I “I think this was my most proud day at Ravenscroft. I am still amazed that it happened, and I am very excited about the potential our school has to become exceptionally inclusive.

The diversity is already here, and there is so much we can learn about the world.”

- Sydnie Schwarz ‘16SPEAK Morning Student Leader

NRaven s c r o f t S choo l 7 4 09 F a l l s o f Neu se Road Ma r ch 2 014

evarmoreRavenscroft School

The Friday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 17, Up-per School students took part in a half-day program called “SPEAK,” organized by their peers.

Students began their morning by participating in 5 classes taught by their peers to learn about Dr. King’s legacy and discuss diversity on cam-pus. Afterwards, the closing ceremo-nies featured a song performance, a spray painted mosaic, and the sen-sational group of spoken word poets called the Sacrificial Poets.

The morning was part of an initiative to recognize and promote diversity at Ravenscroft.

All participants were construc-tive and most students responded positively to the offered activities which they felt explored many dif-ferent aspects of diversity and ac-ceptance in an accessible way for teenagers to learn from their peers. (Continued on page 2)

C asey HarrisEditor

Photo of spray painted mosaic by Sydnie Schwarz, ‘16, bearing the signatures of SPEAK par-ticipants on the reverse. Photo by Helen Velk

Students spend morning discovering diversity

Photo of Zachary Chapman, ‘15, John Landers, ‘15, Skye Di-etlebaum, ‘15, and Shiva Boroojerdi, ‘15 debriefing the “Step

Over the Line” activity. Photo by Helen Velk

sponsored function, and believes it is better to “err on the side of caution” when dealing with potentially dangerous situations such as a students’ intoxication at a dance.

Also pertaining to dances are the changes involving whom a student can bring as their date. Guests have always had to be approved by former Head of Upper School Bill Pruden or Kevin Billerman, Assistant Head of Upper School, but now there are specific restrictions on the allowed age of the guests.

Juniors and Seniors are officially allowed to bring Freshman in college to Homecoming, Winter Formal, and Prom, and officially not allowed to bring anyone

older than that. While there is nothing that specifically lays out rules on this in the handbook, Bogue explains that they generally do not approve of a student bringing a date who has been out of high school for more than a year because of the complications that could arise from a large age difference.

Guests submitted to be approved will continue to be decided on a case-by-case basis but some people think this rule is generally unfair to the seniors, since it allows a presumed two-year age difference between juniors and their date, but only a one-year difference for seniors.

E mi MyersEditor

Before Winter Formal new Head of Upper School, Peter Bogue, sent out a school-wide email describing the changes in Ravenscroft policy and the Student Handbook. Starting this year, the schools policies of breathalyzing at dances and allowing outside guests to attend school functions have had some students wondering what the specific changes are and what brought them about.

This past summer, the language regarding the policy of breathalyzing at school dances came into question and has been changed to state that should a student refuse to take a Breathalyzer test, they will be assumed guilty and disciplinary procedures will follow accordingly. The changes were designed to give clarity to students on the consequences of refusing to take the test. There has been use of a Breathalyzer in past years, but Bogue wants to ensure students that the administration hopes to not have to use the new policy, and does not plan on breathalyzing random students at dances.

Many students have felt that presumed guilt violates their right to innocence until proven otherwise. Bogue says that the administration is only concerned about the overall safety of students attending a school-

CH- CH- CH- Changes

Cold War Heat Up:Ukranian Meltdown

A protester hurls a cobblestone over a wall of fire toward police forces storm-ing Independence Square in central Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014.

(Sergei L. Loiko/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Tensions are rising between pro-Russian and rebel forces in Ukraine as a result of a $15 billion bailout from Vladimir Putin, Russian Federation President, in order to draw Ukraine away from the European Union and establish a regime favorable to Russian economic and political interests.

November brought this conflict to a climax when tens of thousands of Ukrainian protesters took to the streets to protest what they believed to be a “pet” government of Vladimir Putin, a concept heavily reminiscent of Cold War Soviet Russia.

Following of unmarked, but suspected Russian, troops’ pres-ence in Crimea, a southern peninsula officially a region of Ukraine but carrying a predominantly Russian or pro-Russian population, President Barack Obama met with the leaders of Germany, Poland, and Great Britain to condemn the “complete illegitimacy” of Rus-sia’s actions.

Responding to the militarization of Crimea, Ukraine has officially mobilized their military and made an appeal to the United Nations Security Council for sanctions against Moscow.

On Sunday, March 16, a referendum was passed in Crimea by 97% allowing its creation as province of the Russian Federation. This Russian backed initiative had since led to American sanctions against the key Russian political and military figures by freezing their assets and issuing travel bans. President Obama stated these sanctions in an address on Monday and further stressed increased sanctions when he warned, “Further provocations will achieve noth-ing except to further isolate Russia.”

By: Em

i Myers

Nevarmore2 News

oN

evarm

re nline

Page 2SGA, Clubs, CalendarKatherine Ann Robinson & Haley Gardner

Page 3Winter OlympicsHaley Gardner

Page 4Big IdeasEmi Myers

Page 5Editorial Emi Myers, Stephanie Wiehe, Austin Morin & Casey Harris

Page 6 & 7CCL/Student Leadership InitiativeStephanie Wiehe, Adam Jordan & Brett Haensel

Page 8Flappy Bird Liz Gulden & Anna Collawn

Pages 9Valentine’s Day Katherine Ann Robinson & Anna Collawn

Page 10FrozenGina Patalano

Page 11Super BowlConner irey

Page 12Basketball Jonathan Marlowe & Anna Collawn

Table

of

Contents

S.G

.A

K athryn Ann RobinsonStaff Writer

Student Government has had a very successful winter. One of the highlights of our work these past months was the Winter Formal Dance. This year, however, atten-dance was down and many felt that the band, The Heather Hayes Expe-rience, did not live up to their repu-tation. The Badminton Tournament was also a successful event and raised money for the American Cancer So-ciety.

