March 2011 issue

MARCH 28, 2011 STOGANEWS.COM

Dave Fillippo is heartbroken. The president of the Tredyffrin-Easttown Non-Instructional Group has been working for the T/E School District for 31 years, and has lived here for his entire life.

But he said that he is upset since he heard that the school board proposed custodial outsourcing as a measure to reduce the current budget defi cit. Losing the custodians, he believes, is losing part of the community.

The T/E School Board faces the task of eliminating an $8.9 million budget defi cit, down from the $9.25 million defi cit it dealt with last year. Now, the board is running out of options to meet its task of presenting the state with a balanced budget in June.

“We’ve got a real budget crisis and we’ve got to fi gure out how we’re going to handle it,” board president Karen Cruickshank said.

To lessen the defi cit, the Finance Committee has proposed various measures, including outsourcing custodial services, charging students for extracurricular activities and allowing advertising at Teamer Field. The school board has already made staff cuts, eliminated German and Latin in the middle schools and applied for exceptions to the Act 1 index, which would allow the district to raise property taxes above the usual 1.4 percent maximum.

But even after factoring in these changes, the Finance Committee must still remedy a $3.7 million defi cit. The committee will meet tonight at Conestoga to continue discussing options to alleviate the remaining short-fall.

See BUDGET, p. 4

T H E CONESTOGA HIGH SCHOOL, BERWYN, PA

Sp ke VOLUME 61 NO. 5

Laura WeissNews Editor

Closingthe Likely cuts

Under consideration

$40,000Charge $100 per

student for highway safety class

$225,000Teachers to teach six periods/day

$950,000Furlough at least

20 percent of custodians

$6,000Change CHS student

email provider

With an eye on the future, the district considers options to remedy the 2011-12

$8.9 million defi cit.

$9.25 million2010-11 de� cit

$8.93 million2011-12 de� cit

$7.70 millionProjected 2012-13 de� cit

Gap$67,000

Eliminate one secretarial position at CHS

Graphic by Luke Rafferty, Meghan Morris and Sam Winfi eld

NEWS MONDAY,MARCH 28, 2011

PAGE 2THE SPOKE

Online courses have opened some new, virtual doors for students. But e-Learning, with its drawbacks and benefi ts alike, will not last much longer.

E-Learning courses, or classes taken online, were first offered during the 2009-10 school year. However, due to a recent court case between the T/E Education Association and the district, the administration received a Cease and Desist no-tification on March 2 requir-ing that the e-Learning program be discontinued.

“The teachers’ union fi led an un-fair labor practice against the district that we were providing these courses through an outside provider,” Prin-cipal Amy Meisinger said. “What the teachers were saying is that the

district could not just decide to do this without bargaining it through collec-tive bargaining.”

The change will be effective at the end of this school year so that those currently enrolled in the e-Learning program may complete their online classes, but students will not be able to register in the future.

Meisinger said that a class at Con-

Abby Pioch & Brittany RokerSta� Reporters

Online learning powered down

Get a look at the rockstar life when sophomore Zach Lowry reports on

the March 18 Main Line School of Rock concert.

Click through photos of the fi rst frisbee games of the spring and culture days at stogasnapshot.blogspot.com. Look for a new photo every day on The Spoke’s premier photo blog.

stoganews.com

“I think it is a loss because around the world technology is becoming more

prevalent.”

- Sophomore Maya Jankowska

estoga needs to meet an enrollment minimum of at least 15 students to be scheduled, so e-Learning can provide a way for students to still take a class if the course does not meet the enroll-ment requirement.

“Our hope was to offer students the opportunity to take courses that they

could not access here, and secondly this e-Learning is a trend in colleges at all levels,” Meisinger said.

So far, 26 students have enrolled in e-Learning courses, including junior Sara Burns. She said that she enrolled in the International Business course this year because she thought the subject would be interesting, but did not get what she expected.

“ I t w a s a waste of time, and I felt like I was not really learning much,” Burns said.

Sophomore Maya Jankowska also took the In-ternational Busi-ness course, but had a better expe-rience, and said

that she would recommend online learning despite its fl aws.

“I think it is a loss because around the world technology is becoming more prevalent,” Jankowska said.

Abby Pioch can be reached at [email protected].

The School Board Finance Committee will hold its Budget Workshop tonight, March 28, in the Conestoga cafeteria. The committee will continue to discuss the 2011-12 budget and decide on strategies to alleviate the $8.9 million defi cit. The school board must present the state with a balanced budget in June.

Student Services will hold a College Interview Evening on April 6 from 7-9 p.m. at ’Stoga. Workshops on Naviance and electronic applications will be available. The Main Line College Fair at Vil-lanova University will be held from 6:30-9 p.m. on April 12.

Conestoga’s Military Day will take place on April 15. Represen-tatives from service academies, recruiters and Reserve Offi cers’ Training Corps members will be at school to give students informa-tion about entering into the armed services.

The Best Buddies club will host the annual Best Buddies Talent Show on April 15. The show, which features club members in skits and musical perfor-mances, will be held throughout the day in the auditorium, and is open to any students who have a free period or study hall.

Pioneer Posts: upcoming in community

Club co-adviser Tim Decker dances to Indian music at the South Asian Culture Day dance performance on March 14. Go online to Stoganews.com for the full story and photo slideshow.

Career Week will showcase potential job opportunities from April 12-14. There will be speakers from fi elds including healthcare, busi-ness, education, travel, law and entertainment, among others. Guid-ance counselors chose the professions based on student feedback.

Karolis Panavas/The SPOKE

NEWSMONDAY,MARCH 28, 2011

Community rallies troops to support one of its own

Amidst a crowd of parents, teach-ers and friends from across the com-munity weaving through the rooms of the Aneu Bistro in Berwyn, there is a line forming. Everyone wants a chance to meet the man whose brav-ery has brought them together. They all want to meet a hero.

2000 Conestoga graduate Jay Raffetto is that hero. He served as a Special Amphibious Marine Recon-naissance Corpsman in Afghanistan after graduating, but was caught in an explosion and severely injured by an improvised explosive device on Aug. 5, leading to the loss of his legs and one arm.

Former Eagles coach Dick Ver-meil held a wine tasting to ben-efit the Raffetto family through the Chester County Hero Fund at Aneu Bistro on Feb. 24, and teachers Deb-ra Ciamacca and Laurel Light are organizing an event for Conestoga. They will run Operation Gratitude from April 11-15 to collect money for the Jay Raffetto through Chester County Hero Fund and Operation Gratitude club.

The Chester County Hero Fund then gives the funds to the Raf-fetto family to help support Raffetto through his recovery, and Operation Gratitude supports a larger organiza-tion that benefits troops across the country.

“It’s wonderful to see that there is a push for this kind of thing to be talked about and, on a personal level, [I’m] flattered and appreciate that my situation could have spawned such events,” Raffetto said.

Even though Raffetto’s recov-ery has not been easy, he said that he does not want his story to defer students from joining the armed ser-vices. He said that the leadership and values he learned in the military are helping him be strong now, and will help him in a future job. Raffetto is also proud that his story has encour-aged awareness about the troops.

“It’s nice to see people pull to-

gether because I think that, after a certain point, the war in Afghanistan really goes overlooked in the media,” Raffetto said.

Both Jay and his father, John Raffetto, said that they have been amazed by community support throughout his recovery.

“We’re kind of overwhelmed by the outreach from the community,” John Raffetto said. “Financially it’s been a big help for [the family] mov-ing forward and for the family emo-tionally, it’s been huge.”

John Raffetto said that he and his wife will attend the Operation Grati-tude events at Conestoga and that he is grateful to be a part of a commu-nity that has done so much for his son and family.

“We’ve been so lucky to have moved in this area in 1987 and been part of such a great community that has lifted us all up so much as a fam-ily and Jay and Emily [Jay’s wife], individually,” John Raffetto said. “It’s quite startling actually.”

John Raffetto said that the initial shock of his son’s injuries was dif-ficult to put into words, but he has begun to see things relative to how much worse they could have been as time goes on.

“His injuries are still significant, but it has really gone from the dark-est of days to positive and upbeat,” John Raffetto said.

John Raffetto also noted the strength of his son, as well as that of his daughter-in-law, Emily Raffetto, in how they are dealing with Jay’s injuries and the process of recovery.

With “the bravery of [Jay and Emily], their incredible sense of hu-mor, their upbeat attitude every day and their great work ethic, the future is incredibly bright,” he said. “We’re just very proud of both of them.”

John Raffetto said that the wine tasting at Aneu Bistro, which Ver-meil hosted, was one of the high-lights of his family’s lives. Vermeil said that he heard about Raffetto’s situation through some friends, and immediately decided he wanted to help. He donated the wine for the

fundraiser, and Jay Raffetto thanked him at the event, giving him a patch from his uniform.

“Now it’s an obligation for all of us to help him,” Vermeil said.

Ciamacca and Light are rising to meet this obligation with Cones-toga’s Operation Gratitude. By hold-ing a week of fund-raisers and activities benefitting Jay Raf-fetto, they also want to raise awareness about military service and veterans in general.

“I just can’t think of a better cause than helping a young man who decided to be-come part of the mili-tary and gave so much of himself for his country,” Ciamacca said. “If we can even give him back a little of what he gave us, then we are doing a lot.”

Ciamacca and Light are carry-ing out the operation with the help of other staff members and clubs, in-cluding FLITE, Peer Mediation, Key

school community in the cause.” The week’s events will include

money collections in homeroom, the opportunity to write letters to wounded soldiers and a student-faculty basketball game benefitting Jay Raffetto on April 13. The boys’ and girls’ basketball teams will com-

PAGE 3THE SPOKE

Club, Student Council and REACH. “As soon as I heard Jay Raf-

fetto’s story, I knew that I wanted to do something to help him and his family,” said senior and FLITE co-president Rachel Skelly. “He’s been through so much, and the least we can do is help out by engaging the

Top left: Former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil and Jay Raffetto’s wife, Emily Raffetto, embrace at a Feb. 24 wine tasting fundraiser for the Raffetto family at Aneu Bistro in Berwyn.Middle left: Community members laugh and talk at the fundraiser. Bottom left: John Raffetto, Jay’s father, speaks alongside his wife and elder son at the wine tasting about the bravery that Jay and Emily have exhibited throughout their struggles. Right: Jay Raffetto graduated from ’Stoga in 2000 and went on to join the armed forces.

Karolis Panavas/THE SPOKE

Neel Thakur & Laura WeissStaff Reporter & News Editor

“If we can even give him back a little of what he gave us, then we

are doing a lot.”

- Social studies teacher Debra Ciamacca

pete against faculty from across the district, and the marching band and cheerleaders have both offered to perform. Vermeil, John Raffetto and his wife will attend some of the week’s activities.

