The Commonwealth October 31, 2011Volume 4 • Issue 1

Tough Times Call For

Senior Makes His Art His PriorityBy Xavier Sallas-Brookwell

Pilgrim Teachers Are Here To StayBy Chloe Chais

Dustin Park had to sacrifi ce his passion for his future when he gave up trying to recruit players for a Pilgrim School football team in order to prepare himself for college and his future career choice as a design artist.

One look at the kindergartners from Mr. Hassan’s class and it’s easy to see why he is the typical Pilgrim teacher who bucks a national trend of frustrated teachers leaving the job.

Everyone has had to make diffi cult decisions at one point or another in his or her life. In that sense, Pilgrim senior Dustin Park is not alone in how he had to come to grips with abandoning his lifetime pas-sion of football in pursuit of something that couldn’t be more different than the gridiron. By choosing to make his pursuit of a career in art his priority, Dustin is like so many other teenagers who instead of living in the moment must look to their futures where they will likely face greater competition for fewer opportunities based on the state of our nation’s economy. As co-captain of the nonexistent Varsity 8-man football team during his soph-omore year., Dustin could look forward to two more years on the fi eld. Yet the school’s once-legendary program has experienced a disheartening lack of interest among the student body. Once a city-wide powerhouse, Pilgrim football has for the past two years been only a memory - which created quite a confl ict that Dustin had to resolve. “I was the main guy; I was the poster child of the whole football program,” Dustin said. ” He wasn’t just a member of the team, Dustin took pride in the fact that he was part of the team’s apparent revital-ization. He spent most of his junior year

reminding everyone how he wanted them to go out for the team this year. And he fully expected to be one of the leaders of that team. The pride Dustin once felt turned to guilt when once again there were not enough students to form a team. “Everyone thought I was going to play,” Dustin said, “and that there was going to be a team. It didn’t happen because of me, I guess.” The problem that Dustin had to deal with was time. He realized that in order to dedicate himself to football, he’d have to put enough hours into the sport each day that would leave him not enough time to work on his art - not to mention everything that he and his fellow seniors have to deal with as far as applying to colleges go. “Maintaining a GPA, preparing for the SAT; all of that require as much time as my art,” Dustin said. “When you add foot-ball, it’s obvious that you won’t be able to do everything.” Dropping the college prep was not an option, of course, so Dustin had to choose between his art and football. At age 16, it was either go with what represent-ed fun and games or go with what may very well represent his future. “When you look at it that way,” Dustin said, “there really was no choice.”More and more high school students at Pil-

grim and elsewhere are beginning to real-ize the competitiveness that is permeating not only higher education but also the job market. Although it may be benefi cial to students to go to school for as long as they can before beginning their careers, many are taking increasing notice of the economy and the effect it has on them. Preparing to face reality may be diffi cult, but it is also a necessity. Dustin and others are taking the problem head-on by also taking steps now to look toward their futures. But it’s not as though Dustin’s di-lemma is something entirely new. Pilgrim Head of School Dr. Mark Brooks is living proof about how hard it is to make the type of choice that Dustin and others have been making. “I went to school in the day of the dinosaurs,” Dr. Brooks said, “but I also wanted to get into a really good college.” In order to do so, he had to give up his passion just like Dustin gave up his. “I used to compete nationally in dressage,” Dr. Brooks said about the sport that requires time and dedication to be able to become one with the horse who must per-form a series of jumps and maneuvers in front of a panel of judges. “I wanted to be a dressage champion, but I knew I couldn’t do it and get a scholarship to go to college. I needed that scholarship. I decided to give up the dressage. So I know exactly what Dustin went through. I know exactly why he made his decision.” Dustin is now on the fast track to becoming an industrial designer. He was clear in making the distinction that “it’s an applied art. You don’t graduate with a bach-

elors of art; you graduate with a bachelors of science.” Although the title entails a totally different skill set, Dustin still Park had to create a portfolio in the traditional manner in order to earn admission into the colleges

Walking through the halls of Pil-grim, chances are you’ll see things you won’t see at most other schools, such as classrooms with only fi ve students who are all equipped with their own laptops. Pilgrim is unlike most schools when it comes to its version of preparing students for college and beyond. Most of those ways are vis-ible to the eye. Pilgrim, though, also bucks a nationwide trend that its students take for granted. You may not think it’s a big deal to show up year after year and be greeted by the same teachers who you’ve been able to develop relationships with that both in and out of the classroom. But it is a big deal when you compare the Pilgrim faculty to that of most schools in the country. According to a recent study in the New York Times, “Nearly 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession within their fi rst fi ve years teaching; they cite poor working conditions and low pay as the chief reason.” If teachers keep coming and going, students lose the opportunity to make con-nections that not only can help them with

their studies, but also can come in handy when it comes time to solicit the teacher recommendation for the college applica-tion. It’s hard to feel comfortable around any campus when you feel like you really don’t know teachers because they are here one year and gone the next. No such problem at Pilgrim, where teachers can’t bring themselves to leave, no matter how hard they try. “What makes a great school are the teachers. And here at Pilgrim, teachers are easy to hire because of our great, diverse student body. The students are studious, but still fun and real,” said Head of School, Dr. Mark Brooks. “Teachers like a set curricu-lum; they know what it is, but they are al-lowed to veer from it. As an educator, your job is to make it as easy or hard as you make it.” Or - in the case of fi rst-grade teacher Mr. Evan Hassan - to make it as much fun as you can make it. If you have spent time at Pilgrim, you have probably seen a single fi le line of children sporting miniature shoes and smil-ing faces, walking as quietly as they can un-til one makes a silly face or starts to giggle.

(Continued on Page 10)

Something Old Is Also Something

New On Campus

Seniors Face To Face While

Also Facing Reality

540 S Commonwealth Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90020 - 213.385.7351 - www.pilgrim-school.org

(Continued on Page 11) (Continued on Page 11)

Open For Business - As

Well As For New Students

Everyone Has An Opinion About The

New Schedule - What’s yours?

Even Tougher Choices

Sam K

im

Sam K

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. . . Pages 6 -7 . . . Page 3 . . . Page 5 . . . Page 10

OCTOBER 31, 20112

We’re Picking Up Where We Left OffBy Marina Pena

Xavier Sallas-Brookwell – Editor-in-ChiefMarina Pena – Senior Writer/Assistant EditorGabriella Carmona - Senior Writer/Assistant EditorSam Kim – PhotographerChloe Chais - Senior WriterDelina Yemane - Senior WriterLily Armstrong - Columnist/Feature WriterAudrey Yun - Graphic ArtistJacob Hamilton - Staff WriterIvan Esparza - Staff WriterMr. Michael Smith - Advisor

The Pilgrim newspaper staff, which includes five new members, from left to right: Chloe, Lily, Gabby, Marina, Delina, Jacob, Ivan and Xavier, combine their work with play.

The Commonwealth still has its “Dream Team” that makes up the bulk of the Pilgrim School newspaper staff, but there’s a new man in charge this year. The torch has finally been passed from to senior Xavier Sallas-Brookwell from Reed Lovitt, last year’s editor-in-chief who was also class valedictorian on his way to the University of Michigan.

“My responsibility may have changed,” Xavier says, “but the spotlight isn’t on me. It’s still on everyone who helps produce the newspaper. “Validation,” he says. “I want administrators, teachers, stu-dents to compliment all our hard work and continue to demonstrate to us that it’s all worth it.” How will make sure that happens? “Don’t miss deadlines, Maintain reputation. Be one of the guys. And keep my Michigan connections in check.”

Xavier has already reached out to Reed for help in putting the pages of the first issue together. “He said last year that he’d be there for us if we needed him,” Xavier says, “and so far, he’s kept his word.”

Reed had more than a few words to describe his new life on a college cam-pus. “It feels good,” he says. “For once in three years, I can finally take a break. I’m content because after all the work that the staff and I have done together, I know they will manage quite well without me. I also know Xavier will do a great job in charge. If he doesn’t, he’ll never hear the end of it from me. But I doubt that will happen. I re-member Xavier as one of the only freshmen I could count on my first year as editor in chief. Now I hear that he has several new staffers who he can also count on.”

Reed offers Xavier some advice that might come as a surprise to those who only see the final newspaper pages once they’ve been published. “He needs to have a keen eye for detail,” Reed says, “because he’ll surely need it. Sometimes, the most important things are the things in which the average observer wouldn’t even notice, But when you pay such close attention to every little detail as we do, we notice when the little things need to be perfect.” The Commonwealth has gone through a transformation not only at the top but also through the ranks. The class lost

literally half its staff from last year through graduation, transfers or schedule changes. But fear not all of you who look to Dear Gabby for personal advice, because sopho-more Gabriella Carmona is one of several students to return to her role with the hope of adding to her responsibilities. “I hope for this year to be just as great as last year was, and for my writing to continue to improve,” Gabby says. “Some-thing else I am looking forward to is having the chance to work on In-Design (the soft-ware that enables students to fill empty pag-es with articles, headlines, photographs and captions). I want to be even more involved with the entire process.” Lily Armstrong is among five new full-time members. If you listen to the ju-nior, it sounds as though she always knew she’d one day be on the staff. “I’m looking forward,” Lily says, “to having an outlet for opinions that I haven’t been able to share. For instance, political and social issues that have an effect on our generation. I love writ-ing, I have since I was nine years old. I like it because it’s a clear and more permanent way of expressing thoughts.” Gabby and Lily represent how all of the staff members contribute to the news-paper in their own ways. Gabby wants to continue her beloved Dear Gabby column while taking a humorous look at some is-sues that aren’t always funny to her fellow Pilgrim students. She also adds her personal touch to all of her feature stories. Lily hopes to “bring a new perspective” to current events by making connections from what happens beyond the Pilgrim campus to all Pilgrim students. “Lily and the other new members of the class,” Mr. Smith said, “are stepping up, just Xavier had to take the baton from Reed and run with it. Sure, we all miss Reed. But we’re like any team that loses its senior captain and has to look to everyone else on the team to raise their game. Reed helped lay the foundation. Now we’re building on it.” So far, so good. “As much as we accomplished last year, we’re already off to a great start producing things we didn’t have before: Lily and culture page, Delina (Yemane) and Chloe (Chais) with their Face Off page, Au-drey (Yun) with her artistry, John (Rehwald) with his cartoons. It’s all about showcasing our kids and our school.”

