NON PROFIT ORG. NON PROFIT WALPOLE, MA 02081 MA WALPOLE, U.S. POSTAGE PERMIT NO.8 PERMIT THE REBELLION PAID April 2014 Walpole High School 275 Common Street Walpole, MA 02081 Volume 16, Number 4 whstherebellion.com facebook.com/therebellion twitter.com/whstherebellion Concert starts spring on a high note Photos/ Max Simons By Anna Van der Linden showcased the talents of many Class of 2016 different performers. Soloists included Brian Hazerjian on Walpole High School wel- piano, Ray Brouwer on gui- comed the return of warm tar, James Daitch on the saxo- weather with the annual Spring phone, Padraic Curran on the Concert on Wednesday, April saxophone, and Andrew Haz- 9, at 7:30 in the Walpole High erjian on bass, and each solo- auditorium. This production ist received applause after fin- featured the jazz band, orches- ishing his section of the song. tra, band, and chorus perform- After a short intermission, ing a variety of musical pieces. the concert choir sang five Thanks to the hard work of pieces, each with a differ- music director Michael Falker, ent tempo. They started with jazz band director Mr. Dan “Aurora Borealis,” a relaxing, McKenzie, and all the students simple song with perfect har- involved, the concert was very monies. Their next number, well received. Mr. Falker “Two Spirituals,” consisted said, "It was the best kind of of two entertaining traditional concert because both of us pieces —”Deep River” and were very happy with all four “Witness” — that flowed into groups and with all the piec- each other. Andrew Hazerjian es, and that's a bit unusual." accompanied the choir on the Freshman Jess Giffen and sophomores Justin Bagley and James Daitch play the saxophone Starting off the show was cello in their next song, “Black at this year’s Spring Concert. the 68-member orchestra per- is the Color of my True Love’s forming three pieces. First Hair.” Finally, a group of mu- was a formidable, very precise sicians including Brian Hazer- Brahms piece, “Tragic Over- jian on violin, Andrew Hazer- ture,” followed by a dynamic jian on bass, Michael Van der strings-only performance Linden on the bodhran, John of Moussorgsky’s “Hopak” Ronan on piano, Ray Brou- from The Fair at Sorochinsk. wer on guitar, and Julia Muller The orchestra’s final number, on the flute assisted the choir “Triumph of the Argonauts” with a lively, traditional Irish by Robert Sheldon, featured piece called “Riversong.” a flute solo from sophomore The last group of the night Julia Muller. Muller said, was the concert band. “Crush” “Although our pieces were by Robert W. Smith awakened challenging, we were able to the audience with a loud start work well together and pull and high energy throughout. off a successful concert.” “The March of the Trolls” Taking the stage next was from Edvard Grieg’s “Lyric the jazz band, an audition-en- Suite” was playful and live- try group of sixteen students. ly. The band’s closing num- They first played “Vila Real” ber, “Emperata Overture” by Doug Beach, a Latin chart by Claude T. Smith, featured with a debut drum solo by Jake dynamic percussion and Members of the orchestra perform “Triumph of the Senior Andrew Hazerjian plays bass along Witherell. The next number brought the audience to its feet. Argonauts” on the cello. with the jazz band. was Pat Metheny’s “Spring Although the audience thinned Ain’t Here,” a mellow number somewhat as the night went on, because there's no one piece singular standout achievement mains only one concert left featuring Ray Brouwer and the viewers clearly enjoyed that was the stand-out num- but because the whole thing in his career working for Bryan Hazerjian as soloists. the show as they gave frequent ber, and there were no weak was good first note to last.” Walpole High School. The Lastly, “Artistry in Rhythm” standing ovations and loud pieces, so in that sense people This concert was the sec- final show, Pops Night, will by Stan Kenton — a clas- cheers to the students. Mr. Falk- can just sit back and listen to ond to last one of the year, finish off a successful year sic from the Big Band era — er said, “It was a great concert the music. Not because of any and for Mr. Falker, there re- of music on Friday, May 9. For second consecutive year, Student Council wins gold award By Brianna Conley arriving at the conference, council for donation to the Special Olympics. tial and had a great impact on me. His Class of 2015 members listened to M.A.S.C presi- Two “Keynote Speakers” agreed to story was expressed in a way that made dent Jacqui Manning explain how the talk at the conference, both of whom it relatable to each and every person.” Each year, representatives from the athletes in the Olympics are true ex- spoke