As pledged at the beginning of the year, we continue to donate to the American Cancer Society, and so far we have raised over $3000 from vari-ous events. This spring, SGA looks forward to hosting the Independent School Conference, in which various schools from around North Carolina will come to discuss the role and or-

ganization of student government at their respective schools. This confer-ence will help us to expand the scope of our government beyond Raven-scroft, and find ways to improve how we work.

This spring, we also look for-ward to the annual kickball tourna-ment to benefit In Sam’s Name. In Sam’s Name is a charity that hon-ors Sam Biedermann, a Ravenscroft alum, to raise awareness about drug safety. This is a charity close to the hearts of many Ravenscroft students and SGA has worked to make our presence in the charity known.

We continue to work on in-volvement in the surrounding com-munity through sending students to Art Atria where they make art with senior citizens. We look forward to a successful spring in SGA and hope to make a lasting impact on Raven-scroft’s presence in the community.

In Sam’s Name Mission Statement

In Sam’s Name is a fund established in memory of Samuel Elgie Biedermann, who passed away at the age of 19 when he was just beginning to search for his unique place in life. His family’s goal is to support other young men and women like Sam who are fac-ing pressures and uncertain-ties during their transition into adulthood. The fund will make contributions to charities that support youth in the Triangle area to identify and nurture their talents and overcome the barriers they face. The goal of the fund is to assist youth in becoming self-confident and compassionate young adults.

Local

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SUNDAY MONDAY TUEDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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March 2013

Hon

or

The Oscars

UNC vs. Notre Dame @ UNC

UNC vs. VT @ UNC

UNC vs. Duke @ Duke

NCSU vs. Miami @ NCSU

NCSU vs. Pittsburgh @ PB

NCSU vs. BC @ NCSU

ACC 1st Round

ACC 2nd Round

ACC Quarterfinal

ACC Semi-final

ACC Final NCAA 1st Round

NCAA 2nd Round

NCAA 3rd Round

NCAA Sweet Sixteen

NCAA Elite 8

Duke vs. WF @ Duke

1st day of spring

300 movie releaseMr. Peabody movie release

Need for Speed

movie release

Divergent movie release

Muppets movie release

A Haunted House 2 movie release

Noah movie release

Sabatoge movie release

Bad Words movie release

Foster the People album release

Shakira album release

Lea Michele album release

Pharrell album release

Canes home game

Canes home game Canes home

game

Canes home game

Canes home game Canes

home game

One of the sessions was a Ted Talk video called “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. After watching a vid-eo about the dangers of unintentional stereotyping, students had a conver-sation about the orator’s experiences from moving to London from Nige-ria, her college roommate assuming that she only listened to tribal music, and the idea that Africa is one uni-fied country.Another session was an analysis of Dr. King’s lesser known quotes. Students were able to react to different quotes in an open environ-ment.

The third session was an ac-tivity designed to realize diversity in the Ravenscroft community. Stu-

dents were asked to step across a line if they personally identified with a question asked by the student facili-tator. This activity was followed by a debrief discussion to talk about the results of the activity be that certain prompts that more people responded to than expected or prompts that par-ticipants thought would have had a stronger response to.

Socio-economic status was also a focus of one of the groups. Here, students were asked to separate a list of items ranging from a Mac computer to a bus ticket into groups of families under the labels “more than enough,” “enough,” and “less than enough.”

The sixth and final session watched a video by the “Vine fa-mous” Nash Grier that talked about what the ideal qualities in women were. Students were asked to share their opinions on how the media shaped societal ideas and what an in-dividual’s role is in either perpetuat-ing the current standard practices or changing them.

Although the morning ac-tivities were interesting and fun, most students enjoyed the closing ceremony most of all. The closing ceremony featured a musical perfor-mance, a painted mosaic bearing the word “SPEAK” with the signatures of all of the participants of the day,

Four members of the spoken poetry group, Sacrificial Po-

ets, intoducing their act. Photo by Helen Velk

“SPEAK”(Cont.)and the poetry group called “Sacrifi-cial Poets.”The Sacrificial Poets were a smash hit among all of the attend-ees. Their performance based poetry was a far cry from the poems many students find cumbersome and boring to study in the classroom. Covering subjects from red sneakers and social injustice to the difficulties of grow-ing up in Durham, each of the five performers showcased their talent and passion for Martin Luther King’s legacy and had students and faculty alike snapping in agreement.

One of the most remarkable parts of the event was the fact that it was completely student led. All of the sessions were led by a total of 24 student facilitators with the help of faculty sponsors.

The “SPEAK” day was an ex-tension of six upper school students’ trip to National Harbor, Maryland where they attended the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC).

Jessie Lutz, class of ‘14, was a second year attendee to the Student Diversity Leadership Conference and one of the many key student leaders who helped to organize the SPEAK morning. While reflecting on the ef-fectiveness of SDLC concepts during the SPEAK day, Lutz said, “Orches-trating a student-led day helped the SDLC students not only practice, but

pass on important leadership skills to their peers.”

One of the student facilitators, Sydnie Schwarz, class of ‘16, said “I think this was my most proud day at Ravenscroft. I am still amazed that it happened, and I am very excited about the potential our school has to become exceptionally inclusive. The diversity is already here, and there is so much we can learn about the world; regardless of how students seem to believe the Ravenscroft com-munity is homogenous and limited, I know that it is not. This purpose is an important one, and must be intro-duced to our community so that it is accepted and embraced.”

For the first time in over ten years Ravenscroft has a More-head-Cain Scholar. Mary Grady Bell,‘14, has been an involved and dedicated student during her ca-reer at Ravenscroft. She is a leader both in and out of the classroom, as she serves as Secretary of the Up-per School in SGA and is also an FCA leader. An accomplished ath-lete, Bell has seen both her Track and Cross Country teams make it to States. She is also an avid violinist, playing in the school’s orchestra as well as the White Me-morial Youth Strings, and a string quartet. Bell is a member of Na-tional Honors Society, as well as National Charity League.

The Morehead-Cain Schol-arship is the first scholarship in America and includes four years fully paid at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well as many, many more enrich-ment opportunities. After months of interviews and applications, Bell was happy to announce that she was one of 49 students to re-ceive this very prestigious scholar-ship.

