THE MAN WITH THE CAMPUS PLAN
MALVERN FOOTBALL
This guy has been selected to propose a campus re-design. He spoke with the BFC about his background and ideas.
Friar football is off to a great start. How does the rest of the season look? >Page 8
DEDICATION TO THE ARTS, DEDICATION TO A BROTHER The Blackfriar Chronicle staff pays tribute to Brian Hackman ‘05 >Page 12
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BLACKFRIAR Chronicle
The
www.mpfriarslantern.COM
SEPTEMBER 2014
VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1
Welcome Back, Friars!
Senior lounge moves to Sullivan Hall Led by Student Council president Ryan Doane, the senior class worked hard to find a home for the senior lounge. Kieran Sweeney ‘15, John Kuyat ‘15, Michael McHugh ‘15, Jack Marchesani ‘15
Correspondents or the 2014-2015 school year, the senior lounge is moving to the bottom floor of Sullivan Hall. On Friday, September 19, Doane announced to the senior class via Facebook that the senior lounge has been officially found. “We were finally able to get the MECO room on the bottom floor of Sullivan Hall thanks to Mr. DiDomenico and Father Flynn. They graciously agreed to switch,” said Doane. DiDomenico and Mr. Algeo confirmed the new location for the senior lounge to the Blackfriar Chronicle via email. During a meeting with the senior class on Wednesday, September 3, Dean of Students Mr. Dougherty established that the previous senior lounge on the third floor of Carney Hall was removed because the Dean of Students office needed a room for meetings with both parents and students. Head of the Upper School Mr. Ron Algeo and Dougherty expressed their sympathy for the loss of the senior lounge and promised that they would do their best to find a new location for one. According to Doane, a great deal of effort was put forth by the faculty and students to find the perfect location for the new senior lounge. Doane explored the campus with Mr. Algeo. “We visited > PAGE 6
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The class of 2018 is inducted into the brotherhood of Malvern Prep on Monday, September 8 / J. Bennett
Malvern Adjusts to New School Schedule This Fall Malvern begins its adjustment to the modified block schedule that has left some students and faculty with mixed feelings. Ryan Franks ‘17 & Matt Lanetti ‘15 Assistant Head of School Mr. Steve Valyo described some Reporter & Editor-in-Chief goals the new schedule seeks to accomplish. “One of the main his September, Malvern began its new modified block reasons was to reduce the frenetic pace of the day and to allow the scheduling system. Some students and faculty feel posischedule to be more student driven than teacher driven,” he said. tive about it - others not so much. The schedule works, Valyo said, as “almost Some features of the new schedule include nona pure college model. You may meet in a class “We made the sequential class days, mandatory study halls for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and the responswitch to block 9th-11th grades and an open period for seniors, scheduling because sibility is on you to get the work done Tuesday an hour-long block of community time, a shifting and Thursday.” the main survey, taken by students, lunch period, counseling classes, and a different “The schedule has the ability to add more showed high levels electives and classes and is more flexible,” said time for homeroom. of stress when Few students and teachers have experienced Valyo. “It creates less conflicts, for example, in meeting with a schedule where they do not have to go or teach the past, because we have so many honors and AP teachers eight every class each day. Classes meet five days out classes, students couldn’t take band and honors periods a day.” of the eight-day schedule. Students and teachers 4 or AP Spanish because they were at the same -Mr. Ron Algeo must also adjust to extended periods and a daily time. Now with the eight carriers over eight days shifting lunch period. we can move things around.” “Students had less problems getting the courses According to Head of Upper School Mr. Ron they wanted than ever,” Mr. Valyo concluded. Algeo, “We made the switch to block scheduling because the main survey, taken by students, showed high levels of stress when meeting with teachers eight periods a day.” > PAGE 7 “Block Scheduling allows student centered initiative and more time to get done class work and understand that material. What does the Friar community think of the new schedule? We asked. It also allows for getting homework accomplished easier," Algeo continued. Page 4
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Malvern Theatre Society to perform The Laramie Project Cast and staff excited for controversial play related to Malvern’s diversity initiative Andrew Stetser ‘15 Arts Editor his November, the M a l v e r n T h e at r e Society will be performing The Laramie Project, the stor y of the circumstances surrounding Matthew Shepard's murder in Laramie, Wyoming. M at t he w She pa rd , a homosexual college student at the University of Wyoming, was brutally murdered by two men on October 12, 1998, in what many classified as a hate crime. The play is a series of monologues collected by New York’s Tectonic Theatre Company, a professional theatre company that wanted to bring awareness to the reactions of the people of Wyoming. “It’s a play that I’ve always wanted to do,” said Dr. James Fry, director of the Malvern Theatre Society. “It’s a show that Mrs. Velardi [MTS’s assistant director] and I have talked about
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