The sophomore class wasrecently involved in the pro-duction of the play
Our Town
,written by Thornton Wilder.On the surface, the play isabout average life in a smalltown called Grover’s Corners.Two families live side by side,interacting and making up thefoundation of the story.Smaller characters are inter-spersed, woven together by thenarrator, who drew out the sig-nificance from the everydaygoings on.This play definitely had animpact on its audience, por-traying the contrast betweenlife and death, and how finethe line is that separates them.Clearly this story speaks tocrowds, but does it speak louder to the performers? Thatis the question we set out toanswer.For Milandra Pfister actingcomes naturally. In fact, “Thehardest part was kissing Evan,”she said, giggling. She playedthe role of Emily Webb, a hardworking and determined girlwho goes through adolescence,love, marriage, motherhood,and death all on the samestage. Milandra focused on thethemes, finding the last actmost challenging because itinvolved death and the emo-tions surrounding it. “It washard to relate to,” she says, butit “made me think.” Becauseof her role as a main character and her commitment to thecharacter, Milandra plainlytook away some meaning.“It’s about life,” she said. “Thewhole play is just about life,and it’s a lot of stuff I haven’treally gone through yet but thateveryone goes through at some point or other.”Hunter Curtis, on theother hand, prefers lighter,comedic plays, such as the play his class did last year,where he had that unforgetta- ble and sexy line, “I’m a doc-tor.” Hunter had no difficultylearning the character Editor Webb’s lines because he fo-cused entirely on the words,without reading into themeaning behind them. “Ireally don’t pay attention tothe theme of the play,” headmitted. He believes it’s the job of the actor to focus onthe script, and leave the mes-sage to the audience to inter- pret.Recently arrived Viet-namese student, K, undoubt-edly had the toughest task of all. Being new to the English
(Continued on page 2)
Perspectives on “Our Town”
By Meril Shane and Alexis Brunhofer
C
hronicles
O
f
W
aldorfia
Waldorf: Helpful for Myths, Science
By Nathan Palo
Waldorf education isunique. Many people think it isone of the best ways for a childto learn. However, students of-ten leave after completing 8
th
grade and sometimes have trou- ble acclimating to other types of schools. The same issue is en-countered after high school,when students are first gettingused to the college environment.Waldorf education is verydifferent from many other cur-riculums, and there are severalthings I like about it, includingthe balance of artistic and aca-demic courses, and the waythat we are encouraged tothink for ourselves. I think it isvery beneficial, but it can taketime for one to adjust to a dif-ferent environment.Having virtually no ex- perience of non-Waldorf edu-cation, I decided to get an-other perspective on the issue,from someone who hadrelatively recently gradu-ated, but had also had achance to utilize the educa-tion outside of the school. Ichose to interview CaitlinPalo, a Denver Waldorf alumnus, and recent collegegraduate.Mostly, Caitlin indi-cated that Waldorf educa-tion seems to have its ad-
(Continued on page 3)
The Voice of the Denver Waldorf High School
March 30, 2009Volume
1,
Issue
3
Illustration by Meril Shane
Contents
Contact the C.O.W.
Denver Waldorf School
940 Fillmore StreetDenver CO 80206303-777-0531 x162dwhsnews@gmail.com
“Our Town” 1Waldorf Reflections 1Shorts in Winter 2Crossword History 2Sprocket Ball II 3Vamps vs. Wolves 3Hitchhiker’s Guide 3Ancient History a Hit 4“Twilight” on Screen 5“Twilight”: Deadly 5Continue the
C.O.W.?
7Success for Writers 9Gossip Group Gruel 9WWI Soldier’s Diary 10Disney Horoscopes 11Bookbinder’s Awl 11Sudoku 12Crossword 12
Due to the snow dayssome material slatedfor this issue will ap-pear in the next issue,on Monday, April 20.
