volume 60: issue 1 i the n lady eagles are state ews

November 2017

IN THE NEWS:

Catalonging for Independence By Mason Rothenstein

Ever since the Spanish government took control of Catalonia, a wealthy region in the north-east of Spain, over 350,000 people have gathered in Barcelona, the capital of Catalo-nia, to protest against independence from Spain.

World, PAGE 3

Volume 60: Issue 1

Footloose the Musical

Comes to Shanahan By Zachary Norcia

Shanahan’s fall musical, Footloose debuts on November 10th to a full house. Our Arts and Entertainment staff brings you the behind the scenes story.

A&E News, PAGE 8

Lady Eagles Are State Silver Medalists!

In the above photo, the Lady Eagles won against Parkland in state semifinals on November 14, 2017 . The team traveled to Johns-

town, PA, on November 18th for state finals against North Allegheny where they lost in three sets.. Photo by Chris McNulty.

Choir

Performs for

Naturalization

Ceremony By Annie Goetz, Editor in Chief

The select choir of Bishop Shanahan

was asked to perform for the Chester County Naturalization Ceremony on No-vember 3rd. The Naturalization Ceremony swore in 34 new American citizens from 17 different countries at 11:15 A.M. in the West Chester Justice Center.

While this is not the first time choir director Mrs. Campbell has been to one of these ceremonies, it is the first time Shanahan students have experienced it. Often, the local government chooses col-lege or university choirs, but Shanahan’s was recommended by a faculty member for this prestigious performance.

Mrs. Campbell had hoped that the ex-perience will not only give the choir a chance to perform, but also give a new perspective on the country they were born in and the experi-ence of immigrants. “I have been in 24 countries and I see the value of being a US citizen,” Mrs. Campbell noted “but I don’t know that everyone does.” She hopes that the ex-perience will help the students per-forming compre-hend why our citi-zenship is so impor-tant.

The choir sang three songs, the Na-tional Anthem, God Bless America, and the Lord Bless You and Keep You as they witnessed the new Americans tak-ing their oath of citizenship. Those not part of the cere-mony remarked that it was a unique per-formance, as well as a learning experi-ence.

Oxford offense scoring on a 28-yard touch-

down pass, but the Eagles soared right

back into the game with a touchdown from

Andrew Smyth to Tom Waite. Shanahan

further shifted the momentum in their fa-

vor when they blocked a Hornet field goal,

effectively keeping the game tied at 7 - 7.

At the start of the second quarter, the Ea-

gles were stuck at their own 28, until

Smyth found Steve Sweeney for a 72-yard

touchdown. However, Oxford returned

with a 65-yard drive to score once again.

The game went back and forth, but as half-

time approached, Shanahan created some

distance as Sweeney scored two more

touchdowns, making the score 28 - 14.

Heading into the half, the Eagles only held

a 14 point lead and recognized that they

would need to make some changes on the

defensive side. When play resumed,

Shanahan went straight to work with an 80

-yard touchdown drive, major contribu-

tions being made by Smyth and Zane Mon-

roe. However, the Eagles were still not

satisfied.

(Continued on Page 7)

A Wireless World is Coming By John Fader, Opinion Editor

On September 12, 2017 Apple CEO

Tim Cook announced a new feature

on Apple phones—and why its go-

ing to change everything. Opinion, PAGE 1

Eagles Dominate

Homecoming

Football Game By Kevin Gatti

For many years, homecoming foot-ball games have united the past, present, and future school communi-ties for the purpose of rooting for their t e a m . F o r Shanahan, it is an e x p l o s i o n o f

school pride throughout the alumni, fac-ulty, parents, and the electrifying student section. This year, the Eagles were sched-uled to host Oxford High School at Jack Mancini Stadium on Friday, October 20th. Shanahan’s record of 6 - 2 was impressive against the 4 - 4 of their opponents, but the Hornets still could not be underestimated. The game started with the high power

Soccer Kicks Off the Year

With a Successful Season By Bridget O’Donnell, Sports Editor

The girls soccer team continues a

tough season. Jump to the Sport’s

section for an insight into the sea-

son. Sports, PAGE 7

Farmhouse Coffee Review By John Fader, Opinion Editor

Shanahan gives its opinion on the

new local coffee house , and the

reason why so many Shanahan stu-

dents have paid a visit. Local, PAGE 6

Shanahan Halloween

The Shanaview’s team has put to-

gether a recap of the winners and

pictures of the best costumes.

Special Feature, PAGE 4-5

Shanaviews Social Media

Launch

Sick of fake news in your feed?

Can’t wait until the end of the quar-

ter? Follow the Shanaviews Insta-

gram for frequent updates of

what’s happening at Shanahan.

Local, PAGE 6

November 2017

Opinion

Shanaviews

Editor-in-Chief Annie Goetz

World News Editor Jordan Jaramillo Local News Editor John Fulco

Sports Editors Bridget O’Donnell

A&E Editor Nicole Vertigan Opinion Editor John Fader

Photographers Editor Kate O’Neil

Faculty

Photographer Mr. Hetherington

Secretary Bridget O’Donnell Moderator Mrs. Ivkovich

Views expressed by individual authors do not

necessarily represent those of Bishop

Shanahan High School or the Archdiocese of

Philadelphia. Students interested in joining or

writing for the club can contact Mrs. Ivk-

ovich at: [email protected]. Meetings

are on Mondays in Room 212 after school.

