Panther Report March 14

Sought Out Seniors

 It’s a new semester, and with that comes more college recruitments for senior athletes. Here are some of your fellow panthers that have committed to colleges for sports.

 Megan White

Recruited for: track and field

Committed to: Concordia University

Sports career: Began running in seventh grade

Achievements: running the Simplot Meet in Idaho, the Dream Indor Meet in Fresno and the Stanford Invitational.

“I like running with other people who have a passion for the sport and have created many friendships throughout my years at Pres.”

Katy Tagart

Recruited for: volleyball

Committed to: University of the Pacific

Sports Career: Began playing in seventh grade.

Achievements: Took third at the Junior Olympics last summer

“I love playing in big matches under pressure. Nothing compares to the feeling of winning a big match with your team.”

 Tori Tsolis

Recruited for: track and field

Committed to: UC Santa Barbara

Sports Career: Has been playing since age 7.

Achievements: 800M WCAL champion freshman and sophomore year, 1600M WCAL champion junior year.

“ What I enjoy most about cross country and track is the team atmosphere. Running seems like an individual sport, but it really takes the support from your entire team to succeed.”

All For The Cause

 

Many people would say that shaving your head is a brave thing to do. Others may go as far as to call it crazy. But for Emily Purvis and Clare Smith, two seniors at Presentation, it is just another step in fighting and finding cures for cancer.

Purvis and Smith are planning to shave their heads and raise money for St. Baldrick’s Foundation through a bake sale and collecting donations. St. Baldrick’s is a volunteer charity founded in the year 2000 and headquartered in Monrovia, California. Through volunteers’ donations, the organization funds research that is working to find cures and treatments for childhood cancer. St. Baldrick’s encourages volunteers to shave their heads in solidarity with children suffering from cancer.

According to the St. Baldrick’s website, the charity has raised over $87 million dollars since its incep­tion. “When I heard about St. Bal­drick’s, it seemed like a perfect op­portunity to go short for a good cause,” said Smith.

Purvis and Smith plan to hold their fundraiser in the courtyard af­ter school on March 2. After shav­ing their heads, they will donate their hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, an organization that makes wigs for pa­tients who have lost their hair to che­motherapy or treatments for other diseases.

While they find it very impor­tant that cancer patients have wigs, this is not their primary goal in shav­ing their heads.

“Our main rea­son for doing this fundraiser is to raise money for cancer research,” said Pur­vis.

The girls chose St. Baldrick’s primarily because of its message. “It’s really incred­ible to see how many people are will­ing to give of themselves for such an im­portant cause,” said Smith. “To me, at least, these shaves show both chemo patients and society that bald is just as beautiful as the more-con­ventional head full of hair.”

Actually planning the fundrais­er, however, has been more difficult than thinking it up. “It actually took us a matter of months to get our fundraiser approved by the admin­istration, as well as to research the foundation and plan for the event,” said Purvis. Now, they are focusing on preliminary fundraising and planning what they will sell around school in late Febru­ary and early March. Their goal is to raise $500 for St. Baldrick’s, and according to their page on the St. Bal­drick’s website (stated below), they have al­ready raised nearly $200.

Purvis and Smith also met with some opposition from their families as well. Both girls said that, at first, their parents didn’t believe they were serious about the donation.

“When they realized that we were committed to going through with shaving our heads, they were skeptical but supportive,”Purvis said.

Although it may have been difficult for their parents to accept in the beginning, both girls now have full support from their families.

Many students also support and look up to them for their charity. “As girls, we value our hair much more then guys,” said junior Michelle Tran. “So to give it up for charity is amazing.”

Other Pres girls agree. “I think they are extremely brave, and I won­der if they personally know any children who have had to lose their hair because of chemotherapy,” said Erica Henderson, senior.

“It’s a really selfless way of showing support, since they’re going past donating spare change,” sopho­more Anne Gatesy said about the girls’ plan to shave their heads.

And how, you may ask, do the two seniors feel about their imminent baldness? They’re not worried in the least. “I’m kind of thinking that it’ll be more awkward for other people than it will be for me,” said Smith.

