m

Bellows Free Academy

ercury

november 17, 2015

Mayor among men By Robbie Maher Being the Mayor of St. Albans Vermont is no easy task in and of itself. But throw in the fact that Mayor Liz Gamache is the only female mayor in the state, and has a separate full time job, along with a family on top of that, Gamache has a lot on her plate at once. “It’s a balancing act,” Gamache said. Before her election as Mayor in 2012, Gamache had been involved in different community affairs, specifically the Downtown Revitalization Community. “Prior to becoming mayor, I worked on staff for the city. So I started by founding the Community Justice Center. Further along I became Assistant City Manager and eventually City Manager,” Gamache said. Throwing her hat in the ring was never really Gamache’s plan. “Becoming mayor was not something I had ever thought I’d do, it was never on my radar.” Since then, however, Gamache has been around for a number of years. “I’m on my second term, so it’s been a little bit under four years,” Gamache said. In her time in office, Gamache has seen many events take place within both the state, and St. Albans. One of the latest events is that BFA has purchased the strip of Ferris Street that runs through the school campus. “BFA has purchased Ferris

Street. I don’t want to speak for BFA, but it makes it a continuous campus, and allows for increased security,” Gamache said. To go along with the Ferris Street news, one piece of news in particular that is gaining steam throughout both the state, and St. Albans, is Act 46. This legislation is an opportunity for districts and supervisory unions in Vermont to consolidate, from smaller units, into larger ones. Regarding Act 46, Gamache seemed to be extremely familiar with the economic aspects of it, “Addressing the gap between education spending and the property tax burden that goes along to support it is really important, so Act 46 is important in that regard to address that.” Gamache, however, seemed unsure on how it would affect BFA as a school. “I’m not entirely sure if it would affect BFA, I didn’t really do my homework on that question,” Gamache said. Being that Act 46 would be an opportunity for districts and supervisory unions to unify, one would think that this might lower BFA’s enrollment due to the fact that so many sending schools are in place. Being that there are so many sending schools, and districts may unify this may or may not force studenst to other schools. “I am not entirely clear to what extent it would limit that... but I would hope

it would still provide opportunity for students,” Gamache said. Gamache knows a lot about BFA: “BFA is a great school; it is hard to limit it to one strength, but I would say the variety of offerings of classes and the quality of the teachers is really important,” Gamache said. However, with every strength, there is a

we are attracting students,” Gamache said. The quality of academics is always on the top of every school’s list. “There was a study that came out, and it ranked high schools within the country, and BFA was number four in Vermont,” Gamache said. But in order for there to be a successful high school, send-

students within the last couple of years. This helps to feed to BFA,” Gamache said. During her four years as mayor, Gamache has accomplished quite a bit, in regards to improving St. Albans as a whole. “I am proudest of the fact that we have been able to increase civic pride,” Gamache said. Any stranger who

balancing weakness. “I should have really thought more about this, there is not really a strong weakness that comes to mind. I can think of some challenges, that get back to making sure that

ing schools have to be successful. “We are also really fortunate, our elementary schools are so strong, specifically St. Albans City School, who has really raised the performance of

visits Main Street can see that St. Albans is a city with great pride and beauty. “As a community our strength is that we are a caring community, we are not a terribly large community, so I

think that is part of our strength,” Gamache said. St. Albans is on the upswing, but there are remaining challenges that have yet to be hurdled. “One of the challenges looking ahead is to move into neighborhoods and to make sure we are taking care of the needs in the neighborhoods,” Gamache said. After spending countless hours on the rejuvenation of Taylor Park, one of the next areas that Gamache and company hope to focus on is to; “Create safe communities, and make sure people feel secure, it’s also about infrastructure, and maintaining sidewalks and roads, and in the meantime maintaining expense, and being mindful of taxes.” Governing a city, and keeping schools, businesses, and the entire community moving forward every day is no easy task. “Everybody’s got a strength that they can bring to the table, so finding what that is and then contributing that way is really important, it makes us all a stronger community.” Gamache said. With this belief in people, Gamache proves that she has the necessary mindset to be able to lead people, and guide St. Albans in the right direction for a long time to come.

