Volume 10,Issue 6

12.12.2014

A PUBLICATION BY HOLDERNESS STUDENTS FOR THE HOLDERNESS COMMUNITY

Dave Leclerc: A petting zoo with lots of sheep

Cam Robertson: Heated floors in the bath-

roomsDrew Hodson: A total makeover for Bartsch

Brendan O’Hara: Turn the ice rink into an

indoor turf fieldBen Jerome: A new nordic shed

Paul Sampson: A jacuzzi in every dorm

Andrew Macleod: A swimming pool

Jack Yanchitis: No Saturday classes

Lily Hamblin: Real ice cream in Weld!

Maggie Peake: A bigger practice space for

band and chorus

Katie Remien: Segways for all students

Annie Hayes: An escalator to the Lower Fields

Annie Smith-Hammond: A genius twin to take

all of my tests for me (And how does this help

Holderness?)

Teagan Mosenthal: Bring back Ted Mello!

Chase McLane: A Starbucks kiosk

Grace Lawrence: Underground tunnels every-

where so I never have to walk outside in the

winter

Ms. Disney: A learning center that provides assistance to those

with academic needsMs. Cirone: Updated, versatile facilities Ms. Magnus: International travel for all students so that our curriculum wouldn’t just be mind, body, and spirit, but would be mind, body, spirit, and worldMs. Wolf: A common room for ConnellMr. Lockwood: Informal dress all the timeMr. Stubbs: More time between classesMr. Barton: A patio outside of Weld, complete with tables

and umbrellasMr. Ford: 8:15 AM Chapel five days a week

Holiday

Wishes for

Holderness

2The Picador: Volume 10, Issue 6

Photo Essay

A Photo Scavenger HuntBy Liesl Magnus ‘17

Think you know a lot about the Holderness campus? Here’s a photo scavenger hunt to test your visual knowledge.

3 The Picador: Volume 10, Issue 6

4The Picador: Volume 10, Issue 6

Outside the Holderness Bubble

1. Colorado, Washington, and Oregon legalized the purchase of marijuana for recreational purposes.

2. General Motors recalled 780,000 vehicles due to faulty igni-tion switches.

3. A mudslide near Oso, Washington killed 43 people.

4. The Supreme Court upheld a Michigan law banning the use of racial criteria in college admissions.

5. Same-sex marriage became legal in Oregon, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana.

6. President Barack Obama announced that 9,800 troops will remain in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of most troops at the end of 2014.

7. Seattle, Washington’s minimum wage was raised to $15 per hour.

8. Julia Person, director of the Secret Service, resigned after several security breaches occurred.

9. Chuck Hagel resigned as the secretary of defense.

10. Michael Brown was shot and killed by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri.

11. Thomas Eric Duncan died in Dallas, Texas. He was the first person to die of Ebola in the United States.

12. The Supreme Court ruled that companies, for religious reasons, can refuse insurance coverage for contraceptives.

13. Texas Governor, Rick Perry, was indicted on a felony count of abusing the powers of his office and attempting to coerce a public official.

14. In midterm elections, the Republican party won a major-ity of seats in the House and the Senate to take control of Congress.

15. Market Basket employees went on strike, protesting the firing of Arthur T. Demoulas.

16. A grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson.

17. Maya Angelou, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wil-liams, Shirley Temple, and Joan Rivers died.

18. LA Kings won the Stanley Cup.

19. Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl.

20. San Francisco Giants won the World Series.

United States Current Events of 2014

5 The Picador: Volume 10, Issue 6

World Current Events of 20141. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) took control of Falluja, Iraq.

2. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed into law a bill banning same-sex marriage and imposing other punish-ments on gay and lesbian people.

3. The XXII Winter Olympics took place in Sochi, Russia.

4. Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 disappeared over the Gulf of Thailand.

5. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an annexation pact with the prime minister of Crimea and the mayor of the city of Sevastopol.

6. U.S. journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, were decapitated by ISIS militants, along with British aid worker David Haines and hostage Alan Henning.

7. Boko Haram militants kidnapped more than 270 teen-age girls from a boarding school in Chibok in Northeastern Nigeria.

8. The World Cup took place in Brazil. Germany won.

9. South Korean ferry Sewol capsized, killing 304 passengers.

6The Picador: Volume 10, Issue 6

Top Ten World Sporting Events of 2014

By Tommy Chau ’15

10. Messi broke Raul’s goal record in the Champions League: Raul Gonza-lez, one of the most prolific strikers in European soccer, scored a total of 71 goals in his 16-year career playing for Real Madrid. However, Lionel Messi of Barcelona broke the long-standing record with 75 goals in his tally. At the age of 27, Messi is still at the zenith of his career, so many fans are hoping to see him score somewhere close to 3-digits.