Have you ever sung a song, been praised by Frank Sinatra and then asked to make a recording? Have you ever run into Steven Spielberg, who wondered whether you’d be interested in playing the leading role in his new blockbuster movie? Or have you ever played one-on-one with Michael Jordan after he was impressed by your game that you flashed in the gymnasium during a free period? If you have, what are you doing reading a Pilgrim School newspaper? Most likely, though, you’re like the rest of us who have only dreamed of being singled out from a group of your peers by the celebrity or icon of your dreams. Though there’s no Simon, Jennifer Lopez, or Randy Jackson roaming the school hallways in search of someone to announce to the world that you are a star. Pilgrim does have its oc-casional moment in the spotlight. For mem-bers of Newspaper class, we’re beginning to know what it takes not only to write articles but also to recognize and appreciate good writing when we read it. If you’ve dealt with a newspaper staffer, you know the drill: We corner you in a classroom, in the halls, or anywhere else on campus you can find you. Then we ask our series of questions until we’re satisfied that you’ve given us enough good answers to turn into a good story. We might even ask you to pose for a photograph to go along with that story - so your mother can thor-oughly embarrass you by sticking the page of the newspaper on to the refrigerator for all your relatives to see. You get to feel special for the time when you are the subject and the focus of an article, when everything you say is recorded and something in particular that you say might very well be good enough to be called headline worthy You may not be Daniel Radcliffe strolling along the red carpet while the paparazzi snaps your picture and teen-age girls swoon as you blow them kisses, but you experience for the moment what it feels like to be in the big time. Steve Lopez doesn’t have to imag-ine such a dream. He lives his dream every time he writes his popular Page 2 column in the Los Angeles Times that often focus-ing on how he can put a personal touch on stories that seal serious issues in our soci-ety. Mr. Lopez has developed a reputation as one of the finest columnists in the coun-try not only based on what he’s done at the Times, but also on what he previously ac-complished while writing for newspapers in Oakland plus Time, Sports Illustrated and Entertainment Weekly magazines. One of Mr. Lopez’s columns on the life of a talented musician whose mis-fortune and illness led him to living on the L.A. streets was turned into a major motion picture called The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr. So it was as if

Sinatra had visited a Pilgrim music class or Spielberg dropped in on a visual arts class or Jordan joined a P.E. class when Mr. Lopez delivered the keynote address at the most recent Pilgrim School senior graduation cer-emony. Newspaper staffers may have ap-preciated Mr. Lopez’s appearance more than the rest of the audience did that evening in June, but everyone could appreciate his message. Still, Mr. Lopez came away just as impressed by everyone at Pilgrim. “The students,” he said, “were about the most connected and happiest I’ve seen in a while. The graduates were a great crew. A great mix of backgrounds, experi-ences, incomes. In a vast disjointed city, they seemed to have made connections that will endure.” You could say the same about Lopez’s message: “One person,” he said, “can make a difference in the life of another, and that the relationship works both ways. There’s grace, and in many rewards, in giv-ing.” Always on the lookout for an in-teresting angle for his column, Lopez chose to write about the Pilgrim graduation with an emphasis on telling the story of senior Grej Persjaka, who overcame a disability with help from people within and beyond the school. “I had been told about Grej before-hand,” he said, “and it sounded like a good story, which turned out to be the case, based on my interviews at the school that night. It’s a great tale about perseverance and about extending a hand to those in need.” Lopez said that he had “a pretty positive reaction” to the column, but that he also had one regret about how those at the ceremony reached to him.” “A number of people criticized the L.A. Times that night,” Lopez said, “telling me that I’m one of the few reasons, if not the only reason, they keep reading. Com-ments like those are meant as flattery, but I take offense. The newspaper industry has been hard hit by forces beyond our control, having to do primarily with advertising is-sues and digital expansion. And yet the L.A. Times, despite the required downsizing, remains one of the best newspapers in the country. My columns are informed and im-proved by my colleagues, so I get annoyed by sweeping, dismissals of the newspaper.” Mr. Lopez had some parting words of wisdom for anyone at Pilgrim who may be interested in following his path into a journalism career. “Be prepared,” he said, “to tell sto-ries in different ways. As an old-fashioned print guy, I’ve had to learn new ways to communicate. Namely, I’ve done television news and am considering radio news, plus, I’ve done quite a few blog posts. People will always want news and good stories, but the delivery methods may continue to change, so be flexible.”

2011-2012 Staff Members

By Gabriella Carmona

Pilgrim Just Fine, So Says L.A. Times

The CommonwealthSam

Kim

OCTOBER 31, 20113

OUR (OPEN) HOUSE IS YOUR HOUSEBy Marina Pena

Your parents approach you on the day you’ve been dreading and announce, “Honey, we’re going to Open House!” The first thing that crosses your mind is “Oh God, how do I avoid this one?” In the end, though, you realize that there is no way out. Open House could be, after all, the first step to you finding a school that you could even-tually consider your home away from home (except for your precious pet, or your an-noying sibling).

Such negative thoughts may have come from past Open House experiences: Power points. Book lists. People talking about the 70’s. All this going on while all you wanted to do was daydream about the perfect peanut butter-jelly snack. The food, of course, is usually the best part of Open Houses. If you’ve been to one, you’ve expe-rienced it all: finger sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies, plenty of coffee with enough caffeine to keep you awake.

Then there’s the Pilgrim version.You may be reading this article as

you are attending our Open House. Keep this in mind as you go through the program and see if we prove all your assumptions in-correct the way we’ll try to show you and your family what our school is all about in a way that admissions director Ms. Patri-cia Kong likes to say is, “informative and friendly.”

What’s new? “Well, this year we

are introducing the Mad Science program in middle school,” Ms. Kong said, “and we’ll also be explaining how we’re rolling out the iPads to eighth graders.”

Got your attention? “We also have different stations,” Ms. Kong said, “where both parents and students can meet their perspective teachers and chat it up about the core subjects they teach.” The difference here is, teachers can actually talk to you about subjects other than academics. You might even make a connection that will help get you off to good start in a classroom next year when you walk in and recognize the teacher who you talked about your favorite hobby during Open House.

You can’t blame any school for wanting to show off everything it offers, and that can take a while. But Ms. Kong believes she’s come up with a way to keep everything and everyone on the go.

“We keep the adults and kids mov-ing while allowing them to interact with their peers,” she said. “We offer only a short introduction from the Head of School, and then the families are able to attend different departments that they may find interesting.”

It takes time and effort to put ev-erything together. “The RSVP list must be organized with everyone who may be at-tending,” Ms. Kong said, “and then there are the volunteers and administrators. Teachers are assigned to panels for discussions and finally the facilities have to checked to see if everything is functioning correctly.”

The ace up Ms. Kong’s sleeve is Pilgrim students themselves.

“Our own kids,” she said, “make a huge contribution to every Open House. When parents and kids see how polite and outspoken they are, it is very telling. The whole point is to present ourselves in the best possible way. What better way to do that is for us to showcase our students to those who might become their friends.”

There is a greater than ever em-phasis placed on Open House these days because private schools such as Pilgrim are in competition to attract students from fami-lies who may be affected by the state of the economy. “We’re trying to show families who we are,” Ms. Kong said. “We feel we have a lot to offer, so we feel about sharing our school.” Even so, she admits, “It’s all about the delicious cookies!”

You Decide: Fact Or Fiction All schools claim to have the right answers for any question that may come up on Open House day. Sometimes, though, what you see may not be what you ultimate-ly get. Here, we’ve anticipated your ques-tions while suggesting that if you see for yourself, you’ll see exactly what we mean in our answers. “Do you offer electives?” Other schools like to tout how their series of electives give their seniors an op-portunity to take a range of classes in prepa-ration for their collegiate careers. We offer the same chances - only our upper school students can begin their elective program in as early as their freshman year “How are you committed to arts?” We cared enough to recently con-struct the Art Center that sits atop the Seaver Building while offering students all the mo-tivation they need to be creative when they sit in a room adorned with drawings while

also taking in one of the most breathtaking views of the Los Angeles area. “Are parents part of community?” Curious about your son’s or daugh-ter’s grades? They’re a click of a mouse away on line. Have a question for a teacher? You’ll hear by email or phone call within 24 hours. Want to lend your talents to the school? Speak up and you’re in. “How much does diversity play a role in your school?” Most schools talk the diversity talk, but here if you walk through any hall-way on any given school day you’ll see our international influence with our students from all corners of the globe. It’s like taking a cultural class without using your passport. “What about athletics?” The big difference between us and most other schools is how we have a no-cut policy for all varsity sports. As long as you show the effort and enthusiasm, you become part of a team. And if you specialize in a sport we can’t offer because of our size, we

By Sam Kim

The Pilgrim Open House is well-named because so many students who attend the semi-annual event end up finding a home here after checking out what the school has to offer.

will help you with your academic schedule so you can pursue your outside sport. “How is your technology?” Don’t let the outside appearance of the school fool you into thinking what goes on in the classroom reflects the ancient ar-chitecture. Each student has his or her own laptop. Most rooms have smart boards. And eighth graders this year became the first stu-dents with I-pads. Others will soon follow. “Do teachers care about stu-dents?” Every schools says theirs do, but where are they when you really need them? You’ll see here how students routinely hang out with teachers in classrooms before and after school plus even during lunch and breaks. You’ll also see teachers attending ball games and activities because they want to be there rather than have to be there. “Is your Head of School’s door really always open?” Yup.