Kevin Billerman, former Duke Basketball Captain, and

Mary Grady Bell, ‘14, after one of their an-

nual Duke/Carolina bets...ob-viously, Carolina

won!Photo

by Helen Velk

News 3Nevarmore

HaleyGardnerSTAFF WRITER

February sixth marked the beginning of the Winter Olympics hosted in Sochi, Russia. This year was the first time that the Russian Federation has hosted the Winter Olympics (the Soviet Union hosted the Summer Olympics in 1980). Located in Krasnodar, the third largest region of Russia, Sochi has a population 400,000 people.

Planning for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics began in the summer of 2007, and the games were the most expensive Olympics ever, costing around $50 billion.

Before the games, there were many controversies in Russia regarding the Sochi Winter Olympics. First of all, there were multiple threats of terrorism on the games. Also, people “called for boycotts of the Sochi Olympics because of Russia’s political alignments,” according to CNN. Additionally, Russia recently passed an “anti-gay propaganda” law on June 30th, 2013, which banned gay rights and relationships caused protests. Furthermore, 2014 apparently marks the 150th anniversary of the Circassian genocide, and protesters had many concerns that the Olympics

were being hosted on “mass graves.” Lastly, environmentalists were concerned that constructing the Olympic buildings would disrupt the natural and “pristine” setting, although planners of the Sochi Olympics declared that the games would be the “greenest” Olympic games ever held.

The games took place in two places. The ice events were held near the Black Sea in the Imeretinskaya Valley, and the skiing and sliding event were held in the Krasnaya Polyana Mountains (see diagram at bottom left).

Mascots for the games included the Polar Bear, Hare and Snow Leopard who occasionaly made appearances at various events.

Ravenscroft students and faculty gave their input on the 2014 Winter Olympics in a survey before the games started. They shared whether or not they would watch the Olympics, if they had ever spectated at an actual Olympics, and what game they were looking forward to the most.

Out of 80 students, 88% said they would watch the Winter Olympics, 6% said that were not sure, and 5% said that they would not.

Additionally, the most popular

event Ravenscroft students were excited about watching was skiing (see graph at bottom right).

Katherine Booth, ‘15, shared her story of the time she visited the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. At the time, she lived in France, so she and her family only had to make a five hour drive to Turin. She told The Nevarmore, “My sister and my dad went to the womens hockey finals where team Canada won gold. My mom and my sister went to the figure skating event, and we all saw team Canada play against Russia in hockey.” Her favorite part about the Winter Olympics was touring around, watching hockey, and “seeing people from your country coming together as one to support your team.”

At the end of the Olympic games, Russia earned the most medals with the United States not following too far behind.

The next Winter Olympics will take place in PyeongChang, South Korea in 2018.

Courtesy of MCT Campus

One snowflake refuses to expand into an Olympic ring during the Opening Ceremony.

Courtesy of MCT Campus

Fireworks explode over Fisht Olympic Stadium.Courtesy of MCT Campus

Courtesy of MCT Campus

“ICE HOCKEY!!!!!!! Can’t wait to see my favorite NHL players battle it out on the ice.” -Emi Myers, ‘15

“The opening ceremo-ny fo’ sho” -Jordy Baende, ‘14

“Anything to sit in front of while doing schoolwork.” -Karen Carroll

Ravens, Which events are you looking foward to?

Winter Olympics

Favorite Events

# o

f Vot

es

Events

4 Nevarmore Opinion

EmiMyersEditor

We Need To Talk About Race“We have in this country this dynamic where we really don’t like to talk about our

problems. We don’t like to talk about our history. And because of that, we really haven’t understood what it’s meant to do the things we’ve done historically.

We’re constantly running into each other. We’re constantly creating tensions and conflicts. We have a hard time talking about race, and I believe it’s because we

are unwilling to commit ourselves to a process of truth and reconciliation.” -Bryan Stevenson

I do believe African-Americans have reached full citizenship because the written law states we do. Many African-Americans did face adversity while fighting for these laws to be made. But, to this day we still

face adversity in our everyday lives. Socially and in different environments, especially the South, we are not treated the same as other citizens. Everything we do is always amplified and we cannot get away with certain things that others can.

African-American History Month to me is not only a celebration or a tribute, but also a reminder. A reminder of what others went through so I can have freedom and how they expect my generation not to lose that drive while continuing to fight for equality.

African-American History Month in itself is not effective to me. It is what people do during that time of reminder that is effective. People are effective by teaching others about their family culture and background, by marching, or by simply rejoicing.

There is nothing I would like to change in African-American History Month. Many may advocate to change the month because it is the shortest month but, I like it being the shortest month. It gives the African-American community an extra drive to strive for greatness.

Lastly, I would like to say there is a need for people, including African-Americans, to understand that not every African-American is the same. I never even thought of this myself until a couple weeks back. We all have different backgrounds, different stories, different struggles and a different idea of what our culture is. That is what makes us unique. We are different, but one. African-American History Month is a celebration, tribute, and reminder that we are uniquely different, but must stick together.

- DJ Washington, ‘16

In February of 1970, the first Black History Month was organized by the students of Kent State University’s African American Student Union in order to recognize the important people and events of the African diaspora on the bicentennial of the United States.

Forty-four years later, many individuals of varied ethnicities question the purpose and value of this month. Does it promote acceptance or simply emphasize difference? What value does it hold?

Those that are of the anti-Black History month orientation argue that creating a separate month for people of a different skin color reinforces the idea of segre-gation instead of pursuing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream for people “not to be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Additionally, assigning a single month to African American history contributes to the idea that they, as well as their history, are completely separate from the history of the United States of America. Such an ex-planation was offered by the successful African American movie ac-tor Morgan Freeman when he said, “I don’t want a black history month. Black history is American history.”

The argument for Black History Month is equally strong. More often than not, American History, a high school class re-quired by many states, is taught from the caucasian colonist point of view. As a result, many figures and events that are central to the story of African American history go overlooked in day-to-day studies.

