Trivia Night A Wild Success

By: Annie Mott '16

Thursday night held one of the most highly-anticipated nights of the Severn school year: Trivia Night. Held in the old gym of the Athletic Center and hosted by student council, it was a night filled with chaotic and academic fun. Leaders of the night Nick Russell and Eric Duguayorganized the competition jeopardy-style, but with a few key differences. Every team had the opportunity to answer, handing their written responses to members of student council on a piece of paper. There were three rounds: first, second, and Final Jeopardy, and no team knew the scoresuntil points were added up in between rounds.

​This year, participation was off the charts. In accordance with Severn students' active appreciation goal, hundreds of students were there. The gym was packed with over thirty teams of students and teachers, each with their own clever team name, and some in full-out uniforms. Varsity Theatre took the cake in costume, with personalized team shirts and a head-to-toe coordinated ensemble, but other notables included The Midsummer Night's Dream Team (wearing wigs from Severn's fall production) and the Flannel Panel, who, understandably, were decked out in flannel shirts. Witty puns were the theme of the night, with team names such as Hit the Huang and Les Quizerables. 

​The night proceeded in hilarious fashion, with highly-spirited and competitive teams filling the gym with their cheers. Easy questions left the gym reeling in raucous celebration, while more difficult ones (Sony Ericcson for 500, anyone?) had the gym filled with indignant sighs. According to school president Tyler Perreten, "It's the best night of the year. . . The best part? Getting everyone out there enjoying themselves!" All in all, it was a night to be remembered.

Read More »

Maddie McDaniel Becomes Severn’s All-Time Leading Scorer

By: Devin Munroe '16 

On Tuesday, February 2nd, our very own Maddie McDaniel clenched the title as Severn basketball’s all-time leading scorer. This record had not been remotely challenged since 2005, when Sarah Meisenburg graduated as the all-time leading scorer with 1,764 points. Maddie McDaniel’s senior season has been one filled with many major accomplishments. Not only is she now the all-time leading scorer, but she also holds the record for most rebounds, tallying a little over a thousand. McDaniel leads the team in both rebounds and points with an impressive record of 21 double-double games this season. Any person who watches the Admirals games knows that McDaniel is the one everyone is out to stop, however, few teams have been able to find an answer for her. This season, Maddie averages 23 points and 15 rebounds per game.

Beyond McDaniel’s success, the Lady Admirals have had a season filled with success. They beat hometown rivals such as Severna Park and St. Mary’s and ended their season with an impressive 13-3 in-conference record. The Admirals are the number one seed of their division for the play-offs and will play Notre Dame Prep on Friday at 5:30! Go Admirals!

Read More »

Mrs. Brannigan Off to Bulgaria

By: Sophie Connors '18

Beloved Middle school teacher Mrs. Leslie Brannigan has recently accepted an exciting new job opportunity in Bulgaria. As the middle school history department head, Mrs. Brannigan is described by students as "compassionate, kind, and ardent," as well as an important person in the patchwork of our school community. I sat down with her to chat about what lies ahead, and her hopes for the future.  

What exactly will you be doing while overseas?

I am going to be teaching high school history at an American preparatory school much like Severn, where the majority of students will be American, and I am going to be teaching two new things I have never taught before: Medieval History and US History.

And for how long?

I signed a contract for two years- so I start in August and go until July 1st of the following year.

How do you feel about this opportunity, both for you and your family?

I am personally so excited about this opportunity. I think the idea of global citizenship is really important to my identity and also to the topics I teach in my classroom. To be able to model that kind of adventurous spirit and willingness to try new things, and also to be a minority in another place I think is really important to try to continue to develop as a teacher and as a person. I am even more excited about the opportunities for my kids- my girls will be attending a bilingual school, where they are going to come away from this experience not only having respect for another culture, but also being able to play an active part in that culture and community. 

What do you hope to learn while traveling on this journey?

I think the most rewarding things in life are the things that are the most challenging, and I don't anticipate that this is going to be easy. But, I think it's going to be really exciting. One of the things I am personally looking forward to the most is the geographic location- I am going to be able to have Turkey, Greece, and Italy at my fingertips, and I teach units on all three of those places. So, I think the opportunity to be able to travel and experience those places first-hand is really important to me. I am also looking forward to the diverse history of Bulgaria itself, because it's kind of a coming together of Christianity, the Muslim world, with other pockets of minority religions in that area as well- and I think that's really important, too. I am also so excited for the things I cannot even anticipate . . . but I know it’s going to be incredible.

Anything else you'd like to add?

I just don't want people to think I am leaving Severn because I am dissatisfied with my experience here, or because my children are having a bad experience with the Lower School. In fact, I am walking away looking at this adventure as a really great, exciting moment; but knowing that this is our home base, and that I would love to be able to come back some time in the future, and be able to be a part of the Severn community again in some way.

Read More »

The Mourning Meating: Fellows Program

By: Zachary Rosen '16

Hello students! In light of the recent mini-Fellows presentations at Morning Meeting several weeks back, the Graw Innovation Center would like to announce that, because of a minor tear in the fabric of space and time, several new Fellows projects have recently reached their halfway point despite having not actually existed until the completion of this article. These projects are as follows:

·     One student will be completing a full sized replica of the Eiffel Tower out of ®Popsicle sticks. Students are invited to a popsicle eating party next Tuesday; each student is required to eat 27 million popsicles in order to create enough building material for the project.

