Eleven members of ‘Stoga’s 1000 Cranes Project, an Origami-based community service club, visited Dupont Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, Del. to bring to the children 1000 cranes and an afternoon of Origami and fun.
Photos Courtesy Caroline Mak

Hunched over in deep concentration at a table covered in colorful squares of paper and delicately prepared samples, a Conestoga student demonstrates the next fold to a patient at Dupont Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, Del. The patient is paying rapt attention while yards away, an air hockey puck flies off the table for about the fifth time, and the growing audience of teenagers and elementary school students bursts out laughing.

Conestoga does not have an “origami club”; instead, it has the  1,000 Cranes Project, a service club that uses art to help people in a unique way. On June 2, the club made literal meaning out of its name in a service project at the Dupont Children’s Hospital. Junior and Co-President of 1,000 Cranes, Caroline Mak, was proud of the club’s efforts.

“Our club’s name is 1000 Cranes Project, but we hadn’t actually done 1000 cranes yet,” Mak said. “The legend with 1000 cranes is that if you fold 1000 cranes you get a wish. We just thought of it as hoping and striving and trying to reach your goals. So we donated a total of 1000 cranes to Dupont Hospital.”

Since its creation over a year ago, Conestoga’s 1000 Cranes Project has organized a variety of events with the goal of enriching the community and teaching and promoting the ancient art of Origami. Most recently, on June the club drove a caravan of 12 members down to Dupont to teach the art to a few of its young patients, as well as to deliver a payload of 1,000 carefully-folded cranes as a gesture of care and hope.

According to Mak, a lot of preparation was required both in and outside the club—in fact, the 1000 Cranes Project found significant aid in folders outside the club.

One thousand cranes, hand-folded both by club and non-club members, were given to the hospital as a symbol of good health and hope.

“We got help from Korean Culture Club and we got from a lot of different people who just came in or folded in the library with their friends who were members with them,” Mak said.

After delivering the cranes, the club went to a specially designated “Child Life” room, in which patients and their families can do arts and crafts, play games and have fun. While the main goal of the visit was to teach Origami to patients, club members also had the opportunity to play with them. Junior Rachel Ware reflects on her experience at Dupont.

“I was trying to teach one girl Origami, and she just ended up playing with the samples and then we built a fort to save them from monsters,” Ware said. “It was a good time.”

Junior and Co-President Jodie Fong agreed that the organized chaos of the workshop achieved the club’s primary goal.

“Our club is an origami-based club, so it would have been nice to do more of that, but we were there for them, not for the Origami,” Fong said.

Throughout the year, Mak feels she has seen Origami make a difference to children she has taught, and is proud of the club’s continuing efforts.

“The happiness and satisfaction you get after you’re able to fold your first origami piece is pretty amazing,” Mak said. “I heard that one of the kids at our hillside event really liked his crane wreath, and he showed it to his class; stories like that are what make me feel that the club has done something really great. Hopefully kids like that and many kids we’ve taught will continue with it in the future.”

James Redmond can be reached at jredmond@stoganews.com.

Once again the Triple Crown has come to an end, after Palace Malice won the Belmont Stakes last Saturday.  As in past years, there was no Triple Crown winner in 2013.

To win the Triple Crown a jockey must race and win with his or her horse in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. This has not happened since 1978 when Affirmed won all three of these prestigious races.  But, possibly the most memorable horse to win the Triple Crown, is Secretariat.  Ron Turcotte rode Secretariat, trained by the legendary Lucien Laurin, to win the Triple Crown in 1973.  Last week marked the 40^th anniversary of Secretariat’s incredible 31-length victory at Belmont.

Unlike in the 70s, winning a Triple Crown is quite rare.  This year started with an electrifying Kentucky Derby in which the favored horse, Orb, sprung from the pack to steal the win after the final turn.  But, at the Preakness, Orb’s journey for the Triple Crown was upset as Oxbow, trained by Hall of Famer Wayne Lukas, snatched the second jewel.  Oxbow became the first horse since 1972 to win the Preakness wire-to-wire, leading the way the entire race.

Finally, at the Belmont Stakes –  the longest race of the three – Palace Malice came away with a three and a quarter length victory.  This win established three different winners for each race.

Many sports now emulate the Triple Crown.  In 2012, baseball’s Miguel Cabrera became the first player to win the Triple Crown in 45 years.  He did it by leading in batting average, runs batted in, and home runs.

If the drought can end in baseball, it may not be long before we see a new Triple Crown winner in horseracing.  But, we have to wait at least until next May.

Andy Backstrom can be reached at abackstrom@stoganews.com.

Photos Courtesy Sean Dempsey.

Four members of the winning Academic Competition team from Conestoga were honored at the state capitol by state representatives Duane Milne (right) and Warren Kampf (second to right).

