Campus Lantern April 2010

volume MMX, No. 3 Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania April 2010

Mr. Steel on CHA-Springside Integration

In this issue: Financial Literacy Program, Mr. McArdle on Effective Coaching, The IBSC Program, Mathcounts, The Phillies, Mock Trial, J.D. Salinger, Pennsylvania Senate Race, CHA Tennis, and Dustin Wilson Student Profile

This past March, Chestnut Hill Academy and Springside School announced a new phase of their partnership. Over the next three years, the two schools will fully integrate their high school academic programs and combine nonacademic offices. While there will remain separate lower and middle schools for boys and girls, the CHA-Springside coordinate education program begun 50 years ago will give way to a single, entirely co-ed Upper School. Below is the first in an occasional series of interviews with CHA and Springside leaders regarding this historic change for both schools. The Campus Lantern begins this series by featuring CHA Headmaster Frank Steel ’77 on the new phase of the CHA-Springside partnership.

CL: Over the past number of years, CHA and Springside have used the marketing slogan “the best of both worlds” to advertise their 50-year commitment to coordinate education. You have previously stated that there are significant educational purposes behind the plan to integrate the two schools. What if any new research, or what if anything changed CHA and Springside’s longstanding view of coordinate education and caused them to move toward full integration?

FS: I think a lot of things have changed. For one, the two schools have recognized that there are difficulties within the functioning of the coordinate program…for example the science departments chose very different three-year sequences for ninth through eleventh grade—we start with bio, Springside starts with physics. Now there are no coed classes until twelfth grade now. Both science chairmen will tell you that’s been a negative to the program. So we started to recognize that either school doing only what it wants as the priority, creates potential issues for the delivery of program. Also society has changed. If you think a little bit about American society in the 50s and 60s, when the coordinate program started, most industries were more male than female. So all-boys schools prepared men for the all-male world of business. Universities and the work world have become much more gender-mixed, so it doesn’t make sense to prepare men or women with only men and women exclusively. If you look at [the two schools] as models, there’s a time for single-sex, where it helps both boys and girls to be separated out, and then especially now that the world itself is more of a coed world, that being in classrooms together has an undeniable logic to it. I think we can all agree that coeducation works, particularly in high school when the developmental differences between boys and girls have evened out, that it works to have boys and girls in the same classroom. We believe it is best, and have had program to support it, that having a situation that where when the developmental differences are their broadest, you’re single-sex, and where you can gain better classroom dynamics of boys and girls in the same room together discussing literature, discussing science, you really do have the best of both worlds. It’s different when it needs to be and it’s single-sex when it makes more sense.

See Mr. Steel Inteveiw, Page 7


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Jeffrey Ng ’12

Adults may be familiar with terms such as FDIC, NYSE, APR, ARMs, IRAs, and the Fed, but do teenagers know what they mean as well? Chestnut Hill Academy Headmaster Mr. Frank Steel ’77 believes that high school students should know these and other financial concepts. As the head of the Blue Devil Investment Group, Mr. Steel is having students test out the online Everfi financial literacy program, software which is tailored to teach the basics of finance to a wide age group. CHA is one of few schools to work with this software, and, depending on how the group members fare with it, Everfi may play a part in the future of financial education at CHA. The well-known maxim “knowledge is power” is very pertinent to finance. Mr. Steel commented that “In a world where money matters…having financial knowledge puts you

ahead of the game.” Speaking on the recent recession, Mr. Steel explained that in most cases, the consumers who made poor financial decisions were the ones who lacked proper financial knowledge. He highlighted the direct correlation between the level of financial literacy and the quality of choices made: “The lack of knowledge that some people have makes them believe in some of these schemes.” Even though common sense may tell us to hesitate when things look “too good to be true,” inexperienced investors are not the only ones to fall for such schemes. Media coverage shows that even some very experienced investors have gotten ensnared in traps. As many adults make poor financial decisions because they do not “really know enough to monitor their own finances, their own investing, and their own wealth,” we may ask “what can be done to mitigate this situation?” Mr. Steel recommends that

