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Horseback
riding offers
many
benefits ...
Page 2
Teachers are
getting engaged
and having
children ...
Page 3
Woodlynde School’s Award-Winning Student Newspaper Issue 4
February 20, 2013
By Patrick Torphy
Editor-in-Chief
Posting sensitive information online can easily
reach unintended audiences and result in a host of
consequences, but many Woodlynde students have an
eerie sense that someone is already watching them.
After a series of disciplinary actions were taken in
the past year due to separate incidents of inappropri-
ate postings by stu-
dents on social media,
rumors started to swirl
about administrators looking online at students’ Face-
book and Twitter accounts.
“I don’t think that they’re stalking me, I know that
they are,” said senior Chris Maguire about adminis-
trators, though he declined to have his reasoning pub-
lished.
His response instantly ignited debate by Upper
School students and teachers who were in the same
room. Math teacher Mr. Sweeney laughed off Chris’
claims, while a fellow Upper School student, who
wished to remain anonymous, said, “I know they're not
going on because I'd be screwed by now.”
Several administrators were questioned by The
Students
A Medical Mystery Let It Snow! See SOCIAL MEDIA on page 3
Photo by Patrick Torphy, Editor-in-Chief
Senior Hannah Lipschutz dances under artificial snow
at the Upper School Winter Whiteout.
By Nicholas Brayton
Staff Writer
Senior Patrick Torphy’s voice rises in
anger when he talks about the unclaimed
clothing in the school’s lost and found.
This is because three or four very large
trash bags filled to the brim with un-
claimed shirts, pants, hats, hoodies, and
jackets are tossed in the Dumpster at the
end of each month.
“I think it's obnoxious. I think it's a
colossal waste of resources that could be
donated to people in need,” the Senior
Class President said. He is one of many
students who believe the clothing should
be given to those in poverty.
At the end of each month, Dean of Stu-
dents Mr. Shank lays out some of the
clothing in assembly and asks students to
claim it if it is theirs. All unclaimed
clothes are tossed in the Dumpsters near
LOST & FOUND on page 6
By Cassia Enright
Opinion & Magazine Editor
You may have noticed that junior Luke Alonso was scarce-
ly around Woodlynde for the first semester of the school year.
This is because he has been battling health issues that actually
have been going on for the past seven years of his life.
Luke has worn
an amazing poker
face while deal-
ing with two sur-
geries, countless
visits to the doc-
tor’s office that
caused him to
miss school, and
severe pain on a
daily basis. While
he remains seem-
ingly unfazed by
his situation, you
would be shocked
to know that the
story behind his absence is worthy of an exploitive TLC special.
It all started seven years ago when Luke began having
See MEDICAL MYSTERY on page 6
Image provided by Mr. Alonso, Network Administrator
Junior Luke Alonso in the hospital before his
surgery.
A Talented Duo
Stomach pains caused Luke Alonso to
miss a majority of the first semester.
Two surgeries later, he’s on the mend.
Photo by Maya Holloway, Photographer
Seniors Hunter Register and Haley Van Schaick sing “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey at
the winter Talent Show. See additional photos on page 4.
Is Woodlynde
Playing Big
Brother? When it comes to social media,
administrators say no, but
students are skeptical.
Trashed! Instead of being
donated to the needy,
unclaimed clothing is
getting thrown out.
Special Report
The Informer Page 2 February 20, 2013
Horseback Riding Brings Joy and Therapeutic Benefits
Sophomore Nicole Roberts
(left photo) competes every
year at the Devon Horse
Show.
Sophomore Victoria
Hartzell (right photo) travels
to Thorncroft every Saturday.
She has been riding since she
was in preschool.
Staff Writer Liz Carney sat down with brand new freshman Alane Ribick, who previ-
ously attended 21st Century Cyber Charter School, to talk about what it’s been like at
Woodlynde so far.
How has your experience at Woodlynde been so far?
"It's really good. I really like it. All the ninth grade girls have been accepting and they
were really nice to me."
What's your favorite part of Woodlynde so far?
"All the teachers are really nice and help out a lot."
Why did you decide to come to Woodlynde?
"My parents looked around for small private schools and then we found Woodlynde; I
really wanted to go."
What do you like to do for fun / what are your hobbies?
"I really like anything
that has to do with art,
like painting and draw-
ing; hanging out with
friends; and listening to
music. I went to a Two
Door Cinema and an Im-
agine Dragons concert.”
Do you play any sports?
"No, but I might play soft-
ball or lacrosse in the
spring."
What's something
interesting that's
happened to you?
"I lived in South Carolina
… five minutes away from
the beach so we went
there a lot; I mostly
tanned and read.
The climate was totally
different, too. It was real-
ly nice in the beginning
when it was warm, but
then once you got used to
it, it wasn’t that nice,”
because it was warm all
the time.
Learning Specialist Mrs. Wilson says:
"Like Maya [Holloway], Alane came to Woodlynde in the middle of the school year and
she has to catch up with academic work and meet new teachers and students. I think
she's done a beautiful job at trying to learn things quickly. I know she has a really
long drive to come here, but she always comes ready to learn and puts a lot of effort
into what she does.
“I think she's doing a good job making friends and she's considering doing a sport in
the spring to get more involved with school and do a fun activity with the friends
she's made. I think she's doing a great job becoming a part of our community."
By Isabel Tirado-Barrett
Staff Writer
During the week before winter break, students were filing into
their classrooms, ready to work.
However, it was not a typical week. Every so often, one of San-
ta's little helpers walked in and distributed candy canes to students
and teachers, with the recipient's name on its label.
Almost 1,000 candy canes were bought and distributed to raise
money for prom committee, which suited the holidays perfectly.