The Lost Art of

Debate By Mia Belefonte

How many times have you been given

the advice, “Never discuss religion or

politics. It will always end badly?”

Probably at least 100 times since you

started to develop any opinions on the

topics. Take a minute to scroll through

your Facebook page and see all the irra-

tional, aggressive arguments in the com-

ments section and you can start to see

why this advice might actually be valid.

But the thing is, it shouldn’t be.

We are taught that there is no possible

way to express your opinion without it

resulting in a bitter, heated fight where

no one will ever be able to agree. How-

ever, this simply isn’t true. There was a

time not too long ago where Senate

members from opposing parties could go

out to lunch together and come out hav-

ing reached actual compromises and

agreements. And yet the idea of Donald

Trump sitting down with Hillary Clinton

sharing a tray of nachos is almost comi-

cal. The question is why. Why has it be-

come so impossible for people to discuss

their opinions and beliefs with those who

think differently from them? I think it all

comes down to one thing- listening.

Debates have turned into a simple bat-

tle of who can scream their point the

loudest rather than actually listening and

taking in the opposition’s points. We all

would like to believe that our perspec-

tives and positions are the only valid and

correct ones, but the truth is that almost

every issue can be looked at and evalu-

ated from a million different angles, and

no one outlook is one hundred percent

perfect. This means that it is crucial for

us to actually make an effort to listen and

understand the viewpoints of those whom

we disagree with. If we do not listen,

then there is no way for us to break out

of our own little bubble and see what

others around us do. Even if your opinion

is not changed by hearing someone

else’s, it is still incredibly beneficial to

take in others’ ideas in order to broaden

your worldview.

This solution may seem ridiculously

simple to many, and that’s because it is

incredibly simple. But if you look around

you’ll realize that people aren’t doing it.

For example, take a look at the 2016

presidential debates. The two candidates

declined to even shake the other’s hand,

which only set the tone for the disrespect

both would show towards each other

throughout the debate. They both spoke

over each other countless times, com-

pletely disregarding their opponents

points and trampling over the modera-

tor's attempts to quiet them.

If this kind of behavior is being por-

trayed by the people who are trying to

become the head of our country, it’s no

wonder everyday citizens think that it’s

impossible to calmly share their views.

However if we are ever to truly under-

stand each other and move forward in our

ideas, it is critical to listen to one an-

other. As Barack Obama said, “change

requires more than just speaking out- it

requires listening, as well. In particular it

requires listening to those with whom

you disagree, and being prepared to com-

promise”.

A Wireless World is

Coming By John Fader Opinion Editor

On September 12, 2017, Apple CEO Tim

Cook announced the company’s two new

flagship phones, the iPhone 8 and the

iPhone X. A new feature on both flagships

is wireless charging, a technology that

through induction charges the phone with-

out having to manually plug in the charg-

ing cable. To charge the device, simply

pack it on a wireless charging pad and it

begins to charge. Although this technology

is not revolutionary or anything new, Ap-

ple implementation is going to push this

technology into our everyday lives.

Apple is not the first to put wireless

charging in a flagship phone. In 2013,

Google in collaboration with LG, launched

the Nexus 5—one of the first Android flag-

ships to support wireless charging. In

2014, Samsung introduced the Galaxy S5,

their first phone to support this technology

as well, and they have continued to support

wireless charging on all flagships to this

day. While Android users have had access

to this feature for several years, it has not

yet become mainstream due to the limited

availability and lack of general support.

There are some exceptions in recent

years. In 2015, IKEA announced a line of

home furnishings that would support wire-

less charging. This line included lamps,

side tables, desks, and individual charging

pads, and went on sale in 2016. All were

compatible with supported android devices

and this brought the idea of modern wire-

less charging to the masses. Starbucks im-

plemented a similar concept into some of

its stores, however, this was not as well

received as IKEA’s offering due to Star-

bucks using a proprietary technology sup-

ported by very few devices. Starbucks at-

tempted to resolve this issue by supporting

plug in adapters for all devices including

Androids and previous iPhones.

Apple’s phones will be using the Qi

(pronounced “chi”) wireless standard, one

of the most common and universal. Qi is

used by both Samsung and Google in their

flagships and is also what IKEA’s system

uses. Starbucks on the other hand used

powermat which requires a proprietary

technology in the phone as well as an app

in order to charge.

Colonization of

Space By Lucas Riordan

Each day, major space organizations

such as SpaceX and NASA get closer

and closer to finally bringing humans to

other planets. Imagine having colonies

on Mars or Titus, and how great it would

be for the human race, how it could eas-

ily fix all of our problems… or would it?

Reasonably speaking, what are the

chances that by the time astronauts are

sent to Mars that there will be strong

enough systems that allows power to be

completely reliant on solar and wind

power? This may work for smaller hous-

ing facilities, but for a large scale coloni-

zation, solar and wind will not be a feasi-

ble solution for power, then to maintain

power fossil fuels would be the only op-

tion. It would be unwise to rely on wind

power on Mars due to the fact that winds

are about half that of a small hurricane

on earth, only reaching about 60 mph.