Purvis agrees. “People will judge you regardless of what you look like, who your friends are, what you’re studying, your personality, you know, everything,” she said. “It’s ac­tually been really fantastic to realize that—it’s empowering to know that I’m comfortable enough with myself to be able to do anything and not worry what other people will think.”

C567: Against

Many changes have emerged in the Presentation community since school started, from security cameras to the handful of new faces among the faculty to the eco-friendly utensils in the center. However, one of these major changes—collaboration in the morning—has gotten mixed reviews from the student body. Though implemented to help alleviate stress among the students, C567 has done more harm than good. Arguably, its detrimental effects have added on more stress than before, contrary to its original purpose to let the students get more hours of sleep. Though for now C567 is only scheduled for one day a month, it should not continue to be a regular facet in Presentation life.

One problem with morning collaboration is that students don’t even get that much more sleep with C567 than they do on a normal school day. This especially applies to students who have to commute a longer way from home to school or students who drive themselves to school. These students usually get at most one more hour of sleep than they would on a normal school day, which is not sufficient enough to make up for the lack of sleep that the students have complained about in the past. According to a national traffic survey, the best weekday commuting hour is from 6 to 7 a.m. Particularly in San Jose, morning traffic peaks around 8 a.m. Part of the problem is that more people go to work from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., resulting in bumper-to-bumper traffic and congested freeways during this time. Some students have to get up early anyway in order to beat traffic on the way to school, which is why C567 does not necessarily benefit the entire student body.

Another way C567 has been adding stress is by taking away from time students would normally use to do their homework, meet with teachers, or work on group projects. While opponents would argue that students could just as easily do these things in the morning, several studies have established that teenagers’ body clocks make them very groggy in the morning. An early collab ensures that whatever work they get done during that time will be sub-par.

The other benefit of an afternoon collab is that it grants the students time to apply what they have learned earlier in the day. Doing homework immediately after the class allows students to apply the knowledge they learned while it’s still fresh in their minds.

Collaboration is also a time when students can come in to see their teachers for help, and having collaboration in the morning takes this benefit away from students seeking help. Students can meet with teachers before school starts, but with the busy schedules of both the students and the teachers, afternoon collaboration may be more convenient for both parties. After all, though full-time teachers are required to be at school by 7:30 a.m., many part-time teachers are not here early enough for students to meet with them for help before class starts in the morning.

Most importantly, C567 takes away from the flexibility of a block schedule. Being able to go home at 12:30 especially benefits student athletes who leave for away games in the afternoon and students who have jobs. Students who have jobs also benefit from an afternoon collab because it allows them to sign up to work more hours in the afternoon rather than after 3 p.m. This way, they can go home earlier after work to get started on their homework. Also, if the school day ends at 2:40 on a B day, student athletes may have to leave seventh period early in order to catch the bus, taking away valuable classroom time. Though this may not be an issue this semester, since C567 days fall on Mondays when games are not scheduled, it may be an issue next semester when the administration is planning to have C567 on some Fridays.

C567 may have benefited some students, but on the whole it is a counter intuitive change that most students can do without. Morning collaboration adds to student stress by taking away time students would use to do homework and making students more likely to be tardy in the morning. It also takes away from student-teacher time that is usually available on a 567C day, and not much sleep is returned for all these sacrifices made for a C567 day. C567 is still in its experimental phase, but it should not become a regular part of student life. After all, time is of the essence, and this time has proven to be better spent in the afternoon than in the morning.

New Security Cameras on Campus

When students returned from summer break this year, they may have noticed a few new additions to campus. They’re little, but behind their small statures is a wealth of knowledge. They’re shy, so you really have to pay attention in order to spot them. And their beady little eyes are always watching, taking note of all that they see.

No, it’s not the freshman class or even the Geico money stack. The observant new members of our Presentation community are the new security cameras posted all around campus.

According to Ms. Miller, principal, there are currently 14 security cameras around the school — one on each side of the gym, one watching the locker room doors, two that look out onto the field, three watching the driveways, two in the courtyard, one by the chapel, one in the front, one by the pool, and one around the back parking lot area — and two additional cameras may be added in the future.

The installation of the new $35,000 security system began in May of this year, and although adjustments are still currently being made, the project is estimated to be completed by mid-September. According to the administration, the addition has been in the works for a while now.

