stylistic preference — it is a visible force of Apostolic succession, reeling our souls back in time so that, recollecting the Roman litany of the martyrs, we may see how Christ’s first martyrdom wheels across history in constant repetition.

In our mortal state, time necessarily repeats its elliptical rounds: spring to winter, morning to night, life to death. As monotonous as these cycles may seem, there is communion in the fact that the living reenact the very circle of life and death that past generations endured, and the fact that we expect the cycle to continue until the end of time links all humans in a single chain — one vaster than we can comprehend. We cannot count every clock-tick of history, yet we feel in our blood that life and death have been swirling round since the days of Eden. Just so, when we gaze at time’s immense circularity, we contract all of mankind — every past and future instant — into a single point: the present. Tradition, in this way, is the crossroad between time and the eternal. It is the screw that threads our beginning to our end.

The difficulty is that we cannot simply skip from time to eternity: we must join the two extremes by linking between them rings of Catholic traditions. We forge these rings every time our stomachs become tabernacles. We forge them with our heart’s compunction and our lip’s Creed — and when our thumbs swivel between Hail Marys, we forge them even then, or when we find in the Old Testament ripples of the New. For Cather’s bishop, as well, the very style of the Santa Fe cathedral is a typological ring. One circle will never do: we must have many and be many until, by constant regeneration, our time-bound actions become next-to-eternal. How many Masses will have been celebrated throughout all of history? The number, as finite as it is, would make our minds reel into infinity.

Of course, as transfiguring and large-scoped as Catholic traditions are in Cather’s novel, the missionaries practice them by paradoxically narrowing their vision: they are utterly French, and their sights are, more often than not, on their motherland.

If there is one complaint they have about New Mexico, it is that the region is not France; Southwestern America, they figure, is uncivilized precisely because it lacks the millennia-long traditions of their homeland. At one point, Bishop Latour and Fr. Vaillant sit down for their Christmas dinner. Instead of a glazed ham like we may expect, they feast on a humble pot of French onion soup. After spooning a mouthful, the bishop declares that “in all this vast country between the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean, there is probably not another human being who could make a soup like this.” This is not to say that Fr. Vaillant is a master stock cook. The bishop, rather, credits the recipe, which “is not the work of one man,” but is “the result of a constantly refined tradition” that stretches back “nearly a thousand years.” Here, the soup is not merely a meal. It is a historical identity. To cook its recipe once is to become a culinary superman — to perform the work of a hundred Frenchmen. Nor is it simply French: it is Medieval France, Renaissance France, Enlightenment France, and Victorian France bound in one bowl of broth. In a word, it is a melting pot of historical diversity, if not of nations.

HEAVEN-TUNED: Uplifting, Inspiring, and Cool Christian Music...with

a Theme

by: Hans Sirotniak '24

Life involves a whole lot of movement. We move in time and in space. The new calendars represent a new journey ahead in time, and our need to go places takes us into both familiar and unknown paths.

Whether it’s walking, running, flying, driving, sitting in parking lots, making it to a place on time, chasing something down, or following someone to a destination, there are always reminders of how our travel takes us back to God.

One day, perhaps it will be revealed that God has journeyed with us, too. I think of the poem, “Footprints In The Sand,” as a vision of God accompanying us through our paths in life.

Whether you’re going to be staying in the same place throughout this year or you will be traveling around extensively, there’s always some type of movement involved.

I can’t offer many tools to help you get farther, but hopefully these songs can help you find meaning in the steps that you already take, reminding us that God journeys with us and our movement is meant to keep our lives in His service.

*These songs are copyrighted by their respective owners. I attempt to mention songs in accordance with fair use guidelines for commentary and educational purposes. I am not affiliated with any of the artists mentioned.*

One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You’d walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you Never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.”

“Footprints in The Sand”

Hulvey & Lecrae inspire us to strongly “walk with Christ” through our important missions in life.

“Run”

Apollo LTD reminds us that we were NOT made to let life slow us down. Sing it this way: “We were born to run!”

Cochren & Co. meets Jesus through listening to the radio in a parking lot. God can travel to us in these ways; don’t forget!

“Walking Like Giants”

“Parking Lot” “Walk”

Stars Go Dim makes us taller and stronger with the call to walk like giants in the mountains and valleys of life.

CORTÉ remembers the chasing reach of God that doesn’t stop if we’re lost. God comes after us to be with us.

“I Made It”

“Chase Me Down”

CAIN made it through a journey of time with all of its ups and downs. Praise God because the next round of worst and best is coming.

Tenth Avenue North notes that we don’t need all the answers or the directions if we’re following the Spirit!

“Fly”

“Spirit Goes”

Landry Cantrell calls on us to let go and take a chance, letting faith take us on a flight to freedom.

Ellie Holcomb reminds us of God carrying us through life. In the times of darkness and terrors, God comes down to lift us up and remind us of His power.

“I Will Carry You”

The Return of Catholic Culture: Two Miracles Amid Devastation

by: Roy Wulf '26

It was the fateful morning of August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m. Above Hiroshima, Japan, a B-29 Superfortress bomber, The Enola Gay dropped the world’s first atomic bomb used in warfare, codenamed “Little Boy.” When the bomb detonated, it had the explosive force of 15 kilotons of TNT. The temperature in the blast was over 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit. A shock wave and blast winds of up to 184 miles per hour caused buildings to collapse and burn. 70,000 to 80,000 people died instantly. Many people were completely vaporized, with only haunting silhouettes left on the pavement to indicate where they had been. As many as 140,000 people perished by the end of 1945 due to burns, injuries, and radiation sickness.

However, amid this landscape of total destruction, a small building stood near the epicenter of the blast. Its windows had shattered, but the structure itself was intact and its eight occupants were inexplicably unharmed. This was the rectory of the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, and these eight individuals were Jesuit missionaries who were in their rectory at the time. The church itself had its stained glass windows shattered, but that building also remained standing in the midst of a leveled plain, surrounded by complete annihilation.