Top 10 Subjects to Bring Up Along Pilgrim Guided Tour

10 - Ms. Salter’s championship rowing career9 - Coach Josh’s sidelight as a stand-up comedian8 - Senora Arribas’s recipe for her scrumptious cookies7 - Dr. Walker’s background as physician in China6 - Mr. Kopp’s experience in a punk rock band5 - Ms. Innes’s latest published series of poems4 - Mr. Smith’s infamous “airport” computer story3 - Ms. Kong’s rendition of the JFK Oval Office photograph2 - Ms. Ortega’s prior career as a Los Angeles Lakers Girl1 - Dr. Brooks’s Montana Daredevil fund raising tale

You Can Judge a School By Its . . .

You know what they say about a book and its cover. The Pilgrim Open House, though, gives The Commonwealth an opportunity to showcase for the first time the artistry of John Rehwald, whose cartoons will now appear in each of our issues. John’s contribu-tion here takes you step by step through the process of an Open House, Pilgrim style. We not only hope that you enjoy John’s work, we also hope that those of you at-tending Open House will be able to identify with his character who finds a home at Pilgrim School.

The CommonwealthSam

Kim

OCTOBER 31, 20114

Pilgrim Connections Prove It’s a Small World After All

Will Safety Net OfSocial Security BeThere For Teens?

Power Of Social Network Shows In “Arab Spring”

Although the furthest many of us feel comfortable looking ahead is to col-lege, it is important for us not to lose sight of what will come after — not only 10 or 15 years after college, but 50 or 60. Given medical and scientific break throughs, it’s possible that members of our generation and the ones that follow may have to look 70 or even 80 years forward. Where will we be then? What will we be doing? Will we be secure? As young as we are, it is basically impossible to predict our futures, but we need to be considering these ques-tions as the future of our safety net of social security is being threatened by current political developments. During the Depression Era prior to World War II, many Americans age 60 or older simply did not have the funds with which to retire. As a result of this problem, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt enact-ed a program called “Social Security” that created a trust fund contributed to by em-ployers, employees, and the self-employed. Upon their retirement, workers were then able to draw a monthly allowance from the fund. The bulk of the program generates the funding for the Old Age and Survivors Dis-ability Insurance (OASDI) and Supplemen-tal Security Income (SSI), reserved for the aged, blind, and disabled. Today’s retirees draw a yearly average of about $13,000 from the Social Security fund. There is no question that the upcoming Presidential election of 2012 will be crucial to the continuation or elimination of many things we take for granted in our government. Every election in the four-year-cycle has the potential to change the course of our history. But we need to real-ize that our futures and that of our children may be at stake when the Social Security safety net that ensures our safety is tied to the outcome of President Obama’s bid for reelection. Republican frontrunner Rick Perry has been the candidate most under fire for his remark that Social Security is “a Ponzi Scheme,” which refers to the illegal practice of an individual, a firm, or, in the case, a government receiving money with the promise of a return on that investment but then not following through on that promise.

It’s easy for students to feel power-less in a world that seems controlled by bu-reaucracies, corporations, and faceless au-thorities. Even so, we have more power than youth has ever had, with constant commu-nication and the resources of the Internet to back up the restless ideas that move genera-tions to be different than their predecessors. Although teenagers don’t often recognize the influence that comes with these tools, the recent “Arab Spring” serves as testimony to unimaginable power of communication. Since a Tunisian man set himself on fire in a public square in protest of the way he was treated by police who were car-rying out the edicts of an oppressive regime, it has seemed as though much of the Middle East has been similarly self-immolating in a way that could lead either to a new age among the world’s most troubled areas, or, to quote the Peter Townsend lyric, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” Tunisia’s regime was first to fall. It didn’t take long before Egyptians took to the streets of Cairo to protest economic con-ditions while calling for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, whose reign was over once his military backed the people rather than Mubarak. Yemen and Libya were next to erupt, followed by smaller clashes in many other countries. The results have cast the region into arguably even more serious debt and chaos than it was prior to the pro-tests. Every revolution has at its core both means and cause, with the latter usually more convoluted than the former. Most of the Middle Eastern protests have been cen-tered on economic conditions — high un-employment, food prices, and corrupt gov-ernments — that extend across and beyond the region. The means of the Arab Spring, though, is perhaps even more interesting than its cause. Facebook, Twitter, and You-Tube. Who could’ve imagined that such tools as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, which appear innocuous or even frivolous to us, could play such an important role in starting and sustaining revolutions? We teenagers use the social networks for such non-revolutionary activity as changing BFF statuses. Yet for groups of ordinary citizens on the other side of the world, the web sites

have provided an invaluable resource. Many rebel groups have attested to the criti-cal role that social networks played in their battles against their countries’ governments. As one anonymous protester in Cairo recently said, “We use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world.” What do we do? We use Facebook to like pages such as “I Wish Music Played During Epic Mo-ments of My Life and Not Just in Movies.” We use Twitter to share pictures of our food. The number of us who have so far used You-tube to watch Justin Bieber sing “Baby” is 647,530,232 and counting ... and counting again. Notice a bit of discrepancy? This is not to suggest that we all start using the internet for the sole purpose of forming rebellions. We must, however, be careful not to ignore its full potential for uniting a generation that frankly can do with some uniting. I’m not advocating full-on revolution (not yet, at least), but only will-ingness to take a solid, informed, serious stands on issue that we believe need to be addressed. It isn’t as if we lack opinions, or we are apathetic and jaded about everything involving the outside world. Since just as many of us care deeply about current events as any other generation did, why haven’t we taken action? We have the means and the capability to change things, yet we still fear utilizing them. We forget that not every revolu-tion involves police brutality, destruction, and pain for both sides. Some of the most effective rebellions have been in the heads of freethinking, well-informed people who have a clear notion of the world they wish they live in, and the desire to turn such a dream into a reality It’s easy to underestimate our power as a cyber-connected generation, arguably one of the first of what will be many more to come. We have the ability to spread “the word,” whatever it may be, to anyone who might take notice. We should look at the “Arab Spring” as way for us to realize that our ability to communicate as never before is a gift we are only begin-ning to understand. With it, we not only can hope to change the world, we can change it for the better.

Lily Armstrong gazes at the globe as she prepares to share with her Commonwealth readers in this and every succeeding issue her perspective on current events and pop cultural trends that not only affect our world but also affect Pilgrim students as they look toward their futures.

By Lily Armstrong

By Lily Armstrong

Perry’s point is that although there is enough money in the Social Security system to cover funding for current retirees, there will not be enough to cover funding for future retirees. Our generation will be especially hard hit because there will soon be more people in this country who are re-tired than there are those who are working. What does that mean for us? We’ll likely have to work longer and pay more into the Social Security system to ensure that we’ll also have a safety net in our old age. Perry’s rivals Mitt Romney and Michelle Bachmann share his beliefs to some extent. All three candidates have voted to raise the retirement age from its current 62 to 67 in order to cut down on the amount of funds being paid out, believ-ing that the program substantially affects national debt. Additionally, all three support at least the partial privatization of Social Security, where individuals could manage their own accounts. But with the stock mar-ket in such a state of flux, a privatized fund might very well also be a losing proposi-tion. What these candidates appear to be ignoring is that Social Security is not as devastating to the national economy as they presume. In fact, the reality is that the fund has over two trillion dollars that the government has borrowed against and still needs to pay back. Social Security is not the cause and therefore should not be penalized for causing the national deficit. Another criticism of Social Security is how the system is running out of money, which is also untrue. At least in the near future, Social Security should have no trouble funding full benefits for the 97% percent of Americans who at least partially rely on it their monthly checks in order to sustain themselves in their old age. We cannot underestimate the importance of Social Security, and how crucial it is to the lives of our retirees. And even in our teenage years, we have to remember that as distant as it is, we are de-termining our own futures with the continu-ation, elimination, or privatization of Social Security. We owe it not only to ourselves but also to our children and grandchildren to fight hard to ensure that there will always be a safety net in our futures as well as in theirs.

The Commonwealth

Sam K

im

The Facebook home page is familiar to students at Pilgrim and elsewhere, but as Lily points out, those same students are often unfamiliar with the power of the social media.