Rep. Warren Kampf speaks to the Pa. House of Representatives. From left to right: Coach and history teacher Michael Cruz, sophomore Suproteem Sarkar, senior Michael Bennett, junior Manasvi Ramanujam and senior Dennison Richter stand to be recognized by the House.

]]> http://stoganews.com/news/academic-competition-recognized-at-capitol/10163/feed/ 0 http://stoganews.com/sports/a-champion-almost-complete/10141/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-champion-almost-complete http://stoganews.com/sports/a-champion-almost-complete/10141/#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 16:31:30 +0000 Andy Backstrom http://stoganews.com/?p=10141 By Andy Backstrom, Staff Reporter

In the past 14 years, the San Antonio Spurs have won four NBA championships, almost establishing themselves as a dynasty.  Veteran power forward Tim Duncan was part of all of them.

The Spurs have made it back to the NBA finals once again this year – and this time, they are trying to win it for Duncan.  In the 2013 postseason, the Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies to reach the finals against the favored Miami Heat.  Besides the “big three,” Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, the Heat has shown its ability to play as a complete team this season.  This teamwork was clearly on display during its dominant 27-game winning streak in the regular season.

Both the Spurs and the Heat have several players with great knowledge of the game and tremendous talent.  Tony Parker, the Spurs point guard, told Duncan at the beginning of this season that he would get him one more ring.  That promise could come true in just three games.  The series is tied at 1-1, and game three will be in San Antonio.  Duncan is already a destined Hall of Famer, but with one more championship he will be tied with Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson for the most championship titles.

Throughout Duncan’s career, he has shown that he deserves the championships.  A few of his accolades include: 14-time all-star, 2-time league MVP and 3-time NBA finals MVP.  Even at age 37, Tim Duncan is still very effective.  He has earned a spot on the All-NBA first team, establishing him as an elite player even at an age when most players are retired.

With game three tomorrow, we will continue to watch and see if the Spurs can win one more for Duncan, or if the “big three” of the Miami Heat can win their second consecutive NBA championship.

Andy Backstrom can be reached at abackstrom@stoganews.com.

Suproteem Sarkar | The Spoke

The lacrosse team dressed up for a spirit day on June 7 in preparation for the PIAA State Boys’ Lacrosse Championship v. LaSalle on June 8. The boys are looking to earn a fourth straight state title at the finals, which will be held at Hersheypark stadium at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

School nurse Dawn Zrebiec will be retiring after working ten years at Conestoga. Zreibiec will miss working with the students and staff but is excited to have more time to travel.
Photo by Courtney Kennedy

Whether students are seeking multi-colored jellybeans, Advil, or simply a place to rest if they are unwell, the nurse’s office is one of the most visited places in Conestoga. School nurse Dawn Zrebiec will be retiring from Conestoga after working here for ten years.

Before coming to work as a school nurse, Zrebiec graduated from Columbia University’s nursing school and later went on to get a masters degree in education. She then went on to work as a critical care nurse in a hospital. Aside from working at Conestoga, Zrebiec has also worked throughout the Tredyffrin-Easttown School District, primarily at Hillside elementary.

Zrebiec said one of her favorite things about working as a nurse was to be able to see the students develop through all the different age groups.

“Actually when I first came to Conestoga, I was still seeing students that I had taken care of when they were in elementary school,” Zrebiec said.  “It was really fun to see them as adults when I had seen them as little elementary school children, and its fun to see all the different age groups and how they progress and how they grow up.”

Zrebiec noticed that because Conestoga is a school that places much emphasis on schoolwork, students sometimes don’t devote enough to other activities. She said that one of the most difficult things for her at Conestoga was trying to find time to help train students in health.

“I think that the hardest part that working as a nurse in a school system, is that there are so many other demands on a students time,” Zrebiec said. “Ideally, students should have time to get out and do things other than academics, but academics is a big thing here at Conestoga, and an important thing, so you don’t always have time to do all the health teaching that you would like to do.”

After Zrebiec retires at the end of this year, she and her husband plan to go and explore more places in the United States that she was previously unable to because of the time of year at which her vacations fell. In addition, Zrebiec said she would have more time to visit her extended family and her grandchildren. But despite the fact that she is excited to have more time and travel, she will miss working at Conestoga.

“I’m certainly going to miss the students and staff that I work with. They have always been fun,” Zrebiec said. “It has been great working here at Conestoga, I think everybody has been terrific and I have certainly enjoyed my years here.”

Sophia Ponte can be reached at sponte@stoganews.com.

Edito

Spite is a hard concept to define. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, spite is “petty ill will or hatred with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart.” Seems simple enough. Given this definition, I’m assuming few people would admit to being spiteful, but I’ve noticed a growing prevalence within our school community. Here’s an example:

Test day. As soon as class lets out, students can already be heard in the hallway, yammering to their friends about what to expect on the test and how the answer to number 7 is B, not C. There’s something almost sweet about it—a cheating camaraderie, if you will. It’s a rare sight at Conestoga: students doing something to help their peers without any apparent benefit to themselves.

