John Bishop ‘22 EA/Haverford/AIS weekend will happen this year even if it looks drastically different than it has in years past. Although there will be a football game, EA will miss the crowds of cheering spectators, alumni walking the grounds, concession stands selling food and EA gear, and certainly students rushing the football field if EA wins the sweater. Regarding EA’s four decade-long athletic tradition, Todd Fairlie, Athletic Director and Varsity Football Head Coach, states, “We will not have a traditional day this year. I don’t see us including the sweater or the banner.” He continues, “Our main concern was…
Author: TECHALERT
Mahliat Tamrat ‘23 A growing concern that students and teachers will show COVID-like symptoms with the upcoming cold and flu season has the potential to make COVID tracking difficult. Mike Letts, Head of Upper School, details how the colder weather may impact all members of the EA community saying, “Especially as it gets more chilly, we are going to have more students and faculty inside, and there will be more coughs and runny noses, which will concern all of us.” Caden Collins ‘23 is worried about the possibility of confusion, noting, “I’m really nervous about the cold season that’s approaching…
Elizabeth Boruff ‘23 | Maggie Lo ‘23 The political views of EA’s student body have not significantly changed since the last presidential election in 2016. Now, as then, EA has a roughly even split between those who affiliate with Republicans and those who affiliate with Democrats. Michael Letts, Head of Upper School, shares, “I wouldn’t say that as a community of students or as a community of faculty that our political views lean one way or the other. We’re pretty balanced like most communities. I think there are students who tend to be more conservative and students who tend to…
Josephine Buccini ‘21
Lily Rosenberg ‘22 Nikki Marzella ‘22 is the October Artist of the Month for her work in woodshop. Marzella illustrates her love and dedication for the subject by constantly working on projects outside of class and demonstrating a strong connection with her teacher. John Binstock, Woodshop teacher, comments on Marzella’s hard work, stating, “Nikki is a focused student who spends her class time productively working on her projects. She is one of the more experienced students in the Honors Woodworking class, which allows her to independently develop her skills and craftsmanship while helping her classmates.” Marzella’s strong relationship with Binstock…
Mia Cabral ‘22 | Ava Hendrickson ‘22 The choir program has had to completely readjust its plan for this year because of the difficulties singing poses to health and safety. As Will Hopkins ‘21, one of the choir presidents, describes, “With singing there’s a higher risk because your air spreads farther.” Despite this challenge, the choir program as a whole, led by director Jim Erwin, has been working to accomplish as much as they would have in any other year. That being said, the difficulties posed by COVID-19 on choir have brought both beneficial and unfortunate effects. Singing spreads aerosol…
Mia Cabral ‘22 | Ava Hendrickson ‘22 The choir program has had to completely readjust its plan for this year because of the difficulties singing poses to health and safety. As Will Hopkins ‘21, one of the choir presidents, describes, “With singing there’s a higher risk because your air spreads farther.” Despite this challenge, the choir program as a whole, led by director Jim Erwin, has been working to accomplish as much as they would have in any other year. That being said, the difficulties posed by COVID-19 on choir have brought both beneficial and unfortunate effects. Singing spreads aerosol…
Fiona Riley ‘22 The EA Art Department has embraced the “Fill the Walls with Hope” project to support the expression of powerful messages through creativity. Susan Coote, Gallery Coordinator, contextualized the project, noting that this open-call wheat-paste poster project allows for student artists to express their creativity and share powerful messages. Coote noted that the community will be “creating exhibitions and presentations involving visual art, creative writing, and performances,” and in that sense, David Sigel’s 2D art class’s involvement is only a portion of the entire project. Created by the artist and activist Mark Stranquist, “Fill the Walls with Hope”…
Mia Cabral ‘22 | Ava Hendrickson ‘22 Beautiful artwork of multiple mediums is normally displayed in the Crawford Campus Center Gallery, but because 2020 has held many surprises and challenges, the gallery has needed to adapt to the new circumstances. Rather than avoiding the difficulties of the year, Mrs. Coote, the Gallery Coordinator, is finding ways to incorporate both COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement into the gallery. Coote, inspired by Mural Arts Philadelphia’s project “EMERGE,” connected with the organization to bring a version of the project to EA. “EMERGE” is an artistic campaign that looks to incorporate a…
Xinxin Fang ‘24Jack Celluci ‘24 Haverford Headmaster Dr. John Nagl has recently come under fire by parents and students as well as members of the greater community for a controversial letter he co-authored which connotes an anti-Trump stance. His letter led to criticism about the expression of his political views with the fact that he is meant to be the representative for the Haverford school. Alumnus of the Haverford School George Geer ‘96 was one of the many who commented on the matter posted on This Is Lower Merion and Narberth online newspaper saying that, “[Dr. Nagl] made a mistake…