Courtesy of Xavier Sallas-Brookw

ell

OCTOBER 31, 20115

Time Has Come To Seize The DayThis Is Their Year OfLiving DangerouslyBy Chloe Chais & Delina Yemane

Chloe: Senior year.Delina: Scary.Chloe: No time to mess up. But it’s not like we have any time to do anything any more.Delina: You mean the college apps?Chloe: And the SAT. I’ve already taken the test three times. Now it’s on to the ACT. It’s a whole lot of pressure. You keep hearing from kids who’ve been there how tough it is, but until you do it yourself, you can’t imagine what it’s really like.Delina: The toughest part is trying to hard to balance everything. You have the apps. You have schoolwork. You have sports …Chloe: Time management; that’s the thing. You can’t sit on Facebook all night. You can’t watch TV like you used to do. I can’t even eat dinner with my family anymore.Delina: Then when you find the time to do all the college work, it’s even harder than you thought it would be.Chloe: How do you write the personal essay? You’re supposed to do something to set yourself apart from all the other kids who are applying to the same colleges or for the same scholarships. Thousands of kids. But it’s not easy to write about yourself.Delina: You have to sell yourself. But you somehow can’t oversell or undersell yourself.Chloe: And the timing couldn’t be worse. With all the problems in the economy, more and more kids are applying to UC schools from out of state because the UCs are cheaper than private schools. All of a sud-den you’re in there with so many kids with over 2000 on the SAT, with 4.0 GPAs … with all these hours of community service … with all of captains of sports teams … Delina: It’s like the competition is harder now than it’s even been. And then once you make it to college and try to get a job, it will be even worse.Chloe: It helps, I guess, to know what you want to do.Delina: I’m looking into journalism, so I know I have to head in the direction of a communications major.

Door Always Open For Asb Leadership

Dr. Brooks shows that he means what he says about having an open-door policy by greeting ASB co-vice president Grace Cho, who shares her ideas with the Pilgrim Head of School.

By Gabriella Carmona

Chloe: I’ve known for some time that I want to be an English teacher. I guess if I didn’t know what I wanted to do, it would be even more of a challenge to try to figure out what colleges are best for me. No mat-ter where you end up, though, you realize you’re not going just to party. Delina: I know. I watch the news. I’ve talked with my parents about the economy. It’s really opened my eyes. Because pretty soon, you know you’ll be out there instead of here in our safe, comfortable world. But then, what can you do about it?

Chloe: I can win the lottery.Delina: You’ll have to wait until you turn 18 to spend your millions.Chloe: Won’t be long. I’ll actually be able to drive my car with friends in the passen-ger seats.Delina: I turn 18 in April. By then, all of the college apps stuff will be behind me. Then the waiting begins to see where you’re headed and before you know it, it’s time to update your college status on Facebook.Chloe: But as long as we’re still here, we have to remember that we’re the ones who are being watched. We’re the ones who are role models for all the little kids who go to our school. You have to censor yourself when you’re out in the yard or in the chapel or anywhere else when they’re around. They watch you. They look at you. They look up to you.Delina: They remind me of myself when I first came here. I’ve been here since baby-hood. When we leave, we’ll all cry, but my tears will be more.Chloe: Sounds like a relationship.Delina: As a senior, you can’t be looking to carry on a relationship. You have to try to find somebody who is willing to break things off when you have to go your sepa-rate ways to college.Chloe: I couldn’t go into a relationship knowing it will break off just because of college. You do face time on the computer. You meet halfway. You do anything you can to keep the relationship going. Other-wise it would be like a waste of time.Delina: Anyway, won’t be long now.Chloe: I love this school. But as a senior, it’s time to start a new chapter in my life. Delina: Are you ready to face the world?Chloe: Is the world ready for me?

Does this sound familiar? We hold student elections. The candidates give their speeches. We all vote. But does anything happen after that? We all love to complain about how boring spirit day is, or how much morning meeting cuts into our snack. We’re first to point fingers at ASB officers rather than ourselves. Sure, we’re not the ones who hold the fancy titles. We elected the presidents and vice-presidents for a reason. So it’s their fault if nothing gets done, right?

“Everyday you hear that ASB isn’t doing anything and how nothing is getting done,” says ASB co-president Chloe Chais, “but do we ever consider who is re-ally to blame?

So, what does the title of ASB president really entail, anyway? “We’re not the heads of school of the bosses,” Chloe says,. Dr. Mark Brooks is, of course, the Head of School plus the boss. What does he think?

“If ASB members believe that they want more say in what we do around here,” Dr. Brooks says, ”I’d be happy to have regular meetings with them. Go ahead and schedule it and we’ll talk.”

Co-president Dustin Park plans to take advantage of the offer.

“We raise school spirit by mak-ing things fun and interesting, and I never complained about our lack of power from the start,” Dustin says, “but Dr. Brooks has given us the opportunity to have a more realistic leadership role.” But change isn’t always so easy to see.

“I guess there’s not enough visual change,” Chloe says, “but trust me, we’re trying, and it’s already hard to maintain the same stuff from last year that ASB created. Things may not seem too different, but with everyone carrying the negativity of the past, nothing will ever change.” Dr. Brooks has great expectations for this year’s group of officers that also include co-vice-presidents Gabe Garza and Grace Cho. “I think so far this has been the best start in a while for ASB,” Dr. Brooks says. “The members seem to have the most spirit that we’ve seen around here,” which says a lot since everyone can remember the infamous break dancing by last year’s president, Valentine Adell, as a way to get the student body excited for Homecoming. Though there’s no head spins or moonwalk-ing going on in morning meetings this year, ASB members have new ideas on how to

raise morale, “I was thinking of making a sug-gestion box,” Dustin says, “for what do to during spirit day, and to make some sort of incentive for more school spirit, because the current attitude cannot stand. You many not believe this, but it’s hard to get a high school student excited, especially when it involves school, yet we won’t give up. We want to incorporate more variety in the different fun days, while trying to get rid of some of that negativity that becomes contagious,” Yet with all these proposals, things won’t change if students don’t keep open minds about choosing to participate. It’s understandable sometimes to think what it would be like around Pilgrim in terms of school spirit if the student body weren’t so small. But being so small and diverse also has its advantages. “Going to such a diverse school with lots of different people makes us so unique,” says Chloe, “but with so many dif-ferent kids from so many different cultures having so many different interests, not everyone is going to be pleased with the same thing. We need to figure out a way to get everyone involved.” Chloe’s message is music to Dr. Brooks’s ears. “Why wouldn’t I want to have our students more involved? “ he says. “You are my customers, after all, and I’m all for having high school kids be excited about wanting to become a bigger part of our school.” With an offer for more power clearly on the table, Chloe has already made her move. “We are meeting with Dr. Brooks,” she says. “But it’s not like we’re planning on going in there and tell him that we want to do this or we want to do that. We are very well aware of how fortunate we are to have someone like Dr. Brooks. He’s the boss. He’s the one everyone looks up to. We’re not looking to give him ad-vice. We want to hear his advice for us.” But it’s not just the officers who have to do their jobs. “If any student isn’t happy about anything,” Dr. Brooks says, “you should be dropping in on me, you can help me earn my paycheck.” And students go to any of the ASB officers, they will help Chloe and Dustin earn their legacy. “We want,” Chloe says, “ to help change something not only for this school year, but for next year. That would make us feel like we did our jobs, even if some of us won’t be around to enjoy the changes.”

The Commonwealth

Sam K

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Sam K

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It’s Chloe on the left and Delina on the right, as the seniors face off while sharing their views on issues that affect Pilgrim School students while they also look to their futures.

The Commonwealth will present in each issue this school year a free-flowing discus-sion between seniors Chloe Chais and De-lina Yemane in which they exchange their opinions on a wide range of topics dealing within and beyond Pilgrim School.

OCTOBER 31, 20116

According to Head of School Dr. Mark Brooks, the headline that sweeps across these centerfold pages could be the theme based on all of the changes that have taken place around the Pilgrim School campus this year. “I love change,” says Dr. Brooks. “If you’re not making improvements, you’re falling behind.” Seeing is believing how all the people, places and things have added to the foundation that Pilgrim established in 1958 as an extension of the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. Over more than a half-century, the campus has taken on different sizes and shapes to meet the needs of its students, teachers and administrators. Gradua-tion classes come and go, but the tall tower of the Church still serves as a beacon for all current and prospective students to call Pilgrim School their home away from home. This year has marked a particular series of changes to the campus that range from major reconstruction to subtle changes designed to help students at every age and level feel comfortable enough in their surroundings to learn as much about themselves as they learn about their curriculum. “What you see now,” Dr. Brooks says, “is only a warm up. I’m talking about more to come in the short term and in the long term. I need to keep finishing projects because I want there to always be a surprise for everyone at Pilgrim.” Of course, the biggest change that takes place every school year at Pil-grim is the influx of new students, teachers, staff and administrators. As the pic-ture collage within this centerfold shows, there are changing places all around the campus, but as Dr. Brooks says, those changes “are never as important as the changing faces.”

The Commonwealth

Just as the elevator couldn’t function all the way to the top without the source of power at the bottom, Head of School Dr. Mark Brooks is the engine that drives everything that hap-pens throughout the Pilgrim School campus. As one sec-ondary school stu-dent put it, “Having someone like Dr. Brooks look out for you is like having another parent. His extended family is made up of hundreds of students.”

The Academic Resource Center for secondary school students has undergone such a face lift from last year to this year, it’s like the former version never existed. “The difference,” says senior Audrey Dalton, “is like going from dark and dreary to light and bright.” No longer just a hangout, the library is a source of inspiration. “You see all the new surroundings,” Audrey says, “and it makes you feel like working.” Of course, there will still always be times when the greatest resource of the room is its comfy couches for moments of relaxation.

This year was no different from all the rest at Pilgrim for the way the secondary school took on a different shape and tone with the influx of transfer students. The boys and girls shown here from grades 7-12 show their togetherness as well as their enthusiasm about how they’ve become members of Pilgrim School’s community.

The academics at Pilgrim are challenging enough that no one would describe keeping up with classes as a day at the beach. Yet the start of the 2011-12 school year once again was highlighted by a trip to the seaside, where new students could make friendships with re-turning students that will last not only through the year, but through their stay at Pilgrim.

