Lake Loop
Eve Hebrard, Evie DeRubbo
Two weeks ago La Lumiere (La Lu) had its first Spirit Week of the 2024-2025 school year, with a new addition to its format by having had the themes be decided on a school wide vote between a variety of very unique options. The La Lu community ultimately decided on the themes: Pajama Day, Twin Day, USA Day, College/Jersey Day, and LaLu Spirit Day for Friday.
On that same Friday, the 15th annual Marsch Madness was held closely followed by Senior Bonfire, a longstanding tradition to celebrate the graduating senior class.
Led by the Head Prefect, the seniors walk from the Amphitheater all the way around to Sullivan Field while all individually carrying a torch. Each of their names are called as they circle around the bonfire until the entire graduating class has been called. Shortly after, they all approached the bonfire to light it up.
The exact date of the first ever Senior Bonfire is unknown, but this beloved event originated in the 1970s, making it almost 60 years old. However, this tradition still holds importance even today, now being one of the most anticipated events of the year.
Teacher Talk
Helena Acosta
Madame Sendziak is a vital part of the La Lu faculty. She currently works in the language department as the French teacher. She teaches level one all the way to AP French.
Before arriving here at La Lu, Madame went to college in New York at Canisius University. She got a Bachelors in Arts, Summa Cum Laude in History and English, as well as a minor in French which she continued to study in grad school. Before La Lu, Madame lived in France and there she taught English and bilingual History in English and French.
Madame joined the La Lu community in 2020, mid-covid pandemic, and she left France due to restrictions that made it very difficult to work. After some looking around, a job opportunity at La Lu presented itself. She had never heard of the school, but the job seemed to be her lucky break as she took the job to teach French. ,
Currently Madame has worked in the language department of La Lu for 5 years where she continues to be the French teacher. A few of her favorite things about the job are the students and how she can get to know them in and out of the classroom. She loves when students tell her things or ask for advice.
Aside from this Madame said, “I love that I get to be the assistant soccer coach and go on school trips to France.”
It is safe to say that Madame loves her job, but how did she end up in education in the first place? According to Madame, it felt natural.
Madame said, “I used to pretend I was a teacher. My mother made me a mini classroom at home…I pretended to teach my brothers and gave them assignments that I would grade.”
The La Lu community is very thankful for the great teaching and expertise that Madame brings to all of her French classrooms. She is a beloved teacher and advisor and an integral part of the school.
Sports
Eloise Verdun, Anne Miller
Sports
Eloise Verdun, Anne Miller
Marsch Madness 2024 was a huge hit. With a full student section, a smoke machine and an active court, excitement roared through the Historic Marsch Gymnasium. The evening included basketball and cheer roster announcements, a cheer performance and senior dance, three-point contest, dunk contest and last but not least, the raffle-chosen four shot contest.
With beautifully choreographed dances, the cheerleaders took the court. Dance moves, cheer tricks and good rhythm filled the atmosphere. However, the main spectacle was the senior dance, when senior cheerleaders and basketball players combined forces. Dancing to We’re All In This Together from the hit Disney movie, High School Musical, the cheer and basketball fusion brought fans to their feet.
Basketball competitions filled the rest of the night. The three-point contest consisted of two players from each varsity basketball team. The overall winner was senior, Luca Asanaka. Following was a dunk contest with a board of judges including former NBA player and La Lu Assistant Varsity National team coach, Jaren Jackson Sr.. With many tricks and baskets, the overall winner was senior Grayson Bennett.
The highlight of the night, however, was definitely the new tradition of the raffle-chosen four shot contest. A week of nominations led to the on-site raffle, ultimately choosing Casey Van Eekeren, Elliott Hall, Baruch Avendano- Fanghanel, Ryusei Kato, and Jack Barry (JB). Up first was JB, bringing much excitement. Setting a high bar, JB made all of his shoots, including the spectacular half court shot. Not only did he win a custom La Lu Nike Tech jacket, a clip of his amazing shot made a feature on the Sports Center Next instagram account.
Overall the night was a hit. A beloved LaLu tradition to start off the ever-busy basketball season.
Arts
Maiyah Lewis, Tiarah Alexander, Ella Stankewicz
The Massasauga is La Lumiere’s very own literary magazine filled with student-made sections of literature and art. With creative writing, poetry, drawings, and more, the magazine is a way to showcase the La Lumiere community’s artistic diversity. The team itself is composed of students, with Dr. Pangborn being the teacher to supervise it. The magazine’s team is currently working on the third edition of The Massasauga to be published at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year.
The staff of The Massasauga participates in editorial duties and formatting of the magazine for publishing as part of an after school activity. The team goes over submissions and offers edits to make the magazine the best that it can be. The magazine relies upon student and faculty submissions to submit writing or a piece of art.
all the time in the world
By: Evie DeRubbo
do we really have all the time in the world?
or is that just a fantasy,
something someone will tell you
they say it casually, easily, without a thought
but there are many thoughts behind this saying.
every second we lose time
time to do the things we most care about,
what we hope to achieve
we promise to make up for the things we miss
we say next week, month, or yea
but do we really have the time to spare?
we have dreams and hopes
but we get distracted
we get hypnotized by what could be
we don’t take our time.
not anymore.
we hurry on
caught up in illusions of chosen views.
now we’ve wasted our chance
the clock, it’s almost stopped
our moment is done.
now it’s your turn
to do the same.
or maybe you will
push past the chiming
the ticking of time
and beat the clock.
you’ll get your happy ending
but i wont get mine
it’s too late for me
but you
you are free.