Bridget Murphy ‘25 EA’s annual trips to Haiti stopped in the Spring of 2020 due to COVID-19, and as political unrest grew, the trips had to be canceled in the following years. EA has been able to continue financially supporting Saint Marc’s School in Cerca, Haiti, but as of now, there are no updates regarding when the trips will begin again. In 2010, Haiti experienced its worst earthquake in 200 years, destroying much of its capital, Port-au-Prince, and killing more than 200,000 people. According to CBS News, Port-au-Prince was still recovering from two tropical storms and two hurricanes in 2008.…
Author: TECHALERT
Bridget Murphy ‘25 EA’s annual trips to Haiti stopped in the Spring of 2020 due to COVID-19, and as political unrest grew, the trips had to be canceled in the following years. EA has been able to continue financially supporting Saint Marc’s School in Cerca, Haiti, but as of now, there are no updates regarding when the trips will begin again. In 2010, Haiti experienced its worst earthquake in 200 years, destroying much of its capital, Port-au-Prince, and killing more than 200,000 people. According to CBS News, Port-au-Prince was still recovering from two tropical storms and two hurricanes in 2008.…
Delaney Welsh ’24 President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address, delivered on March 7, 2024, foregrounded the key issues that will be at the forefront of this year’s presidential election. President Biden opened his speech with the dramatic sentiment that, “What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack — both at home and overseas at the very same time.” This claim was echoed throughout his address during which he voiced concerns over isolationist policies, hopes for job creation, and his opinions on taxes. Prominent focuses of the address included both defending his character and…
Lilly Smolenski ’27 Many parents and child advocates have grown increasingly worried about the amount of time today’s youth spends online and on social media. New reports from the Pew Research Center, published on March 11, 2024, have revealed data regarding the relationship between phone usage and the mental health of U.S. teens. 75% of surveyed teenagers reported feeling happier and more connected to their daily lives when they were not on their phones. According to Pew, 95% of teens in the US have access to phones, with varying opinions on how beneficial this access truly is. As more parents…
Lucas vanBinsbergen ’27 On Thursday, April 11, a webinar for EA parents was hosted with Jennifer Wallace, The New York Times best-selling and award-winning author of Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic and What We Can Do About It. Wallace’s book discusses the idea of toxic achievement culture and the concept of students being unsatisfied with their academic and/or athletic results due to external pressures. She also highlights the fine line between toxic and non-toxic achievement culture, utilizing students’ personal stories to align with this idea of a toxic achievement culture. Head of Upper School Michael Letts discusses the…
Ari Roth ’26 EA recently hired Catalina Guzmán as the new Executive Director of College Counseling. As Executive Director, Guzmán will be responsible for overseeing the entire college counseling office and connecting the office to the rest of the school. Thus, she will not work directly with as many students as the rest of the college counseling office, but will instead be responsible for long-term planning. Michael Letts, Head of Upper School, explains that the Executive Director should be “somebody who is thinking about what we should be doing collectively and where we should be going as an office, as…
Danity Pike ‘27 | Maeve Martinelli ‘27 | Annie Le ‘27 To be an artist is not simply to have talent in painting, drawing, or sculpting. These skills are only a fraction of the requirements for creating art. Lauren Williams ’24 is revered by friends and teachers not only for her talent, but also for her ability to remain a positive and kind light in any space she enters. “I think her positive attitude towards things and willingness to try and fail and laugh at herself and not be too critical of herself helps her to have so much success,”…
Quinn McHale ‘26 | Sofia Foulds ‘26 Arts and athletics have both always been a crucial aspect of the curriculum at EA. Whether on the field, in the studio, or on the main stage, students are constantly learning to grow and express themselves. Nothing quite combines the arts and the athletics the way dance does. This season, dancers have worked tirelessly to learn new, varying forms of dance. From working on contemporary and ballet, to telling stories through Afro-Caribbean dance, this season has been filled with new and exciting accomplishments. Dance uses movement to convey culture, emotion, and humanity. Daniel…
Jordan Shanahan ‘26 | Chloe Islam ‘26 Dr. Locke’s new “Conference Room Concerts” provide a new, exciting opportunity for students to share their musical talents with the greater EA community. Donna Erwin, Assistant Head of School and the brainchild of this event, states the inspiration behind her new development. She describes, “Dr. Locke and I had seen some of the NPR Tiny Desk concerts and thought it would be a great way to celebrate our musicians. EA has so many talented musicians we wanted a space to showcase our students’ talents.” Every few months, students get together in Dr. Locke’s…
Abby Whitman Episcopal Academy’s Install-It club, a group of hard-working students dedicated to changing EA through artistic installations around campus, is starting yet another project: A Modern Language Mural. The Install-It Club is painting on the wall of the stairwell that leads up to the Modern Language department, between the second and third floors of the building.. The mural will feature cultural, historical, and linguistic aspects of French, Spanish, and Mandarin and the countries in which these languages are spoken. Inspired by the murals outside the English and History offices, this work of art will hope to accurately capture EA’s…