New student Michael McGroary, a freshman who was still
getting to know people at Woodlynde, sat in his chair during Jour-
nalism elective and watched how others received candy canes.
Two upperclassmen noticed that he wanted a candy cane but
was without one. Although they are older and aren’t friends with
him, they decided benevolently to do something about it.
The next thing Michael knew, he was given the wonderful sur-
prise of 20 candy canes.
“So I'm just walking
down the hall from history
to study hall … then [prom
committee advisor] Ms. Gal-
lagher comes up and says:
'Michael, I've been looking
for you,' and she just hands
me a bucket of candy canes
and walks away.”
I n i t i a l l y , M i c h a e l
thought Ms. Gallagher was
playing a joke on him.
“I read the tags, and see
who it's from, and I just
couldn't stop laughing, be-
cause it was so unexpected.
It's funny, though, because I
felt really bad that I couldn't
thank [the recipients], be-
cause I was laughing too
hard. Luckily I was able to
thank [them] later …”
When asked what made
them perform this act of
kindness and generously use
$20 of their own money, the
benefactors, who wished to
remain anonymous, said,
“Michael is just a majestic
and spirited youth. He was saying how he hoped that he got candy
canes, how he wanted some.”
“He was just in such shock [when he got them]!” said one of the
benefactors.
“I don’t think we’ve ever done this before with somebody we’re
not really close friends with,” said the other benefactor.
He added: “Michael came up to me after he got the candy canes,
and asked why we sent him 20 candy canes. And all I said was: ‘Be
careful what you wish for, Michael.’"
By Julia Wolfe
Staff Photographer
"Some people think that horseback riding is
just a sport, but it's my life," sophomore Ryleigh
Grady says about her favorite activity.
Ryleigh has been riding since she was four, fol-
lowing in her mother’s footsteps. She is a competi-
tor who has won many awards, including second
place in the Reserved Championship at her barn,
Radnor Hunt, where she rides three times a week.
Horseback riding is such a popular sport that
at least two other Woodlynde students — sopho-
mores Nicole Roberts and Victoria Hartzell —-
do it, too. There is also a school-sponsored horse-
back riding club that just started on Thursdays.
The group has eight students involved so far.
Victoria started riding in preschool because she
has always loved horses. She said she has an awe-
some instructor, and although Victoria does not
compete just yet, she rides every Saturday at
Thorncroft in Malvern.
"Horseback riding is my favorite activity on a
Saturday," the sophomore said.
Nicole rides horses for fun, too, but she also
does it because riding horses helps control her Epi-
lepsy. Nicole competes once a year in the most well
-known horse show in the Philadelphia area, The
Devon Horse Show. She said she is in the main-
streamers group and has won many awards.
Scotty is her favorite horse to ride, and she said
she loves Scotty because she knows how to control
his wild temper. One time, though, a dog spooked
him and Nicole was bucked off and landed high in
a tree. Luckily, Nicole didn’t break any bones.
Ryleigh also has a crazy story about riding a
horse. When she was 12, she fell off her horse, Hen-
ry, while doing a jump and she broke her shoulder.
This was all caused by Henry seeing birds flying
around and chirping.
“Henry doesn't like birds,” Ryleigh said.
Ryleigh, Victoria and Nicole are three brave
young women who have been horseback riding
since they were little and plan to continue for many
years to come.
“I’ll probably ride for my entire life, as long as it
brings me joy,” Ryleigh said.
New Student Spotlight: Alane Ribick
Freshman Enjoys Art and Painting
An Act of Kindness
Photo by Maya Holloway, Photographer
New freshman Alane Ribick used to live five minutes
from the beach. Photo by Christa Deckman
Freshman Michael McGroary
was surprised with 20 candy canes
from two students he barely knows.
Sophomore
Ryleigh
Grady has
been riding
since she
was four and
is following
in her
mother’s
footsteps.
Freshmen Lauren Weaver?????? and Daija
Gillespie-Stanley have a laugh while ?????????
The Informer Page 3 February 20, 2013
A Joyous Time
Teachers Are Getting Engaged, Having Children By Christa Deckman and Mattie Sweet
Informer Staff
Two Woodlynde teachers enjoyed a two-week-long
winter break with not just family, but with their new
fiancés, as well. Meanwhile, two other teachers are
looking forward to having children.
Ms. Gal & Coach Brad Get Engaged On Dec. 21, Athletic Trainer and P.E. teacher Ms.
Gallagher was finally pro-
posed to after four years of
dating Varsity Boys’ Soccer
Coach Brad Price.
Two days later, sixth
grade teacher Ms.
Copeland was proposed to
by her boyfriend of over five
years Matthew Frankel.
It is an exciting moment
when a man kneels down,
takes out a ring, then asks
for a woman’s hand in marriage. When this hap-
pened to Ms. Gallagher, she said, “I was completely
shocked! I had no idea it was coming.”
Ms. Copeland Gets Engaged Ms. Copeland was equally shocked, saying,
“Actually, I thought he was faking at first because he
liked to tease me about it a lot. I didn't believe him
until I actually saw the ring!”
Each teacher had a different
experience on their magical
night.
For Ms. Gallagher, Coach
Brad bought two dog tags that
said, “Woof you.” When she
took the dog tags from Coach
Brad, he turned around to get
the ring, then knelt down on
one knee and proposed to her.
Ms. Copeland’s night was a
long one. First, her fiancé took
her to see the Nutcracker. Af-
terward, they drove to dinner.
But before dinner, they
walked through a park. They
stopped at a spot overlooking
the restaurant, and he turned
around, took her hand and
asked her if she would marry
him. Initially, she did not be-
lieve him, until he took out the
solitaire diamond ring.
Along with all the fantastic
news of engagements, two other
teachers have received the exciting news of pregnancy.