Even if a large portion of Mars was dedi-

cated to collection wind power, it would

not add up.

In addition, another requirement would

be to eventually terraform Mars, a goal

that would allow humans to live a com-

fortable life similar to one on earth This

would require vast forests and many

plants, after all one human requires about

seven or eight trees to sustain life. If the

plan to colonize Mars consists of over

100 people, we would need a minimum

800 trees on Mars, and even more for

maximum comfortability and stability

of astronauts. Once clean energy is

abandoned due to inability to be sustain-

able, and colonists resort to natural re-

sources, such as coal and oil, the same

effects that we have here on Earth will

begin to be displayed on Mars. Imagine

the clean and open landscape of Mars,

the barren desolate tundra, replaced with

smog, pollution, and tall skyscrapers.

Take away the calm surroundings and

put in bustling crowds and traffic. Why

should we do what we have done to an-

other planet? Imagine if this will be us,

and instead of fixing our race by going to

Mars, we’re just building another con-

tamination bin. Maybe before we look to

colonize other planets, we should work

on fixing our own.

During the presentation Apple also an-

nounced AirPower, a first-party charging

mat allowing the user to charge three Ap-

ple products at once.

This accessory was demoed with an Apple

Watch, AirPods, and an iPhone X, and is

not shipping until next year. Due to the late

arrival of this device, consumers are unsure

of what standard is being used and whether

or not it will remain proprietary to Apple

devices. In summary, wireless charging is

the future, it may not be everywhere at the

moment and not all devices support it. But

just as phones got bigger screens, this new

feature will soon be a new standard and as

more businesses begin to implement it into

their products. A wireless world is the fu-

ture and will be coming whether our de-

vices are ready or not.

A Solution to

Uniform Woes

By Annie Goetz Editor-In-Chief

As the school year settles into a comfort-

ing routine, most Shanahan students are

already wishing for the return of summer,

and all that comes with it, vacations, sum-

mer homework, and of course, uniform

shopping.

The freshmen may have been surprised

to see the total cost of a Shanahan uniform

- at a bare minimum, girls will pay

$320.50, while boys pay $262.75. That is a

lot upfront before you even get to home-

room.

It is true that education is an investment -

one of the most important that will be

made in our lives - but for many families

who send all their children to Shanahan, it

is a large financial burden on top of that

investment.

Following the Shanahan ideal of service,

a hand-me-down system should come in

place to relieve the burden on Shanahan

families. Month after school ends, seniors

donate the parts of their uniforms that are

in good condition and incoming freshmen

and their families can pick them up. In this

way, seniors can help the environment,

freshmen can have another opportunity to

meet future friends and feel more comfort-

able at the school, and families can save

some money that might be put forward

towards activities fees, or donations.

Shanahan families make the school com-

munity that is welcoming and continues

through generations, and we should be

good back to them.

By John Fader

November 2017

World News Catalonging for

Independance

By Mason Rothstein

Ever since the Spanish government took

control of Catalonia, a wealthy region in

the north-east of Spain, over 350,000 peo-

ple have gathered in Barcelona, the capital

of Catalonia, to protest against independ-

ence from Spain. Prior to the intervention

of the Spanish government, the Catalan

parliament voted to declare independence

from Spain. Many people have demon-

strated their opinions on whether or not

Catalonia should declare independence

from Spain. In fact, an unofficial vote took

place to record whether or not the region

should break away from Spain. Out of the

7.5 million people living in Catalonia, only

2.2 million voted. According to the Catalan

authorities, just less than 90 percent of

those who voted supported the independ-

ence. The number of protests increased

after the violent way police tried to stop

what was happening.

One of the biggest reasons the people of

Catalonia want to declare their independ-

ence is because they claim the region does

not have enough freedom or power from

the Spanish government and also believe

that their residents should be able to vote

on whether or not they should be allowed

to run the region by itself. In contrast,

many people say that Catalonia already has

enough freedom to run itself. Although

tensions have already been rising over the

past five years between the Spanish gov-

ernment and the people of Catalonia, the

Spanish prime minister refuses to give

power to the region because it would vio-

late the constitution of Spain. While the

idea of independence has usually been seen

as an important and sometimes patriotic

thing to do, the Catalonians are experienc-

ing major backlash from their home coun-

try, and only time will tell if their efforts

will amount to more than a simple spark of

rebellion.

Carhenge

By Emma Smith

Around noon on August 21, 2017, mil-

lions of other Americans were looking towards the heavens to witness the “Great American Eclipse”. Far more interesting than the dimming light outside, people had gathered outside of Alliance, Nebraska, a city which experienced 2 ½ minutes of totality, making it one of the places which experienced a longer blackout.