Along with raising money for Raffetto, Ciamacca hopes that the

events of the week will help to raise awareness for injured troops in the commu-nity, and strengthen ties with veterans.

“Most students here will never join the military, they may never know any-one in the military and they don’t know what they’re going

through,” Ciamacca said. Through Operation Gratitude, “we can make our students appreciate the fact that there are people who are willing to die for their country.”

Neel Thakur can be reached at [email protected].

Photos by Karolis Panavas/The SPOKE and the Conestoga yearbook


Counting change: District attempts to alleviate de� citloughing custodians and outsourcing their services would have nothing to do with the custodians’ level of dedi-cation and excellence.

“We’ve stated that the outsourc-ing of our custodians may result in an impact on the level of service,” McDonnell said. “Its implementa-tion could defer cuts to the educa-tional program.”

Community supportSophomore Stephen Arnold

voiced his concerns about the pro-posed custodial outsourcing to the Finance Committee at a meeting on March 14. In an interview, Arnold said that he heard about the proposed changes when a custodian that he talks to during study hall said that he received a termination notice.

“The janitors have been on board for most of their lives and are unfair-ly being targeted for removal while they do just as an important job as the rest of the staff,” Arnold said.

Steven Siegel, parent of junior Sarah Siegel, also spoke at the March 14 meeting to say that he is against custodial outsourcing.

“It was important to be an ad-vocate for the custodians because I think that they’re important to the schools and to the school district,” Siegel said in an interview. “Out-sourcing custodial services is the wrong thing to do for the students and the community—both ethically as well as educationally.”

While biology teacher Jacqueline Gontarek said she understands the necessity of cuts, she believes that there are other options besides cut-ting staff.

Teachers “just want to see that business can go on without seem-ingly drastic measures in staffi ng—whether it be professional staff or support staff—so that we can contin-

ue to do the job that we do and that we’re recognized for in the public,” Gontarek said.

Balancing actIn order to decrease the defi cit,

the Finance Committee has looked for methods to increase revenue. Proposed measures include allowing advertising at sporting facilities like Teamer Field and charging fees for students to participate in extracur-ricular activities. Currently, the pro-posed charge is a $50 one-time fee for students participating in athletics. The charge would be waived for any student for whom this fee would be a fi nancial hardship.

“We already have booster fees,” said junior and varsity softball player Lindsay Walhiem. “If that’s in addi-tion, it wouldn’t be good. It’s a lot of money.”

Under Armour has also provided an opportunity to help relieve the defi cit. The sports clothing compa-ny has made an offer amounting to $6,000 for uniforms and spirit gear to sponsor the boys’ lacrosse team. The sponsorship must be approved at the district level with consider-ation of its legality for the district and PIAA standards, but varsity lacrosse player and junior Connor Frisina sees a good opportunity in working with the company.

“It would be great if they spon-sored our team. I don’t think any type of gear will affect how we play, but Under Armour looks good so it works for me,” Frisina said.

Guidance counselor and boys la-crosse coach Brian Samson is also optimistic about the sponsorship for his team. However, he does have some concerns since the agreement could include Under Armour ban-ners on Teamer Field.

“Anything that could potentially save the school district money is a good thing,” Samson said. But “high school sports are for kids—they’re for athletes and not for companies—so there’s a part of me that fears that companies coming into high school

PAGE 4THE SPOKE

selling them stuff is maybe not healthy for kids to be dealing with.”

The district is investigating using a sports marketing fi rm for future op-portunities to sell advertising for in-cremental revenue, Mahoney said.

“When you look at the culture at Conestoga right now, it’s something that has not included advertising at all,” Principal Amy Meisinger said.

Narrowing optionsAt the March 21 school board

meeting, Mahoney expressed the troubles of the ongoing budget situ-ation, saying that, “unfortunately, [the board] continues to run out of options.” The state also cut $1.3 mil-lion of the district’s funding this year as part of cuts in the Department of Education’s 2011-12 budget’s public school funding.

“Options to address the projected budget defi cits for the 2011-12 year and beyond are diminishing,” Mc-Donnell said.

Meisinger also sees problems with the continued economic situa-tion, which she said creates an un-predictable fi nancial future.

“The fi rst year you take the fi rst level of cuts, but the next year you have to take cuts that are a little bit deeper,” Meisinger said. “At some point it starts to get more diffi cult.”

Mahoney also said that defi cit problems have resulted in the elimi-nation of 67 full-time equivalent po-sitions since the 2008-09 academic year. The troubles will not be through at the end of this year: the projected defi cit for the 2012-13 school year is $7.7 million.

“During the next fi ve-year cycle, the current budget defi cits are pro-jected to continue and sharply in-crease in size,” Mahoney said. “We are trapped in an economic downturn that is requiring shared sacrifi ce.”

Staff reporter Claire Moran contrib-uted to this story.

Laura Weiss can be reached at [email protected].

Continued from p. 1

$8.9 million Budget defi cit

$1.2 million Gained from

Act 1 tax increases$1.1 million

From district fund balance, or“rainy day fund”

$6,000Proposed Under Armour

sponsorship of boys lacrosse $50Proposed one-time fee for

athletes to play

Graphic by Luke Rafferty

Estimates by the Finance Com-mittee show that outsourcing cus-todial services (furloughing current employees and hiring an outside company) could potentially save the district $950,000. In this case, the district would request that fur-loughed employees be given pref-erential treatment in job placement with the company. But according to Fillippo, furloughing T/E-employed custodians is not worth the monetary gain.

“I’m concerned for the students, and I know what these outsourcing companies are and they get people in working at the lowest rates, mini-mum wage and they’re very tran-sient,” Fillippo said.

Finance Committee Chair Kevin Mahoney said that the district plans to address security concerns by fol-lowing the state-mandated security clearance checks. The school board would also have T/E custodial super-visors, who will not be furloughed, oversee the outsourced workers.

“We would undertake no action that would jeopardize the safety of our community,” Mahoney said. “All employees—regular and con-tracted—at TESD are required to have the proper security clearances.”

In the current maintenance depart-ment, Fillippo said that custodians are the fi rst line of the department’s security and work force. He said that they go beyond their job description to let maintenance know about elec-trical problems or leaks.

“It’s getting disheartening. We’re losing our community,” Fillippo said. “They don’t consider all the in-tangibles—your child’s security, the health of the buildings. Kids need a clean and safe environment.”

However, district Business Man-ager Art McDonnell said that fur-


AP Chemistry teacher Scott Best prepares a lab for students during the school day. Best, who has taught AP Chemistry II at Conestoga for 11 years, said that the school’s recognition is well deserved.

K.C. McConnellCopy Editor

In 2010, 692 ’Stoga students en-rolled in AP courses. These students, along with hundreds of others, gained recognition for their successes from the College Board on March 16.

The T/E School District was one of 28 districts statewide to be placed on the College Board’s 2011 AP Achievement List. This year’s list honored 388 high schools that increased participation in Advanced Placement (AP) courses while still maintaining high percentages of students receiving a three or higher on the exams.

“I think that it’s a collaborative effort between our teachers and our students,” assistant principal Kevin Fagan said, of the success of ’Stoga’s AP program. “Our teachers are de-manding and well-trained and ask a lot of the students and the students respond and do well subsequently.”

Conestoga offers 25 out of a possible 32 AP courses, which are regulated by the College Board and are designed to prepare students for

college-level academics. In early May, students across the country take designated AP course exams on specifi c days, which are graded in June.

“I took [the APs] because I wanted

to be in classes where I was chal-lenged,” said senior Kaitlin Horan, who has taken a total of 11 AP courses. “I wanted to be in the best classes I could be in.”

Horan said that she has enjoyed the

’Stoga achieves place on national College Board list

PAGE 5THE SPOKE


challenge of AP classes, but expressed concern over the pressure created by the availability of such courses.

“I think it’s benefi cial to an extent, but once so many freshman or sopho-mores start taking APs, it becomes

less benefi cial,” Horan said. “If every-one goes from eighth grade to [an AP class], then people are going to start feeling pressured.”

Despite worries about the way that AP-packed schedules can impact students, 91 percent of ’Stoga students earned a three or higher on their exams in 2010. Scott Best, science department chair and AP Chemistry teacher, said that he has noticed a trend in scores among his students.

“The students who take AP Chem-istry always do very well, with most students achieving a three or higher,” Best said. “There has been a defi nite, though slight, increase in scores for the past three or four years.”

With a wide selection of AP courses and a high rate of passing scores, Conestoga met the College Board’s requirements for the AP Achievement List.

“I think the award puts our school in a better position,” Horan said. “It says something about the way classes are being taught.”

K.C. McConnell can be reached at [email protected].

Come in and meet Holly, the newest member of our Tei family, and plan your formal up-do for the big night.

Other members of the Tei family are available too! Spe-cializing in custom cuts, colors and highlights. Billie, Debbie and Michelle will be happy to assist you with any of these services.

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AP Chemistry teacher Scott Best prepares a lab for students during the school day. Best, who has taught AP Chemistry II at Conestoga for 11 years, said that the school’s recognition is well deserved.


In 2010, 692 ’Stoga students en-rolled in AP courses. These students, along with hundreds of others, gained recognition for their successes from the College Board on March 16.

The T/E School District was one of 28 districts statewide to be placed on the College Board’s 2011 AP Achievement List. This year’s list honored 388 high schools that increased participation in Advanced Placement (AP) courses while still maintaining high percentages of students receiving a three or higher on the exams.

“I think that it’s a collaborative effort between our teachers and our students,” assistant principal Kevin Fagan said, of the success of ’Stoga’s AP program. “Our teachers are de-manding and well-trained and ask a lot of the students and the students respond and do well subsequently.”

Conestoga offers 25 out of a possible 32 AP courses, which are regulated by the College Board and are designed to prepare students for

college-level academics. In early May, students across the country take designated AP course exams on specific days, which are graded in June.

“I took [the APs] because I wanted

to be in classes where I was chal-lenged,” said senior Kaitlin Horan, who has taken a total of 11 AP courses. “I wanted to be in the best classes I could be in.”

Horan said that she has enjoyed the

’Stoga achieves a place on national College Board list

PAGE 5THE SPOKE


challenge of AP classes, but expressed concern over the pressure created by the availability of such courses.

“I think it’s beneficial to an extent, but once so many freshman or sopho-mores start taking APs, it becomes

less beneficial,” Horan said. “If every-one goes from eighth grade to [an AP class], then people are going to start feeling pressured.”

Despite worries about the way that AP-packed schedules can impact students, 91 percent of ’Stoga students earned a three or higher on their exams in 2010. Scott Best, science department chair and AP Chemistry teacher, said that he has noticed a trend in scores among his students.

“The students who take AP Chem-istry always do very well, with most students achieving a three or higher,” Best said. “There has been a definite, though slight, increase in scores for the past three or four years.”