Mrs. Rohleder Is Expecting
Lower School Guidance Counselor Mrs. Rohleder is
beyond thrilled to be a first-time mom. "I am excited about
everything! Maybe not the
changing diapers part,
though," she admits.
Mrs. Rohleder is due March
12th and is keeping the sex of
the baby a surprise. Mrs.
Rohleder always wanted to
reveal her pregnancy to her
family in a big way, but she
was so excited, she just ended
up spurting it out.
Mrs. Rohleder and her hus-
band Justin are very excited
to start a family of their own.
She has done a lot to prepare so far, like having a baby
shower. “We are starting to get the nursery ready, too,
which is exciting!"
Mr. Sadusky’s Wife Is Having Twins Meanwhile, new Upper School science teacher Mr.
Sadusky’s wife, Suzanne, is pregnant with twins. They
are looking forward to this and have already discussed a
few names. Mrs. Sadusky is expecting sometime in July,
and Mr. Sadusky said he is glad that his other child will
have company.
Mr. and Mrs. Sadusky
are expecting twins.
Ms. Copeland and
fiancé Mr. Frankel.
Ms. Gallagher and
Coach Price.
Informer regarding rumors that they are monitoring
students’ online activity outside of school, especially
on Twitter. Head of Upper School Mrs. Dougherty
firmly responded, “Do I go and scan and look and try
and find out about y’all? Uh, no.”
Dean of Students Mr. Shank echoed Mrs.
Dougherty, comically saying, “You’re asking a guy
that’s pretty naive about this stuff. I don’t have a
Facebook page; I’ll never have a Facebook page; I
don’t follow anybody on Twitter, and that’s just
me ...”
“They’re believing that we have a lot of time on
our hands ... I can confirm that that is not true,”
Head of School Dr. Fulco added about monitoring
students’ social media accounts. He did, however,
offer an explanation for why student posts on Twitter
have been making their way to his desk.
SEARCHING TWITTER Woodlynde’s Communications Department peri-
odically searches the school name on Twitter to make
replies and generate an online presence.
If a tweet were to contain “Woodlynde”, this
would show up in their search, and if it had question-
able content, then the Communications Department
would be obligated to share it with administrators.
Dr. Fulco confirmed that this has happened on two
occasions, but he declined to specify what they were.
STUDENTS COMPLAINING
What’s perhaps more ubiquitous than incriminat-
ing posts is just general complaining by students
about school. Dr. Fulco had poignant words for those
who choose to vent about Woodlynde online.
“If someone tweeted publically that anyone can
see, ‘Woodlynde stinks, I hate it here, it’s an awful
place, the teachers are mean’ ... I think [that’s some-
thing the school should respond to].
“If you’re Googling Woodlynde as a prospective
family, and the fifth [result] that pops up is a tweet
or some other social media platform where the stu-
dent is blasting Woodlynde, [that] is concerning to
me.”
But the line between what is harmless and what
is malicious can be blurred. This appeared to be true
in the case of “Woodlynde Problems.”
@WOODLYNDEPROBS TAKEN DOWN Woodlynde Problems, or @WoodlyndeProbs, was a
popular Twitter account followed by Woodlynde stu-
dents and even the official Woodlynde Twitter. It
spoke to everyday, silly issues that Woodlynde stu-
dents encounter.
Many of the tweets, such as, “Suffering from
secondhand embarrassment when students make
poor announcement choices in assembly...#woodlynde
problems" resonated with students, including sopho-
more Lesley Vizak.
“I thought it was really funny ... some of them
were really accurate.” She was disappointed that it
hadn’t been updated in months. Rumors swirled that
the school asked that it be taken down.
When questioned about @WoodlyndeProbs remov-
al, Dr. Fulco and Mr. Shank said they had no
knowledge of the school requesting that it be taken
down. In fact, they complimented its humor and wit.
Mrs. Dougherty had no recollection of requesting
that it be taken down, either, but did acknowledge
having a conversation with the moderator about a spe-
cific tweet. The moderator, an Upper School student
who wishes to remain anonymous, apparently misun-
derstood Mrs. Dougherty, and thought she asked that
the whole account be deleted.
After The Informer probed this incident, it was
discovered that a simple miscommunication resulted
in the termination of @WoodlyndeProbs, and now the
Twitter handle is back up and running.
SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY ISN’T NEEDED
While no administrator could point to a formal
policy regarding student conduct on social media, con-
sequences for inappropriate posts have ranged from
asking the student to remove the post all the way to
suspension.
Dr. Fulco doesn’t believe a student code of conduct
on social media would be necessary.
"Typically, a post that's going to land a student in
trouble falls under other policies, [such as bullying, or
drugs and alcohol]. So I am not certain that we need a
specific, online-posting policy," he said. “I think we're
basically on par [compared] with other schools.”
School Counselor Ms. Szmajda determines appro-
priate intervention by one simple factor.
“My best rule-of-thumb is that if it affects our com-
munity, when we’re in school, because of something
that has happened outside of school, then it should be
dealt with.”
Ms. Szmajda estimates that half of all the conflict
she mediates involves social media. A typical incident
would be cyber-bullying through Facebook, but inci-
dents have occurred on almost all social media plat-
forms, such as YouTube, Twitter, the now-defunct
Formspring, and even Instagram.
In terms of just general complaining about Wood-
lynde, Ms. Szmajda says, “I think it’s okay to complain
to an extent. I think if it’s directed at a certain teach-
er ... then that’s crossing a line. But I do think that
everyone has some amount of freedom to express how
they feel on their Facebook or on their Twitter or
whatever they’re using.”
WOODLYNDE’S RESPONSIBILITY? While social media can provide a great platform to fos-
ter communication, collaboration, and socialization, it can
also implicate its users who decide to share more than
they should. Some feel that whatever happens online is
beyond Woodlynde’s responsibility.