Sam K

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Sam K

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Pilgrim’s Extreme Makeover:

Elevating Ourselves To New Heights

OCTOBER 31, 20117

According to Head of School Dr. Mark Brooks, the headline that sweeps across these centerfold pages could be the theme based on all of the changes that have taken place around the Pilgrim School campus this year. “I love change,” says Dr. Brooks. “If you’re not making improvements, you’re falling behind.” Seeing is believing how all the people, places and things have added to the foundation that Pilgrim established in 1958 as an extension of the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. Over more than a half-century, the campus has taken on different sizes and shapes to meet the needs of its students, teachers and administrators. Gradua-tion classes come and go, but the tall tower of the Church still serves as a beacon for all current and prospective students to call Pilgrim School their home away from home. This year has marked a particular series of changes to the campus that range from major reconstruction to subtle changes designed to help students at every age and level feel comfortable enough in their surroundings to learn as much about themselves as they learn about their curriculum. “What you see now,” Dr. Brooks says, “is only a warm up. I’m talking about more to come in the short term and in the long term. I need to keep finishing projects because I want there to always be a surprise for everyone at Pilgrim.” Of course, the biggest change that takes place every school year at Pil-grim is the influx of new students, teachers, staff and administrators. As the pic-ture collage within this centerfold shows, there are changing places all around the campus, but as Dr. Brooks says, those changes “are never as important as the changing faces.”

The CommonwealthSam

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Sam K

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Sam K

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Sam K

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Seniors Cosmo Kelly (left) and Dustin Park (right) share time during a break from their academics while lounging on the new patio designed as a place for secondary school stu-dents to take advantage of typically good weather to match the typically good company.

Left: The new elevator that can whisk passengers from the bowels of the Seaver Building to the top of the Art Center is truly an apt meta-phor for how the changes around campus allow stu-dents to reach higher than ever while they attempt to reach their personal goals.

Right: The control panel of the new elevator with all of its buttons is like the op-tions that Pilgrim students have when they choose their courses, their sports and their clubs. The buttons that they push will determining where their experience at Pilgrim takes them.

Secondary school librarian Ms. Kris Williams came to work one recent morning and noticed a Pilgrim teacher with several students working at one of the sets of tables and chairs. “This,” she said, “is exactly what I was hoping to see af-ter all the changes we made.” Not only have Pilgrim students made greater use of the fourth-floor room, they’ve also taken more advantage of its collec-tions on the shelves. “We’ve already signed out nearly as many books so far this year,” Ms. Williams said, “then were signed out all of last year.”

This year was no different from all the rest at Pilgrim for the way the secondary school took on a different shape and tone with the influx of transfer students. The boys and girls shown here from grades 7-12 show their togetherness as well as their enthusiasm about how they’ve become members of Pilgrim School’s community.

Sam K

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“You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”

Elevating Ourselves To New Heights

OCTOBER 31, 20118

our mr. manly: a stand up guy

Just who is Josh Manly? To some at Pilgrim School, he’s the I.T. guy. To others, he’s a coach. An assortment of endless jobs and responsi-bilities has earned him the title Hardest Man to Find on the Pilgrim campus. Yet between coaching and confiscating laptops, Mr. Manly also finds the time to work as a stand-up comedian.

And that’s no joke. “About a year ago,” Mr. Manly says, “when I saw my friend do it (perform comedy) in Hollywood, I thought I was probably funnier than he was, so I started to write something out, auditioned for a show, and got it.” Although finally landing his break into “the biz,” Mr. Manly still had a lot of work to do to schedule shows, fill up the house, and keep his audience capti-vated. His first few shows produced a good turnout of fellow comedians along with friends and other supporters. But wouldn’t that make someone extremely nervous? “When you’re doing stand up,” Mr. Manly says, “you start off with open mic night, working with friends on improv-ing material. The first time, I was really nervous, but after a couple of times, I fi-nally got my routine down, calming myself down before I would go on.” When asked to describe his rou-tine, Mr. Manly says, “I guess I’m more of a storyteller than just a punch line come-dian.” With his busy schedule, dealing with computer emergencies throughout the Pilgrim campus until he hits the practice field or court every day with football, bas-ketball and baseball teams, Mr. Manly has not been able to perform as often as he would like, but rather when his schedule allows him. Find-ing a balance is necessary to keep him sane (with something stronger than coffee in the morning!). “Everything feeds into each

other,” Mr. Manly says, “and when I’m working, possible scenarios are running through my head - like a GPS system help-ing me get mugged or something like that. I don’t really tell jokes about what I do at work, and that’s why I like the freedom of stand-up comedy.” If the material doesn’t come from work, where does it come from? “I usually find my inspiration in newspapers, “Mr. Manly says, “and things that I was into when I was in high school, as well as things that I see around on TV or nearby places.” No one knows Mr. Manly at school better than Mr. Jose Reyes, who is in charge of the Pilgrim Information Technol-ogy department. According to Mr. Reyes, “Mr. Manly manages to keep his different hobbies and interests separate from work- related matters, while taking that work seri-ously, even when the occasional joke may slip into the mix.” Like a student who crams for a final exam yet still has anxiety when he or she opens up the booklet, Mr. Manly must deal with possibility when he takes the stage that for some reason his audience won’t respond to his routine the way he hopes it will. “It’s rule #4 in the stand up guide,” Mr. Manly says, “in that you keep telling your jokes, and never acknowledge if no one is laughing. It’s kind of like in sports, where you don’t stop doing what you’re strong at just because it’s not work-ing. You try and adapt what you’re doing to improve yourself all the way.” Like any other comedian, Mr.

Manly has had his share of off nights to go along with those when he has shined the brightest. “Yeah, I’ve had bad nights,” he admits. “I’ve been the funniest person in a group of 100 people, and I’ve been the worst on stage with only 10 people. “It really depends on any given night. I started off strong, and I was hon-estly one of the funniest people up there. On a scale of 1-10, I think that it depends on any given night, I could be a 2 or a 10.” Just where does Mr. Manly see this comedic road taking him? Is it pos-sible that someday he will give up his ca-reer working within a high school to work full-time in show business? “Right now, comedy is more so a hobby than it is an actual career,” he says, “and I think it could be a career, but that would involve me giving up things that I love, like coaching, in order to be a come-dian.” Mr. Manly may have has profes-sional proof that he is indeed the funni-est guy in his group, but there is always someone who insists that he is even funnier than the comedian. For Mr. Manly, that guy is his good friend and Pilgrim Math teacher, Mr. Joe Concialdi. “Yeah, Josh is the man, “ Mr. Con-cialdi admits, “and he’s just a really funny guy to be around.” While he may only think that he’s the funniest one in his group, Mr. Concialdi speaks for everyone at Pilgrim when he says that he comes to school each day “hoping to see [Mr. Manly’s] smiling face.”

X Marks The Spot In Fall Sports Although many students are natu-rally disappointed with the second consecu-tive year without a high school football team, Pilgrim School athletics are doing better than ever, thanks to the success of a new Fall sport where a group of boys and girls from grades 9-12 have surprised even themselves with how well they have been instantly able to compete in their series of Cross Country meets. The idea of trying to hang in there over a three-mile course while competing against dozens of competitors from a half-dozen or more schools is one thing. But to do it after never having previously competed on an organized team has even the runners

themselves amazed. Sophomore co-captain Marina Pena followed up her second-place debut performance by winning her next four races in Encino, La Crescenta and Simi Val-ley. Junior co-captain Gabe Garza began the season with a third-place and two second-place finishes against up to 84 runners be-fore he became the first Pilgrim boy to finish first in a meet. “I felt really accomplished because I never expected to perform well. I didn’t know I had the skill,” Gabe said. “It’s the first sport I’m good enough at to be a lead-er.” Gabe has played basketball the past two years, but in comparison to cross-country, his other sport was, “just a thing I do. I don’t feel like a huge part of the team.” Though their success has been

dramatic, it has also come as no surprise to anyone who has noticed up to 17 Pilgrim students running in their packs around the school or through Lafayette Park day after day after day. A typical workout includes a conditioning run between 30 and 40 minutes nonstop, followed by a series of high-energy quarter-mile laps. Not only have the runners covered up to four or five miles in a prac-tice, they have also been out there working on days when the temperature exceeded 100 degrees. No wonder that they’ve enjoyed success when they get to line up against their opponents. Marina participated in volleyball last year, but she jumped at the chance to join the first Pilgrim cross country team. “I used to always run with my brother,” she said, “so I figured why not do it at school, too?” Like everybody else, Marina finds all the motivation that she needs from Coach Smith. He’s no stranger to his athletes, hav-ing taught them either last year, this year, or both years he’s been at Pilgrim in his Eng-lish or newspaper classes. “Coach Smith is fun, “ Marina said. “He pushes you toward being your best. He acknowledges what the individual’s best should be, and doesn’t compare one runner to another.” Marina and Gabe aren’t the only runners who’ve had their share of success. Junior Liliana Perez has finished as high as fourth while sophomore Gabriella Carmona has run eighth and ninth. Junior Eli Halb-reich has finished as high as eleventh, soph-omore Aaron Chin seventeenth and junior Drew Robinson nineteenth. The girls have finished second in several meets in the team competition, while the boys have been as high as third. It was disappointing not to have a high school football team again this year, but if there was one, the cross-country run-ners may not be doing as well as they are. Nicknamed the “miracle team,” because of the impressive turnout with little previous training, the cross-country team has proven to be an instant and significant improvement

to the overall Pilgrim athletic program.