But someone decides to disrupt the circle of life by reporting the unethical students to the teacher. Maybe the person just thought they were doing the right thing, but there’s something spiteful about it: harming others without benefiting, or perhaps even hurting, yourself.

We turn on each other. We are so incensed by the idea of another student unfairly gaining a few points that we are willing to actually take action to prevent it, even if it has no bearing on our own performance.

Perhaps this is a cynical outlook because I am a bitter, cynical person, but spite is a concept that has been studied in more formal settings than the hallways of Conestoga. One famous economic experiment is “the ultimatum game.” In the ultimatum game, one person is given a certain sum of money (let’s say $10) and told to divide the money any way they choose between themselves and one other person. The first person proposes how to divide the money, and the second person can either accept or reject the proposal. If the second person accepts, the money is split according to the proposal. However, if they refuse, neither person receives anything.

Rarely will anyone accept an offer that’s less than 20 percent of the money ($2). In other words, they would rather accept $0 than have the other person get what they see as an unfairly large share ($8). It seems irrational and even a bit sad, but the study of spite offers a fascinating insight into the human condition and the desire to destroy welfare to restore equity.

Ultimately, I think spite comes down to whether we measure our successes against the successes of others or against our own. I prefer the latter.

Allison Kozeracki can be reached at akozeracki@stoganews.com.

When the Conestoga boys’ tennis team stepped on the Hershey Racquet Club court to play for their third consecutive state championship, they knew exactly what to expect. They were ready to make history, and they certainly did.

On May 18, the Conestoga boys’ tennis team defeated Shady Side Academy to win the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association AAA State Tennis Championship. With the victory, Conestoga entered the record books as the first school to ever win three championships in the AAA division for boys’ tennis.

Not only did the team win three titles, but they also won three years in a row. Coach Jonathan Goodman said that the possibility of a “three-peat” motivated the team throughout the season, since Goodman and coach Blake Stabert made sure the athletes knew the historical significance of a third victory.

“I think the idea that we could win three in a row set the bar even higher,” Goodman said. “After you’ve won once, and then twice, the difficulty is in maintaining your enthusiasm for victory. You kind of get spoiled. It’s more of a psychological battle.”

The boys’ tennis team celebrates their third consecutive PIAA state championship on May 18. The team made history, being the first team to ever accomplish this feat.
Photo Courtesy Jonathan Goodman

Not only was there pressure to make history, but the team also dealt with other teams trying to deny Conestoga the three-peat.

“When we went into the state tournament, we had a target on our backs,” sophomore Eric Yen said. “I think it is hard for teams to win three years in a row, because you can never lose your focus, and all the other teams know that you are the team to beat.”

The semifinal round against La Salle High School, where the team won a tight and emotional round, proved to be the team’s toughest challenge. The team moved onto the final round against Shady Side Academy in a repeat of last year’s championship final. With strong singles performances from Yen, senior Jason Sutker and junior Brian Grodecki combined with excellent teamwork between senior Josh Sutker and sophomore Steven Yang in the doubles match, the team defended their title and captured the championship.

“The team’s greatest strength is that we have a lot of excellent tennis players. But beyond that, they get along with each other well, they pull for one another, they are a good group to be around. There’s camaraderie,” Goodman said. “Each year, some of our better players graduate, but we have also had a lot of incoming freshman and sophomores that are very good and contribute a lot.”

The new incoming players have only added to a strong base that has lasted over the past three years.

“We are a great group of guys who support and make each other better,” Yen said.“This year was such a great experience playing alongside them, and it was even sweeter to take home the state championship.”

Courtney Kennedy can be reached at

ckennedy@stoganews.com. 

Chef Jim Delecce can often be found in the music wing playing his favorite Beatles tunes on the piano. Delecce has also played guitar, bass and keyboard in his music career.
Sam Sedor for The SPOKE

Jim Delecce spends most of his morning preparing food for ’Stoga students. Yet once every couple nights he heads out to a local restaurant, and while others do the cooking, he’s the one rocking out on stage.

Delecce has worked in the Conestoga cafeteria ever since the new kitchen opened back in 2002. But far before “Chef Jimmy” was shredding cheese in the ’Stoga Cafeteria, he was shredding guitar in bands and music duos.

“I was 19 when I went on the road with a band,” Delecce said. “I did two weeks in every spot from the top of New York to the bottom of Florida and out to the Midwest, and I did  that for three years.”

Ever since, Delecce has played with a whole bunch of groups, including bands called Karma, Renegade, Back Seat van Gogh and Fox. Although Delecce is no longer part of a band—his last trio broke up six years ago—he still finds ways to fit music into his life and keep his passion alive.

