St. Sebastian’s School

The WalrusThe time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things:Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. - Lewis Carroll

May 2010Vol LXII, No. 7

NEWS SPORTS

Spring Revue a Big Hit By TOM NUNAN ‘11

New Walrus Regime Heralds in Golden Age

By TOM KEEFE ‘11

Get the baseball scoop with Spear’s lengthy prose... See Page 4... and 5... and 6....

The senior editors will own this paper like the Celts owned LeBron. Courtesy of Paul Lee ‘11

their stories on slabs of mar-ble, etched them on scrolls, and quilled them on sheets of papyrus. Though we stand on the shoulders of giants, and are forever indebted to the work of our forefathers, the Walrus is excited to announce a revamping. New technol-ogy breeds innovation. The Walrus is changing in oh-so-many ways: new features, new format, new games, and new tone—all at the hands of the community…from grub-by, skittle-munching eighth graders to lazy sophomores, from sophisticated faculty to anxious parents, from snazzy trustee to Headmaster Bill Burke himself. There will be something for everyone in this new-and-improved Walrus, and this spectacular group of up-and-coming se-niors are just the men for the job. Who are these men, masters of the pen and ex-perts of the prose? First, the veteran. Edmund Murphy, hailed from a city on the river, entered the class of 2011 as a freshmen. He quickly took his place in Sebs lore, earning the Jack Birmingham award and deliv-ering an unreal chapel speech that left the whole audience in awe and wonder. He sur-vived a notorious Freshman Writing class, helmed by Mr. Dan Burke, which supported the best and brightest of the grade: Wes Cosby, Corey Peters, Joe MacIntire, Chris Sullivan, and John Barrack, to name a few. As a junior, E-Money made history by becoming a rare Senior Editor of the Walrus. This year, he continues to hold the posi-

tion, blazing the trail for the rest of the neophytes. Next, the saint. Alex Spear joined the crew as an eighth-grader, and the class of 2011 has never been the same. A captain of both varsity soccer and varsity baseball, Spearsie is a leader in every sense of the word. He is friend to all and hated by none. He tries hard in school and possesses a great sense of humor. Every girl in the greater Boston area wants his...digits. In short, Spear dominates all aspects of life, and in the Walrus he will prove no different. He will head the Arrow Sports cover-age and will bring his unique writing style to the program. Then, the brain. Dil-lon Ecclesine was raised to be an Arrow. Following the legacy of his two brothers Shane and Brendan, Dillon E(!) is easily making a name for himself around the halls of St. Sebillians. He devours textbooks like it’s his job, and he has the honor of holding one of the highest Grade-Point-Averages in the class of 2011, a remarkable feat considering that most of the grade possesses stellar marks in school (Paul Lee, Ryan Bacic, Tom Nunan, Tom Murphy, Conner Wiik, Nick Franco, to name but several soon-to-be-senior brainiacs). He is a likely candidate for valedictorian, if he plays his cards right. Another notable trait is Dill’s joking demeanor with teachers, including Mr. Ryan, Mr. Palmaccio, and Mr. Cressotti. He will contribute his surplus of knowledge and his knack for faculty humor to next year’s publication.

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The time has come. The seniors have been sent packing and the legends of the junior class are stepping up. For five years the community has waited for this moment. From the cradle these men were bred for greatness. They drank glory from the bottle. Before bed, their parents read them Homer, Dostoyevsky, and Faulkner. These men mas-tered the craft of language and composition. This class goes by many titles: the cream of the crop, the elite, the august. And now, they have come to rule the paper. The time has come, the Walrus said, for the changing of the guards. But these guards are no ordinary mortals. These are titans, demi-gods in their own right. They experienced the Scyllian fury of Mr. Cor-nish, Mr. Rogers, and the late-great Mr. Wiehman in the Middle School years. They laid waste to the curriculum of Freshman Writing, shocking faculty and parents alike with their Pulitzer-Prize winning copy of Freshmen Voices (Joe Fasciano, in fact, served caviar and scallops wrapped in bacon for the exquisite black-tie event). They swelled the ranks of the upper school with top-notch work, building up the Quiver, Walrus, and Journal into strongholds of literary masterpieces. These men have labored in the trenches, and now they assume the full responsibility to make the Walrus the best publication it has ever been. And so, here comes the change. Gone are the days of yore, when editors engraved

On Friday, May 7, St. Sebastian’s once again held its annual Spring Revue. This event has been a mainstay at School for several years, but has enjoyed a remarkable upswing in quality within the last few years in particular. The Fine Arts Department originally conceived it to be a showcase for the disciplines of both music and drama, and this year it was just that. Given the number of can-celled events so far this school year, it was refreshing to see the Spring Revue go on as planned. The evening opened with a performance of the play Don’t Say Macbeth, written by Burton Bumgarner and directed by Tom Keefe ’11 and John Barrack ’11. The produc-tion featured middle school students exclusively and was a spoof on Shakespeare’s fa-mous play (which is part of the sophomore English curricu-lum at St. Seb’s). The action of the play began in a coffee shop, where one of the staff members explained to a pa-tron the plot of Shakespeare’s original play. The rest of the play chronicled various mis-haps associated with perform-ing the perennial favorite, and hence the development of the word “Macbeth” as a supersti-tious curse word. Cast members included Geoffrey Wade ’15, Marlon Matthews ’14, Jack Goldman ’14, Zachary Chambers ’14, Cam Kelly ’14, Christian San-tosuosso ’15, Patrick McGowan ’14, Des DiGiovanni ’14, Tom Caravolas ’15, Jack van der Velde ’14, and John Ryan ’15. All cast members did a terrific job. The action moved quickly and the laughs were plentiful. Tom Keefe and John Barrack must be recognized again for the effort they expended to make the production possible. They had the responsibility of planning and running all re-