* * *

The volleyball team may not have the most wins this season, but the Lady Pa-triots can be summed up in one word: heart. Captain and four-year player De-lina Yemane described recent years as the “reconstruction era,” but the team doesn’t let the scoreboard get them down. “When we’re losing, people get down on them-selves,” explained freshman Mae Humphre-ville, “but we pick it back up and finish the game because we’re a team.” Even through the most difficult times on the court, the Lady Pats look up to their coach, Mrs. Sarah Nichols, who has been playing volleyball competitively since childhood while coaching at Pilgrim for the past five years. “You can tell that she has dedicat-ed her life to volleyball for so long,” Delina says about her coach, “She just wants to pass on the passion. And she has made so many of us love the sport.”

* * *

Even though the high school may not have had enough student interest to form a football team this year, the middle school was able to field a sixth-grade team as well as a joint seventh-and-eighth grade team, both coached by Josh Manly and Joe Concialdi. This is not unusual for Pilgrim School, so some may ask, “Where do the football play-ers go when they graduate middle school?” Some transfer, others lose interest. “We prepare them for any program, not just Pilgrim’s,” Coach Manly said. Just how do they do that? “We try to teach them successful habits in practices so that they can be the best they can be. Football is a culture, not a sport. People have to believe in that culture. My job as a football coach is to inspire ath-letes to want to join that culture.”

By Delina Yemane

By Chloe Chais

Co-captains Marina Pena (left) and Gabe Garza (center) lead the Pilgrim Cross Country team that has exceeded expectations while literally off and running during its first season.

Mr. Manly can entertain audiences as well as maintain our computers.

The Commonwealth

Courtesy of Joshua M

anly

Sam K

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OCTOBER 31, 20119

Worthy Causes Bring Out BestHer Personal Loss

Has Inspired Others

Ms. Atwood led Pilgrim students in the Walk for ALS in memory of her father.

Abby shows her determination to complete the combination of swimming and running while raising money to help support a cause.

By Delina Yemane

The Commonwealth

Courtesy of N

atalie Bergman

By Abby Bergman

If you composed a Bucket List of 1,000 things to do before you died, what would it include? Would you go bungee jumping? Travel the world? Even get a crazy tattoo? But what if all your dreams were cut short when you’re told you have only two years to live? What if the message was de-livered to a loved one, and you have to deal with your emotional pain to match his or her physical pain? Pilgrim School Director of Com-munications Ms. Kathryn Atwood had to deal with the heartbreaking scenario when her father, Roger Atwood, was diagnosed in 2003 with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease in memory of the iconic New York Yankee who was struck in his prime by the degener-ative disease. Gehrig’s affl iction was ironic because he had previously earned the nick-name “Iron Horse” for the way he appeared indestructible through a record 2,130 Major League baseball games. Gehrig famously reacted to his di-agnosis by declaring himself, “The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth.” Yet as Ms. Atwood and all those who have dealt with the incurable disease as either patients or caregivers have learned, dealing with ALS changes everything for everyone involved. Which is why she is doing all she can to make a difference in the fi ght to fi nd a cure. A hush came over Shatto Chapel on a Tuesday morning back in September when Ms. Atwood addressed the secondary school student body with a heavy heart as

she described her experience watching her father struggle with the disease that also gained nationwide attention through the best-selling book Tuesdays with Morrie that is now a staple of most schools’ summer reading lists. “It breaks my heart every time I have to tell my story,” Ms. Atwood says, “but I wanted to share my thoughts on this disease. It’s important to never forget.”As students left the chapel that day, they not only were moved by Ms. Atwood’s story, they were also motivated to join her cause and participate with her in the walk. Nearly two dozen members of the secondary school marched with Ms. Atwood in a recent ALS Walk designed to raise funds for continued research into a disease that has so far proved to be as stubborn as it is devastating. It didn’t end there. As freshman Fernando Marks explains, “I want to help make a difference because my friend’s fa-ther passed away due to ALS. I saw the emotional impact it had on him and his fam-ily. I know there is no cure, but for now, the walk is the most I can do.” It’s easy to look at diseases such as cancer and ALS merely in terms of statistics, as in how many people suffer and ultimate-ly die from them. But when Ms. Atwood shared the story of her father, students were able to get a personal glimpse into how the disease affects the caregivers as well as its victims. “He was my best friend,” Ms. At-wood says of her father, “and he could al-ways put a smile on my face. On my fi rst Mother’s Day, I got a call from him. He was at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester Minnesota, and he had just been diagnosed with ALS. He then told me that he had two years to live. And I said, ‘Dad don’t be ridiculous. This is the modern age. You’re a doctor. There are treatments and medicines of all kinds.’ But he said no, there’s nothing you can do. ALS is 100% fatal and there’s no treatment or cure.” ALS is a progressive, neurodegen-erative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal chord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles through-out the body. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary

muscle action progressively affected, pa-tients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. Eighty per-cent die within two years of diagnosis. First, though, come the many moments of depen-dence that Ms. Atwood will never forget. “We got hand braces,” she says, “to keep his fi ngers from curling, and sock pulls so he could pull his socks up on his own. I spent hours on the Internet looking for ex-tra long bendy straws because he couldn’t pick up a glass, although it did cause my son some laughter as he watched his grandfather try to catch the straw around.” As a doctor who specialized in the study and treatment of lung disease, Ms. Atwood’s father understood implica-tions of ALS. “He knew,” Ms. Atwood says, “what the cost was for individuals to be on a breathing machine, and he drew the line at that. After you kind of wrap your head around that, which you don’t ever really do, you have to fi gure out what to do. “You try to fi nd ways to allow the person you love to maintain as much dig-nity and independence as possible. After the ALS attacked his arms and hands, it went to his diaphragm and lungs, and his lungs no longer functioned. That’s ultimately how he died.” “I think my dad would be so proud to see how much awareness we were able to raise. It took me a year to fi nally sit down and learn what ALS really was, and that was my fi rst step toward accepting that he had this disease. I don’t believe in acceptance in

terms of not fi ghting. When the diagnosis is so bleak as to be terminal with no cure and no treatment, that’s when you really have to fi ght, to change – not to accept and say, oh well, nothing we can do. That’s why we are walking and talking about it. Spreading awareness.” ALS takes a tremendous toll on the physical, fi nancial, and emotional resources of its victims and their families. ALS soci-eties and support groups around the world do much to help, but there’s always a need for more. “I do the walk every year with my son,” Ms. Atwood says, “because there’s nothing else we can do, other than raise money and help people in this community who can’t afford it. We were very lucky be-cause we could afford the wheelchair and a full-time nurse. I was back and forth so much of the time that Staff and I earned a free round trip tickets on Southwest!” It’s a welcome respite from the heartache to try and fi nd a bit of humor in such a tragedy, but it’s even more important for those left behind to try and put the expe-rience in its proper perspective, which Ms. Atwood appears to have done. “Knowing what ALS does to the person diagnosed with it, and to their friends and family, I will do everything I can to help fi ght ALS, to raise awareness and funds for research and for patient services in the local communities, but I respect those who want to put ALS behind them. For some, having closure is the best way to pay respect to their loved ones. But I will do everything to keep my father’s memory alive, to continue to fi ght his last fi ght. He was the best.”

I lift my arms and plunge them back into the cold water as I pass the second of the three buoy markers that are bright yellow and stick up about a foot

above the surface. As the waves crash against my body, I can barely catch a glimpse of the fi nal buoy that signals the end to my swim that is unlike my typi-cal workout or competition. I fi nd myself counting my strokes so that I do not stop too often. I let myself lift my head every thirty strokes, now every forty, but the buoy does not appear to be getting any closer. As much as I want to give in to the fatigue, I remind myself that today is different be-cause I’m not swimming for my club team or for myself. I remind myself that urge myself to keep going because today I’m swimming for a cause.

The time was late September, the place was off the coast of Malibu, and the cause I involved myself in was a swim for marriage equality, which has recently become a controversial issue not only in California but also nationwide. Over the course of three weeks leading up to the event, I raised $1,300 in pledges to donate to Equality California, a non-profi t organi-zation dedicated to working for fairness for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered persons in California. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to use my favor-ite sport to help others.

When we arrived at the beach on an overcast and chilly morning, I was shocked. I had expected the event to attract a large group of swimmers, yet there were only about twenty of us preparing to plunge into the ocean. But that just made me more resolute to do my best because it would take that much more effort from those of us who were supportive of the cause that is still reeling from a defeat at the ballot box nearly four years ago.

On November 4th, 2008, Califor-nians voted to pass Proposition 8, which prevented Gay and Lesbian couples from becoming legally married. In the few months prior to the election, same sex couples were able to legally marry in Cali-fornia, while the law also recognized those couples that married elsewhere. Once the measure was defeated by California voters, couples found themselves in the awkward situation of having their marriage recog-nized in one place but not in another. Since then, those who believe that people of the same sex should have the same rights as men and women who marry have continued to fi ght for their rights.

Events such as the one in Malibu serve not only to raise the necessary funds

to continue the fi ght, they also serve to re-mind everyone how important it is to bring a sense of justice to an issue that affects so many people around our state and across our nation. When I committed myself to the event and began soliciting pledges, I fi gured I’d raise a few hundred dollars, yet I was able to reach $1,300. Then, of course, I had to commit myself to the swim.