“I have five or six guitars.  I got one sitting everywhere, and I’m always playing at home. And then I just started getting back into playing out, doing a solo gig, just at local bars. I’ll be doing that until I die,” Delecce said.

Delecce says he was first hooked on music at age 13 thanks to his older brother, whom he describes as a “Beatles freak.” One thing led to another, and soon enough Delecce was listening to the Beatles on a regular basis and wanting to perform their music.

“I started listening to the Beatles and I was [thinking], ‘What’s he playing? Guitar? Got to get one of those. What’s he playing? Piano? Got to get one of those,’” Delecce said.

Delecce has since learned a whole host of instruments, from guitar to bass to keyboard. In fact, the only band instrument Delecce has yet to “dabble in” is the drums, due to rare access to a drum set.

According to Delecce, as his interest in music increased, his interest in joining a band        followed suit.

“I learned how to play because I wanted to play Beatles tunes. And then I found out that you could stay up late and hang out in bars if you got into a band, and I found out girls like guitar players, so I put them all together and said, ‘I need to get into a band,’” Delecce said.

After his first band broke up, Delecce entered the restaurant business as a prep cook. By a “simple twist of fate,” Delecce’s boss moved him from prep cook to line cook early on, and thus started Delecce’s career in the restaurant business. Delecce soon found that bands and the restaurant business were somewhat interconnected, and to this day his passion for cooking stems from the same love of creativity that inspired his passion for music.

Cooking “is creative. It’s like playing guitar and music; it’s another form of creativity. Especially back then, restaurant work and band guys, they were all a lot of the same crowd,” Delecce said. “I knew everybody else from other restaurants who knew people who were hiring the bands, and they just kind of fed off of each other.”

To this day, Delecce’s favorite music genre remains the one that first got him started in music: classic rock. And after all these years, Delecce’s favorite band is still the Beatles, who he appreciates for their versatility.

The Beatles “covered or created at some point during their short six years at the top every genre known,” Delecce said. “When you look at what songs were on top compared to what the Beatles were doing at the same time you realize how far ahead of their time they were.”

While he can spew out numerous facts on why the Beatles were so great—16 albums in six years, 27 number one hits—Delecce doesn’t have as specific reasons as to why he loves music. According to Delecce, his passion for music is much more intuitive.

“What draws me to playing that doesn’t draw me to [some other thing like] horseback riding? I don’t know,” Delecce said.  “It’s something you just feel like you need to do. So you do it, and you’re happy for doing it.”

Patrick Nicholson can be reached at 

pnicholson@stoganews.com.

Once the seniors leave for internship, the hallways and cafeteria are not the only places where their absence can be felt.  After the seniors depart, teachers and students alike adjust to the absence of seniors in their now-smaller classes.

Classes such as European and British Literature, along with AP Statistics have seen a decrease in the number of students because they are generally senior-dominated. Semester-long courses like Honors Economics are also smaller after the seniors leave. All of these classes continue to go on despite the three to eight student class sizes, though the usual workload may be replaced by an alternative end-of-the-year project.

Junior Armon Fouladi sees the atmosphere of his European Literature class as normal, though the lack of seniors is felt among the remaining students.

“In European Lit, everything is generally friendly. It’s a small class now and was small to begin with, which makes it feel a lot emptier,” Fouladi said.

However, Fouladi admits that the disappearance of seniors has not been widely discussed in his class and does have some benefits.

“No one has actually come out to say, ‘we want the seniors back,’” Fouladi said. “While it feels different without them, we’re having the same learning experience and the teachers have a bit more time to talk to students.”

Yet the lack of seniors does not mean lack of work for the remaining students. Projects are assigned in all of the classes, ranging from essay writing to bookwork.

In British Literature, teacher Karen Gately uses the period to have her juniors work on writing their college essays.

“ I get to give them a lot of direct attention and direct instructions for improving their college writing,” Gately said.

In AP Statistics, students do an entertaining assignment that involves data collection and analysis.

“ The most popular project we do is the school wide taste test on cookies, sweets and soda,” AP Statistics teacher Kathleen Curry said. “We’ve done this project every year and each year it’s always a lot of fun for the students and a nice project to end off on.”

Gately admits to missing the seniors and sees that in the other students as well.

“It’s different without them,” Gately said. “Sometimes there are certain times in class when my juniors will say, ‘I wish so-and-so was here because they would say this.’”

While Curry also misses her senior students once they leave, she uses the smaller classes as a new opportunity to get to know her remaining students better.

“I love my seniors and it’s so exciting to see their transformation into amazing and mature individuals,” Curry said.

“However, it’s really nice with the seven students I have left in my classes,” she said. “I get to know more of what their aspirations and goals are along with what they value inside and outside school.”

Mary Mei can be reached at mmei@stoganews.com.