hearsals, organizing blocking, props, costumes, lighting, as well as many other aspects of the production, AND they had the task of trying to control more than ten middle school-ers. As Mr. Rogers noted at the Fine Arts Cookout on Tuesday, May 18, it was their dedication that brought so many middle schoolers to the Drama Club this year. Bravo! After a short intermis-sion, the musical portion of the evening commenced. The Jazz Band, directed by Mr. Grohmann, opened with an artful medley of jazz tunes (featuring Footprints (W. Shorter) and Killer Joe (B. Golson)), and the band, with Peter Cimini ’12 on drums, did a good job navigating the tricky meter change between the two songs (from 6/4 to 4/4). Also part of the band were students Mike Healy ’10 on bass, myself on piano, Luke Scotten ’13 on guitar, Joe Albanese ’10, Robbie Spencer ’11, and Andrew Sullivan ’13 all on alto saxo-phone, Joseph Mears ’14 on trumpet, John Fee ’11 on trombone, and John Ryan ’15 on flute. Patrick Clark ‘13 provided vocals and Quandel Johnson ’12 drums for the band’s next song, the popular “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder. This piece required great rhythmical precision, which the band certainly delivered. Next came a series of individual acts, all of which were featured on the first ever St. Sebastian’s CD (entitled Trust). Joe Kerwin ’15 (gui-tar), John Ryan ’15 (flute), and Kenney Chen ’13 (bass guitar) performed a catchy and melodic original compo-sition of Joe’s. Following that, Kenny switched from bass to viola to perform a section of J.C. (not J.S.) Bach’s “Concerto in C Minor” (accompanied on piano by someone who felt he made too many mistakes…).

Kenny’s performance was superlative, and his rendition of the intense cadenza was riveting to say the least.Up next, Tom Keefe ’11 sang “Lost in the Wilderness” from the Stephen Schwartz musical Children of Eden, and did a fantastic job as expected. The piece is written in a pop/rock idiom, very rhythmic and very rangey for the singer, but Tom handled it very well, particularly the quite high and quite climactic final note. (The performance was getting so intense that by the end the accompanist was starting to lose it.) Quandel closed up this section of the evening with an original song of his entitled “Success.” Even though this reviewer is gener-ally not a huge fan of hip-hop, he found Quandel’s song to be quite enjoyable, infectious, and authentic. The audience was very engaged by his great performance. The final act of the evening was put on by the Pop/Rock Band, under the direction of Mr. Pettine. The ensemble performed Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music.” Joe Kerwin and Luke Scotten both played electric guitar. Kenny Chen was on bass, Charlie Gordon ’15 on drums, Kevin Patter-son ’13 on keyboard, and the vocalist was Patrick Clark. This, again, was very well-done. The instruments fitted well together and the band “gelled.” Another successful Spring Revue indeed. The only thing that would have made it better would have been greater student atten-dance. Special thanks to Mr. Grohmann, Mr. Pettine, Mr. Rogers, and the Fine Arts Department in general for helping to make this evening possible once again.

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The Saxaphone Big Three, consisting of Joe Albanese ‘10, Robbie Spencer ‘11, and An-drew Sullivan ‘13, lead the Advanced Jazz Band in “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder.

Prom season is here; check out Ryan gettin’ funky. See Page 3

Does not appear in photo: Secretary John Fee’s speech.

Frosh Writing Night Full of Literary Prowess

By PETER DEMATTEO ‘13

The Beautiful Game Takes Center Stage at World Cup

Continued from pg. 1

Are you ready to Futbol? Bacically, Ryan takes us through this year’s World Cup.

Gaggle of Enthusiastic Editors Takes the Reins

Vol LXII, No. 7 The Walrus: School News May 2010

On May 10, freshmen arrived at school at seven o’clock, many of them with parents, for Freshmen Writing Night. Prior to the event, all students across the seven sections of Freshmen Writing submit-ted pieces of writing, varying from long research papers and creative writing works, to short poems such as a Haiku, to the Freshmen Voices book, which holds an essay from every single student who takes Freshmen Writing. Also, each class chose one student to represent the section on Freshmen Writing Night by reading his submission in front of the entire grade and many parents. The Seven Speakers were Brian O’Malley, Mike Petro, Peter Breslin, Matt Vandini, Alex Moore, Brendan Daly, and Cole Eden. After the Class of 2013 had flooded into Ward Hall, and had some of the slight refresh-ments (mainly cookies), both the students and their parents began to applaud as the speak-ers walked onto the stage and took their places at the front of Ward Hall. Mr. Chris Lynch began the night with a few brief com-ments, before announcing Mr. McCarthy, the director of the writing program. First, Mr. McCarthy thanked the other three Freshmen Writing teach-ers, Mr. Curran, Mr. Wishart, and Mr. Cressotti. Next, he told a story about writing, which centered on his own

experiences with a poet with an interesting accent. Both teachers stressed the impor-tance of writing, and how all students had progressed in their writing ability through-out the year. Upon finishing his speech, Mr. McCarthy returned to his seat as the speakers began to read their essays. The essays of the various Freshmen Writing students covered a wide va-riety of topics. Each speaker would tell the audience what the assignment they wrote the essay for was before starting the speech. The first speaker, Brian O’Malley read an es-say about a day in his sum-mer. Next, Mike Petro gave a speech about how the color red has influenced him from an early age. Two speakers, Peter Breslin and Cole Eden both read fictional stories which they had written; Peter Breslin read a descriptive story about a bar-restaurant in Alaska, while Cole Eden read a story about a cop who stopped a robbery of Dunkin Donuts while off duty. Alex Moore read a research paper about the holes and problems in the theory that the moon landing in 1969 was a fake by NASA. Matt Vandini read a paper about a monkey he received when he was young, even showing the now worn down monkey to the audi-ence. Last, Brendan Daly talked about an average morning, from waking up to

