Brianna Bellinghieri ’22 After shutting down campus on March 19th, EA has put forth great effort in continuing the education of its students by transitioning to online learning, which will continue through the year after Governor’s Wolf’s shutdown of schools for the remainder of the year. Not only has this taken the form of online classes, but EA is providing Chapel services, mental health resources, and technological help. One service that EA offers is “Online Chapel”. Regarding this resource, Vestry member Rachel Letts ‘22 says, “There is definitely a lot of confusion going on right now considering everything that’s changed,…
Author: TECHALERT
Ashley Kennedy ‘22 Senior Jackson Tuma ‘20 has played a big role in the success of Episcopal’s boys’ varsity lacrosse team throughout his four years of high school. His abilities on and off the field have allowed him to be a great role model for everyone on the team. There is no doubt that he will continue to push himself and be a leader during his one year at the Salisbury School. Tuma started playing lacrosse when he was in Kindergarten with a push from his dad. He has focused on playing attack and midfield positions but has found himself…
Albert Chen ’23 Prom and Graduation are milestone events in a student’s senior year and the EA administration remains committed to finding ways for the 2020 senior class to experience them, despite the campus officially being closed until the end of the school year by Governor’s Wolf’s executive order. The Haverford School had decided to close school well before Governor Wolf’s order and therefore had already decided to hold a virtual graduation for its seniors. Other colleges and high schools are debating between virtualizing, postponing, or canceling events like graduation. EA, unlike Haverford and other schools, seems to be favoring…
Maggie Lo ’23 | Gianna Trala ’23 EA, the College Board, and schools across the globe have made drastic changes to assessments to alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on students. EA’s leaders have decided that each student’s grades up to March 12th will be calculated into a “baseline” grade. This “baseline” grade will weigh the first semester grade as two-thirds (66.7%) and the second semester grade through March 12th as one-third (33.3%). For all of the work that is assigned and completed after March 12th, students will be graded based on the new engagement rubric. The levels include…
Maggie Lo ’23 | Gianna Trala ’23 EA, the College Board, and schools across the globe have made drastic changes to assessments to alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on students. EA’s leaders have decided that each student’s grades up to March 12th will be calculated into a “baseline” grade. This “baseline” grade will weigh the first semester grade as two-thirds (66.7%) and the second semester grade through March 12th as one-third (33.3%). For all of the work that is assigned and completed after March 12th, students will be graded based on the new engagement rubric. The levels include…
John Bishop ‘22 COVID-19, the disease that has caused the world to go into lockdown and stop all major events all across the world, including the cancellation of all sports. The domino effect of sports shutting down began when the NBA suspended their season due to a player testing positive for COVID-19. Soon thereafter, all college sports were canceled, including March Madness, which devastated basketball fans, the start of the MLB season was postponed, the rest of the NHL season was postponed, the Masters was postponed, Wimbledon was canceled, and even the Olympics has now been postponed until next year.…
Alexis Fuscaldo ‘22 Aside from being a senior on the track team, Kemi is also a tri-captain of the girls’ track team alongside teammates Laura Null and Casey Kinniry. Kemi started running track in fifth grade when she attended St. Dorothy’s School in Drexel Hill as an activity where she could spend time and have fun with her friends. However, after a practice when all team members had to complete a time trial, Kemi’s coach realized her ability to run fast and told her that she “would be an awesome addition to the sprint group.” Each practice, Kemi runs the…
Riya Mukherjee ‘23 In the midst of living with the realities of COVID-19 and the recent news of the campus closure, our community has begun to take charge living with limitations. The Agnes Irwin School has not only transferred their learning to an online platform but have also hosted a virtual dance for their seniors. “Even though it was short and not close to the real deal it was nice to have one. Instead of being sad at home about not having a prom we were all able to dress up and talk to each other and have some fun,”…
Kathleen Mark ‘21 The COVID-19 situation has been challenging for all departments regarding how to make the transition from real class to virtual class; this has been especially difficult for visual arts classes like my own. The art classes at Episcopal are studio-based, and a lot of us benefit from teacher critiques and collaboration in person. My class in particular had been planning out a large project for the rest of the year; we had been building many of our ideas around the annual ArtsFest. But, with school closed for the rest of the year, all that has drastically changed.…
Caden Collins ‘23 | Eshika Tangri ‘23 Students walking up the front stairwell in the Upper School may have noticed an in-progress mural on the wall leading up to the second floor. This mural, designed and created by members of EA’s Install-It Club, which is focused on implementing more art into EA’s campus, is a project for the English department. Hilary Hutchison, Upper School art teacher and faculty advisor of the Install-It Club, says, “Mrs. Barr heard about the Install-It Art Club and reached out to the lead club curators, specifically Jared Semisch ‘21, to talk about her interest in having…