Footloose: behind the curtains By Ben Stoll For three days in the month of November, a few BFA students will perform Footloose. The play follows Ren McCormack, a teenager with a passion for dance. McCormack moves into the town of Bomont, where everyone is banned from dancing by the town’s Reverend, Shaw Moore. Young Ren must then fight hard to do what he loves, dancing. But many already know the story, whether it be from watching the new or original movie or a play; but what about the people who make this story come alive? What about those who make the play worthwhile? What do they have to do to make this story a new experience for viewers? A few students from BFA intend to answer all of these questions. Every year BFA students perform plays, for the community. After years of these performances, the relationships between the student actors becomes very strong. This bond, however, is not exclusive amongst the current actors. Instead,

they hold open arms to new actors. Lily Roque (‘19), is one of these actors: “All of the actors have a pretty good relationship with each other, in rehearsal and out. Many of the actors were already friends due to the fact that they have already performed with each other in previous plays. From a freshmen point of view, all of the other actors are very friendly and respectful towards each other,” Roque said. A big way the current actors recruit new members into the BFA acting family is by putting on inspirational performances, and thus the young “newbies” feel inclined to join. Out of all the freshmen who signed up to be in last years play, 110 in The Shade, three freshmen were convinced to be a part of it from the play the year before, Grease. “In 2013, the drama program put on a spectacular performance of Grease, an adaptation of the 1970’s film. It was thoroughly entertaining, both because of its polished finish and how, especially during their curtain call, the actors all beamed

so brightly their presence lit the entire auditorium. The idea that I could be part of that shining crowd was alluring, and so I was inspired to become part of BFA’s fall musical,” Kayla McArtor (18’), said. After the group of existing actors welcome in the new actors and get acquainted with one another, they get to work. The crew will be called in a few days a week by the play Director, Mr. Harte, and go over bits and pieces of the play. Some days they will go over acting sections of the play, getting into the parts of iconic characters; other days they will get into the mood and rehearse some dancing scenes. Some of these days can be an absolute blast for the actors, enjoying every second of it. “A few ups about rehearsals are the fun energy around the PAC, the learning experience, and the togetherness of the cast and crew,” Rosie Bibona, the Assistant Stage Manager, said. Although acting in the play can be fun and exciting, it would be unrealistic to say that it is like that all of the

time. Some days it can be all smiles and giggles, while other days it can be a horrid sight to see. Sara Young (18’), a sophomore in the play, can attest to this statement. “A downside to rehearsals are the

amount of time and dedication it takes to put on the musical. For a few months, everything else in your life comes second to the production. Sometimes it can be stressful, but it’s all worth it in the end

when the show goes great,” Young said. Although the practices are not perfect by any means, that does not mean that they are accomplishing nothing. They may not be fun all of the time, but the BFA drama student actors know how to get work done, “Our rehearsals are often beneficial because they get straight to the point, and correct issues as soon as they come up. This helps the members stay focused on a section or part, and practice it to our fullest potential,” Calvin Tobin (‘10) said. Footloose was presented in the BFA St. Albans Performing Arts Center on Nov. 12, 13, and 14.

more News

November 17, 2015

PAge 2

Keeping guns out of school

By Colin McGovern & Sierra Hernandez

Gun safety and other weapon based safeties have been a huge concern within the government since Sandy Hook. Since the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012, there have been around 150 school shootings. Chris Mosca, the principal at BFA agreed to sit down for an interview on the rough subject. BFA has recently undergone many changes within the school to make it a safer place for the students. Some of these changes include locking and alarming all of the doors at BFA and installing a buzzer system on the main doors. At BFA, if a student is caught with a weapon “they go to the school board for

By Grace Farrar

expulsion,” Mosca said. While incidents involving weapons are always a concern it is hard to imagine for the students and faculty that anything could actually go wrong in their school of 1,200 students. In the event of a school shooting, how would the school handle the situation? Or would the school just go into a lockdown? “Hide fight run,” Mosca said. Mosca then went into detail about the entire procedure which allows teachers to make the executive decision on whether or not they should allow students to run stay hidden or fight back.

“You need to keep the shooter distracted,” Mosca said. He then made it very clear that he doesn’t want his students to take that as meaning

that they attempt to attack their attacker.

vehicle and park on Hometown’s property.

During hunting season Mosca said that he finds it’s a rough time to get students to keep their weapons at home since the school is located in a county where hunting is such a large part of tradition.