·     One student is 3D printing a human soul using the 3D printer that another student is making for his Fellows project.

·     A pair of students are building a tiny house that is bigger on the inside than on the outside; it will contain, among other amenities, an Olympic sized swimming pool, a fifteen-lane bowling alley, a skeet shooting range, assorted fruit orchards, a second Olympic sized swimming pool filled with ®Jello, and a bottomless abyss.

·     One student is summoning . . . something. We aren’t sure what. But the runes are all scrawled on the floor and we’re all really excited to see what happens.

·     One student, inspired by the work of brilliant Serbian composer B.o.B., is attempting to prove that the Earth is flat using a broken acoustic xylophone and some marmalade.

·     One student is attempting to pat his head while rubbing his belly. AT THE SAME TIME.

·     One student has sworn off using vowels for the remainder of high school in order to raise money for and show her solidarity with Bosnian chicken farmers.

These are all the new Fellows projects, and we at the Anchor excitedly wait for next year’s Fellows projects to be revealed. Inquiries should be made to the sad little ghost that haunts the first floor girl’s lavatory.

Read More »

Controversy Surrounds Beyoncé’s Super Bowl Performance

By: Neel Lakhanpal '16

Photo Courtesy of Getty Images

A few days after the Super Bowl, many figures have spoken out against Beyoncé’s half time performance, which, although certainly political, is being criticized as anti-police. The lively performance featured the Queen’s newest song, released just a day prior, “Formation.” Beyoncé had not released a single song through all of 2015. She certainly came back in full force, unabashedly featuring Black culture and speaking to police brutality and government ineptitude during Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans area. While singing, she and her troupe sported decidedly Black Power fashion of the sixties and seventies, not unintentionally doing so in the movement’s birthplace, the Bay Area. The dancers all had natural afros and the classic black beret. All of this was seen as an obvious nod to the Black Lives Matter movement and to empowerment of the Black community through its culture.

Some were not so welcoming of this on the Super Bowl stage. Many were uncomfortable with the hip twirling and Beyoncé’s use of the word “Negro” which was a song lyric in “Formation.” Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York who brought down crime rates in Manhattan using controversial police tactics, was the most notable critic of this performance. Giuliani claimed that this sent a “divisive message,” and that it undermined the respect for cops we must all hold. He remarked that such a prominent national stage ought to feature more “wholesome” entertainment. Bey’s performance was loud and in your face; it was very lively and showcased modern Black culture. But many critics believe this performance too outwardly interwove the Black Lives Matter movement onto the stage, and that such a political and social debate should be divorced from music and occur in other forums. In response, a pro-police group is holding a rally outside the NFL headquarters on February 16th, in an effort to push the organization to not allow the Super Bowl to be used to spread the “anti-police message” the group claims Beyoncé conveyed in her performance. Beyoncé has yet to comment on the matter.

Read More »

Behind the Scenes at the Winter Musical with Cece Lasley

By: Sam Agro '18 

Every year, Mr. Giddings and the arts department put together an uproarious musical for the students to perform, and this year’s, Nice Work if You Can Get It, is no exception. In the fast-paced comedic plot that takes place in the Prohibition Era, bootlegging Billie Bendix (Christen Morrell '17) and her cronies Duke (Charlie Olmert '17) and Cookie (Tyler Perreten '16) are dealing alcohol to New York speakeasies, where Billie meets the very stunning, very wealthy, very drunk playboy Jimmy Winter (Adam Needle '16). Jimmy is getting married for the fourth time to please his mother, but will Billie get in the way? 

When putting together a show, much of the credit is awarded to the performers. Those who sing, dance, and act are the ones taking a bow after the final curtain, but what about the people who put together the show behind the scenes? To get insight into how “Tech” works backstage, I interviewed Cece Lasley, head tech director, about her work behind the scenes.

Q: What is it like working in the tech booth?

CL: It’s kind of chaotic, but also really fun because you get to watch the show come together and do a lot of stuff.

Q: When did you first get involved with tech?

CL: The musical my freshman year. I did some tech, and I ran a spotlight. It was really fun and I just kept doing it.

Q: What’s your favorite part about tech?

CL: Lighting design is my favorite, because it allows me to get to do stuff with the lights while also letting me be creative about it.

Q: What’s your least favorite part?

CL: Well, programming can be very tedious. Actually, I don’t really have a least favorite part. 

Q: What’s the hardest part about being a techie? 

CL: Initially learning how to do everything, because when you’re learning or teaching, you do it while you still have things to do for a show, and that can be hard because it’s a steep learning curve.

Q: What’s the best part?

CL: Meeting a lot of awesome people, making friends, and getting to see everything come together!

As you can see, backstage tech can be a fun and educational thing to do for a show, even if you do not want to perform. If you are interested in learning more, talk to Cece or John Owen and get yourself into tech! These unsung heroes of theatre are always looking for more helping hands.

Read More »