Claire Collins ‘23 | Rachel Lederman ‘24 Eight new faculty members have joined the Upper School this year. These new faculty members include US English Teacher Anna Safford, US Religion Teacher Mike Sheehan, US History Teacher Jerold Wright, US Physics Teacher Sergio Montano, US English Teacher Ash Shah, US Psychologist Caroline Graham, and US Learning Specialist Courtney Wisniewski. Each spoke to the Scholium recently to provide insight as to why they ultimately chose EA and how their backgrounds prepared them for their respective teaching positions. Montano, a new member of the EA community, attended Haverford College where he worked as…
Author: TECHALERT
Brendan Schlitt ‘24 | Colin Schlitt ‘24 New printing procedures and WiFi technology at EA this year have created controversy among the student body. Director of IT Huy Tran explains the changes, “Large printers and copiers are almost always on a 5-year lease with a leasing company. Our previous lease agreement expired over the summer, so updating the printer fleet was not an option.” The use of the new printing application, PaperCut, helps “make printing at EA more efficient and reduces large amounts of paper waste every year.” Co-President of the Student Alliance for Sustainability Riley Thibodeau ‘23 feels that…
Gautam Ketkar ‘24 Snacks are back after a grueling year of COVID restrictions! Every activity block, snacks such as fruits, muffins, popcorn, and the Friday classic Philly Soft Pretzels, are placed in the courtyard or lunchroom ready to satisfy hungry students. For Jack Riley ‘24, the nostalgia of snack time hit home, “It is incredibly difficult to focus on an empty stomach and some mornings, there isn’t enough time to eat a good breakfast. Having a snack after the first period helps me keeps me more engaged throughout the day.” Likewise, Mia Cabral ‘22 states, “The food provided during snack…
Jack Logan ’24 EA’s star wide receiver, Neo Vossschulte ‘22, is known for living the stripes, bringing the EA community success and unity both on and off the field. His commitment to football and his teammates unifies the team and helps them succeed as a group, making him a true team leader. Ever since Vossschulte started playing football in 3rd grade, he has been in love with the sport. He stated, “Being around football my whole life after that really inspired me to start playing.” He later went on to say, “I really love the physical nature of football and…
Emily Staid ‘22 The Thunderdome, the name of EA’s student section in the stands at sports events, is re-emerging in full force to show support for all of Episcopal’s sports teams. After a year of vacant student sections and quiet crowds due to concerns about the possible spread of Covid-19, Episcopal tried to think of new ways to connect the crowd. Sadly, the lack of Thunderdome enthusiasm led to a disconnect between sports teams and the student body last year. Episcopal is now looking towards the future and is permitting full in-person attendance, allowing the student section to return in…
Whether she is playing for EA’s Varsity Field Hockey team or the US National team, Ashley Sessa ‘22, brings her all to every game, practice, and competition. She encourages and inspires her teammates to improve themselves every day. At age four, Sessa was inspired to play field hockey by her mom and she immediately fell in love with the sport. Three years later, Sessa joined her club team, WC Eagles and she still continues to play for them to this day. Sessa entered Episcopal her sophomore year and quickly earned a spot on the Varsity team. Sessa elaborates, “I saw…
Alexis Fuscaldo ‘22 EA is known for its gorgeous fields and exceptional athletic facilities. The grass on our campus green is always cut to perfection and captures the eye of anyone who passes by. Brendan Schlitt ‘24 comments, “There hasn’t been a day that I have not seen the EA’s grounds crew laying down fertilizer, mowing the lawn, or taking care of the athletic fields.” When the grounds crew arrived back on campus late this summer, however, they found that the boys’ and girls’ varsity soccer fields were ruined. EA Athletic Director, Todd Fairlie explained that, “There had been a…
Jenny Bui ‘23 | Maggie Lo ‘23 Hurricane Ida, a nine-day, stage-four hurricane that was named the second-most damaging and intensifying hurricane since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, made its debut on August 26th, 2021. It stemmed from a tropical wave in the Caribbean Sea on August 23rd at around 11 am. On August 29th, the hurricane reached Louisiana and made landfall near Port Fourchon, according to World Vision. When it reached the coasts, the storm generated sustained winds of up to 150 mph, causing extreme damage. The storm continued to travel east, making its way to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New…
Arjun Bhamra ‘22 | Maggie Lo ‘23 The construction of a new security post and the addition of a speed bump may be among the reasons why traffic entering Episcopal is increasing, and EA students are unhappy about the delays. Students are annoyed with the significant amounts of traffic in the morning. Ashley Tang ‘22 says, “I live two minutes away and it takes me 10 minutes to get here, without fail.” Other members of the community, however, have identified ways of avoiding the traffic. Allison Kurz, V Form Dean, notes, “If you don’t want to sit in traffic, you…
Xinxin Fang ‘24 The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan is a topic of conversation throughout the nation, and some EA students have formed opinions, while others are unaware of the issue at hand. To describe briefly the situation, over the past two decades, the United States spent trillions in training soldiers to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. After two peace treaties and a change of presidency, President Joe Biden ordered the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops by April 31, 2021, which finished on April 30, 2021. However, a statement by Gen. Mark Milley notes that “There was nothing that…