A primary concern for Mosca and other school officials is that BFA is an open campus and anyone can walk on the land between the two buildings. With no coverage between the buildings it isn’t guaranteed that students will be safe while passing buildings because again, anyone can pass through that property, even though BFA has purchased the land.

However, the school board expects that the students respect the no weapon policy and keep their weapons either at home or off of school campus. Even if a student has a weapon in their car, if it is on school property the student will be sent to the school board for an expulsionary hearing. Mosca said that the local store across the street, Hometown, is not part of school property, contrary to popular belief. However, that isn’t an open invitation to store weapons in your

pear to be fully aware of just how much the number of school shootings has increased since Sandy Hook back in 2012.

and the community in order to continue to make changes to facilities and policies, in order to keep the students safe.

Wondering how the students felt within the school the question “do you feel safe within BFA?” came up. “No,” Kellner said without hesitation. The BFA administration will have to continue to work with students, faculty, staff,

Mosca said that the only exception to the weapons rule is the school resource officer, Officer Talley. BFA student Jacob Kellner agreed to answer a few questions about his feelings on gun safety and how the school is handling the threat of weapons. Kellner did not ap-

Rules, or guidelines ?

Why do schools really have a dress code? Do students even bother to acknowledge the code? Over time, dress code has become a hot topic. Anyone would be able to go online and Google search what the latest drama is with dress codes across the nation. Principal Chris Mosca of BFA St. Albans has high intentions of letting the students know that school is a place of business, not a place for exposure. But Mosca argues that what BFA has is not a dress code. “These are expectations and guidelines,” Mosca said. These “guidelines” were handed down to the school, and were then developed on a certain level. “I wouldn’t

call it a dress code par se,” Mosca said, When asked about students respecting the dress code, Tom Wescott (‘18) said that “Nobody follows the dress code.” But he would also argue that most students don’t know the dress code, which includes not wearing anything that exposes a body too much, displaying drugs and alcohol, or wearing shoes that disrupt. But when asked if the dress code is a set of rules, or just guidelines, Wescott agreed that they are guidelines. “They are guidelines, rules are enforced,” Wescott said. Other students would also agree that the code is a set of guidelines and not rules. Mosca is also confident in the idea wants students to express

themselves. He wants to make sure that students get the chances they need to express themselves through their clothing and be able to be stylish, but also be respectful of BFA dress guidelines at the same time. But what is most important to Mosca is that students aren’t exposing themselves or promoting drugs and alcohol. This is because he does not want the students to be influenced and school is a place of business. But students argue that even without a dress code, students would have enough common sense in knowing what not to wear. Bailey Brown (‘17) stated that the dress code is only good when it’s being used for the right reason, which BFA certainly is doing.

Devin behind the dean

By Robbie Maher

Devin Quinlan, one of Bellows Free Academy’s newest hires, is a local Vermonter who was born in Morrisville. He currently lives in Swanton, Vermont. “I’m really outdoorsy so I like to do camping, kayaking, and golf,” Quinlan said. Quinlan stuck around for his college years in Vermont, going to the University of Vermont. In the process, Quinlan majored in Secondary Education, and minored in Biology Animal Science. Having decided to enter a career in education, the minor in Biology Animal Science hasn’t been as advantageous as he had originally thought. Quinlan already has an abundance of experience in the education field. He worked at Soar Learning Center, which is an Independent Learning Center, for six years, prior to coming to BFA. “Part of my role is to make sure things are going well in the hallways; I’m also here for students to check in with if they need help with something, or if students are cutting class...” Quinlan said. Quinlan works

extremely closely with Ms. Day, Mr. Lyons, and the administration. “I talk with them mostly about issues that may come up,” Quinlan said. What was the main reason as to why Quinlan decided to come to BFA? “When I saw the job posted, I looked up all I could find about BFA, and what I saw was it was a really big school, and there is something for everyone here,” Quinlan said.

