Photo by Matt Braun
Emma Grugan, ‘17
Page 3
SPORTS
Photo from The Class Record
CREW
Penn Charter’s rowing team has shown tremendous promise in the upcoming 2015 season. There have been a large number of new changes to the program, including a new head coach, a new assistant coach, a new boathouse, new Filippi boats, new oars and more commitments from the athletic department and students. The team’s new head coach, Katharine Farrell, rowed at the collegiate level for Georgetown. Coach Farrell is very excited for the upcoming season and shows a lot of dedication, not only to her team but to her sport. “The 2015 season is off to a really great start. A large thanks should be given to the athletic department and Penn Charter administration for helping the crew team to become a really competitive program on the river with a new boathouse, equipment and launches.”
“By having smaller squads compete, the crew team is able to get a lot of work done out on the water” Farrell also mentions that the proper resources are going to allow the crew team to row efficiently and productively during the upcoming season. By having smaller squads compete, the crew team is able to get a lot of work done out on the water, setting up the team to make significant technical improvements. The team is working on getting stronger in the
Ethan Ashley, ‘15
NEWSPAPER • APRIL2012
SOFTBALL
With spring sports now ramping into full gear, there is one team at PC that will be looking forward to another chance as a championship contender in the InterAc. The Penn Charter Softweight room and can often be found comman- ball team is coming off a successful season, which deering the stairs on campus in order to train. saw them competing in the PAISSA State Semi-Final last year, just falling to Agnes Irwin by a score of 2-1. The girls are looking forward to another chance “The Penn Charter crew team to crack the bat this year, with a strong core leaderis going to be a strictly sculling ship of captains Kayla Quinn and Eileen Hennessy.
team this year: rowing singles, doubles, and quads.”
The team’s new assistant coach, Helen Tompkins, rowed at a collegiate level for the University of Virginia and rows as an elite rower out of Vesper Boat Club. Coach Tompkins will coach the new rowers or “novices.” On the team this year, there are eight novice rowers, four girls and four boys. In addition to the new coaches, the team has moved boathouses. The new boathouse is Undine Barge Club, one of the oldest boathouses in Philadelphia. Penn Charter’s team will be seen as a priority in the boathouse. PC is one of two high schools that will row out of Undine. There is an abundance of dock and space in the boathouse for Penn Charter’s new boats. The Penn Charter crew team is going to be a strictly sculling team this year: rowing singles, doubles, and quads. There are 26 total seats, 15 girls and 11 boys. The team plans on getting on the water as soon as possible, to break in the new equipment and begin training for upcoming flicks and regattas. The team welcomes all to their tent along the Schuylkill for all flicks and regattas. The team not only shows dedication but has proven to have an enormous amount of grit.
“When asked what will be a major focus for the team’s practice plans, Quinn made it clear that communication, more than anything, will be key.” Senior Kayla Quinn described her excitement as she looks towards the new season, “I think it will be really good. We have a good team with a lot of returning players. Most of our lineup will be the same from last year. It will be nice to have a mature team.” Maturity will be an integral component of the team’s dynamic during both games and practices. When asked what will be a major focus for the team’s practice plans, Quinn made it clear that communication, more than anything, will be key. “We are all pretty experienced players and a lot of us play on teams outside of school…We’re trying to fine tune everything and work on stuff that’s not just the mechanics.” The girls’ level of experience and dedication to the game is something that has truly
defined the Penn Charter experience for many of the players on the team as Quinn explains, “Softball has been such a big part of my experience here. It’s one of the reasons why I came here, and it’s really awesome to be a senior now.” Being in a leadership role also came with a lot of responsibility, as the team headed down to Myrtle Beach for their annual spring training trip. The training trip allowed the team a great chance to focus in on ironing out the minor kinks in their game as they approach some tough competitors in the InterAc. “Episcopal will be our biggest rival. Agnes Irwin will also be a good competition, as well as Springside,” said Quinn when asked about some of major games that will be in store for the team.
“The Softball team will be looking towards [this season’s] games as a chance to mark their progress”
After trading games with both Episcopal and Springside Chestnut Hill during last year’s stint, and falling to Agnes Irwin in the SemiFinals, the Softball team will be looking towards those games as a chance to mark their progress as a squad and the steps they have taken from last year’s season. While those games are still a ways away, the team will have the opportunity to test their skills against competitors from Germantown Friends School, Wissahickon High School, as well as The Hill School before the InterAc season picks up. With strong leadership and a framework of experienced and talented players, the Penn Charter Softball team will surely be a force to be reckoned with during this 2014-15 season.
Common Sensless
Comics written and drawn by Emmet Foley, ‘17
EDitorial Brooke Hassman, ‘16
HOW HELPFUL IS THE FLEX BLOCK?
This year, the Upper School has experienced a change to the schedule that students are familiar with. Instead of the added “Block 9” at the end of Yellow Monday’s, a time in which students in advanced science classes finished labs or other work, there is now a “Flex Block”. This block is intended to be a time for meetings with teachers, students, clubs, or an extra forty minutes to complete work. The issue with this time occurs when students who have nothing productive to do just leave school unnoticed as if it ends at 2:35. While the flex block is disregarded by certain students it remains a necessary addition for clubs such as Green Club, Makers Club, and Mock Trial who utilize the extra forty minutes.
“The flex block also guarantees a universal time in which all teachers
are available to meet with students.” Jack Roseman, member of the Makers Club, discussed how he constantly uses the Flex Block to work with members on time-consuming 3 tasks. Jack said, “the flex block is a good time for our club to meet and work on new projects, and we get a lot of stuff done during these meetings”. This club, which does not meet during lunch, uses this after school block to their advantage. The flex block also guarantees a universal time in which all teachers are available to meet with students. During lunch not all students or teachers are always available, and time is limited. Now people are not always forced to find time before or after school to schedule meetings when they cannot find time during the usual school day. Teachers have also been creating more opportunities to receive extra help on homework, providing online signups for the math and writing center.
“These extra forty minutes built into our curriculum are useful for classmates to work together, or use it as a free/study hall and work independently.” Whether students actually use the Flex Block to their benefit or not is completely up to them, but it should remain intact for those who find this extra time advantageous. The library is open and is constantly crowded with students attempting to get their homework done before their bus leaves or sport begins at the end of Yellow monday. These extra forty minutes built into our curriculum are useful for classmates to work together, or use it as a free/study hall and work independently. However, many students do not take full advantage of this time because they do not feel mo-
tivated to continue working after a long day, and would rather have the opportunity to go home early. Although the idea of a flex block has beneficial aspects, it is difficult to prevent students from leaving campus rather than utilizing their extra time. A possible solution to this ongoing issue is to move the flex block to an earlier time in the day. This way students will not be able to leave and will properly use the time given. On blue mondays students return to their advisories in between blocks seven and six. This extra time in a long day is a good break before everyone must return to their final six periods. If the flex block is added into the yellow monday at a similar time there is a greater chance people will find more use for it. Students will be relieved to have this time to complete work, or meet with a teacher before heading into the rest of the week. A Flex block earlier in the day will provide an experience similar to a free for the entire school and will be used to get a head start on the overwhelming amount of work in every student’s future.