The Drake Jolly Roger

French Toast at Two Bird Cafe Lauren Antone | JR

The quaint Two Bird Café is the epitome of a home-style restaurant. Located in San Geronimo, this cozy eatery adjacent to The Valley Inn offers a wide array of dishes and a comfortable, at-home atmosphere for its guests, many of them locals.

Over the past 15 years, the restaurant has remained popular, keeping its menu fresh and changing. When I sat down for a Sunday morning breakfast, the Café was packed with families, couples and teens as the wait staff moved from one table to the next, presenting the day’s specials on a whiteboard. Unconventional as this method seemed, the guests didn’t seem to mind.

After sitting down in one of the café’s three small dining areas, an attentive and polite waiter was by my side offering me and my companion coffee and juice. The fresh squeezed orange juice (small $3.95, large $5.00) was deliciously sweet and thick with pulp, expensive but a definite for those who have not yet enjoyed it.

Our waiter returned immediately, bringing with him the large breakfast menu and the specials whiteboard. The breakfast prices on the menus ranged from $10.50 to $13.50, but were reasonable in terms of the large portion sizes and high quality of food. One of the waitresses told us much of the restaurant’s produce was grown on the property.

Seasonal dishes like Fresh Trout with a pumpkin seed crust ($12.95) or Miwok Pancakes ($10.50), a dish served with two fluffy pumpkin pancakes and pork-apricot sausage, were made with organic pumpkin and jumped off the specials board. But I was enticed by the French “French” Toast (10.50) with organic, fresh seasonal fruit.

Sitting near the glass doors in the sun-brightened dining room, time seemed to fly. The fireplace crackled and classical music hung in the air, but those sounds were mostly drowned out by the customers’ laughter. The wait staff was impeccable; my glass never went empty and my coffee was refilled twice.

The appeal of the restaurant was undeniable. As one group of customers left, another group filtered in, and everyone seemed to know one another.

Two Bird Café has all the intimate ambiance of an upscale restaurant, but without the longer wait you’d expect. The cook and wait staff had our food to us in less than 15 minutes, as quickly as a diner staff.

My beautiful plate of French toast was topped with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, bananas, powdered sugar and simple syrup. I didn’t add maple syrup because the flavor of the French toast was already so sweet. For those with a sweet-tooth, this is your dish. The French bread was crunchy but warm and had a lasting cinnamon taste.

My companion ordered the Eggs Benedict ($11.95) and claimed it was the best she had ever had. The hollandaise sauce was thick and creamy, draping over two poached eggs, two crunchy English muffins and two slices of Canadian bacon that were layered in between. It was served with scrumptious potatoes, perfectly seasoned, and a fruit salad of organic fruit, mostly melon.

“I love the food here,” said Two Bird Café employee and junior Mika Kakin. “The Eggs Benedict is one of my favorites.”

Two Bird Café is open not only for breakfast, but also for brunch, lunch and dinner. It has an extensive lunch and dinner menu, offering salads, sandwiches, burgers, pasta, chicken, fish-of-the-day and more.

According to Kakin, Two Bird Café is a great place to be Friday and Saturday nights because live musicians perform on the stage, located in the bar.

Even though I only sat down for breakfast, the great flavors of the food, coupled with the friendly staff and bright atmosphere, has convinced me to come back for most likely delicous dinner.

Senior Willa Murphy carries a sign near City Hall at Occupy San Francisco. (Courtesy of Justas Reskevicius)

Whether you’re with them or against them, you can’t ignore the Occupy Wall Street protesters. Beginning as just an idea on the internet, the Occupy movement has become a global phenomenon.

The Occupy protesters have no specific demands, but their main message is clear: they believe that corporate influence in governments and growing economic inequality is dangerous, unjust, and should be addressed by the government.

“Their message is relevant and powerful,” said senior and Politics Club president Willa Murphy. Along with other members of the Politics Club, she attended the Occupy San Francisco protest in October.

There have already been occupations in major cities of over 80 countries (see map below), and the movement shows no signs of slowing down.

Each bulls-eye on this map marks an Occupy protest. (Courtesy of Google Maps)

It’s been nearly six months since the Adbusters Media Foundation, a Canadian activist group, first proposed a non-violent occupation of Wall Street. According to the Vancouver Courier, Adbusters suggested the idea in one of its email newsletters, and internet activists quickly latched onto the notion. On September 17, the first group of protesters moved into Zucotti Park in lower Manhattan and set up camp.