Working with lions usually isn’t at the top of the job pile for most people. But it was for Quinlan. In fact, Quinlan originally wanted to work with

lions, which is why he got his minor in Biology Animal Science. Quinlan chose to enter the education field instead of working with lions, however: “I started to really think about it, and thought I don’t know if that’s really gonna work, and I thought about something else I really enjoy, and I really enjoy working with students,” Quinlan said. “Everyone has been so welcoming to me, I have heard people say welcome, we’re so glad to have you here,” Quinlan said. Quinlan feels so accepted at his new home, he hopes to be at BFA for many years to come. In ten years, Quinlan hopes to be a school counselor, and he is pursuing his degree this upcoming summer. “I definitely want to remain at BFA,” Quinlan said. Quinlan loves the BFA culture. When asked to describe it in one word: “welcoming,” Quinlan said. Quinlan, with his personality, experience and spunk has the potential to quickly become a vital part of the BFA administrative team, and a vital part of the St. Albans community.

Ever wonder why BFA brings up dress code in class meetings? This is Mosca’s way of nudging students back to the code without being too upfront with them. But when asked about this being a helpful way of addressing the code, Brown had her own opinions. “I think everybody knows and everybody gets it but no one really cares,” Brown said. Wescott would also agree that the meetings aren’t helpful and that when there are meetings, no one is really paying attention. In the handbook it is stated that if a student is wearing a shirt that sports an inappropriate logo or message, the student will be asked to turn their clothing inside out by an administrator. How that would feel to the

student is a completely different topic though. “I would be embarrassed, it would be awkward, if I were someone who would wear that then I think it would be worse than just wearing it,” Brown said. These are things that administers possibly don’t consider. It isn’t just about making sure the guidelines are being followed,

but making sure that each individual stu-

dent feels comfortable in the environment that the school is creating around them. “I would be angry because I want to wear whatever I want to wear,” Wescott said when asked about how he would feel about having to wear a shirt inside out. Brown adds that it doesn’t seem that trendy for people to read what is written on others shirts anymore. But as Mosca said, “Follow page twenty three and let’s move on.” Dress code will always be a topic of conversation, but for now all students can do is respect the code and guidelines and continue on with being stylish and trendy without acknowledging the code.

New outlook in I.S.S.

By Levi Stanley

Heather Lynn Gadway was recently hired to run the inschool support room at BFA, St. Albans. Gadway, her husband of five years, Jamie Gadway and her two children Lukas, four, and Haley, one, are residents of Rouses Point, NY. Gadway went to Potsdam State and completed her undergraduate degree at Plattsburgh State. She went on to receive her masters in special education in NY. Her future goal is to “finish up my Vermont Special Education endorsement and become Special Educator”,, Gadway said. Gadway explained that her fifth grade teacher “inspired me to teach and get the chance to impact lives of all ages.” As a veteran teacher she aspires to be successful and make connections with struggling students. Gadway has a variety of work experience with children. She taught preschool at Cumberland Head Elementary, and taught special education at North East Clinton Community School in New York. She most recently taught at Alburgh

Elementary school for grades six, seven, and eight. During her time at Alburgh Elementary she had worked closely with a troubled transfer student because “He needed a strict, realistic plan in order to make it through 7th and 8th grade,” said Gadway. Aspiring to be the best in her profession, she also worked at Missisquoi Valley Union Middle and High School for Crossroads Special Education “in which I dealt with real life skills, different classes, such as science experiments, sports, Mixed Martial Arts, Ti Quan Do, cooking, story writing, sculptures, etc,” Gadway said. Gadway has developed formal and informal student success plans based on varied behaviors. These plans rely on what each student needs. Each plan is unique to the situation. “I want each and every student sent my way to become a successful, responsible student. I want to make sure they are held accountable for their actions and learn from their mistakes,” Gadway said. Gadway tries to make connections with students so she can listen and understand that there

may be more to their behavioral issues. Trying to establish a positive, professional relationship so they see me as a support, not a disciplinarian. Activities outside of work that are enjoyed by Gadway are hockey and spending time with her son and daughter. “I love going to my daughter’s hockey games and practices,” Gadway said. A draw for her job in Vermont is that her grandparents live in Vermont and her sister lives in Burlington. “I someday want to move to Vermont to get closer to my job,” Gadway said. She also really loves BFA and it’s culture. “I would really like for my kids to go here when they get to high school,” Gadway said.

