STAFF EDITORIAL
In a few short weeks, the Class of 2024 will graduate from Chadwick and depart for new horizons. We’ve already had our last first day of school, Homecoming, winter break and Social Justice Day, along with many more.
While some of us have been here for 13 years and others only two, Chadwick has clearly left a mark on all of us. While we are all sad to say goodbye, we will all still remain in the Chadwick community as alumni and look back on our Chadwick experience fondly.
As for the seniors of Mainsheet, we have all given our hearts and souls to our work for the school newspaper. We have fulfilled a number of roles, from
staff writer to section editor to Editor in Chief. Every story we’ve written, and every page we’ve edited, is a piece of us that we have given to the Chadwick
community.
From compelling music and book reviews to thoughtful opinion pieces, in-depth feature stories and mesmerizing Centerfolds and Backpages, the Class of ’24 has consistently contributed to the legacy of Chadwick’s signature publication.
This year, we have six seniors on the Mainsheet Editorial Board: Social Coordinator Emilie Alden, Arts and Entertainment Editor Alexis Martin, Opinions Editor Tish Melton, News Editor Alana Reyes, and Editors in Chief Parker Albarian and Abby Luong. And yet, all good things must come to an end. Volume 74, Issue 6, will be the last issue for this year’s seniors. It is the first 20-page issue in, well, forever … and includes our second satire issue.
We have all worked diligently to present this issue, dedicated to the Class of 2024. Thank you for letting us interview, write, read and laugh with you all! It
has been a team effort for any and all Mainsheet success!
I fell in love with The Mainsheet when I first joined my sophomore year. I loved writing about news topics or shows that I cared about, and Mainsheet truly changed my relationship with writing. In English class, I dreaded writing long poems or in-class essays. Yet, for Mainsheet, writing was fun. My love for my role on the staff leads me to plan to join my school newspaper in college. Nevertheless, I don’t think I’ll find another community like this one. Bonded by late nights writing and editing articles, the camaraderie built between The Mainsheet staff is like no other. Mainsheet has been an instrumental part of my high school experience. I am so thankful for EICs Abby and Parker as well as our advisor Mr. Fellenzer for making my time here so memorable. Live, laugh, love Mainsheet!!!! –Emilie Alden
In my sophomore year, I joined The Mainsheet staff and the Journalism class simultaneously. Then-EIC Austin Kim let me write about Frank Ocean, and that sold me on joining! I could write about anything I was interested in, whether it was in music or current media. Mainsheet gave me a space to express my unsolicited
thoughts on anything! I loved getting to know the Chadwick community through interviews, and learning how to tell stories effectively. Now as a section edi-
tor and a three-year member of The Mainsheet’s staff, I know that Chadwick’s Mainsheet will always have a special place in my heart for bringing together the most unique and fun individuals. So much gratitude to our amazing EICs, Parker and Abby, and to “Fellz” for everything they’ve done! #Mainsheet4Lyfe
–Alexis Martin
For the past two years, I don’t think I’ve gone a day without complaining about The Mainsheet. My friends are sick of my whining about long layout weekends and tired eyes from formatting page after page after page … and yet, I find myself so sad to leave it. There’s something about The Mainsheet community that has made us a family; maybe it’s shared exhaustion or maybe it’s undeniable hard work from so many parties to meet a common goal. Either way, The Mainsheet has been such a big part of my Upper School experience, and I wouldn’t trade my Tuesday afternoons or Saturday/Sunday mornings for the world. #mainsheetFL –Tish Melton
If you told my freshman self that I now write for The Mainsheet, let alone spend my Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays designing its pages as a two-year section editor, I’d be gagged … to say the least! I joined sophomore year on a whim, when an extracurricular activity that required writing felt like the Ninth Circle of Hell. But there was something about sitting on the Roessler basement floor around a spinny whiteboard. It hasn’t been through the newspaper that I’ve found my love for journalism: I’ve found it through the deep friendships it has cultivated while spending hours parsing through every pixel of the layout, roundtable editing and taste-testing Trader Joe’s products. I will say it still pains me every time I delete an Oxford comma. I am so proud of everything we’ve accomplished together. And to the next generation of editors: Invest in some blue light glasses. Thank you for everything, Mainsheet family! –Alana Reyes
For me, Mainsheet started as a way to pass the time during COVID. It gave me a much-needed connection to the outside world. During lockdown, sometimes the South Bay felt like the “outside world.” I was able to connect with my community during a time when for many, connection felt impossible. Journalism has taught me to question, and through writing, I have developed the skills to make educated decisions. I can own my opinions because I have learned to do the research that is required to form an opinion. I am so grateful for our advisor, USC Prof. Jeff Fellenzer, our amazing staff, section editors and EICs of the past. They have
made the 1,050 hours of pain, joy and exhaustion worth it! The Mainsheet has taught me skills and lessons that I could never trade. #mainYEET –Parker Albarian
My first Mainsheet meeting was on Zoom in 2020. When we came out of lockdown the next year, I began writing and editing articles and pages … the full Mainsheet experience! That year, the EICs, Austin Kim and Keena Boondicharern, taught us everything we needed to know—from how to use basic Photoshop and InDesign to what happens on Chadwick’s campus after dark. It’s been so fun to spend time with everyone on the staff these past four years. Whether through simply staying updated on current events or actually writing for a newspaper, I hope I will in-
definitely continue my experience in journalism, but I’ll always look back at my beginning with the Mainsheet fondly! Good luck to next year’s editorial staff, and I hope you all enjoy your experience as much as I have! #mainsheetforlife
–Abby Luong
The Mainsheet 