Similarly structured Occupy protests quickly began springing up in cities across the United States. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Washington D.C., and Houston all saw Occupy protests in late September or early October.
“I think it’s getting bigger and bigger, and more people are supporting it,” said Murphy.

Most of the U.S. protests have avoided violence, but there have been conflicts between some protesters and police. On October 25, members of the Oakland police force marched into the Occupy Oakland camp. Their stated intention was to remove protesters due to poor sanitation at the protest site, but a confrontation occurred and police officers began firing rubber bullets and tear gas.

Although the majority of the protesters escaped unharmed, ex-Marine and Iraq War veteran Scott Olsen, 24, was hit in the head by a police projectile. Videos of an Oakland police officer intentionally throwing a tear gas canister at the people trying to help Olsen, and of Olsen being carried from the plaza bleeding and unable to speak, quickly spread on the internet.

Olsen is currently hospitalized but expected to recover. Oakland’s mayor Jean Quan backed down on the evictions following this incident, but now Oakland police are again serving the protesters with eviction notices, raising fears of a second confrontation.

Senior Kiara Owens thinks that the violence in Oakland may be a preview of what’s to come if politicians don’t start paying attention. “The peaceful part of it is going to stop soon because they’re getting so little response,” she said. “I think Oakland is the forerunner of that trend.”

Despite the continually increasing size and spread of the Occupy protests, there has been no significant reaction yet from members of the U.S. government. Polls have shown that the U.S. public generally supports the movement, but no congressional actions have resulted from the demonstrations.

“It’s hard to believe that they’re going to get anything done because they’re not asking for anything specific,” said senior and Politics Club member Claire Asselstine. “They’re just angry. They have to say, ‘We want this to be passed.’”

Senior Justas Reskevicius, who attended Occupy San Francisco, thinks that the impact of the protests may not be felt immediately. “I think because of the protests, [economic inequality] will be a lot more relevant in the next election. It’ll come up a lot more. It’s being brought to the forefront of issues,” he said.

Murphy agreed that the movement could have a significant influence on next year’s  presidential and congressional elections. “It’s going to develop… My hope is to see Occupy candidates, just like the Tea Party had Tea Party candidates,” she said. “It’s good that this is happening.”

Liam Hunt smiles, conveying his optimistic attitude.

For Junior Liam Hunt, home and school were not the only priorities when his family decided to move halfway across the world from Australia this past June. Following his father’s legacy, he wanted to play basketball with the Pirates.

Hunt grew up hearing stories of his father winning the State Championships with the Pirates and wanted to follow in his footsteps as a basketball star. Hunt’s father attended Drake in the early 1980s and led the team to a state victory. His father’s jersey is hung in the gym and has remained a retired number since he graduated. Following high school, Mr. Hunt played professionally for over 20 years for the Western Australian National Team.

Although Liam Hunt has played for the Western Australian team over the past three years, playing for the Pirates was something he only dreamed about. Hunt’s main role model is his father and he aspires to be like him one day. “I have hopes of following in my father’s footsteps. I want to play professionally one day. Maybe not in Australia, but we’ll see,” said Hunt.

In mid-June, the Hunt family packed up their belongings and moved to San Anselmo. This 6’ 6’’ basketball champ now plays for the Pirates, whom have helped him through the transition from Australia. “The Drake team is very supportive,” said Hunt.

When he arrived in the Bay Area, he joined the Drake AAU summer club basketball team that traveled throughout California. “All the guys on the team were great; none of them are bad guys and they all treat me really awesome. That was a really big plus when I moved here, because it’s tough making such a big change in your life.”

As the summer came to a close, the Drake AAU team lost the championship game by 15 points. “We lost our mental strength,” said Hunt. Although they were defeated over the summer, this year’s basketball season started up on November 7 and Hunt expects a good season.

Just months before, Hunt was competing with his team nationally against the other Australian states, such as Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia. “[In Australia] we try to play smart, that is, mentally smart. I never really liked it. I’ve made three national teams and I enjoyed one, but I had some pretty tough coaches,” said Hunt.

At the conclusion of summer, Hunt joined another extremely competitive club basketball team named the NBBA Spiders. Seniors Joey Euphrat, Ryan Euphrat, and Kamran Rathod also play alongside Hunt for the Spiders. The team traveled throughout the state in addition to Reno, Nevada where they won the gold medal.”We beat Arkansas, Wisconsin, Hawaii and many other states. The whole team played hard, which was great,” stated Hunt.

