The Spirit Week Issue
The Beak Speaks
FACULTY MEET THE NEW TEACHERS
2014
HOMECOMING
ATHLETES OF THE ISSUE VOLUME 1 FALL 2014
The Worcester Prep staff received five great additions this school year! All hailing from the MidAtlantic region with varied educational backgrounds and experiences, these teachers are excited to be here.
From: Berlin, MD Education: UD and Instituto de Wayra in Costa Rica Favorite Part Of Her Education: Studying in Costa Rica where she could surf after school and interact with monkeys near their huts.
From: Lansdale, PA Education: Moravian College and West Chester University Future Plans: Hopes to expand the music department and add a school band. Favorite Band: Pat Metheny Group
From: Salisbury, MD Education: University of Maryland and Notre Dame University of Maryland Favorite Books: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and the Harry Potter series.
by Ryan Murphy
Mattie Maull
by Grace Tunis
Female Athlete of the Issue, Mattie Maull, all 73 inches of her, was the star middle hitter on the Worcester Prep varsity volleyball team. She lead the team as a captain and senior and is an outgoing, kind person. Her teammates say, “Mattie is a great leader. She always kept her head up and she encouraged us to play our hardest during games and at practice. Mattie went beyond the maximum to continue learning about volleyball. She’s a great player and role model. We will all miss her next season.” Mattie has played volleyball since the team’s inception in 2011, and has plans to continue playing volleyball in college.
“
Mattie is the most coachable player I have
ever taught. She gives 110% all
”
the time and is always a dependable leader. -Coach Jehle
Sock it to Suicide
From: Towson, MD Eduation: Towson and Salisbury University Time Period He Would Travel To: The 19th century, where he would meet John Quincy Adams. He loved studying this time period in college.
From: Bowie, MD Education: University of Maryland and Salisbury University Favorite Genre: 19th century British literature, especially Mary Shelley.
by Sarah Koon On Tuesday, October 14th, students had an opportunity to wear colorful socks to school in support of Suicide Awareness week. Vibrant socks paraded through the hallways with flashes of vivid color and cheerful patterns. But this wasn’t just an opportunity to “dressdown” by disregarding school uniform policies – students also donated money to support the organization “Sock it to Suicide.” This organization raises money to support people with mental disorders and suicidal tendencies. In addition to the fundraiser, special guest speaker Mary Jo Dean gave an interactive presentation to each Upper School grade. Her goal was to teach students the early warning signs of self-harming behavior and how to respond to those signs. Some of the more notable warning signs are irritability, depression and substance abuse. If someone exhibits these signals, Dean recommends speaking with them openly and empathizing with their situation. Students were also reminded that it is important to contact an adult if they believe that someone is exhibiting suicidal behavior. After all, there is nothing more vital to the health of a community than the ability of its members to support each other in positive ways—and prevent unnecessary death. At the end of the day, the students all had more awareness of suicide prevention.
Sam Deeley
by Staton Whaley
Sam Deeley has been named Male Athlete of the Issue through excellence on and off the field. Sam was the starting center back on the Worcester Prep soccer team, which is a physically and mentally demanding position. A center back not only has to drop back and play defense but also attack on the offensive side. This takes much strength because of the physical exhaustion from running back and forth and the mental exhaustion from commanding two sides of the field. Sam was also a
“
The road has been rough this year, but I,
along with my other captains, have smoothed out the bumps, filled the potholes and are now cruising-
”
towards a championship season.
team captain. He said, He demonstrated dominance on the field and exhibited leadership off the field, whipping the new guys into shape. Sam has, without a doubt, earned the prestigious title of Male Athlete of the Issue.
spirit week Student Point of View Freshmen were polled about their first upper school spirit week with the following sentence:
Spirit week was ___ because ___.
