By Natalie West, Staff Reporter

Security guard Bobbi Christy  is no stranger to proms. The event, one that is considered to be a rite of passage for high school students, is generally a one-time occasion. Not for Christy, who said that she attended her nineteenth—and final—prom this May.

“Proms are very nice—the students enjoy themselves, and so do I,” Christy said.

At the end of this school year, long-time staff member Christy will retire, saying goodbye to her 25-year career at the high school.

“Christy has been a consistent member of our security team,” Principal Amy Meisinger said. “She is often seen greeting buses in the morning, dancing at the proms and talking with students in the halls.”

Fellow security guard Jo Ann Yusko respects the hard work that Christy put in during their 16 years working together.

“Working with her was a very positive experience,” Yusko said. “She’s done a great job.”

In 1985, Christy was hired by the district as a security guard and has patrolled the hallways ever since. In addition to monitoring the halls and keeping the students of Conestoga safe—and cell phone free—during the school year, Christy has worked as a custodian during the summer.

Junior Jill Schnall said that she believes that Conestoga’s halls will not be the same without Christy’s presence.

“The school will definitely be less orderly,” Schnall said.

Freshman Caroline Deakins said that she agrees that the school will be different without the order that Christy maintained. Deakins said that students will have more difficulty focusing in class during lunch periods without Christy patrolling the school.

“Without Christy, the hallways will be louder,” Deakins said. “Whenever she walks by my classes, the people in the halls get quiet and I can focus on my work.”

Librarian Cathy Bond also feels that Christy will be missed by the staff and students.

“She’s just part of what Conestoga has been. She’s been here so long, and you expect when you’re walking in the hall to see her,” Bond said. “I have always felt that she exudes that love for Conestoga.”

At the end of the school year, Christy plans to celebrate her retirement by traveling. Although she said that she is not sad to leave her job behind, Christy does have some fond memories, like the senior pranks.

“One time they let pigeons loose in the old cafeteria,” she said.

After years at Conestoga, experiencing everything from pranks to proms, Christy has advice for those that she leaves at ’Stoga.

“Learn to love yourself first so that you may be able to love others,” she said. “You will learn something new every day of your life.”

More than two decades after Christy first stepped foot in Conestoga High School, she will leave a lasting impression.

“We are grateful for her service to the students at Conestoga and her presence will certainly be missed,” Meisinger said.

Natalie West can be reached at nwest@stoganews.com.

This article originally appeared on p. 6 of the June 7, 2010 issue of The Spoke.

By Meghan Morris, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Two hundred years ago, Chester County was an integral stop on the Underground Railroad. But just 88 years ago, the Tredyffrin and Easttown School Boards decided to segregate their respective elementary schools.

For two years, African American parents fought this ruling in and out of the courtroom and eventually emerged victorious. Their fight was remembered on May 8 at the Mount Zion AME Church in Devon, where about 100 community members and church congregants gathered to celebrate the success.

“We can’t learn from the past unless we tell their stories so that succeeding generations will know of their courage,” said Roger D. Thorne in his speech. Thorne is a local historian and author of “Segregation of the Main Line: The ‘School Fight’ of 1932-34.”

Two women who helped in the battle against segregation spoke about their experiences. They recalled racism and stereotypes, but also the way the community, both black and white, came together to fight the unjust ruling.

“Before Rosa Parks, there were these powerful people. You can’t let these ladies go unnoticed and unrespected,” said Willow Grove NAACP lawyer Donald L. Clark before introducing the speakers.

The idea for the event came from church historian Betha Jackmon, who realized that there were no group pictures of the community members who fought against segregation. The event grew as she recognized the larger community involvement behind the fight.

“The whole congregation rallied for this event and it exceeded my expectations—I was ecstatic,” Jackmon said.

Three school board members attended the event, including School Board President Betsy Fadem.

“I’m here to support this celebration and recognize the missteps of the past,” Fadem said.

State Sen. Andrew Dinniman also attended the event, presenting the church with an award from the Senate recognizing the segregation fight.

“Today, all of us—black and white—are woven together,” Dinniman said as he presented the award.

Meghan Morris can be reached at mmorris@stoganews.com.

This article originally appeared on p. 6 of the June 7, 2010 issue of The Spoke.