Living in Colorado, one would expect agreat deal of snow and ice during the win-ter; however, this past winter we saw littleof either.Though Imyself haveno problemwith the un- believablyhigh tem- peratures, there are many advantages tosnow. I am speaking not only of the numer-ous activities which accompany fresh pow-der, such as: skiing, snowboarding, sled-ding, and of course snow days, but also of the much needed moisture.Many would jump to the conclusionthat this dramatic rise in temperature can be blamed on global warming. Others dismissthis possibility, refusing to believe that thiscould happen. When asked about her viewson global warming, Chloe Prendergast(environmental enthusiast) replied, “Wecan't ignore what we're doing to the envi-ronment, otherwise nothing will change.”Global warming is a “natural disaster”caused by the earth's ever-thickening atmos- phere, blocking infrared radiation fromreaching space. This infrared radiation isthen trapped within the earth's atmosphere,causing it to withhold a great deal of carbondioxide. This, in turn, causes the earth's sur-face to heat up.Though we often consider ourselvesinsignificant in the grand scheme of things,this is not the case when it comes to global
Shorts in Winter
By Ana Spotts
Chronicles of Waldorfia
Page 2Volume
1,
Issue
3
warming. The technology which is being produced in this day and age releasesmassive amounts of carbon dioxide, caus-ing the earth's atmosphere to grow con-tinuouslythicker.In other words,it is quite possi- ble that throughactivities assimple flipping a light switch, we have become the very cause of our record breaking high temperatures this winter.Although the temperature is increasingquite slowly, a mere degree or two canmake all the difference. Over the past fewyears, the rise in our temperatures hascaused many of Alaska's glaciers to begin breaking apart. This will continue if the problem at hand is ignored.So while many enjoy wearing shortsand flip-flops in midwinter, the price theenvironment is paying for this luxury ismuch too great. When asked about thestate of our environment, Dylan Baker replied, "We have ignored this issue for far too long, it's time to take some ac-tion!"We can take action by simply livingour lives by the motto “Use only whatyou need.” By minimizing the amount of carbon we release into the atmosphere, wecan minimize the effect we have on theenvironment.One person can make a difference!
Our Town
language is a challenge in itself, but K found himself in an evenmore difficult position - up onstage in a foreign country, with amouthful of scientific terms to re-cite to the audience in his role as a professor. K’s biggest fear, mis- pronunciation, was made worsewhen the crowd laughed during hislecture on the history of Grover’sCorners. “I thought they werelaughing at my pronunciation!”(We assured him that was not thecase; it was the professor’s long-winded lesson that got us laugh-ing). Pronunciation is so differentin Vietnamese than in English,we’re sure we can speak for theentire population of the earth whenwe say, “Kudos K. Keep rockin’.”The part of Myrtle Webb, played by Annie Coyle, was amore dramatic and demanding rolethen she obtained in previousyears. In the play, she deals withthe death of her daughter, and saidher biggest challenge was portray-ing those feelings leading up to thatloss. In addition to the seriousnessof the theme, “
Our Town
is Mr.Johnson’s favorite play,” accordingto Annie, and therefore had a lot of pressure attached to the perform-ance. In the end, even with somuch riding on the production,Annie thinks her class really pulledit off.As onlookers, it is clear that
Our Town
brought new maturity tothe sophomores as they struggledwith themes beyond their years.The actors gave riveting portrayalsof deep emotion and inner battlesthat greatly inspired and moved theWaldorf community. At the sametime, they were able to learn aboutthemselves and grow in this experi-ence by being exposed to a deeper message than they had ever encountered before in a play.
(Continued from page 1)
Crosswords: A Wordy History
By John Reinhart
A long time ago, in a world far, far away, before Sudoku, Kakuro, or Ken-Ken, there was…word-cross?A Gallup poll once found that cross-word puzzles, originally called “word-cross,” are the most popular indoor game in the United States. Around thirtymillion Americans take a few minutesout of their day to play crossword puz-zles. Crosswords, originally called“word cross,” are a relatively new puz-zle and they have cemented themselvesin American culture. Virtually everynewspaper has a daily crossword, andsolving the
New York Times’
Sunday
While many enjoy wearing shorts and flip-flops in midwinter, the price the environmentis paying for this luxury is much too great.
