Ask The Admiral! Beware of Spring Fever.

Dear Admiral, 

How do I stay away from Spring Fever?

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Springtime is always the best time of the school year! It seems like just about everyone is playing a spring sport, looking forward to the warmer weather, and buying a refreshing Italian-ice at Rita’s. With all of the outside distractions beginning to take a toll on us, we can’t let spring fever get to our heads and forget about what’s most important: SCHOOLWORK. 

With the plentiful snow days and extended spring break, it seems that many of our assignments and tests have just been pushed further and further back-- until now. This first week back from break has been stressful on all of us and doesn’t seem to be letting up. 

If you are feeling overwhelmed while doing your homework, take breaks and maybe exercise outside or simply grab a snack from the pantry. These tricks have been proven to relieve stress, focusing on something more lighthearted and fun. Although, when giving your brain its needed breaks, make sure you are also giving yourself enough time to complete your work as well. 

I know seniors are already catching spring fever, but for the rest of us, we need to try our best to stay motivated for the “final push” of the third quarter and keep that same motivation alive until the end of the year! 

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The French Exchange

By: Carley Thorne '17

After a long two weeks in which many Severn students were either relaxing on the beaches of Mexico or skiing down black diamonds in Utah, fifteen families are preparing their homes for the weeks after spring break. 

These small few will act as guides and hosts to the French exchange students traveling on the eight and a half hour flight from Brest, France to JFK in Washington, D.C. 

Elizabeth Grund, sophomore and returning guide for the French exchange program, says that she joined because it was not only an opportunity to expand her language skills outside of the classroom, but also a great way for her to learn about other cultures without having to travel outside the States. “I loved how excited the all of the students were about everyday American things, like fast food, things that I take for granted.” 

Casey Boldt, a junior here at Severn School, said that one of her favorite things about the French exchange was seeing how her student reacted to everyday norms that she didn’t think twice about. “My student was surprised how early we ate dinner and went to bed, in France they eat dinner around ten o’clock.” Casey’s also liked meeting people from around the world and finding out that they aren’t very different from us. 

So this week in school, keep an eye out in the hallways for our foreign travelers and maybe even ask them a few questions about their home-life in Brest, you never know what you might learn.

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A New Leaf

By: Annie Mott '16

When April rolls around, everyone on the Severn campus is excited about two things: warm weather, and Prom (and, if you're a senior, the fact that this is your last month of high school -- ever). With flowers blooming and prom dress registries booming, the last thing on anyone's mind is Wednesday, April 22nd. Or, as it is more widely known, Earth Day. 

Earth Day, born out of a response to a ravaging oil spill in 1969 in California, has been a remarkable testament to the changing attitude towards the environment in the last 50 years. Just five decades ago, we Americans were sucking up lead gas like we were dehydrated marathoners, pouring smoke into the atmosphere from factories with little regard for consequences, and marring the Earth's surface irrevocably with deforestation and displacement of wildlife. Populations of species decreased at a rate never before seen, and to this day 16,928 species are still faced with the threat of extinction, while 785 species are extinct. 

Earth Day has come to represent America, and the world as a whole, turning over a new leaf (so to speak) and starting the modern environmental movement. 

This year, Severn School is taking full advantage of Earth Day, turning it into an "Earth Week," with a separate activity for each day to make the school more aware of the environment and what is being done to combat the effects of pollution in our ecosystem. 

Specific details of each activity will not be revealed until April 10, during a Morning Meeting presentation, but each day will be something new and different than what we have seen in past years.
For those students who have not yet completed their service-learning hours, a service opportunity over that weekend may prove to be exactly what you're looking for. 

The Earth Week festivities will prove to be a fun way to celebrate and protect our Earth, as well as a showcase for a new, greener, Severn School. 

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The Adventures of Agent Sot; Chapter 9: The Kleindog

By: Zachary Rosen '16

      The Victor-wolf has brown fur with black streaks running through it. He creeps around and leaps, but Sot jumps and kicks him in the throat, landing with a backwards barrel roll. She never realized she’d be using Krav Maga to fight oversized dogs. “Now would be a good time to fire at them. If we keep kicking them, their parents will sue us.”

      “It takes a minute for it to warm up. Keep them at bay,” Klein replies.

       The assumed Jordan-wolf, with sand colored fur and red spots, starts to creep forward. Sot picks up a chair and starts beating his head with it. He yelps and jumps back. “I would like, just once, to have a normal day here,” Sot sighs. Klein snorts.

       Klein’s cure gun finishes warming and he begins firing. Victor and Jordan go down. Their bodies start convulsing as their bones shift and bodies twist. In seconds, they are once again teenagers, dressed in maroon singlets. Two down, one to go.