I round the fi nal buoy, carefully keeping the fi nish line directly ahead of me. The fi nal strokes are the hardest physically because they come at the end of a long swim, but they are also the easiest mentally because I know that the swim is almost over. I dive under a wave, grabbing sand on the bottom while continuing to make my way toward the shore. I’m soon in shallow water, then along the beach, where I run the fi nal leg of the event.

In no time, I cross the fi nish line to cheers from my family while just then noticing that I had completed the race only a few minutes behind Olympian Gary Hall, Jr. There were no medals to be handed out on this day, though, when the reward was the satisfaction that comes from doing your part in order to make something right.

Courtesy of K

athryn Atwood

Pilgrim school students gather with teachers and staff prior the October 23 walk to help fi nd a cure for ALS as another example of how the school reaches out to the community.

She Makes Every Stroke Count

Sam K

im

OCTOBER 31, 201110

He’s Busy Designing His Future

A New Twist On Our New ScheduleBy Ivan Esparza

(Continued from Page 1)

The start of the 2011-12 school year brought with it a breath of fresh air for Pilgrim School students. Eighth graders will soon become the first class to be given iPads as a part of the school’s plan to replace textbooks with e-books. There have also been many cosmetic changes made to make the campus more student-friendly. But the biggest change of all – the new daily class schedule - has also produced the most mixed feelings from students and teachers alike.

It seems as though everyone has an opinion on the schedule, but few can appreciate all that goes into building one to try to suit everyone’s needs. As one who has attempted to put a schedule together, Head of School Dr. Mark Brooks knows how challenging it can be.

“Most schools use a computer program to help them; you just type in all the classes your school offers, click a button and you’ve got a schedule. But when I punched everything in, it couldn’t make me a schedule. So I printed out sheets of paper representing each class Pilgrim offers and spent the whole night laying the school’s schedule on the floor. I moved furniture around to distinguish the different days of the week, shifting classes over and over.”

This year’s schedule features one more class per rotation, including a 90-minute weekly lab. ““I love them!” says Pilgrim science teacher Ms. Sarah Nichols. “They’re perfect for experiments that take more than 45 minutes. You don’t have to rush through the whole thing.”

Sophomore Abby Bergman, who is enrolled in the A.P. Biology that Ms. Nichols must teach at 7:30 in the morning because there’s no other place for it in the schedule, says, “The 90-minute long periods are good for some classes but not very good for others. It’s best for interactive classes but doesn’t feel productive for classes when you’re just taking notes.”

There’s even disagreement about whether starting each day at 8:30 rather than 8:00 is producing more rested and refreshed teachers and students. “I like being able to relax a little more in the morning,” says history teacher Ms. Elizabeth Turro; ”I can feel the dif-ference in how I’m no longer rushed.”

While Ms. Turro wishes, “that we’d stick with the same schedule,” the new one should be considered a work in progress. “It is so not finalized,” says Dr. Brooks. “We’ll look to make everything work.”

The Commonwealth

Product design, Dustin explained, is all about setting up a plan to meet the needs not only of the client but also of the eventual customers. Let’s say he was called in as a consultant when Pilgrim decided to revamp the second-ary school library. “I’d go in there,” Dustin said, “and create a vision for all the changes that need-ed to be made. I’d then turn the vision into a design. I’d talk things over with Dr. Brooks to see what he wants and what the school can afford. Then we’d work on turning the vision into a reality.” It’s clear to see that Dustin would not have the time to combine his talent for design with his passion for football when he explained how, “I have a teacher who I con-sider a mentor at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. “He also has a shop in Long Beach, and I go there and work some weekdays and on weekends. The experience has shown me how much I’d like to do this for a living. It also may help me get a start on that career.” Still, Dustin admits that there are days when he looks at the practice field filled with middle school football players he thinks that he should be out there with enough fellow high school students to form a varsity team. “I’ll always wonder,” he said, “what would’ve happened. How our season would’ve went. How much fun we

all could’ve had if we had a team. It espe-cially makes you wonder because you know you’ll never again go out, put on a uniform and get to play.” Dustin naturally doesn’t seem as confident as is Dr. Brooks that he has made the right decision. It somehow also doesn’t seem fair that teenagers must make such de-cisions at a time in their lives when they are still trying to enjoy themselves before they begin their careers that will last for decades.

Dr. Brooks is now able to see the issue from the perspective of a father rather than a stu-dent, still he understands it well enough to admit that he joked to his son, Will, that, “When he leaves for college, I’m renting out his room.” The point is that in order to be suc-cessful in such a competitive world these days, teenagers such as Will and Dustin have to look at the present as the time to pre-pare for the future. With some time and his own different perspective, Dustin can now look forward to someday looking back at this year as the one when took the first step along the road to his destiny.

With so much talk about the new schedule, we won-dered what is really on the minds of Pilgrim students as they go from one period to period to another, one day after another. So we put together our own ver-

sion, with commentary. What do you think?

“The experience has shown me how much I’d like to do

this for a living.”

Dustin displays his talent for design with a sample from his portfolio that he plans to use to help him study design art in the hops of making a career out of something he loves after he left behind a dream of forming a Pilgrim football team in his senior year.

Sam K

im

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Period 18:30-9:20

Period 18:30-9:20

Period 18:30-9:20

Period 18:30-9:20

Period 18:30-9:20

Snack Break(20 minutes)

Snack Break(20 minutes)

Snack Break(20 minutes)

Snack Break(20 minutes)

Snack Break(20 minutes)

On lookout for Coach Sarafian while trying to

beat the clock

Thank goodness for Starbucks after pulling

all-nighter

No such thing as T.G.I.F. with so many

tests

Hope teacher under-stands how my computer

ate my homework

A half-hour later start than last year, but still

can’t stop yawning

Period 29:40-11:10

ChapelPraying for divine guid-

ance on upcoming exam

Period 49:40-11:10

Period 39:40-11:10

Period 19:40-11:10

Daydreaming about last night’s video chats Wish I was as smart as

board in my classroomWhy not also extend snack into 90-minute

lab?

Was I ever as cute as preschoolers who walk through halls?

90 minute lab90 minute lab90 minute lab90 minute lab

Period 72:40-3:30

Period 72:40-3:30

Period 62:40-3:30

Period 72:40-3:30

Cringing when realizing left smelly P.E. clothes in

locker over weekend

Planning how homework won’t interfere with latest

Snooki episode

Must hide coach’s whistle so he/she can’t order series of sprints

Three words for dismissal: GAMING GAMING GAMING

Why can’t it be like this EVERY day?

Period 510:40-12:10

Thinking library couch would feel comfy now

Period 311:15-12:10

Period 511:15-12:10

Period 411:15-12:10

Period 211:15-12:10

Counting down another long period ...

89:55 ...89:50 ...

89:45 ... Buttering up seniors before placing off cam-

pus food order

Considering how much pipe organ

sounds like Dracula

Contemplating daring escape from Fodor-

land

Period 61:45-2:35

Period 11:45-2:35

Period 21:45-2:35

Wishing I had energy like kids have in yard

Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch

Will someone please tell me why ...

Lunch line is so long ... Yet teachers ... Can cut ... But we can’t?

Wondering if NBA and NFL players can strike, how about students?

Thinking I may go A.W.O.L. A.S.A.P on

day of S.A.T. Scratching itchy trigger finger on cell phone texting button

Period 72:05-2:55

Period 51:45-2:35

What good is weekend when you’re too tired

to do anything?

Period 412:50-1:40

Period 612:50-1:40

Period 112:50-1:40 Period 5

12:50-1:40

Period 312:50-1:40

Belching while regretting getting seconds at City

Cuisine

How can A.P. be so easy to spell but so hard to

pass?

Math Cafe: Not exactly like food court at the

mallMust figure out way to change password to site where mom con-stantly checks grades

Reminder to become B.F.F. with eighth

grader to use his/her iPad

OCTOBER 31, 201111

Gabby Is Dear To Her PeersBy: Gabriella Carmona

What can I do now that my best friend has graduated and I’m still here? Look on the bright side: you get all the benefits of being in college without hav-ing to do the work. That is, if your “friend “ doesn’t leave you behind for the cool kids in his or her dorm suite. You’ll get to go to all the parties, maybe even pledge to become a member of a frat house. How about a soror-ity sleep over? Too far a trip? There’s always Facebook. Keep in touch as much as you can, and don’t get upset if you start drifting apart. Life goes on, and you have to live in the moment. Your time will come for col-lege. Where, who knows? You might even end up in the University version of Fodor-land. Relax and enjoy high school while you still can. What if my dream is to make the NFL but we have no high school football team? Who needs pro football anyway? The millions of dollars? The adulation from fans? The thrill of doing your touchdown

dance on national television? It’s a nice dream, but consider the reality. Pilgrim is a really, really small school where the focus is more on academics than it is on sports. If you have to play, there are always teams from outside of school to join. If you con-centrate on your studies and earn the type of education that leads to a great career, you’ll be enjoying your life when all those NFL guys are retired with all their concussions and broken bones. They will then envy you. How do I deal with parents who want me to take every AP class imagin-able? You first have to convince them that just because it’s easy to spell AP it doesn’t mean it’s easy to deal with the ma-terial. Convince them that it’s not called Advanced Placement for nothing. Sure, it’s great to see on your report card how that B you earned in AP magically transforms into an A when they figure out your grade-point average. Your mom will proudly tape your report card to the refrigerator to show off to