The cameras were installed this year because they had finally saved enough money to pay for the project. The primary reason for the camera additions is for safety purposes, said Miller. “If, god forbid, we ever had an intruder on campus, we’d be able to figure out where that person was located.”

Additionally, the cameras focused on the driveways record the license plates of all cars going through the area. This is so that if someone is here that shouldn’t be here and commits a crime, the school has their license plate and can find the criminal. Theft prevention is another function these cameras provide — the camera focused in on the locker room doors allows the administration to narrow down the list of suspects based on who went in and out of the room around the time of a theft.

However, the cameras have already been of use. This past summer, while the system was still being set up, a visitor collapsed from cardiac arrest in the parking lot. In order to ensure that he received the most appropriate medical care, the cameras were used to determine how long the victim had been out before help arrived.

“With the cameras we had, we were able to determine when he left the pool deck,” Miller said. “We didn’t have the parking lot camera set up yet, but from the camera on the driveway, we could tell the time at which the paramedics arrived. So we figured that within five minutes, the paramedics had gotten to him.” The man survived, thanks in part to our campus’s resources.

For students, the major issue with the security cameras is privacy.

“I thought the cameras were pretty creepy at first,” said Nicole Bruno, junior. “Now that I think about it, it’s a good preventative measure, but it still feels like ‘Big Brother’ is watching you.”

Senior Aurelia Sellers agrees.“I’ve noticed the cameras, and I think they’re unnecessary. Nothing extreme really happens here. It’s good that people are going to be more aware of theft, but it’s not going to solve everything.”

Before panic sets in, though, it should be noted that, although the cameras are on 24/7, there is no one who sits and watches the feed all day. In fact, Miller said, “We tend to only look at the feed when there is reason to believe that something has happened that requires us to go back on the tapes.”

The administration maintains that as long as one is behaving appropriately, there is nothing to fear from the cameras. “We would never have cameras in the locker rooms,” Miller said. “We don’t plan on putting cameras in the hallways or classrooms. Our primary purpose is not to spy on the ‘good guys.’ The point is to spy on the ‘bad guys.’”

So the next time you’re taking a nice stroll through the courtyard, smile! You’re on camera.

The Crackdown on Skirt Length

A feeling of panic seems to have settled itself on the Presentation campus in recent days. During breaks, walking to class, in mentoring, Pres girls have been seen frantically tugging their skirts down, checking each other to make sure that their skirts are the regulation four inches above the knee.

By the second or third day back at school, everyone was buzzing about one thing: the new crackdown on skirt length. In the past, there have been a few teachers who have given uniform violations to students whose skirts were not in compliance with the uniform. This year, however, the policy seems to be taken to a whole new level.

“The administration has asked me to make this my priority this year,” says Ms. Schrader, Dean of Students. “Every year we’ve been getting more and more complaints from teachers saying that the skirt lengths are going higher and higher. We’re getting complaints from not only the male faculty members but the female faculty members as well.”

As to why the exact length of one’s skirt is so important to the school community, Ms. Schrader replied, “We want our students to seem respectable…we want to project a positive image of our students here on campus.”

So what’s new about the rules on uniform this year? “This year we made it a little more concrete and a little more specific,” says Ms. Mikacich, Vice Principal of Student Services. In the past, skirts merely had to be the “appropriate length,” whereas this year the policy is that the skirt has to be specifically no shorter than four inches from above the middle of the knee.

The consequences for violating this policy have also been modified. First, the student will be given a warning. Teachers will keep track of the names of those students given warnings, and emails will be sent out to their parents. In some cases, a much longer “loaner skirt” will be given to students whose skirts are still deemed shorter than four inches above the knee. After multiple offenses, detentions will be given.

“Within the uniform, we do allow for individuality…but the uniform is also a strong symbol of Presentation,” says Ms. Mikacich. “Whether we’re here on campus or out in the community, we just want our girls to look presentable.”

Many girls are outraged about the crackdown. “Teachers shouldn’t be so worried about our skirt length because there are no guys at Pres. I understand we want to look presentable for visitors on campus and liturgy days, and I agree,” says sophomore Taylor Locke. “But I also think we should be given some slack on days that aren’t formal, especially since it is so expensive to buy a new skirt.”