With a wide selection of AP courses and a high rate of passing scores, Conestoga met the College Board’s requirements for the AP Achievement List.

“I think the award puts our school in a better position,” Horan said. “It says something about the way classes are being taught.”


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Think ahead for the prom...

Seniors Sam Webster, Ryan Henrici and Jen Castor enjoy their victories at the Penn State science fair competition. Henrici qualified for the national competition in California for his research.

Patrick NicholsonStaff Reporter

They prepared more than 200 samples of coffee. They spent more than 30 hours toiling away, recording data and writing 15-page papers on their results.

Seniors Remy Bremner, Jen Castor, Ryan Henrici and Sam Webster completed an indepen-dent study on the caffeine levels of coffee in January. The students are submitting their results to five sci-ence fairs, including the inaugural international Google Science Fair and a competition at Penn State that was held from March 19-22, where they presented their find-ings.

“It’s a proud moment to pres-ent all your stuff and know that you did it from start to finish,” Webster said.

The idea for the project origi-nally came from a chemistry lab, but developed into an extensive study that tested caffeine content based on multiple variables. Each

student examined a different vari-able, from coffee brand to brewing time required.

Henrici, who focused on the effect of temperature on caffeine content, spent about ten hours on his experiments and trials, and more than 25 hours total on the research. The work produced re-sults, as he was able to conclude that raising temperature during brewing raises caffeine concen-tration.

“A lot of students are coffee drinkers,” Henrici said. “If they’re making their coffee at home and want a little more caffeine to jump start their morning, they can just use boiling water or a higher tem-perature water.”

In addition to the Penn State and Google competitions, the students entered their research and conclusions into three other science fairs. Webster, Henrici and Bremner each received a first place award at the Junior Acad-emy of Science competition, and all four students were selected to

State delays Keystone testing

Students use independent study to brew up success


PAGE 6THE SPOKE

Photo courtesy Derrick Wood

give oral presentations on their research and findings at the Penn-sylvania Junior Academy of Sci-ence Region 1A Competition at Penn State.

“They’ve turned a lot of heads at the competitions,” said chem-istry teacher and project adviser Derrick Wood. “They’re enjoying talking to people about what they found out.”

Henrici took fifth place overall at Penn State, so he will be attend-ing and competing at a national competition in San Diego, Calif in late April. He said that he has ben-efited from the experience with the project and science fairs in many ways beyond winning awards.

Instruction from science class “really starts to come together once you get to use it all in a lab,” Henrici said. “It’s not a bunch of concepts out of a textbook, but it’s actually something tangible that you can learn from.”

Patrick Nicholson can be reached at [email protected].

With a dizzying array of assess-ment and state exams, next year’s freshmen will not have to worry about one more set of tests.

The implementation of the Key-stone Exams, a new series of state-mandated tests, has been delayed from next year to the 2016-17 school year. However, students who have taken the Algebra I course will still take the corresponding exam this May, as originally planned.

Ronald Tomalis, Pennsylvania State Secretary of Education, said in a March 10 press release that the delay would be employed because of budget constraints across the state and the fact that students did not perform as well as expected on trial exams.

But math teacher Heather Hall said that she feels students at ’Stoga will be ready for the Algebra I exam this spring and that the delay is a good thing because schools will have time to continue revising their curriculum to prepare students.

“We’ve actually been working on strategic committees already,” Hall said. “About a year and a half ago, the second [the Keystone Exams] were

announced, we made sure everything was prepared at all levels across the board.”

On the other hand, English depart-ment chair Trevor Drake has seen samples of the Keystone Literature Exam, which corresponds to the American Literature course, and said that students would need additional instruction to pass the exam.

“If that exam were to be given next year, we would make a few changes in American Literature so that we would address specific things that would be on the exam,” Drake said. “In the best interests of the entire state of Pennsylvania, I think it is best that [the exams are] delayed.”

Freshman Manasvi Ramanujam sympathized with her younger friends who are required to take the exams,

since she will not have to pass the exams to graduate.

“I’m lucky that I don’t have to take them,” Ramanujam said. “[Cur-rent middle school students] still have to take PSSAs, SATs and other tests so I wish them good luck.”

When the class of 2017 and younger students begin the exams, Principal Amy Meisinger said that she believes they will be ready.

“I’m confident in knowing that students are very well prepared,” Meisinger said. “I think we have strong curriculum, outstanding teachers and students that meet chal-lenges that are presented everyday in the classroom.”

Shwetha Sudhakar can be reached at [email protected].

Shwetha SudhakarStaff Reporter

Editors-in-Chief: Liz Bravacos, Meghan Morris

Managing Editor: Reshma Gouravajhala

Production Editor: Luke RaffertyNews Editor: Laura Weiss

Features Editor: Mary TurocySports Editor: Erin O'Neil

Copy Editor: K.C. McConnellOperations Director: Anjuli PatelBusiness Manager: Heather Ward

Cartoonist: Gabriela EpsteinGraphic Design: Margot Field, Karolis Panavas, Brooke Weil,

Sam Winfi eldStaff: Maddie Amsterdam, Kelly

Benning, Lavi Ben-Dor, Dana Bronzino, Tracy Cook, Allison

Kozeracki, David Kramer, Daniel McConnell, Stetson Miller, Claire Moran, Patrick Nicholson, Emily

Omrod, Abby Pioch, Sophia Ponte, Dolly Prabhu, Brittany Roker, Emily Seeburger, Jenna

Spoont, Shwetha Sudhakar, Neel Thakur, Julianne Vallotton, Natalie

West, Haley XueFaculty Advisers: Susan

Houseman, Cynthia Crothers-Hyatt

The Spoke will print letters of general interest to the student body and community. Signed letters under 200 words may be submitted to Susan Houseman, Cynthia Hyatt, Liz Bravacos or Meghan Morris. Unsigned editorials represent the views of The Spoke editorial board, and not necessarily those of the administration, s tudent body, community or advertisers. The opinions expressed in signed columns are those of the writer and not necessarily the opinion of The Spoke.

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Even the most ambitious people miss oppor-tunities. Whether it’s breaking out the books on Sunday night instead of being conscientious on Saturday or opting to hang out with your usual friends instead of getting to know a new group, we all make decisions that result in consequences. President Obama is no stranger to this concept. While I could easily dissect Obama’s experience as Commander in Chief, his most recent fl oun-dering occurred as part of the Libyan crisis.

For those of you who avoid the national news, here’s a refresher: in February, the unrest sweep-ing through much of the Arab world spread to uprisings in Libya against longtime dictator Col. Moammar Gadhafi . Gadhafi has been the coun-try’s fi rm ruler for four decades and responded to the rebel attacks by using military force against his people. After weeks of bloodshed, the United Nations Security Council imposed a no-fl y zone over much of Libya in an effort to stop the sense-less killing of civilians. Finally, on March 19, French and British forces launched a military campaign against Gadhafi ’s troops.

Where, you ask, does Obama enter the stage? Therein lies the problem. Though our nation’s role in foreign affairs is always up for debate, Obama missed an opportunity. I’m not talking about invading Libya in a War on Terror-esque fashion, but rather the chance for the President to reaffi rm our country’s unity. Obama is a fantastic orator, and he missed the chance to talk about his stance on the crisis. He sent American forces to help our allies, but was strangely silent.

Obama is not alone; I will be the fi rst to say that I’ve missed plenty of opportunities. By using the “I’m a senior” excuse, I've passed up multiple chances to succeed on tests or to complete work by deadline. The President’s position as Ameri-ca’s leader makes him an easy target for criticism, yet the recent events serve as a reminder of the importance of initiative.

We’ve hit that annual March slump. With three full weeks until spring break and the last quarter of the school year about to begin, we’ve reached a time when the school days seem to stretch on forever. But summer is not yet here, and opportu-nity is still knocking.

Maybe you, like Obama and I, missed the mark. You were too lackadaisical to bother mak-ing that job application or to put effort into that essay. Remember that it’s not too late to adjust your attitude. Aim to keep yourself focused for these last few months and be happy that your missed chance doesn’t impact the opinion of the American public.

Liz Bravacos can be reached at [email protected].

Missed opportunity

Speaking up to saveThe Spoke applauds district's e� ort to reduce de� cit

The Tredyffrin-Easttown School District faces a projected defi cit of $8.9 million, a looming fi gure that has been the subject of de-bates, proposals and discussions at various bud-get meetings in the past year. This same topic will be the focus of tonight’s workshop, as the board will deliberate the most cost-effective and fastest methods to reduce our defi cit.

Even though we are impacted by these changes—after all, in the past year alone, mul-tiple modifi cations have been made in regards to elective courses, free periods and language programs—Conestoga students are seldom found at the meetings. Despite the importance and relevancy of the situation, we do not seem to play an active role in infl uencing the district budgetary policies.

Yet students have proven over these few months that they do in fact care when changes are made apparently without their knowledge or consent. Students have banded together in the past two years to create Facebook groups to protest changes such as the rising cost of the parking permit.

Concerned students have learned to be-come more aware of any spending that seems superfl uous (for example, the library’s recent purchase of two iPads and a NOOK, Barnes & Noble’s e-reader, caused controversy among some who wondered about their necessity) and so it is time to voice our opinions. We must be-come conscious of what the district is planning in the upcoming years and then infl uence the policymaking so that we too have a say in the matter. As we become more involved in these changes, the district should be more open to our input. If we feel that our participation is valued, we will in turn participate more.

The district, while still making some con-troversial decisions regarding, for example, the jobs of the custodial staff, is attempting to solve the budget crisis with novel ideas, evalu-

From the Editor

ating options that will have a range of minimum to a big impact on students’ education. In fact, the district has decided to remove the water coolers from the district, thereby potentially saving $14,000. Other proposed plans include replacing the current printers and copiers with cost-effective versions, a step that could save up to $25,000, as well as replacing the gym light-ing to reduce energy use, which could save up to another $15,000. These alternatives, along with a variety of other options, will save thousands of dollars each, showing that the district is indeed evaluating innovative choices to save money.

These options will not immediately erase the defi cit but they will cause a chain reaction of saving, not spending. There is still a long way to go, however, if we hope to excel academically without becoming entangled in a futile econom-ic debate. Above all, as students who are most directly infl uenced by any and all the changes the Finance Committee makes, we must raise our voices. We must, as always, practice what we preach.

Save money and paper by asking your teach-ers to use class sets of worksheets. Investigate the use of online textbooks (in fact, some math classes here currently use e-books) and print only on recycled paper or use the new double-sided printing function on the library printers. Small steps like these, if followed on a school-wide scale, will show the district our interest in the matter. If we show enough interest, our opinions could be taken into account.

But this cannot happen if you remain silent. If you are concerned with the district’s budgetary policies, let your voice be heard. Ask questions about excess spending and expect answers. Go to the Finance Committee meeting held tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Conestoga’s cafeteria and let the board hear a student’s version of the current situation. Speak up and, in the end, we could all save money.