all the relatives. But it really isn’t worth it if you spend so much time keeping up you’re your AP class that you start to neglect your other classes. If you’re taking the class sim-ply to take the class, then it’s definitely not OK to take AP. How can I help my friend with-out cheating? Well, let’s consider the possibili-ties: if your test just so happens to be tilted on the edge of your desk in the direction of your friend … of if you somehow drop your scantron sheet to the floor and your friend does the courteous thing and picks it up for you … On second thought, you’d probably feel guilty in either case and the fact that your friend earned a higher than usual grade would be no consolation. So, how about simply trying to help your friend before the test. Try it, you’ll like it, and you might even feel the kind of satisfaction that comes from doing a good deed. You could also suggest that your friend seeks help from the teacher. That’s what they’re there for, after all. How do I handle taking the SAT for the first time? You know the drill that everyone has practically memorized since childhood: get a good night’s sleep, eat a hearty break-fast, bring a suitcase full of No. 2 pencils and remember everything you were supposed to learn from the 6,578 SAT prep courses that your parents have made you take ever since you could write the letters S-A-T. I’d like to say you can simply boycott the test or move to Canada, but there’s no way out if you want to go to college. Instead, I’ll suggest that you chill out rather than stress out over the test. If all else fails, remember that you earn 200 points just for signing your name. How do you handle the new schedule when you liked the old one? You mean you haven’t found your Academic Nirvana in one of those 90-min-ute classes where even the teacher sneaks

sips of Red Bull to somehow stay awake? Take charge of your schedule. Have your history lesson in the Little Yard while you kick higher and higher on the swings. Now you know how the Wright Brothers felt. You could always revolt, but if that’s not your cup of tea - get it? - you need to get used to the schedule. It’s set in stone this year, but may be changed next year. Have any ideas? Pass them along to the administration. But just make sure you don’t do it by text mes-sage in the 89th minute. What if I get caught in the new school elevator? Been there, done that. Really, we’ve all have those moments of scrambling to get to the art center on top of the campus when lunchtime is over and you know you’ll be late again for class if you try to beat it up the stairs. It’s so tempting to push that button and forget about exercise. I feel obligated to remind you that taking the elevator is strictly against the rules, but who among us hasn’t craved that adrenaline rush while living in fear that someone will be waiting for you when the doors open - if they open. But who can resist feeling the rush from the unmis-takable aroma of crayons coming from the fifth floor exit. Somehow you must resist. Your heart will thank you for it. What do I do when I have a free period but no work? Talk about a dilemma. Yours is like trying to pick between two heartthrobs who ask you to the prom. I’m actually kind of stumped here because I am so green with envy about your problem. But here goes: Sharpen up on your math skills by counting the number of tiles there are in the hallways. Brush up on your geography by taking a tour of the campus. Perform a self-service biol-ogy lab by calculating how long it takes you to fall asleep. You can then actually be pro-ductive by studying for an upcoming exam or finishing an essay. Of course, there is al-ways one more alternative: you could trade your free period with me.

Gabriella demonstrates her versatility while giving fellow student Denis Bronkar some advice in her role as Dear Gabby that appears in each issue of The Commonwealth.

“How Could I Ever Stop Being A Teacher?” Entering Mr. Hassan’s classroom any given morning, you witness a group of eager and energetic boys and girls gathered around his smart board while planning the upcoming days. In explaining Back to School Night, Mr. Hassan tells his students, “Moms and Dads come and I get to show them that I have the greatest class in the world!” The kids are so happy to hear this, they immedi-ately begin clapping and cheering as if Bugs Bunny had just come to life. Mr. Hassan joined the Pilgrim community in Fall 2010 when he was of-fered his own class compared to co-teach-ing a class as he did at his previous school. Lucky for Pilgrim students, he has no inten-tion of leaving. “I love the people I work with, faculty, administration, the kids, of course,” Mr. Hassan, says “but the class sizes are not found anywhere else. Everyone here receives the attention they need.” The overwhelming response from Pilgrim faculty regarding why they stay is their relationships with and their influence over students. Chinese teacher, Dr. Sherry Walker, began training to become a teacher in China at age 18, but two years later de-cided to go into the medical field. When she moved to the United States, she knew she had to go back to teaching when she asked herself, “How could I ever stop be-ing a teacher when I love my students and they love me? I see it in their faces when they smile. They are real. Twenty years from now, I will be able to see Xavier (Sallas-Brookwell) and Allen (Park) and give them a hug. They will tell me how their lives are so happy and it will make me happy.” But it’s not just the students who make Pilgrim teachers stay put. The past two

years, mathematics teacher Mr. Concialdi has gone back and forth about whether to leave here in order to continue his own edu-cation. Along came Dr. Brooks, who made it possible for Mr. Concialdi to keep on teach-ing while also pursuing a higher degree.“He [Mr. Concialdi] is really valuable as-set,” Dr. Brooks said. “So we worked out a deal where he was able to stay here but go to school. And we’re going to help him with that.” Mr. Concialdi appreciates the help. “I couldn’t ask,” he said, “for a better, more accommodating boss. I don’t think anyone else receives the hospitality and care that we do here.” Although “low pay” was also cited in the Times article as a deterrent to con-tinuing a teaching career, Pilgrim foreign language teacher and community service director Senora Arribas sees a trade off. “A big benefit of being a teacher,” she says, “is how much free time we have each year when school is out. I am able to travel back and forth to Spain, which I wouldn’t be able to do with any other profession. And it’s not only a vacation. I experience something new every time I go, and I bring back what I’ve learned and incorporate it into my classes.” No matter their salaries, some teachers also pointed out in the Times ar-ticle how frustration it is for them when they must deal with overcrowded classrooms that mean they can’t have the type of positive in-fluence on their students that they thought they would have when they entered the pro-fession. Once again, not a problem at Pil-grim, where teachers often build lasting re-lationships with their students. “Honestly,” Mr. Concialdi said,

“it’s the interactions with the kids, build-ing relationships, that keep you here. And it’s different each day. It’s wonderful to see when seniors pursue mathematics, like Reed [Lovitt] and Angela [Xu] are doing

now that they’re in college. It means that I had an influence on them. It makes you feel good because it makes you feel like you’re making a difference.”

The Commonwealth

Sam K

im

Sam K

im

(Continued from Page 1)

Dr. Walker says she’ll give Allen Park (left) and Xavier Sallas-Brookwell (right) a hug 20 years from now, but they decide not to wait until then to show off their togetherness.

OCTOBER 31, 201112

Pilgrim is known as the most cul-turally diverse school in Los Angeles be-cause of the many nationalities that are rep-resented within the student body. LA. But it’s not just where students come from that makes the school. It’s the students them-selves.

No one knows better than Head of School Dr. Mark Brooks how Pilgrim stu-dents offer so many individual talents to go along with their ethnicities. “These kids are fantastic,” he says, “because they are so tal-ented.” It’s not easy, though, to see what Dr. Brooks means. “I think we are talented in a less traditional way then other schools,” he said. ”

We at The Commonwealth decided to find out for ourselves. So we present the first installment of our series of profiles of students from all levels who show how see-ing is believing when it comes to Pilgrim’s talent.

You’d never know that Pilgrim sophomore Audrey Yun is an international

fencing champion. Then again, you prob-ably either never heard of or don’t know anything about the sport.

Audrey Yun has earned 21 medals over only three years. But let’s begin at the beginning. Audrey was 12 when she decid-ed to take an introduction to fencing course while attending Marlborough girls’ middle school. Fast-forward only three years later and it’s as if she learned her ABCs and then soon went on to write the great American novel. How did she do it?

“You need lots of hand-eye coordi-nation,” Audrey says. “You also need more developed muscles for smaller and faster movements. You also need more developed muscles for smaller and faster movements. To win, you need the touch the other guy 15 time with your epee (sword).”

When she puts it all together, Au-drey not only is able to win most of her matches, she’s also able to develop the skills she hopes will someday help her beyond her sport.

“I want to eventually make the Olympics and then take it all the way to the world championships,” Audrey says, “but I also want to use fencing to get into college. First, get into a great pre-med school with fencing and then, eventually all the way to medical school.”

By the time Audrey starts apply-ing to colleges, she’ll have an edge that

Head of School Dr. Mark Brooks suggests is common to Pilgrim students. “I think the fact that our ability to do so much is what gives us the advantage when applying to colleges,” he said. Such an advantage is more important than ever, due to how com-petitive the job market has become. Meantime, Audrey must figure out a way to balance her fencing with her school-work. One way is recognizing how the two have something in common. “Fencing is a mental game,” she says, “and it requires

lots of stamina.” So of course, does putting in a full day’s work at school. “I may look like the laziest kid ever,” Audrey says ”but when it comes to sports, I don’t get lazy be-cause it keeps me focused and happy. It also makes you work on academics when you have so little time, you have to get it done.”

In the end, Audrey’s talent may come in handy for you as well as for her. The next time you have to fight off a wild yak or fend off a mad cow, just call Audrey. She’ll defend you with her sword.

Audrey Yun (second from left) strikes a pose as a gold-medal winner in a recent international fencing competition while demonstrating she is one of Pilgrim School’s talented students.

America’s Got Talent - So Do Pilgrim K-12 Students By Jacob Hamilton

Changing course, setting sail

The CommonwealthC

ourtesy of IFA

Given the amount of Pilgrim students at every grade level who have skills that go beyond the classroom, The Commonwealth presents the first in a series of articles in which we will share what we learn about the many students who have hidden talents.

Can you find all the names of the new Pilgrim high students who are listed within the hull of the ship that also serves as our logo? Sophomore Au-drey Yun used her artistic talents to list the names of the many transfers who in turn have added their talents to the student body. With the first of two Open Houses coming up, there’s every reason to believe that Pilgrim will welcome aboard even more new students for the foreseeable future.