schools play a part in educating students about finance. “[They should] seize it as an important concept and build the knowledge of young people while we have them.” Mr. Steel has already begun a financial education program at CHA on a small scale. Some ask whether or not finance ought to become a fundamental part of a high school education like math or science. In its plans for the future, CHASS administration has begun to answer this question with designs for greater emphasis on how skills in the classroom can apply to the real world. Mr. Steel noted that the importance of treating financial literacy “as a really important area” has become quite clear. Hopefully, the Blue Devil Investment Group’s trial with the Everfi software will prove fruitful and offer CHASS administration an idea about how to best incorporate financial education into an already strong curriculum.

Financial Literacy Program

Tim Menninger ’13

Upholding values in athletics such as those represented by the five CHA jersey stripes, Mr. John McArdle ’73, or Coach Mac, is among the most honorable and successful people to step foot in CHA. Starting his career as a student-athlete, Mr. McArdle played varsity baseball, basketball, football and wrestling, making five all-Inter-Ac teams between baseball and football. From this experience, he learned important sportsmanship techniques such as practicing hard every day, playing each play like it is game-changing, and respecting opponents, “even if you don’t like them.”

Mr. McArdle believes that it is important for coaches to exemplify CHA’s five jersey stripes because “players begin to emulate their coaches, which helps the team through tough times and helps the players bond.” Therefore, Coach Mac makes sure that he instills his strong sense of sportsmanship in the athletes he coaches. During practice, he makes sure each player gives his all. While sportsmanship is the major jersey stripe when it comes to sports, it is only one of five. Mr. McArdle is an effective coach because he brings all five into play in his coaching technique. As an athlete, Coach

Mac had the courage to see himself through adversity, not letting personal issues affect his performance. Now that he is a coach he asks the same of his players. He is also honest with his players and their parents; many people tell Coach Mac he is “honest

to a fault” because if he feels a player is performing poorly, he lets the player know it. Coach Mac maintains a sense of integrity in sports as well; he is nationally known for his fair umpiring. In addition, he is loyal to all his players; he never quits on them and continues to offer help for as long as it takes.

Mr. McArdle understands that after

countless hours of hard work, physically and mentally, it can become difficult for athletes to adhere to the jersey stripes at all times. In the heat of a game, it can become especially difficult to maintain sportsmanship. That said, Coach Mac still demands full compliance with the

rules. He insists that “the rules apply to everybody,” and he will bench anybody, even all-stars, if they do not comply.

When asked which professional athlete best exemplifies the five stripes in his opinion, Mr. McArdle chose Chase Utley. According to Coach Mac, Utley plays hard every day, “he doesn’t complain to umpires, and he’s fan-friendly.” Coach Mac doesn’t approve of “dancing in the end-zone after a touchdown or thanking God after getting on base.” He believes that “you should expect yourself to make a good play.” When he was a player, Mr. McArdle never made any showboat gestures—he simply gave the ball to the referee after a touchdown and continued playing the game the way it was supposed to be played. This is

what he wants his players to do.After a successful career of over 35

years of playing and coaching, Coach Mac has earned his rightful place in the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and was inducted in April 2010. CHA is lucky to have such an accomplished athlete and coach directing its players.