Hunt has played basketball since he was nine-years-old and doesn’t expect his career will end when he graduates high school. “I would love to play in a division-1 college. If I could go anywhere it would be St. Mary’s. They have a load of good Australian kids,” said Hunt.

Hunt is looking forward to the Drake season and believes they’ll go far with the talented players and varsity Coach Doug Donnellan. “Hopefully Coach has everything planned out because we have a really good team this year,” said Hunt.

Following basketball season, Hunt is considering using his talents in another sport: volleyball. For Hunt, reaching the top of the net shouldn’t be a problem. “I can dunk pretty easily, but I don’t have many hops,” said Hunt jokingly referring to his inability to jump. We will have to wait and see what Hunt can bring in addition to his basketball skills.

Although the move halfway across the world wasn’t easy, and he still misses his Australian family, “Hunt seems to be fitting into to Drake just fine. He’s really funny and outgoing,” said senior Nicolina Higgins. He also has some adjusting to do, “Everything here is opposite; the toilets flush the opposite way and the cars are on the wrong side as well,” said Hunt.

The basketball season has commenced, and it is time to look for the new 6’6’’ Australian champion, Liam Hunt.

Out of the foggy darkness, a single light illuminates a shining, silver ball of a creature dropping down from the top of the Grand Chapiteau. Amidst the sounds of nature, a curled figure elegantly descends from the scaffolding onto the stage. Upon reaching the ground, movement erupts all around the shimmering being, marking the beginning of life.

This opening scene depicts one of Cirque du Soleil’s newest shows, TOTEM. The show debuted April of 2010 in Montreal, and embarked thereafter on a world tour. As part of its tour, TOTEM will be playing under the Grand Chapiteau at AT&T Park until December 18. However, if you miss the show in San Francisco, TOTEM will play during the month of March in San Jose, after touring London.

Over the course of its two-and-a-half hour running time, TOTEM takes the audience on a tour of human evolution. This journey begins with man’s earliest beginnings as an amphibian and ends with cosmonauts trying to escape the confines of earth’s gravity. TOTEM includes 12 acts, all of which are uniquely spectacular. In between these awe-inspiring acts, there are short comedic skits performed by clowns and other actors. These often-brief skits serve as a welcome and hilarious break for audience members who may be trying to regain their breath after watching some of the more terrifying acts.

Five women ride unicycles, flipping metal bowls with their feet. CirqueduSoleil.com

Out of the 12 acts performed throughout TOTEM, six can be easily classified as death-defying. One of these acts includes five women riding around on ten-foot tall unicycles flipping metal bowls onto each other’s heads with their feet. Sometimes they even kick the bowls blindly over their shoulders onto the heads of their moving counterparts.

In another act, jumpers launch themselves up in the air off of Russian Bars no more than four inches wide. After flying stories up in the air, the synchronized jumpers come back down to land on the same four-inch landing strip. Then, some of the veteran jumpers transfer bars after doing flips 30 feet up in the air.

Although not all the acts have a major risk for injury, they are just as fantastic as the ones that do. Two women that appear out of the center of the earth twirl and juggle spinning pieces of fabric with their hands and feet, showing the creation of minerals.

A hoop dancer performs on stage. CirqueduSoleil.com

Two times during the show’s duration, the audience witnesses a Native American (called Amerindian) perform an enchanting dance with five hoops. He starts with no hoops and as the music picks up in tempo, he gracefully kicks up the other hoops with his feet. He spins the hoops in impressive patterns before manipulating them to form different animals. At the end of his second appearance, he effortlessly makes a globe out of the five hoops and holds them high above his head.

Along with the breathtaking whirling, swinging, and flipping prevalent throughout the show, TOTEM puts emphasis on humanity’s intimate connection with nature. This motif is portrayed numerous times, one of which is when an inconsiderate tourist has his camera crushed as a punishment for his careless and irresponsible littering.

Under the guidance of director Robert Lepage, the skits and acts all seem to blend together even when there are differences in the themes. The transitions between the acts allow them to merge into one another, even though they are supposed to take place in separate parts of the globe.

No show like TOTEM would be complete without a smooth collaboration of costumes, atmosphere, and music. The elaborate and sometimes wild costumes were designed by Kym Barrett. Before designing the costumes for TOTEM, Barrett had success as the costume designer for all three Matrix movies, as well as the version of Romeo and Juliet that starred Leonardo DiCaprio.