about the importance of lead- Delegates attended a total of four Walpole High School Student Coun- amples of what it means to be a leader. ership in one’s life. The first speaker, workshops throughout the three days. cil— along with other student councils The theme was carried throughout the Bill Cordes, spoke about leadership as These workshops posed opportuni- across the state— attend the annual three-day span of the conference, for well as the importance of good deci- ties to meet and work with students Massachusetts Association of Student most speeches and workshops con- sion making in one’s life. The slogan of from different councils. Additionally, Councils (M.A.S.C.) conference. Held centrated on the the recurring theme. his speech, “YOGOWYPI” (You Only workshops focused primarily on the from March 5 to March 8 at the Hy- Additionally, the Special Olympics Get Out What You Put In), aimed at en- importance leadership can have on a annis Resort and Conference Center, was also incorporated into the confer- couraging delegates to try their hardest school and community. Senior Matt this year’s M.A.S.C featured work- ence, as many councils participated in a in all endeavors and to continue living Brownsword said, “At a workshop I shops, public speakers, the traditional fundraising opportunity called the polar as good leaders. The second speaker, attended, I learned about the value of semi-formal dance, and a customary plunge—an event in which students run John Beede, highlighted the effective- teamwork in problem solving as it re- award ceremony to close the confer- into the freezing ocean before quickly ness of developing goal-setting skills. lates to student council. The things I ence. Winning big at the three-day turning around to run back to shore. Held A successful mountain climber, Beede learned in the workshop will definitely event, Walpole StuCo took home a in order to raise money and awareness connected many aspects of life to help to improve our own council.” total of three awards and was named for the Special Olympics, this event also the rush of one’s emotions when try- On the last day of the conference, the one of the top councils in the state. helped to shed light on the efforts of the ing to reach the peak of a mountain. WHS Student Council received three In the spirit of the XXII Winter Games, “spread the word to end the word” orga- Junior representative and conference awards during the awards ceremony, the the theme of this year’s conference nization. From the polar plunge alone, attendee Junior Kody McCann said, first of which was an individual award. was deemed “The Olympics.” Upon M.A.S.C. raised a total of $10,000 “John Beade’s speech was very influen- continued on page 5 Page 2 The Rebellion April 2013 EDITORIALS CP1 students should waive up to benefit from Honors grade inflation The above graph displays the GPA in the Class of 2014 (as of June 2013). The above table shows how Grade Point Averages are weighted based on class level. Note the 3.99-3.5 does not follow normal distribution. By Matt Brownsword tainly not enough to explain such an increase when although there is generally little difference in Class of 2014 moving up a level. In fact, with a sample of this size, the curriculum between CP1 and Honors, the Imagine you’re heading into your sophomore year. there is a significant chance that the difference be- CP1 students receive a lower GPA for complet- You’ve done decently in a couple CP1 classes in tween grades from year to year could average out to ing the same work at a slightly slower pace. your freshman year, but you know you have to get about zero, which would be as expected and only fur- According to the Student-Parent handbook, it your Grade Point Average up. You’re a little afraid ther highlight to be grade inflation in Honors classes. states Honors classes as having “rigorous academic of the intense, fast-paced, big, bad So, why exclude History classes? His- expectations and the challenging pace” while CP1 Honors classes that your Middle These statistics reveal tory seems to be the worst offender of classes are described for students “who have done School guidance counselors warned two things: Honors grade inflation from year to year, from above average work in classes at a similar level.” you about. However, upperclass- level to level. Every time a student So what’s the real difference? What are CP1 kids classes contain inflated moved up a level in History in this sam- doing that result in a loss of .5 points to their GPA? men say that Honors classes are not GPAs, and CP1 stu- only easier than you thought, but ple, they saw an increase or no change Other than not taking the Honors class, of course.