Either way, no one can dispute the validity of the goal of the National Black History Month. According to the Afri-can American History Month website, their objective is for people and institutions to “join in paying tribute to the gen-erations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.”

So, noble cause? Check. But, their goal refers to the African American struggles with adversity and achievement of full citizenship as an accomplishment of the past, when in reality, many African Americans continue to battle predjudice and unfair judgement.

In a TEDtalk, human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson rat-tles off several startling statistics of African Americans (right) that are truly shocking. They suggest that perhaps, true equality has not yet been achieved. In fact, following current trends, there is a regression in African American voting.

What does this mean for African American History Month?

In short, these facts suggest that maybe the progress Ameri-cans, both black and white, feel they have made is not as far past the grievances of slavery and segregation as they would like to think it is. Take the terms used to describe each race: white and black. Two colors that stand in for two races of people. The very concept of black and white is that they are opposites, further encouraging the divide between people and colors that are far from accurate in describing the actual varying skin tones of the people they represent. In reality, no person is either “black” or “white.”

Perhaps instead of focusing on individual leaders in African Ameri-can history, the month should be geared towards combating contempo-rary issues about race that persist today. Instead of simply teaching about W.E.B DuBois and Carter G. Woodson, we should try to pur-sue their ideas for change and integrate them into our legal, politi-cal, and social institutions.

This year, the month long celebration was themed “Civ-il Rights in America,” but Stevenson argues that focusing on events of the past will not resolve the inter-race tensions that continue to manifest. He suggests that we focus on integrating everyone in a just future. Focusing on slavery and hundreds of other racially motivated abuses will not change the past. The only way to move towards true equality is to focus on a fully integrated future.

1 out of 3 African America men

between 18 and 30 are either in jail, onparole, or on probation

In Alabama, 34% of African American males are permanently

disenfranchised because of a single criminal conviction.

In 10 years, states like Alabama will reach levels of disenfranchisement

unseen since the Voting Rights Act

In states belonging to the “Old South,” a black defendant is 22 times

more likely to receive the death penalty with a white victim

than vice versa.

Student OpinionThoughts on African American History Month and its Effectiveness

Still Interested?

1. UCLA Black Bruins video

2. Bryan Stevenson TED talk “We Need To Talk About Injustice”

3. www.itooamharvard.tumblr.com

Here’s a few resources to check out online to learn more:

African American History Month

5

Wire ServiceThe Nevarmore subscribes to MCT Campus, which provides photographs, national news & entertain-

ment services to high school newspapers.Faculty Advisor: Helen Velk

Editorial Content:1) The students on The Nevarmore staff

will print articles which have been researched to the best of their

ability to obtain the most complete information.

2) The information will be presented in an objective, truthful

and fair manner.3) When personal commentary is given

it will be in good taste on issues that have been researched, analyzed and

where expert opinion has been sought, and then presented to the best ability

of the writer.4) No material which is obscene, libel

or anything that will cause a “material and substantial disruption” of the school day, according to accepted

legal definitions, will be printed.

This paper serves as a communication link within Ravenscroft School and between the

school and the local community. The Nevarmore staff strives to

produce a professional-quality publication that follows the Code of Ethics of the Society of

Professional Journalists. Our overall objective

is to print the news for and about our students and other members of our school and community

in a fair and objective way with the utmost regard for integrity.

The unsigned editorials in this issue are a reflection of the combined opinions of the editorial team. Responses in the form of a letter are welcomed and will

be considered for publication.

Editorial Team: Stephanie Wiehe & Emi Myers, Co-Editors-In-Chief

Casey Harris & Austin Morin, Associate Editors

Nevarmore

NevarmoreEditorial

Changing Our World:

Cartoon by Austin Morin ‘15

Advisory time, often used to finish work, study, or just relax and enjoy the family atmosphere of the advisory crew, has now been taken away for leadership lessons. In the case of the juniors, it is now a time to work on the “Change Your World” project.

Many considered the old version of 9:35 Common Period on Tuesdays and Thursdays as a rare period of free time to use for what-ever they please; a welcome reprieve in their already hectic lives.

Most students can relate to the feeling of hitting the wall, right around 11 or 12 o’clock, after hours of homework on top of projects/presentation/sports practice/play practice/band/etc. - when students simply cannot go on any longer - so they decide to get some much-needed sleep.

As sophomores, juniors, and seniors were accustomed to hav-ing regularly scheduled free periods, many students could budget the 9:35 Common Period on Tuesdays and Thursdays as a time for completing work from the previous night. With the new program, students, juniors in particular, have had to use their “growth-mind-ed” skills to adapt to a new schedule, often at the expense of mental and physical health.

In addition to piling onto an already overbearing workload, Juniors are asked to create a project aimed at “changing their world” while confined to the Ravenscroft campus. Many of the greater is-sues students care about reach far beyond the borders of our safe, beautiful environment. Such issues received resistance from admin-istrators and advisors alike.

Upper School students were forced to adjust to numerous changes in the past few years

such as locker/hallway realignment, dress code, new grading scale, as well as elimination of traditional

senior privileges, and this year, they were faced with another sizable change in their daily lives that hits

every student in every grade level: The incorporation of the Student Leadership Initiative

into the school’s curriculum. The editorial team de-cided that the most efficient way to voice the students’, primarily juniors’, frustrations surrounding this new

initiative is to chunk them into three categories.

TREEmendous Values

Have Difficulty Rooting

Themselves in Students’ Minds

Reduction of “Free” Time

Forced Values/Overwhelmingly BIG Concepts

CommunicationThe communication between the administration and student

body has been inconsistent. Because of so many competing events during the 9:35 Common Period, students face long stretches with no work or direction regarding the junior project, then short periods where the initiative is brought back in full-swing, leaving students confused as to what is going on in terms of scheduling, deadlines, and direction. The inclement weather this year has further exacer-bated the situation.

Juniors are still not sure what is going on with the project as a whole. Wondering, for example, how students will be granted the “20 hours of community service,” the deadline, and worse yet, there is still confusion as to what the final product is supposed to be, and the actual overall goal of these projects.