Mr. McArdle on Effective Coaching

Coach McArdle


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George Kunkel ’13

This year Upper School English teacher Ms. Becky Brown integrated a new program into freshmen English classes involving the senior writing advisors. This program is run through the action research program of the IBSC, the International Boys’ School Coalition. Founded in 1995, the IBSC is a non-profit group made up of almost 200 boys’ schools worldwide which works to improve education and development of the students at these schools. CHA and a few other schools in the Philadelphia area, including Haverford, Father Judge and the Academy of the New Church are all part of the IBSC. For the past four years, the IBSC has been conducting action research projects. The action research project is made up of 20 total schools out of the 200, ten high schools and ten middle schools. The project goes as follows: the IBSC asks a broad question and then each school creates its own narrower question within this broad topic. For instance, this year the IBSC asked, “How do we make boys more confident prolific writers?” For CHA, Ms. Brown asked, “How can senior writing advisors make boys more confident prolific writers?” This year other schools asked questions about how technology, audiences, and anonymity in writing can help boys as writers. This year is the first time that CHA is participating in the action research project. CHA’s involvement began in October when Ms. Brown applied for the action research project. A question about how senior writing advisors can make boys more confident prolific writers seemed a logical choice to Ms. Brown since she started the Writing Center last year and had seniors ready to serve as writing advisors. This year the writing advisors are Ryan Ansel ’10, Ethan Wang ’10, Mike Nagelberg ’10, Anthony Gacita ’10, and Greg

Lobanov ’10. Each of these seniors was paired up with 3 or 4 different freshman from Ms. Brown’s two classes for the project.

After reading Tony Earley’s Jim the Boy, both of the classes were assigned an essay. Over a three-week period the freshmen had assignments to post different phases of their paper on Google Docs. These consisted of evidence-gathering, writing a thesis statement, creating an outline, and submitting two rough drafts. After each of these assignments was posted, each freshman’s writing advisor read and commented on the work and provided advice and constructive criticism on the papers. After the project was completed, Ms. Brown had a survey approved by the IBSC for the freshmen to fill out before receiving their grades. The survey asked them how they thought the project worked and whether they thought that they had become more confident and prolific writers through the process.

So far, Ms. Brown believes that the project has been relatively successful. Because

of the nature of the question, the result of the overall project is hard to tell. Since the word “prolific” implies ongoing success, more time has to go by before she can fully see the results. This, however, is one of the reasons why Ms. Brown chose the freshmen for the project; she will have most of them in future years and will be able to judge their progress. But as of now Ms. Brown says that the boys’ papers improved greatly in both structure and evidence, and that it made reading the papers more enjoyable for her as a teacher. Most of the freshmen in the class also felt that the project had positive results in terms of confidence. They felt that the comments they received from the writing advisors throughout the different steps of the paper were mostly positive and that it was helpful to have some constructive reinforcement for what they were writing. Ms. Brown is going to continue to monitor the progress of the classes during the year. If it seems to be effective, writing advisors may work with the freshmen into next year.

The IBSC Program

Tim Menninger ’13

On February 13, 2010, Middle School math teacher Andrew Wolf took eight Middle School competitors to Temple University to represent Chestnut Hill Academy in the Philadelphia Chapter Mathcounts competition. The way the competition works is as follows: the first round is called the “Sprint Round,” in which every competitor takes a timed individual test of thirty questions. Next, the competitors proceed to the “Target Round,” where students receive two more difficult

questions to complete. Third is the “Team Round,” in which each team of four is given ten questions to answer together. After these three rounds are completed, the top ten scorers of the Sprint and Target Rounds compete in the “Countdown Round.” Here, the ninth and tenth placed scorers go head-to-head in a best-of-three contest. The winner then faces the eighth, then seventh, and so on until the top ten rankings are determined. The top four individuals advance to the state level of the competition, and from there to nationals if they succeed.

This year’s results included two CHA students in the top ten with Scott Salisbury ’14 placing fifth overall and Harrison Tracy ’14 placing ninth, while the team (consisting of the top four students) placed third overall. Unfortunately, these results did not qualify any CHA students to advance to the state competition in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as in years past. Mr. Wolf, however, is extremely proud of his competitors; prior to the competition, he was “hoping for a top three

Middle School Mathcounts 2010

See Mathcounts, Page 5

Ms. Brown, Upper School English Teacher and Head of Writing Center


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Greg Kozemchak ’11

They have done it again! Three straight National League Championships! Maybe not yet, but the Phillies are hoping that the length of rightfielder Jayson Werth’s beard is a good omen for the length of their stay in the playoffs this year. If the Phillies win three consecutive titles, they will become the first team since the 1942-44 St. Louis Cardinals to achieve this milestone. Fans’ expectations for the Phillies are sky high again this year due to the team’s offseason acquisitions and rising young talent. Based on predictions from pre-season baseball pundits, the Phillies’ chance of achieving their goal of another National League Championship is more than possible; it is probable.