EA first announced that the school would hold virtual classes until October 8th. On September 11th, the administration announced that EA would hold in-person school starting September 21st. The school drafted an elaborate reopening plan to ensure the safety of our community. Here are thoughts of EA faculty, parents, and students on the decisions made. Teachers/Admin: Zach Richards, Senior Form Dean, P Luca ‘33 “I am actually comfortable with the schools plan, I’m comfortable with initially starting out virtual and following the reccom we got from the CHOP policy lab and the Chester county health department. I think it made…
Staff Editorial As Episcopal Academy students growing up in an era of false news and disinformation, we must learn how to determine when information is reliable. Our generation lives in a world where we are constantly exposed to news through our cell phones and social media, making it possible to create and falsify news, spread misinformation, or warp the truth of a story without fact checking. Especially in such a tumultuous and polarizing year with the COVID-19 pandemic and a presidential election, it is imperative that students learn to check their sources before further spreading false information that could have…
Myles Davis ‘22 Shut downs of high schools and collegiate sports programs across the country because of COVID-19 have dramatically impacted the recruitment process. Malcolm Folk and Aiden Chavis, EA football teammates, are among those affected.
In addition to being a skillful athlete, Lim is also an excellent role model who helps the team improve every day. He explains, “As a captain, I make sure I lead everyone and help everyone perform to their very best, both in meets and in practice.” Due to COVID-19, competition will be delayed until 2021, but Lim says that “the team is prepared, and I am optimistic that we will have a competitive season.” Zachary Richards, Boys’ Varsity Spring Track Head Coach, is proud of Lim and his achievements: “It takes a unique person to become that good at a…
Stefania Calastri ‘23Jack Crowley ‘24Gavin Schmidt ‘24 Adjunct is a word many students are hearing this year because EA has made several additions to the faculty, largely due to pandemic class size limits. New members of the Upper School include adjunct classics teachers Betsy Spear and Sheherazade Khan, science teachers Susie Lim and Jeffrey Rubel, interim learning specialist Renee Hartey, adjunct English teacher Josh Hsu, and adjunct Spanish teacher Pam Rudolph. Hartey, the temporary learning specialist while Alyson Kurz is on maternity leave, says, “EA has made my adjustment into this community as smooth as possible by frequently checking in…
Aiden Chavis ‘21 When Scholium asked me if I would be willing to comment about the Black Lives Matter protests of the summer, I at first did not really know what I would say. These past few months have been a whirlwind of emotions for me. Being asked to comment about it pushed me to look back through my journal and I discovered something I wrote as a 7th grader at Episcopal in 2016: “3/3/16 Entry #1 section 1 Tension in the country is rising and debates are sparking more and more flames. Isis, the election, and the ever ‘controversial’…
Clare Collins ‘23 Alex Gobran ‘23 Community service at EA, like many service organizations, is trying to do more than ever right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the virus affecting the most vulnerable of populations, Philadelphia has faced much adversity during this pandemic. Rebecca Brinks, EA Community Service Coordinator, emphasizes the importance of community service and advocates for student education on imperative issues that can be improved through outreach. She notes, “One of the most pressing needs is food insecurity because there are so many people whose economics have changed because of COVID. Food is always a need.”…
Gianna Trala ‘23 Kathryn Lynn ‘22 Aaron Tang ‘24 Club meetings, like many other aspects of daily life at EA, have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As administrators and students adapt to a new schedule, student organizations have sought to reestablish their in-person club meetings. EA clubs have traditionally met during Lunch, Activity or Domino block. This year, every student is assigned to a different lunch time, so Lunch block club meetings are no longer a viable option. Additionally, with fifteen-minute passing periods for social distancing, the daily schedule no longer includes the traditional morning Activity block. Instead, the…
Nayan Shankaran ‘24 College admissions is always a stressful process, but this year’s seniors are even more anxious due to a variety of COVID-19 pandemic related uncertainties. Students across the country are struggling to learn about colleges without campus visits, deciding whether to take standardized tests in light of new test-optional policies, and worrying if deferrals by the Class of 2020 will mean fewer spots for the Class of 2021. Despite these concerns, the EA College Counseling Office believes that this year’s application cycle will be largely the same as in previous years — deadlines and application materials are unchanged,…