Spring 2008

Q.E.D. Spring Newsletter brought to you by the . . .

Atheneum School
A Community of Learning

Calendar of Events:
Atheneum Students Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s
 Spring Break
March 10-14th Ideas for Change
 Spring Intensives made in our immediate en- non-violent tension that moti-
March 17-28th vironment. We as students vates us to change because it is
 Teacher Parent Con- come to Atheneum so that found within the search for
ferences April 14th we can learn how to think truth. This search for truth is
for ourselves. Thinking for very difficult, which might
 4th Annual Spring ourselves includes being help explain why the majority
Auction & Recital able to ask questions and might be more comfortable in
April 11th—6:30 PM what King describes as appall-
lead others in careful dis-
 All School Prom cussion. ing silence.
May 2nd We practice recognizing However, many students de-
Last month at Atheneum, what we do not understand, scribed suddenly feeling un-
 Spring Marine & Biol- comfortable with their moder-
we read Dr. King’s before acting from a
ogy—Trip to Seward ate thinking, realizing that
Letter from Birmingham confused mind, which might
May 7-11 blaming hatred on the extrem-
Jail and discussed it in an all also cause violence in
 Senior Oral Exams school seminar. This seminar other’s thinking and actions. ists, does not excuse us from
May 14 inspired the Political Science Dr. King asks the Clergy- promoting non-violent tension
class to continue by reading men to whom he is writing in hopes for change.
 Senior Graduation
Dr. King’s famous, “I have a the letter, to seek the root of
May 17th 3:00 PM By Maria Santillanes
Dream” speech, and the the demonstrations in Bir-
 Last Day of School whole school saw the movie mingham, instead of point- Atheneum Intern
May 22nd “The Great Debaters,” as well ing out the hassle the dem- & Class of 2000 Graduate
as read current Presidential onstrations cause. Accord-
Candidate, Barack Obama’s ing to Dr. King, the cause of
Inside this issue: speech given on Martin Lu- all injustices is rooted in the
“Non-violent direct
ther King Jr. Day. What be- majority of the people not
Coaching Notes 2 came evident to us through- being clear about what jus- action seeks to create
Martin Luther King 2 out our study, was the imme- tice is and not bothering to such a crisis and foster
Austin Johnson diate relevance of Dr. King’s search for the meaning. such a tension that a
Self Evaluation message. Could the absence of the community which has
Mackensie Broquet
Almost every Atheneum search for truth really cause constantly refused to
Confucius 2 seminar reflects the group so much hatred & suffering? negotiate is forced to
Janelle Coy
dynamic. Martin Luther As you will read in this confront the issue.”
Monster Pike 3 King's words, not only re- QED, Atheneum student
Joe Johnson veals changes that need to be Austin Johnson describes -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Art Works 3
made in the world, but the King’s idea of tension being
Lydia Ossorgin changes that need to be necessary for change. It is
Community Events 4

Accomplishments 4 Atheneum Students Reflect . . .

(See next page)
 Confucius — Living by Example by Janelle Coy— Junior at Atheneum

4th Annual Atheneum way to truly help a situation

Auction & Recital
April 11th , 2008
Update: The planning
committee met to organ-
ize the committees that
will make the 2008 auc-
tion the best one yet.
Packets went home with
students. We are ready
to collect donations and
start ticket sales!
During the seminar on
Confucius, we talked about clar-
ity & trying to come to a resting
point with our overpowering
desires. We cannot make anyone
else attain this clarity because it
is completely up to the individ-
ual. We discussed giving advice
as an example. We decided that
sometimes we give bad advice
that seems to solve the problem
but just for a short term. It
does not help fix the root of
the problem for the long
term. This idea of not being
able to just give someone an
answer is closely related to
our own individual ability to
have peace and clarity within
ourselves, as well as our in-
ability to simply force or pass
our ability along. The only
is not by advice, but by ex-
ample. When one sees how
you live your life with clarity
and balance followed by ac-
tion, one is able to get the
idea for themselves. This is
more organic and real than
telling or making someone
else try and look within.