Sophomore Jessica Hubbert agrees, saying that cracking down on the school’s uniform policy is taking away from the level of comfort that the students used to feel coming to school. “I think it is a bit excessive. I wear my skirt at the length it is because it’s comfortable there. I don’t like having to worry about what I wear to school, but now I am worrying about my skirt length!”

To others, like junior Stephanie Tooma, imposing such harsh punishments for uniform violations is just adding on to the pressures that students are already getting from schoolwork. “We already have so much to worry about with the new school year starting like homework, keeping grades up, and studying, that seeing a teacher holding detention slips and taking names in the center and hallways are too much,” she says.

“Personally, I was so angered by the fact that this crackdown is getting so strict that I avoided all routes I normally take to class just to not be seen by any teachers. My skirt is not short, it is the appropriate four inches and the teachers still tell me to pull it down.”

Despite the fierce opposition coming from some of the students, others are defending the policy. Taylor Hubert, a freshman, argues, “We need to represent ourselves in the most appropriate way possible, not only to show that Pres is respectable, but to also show that we are respectable as individuals. Would God be honored by the way I am presenting myself?”

Freshman Stephanie Lee also agrees that having some girls lengthen their skirts will help to project Presentation’s image in a better light. “I think that the crackdown is actually a good thing,” she admits. “Having girls walk around the neighborhood and to other places with thigh-showing skirts can give a really bad reputation to Presentation.”

The New Age of Media-Encouraged Depression

Turn on the TV and you’ll probably see some trademark commercials before fifteen minutes have even passed. The red and white of Target commercials, the 80’s background music of cruise line ads…and then the probing questions of antidepressant commercials.

“Are you feeling sad?”

“Have you lost interest in your hobbies?”

“Is it hard for you to get out of bed in the morning?”

Striving to sell their products, pharmaceutical companies no longer just simply ask these questions like a personal in-house psychologist located in your TV. They have learned to present depression in various ways over the years. A woman vaguely describes the symptoms while a purple wind-up doll metaphorically demonstrates her descriptions. A depressed rock dejectedly hops through sunless days. Them BAM! A pill solves it all and suddenly life is bursting with enlightening sunlight and cheerful smiles. It seems like Harry Potter’s Felix Felicis magic potion is not fictional at all anymore. Ordinary Muggle scientists have created happiness in a simple, prescribed pill – yours, of course, for a price.

Still,happiness, as the commercials have led us to believe, is more easily attainable than ever. It is so attainable that it almost seems that something is suddenly terribly wrong when you feel sad. Since, as the commercials have described it, if you’ve lost interest in your daily activities, have little energy and feel worthless, you have depression. Following that reasoning, we all need antidepressants. Who hasn’t had little energy after a night of cramming? Who hasn’t felt dejected after a breakup? Who hasn’t felt worthless when rejected?

That type of depression is normal. The ordinary low moments of life help us to acknowledge and appreciate the good stuff about our lives. Yet the commercials do not clearly draw a line between this ordinary sadness – that will pass, don’t you worry – from the serious, even fatal clinical depression. The distinction is critical, yet is not present with either the purple-wind-up doll or the dejected rock. It leads ordinary people having a bad day or week to diagnose themselves with a serious mental illness. It not only degrades and trivializes the seriousness of those clinically depressed but also endangers those giving themselves these self-diagnoses.  

“Clinical depression needs to be professionally diagnosed as it very individualized. The dose for one person can be very different from another,” explains Diane Azevedo, a licensed marriage and family therapist. She adds further warning. “Individuals also react differently to the medication and need to be under supervision by a professional; otherwise they might not even know that it’s their medication that is causing the [medical] problem.”

The complications Azevedo mentions are alarmingly absent from those 30-second commercials we have all become so accustomed to seeing. Instead, as Azevedo describes them, “The commercials are way too generalized. The description can describe just about anybody, including those not clinically depressed. They are poorly designed and not appropriate.”