What makes the Phillies’ chances so good? First, they have more depth in their starting pitching staff than last year with the addition of Roy Halladay, who dominated the American League East last season. Halladay’s presence not only improves the rotation, but also should take the pressure off Cole Hamels, who hopes to regain the confidence of his 2008 postseason play. Plus, with the addition of a new pitch, either a slider or cutter, Hamels will have a well-needed put-out pitch to go along with his exceptional change-up. Joe Posnanski of Sports Illustrated ranks Halladay and Hamels as the best number one and number two starting pitchers in the National League East for the 2010 season. The third and fourth spots of the Phillies rotation will go to the consistent 2009 performer Joe Blanton and the 2009 rookie of the year candidate J.A. Happ, both strong and confident starters.

One of the major questions for the Phillies as they go into the 2010 preseason is who will earn the fifth and final spot on their starting staff. This is a tough question, with the most likely candidates either the ageless veteran Jamie Moyer or the unproven yet newly-focused Kyle Kendrick. Both Manager Charlie Manuel and Pitching Coach Rich

Dubee believe Kendrick is more than capable of winning the job, with a new cutter and “major league slider.”

Speaking of new, Brad Lidge will look to show renewed confidence on the mound after a disappointing 2009 campaign. After a major league high 11 blown saves and a 7.21 ERA, also the highest of any reliever in the MLB, Lidge underwent offseason elbow and knee surgeries. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com believes the Phillies will “take it slow with their closer in spring training.” Also recovering from elbow surgery, fellow reliever J.C. Romero looks to be almost ready to pitch off the mound, but will not be game-ready until close to May. Other questions surround the Phillies bullpen, such as how they will fare with key lefty Scott Eyre retiring and

how newly acquired Danyz Baez will perform. Obviously, the Phillies will miss having another veteran lefty in the pen. But this will give an opportunity for some of their home-grown lefties, such as Antonio Bastardo, Sergio Escalona, and Mike Zagurski to win the spot. In addition, Baez will have the chance to close, a position where he showed promise at his former club, if Brad Lidge is not ready for the opening of the season.

Phillies defense looks strong in 2010, and not just from a pitching standpoint. The addition of Placido Polanco, who won two of the last three American League Gold Gloves as a second baseman, should provide strong defense in his new position at third base. Though the Phillies lost former starting third baseman Pedro Feliz, considered one of the best, if not the best, fielding third baseman in

all of baseball, Polanco is expected to provide more depth, with quality fielding as well as on-base percentage and low strikeout ratio. Polanco, who has some experience playing third, needs to use spring training to get a feel for his old position.

Phillies’ rising star right fielder Jason Werth looks to repeat his impressive season of last year, in which he had 36 home runs and 99 RBI’s. Werth, who is signed with the Phillies through 2010 but not beyond, has the added incentive to produce this season in order to increase his prospects as a free agent. The rest of the Phillies’ opening day lineup is signed beyond this season, including shortstop Jimmy Rollins, second baseman Chase Utley, first baseman Ryan Howard, catcher Carlos Ruiz, left fielder Raul Ibañez, and center fielder

Shane Victorino. This formidable defensive team has won 7 Gold Gloves.

As good as the defense is expected to be, the offense should be even better. Joe Posnanski of Sports Illustrated rates the 2010 Phillies as by far the best offensive team in the National League East, with a prediction of 96 wins and 66 losses. Just a few of the big bats include former NL MVPs Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins.

The prospects do look good for another trip

to the World Series. Yet, the Phillies will need luck in addition to good health to get there. The Atlanta Braves, with ace pitchers Jair Jurrjens, Tim Hudson, and Tommy Hanson, would love to reward long-time Manager Bobby Cox with a National League title in his last year before retirement. The St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers also look strong in the National League and could make a run in the playoffs. The team, however, which the Phillies very well may face again in the World Series, is the Yankees, who have an excellent chance of a repeat with the additions of star outfielder Curtis Granderson and pitcher Javier Vazquez.