The people had convened at a structure named “Carhenge”, built after the style of Stonehenge in England. Jim Reinders con-structed it in 1987 as a memorial to his father after visiting the actual Stonehenge. Instead of being built of stones, 39 cars were spray painted gray and carefully placed around the area. All but three of the cars are American-made; in front of the foreign automobiles a sign informs visitors that these cars “served our purpose while Detroit slept. Now Detroit is awake and America is great!” Carhenge combines the spirit of the old world with the American tradition and the fast-moving pace of the new. Next time you're in the area, stop by this little known but interesting monument. Admission is free, but the possibilities for inspiration are priceless.

Ancient Monuments

New Secrets By Jordan Jaramillo, World News Editor

Long ago, when the pyramids were first

being examined, many mysteries and theo-ries surrounded their purpose, and their con-struction. Places that were once full of in-trigue and ancient culture, have seemingly lost their luster, as more and more is learned about ancient Egyptian mythology. How-ever, new developments have arisen from the dusty tombs, that breathe new life into the questions being asked in the pyramids, specifically Khufu’s pyramid, better known as the Great Pyramid of Giza. As a quick history lesson, Khufu was the second Phar-aoh of the 4th dynasty in Egypt, and com-missioned the pyramid to be built over a 10-20 year period more than 4000 years ago. Even across such a vast span of time, the pyramids have endured, and their secrets contained. More recently, a “big void” has been dis-

covered within the pyramids walls, directly above the grand gallery, that has left experts scratching their heads. This cavity was dis-covered using a technique called muography which is capable of detecting changes in density within rock. While the team who discovered it is not calling a “chamber” they are interested in examining it further. Some theories have emerged that it is used to dis-tribute weight in the pyramid, similar to a much smaller chamber on the pyramid’s north side, but its size and length (around 40-50 meters in length and 5-8 meters tall), are perplexing. While the team refuses to cause any damage to the pyramid, they have put forth an idea to drill an extremely tiny hole, around 3 cm, and place a tiny flying robot capable of taking more precise observations. While this idea won’t be put into practice until Egypt’s government approves, the mys-tery surrounding this void will continue to grow.

German Politics

Slowing Down By Jessica Zaccarelli

On September 24th of this year, Germany

held a very important federal election. The

most notable outcome of this election proc-

ess was that Angela Merkel was elected for

the fourth time to be Germany’s chancel-

lor.

In the German election system, a citizen

is given two votes. The first vote they cast

is for a candidate from their district to go

straight to Bundestag (German Parlia-

ment). The second vote is for the party

they prefer. Parties with more than five

percent of the vote get into parliament and

the more votes they get the more represen-

tatives they have.

While the reelection of Angela Merkel

did not come as much of a surprise to the

country there was, however, a few unex-

pected results. For instance, many people

in Germany assumed that the AfD

(Alternative for Germany) party would see

a spike in support, but they were not ex-

pecting such a sharp increase. Carolin

Hoffmann, 20, said, “I hoped that the AfD

would not be that strong but 12.6% and

third highest? I didn’t expect that,” regard-

ing the party’s success in the election.

Another interesting development which

came from this election is that the CDU/

CSU alliance party (a Christian Conserva-

tive party and the political party that An-

gela Merkel belongs to) took a big hit. In

the last federal election, the CDU/CSU

took around 40% of the votes, whereas this

year they were only able to secure about

33%. Julian Suppinger, age 15, said, “It

was not completely unexpected because

they have governed Germany for twelve

years now and of course people wanted

something new, but they lost way more

than everyone expected.”

However, as in every election, there were

positives to go along with the nega-

tives. While the results were unexpected,

some are hopeful that this will be a new

step for Germany. Melina Stӧtzel, 20,

said, “I think the elections will affect Ger-

many in a good way, at least that’s what I

hope.” She also added that there is hope

that voters will learn from this election and

come back stronger in four years..

(See graph bottom left)

ScanPyramids.com

Double Trouble By Michela King

As many of you know, two hurricanes

have recently battered Florida, Texas and

some other states bordering the Atlantic

ocean. With more than 100,000 homes

and buildings demolished in this storm, it

has estimated to cost up to 180 billion

dollars. In addition, more than 50,000

people were left homeless. This event

has caused the country to come together

as a community. People from all over the

country helped by donating money or

food. Recently, President Trump went to

Texas to estimate how much it would

cost to rebuild. President Trump donated

1 million dollars out of his own pocket to

help. The recent storms have not only

left a toll on our country, but on islands

in the Atlantic as well as Puerto Rico and

St. Martin's islands. The islands which

used to be a key spot for a vacation have

been demolished by strong winds tearing

apart hotels and homes. Most of the is-

lands affected by the storm have been

left without power and even clean water.

It is esteemed to take at least 7 years to

rebuild the communities and towns.

Many celebrities and well known people

have donated money or food to the hurri-

cane victims. If you would like to donate

visit redcross.org.

People are wondering what causes

hurricanes and why so many hurricanes

have recently been in the news. Early fall

months have been known as hurricane

season and is one of the most rainy sea-

sons throughout the entire year. The cli-

mate towards the equator tends to be

more humid and moist. The warm and

stormy weather can sometimes create

strong winds and cause a hurricane.

