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Signs reminding community members to stay home if feeling ill and to follow COVID-19 protocols are posted all around campus. If students do experience such symptoms, they have the option to access online learning. 
Connecting safely: Remote learning options for COVID-19 related absences
A sign reminding community members to obey masking protocols is displayed on the door of the library. Other signs like this instructing students, faculty, staff and visitors to follow health and safety protocols in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are displayed around campus.
Two members of Archer community test positive for COVID-19
Anaiya Asomugha and her sophomore friends each lunch outside of the the Diana Meehan academic center. “At first I was really scared,” Asomugha said about attending school in-person. “But I identify as an extrovert, so I didn’t have trouble reaching out to people and was really happy when they reached out too.”
New to campus but not to Archer: Students transition into on-campus learning
A group of sophomore students converse at lunch during the first week of school. As new cell phone practices were introduced to the upper school during a virtual meeting, students look to engage with one another during free time while minimizing technology use.
Connection protection: New cell phone practices introduced to the upper school
​​Freshman Addie Myers and Natalie Huang study together in the student lounge during US-FLX block. Farley hopes students use this time to “connect with each other,” which Myers and Huang said they appreciate following a long year of online learning.
‘I think [this change] is really needed:’ Students share perspectives on new schedule for 2021-2022 school year
The week of May 24 was the seniors last week on campus. To celebrate, they ended Monday with a water battle to share some laughs and memories. This was a COVID-adapted version of the traditional fountain jump.
‘A chapter that’s closing — so another can open’: Seniors look ahead to college
Encouraging Women and girls through chess.
The lopsided-gender imbalance in chess: What players are doing to make chess more inclusive
Samantha Hazell-OBrien, who was recently appointed as Dean of Student Life, Equity and Inclusion for the 2021-2022 school year, teaches an English class at Marymount High School. Hazell-OBrien is excited for her new administrative role at Archer, but acknowledges that it will be different than working with students in the classroom.
Dean Decisions: Samantha Hazell-O’Brien selected as Dean of Student Life, Equity, Inclusion 2021-2022
This picture was taken at the Kedren Community Center Garden where one of Marley Mills gardens are located. Marley Mills said that she felt happy to see the plant starting to grow throughout the garden.
Through the eyes of Marley Mills: Flourish4Ever
A mother and her two children walk away from a Larayas Bodega, a local grocery store. The grocery store is located in the middle of downtown Los Angeles and puts an emphasis on healthy nutritious food. According to Feeding America, inn 2020, an estimated 265,000,000 were living with food insecurity, partially due to lack of access to healthful food and affordable groceries.
‘Striving to help’: Understanding the underlying issues of affordable food
Dancers Cara Banks, Chloe Terani and Daisy Marmur perform in doorways in an edited piece streamed during the remote Festival of Dance. The doorways were used as framing to represent the isolation people have faced this past year.
Annual Festival of Dance: Overcoming obstacles and finding hope
The annual Senior Art Exhibition is a culmination of a year’s worth of work, which gives senior artists a chance to share their work with the entirety of the Archer community. This year, each senior art student created a website to display their efforts as well as the chance to display a single piece in the Eastern Star Gallery amongst their peers.
Senior art exhibitions celebrate and recognize the work of the graduating class
Carey Mulligan is pictured as she steps into the role of Cassandra Thomas. Cassie is at a local bar waiting to go home, pretending to be intoxicated, with yet another man who intends to take advantage of her. Promising Young Woman which premiered in 2021 was nominated for five Oscars and won the award for Best Screen Play.
Review of ‘Promising Young Woman’: A struggling feminist seeking revenge
Upper school students watch a performance from the musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, on May 6 via Zoom. The students had the chance to preview the upper school musical and purchase tickets for streaming the following night at 7 p.m. “I was really, really impressed with how the whole production came together…and I am proud of the hard work put into it as well,” Isabelle Verdery (’23), who was cast as Janet, said.