Feature Overcoming disability on the field

November 17, 2015

By Levi Stanley BFA St. Albans is home of the Bobwhites and Comets. In 2013 the Bobwhites gained a new member on their sports teams, Bennett Coseo, now a junior at BFA. Bennett Coseo is just like every other kid trying to make sports teams, do well in classes and make friends throughout his high school career. But there is one obstacle in his life, he is deaf. When Bennett was first born, doctors noticed an extra piece of skin on his ear. His pediatrician said, “This could indicate hearing loss”. On the doctor’s recommendation, when Bennett was six months old, his hearing was checked. “Never in a million years would we have suspected he was profoundly deaf, meaning virtually no hearing in either ear,” Mrs. Coseo, Bennett’s mother said. When Bennett was sent to daycare, they reported to Lori that Bennett was sleeping through other babies crying, and during fire alarms. The next day she put Bennett down for a nap, and vacuumed and slammed doors to see if this would awaken Bennett, but he slept through it all. “It was very scary and overwhelming,” Mrs. Coseo said. Bennett, as a baby, was very observant, always following with his eyes. “Most deaf babies are born to hearing parents,” Mrs. Coseo said. They had no idea he couldn’t hear because he was always engaged. He also had many ear infections before he was taken to the doctors for testing on his hearing. When the Coseo family was informed of Bennett’s total hearing loss they were in shock, and had no plan. Running through their minds was “What do we do? How will he function? How will he succeed in life? How will he communicate? How will he live a normal life?”

By CJ Brown Of all of the many stresses of high school, politics is probably in the back of one’s mind. However, adopting a political ideal is very important for the start of one’s early adult life. David Rider, the current AP politics, government and US history teacher at BFA, just finished up a chapter in his class. The chapter was about Political Socialization, the influences behind the political ideals of people. “I think that involvement is critically important to the future of our country, there’s no question about it,” Rider said. The “millennials” are the future of this country. In order to keep honest politicians in spots of leadership, one must be involved in the government. Family is possibly one of largest influences of people’s political views. According to the National Social Science Association, 97.5% of high school students follow

PAge 3

Mrs. Coseo said. Now, mandatory test are performed on babies before they leave the hospital to determine if they have hearing loss. They were fortunate to be living in a supportive community that came to their aid. Their pediatrician contacted another local family with a deaf child, who gave them a book, Choices in Deafness. The book opened their eyes to available choices. They were also linked with the Department of Children and Families in Burlington by a deaf caseworker. “That was an eye opener and upsetting because we had to talk to her by phone using the relay system. The operator would type our question, then would read her typed response to us. This conversation was difficult and

communicate and live a normal life. Bennett learned to use his resources as a child being deaf by reading lips, watching and being extra aware of his surroundings. Reading lips is “Naturally how I grew up to understand people,” Bennett said. Bennett sometimes thinks about his disability and sometimes it frustrates him. On the other hand “it’s like a reminder to have an influence on people,” Bennett said. He uses a quote from Jackie Robinson every day: “A life is not important except in the impact on other lives.” Bennett is grateful for his processor and it helps him a lot, but it also has its downfalls because it does not give him total hearing. It requires “lots of responsibil-

“Never in a million years would we have suspected he was profoundly deaf.” upsetting,” Mrs. Coseo said. The Vermont Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Williston paired them with a teacher of the deaf, Amy Bove. This all started at the age of nine months and “we could not have moved forward and enabled Bennett to be who he is today without this early intervention,” Mrs. Coseo said. The family uses multiple ways of communication. They enrolled in a sign language class in St. Albans, learned about cued speech and had Bove come to the house weekly to teach Bennett and the family. At the age of two, he had a cochlear implant, which acts like a processor and allows him to hear words. This failed at age five and he had to undergo the surgery again. Today, Bennett uses a combination of sign language and cued speech, along with his implant, to

ity and it is hard to keep up, but I use my resources,” Bennett said. Bennett doesn’t feel bad for himself and doesn’t make excuses because he knows how much time and effort he has put into keeping up and being successful. His efforts have paid off with success in sports and academics. The Coseos wanted Bennett to have the same experiences as all children, so they enrolled him in Itty Bitty soccer, Little League and ski team. The rec department and coaches never discriminated against him, although some were more comfortable than others working with a deaf child. As parents, Lori and her husband, William Coseo, both struggle just as much as Bennett, because as he is learning to live and succeed with his disability, so are they. Bennett is an all