going to school. The speeches were clearly different in topic and also in length, but they all kept the audience enter-tained, both with the content of what was written and the high quality. When the last speech was over, the winner of the Jack Birmingham writ-ing award, which is given to the best submission to Fresh-men Voices each year was announced to be given to An-drew Sullivan for his fictional story about a boy who has an accident and ends up in the hospital. After the orations had ended, Mr. Burke came to the podium to talk some more about the paramount importance of writing. He related the story of how, after he had just became the headmaster of St. Sebs, Mr. Birmingham, the chairman of the board, brought the idea of the school becoming strong in writing to Mr. Burke. That idea, of which Mr. Burke spoke, became the successful Freshmen Writing program. After Mr. Burke concluded his speech, all the Freshmen Writing Students went to the back of Ward Hall to collect the Freshmen Voices books. This year, the cover art was by Will Jundanian, Brandon Jones, and Thayer Wade. Every Freshmen Writing stu-dent has a passage in it, and it shows all the effort and work the students put into improv-ing his writing throughout the year.

And now the IBM-er. Tom Hoff loves Cambridge, always has. He decided to attend St. Sebastian’s as a wee little seventh grader, and boy has he grown Tom Hoff is notable for many feats (Where do I begin?). One, he is very tall, but lacks the speed and leap to run show on the basketball court. Then, there are is World Renown Merrells, known both in the classroom and on the baseball field. Hoff also loves twirl-ing his ball-point pen around his fingers, to the chagrin of his fellow classmates. All in all, Hoff is a goofy, very lik-able kid whose knowledge in sports-stats and world news will prove invaluable to the pages of the Walrus. Finally, the drama king. Tom Keefe is the tenth child of eleven children, and his four older brothers (along with his cousin who now works at Trader Joe’s) paved an outstanding legacy for him to fulfill. He also hails from Wellesley, known to be a hub

of Arrow production. When he entered the seventh grade, however, Keefer moved to the llama-bearing boonies of Sherborn with Murphy Thomas, and his well-formed legacy was but a mere mem-ory in the minds of gigantic seniors and faculty. And so, Keefe has paved a way for himself. Most students know him for his contributions to the arts, through his tenure as a drama officer and par-ticipation in Schola. Besides the stage, Tom enjoys raiding the servery, singing to Sharon and Janet, throwing Frisbees on the top of the Art Building with Johnny Rodriguez, play-ing basketball, and surviving the hefty workload of school. Having lost his position in student council, Tom looks forward to utilizing his work effort and creative side, and he is excited to serve the school community alongside this team of legends.And there you have it. The senior editors. Yes, there are five, more than ever before. They will wield the scepter

of authority over the new Walrus regime. But they are not alone. Joining the squad are the tenacious head writ-ers, spurring the swarms of articles that will storm the paper next year. This group consists of Ryan “Pokemon Master” Bacic, Nick “Waxed Shoulders” Chappel, Andrew “Complaint Guru” Demat-teo, Nick “Sneaky Creighton” Creegan, and Tom “Bearded Man, Clurph, Turphus, Durphus, Surphin’ Murph, Furphus, Jurphis, Purphus” Murphy. The entire squad. Yes, they span all regions of the school and boast resumes that would send a shiver down any college admissions officer’s spine. They are smart, athlet-ic, charming, well-rounded. Let there be no doubt. The senior class will dominate the Sebs Scene next year. The future of the Walrus rests in their hands. Having been bereft of the school presi-dency, they are hungry for it. A new era has dawned. Get ready.

The world’s biggest sporting event is back again this summer. Starting on June 11, 32 nations from across the globe will begin the group stages in South Africa as the World Cup comes to the African continent for the first time ever. The tourna-ment, as always, features eight groups of four countries each, with the top two from each group moving on to the “knockout stages” where the winners move on and the los-ers are sent home to wait out the long four years until their next shot at glory. Like in most years, a few major powerhouse teams are sure to take center stage as favorites for the trophy. Brazil, the top-ranked team in the world, is certainly a premier threat. With Luis Fa-biano and Robinho up front and Real Madrid star Kaka in the midfield, the Brazilians are a team that can score in bunches, and a strong defen-sive core of Maicon, Juan, Lucio, and Dani Alves will make sure that they’re not going to be giving up much, either. However, new Brazil-ian coach, Dunga, in an effort to craft a new identity for the national team, has chosen to leave several famous and highly-talented Brazilian players home, including AC Milan’s Ronaldinho, widely regarded only a few years ago as the best player in the world. In winning last sum-mer’s Confederations Cup, Brazil showed that it was capable of winning with this more “blue-collar” style with-out the flashiness of players like the aforementioned Ron-aldinho. However, the team was far from perfect, falling behind 2-0 to the U.S. in the first half of the championship game before coming back to win. And, although they throttled defending World Cup champion Italy, the team also avoided having to play then-top-ranked Spain. Therefore, while Brazil looks like a definite favorite, it is also an unproven commodity, in spite of its hardware. Just about on par with the Brazilians are the Span-ish, whose 35-match unbeat-en streak between November 2006 and June 2009 landed them at the top of the rank-ings for nearly a full year. Led by Liverpool striker Fernando Torres and recent Barce-lona signee David Villa up top, Cesc Fabregas and Xabi Alonso at midfield, Sergio Ramos and Carlos Puyol in the back, and whom many believe to be the world’s best goalkeeper, Iker Casillas, in the net, Spain is a talented team from top to bottom. But, as the United States showed last summer, like Brazil, they’re not invincible. The U.S. players dug in deep, played great defense, and took advantage of their op-portunities and one key Span-