‘A fruitful endeavor:’ The upper school puts on virtual performance of ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’
Archers 10th annual Film Festival took place on April 22 via Zoom. The festival was comprised of the three finalist films, keynote speakers and alumni appearances. The girls put it together and I get to sit there on the night and watch and have a wonderful time with everyone else, Steven Jacobson, Advisor to the Film Festival board said.
Lights, ‘Zoom’ Camera, Action: Archer Film Festival adapted to virtual setting for second year
Dancers Cara Banks, Chloe Terani and Daisy Marmur perform in doorways in an edited piece streamed during the remote Festival of Dance. The doorways were used as framing to represent the isolation people have faced this past year.
Annual Festival of Dance: Overcoming obstacles and finding hope
The annual Senior Art Exhibition is a culmination of a year’s worth of work, which gives senior artists a chance to share their work with the entirety of the Archer community. This year, each senior art student created a website to display their efforts as well as the chance to display a single piece in the Eastern Star Gallery amongst their peers.
Senior art exhibitions celebrate and recognize the work of the graduating class
Carey Mulligan is pictured as she steps into the role of Cassandra Thomas. Cassie is at a local bar waiting to go home, pretending to be intoxicated, with yet another man who intends to take advantage of her. Promising Young Woman which premiered in 2021 was nominated for five Oscars and won the award for Best Screen Play.
Review of ‘Promising Young Woman’: A struggling feminist seeking revenge
Upper school students watch a performance from the musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, on May 6 via Zoom. The students had the chance to preview the upper school musical and purchase tickets for streaming the following night at 7 p.m. “I was really, really impressed with how the whole production came together…and I am proud of the hard work put into it as well,” Isabelle Verdery (’23), who was cast as Janet, said.
‘A fruitful endeavor:’ The upper school puts on virtual performance of ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’
Archers 10th annual Film Festival took place on April 22 via Zoom. The festival was comprised of the three finalist films, keynote speakers and alumni appearances. The girls put it together and I get to sit there on the night and watch and have a wonderful time with everyone else, Steven Jacobson, Advisor to the Film Festival board said.
Lights, ‘Zoom’ Camera, Action: Archer Film Festival adapted to virtual setting for second year
The counter at Bianca displays the days pastries, ranging from banana bread to olive oil cake by the slice. Located at Platform LA, Bianca serves as both a bakery and restaurant for the Culver City area.
Review: Bianca Bakery brings Europe to your plate
Erewhons hot bar has a new selection of sides every day made fresh that morning. All their ingredients are sourced locally.
Review: Every Angelenos’ dream and addiction: Erewhon
A box of a dozen cookies from Cookie Good, the bakery in Santa Monica where junior Kelsey Thompson works. Thompson loves her job because she enjoys baking and working with others.
Junior Kelsey Thompson combines passion for baking with work at Cookie Good in Santa Monica
Chickpea tikka masala with red quinoa is a plant-based meal. If youre hitting a variety of different foods over the course of the day, different colored vegetables, grains [and] different healthy fats, then you shouldn’t have any problems, Salt Sugar Fat teacher Crystal Ferris said.
Veganism impacts American, Angeleno culture
Visitors of Downtown Los Angeles Grand Central Market check out restaurants. The market is home to more than 30 restaurants and different shops.
Review: Grand Central Market offers delicious food, unique experience
Junior Treasure Brown takes the number 1 spot on the podium after her victory in discus. I felt like I was on top of the world, Brown said. Brown along with sophomore Chloe Hayden, who placed 9th overall in the 400 meter, put Archer on the score board at the 2021 CIF Track and Field Finals.
CIF Spotlight: Archer track and field claims victory at 2021 Finals
From soccer to swimming, basketball to softball and tennis to track, Archer Athletics are culminating their seasons that were met with metal fortitude and joy according to Director of Athletics Kim Smith. COVID-19 didnt stop teams from training, practicing and competing in the 2020-2021 seasons.