The show’s atmosphere is perfect for its theme. The crickets, and other sounds that one may expect to hear on a “Rainforest at Night” CD set the mood for a mysterious and captivating exploration of the world and human history. The fog and tall grass that line the back of the stage further the sensation of adventure.

The type of music differs greatly for every act, but never seems to be out of place. The music crescendos help jolt the audience when something extraordinary happens, without distracting the audience from the performance.

TOTEM’s intertwining of dramatic physical feats and artistic expression make for a truly special show. Not only do the performers captivate their audience, they also spread a message of peace and gratitude from beginning to end. In the show’s closing scene, the crystal man who descended to earth in the beginning disappears into the lagoon at the back of the stage leaving the audience content to be human.

The music is blasting by the senior tree. Free cake is being served to cake walkers dressed in pink on Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Advisories look for markers, yarn, glitter and stickers so they can try to win the pumpkin decorating contest. Students glance between the numerous colorful posters that adorn our grey, gum stricken halls, as they pass from class to class. Leadership students, as usual, have been busy spreading their signs of spirit throughout the school.

On November 2, Leadership advisor, Kendall Galli, informed her Leadership class that their funds have dropped sufficiently, to the point that it is questionable whether they can continue their usual activities. “Leadership has no incurred ‘debt’ but in fact is short of funding due to the decrease in Pirate Package sales, which is our primary source of income,” said Kendall Galli, Leadership advisor.

During the 2006/2007 school year, 527 pirate packages were sold, which earned $52,755 for Leadership. Then 379 Pirate Packages were purchased throughout the 2009/2010 school year. The number have consistently dwindled over the years to a total of 219 packages purchased so far this year, which has raised $24,115, according to accounts of the budget office. This leaves $200 available for Winter Formal and $600 available for next year’s Homecoming Fund.

Yearbook and Leadership split the profits of the Pirate Package, since a discounted yearbook is a part of the package deal. Yearbook receives 55% of the Pirate Package profits and Leadership receives 45%. Galli said that Leadership’s lacking funds is also due to the fact that yearbook prices have remained the same for the past ten years, even though the cost of colored printing has increased.
Junior class co-president Grace Gurung reflects Leadership’s diminishing package sales over the last five years, “I think the economy is a factor, but students don’t realize how much money the Pirate Package actually saves. Students only see the initial purchase of $110, but not the long term effect of discounts throughout the year.”

The pirate package includes $20 off yearbook, $5 off each dance, free admission to sporting events other than MCALS and playoffs, and discounted admission to music events, such as Battle of the Bands. Galli said that ASB students are also convincing local vendors to make discounts and shopping perks available to students with ASB stickers on their ID cards.

Leadership’s initial reaction to Galli’s news was stress and eagerness to solve the problem. They have been busy brainstorming ideas to recover their budget, according to Leadership student junior Annie Maguire. “This year, instead of just selling Pirate Packages in the beginning of the year, we plan to continue selling them throughout the year. For our last Pancake Breakfast we sold seven [pirate packages], so we are hoping for more purchases throughout the year,” Maguire said.

Galli also acknowledges the faltering effectiveness of Pirate mail through e-mail. “Yes it is green. Yes, it is eco-friendly, but most parents ignore the school e-mails in their inbox. I believe the main contribution to the decrease of Pirate Package purchases is that it is not well advertised.” She takes responsibility for the lack communication to students and parents about the availability and importance of the Pirate Package sales.

Students admire the posters that Leadership posted by the D-SHAC

In the last e-mail Galli sent via Pirate Mail, she announced the recently added benefits to purchasing a package, including a raffle to win a permanent parking place for the basketball season and a free Winter Formal ticket.  ASB President, senior Anna Cichocki, is also writing a parent letter to be emailed home to families in the hopes of spreading awareness of the package.

The diminishing purchases over the last five years have left $200 for Winter Formal, which must be enough for a DJ, decorations and supplies. “It’s going to be hard to pull Winter Formal all together with the little that we have. We think Winter Formal is still on, but we’ll see how it turns out,” admits other junior class co-president, Carlee Murray.

Leadership’s funding is divided into budgets for each committee of Leadership, including outreach, dances and lunch activities.  Like many school organizations, students buy the supplies for their committee and are later reimbursed by the budget office. “I know a lot of students who have made small purchases for supplies and these small purchases have added up. Students usually buy the supplies themselves, and usually for cheap stuff that we don’t really need,” explained Murray. These costs add up and drain Leadership’s funds.