Xinxin Fang ‘24 The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan is a topic of conversation throughout the nation, and some EA students have formed opinions, while others are unaware of the issue at hand. To describe briefly the situation, over the past two decades, the United States spent trillions in training soldiers to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. After two peace treaties and a change of presidency, President Joe Biden ordered the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops by April 31, 2021, which finished on April 30, 2021. However, a statement by Gen. Mark Milley notes that “There was nothing that…
Kat Barber ‘23 | Elizabeth Boruff ‘23 Outward Bound, an important bonding experience for EA’s classes in years past, has been another pandemic loss, but a group of EA faculty created a team-building program for this year’s freshmen in the hope of filling the gap. Izzy Rozes ‘24 says of her freshman year, “I think without Outward Bound, it was definitely harder to get to know all the new kids. [A leadership program] might have helped. I think it would have brought us closer together earlier.” Kelly wanted to avoid this, saying, “When I found out we had to move…
Rick Chen ‘24 Diversity, equity, and inclusion issues are going to be more important than ever at EA this year. EA has implemented changes to their curriculum and other aspects of student life, and Upper School DEI Student Council members and diversity-centered affinity groups are also continuing to increase their DEI focus. One major initiative involves altering course curriculums to better address issues of diversity and inclusion, especially in the required Freshman Seminar Class. In last year’s course, seminar lectures were centered around a variety of topics, including diversity, racism, and xenophobia. Izzy Rozes ‘24 comments, “It was really nice…
Aryav Dhar ‘24 Black Main Line Speaks (BMLS) is an organization based in Philadelphia whose primary purpose is to raise awareness about issues of diversity and racism in private schools around the Main Line. Alumni of private schools in the area run BMLS as “a platform where Black Main Line community members could share their experiences with racism and injustice”, according to their website. Ayinde Tate, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at EA, adds that Black Main Line Speaks’ purpose is “to amplify the voices of Black students from different independent schools on the Main Line.” The founders of…
Gianna Cilluffo ’22 and Cecilia Murphy ’22 “Lifting weights makes women huge. FALSE. Eating cupcakes makes women huge,” reads the sign on the Episcopal Academy weightroom’s office window. Messages like these are too often overlooked in our everyday language. Even small statements, like this sign, can be insensitive and triggering to those struggling with and recovering from eating disorders, and when combined with the constant pressures of social media and toxic culture, they can amount to serious harm. According to Mayo Clinic, “Eating disorders are serious conditions related to persistent eating behaviors that negatively impact your health, your emotions, and…
Maggie Dugery ‘23 Sarah Kotopka ‘23 The effects of Hurricane Ida have been felt across the entire country in the past several weeks, including Philadelphia’s Boathouse Row when the hurricane flooded the Schuylkill River on Thursday, September 2nd. Structures located near and on the river suffered extensive damage. Boats, important electrical equipment, and more essential components for rowing crew require repairs which could alter crew team practice in the future. Molly Konopka, Latin teacher and Head Crew Coach, explains the impact Ida had on the boathouse, saying, “The water was chin high in the boat bays under the house. Since…
Maggie Dugery ‘23 Sarah Kotopka ‘23 The effects of Hurricane Ida have been felt across the entire country in the past several weeks, including Philadelphia’s Boathouse Row when the hurricane flooded the Schuylkill River on Thursday, September 2nd. Structures located near and on the river suffered extensive damage. Boats, important electrical equipment, and more essential components for rowing crew require repairs which could alter crew team practice in the future. Molly Konopka, Latin teacher and Head Crew Coach, explains the impact Ida had on the boathouse, saying, “The water was chin high in the boat bays under the house. Since…
Henry Kovan ‘23 Roughly a third of EA graduates go on to play sports at the collegiate level every year. Some EA alumni have even competed professionally and internationally. These athletes have proven to be great assets to their respective college programs. This comes as no surprise given the particularly stiff competition these students have already competed against at the high-school level. On the women’s side, some recent stand-out athletes include midfielder for the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Lacrosse Team, Olivia Dirks ‘19. In her first year of Division I competition playing for Penn State, Dirks was named…
Henry Kovan ‘23 Roughly a third of EA graduates go on to play sports at the collegiate level every year. Some EA alumni have even competed professionally and internationally. These athletes have proven to be great assets to their respective college programs. This comes as no surprise given the particularly stiff competition these students have already competed against at the high-school level. On the women’s side, some recent stand-out athletes include midfielder for the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Lacrosse Team, Olivia Dirks ‘19. In her first year of Division I competition playing for Penn State, Dirks was named…
Julia Memmo ’22 “Radium Girls” was announced by the Domino Club to be the Fall Play for the 2021-2022 school year. Based on a true story, the play follows a group of female workers whose jobs are painting the dials of clocks in a factory. After unsanitary working conditions involving the consumption of radium, many of the lead characters become sick and file a lawsuit. Due to remaining COVID protocols, the play will adapt to fit the restrictions and as a result, it will look different than a typical performance. Dan Clay, the Upper and Middle School Theatre and Dance…