9. Lewis Hamilton ended Sebastian Vettel’s reign: Vettel has been con-sidered one of the best F1 racers of all time because of his four consecutive titles from 2010 to 2013. However, the 2008 F1 champion, Lewis Hamilton, made an impressive comeback after his 6-year hiatus and won an impressive trophy not only for himself, but also for the Mercedes Sauber F1 team.

8. Manchester United had the worst season since the founding of the Premier League: Since Sir Alex Fer-guson’s retirement at the end of the 2012-2013 season, many United fans have questioned the coaching ability and experience of his successor, David

Moyes. Their suspicions were justified; by the end of May 2014, Manchester United was in seventh place overall in the Premier League and failed to secure a ticket to the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1990.

7. Real Madrid won their 10th UEFA Champions League title: Real Madrid is known for replacing coaches quickly and buying large numbers of superstar players to enhance their squad. While the cost of building a new Galacticos 2.0 amounted to 1.2 billion Euros, it finally bore fruit in May 2014 when Carlo Ancelotti brought home the his-toric 10th Champions League title.

6. Rafael Nadal recorded his ninth French Open title: The King of Clay proved to the world that he is still one of the best tennis players in the world, despite the numerous injuries that the Spaniard has suffered over the past few years. By winning the 2014 French Open, not only did Nadal equalize the 14-Grand-Slam record established by Pete Sampras, but he also set a new record—winning the most major titles in one Grand Slam tournament ever by a male tennis player.

5. Roger Federer made an amazing comeback: The greatest player of all time suffered the worst season he’s ever encountered in 10 years. But, with an incredible amount of will and determi-nation to prolong his greatness, FedEx made it all the way from sixth in the world to second by capturing six of the 12 finals he attended. The most signifi-cant of those six titles was definitely the Davis Cup, a title that had been elusive for nearly 16 years of his career.

4. The “Big Four” disintegrate: Since 2009, the Big Four in tennis—includ-ing Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Mur-ray—have won 19/20 Grand Slam titles, many of which were won con-secutively from 2010 all the way to the 2014 Australian Open. However, with Stanislas Wawrinka and Marin Cilic winning the Australian Open and US Open, respectively, many tennis fans are looking forward to the decline of the Big Four and the rise of new stars in tennis.

3. Two soccer greats pass away: Eusebio and Alfredo Di Stefano are considered amongst the greatest soccer players ever. Eusebio was known for his ability to score important goals with his amazing right foot, and Di Stefano was known for his resounding success with Real Madrid from 1956-1960 when the team won five consecu-tive European Cups. However, nothing can defeat Father Time and Mother Nature as old age and health have taken their lives. Rest in peace, Eusebio and Di Stefano. Your contribution to the development of soccer in the 20th century is monumental.

2. The 2014 FIFA World Cup Cham-pionship goes to Germany: The biggest national-level tournament was never more exciting than this year,

SPORTS

(continued on page 7)

7 The Picador: Volume 10, Issue 6

Nothing Compares to Johnny FootballBy Jack Yanchitis ‘16

Of all of the leagues of professional sports in the world today, nothing compares to the NFL. I’m not talk-ing about the history of the National Football League, as it’s short his-tory can’t come close to matching up against, say, professional baseball. And, I’m not saying that it is the best professional sport to watch or that it is the most superior sport in this world. How could it be if it’s only played right here in the US of A? (Get out of here, CFL. Nobody cares that you swapped penalty and challenge flag colors just to be different.)

If you ask any of the other 195 coun-tries in the world, I’m sure they’ll tell you soccer or cricket or rugby is the supreme sport. However, the NFL is a completely different beast. The NFL alone is worth $10 billion, more than nine times as valuable as the next asso-ciation—the English Premiere League. On top of that, fantasy football alone is a $70 billion industry! Finally, the league that makes 99.99% of Ameri-cans lounge around every Sunday in the fall and winter, also organizes the Super Bowl, America’s second biggest eating day behind Thanksgiving. Let’s have a look at one of the league’s most popular players and what makes him so uniquely American.

