Lake Loop
Tiarah Alexander and Ella Stankewicz
The winter season has begun at La Lumiere (La Lu) and Bookstore Basketball has just kicked off along with winter co-curricular activities. With the change in weather also comes familiar La Lu traditions such as Marsch Madness, Spirit Week, and Senior Bonfire.
One of the most anticipated events of the year is Marsch Madness. On Friday October 25, the Marsch gymnasium will be packed with students, parents, and faculty alike all wanting to get the first glimpse of the La Lu basketball teams and cheerleaders.
The senior basketball players and cheerleaders have been working on a dance routine together for months that will bring the energy. The basketball players then engage in exciting point contests, where they will be evaluated on the number of baskets and style.
Make sure you mark your calendars so you won’t miss the tradition that makes La Lu such a special place.
Sports
Eloise Verdun and Olivia Ross
A staple in La Lumiere culture all began in 1992, when David Brockway founded the La Lu bookstore tournament. Since then, there has been an annual tradition every year. The idea is that there are teams of three, students and faculty alike, playing half court basketball games. A two game regular season followed by a single elimination tournament set up has been the norm since 2005. Rules adapt to the changing times to make it a fair and exciting game.
With a slow start, Bookstore used to consist of just about eight teams Now, with the growing importance to the culture of La Lu, Bookstore currently has 28 teams for the 2024 season. Between 2011-2019, the average number of teams was about forty. Though, the all time record was a high of 49 teams.
Our current head of Bookstore is AP Physics, Calculus AB and BC teacher, Mr. Andert. Mr. Andert is the current longest running faculty member at La Lumiere. He has been a part of the family for thirty years now and has ran Bookstore since the spring of 1997.
When asked to describe the Bookstore Basketball tournament in one word, Mr. Andert said “chaotic”.
Bookstore has become one of the most exciting and interactive traditions at La Lu. With the fun of comedic competition, there have been some creative ideas that have become great additions to the experience. Along with the goofy team names, there have been some funny costumes, from team shirts, to founding fathers, to blow up dinosaurs.
The biggest question when it comes to the Annual Bookstore Tournament is, Who will win the trophy?
Bookstore Basketball Team Profile: Lucky Charms
Anne Miller and Ryusei Kato
One of La Lu’s most sacred traditions, Bookstore Basketball, is taking place this fall. The hype is on another level, and the teams are all battling it out for a chance at the coveted Bookstore Basketball trophy.
One of the more unique team names, the Lucky Charms, are fighting for the pot of gold at the end of the tournament.
Sophomore, Erza Spira, said “Anything less of a championship will be sad.”
Another member of the “Lucky Charms” Aubrienne Abele, wants to get to the final four. As the team is entirely made up of gingers, she is determined to get more than one bucket in a game.
Arts
Evie DeRubbo and Eve Hebrard
The La Lu Players started their 2024-2025 season with their fall play, Super Scary. Created by Tim Kochenderfer, the show features a storyteller who wants to share spooky stories with her audience, but keeps getting interrupted by a whole cast of characters. These stories include a noisy janitor, a stranger who really has to go to the bathroom, and a weird-looking chicken.
La Lu’s show ran for three nights, October 1, 2, and 3. While all shows were met with thunderous applause, the biggest crowd was present for the Thursday night show.
Mr. Benedict, the theater director, was also presented with a large stick of butter from the Fall Players on closing night. It was explained to be an inside joke between the director and the actors, and represented one of their vocal exercises focused around butter.
This was not the strangest part of the show however, as the interrupting chicken was seen doing the macarena, much to the audience’s delight. However, the chicken’s limelight was cut off once it was shooed off stage so that the show could continue. Super Scary overall had a great turnout, and created anticipation for the next production put on by the Players.
Culture Corner
Maiyah Lewis and Helena Acosta
Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the Jewish new year. This holiday lasts two days and falls on the first two days of Tishri, the Hebrew month. Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown and lasts for ten days.
Some traditions of the holiday include lighting candles when the sun goes down, holiday greetings, cards, shofar, ram’s horn instrument, being sounded at prayer service, and celebratory meals with delicious sweet treats. Yom Kippur is the day when the book of life closes and life and death is decided. Then after Rosh Hashanah has ended, people go on to celebrate sukkot. Sukkot is a major Jewish festival, where people spend all their time in sukkahs and enjoy peaceful times together.
With so many fun traditions it’s difficult to know what people’s favorites are. Many Jewish people have different traditions due to the historical dispersal of Jewish communities across different regions of the world.
Madame Sendiak provided her perspective saying, “my favorite part of Rosh Hashanah is the food.”
Madame Sendziak elaborated and explained that there is a special type of circular bread that is eaten on Friday called Challah. She also likes the potato and noodle dish from Eastern Europe called Kugel.
Another member of the La Lumiere community that was interviewed was Maddox McCready. She said, “I like being with my family and enjoying peaceful times.” Maddox also said that although she does not go to the temple often, this occasion prompted her to do so regardless.
This fun holiday is very important in the Jewish faith. At La Lu, there is an effort to learn about different cultures, and Rosh Hashanah is a great opportunity. Last year during Rosh Hashanah, Madame Sendziak and Mrs. E planned a Sukkot for all students to enjoy, with donuts in the Moore House. Unfortunately due to the rain, we weren’t able to eat the donuts in the sukkah, but stay tuned for this year’s Sukkot!