By Julianne Vallotton and Laura Weiss, Staff Reporter and News Editor

Short on sleep

Twice a month, Thursday nights signaled the beginning of stress and exhaustion for sophomore Angela Hong. She would spend those evenings in her bedroom, studying all night for her AP European History test the following day. 

“I want to do as best as I can even though it doesn’t seem like a good thing to stay up all night,” Hong said. “I do it because of the pressure of the class to do well; especially for a class like Euro or math, it’s hard to keep up. It’s at such a fast pace and you don’t ever want to get a bad grade or fall behind.”

Hong is one of the many students who must make the choice between sleep and studying. In The Spoke’s survey of 200 students, 7 in 10 reported that they get less than eight hours of sleep on a regular school night. The number represents a growing national trend of teenagers who get less sleep because of the pressure to perform well academically and the growing use of technology immediately before bed.

On nights that she manages to get some sleep, Hong said that she averages about five hours, using coffee to wake up every morning.  As the caffeine wears off, Hong struggles with headaches and irritability. But her most damaging habit, Hong said, was staying up all night on Thursdays to study.

“I was awake because I had coffee, but I was just out of it,” Hong said. “If I thought too hard I would get tired easily.”

Junior Tim DiPaolo said that he also found that it was more difficult to focus and think when he was sleep-deprived. He said that his tests became harder to take when he barely slept the night before.

“I can’t really think clearly and it’s hard to reason things out,” DiPaolo said.

DiPaolo is not inexperienced with late-night studying because of his packed schedule. He said that he averages about six hours of sleep each night and that he struggles to fit sleep into his evenings.

“I took five Advanced Placement classes this year and found myself getting to sleep around 12 a.m. at the earliest each night,” DiPaolo said. “It really starts to wear you down.”

Expert input

DiPaolo’s inability to focus after very little sleep is a common side effect of sleep deprivation, said Jennifer Jackson Holden, a mental health specialist from the Center for Psychological Services. 

“For every hour less than eight that people get each night, their ability to function goes down a grade level,” Holden said. “If you have a tenth grader who is functioning on a week with six hours of sleep [each night], they’re thinking more like an eighth grader than a tenth grader.”

For this reason, Holden said that students staying up late to study would most likely do worse on their tests, despite studying more. She said that a severe lack of sleep can be comparable to torture and that students will probably suffer from weakened abilities to pay attention, recall information and focus when they are overly exhausted.

“Think about one of the things that governments do to torture their prisoners—they deprive them of sleep,” Holden said.

Holden recommends that teenagers avoid the use of coffee or other caffeinated beverages to stay awake because experts are still unsure about how these drinks will affect students in the future. But for sophomore Vanessa Karalis, the benefits of energy drinks like 5-Hour Energy seem to outweigh the costs.

“If I ever have a test coming up in the next few periods, or I’m just super tired, I drink one of them and they really help a lot,” Karalis said. “People say that they’re bad for you, but if they help this much, I don’t see the harm.”

Pseudo sunshine

In addition to using energy drinks to stay awake, many Conestoga students reported another habit related to sleep. Fifty percent of students surveyed by The Spoke said that they use some form of technology while they fall asleep every night. 

Recent research conducted by scientists at the National Sleep Foundation suggests that copious amounts of artificial light right before sleep can impact a person’s circadian rhythm, essentially convincing the body that sunlight is present. The light, delivered at close range from cell phones or laptop screens, can suppress the release of hormones that aid in the sleep process.

Freshman Julianna Bradley said that she takes extreme caution to avoid technology before she goes to bed. She said that she covers the light on her alarm clock, places her cell phone in the hallway, closes her laptop and turns off all of the lights in her room before she goes to sleep.

“Right before I go to bed I try not to [use technology] because it gets me up and I stay on it,” Bradley said. “I have a hard time getting off.”

For sophomore Angela Hong, pulling all-nighters to study is sometimes aided by her use of a computer. She usually texts on her phone or uses her laptop before going to sleep, which, she said, makes her feel more awake. 

“I’ll be really tired and I’m just about to fall asleep, and then I go on my computer and I’m awake,” Hong said. “It takes me a little bit longer to fall asleep than it would have if I didn’t go online.”

After a school year of late nights and little sleep, Hong said that she has learned her limits. She has a message for students whose sleep habits are similar to her own.

“I warn students that just because it seems like they can stay up late and be okay once, it doesn’t mean that they can do it all of the time,” she said. “I plan to change my ways.” 

