By Julie He 23’
As semester two began after a restful break—the Thanksgiving Holiday— St. Mark’s kicked off its winter sports season. In a stressful and moody quarter, winter activities are a great solution to cure those winter blues. Sports allow us to unwind from a stressful day of school and just focus on a fun sport for a few hours. Studies show that playing sports can help with your mood, concentration, and sleep. It also reduces stress and depression. In the winter, there are a variety of sports to choose from such as basketball, ice hockey, and squash just to name a few. We also offer non-team sports such as fitness, yearbook, or robotics. Three unique options here at St. Mark’s are ice hockey, squash, and theatre. They are very different from each other but are nonetheless fun. They all require teamwork, persistence, and efforts.
One of our most popular winter sports is ice hockey. Unlike many sports, the game is played on a slippery sheet of ice with skates, making it even more difficult to stand. Each hockey game is two hours where five players try to shoot a puck using sticks into a goal. All the members on the teams are close to each other and they would always cheer for one another. One team, in particular, exemplifies this team spirit is the girls' varsity hockey team. The 18-girl team is very supportive of one another and regularly has team breakfasts and dinners. Everyone works extremely hard and has achieved noticeable results through the seven games they have won. Their biggest victory was the 5-0 game against Middlesex. When asked about the team, Molly Lefebvre 23’ says it is “everybody on the team is very supportive and fun to be around.” Hockey is a team sport and depends on lots of joined efforts. St. Mark’s students help make this team shine through championships with their determination, compassion, and tenacity.
Another popular sport is squash—about 80 students participating. Squash is an indoor sport played using a racquet and a small rubber ball. To play a squash match, two players are put in a box room and hit the ball back and forth until one player is unable to return the shot. One of our squash teams, the varsity girls squash team, has already faced off against numerable teams this season. Currently, they have a record of 6-4. Beining(Cathy) Zhou 21’, a varsity player for girls squash, enjoys the sport very much. With members old and new, she feels the team is like a big family to her. Even though squash is an individual sport, her teammates are a huge part of her sport. Her teammates are always there to give her advice and encouragement. She believes that “without them, [she] couldn’t have kept [herself] together during those tough matches.” Her only concern about the sport, however, was that St. Mark’s could only accommodate six courts. Nonetheless, it is still plenty to play on. Cathy plans on continuing squash and would recommend it 10/10. The girls' varsity squash team has upcoming home games on February 7th, 8th, 14th, and 19th. Visitors are always welcome to go watch in the area above the squash courts!
Another interesting option for afternoon activity is the winter play. This year, the winter play is “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot”. It is a thrilling dark comedy by Stephen Adly Guirgis, which is about Judas Iscariot who is tried in court. The story is told through flashbacks of witness’ testimonies. Leading by Mr. Kent, the theatre crew meets every week from Monday to Friday. They work hard to prepare and bring the community of St Marks a fascinating tale. For the actors, the rehearsals are fun and give students a chance to pursue their passion. However, some actors do not enjoy the waiting time off stage when they are not needed. At this time, people can work together and help each other run their lines while waiting. The actors have been preparing for a long time and are excited to show everyone what they have achieved on February 27th, 28th, and 29th in the Black Box.
Overall, all the winter activities are adding colors to students' lives at St. Mark’s. The players on every team are working hard to improve their skills while having fun. Sports are about having a sense of membership and community: it unwinds everyone after a day of school and also get closer to the people in the community. Most importantly, winter activities are about having fun and enjoying what you do! From all the interviews gathered, most students are very satisfied with their choices and are enjoying their winter experience. As winter soon comes to an end, we hope everyone enjoys their winter sports and the article above will encourage other students to go and watch the games/performances!