In an attempt to increase communication with the students and gain student insight, a student leadership group was formed and Colleen Ramsden, Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs, will be meeting with all juniors to clarify the above questions.

Concepts like “Leading Self, Leading Others” and “Changing Your World” are all good in theory, but difficult to be of much value at this point in students’ lives. A high percentage of students at Ravenscroft between the ages of 14 and 18 have not yet encountered things requiring such moral conscience. Each value is so large and difficult to embody that students are reluctant to value the importance of them. It is like saying “be a good person, ready set GO!”

However, keep in mind that the goal of the program is to prepare students for an ever evolving workforce.

Perhaps, if the CCL based Student Leadership Initiative was more slowly in-tegrated into the Ravenscroft culture, better results would be observed. The suddenness and scale of this year’s program is stressful for most of the Upper School students, but this is an integral part to the purpose of the pilot program.

The Junior Perspective on the Ravenscroft Leadership Initiative

Replace the senior internship with a“Super

Project” that must be implemented and reported on.

Ensure completion by culminating essay or presentation.

Make advisory a graded class if it gives assignments.

Less structure on the Google site

Make a list of requirements and a schedule of all meetings so students

can plan accordingly.

Invite a speaker whose message is more in line with

the scope and goal of the project.

Allow students the flexibility to choose a topic they are passionate about.

Is it possible for EVERYONE to be a leader?

Is it important to be a good follower as well?

How can a broad program cater to the needs of each

student at different steps of leadership development?

A Brief Word from Colleen Ramsden:As Ravenscroft strives toward the goal of

having every student realize he/she has the potential to be a leader, the program needs to continue to be tweaked. The good news is the administration wants to hear from students on how to improve it. They will look to accom-modate students’ time management needs, communicate more effectively, and provide more concrete concepts in the hope of obtaining the broad goal.

Our Suggestions:

Our Questions:

“The art of leadership

is saying no, not saying

yes. It is very easy to

say yes.”-Tony Blair

1.

2.

3.4.

5.

6.

© 2013 Center for Creative Leadership. All Rights Reserved.

© 2013 Ravenscroft School. All Rights Reserved.

Self-awareGrowth-mindedMotivatedResilientAccountable

EmpatheticEthical

Culturally InclusiveCollaborative

Communicative

VisionaryStrategic

ResourcefulReflectiveAdaptive

Leading Self Leading with Others

Changing Your World

Ravenscroft School

August 20, 2012

Faculty CCL retreat:

Faculty of all areas of the school

returned to campus early for a CCL led conference learning

about leadership through lectures, presentations, and

activities.

September 2012-

March 2013Students participate

in first Citizen Leadership activities

organized and leadership-based

discussion in

advisory groups.

First Citizen Leadership led day of student activities. 10th-12th graders

attended a presentation given by Rick Waechter learning about personal finance and money

management, skills not otherwise taught in school. 9th graders spent the morning doing team building

exercises, and adapting to the Upper School. In the afternoon

all students met in advisory groups to do on-campus service projects at

the direction of CCL leaders.

August 27, 2012

Leading Self: The “Leading Self” portion of the character tree diagram is the focus of lessons in Pre-K

and the Upper School alike. The youngest Ravens are taught that “Leading Self” is essentially being

responsible for their own actions. Ramsden recounts that “at Lower School gatherings,

Dr. Harper, Guidance Counselor, simply asks the students if they are “leading self” and the

room quiets down immediately.” As students progress through the program, they learn of the different sub-categories of

Leading Self. High school students were asked to incorporate the Leading Self

terms of accountability, self-aware, resilient, growth-minded, and motivated into their

self-evaluative report card comments.

Leading With Others:

Sixth and ninth graders focused on the Leading with Others portion of the Character

Tree in team building exercises at a retreat before school in August. According to the

Ravenscroft website: “Our faculty and CCL will facilitate “retreat”

days at Ravenscroft for all rising sixth and ninth graders. Each grade will spend one day during the first full week of school working on team building, citizenship and leadership exercises. This is an invaluable opportunity

for our students to begin the year with a greater sense of community.”

Changing Your World:

Members of the junior class are the most involved in exploring the Changing Your

World portion of the Citizen Leader program and Ravenscroft co-generated diagram.

Each advisory was split up into groups and presented a challenge:

To create a presentation and raise awareness about a problem within our community.

Projects range from awareness about texting while driving to leading healthy lifestyles.

Juniors work on projects during 9:35 scheduled work times, will create a video, and will present projects to a committee

from outside of Ravenscroft for critiquing and possible funding.

“If your idea of leadership is a positional thing, you aren’t

talking about the leadership were trying to create,” says Colleen Ramsden, Assistant Head of School, and the lead coordinator of the Citizen Leader program at Ravenscroft.

Although the program has really only been rolled out to students this year, Ravenscroft has been working with the Center for Creative Leadership for three years now. Early on, the school went through a discovery process with focus groups comprised of parents, teachers, and students, trying to figure out what the community wanted to improve for students. It was clear that the greatest desire was a Citizen Leadership program for students of all ages.

“We already had leadership development opportunities like band, sports, and SGA, so why not put a label on it and get all students involved?” That’s exactly what the school did, from Pre-K to 12th grade, all students are being exposed to the new program and the new “brand” of leadership.

The over-arching goal of the new program is to “live the school’s mission which says that students will thrive in a complex and interdependent world,” according to Ramsden.

This entails teaching students how to work with others and develop skills both in and out of the classroom, as well as teaching students that “it’s okay to fail...and to learn how to overcome,” says Ramsden, who went on to add, “with an ever changing society, it’s not enough to just be smart anymore.” The school is working towards its goal by creating a common language for leadership.

“Whether you walk into a math or a history class, there’s a common language.” Each grade focuses on a specific part of this language: Leading Self, Leading With Others, or Changing Your World.

Stephanie WieheEditor

A New Definition of Leadership

Embraced at Ravenscroft

The Fortner Advisory participating in one of the CCL activities in August.

Photo by Susan Washburn

Photo by Susan Washburn

Creating Leaders for a Better FutureStarting an Initiative:

© 2013 Center for Creative Leadership. All Rights Reserved.