With confidence, experience, depth and character, the 2010 Phillies roster provides every thrill Phillies fans have been waiting to watch.

Phillies Preview 2010: High Expectations

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Phillies clinch NLCS 2009 title


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MathCounts, From Page 3

George Kunkel ’13

Every year, the Pennsylvania Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition creates a new fictional civil or murder case for mock trial teams across the state to argue against one another in front of real judges, lawyers, and law students. The competition is made up of over 300 different high schools in Pennsylvania. CHA competes in Region 8, the Philadelphia region of this contest, along with some other local schools like J.R. Masterman High School, Roman Catholic High School (entering three teams), and William Penn Charter School (two teams). Each year’s case consists of four witness statements, several different exhibits, and information about the aspects of law relevant to the particular case that year. Members of mock trial teams must play the roles of lawyers and act as the witnesses for both sides, defense and prosecution. They do this in an actual courtroom without the help of their coaches in what is very close to a real courtroom environment. In each match, the teams are scored by a jury made up of volunteer lawyers and law students who grade them according to their arguments, speaking, persuasion, and other categories. Individual team members receive scores for the parts they play, and the team with the higher combined score wins the round. This year’s team was made up of Mock Trial President senior Greg Lobanov ’10 (lawyer), juniors Andrew Moss ’11 (lawyer), Danny DiIulio ’11 (lawyer/witness), and Corey Goldstein ’11 (lawyer), sophomore Alex Ambrosini ’12 (lawyer), and freshmen Julian Martinez ’13 (lawyer), Kevin Voye ’13 (witness), Niamke Nelson ’13 (witness), and Peter Vlahakis ’13 (witness). The team was coached by Sarah McDowell, eighth-grade history teacher, Lizann Rode, CHASS Executive Director, Judge Bradley Moss, Judge Gary Glazer, and practicing lawyer Sharon Reiss. The top two teams from the Philadelphia region advance to the state competition. In years past, CHA has never made it past the final eight Philadelphia teams.

Going into this year, Coach Sarah McDowell had high hopes. She commented that the team was “better prepared than in the past,” and that the team had “the potential to make the semifinals or on.” Led by senior Greg Lobanov ’10, CHA won its first three rounds, defeating Northeast High School in round two and Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School in round three. Similar to CHA’s 2008 performance, however, the team lost in round four, this time to a strong J.R. Masterman High School team. While they did not get quite as far

as hoped, the team, especially the younger members, gained a lot of experience. Over the course of the four rounds, freshman Peter

Vlahakis won awards for best prosecution witness, junior Andrew Moss ’11 won awards for best defense lawyer, and junior Danny DiIulio ’11 won awards for best

prosecution lawyer and defense witness. Looking toward next year, Moss and DiIulio will succeed Lobanov as Mock Trial co-captains. The team hopes to be the first from CHA to break into the final four teams in the Philadelphia region in 2011.

CHA Mock Trial Team 2010

finish for the team.” Accomplishing this, CHA has proudly made six years in a row with a top three finish in the Philadelphia Chapter. Mr. Wolf has coached the team all six years. Mr. Wolf is now preparing for the

2011 competition. Next year, he hopes to have more meeting time; only once for forty minutes in the seven day cycle did the team have a chance to practice this year. He also intends to take competition questions from previous years and organize them into different categories such as geometry, probability and algebra. This, he said, will allow the team

to focus on one type of problem at a time, hopefully preparing the students for anything they may see. Mr. Wolf hopes his competitors learned from Mathcounts that “it can be fun to compete against other schools in an academic area,” rather than just in athletics. CHA now looks forward to the 2011 season and aims for a seventh consecutive top-three placing.