       Perreten leaps onto the figure of Klein before he can fire a third time. His jaws clamp around his arm and Klein grunts, trying to force him off. He twists the gun around and fires, catching the Tyler-beast on the back of his head. He detaches, collapsing on the floor, slowly transforming. Klein drops the gun and falls onto the floor. Sot runs to him. “Klein! Klein! Josh?!” She shakes him but he doesn’t move. Darkness spreads in veins from his wounded arm up the rest of his body. Klein convulses, throwing Sot ten feet. She sees stars and blinks, looking back at her infected friend. In his place is a jet black Pomeranian, growling violently. Sot notices someone running towards her out the corner of her eye. The Kleindog leaps, but is kicked to the side with a yelp by the unknown being. Sot crawls towards the cure-gun and shoots at the tiny animal, breathing a sigh of relief.

       She looks back and gasps. It is the image of Howes, one of the many sad ghosts doomed to walk the haunted halls of Severn for eternity. He smiles wanly and fades into oblivion.

                                                                              ---

       The school is empty as the clock strikes midnight. Faint moonlight filters through the window into the otherwise dark Creeden Commons. Slowly, steadily, a figure lowers from the ceiling suspended by steel wire. His shiny baldness glimmers in the moon’s rays. He swabs a small dab of blood from the carpet. Gvozden chuckles, returning to the ceiling.

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The Life and Times of Agent Sot; Chapter 8: The Dog Days

By: Zachary Rosen '16

      “What do you mean that was Victor Martinez?!” Ms. Sot tears some fabric from her sleeve and makes a tourniquet with it. In a few moments the bleeding stops. 

      Klein hands her a vial and a needle. “He didn’t bite you or anything?” Sot shakes her head. “This will prevent you from getting rabies or anything like what infected him.” Gritting her teeth, Sot stabs into her stomach and breathes in. She looks at Klein expectantly. “There is an unexplainable rash of outbreaks amongst the wrestling team. They’re all turning into werewolves. We think it’s pathogenic. That vial should prevent you from being infected.”

      “How is that even possible?"

      “It’s probably a top secret, fast acting retro-viral enhancement created by the French Secret Service for biological warfare. An unnamed agent passed it along to us during the French Exchange. It’s been hidden in a high security refrigeration unit in the Chemistry department for use during the Severn-Saints game. The unit was compromised and passed onto a member of the wrestling team, who in turn spread it from person to person. There were seven infected total. Using an emergency cure, we’ve been able to secretly take out four of them. Victor, Tyler Perreten, and Jordan Leiken are still out roaming the halls.” Klein takes out his cellphone, which starts to beep. “I got a tracking device on Victor. He’s in the Creeden Commons. We better head out.

      “Is it really safe that there is a trio of werewolves roaming the halls and the students don’t know?”

      “They didn’t know when the History and English departments accidentally started a nuclear war, but that turned out ok.”

      “Isn’t that what really happened at Chernobyl!?” 

     “Touché. Let’s go.” The two start sprinting and in minutes they are in the Creeden Commons, all but abandoned except for a violent canine thrashing in the center. Klein pulls a fog gun out of his coat and the barrel starts to spin.

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NCAA March Madness: Your Bracket Is Busted.

By: A.J. Gersh '15

If you aren't following the craziness that is circulating around the 2015 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament, you are definitely missing out.

The Round of 64 is always home to the wildest upset match-ups and this season's games did not disappoint. Georgia State, a 14 seed led by Kevin Ware (formerly of the Louisville Cardinals...he gruesomely broke his leg in the 2013 Championship Game) and R.J. Hunter (the son of the head coach, Ron), defeated the Baylor Bears, a 3 seed in the West.

In the South, both games played in Louisville were huge upsets. UCLA, a bubble team that all analysts believe did not deserve a tournament berth, defeated a highly regarded SMU team by a final of 60-59. UAB, a 14 seed, took down Iowa State (another 3 seed). ISU was a common pick to make a run to the Final Four in many brackets, so this loss generated plenty of angry fans.

UCLA and UAB met in the Round of 32. The Bruins blew out UAB by a score of 92-75. Only 7.1% of on-line "bracketeers" had either team in the Sweet 16.

After the Round of 64, only one bracket remained perfect on ESPN's Bracket Challenge. That bracket, too, was busted the next day with an Ohio State loss to Arizona.

As we head into the Sweet 16, There are no perfect brackets remaining IN THE WORLD. Only fourteen brackets have correctly predicted all 16 remaining squads, while another 482 have 15 out of 16 teams right.

The questions that are on everyone's minds still loom: Will John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats follow the likes of UCLA and Indiana in the 1970's and go undefeated, or will a surprise cinderella team (Witchita State or NC State) shock the world?