Liz Bravacos contributed to this report.

Laura Weiss can be reached at lweiss@stoganews.com.

This article originally appeared on p. 4 of the June 7, 2010 issue of The Spoke.

By Laura Weiss, News Editor

Taking his diploma, Greg Osberg graduated with ideas about crunching numbers. Though his future unfolded much differently from how he had planned, the 1975 graduate said he believes that Conestoga gave him essential tools to pursue his passion.

Osberg will be the new publisher and C.E.O. of the Philadelphia Inquirer, philly.com and Daily News in July. Osberg is prepared to use what he began learning at ’Stoga to bring innovation and growth to the newspapers and website. However, the road to the world of business and publishing was not a straight one for Osberg.

“When I was a student at Conestoga, I had no idea which career path I would take,” Osberg said. “I suppose I was most focused on the college that I would attend.”

Though he said that he took a definite interest in business in high school, Osberg was more focused on a specific career in accounting. He said that he pursued this career path during his freshman year at Colorado State University before switching to a business major. 

In the time building up to college, however, Osberg was also driven by other passions like rugby, which he played at Conestoga.

“I would encourage everyone to experiment as much as they possibly can [with different subjects and activities],” Osberg said.

He also supports local networking as a tool for high school students to find out what they want to do in life.

“I wasn’t sure what aspect of business might interest me,” Osberg said. “College helped me figure that out. Real life experiences and speakers from the outside world elevated the opportunity of publishing and I started following that path.”<

Story by Liz Bravacos and Meghan Morris

Basic beliefs

By K.C. McConnell, Staff Reporter

Standing on Teamer Field under the bright white lights, freshman Sonny DiMartini is a constant presence on the sidelines. Growing up with Down syndrome, DiMartini has spent his lifetime supporting Conestoga’s sports teams. 

His mother, Pam DiMartini, can still remember the first Conestoga football game he attended.

“At that point in Sonny’s life, he was quite the mover and the shaker,” Pam DiMartini said. “He was never still, but when we went to the football games he would sit for three hours. The first time he saw a football player, he was amazed. He just liked it so much.” 

While younger students found it difficult to relate to him, the football players he met on the sidelines became his first friends.

It was Sonny’s relationship with these players that encouraged him to become more and more involved with ’Stoga sports. Even when he was younger, he knew that he wanted to cheer on his team.

Head football coach John Vogan remembers the first time he met Sonny during practice.

“We would see him while we were practicing, and the football players eventually started to take him into the program,” Vogan said. “He had the biggest smile and was very supportive of our team. Sonny and the football team were the perfect match.” 

Watching Sonny grow and mature was something that inspired several ’Stoga athletes. Junior Jamey Capolupo, a former football player, is still amazed by Sonny’s determination.

“Sonny never gives up if he wants something—he doesn’t care how hard it is to get,” Capolupo said. “He’ll go for it.” 

Soon enough, Sonny joined the football team in order to support the players on the sidelines. As an important part of the team, he continues to inspire ’Stoga students, both on and off the field.

“I’ve watched Sonny grow so much this year,” Capolupo said. “He tells me that if he can accomplish anything, then think how much we can accomplish.” 

Sonny’s brother, senior Alex DiMartini, said that he noticed a change in Sonny’s behavior as the years went by and he became more involved with the team.

“It’s gotten him to develop the loving personality that he has today,” Alex DiMartini said. “It’s the reason he’s as outgoing as he is.”

Over the years, fans have grown accustomed to Sonny’s cheerful spirit and are always excited to share in his enthusiasm at each game. 

Sonny, too, has a special way of stepping up to the plate for the athletes he supports. As the football players hang up their uniforms, he turns his attention to the baseball dugout.

“Sonny will come sit with us in the dugout,” Vogan said. “And when the game’s over, win or lose, Sonny will run the bases. He’ll run down to home plate and give us all high fives and knock us over.”

At the end of each game, Sonny’s positivity and optimism are two things that all players take with them. 

“I hope he has fun, and I hope it’s something he always remembers,” Vogan said. “I hope he knows how much of a contribution he’s made to us.”

K.C. McConnell can be reached at kmcconnell@stoganews.com.

Printed originally on p. 3 of The Spoke’s March 25, 2010 issue. 