A 2005 study by PLoS Medicine, a scientific journal, not only reiterates Azevedo’s sentiments, but also provides further physiological explanations. As many of us are used to hearing, pharmaceutical companies explain they can solve our sad days by balancing out our chemical imbalances with their antidepressant pills. If we are depressed, we are simply lacking enough serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate our moods. However, in this study, researchers from the United States to the United Kingdom point out that the relation between serotonin and depression is not scientifically established. The relation is so intangible that the Irish Medicines Board, the Irish equivalent to our FDA, has banned a company from advertising such a chemical imbalance.

However, without regulation from the FDA in the United States, pharmaceutical companies – such as Eli Lilly and Pfizer – continue to advertise their magical balancing skills. In fact, as a study by Reuters found in 2007, the companies spend about $30 billion a year on their commercials and other ads.

With the lack of adequate information from these antidepressant commercials and the dangers of self-diagnosis, doctors will prescribe the medication three out of four times if a patient mentions an antidepressant while describing mild, but not severe, depression symptoms, according to an article from U.S News and World Report. Azevedo adds more alarming news. She says, “Any doctor can write the prescription [for the antidepressants]. So people don’t deal with the real problem that is causing their depression.”

Not only is it troubling for it to be seriously wrong for you to be sad, it is more disturbing to see that the 30-second commercials of a wound-up doll and a dejected rock can influence your medical prescription – and not in your best interests either. It simplifies clinical depression, a serious mental illness, to something as inconsequential as the common cold and one that should be treated as such. It is in fact much more complicated, as junior Catherine Mote can attest.

Mote began seeing a therapist after someone close to her died a few months ago. As time passed, she and her therapist noticed that she had trouble adjusting to the normal routines of life. She had difficulty concentrating and sleeping, and adopted unusual eating habits. Along with the physical signs, Mote noted that she often became emotional over nothing and had a pessimistic outlook on life. Her therapist diagnosed her with clinical depression after months of therapy and has prescribed her antidepressants.

“A couple of days after I started taking them I could feel a difference and had a more positive outlook on life, instead of being pessimistic all the time,” Mote says of her experience. She adds, “If any one feels they are so depressed that they will take their own life, they should really go see a doctor or talk to their parents.They are gambling with their life because it [depression] changes your perception of the events that are happening to you in life. I know people who have committed suicide because they were afraid to ask for the help that they needed. So my advice to people: be open and do not be afraid to tell someone how you really feel because it can ultimately save your life.”

As Mote advises, depression isn’t about popping a pill. It is your grandmother dying. It is your parents divorcing. It is bullying in school or online. Depression – even ordinary sadness – involves more than a simple “Yes” or “No” answer to the question, “Are you feeling sad?” Check with anyone who has experience asking such questions. A truthful answer will often involve tears, hugs, and much more – offering the comfort and care that no pill provides. It is something pharmaceutical companies should consider as they list the possible medical side-effects at the end of their 30-second commercials. Until they can take depression more seriously, they should be regulated and the disbursal of pills should be limited to licensed psychotherapists – and that includes the wind-up doll and the dejected rock.

Courtesy: The Lost Art

It is true that here at Presentation we do a lot of great things to help out our community. But we need to face the fact that we need to revisit the rules of common courtesy. It isn’t just we at Presentation who need to work on being more polite, but maybe we can live out our motto not words but deeds in treating people better.

Driving

It’s about 7 a.m. and you’re driving to school. You need to get over into the other lane in order to drive down Plummer Street. You notice the little Presentation blue sticker on the car next to you. You signal and speed up a little hoping that your generous classmate will let you in. Instead of letting you in, your classmate decides to speed up so that you cannot get into the lane and therefore make you miss the turn. Now let me ask you a question; how hard is it to let someone in when they need to get into the other lane? It’s not hard at all, especially if that person is someone that goes to your very own school! Instead of being the spark that can cause road rage, kindly let the person in. How would you like to be known as the student that cuts both her classmates and teachers off?

When and if the person lets you into her lane, kindly say thank you. Obviously she will not hear you unless you stick your head out the window, look back and yell it out. Instead do what is called the “courtesy wave” to let the other driver know that you appreciate her act of kindness.

Also, signaling to let other drivers know that you would like to enter another lane or exit a lane is simple, but apparently extremely difficult for many drivers to comprehend. The signal indicator is used to help prevent accidents. It isn’t there to look pretty or make your car look fancy, so use it. Though you may be far ahead of someone it is still polite to signal in order to enter the other lane.

