Dear Readers, 

  

It is with excitement and immense pleasure that we publish the inaugural issue of Avenues Online literary journal, The Network. 

 

This publication was imagined in the fall semester of this academic year independently by each of us with the encouragement of our faculty advisor, Ms. Amy Rosenberg. Without her help and guidance, this journal never would have been brought to life.

 

The purpose of The Network is to highlight the work of Avenues Online students completed inside and outside the virtual classroom, including video, written, and artistic works. Each issue will be centered on a theme. Given the events in the world today, including the rapid spread of COVID-19, the theme we selected for this edition of the magazine is “Are We Safe?” We consider this theme from environmental, historical, political, and scientific perspectives.

 

To delve into the question, we consider the safety of the earth and its inhabitants with respect to climate change in an article by Yehuda Zilberstein (’23). Laura Patterson’s (’22) accompanying illustration of a polar bear on a melting ice cap shows how devastating this problem is to the Earth’s environment and its creatures. We also think about our safety in the context of literature and history: Catherine Bradley (’25) and Aidan Bart (’25) offer poems in response to studying Anne Frank’s life and the Holocaust. Further, Fiona Poth (’24) addresses our safety in the terms of how we communicate with one another in an allegory inspired by George Orwell’s novella Animal Farm, which is accompanied by a video discussion of what an allegory is. Julia Hristov (’24) contributes a pencil drawing also inspired by this novella, which raises the question of humanity’s safety when fascist regimes exist. Writer Estee Yanklevitch (’22) ponders one of the safest places on earth—the womb—and asks about the ethical implications of artificial wombs. 

 

Next, we spotlight an Avenues Online teacher and introduce a language offered by Avenues Online. Yehuda Zilberstein (’23) interviews our STEAM teacher Ms. Rosanna Satterfield and discovers that in her free time she enjoys playing the mandolin and spending time in nature. The language page examines Hebrew, including its origins, and offers several phrases to learn, and Estee Yanklevitch (’22) offers her own insights about learning and speaking this language. Shalom!

 

It is our intent that the journal be published biannually, at the end of each academic semester, and that it highlight the incredible talents, sincere hopes, deep thoughts, big ideas, and powerful perspectives of Avenues Online students. We hope this issue will inspire more students to participate. This journal is a student publication, and its success is predicated on student participation. As the student editors, we hope that it will grow and that additional sections will be added as other interests are revealed. Although time did not permit this year, we aspire to publish a hard copy of the magazine, which would be sent to your homes, because, while we love attending school in the digital world, there is nothing better than flipping through the pages of a good book.

 

We would like to thank Ms. Jill Butler for turning our ideas into a beautiful, virtual magazine. In addition, we would like to thank Mr. Austin Volz for his polyglot expertise and for helping us develop the language page of the magazine. Also, we want to thank Ms. Amy Young, Head of School, for her belief in and support of this publication. Finally, we want to thank all the students who contributed to this edition and their parents for believing in Avenues Online. 

 

Please enjoy this issue. We hope it engages you, enlightens you, and informs you. 

 

Editorially Yours,

Yehuda Zilberstein (’23) and Fiona Poth (’24)