A priest once interviewed one of the Jesuits, Father Hubert Schiffer, when Schiffer was visiting the United States. This priest recounted the following details:

“The next thing he remembered, he opened his eyes and he was lying on the ground. He looked around and there was nothing in any direction: the railroad station and buildings in all directions were leveled to the ground. The only physical harm to himself was that he could feel a few pieces of glass in the back of his neck. As far as he could tell, there was nothing else physically wrong with himself. Many thousands were killed or maimed by the explosion. After the conquest of the Americans, their army doctors and scientists explained to him that his body would begin to deteriorate because of the radiation. Many of the Japanese people had blisters and sores from the radiation. To the doctors’ amazement, Father Schiffer’s body contained no radiation or ill-effects from the bomb.”

His survival has absolutely no natural explanation. In a commentary on the Hiroshima blast, quoted on the Fatima Center website, Dr. Stephen Rinehart, a U.S. Department of Defense nuclear physicist, notes that at an air blast pressure of 80 psi, even reinforced concrete would be heavily damaged, and no human would be alive. However, that location experienced an air blast pressure of 100 psi. At a temperature of just 350 degrees Fahrenheit, the air would be unbreathable, but the temperature at that location was thousands of degrees Fahrenheit. Dr. Rinehart concluded:

“There are no physical laws to explain why the Jesuits were untouched in the Hiroshima air blast. There is no other actual or test data where a structure such as this was not totally destroyed at this standoff distance by an atomic weapon. All who were at this range from the epicenter should have received enough radiation to be dead within at most a matter of minutes if nothing else happened to them. There is no known way to design a uranium-235 atomic bomb, which could leave such a large discrete area intact while destroying everything around it immediately outside the fireball ... From a scientific viewpoint, what happened to those Jesuits at Hiroshima still defies all human logic from the laws of physics as understood today (or at any time in the future). It must be concluded that some other (external) force was present whose power and/or capability to transform energy and matter as it relates to humans is beyond current comprehension.”

Furthermore, the priests, who had wandered around in the blast area helping people for days, were later all examined by doctors on multiple occasions. The doctors informed them that they would surely die soon from radiation sickness. Yet 30 years later, when the priests were recounting their experience, all eight were alive and in excellent health. None had even experienced any hearing loss from the deafening sound of an atomic explosion at pressures of 100 psi, despite the fact that the human eardrum ordinarily ruptures at pressures above 10 psi.

As we know, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was only the first of two atomic blasts in Japan. Just three days after Hiroshima, on August 9, 1945, the second American atomic bomb, codenamed “Fat Man,” fell on Nagasaki. An additional 40,000 people perished immediately in the explosion, but twice this many died eventually.

The rectory (circled) of the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Hiroshima, Japan, which survived the atomic blast. Some of the Jesuits from the rectory can be seen standing in the road next to their church, which was also substantially still intact.

It had been in Nagasaki in 1930 that the Polish Franciscan friar Maximilian Kolbe had travelled, looking to spread Marian devotion. With the blessing of the local bishop, Kolbe purchased a plot of land on the steep slope of Mount Hikosan as a location to build a friary. The rocky, uneven ground was selected because the land was extremely inexpensive. Kolbe made the purchase for the equivalent of just $46. After much effort, the Friary of the Immaculate Virgin, complete with a grotto housing a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, was completed on May 1, 1932.

Astonishingly, the Franciscan friary in Nagasaki, like the rectory in Hiroshima, remained standing after the explosion. Apart from a few shattered windows, the friary was undamaged, and the Franciscan missionaries inside were likewise protected from the blast. Indeed, despite remaining in the area to minister to the injured, they were preserved from illness and death from the effects of the radiation. It has been pointed out that the mountain itself must have sheltered the friary from the explosion, and this may be true. Nonetheless, it was astonishing that Kolbe would just happen to have selected a rare location for his friary that would be safe from an atomic bomb falling nearby over a decade later. Maximillian Kolbe observed the survival of his friary from the vantage point of Heaven, as he had himself perished in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1941 but was canonized a saint in 1982 by his fellow Polish countryman, Pope John Paul II, who declared Kolbe a confessor and a martyr of charity.

Amid such cataclysms of devastation, why would miracles of this sort occur? For Catholics, these amazing stories of survival in the midst of two atomic blasts can only be attributed to the powerful intercession of Mary. The Jesuits of Hiroshima were living out the Fatima message, reciting the Rosary every day for the salvation of souls.

According to the priest who interviewed Father Schiffer, he attributed his survival “to devotion to the Blessed Mother, and his daily Fatima Rosary.”

The priest explained, “He feels that he received a protective shield from the Blessed Mother, which protected him from all radiation and ill-effects.”

Schiffer met both the pilot and co-pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that had bombed Hiroshima. All the Jesuits lived for decades after the event, some living into their 80s and 90s.

TheSweetSpot

by: Leah Cashman '29

For this winter issue’s recipe, I picked some treats that are perfect to warm your heart and share with those you love.

Red Velvet Kiss Cookies

Ingredients

1 and ¾ cup all-purpose flour (219 g)

¼ cup (21 g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened to room

temperature

¾ cup (150 g) packed light or dark brown sugar

¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk (buttermilk preferably)

½ teaspoon red gel food coloring

32-36 Hershey Kisses, unwrapped

Coating

½ granulated sugar (50 g)

Instructions

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix on high until combined. Scrape the sides down as necessary.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then add milk and food coloring. Then mix on low speed until everything is combined. (Dough should be sticky.)

Cover and chill the dough for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop the cookie dough into about 1 tablespoon each and roll in the granulated sugar before placing on the baking sheet, about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the edges appear set. Centers should be very soft. Remove the cookies from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets.

Press a Hershey's Kiss into the center of each cookie, then gently transfer the cookies to a large plate with a spatula.

Put cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes to let the kiss set.