L-R: Greb Lebanov ’10, Alex Ambrosini ’12, Judge Brad Moss, Dan DiIulio ’11, Ms. Rodey, Niamke Nelson ’13, Ms. McDowell, Andrew Moss ’11

Led by senior Greg Lobanov ’10, CHA won its first three rounds, defeating Northeast High School in round two and Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School in round three.


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Michael Fuery ’11

The upcoming election for the Pennsylvania Senate seat will become a popular topic of discussion in the months to come. The major candidates vying for the coveted position are Democrat Arlen Specter, Democrat Joe Sestak, and Republican Pat Toomey. The partisan battles currently raging in Congress make this race one of particular importance as the Republicans try to restore conservative agenda to the Democrat-dominated Congress in November.

Because two Democrats seek the Senate position, Pennsylvania voters will have to vote in a primary election to decide which candidate will be the Democratic representative. According to the March Rasmussen polls, Specter leads Sestak by eleven points and by an overall percentage of 48%-37%. By this data, although anything can happen in the meantime, it appears as if Specter will be selected as the Democratic candidate. Specter, a thirty-year veteran of the Senate, made headlines this past summer when he switched his political affiliation from

Republican to Democrat.In the midst of the largest economic

decline since the Great Depression, for many voters the economy is the paramount issue at hand. According to the his website, Specter supports “bringing federal funding back to Pennsylvania to create jobs, building roads and infrastructure, strengthening our hospitals and classrooms, and providing valuable services for all Pennsylvanians.” Toomey, on the other hand, supports another approach that contradicts Congress’ current policies. Toomey advocates cutting taxes, decreasing regulation, eliminating the tax on capital gains, and lowering the tax on businesses to make U.S. companies more competitive.

And who can forget the health care issue? Republican Toomey suggests that lowering the cost of health care is the most economically viable course of action and that it will take power away from government and give it back to the patients. Specter agrees that we should make health care more affordable and justifies his findings with his service on the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS)

Appropriations Subcommittee during his tenure as senator.

The third major issue of the campaign is national security following the failed terror plot of the Christmas Day bomber. Both candidates seem to agree that national security is of utmost importance, that we should appropriate funds to supply our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with proper equipment, and that we need to provide veterans with proper care when they return from duty. These similarities in policy are not surprising considering that just months ago Specter was a Republican and may hold conservative values close to him despite running on the Democratic ticket.

All in all, the buzz surrounding the Pennsylvania Senate race should pick up in the upcoming months as we approach the November 2010 elections. These elections, not only for Pennsylvania but also for the nation as a whole, will decide the representation of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate. Both parties hope to gain as many seats as possible in order to hammer home their legislation.

Pennsylvania Senate Race

J.D. Salinger Passes AwayJoe Cozza ’11

The renowned 20th century American writer J.D. Salinger passed away this past January. His famous 1951 work The Catcher in the Rye is widely considered a must-read within high school curricula today. Despite the novel’s long-lasting popularity, its author lived a life of seclusion ever since the book’s release. Salinger time and again denied press interviews concerning his ventures and personal life. It is upon his death that we begin to desire a better understanding of the life that inspired perhaps one of the most celebrated novels in American literature.

To gain insight into Salinger’s background proves difficult because our knowledge of his life is so limited. We do know that his early life much resembles that of the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield. Both went to school in Pennsylvania, and both are originally from

New York City. The similarity between the minds of Salinger and Caulfield is questionable, however, and remains a topic of debate among reporters and intellectuals. During his career, which lasted more than

half a century, Salinger published two different novels consisting of short stories, but only once appeared in a public setting several years ago when speaking at Sarah Lawrence College. Although he did respond to some press questions over the phone on occasion, he never had a formal interview on the subject of his works. Nor did he ever fully discuss The Catcher in the Rye. He wrote several short stories after “Catcher”,

but never published them. Hope is widespread that his estate will allow these materials to be published, works that are highly anticipated by countless readers.