OpinionMONDAY, MARCH 28, 2011

Gabriela Epstein/The SPOKE

OP/ED MONDAY,MARCH 28, 2011

The Opposition:

PAGE 8THE SPOKE


“Internal motivation is bet-ter than parental pressure.”

“I don’t agree with it because it leaves out children’s opinions.”

“You can bring a horse to water but you can’t force it

to drink.”Sophomore

Ary Swaminathan

JuniorSam Allon

Freshman Hayley Wallace

SeniorEsther Lin

“To a certain degree, strict discipline can lead

to success.”

Do you agree with “Tigerparenting?” Haley Xue

Staff ReporterIn January, Amy Chua introduced

to the Western world an innova-tive method of parenting. Her two daughters, Sophia and Lulu, were taught from a very early age to never receive grades below an A or have play-dates with their friends. They never attended sleepovers, watched television or played computer games when they were little.

The list makes having a social life a challenge, to say the least.

Yale law professor and best-selling author Amy Chua published a memoir titled, “The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” on Jan. 11. Her recollection of times when she didn’t let her youngest daughter, Lulu, eat, drink or go to the bathroom until she had mastered her violin piece and calling her eldest daughter, Sophia, “garbage,” incited outrage from read-ers. Despite the negative backlash,

however, this memoir highlights some of the key characteristics of “Tiger Parenting.”

Though seemingly outrageous to some, Chua’s parenting methods weren’t new to me at all. My parents aren’t nearly as harsh as Chua, but they still apply “traditional Chinese” parenting methods to my younger brother and me—and I’m glad that they do.

“Tiger parents” want their kids to succeed, as do most parents. How-ever, they have a different approach on how to accomplish this goal. Tiger parents take a tough stance on mak-ing sure that their kids can achieve their true potential, while still being deeply involved and committed

to their children’s crusade toward excellence.

Similar to Chua’s philosophy, my parents don’t exactly praise me for getting a perfect score on a test. They expect me to do well in school, not because they want me to, but because I have the potential to do so. If I didn’t get a good score, then I prob-ably didn’t try my hardest. Rather than showering me with praises, my parents tend to focus on what I did wrong, but only so that I don’t make the same mistakes again.

In my experience, tiger parents push their kids because they gener-ally believe that the path to success follows persistent commitment and hard work. If you’re going to pursue

something in life, you should stick with it—from beginning to end. Giving up on something may lead to regret and proves that you’re not willing to put in the effort to improve. As Chua puts it, “It’s not fun unless you’re good at it.”

Conversely, being too academi-cally focused may not be the best de-cision in the long run. Some colleges find that students who focus too much on academics are “shy, quiet and not well-rounded.” It’s important to work on academics, but at the same time it isn’t in your best interest to focus solely on studying and homework—having a social life matters too.

My parents, although strict at times, help me stay determined, diligent and motivated. I have them to thank for the many successes I have experienced during the 15 years of my life so far. Similarly, although Chua’s parenting methods are somewhat extreme, she does have a purpose for her ways and wants to see her daughters succeed in life.

But while dedication and hard work are important, it doesn’t hurt to allow an occasional sleepover once in a while.

Haley Xue can be reached at [email protected].

Defending battle hymn of ‘Tiger parents’

- Children are more likely to rebel if their parents force them into certain activities

- Allowing children to experience both success and failure will enable them to learn from their mistakes

- Parenting is meant to involve unconditional love, regardless of whether or not children succeed or fail; acts such as the ones that Chua practiced can lead children to feeling underappreciated

OP/EDMONDAY,MARCH 28, 2011

PAGE 9THE SPOKE

Erin O’NeilSports Editor

Everyone needs a good yawp every once in a while. Untamed and not a bit translatable, an ol’ fashioned, top-of-the-line yawp over the rooftops of the world. No, it’s not over the counter and no, I wasn’t talking about jump-ing off of roofs either.

I’m talking about the little time I have to enjoy the present as it is right now—not pre-ordered or post-dated—but fresh and con-veniently located for the last few weeks of high school.

As a senior, I’ve spent a lot of my time think-ing about next year. I’ve filled out applications and sent SAT scores. I’ve gone on tours and gone to interviews and gone on virtual tours on my way to interviews, all in the name of ab-sorbing as much college as I possibly can.

All I’ve been able to think about lately are the many things that I’ll need to pack before leaving home in September. Are lanyards practical or just really dorky? Should I buy ramen noodles in bulk? Where can I get one of those shower caddies? Do people actually use laundry bags?

The one thing that I haven’t thought about is the school itself, but there’s a very simple reason for that: I don’t know where I’m going yet. Along with the rest of this year’s seniors who applied regular decision, I have three days left.

Three days until I start com-paring mascots, class sizes, ath-letics, liberal (and not so liberal) arts, a capella groups and dining hall food quality. Three days until I, once again, will have an active role in deciding my own future.

It’s hardly monumental—more of a return to normality. As a sophomore, I prided myself on having my college list in the bag and jumped headfirst into essay writing and repetitive-demographic-box-checking in August. What I didn’t realize, until I had mailed my last ap-plication, was how abruptly my forward-march toward higher education would come crashing to a halt. Four months later, not so much as a budge. Like L.A. rush hour: Nowhere to go, nothing to decide.

I’ve always h e a r d from

I soon came to realize that absolutely nothing could get past the fact that the past three months have been a waiting period, each second like that momentary feel-ing of weightlessness you get on a peak of a roller coaster.

Still. These past few months, I

haven’t just been forced to seize the day as much as I’ve had the day welded into my unwillingly-grasped fist.

But, I must say, it’s been nice. I haven’t exactly been

jumping-

gists out there, but I don’t actually observe spears of grass for fun. It’s the idea that counts. Whether nature or not, I’m enjoying the time I have left as a futureless high school student.

I know that the second decisions begin to arrive, I’ll return to my old self, more or less. The sweatshirt crumpled in my laundry bag (I’ve decided in favor of them) will have a logo and my ramen noodles will be stashed underneath a course catalogue, already marked up with the classes I’m taking for the next four years.

Come April, I’ll have a plan once more, but I’ve also come to

realize that sooner isn’t always better: If you spend your

life looking to the future, you’re not looking to

anything at all. It’s tough to

make yourself live in the pres-ent. You say that you’re going to do it, but then y o u ’ r e a l r e a d y t h i n k i n g a h e a d . Nice try.

I don’t know if, the

second I’m given a min-

ute of solid future I’ll grab

years and years; there are certain

things that I don’t need to know. And I’m okay with that.

Turning my back to the future Report Card

April Fool’s Day

+ Fantastic opportunity to freak out your friends

- You could easily be the next victim

PSSAs+ Students in classes with

mostly juniors get three weeks of low-stress work

- Exams take precious hours away from teachers, right

before AP exams

Keystone Exams delay

+ Incoming freshmen no longer have to pass the exams

to graduate

- District spent time and money preparing for tests that

won’t happen yet

Courtyards in spring

+ Warm weather and sunshine mean we can use

outdoor shortcuts once again

- Springtime is most enjoyed over spring break, which is still a

month away

We Can for Japan

+ Student-organized drive raised more than $1,000

- Name for the fundraiser was a little cheesy

College decisions

+ For all seniors who applied regular decision, the

long wait is finally over

- Rejections don’t hurt any less now than they did earlier

this year

“I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease

observing a spear of summer grass.”

-Walt Whitman

What do landscaping and senioritis have in common? Learning to love the moment in my last few weeks at Conestoga.

eccentric aunts , ta lk show hosts and Robin Williams himself about the im-portance of carpe diem; seizing the day; living in the present.

It had always seemed like a decent idea to me, something I’d get to when I’d finished all my homework, gotten home for practice or clocked off work for the day. It was always something that could always wait till later… and later came on Jan. 1.

on-desks-reciting-Walt-Whitman-level of living in the

present, but my perception and enjoyment of life has inherently relaxed, slowed a bit in response to the forced interim. As hard as I’ve fought the absorption of aca-demic material for the past three months, I have to admit that I’ve learned something valuable as a second-semester senior: the value of the uninterrupted moment.

Now, not to insult any biolo-

For the first time in my life, I’ve given

carpe diem a completely un-skeptical try, and I’ve been able to enjoy life for what it is as opposed to what I can make of it. And that is a lesson that I hope I can carry with me into the future, stopping along the great journey of life to maybe observe a little bit of grass here and there, or other more socially-acceptable activities.

After all, yawps don’t expire.

Erin O’Neil can be reached at [email protected].


OP/ED MONDAY,MARCH 28, 2011

Laura WeissNews Editor

There was a time when I could spend hours looking through a clover field and dreaming of all the good fortune a four-leaf clover would bring me. My friend had one pressed in a book, and I wanted one too for all the good luck that it could give me.

But with each passing St. Patrick’s Day, my conviction to find that good luck charm has diminished. A few weeks ago, when I sat staring at the front page of the SATs and waited nervously for the test to begin, I wished that I had something to boost my confidence.

One afternoon when I was young-er, I found the charm that could have helped my confidence. I finally found that four-leaf clover (never mind that it might not actually have been). I treasured the small green piece of

luck, but I lost track of it sometime before I even knew a test could be four hours long.

However, on the day of the March SAT test—maybe because it was a few days before St. Patrick’s Day—I decided to take a little four-leaf clover good luck charm with me to the test. The charm reminded me that I should believe that I can do well. That confi-dence can make all the difference, and I will keep holding on to it as I wait these final few days for my scores to be returned.

Waiting for our scores, we all wish each other good luck shamelessly. A little wish of good luck in the form of a charm or special pencil is just as important as the words we share with our friends as we nervously wait.

In fact, we can take a page out of the book of some of our favorite athletes, who know the importance of believing in good luck and them-selves.

In professional baseball, batters successively walk up to home plate and do an entertaining series of mo-tions before settling into their batting stance and waiting for the 90 mph baseball about to fly their way. In such a high-pressure situation, the players

abandon all worry about the millions of fans watching their every move: swing the bat three times, hit the plate twice and swing once more. It may not be because of this practice that Phillies slugger Ryan Howard hits so many homeruns, but the belief that it gives him luck produces a confidence that goes far when he’s staring down an ace pitcher.

Whether you are taking the SATs, starting a math test or anxiously awaiting your results, you too can hit a homerun. However, it is possible to

get much further if we don’t worry about what classmates might think of our four-leaf clover or rabbit’s foot. Instead, we can choose to just enjoy the little bit of good luck and belief in ourselves that these charms can provide.

When we were younger, it was easy to believe in good luck because the stakes were lower. We believed that we could get the best swing at recess or have the good luck to win in a dodgeball game. The stakes are higher now, so it is easy to dismiss

In defense of lucky charms: wishing for better luck next time

PAGE 10THE SPOKE

When I was younger, I preferred silence. During Kindergarten, I was more inclined to draw quietly by myself rather than join my peers in a loud game of tag. However, as I grew older, I felt more and more pressure to express my “voice.”