Take cookies out of the freezer and put them on the

counter for up to three days, or in the fridge for up to one week.

RANDOMACTSOFKINDNESS

by: Morgan Watts '29

Random acts of kindness can brighten someone’s day — and yours too. Random acts of kindness is a great way to feel better about what you do. These are simple ways you can brighten someone’s day, no matter the time of year.

To start, you can volunteer at some of your favorite charities or centers. This can be a soup kitchen, an animal shelter, or any other center you can think of. This can also include donating items to people in need, like food or toys you no longer need or use. It makes other people feel happy and cared about, and you feel a sense of fulfillment in the fact that you’ve made someone’s day, or even week.

Additionally, you can do small acts of kindness for your community — pick up trash in your neighborhood as you’re walking with your dog, pay for the person behind you in the drive-thru, offer sincere compliments, and make it a point to leave your lunch table in the dining commons completely clean before you and your friends walk away. These small gestures can make a big difference in people’s days, often more than you realize.

Finally and most importantly, you can perform acts of appreciation for your loved ones and family members. This includes spending quality time with your family, which many family members appreciate greatly. You can also perform an act of service for someone, like doing a chore they didn’t ask you to do, or cook someone’s favorite meal to surprise them. Lastly, you can check in with them, maybe have a thoughtful conversation. Someone may be struggling with something they need to open up about. You can be the person who’s there for them, which means more than that person may be able to express.

Start today. Make it a point to make someone’s day worthwhile, and you’ll be surprised how much it can lift your own spirits. Acts of kindness don’t just help others — they can boost your happiness and mental health, too. Even the smallest gesture can make a bigger impact than you realize.

CRAZY

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

by: Kate Santiagu '29 ‘

Although the year is already a couple months in, there’s still plenty of time to try something wild! People all over the world have attempted some truly crazy resolutions. Do you think you could handle any of these?”

Try a completely new hobby each month.

Memorize the entire dictionary.

Never let a sock go missing again.

Learn to juggle while on a unicycle. Keep every dog you foster.

Switch to an all-purple wardrobe.

Talk only in rhymes for an entire day.

Try every flavor of potato chips.

Take a selfie with a different hat every day for a week.

Call your mom every time you eat a salad.

Start a fan club for your pet.

Only eat foods that are a single color for a whole day. walk backward for 10 minutes every day.

Learn to say “hello” in 10 different languages.

Featured PVI Student Narrative

by: Mykola Shostakovskyi '28

Kiev (Kyiv), the capital of Ukraine, sits along the Dnieper River and is known for its rich history and culture. For children like Mykola, growing up there meant summers in the woods, learning survival skills, and enjoying simple joys like fresh bread, berries, and homemade bows. His story captures the vibrant experiences of life in Ukraine before the war upended everything.

My life began in the city of Kiev. We were not rich, but fresh bread was always on the table. My life was not the most unique, but I will remember the days when I was in Ukraine forever. At an early age of 7-8 years, I won three chess championships in the 1800 Elo area. I also played the guitar a lot, and this year will be the last. Now I understand that if I were born in America, I would not be able to get such experience and happiness in life as in Ukraine. Every summer during the potato harvest season, I collected 200 hectares of potatoes in two to three weeks. We collected potatoes with a shovel and a glass of fresh milk. Also, depending on the season, we ate a lot of berries, very different types such as currants, strawberries, cloudberries, mulberries, and others. I also went to school, where I studied languages such as Slavic and German with English.

In Ukraine, I did a lot of fun things that are forbidden in America. Starting with ordinary barbecues and ending with shooting a homemade bow at moles and sometimes at fish. My dad and I often went fishing and slept in tents in the woods. In the summer, I often lived in the woods with my classmates or friends. Even during the school period, I remember how we built a house out of wood and lived there with a couple of classmates and their sisters or brothers, and sometimes their parents. So I have experience in the field of survival in the wild with almost nothing.

As a child, I loved to shoot a bow. My first bow was made by my grandfather. Soon, when I learned to shoot well, I decided to save money for a real bow from the Ibis store. I will remember this store forever, because my first dream came true there. The bow I wanted to buy cost about 5 thousand hryvnias (at the moment it is about $116). At that time it was a very large amount of money, but after a year and a half of effort, I was able to achieve my dream. At that moment I realized that the dream is the meaning of life.

When I was 9 years old, I got the opportunity to learn to play the guitar for free by scoring a very large number of points for a performance before the commission, and thus I was given the opportunity to play the guitar absolutely free.

At the same time as playing the guitar, I was engaged in chess and taekwondo. In taekwondo, I reached the dark blue belt, but I was very unlucky, and at the tournament, I broke my leg very badly, and I could no longer practice this kind of art. Despite the injuries, I still continue to play sports, and at the moment, I continue to play sports such as boxing.

I only studied for 7 years at the school called Klovsky Lyceum, but during these 7 years I learned a lot of things, because we very often had trips to museums. It was fun. My friends and I sometimes skipped school, selling all sorts of things like chewing gum and chips. I realize that it was wrong, but I still continued to do it because I understood that by the age of 16, I would need money for a car or other needs for life. I did it for 10 to 12 years.

Then I became very interested in stones such as crystals or other rocks. We had a museum of stones and there was a very large number of stones of the rock, and one day I noticed that for some reason they were throwing out some specimens, and behind the museum there was a garbage can of stones about 50-80 kilograms, and there I collected my first assortment.

Before I turned 13 years old, however, Russia invaded Ukraine, and the great large-scale war began. We woke up at 6:40 a.m. with the noise of the first siren; in less than 3 minutes we were already driving in the car to the west, and with that all my plans in life changed.

Since 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has continued, forcing millions of families to leave their homes. Many have found safety abroad, including in the United States, but the conflict still affects countless children and families back home. Stories like PVI sophomore Mykola’s remind us of the resilience and courage required to rebuild lives amid ongoing hardship.