Mr. Philip Stevens, English Department Chair and Upper School English teacher, commented on the significance of The Catcher in the Rye in the context of high

school curricula. He observed that the book is valuable to young readers for two reasons: “[F]irst, because the book and, more specifically, Holden, have become iconic within American culture. There are so many references, characters, conversations, etc., that mention or use Holden as a point of comparison or to explain a worldview that the book has become a kind of shorthand for a set of concerns and opinions.” Mr. Stevens went on to discuss whether or not the book will remain as significant a work in future years. “I think people will continue to connect to it,” said Stevens, “because it raises questions that people struggle with in their lives--how do we lead meaningful, sincere lives? How do we hold on to the things and people we love? How do we make the difficult decisions in life? For me, this is the use and importance of any text--what can I do with it, what does it help me think through? The author, for me, isn’t worth thinking about much.”

True, The Catcher in the Rye remains a great work of literature independent of the life of its author. Yet we cannot help but be curious about Salinger’s life, his thoughts, his regrets. Why did he live a life of seclusion? Can we find the answer upon close scrutiny of Holden Caulfield, the character with whom Salinger shared so much in common? We can never really know. Nevertheless, we may continue to enjoy Salinger’s masterpiece for the great work of American literature that it is.


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CL: What would you say to a CHA alumnus who particularly values the “all-boy” aspect of his CHA education?

FS: I would say we’re going to try to preserve some of that in the specific traditions and historical elements of the school program that we work to keep—possibly separate graduations, separate homerooms, Blue and Blue Day…some of those environments where it’s been boys with boys only. To the extent that we can preserve things like separate activities, yearbooks, newspapers—I don’t know exactly what the list will be. I would tell that alumnus we’re hoping that by preserving certain of the important traditions and rituals, we’ll be able to keep that all-boys high school feeling, but capitalize on the possible program gains and administrative and other efficiencies.

CL: Speaking not only as CHA Headmaster, but also as a long-time CHA teacher and alumnus yourself, what if any risks do you see with the plan for integration?

FS: One of the risks is change that you can foresee and change that you can’t foresee. I think we know there’s going to be change. Even if our effort is to try to minimize change, there’s going to be change. Some of it we can identify, but change that you don’t expect also happens whenever you take any specific action. There are going to be things that are different ten years from now than they are now. We believe most of them are going to be good. The ones that aren’t, obviously we’ll jump right on and try to either fix them or return them in some way to the way they were before the process started. A second risk is that some people aren’t ever going to like it, and to have people who have liked or loved the school somehow not be able to maintain that feeling—that’s a risk. It will be an unfortunate consequence that some people may never fully turn the corner and be on board with it. Further, I think there’s always the risk that

Mr. Steel on CHA-Springside IntegrationMr. Steel Inteveiw, From Page 1

...we’re being given the chance to start a high school almost from scratch...

...does that mean we’re going to merge and eventually both schools as they’ve existed will cease to exist? That’s a risk. Right now, that’s completely off the table...

CL: What is your favorite part of the new plan for CHA and Springside’s future?

FS: I think my favorite part is that schools that have been around for 150 and 130 years respectively, as CHA and Springside have, usually make change slowly, and they make it from an existing point of reference…so it’s always change away from

what you’re currently doing. For us to move from two single-sex schools that have a coordinate program to really trying to think through a more fully coed high school, more than any school in the area, we’re being given the chance to start a high school almost from scratch…So the excitement is the ability to not be hung up on things that you’ve always done, or continuing to do things

because you’ve always done them. We have the chance to think about what is the absolute best practice for boys and girls heading into a high school experience. What should they have? What should they do? What should really be part of the program? To be able to rethink from that angle is a pretty exciting prospect for people in education because you almost always have to start from someone else’s model…Strip away all the business and schools are about trying to provide the most relevant, most dynamic educational environment for the students that are there…and we’re getting a chance to really rethink that.

you lose some of the character of your school that mattered. As an alumnus, I’m working really hard to know what those things that will help save it are so that that doesn’t happen. Lastly, one of the risks that people are thinking about long-term is that if we’re integrating to this extent now, does that mean we’re going to merge and eventually both schools as they’ve existed will cease to exist? That’s a risk. Right now, that’s completely off the table…but I guess that would be a risk.