At five years old, I had little idea what that meant. All I knew was that it had something to do with the idea of being “loud and proud.” Clearly, I needed to speak up more. I resolved to make myself heard, no matter the method.

It made sense—if you’re quiet, you can’t be heard, and if you can’t be heard, then you may as well not exist. It wasn’t until I was mute for an entire school day that I understood how powerful being quiet can be.

Last April, I participated in Day of Silence, a nationwide protest against

the bullying and harassment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students and their supporters. Partici-

pants refuse to talk for an entire day, their lack of words a representation of those silenced and cast aside for

their sexual orientation. At first, I felt conflicted—don’t we want to be heard? By sealing our lips, aren’t we giving in to those who quell our pro-tests against anti-LGBT injustice?

However, I quickly discovered that being silenced was the same as being unheard. My classmates took notice. I faced some ridicule, but far more praise. The silence of those united together to combat anti-LGBT cruelty brought us much more atten-tion than if we had done something outlandish and loud. It seemed that the people I encountered understood our message more clearly because of, not in spite of, the lack of verbal communication.

Through Day of Silence, we were able to make ourselves heard while still being able to listen to others, making our message all the more powerful. From that single day of remaining mute, I took away a clichéd yet surprisingly ignored life lesson: silence is golden.

True, such an opportunity to be silent doesn’t arise on a day-to-day basis. In fact, silence is often discour-aged. Still, we must resist the tempta-tion of being bold and brash about what we think is right and wrong. Silence is an important tool that we

can use to simplify our arguments, allow our statements to be heard and listen to others.

Does this mean we should aban-don all forms of verbal communica-tion? No, of course not. Instead, we should keep in mind that the message holds priority over the presentation. The power in the Day of Silence lies in the sincerity of silence. Likewise, our own ideas and opinions are often more persuasive through depth and thoughtfulness, not tenacity and volume.

The victorious argument isn’t al-ways shouted the loudest, or spoken with the most emotional vigor. True victory comes from the strength of the message that’s conveyed, not in how well the argument is “sold.” Being mindful of our words and restraining our aggressive impulses makes our opinions (and ourselves) better heard.

As Mark Twain once said, “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” Bite your tongue, or else your words will come back to bite you.



Listening to sounds of silence over troubled voices

the importance of luck charms and confidence.

We should be collecting more good luck charms and belief in our-selves, though, because we only need it that much more—and not just on St. Patrick’s Day. And who knows? With a good luck charm by your side, you might even get that perfect SAT score and find a pot of gold at the end of the next rainbow.

Laura Weiss can be reached at [email protected].

Emily Zhang for The SPOKE

Kim Menapace for The SPOKE

OP/EDMONDAY,MARCH 28, 2011

Dear Editor,

I was very happy to read The Spoke’s article concerning the rebellion that took place in Egypt last February. However, I believe that the Egypt article should have been the only article on the front page, instead of sharing the space with the Gossip Girl story. I would have appreciated if The Spoke had highlighted the plight of the many Egyptians that put their rights and even lives on the line in the pursuit of freedom, instead of focusing on the petty drama that is essentially irrelevant to anything meaningful in our lives. As someone who was not even remotely interested in the GG drama, I was disappointed with the amount of attention drawn to what I considered to be a stupid situation.

The attention brought to Conestoga students who involved themselves in the Egyptian crisis served as a nice reminder that not every person in our school is concerned with cliques and drama. I hope The Spoke continues to publish more articles on what goes on outside the confines of our high school.

Austin ShupeJunior

take for granted, then society will start making progress.

Take, for example, the automo-bile industry. Right now, the main selling point for the new Chevrolet Volt is that buyers will feel that they are making a socially and ecologi-cally conscious choice by driving an electric car. However, moral motivation alone won’t sell enough cars to transform the American au-tomobile industry. Only economic necessity will provide a lasting incentive.

Currently, buyers have no such motivation. A Volt, priced at around $40,000, costs twice as much as a gasoline-powered car of similar quality. Only in the future, when oil prices rise so high that the average American won’t be able to afford a gasoline-powered car, will the Volt become economically viable. At the same time, demand for better eco-friendly car technology will increase, so the American capitalist instinct will respond with innova-tions at an ever-increasing rate.

The human race has a pretty solid track record of coming up with brilliant solutions to these kinds of problems after decades, or even centuries, of procrastina-tion. Smallpox ravaged Europe for almost 2,000 years before anyone could effectively treat it. It contrib-uted to the downfall of the Roman Empire, killing almost seven mil-lion people in 108 A.D. Hundreds of millions of people had died of smallpox by the time Edward Jenner perfected and popularized the vaccination around 1800. After a very slow start, humans subdued a deadly disease and completely eradicated it by 1980.

Like our approach to smallpox, our approach to environmental issues won’t be very effective at first. However, I believe that we will ultimately prevail, even in the wake of the tsunami in Japan. The countless technological ideas and inventions humans have conceived just in the last decade make it seem unlikely that we won’t be able to turn society’s approach to the environment around. The only reason we haven’t—the same rea-son I haven’t started that research paper—is that we just haven’t got-ten around to it yet.

Mary Turocy can be reached at [email protected].

Demolished houses. Stranded boats. Burning factories. Distraught families. These images have burned themselves into our global con-sciousness, thanks to continuous news coverage of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

In the aftermath of this global disaster, a new strand of dire warn-ings and extreme predictions have begun to rise from the rubble. Only hours after the ground settled, en-vironmental activists took to the Twitter feeds to proclaim that the Japanese earthquake was a sign that “we’ve passed the point of no return.” Environmentalists too jumped on this bandwagon, claim-ing that immediate action to combat climate change is the only way to save life as we know it from violent destruction.

But I’m not worried. Unlike these alarmists, I have faith that the human race has the intellec-tual capacity to invent solutions to clean up the mess we’ve made of our planet. I’m not concerned about our slow progress in affecting substantial change because, if I’ve learned anything in three years of high school, it’s that people are lazy without effective motivation.

Appeals to logic—“If I get start-ed on that project now, I won’t have to worry about it while studying for finals”—and morals—“I should do extra practice problems to make sure I understand the concepts even though my teacher didn’t assign any homework”—aren’t very effective. Although scientists have made it pretty clear that we are facing some serious environmental problems, we simply aren’t motivated enough to solve them.

The most effective motivation is necessity and legitimate fear: “It’s already 11 p.m., I still have to write that paper, and if my grade slips any more, my parents will ground me.” When the state of the environment threatens the comfortable life we

Mary TurocyFeatures Editor

Global warming does not need alarmist approach

Letters PolicyWhat are you agitated about? Do you have an

opinion about something we’ve published?

The Spoke will print letters of general interest to the student body and

community.

Signed letters under 200 words may be submitted to

the editorial board. Email us at [email protected].

PAGE 11THE SPOKE

Editor’s notes:On p. 16 of the Feb. 14 issue

of The Spoke, sophomore Nell Hoban was incorrectly identi-fied as an understudy; she was a body double in “Phantom of the Opera.”

On p. 23 of the same issue, the editor’s note should have said that senior Dina Ramadane is Moroccan, not that she was born in Morocco.

The Spoke regrets these er-rors. If you would like to cor-rect something, please email [email protected].

Dear Editor,

After reading The Spoke’s special report on Gossip Girl (p. 1, 4, 6) in the latest issue, I was glad that the news article addressed both sides of the story. However, I didn’t think GG deserved to make front-page news. By the time of publication, GG was no longer fresh gossip, already forgotten by the majority of the school’s population. Despite the 50,000 hits that her blog got, GG was far from uniting the school against gossip. Sure, it was popular for three days, but after that nothing happened.

Don’t get me wrong, I love reading articles in The Spoke. But when silly things like GG become front-page news, it gets a little ridiculous. GG was over-glorified, an out-of-proportion joke that the entire school, and The Spoke, fell for. Far more important things were going on in the world and at ’Stoga than a three-day stint that only a fraction of the school saw. Did The Spoke really need to run a front-page story on that?

Jessica LeeSophomore

To the Editor


FeaturesMONDAY, MARCH 28, 2011

Only tomatoesLast summer, junior Alex Mar-

tinez ate Cocoa Puffs with milk for breakfast and tomatoes for the rest of the day in an attempt to lose weight to impress a girl.

When asked about Martinez’s diet, school nurse Gail Hammon said that it was not nutritious, noting that he would not get enough vi-tal nutrients. Martinez said that he did not con-sult with doctors and said that he frequently heard that the diet was unhealthy.

“I wasn’t really thinking about if it was healthy,” Martinez said. “Most people have told me that it wasn’t, and that it was really bad because I needed protein.”

Martinez said that his energy levels felt normal throughout the day, but he lacked some of his typical power and stamina when participating in tae kwon do.

He reached his weight goals after six months, losing about 20 pounds.

“I just didn’t want to be fat any-more,” Martinez said.

Eating to win

Sophomore Julianna Bradley and her travel soccer teammates always celebrate a successful tour-

Lifestyle changeFreshman Brian Greco has not

eaten a hamburger since he was nine years old and has not tasted choco-late cake in more than a year.

After becoming a vegetarian at age nine, Greco began following a raw vegan diet at age 13, eating only sweet fruits, raw vegetables, nuts, seeds and quinoa—a protein grain. Following a strict diet requires com-mitment and support from family.

“I am motivated by both health and moral reasons,” Greco said. “When I fi rst got into vegetarianism, it was mainly the moral part. I did not want to contribute to the death of animals. These days, I’m still pas-sionate about consumer ethics, but my focus is on health.”

Greco has decided to share his knowledge with other veg-ans by publish-ing a book and recipe DVDs in the spring; he also runs a blog

and forum called High Vibe Teens.Greco said that he takes his eating

habits seriously, carefully research-ing different theories about the ef-fects of food on the body.

“Most people underestimate how powerfully our diets infl uence us,” Greco said.

Kelly Benning can be reached at [email protected].

nament with an ice cream cone in the airport—the fi rst they’ve had in weeks.

Bradley, who travels nationally with the FC Delco travel soccer team, prepares for important competitions by following her team’s diet and nu-

trition plan in the weeks leading up to the event. The team’s nutrition guidelines stress cutting back on overall food in-take while eating extra fruits, veg-

etables and protein-rich foods.“Everyone wants to be very lean

and fi t on the fi eld,” Bradley said.Although Bradley said that the

main goal of her diet is to improve fi tness, she said that she usually loses about fi ve pounds during the preparation. She also said that her times on fi t-ness tests improve due to the combi-nation of diet and increased training.

Bradley said that she thinks diet-ing for sports is easier than dieting solely for appearance and weight loss because of teammates’ support.