© 2013 Ravenscroft School. All Rights Reserved.

Self-awareGrowth-mindedMotivatedResilientAccountable

EmpatheticEthical

Culturally InclusiveCollaborative

Communicative

VisionaryStrategic

ResourcefulReflectiveAdaptive

Leading Self Leading with Others

Changing Your World

Ravenscroft School

August 27, 2013

Ravenscroft receives a

$50,000 grant from the

Edward E. Ford Foundation

in support of the new leadership initiative.

September 2012-

March 2013Students participate

in first Citizen Leadership activities

organized and leadership-based

discussion in

advisory groups.

January 23-March 25,

2014

Junior Citizen Leadership Projects: Juniors complete

and presented their question-based “Change Your

World Projects,” bringing awareness and action to problems faced

both inside and beyond the Ravenscroft community.

February 24, 2014

Ravenscroft highlighted in Stanford Social Innovation Review

article about schools creating

entrepreneurial leaders. The article

focused on the school’s “Lead from Here” initiative with its

cooperation with CCL.

September-November,

2013Citizen Leadership

projects and discussions are introduced into Upper School

advisories and juniors begin research and

planning for Change Your World Project.

9th Grade

11th Grade

10th Grade

The 11th grade Citizen Leadership project is based around the “Change Your World” ideas presented in the Citizen Leadership curricula. Stu-dents were asked to divide into groups, come up with a question or problem, and create an answer or solution.

The projects culminate into a presentation, geared at a target audience to increase awareness

Throughout the year, the freshman class has been focusing on developing several qualities of leadership during Common Period. Advisors come prepared with a video or pre-planned activity and leads the group through the event that is focused on a particular leadership quality.

These activities either put the advisory through a specific situation in which they have to work together or individually, or they lead the advi-sory in a discussion about the topic and trait. Lately, advisory groups have been working on developing the trait of resilience.

Freshmen have watched videos about inspira-tional figures who have been resilient in their lives, as well as taking part in activities that have required a demonstration of resilience. Overall, the Citizen

Leadership activities focus on bringing the advisory together as a group and helping each individual be-come a better leader.

Students are not always excited about walk-ing into advisory, which feels like a class, and hav-ing to participate in a Citizen Leadership activ-ity. However, often the well-timed activities have a very positive effect on the group. Some people view it as added stress to an already stressful day, so they do not get the most out of the activity.

Lately, the activities are more spread out, and students (including myself) are more excited about each activity. Also, interactive activities tend to get students more interested than when they just listen to their advisor talk for the 35 minute period.

The Citizen Leadership activities definitely serve their purpose in teaching students the impor-tance of certain leadership qualities, but if they are put into use too often, they can work against the goal they are trying to achieve.

Ravenscroft’s Citizen Leadership program is now in full swing, and advisory activities are changing. Whenever I walk into my sophomore advisory knowing the meeting is based on this program, I never know what to expect. Whether it be sitting down and discussing different scenarios based on a video, or standing up and moving around virtual continents made of yarn to learn about issues with energy and money distribution around the world, the sophomore activities seem to be focused around identifying and discussing potential solutions for global and social issues.

All of these activities go hand-in-hand with Ravenscroft’s effort to prepare students to be leaders in the ever-changing world in which we live.

Ravenscroft’s partnership with CCL has shown to be a strong idea, however, it will take time to see if teaching leadership to high school students really pays off. For now, it is difficult to tell if the lessons students learn about social and global issues will be effective. It could be a rousing success with students becoming successful innovators solving the great problems of the world. It could also be successful in developing leaders in the fight for social equality, as was showcased in the Speak program in January.

Did current student leaders have leadership skills already in them? Or were they brought forth by this program? That is a question that will be more easily be answered as the sophomore class, which will be the first to go through four years of our Citizen Leadership training, moves on through high school and beyond.

of the problem or issue in our community and the topics range from increasing awareness of texting while driving to promoting healthy living styles.

Students have been complaining about the time commitment of the project, taking away free periods that are necessary study and homework time. Junior year is a stressful and busy time, and many students feel the school is demanding too much during the most influential year of high school.

B rett HaenselStaff Writer

A dam JordanStaff Writer

Creating Leaders for a Better FutureStarting an Initiative:

Stephanie WieheEditor

8 Nevarmore Feature

Liz GuldenStaff Writer

Who Gives a Flip About the Flap?

The popular app “Flappy Bird” has become a sensation around the country. In our Up-per School alone, approximately 91% of students have played the simplistic yet addicting game with 58% admitting to be avid players. The app was released in the spring of 2013, but with the sudden spike in January, the pesky bird consistently claimed the top spot in the App Store with an overall 4 star review, over 50 million downloads, and a daily revenue of $50k from advertise-ments. Despite its rapid success, the seemingly innocent game became a serious issue to cre-ator Doug Nguyen when his app led to violence amongst the players and death threats to himself.

The app’s short time in the spotlight led to numerous hoaxes, including that in which a Chi-cago teen murdered his brother merely because he was jealous of his brother’s high score of 17. An-other report claimed that Nguyen killed himself over the extreme response to his game and threats delivered to him. These bogus articles from Huzzlers.com, a well known satirical news site, sim-ilar to The Onion, spread rapidly to the International Business Times, amongst other news sources, which published the information as fact. While the stories were fabricated, Nguyen did in fact re-ceive death threats while the game was on the App Store, which led him to remove the it completely.

Flappy Bird Fanatics became frantic and frustrated when he tweeted the news that the game would not longer be available on the App Store, but other creators have designed similar games to fill the hearts of those who need their Flappy Bird fix. One of the more popular games is Flying Cyrus, where the player leads a floating Miley head through a course of wrecking balls. Others like Hop-py Frog, Splashy Fish, and Flappy Wings are popular alternatives to the late and great Flappy Bird.

It seems everyone agrees that life became exponentially more stressful once the infu-riating little bird flapped into mainstream media, but just as quickly as he flew in, he fled. Al-though no one can know which app will take the country by storm next, many would agree that there is no way it could be more addicting and time consuming than the infamous Flappy Bird.