Johnny Manziel, freshman Heisman

winner out of Texas A&M, has re-ally shaken up College Football and the NFL. The nation has a love-hate relationship with Johnny, but most people love him. Ya see, Johnny is fun. Manziel is a party boy at heart and can’t go more than two or three weeks at a time without being the subject of some absurd headline.

Just last week, he and his posse got into a fight late one evening with a “huge” fan of Manziel’s after the poor guy just wouldn’t leave him alone. And at just 19, he became great friends with popular recording artist Drake and NBA Superstar Lebron James and was seen all across North America with his crew attending luxurious events at the nation’s hottest clubs. Johnny is cocky, obnoxious, ill-tempered, and far from respectable. He’s a savage.

Although he put out incredible num-bers during his two years in College Station, TX, he was viewed as under-sized as a draft pick at only 6’0” with a mediocre arm. Then he slipped to the 22nd pick to the Cleveland Browns in the 2014 NFL Draft after many expect-ed him to go higher.

America loves the NFL for the great-ness of Peyton Manning’s passing prowess at age 38 and surreal jaw-dropping plays like David Tyree’s Catch-42 in the Super Bowl— which led to the Giants stealing a title from the previously perfect New England Patriots (cough, cough).

But the NFL loves Johnny Football more. Manziel’s first NFL game will be on Sunday, December 14, so he hasn’t even proven that he will be able to accomplish anything for the long-time struggling Cleveland Browns. But he is very active on Twitter and Instagram and rarely shows signs of humility; placed in the spotlight, Johnny Foot-ball soaks in every minute of it, and America can’t get enough. At some level, everyone watching football on Sundays from leather recliners, reading the New York Times Sunday Edition next to warm fires, likes to fantasize what it would be like to live the life of an all-star.

when the world witnessed a Euro-pean soccer powerhouse winning the first World Cup trophy ever in South America. Thanks to the thorough preparation and training of the Ger-mans over the past 10 years, the team has become one of the most dominant European soccer powers.

1. Sochi Olympics: What is more interesting than seeing Russia success-

fully organize its first Winter Olympics ever? The Olympics were free from terrorist and extremist groups, and many athletes from all over the world received an amazing welcome from the Russian government and organizers. At 51.8 billion US dollars, the Sochi Olympics were the most costly Olym-pics ever held, but all of that paid off in the end. Especially when Julia Ford ‘08 skied for the USA.

(continued from page 6)

8The Picador: Volume 10, Issue 6

Humans of HoldernessLeigh Anne Connors: The Master of face plantsBy AJ Chabot ‘16

AJ Chabot: Have you ever ridden a camel?

Ms. Leigh Anne Connors: No, I have not.

AC: Favorite candy?

LC: Milky Way

AC: Where did you go to high school? College?

LC: Northwoods, Plymouth State University

AC: What did you think of Holderness while you were at PSU?

LC: That’s a hard one. I would say that I thought about it; I knew it was there. Once I knew I wanted to teach, it was one of my top schools because I wanted to teach at a boarding school.

AC: What’s a sport you have always wanted to try?

LC: Surfing

AC: What about Holderness do you find the strangest or most unique?

LC: How close everyone is.

AC: You didn’t expect that?

LC: Not to the extent that it is. When I heard about walkbacks, I laughed so hard. I’ve never heard of such a thing. The bonfire was probably the most interesting thing I’ve seen in my life.

AC: Favorite holiday?

LC: Christmas

AC: Why?

LC: I don’t know. Just because it’s win-ter and I love all the lights.

AC: Favorite class?

LC: All of them

AC: Which sport do you think is the most ridiculous?

LC: NASCAR, because they just drive in circles.

AC: Would you want to change your birthday?

LC: Yes, to the middle of the summer. My birthday is September first, which is often the first day of school.

AC: Favorite sit down dinner meal?

LC: Rice pilaf, steak…Oh, wait! One time Larry made these snicker doodle cupcakes, and they were so good, but otherwise carrot cake.

AC: What type of student were you in high school?

LC: I set a record for the highest num-ber of school days missed because of skiing. I got made fun of for how short I was, and little. I was the captain of all my sports teams—soccer, skiing, and lacrosse. I was also captain of my ski team in college for two years.

AC: What’s your spirit animal?

LC: I think it’s a deer.

AC: Why?

LC: Because they are everywhere I go; I see deer in the weirdest places.

AC: What’s one place that you’ve seen them?

LC: I saw them when I was driving to Telluride in Colorado, and there were liter-ally a hundred of them.

AC: What subject is your worst?