“You wanna put up a picture of you getting drunk on
Facebook or whatever, well that’s your prerogative,” Mr.
Shank said. “I don’t think it’s in your best interest and I
will certainly teach students about why that’s not in your
best interest.”
But there is a fine line between what the school thinks
is a poor decision and what they consider a major concern.
In the latter case, Mr. Shank says, “Freedom of speech
is out the window; what’s more important is this kid par-
ticipating in risky behaviors, and we’re going to address it
because we don’t want the kid to be at risk; we want them
to be safe and healthy.”
Mrs. and Mr.
Rohleder are
expecting in March.
Social Media (From page 1)
If the student’s post is a major
concern, “Freedom of speech is
out the window; what’s more
important is this kid participat-
ing in risky behaviors, and we’re
going to address it because we ...
want them to be safe and
healthy.”
~ Mr. Shank, Dean of Students
Colleges Are
Searching
Social Media
By Patrick Torphy
Editor-in-Chief
College guidance counselor Mrs. Tabun says
more often colleges are now looking at appli-
cants’ social media activity.
“My suggestion is to really be mindful of
things that you post and I think kids are trying
to be better about privacy settings, but just un-
derstand that anything that goes out there is
public, and so if it’s not something that you
would want your family members looking at,
then it probably shouldn't be out there,” she
said.
She also addressed the urban myth of colleg-
es bypassing privacy settings.
“[Colleges] are typically not going to go out
of their way and do a lot of cyber-sleuthing to
try and uncover damaging evidence against an
applicant. But if something comes their way ...
sometimes they don’t have to look very hard to
find things.”
However, there is the possible scenario of a
student’s acceptance riding on their online
presence. If admissions has to choose between
two applicants, then what they find online
about the candidates could be a tie-breaker.
Mrs. Tabun also warned that colleges can
rescind an acceptance if they later find ques-
tionable online content.
Mr. Sweeney’s Beard-asaurus Wins Competition
wife, who shaved his beard, or sophomore Taylor
Sforza, who gave him the idea.
Long-term sub Mr. Hoffman, who was the
runner-up for the award as “The Irish Wave”, said
he joined because, “it was for charity and it was a
good cause and I have a wealthy ginger beard.”
On the other hand, science teacher Mr.
Sadusky (who portrayed Paul Bunyan) joined as
an excuse not to shave his beard.
Mystery guest and librarian Ms. Schroeder
put on a fake beard, and green tunic and tights,
and pretended to be the comic book hero Green
Arrow.
Ms. Schroeder said that she wore a fake beard
last year as a joke. “So this year, a few of my stu-
dents asked if I was going to be in it … I said it
was like a challenge,” she said.
By Alec Kravitt
Staff Writer
For the last three years, Woodlynde has hosted a
competition where faculty members (and sometimes
students) grow beards, shave them into fun designs,
and then have the Woodlynde community judge
their creativity.
During the first two years, organizer Mr. Gel-
man was victorious both times. However, last
month, he lost his title to beloved math teacher Mr.
Sweeney.
”I feel so awesome. I finally obtained my pre-
cious beard award,” said Mr. Sweeney, who shaved
his beard like two dinosaurs.
Mr. Sweeney, who plans to donate the money
raised from the competition to the Woodlynde Fund,
said he could not have won without the help of his
The Informer Page 4 February 20, 2013
Woodlynde Hits the Ice Middle and Upper School students and
teachers skated the morning away.
Photos by Mattie Sweet, Media Editor
(Top photo): Students head to the top of the mountain on the
ski lift. Seniors Tianna Buck and Christen McCreavey
(bottom photo) having fun on the trip.
Talent Show Rocks the All-Purpose Room
Senior Alex Hertel after singing
“Ghost Walking” by Lamb of God.
Eighth grader Derek Smith pays tribute to
Nirvana by performing “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
Freshman
Lauren
Robinson (left
photo) sings
“No Air” by
Jordin Sparks.
Photo by Breana Daniel-Schnobrich, Photographer
Nick Scaramuzza (left), Isabel Tirado-Barrett
and Alec Kravitt roll the dice at the role playing
game club.
Photo by Breana Daniel-Schnobrich
Seventh graders Taylor Forman
(parrot) and Caroline Stefan
(bear), and sixth grader Brenna
Radice (dog) dance on stage.
Photo by Mr. Prontnicki, science teacher
Middle School students enjoy a fun day at Arnold’s.
Photo by Mattie Sweet, Media Editor
Contestants in the beard competition are (back row, from
left to right) Mr. Sadusky, Mr. Hoffman, Mr. Pront-
nicki, Mr. Gelman, (front row, from left) Ms. Schroeder,
Mr. Sweeney (the winner) and Mr. Robison.
Middle Schoolers at Arnold’s
Tubing / Ski Trip New RPG Club Starts
Senior Noorie Weinberg and junior Megan Doll sing
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
Photo by Julia Wolfe, Photographer Sophomores Samantha Goodman and Eliza Griffin
lean in for a photo.
Photos by
Maya
Holloway
Seventh
graders
Mickey
McGowan
(left photo)
and Tori
Bruckner
(not pic-
tured) sang a
duet to “It’s
Beginning to
Look a lot
Like
Christmas.”
The Informer
(Left photo):
Senior Tianna
Buck and
freshman
Maya
Holloway
fight for the
basketball.
(Right Photo):
Junior
Gaylen
Martin
streaks in for
a break-away
layup.
February 20, 2013 Page 5
Staff Writer Ryan Harvie sat down with junior Patrick Daniel-
Schnobrich, who started snowboarding at the age of 10 and tries to go as
much as he can during the winter.
