A look into the tussles and quarrels of the Upper School community
STUDENTS VS. SCIENCE STAIRS
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It’s 1:07 p.m. You are racing to C period biology, but it’s all the way on the third floor. You hustle to the elevator, only to groan in dismay as the doors close in your face. There is only one option left: the staircase. You race up the steps, but people are scrambling down on the other side – you are forced to squeeze between them, knocking them in the side with your backpack and only having time to turn your head for a second and yell out a quick, “Sorry!” as you continue to run up the stairs. But no matter how hard you fight, the tiny, narrow staircase always wins as you finally reach the top of it, exasperated and about ready to collapse. By the time you manage to stumble into class, it’s already 1:12 p.m.
GENETICS STUDENTS VS. ANATOMY CLASSROOM
The Genetics students listen attentively as Dr. Fishel talks about monohybrid crosses. Suddenly, the students’ eyes grow wide: She has just asked the class to go next door to get their Drosophila (fruit flies). Each pair of students share panicked glances and then insist it’s the other’s turn to get the flies. The unlucky ones hold their breaths. The Anatomy students stare as they come in clusters, attempting to avoid eye contact with the dead sharks displayed on the tables. Eventually, turning almost purple, the students can no longer hold their breaths. The stench of a fresh fish market and chemical lab invades their noses and they are left paralyzed in disgust. They grab their flies and return to the Genetics classroom, relieved but scarred forever.
FRESHMEN VS. END OF THE FIRST QUARTER
Freshmen: young, inexperienced and stressed. It’s their first year in high school, and the end of the quarter is drawing near. Terrified and in panic mode, nothing but worry consumes their mind as they cry out, “I AM NEVER GOING TO GET INTO COLLEGE!” They shuffle through their papers and assessments, trying to calculate if that one B+ in math will bring down their overall GPA. The world is going to come to an end if they don’t make all A’s. How? It just is.