St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kiev, Ukraine, one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.

Overview

When people think of intelligent animals, they usually picture dolphins, dogs, or primates. Rarely does the octopus come to mind. However, scientists increasingly believe that octopuses are among the most intelligent creatures on the planet, despite being invertebrates with no backbone and possessing a brain structure vastly divergent from ours. Their problem-solving abilities, complex behaviors, and even apparent personalities challenge traditional ideas about intelligence in the animal kingdom.

Internal Distinctiveness

Octopuses have a unique nervous system. While humans have a single centralized brain controlling most functions, an octopus’s nervous system is highly decentralized, with roughly two-thirds of its neurons located in its arms rather than its head. Each arm can process information, react to stimuli, and perform complex movements independently. This means an octopus can technically “think” with its arms.

This unusual structure allows octopuses to multitask in ways humans cannot. An octopus can explore its surroundings, manipulate objects, and defend itself all at once. Scientists believe this distributed intelligence gives octopuses remarkable flexibility when navigating unpredictable environments like coral reefs and deep-sea terrain.

One of the most impressive traits of octopuses is their problem-solving ability. In laboratory experiments, octopuses have learned to open jars, navigate mazes, and even unscrew lids to access food inside. Some have been observed stacking objects

Use of Tools

In the wild, octopuses use coconut shells, rocks, and discarded human debris as shelter. They will carry these objects across the ocean floor and assemble them into makeshift homes, a behavior that meets the specific definition of tool use. This level of foresight was once thought to exist only in highly social animals like primates and birds.

Camouflage

Octopuses are famous for their camouflage, but this ability is more complex than simple color matching. Using specialized skin cells called chromatophores, octopuses can change not only their color but also their texture within seconds. They can mimic rocks, coral, seaweeds, and even other animals.

Camouflage also plays a role in communication. By changing color and pattern, octopuses can signal aggression, fear, or curiosity to other animals. Some species display specific color patterns suggesting a visual language scientists are still studying.

Their Surprising Intelligence

One of the most surprising facts about octopuses is their short lifespan. Most species live only about one to three years. After mating, females guard their eggs tirelessly, often refusing to eat. Once the eggs hatch, the female dies shortly afterward. This intense reproductive cycle leaves little time for learning across generations, making their intelligence even more remarkable.

Unlike humans or dolphins, octopuses do not pass down knowledge through teaching. Each octopus seems to rediscover survival strategies on its own, raising questions about how intelligence can evolve so rapidly and independently.

Octopuses challenge the idea that intelligence requires social structures, long lifespans, or a centralized brain. Their existence suggests that intelligence can arise in many forms, shaped by environment rather than lineage. Studying octopuses helps scientists better understand consciousness, problem-solving, and the evolution of complex behavior.

As humans continue to explore the oceans, octopuses remind us that intelligence is not exclusive to animals that look or think like us. It can exist in quiet, flexible, many-armed forms, watching, adapting, and learning beneath the waves.

The octopus is more than a strange sea creature; it is a symbol of how much humans still have to learn about the natural world. With their advanced problem-solving skills, unique nervous systems, and surprising personalities, octopuses redefine what it means to be intelligent. In studying octopuses, scientists are not just learning about them; they are learning about the many possible ways a mind can exist.

Interesting Side Note

Although many people believe that “octopi” is the correct plural of octopus, the grammatically correct plural in English is octopuses. This misconception comes from the assumption that octopus is a Latin word and should follow Latin pluralization rules. However, octopus actually comes from Greek, not Latin.

In Greek, the word oktopous means “eight-footed.” If the word were pluralized using Greek rules, the correct plural would be octopodes, a form rarely used outside of academic contexts. Because English typically pluralizes borrowed words by adding -es, octopuses is the correct and accepted plural form in modern English. While “octopi” is commonly used, it is technically incorrect because it applies Latin grammar to a Greek word.

Kameron’s Course Compass

Helping you navigate PVI’s ocean of electives

Kameron Smith

'28

Creative Computing by:

FEATURED Elective:

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of web design and foundational programming concepts. You’ll learn the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while building hands-on projects throughout the course. By the end, each student creates a personal portfolio website showcasing the projects they’ve completed.

It’s recommended that students take the Internet Safety and Security elective before or alongside this course, as it covers important concepts like network hardware, data transmission protocols, and security practices — knowledge that enhances their understanding of how data moves safely online.

Creative Computing is perfect for students who enjoy trial and error, problem-solving, and coding. If you’ve ever wondered what coding is like or want a hands-on introduction to web design, this elective is highly recommended!

Prerequisite: B- or above in CP Geometry or a higher-level math class

2026 2026 rummy card rummy card tournament tournament

WHO WHO WHAT WHAT WHERE WHERE WHEN WHEN HOW HOW

Any/all PVI students interested in: learning how to play rummy (a popular card game you can then enjoy playing with your friends, siblings, parents, and grandparents!) meeting new people and forming more friendships improving math skills

A rummy card playing tournament on Mondays from January - April sponsored by The Writer’s Block Club and 2209 Advisory

Room 2209: Mr. Sebastian and Ms. Fassinger’s Advisory classroom

Mondays at 10:30 a.m. during Panther Time, now through April!

Simply show up!

MEETINGS: Tuesdays during Panther Time in the dining commons! Join us for brainstorming sessions, editorial planning, snacks, special event planning, and more!

The Writer’s Block Club

k77wekpk

The Writer’s Block Club is seeking: photographers WRITERS page designers meticulous proofreaders

Join The Writer’s Block Club Google Classroom for announcements and more info!

k77wekpk

Join now and continue writing and taking photos over the summer for our first issue next year!

3 Drinks to Warm Your Soul

STRAWBERRYWHITE HOTCHOCOLATE

Here’s a fun, pink twist on a traditional hot chocolate. This recipe serves four, so you can make it for your whole family or get seconds!