Leadership receives no help from parent clubs and fundraisers. Maguire believes that the Leadership students can solve and deal with adult problems. “The past year I have learned skills that could be used in a company. We learn to do receipts, budget our money and advertise events similar to the way a business would function,” Maguire stated.

The misconception that Leadership carelessly spends their unlimited budget of money was addressed by Gurung. “Students believe that we have so much money, yet this year we are close to nothing. They believe our money grows on trees and that we can just get as much as we want.”

Purchases of the packages are directly used for the Yearbook and for Leadership’s activities including all advisory and lunch activities, rally supplies,  staff appreciations, food for winning advisories, and performances of Youth Speakers such as  ‘Til’ Dawn’ and The Princeton Footnotes. Leadership also provides all art and office supplies used for publicity and events, including dances, Homecoming festivities, senior celebrations and clubs.

Maguire reveals the true hardship that Leadership endures. “Our lacking funds have made it harder for us to put on school events, but it has also forced us to become more creative and thrifty with our money. If I could hope anything, I would hope that our impact on the school does not falter.”

Leadership also tries to extend their spirit outside the school by doing the “the little things” throughout the community. “People don’t realize how much we do for the school, the little things such as the posters, the hall decorations and our outreach to the community,” said Murray. She said that in October, Leadership decorated Cedars of Marin, a home for mentally challenged people, in honor of Halloween.

Maguire says that she believes Leadership’s role is to encourage students to put themselves out there through fun activities. “Even though some people think the activities we promote are embarrassing, we do them in order to create a positive and accepting environment at school,” she said. “Since we are stuck here, we might as well make it fun and you never know what little things will make a person’s day.”

Maguire conveyed in her optimistic attitude that she is excited to see what she and her fellow Leadership members can make of their discouraging situation. “It will be interesting to see what we can come up with using our creativity. Pushing ourselves to mature quickly and become self-sufficient is great preparation for our nation’s current economy,” she conceded.

These small spirited things around our school community reflect the true mission of Leadership. Galli wrote in an email, “We do our best to make sound financial decisions in Leadership and for the last six plus years we have really made a difference in student activities at Drake [and] the overall cultural feeling on our campus. It would be very sad to have to offer ‘less’ in terms of student activities to the students of Drake.”

Some club members hang out and participate during a PALs meeting (Sydney Silver | JR).

It’s likely you know someone affected by the fastest growing developmental disability in America: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), commonly referred to as Autism.

The integration of autistic students into school setting has shifted stereotypes. Previously, stereotypes have been thrown around by the uninformed, depicting someone with Autism as “socially awkward” or “retarded.” However, the Autism spectrum is a wide one, so the difficulties for one autistic person may be very different for another.

Statistically Speaking

Six out of every 1,000 children has Autism, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). ASD is a range of neurodevelopment disorders that limit social and cognitive abilities. Those affected by Autism may engage in repeated behaviors such as rocking back and forth and hand flapping. A milder disorder on the Autism spectrum is Aspergers Syndrome.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that the symptoms of ASD appear during the first three years of life. According to the NINDS, some early symptoms of the disorder are no babbling by age one, and loss of social interaction and responsiveness such as smiling or responding to one’s own name.

In older children the symptoms may include inability to make friends, initiate and sustain conversation, inflexible adherence to specific rituals/routines, and repetitive use of language. There are co-occurring conditions associated with Autism, including epilepsy, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

The difference between Autism and Aspergers is that those with Aspergers generally have good language and cognitive abilities, whereas those affected by Autism have compromised cognitive ability [according to the Autistic Society]. Additionally, those afflicted by Aspergers do not have any speech delay.

Those with Aspergers, have difficulty with social interaction, like those with Autism. Most will not be able to detect voice inflection that suggests humor or irony. These factors make the give-and-take nature of conversations difficult for many people with Aspergers Syndrome.

Oak Hill students have fun using instruments in order to expand their learning experiences (oakhillschool.org).

Public School Programs and Specialty Schools

While there is no cure for Autism, a common treatment is educational and behavioral interaction, which uses training sessions to help children learn social and language skills.

In our own school, the Special Education program provides these interventions to the 10-15 students who are currently in the program.