Good...it was very nice to have some event in the beginning of the school year to allow students to adjust. -Lucas Crowe
Lacking...we didn”t have twin day, but otherwise it was great. -Anna Engel A great experience...all of the high school classes came together to participate in hallways, costumes, and penny wars. I had so much fun and can’t wait for next year! -Maddie Barton Interesting...you got to see people express themselves in ways they couldn’t have if they were restricted to their uniform. -Rick Townsend
Awesome...it just was awesome. I’m speechless. -Austin Taylor
And the winner is... With first place wins in the hallway competition, penny wars, and dodgeball, the seniors easily took first place overall during Spirit Week. The sophomores had a strong showing, elbowing out the juniors by showing their spirit on the dress day themes. They also raised a respectable $441 dollars and took 2nd place in the dodgeball tournament giving them a 8-point lead over the juniors to take second place overall. The juniors prevailed in the lunch games allowing them to take the bronze for third overall. Though they put an effort into gaining dress theme points, the freshmen were slightly lackluster in the rest of the spirit week activities earning them 4th place overall.
The Battle of the Halls by Gracie Riley
Senior Hallway - Scary Movies
Sophomore Hallway - Science Fiction
Junior Hallway - Action Films
Freshmen Hallway - Children’s Movies
A
s they prepared for the homecoming dance, all Upper School students took part in the spirit week festivities including themed dress days, lunchtime games, a dodge ball tournament, and the popular hallway competition. This year, each grade was given a movie genre to incorporate into their hallway decorations. With the theme of children’s movies, the freshmen attempted to create a miniature Worcester Prep Disneyland. The Walt Disney logo was displayed along with multiple Disney characters including Olaf from Frozen. The sophomore class was on a mission to turn their hallway into a galaxy far, far away for their sci-fi genre. From personal aliens on their lockers, twinkling star-like lights and a Tardis replica, the sophomore class’s hallway was out of this world. The juniors were given action films as an inspiration for their hallway. Nicolas Cage, Indiana Jones and Gotham City scenes complete with crime fighting superheroes made to look like our very own WPS teachers were a big hit. Lastly, the senior class was given the daunting task of creating a hallway of horror for their scary movie theme. Their hallway featured a complete wall of clowns, individual tombstones on each senior’s locker and the creepy baby doll display on the walls and hanging from the ceiling. The winner of the hallway competition was decided by the lower school teachers and students who cast votes on the best movie genre representation. After all the votes were counted and re-counted it came down to a three way tie between the freshman, junior, and senior class. Every class put in a valiant effort on their hallway, and Worcester Prep has never looked better. Congratulations to the winning grades!
Front Cover:
Homecoming Court - Josh Bredbenner, Annemarie Cherry, Carter Hill, Regan Lingo, Jarad Godwin, Cecily Sass, James Patrera, Grace Rilley, Ross Dickerson, Kathryn O’Malley
Editors in Chief: Sam Deeley Taylor Hawkins
Design Staff:
Cover: Madison Doody and Amanda Gabriel News: Erika Smith Feature: Taylor Hawkins Student Interest: Jarad Godwin Back Cover: Jarad Godwin
Editorial Staff: Lauren Dykes Sam Deeley Erika Smith
In the Garden by: Rayne Parker, Patrick Petrera, Brad White
In the Garden
bythrough Rayne Parker, Petrera, Brad White The old man walked gingerly the Patrick flowerbeds
He gazed at the great valley of colors noticing the reds more than anything else As he picked a withered rose he thought, “My time, too, is near and soon I will be with you. old manofwalked through the flowerbeds But what, what isThe the meaning the lifegingerly I have lived?”
He gazed at the great valley of colors noticing the reds more than anything The withered rose looked back and said else “Mother Natureahas called you As he picked withered roseback” he thought, “My time, too, is near and But we will livesoon on I will be with you. As a memorial to our expertise But what, what is the meaning of the life I have lived?” The withered rose looked back and said “Mother Nature has called you back” But we will live on As a memorial to our expertise
Red
taken by Jenny Rosales