“We come to practice every week and talk about [our diets],” Bradley said. “We all have friendly competi-tion with each other, [but] it’s defi -nitely a team effort.”

Students change their eating habits to lose weight, excel in sports or make a lifestyle statement. By Kelly Benning & David Kramer, Sta� ReportersGraphic by Margot FieldPhoto by Luke Ra� erty

52%DIeting students

who fully or partially achieved their goals

Students who believe that there is a negative stigma

attached to dieting

26%

on Diets

The

In popular culture, the world of fashion is portrayed as

glamorous, exclusive and full of cut-throat competition. Although

thousands dream of becoming fash-ion icons through TV shows such as “Project Runway,” only a few are able to turn that dream into a reality.

Seniors Sam Leibowitz and Jennie Holland are two students, and best friends, who are committed to enter-ing the fashion industry.

Leibowitz and Holland dis-covered their passion by taking

the Fashion and Design course taught by MaryKaye Rhude-

Faust as freshmen. They said that the class had a profound impact on them.

Both girls plan on pursuing careers in fashion.

“In eighth grade I was sitting in math class when the guidance counselors from Conestoga came in and told us about the fashion classes, and I think ever since that day I’ve been drawing and [studying] fashion all the time,” Lei-bowitz said.

Leibow-itz, who is the presi-dent of the Take a Blink

for Pink club, held her own fashion show in April 2010, presenting

the clothing she had made in order to raise money for

breast cancer patients.

FEATURES

Rhude-Faust said. “It’s a lot of work, and they work tirelessly.”

While Holland tends to gravitate toward neutral shades, Leibowitz likes to express herself through bright, vibrant colors. Although their styles

Seniors sketch futures in fashionNatalie WestSta� Reporter

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But come June, they will go their separate ways in order to pursue their dreams.

Leibowitz will attend West Vir-ginia University, which has one of the top ten fashion programs in the

country.Holland plans to

major in fashion mer-chandising and minor in Italian, eventually study abroad and work for a fashion company in Italy.

Wherever the girls’ plans for the future lead them, Holland and Leibowitz will never underestimate

the creative effort required to make even the simplest article of clothing, or the fulfi llment of self-expression through fashion.

“I go with my own style,” Leibow-itz said. “It can be crazy or gorgeous; either way it’s what I made.”

Natalie West can be reached at [email protected].

After Rhude-Faust encouraged her, she applied for an exclusive two-week fashion course at Drexel University. Leibowitz was one of 50 design and merchandising students chosen from applicants across the country. After two weeks at Drexel, Leibowitz said that she was inspired to continue to make and design clothes at home.

“I’ve made all of my homecoming and prom dresses and I made the dress I wore to my sister’s bat mitzvah,” Leibowitz said. “I’ve made skirts and jackets that I’ve worn to school, but I like to do more dressy, cocktail stuff.”

Holland also spent part of her sum-mer to pursue her love of fashion by enrolling in a fashion sketching class at Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia in 2009. Holland said that she hoped the class could im-prove her drawing skills and guide her on her way to a future in fashion.

“It opened my eyes to what the fashion world really was, and I wanted to be a part of it,” Holland said. “That’s when I decided that fashion was my calling, and I wanted to explore it deeper.”

Both Leibowitz and Holland interned for Hartstrings, a childrens’ clothing company, last summer, getting a hands-on experience by designing for a younger clientele. They also were selected for Nordstrom BP’s fashion board for high school students, where they dis-cuss trends or participate in challenges during their monthly meetings.

Rhude-Faust said that she was impressed by their original patterns, as well as their overall growth as designers.

“They have a goal and they are driven to meet that goal, and they do what it takes to get the job done,”

Seniors Sam Leibowitz (left) and Jennie Holland display storyboards, which they use to illustrate their design concepts. Both girls have been pursuing their passion for fashion design since their freshman year.

Senior Sam Leibowitz created this sketch and fi nal product of a dress as part of a fashion program at Drexel University last summer. She utilized zippers and newspapers instead of fabric for the assignment.

Luke Rafferty/The SPOKE

Graphic by Luke Rafferty

FEATURESMONDAY,MARCH 28, 2011

PAGE 15THE SPOKE

My fashion class “opened my eyes

to what the fashion world really was, and I wanted to be a part of

it.”- Senior Jennie Holland

differ, the friends frequently build off of each other’s talent and work together.

“I like to make the clothes and de-sign them, and [Holland] likes to put the outfi ts together,” Leibowitz said.

Together, the girls have discovered the excitement of the fashion indus-try and are ready to plunge into the competitive but rewarding vocation.

FEATURES

CAT Pickering teaches students to build, style careers

As the bell rings, junior Nino Nazghaidze enters her first afternoon class, which takes place in a rather unusual classroom. Man-nequins, hair dryers and salon chairs line the walls of the large cosmetology room, which smells faintly of hair-care products.

She is one of three Conestoga students who commute to the Center for Arts and Technology’s Pickering campus for half of the school day.

Nazghaidze, who takes cosmetology classes at CAT Pickering, hopes to become a makeup artist on Broadway someday. Back in the classroom, Nazghaidze focuses intently on her mannequin, attempting to style its real human hair into a French Twist. Today, the students work independently, practicing beauty treatments from a list on a green sheet of paper. On other days, they take notes or follow along with the teacher as she teaches them a new style.

Outside of school, Nazghaidze gains ex-tra practice by volunteering on the makeup crew for Conestoga’s stage productions, in-cluding “Alice in Wonderland” and “Phan-tom of the Opera.”

“It’s great, because at CAT I haven’t prac-ticed on real people yet. I’m just a begin-ner, and it’s only my first year,” Nazghaidze said. “Next year I actually get to practice on clients. Honestly, that makes me a little nervous.”

Advanced cosmetology students provide services to clients who come for appoint-ments, just like a real salon. In all of its programs, CAT Pickering strives to provide students with realistic experiences outside of the classroom.

The school, about 20 minutes away from Conestoga, offers 16 career and technical programs. Most of the school’s 500 stu-dents, drawn from six area school districts, attend CAT Pickering full time, but a few, such as Nazghaidze and junior Mark Kamin-skas, continue to take some classes at their local high school.

Kaminskas is in the carpentry program at CAT Pickering, where he spends class time installing baseboards, building cabinets or constructing an addition on a house.

“I decided over the summer that I wanted to do more hands-on work, and I have an interest in carpentry,” Kaminskas said. “It’s great, because you can practice a trade that you’re good at, and you have a lot of em-ployment opportunities as well.”

Students do have to make some sacrifices to attend CAT Pickering, but Nazghaidze said that she thought the opportunities are worth it.

“I don’t get to take electives at ’Stoga, because I go right to CAT after my fourth class,” Nazghaidze said. “But going there is what I really want to be doing.”

Though students may have less time in

their schedule to take electives, they do not have to abandon their other extracurriculars. Kaminskas plays football and wrestles for Conestoga and he said that he is still able to socialize with his friends at ’Stoga through sports.

Both schools strive to make joining a program at CAT Pickering as easy as pos-sible.

“I was really surprised about how little paperwork was involved” in the transition, Kaminskas said. “If that’s what’s standing in between other kids and applying, then they should know that if you really want to go, you can.”

Dana BronzinoStaff Reporter

CAT Pickering Principal Debbie Noel said that, contrary to popular belief, attend-ing CAT Pickering will not negatively affect a student’s college or career aspirations.

“Most of our students attend post-second-ary schools,” Noel said. “In fact, students in some programs receive college credit for the work they complete while enrolled in our programs.”

Noel said that she is consistently im-pressed by her students’ accomplishments.

“I have seen kayaks built from imported wood, home gaming computers built from scratch, customized automobiles, guitars built in carpentry, incredible website design

and food that has been out of this world,” Noel said. “Our students are able to use their skills and passions to create things that are of great value to themselves and others.”

Kaminskas said that attending a non-traditional high school was a perfect choice for him.

“I’m not a paper and book kid but, at CAT, carpentry is something that came nat-urally to me and something I became very good at,” he said. “I don’t even view it as work; I enjoy it.”

Dana Bronzino can be reached at [email protected].

Above left: Junior Nino Nazghaidze practices styling on a mannequin during her cosmetology class at CAT Pickering. Above right: The mannequins used in cosmetology, which are made of real hair, are stored on shelves to display students’ work.Bottom: Junior Mark Kaminskas adds shingles to a mock roofing project during carpentry class. He takes core classes at Conestoga then commutes to CAT Pickering in the afternoon to complete his technical program.

MONDAY,MARCH 28, 2011

PAGE 16THE SPOKE

Luke Rafferty photos/The SPOKE

FEATURESMONDAY,

MARCH 28, 2011PAGE 17

THE SPOKE

Page design by Brooke Weil.Interview by Mary Turocy.

TV: I don’t watch much TV other than the news. I like the British comedies but they don’t have them on Channel 12 any-more. “Masterpiece Theatre” often has good things.

Quote: I had an eighth grade English teacher who used to quote one of her teachers: “Speak clearly if you speak at all. Carve every letter before you let it fall.”

The SPOKE: Why do you like to wear bow ties?J.M.: When I was in banking, we were expected to wear standard four-in-hand ties, so I couldn’t wear bow ties except on weekends. Now that I teach, I can do as I please.

TS: How did you start singing to your classes?JM: One time a teacher suddenly got sick and I was called in at the last minute. It was a French teacher, and the teacher hadn’t left any plans. I

Favorites:Books: “This Side of Paradise” by F. Scott Fitzgerald and nearly every-thing by P.G. Wodehouse.

Movie: “The Silken Affair” with David Niven.

Food: I tend to like sandwiches more than serious food—and des-serts of course.

James Mallinson

TS: If you could have dinner with any three people, living or dead, who would you choose and why?JM: The Queen, the late Queen Mother and the late Sir Winston Churchill. I’ve always admired the royal family and Churchill was always a hero.

TS: What do you like to do in your spare time?JM: I’m active in a lot of organizations—veterans, military and patriotic organiza-tions. I play bridge and go target shooting. I just started archery again. I haven’t shot bow and arrow since I was a kid, and I thought it would be fun to get started again.

TS: Can you tell me more about bridge?JM: I started again a couple years ago. It’s a great social game—lots of fun. I don’t play for money or championship points or I’d lose my shirt. It’s just a lot of fun to get together with people and play.

TS: Can you tell me about your time in the military?

JM: I spent two years active, and the rest of my life practically in the reserves and National Guard. Before you ask, I never saw combat, and just had a good time basically. I spent six months in Virginia, seven months in the Panama Canal Zone, where I improved my Spanish, and 11 months in Philadelphia, liv-ing at home and commuting to work.