Ingredients

1 cup sliced strawberries

¼ cup sugar

2 cups milk

½ cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

In a small bowl, place the sugar over the strawberries, mix, and set aside for 10 minutes.

Place the strawberries in a food processor and puree until smooth.

Over medium-low heat, place milk and white chocolate chips. Do not let the mixture boil. Continue stirring until the chocolate is fully melted. Add in strawberries and continue cooking over a low heat for 2-3 more minutes.

by: Madie Mays '29

Here are three delicious and beautiful beverages that you can make for your loved ones, friends, or just as a treat for yourself!

One taste and you’ll fall in love with this pink, fun “Love Potion” mocktail! This recipe is perfect getting ready for spring. It’s easy to make for a total of 4-6 people and extremely cute with many ways to change or add to the recipe once you get the hang of it!

LovePunchPotion

LOVEPOTIONPUNCH

Ingredients

½ cup fresh raspberries

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 pint raspberry sherbet

3 cups sparkling berry lemonade

Instructions

Combine the fresh raspberries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice in a bowl, and mash them together with a fork until you have a berry puree.

Place a generous spoonful of puree at the bottom of 4-6 glasses. Top with a small scoop of raspberry sherbet, and fill the cups to the brim with sparkling berry lemonade. Garnish with a few more fresh berries, if desired, then enjoy!

REDVELVETLATTE

Ingredients

1 cup 2% milk

3 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla extract

3-4 drops red food coloring

2 oz espresso or strongly brewed coffee cream cheese whipped cream

1 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp confectioners' sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

5 tbsp heavy cream

Instructions

Add milk and chocolate chips to a small saucepan over low-medium heat. Heat for about 10 minutes, while whisking, until milk is hot (140-145 degrees) and chocolate has melted.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in vanilla and red food coloring.

Pour espresso into a heat-proof mug or glass. Pour hot red velvet chocolate milk over the espresso.

Top with cream cheese whipped cream and sprinkles, if desired.

Make cream cheese whipped cream: Put cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl and mix together using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until completely combined.

Add vanilla and cream to the bowl and, using a hand mixer (or using a whisk and your own arm strength), beat until soft peaks are formed.

Red Velvet Latte

THE BOOK BEHIND THE COVER

by: Charlie Huly '29

A Review of Ruta Sepetys’

I

Must Betray You

A few years ago, on a snow day in early January, my family and I made hot drinks and gathered in the living room to read.

The book I sat down with was one that my mother had checked out from our public library and lent to me, titled I Must Betray You. Besides the general premise, I knew hardly anything about what to expect from it. So it’s safe to say that I wasn’t planning on my hot cocoa going cold that afternoon, all because I couldn’t possibly put the book down. The near-constant suspense, compelling characters, and the way the setting of 1980s Romania came to life on the page kept me thoroughly invested.

The story follows 17-year-old Romanian high school student Cristian Florescu in 1989, the final year of the brutal dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu’s reign. The government’s secret police agency coerces him into becoming an informant who must provide them with intelligence on those around him. Cristian witnesses the growing unrest in Romania as he begins to truly understand the way fear and lies control the nation, writing his musings in a journal that must be hidden beneath the floorboards. The story builds toward the Romanian Revolution, as Cristian must decide whether to continue complying or risk everything for freedom and truth.

Sepetys does a phenomenal job of keeping the reader enraptured in the plot. The short chapters keep readers on the edge of their seats, especially during the most suspenseful moments. This is especially helped by the characters, all of whom feel like real people that the reader can’t help but care about. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the care put into bringing the setting to life. Sepetys spent considerable time researching this often-overlooked chapter of history, even interviewing people who lived in Romania during that era. All of these literary elements come together to make I Must Betray You an engaging read.

I Must Betray You shines a light on the perseverance and courage of the Romanian people through the hardships that defined life in the country under the suppressive Communist government. Even though we may never experience these, the novel’s themes are still ones that the average reader can learn from. We are all capable of standing up for what is right, even when it seems difficult to do so.

I Must Betray You is a book that I highly recommend because it serves as a reminder of those who have been forced to betray others under oppressive regimes — and of those who still must.

MY RATING OF:

I Must Betray You

All Things Rowing

by: Anna Britt '27

The Husky Clipper: When a Shell from Seattle Rowed into History

Every rowing program has a boat with a nickname. Sometimes it’s affectionate. Sometimes it’s ironic. And sometimes, very rarely, it’s a boat that becomes a legend.

In 1936, that boat was the Husky Clipper.

If you’ve ever complained about carrying a shell in the rain, rowing into a headwind, or racing on questionable water, allow me to introduce you to a crew that did all of that…and then won an Olympic gold medal.

So…What About the Olympic and the Lightweight Rant?

A Boat With A Passport

The Husky Clipper wasn’t built in Europe, polished by aristocrats, or blessed by rowing gods on the Thames. It was built in Seattle by George Pocock, a shell builder who believed rowing was equal parts physics, poetry, and suffering.

The University of Washington men’s eight raced this boat all the way from Lake Washington to Berlin – yes, Berlin – during the 1936 Olympics. That alone feels exhausting. No erg warm-up could prepare you for international fascism.

And yet, there they were: a group of mostly working-class American kids, rowing a Pocock shell that was lighter, livelier, and probably offended the European boats by existing.

The Race That Launched a Thousand Goosebumps

The Olympic final was…not ideal.

The Germans had the home course.

The British had pedigree.

The Americans had lane six — historically the worst lane, plagued by rough water and wind.

Also, their stroke was sick. Because, of course, he was.

The Husky Clipper lagged early. Boats surged. Crowds roared. Hitler watched. No pressure.

Then the Americans did the rowing equivalent of saying, “Nope, not today.”

They walked through the field in the last 500 meters, rowing clean, aggressive, and together in a way every modern crew still chases. They crossed the line first by six-tenths of a second.

Gold medal. Olympic Champions. History made.

And somewhere, the Husky Clipper probably thought, “You’re welcome.”