What's the coolest move you've ever done?
"Bloody Dracula. It's a trick in which the rider grabs the tail of the board
with both hands while he’s in mid-air. The move is very hard and took me
so many times to finally get it right. I felt so happy and proud when I got
the move down.”
Where do you go snowboarding?
"I go to Heavenly, Park City, and Bear Creek."
Have you ever wiped out or hurt yourself?
"One time, I went snowboarding with my friends in Aspen, Colorado. The
place was called Buttermilk and that's where the X-Games were happen-
ing. I wanted to impress my friends, who were all sponsored snowboard-
ers, so I went off one of the X-Games jumps and fell right on my face, and
knocked myself out. The reason I think I fell was because I was nervous
about messing up in front of my friends.”
Would you consider yourself an expert snowboarder?
"No, but I think I'm pretty good."
Is snowboarding one of your favorite things to do? What is your
favorite part about it?
"Yes I enjoy it a lot. I really like the feeling of air going by my face while I
go down the slope.
What’s more fun, surfing or snowboarding?
"Snowboarding,
because you
can do much
cooler tricks
and it's more of
a challenge.
T h e t h i n g
that’s challeng-
ing about snow-
boarding is
that you need
to keep your
ba lance to
avoid wiping
out and falling
all the time.”
Do you have
any advice
for
beginners?
"You shouldn't
be scared. Just
go and try it
and you'll love
it."
Athlete Spotlight: Patrick Daniel-Schnobrich
Avid Snowboarder’s Coolest
Move Is “Bloody Dracula”
Photo by Breana Daniel-Schnobrich, Photographer
Junior Patrick Daniel-Schnobrich loves
snowboarding because it’s challenging and you can
perform cool tricks.
Sophomore Michaela Trusk goes up
strong for an uncontested layup.
Freshman Maya Holloway
(right) battles to win the tip-off.
Seniors (from
left) Tianna
Buck and Alex
Roberts
celebrate
Senior Day
with Coaches
McMurrer (far
left) and
Robison.
Buddy Bowling Strikes Again
First grader Sara Dupré and Lower School
teacher Ms. Sicina hold hands while
preparing to bowl.
Kindergartner Riken Desai
fires the ball down the lane
with focus.
Senior Alex Roberts receives a smooch
from kindergartner Kyle Purdy.
First grader Henry Faragalli
smiles wide as he gets ready to
bowl.
Photos by
Mattie Sweet,
Media Editor
Photos by
Mattie
Sweet,
Media
Editor
A
The Informer
Woodlynde School
445 Upper Gulph Road
Strafford, PA 19087
The Informer welcomes feed-
back and letters to the editor.
Please send to:
Editor-in-Chief
Patrick Torphy
Media Editor
Mattie Sweet
Layout Editor
Jeremy Cooper
Opinion &
Magazine Editor
Cassia Enright
Staff Writers Alex Roberts
Hannah Lipschutz
Trevor Bowes
Nick Brayton
Joel Cureton
Nick Spino
Nick Scaramuzza
Christa Deckman
Samantha Goodman
Elizabeth Carney
Victoria Hartzell
Alec Kravitt
Matt Savitz
Giana Campbell
Ryan Harvie
Isabel Tirado-Barrett
Chris Lumsden
Patrick Nucci
Photographers Ben Weisman
Breana Daniel-Schnobrich
Andrew Rosenberg
Julia Wolfe
Tianna Buck
Maya Holloway
Videographers Kelan Reilly
Jordan Gregson
Michael McGroary
Graphic Artists Chris Maguire
Megan Flynn
Chief Enforcers Brandon Anderson
Christian Acosta
Faculty Adviser Mr. Gelman
Adviser-at-Large Mrs. Byrne
Circulation /
Editing Adviser Ms. DeLiberty
“Prank calling Ms.
McMurrer only 2 times
a day, but last time I
called, I got a ‘This
number is no longer in
service.’ "
~Mattie Sweet, senior
“To stop
sneaking onto
horse farms and
putting unicorn
horns on ponies.”
~Luke Alonso,
junior
“To break my New
Year’s resolution. It’s
going slow and steady.
I am confident that I
can do it .”
~ Mr. Kupersmith,
English teacher
What’s Your New Year’s Resolution?
Compiled by Hannah Lipschutz, Matt Savitz and Mattie Sweet, Informer staff
“To successfully block
Mattie so I don't get
prank calls. It’s going
well, until she finds a
way around it.”
~Ms. McMurrer,
Learning Specialist
“I want to get a job
but no one will hire
me.”
~Tristan Bosna,
sophomore
“To be on the Girls’
Softball team. I got to
start training every day.
It’s working out great for
me. I’m a natural leader.”
~ Luke DeLeo, freshman
A Valentine’s Day Mishap By Hannah Lipschutz, Cartoonist
The Informer Page 6 February 20, 2013
storage vessel for liver bile, was only func-
tioning at 33 percent of its maximum effi-
ciency.
Over winter break, Luke went in for his
second, and hopefully last, surgery to re-
move his gallbladder.
“The surgery went well and there were
no complications,” he said.
Luke remains hopeful, but understanda-
bly skeptical, despite the reassuring fact
that the doctors are almost completely sure
the gallbladder was the issue.
Now that this seven-year saga seems to
be concluding, and with his health on the
rise and his pain at bay, Luke can start to
move forward.
Catching Up on Schoolwork As one might imagine, with so many
tests and doctor’s appointments, school had
to be put on hold. For example, Luke said he
missed an average of four days a week of
school leading up to his gallbladder surgery.
So now school work is proving to be a
challenge.
“Once I got better and got back to school,
I started trying to catch up on work, which
entailed talking to teachers and asking fel-
low classmates for help,” Luke said.
