Step Cannusio ’16, Kyle Sacchetta ’16: Episcopal Academy Football plays The Haverford School in a cutthroat game on EA/Haverford Day that has been the hallmark of the team’s season for years. The team practices day in and day out thinking about the challenge that awaits them at the end of the season. Senior captain, Jake Martillotti ’15 has certainly prepared for this game. He and his teammates have practiced hard with full intention of coming out with a win. When asked how the team has prepared for this game, Martillotti said, “We have put hours of preparation into studying film,…
Author: TECHALERT
Alexis Reape ’16: Install-It, the Episcopal Academy’s newest art club, meets on Mondays at lunch in Room 119, the 3-D Design Studio, in the Crawford Campus Center. Its club members strive to display student work beyond the Crawford Campus Center. Student curator Nellie Konopka ‘16 explained, “Our mission is to bring arts outside of the campus center… to prove that art is part of our campus and not just part of the art center.” Install-It is comprised of Hilary Hutchison, Faculty Advisor and Middle and Upper School Art teacher; student curators Nellie Konopka ‘16, Charlie Jordan ‘16, Piper Hartman ‘16;…
Jessica Brady ’18, Julia Thompson ’16: Bella Voce, a new all female a capella group, will make its debut at the Episcopal Academy this year. Seniors Barbara Maritsis ’15, Emma Smith ’15, and Josie Rider ’15, founded Bella Voce in order to create a female singing group that any girl can take part in. This idea came about last spring and it has come into fruition this year. “We decided to start a female a capella group because Stripes is strictly all male and we felt that the school needed a female presence. I don’t think anyone gave it much…
Maddie Hughes ’16: Music of the Month: If you’re looking for new pop music to indulge in this month, Taylor Swift’s new album 1989 came out on October 27th. Catchy, energized tracks such as “Shake It Off” and “Out of the Woods” will surely get stuck in your head and leave you wanting more. More music to listen to this month is the new single Don’t Wait by Mapei. The vocals on the track are memorably unique, and the beat is also a standout. It’s a good song for any occasion, ranging from focusing on writing that essay to getting…
Maddie Hughes ’16: Music of the Month: If you’re looking for new pop music to indulge in this month, Taylor Swift’s new album 1989 came out on October 27th. Catchy, energized tracks such as “Shake It Off” and “Out of the Woods” will surely get stuck in your head and leave you wanting more. More music to listen to this month is the new single Don’t Wait by Mapei. The vocals on the track are memorably unique, and the beat is also a standout. It’s a good song for any occasion, ranging from focusing on writing that essay to getting…
Carolyn Bell ’16, Laura Zecca ’16: After a two-year hiatus, Arts Fest will be returning to EA with some new changes through the help of the teachers in the Art Department and six members of the Da Vinci club. Changes include limiting the festivities to the period only between 12:45 and 2:45 and adding a condition—students will travel with their advisories rather than travel freely on campus. Hilary Hutchinson, Upper School art teacher, noted that students may be disappointed with the day’s reconfigurations. Previously, “It was more of a day of fun in the sun and less about celebrating the arts,”…
Carolyn Bell ’16, Laura Zecca ’16: After a two-year hiatus, Arts Fest will be returning to EA with some new changes through the help of the teachers in the Art Department and six members of the Da Vinci club. Changes include limiting the festivities to the period only between 12:45 and 2:45 and adding a condition—students will travel with their advisories rather than travel freely on campus. Hilary Hutchinson, Upper School art teacher, noted that students may be disappointed with the day’s reconfigurations. Previously, “It was more of a day of fun in the sun and less about celebrating the arts,”…
Spirit Week, as the name implies, is one filled with both school and team spirit. Steeped in tradition, Spirit Week also corresponds with the season of giving, which is manifested in the annual Can Drive. It is a week of school competition, generosity, and blatantly excessive indulgence and gluttony. For at the same time that we, as Upper School students, bring in cans, patting ourselves on our backs and looking forward to the promise of a dress down day, we also make sure that we set aside a time to stand around eight of our classmates, screaming and cheering as…
Alec Frey ’16: There is no doubt to the ease of use that comes with an e-book. With a few simple flicks or clicks of the finger, you can be reading any of your favorite books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer for nearly half the cost of a paper book. However, the use of e-books begs the question of whether or not they are as cognitively effective and as generally preferred as paper books. Studies by the periodical journal Scientific American have shown that people often understand and remember text on paper better than on a screen. Screens, especially…
Nellie Konopka ’16: An anonymous same-sex couple was beaten by a group of two men and six women this past September in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia. The couple was on their way to pick up a pizza when they were confronted by a group of drunk strangers who shot gay slurs in the direction of the men. When the couple replied to these taunts, the group began to physically assault them. Both men were sent to the hospital and one of them had to undergo surgery. In the group of eight attackers, one woman and two men were arrested. Despite accounts…