The last rounds leading into Indianapolis for the Final Four will certainly be enticing.

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Orioles Preseason

AP Photo, 2013

By: A.J. Gersh '15

Orioles fans, get ready...Baseball season is just around the corner! The Birds open their 2015 campaign on Monday, April 6th in Tampa Bay. Buck Showalter's team is looking to repeat their American League East title after winning the division by a whopping twelve games and finishing with a 96-66 record in 2014.

However, this task is more simply said than done. The Orioles have lost some crucial players this offseason. Most notably, Andrew Miller, perhaps the team's most reliable bullpen arm last season, signed a 4-year, $36 million contract with the rival New York Yankees and Nelson Cruz, the AL home run leader of 2014, signed a 4-year $57 million dollar deal with Seattle.

There are also a few big questions heading into the season. Will Matt Wieters be able to stay healthy and produce at a level similar to his first month of last season (>.300 BA)? Can Manny Machado recover from two knee surgeries in two consecutive seasons? Will Steve Pearce be able to replicate his power numbers in 2015 (21 HR)? Is Chris Davis really capable of hitting anywhere near the 53 home runs he slammed in 2013? Is the Orioles pitching rotation actually reliable enough to win the division again, or was last year's squad simply hot at the right time?

All of these questions will begin to be answered on April 6th. So, if you want to see a playoff team compete in the toughest division in baseball, tune into MASN on Opening Day!

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Big Fish Recap!

By: Ben Carsley '18

Now that we have returned from a refreshing spring break, let us shortly recap the Water Street Players' musical, Big Fish. 

It may surprise some of you to know that no less than a week after the curtains closed on the fall play, The Illusion, rehearsal for Big Fish began. After auditions, the cast began work on blocking the show, memorizing lines, working dance numbers and, of course, singing. 

At this breakneck rate, the cast quickly became masters of song, dance, and comedic stilt walking. After working night and day, the cast and crew of Big Fish were at last prepared to open for their adoring fans. 

For those few who did not attend the show, here's a quick synopsis: Edward Bloom (played by AJ Gersh '15) loves to tell stories... a lot. He tells his son, Will Bloom, (played by Adam Needle '16) tall tales about his life. Edward tells Will of a mysterious witch (played by Ella Green), his best friend the giant (played by Jack Maniscalco '15), and a host of other hilarious characters. Will at first embraces these stories in his youth, but as he grows he becomes skeptical of his father and feels as if he doesn't really know who he is. Will thinks his father tells him these stories to hide the truth. Edward is then diagnosed with cancer and Will tries to spend time with his father to find the truth behind the stories. Can Edward and Will become close once again? Is Edward hiding a dark secret? Will Jack Maniscalco fall off his stilts? If you want the answers to those questions you should of come to the show! 

On one hand this show is a serious drama between a father and son in modern times. On the other hand it's a quirky, upbeat comedy as Will and Edward reminisce back to the days when Will was younger. I heard rave reviews from everyone who saw it. 

Thanks to Mr. Giddings, Severn has enjoyed another great show and is looking forward to the next, The Lord of The Flies.

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Severn Varsity Girl’s High Preseason Hopes and Interview with Coach Sot

By: Devin Munroe '16

On February 20^th the Severn Varsity girl’s lacrosse team received some exciting news. According to the USA Today Super 25 Preseason Girls Lacrosse rankings Severn held the rank of number 4. This preseason ranking has been the highest in history and gives hope for a promising season after only losing to the number one ranked team McDonogh by one in the semi-final playoff game last year. The article stated the expected success is due to the return of several key players from last year. Seniors Caroline Steele and Hayley Norris are projected to lead the team this year on both ends of the game. After reading this article I decided to go to Coach Sotiropoulos to get her opinion on the article and her thoughts of the upcoming season.

DM: Do you see a difference in the level of play compared to past preseasons?

SOT: In the sense of basic stick skills I feel we are generally ahead of where we generally have been in the past. I have been impressed with the team’s fitness level so far.

DM: What components do you find most important for a team to be successful?

SOT: I think the most important is unselfishness. Great teams consist of players who love playing as a team and understand that no matter what they contribute as individuals the team is what matters most.

DM: Do you feel this team is capable of living up to their high expectations?

SOT: I feel we are capable of living up to these expectations. Although we should not care of what others expect but focus on exceeding the goals that we set for ourselves. 

DM: What made your team so successful last year?

SOT: Our success last year rooted from unselfish play. Every person out there did their job at practice and on game days. Also, the upperclassmen just loved to play, which made a huge difference.

DML What strengths do you think this years team strengths will have?

SOT: This year our strengths will be our speed in the midfield, quickness on attack, and a strong one-v one defense.

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Make sure to follow the Severn Varsity girls lacrosse team this season!

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