Martin Luther King — High Tension Learning

by Austin Johnson—Junior at Atheneum

“Trust your own
understanding but be
humble enough to
admit when your
wrong.”
I would like to revoke a
statement I voiced in seminar
and replace it with a more
thoughtful one. I claimed that
learning had no tension to it.
This is not the case. When one is
seriously looking at a new idea
that contradicts a previous one,
there is tension built up. When
we have to let old ideas go, we
seize up and are not able to
go forth. So the white moder-
ate has to break the idea
“inertia” that he is greater
than a black man, in order to
see a black man as equal. The
tension King wants to create
comes from boycotting,
marching and other peaceful
non-violent acts that make
white people uncomfortable,
thus beginning dialogue. In
“Letter from Birmingham
Jail,” King illustrates a hand
full of examples of what life
is like for a black man. I be-
lieve no man should ever be
treated like this, so it made
me feel uncomfortable and
the tension sprung from the
page.

“Expect Better”— A Self Examination by Mackensie Broquet—Senior at Atheneum

My first quarter at Atheneum has
created a canvas for further learning to be
painted on. The time for adjusting has
passed along and with it, old ways of
thinking and acting. Academics play a
crucial role in the success of one’s future.
My current progress should be regarded
only as a start, not as a finished product.
Logical reasoning is truly required in
both fields of business & law. Logical
thinking as well as listening should be the
focal point of my daily discussion. I am
beginning to understand the benefits of a
liberal arts education in high school.
Being around the same group every-
day has led to a comradrie between my
peers and me. Teamwork is required to
understand the most difficult text. My
favorite reading, “The Power of the Ma-
jority,” has placed the burden on me to
lead by example. My goal is to im-
prove the community by putting down
pointless drama and squabbles every
day. Trust your own understanding
but be humble enough to admit
when your wrong. Those who are not
afraid to fail have initiative. You
should not expect more of the same,
you should expect better.