Phoebe Christos ’18, Abby Hogan ’18: The organ is one of the defining features of the Episcopal Class of 1944 Chapel, and with it’s impressive size and intricate array of pipes, it is not surprising that it took over four years to design and construct. John Powell, Middle School Math teacher and skilled organist, spent an intermittent eighteen months contributing to the design of the organ. He described the process as, “Fun and exciting, as well as an honor, a privilege, and a great opportunity.” When Powell was first approached about designing the organ, he noted he had a clear…
Phoebe Christos ’18, Abby Hogan ’18: The organ is one of the defining features of the Episcopal Class of 1944 Chapel, and with it’s impressive size and intricate array of pipes, it is not surprising that it took over four years to design and construct. John Powell, Middle School Math teacher and skilled organist, spent an intermittent eighteen months contributing to the design of the organ. He described the process as, “Fun and exciting, as well as an honor, a privilege, and a great opportunity.” When Powell was first approached about designing the organ, he noted he had a clear…
Abby Baggini ’18, Brooke Kelly ’18, Tess McMullin ’18: On the morning of October 24, police responded to gunshots fired at the Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Washington state, where a student named Jaylen Fryberg injured at least four students, and killed two, including himself. Tragedies like this and like the Sandy Hook shooting have prompted countless discussions on gun safety laws. Like many institutions, Episcopal has reevaluated and redeveloped its security measures, coming to the decision that guns are not and will not in the foreseeable future be carried on campus. Joe Shanahan, Episcopal’s Director of Security, expressed his concerns…
Christina Chambers ’16: T.J. Locke, Head of School, leads quite a multi-faceted life filled with various board meetings, alumnae functions, and of course, involvement in student life. When I first entered Locke’s office at 7:30 AM, he rose from his large, corner desk to greet me with a firm handshake and a characteristically warm smile. “Have a seat,” he suggested, so I settled myself on a blue couch behind a midsize brown coffee table with a bowl of lollipops and different EA booklets on it. The early morning light streamed in the windows and reflected off of a golden plaque…
Lauren Repke ’15: Assistant Head of School Cathy Hall recently announced that this year would be the launch of Episcopal’s Speaker Series. The series draws from a diverse set of speakers and is intended to present students with a variety of perspectives from people across differing backgrounds with individual talents. The speakers that will be participating in the series are carefully selected in order to “draw out different view points to provide a variation of angles for students to consider,” explained Hall. Each speaker is selected from nominations generously given from EA alumni, parents, and faculty. Hall reflected that here…
Abhay Malik ‘17: This year, Episcopal Academy has the highest enrollment number in its history, with a total of 1,233 students across the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools. Last year, the enrollment number was only 1216, with the Upper and Middle schools having held consistent numbers for the last few years and the Lower School recently experiencing a quick rise. “There were people that were always on the fence on when to enter Episcopal, whether it be Lower, Middle, or Upper School. This increase reflects that parents want to make the investment [of sending their children to EA] earlier, with…
Sam Niu ’15, Thomas Woodville ’17: Episcopal has added ACLAMO, “an organization in Norristown that helps [members of the] the surrounding Latino community integrate themselves into the [American] system,” to its Wellness service partners, said Andrew Shimrock, member of the Upper School World Language Department. Shimrock said that ACLAMO runs “adult literacy classes and help the kids with their homework after school. They also have programs for moms who want to support each other living in the US. It’s run by a few women that are from Mexico and there are a few who are from the US that are…
Emily Beinkampen ’17: Instead of the traditional pencil and paper method of taking attendance, a student-created app has put a new spin on this year’s homerooms. Adam Seibert ‘14, Jack Doyle ‘15, and Connor Delaney ‘17, worked together to organize and execute this student originated app. Seibert, who graduated last spring, was the main programmer, while Doyle was the marketing manager and Delaney took the title of manager of the group. The group came together during the J-Term class App Challenge, where the idea came to them for a project. “For the class everyone had to design their own app…
Sam Niu ’15, Josh Oswiany ’15: In late September, a Jefferson County high school in Denver experienced a student walk-out in response to the school board’s attempts to focus the curriculum of the AP United States History classes on “positive aspects” of American history. Charles Bryant, Chair of the Upper School History Department, explained his understanding of the Denver school board’s view, saying, “the criticism that the AP standard might face…is that it’s not patriotic enough, that it’s focusing too much on ways in which America didn’t live up to a variety of ideas, so the Denver school board voted…