“It's been hard, and honestly, I still don't
have a 100 percent understanding of all the
topics I've missed,” he said in late January.
Luke has had strong support from stu-
dents and teachers alike in making the
transition back to school full-time.
Learning Specialist Ms. McMurrer re-
mains optimistic. “I am so proud of Luke for
overcoming this challenge and moving for-
ward in a positive way to finish out the year
strong.”
sharp stomach pain. These occasional pains
soon became persistent and egregious,
which called for medical attention.
Lactose Intolerance? Luke said, “The doctors started with
concluding it was lactose intolerance,”
which means the body is unable to digest
milk and other dairy products such as
cheese and ice cream. Consuming these
types of foods can cause serious discomfort.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t as simple as
eliminating dairy products from his diet. “It
started getting worse, [so] we went to see
several doctors,” Luke said.
Back to the drawing board the doctors
went, and soon came a battery of about ten
tests and multiple appointments. Sadly,
surgery was the next step.
Appendix Surgery “They [the doctors] concluded my ap-
pendix was acting up, so I had an appen-
dectomy,” Luke said. An appendectomy is
the complete removal of the appendix, an
organ that medical professionals are cur-
rently debating if it even serves a purpose.
Not long after his surgery, Luke was
back to experiencing the same awful pain,
and the search for answers became more of
a struggle for everyone involved.
Gallbladder Surgery
“Six tests later and about fifty doctor
appointments later, they concluded it was
my gallbladder,” Luke said. It was discov-
ered that Luke’s gallbladder, which is a
the language rooms.
"I'm kind of the end of the line,”
Mr. Shank said. “... It's all on me, and
if the world were perfect, I would have
the time to get this stuff to the Salva-
tion Army or something.”
He feels that it is a shame that stu-
dents do not reclaim their clothing;
however, he doesn’t feel guilty about
placing it in the trash.
There have been times “when one
of our bleeding heart liberal teachers
around here will say, ‘Oh, no, I'll take
that to the Salvation Army,’ and then
that happens. But it rarely occurs any-
more,” he said.
Not all of the items are thrown out.
Mr. Shank will hold onto technology
like iPads and computers. In addition,
unclaimed Woodlynde uniforms are
washed and given to students who can
not afford the clothing.
One of the many reasons why cloth-
ing accumulates is because the mainte-
nance staff is told to take everything
off the top of the lockers after school
ends and place it in the lost and found.
The administration wants the school to
look clean for visitors.
In addition, students and their par-
ents often don’t label the clothing, so it
can’t be returned to the rightful owner.
Mr. Shank says he tells the parents at
Parents’ Night to write student's
names on their apparel, but that rarely
happens.
Patrick Torphy, as head of student
council, plans to talk to the other class
reps to see if they can find a way to
donate the clothing.
“I haven't talked specifically with
people on student council … about this,
but I do plan to in the future,” Patrick
said.
Noted Mr. Shank: "I'm not opposed
to [the clothes being donated]. It's just
that I'm not going to be the one that
does that.”
Medical Mystery (From page 1)
Lost &
Found
(From page 1)
Photo by Maya Holloway
Sophomores Julia Wolfe and Kelan
Reilly with clothes from the lost and found.
MAGAZINE Page 7
Horrible-Scopes
Editor’s note: Warning, this article could contain mature
content and may not be suitable for young children.
ARIES- The good news is that you finally got your big break in the acting world. The bad news is that it is for the
new MTV “reality” show Buck Wild.
TAURUS- When you are on a walk in the park, you’ll inadvertently discover the fountain of youth. After acci-
dentally drinking it, you’ll be instantly put into diapers and a onesie.
GEMINI– Declining, ego-centric reality-fad Courtney Stodden will somehow rekindle her relevance to pop-
culture, thus forcing you to watch TMZ so often that you run out of brain cells.
CANCER- After asking Siri to advise you on how to get rid of lice, you’ll be misguided and take a tomato bath,
followed by an oatmeal bath — which would be great if you got sprayed by a skunk and had the chicken pox.
LEO- You’ll pay for making the awful decision to not go on a date with famous man-eating pop singer Taylor
Swift. To get back at you, she’ll pay off every college not to accept you, and then write a song about it.
VIRGO- Your 100 percent success rate with jigsaw puzzles will be shattered when you discover you are missing
one piece which depicts the all-too-important porcupine face. You might as well give up on life.
LIBRA- When you are getting your haircut, your stylist, Alejandro, will lose his concentration when his es-
tranged ex bursts into the salon. In the heated cross-fire your hair will be sacrificed. Invest in a nice hat.
SCORPIO- Roses are red; violets are blue — you’re going to die alone. Happy Valentine’s Day.
SAGITTARIUS – Salvador Dali is going to sneak into your house and melt all of your clocks, thus making you
late for your laser hair-removal appointment.
CAPRICORN– After you consume a box of conversation hearts, you’ll make the horrific discovery that you actu-
ally just ate sidewalk chalk. But don’t feel too bad, it’s not like there is much of a difference.
AQUARIUS- Working one day a year isn’t cutting it. Punxsutawney Phil is looking to go back to school and get
his diploma. Unfortunately, due to space constraints, he’ll be forced to share a locker with you. Did I mention he
is a hoarder?
PISCES– Fitness enthusiast Billy Blanks is cashing in on that favor you owe him from the 80’s. Break out the
spandex, it’s about to get weird.
February 20, 2013
The track “Thinking of You” is aimed toward an ex
-boyfriend. It’s aggressive, but a part of me thinks
that it would still fall under the love-song category of
music. There is no doubt that Ke$ha’s in-your-face
personality is added in.
Ke$ha has an outrageous, flashy and flamboyant
aura to herself, which the public just seems to love.
