SFL Day Preview

by Annie Massa

A lot of time has passed since the student government of our high school last hosted an SFL day. In fact, only to seniors do the words SFL day even hold any meaning, as the most recent one took place in the spring of our freshman year. But fear not—the 08-09 SFL has worked tirelessly all semester to reinstate this much-loved Bronxville tradition. May 29th (that’s next Friday) has been set aside for what will essentially be a school-wide celebration of the ending year, and the students, and the teachers, and the lovely weather and the existence of popcorn and cotton candy. Here’s an overview of what to expect (besides a lot of fun, which is a given).

Morning
The day will kick off with a few hours of special classes. Teachers have designed these one-day-only courses based on their own outside interests and subjects that will be relaxing and enjoyable for students to explore. Remember: there’s a whole list of options to choose from posted on Edline, and students are to log in and select the top five classes that they’re most interested in using the survey on the SFL’s page. The SFL will then use these results to ensure that each person is placed into two morning classes in which he or she has expressed at least some interest.

Of course, with the chance to learn about from the history in less-than-one hour of film to comedy to space travel, it can be overwhelming to pick only five favorites. Rest assured that there is certainly something on that little e-survey for everyone. For budding thespians, there’s the play read-through with Ms. Maupin and Mr. Royal. For jazz enthusiasts there’s the life of Miles Davis with Mr. O’Brien. For girls of any age that perplex me by fantasizing endlessly about the fictitious (repeat: fictitious!) bloodsucking dreamboat Edward Cullen, there is the Twilight book forum.

Those classes are pretty self-explanatory. There were a couple items on the list that had me wondering, though, so I went to investigate. For example, what could a lesson on “Brooklyn Street Games” possibly entail? Mr. Angotta gave me a clue. He was quick to point out that when he was growing up, there were no “electronic gadgets” to keep kids occupied, so he and his peers had to make their own fun. In this inventive class, Mr. Mitchell, Mrs. Napolitano, and Mr. Angotta will introduce students to some of their games, splitting time evenly between three equally important categories of old-school Brooklyn favorites: games with balls, games with cards, and something called Skelzy, a pastime whose name no child, Brooklyn-dwelling or otherwise, knows for certain how to spell. Mr. Angotta explained the general premise to me, which has to do with quickly flicking bottlecaps across a board covered in numbered squares. Some of the really clever kids, he added, would melt crayons or put banana peels under their bottlecaps to improve flickability. But what is it that really sets Brooklyn street games apart, you ask? What makes them worthy of their very own SFL day course? The most charming thing about these games, apparently, was that they were played all over the borough, but “every neighborhood had its own variation.” For example, where Mr. Mitchell grew up, there were only 9 squares on the Skelzy board, unlike Mr. Angotta’s neighborhood where 13 squares were used. Of course, it wasn’t all peaches and cream and cute crayon-coated bottlecaps. As Mr. Angotta so aptly put it, “There were games we played that were a lot more rough and tumble… but we won’t be doing any of those on Friday.” Maybe next year, kids.

Mr. Marcus’ paper airplane-making course also sounded intriguing. In a brief interview, he convinced me that his class will shape up to be “pretty cool” indeed. Inspired by an activity he once led at a summer enrichment program, he felt that a lesson in crafting paper aircrafts might be exactly the type of fun, hands-on experience high schoolers will want on the morning of their SFL day. The class will focus on moving beyond the tired old classic model, into the realm of sleek paper creations built for speed, long-distance travel, and flips in midair. One interesting aspect of paper airplane construction is understanding the physics behind a plane’s flight, which can help a student to engineer more aerodynamic planes. When he taught this material before, Mr. Marcus knew these physics and motion principles “enough for seven-year-olds,” but before May 29th, he’ll be sure to hit up Wikipedia in order to really get all the facts down. As Mr. Marcus insightfully remarked: “If you’re going to disrupt a class by throwing an airplane, then it might as well be a cool one.”

I’ve only taken an in-depth look at two out of a million exciting morning class options. My advice to you is to log on to Edline and browse through the page of course descriptions for yourself. I guarantee that narrowing it down to a top five, and acknowledging that you’ll only get to attend two of the classes you pick, will be more difficult than it sounds. (Oh, and don’t forget to click “submit” once you’re done deciding!)

Lunch
Believe there’s no such thing as a free lunch? The SFL doesn’t! After you’ve finished expanding your mind in whatever special classes you’ve spent the morning attending, head out to the lawn where a delectable meal will be provided free of charge to all students and faculty.

Afternoon
The afternoon is reserved for all sorts of totally wild activities to either participate in or watch, depending on your personality. The SFL is hauling in all the equipment for human bowling, jousting, and sumo wrestling, which will be the basis of several tournaments. If you’re interested, go to the atrium at lunch on Friday, May 22nd to throw your hat in the ring (or at least to throw your name on the sign-up sheet). But if you’d rather not make a spectacle of yourself, there will be popcorn, cotton candy, and lots of carnival-style merriment available to enjoy from the sidelines.



Elections
Elections of the new SFL officers will also be thrown in the mix. No matter what grade you’re in, take the time to cast a vote for the individuals you think will best serve your high school next year.

At any rate, here are the three main ideas I hope I’ve conveyed regarding next week’s SFL day:
1. Choose your favorite morning class options on Edline as soon as possible. Press the submit button when you do so.
2. Go to the atrium on Friday the 22nd at lunch to sign up for the afternoon tournaments.
3. If you’re looking for a day to cut school this spring, don’t let May 29th be it.