season athlete along with his older brother Wylie, who is involved in alpine skiing, soccer and track. Bennett’s father William is

is a natural athlete,” Isaac Manahan (16) said of Bennett’s involvemnet on the varsity football team. This was actually

also very passionate about sports, and he played football and was involved in track. Bennett’s mother Lori is also an athlete; she participated in ballet and plays tennis. One question that the Coseos face as Bennett’s involvement in sports becomes more advanced is “How will he access all the information to be successful?” Mrs. Coseo said. Also they worry about how he will learn to advocate for himself to prepare for college. High school has lots of support for Bennett, so their concern now is college, because there will be less support and extra help. Lori, as a mother, worries just like any other parents with their child involved in sports because of injury or a blow to their child’s confidence. Bennett is involved in a contact sport, varsity football, and she worries that he won’t hear someone coming, or not know if the whistle is blown. The play might not be stopped and he thinks it has and he isn’t prepared for the hit. She has concerns not just for the danger of hits in football, but for all sports that he is involved in, including the varsity ski team and varsity baseball team. “Bennett

Bennett’s first year playing football, and he made varsity in a sport where you truly have to use all your senses. Bennett has more touchdowns than any other wide receiver on the BFA team. “Since it was his first year in football, it was difficult at first but the team really rallied around him and helped him at all times, but as the season progressed he got more comfortable and stopped really needing anyone’s help,” Coach Sorrentino of the BFA Bobwhites said. Baseball has been a part of Bennett’s life since he was eight. He made the St. Albans Little League All-Star team many times, playing catcher, center fielder and shortstop. “Bennett knows the game and positions and has a great throwing arm,” Coach Sorrentino said. Bennett is also top five in the state of VT for alpine ski racing. The Coseo’s are very proud of Bennett: “Bennett has gone above and beyond, overcoming his disability, demonstrating amazing social skills, excels at sports and is humble about his accomplishments,” Mrs. Coseo said. They have taught Bennett that he needs to own up to his mistakes

Politics; who cares?

after their parents. “There are other factors that include: gender, level of education that we just talked about, your faith life if you’re involved in a faith community, religion. But even things like your geographic location in the country,” Rider said. Based on many different factors, one’s political views evolve over one’s life. For instance, somebody who lost a loved one from suicide with a handgun would be more wary of gun right laws. “Most Americans believe that there are laws on the books today that prevent convicted felons or people with violent histories or people who have been hospitalized for mental illness that those people cannot purchase a gun, and that is just not true. Private gun sales occur all the time in America, in which no background checks are conducted,” Rider said. Because the lack of education of the various policies in America, most vot-

ers vote in response to what they heard in the news, rather than becoming more educated about the issue and digging for more info. This is a trend that has to stop if Americans would like to keep favorable policies in act. Although news sources are supposed to be as minimally biased

as possible, often news media is somewhat opinionated. For instance, FOX News

has been known to be much more conservative than CNN, which is known for their democratic views. One watching from an early age might have an altered view on their news because of the opinions pushed into the reporting. School is also a huge factor as to whether students start to fol-

low politics. School is designed to teach students about America and the various laws

the country has, as well as learning to love America. Becoming educated on the rights Americans have is huge in discovering what a person would favor. The “Gender Gap” in voting is described as differences in voting between men and women voters. In 2012, 55% of women voted for Barack Obama and only 45% voted for Mitt Romney. The leap between the two vote totals signifies the favor of democratic candidates in women, whereas men tend to be more conservative. This has been a trend since the beginning of political parties. With the arrival of the new generation into the political world, one must keep in mind of the various components of “Political Socialization.” The future of America’s leaders rely on: proper education of the issues, as well as checking the validity of news. In America, the choice of the next leader is up to the voters, and the voters alone.

and accomplishments and not to be embarrassed asking for help or clarifications. “But people need to recognize that he does not hear like his peers,” Mrs. Coseo said. It is necessary “to be more cautious when playing any activity because not only do I not want to get hurt, but I don’t want to damage my processor,” Bennett said. Cochlear implants are worth up up $100,000 without insurance. Also, Bennett is concerned about his processor dying when he is playing on the field, so he wouldn’t be able to hear anything. “I have a thought in the back of my head whether or not it will die during a game,” Bennett said. He also worries he sometimes might lose playing time because coaches might not have confidence in him getting the job done because he can’t hear important calls or plays. Playing in group sports is what Bennett prefers because of people having each other’s backs and communication. He performs his best and is most confident when he communicates with people as much as possible, so he can get the correct information about the task in which he is trying to complete and succeed. Bennett is very successful because of the efforts on his part and the excellent support from his family, friends and professionals. His experience is proof that if you put in the time and want something in life, anything is possible. His confidence and self-advocacy gives him the skills to pursue anything that life throws at him.