LC: English

AC: What’s the worst skiing accident you’ve been in?

LC: I was skiing slalom and face planted. I got a concussion, blacked out for four hours, couldn’t remember Christmas, anything. I thought I had taken a train to the mountain. It was really scary.

AC: Embarrassing moment?

LC: It was the first day I moved here this year. I was at Chase Street using the Internet, and I had my computer, books, everything, hands full. I went to cross the street and stepped into a pot hole. Everything went flying in the middle of the street. I face planted so hard.

AC: What’s the grossest animal you’ve ever touched?

LC: I’ve touched an iguana. I guess that’s pretty gross.

AC: Any funny incidents when you’ve been mistaken for a student?

LC: Hope stood up to make an an-nouncement and she wasn’t totally excited for it. The next day in class Connor Mayes raised his hand in class and said, “You really need to be more energetic when you make announce-ments.” I said, “Connor, that was Hope not me.”

9 The Picador: Volume 10, Issue 6

Oliver Sheppe: The Master of B-ballBy Charles Harker ‘15

Before my basketball game on Wednes-day, I caught up with Oliver Sheppe, who was tackling Ben Lewis.

Oliver: What are you doing here?

Me: Playing basketball. What are you doing here?

Oliver: Playing basketball! ( tosses me the ball)

Me: Is basketball your favorite sport?

Ben Lewis: I like basketball AND football!

Oliver: Yeah, I like basketball, football, oh and hockey!

Oliver: Do you play basketball?

Me: Yeah.

Oliver (pointing to a scab on my leg): What happened to your leg?

Me: I fell over playing basketball.

Oliver: Oh.

Me: Where’s Parker?

Oliver: Over there in the orange vest!

Me: Is red your favorite color?

Oliver: Yeah.

Me: You must like the Red Sox.

Oliver: Yeah, they’re my favorite! I

have a pair of Red Sox socks, and I wear them when my mom doesn’t wear them. (points to my uniform) Do you like blue?

Me: Yeah. It’s Holderness’ color.

Oliver (pointing to my grey warm-up shirt): Where’s your blue shirt?

Me (revealing my blue jersey under the warm-up): Here it is!

Oliver: Your shorts are blue too!

Me: Yeah. I bet if you wore these shorts they would cover your whole body!

Oliver: Why?

Me: Because they’re really long!

Oliver: Why do they fit you?

Me: Because I’m tall enough for them. (Oliver throws a ball to Ben Lewis)

Me: Do you like spaghetti?

Oliver nods, wistfully thinking of spa-ghetti, and then scampers off.

Me: Bye, Oliver!

Oliver: Bye, Charles!

Oliver Sheppe and Ben Lewis

10The Picador: Volume 10, Issue 6

By Parker Densmore ’15

Nothing spreads holiday cheer better than sitting in Gallop and taking ex-ams. However, while they may be chal-lenging, they can actually be of benefit. Besides being worth a relatively large portion of your grade, doing well on them is greatly satisfying.

My greatest advice is sleep. Yes, I do stay up late studying and try to cram while walking from breakfast to Bartsch the next morning, yet my best exams have been the ones before which I have slept the most. You are a lot more focused in the morning, and a good night’s sleep has much better residual effects on your future tests than a night of FIFA.

After sleep, studying is next in line. Whether you have aced every assign-ment or are struggling to hold on to a passing grade, looking over past notes, papers, and tests is essential. I tend to retain much more information if I

study several times over the days lead-ing up to the exam, rather than saving all my studying for the single day be-fore the exam. Mr. Houseman’s Chem review is a must (yep, even if you aren’t taking Chem!) and will definitely be better than trying to figure out no-menclature on your own. Having a discussion with your classmates on the benefits of solar power or conducting a full length conversation in French are also great for retaining information. (Please note: a conversation in French is only applicable if you are in a French class. Caper, this will not help you on your anatomy exam.)

Work out. While sleeping is great for your mind, getting your blood flowing is equally important. With no formal practices during exams, it is neces-sary to go to the gym to give yourself a break. I enjoy going for a run since it lowers my stress and gives me a good transition between subjects.

Eat. The best part about midterms is

the snack table. Thanks to our awe-some parents, there is usually a table setup in Weld each morning with a variety of goodies. Anything from fruit cups to wreath-shaped Rice Krispy treats are a great way to recover the calories lost during midterms. (Stud-ies show that the energy you expel on a single exam is comparable to that spent over the course of OB.) However, if you decide to eat the Rice Krispy treats, I recommend balancing them with some healthy meals too, since junk food will make you feel terrible while studying.