By Sarah Fasco

Huffingtonpost.com

November 2017

Local News

Farmhouse Coffee

and Espresso Bar

Review

By John Fader, Opinion Editor On June 29, 2017 the Farmhouse Coffee and Espresso Bar opened its doors in Downingtown PA. Located on West Lan-caster Avenue with close proximity to the Downingtown train station, it is the perfect place to stop before catching a train. They are serving several types of coffee and espresso drinks as well as seasonal baked goods. During my visit I had their mocha latte, and cream cheese cookie. Both were very good and the latte is one of the best I have ever had. It puts any Starbucks one to shame. Prices are on the slightly higher side, but for the quality of products served it is justifiable, with most drinks costing under $5. Overall this new local business in Downingtown is a welcome addition to the quaint downtown.

Left, Seniors singing the school alma mater at the Homecoming pep rally. Right, students play musical chairs at the Homecoming pep rally on October 20, 2017. Photos by Jes-

sica Haines.

2017 Homecoming King and Queen, Renee Schultz and David Angelo. Photo Jessie Haines.

New Flags

Dedicated in

Remembrance

of Attacks By Jack Fulco

On Monday September 11th, 2017, the

school community gathered together to

dedicate three new flags to be flown

outside the building. The flag of the

United States was raised first and the

national anthem was played, in remem-

brance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Then

the flag of the Vatican was raised fol-

lowed by the raising of the school flag

and the singing if the alma mater.

Students watch as the American

flag is raised on September 11,

2017. Photo taken by Mrs. Ivk-

ovich. Moderator of Shanaviews.

Homecoming

Shines at Shanahan

By Jack Fulco

Shanahan celebrated its homecoming

this year in style, with the theme of “A

Diamond Celebration,” in honor of the

school’s 60th anniversary. The students

and staff alike got into the festivities, in-

cluding karaoke at lunch, class color day,

and the ever popular pep rally.

The homecoming football game was all

Eagles, as they beat Oxford 56-27. The

week ended with the homecoming dance,

where the homecoming king and queen

were announced. The student body had the

opportunity to vote earlier in the week and

selected David Angelo as king, and Renee

Schultz as queen. This year’s homecoming

week was as successful as ever and will be

a lasting memory for years to come.

Shanaviews Goes

Digital! By Jack Fulco, Local News Editor

Shanaviews is launching its new social media platforms on Instagram and Face-book! These accounts will provide school news, sports updates, inside looks at clubs and much more. You can find us on Insta-gram @shanaviewsonline and on Facebook @shanaviews. We hope to see you there!

BSHS would like to commend and thank the Boys Soccer Team on a great season! Season update found in the Sports

Section, Page 7). (Photo Credit: Pete Bannan)

November 2017

The Rankings

The time honored Shanahan tradition of the senior Halloween costume returns. The class of 2018 put on quite the show!

Adam Wheeler and Tristen Lynch cheering for their fellow classmates, October 31st. Photo by Nicole Vertigan.

Best Group 1. Running with the Bulls

2. The Voice

3. Happy Campers

Scariest 1. George from It

2. Death

3. Vampire

Funniest 1. Officers

2. Gingerbread Man

3. Inflatable T-rex

Most Original 1. Gucci Mane

2. Run Forrest Run

3. Dancing with the Stars

Best Couple 1. Car Dealership Air Dancer

2. Blues Clues

3. Butterfly and Butterfly Catcher

Left, Kolbe Bien & Jordan Jaramillo, as Blue and Steve. Right, Shimon Hilton as an Air Dancer, October

31st. Photos by Nicole Vertigan.

Best Costume—Teacher

Division 1. Shanahan Princess

2. Hogwarts Student

3. Dr. Hugo Strange Joshua Hoey as Gucci Mane, October 31st. Photos by Nicole Vertigan.

Cutest 1. Wizard of Oz

2. Penguins

3. Monsters Inc.

November 2017

Left, the female judges from “The Voice”. Right, happy campers smile after they placed in the best group costume category, October 31st. Photo by Nicole Vertigan.

Michael Skros and his “stars” dance their way to a group costume victory, October 31st. Photo by Molly Mullin.

From left: The winner of the teacher division and undeniable star of the show, Sister Regina Berarda as the Shanahan Princess. Center, Rebecca Nguyen as the tooth fairy. Right,

the butterfly and butterfly catcher. October 31. Photos by Nicole Vertigan.

Mrs. Dellicompagni, Mrs. Byard, and Mrs. Christman as

The Three Blind Mice, October 31. Photo by Nicole Verti-

gan.