ish error in the back en route to a stunning upset. Torres, the focal point of Spain’s at-tack, was visibly frustrated by the sheer physicality of the American defenders and was rarely allowed a decent scoring chance throughout the game. With Torres off, the rest of the offense was off, and though Spain controlled the ball for most of the game, they simply could not find the back of the net. With one of the weakest of the eight groups, though, Spain should have no problem getting off to a good start and should be extremely confident and well-prepared heading into the knockout stages. Besides these two main superpowers, there are a number of other teams who have an outside chance at winning it all in South Africa. Argentina comes to mind, with superstar Lionel Messi leading the way, even though the team did struggle in qualification, finishing only in the last of four guaranteed qualifying spots in the CON-MEBOL South American re-gion. But with the past aside, look for Messi to elevate his game even further and help Argentina make a run for the cup. Germany, the hosts of the last edition of the World Cup—in which they finished third overall—could be dan-gerous this time around as well. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski form a dangerous scoring tandem, but the recent injury to mid-fielder and captain Michael Ballack, though aging, is an unlucky one. Portugal, the world’s third-ranked team, is best-known for Cristiano Ronaldo but has a host of other top players to comple-ment their star, including Manchester United forward Nani and Chelsea defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira. The U.S.’s first op-ponent, England, could also be a tough out. Stud Wayne Rooney should be brilliant, but an unstable situation in goal puts a big question mark on the ultimate success of the team. Finally, the Neth-erlands, featuring Bayern Munich’s Aryen Robben and Inter Milan’s Wesley Snei-jder, are a surefire candidate to win it all, too. The United States, while no favorite by any stretch of the imagination, ac-tually has a good opportunity to make some noise in South Africa. Though we may not have anyone as skilled as a bona fide star over in Europe, the U.S. has been able to as-semble a solid and cohesive group of players that have already proven how much damage they are capable of doing if they manage to put it all together. As mentioned earlier, the U.S. was the huge surprise of last summer’s Confederations Cup, upset-ting top-ranked Spain before nearly defeating Brazil as well

before losing by one. Besides the invaluable experience of having played such top oppo-nents, the U.S. was also able to get a good sense for play-ing in South Africa’s World Cup venues, a familiarity which should come in handy this June. Unfortunately, the United States team that is heading to South Africa will not be the exact same as the one that almost shocked the world in the Confederations Cup. Striker Charlie Davies, a major bright spot for the national team in outstanding games against Egypt, Brazil, and Mexico, was seriously in-jured in a car crash in Wash-ington, D.C., last October, and his club officials did not clear him for the camp that is currently taking place in Princeton, NJ. This unfor-tunate series of events has ended his dreams of com-peting in the Cup. Look for Clint Dempsey of Fulham to move up from right midfield to striker and Bolton’s Stuart Holden to slide in seam-lessly in the midfield. While Dempsey might not provide the speed or flare of Davies, he is still pretty close, and he does bring some impressive aerial play to the position that Davies did not, having scored two amazing headers against Egypt and Brazil in the Con-federations Cup. Several other Ameri-cans have also been banged up, but all look to have healed sufficiently to be 100% come June. The one troubled area for the U.S. throughout quali-fying has been the left back position, but Captain Carlos Bocangera typically a center back on the national team should be able to slide over to the outside as he did last summer while Jay DeMerit and Oguchi Onyewu man the central part of the pitch. In addition, Everton keeper Tim Howard is always great in the net for the Stars and Stripes. While the U.S. is not a very good team in terms of possessing the ball, and is somewhat limited offensively, their trademark counterat-tacking style has shown itself to be pretty effective, with speedy left midfielder Landon Donovan, fresh off a highly successful loan to Howard’s Everton squad, leading the way. Future star Jozy Altidore is fast and physical up top in pairing with Dempsey and will provide another scoring touch to the team. In the end, while I wouldn’t get my hopes up about the U.S. actually win-ning the World Cup this year, they have certainly shown that they can beat any given team on any given day. If they are able to string a few such games together, the pieces are there for the U.S. to poten-tially go deeper than it has ever gone before in any World Cup. Will they, though? We’ll see. Let the games begin.

By RYAN BACIC ‘11

Whether a Senior Editor or a Freshman Writer, writing plays a major role in our life.

Seb’s Students Volunteer at Best Buddies Prom

By TOM MURPHY ‘11

SADD Update for Safe DriversBy WILL ADAMS ‘11

Junior-Senior Prom PreviewBy EDMUND MURPHY ‘11

Vol LXII, No. 7 The Walrus May 2010

On Saturday May 8th students from St. Sebastian's gave up their Saturday nights in order to benefit a very worthy and fulfilling cause: helping those with disabilities enjoy an experience that many of them will never forget. Many of the students who attended real-ized by night’s end that it was in no way a waste of time, and was both for a great cause and was also a very fun time. The short drive over to Dana Hall’s beautiful campus was well worth it, as the night was defi-nitely a wonderful experience for all of those who attended. Prom is something that is a major part of the lives of any high school student, and is many times prevalent in their minds from an early age. For some who were there, this was their first ever prom and they definitely were not disappoint-ed, while for others this was just their first of many. Every year this prom is hosted, and many of those who attended have been mainstays year after year. Unlike some high school proms, this one was not reserved for kids of a certain age, as there was a vast vari-ety in the ages of those who attended. The group from St. Sebastian’s learned that proms are enjoyable experiences for all who attend if they have the