Page 2
Fish Tales . . .
Monster Pike — A Work in Progress
I zipped up my coat,
jumped out of the truck,
and embraced the cold
brisk air. I directly went to
work and took the sled out
and started loading it up
with my gear and the ice
shack. I then began my
trek on the ice with an
eerie feeling that I was
going to catch one of the
many trophy Northerns in
Nancy Lake.
After walking for a while, I
came across what seemed to
be a respectable spot. So I got
my auger out and drilled a
hole. I checked the depth and
estimated an ideal depth of 7
feet. So I started to set up the
shack. Once the shack was
set up, I brought in all the
gear and turned on the heater.
I scooped the excess ice out
of the hole and immediately
Page 3
by Joe Johnson—6th Grader at Atheneum
started fishing. Hooking on
some putrid, smelly herring, I
dropped my hook into the
hole. I put my rod in the rod-
holder and gazed down into
the dark, deep water. Almost
immediately, I saw a huge
Northern swim right by my
bait and disappear. I grabbed
my rod; my mind was chaos!
I waited… Defeated. I sat
there freezing-cold, peering
down into the hole.
It was the last hour. I had
been sitting out there for
four hours and had not seen
anything since that last one
swam by, and I was begin-
ning to doubt that I would
come home with anything,
but I would soon be proven
wrong. All of a sudden I
turned my head to see my
rod in full bend. I frantically
grabbed my rod and gave a
Art Works by Lydia Ossorgin
yank to set the hook. That
was one mad Pike! The drag
started to scream and then I
heard a “crack!” My bear-
ings and the real were shot!
I shoved my rod into the
water. After the fish’s long
run, I reeled him in as he
swam in a circle. I reeled in
far enough to see his large
head. He looked up and saw
the light and made a run for
it. He wasn’t about to give
up that easy. After repeating
reeling him in, I got to
where I could see his head. I
lunged my hand into his gill
and hoisted him out of the
water. The beast was mine!
My friends were jumping
and squealing. I could see
the jealousy in their eyes.
Atheneum Summer
Canoe Trip
We have had several re-
quests to begin planning
a canoe trip this summer.
Kevin and Lydia have led
floats down the Yukon
and the Kuskowim.
Please let us know if you
are interested.
“I was beginning to
doubt that I would
come home with
anything, but I would
soon be proven
wrong.”
Atheneum T-shirts &
sweatshirts (hoodies)
are available for pur-
chase. Please check in
at the office or send in
your order form to the
school.
Lecture Series Continues with
Atheneum’s own Lydia Ossorgin!
Atheneum friend David Hoffman, who
has helped lead our lecture series, asked
Atheneum’s Director Lydia Ossorgin to
speak at the school. Lydia continued
the ongoing theme of our lectures,
speaking about the passion that
changed her life. Atheneum students
learned about Lydia’s education and
pursuit of art. They were surprised to
hear that she dropped out of high
school to study with a master Iconogra-
pher, Leonid Ouspensky, in Paris.
Lydia described how art lead her to
becoming a teacher. She also shared her
realization, “You have to learn to do
what you love in the midst of every-
thing”
Atheneum Lecture Series begins with surprise guest! Meade Treadwell, made
it possible for our school to meet Dr. Wong, a nuclear physicist from UCLA. Dr. Wong
had a narrow window of time in Anchorage after meeting with a group of gold miners
in Senator Steven's office. He was there to show them how to mine without water cya-
nide (etc) to have no negative environmental impact. At Atheneum, Dr. Wong spoke
with us about how to transform CO2 from car exhaust, power plants and such into non-
greenhouse gasses and produce O2 like the trees! He had an amazing presentation of
many fascinating and timely ideas. We are most grateful to Dr. Wong and Meade!
Atheneum students & faculty see one of the first productions of Othello . . .
at Cyrano's Theater. Atheneum’s drama teacher, Shane Reeves was the stage-manager
and sound director for this performance of Othello, a very special adaptation of Shake-
speare’s play, taking place in Russian America in the late 1840’s. Shane received a
special gift from an Atheneum father & daughter. After mentioning he needed a Rus-
sian style lute, Savannah Echols had her father Kurt Echols make a beautiful lute and
gave it to Shane to be used in the show! We loved the play and thank Cyrano’s &
Shane for our Shakespeare Study Guide that was donated to the school.

Atheneum Recent Accomplishments

Valentine’s Day Fundraiser Returns to
Atheneum— Atheneum graduate Colour
Linden brought back a fundraiser started
by her father Mark Linden. Students sold
chocolate covered strawberries for Valen-
tine's Day and raised $1,500 for the
school!
The Atheneum Alumni Association gave
gift certificates to Stephen Burgoyne,
Janelle Coy, Savannah Echols & Joe
Johnson for selling the most strawberries.
Special thanks to Color Linden, Juliana
Santillanes, Liz Peters & Savannah
Echols for helping dip the strawberries.
Independent School Fair— Atheneum is
a part of AAIS, Alaska Association of
Independent Schools. Atheneum students
and faculty represented the school at the
second Independent School Fair.
We have a long list of new prospective
families of Atheneum. Everyone loved
seeing our students show up to talk about
their school. Thanks to Clyde, Ashley,
Mackensie, Stephen, Janelle & Siena!
Students Join Lydia in Takatna.
Director Lydia Ossorgin came across an
opportunity to send students Austin
Johnson and Tim Treadwell to Takatna,
where she is teaching music this week.
Austin and Tim have are helping the
Iditarod mushers as they make their way
through Takatna. Atheneum is working
with the Iditarod School District bring-
ing the Atheneum education to the vil-
lage!

Atheneum Study Buddies-This is a study group started by Atheneum intern Maria Santillanes. Maria takes a group of kids after
school to complete their homework and develop helpful study skills. The focus of the group is to learn how to best prepare for
Caption describing picture or graphic.
classes and work on writing skills. Maria is there to help students with their questions. As a parent recently commented, “There is a
difference between just getting homework done and studying.” Students have found that it is easier to be productive while working
in a group. Students can join anytime.