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Editor in ChiEfDan DiIulio

Editor of LayoutRichard Bilger

Junior EditorIain Kuo

StaffDrew AnselJoe CozzaMichael FueryAnderson GoodGriffin HorterGreg KozemchakGeorge KunkelIain KuoGraham MaskerTim MenningerAndrew MossJeffrey NgJamil Poole

PhotograPhyStephen SkeelRichard Bilger

adviSorSMr. W. Wesley WinantMrs. Deidra Lyngard

Andrew Moss ’11

At the outset of this season, the CHA varsity tennis team looks quite promising. While last spring the team lacked the necessary depth to compete with top Inter-Ac League teams, this year, with the addition of some young talent, the Devils are much improved. New to CHA this year, freshman Sam Shropshire ’13 will fill the team’s number one spot. Although a pulled hamstring has kept Sam from practice in the first weeks of

the season, his presence gives the top of the CHA ladder greater strength. Sophomore Nick Schreiber ’12 will fill the number two spot, squash star and senior tri-captain Dylan Ward ’10 will be third, and junior Andrew Moss ’11 will take the fourth spot for singles.

The team ladder is subject to change at any time, however, and it may indeed change over the course of the season as the team continues to practice and improve. The doubles teams are still undecided. That said, it is very likely that

Drew Ansel ’11

It is safe to say that most Chestnut Hill Academy students dread running at sports practices. Few could imagine running every day or running 20 to 30 miles in one weekend. For sophomore Dustin Wilson ’12, however, two-hour running workouts and 20 to 30 miles every weekend are just part of his routine. Through his hard work, Dustin became the 2009 Freshman One-Mile Indoor Track National Champion and set the course record at numerous courses in addition to CHA’s during the past two cross-country seasons.

Contrary to what you might think, Wilson does not spend most of his time running. Unlike many students, he does not spend his weekends sleeping-in or going out. Rather, most of this all-star’s time is spent on academics. Having found a good balance between his studies and running, Wilson estimates that outside of class he spends about 20 hours on schoolwork and about ten on athletics each week. It would seem that fatigue from running does not affect Wilson’s academic work in the least. He explained,

“Fatigue from practice is not a valid excuse. I’ll just stay up later to work.”

Dustin’s running career began when he was required to participate in a sport in Middle School. “I go to an institution that requires sports. It’s just luck of the draw that I was good at it,” he said. Despite his extraordinary athletic ability, he makes sure that academics come first because he does not expect athletics to take him very far. Even though he has a very good chance of competing at a high level in running after he graduates from CHA, he maintains an extremely strong academic record nevertheless. “I know high school athletes; high school is the pinnacle of their athletic career. Despite what administration tells you, you attend this institution to receive an education,” stated Wilson. “The key to success as a student-athlete is focus; no distractions. You have time, so no excuses,” he said. Wilson’s focus is one of the reasons he has been able to stay a step ahead of most, both in running and in the classroom. Currently, he is looking forward to Inter-Ac Track and Field Champs.

Student Profile: Dustin Wilson

tri-captain Rob Fink ’10, or the team’s self-proclaimed “doubles specialist”, and junior Elliot Baxter ’11 will earn the top doubles spots. Other potential doubles players include Crosby Harris ’12, Nick DiDonato ’11, Richard Bilger ’11, Timmy Ogle ’13, Christian Dorff ’13, and talented eight-grader Joshua Moss ’14.

Singles and doubles alike, Coaches Larry Hyde and Philip Stevens, Upper School English teacher, have been working the players hard to prepare for league and non-league competition. With a good work ethic and a will to win, this year’s varsity tennis team has the tools necessary to compete with the best in the Inter-Ac. As Coach Stevens observed, “It really just seems like the guys want to win this year.” With the first home match on April 9th against Germantown Friends School, CHA tennis hopes to kick off the season with a win.

CHA Tennis

Documents

Campus Lantern April 2010