volume MMXIV,
No. 2
Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 2010
Roland Woehr: Twenty-Five Years of Service Michael Fuery ’11 The year 2011 not only marks the 150th anniversary of CHA’s founding, but also celebrates Mr. Roland Woehr Jr.’s 25th year of service here at CHA. Mr. Woehr began his tenure at CHA as a long-term substitute teacher in the Lower School in March 1985. Today, not only is Mr. Woehr the Chairman of the CHA Music Department, but he has overseen the development and growth of our music program into one that is incredibly rich, multi-faceted and well-respected by the entire CHA community. Mr. Woehr’s love of music began at a very young age. When he was only three years old, Mr. Woehr distinctly remembers listening to the piano accompaniment at a church service.
He later went home and played the complex arrangement on a toy piano. This incredible musical acumen certainly impressed his parents. “They seemed to know that I had some talent for it,” stated Woehr, “so they promised to save money for several years to pay for a real piano because they were so expensive.” His parents’ wise investment paid off. While at Central High School in Philadelphia, Mr. Woehr began composing his own music in 10th grade and became a professional organist at the age of 15. His talents earned him a full scholarship to Temple University to continue his studies. He flourished in this environment and after earning his undergraduate degree, Mr. Woehr earned his master’s degree during the time he was teaching in the public school systems at Abington Middle
School and Cheltenham High School. “My experience in the public schools was eye-opening because the teachers seemed to dread working each day,” explained Mr. Woehr. “When I came to CHA, the students were much more engaged in their education and willing to put forth the effort to learn. I knew I had to be here.” When offered a position as a longterm substitute in 1985, he jumped at the chance. Mr. Woehr’s musical talents also benefit other organizations in the greater metropolitan Philadelphia community. He is a professional organist at the Memorial Church of the Good Shepherd and at Reform Synagogue Beth Or. Additionally, he serves as the pianist for the Ambler Choral Society, a community choir. When asked what his most memorable moment at CHA was, Mr. Woehr told a story about Robert Nutt, the son of a former CHA teacher, Ms. Nutt. Robert suffered from deteriorating hearing and was completely deaf by his high school years. After graduating from college and medical school, he wrote a letter to Mr. Woehr saying that despite his inability to hear, he still listens to the songs in his head that he learned in his Middle School class taught by Mr. Woehr. Whether playing the organ as we enter Chapel on Monday mornings or conducting the Hilltones’ performances at all-school assemblies, Mr. Woehr’s impact on Chestnut Hill Academy has been a memorable and lasting one. We congratulate Roland Woehr on his 25 outstanding years of service to CHA and applaud him on a job well-done.
In this issue: New Head of Lower School, New Locker Rooms, Friday Morning Meetings, D.C. Trip 2010, Fall Sports
volume MMXIV,
No. 2
Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 2010
CHA Welcomes New Head of Lower School Jeffrey Ng ’12 Just a year after the arrival of a new Upper School head, Chestnut Hill Academy welcomes Mr. Francis Yasharian, new Head of Lower School. CHA is a marked contrast from the large public K-5 charter school in Washington, D.C., where Mr. Yasharian served as principal, however, his transition to CHA has been wonderfully smooth. Although he felt that it would be difficult to leave his students behind, Mr. Yasharian decided last year that he was ready for new challenges and changes. He explained how he “love[s] urban education” but wanted to experience a different educational setting. CHA provided the perfect landing point by providing the personal and community-oriented atmosphere that he was looking for. While larger urban school environments are often missing a small-town, homey feel, at CHA such an atmosphere is present in the “genuine nature of the community,” said Mr. Yasharian. Transitions can be challenging, but Mr. Yasharian felt very welcomed and remarked that he “easily fell in place.” Working with small children all-day can be challenging for some—but Mr. Yasharian says that being around the Lower Schoolers makes “everything fun, new, and an adventure.” He mentioned numerous new resources and initiatives that have been designed to enrich Lower School education. Building off of the success of the blogging which took place in the multimedia lab last year under the direction of Mrs. Kimberly Sivick, Lower School technology teacher, the Lower School is starting to incorporate technology with the green screen by making weekly video messages. In addition, teachers are using what Mr. Yasharian refers to as “21st century skills” in the classroom, which include playbased learning and more educational activities based outdoors. Nowhere are these initiatives more evident than in the trips Lower Schoolers are going on in the coming weeks as part of the outdoor program in the Wissahickon Watershed. Some special indoor events for both
parents and students in the Lower School have included the 3rd grade buddy reading at a senior citizens center and a series held to inform parents about the Lower School curriculum.