correct attitude. All of the kids at the Best Buddies prom definitely had the correct mind set as absurd dancing, limbo lines, and conga lines abounded throughout the night. Although Mr. Curran was not present, he would be proud of how the Arrows that attended behaved, not shy-ing away from dancing with anyone and bringing great attitudes and dance moves to the prom. This prom is unlike most in that it gives children with special needs an opportunity to engage in an event that should be available to all high school students, but unfortunately is not. Dana Hall volunteers run the event annually, and the turnout from Seb’s this year was extremely inspiring and special. The excitement and sheer joy of all of those with special needs that were present was apparent on each and every one of their smil-ing faces—they undoubtedly enjoyed the night. The dance started with a simple meet and greet as everyone looked nice in their suits, tuxes, and dresses, after a few minutes of standing around, the DJ played the first song of the night and the event began. Al-though the night started very slowly as many high school events do, as no one wants

to be the first onto the dance floor, this was overcome quite quickly as a dancing circle formed and many individuals showed off their stupendous dancing skills. The party took off from here as the night was quickly danced away, and many left feeling that it was a good time, but had simply gone by too quickly. Attending the Best Buddies Prom truly showed me that everyone, no matter the age, shape, size, race, ethnicity, with needs, or without, loves to enjoy themselves and have fun. It felt great being able to show these high school boys and girls with special needs a great time, and most of all, show them that they could be themselves in an accepting community. The only down-side was that there were only eight people from Sebs that were present, and all of them would tell you that they had a good time. It would have been even better if there had been more people there, and so hopefully we’ll have an even better turnout next year, and thus, an even more successful Prom.

Father-Son Supper Brings Sebs’ Families Together

By TOM HOFF ‘11 On Wednesday Night, May 12, St. Sebastian’s held its annual Father-Son Com-munion Supper, which was yet again a major success. The night started off at 6:30 when about 100 fathers and their sons reported to St. Bar-tholomew’s Church. Mass be-gan when Sean Sullivan car-ried the Cross down the aisle, and the choir did what all of us, as students, expected, but they also gave the fathers in the Church a surprise. They delivered a great performance during the first song, and continued until the end of the Mass. Mr. Chambers and the Schola and Mass Ensemble were an integral part of the night, and much of the suc-cess can be attributed to their fantastic music. Then, Nick Cortese ‘11 gave the first read-ing, and, in the spirit of the night, Mr. Cortese fittingly gave the second. After the Gospel Reading, Father Arens’ ser-mon was up next. He made sure to focus on the night’s

theme, giving a powerful ser-mon about experiences with his father during his child-hood, and about the memo-ries that he and his siblings have of their father. I know that many dads, including mine, felt that the homily was right on cue with how they hope to be and what they try to gain out of a night like last Wednesday. Similarly, many students felt the same way about their fathers, which should be expected due to the fact that we all gave up on precious homework time or relaxation time (actually, no, check that, definitely home-work and that’s it) to be with our fathers during a ceremo-ny that many would consider lame or just a plain waste of time. After Father Arens’ sermon, Communion, and the closing remarks, the Mass ended. We all then migrated down to Ward Hall for din-ner. At this point, I’d like to apologize to Joe for seven bil-lion kids asking him what was for dinner only three minutes

before we were about to eat. It didn’t make sense then, but we were quite hungry. Sorry Joe! Anyway, he reported that the dishes were stuffed shells, chicken parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs, and Caesar salad, as well as choices of soda and water, and finally great rolls at every table. That meal was flawless: I’m still full. Last came the Raffle drawing. First prize was a trip to Yankee Stadium in a Delta Luxury Box game vs. the Red Sox, as well as a hotel room in New York. This went to Connor and Tyler Wiik. Secondly, Michael Hoff won a new iPad. He was pumped. Trust me. Overall, with the great songs, mass, dinner, and raffle prizes, the Father-Son Communion Supper was yet another success. I’m sure it will be next year, as the din-ner truly makes for the type of close, Catholic bond be-tween Fathers and Sons that our school promotes.

As the school year comes to a close and teenagers across the country begin their summer vacations, the oppor-tunities to make destructive decisions greatly increase in number. Starting with School Proms and graduation par-ties and moving to summer houses, beaches, and concerts, students may constantly find themselves in potentially dan-gerous situations. Preparing yourself to react safely to these encounters or trying to avoid them completely will allow everyone, students, friends, and family included to have a happier summer this year. Throughout the month of May, many students have and will attend Proms at high schools around the area. The Proms themselves are fairly well moderated by the fac-ulty and staffs of the school, but the parties held after the prom have the potential to get out of control, especially if parents are not around. By holding after parties either at a public venue or at a house where responsible parents will definitely be home, the teenag-ers will be watched out for or the chance for them to make harmful decisions will be cut down on significantly.

Similarly, students will be attending gradua-tion parties this time of year. Those parties, however, are normally attended by the families of the graduating student. With parents and younger members of families around, situations tend to stay under control. Even with those people present, gradua-tion parties can still be enjoy-able and fun for people of all ages. You can play games, lis-ten to music, have a barbecue, and partake in many other activities with your whole family around and without making poor decisions. In general, remember to respect yourself, respect others, and respect the mission of those student who are a part of the SADD chapter After students have graduated and exams have ended, students are faced with much more freedom over the summer. There are no more teachers watching over events, parents are at work, and students can still drive themselves basically anywhere and can be now alone more often than during school. Some students have beach houses on the cape where parents do not reside full time, and they can easily

invite others to their house. Instead, students could hang out at public beaches and still enjoy the summer weather without being alone and be-ing pressured into potentially dangerous situations. Finally, safe driving is the base of all other safe decisions. If you follow the rules posted around school while driving to places this summer, you will arrive there safely and happily and pre-pared to make more safe deci-sions. •Wear your seat belt•Do NOT use your phone•Do NOT drive under the influence alcohol and other drugs•Wear sunglasses when bright•Drive a safe speed•Watch out for cars, pedestri-ans, and bicyclists•Limit passengers•Avoid road rage•Do NOT distract the driver•Do NOT try and show off The St. Sebastian’s SADD chapter invites all those in need of a car wash to stop by on Wednesday, May 26 between 1:30 and 4:30 pm outside the academic build-ing. Start off your summer with a clean car, and a safe attitude for your plans this summer.