SCOREBOARD

Evan Colby 409Donald Fuller 303 James Kirk 269Catherine Gardner 284Chandler Presson 248Kenny Bowling 216Sydney Olson 205Mary Mac Glenn 168Jonathan Prather 140Garrett Davenport 134Jeffrey Hines 133Max Van Lokeren 129

Some people think that the devil looks like a red beast, with horns

on his head, that brings death and destruction, but in real life this is what evil looks like, it’s that tiny little yellow bird that

can't even fly straight! - Dasha Teyf

Flappy Bird is Life. Flappy Bird is

salvation. Flappy Bird is love itself.

- Jaxon Stocks

It's horrible and I hate it and it's not creative. It's a waste of time. Do something else like learn how to play an instru-ment or jump on a trampo-line. Don't play that game.

- Ford Layman

Everyone else plays it. Gotta be

the best.- Jack Torborg

It's a waste of time and I really need to get a life.- Andrew Thrash

Dying is so frus-trating and you feel inclined to

play again. Plus you feel like you can always do

better than your last one.

- Max Haensel

I only play on my friend’s phone because I know if I

download it onto my phone I won’t be able to stop playing.

- Brooke Sharp

I hate this game.- Alexis Hunter

It seems as if it should be easy to get the bird through the

green poles. So when you end up not being able to do it you get frustrated and you want to

try again and again.- Chris Little

Flappy Bird has inspired many game designers to create similar games.

Screen Shot by Liz Gulden

WHY WAS FLAPPY BIRD REMOVED?

The founder was concerned about how

addictive it had become and deleted it. He claimed

“it’s gone forever.”

Hot New App Flew South Forever

I want to play Flappy Bird but my

phone is at 20% because I played so

much today.- Kathryn Anne

Robinson

Feature 9Nevarmore

“I would jet to Thailand then ride on an elephant

into the sunset on a beach.”

- Sara Kasbekar, ‘14

“Dinner on top of the Empire State Building and

then go to a broadway show.”

- Amy Lamond, Administrative Assistant

“Ryan Reynolds”

- Emily Ratliff, ‘14

“Ryan Gosling”

- Anna Collawn, ‘16

“Scarlett Johansson”

- Chris Corchiani, ‘14

“Young Jennifer Aniston”

- Georgio Georgedakis,

‘14

“Justin Beiber” - Haley

Gardner, ‘15

“Mr. Mosby” - Morgan

McCreedy, ‘14

“I baked a heart-shaped cake and dropped it.

Then, that night, I went to see “The Vow” and it was

awful. Then, I had to study for a test and felt really sick so I didn’t want any candy.”

-Mary Grady Bell, ‘12

“It was bad because I had an APUSH

test” - Rachel Ormand,

‘14

What Does Your Heart Desire on Valentine’s Day?

“Miley Cyrus is my dream and nightmare.

She’s the complete package”

- Connor Irey, ‘14

“We would go to a beach in the Caribbean, just the two of us,

then go sailing and take a long walk on the beach holding hands. Then, we go to a reggae concert

and a sporting event!”

“ It would start in the afternoon at a warm tropical resort with some tropical drinks out on the beach then proceed to

a romantic dinner and a night of dancing.”

- Kevin Billerman, Assistant Head of Upper School

Dream celebrity date?

Kathryn Anne Robinson & Anna CollawnStaff Writers

Worst Valentine’s Day?

Nightmare celebrity date?

Dream date?

10 SportsNevarmore

STAFF WRITER

Gina Patalano

Despite having gone into the theater expecting a mushy, sappy Disney film, I was pleasantly surprised. Fro-zen is now at the top of my list of films I would watch re-petitively - and sing along to. Frozen has taken box offices

around the world by storm since its premier in December of 2013, taking in over $359 million so far. This cinematic masterpiece has wowed audiences and caused the Winter Fever to sky-rocket. Earning 89% on famed movie review site, Rotten Tomatoes, Frozen is a definite must see.

I was initially urged to see the film in December by Sophie Raymer, ‘15, when she claimed, “It isn’t like every other Disney film. The graphics are amazing and the storyline is ac-tually pretty deep. It even shows some elements of real life relationships with people instead of all fantasy.” Sensing that not only she felt the hype of this movie, I decided to see it with my mother.

Artwork by: Gina PatalanoQueen Elsa of Arendelle

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway: A Frozen Film Review

As someone who has always been less than charmed by the Disney franchise, she told me afterwards that she had thoroughly enjoyed the movie and found connections to her own life within the story.

Joe Morgenstern, of the Wall Street Journal, agrees with my assessment of this film as he wrote in his Rotten Tomatoes review: “If you thought there was only so much to be done with ice and snow as visual fields, think again along the lines of prismatic crystals, epic storms and fantastical structures built on water’s gift for freezing itself into see-through art.”

Loosely based on the story The Snow Queen, Frozen adds Norway to its list of movie destinations and gives those who see it a sense of love and appre-ciation for their families. With outstanding voice act-ing and music performances by Broadway stars Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell, the audience is provided with an auditory and visual masterpiece brought to us by Disney’s animation renaissance. If you are con-sidering missing this movie for any reason, I suggest you take that idea and simply… let it go.

Upper School Choir and Band Concerts: March 2014

All photos by Susan Washburn

11NevarmoreSports

ConnorIreyStaff WriterThe Super Bowl is a mo-

mentuous a event that is watched all over the world. Every year at halftime there is an event that has a famous musical guest per-formance. The event this year was performed by Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The halftime show has had very famous acts in the past years. Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed “Give it Away,” Beyonce peformed some of her famous hits in in 2012 like “Crazy in Love,” “Baby Boy,” and many more.

The Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl 43-8. At the start of the game the Seahawks won the coin toss. They chose to defer and play defense for the first drive of the game. The Seahawk’s defenese captila-zied on the first play of the game with a safety. The Seahawks then scored a

field goal. By the end of the first quar-ter the Seahwaks led 8-0. During the second quarter Marshawn Lynch ran a TD in. Peyton Manning later threw a pick 6 which was scored by Malcom Smith. The Seawaks led the Broncos 22-0 by the end of the first half ended. The Broncos were unable to get a first down in the first quarter. At the start of the second half Percy Harvin ran back a kickoff for a TD. During the second half the Seahawks conitnued to score in the second half with the Broncos only being able to score a TD with a two point conversion. The final score was 43-8 Seattle with their first Super Bowl win ever.