Not all Autistic students are in Special Education. “Most identified autistic kids have Special Education, but not all. I know of several right now that probably have Aspergers Syndrome who do not get Special [Education] Services,” said Special Education teacher Alison Waters.

Each student in Special Education has an Independent Education Plan (IEP) that specifies the needs of the child, accomodations, or differences in learning, that all teachers must follow.

The academic environment ranges from students needing extra help with homework to needing to be in a Special Education day class outside of the general curriculum. Waters thinks this flexibility is what’s so great about the program, “That’s the nice thing about Special Ed.; it’s geared toward helping kids as they need it.”

The goal of the Special Education class is to, “Help the students understand what they’re struggling with, teach them compensatory strategies and how to cope with what they have. Work around it and work through it, instead of giving up,” said Waters. The primary goal is to mainstream the kids in Special Education as much as possible. “Drake does a really good job of that and is very inclusive, so we’re lucky,” she said.

An example of this mainstreaming is Partners at Lunch, also known as P.A.L.s club. An Autistic student (who will be named Jane for this article) says she enjoys going to school here and being a member of P.A.L.s, “Well, I like to see all kinds of pals, freshman, sophomores, juniors, seniors. And every month we always celebrate the birthdays [of club members].”

For Autistic students like Jane, there is the option to go to a general high school and be part of a special day class or go to a specialized school that focuses on Autistic education solely.

The Oak Hill School in San Anselmo near Red Hill Field is one of those specialized schools. One of the school’s teachers, Lori Calzaretta, believes that the only real disadvantage of going to a specialized school such as The Oak Hill School is the fact that the students don’t get typical peer interaction. “That is really the only disadvantage I see,” she stated.

Similar to the Special Education class at Drake, the education at The Oak Hill School is individualized. Calzaretta’s class is made up of five students that range from ages thirteen to twenty-one. Since each class is comprised of students with similar difficulties, her class is able to focus on the skills that are needed by her particular group of students. “We do a lot of money math and shopping out in the community… We’re just teaching our kids how to function and deal with themselves in society and the community,” Calzaretta said.

The needs of each Autistic student vary greatly. “We truly have a spectrum here,” Calzaretta said, “Some of them have difficulty with words and communicating, some have difficulty with repetitive behavior, some have difficulty interacting socially. There’s not one kid who’s the same as the rest.”

Calzaretta thinks that the advantage of going to Oak Hill is the 3 to 5 teacher-to-student ratio, since it allows the teachers to focus on the needs of all the kids in a specific manner.

Students at the Oak Hill School pose during one outdoor adventure on campus (oakhillschool.org).

There’s Something About the iPad

Calzaretta noted that the recent breakthrough of iPad learning for Autistic children has been very beneficial for students at The Oak Hill School. Students at the school are able to work on their math and writing skills on the iPad. “There are kids that have a really hard time communicating and they use the iPad to communicate. It’s pretty fascinating,” said Calzaretta.

This discovery of iPads revolutionizing the lives of many Autistic children has been covered in many different new sources; particularly the CBS 60 Minutes segment which reported on The Beverly School in Toronto, Canada where the first studies of Autism education with the iPad are underway. So far, the studies have indicated that the iPad is improving the abilities of students by helping them interact/socialize and enhancing attention spans.

Calzaretta is in just as much awe as the teachers at The Beverly School; “We’ve had computer programs for years, but there’s something about the iPad that makes it work.”

Be A Friend

Senior Lauren Silver has volunteered at Oak Hill over the past two summers and has found it a highly rewarding experience. “One thing that really moved me is that [the students] still have this very human desire to connect. Sometimes it was very sad because they don’t have the means to interact in some ways,” said Silver. She said that the students found their own ways to communicate with her. One student would just hold hands with Silver, and she describes the experience of showing her that “there are a lot of different ways to connect with people.” The Oak Hill School welcomes high school students to volunteer.

Calzaretta comments that Autism has become the new “in” thing to research, but she wants to remind people, “The biggest thing is to open yourself up to someone that’s Autistic. There are friendships there to be made… Open yourself up, be a friend.”

Hey everyone, we know the site’s been a little… out of date recently, but we’re working through some severe technical issues right now. We hope to be back to normal by next issue, but sadly we can’t make any guarantees right now. Thanks for sticking with us through this, and remember to pick up a hard copy of the Jolly Roger!

The senior maps are finally online! Click the maps for a full sized image.