November 2017

Sports A Tribute to Peyton

Manning By Joseph Gill

On Sunday October 9th, the Indianapolis Colts unveiled a statue for former quarter-back Peyton Manning. Manning’s number, 18, was retired that day as the legend’s first team commemorated his fantastic career and achievements. He leads the National Football League in passing touchdowns and passing yards. Later, he was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts, where he appeared in two Super Bowls. His first was a successful victory against the Chicago Bears, whose defense was seemingly unstoppable. The other, how-ever, was a devastating loss to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. Manning’s career is one full of records, unforgettable and carved in history. One such record is his 1,940 passing yards, edging out Brett Favre for the honor. Also, he achieved 5,477 single season passing yards, 539 passing touchdowns, 55 single season touchdown passes, and 7 touchdown passes in a single game. In addition, he holds the record for most interceptions by a rookie quarterbacks with 28 of the turn-overs, which he has stated that he wishes will be broken. In 2013, Manning was traded to the Denver Broncos. He led the team to become the best offense in foot-ball as he passed for 55 touchdowns and took them to the Super Bowl. His domi-nant season led up to the game against the Seattle Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom”. The Broncos didn’t just lose, they got crushed. Seattle’s defense picked apart Manning’s prolific aerial assault and held him to only 8 points. Seattle won 43-8 during Man-ning’s 3rd championship appearance. In 2015, “the sheriff” took one more chance at the Super Bowl. Gary Kubiak’s Broncos took on the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Although he didn’t have a domi-nant role in the victory, Manning was still hailed as a champion following the 24-10 win. Peyton will long be remembered as a great leader and player. It is only fitting that his number, 18, has been retired by the Indianapolis Colts and a statue has been unveiled in his honor. Good luck with retirement Peyton and congratula-tions on a spectacular career.

Another Successful

Year for Field Hockey By Lauren Bradley

This year, the Shanahan field hockey team faced one of their most competitive seasons yet, finishing with a record of 9-8-1. On top of that, five games entered overtime, a short fifteen-minute period in which each team plays only seven players at a time (as op-posed to the eleven players of normal thirty-minute halves.)Shockey ended its season with a 2-2-1 overtime record.

Captain Gwen Plevyak (senior) entered the season with a few goals for the Shockey team this year. “I was hoping that we would make it to playoffs and maintain a winning record,” she declared. To accomplish these goals, Plevyak and her fellow captains, sen-iors Kelly Seifried and Savinna Karros, en-couraged the team to play with one-hundred percent effort and to build their team unity.

One such exhibit of these aspirations was displayed early in the season, as Shockey started strong with a comeback 3-2 win against Bonner Prendie. While the score at half-time was 1-2, the girls were able to score two goals to snatch a victory in the second half. While the team did experience a few tough losses, a 2-1 overtime victory against West Chester East, marked a turn-around for the team. Seifried expressed that, “...in the past, West Chester East was al-ways a tough competitor, and we lost against them for the past two years. Win-ning this game showed the team that if we kept up our intensity and remained positive through the game, we could defeat competi-tive teams.”

Advancing to district playoffs, the Shockey team began with a win against Marple Newtown, 7-1 with 4 different goal scorers. After a devastating loss in round two of the playoffs, however, the Shockey season ended.

Aside from the main season, the team also took part in some special matches throughout the year. In their yellow-game against Garnet Valley, they showed their support for Alex’s Lemonade Stand and the fight against childhood cancer. After a 4-0 victory, the team celebrated both the fund-raiser and their own success.

Overall, Shockey ended their season with a winning record and a great district playoff performance. Next year, the team looks forward to advancing further in the district playoffs and working together to improve as a team.

Boys Cross

Country Qualify

for States

By Luke Mich Shanahan Cross Country began prac-tice as soon as the previous school year ended, but the first meet did not occur until September. Cross Country won its opening regular season meet against Downingtown East and West Chester Henderson, before going on the road to beat Coatesville. Shanahan finished its regular season 4-2 after defeating Avon Grove in the last regular season meet. At the Ches-Mont League Championship, Jon McGrory finished 9th overall and first for the team overall with a time of 16:54. Shanahan ended up 5th out of the 13 schools. At the District 1 Championships at Lehigh University, the team knew that they needed to finish as one of the top 5 teams to send the whole Varsity squad to States. They managed to succeed by placing 5th, as brothers Josh and Jonah Hoey finished 1-2 for the team, with times of 15:12 and 15:54. Josh placed 2nd and Jonah placed 10th out of the 389 runners in the AAA Boys race. McGrory was the 3rd man for the team with a time of 16:24, followed up by rookie Ryan Doherty and junior Jack Ettien, with times of 16:56 and 17:03, respectively. Joey Gaffney and Sean Murphy also ran in the race. With the 5th place finish, the entire Varsity goes to Hershey to partici-pate in the State Championship.

Eagles Dominate Home-

coming Football Game

(Continued from Page 7)

Shortly into Oxford’s next possession, a

pass was deflected into the arms of Tom

Waite who proceeded to sprint for the 55

yard pick six, thus giving Shanahan a 42 -

21 lead over the Hornets. The Eagles had

blown the game wide open with a huge

lead and placed the cherry on top with two

final touchdowns, crushing Oxford 56 -

27. The commanding win for the Eagles

proved that they were a force to be reck-

oned with in the Ches-Mont league. As the

lights went out, the Shanahan community

left Jack Mancini Stadium with pride for

their beloved Eagles.

The commanding win for the Eagles proved that they were a force to be reckoned with in the Ches-Mont league. As the lights went out, the Shanahan community left Jack Mancini Stadium with pride for their be-loved Eagles.

