As I near my final term at Mercersburg, my plans for the years beyond are becomming clearer, at least for the immediate future.
No matter how much you may crowd your schedule (both in and out of the classroom), you will always find time to spend with the many friends you make here at Mercersburg.
Hi, I'm Mark, a sophomore from Chapel Hill, NC, and earlier I overheard some classmates talking about global and political problems and whatnot. Although it is difficult to pay attention to the news and grasp onto the latest headlines while juggling life at boarding school, most of my classmates are well informed... but something is still missing, their conversation was going nowhere, it was just one negative remark after the other. What is this news worth if all we're going to do is complain about it, question it, and then move on to do nothing. Last week, my old biology teacher gave a presentation about civil services and it got me thinking. He took action in the Peace Corps and served in Africa for two years- to try to make a difference. Last fall, a doctor came to talk to the school about the organization, Doctors Without Borders, a service that helps the ill and unfortunate in over 70 third-world countries, in efforts to fight the spread of AIDS, create clean water resources, and to cure the sick. Knowing the news is important, but acting upon and doing something about it is much bolder. I hear people complain often about the world's problems but what good is that doing? It's not like Captain Planet or Superman is going to hear our cries for help. The change lies within us, so why are we waiting for something to fix these problems. I've been inspired by the people I've met and seen who have taken action. I'm not saying go join the Peace Corps or cure cancer, but even the smallest efforts to make life better are astronomically important. Action is more powerful than pessimism, so next time something upsets you, make an effort it make it better. In the end it's just us out there- we're the only ones who can make things better.
Hello! I'm Katie, a four-year senior from Maryland, and I hope this blog can help give you an inside look to a typical student's life.
This is me...
I'm normally seen buzzing about campus for my various activites, accompainied by my camera, my AP Comparative Politics textbook, and a can of Coca-Cola.
Tuesdays generally give me a bit of trouble. After classes, I have theatre practice, and directly afterwards I have Yearbook. I have to leave early from Yearbook to meet with Peer Group, only to come back to Yearbook. Sometimes I write articles for the newspaper, and unfortunately, (i'm a terrible procrastinator) I normally have to finish an article that is due that night. Later that evening, I have Magalia practice, and then I get to work on my homework.
Tonight's a deadline for the Yearbook staff, and I spent hours this past week trying to get an adequate amount of photos together (I am the Photography Editor). In a panic, last Sunday, my roomate (the Editor in Chief of the Yearbook) told me that I needed to gather 1000 photos by Friday, if we wanted to be on time with our book. I hussled around campus snapping photos of everything, and nagging everyone I met to send me any pictures they took. By Tuesday night, I gathered 996 photos, and another 200 got to me by Wednesday. Luckily, the panic is over.
I had my last Peer Group meeting last week, and it was almost a tear-jerker. Fourteen seniors last spring, after an application process, were chosen to host a group of ninth graders every Tuesday night for one hour. The fourteen of us were split into pairs, and the ninth grade class was randomly shuffled, and this fall we began to meet. The purpose of the group for ninth graders is to form lasting bonds with classmates who you might not meet elsewhere around campus, but also to get help get adjusted to living in a boarding school and keeping up with the daily grind of high school. For me however, the process was a bit different. After participating in Peer group my ninth grade year, and coming back to lead a group myself, I realized how important daily relationships are here on campus. I learned that my small actions can greatly influence those of another, especially those of the ninth graders, and I had a lot of fun. To end the night, we held hands in a line, then twisted around each other to make one great jumble of hugs. -But Peer Group is never really over, this weekend, as I set up lights for Grease, two of my ninth graders came to find me to go over their essay's and have a chat. I was more than ready to have a talk with them.
I am trying to learn how to conduct for Magalia, our a capella group. We don't have problems with rythym, but I'd like to be able to lead the group through the dynamics of certain songs, and we would look a bit more professional if I could conduct a bit for our Pennsylvania State competition on February 17th. We had a preformance yesterday, and we tried a new song of ours, "Sign, Sealed, Delivered," by Stevie Wonder. It is such a difficult arrangement, and unfortunately, our first time through didn't go so well, in fact, it was a bit chaotic, but now we know what to work on.
Hopefully that introduction was not too dull for you, but from now on I hope to include photos in most of my entries, and keep the typing to a minimum (I know my fellow blogger, and very good friend, Chuck, will eventually tell you plenty on lengthy stories anyway).
Toodles!
Katie
Greetings! My name is Chuck and I am a four-year Senior at Mercersburg Academy. Before this year, I was a Day Student, hailing from Waynesboro, Pennsylvania -- about half-an-hour down the road. Now I am a Prefect on a first-year wing in Fowle Hall.
I am Managing Editor of the Mercersburg News (our weekly student-run newspaper), President of Mercersburg Model United Nations, a Writing Center Consultant, and Director of Student Issues for the Class of 2007.
I also sit on the Production Board of Stony Batter, the Planning Team for our Reaccreditation process, and am a member of the Fifteen. Until this year, I played Soccer and Squash at the Varsity level.
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