Hallway

Let’s say that you’re juggling thirty pounds of books in your backpack, you have your soccer gear in your left hand and two cups of coffee in the right hand. A student kindly opens the door to let you in. You try to walk as fast as you can because the coffee cups are beginning to slip out of your right hand. There is a student walking in front of you and you pray that she picks up the pace a little. You notice that your locker in only a few more feet away. As you make the final steps to your locker, the student suddenly stops in front of you causing you to drop your coffee and fall backwards along with your thirty pounds worth of books. As you can see, stopping randomly in the hallway isn’t only aggravating, but can cause damage. If you are planning to make such a maneuver, walk to the very right or left of the hallway and let traffic pass through the middle.

Another issue that could have caused disaster to the student with the heavy books and slipping coffee cups is if there were a large group of students standing or sitting in the very middle of the hallway. When you get to school, sit on the side of the hallway by the lockers or against the wall to prevent a traffic jam. Also, because you are sitting against the lockers, be courteous to those students whose lockers you are sitting up against and don’t get frustrated with them. When the morning reaches around 7:30 a.m. it gets busy and crowded, so be respectful to your classmates and teachers and sit on the side of the lockers.

Many teachers close their classroom doors to prevent noise from other classes from disturbing their classes. Once the bell rings to end the class period, you’re probably relieved that the period is over so you swing open the classroom door. There’s only one problem; there’s a student standing on the other side of the door. You unknowingly swing open the door knocking over the student. The solution to this situation is simple; carefully and slowly open the classroom door to prevent hurting other students. Yes, it is thrilling that your class is over but don’t you agree that the safety of your classmates is more important?

Listening

When people are talking to you, they expect that you give them your most undivided attention. So instead of cranking up your ipod and listening to music, set it down for the five minutes that someone is talking to you and listen what they have to say. Even if you can hear them, you are not processing the full depth of what they are saying to you. Think about this; if it was a teacher talking to you, would you stick your headphones into your ears? No.

Also, in the same spectrum, texting and checking your phone while you are out with another person, is a definite no. If you are out with another person, you go because you enjoy their company and would like to talk to them face to face. It’s rude if you are chatting with another person via your cell phone while completely ignoring the person in front of you.

Overall, students need to practice being more courteous to the people around them. What better place to start then in or around their very own high school.

Santa Claus Says Thank You to Our School Custodians!

Dear Juan, Adan, Jesus and Cary,

You do not often receive recognition for the vast amount of good deeds you do on campus. On behalf of everyone at Pres, I’d like to thank you – the people who clean the bathrooms, sweep the floors, maintain the school grounds and help students with car-troubles that these not-so-experienced teenage drivers sometimes face.

And so, with gracious hearts filled with gratitude, we could say “Thank you” a million times, but this still wouldn’t be enough. I certainly won’t have to double-check your names on the Nice List this year because you’ve been so good to everyone at Pres. Merry Christmas!

Here are just a few of the reasons you four are on the Nice List this year:

“They are your heroes when you need someone to open your locker before your next class because you stupidly jammed so much junk in it.” – senior Ivy Nguyen.

“As a freshman I couldn’t open my locker during break. Although there was a good five minutes before the bell rang I was almost hysterical. All of a sudden, Juan came to the rescue! He used some kind of magic to open it in three seconds flat. Thanks, Juan.” – sophomore Natasha Azevedo.

“I am in Crazy for You right now and often in the past months, I’ve had late rehearsals and forgotten homework or something in my locker after the buildings are closed. One of the custodians always opens the building and waits for me to get my stuff.” – sophomore Grace Farley.

“The custodians cleaned glass out of my car when someone broke my window at school. I was very thankful and it was very nice of them.” – senior Morgan Hus.

“A few months ago, I locked my keys in my car. They got out their slimjim and kept trying to get in so I didn’t have to call my insurance company. They helped me for about twenty minutes even though I’m sure they had other work to do.” – senior Colleen Benson.

“I remember how they helped me out on my first day as a TA and they helped me take out the recycling when I was too short to reach the top of the dumpster.” – sophomore Jasmine Mamon.