puzzle is a noted achievement.The first crossword puzzle ap- peared in the New York
World
on De-cember 21, 1913. It was the brainchildof Arthur Wynne, a New York Brit.Other papers hesitated to publish puz-zles. It was not until publisher Simonand Schuster released a book of cross-words that Americans were infectedwith puzzling.The
New York Times
did not print acrossword until after Simon and Schus-ter sold over 500,000 copies of its puz-zle collection and the Baltimore and
(Continued on page 5)
Volume
1,
Issue
3
vantages and disadvantagesseamlessly intertwined. For instance, the block system hadthe advantage that it shows thatwith a little determination andfocus, anything can be accom- plished, even in a short time.On the other hand, because welearn a widevariety of sub- jects over asemester, itcaused a de-sire to do alittle bit of everything; which although possible to a certain extent in aliberal arts college, ultimatelya single major had to be fo-cused on.When it comes to academ-ics, Waldorf education gener-ally doesn’t get the credit itdeserves. “My elementaryWaldorf education was surpris-ingly helpful when it came toidentifying myth and legend
(Continued from page 1)
references in humanitiescourses, and I’ve found that Ioften have a basic grasp of scientific principles that my peers do not.” Content spreadthroughout our curriculum(ranging from 6
th
and 10
th
grade Astronomy to 10
th
gradeembryology) gives a platformto consider andconverse abouttopics that wemight otherwiseknow nothingabout.In social circles,Caitlin said that her small classsize (8) had helped her learn toget along with, and becomeclose friends with a smallgroup of people. She wassomewhat uneasy, however,about finding close friendsamong a group of hundreds.In the college application process, the extra-curriculars built into Waldorf education
(Continued on page 4)
Recent Grad Reflects
Chronicles of Waldorfia
Page 3
A couple weeks agothis newspaper printed anarticle about SprocketBall. While nothing in thearticle was false, it is myopinion that not all partieswere accurately repre-sented. So I have decidedto take another look atSprocket Ball and give amore rounded view of thesport.The misrepresentationlies in the general regardtowards Sprocket Ball inthe high school commu-nity. While many of the boys say that SprocketBall is a fun and challeng-ing sport, many of the girlsdisagree. Naturally Icouldn't hope to accuratelyrepresent each individualstudent; there are defi-nitely some girls who en- joy the game and some
Sprocket Ball:
A Girl’s Perspective
By Emma Franklin
boys who don't.That said, most of thegirls are extremely dis-content with the game.Junior Alexis Brunhofer is quoted as saying "Yeah,it's definitely one of Coach's worst inven-tions." I agree whole-heartedly.I think that part of thereason Sprocket Ball isn'tfun for the girls is that the boys tend to dominate thegame and become overlyand aggressively competi-tive. Playing what is sup- posed to be a casual physical education gamecompetitively is not onlyintimidating but also po-tentially dangerous.Many are the times astudent has been hit quitehard with a wayward ball,
(Continued on page 4)
“I’ve found that I oftenhave a basic grasp of scientific principlesthat my peers do not.”
Vampires vs. Werewolves
By Laney Harden
You’re walking over themeadow and through thewoods to Grandma’s houseon a random Tuesday eve-ning, and you take a wrongturn. Before you know it, thesun has set and the tempera-ture has dropped from a balmy 84.5º to a chilly 35º.The woods are no longer bright and green. Instead,with each step you take, thelooming branches becomemore and more threateningas you stumble over the bramble in an effort to finddear old Grannie’s house.BAM!!! Out of nowhere,a tall, pale, and leering figure pops out at you. His red eyesshine into your soul and atthat heart-stopping, adrena-line-rushing moment, yourealize that your fate issealed. Doom has struck inthe form of a vampire.Or, perhaps, that wasn’tyou! Instead, you’re onspring break, and you’recamping with your buddiesout on the beach. The sky iscloudy, and you have justfinished pouring sand over
(Continued on page 7)
Forty-two.One could just stop rightthere, seeing asit is the “Answer to the GreatQuestion of Life, the Uni-verse and Every-thing,” as Doug-las Adams wrotein his bestselling novel,
The Hitchhiker’s Guide tothe Galaxy
. However, this book that has captivatedand entertained so manycontains so much more
Hitchhiker’s Guide
By Gautam Webb
interesting andhumorous ma-terial thatshould not beleftunmentioned.Douglas Ad-ams has aunique style.He is witty,unpredictableand very imaginative.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide
relates the experiencesof six intelligent, butvery different, beings.
(Continued on page 7)
“Don’t Panic.” Reas-suring advice from thelate Douglas Adams.
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