“Little kids are the best,” said Mr. Yasharian. With all of his experience in education, Mr. Yasharian promises to be successful in overseeing all of these Lower School programs and changes.
New Locker Rooms Alex deBerardinis ’12 What a wonderful surprise awaited the Chestnut Hill Academy athletes at the start of the fall sports season—newly renovated locker rooms! In addition to fresh coats of paint, the renovation included brand new lockers, a new weight room with brand-new machines, a state-of-the-art cardio room and two individual locker rooms for use by several sports teams throughout the school year. The compliments have been plentiful and the renovation has been considered a huge success. The new
weight room is bigger, allowing for more people to work out at one time, and along with the new cardio room, it has been made available to students as well as to faculty. Any student may use the weight room whether or not he plays a sport. CHA Athletic Director Mike DelGrande spoke to the perception of the new facilities: “Excellent. It seems as if all of the student-athletes have been very pleased. It is a much nicer space to tour prospective families. Many more faculty have been seen using the space.” Private donations funded the new facilities which replaced the much
See Locker Rooms, Page 4
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No. 2
Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 2010
Friday Morning Meetings: Here to Stay Greg Kozemchak ’11 D-E-V-I-L-S, DEVILS, DEVILS, DEVILS!! Friday Morning Meetings are alive and well, according to Head of Upper School, Mr. Highley Thompson. As of now, they are scheduled to occur every Friday, and Mr. Thompson has no intention of eliminating them.
seniors, students start each Friday in an optimistic mood about CHA sports and the school in general. New students and lifers look forward to this time when they can laugh together and share a sense of camaraderie that then extends to the classroom and onto the athletic fields. This year’s seniors, though, have a tough act to follow. Last year’s Friday Morning Meeting leader, Brendan Plunkett, managed to lose his voice every Friday morning for the sake of school spirit and fun. His act of standing on the round lunch table and screaming for every athletic team scheduled to play that weekend, while mixing in some welltimed humor, will be remembered as some
Friday Morning Meetings are scheduled to occur every Friday, and Mr. Thompson has no intention of eliminating them.
Friday Morning Meetings allow CHA upper school students the chance to come together in a light-hearted manner and show school spirit. Through impromptu skits, poems and songs, led by
of the best Friday mornings ever by both the faculty and students. Recently, however, Mr. Thompson has expressed concern about the content of some jokes and skits in the Friday Morning Meetings, which he believes “gets into the territory of being disrespectful.” In particular, he will not tolerate references to drugs or alcohol, or comments that ridicule staff, students or other schools, even if there is no intent to harm anyone. He understands the important role that the Meetings play in bringing students together, but he would like to find a balance that increases school spirit without offensive remarks. He believes this can be achieved through better communication between the students who are planning the Friday Morning Meeting and himself. For example, he suggests that the student planners “take a proactive role” before the meeting and outline the content of their material in a discussion with him and other heads of school. In short, Friday Morning Meetings are not the equivalent of Saturday Night Live, where the funniest skits are those that poke fun at people in power or in the news. The goal is not to laugh at others but with them. Friday Morning Meetings should be spontaneous, funny, and loud, but they should not be unruly, profane, and divisive. The students want to keep Friday Morning Meetings and so does Mr. Thompson. So let’s work together to make that happen!
volume MMXIV,
No. 2
Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
From Locker Rooms, Page 2
Locker Rooms
smaller, older locker room and weight room. When asked if there were any additional renovations coming, DelGrande responded, “Plenty.� I encourage anyone who has not seen the new facilities to make an effort to get down there and check it out. It is a big hit!
December 2010
volume MMXIV,
No. 2
Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 2010
26 Years of D.C. Tim Menninger ’13 For each of the past 26 years, History Department Head Mr. Stanley Parker has organized the Washington, D.C. Trip, putting in countless hours and many visits to Washington in order to get everything ready for this unique CHA experience. CHA’s Class of 2014 spent six days in Washington, D.C. this past September. Each year of the trip, 9th graders choose a current event topic for investigation. Usually, Mr. Parker chooses one domestic and one foreign topic, however, this year, he decided to consolidate the two and focus solely on immigration. In addition to individually researching their topic, the Class of 2014 spoke with a multitude of people including ambassadors from Canada and Mexico, members of Congress,
and faculty from Georgetown and American Universities to acquire information. Prior to embarking on their trip back to Philadelphia, students participated in an Issues Forum designed to showcase each side of the topic. This year, Mr. Parker decided to introduce a new structure to the Issues Forum and fashioned it like a mock-Congress. Once the class of 2014 returned to CHA, each student wrote a paper on his topic. With new changes such as a focus on a single topic rather than on two “umbrella” topics and a mock-Congress structure for the Issues Forum, this year’s D.C. Trip was another success. But in just about two years, Chestnut Hill Academy and Springside Schools will be officially combined. Questions and concerns have arisen regarding our Washington trip. Will the trip include Springside
girls? Will the trip end? Will this unique CHA tradition be upheld and will the boys continue to start their freshman year with this boysonly trip? Mr. Parker loves to set high expectations after 8th grade and watch the boys rise to higher levels during their freshman debuts. He would love to see the same activity produce the same results for Springside students. However, doubling the number of people on the trip may introduce a new set of problems and may be too unwieldy a number of students to manage on such a multi-day venture. These questions and potential problems will be addressed in the years ahead. Until then, congratulations are due to the Class of 2014 for a successful trip to our nation’s capital!
