2014 MLK Day of Service

By Cecily H. '16

On Monday January 20^th, over 225 people gathered at Germantown Academy to continue the tradition of honoring Martin Luther King Junior in a day dedicated to service. For some people it was a day off, but for many more it was an opportunity to help people less fortunate than themselves, even if it was only for little while. Tynetta Alston, mother of Nichelle Hall ’15 and co-chair of the event alongside Allison Herald and Genie Hill, has been working and organizing the event for 11 years. She said, “The GA community, varying all ages, as well as seniors from the Ambler Senior Activity Center, worked together to do service projects where all of the hard work, efforts and dedication will help hundreds of people have food, be warm, smile, and feel loved.”

Service projects included wrapping the new sneaker donations from the GA community for teens at St. Mary’s Villa, preparing ziti meals, canned food, and packaged rice for Manna on Main Street, a soup kitchen in Lansdale. Volunteers sorted and packaged over 1,500 articles of clothing for the Mattie Dixon Food Cupboard, Cradles to Crayons, and other community organizations.  Teams packaged over 400 hygiene bags for local shelters and soup kitchens and made over 25 blankets and 100 Peace and Smile activity boxes of arts and crafts for pediatric patients in our local hospitals.  Dog and cat toys were made for local shelters, volunteers decorated cupcakes for children at Carson Valley School, St. Mary’s Villa, and Manna on Main Street.  Valentine's Day candy treats for nursing home residents and napkin rings for Meals on Wheels were made with love.  

There is no reward more gratifying than feeling like you’ve helped someone’s day making it even the smallest fraction easier, but Meriwether-Godsey came close by donating a delicious lunch for all of the volunteers. Tynetta Alston said, “All in all, it was an amazing day and a great response to one of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s quotes, "Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?"

Photos by Cecily H. '16 and Emmy D. '16

Click on the photo slideshow above to scroll through the pictures!

Tyler's Tips: Surviving the Holidays in a Healthful Way

By Tyler T. '14
(the first post of his column)

Let’s face it: the holidays are here and you cannot wait to dig into the seemingly endless supply of indulgent cookies, cakes, and desserts that find themselves onto your plate at the end of a meal. After a while, you have lost count of how many slices of pie, or dollops of whipped cream you have had, and start to feel that you have over-indulged in your favorite holiday treats.

My goal isn’t to stop you from eating these treats, nor is it to make you only eat healthy food during the holidays.  The goal here is for conscious consumption of these foods. Let’s go!

1.     Watch your portions

Believe it or not, about two chocolate chip cookies could set you back around 200-300 calories depending on the size and the ingredients of the cookie. The same can be said for a slice of pumpkin pie, which could set you back around 350 calories. Couple that with going back for seconds and eating those two large chocolate chip cookies, you have consumed close to a thousand calories just for dessert! What I like to tell people is to make a “sampler” plate of desserts. Split that chocolate chip cookie, take half that brownie, take a “sliver” of that pumpkin pie, and you can easily fit your dessert budget into a 500 calorie plate of heaven while enjoying more of the voluptuous desserts that scatter the table.

2.     Exercise

If you think you may not be able to stop yourself from overindulging during the holidays, make it a point to exercise the day of your holiday meal for at least an hour.  Not only will exercise get you moving during a time of the year when not many of us don’t, but it will allow you to indulge in those desserts without the guilt creeping in. Whether this is running or jogging in the park, swimming at the local pool or biking on the roads, you do have the power to make your desserts fit into your life.

3.     Make your own desserts! (Who knew?)

Ever notice the ingredient list on the back of a store-bought apple pie? I have, and that list has a number of ingredients that you cannot even pronounce!  Try Tertiary Butyl hydroquinone.  This additive is a chemical preservative that extends the shelf life of food.  TBHQ is a form of butane and even finds itself in cosmetic products, varnish, lacquers, and resin.  Although the FDA only allows it to be 0.02% of total oils found in a product, anywhere from 1-4 grams of this product can in fact lead to nausea, delirium, and vomiting [1].  Yum!  You can make your own desserts instead and NOT have to worry about all of those additives.  By making desserts by hand, you can even make healthy substitutions such as fat free milk for cream, fresh fruit for canned fruit, whole grain breads for white rice and breads, and vanilla/cinnamon for sugar, and still have your favorite holiday desserts.

4.     Take your time! (Who said it was NASCAR race?)

It takes twenty minutes for your brain to tell your stomach that you are full. If you do not give your brain time to send the messages to your stomach, you risk over eating and giving yourself that too-full feeling. Take it slow, cut up your meat, take sips of water in between bites, and when you’re done your first helping, give it about 10 – 15 minutes. Not everyone will be done! And if you still feel hungry, go back for more! (Load up on your veggies when you fill your plate, they will help you feel fuller sooner and longer!)

5.     Eat before you go!

If you eat a little something (even a healthy (gasp) something), then your better will already be in digestion mode, allowing for easier and a more fluid digestion phase. This will prevent bloating and queasiness during your meal and will help you feel fuller sooner, preventing overeating.

6.     Say No

When your cute relatives and their children ask if you want to take home some of their delicious baked goods, kindly decline. This is crucial, especially, if the temptation is too much for you. By not allowing them into your house, you will squelch these temptations and cut the amount of “snacking” you do in the days to come.

The holidays are a time meant to spend with family, friends and loved-ones. With these helpful and healthy tips, you can give your body a more memorable holiday season as well!