A year of ‘silver linings’: Looking back at 2020-2021 season for Archer Athletics
College freshman Andrea Campos and her teammates come together in a huddle during a volleyball game. During first semester we didnt have a single practice altogether, Campos said. That was difficult for us, but I think our team did a good job of trying to arrange socially distanced activities outside to get to know each other. Campos is a setter on the Villanova volleyball team.
Once a Panther, always a Panther: Archer alumni continue their sports at the collegiate level
Senior spring athletes are upon their final meet, match and game. As their seasons come to an end, senior athletes characterize it as bittersweet and surreal season. They have worked through a season riddled with COVID-19 and uncertainty.
Springing into senior season: Senior athletes reflect on ‘bittersweet’ last season
Professional big wave surfer Bianca Valenti discusses her career as a professional big wave surfer, activist for gender equality and advocate for ocean conservation as the final speaker in the ALC’s Panther Speaker series. Her conversation ranged from mental toughness to fighting for equality across sports, with the hope to expand the conversation surrounding female empowerment.
Women of the waves: Final Panther Speaker Series features big wave surfer Valenti, Hamilton documentary
A truck sponsored by Plan C drives around rural Texas before the abortion ban. Plan C has been providing telemedicine resources for women to access abortions.
Column: Plan B failed; what’s Plan C?
Editor-in-Chief Vaughan Anoa’i and Features Editor Thea Leimone work on editing a story together in the Publication Lab. Anoai is serving as the Editor-in-Chief for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Letter from the Editor
On the left is my last Archer Student ID, twelfth grade, above my first ever Student ID, seventh grade; on the right is my first Oracle press pass. 2019, and my last Oracle press pass, 2022. Putting the IDs and press passes together makes me feel nostalgic, but also reminds me of how far I have come.
Commentary: Where’d all the time go?
I took this photo while walking on one of the many bridges in Zurich, Switzerland at the beginning of August. I feel that this photo represents the state of peace we feel when embracing the process of reflection.
Column: A summer of thinking
In the 2017 Womens March, women came together to continue the fight for gender equality. Recent events have proved the fight for female justice has only begun.
Column: Wake up, old man
A truck sponsored by Plan C drives around rural Texas before the abortion ban. Plan C has been providing telemedicine resources for women to access abortions.
Column: Plan B failed; what’s Plan C?
I took this photo while walking on one of the many bridges in Zurich, Switzerland at the beginning of August. I feel that this photo represents the state of peace we feel when embracing the process of reflection.
Column: A summer of thinking
In the 2017 Womens March, women came together to continue the fight for gender equality. Recent events have proved the fight for female justice has only begun.
Column: Wake up, old man
As school has returned to in-person learning on-campus, pictured is me sitting in the courtyard. For the last two years, our world has undergone a nationwide pandemic called COVID-19. Minorities who were most affected by this virus of hate, such as the Asian American community and more, have started and continued to speak out against the injustices they have faced.
Column: It’s nice to meet you
The California sample voter ballot provides a sample of the September ballot question. The California recall election is being described as unconstitutional by legal scholars under the US Constitution and California State Constitution.
Column: Vote no; Constitutional corruption in California election
Editor-in-Chief Vaughan Anoa’i and Features Editor Thea Leimone work on editing a story together in the Publication Lab. Anoai is serving as the Editor-in-Chief for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Letter from the Editor
On the left is my last Archer Student ID, twelfth grade, above my first ever Student ID, seventh grade; on the right is my first Oracle press pass. 2019, and my last Oracle press pass, 2022. Putting the IDs and press passes together makes me feel nostalgic, but also reminds me of how far I have come.
Commentary: Where’d all the time go?
Three neon signs illuminate the word Perfect in colors turquoise, yellow and white in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. My love-hate relationship with perfectionism has taken on a new meaning as I continue to evolve and grow older.
Op-Ed: My love-hate relationship with perfectionism