There’s been a certain uncharacteristic air of urgency about the upperclassmen these past few weeks—lunch tables are louder, jokes are flying like grenades in the hallways, and drama is kindling, its sparks threatening of a bonfire-esque climax. Why is all this hap-pening, you ask? Well, Naïve Reader (I remember, Mr. Thomasy), welcome to the Junior-Senior Prom. By now, a week be-fore the Big Dance (literally), the Juniors and Seniors have weathered the eye of the storm: finding that perfect date. Whether she was easy to find (The Sure Bet), quite elusive (The Where Did You Come From?!) or the result of a useful connection with a friend (The Fresh Set Up), everyone who will be in at-tendance has found his Her (hopefully). And so, on May 28th, these members of the Junior and Senior classes will head into the storied metropo-lis of Boston, Massachusetts, to celebrate this annual occa-sion of school’s denoument with a formal evening on the town. The place? None other than the Langham Hotel, a radiant beacon of luxury and elegance, or so we have been informed, which has been kind enough to receive our rambunctious party of upstart gentlemen and their female counterparts. You might also be wondering why the Prom is scheduled after most ISL

schools and sister schools have already had their Proms. I will take this opportunity to repeat the old adage and overused cliché: Save the Best for Last. Thus, by the commu-tative property, because the St. Sebastian’s Prom is saved for last (in comparison to other schools), it must be the best. Now that we’ve covered the algebra of it all, lets con-centrate on the tangibles—you know, the real stuff. Because this is a Prom Preview, projections are indeed an integral part of the mix. I can undoubtedly promise exquisite food, as trendy Bostonian hotels never fail to meet every expectation in the dining realm. I can also promise that there will be a great deal of dancing occur-ring. This might seem rather ridiculous, because dancing is very much the expected activ-ity of the evening at dances such as this. However, I am not merely speaking about the awkward “arms-length” slow dances that often occur at the hands of the quietly snickering, mean-spirited Master of Ceremonies (the MC/DJ). The DJ laying down the plethora of bass-heavy tracks at the St. Sebastian’s Prom has been briefed by the Powers That Be not to let his fingers slip and press “Play” on any “slow songs”. It would be awkward if he did, because the entire student body present at the dance would most likely recline on the dance floor, waiting for the DJ to take the hint. I liken

The Fathers and Sons of St. Sebastian’s enjoy some quality time together.

the partygoers at this school to one Ricky Bobby—we want to go fast, and by God, we will have our music fast. There is no glamour (yeah, I threw the ‘ou’ in there) associated with our prom. We will board a bus. We will go into a hotel in Boston, and we will have an absurd time of it. You might say, “Oh! It sounds like a re-ally gentlemanly, grandiose, and august evening of piano and dance!” and if you are saying those things, woe to you, because you have a jaded vision of Prom’s true shin-ing reality. Don’t expect a tea party, and also don’t expect a fulfillment of all your life’s dreams—expect a nice old Ar-rows good time. So, the scene is set. A gorgeous hotel in the big city, a bunch of vagabond youths from a small town private school, some dainty finger sandwiches, and some good music mixed with stel-lar chaperoning. What more could you ask for? The school year is winding down, and there is an empty Poland Springs bottle of stress within each one of us waiting to be twisted and then opened so as to produce a volcanic explo-sion. Prom in many ways can be our outlet of explosion is a humane, relaxed, controlled, and responsible manner. If everyone goes in with a good attitude, and as SADD maintains, stays away from destructive decisions, we should be looking at the most successful and fun prom in recent history.

Clearly someone is getting in the spirit of helping out the Best Buddies Prom event.

ARROWS SPORTSSt. Sebastian’s School May 2010Vol LXII, No. 7

Baseball Finishes Year WellBy ALEX SPEAR ‘11

Golf Dominates ISL AgainBy D. ECCLESINE ‘11

The St. Sebastian’s Arrows Varsity Baseball team started the year playing extremely well, and, in the second half of the season, the Arrows contin-ued their success en route to a twelve win, five loss season (overall) and an 11-4 record in ISL league play. In the start of the second half of the season, the Arrows welcomed St. Paul’s to campus, but the welcome was not a nice one. The Arrows gave St. Paul’s a beating, 14-0, as Junior Edmund Murphy pitched a shutout gem through seven innings. The Arrows were led by senior captain Will Connolly and sophomore Andrew Vandini, who con-tributed 3 hits apiece in the rout. Riding a three game win streak now, the Arrows trav-eled to Belmont Hill the next day. The game was promised to be a showdown, and, oh yes, it was a showdown. Johnny Nicklas ’12 squared off against the Belmont Hill pitcher as neither pitcher gave an inch. The Hillies managed to score a quick two runs off Nicklas early in the game, but the Arrows bounced back in the fourth inning as junior Alex Spear was knocked in by a base hit. The Arrows managed to plate another, but Belmont Hill put up a rebuttal and notched another run to make the game 3-2. Then, in the top of the sixth inning, senior Jimmy Fitzgerald came up to the plate with runners on second and third. After work-ing a good count, Fitz roped a missile to the right-center gap, scoring the tying and go-ahead runs for the Arrows. Fired up by Fitz’s hit, the Arrows held off the Hillies in the bottom of the sixth. But, in the sev-enth, the Dark Side tied up the game off of some well-struck balls. In extra innings, the Ar-rows had runners on second and third with one out but could not capitalize and the score remained a tie at four apiece. Then, in the bottom of the eighth, with runners on second and third with one out, a Belmont Hill batter hit a rocket out to right-center field to win the game. Although a great game, the Arrows got their first ISL loss. It was an extremely well-fought game with superb defense. Lucas Mykulak ’11 made several nice plays at second base that game. Two days later, the Red and Black went to BB&N to battle the top-ranked Knights. Jared Clement pitched his butt off for six innings, only sal-vaging a few earned runs and