By Claire Moran and Brittany Roker, Staff Reporters

A recent controversy in the Lower Merion School District concerning student privacy rights has tested the legal and ethical guidelines about the use of security camera footage by schools. When an administrator at Harriton High School reportedly reprimanded a sophomore for his activities at home, the student’s family sued the district. 

The student claims that the district remotely accessed the webcam on his school-issued laptop and captured images of him at home. Although the case is currently on hold for further investigation, the controversy has made students wary of security procedures back at Conestoga. 

Senior Megan Gilroy investigated some of these procedures for a recent English assignment. Gilroy recorded the number of times she passed a security camera on any given school day as an activity while reading the novel “1984” for her Language and Composition class. She was surprised to find that the number was 102.  

“I think they’re good to have, but I don’t think we need to have as many as we do,” freshman Deborah Matheny said.

Senior Jake Castellani disagrees with Matheny.

“I do not believe that my privacy is being invaded by security cameras in school and on the bus, hence the name ‘public,’” Castellani said. “They have a right to use it whenever they want.”

Security cameras at Conestoga are placed in the hallways and in other special locations throughout the school, such as in the gym, main lobby, auditorium, library, cafeteria and parking lot. Footage gathered from the cameras is saved for a later date in the event that it is needed for disciplinary action, Principal Amy Meisinger said.

“There are no security cameras in the bathrooms, locker rooms and in the classrooms,” Meisinger said. “We are very careful to follow legal guidelines.”

District policy requires administrators to review security camera footage before charging any student with inappropriate conduct. Meisinger said that the district recognizes the importance of student privacy.

“No one sits at a desk and watches a camera,” Meisinger said. “We are very respectful of students’ rights.”

Back at Lower Merion, students have conflicting opinions about the controversy.  Zoe Furman, a freshman at Harriton, voiced some of her classmates’ views.

“Students are kind of split because half of us think it’s cool that [the sophomore] is in the media and that he’s rebelling against the school and everything,” Furman said. “The other half sees the truth—that it’s kind of ridiculous and we’re going to have to pay for it.”

Claire Moran can be reached at cmoran@stoganews.com.

Printed originally on p. 6 of The Spoke’s March 2010 issue.

By Julianne Vallotton, Staff Reporter

It is noon and a DJ blasts music through speakers in the courtyard. Students lounge in the lazy sun of midday, snacking on lunch. A few of them are competing in an impromptu dance battle, flailing their limbs in erratic motion.

This moment of vibrant high school culture is the scene at Manifestival—a lunchtime celebration thrown by the student group Manifest, whose goal is to lower stress levels at Conestoga.

“I love Manifest,” freshman Audrey Rueger said. “No matter what other people say, the program makes school that much more bearable.”

And that is exactly what Manifest is trying to do: create an atmosphere of fun to lessen the stress of the school day. The group, which was created last year, has new plans for the future.

One example of the organization’s new initiatives was “Café Manifest,” held during midterm exams. Members handed out free hot chocolate as a way to help students manage one of the most stressful weeks of the year.

Sophomore Johanna DiNardo, a Manifest member, said that the student reaction to the free treat seemed positive. The team is preparing to open “Café Manifest” again during Unity Rocks Week in early April, DiNardo said.

Another idea that was implemented in February was “No Homework Wednesdays.” On the last Wednesday of each month, teachers find a Manifest magnet inside their mailbox encouraging them to give a homework-free night. 

According to Manifest faculty adviser Michael Trainer, almost 80 percent of teachers participated in the policy’s trial day on Feb. 24. Trainer said that the organization has a few upcoming surprises.

“One thing we are planning on doing is monthly music in the courtyard during lunch as it gets a bit warmer,” Trainer said.

Trainer hopes to guide and develop the group in future years.

“If I’ve learned anything from this experience, it’s that no one should underestimate the power of change,” he said.

Julianne Vallotton can be reached at jvallotton@stoganews.com.

Clubs set to give TEMS a taste of foreign cultures 

Junior Sonali Mehta is organizing a culture day event at T/E Middle School for April 10. Mehta, who serves as president of Desis Abroad, said that she wanted to get all of ’Stoga’s culture clubs involved with a local event. Each club will have its own booth, presenting information about the respective music, art and cultural aspects of various countries. Participating clubs will pick their own charities to sponsor and all proceeds from the event will be donated to each club’s chosen charity. Students and families can attend the event from 6-10 p.m.           