“They are seriously my best friends. They help me with my Spanish. I have played soccer with them and their families when we stay late at school. They have helped me find numerous itmes I’ve lost. They know my family and say hello every morning. They are really nice people and I’m glad I have gotten to know them. They do a lot and are always around to help!” – junior Alyssa Perez.

“Juan, Jose and Adan are the most helpful people at Pres. They are always willing to help anyone, at any time, never mind if it is a silly request, or if they just finished doing some huge set-up or tear down; and they do it with a great sense of humor.” – Mrs. Lemon.

You’ve done a great job this year!

Love, Santa Claus

iPod Psychoanalysis: Inside Miller’s Mysterious Mind

Welcome back to our special feature “Psychoanalysis…by iPod.” Today’s subject: Ms. Mary Miller. You may know her as Presentation’s principal, and today we are going to be delving into the mind of Ms. Miller based on the top five most listened to songs on her iPod. To start off, let us just say that based on Ms. Miller’s favorite genre, we can say she is one classy person. Let’s start with her top song.

Für Elise

This first song was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1810. The title translates into English as “For Elise,” and this classical masterpiece has been world renowned for generations. That’s right, we’re talking about “Für Elise.”

Ms. Miller’s version is by Annerose Schmidt, and her top song reveals many interesting things. First off, Ms. Miller likes to listen to soft, relaxing tunes to help relieve the stress of her busy day. As a principal and an English teacher, Ms. Miller is constantly running from one place to another, and she needs a chance to slow down and catch her breath; what better way than a beautiful song like “Für Elise?”

Clair de Lune

We now move on to the second most listened to song. The version on Ms. Miller’s iPod is by Alain Planés, but was originally one of the most famous piano suites by Claude Debussy. This song is the third and most famous movement of Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque. Meaning moonlight, this next song is titled “Clair de lune.”

Once again, we can see that Ms. Miller loves her classical music. We can take the analysis further by focusing on the title, “Clair de Lune.” What does moonlight say about Ms. Miller? Maybe it refers to the way she sheds “light” on the subject in her English classes. Whenever she is teaching a novel or a poem, her insightful analysis benefits her students and allows them to become “brighter” young women with a great English education.

Winter

You may or may not have heard Ms. Miller’s third song. It is the oldest of the songs we’ll be analyzing today, and as a part of Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, it is definitely a classical favorite. Ms. Miller’s pick is “Winter.” More specifically, part II, Largo.

This song is appropriate for Ms. Miller because the four concertos in The Four Seasons were written to go along with four sonnets. She loves teaching and reading poetry, and, although “Winter” has no lyrics, it is designed to complement a sonnet. Also, seasons figure prominently in the life of anyone whose schedule revolves around a school year. As Ms. Miller has eloquently explained in the past, each fall is an opportunity to start new at the beginning of the school year. Maybe “Winter” is when things at Pres are in full swing and life is as busy and fun as ever.

Hasta Mi Final

Ms. Miller’s next two songs are by Il Divo. She definitely likes to practice her español, and this next song titled “Hasta Mi Final” means “Until the Day.” Let’s start off with the most literal analysis: one of the tenors in Il Divo is David Miller. But aside from that, the four singers in this quartet come from different countries and different musical backgrounds. Maybe Ms. Miller dreams about traveling the world to all of the different places that the singers come from: Switzerland, France and Spain (David Miller is American). Going along with The Four Seasons, maybe Ms. Miller is planning a trip this winter; we’ll see!

En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor

The last song on the list is “En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor.” The first line of the song is “Aranjuez, Un lugar de ensueños y de amor.” For all you French students, this means “Aranjuez, a place of dreams and of love.” Aranjuez is actually a town in Spain near Madrid. It is known for the Palacio Real de Aranjuez, a Spanish royal site, as well as its strawberries. Maybe Ms. Miller has revealed her favorite fruit, maybe she just loves Spanish, or she once again wishes to travel to far-off places. One thing’s for sure, she’s sticking with the classical theme, and this song once again shows us how calm and peaceful she is.

Maybe the next time you see Ms. Miller in the hallways, you’ll know a little more about her inner psychology. Or maybe you’ll just know that she really likes classical music. Either way, we hope you’ve enjoyed this psychoanalysis!

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