Why This Still Matters in 2026

It’s easy to think rowing has changed too much for 1936 to matter anymore. Carbon fiber. GPS speed coaches. Stroke seats who actually hydrate.

But here’s the thing: rowing hasn’t changed where it counts.

The Husky Clipper represents ideas we still live by: Craft Matters. Pocock believed boats should feel alive. Today, whether you’re in a Filippi or an Empacher, you still know when a shell “runs.”

Together Beats Talented. That crew didn’t win because they were the biggest or fanciest. They won because they moved as one.

Conditions Are Never Fair. Lane six in 1936 is the same as crosswinds, chop, or a race schedule that makes no sense. You Row Anyways.

Rowing Rewards Stubbornness. Especially the quiet kind.

Every time a crew commits to the base rhythm when it hurts, they’re echoing that race.

The Husky Clipper Today

The original Husky Clipper still exists. It hangs in a boathouse like a slightly judgmental ancestor, reminding rowers that greatness doesn’t always look flashy – and that complaining has never won a medal.

Modern rowers may never race in front of the world leaders or row into history textbooks, but the same question faces every boat on the water: Can you stay together when it counts?

In 1936, the Husky Clipper answered that question with gold.

The rest of us answer it every morning – one stroke at a time.

IYLA'S INSIGHTS

by: Iyla Sharifahmadian '28

IS 2026 IS 2026

REALLY THE REALLY THE NEW

2016? NEW 2016?

If you’ve been keeping up with pop culture at all lately, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “2026 is the new 2016.” Everyone’s posting their old photos from the previous decade, trends are making a comeback, and nostalgia marketing seems to be in full swing. Many reminisce about life 10 to 20 years ago, and it seems more people are joining in. But is 2026 really the new 2016, or are more people just becoming nostalgic for the year?

There’s an unofficial theory that trends come back every 20 years. For example, trends from 1980 came back in 2000, and trends from 2000 came back in 2020. This is not a set-in-stone rule, and it’s not followed strictly — trends don’t return as exact replicas, but as similar ideas. So, if layering polos was trendy in the early 2000s, then theoretically, wearing polos would be trendy in the early 2020s — just not five at a time. By that logic, the general trends of 2006 would be returning in 2026. So why are we bringing back 2016 instead of 2006?

For starters, this isn’t a proven rule — just an observation by those who study trends over the decades. While some styles do tend to resurface roughly every 20 years, it’s more of a loose cycle than a precise formula. Trends don’t follow exact timing; they might return sooner or later than expected. They’re also shaped by the culture and world events of the time. Take the 2008 Recession, for example: much of the music labeled “recession pop” was fun and campy, providing a small happy escape for people dealing with financial insecurity and job instability.

No matter the situation, people still found ways to make it fun. But if we experience a recession roughly 20 years after 2008, our response likely won’t mirror that year exactly — circumstances will be different, and outcomes will naturally change.

This means we can’t predict popular trends solely based on what’s happening now. We’re seeing 2016 resurface, not 2006 — but why? Many observers point to 2016 as “the last fun year,” a cultural turning point. Everything from 2017 onward felt different. Social media algorithms began shaping what people saw, while corporations gained more influence online. The internet became more accessible and mainstream, and as more users and companies joined, online culture started to feel more structured and commercialized.

By now, we’re so used to the “sterilization” of the internet that some people are getting tired of it. We’re already seeing a return to 2000s trends: people are canceling streaming subscriptions and going back to iPods, CDs, and other throwbacks. It’s not surprising that many crave the “campy and quirky” internet of the past. Dopamine thrives on change, and even revisiting something familiar can feel fresh. Algorithms push content that portrays flawless lifestyles and polished aesthetics — but that’s not reality for most people. Audiences are tired of boring, basic visuals; they want bursts of color instead of clean-girl palettes. The 20year trend cycle seems to be shortening because people are more vocal than ever about what they want to see — and what they want to discard.

The Last fun year

Nostalgia is a powerful force — it shapes how we remember the past and influences our choices today. When people look back on 2016, “the last perfect year,” they often remember it as better than it really was. It’s like scrolling through a photo album and smiling at old memories, seeing the fun filters, cringe captions, and romanticized LA moments, and wanting to bring back all the good parts. People want influencers to feel more human and relatable, not just polished and perfect.

However, are we really seeing 2016 return in full? Change is gradual, and while parts of the 2016 culture are resurfacing, today’s trends still dominate. Brand deals are still everywhere, messy color palettes haven’t fully taken over, and the algorithms remain unchanged. Some creators are aiming for the “relatable influencer” vibe we loved a decade ago, but it’s not yet widespread. Posting photo dumps and claiming “2016 is back” can only go so far — actions speak louder than intentions.

So, is 2026 really the new 2016? That’s still up in the air. The year has just begun, and we can’t make any definitive conclusions. Even if fragments of 2016 culture are reappearing, there’s always the chance for trends to evolve in unexpected ways. We might be on a nostalgia trip gone mainstream — or witnessing a collective shift that will define the 2020s in a completely new way.

WHY WE LOVE A LOVE STORY Romance

by: Charlie Huly

'29

Romance is – without a doubt – one of the most popular literary genres.

Every year, the lists of top selling books prove this time and time again. And modern audiences aren’t alone in their enjoyment of romance novels. One need only look back at classic examples such as Greek mythology’s Orpheus and Eurydice, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and, of course, Shakespeare’s beloved story Romeo and Juliet – to see that this fondness dates back thousands of years.

Literary

Romance

Why do we love a love story? A driving force of this phenomenon is that people tend to use the media they consume as a means of escapism. When times are hard for people, they often turn to things that can serve as temporary distractions and thus help them get through the difficulties they may be facing. Love stories give people something else to focus on that doesn’t remind them of their daily life. Romance writers make the reader invested in the lives of the characters, keeping them hopeful that the leading couple-in-the-making will eventually get together by the end.