College applications to go completely electronic 

Starting with the class of 2011, the college application process will become electronically-based. Guidance counselors will upload each student’s transcript, report card, school profile and letters of recommendation to the Common Application Web site, which can also be linked through Naviance. Students will upload their essays and personal data forms directly to the Common Application Web site. With one click, guidance counselors will be able to send students’ admissions information to their selected colleges. Guidance counselor Sue Monaghan said that using the Internet for college applications will make the process faster, more efficient and more environmentally friendly.

Spoke staff earn prestigious local, national awards

The Pennsylvania School Press Association named senior Seth Zweifler, The Spoke’s editor-in-chief, the Pennsylvania Student Journalist of the Year on March 7. By earning this award, Zweifler will receive a $500 scholarship for college and is automatically eligible for the Journalism Education Association’s National Student Journalist of the Year award, to be announced in mid-April. In addition, 15 Spoke editors and reporters traveled to New York City on March 19 to attend the annual Columbia School Press Association spring convention. For the first time in its history, The Spoke won the CSPA’s silver crown award for the 2008-09 school year. Forty-one other high school newspapers from around the country also received this award.

By Liz Bravacos, News Editor

He was only in second grade, but freshman Marty Stenson happily recalls the last time the school calendar was majorly affected by snow. It was the 2002-03 school year and five additional school days were added in June to accommodate debilitating ice storms.

“My neighbors, my dad and I made this huge snow fort out of all the snow banks that the plow made,” Stenson said. “It was a 15-foot long tunnel with windows and a slide as an entrance, and we even brought a TV in for a little while.”

That year, the longest break occurred over President’s Day weekend, when schools were closed Monday through Wednesday because of the holiday and inclement weather. Current students experienced a similar break this year, as one of the largest snowstorms in decades swept across the East Coast.

The blizzard that hit on Feb. 10 dropped 15.8 inches of snow on top of the 28.5 inches that had fallen less than a week before, according to the National Weather Service. Tredyffrin/Easttown schools were closed from Feb. 10-12. While the flurries fell, junior Shannon Martin was stranded at a friend’s house.

“We were able to go out during the day,” Martin said. “We mainly built an igloo, had a snowball fight and helped shovel—just basically had fun in the snow.”

Martin said that her favorite part of the snow days was sleeping late and then waking up to the white world outside her window. She said that she usually tries to sled at Hillside Elementary School when snow falls, but that the amount of snow from the Feb. 10 storm made it difficult to get to her preferred hill.

Martin was not the only one hindered by the unprecedented snowfall. Tredyffrin police chief Andrew Chambers said that the main problem with the Feb. 10 blizzard was helping stranded drivers.

“We had double shifts going all the way through Wednesday into Thursday,” Chambers said. “We had our four-wheel drive vehicles all ready to go and we had double the number of cops out to be able to field any type of problems that came our way.”

Chambers said that his main priority was ensuring the safety of citizens and making sure that everyone had what they needed during the storm. He said that the department was working nonstop throughout the blizzard to help disabled motorists and medical personnel.

Easttown Township Manager Gene Williams said that  Easttown’s road crews were heavily taxed when clearing the roads of snow. With only seven plows and an eight-person road crew, clearing the township’s 60 miles of roads in a timely fashion was difficult, Williams said.

“Our plows had trouble pushing the snow back to the sides of the roads,” Williams said. “The other thing was that the people that went out and drove on it packed it in and made it harder ice—the plows just wouldn’t cut it.”

Poor driving conditions led the district to close schools for a total of three days, extending the last day of school for students to June 18.  District Superintendant Dan Waters confirmed that if schools were closed another day, spring break would be shortened. Days will be added at the beginning of the break, beginning on March 29.

Martin said that she wishes school administrators had planned for the large storm, even though she enjoyed the three-day break.

“I wish they built it in so that they knew what to do,” Martin said. “I just thought it was ridiculous that they’d have to add it into our spring break—that’s time for us.”

After spending a few days playing in the snow with friends, Stenson, a freshman, began to worry about a shortened spring break.

“At first I was mad about it and I did not want anymore snow days, but then I realized that I’m going on vacation, so it doesn’t make a difference for me,” Stenson said. “But I think other students are praying for no more snow.”

Liz Bravacos can be reached at lbravacos@stoganews.com.

Printed originally on p. 1 & 14 of The Spoke’s Feb. 23, 2010 edition.