Whether it’s subtle or blatantly obvious, that aura
makes an appearance in every one of her songs.
With that being said, there is definitely a section of
the album solely created for partying. The tracks “All
That Matters” and “Warrior” don’t have too many pur-
poses besides being played at clubs and dances, but
they add variety and that signature Ke$ha vibe.
When I was 12 years old and constantly listening
to Tik Tok,
everyone told
me that
Ke$ha would-
n’t be around
for much long-
er. Warrior,
along with her
previous al-
bum, has
proven them
wrong. Ke$ha
isn’t going
anywhere.
Music Review: Ke$ha’s Warrior
Album Is Filled with Catchy Songs
Cassia Enright
Magazine Editor
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Mark
Strong, Jennifer Ehle
Synopsis: A chronicle of the 10-year manhunt for
Osama Bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks, headed by
a persistent CIA agent
n a m e d M a y a
(Chastain), whose ob-
session with seeing this
mission through to the
end keeps it going until
one fateful night on May 2, 2011.
Review: Zero Dark Thirty is the year’s best film. I
say this without doubt or apprehension. It features
one of the most well-told stories, and some of the
best directing and acting that I’ve seen this year.
This is certainly one of the most relevant and
even important American films in quite some time.
Not only does it depict what is now a significant
period in our country’s history, but it captures the
obsession that drove the United States government
to find this one man. The film is intense, riveting
and downright cold at times, and that’s honestly
the best tone for it.
Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar snub for directing is
frankly appalling. In my opinion, this is a superior
effort to her previous film, The Hurt Locker, with a
more personal and engaging story and some excep-
tional craftsmanship on display. The final twenty
minutes are more thrilling than entire action films
that have come out this year.
As lead protagonist Maya, Jessica Chastain
gives one of my favorite performances this year.
She plays Maya subtly, but imbues the character
with a driving sense of determination that is admi-
rable at times and frightening at others.
While Maya grows colder and more detached
over the course of the film, she also displays a quiet
sense of loneliness as a result of her drive, and
Chastain perfectly expresses these many layers.
Much controversy has been made over the use of
torture in this film. Some have also claimed that
the filmmakers are pro-torture and that they false-
ly claim that torture was key to finding Bin Laden
in the film.
This issue has been completely blown out of
proportion and even misinterpreted. If you pay at-
tention, you'll notice that the use of torture doesn’t
get any real results and there are even a couple of
subtle hints of an anti-torture stance. Frankly, this
depiction needed to be shown in order to be accu-
rate.
In the end, this films seems to ask a lingering
question; was all this worth it? After the deed is
done and the mission finally over, there are no
cheers or smiles, or even a big triumphant score.
One man is dead after ten years, after spending so
many resources and losing so many people.
All there is is a feeling of emptiness, and that to
me is the most powerful scene in film this year,
much more so than the feel-good sensibilities of
films like Argo and Lincoln. Those are good films in
their own right, but to me, Zero Dark Thirty trans-
cends them all.
Consensus:
Zero Dark Thir-
ty is a near mas-
terpiece and the
best film of this
past year. Deftly
crafted, superbly
acted and metic-
u l o us l y r e -
searched, it is a
film that will
outlive its cur-
rent relevance
and be seen as a
classic in the
near future.
Verdict:
10 out of 10
Jeremy
Cooper
Layout
Editor
Movie Review:
Zero Dark Thirty
Is Riveting
I have been a Ke$ha fan since the birth of her ca-
reer in 2009. She and I go way back; this artist’s songs
surrounded the music choice at my bat mitzvah, and
she still has yet to let me down.
If you aren’t familiar with her music, it is best de-
scribed as glitter with
the ability to sing.
Warrior is her second
album, which was re-
leased on Dec. 4th,
through RCA records.
When word about Warrior first came out, my first
observation of the name was that it was Woodlynde
School’s mascot. Then, when the actual record was re-
leased, many parts of the album drew me in. Even be-
fore listening to any of the songs, I was instantly dis-
tracted by the colorful cover art.
I could tell that it took a lot of hard work to create
the album. I must say that literally all of her songs are
incredibly catchy. Songs meshing together and ulti-
mately sounding the same is something that I frequent-
ly find to be a turnoff. Surprisingly, I find all of Ke$ha’s
songs quite original and enjoyable in their own individ-
ual ways.
The singles “Die Young” and “C’mon” are the types
of songs that I could listen to all day and never get sick
of. Now each of the two singles are making their ways
onto the radio, and I never fail to turn the volume up
high whenever I hear them.
Samantha
Goodman
Music Critic
Video Game System Review: Wii U
New Game System Is Highly Recommended The Wii U does things that other game companies
haven't even thought of for their consoles, like control-
ling the TV and
playing on the
gamepad like a
handheld video
game console —
and I highly recom-
mend buying it.
The console for the Wii U (launched last November)
comes in basic set (for $300) and deluxe set (for $350
and the game Nintendo Land).
The first reason why I love the new Nintendo Wii U
is because of the controller. Unlike the Xbox 360 con-
troller, the Wii U has a touch screen right in the center
of the controller, and with most of the games, you can
either choose to look at your game on your TV or the
game pad.
I like this gimmick because if somebody else in the
room is watching TV, I can still play my game and eve-
rybody is happy.
The deluxe version of the Wii U comes with Ninten-
do Land, a series of 12 awesome mini games rolled
onto one disk. One of my favorite mini games in Nin-
tendo Land is called Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest.
Whenever you want during any game on the Wii U,
you can post a message on a virtual message board
specialized for the individual game you’re playing.
Besides games, you can also use the Wii U to con-
trol your TV. Finally, now I can never lose the remote!
In addition, if you are a
member of Netflix, Amazon,
or Hulu Plus, you can watch
your favorite shows on the
console. And for all you sports
fans, Nintendo TVii can show
you play-by-plays of any
sports game you may be
watching.
