The Devon Dialogue Devon Preparatory School’s prestigious newspaper proudly publishing for over five decades volume XI, issue I | November 2019 | Devon, PA 19333
Middle School Mayhem What has the Middle School been up to? Page 2
Father Nelson Interview Meet one of our newest and nicest faculty members. Page 4
Clubs See all that Devon has to offer. Page 3
Devon at the Phillies See Devon down in South Philly. Page 4
2019 Student Council Meet your newly elected officials. Page 7
Devon v. Malvern A student’s perspective of both sides. Page 5
Maguire Scholars: Just Show Up Everyday Mason Lindley ‘20 and Jake Kenney ‘20
James and Frances Maguire saw an opportunity to help young students in their education starting from grade school all the way through college. The primary goal of the Maguire Scholars Program, which they founded, is to “support and enrich the leaders of tomorrow by providing an opportunity for an excellent education.” The Foundation offers scholarships to select students that attend the schools they are partnered with. James Maguire’s famous trademark for his foundation is “just show up everyday,” and by simply showing up you will be presented with numerous opportunities in life. The selected students who receive scholarships from the foundation both participate and help in their school and their community thus becoming leaders in these realms. James Maguire once stated, “We want [the scholars] to progress into a leadership role in society.” The scholars of the program actively participate in community service, mentor younger students, and attend informative workshops on how to live a successful life. Since the founding of the program, it has spread to many schools in Pennsylvania. The Maguire Foundation was first instituted at Devon Prep for the 2018-2019 school year. However, not many students know about this important program. It is a growing group of Devon high school students becoming mentors to the middle schoolers. Along with mentoring younger students, scholars create and perform several service projects with the middle schoolers. The group began last year with six ninth graders from the class of 2022 who are currently sophomores, and it has continued with six more freshman chosen for the foundation this year. If you are selected to be a scholar, you remain a scholar through senior year. The six initial students chosen last year for Devon Prep were Mark Michniak, Mason Lindley, Jake Kenney, Vincent Demarco, David Cherry, and Jake Veith. This year, the program is working on creating and participating in several service events while continuing to mentor younger students. This is just the beginning of a program that will be present at Devon Prep for a long time.
DP Goes Green Dan Boyle ‘20
Trees, water flasks, Owen Kowalewski. What do all these things have in common you may ask? They all benefit the health of the environment. When starting the Environmental Protection Club in 2018, Owen Kowalewski ‘20 had the goal of introducing sustainability and introducing recycling into Devon. Before starting the club, Owen discovered that a lot of students didn’t have a clue on protecting the environment and how valuable it really is. “I don’t have a carbon footprint, I drive everywhere,” one student claims. When walking into the first day of school, students now saw a companion next to their trash bins. With the help of Ms. Nolan and other students such as Jackson Jonik ‘20 and Nate Shiller ‘20, the EPC has achieved their goal of introducing recycling into Devon. More recently, the EPC has achieved getting plastic water bottles off the lunch menu and also acquired new water-refilling add-ons to our normal water fountains. Despite some controversy, nearly every student can be seen with a water flask or reusable water bottle walking around Devon. The recycling efforts appear to be optimistic, since they’re all full of cans. However, some students, in a jocular mood, may dump their trash in the recycling and their recyclables in the trash. Owen Kowalewski and the EPC have a multitude of plans this year that include expanding outside of Devon. “After achieving our main goal of recycling over the last year, we have now transitioned into more of a community service based goal,” said Kowalewski. “This year we hope to start providing more opportunities for students to do community service involving our environment, as well as planning a schoolwide Earth Day event.”