Bellows Free Academy Mercury The Mercury is published by the Journalism classes at BFA. Articles are selected and written by students. They may also be submitted by the community at large. The Journalism classes are responsible for every facet of the Mercury production. Suggestions and ideas for articles and letters to the editor can be sent in care of: English Department Bellows Free Academy 71 South Main St. St. Albans, VT 05478

Editors:

Robbie Maher Ben Stoll Grace Farrar

Reporters:

CJ Brown Colin McGovern Sierra Hernandez Levi Stanley Emilie Linstedt

November 17, 2015

PAge 4

Answering the call to care for others By Grace Farrar Jodi Walker, a previous member of the BFA team is happy to be back in action as a nurse for the school. Walker first started her nursing career in 1999 at BFA when she graduated college and loved it. She then left to work at St. Albans City School, and worked with younger kids who are in elementary and middle school. “I always knew I wanted to come back to BFA,” Walker said. But being a nurse wasn’t her only job. Even though she loved helping others, she also coached BFA varsity girl’s lacrosse. “I just loved the older kid population,” Walker said. After taking 6 years off to be home with her family, she was ready to come back to St. Albans. “I love it,” Walker said, excited to be at BFA. “I love the energy, there’s a ton of energy here, there’s a lot of things going on, it’s busy but it’s fun,” Walker said. BFA certainly is busy, but the school holds even more opportunities for Walker. When asked about pet peeves she has about

being a nurse, Walker said that one of the biggest ones is that there is not enough time to take care of all the different situations in one day. “You have to walk away and leave them for the next day,” Walker said. “The school nurse that I had when I was growing up was very, very different than the nurse that I am,” Walker said. But once she was in high school she knew she wanted to go into nursing. “I thought that I wanted to work with pediatric cancer patients at St. Jude’s,” Walker said. After having children, she realized that she couldn’t be around young kids diagnosed with cancer and kids passing away. “This is just such a fun thing to be able to work with educators and to work with kids, usually in a healthy manner. Usually,” Walker said. Outside of BFA she likes to spend time with her three kids, such as going to their sporting events. She loves skiing, playing lacrosse, and horseback riding. “I have to say my horses are probably my therapy, I love them,” Walker said. What inspired her to

become a nurse was a calling, literally. “I love being a school nurse, it’s truly a calling to want to be a school nurse because it’s very different from being in a hospital, very different from being in a nursing home. You’re dealing with a lot of psychosocial emotional needs of kids here and working with their parents,” Walker said. With this being said, Walker shows that everything takes time and effort when finding your place. “It’s always been there, I’ve always liked helping others, I’ve always liked helping animals, you name it,” Walker said. This to her felt like a calling to become a nurse and to help make a difference. The beginning of the year and before school breaks is when Walker notices the most illnesses, but how can schools and students prevent them from spreading? Students and teachers should make sure they are getting enough sleep, enough healthy foods to eat, and stay active in a healthy manner. “Oh my God there’s huge differences,” Walker

The woman who planted herself in our hearts

By Ben Stoll

During a third lunch period on September 21, Jessica LaPlante, one of the new teachers hired at BFA St. Albans, was interviewed to discuss her teaching career. LaPlante has been in the teaching business for 10 years now, and none of these 10 were in Vermont either. “My first job was at a school in northern New Hampshire, and I taught there for three years before transferring to a school in southern New Hampshire, where I taught for two years,” LaPlante said. But this is not where her experience in teaching ends, not by a long shot. LaPlante was once a teacher at an independent school in the Virgin Islands. She worked there for a total of five years before coming to Vermont to teach at BFA, chalking up