TS: What’s your biggest pet peeve?JM: People who drive slowly in the left lane.

remembered a song that I had been taught in third semester French, “La Bergère”—the one people usually call “The Cat Song”—and I tried to teach it to them, and that filled up the period. It wasn’t long before I was asked to sing. That was in ’96, and now every class hears about it.

TS: Describe yourself in one word.JM: Absent-minded.

Substitute teacher

.comstoganewsGo online to

for a video of Mallinsons’s songsSubstitute teacher James Mallinson fi lls in for Scott Holland. Mallison has been substitute

teaching in T/E for 15 years, and has taught almost exclusively at ’Stoga for the last 13 years.

Karolis Panavas photos/The SPOKE

MONDAY,MARCH 28, 2011

FEATURESPAGE 18THE SPOKE

Editor’s note: Miguel Urbina’s inter-views were conducted in Spanish and then translated into English.

No comprendo. For any student studying a foreign language, “I don’t understand,” is as critical to new vocabulary as “hello” or “goodbye.” This is especially true for freshman Miguel Urbina, who is only beginning to try to understand a completely new language and lifestyle in the United States.

Urbina moved to Devon from Bogotá, Colombia on Feb. 7. He and his family left all of their friends and relatives in Colombia to come to the T/E School District for a chance at a better future.

Students like Urbina, who come to the United States speaking little or no English, enroll in English as a Second Language, or ESL, which helps students to improve their language skills and adapt to a new culture.

“I have to change almost every-thing, my way of thinking and the way I learn new things—on top of learning a new language,” Urbina said.

Native English speakers tend to

speak using a dizzying array of idi-oms, inconsistencies and grammatical errors—all at lightning speed—so Urbina frequently finds it difficult to understand a conversation at school.

“A lot of times I get frustrated because I am not able to understand or communicate with the people around me,” Urbina said.

Junior Maria Alvarez can relate to the process of learning English, which she went through when she moved to the United States from Colombia at age six.

Sophia PonteStaff Reporter

thing because you’ll probably learn it really quickly, but if you watch TV and listen to music and watch movies all in English then it will help.”

Regardless of the disadvantage that the language barrier creates, Urbina’s schedule closely resembles the schedule of any other student. He takes four core classes, along with regular tests and quizzes. Urbina also spends two periods each day in the ESL room, continuing to work on his English.

“Since I just moved here, and I don’t really know the language, I don’t really speak with anyone. If I do, it’s something very small and simple,” Ur-bina said.

In the ESL room, teachers work with stu-dents like Urbina, some from countries such as Albania and Jordan.

“These students are not just learning a for-eign language as some-thing that is enlarging

their scope. They are actually learning through immersion because of their need,” ESL teacher Kathryn Burling said. “They need to have really great motivation, and that is how they learn so much faster.”

Compared to the way Conestoga students learn Spanish, French or German over five or six years, Burling said that ESL students learn English

Jumping the language barrier

remarkably fast. Urbina said that his ESL experience has been positive.

“Being in the ESL room is good for me because I am learning new things—new words and writing,” Urbina said.

Urbina continues to learn about life in the United States and is still adjusting from leaving his life behind in Colombia. However, he said that he appreciates the new opportunities he has here.

“For one, the school is a whole lot bigger,” Urbina said. “There are a lot more sports here, and the classes are great, and really interesting.”

One of the few places where Urbina can hear and speak his native language at Conestoga is in Spanish class. Urbina is in Spanish 5, and said that what is taught to the students in the Spanish classes is different

than what he is used to speaking and hearing.

“There are many times that people don’t use pronunciations that I use, and the way that my classmates and teachers speak the language overall is very different,” Urbina said.

Despite Urbina’s struggles with being immersed in a new language and culture, he said that he appreciates his new life in the United States.

“When I first came here, I felt a little bit like I was in a dream because I had never thought that I would have ever been able to come here,” Urbina said. “But I also felt a little sad because I left my family and friends, but otherwise, I was and still am happy.”

Sophia Ponte can be reached at [email protected].

“I have to change almost

everything, my way of think-ing and the way I learn new things—on top of learning a

new language.”- Freshman Miguel Urbina

Freshman Miguel Urbina moved from Bogotá, Colombia with his family on Feb. 7. He is enrolled in ESL classes, as well as Spanish 5.

Freshman Miguel Urbina works on an assignment in the ESL room during the morning. He takes the same classes most other freshmen, but also spends two periods in the ESL room improving his English.

Luke Rafferty photos/The SPOKE

Alvarez said that learning English was not as difficult for her because she was so young, but she still re-members that process and notices the differences between Colombian and American culture.

To learn English more easily “try to immerse yourself as completely as possible in it,” Alvarez said. “Going to school in English is a really good

FEATURESMONDAY,

MARCH 28, 2011PAGE 19

THE SPOKE

‘Stoga teachers make the grade at national AP readings

At the annual Advanced Place-ment Language and Composition exam reading in Louisville, Ky., Linda Kerschner reads the same es-say question over and over again.

She sits at a round table in a ho-tel convention center surrounded by hundreds of other readers, all grading each essay in under two and a half minutes. Her eyes be-gin to blur and her mind wanders, but she keeps going, scoring more than 1,000 essays before the week is over.

Although this might sound like a teacher’s worst nightmare, selec-tion as an AP grader is an honor for the thousands of teachers who gath-er from across the country to read AP exams. Kerschner’s selection is especially prestigious, as only one-third of the readers are high school teachers, while the rest are college English professors.

Despite the long hours, Kersch-ner said that she enjoys attending the June AP readings because she can share ideas with other English teachers.

“I’ve gotten great ideas for books [to] read myself and also articles that I’ve shared with my classes,” Kerschner said. “I’ve got-ten to know people. We bounce ideas off of each other—in terms of lesson plans or whether an as-signment would make sense [in a classroom].”

Kerschner also said that she enjoys the AP readings because of all the interesting essays she reads over the course of the week. Es-says in which the students have misinterpreted the question, gone completely off topic or taken a par-ticularly creative approach give the teachers an amusing break from the monotony.

“These kinds of misunderstand-ings can cause us to really get a chuckle, especially when the envi-ronment is so serious,” Kerschner said.

AP readings always follow a standard procedure. Readers are placed in a specific seat and read a specific question. They spend an entire day learning where certain essays should fall on the zero-to-nine AP scale, using papers called standard sets to determine what

Emily OmrodStaff Reporter

grade an essay with certain charac-teristics should receive.

Other elements of the complex scoring system check for discrep-ancies that could hurt a student’s chances of passing the exam.

“There’s a lot of verification so that students don’t have to fear that there’s this one teacher who might be jaded,” Kerschner said.

Kerschner’s husband, AP Art History teacher Gary Kerschner, read the AP Art History exam from 1998 to 2002 and also was on the Art History Test Development Committee. He said that his experi-ences outside of the classroom have strengthened his understanding of the course material.

“It just brought up the level of everything we do in the Art Depart-ment, having the AP there, even though a small fraction of students take it,” Gary Kerschner said. The students “see something in a cri-tique and they’ll relate it to some-thing they know [from] the Art His-tory course.”

Still, not everything about AP readings is enjoyable. Debra Cia-macca, an AP U.S. Government teacher who is currently on sab-batical, read two years ago and found the experience taxing.

“The difficult thing is that you’re reading exams about at least nine hours a day for seven straight days. It’s a very repetitive kind of endeav-or. You read the same question over and over again,” Ciamacca said.

However, all three teachers agreed that going to AP readings has benefitted their students. Cia-macca said that it made her a fast-er and more accurate test grader. Linda Kerschner also said that the readings helped her to appreciate her students and the quality of their work.

Now, “I recognize just how strong Conestoga students are in comparison to the [rest of] the country,” Linda Kerschner said.

Emily Omrod can be reached at [email protected].

AP tests taken at ’Stoga in 2010

1,286

Students nationally who took AP exams in 2010 (in millions)

Essays Linda Kerschner scores per hour

Approx. number of essays scored by Linda Kerschner

1.8

AP cours-es offered at ’Stoga this year

By the numbers:

AP exams taken nation-ally in 2010 (in millions)

1,000

Art teacher Gary Kerschner and his wife, English teacher Linda Ker-schner, have both been selected as readers in the Advanced Placement (AP) program in recent years.


SportsMONDAY, MARCH 28, 2011

Students share stories

about injuries, recovery and

what they go through to play again

Get backup again

Sprinters are no strangers to pain. Every day, runners push through burning lungs and aching calves

just to shave off a tenth of a second on the stopwatch. But for sophomore Ma-rybeth Reither, the most painful part of spring track is sitting on the sidelines watching her teammates compete with-out her.

Reither, who also plays fi eld hockey, was diagnosed with stress fractures in July 2010 when she went to the doctor complaining of pain in her foot. She wore a boot for six weeks but could still attend fi eld hockey preseason in Au-gust.

Although Reither’s doctor told her she would be able to prac-tice, Reither ended up reinjuring her foot again and was put back in the boot.

“It’s incredibly frustrating,” she said. “I go to practice every day hoping I’ll be able to run soon, but I’m still waiting to recover.”

According to Darren Rodia, president of Kinetic Physical Therapy in Chester Springs, athletes like Reither should give their bodies extra time to recover before going back to practice. Returning to practice too early, without allowing for the full recovery that teenage ath-letes need, often leads to more serious or recurring injuries.

“Returning to play too early can make a little problem a big problem,” Rodia said. “Whenever we add stress to a body

part, our bodies will accommodate by be-coming stronger. However, that requires a certain amount of time and rest. If we are not afforded that time, injuries can occur.”

To assure that she does not reinjure her foot, Reither plans to spend three months in a boot before she starts running again. In addition to plenty of rest, she sees a physi-cal therapist on a regular basis in an effort to eliminate the source of the pain, rather than solely the symptoms.

“Physical therapists treat the cause, not just the pain,” Rodia said. “If more people came to physical therapists then there would be fewer recurring injuries.”

Senior John Lopes said combining physical therapy and rest make the quick-est recovery. After breaking his arm during basketball season, Lopes has been seeing a physical therapist regularly so that he can play lacrosse this spring.

“Athletes also need to rest,” Lopes said. “If you don’t, you’ll be out for the rest of the whole season. That’s a lot worse [than being out for a few games].”

Senior Remy Bremner, on the other hand, is looking at a much longer recovery period. Bremner, who tore her ACL during a preseason rugby game, will be out for the

25%of sports injuries are considered

serious

62%of sports injuries

occur during practice

Remy Bremner:

SPORTS:

Rugby, soccer INJURY:

Torn ACL

JohnLopes:

SPORTS:

Basketball, lacrosse

INJURY:

Broken arm

Marybeth Reither:

SPORTS:

Field hockey, track

INJURY:

Stress fracture

By Maddie Amsterdam, Staff Reporter

rest of her season and will not be able to play until six months after her surgery.