Another factor is that love stories tend to have a positive and uplifting tone. Of course, there are some notable exceptions, but this is by and large the case for the genre. Reading a book about people whom you can relate to and who have experienced things that you have is already validating for many, but seeing them find something so precious as love can make people more optimistic about their own lives. They may experience newfound hope that they themselves can go on an emotional journey that is as life-changing and special as the characters they have read about.

Genre

“A love story can be set any time and anywhere.”

An aspect that must not go unmentioned is that a love story can be set any time and anywhere. It could take place during a historical period in a country many miles away, or even in Northern Virginia during the current year. There’s also no reason that the setting has to be a real place, either, as many fantasy stories contain elements of romance or may even be romances themselves. Whether you strictly read the classics, can’t get enough of historical fiction, or are an avid fantasy enjoyer, you can always come across stories in which characters find themselves falling in love.

Although this article focused on romance novels, the themes of love and connection appear in many forms of storytelling — from books to films to the stage. Exploring the genre might even lead you to discover a new favorite.

is offering exciting electives, including:

The AMERICAN DREAM on Film Series:

What is the American Dream? Is it as vague an idea as the pursuit of happiness or as concrete an image as a comfortable house in the suburbs with a nice car in the driveway? Or is it something more? For more than a century, Hollywood has had plenty to say about American dreams and values, helping to create a global image of the nation and its people. But what do you say the American Dream is? In these classes, we will explore the concept through a variety of films centered on common themes. You can take any or all of these one-semester classes, growing in your appreciation of movies and enhancing your understanding of what it is to be an American. Get ready to dream!

The American Dream on Film: Fame and Fortune

.5 CR 10, 11, 12

This class examines a wide variety of films that focus on acquiring wealth or fame as a measure of success. It's not always what it's cracked up to be. Featured films include: Rocky, The Social Network, Margin Call, That Thing You Do, The Great Gatsby, La La Land, You've Got Mail, Quiz Show, The Founder, Walk the Line, Singing in the Rain, Sunset Boulevard, Misery.

The American Dream on Film: Heroes and Legends

.5 CR 10, 11, 12

This class examines the portrayal of heroism and the creation of American mythology. What makes a hero or legend in American culture? Featured films include: Star Wars, Casablanca, The Karate Kid, Rudy, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Princess Bride, Superman, WarGames, The Martian, A League of Their Own, Apollo 13, Miracle, United 93, The Incredibles.

The American Dream on Film: The Pursuit of Happiness

.5 CR 10, 11, 12

This class examines the search for meaning, belonging, and achievement through a wide lens. What does the vague idea of happiness mean to a variety of American dreamers? Featured films include: Little Women, The Pursuit of Happyness, Sleepless in Seattle, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Groundhog Day, Rebel Without a Cause, WALL-E, Hidden Figures, Brooklyn, Joe Versus the Volcano, Forrest Gump, Inside Out, Back to the Future.

Get it in writing.

Join The Writer’s Block Club: Contribute your nonfiction pieces to Crossroads; contribute your fiction, nonfiction, plays, artwork, photographs, and poetry to For Art’s Sake (PVI’s annual art & literary zine) Attend our weekly meetings on Tuesdays in the dining commons during Panther Time!

club code: k77wekpk

Student Contributors

Anna Britt '27 Writer

New to PVI this school year, Anna is a well-rounded, bright, and multi-talented individual. She enjoys reading the plays of William Shakespeare and the works of philosophers. At PVI, physics and history are among her favorite subjects. With the ability to play multiple instruments wonderfully, Anna has already contributed to PVI’s music program! Outside of school, she enjoys spending time with her pets, practicing gymnastics, and rowing — a sport to which she brings discipline and dedication.

Leah Cashman '29

Writer

Leah loves to spend time reading, baking, playing her violin, and studying.

Sian Chen '27

Lead Features Writer

Sian transferred to PVI last year and immediately became a significant contributing writer and photographer to Crossroads and For Art’s Sake. She’s clever, confident, and cool. When she’s not studying for her classes or writing fiction and short stories, she’s exploring the sights and sounds of Northern Virginia and D.C. – capturing goosebump-inflicting photos along the way. In addition to The Writer’s Block Club, Sian is also a member of REACH, PVI-TV, and FBLA. If there’s someone you’d like her to interview for a feature article, send her an email!

Tommy Collens '29 Tech Topics Writer

Tommy is an inquisitive, bright, and creative student who enjoys hiking, camping, and developing his bushcraft skills. He also has a passion for 3D design and printing, often taking things apart to understand how they work — and putting them back together again. His favorite classes are in engineering, math, history, and science. At PVI, he is a member of the Robotics Club and competes in track and cross-country.

Charlie Huly '29

Book Review Writer

Charlie is the writer of “The Book Behind the Cover,” where she reviews books across all genres. As the content of her column would suggest, she is an avid reader. However, she also enjoys playing music on her piano and guitar, crocheting, and binge-watching her favorite TV shows. Professionally, she would like to pursue a career either as an author or a musician. A fun fact about her is that she has lived in over six countries.

Taylor Kosin '28

Artist

When she’s not drawing in her sketchbook, you can find Taylor creating awesome full-color images and cartoons on classroom walls! She’s thrilled to create art for Crossroads this year!

Addyson Lang '29

Photographer

A freshman, Addyson enjoys sports, baking, technology, and photography.

Ava '28

Writer

Ava is a friendly, easygoing, and thoughtful individual who likes cinnamon rolls, listening to music, and spending time with her friends. She was the manager for Girls JV basketball this past season, and is now one of the managers for JV softball! Her favorite classes are chemistry and history.

Madie Mays '29

Writer

Madie has two cats and two dogs and loves them all equally the same. In her free time, she likes to play sports, travel, bake, and hang out with her friends. Her favorite classes are math and PE.

Iyla Sharifahmadian '28

Writer

Iyla is an impressive and insightful teenager — an “old soul” with a love for music, pop culture, and all things history. When she’s not at school, you can find her at a concert, doodling in her room, or writing reflective pieces for her column.