15 years total of teaching. Mrs. LaPlante has taught both middle school and high school: “They were both fun to teach, the high schoolers being able to have adult conversations with them, and the middle schoolers still wanting to have fun,” LaPlante said. When asked about what subject she teaches, it was revealed that she is a comprehensive health teacher. “I am also a physical education teacher,” said LaPlante. After learning that she was both a health teacher and a PE teacher, the question of what else she would like to teach arose. After much thought, LaPlante had an answer, stating; “I took an anatomy class in college, so that would be a class I would be interested in teaching.” Coming here to BFA this year, LaPlante does not know if she will stay for an

extended period of time, or will decide to leave after this year. Either way, she is not a stranger to travel, saying she has been “moving around a lot in my career.” LaPlante has chosen to work at BFA because she wants to be back home in New England and close to family. When asked what she thought of the school when she saw the high school for the first time ever, she gave a riveting answer: “The community of the school is very similar to the one at my first school back in northern New Hampshire, so it all feels very familiar to me.”

said when asked about the differences between high school now and high school then. “Kids are kids, it doesn’t matter from then to now. It’s the situations that the kids are placed in and the home lives,” Walker said. She had never seen some of these situations while growing up in Vermont. When asked about drug usage she said that it has been affecting students more than ever. “It’s their families that are going through it and the kids are being left behind,” Walker said, this was clearly a disappointing topic for Walker as she spoke about drug usage in schools. “It’s disturbing, it’s not allowing kids to be kids,” Walker said. “I don’t know that it’s changed that much from what I remember of BFA from 15 years ago,” Walker said. This could be a positive thing seeing as drug usage in school has not increased. “It’s still there. What I’m seeing is a huge change in what parents are using and so exposing the kids to it. So we’re in a totally different level of drug usage than

what was here. Different drugs,” Walker said. This she feels is greatly affecting the kids because they are not able to have their parents in their lives like they should, because of the different drug usage. “Kids shouldn’t know about people in jail,” Walker said. “They should know people just go to jail but they shouldn’t personally know parents or friends that are in jail,” Walker said. Walker said she would absolutely recommend being a nurse or a school nurse to anyone who would want to go into a medical field. Although she doesn’t believe that being a school nurse is a calling for everybody like it was for her. “There’s so many options out there after you graduate that the sky is the limit,” Walker said. “You can work with any population of people and then you could do anything from paperwork to working with newborns. I mean it’s an awesome, awesome, occupation,” Walker said. She is very proud of her job and helping others. “I’m so happy to be back,” Walker said. Happy to be

joining the fun group of staff and students, she is looking forward to a great year. So make sure to stop in and say hi to Mrs. Jodi Walker in the south building and welcome her back to BFA, where she hopes for many years filled with excitement and appreciation for her love for taking care of others.

Getting to know Church By CJ Brown Elijah Shepard Church is a new arrival to the BFA staff. This 37-year-old hails from the mid-west state of Michigan and he offers much in the way of guidance and discipline to students. “I taught in Detroit for three years,” Church said when asked about his teaching background. He decided to move to VT, and when asked, he described his choice of movement as a “best fit.” “I’m still getting used to the spot,” Church said when asked about the most challenging experience at BFA so far. Throughout his teaching career, he stated that he is “used to smaller schools.” The schools he taught at had around 100 students, and only had 12 staff members. Coming to BFA is a gigantic leap for him

in the way of population. Despite this, Church still is familiar with how BFA functions, and picked it up quickly because of his experience in teaching. He praises BFA for the “kind staff” and thinks of BFA highly. “I like it a lot,” Church said. In his short time at BFA, he described his favorite thing at this school to be the “kids he works with.” He is a seasoned teacher and knows how to handle various situations with kids. He works well with kids and wants to help them succeed now and in later stages in life. “I wish there was a school like this before I came here,” Church said. He then describes the schools in Detroit as “Iffy.” They didn’t offer as many choices as BFA, and were not as supportive. The program he works with is called

NOVUS, which stands for New Opportunities for Vision, Understanding and Self Discovery. The program helps students with behavioral challenges. The integration of this program is perfect for Church, and his expertise complements this. As a new arrival to BFA, Elijah Shepard Church is a welcome addition. His experience in the field as a teacher will greatly benefit his time at BFA, and further expand the knowledge of the students he works with. His outlook from another school could offer a helpful insight on the various policies and rules at BFA, and how they could be changed to better benefit the students’ knowledge and success.