“I might be a little afraid to play again in college,” Bremner said. “I have to get over the fear of injuring myself again because rugby is such a vio-lent sport.”

Bremner, along with Reither and Lopes, still supports her team despite her injury and attends games and practices on a regular ba-sis. While cheering for the team shows dedication, sports medicine doctor John McShane believes that it is equally impor-tant for these athletes to stay in shape dur-

ing their time off. “During an ath-

lete’s period of rest they should be ac-tively doing things to help promote re-covery,” Mc-Shane said. “If you get the injury

to heal but you let your conditioning and strengthening go, you won’t be able to get back at the level you want to.”

Above all, rest is the most impor-tant ingredient to a successful recov-ery.

“Everyone is trying to speed up the healing process,” McShane said. “The reality is you can slow it down as much as you want, but you can’t speed it up.”

Maddie Amsterdam can be reached at [email protected].

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics

SPORTSMONDAY,MARCH 28, 2011

Emily SeeburgerStaff Reporter

Sports staff maintains fields after final buzzerJenna SpoontStaff Reporter

PAGE 21THE SPOKE

Caution: Sharp objects on Team-er Field’s turf, including screws, hair pins and shards of metal. Fortunate-ly, none of them will harm the ath-letes. Prior to the upcoming lacrosse games, a maintenance crew member will ride in a John Deere tractor that drags a powerful six-foot magnet across the field.

Grooming Teamer is one way that the maintenance department prepares the sports facilities and im-plements injury-prevention. Tending to the fields also keeps the turf in working condition.

“Although it is a safety factor for the athletes, those items also can be damaging to the turf. You want to make sure the turf will not get a puncture or tear,” Athletic Director Patrick Boyle said.

Teamer is guaranteed to be safe through the G-max test, which mea-sures the level of impact of a particu-lar field in order to prevent injuries, especially concussions.

“It’s not just the school that uses our fields; the community uses most of them too,” Boyle said. “We make

Blowing past La Salle College High School by a score of 10-6, the boys lacrosse team claimed the PIAA Boy’s Lacrosse Champions title in 2010. Now that the 2011 season is underway, the boys are back on the field and hungry for more, looking to go to states for the third consecutive time and claim another title.

The team was focused on this goal long before the sea-son started.

“We go hard in practice to set the tempo for the season,” senior Andrew Visich said. “We like to face challenging opponents early on so we can be on the right track.”

Early in the season, scrim-mages also help to get the tempo flowing, giving the team a chance to get a sense of its toughest oppo-nents and understand how to play against them.

Scrimmages “allow us to go through play and start getting on the same page as an offense and a defense,” senior Richie Graf said.

Once the team has perfected its

“It’s always about working as a team.”

- Senior captain Taylor King

sure our fields are constantly in the best shape possible.”

Teamer Field has always mea-sured below the standard level of impact, and is therefore considered safe for play.

Marshall Barkman, the head of all landscaping in the district, said that the impacts of the other T/E grass fields are tested with a penetrameter, a tool that examines the compaction of the fields. Once the field is tested for impact, the maintenance crew aerates, which involves loosening soil. After the impact testing is com-plete, the fields must be mowed.

“All of the fields are cut once a week,” Maintenance Supervisor Colom Kelly said. “In the spring it may be as much as once every four days.”

The maintenance process for the fields usually begins in early August, leaving enough time for the mainte-nance crew to tend to the fields be-fore the summer sports camps begin. The fields and the sports facilities must be ready to go by Aug. 15, the first day of preseason for fall sports.

Before each new school year, the maintenance crew must tell the

police and fire d e p a r t m e n t s how many of their workers are needed at each event. Six officers are usu-ally needed for a varsity football game with an additional am-bulance fee of $350 per game. Although ex-pensive, the fire department and police ensure the safety of the athletes and fans.

“We want the people to feel comfortable knowing that there are peo-ple looking after their own safety,” Boyle said.

Once school starts, the mainte-nance staff is prepared for the 350 regular season games at Conestoga. Time and effort from the mainte-

nance crew ensure a smooth game.When the work is done and the

games begin, the Conestoga sports teams always put on a show for the fans.

“I want people to be proud to

come to Conestoga and I want stu-dents to be proud as well,” Barkman said.

Jenna Spoont can be reached at [email protected].

chemistry, this coordination can be translated into big games against opponents outside the Central League, including St. Joe’s Prep, the Haverford School and Boys’ Latin in Maryland.

“We have stepping stones for achievements this year,” Visich said. “First, reclaim our Central League title, then three-peat Dis-

trict One and finally, go back to Hershey for a third straight year and defend our title.”

As the boys look to states, the girls team is ready for a bright sea-son as well. After beginning the 2010 season with new coach Amy Orcutt, the Lady Pioneers have vastly improved their game and have recruited new players.

“There was a lot of change in the atmosphere,” senior captain

Taylor King said. “Because we have a lot of young players, it cre-ates a competitive atmosphere and there are a lot of girls that are re-ally trying this year.”

Even though the season has just begun, the girls are already prep-ping for the tough games ahead, working to get their communica-tion in check.

“From an offensive standpoint, we’re working on plays all the time ... The defensive is all about com-munication,” King said. “It’s always about working as a team.”

As for post-season ex-pectations, the girl’s team is looking to make it fur-

ther than last year, when they lost in the last minute of District Quar-terfinals.

“We have excellent poten-tial, and everyone has experience playing together and clicking to-gether,” senior Allison Henry said. “That’s how we’re going to get to the top.”

Emily Seeburger can be reached at [email protected].

Senior Tanner Scott brings the ball up the field. The boys’ lacrosse team won state championships last year against La Salle College High School.


Lacrosse players train to defend their turf

Luke Rafferty and Jenna Spoont photos/The SPOKE

Top left: A six-foot magnet picks up metal objects found on Teamer Field, such as the objects to the right. These items could injure players or damage the turf if not removed.Bottom left: The maintenance crew uses a John Deere tractor to pull the magnet across the field.

SPORTS MONDAY,MARCH 28, 2011

G01GUR

After the Phillies won the World Se-ries in 2008, I found myself looking back and wondering how it all happened. I’m not sure if I paid attention to Philadelphia during spring training, and wrote the team off after its classic April slump.

So when Brad Lidge threw that final strike, it didn’t quite hit me. Where had the season gone and when did the Phillies become a championship caliber team?

Once I had finally accepted that we were champions, I realized that I had some serious regrets about how little I re-membered from the season.

With the scarcity of Philadelphia sports championships, that was a huge mistake on my part, but I believe that I (along with other Philadelphia sports fans) have been given a mulligan.

The season is still young, we have plenty of time to truly relish the talent and character of the 2011 Phillies, especial-ly with the strong possibility of another World Series title this October.

Never in Phillies history has there been a more talented pitching rotation. The Phantastic Phour are truly a force to reck-

Phils: Enjoying each season as it comeson with, and I would not want to be the in the batter’s box against any one of them. However, we must be wary: Halladay, Os-walt and Lee were all acquired within the space of a year and could easily be traded away in that same time frame. And after this year, Cole Hamels is eligible for ar-bitration.

The infield may be just as talented as the pitching rotation when they are healthy; however that has not been the case lately. Utley and Polanco are injured currently, and Jimmy Rollins is coming back from a season riddled with inju-ries. If they can manage to stay healthy throughout the season the Phillies should be successful, but in the blink of an eye that success could disappear with injuries to the infield.

In 2012 we could have all four back again, or we could have Joe Blanton as our ace. I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but if that were to happen, I would want some good memories to help counter the impending disaster.

The Phillies have always had a team character like nothing I’ve ever seen in sports. They know how to have fun on and off the field, which makes games enter-taining to watch.

You never know when you will see a picture of Shane Victorino in a skirt on the cover of the New York Post (they claimed New

York is better than Philadelphia), or the rookies dressed as princesses as part of rookie hazing.

It’s impossible to know when Carlos Ruiz will get pied in the face with shav-ing cream during a post game interview or even during the game when they will bat around or make another incredible ninth inning comeback. These occurrenc-es are unpredictable, and the best way to enjoy them all (besides watching them on YouTube) is to not miss a minute of the Phillies season.

Now, with the hubbub about this sea-son and the Phantastic Phour, you can bet that I will be soaking up every minute of it. I have been given my second chance at fully enjoying a World Series season and I will not throw it away.

And even if they don’t win, I’m sure there will be plenty of fantastic sports moments and I am not going to miss any of them. Making history isn’t something that’s scheduled.

Heather Ward can be reached at [email protected].

Heather WardBusiness Manager

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All statistics as of March 22.

Days until the Phillies season

opener at Citizens Bank Park

3

Years since the Phillies played their first opening game

Phillies opening day

losses

PAGE 22THE SPOKE

3

Opening day no deci-

sion games by starting

pitchers20

32 Phillies opening day wins

Phillies opening day re-cord at Citizens Bank Park


SPORTSMONDAY,MARCH 28, 2011

Practice makes perfect: ’Stoga teams hard at work

PAGE 23THE SPOKE

would be pretty cool to make a run in.

Q: Which athlete do you ad-mire most?

A: Wilt Chamberlain. His stats are unbelievable.

Player Pro� le

Q: If you could play any other sport, what would it be?

A: I would play basketball. I’ve always wanted to be able todunk, and the NCAA tournament

#20 Brian Dailey, Long-stick Midfield

Q: How long have you been playing lacrosse?

A: I started playing lacrosse when I was nine years old.

Q: What inspired you to start playing?

They were ranked second in the country and no one really knew about us.

Q: What, in your opinion, is your greatest sports accom-plishment?

A: I got selected to play for this thing last summer on ESPN called ESPN RISE Warrior 40. They picked the 40 best kids in our grade and I got selected. It was a lot of fun.

Q: Where have you com-mitted to play in college?

A: Duke University.

Q: Why Duke?

A: I went on a lot of visits to schools and Duke felt right. I liked all the coaches and it’s the best of both worlds: great lacrosse and a great school. Karolis Panavas and Luke Rafferty photos/The SPOKE

A: I didn’t know anything about it and a lot of my friends were trying it so I decided to join them.

Q: What’s your favorite pump-up song before a game?

A: “Are You Ready for This” by Jock Jams.

Q: Do you play lacrosse outside of Conestoga? If so, where?

A: From eighth to eleventh grade I played for Mesa Fresh in the summer. There were a lot of Conestoga kids but a couple from schools like Haverford and some West Chester kids.

Q: What is your fondest sports memory?

A: When we beat La Salle in our first game of my sophmore year.

MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2011 INSIDE

Inside look at student injuries

See p. 20

Taking in all of Phillies season

See p. 22

VOluMe 61, NO. 5

Game Face

Boys and girls lax look foward to successful spring seasons

See p. 21

.comstoganews Go online for an extended photo gallery from the lacrosse season.


March 2011 issue

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Transcript of March 2011 issue