Hans Sirotniak '24

Christian Music Columnist

Hans graduated from Paul VI in May 2024 and now attends William & Mary. He is currently involved in education and teacher training at Clara Byrd Baker Elementary School in James City County. In addition, he enjoys practicing martial arts and learning about different languages and cultures. Hans served as the 2023-2024 Senior Editor, Communications Specialist, and Writer with Crossroads.

Mykola Shostakovskyi '28

Originally from Kiev, Mykola is a true multi-talented adventurer. A chess champion and skilled guitarist, he also excels in sports like boxing and taekwondo, and has a passion for languages. When he’s not exploring the outdoors — fishing, camping, or practicing with his bow and arrow — he’s honing survival skills, building shelters, or collecting crystals and rocks. If you want to see the world through the eyes of someone with experiences beyond your imagination, take the time to get to know Mykola.

Grace Ortube '28

Photographer

Grace loves taking walks with her dog, Bella, drawing, and doing various arts and crafts projects.

Cameron Mangal '29

Writer and Graphic Designer

Freshman Cameron’s favorite pastime is hanging out with his friends and family. He loves to play sports – especially tennis! His favorite classes are English, math, and world history (when they don’t have homework). Oh! And he also likes to write.

Kate Santiagu '29

Writer and Graphic Designer

Kate loves traveling to new places and hanging out with her friends. She enjoys reading books and watching her favorite shows on TV.

Kameron Smith '28

Electives Column Writer

Kameron likes Rubik’s Cubes and all things puzzlerelated. He decided to write a column on electives at PVI because there are so many unique ones from which to choose!

Emma '28

Writer

A world traveler, SCUBA diver, and avid reader, Emma is a sophomore who somehow manages to do it all. When she's not running laps with cross country or track, you can find her in the sound booth for theatre, advocating as a Black & Gold ambassador, or curled up with a good book. She's also a proud member of the Pink & White Club and The Writer’s Block Club because, apparently, sleep is overrated.

Antonio Tamariz '28 Photographer

Antonio loves watching horror movies, and his favorites are The Conjuring, Smile, Final Destination, and Insidious

Eve Robinson '29

Artist

Eve is a cool, authentic, and artistic individual. A straight-A student, when Eve’s not doodling creative characters and images in the margins of her notes, she’s daydreaming about her annual summer ventures to Texas, where she enjoys daily fishing excursions with her friends and studying marine biology as a Sea Camp on Texas A&M’s campus!

Tyler Sperow '28

Special Events Coordinator and Graphic Designer

Tyler, a sophomore, has been a member of The Writer’s Block Club since his freshman year and enjoys spending time working on Crossroads. His organizational skills, combined with his creative ideas, make him the perfect person to manage the club’s special events, including the Valentine’s Extravaganza and the Rummy Card Tournament. When he isn’t working on an issue, he can often be found rehearsing for a school or community play or musical. He loves listening to music and relentlessly tries — without success — to beat Ms. Fassinger at Rummy.

Charlotte Streeter '28

Charlie enjoys singing – whether simply for herself, her friends, her family, or at our school Masses! Her gifts of singing and piano playing make her feel great inside and bring hope and light into her life. Whenever she’s feeling down, she uses her music as an outlet to channel her emotions through her compositions. In addition to music, she loves knitting, wood carving, hiking, camping, and nature! Writer

Sylvia Schafer '28

Writer and Graphic Designer

Sylvia is a friendly, easygoing sophomore who enjoys blending her love of creativity and science with writing, design, and engineering projects. In both academic and personal pursuits, she strives to bring structure and imagination together in meaningful ways.

Javion Zdimal '28

Writer and Graphic Designer

There’s something about Javion. Maybe it’s his unique name, or the fact that he serves as an altar server and is a member of the Noblis Christi Club to “strengthen my walk with Christ.” Maybe it’s his dedication as an athlete—a member of PVI’s wrestling team—or the fact that he genuinely enjoys spending time with his younger brother, a freshman at PVI. Perhaps it’s the calm, confident, and kind personality he exudes, making him so pleasant and welcoming to talk to. Whatever it is, The Writer’s Block Club is grateful to have him as a member.

Ryan McInerney '29

Writer and Graphic Designer

Ryan has been a fantastic addition to our school community. Since joining us, he has distinguished himself as a respectful, diligent young man who is deeply committed to his academic growth. He had an impressive fall season, successfully balancing his participation in track with a smooth transition into the rigors of high school life. Ryan enjoys casting a line in Virginia’s many fishing spots with his dad and learning how things work. As a member of both the Fishing Club and the Robotics Club, he balances hands-on skill with curiosity and problem-solving. Thoughtful and dedicated, The Writer’s Block Club is delighted he has taken the initiative to join us!

Avery Thom '27

Writer, Graphic Designer, and Editor

She is a junior and has been in The Writer's Block Club since her sophomore year. She has enjoyed designing different articles and writing some of her own in Crossroads and For Art's Sake. She loves to garden, make art, and spend time with her family in her free time. She looks forward to writing more articles about the natural elements of PVI's campus!

Morgan Watts '29

Writer

She enjoys playing sports such as softball and field hockey. She loves reading and writing both creative and nonfiction works. Some of her favorite classes are history and English, but she mostly enjoys being at home with her family. She has a dog named Luna, and three brothers who all attend Catholic schools. She loves spending time with her friends and looks forward to making more friends at PVI.

Roy Wulf '26

Writer

If you don’t know Roy by now, don’t let another minute go by without introducing yourself to our “man about PVI.” From being an altar server, a member of the choir, and an actor in our school plays (and even a movie!), to playing countless instruments, Roy truly embodies the spirit of an inspiring PVI student.

Ms. Fassinger

Club Moderator, Writer Wrangler, Proofreader, Brainstormer, and Editorial Designer