M ental Health: M inding Your M ind Page 6
Vol. 43, I ssue VI I I
I nter view with M r. Petr uzzelli Page 8
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review Page 10
Debate: Dressing Down Dur ing Exams Page 16
The Student Newspaper of St. Joseph's Prep
L etter from Fr. Swope Page 17
Januar y 18th, 2018
(Photo: St. Joseph's Prep)
SPEEDY REACHES 1,000 WI NS
The members of the Prep basketball team pose with head coach Speedy Morris and his wife, Mimi, after the win against Lansdale Catholic. Full story on Page 19.
M aking the Call: Petro's Plan By Jacob DeAnnuntis '19 Nothing creates a bigger buzz among students than the greatest two words that a student can hear: ?Snow Day.? Whenever there?s a possibility of snow in the forecast, the whole school is electrified, students and teachers alike, debating the likelihood of a snow day. Suddenly everyone is a meteorologist, tracking the storm, arguing about the different snow forecast, eagerly awaiting the official call from Mr. Petruzzelli. There?s no better feeling than reading the tweet, getting the call, seeing the text, or opening the email signaling a snow day. But what goes on behind scenes in the process of calling a snow day? The Hawkeye was able to sit down with Mr. Petruzzelli and former principal Mr. Zazyczny to discuss this. Mr. Petruzzelli says the process of calling a
snow begins at any mention of potential snow in the forecast, usually a few days in advance. ?Believe it or not we become meteorologist of sorts?, says Mr. Petruzzelli, ?tracking the path of the storm, the various models, weather patterns, and various forecasts, in order to predict amount of snowfall we receive.? Mr. Zazyczny says this active weather tracking begins as early as December, when snowfall becomes a legitimate concern. Once snow is in the forecast, the administrative team consisting of the Principal, Mr. Petruzzelli, Assistant Principal, Mrs. Kettinger, Dean of Students, Mr. Greene, Director of Transportation, Mr. Ghee, and the Director of Communications, Mr. Avington, discuss their options. Each of these positions play a key role in making the decision,
from staying in contact with the bus company, to alerting students and teachers. ?It?s not as easy as it seems,? said Mr. Petruzzelli regarding calling a day off due to snow or other inclement weather. Mr. Zazyczny agrees with this, recalling this process as one he overlooked when he applied to be a principal, saying ?It takes up a lot of time and energy. It?s a big part of the job.? Many factors must be taken into account during the process, including the geographic diversity which Prep students come from, checking the snow forecast in many areas. ?If twenty percent of our students live in New Jersey and they can?t get to school, we?re not going to have school,? said Mr. Petruzzelli. Safety is always the number (Continued on Page 4)
Students Question Chr istmas M idter ms By M att Phillips '18 With classes finally meeting again after a series of snow days and one early dismissal, the final days of the first semester are here. And while, in many classes, progression has largely remained steady, even normal, in this new ?interregnum? period, others are fumbling to effectively conceptualize these two weeks. Should students continue to be tested as normal, or is shoving in another test before semester?s end overkill, or worse, useless? What becomes of semester classes when all information for the final assessment has already been covered? The overarching question in all of these debates is whether or not moving midterms to December was
beneficial to the student body -the goal of the new schedule at its time of proposal. With regard to that question, reviews are largely mixed. Among the points of high praise is the relative ease of Christmas break in comparison to previous years - - for many students, it has been a break in the truest sense of the word. Homework assignments were few and far between, allowing the break to be worry- free for the majority of the Prep?s student body. ?Having December midterms helped because I didn?t go on a long, extended break and forget the things we learned in the first quarter,? says Nick Mattera ?19. ?I also enjoyed having a relaxed (Continued on Page 4)