Shanahan Eagles go against Oxford at the Homecoming Game on October 20, 2017. Center Senior Michael Robinson getting ready to snap the

football. Photo by Jessica Haines.

them for the past two years. Winning this game showed the team that if we kept up our intensity and remained positive through the game, we could defeat com-petitive teams.” Advancing to district play-offs, the Shockey team began with a win against Marple Newtown, 7-1 with 4 dif-ferent goal scorers. After a devastating loss in round two of the playoffs, however, the Shockey season ended. Aside from the main season, the team

also took part in some special matches throughout the year. In their yellow-game against Garnet Valley, they showed their support for Alex’s Lemonade Stand and the fight against childhood cancer. After a 4-0 victory, the team celebrated both the fundraiser and their own success. Overall, Shockey ended their season with

a winning record and a great district play-off performance. Next year, the team looks forward to advancing further in the district playoffs and working together to improve as a team.

The Ballooning of

the World Soccer

Transfer Market By Nick Downing

Due primarily to new financial deals

involving broadcasting rights, as well as

the increased pursuit of advertisement ven-

tures, followers of world soccer saw trans-

fer prices soar in this past summer’s

leagues’ transfer windows. This was per-

haps most chiefly the case in the upper

echelon European leagues, such as in the

English Premier League, the Spanish La

Liga, the German Bundesliga, the French

Ligue, and the Italian Serie A. Big clubs

paid double, triple, and sometimes even

quadruple the price that they paid for a

player of similar quality only a few years

ago. For context, in Europe in 2015, the

most expensive transfer was Ivorian striker

Wilfried Bony’s move within the English

Premier League from Swansea City to

Manchester City for £28 million (about

$37 million). For comparison, in 2016, the

most valuable franchise in any sport, Man-

chester United, paid the astounding sum of

£93.2 million (almost $124 million) to

Italian side Juventus for French midfielder

Paul Pogba. (Continued on Page 8 )

Girls Soccer Kicks Off

the Year With a Suc-

cessful Season By Lauren Bradley

This year, the Shanahan girls’ soccer team rounded out their season with a 7-10 record. The girls faced a tough start despite playing their hardest in the early games, so they had to utilize their pre-season training in order to overcome their next opponents.

They trained both on and off the field for their season: not only did they prac-tice twice a day during the pre-season, but they also focused on improving their team unity.

(Continued on Page 8)

November 2017

Arts & Entertainment

ShanaFlics’

Movie Reviews By Lucas Riordan

Stronger (Rated R)

Stronger is a heart wrenching story based

on the struggle of Jeff Bauman after losing

both of his legs in the Boston Marathon

Bombing. The movie focuses on the strug-

gle between Jeff and the pain of not being

able to walk, losing his girlfriend a count-

less number of times, and the struggle of

the media constantly being a key factor in

his life. This movie is an insightful look

into the life of a victim of the Boston

Marathon Bombing, it was able to show

the day to day life after a very traumatic

event. Once he is able to go on throughout

his heavily changed life, he must also face

constant PTSD. Along with this there is as

constant group of people always saying

that he’s their hero, when in his eyes he

does not think of himself as a hero, just

someone in the wrong place at the wrong

time. It shows not just the events leading

up to the event and the event itself, Jake

Gyllenhaal's incredible acting and John

Pollono’s (the screenwriter) descriptive

writing was able to give the smallest de-

tails that really put things into perspective.

Overall the movie is a great story and

really puts everything into perspective for

the viewer.

Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

Audience Score: 88%

Reality Score: If You Have the Time

Kingsman 2 (Rated R)

Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle was a se-

quel to the widely loved, action packed

movie Kingsman: The Secret Service. The

not as successful sequel, while still appre-

ciated by the majority of it’s viewers,

clearly tried to copy the format of the first

one. The story is about the fall of the Brit-

ish Intelligence Facility, and the two sur-

viving members who find their American

Spy Associates in the heart of Kentucky.

They need their help in order to take down

the leader of an illegal organization, who

has the plan to wipe out a large percentage

of the world population. The help of the

government is not accessible, so the or-

ganizations are forced to work together and

shut down the operation before chaos

strikes. The movie is not as fast paced as

the original and is shown to be riding on

the back of the excitement of its predeces-

sor. The plot is not as well put together as

the original and was much slower. How-

ever, if I had to choose the best part of it

would be the overuse of Sir. Elton John.


Audience Score: 71%

Reality Score: Background Noise

Blade Runner 2049 (Rated R)

The sequel to the incredible 1982 origi-

nal was unfortunately not able to live up

to the expectations. The movie follows

the struggle of Officer K who tries to

figure out who he is and where he came

from. It also takes place in a dystopian

version of Los Angeles and a shows San

Diego as a garbage dump. Officer K was

designed to hunt down “Retired Mod-

els.” During one of his missions he finds

the remains of a human. Officer K goes

on with life, while continuously being

brought back to a strange connection

between a code written on a tree and a

memory of a beloved childhood toy. He

eventually begins to find out about his

past, which leads him to find about a

malfunction in a robot that allowed one

to have a child. This has caused him to

become disconnected to his job, which

results in the suspicion in of his superi-

ors. He goes with his artificial intelli-

gence girlfriend to find out more about

his ancestors and his life. It ends with

one of the biggest plot twists that will

make you question what you have been

assuming during the past two and a half

hours. The remake was a good produc-

tion but was found to have very confus-

ing plot, even to those who had seen the

original. Even though the confusing plot,

the action and Sci-Fi aspects of it was

enough to draw in a new audience.


