Articles by Audrey Blinman

In the last few months, there has been a movie that has gotten a lot of media coverage. It’s called Love, Simon. For those of you unfamiliar with the movie, it is a film based on the book Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. The book and movie are about the coming out story of Simon, a completely ordinary kid who is gay, who is being blackmailed, and his story of falling in love with his anonymous pen pal, Blue. The book was hilariously written, a tear jerker at times, and relatable to all, gay or otherwise, but how does it translate onto the silver screen? Simple answer: surprisingly well! It was a movie adaptation, however, so some changes had to be made. First off, Simon’ family has changed a bit. In the book, the family spends a lot more time bonding, which has led to some amazingly humorous moments….

Earth Force has been a long-running tradition here at Friends’ Central. The eighth graders are tasked with identifying, researching, and solving a problem that they have observed in society. The problem may only affect the FCS community, or perhaps another community or the world as a whole. Students build a website and work with a group to solve the issue, reaching out to other community members and building support systems for the final impact. Adele Goldader (‘22) has been working with Tiffany Qin (‘22) to recycle used chip and snack bags and send then to facilities where they can be reused. Adele says that, “at least half the snacks that people eat during snack and lunch are chip bags, and that’s a big percentage of the waste that we accumulate at school.” They’re building a designated space for recycling the chip bags, aiming to limit the amount of waste that…

The current eighth grade book, To Kill a Mockingbird, seems to be a bad omen for the birds of this school. Last week, April 17th, tragedy struck Dr. Z’s classroom (again) when Sol, F.K.A. Bob, passed away in the middle of a discussion about the evolutionary process. Dr. Z has speculated that erratic temperature changes due to inconsistency in heating/cooling caused Bob’s untimely demise. She was the treasure of the classroom, always singing joyfully, carefree and boisterous. Two years ago, Bob the parakeet was found alone outside on the tennis courts. She was passed out from the heat, weak and helpless, most likely an escaped or abandoned pet. Dr. Z and her students nurtured her, and she grew stronger and more likeable as each day passed. One student, Fotini Mourelatos ‘22, took a special interest in her, giving her the name Bob and befriending her immediately. Fotini on Bob’s death:…

One of the most anticipated events of the year at Friends’ Central is mini-courses. A collection of three-day seminars in a variety of subjects would peak anyone’s interest, especially because it means time off from core classes. Yet, as the courses approached, tragedy struck. Due to an overwhelming amount of snow days and hazardous weather conditions, mini-courses have been postponed until further notice. An email from Ms. Quinn details the change: “With school canceled today (Wednesday), and the possibility of significant weather-related issues or delays into Thursday, we have decided to postpone mini-courses until later this spring. […] Once we return from spring break, I will work with Middle School teachers to identify the best three-days to reschedule mini-courses. The courses themselves and students’ placements in the groups will remain the same. We will notify you of the new dates and send amended permission slips when the details are finalized.”…

Spring draws nearer, and brings with it the promised completion of Shallcross. The project has been postponed and prolonged, and finally, the day is approaching – but is it for real? Will Shallcross finish in time for the end of school? To get some answers, I ambushed a representative of the construction project. Q: What is the expected completion date? A: April 6th. Q: Where in the process are you? A: We’re pouring the floors. They’re pouring these beautiful epoxy floors, they pour like concrete […] That starts… today – oh my gosh, that’s today! Q: What setbacks have you faced? A: Please. (The representative then walked away. She returned a few moments later.) Every project has setbacks. Mr. McDaniel is also working on the project, and was able to expand on the representative’s responses. Q: Has your team suffered any setbacks due to weather or seasonal illness? A: The…

In episode 7, entitled, “The Lost Sister,” we open on Eleven’s mother, Terry, telling her story to Eleven. “Breathe. Sunflower. 3 to the right, 4 to the left. Rainbow. 450.” A string of words that Terry Ives has been repeating for years, documenting how she lost Eleven and her attempts to retrieve her. Eleven, after watching the memories, is curious about another girl that she saw in her memories. After using her powers to locate the girl, she goes after her, leaving her mother and her aunt behind. Eleven is lead to a warehouse, in which lives a band of outcasts. Kali, the girl from the visions, is one of them, another Hawkins lab experiment with the numbers “008” tattooed on her arm. The group is dedicated to killing former Hawkins Lab employees in order to avenge the suffering of the many victims of experimentation. The group invites her to…

WINTER OLYMPICS The Winter Olympics are being hosted by South Korea this year. This is the second time they are hosting the competition. The competition begins Friday, February 9th, and ends on Sunday, February 25th. THE MOST FAMOUS U.S. WINTER OLYMPIANS: Mark Arcobello (Hockey) Shaun White (Snowboarding) Cory Christensen (Curling) Bode Miller (Alpine Skiing) Bradie Tennell (Figure Skating) WINTER OLYMPIC EVENTS: Alpine skiing Biathlon Bobsleigh Cross-country skiing Curling Figure skating Freestyle skiing Ice hockey Luge Nordic combined Short track speed skating Skeleton Ski jumping Snowboarding Speed skating. All of these sports are very competitive. There are 15 total sports in this years (2018) Winter Olympics. In our opinion the most popular sports are as follows: Hockey, Snowboarding, Alpine Skiing, Curling, Figure Skating. Hockey is one of the most watched Olympic sports, in fact, it is sometimes thought of as the main event. Figure skating is also very popular, but not…

I have always loved notebooks. I’m the kind of person to get a notebook, fill up five pages, and then subsequently forget about it and buy a new one. After a while, I accumulated quite a large stack of empty journals with no real reason for owning them. So, I gave myself a reason. I made one a journal, dedicated one to taking notes, made one into a journal-share (more on that later), and filled one with poetry. I still have more waiting to be used, but I’m planning on finishing these before I move on. Journaling is one of the most relaxing activities I’ve ever taken part in, and I’m honestly frustrated I haven’t stuck with it previously. Not only is it therapeutic, it’s hilarious. My eighth grade self is whiny and angsty, and re-reading all of those teenage thoughts is like watching a comedy show featuring the world’s…

The winter, with its bitter cold and biting winds, has procured yet another unpleasant threat to our well-being. A flu virus has been spreading quickly from person to person, leading to profuse illness, and, on occasion, even death. Fear not, however! The virus has not greatly affected our school, and Mr. Kennedy, the Upper School Principal, states that, “We’re strong, we will persevere, we are not panicked.” About 5% of the middle school student body has come down with the flupocaplypse, while only 4% of the upper school has fallen prey to the epidemic’s wrath. Two upper school teachers have been absent, while no middle school teachers have missed school as a result of the flu. Teachers and kids have been out more than normal in the upper school, though the extent of absences has been about what one would suspect for this time of year. When approached by us,…

On January 8th, 2018, a dear friend passed away. Luna, otherwise known as “the blue parakeet,” was found dead on that Monday, outside of his cage. It was hypothesized that the cause of death may have been a broken neck, but Dr. Zaradic, the birds’ owner, stated, “I do not believe that’s the case.” As of now, all that is known is that the birds escaped through a hole in the cage and Luna died sometime afterwards. He was a companion to middle school students, faculty and animals alike, specifically Sol, also known as Bob or “the yellow parakeet.” Sol and Luna shared a cage, but they also shared adventures. Even on the final expedition, Sol was with Luna until he died. Some students are very upset about Luna’s death, for example, Fotini Mourelatos, ‘22. Fotini was one of the birds’ primary caretakers, and often cleaned the water and food…