The Saint Stephen’s year in review

The+Saint+Stephens+year+in+review

Maxwell B. Manning, King of the Gauntlet

It’s about that time of the year again. Teachers are wrapping up material, students reviewing for final exams, and the whole campus is anxiously waiting for this year’s school calander to come to a close. Throughout the 46 years of Saint Stephen’s existence, many events have taken place that are still remembered today, and will be for years to come. This year, the school has experienced some of the most influencial #changes in all of its years.  As the 2015-16 school year comes to a close, it is important to remember all of these events and understand their significance so that future generations of the Saint Stephen’s community can cherish the school’s great history. The Gauntlet is taking a look back at all the exciting and memorable occasions of the year.

This February saw the opening of the new Marine Science Center. This was a ground-breaking achievement for the school, both literally and figuratively. After almost a year of construction, the new building had it’s grant opening. The school celebrated this accomplishment with a ceremony for which the whole school was in attendance. The building is located in the back of the Saint Stephen’s campus, next to the gymnasium, and it provides students with a great opportunity to interact and learn with the environment.

In a Gauntlet article written by Ben Whorf, science department chair Mrs. Anne Marie Shields was optimistic about what the new building can do for the school: “The new Marine Science Center will provide students with a more direct connection with the ocean and marine organisms. The center’s location next to the McLewis Bayou will make exploring the ocean environment a daily event. Students will be able to capitalize on the easy access to the water for both planned field studies as well as spur of the moment investigation.”

In the world of Falcon athletics, it was another incredible year that saw many successful teams and players. Five Falcon teams and many individuals made the state tournaments in their respective sports. These sports included boys cross country, both boys and girls golf, both boys swimming and diving, and both boys and girls track and field. At these tournaments, student-athletes faced competition from all around the state to participate in their respected sports.

When asked what was the biggest accomplishment in Saint Stephen’s sports this year, Athletic Director Lenny Paoletti said, “The biggest accomplishment was the participation numbers by the students:189 middle school team members, 165 JV team members and 360 varsity team members. There were 456 students in 6th – 12 grade playing a sport, and we had 740 students on individual teams in total. Therefore, many students are not just playing one sport, but the majority play two and some play three.”

The Falcons added another sport to their already-impressive list. Crew, also known as rowing, is a sport where four people row a boat in attempt to beat their opponents to the finish line. Crew helps to build strength that students will not only use when participating in the sport, but also outside of the sport. The athletes participating in crew learn teamwork, and the mental tenacity that applys heavily in all aspects of life.

8th grade student, Emma Harlee, began participating in Crew this past season, and she explained why she decided to join: “It’s something new. I had never tried crew before and was interested in learning more about the sport. Crew provides students a new way to experience the water that surrounds the place that they live.”

Saint Stephen’s seemed to be focusing on getting more interactive with the local environment this year. The Marine Science Center and the Crew program provides students with a great opportunity to interact with the water.

Another year has passed, and it’s been another outstanding year in the upper school. Many events took place that the students and faculty will remember forever. This year saw the renewal of old traditions, such as beach and field day, that always bring a smile to the face of everyone involved. The upper school also had some outstanding student accomplishments this year as well. Senior Zack Gromko built a robot that broke the record for the fastest Rubix Cube solved with a robot. This is an incredible accomplishment for Zack, and the entire Saint Stephen’s community is proud.

When asked to reflect on this year, middle school English teacher Mr. Hoonhout said, “The theme of #change brought everyone closer together, and allowed the Saint Stephen’s community to grow in the areas in which we were stagnant before.”