Game Recap

Varsity Team Winter Sports Records

Swimming

Wrestling

Super Bowlin’, Super Ballin’

Ravenscroft Vasrity Girls’ Swimming took home the TISAC Championship. They went undefeated in the regular season with a final record of 18-0. Varsity Boys Swimming ended with a winning

record of 10-6. Varsity Boys’ Wrestling Took 6th out of 16 teams at the TISAC Championship Tournament with a total of 86.5 team points. This is the high-

est the team has placed since the re-establish-ment of the Varsity Wrestling Program.

All photos by Susan Washburn

Sports12

Staff WriterJonathan Marlowe

TISAC Champs Seven In A Row

The boys varsity basketball team proudly display their trophies after winning the conference championship. Bottom: Coach John Dover. Left to right: Coach Kris Williams, Patrick Dorsey, Chris Corchiani, Andre Ejijor, Hugo Corchiani, Lj

Young, Jonathan Marlowe, and Coach Kevin Billerman.Top left to right: Bryant Vucich PJ Stevens, Mike Okaru, Byron Horton, Tommy Corchiani, and David Reynolds

Photo by Stewart Corchiani

Over the past decade, Ra-venscroft has been well-known for its impressive boys’ basket-ball team. While holding an un-defeated record in the Triangle Independent Schools Association Conference (TISAC), the Ravens went to Durham Academy early one Saturday morning to secure the repeat. Due to the great regu-lar season, the Ravens had a bye and took on the toughest oppo-nent, North Raleigh Christian Academy.

The Ravens instantly came out of the gate with intensity and with the great leadership of the three seniors in the starting line-up: Chris Corchiani, LJ Young and Byron Horton.

The TISAC player of the year, David Reynolds ‘15, came out of the huddle with a strong aggressive first half, leading the team with 17 points. Senior Point Guard Chris Corchiani kept the team under control contributing with 5 assists. Freshman sensa-tion, Ian DuBose, chipped in 15 points with 6 rebounds to help the Ravens claim victory.

TISAC Champs With Undefeated Season

Senior leader of the team, Chris Corchiani played his last season with the word “Raven-scroft” proudly worn across his chest, and he took this season very seriously, as he wanted to prove to both his teammates and rivals that he can compete with any point guard in North Caro-lina. He showcased his talent in every game, winning awards such as the North Carolina Player of the Week, and he was later named All-Conference Player of the Year for the second time.

“Senior year has been a pretty good year and I enjoyed working with the younger guys. I regret not winning a couple close games that were in our advantage to win,” explained Corchiani, who is known for his high ex-pectations of himself as well as the team. Corchiani’s nickname is “Pops” or “Dad” because he is an unselfish player who al-ways puts the team first, and the younger players look up to him for answers. “Glad I could help continue to contribute to the con-ference win streak,” added Cor-chiani, who left a strong mark on Ravenscroft’s basketball history.

After clinching the Confer-ence Championship, The Nevar-

more got a chance to sit down with the man of the hour, Coach Kevin Billerman. Knowing Coach Bill-erman, he has high expectations, and he spoke about the improve-ment of the boys basketball team from the beginning to the end of the season, he said, ”evaluating teams each year includes talent, commitment, discipline, [and] experience. [You need to] devel-op an overall view on where, as a

team, you can reach.” Regarding the goals for the

regular season, he said the team is “a very young team. To win a conference championship is our first goal, [and] that has been set for their development.”

He added his expectations for the next year’s state tourna-ment. He said that the team has “shown improvement with ex-perience [and he is] really inter-

ested to see how we play in the state tournament based on that improvement and the develop-ment that the team has shown this year. We would have to play al-most perfect basketball to win the state championship, as we have competed well against the top three teams in the state, and have beaten one of them.”

The Lady Ravens basketball team had a great year, ending the season with a record of 22-5 including a sixteen game winning streak. Beating rival Durham Academy three times during the regular season was great for the team, as well as beating cross-town rival NRCA. The 2013-2014 women’s team went undefeated in the TISAC conference and won the conference championship.

This year’s Women’s basketball team was fairly young with only one senior, two juniors, three sophomores, three freshmen, and one eighth grader. Senior co-captain, Liz Gulden, had a lot to say about the team’s success this season: “I think we had a really great season and did a lot bet-ter than anyone expected. Our record of 22-5 shows that we had a lot of success. and I think it sets the tempo for next season. There’s a really good shot next year at winning states, and even though I can’t be a part of it, I hope they can go home with a trophy.”

“I wish we would have made it further in the state tournament. We beat DA three times during the season and then lost to them in states,” commented junior co-captain Cailin Dorsey about what she regrets this season. A few girls on the team were recognized for their outstanding season: Cailin Dorsey, All-Conference and All-State, Madison Taylor and Nandi Traywick, All-Conference.

One key to the team’s success was how close knit they had become by participating in activities together off the court such as: an early season potluck instead of a regular parents’ meeting, a Christmas party, which included a cookie exchange and gingerbread house making, and a team picture at the mall with Santa. “We all spent a lot of time together outside of practice and games, which is weird because you would think we would be sick of seeing each other so much, but that really wasn’t the case. It felt like we were always together. By the time everyone was on their way home after a game we would already be texting each other, and it didn’t matter that we just saw everyone ten minutes beforehand.”

The Girls’ Varsity Basketball Team with trophies after winning the TISAC Championship.Bottom: Claudia BellerTop: Coach Sean Hardy, Cailin Dorsey, Liz Gulden, Nandi Traywick, Alexis, Amanda Freder-

icks, Kira Muller, Coach Phil RobinsonPhoto provided by Liz Gulden

All photos by Susan Washburn

Anna CollawnStaff Writer

Nevarmore