At our school girls varsity volleyball is really good. They have the ultimate program, with a varsity, junior varsity, and freshman team that have full rosters of very good players. The boys program only has a varsity team. Many other schools in this position only have one team because they are either terrible at the game or don’t have enough players to support both a varsity and junior varsity team.

The boys varsity volleyball team defies that kind of logic.The Pirates are one damn good team; good enough that the players who don’t start could easily start on other teams in Marin, and probably even coach the other teams in the league.

Where does all this success start? Last year Coach John Heldlund took over the team, and held an open try out like every other sports team.Little did he know what would walk through the door. Talent, lots of talent.So much so that last year’s team was twice the size of this year’s current roster, and they went on to win MCAL and North Coast Section playoffs.

This year’s team is much improved from last year’s group of talented players, with returning players such as junior John Herrero and seniors Julian Ruzzier-Gaul, Josh Birnbaum, Connor Lind, Matt Roache, and Zack Stuart. Lind and Roache are very talented and agile players on the inside at the middle blocker position.

Herrero, who starts at the setter position, was named Prep of the Week by the Marin Independent Journal on April 25, 2011. In one week Herrero had 55 assists, six digs, 10 blocks, five kills, and four aces, as written in the Marin IJ article.

Aside from Herrero one player that has separated himself from the rest on the court is Ruzzier-Gaul, who starts at outside hitter.

“Julian has really stepped it up as a leader this year. His play speaks for itself. He’s one of the most talented and hard working players I think in MCAL and NCS,” said Roache.

Talent is always nice to have, but like a slab of marble you have to sculpt it into something.Seeing as the competition in MCAL isn’t spectacular, coach Heldlund has to really challenge his team during practices.

“Coach Hedlund pushes us to our fullest ability while having fun at the same time. Practices are fun yet difficult,” added Lind.

Not only do they practice hard but the Pirates actively look for harder opponents at tournaments, where teams such as De La Salle have beaten the Pirates in the UC Davis Tournament and the Deer Valley Invitational. De La Salle entered the 2011 season rankedas number two in the state just behind Bellarmine high by MaxPreps.com.Folsom also defeated the Pirates earlier in the season at the UC Davis tournament and Capolindo at Drake’s own local tournament.

Overall the team still remains 24 wins and 4 losses, and has a perfect record in league. Already the Pirates have set themselves up well to head into NCS with confidence, not only from their league record but from the fact that they won back-to-back Mare Island Tournaments.

During the May 11 home game against Redwood, the varsity team won the first three sets and was always in control of the game. Redwood got a few points on the board but the Pirates have such good chemistry and team work that it’s hard for opponents to intimidate them.

The boys varsity volleyball team looks poised to make another run at the NCS title and have locked up the MCAL title. Winning MCAL adds yet another banner to the gym wall as if its business as usual.

Sand dunes at Limantour Beach, California

A little over three weeks ago, a number of Drake students threw a bonfire party at Limantour Beach, leaving fifty pounds of trash and a still-burning bonfire for park authorities to find the next morning.

According to a mass email written by Don Drake to students and parents, over fifty pounds of garbage were left on the beach after the April 21 bonfire. Much of this weight came from heavy wet towels and clothes, and park rangers also reported finding numerous empty alcoholic beverages scattered across the beach.

Park rules state that all people must leave the beach no later than 11:00 p.m., and a permit from a park official is required to start any sort of fire.  According to an anonymous senior, the bonfire lasted until well past the curfew although multiple students did obtain fire permits.

Park authorities were also worried about the possibility of drunk driving. In the email, Principal Drake wrote that he was disturbed by “the exceedingly large amount of alcohol” that the empty bottles indicated had been consumed.
He went on to write that the potential for drunk driving on the way back from the bonfire, combined with the twisting and dark roads leading out of the beach, could have been a lethal combination.

The community is still reeling from the recent tragedy in which one Novato teen was killed and four others were severely injured after crashing a car under the influence of alcohol last fall. “That is an experience that no principal ever wants to live through with their students,” wrote Drake.

The recent bonfire didn’t result in any injuries, and the administrators hope that it will be an occasion for parents to discuss the risks of underage alcohol consumption with their teens.

“We hope this incident provides you with an opportunity to discuss with your student how to safely and appropriately celebrate the upcoming conclusion of high school,” the email concluded. “We hope that all of our seniors take care of themselves, each other and their community as they approach this momentous transition in their lives.”