Audience Score: 84%

Reality Score: If You Have The

Time

Only the Brave (Rated PG-13)

Only the Brave was a heartbreaking true

story about the Granite Mountain Hot-

shots fighting against one of the most

devastating wildfires in history. The

timely drama with the wildfires in Cali-

fornia really shows how reality is much

harsh and intense than many think. The

many ups and downs of this movie left

the audience in a confused mess of emo-

tions. Brendan, a recovering drug user,

joins the “Seal Team 6” of fire men, he is

brought into the heart of the flames. He

creates friendships, meets mentors,

and forms a borderline family with his

Hot Shot teammates. The struggle be-

tween recovering from drug addiction,

having a newborn daughter, and having

to work long and intense days of training

make his life tiring and straining. How-

ever, he works through it and becomes a

stronger person. Brendan and his crew

succeeded in every challenge that they

faced. This is until a fire starts up. Bren-

dan is sent off to be lookout and he is

lucky that he was sent for this position.

The movie overall was a great look into

the day to day life of a Hot Shot, with

very intense insight into the process of

battling a fire. The mode of this movie

can not easily be described but through-

out the 2 hour and 14 minutes, you can

easily laugh, cry, and cheer.


Audience Score: 94%

Reality Score: A Must See

GeoStorm (Rated PG-13)

Geostorm is a sci-fi movie set in a future

that has been heavily impacted by the

effects of global warming. This has

caused an increase in natural disasters

and their severity. In response, a satellite

system designed by Jake Lawson is sent

into space. This satellite system con-

nected a net that wraps around the atmos-

phere of the earth. This is used to control

the weather throughout the world, until

the system is infected with a virus that

causes chaotic weather all across the

globe. The weather spans from intense

freezing temperatures to hundred foot

title waves. Obviously, this movie had to

have incredible special effects, and it did,

just not good enough to save the movie

from it’s bland and redundant plot points.

The plot sounds incredible until you real-

ize that about 35 out of 84 minutes is just

shots of special effects. The plot wasn’t

all bad, but the two biggest parts of the

movie turned out either to not be true or

not have any effects on anyone’s lives.

The action alone was not enough to make

this movie bearable and the only reason I

didn’t leave was because the tickets were

$35 each for IMAX. The only thing that

could fix this movie would be Morgan

Freeman narrating it.


Audience Score: 46%

Reality Score: Skip

2017 Musical:

Footloose! By Zachary Norcia

This year’s musical, Footloose, is a truly

inspiring story. Footloose is a about a city

kid, Ren McCormick, (played by senior

Matthew McCloskey) who moves to a

small country town, Bomont. Ren is imme-

diately ostracized and no one is sure what

to think of the new kid. Ariel, the Rever-

end’s (played by senior Joseph Fullam)

daughter, wants the adventure and splendor

of somewhere far away. Through personal

trials with his new friend, Willard Hewitt

(played by senior Patrick Russell), he finds

that there is more to Bomont than meets

the eye. An accident lies in its past that

was so serious that dancing has been out-

lawed for years. With every adult in Bo-

mont against him, Ren throws a dance to

show them that dancing is not a crime.

Footloose ensemble performing during Act I. Photo provided by Meghan Cascarelli from the Advancement Office.

The Ballooning Market of

World Transfer Soccer


Smashing the all-time record, many thought that the transfer market had reached its pinnacle with this deal, at least for a few seasons, until this past summer’s transfer window. After months of rumors about his desire to leave Barcelona, Brazil-ian superstar Neymar Jr. left FC Barcelona for French club Paris Saint-Germain for the unbelievable amount of €222 million (almost $260 million) to obliterate Pogba’s world transfer market record by double. Pundits and fans of world soccer alike questioned how Paris Saint-Germain was able to finance their deal for Neymar. The Ligue giants were accused of shady busi-ness practices and of finding loopholes in the system. In response, efforts from FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, have in-tensified. FIFA now seeks to cap clubs’ spending.

However, at the present, not much

has been done, and there is little reason to

believe that we will not continue to wit-

ness the astronomical deals of the world

soccer market.

Girls Soccer Kicks Their

Way to a Successful Season


Saturday team runs, team sleepovers, and team dinners allbrought the group closer together and contributed to their success on the field.

While their challenging rivals at the beginning of the season could have po-tentially affected their performance in the following games, they managed to use their bonds as a team to overcome such obstacles. Together, they strived to con-stantly stay positive, and successfully turned their season around. One of the captains, Evy Bruggeman (junior,) spe-cifically attributed the turning point of their season to a 3-1 win against West Chester East.

While hard work both on and off of

the field all contributed to the team’s

successes, strong leaders guided the girls

through the season. This year’s Shoccer

captains were juniors Fiona Burke and

Evy Bruggeman; and seniors Megan

Dougherty, Victoria Polansky, and Caro-

line Polansky. Again, Bruggeman com-

ments that the team “..had really good

seniors who were great leaders and held

the team together.”

As for next season, the girls continue

to work towards district playoffs and

hope to further improve their growth as a

team.

volume 60: issue 1 i the n lady eagles are state ews

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