striking out multiple talented hitters, but his own hitters could not supply enough runs as they faced a skilled adver-sary on the mound. Although another dirt-dog game, the Arrows fell to the Knights 6-1. After a difficult two days against Belmont Hill and BB&N, the Arrows shook it off and managed to win seven straight games. The Arrows handily beat the Middlesex Zebras 12-2, which featured absolute bomb homeruns from Will Connolly, Christian Venditti, and Andrew Van-dini. Starter Edmund Murphy pitched a phenomenal game once again, holding off the opponents and allowing his team’s bats to do the dam-age. The next day, the Arrows hiked off to challenge a very talented Lawrence Acad-emy team and responded well. Starter Johnny Nicklas had another outstanding, complete-game effort en route to leading his team to an 8-4 victory. Connolly and McGuirl got their team’s bats started with back-to-back hits that resulted in a run, and Reenstierna, Connolly, McGuirl, Clement, and Spear all registered multi-hit per-formances. The following day, on a scorching hot Saturday afternoon and after SAT’s, the Arrows hosted a very, very good Rivers Red Wings squad. The game proved to be an odd one, as walks dominated the scoring. The Arrows scored their first four runs off of walks as Arrows hurler, Clement, battled hard for six innings on the bump. A tie game entering the bottom of the seventh, the Arrows managed to load up the bases for Chris Nadeau ’12 with two outs. With a 3-1 count, Nadeau drew a walk to win the game for the Arrows, marking the Arrows’ second walk-off win of the season. That Wednesday, the Arrows ventured to Milton to play the Mustangs, and the Arrows quickly fell behind 2-0. After Spear went down with a leg injury in the second inning, the Arrows marched back and ended up winning the game 6-5. Key base hits from Johnny Nicklas, McGuirl, Connolly, and Jim Fitzgerald secured the Arrow victory. Nicklas showed his fortitude as he kept on battling the whole game and got the vic-tory. Two days later, the Red and Black hosted Governor’s Academy for a low-scoring, defensive matchup. Starter Edmund Murphy picked up the win and fanned 10 bat-ters en route to a fine perfor-

mance. Rightfielder Venditti hosed a runner at the plate in the first inning and made a great diving catch later in the game. Chris Nadeau was phenomenal behind the plate and Vandini made a bunch of nice plays at third base. On a rainy Wednesday, the Arrows hosted St. Mark’s for a true battle. The Arrows went down 2-0 early on, but clawed their way back to make the score 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh. With a runner on first base, Chris Nadeau perfectly executed a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to second base with one out. Jimmy Fitzgerald, with a runner on second, smoked a liner to left-center to drive in the winning run and give the Arrows their sixth straight victory and their third walk-off win. Reenstierna ’12 had a nice game at shortstop. That Saturday, the Arrows squared off against a formi-dable Brooks Academy squad, and quickly tallied six runs. Although Brooks managed to get three runs, Edmund Murphy shut down his op-ponents for the remainder of the game en route to another one of his victories. Venditti ’10 made another web-gem in rightfield. In front of the Reunion Crowd, Nicklas, McGuirl, Clement, and Con-nolly, who hit a fat three-run homer, which landed on the lacrosse field, led the Arrow attack on a fine Saturday afternoon. After a tough loss to Thayer Academy, where Jared Clement and Andrew Vandini combined for seven innings, where Venditti hit a missile home run into the tree at Babson College, and where the Arrows made a few defen-sive errors en route to the 8-7 loss, the Arrows finished up their regular season at home against the RL Foxes. A true battle, the Arrows went down 3-0 but managed to come back 3-2 off of a Will Con-nolly double to left. Nicklas fought hard again on the mound, and the Arrows were gaining momentum going into the sixth inning, but the umpires decided to end the game after five innings due to unfavorable field conditions. Therefore, the Arrows lost an important matchup 3-2 and their regular season was over. On behalf of the team, I would like to thank all our parents and fans that came to watch. On behalf of the play-ers, I would like to thank our manager Sean Frazette ‘12 and our coaches Mr. Schell, Mr. McCann, and Mr. Lepley for all they did this season.

Tennis Slams Into SummerAt the end of this season, the Varsity Tennis team has been sorely depleted. The core of seniors, who made up the backbone of the team for the last four years, is finally graduating. They will be un-able to be replaced, and next year’s team will not be as fun or as crazy. Needless to say with the departure of Captain Ryan McCarthy, Scott Neu-berger, Dave Ruffalo, Chris Moses, and Mike Falb, the tennis team will never be the same again. Now that they are gone, the only person left on the team, who remembers these stories first hand will be Connor Haughey. The entire team from last year was returning so ev-eryone felt confident about the season. The rest of the team included Terry O’Connor, John Cheever, and me (Andrew DeMatteo, if you didn’t notice). Caleb Aldrich, a new eighth grader, was the only addition to the team, which rounded out the number to ten, a rather large tennis team, but that was okay. Around week six, Captain Ryan McCarthy be-gan to experience restrictive shoulder problems, which sidelined him from playing singles the rest of the season,