This may be one of Nintendo’s best consoles to date.
Alec Kravitt
Video Game
Critic
Sports Monthly
Photos
by Mattie
Sweet,
Media
Editor
Pulling Leg Hair Sophomores Joel Cureton and Dan DeLuca were
always fooling around on the van ride to practice or a
game. They oddly invented a game where they would
try to pull each other's leg hair.
“It was weird,” Dan said. “One day, during science
class, Joel just began pulling on my leg hair. The tradi-
tion carried over to basketball and it has continued
ever since then.”
Of course, this is after the team had to impatiently
wait for Joel to make his way down to where the vans
are parked. Joel was always taking his sweet time and
Mr. Purdy was always yelling at him to pick up the
pace and hustle. However, this seemed to make Joel
move even slower.
“Sometimes, the time gets away from me, ya
know?” Joel said. “Everyone else moves too fast.”
“Communal Milk” As for the Girl's basketball team, they own a spe-
cial tradition.
Woodlynde alum Katie Schmitz (Class of 2012)
began the tradition two basketball seasons ago. Each
year when they would travel to play rival Perkiomen,
the team would buy a gallon of milk from Wawa and
bring it along with them. They would write
“Communal Milk” on the gallon of milk with a perma-
nent marker.
After the game, despite winning or losing, they
would hide the milk somewhere in the gym, usually
under the bleachers. “I wonder what they think when
they find the milk,” senior Alex Roberts pondered.
“I’m really curious to know.”
Mr. Robison, the New Head Coach, told the team
that he was prohibiting them from carrying on the
tradition this season, but the team did it anyway.
$ for Baskets The squad developed a fun activity during practic-
es this season. It is an unnamed game, where Coach
Robison would choose a random place on the court.
The player then had to try and make a basket from
that location.
Depending on the difficulty of the shot, Coach
Robison would offer up to $20 to anyone who could
drain it. “A couple players made some $2 and $5
shots,” Alex said.
“I like the game because it’s something fun to do
in the middle of practice. It’s kind of like a stress re-
liever.”
First 2 Points of Her Career An exciting highlight to the season was when jun-
ior Cassia Enright scored the first two points of her
high school basketball career.
“I honestly was shocked,” said Cassia, who has
been on the Varsity Team for three years and whose
two points came off a layup. “I never anticipated mak-
ing a basket. The feeling was unreal.”
Cassia recalled the reaction of her coaches: “Ms.
McMurrer jumped up and down screaming ‘Go Cas-
sia’ very loudly. Mr. Robison had some celebratory
comments on the van ride home from the game.”
By Nick Spino
Staff Writer
The Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball teams played ex-
tremely hard this year, and despite their poor records,
they’ve improved significantly. In addition, they partook
in some interesting moments during practices and
games, including betting on baskets, hiding milk and
oddly enough, pulling leg hair.
“The Harvie Stretch” During warm-ups, Ryan Harvie, the team's starting
power forward, would sit down on the court and leisurely
spread his legs and
arms out. He
claimed that was
his way of stretch-
ing to prepare for
practice or a game.
He calls it "The
Harvie Stretch".
Brandon’s
Rebounding The coaches
continued messing
with senior Bran-
don Anderson,
the team's starting
center, this past
month.
Assistant Coach
Dimming Jones
(Class of 2009), and
Head Coach Mr. Purdy, jokingly called Brandon “softy”,
because he was frequently boxed out of the paint, even
though he was usually twice the size of his opponents. In
response, Brandon would good-naturedly make up ex-
cuses relating to his lack of rebounding.
Varsity Basketball Report:
Boys’ and Girls’ Teams Have Bizarre Bets, Traditions and Rituals
Athlete Spotlight: Oleg Kariouk
Sophomore Flips Over Skiing
February 20, 2013 Page 8
Informer Staff Writer Nick Scaramuzza sat down with sophomore Oleg Kariouk to talk
about his experiences on the ski slopes, including performing flips and accidentally
running into a group of women.
How long have you been skiing?
“Since I was in elementary school.”
What made you want to start skiing?
"My dad, because he went skiing, I love everything about skiing — the thrill of going down
the hill at like 20 miles per hour.”
What’s your favorite skiing memory?
"Doing a flip, because it is a flip and it is awesome. It was like flying but life threatening.
When I was going to flip, I went off a jump and I turned my body backwards and when I
landed, I crashed, but
my heart was pound-
ing and I was really
proud.
I would not recom-
mend it to others un-
less you have been in
the Olympics or are a
life-time skier.” What is the most
embarrassing thing
that has ever
happened to you
while
skiing?
"When I was 10 and I
was skiing and I ran
into a bunch of girls,
because they were like
in their mid 30s. I was
skiing and was not
looking where I was
going and bam! Of
course, I apologized.
No one was hurt and I looked like an idiot.”
Any advice for
someone who is just starting to ski for the first time?
"Go down easy hills and don't go down hard hills your first time."
How long did it take you to learn how to ski?
"You never are done learning how to ski."
Photo by Mattie Sweet, Media Editor
Head Coach Purdy and Assistant Coach Dimming Jones
often joked around with senior Brandon Anderson during
the season.
Photo by Maya Holloway, Photographer
Oleg Kariouk loves flying down the mountain
at 20 mph.
Senior Brandon Anderson (left) tries to take a charge
as junior Jordan Booth follows.
Senior Michael Peduto (top photo)
receives congratulations from Coach
Purdy on Senior Day, while his mom
watches.
Freshman Rich Sposato (left photo)
launches the ball from the foul line.
Photo by Mattie Sweet, Media Editor
Junior Ryan Harvie invented
his own type of stretch.