Anjali Bose ‘20 Dominic Minicozzi, well known in the EA community as an actor, dancer, and instrumentalist, is Scholium’s artist of the month of April. Minicozzi’s interest and participation in the arts began at a young age. “I’ve been actually doing theatre productions since I was six years old. I started doing community theatre, and I did A Christmas Carol, and my first role ever was Tiny Tim. I did that show for many years, until I got too big to play him. I stepped into the role of Peter, and a bunch of the other Cratchets. For most of…
Gianna Cilluffo ‘22 | Abigail Gallo ‘22 | Mia Cabral ‘22 Just a little over 10 years ago, many teachers instructing us today were sitting in our seats learning at the Episcopal Academy as students. The EA community, especially their teachers, inspired these students to return to the school in order to be a role model for current students. Since 1785, EA has been inspiring the leaders of tomorrow. A few of these leaders have made their way back to EA as teachers. Ryan Klein, Michael Whalen, and Grace Limaye are all graduates of Episcopal who have been welcomed back…
Kevin Sporici ‘20 The newspaper industry has significantly declined within the last couple decades, and many local papers may find themselves struggling to stay afloat. So much can be found online, and newspapers are becoming less of a reality. Arnie Shiva ‘20 says, “It doesn’t seem like physical newspapers are really relevant anymore because everything is online. News is much more accessible over the Internet.” Today, the most successful online newspapers are big organizations that cover huge stories across the nation. However, though one can easily access a story about a national issue, it is becoming increasingly harder to find…
Noble Brigham ‘20 The controversial EITC tax credit program is business as usual for Episcopal and other independent schools in Pennsylvania, but is generally murky to students, parents, and the average donor. In theory, the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program allows corporations to donate to private school scholarship funds, thus lifting deserving children from failing public schools. In exchange for a two-year commitment, donors get to write off 90% of their donation from their state income tax payment. If used conscientiously, the reasoning is that it can help students and add valuable diversity to private schools. However, some public school…
Maiah Islam ‘21 | Molly Limaye ‘21 Feedback plays a critical role in determining whether adaptations to new contexts are successful and this seems more true than ever in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. After two weeks of online learning, EA students have several suggestions on improving their class experiences. Given the drastic changes to EA’s daily schedule over the past few weeks, many students appreciate when teachers try to maintain some semblance of a normal class structure. As Allie Sillo ‘21 describes, “We’ve grown accustomed to a certain style of learning with each teacher and it’s nice that…
Maiah Islam ‘21 | Molly Limaye ‘21 Feedback plays a critical role in determining whether adaptations to new contexts are successful and this seems more true than ever in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. After two weeks of online learning, EA students have several suggestions on improving their class experiences. Given the drastic changes to EA’s daily schedule over the past few weeks, many students appreciate when teachers try to maintain some semblance of a normal class structure. As Allie Sillo ‘21 describes, “We’ve grown accustomed to a certain style of learning with each teacher and it’s nice that…
Grace Haupt ‘20 There isn’t a word or phrase to perfectly capture the mix of disappointment, longing, and gratitude that the student body feels since quarantine began. Most missed are the friendly faces seen in the hallways and on the fields everyday. Michael Wennemer ’21 captures the general sadness of the student body, as the two things he misses most about EA are “seeing…friends every day and being able to compete on the…field with my teammates.” The little moments, like catching up with someone in the lounge or exchanging high fives on the green or laying on your dean’s couch,…
Ava Hendrickson ‘22 | Kathryn Lynn ‘22 Weeks before school actually closed on March 12 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, EA’s administrators were preparing for the transition. In regards to the decision to transfer to online learning, T.J. Locke, Head of School, said, “The biggest decision was to close. At the time, we were waiting for a confirmed case, and we didn’t have one, so that was a big decision, but we felt that there was a growing anxiety in our community.” Because of this anxiety, and the importance of “flattening the curve,” the school closed before having a confirmed case…
Nicholas Christos ’20 *As published on Smerconish.com As the general election nears, Former Vice President Joe Biden’s command in key states points to his strength: a broad coalition of moderates, suburban women, older voters, and African Americans, while Sanders dominates among the young and very liberal. In the 2016 Democratic primaries, Hillary Clinton had a similar coalition as Biden, likely due to the fact that they are somewhat similar candidates. Both are white, in their 70s, somewhat moderate in ideology, Obama administration officials, and have been in politics for decades. They both are considered “establishment” candidates, with broad endorsements from…
Abby Gallo ‘22 | Ashley Kennedy ‘22 Course variety is a constant part of the academic planning EA faculty engage in annually. As the 2020 school year comes to a close, new courses for the next school year have been created, especially in the Science, History, and Art Departments. New courses available next year include Honors Identity and Culture, Bio-Chem Pharmaceuticals, Astrophysics, Honors Woodworking and Fabrication, and Honors 2D Art 5. The Astrophysics course, which will be taught by Upper School Physics teacher Dan Baxter, will focus on the exploration and understanding of space across the years by building off of…