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No. 2
Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 2010
X-Men 2010 Stephen Skeel ’13 The 2010 Cross-country team approached the season with high expectations. “It’s always good to start your team off with an All-American, Dustin Wilson,” said Coach Paul Hines at the outset of the year. Not only did the team have returning veterans such as Dustin Wilson ’12 and Co-captain Michael Fuery ’11, but also acquired some new talent in freshmen Harrison Tracy ’14 and Robert Jacoby ’14. Several of the top seven varsity spots were up for grabs during pre-season, and as the season progressed, joining Wilson and Fuery in the top seven were Tate Sager ’11, Johnny Haas ’12, Skip Ross ’13, Ian Miller ’11, and Greg Baird ’12. First man Dustin Wilson (who holds too many cross-country and track records to list here), began the season coming off of a stress fracture, so senior Michael Fuery had to run in the first spot for the first few weeks. Both Wilson and Fuery continued to run personal records meet after meet, but the rest of the team was often unable to give its top two runners enough support to defeat Inter-Ac rivals such as Germantown Academy and the Haverford School. The Blue Devils’ weakness was depth. While we took first and second in many races, our third, fourth, and fifth runners remained relatively weak in comparison to those of teams such as that of Germantown Academy. Coach Hines’s common refrain throughout the season was “these guys can’t do
it by themselves,” referring to Wilson and Fuery. On October 18th, the Blue Devils finished fifth in the Inter-Ac while Germantown Academy took home the League trophy. Dustin Wilson came in first place and Michael Fuery took fifth place. While this was a disappointing finish for a team with high hopes at the start of the year, looking toward next season, the good news is that the Blue Devils know exactly what they need to do and how to do it to have a chance to win it all in 2011: beginning preseason earlier in the summer. The team’s lack of depth may be attributed less to a shortage of running talent, but more to a shortage of time to get into top-flight running shape. In addition to the those who earned spots in the top seven, six more CHA runners earned varsity letters based on their times (Co-captain Quint Frazier ’11, Co-captain Danny DiIulio ’11, Alec Rankin ’11, Augie Frank ’12, Harrison Tracy ’14, and Robert Jacoby ’14). With 13 runners able to run decent times, the team did not want for running ability. Rather, it wanted for time to develop that ability. Whereas other teams such as that of Germantown Academy
With a time of 14:58 for CHA’s 3.0-mile course and a first place finish in the 2010 cross-country state competition, All-American Dustin Wilson will be back to lead the Blue Devils next year.
began practicing at the beginning of the summer, the Blue Devils’ pre-season began only two weeks before the season opened. The team’s failure to help Wilson and Fuery finish off league rivals was not due to an inadequate work ethic: they practiced hard and raced hard. It came down to the simple fact that after our top two runners, we did not put in the necessary time early in the summer to have as good a chance as we could have at Inter-Ac Champs. True, not all of the top seven runners will return for next year. But there is a lot of young talent which will help carry the team once Fuery, Sager, and Miller have graduated. And, not to mention, after he finishes breaking more records this winter and spring (breaking many records which are already his, that is) with a time of 14:58 for CHA’s 3.0-mile course and a first place finish in the 2010 Cross-Country State Competition, All-American Dustin Wilson will be back to lead the Blue Devils next year.
volume MMXIV,
No. 2
Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 2010
volume MMXIV,
No. 2
Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 2010
Editor in Chief Dan DiIulio
Editor of Layout Richard Bilger
Junior Editor Iain Kuo
Staff
Drew Ansel Michael Fuery Griffin Horter Gregory Kozemchak George Kunkel Iain Kuo Graham Masker Tim Menninger Andrew Moss Jeffrey Ng
Advisors
Mr. W. Wesley Winant Mrs. Deidra Lyngard