Vivian Jiang ’27 | Karen Shi ’27 The question of whether or not to implement multiple special occasion sports days has become an increasingly popular discussion within the EA community. One of the most highly anticipated events of the school year, AIS-Haverford Day serves as not only a display of athletic prowess but also an opportunity for school-wide unity. Yet, this festivity is fall-exclusive, omitting sports in the winter and spring such as swimming, basketball, track, squash, lacrosse, and softball. The topic invites different points of view and even recently reached the Junto Debate Club. For students, AIS-Haverford Day acts…
Vivian Jiang ’27 | Karen Shi ’27 The question of whether or not to implement multiple special occasion sports days has become an increasingly popular discussion within the EA community. One of the most highly anticipated events of the school year, AIS-Haverford Day serves as not only a display of athletic prowess but also an opportunity for school-wide unity. Yet, this festivity is fall-exclusive, omitting sports in the winter and spring such as swimming, basketball, track, squash, lacrosse, and softball. The topic invites different points of view and even recently reached the Junto Debate Club. For students, AIS-Haverford Day acts…
Gavin Schmidt ’24 | Nayan Shankaran ’24 The “Winter Slump”—we are all feeling it: The January-February phenomenon, when everyone is a little more tired and glum than usual. Whether the “Slump” stems from the often cloudy weather, burgeoning workload, or the lack of sunlight after 5pm, there is no doubt that this occurrence is happening in the majority. But, the “Slump” is not permanent, and it is something we can all surmount. Throughout the student body, there is a common agreement that the first months of each year are always the most difficult. Brendan Schlitt ’24 comments, “My experience with…
What made you decide to work at EA? Most of my career was in Washington D.C. for 25 years and then my youngest daughter graduated from that school I was working at. I was music department chair and did all the choir stuff. When she graduated I wanted a change. I was interested in urban education. I had a student that started three charter schools in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He wanted to start a performing arts department down there so he pitched the idea to me. I went down to New Orleans for two years to work with…
Molly Lo ’27 People in at least sixty countries will go to the polls in 2024, a major year for elections worldwide. Some of these countries, including Bangladesh, Taiwan, Pakistan, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Belgium, the U.S., the United Kingdom, and South Africa, are among the most populous in the world. According to The Economist, “There will be more than 70 elections in 2024 in countries that are home to around 4.2bn people—for the first time, more than half of the global population.” The results of these elections will have significant consequences on global issues including economic stability, human rights, peace,…
Mahika Ralhan ’26 This year, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has implemented new changes to its application format. FAFSA is a free government application that uses financial information from families to determine eligibility for financial aid from the federal government to pay for college. FAFSA then sends families’ financial information to the schools they are interested in attending, and these schools will send financial aid packages to students once they are admitted into the college. Danielle Avicolli, College Financing Counselor explains that the new application is now easier to complete. She says, “The biggest change is that…
Lilly Smolenski ’27 Democrat Cherelle Parker was inaugurated as Philadelphia’s 100th Mayor on January 2nd, 2024, and she became the first woman to be elected to the city’s top office in its 341-year history. Parker was born and raised in Philadelphia, and her upbringing in the city inspired her to pursue a career in public service. As noted in her “100-day action plan,” detailing her plans for her first 100 days in office, she plans on improving her hometown. The plan covers issues such as housing, economic development and opportunities, and even public safety—all themes projected in her inaugural address.…
Lilly Smolenski ’27 Democrat Cherelle Parker was inaugurated as Philadelphia’s 100th Mayor on January 2nd, 2024, and she became the first woman to be elected to the city’s top office in its 341-year history. Parker was born and raised in Philadelphia, and her upbringing in the city inspired her to pursue a career in public service. As noted in her “100-day action plan,” detailing her plans for her first 100 days in office, she plans on improving her hometown. The plan covers issues such as housing, economic development and opportunities, and even public safety—all themes projected in her inaugural address.…
Lilly Smolenski ’27 Democrat Cherelle Parker was inaugurated as Philadelphia’s 100th Mayor on January 2nd, 2024, and she became the first woman to be elected to the city’s top office in its 341-year history. Parker was born and raised in Philadelphia, and her upbringing in the city inspired her to pursue a career in public service. As noted in her “100-day action plan,” detailing her plans for her first 100 days in office, she plans on improving her hometown. The plan covers issues such as housing, economic development and opportunities, and even public safety—all themes projected in her inaugural address.…
Delaney Welsh ’24 In early January of this year, The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) President Eric Pryor announced that the institution will be eliminating their Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. As the United States’ oldest art school and art museum, PAFA has served as an epicenter of creativity in the Philadelphia area for over 200 years. According to PAFA, this change is the culmination of educational, financial, and management challenges, and the vote to shut down these programs was unanimous. This news has been received differently among students and faculty…