Graduating Editor-in-Chief Lola Lamberg stands in front of her locker in sixth grade (left) and poses for a photo in her senior blazer (right). There is a six year difference externally and internally between these two images, all thanks to Archer and the Oracle.
Letter from the Editor: Kisses, hugs and lots of love
Liberation Day May 5, 1945: my great grandma (woman with white circle around her face) and other prisoners were given new boots and clothes after being freed from Mauthausen by the Americans. My great-grandma later moved to the United States, settling in Brooklyn, New York.
Op-Ed: I am tired of my people being the punchline
Con(grad)ulations: Gift guide for the graduate
Con(grad)ulations: Gift guide for the graduate
The left cup, filled with matcha, and the right cup, filled with chai tea, steaming before being enjoyed. Although Chloe and Grace often bicker about which drink is superior, they have finally found common ground and can agree that both are valid ways to enjoy morning-time.
A battle of how to start the morning: Matcha vs. Chai tea latte
Gift guide: Just because I love you
Gift guide: Just because I love you
Gift guide: In the name of self-care
Gift guide: In the name of self-care
Gift Guide: For the significant other
Gift Guide: For the significant other
Letter to Editor: Mental Health Club: 8 Ways to stay occupied & healthy during social distancing
Letter to Editor: Mental Health Club: 8 Ways to stay occupied & healthy during social distancing
Letter to the Editor: Inspirational advocates have advice for you
Letter to the Editor: Inspirational advocates have advice for you
Letter to the Editor: Grin yourself a good day
Letter to the Editor: Grin yourself a good day
Letter to the Editor: Elementary, My Dear
Letter to the Editor: Elementary, My Dear
Letter to the Editor: FBI Teen Academy
Letter to the Editor: FBI Teen Academy
Rising seniors Chidimma Nwafor, Anny Rodriguez, Marley Mills and Andrea Ramirez pose for a photo together in the courtyard wearing their blue accessories. Ramirez holds blue bucket hats, which class reps bought for the entire rising senior class and senior mentors. On June 4, rising seniors spent Moving Up Day at school, commemorating their final hours as juniors.
‘A day to remember’: Rising seniors celebrate Moving Up Day
The Scoop S1 Ep 6 – Colonialism, Capitalism and Carbon Emissions
The week of May 24 was the seniors last week on campus. To celebrate, they ended Monday with a water battle to share some laughs and memories. This was a COVID-adapted version of the traditional fountain jump.
‘A chapter that’s closing — so another can open’: Seniors look ahead to college
This picture was taken at the Kedren Community Center Garden where one of Marley Mills gardens are located. Marley Mills said that she felt happy to see the plant starting to grow throughout the garden.
Through the eyes of Marley Mills: Flourish4Ever
The Scoop S1 Ep 5 - #COVID19: Archer teen volunteers for adolescent Pfizer trial
The Scoop S1 Ep 5 – #COVID19: Archer teen volunteers for adolescent Pfizer trial
The Scoop S1 Ep 6 – Colonialism, Capitalism and Carbon Emissions
The Scoop S1 Ep 5 - #COVID19: Archer teen volunteers for adolescent Pfizer trial
The Scoop S1 Ep 5 – #COVID19: Archer teen volunteers for adolescent Pfizer trial
The Scoop S1 Ep 4 – Transition of Power: Conversations about Democracy Part 2
The Scoop S1 Ep 4 – Transition of Power: Conversations about Democracy Part 2
The Scoop S1 Ep 3 –Transition of Power: Conversations about Democracy — Part 1
The Scoop S1 Ep 3 –Transition of Power: Conversations about Democracy — Part 1
The Scoop S1 Ep 2 –: The Scoop on Voices of Democracy
The Scoop S1 Ep 2 –: The Scoop on Voices of Democracy
The student news site of The Archer School for Girls

The Oracle
The student news site of The Archer School for Girls

The Oracle
Sydney Frank

Sydney Frank, Columnist

Sydney Frank has been a part of the Oracle since 2021. Her passion for learning about the world around her and her desire to help others inspired her to write a column about current events and their impact on her life. She hopes to educate those around her and bring new perspectives to light.

All content by Sydney Frank
Azel Alkadiri

[Photo] Azel Al-Kadiri

May 21, 2021
As school has returned to in-person learning on-campus, pictured is me sitting in the courtyard. For the last two years, our world has undergone a nationwide pandemic called COVID-19. Minorities who were most affected by this virus of hate, such as the Asian American community and more, have started and continued to speak out against the injustices they have faced.

Column: It’s nice to meet you

September 7, 2021
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