and was only able to play doubles. This was a tough injury for the team, as he was the number three player, but everyone else moved up and performed admirably. It should also be noted that Coach Beilin joined the team as an assistant coach and along with Coach Richter and Coach Thomas made up this year’s coaching staff. Coach Beilin was a great improve-ment over Ned, (I don’t think he had any other name), who was an assistant last year. The second half of the year was much better than the start. All the matches, except Roxbury Latin, were winnable and could have gone either way. Right after the heart breaking loss to Middle-sex came a chance to redeem ourselves against Lawrence Academy, which we did. Poor Lawrence had no chance the most games dropped in a set was two, and they were crushed. Next was a tough loss to Rivers, which was fol-lowed by a close win against Governor’s (8-7). Following the loss to St. Mark’s were back to back wins against Brooks and Thayer. The Thayer win, more of a maul-ing, was especially important. It proved to us that the team had come a long way from

the beginning of the year, and was much better at the end of the season than the begin-ning. The team ladder fluctuated most of the season, especially after the Captain got hurt, but it eventually settled on Con-nor Haughey at number one singles, Scott Neuberger at number two, John Cheever at number three, Terry O’Connor at number four, me at number five, and Dave Ruf-falo at number six. Doubles changed even more often, and while Scott and Connor played together most of the year at number one, I played with Connor the last four matches in preparation for next year. Likewise number two was also jumbled. At the beginning of the season, Ryan and I played there, and after much switching it eventually ended with Scott and Ryan. The third doubles was played at the end by John and Terry; however Dave did substitute in occasionally. It really was a great season, everyone had worked hard and had a good time. DT even got his grill out twice this year. No doubt Coach Richter will have said every-thing I said and more during his presentation at the ath-letic awards ceremony.

By ANDREW DEMATTEO ‘11

The golf team set out this year with very lofty goals, hoping to follow last year’s success with yet another ISL Champi-onship. After months of hard work, the golf team was able to grab both titles—the ISL Match Play Tournament as well as the ISL Tournament—for the second straight year. If one team member had a rough day, it was a guarantee that someone else would have a stellar day. This is where the true success for the golf team came from. The top four play-ers are seniors, and each has had a massive impact on the golf team. Playing numbers one and two, respectively, are Co-Captains Taylor Peck and Robbie Donahoe, followed closely at three and four by Peter Cahill and Joe Bergeron.These four seniors have been the core of the golf team for several years, and much of the success of the team is a direct result of their hard work and dedication. Other senior mem-bers include John Kavolius, Tom Harrington, and Chris Dillon, each of whom also had several key wins in close matches. These seniors are simply not satisfied with a loss or tie, and they will only settle for victory. Their work ethic and dedication is a true exam-ple for the younger members of the team. The ISL itself was incredibly competitive this year. There were some real powerhouses that fought hard all year, most notably Thayer, Belmont Hill, and Middlesex. The golf team faced a difficult opponent in only its second match of the year against Thayer, the major threat to a repeat of the ISL Champion-ship. After some key wins, the score was tied 3-3, and the fi-nal match would be the one to

decide our undefeated season early on. Luckily, the num-ber seven man that day had closed out a victory on the eighth. The team had avoided a serious blow early on. Success would contin-ue for the next several weeks, despite facing some very tough opponents. The squad was able to squeeze out two notable wins in a tri-match against Thayer and Belmont Hill, thanks to a great perfor-mance by Charlie Callanan on the ninth hole. He was able to clinch an individual tie against Thayer, and thus a victory for the team. And with our final match against Belmont Hill and Middlesex, the team was able to win both and thus take home the ISL Match Play Title for the sec-ond consecutive year. The ISL Tournament also proved to be a successful endeavor. The top five mem-bers of the team played in this tournament, with the top four scores counting. The total of our team was then compared to the total of the other teams. The site of this year’s tourna-ment was at Townsend Ridge Golf Club, the home course of Lawrence Academy. There-fore, it was to the Arrows’ advantage that the team had already played there and got-ten a feel for the front nine. The back nine, however, was not quite as well known, so the team arrived early to walk the back nine. Despite having only played the course a few times, the team was able to post some low scores. Taylor Peck ’10 shot a 75, Matt Mi-chaud ’13 posted a 78, Robbie Donahoe ’10 pulled out an 80, Joe Bergeron ’10 managed an 82, and finally Peter Cahill ’10 took 84 strokes. The com-bination of the four lowest scores was enough to clinch a victory for the Arrows, and St. Seb’s was able to repeat a vic-

tory at the ISL Tournament. The golf team this year was enormously success-ful in attaining its lofty initial goals. We set out from day one hoping to go undefeated (without any ties) and to take home both championships. After superb coaching by Mr. Sullivan and Mr. McArthur, the team was able to do just that. These two men were the forces behind our success: their wisdom and advice on the golf course is unmatched, and their thoughts can really make a difference. I especially learned how valuable Mr. Sullivan is on the first hole at St. Mark’s Golf Course. The hole was a short Par 4, and Mr. Sullivan encouraged me to hit a 7 iron off the tee, and then a pitching wedge onto the green. I was stubborn, however, and I insisted on hitting a driver, despite the narrowness of the course. I clearly should have heeded the advice of my coach: I put three consecutive balls into a grave yard across the street. Needless to say, I lost the hole. That anecdote is just one of the numerous ex-amples of how integral our coaches are in the success of the golf team. They often go unappreciated, and people remark that a golf coach can-not actually coach a team. This is the farthest thing from the truth. I cannot imagine what our golf team would be without the wisdom and ad-vice of Mr. Sullivan and Mr. McArthur, and I know I speak for the entire team when I say that we have an enormous amount of respect for them.On behalf of the entire golf team, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Sullivan and Mr. McArthur. Thanks for a great season, one we will never forget.

Edmund Murphy ‘11 attempts to deliver some heat on the Sebillian turf.

EDITORS’ NOTE: The WALRUS Staff apologizes for the lack of a Lacrosse article, which did not reach us in time for publication. Congrats on your fantastic 15-2 season!