News
Monday, June 6, 2016
VFMS hits half century mark with anniversary reunion Cissy Ming Copy Editor A regular Friday evening at Valley Forge Middle School (VFMS) brings much-needed quiet as the students and staff prepare for the weekend. On Friday May 13, the school grounds were filled with people from around the T/E community and from around the country, there not to escape school but to remember it.
“I see a lot of improvements but also a lot of memories.” -Bill Tickner, Class of 1980 One hundred forty alumni gathered at VFMS to celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary, marking the first ever class reunion held at the school. Thirty former teachers and a former principal also attended. School Board Vice President
Scott Dorsey, Principal Matt Gibson, PTO President Sarah Culbert, PTO member Kristen Mayock and VFMS’s student council president spoke to event attendees in the large gym. Though event organizers only opened their alumni headquarters to alumni, former teachers and their families, members of the public enjoyed refreshments, inflatables and a DJ on the field behind the school. In VFMS, former eighth grade U.S. History teacher Lee Seybert sees a family, one that has endured throughout the generations. “I like the way everyone just pitched in and helped each other. Some people can just go in their rooms and close the door and not have anything to do with others. That wasn’t the way it was,” Seybert said. “There was plenty of interaction with everybody and that was really special, very special.” According to Culbert, providing alumni and former teachers with the opportunity to reconnect with their school was a top priority during the planning process. Student volunteers gave tours around the school while alumni and former teachers had the opportunity to browse memorabilia
from past years at VFMS in the alumni headquarters. At the end of the night, a time capsule was placed in the display case outside the gym for the class of 2066 to open, giving future students an opportunity to experience life from 50 years ago. “I feel very nostalgic. It’s really neat to be in these same walls that I was in so many years ago,” said Bill Tickner, who graduated in 1980. “I see a lot of improvements, but also a lot of old memories.” VFMS Vice Principal Jacqueline Hickey approached Culbert with her proposal for 50th anniversary reunion last September, but the PTO nevertheless faced challenges in organizing the event. Memorabilia Committee Head Heidi Kelly, who graduated from VFMS in 1987 and whose children attend the school, described the planning process as “very spontaneous” and “people driven.” Kelly says much of the process took place on social media, which at times made it difficult to coordinate. PTO members and VFMS alumni formed committees to focus on various aspects of the reunion and sought
Cissy Ming/The SPOKE
Flashback Friday: VFMS alumni browse old yearbooks during the May 13 reunion. The event attracted 140 alumni, 30 former teachers and a former principal. sponsors to help offset costs. Sponsors included local business owners, alumni and other community members. Though she felt “relieved and exhausted” after the reunion ended, Culbert felt an obligation to serve the school by turning Hickey’s idea into reality.
“I’m a stay at home mom, but I have always believed that parents can do a lot to help their schools and help their children,” Culbert said. “I realized that there was an opportunity here to become part of the PTO and to interact with different people. That made everything worth it.”
Counseling lessons aim to revive ’Stoga unity Eric Xue News Editor From May 24 to 26, guidance counselors met with groups of students in an attempt to rebuild school
4 The Spoke
pride and teach the importance of tolerance in light of the hazing scandal that surfaced in January. As a result of the controversy, members of the administration and Student Services sensed that there was division among the
student body and felt the need to address it. According to Assistant Principal Misty Whelan, the meetings were meant to acknowledge that the scandal happened and that the community needs time to heal and to open a channel of communication to students. “I think that we’re responding to a student body that was in some ways divided after all of that went on,” Whelan said. The administration and counselors were “on the same page that it was a good opportunity to pull students together.” Classrooms were filled with approximately 25 to 35 students. Guidance counselors were trained by Thom Stecher, the founder of Thom Stecher and Associates, a network of educators dedicated to enhancing the learning experience of students. Meetings were held first for 11th graders and then with the 10th and ninth graders in the following days. According to guidance counselor Jennifer Kratsa, the order was decided on by design because the counselors have been with the juniors for a longer amount of time. After the scandal, some students were confused how to respond while others continued to feel the pride of being a Pioneer, according to Whelan. However, through these
counseling lessons, she hopes that students will be able to come together and define what ’Stoga pride means to them.
“I felt I wasn’t going to get anything out of it, especially when they started asking us to define respect, define responsibility.” -Junior Sophie Schwartz Although the lessons were created to address the division in student body caused by the hazing scandal, there was little discussion on the topic itself. Instead, the lessons focused on respecting others and taking responsibility for one’s actions as well as how each person relates to the people around them. The counselors used no Powerpoint presentations, and all the activies were active and designed to be entertaining. The lessons have “been very successful, and our students have
been so open minded and allowed us to have these conversations with them,” Kratsa said. “The counselors loved doing the lessons because we got to work with our own students, so we knew all the students. Walking into the classroom and seeing all the faces that are so familiar, it was a wonderful and fun opportunity for us to connect with our students in a different way.” While some students found the lessons interesting, others felt they did not address the issue at hand. “Our counselor made a point to say we’re not here to talk about (the hazing scandal) even though the point of the whole meeting was to address it,” junior Sophie Schwartz said. “I felt I wasn’t going to get anything out of it, especially when they started asking us to define respect, define responsibility. I thought the meeting was silly. I thought it was condescending.” Despite all the occurrences throughout the year, Krasta says that the general consensus regarding Conestoga continues to be one of excellence and hopes that in light of future events similar to the hazing scanda, the community will remember what makes Conestoga one of the best schools in the nation.