For those of you who haven’t taken an exam before, relax. For those of you who have, relax. Whether using my advice or not, the most important thing to do is to create a system that works for you. Follow that, and your exams will be fine. That is, as long as they are not blasting in the gym or the construction fences force to you take a detour to Ashland...

In the CommunityPreparing for Next Week’s Journey to Gallop

1. Your grades and college prospects

2. The inevitable fact that in the near future, the world will be given over to our own technology-obsessed genera-tion (The horror!)

3. Legalization of marijuana

4. Your preferred method of birth control

5. Any noticeable weight gains, gray hairs, or other notable changes in appearance

6. The events presently occurring in New York and Ferguson, Missouri, and whether or not we still live in a racist society (Depending on your family’s political leanings, this may actually be a great topic to cover, but in certain families--including mine--it might be wise to render it off-limits.)

Top Ten Topics Not to Discuss at Christmas Dinner

By Charlotte Freccia ‘15Crazy relatives. We all have them. And at a time when peace and cheer are supposed to be in the air, it’s sometime difficult to navigate conversations without falling victim to controversial topics. Here’s a

few Charlotte suggests you avoid.

(continued on page 11)

11 The Picador: Volume 10, Issue 6

Congratulations and Best Wishes, Mr. Blake!Here’s a few jokes to start you on your way!

Q: What’s an ig? A: A snow house without a loo!

Q: Why did Frosty the snowman want a divorce? A: Because he thought his wife was a flake.

Q: Why does it take longer to build a blonde snow-man than a regular one? A: You have to hollow out the head.

Q: What do snowmen eat for lunch ? A: Icebergers!

Q: What do you call ten Arctic hares hopping back-wards through the snow together? A: A receding hare line.

source: http://www.jokes4us.com/miscellaneousjokes/weatherjokes/snowjokes.html

top ten christmas movies

1. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

2. Miracle on 34th Street

3. The Nightmare Before Christmas

4. Die Hard

5. A Christmas Story

6. Elf

7. Lethal Weapon

8. Trading Places

9. Batman Returns

10. White Christmas

7. The efficiency of Obamacare. Also Obama’s birth certificate, religion, and qualifications. Actually, you might just want to avoid Obama altogether.

8. As an offshoot of the topic above: Hillary in 2016

9. Who yelled at whom and which of you burned the turkey at Christmas last year

10. Uncle Mike’s latest “invention,” Gramps’s drink-ing problem, or Aunt Cheryl’s new, fourteen-years-younger boyfriend

(continued from page 10)

Senior EditorsYoungjae ChaTommy Chau Parker DensmoreCharlotte FrecciaCharles HarkerJack Yanchitis

Junior EditorsMaggie BartonAJ Chabot

Layout and DesignMoti Jiang

Keying Yang

Faculty AdvisorsMs. MagnusMr. Herring

Contact InformationHolderness SchoolChapel LaneP.O. Box 1879Plymouth, NH 03245

Phone Number: 603.536.1257

Email: info@holderness.org

The wallet was in the backpack the whole time?

Rust or feces, the world may never know...

What is a biomass?

Is it bad to swallow floss?

Wait, you floss?

Is Japan a city?

Putin is the man.

OverheardsCompiled By Parker Densmore ‘15

SG+BC= Sparking an Old Flame

MN+HA= It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Romance

TM+PH= Not Even a Mountain Could Break Them Apart

ShoutoutsCompiled by Lilly Vittum ‘15

1. Mistletoe: Justin Bieber

2. AlI I Want for Christmas: Mariah Carey

3. Happy Xmas: John Lennon & Yoko Ono

4. Last Christmas: Taylor Swift

5. Santa Baby: Trisha Paytas

6. Baby, It’s Cold Outside: Glee Cast

7. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home): Darlene Love

8. It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas: Michael Buble

9. Santa Claus is Coming to Town: Jackson 5

10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christ-mas: Darius Rucker

Weekly PlaylistCompiled By Maggie Cunha ‘16

Top Ten Unwanted Xmas

Giftsby Parker Densmore ‘15

1. Tabor Day T-Shirts2. Sony Zune3. A Student Planner4. Human hair5. A brand new iPhone 6. SAT practice books7. 1500 live lady bugs (available on ama-zon)8. Niles Water9. An eHarmony account10. A gazebo