Happy Holidays!

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[1] http://www.naturalnews.com/031318_TBHQ_food_preservatives.html

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Teachers Tell All: An Introduction

 By Julia P. '15

(the first post of her column)

Challenge GA, the newest house competition, encourages innovative thinking.  The challenge: answer “the question”.  The infamous inquiry was revealed during morning meeting: How can we make our new house a home? Answers to this “big reveal” are already in place and contribute to the homey atmosphere of GA.  Home is a place where families share stories. These stories define a family and teach morals through both good and bad experiences  One of the best community aspects of GA is the tradition of teachers sharing stories about our school or their own lives with their students.

These timeless stories have been passed down through generations however, like many oral histories, they risk being lost.  This column seeks to memorialize this side of GA history for current and future GA students.  When McVeigh tells his class the cookie story, students tell the story to kids from the other section, who will then tell their friends and so on.  This is the oral tradition: shared experiences passed down by word of mouth.  It parallels a family dynamic, relatives sharing their childhood experiences or letting kids in on adult conversations.  When teachers recount certain stories, it is a way of acceptance into the family, or a form of recognition and initiation into the GA community. 

This column will collect the many stories of GA’s past that have contributed to GA’s community feel over time.  Featuring a new story shared by a teacher every week, this column will allow students to relate stories in their lives with the experiences of students of the past.  Everybody knows about the time when Mr. Garvan was handcuffed to a chair during morning meeting or when Mr. McVeigh held a lower school student out the window.  The column will also include some of Mr. Caum’s stories about combat in Vietnam, students getting caught in the old fire escape outside Mr. Eastlake’s office, and students partying under the bridge calling it “beach front real-estate”.   If any of these are unfamiliar, they won’t be for long…. so stay tuned.

Local Artist Profile: The Wonder Years

By Alex B.'14

(the first post of his music column)

Credit: altpress.com

Music has always played a huge role in my life, but Philadelphia-born-and-raised pop-punk band The Wonder Years have been the most crucial facet of my adolescence. Their music is complex – the lyrics are literal, yet poetic and sometimes strike allusions to legendary beat-generation poems, and the instrumentation is well orchestrated and layered. The band put out their first album, Get Stoked On It, while still in college at Temple and Drexel Universities. Although the lyrics are comical and the instrumentation is simple, the album brought the band local fame.

After local shows and do-it-yourself east-cast tours, the band recorded its second full-length album, The Upsides. This CD proved to be a dramatic change: a shift from college-boy humor to realist, poetic lyrics. This album highlights the singer’s life in pure honesty, using real names of people, places, and objects that affect his everyday life. For example, in his song “Logan Circle”, lead singer Dan Campbell sings, “They turned on the fountain today at Logan Circle / And I felt something in me change.” This album elevated the band to national recognition.

The band toured off of this album for a year, playing the Vans Warped Tour and other national tours. The Upsides caught the eyes of larger record labels. The Wonder Years signed to Hopeless Records for their next two albums, Suburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing and The Greatest Generation. These albums, each artistically more intricate than the album preceding it, earned the band international success. They quickly embarked on an Asian tour and numerous European tours. Currently, the band is on a nation-wide tour with A Day To Remember, All Time Low, and Pierce The Veil. The Wonder Years are a local success story. I look forward to seeing them in concert again soon.

Check out their music here.

Find them on tour here.

Word on the Street: How Would You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?

“You don't survive it per se, you just become a zombie. You just get bitten and then go along with your zombie life.” -DaVonne H. '14

“Can I move to another planet? No, I guess I’d just pretend to be a zombie too so then they wouldn’t bite me.” -Josh H. ‘15

"I would dig a hole and make an underground world and live in it." -Lilly B. '17

"I would give myself up right away because I am a scared little girl." -Arjun N. '14

"I have no idea what you're talking about........ I need you to define all of the terms in that sentence first before I can give you a sensible answer." -Mr. Scherrer

"Probably just stay in an airplane with unlimited fuel." -Matt H. '16 

"Build a tank. Fill it with pugs. Wreak havoc. They would be my zombie-fighting companions." -Nate M. '15

"I would ditch my weaker family members by locking them out of the basement. I would live the rest of my days in peace surviving on Saltines and canned tuna." -Lauren O. '16

"I would shoot the zombies. If I only hit their arms or something I shoot again. Also I'd stock up on basic stuff, food and water." -Margaret Anne H. '14

"I would make a lot of allies first off and then I'd have one person who has the guns, and then I'd need someone who'd be like a really good zombie killer and I could be the leader of the group, and tell people what to do, but I'd have my zombie troop and we'd just go kill zombies. And I've watched the Walking Dead so I'll be prepared with strategy." -Saliana R. '16

Quotes compiled by Maddie N. '16, Brooke K. '14, Trent C. '16, Hayley D. '16, and Shyam C. '14

Welcome to E-Dish!

Welcome to the new and improved Edition Blog (yes it existed before)! This year, we're revamping our online presence to become more of a cultural hub. You can look forward to upcoming posts and columns on music, health, current events, and more! The first post is a Word on the Street on surviving the zombie apocalypse collected by some new writers and returning writers. We're looking forward to a fantastic year, so check back every so often for new posts on the E-Dish.

Thanks!
Olivia R, Helen B, Caroline N, and Leah F
The Chiefs '14



And in case you wanted to check out the old blog, here's the link:
http://gaedition.wordpress.com/